TBR Challenge - February

Finders Keepers by Linnea Sinclair

I missed Keishon's TBR challenge last month and was determined not to miss February’s so I started early this time.

The challenge theme: If you bought a book based on a DIK* review at AAR, find it and read it.

I didn’t buy Finder’s Keepers because of the recent DIK review it received at AAR – I already had the book; after reading Games of Command I went on a Linnea Sinclair glom and Finder’s Keepers was one of the books I got and there is sat in the TBR pile. So when I saw the grade I moved it up and figured it would be a good one for the challenge.

From the author’s website:

Now that they found each other, the universe won't know what hit it...

Blending hard SF with sizzling romantic suspense, Linnea Sinclair brings readers this red-hot adventure of two space outcasts on a collision course with destiny. Now that this star-crossed couple have found each other, the universe won't know what hit it...

Trilby Elliot is a barely legal independent trader. Rhis Vanur is the arrogant Zafharin military officer she rescued from a crash landing. It would have been a miracle if they survived each other's company on Trilby's slapdash starfreighter even under the best of circumstances. And these are far from the best of circumstances. For Trilby's best friend is missing and the warlike 'Sko are hunting both Trilby and Rhis. Suddenly they're in it together, for better, for worse--or until death blasts them to oblivion...

I loved this book – really, really loved it!

This is a SciFi romance and Trilby is an ordinary space trader who travels back and forth between planets with only her droid Dezi for companionship. She is holed up on a deserted planet making repairs to her space ship when another spaceship crashes on the planet. She heads out to see what’s going on and ends up rescuing and saving the life of Rhis Vanur. Although she finds him terribly arrogant, she is also quite attracted to him. But he is on a reconnaissance mission and although equally attracted to Trilby, he needs her ship.

Trilby was an incredible heroine. I find that Linnea Sinclair excels at writing heroines – ok and heroes too – and this book is no exception. She’s strong and competent yet she has hidden insecurities. These come into play when she finds out that Rhis is more then he has led her to believe. She’s one of those heroines who won’t take shit from anyone and that’s the kind of heroine I love.

And Rhis is an equally wonderful hero. He’s a lot more then he seems and not really the lieutenant in the Zafharin military that Trilby believes he is. He also has one thing going for him that I just love in a hero – he’s wrecked for the heroine. Totally and completely wrecked and determined to win her back again.

For steam level, I would give this one a warm. There aren’t many love scenes, but the ones in the book are quite well written.

I love SciFi/Futuristic romances. More then any other type of romance, they take me furthest out of real life *grin*. They are one of my favourite genres when written well and this one is very well written indeed! Linnea Sinclair is a fairly recent discovery and I urge anyone the least bit interested in this unique genre to give her a try.

I’m very happy with this months TBR book and I give Finder’s Keepers a 5 out of 5 and a hearty

Her next book, Hope’s Folly is coming out Feb. 24^th and I’m counting down the days.

Shades of Dark: The Joint Review

Thea and Ana from Book Smugglers and I have done it again! We have teamed up to write our "exclusive" reviews of Linnea Sinclair's Shades of Dark! Read mine and then go read hers and see if we are of the same mine. Plus, Ana and Thea are holding a Shades of Dark Contest over the weekend where there is an interview with Linnea and you can have your chance to win Shades of Dark.

And just to remind everyone, Sully is mine for always. Sorry Ana! :D

About two years ago, I was stuck in a romance genre rut. All I would read was historical with some contemporary funnies on the side. Also, paranormal romance was just starting to catch my eye. The thought of picking up a science fiction novel, even one with romance didn’t appeal to me. I don’t know how I came to hear of Linnea Sinclair, but for some reason I decided to give her a try. Some online message boards I would visit raved about her book, Gabriel’s Ghost. I quickly went to my local library to see if they had this book. It wasn’t in the romance section and I was shocked to see it was in Science Fiction. Why, honestly I have never even stepped foot to look at any books in that section and couldn’t believe I was there. I guess you could say I was a bit of a snob, because I really didn’t think there was no way romance could work in a sci-fi novel.

How wrong I was! I must first thank Linnea for opening my eyes to a whole new world. Because of Gabriel’s Ghost, I decided then to branch out to other genres. Soon I was reading all types of romance themed books. Linnea Sinclair is the reason I have grown from a biased type of reader into one willing to explore new books, even outside romance.

