Dark Dreamers is an anthology by Christine Feehan and Marjorie M. Liu.

Dark Dream
She’s known him since she was fifteen. Every night, he is with her: his face, his voice. Tonight, Sara Marten will meet the man who is both angel and demon, salvation and temptation: Falcon–the Carpathian, the banished hero. Tonight, Sara will meet the dark-eyed destroyer destined to be her mate.

A Dream of Stone & Shadow
There are those who do terrible things in this world, and those who simply watch. Charlie would do neither. Imprisoned, his only release is through his own destruction–or through Aggie Durand. Sweet as a kiss or a rescued child, she is the one dream he does not dare desire. As an agent of Dirk & Steele, she could be his salvation. Today, Charlie’s dream is waking.

I must admit I’ve read only a few books by Christine Feehan. In general, I thought they were OK, but they didn’t make me want to seek out all of her work. In fact, “Dark Dream” is the first Carpathian story of hers I’ve read; I actually read books from two different series. I thought the premise of this one sounded interesting. I liked the “known him since 15, but don’t know who he is” angle. However, I ended up sticking with my “OK, but not terrific” opinion.

My main reason is this: there’s not much character conflict. There’s a quick introduction and some initial distrust on Sara’s part, but this is dispatched quickly. From almost the beginning, there’s very little to keep Falcon and Sara apart. Sure, there is an evil vampire who comes after Sara, but there’s very little else to the story.

If you like the Carpathian series, though, you might enjoy it more. There are other Carpathian characters as well, who I’m guessing were featured in previous stories. They help the external plot along, and if you’ve read the previous books, it’s probably nice to get this glimpse of how the couples are doing now. Overall, this story rates 3 out of 5.

“A Dream of Stone & Shadow” is the shorter and stronger of the two stories. Liu has a knack for creating interesting situations and original characters, and she does it well in this story. I don’t want to say anything more about the plot than the blurb gives away, because I want to avoid spoiling the story. Suffice it to say I thought it struck a nice balance of action and romance. The ending in particular was terrific.

The story transported me back to the magic of Tiger Eye, which I loved for its unique premise and emotional story. “A Dream of Stone & Shadow” struck me in a similar way. Aggie is a wonderful heroine. Charlie fascinated me, and I wanted to know more about him. This story rates 4.5 out of 5.

I’ve picked up Sarah Mayberry’s books since reading Can’t Get Enough. Anything for You is her third book, and it confirmed my feeling that Mayberry is one of the strongest writers in the Blaze line: 4.5 out of 5.

The world according to Sam Kirk has just turned upside down. His best friend and business partner, Delaney Michaels, has returned from vacation a new woman . . . a gorgeous, hot new woman. Suddenly Sam is thinking entirely inappropriate thoughts about his buddy. Worse, with Delaney’s changed look, she’s abandoning their friendship in pursuit of the picket-fence dream. It’s a nightmare come true.

Then one night finds them tangling in the sheets. It should feel wrong, wrong, wrong . . . instead, it feels very right. And now Sam knows exactly what he’d do to keep his best friend: absolutely anything.

This story gripped me from page one and didn’t let up until the end. Friends who become lovers is one of my favorite plotlines, but that’s not why this book kept my interest. I grew to care about the characters very much. I particularly liked Mayberry’s portrayal of Sam, a man who depends on his best friend, Delaney, and doesn’t realize that he’s grown to love her. The scenes where he is trying to make sense of their changing relationship are very poignant.

I also sympathized with Delaney, who loves Sam but doesn’t believe he returns her feelings. At times, I wanted her to tell Sam why she was pulling away from him, but that would have made for a short book. The more I think about it, though, the story really wouldn’t work any other way. If she had told him of her feelings earlier in the book, he wouldn’t have had the time he needed to reach his own conclusion.

Mayberry writes great love scenes. They more than live up to the Blaze name. But what’s even more significant is the way she writes emotional and compelling characters. If you like category romance, I encourage you to give this author a try.

Michele Bardsley’s Cupid Inc. is one I brought back from RWA. It’s a quick, if not completely satisfying, read: 2.5 out of 5.

It’s not easy to fall in love . . . especially in Sin City. Nobody knows this better than Greek deities Psyche and Eros, who keep a wonderful eye on the mortals in Las Vegas. With a little divine intervention from Aphrodite and the rest of the gods and goddesses, Psyche and Eros set out to fulfill the sexual desires of their clients, hoping to turn lust into love . . .

Wrong office. Right man. A clerical error sends an adventurous woman to the incorrect address, but the accountant she surprises decides this is one appointment he wants to keep in “The Accountant and the Virgin.”

In “The Stars in Her Eyes,” a wedding planner wins a date with her favorite movie star–and gets a lot more than his autograph.

In “One Mile Up . . . a Little to the Left,” two journalists researching a story about a luxury airliner give “flying the friendly skies” a whole new meaning.

In “The Spy Who Rubbed Me,” a former jewel thief and a lonely waitress team up for an ecstasy-filled adventure that gets their adrenaline racing and their pulses racing.

