'Juliet' by Anne FORTIER

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

Twenty-five-year-old Julie Jacobs is heartbroken over the death of her beloved aunt Rose. But the shock goes even deeper when she learns that the woman who has been like a mother to her has left her entire estate to Julie's twin sister. The only thing Julie receives is a key - one carried by her mother on the day she herself died - to a safety-deposit box in Siena, Italy.

This key sends Julie on a journey that will change her life forever - a journey into the troubled past of her ancestor Giulietta Tolomei. In 1340, still reeling from the slaughter of her parents, Giulietta was smuggled into Siena, where she met a young man named Romeo. Their ill-fated love turned medieval Siena upside-down and went on to inspire generations of poets and artists, the story reaching its pinnacle in Shakespeare's famous tragedy.

But six centuries have a way of catching up to the present, and Julie gradually begins to discover that here, in this ancient city, the past and present are hard to tell apart. The deeper she delves into the history of Romeo and Giulietta, and the closer she gets to the treasure they allegedly left behind, the greater the danger surrounding her - superstitions, ancient hostilities, and personal vendettas. As Julie crosses paths with the descendants of the families involved in the unforgettable blood feud, she begins to fear that the notorious curse - 'A plague on both your houses!' - is still at work, and that she is destined to be its next target. Only someone like Romeo, it seems, could save her from this dreaded fate, but his story ended long ago. Or did it?

Anne Fortier’s debut novel came to me in the mail from the publisher. But it was a bitter sweet review from Diana Gabaldon that piqued my interest in this Shakespearian retelling...

There are two stories in one running through ‘Juliet’. The present-day story of Julie Jacobs and the 1340 story of Guilletta Tolomei, both set in Siena, Italy. Add into the mix a hidden treasure and family curse and it becomes clear that Anna Fortier is riffing off of the Bard’s story, not emulating it.

Present-day Julie Jacobs retells the story of Guilletta and her Romeo in first-person accounts as she reads family documents and uncovers centuries old mysteries. Julie’s first-person narration also navigates her own modern romance, but I’m reluctant to mention specifics. Remember that in the original ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Romeo was first smitten with Rosaline, and Juliet was promised to Paris...

The book is a whopping 496-page fare. And Fortier flips between the present-day and 1340 Sienna – the storyline is languid and unfurling, and reader’s will need to be somewhat patient. It is a worthwhile wait and in the meantime Fortier’s sedate pace takes readers on a trek through Italy; the beautiful, hot countryside and the bustling cities.

Shakespeare, even in today’s world of 140-character Twitter posts and ‘lol’ sms speak, is still heralded as a poet and artisan. So revered and sacred is the Bard that often his work is put on a pedestal. Rarely is it imitated for fear of doing him injustice.
I've got to hand it to Anne Fortier for dusting off the Shakespeare plays and sonnets, breathing modern romance into the age-old saga, and making the star-crossed lovers her very own. The writing does start out with a certain amount of pretence and pompousness...

“You always preferred the company of the moon.”
“Because I was living in eternal night! Surely, the moon must be the sovereign of a wretch who has never beheld the sun. But morning has broken, Father, draped in the golds and the reds of marriage, and it is the dawn of my soul!”
“But the sun retires,” reasoned Commandante Marescotti, “every night.”
“And I shall retire too!” Romeo clenched a fistful of arrows against his heart. “And leave the dark to owls and nightingales. I shall embrace the bright hours with industry, and prey no more on wholesome sleep.”

But at some point Fortier gets wrapped up in the plot and storyline, and shakes off the shackles of old-world rhetoric and just lets the story flow... and then it’s amazing. When Fortier isn’t too conscious of syntax-imitation, her writing beautifully melds modern and erstwhile, and she imbues her scenes and sentences with old-world romance.

Only when I began unbuttoning his shirt did he speak again. “Do you,” he asked, briefly stopping my hands, “believe in forever?”
I met his eyes, surprised at his sincerity. Holding up the eagle ring between us, I simply said, “Forever started a long time ago.”

A good portion of the story revolves around Julie’s feelings of inadequacy and lacking self-confidence. Her fraternal twin Janice is beautiful, confident, selfish and narcissistic. To a certain extent I empathized with Julie’s plight of being ‘the other sister’, second-string never quite good enough and always second place. But when Janice steps on the scene in the latter half of the book, it became glaringly obvious why there was so much fuss about her. Yes, she’s awful... but she’s also awfully fun to read. I’m not sure if Fortier intended Janice’s appeal to be ironic, when readers discover her hype is real, or if she wanted us to reject her fabulousness in light of Julie’s plight...? Hmmm.

You don’t have to be a Shakespeare aficionado to appreciate ‘Juliet’. Even those with basic high school knowledge of his works, or Baz Luhrmann adaptations, will appreciate and follow the story. And really, Fortier is writing the most famous of Shakespeare’s plays – who doesn’t know about the story of more woe, than that of Juliet and her Romeo?

And as to whether or not Fortier’s ‘Juliet’ has the happily ever after denied the original star-crossed lovers?... well, you’ll just have to read it and find out.

