Archive for New Romance Books
New Fantasy Romance Book – Into the Dreaming
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Into the Dreaming (with bonus material) by Karen Marie Moning
Karen Marie Moning is one of the world’s most successful fantasy romance book authors, and it is on the strength of that popularity that she’s been able to release a hardcover version of Into the Dreaming, a short story that originally appeared in 2002 as part of the Tapestry anthology. The same story was released in 2006 as a stand-alone short story… and now six years later, it’s making another appearance, this time in hardcover format.
Three times in 10 years for the same (or at least similar) material is quite a feat. In the publisher’s defense though, the 2012 hardcover edition does have some bonus material. Not quite redemption, but certainly some justification. The bonus material includes deleted scenes from Kiss of the Highlander, an alternate opening scene to The Dark Highlander, a proposal for an unpublished fantasy romance book, and correspondence between Moning and her readers (with typos included for authenticity!). Another reviewer thought that the book was similar to a writer’s blog in hardcover format – and I’d agree wholeheartedly. It’s a disjointed collection of interesting drabbles that would delight a fan, but which leaves a newcomer puzzled.
But I digress. The novella Into the Dreaming itself is the last part of the well-received Highlander fantasy romance book series. It also segues into the urban fantasy world of Moning’s Fever series. Aedan MacKinnon was taken from the Highlands of Scotland, and imprisoned and tortured for centuries in the Unseelie King’s kingdom before being turned loose as Vengeance, the Unseelie King’s messenger of death and destruction in the human world.
The Seelie Queen has had Jane Sillee dreaming of a Highlander (Aedan of course!) since she was a little girl. Jane doesn’t know who the mysterious man in her dreams is, but she does know he’s the perfect man. He protected her in her childhood, and as she grew into a woman, the devastatingly handsome man became her lover – and true love. She knows full that he’s only in her mind. He comes to her when she sleeps, and she’s been trying forever to exorcise him from her mind by featuring him in her as-yet-unpublished romance novels.
Then she receives a mysterious tapestry with the image of the Highlander, and is hurtled back in time to Scotland in the 15th century where she finally meets her dream man face-to-face. But something’s wrong – he’s completely confused and doesn’t know his name. He certainly doesn’t know who she is. Jane hears a mysterious voice telling her that she has a month to help him remember his love for her, or he’ll forever be lost to the Unseelie King.
Into the Dreaming certainly has many interesting premises for a fantasy romance book… but it suffers from the same problem that most novellas suffer from – there’s not a lot of room to expand on all the interesting elements as you would have in a full length book. Both Aedan and Jane are fascinating characters, and for the most part, well fleshed out. In all, Into the Dreaming is a great buy for fans of Moning’s fantasy romance book series (both Highlander and Fever), with plenty to keep them happy, but probably not the best introduction to Moning’s work.
The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts
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Title: The Last Boyfriend (Book 2 of the Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy)
Author: Nora Roberts
Pages: 352
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Hot on the heels of her 200th book The Witness, Nora Roberts is back with The Last Boyfriend, the second book in her Inn Trilogy. Like the first book in the trilogy (The Next Always), The Last Boyfriend is set in BoonsBoro, a small town in Maryland. In the earlier book, brothers Owen, Beckett, and Ryder rebuilt the historic BoonsBoro Inn. Beckett already has his happy ever after, and now it’s Owen’s turn. Owen’s all about checklists and budgets. He’s incredibly organized, and is the man who whips everything into shape to make sure that the Inn opens on time. But Owen’s on a crash course with the much more spontaneous Avery McTavish, the owner of Vesta Pizzeria, the pizza place that sits kitty corner from the Inn. Avery and Owen have known each other since they were kids – Avery even had Owen for her first boyfriend (at age five!) They liked each other as children – and now they’re ready to continue their relationship, this time as adults!
The Witness: Nora Roberts’ 200th Novel!
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Now available!
If you’re a lover of romance novels, then you must know Eleanor Marie Robertson. What’s that? Never heard of her? Oh silly me. You’ll probably know her better as Nora Roberts, or as J.D. Robb, the pen-name that she uses for her “In Death” series.
Nora Roberts was the first author to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Her first book was published some 31 years ago in 1980, and her latest book, The Witness, is her 200th. (For trivia lovers out there, her 100th book was Montana Sky.) 200 is an amazing number… I’m reliably told that James Patterson has only written 93 (and there’ve been complaints about the quality of the more recent books at that) and Danielle Steele only 84.
