Uncross My Heart

Uncross My Heart
Jennifer Colgan
ebook, 272 pages
Published January 11th 2011 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN 9781609283278

Magick made him human. Only love can keep him that way.

After a century of living la vida muerta, Julian Devlin's closest ally casts a de-vamping spell that leaves him defanged and demoted from his hard-won place in Baltimore's vampire hierarchy. Disoriented by his transformation, he can't even find his way home.

The indignities don't end there. Before he can explain to the quirky consignment shop owner why he's hiding in her basement, she's punched the newly re-acquired breath out of him and smacked him upside the head with her knock-off purse.

Zoe Boyd's scream could have peeled paint from the walls-if she could get her heart out of her throat. Common thugs aren't supposed to have a smile so panty-melting that she finds herself apologizing for scaring him.

She's also too busy managing her friends' love lives to take on an ex-vampire with revamping and revenge on his mind. Until she guides him home and ends up neck deep in his world of trouble.

As Zoe risks her life to give him back his death, she warms the soul Julian never thought he'd own again. And when he tracks down a devilish witch who can reverse the spell, immortality without Zoe suddenly seems like cold comfort...

Warning: This novel contains sensual love scenes between a fashion-forward hero and a fashion-unconscious heroine, abuse of Italian loafers, and a few love bites. Don't worry, freshly sharpened fangs don't hurt. Much...

No! This was *not* suppose to disappoint me!

It started out perfectly well-a nice, outside of the box, vampire read- then it was as if this thing started scratching with a vengeance to get back in said box. By the time Julian and Zoe made it to bed together, and wow-could that moment have been any less thrilling?, I didn't have much care for how this story went on. Oh sure, I enjoyed the betrayals and the surprises, but all that damn trouble just to stay a vampire and then all that other trouble to de-vamp a vampire only to turn right back around and say Hey, wanna be a vampire?

The true ick was the Draconus and his cooky magic of turning people into vampires and tweaking the spell like it was a recipe for spaghetti sauce. A little heart here, a little memory loss here. Add a speck of invisibility and mediocrity. Damn, I was just so happy it ended. 2 out of 5 stars.

Mad Love

Mad Love
Paisley Grey
ebook, 2,300 words
Published June 18th 2011 by Paisley Grey Publishing
ASIN B0056VBTSA
Amazon freebie

Can friends ever be lovers?

When Grant's best friend asks him to inseminate her, he fears that intimacy will expose the love he's been hiding all these years.

Never realized how fast 2,300 words can go. Seriously, blink twice and this one's over.

With its shotgun start, it's pretty good. But sometimes you've got to wonder why writers end books the way they do. This one finished with such a dull thud that it completely eclipsed whatever good feelings spawned at the gate.

Touch Me

Touch Me
Meg Harris
ebook, 37,000 words
Published July 14th 2011 by Meg Harris
ISBN 2940012750594
Amazon freebie

Seasons Change: Two college students make love--and fall in love--across the changing seasons.

Fantasia: She's his best friend, but he can't stop fantasizing about her. Does he have the nerve to turn fantasy into reality?

Pumpkin Pie: When Levi Roberts comes home to visit his childhood friend Kira Anderson, he's surprised to discover that pumpkin pie is the sexiest fragrance he's ever smelled.

Hands On: Lora catches her friend Mason engaging in a hands-on activity, and offers him a helping hand of her own.

Warnings: Explicit sex, self-pleasuring, blunt language.

In Seasons Change, a little summer fun brings two long time best friends together in their first taste of passion. Sex in the mud. Sex in a pile of leaves. Sex in the... snow. It's a sweet tale actually but it lacked a declaration of love and that was the one thing that really would have brought it home for me.

Fantasia is the story of a young cubicle worker who falls hard and fast for the new hire at his place of employment. They click from the start but Rae has a boyfriend, thus dooming Nash to the seemingly eternal role of just a friend. Years later, Rae and her beau call it quits but by now Nash is too afraid to act on his feelings and the subtle hints he may only be imagining Rae is giving him. I liked this one far more than the first. The fantasies are way hotter although the ending was just as anticlimactic.

