Xenia Navarre Historical Romance

Set in Mediterranean France and written in the 1950s, this classic spy thriller is the first-ever adventure of MI6 secret agent 007 James Bond. For fans of the recent movie starring Daniel Craig, the book is a particular treat, despite the many areas of divergence between book and screenplay. In the movie version of Bond that has evolved over the past fifty years, the super-spy has generally been known for his stylishness, flair and panache. However, in Fleming’s original portrayal from CASINO ROYALE, Bond is considerably less flashy. He fails to notice key clues, escapes death only by coincidence, and triumphs over the villain (a rather grotesque and thuggish Le Chiffre, vastly unlike the polished prodigy played by Mads Mikkelson in the film) only through the circumstantial offices of a third party.

In addition, many events which were dramatized visually in the film are presented much less colorfully in the book. For example, in the book, the heroine Vesper Lynd leaves a lengthy suicide note which explains the treachery and deception that Bond must deduce for himself–via several scenes of high drama–in the movie. In the book, Vesper dies of an overdose of sleeping pills, rather than perishing colorfully amid explosions and plunging elevators in picturesque Venice, as in the movie. Also, of course, the 1950s literary version of Bond is far from politically correct. As Fleming explains, the spy’s sexual interest in the elusive Vesper is not only due to her remoteness, but “because of the central privacy in her, [a sexual conquest] would each time have the sweet tang of rape.”

For a writer, it’s fascinating to consider how the literary Bond has evolved to suit both 21st century mores and the medium of film. One of the few lines lifted directly from the book into the movie captures this dichotomy, when Bond says, “A Double 0 number in our Service means you’ve had to kill a chap in cold blood in the course of some job…. The villains and heroes get all mixed up.” The Bond I grew up with in the 1970s and 80s was Roger Moore, who played a dapper, wise-cracking, almost foppish spy, a vast departure from the gruff character conceived by Fleming thirty years earlier. In the 1990s, Pierce Brosnan brought us an elegant and aristocratic Bond, chilly yet still delighting in a certain acerbic wit. In a way, the ruthless, rough-edged and ice-cold killer portrayed by Daniel Craig in the 21st century has brought Bond full circle, back to the hard-boiled and humorless agent presented by Fleming in the ’50s as “taciturn, ironical, brutal and cold.”

I found the book to be less colorfully violent than the movie, yet surprisingly sensual for a thriller written 50 years ago by a man. Anyone who loved the film should take a gander at the book, less for the similarities than for the fascinating differences between the original and the film adaptation.

Set in small-town Maine, this dark psychological suspense delves into the secrets that have tortured and destroyed three generations of the Chambers family. Haunted by a hidden act of betrayal, adultery and murder that took place thirteen years ago, thirty-something artist Ellen Chambers suffers in silence day by day, watching her teenage daughter and beloved husband drift ever farther away. When Ellen’s attractive and charismatic nephew Neal returns to town, his obsessive need for revenge against Ellen and all her family drags these long-buried secrets into the open. At first, Ellen is sexually drawn to Neal, but as his horrific intentions become clearer, she realizes she’s the only one who can stop him, before she and her loved ones must pay the ultimate price.

SO much in this book for a novice suspense writer to admire and learn from. The first quarter of the story patiently spins out the individual threads that lead to tragedy, then weaves them together, quite unexpectedly, to form a tapestry of terrible truth. As the story develops, it continually turns on its head the facts we thought we knew, avoiding cliché and sparking surprise with every new twist. The build-up of tension never lets up, the stakes mounting with each successive climax in a classic three-act plot structure, as Ellen fights to protect her daughter and herself from a killer who will stop at nothing to destroy them.

As one would expect from the subject matter, this is a sensual story, peppered with necessary but harrowing acts of violence from a few genuinely creepy villains. But justice is served in the end, as the story comes to a very satisfying finish. Fans of intricate, twisty, psychologically complex suspense and other dark fiction should enjoy this one. Xenia herself raced through it over a span of 36 hours on a business trip–a compulsively readable tale!

This sleek, sexy romantic suspense is set in modern-day North Africa and London. Elegant master-spy/assassin Isobel Lambert’s first love was also her first kill—-or so she thought. But Isobel’s world is turned upside-down when her long-ago first kill resurfaces as Josef Serafin, the unsavory prop of terrorists, drug smugglers and rogue states, and he’s ready to sell out his bad-guy bosses in exchange for Isobel’s protection. Eighteen years after his first deadly betrayal, Isobel’s powerful attraction to Serafin is as unwelcome as it is dangerous. Because a leak deep inside Isobel’s top-secret agency has the pair fleeing for their lives, and both of them are now targets of a professional killer even more hardened and ruthless than they are.

This book more than lived up to the promise of the series kick-off, BLACK ICE, which I read immediately before this. Now I’m in the process of compulsively reading Stuart’s entire “Ice” series! In this particular book, not only is the assassin hero SO scary-sexy, but the heroine herself is a legendary assassin. Yet she’s a woman of principle, whom the reader understands and likes, and looking for a way out of the spy business. This is the first romance I’ve read with an assassin-heroine–which is significant because I’ve written one myself in my Tudor-set DEVIL’S MISTRESS. Making such a heroine likeable is a particular challenge, I can tell you.

Finding Anne Stuart’s work gave me such a thrill! And the dark, intense, international intrigue-flavor of the story is perfectly targeted for this reader! I’m now immersed in reading the entire series back-to-back, and watching how the author makes these very dark heroes and heroines work, how the suspense is interwoven with the romance, how brief yet hot the sex scenes are—and how the overall romance is sleek and sexy without being either cold or cloying. If I could write this well in the genre, I’d be very well satisfied.

I’d highly recommend any of Anne Stuart’s “Ice” books for fans of romantic suspense, international intrigue, and very dark heroes. The violence and sex are both handled tastefully. This is the best romantic suspense I’ve read in a very long time!

This literary historical novel, set in 1830s New England, is the highly colorful and appealing story of Una, the wife of the vengeful Captain Ahab from Melville’s MOBY DICK. What a delight it was to read this story! Told from Una’s unique point of view, this tale of female empowerment and adventure on the high seas is interwoven with a strong message of tolerance. Over the course of this meaty tome, Una is transformed from an athiestic child raised by a strict Kentucky Christian to a strong, independent woman with a powerful sense of spirituality. Throughout the course of her remarkable life, Una grows to adulthood while living in a New England lighthouse, runs away to sea disguised as a cabin boy, is shipwrecked and forced to resort to cannibalism, is rescued and married to a fellow survivor who subsequently becomes a raving madman, then is divorced and remarried to Ahab, with whom she enjoys a deeply satisfying spiritual and physical relationship that results in a child before Ahab loses his leg—a loss which becomes the engine of his inevitable destruction. While grieving for Ahab’s loss and raising her son, Una develops bonds of respect and friendship with prominent writers, scientists and abolitionists including Frederick Douglass and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Her spiritual desert is eventually watered from the spring of transcendentalism, which fuels her healing and her ultimately successful search for happiness.

This book astonished me utterly! I am sometimes not the first reader to pick up a literary novel, as I demand a strong narrative thread, brisk pacing, and a happy ending from my reads. Nonetheless, I LOVED this book, in part because the story IS driven by a strong narrative and dynamic, sympathetic, heroic characters. The fascinating friends Una embraces, the very different men she loves, the traumas of every kind she survives, the beautiful, restrained and dignified words used to tell the story, and Una’s own passion are remarkable. I sucked down this 650-page book in about four days-—astounded and delighted in every way. For me, this was a book worth buying and owning, for the pleasure of reading it again and again.

