Out of The Dark by Sharon Sala

Read for:
ROR Spring Challenge
Royal Romance Challenge
Thriller and Suspense Challenge
RYOB Challenge
Countdown Challenge

Synopsis:
In the darkness of her memory terror lurks

Street artist Jade remembers little of her childhood except for the time she spent under the ruthless control of a cult leader, a time marked by terrible abuse and suffering. For the fifteen years since she escaped his grasp, she has survived by living on the streets and never putting down roots.

Ex-cop Luke Kelly knows his friend Sam Cochrane wants nothing more than to find his daughter, Jade, who was taken from him as a child. So Luke uses all his connections to make that happen, not knowing that by reuniting Jade with her father he is exposing her to a deadly peril.

In the healing embrace of her father's home, Jade -- with Luke's loving help -- begins to put fear behind her. But somewhere in the darkness, a man is prepared to kill rather than let Jade reveal the secrets of her childhood. And when her story makes the national news, that someone finally knows where to find her.


My review:
Another great Romantic Suspense by Sharon Sala. Be forewarned-story deals with emotional and painful subject matter like child abuse, cults and HIV. The heroine of the story has been severely abused most of her life and has also had to live on the streets in hiding from a cult leader. Story, as can be expected, is very emotional and painful. Do not read this one when you are feeling down in the dumps, wait till  you are in a better mind set to handle the subject matter.


4 stars.

Kiss of Darkness by Sharon Brondos

Currently Reading.

Kiss of Darkness

Sharon Brondos

Silhouette Shadows #32

1994

Read For:

A to Z Challenge

Harlequin Silhouette Reading Challenge

Fall Reading Challenge

Synopsis:

The dark dilemma

Adrian Smith's latest orders tore at a conscience that shouldn't exist, pricked a heart that was his curse. But he'd made his deal with Death centuries ago, and now he had to do Its bidding. He would kill the scientist who was on the brink of prolonging human life; then he would return to his own private hell...

Adrian had expected his prey to be an old man whose time was near, but instead, he found himself preparing to harm a beautiful young woman, bursting with life. Yet Adrian could no sooner murder Sue Cooper than he could hope to fight Death and Its agents of evil when they came to do the job themselves...

My Review:

Kiss of Darkness was fairly good if a bit overly dramatic Vampire Romance. The author did have an unusual approach to your typical Vampire story but there was a bit too much weakness in the heroine, and machismo in the hero to rate it at 3 stars or more. It was too high strung and "Gothic" to take at all seriously. The love scenes were bland and "purple prose"-which those who dislike any discription in love scenes might like,though I did not. The scenes kind of reminded me of an old 50's love story where the love scene shows some silly, flowery symbolic stuff during the "act" then returns to the couple in bed smoking-LOL.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

2.5 stars.

Sleep Softly by Gwen Hunter

Sleep Softly by Gwen Hunter
3.5 stars
376 pages

Read for:
RYOB Challenge
A to Z Reading Challenge
Romance Club Reading Challenge
New Author Reading Challenge
Chick Porn Reading Challenge
Winter 08 Challenge

My Amazon Review:

his muse was murder.....,

January 15, 2009

Romantic suspense is not my normal forte', maybe that's why I enjoyed this book so much, as several other reviewers didn't seem to care for it. I enjoyed the story of Ashlee Davenport Chadwick, a forty something widow, who lives on her Rural South Carolina homestead farm with her matriarchal Nana, her biracial other grandmother and her college age daughter. Ashlee's already hectic life as a single mom and forensic nurse is turned upside down when one of her does brings her a child's red sneaker-and she's horrified to find a child's toe still in the shoe.

What follows is a fast paced suspense-part nursing/hospital drama, part Southern murder mystery, and a small part romance. I found the lead, Ashlee to be competent as well as caring, and I enjoyed reading a story set in the south as well.

While the book had flaws-they were minor in my opinion and didn't take away from the storyline. I'd recommend Sleep Softly to fans of Romantic Suspense and Woman Sleuths as well.
3.5 stars.