Prehistoric Clock

Prehistoric Clock by Robert Appleton
Carina Press, 2012
189 pages
Romance; Steampunk; Time Travel
4/5 stars

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had read Appleton's previous novel The Mysterious Lady Law and was sufficiently entertained to want to check out this new story. I began the story confused as the characters burst onto the page with strong personalities and fully formed backgrounds. I was trying to figure out how everything went together in this alternative world as we jumped around three different perspectives: airship captain Verity Champlain who mourns the loss of her sister; Lord Garrett Embrey, whose father and uncle were executed as traitors and now finds himself on the chopping block; and Professor Cecil Reardon who is planning to travel back in time in order to be reunited with his deceased wife and son. I found it very jarring at first but soon all of those plus more converged on one spot and traveled back in time. Not the few years that Reardon had anticipated but back to prehistoric times with dinosaurs.  Needless to say this results in chaos as they scramble to return while battling an evil secret government agency.

Personally I'm not a big fan of the dinosaur ages so that was not a draw to me; it wasn't even something I thought about. Still it's not something featured often in books so the uniqueness did appeal to me. I was much more interested in the secret agency which is incredibly powerful and has a very hidden agenda that will presumably be unraveled in future books as this is a start to a series.

I am guessing that since we are at the beginning of series, that explains the lack of romance. I wanted much more in that regard and there is some sexual tension between Verity and Embrey but not as much as I would have liked. I am betting that more is to come though.

Overall: Interesting characters and a promising premise bode well for the future of this series!

A Waltz At Midnight

A Waltz At Midnight by Crista McHugh
Carina Press, 2012
64 pages
Romance; Historical
4/5 stars

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes you just want a quick jaunt with a sweet romance, you know? And that's what you get in this story. Unusually, as I am a Regency romance reader first and foremost, this story is set in 1866 New York with a country still hurting from the scars of the Civil War. Susanna is a servant in her aunt's boarding house near Vassar College, where she waits on various spoiled rich girls. One day Charlotte tosses aside an unromantic letter from a potential suitor and Susanna writes a curt response on her behalf.

Meanwhile Theodore Blakely chafes at his father's pressure to court Charlotte for the family gain. Her feisty response floors him and also draws him in. He thought she would be prim and boring but instead she's passionate and challenges him. As the letters continue, Susanna is wracked with guilt but interested in forming a relationship based only on the truth with Teddy. This culminates with a waltz at midnight at a masquerade.

As you can see, this is a very short story. But as a long-time lover of epistolary novels, the fact that much of the story is told through the couple's correspondence worked well for me. Both have deep scars from the war: Teddy fought while Susanna lost many in her family. And both share an interest in travel, wanting to see more of the world. Though short, the letters capture their similarities and showcase how they challenge each other. I especially enjoyed seeing how she confronted him and challenged him to be better because he had the ability to do so.

Overall: A nice fast read with two likable main characters-maybe could have been a bit longer but I'm glad it wasn't needlessly padded out to novel length.

Cat Burglar in Training

Cat Burglar in Training by Shelley Munro
Carina Press, 2012
253 pages
Romance; Contemporary; Mystery
3/5 stars

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book and I got off on the wrong foot because while reading the synopsis, I honed in on the word "viscount" and immediately fleshed out a Regency-era story. However viscounts still exist in the present day, which is in fact where this story is set. This is obviously one hundred percent my fault but it meant that I was disoriented and unsure of time period. Come to think of it, even after reading it, I don't feel entirely sure of the time period because although there were mentions of phones and social networks, something felt off.

Actually most of the book felt off with too much stuffed in for the book to reasonably contain. Main character Eve must take up cat burglaring, the family profession, as her father is just too old and injured to do it himself. Nobody is able to get an honest job it seems. They also have competition in the area and her father owes tremendous debts to a very bad guy who has no compunction about threatening Eve and her daughter and feels no shame in propositioning Eve in exchange for forgiving some of the debts. Then there is Eve's complicated relationship with her father and servants (?) Ben and Hannah, the Terrible Trio as she dubs them with alternating exasperation and love.

And that's just the start! There is also Eve's quest to discover the man who drugged and raped her, leading to the conception of her daughter six years earlier.  A new character on the scene is Kiwi cop Kahu, who just might be bringing Eve out of her self-imposed chastity and his own quest to discover who murdered his brother.

Just listing off the plot threads took up a considerable amount of time and the book itself had trouble juggling them.  I soon realized that Eve's efforts to discover her rapist was the most important thread but the other threads seemed to rise and fall in importance. I wish the romance had been a bit more prominent since this is a romance novel; Kahu seemed very intriguing but I didn't see them forming much of an emotional connection although the physical attraction was off-the-charts.

Additionally the setting was confusing for me; I guess I'm just not very familiar with the upper-class lifestyle but the schedule of these people didn't make sense to me. There were so many parties and other events and so little actual work.  People didn't seem to use their phones or computers very much despite having access to them (I'm not sure anyone owned a TV), although this might be because narrating their interaction with technology isn't necessarily very interesting.

Overall: The plot was not satisfactorily paced for me and I wanted more of the romance-ideally witty banter but just more scenes between the main couple would have been good.

The Sergeant's Lady

The Sergeant's Lady by Susanne Fraser
Carina Press, 2010
266 pages
Romance; Historical
4/5 stars

Source: Received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First, I liked the setting during the Peninsular campaigns against Napoleon although fortunately the fighting was not the primary concern. Instead the book looked more at the developing relationship between the hero and heroine.  Will is a good man and soldier but is considered far beneath the likes of Anna, married to a cruel officer.  After his death, they end up as prisoners of a crazed French officer.  When his overtures to Anna turn violent, the two flee, falling in love in the process.

I really liked Will and Anna. They are good, principled, compassionate people with similar interests who spend quite a bit of time together before consummating their relationship. They recognize the difficulties posed by a disapproving society (especially their families) but they cannot deny the deep love they feel for each other.  However they are torn apart, each returning to their families missing their love and hoping to be reunited and married.

Besides the main lovers, the supporting characters were also good as were the historical details.  This isn't a common time period for me to read about but I felt comfortable that most of what I read was consistent with the times if not entirely true.

SPOILER-something I didn't like:
I really disliked that Anna became pregnant and gave birth out of wedlock; it was pretty inevitable due to the lack of birth control during the time and Anna and Will's passion but I would have preferred marriage before baby.

SPOILER-something I really liked:
At the end, Will is set to travel to India to make his fortune and thereby prove himself worthy of Anna. She supports his desire to embark on this new career but makes the very valid point that if they wait to marry until he is rich, then they will have missed out on valuable years together with their children around them. This is such a great point about something that seems to reoccur in historical romances.  I loved its inclusion here!

Overall: A nice historical romance between two deserving characters.

Rakes and Radishes

Rakes and Radishes by Susanne Ives
Carina Press, 2010
253 pages
Romance
3/5 stars

Source: Received a free ecopy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This started out very promising and then took a very different (and to me, unwelcome) turn.  Henrietta thinks she is in love with her cousin Edward, who has left her for London in order to try to publish his poetry.  She eagerly awaits his return so that they can conquer London as a married couple. However she receives a rude awakening upon reading that Edward almost successfully eloped with the Beauty of the Season.  Her neighbor, the Earl of Kesseley, has been in love with Henrietta for as long as he can remember but while they are friends, she scorns his country bumpkin clothing and his honest, compassionate manner.  See, Henrietta reads Gothic novels and desires a rakish hero such as described in them.

So I liked the beginning and the early part of the book as Kesseley attempted to fit in while still maintaining his good character.  He likes farming, he's kind, and so what if he doesn't know the latest fashion? I didn't care!  But Henrietta fails to see what is right in front of her and Kesseley ends up committing himself to becoming the worst rake.  He gets a new haircut, new clothes, and a new *mysterious* personality, which successfully woes the Beauty of the Season.  Meanwhile Henrietta has to stand aside and watch the nice man she knew act more like his father.  Because Kesseley acts so poorly, he almost ends up betrothed to someone else and the relationship between the main couple was not well-developed.  All I saw was two people seemingly intent on inflicting as much pain as possible on the person they claimed to love and want to marry.

