[BOOK REVIEW] The Master Player by Emma Darcy

Title:  The Master Player 

Author: Emma Darcy

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Year Published: 2009

Number of Pages: 186 pages

Date Read: 2/24/2011

Publisher: Harlequin Books 

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Sexual Dialogue)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads



Book Reporter: Hello everyone! This is the Book Reporter and today I am going to interview Miss Ronyell about her thoughts on Emma Darcy’s one hundredth book, “The Master Player!” Hello Miss Ronyell! 

Ronyell: Hello Book Reporter! Nice to meet you!

Book Reporter: So I see that you have just recently read Emma Darcy’s book, “The Master Player.” Could you give us a brief summary on this book? 

Ronyell: Certainly! Basically, “The Master Player” is about a young star actress named Chloe Rollins who is married to a popular screenwriter named Tony Lipton and has her mother, Stephanie Rollins, as her agent. Life was going well for Chloe until a horrible scandal between Tony and her personal assistant, Laura Farrell, threaten to destroy Chloe’s career, until a handsome billionaire named Maximilian Hart saves Chloe from getting her reputation ruined when he takes her to live with him at his mansion. Of course, Chloe has heard rumors that Max is a player and she notices that Max not only wants to rescue her, but steal her heart in the process too!

Book Reporter: Wow! This book does sound interesting! So what did you think about Emma Darcy’s writing style? 

Ronyell: I loved the way that Emma Darcy made this book extremely dramatic and heartwarming at the same time. The scenes where Chloe confronts her mother, Tony and Laura were extremely well done as these scenes were seriously intense and greatly confirmed Chloe’s fear of them. I was actually on the edge of my seat when I was reading these scenes between Chloe and her family. I also loved the sexual scenes between Max and Chloe, even though there were rarely any in this book and one of the sex scenes in this book were a little bit too explicit, but nicely done. I will admit that whenever Emma Darcy spelled certain words like “realize” to “realise,” I was a little confused, but because the story was so interesting, I did not mind about the spellings in this book.

Book Reporter: Who were your favorite characters and what do you like about them? 

Ronyell: My favorite characters in this book were Chloe and Max and what I liked about Chloe’s character was that at first she did not know how to defend herself since she was told what to do almost her entire life; however, as the book evolves Chloe becomes a stronger and more independent character that I really enjoyed reading through. The character who truly stood out the most for me was Maximilian Hart (or Max for short) because he was truly an awesome character. Not only was he described as being an extremely muscular man, which is an aspect that I loved about most romance heroes, but he was an extremely considerate and independent character who truly cares for Chloe’s feelings and tries everything in his power to protect her. My favorite scene with Max was when he literally threw Tony out of his mansion when he was threatening Chloe and that just showed so much man power for me!

Book Reporter: So you love muscular men in romance novels, do you? 

Ronyell: I most certainly do!

Book Reporter: What rating did you give this book? 

Ronyell: I gave this book a four and a half rating because it seems like Chloe did not trust Max enough to commit to a serious relationship with him. Even I though I liked the idea of Chloe being independent, I think that she rarely trusted Max and she was pretty oblivious to Max’s affections for her. Also, Max practically helped Chloe with being independent and he also protected and cared for Chloe. I know that Chloe has trust issues with Max because of her rough life with her mother and Tony, but she should have confided her problems to Max and also when her mother made accusations against Max not being able to love her back, Chloe rarely stood up for Max and she sort of let what her mother and Tony said affect her feelings for Max, which is probably why there were not many romantic scenes between Max and Chloe until a hundred pages later.

Book Reporter: I understand that this is the first book that you have read from the Harlequin Presents series. Any final thoughts on this book are you planning on reading more books from the Harlequin Presents series? 

Ronyell: Overall, I thought that “The Master Player” was a great romance novel and I am sure that many romance fans will definitely enjoy this book! Yes, now that I have read this book, I am definitely looking forward to reading more books from the Harlequin Presents series!

