The Dawn of Darkness (The Supernaturals #2)

Dawn of Darkness
Elle Chardou
Supernaturals, book two
Kindle Edition, 130 pages
Published July 3rd 2012

The Pureblood Lycan...
Jolie Gasquet and her brother, Julien "Jules" Gasquet, share more in common than they would ever admit. A female version of her brother, she is strong, tough and determined to prove she is no man's prize to win over. Not even Desmond Augustin, her supposed mate and the Lycan she is destined to make a life with despite their lack of a bond or love.

The Sidhe Vampire...
Sasha Galloway works as an enforcer for the International Vampire Council. He also happens to be the son of a very powerful Council member, William Galloway, however his heritage is far from from unblemished due to a Sidhe mother who hides dangerous secrets that makes him the perfect tool for the Council but inadequate as he is of mixed blood.

Fated...
Jolie and Sasha meet at The Vamp Blood Bar in Baton Rouge. The attraction is instant but their connection is so much more than skin deep. How can a werewolf and a vampire bond so deeply and are they to be mates for life? The power and passion of their feelings has no boundaries and soon, they find out, neither do they...not when it comes to one another.

WARNING: This is paranormal romance novella with sexy good times, smokin' hot werewolves, ultra cool vampires, blood and explicit language. Gore and closed door sex scenes? Not this time.

This world is one I'm having a bit of trouble getting a grasp on. True mates have meaning and value, unless its someone tainted or below your status then grandma has no qualms about cutting the claim right out of your flesh.

Jolie found her mate years ago, but, according to her grandmother, he's an abomination and she's never to be near him again. She was then paired to Desmond whom she feels nothing for. They're not mated, and if Jolie has her way they never will be.

This story starts off in a time before the first book as her brother Jules is with another girl and if you ask me, this should have been book one. Much better flow. And they're certainly more informative. Would have saved me a hell of a lot of confusion with the whole Lycans are not shifters debacle.

But then... Sasha gave me his own moment of "huh?" when he explained that a virgin woman once turned vampire will remain a virgin forever. And then there was the pink pre-cum. Things were spiraling quickly.

Jolie is a virgin. A dirty one anyway. And she's also bisexual, which appears all women of this series have the tendency toward exploring homosexuality. And they smoke.

Gah. By the end I really couldn't find anything worth recommending about this read.

1 out of 5 stars.

Previously in this series:

Neon Chaos: End of Days #2

Neon Chaos
Karen Erickson
End of Days, book two
ebook
Published (first published November 1st 2011)

A one-night stand turns into a partnership for survival…

Party girl Samantha Sanders is celebrating her thirtieth birthday in style—a road trip to Las Vegas for a long weekend with her girlfriends. Staying in the swankiest hotel on the strip, she’s naked and in bed with the sexiest guy she’s ever laid eyes on when the clock strikes twelve. Who knew the world would really end December 21, 2012? Those Mayans, they weren’t lyin’…

Russ Weaver is above all else a soldier. Looking for a little fun before spending Christmas with his crazy family, a weekend on leave in Vegas unexpectedly turns into his newest mission——protecting the sweet, scared woman he happens to be in bed with when the world as they know it is over.

Wandering throughout the virtually abandoned streets of Vegas, the fine city has turned into a war zone. Their only hope to get out alive is to stick together—and fight those who wish to cease their endeavors. Permanently.

Warning: It’s not all doom and gloom. A sexy man who’s a fierce protector, a sassy woman with fortitude of steel, these two stick together through it all. Watch the sparks fly—true love does endure. I promise.

Oh yeah. Insult my alcoholic beverage of choice. That'll get you laid.

Guys think it's charming to insult women's tropical drinks. And apparently, most women think it's cute. I don't. And I can't figure out why they do. Oh, sure, you're a big strong man for drinking *beer*.

Aliens aren't exactly how I expect the world to go, and if absolutely nothing happens on December 21st, I'm going to be pissed. That's how things go down here, and Samantha and Russ find themselves, inexplicably, the only people still roaming around now that most of Las Vegas is in mass destruction and strange aircrafts are stalking the skies.

This story plays shamelessly into the cliche of alien invasion and the whole plot of impregnating our females to save their dying superior race. It didn't help that Erickson's own characters had to constantly throw in how badly this sounded like an awful science fiction movie. And I do mean *constantly*.

I'm typically a fan of Erickson's and this certainly doesn't damper that, but... Damn, this was so not a great read. The teaser at the end, for Brighid's Cross (book three), however, was. Despite its poor reviews on Goodreads, I liked what I saw and plan to be reading it soon.

2 out of 5 stars.

Previously in this series:

Reaper: End of Days #1

Reaper
Mina Carter
End of Days, book one
ebook, 120 pages
Published November 1st 2011 by Samhain Publishing
ISBN 9781609286309


The World after the End of the World will never be the same again…

Sanctuary. Clichéd name, but the sentiment is still the same. Ten years after the end of the world, ex-soldier Mason and a small group of humans defend their fortified town against creatures of myth and legend made real. But with dwindling game to hunt and a lycan pack in the area looking for an easy meal, just surviving is getting harder every day.

