Review: The Angel by Tiffany Reisz

Review: The Angel by Tiffany Reisz

Rating: 5 Stars!

For more info on Tiffany Reisz, this book, and other works visit her website here.

This book left with my mouth gaping. Now to call upon the one person to fill that hole *gasp*. She what Ms. Reisz does to me with her words. Suddenly I'm a randy, insane female willing to publish naughty words on my blog. Her first book, The Siren, was merely a stretching exercise and lesson in proper breathing techniques. Every word penned before only sought to sink you further into oblivion. The Angel is the flogger, the testing phase to see how much you can take. Let me go on the record in saying: "I can handle more."

We've got several main players: Nora, Griffin, Michael, and Soren. There's some Kingsley and a bit of Wesley in there too. Couple that with enough sexual high jinks and kinks, and I was on fire! Could not put this down. We follow Nora to the New York countryside. She's hiding out to help Soren deflect a nosy reporter and some nasty rumors. In addition to hiding she's training a new sub and getting plenty of action from Griffin to keep her mind occupied. Only when is Nora ever satisfied with just 1 man? The would be a n-to-the-e-v-e-r!

My favorite part of the story-- well, all of it!

My favorite line: "Have you ever had sex in the back of a Rolls Royce?"

This is BDSM Erotica at it's finest. A mix of pleasure, pain, and characters that continual keep you guessing. Reisz does a marvelous job with dialogue. It bites, cuts, and just when you think someone will say something they shut their mouths. The sprinkle of back story throughout the pages, until your screaming for more, is another talent Reisz possesses. My praise could go on for hours. No sagging middle, no boredom, no skipping paragraphs due to over description. Eyes wide and glued to each syllable is a pre-requisite.

The bottom line (remember she left a ton of marks) this book is not for the faint of heart. If you enjoyed The Siren, The Angel will secure your ticket on the train to sinners paradise. For BDSM fans this is a book you should purchase immediately, and I mean a hardback copy. You'll want to show this off on the bookshelf. If this is your first foray into the world of BDSM Erotica I suggest you proceed with caution or start with Reisz's earlier works to break yourself in.

A Few Good Reviewers Needed!

Here's the official post, as promised.

Indies Books R Us is looking for a few good nuts... um, we mean reviewers, but if you're a little cray too then no biggie!

Yes, we need help. If you follow our blog regularly you've seen on the last few months have put a strain on us. The indie book reviewing world is just too big for only 2 reviewers on this site. Commitment is for just 1 review/1 book per month. You'll get a choice in what you review, and you only have to put down about 300-500 words of your thoughts on the book's content. No extraordinary deal, no website design or fancy postings (we'll take care of that). Additional details will be provided if you're interested.
Those who want more info or are definitely up to the challenge send an email to: indiesrus@live.com

Include:

-Contact info

-Experience (it's not required, but a bonus).

-A review example. If you've never written one before write a review based on the last book you read.   I hope there's a few of you out there interested in joining the cause, at least that's one way of defining it. There's a ton of books available out there and we need to help people sift through the good, the questionable, and the fuzzy.

Summer Reading List: May-July 2012

I haven't been very diligent these summer months, but I decided at the last minute to fill in with an update of what I've been reading. When I wrote everything down I was surprised by how small the list was. Normally I could bust out this many books in a month. But I guess it's more about quality rather then quantity.

1. Blood Before Sunrise by Amanda Bonilla***
2. Ravishing The Heiress by Sherry Thomas***
3. Melt Into You by Roni Loren
4. Still Into You by Roni Loren
5. Without A Spark by George Berger**
6. Rift of Askrah Book 1: Fracture by Benjamin Andrews**
7. Scandal Wears Satin by Loretta Chase***
8. Return of the Viscount by Gayle Callen***
9. Forever A Lady by Delilah Marvelle***
10. Lessons From A Scandalous Bride by Sophie Jordan***
11. When You Wish Upon A Duke by Isabella Bradford***
12. The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James***
13. A Lady By Midnight by Tessa Dare***
14. How to be a Proper Lady by Katherine Ashe***
15. A Gentleman Undone by Cecilia Grant***
16. The Casanova Code by Donna MacMeans***
17. My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin***
18. Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione***
19. Messenger's Angel by Heather Walden-Killough***
20. Forbidden by Nicola Cornick***
21. Secrets of an Accidental Duchess by Jennifer Haymore
22. About Last Night by Ruthie Knox
23. A Duchess to Remember by Christina Brooke
24. The Siren by Tiffany Reisz*
25. Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry

My August reading list will be coming up shortly, as well as post on what I learned from my latest submission experience. I've got a couple of reviews as well from self-published sources as well.

*Review posted here.
**Review posted on IndieBooksRUs blog
***Review posted on The Season

Funday Monday: August 20th, 2012

Well we're halfway through my birthday month and so far I'm lovin' it! Yesterday was the official day I turned one year older. Nothing exciting but as always worthwhile. It's been a long time since I posted a Funday Monday set, and a few things have popped up on my radar. This week's group of 5 involves stuff for writers (of course). Just a bit o' everything.

5. Reviewers Needed! So you're not into the full blown romance novel set, but you want to write reviews... how about YA/ New Adult? The Season Review site is looking for those interested in reviewing YA novels. You can sign up for what you want, but need some strong writing skills for more info check out THIS POST.

4. I love reading self-pub/indie books! If that's the case do you want to review them? Currently Lexcade and I are searching for a few good folks to help enhance our IndiesBooksRUs review blog. We want to do more but we're only two folks. 2013 is just around the corner so be on the lookout for a post here and there coming soon! Until then if you have some interest you can send me an email direct.

3. Writing Opportunity. Have you checked out the Writer's Digest site? I'm sure you'll tell me you have, but it's one of those things you can easily forget. What captured my interest is this upcoming webinar on Self-Editing. I can't participate due to the fact I work a day job during these hours, but I felt like sharing the wealth. If this doesn't interest you there's another webinar for query help coming up in September. Just check out the site. You won't regret it.

2. Avon Romance Addict? Yes this is a question for those fans of Tessa Dare, Caroline Linden, Julie Anne Long, Lynsay Sands, Kerrelyn Sparks and Lori Wilde to name a few. If you are then Avon is looking for 25 special addicts to get the opportunity of early reads, free swag, and other special perks. All you need do is apply here. Deadline to apply is September 7th, 2012.

1. Finally the last bit of Funday Monday jazz is this article that's a bit sad. I recently read this and thought heavily about the decline of the Ninja. This got me thinking about other practices throughout history that are now in a decline including doll collecting (weird I know). Not that I collect dolls, but I'm just saying. So when you're thinking about plotting a book something obscure like this may be fun, different. Just felt a need to share the news with the rest of those out there.

Review: Temptation & Twilight by Charlotte Featherstone

Review: Temptation and Twilight by Charlotte Featherstone

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

For back cover blurb or more information about the author visit Charlotte Featherstone's website here.

Three words that describe this book: anxious, agony, and sensual

Featherstone is a master of sensual description and emotion. In the final book of The Guardians trilogy she once again shows us how she can squeeze every ounce of feeling from the encounters between two people. For Elizabeth York and Iain Sinclair there's plenty of feeling, secrets, and dwelling emotions between once lovers.

Elizabeth is essentially the character we know and love. Mentioned in previous Guardian books, Elizabeth is blind. Featherstone has created a wonderful, strong woman that manages to operate without her sight, which makes the sensuality of the story ten times better. Add in a secondary man in the competition ring and things are downright hawt! Yes, you heard right, there's competition for Elizabeth's hand. Dedicated readers to the series will remember the man Elizabeth was introduced to at the party during Pride and Passion. Oh, and just to confirm this storyline is parallel with Pride and Passion, with the timing of the two being one and the same. There's a few dark moments in this story along with a dark recollections of what happened after Elizabeth and Iain connected the first time.

Now to the subject of Iain. This is was a man that I was extremely attracted to visually, but I found him a bit more sensual then emotional for most of the book. He's Scottish and extremely possessive, which seems to be the main focus of his attentions toward Elizabeth. Along with a deep desire for forgiveness and a need to repent for his previous sins against her, though he's not aware of all of them. Every time he took a step towards an emotional element he'd counteract it by sexually approaching Elizabeth. Halfway through the book it got a bit annoying and I really wanted Iain to grow a bit more. He finally grew, but just a bit slower then I would have enjoyed.

Overall, Temptation and Twilight is a decent book and wraps up the tale of the Guardians for those who've read previous books in the series. By now we know the face of the true villain, but seeing his ultimate defeat at the hands of this group of heroes and heroines is still enjoyable. Iain wasn't nearly as much fun in person as I expected, but Elizabeth exceeded all of my previous expectations.

And I'm spent...

The last 2 months have been a bit insane. I got roped into this crazy submission call, originally proposed by my critique partner. The submission call involved fairy tale retelling with *drumroll* zombies!

I know what you're going to say next: "But Landra you hate, and I mean despise with every ounce of your being, zombies."

I'm also aware of this fact, and... did I mention I was dragged into this by my critique partner. The conversation went a bit like this:

Her: This is insane but, Entangled has a call for fairy tale retelling zombie romance short story/novellas for Halloween. It's got my creativity flowing.

Me: What's this crazy idea you're having? I like it.

Her: We should each write a story for submission. It's due by July 31st. Doing it together will act as motivation.

Me: But we have less than 2 months to write it.

Her: That's right. 1 week to brainstorm, 1 week to plot, 2 weeks to write, 2 weeks to edit, and 1 week of wiggle room I think we can do it.

Me: It would definitely be an experience for deadlines and writing short stories.

Her: So you're in?

Me: Uh... yeah.

Alright flash forward about a week later and she texts me.

I just remembered something: You hate zombies. Like they seriously creep you out. How are you doing with this?

I told her as long as the good guys get to win I can do this.

Then things got crazy. I brainstormed, plotted, and then lost my touch. It took about a week to get back in the groove. Then I wrote (kickin' and screamin' all the way) until I thought everything was crap. I wrote some more, and sent the pieces of the story to my lovely CP to rip apart. In between the power outages, heat waves, monsoons, and random disasters I managed to finish the story and begin edits. The last 4 days were probably the worst, and then I had to write a query.

Bottom line of this crazy rant: I. Did. It. I submitted the story. I'm ready for rejection. I learned a ton of things through writing and editing, which I'll include in another post. But regardless of what happens this is a learning experience and even if it does go beyond a standard form letter telling me to try, try again I know that I can.

What this means for you, dear reader, I'm back. Give me a week to recover, but after that be ready for review time. If you've emailed me be ready for a response.

Alert: Appendage Missing!

I'm sure this is a bit overdramatic, but screw it! I'm missing an appendage and it's called my critique partner. First she was gone for a week for studying, then testing. Then another week passed and I knew she was catching up on work. No. Big. Deal. Right?

We made plans and then nature struck! Knocked out her computer and phone capabilities, that's when I freaked out. Officially two weeks since speaking and I'm going nuts. I need this person who I bounce ideas off of.

As she, my awesome critique partner, so elegantly put it before us conversing is like 'creative crack', and I feel like I'm in a writing rut without her. So fine readers I need prayers, crossing fingers, druid circles, whatever it is that you do to add a bit o'luck and send it my direction. I need my crit partner back or this deadline I'm trying to meet might not happen.

P.S. This (unlike usually) 



isn't working for me.