4/5

'Is This A Miracle?' by Danielle M. Binks

Aidan was laying into Anna when he noticed the tattoo. His right hook was back and ready to let swing but this black marking stopped him.
‘What’s that?’ he asked, pointing at the offending tattoo.
‘A bruise.’
‘When did you get that tattoo?’ He sent her sprawling with a backhand.
‘Bruise.’ she whimpered and pressed a hand to her gushing nose.
‘Bullshit.’
Aidan’s arm hung suspended as he continued to stare at the blackness that covered Anna’s upper-arm from elbow to shoulder, marring her pale flesh. He crept forward and bent down to get a closer look. It wasn’t entirely black upon closer inspection. The top was yellowish, and in the middle was a spattering of blue, and the face cast a purple hue…
Face - that was definitely a face!
Anna curled into a ball as Aidan bent even closer, sitting back on his haunches, head tilted slightly to the side as he continued to stare. A face with closed eyes, head slightly bent over clasped hands.
Aidan exclaimed, ‘You gone and got the Virgin on your arm!’

Aidan got out his camera phone and snapped a few photos. He went online and typed ‘bruise miracle’ into Google but all he found were pages promoting a cream for capillary removal.
He went to the Vatican website but their FAQ page said that no miracles would be reviewed by the Pope unless the person lodging the miracle had the support of no less than two archbishops. And even once a person found two archbishops to admit that they thought something was a work of God, the Vatican sent out their personal miracle-squad (otherwise known as the Congregation of the Cause of Saints) whose job it was to figure out if the supposed miracle had a divine purpose.
He did find a relatively helpful group on Facebook called ‘is this a miracle?’. People posted photos of what they considered to be miracles and other people gave their opinion. The group had 28,000 members and over 1,000 photographs had been posted. There were lots of photos of Jesus’ face on toast. One man posted a photo of a Ronald McDonald statue weeping red tears and someone else posted a photo of their own vomit and said that if you squinted your eyes and tilted your head, it resembled the baby Jesus.
Anna wasn’t the only person to have a bruise miracle – there were at least forty other photos of bruise faces, about fifteen of which were of the Virgin Mary.
Aidan was sceptical, but posted his photo of Anna’s bruise anyway.

That night when he thought she was asleep, Aidan rolled onto his side and bent his head to Anna’s bicep. His lips were so close that his breath tickled her skin as he whispered a prayer to the Virgin Mary bruise.
‘Dear God, Jesus in Heaven. Please let this be real. Amen.’
And then Aidan planted a soft kiss on Anna’s arm, right on Mary’s face.
For the first time Anna thought that her bruise really might be a miracle.

That night Anna’s Virgin Mary bruise photo was viewed 500 times and received nine comments, all of which said it looked like a tattoo. Although one person posted that the vomit had a better chance of impressing the Vatican.

While 500 people disregarded Anna’s bruise, the Virgin Mary’s eyes opened and she looked up.

The next morning Aidan rolled over and stared into Mary’s eyes. He sat upright and grabbed Anna’s arm. Mary was no longer meek with downcast eyes – now her eyes were open and her chin was lifted, almost as though she was looking up at Anna.
While Aidan posted new photos online, Anna stroked a reverent fingertip along Mary’s cheek and whispered ‘Hello’ to her miracle.

That night Anna’s Virgin Mary bruise photos received 5,545 views and 368 comments were posted.
While 5,545 slightly less cynical people viewed the photos, Mary’s lips curved and Anna was awoken by a tickle on her arm. She looked down to see Aidan’s face nestled in the crook of her elbow, his eyelashes fluttering against the Virgin Mary.

The next morning Aidan rolled over and hitched his breath when he saw Mary smiling at him. While Aidan took photos and went to the computer, Anna returned Mary’s smile.

The next night Anna’s Virgin Mary bruise photos were viewed by 10, 789 people, one of whom was Father Diego Vista in Barcelona, a member of the Congregation of the Cause of Saints. Father Diego had felt a familiar glow when he looked upon Mary’s face in a wine-coloured bruise.
The Virgin’s serene smile always had that affect on him; whether he was looking upon her stone façade at La Sagrada Familia, or seeing her clasped hands on a piece of toast. He felt less divinity towards the vomit, but in most forms the Virgin’s presence always had the affect of orientating him, and making him feel as though he was taking up space in this world.
When Father Diego looked at Anna’s Virgin Mary bruise, he felt the comforting pull of Her luminosity. And that was mostly how Father Diego determined whether or not something was a miracle these days. Of course there was a whole process that he had to go through - mainly in conducting testimonies and presenting various scientific studies to the Congregation councils. But really, Father Diego just followed his gut-instinct. He had come to rely on his own reverence more than the confessions of fame-seeking zealots.
In the early days of his Priesthood, Father Diego had traveled with his fellow Vatican investigators to every corner of the planet - all in the name of miracle. He had been to Portugal, Ethiopia, Budapest, and Namibia. He had seen cripples walk, statues weep and food take face.
But he had yet to see a confirmed miracle.
Most claims could be put down to medicine, hysteria or falsehood or simply the misguidance of hope. That relentless drive that people have to hold in their hands, or see with their eyes something that confirms their belief, and lets them know they are not alone. God Bless those people who think faith is about finding proof, rather than believing in the absence of it.
With the rise of the Internet came an increase in miracle claims. Any born-again with a camera-phone could now snap a photo of Jesus’ face on a urinal-cake and post it to the Vatican, fully expecting their claim to be taken seriously.
But Father Diego was fifty-five years old now. He wasn’t obliged to get on a plane and travel thousands of kilometres to Amarillo, Texas to tell a farmer that the Baby Jesus’ face did not appear on a cowpat.
These days he emailed miracle applicants to tell them their claims had been found wanting. He scoured online forums, viewed pixilated photos and grainy YouTube videos as part of his investigations.
It would take a lot to make Father Diego Vista leave his beloved Barcelona and travel for hours in economy class to conduct a proper inquiry. It would take a miracle.
It would, in fact, take 10, 789 people viewing one Virgin Mary bruise photo.
It would take the radiant pull of that purple-hued Virgin Mary bruise.
It would take Anna’s face, her jade-green eyes staring out in frozen calm, her quiet smile mirroring that of the Virgin Mary on her arm, to make Father Diego buy a plane ticket to Western Australia.

