Husband likes the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.
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My husband reads these books on a regular basis and enjoys them immensely.  He really gets into them.  He works with Scouts of ages 7-18 and like to keep on top of what they are reading and this series provides him with the information.
4105812
Lisa Hendrix's Immortal Brotherhood series continues with this third book, Immortal Champion, and it's a fine addition to the lore. Her history is well-researched, and 15th century England comes to vivid life, with intermarried royals, intrigue, the quest for power, and the struggles of a young woman growing up to be used as a pawn. But Eleanor de Neville proves an unwilling pawn, crossing the chess-board at her father's command, but ever mindful of love that lies waiting in the form of a curious knight.

Eleanor's beloved is an immortal, condemned to spend his days as animal and only nights as man. Even so, he spends happy nights in the warmth of a castle, winning her heart and eventually her body. But that's only half the tale; Gunnar would dearly love to win his own body back too, freed from the witch's curse by an amulet's power and a woman's true love, if only he could be sure of both.

Misunderstandings, misleading and misrepresentations might keep the lovers apart, but in Lisa Hendrix's enchanted world, true love has a power all its own. Bitter winter, bitter thoughts, true joy and faltering hope are all portrayed with vivid and gentle realism in the author's writing--a story to stir the soul, a sweet love for the spirit, and a touch of mystery to keep the reader eager and longing for more.

Immortal Champion is a fascinating tale  in its own right, and another great chapter in a series that blends English history with Norse mythology with modern romance to create something intriguingly timeless and timelessly intriguing, well worth the read.

Disclosure: I bought a signed copy from a local book-signing as soon as this book was released!
1470909
In this 41/2 star read Nikolai Volkov was a vampire and close friend of Leonardo da Vinci. When Nikolai asked his friend to paint a portrait of a woman by memory, he agreed with one condition--to know the story behind it. The portrait was of a woman who continued to torture Nikolai. Lucrezia Borgia was the woman who turned him.
Present day: Devane Redding was at the art gallery when a simply mesmerizing man approached her. Nikolai was thrilled, he met the incredible artist Devane Redding and found himself as attracted to her as she was to him. Instinct told him she was in danger, and he would do everything in his power to protect her. He just need to figure out what or who was threatening his Devane.
Margot Justes sculpted this story like the finest connoisseur--witty, delicious, and an utterly fascinating read.
Lauren Calder at Affairedecoeurcoeur.com
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Well hidden Darcy secrets are unraveled when Lizzy, while on months of confinement, because she is to birth twins, deciphered Mr. George Darcy's diaries. A whole list of the family's indiscretions are unraveled as she and Darcy continue to untangle what to Darcy looked like gibberish. Following clues through the diaries, eight of ten letters written by his mother, Anne, are found hidden behind landscape pictures hung throughout the home. Georgiana finds the eight, but the last two and their mother's diaries have still to be located. Fitzwilliam goes through periods of melancholy when he discovers his birthday in September is not celebrated, but his christening day in December is instead. Confused, he no longer holds his father in high esteem because he thinks his father's actions brought disgrace and disrespect on his beloved mother. He is also dealing with Georgiana's love from his cousin, Henry Fitzwilliam. He loves them both, but now he is enraged by his cousin's feelings, because he is her guardian, should know better since is twelve years her senior, and he knows the type of young ladies Fitzwilliam likes, and Georgiana does not fit that model. Finding out that the two have anticipated their vows, makes him less than pleased, but they are granted permission to marry without  blessings attached, because they have to. When Georgiana miscarried, she and Henry break off all connection to Pemberley. To add salt to his wounds, Henry begins paying him for the estate he purchased, because they are not family anymore. When Lizzy goes into labor, he writes requesting they come to Pemberley. They do and eventually his hurt is turned around into the love for his sister, and his cousin, more like a brother, Henry. Darcy finds a letter written by his father explaining where the last two of his mother's letters are as well as her diaries.  Elizabeth begins to see that Darcy has become an ideal husband and father while she has been recuperating from the birth of the twins, and regrets she is holding her sadness back from him. Everything gets back to normal, but continued unspoken problems continue to confront our couple until they learn to talk things out. Good story in three parts.
2157688
Nicolas De La Cruz has been a hunter for more years than he can count, he is tired of the life, of all the death and wishes to end it, so this mission to find the conspiracy that threatens their prince is perfect, he can end his life far from his brothers and not bring them shame. He has long given up his thought of finding his life mate, the woman who would fall in love with him instantly and do as he wished and who over the years he would come to love.
Lara Calladine is the worlds leading expert on ice caves and the organisms that live there. She has traveled the world searching the caves and for the secret she keeps. She is Dragonseeker, and more and as her aunts taught her she has hidden the powers she possesses. She is drawn to Nicolas as no other but if he thinks it's love at first sight? he is badly mistaken, but together they set off to solve the mystery, one that could greatly affect the Carpathian world.

