(Review) Memories of Murder By Lara Nance

Amazon Buy Link: Memories of Murder (GEM Paranormal Mysteries)

Summary:
When Maeve McKenna renounces her witch powers and accepts a low-key nurse practitioner position at a Virginia retirement community, the last thing she expects is a suicide her first day on the job. As the town’s sexy sheriff, Paul Sutton, starts looking into the tragic death of his father’s friend, Maeve can’t help but get involved–with both the case and him.

Their informal investigation unveils an old journal that connects the ruins of a nearby asylum and long-forgotten cemetery with the shiny new retirement community’s memory unit–and Maeve’s Alzheimer’s patients. Maeve senses a sinister presence in the old asylum, calling to the patients, but in order to stop it from killing again, she must first conquer some demons of her own and reclaim the magic she’s denied herself.

My Review:
This book pulls you in from the first page. Right from the start you want to keep reading to see what happens next.

This book had a lot of mystery, suspense, horror, paranormal and a bit of romance.

Maeve a pretty red head who has a special hidden talent and a traumatic past wants to start over so she moves to a small town to start fresh. But right from the start she realizes something isn’t right.

Paul a handsome small town boy who became a green beret is pretty much forced back home when he finds out his father has become ill. He takes over the job as sheriff.

Maeve and Paul meet her first day in town when something terrible happens. Can they work together to solve the mystery? Will the secrets Maeve is hiding prevent that?

I enjoyed the characters of the mother and aunts. They brought fun and laughter to brighten up the book. The reading of the journal really made the story pop.

The ending wasn’t what I expected. There were a few unexpected things that happened.

All in all this was a pretty good book. I have a few issues with it though. Like for instance, I do not understand Maeve’s reaction to what happened in her past. I understand she didn’t want to use her talent to kill but in self defense it should have been okay.
I think that if Lara gave us a little bit more background into what happened with Maeve before she came to Rolling Gap that I might of understood her situation more. Also I do not know if it was just my copy of the book or not but there were names missing. Other than that I think it was overall a good book.

My Rating: 4 Romanticals

ARC Review: Jessica Sorensen – Breaking Nova

Nova Series:

Book 1:

Breaking Nova: Nova Reed and Quinton Carter

 

Expected publication: September 3rd 2013

Purchase on Amazon:  Jessica Sorensen – Breaking Nova

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

Nova Reed used to have dreams-of becoming a famous drummer, of marrying her true love. But all of that was taken away in an instant. Now she’s getting by as best she can, though sometimes that means doing things the old Nova would never do. Things that are slowly eating away at her spirit. Every day blends into the next . . . until she meets Quinton Carter. His intense, honey brown eyes instantly draw her in, and he looks just about as broken as she feels inside.

Quinton once got a second chance at life-but he doesn’t want it. The tattoos on his chest are a constant reminder of what he’s done, what he’s lost. He’s sworn to never allow happiness into his life . . . but then beautiful, sweet Nova makes him smile. He knows he’s too damaged to get close to her, yet she’s the only one who can make him feel alive again. Quinton will have to decide: does he deserve to start over? Or should he pay for his past forever?

Review:

Jessica Sorensen has quickly climbed the list to one of my favorite authors. She creates such in depth emotional characters. From the very prolog we are taken on one of the most emotional books I have read in a while. I swear I was almost crying from the prolog, I mean seriously who gets emotionally attached to the characters from a prolog, but it is IMPACTFUL!

Both Nova and Quinton about break my heart, the sadness and loss they both carry around just tears at your heart. Nova and Quinton are both characters that will pull at your heart strings and you’ll remember long after you’ve finished the book. In fact I’ve been thinking about these two since I finished the book about a week ago. While I was reading the book I didn’t want it to end, I saw the ending approaching and I was dreading it.

I’m not going to say a whole lot happens in this book, because not a ton does. This story is about the characters and their emotional journeys. Nova lost her dad at a young age, she was there when his heart gave out, that stayed with her. When she met Landon her new neighbor, he quickly became her best friend and then later her boyfriend. When he left her too, what was left of her heart was shattered and man can you feel it. Her pain is palpable, when she gets to college, things get a little better but come crashing around her when she goes home for the summer. At home, everything is too raw and fresh and she starts on a downward spiral.

Quinton, his pain if possible is worse than Nova’s. A year ago, he was a good guy with ambition and a drive to do well, he wanted to be an artist and to marry his girlfriend Lexi. **spoiler** Then an accident happened that killed Lexi, his cousin and…him… only Quinton was able to be revived. **end spoiler** Since that fateful night, Quinton has been doing his best to forget life and to slowly drown himself in alcohol and weed. The angst, oh the angst.. so good is this angst…

I’m not usually all about the angst, but with this book it was so very good. Nova and Quinton find in each other kindred spirits. Both are carrying around so much loss and heartbreak, as each spirals further out of control in each other they find some peace, but the guilt they carry around may destroy them both. Through the entire book you want these two to find the peace they both so desperately need. Nova and Quinton take you on this emotional rollercoaster that will have you in tears or close to it. There are certain aspects of this book that I really identified with. **spoiler** having lost three friends from suicide I could really identify with the thoughts that swirled around in Nova’s head when it came to Landon. The thoughts of were there signs? Was there something you could have done to save them? Why didn’t they love everyone enough to stay? **end spoiler**

The only thing I didn’t adore was the constant references to smoking, it gets to the point, where you are like ok, I get it, they are all pot heads. LOL! At times it was over emphasized but the rest is so good, I could live with it. When you pick up this book and you definitely should, make sure you have your Kleenex handy!

Rating:

 

*This book was provided to me through NetGalley for an honest review, no other compensation was provided.

*You can also view this review on http://paranormalromancenovel.com 

There is this song that reminds me so much of Quinton. Its by Stone Sour – Bother. I don’t usually include video clips but in this case it is so perfect I can’t resist.

 

 

 

Blog Tour: Reece Ryan – Making the First Move

Title: Making the First Move

Author: Reese Ryan

Release date: July 22, 2013

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Price: $3.99

Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Making-the-First-Move-ebook/dp/B00CC68FMU/

Barnes & Noble Buy Link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/making-the-first-move-reese-ryan/1115148406

iTunes Buy Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/making-the-first-move/id653078144?mt=11

Add to Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17800669-making-the-first-move

Summary:

Melanie Gordon has spent the past five years obsessing over her career to dull the pain of a devastating breakup and the loss of her father. Her effort pays off when she receives the promotion that could be her big break. Only it means returning to her hometown to face her past while leaving behind the man who could be her future.

Selfless (and insanely sexy) philanthropist, Raine Mason, is committed to his cause. But his passion for rescuing high-risk young males from the road to disaster is fueled by his own dark and tragic past.

When Raine is ready to take his casual friendship with Melanie to sizzling new heights, her one-way ticket to Cleveland is already booked. But a steamy night of passion leaves them both wanting more, even if Melanie is afraid to admit it. She reluctantly agrees to a long-distance relationship with no promises and no commitments.

Melanie may finally be ready to give Raine her heart…but then she discovers startling news that causes her to question everything she knows about him. Worse, he’s harboring a dark secret from his past that threatens to shatter any hope of a future for them unless he can convince her that their love is worth the risk.

Excerpt:

Thirty minutes later, Raine is standing in my doorway in a camel-colored cashmere sweater and a pair of Levi’s. A white, button-down shirt peeks underneath the collar. Chin-length, caramel-colored locs are pulled back at the crown of his head, with the remaining hair hanging free. He is, in a word, gorgeous.

My eyes trace the curve of his biceps. I lick my lips, cheeks flushed, and hope he hasn’t noticed I’ve spent the past five seconds checking him out from head to toe. Twice.

“I see you’re ready to go.” He nods toward the wrap draped over my arm and my clutch tucked underneath it.

“I am.”

“Then shall we?” Raine extends his hand in the direction of the narrow stairwell leading down to the first floor.

“Let’s.” I offer a nervous smile.

He slips his hand to the small of my back. I try not to notice the heat emanating from his hand. But it’s nearly impossible to ignore the jolt of electricity, which travels through his long, elegant fingers and enters the base of my spine.

I’m sure his hand has been on that exact spot when he’s guided me through a crowd or we’ve danced together at charity functions. His touch seemed incidental then. Tonight, there’s something about the placement and pressure of his hand that feels deliberate, significant. Or maybe I’m transferring my own well-guarded desire to an innocent gesture.

Raine guides me down the stairs, out the front door and into his car, his hand still on my back.

“Thanks for doing this,” I say. “I know it’s short notice.”

“I couldn’t leave you standing there dressed, with no place to go.” He tries to hide a smirk as he turns the ignition.

“How’d you know I was already dressed when I called?”

“You’ve never been ready when I came to pick you up. There’s not a chance in hell you threw this together in thirty minutes. You look…amazing.”

