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Title: Song of Seduction Author/website: Carrie Lofty Publisher: Carina Press Publication date & page count: June ’10 & 448KB (Kindle eBook)

From page 171 of Song of Seduction

He savored the feel of her skin, the delicate bend of each knuckle. For weeks, he had wanted nothing more than to speak with her again, perhaps to understand the reason for her distance. He stood poised on the verge of that understanding, and already his irresponsible body and his shameless mind wanted the tedious scene over and done – so that he might rediscover her.

Austria, 1804

Eight years ago, composer Arie De Voss claimed his late mentor’s final symphony as his own and became an icon. But fame has a price: fear of discovery now poisons his attempts to compose a redemptive masterpiece. Until a new muse appears, intoxicating and inspiring him…

Mathilda Heidel renounced her own musical gift to marry, seeking a quiet life to escape the shame surrounding her birth. Sudden widowhood finds her tempted by song once more. An unexpected introduction to her idol, Arie De Voss, renews Mathilda’s passion for the violin—and ignites a passion for the man himself.

But when lust and lies reach a crescendo, Arie will be forced to choose: love or truth?

Knight of Passion by Margaret Mallory is the final book in the All the King’s Men trilogy. While I enjoyed Knight of Passion it wasn’t my favorite. I found books #1 and #2 much more to my liking. It could be for a couple of reasons: 1) I had high expectations for the last book in this trilogy and 2) I didn’t particularly fancy Linnet.

HOW CAN THIS PASSIONATE KNIGHT… Renowned beauty Lady Linnet is torn between two desires: revenge on those who destroyed her family or marriage to her childhood sweetheart Sir James Rayburn. One fateful night, she makes a misguided choice: she sacrifices Jamie’s love for a chance at vengeance.

TRUST A BEAUTY WITH A PAST? Jamie Rayburn returns to England in search of a virtuous wife-only to find the lovely Linnet as bewitching as ever. Their reckless affair ignites anew, even hotter than before, although Jamie vows to never again trust her with his heart. Then just as Linnet begins to make amends, she’s tempted by one last opportunity to settle old scores. But a final retribution could cost her Jamie’s love – this time forever.

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Book #1

Book #2

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop in.

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RIF: Donating to the library Shadow of the Swords: An Epic Novel of the Crusades by Kamran Pasha

An epic saga of love and war, Shadow of the Swords tells the story of the Crusades – from the Muslim perspective.

Saladin, a Muslim sultan, finds himself pitted against King Richard the Lionheart as Islam and Christianity clash against each other, launching a conflict that still echoes today.

In the midst of a brutal and unforgiving war, Saladin finds forbidden love in the arms of Miriam, a beautiful Jewish girl with a tragic past. But when King Richard captures Miriam, the two most powerful men on Earth must face each other in a personal battle that will determine the future of the woman they both love – and of all civilization.

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What books came into your house last week? You have the choice of using inlinkz or Mr. Linky. With inlinkz you can include a book cover if you’d like along with the link to your Mailbox Monday post (clicking on the image takes you to the blog post.)

Don’t forget to fill out either inlinkz or Mister Linky or leave a comment with a list of books if you don’t blog. If you’re interested in Read It Forward you will need to leave a comment in addition to filling out a link feature.

• In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

• In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

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Read It Forward details

Awakening by S.J. Bolton showed up in my mailbox as a surprise. I knew who sent it I just didn’t know I’d be getting a copy. And there its been sitting gracing the review shelf for the past couple of months. After reading the back cover (different from the synopsis below) I wasn’t sure that it’d ever make to the reading portion of the program. I seriously considered giving it a feature post and moving on. Why? Mainly because I loathe snakes and sometimes the writing style of British authors doesn’t appeal to me. Two strikes and I hadn’t even cracked open the book. Cathy from Kittling Books said she heard good things about Ms. Bolton’s novels so I thought OK maybe. I left it percolating on the shelf a while longer. But the review shelf is nearly empty so it was now or never and I really didn’t have anything to lose but some well deserved reading time. Well I’m happy to say the gamble paid off. I read Awakening cover to cover in a 24-hr period. Actually I was pretty much sucked right in the from the start and from there I just kept going. Its not a picture book so the snakes weren’t too bad but there were a lot of them. There’s this underlying current of tension from start to finish. It hums right below the surface just daring you not the stay around and find out whodunit and why. I enjoyed Awakening so much I’ll be adding Ms. Bolton to my authors to watch list.

A description of Ms. Bolton’s writing style take from the June issue of The Criminal Element produced by Minotaur: What Bolton does is a bit different from the norm in today’s world of mystery. She doesn’t write strict procedurals, though the police are often involved. She doesn’t write straight-ahead thrillers, though there’s plenty of suspense in her novels. She doesn’t write old-fashioned locked-room mysteries, though there’s always a puzzle that readers — and the characters within the novel — are trying to figure out.

Bolton uses legend, folklore and the power of setting to create tales that, while grounded in reality, also have an eerie sense of the unknown, as if the supernatural were lingering behind the very bloody crimes that propel her plots.

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Veterinary surgeon Clara Benning is young and intelligent, but practically a recluse. Disfigured by a childhood accident, she lives alone and shies away from human contact wherever possible. But when a man dies, following a supposed snake bite, Clara learns that the victim’s post mortem shows a higher concentration of venom than could ever be found in a single snake.

Assisted by her softly spoken neighbour and an eccentric reptile expert, Clara unravels sinister links to a barbaric ancient ritual, an abandoned house and a fifty year old tragedy that left the survivors fiercely secretive. Then the village’s inventive attacker strikes again, and Clara’s own solitary existence is brutally invaded. For someone the truth must remain buried in the past…even if they have to kill to keep it there.

Title: The End Game Author/website: Gerrie Ferris Finger Award winning book: Winner of the Malice Domestic Best Traditional Mystery Novel Competition Publisher: Minotaur Books Publication date & page count: April ’10 & 310 pages

From page 182 of The End Game

“In her diaries, she writes of a secret lover. This man’s wife had died. I don’t think she was writing fiction, and I believe it’s important to find him.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Millicent Goddard having a secret lover is far-fetched, but if I had to guess it’d be Conrad Hugle.” “Why?” “The dead wife thing. Conrad moved to the mill right afterward. He said he wasn’t interested in remarrying, but I don’t think he became a monk, if you know what I mean. You know, Miss Goddard was a very pretty woman in her day.” “I can’t see Conrad Hugle as Miss Goddard’s paramour.” “Goddard would like that word – paramour,” he said. “You’re right, though, Conrad’s too sleazy to be anyone’s paramour. Besides they bickered constantly at NPU meetings.” “I understand you bickered, too.” He nodded. “Revitalization doesn’t suit everyone.” Lake came back with two detectives. He said to Doonan, “Detectives Howard and Allen will go with you to check out the Inman Park Houses.” Walking between the detectives, Doonan turned his head and looked at me like I’d charged five thousand dollars on his credit card account without him knowing. I grabbed the borrowed raincoat the locked the door.

Moriah Dru’s weekend off with her lover, Lieutenant Richard Lake, is interrupted when Atlanta juvenile court judge Portia Devon hires Dru to find two sisters who’ve gone missing after their foster parents’ house burns down.

An ex-cop, Dru established Child Trace, Inc., after leaving the force. Judge Devon sees to it that Lake is assigned to head the police investigation, because Dru and Lake together have a habit of solving cases.

After questioning the neighbors, the couple realize the abduction of the girls is more than an ordinary kidnapping. Dru learns that in the past eight years two other foster children from the area have gone missing. The investigation turns up a snitch who tells Dru he’s heard that a secret sex organization, with members named after chess pieces, is bound for Costa Rica with two girls. The chase is on to stop the kidnappers before they escape the country.

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop in.

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RIF: Kindle eBook The Burning Wire, Lincoln Rhyme book #9 by Jeffery Deaver (favorite series)

Lincoln Rhyme is back, on the trail of a killer whose weapon of choice cripples New York City with fear.

The weapon is invisible and omnipresent. Without it, modern society grinds to a halt. It is electricity. The killer harnesses and steers huge arc flashes with voltage so high and heat so searing that steel melts and his victims are set afire.

When the first explosion occurs in broad daylight, reducing a city bus to a pile of molten, shrapnel-riddled metal, officials fear terrorism. Rhyme, a world-class forensic criminologist known for his successful apprehension of the most devious criminals, is immediately tapped for the investigation. Long a quadriplegic, he assembles NYPD detective Amelia Sachs and officer Ron Pulaski as his eyes, ears and legs on crime sites, and FBI agent Fred Dellray as his undercover man on the street. As the attacks continue across the city at a sickening pace, and terrifying demand letters begin appearing, the team works desperately against time and with maddeningly little forensic evidence to try to find the killer. Or is it killers . . . ?

Meanwhile, Rhyme is consulting on another high-profile investigation in Mexico with a most coveted quarry in his crosshairs: the hired killer known as the Watchmaker, one of the few criminals to have eluded Rhyme’s net.

Juggling two massive investigations against a cruel ticking clock takes a toll on Rhyme’s health. Soon Rhyme is fighting on yet another front – and his determination to work despite his physical limitations threatens to drive away his closest allies when he needs them most . . .

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What books came into your house last week? You have the choice of using inlinkz or Mr. Linky. With inlinkz you can include a book cover if you’d like along with the link to your Mailbox Monday post (clicking on the image takes you to the blog post.)

Don’t forget to fill out either inlinkz or Mister Linky or leave a comment with a list of books if you don’t blog. If you’re interested in Read It Forward you will need to leave a comment in addition to filling out a link feature.

• In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

• In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

***

Read It Forward details

Damaged by Pamela Callow is a solid debut to what could become a very good to excellent series starring attorney Kate Lange. Because I like my suspense/thrillers to start off grabbing me by the throat I would have liked Chapter 8 to open Damaged. I will tell you it involves surgical instruments and detached body parts. While Ms. Callow doesn’t break any new ground in this already crowded genre she does present the reader with a consistent story line as the action builds to the final outcome. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this series as I want to see what fate has in store for Kate especially with her firm’s managing partner, Randall Barrett. Something is simmering under the surface with these two. It will be interesting to see where Ms. Callow takes this relationship as Kate defends Randall when he’s accused of domestic abuse and the murder of his ex-wife in Indefensible due out January 2011.

