Bride of the Night, Chapter Ten

Read About Previous Chapters: Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine

In chapter ten, I learn that I was mistaken about Pete’s original appearance in the fort. It seems that he’s still hanging around with Finn, so he hasn’t disappeared. Oops.

So, for no reason at all, Pete seems to know that Tara is in danger. He senses a change in the wind, he says. I could believe this intuition, perhaps, if there hadn’t been so many other unexplained circumstances up to this point.

At any rate, Pete knows she’s in trouble, so he and Finn run to help her. When they find her, though, they discover that she’s already ripped apart a bed frame with her bare hands and stabbed the vampire in the chest. They find Richard comforting Tara, which instantly leads to more jealousy on Finn’s part.

Anyhow, Pete and Finn decide to go to the mayor and ask him to sound the alarm, letting everyone know that the island is in danger from these rabid people. After some hesitation, the mayor agrees to do so, and most of the cities citizens have gathered in the church when the vampires arrive, beating their wings and looking for blood.

As the citizens are closing the church doors, a family shows up late, and Finn rushes outside to help them. Fade to black.

Again, same thing that I’ve been saying for the past few chapters. I just wish there was more in here to tell me where these situations come from. It just seems like every decision is made on a whim. There is no discussion and no thoughts whatsoever as to why decisions are made. It’s frustrating for a reader, I think.

Teaser Tuesday: Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Here's how it works: Grab your current read, open to a random page, and share two teaser sentences from somewhere on that page. Don't include spoilers, and make sure to list the title and author of the book.

This week, my teaser is from page 261 of Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran. Here it is:

He reaches out to take my hand, and I let him. But I must remember my ambition.
"I can wait. I'm in love with you, Marie."

What are you reading this week? Tell me all about your teaser!

Forbidden Fantasies by Jodie Griffin

Forbidden Fantasies by Jodie Griffin was pretty short, and though a few different parts weirded me out a little bit, I found myself enjoying the story for the most part.

Forbidden Fantasies is the story of Alex and Jessica, a married couple who are having trouble connecting on a physical level. As a police officer, Alex works long and odd hours. Because she’s sometimes lonely at home, Jessica has taken up reading erotica novels. Jessica becomes bored with her sex life, wishing that Alex would be open to more experimentation. As a result, she starts to feel guilty and withdraws from her relationship with her husband.

When Alex discovers Jessica’s secret, though, he’s not quite as angry as Jessica expected. In fact, she’s surprised to find that he’s even a little excited.

Here’s why I liked Forbidden Fantasies:

• On some levels, much of this story was very real and very relatable. It was easy to feel the relationship insecurities coming from both Alex and Jessica.
• On the same note, I felt like Jessica and Alex were both very real characters. This ebook was only about 85 pages long, so there wasn’t a ton of time to dive deeply into the psyche of each character, but I felt like I could relate to both the hero and the heroine, and I felt like they both had very real-life hopes, dreams, fears and problems.

Here’s what I didn’t like:

• I don’t read eroticas often, and every time I remember that it’s because I like the emotional connection more than the physical connection. I realize that the physical relationship can be emotional, as well, but when there’s so much physical connection I have trouble feeling the emotional connection. So, it’s not fair to say that I didn’t like this book because there was a lot of sex, but going into Forbidden Fantasies, I knew there was a chance that I wouldn’t love the story.
• On top of that, Forbidden Fantasies had a bid of bondage, which also was a little weird for me.

Truthfully, this story surprised me, and I definitely found some things to like.

Title: Forbidden Fantasies | By: Jodie Griffin | Publisher: Carina Press, March 2012 | ASIN: B0070Y34DY | RLB Grade: C | Find it on Amazon: Forbidden Fantasies

Reading List, Week of March 25, 2012

Just looking to finish two books this week. The first is the third in Hope Ramsay's Last Chance series, and the second is a non-romance, historical fiction about the French Revolution. Here they are:

Last Chance Beauty Queen by Hope Ramsay
Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran

What are you reading? Have you read any great new books lately?

Bride of the Night, Chapter Nine

Read about previous chapters: Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight

Chapter nine begins with Tara again having a President Lincoln vision. This time, the two are in a carriage, and Tara is again warning Lincoln to protect himself.

Within a few paragraphs, Finn comes in to the cabin and wakes Tara from her dream. One thing happens, and then another, and the two are getting it on in her cabin. It’s such a non-dramatic, awkward coupling, as there is very little physical tension and lead up into the big moment. After the two go back to talking about how Finn has to lock her up when the reach the fort. It’s definitely a non-climatic sex scene, and awkward to boot.

Finn’s change in feelings for Tara are awkward, too. In two or three sentences, he goes from being jealous of Richard to “Ah, oh well. I’ll sleep with her.” This is just a few chapters after the two hate each other.

Anyway, when they reach the fort, Finn turns her and Richard over to the captain, and Tara is assigned to a cell. Everyone tries to warn the captain of the impending danger of the “rabid” men, but the captain doesn’t believe them.

Then, from nowhere, Seminole Pete — remember Seminole Pete? Tara’s father figure? — appears and talks to the captain, convincing him that there are rabid men on the loose.

I don’t understand the appearance of Seminole Pete, as he just shows up out of nowhere, and his presence doesn’t exactly move the story forward, as far as I can tell. Tara is still locked in a cell when he leaves, so what was the point?

After Pete leaves, the chapter comes to a cliffhanger ending as a full-blooded vampire breaks into Tara’s cell.