“Very clever,” I say. “And thank you, I think.”

“It’s too bad, actually.”

“What’s too bad?”

“That you were ready. I was hoping to catch you in a towel, just out of the shower,” he says, his eyes straight ahead.

My cheeks grow warm. I’m not offended, just surprised. Our social conversations have been mildly flirtatious, but never anything so easily decipherable. We prefer our flirtation so well-coded that only a world-class hacker has a chance in hell of sorting it all out.

I stifle a giggle. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

He smiles.

We ride in silence for a while. He pays strict attention to the road. I pretend to be fascinated by the houses and apartments that fly by my window. The same ones I’ve seen nearly every day for the past five years.

Bio:

Reese Ryan writes sexy, contemporary fiction filled with colorful characters and sinfully-sweet romance. She secretly enjoys torturing her heroines with family and career drama, reformed bad boys, revealed secrets, and the occasional identity crisis, but always rewards them with a happily ever after.

Born and raised in the Midwest, she now resides in Central North Carolina with her husband and young adult son who tolerate her propensity to sing and dance badly. A self-proclaimed Bohemian Southern Belle, she treads the line carefully between being a Northerner and a damned Yankee–despite her insistence on calling soda pop. Reese gauges her progress by the number of “bless your lil’ hearts” she gets each week. She is currently down to two.

Visit Reese online at ReeseRyan.com. Follow her on Twitter @ReeseRyanWrites. Connect with her on Facebook.

Author Links:

Website: ReeseRyan.com
Twitter: @ReeseRyanWrites
Facebook: ReeseRyanWrites
Goodreads: Reese Ryan
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Reese-Ryan/e/B00CD31WJ0

Making the First Move Blog Tour Grand Prize:

Just click on the link right below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card
• Digital copy of Making the First Move by Reese Ryan
• Digital copy of The Winning Season by Alison Packard
• Digital copy of Knowing the Score by Kat Latham
• Digital copy of Personal Assets by Kelsey Browning
• Digital copy of Derby Girl by Tamara Morgan

Review: Jessica Sorensen – The Redemption of Callie and Kayden

The Coincidence Series:

Book 2:

The Redemption of Callie and Kayden: Kayden Owens and Callie Lawrence

Purchase on Amazon: Jessica Sorensen – The Redemption of Callie & Kayden

Summary:

The dark secret Kayden has kept hidden for years is out. Worse, he’s facing charges for battery. The only way he stands a chance against the charges is if Callie speaks up, something he’ll never ask her to do.

Callie knows Kayden is going back to his dark place and desperately wants to save him. But saving him means admitting her secrets aloud. Callie and Kayden are stronger than they think, especially when they’re together. Together they move forward, face their demons, and finally start to heal from their traumatic pasts.

Review:

Jessica Sorensen as done it again, Sorensen has quickly become one of my favorite authors and by far my favorite New Adult author. Callie and Kayden wormed their way into my heart in the first book. Both are just so damaged but trying to make the best of their situations. When we left the first book it was on one of the worst/best cliffhangers ever! It was doozy. When we pick up this book it is right after the events of the previous book. We find out pretty quickly the fate of Kayden.

Even though Kayden survives the knife wound in his side it is played off as a suicide attempt and he is separated from Callie. The beginning of this book is the struggle between Callie and Kayden as they adjust to Kayden’s new situation. When they finally come together it is both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. Each is so terribly broken, but together they become stronger both as individuals as well as a couple. Together, yet separately they face the demons that have had them running for so long. Sorensen takes on an emotional journey along with Callie and Kayden; she is a master at making you feel what the character’s feel. You laugh, you cry, and you feel frustrated all along with the characters. I definitely cried in this book, tho I cry in almost all of Sorensen’s books. When Kayden recounts his childhood you cry for the child he was and for the man that he is becoming.

Callie also makes you tear up, she opens up more to Kayden about her own trauma and again you feel a loss of a childhood, innocence torn from a young girl. You’d have to be ice to not feel anything for these damaged characters. When Callie opens up to those she needs to most it’s a bit anti-climactic, but at that point it was almost a perfect way to approach it. By this time, Callie was healing, she was moving past her 12^th birthday, and she was starting anew and no longer living in her fear. When it all went down, she became the strong one, she had to be. Kayden was there with her in spirit and in body.

This book was definitely steamier from the first and Callie explores her sexuality with Kayden. Although Kayden was the one the experience when he is with Callie, it’s almost like he’s experiencing things for the first time as well. While Callie and Kayden take their emotional journey Seth and Ethan of course are right there with them. Luke, in particular is still a bit mysterious and we want to know more about him; which is a good thing since his book is next and I cannot wait for it. It looks like it’s going to be GOOD and I would not expect anything less from Jessica Sorensen.

Rating: 5 Romanticals

*This copy was provided through NetGalley for an honest review, no other compensation was provided.

Review: Kresley Cole – MacRieve

Immortals After Dark Series: 

Book 13:

MacRieve: Uilleam MacRieve and Chloe Todd

 

 

Purchase on Amazon:Kresley Cole – MacRieve (Immortals After Dark)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

A Beast In Torment

Uilleam MacRieve believed he’d laid to rest the ghosts of his boyhood. But when a brutal torture revives those ancient agonies and destroys his Lykae instinct, the proud Scot craves the oblivion of death. Until he finds her—a young human so full of spirit and courage that she pulls him back from the brink.

A Beauty In Chains

Seized for the auction block, Chloe Todd is forced to enter a terrifying new world of monsters and lore as a bound slave. When offered up to creatures of the dark, she fears she won’t last the night. Until she’s claimed by him—a tormented immortal with heartbreaking eyes, whose touch sets her blood on fire.

A Full Moon On The Rise

With enemies circling, MacRieve spirits Chloe away to the isolated Highland keep of his youth. But once he takes her to his bed, his sensual mate becomes something more than human, evoking his savage past and testing his sanity. On the cusp of the full moon, can he conquer his worst nightmare to save Chloe . . . from himself?

 

Review:

Kresley Cole has long since earned her place on my auto-buy list as well as the top spot as my favorite author. Every time I pick up a Kresley Cole book it starts this spiral of need to go back and read the rest of the series all over again. I swear I do a re-read of IAD at least once a year. I know without a doubt that if I pick up a Kresley Cole book it will be a minimum of four stars EVERY time. MacRieve is absolutely no exception to this rule. This was not my favorite book of the series but I’d still say Ms. Cole has a winner on her hands. I DEVOURED it, staying up all night to finish and dragging my ass into work with almost no sleep but not caring. PS. I really wish release day was on a Friday or something so this wouldn’t keep happening to me with my favorite authors. LOL

 

As with Lothaire I gotta say MacRieve was kinda a douche in the middle of the book. He showed promise early on but events triggering childhood trauma and massive guilt changed that fairly quickly. I am glad to say that he did see error of his ways and did endeavor to change his attitude but it was some rough going there for a while. MacRieve totally earned his nickname of “Head Case” and I absolutely LOVED that nickname for him; it was so fitting and cracked me up every time someone used it and they called him it right to his face and he couldn’t even get mad since it was true. Lol Coming into this book, I had no idea just how traumatized MacRieve was, in reality we didn’t know much about the twins other then they are Hot and Hotter or is it Hotter and Hot?? A childhood event when he was nine lasting until it came to a head at thirteen shaped the rest of his life and then when he was picked up by the Order that just made everything worse. His torture was extensive as the pet of Dr. Nixon and then after the escape he barely dodged another bullet which dredged up the childhood memories. I couldn’t help but repeatedly say “pobrecito” (poor guy) throughout a lot of the book. He may have been a douche but it was kind of understandable and I couldn’t hate him for it. He even brought tears to my eyes a few times and I don’t think I have ever cried in a Kresley Cole book, because usually I’m too busy laughing.

 

Even though there were a few tears worry not my friends you’ll still laugh in this book because Chloe is quite the smart ass and I adore smart ass characters. Probably one of the reason I love Kresley Cole so much, most of her characters tend to be on the smart ass side and I can’t get enough of it. Chloe is also a pretty tough chica. In the beginning she is just a human professional woman’s soccer player with dreams of the Olympics but soon she realizes that something is happening to her. When her father disappears after handing her the living book of the Lore it is merely weeks when she is kidnapped to be sold to the highest bidder. It seems her father is enemy numero uno amongst the Lore. It is on the auction block when MacRieve finds her and “rescues” her. It is just when she is starting to buy into MacRieve’s matehood when he does a complete 180 after her transition. Chloe is not one to really put up with much shit so she gives back as much as she gets from MacRieve wanting nothing to do with him, but the nature of the beast rears its ugly head and circumstances what they are they have to stick together. What I really liked about Chloe is that she didn’t really freak out about the Lore and her transition. She had a “rub some dirt” mentality and tried to make the best of the situation. She remained her smart ass self and won everyone over including MacRieve. Although, I do wish that she would have been able to compete in the Olympics, it seems a bit sad that she had to give up that dream, but she took it in stride.

 

This book isn’t as action packed as some of the others as MacRieve is still pretty traumatized from being tortured so I think this was a good move, plus we still had plenty of drama with MacRieve and Chloe in their own personal battle between each other and MacRieves’ past. This is probably the steamiest book of the series, almost from the get go. As with all the other books in this series the side characters cannot be dismissed. I adore every single one of them in particular I loved the orphaned brothers. They cracked me up, especially the younger one. I’m drawing a blank on his name right now. We spend more time with Monroe then we ever have before and I like him, it’s looking like his book may be next in the series. He’s little to serious so I hope his mate drives him nuts! Kresley Cole is setting us up for something BIG so I can’t wait to see where we go in this series!

 

Well Done Kresley Cole, Well Done!

 

Rating: 5 Romanticals

This review can also be seen on www.paranormalromancenovel.com .

ARC Review: Susan Mallery – Two of a Kind

Fool’s Gold Series:

Book 12:

Two of a Kind: Gideon Boylan and Felicia Swift

Expected publication: June 25th 2013

Purchase on Amazon: Susan Mallery – Two of a Kind (Fools Gold Series)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

Felicia Swift never dreamed she’d hear a deep, sexy voice from her past in tiny Fool’s Gold, California. The last time Gideon Boylan whispered in her ear was half a world away…on the morning after the hottest night of her life. Her freaky smarts have limited her close friendships, and romance, but she came to Fool’s Gold looking for ordinary. Gorgeous, brooding Gideon is anything but that.

Black Ops taught Gideon that love could be deadly. Now he pretends to fit in while keeping everyone at arm’s length. Felicia wants more than he can give-a home, family, love-but she has a lot to learn about men…and Gideon needs to be the man to teach her.

As these two misfits discover that passion isn’t the only thing they have in common, they just might figure out that two of a kind should never be split apart.

Review:

Definitely one of my favorite books of the series! This book was all about Felicia! It was impossible not to love her. She is quirky, caring, social awkward and just so giving. All she wants is to be normal but her upbringing and her intelligence make that impossible. In Fools Gold she is finally finding her footing. She is making friends that don’t seem to mind that she is the smartest person on the room and that sometimes she goes off on random tangents why over explaining everything. She wants to belong, to find a man to love and to have a family but she doesn’t think that could ever happen for her as long as she remains “abnormal”. Enter Gideon, they had a one night affair in Thailand over four years ago that neither forgot. It was Felicia first time and when she runs into Gideon again, the attraction remains just as strong as it was that night. Gideon and Felicia enter into a deal, he would help her socialize and she would realize that he was not the forever kind of guy.

Gideon was a POW for over two years her was tortured and watched while every other person in his unit died. He was the only one that survived. He came to Fools Gold to live in peace and to heal he never in a million years thought he would run into Felicia, a one night stand he never forgot. Gideon likes his peaceful life, he knows he’s not completely healed and never will be, but he has long since come to terms with that. Since, he is alone he doesn’t really need to worry about the fact that he is not healed impacting anyone but himself. When Felicia enters his life again, she is aware of his history and that he is not a forever kind of guy. He likes Felicia as a person, he likes that she is quirky and not like everyone else. I love that about him. As a character he is not as well developed as Felicia but you still like him as a character. You feel for him, as his past. Two years of constant torture would not make the most social of people. I love how he treats Felicia in the beginning, he kind of drops off in the middle when something unexpected happens but he comes together in the end.

The story like all Susan Mallery novels is fun, endearing and heartwarming. The town of Fools Gold is like a character all on its own and makes for a great “side character”. Susan Mallery has a great sense of humor and knows how to write a light fun read that is sure to make you melt a little. The Susan Mallery formula is still in affect but in this book it’s not quite as noticeable as some of the previous books.

*This copy was provided to me through NetGalley for an honest review. No other compensation was provided.

Rating: 4.5 Romanticals

Review: Sylvia Day – Entwined with You

Crossfire Series:

Book 3:

Entwined with You: Gideon Cross and Eva Tramell

Purchase on Amazon: Sylvia Day – Entwined with You (A CROSSFIRE NOVEL)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

From the moment I first met Gideon Cross, I recognized something in him that I needed. Something I couldn’t resist. I saw the dangerous and damaged soul inside–so much like my own. I was drawn to it. I needed him as surely as I needed my heart to beat.

No one knows how much he risked for me. How much I’d been threatened, or just how dark and desperate the shadow of our pasts would become.

Entwined by our secrets, we tried to defy the odds. We made our own rules and surrendered completely to the exquisite power of possession…

Review:

This book can really be summed up in a few words… sex..sex… and more sex… I tend to like a little story with my sex. I’d say this book is 75% sex and 25% plot. I read Sylvia Day because her book while erotica tend to be very emotional, story and character driven, this book is an exception to this rule.

I have to say, I loved the first book, the second wasn’t as good but still enjoyable and for the third I was looking forward to a conclusion to this tumultuous couple. In the second book at the conclusion we learned just what Gideon was willing to do to protect his Eva, in this book it was touched upon but not really. Ms. Day set us up with some ridiculousness with the Russian Mob to carry into two more unnecessary books in this series. As a couple Eva and Gideon, do some growing and evolving. They really have worked on their jealously issues but not so much on their possessiveness of each other. There is an unnecessary plot line with Eva and the rock star dude; I’m not even sure why it exists other than conflict that is not needed. The most interesting plotline in this particular book is Cary, I wish there was more on him, but alas, there is not. . I don’t really have much else to say on this book because there really isn’t much more to tell.

If you like beginning to end well written and extremely steamy sex scenes you will love this book. If you like a little more substance I have a feeling you will be a bit disappointed like I was. Did I dislike this book, no, it has its redeeming moments but it is nothing to write home about. Will I continue with this series, probably out of curiosity but I won’t be waiting on pins and needles for the next installment like I was this one.

Rating: 3 Romanticals

Review: Nalini Singh – Heart of Obsidian

Psy-Changling Series:

Book 12:

Heart of Obsidian: Him and Her

 

 

Purchase on Amazon: Nalini Singh – Heart of Obsidian (PSY/CHANGELING)

 

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

A dangerous, volatile rebel, hands stained bloodred.

A woman whose very existence has been erased.

A love story so dark, it may shatter the world itself.

A deadly price that must be paid.

The day of reckoning is here.

From “the alpha author of paranormal romance” (Booklist) comes the most highly anticipated novel of her career—one that blurs the line between madness and genius, between subjugation and liberation, between the living and the dead.

 

Review:

I am going to keep this review as spoiler free as possible, the blurb doesn’t give away the main characters and you have probably already heard the spoilers but I am going to try to keep it spoiler free for any readers that may not already know!

So it is no secret I am a Nalini Singh fan girl! I ADORE her writing and she is probably my second favorite author after Kresley Cole. Ms. Singh has had a couple of misses for me but over all she consistently writes intriguing, entertaining and emotional tales. One thing you can ALWAYS count on with Singh is that the writing is in depth and of a high quality whether you like the story or not. Heart of Obsidian is all that and then some! This is one of Singh’s best novels to date! From the first pages I was pulled in and this book did not let me go! Even nearly 24 hours after I have finished it, it still has me in its grips! I am dying to give it a re-read, hell I am dying to re-read the entire series now, but alas I don’t have the time.  This is quite possibly the best paranormal of the year so far for me!

Our hero is deeply complex, a dark brooding character that has little to no conscience left. He has one loyalty, one, and that is to a small slip of a girl he lost when she was 16. He has been searching ceaselessly for her for seven years, since the night that changed him forever. Raised in brutality and tortured by his guardian, our hero grows up in a reign of blood, but nothing would compare to the terror that he would unleash if his only loyalty should not have survived. Our hero is ready to eradicate an entire race in vengeance for the only person that has ever shown him any kindness. Our hero doesn’t think he is capable of any emotion but through the entire book we are consistently subjected to the complexity of our hero’s feelings. He thinks he is the worst sort of being, capable only actions of the worst sort, yet we see the kindness in him, the redemption he is capable of reaching. As much of a hard ass as our hero is, I found myself surprised at how humorous he could be and his capacity for tenderness towards that one person. This is a character that will burrow himself into your mind and keep you in his grips until the very end of the story and for some, long after. I have a feeling after this book; a lot of people will have a new favorite character! Mine of course remains as my beloved Judd, but damn its close!

