If you’re a regular AAR reader, you know we need all the financial help we can get. One easy way to do that is to go to our site and click on the Amazon SHOP button at the left hand top of our page. This takes you to Amazon and anything you put in your cart on that shopping trip, earns us a tiny percentage of the sale. Doing so this week during Amazon Prime Days, if you’re buying things, would be a huge help! Thanks!

We’ve given A Promise of Fire not one but two DIK grades. (Here’s one of our rave reviews.)

In Bouchet’s world of Thalyria, magic reigns in the northern kingdom of Fisa and in the middle kingdom of Tarva, but the southern kingdom of Sinta lacks the magic that has kept other kingdoms in power and the people of Sinta are subjugated by the magic born (Magoi).  That subjugation ended when Beta Sinta, otherwise known as Griffin the Warlord conquers Sinta and installs his sister as Alpha Sinta.   But lacking the magic of the other two primary kingdoms, Sinta needs an edge so they do not lose their newly acquired freedom.  Enter Catalia Fisa.

Catalia ‘Cat’ Fisa has been in hiding in the south since she was fifteen years old.  Born with a rare magical ability to sense when others are telling the truth or lying, she was in virtual bondage to her mother, the goddess Andromeda until she managed to escape.  Called the Kingmaker, Cat helped her psychotic mother rule Fisa by detecting plots against her.  Andromeda used torture as a tool to keep Cat compliant, which quickly killed any familial feelings her daughter might have had for her.  Cat’s escape takes her to the non-magical (or rather magic-challenged!) south and she finds a new family in a motley crew of circus performers. When the story begins, Cat has lived with them for the past eight years and made her living as a fortune teller.

Griffin understands what Cat is almost immediately and decides that she is the tool the kingdom of Sinta needs to protect itself against the Magoi, whether she is willing or not.  Griffin and his fellow soldiers don’t bother to find out if Cat’s views on the matter before they kidnap her from the circus.  Cat is obviously not happy with the situation; she was used by her mother for fifteen years and has absolutely no intention of being used by someone else.  But Griffin holds her next to him with a magic rope that she cannot escape and the two begin a road romance that is entertaining and enlightening for them both.  Cat thinks there is nothing that can justify someone taking away her agency.  Griffin thinks there is nothing that is more important than the freedom of his people.  They both find out that falling in love changes everything.

I really loved this book.  The author takes some difficult tropes and goes to great and believable pains to justify them.  Griffin’s abduction of Cat could have looked very rape-y, but even though we are not privy to Griffin’s thoughts, his actions speak to his underlying integrity.  Cat would have been justified in acting the shrew for what has been done to her, given Griffin’s scheme to use her.  Even though he has no clue just how horribly she has been abused in the past, that is no excuse for his initial treatment of her.  Cat is somehow able to rise above her anger and get through her captivity with her sense of humor intact all the while evoking a deep empathy from the reader.  One great line from Cat upon her initial assessment of Griffin’s character is: “typical warlord:  huge ego, huge sword and huge ass.”  Cat is a funny gal and a survivor.  She uses humor to get through the bad times and this enhances her as a character.

The use of Greek mythological beings and creatures is incorporated very well into the story.  Bouchet uses the basic traits of well-known figures from ancient Greece, but puts her own personal spin on them.  From Poseidon to Cerberus, the secondary characters are believable and interesting. The secondary human/mortal characters are also well integrated into the story and are set up to figure prominently in future installments of the Kingmaker Chronicles.

It’s at Amazon for 1.99 here.

Judith James writes historical romance with details that make a reader swoon. We gave The Highwayman a DIK in part because of those gems. (Our DIK review is here.)

Dashing rogues are a staple of the romance genre. They come in all shapes, sizes, and time periods, appearing frequently as pirates, dukes, or Navy SEALs. In this case our hero, one John Nevinson, appears as a notorious highwayman. His hijinks—as reported in the newspapers—capture the interest of many Englishmen, from the lowliest servant to the King himself, and they make for a very lively story.

Nevinson, known to his friends as Jack, lives a tremendously complicated life. It’s more than the typical double-life of a highwayman, because Jack is actually multiple different highwaymen. His two most well-known personas are that of Swift Nick and Gentleman Jack, the former being a retiree famously pardoned by the King and the latter being a rogue who claims the North Road as his territory and is known for avoiding violence whenever possible.

It’s due to this reputation as a gentleman highwayman that Jack finds himself called upon to run an errand. A certain member of the gentry needs a package delivered to him and believes Jack is the one to do it. Jack hesitantly agrees, only to find out that the “package” is in fact a lovely young woman desperate to escape the greedy cousin who arranged for her kidnapping and delivery. Upon realizing this, Jack sets out to rectify his mistake and spirits the girl away from the very man he handed her to not three hours earlier.

Arabella Hamilton, Lady Saye, is the aforementioned package. Although initially skeptical of Jack and his intentions, by the time the night is through she is…well, if not in love with Jack, then certainly attracted to him. After she is delivered safely to London, Arabella continues to reflect on her adventure with a notorious highwayman, coming to realize that she wants more than the sedate life laid out before her. No, Arabella wants an adventure….

…. what I truly loved about The Highwayman (possibly more than characters) was the historical detail. Small things are mentioned that stuck chords in me—for example, Jack and Arabella are at one point jumping across rooftops in London, when Jack makes a comment that the houses built after the Great Fire are more uniform and easier to maneuver across. It’s a tiny detail, but something I recently noticed myself, in London. This sort of detail is what moved a very well-written book into DIK territory for me. Many authors can—and have—written books about dashing rogues haring off on adventures all around the world. Few can truly bring the setting to life amidst all the action.

You may purchase it at Amazon for 3.78 here.

The thriller Jar of Hearts won many an award and garnered a DIK from us.

It’s been fourteen years since Angela Wong disappeared without a trace. The police have done everything they possibly can, and now her friends and family have been forced to come to terms with the fact that they’ll probably never know what really happened to her. And then, a shocking discovery is made. Georgina Shaw, called Geo by those closest to her, is arrested and brought to trial for her part in Angela’s murder. The two girls used to be best friends, and no one can figure out what could have driven Geo to take Angela’s life.

There are a lot of things about that night that Geo simply isn’t telling, and most of them have to do with Calvin James, Geo’s first love and the person who bears the bulk of the responsibility for Angela’s death. The relationship between Geo and Calvin was always turbulent, and there were plenty of things about Calvin’s behavior that made Geo uneasy, but she loved him beyond all reason, and it seems she’ll still do almost anything to protect him, even after all this time.

After serving a prison sentence for her role in the crime, Geo returns to her childhood home in an attempt to get back on her feet. Her former neighbors aren’t the least welcoming, going so far as to vandalize her house and car, but Geo is done running. She’s back, and the truth will be revealed no matter who gets caught in the crossfire.

Jar of Hearts is a complex book that is almost impossible to describe without ruining it for the reader. It’s a mystery for sure, but there’s also a delightful second chance romance that adds a bit of sweetness to what is otherwise an incredibly dark story. The romance definitely takes a backseat to the mystery though, something that won’t work for everyone.

It’s on sale at Amazon for 2.99 here.

Three Nights of Sin was one of the first historical romances I read back in 2009 when I returned to reading romance. I love it. (Anne Mallory is an author whose writing I miss.) In our review we wrote:

Marietta Winters contacts Gabriel Noble because she is desperate. Her brother Kenny stands accused of murder, and not just any murder; he was found beside the mangled body of a woman who was the latest victim of a serial killer known as the Middlesex murderer. The Bow Street Runner on the scene accused him of the crime, and now he is imprisoned and the Winters family is in ruins. But Gabriel Noble has a reputation for solving problems (in return for either money or favors), so Marietta comes to him for help.

At first it seems she has made a devil’s bargain. Gabriel has little use for society women, and since her other brother has virtually bankrupted the family, Marietta can only offer favors as payment for Gabriel’s help. Clearly, he has the upper hand. He shocks Marietta by ensconcing her in a private home with no live-in servants. He wants for both of them to be able to come and go as they please without attracting notice, and he has already identified Marietta’s chief asset: She has the type of face that can blend in anywhere. He buys her clothing suitable for a variety of stations (particularly light skirt and shop girl) and they set about making inquiries. They visit the scene of the crime, get the lay of the land, and talk to the principal players. Meanwhile, Gabriel calls in favors from others so that they can visit Kenny in prison, and delay the trial.

During one of their forays in a victim’s home, they discover a diary. Though no names are named, it seems clear that she was an aristocratic woman, part of a circle of friends who used their elevated station as a way to entice and coerce young men into performing acts against their will. Marietta finds herself both fascinated and horrified by the diary, and part of the allure is that Gabriel clearly does not want her to read it. As their investigation progresses, it seems equally clear that Gabriel has more than a passing acquaintance with the principal players – on both sides.

At the same time, Gabriel and Marietta are drawn to each other. Not in an annoying “can’t wait to bed you” way that we’ve all seen a thousand times before – both are completely surprised by their feelings. When they first have sex, neither thinks that love has anything to do with it. Gabriel is attracted to Marietta, but can’t understand the pull he feels. Marietta chooses to sleep with Gabriel willingly, knowing she’ll be ruined, but figuring that her social capital is so low that it hardly matters. That they gradually mean more to each other almost goes without saying, but little about their romance is predictable. They have huge obstacles to overcome; proving Kenny’s innocence is one of them, but their own class barriers and Gabriel’s feelings about his past are also significant.

You can buy it at Amazon right now for 1.99 here.

You can see all our current deals at our Amazon storefront here.

As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn a very small percentage of whatever you buy using our links. And remember, we get a percentage of EVERYTHING in your cart when you’ve begun your shopping with our links. That tiny sliver of money is what enables us to stay on line, so please, visit our links and click through to Amazon. Thanks!