2008 Challenge Wrap-up

Running a bit late on this one but better late than never!

In 2008 I joined several challenges that had mixed success. Even those I didn't complete I still enjoyed and I have plans on repeating the exercise again in 2009.

Wrapping up the year I'll start with a run down of the challenges for 2008.

Triple 8 Challenge - 8 books in 8 categories in 2008.
For my categories I had selected Anthologies, Audiobooks, Romantic Suspense, Paranormals, Published before 2000, Series Romance, Young Adults and New Authors. I completed all categories except Anthologies. It's the category that I suspected would give me the hardest time but I noticed that Romantic Suspense was also difficult to complete. Still I really enjoyed this challenge and I will be joining it again in 2009.

To Be Read Challenge (TBR) was another challenge I missed from completing. I was one book away. I honestly did not enjoy this one because the restrictions were too tight. You had to select your reading list out the door and you could not change those you selected. I am not always in the mood to read certain books and the ability to change my list is important to me. That is why in 2009 I'll join a lighter version of this challenge which will afford me some more flexibility. I think you should read what you enjoy and if I'm forcing myself to read something it feels more like homework that pleasure.

I missed completing The Classic Romances by one book as well. This one was not bad but it became an afterthought more like - hey I have a challenge.. let me see if I have read any of the books on the list. I think I'll pass on this one.

Book A Month was the most challenging of all my reading challenges (no pun intended), I missed 3 themes on this one because I just could not find a book I wanted to read for that theme. I missed the first month's theme because I signed up late (TIME) and then I missed May (MOTHER) and July (INDEPENDENCE). Yeah, that last one should have been a no brainer but in July.. Could not think of ANYTHING to read with that theme,

I completed all my other challenges with plenty of time to spare....

Pub 08 - 8 books published in 2008
Stephenie Meyer mini challenge - read all of Ms Meyer's books in 2008
Chunkster Challenge - I didn't officially sign up for this one but I still did it. Had to read a few BIG CHUNKY books and all the Twilight books qualified.
100+ Reading Challenge - Read 110 books in 2008 so I did get to meet this challenge as well.

This wraps up the Challenges that I signed up for in 2008. I have not posted all the reviews for the books that I had pending but at this stage if the game it's unlikely that I will, so I thought I'd just post the wrap up and move on.

2009 Challenges will be up soon.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Sometimes when reading a series it's difficult to ascertain if you like the story because the book was everything you wanted or because you are reunited with old friends (which give you everything you really wanted anyway). The last installment in the Twilight series was a finale worth remembering and worth every hour spent reading the mammoth book.

Bella finally gets her wish to join Edward in his world but it does not come without a cost and the rollercoaster ride to get to her final destination made for one hell of a read.

It's difficult reviewing this one since the whole story is packed with one surprise after the other. If you haven't read the book and don't want ANY spoilers...

Stop reading now.

The books opens on Bella and Edwards wedding. This part is told from Bella's POV and it goes over the phobia she has of marriage and we see how difficult it is for her to go through the process of the marriage. She is not afraid or concerned about the commitment (hell she wants to be a vampire and live eternity with Edward, so it's not a commitment issue) but the word marriage has always been voodoo for her, yet she survives the ceremony with grace.

Move on to a somewhat stressful honeymoon that for Bella is dreamy but has Edward rethinking the "I don't want to turn you just yet" proposition. and just when Edward thought it was safe to be with his wife, it turns out that Vampire males have a fertility issue... they can reproduce children on mortal women. Yup!! The marriage phobic Bella becomes pregnant. The thing is that this is no normal pregnancy. A Hybrid child who is half human and half vampire can make gestation period a bit difficult.

This leads us into the second part of the book that is told from Jacob's POV.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this transition.
Jacob is the epitome of a tortured soul. To have him guide the reader through this delicate time is wonderful because his love for Bella stops him from walking away and he has to suffer through his emotions every step of the way.

