Review - Cat's Lair by Christine Feehan

Cat's Lair
by Christine Feehan

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The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Leopard’s Prey returns to the feral underworld of her astonishing Leopard novels in an arousing new romance of forbidden animal instincts…
Cat Benoit has finally escaped the past—and the man who was the source of her nightmares. She’s off the grid, underground but watchful, and creating a new life for herself in Texas, far from the torrid dangers of her native New Orleans. She’s safe. He’ll never find her this time. Cat has to believe that. It’s the only thing keeping her sane.
Yet she can’t escape the attention of Ridley Cromer, the instructor at the martial arts dojo where Cat takes lessons. She arouses the animal in Ridley—and something feral comes to life when their body heat rises. Cat is in no position to let her guard down with anyone, especially someone who could be endangered by her past. But Ridley has secrets of his own—secrets only Cat would understand. If she dares to trust him..

Do you hear that shriek? That's the sound of being completely irked because you want to quit a series, but you're still waiting for one particular character's story.

Review - Never More by Dana Marie Bell

Never More
by Dana Marie Bell


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I enjoy the Gray Court series. Bell takes familiar Seelie characters, and then spins them a bit. Leprechauns, fairies, Oberon, Tatiana, and The Hob all have their roles, and within this world she incorporates vampires as a type of Sidhe, sirens, and dragon shifters. And somehow with all that mish mash, she makes it work and weaves it into something really cohesive and interesting. They have action, a story arc that ties it all together, lovely romances, and since these are from Samhain, a rather high steam rating.

Never More is the 6th story in this series and is not remotely a standalone. Honestly, this is the LEAST capable of being a standalone because it is one of those books that serves to bring the entire main cast back together to serve the overall arc, while still giving us a satisfying new romance. But it is a series I recommend to Fae and paranormal romance lovers. It is also a hard one to recommend because I think this series started out a little shaky and then really hit its stride around book 3. Unfortunately this a series that must be read in order. The first two books are by no means bad, I just don't think they adequately show how good this series gets.

As for this story, it features Raven Goodfellow (yes, related to THAT Goodfellow) and Amanda Pierson. Amanda played a pivotal role in the first book but has only been mentioned since then. She is a fire cracker with a penchant for dares and a smart mouthed attitude that I enjoyed tremendously. And in this story we get to see the sweetheart behind the bad-boy image Raven has previously presented to the world. There has been more than one heartbreaking incident in his past, and consider this your trigger warning, because Bell goes to a trope that is only rarely used on male characters. It is neither graphic nor gratuitous, but it is definitely a significant element of this story because it impacts what Raven does. With all the wedding shenanigans and appearances of other characters, the romance is a bit shoehorned in, but lovely nevertheless. I was so glad to see Raven get his happily ever after. And the thing I enjoyed most about this particular story, is how very playful the tone is. Raven has had a hard life but when given the chance and the freedom to play by Amanda, he goes full tilt toward it. This results in a barrage of goofy, groan inducing puns. If you are like me and adore some good groan worthy puns, you'll get a big kick out of it. If you don't you might just find this story "hawkward".

4 stars

OpenLibrary Review - Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts

Carolina Moon
By Nora Roberts


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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts—an utterly spellbinding tale about a woman who, though battered in both body and spirit, can never lose Hope…Tory Bodeen grew up in South Carolina, in a small run-down house, where her father ruled with an iron fist and a leather belt—and where her dreams and talents had no room to flourish. But she had Hope, who lived in the big house just a short skip away and whose friendship allowed Tory to be something she wasn’t allowed to be at home: a child. 
After young Hope’s brutal murder, unsolved to this day, Tory’s life began to fall apart. And now, as she returns to her hometown, with plans to settle in and open a stylish home-design shop, she is determined to find a measure of peace and free herself from the haunting visions of the past. As she forges a new bond with Cade Lavelle—Hope’s older brother and the heir to the family fortune—she isn’t sure whether the tragic loss they share will unite them or drive them apart. But she is willing to open her heart, just a little, and try. 
Living so close to those unhappy memories will be more difficult and frightening than Tory could ever have expected, however. Because Hope’s murderer is nearby as well… 

I love OpenLibrary, and as far as I am concerned it is one of the best and most novel approaches to book lending we've seen. Small disclaimer though, always checkout the PDF version (unless you are fortunate enough to have access to one of the partner libraries in which case I don't know exactly what is available), because OCR text recognition isn't great with scanned older books. But they do have a wealth of books available.

Today's feature is Carolina Moon. I'd consider this one to be one of Roberts' quasi paranormals, i.e. the whole world is contemporary as are all the characters except the heroine who has a bit of a twist.

Victoria Bodeen is one of those heroines where you just can't quite understand why or how she keeps geting up from the hits life has dealt her. Cade Lavelle is one of those poor little rich boy heroes. He's overbearing, and arrogant, and proprietary when he doesn't really have that right. So I'm not sure quite why I like him, I can just tell you that I do. And I found their romance and their relationship very satisfying. There's also a secondary romance that I found very enjoyable as well. You put those romances together with friendships and familial bonds woven into a very tricky mystery, and you have yourself a highly satisfying read. And considering the bargain price of free, it is more than worth the read.

As has often been said about Nora Roberts' books, they tend to be a bit formulaic. This one however is a bit more involved and trickier than usual. 4 stars

Advance Review - Day Shift by Charlaine Harris

Day Shift
by Charlaine Harris

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I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, this does not affect my opinion of this book or the content of my review.

There is no such thing as bad publicity, except in Midnight, Texas, where the residents like to keep to themselves. Even in a town full of secretive people, Olivia Charity is an enigma. She lives with the vampire Lemuel, but no one knows what she does; they only know that she’s beautiful and dangerous.
Psychic Manfred Bernardo finds out just how dangerous when he goes on a working weekend to Dallas and sees Olivia there with a couple who are both found dead the next day. To make matters worse, one of Manfred’s regular—and very wealthy—clients dies during a reading.
Manfred returns from Dallas embroiled in scandal and hounded by the press. He turns to Olivia for help; somehow he knows that the mysterious Olivia can get things back to normal. As normal as things get in Midnight…

This is the second book in Charlaine Harris' Midnight, Texas Series. I enjoyed Midnight Crossroad, but had some concerns at the aims for the series.

And I think I was right to be concerned with the aims. While there were flashes of brilliance, and elements that I enjoyed in this book, great big old chunks of it seemed like nothing more than backlist baiting. We have one very popular character of a former series who has shown up with what appears to be a retconned back-story and completely stripped of any of his former personality. (As an aside, due to events in this story it is apparent Harris has decided that the Dead But Not Forgotten book of stories is not canonical-which I find insanely frustrating.) And a second character from that series also made an appearance but it seemed contrived and not anything that couldn't better have been handled with someone in this series.

I enjoyed seeing more of Manfred, and I definitely enjoyed getting to know Olivia (she's so delightfully morally ambivalent). And Fiji, Chuy, Joe, and the Rev were very integral to the story and we were able to see more of their character's hidden facets. Bobo was more of a side character this time, as was Lemuel, and that is okay because trying to make everyone take center stage would have made this book even more scattered than it turned out to be. I think Ms. Harris might be struggling with a series that doesn't just have one or two main characters. And Manfred's mystery was overall very entertaining as was the side plot involving the new business in town. There were some "what were you thinking?/why aren't you thinking?" type moments with Manfred and Olivia, but they usually acknowledged those and corrected. But a third shoehorned in mystery was just too much and done for no real purpose that I can see at this time.

Finally, the book just sort of ended. Only one thing was resolved, and the rest was just left hanging. I suppose it is to set up for the next book, but really it felt abrupt and unfinished and I kept paging back and forth looking for the rest of it. I'll probably try to catch this at the library to make sure there isn't something that was fixed for the publication from the ARC.

Overall, I am rating this 3 stars, but bottom line-get it from the library, wait for paperback pricing, or cost share with a friend.

If you enjoyed this review, please consider "liking" it on Goodreads or Amazon.

Review - Mate Bond by Jennifer Ashley

Mate Bond

by Jennifer Ashley

Fair warning, there may be spoilers, either for the previous 6 stories or this one. This is the point in the series where I don’t know how to do this any other way.

Jennifer Ashley turned the feels up to 11. While I knew she would never pull a J.R. Ward, I was emotionally invested in this couple in a way that does not happen often for me, I felt anxiety, and heartbreak and despair, and of course joy. Previous books in this series I read for the fun and smexy times. I enjoyed them but was starting to have some doubts with the last book Wild Wolf, but this one took it to another level.

Arc Review - Total Surrender by Rebecca Zanetti

Total Surrender
by Rebecca Zanetti

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, this does not affect my opinion of this book or the content of my review.

This is the series finale to the Sin Brother's series. The third in the series was one of the first ARC's I ever received and I was so excited I jumped right in and gobbled up and quasi-reviewed the previously listed titles as well. I was new, and the series was tricky, so I didn't have much to say, or maybe just didn't know how to say it. But considering my love for the rest of the series, I was so glad when Grand Central Publishing contacted me to review Total Surrender.

As a whole, this series somewhat reminds me of Christine Feehan's Ghost Walker series, just not as crazy and with a tighter deadline. And while they won't make my all-time favorites re-read shelves, they are an enjoyable set of books that I think fans of PNR and military romance will enjoy.

Now, about Total Surrender in particular. I swung wildly from loving it to getting extremely frustrated. Some of the plot was not smoothly done at all. I know why it was done that way, there were scenes in there to make Jory and Piper more like real people rather than stock characters, it was to get the reader to care about them and their happily ever after. It just wasn't always well done, in my opinion, and sometimes those scenes took me out of the story. Dinners with parents that didn't move the story, sex at inappropriate times and places that didn't always have a motive. Things like that frustrate me when it takes me out of the story.

Overall though, I bought them as a couple. They were fun, they rubbed each other the wrong way, and sparks flew. And the story itself was action packed and fast paced with enough plot twists to satisfy me. Who shot Jory? I bet it'll blindside you just like it did me. There were feels galore here, plenty of tearjerker fodder that didn't hit angsty, a nice gooey romantic ending, and plenty of feels for that whole family. The author also left it open for a spin-off, but left the Dean family in a nice, solid, happy place. It didn't feel cliff hanger-like.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with this story and enjoyed the conclusion for this series. 3.5 stars

Total Surrender by Rebecca Zanetti Preview & and Giveaways!!!

There are TWO giveaways involved in this post. One is from me and the other is from the blog tour. Bear with me, because I am pretty sure the rafflecopter thing I have done (not the blog tour one) is a hot mess, it's my first time, I have a feeling this is going to be rough.

a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt:

“Madison? I have one week to live. For once, have a heart and let me live out my last days.” It was the closest he’d come to asking the brilliant scientist for anything after she’d started hitting on him when he’d reached puberty. She had a record for playing with cadets, and he’d kept his distance, as had his brothers, he was sure.

“I didn’t raise you to be a quitter. Don’t worry. I have a plan,” she said.

As usual, he’d have to work against her. He shoved a hand through his hair, which had begun to curl at his nape.

