*Hannah Howell ~ Beauty And The Beast*

Beauty And The Beast

On the eve of her wedding to the heir of Saiturn Manor, the stunningly beautiful Gytha is shocked to learn that her betrothed, a man she barely knew, is dead. Now she must marry the new heir, Thayer Saturn, a battle-hardened knight known as the Red Devil...


With a face scarred in battle and a heart broken in love, Thayer has no interest in marriage. But not even the Red Devil can break the promise his foster-father made years ago and soon finds himself married to a woman whose exquisite beauty and sweet innocence intrigue him. But can his new bride look beyond his scars to find a hidden passion and undying love locked deep inside him?

~Taken from the Beauty And The Beast book cover~

~~~

~*~My Review~*~

This was one of the littler treasures I found in the Friends of the Library bookstore in my hometown before I left for SB...Beauty & The Beast was always my favorite fairytale (lol I loved the prince's flaws and I loved Bell's intelligence and passion for the written word) however even with my love for the disney story, I was worried this would be some cheap, erotic version of the old tale...luckily though that was not it at all!! Howell has taken the true meaning behind the story (that loves comes from the heart, and that only by loving and trusting with our hearts fully, can we ever know true love) and given it a new, and far more believeable, storyline.

The story of Gytha and Thayer is a complicated, intriguing, and thoroughly romantic story of two people who fall in love, and along the way learn to trust not only each other but themselves as well. What I loved most about this story (aside from the wonderful writing, captivating storyline, and realistic-quality of the entire story) was how the love between the two characters (though beautiful and very important to the storyline) was not what our hero/heroin were struggling towards throughout the book...whereas most books have the characters only discovering their love in the very end of the story, both Gytha and Thayer know they are in love very soon on, however it is trust that they must work towards finding. Both characters must struggle to surpass their own pride and fears to face their inner demons together, in order to truly accept their undeniable love.

This is the first novel I have ever had the pleasure of reading by Hannah Howell, however if this book is any indication for wha can be expected of the rest of her works, then I will be sure to keep an eye out for her other pieces. :)

~~~

~*~Excerpts~*~

"Staring up at him, Gytha decided it was an extremely awkward position. With all that whirled in her head, all that demanded saying, she felt she could get a severe crick in her neck before she was done. Glancing around, she espied a low bench. Grabbing his hand, she towed her startled bridegroom over to it. She then stood upon the bench and stared at him.

'Just what is it that you so abhor about our coming wedding?' she demanded.

'Gytha,' Margaret began in a soft protest.

' 'Tis a reasonable question, cousin. Well, sir? Do you perchance prefer darker ladies?'

'Nay.' He could not tell her of his fears, of how he dreaded a future filled with pain and the shame of being cuckolded.

'Then mayhap I am too short for your tastes?'

'Well, 'tis true that if you were much smaller, I might have trouble finding you.'

'Ah, I see. You wish me to be taller?' She frowned when he shoook his head. 'Thinner? Fatter?'

Despite his efforts to resist, his gaze moved over her figure. He could find no fault there. High, full breasts, a tiny waist and gently rounded hips stirred only intense interest. ...

'None of those. Child, I had a shock....'

...As she decided to drop the matter, voices from the other side of the hedge behind her drew all her attention.

'We should not,' gasped a husky female voice. 'My husband-'

'Is soaked senseless with wine.'

'Your wife?'

'Abed. She cares little how I entertain myself...'

Gytha gasped and looked at Margaret, who hastily covered her reddened face with her hands. ...

In the heat of righteous indignation, she decided that such things would not be allowed in her home. After glaring at the amused men, she leapt off the bench and started around the hedge. Hearing her three companions come after her, she hurried to elude them. The sight of the entwined couple on the ground enraged her. Even as the man saw her and hastened to stand up, she gave him a good kick in the backside. She glared at the couple as they scrambled to pull together their tangled clothing. Them she began to lecture them, punctuating certain statements with an occasional swat at one or the other miscreant. ...

'Oh Gytha,' Margaret murmured when the couple was gone, loving amusement in her voice, 'you should have let be.'

'But Margaret, my mother often strolls here with my father.'

Although his sides ached from all the smothered laughter he had already indulged in, Thayer started again. He joined Roger in whooping with unrestrained laughter. Gytha was staring at the ground as if the trysters had left some bold stain, forever tainting the area. She still looked beautifully indignant.

(lol, this is one of my fave scenes but it's so long I couldn't put it all in...lol just trust me, this book is worth buying!!)

