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Review: Beyond Jealousy by Kit Rocha

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Title: Beyond Jealousy
Author: Kit Rocha
Series: Beyond #4
Genre: dystopian erotic romance
Publisher: self-published
Format: ebook
Release Date: March 17, 2014

A copy of this book was provided by the authors for an honest review.

Publisher Summary:

She’s been looking for the perfect man. She found two.

When Rachel Riley sacrificed a life in Eden to protect the O’Kanes, she earned her place in the powerful Sector Four gang. But the former crime princess is tired of being everyone’s sweet little sister . It’s time for her to get wild, to embrace her fantasies as only an O’Kane can—with a delicious exiled soldier and the gang’s wickedly sinful tattoo artist.

A saint…

Lorenzo Cruz is a warrior, taught by his commanding officers in Eden that involvement equals distraction. Emotion is a liability, and desire a sin. In Sector Four, he finds decadence, shameless sex—and his own dark urges. No battle strategy prepared him for how Rachel makes his heart race…or the way his rival for her affections sets his blood on fire.

…and a sinner.

Ace Santana has a dirty reputation and a mind to match, especially where his new lovers are concerned. He’s eager to help Cruz embrace his dominant side, and to explore the lines between pleasure and pain with Rachel. But corrupting them quickly becomes an obsession, a need he can’t deny—and a love he never imagined.

Three hearts on the line means a hundred ways their ménage a trois could go wrong. After all, even O’Kanes do forever two-by-two. One of them could be the missing piece that makes them all whole…or a temporary diversion destined for a broken heart.

My Review:

This review may contain spoilers for previous books in the Beyond series. You could try to read Beyond Jealousy as a stand-alone, but you will be missing out on all the back story which makes this romance so special. Do yourself a favor and read them all.

You might think it’s easy to write a review for a book that is so good you wish you could read it for the first time all over again. Well, you’d be wrong. 🙂 But I’ll try to make this sound like something a bit more coherent than OMG READ THIS BOOK NAOW YOU MUST.

BEYOND JEALOUSY is the latest book in Kit Rocha’s incredible Beyond series and it tells the story of an unlikely romance, even for the wide open sexual landscape of Sector Four. After all, the O’Kane men and women have always paired off in couples, whether for a night or a lifetime. But a ménage is something new for the O’Kane gang, and none of the rules, as few as they are, will apply.

Ace and Rachel have been circling each other since we were first introduced to this world in BEYOND SHAME, but the reasons why they kept their distance, in spite of their obvious attraction, haven’t been fully explained until now. When Rachel found solace in Cruz’s arms, Ace was both pleased to see her cared for by someone far better than himself, and desolate at finally losing her. Yet that, too, was only temporary, leading to something nobody could have ever predicted: Ace and Cruz together, hooking up for threesomes with any woman willing to put herself in the middle.

But it’s Rachel they both really want, and it’s Rachel who can bring them together as one, if they’ll only let her. As the ongoing search for the people producing bootleg O’Kane liquor brings new violence closer to Sector Four, the forces which sent Rachel there as a sacrifice to save her family now attempt to use her to start a war between allies. It’s this new danger that will either cement the fragile bond between Rachel and her two men, or split them all apart for good.

After seeing the previous combinations of Ace and Rachel, Rachel and Cruz, and then Ace and Cruz, it seemed equally implausible and inevitable that they eventually would come together in a fully shared MMF menage. In retrospect, however, it made perfect sense. Each brought to the others the support and confidence they need, and any relationship between only two of them would always be missing that critical part of the puzzle. But it took the real threat of loss to make this clear, especially to Ace, who had so little personal self-esteem after years as a sexual plaything of the jaded women in Eden that he couldn’t let himself ever hope that someone would ever want him for himself, for always. But it was just as difficult a journey for Cruz, as he had to confront his repressed desires and everything he’d been taught about how wrong they would be. Seeing them both open up to their love for each other, as well as Rachel, is what made it worth the wait to read their story and it’s why BEYOND JEALOUSY is the best Beyond book of all (so far). 5 stars.

Review: Bound by Lorelei James

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Bound (Mastered, #1)Bound by Lorelei James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at SMI Book Club.

