Her Mother's Killer by Melissa Schroeder

TITLE: Her Mother’s Killer
AUTHOR: Melissa Schroeder
PUBLISHER: Whiskey Creek Press
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 60k)
GENRE: Romantic erotic suspense
COST: $6.49

The murder of her mother has haunted Thea Warren’s life, driving her from the small town of Crocker where she grew up and into the arms of a man who never truly appreciated or loved her. Now, with her divorce final, she’s returned to Crocker to try and start over, running from hints that someone is stalking her. Duncan Perry, her older brother’s best friend, grew up with Thea, and now, as Crocker’s sheriff, finds himself thrust into the position of protecting her from what is an obvious threat. But Thea isn’t the kid he remembers. She’s a beautiful, grown woman, and if he’s going to keep his head clear to catch her stalker, he’s going to have to figure out how to keep his hands off her…

Though I read a lot of romance, the other genres that probably most proliferate my shelves are anything suspense-related. Mystery, thriller, true crime…I like solving puzzles and getting involved in the thrill of the chase as much as I like getting embroiled in relationships and emotions. I tend not to buy a lot of romantic suspense, though, because I rarely find a good balance between the two. Most romance authors want to focus on the love story, often to the detriment of the actual plot. Invariably, that means I’m rarely truly satisfied by the suspense angles of these books.

Schroeder’s short novel never really finds that right balance, though it ended up being a satisfying read. The story started out weakly for me. I didn’t like Thea. Yes, things were tense for her, as she’s returning to Crocker after her divorce and an attempt on her life. But her first contacts with people made her seem overly fragile, and yet, other perspectives tried telling me she was strong and spunky. This dichotomous presentation took over half of the book to resolve itself for me, and while I never really believed Thea was as independent as others in the book would want me to think, I definitely liked her by the end of the story.

My feelings for Duncan worked in reverse. I liked him a lot in the beginning, his honor and drive especially, but as time progressed, that interest waned. He goes back and forth on what he’s going to do with Thea constantly. He lost the last woman he was supposed to protect because of his interest in her, and he’s reluctant to have it happen again, but he can’t keep his thoughts regarding Thea pure. His flipflopping wears thin, irritatingly so. I was relieved that I actually liked Thea more at that point, because if my opinion of both of them had disintegrated to that degree, I probably wouldn’t have finished the book.

The suspense spins from the murder of Thea’s mother when she was young. Over the years, Thea has received the occasional letter from an unknown admirer, and they’ve followed her all the way back to Crocker. Her ex-husband never took them seriously, even saying Thea needed professional help since he thought she was making them up to get attention. Duncan takes it all far more seriously, especially since women matching Thea’s description have been showing up dead for several months. The action is fairly constant, tightening in growing suspense, but I was disappointed that I deduced who the killer was almost immediately. I wanted to be wrong. It would have been nice to be surprised. But at least the action kept me intrigued, and my growing need to see Thea get what she wanted and have a happy life invested me in the romance. I was particularly glad to see her stand up for herself to her jerk of an ex-husband. The spine she showed there went a long way.

Readers who don’t read as much suspense might not have the problems with predictability I had. By the time the story ended, the only thing that mattered to me was the happy ending. I got it. More, I was pleased with it. When it comes to romance, it’s hard to ask for much more.

Readability	7/10 – A pedantic start, and I guessed the killer almost immediately, but picked up steam as the story progressed
Hero	6/10 – The back and forth of want her/can’t have her got old
Heroine	7/10 – I thought her annoyingly fragile at first, like I was being told she was spunky rather than shown, but she grew on me by the end of the story
Entertainment value	7/10 – The action is fairly constant, and there was no mystery to me at all about who the killer was, but in spite of a rocky start, I came to need these two to work out their problems
World building	6/10 – Surprisingly thin, considering it’s supposed to be suspense
TOTAL:	33/50

A Torrid Celebration by various authors

TITLE: A Torrid Celebration!
AUTHOR: Honey Jans, Monica M. Martin, Christy Poff, Melissa Schroeder, Cheri Valmont, Emma Wildes
PUBLISHER: Whiskey Creek Press Torrid
LENGTH: Anthology (roughly 59k)
GENRE: Erotic romance
COST: $5.49

A collection of six erotic romances, each incorporating a party of some sort into the story.

