Tag: Patricia Rice

Throwback Thursday Review: Mystic Rider by Patricia Rice

Posted October 15, 2020 by Rowena in Reviews | 3 Comments

Throwback Thursday Review: Mystic Rider by Patricia RiceReviewer: Rowena
Mystic Rider: A Mystic Isle Novel by Patricia Rice
Series: Mystic Isle #2
Publisher: Signet
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 384
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two-half-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

Ian Olympus, skilled fighter and visionary, has left the isle of Aelynn for the Outside World to retrieve a sacred chalice. He finds it in the hands of Chantal Deveau, who plans to buy her family out of prison.

But her outrage at his demand that she hand it over is nothing compared to her powerful, sensual response to his presence—and the startling conviction that their lives are irrevocably entwined. And Ian will soon have to choose between duty and desire.

This review was originally published October 13, 2008

Ian Olympus has been sent to Paris, France to collect a sacred chalice that belongs to his people. His people need it and his soulmate has it and so he has to go get because the people who were sent in before him to retrieve it have failed so he takes it upon himself to get it back. His soulmate is Chantal Deveau and she’s a French musician who’s father is passionate about his cause for the French Revolution. She’s very curious about the mysterious visitor who comes to retrieve a bell she’s had for a while, only she doesn’t have the bell anymore, she sent it with her servant to exchange so that she can bail her sister in law out of jail.

Being curious isn’t enough to stop Chantal from sleeping with this sexy man who comes into her house and sweeps her right off her feet and into his arms. She should be ashamed of the way that Ian makes her feel but she can’t because when she’s in his arms, everything feels as if they’ve been righted and she can’t seem to stay away from him.

Ian means to make her his wife but she has some reservations about that being that she doesn’t know anything about him other than he’s an exceptional lover and she can’t wait to find out more.

They’ve got a lot of things to conquer before their love can be given a shot but eventually they get there and when I was finally done with this book, I didn’t feel excited about the characters, I didn’t feel like jumping for joy because Ian and Chantal were able to get over themselves and find a true love that will last forever, I didn’t feel very much of anything. I thought the story was okay, I thought the dialogue dragged and overall the story was just okay for me.

Ian was a good hero, he was everything I love in a man. Strong, virile (hehe) and confident. He did what he had to do and oh well if you don’t agree with it. He had a good heart and he always put his duty before his wants and I really enjoyed that about him. And he was hot, can’t forget that he was flippin’ hot.

Chantal was an okay heroine, not so annoying that she bordered on TSTL but not very memorable either. She was just okay in my book. She was a musician and she sang great but I wasn’t exactly wowed by her character, she was just okay for me. Nothing too spectacular on her part.

The other characters were pretty average as well. I didn’t connect with anyone and I didn’t really feel excited about reading the other books in this series, this book was just okay. I found myself skimming parts of the book and wondering what book I was going to read next, that’s how excited I was about this story, I’m glad I finished it but I know that I won’t ever reread this book and I don’t have a need to read the first book (this is the second book) or continue on with this series. It was just a pretty average book.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

two-half-stars

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Book Giveaway: The Trouble With Magic by Patricia Rice

Posted August 24, 2012 by Tracy in Giveaways | 11 Comments

THE TROUBLE WITH MAGIC BY PATRICIA RICE (Magic Series #3)

Casablanca Classics

Patricia Rice’s bestselling Magic series featuring the clash between science and magic has been off the market over 5 years. In The Trouble with Magic, Sparks fly when Ewen, the itinerant rake and adventurous inventor of the Ives family, catches Felicity, the most fey of the Malcolms, who is fleeing to Scotland to discover a way of ending her dangerous gift…

Felicity Malcolm Childe’s gift for experiencing visions through touch has always felt more like a curse than a blessing. To deflect the more agonizing images generated by her suitors, she covers herself from head to toe. Only the maddeningly handsome Ewen Ives provokes tingles of pleasure rather than pain, but he is already betrothed. Now her only hope is to persuade Ewen to take her to Scotland to find the ancient book of spells that could allow her to reverse her gift—and free her from its burden.

Ewen may be a brilliant inventor who can move rivers and harness lightning, but he also knows better than to underestimate the mischief-making Malcolm sisters. In spite of his misgivings, he can’t let the mousy, heavily clad Felicity travel to Edinburgh without a proper escort. Little does he suspect that beneath Felicity’s unsightly cloak is a serenely practical woman whose remarkable beauty and courage will utterly captivate him—and ignite a fiery passion with the power to fulfill both their dreams.

We’re giving away 1 print copy of The Trouble With Magic. Leave a comment on this post, along with your email address, no later than midnight on August 31st to enter. (US and Canada Only)

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Guest Review: The Devilish Montague by Patricia Rice

Posted February 1, 2012 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments

Judith’s review of The Devilish Montague (Rebellious Sons #2) by Patricia Rice

All Blake Montague wants is to save Europe from a tyrant. But as the penniless youngest son of a baron, he needs a marriage of convenience to provide the money he requires for a military commission. Then he meets a blonde beauty who can fulfill all his needs-especially those satisfied by a wife…

On the face of it, the story, the plot, and the characters appear to be repeats of what a reader would find in most historical romances set in the time of the Napoleonic War. However, there are significant differences that make this story stand apart and which made it a very entertaining read for me.

First, Blake may indeed be an impoverished third son who can never hope to attain to his father’s title. But he is not just a man who wants wealth in order to support a life of a rake while deciding to settle down. Rather, Blake Montague is a man of such shining honor that he stands out among all the men of the ton. He doesn’t gamble or drink excessively–no money to spare and thus it would be dishonorable for him or his family to do so. He wants to use his unusual gifts at solving puzzles to decipher coded messages that are being secreted back and forth from England to France and giving the enemy information that is hampering Wellington’s efforts to defeat Napoleon. His parents are proud of him but he is thankful for their kindness and support. But he is also aware that his mother believes that he is “cursed” and will die before he is 30 years old just as her mother ‘s other male relatives did. All because he has a peculiar streak in his hair. With no money and not prospects of any in the future beyond his small allowance, Blake has to find a wife if he is going to have enough money to purchase an officer’s commission and become a part of Wellington’s staff. Otherwise his desire to use his considerable code-breaking talents will never be taken seriously.

The heroine is also not often seen in Regency romances. She is a younger sister who has been abused emotionally, verbally and psychologically by her older brother, put out of their ancestral home–the only home she and her brother have ever known–and has had to become the protector of her “weird” brother (he would have probably been diagnosed as autistic in today’s world) and a mother who renounced her life as a countess in order to do academic historic research and bury herself in books. Blake offers an opportunity to regain her home for herself, her brother and mother because her brother has lost their family home in a poker game to Montague’s father. But it will not become hers if Blake dies during the first year of their marriage. So it is in her best interests to prevent his purchase of a military commission so that he cannot go to war.

This is a marvelous novel that has all the glitz and glamour of the early 19th century along with the tension and strife that came with the war in Europe. It also contains the reality of marriage as political and financial gain rather than a love relationship. However, even as Blake and our heroine are married, there are still significant bumps in the road to happiness and contentment for both of them. Even though there are snags financially, Blakes bride is remarkably adept in using her connections to draw attention to his extraordinary talents as well as assist in slowly dismantling the mystery that makes an appearance from time having to do with African parrots who use profane language, efforts to steal them, the involvement of some of the nobility with French citizens, and more.

This book is full of vim, vigor, and vitality–people who live honorably and who use their wealth to benefit others. It also has its share of bad guys and there are happenings that come out of nowhere and really surprise the reader. There is love and lust, desire and fear present. All is not well between Blake and his bride–she refuses to consummate the marriage for fear of pregnancy, of losing her home before she and Blake have been married a year, of failing to protect her brother and mother plus possibly having a baby to care for. I think it safe to say that the frustration in the bedroom is fairly high.

