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Sophia’s Secret (aka The Winter Sea) by Susanna Kearsley, narrated by Carolyn Bonnyman

August 10, 2012 / Kaetrin

Why I read listened to it: I’ve become a Susanna Kearsley fan and when I had a choice of reading The Iron Duke (Meljean Brook) or Sophia’s Secret (both of which I have in print) I decided to “read” both at once and downloaded the audiobook from Audible.

When this book was released in the US it was renamed The Winter Sea and the US audiobook release won narrator Rosalyn Landor an audie award this year. I’m not a huge fan of Landor audie or not, so I went with the Bonnyman option – she narrated Mariana and I enjoyed her narration very much so I chose this version which, apart from the title, is exactly the same.

What it’s about: Carrie McClelland is a successful historical fiction writer. She is writing a novel about the Jacobite rebellion of 1708 and travels to Scotland to attend the christening of her agent and BFF’s child. While there, she visits the ruins of Slains Castle, where The Dowager Countess of Erroll and her son the Earl of Erroll lived during that time, they both having great influence and involvement in the rebellion. Her book hasn’t been coming together and she decides to relocate to Cruden Bay, near Slains and start again, with a “point of view” character. That person is not supposed to be real, but rather someone who can “link the scenes together by her presence”. When Carrie gives this character the name Sophia Paterson after one of her ancestors, she thinks it is a deliberate, conscious choice. She also thinks the ideas about her book, which are coming thick and fast now, are subconscious. She’s wrong on both counts.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): This is a book within a book. We get Sophia’s story and Carrie’s as she writes about Sophia. It is also a dual romance book. Both Sophia and Carrie fall in love and have (mostly) happy endings.The romance for Carrie comes from the son of her landlord (she’s renting a cottage in Cruden Bay), a professor of history at the Aberdeen University, Graham Keith. Graham’s younger brother Stuart also has an eye for Carrie but it is clear early on that the spark is between Graham and Carrie. Stuart is charming but somewhat flighty and not terribly serious in his affections and they actually have little in common. (He put me in mind of a (quite a bit) nicer version of Adrian Sutton-Clark from The Shadowy Horses actually). There is little that keeps Carrie and Graham apart – Stuart is not a serious barrier. I did think that not making things clear to Stuart was more of a plot point rather than organic – in other words, I think it wasn’t made explicit to Stuart much earlier on that he was out of luck to serve the purposes of the book only.Sophia has the more dramatic and angsty storyline and because of that, the easier relationship with Carrie and Graham was a welcome change.

Sophia is an orphan of about 18 years at the start of the book. She travels from her home in Kirkcudbright (pronounced “Kerr-COO-bree”) in the west, to Slains Castle to live with her distant relative, the Countess of Erroll. She is treated there like a daughter of the house. Sent from the court of the exiled James Stewart at Saint-Germain in France, Nathanial Hooke and John Moray travel to Slains, the plan being that they will travel Scotland and gauge support for James. John however has a price on his head of 500 pounds – an enormous amount of money for that time and he is confined to the castle for his protection. John and Sophia are drawn to one another and commence a clandestine relationship – they know that the Countess would not encourage their relationship because John is a wanted criminal. When John returns to France to assist with preparations for the rebellion and to fight with his regiment in Flanders against the English, it is with the promise to Sophia that he will return with King James and they can then be together forever. The rebellion fails (as we know from history) and things get pretty bleak for Sophia for a good long while. There is sadness and a difficult decision but never fear, Sophia does end up happy. Trust me.

I did wonder if John wasn’t being very selfish in having a relationship with Sophia in such desperate times. They did a lot more than hold hands if you know what I mean – and this put Sophia at risk in terms of her future if something should happen to John (what if there were a child, she was no longer a virgin, etc) and also because she could easily be used as a pawn against John if it were ever discovered what she means to him.

The reasons for their secrecy were compelling and made sense. As do the events at the end of the book (about which I will say no more).

I really think I’ve listened to Ms. Kearsley’s books in the right order. Each book so far has, for me, gotten better – and by better, I really mean more romantic. There is plenty for a romance lover in this book. Add to that the beautiful prose and the rich historical setting – well, it’s a gem.

What else? Carolyn Bonnyman’s narration is excellent. Portions of the conversation are written in the Doric – the local language which was fun to listen to (I would have had no hope of pronouncing things so well), as well as Scottish, English and Canadian accents, all well differentiated. The scenes from Carrie’s time were clear because she used Carrie’s Cannadian accent to narrate and when we were in Sophia’s time, the narration had a Scottish accent to it, even though that part of the story is told in third person. I knew where I was in time at each point because of it and it heightened the listening experience.

