Category Archives: Romance

1 Treasure Box, Romance, Public Library, Goodreads, Crime novel

Reunion in Death by J. D. Robb

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This entry is part [part not set] of 26 in the series In Death Series

Book Review: 1 Treasure Box
In Death Series, Book 16
Publisher: Brilliance Audio (November 28, 2007) 11 hours 21 minutes (320 pages), ISBN-10: 1423317483, ISBN-13: 978-1423317487

A black widow type murderer, who Eve previously tracked down and convicted, is released from the jail. But now she is killing strangers in Eve’s back yard and her ultimate goal is Roake. Eve must find and stop her before it is too late.

Reunion in Death is the sixteenth instalment in the In Death series by J.D. Robb. To date she has written 40 books in the series, with two more expected to be released in the fall of 2011.  These are crime drama, suspense and romance because they focus on the case Eve is currently working on as well as her and Roake’s personal relationship. This is a futuristic suspense that takes place in 2059 in New York City. The books are told in a third person narrative that focuses primarily on Lieutenant Eve Dallas, but at times the story is also told through some of the other characters including the murderer. They are written by Nora Roberts under the pseudonym of J. D. Robb.

I felt this book recycled material from some of the previous stories.  We have already seen this storyline played out. However, the parts that examined Eve’s past were interesting and covered new material.  Eve must go to Dallas to find clues on the killer and in the process face her past.  Although, there is no sex in this book, there is a really sweet moment between Eve and Roake when they exchange their first anniversary gifts. We also get to meet Peabody’s Free-Ager parents which include some interesting moments.

For In Death fans, Reunion in Death is a necessary read since it moves Eve’s personal story forward and we learn more about Peabody’s background.  If you a just looking for a good crime drama story though, this one is pretty mediocre.

Question to Ponder: Did you think the crime drama portion of this book was recycled, or did you really enjoy the story?

To Buy: “Reunion in Death” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

Goodreads, Fantasy, 3 Treasure Boxes, Romance, In Library

Legacy by Lois McMaster Bujold

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This entry is part [part not set] of 4 in the series The Sharing Knife

Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes
The Sharing Knife Series, Volume Two
Publisher: Harper Voyager (May, 2008), 356 pages, Language: English, ISBN-10: 978-0-06-113906-2

This is a story of magic, the fight against evil, family commitments and love. Dag, the magic wielding Lakewalker and his young bride the Farmer-girl Fawn continue their story including the ongoing battle against the evil creatures known as Malices. This book takes place immediately following Beguilement. 

Lois McMaster Bujold has written numerous Science Fiction and Fantasy books and series including The Vorkosigan Saga, The Chalion Universe Series and the The Sharing Knife Series. Legacy is the second book in The Sharing Knife Series which has a total of four books. These books fall into the Fantasy genre but can also be considered a Romance since it revolves around a love story.  There is magic in this universe that is welded by the Lakewakers and it takes place in a society that is equivalent to ours in the early 19th century.  It occurs after the fall of a greater society that was destroyed by the creation of evil creatures known as Malices.  In this world the Lakewalkers serve by destroying these creatures as they continue to randomly pop up. The story is told in a third person narrative by the two main protagonists Dag, the Lakewalker and Fawn, the Farmer girl.

Dag and Fawn, two individuals with completely different backgrounds are married and in love.  They leave Fawn’s farmer family and continue on to Dag’s communal camp.  Once they arrive they are once again facing the unfairness of prejudice. Dag is called away to fight against a mature malice that has uncanny abilities and gets into a very tight spot in the process.  Fawn is left alone in a hostile environment and it is heart wrenching reading about her mistreatment at the hands of Dag’s own family and community. It is all based on discrimination against her, not because she isn’t a good person, but because she is a farmer.  It is surprising because Dag was only half a person before he met Fawn and some people see and understand this. The story unfolded with a good pace and there was plenty of excitement and suspense during the fight against the malice. The book had a great ending.

I highly recommend this book.  If you enjoy reading a good, original fantasy story that revolves around a romance then you will enjoy this book.  This is a stand alone book, but I quickly picked up the next book in the series to see where the story is going.

