GOBLIN FIRES by Brantwijn Serrah

Book One in the Chronicles of the Four Courts Series
Breathless Press
April 25^th, 2014
978-1-77101-270-6
Paranormal/Fantasy F/F
E-book
Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)
Obtained by self-purchase
3.5 Hearts


 

Reagan is the Fae Knight who keeps her Princess safe from harm. Duty and honor have been her mission in life but when she meets Ceri, she finds herself drawn to the royal princess even as it is forbidden.  As a child of the Fae goddess of war, Regan finds herself torn in two even as she falls for Ceridwen. But an enemy has Ceri in its sight and it is up to Reagan to keep her safe but what happens when Regan’s heart gets involved even as she fights to save Ceri from harm.

This is the first book I have read from Brantwijn Serrah and I got to admit GOBLIN FIRES hit all my love buttons. Fae characters, sexy scenes and a fast paced storyline that leaves you clamoring for more. The Fae are ruthless, intriguing and captivating and I love anything I can get my hands on to read. This author delivers a fast paced story that leaves you wanting more. A story of magic, duty, honor and love, Ms. Serrah delivers a story that captures your heart without you even knowing it. The world building this author does is amazing. I loved that the author slowly gave out tidbits of the world and not information dumped on the reader. That made the story line so much better in my opinion.

Meet Regan, A Fae Knight who has fallen in love with her princess, Ceridwen. But as a child of the Goddess of War, it is forbidden to love the princess except no one has bothered to tell that to Regan’s heart. I love, love, love Regan. Her devotion to her princess is outstanding, the love she feels for her is heart meltingly awesome and the author does a great job in creating her as a well rounded character. I have to admit, I normally do not read F/F stories but this one just drew me in right from the beginning. Regan and Ceri are both well written and very enjoyable characters. The author does a great job in capturing their inner most secrets and desires perfectly on the pages of GOBLIN FIRES.

If you enjoy the world of the Fae, simmering sexual tension and more then youjust might enjoy GOBLIN FIRES, a story that will leave you left wanting more. Ms. Serrah is one author I am eager to read more of and can’t wait to see what else this author has in store for her readers. Get ready for a story that will knock your socks off and steal your heart.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

UNDER MY SKIN by Andra Lake

Publisher: Breathless Press
Date published: September 20^th, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-77101-171-6
Paranormal
E-book
Reviewed by Helen
Weblink: http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=13&products_id=480
Obtained via publisher
Rating: 3.5

Katy Sullivan has the ability to shapeshift into an ordinary black house cat. When her fiancé finds out, he doesn’t take the news well and tries hard to ruin her life. She moves interstate but he follows her, determined to destroy her.

Ethan Verde only hires Katy as his administrative assistant because his father owes Katy’s father a favor. Ethan’s determined to make her life miserable so she’ll leave, even though she’s much hotter than his long-time girlfriend.

This is an interesting plot with plenty of tension and drama. Katy is a nice mixture of brave and timid, determined and overwhelmed. Ethan can be a really unlikeable person at times and this is one of the rare books when I approve the use of “smirk” as a description for the hero’s smile as I could see him meaning to be cruel and nasty.

Some of the minor characters are slightly charicatured but that is acceptable as it’s not a long novel. The missed words and grammatical errors I find less forgivable. The editor should have fixed them. There is one truly brilliant laugh out loud line that kept me smiling for the rest of the chapter.

I’m not sure the book qualifies as erotic romance, though, as there’s only one sex scene and it’s very short and non descriptive. But the growing romance is well handled. The ending is a nice twist that was well done.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

HER BLACK KNIGHT by Vivi Dumas

Publisher: Breathless Press

Date published: 1 February 2013

ISBN: 978-1-77101-927-9

Time Travel

E-book

Reviewed by Helen

Weblink: http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=11&products_id=414

Obtained via publisher

 

Gwendolyn Braxton is a huge fan of the Renaissance era and is the Arthurian specialist at the museum where she works. But she’s Black, thirty and unattached, so her mother decides to send her to the UK to find her real-life Knight in Shining Armor.

