Film rights to Washington Post reporter Michael Dobbs’ ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War, to Fox 2000, for producer John Davis at Davis Entertainment.
~ ~ Romantic Times August Review ~ ~
A RAKE’S GUIDE TO PLEASURE
Victoria Dahl
4 Stars HOT
Setting: 1844 England
Dahl brings a highly sensual, emotional and moving story to the pages with aplomb. Her clever plotting and engaging characters drive the story forward at a fast clip, and the depth of emotions will keep you enthralled.
Summary: Emma Jensen never imagined that she would have to use the gambling skills she learned from her degenerate father to survive. Posing as the dowager Lady Denmore, she becomes the “small season’s” darling. No one sees through her façade until the Duke of Somerhart arrives in town. Emma prays he won’t remember the child he encountered at one of her father’s debauched parties.
Intrigued by Lady Denmore and piqued by her boldness, Somerhart decides to find out more about the reckless woman with an air of innocence. As he pursues Emma from party to party, wager to wager, he uncovers a vulnerable young woman, playing a dangerous game—a woman he yearns to protect. But Emma’s fears of the past and her father’s shortcomings haunt her. Only Somerhart’s love can show her the way to happiness (ZEBRA, Aug., 352pp., $4.99) Kathe Robin
THE MIDNIGHT MAN
by Charlotte Mede
4 Stars SCORCHER
Setting: Victorian
Chilling with an underling terror, sensual with understated passion, gripping with historical references and with remarkable talent Mede’s latest should enlarge her fan base by engaging readers’ emotions as well and their heated fantasies.
Summary: Young, wealthy, widowed and known for her scandalous artwork, Helena Hartford has enemies ready to confiscate her fortune and confine her to an asylum. Just when she fears she will lose her freedom, Nicholas Ramsay appears, demanding she trust him with her life and independence.
Nicholas is already familiar with her paintings, but he has another reason for keeping
HIS WICKED SINS
Eve Silver
4 Stars HOT
Setting: 1828
Silver juxtaposes past and present to create the ideal atmosphere for a darkly alluring gothic romance. The setting, an eerie school in
Summary: Elizabeth Canham arrives at Burndale expecting to find a quiet, ordinary boarding school. Instead she walks into the twisted world of a serial killer. Two teachers have already been murdered, and her light blonde hair makes Elizabeth the killer’s next target.
Then she meets Griffin Fairfax, the father of one of the students. Rumors surround his wife’s death, and even uglier suspicions whirl around him after the teachers die. But
But she’s haunted by dark childhood memories that threaten her sanity and her life.
LOST IN YOU
Alix Rickloff
4 Stars HOT
Setting: 1815
Rickloff’s debut sweeps readers into a dark, dangerous and sensual realm where legend and passion mix to perfection to created a compelling, original love story.
Summary: As an unusually powerful Other (half human/half fey), Connor Bligh vows to keep the line between mortal and Faery safe by destroying the ruthless demon Asher. To do so, he’ll need Ellery Reskeen’s help.
A soldier’s daughter, Ellery as no idea that a box her father possessed is the key to conquering Asher, or that she has powers of her own.
Then Connor collapses on her doorstop and draws her into danger, magic and passion, where she’s chased by the hounds of hell, Asher’s henchmen. As she learns the secret of the box and her role in Connor’s scheme, Ellery falls in love. Though Connor planned to sacrifice Ellery to save the world, he will not risk losing her. The Others must find the means to defeat Asher without surrendering themselves. (ZEBRA, Aug., 380 pp., $3.99) Kathe Robin
PROJECT JENNIFER
Jill Amy Rosenblatt
3 Stars
Rosenblatt starts strong with a tantalizing hook and a funny, albeit damaged, heroine. Halfway through, however, Joan loses her way—which is the author’s intention to some degree—and the book gets tedious as we wait for her to turn back into even a semblance of the wonderfully conflicted woman we first met. Helping—and sometimes hurting—her along the way are two friends who add great dimensions to this debut novel.
Summary: After losing her fiancé to a “Jennifer,” Joan boldly attempts to shed her sweet, caring and nurturing “Joan” persona and morph into the polished, charismatic and perfectly groomed lifestyle she believes inherent to those named, well, Jennifer. Strange as it sounds, she makes a case for it.
Pretty soon the adage about bad things happening in threes comes true: Now Joan is without a job, her fiancé or an apartment. With her widowed mother haranguing her to finish college, Joan ignores the well-meaning advice and takes an assistant position with a man who, as it turns out, might want more than just administrative help. Soon, the once mild-mannered Joan is playing the part of a “Jennifer” a little too well, alienating friends and hurting herself in the process. (KENSINGTON, Aug., 304 pp., $14.00) Lauren Spielberg.
