Tuesday, September 11, 2012

For the Love of a God (by Rosanna Leo)


For the Love of a God rating:  4 out of 5 stars
Release Date:  April 23, 2012

How are the sex scenes?
They are HOT.
Details are not spared, so you feel as though you are experiencing the same ecstasy as the lovers. 

How are the story lines?
Fun. In some ways it’s a sordid love triangle, but in many ways it’s just a well written love story with witty one-liners, suspense and, of course, drop dead gorgeous Greek gods!! (literally!) The story is not meant to be believable, so read it if you enjoy a frolic in fantasy.

Would you read it again?
Yes.  If only to re-live the ‘funny bits’! 
The passionate love scenes would certainly be another draw card for me.


Summary

Maia, a self-confessed 27-year-old Toronto Museum conservator ‘dork’ is our heroine. She is passionate, refreshingly humble and blessed with brains, subtle beauty and a quick, quirky sense of humour.  She has been in love with the Greek God Eryx since her father introduced her to Greek Mythology when she was young. Maia considers the stunning, marble statue of Eryx, proudly housed in the Toronto Museum, to be hers.

Erxy, our immortal hero has had centuries of torture from his enemy, Nemesis, the goddess of retribution and vengeance. Her pursuit of Eryx, the god of love, has caused him to never want to love again. He has lived a long selfish life, frequently debauched in his own pleasure of women. But it isn’t until he comes across Maia, with her geeky t-shirts, and infectious passion for restoring Greek artifacts, that he finally meets a woman he wants/needs to love.

Despite his desire to resist Maia, something about her resurrects his instinct to protect, and possibly also to love.  Lucky for her, he's a god who loves passionately.

Review

If you need a break from ‘same old’ contemporary romance, try For the Love of a God. Author Rosanna Leo has managed to create a story with interesting yet intriguing combinations of surreal, steamy and suspense. With unpredictable twists and turns, the plot piqued my curiosity all the way through.

I did not expect to read a heroine’s description of herself like this…
“Well ... when I was eight, I went through a really determined nose-picking stage. And I wet the bed until I was ten.”  
But that is our eccentric Maia.

We have to wait until chapter nine for the first steamy sex scene. However, the innuendos in the preceding chapters make the wait both believable and acceptable.  Here’s just a tiny taste of what to expect (and enjoy!!)
“Finally, after what seemed like hours of delectable torment, his mouth found her. His hungry lips kissed her swollen skin, his tongue slid into her warmth, and he captured the pebbled pearl.”
This book is for the lover of fun. It’s well paced, deliciously saucy in parts, and the unexpected, up-tempo humour is brilliantly timed and placed. 

Learn more about Rosanna Leo and her upcoming titles on her website, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.



This review provided by:


Published by Liquid Silver Books
Disclaimer:  No compensation was received for this review.
ARC received from author in exchange for an honest review.




Saturday, September 8, 2012

Sea of Secrets (by Amanda DeWees)

Sea of Secrets rating:  3.5 out of 5 stars
Release Date:  February 1, 2012

How are the sex scenes?
What sex?  There is only kissing, but I did not want for any bedroom action.  
Sex doesn't fit this story and Amanda made the right choice in excluding it.

How are the story lines?
A clever treat is in store for readers.  It's excellent and I was so pleased when I figured it out.  Amanda explains it all in her Author's Note at the end of the book.

Would you read it again?
I would and I am anxiously awaiting her upcoming releases...romances or otherwise.


Back of the Book

After her brother is killed in the Crimean War, innocent young Oriel Pembroke finds herself alone in the world.  Disowned by the cruel father who has always despised her, she has nowhere to turn until she is taken under the wing of a glamorous relative she never knew: the former Duchess of Ellsworth, who has scandalized society by remarrying soon after her first husband's death.  At the opulent seaside estate of Ellsmere, Oriel thinks she has found a safe haven-but the darkly handsome young duke, Herron, believes otherwise.  Haunted by the death of his father, he suspects that Ellsmere is sheltering a murderer.

Even as Oriel falls in love with the duke, she begins to fear that his grief and suspicion are turning to madness.
When dangerous accidents start to befall both Herron and Oriel, however, she realizes that someone may be trying to stop them from discovering the truth about the past.  And when her father comes back into her life, she learns that he may hold the answer to the most horrifying secret of all...

Review

Sea of Secrets by Amanda DeWees is set between 1853 - 1856 along the English coast.

The description of this book is the best I have ever read.  Everything I would tell you about the plot, the publisher already has.

Oriel is a character to fall in love with.  She's emotionally neglected, believes she looks plain, sews herself drab-colored dresses because her father refuses to buy something better and lost her mother when she was an infant.  

Constantly being told she is of no value, Oriel speaks little in her father's presence and waits for the day she can retire as a spinster - because she's too unremarkable to draw any gentlemen's interest.  


To whatever he said, however caustic or cruel, I answered only Yes, Father; As you say, Father; To be sure, Father.

Strong, wounded heroines are a favorite of mine and Oriel hits all the right points.

Amanda DeWees delivers exceptional writing with entertaining details and believable plots in spades.

The sorrowful beginning is beautiful prose and the first person point-of-view helps the reader identify with Oriel.  The events are simple and ordinary until the mystery starts about halfway through, yet I was always compelled to read further and never had to read a sentence twice for clarification.  

Amanda's writing is self-explanatory and credits readers' intelligence by not overstating the obvious.

The hero of this story is foreshadowed.  Remember this sentence.  Remember this sentence, read Sea of Secrets, then think about this sentence again.  It's there.  And it rules.

The most amazing part of Sea of Secrets is the huge parallel between it and another fictional writing.  To give the title is a spoiler, but keep this in mind and see how long it takes for you to notice.  Then read Amanda's Author's Note to understand the rest.

The reason Sea of Secrets receives 3.5 stars and not 4.5 stars or higher...is also a spoiler.  But this story is slated as a Gothic Romance, not a historical with a romantic element and is graded as such.  

The lack of sex has nothing to do with the rating.  As mentioned above, Sea of Secrets doesn't need it and Amanda shows great wisdom in leaving it out.

I enjoyed this story.  It's now a comfort read for me.

Amanda's form of writing is beautiful and I dare say perfect; it's nice to read beautiful things.


Learn more about author Amanda DeWees and her upcoming works on her website, Facebook and Goodreads


Published by Amanda DeWees
Disclaimer:  No compensation was received for this review.  ARC received from author.