The Wizard of Seattle by Kay Hooper

I read this book for the Summer Challenge in 2009 for #4 Read a Title published before 2000 but am now just getting to posting my review. When I picked this book up I honestly didn't know what to expect. I knew I needed an older book and this was the first book I came across. I was very surprised by how much I liked this book.

Serena finds Richard when she is 16 and asks him to teach her how to use her budding powers as a Wizard. Richard does so and through the next decade or so she stays with him as a pupil only. Through the years Richard keeps a respectful distance from Serena even into adulthood.

As an adult she tends to be a little spontaneous when it comes to her magic and not disciplined as Richard has taught her. When her actions intrigue a news reporter things start to get hairy. What Serena doesn't know is that the Wizard Council is made up of men and only men. Women are prohibited from becoming Wizards and are stripped of all powers when they start to develope.

Since Richard is breaking all the rules to train Serena his life is also at risk so he decides that the only thing to do is to travel through time to go back to the very beginning. To the start of why women were banned from magic and why the men were so afraid of a woman with power.
So that is what Richard and Serena do. They create a magic time traveling spell and off to Atlantis they go. Oh, and they fall in love along the way.

I loved this book. Although it was written well over a decade ago it didn't feel completely dated to me. I tend to not care much for time travel books either but this one was very thought out. It doesn't rely on someone falling into a time traveling rabbit hole or an object when touched sending the subject back in time which to tell the truth never really made a lot of sense to me. This book often had the characters reminding each other that they were there to change one part of the history of Wizardry and nothing else as to not create issues with ancestors and such.

I loved the "history" of Atlantis that Hooper created. Richard and Serena were one the island around the time it was being destroyed.

As far as the romance goes I think it was pretty average. I didn't think that this part of the book was what stood out to me but I was ok with that. I tend to not really read a Kay Hooper book for the romance anyway. I love her paranormal woo-woo stuff and this is a book that you should check out, especially if you like to read books with magic in them.

A little warning though. The book opens with a rape scene. Some might find this type of situation not their cuppa.

Killer Cowboy Charm by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Ugh. That about sums it up. I have read several of Vicki Lewis Thompson's book prior to picking this one up and enjoyed them quite a bit. I thought that this one would be good too. After all, I like what I have read by her. I love a cowboy story. What could go wrong? Let me tell you....

So Meg is a co-host of a morning talk show reminiscent of Regis and Kelly (Kelly by the way is VLT's inspiration for Meg per her intro for the book) and while engaging in the usual banter with Mel while on air mentioned that she needed to find herself a hot cowboy. Her producer thought that was a fab idea and so off Meg goes on a 2 week tour of 7 states holding tryouts for the hottest cowboy.

Her first stop is Arizona where Clint Walker is the foreman. Clint just wants to run the ranch. He has no interest in TV what-so-ever. He does find himself interested in a tempting TV personality though. Which works out fine because Meg thinks Clint is the hottest cowboy ever.

My thoughts...
Meg is an aggressive woman who knows what she wants and plans to get it. She wants Clint. Clint is all too happy to accommodate. I have no problem with assertive women but to me she was beyond that and it made her look a little ugly.

The bulk of the book (if you can call a book with just a little over 200 pages bulk) takes place in the 2 days Meg is on the Ranch with Clint. During which time they engage in hot monkey sex repeatedly but little else. There was no romance and very little talking. When Meg tries to convince Clint to try out for the hottest cowboy contest even though he has told her he wasn't interested his feelings get hurt because he doesn't think she knows him at all. Really? You think?

Ugh...I have spent more time with my dentist over the years then this couple had together and yet....they are in love. Meg's departure from the ranch made both of them sad pandas and after a 2 week separation they reunite and as the violins sang they declared their love for one another. Ok...just kidding about the violins but still...you get the idea.

I can't recommend this book to anyone even one who likes short romances because although this is short there was little to no romance in the book. A lot of sex but very little romance.

Everything and the Moon by Julia Quinn

Description compliments of the now deceased Shelfari....

STARCROSSED It was indisputably love at first sight. But Victoria Lyndon was merely the teen aged daughter of a vicar. . .while Robert Kemble was the dashing young earl of Macclesfield. Surely what their meddlesome fathers insisted must have been true-that he was a reckless seducer determined to destroy her innocence. . . and she was a shameless fortune hunter. So it most certainly was for the best when their plans to elope went hopelessly awry.

MOONSTRUCK Even after a seven-year separation, Victoria-now a governess-still leaves Robert breathless. But how could he ever again trust the raven-haired deceiver who had shattered his soul? And Victoria could never give her heart a second time to the cad who so callously trampled on it the first. But a passion fated will not be denied, and vows of love yearn to be kept. . . even when one promises the moon.

So, in my mind I separated this book into three parts. The first part was before the big misunderstanding when the characters were young and in love. The second part was when they found each other and Robert tried to get Victoria to be with him again. And the third part...lovers once more.

I really enjoyed the first part. Their young love was sweet and seemed special. I say young because Victoria was only 17 but I suppose that in 1809 that was a little above the average age for a girl to marry. Robert was 24 and although 7 years older then Victoria still young by a man's standard to marry. Their interaction was, as I mentioned, sweet until both of their fathers manipulated them into believing the worse of the other resulting in two broken hearts.

7 years later we find Victoria a governess for a wealthy family with a horrid child and a worse excuse for a mother. Enter Robert once again. This part of the story I just didn't care much for. Both characters are extremely bitter and borderline hates the other. When Robert discovers that both of them were innocent victims of manipulation that shattered their hearts he decides to follow through with his original plans to make Victoria his wife. Unfortunately Victoria wants nothing to do with his plan even after finding out the truth of their long ago broken wedding plans. It is her attitude that I really had issue with. Over 100 pages of her stubbornly refusing to follow her heart and be with Robert. She has decided that she enjoys her freedom and does not want a man, or anyone for that matter, to tell her what to do. So we find Robert a fool in love and Victoria repeatedly refusing to take the leap.

The last part of the book was quite redeeming, however. I found the last part of the book to be charming and witty. The banter between the characters was funny and finally I got a look at the Quinn that I know and love. Her character interaction is what makes her such a great author to read and I wish this book spent more time showcasing that.

Lost Calling by Evelyn Vaughn

Having only read a couple Silhouette Bombshell books and very much liking them I found that this book did share the same good qualities that those did. Almost 300 pages this book felt whole and complete with good character development. Catrina (Cat for short) is a strong independent woman who's love of history has made her passionate in her quest to preserve it. Finding artifacts seem to be her calling and during an extremely rare and unusual event finds herself in a hole in the middle of a Paris street surrounded by decapitated bodies that appear to be over 200 years old. Her first thought was to preserve the sight as a historical landmark but as she touches a small key that looked as if one of the deceased women had swallowed it, she finds herself in the middle of a psychic vision of a group of women who died during the French Revolution.

This is the first book in the Madonna Key mini-series out of seven.

The book has a Da Vinci Code feel to it with a twist of the paranormal. The action will keep you on the edge of your seat and if you enjoy history, peeks into the French Revolution and it's bloody history should keep your interest.

What I personally liked about this book was that the action was enough to keep my attention, Cat was a strong kick butt woman but still only human and didn't necessarily have mass skills, like, a black belt in karate. She did beat off an attacker with her stiletto heels though. Her love interest, Rhys, was also a nice addition to the book. Once a man of God, he left his calling and the priesthood behind long before Cat. Their conflict between each other was compelling. Both characters were very real in their emotions. Both struggled with his faith. Even though he was no longer a priest, many of his decisions were still based on his religious beliefs. Not a bad way to live your life except that Cat couldn't help but feel she was somehow still involved with a priest and not just a man.

I also loved the first line of this book...."That first earthquake was not my fault."

What I didn't like about this book was that I am not a big fan of books that are centered around religion. Past or present. As fascinating as I thought the history of it all was I found myself skipping some paragraphs just to get through it faster and then finding myself a little lost.

