How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days

February 1, 2017
Two of a king's pawns have to learn to trust each other in the first installment of a new fantasy romance series.Luciana has grown up on the Isle of Moon believing she was an orphan. She, like other children born when the two moons in the sky align, has special powers; on the island, these children are called the Embraced, but on the mainland they're considered an abomination by priests for the Light, who fear their powers. She is understandably surprised when a man comes to the island claiming to be her father and asking her to return to the mainland in place of her dead twin, who was supposed to marry the Beast of Benwick. Leo, her future husband, is also Embraced but doesn't have to fear those who would have him killed. He gains power from lightning--he kills anyone he touches with his bare hands. Leo and Luciana (posing as Tatiana) must marry or fear violent retaliation from the king. Of course, it doesn't really matter that they're being forced into a relationship, because they're instantly attracted to each other. If only they could actually touch and...other things. While it takes a while for the tone of the novel to match that of the more playful title, this is an entertaining first entry for Sparks' (Crouching Tiger, Forbidden Vampire, 2014, etc.) new series. But with all the intrigue, the spies, and the angst, most of the resolutions happen a little too easily; actions that severely betray characters' trust are brushed away with little more than a shrug. Many subplots are solved swiftly, and what should have been the book's great climax peters out with little excitement, fanfare, or even remark. Fun but anticlimactic.

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February 1, 2017
As Sparks starts a delightful new paranormal-romance series, The Embraced, Luciana begins to learn about her mysterious origins when a stranger shows up at the convent where she has been raised. The Duke of Vindalyn turns out to be her father. He has hidden Luciana away because her special powers put her in danger, but now the sister she never knew, Tatiana, must be presented to the king, who decreed she must marry Leo, the Lord Protector, who is superfast and superstrong, can fling electrical shocks, and kills whomever he touches, including, it's rumored, his mother and nanny as a boy. If Tatiana is not presented, the duke will be executed. But Tatiana is dead. Luciana valiantly pretends to be Tatiana to save her father's life, but they are targeted by assassins. Luciana uses her powers to uncover dangerous plots, while, because of their belief in their inability to physically touch, Luciana and Leo's erotic tension ratchets up. Readers will relish Spark's lovingly detailed and memorable tale and look forward to the next.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)