Levi and Kira have been friends since the third grade. They were inseparable, even through high school. Now, in their late twenties, their time apart has grown more and more, till Levi realizes it's been two whole months since he's seen his best friend. They make plans to have dinner at her place, where her new pumpkin scent inspires Levi to take their relationship to the next level. Again, I liked this one much better than the last. There's a pattern though... no declarations of love whatsoever. Yet.

Lora met Mason when he was still hung up on his ex-wife. Even after all this time, she's convinced that he's still in love with her. So it totally shakes her world to find him one night masturbating to a photograph of herself. Despite having a boyfriend, Lora hasn't been able to keep herself from fantasizing about her best friend and faced with this little reality, she can't fight the need to finally experience what it would be like to be in Mason's arms. Just as hot as the last two, with a declaration of love to seal the deal. The best was totally saved for last.

Katrina's Seduction

Katrina's Seduction
Tina Fine
ebook, 50 pages
Published October 23rd 2009 by Tina Fine
ISBN 2940000723333
Amazon freebie

When Katrina Mitchell shows up on Johnny Mueller's doorstep in LA, she harbors far more secrets than Johnny could ever imagine. Johnny's new tenant has the same first name as a woman from his past, and a body that feels familiar, but he chalks the similarities up to coincidence. After all, she has a very different face than his Katrina. They can't be the same person-right?

Three years ago, Katrina survived a train crash that took her memory and left her face horribly disfigured. Numerous surgeries and uplifting mental therapy sessions later, she's got a new look and a drive to discover her past. With the aid of her therapist/one-time-lover, Blaine, Katrina hops a plane to LA in search of the man that stars in her erotic dreams. The same man who left her for another woman-his wife.

Although the blurb revolves around Katrina and Johnny, the story itself is more focused on she and Blaine, and the hot, dirty sex they share. After she reunites with Johnny, the plot gets somewhat abandoned as Kat realizes there are things more important than the past and all the questions she came in search of stay unanswered. And I wanted those answers! 4 out of 5 stars.

An Unwanted Hunger

I saw the initial rush of fear as I seized you.

An Unwanted Hunger
Ciana Stone
Kindle Edition, 144 pages
Published December 7th 2009 by Ellora's Cave
First published December 26th 2008
ISBN 9781419919268

Amazon freebie

Passion this strong is dangerous. They both know it. Mortal enemies, their respective factions have been at war since the dawn of man. Resa is a Dhampir, bred and trained to hunt Vampyres. Constantine is a prince among the Vampyre, the oldest and most lethal.

Nothing good can come of this hunger, this need that drives them relentlessly toward one another. Neither reason nor devotion to duty can stay their need. There is but one way to quench the thirst that drives them. Once sated, they can return to the battle and see which one, if either, is left standing.

But one drink from the cup of desire serves only to magnify the hunger. One act of lust that could alter them forever, changing the course of destiny.

BEST part of this book is the journal entry that makes up the prologue. Instant high for me. What followed, although very well written, fell far into disappointment territory. Every obstacle was was just too easily solved. Resa learns that her entire life has been built on lies and is betrayed by her every ally... no big deal. She easily jumps ship and into bed with Constantine who takes her as his mate unintentionally but wholeheartedly. So what if his people won't accept her. The matter never really even comes up. At war are we? Retreat and somehow everything is better in the morning.

I'm not entirely sure if there was an actually ending to this story. More like Resa and Constantine's parts ended. Nothing solved, just delayed. 3 out of 5 stars.

That Old Black Magic: Living in Eden #3

That Old Black Magic
Michelle Rowen
Living in Eden, book three
ebook, 320 pages
Published December 6th 2011 by Penguin Group
ISBN 9781101552438

Reluctant witch Eden Riley knows that codependent relationships aren't good, especially when you're possessed by a sexy but troublemaking demon. Darrak's physical form makes good girl Eden want to go bad, but the constant itch to use the soul-destroying black magic she's recently acquired might force Eden to explore her dark side in an entirely different way.

And when her magic starts manifesting itself without conscious effort, both Eden's life and the possibility of a future with Darrak are threatened-since only one of them might be able to survive this.

The third installment and it's still only been a month since Darrak came into Eden's life. That's how busy these books of Rowen's are!

For three hundred years the archdemon Darrik has been trapped inside human hosts, slowly absorbing their humanity. Our compassion, our needs, our fears. But only now does the true torture begin as he finds himself in love with his current host, Eden, all the while absorbing some of her angel essence and the battle between good and evil causes a physical ache inside his body.