Let’s do the Math. Assuming that she’s been writing for 31 years, that works out to just under 7 books a year. Clearly Roberts has to be extremely disciplined to be so prolific… and in fact she is. According to reports, Roberts labors over one book at a time, and writes eight hours a day, every day, even while on vacation. And it’s not as if Roberts books are cookie-cutter replicas of each other. Roberts’ books remain consistently high-quality, with plots and characters that are unique and original.
Nora Roberts and Dogs (www.noraroberts.com)
Roberts wasn’t always a writer, but at the age of 29, while stuck at home with her two young sons in the middle of a snowstorm, Roberts suddenly realized that writing was her calling. The next year, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred came out. Today, Roberts’ books are a shoo-in for the bestsellers lists, and there are more than 400 million copies of her books in print. Some of her most popular books have been made in movies for the Lifetime channel, and all over the world, fans gush about her latest works.
Speaking of her latest work, The Witness (now available for purchase) is a contemporary romantic suspense. The heroine, Abigail Lowery, lives just outside a small town in the Ozards. She’s a freelance programmer who designs security systems, and who’s strangely wary of people around her. In fact, Brooks Gleason town’s police chief is intrigued by the unusual amount of attention she pays to her personal security – she has a dog who’ll protect her, and firearms for those who aren’t scared off by the dog. He’s even further intrigued by how little she reveals about herself, and how cynical she is about love. He’s convinced she needs protection – even if he doesn’t know what she needs to be protected from. Whatever it is, Brooks thinks that he’s clearly the one for the job.
No doubt, The Witness will be yet winner for the legions of Nora Roberts fans, who’ll continue to support her until she puts out her 300th novel. The energetic 61-year-old Roberts continues to churn out books at an amazing rate. Based on her current rate of output, that should happen sometime around 2032, when Roberts is in her 80s.
I’ve Got Your Number: Fun, Frothy Romance
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Title: I’ve Got Your Number
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Pages: 448
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Since I finished this book, I’ve been wondering to myself… how is it that I’ve gone through my life never having read a Sophie Kinsella book? I enjoyed I’ve Got Your Number so much that I’m definitely going to be reading all her other books after this!
Kinsella’s heroine Poppy and I share something in common. We’ve both lost our cellphones. If this has happened to you before, you’ll know that there’s a horrible feeling of doom as you realize you’ve lost all your contacts, your saved text messages from your honey, and yes, emails from work. I’ve felt it… just as Poppy does, when she realizes that someone’s swiped her phone, and anyone who wants to contact her about the priceless engagement ring that she lost earlier *won’t* be able to reach her.
Poppy Wyatt seems to have it all. She’s going to marry gorgeous and brilliant academic Magnus Tavish in a matter of days, and to seal the deal, he’s even given her a magnificent emerald engagement ring that’s been in his family for ages. Poppy’s over the moon – until she loses the ring at a hotel. It’s a disaster! Magnus’ parents, who hate Poppy already, will want to see the ring, and she can’t hide the loss from Magnus forever.
Desperate to find it, she’s texted all her friends about the ring, and harassed all the hotel staff demanding that they call her once they find it… only to have her phone swiped while she’s on her ring hunt. Seeing a perfectly good phone discarded in a hotel trash can, she appropriates it for her own purposes, and uses it… only to find that Sam Roxton, a very irate top-level executive at a large business firm, wants his phone back.
Poppy’s desperate, and works out an arrangement to share the phone with Sam, promising to forward all his emails and texts. She can’t resist reading his messages, and there ensues a strangely intimate correspondence between Poppy and Sam, as Poppy’s shaky relationship with Magnus and a huge corporate espionage plot play in the background.
I’ve Got Your Number is a wonderful treat to read – a frothy romance that’s not overly sweet. It’s also full of droll British wit. Poppy’s such a wonderful heroine – sure, she’s got her insecurities, and a bit of a doormat – but aren’t we all? It just makes the scenes where she finally stands up for herself all that much more rewarding. Sam’s a pretty good hero, although we don’t get to see quite enough of him… and I love how he’s willing to take constructive criticism from Poppy about how brusque email replies that say, “OK. Sam.” just won’t do.
