Hello, and welcome back! It was a pretty nice weekend here, with only a little rain. Our outdoor concert Friday night at the Celtic Fling was fantastic, and who cares about the shower between bands? We would've sat there in a downpour for that one.

I've been reading pretty steadily through the June books and think I've mentioned nearing the end of that stack. I have only a few more books to post reviews for here, though there will be a number of them that only get a listing in the forum. This time out, I have the latest from Carolyn Jewel, My Forbidden Desire (Grand Central). Witch Alexandrine Marit has just found out her long-lost brother is not, as she'd believed for years, dead, and now he's trying to 'persuade' her she needs protection. Or, in big brother language, he's brought a friend who despises witches to keep her alive, whether she likes it or not. Xia, her sexy guardian, has some serious reasons for hating witches, and even more for hating Alexandrine on sight. But Alexandrine and Xia are stuck with one another, despite their scorching attraction, especially after her mage father sends the troops in to get back her talisman and to bring Xia back into the fold of mageheld fiends. Alexandrine's talisman, though, won't go willingly, and after fending off more attacks, Xia knows he has to do some dangerous maneuvering to save her from it. But his plan goes very, very awry. I never think it's a good sign when a book starts with a glossary of terms at the very beginning, and in general, I skip those, figuring if I can't tell from the reading of the story what the terms mean, that's a problem for the author. Most of the things in this one can be figured out (eventually) in the reading, but this story was a tad too dark for my liking, and there are things left hanging, obviously in anticipation of the next book in the series. I'm thinking fans of Larissa Ione's demon series may enjoy this series as well. Unfortunately, it's not for me.

Until next time, happy reading!