*Karen Chance ~ Cassandra Palmer, Clairvoyant Series (Books 1-3)*

Touch The Dark

Cassandra Palmer can see the future and communicate with spirits-talents that make her attractive to the dead and the undead. The ghosts of the dead aren't usually dangerous; they just like to talk...a lot. The undead are another matter.

Like any sensible girl, Cassie tries to avoid vampires. But when the bloodsucking Mafioso she escaped three years ago finds Cassie again with vengeance on his mind, she's forced to turn to the vampire Senate for protection. The undead senators won't help her for nothing, and Cassie finds herself working with one of their most powerful members, a dangerously seductive master vampire-and the price he demands may be more than Cassie is willing to pay...

Claimed By Shadow

A recent legacy made Cassandra Palmer heir to the title of Pythia, the world's chief clairvoyant. It's a position that usually comes with years of training, but Cassie's circumstances are a little...unusual. Now she's stuck with a whopping amount of power that every vamp, fey, and mage in town wants to either monopolize or eradicate-and that she herself doesn't dare use.

What's more, she's just discovered that a certain arrogant master vampire has a geis on her-a magical claim that warns off any would-be suitors, and might also explain the rather ... intense attraction between them. But Cassie's had it with being jerked around, and anyone who tries it from now on is going to find out that she makes a very bad enemy...

Embrace the Night

Recently named the world’s chief clairvoyant, Cassandra Palmer still has a thorn in her side. As long as Cassie and a certain master vampire—the sizzling-hot Mircea—are magically bound to each other, her life will never be her own …

The spell that binds them can only be broken with an incantation found in the Codex Merlini, an ancient grimoire. The Codex’s location has been lost in the present day, so Cassie will have to seek it out in the only place it can still be found—the past.

But Cassie soon realizes the Codex has been lost for a reason. The book is rumored to contain some seriously dangerous spells, and retrieving it may help Cassie to deal with Mircea, but it could also endanger the world…

~ Taken from Karen Chance's Website:

http://www.karenchance.com/author.html ~

~*~My Review~*~

I remember the first time I came across Chance's Cassandra Palmer series; it was a couple of years ago when I was just getting into the romance genre and I was so blown away by every aspect of the first book Touch the Dark...I remembering thinking there was no way the following books could possibly compare - I couldn't have been more wrong. Every book in this series has been superb! The love I felt for the series from the first book only grew and strengthened as I continued the story with the other books.

Chance captivates her audience in every way possible. Her talented writing and innovative storyline, combined with her compelling characters, make her books instant successes. Now add to that her amazing ability to call upon ancient myths, legends, and fairytales to create a very believable and enthralling world of magic and intrigue, you have what I like to call a "shooting star" (a rare but magical thing we all love to experience).

One of the main things I always need in my books is strong relationships between the characters; it is thru the relationships that we as readers truly come to know the characters in the book, thus falling in love/hate with them. What I truly love about Chance's work is how she not only gives her readers a wide world full of interesting characters to relate with, but she gives them a complexity that is unfortunately often-times lacking in fictional stories. Each character is viewed differently by the other characters, they have secrets that, until revealed, leave us falsly believing we have them pegged and then changing our opinions of them entirely as a new piece of the puzzle is set in place. There are so many characters to adore, despise, pity, love, and hate in this series and believe me when I say, this is a series that will call forth strong emotions and not just inklings of feelings.

I would recommend this series to anyone and everyone. Please read these books...I can promise you that (if you are interested in either paranormal and/or romances) you will enjoy these novels very much. They are amazing and I can only pray the next installment comes quickly.

~*~Excerpts~*~

(Touch the Dark)

"I looked into that handsome face, and some part of me detached itself to watch another illusion shatter and die. I thought I'd finally done something good, that I'd actually helped someone, save somebody, instead of always watching every damn thing I did end in pain - either mine or someone else's. I should have known it was too good to be true, that he was too good. Way out of your leage, Cassie, my girl, I thought as my back hit the door. Maybe you should start smaller, adopt a kitten next time - only I knew there was very little chance that there would be a next time."

~~~

" 'Do you know how you taste, my Cassandra?' he asked me softly. 'I have never known anything like it. You go to my head like aged brandy.' He breathed deeply of the skin above my pulse. 'You cannot imagine how intoxicating I find your scent.' His thumb moved slightly on my waist, up and down the center of my rib cage. It wasn't an overly sexual touch, but I caught my breath. 'Or how very good you feel.' ..."

(Claimed by Shadow)

"I glanced at my nonexistant watch. 'Oops, look at the time. Guess I have to be going now. Let's not do this again sometime, okay?'..."

