Review - Dragon Rising (The Hidden 0.6)

Clues left by her missing father lead Lyra to a gorgeous, mysterious Caido, a descendent of fallen angels. When she discovers that his brother is also missing, she's determined not to let the exasperating man shut her out.

The last thing Archer needs is an emotional Dragon at his side, especially one whose heat reaches beyond the icy walls he, and all Caidos, must erect for good reason. Working together? Smart. Falling in love? Foolish…and inescapable.

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My review:

A short, quick read that full of action, suspense and romance.  This along with Dragon Mine are leading up the release of Dragon Awakened.  And I cant wait.  The story has great characters and a great plot.  

Lyra and Archer dont initially get along.   One is a Dragon while the other is a Caido, which is a Fallen Angel.  The two are as opposite as they can get and have their fair share of issues.  Watching them come together to find her missing father and his missing brother is a journey and experience not to be missed.

I am looking forward to seeing how this series progresses.

Review - Dragon Mine (The Hidden 0.5)

His Dragon, her magick, a dark mystery, and hot sparks!

Kirin is summoned home to Miami when his father goes missing--the man who ruined his life, and his relationship with Elle, by being a suspect in her mother's disappearance. When he runs into Elle, sparks fly, especially when he discovers her father is missing, too. Suspecting that their disappearances are linked, they must combine his Dragon power and her magick to find the truth in the darkest shadows. But as their desires flare again, can their burning passion overcome their past—or the danger that the future holds?

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My Review:

A short, quick read that starts the introduction to The Hidden series to come out soon.  

Kirin is a dragon that has been living away from home for a while, trying to make a life away from the woman he loves.  Elle has stayed in Miami and worked with her father, never thinking she will see Kirin again.  When his father goes missing he returns home and is immediately drawn to her as she is to him. However, her father has also gone missing and there is evidence of magick gone awry.

This was a great introduction to the new series.  The world is interesting and similar enough to ours to keep track and understand.  The characters are well developed and even in this short story we get a sense of not only who they are but also their history.  A lot happens but it happens in a way thats easy to follow and keep you interested.  I am looking forward to continuing the series and seeing what happens next.  

Review - Four Weddings and a Werewolf

To have and to howl…

Logan Black, former Marine and bodyguard for the Seattle Wolf Pack, hates weddings and has no plan to walk the path to matrimonial misery. But when he’s hired to protect a hot-to-trot wedding planner with a werewolf stalker, he’s forced to put his feelings aside. Not such an easy task when the damsel can turn him on with a single smoldering glance.

Wedding planner Veronica Vale knows werewolves exist, but hates them. One bit her sister, changing their lives forever. When a sexy Marine shows his gorgeous face at one of her wedding appointments, Veronica finds it hard to focus on the task at hand.

The chemistry drawing Logan and Veronica together seems fated, but with Logan’s playboy attitude, Veronica’s hatred for werewolves, and a stalker lurking in the shadows, these two need more than passion to keep them together.

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My Review:

While this is the second book in the Seattle Wolf Pack series, it is a stand alone.  Logan is hired to watch and protect Veronica from a unknown stalker by her soon to be brother-in-law.  Veronica is not aware she has a stalker, she just thinks she has a secret admirer.  Logan has not interest in ever settling down, and Veronica is a wedding planner.  Veronica hates werewolves and Logan is one.  Combine all that with their instant attraction and you have a great story.

I loved the characters and it was fun watching Logan and Veronica interact.   They both grow over the course of the story and learn more not only about each other but themselves as well.  As they work together to find out who Veronica's stalker is they grow not only closer but more accepting of who the other is.

This was a great story full of suspense, action and romance.  I highly recommend it and cant wait for more.

Review - Bad Cop

A woman jaded against dirty cops...To Alice, Ian is just another bad cop as detestable as the one who destroyed her family. Regardless of her attraction to the charming man, she has no respect for the way the vampire threatens his way into her agency’s murder case and no trust in him when it’s obvious he’s hiding something.

A cop who tosses the rule books to get his way…Ian doesn't care for Alice’s judgmental opinions on the way he goes about obtaining justice. They are polar opposites, and her humanity makes her off-limits, but that does nothing to weaken his overwhelming desire for her.

A truth that could tear their new love to shreds…When the new case raises the ghosts of an old case Ian believed long dead and buried, his law-bending ways and the secret that haunts him could end with his execution. The second Alice becomes a target, his heart that he’d thought murdered along with his maker flares into blinding existence. But following the law for her sake could end with a devastating repeat of his past.

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My review:

They are a contradiction, while both want justice they have different ways of achieving it.   How they will ever work together is a mystery, but they are forced to come together to solve a case.  Can they both overcome their histories to form a new future?  That is what we are reading to really find out and the story is compelling enough with fantastic character to keep us going.

Alice is tricked into accepting a new position.  While its a good move for all involved she isnt given much of a chance to say anything but yes.  Thinking she will have time to adjust, she is immediately thrown into a case.  A case where she ends up running into Ian.  Ian has his own interests in the case and after some fun sparring they come to an agreement to work together.

The story is well paced and the characters are interesting and work in the story.  They are interesting and worth finding out more about them and how they came to be where they are.  They are complete opposites and their sparring while trying to work together is not only fun to read but helps in the character and story development.

I really enjoyed this and the first in the series and am looking forward to more to come. 

Review - Mercy

Julia Klein’s life has begun to unravel—her daughter Amy has been suspended from school, Julia is about to lose her job, and her boyfriend Garrett is being transferred thousands of miles away. Overwhelmed, she and Amy leave for a weekend at a rambling old colonial inn. Julia never suspects that Garrett, desperate to find a way to keep Julia in his life, has decided to surprise her by joining them. Nor does she expect her daughter to befriend a mischievous ghost...or that she herself would be possessed by the malevolent spirit of a long-dead mother.

As a dark secret emerges, Julia, Amy, and Garrett find themselves pitted in a fight for survival against a savage presence that intends to resurrect/repeat/relive a horrible crime committed two centuries ago. And this time, Amy and Julia will be the victims.



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My Review:

This was one of those short quick reads that are perfect for taking a break in between longer novels.  It also sets the tone to get you read for Halloween if you like spooky stories around that time.

Julia is raising her daughter alone after a terrible accident that killed her husband and has psychologically scarred her daughter. After events hit a breaking point she decides they have to get away for a couple of days and books a room at an old inn. Garrett, Julia's boyfriend, comes up to surprise them and convince Julia that he wants to find a way to stay in their lives even though he has to relocate. 

Early on in the stay, Amy befriends a little girl who is haunting the inn.  After Garrett arrives the haunting escalates and soon the ghost girls mother makes an appearance as well.  The three must work together to show the truth about the past to the ghosts and to keep another tragedy from happening.

For such a short story, not all the characters are as developed as they would be in a full length novel.  However, you do get a sense of who they are during this brief time and it is enough to make them likable and you want them to solve the mystery and be able to move on and be happy.

I did enjoy this story and it was a great introduction to this author.  I will be looking out for more from her in the future.

Review - Ruby Hill

From her earliest memories, Ashley Pearce has been drawn to Ruby Hill Lunatic Asylum, and she's not the only one. Decades after the abandoned hospital ended its institutional reign of torture and neglect, something lurks in the shadows. Since she’s a paranormal investigator, it's Ashley's job to find out what.

Crime scene expert Corbin Malone doesn't believe in ghosts. A born skeptic, he has no interest in entertaining the hype surrounding the mysterious deaths at Ruby Hill, but he won't turn his back while more women die. He agrees to an overnight investigation, never expecting his first encounter would be with the woman he pushed away a year ago. But when he discovers Ashley is a target, he learns his greatest fear isn't living with his own demons, but losing her for good.



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My review:

A great spooky story that takes place in a haunted asylum with perfect timing to read for Halloween.

Corbin doesnt believe in ghosts.  But there have been some mysterious killings in the Ruby Hill Asylum.  Determined to catch the killer he agrees to go along with a paranormal investigation hoping to draw him out and prove ghosts do not exist and can not have killed the women found dead within its walls.

Ashley is a paranormal investigator and based on family history has been drawn to the Asylum.  She is determined to find its secrets and prove that ghosts exist but that they did not kill the women murdered.  She also has a history with Corbin and her belief in the supernatural has  come between them.

The story was a quick suspenseful read.  You get just enough of the character background to care about what happens to them and hope they figure out a way to be together and happy while catching the killer to keep more people from being murdered.  Each has to face their own truths and figure out what they believe in and how it connects to the old asylum and those that have recently been found dead inside its walls.  How is it all connected and can they solve the mystery.  You will have to read and find out. 

Review - The Night is Forever

A Ghost Rider in the Sky? 

What happened here, on a historic ranch outside Nashville, during the Civil War? And what's happening now?

Olivia Gordon works at the Horse Farm, a facility that assists patients with mental and physical recovery; her specialty is animal therapy. She's always loved her job, always felt safe…until now.

People are dying, starting with the facility's founder, whose body is discovered in a ravine on the property—site of a massacre in 1862. And before every death, Liv sees a horse and rider, wearing a soldier's garb, in the night sky…. Warning? Omen? Or clue?

Liv calls in her cousin Malachi and his Krewe, an FBI unit of paranormal investigators, to discover the truth. New Krewe member Dustin Blake knows they need Liv's involvement in the case, yet he's worried about her safety. Because he and Liv quickly become more than colleagues…and he doesn't want to lose her to the endless night.

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My Review:

This is the latest in the Krewe books and provides just as much mystery and excitement as the previous titles.  In this one we are taken to a small town just outside Nashville, TN.  Close enough to the city to visit but far enough away that your neighbors are far enough you should drive to see them.

