AN INFAMOUS BEAUTY. A DARING WARRIOR. . .

For five years, Sapphire has been the King of Sari’s most treasured concubine. Independent at last, she refuses to put herself in anyone’s control again. But now another’s meddling has led her into the path of proud, arrogant Wulfric, Crown Prince of the rival kingdom of D’Ashier. . . a man who is dangerous to her in every way.

AND A SEDUCTION THAT COULD DESTROY THEM BOTH

The daughter of Wulfric’s fiercest opponent, Sapphire is a prized warrior in her own right and highly skilled in the sensual arts—in short, Wulfric’s perfect match. A lasting union is unthinkable, but the bargain they strike—to spend one night together, and then part—proves impossible in the face of a desire powerful enough to bring two countries to the brink of war, and two hearts to the point of surrender. . .

I've been a fan of Sylvia Day for years, and having recently loved her SJ Day books, I was excited to see yet another series, under the name Livia Dare, being released. This is a story Sylvia wrote 5 years ago, which has now been renamed "In The Flesh".

Sapphire is the king's favorite concubine, yet despite the pride she takes in her work, this is not a love match, at least not for her. Sapphire is a pragmatic woman, and knows the king doesn't really love her, at least not the way she deserves to be loved, and she's fully aware of the strain her presence places on his marriage to Queen Brenna. In fact she encourages him to go to his wife, to start a family so that he will finally have an heir, but the king is obsessed and wishes to be with no other woman but Sapphire. However the king does agree to release her from her contract, making her a free woman, with the belief she will return to him. However Sapphire has other ideas....

Prince Wulfric knows something is amiss while out on patrol with his men, but by the time he fully realizes it, it's much too late, and the prince is taken prisoner. Beaten and tortured, his death is almost assured, until Queen takes matters into her own hands and devises a devious plan that will most assuredly end in Sapphire's death. By placing Prince Wulfric as Sapphire's prisoner, the queen believes once Wulfric realizes who is holding him captive - the daughter of his enemy - he will murder her.

Of course because this is a romance novel, things don't go according to her evil plan. For one thing, Sapphire doesn't count on the immediate lust she feels when she gazes at Wulfric's masculine perfection, or that her body would betray her so shockingly in his presence. For another, Wulfric is near death, and almost embraces his fate, until he witnesses the sensual concubine's inability to disguise her intense attraction to him. Something about the way her hungry eyes gaze upon him evokes a strong need, one that urges him to fight to live instead of giving up to die....

My thoughts:

"In The Flesh" is a very sexy story, but also an emotional one, which I love. You have two very strong-willed people fighting each other to get their own way, both stubborn, proud, and very attracted to each other.

First you have Wulfric, who is used to always getting his way. Everything in life has come easily to him, so to have this striking, fearless female stand up to him baffles him as much as it entices him. He's torn by his desire, knowing nothing good can come of it. In fact to pursue it would surely mean war between their countries. Yet he cannot think of anything beyond possessing this fiery woman and making her his.

Then there's Sapphire, a woman who's been trained since birth in the sensual arts of a concubine, a rather prestigious role, especially as that of the favored treasure of the king. She reminded me so much of Inara from "Firefly" here, practical about her position, revered and respected, she accepts her fate while not exactly embracing it. For her, she's never known the touch of a lover whose purpose was to please her, so her attraction to her father's enemy stuns her. Why he should be the one to awaken her passion is beyond her comprehension.

Together, these two set each other on fire. It's not long before they both give into the overwhelming desire that doesn't let them think of anything else. What brings them together is lust, but from these earthy feelings grows a stronger, truer bond. Despite their wariness, their distrust, neither can ignore the feelings that develop over time. Because despite their differences, both Sapphire and Wulf begin to recognize the rightness of their union, and see how evenly matched they are to each other.

I won't lie, there is a lot of sex in this book. In fact these two can barely breathe without crawling all over each other. But what makes it so much more interesting is that while they engage in numerous heated, raw, needy bouts of sex, each encounter is tempered with incredible emotion. Usually at this point of the book when the hero and heroine can't keep their hands off each other for the 15th time, I get bored and flip the pages. The scenes become filler at that point. But both Wulf and Sapphire are helpless not just to passion, but to the love that grows so strongly and quickly between them. In that moment when they first saw each other, something happened that changed them both forever, something they cannot walk away from, no matter how hard they try.

