So, Charles and I have traded writing duties for the rest of the year… he is going to tell everyone about upcoming programs and what-not. I am going to do some book-pushing! Now, I just need to decide which of the books I am reading to suggest. Not Twilight, although I was surprised how much I really loved the books, and have been re-reading them off and on since the movie came out. I’ll save non-fiction for next week. I know! I’ll run true to type! My first selection is going to be a fantasy-romance-mystery.

Phoenix Unrisen by Kathleen Nance is just the sort of non-historical romance that I like. Natalie Severin has been badly burned by magic in her past. Her husband practiced Dark Magic (yes, the really bad kind); when a working blew up in his face, he would up dead and her twin simply disappeared. The last thing she wants to do is get herself involved in anything smacking of the Arts again.

However, when investigating a story for her newspaper, she stumbles into local veterinarian and super-wealthy Ramses Montgomery. She isn’t altogether sure what is happening, but she recognizes healing magic when she sees it. 

Ram is everything one (okay, I) would want in a hero. He’s mysterious, masculine, highly competent and knowlegeable about the forces behind what they are hunting. Together, they spiral ever deeper into a case of exotic animal smuggling and dark magic. This is a book that is loosely ties to other books by the same author, but it is easily a stand-alone — I haven’t read any other of Nance’s books… yet!

Check out Kathleen Nance’s Phoenix Unrisen if you would like a slightly steamy romantic suspense novel. Modern magic, New Orleans, impressive spellcasting, and a fun romance. What could be better for a fun holiday read?