Hello, and welcome back! It's raining here very steadily since yesterday, and is supposed to continue through most of the weekend. If we were just two hours north, it would be snow instead. I'm not sure everyone here is ready for snow just yet, though the footage I saw of it earlier this morning was beautiful. But Halloween hasn't even arrived yet, so I suppose I can wait a little longer for our first snowfall of the season. In any case, even the rainy weather is good for staying inside to read.

This time out, I have Deep Kiss of Winter (Pocket) to share with you. The first story here is 'Untouchable' by one of my very favorite authors, Kresley Cole. Murdoch Wroth is only in New Orleans to help his brother find his wayward Bride. Then he finds Daniela, half Valkyrie/half Iceren, or ice fey, and in her, his own Bride. The only problem is Danii can't be touched by others, as it burns her. Makes for a difficult courtship and seduction. Danii, as with most of her kind, doesn't trust vampires, but there's something about this one that makes her wish he could touch her. Still, they have other issues to overcome, like the Iceren who are bent on killing her to keep her from reclaiming her mother's throne in Icergard. Danii and Murdoch have to be very creative to indulge the searing heat that's between them, and wow, do they get creative. You'll need a fan or a cold drink for this one, no matter how cool the outside temperatures are wherever you live this week. The second story is Gena Showalter's 'Tempt Me Eternally', with Aleaha Love who can become anyone she touches. Her current incarnation is Macy Briggs, an AIR (alien investigation and removal) agent. Her first mission with the group brings her into contact with Breean, a warrior from another planet who's come to find a new home for his people. Only instead of her crew capturing him and his, she and the rest of the AIR crew are taken prisoner, and Aleaha can't seem to resist the sexy alien. I haven't been a big Gena Showalter fan, and while I did read through this one, I didn't love it either. Aleaha/Macy is a bit wishy-washy, and Breean has some issues I didn't really get. But I'm guessing Showalter fans will be happy to add this one to their collection no matter what I think. For the Cole story, I'm giving this one four and a half of Cupid's five arrows. It's absolutely terrific, but now we have to wait till late January for her next book.