Kissing Kin - Karen Hulene Bartell

Maeve Jackson is starting over after a broken engagement—and mustering out of the Army. No job and no prospects, she spins out on black ice and totals her car.

When struggling vintner Luke Kaylor stops to help, they discover they’re distantly related. On a shoestring budget to convert his vineyard into a winery, he makes her a deal: prune grapevines in exchange for room and board.

But forgotten diaries and a haunted cabin kickstart a five-generational mystery with ancestors that have bones to pick. As carnal urges propel them into each other’s arms, they wonder: Is their attraction physical…or metaphysical? 

My Review

Kissing Kin is not exactly what I expected. This is a romance story, but there are a few more things going on here than just that. It tells the story of Luke and Maeve who are very distantly related, hence the title kissing kin as this is a term for distant family I believe. Their ancestors have some unfinished business and after the two meet it's almost as though someone or something is trying to influence their behaviour.

I did get a little bit confused about the actual family relationship here. I think that it would have almost helped to have some kind of family tree in the beginning or end of the book to refer to, just to get it straight in my head. Not that it really matters in terms of the story, I would just like to know for my own interest.

I enjoyed the romance between these two. They did seem quite slow off the mark, there was lots of interest and tension with little done about it in the early stages. There's a lot of other things going on. Luke and Maeve make a great couple and they both handle the little disturbances and mysteries from their forebears really well. I'm not entirely sure when this is set or how old the characters are supposed to be as it did seem quite old-fashioned in some respects, especially in how they conduct their relationship.

This was a gripping read with lots going on. I really didn't expect or predict half of the things that happened, but I really enjoyed following the story.

Bio

Dr. Karen Hulene Bartell, author of Wild Rose Pass, The Keys: Voice of the Turtle, Christmas in Cahokia, Holy Water: Rule of Capture, Lone Star Christmas, Angels from Ashes, Christmas in Catalonia, Sacred Gift, Belize Navidad, Sacred Choices, and others, is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories steeped in the supernatural that lift the spirit. Dr. Bartell lives in the Texas Hill Country with her husband Peter and her "mews"—three rescued cats and a rescued CATahoula Leopard dog.

Heart of Darkness - Kay Doherty

Hearts of Destiny by Kay Doherty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is quite a short and quick read, but that doesn't mean that there's not a lot happening. This is book four in the series and I suspect that there has been a lot of world-building and explanation in previous books. I think that I managed to get the gist of things in this book, although there is plenty of reference to characters who must have appeared in previous books and had their romance told.
I liked both Matthias and Ean (pronounced like Ian? I'm not sure but that's what I went with in my head). For the most part their romance was good, with Matthias rejecting Ean to begin with and trying to deny his feelings, but ultimately doing the right thing. I wasn't entirely convinced or onboard with Matthias keeping calling Ean 'little boy' but I think that it was meant as a counter to being called 'old man' but I would have prefered if he hadn't. Context is everything, but you still can't escape the negative connotations, even if they weren't meant.
I think that this is one that would work better had you read the rest in the series, but I still enjoyed it. I should perhaps go back to the beginning and start there for a real feel for it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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A Game of Wings and Marks - Rebecca Crunden

A Game of Wings and Marks by Rebecca Crunden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't know what I would really classify this as, as strange as that might sound. While it is a romance with paranormal or supernatural themes, I'm not completely convinced that it fully fits that genre. In many ways, it has more of a fantasy feel than anything. While there is a love story in here and the heroine gets her man, in many ways, that doesn't feel like the main drive of the story.
I think my reason for saying that, is perhaps that there are two males (one being a demon and the other an angel, I don't think that 'men' would be the right term) who are interested in her. I won't tell you who she ends up with, but I personally liked the demon Zev more than angel Raphael. We see far more of Zev and he is quite an interesting character, much more willing to bend the rules and make things happen his way. Raphael is a far more steady character. Admittedly he is torn between his feelings for Octavia and his need to stick to the rules, but he just lacks the mischievous edge that Zev has.
I really enjoyed this read and read it fairly quickly, mostly because I wanted to see how it would all pan out. In many ways, the storyline was almost as though it was set up for future stories in that world, I don't know if that was the case or not? I'd certainly be interested in reading more from this interesting world.

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