“What’s the plan?” If he was going to figure out a way to save his brothers, he had to get out of there.

“For one thing, I’d like to schedule you for another MRI. Your brain is functioning . . . abnormally.” She stared at his forehead as if she could see into his gray matter, her lip curling. “I’m having a PET scan set up for later today, also.”

Fuck, shit, and damn it all to hell. He couldn’t let her discover his special abilities, nor those of his brothers. They’d succeeded for years in hiding the very skills that had kept them alive. But ever since the coma, something new percolated in his mind. Something he apparently couldn’t hide now.

“You’ve been doing scans for months. Nothing is different.”

“The scans from last week are different.” She tapped a red fingernail against her lips.

Yeah. His best guess was that new paths had been forged in his brain during the coma, and a weird tingling in his lobe had begun the previous week. Maybe it was his special abilities increasing in power, or maybe it was something new. Either way, he had to mask the truth.

Two heartbeats echoed from outside the room, so he tilted his head to hear better while trying to appear bored. Dr. Madison had no clue about his heightened senses or his extra abilities, and he needed to keep it that way.

A soldier entered first, followed by a woman in her mid-twenties, who slid out from behind him.

Jory’s breath caught in his throat. Exquisite  Jory’s breath caught in his throat. Exquisite. For once, that word could be applied accurately. She stood to about five foot six in black boots wearing a matching leather jacket. Light mocha-colored skin, curly black hair, and eyes greener than the most private parts of Ireland.

She took one look at him and stepped back.

He moved forward and flashed a smile that made her eyes widen. If he had to scare her to make her leave, he’d do it.

Anybody seeing him in captivity would be killed by the commander after serving their purpose. So he forced sexual tension to filter through the room.

How he could do it, he wasn’t sure. Maybe pheromones and bodily heat waves, and the ability came easier now than it had before the coma. It was a hell of an advantage to use sometimes, and he ignored Madison’s quick intake of breath when he employed it.

“Is she for me?” he asked, forcing his gaze to run over the newcomer’s body and surprising himself when he hardened in response. God. He’d been on a mission and then in a coma for two years before spending time in captivity recuperating. When was the last time he’d gotten laid? Way too long ago.

He’d always liked women, although he’d never gotten close to one. Not really. They were either part of a mission or worked as doctors in the facility, and those certainly couldn’t be trusted.

This one was petite with delicate bone structure and clear, intelligent eyes. Whatever her purpose, she sure as hell didn’t belong in the dismal place. Hopefully she’d turn on her heel and get out since he’d leered at her.

Instead she lifted one eyebrow. Her face flushed. “So that’s him.”

Well, damn. Another angel with the heart of a demon. A pang landed squarely in Jory’s chest. Beauty should never be evil. “Yeah, that’s me,” he murmured, dropping the sensual attack. “Who are you?”

She opened her mouth and shut it as Dr. Madison shook her head. “It doesn’t matter who she is,” Madison muttered. Grasping the woman’s arm, Madison led her over to a computer console. “Get to work, and remember the rules.”

The woman jerked free and stepped away from Madison. She eyed Madison like an opponent in a boxing ring—with wariness and determination.

Jory frowned, and his instincts started to hum. Was the woman a prisoner, like him? Maybe he could gain them both freedom, with her help. She was outside of the cage, now wasn’t she? He smiled.

Dr. Madison glanced back toward Jory, her gaze narrowing. “Leave her alone to work, and I won’t have you tranquilized again.” With that, she allowed the soldier to escort her from the room, and the door nicked shut behind her.

The woman sat at the console and turned toward him. “Piper. My name is Piper.” She eyed the partition. Her voice was smooth and sexy . . . feminine. She guarded her expression well. “They didn’t give me your name.”

Yeah. They wouldn’t have thought to give his name. “Jory.” He really liked the way her tight jeans hugged her curves, and he appreciated the intelligence sizzling in those spectacular eyes. She’d have to be smart to help him escape.

“Why are you here, Piper?”

She exhaled slowly and stretched out her fingers. “I’m here to save you, Jory.”

Stay tuned for my review, and come back for more chances to win!

Advance Review - The Unleashing by Shelly Laurenston

The Unleashing
by Shelly Laurenston

Available 03/31/2015

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Foremost, this is not a rehash or a continuation of her previous novel Hunting Season. While I admittedly enjoyed that book, it was, to say the least, rough. The premise was something very intriguing though, so I was excited to see she started fresh with it.

From Edelweiss:

With the kind of outrageous humor that made Linsay Sands a bestseller and the larger than life characters that put Nalini Singh on the map, Shelly Laurenston—author of the New York Timesbestselling Pride series—introduces a new paranormal romance series featuring a band of tough-as-nails female fighters and the men who aren't afraid to stand up to them.

Winging It

Kera Watson never expected to face death behind a Los Angeles coffee shop. Not after surviving two tours lugging an M16 around the Middle East. If it wasn’t for her hot Viking customer showing up too late to help, nobody would even see her die.

In uncountable years of service to the Allfather Odin, Ludvig “Vig” Rundstrom has never seen anyone kick ass with quite as much style as Kera. He knows one way to save her life—but she might not like it. Signing up with the Crows will get Kera a new set of battle buddies: cackling, gossiping, squabbling, party-hearty women. With wings. So not the Marines.

But Vig can’t give up on someone as special as Kera. With a storm of oh-crap magic speeding straight for L.A., survival will depend on combining their strengths: Kera’s discipline, Vig’s loyalty…and the Crows’ sheer love of battle. Boy, are they in trouble.

Oh Shelly Laurenston, how do I adore thee? Over the top, kick-ass heroines? Endearingly sweet alpha heroes rather than alpha-holes? Plenty of action? Fun world building? Shelly Laurenston always provides a wild ride and endearing (and typically hysterical) characters.

