A Dangerous Madness by Michelle Diener

A Dangerous Madness by Michelle Diener(Cover picture courtesy of Michelle Diener’s site.)

The Duke of Wittaker has been living a lie…

He’s been spying on the dissolute, discontented noblemen of the ton, pretending to share their views. Now he’s ready to step out of the shadows and start living a real life…but when the prime minister of England is assassinated, he’s asked to go back to being the rake-hell duke everyone believes he still is to find out more.

Miss Phoebe Hillier has been living a lie, too…

All her life she’s played by society’s rules, hiding her fierce intelligence and love of life behind a docile and decorous mask. All it’s gotten her is jilted by her betrothed, a man she thought a fool, though a harmless one. But when she discovers her former fiancé was involved in the plot against the prime minister, and that he’s been murdered, she realizes he wasn’t so harmless after all.

And now the killers have set their sights on her…

The only man who can help her is the Duke of Wittaker–a man she knows she shouldn’t trust. And she soon realizes he’s hiding behind a mask as careful as her own. As the clock ticks down to the assassin’s trial, the pair scramble to uncover the real conspiracy behind the prime minister’s death. And as the pressure and the danger mounts, Phoebe and Wittaker shed their disguises, layer by layer, to discover something more precious than either imagined–something that could last forever. Unless the conspirators desperate to hide their tracks get to them first.

[Full disclosure: Michelle Diener invited me to review her book and I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

For all that I’m a history buff, I knew absolutely nothing about the period that A Dangerous Madness is set in.  I really hardly know anything about England in the 1800s so after finishing Michelle Diener’s latest release I can very honestly say that I learned something.

Phoebe, the main character, is my type of woman.  She’s strong and feisty but at the same time is actually aware of social norms and generally tries to follow them.  Sure, she gets fed up with them and ends up not caring about certain ones but at least she isn’t your stereotypical total outcast of a heroine.  James, the Duke of Wittaker is a good male lead.  He’s not your perfect knight in shining armor but he does his best to improve his character when he starts to fall in love.  In the past he’s done things he deeply regrets and you can tell that his guilt for some of the things weighs on him but he’s also done quite a bit of good.

The story begins with Phoebe’s fiancé dumping her and fleeing the country and it only heats up from there.  Soon the prime minister is shot (which actually happened) and there’s a conspiracy that goes to the highest levels of the country behind the assassination.  There are so many twists and turns you can’t tell how things are going to end up because Michelle Diener is so good at writing tales of political intrigue.

I’m not qualified to speak to the historical accuracy of A Dangerous Madness, but as Michelle Diener writes in her historical note, many of the events really did happen as she described them.  The conspiracy is pure speculation but at the same time when you look at the real people involved it might not be all that far off from the truth.  Perceval had many powerful enemies, that’s for sure!  And that’s how historical fiction is best done: mostly history with a little bit of fiction in to spice things up.

Even if you haven’t read the first two books in the Regency London series, you can certainly start with A Dangerous Madness just like I did.  They don’t have to be read in any particular order but I still can’t wait to read the first two books because I loved this one so much.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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The Legend of the Blue Eyes by B. Kristin McMichael

The Legend of the Blue Eyes by B. Kristin McMichael(Cover picture courtesy of My Book Addiction.)

Arianna Grace liked her boring, Midwestern, teenage life where she ignored the many unanswered questions of her childhood. Why were her parents dead? Why did she not have family? Where was she raised until she was five? When someone offers to explain it all, Arianna thinks she’s just getting answers. Instead, she is thrown into a world of night humans who drink blood.

On Arianna’s sixteenth birthday, her world is thrown upside down when she changes into a vampire. Night humans, or demons, as some call them, live in normal society. Learning all of the new rules of a world she didn’t know existed might be hard enough, but it’s further complicated by two former-friends that now want to help her take her role as the successor to her grandfather.