What also intrigues me is their future. This was book #1 in the Sapphire trilogy, and while it ends happily, there is this sense that all of that could change, which kinda makes me nervous. Their countries are at war, and the king is not ready to let Sapphire go. I admit that I do worry the direction the story may take. But that's rather premature of me. Right now I'm just very glad I read it, and I'm happy that there are 2 more books in the series.

Rating: ****1/2 out of *****

Labels: Livia Dare, review

Sunday was a lot of fun, as I trekked into the city to meet up with some friends at the Drake Hotel for afternoon tea, something I've never been before. The weather was so nice - almost 70 degrees in November - and the train ride was smooth and quick. Grabbed a taxi the rest of the way there which took a few minutes. I love taxi cab drivers. They get to where you need to go, and fast. And while I waited, I did try to take some pictures on my new phone, but I only saved one. I'll need to figure out a way to make them bigger....

Now I've made no secret that I'm not much of a tea drinker, or at least I wasn't much of one until about a few years ago when I stepped inside Teavana to buy a gift, and tasted the most wonderful tea I'd ever could have imagined. It was a combination of 2 different teas, the kinds of which escapes me at the moment, but it was an amazing blend. Anyway, each of us got to choose our own tea, which they brought out in individual teapots for us, and I went with a caffeine-free blend, the chocolate mint truffle, which was very good, not too strong and not too sweet. I would definitely have that one again.

We sat right next to the harp player, which I really liked. I didn't think she was too loud, though some of her musical selections had us cringing. Still, it's a beautiful instrument, and if you didn't listen to closely, very enjoyable to listen to while sipping tea and eating cucumber sandwiches. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

Tomorrow I'm meeting up with an online friend I've never met before - Danielle. She lives not all that far from me, but this is our first opportunity to get together, and I'm really looking forward to it :) I think I will take my regular camera and use that instead of my phone, which I still have to master. I hope to have some good pictures to post. Danielle's been warned LOL.

I am just about to finish the 7th and final season of The Gilmore Girls; 2 more episodes left. All in all, I liked it way more than I thought I would. It was a pleasant surprise. Now I'm going to try and clear out my Netflix queue before asking for more viewing selections. I have about 70 dvds in there, some movies, mostly t.v. shows, so I hope to whip through those more finding more new shows to love. Do I dare start 24 when it's just about to go into, what, it's 8th season??????

Now I'm off to go read for a bit. I have a few days off from work and I FINALLY got my copy of Ava Gray's "Skin Game", which I've been whining about for days on Twitter. Now that it's in my hot little hands, I plan on spending some quality time with Reyes. So off I go.....

What have you been up to lately?

Labels: ramblings

Labels: friends, heroes, kids, love

Labels: Veterans Day

Labels: books, envy

When I came up with my spotlight idea several months ago, I had no idea who I was going to spotlight for the letter "N". That is, until Miss Chloe Neill came along. Now I am a completly enamored reader of her books, and much like Mandi from Smexybooks, I wish to share that with my fellow readers.

It wasn't until I actually started reading the book though, that I became infatuated. Merit is an incredibly likable heroine. She's stubborn, and a bit of a smartmouth, but she's got a big heart, is loyal to those she loves, and lives by her own moral code. Merit doesn't just simply follow the crowd, even when it doesn't make her all that popular. She's a great heroine.

Plus, I really love that we get to see the mythology in action. Yes, Merit is a vampire, but a newbie at it, and there's a lot for her to learn. While some of it is instinctual, she still has to train and prepare and educate herself on her new lifestyle. It's not always easy for her to adjust to what she's become.

So I've read "Some Girls Bite" twice, and already Chloe is an auto-buy author for me. "Friday Nite Bites" is in the bag I carry to work with me, but I'm not quite ready to start it yet because it's soooo long until the next one.

Something kinda fun: before I actually "knew" of Chloe, she did a fun post at my former review site, Romance Novel TV. Here's her post.

Labels: Chloe Neill, spotlight

The last new LLG books have been hit or miss with me (the last one especially was a miss) but I bought this book before I read the last one, at a signing Laura was at last fall, and now, a year later, I finally felt up to giving it a try.

And I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Right from the start I felt pulled into the story. Maria Martingale was a woman determined to make a success of her bakery, and she wasn't about to let anything, much less her worst enemy, stop her from achieving her fondest dream. She'd given up so much, lost so much, and her desire to make her bakery the best patisserie in the city of London is what's driving her now. Having found the perfect location to set up shop, she's dismayed to learn that not only is Phillip Hawthorne temporarily living right next door, he owns the building she's trying to lease. Once again this proper gentleman, who thinks he knows exactly how everyone should live their lives, is trying to control her's, and Maria must break a promise in order to get Phillip to relent.

