Makeup, Books & Romance. All the things I ♥

Nocturnal Lure Tarot

2010-10-25T15:09:00.000-02:00

My good friend Sidney has a very good Tarot blog and he's organizing a giveaway. The prizes are very interesting:

- I will give away 1 brand new Crowly Toth Tarot deck, designed by the infamous Aleister Crowley ( yes from the Ozzy song ) which is contrary to what you might think of mr. Crowley a very colorful and insightful deck very suitable for both starting and advanced tarot readers.

- A wooden tarot storage box, ideal for keeping your tarot deck protected and readily accessible for use.

- A free online reading, if I can get a grasp on the necessary technology I will even try to do this on video, no promises though.

Rules and how to participate are on his blog: http://nltarot.blogspot.com/
Good luck to all.

*huggles*

Paula

Review: Menáge by Emma Holly

2010-07-20T19:23:00.001-03:00

Book: Menáge

Series: Single novel. Not Part of a series

Author: Emma Holly

Pages: 256

Publisher: Virgin Cheek

Year: 2004

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Mythology: None, all 100% humans and proud of it!

Style:

Emma Holly is a delight to read. She is very skilled in creating strong and compelling characters who take you to an amazing world.

This book is an open place to fall in love. Her writing style is down to earth, detailed and her approach to erotica goes beyond the narration of pure sex. Her novel is set in contemporary society and she uses the freedom women conquered over the years to create believable characters to which you can relate in different levels and join them on an amazing journey.

Her books differ from regular romance books only over the amount of sex scenes in it. In some ways it is better written and has a full story with believable characters. Her thoughtfulness when writing the smutty bits shows on every touch, look and thought the characters exchange. She has a keen sense to bring the action to life. And boy... what action!!!

The book’s plot is well estabilished and she manages to keep a cohesive story from first to last page.

Story:

The book is about Kate, Joe and Sean. The couple, Joe and Sean, is Kate’s roommates and to her surprise, Joe feels more than friendship towards her.

Characters:

Kate is the proud owner of a bookstore and landlady to Joe and Sean. Joe is a composer/musician/singer on his way to fame and Sean is busyness broker with an attitude.

What I loved:

The interaction between characters, the sense of companionship and complicity between them.

What I hated:

There wasn’t anything remarkable to note here.

Impressions:

This book opened my horizons.

I must confess that even tho I’m not prejudiced against the homosexual community, one thing is to have a gay friend; another is to take interest on his sex life to a point where you could become part of it. I never considered that a possibility.

In the past, I honestly never have considered the possibility of having two men at the same time. The logistics of that seemed impossible (yeah, I was a bit obtuse on that matter) I used to think that it would either make me the proverbial slut or I would end up simply becoming a third wheel and being used by my partners, nothing more. I have never considered the possibility of a scenario like the one in the book.

I recommend this book to any woman who wants to think outside the box but not too far out. There is a lot of Female anal sex in it and Male/Male sex. So, if you are open to consider such things go ahead and I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time. If not, do not hate it, just don’t read it.

Story Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ (yes, I’ve read this book a number of times already!!)

Steam Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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Review: Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens

2010-03-25T21:54:00.001-03:00

Book: Devil’s Bride
Series: The Cynsters
Author: Stephanie Laurens
Pages: 416
Publisher: Avon
Year: 1998
Genre: Historic Romance
Mythology: None, all 100% humans and proud of it!

Style:
Stephanie Lauren’s writing is smooth and graceful. Her description of scenarios and characters is delectable… lol … She created believable characters and a social backdrop which envelops the story like a glove and steers you through it as if in a romantic dream. She writes love scenes like none I’ve seen until now and has raised my standards considerably. As J.R. Ward created the BDB world as a solid and believable place, Lauren’s can be compared with the same feel but far softer. These authors stand in different genres but have shaped my regard of romance books with pristine quality indeed!

Story:
The story of Devil and Honoria. They are brought together through a sad event and from then on, Devil knew she was the one, his Duchess of Saint Ives. He has to win her over and convince her to marry him, while investigating said event.

This book is the introductory piece of the Cynster series. I have come to understand that first books are often rushed and packed with too much information and end up being less that they could have been if it had 100 more pages. I see this doesn’t happen with this one. The story flows very well and even tho I knew who did what from the beginning, it didn’t lessen the experience.

