The House of Silver Oak by Nix Winter --here-- is an amazing story that I was fortunate enough, along with several other members from Ethan Day's Yahoo group, to get a copy of from the author. I've read a few of Nix's books and really enjoyed them; but this one I absolutely loved! In Nix's books, that I've read, there's been an underlying sense of mischief that pervades the story, usually associated with one of the characters. In The House of Silver Oak the mischievous character is Shelly Comstock-Gray. His interactions with the other main character / hero, Cain Hardrain, really make this story sparkle and add a humour that is wielded with a deft touch.
Then there's the eerie mystery of just what it is to be feared in the cellar... and who was responsible for the deaths of Shelly, his brother and his brother's fiancée? I was kept on tenterhooks throughout the book and couldn't wait to get to the answers. But then I was disappointed that I'd come to the end.
There is a spookiness to the story that is wonderfully balanced by the humour. The cast of characters is bigger than I expected and the intricacies of the various connections is quite stunning. Everything, everything, works so marvellously together and I hope that this book gains a wide audience... it is very deserving of such.
Oh and not only is NIx Winter a fantastic author, but Nix is also a stellar artist. Nix has done many covers for other ebooks and, if I'm not mistaken, is the creator of the beautiful and haunting cover for The House of Silver Oak. Multi-talented is the least I can say!
If you enjoy ghost stories, murder mysteries, romances and sexy man-on-man loving, then I strongly urge you to check this book out. And don't delay!
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Summary:
Cain's problems didn't get smaller in Iraq.
Whiskey doesn't fix anything long enough.
His last chance gets him a job as a caretaker for an old mansion.
It comes with more ghosts than he had before.
Don't go in the cellar.
A hundred years before a triple homicide made the house notorious.
Shelly Comstock-Gray is still the celebrated murder suspect.
Cain can't believe the smiling, cheerful ghost hurt anyone.
Mistakes can be deadly.
Don't go in the cellar.
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BUY BOOK
This book has, to my embarrassment, been sitting in my TBR for a couple, or perhaps even more, months. And now I'm kicking myself because this story is out-and-out fabulous and a book that I would have already re-read.
Windows in Time is a story so rich in detail, characters, scenes... just everything, that you would always discover another nugget of gold, another delicious tidbit of knowledge, something that would make a re-read almost as fresh as the first time. Of course this would probably work better for people who really enjoy re-reading, but even so....
There are just so many parts of the book about which I could rave; I could also go on ad infinitum... but I won't. Instead I'll mention just how fascinating I found the basic premise, the mystery of who, what and where. Windows in Time is an amalgamation of two separate, by 50 years!, but also closely related, stories. How M. Jules Aedin did this in such a seamless and compelling manner leaves me in awe of her talent.
Then there are the subtle connections between the past and the present that really give me a good case of goosebumps... over and over again.
The gradual, or perhaps not-so-gradual, development of the relationships between the men.
Truly spell-binding this is a ghost story, a fantastic mystery and a beautiful romance, or two, all entwined to create a tale that will live on in my mind for a long time to come.
At least until I read it again... or get an opportunity to buy a print version.
Fabulous, truly fabulous...and I hope that there are many more stories from the pen of M. Jules Aedin. I'll be there!
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Book info:
M. Jules Aedin; Windows in Time; Dreamspinner Press; August 2009
Book Description:
Fate added injury to insult when Jonah Sellers’s live-in boyfriend left him: while moving out his ex’s belongings, Jonah fell down the stairs and broke his leg. Now his house is a prison, and he's working from home while his sister checks up on him. The only diversion in Jonah’s routine is catching the odd glimpse of a man in the apartment across the way taking off his clothes in front of the window.
But then Jonah is distracted by Liam Brooks, the nurse his sister sends over when she goes on vacation. As they dance around their growing attraction, Jonah and Liam begin to wonder about the man in the window. Why is he always dressed in the same clothes? Why is he there one minute and not the next? How is it that he lives in an old woman's apartment? It's while trying to answer these questions that they stumble across a fifty-year-old missing persons case they can't resist trying to solve.
I read this story almost a year ago and the review shortly thereafter. Scrolling through my ebooks I chanced upon it again and was taken right back. Oh my heavens... this book is heading for a re-read just because I loved it so much. I laughed, then laughed some more because Jennifer L. Hart has created a character in Maggie Phillips that is hard to forget... and following her in this story Adventures of the Laundry Hag: Skeletons in the Closet was super-funny and always, always enjoyable. And according to one of her Twitter posts, Laundry Hag 2 is in the works... Oh MAN, I hope it's out soon! I'm so going to be there to get my copy! The review below is the original from last October 23 from my eHarlequin blog... but I definitely wanted to post it so that maybe a few more people will check it out....
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I chanced upon this book through one of those coincidences that really makes me wonder. When I read the blurb about the story, I just had to get it; the humour was reason enough... and I do enjoy a great mystery. So when I finally had a chance to read it, I was totally taken by surprise. This is one first-rate story by an author that now has my full attention! Yowza.... All I can say is I dearly hope that Jennifer L. Hart has more Laundry Hag stories to come. Not only do I want to see just what Maggie gets into, I'd love to get more of a backward look at her life. Just how did she come to meet and marry her luscious SEAL, Neil and become mom to his two very young sons? And c'mon... Sylvia? She's a character and a half that lady... and Leopold has more than enough charm for a roomful of people.
So, please.... MORE Laundry Hag stories... otherwise I may not be accountable for the weeping and wailing that would ensue.
Rating
Excellence: Excellent to Outstanding ~ 4.5 stars of 5
Book Info
Jennifer L. Hart; The Misadventures of the Laundry Hag: Skeletons in the Closet; Wild Child Publishing; 2008
Book Description
Maggie Phillips hasn't had it easy. As the wife of a retired Navy SEAL and the adoptive mother of two little hellions, Maggie is constantly seeking new ways to improve her family's financial situation. She accepts a cleaning position for her new neighbors (who redefine the term 'eccentric'), never imagining she will end up as the sole alibi for a man with a fascination for medieval torture devices when he is brought up on murder charges.
While Maggie struggles to prove the man's innocence, her deadbeat brother arrives, determined to sell Maggie and Neil on his next great scheme and to mooch with a vengeance. If that isn't bad enough, her in-laws (cutthroat corporate attorneys), descend on the house, armed with disapproval and condemnation for the family's annual Thanksgiving celebration.
As the police investigation intensifies, Maggie searches for the killer among the upper echelon of Hudson, Massachusetts, in the only way she can--by scrubbing their thrones.
Of the porcelain variety, that is....
