Monday June 6, 2011
Phobic Dawn
My Rating: 4 Stars ****
At first I was wary about reading this book. The storyline was great, but I am not a huge sci-fi fan, so I almost didn’t pick it up. So glad that I did!
Ben is not your typical hero. Is he tortured? Sure. Does he have a deep, dark secret? Absolutely! Does he seek out a woman that needs to save him so that he can live and love like man needs? Naturally. What makes him different from any other hero you read about? HE ASKED FOR HELP!!! I loved this about Ben! He wasn’t sitting around moping about his phobias (well, ok…he was for a while, but that is understandable given his HUGE secret….yeah, I’m not going to tell you that part. You need to find that one out for yourself.) he took the initiative and the chance that he could get caught, and he sought help. You gotta give the man credit for that one. Most men would rather be shot than ask someone (let alone a woman) for help. I don’t understand why…I just think that men are men and, well, they have serious issues in the asking for help department.
Snakes. Yes, snakes. They play a big part in the story and I found this absolutely fascinating. There are bodies of young women being found all over the world. Oe thing these bodies have in common? Besides the way they were killed, they all were covered in snakes. Ick, Ick, Ick!! Oh, and what just happens to be Ben’s big phobia? That’s right – snakes! Hell of an investigation for this man to be on, isn’t it?
This all brings us to Lucy. American. Rebel. Beautiful. Dangerous. What a combo. Ben found Lucy when looking for psychologists to treat him, but he needed someone who wouldn’t repost him to M18…these people basically own him and would terminate him if there was the slightest problem with him. Fun guys to work for, huh? Lucy seems like the perfect woman to help Ben with his phobic needs. The problem? She doesn’t treat men. She doesn’t trust them and refuses Ben at first…and second. Eventually, Ben tells her the big, bad truth about his past and about why it is so important that she doesn’t report him…no matter how bad his situation might be. (Still not giving the jaw-dropping secret away. Hee hee) Lucy feels bad for him, drawn to him…and decides to treat him and help him in his investigation as well. Tortured hero in need of help + beautiful woman with a Black Belt in Aikido who distrusts men? This so equals a match made in heaven!
Enough about the characters though (even if I thought they were great. I love a good book with awesome characters). What did I think of the whole book? I loved it. There was action, there was crime, there was a love-hate relationship to die for. I loved the plot and the jaw-dropping secrets that come out (what good bok doesn’t have something that makes you go…”wow, never would have guessed that?”). Granted, this book might not be for everyone. There is a lot to it. Cyborgs, ritual killings, deep-rooted phobias. Not everyone will enjoy it. Although, I didn’t think I would like it as much as I did…my opinion…give it a chance even if it seems a bit out of your comfort zone. I didn’t regret it at all.
To check out Katy Walters and for more information about her book Phobic Dawn and other works, check out her website here.
Monday May 30, 2011
I am finally ready to review this book. I have been finished for a while but I was torn about exactly what I was going to say about it. Don’t think I can put this off much longer so here goes:
I am finally ready to review this book. I have been finished for a while but I was torn about exactly what I was going to say about it. Don’t think I can put this off much longer so here goes:
Dead Reckoning
My Rating: 3 Stars ***
I have written and re-written this review at least a dozen times, and no matter how much I try I just can not bring myself to tell you I loved this book. Wanted to, but didn’t. I found the story lacked a lot of, well, story. Nothing made sense to me. There was no heart involved in it whatsoever and you could tell. It made me a little sad.
First, I think I’m over Sookie. I have had it with her whining and complaining. I can not stand her and Eric together at all. I think she should definitely realize that she is surrounded by vampires. These are killer creatures. People die…and have died since book one. Get the hell over it or just move to a nice little hole somewhere all by yourself. Maybe then you can get away from all the drama and killing. I find her drab and uninteresting and would like to see her die now. I know, let’s kill Sookie and replace her with Pam! Can’t get enough Pam in my opinion. I think that would make for a better book J
Eric…oh whatever ever happened to him? Oh, that’s right…Sookie. That bitch just has to ruin everyone. I do not want her and Eric to be in the same ZIP code anymore. He has turned from the oh-so-hot, tortured, sexy, badder-than-bad vamp guy into this complete bitch. Why would anyone do that to him? What did he do to deserve to be treated this way? I am not happy with him at all. I wanted to cause him physical harm at certain points (wait for the moment with him and Pam….oh I wanted to kill him). He does still have his moments (there is one in particular with Sookie that I was not expecting) but they are few and far between. *Sad Face*
The best part by far? The ending. Not for the obvious reason, but because the book actually picks up some towards the end. It actually made it slightly worth reading…for a short period of time at least.
There are some good points in the story where Sookie finds out some interesting family history (which I enjoyed) and we see a turn of events involving Eric and the Queen of Oklahoma. We see Bubba (Yay!) and Alcide (Seriously? Why?) and eventually Bill (the new Eric? Please, no!)
Will Eric and Sookie fix what is left of their doomed relationship? Will she end up being with Sam? Will she finally get a real personality? Will Bill ever be a popular character? Will Pam get more screen time like she so deserves?
Obviously, I just can’t bring myself to give this book a whole-hearted review. Can’t do it. I want to, I have tried, I just can’t. I am not saying that the book wasn't good...but it wasn't great. I have come to expect more than what I got. Maybe I am just outgrowing the stories. Who knows? I still have every intention of continuing with the series though. I feel that breaking up with Charlaine Harris would be an injustice at this point. I need to see it through and give her a chance to redeem herself. I hope she doesn’t disappoint…again.
Tuesday May 24, 2011
So while I am still working on the last few chapters of Dead Reckoning, I decided that I should post a review
of another one of my favorite Paranormal Series' . So without any more delay...I give you:
Fever
I had read some of Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series before so I was familiar with her work, but nothing had prepared me for the rollercoaster that was Mac and Barrons.
This series started off a little slow for me to be honest. Mac was NOT a character that I immediately fell in love with. Come to think of it, I don't think I warmed up to her until book 3. She was a typical princess-type. Loved getting her nails done, nice outfits, lots of tanning, and had the attitude of a girl who didn't have a care in the world, (Wow...I would love to have that life) at least until her world turned upside down and she had to fly to Ireland to identify the body of her sister. It is there, that Mac meets Barrons and her whole world changes in the most unbelieveable way.
I was very skeptical about reading these from the beginning, I mean...Fae, people that can see and kill them (the technical term is Sidhe-Seer, but I can only pronounce it half the time so I prefer the phrase Fae-Killer), and a lot of good versus evil versus everyone else. It sounded good, but it also sounded like a lot of confusion. Don't get me wrong...ther is a lot of all of that stuff, but somehow the great and powerful KMM makes it all work....and how!
First, there's the greiving heroine out for revenge (who just happens to be able to do it while wearing her favorite shade of pink nail polish might I add). Mac is one of a kind, I gotta give her that much. She goes from princess (or Rainbow Girl as Barrons likes to call her) to hard core Fae Killer with a vengeance.
Then, we have the hero (or is he?). Barrons is...well...Barrons. There is no other way to describe him - oh wait, there is....YUMMY!! Seriously, there has to be a hotter than hot bad boy hero in every story. Barrons kinda takes the cake. This guy leaves you wondering from day one. Is he good? Is he bad? Is he....wait...what the hell IS he? Yeah, right. If I had to suffer through figuring this out, I am sooo not gonna tell you. That one you will have to figure out all on your own (Spoiler Alert: apologize to your books in advance, I see lots of yelling at them in the near future).
There are also the other guys. An incredible Fae Prince (drool) who wants to devote himself to Mac and pleasure her in every way (did I mention he is a Death By Sex Fae? Oh yeah...double drool). A Highland friend who just wants to help (oh by the way...hottie alert!). A mean bitch of a Sidhe-Seer and her posse of followers. A young Sidhe-Seer who acts way older than she is, and an evil Fae (who is also yummmm beyond belief ) who wants what only Mac can give him. There are so many characters involved in this series, it can be hard to keep them all in check and each one plays an important part in the plot.
With all the hottness floating around Mac all the time, I don't know how she got anything accomplished, but she did! Gotta admire the girl for that.
Of course there are personal demons throughout the books. Every good story has some. This one is no exception. I won't give those away, but wow! Mix those with the extra hot man candy, mix in a stubborn heroine, some serious action, and enough sexual tension to drive a nun insane...you have yourself one of the best series' I have ever read. Seriously....EVER!!!
Fever has been a total rollercoaster for me. There were ups and downs. There were times when I was twisting and turning with the plotlines. I would get excited at parts and scream at others (seriously, yelled out loud. My boyfriend thought I was losing my mind when I started cursing at a book....more than once might I add). The humor involved is terrific. I loved the sarcasm and couldn't get enough of the Mac and Barrons banter. I have never been so emotionally invested in a series of books since....yeah...never. This is one series that, if you haven't already read it, get it. Right now. And don't stop until you are finished!! Seriously....go!!
My Rating: 4.5 stars
"My philosophy is pretty simple-any day nobody’s
trying to kill me is a good day in my book.
I haven’t had many good days lately."
trying to kill me is a good day in my book.
I haven’t had many good days lately."
Or so she thinks... until something extraordinary happens.