Grade: A

Firelight by Kristen Callihan

August 6, 2012 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I bought this one a while back after hearing the buzz. More recently Mandi at SmexyBooks loved it and I moved it up my TBR.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family’s fortune decimated and forced her to wed London’s most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity . . .

Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it’s selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can’t help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn’t felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Generally speaking I’m a fan of masked hero/Beauty and the Beast stories. Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me as well as I’d hoped. Perhaps it was at least partly that I’d just finished The Iron Duke (which I felt was much better written) or maybe it was a hangover from listening to some wonderful Susanna Kearsley novels on audio (her writing is just beautiful).

I found the beginning of the book confusing. I think it was supposed to tempt and tease me but it was a little too mysterious for my liking.

But the major thing which worked against my enjoyment of the book was that Archer and Miranda did not spend enough time together. The big mystery in the story is what lies behind Archer’s mask. Almost all of their interaction circled around to this issue and, because it was not to be revealed until near the end of the book, the characters had fairly brief encounters that came across as episodic and somewhat repetitive. Miranda and Archer don’t consummate their marriage until deep into the book as well. That is the other source of tension in the story. For me, that build of tension went past pleasant/exciting and on into frustrating. If either of those issues had been resolved a little earlier, I might have felt happier with the book but as it was, the big reveal and the consummation occurred at basically the same time and very late in the story. I found myself skimming sections of the book and tuning back in when Miranda and Archer were on the page together. They were the best parts of the book and of the most interest to me. (So, I don’t know if Miranda’s fiery talent was ever explained – if it was I missed it.)

Because Miranda and Archer didn’t spent a lot of page time together, I’m not sure I bought that they were in love. I wanted to but I don’t think I made it across the line. I felt I was being told rather than shown. The book did pick up toward the end. I felt the writing improved and, as Archer and Miranda got closer, I became more interested.

I didn’t think the book was bad. It’s just that when Miranda and Archer weren’t on the page, I lost interest. And when they were, for a lot of the book, it was frustrating for me because nothing much seemed to be happening in terms of their relationship arc.

What else? Archer’s friend (for want of a better term) Ian McKinnon (who, I gather is the hero of the next book, Moonglow) is (apparently) immortal. How he manages to go about in society with no-one wondering that he doesn’t age wasn’t really explained though.

I seem to be an outlier regarding this book though. It might well be a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”. Mandi loved it as did a lot of my other Twitter friends. It is averaging 3.99 on Goodreads. Someone else I follow on Twitter mentioned that she “didn’t care for it” and I think that probably sums up my reaction. I wanted to like it and I thought the premise was great, but… My enjoyment and satisfaction did pick up toward the end of the book but I’m unsure whether I will try the next one in the series.

Grade: C/C-

July Reads

August 2, 2012 / Kaetrin

on Paper/eBook

A Little More Scandal by Carrie Lofty – B+ This recently released novella is a prequel of sorts to Flawless and the just now released Starlight and features the patriarch of the Christie family. I’ve heard good things about Ms. Lofty’s books but had never read one before. A 99c novella is a good way to test the waters with a new author. I do think it is hard to write a complete story in such a short word count so I was especially pleased with my reading experience. William Christie is a self made made, a large, arrogant, boorish Scot who is tolerated in Society because of his wealth and a previous advantageous marriage (he is now a widower). Catrin Jones is a Welsh nurse who, on returning from the Crimea, was the only survivor of a shipwreck. She realises she will have notoriety for a short time and wishes to use that time to find a suitable husband. William wants shares in a newspaper and his part of the bargain is her story (which she has been notoriously closed mouth about). Both have mercenary goals but both are deeply attracted. I enjoyed the banter and the curious honesty between them. It definitely made me want to read both Flawless and Starlight – and there are lengthy excerpts from both in the back. Well played Ms. Lofty.

Sweet Talk by Julie Garwood – See my full review here.

Seven Day Loan by Tiffany Reisz – C-/D+ I found this hard to grade because although the story was written well, ultimately I found parts of the story distateful. Also, it’s not so much romance as erotica. I think I may have missed something. Maybe it is something to do with The Siren (which I haven’t read yet)? I definitely got the sense that this was related to another book. I think I would have had a better connection if I had understood the context more clearly but as it was, it felt a bit like a mid book excerpt rather than a complete story. There was something a bit unsavory and unsettling about Eleanor’s background and primary relationship. Daniel seemed nice enough but I wasn’t 100% sure about Eleanor’s ability to give consent.