I found myself missing the old Darrik as this one started off. The new, much more angelic Darrik is sweet and all and certainly doesn't hold much back when confessing his love for Eden but yeah, typical me, I yearned for the demon. Enduring his stress of whether Eden really loved him and having him crushed by her failure to accept his marriage proposal was just too sad. Too vulnerable. And too mushy.

At midpoint though, things take a drastic turn and suddenly, it's a race to conclude the series. The curse gets broken. Eden discovers she's pregnant. Multiple deals get made with Lucifer. And yet another chick falls for Ben. What the hell is the deal with Ben?!

It wasn't my ideal epic ending and honestly, the 'Lucy' name left me with all kinds of icky feelings. And that is *so* not the last memory I want from a series that started out as great as The Demon In Me. 3 out of 5 stars.

Previously in the series:

Beg Me

Beg Me
Shiloh Walker
ebook
Published November 19th 2010 by Shiloh Walker
ISBN 9781452497


Beg me…there had been a time when those words made her burn with desire. But now, there was only fear.

Once, Tania Sinclair’s life was almost perfect…oh, it had its ups and downs but she was happily married to a guy that adored her, one who had no problem indulging every kinky fantasy she ever had. But a couple of tragedies later, she’s barely holding it together. A car accident took away her husband, and an attack from somebody she should have been able to trust has shaken not only her confidence, but it’s also stripped away her fantasies and even made it painful to look back on her memories of her husband without fear.

Two years after her attack, Tania is determined to take her life back and the first step is taking back herself…her fantasies, her dreams, her memories. There’s only one person she can trust to do it, too. One person she wants enough…Drake Bennett, her husband’s best friend.

Falling for your best friend’s wife—never smart. Drake’s watched Tania quietly for years, watched her…wanted her, knowing he’d never have her. First, she was taken. And then, that night two years ago—a night that still scars her, a night that’s left bruises on her that still haven’t healed. He does what he can, though, because he loves her too much not to. He’s her friend, there when she needs him.

And now she needs him. She’s asked him for a favor…one that just about blows his mind…

Warning: This book involves light bondage play, rape fantasy & role-playing. The acts between the hero & heroine are consensual, but they may not be ideal for all readers.

It's been too long since I've picked up a Shiloh Walker book. Two whole months too long.

Three years ago, Tania lost her husband, Kyle, in a car accident. He was her everything, the one man she could share her sexual fantasies with, no matter how rough and kinky they were. A year after that, those fantasies and the memories linked with them were defiled and destroyed by Kyle's twin brother, Kent, as he used Tania's secrets against her in a savage attack that left her raped and nearly broken.

As she begins to take back her sexuality, and her very self, she turns to the only other person aware of her deviant desires-her husband's best friend, Drake. A man who's been in love with her long before Kyle became her husband.

This story has the kink, but surprisingly it also has the romance factor. Drake doesn't hide behind his feelings long and although he willingly plays Tania's fuck toy he makes it perfectly clear where his heart stands. It's a 4 out of 5 stars for me. The fulfillment of the rape fantasy could have been much hotter.

Demon Touch

Demon Touch
Doranna Durgin
Kindle Edition
Published September 1st 2011 by Harlequin Nocturne Bites
ISBN 9781426834080

Ever since the night Alex Donally found the demon blade in his hand—and in his thoughts—he has been driven to fight evil. When he meets Deb Marchand, he feels compelled to protect her from her violent ex—and aroused by the visions of passionate encounters they both experience when they touch. The blade is showing them what they can have—if Deb can risk giving her trust and heart to a vigilante.

Some time ago, Alex came into the possession of a shapeshifting blade with a thirst for vengeance. I can't say it changed him. I can't even say it bothers him. Things just 'are' in this story, keeping with its repetitive Could be, Would be, Should be mantra. What I can tell you is that I didn't care for the writing technique of this book. It was choppy, vague, and lacking a much needed flow. Being my third read by Durgin, its safe to put into writing that I won't be picking up any more of her work. Two stars seems to be the best I can ever attribute to my experiences with her, as is the best I can do here. 2 out of 5 stars.

