Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady, by Diane Gaston

This month’s TBR Challenge theme is ‘baggage’; as SuperWendy notes, ‘baggage’ is the bread and butter of genre romance, so I was spoiled for choices. Which of course meant that I couldn’t think of anything.

However, this book has been inching its way up the towering pile of print TBR books in my nightstand for a while (a long while–I’ve had this signed copy since 2009, gog help me), and with a hero who survived the 1812 siege and subsequent pillaging of Badajoz, “baggage” was a given.

Reader beware: descriptions of battle scenes, PTSD, attempted rape, sex on the page.

Master of Dragons, by Angela Knight

This is my entry for July’s TBR Challenge, and I’m making it fit in a very idiosyncratic way: I was aiming for any unread print book in my house, published at least 20 years ago (VINTAGE, get it?). Of course, I couldn’t find even one (watch me find a dozen as soon as the review is up). So I moved my goal to “oldest paper ARC in my possession”, and…look, I’ve had it for over fifteen years, I’m going with it (not taking bets on how many I’ve actually have had for longer, or how soon after posting I’ll find at least three).

It’s been a minute since I’ve read any of Ms Knight’s work, and this is the fifth novel (and eighth overall installment) in the Mageverse series, so please do take that into account when reading this review.

Where Dreams Begin, by Lisa Kleypas

I am feeling very frustrated about my reading right now; even though I’m enjoying the Immortals After Dark quite a bit, I’m having trouble concentrating on any one thing. *cue frustrated scream*

So when someone mentioned this title, I realized that I had not re-read it in a good long while, despite the fact that I like it quite a bit. In fact, I really like many of Ms Kleypas’ historical romances, but I’ve only reviewed two of her books. Which just makes no sense, so here we are.

Reader beware: there is sex on the page.

Where Dreams Begin, by Lisa Kleypas

This is that rare beast, a fully stand alone novel. It also has a widowed heroine who not only loved her husband, but was sexually satisfied by him–this is even rarer in romance. She’s also a lady, a member of the ton, long on manners and pedigree, short on cash. The hero is one of those trade magnates, a nouveau riche who wants to purchase respectability, and acceptance in society, through his fortune. Hijinks, inevitably, ensue.

Here’s the (inaccurate as always) blurb from my paperback copy:

Wild Invitation, by Nalini Singh

It is not a secret for regular readers of my humble blog, that I am a fan of the Psy/Changeling series. Early last year I made a push to finish reviewing all the full length novels in the series, on time for the release this summer of Shards of Hope, the fourteenth title.

However, and despite having won an ARC copy of this all Psy/Changeling novellas anthology back in February 2013 *wince*, I have only reviewed one of the novellas in the series: “Whisper of Sin,” from Burning up.

Operating on the principle that late is better than never, and because a second Psy/Changeling anthology (this one is all new stories, yay!) is in the works for release some time in 2016, here is my review.

Warning: there’s some graphic sex and cursing, and newcomers to the series may be lost–particularly on the last two stories–because of the world building. Read at your own risk. For readers who are behind in the series, the last two stories are spoilerish for Kiss of Snow and Tangle of Need, respectively.

Wild Invitation, by Nalini Singh

This one-author anthology was originally released in March 2013. It contains four stories, though only two were written for it. I’m reviewing them as they appear in the book, though the blurbs for the first novella is from the original release.