Review: Master of Desire by Kinley MacGregor

Master of Desire

by Kinley MacGregor 

(Brotherhood/MacAllister #1) 
Source: Purchased

A Dream of Desire Awakened . . .

Beautiful Lady Emily dreams of the rapture of love and the joys of marriage. The youngest daughter of an English lord at war, she is shaken by the arrival of a mysterious stranger to her father's castle. Could this breathtaking man be Emily's yearned-for lover? Indeed, Draven de Montague, Earl of Ravenswood, has come for Emily . . . but romance has nothing to do with it.

In the Tender Embrace of an Enemy . . .

Draven would never have entered the home of his most hated adversary had not the King himself ordered him to take in his foe's daughter for a year to forge bonds of peace between their two feuding houses. Worse still, here is a lass whose exquisite loveliness could tempt Draven to betray his sworn vow never to let anther close to his heart. Emily knows the searing heat of her passion could burn down the defenses of this proud warrior. But will the surrender of the sweet nectar of his lips and his bold, sensuous caress ignite a blaze so hot it consumes them both?

The King's champion, Draven de Montague Earl of Ravenswood, is feared by all. His prowess as a warrior are legendary. His honor means absolutely everything to him and he believed giving his oath not to touch his ward in rage or lust would be easy.

Lady Emily has lived a sheltered life, cloistered in a castle by her overprotective father. When she learns that she is being sent to live with her father's enemy, Earl Ravenswood, for a year she does not fret. Wanting nothing more than to live her life, find love, and have children of her own, she seizes the chance to get from under her father's thumb.

Draven and Emily's attraction is instant, the heat between them is delicious. From the start, Emily is determined to make Draven hers, while he is determined to have nothing to do with despite his feelings. He had given his word to the king and knows that loving her could get him killed.

I loved Emily's character. She was determined to have Draven - even told him her plan - and she never wavered. Draven was the typical warrior, with a tortured past. I really just wanted to give him a hug.  I gave this book 3 stars because I felt it dragged and took too long to draw the entire story together. i.e. the issues with Emily's sister and fiance, the raids that Emily's father claims Draven has been conducting, etc. I don't want to add any spoilers... Overall, this was a great historical read and nice change of pace from the typical regency era romance.

I would recommend this book and this author to any lover of historical romance. I've read many of Kinley MacGregors books and I haven't come across one I don't like. Also, I think I should add that Kinley Mac Gregor is also Sherrilyn Kenyon, author of the Dark Hunter Series - paranormal romance .

Review: Winterblaze by Kristen Callihan

Winterblaze

by Kristen Callihan

Darkest London #3

Once blissfully in love…

Poppy Lane is keeping secrets. Her powerful gift has earned her membership in the Society for the Suppression of Supernaturals, but she must keep both her ability and her alliance with the Society from her husband, Winston. Yet when Winston is brutally attacked by a werewolf, Poppy’s secrets are revealed, leaving Winston’s trust in her as broken as his body. Now Poppy will do anything to win back his affections…

Their relationship is now put to the ultimate test…

Winston Lane soon regains his physical strength but his face and heart still bear the scars of the vicious attack. Drawn into the darkest depths of London, Winston must fight an evil demon that wants to take away the last hope of reconciliation with his wife. As a former police inspector, Winston has intelligence and logic on his side. But it will take the strength of Poppy’s love for him to defeat the forces that threaten to tear them apart.

I've got to say, I was a little worried that I would not like Poppy and Win's story. Why? Because they are a married couple. Most romance novels are about the couple meeting and falling in love and everyone knows that once your married, that's it. Marriage equals no romance. So I was wondering how Callihan was going to write their story.

Boy did she do a fantastic job! I worried for no reason. Winterblaze read like two different stories; we get to see how Poppy and Win got together through flashback chapters which took care of young romance. Then we get to see the couple struggle with their love and sexual tension in their "on the rocks" marriage.

Both Poppy and Win have not be totally honest with the other and in Poppy's case was living a double life. Win finds this out at the end of Moonglow and that was the big thing that put their marriage on the rocks. But  Poppy finds out that Win has a secret of his own when it comes to their life together.

Callihan really delivered on bring romance and lust back into a 14 year old marriage and watcing the couple grown into their new relationship was a heart wrecking and sexaul tension filled ride. I will never doubt Callihan again! I can't wait to see what she does with the next book in the Dark London series.

If you are like me and not really into Historical Romances this is a great series to deep your toe into the genre; it crosses the line between Paranormal an Historical Romance very well.

