Review: Death's Rival by Faith Hunter

Death’s Rival is the 5^th book in the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter.

Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don't want to cross - especially if you're one of the undead...

For a former vampire killer like Jane, having Leo Pellisier as boss took some getting used to. But now, someone is out to take his place as Master Vampire of the city of New Orleans, and they're not afraid to go through Jane to do it. After an attack that's tantamount to a war declaration, Leo knows his rival is both powerful and vicious, but Leo's not about to run scared. After all, he has Jane. But then, a plague strikes, one that takes down vampires but leaves humans untouched, as carriers of the dread disease.

Now, to uncover the identity of the vamp who wants Leo's territory, and to find the cause of the vamp-plague, Jane will have to venture into the underbelly of vamp society, where rules were made to be broken. As she circles closer to the truth, she finds the answers to the secret that could turn every vampire in the U.S. true-dead...

My thoughts:

Some time ago, to save her own hide, Jane declared herself Enforcer to Leo Pellisier - Master Vampire of New Orleans.  Well, that has come back to bite her - no pun intended.  It would seem that a war is on the horizon - there is a new vampire in town and he wants to take Leo's place.  And he is not above using Jane to do just that.

Vampire's all over Leo's territory are falling sick - something that is unheard of in a vampire.

Leo feels that Jane has caused this problem - so it is up to her to fix it.  Some in Leo's camp feel like Jane has too much freedom and could be a weak link that this interloper could use against Leo.  In a move that Jane never saw coming - Leo tries to bind Jane to him - against her will.

Never one to back down from a challenge or renege once her word is given - Jane is determined to see this through to the end - no matter the cost to herself - or Beast.

I was very disappointed in Jane in this installment.  I don't understand how she could continue to speak to Leo - much less work for him after what transpired in Death's Rival.

I give Death’s Rival 3 out of 5 stars.

Product Details

Reading level: Ages 18 and up

Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Roc (October 2, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0451464850

ISBN-13: 978-0451464859

Review: Rogue Rider by Larissa Ione

Rogue Rider is the fourth book in the Lords of Deliverance series by Larissa Ione. 

They're here.

They ride.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Born of a match between good and evil, four siblings stand between hell's minions and everything they want to destroy. They are the Lords of Deliverance, and they have the power to ward off Doomsday . . . or let it ride . . .

ROGUE RIDER

Jillian Cardiff came to this remote mountain town to forget the demon attack that almost killed her. Instead, she rescues-and falls for-a gorgeous stranger who has no memory of anything other than his name. Handsome, charming, and protective, Reseph seems like the kind of man whom Jillian can trust. But with hints of a troubling history of his own, he's also the kind of man who can be very dangerous . . .

Reseph may not know why he mysteriously appeared in Jillian's life, but he knows he wants to stay. Yet when Jillian's neighbors are killed, and demon hunters arrive on the scene, Reseph fears that he's putting Jillian in danger. And once it's revealed that Reseph is also Pestilence, the Horseman responsible for ravaging the world, he and Jillian must face the greatest challenge of all: Can they forget the horrors of a chilling past to save the future they both desire?

My thoughts:

Waking in a snow bank with no clue who or where he is - Reseph does the only thing he has the strength to do - pass out.  The next time he wakes he is nice and toasty - safely ensconced in a bed that could be a little bigger - especially if he can talk the pretty lady into joining him.

With only a name running through his head, Reseph, knows only that he likes where he is and feels a strong need to protect the lady who rescued him from sure death.

Jillian Cardiff has no idea what possessed her to bring home the naked man she found buried in the snow.  By all rights he should have been dead - or at the very least suffering from severe frost bite.  But the big man is as pink as a newborn babe and sleeping like one too.  It is insane for her to have a complete stranger in her home - so as soon as he is able, she plans to take him into town and drop him off with the sheriff.  Surely someone is looking for him.

Little does she know that all of Hell is looking for Reseph...and if they find him - when they find him - they plan to bring Pestilence back.

Product Details

Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (11-20-12)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0446574481

ISBN-13: 978-0446574488

Review: Silver-Tongued Devil by Jaye Wells

Silver Tongued Devil is the fourth book in the Sabina Kane series by Jaye Wells and an Orbit Fantasy.

