Tag: Teal Ceagh

Guest Review: Kiss Across Time by Teal Ceagh

Posted April 17, 2011 by Ames in Reviews | 1 Comment

Ames’ review of Kiss Across Time by Teal Ceagh.

Taylor Yates just got fired from her university job for insisting that the fifth-century British poet and playwright, Inigo Domhnall, existed. When she hears the poet’s lyrics in a death metal song, she engineers a meeting with the dark-eyed, dark-haired lead singer, Brody Gallagher. An unintended kiss sends them spinning back to the poet’s time, when Saxons were pillaging King Arthur’s Britain, and a warrior expects a proper farewell from his woman before he sets off for war.

Brody’s all for kissing her again. More, he’d like her to try kissing his friend and lover, Veris, just to see what will happen. His tall, blond, blue-eyed Saxon friend, Veris.

I don’t know what made me pick this book up but it was definitely a quick, interesting read.

Taylor is at a death metal concert with her friend Andy. She heard his music through their apartment wall a few weeks ago and she’s intrigued by some lyrics she heard. She wants to find out who wrote them, because they’re from a poem of the man she’s researching, Inigo Domhnall. A man she got fired from her university job for believing he even existed. Taylor is at the concert, hoping to get backstage when the lead singer approaches her…on the second balcony. He kisses her and they’re thrown back in time, to a time where they loved each other and where they’re saying a bittersweet goodbye as they can hear their enemies attacking their village. Powerful stuff! And exactly the ticket Taylor needed to get backstage to talk to the singer and find out who wrote those lyrics. But things get even more complicated backstage when Taylor meets the lead singer, Brody’s, lover, Veris. Because kissing Veris throws them back in time too! Taylor quickly realizes that things are not what they seem with these two sexy hot men…

Ok, this was an interesting story. I didn’t find it particularly hot, but the concept behind Brody and Veris’ past was interesting. I’m also not a fan of time travel, but this is more like going back into someone’s memory. And there’s a good explanation for why this is happening to Taylor, Veris and Brody. I don’t want to give too much away – but there is a connection to an Arthurian legend. I do plan on reading the sequel, Kiss Across Swords, and hopefully that will shed light on how Brody and Veris became what they did. I thought Taylor’s bit of resistance towards the end of this short story was a bit too much – what did it really bring to the story? My not liking this part could be that it wasn’t explained until afterwards.

All in all, interesting concept. I’m giving it a 2.75 out of 5. I’d give it a bit higher, but there were some editing mistakes that would have been taken care of with a more thorough proof-reading.

This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.

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Guest Review: Kiss Across Swords by Teal Ceagh

Posted December 18, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments

Tracy’s review of Kiss Across Swords (Time-Crossed Love #2) by Teal Ceagh

Growing up, Taylor Yates never dreamed she would end up happily living with two drop-dead sexy vampires and time-hopping through their thousand years of personal history. Her life is complete—or is it?

When she finds herself at the siege of Jerusalem during the first crusade, Taylor discovers Veris doesn’t know her at all…and doesn’t want to. Worse, he and Brody are total strangers, and Taylor drives a wedge deep between them by trying to seduce Veris at their first meeting—not something a lady of the day does if she wants to keep her head.

Taylor and Brody must woo Veris using the customs of medieval England, win his heart and his full commitment before Jerusalem falls in four days’ time—or when they return to their own time, their lives as they know them will be gone.

In book 1 of this series we discover that Taylor, Veris and Brody are all bonded and can jump back in time to either a time in Veris or Brody’s life. They think that this is a way to show Taylor their very long lives but they really don’t know for sure exactly why they jump.

On Taylor’s birthday, after four years of being together, Taylor asks Veris to change her into a vampire. Veris gets very upset, for reasons that aren’t revealed until later in the book, and leaves Brody and Taylor without a word. Brody and Taylor end up jumping time one night straight into the first crusade in Jerusalem and it’s the time in Brody’s life when he first met Veris and started their very long relationship. But Veris isn’t the same person. The details of his life have changed somewhere along the way and he’s a much more intense, harder person than he was the first time Brody met him. After things get muddled with Veris, Brody and Taylor discover that they are going to have to seduce Veris into being with Brody – because if they don’t the three of them may never exist together in the 21st century and all of their lives will change.