I was helpless to not love our heroine! She had such a capacity for feeling; she was tortured to the brink of her sanity at one point for insane then sane. Her mind was pure chaos. In less time then she expected her mind started righting itself, somehow the environment she was surrounded in made her feel safe, which after seven years of torture is close to a miracle. Our heroines inner strength is one of the reasons she is able to recover her mental health the other, is our hero. Our hero feels so familiar, yet at the same time remains a stranger. Her memories are unclear but there is not one of the enigmatic man that saved her life. As she stabilizes and more and more comes back to her, she knows her life and sanity is safe with this man; it’s the rest of the world she is worried about. In saving her life she is determined to save his future. She has a core of steel and a fierce stubbornness that rivals the most powerful man in the worlds. She also has such a joy for life, maybe it’s because she lost seven years of her life, but she comes out of it stronger with an appreciation for life that few have. You get lost in her exuberance. And she is right she was very smart at 16!

From beginning to end this book was a pleasure to read. The emotion ran high and the characters were so in depth you felt like you know them. In typical Singh she seamlessly weaves storylines together to make a cohesive book, you never feel lost or that the transition is out of place. She is a mastermind when it comes to pulling multiple story lines together. There is also plenty of action and the Pure Psy threat escalates and all races work together to eliminate the threat. In this book more than any other the three races work together against a common cause rather than against each other. Our hero and heroine are so amazing together they will battle and maybe come out on top of your favorite couple from this series. Their intensity of their sensuality is in turns incredibly hot, tender with moments of humor which is also how their relationship ends up working with the addition of a remarkable amount of honesty. The only issue I had with this book is I would have liked to have seen more of Judd and learned more about Vasik and Aden.

Oh and I know you are dying to know… who is GHOST??? Ha! Like I’m going to tell you that! You may or may not find out in this book!

 

Rating: 5 Romanticals

 

*This review can also be seen at www.paranormalromancenovel.com .

Review: Bella Andre–The look of Love

The Sullivans Series:

Book 1:

The Look of Love: Chase Sullivan and Chloe Peterson

 

 

Purchase on Amazon: Bella Andre – The Look of Love: The Sullivans, Book 1 (Contemporary Romance)

Summary:

With THE LOOK OF LOVE, bestselling author Bella Andre introduces you the Sullivan family. In this fun and emotional contemporary romance series, when a Sullivan bad boy falls…he falls hard. And it’s forever.

Chloe Peterson is having a bad night. A really bad night. The large bruise on her cheek can attest to that. And when her car skids off the side of a wet country road straight into a ditch, she’s convinced even the gorgeous guy who rescues her in the middle of the rain storm must be too good to be true. Or is he?

As a successful photographer who frequently travels around the world, Chase Sullivan has his pick of beautiful women, and whenever he’s home in San Francisco, one of his seven siblings is usually up for causing a little fun trouble. Chase thinks his life is great just as it is—until the night he finds Chloe and her totaled car on the side of the road in Napa Valley. Not only has he never met anyone so lovely, both inside and out, but he quickly realizes she has much bigger problems than her damaged car. Soon, he is willing to move mountains to love—and protect—her, but will she let him?

Chloe vows never to make the mistake of trusting a man again. Only, with every loving look Chase gives her—and every sinfully sweet caress—as the attraction between them sparks and sizzles, she can’t help but wonder if she’s met the only exception. And although Chase didn’t realize his life was going to change forever in an instant, amazingly, he isn’t the least bit interested in fighting that change. Instead, he’s gearing up for a different fight altogether…for Chloe’s heart.

Review:

I really wanted to love this book; it had the makings of a book that I would adore. Sadly, I did not end up loving this book, in the end I just kind of liked it. There is great potential for the the Sullivan’s in general. They are a warm loving family with 8 interesting characters, so I see good things for the series. Chase is one of the more elder Sullivans he is a successful, sexy man and I did enjoy his character. He was not afraid to fall, to entrust his heart. He knew when he found something worth keeping and went with it. He threw his all into it. I just wish that the romance between Chase and Chloe was more believable. We had a total insta-love vibe going on here. I could have bought it from Chase’s end maybe, but I definitely didn’t feel it from Chloe’s end. She was standoffish most of the book and just coming out of an abusive relationship. She didn’t want to be romanced, but she couldn’t hold back her lust.

The first half of the book was a lot of talking, Chase trying to get closer and Chloe holding him off. The second half Chloe gives into the attraction and from then on, it’s a whole lot of sexy times. Pretty much the entire second half is sexy times with not much more to go on. It really made it hard for me to truly feel the love, oh I felt the lust, but the love was a hard sell for me. So in the end it just kind of fell flat for me. I didn’t dislike this book, but it is one of my favs. I will look to the rest of the Sullivan’s it should be an interesting series.

Rating:

3.5 Romanticals

*This book was provided to me through NetGalley for an honest review. No other compensation was provided.