In Library, Goodreads, 2 Treasure Boxes, Contemporary Fantasy, Romance

Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris

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This entry is part [part not set] of 11 in the series The Southern Vampire Mysteries Series

Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes
A Sooke Stackhouse Novel (The Southern Vampire Mysteries), Book 6
Publisher: Ace (March 27, 2007), Paperback: 342 pages, Language: English, ISBN-10: 0441014917, ISBN-13: 978-0441014910

Sooke Stackhouse is a cute, sweet, down–to-earth barmaid who just happens to be telepathic and she has become involved in the world of Vampires, Werewolves and other supernatural beings. Sooke’s cousin, who had been turned into a vampire, has met the final death and Sooke gets pulled into the machinations surrounding this event.

This is the sixh book in The Southern Vampire Mysteries series (also known as A Sooke Stackhouse Novel ), there are currently a total of eleven books. All the books are contemporary fantasy books also known as urban fantasy. They also fall into the romance genre. The story is told in the first person narrative with Sooke’s voice and thoughts as we follow her around.

The story flows well starting out with a couple of mysteries in the beginning. Sooke trys to solve these while working with the gorgeous and sexy were-tiger Quinn. This book has plenty of action as Sooke is attacked several times.  There is also an interesting magical ectoplasmic reconstruction of the events which lead up to the final death of Sooke’s cousin. There is an interesting sex scene between Sooke and her new hunk Quinn.  I did not think this book was as captivating as the previous books and I thought the plot line was a bit thin. This is a stand alone book and can be read on it own, yet it is clearly part of a larger story.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading contemporary, urban fantasy books that focus on life with vampires and werewolves.  I think it is one of the better series in the genre.  The book has some sex scenes in it, although not the main focus of the book but enough to put the book into the romance genre.  So if you enjoy reading about sex, romance and vampires then you will enjoy this book.

To Purchase “Definitely Dead” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

Book Review, Romance, Suspence, Mobipocket, Goodreads

Conspiracy in Death by J. D. Robb

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This entry is part [part not set] of 26 in the series In Death Series

Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes
In Death Series, Book 9
Publisher: The Penguin Publishing Group (Electronic Edition: July 2001), EBook: 290 KB, Language: English, ISBN-0-7865-9089-0

A good futuristic suspense novel featuring Lieutenant Eve Dallas. Lieutenant Eve Dallas is a tough, smart, likable homicide detective. In each book she solves a crime and finds the killer. The book also encompasses her entire life including her personal relationships. The murders in this book are very intriguing. A very talented surgeon is harvesting damaged organs and then leaving dead victims.

Conspiracy in Death is the ninth book in the In Death series by J.D. Robb, to date she has written 39 books in the series with the 40th book being released February 11, 2011. I have read most of these books and found them all to be enjoyable and well written. This book falls into both the suspense and romance categories as the book focuses on the case Eve is currently working on as well as Eve and Roake’s relationship. This is a futuristic suspense that takes place in 2059 in New York City. The books are told in a third person narrative that focuses primarily on Lieutenant Eve Dallas, a dedicated and talented homicide detective. At times, the author also gives us insight into some of the other characters including the murderer. The books are written by Nora Roberts under the pseudonym of J. D. Robb.

Eve is brought onto the homicide scene of a homeless person whose heart has been surgically removed.  Eve starts working the case and in the process comes into contact with a fellow police officer, Ellen Bowers who hates Eve and puts in several complaints about the Lieutenant.  After Officer Bowers is found murdered, Eve is suspended and once her badge is taken away, she loses a piece of herself.  Since her horrific childhood, being in law enforcement is the only identity that she has. This portion of the book is heart-wrenching and it is interesting to read about Eve’s struggle when she is faced with this loss.  With Roake and her friends help and support, Eve pulls herself together and then continues to work the case as a civilian. It is always interesting to read Eve as she tracks down her suspects. The story becomes very suspenseful towards the end and has a very satisfying conclusion.

This is a standalone book, I am sure that if you read it you would be quickly reading the other books in the series.  I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about strong female lead characters and enjoys a suspense story.   The story is well written and enjoyable.  I also recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about a bit of romance since there is a fair bit of this as well as some hot sex scenes between Eve and Roake.

Book Review, 2 Treasure Boxes, Romance, Suspence, Mobipocket, Goodreads

Midnight in Death by J. D. Robb

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This entry is part [part not set] of 26 in the series In Death Series

Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes
In Death Series, Book 8
Publisher: The Penguin Publishing Group, EBook: 102 KB, Language: English, ISBN-0-7865-9938-3

A good futuristic suspense novella featuring Lieutenant Eve Dallas. Lieutenant Eve Dallas is a tough, smart, likable homicide detective. In each book she solves a crime and finds the killer. The book also encompasses her entire life including her personal relationships. A serial killer that Eve had committed to jail several years ago has escaped and is seeking revenge on all the law enforcement officials who put him in jail.  It is up to Eve to track him down once again.

Midnight in Death is the eighth book in the In Death series by J.D. Robb, to date she has written 39 books in the series with book # 40 to be released  Februrary 11, 2011.  I have read most of these books and found them all to be enjoyable and well written.  This book falls into both the suspense and romance categories as the book focuses on the case Eve is currently working on as well as Eve and Roake’s relationship.  This is a futuristic suspense that takes place in 2058 in New York City. The books are told in a third person narrative that focuses primarily on Lieutenant Eve Dallas, a dedicated and talented homicide detective. At times, the author also gives us insight into some of the other characters including the murderer. The books are written by Nora Roberts under the pseudonym of J. D. Robb.

In this story Eve knows who the murderer is and who the potential victims are, but she does not know where he is.  So the race is on to locate him before he kills anyone else on his list. Both Eve and Doctor Mira, Eve’s mother figure who works as a profiler for the police department, are on his list.  It is always interesting to read Eve as she tracks down her suspects. The story becomes very suspenceful towards the end and has a very satisfying conclusion.

This is a standalone book, it is also fairly short compared to most of the books in the series. So it is a good quick read for when you are in a hurry. I am sure that if you read it you would be quickly reading the other books in the series.  I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about strong female lead characters and enjoys a suspense story.   The story is well written and enjoyable.  I also recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about a bit of romance since there is a fair bit of this as well as some hot sex scenes between Eve and Roake.

Mobipocket, Goodreads, Book Review, 2 Treasure Boxes, Romance, Suspence

Holiday in Death by J. D. Robb

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This entry is part [part not set] of 26 in the series In Death Series

Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes
In Death Series, Book 7
Publisher: The Penguin Publishing Group (Electronic Edition: July 2001), EBook: 573 KB, Language: English, ISBN-0-7865-0092-1

A good futuristic suspense novel featuring Lieutenant Eve Dallas. The Lieutenant is a tough, smart, likable homicide detective. In each book she solves a crime and finds the killer. The book also encompasses her entire life including her personal relationships. This is Eve and Roake’s first Christmas together, but there is a serial killer targeting customers of an exclusive dating service and it is up to Eve Dallas to find the killer.

Holiday in Death is the seventh book in the In Death series by J.D. Robb, to date she has written 39 books in the series with book # 40 to be released  February 11, 2011.  I have read most of these books and found them all to be enjoyable and well written.  This book falls into both the suspense and romance categories as the book focuses on the case Eve is currently working on as well as Eve and Roake’s relationship.  This is a futuristic suspense that takes place in 2058 in New York City. The books are told in a third person narrative that focuses primarily on Lieutenant Eve Dallas, a dedicated and talented homicide detective. At times, the author also gives us insight into some of the other characters including the murderer. The books are written by Nora Roberts under the pseudonym of J. D. Robb.

Eve is working with her usual team which includes her aide Officer Peabody, Captain Feeney, Roake and the addition of a new character, Detective Ian McNabb. McNabb works in EDD (the electronics division) with Captain Feeney and is an interesting character who has long blonde hair and dresses very funky with bright colours and loads of earrings.  Eve is working really hard to track down the brutal serial killer of lonely singles. The theme of the murderer is the 12 days of Christmas, and as each consecutive murder is committed it is getting closer and closer to Christmas.  Eve does not have a lot to go on, but she does know that all the victims were customers of an exclusive dating service.  So Eve decides to put her aide and Detective McNabb in undercover. The relationship between Peabody and McNabb is touchy with McNabbshowing great concern for Peabody. They both go into the undercover with great aplomb. Eve and her team work hard together to solve the puzzle of who is committing the crime.

The story is interesting and well written.  There is a good intermingling between solving the case and Eve’s personal life. Robb gives a few suspects for us to look at but does not reveal the true murderer until the end of the book.  If you are looking to solve a mystery along with Eve then you will be disappointed since you cannot solve this book on your own. The ending of the book is quite suspenceful and has a great conclusion.  As usual there were a few sex scenes between Eve and Roake and they were steamy as ever.

This is a stand alone book, and I am sure that if you read it you would be quickly reading the previous books in the series. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about a strong female lead and enjoys a suspense story.  The story is well written and  enjoyable. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading romance since there is a fair bit of this as well as some hot sex scenes between Eve and Roake.