Andy has a few screws loose, and she knows it. She’s been on the road since the bombs fell and changed humanity forever. Driven by inhuman instincts, she tracks the newly and soon-to-be dead and dispatches their souls to the afterlife. Sometimes they go quietly, most put up a fight. She doesn’t care either way. Her ambition in life is to find her next hit of coffee and one day, maybe, sleep in a real bed again.

Then Andy’s instincts bring her to Sanctuary and its enigmatic leader, Mason, and even the world after the end of the world will never be the same again…

Warning: Contains a snarky female Reaper with a hair-trigger temper and a caffeine addiction, a hot ex-commando with an attitude and a twisted sense of humour and a happily ever after that defies death itself.

The Walking Dead, season three, kicked off two weeks ago so I'm in a let-the-world-end kind of mood.

The bombs have dropped and the majority of the population have been changed. Werewolves, vampires, ghouls, banshees and more now walk what's left of the Earth.

Andy is a reaper of souls. After Armageddon, she found herself to be immortal... after trying to commit suicide three times and since then, ten years ago, she's been on the move and her travels have finally brought her to Sanctuary.

And she's impressed by all she finds. From the many sigils and wards set up to protect the town from Lycans, Vamps, and so on to the lead defender himself, Mason.

A former soldier (and no, not one of ours), Mason is capable of seeing a person's soul-and yet he claims to be a mere human through and through. When he first meets Andy as she makes a stop in their town, he's confounded. He doesn't know what she is. Only that her soul is black. He and the other town guards send her on her way, and long into the night he regrets it.

And he doesn't let her go just once. After the second time, truly convinced he's an idiot, he finally seeks her out. Easily rising to her dare of a kiss.

Mason is yummy. From the moment they met, Andy wanted him. In that 'what the hell has gotten into me' way and the man does not disappoint. Nor does he fail what has become a necessary test in my book. What's the first thing a guy should do once lying atop his woman?

Score one for Mase!

But then... The guy spends one damn night away from town and the morons get attacked. Their children are taken by a psychotic alpha werewolf and to get them back, he wants Mason's head on a stake. And they shoot him! With multiple shotguns!!

And get this, the dude does not die.

And he's still convinced he's human.

I still don't know what he his. Even after he comes back from the dead. Another slap on the face was the giant leap at the end. Six months! And no one burned his body? WHAT?!

I had to re-read. Had to try that again. Surely I missed something. But sadly, the words didn't change the second time I read them.Did Amazon send me a defected copy perhaps?

3 out of 5 stars.

Darkness Rising: The Supernaturals #1

Darkness Rising
Elle Chardou
Kindle Edition, 106 pages
Published June 21st 2012 by Midnight Engel Press
ASIN B008DXUZ0G


A Pureblood...
Julien Gasquet belongs to the notorious Lycan clan, the Gasquet Pack based in New Orleans. After a vicious argument, he storms out of the compound and decides to spend the night with his sister, Jolie, in Baton Rouge.

A Half-breed...
Martina Beauchamp is considered an abomination to the Lycans as she isn't a pureblood and doesn't have a pack to call her own. She meets Julien after a horrifying incident forces her to flee her home and her car breaks down in the parking lot next to his truck.

Destined...
The attraction Julien and Martina experience from the moment they meet isn't about lust or a one night stand. However, when the pack is involved in every decision a werewolf makes, is a happy ending at all possible?

WARNING: This is paranormal romance novella with sexy good times, smokin' hot werewolves, toned bodies and explicit language. Blood, gore and closed door sex scenes? Not this time.

Color me a bright neon CONFUSED. Lycans that hate shape shifters? Say what??

So yeah, I hear "shape shifters" and my mind instantly goes Wolf Shifter. As if there should be any other kind? But no, shifters here are just that. They can take any animal form.

Jules and Martina meet on a plain awful night. Jules is tired of professionally fighting for his stepfather and Martina nearly gets raped by her own stepfather. A testament to step parents this book is definitely not.

Anyway, Jules plays the hero, or as he calls it 'a proper southern gentlemen' and offers Martina a place to stay for the night at his sister's apartment which he is en route to.

Another detour- southern gentlemen are mythical creatures. Just FYI.

Things get, for lack of a better word, *whack* from there. We get a quick history lesson. Jules claims he'd rather go mateless than ever bond to a shifter or a vamp but goes completely one eighty when he proclaims he's been fighting her scent all night, she's the one, and he's claiming her right now.

Martina wasn't the only one caught off guard. Flabbergasted is more like it on my end. She's half shifter-half lycan. And as Jules' sister tells it, Jules can stop her aging (since there's Lycan blood in her) and complete her transformation. The latter of which he does immediately. Then there's a completely uncalled for argument and the two are at odds for the night. Sheesh. Drah-muh!

She runs away from him more than once and he never chases. He also tells her if she wants to go, he'd let her. Not a very possessive mate is he.

2 out of 5 stars.