Immortal Rider: Lords of Deliverance #2

Immortal Rider
Larissa Ione
Lords of Deliverance, book two
Mass Market Paperback, 414 pages
Published November 22nd 2011 by Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 9780446574471


The signs are everywhere...disastrous world events. Evil rising up, unleashed upon the innocent. The prophecies were there...but no one listened. Until now. The time has come for those who can either usher in Doomsday...or prevent it. They are here. They ride. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Arik Wagner, a soldier with the U.S. Army's paranormal unit, the R-XR, kissed a girl and liked it. And then he went to hell as punishment. Where he's spent weeks being tortured...and plotting revenge.

Limos, Horsewoman of the Apocalypse, isn't your average girl. She's immortal, dangerous, and her fiancé is Satan himself. In a moment of weakness, she gave in to her desire and kissed Arik, triggering her fiancé's wrath - and his claim on her. In order to save Arik, and the world, Limos must make a dangerous pact with her recently turned evil brother, Pestilence. A deal that might just cost her her soul...and her heart.

So... first impression here (as far as this particular book is concerned anyway) is that Arik has a very dirty mind. And a fetish for coconuts. Well not really, but I just love how Ione tells a story. Even things a reader finds in numerous other books seem to become something altogether original just by the ways she delivers it.

At an engagement party for and hosted by Ares and Cara, Arik breaks from the crowd for some fresh air. Limos, the third Horseman and destined 'Famine', has been driving his libido wild and the throng of demons isn't helping his control. When she challenges him to spar in an attempt to settle the agitation she senses in him, Arik goes in for a kiss. Then hell itself opens up to swallow Arik whole and he goes on to spend a month being tortured at the hands of Satan's minions.

Release from his prison doesn't come easy. Regaining a sense of reality afterwards is an even greater challenge. Especially since Pestilence (aka Reseph) went all vampire on him in an attempt to claim Arik's soul for a bargaining chip.

The side stories are a wonderful compliment to the book which is a nice change since most are either distracting or a downright nuisance. Regan steps further into the spotlight in this installment and the plot to break Thanatos's seal begins. Oh yeah, it's time to get Than laid and make him a daddy!

Meanwhile Reseph has been in Limos's ear and her scales are tipping (literally) toward the dark side with every lie she's forced, and secretly thrilled, to tell. This is a double whammy as lying seems to be the one thing Arik detests above all else thanks to an abusive, alcoholic father. Just another obstacle in the way of he and Limos getting together. That, and a very aggressive chastity belt. And let's not forget Satan.

(spoilers) Harvester and Reaver, the two watchers, evolve drastically in this book as Reaver becomes a victim of Harvester's cruel plans when she captures and mutilates him with the cutting off of his angel wings. The two do still have a chance in the future, if they don't kill each other first.

We meet Lilith, the Horsemen's mother, and witness a glimpse that Reseph is very much still present inside Pestilence. Limos is forced to reveal her sins against her brothers, earning herself some very scary wrath from Ares and Thanatos. And Lucifer, too, for altogether different reasons. She and Arik manage to break her betrothal contract to Satan just before Regan takes advantage of Thanatos and holy hell, that Guardian better keep running. The fourth Horseman is pissed.

4 out of 5 stars.

Previously in the series:

Locked in Silence: Grimm's Circle #5

❝ Do you have dark hungers, Vanya? ❞

Locked in Silence
Shiloh Walker
Grimm’s Circle, book five
Kindle Edition
Published September 20th 2011 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
ASIN B0057WU6T6

Dying is hard enough.
Coming back to life is brutal.

Vanya has been hunting and killing demons ever since one of them scarred her face and killed her sister. Correction—since she was forced to kill the demon possessing her sister. Then some sort of angel offers her a deal she can’t refuse—that if she becomes one of them, she gets to kill even more demons. Tonight, she’s made that choice. The death she smells on the air will be her own—and she welcomes it.

Silence feels a darkness is looming. Change—something he has every reason not to welcome. The deeply hidden memories that robbed him of his past, of his own name, render him unfit to teach anyone the ways of the Grimm. Yet here he is in the dankest sex club in town, waiting to assume his charge—after he stands by and watches her die.

When Vanya awakes, their complicated, dangerous dance begins. And so does something else—a searing need that blisters along their unexpected mental connection. Silence shouldn’t be drawn to his student, but once they touch, he can’t think of a reason to stop. Even though acting out their darkest desires puts them in more danger than they realize.

Warning: This book contains sex-starved demons, lonely angels, demon-angel sandwiches, blood, violence, death and a happy-ever-after.

This cover is far too pink for its dark, and smoking hot!, contents.

I have been loving me some Grimm's Circle books (although, admittedly, I didn't have the room to fit in book four). Book five, despite all, managed to squeeze itself in and helladamn! it's my favorite of the series!

Silence possesses the gift of illusion-control of the shadows-and a fetish for axes. What he lacks, however, is a voice. Cast away by his parents for his 'demonic powers' and eventually betrayed yet again thereafter, he has learned from the world that he is better off alone. He left that life with a promise of a purpose that Will made before he brought him back through the doors of death and remade him into a guardian angel. Even with this new existence, though, he remains mute and ever lonesome.

Vanya has been battling demons for a while now. Even killed her sister to vanquish one. When death finally comes for her, the memory of the deal Will offered her is forefront in her mind. She doesn't fear the transition itself, but being alone through it has her beaten. But Silence is brought to her in time, and sees her though the pain. And her training.

The story of Silence and Vanya, with all its yummy intricacies, is the most beautiful of this series for me. Not to mention it was way, way hotter. Finally, a guardian into voyeurism and rape-fantasy. Vanya's my kind of angel. 4 out of 5 stars

Working Arrangements

Working Arrangements
Ellen Wolf
ebook
Published August 16th 2011

Laura Martin has every reason to be absolutely happy. After four lonely years following the tragic accident that took the life of her fiancé, Joshua, she is finally ready to embark on a new journey, accepting a marriage proposal.The only obstacle in the way of her happiness comes in the person of Luke Manning, her boss and Joshua’s life long best friend. Luke rejects her engagement for more than one reason.

Torn and unable to shake her opinion of her boss as a brilliant yet unreliable womanizer, Laura goes ahead with her engagement party, choosing safety and predictability in her life.

Only the evening goes terribly wrong ...

I must have been in a vulnerable situation of needing to be romanced when I picked this one up because it got to me- good and quick.

This poor book has gotten a number of 1 star ratings from Goodreads. Mostly, of which, for being too similar to In Bed With the Boss by Susan Napier. Well, I've never read that (or anything by Napier) so I didn't give a damn about the comparison. On its own, all by it's lonesome, I loved it!

The whole 'guy on a mission, fed up with the fried role' really worked for Luke. Being a 'Manning' didn't hurt him either. ;) It was all the numbskull things he did that fed into Laura's illusion of him being a player with an ever revolving parade of women that went against him. The man was truly his own worst enemy.

And Laura... well, there's an entire world going on around her that she's oblivious to. Another woman who needs to have it spelled out in block text to understand when a man's got it bad for her. Seven years, damn it!! Everybody else could see the blinking lights but oh no, Laura stayed in her own little cocoon, being cheated on, manipulated, and walked over and through.

Okay, sure... is it an altogether original thought? No. (What contemporary romance is?) Is it predictable? ...Yeah. (What contemporary romance isn't?) But does it deserve one single freaking star? NO.

4 out of 5 stars from me. All on my own, little lonesome me.

Ragnar and Juliet

Ragnar and Juliet
Lucy Woodhull
ebook
Published September 12th 2011 by Liquid Silver Books
ISBN 9781595788689

Bounty hunting is usually so easy. Flash a little cleavage, mix a roofie cocktail, and Juliet has her man right where she wants him: out cold, ready to be swapped for cash. Her passions are freedom, trashy clothes, and pie -- not necessarily in that order.

Hunky alien ship captain Ragnar doesn't deserve torture at the hands of the psychotic king who hired Juliet; he liberated one of William the Nefarious' illegal concubines. Juliet can't ignore such a noble act. She doesn’t trust men, but this one, with the kindest smile she's ever seen, picks away at her resolve to stay aloof and clothed. He's just so...nice! Crazy she can deal with; sincerity is terrifying.

