Romance Book Reviews
Page One of TwoForced Mate by Rowena Cherry
LoveSpell, November, 2004Paperback, 326 pages
ISBN: 0505526018
Subgenre: Paranormal
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
On Rowena Cherry's Earth, things look pretty much the same as they do now, with
one exception. Aliens are among us, hiding in plain sight. The beautiful Djinni-vera is
a Saurian warrior, trained from birth to assassinate the next god-Emperor of Tigron, Tarrant-Arragon. She is also a formidable psychic, and is engaged to be married
to another Djinn (J-J) who also despises Tarrant-Arragon. Tarrant-Arragon
knows that he must find a Djinni wife and his spies tell him that
Djinni-vera is perfect for him. So he heads to Earth, impersonating a Saurian
Knight, and promptly kidnaps Djinni-vera, takes her to his starship and
heads for his home planet. Naturally, Djinni is furious and also suspicious of who
Arragon really is. But he is being his most charming self, taking the ridiculous
nickname of Tigger and tempting Djinni with everything he can think of.
They are both quite intelligent, and so the chess match begins (Forced Mate is
a chess term). Arragon must find a way to trick Djinni into
marrying him before she finds out who he is
and kills him. To make the game more complicated,
J-J is undercover in Arragon's Army, Arragon's mother is a double agent
masquerading as something else entirely, and Arragon's new Earth valet
(a hilarious ex-English mercenary named Grievous)
is beginning to feel more loyalty to Djinni than to Arragon. Add in the
Djinn culture's obsession with all things sensual and you have one
wild journey indeed.
As the title implies, the galaxy is a chess board and knights, queens, kings and pawns are all in play. Conspiracies abound and traps, both verbal and physical, are sprung on the unwary. A PEARL Award finalist for Best Paranormal Romance, Forced Mate breaks new ground in the genre with its mixture of science fiction, romance, and comedy of manners. Rowena Cherry writes with intellectual bite, sizzling sensuality and a wicked sense of humor.
--Claire E. White
Lessons in Seduction by Sara Bennett
Avon, March, 2005Paperback, 376 pages
ISBN: 0060584386
Subgenre: Historical
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
Vivianna Greentree has her work cut out for her. Determined to stop
the notorious rake Lord Oliver Montgomery from tearing down Candlewood Estate
and the Shelter for Poor Orphans, she asks the notorious courtesan Aphrodite to
tutor her in how to bend a man to her ways. Oliver is not nearly as
awful as Vivianna and everyone else believes him to be. His brother committed suicide
at Candlewood, but Oliver believes that he was really murdered
because of incriminating documents he had which would make
things most difficult for Lord Lawson, the next Prime Minister.
As Oliver follows the clues to his brother's murder, Vivianna finds
that she has fallen for the rake with a heart of gold. But if the odious
Lawson has his way, he will destroy everything that Oliver holds dear.
Sara Bennett
does a wonderful job with this traditional Victorian romantic suspense
story that combines orphans, hidden identities, true love and
a dastardly villain to great effect.
Return to the May 2005 issue of The IWJ.
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