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

10.29.2015

Warlock Unbound (Heart's Desire #4)


Warlock Unbound
Dana Marie Bell
Heart's Desire, book four
ebook
Published September 1st 2015 by Samhain Publishing
ISBN 1619231204

The last Beckett brother is going down.

If he had a choice, Daniel Beckett would wait to cast the Beckett family mating spell until his life is more settled. But his brothers, worried he’s losing himself to his wolf, aren’t giving it to him.

Daniel doesn’t need a spell to know Kerry Andrews is his mate. With the last of the Godwin warlocks still on the loose, Daniel crosses his fingers that the willful, stubborn, beautiful woman will allow him to protect her.

Kerry is tempted to make Daniel wait, like he’s made her wait for so long. But the decision is taken out of her hands when things start going horribly wrong. A sleeper hex is activated, putting her life in danger—and the only safe place to run is Daniel’s waiting arms.

Once there, Kerry finds a whole new world to explore with her magical mate. But Arthur Godwin is plotting to rip away their newfound happiness. Women who look like Kerry are turning up dead…and it’s only a matter of time before the killer’s weapon hits its intended prey.

Warning: This title contains explicit sex, graphic language, a growly wizard and the woman who loves him.


I read book one, Shadow of the Wolf, of this series way back in February of 2010. I will say that it was easily the best of the series and although Heart's Desire ended well, I'm left disappointed. Chris and Lana started it all, and yet they are the most removed of all the couples in Warlock Unbound. This can be easily explained as, after all, they're not the focus of the book, but somehow Jo and Zachary got more page time than they did. And after their sequel, I was hoping for far less of Zach and Jo.

Garrett and Genevieve, as the reigning royal couple, appear casually throughout and their presence adds a necessary touch to the story. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of Jo and Zachary.

Meanwhile, the protagonists Kerry and Daniel remain at the heart of the book and keep everyone together while basically removing themselves whenever, and where ever possible, to consummate their bond. Over and over.

3 out of 5 stars.

Previously in the series:

10.23.2015

My Savior (Bewitched and Bewildered #4)

"I don't mind bathing myself in your blazing light,
knowing that my cremation will set you free."


My Savior
Alanea Alder
Bewitched and Bewildered, book four
Kindle Edition, 237 pages
Published August 25th 2015 by Sacred Forest Publishing
ASIN B00YAW6PG2

Amelia has dreamt of her mate since she was a little girl. All her life visions of a golden prince have warmed her heart and promised a fairy-tale future. She longs for the day when they will finally be together.

When the fateful day arrives and she meets Darian for the first time, she is nearly destroyed by his unequivocal rejection. His continued denial of their destined relationship has her doubting her own self worth and the visions she has had all her life.

Darian is teetering on the edge. He refuses to acknowledge Amelia as his mate and shadows continue to spread across his heart. He has grown used to the emptiness in his soul and almost fears the barrage of emotions she elicits. When an unexpected tragedy sends Darian spiraling into a hopeless abyss, will Amelia have the strength to pull him out, or will she succumb to her own darkness?

Amelia found her mate when she was six years old and spent the next three decades waiting for the moment they'd begin their life together. Unfortunately, her prince, Darian, a Fae serving in the Alpha Unit, has spent those same thirty years believing he was turning feral. When they finally again find each other, Darian is convinced it's far too late for him and chooses to deny their bond and send her away.

But Amelia, deemed Bubbles by Meryn herself, isn't about to give up that easily.

Darian goes through the stages rather quickly. From 1) You're not my mate, to 2) You are my mate, but you don't belong here, to 3) You're mine, I'm yours, and I'll give you whatever time I have left. The irony, whether humorous or not, is that to save himself, Darian need only to go home and let mommy make it all better. It was a cute addition to the series, although all I truly took away from it was a well placed curiosity towards Kendrick.

3 out of 5 stars.

Previously in the series:

10.21.2015

Fire and Ice (The League #4)

What the hell are you doing?


Fire & Ice
Sherrilyn Kenyon
The League, book four
ebook, 100 pages
Published 1998
ISBN 80759584419

FIRE & ICE - Originally published in a stand alone ebook in 1998. Currently available in the IN OTHER WORLDS anthology that features all the short stories Sherri wrote for Penguin.

Livia is a Vistan princess who is to be married to an ambassador from a neighboring galaxy--a brutal man, many years her senior. She knows that the one thing he values in her is her virginity, and in a last-ditch effort to escape the fate her father has decreed for her, she sets out to seduce the first man she can find.

Adron Quiakides was once a fierce League assassin. Now he lives in constant pain from wounds suffered years earlier at the hands of a madman. When Livia approaches him in a darkened bar, he willingly falls for her seduction. But when he feels the warmth of her healing touch he knows that he can't let her go. With her in his arms, he is free of pain, both body and soul.


With less than two weeks away from the release of book ten in the League series, Born of Betrayal, it was a fitting time to catch up on the only remaining installment to this series I had yet to read. Of course, although this has been titled book four, it is part of the second generation. It is Adron's story; Adron being the first born son of Nykyrian who was the protagonist of book one and leader of the Sentella.

Nykyrian has some truly amazing kids: Thia, Adron, Jayce, twin sons Tiernan and Taryn, and youngest daughter, Zarina. Very much unlike Syn's son, and lone child, Devyn, who managed to disappoint me on a level I don't even want to talk about. They were first introduced in book three, the only other sequel to feature the second generation of the Sentella, and I'm beyond anxious to get back there, mostly for the sake of Nyk's daughter, Zarina, who is the love interest for Darling's son, Cezar. Not to forget Dancer's daughter, Kalea, being paired with Nyk's son, Jayce. Unfortunately, my own three year old son may be a functioning adult by the time those books make it to publisher. Say it won't be so!

Adron, once  a League assassin and forever a serious badass, has suffered for eight long years with the consequences of a noble, selfless act that saved a woman and her unborn child. Now, forced to live in pain, dependent upon a cane and constant medical care to keep his organs functioning, he just wants one thing on the night of the anniversary that changed his world forever: to drink. To drown the memories.

Livia has one goal in mind when she enters the Golden Crona: to do away with the one thing that makes her valuable to the man her father is forcing her to marry- her virginity. Unfortunately, she barely manages to scan the surface of potential bedmates before her guards barge in behind her and she's forced to throw herself into the first acceptable booth to hide.

Adron is, at first, pissed at her sudden appearance at his table only to to follow it up with being pissed at the innocence she dares to have in this corrupted world. A number of women have attempted to court Adron to their bed, only to be quickly and rudely shunned. But when Livia, in a drastic move to escape discovery throws herself beside him with the most chaste kiss he could have ever imagined, well, he's got just enough Tondarian fire in him to finally allow himself the comfort of a woman's touch. After eight long celibate years.

And in that one moment of surrender, Adron finds that this misplaced innocent creature blocks out the agony of his existence. So he takes her home where the little miracle worker makes the huge blunder of telling Adron how wonderful he feels. And then he knows, because he's not that drunk, that she's a virgin. The realization stops him cold and Adron goes for a drink. Only to have her come at him with a hug.

I'm going to stop there before I recap the entire book because, yes, it's that damn good. And Adron is that damn awesome. Even when he's a whiny, self-loathing ass of a man. Meanwhile, Livia is a girl without flaws. She was absolutely perfect and embodied everything Adron needed to be reacquainted with the world, his family, and the man he used to be.

Also making an appearance are Nykyrian, Kiara, Zarina, Tiernan, Taryn, Jayce, and, in vids, Devyn himself.

5 out of 5 stars.

The League books, starting with book one and even more notable with book two, were the first books I'd ever read that actually changed my perspective of the world, people, and just life in general. I encourage any lover of Sci-Fi Romance to experience the unparalleled Sentella.

Previously in The League (2nd Generation): Nemesis Legacy


The League (1st Generation): Nemesis Rising

10.20.2015

Rogue's Destiny (Ozera Wars #1)

It was better than she'd imagined, this thing called a kiss, and she wanted more...


Rogue's Destiny
Michele Callahan
The Ozera Wars, book one
ebook, 82 pages
Published May 13th 2012 by Michele Callahan
First published March 13th 2009
ASIN B0082IZWO6
Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Hana is the second daughter of the House of Moons, sister to the Queen, and revered scholar of Anthea. Everything she believes about her people, and about herself, is a lie.

Kiel Lonriev, Prince of Melos, left his home on a rescue mission. Captured by powerful Anthean elders, he knows death is preferable to the torture ahead.

Only she can save him...
Only he can show her the truth...
Their forbidden union will violently alter the course of their planet's future.

I added this to my TBR/Lending Library shelf, only to have it, and the rest of the series, disappear from availability altogether. When it finally reappeared for both lending and purchase (for 99¢), I grabbed it. Though I'm still waiting on books two through four to resurface.

Kiel Lonriev, one of the youngest of the king's many bastard children, finds himself a reluctant prisoner to the women of Anthea after going in search of his sister, Kamara, who was abducted and seemingly lost to the galactic slave trade. His people and that of those of Anthea have long been enemies, ever since the woman of Anthea, once slaves themselves under the reign of Kiel's ancestor, rose up and fled their masters, uniting and eventually creating their own government. The woman thrived. And their technology became formidable. Now, the descendants of those women inflict their own kind of control, bartering tech for a male's seed and utilizing a synthesized drug called Ozera to ensure those men can't, or won't, fight them during a tradition that has been declared a Seeding Ceremony. The very ceremony that Kiel has now become a drugged and chained participant in.

Hana is the sister of the current reigning queen, present at the Seeding Ceremony as a priestess there to give her blessing to those women seeking to conceive, and earn favor for her sister at the same time. Despite not partaking of the drug that would awaken her body to the pleasure of the feel of a male, she can't help being drawn to the man that fights the bindings that he shouldn't even be wearing. The man that telepathically cries out to her in her mind.

This is a story of a mate claiming between a man desperate to keep his people from war and a woman who has been kept blind by her own trusted elders of their crimes of fueling the very slavery they themselves descend from. His is a people of magic. Hers, of technology. It truly has an amazing potential for a great story, if there was another hundred pages or so to break up the rush of imprisonment, escape, bonding, and then Kiel's mildly selfish choice to set her free rather than aid her desire to free her loved ones from the corruption ruling them. What there is, however, feels crammed and, much to my disappointment, such fails to do justice to the premise.

It is, on a positive note, very erotic.

3 out of 5 stars.

10.19.2015

My Healer (Bewitched and Bewildered #3)

"That's it... We're going to mother fucking Disney World!"


My Healer
Alanea Alder
Bewitched and Bewildered, book three
ebook, 236 pages
Published February 24th 2015 by Sacred Forest Publishing
ISBN 9781941315040

Fun loving wolf-shifter Colton Albright’s usual concern…his next meal, has been replaced by haunted dreams. The nightly visions of the sad, anxious face of his mate have this jovial jokester withdrawing from his fellow Alpha Unit members.

Rheia Bradley is a dedicated professional that lives to help others, but has long forgotten how to help herself. When she arrives in Lycaonia seeking the protection of the warrior units, Colton is ecstatic to discover that she’s his mate. His relief is quickly eclipsed by one small problem, a tiny, solemn four-year-old girl who happens to be his mate’s adopted daughter. Which means… he is now a father!

While Rheia settles into her new job, Colton and all his fellow warriors are about to get a crash course on little girls. The men quickly learn that not one ounce of their centuries-long training has prepared any them for this precocious child.

When Rheia uncovers something about their enemy that puts her name next to her daughter’s on their hit list, Colton is willing to do anything to keep his new family safe. But will it be enough?

I L.O.V.E.D. the beginning of this story! The first moments of Rheia and Colton's meeting... sheer fun bitchiness. The minute they realized what they were to eachother... just awwwww. And the way Colton reacted to discovering his new daughter, Penny... yeah, I melted.

Colton has always been the fun one in this series. And even though he has to man up and be a mate and a father, he manages to hold on to that goofy attitude throughout. I must add that this installment has the most to offer when it comes to the intentions of the ferals. Finally, we're given a theory as to what their goal is, and how they're managing to accomplish it. A long awaited kudos there.

And of course, Meryn (now pregnant) is just a cray-cray as ever.


"Let me stab him. Just once!" Meryn yelled. "Just four tiny holes!"


Now who wants a sandwich, complete with beef jerky, peanut butter, mayonnaise, cheese, and a pickle?

3 out of 5 stars.

Previously in the series:


10.16.2015

Tave (The Ujal #2)

"The dawn does not have a butt crack. My advisers assured me of this."


Tave
Erin Tate aka Celia Kyle
The Ujal, book two
Kindle Edition, 84 pages
Published April 3rd 2015
ASIN B00VO2WDZI

Rina Zeret is not prepared to settle down. At least, not with a genetically selected mate. She wants true love and a happily ever after. Unfortunately, her mother has other ideas and submits Rina’s biological material—the woman’s a hairbrush thief!—to the Population Ministry to see if they can find a genetic match for her. Suddenly Rina is presented with Tave fa V’yl, Crown Prince of Ujal, High Warrior of the Ruling Caste and Earth’s greatest ally.

Her mother is going to be so happy.

TAVE is a three-part serial (like a TV show) and all parts are available now. The entire storyline is available for FREE with Kindle Unlimited, or you can purchase the full story as a bundle for $2.99.

There's certainly alot to love about the Ujal series. Told through various levels of humor, this story (much like the first) focuses on a male fully devoted to his honor as he strives to claim his destined mate. While predatory shifters may match the level of both possessive and protective traits, the Ujal's instincts come from a place of humility you'll not likely relate to the wolves or the cats or the bears. These mer(-like)men cater nicely to a woman's inner desire to be worshiped, nurtured, and just plain adored.

Tave wasn't looking for a mate but that doesn't keep his mother from seeking one out for him. The woman wants grand-hatchlings, damn it, and she's going to get them!

Rina's mother is probably the greater of the two evils as she forges her daughter's application into the database for those seeking to mate. Because that's how it's done these days. And Rina, in all her oblivious wonder, manages not to open a single letter notifying her of the match. It takes two royal guards showing up effectually unannounced to haul her away to the Ujal's royal house where her first introduction to his majesty is met with her justified bitchiness and Tave's 'She's damaged!' outcry.

Seriously, read it.

4 out of 5 stars.

Previously in the series:

10.14.2015

Wicked Nights (Angels of the Dark #1)

"I am... How could... Love this."


Wicked Nights
Gena Showalter
Angels of the Dark, book one
ebook, 346 pages
Published June 26th 2012 by Harlequin
ISBN 781459233188

From the New York Times bestselling author who brought you the Lords of the Underworld comes a dark, seductive new series featuring angels poised on the brink of destruction....

Leader of the most powerful army in the heavens, Zacharel has been deemed nearly too dangerous, too ruthless-and if he isn't careful, he'll lose his wings. But this warrior with a heart of ice will not be deterred from his missions, at any cost...until a vulnerable human tempts him with a carnal pleasure he's never known before.

Accused of a crime she did not commit, Annabelle Miller has spent four years in an institution for the criminally insane. Demons track her every move, and their king will stop at nothing to have her. Zacharel is her only hope for survival, but is the brutal angel with a touch as hot as hell her salvation-or her ultimate damnation?

Oops! Made the mistake of starting this one way too early. Being a spin-off of Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series, I wasn't sure where the two met. Apparently, it's sometime after The Darkest Secret (book seven), and I was so not there yet. (Recently finished book three.)

And yet, I enjoyed Wicked Nights far more than any of the LotU books I've read.

Annabelle Miller was merely eighteen years old when a demon staked a claim upon her. That same night, it murdered her parents and left her to be tried and pronounced guilty of their deaths. For the next four years, Annabelle suffered within the confines of an institution where lowly demons and humans alike continued to harm her.

Zacharel lost his twin brother centuries ago, and has lived each moment since shut away from emotions. His callousness and disregard for human welfare have led his betters to offer him one last chance before he's cast from grace.

As Zacharel leads his army of Heaven's less favored against a horde of demons scaling the walls of a human asylum, he is led into the presence of Annabelle as she lies restrained upon a medical bed, drugged and angry. And yet, despite discovering an angel before her, Annabelle does not plead or scream for help. Her response to his appearance leaves Zacharel equally baffled and intrigued. Even more so when Thane, a fellow angel on probation, proclaims Annabelle carries Zacharel's mark. Zach's never met the girl before, let alone touched her.

Curiosity, jealousy, desire... Emotions, he's long denied himself come raging to the surface once Annabelle enters his life.

I couldn't help but fawn all over Zacharel. And that first kiss... it was oh so good, until it went oh so terribly wrong. It was probably the hottest part of the book, including the smut scenes. The ending however really sealed the deal with its awesomeness as Anna confronts her demon, and Zacharel is left with the consequences of a very large, centuries old, screw up.

5 out of 5 stars.

10.07.2015

My Protector (Bewitched and Bewildered #2)

Please send me my mate. I just want someone to hold.


My Protector
Alanea Alder
Bewitched & Bewildered, book two
Kindle Edition, 236 pages
Published December 22nd 2014 by Sacred Forest Publishing
ASIN B00Q6UAE2C

Gavriel Ambrosios has been dreaming of his accident prone mate for weeks. Now that he is nearing the apex of his vampiric transition, she has made her way to Lycaonia, just when he is at his most dangerous.

Elizabeth Monroe was planning on staying in Lycaonia while humans forgot about the swan dive she took out of her boss’s office window. Little did she know that this short side trip was about to become permanent. Gavriel is the mate she has always dreamed of. Even as he sweeps her off her feet his need to protect her has him pushing her away. She’s both concerned with and drawn to his darker nature, but is determined to see him through his transition.

In the shadows their enemy has targeted Gavriel when they know he is at his most vulnerable. They creep ever closer to the Alpha estate putting the men on high alert.

But as the days get shorter and the nights get longer Elizabeth begins to wonder, which is the bigger threat? The enemy or her mate?


If you like a sappy romance, Gavriel is the man you want! Need a laugh? Meryn is just as feisty as ever. And this time around, she's blowing up Aiden's car. And it's no accident.



"Ryuu is Coffee God. Ryuu can do whatever the fuck he wants."


With the threat of ferals still looming about the estate, Gavriel, second in charge among the Alpha Unit and oldest living vampire, has more to worry about than just his forthcoming transition... He also has the most clumsy female that ever existed as a mate.

Bunny shifter, Elizabeth Monroe arrives on scene and is quickly accept by Gavriel, the Alpha Team, and the ever chaotic, Meryn, as My Protector continues the Bewitched & Bewildered saga with just as much focus on Meryn and Aiden as it gives to Elizabeth and Gavriel. You'll either love it or hate it because without a grand adventure or epic battle, it's rather simplistic. They meet, they love.. life goes on.

3 out of 5 stars.

Previously in the series:

10.02.2015

Vados (The Ujal #1)

Mate Maris, and then pummel Niax. His to-do list was complete.


Vados
Erin Tate aka Celia Kyle
The Ujal, book one
Kindle Edition, 41 pages
Published February 25th 2015
ASIN B00U1HCQQS

A human woman, a tail-sporting alien, and a deadly hurricane… of course they’re going to hook up! Or rather, they did hook up. But that was then. This is now.

As a marine biologist, Maris Xayer is used to observing all types of marine life, but she never imagined she’d come face to tail with an Ujal. In the middle of a hurricane, Maris and Vados came together—ahem—and then he disappeared. She figured it was a one-storm stand with an Ujal and moved on. Except Vados hadn’t really gone anywhere and now the sexy as sin, red-skinned Ujal is back. For her.


Never judge a book by its number of pages, because with a mere forty-one, this one managed to rock.

After Maris and Vados met during a hurricane, and experienced a passionate romance as the storm raged, the two managed to part ways by sheer accident. Timing is everything, people. With photos of their brief affair publicly scandalized by a tabloid, Maris becomes the target of purists' attacks and, by chance, Vados, being the right hand guard and friend of the prince of the Ujals, is sent to protect her.

Their reunion, fated or by chance, gives the two the time needed to formerly construct their bond. And we get a few laughs out of the process.

4 out of 5 stars.