Friday, January 15, 2010

Gena Showalter-- "Playing with Fire"

synopsis:
Twenty four year old barista Belle Jamison dreams of a better job and a decent love life. Until a crazy scientist spikes her mocha latte! Suddenly Belle can wield the four elements--earth, wind, fire, and water--with only a thought. Coffee too hot? No problem. Hair in need of a blow dry? Done.
Gorgeous government agent Rome Masters has been sent to neutralize Belle. But he's not the only one after her. Together they must outrun the rogue agents on their trail and find a way to control her powers. There's just one problem; the sparks Belle and Rome generate are even hotter than the ones flying from her eyes, and with her future on the line, now is the worst possible time to fall in love....


***What a surprise this book turned out to be. I gave it a chance because i really like Gena Showalter's "Lords of the Underworld" series. It took a while to get into this book, but once it hooked me it was a fun read. The developing romance between Rome and Belle is funny and charming and i couldn't wait till they finally hooked up. They picked up a couple of interesting characters along the way and the team came together to kill the bad guys. It's a different kind of paranormal book than i usually read, but i really enjoyed it. This seems to be the beginning to a new series since Belle and Rome now work together for PSI. I can't wait to read the next one....

Monday, January 11, 2010

Jacquelyn Frank-- "Hunting Julian" (The Gatherers)

synopsis:
As a Gatherer for his colony, Julian Sawyer travels to Earth to bring back the Chosen, women who possess energy potent enough to help revitalize his people. The stunning, silver-clad beauty who strides into his club one night radiates a sensual magnetism unlike any he's encountered, and Julian realizes that Asia Callahan is not just Chosen, she is his kindra; his one true mate. For months, Asia has tracked the beautiful and mysterious Julian across the country, convinced that he's behind the disappearance of her sister and a dozen other woman. She believes he's a ruthless killer, but she discovers that the truth is far more shocking. Taken to a strange, hazardous realm she never knew existed, Asia will face the ultimate choice--between abandoning the life she's always known, and forsaking a passion as dangerous as it is powerful.

***Jacquelyn Frank has quite an imagination. She creates worlds beyond anything i have ever read. This is the 3rd such world she has created. The first was the Nightwalkers, second was the Shadowdwellers (my favorite), and now the Gatherers. At first this book is a little confusing, it's hard to follow when you have no idea anything about the world it involves. But once you get the hang of it, Julian and Asia come together. They are both stubborn, willful, and in love with each other. They are just trying to figure it out (the hard way of course) while Asia is trying to understand how to live in a world no one could imagine, where she was brought without her permission. She has no way home to her Earth plane. So she must come to accept and understand all of this while they are tested over and over again, and somehow their passion for each other brings them back to the basics of loving each other. I think Frank has another hit on her hands.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Lara Adrian-- "Shades of Midnight" (Midnight Breed series)

synopsis:
Something inhuman is stalking the frigid Alaskan wilds, leaving unspeakable carnage in its wake. For bush pilot Alexandra Maquire, the killings stir memories of a horrific event she witnessed as a child and evoke in her the inexplicable sense of otherness she has long felt within herself but never fully understood...until a darkly seductive stranger with secrets of his own enters her world. Sent from Boston on a mission to investigate the savage attacks and stop the slaughter, vampire warrior Kade has his own reasons for returning to the frigid, forbidding place of his birth. Haunted by a secret shame, Kade soon realizes the stunning truth of the threat he faces. A threat that will jeopardize the fragile bond he has formed with the courageous, determined young woman who arouses his deepest passions and most primal hungers. But in bringing Alex into his world of blood and darkness, Kade must confront both his own personal demons and the even greater evil that could destroy all he holds dear.

***I liked this installment in the series. But Kade is a new member of the Order and has less history. Lucan, the leader of the Order, is 900 years old and has a lot of history and "demons" to escape while keeping humanity safe from the Rogue vampires and their new threat of the Ancient. One of the original founders of the Breed, the Ancient was believed to be defeated in the war between the First Generation Breed and their fathers. But Kade has his own battle to fight with his twin. He is sent to Alaska to take care of the latest incident involving a vampire attack. Only to discover it is much more that just a Rogue vampire. Eliciting the help of a bush guide Alexandra Maguire, he finds himself falling for her. He saves her as much as she saves him. Their story seems somewhat "lighter" than the others in this series, probably because the other members of the Order don't appear much in this book. But it is still a good book. It moves the series along and takes a very interesting twist in the end and i can't wait till the next one to find out what happens.