2 Treasure Boxes, Contemporary Fantasy, Romance, E-Reader, Goodreads

Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton

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This entry is part [part not set] of 7 in the series Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Series

Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes
Seventh Book in Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Series
Publisher: Jove (Electronic Edition: December 2002), EBook: 382 KB, Language: English, ISBN-0-7865-2906-7

This book starts out with Anita reviewing all her various scars, and there are a lot of them, then she is asked to help solve another super natural case involving a psychic fire starter.

This is the seventh book in the series and to date there are a total of 20 books. This book falls into the contemporary, urban fantasy genre with Anita Blake as a necromancer by trade and a sometimes vampire slayer known as The Executioner. There are vampires and other supernatural beings living together with humans in her world.  The book also falls into the romance genre with plenty of graphic sex. The story is told using the character narrative with Anita’s voice and thoughts as we follow her around.

She gets dragged into helping Jean-Claude with his political Vampire problems. She is also drawn into the wereleopard pack because she killed their former leader in the previous book and they desperately need someone to protect and take care of them.

There is lots going on and the story is interesting.  Anita and Richard are learning what the triumvirate can do for and to each of them and learning it with them is fascinating.   Anita is becoming closer to Jean-Claude and yet she still does not trust him or feel completely comfortable with him.  Anita is now only dating Jean-Claude but she is still involved in Richard’s life. There is the introduction of new, sexy vampire called Asher, whose power is sex.

Once again I enjoyed reading Anita in action. We are given more information about the world she lives in and it is interesting to learn about her growing powers while she is learning them. Richard is becoming more irritating and the less we see of him the better. Throughout the book Anita is solving problems with plenty of action. Sex plays a much larger role in this book and it is very graphic.  I like that the story had a good conclusion and I am still curious to see where this series is going, so I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.

If you enjoy reading contemporary, urban fantasy that deals with vampires and werewolves and includes a strong female lead then you will enjoy this book.  If you enjoy reading romance with graphic sex, you will enjoy this book since sex is a large part of Anita’s new powers.

Mobipocket, Goodreads, 2 Treasure Boxes, Contemporary Fantasy, Romance

Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

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This entry is part [part not set] of 11 in the series The Southern Vampire Mysteries Series

Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes
A Sooke Stackhouse Novel (The Southern Vampire Mysteries), Book 5
Publisher: The Penguin Publishing Group (Electronic Edition:March 2005), EBook: 522 KB, Language: English, ISBN-0-7865-5677-3


Sooke Stackhouse is a cute, sweet, down–to-earth barmaid who just happens to be telepathic and she has become involved in the world of Vampires, Werewolves and other supernatural beings. Sooke suffers numerous hardships in this book including being shot at and having her house catch on fire.

This is the fifth book in The Southern Vampire Mysteries series (also known as A Sooke Stackhouse Novel ), there are currently a total of eleven books. All the books are contemporary fantasy books also known as urban fantasy. They also fall into the romance genre. The story is told in the first person narrative with Sooke’s voice and thoughts as we follow her around.

There is a madman running around town shooting weres. This has Sooke a bit concerned since Sam and Calvin were some of the weres who were shot. Then Sooke herself seems to be targeted when first her house is set on fire and then she herself is also shot at. Luckily, Sooke has a faery-Godmother (literally) a gorgeous faery named Claudine is looking after Sooke and saved her life several times in this book.  I enjoyed the story.  I did not think it was as exciting as the previous book, but it was still very interesting. There were not as many sex scenes in this book as well, but there was a special moment with Sam. The mystery of the shooter was written in a compelling manner and it was a shock to find out who it was at the end. Just when we thought the story-line was resolved, Harris throws in a few more plot points, just to make things interesing. The book is a stand alone book in that everything is resolved by the end of the book.  However, the story builds from book to book and it is best to read the books in order.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading contemporary, urban fantasy books that focus on life with vampires and werewolves.  I think it is one of the better series in the genre.  The book has some sex scenes in it, although not the main focus of the book but enough to put the book into the romance genre.  So if you enjoy reading about sex, romance and vampires then you will enjoy this book.

To Purchase: “Dead as a Doornail” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

2 Treasure Boxes, Contemporary Fantasy, Romance, E-Reader, Goodreads

The Killing Dance by Laurell K. Hamilton

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This entry is part [part not set] of 7 in the series Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Series

Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes
Sixth Book in Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Series
Publisher: Jove (Electronic Edition: August 2001), EBook: 377 KB, Language: English, ISBN-0-7865-3227-0

In the usual Anita Blake Vampire Hunter style there is plenty of action and Anita comes close to death several times, but pulls through. There is a contract out on Anita’s life.  Anita now has a mystery to solve as to who wants her dead.  She also gets pulled into dealing with another deadly necromancer.