Kera isn't exactly making her life all it can or should be since leaving the Marines, frankly she's floundering a bit. But she's got her job and her dog and her life. And then suddenly she doesn't exactly have her life any more, but she's unwilling to leave her dog. So Skuld, who has always been a bit of a rebel (she's got the only clan who isn't full of pure bred Vikings), brings her along, and drops them both in with the Crows. These ladies are crazy, a band of women who were killed and brought back as hammers for their particular god, but with a motto like "let rage be your guide" what else can you expect. And of course there is conflict with a by the book Marine getting dropped in with a band of no holds barred women living out their second chance at life, but that's half the fun. This book is action packed, largely angst free, and has a nice action and mystery to counterbalance the romance. Vig is just the kind of sweet alpha Viking hero I love to read about. And can I just say the dog, Brodie Hawaii; she's the best plot pet EVER. Yes there are probably some mythology issues, and we do just get dropped into this world with very little information (but then so did the heroine), and it is over the top. But I couldn't put it down, and I've already re-read it twice. I LOVED this book. It was fun and already has me hooked for the next in the series, and I can't wait to see what those other crazy ladies get up to.

5 stars

Review - The Dangers of Dating a Rebound Vampire

The Dangers of Dating a Rebound Vampire
by Molly Harper

As an aside, I think this cover is atrocious.


This is Molly Harper's 3rd book in her Half Moon Hollow series (the spin off from her Jane Jameson series), and there's a nice Christmas novella to reconnect us to this tale's heroine since the previous full length-novel didn't feature her at all. Upfront, I really adore Molly Harper because of the way she handles female relationships with characters other than the hero, and their general quirky, feisty, no holds barred personalities.

The sensible beige pantsuit was mocking me.

It was hanging there, in my closet, all tailored and boring. And beige. Yes, wear me to work, and let all of your new coworkers know that you have no personality! It jeered at me. Look at you, all nervous and twitchy. Why don’t you just stay home and work for the Apple store, you big baby?

"That is one judgmental pantsuit.”

I do so love Molly Harper's heroines. They are the snarky voice inside of my head just dying to get out. They are the girlfriends I have, and the girlfriends I wish to have. Granted, I don't live in an alternate reality where at the turn of the century an accountant who has become undead sues for equal rights under the ADA (really, if you haven't already read these series, what are you waiting for?) resulting in the mass outing of the undead population. But based on these ladies, I kind of wish I did. All that being said, I was rather disappointed by Gigi. The too stupid to live meter pinged almost off the scale for almost the first two thirds of the book. It basically comes right in the end, and I suppose I might have been asking for too much from a 20 year old, but still. Don't be surprised by the New Adult flavor.

Gigi Scanlon is all grown-up, kind of. She's finishing up with college and all set to embark on a career that her sister is sure to despise, by taking an internship with the Council for the Equal Treatment of the Undead. She's also got vampire problems of the non-employment related variety. A seriously hot vampire is out to kiss her, or kill her. Don't worry too much about him; he's really just place holder fantasy vampire man with little else going on. Really it's a jumbled mess when it comes to that relationship. Witches, and vampires, and computer programmers oh my. But, Gigi's sneaky, and snarky, and pretty effing funny. There's plenty of undead shenanigans, a nice twist of a mystery, and a pretty satisfying conclusion to a "nice-guying" situation.

This wasn't the best or most satisfying book in either of the two series, but it was an enjoyable enough way to pass a few hours. And it opened up the future for some really entertaining undead shenanigans. I've got just a few words for you: See Dick and Jane legislate!

3.5 stars

Review - Dead Heat

Dead Heat
by Patricia Briggs

(P.S. I am going to try adding covers again and see if I can keep them without breaking them now)

Patricia Briggs is one of my auto buy authors. I adore her Mercyverse, which includes the Alpha & Omega series. Some people suggest that you don't really need to read the Mercy Thompson series in order to understand or read the Alpha & Omega series, but I am going to have to politely disagree. Events that happen in each series influence and inform the events of the other series. This is the 4th story in the Alpha & omega series, and there are 8 stories in the Mercy Thompson series. In my opinion, you need all those stories, and you need to read them in order. But, at the least you will need to read the preceding Alpha & omega books before reading this one.

Up until this point, I would have said that the Mercy Thompson series was the Urban Fantasy branch, and the Alpha & Omega series was the Paranormal Romance branch. Dead Heat tends to move away from a stricter paranormal romance sensibility and more into an urban fantasy one, and despite my die hard romance reader soul, I was not only OK with that, I was thrilled. Charles and Anna are settled, their relationship is strong, yes there is and will be friction to their relationship because of how their pasts have shaped them, it would be impossible to be otherwise. But their relationship is strong. And that was the problem I had with Fair Game, it seemed to be trying so hard to be relationship focused and romance novel centric, that in places if made them caricatures of themselves. Not to say I didn't like Fair Game, because I did, but there were some uncomfortable moments for me, and not because of story elements, but because the character's actions didn't always seem to fit them. Dead Heat wasn't like that at all. This story was positively joyous despite the threads of violence and endangerment of children. We got to see more of how Charles and Anna are as part of a larger world, one that isn't all misery, but spans the scope of human (and werewolf) emotion and experience. Joy, love, anger, regret, fear, compassion. Yes, they focus on each other and continue and learn each other, as they should, but their relationship isn't the only focus of their lives and their actions. And that for me is what makes it possible for a series and a couple to continue to progress. We also saw the return of Special Agent Leslie Fisher, which I appreciated for one thing because I simply like her, and for another, because just as we are seeing Charles' relationships outside of Anna, I'd like to see Anna develop relationships outside of Charles.

Some threads that were picked up are: Anna's wish for children and Charles' fears, the effects of almost-immortality matched against the reality of loved ones who die, how werewolves are changed and the politics involved in that, the Fae war, and of course, good vs. evil because it wouldn't be Patricia Briggs if we didn't have that. This wasn't the sexiest or most sensual book, and we didn't get to see as much of Anna's wolf as I would have liked (yes we saw her in werewolf form, but not really her wolf), but it kept me frantically flipping pages and completely absorbed for the entire book. It doesn't resolve everything, which is good because that would cause the book and the series to feel static, but nothing pressing was left out.

5 stars

Review - The Immortal Who Loved Me

The Immortal Who Loved Me
by Lynsay Sands

I am absolutely flabbergasted. If I were talking instead of writing, I would be practically speechless. We're up to book 21 in the Argeneau series, and while Sands has at times struggled to remain fresh and coherent, it has still been an enjoyable series. But this book? I had problems with this book. Don't even bother reading if you don't want spoilers, because that is all I am going to be doing here.

The book starts off kind of novel, lots of drama and violence, and Stephanie (the teen Edentate i.e. vampire without fangs who isn't crazy from previous books) is the heir apparent in finding life mates. And this time, instead of maneuvering, Stephanie is very up front, hey vampires are real and this is your life mate, this is what a vampire is, all of that, it is right out in the open. Consequently, I think a new reader could actually start here, which is unusual for such a long running series. Everything was going along fairly smoothly, and while Sherry and Basil's chemistry wasn't the best (nothing like Basil's bother Lucien and his lifemate Leigh) I was enjoying this more than the previous couple of books, and then we hit the first speed bump: the hero Basil, has been having babies every 100 years or so over the past 3000 years with a friend of his, and as recently 25 years ago. Ok, that threw me for a loop. But he explained and while I was still not precisely thrilled with it, I understood his motivations, life is boring and they found having children fulfilling. So on we went. Then we got closer to the end and we started realizing Sherry had been controlled by a vampire her entire life. Turns out her father, while an effed up drunken immortal 19 year old, used mild mind control to convince Sherry's happily married mother to have sex with him. Later he found Sherry's mother in a hospital after she tried to kill herself over a pregnancy from an infidelity she couldn't understand, and he used mind control on them to try to fix his mistake and he stuck around. When Sherry's parents eventually divorced, he stepped in as an uncle. As Sherry aged, he wiped his image from her mind to show back up as her best friend. Later he did it again and got her to hire him for her new business. And all the while wen she went off the rails, so to speak, he would control her or wipe her mind to "fix" things. Naturally, Sherry was completely devastated and righteously angered. But then Elvi, who seemed a reasonable and sensible person in her own book, turned into a sociopath and explained how what Sherry's sperm donor did was alright because mortal parents would do it if they could, and the rape really wasn't that bad because it wasn't a violent violation. WTF? Then Basha (from a previous book also) finally had to/got to kill her own son Leo, who is the true villain of this current story arc. And Sherry realized everything is hunky dory and she looks to go rescue her dad from the horrific punishment he is due (violent though the punishment was, it seemed like an appropriate one to me). Sherry and Basil admit their love, they find out Sherry's paternal grandfather will be showing up, and the book basically ends. 

So basically, I am not at all pleased with this book. I am not pleased with the way this book handles consent, and I am not pleased with this lopped off ending. I honestly don't know if I am finished with this series, but unless something spectacular is happening in the next book I am doubtful I will continue. I am sorry to say, but this story has negatively colored the entire series for me. No rating from me, only disappointment.

Review - Viper Game

Viper Game
by Christine Feehan

WTF did I just read? No really, WTF? The first chapter or so, I kind of heaved a sigh of relief, I could maybe put this series down. This is almost a spin-off of the spin-off of the series. She's introducing new characters all the time without finishing the ones we already have. And the evolution of the powers and manipulations have become more and more off the wall. I don't think I have really LOVED this series since Deadly Game and Conspiracy Game (books 4&5 which I went back and re-read those two this weekend and I still love them).We're on book 11 now, and all I can say is WTF you guys.

We have viper assassin toddlers, y'all. I'm not even playing with you, so let me say it again y'all - VIPER ASSASSIN TODDLERS. I could probably just stop right there, but that isn't the end of the WTF-ery. We also have a heroine who is addicted to sex, but the hero can temporarily "cure" her if she gives him blow jobs. Yep, so that happened, and it gave Feehan a reason to amp up the whole why are they even having sex during this TSTL moment? We also have a man who can walk THROUGH walls, and mutant zombie cyborgs. Yep, that happened too. Furthermore, there was virtually no cohesion with the rest of the series or past characters, just a whole bunch of sequel bait potential heroes. And Whitney's reach has just grown unbelievably vast and his scope so psychotic that I am just waiting to find out that he is being controlled by Xavier, Xaviero, and/or Xavyion, and that the animals he spliced into the Gostwalker genes are actually from the leopards or werewolves, and that Zenith is based off vampire blood. It is THAT crazy.

Unfortunately, for me, I literally could not put this down, and the sequel bait totally worked, because I really must read the next book to see what she pulls out of her hat next. So yeah, I am still in, but I am not exactly happy about it, nor is it for any really good reason.

Review - Hot Damned Series

I picked up Robyn Peterman's Fashionably Dead for free on Amazon. It's still free, so if you like paranormal romance, definitely pick it up to see if the rest of the series interests you. I should probably write my reviews of books individually, but when I binge like this, it is sort of hard for me to separate out my feelings and thoughts on individual books. So I am going to throw these reviews all up at the same time. I can't guarantee there won't be spoilers for previous books in subsequent reviews, so be sure to stop reading at appropriate points if you don't want to be spoiled.

Fashionably Dead

Astrid is having a miserable week, month, life, etc. Her grandmother who raised her has recently died, her mother who is horrible continues to be horrible, and her best friend is pushing her to quit smoking resulting in an ill-conceived decision to try hypnotism. The hypnotism works just a little too well, because you can't exactly smoke if you can't breathe, and Vampyres definitely don't need to breath. So now Astrid is thrown into an entire paranormal world she had no clue exists, one with Vampyres, guardian angels, fairies, and a too hot bad guy that makes her now still heart race. And oh yeah, and she's the prophesied one. But at least she can still be a Prada whore, undead doesn't mean unfashionable after all.

I see a lot of people who are comparing this to Chicagoland Vampires, but since I haven't read those (and I am not sure I want to) I can't speak to that comparison. What I can absolutely say it is like, is Maryjanice Davidson's Undead series.

-snarky, mostly pretends to be vapid heroine? Check
-fashion obsessed? Check
-horrible parent? Check
-prophesied heroine who doesn't want the power? Check
-bad boy hero? Check
-plethora of family or friends who are more than they appear? Double Check

Don't get me wrong, this book is a ton of fun, and after some of the shenanigans of the past few Undead/Betsy books it was fascinating and almost too funny and fun to get back into the ground floor on so much delightful craziness. It's nothing new, but Peterman did it with such joy that you can't help but enjoy the people and the ride. This book ends with all kinds of twists and a hell of a cliffhanger, but since the next book is already out, that really isn't a huge problem to me.

4 stars and I couldn't wait to get into the next book.

Fashionably Dead Down Under

Stop here if you don't want to be spoiled on the previous book. Really, just stop.



So, poor Astrid, who thought things could finally settle down with her hotter than Hades fiancée, the prophesied baby on the way, horrible family members dead, and all the loving family she never had, winds up in Hell. Turns out that very little of what they thought they knew in previous events was actually true (don't worry, Peterman didn't ret-con, it absolutely makes sense to the story). Her father, evil as he was, wasn't actually a ruler, her mother wasn't at all who she thought she was, and she has plenty more family with all sorts of supernatural connections. Frankly, she's a one woman melting pot of paranormal goodness. But as much as the family wants to meet her, really they have a job for her to do, and all Hell is about to break loose.

Paranormal zaniness doesn't just abound, it bitch-slaps you right through the story. I didn't get the same punch form this story as I did the first, it was just a little too spread out. But I enjoyed seeing Astrid fully realize her powers and enjoyed how Astrid and Ethan's relationship developed. Some of the other characters were also really fun and I'd love to get their stories in the future.

3.5 stars and totally on board with the next book.

Hell on Heels

Again, let me warn you that you will be spoiled on previous books if you continue reading.

Dixie is a demon, and she's Astrid's cousin to be precise. Despite the fact that we learned that demons aren't the sum of all evil in the previous books, they aren't exactly good or nice either. Except for Dixie, she's a sweetie. She falls in love, does her stint on earth, saves the world and her family and discovers her destiny. This one had a bit of a different flavor to me, and it was more new adult romance with granted a ton of paranormal craziness, but still it was a new adult. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't my favorite entry into the series, which is sad because Dixie was one of my favorite characters in the last book.

3 stars and a relatively strong closer to the series, particularly if new adult romance is your thing.

Overall this is a fun weekend read that you can absolutely gorge on.

Review - Syphon's Song

Syphon's Song
by Anise Rae

This book is the first in the Mayflower Mages series. I picked it up because the second book was too tempting not to snatch up on Netgalley (that review will be coming up in the next couple of weeks), and I just can't start in the middle of a series.

Let's start with the fact that I am thrilled with this book, I enjoyed it very much. I just can't see how to write this review without making it sound like I didn't like it. And that is for very good reason, because what it most reminded me of is Ilona Andrews, and particularly her new series first, Burn For Me. That is very high praise from me, because I adore Ilona Andrews, but of course I cannot help comparing it - and it falls just a tad bit short of that for me. But, others may really like this book better for the very reasons that it didn't quite hit all my buttons.

This is an alternate US history where magic and magical ruling families control the world. Magic is passed on genetically and the people who came on the Mayflower ships were mages. There's some interesting world building going on, and Ms. Rae avoids the info-dumping issue mostly with aplomb, though there are a few places that did leave me scratching my head for a bit until I sorted out the rules. The main focus however is not so much the world building, but the characters and their romance. Bronte Casteel is a Syphon Mage, which in her world is a death sentence since it is assumed that Syphon's can suck all the magic out of other Mages. So, she lives as one of the downtrodden nons, thrown away from her powerful family. Colonel Vincent Rallis is her hereditary enemy, but a chance meeting when they were teens sets them apart and sets up the situation to bring them back together as adults. Their meeting was what prompted her family to send her away, and was something that gave him both hope and an academic interest to balance his dangerous military career. He's a powerful mage with a gift that could destroy him, she's an apparently powerless Syphon with the ability to suck out his magic, but it turns out that is only his magic, and for him that is completely not a bad thing. By all the rules of Romancelandia, obviously these two are meant for one another.