A phone-call came the following day from the Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, explaining that he had contacted the Vatican.
That night, Mary’s hands unclasped and Anna fell asleep to the sound of Aidan’s prayers; ‘Dear God, Jesus in Heaven. Help me be better. Let this be real. Amen’

A letter arrived the next day from the Archbishop of the Ukranian Greek Catholic Church, saying he too had put in a request to the Vatican.
Mary’s hands began to drift apart.

And then on Friday night while Anna was vacuuming and Aidan was watching the footy, a knock came at the door. Anna switched the porch-light on and answered. As Anna looked up at Father Diego, Mary turned her hands and splayed her fingers.
‘Unless it’s the Pope with a cheque, close the fucking door!’ Aidan bellowed from the couch.
‘No cheque I am sorry, I just came to meet the miracle,’ Diego murmured, his words spiced with Catalan and his eyes fixed on Anna’s freshly blackened eye.
He was so tall that he had to stoop slightly at their door, so it seemed as though he was bowing to Anna. His nose was too big, his brown eyes too close together and curtained by shaggy black brows that looked odd with his whitened hair.
Looking at him, Anna felt as if someone had struck a match against her ribcage, she could feel an ignition of warmth.
Meanwhile, Mary made a fist of her right hand.
When Father Diego’s lips curved into a smile, Anna grinned in return. ‘Won’t you come in, Father?’ and she stepped aside to let the light in.

That night Father Diego explained to Anna and Aidan how a miracle worked.
‘Once a miracle is deemed as such the Vatican declares it to be worthy of veneration by the faithful.’ Father Diego’s voice whispered through Anna, and she felt her cheeks heat.
‘What does ‘ventilation’ mean?’ Aidan asked, around a mouthful of mashed potato.
Father Diego smiled tightly, ‘Veneration is permission for Catholics to deem something praise-worthy.’
Aidan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand; ‘Can we charge people for their praise?’
Father Diego shook his head, made the sign of the cross and kissed his rosary beads.
Anna asked Father Diego what other miracles he had seen.
‘None,’ he answered, and smiled at her crinkled brow.
Aidan shoved his chair away from the table and left the room muttering under his breath about ‘fucking, no-good miracles getting my hopes up’.
‘But then, how do you know this is a real miracle?’ Anna asked, shrugging the arm that housed Mary’s face.
‘I don’t.’ Father Diego smiled. He settled a big callused hand atop one of Anna’s smaller ones, ‘People keep looking for proof, and I keep investigating in case they find it.’ Father Diego continued to smile, and Anna’s brow continued to furrow.
Anna gave a small shake of her head, ‘But, what’s the point? You haven’t found a miracle yet, what makes you think you ever will?’
‘Faith.’ Father Diego’s eyes were laughing at her, she was sure of it.
Mary lifted the middle finger of her right hand.
He squeezed her hand, and Anna squeezed back automatically while he spoke, ‘Faith that believers will see what they want to see, and gain strength from inanimate objects just to feel a connection to something bigger than themselves.’
‘What about faith in God to actually deliver a miracle?’ Anna asked, thinking of the time Aidan took a skillet to her back because she’d burnt his pancakes.
Father Diego simply said, ‘With God, all things are possible.’
Anna clamped a hand around her bicep, ‘What if this is not a miracle?’ she whispered, so quietly that Father Diego had to lean close to her mouth to hear her.
‘And what if it is?’ Diego whispered back.

Later that night Anna woke to Aidan’s fingers digging into Mary’s face. His panting breath scolded her skin as he whispered, ‘Dear God, Jesus in Heaven. Don’t you fucking play with me. If this isn’t real I don’t know what I’ll do to her. Amen.’
When he finally let her go, heaved onto his side and started snoring, Anna rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. She thought of Aidan’s swinging fists, and of the sound her ribs made under the heel of his boot. Then she remembered Father Diego’s words, like a fevered whisper in her head; ‘And what if it is?’

