Briefly: Wicked Enchantment ~ Anya Bast

When the Summer Queen of the fae orders Aislinn Finvarra to act as a guide for a half-incubus who is known to possess dark magick and sexual power, she must protect not only her heart, but her very life. [Summary from B&N]

This book, the first in Bast’s new Dark Magick series, sat on my desk for weeks. On the verge of checking it in unread, I picked it up, flipped to a page and read a few lines, and thought “eh, maybe I’ll read it after all.”

My main quibble is that the story was told, not shown . As a result, the characters fell flat. Oh, they were nice enough, but I didn’t come to care for them. I was told that Aislinn was compassionate, intelligent, had a backbone, etc., instead of seeing this for myself as she was put through her paces. The same went for Gabriel. Along with that, the dialogue seemed a bit…simple.

A couple of things the book does have going for it is that it is 1.) a quick read and 2.) the world-building is interesting. Overall, a plesant enough escape if you have a few hours to spare and no other book pressing you to pick it up.

Beguiled ~ Maureen Child

Maureen Child’s sexy, feisty heroine, Maggie Donovan, a descendant of Otherworldly Faeries, returns to face her greatest challenge—a certain ex-queen who has not been destroyed and wants her crown back. When Maggie’s niece is kidnapped by Queen Mab, Maggie must overcome her mistrust of her dashing Fae Warrior lover, Culhane, and unite the Fae Warriors to save the girl and defeat the rebel queen once and for all—or lose everything.

I may have mentioned this in my review for Bedeviled, the first book in the Queen of the Otherworld series, but that guy on the cover? Hot. Someone hand me a fan. Or an air conditioner. (Sorry. I had to get that out there. And now that that’s out of the way, on to the nitty-gritty.)

Beguiled picks up pretty soon after the events in Bedeviled. Maggie is still resistant to her role as Queen, Culhane is as adamant as ever that she will do as she’s told, Nora and Quinn are still hot and heavy, Elaine (bless her!) still loves Supernatural and Jensen Ackles, and Bezel is still the best grouchy pixie I’ve ever read. The dynamics haven’t shifted too much in this book, but it’s a whole lot of fun, and I enjoyed all of the bickering over baked goods.

The plot arc advanced in this book as Maggie more completely understood how oppressed the men in Otherworld had been, but she also sees the importance of holding the line of equality, making sure that the balance doesn’t tip too far in the other direction. New problems arise for her in the form of her “GrandFae” – the fairy responsible for her Fae bloodline – and the return of Mab, the Queen she deposed in a pretty awesome cat fight. Plus, there’s the trust issues she continues to have with Culhane, who remains as arrogant, stubborn, and brooding as ever.

These books, as I said before, are just plain fun. I’ll definitely be reading the next one. (Ah, there will be a next one, right? Ms.Child? Oh, and while I’ve – maybe?- got your ear…No one is cuter than Jensen Ackles. Not even a Fae-warrior-in-training. )

Bedeviled ~ Maureen Child

Maggie Donovan isn’t interested in overthrowing a Faery queen. Maggie has had barely enough time to kill the demon that devoured her fiance, never mind save the Otherworld. Her hands are full babysitting her smart-mouthed twelve-year-old niece while her sister is getting her chakras lined up. But when Maggie comes home to find a scrumptious hunk who insists she has Otherworld problems to solve, she may not have a choice. Especially since she’s suddenly been endowed with superhuman strength and a bad habit of flying awkwardly through the air…

An elite Faery warrior, Culhane isn’t exactly boyfriend material, but that hasn’t stopped Maggie’s wild imagination. What Maggie doesn’t realize is that there’s one secret the sexy warrior hasn’t revealed: He’s already bound to the powerful Faery queen he wants Maggie to defeat.

Thirty-six pages into this one and I realized my favor could be bought. So, authors, show such fine taste as to mention Supernatural, and specifically the man who defines my idea of sexy, Jensen Ackles, and I’m yours:

Eileen’s narrow shoulders slumped. “Fine. But I’ll be the only one in school tomorrow who doesn’t know what happened. Your only niece, the one who loves you, will be completely left out of the discussion about Jensen Ackles. I’ll be ostracized by my peers, but don’t let that worry you. I’ll probably get over it after years of therapy…”

Pop culture references can date a novel, sure, but that one, besides the fact that a tiny portion of my world revolves around that show, will stand up in the future. (Really, it will.) That little mention of the show immediately grabbed my fangirl heart and, just like that, I knew those characters.

