Friday Featured Spotlight ~ TWR Blog Tour: Our Darkest Hour

 

Amazon

Prayer Walk

My Kindle Reviews will consist of:

Kindle Lending Library

Kindle Unlimited

Kindle First

Freebies

Bordello Walk

My Kindle Reviews will consist of:

Kindle Lending Library

Kindle Unlimited

Kindle First

Freebies

Mystery Walk

My Kindle Reviews will consist of:

Kindle Lending Library

Kindle Unlimited

Kindle First

Freebies

Fire Walk

My Kindle Reviews will consist of:

Kindle Lending Library

Kindle Unlimited

Kindle First

Freebies

The Lasaran

Book source ~ Purchased

The Lasaran

Aldebarian Alliance, #1

Dianne Duvall

21 April 2020

Paranormal | Sci-Fi | Romance

460 Pages

Tamed

Book source ~ NetGalley

Tamed

Dark Protectors, #6.5

Rebecca Zanetti

15 May 2014

Paranormal | Romance

129 Pages

Demon's Bride

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided

 in exchange for an honest review.

Demon's Bride

The Hellraisers, #2

Zoë Archer

1 May 2012

Paranormal | Romance

370 Pages

Heart's Chalice

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided 

in exchange for an honest review.

Heart's Chalice

Thomma Lyn Grindstaff

17 October 2011

Paranormal | Romance

312 Pages

Blood Assassin

*Book source ~ NetGalley

Title ~ Blood Assassin

Series ~ The Sentinels, #2

Author ~ Alexandra Ivy

Publisher ~ Zebra Books

Published ~ 30 December 2014

Genre ~ Paranormal | Romance

Pages ~ 433

On the Scent

*Book source ~ NetGalley

Title ~ On the Scent

Series ~ The Psychic Detectives, #1

Author ~ Angela Campbell

Publisher ~ Harper Impulse

Published ~ 25 July 2013

Genre ~ Paranormal | Suspense

Pages ~ 263

Heart of Stone

*Book source ~ NetGalley

Title ~ Heart of Stone

Series ~ Gargoyles, #1

Author ~ Christine Warren

Publisher ~ St. Martin's

Published ~ 31 December 2013

Genre ~ Paranormal | Romance

Pages ~ 320

Friday Featured Spotlight ~ Curiosity Quills Press & 3 Reviews

At Curiosity Quills Press, we believe a book is a portal to another world, a break from reality that frees both mind and spirit. We want to bring a little piece of that magic to every life we touch with the written word.

W. Somerset Maugham once said, “To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.”

Welcome to a world of magic and dragons, of nightmares, vampires, zombies, and aliens. We are the trusty sidekicks, the parallel universe of dreams, the things that go bump in the night.

We are writers helping writers.

We are innovators.

We are escapists.

We are literary marauders.

Everyone needs a place to escape, let Curiosity Quills be yours.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | G+

*Books source ~ Many thanks to Curiosity Quills for providing review copies in exchange for honest reviews.

Title ~ KIYA: Mother of a King

Series ~ KIYA Trilogy, #2

Author ~ Katie Hamstead

Published ~ 25 October 2013

Genre ~ Historical

Pages ~ 234

My Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble out of 5

At the behest of her husband the Pharaoh Queen Kiya has fled Armana with her children and the daughter of another wife who died protecting her. With only the Hebrew guard Malachi to protect them the journey is perilous as they need to stay off the well-traveled roads and cross the desert to Thebes. Queen Nefertiti and her father Ay will do anything to make sure Kiya and her son Tut, the true heir to the throne, ends up dead. Kiya and crew must make it to her family and stay hidden until the death of the sickly Pharaoh and Tut is old enough to rule. Life in the royal family in ancient Egypt is dangerous and treacherous, but with Malachi and her family as protectors outside of Armana and Commander Horemheb as a protector inside Kiya is determined to persevere for her son’s sake.

There is a lot that goes on in this book. It’s well-written, the characters are great and the plot is believable for the time period. I know it’s historical and that people married young back in the day. I mean, way waaaaaay back in the day, but a nine-year-old boy marrying a 20-year-old woman is ewwwww. Of course, that’s nowhere near as bad as a father marrying his daughter, but it’s still hard to read about and not want to call the police. What were these people thinking back then?!

Anyway, why anyone would want to be the Pharaoh and be in constant danger of assassination, backstabbing and deceitful machinations is way beyond me. Is the power of the throne that great of a compensation? Poor Tut doesn’t have a choice. He’s definitely, even at nine, better than Smenkhkare or Ay though. The story of Kiya and Tut is very creative and since I never really liked history, much more exciting for me to learn than anything that is actually out there about them. Which isn’t a whole lot.  I’m looking forward to the conclusion.

Title ~ Negative Space

Author ~ Mike Robinson

Published ~ 17 August 2013

Genre ~ Horror/Mystery

Pages ~ 169

My Rating ~ 3 bites and a nibble out of 5

It’s 1992 and Max Higgins is a painter in L.A. He finds the inspiration for his paintings from missing people. After he is interviewed for an art magazine his whole life is turned upside down. For better or worse? Only Max knows.

The story itself about Max and his life is interesting, but all the art talk was beyond me. Everything that every character said about art went right over my head, so that’s why, even though I enjoyed the basics of the story, I gave this a lower rating. I’m just not that big a fan of art and art talk, I guess. Also the story is well-written, Max is a well-developed character and the secondary characters are pretty good, but I totally didn’t like the ending. I have a feeling this is one of those books with a ‘deeper’ meaning that I just don’t fathom. Ah, well. Give it a go and tell me what you think.

Title ~ The Strong Brain

Author ~ Nathan Yocum

Published ~ 31 October 2013

Genre ~ Horror/Mystery/Paranormal

Pages ~ 178

My Rating ~ 4 bites out of 5

Simon Craig hears voices, but he’s not crazy. He’s an alcoholic, drug addict, smoker and sort of private detective, but definitely not crazy. The only voices he doesn’t hear are the ones of the dead. The dead don’t speak. When Detective Tanner comes to him for help in finding the daughter of a local crime boss Simon agrees. However, what should have been a routine and easy job for him soon turns into a nightmare of epic proportions changing Simon’s life in ways he never could have imagined.

Well-written with plenty of action this is a great psychic story. Simon Craig is one interesting dude and then to find out he’s not unique? Fantastic! Damsel is downright scary and tragic. The Benefactor is truly evil. I love how this story went from routine to shit with only a touch of Simon’s hand on Pauline. One little innocent thing and BAM!  I loved how Simon’s psychic connection is described, but Damsel’s confused me a lot of the time. Very little is said about the Benefactor.

Set in 1952, I’m not sure this story would have been as good set in current times. People are more apt to believe in psychics nowadays and with the digital age it would have been a lot harder for the people in this story to get away the things they did. The ending was very interesting and I’m wondering if we’ll see more of Simon Craig. I certainly hope so. I would love to ride along with him again.

12 Days of a Kensington Christmas ~ Touch of a Scoundrel

Title ~ Touch of a Scoundrel

Series ~ Touch of Seduction, #3

Author ~ Mia Marlowe

Publisher ~ Brava/Kensington

Published ~ 1 August 2012

Genre ~ Historical/Romance/Paranormal

*Book source ~ Many thanks to Kensington for providing a review in exchange for an honest review. 

My Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble out of 5

The Earl of Devonwood, Griffin Nash, has a gift. Or as he sees it, a curse. He can see the future when he touches an object. The vision always resolves itself within 12 hours, so when he gets a Sending from Emmaline Farnsworth’s pencil showing Griffin their passionate embrace, he’s both turned on and appalled. Emmaline is his brother Theodore’s choice for a bride though she hasn’t given him an answer yet. Betraying his beloved brother is not in the cards, but his visions always come true. And yet he feels something for Emmaline he’s never felt before. What’s a guy to do?

An historical romance with some psychic ability thrown in is always a favorite of mine. This is the 3^rd book in the Touch of Seduction series and it’s just as good as the others. The writing is great, the characters are excellent, the plot is a good one and the chemistry between Emmaline and Griffin is off the charts. There is humor, too and I have to say how much I love Baxter the butler. Griffin’s friends are a bit barmy and it’s sad that he doesn’t have some better ones, but if they had been then there wouldn’t be much of a story. This book, and in fact the whole series, is a great way to be entertained.

