Roberta Gellis, Alinor

Title: Alinor

Author: Roberta Gellis

Rating: Four Siren Stones

Genre: Historical Romance

Keywords: Medieval, Blush

Length: Super Plus-Size Novel

ISBN E-Book: 978-1419931642

Price: $7.99

ISBN for Print:

Publisher: Ellora’s Cave

Buy-Link: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9085-alinor.aspx

Reviewer: Rhonda J Callum-King

Blurb/Summary:

Roselynde Chronicles, Book Two

Now alone, despite her exquisite beauty, Lady Alinor is physically and emotionally deprived of love—until her amorous desires are stirred by the dark, sensuous Lord Ian de Vipont. Trapped in a maze of treacherous power plays and volatile liaisons, she is irresistibly swept into an intoxicating passion for a man whose forbidden love promises only pain and peril. A strong-willed woman desperate in her quest for love,Alinor will not heed even the most torturous obstacles in her path.

From the brutal battlegrounds of France to the rich pageantry of English courts, Alinor’s turbulent adventures and romantic passions weave a breathtaking tale of danger and desire.

Publisher’s Note: Previously published elsewhere.

Review:

Alinor by Roberta Gellis is a unique view of the courts and life in England during the rule of the infamous King John, Lackland. While this book is promoted as a passionate romance, I believe it should be seen more as an historical novel with some romance woven into it. This in no way detracts from the tale of the Lady Alinor and Sir Ian. However, Alinor is more the story of the English courts and politics during the rule of King John, Lackland.

In Roberta Gellis’ novel, the premise is taken that King John was actually a very astute and intelligent ruler. In the many versions of Robin Hood, Prince John is often seen as a usurper who only wants tax monies. Here, in Alinor, he is portrayed as a king who was left a bankrupt kingdom and while still rather lecherous, was certainly not the worst that England had to offer at the time.

The romantic scenes between Alinor and Ian are few and far between. What fills the pages of Alinor is the pageantry, deceitfulness and corruption of the English courts during the rules of Kings Richard and John. This is a story of knights, bandits in the woods and licentious court followers. Roberta Gellis has created a love story of the ilk of Robin Hood, set just a few years later, under the rule of the loathsome King John. Read Alinor if you are looking for a story along the lines of the Sherwood Forest tales and you will be pleased.

Evangeline Anderson, 'Til Kingdom Come

Title: 'Til Kingdom Come

Author: Evangeline Anderson

Rating: Five Siren Stones

Genre: LGBT

Sub-Genre: Fantasy

Keywords: Medieval, M/M, Magic

Length: Novel Plus

ISBN E-Book: 978-1-60737-814-3

Price: $7.99

Publisher: Loose Id, LLC

Buy-Link: http://www.loose-id.com/Till-Kingdom-Come.aspx

Reviewer: Cia

Blurb/Summary:

In a time of mystery and magic, one man is seeking to find his destiny. Prince Thrain Blackwater is on a deadly mission to capture the one who can help him get his revenge and make him whole. But in order to do so, he must perform an act of brutality that will alienate the man he hopes to claim as his own.

Prince Elias Trueheart is a Null—a noble of the royal Trueheart line who has no magic of his own. Resigned to a life of obscurity, his entire world is turned upside down the night Thrain comes for him. After the Blackwater prince claims him in a way Elias feels he can never forgive, he kidnaps him as well and drags him back to the snake pit he calls home—Castle Black.

Thrain is certain Elias will hate him forever—and he doesn’t blame the other man a bit. Still, he hungers for Elias’s love and will do anything to earn it, even if it means facing down his brutal older brother who wants Elias for himself. But will Elias ever return his feelings or is he incapable of forgiving Thrain’s crime? He will have to make up his mind very soon for beneath the dark and dangerous Castle Black lies a secret that will unlock Elias’s magic and a deadly riddle that will put both his life and Thrain’s in peril.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Dubious consent, male/male sexual practices, allusion to incest.

Review:

From the very beginning, Thrain stole my heart. To be a part of a family so vile that it didn’t rub off on him endeared me to him. When he was forced to do something he swore never to do I felt for him, he as well was victimized by the occurrence as the victim. His protective ways made my heart swell.

I fell for Elias almost at the same time. He went from being a shy young male to a man who refused to be kept by ill means. The magic in the story was woven intricately with purpose that wasn’t clear until I’d finally made the last few pages.

I got a chance to slow down and take my time reading this read. It’s not a fast paced one, if you read it fast I assure you that you’ll miss out on something important.