The next morning Aidan woke to the vision of the Virgin Mary giving him the bird. He screamed and scrambled out of bed as Anna peered down at the perfectly rigid middle finger that was undoubtedly aimed at her husband.
Once he’d composed himself, Aidan reached for his camera phone; ‘Thank you God, and Jesus in Heaven!!’ he said, lifting the phone.
Anna flexed her bicep, making Mary’s serene face stretch.
‘Hold still or it’ll come out blurry!’ Aidan snapped.
Anna reached out and plucked the phone from his hand.
He stared at her, slack-jawed, as she threw the phone against the wall.
‘Aidan, the Virgin Mary just told you to go fuck yourself. I think you should listen.’
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ he growled, watching as Anna walked away from him.
She didn’t turn around as she replied, ‘Growing a bit of faith,’ and walked down to the spare bedroom she had made up for Father Diego.
Filling his doorway, Anna put a hand on her hip and thrust out her chin; ‘You’re looking at your first miracle,’ she declared.
Mary smiled.



© Danielle M. Binks & Express Media 2010

'Bright Young Things' by Anna Godbersen

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties.

Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York's glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star. . . .

Cordelia is searching for the father she's never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined - and more dangerous. It's a life anyone would kill for . . . and someone will.

The only person Cordelia can trust is Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia's brother, Charlie. But Astrid's perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets.

Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls' fortunes will rise and fall - together and apart. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes an epic new series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age.

On the up and up...

‘Bright Young Things’ is the first book in Anna Godbersen’s new series, set in 1929 Manhattan. The series will revolve around three young women...

Cordelia Grey leaves behind the small town of Union, Ohio and her new husband for the bright lights of New York City and an inkling that her estranged father can be found in the big apple.

Letitia Haubstadt is Cordelia’s best friend, and another Union-native leaving her indifferent family and small-minded town for the bright lights of NYC where she intends to transform herself into Letty Larkspur.

On the other end of the social strata resides Astrid Donal, a privileged young miss who is home from boarding school, desperate to have a raucous-good time and oddly charmed by her mother’s stably-boy horse-riding instructor.

These three women come from very different backgrounds, have different ambitions and are set to play out very different fates... But, to borrow from F. Scott Fitzgerald, all three women envision New York City as their very own ‘green light’. These women who ‘beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past’...

The Real McCoy

Godbersen writes period the same way Stephenie Meyer writes vampires. It’s her niche, her hook and what sets her apart from other YA writers. Godbersen’s novels are primarily written around a period of time. The ‘Luxe’ series was set in the 1800’s, and her new ‘Bright Young Things’ is all about the 20’s Jazz Age.

Godbersen’s storylines have been touted as very ‘Gossip Girl’, with an age difference. And that’s somewhat true, if simplified. Her books are set in Manhattan and are about young, beautiful socialites living and loving it up in the Big Apple. But I think Godbersen’s period settings often convey to readers how similar we are to these young people of the past... and that some things don’t change, no matter the era. Girls still lust after boys. Boys still chase girls. We still secretly hope to make the big time and get discovered. Family dynamics and dynamites are universal and always make for addictive reading. Godbersen may be setting herself apart by basing her YA books in a period setting, but the timeframe is often superficial and second-fiddle to the characters universal struggles and experiences.

You got moxy, kid

That being said... era does dictate Godbersen’s writing. And it’s not just a matter of setting and dialogue, her writing is dripping in history, and timeliness pervades every sentence. Like her description of Cordelia’s eyes;

which were the sweet, translucent brown of Coca-Cola in a glass ...

Even that one description of eye-colour is influenced by the upcoming age of mass-market capitalism and consumerism. Brilliant.

The book’s time-warp is unique and delicious. NYC in 1929 is a buzzing metropolis of fashionable flappers, bootlegging businessmen and a clash of classes. Godbersen captures the city’s vibrancy beautifully; every moment holds such significance, even Letty and Cordelia stepping off the train platform to see an airplane sky-writing;

New York was more extraordinary than a girl from Ohio could possibly have imagined, that it was a place of wonders where the citizens used the sky as their tablet and airplanes for pens.

Even descriptions of character’s clothing become stylish still-frames under Godbersen’s talented pen;

Her dark, mannishly cut hair was slicked behind both ears, and her eyes were covered with small, perfectly round black sunglasses.

But it’s also a mark of Godbersen’s talent that characters and story don’t get lost amidst the skyscrapers and grandiose old city setting.

The Cat’s Meow

The pace of ‘Bright Young Things’ is as fast as the Charleston. Very early on in the novel Cordelia goes in search of her famous, criminal father. Letty grows stars in her eyes and seeks a life on the stage. And Astrid’s home life spins wildly out of control.
These are big storylines, but Godbersen never loses her characters to big concepts.

Godbersen keeps the story firmly about the women rather than the era, especially because in the prologue she chillingly foreshadows that of the three women;

one would be famous, one would be married, and one would be dead.

Each girl is very distinctive. From Astrid’s Daisy Buchanan-esque lifestyle (‘gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor’, thankyou Fitzgerald), to Cordelia’s creeping guilt over leaving her husband on their wedding night. These are complicated young ladies living in extraordinary times, and it is a voyeuristic joy to glimpse their helter-skelter lives.