BOUND is the first of a two book series by Lorelei James about the martial arts master Ronin and the sheltered but feisty Amery, and how they become lovers after a chance meeting in his Denver dojo. Amery has only recently escaped both the restrictive influence of her fundamentalist family and the dysfunctional relationship with the man she thought would love her enough to never stray. Ronin, on the other hand, is a complete mystery to both Amery and the reader, sharing only the barest details about where he came from and what makes him tick. Naturally, once he meets Amery, his dominant nature compels him to make her his own, even as she wonders what she’s gotten herself into while melting into his powerful embrace.

Here’s the part of the review where I would normally politely share what went on in BOUND and how it did or didn’t work for me. But honestly, this book has me in an emotional headlock about whether I actually liked it or not. A big part of the problem I had with this book was how it was so obviously designed to hook the reader into the budding romance between Ronin and Amery when there was almost nothing based in reality to make you think they should even be together. She knows absolutely nothing about him, other than that he says he’s crazy about her, while everyone else keeps warning her that he’s no good and will only put her in danger. Yet even that is all just supposition based on no real evidence, and we’re left wondering what the heck is going on with this guy anyway. And because this is only the first of the two books, it’s damn certain that whatever we do ultimately find out about him is what will send Amery off into the night, overwhelmed by righteous indignation at not being trusted with the secrets that Ronin is so obviously keeping to himself.

When that big reveal finally arrived near the end of BOUND, it was all I could do not to throw the book against the wall. (It was a print ARC, so I didn’t have to worry about damaging a valuable ereader, but I resisted all the same.) Of all the possible secrets swirling around Ronin, the one that made Amery insist their relationship (such as it was) was over for good was so ridiculous, so innocuous, compared to what we’d been led to believe, that I wanted to smack both of them for being Too Stupid To Live. How this book could be from the same author who wrote the Blacktop Cowboy books, one of my most favorite romance series?

When BOUND was focused on its more intimate moments, however, it was as good as anything I’ve read by Lorelei James, especially when Ronin had Amery fully immersed in his world of rope bondage. Those scenes kept the book from being a DNF for me, and helped me slide past all its other more troubling parts enough to want to read the second book.
So if you’re willing to look past weak characterizations, an apparent fetish with all things Japanese, and a ridiculous cliffhanger which exists solely for the sake of continuing the story in a second book, then you might enjoy BOUND. I can only hope that Lorelei James is back to her usual overall form in the follow-up book UNWOUND and that the sex scenes aren’t the only reason to recommend it.

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Review: Deceptive Innocence Part 3 by Kyra Davis

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Deceptive Innocence: Part 3 (Pure Sin, #3)Deceptive Innocence: Part 3 by Kyra Davis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Romancing Rakes for the Love of Romance.

Finally — Part 3 is here! The good news is that Bellona has managed to survive her not-quite-a kidnapping by Micah, the Russian mobster who had been her most recent protector. The bad news is that he has made it crystal clear that whatever her plan of revenge, she will be held accountable for anything which causes him to lose the money he may have already “invested” in the Gable family’s fortunes. Bellona knows she won’t get a second warning; she also knows that she can’t let even Micah’s unsubtle threats deter her from what she needs to do. But what of Lander Gable, the man whose feelings for her pose the greatest danger of all? What follows in this final installment is nothing and everything I might have expected, including an ending that should have infuriated me, but instead made me happy that their story won’t end here.

In Deceptive Innocence Part 3, we finally get the missing details about how Bellona’s mother had gotten involved with the man whose murder would be pinned on her so neatly that even Bellona had been convinced of her guilt. But we also see Bellona plunge even deeper in her new symbiotic connection with both Lander’s repulsive brother and tragic sister-in-law, and what happens between them provides Bellona with even more reasons why she both should and should not trust Lander. By the time we reach the final confrontation between Bellona and Lander at the end of this book (but not the end of their story), all the questions between them are answered, and the stage is set for what will follow. Kyra Davis is still one of the very few writers I’ll trust with a multi-part serial, and the way she managed to end Deceptive Innocence without making me angry is a big reason why. However, I’m still relieved that her next entry in the Pure Sin series will be a full-length book, and I can only hope she won’t make us wait too long to read it.

Favorite Quote:
I have to believe that I can have my justice and still find a way to be with him. I have to have this.
Prince Charming may not be forgiving . . . but he doesn’t necessarily have to know that there’s anything to forgive either. I must make this work.