Kinsella’s peppered her book with multiple footnotes as an extension of something that Magnus does – you know how much academics like to use footnotes! These footnotes are well worth the hassle of flipping back and forth on your Kindle or book, as they’re hilarious. For those of us who live in the world of email, text messages and cellphone calls (and I think that’s most of us) you’ll definitely relate to Sam and Poppy, and I know you’ll love I’ve Got Your Number. Highly recommended!
Against the Night by Kat Martin
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Title: Against the Night (Raines of Wind Canyon)
Author: Kat Martin
Pages: 400
Genre: Romantic Suspense
In the fifth and newest book in the Raines of Wind Canyon series, the prolific Kat Martin gives us the story of Johnnie Riggs, a former Army Ranger turned private investigator and bounty hunter. Johnnie makes a quick visit to an LA Strip Club in pursuit of a fugitive, but finds himself completely distracted by the gorgeous exotic dancer who’s working the pole. Jarred by the instant attraction, and uncharacteristic lack of attention to the job, he finds out that the pole dancer’s actually kindergarten teacher Amy Brewer. Amy’s working at the Kitty Kat Club to try and find out what happened to her sister Rachael, who disappeared while working at the club. Johnnie offers to help Amy, and ends up having to defend her against men who want her dead as they race across California and even to Belize in search of Rachael.
Born to Darkness: Start of a New Suzanne Brockmann Series
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Title: Born to Darkness (Fighting Destiny Book 1)
Author: Suzanne Brockmann
Pages: 528
Genre: Paranormal Romance
I’ve been looking forward to Suzanne Brockmann’s brand new Fighting Destiny series, and could hardly contain myself when my copy of Born to Darkness finally appeared on my Kindle less than 24 hours ago. I’ve been reading non-stop since, and finally finished the book just a couple of hours ago. I feel like a traitor when I tell you that I thought it was a great read… but it was also a bit anti-climactic.
I’ve been a huge fan of Brockmann’s forever, and I’ve read every single one of her books. Each book has been a delight, filled with rich and complex characters, and intertwining complicated plotlines. Born to Darkness aspires to her earlier work, but falls just a little bit short. Perhaps Brockmann has fallen prey to her own success – expectations are always high with an author whose work is always of such a high quality. It’s not a bad read by any means, just not her best.
Born to Darkness weighs in at a rather unwieldy 528 pages. A lot of the book is exposition. That’s not unexpected – Brockmann is building a brave new world, and it takes time to sketch the broad outlines of this alternate universe. It does slow things down though. Brockmann’s previous books have always been based in the present, so this is something new for her – and she does it fairly well, showing us one possible future where the corporations unashamedly wield influence over government, citizens have to pay for the police’s help, and drug addiction – particularly to a new drug called Destiny – is a problem.
Destiny (hence the series title, Fighting Destiny) is a miracle drug. It reverses aging, and gives those who take it special powers such as telepathy or telekinesis. It’s also instantly addictive, and can cause violent responses (“jokering”, named after the eponymous character in “Batman”) that leave a swathe of destruction that law enforcement simply cannot deal with. Enter the Obermeyer Institute (OI). In Brockmann’s world, the OI train those with potential to use a higher percentage of their brains to maximize some unusual skill sets. They’re able to tap into the powers that Destiny takers have, without having to take the drugs. It’s these gifted few (known as Greater Thans) who take on the Jokers, and who try and stop the manufacture and trade of Destiny. (Definitely shades of X-Men in this future world!) Born to Darkness and the subsequent Fighting Destiny series centers around how the OI team fight against a monolithic entity called “The Corporation” that will stop at nothing to keep pushing Destiny out.
Born to Darkness involves three intertwining love stories, although the main story revolves around disgraced Navy SEAL Shane Laughlin. (Read more about Shane in Brockmann’s ebook, Shane’s Last Stand.) It’s hard finding work as a blacklisted former SEAL, and he’s down to his last ten dollars, and a new position as a research subject at OI when he runs into Michelle MacKenzie (Mac) at a bar. The attraction is instantaneous, and the two have a one night stand. But when Mac realizes that Shane’s going to be working at OI, she’s appalled – fraternization is a no-no, and apparently celibacy is a big part of the OI training program. What’s more, Mac’s an accomplished Greater Than, and one of her talents is her ability to make men fall in lust with her at a glance, so she thinks Shane’s just fallen victim to her skills. The rest of the book has Shane trying to convince Mac that no, it’s not pheromones, and that yes, he really loves her.