This was a good story and it gives more of the background of the Carpathians history. Since I have not been able to read the series in order, it also gives me the background on characters that I have met but not had the insight into their history. Feehan is a great author and has created a wonderful story line with the Carpathian series.
3893340
The Secret Rose   Written by Lauren Landon

This story is about secrets and what could evolve as a result.

Ethan Cambridge the second son of the late Earl of Burnhaven has a brother Stephen, the current Earl, he has been missing for 18 months. Ethan has always been charged with correcting Stephen's follies. Ethan is currently trying to correct the credit debt that has mounted up against the Burnhaven name which was incurred by Stephen.

Ethan receives a letter from Abigail Landon father written on his death bed stating that Abigail has something precious belonging to Stephen. Abigail was once Stephen's betrothed until Stephen went missing.

Ethan believes Abigail has Burnhaven family jewels and wants them returned so he can pay off some creditors.

This story is woven in a truly fine manner. Layer upon layer of secret mysteries are slowly revealed. It is a beautiful love story by a very deep and talented author. This was my first read of Ms Landon but I do intend to follow her now. This novel contained love and a hidden mystery I highly commend it.
2952816
The story centers on Captain Nicholas Addison and Mrs. Emmaline Sutherland. He believes hes assisting in the transport of Emmaline across the Atlantic. But when his ship is attacked by pirates, he finds that Mrs. Sutherland is actually the feared pirate Lady Anne. She needs to keep Nicholas alive to get information she needs to get revenge on her estranged father. But as they spend more time together, they find they cannot fight their growing attraction to the other. Can they see past what they feel is right and honorable in order to have a future together?
TNLA has all of the elements I personally enjoy in historical romance. A strong leading male, protective of the object of his affection, and in Nicholas case a bit chauvinistic but in a somewhat charming way. It has an equally strong female lead in Emmaline/Lady Anne, who is not what one would expect, but what Nicholas needs. She continues to defy his expectations in what a lady should be, and he loves her even more for it. Despite being insecure in their growing relationship at times, both Nicholas and Emmaline come to realize they are stronger together than against each other. And the story is set against a historical backdrop upon the high seas with an action packed plot to move the story along. Also, let us not forget the passionate romance (and sizzling sex scenes). Everything Ive come to love and expect in Cullens stories, and TNLA is no exception. Definitely a must read if you like historical romance. And I have to repeat that I thought I did not like HR books until I received a few ARCs of Cullens. I flat-out bought all of the Secrets & Seduction series, and I feel I won't be disappointed in the purchase!
2179144
I purchased this for my husband and he liked the book, he is going to share it with his friend.
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My husband is a magic lover, and he says it's fun.
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This is the first book from the eurohistory publishing company that I've purchased, and I have to say I was impressed. The Gilded Prism chronicles the lives of Konstantin Nikolaievich and his descendants through the last century of Romanov rule. The book starts with Konstantin Nikolaievich the family's patriarch who was the brother of Alexander II. He played a huge part in the reforms of his brother's reign and was a talented musician although his later years were frought with tragedy. Next is his wife Alexandra Iosifovna who came from Germany a young and somewhat frivolous princess to become a highly respected and imperious Grand Duchess although very conceited and self absorbed. The book then follows the lives of their children. The oldest, Nicholas, brought scandal and embarrassment to the family while the two daughters Olga and Vera became popular and beloved women in their adopted homelands. Konstantin Konstantinovich proved one of the most dutiful and charitable members of the Romanovs, but also led a secret homosexual life. Dimitri was just as dutiful as his brother and was a talened military commander and horse breeder. The youngest, Vyacheslav, who is often times forgotten because he died young, was said to be intelligent and doted on by his father. The book also chronicles the descendants of Nicholas and Konstantin Konstantinovich who led equally interesting lives themselves. I give the book five stars because it gives much detail and information on this branch of the Roamnov family. The Konstantinovichi were an artistically talented, highly intelligent, dutiful, and charitable family at a time when most Romanovs were known for being callously decadent and lacking in intelligence as well as concern for the common people. It is refreshing to read a novel that isn't completely devoted to the overdone subject of Nicholas II and Alexandra. The one sore point I found with this book is that there isn't as much info on Olga and Vera like there was on their brothers, but the title does say The Konstantinovichi Grand Dukes & the Last Years of the Romanov Dyansty and not the Grand Duchesses so I guess it's to be expected. The most interesting part of the book was the story of how Nicholas and his American mistress Fanny Lear (just one of her names I might add), got embroiled in a scandal that led to his exile and being nearly forgotten by the rest of the family. The book also analyzes the nature of Konstantin Konstantinovich's homosexuality. It also contains three sections of photos, many I've never seen before, several family trees, and even features some of Konstantin Konstantinovich's poems, which are full of emotional and artistic depth. The book is relatively short but the wealth of information and photos proves the age old saying it's quality over quantity. I was thoroughly impressed and will definitely purchase more books from eurohistory in the future.
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Lord Ross Carlisle is the perfect British aristocrat. Hes handsome, and will one day be a duke. He is calm, fair, and highly intelligent, a bit of a philosopher, with an inquiring mind, and is master of many sports and other manly pursuits.

