Tiger Eye

This book is great and it's also a hidden Object game.

Full of fantasy adventure and thrills love the book.

Since I am slightly skittish about new authors, this author immediately caught my attention. I'm a hugh fan of Feehan's, Kenyon's and Hamilton's, so when I skimmed the first few chapters I was enchanted. Dela Reese is an extraordinary woman with even more extraordinary gifts. She has an unusual power to be able to 'read' metal on a very elemental level and she can telekineticly weild the metal into any shape she chooses. In a trip to Beijing, a magic box with ancient writing a curious old lady sells to her ends up giving Dele more trouble than is truly possible. Before Dela can say 'BOO!', out comes Hari, a very virle, angry and sexy male with glittering gold catlike eyes and a body that would make a nun blush. It turns out that Hari once use to be a shapeshifter that could change into the form of a tiger. Thousands of years ago, an evil Magi stole Hari's tiger skin and bound him to the box for eternity. Now the evil Magi is back and wanting both Hari and his box. In this book, you're introduced to many other characters like Roland Dirk, Eddie, Autur, Dean and Blue, whom each have their own special psychic powers and their own unique charm to make a woman smile. There is one character that intrigued me however. I can't get him out of my mind. His name was Koni, a shapeshifting raven. A bit on the wild side, kind of like a cowboy with a bad boy attitude. Not to spoil the ending, but he helps save Dela and Hari's life towards the end. But aside from that, I must say the love scenes between Dela and Hari are highly sensual, breathtaking and erotic. The foreplay between these to characters was playful and steamy enough to make any woman feel a bit kittenish. I LOVED the scene where Dela helped Hari get his skin back and he was able to turn back into a tiger after all that time. It was kind of kinky really, but also sweet. But if you think about it, sex and fur in the right kind of mix.... just the idea is enough to make a woman purr in all the right spots. I felt this book was beautifully written and I can't wait for the next book in this series. It'll be a nice refresher to the tastebuds from all the werewolf and vampire novels I like to devour. If you liked this book, check out her novel, 'A Taste of Crimson', the second book in the Crimson City Series. This series has been an interesting ride so far. I hope Marjorie keeps up with the good work. I await breathlessly for her next work of art.

...and I read A LOT. Liu's writing is fluid and natural, her characters are likeable, complex, and believable (and that's saying something in the paranormal romance genre), and her dialogue and imagery are excellent. More than that, she tells a darn good story, and the idea of Dirk & Steele has me so intrigued that I can't wait for her next book to come out, especially because it's Artur's story! Dirk & Steele is like a hipper, paranormal version of Elizabeth Lowell's "Risk Limited", but Liu's stories are better than Lowell's at this point, IMHO. Moreover, her characters are fascinating, layered and deep, but still people that you would like to know personally. I highly recommend this book for lovers of both the paranormal AND paranormal romance genres. Five stars!

An utterly brilliant debut book that will knock your socks off!! This novel has been gaining word of mouth through reviewers, and with good reason. This book is imaginative, powerful, and literally hard to believe it's a debut book. So grab it quick, read it and then you can turn all your friends onto this great new author from Dorchester Publishing. Dorchester is known for giving new talent that chance to spread it's wings, and some of the best writers in Romance today came through Dorchester Publishing's tutelage. Marjorie M. Liu, is simply an amazing writer and will be one Romance readers wait eagerly for until her next book. It won't be a long wait as A Taste of Crimson comes out in August 2005. Dela Reese (Okies...I had a little stumble at the start because of the name is too similar to Della Reese the actress, but I quickly was able to get past that mental image because of the powerful writing) is a sculptor of metal. She uses this talent to create stunning weapons and statues. But she is not just a regular armourer, she is from a family of people with psi power. The "core family" uses their powers to combat forces of evil in the world. Dela is not so strongly gifted, so she pours her psi power into the creation of weapons. Having a deep love for swords and a collector of them myself, a character with the same passion really intrigued me. Hari is a tiger (love the imagery). But like Dela he's more...much more. He is a shapechanger. Finally something besides werewolves...lol! An evil Magi bespelled him, and has kept him prisoner in a puzzle box. Dela is hunting antiques when she comes across the box. She releases Hari and now he is bound to her. Only her djinn from the bottle...hum box...is not a happy camper. He's been imprisoned for two thousand years, so he's had time to build a royal mad on, not mention the backlog of hormones! Others covet the power and the box, are filling to kill to gain it. Add in one of Dela's magical swords was used to kill a child, and the Chinese Mafia wants a piece of the lass as payment. Only Hari is not willing to let Dela go. They must join forces to save the other from evils, both mortal and magical, in this goes to the wall, exciting story you won't soon forget. Marjorie M. Liu has a strong voice, a deft feel for plotting and strong imagery that should catapult her to the top of romance in quick time. So don't wait until someone tells you, "you have to read this book"...be the one in-the-know telling your friends.

Dela Reese is a metal sculptor. She has the ability to forge unusual weapons and statues. She is a member of a family with strange psi powers. They are members of a larger family of people with psi powers gathered from around the world. While most work togather to fight evil, her powers are not that strong and she uses them mostly in her work. Hari is a shapechanger, a tiger, he has been imprisoned in a riddle box for 2 thousand years, by an evil Magi. When Dela buys the box and releases him he is bound to her until her death. After 2 thousand years he is full of hate. But somehow, his spirit has not been broken. Now Dela offers him the last thing he expects HOPE. But others want the power and the box, they are willing to kill for it. Not only that, but one of the swords forged by Dela has been used to kill a child belonging to the Chinese Mafia. Now they want revenge and only Dela's death can answer. This is a wonderful fantasy, drama, romance. I loved it. The story is handled in a wonderful way and the things I kept expecting to happen didn't. In other words it was a delight to read, and I hope for more from this talented new author.

To Della, what others call "supernatural" is commonplace, but she believes there is a scientific reason for the fantastic things her family and friends can do. Just because she might not understand the science, doesn't mean its magic. Through an interesting turn of events, Della finds herself the unwilling mistress of a two-thousand-year-old shape shifter, who is cursed with immortality as a slave without his animal form. Della is hard-pressed to rationalize the situation as anything other than magic. Hari is surprised and suspicious when Della informs him that she will not command him, and that she intends to help him break his curse. Della seems to see him as a man; he as trouble accepting this, because his previous masters have all treated him as a belonging or a weapon, or worse, a ready outlet for sadistic torture. He fears her ultimate betrayal, yet finds hope that she is genuine. Their task is complicated by return of the wicked magus who placed the curse on Hari. He wants Hari as his slave, and will stop at nothing to get him. Then, an assassin targets Della with a stolen blade, which she created for a special client, one with dubious underground connections, a client with powerful friends and merciless enemies. With threats on two separate fronts, Della and Hari call in her friends, all psi-wielding mercenaries, working for Della's family-run detective agency. They're all bad boys who are also good and honorable men. In the midst of the danger and chaos, Hari and Della, find trust and friendship in each other, and eventually love grows strong and unwavering between them. I picked this book up because I'd never heard of the author before I learned that she has a book in the upcoming Crimson City series (about the series, Liz Maverick says, "think of it as (Underworld + Soldier) * Dungeons & Dragons"). I wanted to check her out, get a feel for her style. I was very pleased with her intelligent writing, and the intricate plotting of this supernatural action/romance. It feels like it was written by a seasoned storyteller, not a first-time author.