The women are made all the more fascinating for the men in their complicated lives. Cordelia develops a crush on Thomas Schultz, son of her father’s bootlegging rival. Letty meets a crushing author called Grady Lodge who is enamoured of her talent. And Astrid is dating the filthy rich Charlie Grey, but is oddly attracted to her country club’s stable boy, Luke.
The romance is decadent and addictive, made more so by the old-world charm these men exhibit:

It was the colour of his eyes, she supposed – not quite one shade or another, and utterly unlike anyone else’s. She loved the idea of driving in a car with a boy like that. “You stick with me. I’m gonna show you what’s really hiding behind all them straight-faced facades.”

Ducky

Anna Godbersen has bought the 1920’s to modern teenagers in ‘Bright Young Things’. The book is flapper-cool, a gin-soaked raucous gala-read and head-nod to the king of Jazz, F. Scott Fitzgerlad himself.
‘Bright Young Things’ is the cat’s meow, so get ready to purr.

5/5

'Bright Young Things' is released October 12th 2010....

Anna Godbersen's Luxe series - out now!

'Wicked Intentions' Maiden Lane #1 by Elizabeth HOYT

From the BLURB:

A MAN CONTROLLED BY HIS DESIRES . . .

Infamous for his wild, sensual needs, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is searching for a savage killer in St. Giles, London's most notorious slum. Widowed Temperance Dews knows St. Giles like the back of her hand-she's spent a lifetime caring for its inhabitants at the foundling home her family established. Now that home is at risk . . .

A WOMAN HAUNTED BY HER PAST . . .

Caire makes a simple offer-in return for Temperance's help navigating the perilous alleys of St. Giles, he will introduce her to London's high society so that she can find a benefactor for the home. But Temperance may not be the innocent she seems, and what begins as cold calculation soon falls prey to a passion that neither can control-one that may well destroy them both.

A BARGAIN NEITHER COULD REFUSE

‘Wicked Intentions’ is the first book in Elizabeth Hoyt’s new historical romance series, ‘Maiden Lane’.

Maiden Lane is situated in St. Giles, a notoriously dangerous area of London – gin-soaked streets, urchin children, brawling bodies and a masked vigilante roaming the streets.
It is here that Temperance Dews and her brother, Winter, run an orphanage for abandoned children. It is also here that one Lord Lazarus Caire lost his mistress to a knife-wielding murderer. In the most unlikely of circumstances Lord Caire and Temperance’s paths will cross – Caire needs someone with St Giles know-how and Temperance needs a patron for her flailing orphanage. Temperance agrees to help Lord Caire find his mistresses murderer, and in return Lord Caire agrees to help look for a moneyed patron for the orphanage. But both Temperance and Lord Caire will get more than they ever bargained for...

I stumbled across Elizabeth Hoyt earlier this year, and her novel ‘The Raven Prince’. I was really blown away by that book, and did intend to read more of Hoyt’s work... but it wasn’t until the blogosphere started buzzing with praise for her newest novel ‘Wicked Intentions’ that I finally revisited Hoyt’s writing.
And I've got to say... she amazed me again.

Hoyt excels in writing complex and compelling characters. Lord Lazarus Caire is one such conundrum. First impressions would suggest that he is an anti-hero of the rake variety... a debauched lady-lover who shuns polite society and is gossiped to have perverse bedroom preferences.
Rakes are a dime a dozen in historical romances... but Hoyt’s deliciously devilish and dark hero has more going on beneath the surface than just a predilection for ‘tie me up, tie me down’ bedroom antics. Hoyt has written in Lazarus a deeply disturbed loner for whom physical touch is repulsive and painful. Lazarus had an isolated childhood, devoid of love and affection, and as a result he has built an invisible fortress around himself... to the point that he mentally fears physical touch.
That’s just an example of how much deeper Hoyt goes in her historical romances. Lazarus isn’t just a rake; he’s a rake with deep-seated psychological issues.

Temperance Dews is likewise not your typical historical romance heroine. Yes, she runs an orphanage and has been a poor widower for nine years. In any other historical romance she would be written as a thorough Mary-Sue to show a rake the error of his ways and the salvation to be had from pure love. Think again. Temperance has issues just the same as Lord Caire, and they run just as psychologically deep. Temperance has been harbouring a guilty conscience since her husband’s death, and to repent for her wicked ways she has been punishing herself for these past nine years. Temperance works at her family’s orphanage, but she holds herself back from caring for the children. She holds her emotions in check, and refuses to allow her heart to love.

“There’s something about her,” Caire said in a low voice. “She cares for everyone about her, yet neglects herself. I want to be the one who cares for her.”

I really loved Hoyt’s character explorations into her hero and heroine. Hoyt really makes her readers work to know her characters – as a reader you have to see past their shield and armour, discern their motivations and issues. As much as ‘Wicked Intentions’ is a mystery whodunit, each of Hoyt’s character are mysteries unto themselves for readers to unravel and predict. Temperance and Lord Caire are both cordoning themselves off from feeling – but it’s a matter of reading to know why, to know what shadows lurk in their past and deep down in their psyches. ‘Wicked Intentions’ is a historical romance, but Hoyt’s characters are so layered and wonderful that by the end I was pretty sure it was also a psychological thriller to boot...