Characters:
Devil and Honoria. Devil is the heir of the Saint Ives and the head of the family. He is strong willed, the alpha male and part of the Bar Cynsters, known for their rakishness and womanizing ways. Honoria is the first born of an influential family whose parents married against the family wishes and were deserted. Honoria renegades her last name and works as a “Finishing Governess” preparing girls for their come-out in the society.

What I loved:
The atmosphere of this book/series. I’m a sucker for Jane Austen so bear with me, please... :)

What I hated:
There wasn’t anything remarkable to note here.

Impressions:
I love this book/series. First and foremost it is how the author brings back the value of family camaraderie and companionship. How she mixed the smut on a period piece when society wouldn’t accept experimenting behavior, but also her portrayal of feminine roles in her books is extremely commendable. She creates strong women who may not have “modern” minds like we are used to see in some representations of that era, but, in that social mold and evolution, these women knew what they wanted and fought to have it and/or keep it. They have strong minds and in the end both parts learn on how to accept or change in order to be together, instead of only the woman having to acquiesce to the man’s wishes.

I think there are a few anachronisms on the books and I will not dissect them; especially b/c I’m no expert; but one thing that always bugged me is contemporary society’s need to portray women of the past eras as chimeras of the ones we’ve become. For instance, a medieval lady from the movies learning Kung-Fu to me is an insult to the strong women of that period because it diminishes the effort of the real ladies of that time who did accomplish whatever was portrayed without “pumping up the action”. I’m happy I didn’t see this in the books so far and I hope the author keeps it real and challenging as always ♥.

One thing that bothered me is how the idiosyncrasies are so similar among the characters, the raised chin, the arching eyebrow, the haughty this and that… but I guess, in a time where you couldn’t say much with words, such things were an intricate part of their communications.

Story Rating: ☺☺☺☺
Steam Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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Review: Dark Prince by Christine Feehan

2010-03-22T17:20:00.002-03:00

Book: Dark Prince
Series: The Carpathians
Author: Christine Feehan
Pages: 464
Publisher: Leisure Books
Year: 2005
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Mythology: A nice twist on vampires

Style:
Christine Feehan’s writing is………… interesting – pause – WAIT! … This is not a bad thing, this pause... It is really interesting but in a suffocating, twisted trippy way. She makes nice characters, the world she created is open and natural and if you don’t think about the macho vamps roaming around, you can almost smell the freedom.

Since I won’t be doing an overall review of the series, here’s the sum of it:
After centuries of solitude, the race of the Carpathian race is on the brink of a collapse. There are no more female vampires, and, in their culture, there is only one for every male. There are no more lifemates and for reasons unknown (I’ll shut my lips here ‘cos I have a pretty good idea why, and it wasn’t necessary to read the 2nd book to think that) the females that are already mated can’t produce female offspring. The males of the species lose their ability to feel and see colors after the first couple of centuries of life and some of them slowly degenerate into twisted monsters: Vampires. Only a number of them are able to resist the urge to feel again, even if it is through the lens of a vicious killer.

Story:
It’s the story of Mikhail and Raven. There are vampire killers around and they are targeting the wrong people.

Characters:
Mikhail is the prince of the Carpathians, their lord and protector. Raven is a telepath who helps different law enforcement agencies to catch murderers. They have a good chemistry.

What I loved:
There wasn’t anything remarkable to note here.

What I hated:
See impressions… *sigh*

Impressions:
It is a SUFFOCATING book. The prospect of being the object of desire of an extremely hot, devoted, sensory starved alpha male vampire sounds alluring at the first glance, but they are domineering, overbearing, overprotective, patronizing and with a perverted idea of what a gentleman is. The Carpathian (not vamp b/c they don’t kill when they feed) suffocates and bends you to his will not only with actions but with orders both verbal and psychic, YUP! he can send compulsion commands straight to your mind and persuade/guilt (GUILT for Christ cakes!!!!) for you to force you to comply to his wishes and the result is, at least the female characters in the book who falls for them, are forever trapped in a love where they have to “clip their freedom” to be with the love of their lives.

All the good things on this romance are overshadowed by this. There are good things like how their all-consuming desire inebriates and seduces you, they live to make you safe and happy but in order to do that you have to obey them blindly and even if that protection is necessary, they don’t tell you why and don’t even consider in taking your help. The macho act is taken to such an extreme.

This book could have been a hit, as addictive as the Cynster’s and cherished as the Black Dagger Brotherhood, but it fails in a way that in my opinion is a disservice to women. Just like Twilight was criticized over the “stalker” feel of it, and for suggesting that is OK to have a bf that invades your house just to watch you sleep without you knowing, this book makes it okay to become a hostage of a authoritarian man (who falls to his urgent desires and takes AND sire you WITHOUT your permission) and later on staying due to some serious Stockholm Syndrome/love. Women rights really are a product of modern times and if a medieval “Carpathian” can’t understand and respect it, I WON’T have anything to do with him.

I’m at the 4th book, Gregori’s, and I will give it a chance to sell me on the idea. I’ve never had a problem in changing my mind and recognizing I might be wrong. I seriously doubt this is the case, buuuut I’ll give it a chance.

Story Rating: ☺
Steam Rating: ♥ ♥

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Review: Lover Awakened by J. R Ward

2010-03-16T15:14:00.001-03:00

Book: Lover Awakened
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood
Author: J. R. Ward
Pages: 464
Publisher: Signet
Year: 2006
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Mythology: Vampires and a very specific mythology that is unique to this book.

Style:
Have I told you how good she was? Yup, she is. Now, this installment is a lot more profound than the previous ones. The way she accounts Zsadist life is heartbreaking and feels coldly real.

Story:
Szadist is the most lethal of the brothers. He is deeply scarred both physically and emotionally and now has to face the biggest challenge of all. To discover love and face all the scars his past left him in order to move on.

Characters:
Zsadist and Bella (can anyone say Beauty and the Beast???). Zsadist is frozen in a world of pain and agony. Bella is an aristocrat with a very real understanding of high-society and its hypocritical views. She was victim of a violent crime.

What I loved:
There wasn’t anything remarkable to note here.

What I hated:
Nothing ticked my hate radar in this book.

Impressions:
This story is strong. When I first heard about BDB, I looked for the books everywhere in my country (Brazil) and found this one at my local bookstore. I’m happy that I did not buy it then. Not only b/c I was going to start a series from the 3rd book but also, when reading it I saw that I wouldn’t be ready to deal with Zsadist if I started from his book. It is a good read and interesting in levels beyond the simple “romance” storyline.

Story Rating: ☺☺☺
Steam Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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Review: Lover Eternal by J. R Ward

2010-03-14T14:54:00.000-03:00

Book: Lover Eternal
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood
Author: J. R. Ward
Pages: 464
Publisher: Signet
Year: 2006
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Mythology: Vampires and a very specific mythology that is unique to this book.

Style:
Ward’s style in this book is impeccable, as her work usually is. I have a strong feeling that I’ll probably start every single review of this series by saying how great her writing is. Now that we have established that, we can go on to the good stuff.

Story:
Rhage is every woman hot dream at first glance, but there is more to him than just good looks. The story revolves around a woman who doesn’t know how to surrender her heart and a man who needs to learn that real love is unconditional. It has a good pace and the story flows wonderfully.

Characters:
Rhage and Mary. Rhage is the talkative/charismatic of the group, also the one who was cursed by the Scribe Virgin to share his body with a monster. Mary is a charitable person that has strong walls around her heart, and doesn’t allow anyone in.

What I loved:
The part that made me cry my eyes out. I will not spoil but it was very sad. Also, the scene behind the couch… gosh… *fans myself*

What I hated:
Nothing ticked my hate radar in this book.

Impressions:
The story of this book is enthralling and interesting. Reading the path the characters take to finally be together are both real and grounded. This is the first book, (and only I guess) where you have a big fight and poor decisions (IMO) between the main characters. I really like that b/c it makes it more believable – “free agent canine” comes to mind. This is my favorite book of the series and Rhage is my favorite character of the series.

Story Rating: ☺☺☺☺
Steam Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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I havent forgot about you!!!

2010-03-12T21:19:00.003-03:00

Hello!

Okay, I know I’ve been away too long and I have tons of reviews to make. I promise the 2nd and 3rd BDB book review soon and the 1st Dark Series review too.

Lately I’ve been listening (yup as in Audiobook) to the Cynster series. It is a “regency era” romance series and they are very good. I’ve been a paranormal junkie for a while and I’ve never thought I would like period pieces. True I also have been a diehard fan of Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, The Age of Innocence and several others but they are movies and sometimes, especially b/c English isn’t my first language, reading those sometimes is a bit of a challenge. Not that I’m elevating the series to a Jane Austen status, but I did have a wrong pre-conception about it.

I confess I’m enthralled by them and they are taking way too much of my PC time. The narrator is very talented and almost as good as Stephen Fry.

See you all next week with new reviews!!

Review: Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

2010-01-31T23:50:00.003-02:00

Book: Dark Lover
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood
Author: J. R. Ward
Pages: 416
Publisher: Signet
Year: 2005
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Mythology: Vampires and a very specific mythology that is unique to this book.

Style:
Ward’s style in this book is impeccable, as her work usually is. The story has a good pace and introduces the BDB’s world in a fresh and detailed manner.

Story:
This book is as much as an introductory piece as it is Wrath’s book. It establishes the characters, the world they live in, their habits, mythology and love interest. This is the thinnest book of the collection and I believe it could have easily had 100 or so more pages and it would have been a richer story without making it tiresome or boring. I felt Wrath’s story could have been better told, as the other books are to the other brothers but it is still a very interesting and captivating one.

Characters:
Wrath and Elisabeth. Wrath is the unwilling king of the vampires and the last pureblood one. Elisabeth is a journalist whose father is one of the brothers. They have a good chemistry but it pales in comparison to the others. But it is still an interesting one.

What I loved:
The final fight scene. It was perfect and exhilarating.

What I hated:
Nothing ticked my hate radar in this book.

Story Rating: ☺☺☺
Steam Rating: ♥ ♥

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Review: Black Dagger Brotherhood by J. R Ward

2010-01-28T22:38:00.008-02:00

Overview of the series. I’ll review each book individually later on.

Book Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood

Author: J. R. Ward

Volumes: 7, the 8th is to come out in April

Publisher: Signet

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Mythology: Vampires and a very specific mythology that is unique to this book.

Style:

Ward’s style is precise and flawless. She writes with a pleasant attention to detail and to the characters that allows you to immerse in the story in the most pleasant way. She is very creative and she brings forth an entire world with its own mythology, architecture, social circle everything. You feel like you can live in Caldwell and hang out in ZeroSum, if you’re ill intended (haha).

The whole series feels like the fruit of dedicated work and precious attention to create an amazing world. Ward definitely is one step ahead of many other writers of the genre. What I noticed about the smutty part of it; is that this series doesn’t have as many “hot” moments as other books. I find that a plus, because sometimes many of these other books sacrifice the story quality for more steam. Ward’s lemons are chilies and are very well spaced and placed up the story.

What I love the most is how respected you feel as a reader when you open one of her books and witness the amount of work she invested in it.

Story:

The story is about a group of elite warrior vampires that protect the vampire society against their enemies, the “lesser society”. This society is methodically hunting the vampires to the brink of extinction. During their journeys they find, one by one, the love of their lives. Amidst all that, their god and devil battle, though their children, Vampires and Lessers, for the survival of their preferred species.

Characters:

Brothers:

• Wrath: is the King of the vampires and is the last pureblood vampire in existence.

• Rhage: is the strongest and most beautiful of the Brothers, he was cursed by The Scribe Virgin.

• Zsadist: is the scarred, menacing Brother, usually referred as a sociopath.

• Dhestroyer: He is the object of an ancient Lesser Prophecy.

• Vishous: is the most intelligent and the one who is specially gifted.

• Phury: is Zsadist's twin brother and a celibate who cannot truly live because of everything his biological brother has lost.

• Tohrment: took over leadership of the Brotherhood when Wrath became King. He doesn’t have a book (yet, I hope).

• Tehrror: His story is to be told in Lover Mine that comes out in April/2010.

Other significant characters:

• Rehvenge: is brother-in-law to Zsadist, half symphath, and owner of a local club called ZeroSum.

• Qhuinn: he is a playboy with commitment issues, preferring a steady stream of anonymous sex.

• Blaylock: he is often referred to by his nickname, "Blay" and was the first of the three friends to go through his transition.

(character’s resumè made with the help of Wikipedia)

Story Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺

Steam Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

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Paula's Favorite Characters: Rhage

2010-01-15T18:38:00.002-02:00

Who: Rhage from the Black Dagger Brotherhood

Who is he?

He is the goof of the gang. Always ready to crack a joke and lighten up everybody’s mood. He was cursed by the Scribe Virgin over a hundred years ago to carry a menacing creature within him. Every time he gets angry/scared the creature comes forth and destroys everything in its path. Good or bad. He has no control over it and is always afraid to lose control and hurt the ones he loves.

Why is he my favorite character?

Rhage has a heart of gold and is loving and caring. He would make me feel protected. I love the fact that the has a bad side, but it is cute in "a Godzilla kind of way" haha. He is intelligent but doesn't make it a big deal. He is endearing and sweet and possessive. What I love the most is how his instinct say "MINE" when he comes in contact with his future shellan (wife). He is talkative, open-minded and creative, but serious when necessary.

He is a 165 y/o male vampire frozen on his 32's. His physical description is one of the steamiest. Wavy blond hair with blue-green eyes and 6'8". I can only imagine what it would be like to be surrounded by all that!!! *sigh* He was the first romance character that really stuck and have been a recurring guest in my dreams. *blushes* Funny thing is, I really did not like blonds all that much before him. hahaha

Review: Night Embrace by Sherrilyn Kenyon

2010-01-15T16:51:00.001-02:00

Book: Night Embrace
Series: Dark Hunter
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Pages: 416
Printer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Year: 2003
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Mythology: Greek Gods, Dark Hunters, Dream Hunters, Katagaria and Arcadians

Style:
After the disappointment of Kenyon’s last book, this one comes with a gentle and refreshing surprise. It has a thick story and well developed characters. It was like going out in the sun after the previously lacking “Night Pleasures”. New Orleans was alive again and the sense of humor and the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” references were a balm.

Story:
An old hermit Celt warrior meets Sunshine, a free spirited veggie artist that lives life with gusto. It was delicious to see them sorting out their differences and learning to accept each other’s idiosyncrasies.

Characters:
Celt warrior and a free spirited artist

What I loved:
The humor of it. The pleasant friendship between the male characters and the situations they found themselves in. The underlined story of the inexorability of true love.
What I hated:
Nothing ticked my hate radar in this book

Story Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ - I will most definitely be reading this book again!!!
Steam Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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Review: Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon

2010-01-13T18:26:00.001-02:00

Book: Night Pleasures
Series: Dark Hunter
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Pages: 320
Printer: St. Martin's Press
Year: 2002
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Mythology: Greek Gods, Dark Hunters, Dream Hunters, Katagaria and Arcadians

Style:
Sherrilyn’s writing in this book was at least disappointing. It felt lazy and obvious. It was full of made sentences and broken explanations. The story *is* interesting, it has promising characters and pushing aside the obvious sentences and clichés there is a really enjoyable world there.

Story:
The story is about two people stuck together and falling in love. Some complications ensue but it doesn’t vary from the well known formula. I felt this story could have been a lot more. It seemed too safe and obvious and now, after reading a few of Kenyon’s romances, I can definitely say she could have done a lot more with it.

Characters:
An ex-Greek general and a secure loving accountant.

What I loved:
The male character was nicely made

What I hated:
The made phrases, the lack of originality, how the story jumped from one place to another and didn’t patch things very well together.

Story Rating: ☺☺
Steam Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

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Review: No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole

2010-01-01T06:47:00.002-02:00

Book: No Rest for the Wicked
Series: Immortals After Dark
Author: Kresley Cole
Pages: 384
Printer: Pocket Star Books
Year: 2006
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Mythology: Pagan characters, witches and demons mixed in some serious fruitcake!!

Style:
Kresley Cole’s writing in this installment climbs another step towards pleasant storytelling. Her laid-back style allows you to sail the story and dive into the characters. This book has a faster pace and is an amazing adventure.

Story:
The story is a competition like “The Amazing Race”. It is called the Hie and the prize is worth ANY sacrifice. The energy between the characters is intense. The way she weaves the tasks with the main characters and also sets the terrain for the next story. As I’ve come to realize, these stories (at least the ones I’ve had the pleasure to read) have a deep characteristic of personal growth of the main characters. It is not all only action, but also the sense of self discovery and deeper comprehension through another’s eyes.

Characters:
The female character is strong and has to learn to love again. Her journey is quite interesting since you can relate her to every woman who dedicated her entire life to work and left the social/romantic side to rot.
The male character is very well nested on the socially able and well cultured category, a neglected man who discovers his contemporary identity.

What I loved:
The competition is amazing. The never lack details (there is always space for more, *wink*), the characters are well created and you come to care deeply for them, even the secondary ones. “Killer Gnomes!”

What I hated:
Nothing ticked my hate radar in this book.