Gabriel’s Ghost is one of my all time favorite books regardless of it being a “science fiction” novel. As most of you know, I have a mad crush on Gabriel “Sully” Sullivan. He is such an ideal hero in so many ways. A bit of a loner who knows right from wrong but still feels the need for the best things in life. If he has to steal them, so be it. Of course the one thing he wants to steal most of all is the heart of a woman who seems to despise him. I won’t go into the whole plot of Gabriel’s Ghost, but the relationship between Sully and Chasidah “Chaz” Bergren, his angel-mine, is a subtle affair, not the big bang sexing love we are so use to in the romance we read and what some expect to find. Their love slowly builds up and becomes such a worthy one that can compete with most of the classic love stories we have come to adore.

When I heard Linnea was writing a sequel to Gabriel’s Ghost, I did a little dance of joy Sully and Chaz were coming back! But would her sequel, Shades of Dark be a worthy book? Would it loose its appeal or be written in a way where the love Sully and Chaz have for each other is lacking? Well, Linnea I am sorry to say Gabriel’s Ghost is no longer my favorite novel of yours, it is Shades of Dark, which is destined to be a sci-fi romance classic, in my eyes at least.

Shades of Dark takes place three months after Gabriel’s Ghost ends. Sully, Chaz and their crew are fugitives, trying to stop Sully’s cousin and his partner in crime by taking over the galaxy. These villains are able to re-create mutant beasts called Jukors that were used by the Empire. Because these things were so dangerous and hard to control, the Empire stopped all creation of them. Sully and Chaz’s self determined mission is to fine these illegal labs where the Jukors are being made and try and stop these horrendous clones before it is too late.

Things are a bit touch and go, especially because Sully is a rare human breed called a Kyi Ragkiril who has telepathic and telekinetic abilities. His kind are so feared that he would be killed right on the spot. Sully is slowly losing his identity as a human because he is not sure he can control his powers. His only hope is Chaz, who is his ky’sara. As his ky’sara, Chaz can feel all of Sully thoughts and emotions, and the same goes for Sully. They are soul mates in the literal sense and when Sully makes love to Chaz, she does literally see stars! Sully likes to show Chaz the stars a lot! Yup, much more intimate moments going on between Sully and Chaz here! :D

Even though Sully and Chaz are happy to be together, they are never safe, especially when her brother is arrested for treason. Now more than ever they must find these labs and through some rumors and inside information from associates, they may have the perfect man to aid them. His name is Regarth Serian Cordell Delkavra otherwise known as Captain "Del" Regarth who is also a Stolorth and a Kyi. He is willing to help for a price and seems to take an interest in Chaz.

As Del joins Sully and Chaz, Del helps train Sully to control his kyi abilities. But Chaz doesn’t like the way Del works. Del is a sleazy yet seductive character who not only wants to have a special relationship with Sully but wants to be a part of what Chaz and Sully have together! Yup, an intergalactic Kyi ménage. Now before you all become shocked and think, why, is Linnea going to go where none of her stories have gone before, Del’s “blackmail” shall we say, is very subtle. Chaz makes the assumption and Del doesn’t deny or agree.

Chaz is in between a rock and hard place. Her brother may end up dead, Sully is loosing himself more and more as a Kyi and Del keeps giving her the dirty eye that makes her want to shower. And then her ex-husband Philip shows up and that is when the real fun begins!

Ana and I talked about how hard of a review this was to write because there is so much going on and the action is the non-stop, buckle yourself in because it is going to be a bumpy ride type. To give anything else away would be major spoilers. A little tease I can give you is that at one point Linnea does something to Sully that made me sob and want to write her and say “WTF?”. I did end up writing her and she chuckled and said just keep reading, which I did and was truly blown away up to the very last page.

Shades of Dark is a masterpiece of science fiction fantasy. This is everything I was looking for in a book from a stellar love story, some of the most excellent written characters that I have read in such a long time and some twists that made me shout out loud. I am not one to shout as I read, but Linnea’s books tend to do that to me. For an author to bring such emotion from myself is truly a master. Shades of Dark is one of these books that is a work of art. There are only two other books this year I have given a total of 5 stars to and Shades of Dark is one of them.

