Taylor's Traitorous Heart
593117
This was a fun book to read. I like all the all the strong women in S.E.Smith's books and the humor
3038839
The long suppressed love and attraction between arrogant Lord Richard Vane and his problem-solving valet, David Cyprian, explodes into the open.  Unfortunately, Richard handles things badly, physically and emotionally pushing David away, telling him that he is dismissed.  While Richard only meant for him to leave his sight, David takes it as being fired.  Devastated, he flees the household, helped by Silas Mason.

Desperate to apologize, wanting to explain and make amends, Richard finally discovers where David went to hide.  Neither man has a solution for the problem of the imbalance of power in a love affair between servant and master.  Despite all that, Richard begs for just one night with David, one night when they are just two men in love.

Poor Richard.  He means well, but totally screws everything up when he disparages David's job as valet and offers him another position that would elevate him slightly in the household.  David, insulted, tells Richard off, explaining that there is nothing demeaning about his job.

Back in London, Richard struggles to find a way to apologize and, once again, explain.  Before he can do so, the crap hits the fan.  Maltravers is holding an indiscreet letter written by Ash to Francis as a way of forcing Ash to convince the others to recant their testimony giving Silas an alibi.  Cyprian's talents are needed, but at what cost?

This has been a delightful series from start to finish.  It is only fitting that Richard find his own HEA in this, presumably, last installment.  The emotions come off so real, the painful misunderstandings grabbing you by the heart.  I hope to visit the Ricardians once again sometime in the future, I want to see how everyone is doing.  5 out of 5.
353558
Trent is still my favorite brother but Taylor is a close second. "I didn't touch her. She is f@(#ing mean!!! Love it!!
2760721
The Russian Revolution was certainly a bloody affair.  Fear and chaos abounded.  It turned an entire nation upside down. And in the center of it all was the brutal assignation of the Tsar and his family.  A murder surrounded in a mystery, which became legendary.  Did the daughter of the Russian royal family survive?

Glenn Meades' latest novel, The Romanov Conspiracy hits the ground running with a gritty and harrowing account of an attempted rescue of the Tsar and his family during the final days of the Russian revolution.

In the center of the story are Uri Andrev and Leonid Yakov.  Friends since childhood, they find themselves on opposite sides of the revolution.  Bitterness and anger rooted in betrayal and fueled by events spinning wildly out of control cause both men to seek to undo the other.  But even war can't totally unravel the cords of deep friendship Uri and Leonid had woven over a lifetime.

Paramount to the plot is the Romanov family - the Tsar, his wife and children - including the willful Anastasia, held captive by Lenin's men and soon to be murdered.  But help is coming in the form of a headstrong Irish gunner runner, Lydia Ryan, and Joe Boyle, a man of mystery who has been on more than one death defying mission.  Together with Uri Andrev they infiltrate Russia, making their way through the chaotic blood-soaked countryside, hoping to free the imprisoned Tsar and his family before it's too late.

Meades' novel is taut, historically rich, and replete with complex characters.  It will quickly draw you into the horrifying upheaval that was the Russian Revolution and leave you breathless.

However, as an author known well to the Christian market, Meade does promote, albeit subtlety, the worldview that in the midst of heartache and turmoil it's okay to "love the one you're with".  In The Romanov Conspiracy two of the characters find solace in the arms of someone other than their spouse.  The underlying feeling being that God understands.  That, for me, made a stellar novel less great.

A courtesy copy of The Romanov Conspiracy received from Howard Books in exchange for an honest review.
1322873
Perfect Betrayal by Season Vining will delight!  A sizzling and compelling romance that is infused with the ultimate betrayal. Vining delivers bold, strong characters that will have you turning pages. Taylor and Levi's passionate story will have you sitting on the edge of your seats as the story unfolds. Deception intertwined with the yearning to be loved take this story to a whole new level.
Vining delivers another vibrant, exciting love story.
76345
Laini Taylor is the kind of writer that makes me grind my teeth.
In jealousy, mind you.

She casually sprinkles her story with luscious, indulgent sensory sentences as if the creation of them took no effort at all.  Its hard to choose just one passage, but heres one I read 3 times just for enjoyment. And Ive been accused of adult-onset ADHD, so its no small thing to make me re-read something.

To his heart. His chest, his solidity. His arms around her, thats what she wanted, and she wanted movement that spoke to movement, skin to skin and sweat to heat to breath to gasp. Oh god. His touch made her foolish. It spliced her right out of real life with its drumbeat of armies angels portals weapons war and into that paradise theyd imagined long agothe one that was like a jewel box waiting for them to find it and fill it with their happiness.

