What a mind f*uck. A dark erotic PNR that pushes boundaries and blurs the lines between good and evil. No one is who they say, nothing is what it seemWhat a mind f*uck. A dark erotic PNR that pushes boundaries and blurs the lines between good and evil. No one is who they say, nothing is what it seems, and everyone has an agenda.
Merged review:
What a mind f*uck. A dark erotic PNR that pushes boundaries and blurs the lines between good and evil. No one is who they say, nothing is what it seems, and everyone has an agenda....more
Crouching Tiger, Forbidden Vampire brings a long running storyline to a close as our hero, Russell Hankleburg, solidifies his revenge against Master Han, the evil vampire who changed him and then left him in a coma for 39 years, with the help of a were-tiger who has her own reasons for wanting Han dead.
Jia, our heroine, is a royal were-tiger princess whose parents and siblings were slaughtered by Master Han. She has vowed revenge but is stymied by her cousin, Rivja, the Grand Tiger of her village. She escapes her guards and while hunting Han on her own, inadvertently ruins Russell’s killing shot. Russell grabs her and takes her back to his hideout in order to discover who she is and why she interfered with his plans. Upon discovering her identity, he instantly takes her back to Tiger Town and from there, a somewhat controversial relationship begins between them. The romance is slow to start but builds in balance with the conflict.
Though well written (in terms of mechanics) and fast paced, I couldn’t help but feel rather underwhelmed with the story overall. I have followed this series on and off since the beginning. Interesting dynamic characters, silly tongue in cheek humor, and some steamy romance is what made this series fun but in this installment there was a faint mocking and moronic quality to the characters and the storyline. Dialogue flips from funny and mature to juvenile and imbecile in a heartbeat. Formulaic to the point of redundancy, it follows a noticeable groove worn track and stays one-dimensional. The emotional conduits seem to be missing. We are told more than shown. Russell constantly waxes on how attracted he is to Jia but I never felt the chemistry between them. Jia comes off strong and smart in regards to their mission but naive and somewhat stupid in the affairs of the heart. The romance and the conflict are streamlined and whittled down to the bare bones. No anticipation. No real heart stopping moments or genuine feelings that something bad will happen. It’s all very circumspect.
Almost every couple from the series makes an appearance, bringing some humor as they help wrap up the multiple story lines and close the series out. I did enjoy seeing many old faces and of course seeing where they have all ended up. I admit the angel squad was a bit strange and visiting Hell left me rolling my eyes. The one liners and character caricatures over reached at times and fell flat. The coup de grace concerning Master Han came out of left field and was almost annoyingly easy to figure out. I do wish more time had been spent on the little boy-dragon hostage. His story was rather good and there was a wonderful area to expand there that wasn’t taken.
Overall I think that Sparks was right to wrap it all up and end it here. The stories have become repetitive. The last few installments, this one in particular, have lacked the “spark” that drew me to the series to begin with. While I’m sure die hard fans of the series will be thrilled with the couple and route Sparks chose for this bon voyage, this one just wasn’t for me.
Favorite Quote: She had found the truth she had been searching for […] now she just had to find a way to live with it.
Evelyn Blaine lost her best friend, Cassie, eighteen years ago when she was abducted out of her backyard and never seen again. The only clue was a message left in the form of a nursery rhyme. The message also hinted at Evelyn’s possible abduction. Cassie was never found and soon Evelyn moved away. After years of silence, another girl is missing and all signs point to the return of the Nursery Rhyme killer.
Now an FBI Profiler, Evelyn is headed back to her hometown of Rose Bay, South Carolina, determined to investigate what happened to her best friend and discover if this is the same killer or a copycat. As more girls disappear, the idyllic town becomes a breeding ground of hate and violence. Tempers flare as Evelyn digs deeper into the town and it’s residents; determined to stop the killer before they stop her…permanently.
Vanished is book two in Elizabeth Heiter’s suspenseful Profiler series. A dark engaging mystery suspense with a very low-key romance. Verbose characters and a seasoned storyline provides us with a multitude of deceptive twists and turns. Using the heroine as the tether, Heiter alternates between the past and the present to reveal the motivations behind the heroine’s fanatical need to solve a series of kidnappings that has left her and her hometown scarred. The story does start out little slow as the storyline is set up and needed background given. Heiter shows considerable knowledge of procedural investigative work as she submerges us into the investigation in a clear and concise manner. The heavy hand on the emotional aspects of the investigators gives the story a sense of realism and depth as she explores the long-term ramifications of childhood trauma from multiple viewpoints. The running dialog between the characters is smooth and fast paced, though I wish we had been given some clear answers to the underlying tension that is felt between the heroine and some of the other characters.
