Tag: Inc.

Guest Review: Eleanor and the Iron King by Julie Daines

Posted September 24, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Eleanor and the Iron King by Julie DainesReviewer: Tracy
Eleanor and the Iron King by Julie Daines
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: August 1, 2015
Format: eARC
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars

Eleanor de Lacy is forced into an arranged marriage with her father’s greatest enemy, Brac Goch, the Welsh king. All Eleanor knows of Brac is that he is a ruthless, war hungry man.

Eleanor arrives at the Welsh castle of Bryn Du already expecting the worst. When the ghost of Brac Goch’s first wife appears and warns her that the Welsh king is not to be trusted, all of Eleanor’s fears are confirmed.

As the countdown to her wedding day approaches, Eleanor must figure out who is lying, who is telling the truth, who is loyal, and who is the traitor–and most of all, if she can love an enemy king.

Tracy’s review of Eleanor and the Iron King by Julie Daines

Eleanor’s father and Brac Goch, the Welsh king have been at war. Eleanor is now the key to a truce according to her father. She has been promised in marriage to the man they call the Red Worm, being sent off to a country she knows nothing about to a people she can’t communicate with. It’s not her best day! When she arrives at Bryn Du she can hardly look at Brac, who she’s been told killed her brother due to a battle that he instigated. Despite her reservations, however, Brac is nothing but accommodating to her until he sees all of her healing herbs and practically accuses her of being a witch. That doesn’t go over too well. Brac takes away Eleanor’s herbs and she feels like her life is over. She feels like she is in now in prison! She loves healing the sick and now this oaf of a man won’t even let her do that to keep herself occupied.

Eleanor does make a couple of friends at her new home but she’s still leery of Brac. He is kind, even when she thinks he might not be which is confusing for her. She starts hearing rumors about an English prisoner that was once in the dungeon, who she believes might have been her brother and that puts her on the hunt for answers. Then she starts getting messages written in blood and sees a woman who might be Brac’s dead wife. There are strange happenings but none stranger than Eleanor’s thawing feelings toward Brac. Unfortunately there are other things and people trying to hurt both Eleanor and Brac and neither one of them are fully prepared for who might be out to hurt them.

I was intrigued by the blurb of this book so I was excited when everything I hoped for was provided! The story was considered a romance and there was definitely a bond growing between the h/h but there were so many other things going on that it wasn’t the main focus. I can’t believe I’m gonna say this, but that worked for me.

Eleanor’s just 18 and here she is thrust into a new environment and forced to live with and get engaged to the man she thinks killed not only her brother but a ton of her father’s people. I’d probably have my guard up as well, and rightly so. Eleanor doesn’t know how to feel or what to think. Brac seems to be trying to get to know her but she doesn’t want to have anything to do with it but…there are times when she just can’t help but be slightly charmed by the man. She’s told he’s done horrible things but he says he didn’t – she doesn’t know who to believe and I loved that that trust had to grow slowly. It wasn’t as if she suddenly went – omg, I love this guy. No, didn’t happen. Even at the end of the book there were technically no “I love you’s” and it all fit with the flow of the majority of the book.

There was lots of mystery in the book as we have no idea who’s right and wrong and who exactly the villain is. Do we believe that Eleanor’s father is telling the truth about the attacks or Brac? And when the strange ghostly visits are upon Eleanor, and Brac isn’t forthcoming, you wonder if Eleanor’s losing her mind or not. It was well done and there were a few surprises in there as well.

I would have loved to have had just a little bit more of a thawing between Eleanor and Brac and frankly a little bit more from Brac in the book. The story wasn’t told in first person POV so I was disappointed in the lack of info about Brac that was offered – or any of his thoughts for that matter – but it still worked for me for the most part. The ghost aspect of the book was a tad far-fetched but that worked too.

Overall this was a very good story and one I recommend. I look forward to more from this author in the future.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This title is available from Covenant Communications, Inc. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

four-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Guest Review: Time For Love by Marie Force

Posted February 2, 2014 by Judith in Reviews | 0 Comments

17383815Judith’s review of Time for Love (The McCarthy’s of Gansett Island #9) by Marie Force

Dr. David Lawrence has spent the last two years atoning for his sins and recovering from the devastating breakup with Gansett Island golden girl Janey McCarthy. As the island’s only doctor, he’s had ample opportunity to show his fellow island residents that there’s more to him than the guy who disappointed Janey so profoundly. Now if only he could find a way to forgive himself, he might be able to move on with his life without the woman he’d expected to love forever…

Daisy Babson, probationary director of housekeeping at McCarthy’s Gansett Island Inn, is in bad need of a fresh start after her relationship with Truck Henry took a violent turn, leaving her battered and broken—in more ways than one. As she recovers from her injuries, her days are made brighter by her visits with David Lawrence. The kind and caring doctor who tended to her after the attack has become much more than a friend to her in recent weeks.

Will these two wounded hearts take comfort from one another and move forward on a new path toward love together? Or will ghosts from the past derail them before they get the chance for their own happily ever after?

Little did I realize eight books ago that I would still be hooked on these McCarthy’s of Gansett Island, a fictional location that bears a remarkable resemblance to the author’s growing up experiences with one of the islands off the East Coast of Rhode Island.  Readers have been introduced to all the immediate family and their discoveries of love and the stabilizing forces of commitment within stable love relationships.  Now the author is bringing in stories that feature characters who made their first appearances in earlier books and whose more in-depth experiences are featured.

Here we meet Dr. David Lawrence, a young physician who always intended to return to Gansett Island after med school and finishing his residency.  He fully intended to marry Janey McCarthy, the only daughter in the McCarthy Clan and whose heart he broke with his infidelity.  Now he has spent two years trying to reclaim his life, put his own hurting and wounded heart and soul back together, trying to reclaim a sense of himself apart from the future he once envisioned and which is no longer possible.  He’s had to find a way to live with the hurt he has caused while hoping he can rebuild some level of trust with the people who have been the warp and woof of his life from the beginning.

Perhaps the once thing that David has realized during these difficult two years is that he can be a man that sees others with compassion and caring and a willingness to be a friend.  Add in the fact that he has faced his own selfishness and the hurt that has caused.  In all the ways that count, David is a changed man.  Now he can see the hurt in others far more clearly and that is not only making him a better person but it is making him a better doctor.  Perhaps now–in this critical time in his life–David can recognize the value in a woman like Daisy, a woman he quite possibly would have never “seen” before the cataclysmic changes in his own life.  Now he recognizes her giving heart, her deep wounds of soul and spirit, and her disillusionment with people.  It all reminds him of some of the issues he is facing in his own life.

Marie Force seems to be one of those authors who has her finger on the pulse of human reality, one who can tell a story that resonates with readers because it embraces human experience in a way that carries the stamp of authenticity.  The people in her story are genuine with all their bumps and bruises, their joys and their foibles, their celebrations and disappointments, their energy and their fatigue.  They get to us because they sound like us so often.  The relationship between David and Daisy may seem unlikely, but somehow their careful and tentative encounters, begun when David was tending Daisy’s terrible injuries at the hand of her boyfriend, compel the reader to look deeper into one’s own heart, to ask how each of us would respond to such a situation and question whether or not we would be able to look beyond the obvious foolishness of this woman in even getting involved with this mean and abusive man.  Yet I, for one, have dealt with people such as Daisy and know the patience and caring it took for David to keep encouraging her, helping her to look beyond her insecurities, and building within her a sense of her intrinsic worth.

I have to say right out that I loved this novel and was delighted when it was released.  I have looked forward to all the books in this series, and even though some readers may tire of such a long series, I have not.  Again, I think it is because I “recognize” so many of these characters as being able to remind me of people I have known in real life.  Thus, there is a very strong sense of connection with these stories.  This novel is truly one of those “feel good” kinds of stories that will engage the emotions as well as entertain the mind.  Don’t get me wrong.  There are real ups and downs here, crises and all the mayhem that go with them, as well as dealing with residual issues left over from a family tragedy that is a part of a previous novel.  However, as each of these books stands alone, it won’t be difficult for anyone beginning with this ninth book in the series to “catch up” sufficiently to appreciate the story as well as catch a glimpse of past happenings.

I highly recommend this novel and hope that those who love the warm and fuzzy romance and the push/pull of family and a close-knit society will take the time to read, enjoy, and possibly savor the really good writing that has brought us another fine romance offering.

I give it a rating of 4.25 out of 5

The Series:
Book Cover Book Cover Book Cover Book Cover Book Cover Book Cover Book Cover Book Cover Book Cover
You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This title is available from HTJB, Inc.  You can buy it here or here in e-format.


Tagged: , , , , , , ,