Lust by Charlotte Featherstone
Description: Of old, humans and Faeries have dwelt side by side in parallel realms. Only the canniest mortals recognize the alluring creatures that often walk—and lie—among them.
The righteous Fae of the Seelie Court cherish an ancient quarrel with their Dark counterparts: a curse born of anger and deceit. The Unseelie Court will perish unless one of its princes can win a woman’s love—honestly, without coercion…and love her wholly in return.
To halt the slow demise of his people, Prince Thane—the embodiment of Lust—infiltrates the Georgian court to seduce his mortal inverse. Noblewoman Chastity Lennox is purity incarnate—a sensual prize well worth winning. But Thane’s carnal quest proves more challenging than he ever dreamed.
No other has ever been able—or willing—to resist his erotic charms. Chastity’s resolve is maddening…and intriguing. It makes him want her all the more. But how best to seduce one who truly seems above temptation? Discover her greatest weakness and become the intoxicating essence of her deepest, most forbidden desires….
TDF Pamela’s Review: I’m going to have to shelve this one as Did Not Finish. I found the historical inaccuracies annoying, the flat characterization frustrating, the cast of thousands confusing, and the… er, rapey-ness of the “romance” disturbing. It’s one thing to seduce against someone’s better judgment (at least in romance novels), but so much of the male characters’ internal dialogue involved basically thinking about taking these women against their will. It creeped me out too much.
The premise is really interesting, and I really like stories about the faery courts. I wanted to like this. I just couldn’t. :(
Torn by K.D. King
Description: Anaria Okam breathes war. She lives for vengeance. Wekari, an enemy planet, took the most precious thing from her –her mother. Though her mother lives in body, she is broken in spirit. Since the time Anaria could understand words, her father, ruler of the planet Loden, instilled in her the need to seek vengeance and destroy Wekari.
While trading goods on the neutral planet of Atlzo she spots the enemy, Marshall Kalil Umba, leader of the Wekarian armies. Seizing an opportunity, she follows him. As she gets close to him, her body lights with need. Then the embers of desire cause her whole body to glow.
Kalil, of the space ship Destruction has finally found his mate. He realizes she is a warrior from the enemy planet of Loden. He captures her. Now he must make her trust him, love him, and leave everything she has ever known.
TDF Pamela’s Review: I wanted to like this one, too, because I love science fiction and I love sexy romance and I think there should be more combinations of the two. I just couldn’t get into the writing, no matter how much I persevered. It was jerky and unnatural, and sadly, it reminded me of stuff I used to write when I was a kid. There was too much in the way of infodumping–I couldn’t go three paragraphs without having something about the universe explained to me in a very clunky way. The characters’ dialogue and mental monologuing sounded awkward. I sadly just couldn’t get into it.
