Kristie and Katie Discuss Eve Kenin's Hidden

Kristie and I were such big fans of Eve Kenin's first release, Driven, that we couldn't wait for the sequel, Hidden, to come out. And, we were also very lucky to receive advanced reading copies. Without further ado, we welcome you to read out reviews and another wonderful chat discussion!

Katie(babs) Thoughts:
Eve Kenin, who is also known for writing gothic historical romance under the name Eve Silver, made quite a splash last year with her post-apocalyptic hit, Driven. It was a fast paced, on the edge of your seat thriller with a hero and heroine we all rooted for. I can’t help but compare Driven to the cult classic Mad Max movies, and I must give Dorchester Publishing a hand for coming up with the Shomi line that allows for very “out of the box” books like Kenin’s.

When I heard Eve was writing a sequel about Wizard’s sister Tatiana, who was talked about but in Driven but did not make an appearance, I made sure to put Hidden down on the list of must read books this year. The question I had was if Hidden would be just as great as her first?

It is 2093 in the Northern Waste, a setting known all to well to those that have read Driven. (I know I keep bring up Driven, but honestly in order to understand and get the feel for Eve’s storytelling, you really should read Driven first. BREAK OUT THE CHECKBOOKS! *G*)

There is a lone woman who goes by the name of Tatiana. She survives by retrieving stolen items for people. She is really quite good at what she does, but Tatiana is not normal. She is a very special woman who has an amazing genetic makeup where she can regenerate and survive from the harsh weather or even death. Tatiana also can read people’s thoughts. Actually, this is a pretty handy thing to have when you know someone is out to kill you. Tatiana has suffered horribly because she was imprisoned by a crazed scientist along with her sister and brother who were to be used as secret weapons in order to take over the world. She was able to escape after years of torture and is barely making a life for herself. Tatiana wants revenge against Gavin Ward, the scientist who used her as a human guinea pig. Also, she is searching for Ward’s right hand man who goes by the name of Tolliver. She will find Tolliver and make him tell her where Ward is. Then she will kill them both, making sure they suffer the same way they made her suffer.

Tatiana is not the type of woman who can remain hidden and because of that she catches the eye of Tristan, who is also a scientist roaming the frigid tundra. He is a man on a mission to stop a deadly virus from taking over the world. One thing leads to another and he comes in contact with Tatiana and unfortunately she catches this virus. Because Tristan has no clue that Tatiana is immune because of her genetics, he wants to help save her, partly over his guilt for bringing this virus into the world. Since Tatiana needs to lie low for awhile, she goes with Tristan and he introduces her to a world she is so unfamiliar with.

During this time they become close and she begins to have feelings for Tristan, and also the people he protects in their small commune. There is a point in Hidden where Tatiana has an epiphany of sorts because Tristan sees her as a person and not just a woman:

“She froze, her hands on the rock, her heart flipping over. She wanted that. Wanted him to see her as an equal. A partner. Not as a woman. And at the same time, she wanted him to see her as only that, a woman.”

For the first time in her life, Tatiana is not a means for those evil corrupt individuals to get what they want. She is special, a person who is able to be loved by another. But even as Tatiana and Tristan become “special friends”, Ward is on their heels. Tristan also has a major secret that will ruin everything he has accomplished with Tatiana and is so horrible in his mind because he feels he is responsible for the deaths of so many.

So, the question I asked at the beginning? You better bet your booty that Hidden is just as good as Driven. I am all for a heroine who kicks some major ass and doesn’t even care about their names. Tatiana is truly an unique and amazing character who you will feel such compassion for because of what she has gone through because of the uber-villain Ward. Tristan also adds to the story because he has some quirks like Tatiana does and when you find out who he is, his identity leads to some morale questions, perhaps on the reader’s part.

Everything in Hidden is about the will to live and the survival of the fittest. Death, murder and destruction are scattered throughout this complex world Eve Kenin has invented. If you don’t have her on your author’s to be read list, you are missing out on an author who is re-inventing a genre and writing such excellent books that I can not compare with any other being published today.

**If only Wizard had more of an appearance… perhaps Eve should give us a nice short story about Raina and Wizard and how those two wacky kids are doing… *HINT HINT*

4 out of 5 stars

Kristie(J)'s Thoughts:
I loved Driven, the first book by Eve Kenin aka Eve Silver. In fact I was wowed by it. It was the first book I’d read in the Shomi line and the first book in what could be considered Urban Romance. I’d been holding off reading it for a while figuring I wouldn’t like it, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

So when I got an ARC of the next book in the series, Hidden, I was ecstatic though part of me wondered whether I would be as impressed with it as I was with Driven.

I was.

I took this book to work to read and I was late back from breaks. I was late back from lunch. I silently groaned when someone came and sat next to me as I was reading, since I figure it’s bad form to be reading while someone is talking to you and I reluctantly tucked it back in my purse until I had another chance to pick up where I had left off.

Hidden is the story of Tatiana. For those who had the good fortune to read Driven, Tatiana was the youngest of the three siblings and seemingly the most helpless. Well not anymore!! She has turned into one kick ass heroine who can take care of herself just fine thank you. She has become like this the hard way. Tortured endlessly as when she was younger, she has quite a few super powers of her own now. I tell you, I like these kinds of heroines. Tatiana has been alone for most of her adult life and she is very afraid of love. She’s not even sure what it is.

Tristan, the hero of the book is very mysterious in his own right and we only get to know him in bits and pieces. He is one very intriguing hero and when we finally do learn his lonely past, we get a chance to see how good he and Tatiana are together. He eventually breaks through the walls Tatiana has raised to protect herself and they are very tender together.

Here is an example of the depth of their love:
For a long while she stared at him, feeling the emotion pulsing from him in waves. And suddenly she understood.
He did love her. Truly loved her. Enough to kill for her. Enough to die for her. Enough to walk away from this if she asked him.

And if you thought the villain in Driven was evil – he’s lightweight compared to the villain Gavin Ward. He is one chilling bad guy – one of the most chilling I’ve read.

If there was one thing I might have liked to have seen, that would be more of Wizard and Raina from Driven. They only appear very briefly in this book. I don’t know if she has a book planned for Yuriko. I hope so. And I hope I get to read it early, because reading it I will be doing!

I have a number of Eve Silver books in the TBR pile. I really need to get to them. Because Even Kenin writes Very Good Books.