When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae...
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
"When my sister was found dead in a trash-filled
alley in Dublin, I came to get answers. Now all I
want is revenge. And after everything I've learned
about myself, I know I have the power to get it..."
alley in Dublin, I came to get answers. Now all I
want is revenge. And after everything I've learned
about myself, I know I have the power to get it..."
My Rating: 5 Stars
"He calls me his Queen of the Night.
I'd die for him. I'd kill for him, too."
I'd die for him. I'd kill for him, too."
Mac's quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shape-shifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V'lane, an insatiable Fae prince of lethally erotic tastes, and Jericho Barrons, a man of primal desires and untold secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.
My Rating: 5 Stars
"But for those of us who live large, the most alive we ever feel
is when we're punching air with a fist, uncurling our middle
finger with a cool smile, and flipping Death the big old bird."
is when we're punching air with a fist, uncurling our middle
finger with a cool smile, and flipping Death the big old bird."
My Rating: 5 Stars
"Evil is a completely different creature, Mac.
Evil is bad that believes it's good."
Evil is bad that believes it's good."
Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister's murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals that have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.
What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief, while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh--a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King that contains the power to create and destroy worlds.
Summaries found on the Official site for Karen Marie Moning. Click the pictures above the summaries or click here to check it out for yourslef and find out more!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
This month I will be posting a review for the latest in Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series Dead Reckoning. Be on the lookout for my views on it and feel free to post your own :)
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Demonica Series
I was recently introduced to this series and I figured it would be another Vampire meets Girl, Vampire wants to kill Girl, Vampire screws Girl, Vampire falls for Girl type of series. In a way, I suppose it is, but what sets it apart form the rest is that this series follows three brother who just happen to be Seminus Demons. This type of demon shifts and breeds with other species of demons (vampires, incubus, uber demons, etc...) because the Seminus demons are all male only. That's alot of testosterone for one species. Now the cool thing about the mix-breeds (although somehow they still manage to be true-blooded Seminus anyway, don't ask me how 'cause I didn't quite understand it...whatever) is that they pick up traits from their mother's species. So basically, yuo can have a Seminus whose mother is a vampire (like Wraith - one of the brothers the series focuses on) and he will still have the need for blood as well as sex.
Think I forgot to mention earlier that Seminus Demons are a Sexual Demon. They NEED sex...crave it...and when they go through their change (they are not fertile until this happens) they want to screw and knock-up every female they can get their...hands...on, unless they have a mate and then they are bonded for life. Blah, blah, blah.....practically every paranormal story has that as a part of the main character's life. It wouldn't be a romance without it.
Anyway....
Naturally the demon brothers that this series have their own personal demons inside them and they meet the one girl that changes their lives. What is interesting about these brothers (who are oh so smoking hot, of course) is that they are all in the medical field. Demon doctors and paramedics...who woulda thunk? But seriously...what is hotter than a hot, tortured, bad boy who just happens to be a...doctor....mmmmmm, gotta love it.
These books have everything you would want in a PNR novel...romance, action, tortured men that you just want to take care of, kick-ass chicks that won't take any crap from anyone, heartbreaking backgrounds, hotter than hot lead characters, and (of course) steamy, sexy, bite your lip and scratch someone's back orgasmic sex! Could it get any better? I think not.
The Demonica series will have you laughing, crying, and turning to your husband for a thrilling roll in the hay...or whatever works for you anyway. Regardless, prepare to be excited!
In a place where ecstasy can cost you your life…
She’s a demon-slayer who hungers for sensual pleasure—but fears it will always be denied her. Until Tayla Mancuso lands in a hospital run by demons in disguise, and the head doctor, Eidolon, makes her body burn with unslakable desire. But to prove her ultimate loyalty to her peers, she must betray the surgeon who saved her life.
Two lovers will dare to risk all.
Eidolon cannot resist this fiery, dangerous woman who fills him with both rage and passion. Not only is she his avowed enemy, but she could very well be the hunter who has been preying upon his people. Torn between his need for the truth and his desire to find his perfect mate before a horrific transformation claims him forever, Eidolon will dare the unthinkable—and let Tayla possess him, body and soul…
Pleasure is their ultimate weapon . . .
Runa Wagner never meant to fall in love with the sexy stranger who seemed to know her every deepest desire. But she couldn’t resist the unbelievable passion that burned between them, a passion that died when she discovered his betrayal and found herself forever changed. Now, determined to make Shade pay for the transformation that haunts her, Runa searches for him, only to be taken prisoner by his darkest enemy.