Book Reporter: Thank you for your time Ronyell! Well, there you have it everyone! Be sure to check this book out at your local library or your local bookstore! 

You might also like: 

• Vision in White by Nora Roberts

• It Takes a Cat Burglar by Cailin Briste

• Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas

[BOOK REVIEW] Sukey and the Mermaid by Robert D. San Souci

Title:  Sukey and the Mermaid

Author:  Robert D. San Souci

Artist:  Brian Pinkney

Genre:  Mermaids / Folktale / Fantasy / African American / Family

Year Published: 1992

Year Read:  2008

Publisher:  Four Winds Press

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+ (Child Mistreatment)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Sukey and the Mermaid” is an American folktale retold by Robet D. San Souci, along with beautiful illustrations from Brian Pinkney.  This book won the Coretta Scott King Award and was also the first book that I have read that originated in South Carolina. This book is surely to be an instant treat for the entire family and is surely to be a favorite among American folktales. 

Robert D. San Souci’s storytelling is magnificent as he narrates the story about a good-natured girl who finds a true friend in the mermaid.  The storytelling is interesting because I have never heard a story come from South Carolina and this is definitely the first folktale that I have read that came from South Carolina.  Another reason is that this story seems like to be a combination of “The Little Mermaid” and “Cinderella” as Sukey plays as an honest yet miserable girl who works hard to the bone and has a cruel step parent, in this case her step-pa and she finds a friend in a mermaid who lives in the sea.  Brian Pinkney’s illustrations are vibrant and rough edged and they give the book a calm feel when Sukey goes to the sea and a mysterious feel, such as having Mister Jones always having his hat tilted to cover his eyes.  The image that stood out from the rest of the images in the book was of the mermaid herself who has green and flourishing hair and a beautiful face to match.  Seeing the mermaid just makes anyone who reads this book shows comfort for her as she is shown to be a reassuring and friendly character in this book. 

“Sukey and the Mermaid” is a unique book about how true friendship can bring happiness to anyone and how dreams do come true if you believe in yourself.  This book is certainly a special one that both adults and children will cherish because of its creative plot and because of its ingenious moral.  I would recommend this book to children ages six years and older due to the book being considerably long and that might put off many young children who are not used to reading large books yet. 

* 1993 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrator Honor  

  

[BOOK REVIEW] Toads and Diamonds by Charlotte Huck

Title:  Toads and Diamonds

Author:  Charlotte Huck

Artist:  Anita Lobel

Genre:  Family / Fairy Tale / Manners / Magic

Year Published: 1996

Year Read:  2015

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Child Mistreatment)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads 

 
Now to be honest, I had heard of this story through an episode of “Adventures from the Book of Virtues” and I really enjoyed it!  So, when I finally got the chance of reading this story in book format, I was just as impressed with this book that was written by Charlotte Huck along with illustrations by Anita Lobel, as I was with the TV episode!

There once lived a widow who had two daughters: one was her daughter Francine, who was spoiled and cruel like her mother and the other was Renee, who is kindhearted and is actually her stepdaughter.  Renee is often mistreated by her stepmother and Francine as they force her to do all the housework, including getting water from the spring every day.  One day, when Renee had to go to the spring to gather water, she meets up with an old woman and the old woman asks Renee if she could have some water.  Renee gladly gives the old woman some water from her cup and the old woman decided to give Renee a reward for her kindness.  The reward ends up being that whenever Renee speaks, flowers, diamonds and pearls will fall from her mouth.  When Renee showed this gift to her stepmother and Francine, her stepmother decided that Francine must receive the same gift as Renee and she forces Francine to go out and meet the old woman by the spring.

Will Francine get the same gift as Renee?

Read this book to find out!

