Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Review: The Pagan Stone by Nora Roberts

Title: The Pagan Stone
Series: Sign of Seven
Author: Nora Roberts
Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: November 25, 2008
Publisher: Jove
ISBN: 0515144665
ISBN-13: 9780515144666

Years ago, after their blood brother ritual, Gage, Fox, and Caleb emerged from the woods, each with a piece of bloodstone. Now, it will become their weapon in the final fight against the demon they awakened. Winner take all...

Shared nightmares, visions of blood and fire, and random violence begin to plague the longtime friends and Quinn, Layla, and Cybil, the women bound to them by fate. None of them can ignore the fact that, this year, the demon has grown stronger—feeding off of the terror it creates. But now, the three pieces of the bloodstone have been fused back together. If only they could figure out how to use it.

A gambling man like Gage has no trouble betting on his crew to find a way. And though he and Cybil share the gift of seeing the future, that’s all they share. Were they to take their flirtation to the next level, it would be on their own terms, not because fate decreed it. But Gage knows that a woman like Cybil—with her brains and strength and devastating beauty—can only bring him luck. Good or bad has yet to be determined—and could mean the difference between absolute destruction or an end to the nightmare for Hawkins Hollow.

My rating:

Monday, September 8, 2008

Review: Surrender to a Wicked Spy by Celeste Bradley

Title: Surrender to a Wicked Spy
Series: Royal Four
Author: Celeste Bradley
Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: October 4, 2005
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN: 0312931271
ISBN-13: 9780312931278

They are known simply as The Royal Four—but there’s nothing simple about the elite band of spies who serve the King in secrecy. Their missions are dangerous, their love lives are scandalous…and each man in the Royal Four has his own secrets. This is the story of the spy known as The Lion…

Olivia Calwell’s new husband, Dane, is everything she could have ever hoped for in a man. The handsome Lord Greenleigh is charming, debonair, even a bit mysterious…and just thinking of their wedding night makes Olivia blush with pleasure. Yet she can’t help but wonder what exactly Dane does all day. His hushed meetings with strangers, his odd comings and goings—it is all enough to drive Olivia mad! Could her beloved husband be involved in something dangerous? Could he even be spying for France?

Spy Dane Calwell knows the new Lady Greenleigh is poised, well educated, and utterly captivating. But he’s just discovered that Olivia is also the most curious creature he has ever met! Most wives don’t give a whit what their husbands do all day. Why must Olivia ask so many questions—and meddle in matters that do not concern her? Truth be told, Dane finds Olivia’s amateur sleuthing enchanting…even a little sexy. But when Olivia gets too close to the mission at hand, Dane must try to stop her before it’s too late—or risk losing his beautiful wife forever…

My rating:

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Review: The Rogue by Celeste Bradley

Title: The Rogue
Series: Liar's Club
Author: Celeste Bradley
Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: October 5, 2004
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN: 0312931158
ISBN-13: 9780312931155

Collis Tremayne could make any female swoon; yet no one would guess the hidden desperation that drove him to become the most skilled spy in service to the Crown. All that stands in his way...is Rose Lacey, a confounding chit who manages to outsmart him with cunning and courage. She is the only woman he cannot melt with his smile. With every breath, he wishes he never laid eyes on her. And with every flash of her green eyes, he craves to possess her...

Rose Lacey fought hard to meet the challenge of becoming a spy for the infamous Liars Club. And if it weren't for Collis Tremayne, who manages to make her blood boil with his arrogance, and leave her breathless with white hot longing, she'd achieve her dream. Now, they must work together on a secret mission to uncover a dangerous plot-one in which the very safety of England hangs in the balance. Armed with wit and wiles, they must face deadly intrigue, clever enemies, and-if they can manage not to murder one another-the intoxicating lure of
unbidden passion...


My rating:

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Review: The Charmer by Celeste Bradley

Title: The Charmer
Series: Liar's Club
Author: Celeste Bradley
Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: October 5, 2004
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN: 0312999712
ISBN-13: 9780312999711

Collis Tremayne could make any female swoon; yet no one would guess the hidden desperation that drove him to become the most skilled spy in service to the Crown. All that stands in his way...is Rose Lacey, a confounding chit who manages to outsmart him with cunning and courage. She is the only woman he cannot melt with his smile. With every breath, he wishes he never laid eyes on her. And with every flash of her green eyes, he craves to possess her...

