Friday, August 13, 2010

Seduced by the Wolf by Terry Spear

Seduced by the Wolf

I have been waiting for this book ever since the first time Leidolf was introduced and continued to show up in books as the “loner” red wolf, helping out where needed. Leidolf finally gets his own story in Seduced by the Wolf and author Terry Spear has not disappointed! This story is cram packed with suspense, romance, humor, and the beautiful settings that I’ve come to expect from any Terry Spear book I pick up. Throughout the entire book I was kept guessing as to whether the bad guys were really bad or if one of the good guys was up to no good. The secondary characters are fascinating and add an additional level to the story while never deflecting from the Leidolf/Cassie storyline. Readers will love the interaction between Leidolf, the exasperated alpha male, and Cassie, the alpha female that is the only one capable of putting him in his place. With every book in this series Terry Spear takes it to the next level. Seduced by the Wolf is yet another must read and another addition to my “keeper” shelf.
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Leidolf Wildhaven, a “loner” alpha red wolf, has recently taken over the pack leader position to a group of werewolves that had been abused and neglected by their previous leader. Leidolf has his hands full with leadership duties, ranch money problems, rogue werewolves that need constant babysitting, teenagers with raging hormones, and trying his hardest to keep his werewolves out of the hands of the local zoo. When a wolf biologist comes to town, Leidolf needs has to hear for himself what this lady has to say. Hoping she wasn’t in their town because she had spotted one of his pack running around in their wolf coats. What he finds is the last thing he expected: A beautiful woman with a heartfelt love for wolves. He’s determined to make her his, if only for a night.
Cassie Roux is a wolf biologist who has dedicated her life to the survival of wolves in the wild and educating the public about the true nature of the wolves. Cassie is also a survivor, a “loner” alpha wolf. Her family was killed when she was a young teen and she was forced to live in the wild with a pack of wolves. Cassie couldn’t go and live in the real world, with the humans, because she is a werewolf herself. Tragedy struck her adopted wolf family also leaving Cassie completely alone. Cassie’s only goal now is to save a female wolf and her litter of pups. Unfortunately she has a new problem, how to keep her heart from falling victim to the sexy, yet seemingly controlling, alpha werewolf and pack leader Leidolf.
Together they must protect the wolves (of the lupus and lupus garou variety) from the dangers of hunters, zoo keepers, and rogue werewolves, all the while trying find a compromise in their relationship that will satisfy his need for a mate and her need to continue to protect the wild wolves.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

PaST Due by CS Winchester

PaST DUE: When the bad guy is a human and a vampire is an ally, it's no wonder things get a little complicated (Volume 1)

“A vampire, a shapeshifter, a witch, a zombie, a demon, and a psychic. Frankie thought it had the makings of a very good joke but her terror kept her from coming up with a decent punch line.”  ~PaST Due
CS Winchester brings us a fascinating suspense filled book that grabs your attention and leaves you on the edge of your seat until the final page. Frankie is such a strong character she easily holds her own among some very demanding males!  The story line has the unique twist in that the bad guy is human and the good guys working with Frankie trying to save the world are vampires and shapeshifters.  This is a must read for anyone that loves suspense, romance, and all things paranormal. I look forward to the second book in this series, Half PaST, where we’ll get to learn much more about the powerful alluring vampire Josh.
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In Frankie Wright’s world, she’s not one to bat an eyelash as anything strange or supernatural. As a psychic and agent for the secretive MI5 in the PaST (Paranormal and Supernatural Taskforce) department, it’s Frankie’s job to keep the Paranormal and Supernatural away from human awareness. She’s had a lot of practice with that, since she’s been hiding her psychic ability her whole life. Frankie is unable to touch anyone without hearing everything they are thinking or feeling their “past”. When a killer begins murdering young women in a ritualistic fashion, she has to work with her ex-boyfriend Will Campbell, the lead investigator for the police, all the while keeping both her personal psychic abilities and the paranormal aspect of the case secret.   Frankie finds the connection between the victims and it just happens to be that they all frequent a club owned by Alexander McNabb, a sexy sophisticated vampire.  Frankie soon realizes that even though Alex is a vampire he’s a welcome partner with the case as well as in her bed. The fact that she doesn’t “feel” any of his emotions or “past”, gives her the chance to have the close contact she never thought possible.
Being used to working on her own, Frankie struggles to work  not only with Alex and Will, but with a second very powerful vampire Josh and his shape shifter family, as well as with the local witch coven. Even with all their help, Frankie finds herself racing against time to find the killer before he brings hell upon earth, quite literally.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

