My Blade, Your Back (Dark Forces #2)

There could be endless versions of you,
and I’d love each one as fervently and entirely.

Available at Amazon.com

My Blade, Your Back
K.M. Moronova
Dark Forces, book two
ebook, 368 pages
audiobook, ~12 hours
Published December 9, 2025
ASIN B0F7GWK547
ISBN 9781464260162


Broken. Lost. Unforgiven.

One month after surviving the Under Trials, Emery Maves finds herself in a world she doesn't recognize―with a man whose cold eyes are haunted by secrets she can't remember. Stripped of her memories, Emery is tormented by dreams of danger, death, and deceit. The only constant is the lure of the experimental drug that shatters her mind but leaves her almost invincible―and the dangerous pull of the man called Mori.

Cameron Mortem is fighting a battle he thought he'd already lost. He knows letting Emery in could destroy them both, but her amnesia is a curse neither of them can outrun. Forced together on a high-stakes level black mission that goes disastrously wrong, they find themselves thrust deeply into the underworld of the black market with an unexpected foe.

But as old scars are torn open and hidden plots unravel, Emery discovers she's more tangled in this world than she ever imagined. And Cameron will have to face the one person he fears most: himself.

Loyalties will be tested. Secrets will be weaponized. Their bond―once forged in blood―may be the only thing that can save them. If they don't lose themselves first.

So... the author has gone far beyond her quota for using the adjective "veigny" and there's a hell of a lot of talk of cervixes and wombs for two people not trying to conceive offspring.

3 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

2025/59

Your Knife, My Heart (Dark Forces, #1)

You are the bearer of my soul.

Available at Amazon.com

Your Knife, My Heart
K.M. Moronova
Dark Forces, book one
audiobook, 9+ hours
ebook, 307 pages
Published November 11, 2025
ASIN B0F7GWD1PR


From USA Today Bestselling author KM Moronova comes a brand-new compelling and addictive dark romance in her Dark Forces world.

Dark. Deadly. Irresistible.

Cameron Mortem has a problem—he can’t stop killing his partners. Officially labeled clinically insane, he’s also one of the most lethal assets in the Dark Forces, a brutal underground military operation built on obedience, survival, and silence. But an experimental drug has fractured his control, making him a liability whenever someone else is on the field. As punishment, he’s thrown back into the Under Trials—a merciless boot camp designed to break the weak and sharpen the ruthless.

His one directive? Don’t kill the new girl.

Emery Maves narrowly escapes a death sentence after her own brutal crimes, only to find herself forced into the same violent world. Assigned to Cameron, she’s expected to survive the Trials and her partner's unstable nature. But Emery quickly realizes there’s more to Cameron than bloodlust and body counts. Beneath the madness lies a terrifying allure—and a strange, dangerous tenderness.

As the Trials push them to their limits, Emery must navigate the brutal demands of the Dark Forces while resisting the pull of a man who could just as easily kill her as protect her. And Cameron must fight the one urge he’s never been able to overcome.

Their bond is intoxicating, chaotic, and born of violence. And if it doesn’t destroy them both, it might just save them.

This was one hell of a pleasant surprise. Equally depraved and heart-achingly sweet.

I borrowed this audiobook for something to listen to while fluffing the branches of the Christmas tree only to find myself staring off into the void, my arms limp at my sides, with my mind thoroughly captivated by Cam and Em.

Mori and Morphine.

4 out of 5 stars. The romance is tender and the spice is dirty.

Available in ebook | audiobook | paperback

Next in the series:

2025/57

Dire Bound (Wolves of Ruin #1)

Welcome home, my queen.

Available at Amazon.com

Dire Bound
Sable Sorensen
Wolves of Ruin, book one
Kindle Edition, 682 pages
First published February 26, 2025
ISBN 9780316601405

Only the worthy survive the Bonding Trials. She’ll risk her life—and her heart—to be one of them.

Meryn Cooper has always hated the Bonded, elite warriors who form mental links with the massive, vicious direwolves they ride. While they live in luxury, Meryn struggles to keep her family out of poverty. When her little sister, Saela, is kidnapped—stolen across the border by the immortal monsters her country has spent centuries fighting—Meryn’s world falls apart.

Desperate to cross the front and save her sister, Meryn enlists in the army and is thrown into the deadly Bonding Trials, where any mistake will cost her life.

Now Meryn must survive four months of training at the castle. She is bound to a feral direwolf who refuses to communicate. The other trainees would love to spill her common blood. And her cold and beautiful instructor, Stark Therion, is eager to punish any weakness.

Everything is a competition, and everyone is out to get her—everyone except the dangerously handsome crown prince, whose attention adds another target to her back. In the castle, every smile hides a knife…and the halls hide dark secrets.

It’s bond or bleed. Duel or die. Failure is ruin.

Hunger Games meets Fourth Wing. That's what I was told. And they did not disappoint.

This will contain spoilers. You’ve been warned.

