Prince Charming

Rating:
Summary: This one earned a grade of B from me at All About Romance
Review: Though this book has a lot to offer, the best reason for reading it has to do w/its hero, Rafael de Fiore, who is presented on page one as the 1816 equivalent of late 20th century Euro-trash. If you enjoy romances of redemption, this is one you should go for. Heroes don't start out more selfish and vulgar than this, and yet, by the end, readers will adore him.

Rating:
Summary: Finale of the Ascension Trilogy
Review: TRILOGY IN SEQUEL: The Pirate Prince.....The Princess......The Prince Charming

We return to the finale of Gaelen Foley's make believe Isle of Acsencion and the Di Fiori family series. I admired the way she create such unique Island, surrounding it with real Spanish & Mediterranean countries, molding it with history and spicing it with adventure and dreamy romance. It's fast-phase, educational and heart soaring.

Raff and Dani's love story is a mixture of beauty and frustration. One minute, everything's dreamy, as it should be. Next thing you know, a hard twist ruins the fairy tale and into a nightmare. I have read all of G.F's work and she continue to amaze me. She knows how to weave stories that brings out different emotions of her readers. In this book, I specially fancy how Raff and Dani's relationship strenghtens through the obstacles they encountered. I also enjoyed Raff character. He was portrait as a carefree, nonchalant and rogue in PRINCESS. However, this was all a facade for deep down, he is somewhat bitter and insecure. So because of this, he's very much misunderstood by his people especially the elders in his father's council. Meanwhile, Daniela's destitute circumstances left her no choice but to take drastic measures in order to survive. She has responsibility to her ill grandfather and she also wants to help those who are poor and oppressed. That's when the famous MASK RIDER came to exist. Like Raff, Dani also lived her life with a facade. Courageous, strong, willfull in the outside yet scared and longing in the inside. Both needed each other to fill in their needs and weaknesses. Their initial heart pumping meeting and the heart warming father-son scene at the end is only a couple of my favorites... There is a lot more, of course.

There's two reasons why I didn't rate this book a five stars. One is my disappointments in Lazar and Allegra's parenthood. Both had so much love in them in THE P.P that I expected more of them as parents...For some reason their parenthood not only in this book but also in PRINCESS, became somewhat lacking. They are too involved with themselves and seems to take their children for granted. Second reason is that one unforgettable and utterly distasteful scene of Dani sitting in Raff's lap while he was caressing her - during a council meeting! To add fuel to the fire, Dani would interupt during the meeting demanding the council's respect for Raff. Oaaaakay! Perhaps this is to prove her loyalty towards Raff but heck, I find that scene disturbing, embarrasing and totally lack of good breeding. She acted as if she belonged there as a queen already and they aren't even married yet. I doubt even the Queen herself would degrade herself by sitting in the King's lap during a council meeting. I hated that part of the book. Totally lack of self respect & decorum. Yuck! I was turned off for awhile, took me days to repick up the book... but as I continued to read on, the adventure and romance simply overshadowed that silly scene. I just try to forget that part of the book. Ugh. Oh well, Despite my above complaints, I manage to rate this book a 4 stars because overall, it is totally entertaining. I recommend it to everyone who enjoys a good heart soaring novel. So, Don't wait, read the Ascension Trilogy and be 'awed' by this new Author.

Rating:
Summary: And last, but definitely not least....
Review: Working with Gaelen Foley on the Ascencion trilogy has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my editorial career. It's been a delight to see her grow as a writer, and I've almost felt guilty that I actually get paid to read her books. And I have to say that I was quite sad and sorry to come to the end of such a magical series. If you haven't read Gaelen before, you are in for a real treat, and just think, you won't have to wait for the next installment like the rest of us did--you can read all three right now!