Review: Cast in Hellfire

Cast in Hellfire by S.M. Reine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

This book was filled to the brim with surprises and even gave us a nice revelation at the end. If you’re looking for answers in this series, this book goes a long way towards giving us all the answers. Of course, there’s still more to learn and I’m not quite sure who I’m rooting for just yet.

Marion managed to muddle through the summit without her memories, but is still desperate for answers. Lucas/Seth dropped a bomb on her with his big reveal and now she’s left guessing at his motivations. Seth, meanwhile, is still rescuing damsels in distress and getting into bigger and bigger trouble. There’s also a long list of “symptoms” he’s gotten since coming back after Genesis. The only one who might be able to get him answers from the gods is the one person he is trying to stay away from. While Marion and he have a certain draw towards one another, Seth would also really like to kill her. Maybe not “like” but he would do it all the same if he let his more animal nature take over.

Marion’s also juggling her new role as Stewart of the Winter Court with being girlfriend to a sidhe prince. He’s been pretty patient waiting for her to get back into bed with him, but his patience isn’t infinite. There’s deception and games always being played and Marion without her memories just isn’t tough enough to really “play.” While I love Marion and Seth and think that they could really work, it seems like the more political choice would be the prince. Either way, Marion is pretty much playing blind without any memories in her head. The big reveal went a long way with me to make up for some pretty crappy choices earlier in the book. When will these people learn to trust? Maybe never, right? Either way, this book was completely addictive and left me wanting so much more.


View all my reviews

Review: Dragon Soul

Dragon Soul by Katie MacAlister
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

These books are wacky, fun, and filled with magic. This one in particular was filled with some truly entertaining antics. While it can probably be read as a standalone, it is better read as part of the series.

Sophea is a broke woman who has gleefully agreed to help an elderly woman to her cruise in exchange for a free vacation of her own. What starts as a seemingly easy task quickly gets out of control. Aside from her own thieving tendencies, Mrs. P has apparently attracted quite a crowd of assassins, the first of which strikes before they even land in Europe. Luckily, a helpful hottie ends up assisting in Sophea's protection of Mrs. P and they are able to arrive alive. Sadly, this helpful hottie has other motivations.

Rowan (aka the Dragon Breaker) has one chance to save his own life. Simply steal a ring and then beg for forgiveness from the first dragon. Without any leverage, he will surely be sentenced to death. Oh, and he is also completely smitten with the woman who has been tasked with protecting the new owner of said ring. Sophea quickly outs herself as being completely innocent as far as dragon politics and magic go. She may have married a dragon for a day a couple years ago, but somewhere along the brief romance he never mentioned anything about breathing fire.

These two together are amazing! The witty banter and sizzling chemistry made for a truly excellent read. Even if you don't know who all the other characters are from previous books, the zany antics are hilarious. They even manage to get a nice wrapped up HEA where good gets to conquer evil. If the books continue to be this good, I'm eager to see where the author takes us next.

View all my reviews

Review: All We See & Seem

All We See & Seem by Tammy Blackwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This short story reminded me why I loved this series. My review is full of spoilers if you haven't read the series (and if you haven't, then you shouldn't be reading this book yet anyway).

This takes place while Scout and Liam are on the run together. The much unseen relationship development between Jase and Talley is the focus of this book and (sigh) it is awesome. I don't think we really got enough of Jase and Talley in the main series so I was overjoyed when I found out the additional short story was completely about them. Sure, there's larger story at work, but we all know how that works out, so the focus is 100% the romance. And Jase's super awesome roommate, but that's just because I liked being reminded of him before his book happened.

We join Jase and Talley off at college, still trying to be double agents and plan this big rebellion. It was really great to watch Talley stand up for herself and essentially lay it all on the line for Jase. Sure, these two really needed a push, but once they realized how much they were lying to one another, it ended in a blissful (although already known) happy ending. This is a must read for fans of the series.

View all my reviews

Review: Released

Released by Jus Accardo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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

Wow - you ever read a series that just gives you everything you want? This series has taken me on a rollercoaster that had me crying, laughing, and smiling at various times, but it ultimately left me incredibly satisfied. I'm happy to have met these characters and been introduced to this world, but so very sad to see it end.

It's here, the final showdown, only none of the characters really know yet. When we last left our main characters, they were not in the best of places. Sam was safe and claimed, but Jax was trapped by Azirak and unable to escape his own head. This book picks up soon after the events of the last (don't read these books out of order!) and we find Sam struggling to accept that her boyfriend's body is controlled exclusively by a demon. Sure, before it was a balance and there was even some sexy fun time between them, but now it is something entirely different. In true Sam fashion, she knows she just has to hold out hope for a solution, no matter how far fetched.

This book somehow managed to convince me that Azirak has feelings. They aren't really human feelings by the true definition, but I found myself rooting for him almost as much as I was rooting for Sam and Jax. While sometimes the bad guy, he was a surprise hero when the time called for it. The overall mission for this book (as assigned by Abel) was to track down the stone that we briefly encountered in the last book. With lots of magical powers, it has to be stopped before more hellish things start entering their world.