And she manages to construct romantic interactions that elicit maximum angst. What? We are star-crossed lovers? Well at least I can save you from your dire enemyoh wait, I cant? Well at least I know you hate him and I don't have to watch you being intimateoh wait, now the last of your kind is secretly inhabiting the body of your dire enemy and in order to keep up appearances you're going to go with him?

Angsty-angstyness to the max.  On top of it all, this is the third book in the series. There are so few trilogies featuring a star-crossed love that manages to be true to the feelings of the characters and serve the need for plot-tension without obvious, heavy-handed strategies not organic to the plot that make me frustrated. Taylor does a good job of keeping Karou and Akiva apart but still working towards the same goals.

And looking longingly at eachother from across caverns filled with their respective peoples about the make war on eachother. Or sit down and eat dinner.

Do NOT read this book out of order. Part of the magic of this trilogy is understanding the depth of the lives Karou and Akiva have left behindand that requires the slow layering of knowledge you glean from reading the first two books in the series.

So maybe by the end, I have to admit, the obstacles between Akiva and Karou got a bit much. But then Zuzana-the-human would throw in a snarky comment, or there would be another amazingly heart-string stirring sentence, and I would forgive Taylor.

I don't think I've ever given 5 starts to all three books in a trilogy before. And I'm not sure if its the writing, or the unabashed angsty melodrama, or the cool details about Prague and kasbahs and gleaning souls to save them in thuribles, or the satisfaction of watching extremely tough, bad-ass characters get their deserved comeuppance-- be they evil or in the end sympathetic. Whatever it was, kudos to Taylor for a satisfying end to this story that manages to answer questions, tie together disparate character arcs, fulfill the romantic tension, and still leave that necessary room for the characters to strive for a future.

Now I'm going to go hide in a corner and grind my teeth some more and most likely fall asleep thinking of chimaera and seraphim.
4547640
I love Sin. His so mysterious. I never expected that kind of twist when I was trying figure what could have happened to Taylor in the past.
472132
This is definitely a five star book. If you like loyalty but lots of betrayal is in this book. Rodney couldn't see Jamelia with anyone but him but he's always cheating on her and want her t ok stick around. WRONG sneer. A also you found out who your real friends are and real love in this book.
3567608
An impetuous young lady makes impetuous decisions and must live with the consequences. A cautionary tale of a young woman in rural 1900 England who falls for a pretty face, excusing lack of depth of character. Desperate to please her husband, she concocts a deception, which sets in a motion events that have the power to ruin lives irrevocably. As always, superb writing from this author with flesh-and-blood characters a reader can become attached to. Recommended.
689378
"Their Daring Hearts" is the second book in the Forever Freedom series. This book tells the story of Levi Albright, the brother to the heroine of the first book. Since I got an uncorrected copy of this book from Netgalley, it had formatting issues that are common with books from there. While it was a little distracting to have random hyphenations and page number/author name footers in the middle of the text, I know that these aren't going to be problems with the final book. The book is told from the perspective of Levi, Josie, and the unnamed spy/traitor. I kept having various theories of who the spy was, but they proved incorrect and I was in the dark until the very moment that it was revealed. I thought the faith element was woven through the story well.

I got a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily. No compensation was received.
4317203
Ken Bruen's brings to life a nation that recently enjoyed some years of great prosterity now transformed to a country he and other older citizens no longer recognize and find disheartening.  His woefully flawed Jack Taylor is falling apart. Each book finds him either trying to kick a nasty habit or failing. Jack, s health is decling rapidly, what being beaten nearly to death, now has a messed up knee, false teeth, fractured fingers, and wearing a hearing aid! Still he takes on hopeless cases now and then not successful.  Burdened by guilt, self - castigating, hated by many with a serious attitude problem, it's a wonder that anyone speakes to him. Yet, he's, for many the last resort. A killer when it's required, a head - breaker when needed, a drunk, drug taking, aging anti-hero, losing the few loves he stumbles along. The writing is punchy, irreligious, not dragging with narrative yet wonderful inner dialog. I've read,  reread the Jack Taylor series and welcome the dark humour, fast-paced read. Try these and you'll see what Inmean.
1353633
Beloved Enemy, written by Al Lacy, is a historical fiction novel in the Christian market that takes place in early Civil War 1861, particularly covering the Bull Run battle. Beloved Enemy is 356 pages in length, with an excerpt of the first chapter of another novel at the end.

