Review of The Trust by Shira Anthony and Venona Keyes

Rating: 5 stars

Jake Anders is hearing voices, one voice to be exact. Jake hears the voice of Trace Michelson, his mentor, and the one man he has been attracted to for years. The problem is that the real Trace Michelson is dead, killed six years ago when Trace was assassinated by people and agencies unknown. The voice Jakes hears is that of the Sim implant in his brain that carries part of Trace in it. Trace Michelson recruited Jake when he was in college for The Trust, a CIA-backed agency whose “executives” eliminate rogue biotechnology operations.

Jake was in awe of Trace, a brilliant mind houses in a powerful, gorgeous body. If Trace ever knew of Jake’s long time infatuation, he never let on. Before he was killed, Trace designed the Sim chip implanted in Jake’s brain.The chip contains his memories and experiences. It’s supposed to be just data, designed to augment Jake’s knowledge. But the Sim seems so real, like talking to Trace in person so Jake wonders if Trace is still alive or if Jake really is going crazy like everyone claims. Then the Sim tells him to trust no one. And Jake decides to learn the truth about Trace and the Sim, no matter the cost, no matter where the end of the journey will find him, dead or alive. Jake will give his all to keep The Trust.

What a wild, crazy elaborate ride this book turned out to be. From the first, you enter a maze of misinformation and treachery, and like Alice, you must commit to jumping down the hole in order to reach the truth and find the satisfactory ending that is hidden behind closed doors. When we first meet Jake, he has been ambushed by a traitor. As Jake bleeds out, he throws a knife to take out his assassin and then hearing his Sim’s voice telling him to meditate, passes out. He awakes healed in a hospital bed, being touted as a superman for killing the traitor and healing himself. And from there we are off on a exciting romp from there that makes Mr. Toad’s wild ride look practically sedate. Our authors handle the past/present juggling act beautifully so we are fed only tidbits of information about the past histories of the people involved. This keeps us guessing as to who the bad guys really are as well as their motives behind the actions. And while we are certain of the identity of the main villian early on, the identities of the people who are under their control is always in question. Is it the best friend? Is it the sister or the doctor? Each reality keeps folding back on each other to keep the reader wonderfully confused right up to the end and the final denouement.

I love the character of Jake Anders right down to his long flaming red hair. Jake is such a distinctive persona, brilliant, seemingly removed from those around him, a true scientist at heart. Jake became work obsessed when he lost the most important man in his life, Trace Michelson. Jake has so many layers to him, he is as complicated and as elaborate as the conspiracy he must unravel. So Jake’s character must unfold to the reader through his inner voice and his memories as he runs the maze set before him and solves the puzzles his Sim/Trace have left behind. It doesn’t help that Jake is not sure himself what is real and what is imagined. We are as confused and uncertain as he is. That the reader is kept in the dark with Jake works to the stories advantage as we have to go down every blind alley and take every risk along with him.

Sometimes the action is fast paced, at other times the action is calculatingly slow like a chess move that will set off repercussions many moves later. I appreciated the change up in pace as it kept me guessing as to the hidden meanings behind each scene. There is a romantic element to The Trust but if that is all you are seeking in a novel, then perhaps this is not the story for you. It is there as thin threads that runs the length of the story. I really enjoyed the way Anthony and Keyes handled the romantic part of this story, that of Jake’s hidden love for Trace, a man we only get to see from Jake’s perspective. In Jake’s eyes, Trace is larger than life, his mentor, his hero, and the only man he is capable of loving. So when Jake is not sure whether the voice he is hearing is the Sim or somehow Trace himself and Jake wonders if he is sane, the reader is right there with him, hoping upon hope that somehow it is Trace himself. I can’t say more because that enters into spoiler territory but I loved the ending and so will you.

So even if mental mazes and action adventure may not be your thing, take a chance. Pick this up, stay with it through all the double crosses and ever-changing realities, it is worth it. You will love it. Trust me!

Cover: Wonderful cover by Catt Ford. Eye catching and speaks to the book within. Great job.

Reviewers Note: Shira Anthony’s Blue Notes, a contemporary romance, is a favorite of mine. See my review of Blue Notes here.

Review of Fallout by Ariel Tachna

Rating: 4.5 stars

When NASA Robotics Engineer Derek Marshall hears that a tropical storm is headed his way, he decides to ride out the storm at home. After all, living in Texas’ Gulf Coast he had been through plenty of storms, what was one more? Then the storm strengthened again and again, until Hurricane Elsa roared ashore as a Category 4, decimating everything in her path, including Derek’s neighborhood. Derek has just rescued an abandoned dog left behind in a house on his street when he gets a call from his boss telling him that his skills and special robot are needed now at a damaged nuclear reactor to help contain the situation. One helicopter ride later and Derek, Fido and Number Five, his robot, are deposited in front of Dr. Sambit Patel, professor of nuclear engineering at Texas A& M. Dr. Sambit has had his services volunteered by the university in hopes he can help cool the reactors.