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Review: The Dark Affair by Maire Claremont

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The Dark Affair (Mad Passions, #3)The Dark Affair by Maire Claremont

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

This review contains spoilers for THE LADY IN RED, book 2 in the Mad Passions series. You could try to read THE DARK AFFAIR as a stand-alone book, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

When I read THE LADY IN RED last fall, Maire Claremont was a new author for me, and I hadn’t known what to expect. Its whirlwind plot and profound emotions were almost too much for me to handle (but in a good way). I actually had to force myself to put it down more than a few times, because I was so worried about what would happen to not only its hero and heroine, but the hero’s friend Viscount Powers, whose help was essential in their plan to save the heroine from her villainous father.

Powers – a tortured and brooding man who refused to answer to any other name – shared the same brutal need for opiates that plagued the heroine of THE LADY IN RED. While her addiction had been induced during her forced captivity in a madhouse, his was entirely self-inflicted after the untimely death of his wife and child. By the end of the previous book, the heroine and hero are both safe and happy in marriage together, but meanwhile Powers has given himself over entirely to his addiction. Months later, when we first see him in THE DARK AFFAIR, he has himself been involuntarily committed to a madhouse.

Margaret Cassidy was a titled lady back in Ireland, but that couldn’t protect her from the harsh realities of famine and poverty, nor from the ongoing violence as those who starved fought back against the cruelty of their English overlords. Her gift for healing has brought her to England, where she is tasked by the Earl of Carlyle to bring his son Powers back from the brink of insanity. Back when Margaret was still in Ireland and her father was still alive, Powers had sent a letter and funds to assist those in dire need of help, asking for nothing in return. Rescuing him now from his addiction is her opportunity to repay that act of kindness, even as her attachment to him quickly moves in a more personal direction. It will take all of Margaret’s talents and indomitable will to bring Powers back not only to sanity, but to a life where he can grieve properly for what he’s lost without sacrificing himself again. But when the violence she left behind in Ireland comes to call at her front door, what ends up being at stake isn’t just their shared happiness, but their very lives.

Once again, Maire Claremont has written a story that transported me into a world more darkly intense than most historical romances, with characters I couldn’t help but root for as they were forced to trust in each other even as they should rightfully be mortal enemies. The depth of Powers’s sorrow had only been hinted at in the previous book, but here it is front and center with everything you might expect, and worse. He has abused his mind and body for so long in self-imposed guilt for the death of his wife and child that his recovery is never really certain, even as the story moves toward that conclusion. And when we find out just how they died…well, it’s definitely understandable why he has suffered so greatly, even though it’s just as obvious to us, if not to him, that their deaths should not be on his head.

It’s also clear that only someone like Margaret would even have a chance to break through the wall of anger and opiates that Powers has built all around him, and not just because of her beauty and determination. Only Margaret has the ability to focus his attention beyond his own pain and outside the bubble of privilege in which he has lived his whole life as a member of the English nobility. But it will take more than that for them to move forward with a life together, and their Happily Ever After will be won only after those who seek to defeat them are confronted one last time.

I’m sad to see the Mad Passions series come to an end but I’m looking forward to seeing what Maire Claremont comes up with next. THE LADY IN RED vaulted her into my list of favorite historical romance writers, and now THE DARK AFFAIR has firmly established her place near the very top.

Ratings:

Overall: 4.5 stars
Sensuality level: 3.5

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Review: Theirs to Cherish by Shayla Black

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Theirs to Cherish (Wicked Lovers, #8)Theirs to Cherish by Shayla Black

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

Callie Ward has been in love with Mitchell Thorpe ever since she found his BDSM club to be the perfect hiding place from the people who killed her family and framed her for their murders. Even though his feelings match hers, Thorpe is convinced that their age difference is too great to overcome, and has removed his protection so that another Dom – Sean Kirkpatrick – can claim her instead. The new Dom is closer to Callie’s age than Thorpe, and seems to be the perfect balm for Callie’s bruised heart. But when he starts to get too close to the reasons why she ended up there in the first place, the only thing Callie can do is go on the run again. And when the two Doms who love her follow in pursuit, the battle for her heart might have to take a back seat to just keeping them all alive.

We first met Mitchell Thorpe, Master of Club Dominion, back in BELONG TO ME, book 5 of Shayla Black’s Wicked Lovers series. As the series has progressed, we’ve seen Callie and Thorpe make it obvious to everyone who sees them that they love each other, yet Thorpe continues to pull back while Callie does everything she can to force his hand. It’s only when Thorpe is witness to Callie and Sean’s most intense scene ever that he realizes how foolish he’s been to push her away for so long. It’s that same scene that convinces Callie it’s finally time to move on, as her years on the run have taught her to leave before anyone she cares about could be endangered by her presence. But this time is different, because now she has the love of two men who would rather die themselves than let her leave without them.

Callie and Thorpe’s story has been a long time coming in Shayla Black’s Wicked Lovers series, and it was just as satisfying as I had anticipated, even with the added complication of another Dom in the mix. It wasn’t until the previous book – OURS TO LOVE – that we got a hint that their romance might not be limited to just the two of them. That book featured a M/F/M menage with two brothers and their secretary who becomes their shared submissive, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise (especially with the title!) that THEIRS TO CHERISH would play out along the same lines. I’m a big fan of well-written menage romances, and this book did not disappoint in that regard. Neither Thorpe nor Sean go after Callie with the intent of sharing her, but as we learn why Thorpe could never commit to Callie (or any other submissive) and why Sean was at Club Dominion in the first place, we see how a menage relationship makes the most sense for everyone.

One of the things I enjoy most about this series is how the suspense not only propels the overall plot but also the actual romance itself. So many romantic suspense novels get so caught up in the parts where the lovers are in danger that they forget the part where we are supposed to be seeing them fall in love, but that is never a problem with Shayla Black. Every scene in THEIRS TO CHERISH was there to get us to their shared Happily Ever After, and that’s what made it such a wonderful romantic read.

With THEIRS TO CHERISH, Shayla Black has delivered yet another a smart and sexy romantic suspense story in the Wicked Lovers series that lives up to all the books that came before it. It will be great to see where this successful long-running series will take us next.

Ratings:

Overall: 4 stars
Sensuality level: 4 (BDSM, menage)

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Review: Need You Tonight by Roni Loren

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Need You Tonight (Loving on the Edge, #5)Need You Tonight by Roni Loren

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

Although I’ve enjoyed every book in Roni Loren’s Loving On The Edge series so far, NEED YOU TONIGHT is the best one I’ve read since the very first book, CRASH INTO YOU, blew me away and made me an instant Roni Loren fan. It equals that book in both the emotional intensity of the “second chance at love” trope for its hero and heroine, and in the sweetness of its HEA for a couple who could never move completely past the evil which separated them in high school until they were finally able to face it down together.

When Kade Vandergriff catches Tessa McAllen trying to crash a singles cooking class at his restaurant, he has no idea that she’s the one who turned his world upside down so many years ago. All he sees is an incredibly attractive woman whom he wants to feed and bed, and not necessarily in that order. Tessa doesn’t recognize Kade either, but is quickly convinced that one perfect night of no-strings-attached sex is just what she needs after trying to rebuild her life in the wake of her lousy no-good husband’s betrayal. When Tessa’s true identity is revealed, Kade is determined to rewrite their sad shared history into a future where she realizes what a mistake she made by rejecting him for the man who would eventually betray her. But when their ugly past returns to threaten their present happiness, both Tessa and Kade will learn that even the most malevolent evil is no match for the love they never truly lost.

As wonderful as Tessa and Kade’s story is, readers should be aware that there are themes in NEED YOU TONIGHT which are potential triggers for those with special sensitivity to issues such as high school bullying, child abuse, and rape. Both Tessa and Kade suffered brutal childhoods, which helped them bond together at first, but ended up splitting them apart when the friendship threatened their survival. When they find each other again, it’s clear that although they have both grown emotionally, the scars of the past are still as real and raw as though no time had passed at all. But Kade refuses to let his past self define his present, and he will do everything in his power to show Tessa that what they had before was just the beginning, even as the danger to their lives and love is always lurking in the background.

NEED YOU TONIGHT is a beautiful and touching romance, with plenty of the perfectly written and seriously scorching sex scenes which are Roni Loren’s trademark. It’s easily one of the finest books I’ve read this year.

Ratings:

Overall: 5 stars
Sensuality level: 4 (BDSM scenes, domestic violence, rape threats, discussion of previous assault and rape)

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Review: Deceptive Innocence Part 2 by Kyra Davis

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Deceptive Innocence: Part 2 (Pure Sin, #2)Deceptive Innocence: Part 2 by Kyra Davis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Romancing Rakes for the Love of Romance.