**please note these next 2 reviews appeared in the July ARRA members newsletter and also on the ARRA blog on 1st August 2012**

Platinum Passion (Gods of Love #1) by Jennifer Lynne – C- Jeannie and Jake have been married for 20 years. They still love each other but their sex life has waned with the pressure of work, family and life in general. Pothos, one of the erotes (an aspect of the Greek god Eros) comes to them both, to reawaken their passion. I’m glad that most of the contact between these 3 was when all three were present. I was a little uncomfortable at first when Pothos initially appeared only to Jeannie and transported her to a moonlit beach in Port Douglas (where she and Jake had honeymooned 20 years earlier) but it was only a very short time until Jake joined them. After that, the 3 engage in a various sexytimes (no lube! ouch!) and the couple feel reconnected and determined to keep their sexual spark alive. The story is only about 40 pages long, so there is obviously not a lot of space for character development. It does have a happy ending but I think the story works better when viewed as erotica rather than a romance.

Aphrodite Calling (Gods of Love #2) by Jennifer Lynne – C-/D+ Himeros, one of the erotes, is called to Gina at her 15 year high school reunion. When Gina was at school, she was Gerry. She has since has sexual reassignment surgery. Gina is struggling to feel desirable as a woman and is obviously pretty uncomfortable with all the stares and whispers at the reunion. It was a very brave thing for her to attend, particularly as she went alone. Himeros appears and very soon he whisks her off to take her “virginity” – the first time she has had sex since her surgery. Her previous boyfriend (pre-surgery) liked having sex with her but it seemed he was a closeted gay man rather than in love with her and when she had the surgery, he rabbited. The story is about 36 pages long so too short to fully explore all of the issues Gina was facing. This was my first trans* story. My impression was that some of it was unrealistic but I feel singularly unqualified to comment further in this aspect of the story. Himeros becomes enamoured of Gina and they head off into HFN territory after some raunchy sexytimes, including some exhibitionism and some pain play (involving a stiletto heel and no lube). I never doubted that Gina was a woman but I would have loved her story to be more fully developed. I’m sure her journey was difficult and her path to self acceptance must surely have taken more than one night. Again, even though there is a happy ending, I think this story is better viewed as erotica rather than romance.

Pillow Talk by Maya Banks – B- After some less than successful erotic romance, I picked up Pillow Talk. Originally published as part of the Four Play anthology, it has now been released separately by Penguin as an eSpecial. While Ms. Banks’ books don’t always work super well for me, I find her a reliable read, particularly in the erotic department and this was no exception. Zoe and Chase are a couple and share a house with Brody and Tate. The 3 men work together as firefighters and Zoe is an ER nurse. During some sexy post (and mid) coital discussions, Chase and Zoe discover each other’s fantasies. Zoe gives Chase the birthday present of a lifetime and afterwards, Chase reciprocates with some group sex involving his most trusted friends. As an erotic story it works very well. It’s pretty darn sexy and there is definite connection between all the characters (although, sadly no m/m action). As a romance, it was a little less successful for me. The story ends with the foursome deciding to pursue a permanent menage but the main interest in that for me is the mechanics of it beyond the sex – how do they manage the jealousy (if there is any)? how do they each get time with Zoe? How does Zoe not feel overwhelmed and exhausted? How do each of the guys feel, in the longer term, about having to share Zoe three ways? How does Brody and Tate feel in that Chase has had the longer relationship? Is there a “primacy” to Chase and Zoe’s relationship? If not, how does Chase feel about that? There wasn’t time in a novella for those issues to be developed, but I’d love to read a book like that which dealt with those issues. As an erotic palate cleanser, it delivered the reliable sexy read I was after.

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller – see my full review here.

Fire on the Mountain by PD Singer – B- Enjoyable story about a young firefighter/ranger in the Rocky Mountains who is teamed with a hot slightly older (by 3 years) and more experienced firefighter for a 6 month stint. Jake isn’t out and isn’t sure if Kurt is gay. They are stuck with each other for 6 months, with only short trips to town for supplies. If he makes a move and Kurt rejects him how will they manage to spend the rest of their season? But, what if…? Told from Jake’s 1st person POV, I found the will he/won’t he a bit repetitive and boring after a while. Once the action started (they are caught in a fire) however, things picked up. There is another section of navel gazing afterwards and then a happy ending which was, unfortunately cut a bit short for me. There are other books in the series which I plan on reading – more of this couple together would be fun.

