Captivation by Nicola Moriarty

Juliette's husband Danny was a successful novelist, enabling them to live a very comfortable lifestyle. What all that fame and wealth couldn't do, however, was ensure good health, and Danny was struck down young, dying approximately six months before this story is set.

Juliette has, of course, been grieving and has barely left the apartment that they shared, but she has started to find a way out of her grief. One of the ways that she does this through baking, to the point where she couldn't possibly eat everything that she was making, and there is a lovely idea where she decides to deliver baked goods to all her neighbours in the middle of the night so they wake up to a delicious treat. She also likes to read, with a constant stream of new books being delivered to her from the local bookshop, and when the wrong order is left for her, she even manages to go to the shop herself to fix the issue - a huge step forward for her.

Gradually though, Juliette begins to occasionally hear Danny's voice, to feel as though someone is with her and she begins to regress. As the sense of Danny being with her gets stronger, Juliette once again stops leaving the house, stops cooking, stops eating, stop communicating with those few people who she was still in touch with on a regular basis.  The bond between the two of them continues to gain strength until Juliette can feel and see Danny, literally feel him which leads to some very interesting sexy times. Even the delivery of the baked goods stops when they realise that the bond is stretched to almost breaking point whenever she leaves their home.

Of course, this is not a healthy way to be and so gradually it becomes clear to Danny, if not to Juliette, that something has to change as she is unravelling to the point of contemplating what the options are to enable them to be together permanently.

Over the last year or so I have read both of Nicola Moriarty's previously released novels and enjoyed them very much so I was pleased to see that she had something new coming out. I was, however, quite surprised that Captivation was going to be a romance, but in a way I quite liked that this was an author who has a successful fiction career (with her books having romantic themes) who was prepared to give something new a go. Having read the story though, I was a bit disappointed.

The reason for my disappointment is that I don't believe that this story fits within the romance genre. For me, in order to be a romance there needs to be one thing - a HEA...a "and they lived happily ever after". At the very least there needs to be a happy for the foreseeable future. I just can't see how this can happen when one of the two lead characters is already dead. It is therefore interesting to me that this novella has been published by Random Romance, the digital first romance imprint. The other books that I have read from the imprint previously so I can only hope that this non-romance romance is an aberration. Of course, maybe I am just reacting to something that was being done deliberately to bring something different to the genre.

It's not that I didn't like the writing because I did. But for me this was more a look at the psychological impacts of grief and what can happen when the person left behind doesn't find way to cope, with some kind of odd sex scenes added in than the paranormal romance that it is being marketed as.

If you go into this expecting a romance with some paranormal themes, I think it will be disappointing, but if you want to read an interesting snapshot of loss and grieving then this maybe appealing. Either way, I would definitely recommend reading Nicola Moriarty's previous books for a really good introduction to her writing style.

Rating 3/5

Synopsis

The first paranormal addition to the Random Romance series, Captivation is an intoxicating ghost story . . . True love never dies.After Juliette lost her beloved husband Danny, she closed herself off from the world, tormented by her grief. But now, just as she is finally preparing to move on, she senses he has returned. Is he trying to come back to her?How can Juliette say no to the man she loves more than life itself? And why would she want to when Danny's methods of persuasion have her weak at the knees . . . ?Yet there is always a price to pay. And when their passionate love starts to turn sinister, will she find the strength to finally let him go for ever?

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy of this novella

BBAW Day 4: Romance by the Sea

Today's BBAW prompt:

One of the best parts about book blogging is the exposure to books and authors you might never have heard of before. Pimp the book you think needs more recognition on this day. Get creative! Maybe share snippets from other bloggers who have reviewed it or make some fun art to get your message across.

I am, however, going to be a bit naughty creative and instead of spotlighting a book, I am going to spotlight a group of authors! 

Last weekend I attended an event called Romance by the Sea. It was held in Queenscliff which is a town about an hour and a half away from me, and it was a fund raiser for a charity called A Cottage by the Sea which is a not for profit organisation which provides disadvantaged kids with opportunities they might otherwise might not have had.

The event was held at the gorgeous Queenscliff Hotel - amazing inside and out!

There were approximately 40 people all up at the event and it lasted all day, including lunch (amazing, amazing food at the lunch!) and a dinner if you wanted to stay, which means that there was lots of opportunities to get to chat to the authors who are around.

Among the authors in attendance there were bestselling authors like Stephanie Laurens and Keri Arthur, favourite authors like Sarah Mayberry, authors who I have read and enjoyed and wanted to read more of like Anne Gracie, Marion Lennox, Fiona Lowe and Jennifer Kloester plus some other authors who I either own books which I need to read still or who I need to discover like MJ Scott, Lilian Darcy and Carol Marinelli.

For me, one of the definite thrills was getting to have a chat with Sarah Mayberry, who writes fantastic contemporary category romance. As soon as there is a new book out by her, I grab it and inhale it and then have to wait for the next one!

The program was really interesting with Stephanie Laurens kicking off talking about the Books We Love to Read and why we should read the book we love to read - basically a discussion of literary fiction vs general fiction vs genre fiction and why it is okay to love reading genre fiction!

Other topics include Anne Gracie talking about the universal romance hero, Jennifer Kloester talking about the ongoing appeal of Georgette Heyer and more. There were panels talking about how Mills and Boon is anything but the same old story and formula written to order, asking the question what makes a great romance.

We were given a short time to wander around the town when there were readings that were held in the local bookstore which is in a converted church and the local art gallery, where there was some amazing art, and back at the hotel

Anne Gracie about to read

Inside the Barwon Bookseller store which has been converted from an old church.

Stephanie Laurens

Keri Arthur having just finished her reading

M J Scott reading

Sarah Mayberry - I managed not to squee too much when I chatted to her!

Fiona Lowe and Marion Lennox

The final sessions were asking the eternal question - where do you get your ideas from and then closing with what makes a good sex scene. I did take notes for all the sessions, but this post would be humongous if I actually included all of those as well!

Over all, this was such a fabulous day and special kudos should go to the organisers. I will definitely be buying a ticket if they have this event again next year, especially seeing as we were able to raise quite a large sum for this good cause.

So you may wonder how I am going to link this to the post topic today? Me too.. actually, no, I do know how.

All of these fabulous authors devoted their time and energy to a fantastic day at a gorgeous venue. So if you happen to be thinking about reading any one of their books, or if you fancy taking a chance on some fabulous Australian romance authors, then please do take some time to choose and enjoy one or more of their books! No matter whether you love contemporary romance, paranormal romance or historical romance there is an author here for you!

The Vampire Narcise by Colleen Gleason

Skilled in the seduction of men, both mortal and immortal, Narcise Moldavi is the greatest weapon in her twisted brother's war among the Dracule. Until she falls for Giordan Cale.

Her first searing encounter with Giordan seals their fierce connection for their eternal lives. But Giordan's vow to help Narcise escape her brother's rule is followed by a betrayal more agonizing than sunlight.

Wounded but determined, Narcise ensnares vampire hunter Chas Woodmore in her quest for revenge and to reclaim her life. He wants her, worships her, will kill for her.

And the Dracule never forget a wrong— nor do they forgive.

I was a bit worried when I knew that I was about to start this book. The first two books were okay, but the second bothered me a bit due to the repetition of the story from the first book. If this book had started at the same point and retold it again, I am not sure that I would have continued reading.

Instead the novel starts ten years earlier. Narcise Moldavi is the prisoner of her brother, Cezar, compelled to regularly fight against opponents organised by him. If they win, they get her to do with as they please. If she wins, she is left alone.Given her extensive training over many, many years, she generally wins.

Enter Giordan Cale, another vampire and visitor to Cezar to enter into a business deal. He sees Narcise and wants her instantly, and for a while it seems as though he will be the first man in many years to get underneath her cold, distant but beautiful facade. Cezar is a game player from way back, and he manipulates the situation in such a way as to ensure that Narcise is left believing that Giordan has deceived her in a way that she can never forgive.

I loved this part of the story. Setting up the how it was that Narcise was under the control of her horrid brother, the lengths he would go to ensure that Narcise remained his possession, the strong connection between Giordan and Narcise and the depth of Cezar's conflicted emotions in relation to her, and how far he would go to get what he would want made for compelling and interesting reading.

The story moves on ten years, and my instant thought on reading that was uh-oh, here comes the repetition, but thankfully Colleen Gleason avoided that trap. Most of the action is alluded to, skirted around the edges if you like. Narcise is still under the control of her brother until she is rescued by Chas Woodmore, brother to the heroines of Vampire Voss and Vampire Dimitri. Chas is a vampire hunter who hates the fact that he is attracted to vampires, but he is very attracted to Narcise. She however, has not allowed herself to feel anything for any man since Giordan. She does allow herself one emotion when she thinks of the man who betrayed her - hatred, strong and pure. She is however willing to attach herself to Chas because he can save her from the life she has been living for so long.

There were times that I found myself wondering why this hadn't been the first book in the series with the set up, the rescuing of Narcise (which you knew about in the first two books but didn't see), but I suspect if you read this third book without having read at least the first book it would be a little difficult to follow the narrative. It needed the foundation that had been set in those earlier books, despite the fact that a lot of the action in this book took place before the events of the first two books, and then after those two books.

Unlike in the first two books, which to me were basically standard romance novels draped in paranormalcy and dressed in Regency attire, this book took some risks. Whilst the back cover blurb makes it clear who the hero of this book is going to be, the relationship between Chas and Narcise was also strong and well developed, putting her in the position of having to choose between two men who loved her.

I was glad to find out more about the talents of the younger Woodmore sister, and I can't help but wonder if we might hear more about her in future. I did find myself wondering again why Maia missed out in terms of special talents (other than bossiness), but maybe it was just to make it a little less predictable. I have no idea what Gleason's plans are in terms of what she is working on next.

One of the key features of all three novels was how do the vampires escape the fate that they have chosen, and I found the transformation that Giordan had undergone, and the impact of that transformation to be quite interesting, and certainly wasn't a twist that I have seen in a vampire novel before. Did I find the outcome for Narcise to be believable? Well not really, but it would be a bit irrelevant to say that you need to suspend disbelief, because these are paranormal romance novels and so you have to suspend disbelief from the beginning.

For me, this trilogy started out slowly, was repetitive, but ended on a high with this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the e-ARC.


Rating: 4/5

The Vampire Dimitri by Colleen Gleason

Regency London loves a Society wedding –

Even if there are vampires on the guest list.

Dimitri, the Earl of Corvindale, should be delighted that the headstrong Maia Woodmore is getting married. His mortal ward and houseguest has annoyed – and bewitched – the Dracule nobleman too long, and denying his animal cravings grows more excruciating by the day.

Miss Woodmore's family has a rather...complicated history with the immortals and she herself possesses a keen sensibility far beyond mere women's intuition. Marriage will give her safety, respectability, and everything else a proper young lady could wish for. Everything, that is, except for passion.

In the looming battle between Dracule factions, all pretenses will shatter as Maia and Dimitri come together in an unholy union of danger, desperation, and fiercest desire.

This book is the second book in the Regency Draculia trilogy, which started with The Vampire Voss. Actually, it is probably fairer to say that the first half of this book is a retelling of many of the events from Vampire Voss from a different perspective. Now, done well, there can be merit in repeating many of the same events, but there wasn't enough difference for me not to be a bit bored.

The strongest aspect of this book is definitely Dimitri. He is your quintessential English earl. If you read historical romances, you have met Dimitri before. He is arrogant, he is remote, he is cold, a man of duty and honor, which has in the past cost him dearly. He is also driven, having been searching for many years for a way to break his deal with the devil that led to him becoming a vampire in the first place. His regimented and peaceful life is turned upside down when he is obligated to honour a promise made to the vampire hunter Chas Woodmore. If anything should happen to him, Woodmore's two sisters Maia and Angelica are to become Dimitri's responsibility, and to ensure that they are kept safe from Dimitri and Chas's mutual enemies.

To Dimitri's immense relief, his responsibilities should be completed in a short period of time. Either Chas will return, or if not, Maia's fiance should be back soon from his travels. The couple can be married, and set up their own home where they can be responsible for Angelica. That means that the interfering Maia will very soon be out of his house and out of his life, hopefully before she drives him to complete distraction by her bossiness, and by her mere presence awaking emotions and feelings that had been long dormant.

At this point I have to say that I love to read about characters like Dimitri, tortured, tormented, and so meticulously remote, but then who come undone when a woman gets under the facade. Unfortunately, I need to like the woman a whole lot more than I liked Maia. She was portrayed as headstrong and independant, but she just annoyed me a lot of the time.

I mentioned previously that there was a lot of rehashing in this book and it was, at times, tedious. I almost cheered with relief when I realised that we were finally going to get to some new story. That is, until I found myself wishing that I could go back to the previous story.

All of this sounds quite negative, but I don't mean it to be. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the storyline, but there is not a lot new here either. I think that is part of what I am missing with this series. The Gardella Vampires series was fresh, and unusual, but this book is pretty standard paranormal romance fare, albeit in a Regency setting. (I will say that I have read the third book and I did get some of that point of difference that I was looking for in that).

So, if you read Vampire Voss and liked what you saw of Dimitri in that book, read this one. A lot of people didn't necessarily like Voss all that much, but you will need the background before you move on to the third book in the trilogy, which for me at least, was the highlight.

Uncertain Magic by Laura Kinsale

A man damned by suspicion and innuendo

Dreadful rumors swirl around the impoverished Irish lord known as "The Devil Earl". But Faelen Savigar hides a dark secret, for even he doesn't know what dreadful deeds he may be capable of.

A woman cursed by the gift of "sight"

Roderica Delamore fears no man will ever want a wife who can read his every thought and emotion, until she encounters Faelan. As the two find their way to each other against all odds, Roddy becomes determined to save Faelen from his terrifying and mysterious ailment. But will their lvoe end up saving him ... or destroying her?

A breathtaking historical romance filled with poignancy, darkness, love, and an unexpected twist of Gaelic magic…

I am going to have to start this review with a bit of a rant! I really, really don’t like books where the hero refers to the heroine as little girl or little love or anything like that. Unfortunately, the author uses this as an endearment between our hero of this novel, Faelen Savigar, and the heroine,  Roddy Delamore,  and every time he called her that name I wanted to throw the book down and walk away. I was hoping that it would just be in the early part of the book, and that in due course Faelen would grow to see her as more than a little girl, but alas it didn't happen, at least in terms of endearments. To me, it just sounds so condescending and a little bit wrong. 

Now that that is out of the way a bit more about the book. Roddy has always been a little bit different, and she has always been aware that other people look at her a bit askance, a little bit fearful of what it is that is different about her. She can hear the thoughts and feel the emotions of humans and creatures near her. When she is at the races, she feels the pain of a racing horse, knowing that if it keeps on being forced to race it’s heart will give out. The owner of the horse is known as the Devil Earl, including that he murdered his father at a young age. He is a man who lives on the periphery of accepted society, and about whom many rumours swirl. He doesn’t really even trust himself as there are many occasions where he loses days, not knowing where he has been or what he has been doing. Amazingly for Roddy who wants a life away from her parents meaning marriage and children, he is also a man that she can’t get inside the head of, even if she tries, and that makes him attractive to her. She therefore suggest to him that perhaps he could court her.

Whilst her family are initially reluctant to agree to the match, Roddy convinces them that he is indeed the man she wants to marry and they agree. What follows their wedding is danger, intrigue, rebellion and mysticism with its heart in the Irish countryside. Faelen is hoping to rebuild his family’s crumbling estate, but before he can do that, his friend must move on the guns that he has illegally stored at the estate. It is however no easy matter to remove that number of weapons undetected by the English soldiers who are on the lookout for traitors, and feel no sense of injustice by destroying peoples homes and livelihoods in the process. From spectral haunting, to dangerous attempts to free people from jail, this book would seem to have all the ingredients for a cracking good read.

While all of this sounds very dramatic, I had trouble being interested enough in the storyline, and actually felt a bit lost at times as the mystical and then the temporal elements jostled for time at the forefront of the book.
I have liked the books I have read by this author before, but unfortunately this one didn’t work as well for me! Even by the time I got to the end of the book, I wasn't quite sure what at least two of the characters were and how they fitted into the big picture.

Whilst the paranormal elements in this novel were different from a lot of the books that are being released now, I do think that if you have been reading romance for a while you would recognise the style as a more older fashioned type of paranormal, which makes sense give that this book was originally published in 1987.


Thanks to Sourcebooks who provided me with a review copy of this book.

This book counted for the 2010 Pub Challenge, and the Romance Reading Challenge that I am participating in.

Rating 3.5/5

My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding Anthology

Werewolves, vampires, witches, voodoo, Elvis---and weddings

An “ordinary” wedding can get crazy enough, so can you imagine what happens when otherworldly creatures are involved? Nine of the hottest authors of paranormal fiction answer that question in this delightful collection of supernatural wedding stories. What’s the seating plan when rival clans of werewolves and vampires meet under the same roof? How can a couple in the throes of love overcome traps set by feuding relatives---who are experts at voodoo? Will you have a good marriage if your high-seas wedding is held on a cursed ship? How do you deal with a wedding singer who’s just a little too good at impersonating Elvis?

· L. A. Banks
· Jim Butcher
· Rachel Caine
· P. N. Elrod
· Esther M. Friesner
· Lori Handeland
· Charlaine Harris
· Sherrilyn Kenyon
· Susan Krinard

Shape-shifters, wizards, and magic, oh my!

My main reason for picking up this short story collection was so that I continue working my way through Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series. An unfortunate side effect is that I am pretty sure I read something out of order for the Harry Dresden series, but what can you do really? I am not 100% sure if some of the other stories were parts of series as well because that will really knock my "only read a series in order" mantra around a bit as well!

In Spellbound by L A Banks, the Hatfields and the McCoys have been feuding for generations, "working roots on each other, casting evil spells, dabblin' in hoodoo". When Odelia Hatfield and Jefferson McCoy fall in love, the one thing that can be guaranteed at the wedding is problems! It doesn't really help that the wedding was something of a surprise to all parties who thought they were coming to town to celebrate individuals graduations!

L A Banks is an author who I only ever seem to read in anthologies, but I do like her voice, and will maybe try to make an effort to read more of her longer books!

I really enjoy reading Jim Butcher's Dresden files stories, and Something Borrowed was no exception. Wizard Harry Dresden is a last minute replacement best man for his friend's wedding, but there just isn't quite something right about the bride! Once he puts his finger on what the issue is, it's a matter of life and death and Harry has to pull out all the stops to save the big day!

The only thing that was a bit annoying for the OCD in me, is that this story should be read between Dead Beat and Proven Guilty (books 7 and 8 in the series) and I am only up to book 3. I have previously read another short story out of order as well! Let it go Marg, let it go!

Dead Man's Chest by Rachel Caine was a really fun read. At first I was really confused at where the author was trying to take the story, but in the end I think this will be one of my favourites from the collection.

Cecilia couldn't believe her luck when romance cover model Ian Taylor fell for her. Only problem is that things are going a little bit fast for her when suddenly she is whisked onto an old style sailing ship to be married in what appears to be a ship wench outfit. Turns out there is something strange about the crew, and suddenly Ian doesn't seem to be quite the catch either. Lots of fun.

All Shook Up by P N Elrod was another fun read. Frankie is catering at a celebrity wedding reception when she is completely shocked to see that the entertainment is a VERY good Elvis impersonator. Whilst she is an excellent caterer, she also has another gift - seeing the future, and she is not sure that she likes what she sees, but Elvis seems to be doing a good job of distracting her for now! Another author that I only seem to read in anthologies. Last time I reviewed one I said I can definitely see myself reading more by this author. Same still applies - I just need to get around to starting a whole book by her.

If there was one story in this collection that didn't really work for me, it was Esther M Friesner's The Wedding of Wylda Serene. There haven't been many events held at the exclusive Club, basically because absolutely anything could, and has happened. It is therefore something of a surprise when the local darling, Wylda Serene insists that she must get married there, especially when no one seems to have met the lucky man yet. Whilst I did enjoy the premise, and think that it is one that the author could have a lot of fun with (who couldn't have fun with a bunch of ancient and trouble making Greek Gods), I don't think I really got the mother-of-the-bride-zilla moments enough to be able save this story from being meh!

Lori Handeland seems to be yet another author that I only read in anthologies, and yet I liked the last story I read from her featuring characters from her Jager-Sucher series. In this story, Charmed by the Moon, Jessie and Will are about to get married when they find a love charm that has been hidden amongst their belongings. This leads them to question whether they are really in love or if they have been manipulated, and by whom?

