A Place for Romance: Paranormal | Fantasy | Futuristic | Contemporary | Historical | Suspense | & Asian Dramas

11.29.2013

First Sentence Friday


This excerpt comes from Bound by Night by Larissa Ione.


"Go fuck yourself."
    Hunter, MoonBound clan's leader, leaned back in his chair and gave Riker an expectant look. "Go fuck yourself..." He made a come on gesture with his fingers. "Finish the sentence."
    Riker rolled his eyes. "Go fuck yourself... sir."

A WOMAN OUT FOR BLOOD...
A VAMPIRE OUT FOR REVENGE...

Nicole Martin was only eight years old when the vampire slaves rose up in rebellion and killed her family. Now she devotes her life to finding a vaccine against vampirism, hoping to wipe out her memories—along with every bloodsucker on the planet. But there’s one thing she cannot destroy: her searing, undeniable attraction for the one man she should hate and fear the most . . .

A member of the renegade vampire MoonBound Clan, Riker is haunted by demons of his own. When he recognizes Nicole and remembers how her family enslaved his loved ones, his heart burns for vengeance. But when he kidnaps Nicole and holds her in a secret lair, his mortal enemy becomes his soul obsession, his greatest temptation, and, perhaps, his only salvation—a hot-blooded lover who could heal him with her touch . . . or bury him forever.

11.26.2013

Ablaze


Ablaze
Dahlia Rose
ebook, 50 pages
Published April 9th 2012 by Sugar And Spice Press

Hailey knew the consequences of her actions. Heaven would cry for what she was about to do, but her charge was to be kept safe at all cost. Her glory, her immortality, was no question. She was an angel, and the boy she protected was to be a leader of men, a peacemaker like no other. While heaven would protect him, hell wanted him dead. They sent their best, Pennemuel, a demon enforcer, and what he wanted more than anything was her. Hailey gave herself to him, willing to stop a war between heaven and hell, to protect the boy she now loved more than anything. She carried a secret, one that only few knew. In the taking of her body, Penn would become hers as well, tethered by love. He would be her strongest ally in the fight that was to come.

She looked like she was made of bronze, and her glow actually made his eyes hurt. Pennemuel thought he would be the toast of all his peers by taking an angel and could see himself climbing to the highest level in the demon realm. He didn't know by sleeping with her, love would be the punishment. When the fist affects of it punched his heart like a fist, he regretted his actions. He was not meant for love or redemption, yet when Hailey looked at him, he was lost and would do anything to protect her. With hell nipping at their heels, they fought side by side to protect the boy she loved. All the while, he tried to decipher his new feelings and actually try his hand at romance.

Together they were united in a common good, yet for the first time in his existence, he couldn't see his future. She kissed him, and in her arms he felt alive, almost whole. Could a demon in love find his place in the world, in the embrace of an angel, or would his sins damn them both?

After Rogue Rider, I went hunting. Because, seriously, who could get enough of Larissa Ione? And did I ever find! She has a new vampire book out, the first of a new series. She *also* co-wrote an entire series, ACRO, with Stephanie Tyler (author of the Shadow Force series, which I loved!) under the name Sydney Croft. They date back to 2007, and yes, I so snatched up book one: Riding the Storm.

But those will wait.

I also have Boone Brux's third book of the Bringer and The Bane series on hold. Right now, I need some more demons and angels.

To protect her charge, Hailey offers up her body to the demon, Pennemuel, in trade for his aid in keeping the boy safe. Penn has no trouble at all accepting her offer. He delights in the thought of not only screwing her of her innocence, but bringing about her fall from heaven. What he doesn't expect is losing his own soul in the process, and that of his heart. 

Now a traitor to Hell, Penn takes Hailey and Sam on the run. Allthewhile, Hailey shuts him off. Won't look at him. Except to scowl. Won't touch him. Unless absolutely necessary. Her only care is for the boy she believes has the power to change the world. And Penn can't bear to leave her. 

This definitely satisfied my craving. A tad over the top but pleasant nonetheless and easily comes together with a happily ever after ending. 3 out of 5 stars. 

11.25.2013

Shadow Dreams


Shadow Dreams
Evangeline Anderson
Kindle Edition, 95 pages
Published September 30th 2013 by Evangeline Anderson (first published 2004)

A lonely divorced girl gets a new pet to keep her company. But is Shadow more than he seems?

Once there was a boy of the Bitterwater Clan of the Din'e, the Navajo People. He lived with his ma'sani, his grandmother, in the Four Corners in the Navajo Nation on a reservation...

So begins the story of James Redtree, a Navajo man who is transformed into a dog by his grandmother's curse.


Doomed too wander the world as a dog until he finds a woman to love and belive in him, James ends up as Shadow, a huge, mixed breed mutt that looks like a wolf crossed with a pony. From there it's a short trip to the local Animal Shelter where he's scheduled to be euthanized.

Enter Angelina Dean, Jelly to her two best friends, who convince her that getting a dog for protection and companionship is the best thing to do. She's alone in the big old house her grandmother left her since her husband of three years ran off with his personal trainer, Justin.

