Into the Fire

Title: Into the Fire
Author: Anne Stuart
Copyright: 2003 (Mira); 378 pgs.
ISBN: 1-55166-694-4
Series: N/A
Sensuality: Warm

Who: Jamie Kincaid and Dillon Gaynor
Where: Wisconsin

Anne Stuart is known for her dark heroes, men that are hard to like, never mind trying to imagine how their heroines fell in love with them. Dillon Gaynor is no exception. He’s gruff, rude, cynical, and angry — among other things. He behaves in an underhanded way toward Jamie, alternately trying to scare her away with his behavior one moment and then in the next, sabotaging his own efforts in order to keep her with him a little longer. He’s a man who’s been in love with the same woman for half his life, yet won’t even admit that to himself let alone say it her. Throughout the book, the author gives the readers clues as to how much Jamie means to Dillon. She also shows us that the otherwise hard man is also capable of being gentle, tender even.

Into the Fire is not a light, romantic love story. I liked the book a lot despite this, primarily because of Dillon. He’s very realistic. He’s trying to get on with his life, atoning for his self-destructive youth. He has his business and his good friend, Mouser. He chose to turn his life around, long before Jamie came back into it, which is a nice touch — a departure from all the other bad boy heroes tamed by the heroine.

Twelve years ago, Dillon was the gorgeous bad boy of Marshfield, Rhode Island, the one every school girl fantasized about, including honor student and all-around good girl Jamie. It didn’t matter that he smoked, drank, and was usually up to something illegal. It didn’t matter that he seemed to be oblivious of her presence. It didn’t matter that the Kincaid’s were wealthy and that her mother hated Dillon. None of it stopped Jamie from secretly wishing he was her boyfriend. Her beloved cousin Nate knew about her crush on his best friend and that made it easier for him to convince her to come with them to one of their parties. Before the night was over, Jamie was raped and Dillon was hauled off to jail for nearly beating a man to death with his bare hands.

In the present, Jamie drives to Wisconsin to learn the truth behind Nate’s death. The one person who can provide answers is Dillon, possibly the last person to see Nate alive. He is also the last person in the world that Jamie wants to see again. But Isobel Kincaid, Jamie’s mother, loved Nate like a son and she wants answers. Showing up unannounced, Jamie hopes he won’t remember the last time they saw each other. She is hoping that he was too drunk and too high to remember the details of that night. Much to Jamie’s annoyance, Dillon remembers all too well, particularly what happened between them before she was raped. It also seems she hasn’t lost her fascination with him. Even in the midst of her protestations to the contrary, she’s attracted to him. It’s Dillon she wants, and probably always will.

But Jamie still clings to the belief that Dillon lead Nate astray and that Nate would never have let anything bad happen to her. In truth, Dillon is positively saintly when compared to Nate, yet Jamie doesn’t trust Dillon. Dillon knows just how twisted Nate was — but there’s no way he can convince Jamie of this. Jamie has been sheltered from the truth all her life. That last bit makes Jamie come across as a weak character. Truthfully, to me, it made her seem more realistic. Jamie has been misled by her family, people she should have been able to trust.

Other reviewers have stated that they did not like the ending. Considering all that Jamie and Dillon have been through, the ending felt right. For the first time in their lives, they are truly free from manipulative influences and have the opportunity to find out if they can make it work and have a truly lasting, loving relationship. To me, the ending seemed hopeful, and I was actually moved by it.

Started: 21 April 2009
Finished: 25 April 2009

Rating:

Liked A Lot

What Others Have Said:
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I Just Finished Reading. . .

Addendum:
This is a re-post, due to technical difficulties. Comments, if any, were lost. I apologize for the inconvenience. (Aug 09)

This is a re-post, due to data loss.  (Oct 09)

Silent on the Moor

Author: Deanna Raybourn
Copyright: 2009 (Mira); 465 pgs.
ISBN: 978-0-7783-2614-4
Series: 3rd in the Lady Julia Grey series
Sensuality: Kisses

Where & When: England, 1888

At the end of Silent in the Sanctuary, Lady Julia Grey learns that Nicholas Brisbane has invited her sister Portia to help him set up his household at Grimsgrave. Julia is determined to settle, once and for all, the question of whether there is a future for herself and Brisbane. She intends to accompany Portia to Yorkshire, whether she wants company or not.