And then there’s the fact that Elizabeth Hoyt writes marvellous sex scenes. I found that in ‘The Raven Prince’ and Hoyt proves herself yet again in ‘Wicked Intentions’. Her sex scenes are great literary foreplay, sensual and slow scenes that unravel in conjunction with the character’s lowering defences. The sex scenes are more than just smut when Hoyt writes them, they become lush revelations;

Something snapped. He muttered a curse before hauling her around and slamming his mouth down on hers. This was what he wanted; this was what tamed the beast within him: her soft lips, the quiet sound of her moan as he licked across them. There was a desperate, animal need within him, one he couldn’t fully identify. One he couldn’t understand rationally. It was tearing him apart from within, this need. It wanted her – something from her – though he didn’t know quite what. He only knew that if this terrible need was not assuaged, he very much feared he might lose something within himself.

‘Wicked Intentions’ is primarily a historical romance, but the propelling plot that brings Lord Caire and Temperance together is the hunt for a murderer in St. Giles. And how ironic that the love interests are brought together by the man’s hunt for his mistresses murderer. The murder mystery often takes a back-seat to Temperance and Caire’s romantic development, but overall I felt like Hoyt balanced the mystery and romance very well. I think it helped that hunting for the murderer bought Temperance and Caire closer together, and offered up numerous situations in which to test their mettle.

I did have two niggling complaints about ‘Wicked Intentions’. One small complaint, and one rather large story issue...

Along with the murder hunt and Temperance and Caire’s romance, there was a storyline regarding Temperance’s little sister, Silence. Silence is the youngest of the five Dews children, and married to a ship captain called William. William captains the Finch, and upon returning from sea the ship’s cargo is stolen. The ship’s owners accuse William of being in cahoots with the thieves who robbed the Finch, and it looks as though William will be thrown into gaol unless the cargo turns up. All of St. Giles knows that notorious thief ‘charming Mickey’ stole the cargo, but Mickey owns St. Giles and nobody wants to confront him. Nobody, except Silence. But what Mickey asks Silence to do in exchange for the cargo and her husband’s innocence will test the strength of her marriage and family-ties...
This storyline threw me.... where I thought that the murder-mystery and romance melded really well together, this side-story running in conjunction really stuck out like a sore thumb. For a little while I wondered if the storyline of the missing cargo would eventually run into the murder-mystery... but by the end of ‘Wicked Intentions’ I realized that Hoyt intends this to be a continuing minor plot (possibly throughout the series?). I’m really not sure about Silence’s side-story. On the one hand I think the storyline unto itself is great, and could have warranted a book by itself. But within the context of Temperance and Caire’s story... it didn’t work for me.

My minor complaint was regarding character names. The names are a little odd, and upon first reading they are also slightly tough to grasp. For some reason Hoyt has provided many of her major characters with noun-names. Temperance, Winter and Silence. And she also throws in a few adjective-named characters for good measure, like Lord Caire’s valet called Small. When first introducing a few of these characters I had to re-read sentences when I realized that Hoyt was using nouns as proper nouns. Yeah, it was somewhat confusing.

Hoyt’s books are not your typical historical romance fare. She isn’t writing throw-away smut-fluff to be consumed in an afternoon of light reading. Hoyt’s historical romances have a slightly sharper edge, intricate plot and complicated heroes. Elizabeth Hoyt writes some of the smartest historical romances I have ever read, and while there is still plenty of sensual sex to entertain and keep you hot under the collar, it’s her complex characters and intricate storylines that set her apart from the rest.

4.5/5

I really look forward to the second book in the ‘Maiden Lane’ series, called ‘Notorious Pleasures’ and coming in February 2011.

Indie Author Interview - H.P. Mallory

Introducing indie Urban Fantasy author, H.P. Mallory!
She is the author of the 'Jolie Wilkins' and 'Dulcie O'Neil' series.

Q: What is an ‘Indie’ author?
A: An indie author is someone who has taken control of her own career and decided to oust agents and publishers and basically do it herself, that means no only the actual publishing of the book but also the marketing, etc.


Q: What made you decide to turn to self-publishing with ‘smashwords’?
A: Well, my books are also available on Amazon and the reason I did this is two-fold--first, I loved the autonomy of being in charge of my own career. Initially, I started out with the big New York agent and when that didn't go anywhere, I just decided this was something I could do myself so I did it! I haven't looked back since!


Q: Are you still hoping to publish with a big publishing house, or are you Indie-all-the-way now?
A: Well, I'm pretty happy with my success so far. If a big publisher wanted to take my books to the next level, I definitely wouldn't be opposed to it but it would have to be a pretty sweet offer! LOL


Q: How long did it take you to write ‘Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble’ – from idea to final draft?
A: Um, I think it was about 6 months. Maybe a bit longer.


Q: Your books have fantastically kitsch-cute front covers. Who designs them?
A: LOL Me! Well, I purchased the images of the people and then I added the Halloweeny backgrounds and changed things like eye color and hair color, added the text and I did it all in Photoshop. I'm really excited about the covers and the response to them has been great.


Q: In ‘To Kill a Warlock’ Dulcie is writing a historical romance (of the pirate variety) when she is told by literary agents that ‘paranormal’ is the thing... was this a case of art imitating life?
A: A few people have asked me this now. It's based on my own experience as far as the whole querying agents part goes but that's where it ends. No one ever told me about paranormal novels being in. I just sort of added that in there.