The is the second of Patricia Rice’s books I have read. I really enjoyed the first book in this series but I think I enjoyed this one even more. She writes so well, and the story never lagged for me. It has significant size and to be able to keep the spirit of the story as well as the level of tension throughout is not easily done. It is a historical romance that is well worth the time and effort to read. Such a truly good book!

I give it a rating of 4.25 out of 5

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This book is available from Signet. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

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Guest Review: The Wicked Wyckerly by Patricia Rice

Posted March 4, 2011 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments

Judith‘s review of The Wicked Wyckerly (The Rebellious Sons, Book 1) by Patricia Rice.
John Fitzhugh Wyckerly has never relied on his family for love or money.  Handsome, charming, and a genius with numbers, he wins enough money gambling to allow himself the pretense of luxury and indolence expected of an aristocrat’s younger son.  But when his brother’s death make him the 7th  Earl of Danecroft, he inherits a crumbling estate and massive debts.  Determined to do right, he reclaims his illegitimate daughter, Penelope, and heads to London in search of a very rich wife.
Abigail Merriweather’s rural farm has been maddeningly quiet since she lost custody of her four young half siblings.  At least the house bustles when a roguish gentleman named Fitz stops for a few days’ respite with his rebellious daughter in tow.  His etiquette is questionable, and his parenting deplorable–so why does Abby delight in his blunt flirtations?  And when she seeks a suitor to help her regain the children, why does Fitz keep popping up?  They’re an impossible match–yhet maybe a match made in heaven after all.
This is the first novel in a new series by Patricia Rice, an author that has quite a list of fine novels to her credit.  Set in the England of the early 1800’s, this historical romance has a sense of the unusual right from the first.  Of course, there are often aristocrats looking for wealthy marriageable women in order to solve their financial woes.  But few are as dead broke as Fitz.  And there are certainly titled aristocrats who are struggling to keep the titled line going by seeking a wife who will present him with heirs.  But few seem less concerned with that aspect of the responsibility that Fitz.  That he has finally taken his illegitimate daughter in hand is evidence that he is really trying to assume his responsibilities.  He had faithfully seen to her support and thought she was placed with a good caregiver after her actress mother married a German aristocract and abandoned her.  But when he stopped by her caregiver’s home and found her locked in a cage, hungry, dirty, ill-dressed (especially after what he was paying for her upkeep), he removed her from that locality, threatened her “nanny” with criminal charges, sent the erstwhile suitor of the “nanny” on her way, and claimed Penelope.  That his daughter has been kept like an animal and received almost no care or discipline became immediately evident.  Traveling with her was a nightmare.  And when his lack of funds necessitated that he and Penny debark from the public coach and landed in Miss Abigail Merriweather’s front yard, Fitz’s life undergoes a subtle but relentless change, one he for which he was unprepared but which began to make a serious difference in the relationship he had with his daughter and his outlook on his future.
This historical romance could really be styled as a “romp” as there are some truly witty characters who form the context and backdrop of this story.  Yet there are some serious things going on here.  First, Abigail’s half-siblings are removed from her custody because her stiff-necked, ultra conservative executor of her father’s will didn’t believe that a woman alone could raise boys properly.  This didn’t set very well with the independent minded Abigail.  Second, Fitz’s manner of earning a living ultimately came to be more of a problem than a problem-solver.  He was a genius with numbers and had perfected the method of “counting cards” so he won far more than he lost.  He was also not one of those persons who was tied to gambling for the thrill.  He just knew how to win and so he did.  However, his suitability as a parent figure because of his gambling created problems down the road.  Of course, this novel embraces the London Season–the English aristocratic marriage mart–as the backdrop for much of Fitz’s growing involvement with Abigail.  That they were friends was never in doubt.  That he could be a good husband and father?  Now there’s the rub.
I found this book to be a delightful reading experience.  Having begun my love affair with books many years ago with historical romance, it was like encountering a good friend.  That it was so well written and such a fun story just added to  my delight.  Ms Rice has demonstrated repeatedly that she knows how to tell a good story and ther reviewers have welcomed her literary offering over and over again.  This book is no exception.  Her characters are all so very interesting, so unique, each in their own way.  A number of persons who populate this story are like Fitz–living as aristocrats but really on the fringe of the ton.  Manny,m like Fitz, have little money but lots of influence.  Which goes to show that the old truism:  ” . . . it’s not what you know but who you know . . .” is based on experience of long standing.  That Fitz continued to be helpful to Abigail in her struggle to regain custody of her siblings proved to make him a growing presence in her life. 
This story really highlights the value of friendship in relationships of all kinds.  It was friendship that initially bound Fitz and Abigail together.  It was friendship which gave support to Fitz on a number of occasions, even though everyone knew he was bankrupt.  And it was the “sub story” of his growing friendship with his daughter that brought to light the true depths of a man who had been ignored and pushed aside by his father and brother, not to mention his mother, all of his life.  It is also a delight to watch Abigail and her persistent faith in him that helps him recognize value in himself that he had either been unable or unwilling to acknowledge.  He began this whole discouraging process of being an earl with a sure sense of his inability to be what was needed to meet the challenges.  Long before the novel was ended, Fitz began to believe he really could be the person needed to save the title and put the estate back together.  Abigail had a great hand in making that confidence a reality.
This is just one of those engaging novels that is a joy to read.  I had not encountered Ms Rice’s work previously.  I definitely will be on the prowl to find some of her other books now.  This is a historical romance fans of this genre shouldn’t miss.