I actually really enjoyed this version of the classic French tale about the power of true kindness!  I have read many fairy tales and folktales that has a “Cinderella” vibe to them and this tale definitely has the classic “nice girl who lives with a cruel step family” element woven into the story!  Charlotte Huck’s storytelling is fantastic as Renee is portrayed as being a resourceful female protagonist who tries to think her way out of troublesome situations (just as the author stated in her author’s note that she wanted to create a more resourceful protagonist rather than the stereotypical helpless female protagonist that is often shown in some fairy tales and folktales).  I was also impressed with the idea about how Renee is rewarded for her kindness by having pearls and flowers coming out of her mouth every time she talks since I wondered to myself about how a regular person would feel about having jewelry coming out of their mouths (personally, if someone rewarded me with the gift of getting diamonds and flowers, I wouldn’t want them to come out of my mouth)!  Anita Lobel’s artwork is truly gorgeous to look at as the environment surrounding the characters is lushly drawn and they bring so much beauty to the story.  I also loved the clothing that the characters wear as they represent the Renaissance Age and they bring an exotic tone to the story.

The only problem I have with this book is that in some of the artwork, the characters’ facial expressions look a little off, such as their mouths are almost opened in every panel and I have to wonder to myself about whether or not they really fit in well whenever the characters are getting angry or happy during a situation in the book.

Overall, “Toads and Diamonds” is a fantastic book about the power of kindness and how it can bring its own rewards.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the length of this book might be tiresome to smaller children.

[BOOK REVIEW] Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Title:  Grave Mercy

Author:  Robin LaFevers

Genre: Historical Romance

Year Published: 2012

Number of Pages: 549 pages

Date Read: 8/8/2015

Series: His Fair Assassin #1 

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Gory Violence)

Now, I have read many historical romances during my time reading various romance novels, but I rarely read romance novels that deal with war and assassins all in one package!  “Grave Mercy,” the first book in Robin LaFevers’ “His Fair Assassin” series, is seriously one action packed and intense story that I immediately fell in love with!

When Ismae was seventeen years old, she was forced into an arranged marriage by her father to the brutal Guillo, who would constantly beat her to death.  Ismae then thought that there would be no way to escape this horrible life until a handmaiden from the convent of St. Mortain told her about the convent and that she could live there to escape her life of misery with Guillo.  Ismae then goes off to live in the convent for many years and was taught the ways of following St. Mortain the God of Death’s will which included learning how to be an assassin and using different kinds of poisons to kill their victims.  One day, the abbess of the convent sends Ismae on a secret mission to the high court of Brittany to seek out the traitor amidst the Duchess’ company and it is there that Ismae meets the mysterious duke Gavriel Duval, who is regarded with suspicion at every turn.  Even though Ismae is trying to do St. Mortain’s will throughout her mission, will her love for Duval blind her from her faith in St. Mortain and the convent?

Wow! I am quite impressed with how exciting and intense this book was!  Now, many of my book friends have been telling me forever to check this book out and when I finally did, I was not disappointed!  Robin LaFevers’ writing is truly beautiful and mesmerizing as the story is written in an ancient manner that really captures the society of 1485 Brittany and it felt like I was experiencing this culture through the writing itself!  I also loved the fact that Robin LaFevers was writing this story from Ismae’s point of view as we get to see the world of Brittany through her eyes and hear her thoughts on what she thought about her beliefs in St. Mortain and her growing love for Duval.  Ismae is an extremely fantastic heroine as I was quite impressed with her assassin skills and I also loved the fact that she is a cunning character as she easily figures out what is going on in the high court of Brittany and tries to come up with many strategies to protect the Duchess from any harm.  I also loved the fact that we get to see Ismae struggle with her faith in St. Mortain and her love for Duval as it made her character even more complex and I was wondering throughout the entire book about who will Ismae choose: her faith in St. Mortain or her love for Duval?  I just loved Duval!  I will admit that at first I found his character to be a bit obnoxious at the beginning, especially with how he was treating Ismae, but as the story progresses, we start to see more dimensions to Duval’s character as he proves to be a caring character who cares about his family and Ismae eventually and those personality quirks just made me love his character!   I also loved the bantering between Ismae and Duval as it was hilarious as well as heartwarming and I always believed that these two were just made for each other!