The anthology starts out strong and smooth with Melissa Schroeder’s “Going for Eight.” Gerry Dillon has been off the bull riding circuit for six months, after a terrible accident nearly killed him. Now he’s back where he grew up, and the woman he always loved but never pursued because she was a hometown girl has grown up in all the best ways. The story is straightforward, with likable main characters and an easy reading style. Though the entire anthology is labeled erotic romance, this one is the hottest of the bunch, with fully realized scenes instead of just the scattershot effects some of the later stories provide. There’s nothing challenging or thought-provoking about this, but it makes for an enjoyable, simple read, and provides a solid opening for the collection.

“The Twelfth Knight” by Cheri Valmont takes a different route. Minna is a lady on the run, joined up with a band of entertainers as she poses as a boy to escape the fate she is sure awaits her at home. A year earlier, the band rescued a man who had been left for dead, one who took her breath away. He has no memory of who he was, at least until he confronts her about her gender subterfuge. But the attraction between them is too much to resist, even when they end up performing at a betrothal celebration for his brother and the woman his brother tried to kill him for. While the writing is technically as solid as the first, the characters aren’t as fully realized. I didn’t believe the depth of the feelings between the two, mostly because I got told why they should be in love instead of getting to see it myself. Still, it’s stronger than all but one of the stories to come.

“Nocturnal Offerings” by Monica M. Martin is a vampire romance, with an immortal losing his love to old age in 1201. She vows to find some way to return to him. In 2005, Nadia is a writer who is dreaming about a man she’s never met. She’s shocked to see him take form in the guise of the enigmatic recluse, Charles Poitier, who plans on finally making his love immortal like him. What this story suffers from is a sense of melodrama that leadens the story unnecessarily. Details like the tears of blood are more worthy of eye rolling than genuine emotion, and sentences like, “…his mesmeric tone mesmerized her,” make the story seem amateurish.

Things don’t improve very much with Christy Poff’s “Masked Desires.” Set in New Orleans, this is the story of Ava Clinton and her boss. Ava is Matthew Lord’s personal assistant, and has had the hots for him for quite a while. Unbeknownst to her, he feels the same way, and sets out to seduce her at his family’s annual Mardi Gras bash. Nothing new here, though the heroine is even more stupid than they usually come in stories like this. The ball is a masked affair, and yet, when Matt asks her to dance and talks to her afterward, she doesn’t recognize his voice, even though she has been his personal assistant for months, and even traveled with him on business. Unbelievable. Oh, and let’s not forget the heroine’s ability to accurately predict when she gets pregnant as they’re having sex. Because it feels different, she says. She does this not once, but twice, but by the time the second time rolled around, I didn’t care anymore.

The weakest of the anthology is “Knock Three Times” by Honey Jans. Chemise finds a lamp in her aunt’s safe and rubs it to have a man pop out. Not a genie, he is clear to tell her, though he can still do nifty tricks like make all her clothes disappear with a wave of his hand. There’s something about him being a servant to Isis, and somebody else named Zander who’s after him, but honestly, the plot in this is such a garbled mess that that’s all I can tell you.

The final story is “Spanish Lullaby” by Emma Wildes. In 1815, Carlos Verde has returned to his English home after being away at war for four years. The woman he left behind has grown up and is now engaged to someone else, but his feelings haven’t changed. He seduces her, but that’s not quite enough when she flees from him afterward. But this is a battle he refuses to lose. After the very disappointing previous stories, I didn’t have high hopes for this one. I was pleasantly surprised then to get sucked into Wildes’ finely detailed world-building and her war-separated lovers. Carlos is endearing, while Juliet is strong without being overbearing. The emotional arcs for both characters are rich and believable. It’s easy to root for both of them as they struggle to get past their previous roots. Their romance was, by far, the most powerful and engaging of the lot. It was an excellent way to conclude the anthology.

Readability	7/10 – Mostly solid editing, the stories that end up detracting here do so because of voice rather than technical issues
Romance	6/10 – Only two of the six stories followed through on the promise of believable romance.
Characterization	6/10 – The weakest aspect of the entire anthology. Most fall short in creating credible characters.
Entertainment value	6/10 – I would only seek out two of these authors again.
World building	7/10 – Many risks the authors take actually pay off.
TOTAL:	32/50