Olivia works on a horse farm, that was established to help horses and people that need therapy of one kind of another.  The owner would take in any animal to save it and discovered how much they could help people suffering.  Unfortunately when we come in to the story we discover he has just died from an apparent relapse and overdose.  Olivia not believing this could be true calls her cousin who is a new member of the Krewe and asks for help.  Since the FBI technically can not come into a case without being invited or causing serious issues with the local law enforcement.  They decide to send a new member into the camp as an agent who is on a much needed break from the stress of the job.

Dustin grew up in Nashville but has traveled all over and has seen ghosts all his life.  Joining the Krewe has been an interest to him for a long time and he is happy to get the chance.  Once he arrives at the Horse Farm he wastes no time getting to know the locals, staff and other clients of the Farm.  Not long after he arrives is the reading of the will, when the staff discovers what will happen to this place they love that has done so many so much good.

After that things really start to escalate.  It seems that either the staff is becoming increasingly unlucky or that someone is not happy with what was left to whom.  As Olivia is threatened and another staff member dies unexpectedly, Dustin realizes its time to really work with the local law enforcement and possibly bring in more help.  No one can stand the idea of the Horse Farm having to turn away clients and close its doors forever.

With the help of 3 very important ghosts, Dustin, Olivia, and the rest learn more about the area and the people who work at the Farm then they ever wanted to know.  From secret love affairs to ghostly history everything they find is important and it becomes more neccessary than ever to find out who is behind it all.  There is a romantic element built into the story between Dustin and Olivia.  They are able to find each other and become close though all they endure.  But for this Krewe story the mystery greatly overshadows the romance.  You are kept guessing with the characters up until the end of the story and when the killer is revealed it is a shock to all.

If you are looking for a great mystery with some local history and romance thrown in and mixed together to form a wonderful story, pick this one up as soon as you get the chance.

Review - First Temptation

Counterterrorist agent Taft Walker knows the Mexican cartel smuggling game. But posing as part owner of an adult store to ferret out the newest tunnel into the US is a first. So is Zoe Brooks, his partner, new to undercover and a sex-toy virgin. Taft’s up for the sexy challenge. At least until he sees the real Zoe beneath her tough façade and realizes, for the first time in his life, he’ll have to risk his heart to win.

After the death of a teammate, Border Patrol Agent Zoe Brooks is ready to get off the front lines. She’s willing to tolerate a swaggering partner like Taft for a chance to work investigations with ICE. But she’s not prepared for the way he understands her deepest, sexiest desires. Or the fact that she’ll have to break her own rules to grab hold of the passion she’s always wanted.

Note: Also appears in the anthology Wicked Firsts

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My review:

This was a quick captivating suspense story that I am glad I decided to read.  From the first scene you are thrust into the story when you meet Zoe during a chase as she is working Border Patrol.  You get to see she is a strong,  Next we follow her to a meeting with Taft to hopefully get her chance at leaving Border Patrol and becoming in ICE agent.  While they have some initial objections to each other there is also instant chemistry.  Zoe is willing to put up with Taft and his attitude to get off the Border and into undercover work.  Taft doesn't believe she can handle it, but is sure he can work around her and get the job done.  Little do they know their undercover assignment will be as a couple running an adult store.

What a great story and thrilling ride all the way to the conclusion.  You have complex interesting characters - a strong alpha male and self reliant heroine.  Both with their own views and opinions and not afraid to speak their minds.  At the same time they have an undeniable chemistry and watching them come to accept and realize what it is makes a great story in and of itself.  If you love romantic suspense this is one not to be missed.

Review - Secrets and Sins: Malachim

Looking like sin and smelling like trouble… Boston attorney Malachim Jerrod doesn’t trust anyone. His father and his ex-fiancé taught him that hard lesson. So when a beautiful stranger arrives on his doorstep his first reaction is to back away—far away. Danielle Warren wants a job, but his law business is falling apart, and her credentials are bare-bones at best. Still, there’s something about her that, try as he might, he’s unable to resist. The vulnerability in her soft voice? The way she flinches when he gets too close? The yearning he sees mirrored in her eyes when she looks at him? She’s the last thing he needs… Two years ago, Danielle barely escaped alive from her powerful and abusive ex-husband.  Now her ex is out of prison, and he’s coming for her. She knows she must leave her new job and run. Disappear—to keep herself and those she loves safe. Including her sexy boss, who has sparked feelings in her heart she never thought she’d feel again. Yet, she can’t help but wonder...should she let down her guard and trust Malachim with the truth? But the only one he desires. Working together brings them closer than ever—but reveals secrets and sins best left buried in the past. Their lives and their passionate love at stake, Danielle and Malachim must fight to survive to grasp the future of their dreams.

