Review: Enraptured by Elisabeth Naughton

Publisher: Sourcebooks
Imprint: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN:9781402262128
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Received via NetGalley
Book 4 of the Eternal Guardians Series


The Blurb:


Orpheus may have joined the elite protectors known as Eternal Guardians, but they’ve never trusted whose side he’s really on. And the half-daemon couldn’t care less. Orpheus has only one goal: rescue his brother from the Underworld. He’s not expecting a woman to get in the way, especially not one sent by Zeus to seduce, entrap, and then ultimately destroy him. A woman who will dredge up a past he doesn’t remember, a love that once condemned him, and a dark and deadly secret as old as the Eternal Guardians themselves.


My Take:


I'll admit that while this story intrigued me, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it when it came time to read it. What I mean by this is, I'm a big fan of Gena Showalters Lords of the Underworld series and being that this series of Ms. Naughton's also deals with Greek Gods, etc. I thought perhaps it would pale in comparison. I was wrong.


This is the fourth book in the series and I found that for the most part it stood alone very well since I personally haven't read the first three in the series. The storyline, though it deals with Greek Mythology, is nothing like the LOTU series by Gena Showalter.


Orpheus is trying to find an orb that will allow him to save his brothers life since Orpheus feels its his fault that his younger sibling lost his life to begin with. On this journey to find the orb, he is followed by Skyla, a siren, who was meant to find the orb and deliver it to her boss Zeus and not let it get into Orpheus' hands. However, in a twist she didn't expect, Orpheus happens to be the reincarnated version of the man she once loved and who's death she feels responsible for. She keeps this from him however. Orpheus isn't sure what's going on, only that he has an intense and unexplainable attraction to Skyla that irritates the hell out of him especially since he knows that she's only with him to take the orb from him once it's found.


There is not one but three Gods after them now trying to get the orb from them as possession of it will make the holder all-powerful so they team up together and Skyla realizes that she can't complete her mission because of her love for Orpheus.


There wasn't really ever a slow moment in this story, it was fast paced and fun and exciting. A tortured hero, a strong as hell heroine and a whole lotta evil ass to kick with extra spicy love scenes. I very much enjoyed the read. Except for a few things...


The use of the word déjà vu due to the hero and heroines past became annoying. I don't mind the whole reincarnated thing and I don't mind the sense of deja vu other that the fact that the term itself was used so often it became annoying to be. 


Also, while I enjoyed he glimpses into their last life together, at times it pulled me from the story and what was happening right that moment for them. 


Finally, SPOILER ALERT I love that they end up together but I've personally never been a fan of second chance at life type endings of this sort. The heroine died and got to choose between going to "heaven" or returning back to her life. Guess what she chose? Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that it wasn't executed wells much as its me not liking that particular type of ending... I feel it's an easy way to rescue things. Let's kill the heroine, but it's okay because I'll just bring her back from the dead so they can have their happily ever after... That's just me though.


Overall I really enjoyed it and I look forward to more of Ms. Naughton's work.


My rating: 3.5/5 Lattes





All My Best,


Kayla

Tundra 37 (A New Dawn Book #2) by Aubrie Dionne

Published By: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Publication Date: February 2012 (available now)
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
ISBN: 978-1-937044-49-7
Received From: Entangled Publishing, LLC via NetGalley


The Blurb:


Gemme is a hi-tech matchmaker who pairs the next generation of Lifers aboard The Expedition, a deep space transport vessel destined for Paradise 18. When the identity of her lifemate pops up on her screen, she’s shocked that he’s the achingly gorgeous and highly sought after Lieutenant Miles Brentwood—a man oblivious to her existence. Believing everyone will think she contrived the match, she erases it from the computer’s memory.

Just as comets pummel the ship and destroy the pairing system forever.

With The Expedition disabled, the colonists must crash land on the barren ice world of Tundra 37 where Gemme is reassigned to an exploratory mission, led by Lieutenant Brentwood. Only in the frozen tundra does she understand the shape of his heart and why the computer has entwined their destinies.


My Take:


I had the opportunity to read this novel thank to NetGalley. I very much enjoyed it, but while there were parts I did like, there were also parts I didn't. However, the author has intrigued me enough that not only do I want to read the first book in this series, but I also can't wait to read book three in the series.


Aubrie Dionne does a great job with her world-building, creating a science fiction novel that is easily believable is hard work and I found myself really feeling as though this place could exist. Taking place far in the future (and I mean far as in the 2700's) the population of the human species has lived aboard a space shuttle of sorts (think Xenon, Girl of the 21st Century) for centuries as they leave behind the destruction of Earth and attempt to make their way to a new planet Paradise 18. And while most of the people on this very large ship The Expedition won't live to see this planet because of the fact that it takes centuries to get there, they set off in hope of a better future for their offsprings offspring. On the way to Paradise 18, The Expedition is hit by a comet shower and the ship is forced to land on the first available planet capable of occupying life, unfortunately, said planet is currently experiencing an ice age, but with no choice they land and now a team must gather together in search of the proper supplies in this unknown world to keep the ship and it's inhabitant alive so that they can start building a future on this planet. Tundra 37.


Enter Gemme, she was The Expedition's matchmaker, attempting to pair mates together to create the best offspring possible, until she finds her own name matched to the one man she thought she'd only ever be able to dream about being matched to. Afraid that the entire ship will think that she altered the computer system so that she was paired with the ships most eligible bachelor, she deletes the matching and not minutes later, her entire computer system is destroyed in the shower. Without a job, she is placed on a research and exploration team to hunt down minerals that are needed to keep everyone alive on the crashed ship. On his trip she is paired with none other than Lieutenant Brentwood, the very person who she was to be paired with according to the matchmaking system.