Meryn Cooper lives in a war torn world where the army and the Bonded, the king's elite warriors, face off against the Siphons, a vampire like enemy that has allegedly been abducting children for as long as Meryn can remember. Few have survived a Nabber's encounter, and those that are taken are never seen again.

Meryn is a fighter. Literally. It started ten years ago when her father was killed in the war and Meryn was left at twelve years old to care for her mentally ill mother and raise her newborn sister, Saela. She began picking fights with older boys in the alleys on a self destructive path that would have led to her death had Igor not taken her in under his tutelage and trained her properly. When her inherited job at the Laundry barely paid the bills, afforded her sister's tuition, or covered her mother's very necessary medication, Meryn turn to fighting professionally for the extra coin. She gained herself confidence, survival skills, and even a romantic partner that stood ready to patch her up once the fight was over.

That would be Lee. He works in the castle as a Messenger. He's a good guy. He supports her. He helps her take care of her family. He has zero apparent red flags. Which caused me to side eye the hell out of him because this is a fantasy romance so, obviously, he needed to go away.

With her mother's delusions worsening and the Nabber's strike closer than ever before, Meryn begins to train her sister and the local children in self defense, weighing the option of selling her skills to those of wealth and privilege in the Northern Quarter so that she may finally have the funds to get her family further out of harm's reach.

But then Saela is gone; taken in a moment of distraction. And when Meryn finally pulls herself out her depression and seclusion, she takes the only path left to her: she enlists in the army. Her goal is the front lines and a chance to make it past the border and recover her sister. 

Her timing is impeccable. For she enlists, unbeknownst to her, on the eve of the Bonding Trials. 

Bonding a Dire Wolf? Not the plan. Despite the magic she could tap into by doing so. She survives the Ascent, makes a few allies, and gets herself claimed by Anassa, a she-wolf far older than any of the other direwolves. It's the first time Anassa has ever bonded to a human and Meryn's ungrateful ass likely convinces Anassa to make it her last as well. 

Within this army are four packs that are separated based on their designations. The Phylax are the guardians. The Kryptos are the spies. The Strategos are the leaders and tacticians. And the Daemos are the warriors. Wolf determines pack. Anassa is Strategos so Meryn goes with the leaders.

And here we are offically introduced to the alpha of the Daemos: Stark Therion, and his dire wolf, Cratos. To which I respond: No.

No… no no. Nononono. Not this guy. This guy? This is the potential love interest? The guy who disemboweled a deserter in the middle of the street and, before the heart even stopped beating, threw the body to his direwolf as a snack? This guy.

But okay... Trust the process. 

And then there it was—the red flag.

I have never slammed my kindle shut so fast.

His name is Killian.

Crown. Prince. Killian.

And he would not be going away.

The absolute savagery. And it’s not just the wolves. Although… oof. But don’t fuck with Meryn. Unless you want your offending hand severed and shoved down your throat.

Oh, well. Earned herself a tat at least.

He leans down, his breath now hot against my neck. And his tongue streaks over my skin.

The alpha warrior, or the prince? The one that shoves you into battle, or the one that patches up the wounds when you return?

The man that delivers an all out attack the first time you’re alone together, or the man that watches over your ill mother and sees to the repairs of your dilapidated home?

Two very strong contenders. Both with their charms and their faults.

Stark, or Killian?

His Princess, or his Kitten?

Anassa certainly had an opinion.

I wasn’t feeling Stark at first. Not that he gave me much to work with. He’s basically skirting the light for half of the book, every so often serving as Meryn’s tattoo artist. But then Sorensen gives him a library.

And there I go slamming shut my kindle again. Because how am I anywhere but in Stark's corner after that?

But next I'm fighting the urge to throw the book across the room. And by the end, I had dropped it twice because: Mind. Blown.

Sure, any reader would have suspected the call was coming from inside the house. But the depth and breadth and length that these two men had traversed… The horse. The deserter. That dress. The dress that made her heart sing. The room, of all the rooms. You fucked up, Stark! And well played, Killian.

Well done, Annie and Eliza.

Make me your instrument of vengeance.
Let my hands act out your every savage, depraved thought.
Use me. I’m yours.

Hands up. Knees down. I submit.

5 out of 5 stars. This is the kind of book you want to flip back to the beginning and experience again.

Available in ebook | paperback | hardcover 

2025/07

Reckoning (Frost Station Alpha #6) by Ruby Lionsdrake

"Do you want to be mine now? Forever?"

Available at Amazon.com

Reckoning
Ruby Lionsdrake
Frost Station Alpha, part six
Kindle Edition, 54 pages
Published September 4th 2015
ASIN B014LQ18MW

Lieutenant Tamryn Pavlenko wants to make a name for herself in the GalCon Fleet, so naturally she requests an assignment on the infamous Frost Station Alpha, where pirate attacks are a way of life. The remote research outpost holds secrets that many are willing to kill for, and Tamryn is prepared to protect it from brigands, mobsters, and mercenaries—or whatever the galaxy throws at her.

