The Volatile Amazon (Alliance of the Amazons #4) by Sandy James

Synopsis from Goodreads.com
Sarita Neeraj has never felt like a real Amazon. Compared to the obvious strengths of her sisters, her Water powers seem small as her stature. She’s determined to prove herself—unfortunately, all that gets her is captured by an enemy.

Ian serves a twisted goddess, preferring this to an empty afterlife. He’s taken Sarita hostage to coax the other Amazons from their safe haven. But in his ancient Scottish castle, the passion and love Ian finds for Sarita resurrect his honor, until he chafes at the dark will of his mistress.

Sarita has finally found happiness—but before she can enjoy it, she’s “rescued” by her furious sisters. To save Ian from destruction at the hands of the Amazons, Sarita must risk wielding magick that could change her very nature. Only then can she prove the Water Amazon is the strongest of the four—and save them all from destruction.

My Review
This last book in the series was a great ending to this story. It was fun, dangerous, thrilling, funny, sad, scary and downright emotional in places.

Sarita Neeraj is the Water Amazon and sees herself as the weakest of the four of them. Her powers are not quite as strong as the other Amazons - she can freeze things and can heal her sisters, but not much else. However, all that changes in this book with the reappearance of Helen, the former earth Amazon turned evil goddess, who is a constant threat to the world.

When Sarita goes to capture an escaped demon, she wakes up to find herself in a strange castle with the man of her dreams. Literally. She has been having very hot, sexual dreams about this exact man recently, but he thinks she is someone else. Someone he needs in order to carry out his revenge. But when the heat rises between the two of them and things get a little too hot, Sarita has to reveal who she really is. When she is taken away from Ian, she cannot stop thinking about him and knows she has to get him back, but at what cost?

The four Amazons have also been outed by Helen, who will stop at nothing to kill them and they need to find a way to defeat her once and for all, but she's not an easy kill by any means. The patron goddesses actually do step up to help them in their task as does Frejr even though it's obvious there's more to his actions than he lets on as usual.

I did like Sarita as the main character in this book. She really did grow as an Amazon and fought her own personal demons as well as real ones! The only thing I didn't like was the Stockholm syndrome idea of her falling in love very quickly with her kidnapper. I know he was the lover in her dreams, but those dreams were just that, dreams and I do think it was weird falling for him in that situation. I know this is a PNR book, so it had to happen, but still...Ian was a bit of a nobody really once he met up  with Artair. He didn't have any particular powers or skills, other than using a sword, but the men in these books don't really need one as the girls have them all! He did come across as a bit wet at times, but I guess that was partly due to being thrown into the 21st century so quickly.

Loved the ending and the potential for a new series based in the same world, but with new characters. Would love to read a series about the SOGs!

The Silver Crescent By Debby Grahl

 Available from The Writer's Coffee Shop and Amazon (B&N, Kobo and iTunes - available soon)

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Summary:

Betrayal, murder and a stolen fortune bring Elise Baxter to Cedar Bend, Michigan, on a quest to solve a family mystery—and recover the missing treasure.

Max Holt impulsively buys a crumbling Victorian mansion and fulfills his dream of restoring it as a restaurant and inn. Aware of its reputation for being haunted, he adds to the mystique by building a garden path of old tombstones, one of which belongs to the original owner of the house, Cyrus Mosby—the man whose legacy Elise has traced, and who allegedly stole her ancestral share of a Colorado silver mine over a century ago.

Following clues gleaned from old diaries and a visit from the spirit of her great-great-grandmother, Elise seeks out Max and his inn. Not knowing if she can trust Max with her family secret, Elise pretends her interest is in researching Cyrus, whose own violent death remains a mystery.

An intense attraction between Max and Elise leads him to believe she may be the girl of his dreams. But when he discovers her true interest in him and his inn, memories of a past betrayal threaten to end their passionate relationship. Elise, finding herself falling in love with Max, fears her deception may cost her more than she is willing to lose.

Once persuaded the stolen silver is hidden somewhere in the inn, and captivated by the idea of a treasure hunt, Max and Elise begin the search together, aided by the resident ghosts, Cyrus and Virginia.

