Dragon Rose (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms, Book 2)

Dragon Rose (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms, Book 2) by Christine Pope

A Beauty and the Beast type fairy tale love story in the form of a dragon.

When you grow up living in a town where young girls enter a lottery to see who will be the next bride for the Lord of Black’s Keep, you come to expect the worst.  Rhianne liked to paint, something unheard of, no women shall do such a skill.  While she was of the age to be married, her parents tried to find her a proper suitor.  As luck would have it, an older gentleman was a prospect, but when her father is injured, her secret of painting is revealed.

On the day of the bride lottery, her best friend is chosen.  Knowing her best friend was to be married, Rhianne offered herself instead of her friend.  A never before occurrence, but the elders allowed it.  Rhianne had no idea what lay ahead, other than she would never see her family, friends or her town ever again.

Rhianne was whisked away to her future husband, the Dragon.  The ceremony was held immediately.  She was shown to her new rooms in a large castle, away from her previous life.

As time passes, she finds she has fallen in love with the Dragon, even though she has never seen him.  A slight touch, his voice, his build, all strike at her heart.  She is saddened that even though the Dragon seems to want her affection, he always stops short.  No one will reveal the truth behind the curse that caused this man to be sentenced to a life in a dragon form.  In addition, a strange dream keeps her painting a man she has never seen before.  Who is this man and why does he come to her in her dreams?

What will it take to break this curse, and can Rhianne finally be the one to do it?  Or will her town continue to find the next bride?

Well written to keep you turning pages.  Minimal characters but each have their own personality.  If you like love stories, or Beauty and the Beast, or fairy tale type stories, you will like this.

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Broken (The Djinn Wars Book 4)

Broken (The Djinn Wars Book 4) by Christine Pope

Continuing on in the Djinn Wars, Broken breaks away from the previous main characters Jessica and Jace, and instead takes two others characters from the series as the main focus, Julia and Zaharias.  Yes, you should read the series from the beginning.

Life goes on after Captain Margolis loses his battle.  He is now imprisoned.  Zaharias continues his leadership role in Santa Fe, while Julia is now the leader in Los Alamos.  Somehow Captain Margolis escapes his prison and is determined to take revenge.  The reasons why are an important part of the story.

Every love story needs a beginning.  Why Julia and Zaharias feel the need to not express their emotion towards one another also play a large part in the story.  If you have read the previous books in the Djinn Wars, you know Julia’s reason.  What you learn is Zaharias’s reason.

Keeping the same page turning excitement, and bringing in Jessica, Jace and some of the other characters from the previous books will have you wanting to not stop until the end.  Human and Djinn will work together again, or should I say still, in the battle against Margolis.  Changing main characters does not impact the desire to reach the end.  In addition, you will want to get the next in the series as quickly as possible.

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Avonelle's Gift

Avondale's Gift by Nova Scheller

Diving into your family’s past can be quite a journey.  For some, it brings great joy, for others not so much.

Avonelle’s Gift is the story of a family through four generations, starting back around the year 1900.  What was a short romance for two people became quite a story.  We have all experienced our first love.  For these two young people, it was short-just a few short weeks.  At this time in history, it was not uncommon for workers to travel where they were needed, staying only long enough as there was work.  When young Avonelle left, he didn’t think anything of it, but hoped one day to return to this special girl.  Weeks later, she learned she was with child.  In order to save grace, she married a local boy.  After the child was born, the mother dies.  Unable to care for the child, she is brought to an orphanage.

The story continues through the generations, ending with the great-granddaughter.  Through the years, you read of the trying times of war and work.

Four generations does bring quite a lot of characters.  This is not a fairy tale romance, but a story of life, love and death.  A good story of family history, with a mix of fact and fiction to keep it interesting.  Photos at the end also show the serious times.  Well written, although my copy did not convert to a Kindle mobi file well, quite a few hyphenated words that were most likely at the end of a page in a hard copy were in the middle of sentences.  Getting by that, it was an enjoyable read.  There are no opinions or judgements of what the author’s ancestors did.

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Priority Target

Priority Target by Ethan Jones

If you like the Justin Hall series, you will like this series with Carrie O’Connor.  If you haven’t read the Justin Hall books, you will still like this new series with Carrie O’Connor.

Ethan Jones has done it again.  As a teammate of Justin Hall in his series, Carrie now has her own series.  Keeping true to his writing style, Ethan has created a female agent ready to take on the world in order to protect her Canadian homeland.  In her first book, Carrie is sent to Somalia in search of a war lord.  With the help of some agents, Carrie learns of a drone strike that was initially meant for the war lord, but instead, numerous innocent men, women and children were killed.  Was this intentional or a mistake.  Carrie is determined to stay on task, as well as try to find the truth about the strike.

With minimal characters, the flow is steady and easy to keep reading until the end.  Never underestimate the power of a woman.  A few references to Justin Hall as a way to keep the two characters in touch, but even if you have not read any Justin Hall books, you will not be left behind to the references.  Loaded with action, Carrie does not disappoint, nor does her character overdo the female in charge.  She is believable, as any trained female agent could be, nothing outrageous or over the top.

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Fallen (The Djinn Wars Book 3)

Fallen (The Djinn Wars Book 3) by Christine Pope

Continuing on where Taken left off, Jessica has become more courageous and determined.  The few Djinn and their chosen are at war with the survivors.  The only was to survive is to activate the device that will weaken them, but create a barrier to protect them.  Knowing the barrier will not last forever, they continue to search ways to survive.

When rougue Djinn break through, the only hope is Jace.  Would you sacrifice your true love so others will live?

Loaded with so many twists and turns, this will not disappoint.  If you have enjoyed the first two, you will be pleased with this one.

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Beautiful Entourage (5 Book Series)

Beautiful Entourage (5 Book Series) by E.L. Todd

A series of 5 books about an escort service, but with very strict rules.  6 friends decide to run an escort service, 5 men and 1 woman who runs the business.  Very strict rules like no kissing or anything sexual, no giving out personal info like address or phone and most importantly, no getting involved with a client.

The 5 books are written with each man having his own book and telling his own story.  4 of the friends are very happy with their lifestyle.  Great income, no strings, enjoying life to the fullest.  One of the friends is looking to settle down and start a life with the love of his life.  Each of the stories goes through how each of the friends meet a certain girl and what happens.

While it starts great, after the 3rd book, it becomes too easy to know what happens next.  The only different one is the book 5, the story of the man who wants to settle down, but cannot find the love of his life.  Even still, they are a good read for those who like a love story.

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Crystal Night (The Prometheus Saga)

Crystal Night (The Prometheus Saga) by Charles A. Cornell

A short story set in the time of World War II and Nazi Germany.

A twist of alien science fiction.  Who would think a bartender could be an alien?  Johann is a probe sent here to observe the human species. The secrets some try to hide.

Well written and intense about a brutal time in history, especially for a short story.  You will feel as if you are back in time in Germany.

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