The last part moves us back into Bella's mind. She starts her life as a newborn vampire and everything that entails. The pain of transitioning, the urges, the discoveries and on top of that.. motherhood. She finds blissful happiness but it doesn't take long for the other shoe to drop. Those pesky Italian vamps (the Volturi who we met at the end of New Moon) are back to create havoc. If you didn't see it coming you really didn't pay attention to our encounter with them in New Moon.

I had not heard any resounding reviews on the book that was highly anticipated by young and old so I was intimidated and went in a bit skeptical. After reading 3 books you don't want the last book to bring you down. I should not have doubted the quality of Meyer's work. She came through for me with flying colors.

This was the best series I have read this year and if you haven't been lured yet into the world of Twilight, don't hesitate. Go out and pick up this series before the movie (coming out in December) taints your view of it.

Grade: A

Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline

Lady Killer brings us back to Bennie Rosato's land where Mary DiNunzio is her star attorney and bringing in the bulk of the business for Rosato and Associates. Mary is a bit conflicted with her role in life. She has loved and lost, she wants to stay one of the neighborhood girls but her duties threaten her loyalties to the neighborhood and we see those ties seriously tested when Trish Gambone goes missing.

Trish had approached Mary out of the blue asking for legal advice because her boyfriend, Bobby was physically abusing her and she was scared for her life. Unfortunately there is just so much Mary could offer and when Trish refuses to go to the police her options are reduced to nothing. When Trish turns up missing Mary is raked by guilt for not being able to do more for her, but when The Mean Girls (Giulia, Missy and Yolanda, all of who made Mary's life miserable while attending St. Maria Goretti High) show up at her office her guilt goes into overdrive. She sets out to find Trish at all costs.

On the flip side those "loyal" neighborhood clients that are helping Mary align herself for a partnership (if Mary can ever develop enough nerve to ask Bennie) start distancing themselves from her because they have heard that she stiffed Trish in her most vulnerable time. Mary starts spending time with another outsider from the neighborhood, Anthony, the 'gay' son of one of the few neighbors sticking by her. It doesn't take long to discover that Anthony is not flying the rainbow colors and Mary finds herself once more conflicted about her feelings. She feels she is betraying her deceased husbands memories every time Anthony comes over to her parents house. Mary is a complete mess at this time.

Excellent installment in the Rosato & Associate series. Mary eventually shows she has a back bone but not after letting everyone and their brother stomp all over her. She runs the gambit searching for Trish putting up with hostile brothers, groping parents and especially her past. Seems that Bobby, Trish's abusive boyfriend was Mary's boyfriend too and she questions whether their life would have been different if fate had not stepped in the way and caused them to drift apart. We discover a very big secret Mary keeps from everyone which makes us appreciate her more for what she has gone through.

All this and sprinkle a bit of humor in the pot... we have a excellent read! Scottoline does not disappoint and even though this book has the recurring character from her previous novels the book can easily stand alone in the series as most of the other installments have.


Grade: A
Format: Audiobook

Baby, I'm Yours by Karen Templeton

What a refreshing read. Short, sweet and very strong. Picked up this recommendation from The Good, The Bad and The Unread. They were having a Harlequin spotlight and Karen Templeton was featured (You can find the Spotlight Here). The premise and reviews were very good so I picked it up in eBook. It was wonderful! I will definitely be keeping Ms. Templeton in my radar for her future work.

Kevin Vaccaro is a recovering addict who after wandering through life in a misguided effort of rebellion decides to get his act together. Unfortunately at the time his girlfriend was an addict herself and, although he tried to help her, he realizes that he needs to help himself first. He walks away from the relationship ignorant of the fact that she was pregnant. A year later he is ready to make amends. He is not looking to go back the relationship but to salvage the friendship he once had with Robyn. When he arrives at the home of Victor Booth he finds a hostile welcome from Robyn's father and sister. He later discovers that their hostility is justified having discovered that his ex-girlfriend is dead and he is a father.