Jenny Jordan, daughter of Mexican War hero Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Jordan, finds herself torn between the North and South in loyalty when her father, a member of the Senate Military Committee, decides to turn traitor and become a spy for the Southern cause. Jenny feels even more torn when her heart finds its way into the heart of a Zouave named Buck Brownell. When Buck and Jenny fall in love, her father demands that Buck leave her alone. Her father also suggests that she join him in becoming a spy for the Confederacy. Jenny's allegiance lies with her father and her beloved Virginia, but her heart also follows after a man whose loyalty remains with President Lincoln and the Union.

I've read some of Lacy's novels in the past, and I've always enjoyed them. I love how he is able to throw a lot of battle into his novels. It's obvious that he's interested in the historical aspect of his writing. (This book may annoy someone who has done a lot of research into Civil War history. It isn't perfect history. This is a work of fiction, and the writer takes liberties with some things, as many writers do with historical fiction.) When I sat down to begin this novel, I had no problems getting right into the "thick" of it, and once I got involved I was in it till the end!

I loved Jenny's character. However, I'd have loved to have seen more of her (but wouldn't have wanted to lose the story as sacrifice). I also loved the action centered around Buck. His humanity was developed well. The biggest character, though, that I'd have really liked to have seen more of is Joshua Jordan. He was a spy, and I'd have liked to have seen more of the inner workings of that. His character involvement was good, but a little more attention to that would've been interesting.

The flow from one scene of battle to another was a little choppy but not unbearable. There were scenes with other characters who weren't a big part of the story, and though those parts--I felt--weren't necessary to tell, I still enjoyed reading them. (Focus on Stonewall Jackson is one example.)

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to my counterparts who enjoy reading historical fiction with a little romance tied in.
255088
This book was an amazing read!! It only took me 2 days to read because once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read the rest of the Taylors story.
2390001
Anyone who has read the bible knows that Lazuras was brought back to life by Jesus. The CIA brings Mark Daniel back to life as Lazuras in the name of Otriz. His mission, find the mole identifying agents who then we're killed by the enemies of the USA and the CIA. Woven into th he plot is an overthrow of the country of Bogata and the reigning families of Columbia. The action is swift, deadly and fast. This is Taylor's best work. Don't pass this one by.
3768062
Well call me a hog and butcher me for bacon. Ole Colin has got himself a winner here. I spent last summer visiting Mass and reading about King Phillips war in the book Pilgrim I got at a museum. Being from hotlanta I get the whole loyalty thing. I think that is ALL the confederates had going for them in their godforsaken war also. I would die before loss of everything too. Loyalty is exemplified magnificently here you should read this.
1620041
I just started reading Bard Taylor, and so far I am hooked.  Good story in this one, different part of the world where some action takes place.  The Taskforce seems capable of almost anything, especially when it comes to hacking into what ever it is that they need to.  A bit farfetched, but still well worth reading.
1109384
"We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what is denied us." - Francois Rabelais

When TOO DANGEROUS TO DESIRE appeared in my mailbox, I viewed it with mix emotions. As Book Three in the Lords of Midnight series, I was eager to read about the third Hellhound, Cameron Daggett. But I also realized it was the end of a series - a series that embraced all that Regency fans love about the era - pageantry, culture, and reformed rogues!

Sophie Lawrance, a minister's daughter, grew up with Cameron Daggett, thought to be the bastard son of the Marquis. But she spurned his offer to elope to Gretna Green because her family needed her. Years later, Sophie literally bumps into a cloaked Cameron in the dark shadows of London's stew. Cameron reveals himself in their second meeting along the Dark Walk of Covent Gardens. They realize they have mutual enemies and pool their resources to save her family once again ... and even save Cameron's soul.

Therein lies the charm of TOO DANGEROUS TO DESIRE - "Safe" Sophie demonstrates that she can contribute to their mission by distracting the guard dog, practicing safe cracking, and flirting with Cameron to get her way. Cameron is tempted by Sophie's untapped passion, but nobility still runs through his blood. As his friends know, he only steals from those who can afford it. But it is Sophie who again steals Cameron's heart.

TOO DANGEROUS TO DESIRE is a Cornucopia for Regency Fans with its "reunited lovers" romance, Robin Hood escapades, cold blooded villains, and guest appearances by characters in the related books. Although TOO DANGEROUS TO DESIRE is part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone book.

I received an ARC from Grand Central Publishing for this review.