Driven was one of my favourite books of 2007. Hidden is one of my favourite books of 2008.
Grade 4.5 out of 5

The Discussion:
KristieJ: After reading your review and you reading mine, it seems as if we are in agreement on this book
KatieBabs: Great minds think alike!
KristieJ: And our minds seem to be in cinque/sinque - how do you spell that word anyway?
KatieBabs: sync
KristieJ: sync - that's how! heh heh
KatieBabs: psych!
KristieJ: see? So - what did you think of Tatiana’s transformation from book 1 and 2?
KatieBabs: Tatiana was such a lonely soul. She felt she was not worth anything. Tristan made her a person and than a woman
KristieJ: She was a lonely soul wasn't she? After her brother and sister left, there was no one for her. I think the author really got that across - how lonely they both were
KatieBabs: She also thought she was weak but she was so strong, even more so than Raina in Driven, IMO
KristieJ: Oh I agree. Raina had a rotten childhood, but she didn't endure nearly the horrible things that Tatiana did
KatieBabs: What that psycho Ward did to her? OMG
KristieJ: I KNOW!!! Wasn't he one scary evil dude? I thought the villain in Driven was bad, but this guy was ever so much worse!!
KatieBabs: I agree on that point. The villain in Driven was all about greed, whereas ward was a sick mo fo who wanted to rule the world.
KristieJ: I like that how strong she writes her heroines - and she does write them strong, Raina was one tough cookie and so was Tatiana, although she seemed more vulnerable, the author also writes great heroes for her heroines. What did you think of Tristan and how would you compare him to Wizard?
KatieBabs: Wizard was so unique in his thinking and actions, where as Tristan was more at ease with himself, maybe because he had a different upbringing than Wizard? I also liked how Tristan brought up things about his past we are so familiar with. And Tristan's love for his family, and Tatiana's love for her siblings were the same
KristieJ: yep I agree - the road hockey *g*. Wizard was more like Tatiana in his uniqueness - duh - being as they were raised together. And I loved how underneath all his toughness and protectiveness of Tatiana, he was just a geeky scientist at heart
KatieBabs: Ah yes, sexy geeky scientists
KristieJ: You gotta love those alpha, geeky scientist types don't you? *chuckle*
KatieBabs: Tristan was definitely one of them. Plus he can protect himself and others so well. What was your opinion about the sensuality in the novel?
KristieJ: Hmmm - well, I read it a while ago and I know you didn't read it that long ago, but from what I remember - keep in mind the brain cells aren't quite as active as they were when I was in my 20's, I thought it very good. I wouldn't have minded it being a bit steamier - more brilliant, geeky scientist sex. But what there was, I liked. What about you?
KatieBabs: I think the sexual tension was very believable and when Tristan and Tatiana were finally together, it was a very peaceful and loving moment. They for once were calm
KristieJ: He was so tender with her wasn't he? I really liked that, especially because the setting and people are so harsh and deadly. And if I remember, she wasn't quite sure about the enjoyment aspect of sex before she met Tristan. She had tried it - but didn't really 'get' it
KatieBabs: I like that also. She wasn't a naive virgin who didn't know was a penis was
KristieJ: or what it's used for
KatieBabs: or his little friends on the side. LOL
KristieJ: So - in reading your review, it looks like we were both disappointed in one aspect of the book. This is what kept it from getting a five from me. I think your last sentence says it all
KatieBabs: In my review?
KristieJ: I think we were both disappointed we didn't get to see more of Wizard and company
KatieBabs: oh this one: **If only Wizard had made more of an appearance… perhaps Eve should give us a nice short story about Raina and Wizard and how those two wacky kids are doing
KristieJ: yep - that sentence *g*
KatieBabs: I think most fans of Driven and Hidden wouldn't mind perhaps a short story in an anthology per say about Wizard and Raina...
KristieJ: I wonder if she has something planned for Yuriko?
KatieBabs: Hopefully Eve will. Yuriko is still very much an enigma.
KristieJ: Have you ever seen the Mad Max movies and did these remind you of those movies? They both did me - not so much in the character of Max, but of the desolation of the world
KatieBabs: Oh yes, I have see all the Mad Max movies, which Eve's series is so comparable to. A great comparison!
KristieJ: And the way the find all the scrap they can and use it for all kinds of things. And that band that helped Tatiana and Tristan near the end - they were really Mad Max type characters. Because I've seen the movies, I could picture them so easily in my mind when I was reading about them
KatieBabs: Where is Tina Turner when you need her? We need a theme song for Hidden
KristieJ: LOL - I could almost hear her singing in the background
KatieBabs: yes! I love that song
**We are watching You Tube**
KatieBabs: Mel looks so hot
KristieJ: Mel was hot in his day!! You should see him in The Bounty. Have you seen The Bounty? He is TO DIE FOR
KatieBabs: oh yes drool
KristieJ: So - let's finish - you gave this one a 4 out of 5 and I gave it a 4.5 out of 5. Looks like it get's a thumbs up from both of us
KatieBabs: thumbs up definitely
KristieJ: She has another winner in Hidden I'd say
KatieBabs: She is 2 for 2!
KristieJ: Yes she is! I'm very impressed with these two and hope other readers are too!
KatieBabs: If you love Sci-Fi or futuristic novels, you will not be disappointed in the least
KristieJ: LOL - I seem to be in Sci Fi mode lately
KristieJ: then you'd best check out the Susan Grant book too then *g*
KatieBabs: me too. What does that say about us? Head in the stars!
KristieJ: We are star struck?
KristieJ: there are no guys in this time so we have to look to the future for mens?
KatieBabs: well except Hardy from Blue Eyed Devil
KristieJ: Roarke's from the future though
KatieBabs: I know! *pout*

Be on the look out for Hidden to be published in July!

**I do believe this calls for some "We Don't Need Another Hero" by Tina Turner**

Jocelynn Drake Coming Soon!

Nightwalker, the first book in the Dark Days Series by Jocelynn Drake will be released on July 29th.

DESCRIPTION:"For centuries Mira has been a nightwalker--an unstoppable enforcer for a mysterious organization that manipulates earth-shaking events from the darkest shadows. But elemental mastery over fire sets her apart from others of her night-prowling breed...and may be all that prevents her doom.

The foe she now faces is human: the vampire hunter called Danaus, who has already destroyed so many undead. For Mira, the time has come to hunt...or be hunted.

But in a dimension just beyond the world's boundaries, a banished race stirs dangerously, hungry for power, for domination, for vengeance. Already a protective seal has been breached: already blood flows like a river through the world's great cities.

And only the collaboration of two sworn enemies can save humankind...and its feral brethren."

This new series looks to be an excellent new addition to the Fantasy Genre! I welcome Jocelynn and wish her the best!

And yet another book I will be adding to my monster TBR pile! *G*

Katiebabs (KB)

Revisiting an old post - The Futuristic - My Genre du Jour

Having just enjoyed Susan Grant's latest book, Moonstruck and looking forward to Linnea Sinclair's latest book coming out soon, and also with so many new bloggers in blogland, I went back into the vault for this post. This is one I did way back when in 2005. Hopefully I can get it to post now in 2008. It's funny how a few years can change things. I don't know if it's me being optimistic, but Futuristics seem to be making a bit of a comeback lately with a new name for the genre SciFi Romance. I still love them just as much today as I did back in 2005. And one other thing has changed since I first posted this - I know how to add pictures now!

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I read a good one recently and I can feel a futuristic reading marathon coming on. I know this genre isn’t for everyone but it’s one of my favourites. I’ve read them for years but I seemed to have gotten away from them for a while. After thoroughly enjoying the book I read, the fire is back again. Before I start blogging about the futuristic books I’ve read recently and/or are planning to read, I thought I’d explain why I like them so much and what I find appealing about them.
To do a well written futuristic, I find the author has to have a limitless imagination. There’s a specialty channel here in Canada with the catchy phrase – Space – the Imagination Station. I think that applies to futuristic books too. With a historical the boundaries are already set. There’s the ton with all the rules and regulations, the seasons, the country homes and parties; the dukes, the earls, the marquis etc. etc. etc.. What the author does is follow the parameters already set up. She/he adds their interpretation, storyline and characters within the outline already done in history. The same goes for medievals and westerns. Since it’s already happened, there is no need to create something different or unique. With romantic suspense and contemporaries, the same holds true. But with futuristics, the sky is the limit (so to speak).
The author can have a setting on earth in the not too distant future with still recognizable events or places such as the In Death books or Susan Grant’s The Star King, The Star Prince and The Star Princess. Or they can take place in a world completely unrecognizable such as Robin Owen’s world.
If we are far into the future the ruling empire can be evil such as the Coalition in Justine Davis Lord of the Storm and Skypirate or looking out for the greater good such as futuristic world in Angela Knight’s Jane’s Warlord (I wish we had seen more of it than we did. Hopefully for the futuristic lovers she will revisit it someday)

**** And she does have another one coming out in this series!! I just noticed this the other day and I was one happy camper! In fact I ordered it and since it's out in July, 2008 I don't have to long a wait.****

The author can create regular type heroes and heroines or the unusual such as Kathleen Morgan’s Heart’s Lair or Christine Spangler’s Shadow Fires (*note: this is one I haven’t read – just the reviews). The hero’s can be a ruler, an escaped convict, a bounty hunter or a pirate or any other creation of the author’s imagination. There’s also a wide variation for the heroine too; princess, convict, healer or empath (although if the heroine is either of the last two, the author may face the wrath of Mrs. Giggles – she’s tough on them healers (grin).
Another issue that doesn’t necessarily have to be dealt with in futuristics is unwanted pregnancies or STD’s. Since they take place in the future is seems almost a given that this is no longer a problem. Science and advanced medical treatment will have taken care of this. While I applaud authors who deal with this issue in contemporaries, wouldn’t it be nice to know that in the future it’s something we won’t have to worry about? And honestly, in RL instead of RW, there would be a whole lot of heroes in historicals running around with syphilis and a whole lot of heroines who were inconveniently pregnant
It seemed for a while like futuristics were on their way out. I’ve read that Justine Davis had a third book in mind for her journey into the futuristic but was told not to bother, that it wouldn’t sell. I’m sure there were other authors who were told the same thing. And at the time they probably wouldn’t have. But one of the things I most admire about Love Spell which I believe is a division of Leisure Publishing is they never gave up. They published them in 1995 and they are still publishing them today. I hope they and other publishers continue and that readers who are loving paranormals discover that futuristics can be just as good and different a read. Berkley is also publishing some good ones these days.
So if you’ve never tried one before, try that final frontier, explore strange new worlds, seek out new adventures, go where you the reader has ne're gone before.
There are some crappy ones out there I know – same as crappy historicals, medievals and every other genre, but there is also some very very good ones.

For anyone interested here are a just a few of my favourite favourites.

Banner’s Bonus by Carole Ann Lee (1995): I loved this book. One of my all time favourite furturistics, it was the only one I’ve ever been able to find by this author. This will be the first in line for a reread. There were some secondary characters who would have been great with their own books but alas – whatever happened to the author and/or sequels is a mystery





Lord of the Storm and Skypirate by Justine Davis: I wish more had been written. She did a wonderful job with these. And yes, I know. *sigh* They are Very Bad Covers.









Knighthawk by Kristen Kyle: After reading a few other books by this author and loving them and seeing she had a futuristic I knew this was one I had to have. It took me a while to track one down and I finally ordered it from Amazon but it was well worth the effort.








Heart’s Lair by Kathleen Morgan: This one was thinking on it now, was ahead of it’s time. The hero is part man, part lion. I found it a very interesting book.
There was a prequel to this one, but I didn't like it nearly as much.







Kinsman's Oath: Sadly, very sadly, she quit writing Futuristics after this one. I hope some day she goes back to them

I’m really looking forward to finding some new ones.

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And luckily, over the years I have found new books and new authors. I've discovered Linnea Sinclair. Susan Grant still continues to impress. Patricia Waddell wrote a nice book that I quite enjoyed. And of course I'm still as deeply in love with the In Death books as I was in 2005.

Nope - it's never far from my mind

An absolutely Perfectly Beautiful Combination

Enya and North and South

This says it all



And because sometimes when I get started, I can't be stopped



WoW!! I've struck gold tonight. Here's another great one! Just to show it's more then just John and Margaret



Help!!!! I need someone to stop me


So! Any Crusaders have a favourite?
Anyone who hasn't seen this yet tempted?

Hmmm, I think I may just have to watch this again. It's been a while now.

Recent Reads

If you haven’t seen me around quite as much lately, it’s because I’ve been on a great reading binge lately. And boy am I happy that I have been. I haven’t read this many books so quickly in a long time! Giving up TV has proved to be very beneficial to the reader in me.

Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson

Why this one: I’ve read all her other books and some I love, some not so much, some I didn’t like at all – but except for one – Daisy’s Back in Town. That one was a hot button for me – heroine has secret baby but decides not to tell the daddy. See Jane Score is one of my all time favourite books so I’m always going to at least give her a try.

Steam Level: Nice and warm, the kettle could have boiled a little bit more though

Author Web site blurb: Adele Harris has never had a problem finding a man it’s finding a good man that’s damn near impossible

Adele Harris has dated them all-geeks, nerds, liars, losers. Egomaniacs, nymphomaniacs, and just plain maniacs. She's been set up and stood up, and now she's had it up to here with the jerks of the world. It’s enough to make a girl give up dating forever. If only she could find a guy that made her heart flutter like her first love, Zach, the college quarterback who swept her off her feet senior year... before dumping her to marry someone else. Okay, so he wasn't perfect. But when Adele heads back to Cedar Creek, Texas, for a family emergency, she discovers that her hometown heartthrob is still as sexy as ever and now he’s single.

It could be the end of Adele's streak. After all, forgiving Zach for breaking her heart years ago and learning to trust him again will take everything she's got, but Adele can handle anything... anything but another bad date.

My Thoughts: I’ve said before that while I love a good hero, it’s the heroine that can make or break a book for me. Cough – The Defiant Hero by Suzanne Brockman – Cough. This one is the opposite of that one that came out while I was coughing. I really did not like Zach, but the book wasn’t broken because I did like Adele. First off, Zach. He came across to me as real jerk. I did not like him – at all. First off, he broke Adele’s heart years earlier when he just dropped her to go on and marry his previous girlfriend when she became pregnant. He acted like it was such a noble thing for him to do – then proceeded to cheat on her. Real swell guy he was. Mind you his first wife, Devon, wasn’t all that great. She got pregnant on purpose.

Then, later in the book, when he finally says he feels bad about hurting Adele those many years ago, he does the “but” thing and says he would do the same thing again. What a prince. I also didn’t like him because he just struck me as being real stuck on himself – god’s gift to women – that kind of attitude. Adele was the only woman who didn’t drop dead at his feet and he really didn’t like that. He also pretty much ignored his daughter for years so he could do his own thing and screw other woman. Excuse me – he married her mother because he was the father – and then made a real rotten one for years.

On the other hand, Adele really worked for me. She gave up her own life – reluctantly – to come back and help her sister and niece out when they needed her. She wasn’t the best aunt – she felt. She wasn’t all motherish and I liked that about her. She was anxious and looking forward to getting back to her own like, which I felt was pretty realistic. She floundered and she had moments of resenting the sacrifice she made. I found that to be believable too.

Another thing that kind of had me scratching my head was the inclusion of the first wife. For the life of me, I couldn’t really figure out why that was in there at all. On top of that – having said one thing, I couldn’t help but notice the rather large almost double spaced font in this book. While it made it easier to read, it almost seemed like it was done just to make a certain page count. I could be wrong though.

Overall, it’s kind of hard to grade this one. The ‘hero’ was a jerk, but the heroine was great. And it was very readable. I finished it in a day and a half and even though I didn’t like Zach, it was no hardship to read. I’d give it a better grade but really, even though it’s the heroine that makes or breaks the book, still it helps a lot if you can like the hero, and I didn’t in this one. Hopefully I will like her next hero, because I will read her next book.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

Thumbs Up

Kiss of Crimson by Lara Adrian

Why this one: I read her first book, Kiss of Midnight and really enjoyed it. I went out and bought all the other ones so far in the series. Plus it’s not too bad a cover to take to work.

Steam Level: Although there weren’t a lot of love scenes, the ones that were in the book were smokin’

Blurb from Author Web Site: He comes to her more dead than alive, a towering black-clad stranger riddled with bullets and rapidly losing blood. As she struggles to save him, veterinarian Tess Culver is unaware that the man calling hims

elf Dante is no man at all, but one of the Breed, vampire warriors engaged in a desperate battle. In a single erotically charged moment Tess is plunged into his world--a shifting, shadowed place where bands of Rogue vampires stalk the night, cutting a swath of terror.

Haunted by visions of a dark future, Dante lives and fights like there is no tomorrow. Tess is a complication he does not need--but now, with his brethren under attack, he must shield Tess from a growing threat that includes Dante himself. For with one reckless, irresistible kiss, she has become an inextricable part of his underworld realm . . . and his touch awakens her to hidden gifts, desires, and hungers she never knew she possessed. Bonded by blood, Dante and Tess must work together to thwart deadly enemies, even as they discover a passion that transcends the boundaries of life itself . . . .

My Thoughts: I don’t know how I avoided it – becoming addicted to JR Wards BDB series. I’ve read the first two so far and while I really enjoyed them, especially Rhage’s story, somehow I haven’t become what Katie calls a BDB crack addict. Now the Midnight Breed series are almost a different story. I may be one of a very few, but I actually am enjoying this series more. I find the world building better, the heroines much stronger, the villains not nearly as obnoxious and thank the stars – no silly Scribe Virgin.

Dante is the kind of hero who wants no entanglements. His prophetic mother predicted a bad ending for him and he’s almost just putting in time until his number is up. He is badly injured in a fight with some Rogues – the bad guys

in this series, vampires who have succumbed to blood lust and gone over to the dark side. He stumbles into the veterinary clinic of the heroine, Tess, and in a weakened state, drinks her blood, only to discover much to his horror that she is a blood mate – a rare kind of human female that can mate with and give birth to one of the Breed heroes. He is more than dismayed because this creates a bond between them that can only be broken by death and he wants nothing to do with having a mate.

I really liked this book; I thought both Dante and Tess were great characters. Tess was a fairly strong character, much more so than the heroines in the BDB books I think. As I said there weren’t that many sex scenes, but th

e sexual tension between the two was very good. I mentioned in my previous post on Kiss of Midnight, that I kind of like the idea that these vampires are actually from another planet that ended up on earth a long time ago.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

Bigger Thumbs Up

Moonstruck by Susan Grant

Why this one: I’ve loved Susan Grant’s books for years and she’s an autobuy author for me.

Steam Level: Had to blow on my fingers, they were pretty crispy

Blurb from author’s website:

PEACE IS FOR LITTLE GIRLS.