And he loves to explore the far corners of the earth and immerse himself in diverse cultures and languages. Plus he writes books about his travels.

Far from a boring man. Plus he has everything, lives at the pinnacle of society, is highly regarded by pretty much everyone

And yet

With her usual honesty, depth, and intensity, author Mary Jo Putney shows us a man with a core of loneliness and despair.

However, this is no modern hero who indulges himself in endless angst and poor me suffering.

No, Carlisle does not inflict his pain on others, nor does he indulge it. It is simply there, and must be lived with because, he believes, there is nothing he can do to assuage it.

Years ago, his beloved wife left him after only six months of marriage; she has not returned, nor has she communicated; and he doesnt have, as he says, the heart or stamina to take another bride, nor is he willing to go through a public and scandalous divorce.

Because his fathers health is declining, Carlisle decides to go on one more adventure, intending to explore along the ancient and still active trade route through Central Asian deserts called the Silk Road.

Just before launching his journey, he encounters his mother-in-law, who begs him to save her son Ian, who is imprisoned in Bokharaa city so perilous for westerners that its virtually suicide for him to agreebut hes always liked her, and his wifes brother Ian, so he agrees to go.

Shortly after he embarks on the journey, he and his two guides are set upon by a group of fierce Turkoman bandits bent on killing Ross because he is a ferengi. His guides run off, but Ross cannot escape, and finds himself surrounded by fierce, implacable men with rifles aimed straight at his heart and head.

Until they are run off by a group of Persians led by a warrior of the mysterious, veiled blue men tribe called Tuareg.

*spoiler on* He soon learns the veiled Tuareg warrior is none other than his estranged wife, Juliet. Who insists on going with him to rescue her brother. *spoiler off*

What follows is a grand adventurefull of heart-stopping danger, from caravans and sandstorms, to the exhilarating and treacherous Turkoman game on horseback called bozkashi, to their own capture and escape so they can enter the black hole prison where Juliets brother might lie dying.

It is also a poignant and gut-wrenchingly painful emotional journey.

This is one of the best examples of this authors ability to explore the deep and anguished emotions of her characters through their relationship, delving down layer by layer, until they find their way to the essential truth, and to the possibility of healing.
3872921
Pope Clement XII is slowly dying.  The behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing at the Vatican is intense.  State Inquisitor of Venice Senator Montorio wants someone he can trust on the scene, spying for him and actively promoting the candidacy of his choice.  To get this trusted spy, he hauls Alessandro Amato in on false charges of salt smuggling.  If convicted, Alessandro will be killed.  This is enough to convince his brother, castrato Tito Amato, to make the trip.  Not willingly, mind you.

When Tito gets to Rome, there is one pleasant surprise.  His love from INTERRUPTED ARIA, Liya, is in Rome.  They renew their friendship, which Tito would like to see become far more than that.  While doing the bidding of Senator Montorio, Tito becomes an unwilling (again) accomplice to the murder of Gemma, a maidservant.  In order to keep from being arrested for that murder, Tito is coerced by the head of another faction to spy and promote a different candidate.  Life is very complicated for Tito, who just wants to make lovely music and have a lovely wife.

CRUEL MUSIC, while set in the baroque period in Rome, deals with emotions that know no time.  Greed, power, lust . . . the Vatican has never had a monopoly on those things.  While this is definitely a historical mystery, the issues addressed are as current as any election, the politicking just as intense then as now.  CRUEL MUSIC is a testament to Graves' talent as a writer; she makes "then" interesting, educational, and entertaining.
795210
In Ami Noones The Wisdom of Secrets we find Peter Madeloy recently returned from his honeymoon in Australia.  Late one night, just after they retire to bed, a knock sounds at the door, rousing Peter from his very brief slumber and effectively launching him into an intrigue that stretches back centuries.
His father, the Grand Master of the Templars, has been murdered, taking the secrets he died for to the grave with him; yet passing the mantle to his less than prepared son.  Peter is now at the center of a war he can barely fathom, struggling to lead where once his life was smooth.  His mother, Sophia, is captive, being used against him in an angelic struggle that can end all of mankind.
Taking a familiar tale, the Templars and artifacts, Noone has spun it in a glorious new way, bringing the pages to life with research, creative writing and Nephilim intervention.  A well-wrought novel that kept me reading.
1603545
Seven hundred years ago, Sir Hardwin de Studley of Seagrave refused to allow a traveling band inside his home while he was entertaining.  This lack of hospitality cost him - he has been cursed for eternity for his rudeness.  His curse? Hardwin has been consigned to spend his immortality pleasing a different woman every single night.  After years of enduring the infinite supply of women who want nothing more than the pleasure he can give them, Hardwin has had enough.  He asks the Dark One to intercede and rid him of his curse.  The Dark One is more than happy to allow Hardwin some respite; all he has to do is go one year and a day without becoming sexually aroused.  Not a problem for Hardwin, or so he thinks.  He has yet to see Cilla Swanner, a guest in Dunroamin Castle.

