Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aiden

This is actually a trilogy consisting of An Assembly Such as This Duty and Desire and These Three Remain

If anyone was ever wondering just what was going on in Mr. Darcy's head during Pride and Prejudice, Pamela Aiden gives us a wonderful look inside that august man's head.

Starting off the night of the Assembly where Mr. Darcy and the Bingleys and Hursts descend on Meryton society, Ms Aiden takes us through the journey of Darcy's growing love for Elizabeth and the warring emotions of duty and desire that follow until his final realization of his love and the resulting rejection and rebuilding of his character.

Achingly lovely at times as well as frustratingly beautiful (you want to kick Darcy sometimes but you can't because the book is just so well crafted. *G*) this trilogy is a wonderful testament to the enduring Jane Austen. Ms. Aiden does a spectacular job of making the characters real as well as invoking the spirit of Ms. Austen so that you feel you actually ARE reading a true account of what Darcy was thinking in Jane's head as she was writing.

5 of 5 berries. I can't wait to have my very own copies of these.

Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)

Eve Dallas is back. Literally. In the last few "In Death" novels, it felt like Roarke was shouldering more of the burden of cop work than actually being Roarke.

But no more.

Ms Roberts is back in good form with Strangers in Death. No longer is Roarke in every little detail of the investigation. No longer do you have the strange (heh) asides into the killer's "mind". No longer do you have the disjointedness of the last few novels. (All of which were good...but...)

Eve is called in on the homicide of a prominent figure in society. The murder has been set up to look like a sex interlude gone wrong. Eve doesn't buy it as several things don't jell up for her.

Early on in the book, you find out that Eve has a bead on just who the killer is. The rest of the book is spent watching as Eve and Peabody (gotta love Peabody!) find the evidence that will bring the killer to justice.

Plenty of dark moments. Plenty of steaming hot moments. And even plenty of fun laugh out loud moments.

Yes, Eve is back. And she proves once again just who is the "top bitch cop" in mystery fiction these days.

4.5 out of 5 berries.

Marked: House of Night #1 by P C Cast and Kristen Cast

Lovely haunting novel by the author of Divine by Mistake and her daughter, Kristen.

Marked starts out with Zoey Redbird being marked by a Vampyre "tracker" while she's standing at her locker with her best friend. Immediately, the mark appears and Zoey is already condemned to being a freak by those who were, seconds ago, the closest friends she had.

Being marked means that Zoey will have to go to the House of Night, a vampyre school where fledglings are taught vampyre history (and sociology) and also where the young fledglings either take to the change or die.

You see, in Marked, when you are chosen by the Goddess Nyx (Goddess of the night) to become a vampyre, your DNA begins to change. If you aren't in the company of elder Vampyers, you will sicken and die. And even in the presence of those Adult vampyers, some still sicken and die.

Zoey fears the change at first and runs to her Cherokee Grandmother's Lavender farm where she, Zoey, comes face to face with the Goddess Nyx and receives more than just the outline of the crescent, she receives a full mark. Unheard of in a new fledgling and a sign that her powers are strong, Zoey becomes a curiosity for the new students which makes her apart from the crowd while bringing her close to those who will help her most in her journey.

The story really moves quickly and, at times, feels a bit rushed. You want the story to linger because the world that the Misses Cast have created feels familiar, comforting even while it feels alien.

All in all, a great start to what I hope will be a VERY long series. I really enjoyed this one.

Giving it 4.5 out of 5 berries.