The brochure, however, failed to mention the genetically engineered super humans who were supposed to have all been killed in a war that ended more than a century ago. It seems they’re not only alive, but they want the station. Oh, and one of them decides he wants Tamryn too.

This powerful warrior might be sexy and intriguing, but he was bred to kill, and she can’t let herself forget that he’s the enemy.

*Frost Station Alpha is a science fiction romance published in six parts.

Reckoning concludes the six installment Frost Station Alpha series with a fitting end to the romance between Makkon, a hunter duty-led to conquer and kill in order to save the lives of his dying race, and Tamryn, an equally determined solder, duty-bound to see him fail.

With the Fleet's arrival and Makkon's own president emerging onto the scene, the tension falls to the government and military to handle whatever negotiations can be had with the Glaciens. With Tamryn's objectivity obviously in question by her superiors, including her own father, she desperately turns to her grandfather, a financial lord with both money and political power, to pull the strings necessary to save both Makkon and his moon.

And it works. Because, yes, money can rule the world, and the universe.

And like all negotiations, such requires contracts. And sometimes, an arranged marriage between ruling parties ensures equal collaboration going forward.

Babies are just a bonus.

4 out of 5 stars.

Previously in the series:

Glaciem (Frost Station Alpha #5) by Ruby Lionsdrake

"There was no need to kill me. I was already yours by then."

Available at Amazon.com

Glaciem
Ruby Lionsdrake
Frost Station Alpha, part five
Kindle Edition, 43 pages
Published August 27th 2015
ASIN B014L85RIG

Lieutenant Tamryn Pavlenko wants to make a name for herself in the GalCon Fleet, so naturally she requests an assignment on the infamous Frost Station Alpha, where pirate attacks are a way of life. The remote research outpost holds secrets that many are willing to kill for, and Tamryn is prepared to protect it from brigands, mobsters, and mercenaries—or whatever the galaxy throws at her.

The brochure, however, failed to mention the genetically engineered super humans who were supposed to have all been killed in a war that ended more than a century ago. It seems they’re not only alive, but they want the station. Oh, and one of them decides he wants Tamryn too.

This powerful warrior might be sexy and intriguing, but he was bred to kill, and she can’t let herself forget that he’s the enemy.

*Frost Station Alpha is a science fiction romance published in six parts.

Oooooo, Makkon's desperation leads him to make some major mistakes in part five's Glaciem. With the Fleet's impending arrival to take back control of the station, and likely murder Makkon and each of this men in cold blood, Makk grabs Tamryn against her will and steals his escape aboard the very vessel he arrived on. Brax and the others are, by default, abandoned to survive until, and if, the ransom for Tamryn can be met.

Unfortunately for Makkon, his last minute decision is met with ill regard from those in authority among his people. And while Tamyn's initial reaction to this whole fiasco is to escape him-especially after he threatens her very father to use her as breeding stock-her ultimate goal is to help save those whom the rest of the galaxy has rejected and forgotten.

And then one of the Glaciens goes rogue and Tamryn's chance at escape ends up being the last thing she wants.

4 out of 5 stars.

Previously in the series:

Contagion (Frost Station Alpha #4) by Ruby Lionsdrake

"It's totally inappropriate, and I know nothing can ever come of it,

but I'm falling in love with you, woman."

Available at Amazon.com

Contagion
Ruby Lionsdrake
Frost Station Alpha, part four
Kindle Edition, 68 pages
Published August 20th 2015
ASIN B0147VZ0P2

Lieutenant Tamryn Pavlenko wants to make a name for herself in the GalCon Fleet, so naturally she requests an assignment on the infamous Frost Station Alpha, where pirate attacks are a way of life. The remote research outpost holds secrets that many are willing to kill for, and Tamryn is prepared to protect it from brigands, mobsters, and mercenaries—or whatever the galaxy throws at her.

The brochure, however, failed to mention the genetically engineered super humans who were supposed to have all been killed in a war that ended more than a century ago. It seems they’re not only alive, but they want the station. Oh, and one of them decides he wants Tamryn too.

This powerful warrior might be sexy and intriguing, but he was bred to kill, and she can’t let herself forget that he’s the enemy.

*Frost Station Alpha is a science fiction romance published in six parts.

Yes! A love confession! And some more hot smut... all in the confines of their shared prison.

The scientists manage to gas the place and Tamryn gives aid in subduing Makkon into a freezer cell, where she, too, is placed since everyone seems to have witnessed the tender kisses she shared with the enemy. Of course, they don't know if she can be trusted at this point.

So the tides turn in this installment only for a short time. By the end, Tamryn is once more Makkon's prisoner. And, once again, the two are at odds.

4 out of 5 stars.


Previously in the series:

Pirates (Frost Station Alpha #3) by Ruby Lionsdrake

This was not the time for revelations,
but it suddenly occurred to him that he might be falling in love with this woman.