Worth the Wait by Lori Toland – C Okay short story about a science nerd who invents a time travel device in a cell phone. He travels back in time to give himself some social advice and there, runs into his hot High School science teacher. Time travel (which I love) usually does my head in and time travel in 38 pages is that x 1000. There’s really not enough time to develop the characters, the story or the science and I felt the sexy times at the end seemed a bit out of place with what had been a sweet story up til then. Chris liked it better than I did, so maybe I was just having a grumpy evening last night. 🙂

Safe With Me (The Beginning) by Shaina Richmond – DNF – I read about 20 pages in to this 50 page Kindle freebie. The sex happened quickly, wasn’t romantic and I wasn’t enamoured of either main character. Not my thing. So I DNF’d it. Great cover though.

How to Tell a Lie by Delphine Dryden – B- Cute, sexy shortish novel about two professors who meet online in a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game – think World of Warcraft for example) and, after some mild flirting for months, realise that they are actually at the same university. The meet and things progress fairly quickly from there. I think the aspect of Allison self sabotaging relationships to protect herself from loss could have been explored further and the I love you will you marry me was too fast for me. But, for the most part, I found this an enjoyable read. As I don’t play MMORPG’s I can’t say how accurate the play depicted was, but according to my husband (who does play) and from what I told him, it seemed like it probably was (with only a few name changes, I suspect to protect from copyright breaches).

Within Reach by Sarah Mayberry – see my full review here.

Where You Hurt The Most by Anne Brooke (Riptide Rentboys Collection 2012) – B- This is a short sweet and sexy story about a high class escort who is asked to take on a scarred and broken young man as a client and the connection they form. Dan was badly burned in a car accident and hides his face under a red hoodie (hence the cover – which is very well done). I loved the prose. There was something almost hypnotic (in a good way) about the spare and lyrical way the words were on the page. The story is short, so to believe the hook, you have to believe the instant and deep connection between the two men. I think, with more time, I would have totally believed in them but unfortunately, I thought their interactions were insufficient for me to really buy into it. I will be looking out for more from this author because her writing voice appeals greatly.

The 51st Thursday by Mercy Celeste – DNF I got about 41 pages into this 55 page 99c Kindle book. The concept was good – guy goes into a bar each Thursday for 50 weeks, on the 51st Thursday there is a hurricane – the bar-owner Deacon and Thursday are trapped in the bar and hijinks ensue. Unfortunately, I just didn’t buy the mutual unrequited passion of the pair. Shelby (aka Thursday) came into the bar each week yes, but they didn’t speak to each other, apart from the basics or ordering a beer. They didnt’ exchange names or anecdotes or stories or anything. Deacon identifies as bisexual with a leaning towards men and at the start of the book, Shelby identifies as straight – by the point I got to, he seemed to accept he was gay and no-strings Deacon seems to have fallen in love – so that’s a lot to unpack in a 55 page book. The early sex scenes had an element of dubious consent to them which bothered me a little – it was consenual but there was… a sort of threat which lingered in the air. In the end, it was late and I was tired and I just didn’t care enough to read to the end. There was confusion for me too with which “him” was being referred to in sentences from time to time – it seemed to change and made parts of the story hard to follow. And, as much as I liked the concept, I felt a bit hammered by the overuse of Thursday by page 10. However, plenty of people like this better than I did, so YMMV.

Here Be Monsters by Meljean Brook (from Burning Up anthology) – B-/B I enjoyed this short story about Pirate Captain “Mad” Machen and Ivy Blacksmith. On the one hand, I appreciated that there wasn’t an info dump about the world but on the other, I can’t say I truly understood about the nanoagents etc. There were a couple of steamy scenes and overall, it was cleverly written and a very good introduction to the MB Steampunk world. I think I’ll read The Iron Duke next.