The treasure hunt seems like a harmless adventure until someone tries to steal the diaries. Unknown to Max and Elise, there are others—including an evil presence—who are driven by greed and will stop at nothing to unlock the mystery of the Silver Crescent.

  

Introducing Debby Grahl:

Debby Grahl lives on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, with her husband, David, and their cat, Tigger. When she’s not writing, she enjoys biking, walking on the beach, and having a glass of wine at sunset. Her favorite places to visit are the Cotswolds of England, Captiva Island in Florida, New Orleans, New York City, and her home state of Michigan. She is a history buff who also enjoys reading murder mysteries, time travel, and of course, romance. Visually impaired since childhood by Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), she uses screen-reading software to research and write her books. Debby belongs to RWA, Florida Romance Writers, Hearts Across History, and Lowcountry Romance Writers.

Connect with Debby

Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, and her Website

This has been a TWCS Blog Tour! 

My Review

I received this book from the publishers through Netgalley, but this review is my own! Elise is a news reporter and rather than take the comfortable job of working at her father's newspaper, she heads off on her own and takes a job in the small town of Cedar Bend, but her real task is to find out what happened to her ancestors and their treasure of silver from the silver mine rush many many years ago. 

Max Holt is a rich, handsome, but arrogant man, who will stop at nothing to get what he wants and what he wants right now is to turn this crumbling old mansion into a fancy restaurant and inn. He feels drawn to the house and the idea of having a haunted restaurant appeals to him and his bank balance. He drags along a few friends to help out with the house and soon both him and the house become the talk of the town.

Elise manages to upset Max at their first accidental meeting and is horrified when it turns out that he owns the house she has to investigate and search, but rather than telling him her plans, she lies to him and pretends she really wants to find out about Cyrus Mosby, the owner of the house, who was found dead, possibly murdered along with another unknown man, who may or may not have been her long lost uncle. How they were both killed nobody knows and there are no real reports at the time of their deaths either. Lucky for Elise though that Cyrus' ghost and that of his wife are around to help her out, even if they do give vague clues at times. 

I loved the banter between Elise and Max at the beginning and watching it develop into a rather fast paced romance. I also loved the craziness of Elise, Max and his friends once they were all told about the silver and the fact that it may still be hidden in the house somewhere - they were like animals on a hunt and stopped at nothing to find it. I won't tell you whether they did or not, but it was funny reading about them knocking down walls and falling down stairs and seeing clues from the ghosts appearing right in front of their eyes. 

I also really like the fighting amongst the ghosts too and the things one of them would do to try and scare the humans, who would just not be scared away no matter what he tried to do. 

This was a funny romance and I was desperate at the end to see of Elise and Max really would find the treasure (and what a twist to the story it was at the end) and to see whether they would stay together or not. I would very much recommend reading this book whether you like romance, ghosts or a mixture of both. 

I would also like to thank Debby Grahl and her publishers for inviting me on my first book tour too!

The Reluctant Amazon by Sandy James

Synopsis from Goodreads.com
The last thing Rebecca Massee expects on her wedding day is to go from jilted kindergarten teacher to Amazonian Earth warrior. But when she causes an earthquake after her groom says I don’t, she discovers that not only does she possess incredible powers, she is one of four lost chosen sisters who must fight to keep humanity safe from rogue gods and demons. Luckily she has help: ruggedly handsome Scottish warrior Artair MacKay, her protector and teacher.

An immortal, Artair has trained countless warriors for more than four hundred years. He understands Rebecca’s confusion at the new world she’s been thrust into and worries she is too emotionally vulnerable, but that doesn’t stop his growing feelings for the beautiful and fearless woman.

When an evil force threatens to destroy the Amazons, Rebecca must claim her full powers--but they come at a cost. Can she sacrifice the man she loves if it means saving the world?

