The Deep Blue Alibi - Paul Levine

This is another review from awhile ago. This is the second book in the series. If it sounds interesting to you I would suggest starting with the first book Solomon vs. Lord.

The Deep Blue Alibi: A Solomon vs. Lord Novel… by Paul Levine

Back Cover Blurb
They are Florida’s most mismatched legal duo–one a glamorous Miami blue blood, the other a Coconut Grove beach bum. And when they get together, you can throw every law right out the window….

What do you get when you mix beautiful people, family secrets, and a yacht washed up on Sunset Key with a hundred grand in cash and a dying man? If you’re Steve Solomon, you see a case that can get Solomon & Lord off the ground. If you’re Victoria Lord, you see a golden opportunity to go out on your own. With her uncle a murder suspect and her hunky ex-boyfriend back in the picture, Victoria is pushing to take control as Solomon struggles to keep from losing it.

As an explosive trial looms, they’re fighting against time, the law, and each other–to expose a killer who came to paradise…and hasn’t left.

My Review

This is going to be a quick review. I finished this book two weeks ago, unfortunatly my computer was being held hostage by a 5 day house guest who turned into a 14 day house guest. As such, this book isn't very fresh in my mind any more so I will just quickly sum up what I liked and what I didn't.

What I liked.

1. Steve Solomon - I'm in love with him he's definitely one of my favourite characters ever.

2. The Plot - The plot was quick paced and fascinating. Most books about lawyers bore me but I love to see how what kind of unorthodox methods Steve is going to use to get his client off the hook.

3. Steve Solomon - I want to marry him. Oops, did I mention him already??

What I didn't like.

1. Victoria - what the hell does Steve see in this woman?? I can't stand to be around up tight people in real life and I don't want to read about them as a heroine in my books. I would much prefer if Victoria had remained a prosecution lawyer or even a partner but the two had never got into an actual relationship. She is uptight, bitchy and totally takes Steve for granted. I don't understand why she is always holding the upper card in the relationship she should be thanking her lucky stars that she found such a decent guy but no she's constantly whining about everything he does and questioning if she should even be with him while fantasizing about her ex and resenting Steve.

Gah - obviously she's touched a nerve. Either way the book was great I love Steve Solomon and I hate Victoria Lord

Grade 9.5/10

The Raven Prince - Elizabeth Hoyt

There have been so many good reviews written about this book already I'm going to keep this short and sweet since I'll basically be repeating what everyone else has already said.

I'm definitely late to the party on this one. I've been hearing about this book on-line for ages and it's been in my TBR pile for almost as long. I stayed away from it though because I'm starting to get burned out on European Historicals and I've only been pulling them out when I'm almost certain they will be wonderful.

This book was most definitely wonderful.


Back Cover Blurb

Widowed Anna Wren is having a wretched day. After an arrogant male on horseback nearly squashes her, she arrives home to learn that she is in dire financial straits. What is a gently bred lady to do?

The Earl of Swartingham is in a quandary. Having frightened off two secretaries, Edward de Raaf needs someone who can withstand his bad temper and boorish behavior. Dammit! How hard can it be to find a decent secretary?

When Anna becomes the earl’s secretary, both their problems are solved. Then she discovers he plans to visit the most notorious brothel in London for his “manly” needs. Well! Anna sees red—and decides to assuage her “womanly” desires . . . with the earl as her unknowing lover.

What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? Not much actually. Edward and Anna make a wonderful couple and their love story is sweet and touching. Both these characters are fully realized and well developed. The supporting characters are all equally well drawn and each bring a little something extra to the story. I know some people had some issues with the historical accuracy of the book but the whole thing had such a fairytale feel to it that I didn't even notice. To me it felt like arguing that Cinderella is rubish because we all know a pumpkin really couldn't turn into coach. I also really enjoyed the snippets of The Raven Prince fairytale at the beginning of each chapter.

I only had a couple of minor quibbles. The first was the blackmail plot which I found kind of unnecessary but I was happy to see that not alot of time was spent on it. The second was the epilogue which really isn't a problem with the book but more with me. I generally don't enjoy epilogues but I always feel compelled to read them only to find that they really don't add anything to the story for me. I don't need details once I've been assured that the characters are going to get their happily ever after.

Grade 8/10

Still working on my current book so here is another review from my archives.

For My Lady’s Heart – Laura Kinsale

Similar to previous Kinsale books I’ve read I had to pick this one up twice and start it before finally being able to settle down and read it on the third try. I’m in awe of Laura Kinsales storytelling abilities but I find I really must be in the right mood to read her books. Luckily for me on the third try I was craving a meaty, in depth and complex historical romance and I wasn’t disappointed.
After having his wife, money and all his earthly belongings taken away by the church, 17 year old Ruck is spiraling down into hopelessness when he receives a gift of two very valuable jewels from a Princess he had a brief encounter with earlier in the day. Although it hurts his pride to accept charity he takes the two jewels and makes a personal vow to serve the lady (whoever she is) for the rest of his life.

The lady in question is the Princess of Monteverde, Melanthe. She has been recently widowed by a powerful Italian prince and her life is currently in danger as two rival families attempt to gain her land and riches.

