I'm over at ARRA with...

a review of Michelle Diener's The Emporer's Conspiracy.  There's a giveaway for ARRA members. I gave it a C- but that was largely because I was expecting a romance and it's more a historical novel with some romantic elements.

October Round-Up

My monthly post was getting to ungainly, so I'm going to try a few different things to tizzy it up.  Suggestions welcome. :)

On Paper/eBook

The Emperor's Conspiracy by Michelle Diener - C-  Isn't that a beautiful cover?  I reviewed this one for ARRA.  The short version is that I thought this was a romance but it was an historical with romantic elements.  There is a relationship but the usual romantic ending isn't present.  It isn't NOT there. It's just... absent.   The conspiracy in the book is actually true but I'm not sure how realistic Charlotte's backstory was. 

Archangel's Storm by Nalini Singh - B+  I reviewed this one for ARRA and will post a link when the review goes live.  But, the short version is that I really enjoyed the quieter love story in this book and I thought it suited the covert nature of Jason, the Spymaster.  I liked the way Mahiya chose to live a life full of joy and love rather than become bitter and hard.  I liked the clever way Singh made this an aspect of Mahiya's great strength of will rather than it coming off as being passive and wishy-washy.
The cover does look a bit like a bird crapped on it though.