Gillian by Linda Andrews

Gillian Grey is on a mission. Her father has asked Aidan Baird to escort his daughter through the desert to look for flowers. That however, is not Gillian's main purpose for her trip. After finding out that her fiance only wanted to marry her for her father's money, Gillian needs something to fill her time so she can forget. She has had a friend all her life named Grimsree. He comes to her now and tells her about women who are being murdered and Gillian decides she is going to find out who the murderer is. Although worried about what Aidan will think when he learns her real reason for traveling with him, Gillian is steadfast in her quest. In the end it could ruin her relationship with Aidan.

I loved this book. It was interesting from start to finish and kept me turning pages. It was nice to be transported back in time with such a good story. The characters were very believable for the period that the story takes place. Gillian has spunk and it does not deter Aidan at all. She shows her proficiency throughout the book. It was good to see in the end that her self confidence was in all areas and not just her prowess with her knife. The cover is very nice but i'm not sure it lends anything to the story except to hint of the romance to come. I hope others who read it will enjoy it as much as I did.

Highland Master by Amanda Scott

Lady Catronia finds an injured man on one of her walks. The man turns out to be Finlagh Cameron. Although Cat does not know he is a Cameron to start with. Their families have been bitter enemies. Fin is working for Davy Stewart who wants a meeting with some Highland chiefs and sent Fin to discuss it with the Mackintosh. Cat takes Fin home to meet her grandfather, the Mackintosh so he can tell him Davy's request. Fin and Cat become friends during his stay there. When the chiefs come and meet with Davy, he takes a shine to Cat. She tells him that she is in love with Fin and Davy forces them to wed. Meanwhile Rory Comyn who thinks he has an agreement with Cat's father for her hand, decides to start some mischief. He is helping Davy's uncle Albany who wants to unseat Davy as governor.

I enjoyed this story very much. It was a very easy and fast read those are the kind that I like best. The plot was interesting and kept my attention all the way through. Fin and Cat were very strong personalities and meshed together very well. They worked well together when they needed to. I also enjoyed the romance aspect of the story. Even though there were a lot of minor characters they did not detract from the plot but enhanced it. The cover was very appropriate to the storyline. I don't really have any suggestions to make it better, I thought it was very good as it is.

My Immortal Assassin by Caroyn Jewel

Grayson Spencer was not born with magic. She acquired her's when her lover Tigran was murdered by his mage, Christophe. Durian was an assassin sent to take out Grayson for trying to kill Christophe. He sees something in her and decides to save her life. He then has to teach her how to deal with the magic she now has. They also would both like to find a way to get rid of Christophe but can not obtain a sanction for the kill. Gray was supposedly killed along with her sister Emily and a friend in their apartment. However, Gray runs into her sister one day on the street and Emily does not recognize her and tells her she is mistaken that her name is Erin. This makes Gray want to kill Christophe that much more. In the meantime, Christophe sends magehelds to get Gray and bring her to him. He wants the magic that Gray obtained of his when he killed Tigran.

This book took some getting into for me. It's not my normal kind of reading, but in the end I did enjoy it. In some places it was hard to figure out what the author meant having not read any of the other books in the series. Some things might have been explained in the others. But, it really didn't detract from the story for me. The plot was a very good one and I loved both the characters of Gray and Durian. They were both such forceful personalities and played off each other very well. I also enjoyed some of the minor characters and will be looking for the other books to read their stories. Thought the cover was very nice but did not really lend anything to the plot.

To Tempt a Rake by Cara Elliott

Kate Woodbridge came to live with her grandfather when her parents died. Kate was used to the life of a pirate and did some things that she was not axious for her grandfather to find out about. She and some of her friends formed an intellectual group called cirle of sin. Kate loves to study botany which is also an interest of her grandfather. Marco Ghiradelli is the cousin of one of Kate's good friends. They met on several occasions and Kate is afraid that he will remember where he had seen her before. There is to be a meeting in Vienna and before that happens Kate's grandfather has a house party for some of the attendees. Marco is sent to have a look and see if he can learn anything that would help England thwart any problems. Kate is not happy to see him, she fears the more they are around each other the more likely he is to remember her past. One of the members of the house party is murdered and Kate's dagger is found in his chest. Marco tells Kate that he does remember her and that he is going to help her clear her name.

Good story from beginning to end. It flowed nicely and the interaction between the characters was very appealing. The interplay between Kate and Marco lent some humor to the story. Loved the transformation of her grandfather and the spark between him and Kate's friend Charlotte. There was more description than I usually like and I would have liked a little more conversation. Really liked the cover and thought it was very true to the storyline. Still I enjoyed the book and will look for the others in the series.

Saving Dandy James by Shelly Gail Morris

Dandy James is in a loveless marriage. One night during a storm she went to buy a magazine and had an accident on the way back. Another car also had an accident and when Dandy went to help she met Colin Kessler. Dandy rides with Colin to the hospital and there lives become entwined. Colin confesses his love for Dandy but she says it can't be since they are both married to others. Colin's pregnant daughter comes and lives at Dandy's farm for the summer. Dandy finds out that her father signed a promissory note to her husband giving him the land if
he stays married to her for twenty years. Their anniversary is looming and after nineteen years of abuse Dandy decides to file for divorce. For years Dandy's son Perry was told by his father that his mother was unstable and likely to kill herself. He kept his distance from Dandy but then she started changing and taking hold of her life. Perry saw that his father had lied to him and establishes a loving relationship with his mother.

The plot was a good one and I enjoyed reading how everything would be wound up in the end. Dandy finding her daughter was a big plus in my thinking. There was good interaction between all of the characters. The situations were very believable and everyone was very well rounded. There was just the right balance of description and conversation. It made reading the book so much easier for me because the flow was there from the beginning. It held my attention very well and was extremely life like. The cover is ok, but didn't really add anything to the book.