As the book opens, Julia’s oldest brother, Belllmont, is fussing about his sisters’ plan to travel unchaperoned. The respectability of the family would be called into question and Bellmont doesn’t need that type of scrutiny at this time. His own children are entering society and a scandal could hurt their chances. The Marches have always been unconventional, but the Earl March has already decided to send Valerius, his youngest, along with Julia and Portia to prevent gossip. Bellmont is mollified, but the others are unhappy. In this state, the sisters set off to Yorkshire with their brother, their lady’s maids, and their pets.

What Julia finds in Yorkshire is an estate that will require extensive repair — a job way beyond simply setting up one’s household — and Brisbane is his usual impossible self. His habit of seeming to want her gone, at the same time holding her close, is frustrating — not to mention his habit of disappearing for days on end. Wanting to be useful to the destitute Allenby women still residing at Grimsgrave, Julia offers to catalog the late Sir Redwell Allenby’s Egyptian collection in preparation for selling it. However, she stumbles upon a mystery. There’s more about the Allenby family than an obsessed son who financially ruined his family estate and then died, leaving his mother and two sisters at the mercy of strangers.

The first Gothic romances I read where by Victoria Holt, so I could easily imagine the atmosphere Julia and her siblings found themselves in. The ancient estate and the bleak moor are perfect settings for the brooding half-Gypsy, half-Scotsman Brisbane. The man fit right in. And thanks to my extensive experience with those books by Holt, I knew to suspect everyone Julia met of some crime or other — because there’s no telling what secrets they might be hiding.

I thought this was a much better book than Sanctuary. There seemed to be more interaction between Julia and Brisbane in this book than the last one. Maybe it felt that way because Julia learned a lot more about him, and the author wrapped up the mysteries of Brisbane’s past. I don’t think that Julia is quiet up to “equal partner” status in the private inquiry business yet. She has a lot more to learn before I trust her to solve a mystery. I must say I was impressed with her willingness to tackle someone.

Favorite Quotes:
“You are a singular woman, Julia Grey. You persist in seeing me as the man you want me to be.”
“No, I see you as the man you want to be.”
–Brisbane, Julia

“I could give it all away, you know. I am sure there is some home for elderly cats or something that would appreciate the money.”
– Julia

“I am leaving England for awhile.”
“For how long?”
“Until I am quite recovered from you.”
“When will you return?”
“Never.”
– Brisbane, Julia

Started: 17 March 2009
Finished: 19 March 2009

Rating:

LOVED IT !!

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Books in the series:

Silent in the Sanctuary

Author: Deanna Raybourn
Copyright: 2008 (MIRA); pgs. 552
Series: 2nd Lady Julia Grey mystery
Sensuality: Kisses

Julia and her brothers Lysander and Eglamour – Plum – are summoned home from Italy by their father, the Earl March.  They  arrive in time to spend Christmas at Bellmont Abbey, the family seat.  However, before the festivities can begin, there is a murder.  As with the previous volume, the book introduces other members of the eccentric March family, this time on home turf.  And course Nicholas Brisbane is back, and he is engaged to be married.

Julia quickly realizes that Brisbane and her father are up to something.  What, she doesn’t know. But before she can learn anything, a guest is murdered — supposedly by one of the March cousins — and the earl informs Brisbane that Julia will assist in the investigation.  Though the March family is used to being the subject of gossip and scandal, the earl wants the matter wrapped up — while they are snowed in — as quickly and as discretely as possible. Brisbane isn’t happy with these arrangements, but he can’t contradict a nobleman in his own home.

I don’t want to give anything away, so I won’t elaborate on the plot. Julia does learn something of Brisbane’s past, however.  I wish there had been more interaction between them. It seemed as if Brisbane was barely in the book.  As for the March family, I really enjoy meeting them and hearing about their eccentricities.  Above all, they are a very close and loving family.

I enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to Silent on the Moor, due out in March 2009.