This is the sixth book in the series and to date there are a total of 20 books. This book falls into the contemporary, urban fantasy genre with Anita Blake as a necromancer by trade and a sometimes vampire slayer known as The Executioner. There are vampires and other supernatural beings living together with humans in her world.  The book also falls into the romance genre. The story is told using the character narrative with Anita’s voice and thoughts as we follow her around.

We get to see how and why Anita is dating both a werewolf (Richard) and a vampire (Jean-Claude.) There is a fair amount of sexual tension and jealousy which makes things very interesting. The book also deals with Richard and his pack problems. Anita starts to understand that Richard is not the perfect man, but rather she gets a better idea of what makes him tick and it is not pretty. She starts to really see his flaws and there are a lot of them. A lot happens in this book including the forming of a triumvirate between Jean-Claude, Anita and Richard.  This is where they can link with each other and by doing so become much more powerful than they are individually. Anita once again has the first mark of Jean-Claude and is now magically linked with both Richard and Jean-Claude.

Once again I enjoyed reading Anita in action and I am left wondering where the storyline is going, so I will definitely be reading the next book in the series. Throughout the book Anita is solving problems with plenty of action. The characters are interesting and diverse. It is fun to read about this alternate universe with a multitude of supernatural beings. I like how Anita deals with the various problems that she faces. This is a stand alone book that resolves the issues by the end of the book, but it is also clearly part of a larger story.

If you are going to read this series, then I recommend that you read the books in order since the story builds with each book.  If you enjoy reading contemporary, urban fantasy that deals with vampires and werewolves and includes a strong female lead then you will enjoy this book.  If you enjoy reading romance with graphic sex, you will enjoy this book since Anita and Jean-Claude become lovers.

Suspence, Mobipocket, Goodreads, 3 Treasure Boxes, Romance

Ceremony in Death by J. D. Robb

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This entry is part [part not set] of 26 in the series In Death Series

Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes
In Death Series, Book 5
Publisher: The Penguin Publishing Group (Electronic Edition), EBook: 446 KB, Language: English, eISBN-978-0-786-59087-2

Lieutenant Eve Dallas gets pulled into investigating the death of a well loved police officer who appears to have died by natural causes and yet internal investigations is looking into his life and death. Next thing we know more people are dying including the dead police officer’s niece.  Dead bodies are also appearing outside of the Roake estate.

Ceremony in Death is the fifth book in the In Death series by J.D. Robb, to date she has written 38 books in the series with book # 39 to be released  November 30, 2010.   I have read most of these books and found them all to be enjoyable and well written.  This book falls into both the suspense and romance categories as the book focuses equally on the case Eve is currently working on as well as Eve and Roake’s relationship.  The books are told in a third person narrative that focuses primarily on Lieutenant Eve Dallas, a dedicated and talented homicide detective. At times, the author also gives us insight into some of the other characters including the murderer. The books are written by Nora Roberts under the pseudonym of J. D. Robb.

This book deals with the Satanic and Wicca religions. It was interesting to read about the unusual rites used by these in the book. The story follows Eve as she looks into the death of a revered police officer.  She is asked to do this on the QT and to keep her investigation from her friend and mentor Fenney as the officer was Fenney’s best friend. A number of deaths then ensue, all of them suspicious.  A few of the deaths involve sacrificial knives used in both the Satanic and Wiccan’s ceremonies. There are a number of suspects that Eve is following and the story gets more interesting as it unfolds.

Robb keeps us guessing as to who the culpit is and how they are committing the crimes, she also throws in a few red herring clues.  There were a few touching scenes between Fenney and Eve, since Eve was put into a difficult situation with her good friend. It brought tears to my eyes. The book is well written with a good climax at the end that was quite suspenseful and exciting. The story has a very satisfying final scene and conclusion.  Eve and Roake are now married and it is fun to read their interactions.  The sex scenes were well written and quite hot.

This is a stand alone book, and I am sure that if you read it you would be quickly reading the previous books in the series. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about strong female lead characters and enjoys a suspense story. I was able to follow the clues and guess who the suspect really was, although I have not been able to do so in most of these books. The story is well written and  enjoyable. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading romance since there is a fair bit of this as well as some hot sex scenes between Eve and Roake.