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My Review:

While this is the second book in a series.  It does not need to be read that way.  I read this one before I read the first and it worked out fine.  This is an excellent example of a good romantic suspense.  There is action, suspense, mystery and romance that takes you on a wild ride though the pages.

Both the heroine and hero and complex multi layered characters with things in their past they dont want to admit to or face.  But they are forced to come to terms with their pasts in order to move forward with not only their lives but hopefully with each other.  They both come to the story with complex pasts, and the character development is so well done that you get to see how they resolve past issues and grow from them to be people you wish you knew.  The story is put together so well that it is near impossible to put down until you reach the conclusion.  

This is one of the best romantic suspense stories I have read this year.  It keeps you interested and reading with equal parts suspense, mystery and romance.  You watch the characters grow together and you root for them to figure out what is going on so they can be happy.  I had to get the first book as soon as I finished in order to read Gabriel's story and I cant wait for the next in the series of four to be released.  If you love a good story and a good romantic suspense this is a series you can not pass up.

Review - Dangerous Desire

A desperate search…

Schoolteacher Gracie James has never seen more danger than her kindergarten grade classroom, but when she goes searching for her missing sister, she’s thrown into a world of sex, crime...and passion. Following a hot lead, she sneaks onto a stranger’s boat—and gets caught. Their one-sided conversation convinces her of two things. One: the guy is seriously sexy. Two: he knows something about her sister. Oh, yeah. And did she mention he’s sexy? And a sizzling attraction…

Jake Alexander, former cop, is staking out a yacht brimming with criminal activity, for an insurance company, when a woman, dressed to kill and totally irresistible, stumbles into his dangerous undercover op. If he hadn’t tackled her, she’d have tottered straight onto the questionable yacht in those ridiculous high heels. Then she’d be dead. Or worse. As much as he’d like to kick her off his boat, he can’t risk her going off on some hare-brained scheme—but he can’t keep her around to muck up his job. Oh, yeah. And did he mention she’s distracting as hell? Lead to dangerous desire…

Unfortunately, she has a keen mind of her own. And a body any man would die for. Jake’s attempt to keep Gracie safe quickly morphs into a reluctant alliance. And a whole lot more... But Gracie finds herself knee deep in more trouble than she bargained for, with secrets revealed and the criminals coming after her. Unless they find a way to trust each other, they’re finished. Oh, yeah. And did they mention they’re in love?

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This story was great.  Once I started it got its hooks into me and I didnt want to put it down.  It has action, suspense, romance and even some humor.

Gracie is looking for her sister.  She hasnt heard from her for a while and has gotten worried, it is not like her sister to completely cut off contact.  She is going to go and find her.  Since she knows her sister was working on a boat that is known for its parties she dresses to fit the part.  This is all a bit out of her comfort zone as a teacher.  Trying to get an idea of the boat she wants to sneak onto she climbs aboard a boat across from it and watches what goes on.  Unknown to her Jake is on the boat she climbs on and he is also watching the party boat.  When he stops her from climbing off his boat and getting in over her head on the party boat is where this story really takes off.
  
Gracie is determined to find her sister by any means necessary.  And once Jake meets her, he is determined to keep her from the trouble he knows the boat across the way in involved in.  While fighting their instant chemistry, they have to learn to trust each other and work together to find out what happened to her sister, who has been seen on the boat and complete Jake's assignment from the insurance company he works for.

The characters in this story are well developed and you can easily visualize them and what they are doing.  Their actions fit their characters and you really believe Gracie will go so far out of her comfort zone just to find her sister and make sure she is ok. The setting is full of action and danger and as a former cop you know Jake will do everything he can to protect Gracie from the events he has watched go down on the boat.   The secondary cast of characters, really help to add to the story and you know they will make interesting main characters in a story of their own.

The story was full of suspense and romance and made for a really great read.  The climax and discover kept you reading and when it was over you missed the characters already and were ready to start reading more about them in another story.

Review - Bound by Night

The first installment in a sexy new paranormal romance series by Larissa Ione, author of the bestselling Demonica series!

A WOMAN OUT FOR BLOOD
Nicole Martin was only eight years old when the vampire slaves rose up in rebellion and killed her family. Now she devotes her life to finding a vaccine against vampirism, hoping to wipe out her memories—along with every bloodsucker on the planet. But there’s one thing she cannot destroy: her searing, undeniable attraction for the one man she should hate and fear the most . . .

A VAMPIRE OUT FOR REVENGE
A member of the renegade vampire MoonBound Clan, Riker is haunted by demons of his own. When he recognizes Nicole and remembers how her family enslaved his loved ones, his heart burns for vengeance. But when he kidnaps Nicole and holds her in a secret lair, his mortal enemy becomes his soul obsession, his greatest temptation, and, perhaps, his only salvation—a hot-blooded lover who could heal him with her touch . . . or bury him forever.
 
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My Review:

It took a little bit to get familiar with the story, setting and world.  And since I was reading on my kindle I can safely estimate that it was about 20%.  But once that point was reached it was a non stop unable to put down until finished story.

This is great start to a new series, and since it is a new series and a new world, although much like our own, it does have a bit of a learning curve to get used to what is going on around the characters.  This would account for the slower start and I do not anticipate it being an issue in future stories.

Nicole Martin is an interesting character.  Who she is and what she has become was highly influence by the events that happened when she was a child.  When the vampires that were kept as servants revolted and killed her family.  Riker was also there that night and while he was not directly involved with the uprising.  What Nicole saw him do has greatly affected her.

When Nicole moves back home to work in the family business headquarters she becomes not only a threat but also a tool to be used by vampires who are trying to live without the threat of being held as servants.  When Nicole and Riker meet face to face one night, they not only have instant distrust and mutual dislike but compelling attraction as well.

When Riker takes Nicole to use her as leverage to get what the vampires want from her company, they have to learn to get along and not kill each other for at least the time they are forced to be in contact.  As Nicole learns more about the vampires and starts to see them from a new perspective, Riker also begins to see Nicole as someone who is not just our to capture and study them but also as someone who can be not only an asset but also an overwhelming temptation who just might be able to help him conquer the demons he has lived with for years.

Watching Riker and Nicole fight and adjust to each other as they come to know more than just their personal viewpoints to what can only be called love even as neither is quite ready to accept it is a fun and entertaining ride.  Along with the truths Nicole learns about not only her childhood but also her only remaining family and company she is supposed to run makes for an exciting backdrop to their relationship.  Only we are familiar with the characters and setting of the story it doesn't stop moving and keeps going at a pace you cant help but keep up with.

There is a lot we learn along the way about the current race of vampires and where they come from.  And a lot we learn about some of the major issues troubling their race, which Nicole and her scientific background can help them overcome, the more we are drawn into the story and this world.

While this book does have a conclusion to the story we are being told there is a hint as to what will come next.  I cant wait to find out where the story goes from here and what else we can learn about how the vampires came to be.  We get a glimpse at the end of the book but its not enough to completely satisfy.  I am sure once you read this one you will be waiting just as impatiently as I am for more stories from this world.

Review - For Love or Vengeance

FBI Special Agent Helene Alexander is a goddess.  An actual frickin’ goddess. And her mission is clear, see that justice is served at all times or her days as a goddess are numbered. Helene’s new FBI partner defines good-looking, but Miguel Sanchez, wants nothing to do with her ends-justify-the-means attitude. He knows through experience the type of guilt her actions can bring and Miguel wants nothing to do with Helene’s careless ways. Even if she’s so damned hot she makes him burn with the need. When the serial killer they’re tracking strikes again, Helene and Miguel are drawn into a case that will challenge their most fundamental beliefs about justice and vengeance. But it’s the passion between them that forces a goddess to choose: eternal life with all her powers...or death—to save the man she loves.



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My Review:

What a great story.  Helene is an actual goddess living on earth.  She is the goddess of vengeance and  is currently a tough as nails FBI agent who will do anything to get justice for the cases she is assigned.  Actually she has too, because based on a deal she made with Zeus if she does not see that justice is served her time on earth as a goddess will be over.

When Helene moves to New York she is given a new partner - Miguel.  Miguel has also recently transferred to New York and has his own share of past history he is trying to overcome.  Miguel is a more by the book type of agent and doesnt care for Helene's methods.  

When they are paired up to track down a serial killer that no one has been able to get a successful lead on sparks begin to fly.  Not only in their working relationship, but personal one as well.  Can they learn to work together and catch the killer?  And whose sense of justice and vengeance is right?  Can Helene fulfill her bargain with Zeus and merit out justice no matter what, are just some of the questions that get answered by the time you are finished.

This story has it all, action, suspense, romance and a great character match-up.  Both characters are strong, with interesting backgrounds and attributes.  We also get to meet many interesting side characters that I hope to see again in their own story.  If you love romantic suspense, like a little mythology thrown in with a vampire or two than this story is for you.  Don't miss out!

Review - Midnight Lies

The Wilde sisters of Midnight return in this thrilling novel of romantic suspense, perfect for fans of Maya Banks, Allison Brennan, and Lori Foster.

IT’S ALWAYS HOTTER AT MIDNIGHT.

The winds of fate have blown cruelly on a family that once had it all: money, power, prestige. The lives of three beautiful daughters were forever changed when, on a sultry night in Midnight, Alabama, a murder-suicide shattered the Wilde family. The girls grew up to live separate lives but now have returned home, each to face a danger no one can see coming.

Former homecoming queen Samantha surprised everyone by going into law enforcement, but beneath her tough façade lies a wary heart. The tragedy that struck her family is an ever-present reminder that nothing is ever as it seems. When the man she loves, Quinn Braddock, a doctor and Iraq war veteran, is accused of murder, Samantha assumes the worst. Brokenhearted, her confidence shattered, she returns to Midnight. Though exonerated, Quinn still feels the sting of Samantha’s doubt, but he can’t forget his feelings for her and follows her. Soon after his arrival, a shocking murder terrifies the town, and once again, Quinn is under suspicion. This time, Samantha will not turn her back on the man she loves—even if it means walking into a killer’s trap.


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My Review:

I really liked the first book in the series, but that was nothing compared to this one.  Once I started I didn't want to stop.  My Kindle died and I immediately loaded it on my phone to keep reading, annoying with the smaller screen I have to say but I had to find out what happened next.

This was the second in the series.  And while it was nice to read them in order it is not completely necessary.  The story is standalone as it deals with the second of the three sisters.  And while there are references to the story before it is not necessary to have read to love and enjoy this one.

Samantha is a great main character.  She is strong, self reliant and strong willed.  She is very focused in her beliefs and will defend those she loves with everything she has.  Quinn is a troubled character, he wants Sam but after a disastrous marriage isn't willing to form a life long commitment.  When he is accused of murdering his ex wife, doubts start to seek into their relationship.  What follows from there is some mistaken communication, some learning to trust and two characters that have to realize what it is they really want and are they willing to fight for it.

While we have the ups and downs of their relationship going on, we also have a mystery that is worthy of any romantic suspense tale.  Who did kill Quinn's ex wife, who killed another member of Midnight and who is trying to hurt Sam.  Combine all of this together and you have a non stop ride you wont be able to put down.  I only hope if you read it digitally like I did, your reader wont die on you in the middle!

Review - Shadow's Curse (Imnada Brotherhood #2)

The second novel in the dark and sexy Imnada Brotherhood trilogy featuring shape-shifters in Regency-era England.

Suffering under a horrible curse and renounced by his clan, the Imnada shape-shifter, David St. Leger, stalks the London nights in the form of a large black wolf, channeling his desperate rage on thieves and murderers. But when he’s captured by the very woman he sought to rescue, he’s thrown into the magical and dangerous world of the Other—half human, half-Fey, and one of the Imnada’s ancient enemies.

Forced by her half-brother to use her gift of necromancy as a money-making scheme, Callista Hawthorne wants only to flee to her aunt in Scotland where she’ll be safe. Considering David her last hope, she offers him a deal—freedom in exchange for his protection on the long journey north.

Now in a race for their lives, Other and Imnada must put aside centuries of animosity and work together if they are to overcome the dark forces intent on stopping them before they reach safety. For Callista is far more powerful than she knows, and with her help and her love, David may finally be able to break the curse of the Imnada…

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My review:

I dont normally read historicals, but since this series has a paranormal aspect I decided to give it a shot.  For me I thought it started out slow, but I think that could be my adjusting to the time and setting because once I was used to it the story really flew by.

The characters were were developed and interesting and had their own backstory that was useful to know for their development, but did not slow down the pace of the story being told.  Both the hero and heroine are strong, capable characters that learn to not only work together but to see that their differences arent quite so different after all.

This book is the second in the series, and while you dont necessarily have to read them in order, it does help since a lot of what is explained in book 1 was not explained in this one.  The world the characters are in, is so well developed you can really picture it.  It is incredibly well done and envisioned and I cant imagine these characters being in any other setting 

I highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a paranormal historical.  I know I am really looking forward to book 3 and seeing what happens next.  

Review - Unleash the Curse

Only available as an enovella, the prequel to the second novel in the dark and sexy Imnada Brotherhood trilogy about shapeshifters in Regency-era England. 

Neither actress Sarah Hayes nor London’s most eligible bachelor Sebastian Commin, Earl of Deane, has ever forgotten their one and only scandalous night of white hot passion or the differences in their social positions that make a future together impossible. So when they discover that they’ll be fellow guests at a house party, they vow to keep each other at arm’s length. A vow broken when they find themselves caught up in a mystery involving a brutal attack on an Imnada shape-shifter and an unexplained entity known as the Naxos.

Each clue they uncover reveals more about the ancient Imnada enemy—monstrous soul-feeders with the power to devour worlds. Each fiery encounter between the aristocrat and the entertainer underscores the raw desire that crackles the very air between them until Sebastian is convinced to make Sarah his wife, no matter the cost to his reputation. He just needs to convince Sarah, who cares for him too much to allow his future to be ruined by marrying a low-born actress. It’s only when the sinister Naxos strike again and Sebastian’s life is threatened that Sarah realizes she’s willing to risk a little scandal in order to save the world…and the man she loves.

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My review:

This was a great story to bridge the time between books 1 and 2 in this series.  The world created in these stories is well envisioned and with each story we learn a little more about not only the characters but the races that are present.  

Sebastian knows about the others in the world around them.  But Sarah is only aware of the Fey-bloods.  She still thinks the Imnada shape-shifters are just a story.  When one night at a house party she accidentally discovers different, she becomes drawn into the mystery of what is going on and the cause Sebastian and his friends are working towards. Sebastian and Sarah though have a history, it was a one night affair that neither can forget. 

Even though this is a novella we do get a lot of information about the things that are going on and the Naxos which is an entity that is neither Fey nor shifter but poses a threat to all.    While at the same time watching Sebastian and Sarah fight their attraction and love for each other to protect the reputations and respect in their social circles.

I am looking forward to reading book 2 soon to see where this story is going to lead and how the author works towards resolving this age old conflicts between the others.

Review - The Demon's Desire (Hearts of the Fallen #2)

He’s as dark and dangerous as the storms he once commanded…and she can’t get him out of her heart.  Dru has spent two thousand years fighting to keep the people of Terra Noctem safe. In all that time, she's only opened her heart to one man, with disastrous results. But when her city takes in a group of renegade Fallen, she finds herself drawn to the brooding and tormented Meresin, despite the fact that he seems to be the least redeemable of them all. When his instability hits a breaking point, Meresin’s only chance at survival is a perilous journey into a place from which few ever return. What he never expected was that confronting his demons would mean risking not only his future, but Dru's as well...and that one stubborn vampire might give him back not just hope…but his heart.

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My review:

This is the second story in the Hearts of the Fallen series, but each story is standalone.  

This follows Dru, who is the sister of the vampire king, and Meresin, who is one of the fallen angels that have left Hell and are living in Terra Noctem, which is the hidden city of the vampires and other otherworldly beings.  Dru and Meresin have an unexplainable connection, when Meresin loses control she is the only one that can calm him.

Meresin has the power of storms, and when he loses control things go crazy.  He though has reached his breaking point and is given an ultimatum to either get control or leave the city permanently.  While getting ready to embark on the mission he has been given, to take a journey back to where he was given this power, something happens that causes Dru and him to become linked.   Their survival depends on each other.

I really enjoyed this story and the characters.  Both Dru and Meresin are complex, interesting characters that have a detailed background.  Their backgrounds do not overcome their current story but add to it as you learn more about them.  Watched a relationship develop between them is a fun, exciting ride and watching them work together and help each other to overcome the difficulties set in their path makes for a great story.

I really enjoyed this story and am looking forward to more from this author.  There are quite a few fallen left we need to find out more about.  This is the second in the story, be prepared if you start with this one you will want to get the first as soon as you are finished.  The author also has a couple of other stories out there set in this world that I felt the need to read as soon as I finished as well.

Review - Revealing Us (Inside Out #3)

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones takes readers on the ultimate journey of a sensual discovery in Revealing Us, the unforgettable climax of the trilogy.

No in-between…

He has become her life, her heart, her very soul. But he is dark and damaged, and his secrets are many. Sara will risk everything for him. He, in turn, will dare to expose his deepest needs, his most erotic desires. And in the fury of passion he will reveal all that torments him, all that he can never escape. To love him, Sara must embrace the darkest part of him, and become his shelter in a storm that will be his ultimate salvation.




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My review:

Stunning conclusion to the Inside Out Trilogy.  If you have not read books 1 and 2 stop reading here and go and pick them up.  You want to read them just to get to this volume and get all your questions answered and see what happens to Sara and Chris and their developing relationship.  This is really hard to review without spoilers but I am going to try.  It really is a great series and you should definitely check it out from the beginning.

In this volume we see Sara and Chris in Paris.  Chris is trying to prepare her to find out his deepest secret and Sara is trying to convince him nothing will change her feelings.  She is forced to face people and places of his past, while also seeing places he loves.  How this affects her and if she is strong enough both in her feelings and in his feelings for her to overcome them is the basis for this story.

Sara is still looking for her friend and Chris is doing everything he can to help her.  As the PI finds new leads that help and dont help locate her.  And Sara finds out about some fallout issues from what happened at the end of Being Me.  We get to watch how Sara and Chris have learned how to care deeply for one another and take care of each other.  There are fights, resolutions, make ups and everything in between throughout this story and you are helpless to do anything but follow along and see where it leads.

Hopefully this does not give away the ending, but you do see a wrapping up of the Sara and Chris storyline.  If they stay together or not, you have to read and find out.  And it does set up the ideas for future stories in this world.  I am looking forward to much more and seeing Sara and Chris again.

Review - The Awakening: Liam (The Awakening #2)

Shifter, Liam Doyle knows Hell. At least he believed he did. The night he feels his mate die, he learns how very wrong he was. Nothing he’d struggled with since Ava’s rejection compares to the emptiness that fills his soul by her death. Lost in his grief, he’s taken by surprise and drugged. When he wakes, everything changes. Nothing is what it seems, and someone is dead set on making him pay.