Available at Amazon.com

Pirates
Ruby Lionsdrake
Frost Station Alpha, part three
Kindle Edition, 41 pages
Published August 12th 2015
ASIN B013VW2WEA

Lieutenant Tamryn Pavlenko wants to make a name for herself in the GalCon Fleet, so naturally she requests an assignment on the infamous Frost Station Alpha, where pirate attacks are a way of life. The remote research outpost holds secrets that many are willing to kill for, and Tamryn is prepared to protect it from brigands, mobsters, and mercenaries—or whatever the galaxy throws at her.

The brochure, however, failed to mention the genetically engineered super humans who were supposed to have all been killed in a war that ended more than a century ago. It seems they’re not only alive, but they want the station. Oh, and one of them decides he wants Tamryn too.

This powerful warrior might be sexy and intriguing, but he was bred to kill, and she can’t let herself forget that he’s the enemy.

*Frost Station Alpha is a science fiction romance published in six parts.

When a pirate attack puts Tamryn and Makkon, and his men, on the same side, Tamryn goes from hostage to teammate in a blink. It's a temporary truce, unspoken and delicate, as even Makkon keeps a wary eye on her as she arms herself with dead men's guns. When grenade shrapnel leaves each of them pulling metal from their flesh, even Tamyn manages a brave pull-it-and-drop-it reaction to the blow. Thus earning a shred of Brax's respect and a prideful kiss on the head from Makk.

They return to find the scientists have overpowered Zarr and disappeared into one of the lower levels, now with a hostage of their own.

And to top it all off was my favorite scene thus far: the first honest kiss between Makk and Tamryn. The lead up was such a mesmerizing display of Makkon's vulnerability towards Tamryn. As he cleans and bandages her wound, Makk lets out a long confession of his men's desperation to find resources to save his dying people.

And finally, Tamryn allows herself to be sympathetic to his plight.

5 out of 5 stars.

Previously in the series:

Seduction (Frost Station Alpha #2) by Ruby Lionsdrake

His mouth opened, drawing her in, tasting her back.
Gently, warmly, not like a plundering pirate
but like a friend, a lover, someone who cared.

Available at Amazon.com

Seduction
Ruby Lionsdrake
Frost Station Alpha, part two
Kindle Edition, 55 pages
Published August 7th 2015
ASIN B013LEDPVC

Lieutenant Tamryn Pavlenko wants to make a name for herself in the GalCon Fleet, so naturally she requests an assignment on the infamous Frost Station Alpha, where pirate attacks are a way of life. The remote research outpost holds secrets that many are willing to kill for, and Tamryn is prepared to protect it from brigands, mobsters, and mercenaries—or whatever the galaxy throws at her.

The brochure, however, failed to mention the genetically engineered super humans who were supposed to have all been killed in a war that ended more than a century ago. It seems they’re not only alive, but they want the station. Oh, and one of them decides he wants Tamryn too.

This powerful warrior might be sexy and intriguing, but he was bred to kill, and she can’t let herself forget that he’s the enemy.

*Frost Station Alpha is a science fiction romance published in six parts.

After a where-the-hell-is-a-fan-at seduction tease closing up part one, part two manages to increase the heat with Tamryn's turn at rendering our dear Makkon just about brainless as she simultaneously takes him near orgasm while setting up a killing blow to his femoral artery. And what does it get her? An even higher standing in Makkon's regard. The man doesn't see betrayal in the act, but discovers a new level of respect for a fellow survivor.

These two are true soldiers in the most romanticized of ways. Both highly deadly, hesitant to compromise, and damned-be-all-else willing to do just about anything to get the task done. And while Makkon only delves into the darker aspect of his wants and desires in his fantasies, having the honor of a good man with all the instincts of a predator, it is apparently not beneath Tamryn to whore herself when absolutely necessary.

And still the mantra reigns: He wants her to want him. He wants her to understand.

5 out of 5 stars.

Previously in the series:

Hunted (Frost Station Alpha #1) by Ruby Lionsdrake

Because you think she's pretty and like the way she shot you.

Available at Amazon.com

Hunted
Ruby Lionsdrake
Frost Station Alpha, part one
Kindle Edition, 78 pages
Published August 7th 2015
ASIN B013M3LJ42

Lieutenant Tamryn Pavlenko wants to make a name for herself in the GalCon Fleet, so naturally she requests an assignment on the infamous Frost Station Alpha, where pirate attacks are a way of life. The remote research outpost holds secrets that many are willing to kill for, and Tamryn is prepared to protect it from brigands, mobsters, and mercenaries—or whatever the galaxy throws at her.

The brochure, however, failed to mention the genetically engineered super humans who were supposed to have all been killed in a war that ended more than a century ago. It seems they’re not only alive, but they want the station. Oh, and one of them decides he wants Tamryn too.

This powerful warrior might be sexy and intriguing, but he was bred to kill, and she can’t let herself forget that he’s the enemy.

*Frost Station Alpha is a science fiction romance published in six parts.

What an action-packed, amazing start from this six part book from Lionsdrake! I knew she was great from the Mandrake Company, but it's nice to find that this author has many a good story to tell.