A Seminus demon with a love-curse that threatens him with eternal torment, Shade hoped he’d seen the last of Runa and her irresistible charm. But when he wakes up in a dank dungeon chained next to an enraged and mysteriously powerful Runa, he realizes that her effect on him is more dangerous than ever. As their captor casts a spell that bonds them as lifemates, Shade and Runa must fight for their lives and their hearts—or succumb to a madman’s evil plans.
Forbidden Temptations…
Serena Kelley is an archaeologist and treasure hunter—and a woman with a secret. Since she was seven, she’s been the keeper of a powerful charm that grants her health and immortality . . . as long as she stays a virgin. But Serena isn’t all that innocent. And when a dangerously handsome stranger brings her to the brink of ecstasy, she wonders if she’s finally met the one man she cannot resist.
Fatal Desires…
Wraith is a Seminus demon with a death wish. But when an old enemy poisons him, he must find Serena and persuade her to give him the only known antidote in the universe—her charm. Yet, as she begins to surrender to his seductions, and Wraith senses the cure is within his grasp, he realizes a horrible truth: he’s falling for the woman whose life he must take in order to save his own.
Book summaries found on the Official Website for Larissa Ione. Click here to view Larissa Ione's website and check out the rest of Demonica and other books. Read excerpts from the novels and more.
Think I forgot to mention earlier that Seminus Demons are a Sexual Demon. They NEED sex...crave it...and when they go through their change (they are not fertile until this happens) they want to screw and knock-up every female they can get their...hands...on, unless they have a mate and then they are bonded for life. Blah, blah, blah.....practically every paranormal story has that as a part of the main character's life. It wouldn't be a romance without it.
Anyway....
Naturally the demon brothers that this series have their own personal demons inside them and they meet the one girl that changes their lives. What is interesting about these brothers (who are oh so smoking hot, of course) is that they are all in the medical field. Demon doctors and paramedics...who woulda thunk? But seriously...what is hotter than a hot, tortured, bad boy who just happens to be a...doctor....mmmmmm, gotta love it.
These books have everything you would want in a PNR novel...romance, action, tortured men that you just want to take care of, kick-ass chicks that won't take any crap from anyone, heartbreaking backgrounds, hotter than hot lead characters, and (of course) steamy, sexy, bite your lip and scratch someone's back orgasmic sex! Could it get any better? I think not.
The Demonica series will have you laughing, crying, and turning to your husband for a thrilling roll in the hay...or whatever works for you anyway. Regardless, prepare to be excited!
She’s a demon-slayer who hungers for sensual pleasure—but fears it will always be denied her. Until Tayla Mancuso lands in a hospital run by demons in disguise, and the head doctor, Eidolon, makes her body burn with unslakable desire. But to prove her ultimate loyalty to her peers, she must betray the surgeon who saved her life.
Two lovers will dare to risk all.
Eidolon cannot resist this fiery, dangerous woman who fills him with both rage and passion. Not only is she his avowed enemy, but she could very well be the hunter who has been preying upon his people. Torn between his need for the truth and his desire to find his perfect mate before a horrific transformation claims him forever, Eidolon will dare the unthinkable—and let Tayla possess him, body and soul…
Runa Wagner never meant to fall in love with the sexy stranger who seemed to know her every deepest desire. But she couldn’t resist the unbelievable passion that burned between them, a passion that died when she discovered his betrayal and found herself forever changed. Now, determined to make Shade pay for the transformation that haunts her, Runa searches for him, only to be taken prisoner by his darkest enemy.
A Seminus demon with a love-curse that threatens him with eternal torment, Shade hoped he’d seen the last of Runa and her irresistible charm. But when he wakes up in a dank dungeon chained next to an enraged and mysteriously powerful Runa, he realizes that her effect on him is more dangerous than ever. As their captor casts a spell that bonds them as lifemates, Shade and Runa must fight for their lives and their hearts—or succumb to a madman’s evil plans.
Serena Kelley is an archaeologist and treasure hunter—and a woman with a secret. Since she was seven, she’s been the keeper of a powerful charm that grants her health and immortality . . . as long as she stays a virgin. But Serena isn’t all that innocent. And when a dangerously handsome stranger brings her to the brink of ecstasy, she wonders if she’s finally met the one man she cannot resist.
Fatal Desires…
Wraith is a Seminus demon with a death wish. But when an old enemy poisons him, he must find Serena and persuade her to give him the only known antidote in the universe—her charm. Yet, as she begins to surrender to his seductions, and Wraith senses the cure is within his grasp, he realizes a horrible truth: he’s falling for the woman whose life he must take in order to save his own.
Book summaries found on the Official Website for Larissa Ione. Click here to view Larissa Ione's website and check out the rest of Demonica and other books. Read excerpts from the novels and more.
