Series: Yes - name?
Author: Keta Diablo
Published: May 2011, Keta Diablo
Format: Ebook provided for review
With visions of battle still fresh in his mind, Roane Bradfield returns home to find the woman he loves betrothed to another. He corners Kendrick Moreland at Dowager Huggins’ Grand Ball and whisks her into the secluded library. One way or the other, he will know the reason the duplicitous beauty cut him from her life when she promised to wait forever.
Oh, Kendrick was a cool witch. She wouldn’t be when he finished with her, took her down a notch, made her suffer as he had suffered. In his mind, the battlefield surfaced—the stench of death, the acrid smoke from the howitzers, and the blood-drenched soldiers searching the ground for lost limbs. He placed his hands behind his back so she wouldn’t see the onset of tremors. The affliction would pass soon and he didn’t want her pity. He wanted her, needed to taste every inch of her delectable skin, suck the tongue from her luscious mouth and bury himself deep inside her.
Keta Diablo is one of those authors that makes me enjoy a genre I don't normally read - historical romance. Really, I stay away from the genre on the whole. And this book even has something else I'm not a fan of - time travel. You'd think this was a losing battle, right? Wrong. I've read Keta Diablo's writing before, and I knew I was in for a treat.
Cradle of Dreams is the first book in a series of three, I believe. It's not even very long, around 50 pages. But in that short amount of time, this author was able to make me care about several characters.... and a cat. Quite a feat, indeed.
Kendra watches over a store for Mrs. Higgins, an elderly but wise woman. Mrs. Higgins was funny and caring, and I get the feeling that she knows more than she even lets on. On one particular day her cat, Miss Calypso, is being a rascal and Kendra runs after her. Something happens, and we are transported to the past where we meet Roane and Kendrick.
Kendrick is a regal woman of the south. Prim and proper, but on the inside something a bit more fierce lives. Or at least it did, until her lover was killed in battle. Now she is with someone else, and Roane has returned - obviously alive and well. Does he want her back? Does he get her back? What will she do when she realizes he didn't die? I was anxious with questions!
This story was very engaging, from beginning to end. I felt the characters emotions quite clearly; everything from wonder to romance to arousal, and even a bit of hatred. Obviously, it's not a long story, but it doesn't feel like you are reading just a few pages. On the contrary, Keta was able to transport me back to 1865 with just a few words, and I felt like I was at the ball - and I wished I was in the library rather than Kendrick. Roane proved himself to be quite the Alpha man: see - want - take. Dirty talk and heated sex, things you surely wouldn't expect kept me glued to my Kindle. Kendrick felt like she was a woman brought back to life herself when she was near Roane, and that had me positively giddy.
I have a review for the sequel to this book, Whisper of Dreams, coming up. I can tell you right now, it's every bit as awesome as Cradle of Dreams. If you are looking for something quick, steamy, romantic and quite enjoyable, you won't go wrong with these novellas.
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