My Review
As the first book in this series, this wasn't a bad start to what I think could be a very interesting story. Rebecca Massee is your average, quiet, lovable kindergarten teacher who unfortunately finds herself being jilted at the altar by her mommy-loving fiance who hasn't got the guts to tell her he no longer wants to marry her without a bottle of alcohol to back him up. She whacks him one and then an earthquake erupts, quickly follow by a hunk of a Scotsman in a kilt appearing at the church doors to whisk her away. Rebecca, not being the impulsive type, does just the opposite of what she would normally do and walks off with him, only to regret it soon after. Just who is this strange man and why does he insist that it's time for her to join him?

Rebecca finds out that she is to become the Earth Amazon, one of four female warriors based on the four elements of the world - Earth, Air, Fire and Water, but there's no way in the world she wants this. She's not strong, physically nor mentally and has no desire whatsoever to kill anyone. She just wants her life to go back to the happy one it once was, but nope that's not allowed. Rebecca helps to find the new Fire Amazon and eventually accepts what she is becoming and the powers that come along with her new status. It also helps that her Sentinel, her warrior teacher as it were, is a hot, handsome, rugged man. Despite how attracted she feels to Artair, Rebecca can never share her feelings or be with him as it's not the way of an Amazon.

When the previous generation of Amazons are attacked and either killed or stripped of their powers, Rebecca and the other three Amazons have to fight back and find out who is behind all this, only it is not whom they expected at all.

This was an interesting take on a strong female lead and I liked the fact that these women are independent, powerful superheroes! My only real issue is the fact that apparently "everything that makes them women was taken away from them" - i.e. they can no longer have children. Now I am one of those women who have CHOSEN not to have children - does this make me less of a woman??? I'm certain some people would agree that it does, but heck I don't want to read that in a book. How about jumping into the modern day world and realising that not everything revolves around having kids!!!

The romance between Rebecca and Artair was obvious, but still pretty sweet. I think their love story was a nice added extra, but would have preferred more of a focus on the Amazons and their history.

I will read the rest of this series as I would like to find out about the other Amazons and what will happen to the bad guy in the future.

I would like to thank the author and publishers for providing me with an ARC copy of this book through Netgalley.

Firelight by Kristen Callihan

Synopsis from Goodreads.com

Once the flames are ignited . . . 

Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity . . .

Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

My review

This book doesn't fit neatly into any one category but it is mostly historical romance with a touch of paranormal thrown in for good measure.

Miranda has a gift, which she sees as more of a curse - the gift of creating and manipulating fire. Archer is a very strange and mysterious man, wearing a mask to hide his face, supposedly to hide his disfigurement and inflicts fear amongst men and passion amongst women everywhere he goes. Miranda's father sells her off to Archer as his bride and Miranda, when given the choice by Archer, readily accepts if nothing more than to escape her father's constant bitterness and anger towards her.

She doesn't know what to expect when she marries Archer, but she certainly doesn't expect her feelings towards him to develop so quickly or so intensely. And boy were they intense for most of the book! She is thrown into noble society, full of powerful and rich men, but when these men start being murdered and all the evidence points to Archer, Miranda knows she must help find the real killer, even if it means putting herself in danger and using her most feared powers.

I loved the mysteriousness of Archer. I was constantly begging the author to reveal what he was - he was stronger than average, so indicated some some of supernatural being, but when it was finally revealed it was so not what I expected. Just a man playing God really!

Loved the big baddy at the end as well - took me a while to work out that one too! Looking forward to reading the next book in the series now!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and would like to thank the author and publisher for the opportunity to read it!

Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh

Synopsis from Goodreads.com
Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.…

As the dark Lord who condemns souls to damnation in the Abyss, Micah is nothing but a feared monster wrapped in impenetrable black armor. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows—the daughter of his enemy.

Liliana is nothing like her father, the Blood Sorcerer who’d cursed Micah. She sees past Micah’s armor to the prince inside. A prince whose sinful touch she craves. But first she has to brave his dark, dangerous lair and help him remember. Because they only have till midnight to save Elden.

My review:
This is the final book in the Royal House of Shadows series and this one was the best of them all.

Liliana transported herself to find Micah, the youngest brother of the royal family of Elden, but rather than find herself in the woods near his castle, she found herself in the castle itself in front of Micah, or the Lord of the Abyss as he now is. He instantly puts her in the dungeon and it is now her task to try to make him remember who he is and tell him what he must do in order to restore Elden to its former glory.

Unfortunately for Liliana, Micah doesn't even remember his name, let alone anything else about his previous life, so she has a hard task in front of her. He is hard, cold, moody and downright scary, but Liliana isn't afraid, not after what she has been through. She convinces him to let her cook for him, so she doesn't have to spend the nights in the cold dungeon and soon they begin to feel a deep attraction towards one another. Liliana believes this cannot be real and she thinks she is rather ugly and deformed. The idea of Beauty and Beast runs through this book, but which one is which I haven't yet worked out LMAO!

She also begins to tell him stories about himself and his brothers and sister, although at the time he doesn't know who these people are and whilst he loves hearing about them, they also enrage him at one point, causing him immense pain.

The Blood Sorcerer is also on the hunt for Liliana, for she is his daughter and no one defies the Blood Sorcerer, but she keeps this little bit of information from Micah, believing that he will kill her when he finds out who she really is. The Blood Sorcerer sends his army out to attack the castle and find her, but Micah uses his powers as the Lord of the Abyss to defend it and the people of the village and so they have a temporary defeat. Liliana eventually tells him what he doesn't really want to hear, but he now has only a short time to return to Elden. And off they go on a perilous journey back to the destroyed kingdom of Elden.

He does manage to defeat the Blood Sorcerer, but I do think the actual fight scene was very short and over before you knew it. I know Micah is meant to be powerful, being an heir to Elden and all, but the Blood Sorcerer was also meant to be very powerful and he was overthrown very quickly. His spell lifted off the land. Micah's brothers and sister returned and everyone lived happily ever after!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and this series and loved how it all tied together in the end battle against the Blood Sorcerer.

Thank you to the publishers for allowing me to review this book honestly through NetGalley.

Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Andersen

Synopsis from Goodreads.com
Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden.

To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance.

Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.…

For practical Reda Weston, nothing could explain how reading a sexy version of "Little Red Riding Hood" catapulted her into another realm—face-to-fang with the legendary wolf-creature who seduced women. A wolf who transformed into a dark, virile man….

Dayn cursed the Sorcerer that turned him wolfyn and damned him to a lonely fate. As a beast, he mated with women to gain strength.

Strength he needed to rescue his royal parents. But as a man, he craved Reda's heated, sizzling touch. With little time left, Dayn had to either embrace his wolf to save his kingdom…or fight it to save his woman.

My review:

This is the third book in the Royal House of Shadows series; this time focussing on Dayn, the second brother of the kingdom of Elden.

Reda Watson, a police officer who has just lost her partner in a bungled convenience store robbery, has finally found the book she has been searching for. A very old version of Red Riding Hood, one which her mother used to read to her before she died. After reading this book she wakes up to find herself in a world not of her own, having travelled through a vortex using a spell her mother had taught her.

She meets Dayn, the second eldest prince from Elden and he realises that she is the one, his guide, who can open the vortex and transport him back to Elden to defeat the Blood Sorcerer, who killed his parents and took over his home kingdom. Dayn is a vampire the same as Nikolai, his brother from the first book and he lives in close community with a pack of wolfyn, werewolves in other words. However, they have no idea he is a blood drinker, except for the wise old woman who he confided in and they cannot know simply because they will kill him if they do.

Reda and Dayn have a strange relationship. There is the usual attraction between them the you would expect from a PNR, but she came across as being a bit wet to be honest. Maybe the idea that she was constantly being a coward didn't enthral me to her at all. Dayn needed a guide back to his kingdom and when she turned up that was all he focussed on, not really caring if she would ever return to her own world or not. But as can be expected they fall in love and blah blah blah!

Then out of nowhere some blood sorceress called Moragh turns up trying to find some special artefact which she needed to be able to rule Elden instead of the Blood Sorcerer, but I thought that the Blood Sorcerer was the ultimate evil and to be able to defeat him all four of the Elden siblings needed to be back in the palace. This seemed a bit of a random thing to just plonk into the middle of the story, but I guess it meant that the wolfyn would find out about Dayn being a blood drinker and therefore start the ball rolling as it were.

