Finally, a female heroine who isn't described as eating like a bird, dieting, or with an eating disorder. Dallas Townsend likes to eat, and when we first meet her, she attends the debut ball only for the food, not to meet anyone; she is already engaged.
The manipulative male character, Romeo, ruins her reputation within hours of meeting her and tricks her into marrying him. I thought I would hate him because he comes off like a bastard. Dallas and Romeo couldn't be more opposite of one another.
I thought this book would be darker, but a few pages in, I realized this romance would be more humorous than I thought. I hadn't laughed this much while reading a romance book in a long time, and I was so disappointed when the book ended.
The book surprised me in another way because I didn't expect to fall in love with these characters: a rich, spoiled girl who likes to eat, is seeming to flunk out of college and doesn't want to apply herself, and a scheming, self-centered, billionaire who wants to ruin a girl's reputation and force her to marry him. Ultimately, I loved them both.
This is an enemy to lovers in the truest sense of the word. It's also a billionaire, marriage of convenience trope, but if you think Romeo will get the upper hand, think again. Dallas is not going to lie down and do whatever he wants. There's lots of talk about fashion and food; if you love those two things like I do, you will love this book.
I didn't find the sex scenes uber-sexy, but I like things steamier and darker. The high points for me were the couple's arguing, their coming to terms with each other, and Romeo and Dallas's growth arc. At the end of the story, I couldn't imagine either one of them with anyone else. I give this one high marks in all the ways that matter.
My fairy tale turned into a cautionary one. Inked in tar and sealed in tears.
From Wall Street Journal bestsellers L.J. Shen and Parker S. Huntington comes an explosive marriage of inconvenience...between a tarnished Romeo and a reluctant Juliet.
It was supposed to be a harmless kiss at a lavish debutante ball. A clandestine moment with a handsome stranger.
But unlike his namesake, my Romeo isn’t driven by love. He’s fueled by revenge.
To him, I’m a chess piece. Leverage. His rival’s betrothed.
To me, he is a man deserving of poison. A dark prince I refuse to marry.
This dark romance with an enemies-to-lover trope with two serial killers. I realize this isn't everyone's jam, but it's mine. I like crime and romance mixed together. If you have triggers like stalking, kidnapping, mutilation, and such, I suggest this is not a book for you.
The main male character, Cole Blackwell, and the leading female, Mara, are both artists, another plus for me since I love art and used to be an art professor. He's wealthy, and she's a struggling artist living on the edge. He barely feels anything; initially, he doesn't seem to have a beating heart. When he finds Mara bleeding in a woody area, he actually steps over her and keeps walking. Mara, in contrast, feels everything profoundly.
Cole has a rivalry with another artist, Alastor Shaw, the story's villain. The book's plot keeps you on the edge of your seat, and the sex scenes are hot, hot, hot. A nice touch is the artistry inside the book itself. There are little illustrations throughout the book, something you seldom see anymore.
The book ends on a cliffhanger…that I did not like. I am not big on books that end on cliffhangers, but other than that criticism, the book is a terrific read.
Cole Blackwell values control. He’s the hottest sculptor in San Francisco, wealthy, successful, and respected. His only weakness is the dark impulse he carefully conceals…
Mara Eldritch is a nobody. Broke and damaged, she works three jobs while creating paintings no one will ever see.
A chance encounter throws Mara into Cole’s path. When Mara escapes what appears to be certain death, Cole is intrigued. He starts stalking her, realizing there’s more to the struggling misfit than he ever would have guessed.
Cole becomes obsessed with Mara, breaking the rules that keep his true nature hidden. Mara knows he’s dangerous,…
This is neither a new book nor a romance, but since I'm writing my vampire and shifter book, I felt compelled to check out a classic that readers love. I am so happy I did because Anne kept me turning the pages like none of the other vampire and shifter books I read. Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler was the only other book that came close.
How does Rice do it? Her characters are full and engaging, and the way she creates her worlds is breathtaking, too. When I'd say, "I really love this character," she has them do something appalling, and I'd change my mind. They were all flawed in some way or another, as they should be. The interview structure never gets in the way of things, either. Most of the time, you forget it's there as Louis reports what has happened to him.
There was a reason this book became a series that readers wanted to continue to read. Readers wanted to discover what happened to the characters. You might still find these books interesting even if you aren't into horror.
There is something engaging about Rice's writing and worldbuilding, flitting to New Orleans and Paris, enough so that movies have been made from the books. Rice definitely took me on a ride. I don't want to spoil it if you haven't read it, but I shed some tears for both Lestat and Claudia during this novel.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Anne Rice, this sensuously written spellbinding classic remains 'the most successful vampire story since Bram Stoker's Dracula' (The Times)
In a darkened room a young man sits telling the macabre and eerie story of his life - the story of a vampire, gifted with eternal life, cursed with an exquisite craving for human blood.
When Interview with the Vampire was published the Washington Post said it was a 'thrilling, strikingly original work of the imagination . . . sometimes horrible, sometimes beautiful, always unforgettable'. Now, more than forty years since its release, Anne…
She never thought she’d die
like this, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Rylee Reed was just another
woman of a “certain age” going through a difficult divorce when she set eyes on
the suave, Irish gentleman in the atrium of the upscale hotel in DC where she
was attending a writers’ conference.
Within twenty-four hours, she was on a
plane trying to escape hired assassins while fighting her attraction to a man
she barely knew. If you liked the movie The Professional, you’ll love
this one with a grown-up heroine.