Favorite Quote:
Now I was more certain than ever of my decision. I could never love a man who did not love Jane Austen.
– Julia’s thoughts

Started: 1 November 2008
Finished: 11 November 2008

Rating:

Liked A Lot

The Devil's Footprints

Author: Amanda Stevens
Copyright: 2008 (Mira); pgs.377
Series: N/A
Sensuality: N/A

Who:  Sarah DeLaune
Where: New Orleans and Arkansas

From the back:  In 1922 a farmer in Adamant, Arkansas, awakes to a noise on his roof and finds his snow-blanketed yard marked with thousands of cloven footprints. The prints vanish with the melting snow. . .only to reappear seventy years later near the gruesome killing of Rachel DeLaune.  Years after her sister’s unsolved murder, New Orleans tattoo artist Sarah DeLaune is haunted by the mysteries of her past.  Sarah as always believed that her sister was killed by a man named Ashe Cain.  But no one else had ever seen Ashe.  He had “appeared” to Sarah when she needed a friend the most, only to vanish on the night of her sister’s murder.  The past bleeds into the present when two mutilated bodies are found near Sarah’s home, the crime scene desecrated by cloven footprints.

Comments:   Sarah DeLaune was always an outcast, even in her own family.  Rachel was Judge James DeLaune’s pride and joy.  There was nothing that Sarah could say or do to make her father love her.  The only person who understood her was Ashe Cain, the mysterious stranger she met one day while out walking her dog, and never saw again after her sister’s murder.  Sarah begins to question whether he was real or not, and if he wasn’t, does that make her the killer?

Sarah’s past comes back, in more ways than one, when her former lover — and homicide detective — Lieutenant Sean Kelton asks for help on his new case.  The victim has tattoos, and Sarah knows the handiwork of all the local artists.  Sean and Sarah had been in in relationship for two years before Sean walked out.  Sean had looked into Rachel’s murder, but things weren’t adding up and Sarah wouldn’t confide in him.  Sean also has his own troubled past that played a part in his leaving.  He still cares about Sarah very much, and neither has really gotten over the other.  If they both can overcome their pasts, they might have a second chance at a life together.

Sean and Sarah aren’t the only characters with troubled pasts.  Nearly everyone we meet has some trauma in their past that helped conceal the identity of murderer.  There were several times where I feared for Sarah’s safety because the author kept me guessing.  I was shocked when I learned the identity.  I never would have guessed, and that’s rare.  Very creepy book, but I enjoyed it very much.

Teaser Tuesdays post.

Started: 14 October 2008
Finished: 21 October 2008

Rating:

Liked A Lot

The Good Liar

Author: Laura Caldwell
Copyright: 2008 (MIRA); pgs. 407
Series: N/A
Sensuality: Subtle

Summary: When Liza sets up the newly divorced Kate with Michael Waller, an elegant man sixteen years her senior, neither woman expects Kate to fall for him so soon. The relationship is a whirlwind that enthralls Kate. . .and frightens Liza. Because Liza knows she may have introduced Kate to more than her dream man; she may have unwittingly introduced her to a dangerous world of secrets. And yet Kate marries Michael and follows him to a French-Canadian town called St. Marabel, where she begins to suspect that Michael isn’t exactly who he seems. As each new suspicion arises, Kate finds herself investigating her husband, but what she doesn’t know is that she’s about to steer her friendship with Liza on a collision course that will race from the U.S. to Russia and from Canada to Brazil, and the betrayals she uncovers could cause the end of all of them.

Comments: Though Kate was the main character of the book, I was more interested in Liza. I was never worried that Kate and Michael’s relationship would fall apart beyond repair. But Liza’s journey — and Michael’s professional quandaries — had me turning the pages. That doesn’t mean I thought Kate was unnecessary to the story. Far from it. As Liza’s best friend and the love of Micheal’s life, many of their actions are influenced by their feelings for her.

I thought the book was fast-paced, and it wouldn’t have taken me as long to read as it seems, if I hadn’t stopped reading 3/4 through. I was behind with my reviews, and I was in danger of becoming even more behind. Even with the reading break, I was able to get right back into the story.

Started: 10 June 2008
Finished: 29 June 2008

Liked A Lot

Rating:

Silent in the Grave

Author: Deanna Raybourn
Copyright: 2007 (Mira); pgs. 511
Series: 1st in the Julia Grey/”Silent” series
Sensuality:Mature Themes **

Who: Lady Julia Grey and Nicholas Brisbane

Summary: After initially dismissing the idea that her husband may have been murdered, Lady Julia Grey hires Nicholas Brisbane to investigate the possibility.

Comments: What a great book! I made the mistake of reading the book club questions first — why? I have no idea. Even knowing certain things didn’t distract from the book; in fact, it made me more aware of some of the clues, it made me pay attention to things certain characters said. The Magda side-story was certainly a surprise.

Since I don’t want to accidentally give anything away, I talk about Julia’s family instead. Yes, they are definitely unconventional. Lord March doesn’t insists that his widowed daughters remarry. He doesn’t see a problem with them being financially independent. He also doesn’t seem to mind that one of his sons is a artist and another is a playwright/poet, though he does seem to mind that one of his sons wants to be a surgeon. In those days, it wasn’t something that aristocrats do — but the Marches are unconventional, so it shouldn’t have come as a shock to the earl.

And their names! Early in second chapter, when Julia, her sisters, and their aunt are discussing the funeral arrangements, I got a bit suspicious. By the end of the chapter, I was pretty sure I was right, but I looked it up anyway. The names of the earl, his siblings, his children, and his dog all come from the same source (we just has to assume Bellmont’s given name is also from the same source, since it’s not mentioned). The biggest surprise was the dog. I wasn’t looking for a connection there when I stumbled on it by accident. It was fun to see how many more relatives with source-specific names got mentioned.

I loved the characters. I loved the Crown raven. The touches of humor. Julia, queen of denial:

You keep telling yourself that, Jules. And that you didn’t enjoy seeing Brisbane’s naked chest. You can’t fool us; we know that your girlhood crushes were dark, broody men in literature.

All and all, another enjoyable read.

Favorite quote:
“If that Mr. Brisbane should die soon. . .”
“I will send for you at once.”
“Oh, that is kind of you, my lady.”
– Mrs. Birch, Julia

** = Though there are no intimate scenes, the book touches on mature topics.

Started: 14 February 2008
Finished: 18 February 2008

Rating:

LOVED IT !!

Black Ice

Author: Anne Stuart
Copyright: 2005 (Mira); pgs. 377
Series: 1st in the “Ice” series
Sensuality: Hot

Who: Chloe Underwood and Bastien Toussaint

From the back: Living paycheck to paycheck in Paris, American book translator Chloe Underwood would give anything for some excitement and passion — even a little danger. So when she’s offered a lucrative weekend gig translating at a business conference in a remote château, she jumps at the chance to shake things up.

Comments: I found this book hard to put down. I could have easily finished it in two days — one, if I had started reading it earlier in the day — but I forced myself to put it aside so I wouldn’t be two reviews behind.

Wow. Yes, Bastien isn’t your typical romance hero, and that’s what makes him interesting. A ruthless agent tired of the “at any cost” mandate of the agency he works for, Bastien is beyond burnout. This makes him vulnerable to his sub-conscience, which propels him to find out what’s become of Chloe in the château. Caring about anyone is a death sentence to someone in his line of work. As he sees it, if he’s going to die anyway, at least let it be for doing the right thing.

Though Bastien would have Chloe think otherwise, he is a good guy. The Committee is, regardless of their tactics, supposed to be working for the greater good. The fact that Bastien never considers turning traitor indicates he still have a few idealistic loyalties. However, he doesn’t hesitate to tell Chloe that he isn’t a nice man, that she shouldn’t make him out to be something he isn’t, and that she should forget about him and get on with her life. Once he realizes he’s in love with her, it’s more important to him that he keeps her safe by staying out of her life.

I liked Chloe. She is surprisingly strong — manages to withstand being tortured longer than one would have expected, bounces back from more than one brush with death, and faces down the same adversary twice. Though she has good reason to, she can’t seem to bring herself to hate Bastien for very long. She doesn’t realize the effect she has on him, that the small acts of kindness are the results of her influence on him: sparing the dogs, going back for his coat because she asks for it, etc. She has unknowingly wormed her way into his heart. She easily could have been annoying and whiny. I glad that she wasn’t. I don’t think a weak, clingy heroine could have lasted long with Bastien.

Looking forward to reading the other books in this series.

Started: 10 February 2008
Finished: 13 February 2008

Rating:

LOVED IT !!