12 Days of a Kensington Christmas ~ Tempted

Title ~ Tempted

Series ~ Dark Protectors, #2.5

Author ~ Rebecca Zanetti

Publisher ~ Kensington

Published ~ 27 March 2012

Genre ~ Paranormal/Romance

*Book source ~ Purchased 

My Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble out of 5

Sarah Pringle was a school teacher until her nasty brother gets involved with the Kurjans. When one of them kills an employee at their pharmaceutical company right in front of her she thinks they are vampires, but the police don’t believe her and her brother has her committed to a mental institution for evaluation. When she manages to escape and put up a blog about the vampire she witnessed killing a woman this brings her to the attention of the actual vampires, the Dark Protectors. It’s time for damage control, so the vampire King of the Realm, Dage Kayrs, sends his best hunter, Max Petrovsky, to find Sarah and take care of the problem.

Max is the biggest, baddest, fiercest hunter Dage has and most would say his heart is made of stone, but he doesn’t stand a chance against the four-year-old he needs to guard. Max discovers he actually has a heart when he has to spend a good amount of time guarding Janie, so it’s not such a huge surprise when he meets Sarah that there is room for her there, too. Max is an awesome alpha hero with kick ass fighting skills and a great match for Sarah who couldn’t really fight her way out of a wet paper bag though she is stubborn and full to the brim with perseverance. The chemistry between the two is steamy, the plot is good, the characters wonderful and there is humor sprinkled throughout. I’ve enjoyed each book in this series so far and this one, while short, doesn’t disappoint.

12 Days of a Kensington Christmas ~ Darkness Rises

Title ~ Darkness Rises

Series ~ Immortal Guardians, #4

Author ~ Dianne Duvall

Publisher ~ Zebra/Kensington

Published ~ 1 October 2013

Genre ~ Paranormal/Romance

*Book source ~ Many thanks to Kensington & NetGalley for providing a review in exchange for an honest review. 

My Rating ~ 5 bites out of 5

Étienne d’Alençon is an Immortal Guardian. Tasked with protecting humans from vampires, he and his siblings, along with other Immortal Guardians, hunt each night, but no matter how many vampires they take out more seem to fill the void. One night while on patrol Étienne comes across Krysta Linz, a human vampire hunter. Even though she has some serious mad fighting skillz he decides to follow her each evening and protect her. Until one evening when she finds herself seriously outnumbered by vampires and things spiral out of control. The threat that was thought to be eliminated is still going strong and the Immortal Guardians are once more fighting more than vampires.

I wondered what would happen when the big baddies were put down, what or who would the Immortal Guardians deal with now? Vampires aren’t much of a threat to them though they are annoying to keep in check, preventing them from hurting or killing humans. Well, I didn’t need to worry because this book reveals something else is going on. And it’s a doozy.

I love, love, love this series. Every book is a smorgasbord of everything I like about books all under one cover. The paranormal elements, fast action, kicking ass, humor, hot nommy guys, excellent dialogue, fantastic characters, bad baddies, steamy scenes and I mentioned the hot nommy guys, right? I know when I pick up an Immortal Guardians story I won’t be able to put it down.

I have to admit that part of my delight in this book as well as the others in this series is the fact that the setting is right down the road from where I live. I love seeing familiar cities and landmarks mentioned since I don’t think I’ve read a book yet that has a setting so close to home. In addition, Étienne turned about to be more laid back than the other Guardians I’ve met so far, so it was a nice change of pace. When the French siblings were first introduced in the series I wasn’t sure if I would like them, but after Richart’s  & Étienne’s stories were told they have earned a place in my heart. Krysta is a great character, too. Strong, stubborn and very loyal to those she loves. She took a horrible experience and turned it into a crusade that luckily didn’t get her killed. I also love meeting more humans who are gifted ones and what type of gift they have.

There are a few more Immortal Guardians mentioned in this book as well as their Seconds, Ami’s secrets are revealed to the Guardians and then there’s Zach. Oh, boy. I’m seriously hoping his story is next though Seth’s story would be super awesome. I can’t wait to read more about the Immortal Guardians and I’m very much looking forward to Night Unbound due out September 2, 2014.