13 years after their chance meeting the two run into one another again. Ruck is in service as a knight for the Duke of Lancaster but when he realizes who Melanthe is he challenges all who would fight him for the honour of serving his lady.

Once Ruck has entered Melanthe’s service he joins her party as they travel across England. Ruck has no idea of the danger Melanthe is in and the plan she has put in motion to try and save her own life and to keep Monteverde out of her enemies hands because of this he believes himself a fool for idolizing such a cold and cruel woman for so long and is furious with himself for continuing to lust after her. Ruck and Melanthe have many challenges before them as they get to know one another and fall in love.

The characterization in this book is amazing. Kinsale is a master at showing and not telling. Ruck and Melanthe jump off the page right from the beginning but Kinsale continues to develop these characters throughout the entire story through their actions and their pasts. Ruck is exactly what a Knight should be – brave, honourable, chivalrous and completely self – sacrificing. This may sound like he’s one of those too good to be true characters but he has personal flaws as well they just don’t interfere with his first priority – Melanthe. Melanthe is a bit difficult to warm up to at first but she grew on me very quickly. In my opinion she is a very realistic strong female character living during a time when women were given very little say in anything. Rather than being the feisty heroine everyone is just so enamoured with they don’t care what she does, Melanthe is cold, cunning and deceitful but she must be this way in order to survive. As you watch her shed her cold exterior during her time with Ruck she becomes absolutely delightful. The relationship between these two develops over the course of the story and is at times sweet and at other times heartbreaking. There is plenty of sexual tension between the two and the love scenes are both humorous and tender (a lot like real life if you ask me).

The supporting characters are all equally well done and I can’t write the review without mentioning Allegretto, the quasi villain in this book and the hero of Kinsale’s Shadow Heart. Allegretto at first comes across as a cold assassin but as we read the story it is revealed how he came to be what he is and by the end of the book I couldn’t wait to read his story.
Kinsale’s medieval setting is definitely not a wall paper historical setting. Kinsale doesn’t skimp on the nitty gritty of the time and she makes sure to show the role religion played in the lives of the people living during the time.

One other thing I should mention which may turn people off is that the dialogue between the characters is written in middle english. At first this put me off but as I read the story I stopped noticing it and now that I’ve read the whole thing I can’t imagine it any other way. The language made the scenes between the h/h all the more romantic for me.
All in all this is my favourite Kinsale book so far and not only is it definitely in my top 5 romances of all time but Melanthe is by far my favourite heroine ever and Ruck is in the top 5 heroes. If you like meaty and involved historicals I heartily recommend this book.

Grade 10/10

This is my first post (yea!). Since I’ve just barely started my current book I’m going to post a review I wrote sometime ago. I have a number of reviews already written so I’ll be posting them along with reviews of books I’m currently reading. The Shadowy Horses – Susanna Kearsley Back Cover Blurb Verity Grey has never been a woman who recoils from a challenge. But when she is invited to a windy coastal town in Scotland to work on an archaeological dig, she wonders if she has stepped over the line. “It’s not the ancient Roman history that intimidates Veity — even when that history takes the ghostly form of a slain Roman sentinel — it’s her co-worker David Fortune, who frustrates her with his remoteness. “As the group of archaeologists strives to uncover the truth of the mysterious Roman campsite, science must contend with the paranormal. The ghost’s appearances become more urgent and more chilling until Verity can no longer deny its message — someone is in great danger. Could the deadly warning be for her or for David? Somehow they’ll have to communicate with each other, which is proving to be the biggest hurdle they face at the dig site … “The wild Scottish landscape is a perfect backdrop for intrigue, as Verity learns that outside the scientist’s laboratory the shadowy horses of history carry messages from the past.” My Review I can’t believe I left this book languishing in my TBR pile for 4 years. There are so many things I loved about this book. First and foremost is the atmosphere. The atmosphere in this book is so present and defined it’s like a character itself. It was perfectly spooky without being out and out scary. The ghost of the sentinel is wonderfully drawn and such a tragic figure walking the same lines night after night and did not come off cheesy or hokey at all. I loved the fact that the author made the ghost such an integral part of the story rather than just throwing him in a opportune times to scare the reader. The book is written in the first person and although you only get inside Verity’s head, I had no problem understanding the rest of the characters in the story they were so 3 dimensional and well written. This book worked for me on so many levels but I can see why it may not work for all romance readers. The romance between Verity and David is equally balanced with the mystery of the ninth legion and then again with the suspense plot of the present day danger to either Verity or David so people looking for the love story front and centre may be disappointed. With that being said, I found the relationship to be wonderfully drawn between Verity and David and I loved watching these two find one another. The sexual tension between these two was so hot it didn’t matter that everything outside of kissing happened behind closed doors. The other problem readers may have (which wasn’t a problem for me) is that the mystery is not all that hard to figure out. I didn’t figure it out but I was so distracted by all the characters that when it was revealed I felt kinda silly for not realizing it earlier. This book is most definitely going on my keeper shelf and probably into my conversion kit for non romance readers as well. I think as long as your not going into this book expecting the main focus to be on Verity and David most people will really enjoy this book. It’s books like this that make me positively giddy when I look at my bookshelves because I can’t help but think how many other fabulous books must be in there waiting for me to pick them up… even if it takes 4+ years

Grade 9/10