There is a war going on between the night humans. Sides have been taken and lines are not crossed. Four main clans of night humans are struggling for control of the night. Divided into two sides, clans Baku and Tengu have been at war for centuries with the clans Dearg-dul and Lycan. That is, until Arianna Grace finds out the truth; she’s the bridge of peace between the two sides. But not everyone wants peace. With the night humans divided, Arianna is now a pawn in the war between them. She must choose a side—her mother’s family or her father’s—and for once in her life, decide her own fate.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

Unfortunately, The Legend of the Blue Eyes is an example of how a good premise can be ruined by mediocre writing.

The premise of B. Kristin McMichael’s world is not a new one but she puts such an unique spin on things that you can’t help but fall in love with it.  She goes back to the origins of vampires and incorporates some of the old myths into a modern, sophisticated type of vampire called a Dearg-dul.  The Baku and Tengu are sort of vampire/incubus/succubus combination while Lycans are quite obviously werewolves.  They aren’t the typical sort of creatures you find in urban fantasy, particularly YA, because McMichael actually took the time to make her creatures unique.  I honestly can’t fault any aspect of her world-building because it really is fantastic.

Her writing is not, however.  It’s by no means bad but it’s not up to the quality of her world-building.  She spends pages and pages on Arianna’s boy-craziness until it crosses the line from typical boy-crazy teenager to the realm of “make up your mind already!”.  I’m not a big fan of romance but when done right it’s great.  But it really was just not done right in The Legend of the Blue Eyes.  The male leads are kind of stereotypes, one dimensional people designed to exist for the gratification of the female protagonist.  While it’s sadly refreshing to see men objectified for once in fiction it doesn’t make it enjoyable or right.

I really couldn’t connect with Arianna.  She’s just such a walking cliché of pretty much every YA heroine in popular fiction.  Arianna can’t make up her mind about which boy she even likes, she’s a small town sort of girl thrust into the middle of a rich urban world, she’s special even amongst her own people, etc.  It would have been different had McMichael put some twists on these clichés but she really didn’t.

Instead, the wasted potential of this book makes me sad.  The world-building is absolutely fantastic and could be a model for pretty much every author out there, but the rest of the novel is lackluster at best.  If it sounds interesting to you I’d say go ahead but I’m not going to go out of my way to recommend this one.

I give this book 2.5/5 stars.

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Daughter of the Gods by Stephanie Thornton

Daughter of the Gods by Stephanie Thornton(Cover picture courtesy of Stephanie Thornton’s website.)

Egypt, 1400s BC. The pharaoh’s pampered second daughter, lively, intelligent Hatshepsut, delights in racing her chariot through the marketplace and testing her archery skills in the Nile’s marshlands. But the death of her elder sister, Neferubity, in a gruesome accident arising from Hatshepsut’s games forces her to confront her guilt…and sets her on a profoundly changed course.

Hatshepsut enters a loveless marriage with her half brother, Thut, to secure his claim to the Horus Throne and produce a male heir. But it is another of Thut’s wives, the commoner Aset, who bears him a son, while Hatshepsut develops a searing attraction for his brilliant adviser Senenmut. And when Thut suddenly dies, Hatshepsut becomes de facto ruler, as regent to her two-year-old nephew.

Once, Hatshepsut anticipated being free to live and love as she chose. Now she must put Egypt first. Ever daring, she will lead a vast army and build great temples, but always she will be torn between the demands of leadership and the desires of her heart. And even as she makes her boldest move of all, her enemies will plot her downfall….

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley for the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]

There are very few books that literally take my breath away when I finish reading them but Daughter of the Gods is one of them.

One of the things that struck me most about this book was Stephanie Thornton’s amazing writing style.  She can do the big dramatic scenes without making them seem forced.  She can also slow down and describe things so the reader truly feels like they’re transported back in time.  And most importantly of all, she can actually hold the reader’s attention for nearly 500 pages because she slowly builds up tension throughout the novel.  It’s not the fastest-paced novel ever but her writing is so compelling that you won’t want to put it down.

Stephanie Thornton’s portrayal of Hatshepsut is pretty much how I imagined the real person.  She’s strong and willful but fiercely devoted to her people and preserving the welfare of Egypt even at a cost to herself.  Her love for Senenmut develops slowly but once she realizes she loves him she does so with all of her heart.  Senenmut himself is also an interesting character, but Hatshepsut tends to steal the scene for most of the novel.  Of course she can be stubborn on occasion and her stubbornness costs her dearly sometimes, but that flaw only makes her more human.  Hatshepsut is a character even modern readers can relate with despite the huge cultural differences like the fact she marries her half-brother and worships many different gods and goddesses.

We don’t know much about Hatshepsut’s reign because her monuments and writings were destroyed in a systematic campaign to squash the idea that a woman could ever be Pharaoh.  But where the facts are known, Stephanie Thornton generally sticks to them and fills in the gaps in our knowledge of her reign with believable events.  Even when she does deviate from the historical record (which was rare) she is able to justify it within the context of the story as well as in her historical note.  The changes she made were to improve the story and that’s why Daughter of the Gods is now one of my favourite historical fiction novels.

Even if you’re not a huge fan of ancient Egypt, I can’t recommend Daughter of the Gods enough.  Stephanie Thornton is able to bring ancient Egypt to life for novices and experts alike.  You’ll fall in love with her characters and experience their triumphs and heartaches right alongside them.  And you definitely won’t be able to put the book down.

Seriously, just go buy this book.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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Cover Reveal: Black Orchid by Abigail Owen

Her heart is the key to Svatura’s power…
Designed by: Jason Vines

Publication Date: May 23, 2014

Series: Svatura, Book Four

Genre: Paranormal Romance 

Heartbroken…
Adelaide Jenner feels nothing… she is completely numb inside. Her te’sorthene, her fated love, abandoned her and joined their enemy. On that day her sister turned off all Adelaide’s emotions in order to save her from a heartbreak that could push her over the edge of sanity. But great power wielded without compassion or love can only lead to pain.
 
Deceived…
Nate Pierce believes Adelaide used her extraordinary powers to deceive him all these years. So he destroyed a relationship he thought to be false and hungers for revenge. Now, Nate serves Maddox. He is unaware that his new leader is using him as a pawn in a bid to enslave all Svatura.
 
Unraveling…
The only hope of finally defeating Maddox is for Adelaide and her sisters to combine their growing powers against him. But the the key to a Svatura’s power is the heart, and Adelaide’s is still missing.
 

About the Author


Award-winning author, Abigail Owen was born in Greeley, Colorado and raised in Austin, Texas. She now resides in Northern California with her husband and two adorable children who are the center of her universe.

Abigail grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. A fourth generation graduate of Texas A&M University, she attempted to find a practical career related to her favorite pastime by obtaining a degree in English Rhetoric/Technical Writing. However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it.Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Pinterest

 

My Interview with Louise Turner

Louise TurnerLouise Turner is the debut author of Fire & Sword, a thrilling historical novel set in 15th century Scotland that chronicles the life of John Sempill.  Read on to see our discussion of why she suddenly decided to write a novel, how she kept track of her enormous cast of characters and her future plans.

 

1.  Of all the times you could have set your novel, why Scotland in 15th century?

I’ve lived in the west of Scotland all my life, so when I first decided to start writing historical fiction, it seemed natural to look around me for inspiration. I suppose it was a sense of place that compelled me to write ‘Fire & Sword’; in particular, it was a fascination with two local historic monuments. The first of these was the Collegiate Church of Castle Semple near Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire, which was built at the behest of John, 1st Lord Sempill (plain ‘John Sempill of Ellestoun’ in ‘Fire and Sword’). The second was Duchal Castle, where a siege takes place towards the end of the book. Even though Duchal played a crucial role in events that had repercussions across Scotland, most people travel past it every day without even knowing that it’s there. Continue reading →