Hello, and welcome back! Our weather here has felt like summer much longer than it should have, considering yesterday was the first official day of the hot season. We’re holed up inside the house in the cool air rather than spending much time outside. Too bad, as I’d like to enjoy the flowers blooming in the garden, and take my time wandering around the farmers’ market to see what kind of yummy things are available. Maybe it’ll cool down a little next week. If not, I have plenty of books inside to keep me busy.

This time out, I have the first in a new trilogy to share with you: Nancy Gideon’s Masked by Moonlight (Pocket) features detective Charlotte Caissie, a tough woman cop who deals on a regular basis with the scum in New Orleans. One mobster who regularly crosses her path is the sexy Max Savoie, but she’s had no trouble resisting him. Until now. Now Max saves her when she’s assaulted, and suddenly it’s much more challenging to resist that attraction she feels. She can justify it as using him to reach his mobster boss, but is she really? Max has a surprising ability, and when Cee Cee witnesses it, it puts her in even more danger from the people around Max. Max is an intriguing hero, with a secret past that left him scarred emotionally and vulnerable to the man who took him in as a child. Sexy and irresistible, as Cee Cee discovers. She, however, is not nearly as appealing. She’s far too wishy-washy for me; in lust with Max, then determined to use him for her job (which is also very, very unattractive). Worse, this one is not wrapped up by the end. No, this one will continue through two more books. I really wish this was being marketed as a fantasy series, rather than a romance. Sure, there’s romance in it, but that ending knocks it out of the romance park for me and into a different genre. Very, very disappointing for me, as I’m always on the lookout for a great new shapeshifter series, as I enjoy those much more than most of the vampires on the shelves. Though the second book is already on my desk, I highly doubt I’ll be picking it up to read after this. I’m borrowing only two of Cupid’s five arrows for this one. Too bad.

Until next time, happy reading!