Category: Fiction

Ruthless Knights by Eva Ashwood

Fiction

I said I would push through, and so I have. I finally got around to reading the second book in the Dark Elite series. 

This story feels more like a long fan fiction rather than a book, in my opinion. It could have more details, it could give you more back story, it could be longer. I would have loved for the plot to be more in depth and I think I would have actually liked the story a lot more. In addition to the plot, and the length, there are other things that bother me, such as there never being any dialogue between the female character and the four guys that she keeps hooking up with about what exactly is going on. I know this is a fantasy, but there is no way that a woman living with four men is hooking up with all of them and no one is talking about it. It’s not like I can even imagine it happening in the background because the way the story is written makes everyone seem so one dimensional. The female character never has a single conversation with any of the guys regarding their intentions with her, and the men never talk about it among themselves either. And the worst thing is, everyone knows what is going on, but they are just completely ignoring both the situation and the conversation that really needs to happen. I am hoping for some confrontation and resolution in the final book in this trilogy. 

I think I am going to try to read the third and final book one day this week so that I can move on to better things. This might be my first Friday bonus review of the year, so keep a lookout.

The Duchess by Bertrice Small

Fiction

I received the next two books following Vicious Kings in the Dark Elite trilogy by Eva Ashwood, but I wasn’t in the mood to read them yet. I hope that I am wrong, in that they will be equally as poorly written as the first book, but I wasn’t ready to find out just yet. I went to the existing pile of historical romance novels in the house and I took another one of Bertrice Small’s stand alone novels, The Duchess. Like A Moment In Time, I had never read this one either, and once again I now wonder why I never had. 

This novel takes place at the very end of the 18th century in England as it follows Allegra, a young woman who has no great name but is outrageously wealthy, as she sets off to find a husband. She is very practical and forward, which she needs to be considering she knows that any man who shows interest in having her for a wife will only truly be interested because of  her riches. Allegra lets everyone close to her know that she is fully aware of what any prospective suitor is really after, and it isn’t love, and she accepts this fact. She meets her perfect match in Quinton, a man with the exact opposite problem faced by Allegra, a man who comes from a very distinguished and important family but who has hardly any money left to his name. He doesn’t want to marry at all, and he certainly is not looking for love, he is just looking to save his family’s name and estate. The two meet and agree to marry because they both get exactly what they want out of the arrangement, status and wealth, and they like each other well enough, but they make no promises of love. 

It’s a good book with a happy ending and not too much conflict. I enjoyed the happy ending after all of the turmoil and sadness I experienced after reading Ms. Small’s last book. If you love a good love story, you’ll definitely enjoy this one.

A Moment In Time by Bertrice Small

Fiction

After last weeks disappointment, I decided that I needed to read a book that I knew would be well written and contain an amazing story. I knew that Bertrice Small, a woman I consider the queen of historical romance on top of being one of my favorite authors, would have a book for me. I have read many of her books over the years but I have never picked up her stand alone novel, A Moment In Time. The majority of the story takes place in 11th century Wales but the tale begins a thousand years before the main characters Wynne and Madoc even meet. If you enjoy the theme of reincarnation, you will find yourself enthralled with both joy and sadness several times over as the souls of these two lovers find each other at this particular moment in time. 

This is the first Bertrice Small book I have read that is not part of a larger series and it has encouraged me to read her other singular novels. I am lucky enough to have access to what may be a complete collection of all of the late Smalls novels, and I may not be able to control myself in consuming another one of her books. Her books are long, usually well over three hundred pages. But they are so interesting, full of adventure, and packed with romance, that you don’t even realize how much time has passed, you truly get lost in her stories. I recommend A Moment In Time if you aren’t ready to commit to a series but you do want to find a new author to love.

Vicious Kings by Eva Ashwood

Fiction

I can’t remember where I first heard about this book, but I was curious about the author and the story so I decided to buy it off of Amazon. 

If you want to read, but you want something easy that doesn’t require a lot of thinking, this is just the book for that. It is a one day read, I got through it in a few hours. If you don’t mind a not so great plot and some contradictions, if you are literally only interested in reading in order to get to the spice, then your itch will be scratched because there are certainly more than enough spicy scenes. It is flawed and I found myself frustrated because of the flaws, but it is not the worst piece I have ever read. It is a good book for a beginner who wants to start their journey into this genre but an experienced reader may find themselves disappointed in this reverse harem tale. I am going to read the next two books in the trilogy to see if the writing gets any better, and I will be sure to let you know what I think.

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

Fiction

If it takes this man another twenty years to write another book I will not mind the long wait as long as it is equally as good as his second novel, Imaginary Friend. This over seven hundred page book was in my hands morning, noon, and night as I tried to get through the pages as fast as possible while still reading slowly enough to fully appreciate the plot and absorb all the details. It caused me to lose sleep as I kept saying to myself, ok, only one more chapter before I go to bed. I wish I could read this book again and experience it all for the first time. It’s a blend of everything I love to experience from reading a good book, it gets me excited to see what happens next. It’s a little scary, it’s supernatural and psychological, there are heroes that you love to root for and villains that you want to see meet their end. I didn’t even mind the religious and spiritual themes, beliefs that can irritate me at times, which did not do so in this case as they were appropriately subtle in the right places and given a villainous quality in a way that I enjoyed.

I think this is the last book I am going to have finished before the new year, and I ended it on a high note. I almost want to find a way to contact Mr. Chbosky and let him know that he needs to invest more time into writing novels because he is so incredibly talented. If your New Year’s Resolution is to read more, start it off right by reading this book. It will kickstart a new interest of reading in you and encourage you to hunt for similar books if you get the craving to read more, which I think this book will.