Shifting Seas by Virginia Kantra (from Burning Up anthology) – B/B- I’ve been hearing a little about this author lately and so was inspired to try this book. I enjoyed the story and certainly liked Ms. Kantra’s writing style. Set in 1813, Jack Harris returns scarred from the Peninsula wars to take up his unexpectedly inherited estate in the north of England. He meets Morwenna, a member of the “finfolk”, an immortal shapechanger who can shift to any sea creature as well as take human form. What starts off as merely Morwenna taking her pleasure from Jack begins to be a relationship between them and then the wider town and fishing community. It seems that for Morwenna to choose a life with Jack permanently, she must give up her ability to shape shift and her immortality – I thought those aspects were not very well explored. It seemed that Jack didn’t know about it. And there were some little things, like when Morwenna has dinner at the estate, her hair is curled and styled but she didn’t know how to do it herself I don’t think – she’s never worn shoes before she meets Jack so I think her adaption to the human lifestyle was also a bit glossed over. This could well be because of the limits of the format – there’s only so much you can fit in to 100 pages or less. It did achieve the goal of making me want to try more of this author’s work so overall, the anthology was a win for me.

The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook – See my full review here.

Firelight by Kristen Callihan – full review to come. I appear to be somewhat of an outlier on this one. ETA: Here it is.

Here Comes the Groom by Karina Bliss – B- Enjoyable story about a breast cancer survivor and an ex-SAS soldier suffering from survivor guilt and depression after he was sidelined from a mission which left two of his team dead and one other seriously wounded. Some years before, the pair made a drunken agreement to marry each other if they were both single at age 33. Guess what? I liked this quite a but but the ending felt a bit strange to me. I’m not sure the adventure of the last chapters fit with the rest of the book and I’m not sure that it actually solved anything. I would have liked a little more about how Jo and Dan were going to work on getting over their various emotional wounds. This is the first in a 4 book series (only the 2nd and 3rd are out yet) and maybe we will see more of Jo and Dan as the series progresses. I liked the New Zealand setting and the farm and small town life felt familiar to me. There is a little bit of series bait in the book but it didn’t take up a lot of room so I give that a pass. I did like Dan and his attitude to Jo’s mastectomy scar and the prospect of a recurrence of cancer. I liked how Dan helped Jo feel sexy again. I have the next 2 books lined up on my reader and I’m curious to know more about Nate and Ross.

on Audio

The Duchess of Love by Sally Mackenzie, narrated by Abby Craden – B- I reviewed this for AAR so watch out for it in an upcoming Speaking of Audiobooks column.

Bedding Lord Ned by Sally Mackenzie, narrated by Abby Craden – C I reviewed this for AAR so watch out for it in an upcoming Speaking of Audiobooks column.

Once Burned (Night Prince #1) by Jeaniene Frost, narrated by Tavia Gilbert – B Another book I reviewed for AAR. You know the drill.

The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley, narrated by Sally Armstrong – A- see my full review here.

Sophia’s Secret by Susanna Kearsley, narrated by Carolyn Bonnyman – (This book was released in the US and renamed The Winter Sea and the US audiobook release won Rosalyn Landor an audie award this year. I’m not a huge fan of Landor audie or not so I went with the Bonnyman option – she narrated Mariana and I enjoyed her narration very much.) Full review to come. ETA: Here it is.

Driving Mr. Dead by Molly Harper, narrated by Amanda Ronconi – A- This short novel (just over 5 hours on audio) was hiliarious. I started to laugh from the first and spent a lot of the listen with a smile on my face. Miranda is a hiliarious screw-up klutz type person – disaster follows here wherever she goes. Taking a job as a V-Line driver – transporting vampires safely during daylight hours, she travels to Washington state where she picks up Colin Sutherland – a finicky, uptight vampire who hasn’t left his property since 1948. Hijinks ensue. So funny. And yes, there is romance with a HFN (which suited the length of the story). I’m pretty confident that these two will be in it for the long haul though (pardon the pun). Miranda’s musing about whether “adam’s apple porn” exists was just one of the things which had me laughing. A feel good fun romance and Ronconi nails the narration.

Why fade to black doesn’t work for me. Except when it does.

July 29, 2012 / Kaetrin

I finished Susanna Kearsley’s The Shadowy Horses a few days ago and I started thinking about “fade to black” or “bedroom door closed” books. As a generality, I prefer my fictional bedroom doors wide open and the lights left on. But I started to wonder why that was – and why some books which do fade to black work really well for me. And here’s what I came up with.

I think there are two aspects at play during a sex scene in a romance (as opposed to erotica) – there is (often) something physically arousing about it and there is something I’m going to call, emotionally arousing. I can’t say I’m immune to the physical “symptoms” of a well written sex scene but for me, the bigger payoff is in the emotionality. I think very often the sex scene creates a “shortcut” to the emotional arousal I’m seeking – the heightened emotions which are often present being key here.

