Embrace the Night

Title ~ Embrace the Night
Series ~ Night, #1
Author ~ Crystal Jordan
Publisher ~ Aphrodisia
Published ~ 1 June 2011
Genres ~ Paranormal/Romance/Suspense/Erotica

My Rating ~ 4 bites out of 5

Chloe Standish is a doctor and a biochemist. She’s also a witch. When she discovers her vampire boyfriend is cheating on her she heads to the supernatural friendly bar Sanguine to look for a hot one-night stand to occupy her mind and body.

Merek Kingston is a loner, a cop and a warlock with powerful abilities. He’s not just clairvoyant. He’s clairvoyant³ where he sees all the way into the past, all possibilities in the present and to the end of days in the future. He struggles constantly to keep his seeing under a tight rein. He stops at Sanguine to drown the near-future vision of his partner lying dead on the ground when he meets Chloe and can’t see anything about her. In her presence his abilities are quiet and while he knows it’s not a good sign he can’t prevent himself from taking her home with him.

Two months after that night and Chloe’s sneaky dash away the morning after the two meet again when Chloe’s life and werewolf research are threatened by a werewolf terrorist. They have to go on the run to give the FBI time to catch the bad guy, but this means being in close proximity to each other and the out-of-control lust they feel. Will they be able to overcome their painful pasts and trust their hearts to each other? Will they stay a step ahead of the bad guys? Will Chloe finish her research that could prevent werewolves from dying during their monthly Change? You know what they say…where there’s a will there’s a way.

This was a great story. The plot was tight with plenty of twists to keep it interesting. The characters, including secondary ones, were well-developed and appealing. The pace is where it fell a tad short for me. The suspense would build and then there’d be a sex scene. The sex scenes were detailed and hot, but there were too many of them and the imagery was a tad repetitious. I felt as if I was running with the characters trying to stay ahead of the bad guy and the suspense would just begin to get to me when Chloe and Merek just couldn’t keep their hands off each other. I was trying to ride the suspense wave to the conclusion, but instead I sat there twiddling my thumbs waiting while they got it on yet again.

I did enjoy the characters and the world in which they live though, so I will be checking out Book 2, Night Games.

The Life and Death of Lily Drake

Title ~ Life & Death of Lily Drake
Author ~ T. Michelle Nelson
Publisher ~ Inkspell Publishing
Published ~ 4 October 2012

My Rating ~ 3.5 out of 5

Lily Drake is a divorced mom in her 30s. She designs websites and is raising her son Keaton. There is no time for dating nor is she really interested in dating, but her best friend insists on setting her up on blind dates. So when a handsome well-dressed man comes to her door one evening, she mistakes him for her blind date. Lily had no idea this man was a vampire coming with an offer she’d find hard to refuse.

The premise for the story drew me in. The characters are appealing, the plot is interesting and there are some moments that are pretty funny. However, the book gets a bit bogged down in the mundane and it slows the book down. I did enjoy it, but it didn’t keep me glued to the pages as well as it could have if the momentum had been maintained.

*Many thanks to Inkspell Publishing for providing me with a review copy. Please see disclaimer page.

Redecorating

Good Morning!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm doing some redecorating of my blog. Exciting new colors and patterns and I'll be rearranging the furniture, too. So hang in there as I splash some new color around and move things hither and yon as I figure out where I want to place everything.

Have a great day!

Twist

Title ~ Twist
Author ~ William D. Hicks
Publisher ~ Untreed Reads
Published ~ 19 August 2012
Genres ~ Horror

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

The year was 1953. It was a time when kids could run around town and play without fear. Kevin Hull was 10 and he was one of a group of five boys who ran around town, played games and generally caused mischief. The day was no different than any other day until Kevin and Billy both lost at the game of ‘Ledge’ and had to complete a dare. Billy had to do a dare once and never wanted to do one again. Kevin stepped up and said he’d do the dare alone and it could be doubly hard since he would be doing it for Billy and himself. Billy was relieved. But this time the dare was dangerous and before it was over one of the boys in the gang would be dead. The town and the boys were never the same again.

This was a good short story. The plot moved quickly and the writing was smooth. The suspense during the dare was intense and the ending was a Twist I didn’t see coming until it was too late. Excellent!

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy. Please see the disclaimer page.

November Can't Waits

The two books being released this month that I've been looking forward to:

20 November

27 November

My # in the queue at the library is high for both. Maybe I'll get lucky and get them for Christmas. :)

The Kiss of Death

Title ~ The Kiss of Death
Author ~ Victor J. Banis
Publisher ~ Untreed Reads
Published ~ 29 February 2012
Genres ~ Mystery

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Claire did something stupid and her action indirectly led to the death of her husband, Jason. Some would argue it directly led to Jason’s death, but Jason had choices and he made bad ones based on what he saw, so I’m going with indirectly. Anyway, I’m sure we’ve all done something stupid in our lives we wish we could take back. Well, Claire’s action can’t be taken back, but someone is going to be held responsible. Who will it be?

This is a great well-written short story. I was sucked in from the beginning, wondering what had happened then the end took me by surprise. Wham! Bang! I love being surprised. I like the writing style, so I’m going to look into other books by Victor J. Banis.

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy to review. Please see disclaimer page.

Lesbian Crushes and Bulimia

Title ~ Lesbian Crushes and Bulimia:
        A Diary on How I Acquired My 
        Eating Disorder
Author ~ Natasha Holme
Publisher ~ Natasha Holme
Published ~ 22 March 2012
Genre ~ Non-Fiction/Memoir

My Rating ~ 3 out of 5

This book is the diary of a 19-yr-old struggling with her sexuality and body image.

As stated in my blog review guidelines I normally don’t read non-fiction, but Natasha Holme, through a Twitter glitch, tied to be my 1700^th follower and I offered to review her book as a prize. Because, you know, I’m broke and don’t really have anything else to offer.

I had a hard time deciding on how to rate this book. On one side, the voyeur in me enjoyed reading her diary. On the other side, the teenager is obsessive about her body image and extremely confused about her sexuality and I had a hard time empathizing with her. It’s been a long time since I was a teenager, so I couldn’t wrap my head around her behavior most of the time. In addition, while I have body image issues to this day, I’ve never wanted to indulge in any behavior associated with anorexia or bulimia. I just can’t imagine starving myself and most definitely have never once thought of binging and purging.

It was a hard read and at the same time an easy read. Easy because it was broken into small segments. Hard because of the subject matter. Yet it was compelling. I had to keep reading to see if Natasha reached the weight she had set as her goal. And I wanted to see if she figured out anything regarding her sexuality. The ending didn’t really give me any answers though. I’d like to know how she’s doing today.

Hunted

Title ~ Hunted
Series ~ Dark Protectors, #3
Author ~ Rebecca Zanetti
Publisher ~ Brava
Published ~ 24 April 2012
Genres ~ Paranormal/Romance

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Connlan Kayrs is a Prince of the Realm, an ultimate warrior and a vampire. He has also been mated to Moira Dunne, a witch, for a century. He signed a treaty and gave her the space she needed to come into and understand her powers as the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. However, time is up, war is upon them from several sides and Conn is claiming his mate. 

Moira Dunne is The Seventh. As the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter she has more power than any witch on the Council of the Nine. She has spent a century training and now Conn has come to claim her. Despite the wonderful night they spent together and the fact he marked her as his mate, Moira thinks Conn is just doing his duty and that sets off her red-headed temper. Sparks will fly and fights will ensue. Oh, and there is a war to be fought. Will they survive the upcoming chaos?

I so love this series. There are alliances and enemies that seem to be in constant flux. There is mystery galore and an uncertain future. The characters are interesting and the world is wonderful. The plot is twisty and the writing is smooth. I can’t wait to read the next installment and see where this is all headed.

*Many thanks to Kensington for providing me with a review copy. Please see the disclaimer page.