Friday, December 21, 2018

Review: First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1) by Darynda Jones

This tremendously long supernatural mystery-suspense series is written with plenty of humor, and ends up being very believable. It reminds me very much of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels. We are treated to the seedy underside of human experience in each one, rendered cohesive by a supportive cast of family and friends, all strung upon a thread of erotic romance.

They also have a numerical value in every title that give up very little else of the plot. As you can guess, this is volume 1, where the main character, who's been seeing dead people all her life, discovers that her astral traveling lover is going to be taken off life support, which could trigger the Apocalypse. Meanwhile she has mysteries to solve for her PI clients, on top of helping the many souls she encounters to move on into the Light.

It's quite a juggling act for Charlie to handle, but it's how she rolls. I'm pretty certain every volume is going to be more of the same, nonstop chaos very reminiscent of real life for those of us cursed to live in 'interesting times'.
 


Thursday, December 20, 2018

Wish upon a Duke, by Erica Ridley --review

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2583509829

When his twin brother the rake announces his engagement, all the eligible young women re-align their matrimonial sights toward the bookish and peripatetic Christopher Pringle, who up till now was in his brother's shadow. Escaping to join an astronomy tour, his eye is drawn by the tour guide, only to be appalled at her cavalier attitude to the proper names of constellations. She's gleefully encouraging the tour to re-name them however they like. Imagine his surprise when he is referred to her not only as a matchmaker, but to repair his broken telescope!

Past hurts have both these people running away into the stars. It turns out they both own the same state-of-the-art telescope, in fact. But Gloria blames the ocean and all water for robbing her of her family and refuses to even skate upon the local pond, while Christopher has been traveling for so long that he no longer views it as avoidance but as pleasant discovery.

Ridley choreographs the way these two dance around their challenges and learn to bend into doing things together, in order to balance out a life they can share. Settling into idiosyncrasies could have left them as two lonely 'characters' in stagnation. How they work it out is both heartening and tear-inducing.  HEA is assured at the last possible moment, too.

Yes, this is an xxx adult tale, and you will be thrilled by that part when you arrive at it.


.  

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Review for Of Curse You Will (Womby's vol. 11) by Sarina Dorie

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2631566220


This is the volume where Clarissa and Thatch finally manage to 'make it work'. Yet it has to be for 'new adult' rather than YA simply because of the nature of their strain of magic. All his long life Thatch has had to deal with the practical disadvantages of the Red affinity. Clarissa's indefatigably loving nature refuses to leave this unsolved. Then when she uncovers a potential solution, the frigid heart of her potential helper also needs healing. It's a matter of life and death for them all, and has to remain hush-hush due to school rules!

You will get absurd chuckles over how the students interpret the strange situations in which they find their teachers, giving rise to truly tabloid-level rumors.

 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2631566220

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Review of Lady Charlotte's Dilemma, by Fallacious Rose



This tale is both twisted and salacious. Though scandalous things take place, it may be characterized as more of a romp than a romance.

Lady Charlotte is a homebody who is constantly mortified by the wiles  her mother, the widowed Viscountess Letitia, employs to insert her into fashionable society. Her escape from the vapidity of her second London 'season' takes place when she comes down with a most peculiar illness, from a vampire's bite!
Running home to her family's estate, which neighbors that of the Duke her mother has been pursuing, reveals hitherto undisclosed inherited tendencies... and and gets her in trouble with Oswald, the handsome young vicar.
A bawdy comedy of errors ensues, as Lady Charlotte continues to seek a solution to her health problem that won't ruin her reputation. Is the Duke's house party, including a midnight 'black Mass',  going to make the whole situation better-- or infinitely worse?

The resolution of Charlotte's dilemma will keep you guessing up till the very end.

 https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Charlottes-Dilemma-Fallacious-Rose-ebook/dp/B07KX63T1L/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42968955-lady-charlotte-s-dilemma

Monday, November 12, 2018

Review of The Priestess of Camelot by Helgaleena

Those who enjoyed Marion Zimmer Bradley's retelling of the Arthurian legend will be quite happy with this new alternative, which has plenty of well-described love scenes. 

It's a shame about the historical inaccuracies in the book, which render Anya a 'Rus from Jutland'. Evidently author confused Viborg in Karelia with Viborg in Denmark. All notes about supposed equivalency of Rus with Vikings are thereby invalidated. However since this is not a history book per se, it is only interfering with our suspension of disbelief. Also the dying visions are rendered in full as if Anya came back to life to write them down. Third mistake: heavy mention of using the herb coneflower, which is exclusive to North America. Scratch the Pulitzer off the wish list, Heirs of Camelot.

That said, it's a pleasant, Goddess-affirmative fantasy of feminine fulfillment. I have a feeling the cursing of Morgaine is going to set up plenty of future adventures.



 https://www.amazon.com/Priestess-Camelot-Prequel-Heirs-ebook/dp/B07HSYTNRT/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_pdt_img_top?ie=UTF8


Monday, November 5, 2018

Helgaleena Healingline's Reviews > An End to Summer



This coming-of-age story took a lot of world building. I believe it is successful in that, as well as in conveying a soulmate-level MM romance.

Alexander's journey in parallel worlds is epic. I can only imagine that the epic will continue in future volumes; they'll have to top this one, which won't be easy.

Five stars for fantasy, five for erotic romance, and five more for relevance to our own existential dilemmas.

 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36313937-an-end-to-summer

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Review: Prince of Secrets and Shadows by CS Johnson

 



This YA historical thriller is set in the midst of an international underworld of spies and diplomats that our young heroine had no inkling of before volume 1. However, readers will have no problem stringing it all together even without familiarity because previous incidents are well explained.

There are two princes for Ella to handle, one who has chosen to listen to the people and one who has not; both are eager for her hand but for completely different reasons. She chose to follow her mother and grandmother into this world of intrigue following high ideals, but doubts that she's temperamentally suited to function in the constraints of the Order. Ella's personal choices have repercussions upon the the city of Prague and the entire known world, but in the end the highest of ideals require her to follow her own heart.

Nevertheless there is plenty of action and rescuing for her and her allies before her ultimate choice.
What is most wonderful is that however eccentric the characters, they are completely plausible and comprehensible, even the villains! And despite the happily ever after at the end, you know those villains will be brewing more mayhem in future installments. But I didn't have to suffer any 'cliff-hanger' unlike volume 1. Well done CS Johnson!


 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41558316-prince-of-secrets-and-shadows


Monday, October 8, 2018

Review: A Light of Her Own by C Callaghan

This is a very evocative telling of life in 17th century Netherlands, for the female members of families in the Artists Guilds. Talent is not enough to merit training for Maria, though she shares a room with her father's female apprentice Judith Leyster. Both are already grown women in their twenties, but around them young painters have become masters at a younger age.
At last both of them take decisive steps into the world on their own, Judith taking illicit commissions to afford her master's fee, Maria traveling to Leiden is search of a missing Guild artifact. But the road forward is fraught with daily perils not encountered by the male artists. And despite managing to set up her own workshop and apprenticeships, Judith walks a fine line, one group demanding three times the talent, and the other chastising her for putting her art before ties of friends and family.
Even when she helps to save her dear friend Maria's life, Maria interprets it in a spirit of betrayal.

In the end, the first and only female master of the Haarlem School would give up painting for marriage to a fellow painter, using her energies to keep his books and only seldom turn out a canvas. Yet this was the age of expansion and the marriage was a happy one. Making history demanded stepping away from invisibility in order to pursue her ideal.
It was a good idea to contrast her achievement with the life of her good friend, since talent does not happen only to brothers and not to sisters. How a person handles being gifted when society is not encouraging is interesting too.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J3GBLQ8

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Helgaleena Healingline's Reviews > Naked Launch, Book Two

The action in this mid-twentieth century erotic romp is non-stop, and yet it does not preclude the deployment of an actual plot with historical plausibility. 

