My latest E-Read Reviews

Sweet as Sin - This morning on Twitter I was discussing this novel with a fellow romance reader. I enjoyed this tremendously because I thought Inez did a good job at creating a truly tortured hero. (Please note, I enjoy tortured heroes in literature. In real life they are not so much fun to date.) My fellow reader thought there were too many plot lines that distracted from the romance. While I do agree with my fellow reader, I do think this author does a good job at creating characters I care about.

John Murphy is a children's book author who uses his writing to manage the nightmares that still haunt him. His past has truly damaged his ability to trust and, if it weren't for his sister, he might have not learned to love at all. The heroine must get past some really unacceptable boyfriend behavior and learn to accept the less than perfect parts of this hero. Please note that he is in no way abusive in this book but instead uses emotional distance to protect himself. Abusive behavior is not something I want to read in my romance novels.


My final recommendation is to pick up this author if you enjoy fresh new voices who create compelling characters. If you read for plot, you may want to pass on this offering and try her again later when she has fine tuned her voice.


Phoenix Rising - I do love a good steam punk novel and this was a fun addition to my library. Once again, what I loved most about this novel was the hero. From the product description "Evil is most assuredly afoot—and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade . . . and a librarian." Now how could I not pick this one up! Wellington Books is happy with his job as an archivist for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences until agent Eliza D. Braun drags him kicking and screaming into mystery and mayhem. Wellington was a joy to read about because he was deceptively mild mannered and ineffectual and his skills and talents are constantly being overlooked by his coworkers. As the book progresses however, the reader becomes more and more aware of how special he is. I found him a great hero that I wanted to get to know more about.

Eliza was a bit more problematic for me. I found her character a bit flat and would have liked to see more development of her less obvious flamboyant traits. Hopefully future novels will more fully develop her character.  All-in-all, if you like steam punk I would recommend picking up a copy of this new series.