My Love Eternal: The Dark Kiss Trilogy #1 by Liz Strange


My Love Eternal“Blood, sex, and eternal life…..What more could a girl ask for?” That quote from the back cover was enough to make me want to read this book!
My Love Eternal is a wonderful step outside the usual books in the vampire romance genre. While the story does contain a beautiful love story between the main characters Rachel and Giovanni, it really shows the darker side of “life” as a vampire. My Love Eternal contains more in the way of a darker paranormal romance storyline. There are some pretty graphic scenes, including one rape, but even these scenes are done tastefully and truly serve a purpose to further the plot. Forget the pretty images in the movies. The life of a vampire is violence, blood, and many times death.  The intensity of the passionate loving emotions as well as the darker emotions of anger, revenge, and fear were so strong it made it impossible to not feel a connection to the characters.  Ms. Strange does a superb job of showing the veracious dark nature of the vampire and balances it perfectly with the more human emotion of true love.
My Love Eternal is the first book in The Dark Kiss Trilogy and I look forward to the next books!
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Rachel is working the night shift at the hospital when a stranger shows up in her office. He’s the most beautiful man she’s ever seen and she is immediately drawn to him in a way that should frighten her, but doesn’t. After the brief encounter in her office she sees him in other places where she is. He haunts her every waking thought and her dreams as well, to the point of doubting her own sanity. Is he real? She sees things through his eyes, has memories that don’t belong to her. The dreams are so real and she finds herself waking in odd places, like she is trying to go to him even in her dreams.  As Rachel is drawn into Giovanni’s world she realizes that she is willing to give up everything, her family, her friends, her job, to be with him for eternity. Giovanni, after all, is a vampire.
Giovanni has been a vampire, alone in the world, for 300 years.  The moment he saw Rachel he knew she was the one, the one to accompany him through eternity. Never had he encountered someone who could hear his thoughts, feel his emotions, and share his memories so easily, so naturally. Giovanni never once hid the true nature of his being. He showed Rachel the dark side of his existence and was surprised to find that she still wanted to spend eternity by his side. She loved him, man and monster.
With Giovanni as her maker, lover, and guide through the complex world of being a vampire they find a comfortable existence together for many years. That is until the past catches up to them. The Desmarais family has been hunting Giovanni for centuries. Determined to carry out their vengeance for a tragedy Giovanni had no control over. Rachel and Giovanni must travel the world, uprooting their lives sometimes every couple years, sometimes no more than a week or two, just to stay one step ahead of the people who are bent on their destruction. 

Friday, June 11, 2010

Blood Born by Linda Howard and Linda Jones

Blood BornBlood Born was one of those books that surprised me. I was expecting the usual vampire vs. humans or vampire-loves-human, but this one was so much more. This book really had more of an Urban Fantasy feel to it than a Romance, but fans of either will love this book! The background of the main characters was so in-depth that it was impossible not to feel connected. I’ve read several reviews that said there was too much background but I feel that if you didn’t have the back ground of the characters, the story wouldn’t have the same appeal. Luca and Chloe are the main characters, but the supporting characters are so much a part of the story in their own way. This book is a perfect “first in a series” and I can’t wait to find out what happens to everyone next! The twists and turns in this story leave you guessing. The collaboration between Linda Howard and Linda Jones was a flawless blend and I am looking forward to reading Warrior Rising in 2011.

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The people of the US are more than aware of the blood-suckers that inhabit Washington DC. What they don’t know is that there are real blood suckers: Vampires, and there is a rouge faction, led by one of the council members, that are conspiring to take their place at the top of the food chain. The rogue vampires are tired of hiding in the dark, pretending not to be the powerful immortals that they are. The humans are nothing more than food and should be put in their place. The rogues are tracking down and killing conduits, humans that are able to bring ancient spirit warriors into the human realm to fight the vampires. Fortunately for the vampires, the humans have no idea they are conduits, some finding themselves doubting their sanity after seeing visions and hearing voices of their warriors. The vampires have to kill the conduits before the warriors can come through to this realm.

Luca Ambrus is a Blood Born. He’s a rare vampire, born of two vampire parents and, therefore, one of the most powerful in the vampire race. Luca also has a gift (or a curse): no one remembers him once they have taken their eyes off of him. Only the oldest and most power of the vampires are immune. The Vampire Council has, for centuries, tried to get him to join with them, but Luca has always refused. A warrior at heart, he has no desire to play politics or to be holed up in the Council headquarters with the rest of the over-privileged Council members. He has been an agent for the council, working for them to keep the secrecy of the race and tracking down and destroying those that betray them.
When Luca’s one friend on the Council summons him with a cryptic message of battle and death, Luca returns to the Council to find his friend, Hector has been killed and by one of their own. In his search for the killer, he uncovers the conspiracy of the rogue vampires.

Chloe Fallon is a human and a conduit and has been having odd dreams and hearing voices for weeks now. Living on little sleep and doubting her own mortality she is caught by surprise when a rogue vampire attacks her on her way home from work. Luca has been following the rogue and comes to Chloe’s rescue. Luca is shocked when Chloe seems to be immune to his gift/curse by remembering him over and over again. His curiosity keeps him returning and soon they form a bond of trust as well as deeper, more passionate feelings. Chloe realizes that she must rely on Luca to keep her alive. Luca knows that he cannot trust anyone else and won’t leave Chloe’s life in any one else’s hands.

Time is running out for the rogue vampires, the conduits, and the warriors that are trying to make it over to the physical realm. As the line between the sides is blurred for some, it’s a race to get the upper hand in the battle before the human and vampire worlds collide.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Karin Harlow's Enemy Lover