I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 rating.

You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place.

This book is available from Signet. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

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What I Read Last Week

Posted January 31, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 8 Comments

What a crazy, insane week!
At work it was not only monthly newsletter time but it was also time for the Annual Meeting and haranguing people to get their reports in, etc and then having to organize it all really isn’t my idea of a good time. Thank heavens it only happens once a year! lol
On top of that my oldest had a really rough week with her math teacher and so it was emotionally charged at home. *sigh* Even Calgon couldn’t take me away. 🙂 Hopefully this will be a better week for her.
Oh, and she went to spend the night at a friends house and came home with her hair 5 inches shorter! Now I’ve been wanting her to get her hair cut because it’s super thick and really heavy and gets into a tangled mess but she kept telling me NO! But even so, don’t you think the friend’s mom who cut it would have had my daughter ASK me before she took scissors to hair? I mean, really? I found that incredibly presumptuous. It looks adorable and was exactly what I wanted her to do – and I know my daughter, I’m sure she didn’t even think to call me because that’s just how she is…and she’s heard me tell her to get her hair cut – but still! I know I shouldn’t have an issue with it since she obviously accomplished what I could not but it just irks me. I know, I’m strange. lol
Ok –enough about me – how are you? What were you up to this past week?
So on to why we’re all here…here’s what I read this past week:
I started off my week with The Wicked Wickerly by Patricia Rice. I didn’t like the characters in this one and frankly the story was starting to grate on my nerves after only 30 pages. I’m not sure I can even call this a DNF because I only read 60 pages but I just couldn’t get any further than that but I’m gonna. DNF
My Tracy’s TBR challenge book for the week was A Brush Of Wings edited by Anne Regan. This is a Dreamspinner Press anthology and it was a good one. There were all different types of stories having to do with angels in some way – whether it’s a real angel, a guardian angel or just someone you think is an angel. Darned good. 4 out of 5
These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf was my next read. This was the story of 4 women whose live get interwoven by 1 small boys life and it’s not all fun and games, lemme tell ya. My review will post tomorrow. 3.75 out of 5
Werewolf Me by Amarinda Jones was a book that I read for the Book Binge. Well, I didn’t actually get all the way through it. 60 pages is apparently the magic number for when I stop reading a book – only this book was only 147 pages. I didn’t like the characters all that well. Everything seemed over-dramatized and when the guy said I Love You and he’d just learned the girls name I was done. You can read my DNF review here if you’d like. DNF.
The Lady Most Likely…: A Novel in Three Parts by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Connie Brockway. This was the story of an Earl who enlists his sister to make a list of eligible women who he can marry. He’s 28 but has decided that it’s time to have an heir. The sister decides to have a house party since it’s after the season and invites the women on her list as well as other women and eligible bachelors. The story covers the women on the list as their find their loves – but is it the earl? Just an adorable book. I really liked all three stories and thought they were connected quite well. 4 out of 5
The Tourist by Clare London was next. Clare was nice enough to send me this lovely book that comes out on Feb. 28th. The story is about a spirit, Ace, who jumps to different bodies in order to have fun and mostly, sex. But on one jump he jumps into a man, Dan, who is in a relationship with Ricky. Ricky has issues with his ex…who doesn’t really think of Ricky as an ex. Ace jumps from Dan to Ricky and for once stays and gets to know the men. I’ll be posting my review of this a little later this month. Great story. 4.25 out of 5
Next up was Dangerous Secrets by Katie Reus. This is the story of Izzy who is living in Florida and working as a bartender. She’s got the hots for Adam who works at the bar too but Adam is working there to watch over Izzy for her father who is a wealthy businessman. There’s a madman on the loose and Adam is determined to keep Izzy safe. A really great read – my review will post on The Book Binge on the 4th. 4.25 out of 5
I decided to read Trusted Bond by Mary Calmes but realized it’s been a little over a year since I read Change of Heart which is the first book in the storyline. I decided to re-read Change of Heart first and it was just as good a read this time as it was the last. Jin who is a werepather, but a very rare type, who was kicked out of his tribe for not only being a reah but also because he was gay. His best friend Crane left the tribe with him and they’ve been moving from town to town ever since. He ends up meeting Logan Church who ends up being his mate. Jin has a hard time dealing with the fact that Logan had not been gay before he met him and Jin has problems believing in their bond. Just a great story. 4 out of 5
Trusted Bond by Mary Calmes takes up with Jin and Logan 6 months later. Jin is having issues, again, with believing that Logan can love him as much as Jin loves Logan because of the fact that the mating bond chose them. He thinks that Logan wouldn’t have even noticed him if not for the mating bond. On top of those issues Jin gets kidnapped by an old flame that isn’t right in the head. Jin goes through some horrific things and is eventually purposely kept from Logan. It’s an action packed story and really good. 4.25 out of 5
After that I decided to catch up a bit with my yaoi manga reading. I’ve been a bad little yaoi swapper and not read the books that Kris gave me when she left LA….in Nov. I know, I know, I suck. I got a few read yesterday and will continue on this week so that the next person on the yaoi swap list can get a package from Santa. lol
First up was Your Love Sickness by Hayate Kuku started off telling the story of two foxes who guard a shrine. One is a white fox who is very high up in the fox class system and the other is a red fox who is the lowest of the low. But the white fox loves the red fox despite that. There were other stories in this book that were cute as well. 3 out of 5
Next up was Skyscrapers of Oz by Yoshino Somei. The story revolved around 2 men and 2 boys (seriously 1 looked incredibly young to me – like 12 but I think he was supposed to be older than that) whose lives are all interwoven. The two men run a business and get caught up in one of the boys lives after being given a job. I really liked the graphics in this one and the story was good as well. 4 out of 5
Next was 9th Sleep by Makoto Tateno. This is classified as yaoi manga but really there was no boy love involved. It was the story of 2 kings who are in a crazy cycle to either die and go into a sleep for 100 years while the other creates an heir who then inherits the previous kings memories. It’s pretty convoluted. But 1 king doesn’t want to either die or sleep so he keeps getting reborn into different women. The graphics were good but the story really left something to be desired imho. 2 out of 5
Last for the week was I Can’t Stop Loving You by Row Takakura. Kyouji is training as an exorcist but can’t actually see the ghosts. His boyfriend, Yu, sees the ghosts but can’t exorcise them. Yu has serious jealousy issues in this book – not helped by his cousin who keeps trying to get Kyouji for himself. It was cute and well drawn. 3 out of 5
My Book Binge Reviews that posted last week:

Happy Reading!

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