In comparison to her previous books, Born to Darkness wasn’t quite as densely or cleverly plotted, and there were far fewer layers. Still, I’m more than willing to give Brockmann the benefit of the doubt since she’s created such a wonderful hero in Shane, whose adventures will continue to be featured in future books in the series. (Mac was a bit annoying, but maybe she’ll mellow.) I’ll look forward to the next book, and file Born to Darkness away as one of those books that I had to read just to get into the new series and alternate universe – but probably won’t re-read.
Fifty Shades of Grey: Why the Kinky Romance Trilogy’s a Hit
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The verdict’s in. E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy is a hit. It’s at the top of Amazon’s charts, and everywhere you turn, there’s an article in the paper or an interview on television about the runaway phenomenon.
The trilogy isn’t new – the first book (also entitled Fifty Shades of Grey) came out in the middle of last year, and the last book in the trilogy, Fifty Shades Freed, was published in January this year. Even before the media hoopla, the books were making waves in forums and blogs. There was a lot of chatter and word-of-mouth recommendations. Then came talk of a movie adaptation of the book, and finally controversy as to whether James’ book was a rip-off of Twilight. (The story began as Twilight fan fiction, and a number of readers have pointed out the many similarities between the characters, plot, and setting in response to my earlier blog post titled Seeing Twilight in Fifty Shades of Grey.)
If you haven’t had the opportunity to read the books yet, the books follow the relationship between Christian Grey, a successful entrepreneur in his late twenties, and young English major Anastasia Steele. Christian’s charm and calm exterior hide a painful past, and yes, some unusual sexual preferences. Anastasia on the other hand is an innocent on the cusp of womanhood. She’s just twenty-one and a final year University student, bookish, naive, and completely unaware of how attractive she is. Christian and Ana are attracted to each other, but she’s flabbergasted when Christian asks her to enter into a BDSM contract with him to be his submissive… and so the story goes. (See this post for more on all three books in the series.)
It’s indisputable that the trilogy’s a hit, but what is it that’s made it so successful? I think what’s so attractive about the books is the sheer romance and fantasy involved. What woman doesn’t enjoy a bit of romance and fantasy right? Now, I admit there have been those who’ve criticized the books for portraying an unhealthy relationship, saying that Christian and Ana could provide a bad example for readers. My response to that is – I think we need to give readers a bit more credit. There are hit TV shows that portray unhealthy relationships but relationship experts don’t have any issues with Sookie Stackhouse bedding two vampires because, well, it’s fantasy. It’s not real. Just as Christian and Ana are not real… no matter how much I’d like them to be. I admit that I was completely sucked in while reading, and yes, I admit to fantasizing about having my very own Christian to sweep me off my feet – even if he is a neurotic, insecure man with trust issues. (But then, there are many men who have similar issues.) Reading the Fifty Shades books are a fun escape from reality – and just that. It’s a fairy tale romance with a bit of bite – nice!
Speaking of biting… I suspect some of the success is related to the risqué BDSM elements. BDSM romances are generally quite a niche market, though Cherise Sinclair, Joey W. Hill, and other authors who write this specialized form of erotica seem to be doing pretty well, and are wonderful writers in their own right. However, their work isn’t as well publicized as the Fifty Shades books, and it’s likely, given all the publicity that they Fifty Shades books are getting, readers who didn’t previously know about BDSM romances are finally twigging to these books, and finding the idea mysterious, erotic, and just a bit forbidden – and very attractive. And that translates into book sales.
But the key reason for the books’ success I fear, could well be something much more mundane. It’s technology. I blame the Kindle (and the Nook, and the iPad)! It’s only in recent times that I’ve read the term “mummy porn”, and I can only guess what it’s supposed to mean. The books aren’t porn (and no, I can’t define porn, but I know it when I see it) but they are pretty steamy. The anonymity of being able to download the books to an e-reader is a big plus for those ladies (and gentlemen) who would otherwise be reluctant to be seen with an erotic romance novel, and makes the books much more accessible. The books’ steep run up the bestseller charts are certainly proof of that!
See also: If You Like the Fifty Shades of Grey Books You’ll LOVE These