After one hundred-fifty years in stasis, Makkon emerges from his cryonic slumber with clear orders: Take over a specific military base controlled by the very government that created and destroyed his people, or die trying. With a small hunting team, he manages a rather successful, guns blazing attack with numerous dead bodies lying about only to be led on a wild chase through the tubes and tunnels of the station on the heels of the communications tech, Tamryn. She's intelligent, brazen, and smells so good that Makkon can't help but fall off his game and by the end of the hunt, Makk takes not one, but two wounds, from the defiant female. His brothers are in awe of her spunk. Well, except for Rebek and Makk's co-commander, Brax. They just want her dead.

I liked Makkon. Even better, I loved his men.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Letter (Calendar Men #7)

"And all I want to do is make you mine."

Available at Amazon.com

The Letter
Mina Carter
Calendar Men, book seven
ebook, 53 pages
Published July 1st 2014 by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC
ISBN 9781613337066

Sergeant Rick Week’s career ended in a hail of bullets and the death of a friend. After months of recuperation, he’s finally able to fulfill a promise he made to that friend. All he has to do is find a girl and deliver a letter. Simple. Maybe…

Hattie Jameson lost the man she loved. KIA. A year and a half later, she’s trying to move on but a letter for a charity calendar shoot addressed to her late fiance, Billy, rocks her. Not as much as the sexy as hell Scottish soldier who turns up on her doorstep. The man who was with Billy when he died. She shouldn’t find him attractive. Not at all…

Meanwhile fate, and Billy himself, have plans to bring the reluctant lovers together.

A short, sweet, and sexy read. With a Scot. *sigh*

There's something about a man picking out his replacement for when he's dead and gone that's just plain creepy. It's one thing to say, tell your best friend to take care of your woman, but it's a whole other 'wtf, were you thinking' to send an utter stranger to do it. You knew the guy for a day, Billy!

And your woman fell for him after a week.

Sheesh!

You know a story is written by a die hard romantic when happily ever after comes with no rhyme or reason preceding it.

3 out of 5 stars.

In the Air Tonight: Shadow Force #3

In the Air Tonight
Stephanie Tyler
Shadow Force, book three
ebook, 352 pages
Published August 2nd 2011 by Random House Publishing Group
ISBN 9780440423041

With danger closing in, all they have is each other.

Haunted by a mission he barely survived, Delta Force operative Mace Stevens still carries a soldier’s burden. Running a small bar in upstate New York, he remains a stone-cold warrior who guards dangerous secrets and stays ready for anything. Anything except beautiful, vulnerable Paige Grayson, who shows up at his door, demanding answers about her heroic stepbrother’s death under his command.

Paige bears burdens, too. She’s plagued by demons unleashed by an older brother who committed mass murder before her eyes. But here in this snowy haven with Mace, she almost feels safe from the menacing promises of her insane sibling. As a nurse whose hands can read the deepest thoughts of anyone she touches, Paige knows that Mace needs her as desperately as she needs Mace. And when a faceless killer begins unleashing fresh terror, Mace proves just how far he will go to save the woman who means everything to him.

There it is again. That feeling that I've missed something. But oh no, not this time. I *know* the author is just screwing with me. How? Because here, in book three, two of the people that hooked up in the previous book aren't even together anymore!

After Paige suffers being held hostage at gunpoint for the second time in her young life, she needs an escape. Contemplating her options, the words of her deceased step-brother, Gray, comes back to her -Go to Mace. Mace will take care of you. So she does, with the need to know just how her loved one died driving her forward.

In The Air Tonight reunites Cameron and Dylan, whom I loved, and even Cael, whom I did not. Mace, too, is haunted by Gray's death and by the memories of his own torture by the bastards responsible. Meanwhile, Cael is suffering from memory loss and fears that he may be the one guilty of Gray's murder... and the one who actually sliced Mace's throat.

I didn't care for Cael in the last book and I didn't care much more for him here. At first I thought it was Vivienne's fault because Caleb was way better when he was being an asshole soldier than when he was acting the lover... and the whole re-visiting his story just solidified my opinion that the second book really wasn't worth reading. You'll get an entire recap of Cael and Vivi here. But, then the story went on and I realized something else. He's a copycat character. Every damn time they went to bed, it was a mirror image of what Mace and Paige had done, albeit a tad tweaked. And it was the same in book two with Zane and Olivia. Every freaking position is duplicated. One right after a damn other.

His portion of the story gets 1 star. Mace's gets 4 stars. And I'm only a little sorry for being so harsh, but I've come to expect better from Tyler.

The next book up is going to offer Kell's story. Kell was MIA for much of this one, but showed up just in time to elicit some serious curiosity. Reid was present throughout and you can wager I'll definitely be following him into book four. =)

Promises in the Dark: Shadow Force #2

Promises in the Dark
Stephanie Tyler
Shadow Force, book two
ebook, 368 pages
Published November 23rd 2010 by Random House Publishing Group
ISBN 9780440339724


On the run, in each other’s arms, with one last chance to survive.