Before she gives in to her irrational urge to get a timeshare with him (and his cute tail), they're caught by the bad guys. Ragnar disappears and abandons her to her disgusting captors -- so much for togetherness. Perhaps he’s not such a saint. Even worse, Nefarious William (who prefers "Bob") has nominated her for Concubine of the Evening. This dubious honor does not thrill her, and only a few hours remain before the king’s mind-altering drugs obliterate her free will.

Sexual slavery might not be fatal, but Juliet would rather die. Of course, the third option (run away to a beach and hump Ragnar silly) is the best, if they can live that long.

If you like your protagonist to be a smartass, sex-crazed female then this just might be the read for you! With humor on the non-stop priority list and each and every character carefully fit into the plot, there wasn't a single moment left to even consider the idea of becoming bored.

So, yes, you will fall into the typical cliche happenings every now and then but those, combined with the one liners we have all heard at least once in our lives, and multiple times after, make the story too laughable to be passed up.

It works. And because it's so damn simple, you gotta have love for it. 4 out of 5 stars.

Cast in Ruin: Chronicles of Elantra #7

❝ You asked me why I love you...

       Can I ask you the same question? ❞

Cast in Ruin
Michelle Sagara
Chronicles of Elantra, book seven
Paperback, 384 pages
Expected publication: September 29th 2011 by Luna
ISBN 9780373803309

Seven corpses are discovered in the streets of a Dragon's fief. All identical, down to their clothing.

Kaylin Neya is assigned to discover who they were, who killed them—and why. Is the evil lurking at the borders of Elantra preparing to cross over?

At least the investigation delays her meeting with the Dragon Emperor. And as the shadows grow longer over the fiefs, Kaylin must use every skill she's ever learned to save the people she's sworn to protect. Sword in hand, dragons in the sky, this time there's no retreat and no surrender…

First note I want to make is that Cast in Moonlight, the prequel to the series that was released in October 2010 by Michelle Sagara in the Harvest Moon anthology, is directly referenced in Cast in Ruin. It's not a must read, but it's the most helpful if read before starting this book.

The seventh installment kicks off with two Dragon lords, Diarmat and Sannablois, vying for Kaylin's time. Diarmat's aim is to see her properly educated in her etiquette classes while Sannabolis wishes to have her redeployed to the fiefs with the stipulation that Severn accompany her. So *of course* Sannabolis wins out and Grammayre grants his request. Smart man that Grammayre.

I read it in a few other reviews but didn't necessarily believe it to be true, and yet it was... Kaylin does actually mature in this book. The first hundred pages, as far as Severn is concerned, are by far the best and this was one of the most enjoyable reads of the series for me. Delving into the history and culture of the Dragons, there is so much knowledge and explanation to be found. Nightshade, much to my relief, gets very little page time. He does, however, make a long enough appearance to request a leave of absence for Kaylin that she might travel with him to West March.The results of which, I expect, are to be found in the next book, Cast in Peril. Ah, another year of wait.

Cast in Ruin has been promoted as the book in which Kaylin finally puts to words her feelings for Severn and Nightshade. And... she does. But it's in the lamest, most underplayed fashion one could imagine. She knows who loves her, and who does not. She admits what keeps her from being with Severn (and THANK YOU! it's not Steffi and Jade's deaths) and she recognizes the source from which her attraction to Nightshade stems. It certainly wasn't the end all of all romantic issues between the three, and Severn is still being as silent and patient as ever.

"Then I don't see the problem."
     "No, you don't." She rose and began to pace. "And I- I'm not good at talking."
     He waited, because he was good at waiting. "Are you afraid of losing me?"
     "Yes. But not because you leave. Because you'll die." Gods, she hated this. She was squirming, he knew it. "I'm afraid," she finally said in as neutral a voice as she could manage, "that you want me."
     "Want?"
     "Want. Desire."
     He stared at her. This was different from watchfulness. "You're not afraid of wanting me."
     "...No."

What progress was made? There's now a female dragon on the scene. Kaylin is still up for a promotion. And our girl's gained herself a roommate. 4 out of 5 stars.

Cast in Moonlight (Harvest Moon anthology)

Cast in Moonlight
part of Harvest Moon anthology
Michelle Sagara
Paperback, 384 pages
Published October 1st 2010 by Luna
ISBN 9780373803224

Barely a teenager, Kaylin Neya is a thief, a fugitive and an attempted assassin. She also has a smart mouth, sharp wits and mysterious markings on her skin. All of which make her perfect bait for a child prostitution sting in the city of Elantra—if she survives her first meeting with the Hawks!

It's that time of the year again... the release of the latest epic installment in the Chronicles of Elantra series!!

But before I dive into what better be the book where Severn gets the chance, and courage, to spell his feelings out for Kaylin-the gods know she'll never figure it out otherwise-I had to catch up on Cast in Moonlight, a short prequel to the series.

This story begins when Kaylin is thirteen, after she has fled the fiefs and very much after her dearest friend, Severn, murdered the two younger girls she considered part of their family. It reveals how Kaylin came to be a Hawk, even at so young an age, and how she came to gain her new surname, Neya.

Many beloved characters do make an appearance: Tia, Tain, Clint, and of course, Marcus. I didn't expect Severn. He had no reason to be here. However, the poor guy wasn't even mentioned. He played a key role in the most traumatic experience of Kaylin's life and yet that doesn't warrant even a roundabout reference? Bah!

This story was a fine compliment to the series, but it did lack the oomph with such a young protagonist. Not an entirely bad concept for a prequel, but let's go back to this time and focus on the Wolves. Let's hear Severn's story. 3 out of 5 stars.

Harvest Moon also contains A Tangled Web by Mercedes Lackey and Retribution by Cameron Haley.

Needing Nita

Needing Nita
Norah Wilson
(To Serve and Protect #3.5)
ebook, 27 pages
Published September 11th 2010 by Wilson, Norah
ISBN 2940011101700

Attorney Nita Reynolds is hot for Det. Craig Walker, but he's given up asking her out. She doesn't date cops...until a doctor's call makes her re-examine her priorities. Believing she has a brain tumor like the one that killed her father, she vows to make love to Craig Walker while she still has her full faculties. By the time the doctor realizes he's mixed up the scans, she's in way too deep.

One of those skip the dating, let's get married kind of reads. And a damn good one, too! 4 out of 5 stars.

Fresh Blood

Fresh Blood
Jennifer Colgan
ebook
Published February 13th 2011 by Jennifer Colgan, via Smashwords (first published 2005)
ISBN 2940011208201
Amazon freebie

A desperate call from her missing sister sends Erica Talbot on a dangerous rescue mission. Determined to prevent her twin from becoming a feeder, Erica steps out of her quiet, lonely existence and into a dark underworld where vampires make the rules.

Maxwell Hart is a vampire investigator. Part of his job is to protect humans. The moment he lays eyes on Erica, he knows she doesn’t belong in his world, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting her there.

With Max as her guide, Erica descends into a world where humans willingly give up control to their vampire masters. Posing as Max’s submissive feeder, Erica discovers a strange freedom in relinquishing her hard won self-control to Max.

After just one taste of Erica’s blood, Max finds he hungers for no one else. How can he possess her when drawing her deeper into his dark world will change her forever?

Another too good to be free freebie!

When Erica gets a distress call from her sister, Elena, she's forced into the world of vampires in order to save her. Before she gets in too deep though, Max Hart (vampire and cop) manages to save her from herself and offers what help he can give. It doesn't take Max long to unravel the riddle Elena has put out for her sister. And I certainly wasn't expecting the twist. 4 out of 5 stars.

“How often did you feed from her?” Erica hated herself for asking. Like a self-inflicted wound, the sudden pain of it shocked her. Her eyes stung.
     "Don’t do this, Erica.” Max sounded tired.
     She looked up at him and saw something in his eyes that touched her heart. She’d wounded him, too. “I want to know.”
     “We feed every two to three days by necessity. More if we have a regular feeder. I visited Kyra ... maybe three times a week.”
     “And you slept with her all those times?”
     Max gave Erica a dark look. If she insisted on opening up wounds, he could be coaxed into adding salt to them. He saw it in her eyes. She wanted to hurt. She wanted him to inflict pain. “Most of the time.”
     “Did you love her?”
     “No.”
     “Does Lucas love her?”
     Max laughed, but the sound was cold. “Lucas doesn’t love.”

Lucas' story, La Vida Muerta, can be found on Amazon here.