Q: Were you already a fan of all things paranormal, or did you start reading and writing in the genre after you had the idea for ‘Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble’?
A: Yes, I've always been a huge fan of ghost stories, haunted houses, etc. etc. And I'd been reading in the genre prior to writing both my books.


Q: Let’s clear something up... are Jolie and Dulcie inhabiting the same universe, or are they separate series’?
A: I'm really glad you asked me this question because there has been some confusion. Jolie and Dulcie are two totally separate characters living in separate worlds. Fire Burn and Warlock have nothing to do with one another. They are each the first book in a series, neither having anything to do with the other.


Q: How many Jolie books can we expect?
A: I think about 3-5.


Q: How many Dulcie books?
A: Dulcie is a little more unlimited, I think. Probably until the series just needs to end. LOL


Q: I love Sinjin! (vampire master from ‘Fire Burn’) Is there any chance that he’ll get his own spin-off series?
A: Nope. Sinjin will figure prominently in subsequent novels in the Fire Burn series though. Course, if there still is high demand for him, maybe he could warrant his own series!


Q: Can you give us the low-down on your next book? And an expected release date?
A: I've just completed chapter 9 of the next book in Jolie's series, titled Toil and Trouble. I don't have a release date yet but I'm thinking the timeline will be in about 4 months or so. It will pick up where Fire Burn left off and solve some of the issues, though not all!


Q: Favourite book(s) of all time?
A: Pride and Prejudice


Q: Favourite author(s)?
A: I have a lot of them! I was an English major in college so I naturally have lots of favs. Quick list: Shakespeare, Austen, Bronte sisters, Nathaniel West, Oscar Wilde


Q: Any advice for budding authors who are considering self-publishing?
A: Do it! I definitely think they should try the old way, just to get an idea of what that is all about but they should definitely consider self pubbing if the traditional route doesn't go the way they hope. They must be aware though, that it's not just about writing a good book and listing it on Amazon. They also have to be responsible for marketing the book and getting the word out there which can be tough!

'Dark Goddess' by Sarwat CHADDA

Received from the Publisher

** contains SPOILERS for ‘Devil’s Kiss’ **

From the BLURB:

After the death of her soulmate Kay by her very own sword, Billi SanGreal has thrown herself into the brutal regime of Templar duties with utter abandon. There is no room for feelings any more - her life is now about hunting down the Unholy.

But when Billi and another Knight Templar are caught at the heart of a savage werewolf attack, only Billi survives - except for a young girl at the scene who Billi unthinkingly drags away with her as they escape. But Vasalisa is no ordinary girl. She is an avatar with an uncontrollable power - and it's not only the werewolves who want her.

Billi has to flee to the frosty climes of Russia, with a human timebomb who, it seems, could destroy the world . . .

Sarwat Chadda had a BIG task ahead of him with his second book ‘Dark Goddess’.
I admit to going into the book with apprehensions. I loved ‘Devil’s Kiss’, and was absolutely blown away by Chadda’s sophisticated and horror-ific YA novel. I did wonder if he could catch lightening in a bottle twice. But the opening paragraph of 'Goddess' put my mind at ease...

The Rottweiler’s head lay in a bush, just off the snow-sprinkled path. One eye was gone, leaving a blood-encrusted socket. Its tongue hung out stupidly from a broken jaw. The body was a few metres further, its chest carved open so the ribs stuck out of the skin like a row of gruesome lollipops.

Chills. My body is riddled with goose bumps when I read some of Chadda’s grisly and provocative sentences, and that opening paragraph had me convinced that Chadda’s brilliance was back for a second-round.

Billi has changed since the events of ‘Devil’s Kiss’. She’s a little bit harder, more serious and more accepting of her Templar fate. When we first met Billi she was railing against her destiny with the Knights, horrified by the ghosts and ghuls she faced and resentful of her duties to the Templar. In ‘Goddess’ Billi is a bad-ass, sword-wielding knight heavyweight. A lot of her renewed determination is linked to Kay’s death; her guilt and missing her best friend. In ‘Goddess’ it does feel like Billi is combustible and reaching a boiling point, and her changed personality is the new ticking time-bomb, replacing her and her father’s strained relationship that was in ‘Devil’s Kiss’.

Chadda leaves London and brings Billi to Russia, facing an old folkloric foe in Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga is a witch-like character from Slavic folklore who is set to wreak havoc on the world. Billi and the Knights are also tasked with guarding a nine-year-old girl called Vasilisa who is thought to be an oracle like Kay was. Vasilisa is being hunted by Loony’s (werewolves) and it is up to the Templar to keep her safe at all costs.

The Baba Yaga storyline is horror perfection. Baba Yaga is a terrible and terrifying villain, an admirable follow-up to Michael’s avenging angel of ‘Devil’s Kiss’. Sarwat Chadda doesn’t hold anything back from his YA audience; he writes gory and gruesome heart-palpitating action with such finesse and an eye to literary detail that even when you’re scared witless you’re completely captivated by the story.

‘Dark Goddess’ also has a smattering of romance. The mysterious Tsarevich Ivan is introduced and Billi takes an instant dislike that soon turns to sparking chemistry. I kind of love the fact that Chadda’s concentration isn’t primarily on the romance – the horror and action are very much the focal point. The ‘Devil’s Kiss’ series is very gothic and horrific, and that’s the selling-point and the crux of the story. The romance is a great complement to the intense action, but it’s not crucial. And because the romance isn’t weighing down the action, what little sweetness Chadda offers seems all the more significant and profound for its scarcity.

