The Black Cougar of Vernon Secondary by Marisa Chenery

This e-book was sent to me from LASR reviews for review.
What will this school year be like without her only friend?
Mika Taylor is starting school again, but this year she is alone. Her very best friend, Cathy, has moved and Mika doesn't have many friends. She is treated as a loner, with others making fun of her. She does not dress in the popular clothing and always seems to have her face in a book.
Sylvia is the most popular girl in school and is consistently picking on Mika. Sylvia is the cheerleader and a bit bullyish.
Mika has had a crush on Trent Hunter for about 2 years now. He is in her first period class and seems to be looking at her a lot, although she can't really figure out why, what with her being the school freak and all. Trent is full-blooded Okanagan Indian and gorgeous, probably able to attract any female he would like.
Trent shows an interest in Mika from the first day and they become friends at first, with a relationship starting very slowly. Mika notices from time to time that Trent's eyes are changing from his beautiful brown to a gold, shining pupil and has read enough romance novels to wonder if he is capable of shape-shifting into a cat of some sort.
There is a legend in Vernon Secondary about a black cougar that has never really been proven. Mika wonders about that legend and where the cougar initially came from. She has many thoughts about Trent becoming that black cougar and how awesome that might be.
There is an incident, after Mika and Trent have started to form a relationship, where someone has duped Mika into going to a very wooded and densely protected area near the reservation. Mika is hesitant to go, but she believes that Trent has invited her to go hiking with her. Although the trick is pulled and Mika is left in a vulnerable situation, Trent comes in to save the day.
After this incident, there is some unrest between the two and they part ways for some time. Mika is trying to understand what could have gone wrong between them. She starts befriending another boy and it seems as if Trent has also moved on to being with the worst person that Mika can think of, Sylvia.
You will have to read the novel to find out if these two make their way back to each other. The story is very sweet and easy to read. I really liked the characters, they were like neighbors and friends to me. There is not a lot of paranormal writing, just the fact that it is part of the story is all that is really gotten into.

http://marisachenery.com/

Ribbon of Rain by Pam Champagne

This e-book was supplied to me for review from Romance Junkies.


Kat Tenney has just discharged from the military after serving in Iraq. She is living in a lodge in remote Maine that she inherited from her parent's after they were murdered. Kat is very angry that there have been no answers about the murder of her parents. It seems that they were murdered with no motive.

Jude Callahan is assigned a case involving some stolen gems and is dispatched to the lodge in Maine to investigate. He is a city man, heart and soul, and is angry to be assigned this mission in the backwoods of Maine.
He canoes himself, rather clumsily, and is greeted, not very cordially, by Kat and her dog, Red. He is immediately attracted to this little spitfire of a woman and tells her why he is there. Kat informs him that she doesn't have a clue about any stolen gems or her parent's involvement in the theft.
Kat agrees to help him try to find proof of anything that may be at the lodge and they become closer than either thought could be possible, after only knowing each other for so short a time.
A friend from Iraq shows up, Cody, and there is instant tension between the two men. Cody is a good friend and loves Kat because of the times in Iraq when she saved his life. Jude has fallen very hard for Kat because of the fire that she has in her soul.
The trio discover secrets that are taking place in the area that the lodge is located and become involved in some very dark and dangerous intrigue. They become friends, enemies and cohorts in a very short period of time.
Kat often hears words from her dead grandmother, who loved Kat as if she were her own. Her grandmother used to call her Marunga, Ribbon of Rain (Rainbow). Her grandmother gives her the advice and Kat learns to listen to her wiseness.
This book was very enjoyable to read. There was a solid balance of romance, fun, suspense and some very dark intrigue. The mixture was well done and there was never too much of any of the elements to be boring or overpowering. This is one of the better of light romance novels I have read in a long time.

RASPUTIN'S DAUGHTER BY Robert Alexander 

Maria is the daughter of Rasputin, one of the most loved/hated men in Russian history. Maria has seen her father perform miracles and she has also seen some vile things about her father. She is having a hard time deciding whether her father is the miracle faith healer and saintly man that the Tsaritsa and Tsar have come to love or the peasant who is out to ruin the royal family. She has encounters with both sides of her father and at times is on his side and at others, against him. 
I think that this was well written and really makes you wonder about the legend that was Rasputin.