Review: Under Wraps

Under Wraps by Hannah Jayne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What an adorable and quirky start to a series! I admit to having finished this series with the last two books without having read the first few. A bunch of time has passed, so I completely don't remember how the series ends, so it's almost like starting fresh.

Sophie is in a very strange position of being a mostly human person who can see through magic. She has some magic in her family line, but currently displays none. Her job puts her into a unique spot, locking her werewolf boss up at night, navigating the complex cultures of the other supernaturals, and then being tasked with working with a relatively normal police detective to hunt down a supernatural killer.

Parker, said detective, straddles the annoying and attractive line, but that doesn't stop Sophie from pining for him. Her vampire roommate, and her very gothy vampire nephew, however, are a little more hesitant. As the mystery progresses, nobody is safe from suspicion, and much danger ensues. I found I couldn't put the book down once I started and was able to tear through it in about a day. If all the books keep this up, I'll happily finish this series in record time.

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Review: The Immortal Who Loved Me

The Immortal Who Loved Me by Lynsay Sands
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another neat twist on the same old story - this time with a tough and independent woman with some questionably vampire-related beginnings.

If we met Basil before now, I totally don't remember it. He seems like a lighter version of Lucien, also having lost a previous life mate in his history. Unlike Lucien, he's also got a bunch of kids from another woman who was also losing hope in life. While not a true couple, it certainly adds a new dimension to the story. So, how does he meet Sherry? We finally get another visit from Stephanie. She turns up, bursting in the office of Sherry's store while trying to escape the big bad. Sherry is unable to be controlled at first attempt, which leads them to forge a bit of an alliance in their escape.

So how do they end up together? Stephanie has a version of the matchmaker ability that we've seen push people together for many books previous. Sherry, as most women would, fights a little bit against having her life determined for her (oh, if she only knew). Throw in lots of fun new friends, undeniable attraction, and life threatening situations and you've got a recipe for a solid HEA, though. I was happy to also have some resolution of the larger storyline here. Bring on the next couple! Oh, and as a side note, I think Bricker is becoming more and more of a jerk as time goes on. I really hope he gets his life mate (who has to be Livvy, right?).

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Review: The X-Files: Cold Cases

The X-Files: Cold Cases by Joe Harris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I give this three nostalgic stars. I mostly picked this audiobook up because I was curious how we ended up at the start of the miniseries and was intrigued by the fact that all the original voices were going to be included on the audiobook. I was not prepared for the... play-esque feel to the whole thing. I'm used to your typical audiobook which is to say that it is just a book read aloud. This was definitely a full out script reading.

So as I said, this fills in the gap between I want to believe and the first round of miniseries. It also... rewrites some things? It's just a little bit bothersome when you start seeing all the people you know are dead suddenly popping up. I'm still confused about how we left things and how it ultimately hooks up to the miniseries. I know who is and isn't dead in the miniseries... don't I? Should I be expecting more familiar faces?

Overall, if you want some warm and fuzzy moments when you exclaim familiar story names and whatnot, this is definitely worth the short listen. Otherwise, you definitely don't need to pick this up in order to enjoy (eh?) the new episodes.

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Review: Vampire Most Wanted

Vampire Most Wanted by Lynsay Sands
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Who knew that what this series was missing was a trip to the carnival? Carnies, vampires, and evil, lying bad guys make for an interesting (if a bit dark) installment in this series.

Basha (aka Divine, the carnival fortune teller) has been on the run from her family for longer than she was with them. Carnivals lend themselves to her nomadic nature, and things are looking good until one of Lucien’s spies winds up working as a laborer. Marcus is suffering from empty nest syndrome. After essentially help to raise a bunch of different immortals during his long life, they’ve all gone on to find their life mates, leaving him without a true purpose anymore. When Lucien (of course, with some matchmaker meddling) sends him off to check for his possible long-lost niece, he practically jumps at the idea.

These two very reluctant life mates have a lot of drama to navigate. There are so many years of lies and deception, such really evil bad guys who has spun Basha’s mind, and then there’s the typical martyrdom that happens in just about every story. The betrayal was pretty tough in this one. Basha suffers maybe more than any other main character we’ve seen before in this series. The suffering continues into this tale, and is really hard to handle. Yes, we eventually get our beloved HEA, but it is hard getting there. The ending, while happy, is not exactly fully resolved. I assume that we will revisit the bad guys in future books, and that they’ll get what’s coming to them.


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Review: Howl For It

Howl For It by Shelly Laurenston
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a two book set with each having wolf-shifter elements to tie them together. While I probably preferred one over the other, they were both easy paranormal reads.

Like a Wolf is apparently a part of the pride series. I’m not really that well versed in that world, but I don’t think it stopped me from enjoying the characters. That’s really the highlight of this book – the characters. Darla Lewis is the quietest and most easy going of the wild sisters. Matched up with the most feared Smith boys, these two were wonderful to watch dance around one another. This was a true romance with all the awkward and awesome bits thrown in. And pie!

Wed or Dead is from Cynthia Eden and I’m honestly not sure if this ties in to any of the author’s other universes. This story is about a hunter and a werewolf who, like Romeo and Juliet, end up falling in love. Along the way, there’s a lot of lies and betrayal and fighting, but we get a really nice little happy ending (or at least closer to happy than the beginning).


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Review: Thanks Fur Last Night

Thanks Fur Last Night by Eve Langlais
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I freely admit that I’m usually not a huge fan of anthologies. The benefit I see to them is that they get me outside my author comfort zone and expose me to authors I might never get a chance to read. This book really gave me a great set of 3 books, each with their own quirky and wonderful world. I definitely enjoyed them all, which was kind of a shock. Usually in sets there is at least one weak player, but these were all just… so… good!

Bearing his sin sounds like the title of something serious and sad. Luckily, this was completely not the case. From the first few paragraphs I knew that I love this author. The sarcastic wit, the wonderful banter, and the dark humor all wrapped up into a delicious burrito of awesomeness. I immediately added this author to my “to-read” pile. This book involves a hit man bear shifter, a Russian tough chick, and tons of interesting characters. I loved every second.

Bought by the Bear was slightly less silly and more serious, but still filled with great characters. This story involves Josilyn, a single mom trying to make ends meet when she’s approached with a job pretending to be someone’s mate. Obviously, there is a wonderful romance element but also tons of smutty goodness. There’s even a mystery at work!

The last book, The Alpha and I, takes place in the middle of nowhere, during a bunch of snow storms, where a lone woman rescues the big bad alpha werewolf. These two have some hot, quick, mating and are forced into some battles where they have to fight for their lives. While probably the least quirky of the bunch, it was still fun to read.


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Review: That Killer Smile

That Killer Smile by Juliet Lyons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was such a fun and addictive read! After books leading up to the explosive realization of the relationship between Cat and Ronin, this definitely delivered.

While we weren’t in the room with Cat and Ronin when they had their elicit one-night-stand, we definitely watched the repercussions. Cat tried her best to hide behind her snarky demeanor, determined to avoid falling for the womanizing bastard. Ronin, on the other hand, is just trying to keep his head above water. He was irrevocably changed by his time with Cat and has found he no longer enjoys the things that used to occupy every waking moment. Now, it seems, Cat is the only thing that gives him any sort of excitement or joy.

Cat has been surrounding herself with work in an effort to get Ronin out of her head. A blatant cry for attention, however, ends up propelling them together. The sexual chemistry is out of control from the start, as we should have expected. They go from yelling to moaning in a few pages and it was glorious! These two are now my favorite couple of the series, especially because you can watch them develop and grow into something almost unrecognizable from the beginning. I really hope we get more from the characters in this world because each book is better than the last.


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