When Ava Michaels is taken captive, she’s thrust into a dark and terrifying world along with the man she was forced to leave behind. While being near Liam again is heartbreaking, the motive behind her kidnapping is gradually revealed. The more she learns, the more she worries Liam isn’t the man she believed him to be. He has enemies willing to do anything to extract their revenge. Can their love survive a crazy man’s vengeance?


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My Review:

This was the second book in The Awakening series.  However, it is not necessary to read them in order.  They are each their own complete stories.  Also if you hold a grudge against a character, reading Aidan's story first might make it harder for you to like Ava in this one.  I really had my doubts about her at the beginning based on the little I knew from book 1.  But as you read her and Liam's story you get a very different perspective.

Liam is a broken soul, he has mated to a woman who has rejected him.  As a result he cant shift and keeps getting lost in her emotions.  He has a one way bond that returns nothing to him but pain and suffering.  When he feels his mate die he cant help run to her.  While distraught and distracted he is easily overcome and taken captive.

Ava had refused Liam when he tried to explain what he was to her.  Her rejection has all but destroyed him.  When she is drugged and taken captive, she has no idea what is going on.  Only to find herself trapped with the one man she left behind and the one man she can never forget.

From the moment they are captured the story takes you on a roller coaster ride of danger and excitement.   It is near impossible to wait to see what happens next.  Who is this mysterious stranger that has kidnapped them?  Will Ava tell Liam why she really left him?  Will Liam survive her leaving again or will he even let her go?  Can they overcome the odds stacked against them and be together forever the way they are meant too? 

Once I started I could not stop reading and finished this book rather quickly.  Both Liam and Ava are fascinating characters with such levels that really come out in this story.  Watching them interact is pure enjoyment.  You cant help but hope they can work it out to be together.  As I said you do not have to read these in order, but once you read one you will have to read the other so be prepared!  I am looking forward to more from this author as she creates a well developed world and intriguing characters.

Review - The Master Undone

*** The Master Undone is a part of the Inside Out trilogy, and is told from his POV. ***

I told him goodbye, and I will not call him. I know if I do, it will be my undoing, and I'll once again be caught up in his spell. I will once again be...lost.

In her private journals, Rebecca laid bare her soul, revealing her obsession for the one man whose erotic demands captivated her imagination--and enslaved her forever. Now, with Rebecca no longer in his life he is lost, questioning everything he thought he knew about himself and about control he holds in such high regard. One women will reach out to heal him and then turn away, leaving him haunted. She is nothing he thought he wanted and somehow everything he needs. He tells himself to forget her but he cannot escape his desire for her. He has to have more...

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My Review:

First of all, please note this novella contains spoilers for Being Me.  I will do my best to not give spoilers for either one.

At the end of Being Me, we do find out what happened to Rebecca and who her "master" was.  And in this well placed and written novella we get to see him from a different perspective than we have before.   By this point we might think we have ideas into who he is and what type of character he is, but in this story we have to question what we think we know.

It was awesome getting this perspective into his character and Im looking forward to finding out more about him and how and why he became the "master" as we know him.

Review - Being Me (Inside Out #2)

The sexy second installment in the Inside Out erotic romance trilogy, following If I Were You—in the seductive tradition of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Fascinated by the dark fantasies in the journals she’s discovered, and the two men who have now found a place in her life, Sara McMillan finds herself torn between her new life and her past. Now, more than ever, Sara identifies with the lost journal writer, Rebecca, and is certain that something sinister has happened.

In the arms of the sexy, tormented artist Chris Merit, Sara seeks answers about Rebecca and ends up discovering things about herself she never knew existed. Chris forces Sara to reconsider who she is and what she truly wants from life, but not before his dark desires threaten to tear them apart. Her boss, Mark Compton, offers her the shelter to understand just what those needs mean to her, and what they might have meant to Rebecca, but can she trust him to lead her to a final conclusion to Rebecca’s story?

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My review:

The next exciting installment in the Inside Out series has you still following Sara as she tries to find out what happened to Rebecca.  Will she find out or will she lose herself as Rebecca did in this new life.  

In Being Me we get to watch Sara and Chris' relationship develop.  We learn a lot more about Chris and see Sara trying to help him deal with his demons.  Their relationship is still new enough that the question is out there if she can handle what he was and help him be happy with who he is.  Mark of course does not make this easy, he is still trying to plant seeds of doubt in Sara regarding Chris. 

The mystery of what happened to Rebecca is still present and unknown.  Finding out what happened is harder than it might seem.  Even with the diaries she appears to have completely disappeared without a trace.  At the same time, Sara is finding the same issues with her friend Ella, she still has not heard from her and she can not be located.

While this story does raise more questions - will Sara and Chris make it in a relationship?  Will Ella be found?  It does solve the mystery of what happened to Rebecca and who the "Master" is.  The entire book is a roller coaster ride and the ending is a dramatic event where not only are questions answered but lives and relationships are tested.  I can not wait for Revealing Us to find out the conclusion to Sara and Chris and hope that they find their HEA.