It takes a lot to have a book make me cry, but this one did it. I was 100% engaged to the point where I almost didn't want to finish the book because the experience would be over. All of the characters struggled in such "real" ways and managed to make the best of their truly heartbreaking situations. It had me really begging for some truly spectacular happy endings. We get a very satisfying wrap-up to the series that made all the turmoil worth it. My real question is, without these characters, now what do I read?!

View all my reviews

Review: Embraced

Embraced by Jus Accardo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

This series just keeps getting better and crazier and hotter with every turn of the page! Fair warning - this one has a cliffhanger-ish ending that would've driven me bonkers if I didn't have the next book to *immediately* dive into. I think no matter what, though, how could you *not* dive right into the next and last of the series, right?! That being said, this was another stellar paranormal read with all the sizzle you could ever want.

Jax and Sam and walking a tightrope at the start of this book. They each had to make sacrifices and deals with Abel to survive the last book relatively intact, but that has left them struggling in the confines of "friends." Neither is really sure what happens if they break the rules, but it is probably pretty bad. As if that wasn't hard enough, Jax still has a psycho brother roaming the world who always manages to mess with his semi-happiness. In this case, he shows up under the guise of helping and hooks Sam up with a magical ticking time bomb. Oh, and turns out that Sam is now the most coveted prize among angels and demons, which risks her life even more.

We all know what happens when people try to kill Sam - Jax does bad things to them. In this book we really get to watch more of the Azi/Jax interaction and realize exactly how blurry the line is between them. While Azi might be a royal who has live oodles of lifetimes, he just might be becoming more "human" during this life with Jax. Sam and Jax's epic love story might just teach an old demon a thing or two. All of this is contingent on Ari's old flame not resurfacing along the way. That would get awkward (and it does).

This book delivers a steady stream of twists and turns, action and romance (do I even need to mention their chemistry again?), and some truly wonderful characters. Seriously, I dread the day that I don't get to visit with these characters anymore. They are all (even Azi) pretty amazing. With a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, I highly recommend loading the next book onto your kindle immediately (when it comes out)!

View all my reviews

Review: Ruined

Ruined by Jus Accardo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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

Wow! From start to finish, I couldn't put this book down! I read a lot of PNR and it takes a book being re-readable to get a 5 star rating from me and that is exactly what I gave this first installment of The Eternal Balance series. I can't believe I didn't read this book until now!

Jax and Chase are brothers descended from a line of cursed (or infested) men. It skips generations here and there, but eventually someone is born with a demon inside of them. That demon drives the infested brother to do evil up to and including killing the other brother. Jax has struggled with this burden all his life, convinced that he is essentially tainting all of those around him. The only ray of light in his life is Sam, his next door neighbor growing up and his closest friend. He is also madly in love with her. Sadly, for him, happiness is what drives his inner demon crazy, so it is for the best that he runs far far away from this temptation.

Sam is... amazing. She's damaged, dark, but ultimately determined to make the most of her life and that includes dragging Jax back into it. Sure, Chase is around and he might look a lot like Jax (being twins and all), but he is no substitute for her partner in crime. She's also got this little problem with people trying to kill her. The first few times it was easy to write off as coincidence but it's becoming more and more obvious that the target is truly her. The timing couldn't be better, though, because Jax is finally back in town and he's going to have to make a choice.

These two are just my absolute favorite. I thought I would get annoyed by Jax's constant sacrifice, but the book managed to balance that fine line for me. He's a great character and he constantly surprised me. They also manage to have a chemistry that was off-the-charts hot. Sure, it might be cursed or doomed or they're on the road to destruction, but watching these two together was the best. The tension was so good that I wasn't even mad when another twist or turn was introduced. I want more - so much more! I'd read anything as long as these two were the main characters. Something about the combination of gritty realness and paranormal surprises kept me flipping pages at high speed. Obviously, I dove right into the next book. You should, too!

View all my reviews

Review: The Haunted Heist

The Haunted Heist by Angie Fox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

This series is filled with fun and entertaining hijinks by the wonderful mix of ghosts and small town characters. If you like a little paranormal in your mystery (and a teensy bit of romance), this series is definitely worth a peek.

Verity has been having a tough go of it. She lives in a small town with a long memory. Sure, breaking up with her groom at the wedding and keeping her reasoning a secret wasn't exactly going to make her a star, but I don't think she anticipated just how much it would change her. What started out as a bit of "minimalist living" (aka selling all her possessions because she is now broke) ended up introducing her to her new ghostly BFF, Frankie, who she inadvertently trapped. So, fast forward a little bit and we are back with Verity, still mostly in the same situation. She's trying to free Frankie (eventually) and she's still broke, but she has now mostly embraced her ghost hunter-like skills. Oh, and she's still got the maybe-boyfriend Ellis, who is just about the best man ever.

So what's this installment about (other than moving along the above larger storylines)? Well, Verity appears to be finally making headway in her life. Being asked to do a presentation of her design work for one of the town's biggest businessmen should have been a good thing. And it was - until the murder. Verity at another crime scene isn't exactly new in town, but she is still determined to do the right thing and use her ghost connections to try to solve the mystery. While I had my guesses along the way, I wasn't able to guess how this one ended, which is always good. This was a fun adventure in the life of Verity and friends. I was happy to dive back into this ghostly world and can't wait to see what's next for this bunch of characters.

View all my reviews