Tacky by Charlaine Harris is set in the same world as the Sookie Stackhouse books, but Sookie isn't one of the characters. This short story examines what might possibly happen if a vampire decides to marry a werewolf. The main character is neither bride nor groom, but the bridesmaid. She also has to figure out what the bridesmaid's role in the wedding is meant to be, with a special focus on not ending up with a bridesmaid dress that looks tacky! There is also the fact that not everyone on either side is comfortable with this union, which leads to some problems on the big day, and then there is also the opinions of regular humans that might well get in the way as well.

A Hard Day's Night-Searcher by Sherrilyn Kenyon was the reason I read this book, and was in itself an okay story. It certainly didn't blow my mind though. Rafael Santiago's squire Jeff is a bit of a problem. He has published a story where he has changed the names, but other than that he has basically written about the Dark Hunter world, and now the top squires want to see him. They send Celina to pick up Jeff, but Rafael manages to stall by offering her a deal - he can get her to break the Squire within a week if she has to stay with him.

"...Or Forever Hold Your Peace" by Susan Krinard, was more a mystery than a romance, but I would love to read more set in this world. It is set in a alternate Victorian style world called Albion, where all the best families pass on not only land and treasures but also paranormal Talents. At the key moment in the wedding of Lady Emma Wakefield and Lord Edward Parish, a stranger bursts into the wedding and objects to the union. As he runs away from the wedding, he is killed. The next day, the bride goes missing and it is up to Lady Olivia Dowling and her friend, Kit Meredith, to figure out how those two events are connected. I really liked Olivia and Kit as a couple and you could easily see something more developing between the two characters.

Warlord by Elizabeth Vaughan

Lara of Xy and her Warlord, Keir of the Cat, have been through much together. Lara abandoned her lands and people for love of him. She adopted his ways and learned of his tribe. Together they have faced plague and insurgency -- and despite these struggles, they have known happiness and joy.

Now they face their most arduous task: Keir must take Lara into the Heart of the Plains, and introduce her as the Warprize to the warrior-priests. She must be tested--questioned, examined, watched--and must find favor with the warrior-priests and the tribe’s elders before they will confirm her as a true Warprize.

But in Lara's heart there are doubts--for what if she is found wanting? Will Keir give up everything he knows to be with his Warprize?

I am sooooo tired, and it's all Ana's fault!

Actually that's probably a little unfair, but only a little. In the last few days Ana has posted her reviews of the first two books in this series. As I was reading her review of Warprize, I was reminded that despite the fact that I really enjoyed the first two books in the series myself, I hadn't yet got around to reading the third and final book, Warlord. Forty five minutes of unpacking and repacking the bookcase (I really need a new bookcase!) and I had Warlord in my hands. I read a little bit of it on Saturday night, but it was really Sunday night that I lost lots of sleep - I just could not put the book down until I was finished...which happened to be well after 1am in the morning...on a school night!

I guess that it's pretty easy to tell that I enjoyed this book!

If Warprize is the story of Keir coming to Lara's homeland and claiming her, and Warsworn is the story of their journey towards Fireland and with each other, then this book is about Lara's struggle to be accepted as Warprize, because not only does she have to be claimed by Keir, there is also the not so small matter of being accept by the Elders Council.

Keir and Lara are separated as Lara travels to the Heart of the Plains where she must face the elders and answer their questions. This will be her last chance to return to her homeland, and be free of this situation that she was basically forced into if she wants to. Unfortunately though, some of the events of their journey have already reached the ears of the elders on the winds, and her welcome is far from warm. Lara must convince them of her suitability and her willingness to be the Warprize, and both Keir and Lara must try to figure out what will happen if she is not accepted, or if Keir is deemed to have failed in his role of Warlord. Along the way there is danger, discovery and romance.

I cannot tell you enough how much I enjoyed this whole series. I am definitely going to be reading more from this author! Dagger-star...here I come!

Sleeping with the Fishes by Mary Janice Davidson

Fred is a mermaid. But stop right there. Whatever image you're thinking of right now, forget it. Fred is not blonde. She's not buxom. And she's definitely not perky. In fact, Fred can be downright cranky. And it doesn't help that her hair is ocean coloured.

Being a mermaid does help Fred when she works at the New England Aquarium. But, needless to say, it's there that she gets involved in something fishy. Weird levels of tozins have been found in the local water. A gorgeous marine biologist wants her help investigating. So does her mer-person ruler, the High Prince of the Black Sea. You'd think it would be easy for a mermaid to get to the bottom of things. Think again...

This book is labelled as paranormal romance which did make me wonder are mermaids paranormal, but maybe that is too big a question to be asking this early in a post.

The only reason why I picked this book up, is that Mary Janice Davidson is one of the big name authors who have been confirmed as coming to the first Australian Romance Readers Convention next year, and I hadn't really read much from her, so I wanted to give her a go and see what I thought. Before this, I had only read a short story in an anthology that was part of her popular Betsy the Vampire series.

So, enough about the why of this book and onto what I thought of it. Unfortunately, I was pretty underwhelmed by it - really starting from the dedication and the going all the way through the acknowledgements.

The premise is potentially fun - a half mermaid works at the New England Aquarium (cue conversations with the fish, especially when the fish decide that they only want to listen to Pet Shop Boys music) and basically her work is her life. She hasn't been on a date for years, despite the best efforts of her best friend who is the only person in the world outside of her family who knows what she is. Then, not one, but two handsome men show up, both trying to get to the bottom of some toxic water. One is Thomas who is hunky marine biologist who has always known that mermaids were real, and the other is Artur, the High Prince of the Black Sea who has been sent by his king to investigate with Fred's assistance.

There are genuine funny moments, which I would tell you, but you know then you would only be left with all the not so funny bits.

During the course of the investigation, you of course discover who the bad guy is who is polluting the ocean, and in this case, the bad guy was in effect a cartoon character villain. His motivation was flimsy at best, and the showdown felt contrived and somewhat silly.

Like so many other current romance novels, particularly in the urban/paranormal romance subgenre there is little resolution in the love triangle, and I guess I will probably read the next book in due course just to see what happens. I have no idea how many books there are planned for the series, but I presume that we will get the HEA over the whole arc of the series.

I won't lose any sleep if I don't read the next book all that soon though.

Dates from Hell anthology

She thought her date was out of this world.
Actually, he was not of this world . . .

We've all been on bad dates, nightmare dates, dreadful experiences that turned out to be uniquely memorable in the very worst way. But at least our partners for these detestable evenings were more or less . . . human!

Now Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Kelley Armstrong, and Lori Handeland -- four of the very best writers currently exploring the dangerous seduction of the supernatural -- offer up dating disasters (and unexpected delights) of a completely different sort: dark, wicked, paranormally sensual assignations with werewolves, demon lovers, and the romantically challenged undead. Sexy, witty, chilling, and altogether remarkable, here is proof positive that some love matches are made someplace other than heaven.

I originally picked this anthology up because it had the next story in the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong included (it follows Haunted) . Two of the other authors seem to be authors that I only read in anthologies, and the third was new to me!


Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil
Kim Harrison takes us to the Hollows, where living vampire homicide cop Ivy Tamwood, investigating a string of very nasty murders, finds herself caught between two different men, who put every dating principle she holds dear to the ultimate test.

Kim Harrison is the new to me author in this anthology. I have had her Hollows series on my TBR list for a while now, with the intention of getting to it eventually. When I saw that this was a prequel to that series I thought it would be a fair introduction to the series. I really hope this story wasn't a good representation of what the series is like because I really didn't like it. What I suspect is that this prequel was written a fair way into the existing series, because there was little coherent world building, full of vampire politics, and I suspect a lot of assumptions made in terms of what the reader did and didn't know.

It also didn't help that I didn't really like Ivy as a character. Given that each of these novellas is around 100 pages long, I normally would have got through one of these stories in just over an hour - this one took my three nights. Ivy was meant to be this kick-ass heroine living vampire, but she ended up coming off as alternating between whiny and needy, and distant and aloof. The other strange thing is that the blurb says that she is caught between two men, but I counted three - the one who was the date from hell, the one that seemed to control her and she had a really unhealthy relationship with, and then the third man who she seemed to dominate (although he at least seemed to have genuine feelings for.

I will still give the series a go, but I wouldn't necessarily think that this is a good starting point for anyone else reading the series.

The Claire Switch Project
Lynsay Sands gives the power to shape-shift to a most resourceful woman, who uses it to her wickedly sexy advantage at her high school reunion.

I have read one book and one novella by Lynsay Sand previously, and it is fair to say her writing didn't really do it for me on either occasion, so I was a little sceptical when it came to reading her contribution to this book.

A young lab assistant works in a laboratory where they are doing testing on animals for molecular destabilisation. Due to the antics of a really bad guy, instead of the bunny getting stung by the ray gun, Claire gets zapped. Once her boss, who happens to be her best friends brother, and the (unrequited) love of her life since the time she was a teenager, finds out that she has been zapped he takes her home for the weekend. Her best friend has just been dumped and when she finds that Claire just has to look at a photo of someone and then she can shape shift to appear to be that person, she asks her to be her date to the school reunion that night, and take on the form of Hollywood heartthrob Brad Cruise (yes, really). Matters are complicated when Kyle (said boss) he then asks her out to the same school reunion (because she is the unrequited love of his life since he was a teenager). Of course, she agrees to go with both of them and much hilarity ensues.

Actually, I probably shouldn't have written the summary quite like that, because up to a point, this was an entertaining story with a fun premise, but instead of leaving it be, the author decided to take the hilarity a couple of steps too far in my opinion. Of course, humour is completely subjective, and so there are probably some that loved those extra couple of extra laughs, but for me it pushed it from the realm of amusing to silly.

I think it is time I just accepted that Lynsay Sands humour isn't for me.

Chaotic
Kelley Armstrong enters the Otherworld to help a beautiful half-demon tabloid reporter escape a disastrous blind date by giving her a hot lead...that leads to an even hotter werewolf jewel thief.

My main reason for reading this anthology and the best story out of the four!

Hope is a half-demon whose talent is for finding chaos. She can see it, smell it, taste it when there is any kind of chaos nearby, and she loves it! Craves it in fact. Having been raised outside of any kind of demon community, she was grateful when she was found, and given the task of assisting the Interracial Council by identifying when things are happening that shouldn't be.

Hope's blind date from hell is with a particularly arrogant and selfish man at a crowded museum gala, a man determined to belittle her chosen profession, and who doesn't even notice when she disappears having sensed something a little out of the ordinary going on in another part of the museum.

Having tracked her prey, she comes across a particularly debonair werewolf who is helping himself to a couple of the most priceless items from the museum. Little does Hope know but the chaos is really just beginning for her. The werewolf is Karl Marsten, who in some of the earlier books was something of a bad guy, but who seems to be mostly reformed now, and he is pretty sure that Hope really isn't working for who she thinks she is working for. Hope has to decide whether to trust him or not.

Let me tell you just one of the reasons why I liked this story so much. The whole story covers the event of just one night. There is no happy ever after, although there is a hint of a future happiness. Hope and Karl meet, are thrown into a situation, are attracted to each other, and to a certain degree they act on that attraction, but this is no hasty meet on page 1, kiss on page 50 and live happily ever after. Because the author is not trying to cram a whole relationship into a shorter than normal novel, you manage to get to know each of the characters better, and to get a well written story of the events of one momentous night. I am really hopeful that we will get to see more of the development of Hope and Karl's relationship during other books in the series.

Dead Man Dating
Lori Handeland gives the term "dating hell" a whole new meaning, when a Manhattan literary agent out on her first date in months, is forced to choose between a sexy devil, and the rogue demon hunter who's out to destroy him.

I have only read one other Lori Handeland story, and that was another novella in the Stroke of Midnight anthology. This one had a completely different premise and feel to it.

Kit Marinelli is a literary agent who is looking for love. Having given up on meeting a man any other way, she places an ad in the personals and is completely surprised when she gets a response, especially when he is a totally gorgeous man. Kit has been saving herself for true love, and therefore can't believe her sexual response to this man, and it is only when she is at the point of giving it up in a dark alley, and she is stopped by a rough looking demon hunter, that she starts to think there might be something strange going on. Her date is actually dead, and his body has been inhabited by an incubus who needs to sacrifice a virgin to sustain himself.

The incubus isn't really playing fair, in that he keeps on changing bodies, and almost getting to Kit before she can be rescued. She isn't totally helpless for her particular skill is ancient language and research and so while Chavez (the demon hunter) tries everything he can think of to kill the demon and not being very successful, Kit is able to contribution at least something to the puzzle, and that is not only the due to the fact she has to sacrifice her virginity. After all, if a incubus is desperate for a virgin, one way to keep her safe is to make sure she isn't a virgin any longer right! (Highlight for spoiler)

I did enjoy this one, even though it did have a couple of eye-rolling worthy elements in it! It could be an interesting premise for an urban fantasy type series.

Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts

This is the first book in the Sign of Seven trilogy.

Caleb Hawkins can never forget what happened at The Pagan Stone twenty-one years ago - and neither can Hawkins Hollow. For every seven years in July, the locals do unspeakable things, and then don't remember them. The collective madness has given the town the reputation of a village possessed, and draws reporter and author Quinn Black. Cal, descendant of the town founders, has agreed to talk to her. It is only February, but he has already sensed the stirrings of evil. The signs have never been this strong before. He will need help, from his best friends Fox and Gage, and from Quinn.

I want to start this with a comment about the names or more precisely about one name - Quinn. I could have sworn that I have read a novel by Nora Roberts that had a character named Quinn it. I was sure that it was a male character (and I was pretty sure that it was in the last trilogy), and as I read this novel it really distracted me to think that an author would recycle a name in books that were published so closely together. Quite frankly, I should have known better than to doubt Nora Roberts - it was me that was an idiot! The vampire in the Circle trilogy was Cian (note...not Quinn), there were no main characters called Quinn in either Angel Falls, High Noon or The Three Fates, or in the In the Garden trilogy or the Born in Trilogy. The only thing I can think of is that I was getting confused with another character from another author's book maybe from the Sookie Stackhouse series (unlikely), or the other possibility is that I was getting muddled with the surname of the boys from the Chesapeake books by NR. (Mmmmm....Cam Quinn!) Whatever it was, it really bothered me all the way through this book.

So far I have enjoyed just about every Nora Roberts book I have read. I love the relationship that build between the hero and the heroine, I love the friendships between the other characters, I love the family dynamics. In some ways I wonder if I love the comfort of a Nora Roberts book. What I did feel this time though, was that I had read parts of this book before, most particularly in the Circle trilogy. We had a group of people coming together to fight a paranormal fight where they had to learn not only about each other. They become isolated from others, and basically have to learn to rely on themselves as they fight. They quickly and neatly pair off into couples who share either similar or complimentary skills or talents, and it certainly feels as though there was a showdown against the enemy at the end of this book, and I am expecting one in the next book, before there is the almighty showdown at the end of the trilogy.

And yet, this book is different in many ways as well. Where the aforementioned Circle trilogy was definitely a foray into the paranormal, this has more of a horror feel to it - both supernatural but with different elements. Even just in this book there were some truly horrible things happening to the characters and to the town. I can't wait to see what she has in mind for the next two books. Fortunately many of the people in the town cannot see what is really happening...otherwise real estate prices would be going way down really quickly!

Caleb, Fox and Gage are more than just best friends - they are blood brothers. Unfortunately when they swore their oath to each other at Pagan Rock in the woods near their hometown, they let loose an entity that visits again each seven years, causing a temporary madness to descent into their small hometown of Hawkins Hollow - a temporary madness that leads to death and chaos all round. With the next seventh anniversary almost upon them, the signs are already there that this is going to be the worst visitation yet.

Into this world comes Quinn Black. She is an author/writer who specialises in writing about those small towns that seem to be just a little off-centre, for whatever reason. Now, she wants to write about the events that happen each seven years in Hawkins Hollows.

The relationship between Quinn and Caleb is well characterised. I totally bought Caleb as someone who had in some ways held himself distant from love because he didn't want to take the risk of having someone in his life too precious to lose during that one strange week in July. In the trilogies I have previously read by Roberts there has usually been some sense of build up in the tension between at least one of the other couples, but I really didn't feel it all that much in this book. Maybe a little instant attraction between Gage and Cybil, but really not a lot between Fox and Layla. I am sure that that issue will be resolved in their own books!

Aside from the fact that I had name issues, I did really enjoy this book. The one downside now though is that I have to wait for months for the next book in the trilogy to come out. I really should have waited until they had all been published to read this!

Other Blogger's Thoughts:

Passion for the Page

The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes by Jennifer Crusie, Eileen Dreyer and Anne Stuart

You’re invited to spend the weekend with three extraordinary sisters…

When she was sixteen, Dee Fortune kidnapped her two younger sisters and ran from danger. Now twenty-nine, she’s still trying to control her shape-shifting power—no easy task when Danny James shows up one Friday morning with his deadly smile and dangerous questions about the past.
“Dreyer is wickedly clever and witty.”—Booklist

Lizzie is determined to save her family from financial ruin by turning straw into gold; now if she could only stop turning forks into bunnies. Then Elric, a sorcerer, appears one Friday—annoyed with the chaos Lizzie is creating in the universe and in his heart. . . .
“A consummate mistress of her craft, Stuart is a pure pleasure to indulge.”
—Romantic Times Bookreviews

The youngest Miss Fortune, Mare, towers above her sisters but her telekinetic power is dwarfed by their gifts. She spends her days at Value Video!! and her nights contemplating the futility of her existence. But then a gorgeous Value Video!! VP and Mare’s long lost love turn up. . .and they all turn up the heat on a weekend that no Fortune will soon forget!
“Crusie is a master of fast-paced witty dialogue.”—Seattle Times

I can just imagine what the brainstorming sessions would have been like for the three authors involved in this book.

"What's the strangest thing that someone could morph into during sex?"

"A frog"

"No, no...wouldn't it be hysterical if she turned into the guy's mother just as they got hot and heavy?". Lots of mirth and merriment ensues.

"And, how about, what if, one of the sisters is trying to transform objects, but every time she tries to do it the only thing that happens is that she makes herself a new pair of shoes?" Hahahaha. "Every woman loves shoes!"

"Wait, wait...what if..." laughing .....

Okay...so I don't actually know if that's how it really was, but in some ways it felt to me as though the three authors involved in this book were having so much fun thinking about what things could happen, but it just didn't quite translate onto the page. The book was lots of fun, but it wasn't the fantastic ride I wanted, mainly because the characters were swapped around too quickly, and the chapters too long.

I should probably declare right now that I hadn't ever read Anne Stuart or Eileen Dreyer before so I really was reading this for Jennifer Crusie. And I have to admit that I came away from this book thinking that I am not so enthused about her collaborations, after first Don't Look Down, and now this book. (Luckily, since then I have read Agnes and the Hitman (and no, I haven't reviewed it yet) so my faith has been restored somewhat - restored enough to be looking forward to the collaboration that she is currently working on with Lani Diane Rich and Anne Stuart.

My other qualm was that two of the sisters meet, fall in love, and then agree to marry in the space of three days as well as having to defeat evil aunt Xantippe in that time frame as well.

When I read the book, my favourite relationship was between the youngest sister, Mare and her true love. I'm not saying more on this one because there are two possibilities for Mare, but she definitely ended up with the right guy! Now, as I look back though, I did also really like Dee and Danny's relationship. I wasn't so keen on Lizzie and Elrick. He was a bit...pompous..for want of a better word, for me!

So, whilst this book was a fun read, it just didn't meet my expectations. It could well be that my expectations were too high, but still.

Rating 3.5/5

Stroke of Midnight Anthology

Four of romance's most intriguing authors have come together to create a mesmerizing anthology— unforgettable tales of vampires, shapeshifters, and were-wolves. At the heart of these deeply sensual tales are everyday people facing extraordinary events—men and women thrown together by fate and an irresistible desire. In this world, your eyes can betray you as myth becomes reality, curses are vanquished, and love is the only weapon that can stand in the face of evil. In this world, there is a moment when passion and forbidden desire collide at the... Stroke of Midnight.

I picked up this anthology because it contained the next story in the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon


Winter Born by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Two enemy Were-Panthers discover that fate has destined they become lovers. Pandora must learn to trust Dante's foreign nature. But as she slowly succumbs to the truest passion she has ever known, dark forces have already set out to reclaim her...

I'm not really sure why but this DH short story didn't really do anything for me. Pandora is a young were-panther who has just gone into her first heat - a very dangerous time. When she goes to Dragon*Con to try and find Ash to try and be protected from the pack of were-panthers who would take her and basically destroy her life. At the same Dragon*Con are Dante and his 3 brothers, only one of whom is mated. Basically as soon as Dante and Pandora meet each other, they are in bed because they both can't resist their animal instincts, and then they are basically bonded forever, they just have to choose whether or not they want to make their vows. There's a lot of action packed in this story, but just didn't really ever draw me in really.

Born of the Night by Amanda Ashley
When Lady Shanara Montiori is taken hostage, she learns that the rumors about her captor are true. Lord Reyes is afflicted with the dark curse of the werewolf. Still, Shanara can't fight the attraction they both feel. Will their love break the curse-or feed its powerful hold?

I've only read one other novella from Amanda Ashley, and I really didn't like it! This one was better.

Make It Last Forever by L. A. Banks
An innocent mistake forces the beautiful Tara onto a mission to save herself from the dark fate that awaits her. Salvation comes in the form of a seductive biker with a heart of gold. But will surrendering to their ripe attraction unleash a danger even she cannot control?

I haven't read any L. A. Banks before. I read the first chapter of this novella, and thought WTF? I very nearly put the book down at that point because it just seemed such a strange story, but I kept reading, and was glad that I did. In the end this was the best story in the book - mainly because I haven't read a story like it before. Tara is on the point of being turned to vampire, and is trying to get to her Native American grandmother's house to try to stop the turning from happen, but along the way the undead are trying to stop her. Rider is a guardian, but doesn't know it yet, and as he falls in love with Tara, and tries to save her, his life changes.

Red Moon Rising by Lori Handeland
Novelist Maya Alexander's peace is shattered when she is stalked by a Navaho skinwalker who has taken on the guise of a wolf. Her only hope is the mysterious Clay Philips. In his arms, she seeks protection-but as the red moon rises, no one is safe from the danger that lurks nearby...

This one was interesting. Lori Handeland is another new to me author, and I didn't mind her novella. I think it is part of a series, but can't quite figure out where it fits!

The idea that there were Jager-Sucher's (basically paranormal hunters) out there to try and track down paranormal creatures - some of which were ancient creatures, and others created by the Nazis was interesting. Maya was apparently gifted in that she could hear the winds, and Clay has to track down the skinwalker, and protect her, whilst trying to stop himself from falling in love with her, because the last people he loved were killed because of him.



Overall, this was a pretty lacklustre collection, but it does mean that I can now move onto the next book in the Sherrilyn Kenyon series, so that's okay with me!


Rating 3.5/5

Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Bride McTierney has had it with men. They're cheating, self-centered, and never love her for who she is. But though she prides herself on being independent, deep down she still yearns for a knight in shining armor.

She just never expected her knight in shining armor to have a shiny coat of fur…

Deadly and tortured, Vane Kattalakis isn't what he seems. Most women lament that their boyfriends are dogs. In Bride's case, hers is a wolf. A Were-Hunter wolf. Wanted dead by his enemies, Vane isn't looking for a mate. But the Fates have marked Bride as his. Now he has three weeks to either convince Bride that the supernatural is real or he will spend the rest of his life neutered—something no self-respecting wolf can accept…

But how does a wolf convince a human to trust him with her life when his enemies are out to end his? In the world of the Were-Hunters, it really is dog-eat-dog. And only one alpha male can win.

Mmmm....Vane!



Mmmm........Vane!! Sigh!


Bridie's a very lucky woman!


Rating: 4.5/5

Valley of Silence by Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts presents the electrifying conclusion to her powerful new trilogy. In the kingdom of Geall, the scholarly Moira has taken up the sword of her people. As queen, she must prepare her subjects for the greatest battle they will ever fight - against an enemy more powerful than any they have seen. For Lilith, the most powerful vampire in the world, has followed the circle of six through time to Geall. Moira also has a personal score to settle. Vampires killed her mother - and she is ready to exact her revenge. But there is one vampire to who she would trust her soul....

The final book in the Circle trilogy following on from Morrigan's Cross and Dance of the Gods, and ultimately the conclusion in the battle between the Circle of six and Lilith, the vampiress driven by greed or ambition to rule the world.

It's taken me a while, but I finally got around to read the concluding book in this trilogy a week or so ago, and I really did enjoy it. The six are now in Geall, making preparations for the final battle, where the fate of the world rests in their hands. Whilst Moira is helping to prepare her people for battle, she is also distracted by the feelings that she has for Cian, who is a vampire himself. Complicating their relationship is that Cian will live forever, or until he is staked in the chest, whilst Moira is very definitely mortal, and this is where the most conflict comes from.

I have seen written in a couple of places that these three books really read like one long 1000 page book, and I have to say that I agree with that sentiment. Within each book, including this one, there is a romance, but really the build up to the romance between Cian and Moira started in the previous books and without that build up would have felt quite rushed. The other thing that developed nicely through the whole three books was the relationships between the six - the friendships between the girls, the relationship between the wizard Hoyt and Cian....well all of the non romantic relationships really. Even with all the ominous tension in the book as the build up continued, it was great to see that there was room for humour with the story - for example when Larkin punches Cian - not the smartest thing to do to a vampire one would think!

There were some very creepy moments within this book in particular - and even the strange relationships between Lilith and her followers was explored quite fully - especially her relationship to Davey, the little boy vampire that she has adopted as her own.

In the end, the resolution was well done, and all three books were good to read - maybe not as good as some of the other Nora Roberts books I have read, but still very readable. Nora Roberts' first foray into the full world of paranormal romance was a good one, and if she writes more I will be sure to read them!


Rating 4/5

Other Blogger's Thoughts:

Passion for the Page

Kiss of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Dear Reader,

What do you get when you have one immortal Viking warrior no one can remember five minutes after he leaves their presence, a princess on the run for her life, and one seriously annoyed demigod? Basically, you get my life.

It started out simple enough. One night I went to save a woman in trouble. The next thing I knew, the doorway to hell had opened and out stepped Daimons-vampires the likes of which I'd never seen before. Led by the son of Apollo, they are out to end the curse that has banished them all to darkness. The only problem with that is they have to kill Cassandra Peters to do it and if she dies, so dies the sun, the earth and all who dwell here. Life's just a bowl full of cherries, ain't it?

Brought together by fate, it's now my job to protect a daughter of the very race I have been hunting for centuries. Neither of us dares to trust the other. But she is the only one who remembers me... More than that, with her courage and strength, she is the only one who has ever touched a heart that I thought had died centuries ago.

The only way for a Dark-Hunter to regain his soul is through the love of a woman. But what happens when that woman isn't exactly human?

Wulf Tryggvasen
'

After really liking the last Dark Hunter book Dance with the Devil, I was very much looking forward to reading this book, However, right from page 1 I wasn't as invested in this one as I was for Zarek's book.

And that doesn't mean to say that it was a terrible book because it wasn't. There were many moments were I was moved, and even a couple where I cried, but overall Wulf's story was good but not great.

Wulf was cursed hundreds of years ago so that only a member of his family can actually remember him. Everyone else forgets him the moment they walk away, so it is very unusual when he meets a woman who actually does remember him from one day to the next. Of course, it isn't easy to forget a man who you have amazing sex with, even if it is only in your dreams....or is it!

Cassandra is no ordinary woman though. She is an Appolite, destined to either die on her 27th birthday, which is only months away, or to make the choice to become a Daimon, and she holds the future of the world in her hands. If she is to die without having children, then according to legend the world will end as well - and there are quite a few out there who are willing to test the legend to see if it is actually true or not!

Cassandra and Wulf meet when she and her bodyguard are being attacked by several Daimons, and events are quickly orchestrated so that he has to protect her, especially seeing as though she is now pregnant with his child. Wulf struggles a lot with the thought of the future - how can he love a woman who is destined to become one of the Daimons that he must hunt in his role as Dark Hunter, or she must die.

Some of the more emotional scenes for me were around the thought of the baby not knowing Cassandra as it grew up. I loved the memory box where she was placing little bits and pieces so that the baby would know something about her, as well as her family. There were a couple of interesting twists in this one, including the actions of Urian, who I am sure we will get to meet again in future books.

Whilst this one was nowhere near as good as Zarek's book I am still looking forward to the next one!

My only question is - do other people out there find all the mentions of DarkHunter.com, and yet another character reading a Kinley MacGregor novel, distracting? I have to admit that at times I do!

Strangely enough, even though I felt more invested in Zarek's book, I ended up rating them both the same. How does that happen?


A solid 4/5 for this book for me!

Lover Revealed by J R Ward

Butch O'Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard living, ex-homicide cop, he's the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world to engage in the turf war with the lessers. He's got nothing to lose. His heart belongs to a female vampire, Marissa, an aristocratic beauty who's way out of his league. If he can't have her, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers...

When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead but found by a miracle, the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back, though even her love may not be enough to save him.

Never let it said that I don't come late to the party! Weeks after everyone else has done their reviews I am finally ready to do mine! There are a couple of factors as to why I am so late. The first is that my book took a week more to get to me than it did to everyone else (or at least that is the way it felt!) and then it took me just under a week to actually pick it up. Then when I did pick it up, I did so on a night when I was really exhausted, and had gone to bed at 8.30pm. I thought that I might just read a couple of chapters...you know...just a few pages. At 1am I put the book down having read 400 pages, and then I finished it the next morning on the train!

Enough on the preliminaries! I will start by saying that I wasn't really a Butch fan before I read this book, and whilst he was fine in this book, there is no way that this book surpasses Lover Awakened for me. The highlights in this book for me were to see what is going to happen with Vishous, to see the development in John Mathew's story, and to see the continued development of Zsadist! So those were the highlights, but I did think Butch was okay. It was interesting considering the bond between Butch and V how they ended up being vital to each other in the bigger scheme of things.

For once, I do think that we saw some development in the female characters, prompted by Marisa. I was particularly glad to see this for her because otherwise her role would have been limited to shallow high society woman, and I love the idea of the women sticking together.

Butch and Marisa seemed to fall in love very hard and very fast, but their chemistry was pretty good. The fact that Butch is human and Marisa not was resolved in a pretty obvious way, although the events that happened to him earlier in the book made me wonder how the author was going to manage to resolve the issues, but she did it well in the end!

I have to say that I didn't notice the language as much this time round as I have in other books in this series, but the proliferation of label names, even in one of the love scenes, seemed to be more full on this time around.

Once again, this was a really hard to put down book, as they all have been, and the story arc that is going throughout the series was definitely developed more this time round.

So...is it too early to start counting down to Vishous' book? The excerpt and all the little titbits that have been said whilst JR Ward has been guest blogging around the place really make me want to read his story NOW!

Rating 4/5

Dance with the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Zarek is the most dangerous of all the Dark-Hunters. He endured a lifetime as a roman slave and centuries as a Dark-Hunter in exile. Zarek trusts no one. Because of his steadfast denial to follow any orders, he is kept in isolation in Alaska where his activity is seriously limited and closely monitored. There are many who fear he will one day unleash his powers against humans as well as vampires.

Have nine hundred years of exile made Zarek too vicious to be redeemed? The gods want Zarek dead but reluctantly agree to allow justice goddess Astrid to judge him.

Astrid has never yet judged a man innocent, and yet there is something about Zarek that tugs at her heart. He views even the smallest act of kindness with shock and suspicion. But while Astrid struggles to maintain her impartiality in the face of her growing attraction to Zarek, an executioner has already been dispatched...

Not too long ago, when I reviewed Lover Awakened, I mentioned that I am rather partial to the tortured hero. There are many that I love - Sin from Born in Sin, Zsadist from Lover Awakened, and yes, Zarek from this book amongst others!

Zarek has been exiled in the wilds of Alaska for many hundreds of years as punishment for going on a terrible rampage and killing many people in his town. He has little if no interaction with the other members of the Dark Hunter world, and very little with the humans in the nearby town in Alaska. The bare minimum of contact with anyone.

In the previous book in the series, Night Embrace, Zarek was called out of exile to go to New Orleans, but whilst he was there he was caught on camera killing two people, in full view of mortals. Now, it has been decided that it is time to get rid of this problem Hunter once and for all. It takes all of Acheron's persuasiveness to convince Artemis that he should be judged before she has him killed, and in the end she reluctantly agrees.

Astrid is a judge, who is dissatisfied with her immortal life, who has never, ever found anyone innocent in the thousands of years she has been judging. The only time she came close she was betrayed by a man she thought she loved, and she is therefore incredibly wary of falling in love again. Zarek is led to her, in her set up situation where she is a blind woman living alone in a home, with only her pet wolf as company. In reality, the pet wolf is her eyes and ears, and is much more than just a wolf.

Snowed in by an incredibly bad blizzard, as Astrid spends time with Zarek she gradually comes to understand that whilst he is dark and brooding and violent, he also has a heart of gold. He hates himself more than he hates anyone else, and through spending time in his dreams she begins to understand exactly where his self esteem issues come from - a terrible existence that you would not even consider calling a childhood - slavery at the hands of his own father, torment and torture from his half brothers being just the beginning.

They fall in love with each other against a background of Zarek being hunted by Artemis' executioner. She has called him off, but he has a score to settle with Zarek from many hundreds of years ago, and he has decided that he will kill Zarek no matter what!

This book moved me in so many ways. As I said previously, Zarek was right up there with my all time favourite tortured heroes. There wasn't much more that was left to be done to the poor guy, and he deserved his HEA. It was interesting to hear the revelations of what happened all those years before to cause him to be exiled in the first place, and the implication of those revelations. There is also something quite unusual about Zarek, meaning that he is different from every other Dark Hunter in a crucial way.

Yet, amongst all the darkness there was also real humour. The fact that Astrid's sisters were the Three Fates caused several laugh out loud moments for me, particularly with them being so anti Zarek at times throughout the book.

This book also saw the introduction of Simi, who I had heard so much about from other DH fans, but couldn't ever figure out, so now I know what that is about, as well as a couple of new Dark Hunters who I am sure will get their turns at happiness in due course!

An enjoyable read, in a very entertaining series. Onto the next one!

Rating 4/5