Holiday Reviews...Assasin's Heart by Monica Burns

HOLY SMOLY! This Saturday is the day...its Christmas! With that terrifying thought (I still can't find a Kindle at Target for the husband who keeps stealing mine!) lodged in my brain threatening my sanity, I decided to take a breather and blog deliciously (and quickly) about a few of my favorite things...er, reads over the past few weeks. Enjoy...

I have major love for this series, having discovered it in my very first ARC tour. There is something beyond sexy about a secret order of the Sicari, assasins (but not in the evil, bad guy, assassin kinda way...think, sexy, Italian, and secretive in that way that somehow just lets you know you want to be held captive.) Okay, maybe I went a tad bit overboard. What can I say?

From Amazon.com:

The half-angel, half-demon face that telepathic Lysander sees in the mirror is a reminder of the monster he must keep hidden to avoid expulsion from an order of assassins. His dreams of ancient Rome hint at a destiny with the woman he loves, but can never have.

When the gifted healer Phaedra travels to Rome in search of a legendary artifact, she works alongside a man who once rejected her love and healing touch. But her dreams of ancient Rome tell of an irreversible and possibly dangerous future. For the distant past and present are about to collide-with the one man she is destined to love.

I've always been intrigued by the legends and tales that surround ancient Rome...even as I walked along the ancient streets when I visited, I would imagine all the people who walked the same steps before me and marvel at the layer upon layer of history evident in each and every stone and building, relic and church. (Even as I cringed at the MacDonald's on the corner. Yuck.) Monica Burns brought back those feelings of wonder and made them even better, from the sexy Sicari men (and women) and the intertwining of past and present, to the use of Latin and Italian peppered in to entice...and the food *groan*! (I felt like I was back in my Nana's kitchen watching my big hunky Uncles cook...nothing cuter than a bunch of men, trying to out do one another with their culinary skills!) Not only a fantastic PNR, but this series has stolen my heart. and imagination...

Lysander may be damaged on the outside, but Phaedra knows there's something more beneath the scars and coldness. In her dreams, the man she knows is there, loving her in every way possible. But in the harsh light of day, she still wants to reconcile what her heart knows with what her eyes and head witness. Will searching for a legendary artifact bring them closer together, or will secrets drive them farther apart? There was something about Phaedra in Assasin's Honor that made her one my favorite female characters. Sassy and strong are two of my favorite characteristics of a smart heroine, and I have to say, I kinda want to borrow her wardrobe. And, silly silly Lysander...some men just need a girl to give them a swift kick in the, well, you'll just have to read more for yourself to find out what happens next...

Assasin's Honor or I finally got an ARC!!!

From Amazon.com:

A sexy new adventure-packed romance with a paranormal twist-from the award-winning author. Archeologist Emma Zale sees the past when she touches relics. It's how she uncovered evidence of an ancient order of assassins-the Sicari. When a sinfully dark stranger shows up on her Chicago doorstep demanding an artifact she doesn't have, he drags her into a world where telekinesis and empaths-someone who can sense the emotions of others- are the norm. Now someone wants her dead, and her only hope of survival is an assassin who's every bit as dangerous to her body as he is to her heart.

(Note: Review material provided through Arc Tours and Amanda at Dark Faerie Tales, thanks Amanda!)

It's a Friday, I've just arrived home from a long day at work. You know the kind...just want to go home and put on anything else, get a cold bev, and sit in my gorgeously landscaped (if I do say so myself!) backyard. Then, my husband gets the mail.

And it all changes.

Silly, I know, but this is my first ARC and I REALLY wanted to read this one. Not knowing I had actually picked it up and had it in my hot little hands the night before, but had judiciously put down as to not leave the TBR piled neglected with yet another friend/competitor of my attention.

As you may or may not know, I love a good cover. And I usually start a series in the middle or pretty close to the end. So, to get an ARC with a bland ol' yellow cover...that starts at the BEGINNING?

Priceless...

I do in fact, get myself somewhat afore mentioned situation...but, I add Assassin's Honor and I begin...

Gleefully.

As I began, two things stand out. Immediately, the reader is immersed into Emma's world...the textures, the sand, the discovery...and then, the murder. Her colleague/family friend is murdered in the same horrific manner as her parents. All on their search for the mysterious Sicari, and order of assassins from the days of ancient Rome. An obsession Emma's tried to avoid as much as she can...

But, there's one...man...who'll change that. In so many ways...

Inner dialogue can go either way for me. At times, I feel I can be disconnected from the character, like she's shutting me out. Not the case here...it was as if I were inside experiencing Emma's thoughts and feelings (I even had a little whiskey with her...kinda...). Emma has a talent, if you will, for artifacts and even more mundane everyday objects. When she touches them, she experiences things that have either happened around the object or to its owner. She becomes immersed in the moments. So did I. It worked for me.

Oh, Ares...the head of the Sicari guild in Chicago, he finds and protects Emma from a fate similar to her parents. And himself. (Warning, steamy sexy powers here...just saying.)

The Sicari aren't what they seem. In more ways than one. (Tiny note, but one I really enjoyed...the use of swords versus guns...love this. It added elegance and grace....and just a spot or two *evil grin* of sexiness. Loved it.) A secret society full of mysterious people with so many talents and a rich history of ceremony. I found myself feeling as if I was there, experiencing every moment. It didn't feel contrived or "made up" which sometimes can happen when detail is overwhelming and out of control.

I'm definitely one of those readers who doesn't believe in spoilers, so you definitely won't get any here...but, suffice it to say, steaminess does ensue. All while on the hunt for the Tyset of Isis, a mysterious object (actually, there is so little known about it, no one really knows what it is) that the Sicari must find before their enemies do...

Do you think my first ARC experience was a success??? I do. This will definitely be in my library...and I can't wait for more....