There are also two subplots involving their parents.  Kesseley's father was an awful rake who abused his mother while his now-widowed mother has an affair with a married man and laments her lost true love.  She had some interesting mood swings and her treatment of the main couple was...interesting.  Henrietta's father was more interesting to me; he and his now dead wife were astronomers and they mathematically attempted to prove the existence of a planet beyond Uranus. He didn't play a very big part.

Overall: A different kind of romance, which was not to my taste.

Read for ebook challenge.

Cat's Tale

Cat's Tale by Bettie Sharpe
Carina Press, 2011
104 pages
Fairy Tale; Romance (Adult)
5/5 stars

Source: Received a free e-galley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've never really liked the fairy tale Puss in Boots because it lacked a princess and a romance; happily Cat's Tale rectifies both issues for a delightful little romp.

Catriona is a beautiful and clever woman and she knows it.  She parleys that into being the consort of the king.  Alas with his untimely demise, she is set adrift, dependent on his heir, the princess, and a wizard.  When she displeases the wizard, he turns her into a cat, which really gets the adventure started.  She finds a miller's son Julian and promises to make him wealthy and win the woman he lusts after, who is incidentally Catriona.  However their relationship shakes her to her core, affecting her more deeply than she ever thought possible.

Cat is selfish and carelessly cruel but not totally evil.  Her voice is distinct and often funny as she tells her story.  Although I do not think she is an admirable person, I enjoyed spending time with her through the novella.  I loved seeing how she changed as she became friends with Julian and how each of them moderated the other (she made sure he didn't naively trust everyone and he made her less cynical).

Overall: Fast-moving with an engaging MC and a great romance.

Like Clockwork

Like Clockwork by Bonnie Dee
Carina Press, 2010
94 pages
Romance; Steampunk
3.5/5 stars

Source: Received a free e-copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a pretty enjoyable novella.  Victoria Waters helped invent automatons but has since regretted the rapidity with which they have  spread through society, taking on roles far beyond the scope she had imagined.  Dash is part of the Brotherhood, a group of concerned citizens who may take radical action to raise awareness about the plight of the unskilled masses who have been displaced by automatons.  Their first radical act is kidnapping Victoria...until it turns out that she willingly agrees to help, eager to do right and to spend more time with the charming Dash.

This is pretty much a case of love at first sight, which I think works in a novella because there's only so much space.  Although their classes are basically opposite, the two struggle against expectations (she was supposed to be a wife and mother while he is a thief yet both aspire to more academic lifestyles) separately and together.  Thus although their romance was quick, they had least had some commonalities.

The other aspect is the steampunk; although the issue of automatons grips society, I didn't feel that steampunk elements played a very big role.  It is much more about human emotions, a point made very clearly.

This all occurs against the background of the Slasher, a sort of Jack the Ripper serial killer who cuts the hearts out of female prostitutes.  I briefly fingered the culprit but quickly dismissed that idea focusing on someone who seemed more likely-shows what I know! 

Overall: A quick little romantic read with a very steamy conclusion.

Read for e-book challenge.

Dangerous Secrets

Dangerous Secrets by Katie Reus
Carina, 2011
153 pages
Romantic Suspense
4/5 stars

Source: Received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have really been enjoying Carina's romantic novellas and I think this was my favorite so far.  I don't read too much suspense, usually preferring a nice cozy, but I enjoyed this a lot.

The story kicks off right away with Izzy, a bartender escaping from her rich overprotective father, and Adam, secretly hired by Izzy's father to protect her and convince her to move back home, feeling tremendous sparks between them.  Adam is trying to fight his attraction for her but when she proves more than willing, their romance starts.  They fall for each other very quickly, spurred by a criminal terrorizing the area.

That criminal provides the suspense as he has been kidnapping women and molesting/abusing them until Izzy interferes between him and a prospective victim.  Then he sets his sights on killing Izzy while Adam and Izzy have every intention of staying alive and together.  The criminal is absolutely despicable, especially once you know his "reasoning" behind the choice of his victims.  While the focus is on the romantic leads, I felt that one police officer was given some personality that helped him stand out.

I was worried about Adam concealing his identity from Izzy because that lie always explodes in one's face as it did here.  I think she should have made him grovel more but I also felt his pain and I knew that he was an upstanding guy.

Overall: Strong mix of romance and suspense but nothing surprising.

Cover: Not a big fan-I'm not sure what's so off-putting to me but I would not have chosen this book based on the cover.

Read as part of Ebook challenge

The Mysterious Lady Law

The Mysterious Lady Law by Robert Appleton
Carina Press, 2011
104 pages
Steampunk
Ebook Challenge; British Books Challenge
3.5/5 stars

Source: Netgalley

Summary: Lady Harriet Law has solved over 600 cases so when she offers her services pro bono to Julia to investigate the murder of her sister, Julia eagerly accepts.  But the solution offered is suspiciously pat and Julia with the aid of new beau constable Al Grant will investigate for herself the mysterious Lady Law in this steampunk novella.

Thoughts: I have been very interested in steampunk after seeing loads of reviews of awesome books so I hoped this would serve as another step into the world of steampunk.  I enjoyed what I read but felt that something was lacking.  I'm not sure if it was the length or the mystery but I was not completely satisfied.

I did love Julia, a dancer and waitress trying to make do with her sister in London and hoping for love who is terrified when she arrives home to discover her sister murdered.  She is pleased to make the acquaintance of Al Grant of the police who seems interested and might finally fulfill that hope of hers but she also wants to know why her sister died.  Lady Law's offer seems too good to be true.  When Julia is attacked later, she becomes even more frightened.  The action in the scene where she was attacked was a bit confusing; there was various machinery that was beyond my ability to picture.

The other part of the puzzle is Horace Holly whose protege was friendly with Julia's sister and who was also murdered.  As his path and Julia's intersect, they begin to figure out Lady Law and her (I feel) nefarious movements.  She has a very steampunk answer behind her ability to solve all of those mysteries.  However I was hoping for a different ending so perhaps therein lies my dissatisfication.

Regardless I would still recommend this for people looking for a quick steampunk read although perhaps not as an introduction.

Cover: I really like the cover-I think it's very beautiful with the airships and what I believe is Big Ben.

The Sevenfold Spell

The Sevenfold Spell by Tia Nevitt
Carina Press, 2010
70 pages
Fairy Tale; Adult
4/5 stars

Source: Netgalley

Summary: When Princess Aurora had a curse placed on her, all of the spinning wheels in the land were destroyed.  What happens to the women dependent on them for their living?  For Talia, a very plain girl, a new future is self-created no matter the whispers and rumors and begets the legend of the Sleeping Beauty.

Thoughts: I love fairy-tale retellings so requesting this was a no brainer.  I was a bit shocked at the romantic aspects that occur almost from the start.  When Talia is unable to marry her betrothed due to the loss of her income, she invites him in to her bed.  Continually.  And when he goes off to a monastery, she meets many other men who become her lovers.  I still think of fairy-tales as more meant for children so the descriptions were shocking to me. They made up a larger portion of the narrative, I felt, and that detracted from the quality.  After all there are only seventy pages, so you have to make them count.

But I soon got past it, eager to see how Nevitt would twist the Sleeping Beauty story.  It seems as if the curse is compelling certain events to occur, such as the creation of a spinning wheel and the introduction of Rose, unlike in the Disney film.  I liked all of those changes and I sped through the story.  And of course there's a happy ending!

Overall: Quick-moving, for the mature lover of fairy tales.

Cover: I think the cover is lovely, capturing several of the ideas of the book.