LEFT TO DIE
Lisa Jackson
4 Stars
A new pair of detectives lead the hunt for a killer in mega-talented
Summary:
With a blizzard pounding outside, Jillian is stuck with a man she dares not trust. When Alvarez and Pescoli find her abandoned car, they fear she is the next victim. Can they find and stop this vicious killer? (ZEBRA, Aug., 496 pp., $7.99) Jill M. Smith
Kaitlyn Dunnett
4 Stars
Former Scottish dancer Liss MacCrimmon came home to
Summary: Liss is excited when her former Scottish dance company comes to town. She plans a reception in their honor, complete with specialty cocktail scones. All is well until company manager Victor Owens has an allergic reaction to a scone and dies.
It all looks like an accident, until Liss learns the scone contained mushrooms, to which Victor was highly allergic. Liss knows mushroom scones were not on the menu, which means someone close to Victor deliberately killed him. Now she needs to find out which one of her former co-workers is a cold-blooded murderer. (KENSINGTON, Aug., 272 pp., $22.00) Sandra Martin
WANTON
No
3 Stars HOT
Steeped heavily in the seedy underworld of 19th-century
Summary: A killer is targeting harlot women and leaving evidence behind that implicates the Pack of St. James. The timing couldn’t be worse for current pack leader Marko, who’s fallen in love with the woman of his dreams. He must cut off communication with her to protect her and his pack, a resolution that falls apart when he discovers she’s more directly involved with the murders than he’d ever have dreamed. He fears he won’t be able to keep promises to her and his pack and stop the killer in time. (BRAVA, Aug., 304 pp., $14.00) Jennifer Madsen
STORM BORN
Rich
4.5 Stars
Bests
Summary: Trained by her shaman step-father, Eugenie Markham is a powerful shaman whose job is banishing creatures who have crossed over from the Otherworld. Her latest case is to rescue a young girl taken to Otherworld. Eugenie recognizes the danger in entering the realm but proceeds anyway, only to discover that her biological father is none other than the Storm King. A prophecy regarding a child that Eugenie will bear makes her a target of all the males of Otherworld, who want to impregnate her. Two very different men, Kiyo, a spirit fox, and King Dorian, claim they want to help her, but Eugenie finds it difficult to trust. (ZEBRA, Aug., 384 pp., $6.99) Jill M. Smith
Elizabeth Amber
4 Stars
The last installment in the Lords of Satyr trilogy is also the most complex character-wise. Amber depicts a dark side of 19th-century
Summary: Now that his brothers Nicholas and Raine have married two of the Faery King’s daughters, it’s
But is the sea-nymph that
VISION OF SEDUCTION
Cassie Ryan
4 Stars
Ryan has built a marvelously detailed world of congenial, sensual people populating a warm, symbiotic planet. Alpha Grayson is just the right match for beautiful, spirited Katelyn. Scorching-hot sex scenes leave nothing to the imagination. This is a great summer escapist read.
Summary: Seer Katelyn Hunt isn’t sure what to make of the mysterious, sexy gentleman who’s been recently frequenting her New Age shop. But when a small army of men attacks the store she loses consciousness and awakens on another planet, one that feels oddly familiar.
Prince Grayson de Klatch believes he’s found the seer who will help save his beloved home of Tador, a planet that is rejuvenated by sexual energy. In finding her, he also believes he’s found his life mate. But will Katelyn remain on Tador once he realizes why Grayson brought her there? What’s more, will she forgive him? (APHRODISIA, Aug., 256 pp., $12.95) Bella March
LORD OF THE DARK
Dawn Thompson
3 Stars
Fans of Thomson’s Lord of the Deep will recognize the world and the characters in her latest. Although well written and with exceptionally good sex scenes, the story’s characters spend more time reacting to external events rather than trying to solve their own problems. The happy—and sexy!—ending will appeal to hardcore paranormal romance readers.
Summary: When Rhiannon is washed up on he shores of Gideon’s
SWEET AND SINFUL
Jodi Lynn Copeland
3 Stars
Copeland’s two tales are full of steamy and inventive sex. The heroines are outrageous and flamboyant yet likeable. Although both stories are enjoyable, “Just Like Candy” has a stronger plot and better character development…
Summary: In “Just Like Candy,” country girl Courtney changes into a sex diva patterned after her fun-loving office mate Candy. Courtney starts playing with co-worker Blaine, who is also into super-hot, no strings attached sex. When Courtney thinks someone is stalking her,
After Courtney’s stalker scare, Courtney decides to tone down her sex-siren image in “Hard Candy.” When health issues cause her biological clock to speed up, Candy is determined to change her ways, find Mr. Right and settle down. But how can she give up all of that great sex and super-sexy neighbor Ty, her friend with benefits? (APHRODISIA, Aug., 320 pp., $12.95) Joyce Morgan