JULIET MARILLIER: Wildwood Dancing – Wildwood #1

Una delle mie ultime, e davvero interessanti, letture è questo romanzo della favolosa Juliet Marillier. Il fatto che sia una bellissima storia, a metà fast-review-uptra favola e leggenda, non arriva per nulla a sorpresa. Juliet per me è sempre una conferma, fin da quando lessi il suo La Figlia della Foresta, pubblicato in Italia da Amenia, e i successivi Il Figlio delle Ombre e Il Figlio della Profezia. Sfortunatamente la serie (Wildwood) che al momento conta due romanzi, legati fra loro per via delle protagoniste sorelle, non è ancora stata tradotta in Italia.

Wildwood Dancing Juliet Marillier
Rating: ★★★★½
Editore MacMillan, RandomHouse
ISBN 9780375849442
Prezzo $ 7.00 ebook
$ 9.99 paperback
Pagine 407
Uscita 2007
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Wildwood Dancing
Juliet Marillier

Wildwood #1

High in the Transylvanian woods, at the castle Piscul Draculi, live five daughters and their doting father. It’s an idyllic life for Jena, the second eldest, who spends her time exploring the mysterious forest with her constant companion, a most unusual frog. But best by far is the castle’s hidden portal, known only to the sisters. Every Full Moon, they alone can pass through it into the enchanted world of the Other Kingdom. There they dance through the night with the fey creatures of this magical realm.
But their peace is shattered when Father falls ill and must go to the southern parts to recover, for that is when cousin Cezar arrives. Though he’s there to help the girls survive the brutal winter, Jena suspects he has darker motives in store. Meanwhile, Jena’s sister has fallen in love with a dangerous creature of the Other Kingdom–an impossible union it’s up to Jena to stop.
When Cezar’s grip of power begins to tighten, at stake is everything Jena loves: her home, her family, and the Other Kingdom she has come to cherish. To save her world, Jena will be tested in ways she can’t imagine–tests of trust, strength, and true love.

A beautiful legend that only Juliet Marillier could have weaved so magically. An incredible fable, full of adventure, love and that bit of darkness perfect for grown ups.

Some quotes from the book:

“I suppose the secret was not completely ours; Gogu knew. But even if frogs could talk, Gogu would never have told. Ever since I’d found him long ago, crouched all by himself in the forest, dazed and hurt, I had known I could trust him more than anyone else in the world.”

“It looked as if it had grown up out of the forest, with an assortment of bits and pieces sprouting from every corner: tiny turrets, long covered walkways, squat round towers, arches, and flagpoles.”

“At Full Moon, everything was different, everything was upside down and back to front. Doors opened that were closed on other days, and those whom the human world feared became friends. The Bright Between was a gateway: not a threat, but a promise.”

“Our cousin was not alone among the folk of the valley in his attitudes. There were those who believed the Other Kingdom to be a devilish place, full of presences out to destroy humankind. The margin of the wildwood was hedged about with crucifixes; the trees on its rim were thick with protective amulets.”

“That’s not really all you’re asking, Jena.” Tati turned her big eyes on me; their expression was cool now. “Anyway, you aren’t asking, are you? You’re telling. I can’t go through the portal if you won’t help open it. What you really want is that I never see Sorrow again. You think the moment I get up and dance with some fellow Aunt Bogdana’s dredged up for me, I’ll forget all about him. Well, I won’t. And I won’t go to your stupid party. You don’t understand.”

“The sun set beyond the colored windows four more times, and inside our chamber the stories went on. Not all were joyful tales; we needed to acknowledge that love was not just kisses, smiles, and fulfillment, but also sacrifice, compromise, and hard work.”

REVIEW: Riding Steele by Opal Carew (Ready to Ride #3)

riding steele by opal carew
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Editore St. Martin’s Griffin
ISBN 9781250052841
9781466854703
Prezzo $ 14.99 paperback
$ 9.99 ebook
Pagine 288
Uscita 17 march 2015
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Riding Steele
Opal Carew

Ready to Ride #3

In the arms of an outlaw, she found the freedom to live out her wildest fantasies. Don’t miss this scorching erotic romance from New York Times bestselling author Opal Carew, now available for the first time as a complete novel!
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When Laurie is kidnapped by bikers, she has no idea her life is about to change forever. From the moment she meets Steele—their sinfully sexy leader—she can’t deny their fierce attraction. Even though she’s completely at his mercy, his eyes soften when he looks at her, and the others in his gang know she’s strictly hands off. But the more time she spends with Steele, the more her body insists she wants his powerful hands all over her.

Now she’s about to discover a new life on the open road…and what it means to be part of a gang that shares everything. At first their wanton lifestyle shocks her senses—but once she’s had a taste of life on the edge, will she ever want to leave?

review

Ok, not really sure what to say about this book because…there is not much more other than sex in it. We can start with a short pro&cons list.

Pros:
-hot biker dudes
-HOT biker dudes who are also very sweet
-really hot sex scenes
-the cover

Cons:
-there isn’t a strong plot that gives a sense to the book
-during the story the main characters lose consistency
-really HOT and heavy sex scenes that can be too much for someone

Laurie is having a bit of a predicament seeing that her boyfriend is out of control and is trying to take charge of every aspect of her life… in and out of bed. Especially in bed where he has started to show interests that are more those of a psychopath than that of a lover. A situation that is starting to scare her badly and from which she wants to get away quickly.
The solution comes in the form of a nomad MC Club to whom Laurie’s brother has asked help.
When one of the Club assist to Laurie getting beaten by her boyfriend, he didn’t find other way to save the day than to kidnap her and bring her to where the club is currently staying, a country house nested in the woods.
However, is Laurie happy to be safe (and almost sound)? Oh no! She wants only to escape the people who helped her and are trying to protect her.

Ok, I can understand that in the beginning it could have seemed to her to have gone from a bad situation to another even worse. Even so, after the first night when no-one tried to hurt her in any way she should have changed her mind. Especially because, finally, she has someone who can help her getting rid of the asshole who is making her life a living hell. Another bonus is that she finds the leader of the group, Steele, very attractive… so why leave!? Try, at least, to gain something good from the mess you’re in.

The rest of the book is nearly only scenes of “group sex” or “couple sex” (more of the former). Dressed with a burst of jealousy (from Steele) that has not really sense seing that “what is mine is yours” in the code of the Club, much confusion (from both of them), another kidnapping and almost rape (from the asshole) and…other sex (from all of them).

Then, near the end, the author start to speak of Steele as dominant…but she doesn’t make him do things that can make you see him as one (≪Woman, do as I say!≫ is not one of those things). He is “only” a big, gorgeous, sexy man who is very free in his interest for sex and has a strong will. There is nothing about a relationship dom-sub between the two and speaking of it is too much and too late.

In conclusion, if you are in search of something that doesn’t have a strong plot but has many heavy sex scenes and whose only purpose is  to make you pass a couple of hours of fun, this is the book for you. Otherwise it’s better if you go find something else.

Preview: KATHLEEN BALDWIN, A School for Unusual Girls (Stranje House n.1)

Per gli amanti della serie di Gail Carriger, Finishing School, penso che questa nuova uscita per Tor Teen (maggio 2015), possa interessare non poco.

A School for Unusual Girls (Stranje House #1) by Kathleen Baldwin
 READ AN EXERPT
Editore Tor Teen
ISBN 9780765376008
Prezzo $ 17.99 hardcover
$ 9.99 ebook
Pagine 352
Uscita 19 may 2015
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A School for Unusual Girls
Kathleen Baldwin

Stranje House #1

www.kathleenbaldwin.com

It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don’t fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies—plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.

After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible—until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads—or their hearts…

KATHLEEN BALDWIN has written three award-winning traditional Regency romances for adults, including Lady Fiasco, winner of Cataromance’s Best Traditional Regency, and Mistaken Kiss, a Holt Medallion Finalist. She lives in Plano, Texas, with her family.