Sambit Patel is astonished to see a grubby jeans clad man with a dog trotting beside him hand over some suitcases and prepare to go inside the power plant. Sambit’s attempts to stop him from bringing the dog inside end in a argument as weary stressed out Derek comes up against reserved, quiet Sambit. Adding additional fuel to the instant antagonism is the fact that Dereck is out, proud and in your face gay while Sambit is reserved and closeted about his sexuality.

But the dangers of radiation poisoning, isolation and poor living conditions start to bring the men together. Derek finds that the more he listens and works with Sambit, the more he appreciates his quiet introspective ways, intelligent mind and subtle beauty of his Indian physique. Sambit learns that the prickly, obnoxious front Derek presents to the world is a barrier that hides a sensitive, hurt soul. Plus he doesn’t miss the fact that Derek is gorgeous to look at either. Each man has a past that is holding them back from a closer relationship. And time is against them as they race against the clock and lack of information to cool down the reactor and keep the plant from having a nuclear meltdown.

Fallout spoke to me on so many levels not the least of which is the unexpected plot which revolves around a nuclear accident brought on by a hurricane. Ariel Tachna dedicated this novel to ” the heroes of Fukushima Dai-ichi, whose willingness to risk their lives to save others inspired this novel”, so it is clear who and what prompted the storyline for this novel. Natural disasters and nuclear power plants has been a hot topic in the news and rightly so given the extreme weather patterns we are now seeing. I myself sit 1 1/2 hours from the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby, Maryland and the protests in Japan are on the rise as their reactors come back on line. The relevance of this storyline is all around us.

How real does the nuclear disaster feel? Unbelievably so. I was glued to the book wondering where and how far Tachna was going with the meltdown. I don’t know where Ariel Tachna got her information about the inner workings of a nuclear power plant, the technical jargon, and the emergency repairs necessary to cool the rods but I felt as though I was getting insider information at all times. As Sambit and Derek maneuver the robot Number Five through debris strewn corridors, taking radiation readings as they calculate the quickest way to get coolant into the reactor without plant maps or detailed plant malfunctions, I never once doubted the authenticity of the information the author was giving us. In fact I began to wonder when and in what capacity she had worked in the nuclear field. Most of the time I felt like I was an interloper looking over the shoulders of the men as they scrambled to find the solutions they desperately needed before the power plant, themselves and all of Bay City became another statistic like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. You do not have to be a science geek to appreciate the drama and the technology that goes into this part of the story, all you need is your imagination and a reminder of the pictures we saw transmitted from Japan to feel the impact of each and every scene.

The second element of the novel that drew me in was the multicultural romance between Derek Marshall and Sambit Patel. The author’s close connections to India and its people comes alive through the character of Sambit Patel. The more we learn about Sambit the better we understand him and eventually come to love him as we do Derek. Tachna uses his thoughts and actions to acquaint the reader with some Indian customs, dress, cultural beliefs and even native cuisine such as sambar. We learn about Sambit’s past which had made him think that most relationships will not work out for him, his daily use of Yoga to relieve his stress that started in his youth, and where his reticence about his homosexuality stems from. The character of Sambit Patel could have easily been white but we would have been missing out had that been the case, and this book much less rich in flavor and dimension. I cannot stress how much I loved this part of the story and the character Sambit Patel.

Derek Marshall is also a wonderful creation. There are so many layers to his emotional makeup, including a horrific incident from his high school days that has shaped his outlook and his approach to society in general. Brilliant, abrasive, he strikes out before someone can hit him, yet he is also reflective, sensitive and more willing to take chances than the reserved Patel. He is full of dichotomies and that both appeals to and repeals Sambit. It is a delicate dance they engage in as their close proximity and 24/7 work hours starts to bring them to an understanding and acceptance of each other’s nature that changes into appreciation and need. And all the while, they never lose sight of the reason they are both there, that their individual talents need to mesh to help bring the power plant under control. It may be crazy but in many ways this is a rushed slow relationship built under pressure that exposes the best of both men to each other.

The rest of the story takes place with Derek once more at home having to deal with boredom and the ravaged remains of his neighborhood and infrastructure while Sambit has stayed behind, a choice made by a homophobic bureaucrat in charge of the recovery operations. We see Derek’s neighborhood start to clean up after the hurricane as he worries about the radiation levels Sambit and the others left behind are encountering. And as Sambit deals with the loss of Derek after his continual presence, we learn about Sambit’s insecurities and the past history that threatens the fragile foundation of their relationship. Again, Ariel Tachna’s description of how these men build their relationship, the barriers they have to overcome within themselves is as real as the natural disaster that brings them together.

