New Releases ~ week of 11/28/2016

Blood Eclipse by Gabrielle Bisset, K. M. Scott (#6 Sons of Navarus)

Caught Up in You by Jules Bennett (#2 Monroes)
Chase by Sidney Bristol (#3 Hot Rides)
Chasing Shadows by Karen Harper (#1 South Shores)
Closer to You by Barbara Freethy (#11 Callaways)
Confluence by S. K. Dunstall (#3 Linesman)
Death Comes to the Fair by Catherine Lloyd (#4 Kurland St. Mary Mysteries)
Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt (#11 Maiden Lane)
Family Jewels by Denise Grover Swank (#1 Rose Gardner Investigations)
First Degree Mudder by Kate Dyer-Seeley (#4 Pacific Northwest)
Haunted Is Always in Fashion by Rose Pressey (#4 Haunted Vintage Mystery)
Hope Everlasting by JN Chaney (#3 The Variant Sage)
Ink Exposed by Carrie Ann Ryan (#6 Montgomery Ink)

Just Try To Stop Me by Gregg Olsen (#3 Birdy Waterman)
Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan (#3 Made in New York)
More Than A Promise by Amy Lillard (#2 Quilting Circle)
Perfectly Paired by Lexi Blake (#3 Topped)
Queen of the Cookbooks by Ashton Lee (#5 Cherry Cola Book Club)
Scoring Her by Max Monroe (#3.5 Billionaire Bad Boys)
Shades of Wrath by Karen Rose Smith (#6 Caprice De Luca Mystery)
Taken by Cynthia Eden (#5 Last Option Search Team)
The Battle of Hackham Heath by John Flanagan (#2 Ranger's Apprentice Early Year)
The Blockade by Jean Johnson (#3 First Salik War)
The Cherished Quilt by Amy Clipston (#3 Amish Heirloom)
The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (#3 The Queen of the Tearling)
The Glow of Death by Jane K Cleland (#11 Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries)
The Turtle Invasion by Jack Patton (#10 Battle Bugs)
The Varangian by Bruce MacBain (#3 Odd Tangle-Hair's Saga)
The Viscount and the Vixen by Lorraine Heath (#3 Hellions of Havisham)
Wild at Whiskey Creek by Julie Anne Long (#2 Hellcat Canyon)
Winter Moon by Dannika Dark (#7.5 Seven)
Wrong For Me by Jackie Ashenden (#2 Motor City Royals)
You Make Me Weak by Juliana Stone (#1 The Blackwells of Crystal Lake)

New Releases ~ week of 12/2/2013

A Cursed Moon by Cecy Robson (#2.5 Weird Girls)

A Valley Ridge Christmas by Holly Jacobs (#4 Valley Ridge Wedding)
Alien Research by Gini Koch (#8 Katherine "Kitty" Katt)
Before We Fall by Courtney Cole (#3 Beautifully Broken)
Billionaire Blend by Cleo Coyle (#13 Coffeehouse Mysteries)
Black Flag by Oliver Bowden (#8 Assassin's Creed)
Blood, Milk, and Chocolate by Cameron Jace (#3 Grimm Diaries)
Bound to Break by SE Jakes (#6 Men of Honor)
Bourne Retribution by Eric Van Lustbader (#8 Jason Bourne)
Buttoned Up by Kylie Logan (#4 Button Box Mystery)
Castle Hill by Samantha Young (#2.5 On Dublin Street)
Caught Up in You by Beth Andrews (#3 In Shady Grove)
Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile by Bianca Turetsky (#4 Time-traveling

Fashionista)
Cloak and Spider by David Dalglish (#0.5 Shadowdance)
Colton Christmas Rescue by Beth Cornelison (#3 Coltons of Wyoming)
Command Authority by Tom Clancy, Mark Greaney (#13 Jack Ryan)
Darkwalker by E. L. Tettensor (#1 Nicholas Lenoir)
Daughters of the Nile by Stephanie Dray (#3 Cleopatra's Daughter)
Deadly by Sara Shepard (#14 Pretty Little Liars)
Elementary by Mercedes Lackey (#10 Elemental Masters)
Foolish Games by Tracy Solheim (#2 Out of Bounds)
Forged by Jennifer Rush (#0.5 Altered)
Full Throttle by Erin McCarthy (#7 Fast Track)
Gabriel's Redemption by Sylvain Reynard (#3 Gabriel's Inferno)

Gentlemen Prefer Mischief by Emily Greenwood (#2 Mischief)
Going Dark by James W. Hall (#13 Thorn P.I.)
Her Return to King's Bed by Maureen Child (#13 Kings of California)
Hero's Journey by J. J. Cook (#1.5 Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade)
Home For the Haunting by Juliet Blackwell (#4 Haunted Home Renovation)
Home For the Homicide by Jennie Bentley (#7 Do-It-Yourself Mystery)
Hot Pursuit by Jo Davis (#2 Sugarland Blue)
Hunt the Falcon by Ralph Pezzullo, Don Mann (#3 SEAL Team Six)
It Happened One Night by Kathie DeNosky (#6 Texas Cattleman's Club)
Katie Sprinkles & Surprises by Coco Simon (#17 Cupcake Diaries)
Kicking It   edited by Faith Hunter
Leave Tomorrow Behind by Judy Clemens (#6 Stella Crown Mystery)

Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass (#1 Bookmobile Cat Mysteries)
Lost Covenant by Ari Marmell (#3 Widdershins Adventures)
Man-Kzin Wars XIV by Larry Niven (#16 Man-Kzin)
Mars, Inc. by Ben Bova (#1 Billionaire's Club)
Merry Market Murder by Paige Shelton (#6 Farmer's Market Mystery)
Murder, She Barked by Krista Davis (#1 Paws and Claws Mysteries)
Never Trust a Pirate by Anne Stuart (#2 Scandal at the House of Russell)
Pinkbeard's Revenge by Greg Trine (#4 Adventures of Jo Schmo)
Proxy by Mindee Arnett (#0.5 Avalon)
Quilt Trip by Elizabeth Spann Craig (#3 Southern Quilting Mystery)
Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally (#4 Hundred Oaks)
Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes (#2 Falling Kingdoms)

Reel Stuff by Don Bruns (#7 Lessor and Moore Mystery)
Scandal at Six by Ann Purser (#13 Lois Meade)
Second-Chance Seduction by Kate Carlisle (#1 MacLarens Pride)
Secret Valentine by Wong Herbert Yee (#7 Mouse and Mole)
Shannivar by Deborah J Ross (#2 Seven-Petaled Shield)
Shoot the Woman First by Wallace Stroby (#3 Harry Rane Mystery)
Staged to Death by Karen Rose Smith (#1 Caprice De Luca Mystery)
Stormhaven by Jordan L. Hawk (#3 Whyborne & Griffin)
Super Nova by Jayne Rylon (#3 Hot Rods)
Take Me by J. Kenner (#3.5 Stark Trilogy)
Ten Lords A-Leaping by C C Benison (#3 Father Christmas Mystery)
The Accidental Werewolf 2: Something About Harry by Dakota Cassidy (#8 Accidental Friends)

The Diplomat's Pregnant Bride by Merline Lovelace (#1 Duchess Diaries)
The Grove by Jean Johnson (#2 Guardians)
The High Price of Secrets by Yvonne Lindsay (#4 Master Vintners)
The Sayers Swindle by Victoria Abbott (#2 A Book Collector Mystery)
The Spook Lights Affair by Bill Pronzini, Marcia Muller (#2 Carpenter & Quincannon Mysteries)
Things Fall Apart by Harry Turtledove (#3 Supervolcano)
Typhon and the Winds of Destruction by Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams (#5 Heroes in Training)
Unclaimed by Sara Humphreys (#5 The Amoveo Legend)
FlameBound by Tessa Adams (#2 Lone Star Witch)
Welcome Back to Apple Grove by C H Admirand (#3 Apple Grove)
Yesterday and Today by Phoebe Rivers (#11 Saranormal)
Your Worst Nightmare by P J Night (#17 You're Invited to a Creepover)

Book Review ~ The Tower

The Tower (Guardians of Destiny #1)

by Jean Johnson
published by Berkley Trade
genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Summary (Goodreads): When serpent crept into their hall:
Danger waits for all who board,
Trying to steal that hidden tone.
Painted Lady saves the lord;
Tower’s master’s not alone.

In a fertile valley undisrupted by the aether-shattering death of the old Aian Empire, the Tower and its Guardians have entertained generations of wealthy mirror-scrying mages while adventurers from around the world risk their lives for fortune and fame. But on the one day the Tower stood unguarded, an intruder tried to seize the magic powering the vast structure. Now, locked out of the Tower’s innermost chambers, Kerric Vo Mos must brave the deadly traps keeping trespassers at bay in order to reclaim control.

Unfortunately, Kerric wields a pen far better than a sword, and the way into the Tower’s sanctum is treacherous. Only the help of an experienced player like Myal the Mendhite can get him to where he must go. But mutual respect will not be enough. Passion must also be employed, along with armor and weapons, as they embark on a perilous quest past monsters, riddles, and other dangers that even the Tower’s most dedicated viewers have never seen before.

My Thoughts: I had a hard time rating this one. It really depends on what you're looking for. The fantasy aspects worked best for me. I enjoyed the gauntlet run by the Master and Myal. The different obstacles and even the riddles that went along with different rooms. They not only have to trust each other they have to be completely intimate with each other to get past a series of challenges. On top of the deathly traps they encounter they also have a rogue group following behind them trying to overtake them and take the tower for themselves.
The problem for me was the romance. It really depends on the type of romance you like. This book started with the two characters already attracted to each other but having never expressed it. The story just built on this fact and took them through the tower and continued on to their regular lives after they got the tower back under Kerric's control. I guess it was kind of too sweet and easy for me. There was never any tension between them, it just was. This is not to say I did not like them as a couple, I just was underwhelmed from a story standpoint.
Overall, I can see myself continuing this series from a fantasy standpoint and if it happens to have a great romance in it all the better.

Rating: 3.5