Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Book Reviews Week of 11/20


Otherworld Nights

Otherworld Nights - Kelley Armstrong I received a digital copy from Netgalley and Berkley in exchange for an honest review.


I have to forewarn readers just beginning with this book that haven't read her previous books in this series. I highly suggest you start at the beginning otherwise you aren't going to understand and be able to appreciate how great it is to be able to have these shorts added to this anthology. For readers like me that love to see what goes on behind the scenes, what goes on when the story ends or what happens to this or that couple or person after the last page of the book is read. Otherworld Nights is a treat for readers like me because we get several of them all in one place. I totally love it.

To Kiss a Dragon

To Kiss a Dragon - G.A. Aiken I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Anyone that's read miss Aiken before will understand why her work is liked so much. She has the uncanny ability to make paranormal romance both amusing and exciting. I enjoyed the follow up on several favorites fans of the series have come to love. Light My Fire is still within the family we have all come to know as it has really expanded beyond just simple people to an entire mix of generations that all stand out above the rest. I am really happy that Aiken has brought the Dragon Kin books so close in personality to her Magnus books since those are so well loved by many including myself. It adds so much complexity and depth to her stories because we readers get to invest in everyone and everyone is important, everyone has a role to play. That's what is so great. Everyone is special and has their own uniqueness, they all add something to the series so that there isn't one place where there is pointless interaction. It all matters. Both in the story for our characters and our readers they get to be a part of a family where love and hilarity intermix.

Red Blooded

Red Blooded - Amanda  Carlson I received a digital copy from Netgalley and Orbit in exchange for an honest review.

Hey McClain fans we have another great addition to the series. I don't know Amanda does it but she has continued to write another winner. I swear her books get better with every new addition.
I really love Amanda's writing and I like that we get to always look forward to the next installment. However I think her books as more like a serial than a series since they all seem connected and appear to flow from one to the next without reaching an end at this point in the journey so I would suggest readers just picking up the series start from the beginning so that they can understand how we got to where we are now. As for me I can't get enough and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Not Until You

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I received a print copy in exchange for an honest review from Berkley.

There were some plot points I felt didn't need to be added to the story but it gave some interesting back story on our characters. I felt the writing and the story itself was well done, there was a point in the middle of the book which I began to lose interest but I continued on because I was curious enough as to what choices our characters would make regarding what direction they would take their lives in. Oddly enough I was actually rooting for the book to be about Pike and Cela because I felt there was more depth of heart there than with Foster who's cold fish tactics aggravated me on more than one occasion. Not until you is a decent book with complex characters who have love lives more complicated than an afternoon tv soap opera.

Caged in Winter

Caged in Winter - Brighton Walsh I received a print copy in exchange for an honest review from Berkley.


I really don't think there is a review that will do this book justice for me. Caged in Winter was one of those books that reached me personally and I can say will remain close to my heart for a very long time.

Broken

Broken - Laura Wright I received a print copy in exchange for an honest review from Signet/Berkley.


Read the first book in the series before reading Broken. The Cavanaugh brothers aren't your typical western romance. Its got intrigue, its got honest heart depth and its got mystery. Laura's characters are always serious and they're realistic enough that you find yourself feeling the same plights and questions that drive their own lives connect you to them on a really deep level and I like that. It isn't full of fluff even though there is plenty of romance there is the serious matter that really drives the story in the background. Laura's writing is strong its well done and I believe that whatever she creates is going to be great.

Undefeated

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I received a digital copy from Berkley and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this book up after reading one of Jaci Burton's sport romances thinking this would be a great read similar to hers, and it was. However it really wasn't about sports at all. The hockey part was more or less a side note in the story. Which wasn't a bad thing because there is so much more to it. The book should have been a military themed romance (which it is in the end)
Liam the wounded soldier with PTSD reunites with Marlena a yoga instructor whom he had a thing with back in high school that didn't work out. Both Marlena and Liam have emotional baggage and hurts that prevent them from being able to find happiness until together again they find that their hearts haven't gone as cold as they thought.
I really liked Marlena and Liam together and I enjoyed watching them find their way through coping and healing.

Gunpowder Alchemy (The Gunpowder Chronicles)

Gunpowder Alchemy (The Gunpowder Chronicles) - Jeannie Lin I received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley and Berkley.

I am impressed. Jeannie is a new author to me that has done a superb job of creating a wonderful new take on the steampunk genre. Typically I am used to finding books in the steampunk world revolving around Brits so it was a fresh and wonderful take on Chinese history. I typically favor more romance in my stories but the author has created something with so much depth, and so much detail that you can easily get past Jin's innocent nature. There is so much more to Jin once you get into her. She's a character that can play a real positive influence on all readers. She's smart and brave she sticks to her guns and really stays head strong through the wild journey she finds herself in.
I really liked the complex world and the history that Jeannie explores with great detail. Gunpowder Alchemy is fun, its dangerous, its exciting and its a whole new take on a favorite romantic steam punk genre. I liked it so much that I plan on adding it to my collection at home. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

Unwrapped

Unwrapped - Maisey Yates I received a digital copy from Berkley and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unwrapped is an excellent read for any time of the year holiday or not. I really enjoyed getting to watch Sarah and Walker go through the stages of coping, adapting, changing and blossoming as they both transitioned from the positions they found themselves in before they met to when they reunited and realized that a one night stand wouldn't be enough for them. I liked getting to see them as they grew and were able to overcome their emotional obstacles together.

A Place Called Harmony

A Place Called Harmony - Jodi Thomas I received a print copy in exchange for an honest review from Berkley.

A Place Called Harmony is a great place to continue or to begin the Harmony series. Readers get an inside look at the beginnings of Harmony, how its heart and haven got started for the readers beloved characters. It's great getting to see how it all began because when you get into a series you're typically introduced after the area in question has already been built or has been in existence for quite awhile, in A Place Called Harmony we get to see the foundation and the creation. Its wonderful heart felt stories and characters are wonderful. I love Jodi's characters and her sense of the small town. If only places like Harmony truly existed. *Sigh*

Sweet Harmony

Sweet Harmony - Luann McLane I received a print copy in exchange for an honest review from Signet/ Berkley.

This is my first book in this series but the author makes it easy to follow for those that are new to the books who from what I can gather have familiar faces in them from the details Luann gives about them so readers are given a quick insight into their history or who they are and what role they play in the story. Its a great read with characters who grab your heart right from the beginning.
I especially liked the fact that even though our characters are celebrities they aren't stuck up, they aren't into themselves and they aren't self absorbed. Completely opposite of that actually and that's what won my heart. The sweet romance is something that will easily capture you all the way from beginning to end.

Holiday on Ice

Holiday on Ice - Jaci Burton I received a digital copy from Berkley and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this novel. It was nice getting to see the player grow up and take relationships seriously. Its rarely that readers get to see an in-depth look at the transition it took to get to the place Trick had to come to in order to realize what a great thing he really had. I also enjoyed that he went after what he wanted instead of giving up on what he would have let go of had he not realized how important Stella really is to him.

Tormented

Tormented - Lorenz Font I received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review from The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House and Netgalley.

You know those moments that you are dying to discover a new author but just can't find one that stands out among the rest so you take a chance on an unknown? Lorenz was mine.
Tormented is a shot gun blast that will take you for one hell of a ride. I absolutely loved it.
I am so addicted and so thrilled that I HAVE to add Tormented, Hunted, and the third book Ascension to my collection at home.
I can't believe how fantastical and suspenseful The Gates Legacy series is. I couldn't help thinking why hadn't I heard of these books before? Where did they come from? I can't get enough.
I love the characters, I love the plot, I love the brilliant story telling and the dedication Lorenz puts into her writing! I have so much anticipation to read the first book so that I can know everything that goes into this grand world Lorenz has built.







Devils Plaything

Devil's Plaything (Playthings Book 1) - Lydia Rowan Okay so I really loved this book, my only hang up was that I felt I was jumping into it right in the middle. I didn't feel like it had a proper beginning or end and I liked it so much that I wanted so much more.
I understand the limitations that an author has when they only have such a limited word count to work with. I don't know if that was self chosen or if it was given but I'm hoping for a prequel and a sequel or a re-release with a full novel and a full story complete with introduction of background history and development and a happy ending to make it all worth while. I enjoyed the characters, the interaction and I really loved the heated love scenes. Devil's Plaything is fantastic.





Godhunter

Godhunter - Amy Sumida This book was really fascinating to me because the story is different than other books I've read and I especially liked the characters. I think that Amy has done a great job bringing a new perspective to this kind of book I really liked it. 




Assassins of the Steam Age

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When the local airfield is destroyed, Taziri Ohana is the only airship pilot left to help the marshals chase the killers across the skies of Marrakesh. But the case becomes terrifyingly personal when Taziri finds that her enemies have turned her own inventions into weapons and her family's survival may hang in the balance.

Meanwhile, exiled Incan princess Qhora and her swashbuckling lover Lorenzo face a gauntlet of assassins, cruel aristocrats, and wealthy industrialists conspiring against the very Queen that Taziri is trying to save, and her country's only hope for peace may be her crippled airship plummeting out of the burning sky.

Welcome to a world where strange machines sail the seas and the skies, enormous prehistoric beasts roam the earth, and the restless dead whisper to the living.





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I cannot begin to express the epic story telling and writing that is in this story. I think that The Assassins of the Steam Age and Joseph Lewis is going to be one of my favorites. I recently picked up his Angels and Djinn book and I can't wait to get it started. I think that the Assassins of the Steam Age would translate well into a game because its got all the tellings of a story that would interest gamers and enough suspense that could play well into some fun action sequences. I know it probably sounds bizarre but that's how it played out in my mind as I read the book. I liked all the vivid detail Joseph brought into his work and the vintage/futuristic feel of the environment.
Such is the beauty of steampunk.








Mortal Seductions

Mortal Seductions - Allyson James
  I received a print copy in exchange for an honest review from the author.


First and foremost the Mortal series is something I think can fit for any Erotica fan. (Male/Female/ Gay/ Straight/ All of the above) But I strongly suggest it for readers that can keep an open mind as to how hot and how far they can take their tolerance level up to because this book breaks the barriers of hot and steamy and goes straight for brain melting explosive.
Allyson writes such sexy love scenes that its hard to get over. Heck, I still have quite a few mental images left from it. And for all you kinky beasts out there? Allyson has got it in the bag.
That doesn't even scratch the surface for how good the rest of the story is. I love the paranormal kind of addition to the story. The Mortal series for me in relation to other books is kind of like a cross between Lora Leigh's Nauti series and her breeds series, only Allyson takes hers so much farther. Its interesting the open love and intimacy that factors into something like Mortal Seductions but its handled quite well. Its hot, its passionate, its seductive and its alluring.

Wedding Favors

Wedding Favors - Sheri Whitefeather, Allyson James, Nikita Black I received a print copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.


An erotic anthology from three of the best in the business. Let me start off by saying that for some of us we all know that being a brides maid can occasionally suck (for some) in epic proportions. You get stuck with the ugly dress, the embarrassing photo bomb ops, cat fights and gossip, the bouquet toss and alcohol and all the while wonder who's left in the wedding that hasn't gotten hitched yet hoping that the man of your dreams might come strolling in to save you while the men are placing bets as to which guy can get under who's dress faster? Its a scene out of every bad chick flick movie there is, but it does happen once in awhile.
So for those rare ladies out there that sit at the reception table day dreaming about mister delicious sweeping you off your feet for some seriously hot romping between the sheets, this is the book for you.

Sexy Beast

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They're powerful, sensual men who are on the prowl, looking for the perfect mate - a woman willing to embrace adventure beyond the imagination, and explore her wildest, most uninhibited side...Jacob, Baylor, and Shannon are an ancient sensual race of shapeshifters known as the Chanku. Now as these pack-mates journey to a special wedding celebration for Tia and Lucien on the beach in San Francisco, their stories of secret, feral power and scorching eroticism will ignite your most alluring fantasies as well as a hunger that demands sweet satisfaction...Chester Shields is much more than the sexy guy in the next cubicle - he's a member of a sacred race of powerful, mysterious dragons. Kat is not so sure what to make of the erotic mind games Chester's playing. But he's exposing her deepest desires - and leading her into a world of sensual pleasure that defies explanation...Big game photographer Kasi Stewart returns to the mountains of Japan in search of a mysterious tiger that saved her during a snowstorm when she was a child. In his remote cabin, Yuki Shirotora, descended from a nearly extinct line of White Tigers, leads Kasi into his exotic world of untamed sensuality..


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  I received a print copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.


How much do you love Tarzan on the cover? Big beastly muscle mass of a man. Yum.
He totally fits the profile for all the men in this anthology. From the passionate Chanku men, to the sexy cop I was totally smitten. Fantaisie was a little iffy for me but the reason to love this book is Kate Douglas. The best writer I have ever read, her Chanku continue to possess and seduce me.
I wish I could delve into her mind to find the root for talent because no matter if she is writing a full novel or short for an anthology she makes it work from beginning to end and always satisfies her readers. Call of the Wild is a teasing mix of cop fantasy with a wolfy bite that will more than entice fan girls.
































































Life's Too Frantic

So I haven't been around to blog since late November early December, I hope you all are doing well. I am keeping busy wi...