Having never been a "dog person," Angelina is reluctant to take on such a big animal but Shadow's sweet disposition wins her over. She takes him home and weird things start happening.

Angelina can't figure out what's going on. Who ever heard of a dog that prefers salad to gourmet dog food? Or one who changes the station from Animal Planet to ESPN when she's out of the room?

But what really disturbs her is the strange, recurring dream she keeps having. Who is the muscular Native American man who keeps appearing in her bed and why are the dreams so vivid? She is plagued by the idea that her dreams are somehow tied to her new pet, Shadow, but that isn't possible...is it?

Then, on the last night of the full moon, her dream man says something that haunts Angelina. "This is my last chance," he tells her. "I need you to believe in me." But can the practical Angelina do as he asks before it's too late?

I do love stories involving writers...

This is an oldie of Anderson's, recently re-released due to demand. I can't say the premise did much for me, or how James went about his goal to get Angelina to believe in him but the smut, as always, made up for what I felt was lacking. FYI: Angelina, on her own, is a disaster.

3 out of 5 stars.

11.23.2013

Rogue Rider: Lords of Deliverance #4

"I'm five thousand years old... 
But the day you found me in the woods, that's when my life started."


Rogue Rider
Larissa Ione
Lords of Deliverance, book four
ebook, 380 pages
Published November 20th 2012 by Piatkus
ISBN 9780749955571

They're here.

They ride.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Born of a match between good and evil, four siblings stand between hell's minions and everything they want to destroy. They are the Lords of Deliverance, and they have the power to ward off Doomsday... or let it ride...

The prophecies were there but no one listened. Until now.

Jillian Cardiff came to this remote mountain town to forget the demon attack that almost killed her. Instead, she rescues - and falls for - a gorgeous stranger who has no memory of anything other than his name. Handsome, charming and protective, Reseph seems like the kind of man that Jillian can trust. But with hints of a troubling history of his own, he's also the kind of man that can be very dangerous...

Reseph may not know his background, or why he mysteriously appeared in Jillian's life, but he knows he wants to stay. Yet when Jillian's neighbours are killed and demon hunters arrive on the scene, Reseph fears that he's putting Jillian in danger. And once it's revealed that Reseph is also Pestilence, the Horseman responsible for ravaging the world with death and destruction, he and Jillian must face the greatest challenge of all: can they forget the horrors of a chilling past to save the future they both desire?
I knew this book was going to be good (despite the amnesia that the story opens upon) but my level of focus, or lack thereof, being what it is lately I chose to put it off lest I fail to savor the epic goodness inside. 

Then my last read happened, and I desperately needed something to put the fire back in my fantasies. Enter the Lords of Deliverance. 

Oh Reseph. The best of them. Now, alone, naked in a snow laden forest with no memory of ever being Pestilence, the Horsemen whose seal had broken. Saved by his siblings in the last book, Reseph knows only his name now. And that he doesn't like being alone. 

When Jillian, survivor of a demon attack, finds him face down in the middle of the forest with an impending blizzard on the rise, she loads him up on her horse's sled and drags him home. And kudos to Jillian. This girl's a keeper.

Despite the loss of Reseph's memory, the core of him remains. His instincts, and the familiar, are all at the forefront of his consciousness. Computers are familiar. Condoms, not so much. Love? First time falling for this warrior.

So many good things happen in this book. Limos gets pregnant. Yays for Arik! And Reaver finds out he's a father. Oh yeah! And not just *any* father, no- he's the father of the Four fucking Horsemen! Reaver *is* Yenrieth.

And Reseph murders their mother. yeah...

Reaver and Harvester go beyond the definition of fascinating for me. Betrayed by Harvester, a Fallen Angel and co-Watcher of the Horsemen, Reaver has been tortured violently, his wings cut from him, and has been left for months to be slowly digested over and over again in the belly of one of Hell's creatures. But Harvester, despite her many many sins to the contrary, is not all bad. Unfortunately (Or fortunately?), she plays by her own rules. For very good reasons. She loves the Horsemen. Has been watching over them since their births. And even saved Than's life when he was a child.

Anway-- She cons Reaver, offering his freedom, for the location of Reseph to which he refuses to trade. So she offers up another bargain: Reaver goes free if, at a time of her choosing, he must submit to her for the sole purpose of sexual pleasure for a full 24 hours. Original? No. Deviously wonderful? Yes! Although appalled (and I honestly couldn't fathom why) Reaver agrees and the deal is sealed with a kiss. One that Reaver is flabbergasted at having enjoyed.

I am so stoked that these two get their own book--due out December 17th! Reaver being the daddy was just the icing on the molten chocolate cake. Finding out Harvester has been a spy for Heaven ALL ALONG, oh yeah!

I could have easily gone without the smut in this book if only to stay right there in the heat of Reaver and Harvester's spats. By the end of this installment both R&H have been removed as the Horsemen's Watchers. Harvester is being tortured by Satan, --her father!--, and Reaver has said fuck it all and is on his way to save their Fallen ally.

Reseph's battle against Pestilence is over in a blink. Which didn't affect me at all. I was turning pages for Reaver alone.

5 out of 5 glorious stars!



Previously in the series: