A Breach of Promise by Victoria Vane

This is an erotic historical romance. I was told it was slightly "Heyer-esque." I'm not sure what that means, but I thought "Georgette Heyer," the famous author of books in the Georgian era. I hate Heyer, so it was with much trepidation that I picked this up. 

It's cute, witty, and the sex is very erotic. I also learned a lot of new words, thus it was somewhat like Heyer. However, the real and very dead Heyer used as many complicated and head scratching words as possible in one sentence. Vane just throws in one per page. I also learned new things to call the female anatomy. LOL


Not bad at all. For historical erotic romance, it was good. I recommend it. Check it out. It's a one day read, not a door stopper. It's not overly descriptive, nor does it pontificate endlessly. 


Favorite quote: "To my understanding a man can perform the animal act of coition in virtually any circumstance without emotional engagement of any kind." *snort* LOL


Four stars and I bought this on Amazon Kindle.

Mask of the Gladiator by Georgie Lee

A short read, but entertaining, Mask takes place in the time of Caligula. He was famous for his cruelty and sexual perversions. When this vile emperor of Rome sets his sights on Livia, a young widow, he uncle announces he is marrying her off to Senator Titus whether she likes it or not. 


She doesn't like it... why? Cause she has her desires reawakened by a Gladiator in the arena. One meeting and they are "getting it on." A bit quick, that.. But what she doesn't know if that her gladiator is Titus. He's got a scheme to take down Caligula and she can either cooperate or get in the way.


The secret comes out, but then their plan backfires. Did Titus run away with his tail between his legs like her first husband did or is he going to save her from Caligula's clutches cause Caligula does get his nasty hands on her...


Good, entertaining, but thought the characters sure acted on their urges mighty quick. They didn't know each other's names... Hum.


Four stars. I got this from netgalley. 

A Christmas Sleeping Beauty by Lindsay Townsend

At first, one may look at this and think, "Bah, an overdone fairy tale.. Sleeping Beauty just wakes up on Christmas." Not so. Ms. Townsend has taken a classic fairy tale and added more than just a Holiday twist.

The prince, Orlando, can't just kiss her and wake her up and then live happily ever after with all her money. In this case, the prince must WORK for the princess, Rosie, to wake up. His kiss is not enough.


In this short story, the arrogant prince who is in it all for the glory and fame and wealth has no choice but to come to care for the princess, really care for her, or she will not wake up. He learns that she loves Christmas and burns yule logs and nuts. He builds her a sled to show her a good time.. and still she doesn't wake.


It's not till he comes to truly CARE about her and her family, that the princess will wake. However, he only has three days to accomplish this.


A very touching short story that can be read year round. It's not one of those "only at Christmas time reads." The holiday theme was no so dominant, that you would feel funny reading it in July.


Four stars. I received this from the author in exchange for an honest review.

PDF Giveaway of Dog Tails for Christmas

In honor of the upcoming holiday, I'm giving a .pdf file of Dog Tails to one lucky reader. For a chance to win, please leave a comment on this post and December 25th, at Jazzy's convenience, she will choose a winner from her doggie bowl. 

Feel free to spread the word! I have not done much promotion for fear of being labeled a "spammer" so any and all help is appreciated. Much thanks from Lola, Pudgy, and Jazzy. :)


And a sidenote: If you have a friend who owns both a kindle and a dog, may I suggest gifting them a "copy?" It's a perfect last minute gift and doesn't require you to fight the shopping madness. :) The Amazon link is here: Dog Tails for Kindle

Amazon Heat by Melinda Leigh and Rayna Vause

This is an exciting short story. A woman doctor goes into the Amazon to search for a plant that she believes can cure cancer, breaking her lover's heart as she does so as he wants her to stay behind in the States and marry him. She is saved from a group of drug smugglers intent on rape by a group of Amazon warriors. However, the Amazons keep her captive for 2 years, wanting her medical expertise for their own gain.