Veris’s refusal to change Taylor at the beginning of the book was quite confusing. There are four years in between the novella that is book one and this series and I was actually surprised that some of the information that came out in this book had never been talked about between the trio. In this story, while Brody and Taylor are back in Jerusalem, events happen and details come to light that explain Veris’s anger at being asked to change Taylor.

Part of the book is really an explanation of how Brody and Veris came into their relationship as told as a story from Brody to Taylor and how, with Taylor there now, how things have changed. But then Taylor and Brody go about trying to get Veris alone and trying to make him see their love for him, without trying to give too many details of his future. The story was a tad confusing at times with trying to figure out what was the past, the future and the present but it was good enough that it kept me wanting to know more.

Teal Ceagh has written a sensual and steamy historical/paranormal/contemporary book that is quite fantastic in its premise but is quite engaging in its telling. If there are more in the series in the future I’ll definitely be interested in reading them.

Rating: 4 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.

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What I Read Last Week

Posted November 23, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 7 Comments

Hello there!
So yes, it’s been a weird week and it’s only Tuesday.  Yesterday was just a bizarre day all the way around.  Mondays are usually busy but yesterday was insane.  I usually try to get this post done on Mondays during my lunch break but it was so busy I didn’t even take lunch and ate at my desk.  I guess it was because of the short week since I’m off on Thursday and Friday because of Thanksgiving – at least that’s what I’m going with.
Then I got home last night, exhausted, and the kids were all “Mom, I need you!” “Mom, can you do this?” Mom, can you help me with my math?” (that one made me laugh since I suck at math!) Anyway, they were so demanding…like I was their mother or something.  Like it was my job. *sigh* I obviously haven’t trained them well enough. ;0)
Anyway, so I’m late on this post but at least I’m getting it done, right? Right.
My first read for the week was Emily and The Dark Angel by Jo Beverley.  I read this one for The Book Binge.  It’s a re-release from 1991 that centers around a woman who’s firmly on the shelf and the rake next door.  He’s in the country for hunting season and she’s taken over her family’s estate management after her father is paralyzed and her brother goes missing in the war.  It’s kind of a mad cap story but fun none-the-less. You can read my review here if you’re interested. 3.5 out of 5
My Tracy’s TBR challenge read for the week was Slow Hands by Leslie Kelly.  I’ve had this one for a long darned time and thought it was time to actually read it.  A society lady, yet savvy business woman goes to an auction to bid on a male prostitute only to keep him out of the clutches of her step-mother.  But the programs were messed up and though she thinks the man she got is a gigolo he’s actually a Chicago firefighter.  It’s a cute story that centers around Jake and Maddy getting to know each other and Jake trying to break the ice around Maddy’s heart that was formed after she found her former fiance in bed with another woman. 3.5 out of 5
After that I read Hungry For You by Lynsay Sands.  This is book 14 in the Argeneau series.  A cute story about an immortal finding his life mate. (releases 11/30/10) You can read my review here if you’d like. 3.75 out of 5
Kiss Across Time by Teal Ceagh was my next read.  This is an erotic read about a woman who goes to a death metal concert and ends up kissing the lead singer.  When they kiss they go back in time. The woman then goes back stage and ends up kissing the singers partner and they go back in time as well.  The story revolves around the men, who are vampires, trying to talk and seduce the woman into staying with them as their bonded mate.  The vamps, Brody and Veris, are hot, hot hot.  This is basically a short story introducing how the characters got together and getting you ready for book 2 in the series which is longer and much more in depth. 3.25 out of 5
The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt is the book I read for my DIK reading challenge and my review will post on Thursday.
