Review: Assassin's Heart by Monica Burns

Assassin's Heart by Monica Burns
Book 2 in The Order of the Sicari series
Penguin/Berkley
ISBN - 978-0-425-23652-9


From the back cover..

The truth of the soul.
Lysander Condellaire never understood why he had telepathic and telekinetic powers until the night his Praetorian father tortured him and left him for dead. Now, the half-angelic, half-demonic face he sees in the mirror is a reminder of the monster he must keep hidden or face expulsion from the order of assassins know as the Sicari. But his dreams of Ancient Rome hint at a destiny he finds hard to accept, especially when it involves the woman he loves, but can never have.

The consequences of desire.
A gifted healer in the Order, Phaedra DeLuca witnessed her mother’s murder when she was just a little girl. The haunting memory makes her loathe everything Praetorian. When she travels to Rome in search of an ancient artifact, she must work alongside a man who once cruelly rejected her love and healing touch. But her dreams of Ancient Rome tell of an irreversible and possibly dangerous future. For the distant past and present are about to collide--with the one man she is destined to love.

My review...
I read a lot and read this book in one sitting! I just couldn't put it down after I started reading, I was so enthralled. The story that Ms. Burns weaves together was one of tragedy, torture, sorrow, adventure and love. Anyone who likes paranormal romance is going to love this book. I just read Assassin's Honor the day before reading this book and couldn't wait to see what Ms. Burns had in store for us.

Lysander's story is so tragic and sad it made me want to cry for all he's had to endure. He was tortured by the Praetorians and they sliced off part of his face, but later we find out he has even more to endure and it seems like it might be too much for him. He has secret's and he's sure that if anyone finds out about them they won't trust him or love him.

Phaedra is a healer for the Sicari and she's been in love with Lysander for over a year, but he's keeping her at arm's length because he doesn't trust her to love him if she ever finds out his secret. They both have to get past the hurt of the past year when they are thrown together much to the dismay of Lysander, when they go in search of The Tyet of Isis. An ancient artifact they want to get before the Praetorian's get their hands on it.

Neither Phaedra or Lysander know that the other have been having dreams of the first Sicari lord and his wife and we get pulled into another heart breaking story as their dreams get more vivid and we find out they are dreaming about their own past lives.

As well as the past life story there is a romance story from other characters in this book that comes alive in a shocking way. Atia the Prima Consul and Marcus a Sicari Lord have a secret past and Atia has been keeping a huge secret from Marcus as he is about to find out. Their history and romance that barely conceals itself under the surface is sure to explode in the coming books from Ms. Burns. I liked this second book in the Order of the Sicari series even more than the first one if that's even possible. I think this series can only get better and more exciting as time goes by and we read stories about the rest of the characters.

This story within a story could have been so confusing if a less talented author had tried to write it, but Ms. Burns is incredibly talented and has found a way to bring a whole new world to the paranormal genre that fans are going to be talking about for years.

If you liked Assassin's Honor, you'll love Assassin's Heart.

Review: Assassin's Honor by Monica Burns

Assassin's Honor By Monica Burns
Book 1 in the Sicari Series
Publisher: Berkley Trade (June 1, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0425234167


From the back cover..

A woman with visions of the past...

Archeologist Emma Zale sees the past when she touches ancient relics. It’s how she uncovered evidence of an ancient order of assassins—the Sicari. When a sinfully dark stranger shows up on her Chicago doorstep demanding an ancient artifact she doesn’t have, he drags her into a world where telekinesis and empaths are the norm. Now someone wants her dead, and her only hope of survival is an assassin who’s every bit as dangerous to her body as he is to her heart.

Bonded to an honorable assassin...

Ares De Luca comes from an ancient Roman bloodline of telekinetic assassins. A Sicari, he’s honor bound to kill only in the name of justice. But when the woman he loved was murdered, Ares broke the Sicari code and used his sword for revenge. Love cost him dearly once before, and he’s not willing to pay the price again. At least not until hot, sweet, delectable Emma walked into his life. Not only does she hold the key to a valuable Sicari relic, she might just hold the key to his heart.

Their dangerous passion will redeem an assassin's honor...

My review...

Emma is an archeologist and on a dig near Cairo when she once again must face a murder to someone close to her. The first murder she had to endure was that of her parents. But before her father is killed he leaves a coded message for her and she finds it right before someone tries to kill her. That's when a Sicari named Ares DeLuca tries to help her by telling her she needs to go into hiding because her life is in danger. But of course she isn't wanting to give up her whole life and Ares friends, the other Sicari are less than friendly to her when she first meets them because she is an outsider.

So many things happen while Ares is hiding her and we get to meet some of the other characters in the world of the Sicari. Including the bad guys, the Praetorians who want all the Sicari dead.
Monica Burns has made up a whole new world of hot heroes with smoldering eyes and telekenic powers. It's easy to tell that this new world took a lot of thought and time to make because it's incredibly believable. She even gives us a lesson in her own cross between a Latin and Italian language that the men seem to love to speak throughout the story. I even learned a few cuss words, even though I don't know exactly what they mean yet.

While reading this book I got a pretty good lesson in the Sicari way of doing things and their customs, while some of them may seem barbaric at first I understood why they are needed and why honor is so important to them by the end of the book.

I can't wait for more books in this series.

I'm Back!

Well, I'm finally back and this time for good...I hope. My daughter's boyfriend took parts from a couple of different computers and made me a new tower. He said my motherboard was fried and that's why my computer stopped working.

I've decided to name my new computer.....Frankenputer!

Because it's made up of parts from several different computers...get it...frankenstein...lol

See you in the ethers..

My computer is still acting up

Yeah this darn thing is still acting up, restarting on its own and crashing and sometimes not even letting me log on at all...but I'm online right now and wanted to say I'm still here! I miss talking with everyone and visiting the blogs the way I want to. Hopefully I'll figure this thing out soon.

Computer problems

Looks like I got a virus or something so until further notice I will not be online. Hope to get my Pc fixed soon.

teens and slang

Seems like teens have their own language, I like to refer to it as slanguage. Here's a few things one might hear from teens now a days.



Dope - Means cool or awesome.

Bowen- A person who often stinks, possibly with hygene issues. Derived from a creature that is known to inhabit sewage and have a frightening odor because it uses its own feces to disguise itself.

Butt hurt- to be hypersensitive or over offended over a prank or joke. (my daughter uses this one all the time)

Hardcore - Means something is intense. Generally said about something that is a good experience, but also used when something bad is happening to a friend.

all up in my grill- the act of being in someone's face.

hella- used in conjunction with another word as an intensifier. As if to say “very.” Derived from “A hell of a lot of . . .” Examples include: hella-cool, hella-stupid, hella-crazy, or hella-funny.

bamf- Acronym for “Bad Ass Mutha F***er."

tool- someone that is a geek or nerd; one who is socialy inept and does not fit it.

idk- short for “I don’t know”

wikijism- A term to describe any journalism, reports or writing that uses Wikipedia as it's only source.

my bad- a phrase said to admit guilt in a situation.

beatin' dem cakes- having sex. "I got with Juana and was beatin’ dem cakes like Betty Crocker!"

Beware when looking for a job...

Ya know, my daughter has been looking for a job for some time now and I like to browse the internet so I was looking on craigslist and in the local paper for job offers. You know what I see most often? Ads that looks something like this....

Wanted, girls 18-24 no experience necessary, will train.

When I see ads like that I get the heebie jeebies because all I can think of it PORN. They'll call the phone number and be asked if they like to make $50 a day and when they say yes they'll give them an address to come to the next day.

I can imagine when the girls get there they are immediately trying to make their way through a crowd of crackheads and Ron Jeremy wannabe's. *shiver*

Girls stay away from ads like this, it can't be anything good. It just can't be.

Film Brawl

A friend of mine self published a book called, Film Brawl and I wanted to let you all know about it. He is the owner of Wildside Cinema http://www.wildsidecinema.com/forum/index.php and has worked really hard on this book.

"Filmbrawl is a genre cinema review guide featuring hundreds of encapsulated reviews and star ratings for those looking for a quick read on the toilet! GET IN THE RING!!"

If you like reading reviews of movies, and are looking for something a little different, this is the book to get.

The title of this blog post will take you to where you can buy the book.

Leonid Meteor Shower

I've been going out for the past few nights, hoping to see a meteor in this meteor shower and for the most part, living in a city where the lights are always on makes it difficult to see the meteors. But I have seen a few in the past few days.

Pet Peeves

I know we all have them and sometimes I think I have too many of them because at times I'm very critical of others, but maybe I'm just normal. lol

My pet peeves..

People who write in all Caps. Anyone on the internet knows that, all caps is considered to be shouting. So stop shouting.

People who spit on the side walk. I've heard guys says that hawking a loogie...yes, that's what they said, was healthy. Ok, fine, get it out...but so it in the bathroom and don't spit it on the same side walk I have to walk on. That's just gross and rude.

Talking on cell phones when you are in a public place. Yeah I know, I'm an old fogie and think cell phones are the anti-christ according to my nephew, but there's really no need for someone to talk about their rash, infection..oozing, pus-filled sores or any other thing they are at the doctors office for. I have heard people talking about STD's on the phone in the doctors waiting room. I really don't need to know. Really.

People who think they know it all! I don't just mean they think they know a few things. No, these people think they know everything! and are right about everything the talk about. Holy cow, I would love to be right all the time but that's just not going to happen. Oh and when you are proven to be wrong, take it like an adult and say, yeah ok, I was wrong.

LOL that last post made every all blue.

I don't know how I messed that last post up so bad. Now everything is blue. Oh well, at least you can see what books I plan to get.

Books from my Amazon wish list that I plan to buy when I get my gift certificates

When He Was Bad by shelly laurenston

Dark Rival (The Masters of Time, Book 2) by Brenda Joyce In the Company Vampires: A Dark Ones Novel by Katie MacAlister

Born to Bite: An Argeneau Novel (Argeneau Vampires) by Lynsay Sands

Jacob (The Nightwalkers, Book 1) by Jacquelyn Frank (Mass Market Paperback)

Bound to Shadows (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 8) by Keri Arthur

Dark Lover (The Masters of Time) by Brenda Joyce

Dark Victory (The Masters of Time) by Brenda Joyce

Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress, Book 4) by Jeaniene Frost

One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 2) by Jeaniene Frost

Lux in Shadow by R. G. Alexander

Dark Embrace by Brenda Joyce

Blood trininty book 1 in the belador series by Diana love snell

The Bodyguard by Lorie O'Clare

Ecstasy in Darkness by Gena Showalter

Midnight Crystal (Book Three of the Dreamlight Trilogy) by Jayne Castle

Twice Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires, Book 3) by Chloe Neill

Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World, Book 2) by Jeaniene Frost

Beyond the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity, Book 6) by Alexandra Ivy

Red Demon: A Gods of Midnight Novel by Deidre Knight

Dreamveil: A Novel of the Kyndred (KYNDRED NOVEL) by Lynn Viehl

No Werewolves Allowed (Night Tracker, Book 2) by Cheyenne McCray

Stormwalker by Allyson James

The Demon in Me (A Living in Eden Novel) by Michelle Rowen

Love in the Time of Dragons: A Novel of the Light Dragons by Katie MacAlister

Wild Fire (Leopards, No 4) by Christine Feehan

Desire Untamed: A Feral Warriors Novel by Pamela Palmer

Rapture Untamed: A Feral Warriors Novel by Pamela Palmer

The Darkest Lie (Hqn) by Gena Showalter

Demon from the Dark (Immortals After Dark Series, Book 8) by Kresley Cole

Taken by Midnight: A Midnight Breed Novel by Lara Adrian

Eat Prey Love (Love at Stake) by Kerrelyn Sparks

Prince Charming Doesn't Live Here (The Others) by Christine Warren

Really embarassing...

We've all done those really embarrassing things, the things that at the time we wished we could just crawl in a hole and hide. I look back on some of those times and can laugh now, so I thought I would let you laugh along with me...lol

Some of the funny things I've done...

Years ago when we first moved into another apartment complex...I was walking back to my apartment when I decided to scare my family by quickly sticking my head in the open window and screaming. Well I got the the window and pulled back the curtains and screamed....only to see another family sitting down to dinner! I went to the wrong window! Scared them half to death...but I quickly explained to them what happened when I showed them that I lived right next door. lol

I went up to a man in the grocery store and covered his eyes from behind. I said, "Guess who." He said, "My next ex- wife?" I quickly removed my hands because I realized as soon as he spoke he was not my friend. I apologized and thankfully he just laughed and thought it was funny.

One night I was on a road here in Vegas and I've been told if you pass a cop car sitting on the road checking car's speed's...you should flash your headlights to the cars coming in the other direction to let them know about the cop car so they can slow down. Well, I flashed my lights and he flashed me back...and as he drove past me I saw him smiling.....but not for the reason I thought....he was a cop...in a cop car! Good thing he thought it was funny!


Well, there you have a few of my funny embarrassing moments.

Irritating things

There are so many things that irritate me but there are a few things that stand right out and I think they bother most people.

Liars- people who lie to me or embellish about what has happened, will happen, ect...just irritate me.

Late people who don't call- You know when you tell me that you are going to be at my house at a certain time and I expect you to be here or meet me someplace at that time...you better damn well be there, or at the very frickin least call me beforehand and let me know you aren't coming/going to be late. If I have to call you because you are an hour late and you tell me you just decided not to come and was going to call me later.....just don't be surprised when you never get invited again, ok?

Rudeness- There's no reason to be rude just for the sake of being rude. If I give you a birthday gift and you think it's lame...keep that to yourself because if you tell me that I never would have given such a gift because it looks cheap...or you won't use it can you give it to the salvation army because 'those' people would use something like that. Don't expect to ever get anything else form me, ok?

Drunks- If you want to get drunk off your butt...first off don't drive., I will tell you right now, I don't care who you are...if you drink and rive I will call the police on you and turn you in. I don't want a drunk on the streets when I am driving and don't think anyone else would either. But if you have to get falling down stupid drunk...stay home.

Don't let your kids be monsters in public- I was in the grocery store a few years ago and this little girl maybe 7 years old was giving her mother one hell of a time at the check out. She went to take her cart outside and the little girl sat down and wouldn't move. The mother couldn't push the cart and arry the kid at the same time so and the kid was screaming every time she went to touch her. So I asked the mother if she wanted me to either take the cart or the kid and she asked if I would pick the kid up because she wouldn't fight me. I thought to myself...she sure won't fight me...she's only 7 years old. I'm the adult...good grief. I picked the kid up and told her to shut it! and we walked out to her car and I told the kid to get in the back seat and put her seat belt on. She tried to tell me that she gets to sit in the front seat and I told her after acting bad in the store she can sit in the back seat. Her mother didn't say a word to me as I walked away. Good grief what was that mother thinking. If my kid ever threw a fit in the store I left everything in my cart and took her outside and told her we would leave and she wouldn't get anything if she didn't stop acting like a brat. I did leave the cart one time and she knew I was telling the truth...she didn't do it again.

I'm sur ethere's more that bothers me but I can't think of any thing else right now.

Coffee or Tea?

I used to drink a lot of tea but recently I've been on a coffee kick. I still make iced tea because it's so darn hot and hot coffee is kinda weird when it's 111F outside. At least it is to me. But there's just so many cold coffee recipes out there.

Recently I've started making my own iced coffee and saving my money from the high priced Starbucks that I only get once every couple of months anyhow.

I used two teaspoons of regular instant coffee, two table spoons of hersheys chocolate, two table spoons of sugar or two packets of substitute sugar, a little warm water just enough to melt the sugar and coffee and the rest of the glass filled with milk. Add a dollop of whip cream and a couple of ice cubes...

Take responsibility for your actions

Right now I'm going through a bit of a problem with a couple of family members that drink. I don't drink and I don't...no I won't be around people that do. I don't like the way they look, all droopy eyed, slurring their words, thinking they either love you so much, man. Or can't stand you, never liked you.

I grew up with two alcoholic parents and know the horrors of what that's like. I won't live in a relationship with any relative or friend that drinks.

For some reason people who drink and then do things they wouldn't normally do, think they can just say..oh it was the booze..and that makes up for the terrible things that you have done. Well, here's your wake up call, it doesn't.

You chose to take that drink, so you are ultimately responsible for whatever you do while you are drinking.

Either stop drinking or you are out of my life. It's just that simple.

Free Coupons

I know I've talked about how I use a lot of coupons when I go shopping each week. I have been getting them right from the manufacturer through the mail, in the newspaper, my sister in law sends me the ones she doesn't use and I also find some online that I can print out. Facebook is a good place to find coupons for free items. Although I really don't like the fact that I have to become a fan/friend/like a company just to get a free coupon or sample. Just let me fill out the damn form, seriously.

But the other day I went into the smiths grocery store that I always go to and tried using my free Libby's can of vegetables coupon that I had printed from the internet. They informed me that they no longer take coupons for free stuff if it's been printed from the internet. They will still take cents off coupons printed form the internet..so if I have a .75 off of something and the coupon is printed from the internet they will take that. But not if it's for a free product.

I hear that a lot of different grocery companies are doing this and it makes me mad. If they are going to take any type of cents off coupons that are printed form the internet then they should still take the free coupons as well.

Makes no sense to me, I mean it's not like they don't get their money back for these products.

One Week Of Wolves

Just click on the title of this post to be taken to a contest associated with this book. You will want to check this one out!

The Arizona Immigration law

I know a lot of people have a problem with the new immigration laws in Arizona, but I don't. I think that if you want to live here you should go about doing so legally and if you are caught living here illegally...then you shouldn't have a problem being taken back when you knew you were breaking the law.

Why are so many of the spanish/mexican descent up in arms about this new law. If you are here legally you have nothing to worry about...right?

What I do have a problem with is the agency who is in charge of making the illegals go back,. ICE...doesn't want anything to do with Arizona's new law and they don't or should I say, won't be taking back the illegals that Arizona cops find on the streets. I find that ridiculous. Just because you don't like the law, doesn't mean you don't have to enforce it. The people of Arizona voted on it and I have a feeling that more states will be voting on similar laws in the future for their own states.

Darn computer viruses

So yesterday I got some sort of computer virus that wouldn't let me scan my computer with Malwarebytes on my account. I had to use my husbands account and scan the computer and it got rid of the virus...or so I thought.

I go back online after scanning for 4 hours and everything is fne for about 2 hours and then Bam! I get hit again.

So I scanned the computer with Avast anti virus and it caught another virus...a different one than Malwarebytes had caught earlier.

So late last night I was going fine and then this morning my computer froze on me. I don't know if maybe I still had the virus or what. I scanned again...with both this time on all accounts and there was nothing found. There went 9 hours I'll never get back...anyway. I log back on and now it said that the computer isn't configured for the proxy server. I'm like what?

Thankfully I remembered that when I have a connection problem that if I use IE the connection wizard will configure the problem and fix it for me. So I logged out of Firefox and logged into IE and the connection wizard comes on and asks if i want it to fix the connection problem...yes!

The virus I had must have re-configured some of the cards...whatever on my computer but thankfully the connection wizard fixed whatever was wrong. Now I am back...at least until the next virus attacks me.