And, actually, character is the force behind this particular offering. Maggie’s great. She’s funny, a retort always at the ready, and there’s intelligence behind it. She’s a talented woman, a painter, who wants to build on her dream, and feels stalled with each new store window she paints for the holidays. She loves her family and takes that responsibility seriously; she’s willing to do whatever she must to keep them safe, even when doing so scares her. And in that way, she’s strong enough to admit to her fear. There’s something in Maggie, I’d say, that any woman could recognize.

Culhane is a charismatic character. We don’t get to know him quite as well as we do Maggie and even her niece, Eileen. But there’s enough there to avoid him being nothing more than eye candy. (And, since I went and brought it up, that guy on the cover? Seriously. Hot. And so very nice to picture whenever Culhane’s in the scene.) Plus, Bedeviled is the first in the series, and I fully expect we’ll come to know a lot more about Culhane, so I can let it slide that he didn’t feel as well drawn as some of the others in this one.

As for the plot, it was good, and the pacing was smooth if not quick. It felt like there could have been a little more depth – the crux of the conflict deals in a way with oppression; the humor could have benefited from deepening the serious nature of Otherworld’s problem. Because Maggie is so resistent to her role, her denial became a bit repetitive, as did the mentions of how gorgeous the warriors of Faery are. All of that can be forgiven because: 1. Again, it’s the first in the series, 2. Did I mention how gorgeous the guy on the cover is, and 3. The book was fun to read and left me wanting more. You’ll find me reading Beguiled as soon as it’s released in August.

Running Hot ~ Jayne Ann Krentz

Luther Malone, ex-cop and member of the Arcane Society, is reluctantly paired with Grace Renquist, a genealogy research librarian who is much more than she seems. On assignment in Hawaii, the two high level aura sensitives quickly realize that there’s a lot more going on that what their boss, Fallon Jones, told them.

I was *thisclose* to just posting the cover’s blurb if only for this line: She’s a librarian, for heaven’s sake. Ha. I kinda hope people say that about me. All underestimating and such. But the dust jacket’s synopsis was a lot longer then mine and both do a good job of confusing those not initiated into Krentz’s Arcane Society books. So really it was a half a dozen one or the other. (Such a strange phrase, that. Did I mess it up? Anyway…)

Since way back, I’ve been reading Jayne Ann Krentz’s books. And Jayne Castle’s. Her novels, like Nora Roberts’, are comfort reads for me. They’re kind of like a really plush robe that’s been worn countless times and is easy to slip on and wrap yourself up in. I don’t anticipate them as I do the series books I read, but you’ll always find my name at the top of the library’s reserve list for each new title. And so, while I knew it would take me no time to finish it, I settled in with Running Hot, knowing as I did that it would be an enjoyable ride.

It was. And yet I felt like I was slipping. Luther appeared in another Arcane book, I think it was Sizzle and Burn, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember if the injury he was healing from in this new novel was a result of the action in the previous one. At least not until he clarified it. But even then it bugged me that I forgot. So, in a way, that goes to prove that these books aren’t so memorable, just nice and easy for the moment.

Luther and Grace were nice characters, both scarred by life and put through the wringer more than a time or two; their attraction was immediate, and the time it took to act on it scarcely longer. That surprised me. Usually Krentz’s couples don’t beat around the bush, but the sexual relationship took off far faster in this one then in previous books it seemed. Plus, and this was my main gripe, Luther was twice divorced and yet he had no problem sliding into a committed relationship with Grace. It didn’t quite gel. I also thought that their talents – both having to do with aura reading – could have been played up a bit more. As it was, they were nice, sure, but not as sympathetic as some others, and their chemistry was lacking a little.

Krentz’s world of para-sensitives proved to be just as interesting, even moreso, I think, for the introduction of a Siren, a type of talent we’ve yet to see in the books. I also enjoyed the development of Fallon Jones’s character, the few mentions of Zack Jones, and the new information provided on the Nightshade group.

If you read Krentz’s books, you’ll definitely want to continue with Running Hot. And if you don’t? Well, I’d have to say try one of the early ones for yourself, and see what you think. You’ll either want to continue or you’ll feel just fine letting them pass you by.