I heartily recommend this read for fans of historical fiction, and for anyone who enjoys stories of nineteenth century seafaring, thoughtful romance, and the brisk, salty wind of a New England-set narrative. Difficult issues (i.e. cannibalism) are treated with sensitivity and grace, and the sexual aspect of love is handled with discretion. For me, AHAB’S WIFE was an excellent example of a literary historical novel with strong commercial appeal–similar to Arthur Golden’s MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, which is another favorite of Xenia’s.

BTW, AHAB’S WIFE inspired me to run out and rent MOBY DICK with Patrick Stuart, which was a nice, enjoyable way to absorb Melville’s story. And I think it’s a credit to how well-drawn Una’s passion for Ahab was in AHAB’S WIFE that, in this particular movie, Patrick Stuart as Ahab made me pant! Holy great white whales, he was sexy in this one…

This urban fantasy series is set in an imaginative, fun yet spooky near-future Cincinnati, and it’s ever so good. Since the Turn, the witches, vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures hiding for centuries among the human population have shed their disguises and come out to play. Earth witch Rachel Morgan is a runner–a freelance private eye/bodyguard who lives with her vampire-partner Ivy, the spunky four-inch pixy Jenks and his dozens of fairy children in a converted church. In this novel, the sixth in a powerful and ever-evolving series, Rachel must strike a deal with her archenemy, the vengeful demon Algaliarept, to save her loved ones from a chilling fate. At the same time, she discovers the surprising truth about her own unique magic.

LOVE this series. It’s this author who showed me that I do enjoy urban fantasy, after my initial misgivings about the genre. Always fresh and lively without being trite or cute, these books are animated with very unique and conflicted characters, a bright and vivid (but not obnoxious or belligerent) voice, and a flawed yet likeable heroine. And who ever knew that a terrifying demon could be oh so sexy? A demon in Georgian-era velvet and lace, with fire-red eyes and godlike powers…Lord have mercy!

This series really launched me into reading urban fantasy, and it’s a good “starter series” for those interested in checking out the genre, as well as established urban fantasy fans. Scary and sexy, without being graphically violent or pornographic. Start with the first book in the series, DEAD WITCH WALKING, for maximum effect.

Xenia is delighted to report that she has spent her entire weekend happily buried in this book! I do like so much this marvelously imagined series, an alternate history with fantasy elements which takes a look at what the Napoleonic wars might have been like—-with dragons!

A brilliant cross between Jane Austen and Anne McCaffrey, THRONE OF JADE is the continuing epic of British naval captain William Laurence and his extraordinary Chinese Celestial dragon Temeraire. In the first book of the series, HIS MAJESTY’S DRAGON, the pair unexpectedly bonded when Laurence’s ship rescued the dragon’s egg from Napoleon’s clutches on the verge of hatching. In this sequel, the outraged Chinese demand the rare dragon’s return, but Temeraire will only oblige if Laurence is permitted to accompany him to China. During their long ocean voyage and subsequent adventures in Canton and Peking, the machinations of Imperial political factions result in several increasingly bold assassination attempts against Laurence. Temeraire and his beloved companion must find out who wants Laurence dead, and find a way to persuade the Chinese Emperor that this foreign barbarian and his rare Celestial dragon belong together.

While submerging myself in this delightful read, I paid particular attention to the author’s voice–which does indeed have strong overtones of Jane Austen, and it’s marvelous to me that a series written in this style can achieve such broad commercial success. Both main characters are highly appealing, and the affectionate bond between them is powerfully endearing. Once again, the original, well-researched and executed scenes of naval warfare with dragons steal the show. Think what the movie “Master and Commander” would have looked like, if crossed with The Dragons of Pern! There is a great deal to praise in these heartening novels.

I would recommend this series to lovers of Jane Austen, military (particularly naval) history, fans of Anne McCaffrey and other complex, dragon-inhabited fantasy worlds. These books are a completely unique reading experience! In this reader’s humble opinion, you won’t find any other stories out there which are even remotely like them.