Two For Winter: Books by Melanie Karsak and Tiffany Roberts – Reviews

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, cold, fairy tale, fantasy, Melanie Karsak, romance, Steampunk, Tiffany Roberts, winter

Up until last Friday, January was unusually warm in Southwest Iowa. It was a good time to read these books that have cold weather settings. However, if you really want to feel the chill, wait until the mercury in the thermometer plummets and the winds start howling and then pick up a good winter weather book.

About Ice Bound by Tiffany Roberts

Anna knows the loss and pain that can be wrought by winter’s harshness intimately. For years, she’s isolated herself, refusing the let go of the guilt that consumes her – until the winds of a blizzard bring a stranger to her door. With his compelling tales and heated kisses, Anna fears she hasn’t only opened her home to him, but also her heart.

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Review of Ice Bound

You can absolutely feel the cold wind whipping through the air as you read Ice Bound. Luckily, there is more to the short story than weather. I also enjoyed the tension filled romance between Anna and the stranger. The bonus story, The Winter King, is a storyteller’s continuation of the story of Ice Bound’s heroine and hero — plus a little more. At only 45 pages, Ice Bound perfect way to relax on a winter afternoon.

5 stars

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About Goblins and Snowflakes by Melanie Karsak

Never bargain with goblin men.

Scarlette Rossetti thought her stay at Strawberry Hill Castle during the Christmas holiday would pass by uneventfully. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Enticed by the delights of the nearby village of Twickenham, Scarlette’s life would change in unimaginable ways.

She never expected to be drawn magnetically to The Two Sisters Doll Shop and Toy Emporium.

Scarlette didn’t guess that tinkering clockwork gnomes could have supernatural consequences.

And she didn’t know that one should never, ever, bargain with goblin men.

But during the Christmas season, magic is always brewing.

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Review of Goblins and Snowflakes

5 stars

Goblins and Snowflakes is the part charming, part creepy retelling of The Elves and the Shoemaker. The charming part is the actual fairy tale retelling. The creepy part pertains to the goblins who provide the magic to make the fairy tale. The novella length story is perfect for a couple hours of escape to the quaint village of Twickenham for a little adventure and a little romance. Every time I read another of Ms. Karsak’s steampunk fairy tales, I want to read more. Within Goblins and Snowflakes are some ties to other characters in Karsak’s steampunk stories, notably for me, the beginning of the Red Cape Society of the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series. Despite those ties, Goblins and Snowflakes is a standalone and can be enjoyed in all types of weather.

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In the Shadow of Croft Towers by Abigail Wilson – Review

Tags

5 stars, Abigail Wilson, Book Review, historical mystery, historical romance

About In the Shadow of Croft Towers by Abigail Wilson

Croft Towers holds more than its share of secrets . . . and Sybil is determined to uncover them all.

When Sybil Delafield’s coach to Croft Towers was robbed by highwaymen, she should have realized that her new position as companion to old Mrs. Chalcroft would be no ordinary job. Upon Sybil’s arrival, Mrs. Chalcroft sneaks into her room in the dark of night, imploring her to relay messages to town that are to stay hidden from the rest of the family. Who exactly is she working for and what do the messages contain?

When fellow passengers of the robbed coach are later murdered, Sybil’s hunt for the truth takes on a new urgency. The only person she can rely on is Mr. Sinclair, Mrs. Chalcroft’s godson, but under all his charms he too leads a double life. Sybil must decide if he is the one honest voice she can trust, or if he is simply using her for his own advances.

With murderers, smugglers, and spies on the loose, nothing—and no one—in Regency England is what they claim. Can Sybil even trust what she knows about herself?

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Review of In the Shadow of Croft Towers

The blurb In the Shadow of Croft Towers hints at a possible mystery and a possible romance. You get both. Which makes the historical/romance/mystery reader in me very happy. But really, there was so much more! Which makes this reader that likes to be surprised even happier!

What do I mean by ‘so much more’? Mainly, nothing is what it appears to be. And nobody is what he or she appears to be. Pretty much without exception. Even heroine Sybil hasn’t told the complete truth. This soap opera atmosphere starts gently, but intensifies as the story continues.

As a reader, I was able to guess at some of it. Some of it was a complete surprised. But I never realized the entire truth until it was revealed in the story. In the Shadow of Croft Towers quickly became one of those books that I could not put down.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Nightchaser (Endeavor, #1) by Amanda Bouchet – Review

Tags

5 stars, Amanda Bouchet, Book Review, scifi, scifi romance, series, space opera

About Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet

Tess Bailey: the galaxy’s Most Wanted.

Captain Tess Bailey is in deep trouble. She and her crew are on the run, pursued by a tyrant who’ll take them dead or alive. Tess’s best hope is a tall, dark, and much-too-appealing stranger, Shade Ganavan, who says he can help her. But his motivations are far from clear…

Shade Ganavan: arrogance, charm…and that special something that makes you want to kick him.

With the dreaded Dark Watch closing in, what Tess and Shade don’t know about each other might get them killed…unless they can set aside their differences and learn to trust each other before it’s too late.

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Review of Nightchaser

Tess Bailey is my favorite part of this book. She is intelligent, brave, foolhardy and with a large dose of vulnerability. This vulnerability comes not only from being a wanted criminal, but also from her own emotional desires. This combination makes her character one of the most compelling I have encountered in a while.

Tess also has a past that, in a twist, comes out early in the book. It is a revelation to the reader and to her crew on Endeavor. The shocking announcement comes out in the heat of battle right before Tess thinks she and her crew are about to die.

But they don’t die. Hmm. Thinks could get uncomfortable now. Her crew members each have their own past to deal with, so they don’t seem to mind. But the crew are not the only ones that heard it. I have a feeling that Tess is going to be jumping from one frying pan to another. Not just in Nightchaser, but in any books that follow.

“Shade Ganavan had oodles of arrogance, oodles of charm, and oodles of something that made me want to kick him…” Tess Bailey in Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet.

In the book, Tess is actually quite specific about where she wants to kick Shade.

It’s hard for me to say much about Shade without possibly giving up a spoiler. Except that part about kicking occurred to me often and with increasing desire as the book progressed. But he is a charmer, and Tess likes him a lot. So with a bit of a spoiler about to come out – Shade did redeem himself in my eyes and ultimately my thirst for violence directed toward that charming man was abated.

And redirected. In a climactic scene, Tess’s past comes back to totally mess with her life/escape. In a very bad way. I was heartbroken in a scene where two of Tess’s crew pay heavily for their friendship with Tess.

Nightchaser is a welcome addition to the Scifi Romance genre. Colorful, charming and warm characters mix colorful, cold and evil characters. There is also a great complex plot with so much potential that it is sure to get even better with each installment in the Endeavor saga. And romance. Yes, it is a bit shaky at first, but I am planning on it to get even better as the series continues.

So let me say to Amanda Bouchet, “Welcome to Scifi Romance!” Ms. Bouchet’s Kingmaker Chronicles are very popular fantasy romance books, so I am pleased to see her put her talent to SciFi. I am decidedly happy I found Nightchaser on NetGalley, and will be anxiously waiting for the next book in the Endeavor series.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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