When we last saw the woman we know as Bellona, she had just discovered that Lander Gable, the man she had targeted as the instrument of her revenge against him and his entire family for the wrong done to her late mother, knew that she was not the woman she had portrayed herself to be. Assuming the worst, Bellona steels herself for the unmasking she has always feared, only to find herself even more tightly connected to this man who could be either her savior or the undoing of all she has worked for. As she is drawn more deeply into Landon’s world and the seedy underbelly of his family’s activities, Bellona starts to question everything that has brought her to this moment in time, even as her feelings for Landon grow stronger and more threatening to her well-being. And when the debts accrued from her recent past collide with her current precarious position, it’s not just Landon that she’s in danger of losing for good.

One of the things I enjoy the most about Kyra Davis’s writing is how she is able to ratchet up the suspense without letting it overwhelm the romance. I was worried for Bellona in every moment, but was always aware that Landon was the key to her happiness, even as her need for revenge sent her down a path that could only end in tragedy for them both. Both here and in her previous serial Just One Night, Kyra Davis has shown that one’s identity is more than just the name we choose, or the way we interact with others, and that a facade is no real protection for one’s heart. Bellona fears Landon because he knows her body so well even as he has no idea who she really is. Yet Landon is just as much of an enigma to her, and he’s made it clear that although he knows their relationship is a pretense on both sides, it’s worth it to him to continue the charade for as long as it will last. The real risk to them both beyond the physical danger is what will happen when the masks are stripped away.

This second part of Deceptive Innocence is full of twists and turns, leaving us with yet another a cliffhanger where it seems all is lost for Bellona. Only the third and final part will show how this can possibly end well, and I love not having any clue what that might be.

Favorite Quote:
I wish we were the man and woman we pretend to be. I wish I didn’t have to destroy him.

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Review: Betting On You by Sydney Landon

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Betting on You: A Danvers Novella (Danvers, #4.5)Betting on You: A Danvers Novella by Sydney Landon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

Although BETTING ON YOU is the latest entry in Sydney Landon’s popular Danvers series, the connection between its hero and heroine with the rest of the series is tenuous, at best.

Seth is the charming and successful local businessman from FALLING FOR YOU (book 3) who was used by Beth to make Declan jealous after their relationship-ending fight. Mia is a new character to the series, introduced as an IT specialist working for Danvers on an installation project for Seth’s office. She moves in the same circles as Seth, thanks to her own family’s placement in local society, but is determined to make her own way in the world and not be dependent on them, or any man they might recommend.

When Seth and Mia first meet in the room where Mia is installing computers, their instant connection is obvious, but both choose to try to overlook it for sanity’s sake. But when Mia’s mother uses her charity bachelor auction to throw Seth at Mia in a way she can’t ignore, the result is some incredibly hot sexual encounters that neither of them wish to end. Yet their liaison would be a real threat to Mia’s hard-won job at Danvers for as long as Seth is still a client on the project she leads. They both agree to hold off until the office installation is complete, but during that time, Seth starts having doubts about what Mia might be expecting once they can be together again. Can a real relationship work between them, or is it just too much, too soon?

There’s no denying that Sydney Landon can write great sex scenes between characters that we want to root for. But what was missing for me in BETTING ON YOU was a sense that the hero and heroine really wanted this future for themselves. Seth, especially, was a great disappointment to me in both word and deed. He was the one who had pushed Mia into what he was certain they both wanted, and assured her their desire was mutual. Yet the minute he had to cool his jets and wait until it was safe for both of them, he started behaving like someone who had really just been looking for sex all along, despite everything he’d been saying. Mia seemed more grounded and realistic about what their relationship had actually been, and was hurt by Seth’s behavior but prepared to move on with her life. Yet when he finally realized that he needed to make things right with her, it seemed like her forgiveness was just a little too easily given.

All the problematic elements of this story including the insta-lust and the rushed ending could have been avoided with a longer story, but this is a novella, and those are the traps so many of them fall into. For me, BETTING ON YOU was a nice quick love story with some very well-written sex scenes, but I’m hoping that any future Danvers books will take the time needed to establish a more enjoyable and plausible happy ending for everyone.

Ratings:

Overall: 3 stars
Sensuality level: 4 (light BDSM, semi-public sex)

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Review: Jaded by Anne Calhoun

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Jaded (Walkers Ford, #2)Jaded (Walkers Ford, #2) by Anne Calhoun

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

The small town librarian and the police chief. It may be a cliche, but JADED shows us why it works. When you live in a town as tiny as Walkers Ford, everybody knows your business. We saw how destructive that could be in UNFORGIVEN, the first book in this series, and fear of those repercussions is reflected in the behavior of our hero and heroine when JADED begins.

