Hello, and welcome back! We're finally getting a break in this super-cold weather, so I guess most of our snow will be gone by the end of the week. No doubt there'll be more, but it is a nice change. Not that I'm planning to take a book out into the backyard this week, but in a few more months.....

This week, I have three new books to share with you, so let's get to them! First is Shannon Drake, aka Heather Graham's When We Touch (Zebra). Lady Maggie Graham is willing to make a huge sacrifice to save her brother from her nasty uncle and debtor's prison, and agrees to marry a much older, wealthy man. Unfortunately, it's his nephew, Lord Jamie Langdon she's attracted to. Nevertheless, the plan's been set in motion and nothing will stop it. Except that Maggie's got an enemy--a man vile and crazed. Set in the era of Jack the Ripper, this story's got a lot going for it, not the least of which is Jack himself. I enjoyed this far more than the last few contemporary romances I've read by Ms. Drake/Graham. I'm borrowing four of Cupid's five arrows for it.

Next is Diane Tyrell's On the Edge of the Woods: A Gothic Romance (Berkley). Stacy Addison has fallen in love with a house, but someone doesn't want her to have it. Or at least, to keep it. Worse, she fears it might be Brand Vandevere, the man she's very attracted to. Told in the first person, which I rarely enjoy, this is a modern gothic. I prefer the older ones, the Victoria Holts which are filling one of my shelves in the next room. If you like gothics and don't mind the first person and some not-so-suspenseful moments, you may enjoy this one. It's earned only two and a half arrows here.

Finally, we have the anthology Irresistible Forces (NAL), with fantasy stories from Jo Beverly, Lois McMaster-Bujold, Mary Jo Putney, Catherine Asaro, Jennifer Roberson and Deb Stover. I'll tell you right off, I loved Mary Jo Putney's "Alchemical Marriage," with her two mages, and Deb Stover's "Skin Deep," which is laugh out loud hilarious, as usual. I wasn't as wild about Lois McMaster-Bujold's "Winterfair Gifts," which isn't as romance-y, and even Jo Beverley's "The Trouble with Heroes" leaned more toward fantasy than romance. Because I loved the first two I mentioned, though, this one's earned three and a half arrows. And hey, if you like fantasy more than romance, you may like this a lot more.

Until next time, happy reading!