Our heroine is an interesting mixture of contrasts. Evelyn is an intelligent, tenacious, strong-willed woman, yet there is a strong mixture of vulnerability and guilt that rides her. She became a FBI profiler because of her past and this particular case is personal for her. Personal to the point where she is willing to break the rules and endanger her own life to find answers. At times I was irritated with her only because I felt her emotional connection to the case overruled her good sense at times. Certain aspects have her running around in circles, so intent on finding the killer, she disregards what I felt were very important clues.
The secondary characters are as complex as our protagonist. Each one has a personal stake in the case and they all add personality, drama, and insight to the story. The dynamics between the characters are complicated as the past intertwines with the present. The cast provides a solid foundation in which to give our heroine a frame from which to work and build from. The villain(s) of the story are a compelling study in deception, deceit, and small town prejudice. I had some ideas to whom the killer was but was never able to verify. Heiter did a good job of tossing red herrings into your path, misleading you from page one.
There is a small romance that intertwines into the story. Those who read Haunted or the subsequent spin offs will recognise fellow agent Kyle MacKenzie. It is considerably less involved than the main plot but Heiter uses their scenes together to help give Evelyn an unconnected emotional outlet. The unvoiced sexual tension between the two agents builds slowly, giving us peeks into a possible future. Heiter doesn’t make their relationship a competing subplot but does intertwine it with the main storyline; allowing it to merge naturally and enhance the ending.
The ending comes at the reader hard, fast, and is a little overwhelming as Evelyn makes the final connection between the past and present; placing herself in the killer’s sights. A bit of an information dump tells us the whole sordid tale in one felled swoop, not giving us much time to absorb what is happening. Loose ends are wrapped up, questions answered, and the wrongs of the past are made right and finally laid to rest. Mystery suspense fans will enjoy the deception of a convoluted mystery combined with a complex and complicated heroine. You do not have to read book one-Haunted-in order to understand and connect with this book. Heiter does an admirable job of setting up the new storyline(s) and integrating the necessary background information to ensure the reader is brought up to speed.
Lani Lynn Vale’s Kevlar To My Vest is another winning installment in her Heroes of the Dixie Wardens MC series. Fans will rejoice in finally getting VLani Lynn Vale’s Kevlar To My Vest is another winning installment in her Heroes of the Dixie Wardens MC series. Fans will rejoice in finally getting Viddy and Trace’s story. Vale’s trademark humor, steamy love scenes, sexy dirty talk, and action packed scenes made for a quick and engaging read. Vale is the ultimate of cracky authors and I can’t wait to see what she has for us next....more
Knight McQueen has suffered greatly due to the hybrids increasing violence against his people. Forced to hide due to the hybrid’s agenda concerning him, Knight teeters between extreme guilt, rage, and depression. When the one person who helps him hold on to his humanity is kidnapped, Knight loses his tentative grip on his self-control and begins a steady decline into the abyss.
Shay Butler was traumatized by the massacre of her Run by the hybrids. Taken in by the Cornerstone Run, Shay finds hope and healing with the Run’s white wolf-Knight. Abruptly kidnapped by her half sisters-the hybrids-Shay is forced to care for an unknown newborn. Chained, starved, and forced to wear a collar of silver, Shay fears she will lose her sanity before she is rescued.
Help comes from the most unlikely of sources…Archimedes Atwood. Byrnn’s father and the Magus who started this war. He waves the white flag and offers to help find Shay if the Run will protect him from the hybrids. The McQueen’s agree and soon a diabolical and dangerous plan is hatched…one that will save Shay, destroy the hybrids, and deal with the Magus once and for all.
White Knight is the third and final installment in Meade’s Cornerstone Run Trilogy. An action packed dark urban fantasy that revolves around a family of loup garous-the McQueens. If you haven’t read books one and two, I highly recommend you do so as the ongoing arc is extremely important to the storyline and characters bleed over with little to no recap. Each book focuses on one brother. Though we see the same high impact action scenes and shocking revelations that were present in the first two books, this installment was tamer in a sense and focuses more on Knight’s emotional healing and his relationship with the black wolf-Shay.
Knight is in a bad place from the previous events. He has some issues that he has tried to bury for the good of his pack. Being a rare white wolf, his gift of empathy helps to balance the emotions of those around him. He can’t afford to let his emotions out for fear they will backlash on the pack. Fans have waited for Knight to finally admit to his family and Shay everything that happened to him when he was in the hands of the hybrids. It’s heartbreaking.
Shay was probably my favorite character in this series. Hit from all sides repeatedly, left without family or friends, her strength, intelligence, and ingrained leadership qualities allowed her the ability to know when compassion is needed and when death is required. She and Knight are true soul mates in that they heal and ground one another. Their chemistry is magnetic and it’s in here they finally throw caution and rules to the wind and fully commit to one another.
Revelations are made that explain the origins of the hybrids, their link to Brynn and Shay, and why they want Knight so desperately. Though they are dangerous and insane, they are but merely a product of their birth and environment and ingrained with a strong will to survive. Meade has always had an interesting outlook on good and evil and most often than not, her characters comfortably straddle the line between them. I had pity for the hybrids towards the end. I enjoyed the meeting the additional supernatural factions and seeing the world through their eyes.
While I enjoyed the story overall and was happy to see the conclusion addresses most of the issues and provides us with a plausible ending, there was a distinct lack of anticipation, suspense, and yes, violence, that I came to associate with the series. As I mentioned earlier, the book centers on Knight and his emotional and mental healing. Dialogue is at a premium but also takes over during intense moments. I felt there were too many other POVs that derailed the momentum the story was trying to build. There were some issues that didn’t resolve fully for me and I questioned the change in direction and attitude.
Regardless of my qualms, Meade wraps up White Knight to satisfaction and leaves an opening in which to revisit again.
Disappointing is the word that comes to mind after reading this. I Do! is a short novella that gives us Sadie and Vince's wedding with a side order2.5
Disappointing is the word that comes to mind after reading this. I Do! is a short novella that gives us Sadie and Vince's wedding with a side order of NA romance. I enjoyed the follow ups to previous characters in the series. Their dialogue was crisp and the storyline flowed like water with plenty of humor. The problem was the romance between Becca and Nate. The artifice screamed at you as Gibson tries to force them together. All Nate thinks about is sex. Literally. Every thought that came out of his head was about how he waned to have sex with Becca or he alluded to having sex with previous women. He never even thinks of Becca as a person, just a set of perfect boobs, the perfect butt, the perfect legs, ect...All Becca thinks about is hair and making it big in the hair styling business. The dialogue between them was stiff and clunky and I couldn't help but feel Gibson just wasn't comfortable making this couple sexual. ...more
What happened?? I enjoyed the first two in the series but this one was so weak; both in character dynamics and storyline. The conflict(s) felt hastilyWhat happened?? I enjoyed the first two in the series but this one was so weak; both in character dynamics and storyline. The conflict(s) felt hastily thrown together. The romance was more sex based then anything and even the sex scenes were formulaic and unbelievably cheesy.It honestly felt like someone else wrote this with Rose because there were two different 'voices' and you could see when they changed.
Razed picks up where Wrecked leaves off. An emotional and intense love story about a young woman whose crush marries someone else and the man who wantRazed picks up where Wrecked leaves off. An emotional and intense love story about a young woman whose crush marries someone else and the man who wants to prove to her that her HEA is standing right in front of her. Sexy and humorous with some heartbreaking reveals. Keelie and Zane have some fabulous chemistry and sexual tension that rides the reader to the very end. ...more
Though darker than her previous installments, Love and Leprechauns takes us back to the small Irish town of Ballybeg and reintroduces us two former loThough darker than her previous installments, Love and Leprechauns takes us back to the small Irish town of Ballybeg and reintroduces us two former lovers whose past actions have a strong grip on their futures. Olivia and Jonas were young sweethearts until a terrible accident forces them apart. Years later, they are reluctantly brought back together in a bid to improve both their circumstances. Love, laughter, strong characters, and small town shenanigans is what makes this series fun to read. Add in some suspense and intrigue and you have a story that will engage you to the very end....more
Favorite Quote: “Small towns […] You start out with a simple breakdown on a country road and by the end of the day the whole town’s got you tangled up in a hot and sweaty clinch with triplets on the way.”