Enemy LoverWOW! Look out Jean Claude & Anita and you, too, Cat & Bones! Jax and Marcus are steaming up the pages and kicking ass along the way! It’s been a long time since I’ve had a book draw me in after the first page and keep me flying through the pages until the very end! Karin Harlow’s Enemy Lover was full of fast-paced action along with stomach-fluttering emotions. The characters were so vivid that as soon as you met them you either loved them or rooted for their demise. The L.O.S.T. series is going to quickly become a genre favorite.  A must read for any fan of Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy! Enemy Lover is the first book in the series and I simply can’t wait to see where Harlow takes L.O.S.T.!
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When her team failed to protect her from rape and torture by the hands of the human trafficking pimp Montes, Angela Giacomelli, was lucky to be alive. When the same justice system she fought for took her attacker away as an untouchable, she took justice into her own hands. As a result, her boss sold her out and left her to fend for herself on the witness stand. Angela, the once top-notch, kick-ass, take no names, cop is found guilty of murder. The bastard deserved it, but she is now going to spend the rest of her life in prison.
After being whisked off the bus that was delivering her to her new life in prison, she is given a second chance at life with the L.O.S.T. (Last Option Special Team). Angela Giacomelli is gone and Jax Cassidy is born. The L.O.S.T. hones her skills and makes her a lethal member of the team. Jax’s assignment, one she must succeed in to prove herself, is to gain the trust of assassin Marcus Cross and destroy him. Once Marcus is out of the way, she must take down his boss, Colonel Joseph Lazarus, leader of “The Solution”, an organization that preaches patriotism, but practices terrorism in the name of national security. Lazarus’s goal isn’t so much national security, but clearing the path to the top, right to the White House.  It’s a tough assignment but neither Jax, nor her team, know just how dangerous the assignment is. Marcus is no regular assassin. He’s a vampire and Lazarus is his creator.
  Marcus is no stranger to being alone and fending for himself. He was abandoned by his mother as a baby, his father died by the time he was 6, and his grandfather raised him on the reservation. As a troubled kid he was in and out of jail as a teen and after graduating high school with a barely passable GPA, he joined the Army at age 17. Within a year he had moved quickly through the military scoring perfectly on nearly every ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) and spent 10 years as a Specialty Sniper in the Ranger program.
8 years ago Marcus Cross was a Special Ops Sniper, fighting for his country. When he is left for dead in the desert hills of Afghanistan, deserted by his unit, Marcus is given a second chance at life, eternal life. With the blood of two of the most powerful vampires in existence running through is body, Marcus is a practically invincible. With Colonel Lazarus as his mentor, Marcus is able to continue to fight for his country, not as a military soldier, but a soldier for The Solution. He’s a skilled assassin, taking out the bad guys; the bad guys that no one else can touch, not even the military.
When the Senator, who has been supporting The Solution, pulls the funding because of the extreme measures that Lazarus has been taking, Lazarus threatens him and his family. The Senator calls in the L.O.S.T. to protect his family and Lazarus calls on Marcus Cross. Marcus’ assignment: kill the Senator’s daughter and anyone who gets in his way. Not being one to kill innocent people, Marcus tries to reason with his mentor. Lazarus makes it clear that though the daughter is not a threat, her father is and, well, sometimes you have to sacrifice an innocent for the greater good.
When Marcus and Jax become each other’s “assignments”, they find it to be not quite as easy as they thought. There is an attraction between them that shocks both of them.  Both have been betrayed in some of the worst ways and trust is not an easy thing for either of them, especially since they are both on opposing teams.  Jax and Marcus find something in each other they never thought to find again. Jax finds the passion that she thought would never return and Marcus finds the one thing that makes him miss his mortality and makes him want to live as normal a life as he can. 
Marcus finds out that Lazarus has been using him and the betrayal is blood deep. He must work with Jax to take down his mentor and save not only the senator’s life, but Jax’s as well, even if it costs him his immortal life in the end.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Quinn Keitt's Crimson Stained

Crimson Stained
Quinn Keitt’s Crimson Stained is a wonderful story of a love meant to overcome all obstacles. While this is a vampire romance, it could very well be a book about any young couple struggling with the beginnings of their relationship, dealing with addictions, family, friends, and the doubts. Keitt brings so much emotion into her story that any adult would be hard to not reminisce and empathize with the characters in the story. The vampire aspect of the story doesn’t come through as a main issue in the story, but adding a unique element that enhances the relationships. Crimson Stained will appeal to the fans of Twilight and True Blood alike.

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Lacey is a young woman, living her life on her own and for the most part, she’s quite happy with it. Sure, she would love to not have to go to work everyday at the clothing store and sure, she’d love to have a good man to wake up next to everyday, but, such is life and she’s taken care of herself for a long time. One night as Lacey is coming home from work she sees an attractive, god-like specimen of a man in the parking garage. He notices her and their eyes meet; it’s an immediate attraction as he gravitates towards her. Unfortunately before he could reach her, he’s attacked by some kind of monster; a monster that bites into the boy’s neck and rips it open while sucking down the blood. Great! If she’s not lusting after Tristan, a boy that can’t seem to get the hint that she’s in love with him, then she’s watching the next potential date get his throat torn out. Just her luck. Things seem to only be getting crazier when the boy she saw attacked shows up at her balcony window one night, completely naked! Not that she would complain about an Adonis-like man, naked on her door step, but this one seems to want something from her as he continues to show up at midnight every single night. They strike up a somewhat awkward friendship through his continuous visits. She’s always been a sucker for the blond hair and green eyes, but she is not crazy enough to let him into her apartment! She soon learns hat Kevin is of all things, a vampire. Yep - just her luck. He’s not just a crazy naked boy; he’s a crazy naked vampire.

