another perfectly delightful Regency
romance that plays with gender expectations. Clare Greenough’s inheritance will
be managed by her nasty cousin, Simon,
until it transfers to her future husband.
She arranges to marry James Boleigh,
Baron Trehearth, offering to fund restoration of his failing lands in exchange for a
promise that she will retain control of the
money. After Clare restores Jamie’s household, civilizes his wild younger sisters,
and shows clear enjoyment of his sexual
attentions, he assumes she will fall into a
traditional wife’s role, but she insists on
maintaining their original agreement.
Remarkably executed secondary characters
like the sisters, their enormous dog, and
Clare’s hired lady’s companion bring life to
the busy household that Clare guides with
skilled and self-assured calm. The newness
of passion doesn’t eliminate her strong
will, intelligence, or resolve, allowing the
reader to be swept away in the surprises of
romance while still cheering for Clare to
take charge of her love and her life.
The Broken
Shelley Coriell. Grand Central/Forever, $8 mass
market (416p) ISBN 978-1-4555-2849-3
Coriell’s Apostles series launch is a true
roller-coaster ride of romantic suspense.
Journalist Katrina Erickson was stabbed
and almost slain by a serial killer called the
Broadcast Butcher. Three years later, now
called Kate Johnson, she’s living as an aide
to Smokey Joe, a blind Vietnam veteran.
Kate is alarmed when FBI agent Hayden
Reed finds her and asks for her help tracking down the Butcher. Kate is certain that
her brother, Jason, is the culprit, and as she
works with Hayden, he’s Kate’s beauty and
tenacity distract him from focusing on the
case. Soon Hayden is most determined to
keep Kate safe at all costs as their journey
takes them closer to a killer. The gradual
attraction between Hayden and Kate is
believable and intense, as their flaws make
them all too human. And the suspense is
top-notch, with so many twists and turns
that even the most astute reader will be
riveted to the stunning conclusion.
The Captive
Grace Burrowes. Sourcebooks Casablanca, $7.99
mass market (416p) ISBN 978-1-4022-7878-5
Prolific favorite Burrowes (The
MacGregor’s Lady) launches a Regency
trilogy that explores
the wounds left
behind at the end
of a war. Christian
Severn, Duke of
Mercia, was captured
and tortured by the
French. After gain-
ing his freedom, his
drive for revenge
is interrupted by
Gillian, the recently widowed Countess
of Greendale, who reminds him of his
duty to his young daughter. Gillian joins
the ducal household for various believ-
able reasons, and Burrowes deftly builds
the romantic tension amid lovely layers
of domestic tranquility and honest con-
versations. Gillian has war wounds of her
own, and the thoughtful exploration of
her own captivity adds to the engross-
ing story. The unusual twists and turns
along the way to the satisfying conclu-
sion—and some insight into the earlier
life of a favorite character from the Duke’s
Obsession series—will leave readers eager
to grab the sequels.
Chained by Night
Larissa Ione. Pocket, $7.99 mass market (400p) ISBN
978-1-4767-0018-2
Ione’s second MoonBound Vampires
paranormal (after Bound by Night) deftly
uses a mixture of complex rivalries, primal violence, and sex to portray a society
in which frequent vampire enslavement
provokes a civil-rights dispute. Hunter,
leader of the MoonBound Clan, needs
help against vampire-hunters from
nearby Seattle. His intended mate, Rasha,
and her twin sister, Aylin, are sent to
MoonBound by their father, the brutal
leader of ShadowSpawn Clan, to see
whether an alliance between MoonBound
and ShadowSpawn is sustainable. Rasha,
raised on mayhem as entertainment,
thinks MoonBound is weak—Hunter allows human hobbies, like video games.
But Aylin, a lifelong outsider because of
a birth defect, finds hope in Hunter and
MoonBound, although the Clans will go
to war if Hunter mates with the wrong
twin. Together, Aylin and Hunter must
balance responsibility with desire in the
face of increasing human trouble, inter-
Clan espionage, and their own vampiric
natures. Ione’s characters are relatable and
sympathetic both because of and despite
their id-drenched setting, and Ione’s fla-
vor of vampirism produces a fascinating
mixture of authoritarianism, atavism, and
compassionate humanity that works on
multiple levels.
The Circus
of the Damned
Cornelia Grey. Riptide
(www.riptidepublishing.
com), $17.99 trade paper
(274p) ISBN 978-1-62649-
166-3
In Grey’s magnificent
second Deal with a
Devil paranormal
romance (after Devil at the Crossroads),
grifter Gilbert Blake uses his unusual
magical powers to fleece marks and make
a precarious living in the steampunk city
of Shadowsea. An altercation in a dive bar
brings Gilbert’s magic to the attention
of crime lord Count Reuben, who tries
to kidnap him. While fleeing, Gilbert is
picked up by the Circus of the Damned,
who have literally made a pact with a
devil, and discovers that no one who joins
the circus can leave it, even after death.
As he gets to know the handsome and
magical centuries-old ringmaster, Jesse,
Gilbert’s not sure about wanting to leave
anymore, but he’s still in danger from
the Count and the pact. The romance
between Gilbert and Jesse is erotic,
touching, and believable, and the rest of
the circus is drawn with a deft touch that
elevates it above the clichés of its subgenre. There are no easy answers for these
characters, and their journey is gripping
from beginning to end.
Claudine
Barbara Palmer. Berkley, $15 trade paper (304p)
ISBN 978-0-425-27672-3
Palmer’s splendid exploration of sensual
performance is much a study of erotic
literature as it is an addition to the genre.
Maria Lantos, a literary-minded post grad
from Yale, supports herself as a student
by giving special performances for one
night only. Each is tailored to the particular tastes of the evening’s client. Palmer is
eager to confess her fascination with historical figures and books of ill repute, and
she keeps a sultry gaze squarely on her
protagonist, taking a fetishist’s delight
