Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

Dragon Bound is the story of Dragos Cuelebre and Pia Giovanni. This story is set in a world where Elves, Wyrs (shifters), Faeries, etc are actual beings and functioning members of society. Dragos is the leader, King, of the Wyr and Pia is a half-breed Wyr who was blackmailed into stealing from Dragos. As soon as she completes the theft she goes on the run because stealing from Dragos is tantamount to a death sentence.

WHERE HAS THEA HARRISON BEEN ALL OF MY LIFE? I am absolutely in love with and am prepared to be her beta reader for the next book in this Elder Races series. From the first page down to the last page I was pulled snatched in. Pia is a feisty, strong female character. Even when she feels the situation is hopeless she pushes forward and doesn’t give in. I was instantly intrigued when it was mentioned that Pia was constantly cloaking herself and grew up never telling people whom and what she really was. One of the best plot devices of this book is the idea that your true name holds Power and if someone were to find out your true name then you were theirs to control. In the past, when I’ve read books with this particular design I’ve always enjoyed it. And the same holds true for this book. It’s anything but dull to see how [and if] the characters can manage to keep their true name a secret.

From the get go I was routing for both main characters. Even though Pia stole from Dragos and Dragos was a foul-tempered and jaded tyrant I was on both of their sides. I have to admit I was chomping at the bit to know what sort of Wyr Pia was mixed with. It had to be either something so horrible or so fantastic that she couldn’t share it with just anyone. Such delicious suspense. And you, the reader, finally discovers what she is its like a light bulb clicks on. 

Pia’s sass and Dragos' asshole nature complement each other perfectly. Such a sweet and sour tangy relationship. Although, there were a couple of times where Dragos’ comments literally made my jaw drop. I could not believe some of the things that came out of his mouth and the people who received these words, but the author definitely made it work. And only because of the personality and background Thea Harrison built into Dragos.

This new world Thea Harrison created is one I wouldn’t mind visiting for a couple more books, say a series of 5+ books. And of course there were introductions to possible participants in the next books in the series. I hope they all get their own book. :wink wink:

MINI SPOILER : And what’s an awesome story without adding in a little bit of ‘oopsie I’m preggers’ into it. I loved that the author added this in. It punted the rating from my medium all the way up to high.

His Purrfect Mate by Laurann Dohner

His Purrfect Mate is the story of Anton and Shannon. This book is the second in the Mating Heat series and is centered around Shannon, a ¼ feline ¾ human mix, whom was abducted by members of Anton’s pack just because she was a feline shifter. Anton, a wolf shifter, feels obligated to protect her until he deals with the offenders, but this abduction happens in the middle of mating week.
If you haven’t read Mate Set its okay, HPM does not piggyback off of it. There’s a mention of those characters, but not having any familiarity with them will not upset your understanding of this book. 

I was torn between liking Shannon and not liking her because of how afraid she seemed to always be. When I found myself getting impatient with Shannon’s “unreasonable” fear I had to remind myself that she was raised by a human mother with old stories her father used to tell her about the savageness of wolf shifters. The story behind her character was original in that she hadn’t lived her entire life feeling different with unique abilities that she couldn’t explain. She knew exactly who her parents were and why she was the way she was.

The tension between Anton and Shannon, based on their different species, brings new meaning to the phrase fighting like cats and dogs. There was such disdain and genuine hatred between feline shifters and wolf shifters. There was an actual trespass and die rule.

I loved the chemistry between Anton and Shannon. Even their being enemies did not stop their budding attraction. It puts you in mind of Romeo and Juliet, but without the suicide. At the point where they acknowledge their feelings for each other I am instantly dying to know how they can overcome the hate their species has for each other. Throw in the fact that Shannon’s shifter pride doesn’t even know she exists and you have a recipe for disaster. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again Laurann Dohner is an awesome author. She does action, romance and humor so well. Another reason I love her writing so much is she is constantly creating and developing. The vocabulary and turn of a phrase that the characters use is completely fresh. For example, when the shifters are in their human form they call it ‘in skin.’ In all the shifter books I've read, quite a few, I've never heard this phrase.

 My favorite part of this book, besides the steamy love scenes, was the fact that Anton took the time out to explain and express his feelings. Shannon didn’t have to pry it out of him. He was ready to share himself without any prompting from her.

It’s always a possibility, even with a favorite author, that they could write something you won’t enjoy, but at this point I have yet to reach that point with Laurann Dohner.

The Covenant by Evangeline Anderson

SPOILER ALERT

The Covenant is about a female Paranormal Enforcer by the name of Kaitlyn whom is charged with taking a 300 year old vampire, Sumner Holden, into custody. The book starts off with Kaitlyn watching a recording of Sumner killing an innocent civilian. We quickly discover that Sumner has been trying to get a meeting with Kaitlyn for weeks and this is the only way that vampire Sumner can figure to get her attention.

What I first noticed about this book is that it is in the first person. Kaitlyn's point of view to be exact. I am not a fan of the first person narrative, but I still continued to read this book. Almost immediately I was hooked and extremely interested in why Sumner went to the extreme to get Kaitlyn's attention. What did he need from her? Was he really a evil vampire or just misunderstood? The more I read the book the more I realized it was not going to be one of my favorites. 

The first thing I didn't like about the book, besides first person, was how I felt teased with the sexual tension and situations. In my opinion, there's a fine line between sexual tension and being teased. I felt like I was being teased within an inch of my life. If a woman could get blue balls, I got them. I found myself, in my head of course, telling Kaitlyn to "make up your goddamn mind if you wanna sex him or not." Maybe I'm sexed crazed, maybe I wanted them to jump into bed prematurely, WHATEVER - I just know that is how I felt. By the time they finally did the do I could've closed the book (hit the red X) and would've been satisfied. But I pushed on.

The second thing I wasn't too fond of was the fact that the reader never knows what is driving the demon cloud to only pursue female Wiccans. Sumner explains how his wife, before he was turned, was 'gifted' and that is why the demon went after her, but I was still in the dark about why it hated women so much. The third and last thing I didn't like was how indecisive and torn Kaitlyn was about telling Sumner she loved him. I understand that telling him, or should I say admitting it to herself, too early would have cancelled out the meaning behind the book's title, but hell by the time I was at the end I was ready for this woman to just wake up and smell the vampire love.

I give this book my base rating because though I didn't like it - I didn't HATE it. 

Demon Hunting in Dixie by Lexi George



I’m going to start this review off by saying Lexi George must be my long lost cousin or best friend. I started to question our relation at the wonderful use of the word ‘coochie.’ Hilarious!! Demon Hunting in Dixie is the story of Addy, a florist, and Brand, a member of a demon hunting sect called The Dalvahni. The two meet up while Addy is out jogging with her dog Dooley Anne (I LOVE THIS DOG) when he saves her from a run in with a demon.

The first thing I can say about Lexi George and her writing style is she is a master of plain speech and present day vernacular. Quite a few times I found myself saying “Did she really put that in there?” Her characters are well thought out and beautifully developed, so much so that you can just feel their personalities jumping off the page. Each character is so different. I did notice that the friendships in this book compliment each other. Addy and her best friend Evie are perfect examples. An outgoing ‘tell it like it is’ blonde and a shy, reserved redhead. Brand is a dark-haired, sword-wielding warrior and Ansgar is a blonde, bow and arrow carrying warrior. Two sides to a coin.

I love when authors can wow and shake up my somewhat jaded reading palette. I appreciate fresh ideas and new plot directions. Ms. George takes a different approach and stays away from the played out ideas. The complexity of her character’s personalities makes them stick to your memory. Every time a new character was introduced I loved them (even bitchy Meredith aka The Death Starr). Addy’s dog Dooley and her aunt Muddy share the silver medal for my favorite characters. Muddy was a force of nature and her comments were off the wall and a level ten on the TMI meter. 

Ms. George builds the anticipation and tension like a seasoned veteran. I was on the edge of my seat, biting my nails with my eyes moving across the pages like a ping pong match.  I love the way she inserted pertinent pieces of information. Her timing was A+. Her dialogue is genius.  
“Boom boom boom. Drums in the deep….We cannot get out.”

I love the Lord of the Rings references. I started to think that Brand was patterned after Aragorn and Ansgar was meant to be a buff Legolas. Regardless, the characters really stick.

The love scenes weren’t over done, but at the same time were very steamy. The story itself is so engaging I almost wanted to skim through the love scenes and the development of Brand and Addy’s relationship just so I could see how they’d defeat the demons. And that right there is the heart of it all. Her story is strong enough that if she were to cut out the love scenes, hopefully she’d never do such a thing ‘cause they were HOT, I would still read her book and purchase more. Great job! She is now a member of my auto-buy list.



"Blood Law" by Karin Tabke

 

Blood Law

Warning : MINI SPOILER ALERT

Blood Law is the story of two lycan twins Rafael and Lucien cursed to obey the Blood Law that is so much a part of their lycan culture. First off, the Blood Law is pretty much an eye for an eye. At the start of the book Rafael kills his brother Lucien’s supposed mate. The Blood Law says that Lucien now has the right to kill Rafael’s mate, Falon, and then they’re even steven.

With that premise in my mind it was definitely hard for me to get immersed in this story knowing that Rafael would have to sacrifice his mate because his brother wouldn’t accept that the woman whom he thought was his mate WASN’T. Because of this being in the back of my mind I can admit to being in a perpetual state of cardiac arrest. Though, I did enjoy the level of suspense. Will he or won’t he turn her over? How successful will he be at keeping himself from falling in love with her?

What kind of man would willingly mate with a woman knowing that he would have to give her up to Blood Law? Early on in my reading I didn’t know who to be upset with more - Rafael or the author's muse for driving her to create this impossible situation. Such tragedy, betrayal, hate – perfect soap opera material. :rubs hands together:

Karin Tabke did an excellent job of building the tension and expressing the pull Rafael was experiencing between duty to his pack and duty to his mate. Outside of my resentment I was still able to appreciate Rafael’s character. Strong, commanding and very sexual. When he and Falon were in the bedroom they burned up the sheets. The love scenes were smoking hot. Turn the fan on, open a window and grab a popsicle because you’re going to need it. If you can blush – you will.

The one thing that I was not 100% into was the ending. Maybe it was because as I got closer and closer to the end I expected a conclusion. The book ends with the most irritating cliffhanger. Once again, I reserve the right to have an opinion and I am not into cliffhangers. I expected to hear a ‘dun dun dun’ in the background as I got to the end. I actually scrolled up and down a couple of times to make sure that was the end. I could’ve killed someone when it became obvious that there wouldn’t be any conclusion. Chock it up to my love of a HEA. In defense of the author (watch me switch sides) in reality HEA are few and far between. And because this is the start of a series we, as readers, have to start somewhere.

Maybe I belong to a small percentage of readers whom do not like cliffhangers of this sort.

I am not saying I did not take pleasure in reading this book, BECAUSE I DID, and I do plan to continue the series. I am just pointing out little things here and there that I could’ve done without. Fast forward and it pretty much goes like this 

• Main characters = complex
• Love scenes = HABANERO
• Story line = fresh and guaranteed to shake things up 

Laurann Dohner "Redeeming Zorus"

Redeeming Zorus is the sixth book in Laurann Dohner’s Cyborg Seduction series. The two main characters, Zorus and Charlie, are thrown together when Charlie breaks Zorus out of a government facility in order to keep her own brother from being killed by loan sharks. In the process of returning Zorus, whom happens to be a Cyborg council member, to his people Charlie finds their positions switched. She is now the one being rescued and Zorus is her liberator.

I am no new-comer when it comes to Laurann Dohner’s Cyborg series. I was first introduced to LD through her Zorn Warriors series (another fav series of mine). LD’s writing is so vivid and her character interaction leaves nothing to be desired. I can always count on being sucked in and immediately transported to the sci-fi world she has created. In my experience I’ve found that most futuristic, sci-fi [romance] novels seem to have the same plot layout – Earth is in jeopardy and we need to colonize a different planet, Earth has visitors and they want to trade resources for women, etc etc. LD has gone a completely different way and created a fresh approach.

Sidenote : these cyborgs are not Terminators with a sex drive. They are bio-engineering at its finest.

If you’re familiar with the Cyborg Seduction series then you’ll recognize Zorus, but if it’s your first time reading the series then you’ll go into without any preconceived notions. I expected Zorus to be a ‘proper @$$hole’, but found myself rooting for him 2 chapters into reading. This book is chocked full of fighting, sex, family squabbles, sex, possible treason, sex and two of the most unlikely people getting together. I went into reading this book praying Zorus got his comeuppance and boy did he ever. There’s no need to slap this review with a SPOILER ALERT just know its all good by the time you hit the end.

When I read Laurann Dohner I can always expect some kind of plot addition that I never expected. Just when I think I have a good grasp on which direction the book and its characters are going a shiny marquee with the words “THOUGHT YOU KNEW, BUT YOU REALLY DON’T” appear before my eyes. I nod to myself and say “Yes, Laurann you got me again.” It does my cynical heart good to know that there are authors out there that can still wow and surprise me. Don’t get me wrong -- I can still appreciate certain books where I can psychically predict the outcome, but I add the ones who make me say wow to my auto-buy list and Laurann Dohner was added 6+ books ago.

Lori Foster "When You Dare"

“Molly got her eyes open, only to find that the blue of his were incendiary.”

:sighs: Who wouldn’t love such a heated stare.

I enjoyed this book and could not put it down. Lori Foster is not one of my auto-buy authors, but I took a chance because the summary sounded great. I was not disappointed. 

Dare Macintosh is a security specialist whom is in Tijuana to rescue a family friend. In the process of this, he also rescues Molly Alexander whom was kidnapped for reasons unknown to her. She hires Dare to protect her and at the same time help find out is behind the kidnapping. Amongst the investigating and protective custody a relationship develops. 

 

Personally, I never get tired of a good protector/protected love story. Dare is determined, full of resources and sexy as hell. I enjoyed his character because he had the right amount of confidence without seeming pompous and bloated on his own abilities. I absolutely loved Molly’s character. She was so in your face and had a “don’t have time to beat around the bush” personality. They balanced each other perfectly. When Molly had her weak moments Dare was there to support her and when Dare was feeling as if he wasn’t protecting Molly as he should she was there to tell him otherwise. 

From the little (and I do mean little) research that I have done this series was introduced in the Guy Next Door anthology that Lori Foster participated in. I have not read her participating story and had no problem whatsoever keeping up with character names, stories, etc in this book. One thing I did notice was that there wasn’t much exposition on Dare’s past. Don’t get me wrong there was a conversation where Dare talked a bit about his family, but I felt like I knew more about Molly’s past than I did Dare’s. It didn’t stop me from liking and investing in Dare, but I did note that.

The love scenes are hot, but not nuclear. If you’re looking for some raunchy, gutter sex you’re wasting your time. Don’t get me wrong the sex is still good. Hot enough to make you fan yourself. This book of chock full of gun fights, bombs, fighting and a fantastic mating dance between the characters with a satisfying ending.