RUINATION, a Review

                       

RUINATION:
The Rake and The Recluse, Book Four

By Jenn LeBlanc
Author and Photographer

It only gets hotter! Looking for a book on a cold winter night to help warm you up? Perhaps a bit of summertime sizzle? With each new installment in The Rake and The Recluse serial, you find the story drawing you in more and more. You are turning the page, holding your breath for the big reveal, the "Aha!" when you realize that you have run smack into another cliff hanger! This one is no different.

We pick up the story in RUINATION after Francine's disappearance. We all know who is behind it, and there is never a doubt  as to the culprit for Gideon and Perry. Our heros are off and running to rescue Francine before she falls victim to ruination by Hepplewort, who only wants her as his wife to produce an heir.  I think it is safe to say that Gideon and Perry save the day, and Gideon, Tenth Duke of Roxleigh, one time recluse, sets his mind to ruining Francine for any other man. (And, boy, does he ever!)

The date is set.          
The bride and groom
are ready. The only
thing missing now is
Perry, who returns
with some shocking
news of his own.

This is when the evil laughter I imagine as Jenn LeBlanc's plays in my head while we wait for the next installment of The Rake and The Recluse, Book Five: SUBMISSION.

Would I recommend this book to you? ABSOLUTELY! But, you must remember that this is a six part serial and they should be read in order: FREEDOM, FOUND, TAKEN, RUINATION, and soon to be released, SUBMISSION, and the conclusion,  RETRIBUTION.

If you like your hero handsome, tall, strong, and powerful with plenty of -all I can think of to describe Gideon is- "Oh, yes..." to season him a bit more, then this is for you. What are you waiting for?

Available now as e-book from
Amazon.com  $1.99
BarnesandNoble.com  $1.99
AllRomance.com  $1.99

Mask of the Gladiator

The Mask of the Gladiator  
   by Georgie Lee
   Released by Carina Press

Rome, 41 AD

Livia Duronius is driven to seek out a gladiator after watching him triumph in the Colosseum. His touch arouses a sense of hope she hasn't felt since Rome fell under the tyrannical rule of Caligula-and her late husband betrayed her. Though in danger of losing more than her heart, she vows to see him again, even after she learns her uncle has arranged her marriage to a senator.

Senator Titus Marius cannot resist indulging in a passionate encounter with the veiled woman who waits for him after the games, though he faces execution if his true identity is discovered. Bound by honor to wed another, and embroiled in a plot to free Rome from madness, he never expects to see the mystery woman again.

When the fates reunite them in the marriage bed, Titus vows to protect Livia at all costs-even from the lecherous eyes of the emperor...


********************************


Mask of the Gladiator, by Georgie Lee, is a very short novella that I found uneventful. It is difficult to come up with the words I need about such a short story without giving the story away... It seemed to me that there was an attempt to pack too much into a small space, and none of it worked. 


We start the story with the wealthy widow, Livia, who was attending a Gladiator match. She becomes enthralled by the victor, and seeks out the slave and ends up having sex.


The masked "slave" gladiator is actually Titus, a member of the Senate who is in disguise. Titus is on the brink of meeting his betrothed, and guess who she happens to be?


Yep.


I really could not find anything I liked about this story. Maybe it is because the heroine jumped right into sex a few minutes after meeting the gladiator? I do not know. The beginning was long, the middle was so-so, and the end was predictable.


I am not saying "Don't read this book," but I am saying that I will not be re-reading this one.