The Prince by Sylvain Reynard

The Prince (novella)
The Florentine #0.5

Sylvain Reynard
Contemporary Romance/Paranormal
Pub date: January 20, 2015 (ARC review)

H/h - The Prince/Not Specific Yet.
Setting: Present time.

Read in January, 2015.

My rating:

                                                     [spoiler alert]

Sylvain Reynard’s The Prince was a short paranormal novella that basically gave us an intro to the new series, The Florentine. The whole story revolves around, yes, the life and the nocturnal activities of the Prince of the underworld of Florence. I can’t give you his name since he has only been noted as the “Prince”.

If you haven’t read Gabriel’s Inferno series here is what you missed. In the last installment, Gabriel’s Redemption, we were given hints that there’d be a spinoff taking a new direction. Gabriel’s Inferno series is contemporary romance without any hint of paranormal in it. So it was a very surprising turn of events for me. When Gabriel and his wife, Julia, visits Italy, they attend an exhibition of valuable paintings where Gabriel’s own collections were on display. There, they find a mysterious man seem to be following them throughout the gallery. He had pale skin, blonde hair and startling gray eyes. But that was all... At the time, I didn’t think much about that guy, until I read SR’s blog posts.

My Loving Vigil Keeping by Carla Kelly

My Loving Vigil Keeping

Carla Kelly
Historical/Christian Romance (based on true incident)
Published in 2012

H/h - Owen Davis/Della Anders
Setting: Scofield, Utah, 1899-1900.

Read in January, 2015.

My rating:

                                               [spoiler alert]

I generally don’t read religious-themed novels, if ever, but Carla Kelly’s My Loving Vigil Keeping was so much more than just that. Not only was it rich in narratives but also a well researched novel based on a turn of the century mining town. But the most special thing about this novel was the fact that it was based on the Scofield Mining Disaster of May 1, 1900; a tragedy that took the lives of at last 200 miners on that fateful day.

I’ve never heard of the Scofield tragedy until I began reading the reviews of this book. Even then I didn’t really pay much attention to it, not knowing what to expect. What I didn’t expect is to completely get absorbed in the lives of these miners. Carla Kelly quite successfully blended her research into a fictional world that kept me hooked till the end. It’s then I begin reading about the tragedy and how it all happened. The information is not complete, and no one still knows exactly what happened inside the mines (#1 and #4) since high-tech equipments were unavailable at that time. My heart broke for these miners who passed on, also for their families who suffered thru the tragedy God knows for how long afterwards. I could only hope those miners didn’t suffer much... Unfortunately, even knowing that everything in this book led up to that disaster so that I’m prepared for it didn’t make it any more bearable when the inevitable happened. It broke my heart all the same.

Blurb Blitz and Giveaway: A Grave Inheritance by Kari Edgren

Today, I'm featuring Kari Edgren's historical fantasy romance, A Grave Inheritance (Goddess Born #2), as a part of the ongoing blurb blitz tour. In the following, find a complete promo and an excerpt for your enjoyment.

Kari Edgren will be awarding a $25 Amazon/B&N gift card

A Grave Inheritance

Kari Edgren

(Goddess Born #2)

 Published: December 1, 2014 by Carina Press

 

Selah Kilbrid may descend from the goddess Brigid, but her heart beats—and breaks—the same as any human. Yet enduring the scorn of London's most noble lords and ladies is a small price to pay for a chance at true happiness. Selah would endure much more for love, and her betrothed, Lord Henry Fitzalan, is prepared to challenge anyone foolish enough to stand in their way—even another goddess born.

But when a captivating young gentleman draws Selah into a world shadowed by secrets, she is forced to confront her darkest fears. What if some differences are too great to overcome and a future with Henry is doomed from the start?

With these doubts threatening her impending marriage, a violent attack on an innocent child pushes Selah to the very edge of her power. She must find a way to cross into the Otherworld and regain her strength—or forfeit the streets of London to death and disease.

Buy Links:

Amazon | B&N

Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

Darling Beast
Maiden Lane #7

Elizabeth Hoyt
Historical Romance
Published in 2014

H/h - Apollo Greaves, Viscount Kilbourne/Lily Stump
Setting: London, 1743.

Read in December, 2014.

My rating:

                                                   [spoiler alert]

Elizabeth Hoyt’s Darling Beast is book #7 of her epic Maiden Lane series. This series, though much different now than the original storyline, still manages to keep me hooked. It never ceases to amaze me just how invested I am in the lives of these characters that Ms. Hoyt created!

Darling Beast was one of my 2014’s anticipated releases (not surprising really). Even though it’s a great standalone on its own, I’d always recommend that you start from book 1 for full enjoyment of the series. They are interconnected one way or the other, either with ongoing incidents or secondary characters or both. The first 6 books  (in correct order), Wicked Intentions, Notorious Pleasures, Scandalous Desires, Thief of Shadows, Lord of Darkness and Duke of Midnight were centered around the phenomena of The Ghost of St. Giles, a mysterious masked figure that played robin hood (sort of) in the dirty alleyways of St. Giles at the dead of the night. People had all sorts of emotions running regard this masked man; fear, awe, skepticism. Also, the series originally started with the Makepeace Siblings who ran (still do) an orphanage on the St. Giles. Temperance, Silence and Winter have since found love in Lazurus, Lord Caire, Charming Mickey or Michael and Lady Isabel. Now we’re onto the lives of some of the interesting secondary characters that were introduced throughout. The 2 eldest Makepeace siblings were never really a part of this series but the middle brother, Asa was. He has been in and out of the series, granting us very small appearances.