Fade to black books, with only kisses (and few kisses) do not usually give me the emotional arousal I’m seeking when reading romance. What causes this emotional arousal? Well, it can be kissing or handholding, the hand on the small of her back as they walk, her hand in his (or his in his for that matter). It might be internal dialogue or conversation (conversation is the better of the two) where the couple’s emotional connection resonates (“When the day shall come that we do part,” he said softly, and turned to look at me, “if my last words are not ‘I love you’-ye’ll ken it was because I didna have time.” Jamie to Claire in The Fiery Cross – although The Fiery Cross is in no way a fade to black book of course.). In a sex scene it can be the desperation of one to physically connect to the other, the primal claiming of “mine”, a more tender or reverent loving after a crisis perhaps, the delight one partner takes in the body of the other, the care taken in ensuring his/her satisfaction – the physical display of the emotional connection.

I read the gamut from fairly tame to the erotic. Susanna Kearsley’s books are on the “fairly tame” end of the scale. I’ve read (well, listened to) 3 of her books at the time of writing this post and in each book, the emotional payoff for me has improved. The Rose Garden was the first I read – I enjoyed it quite a bit but I thought that the romantic relationship was a bit rushed and underdeveloped – in other words, there was not enough of that emotional arousal I’m seeking. In Mariana, there was more, but it was mostly toward the end of the book. In The Shadowy Horses, the romantic aspects began early in the book and I found it much more satisfying. (There are other reasons I read. I have come to be a big fan of Ms. Kearsley’s books and nothing here is intended as criticism of her writing style as such – it is more that I’m exploring my reactions to it and why. Susanna Kearsley writes beautiful lyrical prose usually with detailed (but never boring) historical information which fascinates me. Frankly, I don’t think explicit love scenes would fit within the books she writes – so I’m not asking her to start writing them.)In thinking about The Shadowy Horses in particular, I pondered why that book held more emotional resonance for me than the earlier ones. They are all pretty much fade to black – certainly not explicit. But in The Shadowy Horses in particular there was a satisfying amount of touching, kissing, longing, even a bit of desperate clinging to one another – which caused my emotional arousal to spike in that satisfying “red zone”. The zone where my heart rate speeds, there’s a little “zing” in the pit of my stomach and my romantic heart sighs a little. Where a book can fade to black or be less than explicit but still give me the emotional climax I’m after, I tend to enjoy it. Where it is lacking, I do not.

Sean Kennedy’s excellent Tigers and Devils is a m/m romance between a closeted gay AFL (Australian rules) football player and an out and proud gay man set in Melbourne. It is not in the least explicit – but emotionally, I found it entirely satisfying. There was plenty of affection – verbal and physical and the emotional payoff level was very high.

I said in my recent review of Katie McGarry’s Pushing The Limits that the is no consummation of Noah and Echo’s physical relationship. There are no explicit scenes. There is plenty of making out and of Noah respecting Echo’s boundaries no matter how much he desires her. The reader sees his desire in his physical interactions with her and also in his speech and thoughts. This is another book where I found my emotional arousal satisfied.

Kristan Higgins’ Catch of the Day is a book where this didn’t occur. I enjoyed the book but there was nowhere near enough of the emotional payoff for me. As a comedic contemporary fiction piece it worked very well. But as a romance? Not so much. There is barely any of the hero, Malone. He hardly speaks and, as the book is told in the first person POV of the heroine, we don’t know what’s going on in his head either. For much of the book, the couple aren’t together so there isn’t the physical affection, loving looks or courting conversation that I look for. (Others of Ms. Higgins books have worked much better for me as romances however.)

On the other hand, Shannon McKenna writes very steamy explicit books. They are like crack to me. The plots are generally over the top and the villians pretty one dimensional and super-eeeevil but the heroes are devoted to their heroines and their devotion leaps out of the page. The sex scenes in a McKenna novel can be physically arousing as well, but the emotional payoff comes from the hero’s total devotion, his admiration of her beauty, even, strangely, how he gets hard and stays hard for hours and hours because SHE turns him on so much. Lisa Marie Rice books have the same kind of thing.

KA Mitchell writes m/m romance. The sex is explicit and frequent. But, the sex serves the emotional story arc. The characters develop and deepen their emotional connection through physical intimacy. It’s just hotter. (oh, boy, is it). But it is as emotionally satisfying to me to read a KA Mitchell book as a Sean Kennedy.