If you enjoy suspense/thrillers with strong female lead characters pick up a copy of Damaged today. I’m giving away a hardcover edition of Damaged.

Here’s what others are saying:

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How far are you willing to go to forget your past? Haunted by the death of her sister, and wounded by her ex-fiance’s accusations, Kate Lange throws herself into her new career at a high-powered law firm.

When the grandmother of a lonely private school student seeks her counsel, Kate thinks it’s just another custody case. Until the teen is brutally murdered. And it isn’t only Kate who wonders if her legal advice led to the girl’s death.

How far are you willing to go to redeem yourself? Put on notice by Randall Barrett, the firm’s charismatic managing partner, Kate must fight for her career, for her reputation — and for redemption.

Unwilling to live with the damage she has caused, Kate pursues the case on her own and unearths some chilling facts.

Facts that lead straight to the heart of a legal conspiracy.

Facts that lead Kate directly into the surgically-skilled hands of the Body Butcher.

The details:

• One hardcopy edition of Damaged by Pamela Callow
• Must have a US or Canadian physical mailing address. No POBs please
• One entry per person. Just leave a comment letting me know you’d like to be entered in the giveaway.
• Closing date: June 15th (Midnight MT)

How far are you willing to go to forget your past? Haunted by the death of her sister, and wounded by her ex-fiance’s accusations, Kate Lange throws herself into her new career at a high-powered law firm.

When the grandmother of a lonely private school student seeks her counsel, Kate thinks it’s just another custody case. Until the teen is brutally murdered. And it isn’t only Kate who wonders if her legal advice led to the girl’s death.

How far are you willing to go to redeem yourself? Put on notice by Randall Barrett, the firm’s charismatic managing partner, Kate must fight for her career, for her reputation — and for redemption.

Unwilling to live with the damage she has caused, Kate pursues the case on her own and unearths some chilling facts.

Facts that lead straight to the heart of a legal conspiracy.

Facts that lead Kate directly into the surgically-skilled hands of the Body Butcher.

Inspired by a criminal case in the United States, and drawing on my professional career at blue-chip firms, I wrote Damaged, the first of four planned books in the Kate Lange series. Kate is my everywoman superwoman. Damaged will be released by MIRA Books in June 2010. The next book in the series, Indefensible, will come out in January 2011. The third, Tattooed, is planned for the summer of 2011, and the fourth in June 2012.

A library could be a dangerous place. (pg. 3)

That is the very first sentence from The Book of Spies by Gayle Lynds. With a single sentence I know this is going to be a book for me. What I really liked about The Book of Spies is that it wasn’t a big complicated mess of characters and sub-plots. Sometimes action/adventure/thrillers get these big story lines going which can get hard to follow as a multitude of characters and side stories get brought in to pump up the thrills leaving the reader lost among the ashes. Not so with The Book of Spies. You have your premise – to find the fabled Library of Gold – and your core cast of characters. From this Ms. Lynds writes a page-turning thriller leaving me wanting more. I’m glad she has a back list of books because it means I can go back for a second helping and most likely add Ms. Lynds to my continuously growing list of favorite authors come year’s end. If you’re a fan of thrillers like The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Throne then The Book of Spies just might be the book for you.

They drank in the four walls of gold-covered books. The embedded gems sparkled in the pure air. For an instant it seemed to Eva that nothing else on the planet mattered.

“Don’t give me a cold tomb of a museum but the fire-breathing world of words and ideas,” Yitzhak said. “Give me a library. This library.” (pg. 342)

Here’s what others are saying: Seeing The World Through Books

For centuries, emperors, historians, and even the Vatican have tried to locate Ivan the Terrible’s magnificent collection of lost works – the real-life Library of Gold. Now one of the volumes, The Book of Spies, has surfaced, and along with it the highly secret book club that owns the library. They form a cabal of the globe’s most powerful men – men who will do anything to achieve their aims and protect their interests.

Somehow the CIA must do what no one else has been able to do – find the library and stop them. When it discovers a connection between the legendary library and a bank account linked to terrorists, the CIA brings in rare books curator Eva Blake to help.

Soon an attempt is made on Eva’s life, and she is on the run. Determined not only to survive but to uncover the truth, Eva turns to the one person she can trust – Judd Ryder, a former intelligence officer with a troubled past and his own agenda.

Racing from London to Rome, Istanbul to Athens, Judd and Eva must use all of their wits and skills to stay ahead of the deadly forces hunting them, find the gold-covered, bejeweled books in the priceless library, and stop the men behind both while there is still time….

Read: 14 books (8 eBooks) DNF’d: 3 Pages read: 3,838

Excellent

Good

Good

Good

DNF @ pg. 82

Very good

Excellent

DNF @ pg. 62

Excellent

DNF @ pg. 27

Very good

Excellent

Very good

Good