If I had any quibble with this story, then I believe Derek answered it himself. Number Five is a robot that has a special place in Derek’s heart. The name comes from the movie Short Circuit which I loved. He hoped to patent it and has kept it close to him all this time. And part of me wondered how Derek felt about leaving it behind. But then Derek himself answered that he builds robots for space and came to terms with the fact that they would never come back at the beginning of his career. Plus Number Five was helping Sambit stay alive and healthy which would have been number one priority with Derek. So that quibble wobbled and vanished. There is no angst here but the story of a real,wonderful relationship between two men caught up in a natural disaster. This is an outstanding story that should not be missed.

Cover. This cover by Shobana Appavu is easily one of my favorite. Dramatic, beautiful and intense. Great job.

Review of the Warder Series by Mary Calmes

Continuing our Series week, I am featuring a series I loved, this time by Mary Calmes. I love her writing and other series by her will be included in the Spotlight on Series at a later date:

Rating for the Series: 5 stars

In her Warder series, Mary Calmes has created a group of memorable characters and a special universe for them to live and play in. In the Warder universe, demons and other hell creatures have the ability to visit our world via portals. Once here, they wreck death and destruction on the unwary human race ignorant of their presence. The only thing standing between hell and humans? Warders, a group of people called to duty by their special talents and gifts. Each city has such a group defending it against the abyss. Its leader is called a Sentinel, the oldest of Warders. They (male or female) lead a team of five Warders, like the five points of a pentagram. Each Warder, usually a orphan when called, has a special gift to go along with the powers all Warders hold. And while the Warders are incredibly powerful, they also have a need for a Hearth, a person who provides the Warder with a home, a safe place to channel their energy, someone to love them and for them to love.

As the Sentinel explains it. “We have found over the centuries that all power and no heart will kill a warder…“My men protect me and each other, and to do that, they need a balance in their lives. For a warder, their hearth—home—is vital and necessary.” And without a Hearth, the Warder eventually dies. And not just anyone can become a Hearth to a Warder. If a Warder sleeps with someone and that person is not their Hearth, then the Warder drains away the life force of the person they are sleeping with, leaving them aged and withered. If the Warder leaves quickly enough and never returns, the person rebounds back to the age they had been. But when the Warder finds their Hearth, a bond is formed and the Hearth acquires special powers of their own, including keeping their Warder safely energized while not being drained themselves. Their Hearths are their connection to the real world they are protecting.

The Warder series is the story of the five Warders of San Francisco and their Hearths. In each of the first four books, we have two Warders in desperate need of a hearth, a Warder whose Hearth disappears into another dimension due to a demon’s plan, of an already established couple, their backstory and the dangers that await a Warder and Hearth the longer they stay together and the final book is the story a Warder who visits his Hearth’s home and finds all is not what it should be. Each book is a tale that will tug at your heart and bring you a new couple to love. Mary Calmes gift of characterization flows from book to book, with each member of a couple the yin to their partner’s yang. Sometimes the story is told from the Hearth’s pov, like Julien Nash in His Hearth. We learn along with Julien, what Ryan Dean really is and what is means to be a Warder and his Hearth. It’s a great introduction to the group of men and the series. In other books, it is the Warder telling the story and that is equally necessary to fully understand the pressures and turmoil of a Warder’s inner life as well as the toll all the killings and death of innocents take on their souls.And facing off with the Warders and their Hearths are a series of demons and hell dimensions as well crafted as the Warders themselves. Calmes skillfully builds the anticipation and anxiety as each couple struggles to find and then keep their relationship safe, irregardless of its longevity.

I have been asked several times to name my favorite Warder couple and found it impossible to do. I meet one couple and fall in love with them, read another book in the series and love that couple and so on. Each couple is so different as each Warder brings his own set of needs, insecurities and power to the relationship and that is balanced by the strengths and qualities of their Hearth, giving each story its own flavor and depth. I love this series and have heard that Mary Calmes might be writing one last story in the series. I hope its true.

Here is the books in the order they should be read to fully grasp the role each Warder plays in the group and who all the characters are that are mentioned, complete with outstanding covers by artist Reese Dante:

His Hearth (Warder #1): This is the story of Warder Ryan Dean and his Hearth, Julien Nash. It is told from Julien’s pov and gives the reader the backstory on Sentinels and Warders. Julien Nash is searching for his date at the company Christmas party and finds him with another man in the copy room. Stunned and more than a little irritated when his date comes to find him, their argument is interrupted by former model turned broadcaster, Ryan Dean, who takes his date’s place. Their connection to each other is immediate and Julien finds himself taking Ryan home after the dinner is over. One night turns into the weekend of love and lust that comes to an abrupt end when Julien comes out of the bedroom to find Ryan in deadly combat with four demons. When Ryan’s true nature and calling is revealed, Julien must make a choice that will affect the rest of their lives.