In Cara McKenna’s Curio, Caroly and Didier bond almost entirely through sex. But the emotions conveyed in those encounters warm the cockles of this little romance reader’s heart.

In some ways, I think books containing more explicit sex scenes more easily satisfy my emotional arousal requirements – I’m looking for evidence they can’t live without each other (or at least, don’t want to). In a romance novel where the couple don’t spend much time together, I’m unlikely to get that emotional payoff unless there’s some explicit sex (where I might get a big punch of it – which *might* satisfy). The fade to black books which have worked for me are generally ones where the main characters are frequently in each other’s company and there is plenty of (taken) opportunity for the author to show me the developing emotional connection between them. Another factor which usually weighs in is the length of the book (- how much time to I have to reach my peak? :D). In the examples I’ve mentioned here the bedroom door closed books are long – over 400 pages, which means there is more time for the emotional punch to develop.In many of the tamer romances I’ve read, there isn’t enough of that emotional connection for me and the book therefore fails to satisfy as a romance. I have not come across all that many fade to black books which do satisfy me but the ones that do, do so because they are able to convey that emotional connection in other ways and frequently enough in the course of the book that I’m able to reach “emotional climax”.

The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

July 27, 2012 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I’ve had this on my TBR for ages and after finally reading Here Be Monsters in the Burning Up anthology, I decided to read it.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power-and fear-of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.But when Mina uncovers the victim’s identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans-and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen, as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I’ve read very little Steampunk. I listened to Gail Carriger’s Soulless (which I liked) but I’ve been a bit reluctant to take the plunge after a bad experience with some paranormal history books a few years back. But, I’ve heard time and time again that this book is excellent and I did buy it so I decided to take the plunge and read. It did take me a bit of time to get into. It helped I think that I had some background of the concept of the Horde and the nanoagents and “mechanical flesh” from reading Here Be Monsters so I can’t say it was any worldbuilding issues which kept me apart from the story at first. However, by about the 1/3 of the way in, things started to gel and by the halfway mark I was hooked. I’m not sure I can say anything particularly illuminating about why I found it difficult to get into – I just did.

At some point in the book, it struck me that Rhys and Mina are a bit (but not entirely) like Roarke and Eve Dallas. As I’m a fan of the in Death series this is a good thing. Rhys has a tortured past, is very wealthy, has scant care for the law and he always takes care of his own. Mina is a police officer and much of her self esteem is tied up in her badge. While she was well loved as a child (at least, I gather that under Horde rule that was the case – maybe I’m wrong and people didn’t feel love then?), she was the result of her mother being raped by one or more members of the Horde and this has caused significant trauma in her family.

Her half Horde (ie Asian) features stamp her as being part Horde and she is reviled wherever she goes. She fights hard for acceptance and finds that those who come to know her accept (and even love) her but she tries to stay under the radar mostly. Rhys cannot stay under the radar and as such, Mina knows she should avoid him.

I liked the way racism was an issue in the book and how seeing the individual rather than the stereotype can change hearts and minds but there has to be a lever of some sort (or regular positive proximity) to encourage people to be willing to look. At the same time, it wasn’t heavy handed social commentary – it was very much part of Mina’s story and not at all preachy.

I liked that Rhys struggled to express himself and didn’t have much time for courtesies and enjoyed Scarsdale’s role as his “social interpreter”. Because I spent time in Rhys’s head, I found myself forgiving him things which I might not otherwise have.

In the end, I was caught up in all the swash and buckle of the story and heat of Mina and Rhys’s attraction – Rhys does certainly have a way with the dirty talk. 🙂

There was one scene right near the end which glossed over some important events and that was a little disappointing – after all the build up I’d have liked to be present for the big explosion.

What else? Yasmeen, the Lady Corsair is a fascinating character, as is Archimedes Fox so I’m looking forward to reading Heart of Steel but I must say the one I want most to know more about is Scarsdale, the homosexual navigator with the unfailing sense of direction. There are some novellas coming out soon and I think at least one features Mina and hopefully Rhys so I’m looking forward to seeing how they’re getting on. Heart of Steel is on my TBR and I imagine I’ll be picking it up very soon.

For me, The Iron Duke had a bit of a slow start, but I ended up enjoying it very much.