Each of the stories is framed with short segments about Psyche, Eros, and Aphrodite. I think this just ended up being a little too “cute” for me. Or maybe I’ve just read a few too many Greek mythology reworkings. If this isn’t the case for you, you’ll probably like Cupid Inc. more than I did. I just kept wanting to get back to the other stories.

The four main stories focus on couples who take advantage of the dating service. The novellas are fast paced, quick to read, but they aren’t particularly memorable. The short length of each story might be partly to blame–it’s hard to develop characters in the space they’re given. For fun and light reading, though, you may want to give it a try. The stories are plenty steamy.

My favorite story in the book is “The Stars in Her Eyes.” The chemistry between the characters is great, and I enjoyed reading the story. I liked it enough that I’d definitely try Bardsley again if I liked the blurb.

September’s TBR challenge was to read a series romance. I completed the challenge but never got around to writing about it, so I thought I’d do it now.

Title
Closer

Author
Jo Leigh

Year published
2006

Why did you get this book?
I like Leigh’s books and usually buy them, but I got this one in a giveaway.

Do you like the cover?
Yes! I think it’s a great cover, very provocative.

Did you enjoy the book?
Yes. I rate it 4.5 out of 5.

A stalker has ruined Christie Pratchett’s life. He’s stolen her job, her friends and her freedom. The police can’t help, nor can the FBI. Now with a single call for help, it’s all up to ex-Delta Force Boone Ferguson.

Boone lives under the radar . . . with a secret that could cost him big. But he’s going to train Christie to become a warrior princess–and his lover. Together they’re going to risk it all, on the street–and in the bedroom.

The book makes a strong start as Leigh shows us how much Christie’s stalker has affected her life. The scenes from the stalker’s point of view are definitely creepy. There aren’t too many of them, which I appreciate. I prefer not reading too much from the bad guy’s POV in books, just a personal preference.

Boone is a terrific hero, and I love how he doesn’t just step in to protect Christie, but he takes steps to help her learn to protect herself. As for Christie, she is no passive victim. Yes, she is devastated by the way the stalker has isolated her. Her reactions here seem very genuine. But she also strives to overcome the problems. And the scenes with Boone and Christie just sizzle.

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again?
Yes and yes.

Are you keeping it or passing it on?
Keeping it.

Anything else?
The next book in this series, Relentless, comes out next month. It will be interesting to see who’s in that story.

Antelope Island is the largest island in the Great Salt Lake. I live an hour away from it, so I invited a friend to join me on an afternoon excursion.

One of my favorite things to do there is hike to Buffalo Point. Here’s a picture from the trail.

And this is one of the last legs of the hike–it’s very steep, but luckily this section isn’t too long.

Here’s a picture from the top of the trail. The view is just gorgeous, and there are dozens of rocks to climb or sit on and enjoy the scenery.

The buffalo are actually at a completely different part of the island.

Here’s a picture I took just before we left the island.

All in all, it was a nice trip.

Mary Balogh’s The Notorious Rake has been on my TBR shelf for a while, and today I finally felt like picking it up. It’s a great read: 4.5 out of 5.

Lord Edmund Waite was everything that Lady Mary Gregg despised in a man. He was lewd, lascivious, mocking–the most notorious rake in the realm. Happily, Mary had nothing to fear from this lord of libertines. A bluestocking like her could never tempt a man whose taste ran to pretty playthings for his pleasures.

How startled Mary was to find herself the object of Lord Waite’s determined desires. But even more surprising was her reaction to his shocking advances. How could she remain a lady with this man who knew so well how to make her feel like a woman . . .?

As always, Balogh’s strength is with her characters. Mary is practical in most ways but she has one weakness–she’s afraid of thunderstorms. This fear leads her to take shelter with Edmund and soon she’s in his arms. Edmund believes that they are beginning an affair, while Mary insists it was a moment in time, one that turns into a few moments, but still . . . And so, the conflict begins.

Some readers may have trouble with Edmund. To say that he comes on strong is, at times, putting it nicely. There are certainly times when he frustrated me. These times are balanced by others, though, when we see the man behind the mask. At one point, Mary even refers to the cynical, indifferent mask he wears. I love the way his story unfolds slowly.

The last fourth of the novel is simply marvelous. From the moment Edmund sees his aunt’s visitors, the story just gripped me by the throat. I read that part at my parents’ house and stopped reading every few pages so I wouldn’t burst into tears. It was beautiful.

So why wasn’t it a 5? Well, I thought the wrap-up was a little too neat in one respect, and Edmund showed cruelty at moments. Still, this one is well worth reading if you can get your hands on it. A lovely story.

I’m still among the living; I’ve just been taking a much-needed break from blogging. I’ve been doing some fun reading.

My priorities have shifted a bit. I’m doing the exercise thing, a little writing and reading, going out with friends. After seeing Office Space, I started collecting pieces of flair. Here’s one of my latest finds.

I like it.