Lieutenant Brentwood has never met Gemme before the comet shower but he instantly knows that she is the person he is meant to be with at all costs. However, Gemme's arch rival wants Miles Brentwood for himself and she's also one of the four members of the exploration team. Drama ensues.


What did I like about this story? A lot of things really. The world building was great, and I particularly liked that the story had several different story lines in it concerning other members of the ship and their own personal journey during the crash and subsequent landing. The pacing was great, though at times I did find the constant back and forth of story lines was annoying as I kept wanting Gemme and Miles to have more screen time so to speak, but regardless, the story had me turning the pages.


What problems did I have? I feel that due to the other story lines, the romance between Miles and Gemme was more a secondary plot, than the main focus of the story and also I feel that said romance was a little rushed. I know and love stories of destined lovers, but these two didn't know each other, there was more romance between them when they were recalling their past lives and dreams and I feel the I Love You's came too fast for the development of the relationship. Also, I tend to like my stories on the steamier side, though this is more a personal preference and didn't reflect negatively on the story overall, I just would have preferred to see more than a few kisses etc. and would have liked the sexual tension to be amped up more.


The story end with enough closure that I feel it worked, but it left enough open regarding the future of this group of people to invite the next book in the series so I can't wait for it to come out so I can see what happens.


Even though this is book 2 in the series, the story stood on it own perfectly well and I had no issues following it. I very much enjoyed the story despite my feeling of the romance storyline taking a backseat to the others stories within.


My Rating: 3.5/5 Lattes (*Note: this lower rating is not entirely based on the story itself but rather the fact that this is a romance review site and that the story, while sold as a romance between Gemme and Miles, wasn't enough of a romance in my opinion. If I base my rating on the story being strictly a science fiction with romantic elements then I would likely give this story 4/5 lattes instead.)






All My Best,


Kayla

Review: Gentlemen Prefer Nerds by Joan Kilby

Publisher: Carina Press

Publication Date: March 12, 2012

ISBN: 9781426893377

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Blurb:

Self-professed nerd Maddie Maloney is an expert on jewels. Jewel thieves are another matter entirely! So when a mysterious Englishman warns her that a thief known as The Chameleon is after the rare pink diamond on display in her aunt's shop, she tells herself it's just a joke. Even if she can't get Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome out of her mind...

But Fabian Montgomery doesn't give up easily. He's everywhere she goes, convinced the thief will strike. And when the diamond does go missing-and Maddie is suspected of stealing it-he whisks her away from the police and together they pursue The Chameleon.

Fabian plunges her into a glamorous world far from her humble workshop and transforms geeky Maddie into a sophisticated siren capable of espionage. Her mission: to seduce The Chameleon and steal back the diamond.

But Fabian isn't telling her everything-like who he works for, and why he's so interested in The Chameleon...

My Take:

Gentlemen Prefer Nerds, a cute catchy title that is obviously a play on the Marilyn Monroe film, Gentle Prefer Blondes, and this story has diamonds to boot, though if you ask me, the Rose diamond is far greater than anything I could want from Harry Winston or ever Cartier. Grin.

The story was cute and fun and the pacing was awesome. Maddie, a self-proclaimed nerd, is a well-respected Gemologist who discovered a large and extremely rare pink diamond. Soon after obtaining it and getting it ready for display at her aunt’s jewelry store, a mysterious man warns her that the diamond is in danger of being stolen from right under Maddie’s nose. Convinced the man is doing nothing other than trying to startle her, she dismisses him. That is until the diamond does indeed get stolen from right under her nose and discovers she is the main suspect. She’s thrust into a whirlwind escape and an adventure with the mysterious man as the two of them try to recover the stolen diamond and clear her name.

Even though Maddie considers herself a nerd, and while she is definitely book smart in this story, I personally at least, wouldn’t classify her as a nerd per say. She’s definitely a rule follower and definitely smart, but not a nerd, except when it comes to gems and her style of dress. I particularly enjoyed watching Maddie come out of her shell and grow as a person in this story, she was sort of a late bloomer in life, who even after blooming, doesn’t mind reverting back to her old self, but keeps hints of her new self regardless and knows what she is now capable of

Also, the sexual tension between Maddie and Fabian (the mysterious man) was a little on the flat side for me, especially given that at the beginning of the story it seems Fabian is still hung up on somebody else. Even toward the end when he realizes he’s in love with Maddie, I still felt like he wasn’t completely over this other woman and that he simply thrust his feelings for said woman aside. It could just be me who feels this way and, after all, a review is simply an opinion, but that is how it came across for me.

The main thing I disliked about this entire story was the ending. Sure they get their HEA/HFN, but I didn’t feel as though it was really going to happen for them. I like to have a sense of closure when I’m finished and to me, it felt as though the story was cut off before I got that closure, so unless the author has plans for a sequel or something of the sort which gives good reason for the cut off, I was rather disappointed with the ending, especially considering how much I enjoyed the rest of the story.

For me, this story was good, and I believe it could have been great had I really believed the romance between Maddie and Fabian, but even though it didn’t cross over into my great reads column I still enjoyed it. Quirky characters, I particularly liked Maddie’s father, a fun, light tone that is very different from much of the darker toned books out there of late. Thanks to this book I’ve discovered a new author, who’s writing I very much enjoyed and I look forward to reading some of her backlist, maybe one of those will be shelved in my Great Reads column.

My Rating:

3.5/5 “Pink” Lattes

All My Best,

Kayla