Jackie Kessler is a good writer. All the time I was reading The Road to Hell, I was thinking I hope she writes something else soon. However, this particular book wasn’t for me.

It’s not hugely surprising that it didn’t appeal to me. I’m not much of an urban fantasy fan and I’m really not keen on the sort of dry, arch first person POV employed by the heroine, so it was always going to be an uphill struggle for Kessler to win me over. Having said that, I have no doubt that there are lots of urban fantasy fans out there who will love Jesse’s voice. (Bam, for one, liked the first book in this series.

Before I get onto the reasons why I didn’t like The Road to Hell, let me indulge myself with a couple of examples of Kessler’s rather gorgeous prose, like this bit of the prologue:

As I die now, feeling strong arms holding me tight, hearing a voice whisper it’s okay, my mind plays back the events that set me on the road to Hell, good intentions and all. Faces flash behind my closed eyes, almost too fast to follow - the incubus’s fang-filled grin, the Erinyes hissing with reptilian fury, the angel crying fat, salty tears. My love, my White Knight, a name on his lips that isn’t mine…

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Grade: C-

Although historical romance is my thing, this is the first Mills & Boon historical I’ve read. I’ve not consciously avoided them. It’s just that when I’m in a bookshop or on Amazon, there’s always something else I want. Plus my supermarket only stocks contemporary categories so while I’ll pick up the odd Mills & Boon/Harlequin on impulse along with my bread and eggs, it’s always one from the Presents line.

However, having given poor reviews of a recent Presents and a (relatively) recent Blaze [Bam’s Note: This has not yet happened.], I thought I would give Mills & Boon /Harlequin one more go and try one of their historicals. There was lots of choice but in the end I picked this one because there was a Liz Carlyle quote on the back cover, indicating that this book was ‘…spellbinding and seductive - Deb Marlowe will enthrall you…’

So, did Deb Marlowe enthrall me? In a word, No. However, all in all, this book is a reasonably credible effort. It is liberally peppered with anachronistic language and behaviour but (and this may be unfair) I rather expected that of a Mills & Boon historical. The fact that I was prepared for that meant that I found it less irritating than I might otherwise have done.

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Grade: C+

Dear Bam,

You’ll have to forgive me. I know I’ve been delinquent of late, seeing as how I’ve been busy studying for the big exam [Ed. Note: Which she passed. Holla at yo gurl!] and *ahem* spawning, as you so eloquently put it to someone else. Since this is the case, I am stealing your fabulous review format (which I plan to use from now on, ’cause I’m a lazy bitch…and when you do something right it should be repeated often). Believe it or not, I have read a few books that had nothing to do with Taxation, Accounting or Corporate and Securities Law. While I know you would find reviews of those books scintillating, I’ve read Sasha White’s Trouble and will review that rather than Executive Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights. Everyone… don’t sigh with relief quite yet.

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Grade: C+

A few folks have emailed me asking me if I was going to review this book and here it is. Rejoice! If you’re expecting a rant where I totally lose my shit and promise never to read LKH again, you’re reading the wrong review. I don’t know if I’ve become immune to the ardeur or Anita’s many lovers or the editorial mistakes (there’s a HUGE one on page 238 that is an ENORMOUS CONTINUITY ERROR and makes a total liar of the earlier books of the series— but I was told this was merely a typo), but… you know, I did not experience frothing at the mouth while reading this entry to the Anita Blake series. My main reaction? Meh. For those of you who have read my LKH reviews, that’s a BIG improvement from “ZOMGWTFBBQ I HATE YOU LKH I WILL NEVER READ YOU AGAIN WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS I HATE YOU AND I HATE YOUR FACE!!!!!!!!1111!!” What I will tell you is how much I dreaded reading this book (though I pre-ordered it 8 months in advance— I’m sick, I need help) because I heard rumors that my favorite ice-cold sociopath Edward is going to be in it (he is!) and was afraid this is the book in which Anita and Edward will consummate their friendship (and let’s face it, Edward is the only hold-over from the earlier books that Anita has not yet had sex with or shoved out of her life). Let me just ease your mind (SPOILER!) and say… they don’t. There. Now you can breathe. As for the rest of the book… Meh. I was bored by all the politics and the sex and the standing-around-discussing-how-cool-Anita-is (and couldn’t be arsed enough to pay attention, so I may have one or fifty factual errors in this post), but for the first time since Narcissus in Chains, I am seeing the light of the end of the tunnel. It’s a very, very tiny, faint light… but it’s there! I mean, this book didn’t make me stick a knife into my eye or anything. You guys, I think the Anita Blake we knew and loved might be coming back…

Yes, I’m sick. I need help.

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Grade: C+

So here’s my second foray into manlove fiction. Previously, my only other experience with this came from author L.E. Bryce. In Here Be Dragons, T.A. Chase has written an urban fantasy wrapped around a love story.

Kael is a herpetologist hiding out from an abusive ex-lover in Ireland. In any event, he’s working slightly out of his field in a research lab for a total hottie named Hugh. Kael is a thin, gangly science geek and Hugh is just two hundred pounds of pure stud, so Kael figures Hugh would never give him a second look. Plus Kael has all kinds of emotional baggage from his former partner, Will, and he doesn’t think it would be good idea to get involved with his boss, even if Hugh wanted him. Which he doesn’t. Because who could ever love a loser like Kael?

Little does he know, Hugh pops wood anytime Kael walks into the room. Hugh is a pretty normal guy without any excess angst, although his brother is going through a messy divorce because his wife is a cheating whore. that leads me to my next point — I’m a little nonplussed by this book in some ways, however. There isn’t much in the way of healthy straight relationships found in the book. Kael’s coworker, Irene, appears to be in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend as well. Apart from Hugh, there’s a dearth of … normal people to balance out Kael’s emotional fragility. When too many supporting characters suffer from some crisis or other, it lessens some of the impact of what goes on with the protagonist. Hugh was the best part of the book, but I’m afraid he couldn’t carry it alone, and the story never captured my interest altogether.

Anyway, once you get past all that, it’s quite a sweet love story between Kael and Hugh, joined with an interesting retelling of a dragon myth. I won’t give too many details because I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone who might want to pick this up. If m/m erotic romance floats your boat, you’ll find Here Be Dragons scorching hot with its plentiful, well-written sex scenes.