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Category: Fantasy

“The Fire Lord’s Lover” by Kathryne Kennedy

[ 3 ] July 5, 2010

Reviewed by Erin N.

During the reign of King George I, seven elves from the world of Elfhame captured and ruled England through the use of peculiar magic and sacred scepters. They carved up the island between them, each dominating a region to use as his or her own domain.

Years of dominance caused the country to be filled with half breed children of various magical abilities and a populous who feared and resented the Elven lords. Out of the ashes of the old regime, a secret rebellion formed; a rebellion that pinned their hope upon a young woman to be sold in marriage to the Elven Fire Lord’s bastard son, Dominic.

Lady Cassandra, of half Elven stock herself, attended the best private boarding schools the region had to offer and was taught the Elven art of death dancing for the sole purpose of assassinating the mad elf that wields black fire magic. What she wasn’t taught was how to not fall in love with her seemingly emotionless half-breed husband.

General Dominic Raikes, half-breed champion for his father, the Imperial Lord of Firehame, Mor’ded, learned to hide his emotions and the depth of his fire magic abilities. His father, a sadistic elf, ruled Dominic through the use of torture; not only of Dominic as a child but of those that he loved and cared for. To protect others, Dominic vowed to never show his emotions nor care for another being as long as he lived. What he didn’t count on is that the one woman who could get under his cold exterior would be placed in his bed. What he also did not count on is that she might also be his, and England’s, savior.

The first book in the series entitled The Elven Lords by Kathryne Kennedy, The Fire Lord’s Lover, proved to be an enchanting, provocative story that blended all the best elements of the fantasy and romance genres. Kennedy weaved a bewitching world using historical figures and mythologies beloved by fantasy readers through the ages. The second book in the series, The Lady of the Storm, is currently in production.

Erin fell in love with the written word as a small child and subsequently spent most of her life happily devouring literature.  Erin lives just outside of Cleveland, Ohio with her husband, children, and grandchildren.

This book was provided free of any obligation by Sourcebooks Casablanca. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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“The Passage” by Justin Cronin

[ 12 ] June 8, 2010

Reviewed by Claudia R.

“I know that science is your god, Paul, but would it be too much to ask for you to pray for us? All of us.” Jonas Abbot Lear, PhD (USA Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases)

The Military needs a Super Soldier. A human that is not only invincible but immortal. Intelligent. Strong. Healthy. Capable of anything. Invincible.

The Military needs ‘volunteers’, people willing to be injected with this new, untested ‘super virus’.

One problem.

There are none. And previous ‘testing’ attempts have returned less than desirable results.

Enter the Twelve.

Convicts on death row, only too happy to sign over their death sentence for the promise of a eternal life. Even with limited information, each willingly offer themselves ‘for the greater good’.

Only something goes horribly and inexplicably wrong, and civilization, as we know it, as anyone has ever known it, ceases to exist. Completely.

Fast forward to First year A.V. (after virus). Some semblance of life exists in pockets across the country, and it is there, that The Passage takes it’s readers on a fast paced, exquisitely detailed, heart pounding, palm sweating journey into the lives of the kin of survivors of B.V. (before virus).

It sounds like a tale that’s been spun before. Conspiracy theory makeover ad nauseam.

Except, it’s not. At all.

The Passage isn’t just another ‘good read’, it’s a commitment and a subsequent addiction. For a week there was never a moment when I was home that I didn’t have the book with me. Justin Cronin writes brilliantly and his words bring this futuristic doomsday story to life with painstaking detail and unrivaled passion. Every character jumps off the page, vivid and real. Cronin culls emotions from his readers like a snake charmer seduces his serpents. I was laughing, crying and screaming along with Michael, Sarah, Amy, Lish, Maus, Lacey, Auntie, Hollis, Theo & Peter as they battled the ‘jumpers’ in a fight for survival.

Every time I thought I knew where Justin was about to take the story I realized didn’t. Expertly, Justin pens an other-world tale of doom and gloom that is anything but at the same time as being completely, just that. Frightening. Realistic. Edge of your seat titillation. Perfection. One word of caution, clear all and any plans for at least 4 days if you intend to read The Passage, it’s like literary heroin. No exaggerating.

If you love Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Dean Koontz or Peter Straub you will absolutely adore, adore, adore Justin Cronin. It is with baited breath that I anticipate his next literary performance. The Passage is PURE genius and one of the FEW books I hope they DO make in to a movie. Maybe Tarantino needs a new project?

Visit the official website to learn more about Justin Cronin and The Passage.

Claudia lives on Cape Cod with her husband and two children. She entertains her passion for reading in between providing services to help empower and improve the lives of low-income residents.

This book was provided free of any obligation by  Ballantine Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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“Strange Neighbors” by Ashlyn Chase

[ 5 ] May 31, 2010

Reviewed by Jessa L.

Merry MacKenzie is a 25-year-old nurse who has just moved out of her family home in Rhode Island to live the single life in the big city of Boston. She finds what seems to be the picture perfect apartment and things only appear sweeter when she meets the hunky landlord, Jason Falco. The scene immediately gets more complicated when she trades in her carefree single lifestyle to start dating said gorgeous landlord who also happens to be a star baseball player.

Merry’s new life gets even more interesting when she runs into the rest of the tenants. There’s Jason’s nosy aunt, his laidback uncle who does maintenance, the broody mortician, a mysterious Nordic looking man, two sexy ladies who seem to have a very enthusiastic relationship with each other, and the strange man who doesn’t seem to live there, but hangs out on the property at all times. Is Merry’s seemingly picture perfect life too good to be true, or is there more than meets the eye?

Strange Neighbors is the first Ashlyn Chase book I’ve read, but it turns out that she’s fairly well known for her more erotic writing. Strange Neighbors definitely has some juicy love scenes, but I assume it’s tamer than her usual style of writing. While I did not particularly enjoy the love-y dove-y relationship of the two main characters, the paranormal activity and allusions to a well knows government conspiracy did add a nice twist to the story.

I did enjoy Strange Neighbors overall and greatly hope that more books are added to make this a series. There are definitely great possibilities for intriguing storylines with the other characters. I will be keeping my eye on further titles from Ashlyn Chase with the possibility of grabbing a few other books from her existing sets.

Please visit Ashlyn Chase’s website for more information.

Jessa lives in Utah with her husband, 2 sons, 2 cats, and 2 dogs. She goes to school full time as an English major with a focus in creative writing. She likes anime and reads books and plays video games in her moments of spare time.

This book was provided free of any obligation by Sourcebooks Casablanca. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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