Review: Soul Deep

Love the Photoshopped hair

Reviewed by Jen
 

I'll say this about the Breeds books: they are consistent.  The very same things that were so good in the previous installments are good here, just as the same things that bothered me before are back again.  It's an intensely sexual ride with a reluctant female and the alpha-hole mate who loves her.

In this case, our hero is a coyote shifter named Kiowa.  He has been serving as a stealth bodyguard for the president's daughter, protecting her against those who would use her against her father to shape the Breeds political agenda.  He is called into action when he witnesses her kidnapping. He saves her, but that is only the beginning of their story.

Amanda is unconscious during the rescue, but for some flimsy reason, Kiowa has her tied up when she wakes. When she tries to scream, he silences her with a kiss and thus begins their mating.  From the the first taste of his tongue, Amanda is unable to fight her intense attraction to her captor/ savior.  And they proceed to get busy right away... never mind the fact that she is still tied up.  From there, they end up moving to the protection of the other Breeds, where they both learn what their frisky funtime really means for their future.

The sex is crazy hot.  Crazy hot.  But it made me uncomfortable at times when I let myself think about how little say-so Amanda had in the matter.  She is also into a little bit of pain and submission, which isn't my thing, but it didn't bother me too much because she really took the lead on that side of their sexual relationship.

Kiowa is a lonely soul, suffering from a miserable childhood filled with emotional abuse and isolation.  There is no part of him that believes Amanda will ever love him, and for me, that was his saving grace.  It's hard not to feel for a hero that feels unworthy of love, even if he is an asshat sometimes as a result.

This is not deeply emotional or thought provoking.  It's a hot sex book.  And it does its job well... even if we were subjected to an overabundance of the word honey (honeyed heat, honey and spice, and so on.)   I think it popped up 19 times. But who's counting??

Rating: B-

  Click to purchase: Amazon

Soul Deep

by Lora Leigh

Release Date: July 1, 2008

Publisher: Ellora's Cove

Review: Dragon Heat

Reviewed by Shelly
 

I didn’t know what to expect when I started this story, considering that it’s a relatively new author. I always hope for something good, but you just never know. Phoenix you’ve got yourself a new fan.

Draconian demigoddess, Zoricah, is on the hunt for the killer who has been taking out both dracos and vampires. The bad guys have finally done the unthinkable and taken one of Zoricah's and she doesn’t have a lot of time to get her people back alive. Using her only option, she enlists the help of Tardieh, the Vampire King who she’s helped out in the past. Will these two put their differences aside and do what’s right for their people?

This was a fun, sexy, solid story. There are a couple of issues that could be solved with some stronger editing, but they didn’t take away from the story. Phoenix’s world building for the existence of dragons and vampires was well done. I found myself pleasantly enthralled with the imagery. Born into a world where their differences made them enemies, Zoricah didn’t let that stop her from helping Tardieh escape from a brutal imprisonment that he suffered by the hands of an unknown assailant. It’s too bad that Tardieh’s trust of her was based not on her actions but by tradition.

I thought these two were really well suited and I found myself rooting for them as a couple. Zoricah was a strong leader, fighter and woman, but not so strong that she couldn’t and wouldn’t take the advice of her most trusted warriors. Her ‘girls’ as she called them - which of course totally reminded me of Charlie and his angels – were well suited and provided the levity that she needed to continue by not taking herself too seriously and still getting the job done. The Vampire King, Tardieh, was actually a nice guy. He has his special moments of needing a verbal take-down or two, but overall I must say he was surprisingly and pleasantly likable. His guards added a nice foil to Zoricah’s girls and I can definitely see a future where they’re flushed out with their own stories.

The chemistry between Zoricah and Tardieh was smoking hot and although it moves along pretty fast, there’s the backstory of their acquaintance that makes their romance not seem so rushed. Taken as a whole, this was a good effort and I very much look forward to more from this author.

Happy Reading Folks!