5 out of 5 stars.

Katiebabs (KB)

All in All, there's just no more brick in the wall

This particular post was inspired by Jace’s recent review of Gabriel’s Ghost. We are now both eagerly waiting for Shades of Dark! The author Linnea Sinclair popped in with some comments and one of them just struck me:

First person POV is a POV I love but I didn't set out to write first person. It was simply that the story could be told no other way. It was never even a question but over the past few years, when I've been confronted by readers who refuse to read Gabriel's Ghost because it's first person, I've given it some thought.

A few years ago that could have been me – the reader I mean – not the author (although I’d never write an author and tell her I wouldn’t read her books – I just wouldn’t read them and not tell her)

When I was younger I used to read a lot of first person books and they never bothered me. If I remember correctly most of Mary Stewarts books were written in the first person and I loved them. Jennie could confirm that but the poor dear has gone to Hawaii.

But that was before I really started reading romance books and since I've been pretty much strictly a romance reader for a while now, first person doesn't allow you to get into the hero's head. We only get one person’s POV. I would pick up a book in a bookstore and if it was written in the first person I would immediately put it back on the shelf. I even have a few books I purchased through a book club not realizing they were first person and when I discovered they were, I put them somewhere else and never even attempted them.

But with a well skilled writer, I've discovered you can get a good enough sense of the hero through the heroine's thoughts. I've read a number of really excellent first person romance books now and I no longer cringe when I realize that's how they are written. It's like a much bigger world has opened up again.

I think there is still a certain prejudice amongst many romance fans against first person books, and even I until very recently had a lingering trepidation myself, but I am discovering that I need to get over that.

I first started weakening when I began reading the Stephanie Plum books. Although not exactly romance books, there was enough romance in them to satisfy me. I love them. I adore them. And for the record – I’m a Joe girl – just wanted to get that out.

But even though I was weakening in my stance with first person books, I still wasn’t a happy camper when I heard that Linda Howard would be having a first person book coming out. Her books were definitely more romance focused. I presumed they wouldn’t be as good as her third person books because one of the things I like best about third person books is getting into the hero’s head during love scenes. When you think about it though, it really isn’t all that credible. Let’s face it – men and women view sex differently and being in the hero’s head in a love scene in a book is really still being in a women’s head as the vast majority of romance books are written by women.

Then, because it was Linda Howard and I just couldn’t pass it up, I read To Die For and even though we never got into Wyatt’s head, it didn’t seem to matter. I loved the book and I think it really worked told from Blair’s POV. I know many readers found her annoying, but I loved her. And I think a large part of that was because it was Blair head we were in.

Then after reading Games of Command last year, I simply had to read more Linnea Sinclair books and the next one on my list was Gabriel’s Ghost and I was pretty much sold after that. I loved it just as much as GOC. I remember reading a review on Jennie’s B(ook) Blog just before I posted my own thoughts. Jennie commented that she didn’t even really clue in that it was first person. I thought that this was very telling. A book can be read and enjoyed written in the first person without it even being an issue.

The next big leap was when Lisa Kleypas wrote her first book in the first person – Sugar Daddy. I confess that even though the wall I used to have was more along the lines of rubble, still, this was Lisa Kleypas. Then I got past my previous bias and thought if Linda Howard could write a first person book that I loved, then so could Lisa Kleypas. And so she did! When I picked up The Blue Eyed Devil, there was no hesitation at all. If two of my favourite authors could write in the first person and I could love the books, then I’m pretty sure even the remaining rubble is gone now. I eagerly picked up Blue Eyed Devil and read it - not a single moment of hesitation. And one of the books I'm really looking forward to is as I mentioned earlier, Shades of Dark which like Gabriel's Ghost is again done in the first person.

So how about anyone else? Do you have that preconceived notion that first books person books can’t be as enjoyable as third person? Have you put a book back on the shelf in the store when you discover it’s first person? And even more important *g* if you are one of those kinds of readers, have I a former first person chauvinist convinced you to give one of them a try?

Or are a reader who has no problems with first person romance books? Which ones are your favourites? Now that I'm cured, I'm open.

Next hurdle - first person, present tense. I hear that Grimspace by Ann Aguirre is the book for this one.