My next read was Tangled Up in You by Rachel Gibson.  This was the story of Maddie who writes true crime mysteries.  She’s decided that she needs to write the story of how her mother was murdered 29 years before and see if she can make sense of it all.  She goes back to Truly, Idaho, where the murder occurred and ends up getting involved with Mick who’s father was killed at the same time as Maddie’s mom…by Mick’s mother.  The story was very cute as I loved Mick and Maddie together but it was also very sad due to the subject matter and Mick’s reaction to Maddie when he finds out who she is. 3.75 out of 5
Next was Kiss Across Swords by Teal Ceagh that I read for The Book Binge.  This is book 2 in the Time-Crossed Love series.  This book takes place 4 years after the trio, Brody, Veris and Taylor have gotten together and Taylor asks Veris to change her into a vampire.  He refuses and leaves Brody and Taylor where they soon jump back in time to the first crusade which is where Brody and Veris first met.  That’s when the men were supposed to get together only things aren’t how they should be.  Taylor and Brody must make events between Brody and Veris happen or their trio in the future may not be together. A very good book that I really enjoyed.  I’ll let you know when my review posts.  (the book releases Nov. 24) 4 out of 5
Next was Turnskin by Nicole Kimberling.  This is a shifter book about a young man who is from the country who longs to go to the city and be a playwright.  He meets and falls in love with Cloud Coldmoon who is also a shifter but also the son of a crime boss.  Tom has to leave his trailer and the country and makes it to the city where he meets 3 of his cousins who run Turnskin theatre.  He ends up writing plays for them but meeting up with Cloud again as well. The two men have to figure out how to save Turnskin as well as how they will get Cloud out from under his mother’s thumb and live happily ever after. The story is very good and I loved the different take on the shifters.  These are shifters who can make themselves look like anyone but mostly their regular forms have hair and sometimes muzzles.  The book could be solemn and sad but also humorous and fun.  Just a really good read.  4 out of 5
Forbidden Magic by Jo Beverley was my next read.  I read a excerpt of this book, that will soon be re-released, in the back of the other Beverley book that I read this past week and I decided I’d like to read it. A family of 5 run by Meg, a 21 year old woman is in desperate straits.  They have no money and no means to get any but the landlord has offered to take Meg’s sister for his mistress in exchange for free rent. The girl is only 15 though!  Meg won’t allow that so she uses a magical statue to ask for a solution to the problem.  That solution comes in the form of an Earl who is desperate to fulfill a promise made to his hated grandmother and get married by his 25th birthday.  Meg marries the earl but things start to go very wrong – which Meg believes is due to the magical statue.  This was a cute book.  I found it kind of frenetic with some strange things going on…psychic parrots…that were a bit odd at times but overall I liked it. 3.5 out of 5
My last read for the week was His for the Holidays by LB Gregg, Harper Fox, ZA Maxfield and Josh Lanyon.  A wonderful collection of stories that will release on Dec. 6.  I’ll post my review this week.
My Book Binge reviews that have posted since last Monday:
Happy Reading!

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Guest Review: Beauty’s Beasts by Teal Ceagh

Posted August 14, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments


Judith’s review of Beauty’s Beasts by Teal Ceagh.

Riley Carson Connors is enticed out of Pittsburgh to New York by two tall, sexy strangers. Nicolas and Damian are the only two who know anything about her parents, and what they know is terrifying. She must face the enemy who killed her parents, both of whom were the best at what they did. But while the truth about her family history is overwhelming, Nicolas and Damian are even more compelling. Former lovers who came together because they gave their word to Riley’s mother, the two powerful vampires play erotic mind games with her, each hiding an agenda that she cannot begin to guess. But it seems to involve driving her out of her mind with the sort of pleasure that a centuries’ old lover would know how to give.

