Review: Jabril (Vampires in America #2)

Jabril by D.B. Reynolds
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

I'm so happy that I finally got introduced to this series! I don't know why I haven't read these books before now. They have everything I love about paranormal romance -- hot vampires, sexy seduction scenes, pulse pounding action, and some wonderful writing.

For the first half of this book I was really worried that it was heading in a direction I wouldn't like. There is a lot more darkness in this Cyn centered tale than the previous one. Cyn is still crushed and heart broken, Raphael is still being a stubborn fool, and there is a pretty evil vampire lord that has his eyes set on "stealing" Cyn from Raphael. In the territory of Jabril (the evil vampire) there are two wealthy young girls who are being used as giant piggy banks to fund his empire. Cyn gets drawn into Jabil's horrible scheme only to come out as the Cyn I love -- the tough chick who can rescue herself.

In this book we get to learn a lot more about Raphael's vampires, too. Alexandra and Duncan are prominently highlighted, and I wonder if we will see more of them in the future. The thing that I most enjoyed (of course) was that we finally get some really good HEA. There was a lot of angst, and I kept waiting for them to screw it up, but the epilogue was almost shockingly perfect. This serious has me 100% hooked and it's going to take some serious effort to clear out my "to-read" queue so I can finish this series by reading the next few books back-to-back.

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Review: Raphael (Vampires in America #1)

Raphael by D.B. Reynolds
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

This book was a seriously good read. The writing style was easy and fun, with alternating POVs for Cyn and Raphael (both good guys). There was a lot of heat, lots of action, and a good amount of tough chick behavior. As the start of a series I've never read before, I'm completely hooked now.

Cyn is an ex-cop and now PI who stumbled on the secret that is vampires during her last few months as a cop. This has led her to gather a rather unique and nighttime loving clientele. After someone dear to him is kidnapped, Raphael, vampire lord of the western US, reaches out to Cyn in an effort to come at his problem from a different angle. The chemistry is off the charts between the two of them, but there is *a lot* of stubborn thinking in play as well.

I spent the majority of the book rooting for the stoic vampire lord and the tough as nails PI to fall madly in love and live happily ever after. If that's what you need to happen in the books you read -- this is not the book for you. It's gritty and complicated and left me dying to start the next book *immediately*! It's not so much a cliffhanger ending as the unstoppable need to know what happens with Cyn and Raphael. I'm still optimistic.

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Review: The Reluctant King

The Reluctant King by Rachel Higginson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I put off reading this book for a long time. I loved the first 4 star-crossed books and was really happy with the HEA we got for Eden. I guess I was concerned that reading this book would stir everything up again and have me worrying about the characters I think deserve some down time.

This book picks up years after the end of the previous book. Avalon has been ruling alone for a while because his sister and her husband took a really really long honeymoon (good call, Eden). He's bored and restless and generally doesn't want to be king (like the title, see?). He fell into the typical trap where he starts internally mocking all the couples in love. This usually spells disaster. Enter Amelia -- a girl who has had a crush on Avalon for quite some time, but has also been overlooked by him in the past. Of course, now Avalon see her and now she's reluctant (ha) to get involved with him.

After some kind of confusing reasoning for constantly pushing him away, there are some truly wonderful moments between the two of them. It made me feel like I was reading one of the previous books. Lots of YA kissing and sigh worthy moments. Unfortunately, this book begins a larger story arc that I didn't want to see -- there's a new big bad out there and he's doing really horrible things. Nobody in this book gets a real happy ending and it was kind of... a bummer. I didn't really understand Amelia's motivations and I kind of thought Avalon was mostly being a cocky jerk. I wish we had more insight into Amelia as a character, especially since it appears she will play a big role in the upcoming war/fight/rebellion thing.

I'm hoping that the next story (Jericho's) will restore my faith in happy endings for this series. Don't get me wrong -- I know that sometimes you can't get one, but after such a nice wrap up in book 4 I got kind of spoiled.



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Review: Becoming Alpha

Becoming Alpha by Aileen Erin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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

Wow, this book seriously blew me away. I read *a lot* of paranormal romance, and probably about 50% of it is YA. There's some cookie cutter books out there, but this wasn't one of them. This book had some real heart and some truly unique storylines. The characters were richly developed and had a "realness" to them that had me clamoring for more. I was torn between speeding through the book just to see what happened next and wanting to savor it so I could have a teeny bit more enjoyment time. In the end, I still ended up finishing this book and dying for more! Where is the next book? I need it *now* -- not because of any cliffhanger (there wasn't one), but because I want to spend more time in Tessa's world.

Where to begin? I guess I'm still "book drunk" from the awesomeness. Tessa is a girl who is already not so normal. She inherited the ability to get visions when she touches either people or objects. This has seriously cramped her high school social life and led to a lot of school changing. Her BFF/brother, Axel, has supported her for a while, but he's on his way off to college. This seemed to coincide with their father getting a job that allows them to relocate from LA to Texas, conveniently near where her hippie witch cousins live. Still with me? I promise, it is probably a lot clearer than I'm making it out to be.