Alana is one of those people who choose a small town as a place to hide from their responsibilities back in the big city. She’s spent her whole life hiding from others, content to let her famous sister be the public face of their family’s foundation while she works tirelessly behind the scenes. It wasn’t until their mother pushed a family friend to propose marriage that Alana finally fled her privileged life in Chicago for a place where she could directly influence the lives of people in need. What Alana didn’t count on was a landlord who would make her regret her decision to leave Walkers Ford when the job was done.

Lucas grew up in Walkers Ford, but had left years before to be a cop in the big city of Denver, returning only after he believed his actions had led to the death of a young man he’d mentored there. After a bitter divorce and the descent of his beloved cousin into drug addiction, Lucas has become too cynical to believe that love was worth the trouble it could bring, even as he embarks on a secret fling with Alana. But as she prepares to leave Walkers Ford for good, he has to decide if he can take one more chance on love and on her.

Anne Calhoun’s UNFORGIVEN was one of my top ten best reads of 2013, so I was especially excited about reading this next book in her new Walkers Ford contemporary romance series. As much as I enjoyed its over the top drama and angst, I was relieved to see the level was dialed back a bit here in JADED. We have a hero and heroine who are both spending all their time doing everything for everyone else in their lives, but unlike the stars of the previous book, neither of them seems to have an unhealthy level of self-loathing. Still, the fear of small-town gossip keeps them from going public with their liaison and feeds into their respective worries that the other isn’t looking for anything beyond a temporary fling.

Lucas and Alana are brought together by their shared inability to keep their hands off each other, and their intimate scenes are loaded with sexual chemistry and undeniable passion. As their affair progresses, the responsibilities they each have threaten to tear them apart. But the love they find with each other helps Lucas and Alana reach the balance they both need in their lives and begins to heal the pain which had brought them to Walkers Ford.

What Anne Calhoun shows us in JADED is that you can’t do your best for others if you won’t give yourself the same amount of consideration first. It’s a lovely return visit to Walkers Ford and bodes well for the next book in the series.

Ratings:

Overall: 4.5 stars
Sensuality level: 3.5

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Review: Daughters of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

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Daughters of the Nile (Cleopatra's Daughter, # 3)Daughters of the Nile by Stephanie Dray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at SMI Book Club.

Daughters of the Nile is the third and final book in Stephanie Dray’s trilogy about Cleopatra Selene, the daughter of Cleopatra (yes, *that* one), that continues to fill in the missing pieces of her life that could only be imagined based on the few major details available in historical texts. In this book, we see Selene sent back to the husband she didn’t ask for, to be queen of a country that isn’t her beloved Egypt, and trying to establish her own dynasty away from the man who continues to threaten her happiness with his own twisted desires.

I haven’t read the previous two books in the series, but I’m a big fan of the author’s romance books under her Stephanie Draven pen name, so I jumped at the opportunity to bury myself in a lovely long book of historical fiction by an author I already loved. Dray provided just enough recaps where needed so that I wasn’t lost as a new reader to the series, and I felt like I’d actually learned something about the actual history without forgetting that Daughters of the Nile, is still fiction, however laboriously researched for historical fact where possible.

Cleopatra Selene is a remarkable woman who managed to survive in a time where any day could bring exile or death from multiple directions, most notably from Caesar Augustus, who never stopped obsessing over her the way he had over her late mother. She has to temper her desire to make her mark in history with the knowledge of the incredible danger she faces whenever she fails to do whatever Caesar and her husband expect from her. And yet she does survive and even thrives in a climate that would crush a less determined man, let alone a mere woman with such infamous parents as Marc Antony and Cleopatra.

But what really made Daughters of the Nile such a wonderful read for me was the improbable romance between Selene and her husband. Juba had aided Caesar Augustus in hastening the death of Selene’s parents, so her distrust of him was certainly understandable. The marriage had been forced upon them both as a convenience for Augustus in his quest to make Selene his mistress, but they were never intended to be a couple in truth. Seeing Selene and her husband Juba slowly learn to trust and love each other over the years in spite of all the terrible past between them was what made me cry when Selene’s life and the book both came to their inevitable end. Daughters of the Nile isn’t a fast or easy read, but it’s a great one, and definitely worth your while if you love historical fiction with a touch of genuine romance.

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