Tooth and Nail (Warder#2): Warder Malic watched as his best friend and fellow Warder Ryan find his Hearth and vowed never to let another get that close, no matter the cost. Just the thought of loving someone, being that vulnerable scared the hell out of him, Malic preferred being the snarly, sarcastic person that his reputation purported him to be. Until he came across a angel being attacked by drunken thugs in a bathroom and everything changed. Dylan is only 19. On his way home from his temporary job as a Christmas angel in a seasonal boutique, he stops at a bar and gets into trouble immediately. He is rescued when a tall scary blond man pulls off his attackers and makes sure Dylan is safe. Dylan knows he has found the man he was meant to love. Now if he can only convince him. Malic is drawn to the gorgeous young man in his arms. The strength of that attraction sends him running off into the night. But fate has other plans and Malic soons meet up with Dylan again, and again. How much will it take before Malic accepts what Dylan already knows to be true, Dylan is his Hearth and they belong together.

Heart In Hand (Warder#3): Hearth Simon Kim loves his Warder Leith Haas but a Warders life is a dangerous one and Simon has always held a part of himself back from Leith, afraid to let that last part of him open to the perils of a Warder/Hearth relationship. Then Leith disappears into a demon dimension while trying to rescue Simon and others from a demon trap. Now Simon must risk everything, including sacrificing his heart,if he is going to get his Warder and love back safely.

Sinnerman (Warder#4). Warder Jackson Tybalt is secure in his relationship with his Hearth until he catches him cheating on him. The loss of his Hearth/love, causes Jackson in his grief and rage to become a loose cannon, reckless in pursuit of demons, heedless of his own safety, drunken and irresponsible, Jackson now threatens the security of his group and the welfare of the humans he is supposed to protect. Then kyrie Raphael offers him a relationship that Jackson thinks is built on darkness, lust and pain. This is what Jackson has been seeking and Jackson accepts. Raphael is a demon who just happens to hunt his own. He has wanted Jackson as his own for some time and jumps at the opportunity the depressed Jackson gives him. What follows is an exploration of ” what a body needs to bandage the wounds of the heart, and Raphael will hide the tenderness he feels for Jackson for as long as the warder wears the guise of the Sinnerman.” I do think this is my favorite of the series. Far darker than the books before it, it has a depth combined with a vivid description of a man lost in emotional turmoil. And Raphael is just an outstanding character.

Nexus (Warder#5):Nexus is the story of Marcus Roth. top criminal lawyer and Warder and his Hearth, Joseph Locke. They are an interracial couple, with the added twist that Joseph Locke is also blind. They are an established couple which makes the story even more interesting. Nexus begins with Marcus and Joseph traveling to Lexington, Kentucky to celebrate Joe’s grandfather’s birthday. Joe’s family is unaware, even after all the years they have been together of the special nature of their bond of Warder/Hearth. When a demon threatens the family, the local Warder group demonstrates just how ineffectual they have become and Marcus must step in and take charge of the situation. As the situation gets more dangerous, Marcus’ identity is revealed to Joe’s family and Marcus must face a tremendous sacrifice to save them all.

Again, a totally different take from the other couples. Marcus and Joe are still deeply in love after many years together but Marcus doesn’t realize how important he is not only to Joe but to all the other Warders. It is a study of a traumatized man trying unsuccessfully to recover from an ordeal. Marcus and Joe grab the reader from the start, their story is multilayered and easy to empathize with. Loved them.

Cherish Your Name (Warder#6): Malic Sunden is accompanying his Hearth, Dylan Shaw, home for the holidays. Dylan has assured him that his parents and sibling will love him but that’s not the case. Dylan’s parents make it obvious that they think Malic is a cradle robber and that Dylan could do much better. Dylan is occupied with his old friends, and doesn’t see what his family’s disapproval is doing, making Malic rethink their relationship. On top of that, the Shaw’s neighbor is coming on to Malic and a demon with his own agenda, wipes Malic’s memory clean and kidnaps him to another dimension. An amnesiac Malic must fight his way back to a home he no longer remembers with just a name to use as a beacon. As a Warder Christmas story, it has all the right elements, a house decorated for Christmas that would be worthy of the Kranks, a disgruntled family, too much celebrating and a demon to threaten to detroy Malic and Dylan’s bond, that is if Dylan’s family doesn’t accomplish that first. I love Dylan and Malic and loved that we got another story featuring their relationship. We left it at the very beginning of the bond in Tooth and Nail and this gives us a glimpse into the relationship months later. As with the previous books, some of the other Warders make appearances as well. Loved it.

And now all the books have been published in print editions in two books. Collection #1 contains books 1-3, and Collection #2 has books 4-6. All available from Dreamspinner Press and Amazon.