Cilla Swanner has traveled Scotland to visit her aunt and uncle who live in Dunroamin Castle.  Cilla makes elaborate jewelry out of broken china but ever since her boyfriend broke up with her, she has not been able to get anyone to commission any pieces.  Faced with not being able to pay her bills, Cilla comes to Scotland hoping to relax and rethink her business plan.  Her first day there, she is astonished and almost faints when she sees a huge Scottish man move in a poster.  Not believing her eyes, she thinks she is going crazy, especially when the voices start.  Cilla refuses to give in to her thoughts that ghosts exist except for one thing.  This ghost in particular is breathtakingly handsome and Cilla is attracted to him in ways she shouldn't be.

Cilla and Hardwin fall in love, despite his promise to the Dark One.  He does everything he can think of to not give in and I smiled more than once at his dilemma.  If there was one thing Hardwin knew, it was that Cilla was his and he wanted her badly.  Never believing that he would ever find a woman, Hardwin almost let her pass him by.  Working together to get to the bottom of forces rising to demonic proportions, Cilla and her man continue to fall in love all the while trying to figure out why they are seeing hellish demons and hags.

Witty to the point that I laughed out loud more than once, I have to admit that Hardwin's nickname made me giggle in hilarity.  His predicament, while serious, was almost comical, especially with the only item he used to hide his arousal - a round shield.  More than one ghost teased Hardwin but the laugh was on them because by the end of TALL, DARK AND KILTED, he was one happy Scottish warrior.

TALL, DARK AND KILTED is outlandishly funny one minute and seductively sensual the next.  Never expecting to find true love, both the heroine and her hero had to adjust to the feelings each invoked in the other.  Allie MacKay has written TALL, DARK AND KILTED in such a way that makes the reader truly believe in the idea of happily ever after.  Grab a plaid and your favorite kilt - readers won't want to miss this amusing and romantic time travel romance.

***Natalie S. for Wild on Books***
1671006
Dimitri Makarov has recently been informed by a busy body that his former secretary is poised to marry another man.  Investigating the competent, trustworthy Erin, he discovers that she kept a very important secret from him, and he means to be involved.now!!

Erin Turner no longer did love, been there done that, got the heartache to prove it.  So thinking she could make a better life for herself, she decides to participate in an illegal wedding instead of notifying the disreputable, drunkard, womanizing boss that he left her with a little gift.

Claimed for Makarovs Baby showed the vulnerable side of Dimitri and that he had changed after that night.  It took some time, but he did make an effort.  Of course, this is another hero that never wanted a child until said child is there, but no one asks this guy why he didn't just get snipped!  Dimitri comes across as rather cold in some of his early interactions with the child and Erin in Claimed for Makarovs Baby.

Erin had good reason to protect the child in Claimed for Makarovs Baby, but she did give Dimitri a chance to show that he had changed.  Dimitri acts all victimized until Erin points out exactly how awful he was when she did attempt to advise him in Claimed for Makarovs Baby.  That was a wake-up call for him, realizing just how far hed sunk in her eyes!

The truth behind why Dimitri was so cold was revealed and things worked through, but there were still a few unanswered questions that lingered in Claimed for Makarovs Baby.  Perhaps it was left to the imagination of the reader?
1025030
"Her Deadly Mischief" takes place not long after "The Iron Tongue of Midnight".

Tito is still becoming used to being a husband and father. He's also starting to see that the future for Castrato's may not be what it once was. With his new house and his new life with the family he'd always wanted, he's also hoping for a reconciliation between his wife and her family. All the while missing the his sister's family who have gone visiting in America.

Tito find himself the only witness to a murder that takes place during an opera. In order to discover the identity of the murderer, and the reason the lady was killed, Tito's family become involved, putting everyone in danger.

I really enjoy reading about Tito. I like him a lot, and enjoy seeing a bit of what Venice must have been like from his eyes. I also like the way he's always maturing, and learning, about himself and those he loves.

The mystery moves pretty quickly, and kept me interested not only in the mystery, but of more history of the era.
2119319
My husband liked his gift - and I read it too. A fascinating man . . . a FLAWED GENIUS indeed.