Phillip now looks upon Maria as an opportunist gold digger, but that was not always the case. Having grown up together - Maria's father was the chef for Phillip's family - Maria and Phillip were once good friends. But then time apart and the reality of their social positions had Phillip pushing Maria away, until it became clear that he didn't want anything to do with her. And when his younger brother and Maria decided to marry, he sufficiently nips that in the bud before any harm is done.

Now, over a decade later, Maria shows up and is once again wreaking havoc with Phillip's carefully planned out life. Lawrence is just about set to propose to a very acceptable young woman, yet the timing is a very delicate thing, and Phillip tries to ensure that Maria will not set her sights on his brother again. So between keeping them apart and dealing with his overwhelming yet unwanted desire for her, Phillip has his hands full of drama, which is what he's tried to avoid. But he just can't keep away from that stubborn, fearless woman who enflames his passions and makes him forget all that is proper....

My thoughts:

This was a wonderful book, for the most part. You see, Phillip suffers from Mr. Darcy Syndrome. Miss Maria Martingale (aka Miss Elizabeth Bennett) is way beneath Phillip in social status, and while he admits to his intense attraction to her, it is with the utmost reluctance and distain. But he is too much of a gentleman to offer to make Maria his mistress. Instead he proposes marriage, and the idea that he would wish to marry her just to get into her bed is ludicrous in Maria's eyes. Why, if he cannot even like her, much less respect her, what chance did they have of sustainng a happy marriage? Smart girl she was, to reject his proposal and let him stew in his frustration awhile.

I liked Maria pretty much through the whole book, until the very last page anyway. She was hard-working, disciplined yet passionate, ambitious, and confident in her talent. She didn't let Phillip intimidate her, yet she was a caring person and his abandonment of their friendship hurt her very deeply. Yet she refused to let it hold her back or make her hard and bitter. She stood up to Phillip, and before too long their past came back to remind them of why they once were friends.

Phillip started out a jackass, much like Mr. Darcy did in P&P, but he eventually warmed up and won me over. See he had what he believed to be inappropriate feelings for Maria, even back then when she was 15 and he was 17, and he was appalled by this. So much so that it was easier for him to abruptly severe their friendship than risk getting to close to her.

Secret love is one of my favorite tropes. I am a complete sucker when the hero has strong feelings for the heroine yet hides them from her for what he thinks are valid reasons. Here, I could understand and perhaps even appreciate where he was coming from, especially when now, as a grown man, he gets to know Maria all over again, by watching her at her place of business, by seeing how carefree yet responsible she is, and his feelings re-awaken. Though he tries to deny them for most of the book, he more than makes up for it on the last page. I could have kissed him, he was so scrumptious. (Note: and the guy on the stepback cover? If he was Phillip I think I'd jump him myself)

So everything was going great, I was happy, this was a wonderfully romantic story, until Maria goes and knocks the wind out of my sails with a decision that had me slapping my forehead. I'm not going to give it away, so you're going to have to read the book to find out, but let's just say I really did not see it coming. Maybe I should have, but man, seriously??? And okay, maybe it wasn't even what she decided so much as how she decided. I wanted to shake her for disappointing me. Up until that point the book was a gem. And then the last few pages just jarred me out of my romantic euphoria.

I'm sure most readers won't have a problem with it like I did. After all, it really is a good romance, one that gave me butterflies, and I love when that happens because it's such a rare occurrence when I read anymore. So I'll be grateful for those moments of it I did have, and ignore the rest. Overall the book made me supremely happy :)

Rating: ****1/2 out of *****

Labels: Laura Lee Guhrke, review

Congrats Crystal! Please send your snail mail addy to me at trelainastarblazer @ yahoo dot com and I'll get that mailed out to you :)

Here is the list of those who participated. Thank you all for stopping by.

1.4. CrystalGB
2.16. Barbara
3.3. host
4.15. Minna
5.9. joder
6.2. Susi Sunshine
7.1. RK Charron
8.8. Armenia
9.10. Estella
10.12. Smokinhotbooks
11.11. Razlover
12.14. donnas
13.13. Mandi
14.6. Emmanuelle
15.7. chey
16.5. Cecile

So yes, I might be indecisive, but eventually I make a decision, and one without regret. I'm so proud of myself!

How about you: have you made a big decision

lately? Were you happy with the results?