Lightening Reviews

Proof by Seduction by Courtney Milan

She is his last chance for a future of happiness…

Jenny Keeble has never let her humble upbringing stop her. She’s made her way in the world as a fortune teller, one who convinces her clients her predictions are correct by telling them what they most want to hear. Business is good… until she meets her match in the form of Gareth Carhart, the Marquess of Blakely, a scientist and sworn bachelor.

He just doesn’t know it yet.

Broodingly handsome, Gareth is appalled to discover his cousin has fallen under the spell of "Madame Esmerelda," and he vows to prove her a fraud. But his unexpected attraction to the fiery enchantress defies logic. Jenny disrupts every facet of Gareth's calculated plan— until he can’t decide whether to ruin her or claim her for his own. Now, as they engage in a passionate battle of wills, two lonely souls must choose between everything they know… and the boundless possibilities of love.

A big thanks to Stacy for putting this one on my radar with her review and post on intellectual romance. I really enjoyed this book! It was smart, funny, and sexy. The characters were flawed but endearing. And I kept picturing Gareth as our lovely Mr. Thornton from North & South. Sigh. Definitely pick this one up folks!

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Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin

Raine Benares is a Sorceress Seeker of average ability until she comes into possession of an amulet that amplifies her powers-and her enemies.

Can I tell you how much I enjoy being on Twitter? I likely would have never picked up this book if I hadn't seen @kmont, @angiebookgirl and @janicu debating between the two hotties in this series. I haven't read a lot of fantasy and what I have read has been mostly YA. It always seems to take me a little longer to get into fantasy because of the world-building and in this book's case, the names. They had some weirdo names. However, it didn't take me long before I was sucked into the story.There wasn't much wrapped up in this book as it's an on going series. I'm looking forward to getting the next book. I really love the young character Piaras. I'm looking forward to more interactions between Raine and her two love interests: Tam and Mychael. :)

The series in order:

1. Magic Lost, Trouble Found
2. Armed & Magical
3. The Trouble with Demons
4. Bewitched & Betrayed

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Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow

An ancient race of lycanthropes has survived to the present day, and its numbers are growing. Bent on dominance, rival factions are initiating the down-and-out of L.A. into their ranks. Caught in the middle are Anthony, a kindhearted, lovesick dogcatcher, and the object of his affection: a female werewolf who has abandoned her pack.

This was my Book Club's April pick in honor of National Poetry Month. I had some trouble finding novels in verse that weren't for YA's. I'd seen Sharp Teeth before and had wanted to read it for awhile now. One of my friend's finished before I did and said she didn't like it. We have pretty similar tastes so after that I wasn't super excited about reading it. However, as the leader of my Book Club felt kind of obliged. I'm glad I read it. It was a good read. Not great, not something I'll ever re-read. Not even something I'll tell people you HAVE to read this. But I enjoyed it. When we discussed it at my Book Club, my friend who didn't like it, had just jumped right into reading it and was confused about all the "fur" references and took her awhile to figure out it was about werewolves. Some other things slipped by her in reading it as well so after I filled her in on the pieces she didn't put together she seemed to like it a little better. We also discussed why the author chose to write in verse. As I was preparing for our Book Club meeting to discuss the book I found an article or interview where Barlow was discussing that writing in verse was writing the bare-bones of a story it was stripped down. We also discussed how the use of verse made some of the gory details less disturbing. Had this been written in prose, I think a lot of the violence would have been too much for some readers. There's an excellent review of Sharp Teeth in New York Magazine.

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Disclosure: I checked all books out from the library. I did not receive any compensation for these reviews.