It can’t ever be easy to be raised in the foster care system. And like all good fiction, there are real life experiences that teach as well as entertain. Such is the case with Riley Connors, daughter of two of the best demon killers that ever lived and whose deaths when she was a baby forced her to be raised as a foster child. She always felt that she was one of the lucky ones–she didn’t have to endure any physical abuse or brutality. But she and some of her friends came to believe that the greatest hurt they had to endure was the loneliness. Nearly finished with a college degree she thought she had to have, Riley is confronted by Nicolas and Damian–both vampires and friends of her parents, and both very old. Damian was a Spartan warrior when he was turned, and Nicolas was a playmate of Richard the Lionhearted. An ancient enemy of her parents has once again “risen” and is killing humans so these two are now bringing Riley into the fray. They believe she has inherited the skills and aptitudes of her parents. They also believe that she is now the vengeful target of this old enemy.

I have to admit that this story really had me hooked for some reason. Perhaps it was the suspense — will she be able to kill this ancient enemy or won’t she? That’s not what did it for me, I don’t think. Actually I believe I was drawn into Riley’s own personal struggles with the whole issue of control. It was a big part of this story. She was so into control that she would not even allow herself to fully experience a sexual climax. Damian kept trying to teach her the difference between control and trust. And all through this story this issue of trust kept popping up. If Riley was to move into the kind of maturity she would need to slay this ancient enemy, then only trust — in herself and her abilities, in Damian & Nicolas — could ever allow her to be what she wanted to become.

I liked the characters in this book a lot! Riley was a gutsy gal who worked very hard to be honest about herself and her world, about her goals and her future, about who she was and about the family she didn’t have. She was exceedingly beautiful, to such an extent that she didn’t eat out anymore because she was always being hit on by guys, even when on a date with another guy. She was excessively bright and her intelligence shine through her entire way of relating to others.

I liked Damian and Nicolas very much. Damian was the old warrior, wise in the ways of cultures and generations, wise in the ways of human emotions and responses–even though he hadn’t been human for 3,000 years–wise in knowing himself and accepting who he was. Nicolas was more hidden within himself and far more likely to shut others out. Even though he had been “undead” for nearly a millenium, he still remembered parts about him that reminded him of himself when he was human, but he still struggled against the loss that came inevitably when human friends and lovers were left behind or died. But neither had lost the capacity to love.

This is a really good love story, and very good vampire/gargoyle tale, and, in its own way, a study of human nature. Even at their advanced ages, Damian and Nicolas learn something about themselves, each other, and Riley. Riley certainly learns that no matter the life form, no matter the quality of the relationship and its participants, certain basic truths are foundational. This novel was so well written and very readable. It wasn’t simplistic by any means, but it was not so overly complicated in its plot and story development that a reader would be “worn out” trying to comprehend the basics of the work. I think the author did beautifully in drawing the reader forward throughout the story, and bringing a truly good romantic novel into being.

I am looking forward to reading other works by this author. I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5.

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

This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.

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Guest Lightning Review: Beauty’s Beasts by Teal Ceagh

Posted July 31, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments


Kris’ review of Beauty’s Beasts by Teal Ceagh.

Riley Carson Connors is yanked out of Pittsburgh and coaxed to New York by two tall, sexy strangers. Nicholas and Damian are the only people in the world who know anything about her mother and father, and what they know is terrifying. She must face a powerful enemy who killed both her parents, who were the best at what they did.

But while the truth about Riley’s family history is a powerful magnet, Damian and Nicholas prove to be even more compelling. Former lovers brought together because they gave their word to Riley’s mother, the two powerful vampires play erotic mind games with her, each hiding a sexual agenda that Riley can’t begin to guess.

But it seems to involve driving her out of her mind with the sort of pleasure only a centuries-old lover would know how to give.

This was a neat paranormal vampire ménage story. Damian and Nicholas show up on Riley doorstep with information about the parents she never knew. She goes with them to help them in their quest to defeat the wizard and gargoyle that killed her parents and have returned to find and destroy her.

The only thing that bugged me about this story was the timetable and her training. Her mother had trained since childhood to fight bad paranormal things and she trains for about 10 hours, with no previous training, and then is ready to face the bad guys. Even Buffy took longer than that.

Besides that I really liked the story. The characters were interesting, the storyline was pretty fast paced to keep me interested and the love scenes were hot. All that equals a good story to me. I give it a 4 out of 5.

This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.

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