Scoundrel
Zoe Archer
Zebra, $6.99
ISBN: 9781420106800
Destruction is as human as apple pie; so to protect mankind from self extinction magic is hidden. Still in spite of overwhelming majorities believing magic to be a parlor trick, some Sources contain unexplained power. The Heirs of Albion want to own all the Sources to support their belief that the citizens of Britain are the master race who should dominate the lesser beings of the world. They have found the most powerful object Primal Source of Africa and now are work on learning how to use it. The Blades of the Rose oppose the Heirs.
Linguist London Harcourt is unaware that her late husband, her father Joseph Edgeworth and her brother belong to the Heirs of Albion. Joseph plans to unleash magic so Britain can rule. Thus in 1875 he takes his widowed daughter with him to Athens, Greece as she speaks an ancient dialect that will bring the wrath of the Gods to the earth. Blade Bennett Day meets London who he realizes is ignorant of the threat posed by her father. He also knows the linguist is the key to the Heirs using the Source.
The second Blades of the Rose historical romantic fantasy is a strong adventure tale as the action moves from the Mongolian setting of the Warrior to Greece. A womanizer, Bennett tries every means he knows to persuade the female to his way of thinking, but never met one as intelligent as London is; although some readers will question how smart she is when she failed to realize the nefarious activities of the three main men in her life (before Bennett). Still fans will enjoy the teaming of a refreshing woman who speaks dead languages and the suave operative as they battle her family who employ her as the expendable key to use magic to dominate the world. Harriet Klausner
Trolls in the Hamptons
Celia Jerome
DAW, $7.99
ISBN: 9780756406301
Once upon a time the creatures of myths and legends (except vampires and shapeshifters) populated the land alongside of cavemen. Humans took over the land of the eldritch killing what they couldn’t understand. It became obvious that though was some cross breeding between species, they could not coexist so on the Day of Unity, an incredible degree of power caused the realm to split with a barrier to keep the two earths apart.
Graphic young adult writer and artist Willow “Willey” Tate is a descendent of the half-breeds. She draws a troll Fafhrd who comes to life, but no one can see him except her. People see the troll as trolley, tree and a bus. British Agent Grant of DUE (Department of Unexplained Events) explains to her she is a decendant of a half-breed like many ofthe people of Peaumkack Harbor in the Hamptons; and that she is to be instrumental in finding a young child Nicky stolen from the town by a megalomaniac bent on world domination. The villain needs Willey for his plan to succeed; she reluctantly agrees as an innocent child is involved who somehow is linked to her troll.
This is a fun zany romantic Hamptons fantasy with the lead couple (Willey and Grant) heating up the sheets with enough energy to keep Long island warm in the winter. There is plenty of action off the sheets too as Willey confronts one confrontation after another. However, who makes the tale fantastic by stealing the show is Fafhrd, a ten foot troll who though an illegal alien is child-like except when it comes to protecting his creator. The villain does not make an in person appearance until the climax, but his malevolence oozes throughout the exciting story line as the suspense builds to a final confrontation. Harriet Klausner
Tandem
Tracey Bateman
Waterbrook, $13.99
ISBN: 9780307457172
A half a year has passed since the brutal vampiric homicides stunned the residents of the Ozark town of Abbey Hills, Missouri (see Thirsty). As Lauryn McBride observes the slow torturous death of her father from Alzheimer’s, her family auction house is hosting an estate sale of one of the murder victims, Markus Chisom.
Meanwhile, Lauryn finds letters from the 1870s in the estate addressed to the Dastillion family of New Orleans. Lauryn searches for the kin and learn they still own the same house in which the letters were sent. She informs the family and Amede Dastillion arrives in Abbey Hills allegedly to look at family heirlooms but actually hopes to find clues to her missing sister Eden. At the same time reporter Miranda James believes Markus and Eden were vampires. When a second wave of brutal vampiric homicides occur, the cops look closely at the Bayou visitor as the culprit.
The second Ozark vampiric Christian thriller is an exciting tale in which Tracey Bateman once again effortlessly merges the two sub-genres into a cohesive tale. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Amede arrives in town as she and Lauryn begin to learn the true history of Abbey hills. Although the climax seems weak and rushed, fans will fully enjoy this terrific horror suspense while thirsting for more such amalgams from Ms. Bateman. Harriet Klausner
The Bid
Jax
Kensington Aphrodisia, $14.00
ISBN: 9780758241788
Taken in chains from his planet, the hunk Vejhon the warrior is being sold as a slave at auction. Pervert Baron Majum apparently wins the rights to the platinum haired, feline eyed alien until Najir of the House of Drakoulous raises the amount to the unheard of two gems. Vejhon now belongs to Hanna master of Drakoulous who understands the strict rules governing slaves must be obeyed or else.
Vejhon is outraged by his slave status, but is attracted to his owner. Hanna reciprocates, but conceals her and her House’s covert efforts to end the barbaric practice. However, now she owns the two best looking males on the planet as she finds herself drawn to both Najir and Vejhon.
This is a terrific erotic science fiction romance as Jacquelyn Frank using the pseudonym Jax provides the sub-genre audience with a powerful outer space saga that is different from her paranormal. Even with plenty of action (in and out of bed) and a clear sense of place, the thrilling Bid is character driven by a triangle of sorts that leads the audience to wonder who will end up with the female master; if any does. Harriet Klausner
Unbound
Kay Danella
Heat, $15.00
ISBN: 9780425234440
Jamyl Kharym Rashad was forced to abdicate from House Dilaryn; for their safety he took his family off Lomida. His beloved daughter Asrial, no longer a sovreine, became a rim relic hunter. When her cousin Amin, who helped her parents and her when they fled for their safety, crashed his cargo ship on Lyrel 9; she took over some of his more daring missions.
Currently she is flying solo on the Castel searching a remote untouched by grounders area for relics on planet Maj. However, something happens when she enters the planetary atmosphere to her ship sending it off course. She makes it to the surface safe while wondering if it is time to use her name to obtain a corporate job in the inner rim worlds.
Asrial finds a vase containing a djinn. He informs her he is Romir. On the Castel, they make love as they are attracted to one another. However, as he revels in her passion and his first taste of freedom in ages, the vase demands his return as he is locked to his glass prison. To liberate her beloved, Asrial knows she must go home to dangerous for her Lomida, which she has avoided since she and her family became exiles.
This heated outer space romantic fantasy is a wonderful tale due to the relationship between the lead couple; as each risks death for the other (a sort of macabre erotic twist on Gift of the Magi). The story line is fast-paced, albeit a bit thinner than Romir’s third leg yet readers will relish the journey into the unique hotter than the sun Danella universe. Harriet Klausner
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