~~~

"Tomas kissed the side of my head, the only thing he could reach, and looked at me somberly. 'You should not have come back for me - it was a terrible risk. You must promise never to do it again.'

'I won't have to,' I said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. It was always so beautiful, long and black and as soft as a child's. I picked a few leaves out of it with a slightly trembling hand. I was so glad to see him alive that I felt giddy. 'We'll find some way to hide you from the Senate.'

Tomas was shaking his head before I even finished speaking. 'Beautiful Cassie,' he murmured. 'It has been a very long time since anyone was willing to risk themselves for me. Very few ever have. I will remember what you tried to do.' ..."

(Embrace the Night)

"Something lunged at me out of the night. 'Donj't shoot!' a man whispered.

He smelled of sweat, metal and dirt, plus a static crackle of nervous energy that was practically his signature. I turned on the flashlight and saw what I'd expected: a shock of pale hair, which as usual was making taunting gestures in the face of gravity, a square jaw, a slightly overlarge nose and furious green eyes. The Circle's most famous renegade and my reluctant partner, John Pritkin.

I breathed a sigh of relief and clicked my gun's safety on. To know Pritkin was to want to kill him, but so far I'd resisted temptation. 'You shouldn't sneak up on me like that!' I whispered.

'Why didn't you shoot me?' he demanded.

'You told me not to.'

'I-that's-' Pritkin seemed momentarily incoherent, so I shoved the gun's barrel lightly against his stomach. At least I'd thought it was his stomach. I'd only intended to show that I wasn't defenseless, but in a flash, I was slammed against the side of a crypt, my gun arm pinned ot the wall, my body stuck between the hard surface and a very angry war mage. I reluctantly admitted that there may have been a fantasy or two that began with this scenario, but I doubted the evening was going to end in the same way."

~~~

"His lips were on mine, his hands cradling my head so he could kiss all the breath out of my body, and he was pushing me down against the bed. And then his lips were everywhere-my collarbone, the side of my neck, the crease between my breasts, my jaw-and it hit me that he wasn't just choosing spots at random. These were places he'd thought about, and that was almost enough to send me over the edge."

I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry...

I am soooo sorry...I got so caught up in moving away from home that I didn't even realize I never posted reviews for Karen Chance's series!!!! *Bows head in shame* I was going on and on about how I was waiting to post a review on them until I'd read all three in order and then I actually forgot to post a review on these magnificent books!! How can I have forgotten?? It's one of my fave series (lol, I suppose I should stop now before I turn this into the review!) No worries though, I'm gonna work on Chance's review right now ;)

Hope you all like it!

Smile,
Cherie

My Beach!!!

Ok, ok, ok, so it's not technically my beach, but it is only a 2 minute walk down a path leading straight from my dorm to the sand, so I think I have some temporary claim to it ;).

I LOVE IT HERE! It's so peaceful, so tranquil...there's usually only one or two other students about when I'm here so I usually have it almost entirely to myself.

My Dorm Room!! *I got a single*

*This is the view from my window*

(And of course I would be remiss if I did not mention my books. I tried to narrow it down, I really, truly, honestly did, but can I be blamed if I have fallen in love with too many of them to only bring 20 or 30 books? Lol that's right...I wound up bringing somewher around 120 books with me - and I still miss those left behind at home)

Back From Being MIA For An Eternity...

Hi readers,
Sorry it's been so long since my last post. There was some serious financial aid issues I had to work out on top of packing for college so I didn't have much time to do much of anything but college stuff last month. However, I am now officially settled in here at beautiful UCSB (University of Santa Barbara, California) and am loving it. I moved in on Saturday and already feel at home (well as at home as I ever will when away from my family and friends). It is so amazingly beautiful here. The beach is honest to God only a 2 minute walk from my room!! And there's usually only 3 or 4 other students out there so it's nice and calm and peaceful. The only way I can describe it is 'magical'. I have some pictures of my dorm and the beach for you guys which I will post in a few short moments. I have a lot of books to review although not as many as I would have hoped due to being so busy with moving away from home and such. Oh, I also turned 18 exactly 10 days ago so *YAY*!! I wont start on my reviews until tonight because I am accustomed to writing them around midnight, but I promise they will get written. =)

It's good to be back blogging!!
Cherie