Here are the covers for the printed collections, I love those covers, just gorgeous. Great design:

It’s Series Week at Scattered Thoughts and Our First Book Giveaway!

This week is series week here at Scattered Thoughts… and Joyfully Jay. JJ and hubby were hurrying off to Scotland to celebrate their 40th birthdays (yep, won’t see that one again) and 15 years of marriage (not this one either) and wanted to know if Sammy and I had anything we wanted to write about. Well, little love pandas, I have been reading some outstanding series and loving on the fact that my journey with each cast of characters would not be stopped short at one book! And as my mind wandered over the various landscapes and emotional terrains of those series, a little LED light went off in my head, I waved my hand and piped up “Series! I want to write about how I love series!” Sammy and JJ both had favorites series too, everyone got excited and so the idea of series week was born.

So what an exciting week ahead here in Maryland to offset the return of 100 degree temperatures and humidity that would not be out of place in the Congo! I will be talking about why I love a series, I am listing my favorite series and favorite series covers. I thought about listing my all time worst series but hey we are not about negativity here, at least this week. There are author spotlights and our first ever book giveaway! Nicole Kimberling will be giving away a copy of Primal Red, the first in the Bellingham Mysteries series being reviewed this week! So watch out for her Author Spotlight and the series review. Make a comment and I will choose a winner by the end of the week!

So here it is, my sweet baboos, the schedule for Series Week!:

Monday: Series I Am Excited About (And Still Reading)

Tuesday: Favorite Series and Series Book Covers

Wednesday: Series Spotlight: The Warder Series by Mary Calmes

Thursday: Author Spotlight: Nicole Kimberling

Friday: Series Spotlight: The Bellingham Mysteries Series by Nicole Kimberling

Saturday: Why A Series Makes My Heart Sing!

Also stop by Joyfully Jay this week. Check out the authors and series reviewed there. She is having book giveaways from Ava March and Katey Hawthorne! Woohoo. Love both of those authors and their books so you can’t go wrong.

Here is another great summer cocktail recipe in our battle against the summer heat and doldrums:

The French 75:

Ingredients:

1 lemon
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) gin
1 1/2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) simple syrup
1 cup ice cubes
1/4 cup (2 ounces) dry sparkling wine, such as brut Champagne, chilled

Preparation:

Using zester or paring knife, slice peel from lemon in long, thin spiral. Reserve lemon for another use and set peel aside.
In cocktail shaker, combine gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Add ice and shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain into chilled Champagne flute and top with sparkling wine.
Curl lemon peel around finger to create twist at least 6 inches long. Garnish drink with twist and serve immediately.

Review of Just What The Truth Is by C. Cardeno

Rating: 5 stars

Ben Foreman has been in the closet for his entire life, settling for making his parents happy rather than living his own life. In fact, for a while, Ben’s denial of his homosexuality and his efforts to comply/defend his parents values, that is cost him his best friend, Clark, and his younger out and proud gay brother, Noah who happens to be Clark’s partner. So yes, his life was complications piled on top of lies, repeat, and the stress was getting to him.

Then Micah Trains, litigator extraordinaire, joins Ben’s firm and all Ben’s carefully built walls come crashing down around him. Micah happens to be both gorgeous and gay and attracted to Ben. Ben sees in Micah someone he wants to spend the rest of his life with, no matter what his brain is saying. As one date leads to another, Ben keeps messing up the relationship until Micah breaks up with him. Faced with Micah’s loss, Ben must finally choose who he is going to be and how he will live his life, by his parents standards or his. It’s time Ben decides just what the truth is!

I loved this book! C. Cardeno kept me frustrated with Ben, laughing with him and sometimes sobbing right along with him on his journey to self awareness and a life worth living in every respect. C. Cardeno’s characterizations and spot on dialog were so wonderfully executed that the story zipped along and I was finishing the end before I knew it. Ben is so messed up at the beginning that it would be easy to write him off as a passive character who has not grown up enough to challenge his parents views and it shows how much he has lived in fear of their disapproval. It is extremely helpful to the reader’s understanding and ability to empathize with Ben that the story is told from his POV. In fact is almost becomes imperative that we understand where Ben is coming from so we don’t give up on his character. Just when we are getting a little too frustrated with Ben’s lack of progress with the decisions he needs to make, Ben’s is right there telling us in an aside that he is plenty frustrated with himself too. While this literary ploy might be considered too “cutsey” in other stories, I find that it worked well here and helped to pull the reader into Ben’s mindset and emotional state.

