Just returned from the truly Asia capital of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with two fab new works, one from Elizabeth Thornton and the other by Julia Quinn!! But more of that later, this is a quick post to share recent developments before I dive back into the story of Ash Denison in The Pleasure Trap. 

Before I left for Kuala Lumpur, I received two very exciting emails. Michael Betcherman, one of the authors of The Daughters of Freya, an email mystery I enjoyed, wrote to inform me of this new romantic comedy, Suzanne, he’s written and launched recently. He offered to sign me up and I accepted after reading the synopsis and the three preview emails. What can I say? I’m a voyeur deep down inside who simply enjoys reading other people’s emails. Nah, seriously, this was an entertaining story for me, and I totally blame Michael for keeping me up all night just so I could finish the story and find out if the heroine, Suzanne, found true love. But more of that in a separate post. 

The next email had me feeling all at once flattered and humbled. Leigh Albright of Sourcebooks wrote me with news of two new titles premiering this October: 

The first is Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake, a paranormal time-travel novel by Laurie Brown. It is scheduled to hit stores October 16th. The second is No Regrets, a Regency with an unusual heroine, by Michele Ann Young, that is already building buzz after receiving a four star review from The Romantic Times. It should be in stores October 23rd.

Finally had the chance to colllate, sort and create an album of my Sydney sojourn and make a mosaic badge of it.  Enjoy!

Besides fairy tales, Greek myths and Arthurian legends, one other constant in my childhood was the pugilistic novels and drama serials I would invariably get hooked on. Dreaming about soaring through woods and over water using ‘qing gong’ was just the beginning, the neighbourhood kids used to play games involving some martial arts heroes or heroines. Oh yes, there were some real kick-ass heroines in those stories and televisions series I admired. 

Growing up, I’d felt a void in the English publishing world when it comes to Asian pugilistic fantasies. Only in recent years was this void filled when The Condor Heroes was published as an English graphic novel series. So, imagine my utter delight when I stumbled upon Kylie Chan’s White Tiger and Red Phoenix enroute home from Sydney. For me, it was a long cherished childhood dream come true. 

Briefly, these two books are part of Ms Chan’s Dark Heavens series, which relates the adventures of Emma Donahoe, in first person perspective, when she decided to become full-time nanny to Simone, the daughter of John Chen, a very rich Hong Kong businessman, who is really more than just that and a martial arts exponent. Simone is a target for some very unusual kidnappers, and at first her employer and co-worker, who is really her charge’s bodyguard, were furtive about the mysterious guests that come and go at the apartment, the strange habits of both John and Simone, as well as the unsavoury enemies her enigmatic employer seems to attract. 

What a good day it was for paranormal fans when Nalini Singh came up with this fantastic universe of Changelings and a psychic super race.

Having enslaved many fans with her serial debut, Slave to Sensation, the author has gone on to blaze a new path to bestselling success with the scorching Visions of Heat, and she looks set to score another with the recently released follow-up Caressed by Ice, judging by the favourable reviews the latter has received thus far. For a synopsis of the plot, go here … I’m simply going to tell you why this book works for me.

This is one author who pays attention to the details that go into building up a fantasy world, and it shows in the consistency of what was revealed in the first book, and reinforced in this sequel, as well as through revelations from the characters and insights gained through their experience.

When more than two readers put a book on their best read list, you know you can’t go wrong especially if the novel features a hero that’s impossible to hate.

Reading Mr Impossible by Loretta Chase was like watching the movie The Mummy albeit set a couple of hundreds of years earlier: exciting, and heartmeltingly romantic. The insidious danger that threw the roguish Rupert Carsington and scholarly Daphne Pembroke together, the majestic beauty of Egypt and the thrill of the rescue mission adds to the tension between the two leads that make this a real romantic adventure comedy a la Romancing the Stone, Raiders of the Lost Ark, but with sexy undertones that add sizzle.

It sets you turning page after page to discover where our protagonists and the villains are headed next, and what perils lie in wait of our H/H, not mention when they are finally going to break their tenuous control of the attraction between them and take the relationship further. The readers could already tell where it’s all headed, and even when the Daphne believed Rupert dead, we knew better.

Put this on your must-read list if Maria Snyder’s powerful fantasy adventure thriller Poison Study, made your pulse race as it did to me. This book is definitely one of my best buys of the year, and it’s worth every penny and more of its hardcover price!!

Yelena is off to another great journey to master her control of her magical skills in Magic Study. After all that suspense and political intrigue, you’d be a fool to expect Snyder to give Yelena a quiet year of learning the ropes of casting spells. Not only did the heroine excelled in her classes, she discovered a latent, and diabolical, magic skill that, used incorrectly or uncontrollably, could bring about chaos in the two kingdoms, but would make her the most powerful and feared sorcerer of her generation.

With such a dilemma as this, would you expect anything less than dark evil, political intrigue, betrayal and exciting confrontations and magical battles? I didn’t think so.