Having weathered the perils of Book One, wherein our hero Alan Steele has lost every hair upon his body in a racking fever but also snared a fortune,  his bosom comrades join him in designing and outfitting a pirate ship and crew like no other.  By book's end they shall be known far and wide as the 'Golden Devils', living a utopian experiment in male/male bonding and wreaking revenge upon their oppressors, both among the British and the Spaniards.  

It's not their problem that the famous Henry Morgan's biographer finds their exploits implausible, even as he's scribbling them down. 

 As Andrew P Media remarks,
'Moreover, the story provides a lovely vision of how things could and should be for gay men in the world. Written in the late sixties, one can imagine a bit of the free love movement and gay liberation sloganeering swarming inside the author’s brain. Consider this excerpt from one of Alan’s rousing speeches:

"Strip a man of his clothing and let him be proud of his pego and ballocks and he becomes a beautiful creature. Given cause he can fight ferociously, and yet with pego aroused for pleasure he can love tenderly, much preferring loving to fighting."'

Like the other titles in the series, it's well worth preserving. Kudos to Riverdale Avenue Books.


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2555205830

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Helgaleena's review of Crimson Byte, by Ivana Skye (paranormal YA) OUT NOW

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2553787088

 Ivana Skye has invented a whole new sort of vampire in an entirely new world of the contemporary future, and it sucks a person in immediately so that you, too, are an immensely talented and conflicted young art student in the alternate future United States, trying to get over the wounds of growing up bullied.

It's a good thing that life keeps happening to us no matter what. In a dark movie theatre a perfectly gorgeous young vampire sits next to her and politely asks her for help because he's been spotted by a rival faction dating one of theirs, which he isn't supposed to do. And this eventually leads further into our heroine discovering that it is she herself who is the greatest obstacle to her own happiness and productivity.

And yes, there is a bite. But the entire book is suitable for all ages and enthralling as well.

Available for pre-order   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42195421-crimson-bite

OUT NOW   https://www.amazon.com/Crimson-Bite-Reverse-Romance-Vampires-ebook/dp/B07J3GBLQ8/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8


Friday, June 1, 2018

Find Heidi Wasabi at these giveaways!

 Steamy Summer Reads!




June Paranormal Romance Giveaway 






Summer Erotica 2018 - Ερωτικό Καλοκαίρι 2018 






It's Become Very Queer




High Heat Giveaway!

 Shakti or succubus? Faithful spouse or figment of the imagination? Whatever she is, Rufus and Steen would not have made a grand success in their chosen profession, as the stars of the heavy metal band Virgen Steel, without Heidi. And they probably never would have gotten married—to each other, anyway. This is her incredible story...







Saturday, May 26, 2018

Edits for sweet romances by Stephanie l Danielson

Not writing myself lately, but it has been most satisfying to collaborate with MM sweet romance author Stephanie on her quest to make the world a more loving place, on contemporary happ

Out today! Coming Together (Ice Fairy #3)


I have been involved with Steph now for the entire Ice Fairy series and it will warm your cockles.

I give you: Love by the Numbers and For the Heart of Phillip






There is a sequel we 'spring cleaned' together, Life After Math, re-launching soon!



Once Phillip's love life calms down, there are more romances in this series too.

Bernard; Diary of a 46-yr-old Bellhop  





check out some of the great reviews this hurt-comfort saga has already received!


Life is good, if you enjoy cleaning commas.  <3 br="">

Friday, April 6, 2018

Heidi Wasabi is at Art of the Arcane!

https://artofthearcane.com/romance-erotica-giveaway/romance-and-erotica/ 

This giveaway goes on all month;  and this weekend only, Heidi's also available at my favorite price FREE at Brain to Book CyCon 2018!  https://claims.instafreebie.com/gg/XqFSBPbozw0jbxhzFfau

Monday, February 19, 2018

For your convenience: download Heidi Wasabi free!

https://www.instafreebie.com/book/52565


It's epub or PDF.,, mobi coming soon I hope.   If reading it online all chopped into chapters here is a pain, this may suit you better.