Rating: B+

*Book provided by author for review

Click to purchase: Amazon

Dragon Heat

by Ella J Phoenix

Release Date: April 6, 2012

Publisher: Cobblestone Press

Review: Beyond Eden

Reviewed by Shelly
 

I’ve had this story in by TBR for a long while now and have been hesitant to read it because, to me, the premise is sensitive and I wasn’t sure how this would work out. I’ve read other BDSM stories and for the ones I enjoyed, the overarching theme has been ‘sane, safe, and consensual’; one or two out of three doesn’t work – it has to be three out of three for me. The premise and promise of this story was good and I still think that the story itself was good; it was the telling that I had trouble with.

I didn't and still don't understand some of the details in this story. I mean I get that it’s fiction but it has to pass my single rule for all stories --- it has to make sense. Thank goodness there’s a category warning so I pretty much expected something that I might or might not be comfortable with to happen. Eve, Paul and Danny were all unlikable and let me not even get started on them as cheaters -- one of my big nos. Each of them thought that Paul cheating on his fiancé was justified because in the words of Paul, she's the c-word. I’m calling bullcrap on that because the woman was the nicest person and did absolute nothing to warrant the treatment that she got from Paul or any of the other two.

Who did I dislike the most of the three? It's a tossup, but Paul was my biggest problem. You can't treat people like you treated Trisha and it be okay. Yes, you have a pain fetish that you can’t tell anyone outside of the BDSM world about, but you didn't even give your fiancé a choice and, by the way, use a condom if you're going to lie.

As Danny is introducing Eve to the lifestyle and she’s going along just fine, everything is hunky-dory but she pauses to ask Danny if she needs a safe word because, hey she’s not stupid, just a novice. That jerk of the century has the nerve to say to her ‘Nope’…’if you trusted me, you wouldn’t have asked for it. I’m disappointed’ --- seriously, asshat, where’s the safety and trust in that? So other than getting up and leaving, which she clearly doesn’t want to do, because she’s asking you for guidance Mr. Professional Dom, how is she supposed to communicate to you that she wants to stop or take a break? When Eve continues to talk, Danny tells her she doesn’t have permission and BAM! he moves her right into puppy play immediately followed by being tied up and gagged. There’s some verbiage that Danny uses for his explanation for tying up Eve, and I just couldn’t believe he was saying that to someone’s first day on the job, per se. Talk about no learning curve.

Keeping with the idea of Eden, these are three of the most beautiful you’ve ever seen. But the only person who knows he’s beautiful is Danny, so apropos for Satan. So beautiful in fact, Danny can get any man or woman he wants as easily as a wink or a smile. Paul’s pain fetish and feeling of low self-worth is so deep he can't separate his work life from his home life. I didn't see evidence of that but I was told that, so I guess I should just go with it. He chose his profession as a lawyer because his self-worth is so low that he knows that’s all he deserves (sorry if you're a lawyer.) He constantly punishes himself but I don’t see him doing that, I’m only told. There's a scene of Danny whipping Paul to a bloody mess which was the only pain scene in the story and it was very rough to read, even Eve in her own sweet (insert sarcasm) way contributed on that one.

One of my biggest problems with this story was that for the majority I was told after about the things that each person would do, making everything seemed detached for me. I would have liked a lot more seeing of the actual actions that happened either between the threesome/twosome or individually. By the time things started getting a little interesting and feelings started coming to the surface, it was more than three fourths of the way through and too late for me to care.

Happy Reading Folks!

Rating: D

*ARC provided by Loose-ID via NetGalley 

Click to purchase: Amazon

Beyond Eden

by Kele Moon

Release Date: September 8, 2010

Publisher: Loose ID

Review: Summer in Napa

Reviewed by Shelly
 

This is what I would consider a slow burn, there’s nothing that jumps off at you. Instead it’s a nice, well-paced story. Picking up a few months after Kissing Under the Mistletoe --which is Gabe DeLuca, the oldest brother’s story-- this continues with another DeLuca brother. If you’ve not read KUM (get your minds out of the gutter) you’ll be okay reading this one because Adair didn’t write this as being dependent on that storyline; however I would definitely recommend Gabe’s story – it’s good.

