Customer Reviews

Mirage

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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Alex Talbot knew she was taking a huge risk presenting herself at the British Museum for her appointment with Lord Merrick. Only the feisty American owed this to her recently departed father and uncle and was not about to back down because of a prejudicial male dominant archeological society who wouldn't consider taking her seriously as an accomplished Egyptologist. She was right about Lord Merrick, but fortunately Viscount Blakeney came to her aid. The fact sent her reeling because he was gorgeous, looking like he could be a pharaoh himself was something she'd have to get over.

Other than for a promise to a dying grandparent, Blakeney - half Bedouin, half English, aka Sheik Altair Mazir would never have left the Egyptian desert to live six months a year in England - virtually a man without a country. Prejudice assaulted him from both sides, and he'd learned to trust no one, especially a woman. But something about Alex broke through his defenses, and began to melt the ice around his heart. With betrayal, danger and desire nipping at their heels, their ability to trust in each other and their passion would be tested to the limit.

*** For anyone who hasn't read Monica Burns before a bit of a warning is needed here. This is an author who really knows how to ignite the pages with some very explicit sexual content! With that said, I admit to finding it most stimulating and in this particular story extremely well done within the context of the plot - there being a time, a place, and the right moment without the leads jumping each other's bones at every other turn of the page.

Burns' characters were both extremely well fleshed out, with background and motivations clearly exposed. As a female, Alex's sole purpose was to be respected and accepted in a male dominated field for her intelligence, years of study and body of accomplishments. In her quest for acceptance she'd brushed aside any thoughts of love and marriage, realizing it would be worth the sacrifice and the end of all her dreams.

Altair was also crafted with issues, while never fully accepted in either the Bedouin or the English world. As an English Viscount, Altair's betrayal and public humiliation by his English fiancée had carved any warmth or trust in his heart leaving deep scars. Alas, in the world of the Bedouin, a world he truly felt comfortable in, he would always be considered a half-breed. Altair had a lot to overcome, and found his traitorous body hard to control around Alex, whom he'd immediately felt an arousing attraction to. The deep sensuality of their romance was absolutely divine.

The author did a fine job with secondary characters that all played well against the adventuresome plot and journey to find the tomb of Per-Ramesses' beloved Nourbese. Wonderful details kept the quest in tune with the budding passion and sensuality that Ms. Burns is so noted for. There were enough hints tossed along the way that I did have a good idea of who the villain of the piece would be but it was still a surprise to see that person turn so vicious.

Ms. Burns has delighted me many times over and I am thrilled she continues to do so in this latest sensual historical adventure. New readers should be overjoyed in discovering this sparkling sensual voice in historical romance.

Marilyn Rondeau, for www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com

Alexandra Talbot is at the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone, to help shore up research her later father and uncle did about the city of Per-Ramesses and the tomb of Nourbese, Pharaoh's beloved. But when she arrives, and the director finds out that "Alex" Talbot is a woman and not a man, she is refused permission to see the stone, until Lord Blakeney comes to her aid.

Half-Bedouin, half-British, Lord Blakeney has been corresponding with Alex's father for years. He's set to lead Mr. Talbot on an expedition to Egypt in search of Per-Ramesses, and is saddened to learn of the man's death. He wants to help Alex, who fascinates him, but having been introduced to her as Lord Blakeney, he doesn't quite know how to tell her he's also Sheikh Altair Mazir.

Alex agrees to let Lord Blakeney guide her on her expedition. She doesn't expect to fall in love with him, or learn the many secrets he hides along the way, but she does. She's also fighting against someone who wants her dead, and doesn't want Per-Ramesses found. Will Alex find her lost city, and will Altair protect her? More importantly, will they learn to trust each other?

I love all things ancient Egyptian, so I was fascinated by the blurb for Mirage. The story does not disappoint, and is full of wonderfully done research and fascinating adventure as Alex searches for Per-Ramesses. It was also delightful to watch Alex and Altair learn to love each other and deal with each other's strong characters.

Their love is strong, and it was a pleasure to watch it unfold. If you like adventure, romance and history then Mirage is the book for you.

Amelia
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

From the moment I read the blurb for Mirage, I wanted to read it. The setting is awesome; there aren't enough stories set in the desert among nomadic people if you ask me. Alex Talbot is a strong willed, stubborn woman who meets her match and willing conspirator in Viscount Blakeney. The characters are searching for Pharaoh's treasure, but stumble onto much more than that. There is more going on than just finding a few dusty relics. From the beginning of their acquaintance, someone is out to stop Alex from finding the treasure her father knew existed in the desert. I liked Alex's spunk; she's an intelligent, stubborn heroine that has latched onto a dream and tries to see it through. She's not a bad-ass kind of woman, though she's more than capable of standing on her own two feet and it's her moments of vulnerability that endear her to you. It's the deception and lack of communication between hero and heroine that create half of the problems, and borders on the edge of monotonous. Okay, not really because there's so much else going on, but if the plot wasn't so rich and active, the lack of communication would seriously irritate me. I know this is a me thing, I'm a communicator by birth and I just don't get how people can't stop and communicate things. Bah! That said, the characters spark on paper is great; I'm a sucker for acceptance stories. One character with a blemish or a bad history or something that makes them shrink away from others being loved and accepted - yeah, I'm a total sucker for THOSE stories, and Mirage has that element in play. The one thing I didn't like was towards the end where the culmination of several non-communicated issues comes to a head - if I were Alex, there would be a bit more of hell to pay for the silver tongued Viscount.

I think you can find yourself in this book and that is why I like to read it has to relate to me personally and this book did the romance the passion in the language and culture.

This plot offered a great gust of fresh air in current fiction.Mosteverything is taken over by the Urban paranormal, so I eagerly looked forward to this change. Disappointments were plenty, especially for an higher end trade paperback. The male characters were solid and followed their design all the way to a clever and tricky ending. The female lead could have fallen off a camel and made it a better story. Her incessant whining and insistence on NOT following the logical instructions of more experienced guides--her were also her love interest--didn't make her look independent as much as foolish. Wait for the Used book sale on this poor puppy.

In general, I liked this book. As a romance, it was nice, I enjoyed the plot. But I have to say, she could have put a bit more effort into her research of the language and culture. It quickly became very annoying to me when in arabic I would see something like "I princess bravery" for "My brave princess", or "I Princess stubborn" for "My stubborn princess". Altair means bird in arabic so that wasn't as impressive as her made up translation. In general, I started quickly skipping over anything in italics so I don't lose focus from the story.
The Beduin traditions, well, I can't talk much about them, my beduin heritage came from my mom and my grandfather who was Shiek of the tribe of Awlad Ali in Alexandria, Egypt. He performed the duties of settling disputes and so on, but they were pretty modern. Her stories as a girl were from 40s and 50s and they lives in Alexandria which was (and still is) the second biggest city in Egypt. So I guess if we go deeper into the desert, things would be different.
My mother married my father who was a doctor working for the World Health Organization after they met, so no arranged marriage. He asked for her hand from my grandfather and no problems there about being married outside the tribe. My mother and her siblings all went to school, so no women staying home... Again, perhaps they were more modern than regular Bedu. And the story is in the 1800s.
Anyway, I hope Ms. Burns does more research and perhaps consider changing some of the arabic translations in newer editions.