And the other characters C. Cardeno created to assist/love Ben into making the life adjustments necessary to become a whole man happy with who he is? They are just so real, so alive that they jumped off the pages at you. Whether it is Noah, Ben’s sarcastic and embittered gay brother or Micah’s hysterical parents, especially his mother, they all come across as someone you have met in your life or heard about. Each with their quirks, flaws, and many other human qualities front and center to be fully enjoyed and celebrated. The scenes with Micah’s mother and sister alone had me spewing across the Kindle and searching for papertowels to clean up the mess. I still giggle thinking about them. Priceless. And then there is the very real emotional cost of repressing your true self for so much of your life that no one knows who you really are including yourself.

In fact C. Cardeno has laid out a beautifully realistic book of one’s man’s journey to a happy fulfilled life, and the pitfalls he encountered or put up himself that had to be overcome before he could achieve his goals. As I said I loved this book and I think you will too. Don’t pass it up.

Cover art by Paul Richmond. Lovely cover, perfect for the story.

Other Books in the Home Series. It is helpful to read them in order but not necessary to enjoy the books:

Home Again (Home Series #1)

He Completes Me (Home Series #2)

Where He Ends And I Begin (Home Series #3)

Love At First Sight (Home Series #4)

Just What The Truth Is (Home Series #5)

Review of Places in Time by C. Cardeno

Rating: 4 stars

Actor Ethan Baker arrives home to find his current girlfriend breaking up with him. Not a surprising action, merely the last in a long line of girlfriends who never seem to stick around. Being voted “Sexiest Man Alive” twice isn’t enough to guarantee happiness in a relationship. So he calls his best friend, Jude Harrison, to tell him about the breakup and that he will be right over. Jude has always been the constant in his life, the spare guest room that Ethan has taken over as his more a home than the modern marble monstrosity he was talked into buying.

On his way over to Jude’s, fate literally intervenes when a mysterious woman appears and shows Ethan his and Jude’s relationship from another perspective. When Ethan watches his past go by, can a self absorbed actor realize the truth in front of him and the real reason Ethan’s girlfriends never stick around?

Places in Time is a short story in the Dreamspinner Time is Eternity series. This is C. Cardeno’s version of A Christmas Carol when the Fates decides to stage an intervention, their way, after Ethan has hurt one more girl in his obliviousness, of shaking Ethan out of a destructive pattern into a chance for love.

Ethan Baker just cracked me up, with all the snarkiness, flippancy, and self absorption you might see in a actor of his status. Yet, as C. Cardeno has drawn him, he also has a wonderful sense of humor and loyalty that makes him a winning character. Some bits of this story are truly funny when Ethan doesn’t quite get the message the woman intends when they visit a certain scene from his past. To her utter annoyance, he start critiquing the actions instead of absorbing the message. It’s enough to make her stamp her Manolo Blahniks! Jude Harrison’s character is revealed through the trips to Ethan’s past and the final ending will make you smile and laugh even if you know what is coming. C. Cardeno has done a wonderful job with this story and this earns a big “don’t pass this up” from me.

I love this cover for the series. Sheer perfection.

Weather Note and Power Status: Yes, we lost power again last night and just got it back again. Almost wussed out and burst into tears. But didn’t, just thought really hard about it. There are still so many that haven’t gotten their power back for even a short time and I know that they must feel so forgotten and at the end of their endurance. Our temperatures are still in the 98 to 100 degree range and almost 100 percent humidity. There is a reason I never moved into states with hot weather and yet it seems that global warming has brought it to me and the rest of the Marylanders. So keep those of us in DC, VA, and MD in your thoughts. Colorado too. Oh and Happy Canada Day to our friends to the north!

The Week Ahead and a Rant About the Weather

So, here it is Sunday and my power just came back on after a storm called a Delrechos, a powerful storm that moves in a straight line, gaining power as it crosses into high temperatures and humidity, happens usually every 4 years. Our time was Friday night and the storm came out of Ohio and the Midwest, doing damage there before almost wiping out the MidAtlantic states power structure in 1 night. I am getting this out now but come Monday and no blog, well, that just means our power went out again. Over 4 million people at one time without power, now down to around 1.4 million, most won’t get power back until July 6th. And we also have water problems as the pumping stations went down as well,of course. What a fragile thing our infrastructure is. Mother Nature 1, Humans 0. So I am getting this out, then off to take a shower and grab a hot meal then sit in front of a vent. Ah, the pleasures of life in our century. I do not take them for granted.

So, keeping fingers crossed, here is the schedule for the week ahead:

Monday: Places In Time by C. Carden0

Tuesday: Just What The Truth Is by C. Cardeno

Wednesday: An Honorable Man by Edward Kendricks

Thursday: Full Circle by RJ Scott

Friday: One Last Kiss Goodbye by N.J. Nielson

Saturday: Surprise Book – the surprise being the power stayed on for me to write another review!

So I am outta here! Stay cool, stay powered, and have a wonderful 4th of July for those that live in the United States!

The Week Ahead and A Light Easy Cheesecake to Die For!

