Ann Jacobs Reviews

Page Six

Added August 6, 2004

Dark Side of the Moon

Author: Ann Jacobs
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Available At: www.ellorascave.com
Publishing Date: Available Now
Genre: Romance: Erotic/Fantasy
Format: Ebook download in PDF/HTML/LIT
Price: $4.95
ISBN: 1-84360-686-0
Author Email/Website: www.annjacobs.us
Reviewer: Eileen Collins

Alain St Vincent suffers from a curse placed on his family a century before. Salvation lies in the form of Lady Eleanore Whitehurst, whose ailing father seeks out his protection. The curse can only be broken by outlasting a Druidic Fertility Rite, yet still someone conspires to defeat him and allow the curse to plague another generation.

The book is a highly erotic story set in the 1300's and to be honest, it's the first set in that time I've ever read. But what a story! The characters are flawless and it's not hard to see why anyone would fall in love with Alain. He displays amazing sensitivity for a hero of that time and his love for Lea is apparent throughout the book. Lea is a very strong heroine who does way more than look pretty; it's eventually her love that saves Alain. If I was to pick this story up in a bookshop, chances are I'd discard it due to the time period and end up the loser. I'm delighted I had to review this book because it's opening my eyes to a whole other world set in medieval times. I heartily enjoyed this book and hope to read more by the same author.

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Added November 27, 2003

Black Gold: Another Love

Author: Ann Jacobs
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Available At: www.ellorascave.com
Publishing Date: Available Now
Genre: Romance: Erotic/Contemporary
Format: Ebook download in PDF/HTML/LIT
Price: $6.49
ISBN: 1-84360-580-5
Author Email/Website: www.annjacobs.us
Reviewer: Robin Taylor

Erin Winters is pregnant. Not because of a romantic interlude, but due to a procedure where the father, James Blake Tanner IV - paid her enough money to pay for yet another surgery for her seven year-old son, Timmy. Erin's husband was killed in an accident that crippled Timmy and when her sister's boss knew of a couple wanting, but unable to have a baby, hope shone for Erin.

Five months later, an ecstatic Glenna Tanner is tragically killed by a maniac on a shooting spree while shopping for her new baby. Erin's surrogate arrangement just came to a violent end. Erin has immediate choices to make; first and foremost, she is keeping her baby - if she can.

A devastated Blake, who loved his wife more than life itself, cannot even imagine being a father to a child now, or ever. Blake feels that if Glenna hadn't insisted on getting pregnant, she never would have been baby furniture shopping, and she'd be alive right now. What Blake first proposes to the baby's mother is shocking. A short time later, Blake's next proposal is even more shocking. Blake finds that Erin and little Timmy are destitute, and now-pregnant Erin is not going to be able to continue lifting and aiding her crippled child. Due to newfound concern for his baby growing inside of Erin's stomach, and Erin's young son, Timmy, Blake suggests they move in with him, and he can see to Timmy's urgent medical care, while allowing Erin to be able to take better care of herself in order to have a healthy child.

That is as far as Blake can imagine things going with Erin. However, Glenna's ghost has other ideas. What Glenna sees is her beloved husband suffering, and before Glenna can go to peace, she is determined to somehow bring Blake and Erin together. Glenna begins to partially materialize herself in front of the shocked and bewildered Erin. As morbid as that is, when Glenna tells Erin her plans, Erin is again shocked, this time into disbelief. Glenna forces Erin to acknowledge the sexual feelings that Erin already has for Blake. Glenna wants Erin to understand that since she will mother her child, she can heal Blake too.

While Erin and Blake are intimately connected through the unborn child they both share, Blake holds on to his strong, passionate feelings towards his now-dead wife. Erin hates the grief Blake must endure, and as time moves on, her feelings of comfort for Blake are quickly replaced for a nearly insatiable desire for him.

With the aid of time, and the matchmaking Glenna, two people sharing a home and an unborn child become two people who experience much more in their lives and each other. The concept Ms. Jacobs uses in this book works tremendously well. Everyone's feelings - Erin, Blake, Glenna, and even Timmy - are explored quite well. Blake's change is the most intense as it is hard not to wonder if he'll ever "let go" of Glenna and "allow" himself to act on his feelings for Erin. Something else that I enjoyed is how Blake came to love Timmy, holding nothing back when it came to that child, and eventually the child Erin bore.

We do have a secondary love story to enjoy as well. Erin's sister, Sandy, and Blake's best friend, Greg, enjoy a passionate, albeit tumultuous relationship as Greg tries to reacquaint himself with his rather obnoxious twelve year-old daughter. The family dynamics in Another Love are amazing. This works on many levels in this touching story by Ann Jacobs.

Reviewer's note: I was thrilled to read Another Love (part of the Black Gold series). This book was originally titled Heaven Above, which was Ann Jacobs' first published book under another publisher. Another Love is a complete re-write of this tender story.

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