Hello, and welcome back! We're making final preparations at work for the booksigning tomorrow (5/13/06) with Maggie Shayne, Joy Nash, and Terri Brisbin. If any of you are close enough and want more info, drop me an email and I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, I have the last of the May review books here to share with you today. I'm already reading June review books (not to mention the May book club selection).

The Untamed One (St. Martins) by Ronda Thompson is up first. Jackson Wulf is on two missions at the moment: escaping the villagers trying to kill him, and hunting for a witch to reverse the curse on his family. Lucinda is a witch, all right, but he can't bring himself to kill the woman as she's about to give birth. When they meet again, he finds her in his home, posing as his wife, and they have to strike a deal: in return for Jackson raising her son as his own, Lucinda will try to remove the curse. Werewolf fans will be thrilled, though I'd advise reading the first book in the series first, because I can see points in this tale where reading the first would give a reader an advantage. To get their happy ending, there is an unusual twist to this one, that will keep readers guessing. I'm giving this one three of Cupid's five arrows.

Her Scandalous Marriage (St. Martins) by Leslie LaFoy is next, with Drayton MacKenzie, Duke of Ryland, gathering the three illegitimate daughters of the previous duke in accordance with the will. Caroline Dutton has always known who her father was, but her two younger sisters weren't lucky enough to be raised by loving mothers, so, while she's not happy about having her life up-ended, she goes along in order to care for them. She endures much to become 'Lady' Caroline, including insufferably rude peers whose mission is supposed to be helping her. And along the way, she can't help but fall for Drayton, who's nearly as lost as she on this new path in life. This one isn't too dark, and has plenty of steam to please readers who lean that way in their reading tastes. Charming. It's earned three and a half arrows.

Until next time, happy reading!