Julianne Booth seems to find herself always recovering. First she has to recover from her mother's suicide, taking on the role of caregiver to her parent and younger sister, then when she finally thinks she will live her own happily ever after, a drunk driver takes the life of her husband and subsequently her own unborn child. Since the accident her life has been left in limbo until she is called to care for her pregnant sister and then for her newborn niece. She has built a barrier around herself, limiting her life to her niece's existence. When Kevin shows up her world threatens to crumble once again.

This is a book about growth. It's about three people learning to overcome the fear of living. Kevin, who is the recovering addict is actually the less damaged among them all.
Victor (Robyn and Julianne's father) writes self help book but cannot seem to help those closes to him. The only ways he feels he can protect them is by isolating them from the big bad world, but by doing so he is shutting himself out from the world too. He has given up on a second chance for love himself in an effort to stay close and protect the only daughter left to him.
Julianne's compliance to her father's safe harbor is destroying her. She knows that the right thing to do is to give up Pippa (the baby) to Kevin but she is lost without her and cannot find the strength to recover from that blow. When she starts falling for Kevin, her fears magnify because she cannot love again.

Templeton is a master and her trade. She took what could have been a cliche of a plot line (grieving widows, surprise pregnancies, love between in laws) and made it a poignant tale of individual growth and strength. Each character find within themselves the strength to heal so they could be open tot he love they were being offered. Wonderful!

Grade: A
Format: eBook

Racing the Moon by Michele Hauf

Thanks to Sybil and The Good, The Bad and The Unread blog I won a copy of this intro title to the new Silhouette Nocturne Bites line. It's a very short tale whose premise promised an interesting story but as most short stories go, it fell short.

Sunday is a Familar (as in witchcraft and demons) that has a bit of a control issue when in the through of a sexual climax. She tends to open bridges between her world and that of the demon world which allows the demons to infiltrate our world. Unfortunately her human lovers don't appreciate the evil demons that appear after Sunday's climax or the fact that she turns into a cat at that time either. So Sunday has given up on Sex as well as humanity.

Dean is a werewolf racing against the moon. He needs to "get some" before the full moon rises to stop the wolf from emerging but his truck has left him stranded in the middle of nowhere just hours away from midnight. It's just his luck that a sexy mechanic drives by and offers him a tow to her garage. If he plays his cards right he might be able to stave off the wolf after all. All he needs to do is convince the greasy sex 'kitten' to let him flush her pipes.

The book actually started quite good, having a different standard for short stories. But when I hit page 30 and Dean starts talking about "booty calls", Hauf lost me. She had me rolling my eyes in disgust and when Dean starts showing feelings for Sunday, I was about to drop the book altogether. I was happy that in the end there was no real commitment of feelings or words because I would have graded this VERY low.

Hauf has a strong voice and I think she would do well in a longer format. It felt like those last twenty pages were written by someone else. As if Hauf gave up on the story. I would give her another try just because the first half of the book had me quite engaged.

Grade: C-
Format: eBook

Through the Veil by Shiloh Walker

If you thought you were familiar with Shiloh Walker's work... think again! Through the Veil is Walker's newest work and it hits the stand this coming Tuesday. The story offers us a glimpse to another side of Walker's talent by moving toward the Sci-fi genre when I, personally, had only read her paranormal Hunter series.

The story takes place between three worldly dimensions. Our contemporary world where we first encounter Lee, our heroine. Ishtan where Kalen, our hero belongs, and Anqar where the world is ruled by Warlords bent on destroying Ishtan for it's women. These worlds interconnect through gates that can be opened and closed by the Warlords and their power. Less powerful beings might not be able to open a gate to pass into these other worlds but they could look through the Veil between worlds and covet all they saw, like the females and the daughter's they produced. The women in Ishtan had powers that when breed upon produce strong offspring which Anqar needed. They had been losing their natural female population and this lead the Warlords to invade Ishtan and take the women as body slaves back to Anqar where they would try to breed upon them.
The Warlords had been raiding Ishtan for as long as anyone could remember.