Miranda Brookhaven never planned to set foot in Bitterthorn, Texas ever again but the need to right a wrong has her doing many things she never thought she’d ever do again…like voluntarily hunting down her high school sweetheart, Coe Rodas, the man who ripped her heart out. Years ago, Miranda’s father took something important from Coe. Miranda’s father has since passed away but his convoluted will forces Miranda to stay in Bitterthorn until she can give back what her family stole from Coe.
Coe Rodas learned early in life that there are two types of the people-the haves and have nots. When the only thing he ever had to his name is stolen by Miranda’s father, he was convinced the Princess of Brookhaven set him up. Only now she is back and Coe learns everything he thought he knew about that night and her intentions seems to be a lie.
Miranda has sixty days for Coe to find proof he invented the prototype. It’s only then will she finally be able move beyond the pain and hurt he and her father caused her. But Coe seems more intent on rekindling the passion between them then claiming what her family owes him. While she may have been blinded by love in high school, this time around the princess of Brookhaven is more than able to handle the bad boy of Bitterthorn
Where There’s A Will is another classic second chance romance from Stacy Gail. I have enjoyed her Bitterthorn series and was pleased to see Coe would be getting his own chance at an HEA. Gail does a fabulous job with the second chance love trope, effectively separating out the emotions and facts behind the conflicts that lead to the break up of our lovers in the first place. The well plotted storyline flows at a steady if not somewhat overly chatty pace; interjecting with bits of humor and bittersweet moments as two high school sweethearts are reluctantly reunited after seven years.
Heavily character driven, the story revolves around our heroine Miranda Brookhaven and her journey back to the worse time of her life. Abandoned by her lover and father forced Miranda to leave Bitterthorn and cut herself off from her family. Coming back home to a town filled with people who hate her and her family isn’t easy. Emotions run hot and heavy as we learn that there are three sides to every story-yours, theirs, and the truth. Small town gossip and animosity only adds fuel the fire as we hear Miranda’s and Coe’s versions of the events of that fateful summer; events that don’t quite match up.
Coe Rodas wanted Miranda Brookhaven from the first moment he saw her. The perfect trophy girlfriend to prove that a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks could get the rich princess. The product of an abusive home with a large chip on his shoulder and hair trigger temper, he never could believe that she actually cared for him. When he learned her father stole his idea, that confirmed it.
“Behind your perfect manners and polite smile you’re still the cunning little manipulator you always were.”
Miranda Brookhaven met and fell in love with Roscoe ‘Coe” Rodas while in high school. When he gives her a gadget to show her famous father, Miranda does as he asks, even ‘borrowing’ his notes when her father shows interest. Little did she know that her father would steal the device, market it as his own, and Coe would blame her for everything. Her father’s betrayal and Coe’s hatred devastated Miranda.
“It would have been a cliche, except for one thing-her feelings were real. In the end, he’d made sure she understood his feelings had been anything but.”
Their romance is sweet, sarcastic, sexy, and heartbreaking. Strong chemistry and passion flavors the story, assuring readers that no matter what happened in the past, this couple isn’t completely free of one another. The slow journey towards discovery, forgiveness, and ultimately love controlled a large portion of the storyline. Gail builds the story, effectively communing to readers the pain and angst these two suffered through. Miranda was left damaged by Coe and her father. Damage that can’t be rectified by a simple ‘I’m sorry.’ Coe, older and more mature, sees that he has a lot of work to do if he is ever going to gain Miranda’s trust and forgiveness to help move her past the anger and grief she still clings to.
“I loathe you, just as much as you loathe me, so let me assure you that while you clearly are the center of your universe, you’ll never again be the center of mine.”
I loved the interactions between Coe and Miranda. Coe expects the soft-spoken squeaky clean ‘princess’ he remembers from the past and is shocked when he gets the strong, sarcastic, foul mouth, take no crap from anyone woman she has become. Though he comes off as a complete jerk in the beginning, watching him open his heart and become the sweet protective man to the woman he has always loved was wonderful to watch. The moment he realizes exactly how much he hurt Miranda, your heart breaks along with his.
“He really had been the kind of asshole good mothers warned their daughters about.”
The ending wraps up everything nicely and leaves us with a sweet happily ever after for our protagonists. Though this is part of a series, each book can be read as a stand alone.
Ice, a romantic suspense, is the first book in the Regulators MC series by Jessie Lane and Chelsea Cameron. Fans of Joanna Wylde will enjoy these sexyIce, a romantic suspense, is the first book in the Regulators MC series by Jessie Lane and Chelsea Cameron. Fans of Joanna Wylde will enjoy these sexy, bad arse, overly dominant alpha men who walk a fine line between justice and revenge. Action packed with plenty of violence and mayhem is tempered by an antagonistic humorous romance between a VERY grumpy biker-Ice-and the straight laced accountant that steals his heart. Though this can be read as a stand alone, the Ex Op series by Lane and the Hellion series by Cameron both introduce the Regulators and offer some background into their history....more
Return to Clan Sinclair is a short steamy novella that introduces us to Ceana Mead Sinclair. Ceana has returned to her brother’s home in Scotland i3.5
Return to Clan Sinclair is a short steamy novella that introduces us to Ceana Mead Sinclair. Ceana has returned to her brother’s home in Scotland in an attempt to find herself after her husband passed away. A chance meeting of a sexy incorrigible American detective opens the doorway to a second chance at love and happiness; that is if her in laws don’t ruin it for her. Lively banter and intriguing sexual tension between the protagonist makes for an enjoyable read. Ranney also ties off a few loose threads from The Devil of Clan Sinclair. I only wish we would have heard the real reasons behind Ceana’s in laws need to keep her under lock and key.
Favorite Quote: How could a man be so arrogant yet so humble?
Schooled is a short peek back into the lives of Ronin and Amery Black. Despite their differences (cultural and sexual) they learned to adapt and have gotten married. When Ronin heads to Japan for his yearly martial arts training with his sensei, he decides to take Amery along as he can not bear to be parted from her for so long. This vacation/honeymoon combo is exactly what Amery and Ronin need though Amery wasn’t prepared for exactly how much time Ronin’s training would consume their time or lives.
As Amery tries to adjust to the cultural and language differences she is experiencing, Ronin is going through his own adjustments. His sensei master is challenging every aspect of Ronin’s life, forcing Ronin to make some difficult decisions that reverberate through his marriage. Can Ronin and Amery survive the changes or is this trip the beginning of their end?
I have enjoyed the relationship James has built between Ronin and Amery. Two complete opposites who fell in love despite their differences and clawed their way to find common ground between them. Schooled revolves around Ronin though is told from Amery’s point of view. He is going home and he feels both excitement and trepidation in introducing Amery to his culture and family. This trip shows a vulnerability in him we haven’t really seen in the series. He has to balance the demands of his culture against the need to show his wife she is everything to him. There is a lot of emotional scenes that are used to show how far Ronin has come to opening up emotionally and verbally; able to accept and show his love for Amery.
Amery is having some issues of her own. She is unsure of what her role is exactly concerning Ronin while in Japan but her natural enthusiasm , addictive wit, and love for Ronin has her looking for anyway to support him without losing pieces of herself. She has also become more open and confident in her relationship with Ronin. She refuses to let him shut her out.
We see some old and new faces; all of which had a role in developing Ronin into the man he is now. Ronin’s grandfather is a force of nature to be reckoned with but Amery more than holds her own with him. We meet the man who taught Ronin his rope play. H and Amery develop a wonderful rampart which goes far into helping Amery make an important decision she herself has been wrestling with.
As this book focuses on Ronin and his reasons for being in Japan, the romance and it’s emotional counterparts are more pronounced while the actual erotic scenes are far less then we have seen previously. Very little rope play is seen. Both of them are completely open to one another and I found this book to be far more playful and sweet.
Schooled is a wonderful short story that takes care of the few remaining obstacles that may have eventually caused issues for Ronin and Amery. James wraps up their story, assuring us they truly belong to one another in all possible ways. We are also gifted a small scene from Unraveled, the next book in the series, which features Ronin’s sister, Shiori and one of his employee’s, Knox.