During that time, he man is searching for her. The Amazons find him too and intend to keep him as a stud. After all, as the Amazon queen says, "He is male, is he not? Males rut." LOL


But this male, Logan, only has eyes for the doctor, Elizabeth and after they rekindle their love, they aim to escape, even if it means trusting another Amazon to help them.


Exciting and fun and a great plot. I loved the whole Amazon warrior tribe, but it was too short for this type of tale. I wanted to know more.. I think a lot more could have been added, such as scenes with Mari. I wanted to know more about this Amazon that was somewhat exiled from her own people. I'd love to know her background. Also, Logan with his new powers, did he impregnate Elizabeth? He almost had lightning bolts shoot from his you-know-what and they weren't using protection... I sense there may be a sequel here, some super powered baby, but I think it should have been one novel. 


Four stars and I got this from netgalley.

The Golden Hour by Margaret Wurtele

Wow. This is one of those books with one of those endings that just left me with my mouth hanging open. 


It takes place in Italy during WWII. Italy has been taken over by Nazis. The heroine, Giovanna, is spending her teen years under German rule and has even had to give up most of her home to German soldiers. Her brother has failed to report for duty with Italian/German army and has run off to be a resistance fighter/partisan. Her father is angry as he is a devoted Fascist. (Actually, he's on the winning side whoever they may be.)

In the beginning, Gia (I'm shortening it as that's quite a bit to type over and over) is a normal teenage girl with feelings of desire. She's left with nothing but Nazis to focus her new found feelings on and she develops a crush on Hans. He's married, but that doesn't stop her...but before it goes too far, Gia realizes she's in the wrong. This botched affair leads to so many things...Gia begins to change for one thing.


She begins aiding the resistance, providing supplies, medical care, starts to ask questions. She goes from being a naive school girl ogling older, married men to a young woman with a mind of her own that believes in doing all she can to help her country and the Jews within it.


There were times I thought Gia was disappointing and stupid, but her narrative, all first person POV, was so brutally honest.. it was as though she was admitting to her own flaws. I felt as though she was speaking to me, saying, "Look what I did. Yes, I did that. Can you believe how stupid I was?" Somehow, it worked, it drew me in, and it made the heroine "real."


The ending. Wow. I didn't see that coming... to live with that knowledge the rest of one's life. Yikes. Something else in the book that had a huge impact on me was when the Allies came to town and ran out the Germans. The military higher ups sit there and talk smack about their very own Buffalo soldiers and Gia thinks...


"The irony of all this was eating away at me: the American military, so much the "white horse" for all of us in this war, felt to me like a weak echo of the Nazis' own prejudices and hostilities."


Really, too many good points for me to bring up. Loved this one. Love the narrative, the realness, the history, the drama, and except for her father who I  never came to like, the characters.


Five stars and I got this ARC from Amazon Vine.

Pope Joan was made into a movie and it's HERE!!!!!!!!

Ok..deep breath. Years ago, I read a book called Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. It's a fictional account of a female who after a very rough life, passed herself off as a man and became the POPE. No joke. And I believe it. I do. 

I loved the first half of this book, grew bored in the second half, but this book left an impact on me. It did. And it was made into a movie that until now was only in Germany. It's finally come our way. December 18th, it airs on Reelz channel. Believe me, I'm recording. 


What I thought of the book: 


"Let her copy the behavior of a dog who always has his heart and his eye upon his master: even if his master whip him and throw stones at him." 


That is an excerpt from the book. It was in a wedding ceremony, spoken to the bride of course. What a lovely time that must have been to be a woman! I liked this book very much due mostly to the fact it is about an amazingly strong, courageous, and gutsy woman. She struggled like no other heroine I have yet read about. The first half of the book has more personality and really focuses on her, her thoughts, her feelings, and her trials. The last half of the book bored me to tears in some places, as it tends to go on and on about the papacy and a lot of war. That was the times and what was occuring during that part of her life, but I wish it had a more personal feel like the first half of the book. 


NOTE: be aware this is very controversial and when you are overheard discussing it with your close buddy, some very opinated, know it all male is going to butt in and give his two cents and deny her existence. To each their own I say. I BELIEVE.


Find more info on the movie here: Pope Joan on Reelz