Lee lives in the contemporary world but goes to Ishtan in her dreams. She fights alongside the rebel forces to stop the Warlords from destroying that world but she believes that it is all part of an elaborate dream. She wakes with bruises on her body but dismisses them as over active sleep patterns.

Kalen knows that Lee is a strong force that belongs by his side in Ishtan. He is capable of looking through the veil between his world and hers. He watches her confusion and her rationalization of the bruises she acquires in her fight, but doesn't know how to reach her to convince her of the truth. The convincing takes place early on in the book and then Lee moves on to struggle with her new reality because although she is a fierce warrior for the rebellion she comes to Ishtan in her new form as a novice. Her denial of this new reality is overwhelming and blocks her knowledge of how to control her powers.

Lee is a mystery not just to everyone around her but also to herself. She has no idea where she comes from and how is it that she is able to cross over to Ishtan from her world. Kalen only knows that Lee is important not just to the cause but to himself. He has loved her and desired her for many years but between getting shot at and evading a new attack there is little time for romance. now that Lee is back to stay he is ready to claim her for himself.

If you are expecting the story to be a romance you might be disappointed because although the romance and passion are there the main focus is on Lee and how she comes to unite her old self with the warrior she has become. The first 30 pages are difficult due to acclamation to the new world. The definitions at the start of the book is where this information should be since you will need to know this information from the get go. The definitions allow you to get to know the inhabitants of this new world because as soon as you start the book you are thrown into that world, no real introduction just slam-bam thank you ma.am.

But how do you introduce such a dark existence as those living in Ishtan have? The world building is extraordinary and so vivid that you can feel the desolation and the hopelessness when Kalen describes the future of his world. The story doesn't just paint the bleak panorama that exist now but the richness and vitality that existed in the past. You mourn the loss of Ishtan as you see it through Kalen's eyes. Wonderfully done!

Despite the difficult start, the book picked up and was a smooth read. There were parts that I would have liked to see more of the Warlords and their threat especially after I accepted the prominent Sci-fi theme. I would have liked to see more of the characters from Ishtan, not just their struggle. This would have made the story more robust and yet by the end not only was I looking for Kalen & Lee's happy ever after but it also left me wanting to hear Morne's story (he was the rebellion's healer and carried a history of his own).

I was divided about the grade on this one just because I loved many things about this book (the strong visuals, the strength of Kalen and his commitment to his people, the unique characters that brought the book to life) but in the end I had to bring it down because it was a difficult start and there was so much focus on Lee's dilemma and the part she was to play in the rebellion that I was left wanting more of the people of Ishtan, more of Kalen, more of Morne and Eira (the witch elder that trains Lee).

Grade: B

Killer Heat by Linda Fairstein

As many of you know Fairstein is a must read for me. I cannot get enough of Alex Cooper, Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace but this one... I was devastated while reading.

The story opens up with Alex arriving at the scene of a murder that took place in an abandoned Maritime building off the coast of Staten Island. The girl has been tortured and brutally stabbed and by the stench she has been there for a while. When the bodies of two more young women show up they suspect a serial killer is on the loose. One that has an affinity to women in uniforms.

The connection between the girls seem to be the bars of Jimmy and Kiernan Dylan, a father/son business that have had a brush with the law for serving alcohol to underage patrons. When Kieran is arrested, it flushes out an unlikely source that points to another more viable candidate.

And the chase begins. That chase takes them back to the string of islands that surround Manhattan and when a storm comes rolling in our favorite team is stranded on one of the islands with the latest victim and only survivor of the maniac, but has the Serial Killer escaped or is he hiding behind the storm to finish the job he started?