Maryland has felt like Phoenix this week, right up until the storm that nailed parts of the area Friday night. There are still thousands of people without power and in some cases homes due to the high winds that toppled power lines and trees. Unreal. With the heat index in the 100’s, it was a great time to have my nose buried in a book or 10 (easy to do with a Kindle). The dogs totally agreed with that sentiment and kept me company, happy in the ac. I did fix a new recipe from Bon Appetite, a light and fluffy cheesecake that will quickly become a favorite desert of yours as it did mine. Yes, a fluffy cheesecake! So look for the recipe after the week’s review schedule:

Monday: A Self Portrait by JP Bowie

Tuesday: Dance with the Devil by Megan Derr

Wednesday: Hawaiian Gothic by Heidi Belleau and Violetta Vane*

Thursday: Lessons in Power, Cambridge Fellows #5 by Charlie Cochrane

Friday: The Wizard and the Werewolf by Amber Kell

Saturday: The Lonely War by Alan Chin

So you say you need a little something to go with a glass of Pinot Grigio and a good book? Here is a recipe you must make courtesy of Bon Appetite Magazine, we ate ours right down to the last little crumb:

Cheesecake with Ginger-Lime Candied Raspberries:

Shortbread Crust Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 cup shortbread cookie crumbs made from 6 oz. shortbread cookies (such as Walkers), finely ground in a food processor
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of fine sea salt
Cheesecake Ingredients:
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin2/3 cup sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, room temperaturePinch of fine sea salt
10 ounces cream cheese, cut into 10 pieces, room temperature
1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 cup heavy cream, beaten to soft peaks
Ginger-Lime Candied Raspberries
1 6-oz. container fresh raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh mint leaves plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Preparation
Shortbread Crust
Lightly coat an 8x8x2″ baking pan with nonstick spray; line with plastic wrap, leaving a generous overhang.
Mix crumbs, butter, and salt in a medium bowl until it resembles moist sand. Press evenly onto bottom of pan. Cover; chill.
Cheesecake
Place 2 Tbsp. cold water in a small saucepan; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand until gelatin is soft, 5-10 minutes.
Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat sugar, butter, and salt in a medium bowl until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With motor running, add cream cheese 1 piece at a time, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in crème fraîche, orange juice, and lime juice.
Gently heat gelatin over lowest heat, stirring constantly, just until gelatin dissolves. Scrape gelatin into cream cheese mixture; beat to blend. Fold in whipped cream just to incorporate. Pour mixture over crust; smooth top. Chill until set, about 3 hours. DO AHEAD: Cheesecake can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled, or freeze airtight for up to 2 weeks.
Ginger-Lime Candied Raspberries
Cook first 3 ingredients, 1 Tbsp. mint, lime juice, and 1 Tbsp. water in a small saucepan over low heat until raspberries are soft and juices are released, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
Using plastic wrap overhang, lift cheese-cake from pan and place on a flat surface. Cut into pieces; place on plates. Spoon candied raspberries over; drizzle with sauce and garnish with mint.

The Week Ahead in Reviews and a Great Salad for Anytime of the Year

The old adage of if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes has always applied to Maryland but never more so than in the last few years. Where once you could count on May being like May and June acting sensibly like June, all the months now seem to pull on each others characteristics like a kid trying on their parents clothes. Frigid one day, boiling the next, mildly cool, then outstandingly gorgeous. Today is one of those days where we have tumbled into August almost overnight. It will be in the 90’s today so this morning I have been making sure all the bird baths are clean and full as I know they will get a workout by all the robins, catbirds, chickadees, and everyone else who favors my yard with their constant flutterings. The hummingbird feeders have been changed and the dogs have done their run in the backyard, finished until this evening.

This is Fae Awareness Month so my contribution was a blog called The Sexy Fae of Lost Girl about Lost Girl the SyFy TV series I am addicted to. Find it here!

I don’t know about you but when the days get hot, I long for salads and meals that are light. I just made a wonderful salad that is perfect to serve year around. Look for it after the schedule for the week. Have a great Sunday!

Monday: Don’t Judge A Book by Scarlett Blackwell

Tuesday: On The Trail to Moonlight Gulch by Shelter Somerset

Wednesday: Mystery of Ruby Lode by Scotty Cade

Thursday: Ensnared by Dawn H. Hawkes

Friday: Lessons in Temptation (Cambridge Fellows #5) by Charlie Cochrane

Saturday: Reviewer surprise (Which Means I Can’t Make My Mind Up)

Green Goddess Salad

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup canola oil
Freshly ground pepper
1 large seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme leaves
3 large hard-cooked eggs, quartered
1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
2 heads of Bibb or butter lettuce, torn into large pieces
1/2 pound haricots verts

Directions (Serves 6, 30 mins to make):

1. In a medium saucepan of salted boiling water, cook the haricots verts until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and cool under running water; pat dry.

