Tag: reviews

Books, Reviews, Romance

A Buckhorn Bachelor by Lori Foster

debra

image

The Blurb:  Adam Sommerville always thought he had it all—great family in a close-knit community, worthwhile job as a high school gym teacher, and no shortage of women eager to be on his arm. But it seems his luck has suddenly run out. Because Buckhorn’s most renowned bachelor has decided it’s time to settle down—and the one woman he wants just put him firmly in the friend zone.

Hiding her true feelings from Adam has been a full-time job for the past five years, but librarian Isabella Presley is determined not to be the latest heart he breaks. The best way to get over her attraction is to find someone else to date—even if it means asking Adam for flirting tips to help her land the perfect guy. But when Adam sets out to convince her the perfect guy is him, will she face her fears for a chance at forever?

This is a sweet, lovely novella by Ms. Foster. She does a novella every summer as a benefits book for a couple of charities she supports and I think it is absolutely wonderful that she does this.

A Buckhorn Bachelor is the story of Adam–he is the step-son of Jordan from the original series, The Buckhorn Brothers. The kids are grown up and finding their own loves. Adam is a teacher and Isabella (Issy) is a school librarian. One day, Adam starts to see Issy in a different way and the sparks start flying! Cousin Amber (can’t wait for her book) also takes matters in hand to “help” Adam! Take the time to read this novella–it’s delightful. Of course, it is also so much fun seeing the parents from the original series.

And if you haven’t tried the original Buckhorn series, try them also. They were published originally in 2000 I believe (although the 2007 reissues have much better covers!). Their stories stand the test of time.

 

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

The Final Calling by Angela Colsin

debra

image

The Final Calling is Book 5 of The Crucible series by Angela Colsin, an indie author whose books in this series I have really enjoyed.

The Blurb:  Prophecies, tyrants, assassins, and exiled royalty aren’t the things Edith Walsh thought she’d be dealing with when her training as a mage apprentice began. Her main focus is becoming an enchantress by completing the Final Calling—a grand scavenger hunt all apprentices undertake to gather items needed to craft their coveted staff and gain eternal life.
This challenge can prove lethal if care isn’t taken to watch one’s steps. But making matters worse, Edith has also been marked for death by the Steward of the Perosian Empire, a tyrant named Rothario, all because of a pesky prophecy made centuries before her birth foretelling his demise at her hands.
So what’s a mage to do? Simple; accept the assistance of a sexy Perosian who’s dealt with Rothario’s minions for as long as he can remember. Yet Isaac wants far more than Edith’s safety—she’s his mate, and his fiery gaze, wicked tongue, and shameless seductions inflame her more intensely than she’s ever known.
Convicted of murdering the imperial family of Perosia, Isaac’s spent centuries as a fugitive hunted by a homeland he doesn’t recall. But his ruthless talent for survival serves him well, and there’s nothing he won’t do to protect Edith from the forces threatening her life, even if it means sacrificing his own.

My thoughts:   I liked this book—a lot.  This book tells the story of Edith, a mage who is on a scavenger hunt to obtain items needed for her staff; and Isaac, a very interesting demon whose story may be more than meets the eye.  Isaac knows Edith is his mate but must wait while she is in mage training, but when it comes to The Calling, he is finished waiting for her, knows she needs his help and is determined to give it. Their adventures leads to a very good story.  I think this book is the strongest in the series so far. The writing is solid and the characters well-developed.  My favorite part of the story actually involves several battle/action scenes that Edith and Isaac and a few others that come along for the ride—I love action scenes and these are well-written.  If you haven’t tried Angela’s writing, give them a try but start back at Book 1 (Blue Moon)—you’ll be glad you did.

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

 

Books, fantasy, great reads, paranormal romance, Reviews, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Allegiance of Honor by Nalini Singh

debra

image

Allegiance of Honor is the latest book in the Psy-Changeling Series by Nalini Singh and this is one of my favorite series.  For me, this book is a bridge book between story arc 1 and story arc 2 that begins with the next book.

The blurb:  The Psy-Changeling world has undergone a staggering transformation and now stands at a crossroads. The Trinity Accord promises a new era of cooperation between disparate races and groups. It is a beacon of hope held together by many hands: Old enemies. New allies. Wary loners.

But a century of distrust and suspicion can’t be so easily forgotten and threatens to shatter Trinity from within at any moment. As rival members vie for dominance, chaos and evil gather in the shadows and a kidnapped woman’s cry for help washes up in San Francisco, while the Consortium turns its murderous gaze toward a child who is the embodiment of change, of love, of piercing hope: A child who is both Psy…and changeling.

To find the lost, protect the vulnerable—and save Trinity—no one can stand alone. This is a time of loyalty across divisions, of bonds woven into the heart and the soul, of heroes known and unknown standing back to back and holding the line. But is an allegiance of honor even possible with traitors lurking in their midst?

My thoughts:  This book is a big gift to her fans from the author.  It is an ensemble book where she gives us insights into the current status of all of our favorite characters in this series.  We are updated on their lives and finally see the birth of the “pupcubs” (an event fans have waited several books for).  I lost my bet on the number of births!  We also have a plotline of the attempted kidnapping of Lucas and Sasha Darling’s first child, Naya—the first child born of a mating between a Psy and a Changeling.  Her birth is the representation of love, understanding and hope for the future of all three races inhabiting the world (the Psy, the Changelings and the Humans).  But this hope is not something that the evil Consortium wants to see happen as they intend to take over the world and they don’t like the fall of Silence and the Trinity Accord that the races are forming in hope of all races working together toward peace and harmony.

I really enjoyed this book as I do all the books in this series, although of course, some I like more than others.  I do not feel it is as strong as some of the other books in the series, especially the last two books.  But, I believe that is because this book is a bridge between arc 1 and arc 2.  Those books must be difficult to write for an author I would think.  However, Nalini’s writing is as strong as ever.  I did feel she gave some background details from earlier books leading into the updates of the characters—this was a bit distracting for me because I know those details.  If a person is just starting this series, this book is not the place to start.  The author has created such a rich and detailed world that this series (in my humble opinion) must be started at the beginning.  This arc tells much about the world, leading to the fall of Silence.  I also was hoping for a few more details to lead us into arc 2, but that didn’t necessarily happen except for the kidnapping attempt and more trouble is on the way.  There was one loose end from arc 1 that I was hoping would end in this book but that line is still open into arc 2.  If you have not read the Psy-Changeling series, I highly recommend it.  It begins with Slave to Sensation and you will not be disappointed as the world evolves throughout the story.

 

Books, fantasy, paranormal romance, Reviews, Romance, scifi, Urban Fantasy

Blood Shadows by Lindsay Pryor

Karen

image

I recently picked up this book because I always participate in the Vampire Book Club’s Alpha Showdown and Kane, the main male lead in this series, killed all my favorites. I later found out that the author added a link from her website so all her fans would go and vote, now normally I’m down with this kinda stuff but clearly they knew none of the other competitors (mostly UF and PNR powerhouses like Kate Daniels, Barrons, Vlad, Charles Cornick, etc) and never voted on anything else. In fact it got kind of ridiculous with us regulars attempting to keep in our favorites and us just getting crushed by people who asked things like who’s Kate??? I shudder. I tell you this because I think I didn’t go into this book with the best mindset but it did have two things going for it (1) the cover is smoking hot (2) I got it for $1 on Amazon. Now you know where I’m at mentally here is the official blurb:

For vengeance – would you trust a vampire?

For justice – could you betray your family?

For love – are you ready to question everything you believe in?

Gifted with the ability to read the shadows of ‘third species’ beings, Caitlin Parish is the Vampire Control Unit’s most powerful agent. Despite that, her mission to hunt down Kane Malloy – a master vampire – comes with a death wish. Many have tried, but few have survived.

For Caitlin, tracking Kane is about more than just professional reputation. With her parents both mysteriously killed 7 years apart to the day, Caitlin knows that without Kane’s help she is next.

She has four days to make a deal with the wicked, the irresistible, the treacherous Kane Malloy. The vampire who despises everything she stands for.

Or die.

I’m going to warn you right now, this review contains spoilers and lots of bitching. I severely disliked this book so if you loved it, stop here. If you don’t want any further information on the story, please stop here. If you think you may like it in the future for the love of all that is holy…STOP HERE!!! You’ve been warned..

 

 

Let’s talked about the first half, now stop me if this starts to sound familiar at any point. Ready?

Caitlin is a vampire hunter with a grudge who thinks she can take down any vampire. I mean she hates them because of family issues so she has something to prove, and the little power she has she uses to hunt them. Kane is a master with a mess of power and skill. She goes after him, gets in way over her head, thinks shes captured him when in reality he ends up capturing her. Then Cat and Bones..errr I mean Caitlin and Kane end up having sex. Yeah. It was like a bad copy but all wrong somehow.

But this is the part that made me hate this book. She starts to talk about how her heart is falling for him…blah blah blah I mean the real mushy stuff girls just can’t resist. Oh her soul practically belongs to him (literally) and she just can’t help her heart. Oooooh and Kane this all powerful vampire just can’t control himself around her! you get the picture. During all this she somehow escapes, calls for back up and runs into some shifters guy. He tells her that her father, stepdad and ex boyfriend participated in the rape and murder of Kane’s sister. She doesn’t believe it. Kane, whom she’s falling in love with, tells her and he’s a liar. Her stepdad and ex boyfriend capture Kane, admit the truth and they are torturing him..here is the kicker, what does she do? As for his forgiveness? Nope! She won’t release him from the torture unless he promises to not hurt the douche bags that participated in the RAPE AND MURDER of his sister, help her escape some monster, and let her boss the puppet master of all this go. Oh and when he doesn’t agree immediately!?! She threatens him, the guy she loves and her heart aches for, yeah she’s gonna read his soul even though he’s begging her not to and is too weak to resist. You know from all the torture her family and friends have inflicted on him. But she’s not sure if she can trust him. What a peach. This makes me absolutely love her and want to read more about her. Listen she can say a million times her heart aches for Kane and his sister, but as far as I  concerned her actions say she’s a self centered bitch. Sorry, don’t like her. Not. One. Bit.

The sick part is I think I would like Kane if he wasn’t constantly fawning over Caitlin. Ugh I’m so done.