QB's Quickies

"So, read any good books lately?"
"What did you think of...?"

Here's the Quickie answers to those questions. Click on the Links for more info.




Mathilde Madden - The Silver Werewolves (Virgin Black Lace)

1. The Silver Collar
2. The Silver Crown (releases 02/05/08)
3. The Silver Cage (releases 04/01/08)


Category: M&Ms - a bit lighter and/or not quite as satisfying as Peanut M&Ms, but still Oh-So-Enjoyable! (B,B-,C+,C)
Flame Height: 6" out of 9"

I was luckier than I thought when I won a copy of The Silver Collar! Madden gives this blend of paranormal romance and urban fantasy some new twists on the werewolf legends. Throw in some outrageous erotic scenes, a dark atmosphere, and a heroine whose reality changes more than once through the course of the book, and you can see why I'm looking forward to reading where Madden takes us with the next two books in this series.
Piquant Opines: ERWA,

Keri Arthur - Riley Jenson, Guardian series

1. Full Moon Rising (see previous commentary)
2. Kissing Sin (see previous commentary)
3. Tempting Evil (see previous commentary)
4. Dangerous Games (see previous commentary)
5. Embraced by Darkness


Series Category: Peanut M&Ms - mmmm...devour... sigh... then reach for the next one. My daily dose of Insanity-B-Gone. Most books fall in this category. (A-,B+,B)
Flame Height: 6” out of 9”

Book Category: M&Ms - a bit lighter and/or not quite as satisfying as Peanut M&Ms, but still Oh-So-Enjoyable! (B,B-,C+,C)
Flame Height: 5" out of 9"

Without the conflicted passion between Riley and Quinn, Embraced by Darkness is not quite as engaging as the previous books. Because Riley is ambivalent about her feelings for Kellen, so are we. She wants what Kellen represents to her-- her dream of a soul mate and white picket fence- but there's something missing in her feelings for him. I don't know if her emotions colored the rest of the story for me, but I just didn't find this book as edge-of-my-seat interesting as the others, even though Riley and Rhoan's former pack is on-stage in this one.
Piquant Opines: RT, VRB, AAR,

Susan Sizemore - Prime series

1.0 I Burn for You - Alec and Domini
2.0 I Thirst for You - Marcus and Josephine
2.5 A Touch of Harry - The Shadows of Christmas Past - Harry and Marj
3.0 I Hunger for You - Colin and Mia
4.0 Master of Darkness - Laurent and Mia
5.0 Primal Heat - Mathias and Phillipa
6.0 Primal Desires - Jason and Sofia
6.5 Tempting Fate - Moon Fever anthology - Jon Coyote and Desiree (see previous commentary)

Series Category: M&Ms - a bit lighter and/or not quite as satisfying as Peanut M&Ms, but still Oh-So-Enjoyable! (B,B-,C+,C)
Flame Height: 5” out of 9”

Book Category: M&Ms - a bit lighter and/or not quite as satisfying as Peanut M&Ms, but still Oh-So-Enjoyable! (B,B-,C+,C)
Flame Height: 4.5" out of 9"

Sizemore's Prime vampire/werewolf series is an auto-buy for me, but I'd say they are second tier TBR. But they are always enjoyable and a pleasant escape. Sizemore has interesting world building and each book is different-- she has not lapsed into formulaic story output at all.

In Primal Desires, we meet Jason Cage, a magician in Vegas-- and a Prime vampire. Sofia is a member of a family of Wolf Tamers, but the ability to control werewolves is such a closely guarded secret that even SHE doesn't know about it. Interesting read.
Piquant Opines: RT, LV,

Carole Nelson Douglas - Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator

1. Dancing with Werewolves

Category: M&Ms - a bit lighter and/or not quite as satisfying as Peanut M&Ms, but still Oh-So-Enjoyable! (B,B-,C+,C)
Flame Height: 3" out of 9"

This is a tough one to comment on. Here's the problem-- immediately after reading this book, I picked up Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (see previous post) and every single detail about Dancing with Werewolves was pushed right out of my brain by Frost's can't-put-it-down book.

So, what DO I remember? Uh... let's see, I remember that it was interesting and different, but that it needed a little "oomph". When I look at the cover (UGH! Sorry, sorry cover model pic on this one) I remember that it was set in Vegas and old-time movie stars were sort of re-animated, but not really (I recall that I never quite understood that). And let's see... she hooked up with a hot detective (but I don't remember if there were any hot scenes, so that's why I gave it such a low flame height). Howard Hughes is still in Vegas, but he's an ancient vampire. Oh, and I think there were werewolves and the main character adopted a stray dog with weird powers.

I'll probably buy the next book... if I remember to look for it. My bad.
Piquant Opines: RT, DR,

Mandy Roth - The Darkness Series (New Concepts Publishing)

1. Gwyneth Stevens: Daughter of Darkness
2. The Enchantress
3. Bella Mia (coming to NCP)

Category: M&Ms - a bit lighter and/or not quite as satisfying as Peanut M&Ms, but still Oh-So-Enjoyable! (B,B-,C+,C)
Flame Height: 5" out of 9"

This is another book that floated right out of my head because the next book I read was just so damn good. In this case I ordered two older books from Amazon- this one and Forever Crossed by A. Leigh Jones (see previous commentary). Well, the Jones book was just so freakin' good that Roth's book, although enjoyable while reading it, just didn't stand a chance.

So, let's again play "What DO I remember", shall we? Gwyneth is a detective(?) investigating some deaths. She goes to a theme park and meets the owner, a sexy vampire, and also meets his... uh... friend(?), who turns out to be fae. The fae friend realizes that Gwyneth is part fae too and opens some magical gate/curtain/whatever to show her that the fae live right there in the theme park. Oh, and Gwyneth and the fae and the vampire have some kind of history in a previous life-- they recognize her immediately, but she doesn't have a clue. I THINK there were some hot scenes, or maybe I'm just assuming there was a menage scene.

Uh... that's it. Can't remember more except that it was entertaining while reading it.
Piquant Opines: RT, FAR,