Review: Michelle Willingham – Accidental Prince

Accidental Series:

Book 4:

Accidental Prince: Karl von Lohenberg and Princess Serena of Badenstein

Purchase on Amazon: Michelle Willingham – The Accidental Prince (Harlequin Historical)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

His runaway princess… Princess Serena of Badenstein intends to flee—from her violent father and from the man to whom she’s been pledged in a political marriage of convenience.

Karl von Lohenberg is without a country, a title—and a bride if he lets Serena get away. A ruthless man, he takes her to a secluded island, hell-bent on seduction. Only, he discovers a broken woman behind the prim princess facade. The time they spend together mends her spirit and touches his soul, but how will she react when she finds out how he’s deceived her?

Review:

I’ve only read one other book by Michelle Willingham and it was one of her highlanders. I’ve been meaning to go back and read her backlist, but alas I have not had the time. So when I saw there was a review copy of this book available I grabbed it without hesitation. I don’t read that many historical’s but so far I love Willingham’s works her characters really stick out among the crowd.

Almost immediately we are drawn into this world, where Princess Serena is in a panic to flee her kingdom. Her ribs are broken; there are red marks around her neck and fresh bruises on her arms. From the beginning there is no way you can shield Serena from your heart. She is physically broken, but her spirit is not. Somehow she has managed to keep her spirit and her will intact, they may be a bit bruised and uncertain, but unlike her body, she is not completely broken. You have to admire that about her. Despite her circumstances she still maintains a good heart and cares about her loved ones and mourns leaving them, before she has even left. When her plans are thwarted by her betrothed the Prince, she goes with it, but still keeps her head about her. When her fiancé abducts her, she tries to keep him at an arm’s length and does a pretty good job of it but little by little he shows her that he would never harm her and he niggles his way in. He helps her overcome her fears and mends some of those bruises on her spirit. In a weeks’ time, he shows her more compassion than anyone else has, and surprisingly she ends up trusting this man with her life. When his secret comes out, I really thought she’d lose her ish more than she did. As it turned out it almost brought her closer to Karl. Serena definitely surprises the reader at times, you expect her to act one way but she does the opposite. Not only does she surprise the reader, she surprises our hero Karl quite often as well. She keeps him off balance and just like he thwarted her plans, she thwarts his!

Karl, doesn’t know what to do with his abducted princess. Every time he thinks things might go his way, she surprises him and he has to reevaluate. She makes him realize some things and take a harder look at his life. At the beginning of this novel, Karl has just found out her is a bastard and he has lost his title and kingdom. There is nothing more important to Karl than getting a kingdom anyway he can, and the only way he can get a kingdom is through Princess Serena. When an opportunity arises for him to “escort” Serena on a holiday, he takes it. His plans are to seduce her and marry her, within a day of arranging her “holiday”. He soon realizes that is not going to happen as his intended is not going along with his plans at all. Not only does she not care that she has been ruined, she has no plans to go back to her kingdom. Karl also quickly realizes that she has been severally physically harmed and that it wasn’t just once. He realizes that she is seriously distrustful and will not let him touch her. He knows then, that his seduction of the Princess has just gotten that much harder. But as the time goes by, Karl becomes more and more attracted to this beauty and it’s not just her face that holds him enchanted, but her unbreakable will as well. Karl, does the most growing throughout this novel, he goes from spoiled former prince that will stop at nothing to get what he wants no matter who he has to use. By the end, the kingdom doesn’t matter anymore, only keeping Serena safe is important.

Throughout the novel the attraction between Serena and Karl grows. They find that they have more in common than either of them could have ever imagined. Their feeling grow and grow until nothing else is as important and the first thing on each other’s mind is keeping the other safe. Serena is willing to walk back into the lion’s den to keep Karl safe, and Karl is willing to risk his own life to keep Serena from the lion’s den. But, in the end, neither of their plans will come to fruition. These two seriously niggle their ways into your heart; I swear I was misting up when their time together was coming to end. For them the situation looked helpless and there is a moment of such tenderness that I choked up a little bit. LOL I must be getting soft in my old age, or Willingham is just that good! The heat factor in this book was not as much as I expected considering the last book I read by Willingham, but there is plenty of sexual tension and build up that you don’t really miss that the actual act doesn’t come until later on in the book. I stayed up all night reading until 5:30 a.m., I just could not let this book go until the end. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. This just reiterates that I need to get on it and start reading Willingham’s back list!

Rating: 5 Romanticals