I love Sarwat Chadda and his ‘Devil’s Kiss’ series. This is addictive horror-reading, beautifully written by one of the best and brightest of the YA scene.

5/5

'Comfort Food' by Kitty THOMAS

From the BLURB:

Emily Vargas has been taken captive. As part of his conditioning methods, her captor refuses to speak to her, knowing how much she craves human contact. He's far too beautiful to be a monster. Combined with his lack of violence toward her, this has her walking a fine line at the edge of sanity. Told in the first person from Emily's perspective, Comfort Food explores what happens when all expectations of pleasure and pain are turned upside down, as whips become comfort and chicken soup becomes punishment.

I’d been hearing a lot of hype about this book ‘Comfort Food’ by Kitty Thomas. A lot of bloggers were writing some very bizarre reviews and recommending it to me. I did get the feeling that people’s encouragement was being given with knowing smirks and wink-winks. I really wanted in on the joke, so I gave the book a go...

Emily Vargas has been captured. She is thrown in a cell and blindfolded. Her captor does not speak. He does not beat her, he does not threaten her. He is mute. He is silent. And that makes him all the more terrifying...

‘Comfort Food’ is dark erotica. Kitty Thomas is writing extreme BDSM erotic fiction – master/slave masochism without the simulated ‘tie me up, tie me down’ sex games. This is a story about a captured woman who is raped, and subjected to psychological torture. Her ordeal is made all the worse for the fact that she likes it. She comes to crave the pain and silence of her captor; she even ends up calling him ‘Master’.

‘Comfort Food’ is dark erotica, but it has quite a literary bent. The same way ‘Master’ plays with Emily’s emotions and warps her feelings, Kitty Thomas provokes similar reactions in her readers in a strange case of art imitating life.

In the beginning of the novel I was frightened for Emily. We meet her on the first day of her captivity, and read the confused jumble of her thoughts as she tries to retrace the steps that led to her capture. We read Emily through every momentous experience of her captivity – the day she exchanges sexual favours for food. The day her captor swaps her barren cell for a plush suite. The day she reads the rule-book and learns the reward/punishment scheme. We are right there with her... even when the bullwhips and chains start to feel more pleasurable than painful. And when she comfortably slips into the habit of referring to, and thinking of him as her ‘Master’, when she starts to crave his touch... As a reader we go with Emily into this downward spiral of complacency and acceptance. To the point where the sex scenes are delicious and evocative and you hardly even notice that it’s still sex under duress...

I didn’t move toward the door. I held his gaze and said, “I’ll do whatever you want.”
I could see evidence of his arousal outlined through the pants he’d put back on. He was wearing only jeans, the muscles of his chest so beautiful I could hardly stand to look at him.
Still, he didn’t move. I walked to the door and shut it, and then panicked because I’d just locked myself into a sadistic torture chamber with my captor. My captor who I trusted not to hurt me because he never had before, not physically anyway.

The same way Emily surrenders to Stockholm syndrome, readers are likewise thrown into this odd conundrum of finding the story almost romantic, and not being as disturbed by the content as our conscience tells us we should be... I was really quite taken aback when I realized, halfway through the novel, that I was finding the sex scenes ‘sexy’. They are still a form of rape. Emily is still a prisoner. But Kitty Thomas has written such a masterful mind-fuck that I didn’t consciously notice my perverse reactions to the story until I finished it and was able to reflect.
It's especially weird that I (and many others) liked the book when, in recent years, monsters like Josef Fritzl have dominated news headlines. I must admit, Kitty Thomas does take a somewhat easy 'out' by making the Master a very handsome and rich man. Emily likens him to being the Patrick Bateman of psychos.

Oddly enough my one complaint about the novel was Kitty Thomas revealing the Master’s psyche. I thought the novel would have been all the more disturbing without a glimpse into this man’s thinking and motivation, and I’m not sure anything was gained by including his perspective that I hadn’t already assumed from his silence...? How strange that my only niggling complaint was to do with Kitty Thomas offering the ‘villain’s’ point of view, because I wanted the book to be even *darker*. How’s that for twisted?!

For me, reading ‘Comfort Food’ upon recommendation of fellow bloggers was somewhat similar to your friends suggesting you put a dollop of wasabi on your sushi if you’re never tried it before. You may very well say “but it’s green and it smells weird - are you sure I’ll like it?” and your friends all nod and say “yeah, it’s great! It’s like mustard. It’s Japanese mustard. It’s great.”
Well that was kind of my reaction to ‘Comfort Food’. The novel was like wasabi, a literary shock to my senses... but not awful, and surprisingly sinus-clearing.

To be honest, this book is a bit of a head-trip. It’s an uncomfortably sexy read and upon finishing the novel you will question your own personality and head-space. But darn, this is a fine piece of storytelling – equal parts intricate and invasive, evocative and eerie.
‘Comfort Food’ is a deliciously dark and disturbing piece of erotica. It is the dark-chocolate of erotica... definitely not for beginners and possibly not for the faint of heart either.

4/5