After Tessa starts her new school, she ends up running into a hottie named Dastien. They are both seemingly drawn together, which eventually ends up dragging her into a world filled with all sorts of paranormals. So much happens that I really can't distill it down, but the events are punctuated by really great characters in the form of Tessa's new friends -- Chris, Meredith, Adrian, even Shannon -- and of course Dastien. There is action, romance, some sizzling kisses, and lots of unique lore. The world that this book built was addictive and entertaining.

I can't say enough good things about this book. It takes a lot to get a 5 star rating out of me, especially if it is a YA read, but this book really exceeded my expectations. It has totally made my "re-read" list. I can't wait for more!



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Review: Bloodfever

Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Original quickie review: I am completely loving these little books. The fact that they're such a quick read for me means that they are both addictive and short :-) The plotline is pushing along nicely and after chapters and chapters of waiting for something, I finally got it towards the end of the book. Must... buy... next... book... now...

Update (re-read): I really tore through this one. Now that I know there's payoff at the end, it was easier to get through some dark times in this book. Also, CLUES!

Update (another re-read): Every re-read yields more clues and more fun picking out the hints revealed along the way. Also, after reading the Highlander books, I definitely appreciate the introduction of the other druids and Christian. It's nice to see how everything begins and watch everything start to spiral towards the end. This time around, I was especially annoyed with Mac, though, for giving up hope so quickly. 27 hours? Really? Meh -- I know she gets tougher, but it makes me feel like she doesn't deserve the hotness that is Barrons always saving her. This book has so many quotes I love, too!



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Review: Lord of the Hunt

Lord of the Hunt by Shona Husk

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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

This book series appears to be almost at its climax, with the change of rule in Annwyn only 2 mortal weeks away! While the previous book took place mostly in the mortal world, this one was told mostly in the royal court of Annwyn. The scheming, deals, romance, sizzle, and action were definitely ramped up in this second installment.

Taryn is a fairy raised in the mortal world by her fairy parents. Her father has been exiled and her mother chose to join him for the duration. Unfortunately, with the change in rule threatening to kill any fairies not in Annwyn, Taryn has been tasked with trying to get a pardon for her father. This proves to be much trickier than she first thought. Especially because she is immediately ensnared by the lord of the hunt, Verden.

Verden was raised a farm boy, but, through a lot of risky bets, has risen to the rank of lord of the hunt. What he used to think mattered no longer appears to hold the same shine now that Taryn is in his life. They are forced to sneak away so as not to lose the king's favor, but we all know how those types of things end. Luckily, everyone has their own scheme.

The romance and sizzling scenes in this book were even better than in book 1. Maybe it has something to do with fairies and forbidden lust. Either way, the story was compelling and really well thought out. So many schemes were going at once that it should have been confusing, but it really wasn't. I am eager to see what happens with the prince and his would be queen -- hopefully in the next book!



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2013: Year in Review

This year I read an all time high of 289 books!  There were good ones and bad ones and some that were in between, but I figured I'd highlight the ones that were rated 5 stars (which means I would re-read it).  Enjoy!

Title	Author
By Blood (By Blood, #1)	Banghart, Tracy E.*
Crossing	Benefiel, Stacey Wallace*
Glimmer (Zellie Wells, #2)	Benefiel, Stacey Wallace*
Vengeance Borne (Sentry of Evil, #1)	Bonilla, Amanda*
Wicked Sense (Singularity, #1)	Bueno, Fabio*
Cold Days (The Dresden Files, #14)	Butcher, Jim*
Cold Blooded (Jessica McClain, #3)	Carlson, Amanda*
Full Blooded (Jessica McClain, #1)	Carlson, Amanda*
Undertow (Undertow, #1)	Conway, K.R.*
Purpose (Soul Savers, #2)	Cook, Kristie*
Real Vampires Don't Sparkle	Fecteau, Amy*
Autumn Storm (The Witchling, #2)	Ford, Lizzy*
Darkyn's Mate (Rhyn Eternal, #3)	Ford, Lizzy*
Gabriel's Hope (Rhyn Eternal, #1)	Ford, Lizzy*
Winter Fire (The Witchling, #3)	Ford, Lizzy*
Xander's Chance (Damian Eternal, #1)	Ford, Lizzy*
Crimson Night (Night, #1)	Hall, Marie*
Ever After (The Hollows, #11)	Harrison, Kim*
Outcast	Kress, Adrienne*
Heart of the Incubus (Demons of Infernum, #3.5)	Lario, Rosalie*
Buried	Marin, Gerilyn*
The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines, #3)	Mead, Richelle*
Darkfever (Fever, #1)	Moning, Karen Marie
Iced (Dani O'Malley, #1; Fever, #6)	Moning, Karen Marie
Something Witchy (Mystics & Mayhem #1)	Myers, AJ*
Defying Fate (Descent, #6)	Reine, S.M.*
Dire Blood (Descent, #5)	Reine, S.M.*
Sacrificed in Shadow (Ascension #1)	Reine, S.M.*
Awakened (The Guardian Legacy, #1)	Walters, Ednah*
Runes (Runes, #1)	Walters, Ednah*