Morien is one of twelve knights sent from Camelot by Merlin to recover the Holy Grail. Until he finds it he can’t return home. He’s spent five years searching with no success and he longs to go home.

The idea for this story is great, but the first barrier to me for losing myself in the book is the historical divide. King Arthur was fifth to sixth century. Even if the story doesn’t take place until much later it was the eleventh and twelfth centuries when Arthurian legend was popular. The Renaissance was the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries and most Renaissance Faires focus on the Tudor period in England, specifically Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) which is nowhere near Arthur’s time or when his legends were popular. Actually, Arthurian legends were most unpopular during the Renaissance time and only revived in the nineteenth century. This would be so easy to fix simply by exchanging all the “Renaissance” mentions to “Medieval”.

Secondly, Gwen is a woman of color yet her eyes are gray, her skin is termed “honey colored” and her hair is described several times as “golden” and once as “sandy brown”. Quite apart from the fact that golden is quite different from sandy brown, neither of those say “woman of color” to me. If your heroine is Black why not give her darker eye, skin and hair coloring?

Finally, the sex scene uses euphemistic words and at times borders on purple prose.

The characters are well drawn and interesting, and the basic premise of the story is good. Unfortunately the execution doesn’t follow through.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

Welcome Havan Fellows and a Contest

Welcome to Love Romances & More Reviews Havan. Comfortable? Let’s begin, shall we?

Please tell us a little about yourself and how long you've been writing. Have you always gravitated toward being an author?

Oh yeah, I've always wanted to write and entertain people...I've been writing my whole life—a little snippet here and a poem there—but just got seriously back into doing it about four years ago.

How do you balance family life with your writing? 

Wait! You're telling me there is a balance? Where can I find this mythical notion?

If you could trade places with a character in one of your books, who would it be and why? 

Now that is a toughy...it depends on the day and my mood. I'd love to be Wick from Wicked Solutions because he is just so darn sure of himself and has ways of making things happen, all while being laid back and loose. But Ar from Wish Me Nothing is a Djin—who wouldn't want phenomenal cosmic power without the itty bitty living space? Fuzzy from Geoff's Teddy is so secure in himself and really gets the whole "I fell in love with the person, not the gender" attitude that I find sexy. I could go on and on like this but I think we have a word limit per question...right? lol

Anything your fans would be surprised to know about you? 

Every year I go to Mega-Con with my eldest kiddo, and sometimes I even cosplay while there (okay once I did that...but no there are no photographs accessible anymore as proof...hehe)

Dealing with writing deadlines can be a challenge. What do you do to cope with the stress? 

I have the best muse in the world and some seriously great friends that have no issues with whipping me down the road to deadline completion...I lucked out big time in this area. But let's face it, as my kiddo likes to say, I'm not happy unless I'm stressing out some *eye roll*. That's coming from a teenager mind you...lol

Is there something special you do to celebrate when one of your books is released? 

If possible I take the day off of the EDJ (evil day job) and sit back and enjoy...

Tell us about your latest/upcoming release. What is this gem about?

On February 1^st my Djin series begins from Breathless Press...Wish Me Nothing. I'm really excited about this one. It is actually the first book in my Djin series I'm doing that is a part of "The Other World Collection" of mine. In this Other World Collection I will have the Djin series and the Devil series...and who knows what other types of fantasy/paranormal groups might join? It's really exciting for me to be able to stretch my wings like this...*big smiles*

On January 15^th my first venture into Pulp Friction released...Wicked Solutions. This is a series of shorts starring Wick Templeton, a "forced" into retirement cop who likes to help people...his way. You gotta love the tagline for this series:  Sometimes the only way for justice to prevail is to get a little Wicked...