2. In a mini processor, combine the shallot, garlic, mustard, cider vinegar and lemon juice and process until smooth. With the machine on, add the canola oil in a thin stream. Add the thyme and pulse until minced. Season with salt and pepper.

3. In a large bowl, combine the torn lettuce, crumbled feta, sliced cucumber, quartered eggs and haricots verts. Add three-fourths of the dressing and toss to coat. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and serve. If you anticipate having some left over, than consider putting the dressing on the side so the salad doesn’t wilt.
MAKE AHEAD The dressing and haricots verts can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Review of One Small Thing by Piper Vaughn and MJ O’Shea

Rating: 4.25 stars

One drunken night changes Rue Murray’s life forever. Curiosity and alcohol made the decision to have sex with a woman seem like a good one at the time. Nine months later the result of that drunken fiasco was born. Faced with the decision to either take the baby or watch her be put up for adoption, Rue decides on fatherhood and soon baby Alice is the center of his life. Rue finds that fatherhood comes with many challenges, not the least of which is daycare while he is bartending to make a living and going to cosmetology school. In desperation, Rue reaches out to his weird new neighbor across the hall and begs him to help watch Alice for the hours he is in school. After all the building manager screened him, right?

Erik Van Nuys is a Science Fiction author forced to move from a beloved rental house when the owner sells his properties. Intensely shy, isolated from people by choice and with OCD tendencies, Erik has watched the sales of his books fall and his income dwindle so when his wildly dressed, purple haired neighbor asks him to watch his baby for a nice monthly sum, Erik says yes although with much trepidation. It isn’t long before he finds himself falling in love with Alice, much to his surprise.

Slowly Rue and Erik adjust to each others quirks as they spend more and more of their time together with Alice as the glue that starts forming them into a family. Both men find themselves happier than they have ever been when Rue gets a job offer from the West Coast. What will Rue do when he must choose between a family he has come to love and the dream job he has always wanted.

One Small Thing is a wonderful story of family, love, and the truth that can hide under unlikely exteriors, all lodged in the state of Delaware. Here they have done Delaware proud as the characters of Rue, Erik, baby Alice and Rue’s best friend Dusty come together to form an endearing and quirky family. The characters the authors have created here are so captivating in their own ways that the reader comes to love them soon after their introduction. First is Rue Murray, who flipflopped his way into my heart. Slender with artfully cut black hair, green eyes, piercings and a love of the color pink, he would have startled many a neighbor on that alone. Add in capri pants, tight t-shirt, pink belt and matching flip flops, and the outer picture was complete. But as with every character here, it’s the inside, their true persona that you come to love. Outgoing, responsible, ambitious for more in life for himself and Alice, he is an easy character for the reader to admire.

While there are layers to Rue, it is with Erik that the depth of characterization is really achieved. Erik is one of the legion of young men hooked to the world outside by cable instead of direction contact. Socially awkward, and burdened by OCD and stuttering, Erik has retreated behind his doors, content to write science fiction books free of romantic love, watch the Star Wars saga when anxiety hits, and gobble junk food and Gatorade for sustenance. It is only when he is forced out of his fortress and into Rue’s building that his life get his first earthquake and he starts to take chances. Erik’s somewhat bland beige exterior hides a gentle heart and nonjudgemental outlook, surprising in one who has lived so narrowly. First Alice and then Rue and Dusty make inroads into Erik’s life and heart. And with his newfound love for them, Erik grows into the person he was always meant to be. Dusty is a lovely creation as well. He is not just a secondary character, he is a needed part of Rue and Erik’s family.

I like the alternating POV here as it gives the reader needed information and insight into each character. It becomes an especially important part of pulling the reader into the story by letting us see the characters interact with those around them outside of each other. It doesn’t always work with every book that has used such a technique but it works here. And as it has bothered some readers that Rue was too eager to turn Alice over to a stranger in a building on such flimsy recommendations, I too remembered being so tired and stretched thin with a baby that exhaustion can make a weak idea seem like a good one. And remember he is young as well. That made his decisions more realistic and acceptable to me.

The three men are gentle souls, kind to others and expecting the same in return. All moments spent in their company is time well spent. I hope that Dusty is going to find his HEA in a sequel as he so deserves it. So why not a higher rating? Well, I guess I just wanted a little more. Maybe a little more resolution, a little more time for Erik to adjust at the end. So it’s a “I loved this story” over a “I really loved this story.” Either way, I loved this story with only a quibble and think you will too.

Cover: Cover art by LC Chase. I liked the cover. OK who doesn’t love those little baby feet and pink shoes? Adorable.

Find out more about the authors at their websites: Piper Vaughn can be found here. Both authors have a joint website here.

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