Review: Beth's Acceptance

Beth's Acceptance by Tracy Cooper-Posey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very steamy paranormal read that I tore through in an afternoon. Beth is a working student with two yummy crushes -- Luke and Zack. For some reason they've not been receptive to her flirtations in the past, but all of that changes rather quickly. While protecting Beth from some creatures out to get her, fate draws them all into a bonding. This leads to much time in the bedroom (and the weigh room, and the kitchen -- you get the hint).

There was a good foundation for the rest of the series in this one. The smut was good, and when paranormal elements are thrown in, I'm always on board. This was a quick and steamy read for a paranormal fan, especially if you liked The Demon Lovers books (by Kate Douglas). I'm looking forward to book two!



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Review: Bound by Night

Bound by Night by Larissa Ione

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As the first of a new series from an author I love, I wasn't sure what to expect. This book was a sexy, fun ride that takes the reader into a world unlike any other I've read (and I read a lot of paranormal!). Nicole is a woman raised in a world where vampires are either seen as killers or servants (slaves, really). She ends up being terrified by them after witnessing her family's brutal murder and barely escaping with her life, but reluctantly accepts the position of CEO of her family's company (who is largely responsible for the vampire enslavement). Riker is an ex-military turned vampire (as opposed to born vampire) and is the second in command for the MoonBound Clan. In this world, "free" vampires are hidden and live as clans, complete with clan wars and grudges.

After the capture of a valuable member of one of the clans, Riker ends up being forced to spend time with someone who represents everything he hates -- Nicole. Obviously, both of them grow tremendously throughout the book. There are lots of preconceived notions of how each other should act, and lots of misunderstandings and arguments along the way.

Larissa Ione never lets me down when it comes to great dialogue, story, and (my favorite) paranormal romance. In this new world of vampires, she does not disappoint. There is great chemistry between Nicole and Riker, and of course there's a lot of sexy reading to go along with it. Being that this was the first book of a new series, there was also a lot of character introduction. The interaction in the vampire clan was great to read and had me grinning along. I'm eager to see which characters and storylines pick up next.



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Review: A Wicked Kind of Dark

A Wicked Kind of Dark by Jonathan K. Benton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I admit it -- I had a really hard time getting through this book. I think I wasn't really prepared for style and genre. Maybe if the cover showed me a fantasy world filled with pixies and goblins, I might have been better prepared. I'm not one for high fantasy books and the first 50% was filled with a lot of world building big fantasy that scared me a lot. We get very rapidly thrown into a world that is not my typical book setting. That being said, I finished the last half of the book rather quickly because the action ramped up quite a bit.

The story is actually about a boy named Robert who, after a traumatic incident, has lost a season of his life from when he was 10 years old. Through some magical coincidence, he ends up connecting with owners of a soup kitchen that lead him to rediscovering his memories. In those memories is his youthful crush, Luthien. Their adorable friendship/crush seems fairly normal until we learn that their play at make believe was actually real. Their magical world exists parallel to the human world and is set to crash into it if Robert and Luthien can't reconnect and stop it.

After powering though the last half of the book, I was pretty disappointed to discover that there was no satisfying conclusion to the story. I assume there will be a second book to pick up where this one ends, but I wish there was at least some glimmer of happy ending.



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Review: Chasing the Shadows

Chasing the Shadows by Keri Arthur

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought that after the ending of the last book, thing would be smooth sailing for Nikki and Michael (at least as far as their relationship goes), but boy was I wrong. This book is filled to the brim with horrible girl reasoning, stupid overbearing guy decisions, and arguments arguments arguments. It takes some pretty awful things to finally get these two to realize they are being idiots.

This book was another creature feature book, and I love that these books are relatively self contained. No big cliffhanger. No unresolved issues. I can put the book down at the end and feel good about what I read (even if them yelling at each other made me cringe most of the time). There were some truly heartbreaking scenes in the book, but they were tempered by the love story that is Nikki and Michael. Between the continually developing powers and the mystery that is their bond, I'm eager to dive into the next book right away.

I love the combo that is always present in these books -- action, paranormal, romance, smut, and character growth. I truly believe that Nikki and Michael have become better people by the end of this book. Here's hoping the next book involves more romance and less yelling.



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Review: Night of the Soul Stealer

Night of the Soul Stealer by Joseph Delaney

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I'm not sure what I didn't really like about these books before now. Maybe I just needed to admit to myself that YA books are OK to read for adults. At any rate, this book really was a great read. It was definitely my favorite of the series thus far.

Here we meet up with Tom Ward, Alice, and Mr. Gregory at the change of the seasons. This means the trek up to his house in Anglezarke, where lots of Mr. Gregory's secrets are hiding. Tom discovers Mr. Gregory's failed apprentice, Morgan, who dabbles in black magic. He also comes face to face with Mr. Gregory's "girlfriend", Meg, the domestic Lamia witch. There is definitely a turning point in this book for Tom where he goes from being an apprentice to really pulling the majority of the weight as a Spook for the county.

I found myself on the edge of my seat a few times when Tom is in one perilous situation or seemingly trapped with no way out. The writing really gripped me this time and I had a hard time stopping the book. The character growth and development was really dramatic in this installment, and maybe that's why it appealed to me. I love watching Tom become more of an adult, even if it comes at a high price to his emotional well being.

While we got tons of answers about Mr. Gregory's past, I'm still eager to learn more about him. He and Alice are wonderful "frenemies" and I can't wait to see how Alice grows up. With the way this book left things, it's really hard not to immediately dive into the next book.



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Review: Hell's Belle

Hell's Belle by Karen Greco

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a great read! This book was filled with all the things I love – action, paranormals, romance, and a tough chick main character! The story follows Nina, who is trying to “go home” and get her family life in order. Unfortunately, her job as a “blood ops” soldier (tasked with dealing with rogue paranormals) follows her back to Rhode Island. It’s a good thing that she can hold her own as a half vampire herself.

The motorcycle riding, butt kicking heroine in this story discovers a lot about herself in this book. While tending bar for her aunt, Babe, her secret past gets thrown in her face by a vampire and some witches. Nina is then tasked with finding a way to help the authorities solve some grisly murders while still keeping some secrets to herself along the way. It was really great to watch Nina work through all these things and a heap of other issues without dissolving into your typical indecisive female mess.

The overall story gave a lot of insight into the group dynamic in Nina’s life. Her vampire BFF, Frankie, was a great presence to steady Nina along the way. Max, the FBI love interest, acted as a good hottie boyfriend sort, supporting Nina but at the same time asking the questions I wanted answered. Dr. O and Babe were awesome parent-type figures that obviously had to keep secrets from her – but those secrets drive most of the decisions in this book, mostly for the better.

The easy writing style, coupled with some fantastic characters and story, really sucked me in from the first page. I can’t wait to see where this series heads in the future!




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Review: Demon Chained

Demon Chained by Erica Hayes

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story was definitely one I’ve never read before. The writing was totally unique, throwing the reader into a world that was probably further explained in the other books from the series that I’ve yet to read. There are all sorts of paranormals around, seemingly free to show themselves whenever they choose. There is also a pretty big sex/drug/fairy market that all the characters float in and out of.

Jewel is a firecracker of a djinni, grasping at the freedom and life she has only newly acquired, when her lamp ends up in the hands of a zombie/reanimated corpse/sexual energy vampire by the name of Tam. Tam’s got his plate full already with hunting down the men who killed his family, making out with a hot, submissive wingless fairy boy, and trying to stay out of Hell. Through some demon related drama, the aforementioned fairy boy also gets sucked into the demon drama, which results in them all fighting over an itty bitty brass lamp.

I really liked Jewel’s character a lot. She’s tough when she needs to be and knows what she wants. There’s very little indecision in her choices, which is refreshing. Tam, on the other hand, is Mr. Indecision. He’s guilty and tortured and cannot seem to make up his mind. He wants Jewel, but doesn’t want to sully her with his gross zombie bits, but he flip flops enough to drive Jewel and me insane. Tam was probably the thing that I liked least about this book. I love a sexy paranormal romance, but the talk of rotting flesh and spit really turned me off. It was a big mood killer, but it didn’t seem to bother Jewel at all, which only proceeded to disturb me further. To be fair, I’m not a fan of zombie books, so I may be overly harsh.

The rest of the book was filled with a truly unique love story that involved some good action. The world was interesting and I’d be curious to see how the rest of the series reads.






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