And Coalition starship admiral Brit Bandar is one tough woman. A mere intergalactic treaty could never get her to trust the Drakken Horde. There was too much bad blood between the Coalition and the Horde and, for intensely personal reasons, Brit wasn’t sure that she was through spilling it! But now a peaceful accord has made Finn Rorkken, a notorious Drakken rogue, second-in command on her starship – and through some grand cosmic irony – front and center in her thoughts…and her heart.

WARLEADER. PIRATE.

Either title sat easily on Finn’s battle-hardened shoulders. Though second-in-command to “Stone-Heart” Bandar? That would take some getting used to. Peace required as much sacrifice as war, so he’d comply even if his reaction to the gorgeous admiral fell decidedly outside protocol. But would he end up kissing or killing her if the galaxy’s tentative truce turned into all out war?

My Thoughts: It’s books like this one that make me glad I read Sci Fi Romance!!! If Katie and I had had our favourite books of 2008 after I read this one – this is one I’d be saying is on my list for sure and I’d be URGING Kate to read. In fact – Kate – READ THIS BOOK!! READ IT I SAY. I know you love Linnea Sinclair so you and everyone else who love Ms. Sinclair's books should enjoy this one!

Wowzers this book is good! Brit Bandar is one of the strongest heroines I’ve read! Think Captain Janeaway from Star Trek Voyager and you get kind of a feel for Brit. She is an admiral and the captain of a ship. She is tough when she has to be, but is still loved by her crew. She suffered a great tragedy earlier in her life and rose from the ashes to become a tremendous success. She is admired by her friends and feared by her enemies. She is unapologetic in her sexuality, though she is discreet. She is tough, but fair and doesn’t make hasty decisions she will regret later. She has zoomed right up to the top and become one of my favourite heroines.

To give a bit of the storyline, she has been the captain of her own space ship and been a very successful commander in the ongoing war between the coalition and the Horde, their enemies for years. But peace has been declared and she is given command of a much bigger ship. But much to her dismay, her second in command is Finn Rorrken, a former War Leader of the Horde. Brit hates the Horde and with good reason and is not a happy camper that she must accept Finn and his crew. But, she reluctantly agrees to take them on and as I said, she is fair in her dealings with them.

Finn Rorrken is a great hero. Although he has suffered greatly himself, he is more than willing to let bygones be bygones and has actually long held great admiration for Brit, though he’s never met her. He is grateful to be given such a great opportunity and fully sees that the truce is a good thing. The Coalition has always had a higher standard of living than the Horde. Once he meets and slowly gets to know the woman behind the mask, he is totally and completely smitten with
her. I love when that happens with the hero. Despite being despised by many of the crew because of the bitterness left behind due to the war between the two races, he slowly earns their respect with his leadership qualities. Even though he is second to Brit, he is not bothered by it at all. In fact his previous admiration for grows into a deep love although Brit is most reluctant. Theirs is a great love story.

And I have to mention too, how multi-dimensional the secondary characters are, in particular her assistant Hadley Keyren, a young woman who a total fangirl of Brit and Bolivvar, one of Finn’s crew. Theirs is a tender secondary story I enjoyed very much.

I’ve loved many of Ms. Grant’s books and Moonstruck is one of the best! This is the first in a new series and if the rest are as good as the first, we are in for a real treat! And if you don't want to take just my word for it *g*, Jayne at DA really enjoyed this one too.

Grade: 5 out of 5

Biggest Thumbs Up

So - that's three good books I really enjoyed. I'm on a roll I tell you - and I like it!

All three get my seal of approval

An Article To Read And Ponder About

The Boston Globe has written an eye-popping article about, authors feeling the pressure to publish a book once a year.

I found it to be very interesting, seeing as in the past we would be lucky to see a book from our favorite authors in maybe a 2 or 3 year period, rather in some cases, less than a year.

Is this the case of being in a "Hamster Wheel" as top author Dennis Lehane states?

As a reader, do we expect too much from our authors? Should authors push themselves to keep writing a book a year? Is it expected?

And as an author, published or otherwise, we would love to hear your thoughts.

Katiebabs (KB)

The first half of the reading year

Well, we are almost midway through June and that means midway through the first part of the reading year. Katie and I thought that rather than just list our favourite books published in 2008, we would have a discussion.

So with that thought in mind, here's what we had to say, along with our favourite books so far.

Without further ado - our thoughts so far.

KatieBabs: so should we talk about our favourite reads of 08?

KristieJ: LOL I was just going to ask you the same thing

KatieBabs: See, great minds!

KristieJ: So Kate - they year is half over - what have been some of your best reads so far, keeping in mind we are going to post this discussion

KatieBabs: of course!

KatieBabs: Many of my favourites have been paranormal and fantasy, much like last year, the majority of my list is mainly paranormal with a few historical thrown in and one contemporary romance, which we all know what that is.

KristieJ: I never really asked you - do you grade books?

KatieBabs: I am a big fan of the A-F grading system.

KristieJ: I'm a 1 - 5 girl myself

KatieBabs: so easy to give those grads checks and minuses

KristieJ: same with the number system

KatieBabs: All my top books I give B+ or higher in my mind

KristieJ: And me between a 4 and 5. So - what have been your highest graded books so far? And why? What stands out about them for you?

KatieBabs: Well, one on my list is a bit below a normal "B+" grade that may surprise some:

The Host- A+

Blue Eyed Devil- A+

One Foot in the Grave A

Three books I have on my list haven't been published yet but are one of the best I have read this year

How about you?

KristieJ: well - I keep an excel spreadsheet - and loving the filter system on it, I'm down a bit in my reading - I blame blogging for that, but I've read 32 books so far this year - 16 of them published in 2008. I think I give out more higher graded marks then you do *g*. The books that got 5's:

The Spymaster's Lady

Unlawful Contact - Pamela Clare

Blue Eyed Devil - Lisa Kleypas - twice - I read that one twice

KatieBabs: Blue Eyed Devil is definitely a re-read

KristieJ: It is - and a re-re-read. And one more that's not out in stores yet - but I blogged about it - Countdown by Michele Maddox

KatieBabs: and The Spymaster's Lady is a worthy book

KristieJ: The Spymaster's Lady too. I'm kind of surprise that there are a number of readers who didn't really like it. The book you sent me - Love Letters to a Stranger got 4.75

KatieBabs: I was just blown away by Bourne's skill as a storyteller. She writes incredibly strong heroines and her writing is so intelligent and lyrical in some ways

KristieJ: She did come in with all guns blazing didn't she? A lot of new authors build in talent - but Joanna's was there right from the start of page 1

KatieBabs: Her next book, My Lord and Spymaster is another great book by her. Her heroine Jess is almost like Annique in many ways. It’s a good sophomore effort, also on my list but not released yet. I think you will enjoy it. Two great characters, with tension and wonderful bantering back and forth

KristieJ: I have it on pre-order from Chapters!! I can hardly wait until it comes in.

So - what did you find so special about Blue Eyed Devil that it got an A+ from you (and a 5 from me)

KatieBabs: Well, Blue Eyed Devil was such a big read for me more on a personal level.

I am ready to say The Host is my number one read of 2008, but Blue Eyed Devil hit so many personal and internal emotions

KristieJ: She did such a wonderful job with making Hardy and Haven come alive didn't she? We really felt drawn into Haven's world I thought. And so we could really experience the journey

KatieBabs: I saw myself in Haven because at one point I was where she was and that shook me to my core by the time I finished reading. If I ever see Lisa, I must give her a hug for writing such an incredible book.

KristieJ: I think so many of us are 'people pleasers' like Haven - that in so many ways we can identify with her. I know I did too

KatieBabs: Was there any new authors introduced this year that are on your list or just the usual suspects?

KristieJ: Well - for me three author really stood out - Joanne Bourne who we already discussed, Jean Johnson and for me Toni Blake – they were all new or new to me authors and I was especially pleased with the new to me authors since at times I didn't think there were any previous published authors I would find

KatieBabs: The only new authors I have on my list so far are Joanne Bourne and Ann Aguirre. Everyone else is well known

KristieJ: Have you discovered any new-to-you authors this year so far?

KatieBabs: Ilona Andrews is one. I just finished reading Magic Bites, also Cherie Feather

KristieJ: I don't think we can have a discussion of 2008 books without mentioning Cheryl Brooks and Slave

KatieBabs: How could we forget Cat and Jack? LOL

KristieJ: Even though neither of us gave her the highest of marks on her debut, I think we both agree she's an author worth keeping an eye on.

KatieBabs: Definitely. She will keep people talking.

Two other authors I just thought of is Colleen Gleason and Josh Lanyon.

Did you read any ebook authors that caught your eye?

KristieJ: no - I don't read ebooks . How many have you read so far this year? I mean total books - not just ebooks?

KatieBabs: Well, there are some that have made the jump from ebook to print like Sarah McCarty, Shiloh Walker, Lisa Marie Rice. These are all ones to look forward to. I need a minute to calculate... If I include print and all ebooks, probably close to 80.

KristieJ: Lisa Marie Rice I certainly agree with you on. I love Sarah McCarty's on-line presence - I think she's a great person - but her books don't work for me sadly

KatieBabs: Well Sarah has a certain way with her books, alpha cowboy men who like the butt-butt, if you know what I mean.*wink* She is one I am definitely looking forward to this year.

KristieJ: yep - I know what you mean - that's why they don't work for me

KatieBabs: But there is one author who does not work for me at all! Jacquelyn Frank! I just can't get into her Nightwalkers series, so boring, goes on and on and nothing really happens!

KristieJ: I haven't tried her books - haven't really been tempted too

KatieBabs: you are not missing anything. I like her concept, about a paranormal series dealing with all legends from vampires to werewolves and demons but her writing is just not for me. She has very long paragraphs that go on and on and on...

KristieJ: How about Nalini Singh? I think we've both read all her books including her latest one

KatieBabs: Mine To Possess is in my top 10. She delivers every time and I am very excited for Hostage to Pleasure, her September release.

KristieJ: I gave it a 4 which is a very good grad

KatieBabs: Also C.L. Wilson has another book coming in September for her Fading Lands series. Well, we all know her two books where my favourites for 2007. King of Sword and Sky comes out this September

KristieJ: yes - but she hasn't had one in 2008 so far. And you are the only one of the two of us to talk about JR Ward since I haven't read past Rhage’s story yet

KatieBabs: That would be me and Lover Enshrined is in my top 10, for the moment. Lover Enshrined is quite the topic of conversation in the blog world at the moment. And who had the first blog review... hmmmm?

KristieJ: Any other books of 2008 that you want to spotlight - that are out now?

KatieBabs: Gena Showalter has a great new series with her Lords of the Underworld. and I cannot forget to mention Kresley Cole's Immortal series and last but not least Meljean Brook

KristieJ: I have all those you just mentioned - just not read yet

KatieBabs: just some more to add to the good old TBR list. 2008 so far has been amazing overall for books!

KristieJ: It has for me too! - starting with The Spymaster's Lady

KatieBabs: She sets the standard!

KristieJ: Some of my favourites this year are Unlawful Contact by Pamela Clare, Hot by Julie Harper, To Taste Temptation by Elizabeth Hoyt - so she had 2 this year and finally a tried and true - Strangers in Death by JD Robb

KatieBabs: Er, To Taste Temptation is my bottom feeder along with Damien by Frank

KristieJ: heh heh - I know - we disagree on that one

KatieBabs: Yup, my first unhappy read by Hoyt. Is there one book you haven't read from 2008 yet that you want to?

KristieJ: that's been published or that I'm waiting for?

KatieBabs: that has been published

KristieJ: LOL - yep quite a few. I think the top ones are Demon Night by Meljean Brook and The Seducer and the Scorpion by Bonnie Vanak. Fortunately for me I have both of them already – its just a matter of reading them. And you?

KatieBabs: It just came out, but Scandalous ways by Loretta Chase

KristieJ: Um - I have that one too. See what I mean? Too many books - not enough time!

KatieBabs: I know!

KristieJ: So list your top 2008 books so far

KatieBabs: even the one that haven't been published yet but I have read?

KristieJ: no - I think we should stick with published - that way people won't want to throw rotten apples at us yet

KatieBabs: *ducks*

KristieJ: 'cause I kind of want to throw a rotten apple at you for having read Linnea Sinclair’s latest – even if you’re my partner - heh heh heh - in a nice way of course. Cause I will be reading it - no doubt about that - when it comes out

KatieBabs: Linnea Sinclair's next release? Whatever do you mean? *whistles* maybe you will get it earlier. *wink wink* My top books for 2008 are:

Blue Eyed Devil- Lisa Kleypas
The Host- Stephenie Meyer
One Foot in the Grave- Jeaniene Frost
Grimspace- Ann Aguirre
The Spymaster's Lady- Joanna Bourne
Demon Night- Meljean Brook
Mine To Possess- Nalini Singh
Lover Enshrined- JR Ward
Dark Needs on Night's Edge- Kresley Cole
The Darkest Kiss- Gena Showalter

KatieBabs: Tah Dah!

KristieJ: Very good! These are mine:

Joanna Bourne, The Spymaster's Lady 5

Lisa Kleypas, Blue Eyed Devil 5

Pamela Clare, Unlawful Contact 5

Toni Blake, Letters To A Secret Lover 4.75

Julia Harper, Hot 4

Nalini Singh, Mine To Possess 4

Robb, JD Strangers In Death 4

Gena Showalter, Savor Me Slowly 4

Elizabeth Hoyt, To Taste Temptation 4

KatieBabs: You don't list from 1 to 10?

KristieJ: I put my fives together, then my one 4.75, then 4.5, then 4's. That's as close as I can do it

KatieBabs: ah ha, I forgot one!! Arg! Duke of Shadows. I need to fix my list

KristieJ: I have that one too - on the TBR pile

KatieBabs: before this gets posted, I must rethink my list. See, I have problems already. lol

KristieJ: heh heh. Well, I'll copy it, fix it up and email it to you so you can add stuff

KatieBabs rethought list:

Blue Eyed Devil- Lisa Kleypas

The Host- Stephenie Meyers

One Foot in the Grave- Jeaniene Frost

Grimspace- Anne Aguirre

The Spymaster's Lady- Joanna Bourne
Duke of Shadows- Meredith Duran

Demon Night- Meljean Brook
Mine To Possess- Nalini Singh

Lover Enshrined- JR Ward

Dark Needs on Night's Edge- Kresley Cole

My Lord and Spymaster *Exclusive Review*

One of the best authors to come out of 2008 and the publishing world, especially the historical romance genre is Joanna Bourne. Joanna’s first novel, The Spymaster’s Lady was one of the best historicals I have read in almost five years. Her writing is lush and so very intelligently written. When Ana from The Book Smugglers told me she was a huge fan of Joanna, I realized we have so much in common. She was also very lucky to get an advanced copy of Joanna’s July release, My Lord and Spymaster. And since she was posting her review, she asked if I was going to post my own since I too was able to get a copy. So, today we are both linking our reviews and we welcome you to read both our thoughts and comment on them.

The heroine of My Lord and Spymaster is Jess Whitby. Jess may seem like a respectable lady with a fortune and a successful business, but Jess has an unfortunate past as being a former thief who lived in the underbelly of Katherine Lane in London. Her father, who I really thought of as a total jackass, left Jess to fend for herself because he was never around. Without a mother to care for her, Jess had to survive anyway she knew how, so the streets became her home and thus her career as a thief, all before the age of ten. Jess has come back to her old haunts looking for the man responsible for framing her father for crimes against the crown. Because Jess is so independent and a bit plucky, she will go deep into the dark streets, where danger is thick, searching for a way to find the villain who has the power to send her father to the gallows. This is where she meets Sea Captain Sebastian Kennett.

Sebastian and an associate, Adrian, (Adrian was a big secondary character in The Spymaster’s Lady) are walking back from a celebration of sorts when a young woman comes rushing towards Sebastian and begs for his help. He knows something is off because he feels her trying to pick his pockets. Before he can get to the bottom of Miss Sticky Fingers, they are attacked. Sebastian and Adrian are able to hold their attackers off, but Sebastian’s lovely pickpocket is bashed in the head and falls unconscious. Sebastian takes her back to his ship and waits till she comes to. From that moment on Sebastian feels Jess is his. In between the fighting and the time it takes for him to bring her to his ship and wait for her to awaken, Sebastian wants to claim this unknown lady as his own. These few pages where we see Sebastian’s thoughts and sudden feelings for Jess are so telling. It sets in motion the dance or rather the foreplay these two will engage in before they become lovers.

Jess does not trust Sebastian at all. She believes he is someone called the Cinq, and the one responsible for imprisoning her father. Jess may be very attracted to Sebastian, but she really does think he is the dastardly Cinq.

**Side note- for the life of me I couldn’t tell you what “Cinq” means. Why do these villains in such spy stories have such strange names? What if his name was Bill or Harry? I personally like the name of Fred. But then again have you ever heard of a villain with the name of Fred?**

You have to feel for Sebastian because he makes it his mission to protect and help Jess in any way. Jess is an ungrateful wench and makes sure to give Sebastian the run around. He just doesn’t know how to handle her. She is one slippery woman who can escape from his guards who are suppose to keep tabs on her. Jess is quite skillful and she climbs various rooftops and drops into rooms without being noticed. Jess reminded me a bit of Anne Wilder from the Connie Brockway classic, All Through the Night. And I would love to know if Joanna was paying homage to Connie because at certain points, Jess was very much like Anne. Sebastian is not at all like Jack Seward, but he is there to help Jess out of her scrapes. There is one such scrape where Jess decides to go back into the "belly of the beast" and see the man who turned her into a thief and may just kill her because she left him, even though she was just a child. Sebastian is the only one who can rescue her. Surprisingly in this scene, you would think Sebastian would lay claim to Jess himself, much like he told himself he would when he first met her. Rather, Sebastian makes Jess realize she belongs to no one, not her father and not even himself.

I found My Lord and Spymaster to be a tensioned filled novel, especially between Jess and Sebastian. These two do not fall into bed right away and then spend the rest of the story running around London. The loving comes much later. Sebastian can’t stand dear old dad because of what Jess had to go through as a young girl. Jess can hardly trust Sebastian, which became a bit tedious because Sebastian has done everything in his power to make Jess want to put her trust in him. I felt that Jess had such issues because of her past and it should fit, but sometimes too much denial and angst between the two main characters can be a bit too much.

Again Joanna has written another wonderful heroine in that of Jess, who really makes this story shine. Sebastian was a pleasing in his own way, but I was so involved with Jess that Sebastian is more of a sidekick to Jess if anything else. I was even surprised by who Fred…er…the Cinq was. For a sophomore effort, I think those who enjoyed The Spymaster’s Lady will feel the same about My Lord and Spymaster.

Joanna simply breathes life into a genre that needs more stories like her own.

4 out of 5 stars

Katiebabs (KB)

JR Ward "crack" Interview and Spoilers!

Christine was so kind enough to send me word that JR Ward is over at Romance Novel TV chatting today about Lover Enshrined.

