Dark Diva Reviews

Summary: Faith Abbot is a good Puritan woman, but the magic inside an opal necklace begins to torment her with lustful thoughts.  

For years her heart and body have craved handsome James Parris, a man twelve years her junior, a man she thinks should be courting women his own age. But now the magic of a ghost trapped in a jewel breaks down all her inhibitions.  

Click here to read the review.

Summary: Song of the Mountains is a passion infused and turbulent story of a man's battle against the odds. It is Morgan's duty to help the Prince of Wales in his fight against oppressive England. But when Morgan is tricked into a marriage he cannot honour, he finds himself desperately in love with the wife of another man.

Click here to read the review.

Kidnapped and sold into slavery, is there more to life than what Laila experiences?

Kidnapped from her home in Cairo, Egypt, Laila is placed on an auction block in Constantinople and sold to work as a handmaid to a wealthy man and his daughter. Unhappy as a maid and leery of the lustful advances of her owner, Laila dreams of returning to her home.

Laila is sold to a Turkish harem where she catches the eye of the handsome yet arrogant palace heir, Kudar al Numan. As Laila fights to deny her feelings for Kudar, their relationship is threatened by the jealous rage of another woman.

To keep the couple apart, Laila’s nemesis hatches a plan to force her to make a choice…return to the family she loves or remain in her new life with her new love. Either choice may be seen as an act of betrayal. Which will she choose? And does going back to relive the past mean there is no hope for the future?

My Review:

The Red Rose Publishing book Slave Girl by Sheniqua Waters seems to have had a good amount of historical research on the fashions and names of certain aspects of medieval Ottoman Turk culture. Unfortunately the characters, plot, and dialog were not imbued with the same care and understanding of the period. 

My first issue is with the title, Slave Girl, leading readers to believe this is a novel of submission which it is definitely not. While the story begins with the kidnapping of the main character Laila and her sale by slave traders, she faces hardly any of the real horrors a slave girl would face in this period. Incredulously to me she continuously complains and mouths off to her captors but is never punished as she would surely have been. In fact the only person who whips her during the entire book is the woman, Zora, one of her many owners. This lack of any realistic conditions of slavery took away from the period research Ms. Waters had clearly done, but unfortunately thing only got worse. 

The two main characters, the lovers, Laila and Kumar met and begin a downward spiral of unlikely dialogue and even more unlikely thoughts and ideas which are bordering on impossible for the period. Examples of which are Laila’s thoroughly 20^th Century ideas on relations between men and women. More impossible than her having these advanced ideas is Kumar accepting them and trying to win her as a man might today. Please, he’s the son of an Ottoman Turk lord and he has a harem, do we really see him tossing aside his culture and committing to a one man/one woman relationship. For this reviewer the dialogue became a serious impediment when on page 114, this medieval Turkish lord-to-be refers to his slave girl as “sweet pea.” Would that be a chick pea, popular in hummus, or the green variety which is what western readers think of when she uses the phrase. 

Clearly Slave Girl suffered from a ridiculous lack of editing, as Ms. Waters takes countless side trips and spends pages on things relatively meaningless to the plot or storyline. Kumar and Omar, his eunuch servant, spend six pages on a meaningless sea trip and shipwreck which seems only designed to lengthen the story to its overweight 320 pages. Once Laila returns to her former home in Cairo it takes more than two pages of meaningless rambling before she sees her mother. Two or three paragraphs maybe, but not more than two pages. The rambling, unfocused style made this reviewer surprised to find out Ms. Waters was an experienced writer, for this book reads like an unedited newcomer. 

In summary, Ms. Waters does some good research on Turkish fashion and words and for some inexplicable reason picks this period of history to write a sweet flowery love story in with as many words and she can muster for duty. Quite simply, it doesn’t work, realistically or ideologically, but if you’re desperate for a sweet, flowery love story, love rambling, and can ignore reality, this book is perfect for you. This reviewer however cannot give Slave Girl more than one Delightful Diva.

Rated one Delightful Diva by Jenn.

