A saucy romp whose narrative excesses are tempered by likable lead characters and a tender love story.
A student healer and a noble paladin discover their destinies after they’re paired up in a sexually charged college class in Mansfield’s (Tamed by the Fire, 2013, etc.) erotic fantasy.
At the age of 21, half-elf Briarlarn “Briar” Tumbleweed has achieved her dream of attending the Academy of Magical Arts, and she’s eager to hone her skills and become a great healer. One morning she takes a wrong turn on her way to her Healing the Soul class and stumbles on a couple engaged in a healing session. Transfixed, Briar stops to watch, aroused by the couple’s movements. When she turns to leave, she runs into fellow student Uthiel Stoutheart, a paladin sworn to protect dragons. When they finally arrive at the Healing the Soul class, its instructor pairs them up for the semester. As Briar and Uthiel learn the fine art of healing through eroticism, they soon discover a powerful attraction to each other. Despite their feelings, both have secrets: Briar is desperate to keep her instructors from discovering that she’s still a virgin while Uthiel struggles with guilt over his role in the tragic death of his first love, which prevents him from achieving sexual pleasure. Mansfield’s novel applies many of the common tropes of erotic fiction to a magical land where elves, dwarves, trolls, and gnomes cavort in all manner of lascivious couplings. For the most part, this juxtaposition succeeds because of the appealing lead characters and a romance that gives the narrative substance. The scenes depicting Briar’s tutelage under the guidance of Uthiel are tender and erotic and even laced with a good dose of humor. Mansfield surrounds her leads with a vividly imagined cast of supporting characters, including Headmistress Seychelle, a dominatrix who believes Briar could follow in her footsteps; and Leeky Shortz, a naughty gnome with the unfortunate habit of appearing when Briar and Uthiel least expect him. Despite its successes, a few minor characters seem superfluous, such as Headmistress Seychelle’s submissive, Ray, a human with an eccentric fetish.
A saucy romp whose narrative excesses are tempered by likable lead characters and a tender love story.Pub Date: April 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-61217-370-2
Page Count: 374
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
Genetically engineered dinosaurs run amok in Crichton's new, vastly entertaining science thriller. From the introduction alone—a classically Crichton-clear discussion of the implications of biotechnological research—it's evident that the Harvard M.D. has bounced back from the science-fantasy silliness of Sphere (1987) for another taut reworking of the Frankenstein theme, as in The Andromeda Strain and The Terminal Man. Here, Dr. Frankenstein is aging billionaire John Hammond, whose monster is a manmade ecosystem based on a Costa Rican island. Designed as the world's ultimate theme park, the ecosystem boasts climate and flora of the Jurassic Age and—most spectacularly—15 varieties of dinosaurs, created by elaborate genetic engineering that Crichton explains in fascinating detail, rich with dino-lore and complete with graphics. Into the park, for a safety check before its opening, comes the novel's band of characters—who, though well drawn, double as symbolic types in this unsubtle morality play. Among them are hero Alan Grant, noble paleontologist; Hammond, venal and obsessed; amoral dino-designer Henry Wu; Hammond's two innocent grandchildren; and mathematician Ian Malcolm, who in long diatribes serves as Crichton's mouthpiece to lament the folly of science. Upon arrival, the visitors tour the park; meanwhile, an industrial spy steals some dino embryos by shutting down the island's power—and its security grid, allowing the beasts to run loose. The bulk of the remaining narrative consists of dinos—ferocious T. Rex's, voracious velociraptors, venom-spitting dilophosaurs—stalking, ripping, and eating the cast in fast, furious, and suspenseful set-pieces as the ecosystem spins apart. And can Grant prevent the dinos from escaping to the mainland to create unchecked havoc? Though intrusive, the moralizing rarely slows this tornado-paced tale, a slick package of info-thrills that's Crichton's most clever since Congo (1980)—and easily the most exciting dinosaur novel ever written. A sure-fire best-seller.
Pub Date: Nov. 7, 1990
ISBN: 0394588169
Page Count: 424
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1990
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