Blurb:

Now that the threat of war has passed, Sabina Kane is ready to focus on the future. Her relationship with Adam Lazarus is getting stronger and she's helping her sister, Maisie, overcome the trauma of her captivity in New Orleans. Even Giguhl is managing to stay out of trouble thanks to the arrival of Pussy Willow and his new roller derby team. But as much as Sabina wants to feel hopeful about the future, part of her doesn't believe that peace is possible.

Her suspicions are confirmed when a string of sadistic murders threatens to stall treaty negotiations between the mages and the vampires. Sabina pitches in to find the killer, but her investigation soon leads her down dark paths that have her questioning everyone she thought she could trust. And the closer she gets to the killer, the more Sabina begins to suspect this is one foe she may not be able to kill.

My thoughts:

Sabina is hoping to get on with her life - without all the vampire politics.  But that is easier said than done.  Her sister, Maisie, is suffering post traumatic stress syndrome and refuses to feed.  If that weren’t enough, bodies are turning up - drained - and that could threaten the peace talks between the mages and the vampire’s.

When Sabina is asked to investigate the murders - she reluctantly agrees - but the more strings she pulls - the more her own world seems to unravel...

Silver Tongued Devil is another great installment in a terrific series.  Sabina is one of my favorites.

I give Silver Tongued Devil 4 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Orbit; 1 edition (January 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316178438
ISBN-13: 978-0316178433

Review: Kiss the Dead by Laurell K Hamilton

Kiss the Dead is the twenty-first installment in the Anita Blake series by Laurell K Hamilton and a Paranormal Romance from Berkley.

Blurb:

When a fifteen year old girl is abducted by vampire’s, it’s up to US Marshal Anita Blake to find her.  And when she does, she’s faced with something she’s never seen before: a terrifyingly ordinary group of people - kids, grandparents, soccer moms - all recently turned and willing to die to avoid serving a master.  And where there’s one martyr, there will be more...

But even vampires have monsters that they’re afraid of. And Anita is one of them...

My thoughts:

Anita is called in the locate a missing girl who has been taken by vampire’s.  When Anita finds her - she is surprised to see that most of the vampire’s holding her look like ordinary people.  That means they are newly turned.  And Anita should be able to control them through the marks she shares with Jean Claude.

But these new vampire’s do not belong to Jean Claude. As a matter of fact, they want nothing to do with Jean Claude - or Anita.  They do not want to be controlled by anyone.  That is all well and good - but Anita knows that all vampire’s, especially newly turned ones, need a master to help them control the blood lust.

Now Anita must find their maker - before it’s too late. Because all of these vampire’s have been issued a death warrant - and they have nothing to lose...  

I am so happy with the turn this series has taken.  Anita has control over the Ardeur and does not have to do someone every hour now which leaves her free time to be what she is supposed to be - a US Marshall who executes rogue vamps.

I give Kiss the Dead 4 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover (June 5, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425247546
ISBN-13: 978-0425247549 

Review: Eternal Beast by Laura Wright

Eternal Beast is the fourth book in the Mark of the Vampire series by Laura Wright.

Blurb:

Ever since his abduction by the Eternal Order of Vampires, Gray Donohue has finally found his true calling: vengeance. He will stop at nothing to bring his fellow Impure vampires the freedom they deserve. Now if he could just release his primal need for the beautiful vampire who saved his life-and rules his thoughts and desires . . .

After nearly killing the senator she was assigned to protect, Dillon is now in mortal danger. The jaguar within her has been unleashed, and she can no longer control it. Sex is the only thing that can tame her shift. And Gray is the only man who can make her surrender to a passion strong enough to overpower her inner beast. 

But she doesn't want to surrender-she wants her life back. Because she is determined never to belong to anyone, especially not Gray-the man who destiny claims is her mate.

My thoughts:

Dillon has survived a past that is unthinkable - even to the most hardened vampire.  A vampire herself, Dillon holds a secret that should have been the end of her at birth - she is a Mutore, a shifter.  Looked down upon by the Eternal Order of Vampires, Dillon is considered an abomination - a status that will mean her immediate death should the Order find out she exists.

And they have found out.

Gray Donohue spent years trapped inside his own mind - relieving the horrible fire he survived as a child.  With the help of his sisters vampire mate, Gray was finally able to overcome those memories - and because he is an Impure vampire, he gained the ability to hear the thoughts of others.

Everyone except Dillon.  The one woman who's thoughts he is desperate to hear.

Now Gray is on a mission.  He wants - he needs - to bring down the Order.  And he will do everything in his considerable power to see that done.

I enjoy this series very much and look forward to the next installment.  I give Eternal Beast 4 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Signet (August 7, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451237722
ISBN-13: 978-0451237729

Review: Liquid Lies by Hanna Martine

Liquid Lies is the first book in the Elementals series by Hanna Martine.

Blurb:

Magic is corporate America's best-kept secret, and Gwen Carroway is the best at selling it...

With her ability to pick up any language in an instant, Gwen Carroway is taking her family business global. As dutiful future leader of water elementals, she'll do anything to protect her people's secrets and bloodlines--including enter an arranged marriage. Inside, however, she yearns for the forbidden.

Reed is a mercenary addicted to the money and adrenaline rush of his work. After he inadvertently saves Gwen's life, he ignites her taboo desire for men without magic--and with bodies of gods. Just as things heat up, Reed discovers that Gwen is exactly who he's been hired to kidnap. He resolves to put work before lust, yet her luscious beauty and fiery spirit unravel him...

But there is a terrible truth behind Gwen's family business--and now, caught between the kinsmen she no longer trusts and an enemy bent on vengeance, the only ally she has is her abductor...

My thoughts:

Gwen Carroway has worked hard to achieve her place in the business that sustains her people.  She wants nothing more than to earn her place on the Board.

Years ago, Gwen's people came to Earth seeking refuge from the war that raged on the planet they called home.  Now they live secretly among humans - hiding the magic they posses - and selling it to those who can afford it.

When Gwen is kidnapped she is confused.  She knows absolutely nothing about what her kidnappers are saying - and she refuses to believe they are telling her the truth.

That she has been lied to all these years.  That her people are committing the most heinous of crimes.  Gwen is certain that if she could just speak with her father - he would set everything to rights.

But some things can't be made right....

Liquid Lies is a pretty good read - fast paced and interesting.  I can't wait for more in this series.


I give Liquid Lies 4 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Berkley (July 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 042525724X
ISBN-13: 978-0425257241

Review: Even White Trash Zombies Get The Blues by Diana Rowland

Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues is the second book in the White Trash Zombie series by Diana Rowland.

Blurb:

Angel is starting to settle into this whole  being a zombie thing, but her problems are far from over. Her felony record is coming back to haunt her, more zombie hunters are popping up, and she's beginning to wonder if her hunky cop-boyfriend is involved with the zombie mafia. 

Yeah, that's right -- the zombie mafia. 

Throw in a government conspiracy and a secret lab, and Angel's going to need all of her brainpower -- and maybe a brain smoothie as well -- in order to get through it without falling apart.

My thoughts:

Angel has settled into her routine at the morgue and despite everything - she's thriving.  She now has access to all the brains she needs, a steady income and a hot boyfriend - what more could a zombie girl want?

Well her boyfriend has decided that it's time to meet the family - especially his uncle, who is responsible for turning him zombie in the first place - which kinda makes him Angel's grandsire.  Angel is not too keen on meeting the family - more or less because she's afraid they will think she's not good enough.

What she finds is that Uncle is the head of the local zombies and he's got his fingers in a great many pies.  The biggest one being pseudo brains.  That's right...a brain substitute.  Just what every zombie needs.

I enjoy this series and can't wait to find out what Angel will get herself involved with next.

I give Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues 3 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: DAW (July 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0756407508
ISBN-13: 978-0756407506

Review: Dark Light of Day by Jill Archer

Dark Light of Day is the first book in the Noon Onyx series by Jill Archer.

Blurb:

Armageddon is over. The demons won. And yet somehow...the world has continued. Survivors worship patron demons under a draconian system of tributes and rules. These laws keep the demons from warring among themselves, and the world from slipping back into chaos.

Noon Onyx grew up on the banks of the river Lethe, the daughter of a prominent politician, and a descendant of Lucifer's warlords. Noon has a secret: She was born with waning magic, the dark, destructive, fiery power that is used to control demons and maintain the delicate peace among them. But a woman with waning magic is unheard of, and some would consider her an abomination.

Noon is summoned to attend St. Lucifer's, a school of demon law. She must decide whether to declare her powers there...or to attempt to continue hiding them, knowing the price for doing so may be death. And once she meets the forbiddingly powerful Ari Carmine - who suspects Noon is harboring magic as deadly as his own - Noon realizes there may be more at stake than just her life.

My thoughts:

Noon Onyx is a young woman on the verge of the biggest change of her life.  By law, anyone with waning magic much announce it before their twenty first birthday - the penalty for not doing so is death. 

Noon hates that she has waning magic - hates everything that comes with it - everything that is expected from someone who wields that magic.  

She and her parents have kept her abilities hidden from the rest of the world.  But the decision has been taken out of her hands now - as time has run out.  Noon must announce her abilities and take her rightful place among the other students who possess waning magic - or face the consequences.

Dark Light of Day is a very different read - not in the way it is written.  It reads very much like a YA novel - but in the world that has been created.

I’ve read a great many books - most of us have - and in all of the good versus evil books I’ve read - good eventually wins.  Not so in Dark Light of Day.  Some people may be offended by this book simply because evil has won.  It was a bit off putting for me - if I am being completely honest.  Not so much that evil won - but that goodness was dead and no longer relevant.    

That being said, Dark Light of Day is just not my cuppa tea.      

Product Details
Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Ace (September 25, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425257150
ISBN-13: 978-0425257159

Review: Eternal Captive by Laura Wright

Eternal Captive is the third book in the Mark of the Vampire series by Laura Wright and a Paranormal Romance from Signet Eclipse.

Book Blurb:

Lucian Roman knows he must stay away from Bronwyn Kettler for sanity’s sake.  Since feeding her his blood, he can think of nothing else but possessing her - fighting an uncontrollable desire to kill her, if he has to, and the vampire she has sworn to wed.  

Bronwyn, a brilliant vampire genealogist, can never escape her connection to Lucian.  He sustained her when she was starving.  He still rules her dreams. And when the nights get dark enough, she still craves him.  Though his essence courses through her body, she has found a true mate in someone else.

But when a dangerous enemy threatens Bronwyn, only Lucian bound to her forever by blood - can save her life.  

Even if it means sacrificing his own...

My thoughts:

Bronwyn Kettler lives with the memory of her sisters death - a death brought on by trying to deliver twins conceived against her will by The Breeding Male.  Bronwyn is determined that she will never be forced to visit The Breeding Male - even if she has to lie to her family, friends and the Order.

Lucian Roman has known that becoming The Breeding Male is in his future - a future he does not want and can’t change.  His attraction to Bronwyn Kettler is another thing he can’t change - but he is determined to fight it.

Against their will, the two are thrown together and though they both fight it - the attraction can’t be denied.  

I absolutely love the Mark of the Vampire series and I have been eagerly waiting for Lucian’s story.  I was not disappointed.

I give Eternal Captive 5 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Signet (February 7, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451235878
ISBN-13: 978-0451235879

Review: Darklands by Nancy Holzner

Darklands is the fourth book in the Deadtown series by Nancy Holzner and an ACE Fantasy.

Blurb:

They call it Deadtown: the city's quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its border--but Victory Vaughn, Boston's only professional demon slayer, isn't exactly human...

Boston's demons have been disappearing, and Vicky's clients are canceling left and right. While fewer demons might seem like a good thing, Vicky suspects foul play. A missing Celtic cauldron from Harvard's Peabody museum leads her to an unwelcome conclusion: Pryce, her half-cousin and bitter enemy, is trying to regain his full powers. 

But Pryce isn't alone. He's conjured another, darker villain from Vicky's past. To stop them from destroying everything she loves, she'll have to face her own worst fear--in the realm of the dead itself.

My thoughts:

Vicky Vaughn thought she was in a good place - business was going well, her personal life was going better than well - and her cousin Pryce was out of the way.  

But she was wrong.

Pryce is back and trying to regain his powers by harnessing demons from people’s nightmares - if he can kill Vicky in the process - well, that’s just icing on the cake.

And if things weren’t bad enough - a female were has her sights set on Vicky’s boyfriend, Alexander Kane.

With things falling apart around her, Vicky does the only thing she can - she fights.

Darklands is an enjoyable read.  Vicky is fearless and gets the job done.

I give Darklands 3 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Ace (July 31, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1937007707
ISBN-13: 978-1937007706

Review: Kiss of the Vampire by Cynthia Garner

Kiss of the Vampire is the first book in the Warriors of the Rift series by Cynthia Garner and a Paranormal Romance from Grand Central Publishing.

Blurb:

Warriors of the Rift

Once a generation, the rift between the paranormal world and the human world opens, allowing supernatural entities to cross. Vampire, demon, or shapeshifter, they can save the world-or send it spiraling into chaos.

Half-demon, half-human, Nix de la Fuente is accepted by neither and mistrusted by both. Determined to prove she's more human than not, she devotes herself to solving crimes between the world's mortals and its most unsavory undead. But her latest case brings her face to face with the one vampire she could never resist . . . 

Called in to investigate a string of violent murders, special agent Tobias Caine isn't interested in rekindling his relationship with Nix. Yet one look and the vampire knows his need for her is as strong as ever. Once, their all-consuming passion nearly cost Nix her fragile hold on her humanity. Now, as their hunger for one another intensifies, exposing them to an unimaginable danger, it could cost them both their lives.

My thoughts:

Nix de la Fuente is a liaison between the human world and The Council of Preternaturals - she investigates crimes between mortals and ED’s, extra dimensionals.

An extra dimensional is a being who has come through a rift and settled on Earth, displacing a human in the process and taking over their body.  This has the humans in an uproar.

Now another rift is about to occur and humans are making noise - and bodies are turning up - vampire bodies.

Nix and her ex, vampire Tobias Caine, are looking into the latest murder and The Council wants answers now.  But the more the two dig into the crimes, the less they like what they’ve found - and time is running out...

Kiss of the Vampire was a pretty good read - certainly a different take on the origins of the preternatural community.

I give Kiss of the Vampire 3 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Forever (February 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446585114
ISBN-13: 978-0446585118 

Review: Death Most Definite by Trent Jamieson

Death Most Definite is the first book in the Death Works series by Trent Jamieson and an Orbit Fantasy.

Blurb:

Steven de Selby has a hangover. Bright lights, loud noise, and lots of exercise are the last thing he wants. But that's exactly what he gets when someone starts shooting at him.

Steven is no stranger to death-Mr. D's his boss after all-but when a dead girl saves him from sharing her fate, he finds himself on the wrong end of the barrel. His job is to guide the restless dead to the underworld but now his clients are his own colleagues, friends, and family.

Mr. D's gone missing and with no one in charge, the dead start to rise, the living are hunted, and the whole city teeters on the brink of a regional apocalypse-unless Steven can shake his hangover, not fall for the dead girl, and find out what happened to his boss- that is, Death himself.

My thoughts:

Steven de Selby is a Psychpomp: a Pomp.  He and those like him, draw the dead through themselves and into the Underworld.  At the same time, they prevent the Stirrers from trying to come through from the other side.

Steven’s world is pretty predictable, so imagine his surprise when the ghost of an eerily familiar woman saves him from being shot.  But why would someone be shooting at him in the first place?

Things go from bad to much worse when Steven begins receiving the souls of those he holds near and dear - friends, family and coworkers.  And then the bodies of those newly dead begin chasing him.  They have been invaded by Stirrers and they are on a mission.  

Kill Steven. 

Death Most Definite is a great read - I completely enjoyed Steven and all his quirks.  I’m looking forward to reading more.

I give Death Most Definite 4 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Orbit (August 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 031607800X
ISBN-13: 978-0316078009 

Review: Darkness Unbound by Keri Arthur

Darkness Unbound is the first book in the Dark Angels series by Keri Arthur and a Dell Fantasy.

Blurb:

Being half werewolf and half Aedh, Risa Jones can enter the twilight realms between life and death and see the reapers, supernatural beings that collect the souls of the dead. But she soon makes a terrifying discovery: Some sinister force is stealing souls, preventing the dead from ever knowing the afterlife.

Reapers escort souls - not snatch them - but Risa is still unnerved when a reaper shadows her in search of someone Risa has never met: her own father, an Aedh priest, who is rumored to be tampering with the gates of hell for a dark purpose. With the help of her 'aunt' - half-werewolf, half-vampire Riley Jenson - and an Aedh named Lucian who may have lost his wings but none of his sex appeal, Risa must pursue whatever shadowy practitioner of blood magic is seizing souls, and somehow stop her father . . . before all hell breaks loose.

My thoughts:

Risa Jones is the daughter of a very powerful psychic and an Aedh - this gives her a combination of gifts.  She has visions like her mother - but not as precise - and she can transform herself into a vapor like substance and travel undetected for short periods of time like her father, though it is very draining. 

When Risa is asked to visit a child in the hospital she is shocked to find that the child’s soul has been ripped from her body.  Shaken, Risa asks for help from the first reaper she sees - who also happens to have been following her.

What the two discover is that blood magic is being used to alter the gates of hell - and more than one faction thinks Risa’s father is involved...

Darkness Unbound was an enjoyable read.  I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Dell (September 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0440245729
ISBN-13: 978-0440245728    

Review: Lure of the Wicked by Karina Cooper

Lure of the Wicked is the second book in the Dark Mission series by Karina Cooper and a Paranormal Romance from AVON.

Blurb:

Naomi West was plucked from one prison and placed undercover in another: the gilded cage that is Timeless, New Seattle's premier spa and resort, where owner Phinneas Clarke - the most seductive man Naomi has ever met - may be hiding a killer. 

She's an agent of the Holy Order, trained to hunt the guilty and render justice. But while she's tracking down a rogue agent on a killing spree, Phin is determined to uncover her most damning - and dangerous - secrets. Whatever the cost. 

My thoughts:

Naomi West works for the Holy Order - that does not mean that she always agrees with them.  Her attitude has often been the cause of trouble and now she’s found out that she is being monitored - is in fact, one step away from disciplinary actions.  And no one likes the Holy Order’s brand of discipline.

Determined to get her latest assignment completed in a timely and satisfactory manner, Naomi immerses herself in the monied spa named Timeless.  But though Naomi is there to track a rogue agent - it is the owner’s son that has caught her attention.

Phinneas Clark is more than Naomi bargained for - in more ways than one.  He is hiding something...and Naomi’s interest is more than piqued.  

Lure of the Wicked is an enjoyable read.  I like that Naomi is so headstrong and stubborn.

I give Lure of the Wicked 3 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon (June 28, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 006204690X
ISBN-13: 978-0062046901

Review: A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer

A Blood Seduction is the first book in the Vamp City series by Pamela Palmer and an Avon Fiction.

Blurb:

Take Me Down To Vampire City...

Vampires live only for lust and pleasure in the eternal twilight of Vamp City.  But the city’s magic is dying.  The only person who can restore it?  A beautiful woman from the mortal world...one who knows nothing of the power she wields.

Quinn Lennox is searching for a missing friend when she stumbles into a dark otherworld what only she can see - and finds herself at the mercy of Arturo Mazza, a dangerously handsome vampire whose wicked kiss will save her, enslave her, bewitch her, and betray her.

What Arturo can’t do is forget about her - any more than Quinn can control her own feelings for him.  Neither one can let desire get in the way of their mission - his to save his people, hers to save herself.  But there is no escape from desire in a city build for seduction, where passion flows hot and blood-red...

My thoughts:

For some time now Quinn Lennox has experienced things that no one else seems to know exists.  All over town she feels and then sees the air shimmer - when she goes through the shimmer, things change.  Often she feels the hair on her arms raise and she knows she’s about to see a vision - a vision of a different time, a different place - superimposed on the world she lives in...

People all over town are going missing and when Quinn and her brother are looking for a missing friend, they are hurled into that world that Quinn has seen in her visions. Only this place is real - and Quinn and Zack find out all to quickly that they are at the bottom of the food chain.

Arturo Mazza is a vampire living in Washington, VC - a crumbling version of Washington, DC circa 1840.  Vampire City was created by great magic - and that magic is failing. If the vampires can’t figure out a way to restore the magic - they will all die.

Arturo thinks Quinn has that magic - and he has no plans to let her go...

A Blood Seduction was an okay read.  I love the concept - but think I would have liked it better if Vamp City was more like 60's Vegas instead of 1840's Washington.

I give A Blood Seduction 3 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon (May 29, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062107496
ISBN-13: 978-0062107497

YA Review: Ashes by Ilsa J Bick

Ashes is the first book in the Ashes trilogy by Ilsa J Bick and a YA from Egmont.

Blurb:

 It could happen tomorrow . . .

An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions.

Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom - a young soldier - and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP. 

For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it's now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.

My thoughts:

Alex is a young woman lost.  Her parents died when she was very little - leaving her to be raised by her grandmother.  If that weren’t tragic enough, not long after their death, Alex found out that she has a medical condition.  A very serious medical condition.

Needing time to regroup and come to terms with the decisions she has recently made, Alex heads to the woods she once hiked with her parents.  The peace she finds is soon broken by an unexplained event that results in the death of an elderly gentleman Alex met on her hike.

With his death, Alex is left to care for his young granddaughter.

The two head out in search of help from the ranger station only to be confronted by a man acting completely insane and intent on causing the girls harm.  At the last minute they are rescued by a young man named Tom who is a soldier on leave from Afghanistan.

The trio form an quick alliance and together head out into the unknown - hoping to find safety in what is fast becoming an unsafe world.

I loved Ashes! 

Post-apocalyptic is one of my all time favorite genre’s and Ashes is a prime example of why.

I give Ashes 5 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Reading level: Ages 14 and up
Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: EgmontUSA (September 6, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1606841750
ISBN-13: 978-1606841754

Review: Shadows Before the Sun by Kelly Gay

Shadows Before the Sun is the fourth book in the Charlie Madigan series by Kelly Gay and a Pocket Books Urban Fantasy.

Blurb:

Between life and death lies a chasm of pain beyond imagining. . . .

Elysia may be a heavenly off-world destination, but beyond it, in the siren city of Fiallan, the Circe have punished Charlie Madigan’s partner, Hank, into a torturous state between life and death. With all the proper legal channels cleared, Charlie heads to Elysia, not knowing what she’ll find, or if she’ll ever see the siren again . . . while at home, jinn crime boss Grigori Tennin has begun an all-out hunt for the divine being Ahkneri. Tennin’s tactics set off a chain reaction that puts Charlie in the crosshairs of the shadowy creature known as Death, and stirs Ahkneri from her long sleep—and if Vengeance awakes, Atlanta will never be the same.

My thoughts:

Charlie has finally come into her divine powers - that doesn't mean she knows how to use them correctly.  All she does know is that whenever she taps into them - Death shows up.  And he usually tries to kick her a$$.

Hank has been taken back to his home world - branded a traitor - and Charlie is determined to bring him back.  She tries going thru the proper channels first - but when that doesn't work out she sets off on her own.  Or so she thought.  When the Oracle shows up and tells Charlie that she is going to help her retrieve Hank - Charlie is surprised to say the least.  But for the first time in her life - Charlie decides to take the offered help - and together the two set out to bring Hank home.

A task easier said than done.

I completely enjoyed Shadows Before the Sun and think it is the best installment yet.  I give Shadows Before the Sun 4 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Pocket Books (July 31, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1451625480
ISBN-13: 978-1451625486

Review: Bonded by Blood by Laurie London

Bonded by Blood is the first book in the SweetBlood series by Laurie London and a Paranormal Romance from HQN.

Blurb:

Deep within the forests of the pacific Northwest, two vampire coalitions battle for supremacy - 

Guardian enforcers who safeguard humanity and Darkbloods, rogues who kill like their ancient ancestors.  Now Guardian team leader Dominic Serrano will be forced to choose between the vengeance he craves and the woman he can’t live without...

Movie location scout Mackenzie Foster-Shaw has always known that she's cursed to die young. No one can protect her from the evil that has stalked her family for generations - vampires who crave her rare blood type. Until one afternoon in a wooded cemetery, she encounters an impossibly sexy stranger, a man she must trust with her life.

For Dominic, a man haunted by loss, Mackenzie satisfies a primal hunger that torments him - and the bond they share goes beyond heat, beyond love. She alone can supply the strength he needs to claim his revenge. But in doing so, he could destroy her..

My thoughts:

Mackenzie Foster-Shaw is an artist- teaching others how to paint - as well as using her artistic eye to find just the right location for movie shoots.

Her professional life is all she could hope for.  Her personal life - well, that’s a different story.

For years members of her family have unexpectedly disappeared.  A distant cousin, an uncle - Mackenzie’s own father.  With that threat over her head, Mackenzie tries to live every day to the fullest.

What she doesn’t know is that she is a SweetBlood - an individual with a rare blood type that is prized by vampires.  

Dominic Serrano is a Guardian.  He and his team of Guardians do their upmost to protect humans from the Darkbloods - the rogue vampires who kill humans for their blood.

When Dom meets Mackenzie he is immediately attracted - then he finds out that she is a SweetBlood - and he is determined to protect her - no matter the cost...

Bonded by Blood was an okay read.  It bogged for me a little and the slow going was a bit boring.  But it picked up again and I enjoyed it.

I give Bonded by Blood 3 out of 5 stars.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: HQN Books (January 18, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 037377544X
ISBN-13: 978-0373775446    

Review: Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Deadlocked is book 12 in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris from ACE.


Blurb:


With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it's the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman's front yard--especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.


Now, it's up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl's fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who's out to make Sookie's world come crashing down.


My thoughts:


Sookie and Eric’s relationship is a bit rocky.  He has declared her his human wife - but that is not recognized by the vampires.  Before his death, Eric’s maker made arrangements for Eric to marry Freyda, Queen of Oklahoma.  


Though Eric professes his love of Sookie - he claims there is no way he can get out of marrying Freyda.  To add insult to injury, Vampire King Felipe de Castro is in town investigating the disappearance of Victor and he is determined to prove Eric and Sookie had something to do with that disappearance.


Sookie is ‘invited’ to present herself at Eric’s to meet with Felipe - something she doesn’t really want to do and something that Bill would prefer she not do as well.


When the body of a woman is found in the middle of Eric’s front yard - Sookie is determined to prove that Eric had nothing to do with it.  In the course of her investigation Sookie finds more than she bargained for - she’s been the target all along...


I love this series - but Deadlocked was a little on the boring side.  I loved the ending - but 15 chapters of so-so and one chapter of ‘wow’ doesn’t balance for me.


I give Deadlocked 3 out of 5 stars.


Product Details
Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Ace (May 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1937007448
ISBN-13: 978-1937007447 

YA Review: The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell

The Reapers Are the Angels is a YA novel by Alden Bell from Holt.


Book Blurb:


Zombies have infested a fallen America. A young girl named Temple is on the run. Haunted by her past and pursued by a killer, Temple is surrounded by death and danger, hoping to be set free.


For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself and keeping her demons inside her heart. 


She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. 


Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks.


My thoughts:


Temple does not remember a time without the ‘meatskins’.  Those dead things that won’t stay down without a bullet or sharp object to the brain.  Temple also doesn’t remember her parents.  She’s sure she must have had some - but she doesn’t know what happened to them.


She’s been on her own for a little while now.  Moving from place to place - trying to stay out of the way of the meatskins.  Trying to find what beauty is left in the world.


But not everything is beautiful - and not all survivors are trustworthy.  When Temple is placed in a dangerous situation she does what she must to stay safe.  Killing comes easy - whether man or meatskin.  


Temple actions - however justified - have consequences and now she is on the run.  And being pursued - not by the meatskins - but by a flesh and blood man out for vengeance.


I enjoyed The Reapers Are the Angels.  It is written a bit oddly - not a quotation in the whole book.  Once I wrapped my head around that I was okay.


This book fascinated me.  I’m not sure if it was due to Temple’s young age or the ease with which she dealt with whatever life handed her.  The ending made me angry though - really angry.


I give The Reapers Are the Angels 4 out of 5 stars.


Product Details
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (August 3, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805092439
ISBN-13: 978-0805092431