A few times in one's life, on unchosen occasions, a door will open and someone unexpected will step in, and one realizes with irrefutable clarity that what just happened was not in fact unexpected. In just this way, Jeffrey knew that Chet Fiore himself would bring the answers to all the questions he raised.

This book happened to catch my eye during a run to the library. Once I read the book description I knew that I had just picked out something really interesting. This book starts off with the events that happened at the main character's (Jeffrey Blaine) daughter's birthday party. A girl was found to have been raped there and a mysterious man, Chet Fiore, comes and helps Jeffrey smooth everything over. Jeffrey has never met Chet before but once the party is over he finds himself trapped in a partnership with Chet, not that he is altogether unwilling.

 

This book changes point-of-view between many characters and as there seem to be all these plotlines that are connected by the birthday party this really allowed for a richer story. Everyone begins the book off as relatively sane but slowly as the book progresses a sort of madness seems to creep up on every character. Characters as discovering sides to them they didn't know they had or they develop obsessions.

 

One thing that I didn't like about this book is that I couldn't find one female character of this book that I liked. Blaine's daughter, Jessica, was a spoiled brat who desperately needed some real discipline. I pitied Blaine's wife but still didn't like her. I thought Elaine was pathetic and hoped that everything she did would blow up in her face. The male characters were definitely not any better but for some reason I feel like even though they did some horrible things, the men were portrayed in a better light.

 

Whenever I would pick this book up I immediately was hooked back in to the plot. As everything was heating up towards the end I found myself wanting certain characters to finally be held responsible for their actions. I wasn't altogether happy with what happened at the end but I didn't hate it either. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a book that mixes the mob with wall street and leaves readers wondering just who is the bad guy in this situation?

I was looking to waste a bit of time today until the resale shop opened up and I could drop off my donations, so where did I go? Of course I went to the library. I had a book to drop off and didn't plan on picking up any books but ended up checking out three books.

 

 

The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell:

I have been meaning to read this since before it was published. It looks right up my alley so I'm excited to finally get to read it.

 

 

House of Lords by Phillip Rosenberg:

This one caught my eye as I was walking up and down the aisles. I thought, based on the title, that it would be something set in England but it is not. This looks like a great mix of Wall Street and the mob.

 

 

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes:

I have seen so much praise for this book (Even Nicole Kidman loved this book, and who else would I take book recommendations from?). All I knew about it when I picked it up from the library was that it is a spy novel. I didn't even read the book description, so Nicole I hope you are right about this one.

25 ratingsAuthor's introduction to MoroccoTable of Principal EventsGeneologyColour photographs generously dotted through the text.Opening Quote:For queries on an empty page;For rams and expiated sin;For desert dust and falcon's cryFor tempest in a ruined inn.For sunrise, and mountain's ageA vulture on the sky.Book OneMADANI EL GLAOUIChapter One: The Castle: The castle stands at an altitude of more than 6,000 feet in the High Atlas mountains of Morocco. It and its scattered rookery of crumbling predecessors occupy the corner of a desert plateau, circled by the giant peaks of the Central Massif, all of them rising to more than 10,000 feet, and some, such as the great Jebel Ghat to the eastward, reaching 12,500.At the 10% mark I am finding it a dry read, which is fitting for a Saharan setting. About the same time as this was written Morocco became quite the place to be for the boomers. Something to do with resin.I always associate Morocco with Kate Winslett

I won this book through the First Reads goodreads giveaways and quite enjoyed it!

Captain Miles Trevelyan (Trev) is currently on leave from India and because of his mother is in search of a bride. Temperance Smith picks his pocket as he's on his way to a brothel. A match made in heaven? Well not exactly, but a match made in the stars maybe.

This book has a twist to it as it uses astrology to push the story along. It's quite an unique concept to romance novels, or at least is to me.

I really liked Temperance who turned out to be quite far from your typical fair maiden of the romance novels. She was living on the streets and taking care of herself but was still a bit naive (but not stupid) and it made for an appealing character. I wasn't quite as taken with Trev, who frankly, for a man, used too many words when he talked. Once or twice the thought, "just be quiet and kiss already" crossed my mind. When heroes get a bit flowery with their words it makes me chuckle a little. I also found him a wee bit arrogant in the beginning.

Aside from the plot being a bit confusing here and there (which I think it was just my fault for not knowing some aspects of the time period that well), I really enjoyed the book and the unique spin of using astrology to guide the two leads. It was an extremely easy read and the author has a great writing style.

I also see that this is the second book in the Astrology series by Jenny Brown and I do want to check out the first. While this book was about Scorpios, I'm an Aries and would love to see a book with an Aries couple... then again they'd probably kill each other the first chapter. :)

This is a Quickie Review. For the full review, please visit The Romanceaholic.

Expected Release Date: September 1, 2011 (Available Now!)
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: Avon
Author’s Website: http://jennybrown.net/
My Source for This Book: Netgalley
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 2, Astrology series
Series Best Read In Order: Probably, but worked well as a standalone.
Steam Level: Steamy

Back in England after a long stint in India, Captain Mile Trevelyan must do his duty and find a proper bride and quickly get her with child before he returns to India at the end of his leave. Determined to enjoy himself a bit before throwing himself into the marriage mart, he is accompanying a friend to a local brothel when his pocket is picked by a beautiful woman. Rescuing her from being turned in to the Watch, he can’t resist kissing her — and soon finds himself with his pants around his ankles and the lovely robber nowhere in sight.

Smart and manipulative, Temperance Smith was not about to let this handsome officer — an officer of the dragoons who symbolize everything she stands against — get the better of her, no matter how delicious his kisses. However, her Scorpio nature prevents her from resisting a challenge when it becomes apparent that he has taken possession of her locket, the locket holding the image of her dear, departed Randall.

It soon seems, however, that not only was Randall not who Temperance thought he was, but that Miles himself is much more than meets the eye.


While I enjoyed this book, especially the second half, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something a bit “off” about it. Perhaps it was the unusual verbage, or the speed at which Miles and Temperance’s relationship moved once they’d agreed she’d be his mistress, but more than that, I could simply be that the overall tone of the book was darker than I’d originally expected.

Regardless of the reason, I did enjoy Temperance’s character, and greatly warmed up to Miles about halfway through, and the level of importance put on astrology was a very interesting and frankly refreshing take on historical romance.

With political plots, distrustful lovers, and a seemingly hopeless future, this book grabbed my attention from the very beginning, despite any issues I may have had.

Therefore, in the end, recommended for fans of shady heroines, mistrustful (and not entirely gentlemanly) heroes, and relying on your wits to get out of a seemingly impossible situation.

3/5 Stars