Talk about getting your hand caught in the cookie jar, it seems that Lexi Moreau’s husband didn’t get the memo that you don’t diddle with your staff when your wife is in the next room – What a tool! After finding said tool in flagrante delicto, Lexi has finally reached the point of no return. After a quick amicable divorce, Lexi returns to her beloved hometown of St. Helena, where she hopes to restore her dream and turn her grandmother Pricilla's patisserie into a bistro. Eligible bachelor and town playboy Marco DeLuca has always had a thing for his best friend’s (afore mentioned tool's) girl. Although he’s been pretty good in the fifteen years since meeting Lexi, the gloves are off and it’s time to set some things right.

Let me just say that Lexi is a complete and total likeable girl. She kinda tall and she can’t seem to stop eating the cream puffs, but then again, Marco likes her just the way she is – gotta love that. There were moments where I laughed with Lexi and Abby’s antics – they’re such good friends that there’s no such thing as personal space -- they get all in the each other’s business. The progression of Lexi from being the victim of her own good deeds to finally seeing herself as someone who deserves better was awesome to see. There were moments where I wished she would beat down that loser of an ex, including a scene where I could swear I felt the air leave the room. (I might have shed a tear or ten.)

Marco underwent the bigger change, though. If you read the first book, the impression he left me with was one of ‘I can’t wait ‘til he gets his’ and does he ever deliver. Usually these roles are reversed in romance novels where the heroine seems to be angst filled, but this time Marco was the nail biter. His friendship with his best friend, Lexi’s ex, guided so many of his decisions that ended up hurting Lexi that it was sometimes painful to read.

Did I like these two together? Yes, I definitely did. Did the chemistry work? It sure did, like I said earlier theirs is a slow burn so don’t expect wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am. There’s is a true romance relationship where they get to know each other as they are today, not as they were in high school and definitely not through the rose colored lenses. Well done, Adair.

Before I go, I have to say something about the secondary characters. Gabe and Reagan do make appearances. Is it greedy of me to have wanted to see more of Reagan interacting with other people than Gabe? That might a slight yes. The grandmothers are back – ChiChi is still commanding the room; Pricilla and her wardrobe are still stuck in leisure suites and concert T-shirts, you can try to picture that in your head but don’t do it too long, your brain might stay that way. Remember Abby? She’s the DeLuca sister who married another winner by the name of Richard. There’s nothing funnier than when she has to post the newspaper notices for Richard before she can divorce him. Oh my goodness, I almost cracked a rib when I read them. The other two DeLucas, Nate and Trey make their presence known and the testosterone that’s running rampant as those two try set their own stamp in the family business is very high. I think (and hope) that Nate’s story is next – go get ‘im Frankie.

Happy Reading Folks!

Rating: B

*ARC provided by publisher for review 

Click to purchase: Amazon

Summer in Napa

by Marina Adair

Release Date: May 14, 2013

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Guest Post & Giveaway: Marie Sexton

Hi there and welcome! I’m Marie Sexton, and I’m thrilled to be able to share my excitement over my latest release with Riptide Publishing, Never A Hero. Never A Hero is available now, and today I have a little game that fellow Tucker Springs author L.A. Witt introduced me to called “Fact or Crap”. I hope you enjoy! Follow me on the virtual book tour for Never A Hero all week for more exclusive details about the book, the Tucker Springs series, and more. Plus, leave a comment below with your name and email address, and you could be one of three lucky winners to receive a $5 gift card to Riptide. Simply leave your comment by 5/17 at 11:59pm to enter.

Tucker Springs: Fact or Crap

Eight of the statements below are fact, but two are utter crap. But which two? Leave your guesses in the comments below. Everybody who has at least one correct answer will be entered in the drawing.

1. Tucker Springs is named for the lovely mineral hot springs located just outside of town.
2. The layout of the Light District is based on Old Town Fort Collins (Fort Collins, Colorado being Marie’s home town).
3. Never a Hero features a sandwich shop called The Vibe, which is based on the real-life restaurant Avogadro’s Number in Fort Collins, Colorado.
4. Second Hand started out as a single-author book, by Marie Sexton, but was later handed off to Heidi Cullinan to finish.
5. June Reynolds (Nick’s sister in Never a Hero) was inspired by the 8-year old daughter of one of Marie’s closest friends.
6. Dirty Laundry was originally a free short story, which Heidi later expanded to be part of the TS universe.
7. Nick’s dog Bonny was based on Marie’s not-so-good dog, Padawan.
8. Mojo, from Second Hand, was based on Marie’s brother-in-law’s dog, Tank.
9. June’s arm had to be amputated after a motorcycle accident when she was seventeen years old.
10. The next book in the series, LA Witt’s After the Fall, will feature Nathan (Michael’s receptionist from Where Nerves End).