Rose Lacey fought hard to meet the challenge of becoming a spy for the infamous Liars Club. And if it weren't for Collis Tremayne, who manages to make her blood boil with his arrogance, and leave her breathless with white hot longing, she'd achieve her dream. Now, they must work together on a secret mission to uncover a dangerous plot-one in which the very safety of England hangs in the balance. Armed with wit and wiles, they must face deadly intrigue, clever enemies, and-if they can manage not to murder one another-the intoxicating lure of
unbidden passion...


My rating:

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Review: The Spy by Celeste Bradley

Title: The Spy
Series: Liar's Club
Author: Celeste Bradley
Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: February 16, 2004
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN: 0312987846
ISBN-13: 9780312987848

RULE #3: NEVER SURRENDER YOUR WILL ...

By day, he is a gentleman with a notorious fondness for games of seduction. By night, he is one of the most skilled saboteurs in the Liar's Club—a secret group of renegades dedicated to serving the Crow. And while he is willing to risks his life for the good of England, he vows never to put his heart in harm's way ...

James Cunnington has a pressing mission at hand: He must find the daughter of a missing code breaker for the Liar's Club, a man suspected of turning traitor for Napoleon. Time is of the utmost concern. While it is evident that his ward's new tutor has something to hide, James is unaware that the woman he seeks now resides under his very roof ...

Desperate and near destitute, Phillipa Atwater must don gentlemen's clothing to pass herself off as a scholarly young tutor. Her clever—if itchy—disguise allows her time to pursue her quest to find her father, ruthlessly abducted by French spies. Closely guarding the cryptic notebook he entrusted to her care, she senses danger all around her—even in the home of her roguishly handsome new employer, James Cunnington. Now Phillipa is about to discover that desire can be as lethal as a well-aimed bullet ...

My rating:

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Review: The Impostor by Celeste Bradley

Title: The Impostor
Series: Liar's Club
Author: Celeste Bradley
Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: October 19, 2003
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN: 0312984863
ISBN-13: 9780312984861

It isn't easy moving about Society dressed like a dandy-especially when one is a ruthless spy. But that's precisely the latest mission for Liar's Club agent Dalton Montmorecy. Dalton is posing as Sir Thorogood, the elusive cartoonist whose scathing political caricatures have all of London abuzz. The true identity of Sir Thorogood is a mystery, and Dalton hopes that impersonating him will flush out the real menace before his cartoons do further damage to the Crown. Now, if Dalton could only find a way to get the irksome, yet oddly appealing widow, Clara Simpson, off his trail...

When Clara meets Sir Thorogood at a ball, she's certain he is an impostor-because she's the true Sir Thorogood. Secretly penning the cartoons under the frothy nom de plume, Clara hopes to save enough money so that she can leave her in-laws and find a new residence. Now she is determined to reveal an imposter's identity-and that means doing some undercover work herself. But pretending to be someone you're not has a funny way of making a woman do things she wouldn't ordinarily dream of-even if it drives her straight into the arms of her devilishly handsome adversary!

My rating:

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Review: The Pretender by Celeste Bradley

Title: The Pretender
Series: Liar's Club
Author: Celeste Bradley
Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: June 16, 2003
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN: 0312984855
ISBN-13: 9780312984854

Rule #1: Never fall in love.

She had a secret she'd do anything to hide.

Agatha Cunnington, a headstrong beauty from the country, has come to London in search of her missing brother James. The only clue she has is a cryptic letter signed The Griffin. Agatha decides to disguise herself as a respectable married woman so that she can go about the city unnoticed. But for her charade to work she needs a suitable "husband," preferably someone tall, elegant, and rakish-someone like Simon Montague Rain.

He had a secret he'd do anything to hide.

Simon Montague Rain, also known as The Magician, is a member of The Liar's Club, a renegade group of rogues and thieves in the service of the Crown. When someone begins murdering members of the undercover cabal one by one, Simon is given the mission to bring in The Griffin, one of his comrades who is suspected of betraying his brothers. Simon goes undercover and infiltrates the home of "Mrs." Agatha Applequist who he believes is the Griffin's mistress. Before Simon knows what's happened, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to Agatha's soft, feminine charms-and he is tempted beyond reason to break the first rule of The Liar's Club: never fall in love.

My rating: