Review of a Re-read ~ Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

TITLE: Cry Wolf

AUTHOR: Patricia Briggs
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: paranormal romance
PAGES: 294
SERIES:
First full novel but a short story before
1. Cry Wolf (original Review)
2. Hunting Ground

3.Fair Game

4. Dead Heat
5. Burn Bright 3/18

REASON FOR READ:
It has been sitting on my floor since the move and I wanted to make sure that I still loved the series enough to keep it. Plus I have 2 more to read in the series.

SUMMARY (from Goodreads):
Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country will recognize her value as a pack member—and as his mate.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
So I can't remember reading this book to a point so color me confused when I jumped in and was like what? This book literally expects you to have read the short story that went before and for the love of me with all the moving I've done I have no idea where the short story is or what's happened to it. That being said I got the gist of what story was and it was a lot of torture/rape and beatings to Anna so I'm glad I didn't have to read it. This book is the after effects of that book when Charles has come to rescue her and the pack from the crazy alpha who let that happen.  Throw in some other side plot with a witch that didn't need to happen and you have the book. It's Anna trying to cope with PTSD while learning how to mate with an alpha and them trying to come to terms with it all. Their cute together, sweet and enduring you want to seem them together as they are trying to move slow and make it happen. They want to be together for different reasons and I get why this offends some people and not others. However, I enjoyed the book other then the side plot. That being said I'm good I don't need to re-read it a 3rd time. Anna and Charles are great but I will let another person at the goodwill enjoy them just as much as I did.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? passing

Would you recommend this book? I think this series is wonderfully sweet and yet brutal so yes I recommend as long as it won't trigger you.

Grade: 4 out of 5 stars

Review ~ Hostage to Pleasure by Nalini Singh

TITLE: Hostage to Pleasure 

AUTHOR: Nalini Singh
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: paranormal romance
PAGES: 330
SERIES:  yes

1. Slave to Sensation

2. Visions of Heat

3. Caressed by Ice

4. Mine to Possess

5. Hostage to Pleasure 

6. Branded by Fire
7. Blaze of Memory
8. Bonds of Justice
9. Play of Passion
10. Kiss of Snow
11. Tangle of Need
12. Heart of Obsidian
13. Shield of Winter 
14. Shards of Hope (released 2015)

REASON FOR READ:

I loved the first 4 wanted to continue with series.

SUMMARY (from Goodreads):

Separated from her son and forced to create a neural implant that will mean the effective enslavement of her psychically gifted race, Ashaya Aleine is the perfect Psy--cool, calm, emotionless...at least on the surface. Inside, she's fighting a desperate battle to save her son and escape the vicious cold of the PsyNet. Yet when escape comes, it leads not to safety, but to the lethal danger of a sniper's embrace.

DarkRiver sniper Dorian Christensen lost his sister to a Psy killer. Though he lacks the changeling ability to shift into animal form, his leopard lives within. And that leopard's rage at the brutal loss is a clawing darkness that hungers for vengeance. Falling for a Psy has never been on Dorian's agenda. But charged with protecting Ashaya and her son, he discovers that passion has a way of changing the rules... 

THOUGHTS/OPINION:

This review has been hard to write for me due to a lot of reasons. First I love this series hands down one of my favorite series and I have bought every book out in paperback because of it even though up to this book I had only read the first four. Second it is hard to write this book because until this book Dorian was one of my favorite characters that I'd hope would get his mate and now that he has his own story it wasn't what I expected. Hence why this is a hard review to write. On one hand I enjoyed the book on the surface level and once again I did find myself skimming a lot of it. There were some things I really enjoyed (they are listed below) and some things I didn't (again listed below). The story for some reason including the romance just fell flat for me in this book. I thought it was because of the huge read-a-thon push I did a couple weeks back (sometimes I can burn myself out by watching or reading to much of a good thing), but I don't think that was it. I think the whole I hate PSY everything b/c of killing of my sister was too much over the top I have to screw you conflict just went on to long. Or maybe it was Dorian's whole attitude. I'm not quite sure what it is or isn't about this book. By the time I bought into the whole romance and mating thing it was the end and I was pretty much done with the book and skimming to see where we would end up. Now that being said I did enjoy it and I didn't feel as if I pushed through to keep it from being a DNF by any means it just didn't hit the spot like the first 4 did. I will continue to read on from here to just see what Ms. Singh does with her last single alpha leopard cause I am curious what she is going to do with Mercy (she hints that her story is next and I think it involves a wolf) but this book just wasn't a Slave to Sensation kind of OMG you have to read this book to me feeling. So moving on to the next.

THINGS I LIKED

1. The twin twist was interesting although at times it felt over the top it was interesting. 

2. I liked the bond with the son for a psy it was a nice twist

3. I love how multicultural Ms. Singh makes her characters they are not all white with blonde hair and blue eyes and they do not all find white females or males with blonde hair and blues eyes attractive there is a mix and I like that.

4. I like that the main character Dorian has a defect (he can't' shift like everyone else) which is like having a disability and yet he is viewed as strong as everyone else.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE

1. I am still struggling with inter-workings of the Psy counsel in the background yes it is just a page long and yes it pertains to the story yet I find 9 out of 10 times I skip those pages the most

2. I didn't like the whole recapping what the darknet was and the psy net we get it. I understand you have to do it in order to update a rare reader who reads a 5th book b/c they didn't know it was 5 out of 3, but still (that being said she did it in a way that didn't feel like she was updating a reader who didn't know)

3. This may or may not be a spoiler to some so don't read if you don't want to be spoiled but: 

I don't like that Amara was saved not going to lie kind of wished she wasn't (may make me a bad person but so be it)

Favorite part or line from story:

 Seriously so if you haven't read don't read this part skip to final grade 

I warned you...

I absolutely loved the end when Dorian finally shifts for the first time and it was so wonderful I found myself crying along with everyone and how everyone was so happy about the whole situation OMG I couldn't help it. BEST ENDING EVER.

Alright spoiler over

FINAL GRADE: 3 out of 5 stars

Would you recommend this story? yes while it wasn't my favorite out of the series it still was a key part of the series and needs to be read in order. 

Is this a part of a reading challenge?

Out Do Yourself Challenge

Finishing the Series

While not part of the official TBR challenge this has been sitting on my shelf since 2008 so it is an TBR book

Massive Read-a-thon

So without meaning to I began a read-a-thon of the Psy-Changeling series from Nalini Singh (seriously if you haven't tried these books you are missing out). Since I want to finish or at least catch up to this series I thought to myself huh let's read as many as I can, hence the read-a-thon.


I started where any good reader with OCD would start at the beginning

Title: Slave to Sensation
Series #er: 1
Page #ers: 352
Published Date: 2006

Summary:
In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of "rehabilitation" - the complete psychic erasure of everything she ever was...

Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy coexistence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murders of several changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice-cold Psy is very capable of passion - and that the animal in him is fascinated by her. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities - or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation...

First Read: 2007
2nd Read: 2009
3rd Read: 2015

Thoughts:
This one is still one of my top 5 of the series. I love it because it is the book that hooks you into this world. We learn the differences between the Psy and Changeling races. It introduces us to the Dark River clan and what their structure and lives are like. We meet the "major" players that at some time or another will have their own story lines even thought it doesn't feel as a "Let me introduce this character b/c they are next to get their story in my series" introductions. We also get to see what an alpha male is like and why he is like that.
The world is believable and is created in such a way that you want to know more about these cats and freaking wolves that work together to protect their own. Add to the mix the mystery of the Psy race and the reasoning behind the Silence protocol. The mystery that deals with both races is interesting making the reader curious as to who is killing females and why? We know that he killer is not a changeling and that leaves the readers questioning the psy protocol and issues with their system. Learning about the net and what that is and also learning about the one psy who isn't fitting in was very curious to me.
I enjoyed this book enough to re-read it for the 3rd time and still enjoyed diving back into this world and series.

Next up:

Title: Visions of Heat
Series #er: 2
Page #er: 332
Published Date: 2007

Summary:
Used to cold silence, Faith NightStar is suddenly being tormented by dark visions of blood and murder. A bad sign for anyone, but worse for Faith, an F-Psy with the highly sought after ability to predict the future. Then the visions show her something even more dangerous - aching need...exquisite pleasure. But so powerful is her sight, so fragile the state of her mind, that the very emotions she yearns to embrace could be the end of her.

Changeling Vaughn D'Angelo can take the form of either man or jaguar, but it is his animal side that is overwhelmingly drawn to Faith. The jaguar's instinct is to claim this woman it finds so utterly fascinating and the man has no argument. But while Vaughn craves sensation and hungers to pleasure Faith in every way, desire is a danger that could snap the last threads of her sanity. And there are Psy who need Faith's sight for their own purposes. They must keep her silenced - and keep her from Vaughn.

First Read: 2008
2nd Read: 2009
3rd Read: 2015

Thoughts
I have no shame I have to say that I really, really, really enjoy Vaughn he is just too much and yet finds the right mate in Faith. And I have to admit I love Faith this is not usually the case. Now that I've said all that this one was also interesting. Not only do we have another psy that is breaking protocol we have one that is a powerful foreseer which introduced us to yet more levels in the psy community. The other interesting part of this book was the introduction to the Council of the psy and how they work behind the scenes. It was a great 2nd book which is not normally the case. Not only did we learn more about one of my favorite cats we also learned a great deal about the psy community and what they are attempting to accomplish. This was a good book b/c it didn't have a great mystery to solve or a complex sub-plot. In fact the whole point of the story was connecting Vaughn with Faith and what that would entail. I did like the ending with Faith's father and what that would look like and will in the future books on this world. Again clearly one of my favorites soly based on the fact I read it for the third time in this read-a-thon. 

Then I moved on to

Title: Caressed by Ice
Series #er: 3
Page #er: 352
Published Date: 2007

Summary:
As an Arrow, an elite soldier in the Psy Council ranks, Judd Lauren was forced to do terrible things in the name of his people. Now he is a defector, and his dark abilities have made him the most deadly of assassins - cold, pitiless, unfeeling. Until he meets Brenna...

Brenna Shane Kincaid was an innocent before she was abducted - and had her mind violated - by a serial killer. Her sense of evil runs so deep, she fears she could become a killer herself. Then the first dead body is found, victim of a familiar madness. Judd is her only hope, yet her sensual changeling side rebels against the inhuman chill of his personality, even as desire explodes between them. Shocking and raw, their passion is a danger that threatens not only their hearts, but their very lives...

First Read: 2009
2nd Read: 2015

Thoughts
Okay so I thought I loved me some Vaughn and I do but boy howdy do I love me some Judd. What a great character. Sometimes an author starts off with a character that is tough, hard, mean, and a killer. Then warps them into a soft sensitive guy that is changed by their woman. Judd is not that man. He knows what he is and what he is capable of and doesn't really change much throughout the book. He goes from a hired gun of the psy council to a man who kills to protect and to change the world. But he is still a killer and still a man that has a hard time breaking silence. 
Brenna was introduced in the first book as the only female to survive the horrible killings of changeling women and as a survivor has been changed herself. She has to discover how to live with the memories of th attack and how to deal with the emotional fall out of it all. 
This book was just fantastic. Brenna was written like a true survivor one that isn't instantly healed and ready to jump in the hey with her man. She fights demons of her attack and fears mixed with worries about what the monster did to her. Judd is the man that she needs because he doesn't baby her or treat her as if she will break. He respects her and tries to help her anyway he can. It was great watching this man of ice melt with Brenna and start to want to feel and heal her. It was also great to watch the healing take place in Brenna due to her own strength as well as the strength and confidence she gained from Judd. 
This story wraps up all the loose ends from book 1 and shows us the psy network is planning something big and something very very scary. It let's us the readers know where the author is going to take this story and gives us an idea of where we are heading. I enjoyed this one b/c it was a male psy that broke silence and it introduces us to the arrow community a deadly assassination squad the council made. It shows us how brutal the council is and what they might be up to as well as the limits they are willing to go to make it happen. This book also let's us dive deeper into the wolf community of the Snow Dancers. We get to see Hawke (their alpha) and a look at his group of leaders and inner circle. I honestly can't wait til we meet his mate and I have a feeling I know who it is. It was nice to be out of the cats minds for awhile and enter into the wolf mind. Although similar they definitely approach things differently in living arrangements and culture which is refreshing. 

Just finished up: 

Title: Mine to Possess
Series #er: 4
Page #er: 328
Published Date: 2008

Summary:
Clay Bennett is a powerful DarkRiver sentinel, but he grew up in the slums with his human mother, never knowing his changeling father. As a young boy without the bonds of Pack, he tried to stifle his animal nature. He failed...and committed the most extreme act of violence, killing a man and losing his best friend, Talin, in the bloody aftermath. Everything good in him died the day he was told that she, too, was dead.

Talin McKade barely survived a childhood drenched in bloodshed and terror. Now a new nightmare is stalking her life--the street children she works to protect are disappearing and turning up dead. Determined to keep them safe, she unlocks the darkest secret in her heart and returns to ask the help of the strongest man she knows...

Clay lost Talin once. He will not let her go again, his hunger to possess her, a clawing need born of the leopard within. As they race to save the innocent, Clay and Talin must face the violent truths of their past...or lose everything that ever mattered. 

First Read: 2009
2nd Read: 2015

Thoughts:
Clay was an interesting story line. I have to say of the 4 he was the least interesting one for me. Mainly I think b/c we always knew who his mate was (Talin) he talked about her little but Ms. Singh mentioned her names enough that it wasn't a real mystery. It was cool to see how a cat/changeling would survive in a world where he couldn't change and what would happen to someone who hurt his pack. The back story was good and interesting, but I have to admit Talin drove me insane with her trauma thing I get it but for Pete's sake you were being molested by a man who killed tons of children and when your good friend killed the man who hurt you, you became so scared of him that you faked your own death and let him rot in jail. Sorry I don't buy nor like it. The reconciling of the whole back story was sweet and the mystery around the kids being kidnapped was interesting enough to keep this story moving forward. It also helped prepare me for whose story will be next and I can't wait to dive in. 

Starting up on this one CURRENTLY READING

Title: Hostage to Pleasure
Series #er: 5
Page #er: 330
Published Date: 2008

Summary: 
Separated from her son and forced to create a neural implant that will mean the effective enslavement of her psychically gifted race, Ashaya Aleine is the perfect Psy--cool, calm, emotionless...at least on the surface. Inside, she's fighting a desperate battle to save her son and escape the vicious cold of the PsyNet. Yet when escape comes, it leads not to safety, but to the lethal danger of a sniper's embrace.

DarkRiver sniper Dorian Christensen lost his sister to a Psy killer. Though he lacks the changeling ability to shift into animal form, his leopard lives within. And that leopard's rage at the brutal loss is a clawing darkness that hungers for vengeance. Falling for a Psy has never been on Dorian's agenda. But charged with protecting Ashaya and her son, he discovers that passion has a way of changing the rules... 

CURRENTLY READING

There are many many more in this world for me to catch up on next on the list is and these are the ones I never read but continued to buy hoping that one day I would get to them. Very excited to see where this series is going. 
Branded by Fire
Blaze of Memory
Bonds of Justice
Play of Passion
Kiss of Snow
Tangle of Need
Heart of Obsidian
Shield of Winter (need to purchase)
Shards of Hope (released 2015)

Have you read this series? Do you like it? How far along are you? And lastly have you ever re-read the series like I am? What are your thoughts on a read-a-thons?

Review ~ Wayward Soul by Kim Bowman

TITLE: Wayward Soul
AUTHOR: Kim Bowman
COPYRIGHT: 2/15/11
TYPE: paranormal romance
PAGES: 57
SERIES: not that I know of

REASON FOR READING: Saw it offered on the BLB tour and it looked interesting

SUMMARY (from Goodreads):
When Zanna Seoul accidentally causes the death of a fellow spirit guide’s charge while trying to save the life of the man she loves, she is stripped of her position and banished to Earth to die. In the spirit world, one doesn’t mess with what’s written. With Zanna no longer guiding him and his memory of her erased, Owen Nash is left wide open as the target of the vengeful spirit guide who feels he’s been wronged. A guide who also happens to be a werewolf. Once on Earth, Zanna refuses to stand by and watch Owen die, so she intervenes again, setting off a chain of events that could mean death for all of them if she doesn’t go back and undo the mess she’s made. Can Zanna succeed before the werewolf does

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Okay keep in mind this book is literally 57 pages. But in that 57 pages you learn of a culture, a world that didn’t exist, punishment if you break the laws, love and a couple of near death experiences that make it all somehow a very interesting yet quick read. Seriously I actually enjoyed it.

I liked the world that was lightly touched on. It had just enough that I grasped what was occurring but didn’t overload me where the story got lost.

The characters were fleshed out as well as one can be for 57 pages. I liked the way it worked between a spirit guide and a mortal

The ending was a little ugh with the epilogue and no I won’t ruin it for you.

Dislikes: the shortness of the story didn’t leave it much room and would have been a fantastic story fleshed out more.

The villain was seriously a villain for no other reason than that and well I thought it would’ve been cooler with a better back story but hey she only had 57 pages LOL I can’t ask for more right?

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Sure I’d re-read it

Would you recommend this book? Yeah it was quick and cute

Challenges:
Out Do Yourself
E-book Challenge
BLB Tour





Additional Links:Book Lovin' Bitches Ebook Tours

Disclaimer:
Disclosure of Material Connection: i am a member of the Book Lovin' Bitches Ebook Tours and a copy was provided to me by the author. although payment may have been received by Book Lovin' Bitches Ebook Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review nor was there an obligation to write a positive one. all opinions expressed here are entirely mine and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist or the readers of this review. this disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

Review ~ Kiss at Your Own Risk by Stephanie Rowe

TITLE: Kiss at Your Own Risk
AUTHOR: Stephanie Rowe
COPYRIGHT: January 4th 2011
TYPE: Paranormal Romance
PAGES: 384
SERIES: I believe this will be the first in a series

REASON FOR READ: Sourcebook offered it as an ARC and it sounded interesting so I said yes.

SUMMARY (from Goodreads):

Trinity Harpswell is a cursed Black Widow-death and mayhem are all part of the job description. If she can manage to go just one more week without accidentally killing someone, she'll break this killer curse and put her Black Widow days behind her. When sexy Blaine Underhill III shows up at her door and asks for her help rescuing his friend from the clutches of Death's evil grandma, Trinity gets pulled into a daring high stakes adventure. As Blaine and Trinity join forces to take down a series of underworld assassins, they may just learn that love is the deadliest game of all.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:

Whew this book was hard to follow. The first few pages alone had 7 names with no descriptions in it. Basically Blaine was captured and handed over to a Black Widow who is angry at all men and wants to tame them. She does this by forcing these “warriors” to do women work like cross-stitching ect. Trinity is a Black Widow who kills those she falls in love with due to a curse. However, if she can manage not to kill anyone for one more week the curse will be over.

THINGS I LIKED:

- I liked the romance I thought the characters were matched up well. She was tough enough to handle him but at the same time not so much so I wanted to strangle her. I also thought equally of him.

- I enjoyed that Blaine was man enough to admit that he actually enjoyed certain things like cross stitching.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:

- You could definitely tell this was going to be a series solely based on how many men we meet right off the bat. I swear in the first 10 pages there were at least 7 if not more people introduced to us. It was confusing and while I understand it was needed for the escape it still mucked things up for me at first.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing

Would you recommend this book? Yes if you like a light paranormal read with comedy this is the book for you.



Challenges:
Out Do Yourself Challenge

Reviewing Next:
Hundreds of Years to reform a Rake by Laurie Brown

Review ~ Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

TITLE: Hunting Ground
AUTHOR: Patricia Briggs
COPYRIGHT: 2009
TYPE: paranormal romance
PAGES: 286
SERIES:
1. Short Story
2. Cry Wolf
3. Hunting Ground


REASON FOR READ:Read book 1 and loved it saw this in TBR and thought I had to read next.

SUMMARY (from Goodreads):
Mated to werewolf Charles Cornick, the son -and enforcer -of the leader of the North American werewolves, Anna Latham now knows how dangerous being a werewolf is, especially when a werewolf opposes Charles and his father is struck down. Charles's reputation makes him the prime suspect, and the penalty for the crime is execution. Now Anna and Charles must combine their talents to hunt down the real killer -or Charles will take the fall.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
I still heart Charles and Anna. I love their story and I love reading about their growing relationship. This had yet another plot that I could’ve lived without but b/c of it made them stronger as a couple and helped Anna come into her own.

THINGS I LIKED:- That they are both working hard to get the other to understand, feel comfortable, and love them. They both have issues and they are trying to work them out.
- Anna keeps getting stronger and stronger. She’s not so strong after her horrible ordeal that she can go out and take over the world. But she is working through her fears and refuses to let them rule her any longer.
- Charles loves her and is working as hard as he can to prove to her his love without hurting her. I also like that Charles is worried that he won’t be the person she needs.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
- I didn’t like the whole bring in other species part but it had a fun little plot twist connected with it.
- I didn’t like the Vampires they seemed pointless and unnecessary


Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping b/c I heart Anna and Charles

Would you recommend this book? Yes but only if you’ve read them all in order. Not a series you can skip around on.

Favorite Quotes:
I can’t recall the particular quote but I love when she is commenting on what color of shirt he “magically” wears never red.

Challenges:100+ Book Challenge
Romance Reading Challenge

Reviewing Next:
One I forgot about:
White Cat by Holly Black

Review ~ Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

TITLE: Cry Wolf
AUTHOR: Patricia Briggs
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: paranormal romance
PAGES: 294
SERIES:
First full novel but a short story before
1. Short story
2. Cry Wolf
3. Hunting Ground

REASON FOR READ:
Loved the short story with these two so of course I had to read the next one in the series.

SUMMARY (from Goodreads):
Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country will recognize her value as a pack member—and as his mate.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
This book takes off right where the short story left and I couldn’t be happier for it. I am glad that we had to see Anna cope with being sent to Montana and it was nice seeing Charles cope with Anna while injured. It made things very interesting.

THINGS I LIKED:
- I loved watching Anna come into her own. She was victimized beyond belief and yet still didn’t bring and has grown in character. Watching her fight for her mate and her life was refreshing. Yet being able to see her weakness and how people make her still coward was also refreshing. She was healed instantly it will still take time for her.
- Anna is a wonderful person and I loved watching her realize how much of a wonderful person she was. I also enjoyed her slow realization of Charles and his love for her.
- Charles is yet another character that I enjoyed watching grow. Anna throws off his whole world and yet he still does everything he can to protect her even injured.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
- I think I just didn’t like the witch. Not sure why I mean I understand why she was key in the plot but I just didn’t like her part.
- The fact that Anna still can’t understand that what is Charles is hers and vise versa.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping

Would you recommend this book? I think this series is wonderfully sweet and yet brutal

Favorite Quotes:
Things that might have made him question his earlier assessment that as long as he didn’t die he’d be fine. ~ page 258

Challenges:Romance Reading
TBR
100+ Books

Reviewing Next:Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs.

Review ~ Sins of the Night by Serrilyn Kenyon

TITLE: Sins of the Night
AUTHOR: Sherrilyn Kenyon
COPYRIGHT: 2005
TYPE: paranormal romance
PAGES: 384
SERIES: yes and no I am not writing this out.

REASON FOR READ:
I’ve read them up to this point I figured I should continue

SUMMARY (from Goodreads):
In the realm of the Dark-Hunters there is a code of honor that even immortal bad boys must follow: Harm no human. Drink no blood. Never fall in love. But every now and again a Dark-Hunter thinks himself above the Code. That's when I'm summoned. Who am I?



THOUGHTS/OPINION:
I thought I would like this one more than I did but for some reason I just couldn’t get into it.

THINGS I LIKED:
- I liked learning more about Ash and his home and getting to see Simi again.
- Learning that Simi has a sister was pretty cool and I loved how she bonded with Alex so that she could be near her Simi (love the way they talk LOL)

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
- I can’t place my finger on it but something about this book just wasn’t doing it for me. I didn’t like Alex I didn’t care for Danger and well that in itself was the probably.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? I seriously would pass on it but I have the WHOLE series.

Would you recommend this book? No the only good thing was learning about Ash

Challenges:
100+ Book Challenge
Romance Reading Challenge
TBR challenge

Reviewing Next:
The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks by Josh Lanyon

Review ~ Seize the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

TITLE: Size the Night
AUTHOR: Sherrilyn Kenyon
COPYRIGHT: 2004
TYPE: paranormal romance
PAGES: 325
SERIES: Uh yes and please don’t make me write them out

REASON FOR READ: Read up to this book last year and a co-worker convinced me I needed to catch up

SUMMARY (from Goodreads):
Hail Glorious Reader:

I was born the noble son of a legendary Roman senator. I walked through the ancient world as a general, admired and supreme until a brutal betrayal caused me to bargain my soul. Now I'm an immortal Dark-Hunter, bound to protect mankind from the evil scourge that haunts it. Over the centuries, I've seen many frightening things: plagues, pestilence, disco music...

And now Tabitha Devereaux. A human, she has trained herself to fight vampires every bit as capably as any Dark-Hunter. Idiosyncratic and off-beat, she is my personal bane-and yet she beguiles me. There are only two small problems. She happens to be the twin of my mortal enemy's wife. More than that, Tabitha and her sister are being stalked by a power that will not rest until everyone she holds dear is dead.

Unlike my Dark-Hunter brethren, I rely on no one but myself. They spurned me and I turned my back on them. But the only way to save Tabitha and her family is to find some way to bridge a two thousand-year-old feud.

They say opposites attract, but can they stay together when even the Fates conspire to keep them apart? Then again, the Fates have never dealt with the likes of Tabitha Devereaux before. They're going to be in for quite a fight...

--Valerius Magnus
THOUGHTS/OPINION:.
Everyone warned me that after the last book they only get worse. That being said however, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I really enjoyed it and I recommend it. There were of course parts that annoyed me but I liked Valerius and realized a lot more about him then you do in Dance with the Devil. This one happened to be my favorite book so far of the series.

THINGS I LIKED:
- I like that Amanda was very strong and loved life. The fact that she liked who she was and didn’t doubt it was refreshing. She is definitely the take me or leave me kind of girl who really means it.
- I love that Amanda could hold her own but knew when she should ask for help and when she was in over her head.
- I loved watching Valerius fall in love with Amanda and realized that she wasn’t going to leave him no matter how horrible his past.
- I liked that even though they didn’t respect him Valerius still took his job serious and fought as good as he could. I also appreciate that while he was being picked on by the others and hated he didn’t whine about it.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
- Man hatred last forever in these novels. I mean it took Ash to show Zarek the truth for him to understand and even then he still gave the cold shoulder.
-The men in these books can hold a grudge FOREVER.
- The ending was nicely wrapped up and at first I didn’t like how easy it was but I have grown to appreciate it since.
- The bad guy not so bad and I ended up skipping over half of his story line.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping b/c I have the whole series

Would you recommend this book? Yeah it was a good story

Challenges:
100+ Book Challenge
Romance Reading Challenge
TBR Challenge
Name Challenge

Reviewing Next: Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Review ~ Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh

TITLE: Mine to Possess
AUTHOR: Nalini Singh
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: paranormal romance
PAGES; 328
SERIES: yes
1. Slave to Sensation

2. Vision of Heat
3. Caressed by Ice


REASON FOR READING: I read the first three and this one was calling my name.

SUMMARY: {From goodreads}
Clay Bennett is a powerful DarkRiver sentinel, but he grew up in the slums with his human mother, never knowing his changeling father. As a young boy without the bonds of Pack, he tried to stifle his animal nature. He failed...and committed the most extreme act of violence, killing a man, and lost his best friend, Talin, in the bloody aftermath. Everything good in him died the day he was told that she, too, was dead.


Talin McKade barely survived a childhood drenched in bloodshed and terror. Now a new nightmare stalks her—-the street children she works to protect are disappearing and turning up dead. Determined to keep them safe, she unlocks the darkest secret in her heart and returns to ask the help of the strongest man she knows...

Clay lost Talin once. He will not let her go again and hungers to possess her with a clawing need born of the leopard within. As they race to save the innocent Clay and Talin must face the violent truths of their past... or lose everything that ever mattered.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
This was yet another fantastic read from Ms. Singh she has created a fascinating world that sucks you in and doesn’t let you go until your body is on overload. I thought the last one was good because of the psy being a guy. But for some reason this friends to lovers story (which I should have saved for my TBR reading challenge but I’m glad I didn’t) was even better.

Things I enjoyed:
This is yet another example of me actually liking the heroine which is weird for me and difficult for me to understand. Yes Tally had moments where I wanted to strangle her but not in the A typical way. She wasn’t tough as nails but yet she was strong, she wasn’t a fighter and yet she fought for those she cared about. The reasons I wanted to strangle her were her internal struggles of her feelings with worthlessness. And yet at the same time my heart broke for her because I understood why she had those thoughts. She was a fully fleshed out character that didn’t suddenly change her whole way to be with Clay. Tally actually grew into a woman I could respect and be friends with. And the love she had for Clay oh god the love it was perfect.

Clay was one of those cats I had forgotten about. Hard to image after reading this story but I had. I couldn’t remember him at all and then all of the sudden it came back in waves. He was the angry one the one that was the loner in the group more than V was. But yet nothing stood out about him. Until this book, Clay had a hard life he grew up as a leopard without a pack confined in a city. He fell in love with his mate as a child but was unable to recognize her as such until he felt it was too late. Clay loved Tally so deeply it was almost his undoing before he even got started. This was the perfect man for Tally to help her heal and grow as a woman and yet Tally was the perfect woman for Clay for the same reasons.

Things I didn’t care for:
Again this wasn’t a problem for me. I even enjoyed the subplots of the Forgotten I found them interesting and I wonder where else she will take it. I even enjoyed the M psy her name is escaping me. I guess to make an even longer point there was nothing I didn’t like about this story.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping

SCORE: 10 out of 10

Anything Else: I really think you have to read the first one in this series in order to understand what is going on in this book. This is simply due to the storylines tying into each other and the evolving storyline of the psy vs. changeling going on. Same as before but this might be able to be a stand alone. I still think you can get more out of it if you read the whole series though.

Review ~ Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh

TITLE: Caressed by Ice
AUTHOR: Nalini Singh
COPYRIGHT: 2007
TYPE: paranormal romance
PAGES; 361
SERIES: yes
1. Slave to Sensation which I plan to re-read this month to kick off my re-read challenge also the book club choice at Reading Romance
2. Vision of Heat

REASON FOR READING: I read the first two and just had to read about the Ice Man.

SUMMARY: {From goodreads}
As an Arrow, an elite soldier in the Psy Council ranks, Judd Lauren was forced to do terrible things in the name of his people. Now he is a defector, and his dark abilities have made him the most deadly of assassins - cold, pitiless, unfeeling. Until he meets Brenna...

Brenna Shane Kincaid was an innocent before she was abducted - and had her mind violated - by a serial killer. Her sense of evil runs so deep, she fears she could become a killer herself. Then the first dead body is found, victim of a familiar madness. Judd is her only hope, yet her sensual changeling side rebels against the inhuman chill of his personality, even as desire explodes between them. Shocking and raw, their passion is a danger that threatens not only their hearts, but their very lives

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Okay it was exactly one year ago this month that I discovered this series. Why it has taken me so long to finish it up is beyond me and I regret every moment I wasted on other books that didn’t hit the spot. This is an excellent book revolving around some great characters and a fascinating world. I heart Nalini!

Things I enjoyed:
Judd. That’s it in a heart beat I really enjoyed learning about Judd, watching him evolve into a great person, watching him struggle with his internal battle and external. And I loved watching him come into his own and take hold of his destiny and what he wanted.
Breena was a fantastic character I LOVED HER and that is rare. I loved that she survived one of the worse things a person could go through. She came out of it and made her life work. It was hard on her but she did it. It was hard on me the reading seeing what she had gone through and watching her try her hardest to survive and live with the terror.
Okay I’ll admit it I’m a skimmer especially when it comes to the sex scenes. Why? B/c usually I don’t care enough about he characters, or the scenes are pointless or worse just so off and out of character I roll my eyes and drop the book. However, the scenes here where Judd and Brenna finally get together are worth it. It stays in character they behave the way they should. And it fits perfectly and seamlessly into the book. In other words I read it LOL!

Things I didn’t care for:
Again it is hard to really put my finger on anything I didn’t like. If there was something it would be… well crap I know there has to be something… Oh I’m one of those weird people who doesn’t like the ghost story line. I understand its importance and I am dying to know who he or she is but I don’t need it in the story. However, it did fit really well in this story line due to Judd’s occupation. Did I mention it is really hard to find something I don’t like about this story. Maybe the council but then again they fit as well. IDK I quit.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping

SCORE: 9 out of 10

Anything Else: I really think you have to read the first one in this series in order to understand what is going on in this book. This is simply due to the storylines tying into each other and the evolving storyline of the psy vs. changeling going on.

Review ~ Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

TITLE: Slave to Sensation
AUTHOR: Nalini Singh
COPYRIGHT: 2006
TYPE: paranormal romance
PAGES; 334
SERIES: yes
1. . Slave to Sensation (this is my re-read for the month)
2. Vision of Heat
3. Caressed by Ice

REASON FOR READING: I am getting ready to move and wanted to see if I still wanted to keep this on the shelf.

SUMMARY: {From goodreads}
In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of "rehabil' ' n"—the complete psychic erasure of everything she ever was...

Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy coexistence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murders of several changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice- cold Psy is very capable of passion—and that the animal in him is fascinated by her. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities—or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation...

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Wow what a way to kick off a fantastic series. This has 2 storylines going on first the storyline of Sascha Duncan and her abilities (I won’t give it away b/c it is an important part of the story) the second storyline being the killer that is kidnapping young changeling women and torturing them as well as raping them. The fact that both stories are weaved together so well is amazing in it but to add in the fact of suspense and love and you get a powerful storyline.

Things I enjoyed:I enjoyed re-discovering this world and how it all began. I loved learning about the leopards and their worlds and when you throw in the wolves I was hooked. The psy have a very interesting world, it is very complex and difficult to follow but Ms. Singh has a fantastic writing ability that enables you to live in their world and understand what is happening.
I also enjoyed Sascha and her constant struggle to be a normal psy who is fighting against her inner nature b/c she has been told her whole life she is broken. Not wanting to be rehabilitated she works at and struggles at being more psy, more cold, more unattached.
Lucas is just the opposite he is full of love, touch and emotions. And he happens to just be the right man to help Sascha with her problems. Very nice…

Things I didn’t care for:
It was hard to find one thing about this story that I didn’t like and I have to admit I liked that we didn’t have to see what the council was doing without it directly relating to Sascha (in other words her ease dropping) This time the Council doesn’t talk on their own.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Yeah after my re-read I’m still keeping it *drops head on desk*

SCORE: 9 out of 10 (Huh same score I gave it last time)

Anything Else: This is definitely a book you should read before starting the series. This book sets up the rest of the series and dips your toes in just enough to hook you into the series.

Review ~ Dead Sexy by Kimberly Raye

TITLE: Dead Sexy
AUTHOR: Kimberly Raye
COPYRIGHT: 2007
TYPE: paranormal romance
AGES: 224
SERIES: Surprisingly yes it’s the first in a vampire series. Although I think the series is part of the Blaze line.

REASON FOR READING: This is one of 2 category romances I had in the TBR and this month's challenge was to read one.

SUMMARY: [from Goodreads ]
She was looking for long-term. She wasn't expecting eternity! Just when Nikki Braxton has given up on finding a normal guy, she meets cowboy Jake McCann.
Tall, dark and delicious, he could be the ideal man if he wasn't a vampire. Well, at least that explains his...uh... hunger for her. Meanwhile, that down-and-dirty sex they're having is giving him the energy he needs to destroy his nemesis and break the vampire curse. Good thing, because being with Nikki makes him long for a normal life that much more.
But then Nikki is abducted. If Jake saves her, he may lose his only shot at becoming human again. Talk about damned if you do.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Quick summary Nikki is the good girl next door that doesn’t really know who she is or what she wants. She is split between what her loose and free mother thinks is best for her and what her tight and perfect aunt thinks is best for her. She doesn’t know how to be herself b/c she hasn’t discovered who she is. That is until Jake comes along and shows her that doing what she wants is okay nothing bad will happen.
Jake on the other hand is having a problem all his life he’s been tied down and trapped to one person or another never truly free. All he wants to do is kill his sire so that he can be human again and do whatever he likes not trapped by the hunger of the vampire in him.

Things I enjoyed: I liked both characters a lot. I understood where they were coming from and the final choices they had to make. It was refreshing to see Nikki’s reaction to her behavior the night after a “one night stand with Jake” she freaked out when they told her she was engaged b/c she would never do anything like that. But then got mad that they wouldn’t think she could do anything like that. A typical woman response LOL!! Jake was sexy and macho but still conflicted for good reasons. He was caring and wanted so badly to prove to Nikki that he wasn’t like the rest of the guys in her life that he was different.

Things I didn’t care for:
I didn’t care for the ending it wrapped up to HEA for me. I won’t spoil it here but it really upset me how the villain turned out to be… and how that all seemed to be okay in the end. I also didn’t realize this was a series so it made sense how it ended but still kind of disappointed me.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. All and all it was a quick sweet read.

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Yes this was the first time I read this author and I might pick up something else by her if I happen to see in the stores. Her writing was nice, neat and sweet and the sex scenes she wrote were HAWT

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Passing I don’t usually hold on to categories

Anything else? I don’t know if this was the first in the series or not but it was good enough to be a stand alone.