Also even though I thought the development of the characters was excellent I just didn't care much for them. I thought Cat was a bit of a bitch and Rhys was, well, attracted to her. Another thing was that there were many references throughout the book about Cat being a thief. It confused me a bit but then I found out after I read this book that there was another mini-series among the Bombshell books called The Grail Keepers which I am pretty sure Cat made an appearance in and her theft was probably in one of them.

Many of the things I found that I didn't like about this book are completely based on personal taste and should not dictate whether you should read this book or not. Even though I didn't rate this book that high I really would recommend this book to those who liked books like The Da Vinci Code.

I gave this book 2 Stars.

If You Dare by Kresley Cole

The first in the MacCarrick brothers trilogy this book centers around Courtland MacCarrick and a sassy somewhat royal Andorrian named Annalia. When Annalia was out riding one day she finds a Scot who appears beaten to death by the river. With much struggle her and her horse drag him back to her home where she nurses him back to health despite that he is a Scot and probably a mercenary hired by the man who is trying to take over everthing including her home and land.
Both characters argue and bait each other throughout the first half of the book. Annalia has relied on stories and tainted opinions to cloud her judgement of Scots and Court in particular. Some may find her predjudice ways to be intollerable but I didn't have a problem reading about her at all.

When Anna comes to realize that her thoughts and behavior towards Court are incorrect and ignorant she finds that he isn't quite the brute she thought. After a while she think she may want to keep him even.

Court has known the life a mercenary for most of his life. He appears uncaring and uncivilized. He often thought that he would never take a wife and couldn't because of a curse that has been hanging over the family for generations.

I honestly can't do this book justice. I thought it was a simply wonderful romance. I often pausing while reading it just to reflect on something that Court said to Anna. The book made me smile and occasionally laugh. It also reminded me how much I really want my very own Highlander.

I have read a few of Kresley Cole's paranormal books and I even gave them 5 stars, still they were not keepers for me. This one, however, is staying in my keeper bookshelf forever where I can reread Court and Anna's story and feel my romantic soul sigh with pleasure. 

Summer Lovin' by Carly Phillips

I really wanted to like this book. This is the second Carly Phillips book I have read and both of them are right in the middle as far as likability goes. I neither liked it nor disliked it. The two main characters are just ok to me. Zoe is ex-secret service and is currently opening up her own buisiness with her friend and brother in law. Ryan is a lawyer born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

When Ryan finally finds what happened to his long lost sister who ran away over 16 years ago he is saddened to find she has died but amazed to find she left a daughter behind. A daughter that he will take back to his family and "save" from the foster system. What he doesn't realize is that Sam, his niece, is almost fully adopted by the Costas family. Zoe's own parents are her foster parents and are getting ready to sign and make her officially part of their family.

The Costas family is a trip. They are down to earth with enough kookiness to make reading about them interesting. Perhaps it is their Greek heritage. Reading it I was reminded about the family dynamics in the Movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Not a complete paralell but enough to help me draw a little bit of a connection.

What I liked about this book was the way Phillips was able to create a family out of words and make them real to me. Very vividly colored you might say. This was the same feeling I got when reading The Playboy. I found that the family was interesting and I wanted to read about them. There is another book that came before this one (Under the Boardwalk) which is about Zoe's twin sister which I might read to get another dose of the Costas family.

What I didn't like was that just like my feeling in The Playboy the romance of the two main characters took a backseat to my interest in the family as a whole. I found that I really didn't care if they two got together romantically or not but I guess if they were going to that was ok too. Either way, I was fine with it.

Another thing was that I didn't really like Zoe. I thought she should have been a little more alpha female with her background as an ex secret service member. Perhaps not a scary female body builder wrestler alpha but maybe a little more decisive about her and Ryan's relationship.

Overall I would rate this book 3 stars. I was thinking 2.5 but liked Mama Costas so much she got an extra half just for being interesting to me.