Recent Read

Accidental Goddess by Linnea Sinclair

Why this one: I discovered Linnea with Games of Command last year and totally adored it and went on a glom of her backlist.

Steam Level: it would only make for a tepid cup of tea – but then again I like tepid tea too. Also keep in mind this book is marketed as science fiction and not romance. The romance is bonus I think.

Amazon blurb: Raheiran Special Forces Captain Gillaine Davré has just woken up in some unknown space way station, wondering where the last three hundred years have gone. The last thing she remembers is her ship being attacked. Now it seems that while she was time-traveling, she was ordained a goddess…. Gillaine’s only hope of survival rests with dangerously seductive Admiral Mack Makarian, who suspects her of being a smuggler—or worse. But he can’t begin to imagine the full extent of it. For Gillaine is now Lady Kiasidira, holy icon to countless believers, including Mack—a man who inspires feelings in her that are far from saintly…feelings she knows are mutual. But when their flirtation is interrupted by a treacherous enemy from the past, Gillaine’s secret—and secret desires—could destroy them both….

My thoughts: Linnea Sinclair writes incredible heroines!! I’ve read four of her books now and everyone has had a great heroine I adored. Although it’s the hero I love, the heroine can make or break the book for me. Gilliane was another well-written heroine.

She was quite dismayed to find herself accidentally flung far into the future only to discover that she had been presumed dead and made into a figure of worship. She ends up on a space station that is being run by a military man – Admiral Mack Makarian. They are both attracted to each other but she is walking a tightrope as Mack is in awe of the Lady Kiasidira of three hundred years before.

When it seems as if the same enemies that were perusing three hundred years ago are making a return, she is determined to help out again – without letting Mack know who she really is.

I liked this one – I really did. And I’m looking forward to the other one of her backlist I still have yet to read – Finder’s Keepers. I did find parts of it a bit confusing but I put this down to not reading much SciFi and when I just relaxed and went along with the story, it was quite an enjoyable read.

Grade: 4 out of 5

Duo Review - The Down Home Zombie Blues

I have never been a huge sci-fi fan. Space travel and all that entails is not my cup of tea. When I originally heard about Linnea Sinclair I wasn’t really interested in any of her books. But as I lurked the message boards, specifically AAR’s , many were raving about Gabriel’s Ghost. Why not give it a try? The worst that could happen is it would be just another DNF.


Gabriel’s Ghost was definitely not a DNF! And when I heard about The Down Home Zombie Blues, my initial thought was, “What’s up with that title??” And when Kristie(J) started reading it first and said it was pretty good, I quickly got my own copy. And as soon as I finished, it was destined to be in my top 10 for 2007.
The Down Home Zombie Blues takes place in Florida during Christmas week. Intergalactic visitors have come to find one of their crew members who has been murdered. He was living undercover in Florida to investigate the outbreak of zombies that have appeared on Earth. Now when I think of zombies, I think of Night of the Living Dead or those crazy ones from 28 Days Later. These zombies were man made as a war tool, as it is explain. I have to admit I was a bit confused by all of this, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story.
Linnea can also write kick- ass heroines and in each book I have read, they are all strong and strong. She should start trade marking her heroines. Jorie is a strong and intelligent woman, but a bit fragile. Her past with men hasn’t been the best. But she has more important things to worry about at the moment. She is the commander to her crew that has come to Earth to stop these zombies from their killing rampage. They also have to figure out who has control of them. Then there is Theo, a homicide detective. He also happens to be Greek and speaks it throughout the book. I found this to be very swoon-worthy especially when he starts to fall in love with Jorie and calls her his love and darling in Greek.
Most of the time these two are trying to stop these zombie creatures. There is also a great deal of dialogue on how to do it. We also get a glimpse of world that Jorie has come from and why the Earthlings or “nils” as she calls them don’t know about her alien race. But Jorie looks like a human, so you don’t have to worry about her having a third arm or tentacles coming out of her ears.
Theo adores Jorie, where as she is a bit timid with their “courtship”. She has a lot on her plate with saving Earth and all. Plus if she gets involved with a human, they may not have a future together because her job is basically to police the universe from the baddies.
If you are looking for a steamy romance, you may be disappointed. Theo and Jorie’s path to love is more subtle and takes time. They are trying to stay alive and when they have some down time they enjoy the small things like Theo feeding Jorie peanut butter which is her new favorite food. (But if you are like me, and need to know if there is sex, there are some sex scenes, so don’t despair!)
The Down Home Zombie Blues is another great read by Linnea and she is proving to be a great sci-fi author. There are not many authors like her and she has found her niche.
Don’t let the strange title keep you away from this incredible read.
Grade: 4 out 5

Katiebabs





I read my first Linnea Sinclair book, Games of Command, earlier this year and was blown away. I had to get more by her. I followed that up with Gabriel’s Ghost and was blown away again. I also have The Accidental Goddess and Finder’s Keepers in the TBR pile and someday (hopefully soon) will get to them!
So it was with great anticipation that I began reading The Down Home Zombie Blues.
It’s not that I didn’t like this book – I did – enough to recommend it – but it wasn’t the same as the previous two and it wasn’t what I was expecting/hoping for. I love a good sci-fi romance or what used to be called futuristic so I was kind of hoping that’s what this one was. It wasn’t.
Instead this one is set in the present day and the setting is – well – Earth. It starts off in the usual sci-fi romance kind of way. Jorie Mikkalah has traveled to Earth to try and find a missing team member. Jorie is a commander whose duty it is to track down and eliminate zombies, creatures created by her people to do something – I didn’t really catch what, that have been taken over by a rival group. On earth she runs into difficulties in the name of homicide detective Theo Petrakos. When he stumbles into their search while investigating a strange murder, Jorie and her gang reluctantly agree to work with him for the good of the planet.
As I said – this one wasn’t bad. I loved Jorie. I thought her a great heroine, strong yet compassionate. I found Theo a bit colourless as a hero and rather unremarkable though. And there was a lot of the book that was just too difficult to really understand. If this was a normal kind of sci-fi romance it wouldn’t have bothered me, but I felt I should have ‘gotten’ this one a bit more. I also couldn’t get a picture of the zombies in my head – another issue since they were the villains of the book. It all takes place in a very short amount of time and I found the pace a bit frantic at times.
So – my thoughts on this one – not bad, but I liked her other ones better
Grade: 3.5 out of 5

Kristie(J)

PS - I'd link to her website but it seems to be down at the moment. I'm very excited though, that her next book due out soon, is a sequel to Gabriel's Ghost.
Yippee!

Recent Read

Gabriel's Ghost by Linnea Sinclair

Hotness Level: Toasty warm

Amazon blurb: After a decade of piloting interstellar patrol ships, former captain Chasidah Bergren, onetime pride of the Sixth Fleet, finds herself court-martialed for a crime she didn’t commit–and shipped off to a remote prison planet from which no one ever escapes. But when she kills a brutal guard in an act of self-defense, someone even more dangerous emerges from the shadows.

Gabriel Sullivan–alpha mercenary, smuggler, and rogue–is supposed to be dead. Yet now this seductive ghost from Chaz’s past is offering her a ticket to freedom–for a price. Someone in the Empire is secretly breeding jukors: vicious and uncontrollable killing machines that have long been outlawed. Gabriel needs Chaz to help him stop the practice before it decimates Imperial space. The mission means putting their lives on the line–but the tensions that heat up between them may be the riskiest part of all.

Why this one: I was blown away by Games of Command. I already have Finder’s Keepers and Accidental Goddess, but I heard that Gabriel’s Ghost was just as good or even better than Games of Command – so me being me and I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this, I skipped over the other two that I do have and ordered GG.