Besides the main story we also follow Alex as she tries to balance her job with her new romantic interest, French man Luc Rouget (sp??) and we see her wrap up on the conviction of serial rapist Floyd Warren who raped Kerry Hastings over 30 years ago. Justice might be slow but it always catches up with you. While in court and while dealing with the murders of these women, the members of the Latin Princes gang are bent on hurting Alex and making her regret putting their gang leader behind bars.

Okay here is the thing with this installment of the Alex Cooper series. I only LISTEN to these books. They are Audiobook reads for me. Not because I love them less than my romances, but because I have a terrible imagination and the spoken word will put the pressure on the narrator to bring to life my favorite crime fighting team, Barbara Rosenblat has read all the Alex Cooper books I have listened to. Except this one. I actually considered NOT listening to it. I had such a hard time getting into the story because the voices were not of Alex, Mike and Mercer
Think of Harry Potter with someone else playing Harry. Think of The Outlander without Davina Porter giving that beautiful Scottish accent to Jamie! Yeah, I took it hard!

What else went wrong with this one? The History Channel was transported to the pages of the book. Fairstein always includes a good dose of NY history in her stories, it's part of the charm. Mike knows EVERYTHING about NY. He is a walking Wikipedia. But in this one, it went a bit overboard. Mike tends to throw out these historical facts as he moves along the crime but in this one, it seemed as if he pauses and regurgitates his knowledge. Not just him but Alex throws out her share of historical facts. Too much info all at once feels like I'm watching the History channel. Also, Mike was very out of character. He seemed to dismiss and, in a way, belittled Alex. At times there was so little respect for her knowledge and for the things that they had gone through, I had to attribute it to the narrator but in reality, it was the writing. It seemed Linda took our Mike Chapman and gave him a dose of Dr. Jekyll / Mr Hyde potion, because honestly, at times I didn't even recognize Mike.

Regardless of these flaws the book still earned a decent grade because when the Storm rolled in I was glued to my seat in anticipation of what would happen to our trio of crime fighters.

Grade: B-
Format: Audiobook

To Bed a Beauty by Nicole Jordan

This story was the 2nd book in the Courtship Wars series and one I was looking forward to. Although To Pleasure a Lady, the first installment left me a bit dissatisfied it didn't leave without the curiosity to know the fates of the other two Loring sisters, especially Roslyn who is known as the beauty of the group.

Poor Roslyn has had her share of bad luck with men since the sisters feel in disgrace after their mother ran off with a Frenchman. We discovered in the first book that the mom was a victim of circumstance as much as any other and that the real culprit for the sister's disastrous reputation could easily be laid on the father's feet.

After experiencing several years in poverty, Roslyn was not seen by men as a Lady, but as a fallen woman, a woman that has been propositioned several times. Roslyn seeks love in her marriage and won't settle for less. She witnessed many parental arguments due to her father's infidelities and then her mother's. She has sworn to avoid a marriage of convenience at any cost and has set out to educate herself in the art of making a man fall in love. She has her eyes set on a particular neighbor who just came into his title and who, she observes, has all the characteristics of a man she could love. Now all she needs to do is make him fall in love with her. She recruits Fanny Irwin, the courtesan family friend we met in To Pleasure a Lady, to help her. Fanny takes Roslyn to a Cyprian Ball so that she can observe how the courtesan's entice the men. She never expected to see the Duke of Arden at the ball.

Drew Moncrief, the Duke of Arden is one of Marcus, Lord Danver's best friends. He has put aside his most recent mistress and is out shopping at the ball when he catches a glimpse of a newcomer. He goes off to pursue her only to have her run from him. When he finds her, he seduces her into a few kisses and a bit of first base, but is completely confounded by her reluctance in accepting his protection. This is completely cleared up later on when he discovers that the beauty he was seducing was his friend's new sister in law! He is a bit upset but quickly puts it aside when he discovers that she was not out to trap anyone into marriage (one of his worst nightmares) but was in fact trying to pick up skills to capture the heart of another. Obviously he has decided to offer his services in teaching her everything a man is looking for in the woman to be his bride.