Favorite Quote: “I see you, and I’m amazed and scared…”
Maggie Kendall survived a condition that should have killed her, however it left her fundamentally changed. The Maggie you see now is not the Maggie from before. She must be ever vigilant, using various means to keep herself from making what could be a fatal mistake. The last thing she needs is an attractive distraction.
Last year while abroad, Griffin Reed ]gave his heart away to someone who loved another. Determined to not to make that mistake again, he has come home, decided to straighten up, and follow the predetermined path his father has arranged for him. It may not be what he wants but sometimes what we want and what we need are two different things.
But what if what you want and what you need are the same thing? What if life gives you a second chance to be happy?
Will you take it? Or will you let it pass you by and forever ask yourself…What If?
What If is the second story in A.J. Pine’s If Only series. Those who read If Only will be pleased to see Griffin Reed is finally getting his chance at happiness. I’ll admit I wasn’t a fan of If Only. I didn’t like the heroine at all ( I never felt she displayed the emotional maturity she should have at her age or her circumstances) and really wanted someone to tie her up and drop her off a cliff. However, I enjoyed the story to an extent and really liked Griffin so I decided to give it another go. I’m glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed this story better. The writing is solid and well plotted but there was evident maturity. Engaging dialogue and a dynamic cast gave this one the friendship and romantic emotional connections and potent chemistry I felt was missing from book one.
Our heroine, Maggie Kendall, seems okay but she isn’t. A part-time student, she suffered a brain aneurysm and now has short-term memory loss. She uses sticky note, photos, and medication to try to normalize her life as much as possible. She is embarrassed by her ‘crutches’ and guilty for the strain she feels it places on her friends. She struggles with day to day maneuvers; things we all take for granted. She thinks her life has no room for romance…but she never met anyone like Griffin Reed.
“In one day this stranger hasn’t once seen me as lacking. And despite all the signs that point to him being every bit of trouble he believes he is, that’s not who I see. I see someone lost, like me.”
Griffin Reed is a bit of a player. He readily admits to drinking too much and frequenting bars to find someone to share the night with. Only one night. He has no urge to commit to anyone, feeling that his life is screwed up enough without dragging someone else into it. Considered a disappointment to his family, he perpetuates the cycle by doing everything he can to live up to their lack of expectations. Meeting Maggie throws him for a tailspin. She is everything he was never looking for or hoping to find.
“Tomorrow I’ll force myself to forget her like I do all the others. It’s what I’m good at. But for the next few hours, I’m a fucking goner.”
Pine slowly builds the romance between Maggie and Griffin, infusing the story with humor, sex, and some emotional introspection. She uses their personalities and personal lives to show us that even with their different backgrounds, they are more similar than they think. Though the romance is a main aspect of the storyline, Pine intertwines it with external plotlines, using them to further elevate the romance and guide our protagonists into revealing their secrets to one another.
Maggie and Griffin’s story is engaging and but thankfully lacking in the heavy dramatics and theatrics beyond the normal age appropriate reactions. New Adult romance often walks a fine line between normal actions and over the top reactions. Pine maintains the age dynamics without succumbing to the need for ridiculous and over the top escapades. All misunderstandings are resolved in a receptive manner and their communication was pretty straight forward though I felt Griffin was more forthcoming than Maggie. What I really enjoyed was watching them fall in love. Pine gives us Maggie’s and Griffin’s internal thoughts, dictating it in a way that allows us to really feel like we are experience the relationship with them every step of the way.
A winning cast of friends and family add depth, humor, and a sense of continuation to the story. Milo and Paige are delightful as they provide strong much need friendship and stability for Maggie. Though Griffin’s father is not in his corner, the rest of his family is, especially his sisters and his niece. They provide advice, laughter, and plenty of arms to hug him whenever he needs it and when he doesn’t.
The ending is solid if not a little rushed with Maggie being forced to come clean with herself and Griffin if she wants him in her life. There is even a small epilogue that assures us Maggie and Griffin will be just fine. I enjoyed What If though I did find it odd that we really don’t see the moment when Griffin learns what Maggie’s secret is though his reaction to it is heart melting.
Overall an enjoyable bittersweet romance that uses an unusual set of circumstances to bring two damaged souls together and gives them a second chance happiness and love.