Fuzzy Nova

Countess of Scandal by Laurel McKee
Review by Jessa Larsen

In the beginning, Eliza Blacknell and William Denton enjoy the luxuries of youth and indulge in frivolous puppy love. The two constantly steal time together as well as innocent kisses. The two children don’t look further than the present and swear the loyalty of friendship that young children do. Soon they find that as they age and mature, they must fulfill duties to their family and their countries which lead Eliza and William into completely separate directions. Eliza is married off to become a proper Irish countess and William leaves for England to join the military.
Years later, Eliza is a widowed Countess and William has become a major in the military. William has returned to Ireland to quell the uprising natives and Eliza has joined the rebel cause to bring back the truth and simplicity which is Ireland. The two meet up and wishfully dream of their innocent childhood where things were simple and carefree, but of course they cannot realistically return to that time in life. Eliza finds that she still loves William, but she is torn between what she believes to be right and what William stands for as well as the reason he is back in Ireland to begin with. Both William and Eliza are confused as well as full of lust for each other, but can their lustful reunion ever blossom into something more meaningful, or will the war in Ireland be the death of them all?
Countess of Scandal is primarily a typical romance novel. There is the action and suspense of an uprising and beginnings of a war, but we are constantly brought back to the struggle of our main characters and their inability to deny the lust as well as love they have for each other. They are stubbornly firm about the stance they have taken during these times in their country, but are constantly confused and rethinking their beliefs. (I will warn you; if you’re squeamish about sex scenes, this book is not for you. This is a romance novel after all and there’s plenty of “romance”. )
Laurel McKee is an excellent author and blended her romance and action well. You really get to know each of the characters and can really feel for them. This is a book you won’t want to put down and you’ll find yourself wishing the best for Eliza and William. The characters are so lovable, you can’t help crossing your fingers for the two in hopes that things will work out and they will at last be able to stay together forever and fulfill their childhood dreams.

Jessa lives in Utah with her husband, 2 sons, 2 cats, and 2 dogs. She goes to school full time as an English major with a focus in creative writing. She likes anime and reads books and plays video games in her moments of spare time.

Originally posted on www.luxuryreading.com

Strange Neighbors by Ashlyn Chase

Merry MacKenzie is a 25 year old nurse who has just moved out of her family home in Rhode Island to live the single life in the big city of Boston. She moves into what seems to be the picture perfect apartment and things only appear sweeter when she meets hunky landlord Jason Falco. The scene immediately gets more complicated when she turns down what she thought was going to be a carefree single life to immediately start dating said gorgeous landlord who happens to also be a star baseball player.
Merry’s new life gets even more interesting when she runs into the rest of the tenants. There’s Jason’s nosy aunt, his laidback uncle who does maintenance, the broody mortician, a mysterious Nordic looking man, two sexy ladies who seem to have a very enthusiastic relationship with each other, and the strange man who doesn’t seem to live there, but hangs out on the property at most times. Is Merry’s seemingly picture perfect life too good to be true, or is there more than meets the eye?
Strange Neighbors is the first book I’ve heard from Ashlyn Chase, but when I did a little more research, it turns out she’s fairly well known for her more erotic writing. Strange Neighbors definitely has some juicy love scenes, but I assume it’s tamer than her usual style of writing. I really enjoyed all the paranormal activity she included in the characters and story line as well as her twist to a well known government conspiracy. I didn’t particularly like the fact that she made the two main characters, Merry and Jason, so very love-y dove-y and perfect. Whenever a chance came to get a really good climatic moment, it fixed the situation much too quickly.
I also wish she’d kept the story focused on Jason’s unique situation and kept the conspiracy story for a sequel. That way we could’ve gone into more detail in either story and gone into more detail. The book is a uncorrected release as well and I noticed that on the back as well as on Ashlyn’s personal website, there are a few teasing tidbits that turn out not to match the other story.
I did enjoy the book over all and greatly hope that more books are added to make this a series. There are definitely great possibilities for intriguing storylines with the other characters. I would love to know more about various characters, what their stories are, and where they end up. I would also like to know how Merry & Jason’s relationship turns out. I will be keeping my eye on further titles from Ashlyn Chase with the possibility of grabbing a few other books from her existing sets.

Jessa lives in Utah with her husband, 2 sons, 2 cats, and 3 dogs. She is a full time mom and likes to blog and write short stories and poem in her spare time. She also likes anime and reading books and playing video games.

Originally posted on www.luxuryreading.com