*****

Never a Hero is available now from Riptide, Amazon, and all major book outlets. Never a Hero is part of the Tucker Springs universe, but can be read as a stand-alone novel. For more information about Tucker Springs, visit www.TuckerSprings.com.

Marie Sexton lives in Colorado. She’s a fan of just about anything that involves muscular young men piling on top of each other. In particular, she loves the Denver Broncos and enjoys going to the games with her husband. Her imaginary friends often tag along. Marie has one daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway. 

Find out more at http://MarieSexton.net, or download the Marie Sexton app, available free for Android or iPhone.

Review: The Charmed Fates

Reviewed by Shelly
 

When I read the blurb for the first in the series of the Charmed Trilogy, I would have never guessed Wenrick’s would take me on such a roller-coaster of adrenaline. Each installment is absolutely better than the last and this story is no different; this story is so much darker than the others -The Charmed Fates - is my favorite in the series.

Enjoyable to say the least, Wenrick’s writing style is captivating - there’s just enough dialogue that carries the story along quite well. One of the many things I like about her is the way that she conveys the passage of time. I’ve noticed that a lot of writers in this genre don’t express this in real time (days, weeks, etc.); this author does and it’s one of those quirky things that helps me believe that even in their paranormal world, these characters are subject to something that mutually affects us.

It’s been about a year since Olivia Greyson was involved in a horrific train accident, lost her best friend Sarah, and met Daywalker Caleb Wolfe. It’s during that time that she found out that she’s a Charmer, a Dhampir, whose talents are a wanted commodity amongst the most powerful in the community of vampires. Since she’s spent time and trained with her guardians at The Oracle, strengthening both her physical and mental self, Olivia is becoming a formidable warrior.

The Walker Coven - Olivia, her mate Caleb, her grandfather Jax Walker, and her good friend and fellow Dhampir Gemma - are living under the radar, always on the lookout for the dark and evil vampire, Luther Davin. Since their mating, Olivia and Caleb have gotten closer, but in this the final installment of the series, their relationship will undergo some significant challenges complicated by Olivia’s insecurities and Caleb’s need to protect. These two are still as hot as a couple. Olivia by herself continues to impress me in her maturity and the way she handles her business, especially with Caleb. Jax and Gemma’s relationship will see some incredibly happy times and undergo heartache that could shatter even the most patient soul. Jax couldn’t be any more perfect as a mate for strong-willed Gemma and as Olivia’s grandfather.

The Brethren are back - Alec is hunky and cankerous as usual, that foul-mouth delectable Lucas takes a more prominent role and I liked it just fine. The GLD (good looking Dhampir) Phin and his love Maya are as cute as ever, and the biggest horndog ever in the history of horndogs Kane is bringin’ it and bringin’ it well – fighting to keep Davin from increasing his power.

Now on to the bad guys, and boy howdy are they bad. At one point in the book, I was close to jumping to the end because I was so mad at Wenrick. I couldn’t believe what was going on – I was like ‘NOOOOOO way!!!’. But that’s what make a good writer isn’t it?  The antagonists are just as well written as the protagonists. Davin in all his ugliness and evilness has been trying to get Olivia to come over to his side for quite a while now. With the increasing dangers to Olivia’s safety, the tension in the coven increases to a boiling point. If that’s not enough to drive the sane insane, Caleb’s 600-year-old maker Celeste shows up because she wants her Caleb back and will do whatever she needs to do to make that happen. Celeste is awesomely bad, twisted, a complete and total megalomaniac.

In the end, I relished this story individually but I gotta tell ya, I thoroughly adored the series and I’m so glad that I read it. Thanks Wenrick! I look forward to more from the ‘Men of Brahm Hill’.

