Covers to Covet

Black Fallen

(Dark Ink Chronicles # 4)

by Elle Jasper

December 31, 2012

There’s only one thing more lethal than a vampire.
A Black Fallen. Rather, a fallen angel engulfed in the blackest of magic.

And three of the most dangerous have descended upon Edinburgh…

Tattoo artist, RILEY POE, has changed. After surviving the bites of three potent Strigoi, she has acquired traits from each that parallel those of the most lethal of vampires. Her strength, speed, hearing are unmatched. She’s a stick of dynamite, fuse lit. She’s about to put those unique powers to good use. And she’ll need them.

Now that the rogue bloodsuckers plaguing the Lowcountry are under control once more, and Riley, along with her guardian vampire, ELI DUPRE, Riley’s brother, SETH POE, and Eli’s brother, PHIN DUPRE, and Strigoi vampire VICTORIAN ARCOS agree to join JAKE ANDORRA’S elite WUP team. Worldwide Unexplained Phenomenon takes cases too powerful and dangerous for mere humans to handle. Comprised of vampires, humans with tendencies, immortal druids, werewolves and witches, there aren’t many situations the WUP members can’t handle. But there are unholy, lethal disturbances in the ancient city of Edinburgh, Scotland, and Riley and the others accept the mission.

Oath Bound

(Unbound # 3)

by Rachel Vincent

February 19, 2013

The Tower Syndicate will fall...

The secret daughter of the head of an infamous Skilled crime family, Sera Brandt has hidden her past, her potential and especially her powers. But when a tragedy strikes her other family, Sera needs justice. And the only way to get it is to reveal her heritage– including a rare Skill– and take the reins of the Tower Syndicate from her cunning and malicious aunt.

if he can figure out how...

Kristopher Daniels might have the answer. He's fought the syndicate to protect his sisters, but he'd never realized just how close to the new heir he needed to get....

And if they can survive.

Neither is used to trusting. But there's something between them that can't be ignored. And so Sera is on the run with a man she can't figure out, a target on her back and the new knowledge of just how powerful she really is...

The Mysterious Madam Morpho

(Blud # 1.5)

by Delilah S. Dawson

October 2, 2012

Taking place after Wicked as They Come, this original eBook features a mysterious lady and a reclusive mechanical genius who find love and danger in a traveling circus. An elusive woman arrives at Criminy’s doorstep with a steamer trunk, begging for a position in the caravan to perform her unique new act. She opens her trunk to reveal a menagerie of brilliantly colored butterflies. The woman, who calls herself Madam Morpho, is on the run from a dark past in London, where she was forced to leave her equipment behind and abscond with only her tiny performers. Playing a hunch, Criminy hires Madam Morpho on the spot. Taking her down to meet Mr. Murdoch, the reclusive talented engineer who keeps the carnival’s clockworks running, Criminy instructs them to work together to design and build a groundbreaking new circus for the butterflies. Amid the magical ambiance of the circus and the hint of danger from Madam Morpho’s pursuers, she and Mr. Murdoch soon find that their scientific collaboration has produced chemistry of a more romantic kind.

Wicked as She Wants

(Blud # 2)

by Delilah S. Dawson

April 30, 2013

The second book in the Blud series follows debauched musician Casper Sterling on his own romantic adventure with a vicious Blud princess.

Review: Shadow Bound by Rachel Vincent

4.5 Feathers

Shadow Bound

by Rachel Vincent

(Unbound # 2)

The thing I have come to realize about why I love Rachel Vincent's writing is that she can create wonderful, elaborate worlds that are very descriptive and manage to suck you right into the story.  For the few hours you read one of her books it feels as if you are being transported there.

When I read BLOOD BOUND, the first book in this series, it was as very few books I've read before.  A totally unique concept, characters that I came to care about quickly and a plot that grip me from the first page.   I was left wondering where the story would go, and also wondering about the change in POV to another "couple", which is not usual in a UF series.