My Thoughts: I loved this one almost as much or just as much – hard to say – as Games of Command. I was a bit surprised when I saw it was written in the first person, but Stephanie Plum and Blair (nee Mallory) Bloodsworth have gotten me past my first person prejudice. I think Jennie and I were reading this one at the same time although she got her review up first. I got distracted dog sitting.
Sully made a very delicious hero!!! While a few of the things that didn’t work for Jennie, they worked very well for me. He had decided a long time ago that Chaz was his mate and he would do anything to get her. The book opens when he is rescuing her from a prison planet she had been sent too after being set up for a crime she didn’t commit. At first Chaz is very wary of Sully. They had known and been attracted to each other for years, but he was a pirate who had been reported dead. He is so protective of her and he seems to be a very touchy feely guy. I really liked that about him.
Now Sully has many secrets and he keeps these from Chaz throughout most of the book. Normally I would have been very irked by this, but the author writes so believably that I had no problem buying into why he felt he couldn’t confide things to Chaz.
I had the same – I wouldn’t call it a problem, more of an issue really, in that we just didn’t seem to get enough background into the characters. Again, this is a rather lengthy book at 447 pages. Regretfully I think the author had to make cuts even to get it to this size and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the background information was what was cut.
Chaz too is a wonderfully strong heroine, more than able to hold her own against such a strong personality as Sully. She was the captain of her own ship and acted like it. She was a heroine to admire.
I am so impressed with these two books and so glad I have at least two more to read.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

'til later

Recent Read

Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair

Release date: February 2007

Type: Science Fiction

Hotness Level: Warm

Chapters summary: The universe isn’t what it used to be. With the new Alliance between the Triad and the United Coalition, Captain Tasha “Sass” Sebastian finds herself serving under her former nemesis, biocybe Admiral Branden Kel-Paten–and doing her best to hide a deadly past. But when an injured mercenary winds up in their ship’s sick bay–and in the hands of her best friend, Dr. Eden Fynn–Sass’s efforts may be wasted.

Wanted rebel Jace Serafino has information that could expose all of Sass’s secrets, tear the fragile Alliance apart–and end Sass’s career if Kel-Paten discovers them. But the biocybe has something to hide as well, something once thought impossible for his kind to possess: feelings . . . for Sass. Soon it’s clear that their prisoner could bring down everything they once believed was worth dying for–and everything they now have to live for.

Why this one: I've seen for a while now that Devon and Bev have been big fans of this author so I thought I would give it a try. I bought it with a group of other books, started it, got buys, put it down, read Rosario's most excellent review and decided to read it again.

My Thoughts: Well, Rosario said it so much better than I did, so I'll just add a few things. I fell completly and totally for the hero in this book. Branden Kel-Paten was just the kind I love to read about. Outwardly calm and imperious, he even programed in anger if he thought it called for when interagating someone. But on the inside he is wrecked for Tasha Sebastian the heroine. I love it when the hero is wrecked for the heroine. Just love it! In one heartbreaking scene she accidentally comes across personal logs he has been keeping on her for years and she finally sees the depth of his love for her. These logs are full of love and longing and hopelessness. He is such a dufus, this normally totally in control man/machine but when it comes to her, he is so unsure of himself. And she makes a wonderful heroine too. Smart, intelligent she's baffled at how to handle Branden's feelings for her. You see she is keeping a secret and fears that Brandon doesn't really know her and if he does find out who she really is, he will hate her.
The other love story between Jace and Eden is also well done but without the issues that Brandon and Tasha seem to have. Although they do have their own interesting ones - that's for sure.
One thing though. I'm not sure I would call this a romance book. It's a science fiction with a couple of wonderful romances thrown in. For the longest time I wasn't sure if there would be a love scene or not. But when I finally got to it, it was very tender and very touching and made me love Brandon even more with his insecurities.
And I had the same thoughts about Tasha and Brandons' backgrounds as Rosario did. I wondered where Brandon came from. I tend to skim books and missed the little tidbit that Rosario explains here:

And Kel-Paten, there's a reference to him having been a perfectly regular human until age 16 (or 17? can't remember exactly), when they turned him into a biocybe, and I somehow got the impression that it wasn't a wholly voluntary process. Just what happened there? Is it related to the other reference we get much later in the book about his being so-and-so's brother? There just seems to be so much story behind these two characters, and I wanted to know more!

What she says!!!! And I also got the feeling that the ending seemed a bit rushed. The book was a lenghty one (and I liked that) but I suppose she had to cut somewhere. I too hope that there is a sequel for this one in the works.
And unlike Rosario :) I liked the furzels. They were loads better than the fams in Robin Owens books - that's for sure.

But romance or not, this was wonderful and I'm sure glad Rosario's review kicked me into reading it. And I have two more of her books in my TBR pile *grin*. I would have given it a 5 but I did get kind of confused in a few places.


Grade: 4 1/2 out of 5

'til later