Review ~ Faery Queen by Michelle Pillow

TITLE: Faery Queen
AUTHOR: Michelle Pillow
COPYRIGHT: 2007
TYPE: Fantasy/Romance
PAGES; 233
SERIES: Yes
1. Unblessed King
2. Faery Queen
3. Stone Queen

REASON FOR READING: Read the first one as a re-read had to see where the series was heading

Summary : {From Goodreads}(NOT SURE WHY IT’S THE SAME SUMMARY BUT THERE YOU GO)
Immortality has a way of changing fate. Merrick, dark elfin King of Valdis, had once been heir to all that was good-happiness and pleasure his domain. Now, trapped as the ruler of mischief, king of necessary evil, he stands on a precipice of choice. On one side, his estranged brother, now ruler of what should have been Merrick's and, on the other, King Lucien of the Damned. Both would sway him. Damnation is winning. Lady Juliana of Bellemare is from a human family, protected by the blessed, coveted by the damned. Betrothed to an old friend of her father's, Juliana is resigned to living out her days close to her childhood home, longing for an adventure, never dreaming she'd get what she wished for. When her fiancée is murdered and the children of Bellemare are stolen, Juliana is sent on a quest in a strange realm where appearances are deceiving. Merrick brings more adventure and passion than any woman could want. Can she withstand the temptations of the unblessed king? The spell she weaves over him is more than he can resist and, desperate to be the one to rule her, Merrick offers her a choice; either come with him until he tires of her.or die.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
I thought this book took off really well from where we were left in the first. The Earl promise the Faery queen he would be back but he hasn’t come. This makes her heart break b/c she really thought Hugh loved her. Slowly day by day that he doesn’t come she begins to loose her fairy magic and starts to grow darker. This is not good for the Fariy kingdom b/c they live off of pleasant things and happiness. Eventually the Queen grows so upset she makes a pact with Lucien the King of the Damned. And the story goes from there.

I have to admit at first I wanted to strangle Hugh and shake the Queen but eventually as Michelle let the story unfold I realized how great she made these characters b/c I really understood where they were coming from.

Finally we got our HEA with Hugh and the Queen only to discover that Juilianna King Merrick’s bride and Hugh’s sister has turned herself to stone. CRAP. So the story continues with Merrick get his HEA?

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it!!!

SCORE: 9 out of 10

Review ~ One Scream Away by Kate Brady

TITLE: One Scream Away
AUTHOR: Kate Brady
COPYRIGHT: 2009
TYPE: Suspense/Romance
PAGES; 464
SERIES: Yes strangely enough this is.

REASON FOR READING: Reading Romance sent me the Arc.

Summary : {From Goodreads}
Killer Chevy Bankes is a master of disguise, and just paroled, he's coming after the woman who sent him to jail, the beautiful antiques expert Beth Denison. A set of antique dolls brings Beth into his sight, and inspire Chevy's disturbing crimes as he draws closer to Beth and her young daughter. Chevy sends the dolls to Beth one-by-one and she soon realizes that these antiques carry the same marks as his victims, signaling that the final piece in his collection will be for her.


Neil Sheridan gave up his FBI shield five years ago, but his best friend Rick, a cop, pulls him in as a consultant on a case involving a serial killer who is eerily similar to a murderer Neil encountered in the past. The investigation leads Neil to Beth's doorstep, and he is certain she isn't telling him the truth. Neil is the only one who can get through Beth's defenses and, as they grow closer, discover the secrets that Beth is hiding about her fateful night with Chevy.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
First off I'm not a HUGE suspense/thriller romance reader. I like them every once in a while and when I feel like it a good one really hits the spot. This one didn't work for me. A lot of it was the characters. I know a lot of people will find the contradiction refreshing but I didn't. I felt that the heroine was SUPER weak one moment and than TOO tough the next. I understand that she had been through a lot of horrible crap and nightmares ect. are par for course but one moment she is ready to blow his head off, while the next she is shaking so bad simply being reminded of his name...

Another thing I didn't care for was how fast the hero came in and took over the heroine's life and she was fine with it.

Now that was all the bad things let me talk about the parts I liked:
I enjoyed the villain/bad guy he was well rounded or as rounded as a psycho killer can be. I was actually able to understand his breakdown and why he did what he did. That was very interesting.

All in all I thought the plot with the suspense was handled well, the background story of how the characters came together was also well done and the dolls used was wonderful.

While I didn't care for this book I feel that others might enjoy it based on the plot and tactics used. Even though this book didn't work for me I would pick up another by this author

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing on it.

SCORE: 4 out of 10