Review: Glory in Death by JD Robb

Glory in Death (In Death # 2)

by JD Robb

Romantic Suspense

Find it on Goodreads!

Opening line: “The dead were her business.”

From that first line, I was sucked in. There is something about Robb’s writing that just sucks me in completely. I love the way she describes things. I love the way the words flow and I love that there’s this sense of detachment or coldness in the overall tone of her writing. It makes the mystery of the story that much more intriguing.

Eve Dallas is one of my favourite heroines. I love her strength and determination in her work. It’s admirable. Ironically enough, Eve Dallas lives and breathes death. It’s her job and Eve takes her duty seriously. So much so that she forgets to take care of herself.

In Glory in Death, Eve is the primary on another murder case, this time of a well-known woman in law who was caught off-guard with a slice to her throat. Lieutenant Dallas is on the case, doing her job to perfection. But when more deaths occur, Dallas is thinking that maybe the person she initially thought was committing the crimes isn’t the right person anymore. This causes her to retrace her steps and review the evidence. The suspense in this book is amazing, all the way to the end of the book. I can’t even choose which one I prefer between the first book or this one! Both are great!

And then there’s Eve’s relationship with Roarke. There are some rough tides between the lovebirds in this one, but in the end, Roarke is still as loyal as can be. I want to marry Roarke! Even when he’s angry, he manages to turn me on. There’s nothing about this guy that isn’t sexy. Simply put, Roarke is a dream. And I want him bad.

I loved that Eve let herself feel in this one. She’s so preoccupied with her work life that she doesn’t take time for herself. In this one, she does. She spends some quality time with Mavis, her awesome best friend and of course, Roarke, who does the most sweetest things for her. I’m incredibly jealous. Would it be creepy to say I wish I was Eve Dallas?

I can’t wait to read the next one! I wonder why it took me so long to read this series. Obviously, I was missing out. And if you haven’t read this either, then make sure you pick this one up soon! 

This is my Roarke *sigh*

 

Review: Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione

Pleasure Unbound

by Larissa Ione

(Demonica # 1)

Paranormal Romance

Find it on GoodReads!

There is a battle going on between demons and the Aegis, humans who are trained to kill the demons. They believe demons kill and rape innocent humans indiscrimately and are little more then evil beasts. At least that is what Tayla Manusco has been told and past experience confirms this. But when Tayla is picked up by an ambulance after being badly hurt and taken to a demon hospital who where she is introduced to Eidolon, a hot demon doctor who heals her, and discovers a few unwelcome truths about her.

These demons are just hot! I love the concept of this series. Just as the author describes it, it's a perfect combination between Buffy and ER, but with a lot more supernatural creatures! There were loads of different demons who were varying degrees of evil and they even had a demon bible, which was very interesting. I loved Underworld General, the staff is hilarious, the portals, the werewolves, the fights, the aegi deceptions. This whole story is captivating and original.

I love Eidolon! His dark hair, his lickable dermoire and his brains? What’s not to love! And as a Seminus demon, he requires sex often. As if there wasn’t more to love about him! Eidolon is cool, centered, focused, the serious and dedicated brother. He is half Justice Demon. He is also a doctor at Underworld General Hospital and his hunky brothers Shade *cue swoons* and Wraith work there as well. They are all half brothers (same Seminus dad) but by different mothers, so they're all half something else. All three of them are such well developed characters that I am dying to know more about! He is close to the age when all incubus demons go through the s'genesis and he finds the perfect girl to help him go through that.

The characters Eidolon and Tayla, although were the focus of the story, I didn't find them the most intriguing characters. However, although they may not stand out in a genre jam packed with similar characters, I still found their story interesting and was eager for them to have their HEA. In the beginning, Tayla is consumed by this blind rage against all demonkind, but after she learns more about the demon world and herself, she becomes more and more open to different possibilities. She learns that not everything is black and white. There are grey areas in between. She learns this through her love with Eidolon and her developing fondness for Gem.

Gem, Tayla's long lost twin. I love love LOVE Gem! The first line from her perspective is hilarious: “Doctor Gemella Endri was up to her elbows in condoms.” The situation she is in makes it all the more hyterical. But I don’t want to spoil anything! Gem has her own little romantic story going on throughout the first three books.

In that case, I have to mention how interesting Kynan is. I want to learn so much more about him. I feel bad about what happens to him, but it also opens up a lot of opportunities for him as well. Especially when he does the most unthinkable thing at the end.

I cannot wait to see how the rest of the series spans out. What's so great about this series is that it's dark and brooding, but there is that light in there too. There's hope for these characters after all that they have endured. Ione's got the skills to write the most amazing books and she is now officially one of my favorite authors.


Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.  The pre-publication release we are eagerly anticipating this week is:

The Many Sins of Lord Cameron

by Jennifer Ashley

Highland Pleasures #3

Lord Cameron Mackenzie is intrigued when he finds the pretty widow, Ainsley Douglas, hiding in the window seat of his bedchamber. Cam remembers Ainsley Douglas all right—six years ago, he’d caught her in this very bedchamber, during a house party in the Mackenzies’ Scottish manor. Enchanted by her ingenuous excuses, he decided to seduce her, but stopped shy when she’d made a rather touching appeal about her “good husband who didn’t deserve to be heartbroken.”

Later, Cameron learned that her visit to his bedchamber was part of some female intrigue against him, the kind his late wife used to practice. Ainsley protested her innocence, but Cameron’s anger made him never want to see her again. Now she’s back, at another houseparty—and Cameron finds the gray-eyed minx in his bedchamber, again. Her excuses are just as ingenuous, but this time Cameron is determined to teach her a lesson.

Release date: 2nd August

I cannot wait to read this! I have wanted to read his book since I read the first book, The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie Jennifer Ashley really knows how to write hot highland men! And have you seen the cover, I love me some lickable abs!

Dropping Tuesday!

The Rebel by Jessica Bird

NOTE: This is a re-issue of BEAUTY AND THE BLACK SHEEP Book 1 from the Moorehouse Legacy series.

Nate Walker has never shied away from the hard road. Even when it meant leaving behind his family, wealth, and the fiance who only wanted a rich man. Nothing was going to stop him from opening his own five-star restaurant.

And he was on his way until his car broke down on a dark road in the Adirondacks, leading him right to White Caps Inn and Frankie Moorehouse.
 
Suddenly Nate has a job he doesn't really need and an affair that has to end when summer does. Except Frankie has a way about her. She gets under his skin. She even makes him want to do what he never thought he could stay forever.



Taken by Fire by Sydney Croft

HIS MISSION WAS TO TAKE HER OUT.

BUT DESIRE GOT IN THE WAY.

A product of genetic manipulation, Melanie Milan shares a body with her malevolent sister Phoebe. A sleek, blonde predator with a heart of pure darkness, Phoebe puts their body through the wicked underbelly of sex for thrills—when she’s not igniting her pyrokinetic skills for an evil organization bent on taking over the world. Melanie rarely gets out to play—much less fall in love. But that changes when rival ARCO agent Stryker Wills shows up, with a mission to take out the woman who torched his partner.

An operative with rare abilities, Stryker soon realizes that the woman he’s about to kill isn’t the murderous fire starter he’s hunting. But he does want her. Melanie, with the power to ice anything in her path, is heating things up in ways that are setting his blood on fire. As long as Melanie stays in control, she is his best ally to bring down her sister and stop hellish havoc from being unleashed. Walking a tightrope of longing and hate, Stryker and Melanie begin to understand that true power lies in sweet surrender to each other, to the fire between them, to the erotic adventure that’s joined their hearts and abilities to become their salvation—and perhaps the world’s.

Deeper Than Midnight by Lara Adrian

At eighteen, Corinne Bishop was a beautiful, spirited young woman living a life of privilege as the adopted daughter of a wealthy family. Her world changed in an instant when she was stolen away and held prisoner by the malevolent vampire Dragos. After many years of captivity and torment, Corinne is rescued by the Order, a cadre of vampire warriors embroiled in a war against Dragos and his followers. Her innocence taken, Corinne has lost a piece of her heart as well--the one thing that gave her hope during her imprisonment, and the only thing that matters to her now that she is free.

Assigned to safeguard Corinne on her trip home is a formidable golden-eyed Breed male called Hunter. Once Dragos's most deadly assassin, Hunter now works for the Order, and he's hell-bent on making Dragos pay for his manifold sins. Bonded to Corinne by their mutual desire, Hunter will have to decide how far he'll go to end Drago's reign of evil--even if carrying out his mission means shattering Corinne's tender heart.