Grade: B+

The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley, narrated by Sally Armstrong

July 23, 2012 / Kaetrin

Why I read listened to it: I’m up to date on my review audiobooks for AAR so I got to pick one from my own stash. I really enjoyed Mariana and The Rose Garden and the excerpt on Audible intrigued.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) The dark legends of the Scotland were an archaeologist dream. Verity Grey was thrilled to be at a dig for an ancient Roman camp in the Scottish village. But danger was in the air — in the icy reserve of archaeologist David Fortune. In the haunted eyes to the little boy who had visions of a slain Roman sentinel. And in the unearthly sound of the ghostly Shadowy Horses, who carried men away to the land of the dead…

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Okay, that blurb doesn’t really tell you much. Verity Grey is a 29 year old archaeologist type who travels to Eyemouth in Scotland after hearing about a job opportunity from ex-boyfriend Adrian Sutton-Clark. Adrian is a handsome devil but very immature when it comes to relationships. Verity found they were much better as friends, and besides, he has a marked preference for blondes and she’s a brunette. When she arrives in Eyemouth, she finds that the proposed dig is to be led by eccentric (some say mad) archaeologist, Peter Quinell, and supported by a sexy Scottish archeology professor from the local university, David Fortune. Peter’s property, Rosehill is the site of the dig – he believes he will find there, evidence of the fate of the famous 9th Roman Legion. The basis for his belief? A 9 year old boy by the name of Robbie who has “second sight”. (I heard from the author that an adult Robbie features as the hero in her upcoming book).

The other Kearsley books I have listened to (my experience with this author has all be on audio) involve time travel of some sort. This one doesn’t. There is certainly a supernatural element to the story and it delves into some of this history of the town and of the Roman occupation, but it is set solidly in the present. I also found it to be the most romantic book of Kearsley’s I’ve tried so far. That’s a big call, because Mariana had some big romance – but most of that was about Mariana and Richard and they didn’t get your traditional HEA. In this book, we see Verity and David slowly falling in love and yes, there is a traditional HEA. The story is told from Verity’s first person POV but I felt I did get to know David. It’s funny how just a few sentences can change your view of a person. For the first part of the book David is friendly but guarded with Verity. Later, Verity has a conversation with David’s mother (“Granny Nan”) and in one sentence, casts David’s actions in a new and very understandable (and sympathetic) light. I love that.

Adrian was pretty much annoying. He’s the guy who doesn’t want you but doesn’t want anyone else to have you either – so he makes sly comments that make people think there is more going on with he and Verity than there is and he puts his arm around her at strategic moments for the same reason. All this when he’s got his eye firmly on Fabia, Peter Quinell’s beautiful 20 year old (and blonde) grand-daughter. When Verity (finally!) puts Adrian in his place at the fish market, it was a thing of beauty.

The romance between David and Verity was a slow growing delight – the bedroom door is pretty much closed but there was definitely enough between them to satisfy my romantic soul and I totally believed in their HEA.

Robbie is a treasure and his mother Jeannie (the Rosehill housekeeper) and Granny Nan all add to a richly drawn cast of characters.The ghostly Sentinel who talks to Robbie in Latin, warns of a mysterious danger – and it comes from an unexpected source. The fine threads were expertly woven together to make a wonderfully complex and engrossing story. There were a few things at the end that I’m not 100% sure I understood but to go into them would be to head into spoiler territory so I won’t. It didn’t really affect my enjoyment of the story, it was just that a couple of things right at the end could have used a little more exposition (at least for my brain to fully compute anyway.)

What else? The narration is excellent. I’ve not listened to Sally Armstrong narrate before and, sadly, there doesn’t seem to be much on offer for me from Audible with her narrating, but I so wish there was. She’s the sort of narrator where you’ll listen to a book just to hear her performance. Her characters were all distinctly voiced, she has a wonderful Scottish brogue as well as the various British accents and her voice for young Robbie was just wonderful. There were a couple of times in the narration where she obviously thought a sentence had finished and then realised it hadn’t but other than that, from a technical perspective, she nailed the tone of the novel and the characterisations.I loved the lessons in Scottish dialect – Verity carried with her a pocket dictionary to translate the words people spoke which she didn’t understand and I think that this came across much better on audio – with the correct pronunciations and timing etc – than it would have in print. I’m a sucker for a good Scottish accent anyway and when you combine it with a sexy hero like David (who looks fantastic in a kilt) it’s just an added bonus.

I loved it.

Grade: A-