Anything coming from you in the next few months you want to share or are working on?

In March my second Pulp Friction book will be released. It continues with Wick's adventures and his ongoing sparring match with a very secretive "special agent" who likes to pull his chain...and I must admit I like trying to frazzle Wick...lol

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for? 

I'm in desperate need to catch up on the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews...but when I open one of her books I don't stop to do anything until I'm done, I've been known to not sleep and have to work the next day...so I have to make sure I have a block of time that I can dedicate to reading it so I'm not a mean zombie at EDJ...lol 

Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why? 

I'd love to meet Stephen King...oh to sit down with a few pots of coffee and the master of horror...*swoons*

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing? 

Surround yourself with true friends that will pick you up when you fall and cheer for you when you fly.

If we asked your muse to describe you in five words, what would they say about you?

Is it cheating that I asked him this question to see his answer? If you aren't aware, I actually have a living breathing muse...we bounce almost all our ideas off of each other and he's an awesome human being and I'm a very lucky girl...here's his five words describing me...vivacious, charming, flighty, intelligent, mine (did I mention how darn lucky I am?)

Anything else you want to add? Links?

Wicked Solutions is available at All Romance e-books and Amazon...and you can pre-order Wish Me Nothing at Breathless Press...hope you enjoy *big smiles*

Contest Information: Please leave a comment and your email address within the comment to be entered to win a e-copy of one of Havan's backlisted books or if you want Wish Me Nothing, that is available as well (releases Feb. 1st). Contest closes February 3rd, 2013. Winner to be announced on this post in the comment section then.

Wish Me Nothing

Ar and Vaughn have a great relationship. When Vaughn makes a simple slip of the tongue, Ar's life is put in jeopardy. Whatever you do, don't say "I wish".

Blurb:

Ever hear the old saying "Be careful what you wish for"?

What happens if you find out that the Djin are not just fairy tales? That could be bad. Now, what happens if you find out that your boyfriend of a year and a half is a Djin? That could be worse.

In one fateful night, Vaughn Boggs's world is turned inside out. Not only does he find out his boyfriend, Ar, is keeping a life shattering secret from him. But when other Djin threaten Ar's life, Vaughn has to work with Shan, Ar's lecherous brother, to find a way for them all to survive so they can see the next sunrise.

Vaughn isn't sure a human can take on the magicks of the Djin, and he definitely isn't sure he can trust Shan...but for Ar he's willing to wish that both are possible.

Wish Me Nothing is available for pre-order at Breathless Press

DONOVAN’S DEAL by Lee Brazil

Truth or Dare Series, Book Six

Breathless Press

December 21^st, 2012

978-1-77101-945-3

Contemporary, Holiday M/M

E-book
Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Donovans-Deal-Truth-Dare-ebook/dp/B00AQSSI2S/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1356987642&sr=1-1&keywords=Lee+Brazil

Obtained by Self-purchase

 

Mischa Blake is worn out, trying to raise a special needs child with his partner, Donovan, take a full load of classes and more. Living for the relaxation he gets at his weekly poker games withhis brothers, Mischa revolts when they decide to revisit the truth or dare games again. Now forced to tell the truth, Mischa has to figure out how much he wants to tell his siblings on his own domestic situation.

Donovan decides to put his foot down after Mischa forgets to come to their son’s soccer game. Mischa has one weekend to get away, think on things and make a decision because Donovan is determined to have the family life he always dreamed of,…just one problem, dreams and real life sometimes don’t make good bedfellows. It’s the holidays and it will take a Christmas miracle to get Donovan and Mischa back on the same page. Can Mischa and Donovan find a way to meet in the middle and not throw away their life together or the love they have for one another?