Story Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺
Steam Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

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Review: A Hunger Like no Other by Kresley Cole

2009-12-17T00:58:00.003-02:00

Book: A Hunger Like no Other

Series: Immortals After Dark
Author: Kresley Cole
Pages: 360
Printer: Pocket Star Books
Year: 2006
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Mythology: Pagan characters, witches and demons mixed in some serious fruitcake!!

Style:

Kresley Cole’s writing is fun. I could not start a review without saying that. Her writing is witty and fast paced, but still incredibly comprehensible and creative. Her sense of humor gave me a lot of LOLs and LMAOs. I fell in love with her writing and I foresee all her books in my collection. She alternates well between POVs and it’s almost impossible to get lost. Her books, not only this one, of this series have a thick mythology and so many characters/creatures that at first I was insecure, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to remember all their details and description. But she makes it so easy to fall in love with them, giving each a different personality, idiosyncrasies and history.

Story:
The story is a journey of conflicting egos, a man on the verge of madness and a woman that doesn’t know her own strength. The story has a nice flow but sometimes you ask yourself “why the hell is she still there with that oaf". Definitely this book has a domineering “rape fantasy” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_fantasy) underlying the story. Even though this book is part of a series, the character’s story closes well and you can catch bits of how things are going with them on the next books. I honestly love this.

Characters:
The main male character is waaaay down on the cave-men scale, sexist and downright scary sometimes.
The Female character is inspiring. Her journey of self discovery can be applied to so many ways in our lives that I confess I was incredulous that such a character was in a romance book.

What I loved:
How the female character finds herself, and how the male character was pivotal for this to happen. They felt like a perfect match.

What I hated:
Nothing ticked my hate radar in this book.

Story Rating: ☺☺☺
Steam Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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Review: Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon

2009-12-12T23:34:00.010-02:00

Book: Fantasy Lover
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Pages: 337
Printer: St. Martin’s Paperback
Year: 2002
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Mythology: Pure Greek Mythology. Gods, demi-gods and mere mortals.

Style:
This is the first Sherrilyn Kenyon book I’ve read. She has a good narrative and the reading flows almost flawlessly. I really liked that in some parts she starts from the woman’s POV, then narrates a little and closes with the men’s POV. This gives you a kind of 360º view of the story providing not only images, but feelings and how they brew beneath the surface. The story is fluid and has a good pace, it captures and captivates you. She has a nice vocabulary and rarely repeats parts or catch phrases. This book also has a decent amount of information and you can see the work the author had when researching for the story. I truly liked her style in this book and I hope her other works are as well or better developed.

Story:
The story has the basic elements for a captivating journey, woman meets man, man wants her, she wants him but there are a million buts and ifs and several complications in order for that to happen. The construction of the relationship has a nice pace and you can follow their chemistry from plain attraction to undiluted love. It feels well balanced and both give and take to make it work and it is extremely believable. This book closes very well and gave me a nice sense of closure.

Characters:
The main chars are well developed and you come to care for them in a very easy and natural way.

What I loved:
The strength of the main female char was interesting. How the story was weaved in making her weakness her strength. The male char was simply dreamy… One that most appealed to me from all my books I’ve read. He is a warrior, flawed and vulnerable. You can feel that it was written with great care and his action goes along with natural human behavior, without any exaggeration or stretch to make it believable.

What I hated:
Nothing ticked my hate radar in this book.

Story Rating: ☺☺☺☺
Steam Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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About me,

2009-12-11T18:35:00.002-02:00

My name is Paula and I’m 28 y/o. I’m a psychology graduate and a self-learner. In all my life I’ve had a few things that inspired me and filled my heart. Arts & crafts, makeup and recently I discovered romance books.

I’m not an artist as in great paintings, but I love to craft things from scratch. From napkins holders to tables. My mind is always churning a way to make something easier, more fun and/or more beautiful. I used to make book covers in high-relief when I was in college, just so I had something beautiful to look at during those boring lectures.

Makeup is another passion of mine. Since I can remember, I played with it and drove my mom insane! hahaha As I grew up, I got my own makeup and started to practice on making ppl look beautiful.

My latest love are books. “Regular” books and those kind of books that women hide on their underwear drawer or in the back of the closet. It all started with Twilight. The innocence and strength of their story. After that, I couldn’t stop reading all those amazing stories that I took for granted my whole life. And would you believe that I was one of “those” people that didn’t picked up a book to save their lives! *chuckles*

Anyway, hope you like this blog. All I wish is to share my opinions and maybe help you choose makeup looks and/or a good story to dive in.

Loving regards,

Paula