The book itself has a worn premise and the whole 'I met you in a masked ball and could not get you out of my mind' has been used so many times it should be banned among plots that can be used in a romance but then the story moved into another plot outline that has been so overused it also should be banned "Let me teach you the secrets of love so that you can seduce the man you REALLY want". What is different about this book is that Jordan made it work.

Arden was so jaded and Roslyn so refreshing that the story just worked. Arden has never been loved for himself and because Roslyn only had eyes for her neighbor, she didn't pose a threat to him, he never felt pursued and could bring his guard down, learning to savor a relationship with a woman that, although lustful, was relaxing. I loved that even though the time line was short he fell in love with a friend.

Roslyn on her part found herself the resistant one. She did not want to fall for the Duke, a man who admitted he did not have a heart to give. Someone that she argued with and who caused painful memories to resurface. When she was found compromised, she still resisted the marriage because she wanted love. She was a wonderful character who had some wounds to heal. She would eventually learn that she could not have love without trust and she needed to trust Arden capable of loving her.

There was a secondary story line where Winifred, lady Freemantle, discovers that her husband not only kept a mistress but a whole separate family. She recruits Drew and Roslyn to find out who is trying to steal a brooch with a picture of her late husband only to discover the alternate life he had led before dying,

It seems that the third installment to this series was taking place at the same time this story was evolving because Lily, the youngest Loring sister, runs away to London. What is she running from, we will have to wait to read about it in her story.

Grade: B+

To Pleasure a Lady by Nicole Jordan

I had given up on Jordan a while back. She was one of the first Authors that exposed me to the steamer side of the romance genre but her plots had become weak and after reading a few less than satisfactory books from her I decided to retire her from my must read authors. When I heard about the premise of the first book in her new series, I was actually intrigued enough to pick it up.

Lord Danvers has inherited not just a new title, but the guardianship of three very independent young ladies. He would be happy to surrender his responsibility to them since they want nothing less than for him to go to the devil, but his honor does not allow him to do so. He has served as guardian to his sister Eleanor since she was young and he knows that the Loring sisters need protection.

The Loring sisters, Arabella, Roslyn and Lillian, have been up to their neck in scandal for the last four years. Their mother ran off with a Frenchman and two weeks after that incident their father was killed in a duel over his latest paramour. They were taken in by their uncle, the late Earl of Danvers, but he treated them like a charity case and resented every shilling spent on them. This lead the sisters to seek their own means to become independent of any man. They have established an academy of deportment for young, wealthy ladies who are not titled but whose parents aspire them to join the ton. The sisters view the new guardianship as a threat to that independence, especially when the Earl is planning on giving them a large dowry to lure husbands that will overlook their scandalous past.

At Marcus and Arabella's first encounter sparks fly. She confronts him determined to have him see reason and leave them be, but all she does is spark his interest, causing him to ride to his newly acquired estate to become more acquainted with her. Marcus is so attracted to his eldest ward, he proposes to her and offers her a marriage of convenience, where there will be no love but alot of passion. She refuses adamantly until Marcus suggests a wager. He will have two weeks to convince her to be his wife and if he fails, she and her sisters can become emancipated from his guardianship. Thus the war begins.

The beginning of the story actually hooks you a bit, but unfortunately it cannot keep it's momentum. I found the story a bit unbelievable at points and this just distracted me. Arabella was not very consistent in her character and I found myself too often confronted with the Author's pen. What I mean is that I could feel the author trying to plop a scene into the story that just didn't really go with the story itself. Arbella was a smart independent woman that took the reigns in her sisters lives. She was the guiding force that lead to a self sufficient life for herself and her sisters, but she was so easily manipulated by Marcus, a man she really didn't know or trust. The whole idea that she would throw caution to the wind and surrender herself to him was not believable since the author gave us no reason why we should believe.

In the end, the story was enjoyable and it kept me interested enough to know the fates of the other sisters, The characters are strong enough that I can hope that the next book in the series will not destroy the image Jordan has painted of these sisters. I also like that I don't have to wait a year to read their stories since the series is being released over three consecutive months.

Grade: C+

Challenges in 2008 - Pub '08

I've been really itching for a good reading challenge this year. I know I tend to read a good share of my TBR pile every month but what you all don't see are the new books that sneak in to that same pile. I haven't bought a new book since J.R Ward's latest in October but I am part of PaperBackSwap.com and I swap many books, which means my shelves are filling up just as fast as I'm reading them.

With so many books to read I find myself not knowing what to grab next. That is what these challenges are for me. Some finite point I can aim for when I'm with out direction. But where too find the challenge? Why of course I turn to my trusted cyber friends / reading buddies from my Yahoo Reading Group (Historical Romance Chat). I'm telling you these girls are the Cool Whip on any dessert! Within a few post I had a good list of sites that were sponsoring challenges.

At this point you might ask, why the need to find an official challenge, why not just self challenge yourself? Sorry, but I'm not too strong on the commitment side of things but I'm damn reliable, so I need some sense of accountability. That's why I have never lost weight on my own and thus I joined Weight Watchers! LOL! Having someone else look at the scale for me motivates me!

So I reviewed a few and I already joined one. Funny thing is that the one I joined does nothing to reduce those books that have been sitting in the TBR pile forever! Oh well! I'll just have to join a few more.

The one I have joined is the Pub 08 Reading Challenge, sponsored by Michelle at 1 More Chapter. The rules are very straight forward:

1. Read a minimum of 8 books published in 2008. (Library books are acceptable!)
2. No children’s/YA titles allowed, since we’re at the ‘pub.’
3. At least 4 titles must be fiction.
4. Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
5. Titles may be changed at any time

Now to the "List":

1) The Wicked Ways of the Duke by Laura Lee Guhrke
2) To Bed a Beauty by Nicole Jordan
3) Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
4) Racing the Moon by Michele Hauf
5) To Pleasure a Lady by Nicole Jordan
6) Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline
7) Through the Veil by Shiloh Walker
8) Killer Heat by Linda Fairstein

As I read the selections I'll be updating this post to add the link to the review.

Have you challenged yourself this year?

The Wicked Ways of a Duke by Laura Lee Guhrke

There's groveling and then there is groveling and I think there needed more groveling in this story.

The Duke of St. Cyres (pronounced like Sincere) has been saddled with a title and a truckload of debts he could have done without. He had always been a rake and a never do good, and he liked it! Now all of a sudden has responsibilities he cannot afford. His only recourse is to marry an heiress.

Prudence Bonsworth is an heiress. Well... she was a seamstress but a fortune falls into her lap when the father she never knew leaves her an immense inheritance. Fortune hunters crawl out of the wood work but her innocence blinds her to the motive behind all her new admirers.

I must say that there has been very few heroes that I found complete slime buckets until St. Cyres. The first sign of vile behavior was when he rescues a maid from the unwanted attentions of another peer (in the presence of Prudence) and then later we find he has taken said girl to bed himself! It was a "Holy Crap" moment. Then we see him deny knowledge of Prudence's fortune while he woos her so she will not dump him into the role of a fortune hunter. He manipulates her into an engagement like a Pro! If I was not so disgusted with his actions I would admire his gall!

Okay, there is some strong reasons why St. Cyres has become the man he is, but still...

I really like the way Guhrke shows us how raw the Duke's wounds are and even though there is not many of those moments of complete happiness, Prudence brings him the sense of peace he needs and he falls in love with her. I love that even though Pru was completely blinded by Rhys deception, when she did discover it, she didn't lay down and fall apart, she took hold of her life and moved on.
I wish there had been more groveling at the end, as I mentioned earlier in my post, but I found the book on a whole a very good read and Rhys did redeem himself there at the end.

Grade: B-