Author Lee Brazil delivers a wonderful follow up to Keeping House, book one in the Truth or Dare series. I loved seeing how all the Blakes’ are doing as well as their respective partners. Mr. Brazil delivers a wonderful story about choices, love, family and more all set around the holidays. Secrets, desires, dreams and more make up this heart warming story as Mischa and Donovan find out that dreams can become nightmares as well as change within the blink of an eye. The story is full of twists and turns that leave me itching for the next book by this wonderful author. The Truth or Dare series is one series I NEED to buy on release day. The characters are well written, with flaws and all & the stories are emotional yet also realistic as well.

Welcome back to the Blake Siblings poker game. Mischa Blake is tired, stressed out and running on fumes. Between taking care of a special needs child with his partner, he is trying to finish college so he can start a new job in the New Year as well as make sure his new foundation is off the ground. It doesn’t leave time for well, romance, sleep or anything else he used to have time for. Donovan is determined to make Mischa figure out where his priorities lie as he tries to shield their son from the hurt of Mischa’s absences. What I love about Mischa and Donovan is that they truly love one another but both need to figure out what works for them as a couple and as a person. With a special needs child, a man who is determined to be the bread winner regardless of his partners desire to help out money wise, can cause significant issues in a relationship. Mr. Brazil delivers those hurdles in a way that has the readers rooting for these two to overcome them in order to be together forever. A realistic portrayal of a couple overwhelmed by life that sometimes you need to stop and smell the roses, reassess those dreams and maybe see that sometimes your dreams may be the issue. The characters are well written-flaws and all, realistic and definitely some I would enjoy meeting in real life.

In DONOVAN’S DEAL, the reader is treated to some plot points for the other characters that leave you running to the author’s website for more details on future books. I know I was one of them after I finished this latest Truth or Dare story. Mr. Brazil is a talented storyteller who knows how to make a story come alive for his readers and with an unforgettable cast of characters, the reader can not help but fall in love with his work. Run-don’t walk-to grab this latest addition to the Truth or Dare series. I do recommend reading book one, Keeping House, first to see how Mischa and Donovan began.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

 

SHELTON IN LOVE by Dianne Hartsock

Breathless Press

May 13^th, 2011

978-1-926930-51-0

Contemporary M/M

E-book

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Amazon Kindle Link: http://www.amazon.com/Shelton-in-Love-ebook/dp/B0050VHCWS/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1353023215&sr=1-3&keywords=Dianne+Hartsock

Obtained by Self-Purchase

 

Shelton is falling in love with his roommate. The problem is Neville has a reputation for being a player and Shelton is afraid of getting hurt like he did in the past from his ex-boyfriends. Can Shelton trust in his feelings for Neville and let himself fall in love with a man who stole his heart long ago?

Author Dianne Hartsock introduces Shelton to the readers and I couldn’t help but fall in love with him the moment he stepped on the pages. He was a sweet guy who falls for his roommate and best friend, Neville but Neville has a new guy, it seems, every week. This is an author who knows her characters. Shelton and Neville are vivid and fairly brim with life. I could imagine seeing them in the park as Shelton helped out Neville’s sister. Shelton is quiet, doesn’t want to lose his best friend and frankly he is leery of taking things to the next level with Neville, especially with his track record of broken relationships. These two work so well together. You can tell how they felt for one another immediately and I liked how the author lets them do all the talking, per say, in SHELTON IN LOVE.

SHELTON IN LOVE is a sweet, sexy story about falling in love and this author captures it perfectly. The buildup between the romance between Shelton and Neville was nice and smooth, no fits of stops and starts, which I enjoyed immensely. Dianne Hartsock weaves her spell around you in this short story with ease and I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens next for Shelton and Neville. The ending had a twist that I didn’t see coming and I am eager to read more Shelton stories.

If you enjoy sweet, romantic stories, then you may enjoy SHELTON IN LOVE. It is a story of falling in love and powerful emotions that a person deals with, especially when your love may not feel the same way. It was a perfect afternoon read.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

 https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-sheltoninlove-547236-145.html

Shelton in Love Available from All Romance Ebooks