Ian has been left Laird of Clan MacDuff after his brother Donell travels through time to be with his true love. The clan embraces him as their leader, and now to secure his own position, Ian decides he must take a wife. After imbibing on one two many gulps of ale, Ian toys with his brother’s brooch, the very catalyst to his present situation. When the air turns thick with fog, Ian panics that he’s travelled through time, but is comforted by the familiar surroundings of his bedroom. And what’s this? A beautiful naked woman is lying next to him…

Natalie Blackwood, a Scottish historian, wakes up in her own naughty fantasy: making love to a medieval Highlander who strums her body like a fine-tuned instrument. Even better, she’s in a medieval keep set up by--she thinks--her best friend.

When it all becomes a reality, Natalie has some tough decisions to make.

Can she stay in Ian's world? Beyond earth-shattering bliss, can Ian convince her they were made for each other?

Book Two in my Highland Jewel series, releasing February 6, 2009 with The Wild Rose Press!

My Review:

Oh, I love a man in a kilt. This is a hot quick read, with lots of scorching sex. The historical accuracies are a nice touch, like Ian’s accent,  but don’t take away from the story. Which is nice.

Rated five Delightful Divas by Jade!

Is it true, what happens in Havana stays in Havana?

Five women are about to find out or are they?

Five stories, four days, three nights, two times the fun, and 1 heck of a good time. Dahlia, Eve, Nora, Alice, and Marianne; when five women who work together in depression era Boston save up for a trip of a lifetime to decadent Havana, anything can happen. With seductive Latin men and rich vacationers at every turn who wouldn’t enjoy dancing till dawn, the parties, the nightclubs, the beach, the gambling, and there’s always more than one side to a story.

Who can ask for more, fun, sun and hot men to tempt and tease?

 My Review:

Ms. Mueller has penned a very interesting tale, tying in the stories of five friends on holiday in Havana: Eve, Dahlia, Marianne, Nora and Alice.  I enjoyed reading the story from each of their prospective, however there were a lot of repeaters which pulled me out of the story, since I had already read those in the previous character’s tale.  Havana Holiday, is a delightful and sensual tale of love and friendship.

Rated 3 Delightful Divas by Eliza!

They say love is blind, but Lady Fortuna Morley doesn’t  believe it. Sightless since birth, she can think of only one reason a gentleman would wed her—for the dowry and three thousand a year her father will provide. She’s in London the spring of 1814 to help launch her younger cousin into society, but prefers living quietly in country with her music. The last thing Fortuna wishes is to cross swords with the arrogant Marquess of Granville.

Charles Lowden, Lord Granville, has decided to take a wife. The bride he’s chosen is thirteen years his junior, but meets all criteria. What he won’t abide is interference from the girl’s impertinent cousin, the outspoken and opinionated Lady Fortuna Morley.  The woman is determined to thwart the match.  Charles is just as determined to charm Fortuna out of her disdain for him.

                                                             

                                                        

 

Left with just enough to make the trip after her father dies Olivia travels across a dangerous ocean during WW1 to marry a man she never met. Even worse Cort was never told until the morning they went to go pick her up at the train station that an arrangement has been made. Now the entire family seems to be trying to keep her from even talking to the man they want her to marry while a younger brother just wants her for himself. All that changes when a blizzard traps them together with no family to interfere. With a childhood accident leaving Olivia to walk with a cane she finds Cort has no problems with her scars but his own black past. Then its time for them to make an arrangement of their own.

 An Arrangement Among Gentlemen, is an interesting quick read.  If you’re looking for a fast romantic read, Ms. Mueller’s story should satisfy your desires.  Also, an introspective look at the war that was going on during that time period.

Rated 3 Delightful Divas by Eliza.

With the Saxons still trying to keep the Normans out of England a wounded Norman finds his way to Gwenhyfer's door only to find that not all Saxons are enemies.

Review:

This historical romance starts off with action right away pulling you into the story. You immediately feel compassion for Gwenhyfer as you are sucked into her world. Soon enough you find out what a strong, capable and smart woman she is. She is the epitome of a modern woman living as a medieval lady. Robert comes along, a sexy Norman warrior, and from the moment he walks through her door, sparks fly. Although they were born to be enemies, you are cheering them on with each passing scene. This story has enough action and sexual tension to keep you on the edge of your seat until ‘The End.’

I give this read 4 and ½ Delightful Divas

Click here to return to review page