The Magnificent Seven Movie

Oh, I was so happy to see this trailer! I loved the original movie, remember watching it with my dad. This looks like it has all the action, humor and western grit that I love in my western movies as well as western romances.

The movie is not out until this fall so until then you could get in the mood by reading a western romance, or six. I'd recommend The Rock Creek Six series by Lori Handeland and Linda Devlin aka Linda Winstead Jones. This series is a lot of fun. I enjoyed every book, some more than others.

And it stars Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt!

Review: Lucky's Woman

Title: Lucky's Woman
Author: Linda Winstead Jones
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Last Chance Heroes/Book 4
Published September 2006
Silhouette Intimate Moments
Year of the Category Challenge

From the back cover:

She saw a killer in her dreams...

Annie Lockhart's colorful exterior concealed a serious psychic ability. And if her latest visions were true, a serial killer was preying on couples deeply in love. She had been burned by her talents before, so instead of going to the police, she hired private investigator Lucky Santana to find the killer.

Even though Lucky wasn't sure about this assignment, Annie drove him crazy, in more ways than one…which made their task all the more torturous: Annie and Lucky set out to look like a happy couple. As their faux relationship turned all too real and passionate, the killer came in for one last deadly showdown.

This is the second book I've read by this author and it makes me want to try more of her work. Maybe some of her full-length novels. The writing has an intrinsic flow, not stalling out at any one plot point. The story kept my interest enough to make this a very quick read.

Annie has dreams, vivid dreams of murder and death. She's tried to do the right thing in the past but going to the police turned out to be a disaster. When the dreams start up again she decides to hire a private investigator to help find out who the murderer is.

Annie went through hell five years ago when she dreamed of murder. She thought going to the police was the answer. Instead she was ostracized to the point that she moved from Nashville to the smaller town of Mercerville, TN. She owns and runs two shops called Annie's Closet that sells one of a kind hats and handbags. She loves designing hats and bags and has found her niche in the beautiful town. The last thing she wants to do is have to move again.

Lucky Santana is prepared to take a statement from Annie and be done with the case. He figures she's nuts and doesn't want to waste time listening to some crazy lady. But it turns out that Annie isn't crazy and Lucky soon finds himself deeply involved in Annie's effort to find the murderer.

Lucky is a hero who has a soft spot for women in trouble. He starts out very skeptical of Annie and her abilities. Even after he experiences proof of her psychic talent he still continues to try to solve the murders and find the killer through conventional methods. While he poses as Annie's love interest he also has a chance to get to know her far better than he planned.

I liked the way Annie and Lucky interacted. Even when the spark of attraction was there Lucky still held back and Annie still treated her growing attraction for Lucky as secondary to finding the murderer. That's not to say that they didn't do something about the attraction but it didn't completely overshadow the original reason for the two being together in the first place.

Lucky and Annie both have issue from their pasts to overcome and Winstead Jones deals with them in a way that doesn't come off as phony. The suspense was also well written and genuine. I hate it when I figure out who the killer is long before the hero/heroine do, when it's suppose to be concealed until the dramatic end.

Lucky's Woman was a quick, enjoyable read. It's part of the Last Chance Heroes series from Silhouette but IMO can be read as a stand alone. Since it and others in the series were published a few years ago the best chance of finding it is in UBS or Paperbackswap.

Linda Winstead Jones has also written under the name Linda Jones. Her website is a bit sparse but there is info on her previous and current releases.

Rating: B+

Quickie Review: The Magical Christmas Cat

Title: The Magical Christmas Cat
Authors: Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh, Linda Winstead Jones
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: The Breeds by Lora Leigh & The Psy/Changlings by Nalini Singh

The Magical Christmas Cat is an anthology with four stories by four different authors. I've read Lora Leigh and her Breed series and also Nalini Singh and her Psy/Changling series. I enjoy both series and that's why I wanted to read this book. This was my first read by Linda Winstead Jones and I've read Fallen by Erin McCarthy.

Stroke of Enticement by Nalini Singh

This first story was about Zach Quinn, a DarkRiver soldier, and Annie Kildaire, a teacher at a school where some of the students are Changlings. Zach is the uncle of one of Annie's students and comes to take his nephew home after the boy gets into a fight. The sparks begin when Annie and Zach meet and continue through the story. This was a beautiful addition to the series. I don't think Singh is capable of writing a bad romance. She is able to pack so much information, so much "story" into the shortened format and still leave you feeling satisfied.

Rating: A

Christmas Bree by Erin McCarthy

This is about Bree Murphy who is one of three sisters that are witches. Bree's younger sister Abby predicts Bree will meet a lawyer wearing a pink shirt. Totally not Bree's type. But who shows up at the door? Ian, who is a lawyer and guess what he's wearing. Yep, a pink shirt. Bree and Ian seem an unlikely pair but they soon come to know each other and realize they were meant to be together. These two opposites attracted in a big way. It was a quick, cute read but didn't leave me wanting to read the next Murphy sister's story.

Rating: B

Sweet Dreams by Linda Winstead Jones

Ruby attends the annual Christmas party on her street and has the misfortune of being the Secret Santa for Zane Benedict, her new neighbor. Zane is an attractive guy if a bit odd. Ruby and Zane find themselves together due to some scary goings on at Ruby's house. There is a little mystery of who Zane really is and his connection to Ruby. It was an interesting story but I would have like to have it in a longer format. Definitely will be reading more of Ms. Winstead Jones.

Rating: B+

Christmas Heat by Lora Leigh

The last story is about Noble Chavin, a Jaguar breed, and Haley McQuire who is a librarian. If you've read any of Lora Leigh's Breed books you know what to expect. There are some appearances by Breeds from previous books and some new Breed characters are introduced. Overall, Noble and Haley's story was similar to other Breed stories with the initial attraction, the hunt and the taming. A decent addition to the Breed world.

Rating: B+

Just curious ~ did anyone else notice the phallic symbol on the cover?