Happy Reading Folks!

Rating: A+

*ARC provided by author for review

Click to purchase: Amazon 
Learn more about the series & Enter the giveaway here

The Charmed Fates

by Christine Wenrick

Release Date: February 8, 2013

Publisher: Red Tree Publishing

Interview & Giveaway: Christine Wenrick

Shelly is a big fan of Christine Wenrick's Charmed Trilogy.  Check out this Q&A they did together!

Shelly: Hello, Christine. Let me start out my saying that I’m a big fan of your work. When I got the chance to do this interview – I was thrilled. So that being said – will you tell us a little about yourself and what (or who) started you on the course of being a writer? 

Christine: Thanks, Shelly! I wish I could say I knew I was destined to be a writer all my life, but that’s not the case. I dabbled with writing in college but have been working as a commercial interior designer until four years ago when I decided to write my first novel, The Charmed. I think, like any author, you have to have something that inspires you, and for me it was the ending to this first book. I had a crystal clear image of that ending . . . and nothing else. LOL. So I basically started writing towards that end. Probably not the easiest way to write a book, but it worked out OK.

Shelly: One thing I noticed when I read the first story, The Charmed, was that even though this is a vampire story, you’ve somehow brought a unique and uncommon perspective to the subject. How’d you do that?

Christine: That is certainly a compliment. An uncommon perspective to a vampire story is hard to do these days, but it may be the sense of isolation I put the characters and the reader in at the beginning of the series. I knew I wanted an adult story, a very intimate and personal story between Caleb and Olivia. To me that meant isolating them from the world we see every day, but in a way that makes sense or is familiar to present times. Then you can create those moments of tug and pull, the quiet ones where very little is being said but you can feel the force that is drawing them together. If you can feel passion between two characters in the things they don’t say—the moments outside of the love scenes—then you’ve done your job as a romance writer.

Shelly: Which character, in any of the books, was the hardest for you to write? 

Christine: Great question!!! I would say Jax, the coven leader. He has lived for centuries and his character needed to reflect that kind of depth and breadth of life experience . . . and, of course, pain. For me, he represented the emotional soul of the trilogy and as such is one of my favorite characters.

I had several challenges, mostly because when I started I didn’t know much about the piano. But in writing Olivia’s character it was clear that music was at the center of who she was. It’s how she expresses herself best. The hardest part was making sure that held true throughout all three books and did not get too far sidelined by the other events happening to her.

Shelly: I thought Maya was a gem – she’s sometimes come off as meek but when the tire hits the road she’s something else. Which character would you say is most like you?

Christine: Maya is a fun character. One of my favorite things to do is bring a character along for several books so the reader can watch them grow and mature. You will see that with Maya as well.

As for me, I’m not sure I’m really like any of my characters, more like a mix of them. I might latch on to one thing that it similar to me and build a character from there. For example, Olivia will doggedly focus on something once she believes it’s the right decision or course of action. I can be like that.

Shelly: I enjoyed the flow of dialogue - was it a conscious process that the cursing/swearing would be at a minimum for this series?

Christine: Actually, yes it was. Although I myself can curse just as easily as the next person, I’m just not a huge fan of words that can jar a reader out of the story, especially when they’re repeated a lot. Of course, that’s a really difficult rule to follow when one of your characters is a curse-a-holic (Ahem, Lucas . . .)!

Nowadays people curse, men especially it seems, so it needs to be in there. I just try to pick and choose the right moments and infer the rest.

Shelly: What story are you working on now?

Christine: I am putting the finishing touches on book three in my Men of Brahm Hill series, which is a connected five-book series to The Charmed Trilogy. It has taken me longer to write than I hoped because of my obligations for The Charmed, but I am so excited where this series is going I spend just about every hour I can getting it out of my head and onto paper. The first book in the series, Someone Else’s Skye, will be available this fall, and to get the most out of all the little nuggets I have left for the reader I recommend starting from the beginning with The Charmed.

As part of her tour, Christine is is giving away a $50.00 Amazon Gift Card and a signed copy of The Charmed to one lucky winner that follows the tour. Enter to win.