Dayn and Reda have a bit of a trek across the realm in order to find another vortex, which would transport them both to their respective homelands. Obviously things never go to plan and Dayn has to reveal his other nature - he is a wolfyn, having only ever called upon that power within himself once before. This sends Reda into a panic, ensuring that he had bespelled her into feeling for him the way she does after only a few days, but nope he didn't. She felt that way all by her little self!

Eventually they make it back to Elden, although not together and Dayn realises who he needs to be in order to finally defeat the Blood Sorcerer and they head into the castle for the final showdown.

This was an ok book, not quite as good as the first one, which is my favourite in this series so far. I'm guessing that the conclusions are all revealed in the final book and the siblings all finally return to defeat the Blood sorcerer.

I still have no idea where the wolfyn idea came from, because there is no mention of this at all in the other books. It has been said several times that the king was a blood drinker, whilst the queen was a healer mage, but wolfyn was not at all spoken of. It was almost as if they needed a different type of character for this episode in the series and again plonked it in without explanation. Something needed to be said about his heritage a bit more.

I would like to thank the author and publishers for receiving this ARC free from NetGalley and my review is completely my own!

Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe

Synopsis from Goodreads.com
Princess Breena had been dreaming of her warrior lover when she was ripped from her Elden castle and thrown into a strange, dangerous realm. Lost and alone, she prayed for survival and vengeance for her stolen kingdom. She found both in a woodland cottage…in a dark bear of a man.

The golden-haired beauty had eaten his food and slept in his bed when Osborn found her. Though he wanted to awaken his virgin princess to carnal pleasures, Breena wanted more—including his warrior skills. Skills the once-legendary mercenary had long buried. Now Osborn had a choice—risk his life or deny his princess her fairy-tale ending.


My review: 
This is the second book in the Royal House of Shadows series and focusses on Brenna, the princess of Elden. She wakes up after being magically whisked away from the scene of her parents' gruesome demise with an urge to follow a certain path. She knows she must survive and take revenge but at the moment she's not sure why and against whom she must take this revenge. Onwards she plods through a forest, clearly marked against intruders by the bare skulls hanging up. She stumbles across a wooden cottage and the scene that follows made me chuckle - it was Goldilocks and the Three Bears paranormal style. She enters the unlocked cottage, eats some oat porridge, breaks a chair and then goes to sleep in one of the beds. When she is awoken a while later, the gruff, angry man is the man of her dreams, literally. She has been dreaming of this warrior and the passion between them for a while now, but he is nothing like the man in her dreams. He also recognises her as the woman who has been invading his dreams and whilst he feels an attraction towards her, does not want to get involved with her at all.

Osborn is the oldest of 3 brothers, the only survivors from an slaughter on his village by whom he believes were soldiers/vampires from Elden. He is a berserker, following a ritual of manhood at the age of 15 in which he had to kill a bear and join their spirits together. He can call on his Ber when wearing the pelt of the bear he killed and develops an almost uncontrollable rage and strength, against which no-one will survive. Osborn's 2 little brothers were cute. They needed a big sister or mother figure in their lives and were so desperate for Brenna to stay even when Osborn made it clear that she should leave.

There is a great attraction between Brenna and Osborn right from the minute they meet. He believes she only wants him for his berserker power and the revenge she wants to take. She believes that he is her warrior, the man in her dreams who would protect her at all costs. Their relationship is not quite a smooth ride and even at the very end, I thought Osborn was going to leave her for good.

Brenna came across as a typical "princess". She only wanted Osborn to fight for her against those who killed her parents and didn't really care about him and his brothers initially. It was obvious she had a very good upbringing (she didn't know how to cook for example, something in this world, women would have done if they had to) and her selfishness irritated me a bit at the beginning. She did eventually start becoming more independent. Her own magical powers developed a bit, although we didn't see a great deal of that and she did learn how to fight with a sword, taking many hours practising and training physically. But ultimately Osborn, her warrior, had to save her!

Osborn was an angry man! Yes he had to go through 2 life changing events in the same day - his Bärenjagd (the bear killing ritual) and the battle in his village which cost him the lives of his parents. Not something I can imagine was an easy thing to do. He also had to bring up his two brothers on his own and became an assassin to help feed them, but boy he could have smiled some times! With Brenna's help, he realised that he had sheltered his brothers too much and was not preparing them to become the men and Berserkers they have be.

I was also a little confused to the timing of this book. Nikolai, in the first book and Brenna's brother, had been kept in the witches' palace for 20 years as time moves differently there, but this one seemed to take place immediately after Brenna's teleportation. Not sure how all the books will merge together or even if they will. I hope so! Would be good to see all 4 siblings back together, taking on the Blood sorcerer.

This book was ok. I liked it, but didn't think it was great. I think because it was so short the relationship between Brenna and Osborn was developed fully and the characters themselves were not fully developed either. I will be reading the rest of this series as I want to find out about the other 2 brothers from the kingdom of Elden - Dayn and Micah.

I would like to thank the publishers for providing this ARC free through Net Galley.

Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter

Synopsis from Goodreads.com
Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with a need for vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.

Nicolai the Vampire is renowned for his virility, but in a cruel twist of fate “The Dark Seducer” has become a sex slave in the kingdom of Delfina—stripped of his precious timepiece and his memory. All that remains is a primal need for freedom, revenge—and the only woman who can help him.

When the wanton vampire summons Jane Parker, she is helpless to obey. She's drawn to his dark sexuality and into his magical realm. But for this human, all is not a fairy tale. For saving Nicolai could mean losing the only man she's ever craved...

My review
I received this ARC free through NetGalley, but this review is totally my own!

Jane is a scientist of sorts, who has been studying and experimenting on vampires, proper blood suckers. After recovering from a horrific car accident, which killed her entire family and left her crippled for several months, she finds an old leather book on her doorstep. She begins to read it and finds that it is about a man called Nikolai, the same man she has been having naughty dreams about.

One night whilst dreaming about Nikolai, she wakes up in another world, in another body and soon meets the same man, chained to a wall being kept as a sex slave for a pair of princesses, one of whom Jane now appears as. Nikolais knows who she really is and demands that she help him to escape from the clutches of Laila, her "princess sister". The world Jane finds herself in is nothing like her own world. It is made up of witches, who the princesses are and vampires, who Nikolai is. He does drink blood, but also wields magic as his mother was a witch. Unfortunately for him, Laila has had his powers bound and his memories erased so he doesn't know who he is or why he has this strong need for vengeance, although he doesn't yet know who against.

Together Jane and Nikolai escape, encountering ogres who almost rape Jane before Nikolai finds her again. Everyone recognises Nikolai for who he really is - the prince of Elden. His memories start to return with the help of drinking Jane's blood and they soon fall in love. However, there is a curse upon Jane. She will leave and return to her own world if she falls in love with him. But luckily for them both, Jane manages to absorb some of Nioklai's powers, in particular one which allows her to teleport between the two worlds.

Laila is determined to find her "sister" and the stolen slave and Jane has to trust Nikolai to save them both. Jane helps by doing something she didn't believe was possible, only to find herself stuck back in her own world, never to return to her beloved Nikolai. Of course there's a Happy Ever After and Jane leaves her world behind to spend eternity with her man!

A nice little PNR with a decent story line as well. Not all about the romance, but enough action to keep me happy! I liked the two main characters - Jane was not going to lie down and take Nikolai's demands ALL the time, although she did like taking some of them! Laila was an evil conniving so-and-so, but you need a baddie in these kind of stories!

This series is made up of 4 books from various authors, all, I think, about the the 4 royal siblings of Elden. On to book 2 then!

Rampant by Saskia Walker

Synopsis from Goodreads.com
Possession is only half the fun…

The moment she arrives at her rented vacation cottage nestled in Scotland, Zoë Daniels feels it—an arousal so powerful she's compelled to surrender to the unusually forceful carnal desires…with nearly anyone who crosses her path. Crawford Logan, the boat builder with the wayward grin. The devilish restaurateur Cain Davot, who seems to know more about Zoë than he lets on. And even her sexy neighbor Grayson Murdoch, whose eyes delve deep into her soul as he explores every inch of her body.

Yet there's something unsettling about the way the locals watch her, something eerie about these overwhelming encounters. Zoë knows she's not quite in control of herself and begins to wonder if there's any truth to the legend of Annabel McGraw, a powerful, promiscuous eighteenth-century witch who once owned the cottage, and whose spirit t is rumored to affect anyone who stays there. Zoë doesn't t believe in anything that even hints at the occult, but t now strange visions are turning frightening…and only y one man's touch can bring her back to earth.

My review:

I think this must be my first proper erotica read ever (unless you count the later Anita Blake books, which were pretty much all sex and no action!). Not that I'm a prude but I prefer the kick ass, blood and gore type of books that this one was, but still a fairly enjoyable read.

Zoe takes a much deserved break from her high flying job as a PA in a lawyer's office and heads up to Scotland to a little seaside village, which her sister found for her. Just as she drives up to the village, she starts to get hot and not just temperature hot either. And soon enough she meets a rather handsome biker bloke who she wants to do naughty things to - not her usual reaction to a man she's just met!

The house she has rented gives her a funny feeling that someone else is there with her, but there is no one to be seen - only a feeling! Her neighbour ends up being the hunky biker and the other village menfolk (and one of the women too) take an interest in her as well, but it turns out that they are all witches of one kind or another. Being a complete non-believer in magic it takes her a while to accept what is happening to her.

There is a coven trying to invoke some very powerful, forbidden spells and unfortunately for her, Zoe is dragged into it all, whilst her hunky neighbour tries to save her from a fate worse than death. A lot of the power uses sex to aid it along the way so we are treated to lots of hot, steamy sex scenes as well.

The actual plot, without all the sex scenes, was a good one and I enjoyed the idea of what the dark witches were trying to achieve and the power struggles the coven were experiencing at times. Just wish there had been much blood and gore in it :P

Hostage to Pleasure by Nalini Singh

Synopsis from Goodreads.com

Ashaya Aleine was separated from her son, forced to create a neural implant that will forever enslave her psychically gifted Psy race. After fighting a desperate battle to save her child and escape the PsyNet, she's led not to safety, but into the lethal danger of a sniper's embrace.

My review:
I quite liked this book in this series as well. Almost seems that after the first 3 very predictable PNR books, Nalini Singh has realised that her book actually need a storyline to go alongside all the romance!

In this one, Ashaya Aleine, the Psy scientist who helped a couple of kids in the previous book, calls in her favour from Talin - she wants her son rescued from the Psy. The Dark River leopard clan help out and Dorian is the (un)fortunate changeling who has to deal with her. As you might expect he falls for her and eventually she gives in, but not completely until it becomes a life or death situation.

There are people who wants Ashaya both dead and alive following her deflection from the Silence and Dorian will stop at nothing to protect her and her him as well. A bit more history to the Psy is also revealed and a new group of fighters also appear in this book. There's also a hint of what might be a future story/book involving Mercy, the female sentinel of the Dark River clan.

I did find it a little strange that Dorian gave into his feelings for Ashaya so easily, even though she was everything he hated about the Psy - cold, unemotional and worked for the council. I believe his sexual needs definitely overrode any common sense initially, but as she was his mate I suppose there was a underlying emotional tie between them.

I will say I totally loved the ending - Dorian gets one of his life-long wishes at long last, all thanks to Ashaya, which would never have happened otherwise.

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Mine To Possess by Nalini Singh

Synopsis from Goodreads.com
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.

My review:

This was a much better book in this series than the first 3. Still a fairly predictable PNR - girl finds boy, boy rejects girl at first as she pretended to be dead, girl scared of boy but drools over him, boy drools over girl, boy eventually makes out with girl and both fall in love and have lots of hot sex! But this time there was actually a decent storyline running alongside all of that!

Talin needs help when some of the children in her care as a street guardian disappear and a couple turn up dead. The only person she knows strong enough to help her is Clay, the were-leopard who she was friends with as a child before he killed her abusive stepfather and went to a juvenile detention centre for it. Only problem, Clay thinks she dead and has been for several years now, so imagine his shock, surprise and anger when he does finally meet her again. She has to earn his trust and friendship all over again, which is not necessarily an easy ride for Talin, especially as she has been told she is dying.

Clay being a protective sort helps out and with his pack and a little help from another unknown Psy eventually find the missing children and the reasons as to why they were kidnapped, tortured and killed in the first place.

The Ghost is back again disrupting the lives of the Psy Council, but it is not yet revealed as to who the Ghost is. I still think it's Faith's dad, but i have no idea when this will be revealed.

I'm going to keep plodding on through this series and hope the rest of the books have a decent storyline like this one.

Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh

Synopsis from Goodreads.com
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...


My review:
This one was a much better book in this series than the last book. It was still fairly predictable - it's a PNR, it's fairly obvious what's going to happen between the 2 main characters, although why Brenna, the changeling wolf, would ever want to be with someone as cold as Judd is beyond me, but I guess that's the point. He does eventually show emotion and they do find a way to be together, but the path there is not a straight forward as you would expect from the last book.

There is also a bit more of a story to this one. Someone keeps taking pot shots at Brenna and a few other people get hurt in the process. You do eventually find out who he is and why he is trying to kill her, but again Nalini Singh disappointed me with this part of the story. As far as the wolves are concerned it's life for a life and you didn't get to read about the family who took out their revenge or justice as it is seen on the perpetrator. That's why I prefer the blood, guts and gore in a UF book than the soppiness of a PNR. So why am I reading this series, you may ask? Well I had to see what all the fuss was about and now I've spent a fortune on the whole series, I'm going to finish it even if it kills me! :P

I did like the way that Brenna's character developed and the breakdowns she had showed how difficult her torture in the hands of serial killer Enrique was in the first book. I had to admire her strength to fight back, even if the nightmares of it all were draining her of who she used to be. And even though Judd was one of the coldest psys there was, he still had some emotion of sorts before he left the PsyNet - he left for his sister's kids, so he has to have had some feelings.

I liked the idea of the Ghost as well - I want to guess at who it is, but I'm not sure why be I think it's Faith's dad. I could be wrong and there's no clues at all as to who he is, but that's my gut feeling. We do know it's someone who wants to stop Protocol 1, an invention of the Psy to be the general populace under complete control. Will be nice to see how this story pans out in the next book as well.

My only problem so far, other than the predictability of the story, is the fact that all of these changelings and Psys are falling in love with each other. When will the Psy Council do something to stop losing all their Psy (although they had already lost Judd, presumed dead) and what will happen when all the changelings have fallen for the Psy? Who will fall for who then?! :P

Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh

Synopsis from Goodreads.com
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 either man or jaguar form, 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...


My review:
This is the second book in the series and whilst I haven't read any of the others I can kind of predict how I think the rest of this series will pan out. Something happens to a Psy - powers develop, fear of mental illness, finding out the Silence has not silenced all etc etc and somehow they fall in love with a werecat or wolf and break out of the Silence and PsyNet and join the Web of Stars started by Sascha or something similar. Am I correct? If so this series is going to become quite boring quite fast and I have the whole series on my Kindle to read yet!

This story was interesting enough for me to want to finish, but it was kind of predictable as well. It was obvious that the bad boy Vaughn would fall for Faith and emotionless Faith would eventually fall prey to Vaughn's affections. The actual romance side of the story was quite similar in places to that of Sascha and Lucas in the first book in the series. The only real difference was the type of Psy that Faith was and the way her powers were changing/developing.

I really did feel that Nalini Singh could have spent more time on the serial killer and Faith getting revenge for her sister's murder. That was all over in a couple of pages! And I know Faith was worth billions of dollars to her Psyclan, but I do feel they gave up trying to get her back rather quickly too. I know the council stated that they couldn't afford to lose any more men after Vaughn easily killed the 6 despatched to capture Faith, but if you have something worth THAT much to you, surely you would do anything possible to get it back! There seemed to be a real sense of passion missing in this book.

I really hope the next book in the series is better as I'm determined to read the whole series through, and I'm really hoping I don't regret that decision!