REVIEWS ®
BOOKLIFE.COM54dtody of former soldier Liam North at the age
of 12, after her ambassador-turned-spy
father’s sudden death, which orphaned her.
Liam is 16 years Samantha’s senior and the
owner of a successful security business in
Texas’s Hill Country. By the time Samantha
is about to turn 18, Liam is also desperately
fighting his attraction to her, seeing her as
forbidden fruit. Samantha reciprocates his
feelings, but is afraid to show it—until he
walks in on her pleasuring herself. Warren
ratchets up the heat and sexual tension as
she weaves in hints of danger for Samantha,
including a nefarious driver who tries to
force her off the road and ends up dead. Both
the suspense plot and the several subplots
(including a pervy high school coach threat-
ening a minor character, the slow revelation
of how Samantha became placed in Liam’s
home, and the details of Liam’s abusive
childhood) are uneven in places. However,
Warren’s tortured, honorable hero will
break even the hardest of hearts. The story
ends on a cliffhanger of dubious believ-
ability, but Warren’s sympathetic charac-
ters and sizzling love scenes will likely
inspire dedicated erotic romance fans to
tune in for the next installment.
The Renaissance Club
(The Timegathering Series Book 1)
Rachel Dacus. Time Fold Books, $8.99 trade
paper (372p) ISBN 978-0-578-43382-0
Dacus’s debut is a delightful dance
between present-day and Renaissance Italy,
and will submerge readers in the art of
Bernini, Michelangelo, and more. May
Gold, a 26-year-old adjunct art history pro-
fessor from California, has joined her col-
leagues on their Renaissance club’s trip to
Italy, where they visit Assisi, Florence,
Rome, Siena, and Venice. When May meets
their tour guide, George St. James, she’s
pleased by his playful attitude and intrigued
by his hints about the malleability of time.
Even before the first day in Rome is fin-
ished, May is transported back to the
Renaissance and interacts with her idol,
Gianlorenzo Bernini, 500 years in the past.
She soon learns that she can slide effortlessly
between that past and her present, although
she isn’t certain how the time travel is
achieved. Her visits with the great sculptor
are often more satisfying than her current
life, where she’s dating a fellow professor
and her surly department head is plotting
to end her career. May, meanwhile, is more
inclined to pursue writing poetry than
remaining in academia, and Bernini
couldn’t agree more. This story of art and
artists across time is peppered with colorful
characters, sexy interludes, and instances of
poetic prose. It’s a perfect fit for art lovers
seeking a lovely to-and-fro escape through
time.Safe Passage
Rachel Ford. Rachel Ford, $4.99 e-book
(320p) ASIN B07NQL5XX9
Ford (the Time Travelling Taxman
books) launches an adventure series with
this fun and unexpectedly tender-hearted
novel featuring plucky space pirates in love.
Software engineer Kay Ellis is on the run
from the Conglomerate, a powerful orga-
nized crime syndicate for whom she
designed Deltaseal, the ultimate digital
security system. Knowing it’s only a matter
of time before the Conglomerate assassi-
nates her to protect their investment, Kay
accepts a rescue from Magdalene Landon,
fiery captain of the pirate vessel The Black
Flag, in exchange for the very information
the Conglomerate wants to destroy: how to
crack Deltaseal and rob them of trillions of
dollars. As she and the mixed-species crew
of The Black Flag plan their big heist, Kay
first bonds with shipmate Frank and then
discovers, to her surprise, that she’s falling
for Magdalene, who closed herself off after
the death of a previous lover. After Kay is
almost killed during an attempted kidnap-
ping, Magdalene realizes she can no longer
deny her interest in Kay. There’s no steamy
content on the page, making this a perfect
all-ages story for fans of space adventure.The Show Must Go On
Kate Karyus Quinn. Little Fish, $2.99 e-book
(334p) ASIN B07PQVY1CM
In Quinn’s quirky romantic comedy, a
not-quite-widowed woman falls for her
husband’s brother. Jenna is bummed when
the rights fall through for her stage codi-
recting debut, Dirty Annie (Annie with a
naughty twist). Her feelings are much more
complicated when Will O’Leary arrives
with the news that his older brother, Danny,
has awoken from a 12-year-long coma.
Danny and Jenna secretly got married rightbefore the accident that put him in the
coma, and she miscarried their baby shortly
after. Unable to cope, she fled, and has felt
guilty ever since. Now Danny, who thinks
it’s only been a year since the accident, is
asking for Jenna. Will wants to take her
back to Buffalo—and when Will and
Danny’s mother hears about Dirty Annie,
she invites the entire cast to perform for
Danny. So, with her friend’s gastrointesti-
nally challenged dog, Pippin, in tow, Jenna
sets out for home with the hunky Will.
Along the way, they rediscover a friendship
forged during Jenna and Danny’s not so
perfect relationship, delight in a shared love
of show tunes, and explore their smoldering
chemistry. There are plenty of funny
moments (the riotous production of Dirty
Annie is a highlight), but Quinn (Down with
the Shine) doesn’t sugarcoat Danny’s plight.
Readers won’t be able to resist Jenna’s bit-
tersweet and satisfying journey of the heart.Take the Late Train
Jack Messenger. Greyhound Press, $11.14
trade paper (278p) ISBN 978-0-244-41008-7
Messenger (Farewell Olympus) delivers a
thoughtful, impressive story of work and
marriage as seen through the eyes of an
increasingly unmoored English lit pro-
fessor. Stephen Ketley and his wife, Sarah,
have been married 10 years, but Sarah has
become distant while working on her latest
academic treatise. This isn’t really sur-
prising to Stephen, because he’s also an aca-
demic, and he has been distracted by his
own scholarly pursuits at a university in
Nottingham. However, after the couple
celebrates their 10th anniversary with
friends—rather than alone—Stephen senses
something is amiss. As he moves through
his days, he explores his feelings about his
wife and work and spends time with his
college-bound stepdaughter, his quirky
mother, and his wayward sister. Feeling out
of sorts, Stephen notices that he’s losing an
alarming amount of weight, and questions
of physical and mental health and his search
for contentment threaten to drive him to
distraction. The highlight of the book is the
fluid narration, as it moves through
Stephen’s thoughts on everything from his
empathy for Hamlet’s troubles to his gen-
uine concern for his stepdaughter’s well-
being. This ruminative story will satisfy