SHADOW BOUND definitely didn't disappoint!  I have to admit that this book caught my attention from the beginning and it was totally un.put.downable!  What a ride!!

The first thing I have to mention about this book is that for urban fantasy book, this felt like it straddled that line between a UF and a paranormal romance.  Even though there wasn't a lot of actual romancing happening, the sexual tension and attraction between Kori and Ian was constant.  Sparks flying anytime they were together.

The syndicates work a lot like the mafia, just that they are a bit magical or gifted.  Kori, a shadow walker, had helped in the battle against her syndicate boss, Jake Tower, at the end of BLOOD BOUND.  She has paid dearly for that.  Reduced to a broken, damaged female, who is hanging on by a thread and with the only motivation of protecting her sister, she is assigned one task.

To bring in a new recruit, Ian Holt, to the Tower syndicate.  But Ian has his own agenda and he's just playing Tower.  His goal.... to kill Kori's sister.  And the plot thickens!

So let me tell you about Kori.  I loved her character.  Her devotion to her sister from the moment and reason why she became involved with the syndicate, to her loyalty as much as possible to her friends, the way she rebelled against Tower if she was able.  For her to still be standing and fighting tooth and nail after what she had to go through and be able to deal with feeling loved at probably the worst and best moment in her life at the same time.  She opened up, she trusted.

Ian was also amazing!  Loved his ability or power.  He was perfectly matched for Kori because he has the same love and loyalty as she does.  He is taking the ultimate risk for his family, and then for love.  He was playful but also determined.  And once he was determined he went for what he wanted and made it happen.  No matter the ugly and high cost.

This book had a bit of everything, bad guys doing bad things, good guys doing bad things, and also some good in between for good measure.  Again... I can't wait for the next in this series!!!  For sure my favorite Rachel Vincent series yet!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Review: Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent

Blood Bound

by Rachel Vincent

(Unbound # 1)

Rachel Vincent has done it again!  I am totally captivated by this series and this world!  This book was so unique and it was such a great first book in a series, I can't wait to read more!  There wasn't a boat-load of information shoved down your throat, just a gradual trickle of information that slowly made you understand more about what was going on while still keeping the story very much alive and flowing.

So bindings... There are skilled people that can bind others in a sort of contract, there are shadow-walkers, of course there's seers, jammers, blinders, trackers (by blood or by name), readers, travelers, and probably more that I've left unmentioned.  Names are power, blood is power.  And all these people usually serve one of two *mafia-like families* called Syndicates, and not just serve but they are bound to serve.

Liv Warren is a blood tracker, she's been working for Ruben Cavazos on a private tracking matter, and yes, she's bound to him.  She is also bound to her childhood best friends.  So when one of her friends suddenly reappears in her life and compels her to help her, well she has no choice.

She has to find and kill the man who just killed her friends' husband.  And to track him down she will need the help of the best name tracker out there.  Her ex-boyfriend, and the love of her life, Cam Caballero.  Sexy, dark and just a bit broody, Cam is also bonded to a Syndicate.  But he's on the enemy team, he's bound to Jake Towers.  And he can only help her as far as it won't go against his Syndicate.

While they unravel a complicated tangle to find a murderer and rescue a child they will also have to deal with their unresolved relationship and why she walked away from him when he was ready to take the next step together.

This book was full of twists and it kept the story so fresh and interesting, I love when I don't know what to expect.  It also straddles a fine line between urban fantasy and paranormal romance.  And to my surprise, it was written in first person POV from both the hero and heroine's perspective.  I'm not used to this but it worked just fine in this book.

But I can tell you this will be a series to watch.  It was suspenseful, full of action, emotion and yes a bit of romance.  Cam and Liv are so good together I really couldn't see why she didn't stay originally and fight for them.  I can't wait for book 2, which will be Kori's story.  Even though I had some issues with her at certain point in the story, I get where she was coming from.

Purchase Links: Amazon