Rebound

Rebound
Ann Bruce
Kindle Edition
Published August 25th 2011 by Ellora's Cave
ASIN B005KT7I92

A darkened room…hurried breaths…frenzied touches…impulsive decisions… Wanting her on sight, he manipulated a tryst. Angry and betrayed by another, she let him. Mutual desire leaves no room for rationale. After all, there’s something to be said for a good…rebound.

When Amie catches her boyfriend cheating on her during an elegant event, her distress drives her out onto the balcony and into the arms of a stranger.


Of all the underhanded tactics a man might employ to get a woman... I'm not sure where to begin with a response to Jason's actions. Oh sure, it worked, but damn, was that *really* necessary buddy? 3 out of 5 stars.

Immortal Heat

Immortal Heat
Lanette Curington
ebook
Published March 18th 2011 by Ellora's Cave
ASIN B004TRNBM4


A goddess in peril…a god in exile…

Aglaia has been sent on a mission to right a love gone wrong. Hephaestus has exiled himself to the caverns, away from his ex-wife and the humiliation he suffered from her infidelity. Only the lusty body and untamed spirit of Aglaia can mend his broken heart.

How does a god, haunted by the infidelity of his wife, come to fall for a servant who committed adultery in his own home with the very same man to whom his own wife cheated on him with???

Hephaestus' true shame lies with his deformity. His evident lack of perfection has always set him apart in Olympus and numerous times, for various reasons, he's been cast from the palace of the gods. Finally, the exile took and he chose to stay away.

When Aglaia is sent on Aphrodite's bidding to set aright an arranged marriage between royal families, it is Aphrodite's ex-husband that comes to her rescue after she's cast from the cliffs and left battered and bruised by Poseidon's merciless sea.

As she heals with Hephaestus' care, the two fall in love and somehow, for some reason, Hephaestus is suddenly ready to yet again return to Olympus. Too many contradictions ate away at my enjoyment of this book. I know the gods are fickle beings but I appreciate things making actually sense in a story. 2 out of 5 stars.

Renegade Wolf: Devil's Promenade #2

Renegade Wolf
Aileen Fish
Devil's Promenade, book two
Kindle Edition
Published July 24th 2011 by Aileen Fish
ASIN B005EDNFT6

When Stephanie shifts into wolf form for the first time on live TV, she flees to the one man who can protect her from were-hunters, Micah Salway. As attracted as she’d been to him four years ago when they’d met, she’d run scared at the changes he awakened in her after just one kiss. Was it possible he’d turned her into a werewolf?

Micah can hide Stephanie in the caves known as Devil’s Promenade, but the dangers there are worse than facing down the hunter. His choices are few when faced with keeping Stephanie alive: fight the hunter alone or kiss the asses of his former pack-mates and ask for help. His wolf had claimed her the night they met. There was no way he would lose her again.

Four years ago, Stephanie and Micah shared a kiss that awakened the dormant wolf inside of Stephanie. She ran away from it then, but now being hunted has forced her back to Micah to save her life. It's a task Micah isn't confident he can handle alone and calls upon some friends, the Guardians to the door to their world, for aid, and even those of the pack he'd abandoned.

This story is quick paced and makes for very light reading. The characters are likeable enough as they sort through and conquer the obstacles rather easily. I'm not sure however what was up with Jarrod, Michah's cousin and former pack's Alpha. What kind of wolf, let alone Alpha, responds to a packmate's plea for help with the solution of 'Get a gun'?

3 out of 5 stars.

Must Be Magic

Must be Magic
Lani Aames
ebook, 93 pages
Published February 24th 2010 by Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc. (first published February 2005)
ISBN 9781419926174

To save his princedom from the greedy Faerie King, the Prince of Pixieland must marry by the next Equinox. A desperate spell hurls him into the realm of his Heart Match—who just happens to be a mortal woman!

Cast into the Other Realm—the human world—on St. Patrick’s Day, Prince Myghal pursues Kerry O’Neill with physical pleasures beyond her wildest dreams. He has only three days to convince her they are meant to be together.

Kerry has to believe that the man she had fantastic sex with and is falling hard for is actually the Prince of Pixies. She must accept it, because she has to brave the tunnels of the Troll who lives under the bridge across the street to save Myghal. And her heart has known all along that their incredible connection must be magic.

Publisher’s Note: Previously published in the Enchanted Rogues anthology.