A rugged Navy SEAL, Zane Scott was part of a failed mission to rescue Dr. Olivia Strohm from abduction by the terrorist group Dead Man’s Hand—and her anguished screams have haunted him ever since. So when he gets word that the beautiful physician has escaped from her captors in Africa, he’s got personal reasons to storm the continent and save her.

Like her would-be liberator, Olivia carries the burden of a dark secret from her past. Ruthless and relentless, the DMH has threatened to hunt her down—and to systematically hurt anyone she’s close to. The last thing she wants is to be rescued—even by someone as shockingly handsome as Zane. Yet the hotheaded special ops hero has come for her, and together she and Zane just might have a shot at not only stopping DMH’s reign of terror, but also saving what’s left of their souls.

Admittedly, I don't recall much from book one, save for that I enjoyed the hell out of it. Certainly have no memory of Zane or Cael but because this story seems to pick right in the middle of an epic mission, I'll wager we've dabbled a little into their lives once before. Or so I hope.

Olivia's screams as she was taken prisoner by DMH have haunted Zane for months. Determined to rescue the lady doctor, he's returned to the country where he spent his youth on the streets, stealing to survive. He finds her and completes his task, only to discover she's not really up to being saved at all. She knows things, and going home to family and friends would just put them all in danger.

Meanwhile, we have Cael who is Dylan and Zane's brother (Zane's adopted) as he and his fellow Army pals abduct a woman who may or may not have acted as a traitor to her country. That whole plot revolved around Vivienna trying to hack her father's computer program and I was bored out of my mind during every snippet.

What gives? How does something as lackluster as this follow something as amazing as Lie With Me? The action in this book is so downplayed that there really isn't any action at all. The sex is abrupt. The emotions are rushed. And I spent the entire time waiting for something to happen. That 'something' ended up being that it ended. 2 out of 5 stars.

Previous books in the series:

Shadow Hawk

Shadow Hawk
Jill Shalvis
Mass Market Paperback, 256 pages
Published June 1st 2007 by Harlequin
ISBN: 9780373793334

The deadliest combo is a killer body— with a lover's touch!

When his latest mission turns into a bloodbath, ATF officer JT Hawk realizes he's been set up by someone at the top. Wounded and on the run, he has no choice but to take beautiful Abby Wells hostage. After all, she's in danger, too. And if the only way to keep the fiercely independent communications expert safe is to cuff her and bring her along for the ride, he'll do it. With pleasure, even.

Only, given their close contact, it's not long before Hawk's thinking about a totally different kind of pleasure...

Thank you, Redd from The Wyld Hollow, for passing this book on to me.

Shadow Hawk kicked off with just the right combination of humor and sex appeal that I wasn't sure whether to sit up straight and pay good attention, or lean back and get nice and comfy. From there, I don't see how any more action could have fit onto the pages. Non-stop and so fast paced that I felt like I was reading alternate realities at times, scenes were so jumpy that they didn't even match. One minute Ab is watching Hawk shooting Gaines point blank and the next Hawk is on his back with Gaines' foot on his throat. And apparently he'd been there quite a while. No Abby in sight. Hmmm...

But slow things down and orbit the world around Abby and Hawk for a while and that's when things get yummy.

It's amazing what all can happen in one night. And equally astonishing how one can keep up the humor through it all. Hawk is an artist when it comes to quick retorts and sarcasm while the heavy tension between he and Abby is bubbling with hot, spicy need. Oh my, just jump each other already.

Do note that there is no J.T. Hawk as the blurb suggests. There is Conner Hawk and J.T. Logan- both of which we follow in this book. Nice job, Ms Blurb-writer-woman.

I enjoyed getting a taste of Logan but, truth be told, his entire side story was just plain filler. It didn't help things that I didn't care much at all for his woman, Callen. Could a girl be any easier? Take a lesson from Abby, dear. You gotta make 'em suffer for it. 4 out of 5 stars.

Stay still, he reminded himself.
    The hardest thing he'd ever done.
    "Okay," she whispered, answering some unspoken question in her own head. The she dipped her head and nearly, but not quite, touched her lips to his.
    And then stopped.
    He didn't move either, just did his best to keep breathing so he wouldn't pass out and miss something good.
    And then, as if he'd somehow passed a final test he hadn't ever seen coming, she licked her lips and kissed him.
    Killed him.
    Same thing.

No Place To Run: KGI #2

* This post contains spoilers *

No Place To Run
Maya Banks
KGI, book 2
Kindle Edition, 352 pages
Published December 7th 2010 by Berkley
ASIN B0049H9ARO

Sam Kelly was her first love.

The last person Sam Kelly expected to pull wounded from the lake was Sophie Lundgren. Once they shared a brief, intense affair while Sam was undercover and then she vanished. She's spent the last months on the run, knowing that any mistake would cost her life and that of her unborn child—Sam's child. Now she's resurfaced with a warning for Sam: this time, he's the one in danger.

Now he's her last chance.

Sam has too many questions to let her slip away again—like why she disappeared in the first place. This time he vows not to be seduced. But one look in her eyes, and the passion burns again, and Sam knows he’ll do anything to keep her and his child safe. However, Sophie’s dark past is more dangerous than he imagines, and the only way for either to survive it is to outrun it.

Another touchdown for the KGI series!

And it's a football analogy because baseball's homerun version didn't necessarily apply. I got a lot of frustration out of this one. Sam developed a tendency to annoy me and Sophie... well, I just didn't believe in her the way I did Rachel.

Sophie met Sam Kally, the eldest of the Kelly brothers, a number of months ago while playing spy for her father. She fell in love and bed with the guy and not necessarily in that order. With the intensity of her emotions fueling her, Sophia finally finds the will to escape her father and with cold blood staining her hands proceeds to spend the next five months running for her life. Pregnant all the while.

When she can't handle the constant moving and evading anymore, Sophie finally runs to Sam for protection for herself and their unborn daughter. When the evil forces that are giving chase take Sam's mother as hostage things get even more serious. Especially on top of Sam's father's suffering of a heart attack.

All brothers are back in action. Even Ethan and Rachel can't stay away. And Rusty is still the strange tag along to the family. Still waiting on Sean's purpose. He's not enough of a man for PJ so he basically lacks any purpose whatsoever with me. Wouldn't mind if he took a bullet and disappeared altogether. Harsh, I know.(PJ is the only female member of KGI, or what may be a team that only assists KGI)

LOVED Kyle Philips' entrance. The moment he said his name I was like ahlright!

The most disappointing little tidbit of this story was the fact that Sophie had a girl. This from a man who descends from a guy who sired six sons. I feel Sam got jipped. Though I have nothing against grand-daughters. 4 out of 5 stars.

Garrett is next. A guy with a serious weakness for women. But it's a good weakness. He's very close to Rachel and he nearly gave his life for Sophie. Still... I'm looking forward to Donovan's story the most. He being the favored son and all. =)

The Kelly's

Frank & Marlene - the parents

Sam (former Army) w/Sophie [bk 2]

Donovan (former Marine)

Garrett (former Marine)

Ethan (former Navy) w/Rachel [bk 1]

Nathan & Joe (active Army, fraternal twins)

Other reviews from this series
- The Darkest Hour (KGI #1): Ethan & Rachel's story

Jimmy: Red, Hot, & Blue #3

Jimmy
Red, Hot, & Blue #3
ebook
Published October 19th 2010 by Samhain Publishing
ISBN13 9781609282295

Social butterfly and a soldier in the Special Forces—a match made in…bed.

Special Forces gave Jimmy Gordon the undercover skills of a chameleon, but nothing prepared him for Amelia Monroe-Carrington, the governor’s hot, redheaded daughter. She thought she was seducing a banquet waiter, and he let her.

His next assignment pulled him from her bed and into the worst six months of his life. Images of Lia were what kept him alive imprisoned in Kosovo, and even now he’s home and recovered, she’s still in his head.

For her father’s political career, Lia has always done the appropriate thing, right down to dating a senator’s son. Her one rebellious act, an incredible night with a totally inappropriate man, ended when he disappeared. And then never called.

When they unexpectedly meet again, the pull between them is stronger than ever, tempting Lia to stop sacrificing her own happiness for the family dynasty.


This book has been previously published and has been revised and expanded from its original release.


Warning: Contains incredible one-night-stand sex hot enough to withstand time, distance, and some really nasty terrorist torture.

So Trey moved at a moderate pace in the relationship department, given the circumstances anyway. Jack moved slower than a lame turtle when he finally took his eyes off Carly and fastened them to Nicky. Now, Jimmy takes off at lightning speed as he throws himself in bed with the governor's daughter the first night he meets her.

Okay, so to his credit, Lia was the aggressor. And yet, two things: One, with each book that comes in this series, I like Jack less and less. (I actually rooted for him in book one. Now I want to use him for target practice) Secondly, I'm just not a fan of the Gordon brothers at all. It's the southern drawl, I tell you. The story itself is great. The heat level is so-so. The graphic details are left out and the biggest rush is the fast pace. The characters are amusing, in a cheesy sense of the word, but you still want to smile as they find their HEA. 3 out of 5 stars.

Jared, the youngest of the Gordon brothers is the focus of the next book and I am *still* waiting for the computer god's story! Come on! Show Matt some love!!

The Darkest Hour: KGI #1

It’s been one year since ex-Navy SEAL Ethan Kelly last saw his wife Rachel alive. Overwhelmed by grief and guilt over his failures as a husband, Ethan shuts himself off from everything and everyone.

His brothers have tried to bring Ethan into the KGI fold, tried to break through the barriers he’s built around himself, but Ethan refuses to respond …until he receives an anonymous phone call claiming Rachel is alive.

To save her, Ethan will have to dodge bullets, cross a jungle, and risk falling captive to a deadly drug cartel that threatens his own demise. And even if he succeeds, he’ll have to force Rachel to recover memories she can’t and doesn’t want to relive—the minute by minute terror of her darkest hour—for their love, and their lives, may depend on it.

Ethan Kelly has failed in his marriage. On so many levels. His wife is dead. And their relationship was in shambles long before she died.

He's spent a year mourning the loss, barely living at all. Yearning for a chance to make it right. On the anniversary of the day her plane went down, Ethan receives a package with a note telling him Rachel is alive and enough evidence to make him believe it to be true.

But once he has her back he is torn between wanting her to remember their life together, and praying she won't.

I read this story with a fury. Seriously.

This book is evidence of precisely why I am a fan of Maya Banks. She writes military romance like no freaking other. It's got more action that an entire summer of movie blockbusters and the right amount of emotion to send your heart plummeting until soaring with hope and love for every single character you come across.

And just a note, because I know I'm going to need this when the next book comes out in December (No Place to Run (A KGI Novel)) of this year and the third in March (Hidden Away (A KGI Novel))of 2011.

The Kelly's

Frank & Marlene - the parents

Sam (former Army)

Donovan (former Marine)

Garrett (former Marine)

Ethan (former Navy) w/Rachel

Nathan & Joe (active Army, fraternal twins)

Renegade: Elite Ops#5

As a bridal shop owner, Mikayla Martin helps make women’s wedding dreams come true. Her own life, however, has become a nightmare since she witnessed a murder—and got an up-close-and-personal look at the killer. What’s worse: She knows she knows him. But the police, after doing an alibi check, don’t believe her. It’s up to Mikayla to prove them wrong…and do whatever it takes to solve the murder by herself.

Elite Ops agent Nikolai Steele, code name Renegade, is asked to pay an old comrade a favor. This friend swears he’s no killer—and Nik believes him—even though he’s been mistaken as one by Mikayla. So Nik goes to set her straight…but the moment he lays eyes on the fiery and determined beauty, he knows he’s in too deep. A woman this irresistible can only mean trouble and, sure enough, after sticking her nose in one too many places, someone wants Mikayla dead. Now Nik must find a way to keep her safe, clear his friend’s name, and find the real killer, who remains on the loose…

Not only is Mikayla one of those women that long for love, marriage, children, the white picket fence and that whole sha-bang, she's also a twenty-six year old virgin. *This* is a character I would have written once. Aside from the whole owning a bridal shop thing. Too cheesy. Even for me.

I did however have a great curiosity emerge as to how Nik would measure up to her fantasy man. Sweet Eros, but her standards are high. And well... he's an assassin with a high price and doesn't give discounts easy. He's never met a virgin before and it blew his mind to discover they even still exist in this world. And yet, I do give him credit. He probably had one of the best guy fantasies I've ever read:

If she was five four it would shock the hell out of him. That long mass of straight, thick dark blond hair was the kind men dreamed of. Hair that would wrap around a man, hold him to her, bind him.

Nik grimaced, his fingers going to his dick as warm water sluiced down his body.

As tiny as she was, he could think of nothing but seeing her above him, lowering herself on the heavy shaft of his cock, her cries of pleasure echoing around him. Her pussy would be snug. His fingers tightened on his cock at the thought. She'd be hot and slick. He'd make sure she was wet enough to take him, but she would still feel the bite of erotic pleasure-pain.

Her face would flush. Would those amethyst eyes darken? Hell yeah, they would.

He stroked his fingers over the heavy shaft as he imagined her taking him, easing her hot little pussy down the thick stalk of his dick as her heavenly lashed eyelashes fluttered in pleasure.

He'd watch her. His fingers tightened further. He'd have to watch her take his cock. Watch plump, flushed folds of flesh part for the wide crest as she worked herself down it. Her heavy juices would coat his shaft, ease along it to the tight sack of his balls.

His jaw tightened at the thought as heated water ran over the taut sack.

God, he could get into fucking her.

It goes on a while. Definitely worth checking out!

I do love some strong language. And while I do believe there's a time and place for it, a book is certainly one of those places. And damn, Renegade had enough of it! Though let me point out that it is tastefully done. If curse words can be described in such a way. =)


And oooh oooh oooh! If I ever needed someone to get me some information, I would *so* have Tehya on my team. Nik asked for a little 411 on one Mikayle Martin and the chick comes back not only with the typical stuff, but with gynecological records. The wench is thorough! Who on this earth would think to need gynecological records???

How did a man go about convincing a fairy that fairy tales don't exist?

I often had to put my feelings in check. Instincts had me wanting to fillet Mikayla as she breathed. Nik too was asking for a little bloodshed. I loved his terms of endearments but that fairy crap was pushing my buttons. The quote above was the best and only I could tolerate after a while.

They were things about this book I absolutely adored. And then there were times it was just excruciatingly painful to read. Too often repetitive, the story could have ended multiple times instead of veering to the left and dragging on. Hell it could have ended at thirty percent and I would have been a very happy little lady. But, all in all, it was the reveal of the killer that disappointed me the most.


Elite Ops series: