Category: paranormal romance

Books, great reads, indie author, paranormal romance, Reviews, Romance

Fallen Hearts by Angela Colsin

debra

Fallen Hearts is Book 4 of The Crucible Series by Angela Colsin, an independent author I recently found.

As always, first the Blurb:

Most humans live in blissful ignorance of the supernatural, unable to see what they don’t believe exists. Such used to be the lot of Stephan Forrester, a normal mortal leading a regular life, at least until the day vampires abducted him. With his family murdered in the attack, Stephan finds himself alone and dying of an obscure, incurable illness contracted in the vampires’ lair.
Using what time he has left to seek justice, Stephan sets out to eliminate the offenders until only one remains. However, locating this final target means doing something he doesn’t think possible—actually working with a vampire.
Entombed against her will and forced to hibernate for seventy years, Maddox only awakens when a mortal with a vendetta frees her from the grave. He needs help locating the same vampire who buried her alive, and ironically, she senses a connection to her human savior in the form of a blood link. But Stephan’s intense hatred for vampires makes honoring that link impossible.
Even so, Maddox is unlike any vampire Stephan’s ever encountered. As charming and intelligent as she is beautiful, she reminds him of what it means to actually live, mending his wounded heart. In turn, Maddox finds it hard to separate from Stephan, or resist the passionate responses he elicits, and their unexpected bond strengthens as time goes on.
But time is the one luxury Stephan doesn’t have, and saving him from his illness could prove fatal to them both.

My thoughts:  I have really enjoyed finding and reading this author’s books.  I have enjoyed each story a little more than the previous one.  I have enjoyed this book most of all so far.  I thought the story very good with the right level of emotional angst, especially on the part of Stephen.  He had to most change in this story.  After everything he went through at the hands of the vampires, being forced to work with one threatened to take its’ toll on him.  He already has enough to deal with concerning the death of his family and the disease he contracted.  Forced to come to terms with Maddox not being like all the other vampires he encountered was difficult for him.  Maddox had her own angst to work through, albeit for different reasons.  And, she had to deal with the many societal/technological changes that have occurred since her forced hibernation.   We saw a couple of characters from previous books that play a role in this story as well as have a large part of a previously started story arc realized. I just knew something was out there in the previous books and glad to see it come to fruition.  I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Happy Reading,

Debra

Books, great reads, indie author, paranormal romance, Reviews, Romance

Strange Brew by Angela Colsin

debra

Strange Brew is Book 3 of The Crucible Series by Angela Colsin, an independent author I recently found.

First, the Blurb:  Feeling out of touch with her magical gifts, Aislinn Carmichael is a witch seeking a means of restoring her ability to its fullest potential. Despite the warnings of family and friends, the endeavor inevitably drives her to accept the initiation trial of a witch coven called The Trine. 

Their test demands the capture of a supernatural creature, a task Aislinn has little doubt she can accomplish with relative ease. But of all the potentially benign creatures she could’ve snared, none other than a feral werewolf stumbles into her trap. Making matters worse is The Trine’s intentions for her dangerous captive, forcing Aislinn to release him and potentially risk retaliation. 

But vengeance is the farthest thing from the werewolf’s mind. 

Troy Ashland is a werewolf standing at death’s door, slowly losing his humanity until there’s nothing left but savage instincts. It’s a process all werewolves face, and the only thing that can appease his restless beast is his mate. So when word arrives from an oracle saying to travel to the Southern US to find her, he’s on the next flight out. 

After his arrival in Arkin City, the last thing Troy expects is to be caught in a magical trap. But all is forgiven with one glimpse of his temporary jailor, who turns out to be the very woman he was searching for. Still, his efforts of winning her are surprisingly difficult. Not only is Aislinn inexplicably resisting their attraction, but The Trine won’t leave well enough alone …

My thoughts:  Stay with me on this review:  I will get to the point.  Maybe I need to state the point first. Okay, I will.  One of my mantras is “Trust Your Author” and sometimes I have to remind myself of this.  Now, stay with me!  Aislinn is a human witch and Troy is a 195 year old werewolf who is desperate to find his mate because he is turning savage and will run the risk of having to be put down before he becomes uncontrollable.   Aislinn is working on a ritual spell that needs her to capture an immortal for one night as part of this spell.  She captures Troy.  They are fated mates and this is how they find each other.  The first part of the story centers around their relationship and becoming mates through a series of interesting events.  Admittedly, I was concerned a little bit at first because I usually like relationships in stories to unfold over time.  However, it worked in this book and was necessary.  Trust Your Author and they will take us where we need to go! And Ms. Colsin did.  Once they become mates, they have some issues to solve, especially considering we have a witch and a werewolf.  But then, the real story starts to unfold and I really enjoyed that story.  It surrounds a coven of witches, a dead spirit and entities looking for a long lost magical book! I thought this story was very enjoyable. The point of “Trust Your Author” came when I realized that Aislinn and Troy’s mating was crucial to the unfolding story.  To see how, you will need to read the story.  I hope you enjoy because this is a fun read.

Happy Reading,

Debra

 

Books, great reads, paranormal romance, Reviews, Romance

Light of Dawn by Angela Colsin

debra

Light of Dawn is Book 2 of The Crucible Series by Angela Colsin, an independent author I have recently found.

The Blurb:  Hired to find a curse box, the draconian mercenary, Ulric Dra’Kai, is directed to seek out the human Charlotte Mulligan who’ll lead him to his ultimate goal. Expecting to get information from her with ease, Ulric instead meets a determined mortal who refuses to be intimidated—and draws him in like no other.

As that attraction grows, he comes to believe Charlotte may be his destined mate, but there’s a problem—he’s immortal, making that impossible. Answers could possibly lie in the dormant supernatural side of Charlotte’s lineage, but getting them proves difficult when vampires are out for her blood.

Charlotte thought she was an ordinary human living an average life until receiving an odd package in the mail containing a unique trinket box. Soon after, she’s attacked by vampires and swept up in a hunt by a dangerous but attractive stranger who not only reveals the truth of the supernatural world, but also informs her that she’s a part of it.

Trying to survive while her life is coming apart, a passion for the draconian protecting her sparks to life, one she has to guard her heart against when being mortal makes a union between them difficult, if not impossible.

My thoughts:  I enjoyed this book, even more than Book 1 of the series (Blue Moon, previously reviewed).  We meet Ulric and his sidekick, Isaac, in Blue Moon and this book is Ulric’s story.  Ulric is a Draconian, a descendent of humans mixed with the blood of one of five Dragon Houses.  Charlotte is a mortal at the beginning of the story, but there is more to her than being a mere mortal.  Ulric is hired to find a mysterious mystical item and runs into Charlotte by way of a divination made to him by a supernatural being.  Adventures ensue from there.  Needless to say, Charlotte is not exactly what Ulric expects.  He thinks he is boss but she shows him that she is not a pushover. I like a strong heroine and I really enjoyed that aspect of their relationship.  Adventures fighting vampires, each other (and themselves) all make for an interesting story worth reading.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

 

Books, great reads, indie author, paranormal romance, Reviews, Romance

Blue Moon by Angela Colsin

debra

blue moon

Blue Moon is the first book in The Crucible Series by Angela Colsin.  This is the first time I have read this independent author.

The Blurb:  When betrayed by his Alpha, Cade Hodgins takes the role in leading the Arkin City pack and begins his search for those responsible for his father’s death. Information is hard to come by however—until a stray lupine wanders into his territory.

But Ashley Passmore is no ordinary stray. She’s a newborn wolf, turned from being a human with no prior knowledge that lupines existed. Due to her blackouts, she can’t recall who turned her or why, but Cade suspects her attackers may be the same as those who entrapped his father.

In the meantime, Cade takes Ashley in to help her regain control of her new life, and finds more than just a lead—she’s his mate. But Ashley is adjusting to the new world she’s been thrust into, making it uncertain she’ll accept the growing bond between them, while those who turned her want to make sure she’s silenced for good.

My thoughts:  A few chapters into this book, I thought that this would be simply a quick, easy, light read.  I enjoy those books every so often as a change of pace from some of what I read.  However, I was glad to see this book has more to it than that.  It was a quick read, but enjoyable.  Cade has some issues to work through dealing with the death of his father. Ashley has many issues dealing with being a new lupine when she didn’t even know they existed.  Humans are notoriously unaware of what happens around us!!  Both are also going to have to come to terms with the whole mate issue.  I did like that the author made this part of the story go slow for them from the standpoint of the actual hookup.  They both dealt with the emotions internally first.  I think it improved the story that way. They had enough going on as it was especially figuring out the mystery of Ashley’s turning and the death of Cade’s father.  I really enjoyed the introduction of two interesting characters that are also supernatural beings towards the end and the twist involving them.  I am moving on to Book 2.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.