Into the Shadow, Christina Dodd

Signet Paranormal Romance 2008

Book three of the Darkness Chosen Series

This is an incredibly sexy read, with two strong leading characters. Into the Shadow, is the third of the Darkness Chosen series about the Wilder brothers, who are born into a family whose ancestors had made a pack with the devil.

Karen Sonnet is the daughter of a wealthy businessman. She was raised to be tough and survive a man’s world. Now she finds herself in the Himalayan Mountains, trying to build an adventure hotel at the foot of one of the highest peaks in the world, the cursed Mount Anaya. Failure isn’t an option she understands, and not one her father will accept. Even though a stranger who makes incredible love to her haunts her nights and her days are filled with mishaps on the site, abandonment of the project isn’t remotely a consideration. Especially when she finds an amulet of the Virgin Mary on the ancient skeleton of a small child, buried on the site. She knows then she must keep it safe in order to save herself.    

Adrik Wilder is simply called Warlord, for obvious reasons. He heads a band of mercenaries deep in the Himalayans. He’s demanding, domineering and at times cruel. He doesn’t take no for any answer, and knows what he wants and goes for it, and not always in the most honorable manor. There are few who will challenge him, and few women who can resist him, not even Karen as he invades her dreams. He is both a warrior to fear, a chief to respect and swashbuckler to love. But when he rescues her from a landslide and kidnaps her proclaiming she is his mate, Karen fights against the incredible lust and attraction that encases them. The most shocking discovery about this man with eyes that are truly black, he can turn into a panther in the blink of an eye. This leaves her to really question if the high altitude of the mountains hasn’t left her completely crazy.

I read, Into the Shadow, from cover to cover in a day and half. This would be a great read as you lay on a beach, listening to the gulls cry and waves crash. Very entertaining and very, very sexy. The sex scenes were hot!  Someone throw some water over here, with lots of ice!

Can’t wait to finish the series. Did I mention it was very sexy.    

This was a fun read of adventure, love found and redemption of a dark wicked soul, who is humbled by love and lessons learned along the way.

Other books in the series:

Scent of Darkness

Touch of Darkness

Into the Flame, on sale August 2008

Question of the Day:  How do you feel about a hero who redeems himself after some very bad behavior? Do you believe it is possible to move on and continue to find him sexy and forget the rest?

Graham Simpkins, The Holiday, 2006

There are some movies that are just keepers.  Ones I enjoy watching over and over.  The Holiday is one of those movies, and though I’m not really a Jude Law fan, there’s something so vulnerable about him in this movie that I’m almost a convert.  Graham Simpkins is a book editor in England.  His sister, Iris, works for a newspaper in Surrey.  When her love life falls apart, she swaps houses with a woman from LA and goes on a two week holiday.  

Stats:

Graham gets phone calls from girls when he’s with love interest Amanda.  One call is from Sophie, the other from Olivia.  Obviously, he comes with baggage.  The truth of the matter is that these two people in his life are his daughters, and he keeps them private, reluctant to introduce anyone to them who might not be there for very long and who might disrupt the fragile balance he and his girls have.  They’re the three musketeers.

When Amanda comes calling to Graham’s house one evening before Christmas, she discovers Graham is not alone.  She says to him, “Are you married?  Tell me quick.”

He shakes his head and spells, “W. I. D. O. W. E. R.”

That moment shines a light on Graham and who he is inside, the world he’s trying to protect, and what his future will hold if he lets someone into this private haven he’s created for his children.

The Look:

Golden skin, blondish hair, blue devilish eyes, and a dazzling smile.  When he puts a napkin over his head, dons his eyeglasses and sucks the cloth into his mouth, he becomes ‘Mr. Napkinhead’, a look that makes him even more lovable.  

Jude Law plays Graham with just the right amount of devil-may-care flare and vulnerability.  He even cries [a little bit–which actually I don’t love] so he’s a really emotionally accessible man in the end.

Leading Lady:

Amanda Woods makes movie trailers.  Meanwhile her love life is in a shambles.  When she trades homes with Iris, she thinks not being around anyone she knows will be a good thing.  Instead, she’s never been more lonely in her life.  Until, that is, she meets Graham Simpkins.  

Amanda’s never gotten over the divorce of her parents.  She doesn’t cry.  At all.  Until Graham shows her love and how to feel more deeply than she’s ever felt before.  They compliment each other.  Who knows how they’ll manage a cross-continental relationship, but I’m rooting for them.

The Final Analysis:

The Holiday is one of those movies I will watch once a year, or so.  When I’m feeling blah, or just wanting an ‘ahhh’ moment, it’s the perfect escape.  Jude Law is a perfect Graham Simpkins and he’s a big part of why I like this movie.  It’s a great romantic comedy and worth the rental.  

Question of the Day:

What’s your favorite ‘ahhhh’ movie when you need a romantic fix?

Featured Summer  Read: New York Times Best Seller, Brenda Novak has given us a story about love found in the rubble of devastation in her latest release, Stop Me. 

Romain Fornier killed the man who murdered his ten year old daughter. After his release from prison, all he wanted to do was forget, and bury himself deep in the Louisiana bayou to be alone. Unexpectedly Jasmine Stratford walks into his life, claiming the murder of his daughter may be connected to her sister’s kidnapping sixteen years ago. And than she drops the real bombshell: he might have killed the wrong man.

I loved the relationship between Romain and Jasmine. Romain didn’t want romance or even love. He is a true warrior in every sense of the word. He’s self-reliant, dedicated to his morals (and to his grief), brave, and compassionate. His wife had died of cancer, then he lost his little girl in the worse way, leaving him understandably bitter, but not beyond repair. Love was the last thing he believed he needed or would find. Then Jasmine appears in his life, damaged and racked with guilt over the unsolved kidnapping of her little sister while she was babysitting.  There is an immediate spark, although both are fighting to deny it.

Both these characters are on incredible journeys of loss, pain and healing. Brenda Novak weaves her tale around the damage done to the survivors. She has taken on a tough topic, the murder of a child, than blends in the fall-out and those who are left behind to pick up the pieces.  Jasmine and Romain set out together to find who really murdered Romain’s daughter and kidnapped Jasmine’s  sister. There are a lot of dark tunnels they go through together as they weave their way through many surprises and twist in their drive to discover the truth. Their determination to stop those behind the kidnappings and murders drives the story at top speed towards a surprising end.  

I read this book in three days, unable to put it down.  And when it ended, I found myself missing the two main characters whose story I became so involved.  If you are a fan of Brenda Novak’s, you won’t be disappointed with this book which is the second in a trilogy about a group of young women who are all victims of crimes.  These women, instead of rolling over into the pits of a darkness to be victims forever, climb out to form a survivors network to help others.

Trust Me- In stores now.

Stop Me- In stores now.

Watch Me- Look for it July 29^th.

Question of the Day: 

It’s an unspoken rule that books in the women’s fiction genre not have murdered children in them.  What do you think of this ‘rule’?  As in Stop Me, are rules meant to be broken?

Sacred Sins by Nora Roberts (Bantam, 1987)

STATS: There’s a killer strangling slender, pretty blondes with the white silk scarf of a priest and Ben Paris is the magnetic police sergeant assigned to the case. 

THE LOOK: “His profile was in shadows, struck intermittently by streetlights.  It was funny how sometimes he looked safe, solid, the kinds of man a woman might run to if it were dark.  Then the light struck his face another way, and the planes and angles were highlighted.  A woman might run from him.” 

LEADING LADY: Tess Court is a shrink who believes “The Priest” is in pain and seeking help.  She’s immediately drawn to Ben despite his resistance to her theories.  He’s immediately drawn to her, struck by her elegance and the cool wash of her violet eyes. 

There’s a particularly funny scene when Ben is trying to romance Tess and he gets a call from one of his lady friends:

“It didn’t take a trained psychiatrist to understand there was a woman on the other end.  Tess smiled into her drink and went back to the view.

‘No, I’ve been tied up.  Look, sugar—“  The minute the word was out, he winced.  Tess kept her back to him.  “I’m on a case, you know?  No, I didn’t forget about..I didn’t forget.  Listen, I’ll have to get back to you when things lighten up.  I don’t know, weeks, maybe months.  You really ought to try that marine.  Sure.  See ya.’  He hung up, cleared his throat, and reached for his drink again.  ‘Wrong number.’

It was so easy to laugh. She turned, leaned against the windowsill, and gave into it.  ‘Oh, really?’

‘Enjoyed that, didn’t you?’

‘Immensely.’

‘If I’d known you’d get such a kick out of it, I’d have invited her up.’”

J  Love Ben.

BOTTOM LINE: Ben is a tough cop who often butts heads with Tess, but he always makes me think of a gentleman.  Just like his description above, he’s a bit of a riddle—gentlemanly but capable of ripping someone’s head off if he needs to protect the public or the woman he loves.  This is probably Nora in my favorite phase, concentrating on just a couple of characters and drawing out the story so we get to really enjoy it.  

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Ever been in an awkward situation and had to laugh your way out of it?