Other books in the series:

My Reivew

My Review

PNR Audio Review: Moonglow by Kristen Callihan

Moonglow 

by Kristen Callihan

Darkest London #2

Historical Paranormal Romance

Published July 31st 2012 by Forever 

 Once the seeds of desire are sown . . .

Finally free of her suffocating marriage, widow Daisy Ellis Craigmore is ready to embrace the pleasures of life that have long been denied her. Yet her new-found freedom is short lived. A string of unexplained murders has brought danger to Daisy's door, forcing her to turn to the most unlikely of saviors . . .

Their growing passion knows no bounds . . .

Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup, has spent lifetimes hiding his primal nature from London society. But now a vicious killer threatens to expose his secrets. Ian must step out of the shadows and protect the beautiful, fearless Daisy, who awakens in him desires he thought long dead. As their quest to unmask the villain draws them closer together, Daisy has no choice but to reveal her own startling secret, and Ian must face the undeniable truth: Losing his heart to Daisy may be the only way to save his soul.

Moonglow is the 2nd book in the Darkest London trilogy by Kristen Callihan but it reads almost like a stand alone. There is some back story on the characters from the 1st book, Firelight, but you would not be lost of you started with Moonglow. BUT WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO?! Both books are fantastic. If you have not read Firelight, read it now so that you can jump into Moonglow ASAP.


Moonglow is a mix of historical and paranormal set in the 1800s in London. Where women should act proper and not given into their passion. Well after living with a horrible man during Daisy’s marriage is now free after her husband’s death.


Daisy no longer wants to close up her passion. She remembers when she was younger enjoying men, quite a lot actually. That’s when Ian enters. He is a sexy and mysterious man. After he saves her from a crime scene where she witnessed an animal attack on her friend and the man she was getting friendly with in the alley. The animal she saw looked like a wolf but moved like man. Werewolf? Can’t be, they’re not real. But Daisy has a sister that can control fire, so why can’t werewolves be real too?


After waking up in a strange home she finds herself getting all randy with the owner, Ian. Until they find out whom the other is. Ian is the rake that tried to come between Daisy’s sister and her now husband. Ian is put off to find out that Daisy is sister’s with Miranda the fiery red head he fancied for a short time.


But of course that knowledge doesn’t stop the two from getting hot and bother by one another. Their pasts just make them more cautious about making that final leap into each other’s bed and heart.


I am new to the historical genre and the touch of the paranormal has helped me ease into it. But Callihan’s writing is what has me on pins and needles wanting for the last book in the trilogy, Winterblaze.


☊Narration Note: I've been on the fence about listening to historicals on audio because most have British narrators and most of the samples I've listen to have been kind of dry and I thought they would put me to sleep. I'm happy to report that the narrator for Moonglow, Moria Quirk, did not put me to sleep. She did a great job with the voices and she did a pretty good Scottish Brogue as well. The only think I wish she had done differently was give the male characters a deeper voice. LOL

Part of:

Historical PNR Review: Firelight by Kristen Callihan

Firelight 

by Kristen Callihan 

(Darkest London #1)
ebook, 289 pages
Published February 1st 2012 by Grand Central Publishing
Buy: Amazon - B&N
RATING: ★★★★

London, 1881 Once the flames are ignited . . . 
Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman. 
They will burn for eternity . . . 
Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask. (summary and pic from Goodreads)



REVIEW:


Firelight is a mix-mash of genre elements. The timeline is historical and while reading it I often thought of The Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast and Jack the Riper, with paranormal elements through out.

I had originally got approved for the ARC through Netgalley back in January but I kept pushing it down my reading schedule for different reasons. So by the time I was ready to start Firelight the galley had expired. But I’ve seen so many great reviews and high rating I thought what the heck. So I bought it for my Nook and I'm really glad I did.

Firelight has the usual push and pull with the heroine and hero as far as the romantic stuff. You know boy meets girl, one or both are reluctant to let go and trust the other with their heart because either they are afraid of getting hurt or hurting the other.

BUT the reasons for this are different and instead of one character being hard headed they both are. I love the fact that because the story is set in a historical time, Miranda is still a spit fire and does not need a man. But oh she wants this man and she finds herself needing him. Not for his money or security but because of the man that he is on the inside. And the fact that he is dead sexy doesn’t hurt either.

Even though I’m pretty new to the whole historical genre and really enjoyed the time that Firelight was set in and I believe it only made the story and characters more believable and enjoyable. The only thing that I felt like was missing or maybe not missing but something I wanted to know more about was Miranda’s ability to control fire. It remained a mystery but maybe we will find out more about it in the next book since it’s about her sister. Or it may forever be a mystery. In any case, I can’t want to dig into the sequel, Moonglow.

Next book in the series:

August 1, 2012