Much Ado about Magic (Signet Eclipse) by Patricia Rice leads the pack this time out with her next Malcolm witch, Lady Lucinda Malcolm Pembroke, whose talent at artwork ties in with her magical ability, in painting things that generally come true. If only she were trying to do that. Sir Trevelyan Rochester is furious at her latest painting, which portrays him as a murderer. His homecoming has been difficult enough, and now, thanks to her, all of Society believes he killed his beloved cousin, and he intends for her to straighten things out. Sinda, however, flees London for her cousin's home in the country. Trev and Sinda have so much to overcome, and you will be thoroughly charmed all along the way. I've been hoping for a really good book in my recent readng spree, and this one fit the bill quite nicely. I'm borrowing four and a half of Cupid's five arrows for it. Thank goodness there are lots of Malcolm cousins still waiting for their stories to be told.
What Dreams May Come (Berkley) is an anthology with stories by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Rebecca York, and Robin D. Owens. Let me say up front, I'm not a fan of any of these authors and this one hasn't converted me. Ms. Kenyon's "Knightly Dreams" starts things off with Taryn having the worst day of her life, which leads to one even more confusing, with Sparhawk stepping from the pages of a romance novel. Of the three stories, I liked this one best, but, as I said, it still hasn't converted me. Ms. York's tale is next, "Shattered Dreams," with Miranda and her psychically talented ex Caleb trying to find out who's attempting to kill her. Rather confusing, and far too short to tell the tale properly, I think. Finally, we have "Road of Adventure" by Ms. Owens. This one was muddled from beginning to end, with a heroine just too good to be believed. I'm giving the anthology only two arrows.
Heart Choice (Berkley) by Robin D. Owens is also up this week, with Straif Blackthorn trying to continue his family line, and Mitchella Clover distracting him from his purpose. When a story starts with a talking animal (whether talking aloud or psychically), for me, it only goes downhill from there, and I didn't even make it halfway through this one before putting it down. I know this series has a devoted following, but it just doesn't do anything for me--and I found the Familiar in this one far more annoying than in the previous book I read in the series.
Wedding Night of an English Rogue (Ballantine Ivy) by Jillian Hunter is the final story I have to share with you this time out. Lord Heath Boscastle is going to help his friend and fellow officer by guarding the man's fiancee Julia Hepworth, the woman Heath's been pining for for years, but it won't be easy. This one is another light read, without much real mystery for the observant reader. My only complaint is that Heath isn't much of a rogue, so perhaps we'll see a story sometime in the future for his naughty brother Drake. This one's earned three arrows.
Until next time, happy reading!
