“The Fallen Blade” by Jon Courtenay Grimwood (Reviewed by Robert Thompson & Liviu Suciu)

Official Jon Courtenay Grimwood Website
Order “The Fallen Blade” HERE + HERE (UK)\
Read FBC Review of End of the World Blues

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Jon Courtenay Grimwood is a British science fiction author whose bibliography includes the Arabesk trilogy, 9tail Fox, and the End of the World Blues which won the British Science Fiction Award. He also won the British Science Fiction Award for Felaheen, and has been short-listed for the Arthur C. Clarke Award—twice, the British Fantasy Award, and the John W. Campbell Award. The Fallen Blade is Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s fantasy debut.

PLOT SUMMARY: It is the year 1407. Venice is at the height of its power. In theory, Marco IV commands, but the Duke is a simpleton so his aunt and uncle—Duchess Alexa and Prince Alonzo—rule in his stead. Within the Serene Republic, their word is law, but for all their influence, Venice's fate still lies in other hands...

Lady Giulietta is the Duke's cousin. She enjoys greater privilege than many can even dream of, but her status will demand a terrible price.

Atilo Il Mauros is head of the Scuola degli Assassini, assassins who secretly enforce Venice's will—both at home and abroad.

Prince Leopold zum Bas Friedland is the bastard son of the German emperor and leader of the krieghund—the only force in Venice more feared than the Assassini.

And then there is Atilo's silver-haired apprentice. Only a boy, Tycho is already stronger and faster than any man has a right to be. He can also see in the dark and has no scent, but sunlight burns him and he fears water. Some believe he is a fallen angel. Others, a demon. Only by embracing his true nature, can Venice be saved...

CLASSIFICATION: Combining alternate history with the supernatural, The Fallen Blade is kind of like Jasper Kent’s Twelve/Thirteen Years Later with Anne Rice’s vampires and Underworld’s lycans, while written in the style of Glen Cook.

FORMAT/INFO: The Fallen Blade is 464 pages long divided over two Parts, sixty-three numbered chapters, and an Epilogue. Also includes a map, the Millioni family tree, Dramatis Personae, an interview with the author, and an excerpt from Joe Abercrombie’s Best Served Cold. Narration is in the third person via Tycho, Atilo Il Mauros, Lady Giulietta dei San Felice di Millioni, Captain Roderigo, Iacopo, etc. The Fallen Blade is Act One of the Assassini Trilogy, but for the most part reads like a self-contained novel with the book coming to a satisfying stopping point.

January 27, 2011 and February 3, 2011 marks the US/UK Trade Paperback publication of The Fallen Blade via Orbit Books. Cover artwork provided by Larry Rostant.

ROBERT’S ANALYSIS: It’s been five years since Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s last novel was published, the British Science Fiction Award-winning End of the World Blues (Reviewed HERE). That book actually happens to be the only Jon Courtenay Grimwood novel I’ve ever read, but I absolutely loved it, and have every intention of going through the author’s backlist as soon as I can. That said, fantasy will always be my first love, so when I heard Jon Courtenay Grimwood was making his fantasy debut with The Fallen Blade, the book instantly became one of my most anticipated releases of 2011...

The first thing readers should understand about The Fallen Blade is that the book is an alternate history novel set in a 15th-century Venice ruled by Marco Polo’s descendants. I’m not the biggest fan of alternate history/historical fiction, but Jon Courtenay Grimwood does a tremendous job of creating a living, breathing Renaissance Venice that feels as convincing as the real thing, and is one of the novel’s greatest strengths. I particularly loved the amount of detail the author uses to establish the Millioni family and their complex political situation, which includes Duchess Alexa and Prince Alonzo vying for control of the throne, their trade routes coveted by the Mamluks, the Millioni declared as false princes by the Pope, and threats from the Germans, the Byzantines and Timur’s Mongols. Admittedly, it’s sometimes difficult to process all of the information that Jon Courtenay Grimwood throws at you, especially because of the manner in which he feeds readers info in tiny bits and pieces, but at the same time, it’s easy to become invested in the Renaissance Venice that the author has imagined.

Now if there is one thing negative to say about Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s Venice, it’s that the setting sometimes overshadows the rest of the book. This is most evident regarding The Fallen Blade’s fantasy elements—including a vampire, werewolves (krieghund) and a witch (stregoi)—which only accounts for a small percentage of the novel. What’s so disappointing about the book’s fantasy elements is that Jon Courtenay Grimwood hardly spends any time at all explaining their purpose or presence, making them feel more like an accessory than an integral part of the novel. I can understand the mysteriousness surrounding Tycho since most of the characters in the book don’t know what he is, including Tycho himself, but what about the krieghund or the witch A’rial? Fortunately, the fantasy stuff picks up during the novel’s climax, and I’m hopeful it’s a preview of things to come in the sequel.

Characters meanwhile, are memorable and intriguing, led by Lady Giuletta and the silver-haired boy Tycho, while Lady Desdaio is the book’s most surprising character because she’s a supporting player who heavily factors into many of the novel’s most important moments. To be honest, characterization in The Fallen Blade is not particularly deep, and the characters would not be nearly as interesting if not for an unpredictable plot that forces the book’s characters through a series of engaging, life-altering circumstances. Take Lady Giuletta for example, who runs away to avoid a political marriage, becomes part of an assassination plot against the king of Cyprus, is abducted, and then falls in love with an enemy. The rest of the characters have their own issues to deal with, and seeing what drama unfolds and how they handle their situations is definitely one of the novel’s highlights.

Writing-wise, The Fallen Blade is a tale of two sides. On the one hand, Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s world-building is convincing and immersive, and I was impressed by the author’s ability to manage the novel’s many different characters and subplots without losing control. On the other hand, Jon Courtenay Grimwood makes a number of questionable narrative decisions over the course of the novel. Like the uneven manner in which he shifts between viewpoints, with extended periods sometimes passing by before returning to a character—Atilo Il Mauros for instance. Or how viewpoints are provided for minor characters like Captain Roderigo and Iacopo as opposed to more important characters such as Lady Desdaio or Prince Leopold zum Bas Friedland. Or the author’s decision to skip over most of Tycho’s Assassini training and the months Lady Giulietta and Prince Leopold spent together, which I felt were very significant moments in the novel that deserved a more indepth account.

I should also point out that Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s writing style in The Fallen Blade is very reminiscent of Glen Cook’s writing style from his Instrumentalities of the Night series. Including sparse prose, moments of telling instead of showing, and a noticeable level of detachment that is present in the storytelling and characterization. Personally, this wasn’t an issue for me as I’m a huge fan of Glen Cook’s work, but for others, this could be a problem.

Overall, Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s fantasy debut did not live up to my high expectations or its own immense potential. Nonetheless, The Fallen Blade is a well-written novel that features a fully realized setting, engaging characters, and a gripping story rife with complex politics and heartbreaking drama. In short, The Fallen Blade is still a very good book, and I definitely plan on being there for the second Act...

LIVIU’S ANALYSIS: I have read all 10 JC Grimwood novels before this one and none had disappointed me, while a few of them were superb - most notably his last loosely linked trilogy of sf novels set in today's world but with far future links, Stamping Butterflies, 9 Tail Fox and End of the World Blues which are as good as literary sf gets in the 21st century so far. So ultra-high expectations for this one and to my surprise I was somewhat disappointed in The Fallen Blade for unexpected reasons.

I thought this will be a blow me away A++ novel based on its premise - alt-history fantasy set in in the early 1400's Venice of an Earth with some magic and while the announced hot-topic vampires from the cover and the blurb gave me a little doubt, it turned out that The Fallen Blade stumbled where I have never dreamed it will happen: the novel's style is very fractured so it just does not flow and hits narrative walls constantly, while also having a contrived plot in key situations, where things seem to happen only because the author wanted it so his selected set of surviving characters could get away from hopeless situations which of course kill his "sacrifice" characters... No rhyme or reason beyond authorial fiat and that was the second major negative.

On the plus side, The Fallen Blade has a lot of goodies: extremely good atmosphere you can really visualize and even "feel" the Venice of 1400's; great vivid characters in Tycho, Atilo, Giulietta, Desdaio, Alexa and several others and some twists and turns that are excellent, while all the world building and differences from our world are almost pitch perfect inserted at crucial points.

I would give it a B for the many goodies which kept me chugging at it, though I had to pause often because of those narrative walls that just took me away from its world and while I am interested in the next book, it won't be the asap as this one was. I hope the author will raise the quality of the prose and plotting to the level of his early novels since the series has high potential with the implied depth of the world he created and the vivid characters that starred in this one.

"The Sentinel Mage" by Emily Gee (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Order "The Sentinel Mage" HERE
Official Emily Gee Website
Read FBC Review of TheLaurentine Spy

INTRODUCTION: In 2009 I raved about The Laurentine Spy by New Zelander author Emily Gee, a novel that still remains treasured in my memory almost two years later. So when I found about her new fantasy, a series debut no less after two standalones, I was very excited and had very high expectations, considering that I included the novel in a spotlight with two of my top five expected titles of 2011.

I liked the announced cover, while the blurb below was pretty generic and actually it turned out to be only partly accurate. However while the style of the novel was all I wanted and kept me reading, the content lacked depth badly and the book turned out to be a disappointment at least as my lofty expectations went, though further installments in the series may turn it around for me if they move the series beyond a "kill your enemies, get to the target" video game plot.

"Her magic may be the only thing that can save a prince—and the Seven Kingdoms. In a distant corner of the Seven Kingdoms, an ancient curse festers and grows, consuming everything in its path. Only one man can break it: Harkeld of Osgaard, a prince with mage’s blood in his veins. But Prince Harkeld has a bounty on his head—and assassins at his heels. Innis is a gifted shapeshifter. Now she must do the forbidden: become a man. She must stand at Prince Harkeld’s side as his armsman, protecting and deceiving him. But the deserts of Masse are more dangerous than the assassins hunting the prince. The curse has woken deadly creatures, and the magic Prince Harkeld loathes may be the only thing standing between him and death."

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The series that starts in The Sentinel Mage takes place in a fairly standard and non-specific pseudo-medieval setting with kingdoms, magicians and fantastic creatures. There are two continents, the Allied Kingdoms one, that accepts magic and nurtures it from young age - the Sentinels of the title are the most powerful such magicians and they uphold and enforce a strict code to avoid abuses etc, etc. Some sentinels are powerful shapeshifters, others can wreak havoc with fire, others can heal, some being able to do almost all...

Across the water in the Seven Kingdoms magicians - denigrated as witches - are killed on sight and the smallest taint of witch-blood ensures death if found. There is the bad powerful king, leader of the bad powerful kingdom Osgaard, which has swallowed its neighbors as time had passed; the current king Esger is as nasty as it goes, abusing his children, murdering his wives, you know the spiel from the "guide to write canned fantasy" that is consulted in so many genre offerings...

There is a twist though - some centuries ago a powerful magician did not go quietly to his death and enraged by his family's murder he put a curse on the Seven Kingdoms, curse that laid dormant since then, while of course it has just resurfaced as the book starts. In another cliche from the guide above, said magician is regarded as a one-off evil by his fellow over-the-water magicians who live safely in their land and they really want to do something, but are not quite sure what and how since the curse needs to be broken by a person who has both the blood of the bad royals in cause and magical blood and of course that person's hand and blood need to touch three remote and powerfully guarded artifacts...

And so it goes, with the blurb providing the rest you need to know with the additional detail that Prince Harkeld is accompanied by several Sentinel Mages who take turns at disguising themselves as his newly found, down on his luck non-mage bodyguard Justen, though the girl Innis - inexperienced but most powerful in memory etc, etc.. - is the one doing the heavy lifting as mentioned. And of course the prince does not even ask himself - at least in this volume - about the string of coincidences involved, but after all who needs a smart destined hero when a vain and mostly arrogant one would do...

There are two side plots, the most interesting involving the prince's beloved sister Britta and her "real" brave armsman Karel and enterprising maid Yasma, whose father plans to barter in marriage to a powerful duke - another disgusting, murderous boor etc, etc... This subplot had moments that reminded me why I loved the Laurentine Spy so much, but it is only a small part of the book, most being taken by the chase/kill enemies to get to first artifact above. And of course there are three artifacts and presumably three books etc, etc...

Despite all of the above, I enjoyed The Sentinel Mage more than the overview implies and I kept turning the pages - it's true that I kept hoping for something interesting, some twist, some depth - and that is the real "magic" of writing that the author has. The narrative flows well and you are compelled to turn the pages despite pretty much knowing what will be next and the banter between the main characters is entertaining quite a few times.

Outside of Harkeld and Innis, there is Petrus a young sentinel with a shine to Innis who takes the most turns as Justen when she is tired of keeping the changed shape or when she is needed in battle of for healing. So the triangle Harkeld, Innis, Petrus with one of the latter two playing Justen leads to many amusing moments and I felt a lot of sympathy for Petrus despite him being portrayed as stiff and uptight; especially considering that Harkeld remained an annoying whiner with occasional brutal tendencies to boot throughout...

The princess Britta is also very sympathetic and I hope that her story will take a more center stage in latter volumes. There are many avenues where things can go beyond the cliched one from this book and I hope the series takes some unexpected turns and acquires depth since the possibility is there for sure, while the author's writing style is just wonderful.

Overall The Sentinel Mage (B) is one of the few novels that I felt compelled to finish only because of the "magic of the writing", while the story was not only predictable but it was one that lacked much interest for me being the kind found in video-game novelizations or tie-ins and not what I expect from original work...

“The Warlord’s Legacy” by Ari Marmell (Reviewed by Robert Thompson)

Official Ari Marmell Website
Order “The Warlord’s Legacy” HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “The Conqueror’s Shadow”

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Ari Marmell is a graduate of the University of Houston with a Creative Writing degree, and has written several shared-world short stories and novels including Agents of Artifice (Magic: the Gathering). He is also the author of The Conqueror’s Shadow and the forthcoming novels from Pyr, The Goblin Corps and Household Gods.

PLOT SUMMARY: Corvis Rebaine, the Terror of the East, is no hero. In his trademark suit of black armor and skull-like helm, armed with a demon-forged axe, in command of a demonic slave, and with allies that include a bloodthirsty ogre, Rebaine has twice brought death and destruction to Imphallion in pursuit of a better, more equitable and just society. If he had to kill countless innocents in order to achieve that dream, so be it.

At least that was the old Rebaine. Before he slew the mad warlord Audriss. Before he banished the demon Khanda. Before he lost his wife and children, who could not forgive or forget his violent crimes. Now, years later, Rebaine lives in a distant city, under a false name, a member of one of the Guilds he despises, trying to achieve change nonviolently, from within the power structure.

Not even when the neighboring nation of Cephira invades Imphallion and the bickering Guilds prove unable to respond does Rebaine return to his old habits of slaughter. But someone else does. Someone wearing Rebaine’s black armor and bearing what appears to be his axe. Someone who is, if anything, even less careful of human life than Rebaine was.

Now Baron Jassion, Rebaine’s old nemesis, is hunting him once more, aided by a mysterious sorcerer named Kaleb, whose powers and secrets make him a more dangerous enemy than Rebaine has ever known. Even worse, accompanying them is a young woman who hates Corvis Rebaine perhaps more than anyone else: his own daughter, Mellorin. Suddenly Rebaine seems to have no choice. To clear his name, to protect his country, and to reconcile with his family, must he once again become the Terror of the East?

CLASSIFICATION: Like The Conqueror’s Shadow, The Warlord’s Legacy combines traditional sword & sorcery with graphic violence and humor that is both sarcastic and lighthearted. Think Dungeons & Dragons meets David Eddings meets Joe Abercrombie...

FORMAT/INFO: The Warlord’s Legacy is 384 pages long divided over twenty-three numbered chapters and an Epilogue. Narration is in the third-person via several different point-of-views, including Corvis Rebaine, Kaleb, Baron Jassion of Braetlyn, Salia Mavere of the Blacksmiths’ Guild, Baroness Irrial of Rahariem, Mellorin, Seilloah, Ellowaine, etc. The Warlord’s Legacy takes place six years after the end of The Conqueror’s Shadow, but can be read on its own, although I would recommend finishing The Conqueror’s Shadow first in order to get the most out of The Warlord’s Legacy. January 25, 2011 marks the North American Hardcover publication of The Warlord’s Legacy via Bantam Spectra. Cover art is once again provided by Larry Rostant. The UK version (see below) will be published on March 10, 2011 via Gollancz.

ANALYSIS: For me, The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell was one of the biggest and best surprises of 2010, and because I enjoyed the novel so much, I had very high expectations for the sequel. Sadly, The Warlord’s Legacy was a major disappointment...

There are many reasons why I enjoyed The Conqueror’s Shadow including the humor and the characters and the sword & sorcery action, but above all else, The Conqueror’s Shadow was just a blast to read. The Warlord’s Legacy uses basically the same formula as its predecessor, but the overall tone of the book tries to be more serious than it was in The Conqueror’s Shadow. The problem with this is twofold. For starters, the humor—which was such an important part of The Conqueror’s Shadow—has been significantly toned down in The Warlord’s Legacy. Sure, there are still jokes and sarcasm present in the novel, but I really found myself missing the playfulness of The Conqueror’s Shadow, especially the banter between Corvis Rebaine and the demon Khanda. Of course, considering the more serious tone of The Warlord’s Legacy, the book might have worked better if the author had just done away with any humor altogether.

The bigger issue though is with the characters. To be blunt, characterization—specifically indepth characterization—is not one of Ari Marmell’s strong points, which is a major problem considering the novel pretty much hinges on the difficult moral dilemmas (murdering the lives of thousands for the sake of millions, forsaking his friends and family in order to protect them, etc.) that Corvis Rebaine is constantly dealing with, and the driving motivations behind the people whose lives he has ruined including Jassion, Baroness Irrial, and his very own daughter, Mellorin. Basically, the author provides just enough characterization for readers to understand why Rebaine did what he did, or why Jassion wants revenge, or why Mellorin seeks answers from her father, but not enough to actually care. It’s a real shame too considering all of the tragic drama that never lives up to its full potential from the lives sacrificed by major characters to the transformation of people whose innocence is lost.

Unfortunately, there are other issues with The Warlord’s Legacy starting with a weak plot that rehashes material from The Conqueror’s Shadow, and just seemed more like an excuse to get Rebaine and former allies and enemies together again than an attempt at an actual story. World-building meanwhile, is once again non-existent, while the magic (demon-forged weapons, teleportation, mind control, etc.) in the book, though entertaining, is uninventive. Even the interludes—one of the things I loved most about The Conqueror’s Shadow—were disappointing. Instead of providing additional insight or depth to the characters like they did in The Conqueror’s Shadow, the brief flashbacks in The Warlord’s Legacy offered no real value to the novel apart from the occasional plot revelation or advancement.

On the positive side, Ari Marmell is a talented writer with a lot of potential. True, his characterization needs work as does his world-building, and I still can’t believe how feeble the plot was in The Warlord’s Legacy, but in the two books that I’ve read by the author, he’s demonstrated skillful pacing, vivid action sequences, and an ability to entertain the reader. And on top of all that, he’s also shown improvement as a writer, as evidenced by some impressive prose in the sequel. Plus, even though The Warlord’s Legacy was a disappointment, I really liked the way he ended the novel, leaving open the possibility for another sequel featuring a different character.

CONCLUSION: Ari Marmell’s The Conqueror’s Shadow was an almost perfect mix of exciting sword & sorcery action, sarcastic yet lighthearted humor, and nonstop fun. Compared to that, The Warlord’s Legacy was a major letdown, due mainly to a flimsy plot that retreads over familiar territory, characterization that couldn’t live up to the novel’s more somber attitude, and a noticeable lack of playfulness and fun. Despite all of this, I came away impressed with Ari Marmell’s abilities as a writer and hope that his next book, The Goblin Corps, can recapture the magic found in The Conqueror’s Shadow...

My Top Independent Novels of 2010 (by Liviu Suciu)

In my highly recommended list of 25 + 30 novels from 2010 - which turned out to be 59 with the last addition here - there were six titles that were independently published and which I wish to highlight since this field is exploding right now with the proliferation of reading devices and the advantageous terms offered to authors who go independent by Amazon and others.

I do not want to enter in the debates surrounding this topic since I think that only the future will shed a clear light on these matters and I only want to note that since for me content is the dominating factor in deciding to look at a book, I am very happy to try any book that interests me and I am also happy to ignore books that do not sound of interest barring other compelling reasons.

So give me secondary world novels, preferably non-pseudo-medieval, future sf that is not pulp-like and those will get priority, while almost anything contemporary, near-future, portal fantasy or pulp sf will get ignored. Alt-history depends on the topic...

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So back to independent books published in 2010, the clear leader is:

1. The Ryria Revelations by Michael Sullivan of which volumes 4 and 5, The Emerald Storm and Wintertide were published in 2010 while the concluding volume Percepliquis due in 2011 is one of my highest expected books of the year. These two novels ranked as #7 in my Top 25 of 2010, among the first traditional fantasies on the list and on par with #6 ranked The Black Prism by Brent Weeks.

I have reviewed all five novels so far and you can read my reasons for liking them there while I will add only that the series starts with a lighter almost standalone adventure novel in The Crown Conspiracy, ramps up in the second semi-standalone Avemapartha and then it takes off with the core of the series that form an uninterrupted long novel starting with Nyphron Rising.

To gauge my appreciation I want to mention that like with few other books that have an approximate but not fixed date for an ebook release (eg Baen e-arcs of David Weber or 163*) I started checking the appropriate e-listing of Wintertide daily around the expected date and despite being sure of receiving a review copy, I bought the ebook on its first listed day and read it that night...

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Then there are four series debuts from three authors which have great potential to become big time favorites depending on how the sequels will turn out and one standalone novel, second in an universe I want more of. In alphabetical order of the authors:

The Hawk and His Boy by Christopher Bunn debut of the Tormay trilogy of which the second book is expected to go live soon. I have reviewed this one two days ago so I will not add more here.

The Sword and the Dragon and The Royal Dragoneers from MR. Mathias, the first debuting a very traditional fantasy series with a twist, while the second debuting a more YA series, though with quite dark overtones too. Both series have expected sequels in 2011.

Lovers and Beloveds: An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom by MeiLin Miranda, a series debut with very strong Kushiel Legacy vibes, though set in a world at the cusp between the pre-industrial and the modern. The second installment is expected in 2011 too.

Ironroot by SJA Turney, a standalone set 20 years after his excellent Interregnum in the late-Roman like secondary universe of his that is very compelling. A very personal book this one.

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I also would like to mention six more books from four series:

Field of Fire and Skywatcher by Jon Connington, a complete duology. I loved the debut a lot, but was a little let down by the concluding volume for reasons expounded in the review linked above.

The Last King's Amulet and The Key to the Grave by Chris Northern another duology with a reasonable ending though the author plans to continue the series. I liked a lot the first book despite having a little too much of "my magic is bigger than yours" syndrome, while the second book was a good conclusion but did not bring anything new.

The Labyrinth by Cristian Zarioiu, a contemporary tale of the fantastic and a standalone which I enjoyed more than I expected.

Second Sight by Greg Hamerton, the second Tale of the Lifesong, a beautifully written very traditional fantasy that in a way represents the most tradeoff between style and content for me since only the author's wonderful style kept me interested in a tale I would otherwise avoid with eternal beings, creation and destruction of the world and such. In "mainstream" genre a great analog are NK Jemisin wonderful novels The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and The Broken Kingdoms which again are at the utmost limit of my interest but the author style makes them so compelling I can ignore my utter dislike of a world living under an eternal dictatorship of the gods...

5 inch strappy Buffalo sandals - barefeet

Just a short post for all lovers of bare feet in strappy high heel sandals ;). As it is actually not the right time for wearing sandals barefeet - this is something special I just thought I have to post these photos for you...
A friend of mine just bought this amazing 5 inch high sandals as her new ballroom-shoes. When trying them on at home I just took some photos of her wearing her new shoes. They are 5 inch high strappy sandals from Buffalo (they really make cool high heels) with a half inch high platform wich makes them very comfortable. She is used to high heels but still has to practice a bit dancing with them ;). Maybe I can show you some photos of her wearing these heels at the ball next weekend.
Hope you like her feet and high heels, too.

High Heeled Greetings & Kisses
- Vivian