Chasin' Eight by Lorelei James

She wants it…he’s got it…and the chase is on…

Bull rider Chase McKay has finally landed in a pile too big to charm his way out of. Caught with his pants down, he finds himself bucked right off the PBR tour until he can get his act together.

Hollywood actress Ava Cooper became the tabloids’ favorite target when her longtime boyfriend was outed as gay. She needs a place to lay low and a chance to prove to herself that she can satisfy a red-blooded man between the sheets. The sexy, rugged cowboy she finds holed up in her Wyoming hideaway seems like the answer to her every fantasy.

But Chase has sworn off women. Forever. Or at least a month. Whichever comes first.

When they take to the road to get Chase more hands-on bull riding experience, they have every intention of keeping their hands off each other. But the two headstrong stars quickly end up riding a hot and heady rodeo circuit all their own—until the press gets wind of their affair. When the dust clears and the lights of the paparazzi fade, are they ready to give up chasing the dream for a chance of finding forever?

Warning: Strap in, another hot McKay is about to bust out of the gate and this bull rider knows a thing or two about riding hard…

Savor the Danger by Lori Foster

She may be aloof, and more pretty than gorgeous, but Alani Rivers is the kind of woman a hot-blooded mercenary can't forget, no matter how hard he tries. So when Jackson Savor wakes up next to the naked, sleeping beauty—with no memory of what happened— he knows he's been drugged…even if Alani doesn't.

After she was kidnapped, Alani vowed never to trust another man again. Still, something about this strong, sexy hero with the tender touch makes her want to believe him. As Jackson hunts down a mysterious intruder, he swears he'll move heaven and earth to keep Alani safe. But what really happened that night? And will the truth bring them closer than they ever thought possible—or put Alani squarely in harm's way again?

Review: Dragon Actually by G.A. Aiken

Dragon Actually

by G.A. Aiken

(Dragon Kin # 1)

Paranormal Romance

Find it on GoodReads!

Why did it take me sooo long to pick up this series? I know G.A. Aiken is Shelly Laurenston. And I LOVE HER! I think in a way it was the fact that I've never been big on dragons as the lead character in a paranormal romance. But whether it's the fact that I was wrong about dragons, or the fact that this series has a really interesting and fun storyline. Or that it was written by Ms. "Aiken". All I can say is that this book was excellent!

Somehow managing to mix incredibly hot shape-shifting dragons, historical war times, battles, intrigue and some hot tumbles between the hero and heroine, as well as a great supporting cast (yes, lots of them dragons as well) I am now officially hooked.

This book contains two stories, so I'll review them individually.

Dragon Actually - 4.5 Feathers

Oh Fearghus the Destroyer! He is a a dragon of roughly over 200 winters. He has lived most of this time alone in a way, having also little contact with his kin. He is awaken by a battle and a dying beautiful female, Annwyl the Bloody. She is a fierce warrior, leader of a sort of rebel group, with the purpose of killing her estranged brother.

When Fearghus finds her almost dying, all he can do is try and save her. He even calls his sister Morfyd, a healer, to tend to her during recovery.

Except Fearghus presents Annwyl with a human knight whom she thinks is different than his dragon form, and now he can't bring himself to tell her they are one an the same, mostly for fear of rejection.

Annwyl's relationship develops with both on separate levels. Her relationship with the dragon is on a deeper level and she comes to care for him, while the knight stirs things in her she didn't know even could, she was a virgin after all!

While recovering the knight helps train her so that she is prepared to defeat her brother. The dragon makes a promise to help her even going against his family, which will soon come to interfere.

There is a bit of a side storyline and sexual tension between Fearghus sister Morfyd and Brastias, first in command in Annwyl's army. I can't wait to read more about these two!

Chains and Flames - 3 Feathers

I'm sorry to say I really didn't enjoy this story. First of all, after the side story of Morfyd and Brastias, I was expecting to read THEIR story. Instead I get a bit of a prequel to Dragon Actually. How Fearghus father Bercelak comes to wed Princess Rhiannon, and why he has her chained to their bedchamber walls, and how come she likes it so much.

I actually liked the grumpy bastard! Bercelak was endearing, being in love with Princess Rhiannon for years, and now given the opportunity to finally have her.

Princess Rhiannon on the other hand? She was just a total bitch from the beginning! She thought everyone was beneath her, her disdain for humans, for family ties, for Bercelak himself!

I understand what she's gone through with her mother, and now the threat that her mother wants her dead. But this does not justify her actions.

And Bercelak at the end of the day was nothing but sweet to her!

Favorite Quote:

"You should be scared. I'm a dragon, Annwyl. A born hunter and killer. The most ancient of destroyers."
Annwyl burst out laughing.
"You are so cute when you try to look scary."
She tweaked his nose with her thumb and forefinger."



Review: Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich

Smokin' Seventeen

by Janet Evanovich

(Stephanie Plum # 17)

Chick Lit

Find it on GoodReads!

3.5 Feathers

I am both highly disappointed and happy about this book. As far as storylines go, I was glad to see a little bit of a different feel to the chasing skips we get with every Plum book lately. And there are three people trying to kill Stephanie. The skips are crazy as usual, there's an old guy who thinks is a vampire and sleeps in a coffin at the funeral home, the sleezy guy who always seems to have a boner. The humor and inventiveness was back!

Stephanie is still just as clueless as to what to do. The bail bonds office was burned down previously so they are working out of Mooner's bus. Mooner! He was truly hilarious! I never get tired of reading his lines. And then Vinny, the slimeball, decides to advertise by making flyers with a picture of Lula and Stephanie, dressed provocatively, and of course digitally altering Stephanie's breasts. And if that's not embarrassing enough, the same picture is blown up and painted on the outside of the bus! Can't miss them now!

And Lula. I love Lula. She's always wearing crazy outfits, tasering people, and just plain getting in trouble when there shouldn't have been any!

Now onto my complains. I drool over Ranger as the next girl does. However, Stephanie just PISSED ME OFF. She is sorta dating Morelli. They agree to an "open" relationship. And then Stephanie thinks Morelli grandma puts a spell on her that makes her horny all the time, and the first thing she does.... JUMPS RANGERS BONES! Now... normally I would be all for jumping his bones, but not when she's dating Morelli, AND if that's not bad enough, the day after shagging Ranger she has sex with Morelli. And then she goes on a job with Ranger and wants to have sex with him again in his Porsche. What The Hell? When did Stephanie turned into a whore who doesn't care about anyone's feelings?

Morelli doesn't find out, but he's been on excellent behavior. And Ranger, why would he accept this behavior and just be content with getting Stephanie's scraps? They both deserve better than her at this point.

Then there's the Plum family. They are a train wreck, a circus, a comedy show! Stephanie's mom is trying to fix her up with some other guy who apparently went to school with her. He's turned out to be a bit of a loser, but her mom has given up hope on Morelli, so she's trying for another guy. Thank God Stephanie is not interested in bachelor #3. Her mom goes back to ironing.

I suspected who the killer was early on, so I was not surprised at all when we find out at the end. I was not expecting the motives. This guy was nutso!

I really wanted to see a resolution with Stephanie's love life in this book. I've come this far in the series, so I'll def read the next one, because at this point, I have to know what happens on principle. But I don't agree with the authors perspective of dragging out the love triangle until the last book of the series. Believe me, you wouldn't lose readers by letting Stephanie make a choice. You might gain back some you lost. We all still enjoy the humor in these books, we just want Stephanie to mature and stop acting the way she has been and not drag around two wonderful guys. If she has such a problem deciding, I'll take one off her hands *cough* Ranger *cough*

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.  Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read, open to a random page, share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page and BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!  Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart by Sarah McLean

"Yes, she was a scandal.
Her brother simply didn’t know it.
“I fell in the Serpentine today.”
“Yes, well, that doesn’t usually happen to women in London. But it’s not so much of a scandal as it is a challenge."

Glory in Death by J.D. Robb

The dead were her business. She lived with them, worked with them, studied them. She dreamed of them. And because that didn't seem to be enough, in some deep, secret chamber of her heart, she mourned for them.

Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole

"You'll tell me a story and I'll spare you? You think I don't see what you're doing? I've read Arabian Nights."

"Call me Scheherazade, baby! Actually, she's one tricksy bitch. Who, by the way, still owes me twenty gold pieces and a pound of sesame."