For anyone who does not like graphic battle sequences, this book does have some scenes where people are killed in gruesome ways which includes getting shot in the head by an arrow and getting cut up by a sword and that might be unsettling for some people.

Overall, “Grave Mercy” is one book that you should definitely check out if you are a fan of lady assassins!  Now, I am off to read the rest of Robin LaFevers’ “His Fair Assassin” series!

  

[BOOK REVIEW] Shadow Game by Christine Feehan

Title:  Shadow Game

Author:  Christine Feehan

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Year Published: 2003

Number of Pages: 323 pages

Date Read: 2/28/2015

Publisher:  Jove Books

Series: Ghost Walkers #1

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 15+  (Some Language and Intense Scenes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Now, I have read many paranormal romance novels by different authors, but I must admit that “Shadow Game,” the first book in Christine Feehan’s “Ghost Walker” series was the first time I had ever read any of Christine Feehan’s works!  This is really surprising to me because even though I saw like a million books written by Christine Feehan at my local library, I never once thought about picking up any of her books and now I seriously wished I had!

Peter Whitney was a renowned scientist who was able to create an experiment that would help enhance the psychic abilities of an elite squadron in the military and his equally brilliant daughter Lily Whitney would help out on his accomplishments. One tragic day however, Peter Whitney starts to notice that something was going wrong with his experiments as the subjects in question, a group of soldiers who volunteered for this experiment which among them included Captain Ryland Miller, were suddenly dying of mysterious circumstances.  When Peter Whitney discovered about who was sabotaging his experiments, he ends up being murdered before he was able to tell his daughter Lily everything about his experiments.  Luckily, since Lily is a telepath herself, her father was able to communicate with her that she needs to check out the videos of his experiments in order to right the wrongs he had done in the past before he died.  Now, Lily is determined to discover the dark secret of her father’s experiments while trying to figure out who murdered her father.  But in order to learn more about his experiments, Lily has to try to release the soldiers who were being experimented on and there she meets the strong willed Captain Ryland Miller, who she immediately begins to fall in love with.  Lily and Ryland will soon discover that there is more between them then just a telepathic attraction with each other as they discover the dark secrets of Peter Whitney’s experiments together.

Wow!  I seriously cannot believe that I had not read any of Christine Feehan’s books before this one!  Christine Feehan had done a brilliant job at writing this book as the relationships between each character felt so real and raw and I really enjoyed the bantering between the characters, especially between Ryland and Lily!  I also loved the way that Christine Feehan managed to mix romance and action into this book as I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat trying to see if Lily and Ryland discovered who murdered Peter Whitney while developing feelings for each other.  What I loved the most about this book were the characters themselves as they were interesting and fun to read about, especially Lily and Ryland!  Lily Whitney was such a fantastic heroine as she is smart and courageous and I loved the fact that she was willing to put her life on the line in order to right the wrongs of her father and protect Ryland and his men.  I also loved the fact that she has so much scientific knowledge about the experiments that her father was engaged in as it showed how she is willing to use her intelligence to help the people she cared about.  Oh man, Captain Ryland Miller, you wicked devil, you!  I have to seriously say that Captain Ryland Miller is one of my most favorite heroes ever as I loved the way that he cares about Lily and is willing to do everything in his power to protect her from harm.  I also loved his bantering with Lily as I just cannot help but giggle and feel tingly inside whenever he is being so sexy towards her.  One of my favorite quotes from this book is this:

“Your name is Lily Whitney. You are the woman I want at my side night and day. I want you to be the mother of my children someday. I want you for my lover. I want you for the person I turn to when the world gets to be too much.”

For anyone who does not like language in a book, this book does have some language, although it is not as bad as some romance novels.  Also, there are many scenes in this book where the characters are in danger of being murdered and that might be too intense for some people to handle.

Overall, “Shadow Game” is a truly fantastic read for fellow paranormal romance fans and I am definitely going to check out the rest of the “Ghost Walker” series!