Kevin remembers seeing Lacey right before he was attacked. Now that he’s a vampire he has a single objective, to make Lacey his. Kevin is used to being on his own, but the possessive instincts of a vampire are hard to deny. While he doubts she would want a monster, who must kill to survive, he continues to show up at her balcony door every night, biding his time. He could enter her home without her permission (just one of the many myths he learned was untrue of vampires) but he does not want to scare her. He wants her to come to him willingly and become his mate. His patience is growing thin, and he devises a way to claim her on his terms.

As the relationship continues Lacey finds herself struggling with having to keep his secret, struggling with knowing the man she loves is a murderer. They face many of the same struggles that other young couples face in their relationship; dealing with family, friends, Kevin’s jealously over Tristan (who just happens to be noticing her now) and a pregnancy that has the potential to destroy their love for each other, on top of the issues of having a vampire for a lover.

Kevin soon finds it harder and harder to keep himself stable both physically and mentally. The demon that attacked him and changed him seems to have passed along his insatiable thirst and uncontrollable rages. Kevin is killing more and more people just to be able to function. The bodies are piling up and the police are taking notice. He’s becoming a danger to everyone including Lacey. Lacey knows that any sane person would run as fast as they can, but Kevin would find her, he’ll never let her go. Despite her natural fears, she knows she loves him too much to ever leave him, especially when he needs her the most. Lacey must find a way to save Kevin from the demon trying to take over his mind and body before he destroys any chance of their love surviving, not to mention their undead lives.

Shayla Black's Delicious, Wicked Lovers #3

Shayla Black’s Delicious, the 3rd book in her Wicked Lovers series, is a wildly erotic story that will set your heart a flame. Shayla Black never fails to add the gut- twisting emotions to her stories that make the steamy, erotic scenes all the more powerful.

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Luc Taverson is a man with a plan. He’s a successful chef with many book deals, a TV show in the works and a girlfriend who is a beautiful, upstanding teacher. He wants the all-American family; the lovely wife that’s a pillar in society to mother his children and take care of their family. Nothing will get in the way of his plan for the future; not his fertility issues that are a secret to all but a select few, not his dark desires he keeps hidden, and most of all not Alyssa Devereaux, the exotic dancer turned strip-club owner.


Luc and Alyssa spent one night together, which ended up being such a wild uninhibited night of passion it left Alyssa desperate for more and Luc scared of the lack of control he experienced.

Alyssa is proud of the life she’s made for herself. She has built a successful business at Sexy Siren’s and now she is opening her very own upscale restaurant. Luc agreed to help her by coming in and working the restaurant for opening week. His name alone will bring people to the restaurant. Alyssa has an additional plan in the works for Luc though; she will have him for herself because one night was not enough.

Luc is determined to go in, work the week, and leave. No mixing business with pleasure. He can’t afford to have feelings for a woman like Alyssa Devereaux. She’s sexy as hell and he would love nothing more than to have a week of pleasure with her. However, Alyssa just doesn’t fit into his future plans. He doesn’t see her as the “motherly” type and what would it look like to have a stripper as a wife; someone who is always being picketed by the local minister as a whore and sinner?

Luc can’t hold back any longer when he realizes that he is not the only one wanting Alyssa. His possessive nature comes out full force when Alyssa starts receiving threats. Alyssa would love for Luc to want her out of true feelings for her, but it seems he only wants her behind closed doors. His accusations of her show he doesn’t trust her and his respect for her is nonexistent. Can she give him her body without submitting her heart and soul to him? Luc and Alyssa both have secrets that are dark and devastating.

The threats to Alyssa get more and more serious and Luc finds it impossible to let her go when her life is in danger. Luc must find a way to save Alyssa without giving up the future he has so carefully planned.