And guess what?? WE FIND OUT WHO'S REHV'S MATE IS!!!!

And the first line of his book, Lover Avenged, which comes out next year.

Want some "crack" spoilers? Click on the link and get your fix.

Katiebabs (KB)

OMG - I LOVE YouTube!!!

Thanks to YouTube I have been in deep procastination mode taking a tour back through my younger days.
I never listen to oldies' music stations - I prefer to go no further back than the 80's, but I found some songs I loved when I was much younger. I'm not sure how many out there will remember these ones - but oh man - did they bring back memories. And believe it or not, I could still sing (and just did) many of them word for word

Here are just a few

This was always my favourite Herman's Hermits song. It wasn't as widely popular as some of the other ones - but I loved it



(and keep in mind this was back in the days when gay meant happy)

Here's another one I loved when I was a kid. I didn't found out until much later that Ron's nickname was Hazel - cause of his long (at the time) hair


And oh wow! Did I love this one when I was young and innocent



This is the one I'm most proud of being able to sing word for word without forgetting one single word


I could go on and on - but to spare you my own personal journey down memory lane, I'll just leave a couple more. I don't how long some have been visiting, but a while back I did a post on my crushes of yesteryear. One of the BIG ones I had was on a band in the 60's - Paul Revere and the Raiders. I had posters of this group all over my room - and Mark Lindsay in particular
*sigh* ah memories


(yes - we did used to dance like that. I wasn't quite as good as the go go dancers though.

And the quality isn't as good - but this was my favourite song by them - Hungry - as in I was hungry for Mark Lindsay in my young innocent teenage girl heart.
Katie saw these last night and would you believe she laughed at them? She LAUGHED at my Mark Lindsay! Humph.
(so did I)




And finally - some will know what I'm referring to - this is NOT the pirate and crew I was referring too.

Walking To The Beat Of My Own Drum

When I was growing up as a child, I had a very rough time. I was considered to be an outcast and was made fun of horribly. I am not denying I was bit of a strange child, more eccentric if anything else. I owe that to my over active imagination. One of the worst times in my life was from the age of eight to thirteen. During this time I had two girls in my class whose mission was to make my life as unpleasant as they could. I wore glasses, had flaming red hair and was the tallest in my class, even towering over the boys. I was always picked last during gym, had no one to sit with at lunch and I was never invited to any birthday parties. There was this one girl, who I guess you could say, was the class bully. Even though other students were also picked on, she always would surround me with the other girls, and sometimes some boys, and call me names or throw rocks or sticks at me. There was also this one girl who was more indifferent towards me. She was the smartest one in our class and always picked on me because of the things that would come out of my mouth or the lesser grades I would receive.

By the time I was twelve, I came home crying almost everyday. As I walked home from school, tears would fall down my cheeks as I wondered what was so bad about me that made everyone dislike me so? I soon became very somber and quiet. I was the type who always smiled and wanted to be friends with everyone. I soon became lost, my identity missing as I tried to conform in a world where I would belong. I no longer walked to the beat of my own drum.

One day, my mother saw me in my room, sobbing hysterically on my bed after another bad day from hell at school. As any mother would do, she tried to show me how special I was. She put me in front of a mirror and asked,

“What do you see?”
I said, “Me.”

She went on to say that she saw a bright, happy and voracious child who has so much to live for. These people who put me down and say horrible things are jealous. I have something they want but can’t have and because of that, they lash out.

I really took those words to heart. We may have faults but honestly, what was so horrible about me as a person that others could not stand? The one bully who used force to hurt was this chubby, short girl who was barely passing her classes. The other one who was so perfect, or so it seemed, never had many friends around and hardly ever smiled. From that day forth I decided that whatever another person may think of me or say towards me doesn’t really matter, all that matters is what I think about myself.

Jealousy. Jealousy is a very scary thing. It can make the strongest become weak and the weakest go past a point that some never return from. In this blogsphere we are all apart of, words mean so much. It can mean praise by a simple statement in a post or it can do the total opposite where one can lash out at someone. Since most of us may never have the chance to meet face to face and know the real person behind the computer, we only have the words we type to express who we are.

This blogsphere I inhabit is full of bright and witty people. Without having my daily dose of reviews, commentary or even a simple picture being posted, I feel empty. People blog for so many reasons, and especially in the literary circles we surround ourselves in, many use their on-line blogs for notice. Some may think of their blog as a way towards monetary value or the possibility of being the first to have that advanced review or author interview we only can wish for. Some may try for the most traffic in a given day, week or month and they live and breathe that success. Some just go with what they know and what brings them joy.

It is such a small world and as you all well know, we see the same names over and over on many different sites and blogs. In one day, myself, along with two other bloggers seemed to be following each other from blog to blog, which was quite a coincidence. But I also have come to the conclusion that some tend to become jealous. Yes, that dirty word yet again that can ruin the most wonderful of associations and friendships. I have even been there myself, envious that one read a book before me, or perhaps has a better relationship with an author or blogger than I do. Rather than post those feelings, I hold back and post words of congratulations and awe for a job well done.

What it all comes down to is respect and understanding that words are such a powerful tool. When words are used to hurt and bring forth pain, we all loose something, not just the one writing them or the one it is meant for. It seems so mean, petty and hurtful. Really, what is the point? It makes others turn away, rejected because a few choice people are trying to ruin something so special that we all want to be a part of.

Of course things die down and life goes on, some other situations arise that will be that talk of the web and we all will continue to comment. Some will keep quite and just watch, waiting for the right moment to become known and begin their own path to making their words come alive, either by starting their own blog or taking that next step which involves a word count, agent, editor and finally a publisher.

The point where I am at is still very unknown, whatever happens and may come my way, I will take on. My words are my own and no one can tell me otherwise. To this day I still very much so, walk to the beat of my own drum.

**A final thought to my story. A few years ago I found out that one of those girl bullies was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and there was a possibility that she may never have children. With no other thought in my mind, I found her address and sent her a card, explaining who I was and wishing her well. Less than five days later, she responded back. She sent me a card and wrote how she was out west working in the art therapy field with children who were abused. She went on to say she remembered who I was and always thought I was the nicest person. She signed her name and under it she wrote two words:

“I’m sorry.”

Both she and I knew what she meant. They were the most powerful set of words that still stick to me to this day. About two years after that, I found out her cancer was in remission, she got married and eventually had a little girl.**

Katiebabs (KB)