So what did I think? This series is going to be set up as a series of potentially stand-alone books, each featuring a different couple, and it looks like each focusing on a different unfair law or situation in their world. Since their entire relationship has to be crammed into one book, there isn't quite the character exploration and building that I would have liked to have seen. They are insta-mates from the start, but it worked for me in the context of the world they are in, and he is much more dependent and bonded to her than she is to him, so sexist as that may seem, it worked better for me than it does when the reverse is true. And overall, I liked them as characters and for each other. So, since the only thing I can do is compare this to Burn For Me, here goes. While the world premise is just as compelling, and the supporting cast of family are just as quirky and fun, it just doesn't have the character depth and tension that I got from BFM, and the plotting and pacing had some rough spots and it just go as smoothly as i would have hoped. it felt a bit rushed trying to cram so much into one book. However, while Vincent has some rough spots and isn't above a little manipulation, he was nowhere near the Alpha-hole as Mad Rogan was, so there was, in my opinion, much less to have to work through. There's also a heck of a twist in this book too, though it is happier than the one in BFM. Selene Glendor is a helluva interesting character and I can hardly wait for her book. So, yeah, it sounds like I didn't like it, but I really did. I think of it as a softer and more romantic Burn for Me. And for those who were disappointed by BFM, or put off from it, because there wasn't enough romance or because of what Mad Rogan did, but were otherwise interested, you will probably enjoy the heck out of this book.

4 stars

Review - Night Shift

Night Shift
by Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Lisa Shearin, and Milla Vane


I was ecstatic when I saw this book coming out. It has 3 of my absolute must read authors in it.


Secrets at Midnight (Psi-Changeling 13.5?)

This novella stars Bastion and a new character as his heroine. I flip flopped a lot on this one. It just seemed somewhat uneven in terms of the plotting and the pacing. I went from aww that so sweet I love this, to what the heck that is just crazy, several times. And there is quite a twist in terms of Changeling physiology. It wasn't necessarily bad; I just think it suffered a bit from the shorter format and time frame. While this could probably be read as a stand alone, I wouldn't advise it. 3 stars


Magic Steals (Kate Daniels 7.5)

This is a Jim and Dali story, and I adore them. I will however admit that I threw a bit of a temper tantrum when I realized this story was set during magic Rises rather than after magic breaks. Tantrum done, I dug into the story and I adored it every bit as much as I expected to. We got into both of their heads so much and Dali got to know Jim so much better too. And there is a really touching scene with Dali's mother. I am really enjoying seeing their story unfold, and these short stories work for them because we know so much about them and their lives from their relationships to the rest of the characters in the Kate Daniels world. I remain, as ever, conflicted on whether I want a full novel for them post haste (so I can gobble it down the unseemly greed), or if this unfolding through short stories is the better plan to prolong the enjoyment. This is absolutely not a stand alone. You have to at least read magic Dreams which was originally printed in Hexed, if not the entire Kate Daniels series. 5 Stars


Lucky Charms (SPI 0.5)

I could not get into the voice of this story and the plot just didn't interest me. Presumably this is a stand alone as it appears to be a prequel. DNF
The Beast of Blackmoor

This was way, way darker and way more explicit than I was expecting from Meljean Brook AKA Milla Vane, but I suppose that is why it is under a different name, it isn't the same as the rest of her books. That is by no means a bad thing, as it is really well written and the characters are well rendered even in this short format. It was just a surprise. It features an interesting peak into a new almost medieval fantasy world with deities who act dramatically and concretely in the world. fascinating stuff and I hope we see more like it. This is absolutely a stand alone. 4 Stars

Altogether I am rating this 4 stars

Advance Review - Light My Fire

Light My Fire
by G.A. Aiken

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
This is the 7th book in the Dragon Kin Series, and then there are a handful of novellas. I adore both this series, and her Pack/Pride series under the Shelly Laurenston name. If you are confused by the fact that some of the Dragon Kin stories are under a different name, well it's the same author, so don't worry.

A word about reading order according to the author:

There are two ways to read the Dragon Kin series. One is in the order they were written by me, and one is based on the chronology of the series. I, personally, prefer the order in which the books were written because I tease or hint about the romances of the older dragons during the full-length novels. Then in the anthos, some of the humor payoff comes out of having read those novels first.

This doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t read the series in straight chronological order. I know there are some readers who hate “prequels.” So to help out, below are the reading orders of the book, mine and chronological.

– G.A.

G.A.’S READING ORDER

1. Dragon Actually
2. “Chains & Flames” from Dragon Actually
3. About a Dragon
4. “Can’t Get Enough” from Everlasting Bad Boys
5. What a Dragon Should Know
6. Last Dragon Standing
7. “Dragon On Top” from Supernatural
8. The Dragon Who Loved Me

*9. How to Drive a Dragon Crazy
*10 A Tale of Two Dragons

CHRONOLOGICAL READING ORDER

1. “Can’t Get Enough” from Everlasting Bad Boys

*2. A Tale of Two Dragons
3. “Chains & Flames” from Dragon Actually
4. “Dragon On Top” from Supernatural
5. Dragon Actually
6. About a Dragon
7. What a Dragon Should Know
8. Last Dragon Standing
9. The Dragon Who Loved Me

*10 How to Drive a Dragon Crazy

*These are my additions to Aiken's post which hadn't been updated with the newest books.

While I was disappointed that the Pack/Pride series was ending or at least going on hiatus, I was thrilled to see she started back on the Dragon kin series. Aiken/Laurenston has the absolutely funniest paranormal characters. They're witty, snarky, self-absorbed, and insane. Who wouldn't have a good time with that? But, as is almost always the case with a series, this just isn't a good starting spot, so if you haven't read the rest of the series, now is not a good spot to jump in. While each of the stories has it's own hero and heroine, there is an overall plot arc that won't make sense without all the pieces of the puzzle.

Light My Fire comes back about a decade after The Dragon Who Loved Me. Most of the characters live hundreds of years, so all the beloveds are still around and much as we saw them last, but there are a ton of new kids running around. Celyn the Charming, who caused so much trouble with, Izzy and Éibhear, finally gets his own heroine, and she is an absolute riot. Elina Shestakova of the Black Bear Riders of the Midnight Mountains of Despair in the Far Reaches of the Steppes of the Outerplains, is a cynic with a fatalistic world view from a matriarchal society, so just about as opposite from the Southland Dragons as is humanly, or even inhumanly , possible.  And she is even more different from Celyn who tends to be a sweetie. The best way to explain Elina is to picture a stereotyped Russian man and then add some more aggression and chauvinism. Frankly, Celyn and Elina kind of flip gender sterotypes in an enjoyable and hilarious way that made me re-read this in really short order. Their romance was nicely integrated into the overall plot arc of the series, and they fit into the overall Anwyl and original human dragon hybrid children plot. The series seems to have grown organically and the new characters have been a logical extension of that growth, and they don't just seem to be place holders for characters we are waiting to have grow up so they can get their own stories. When a series gets this long you start to worry that the whole thing is going to spiral out of control into a mess that you don't even recognize anymore, and I am so, so glad that isn't the case this time. This book opened up the Dragon Kin World in a way that i think is going to keep the series fresh and interesting for a few more books at the very least. 4.5 stars and a murderous rampage if it takes more than about a year to get me the next one.

Review - A Kiss of Christmas Magic

Kiss of Christmas Magic: 20 Paranormal Holiday Tales of Werewolves, Shifters, Vampires, Elves, Witches, Dragons, Fey, Ghosts, and More

by Eve Langlais, Aubrey Rose, Molly Prince, Deanna Chase, Mandy M. Roth,Michelle M. Pillow, Angie Fox, Mimi Strong, Viola Rivard, Michele Bardsley, V.M. Black, Lola St. Vil, Tera Edun,Jessa Slade, Chloe Cole, Cristina Rayne, Shawntelle Madison, J.S. Hope, Carina Wilder, Dawn Michelle, Jessica Ryan

I am absolutely not going to review these each individually. Come on, there's 20 of them and the book is well over 1000 kindle pages long. The more important thing is that it is currently $0.99, and it is absolutely worth that much, but after the holidays it is supposed to go up to $20.00, and I would absolutely not pay that price. Some of the stories I absolutely loved, like Caribou Christmas and Everlastingly. Some of them I just could not finish. Some were mediocre. There were only a couple of parts of a serial (since I hate the serial thing this is a good thing). But for $0.99 it absolutely rocks.

Review - Burn for Me

Burn for Me
by Ilona Andrews

Ilona Andrews, the husband and wife writing team of the Kate Daniels Series and The Edge Series, and just all around awesome couple who seriously interact with their fans on their blog and who do free serial writing projects (really check out their blog) have started a new series, Hidden Legacy.

The Hidden Legacy series is in a divergent world where in 1863 we discover a serum that unlocks untapped magic potential. Shenanigans ensue and the world decides this is much too dangerous to be let loose. Of course, there are all the people who have already had the serum, and these traits are passed down genetically to their offspring, so magic, and thus power, prestige, and money are concentrated into the hands of these families, known as Houses.

Nevada Baylor, so far as the world is concerned, is magically a null. She owns an investigation service that is mortgaged to a powerful House, and has a host of responsibilities from her family and the business. When a deranged pyrotechnic starts a series of crimes, and his family wants him peaceably captured, Nevada is conscripted, because her chief qualification is she's expendable. If only they knew she is an extremely powerful human lie detector, it would be so much worse.

Connor Rogan, also known as Mad Rogan, is the most powerful telekinetic known. He's a former soldier and something of a sociopath. But when his cousin who he hasn't contacted in a decade comes to him for help in getting her son who has been pulled into the plot into custody rather than dead, he decides to become involved.

Naturally this sets Nevada and Mad Rogan onto a collision course. I have to say, I did not like the way they met. Mad Rogan was in my opinion reprehensible, and his future behavior didn't endear me to him as we went along. I am typically cool with morally ambivalent and even to an extent, sociopathic ones, but Rogan really kind of irked me. And it didn't help that the POV was completely from Nevada's side, nor that Nevada started out displaying TSTL heroine characteristics with an overwhelmingly unsuitable hero and in the most inappropriate moments.  But, as the story progressed and they were in dangerous situation after dangerous situation where Rogan kind of shined, and where Nevada stuck to her guns about not going after what she wanted when it wasn't good for her, well I started to see it better. Then Nevada gave us a bit of insight to how Rogan looked to someone with such an unusual magical ability.

"Mad Rogan, unlike other people, rarely lied. I didn't know if it was because I would call him on it or if it was simply his way. When he said he would kill you, he meant it. He didn't make threats or promises, he stated facts, and when he wanted something, he'd do whatever he had to do to get it"

That, to me, really seemed to make it make sense. I mean, how seductive would it be to a human lie detector to be around someone who didn't lie to her?

When we hit the last chapter and I saw how much stronger Nevada was than she thought (it seriously closed the power differential between her and Rogan), and how she kept up her distance for the most part, despite her attraction and him pushing, I was ready to give it 3.5 stars or so and be cautiously optimistic about the rest of the series. Then, OH MY EFFING GOD, we got to the epilogue. There was a hellacious twist that I never saw coming and we finally got into Rogan's head. It immediately bumped up to 4.5 stars for me and I am extremely excited about the next book in the series. I can't wait to see how Rogan unfolds. Do I forgive him right now? Nope, but he's got all kinds of room for growth and interesting stuff.