Vampire for Christmas by Felicity Heaton

Hello to all,

 The world isn't ending today it seems (even if the electricy keeps going down) and i prefer that because i still have a lot to share with us so today you will get 2 posts because i'm really really happy now.
Last month i discovered Felicity Heaton with Heart of Darkness , a book i really loved; but she also wrote a novella " Vampire for Christmas" and i couldn't miss to read it this month.

So here is my opinion on "Vampire for Christmas" not to be confused with the anthology " A vampire for Christmas" ;)

Happy reading!

Publisher: felicity heaton

Publication: 2010

Genre: paranormal romance, erotic, holiday romance
Violence: strong
Language: normal
sex: really strong
Public: 18+

Short description from goodreads :

It was one last mission. Shannon, a demon hunter with the agency, is looking forward to leaving behind the small town and the vampire she’s been stuck with for the past two years. Things are getting complicated fast and she wants out. A fresh start, free of her vampire partner, awaits her if she can survive their final mission and the lonely Christmas holidays.

It was one last mission. Rafe, a vampire doing time with the agency, watches it approach with dread weighing heavily in his stomach. Two years of working with Shannon has been difficult, especially since he started falling for her, but he doesn’t want their partnership to end. He has barely a few days to make her face her feelings and stop her from leaving, and he intends to do just that.

When a slimy demon threatens the season of peace and goodwill, it’s the chance Rafe has been waiting for and the moment Shannon secretly fears. Rafe’s determination to prise open her heart and her own resolve to keep it closed clash as violently as they do with the demon, and threatens to end as messily.

Can Rafe make Shannon see that his love for her is real and that she feels something for him too? Can Shannon face her fears and her past, and stop herself from running away from both? Will a wish on a star bring her what her heart truly desires—a vampire for Christmas.

My opinion:

          Felicity Heaton offers us a good erotic paranormal holiday romance.  I didn’t enjoy it as much as Heart of Darkness that I’ve read last month though but it’s still a really pleasant read.

The relation between Shannon and Rafe is interesting; I loved to see how patient he was as well as how disturbed by the idea of their separation he is. The fact that he is studying in hope to protect her better was really cute too. Now we get more information about him a little to late for my taste, we learn that he is obligated to work for the agency and why but the reality is really harder and that we learn only at the end even worse seems like nothing will be done about it either and that disappointed a little. I would have loved if Shannon took the decision to do something about it so he could works for the agency perhaps but really on his free will not because he must too.

Also Shannon‘s behaviour is understandable only when we learn her past and when we know of it let’s said the agency’s decisions can seem really strange. After all they couldn’t be sure of the result but perhaps they even didn’t care. I guess I would have liked to have more information about that but this being a novella I can understand that not everything can be said, just it’s regrettable in my opinion.

The way they tiptoes around each other most of the time is touching but also frustrating until we learn they reason and even then, Rafe’s reaction is moving, perfect…Shannon I don’t know I get the feeling she is a bit jumping the steps, yes she is trusting him since a longer time that the one she admit but it’s different that overcome a real fear in matters of hours.

Felicity’s writing style is still really easy to read and the idea of the story is excellent but perhaps it would have been better in a novel to space and explain more things because I liked it yes, even lot but I wasn’t drawn in the story like with her other books and that disappointed me a little.

To recommend to the lover of erotic paranormal romance, above 18 of course, who want a little story for Christmas.

Score:  3/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading

To join in, copy and paste these rules and the above banner into your Fanged Mania post and add your link to this week’s Fanged Mania post at Elisabeth Wheatley’s Blog. Fanged Mania is a Friday meme counting down to the release of Fanged Princess and displaying all things vampire and awesome. Fanged Mania posts can be a review of a vampire book, a quote from the latest Vampire Diaries episode, a showcase of a cool vampire book’s cover, or whatever you like so long as it is vampire related. Don’t forget, participants will be entered in the drawing to win a fanged-abulous prize pack!

Home in Time for Christmas by Heather Graham

Hello to all,

                     i'm so happy to have found this book and to share it with you....even more today when outside the snow is making the world magical and peaceful...a little magic so take a good cup of tea ( or coffee is you really prefer), or hot cocoa and just enjoy

Happy Reading!

Publisher: Mira Books

Publication: 2010

ISBN:  0778328236

Genre: holiday romance, fantasy, historical
Violence: light
Language: normal
sex: none
Public: 16+

Source: bought

Short description from goodreads :

 Melody Tarleton is driving home for Christmas when a man--clad in Revolutionary War-era costume--appears out of nowhere, right in the path of her car. Shaken, she takes the injured stranger in, listening with concern to Jake Mallory's fantastic claim that he's a Patriot soldier executed by British authorities.

Bringing Jake to her parents' house, Melody concocts a story to explain the handsome holiday guest with the courtly manners and strange clothes. Mark, her close friend who wishes he were more, is skeptical, but her family is fascinated. So is Melody. Jake is passionate, charming and utterly unlike anyone she's ever met. Can he really be who he claims? And can a man from the distant pas be the future she truly longs for?

My opinion:

         Fabulous, magical, romantic story. I’ve just finished reading it and I wouldn’t mind starting over immediately just to go back in this wonderful ambience so perfect for the season.  I didn’t know exactly what I was going to feel because it’s my first holiday romance and I’m so happy to have started with one as good as this one mixing all I love: magic, fantasy, history and a sweet romance it’s a wonderful start for me and the message in it is so true and adapted to the season I couldn’t avoid to fall in love with this book.

Jake is so loyal and he wants to fight for what he believes as important. Even in the hardest moment of his life, just moment before his execution he is still trying to comfort his executioner who has became a friend and his last thought is for his loved ones not for a miracle for himself. I could feel his despair when he saw his sister, heather Graham wrote that so wonderfully. He is polite and so patient, He knows Melody doesn’t believe him, it hurts him but he isn’t angry and since he is planning to go back to his sister, only to protect her, to be sure she is safe and sound, he accept to  renounce to the love he found. He loves Melody but since he thinks he can stay with her he tried to avoid letting his feeling known so as not to hurt her. I love his acceptance and the faith he has in every ones.

Melody is stubborn and a realistic woman, quite curious since she is also an artist, she can’t believe Jake’s story. She absolutely refuses to see it as a possibility even with so many proofs under her nose.  She loves her family very much but in the same time she doesn’t believe in them, she thinks her mother crazy and her father a little too because he want to be an inventor… so in a way she doesn’t really love them for who they are. Jake coming in her life, disturb her but also gives her the opportunity to see all the reasons why she should be grateful and to discover the true meaning of faith.

I loved to have glimpse of history from Jake point of view and the romance, slowly building as they learn more about each others  it was well written and in the right rhythm.

I don’t want to reveal too much because it’s part of the magic but I was deeply touched by the message of tolerance of this book, no matter in what you believes as long as you want to do goods and are truthful in your beliefs those can be all part of the same reality. Also the part about the gift… you can receive the good gift while you don’t know it was what you needed it’s a good message when we get the real meaning of it.

 Heather Graham managed to make me cry as well as hope at least a little so I really recommend this book  for this period of the year but not only and it would make a good gift to all the romantic souls in the harsh winter.

Score:  5/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading

Le Rendez-Vous de Noël par Elaine Barbieri

Bonjour à tous!

                    Le temps est froid et le vent glacé mais il n'y a pas mieux pour me donner envie de rester au coin du feu avec un bon livre- lorsque je n'ai pas cours bien entendu-.
Ce mois-ci va être consacré aux lectures dont le thème, la période ou un autre élément est en lien avec Noël ( ou toute autre fête mais principalement Noël) et nombre d'entre eux seront des romances.

J'essaierai de varier entre avis en français et an anglais lorsque c'est possible mais cela dépendra surtout de ce que je possède sur les étagères. Aujourd'hui je vous donne mon avis sur " Le rendez-vous de Noël" par Elaine Barbieri dont j'ai déjà lu un autre livre précédemment.

Bonne Lecture

Editeur VF: Harlequin  2001
Titre original:Rendez-Vous ( edited 1994)
Genre: holiday romance
Violence: aucune
Langage: normal
sexe: moyen
Public: 18ans+
Obtenu par achat

Quatrième de couverture de l'éditeur Harlequin:

Quand sa mère succombe en la mettant au monde, la petite Lydia est confiée à des amis de son père le temps que ce dernier, accablé par le chagrin, surmonte sa peine. Quatre ans s’ écoulent, durant lesquels la fillette s’attache à sa nouvelle famille- et surtout à Whit, le fils de la maison à qui elle voue une adoration partagée. Mais un beau jour, le père de Lydia se remarie et vient chercher sa fille pour l’emmener avec lui. Brutalement séparés, Whit et Lydia promettent de ne jamais s’oublier. Mais la guerre de Sécession éclate et tous deux se perdent de vue- jusqu’à ce que, des années plus tard, peu avant Noël, une tempête de neige les remette en présence… 

Avis:

         Elaine Barbieri n’est pas parvenue à me captiver par son récit. Loin de là, je peux admettre avoir passer un moment qui n’a pas été désagréable mais je n’ai pas vécu la passion des personnages et certes l’histoire se déroule aux environs de Noël mais sa magie n’est pas du tout présente. Je me suis plutôt ennuyée et en cela je suis contente que l’histoire n’ait pas été trop longue car je ne suis pas certaine que je l’aurai finie.

L’histoire en soit n’est pas mauvaise mais un peu trop banale, on devine tout de suite ce qui va se passer lorsque les personnages se retrouvent et il n’y a aucun mystère, quelques hésitations oui et quelques malentendus bien sur mais rien de vraiment particulier qui capte l’intérêt et nous plonge dans l’histoire. Lydia est courageuse et douce pourtant je ne l’ai pas ressentie comme réelle, je n’ai pas su m’identifier. Whit, lui, m’a plutôt déçu, certes il est gentil et la prends sous son aile mais il était parti par le passé et pendant un moment on a l’impression que lorsqu’il rejoint Jayne c’est une nouvelle forme de fuite. Il n’est pas assez sûr de lui à mon goût et ses hommes sont plus sensés que lui. Je veux dire si il apprécie les gens peu importe leur catégorie sociale comme il semble le montrer, les remarques de sa fiancée auraient du le gêner depuis bien longtemps or on découvre que c’est depuis le début qu’elle se montre si hautaine et méprisante et pourtant il a accepté de se fiancer à elle…c’est pas logique.

Je ne recommande pas vraiment ce livre, certes le louer à la bibliothèque peut-être mais l’acheter pas vraiment, il y a de bien meilleurs livres pour lire à cette période de l’année si on doit en offrir un par exemple. Cela reste toutefois une lecture légère  pour passer le temps.

Score:  2,5/5

Disclaimer: Toutes les opinions exprimées ici sont les miennes, il s’agit de d’un avis honnête et personnel. Aucune compensation n’a été fournie en échange de ce dernier.

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading