Friday, July 27, 2012

Dana Marie Bell--Cynful (Halle Shifters #2)

Paranormal Romance-shifter

Julian DuCharme, a rare Spirit Bear with legendary healing powers, is finally free from the threat of death, finally free to claim his mate—but she’s not having it. While his Bear screams it’s time to mate, the love of his life wants to date.

Holding his Bear in check while convincing her he’s not out to control her won’t be easy. She’s stubborn and a closeted geek—in other words, perfect for him.

Cynthia “Cyn” Reyes, owner of Living Art Tattoos, thinks Julian is the hottest thing on two legs. That doesn’t mean she’s going to roll over for his masculine charm. She watched her mother flounder when her father passed away, and she’s determined to never lose herself to someone else. Not even a man who would jump the moon for her, if she asked that of him.

When the women of Living Art are targeted by a killer, Julian doesn’t think twice about pouring out his last drop of power
to keep Cyn safe. But it’s Cyn who’ll give up everything—her independence, even her humanity—to keep a terrifying vision
from coming true.

One of his death.


Warning: This novel contains explicit sex, graphic language, a tattooed heroine and the Bear who loves her. Maybe he’ll finally convince her to tattoo him with “Property of Cyn”.

{3.5 stars}
I was a little disappointed in this one. Julian, though intriguing in the first book, was not the Hot Alpha I had hoped for. Cyn was more Alpha than him. They were cute together, but not the smoking hot passion of Alex and Tabby. It still had a lot of humor, and the life and death action that keeps it from becoming boring, but it just missed the mark for me.(But the cover is certainly dream worthy)  But that being said, I am in no way giving up on this series. I'm sure they are many more Hot Alphas in my future.....we still have to get Glory and Ryan's story.

Dana Marie Bell--Bear Necessities (Halle Shifters #2)

Paranormal Romance-shifter  (adult content)

To hold onto his love, he must release his beast. Halle Shifters, Book 1 Once a Bear sets his mind on a mission, it's best to stay out of his way. Alexander "Bunny" Bunsun is that Bear. Something's not right with his cousin Chloe, and he's come to Halle, PA, to sort it out, turn his Harley around and head home to Oregon. Until an enticing scent lures him into the local tattoo shop. There she is. An inked, Southern-drawled she-Wolf with lime-green hair. His perfect mate. Tabitha Garwood's rotten day just got worse. Her Outcast status makes her a target for harassment with alarming regularity. And now, in the middle of a root touch-up, looking like a half-melted Skittle, she's met her destined mate. The only upside? She finally has a protector in the form of a huge, tattooed, shaved-head Bear who vibrates with carefully restrained power. When Chloe is left for dead and Tabby is threatened, only Alex can keep his growing family safe. Giving Tabby the loving home she needs, though, could come at a price-Alex must give up the control he's worked a lifetime to attain. Which means someone could die at the hands-and claws-of his beast. Warning: This novel contains explicit sex, graphic language, a hunky Bear named Bunny and . . . Yes. I said a Bear named Bunny. I don't know about you but I'm not brave enough to make fun of it.

{5 stars}
I just loved this book!! I fell in love with the shifters of Halle while reading the Halle Puma short stories, and the shifters series does not disappoint. And they are full length books! Funny, adorable characters, that you just can't help become attached to. We get to see all the previous couples, and meet some upcoming characters along with learning how this series is going to develop. Lets face it, a paranormal romance can't suceed without a life and death crisis to pull everyone together. Can't wait to start Cynful.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Dana Marie Bell (Halle Pumas #3- #5)

Paranormal Romance--shifters


Cat of a Different Color #3
Hell do whatever it takes to protect his mate. Halle Pumas, Book 3 Dr. Adrian Giordano is quite happy with the way his life is going. His two best friends are happily mated, and hes still sanely single. He has friends, a thriving business, and the occasional Saturday night date. Then Sheridan Montgomery comes to town. His inner Puma responds to the husky-voiced snow princess in a way that tells him his life is about to be turned upside down. Sheri cant believe her luck could be this bad. Instinct tells her Adrian is her mate, but the last thing she wants to do is drag him into her messy life. Shes on the run from a big bad wolfan ex who wont take no for an answer. Worse, if he catches her, hes got the teeth (and the Pack ) to take what he wants. She doesnt stand a chance alone, but with her friendsand the persistent Adrianby her side, she might just survive. If her ex doesnt eat the yummy Dr. Giordano for lunch, that is] Warning: This title contains explicit sex, graphic language, a handsome, dark-eyed shifter and a couple of bites to remember..

Steel Beauty #4
Coping with a devastating injury is hard enough for Belinda--Belle--Campbell. Forced separation from her destined mate while she heals is almost more than she can endure. Until she is strong enough to take up her duties as Luna of the Poconos Wolf Pack, however, the safest place for her is Halle. Now, after months of being alone, she is more than ready to be claimed. But is the pack ready for a Puma Luna?

Rick Lowell has waited long enough to bring Belle home where she belongs. He's aware of the danger, as well--and it isn't long before a bitch with an eye on Belle's position issues a challenge. The only way to put down the threat is for Belle to defeat the usurper in combat.

There's only one problem. Thanks to the pins in her broken hip, Belle can't shift. Without that tactical advantage, it won't be a fair fight. With his new mate's life on the line, Rick is forced to make a decision that will change everything.

That is, if Belle gives him the chance to make it.


Only in My Dreams #5
Delayed gratification has its place. This wouldn't be it

Gabriel Anderson has accepted a unique position in the shifter world. He's about to become a Hunter, one of the few trained and sanctioned to hunt down the rare rogue shifter dangerous to humans and shifters alike. There's one catch: until his training is complete, he must hold off on marking his mate. No problem...after all, she probably couldn't handle the sexual demands he dreams of making on her.

Her mate's apparent desertion devastates Sarah. And his friendship with another woman threatens the bond they should be sharing and building. Maybe flirting with another man will make him sit up and take notice-and finally win Gabe's heart. It works. Almost too well. One touch of another man's hand on Sarah's tempting body brings every ounce of Gabe's possessiveness roaring to the surface. He wastes no time making his erotic dreams of dominating her a reality-whether she's ready for it or not. If she's not, the only place he'll ever have her is in his dreams...


Warning: These titles contains graphic language, explicit sex. The author is not responsible for any tall, dark and handsome men who slip into your dreams

{4.5 stars}
I read the first 2 in this series quite some time ago, and was completely charmed by them. My only complaint is that they are short reads. I read these last 2 in one afternoon. If you read them back to back its like one normal length book. And the single price for each is worth it.

The Halle Pumas, and their band of friends are a very funny bunch. They have wonderful senses of humor which really makes this series fun. Quick witted banter, and off the charts passion makes a nice way to spend the afternoon.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Maya Banks--Sweet Addiction (Sweet #6)

Romance--erotic

He awakened a need within her…

Cole is successful beyond his dreams. He can have any woman he wants, but there’s only one he can’t stop thinking about. His childhood sweetheart, Renita. He’s never forgotten his first taste of innocent love and the desire that consumed them—or the pain he brought upon her…

But now she belongs to another…

Her long ago brush with submission awakened a longing in Ren that drove her to walk the darker edge of desire. She’s become a beautiful woman at ease with her sexuality and unapologetic about her need for a dominant man. When Cole finds her again, he’s gutted that she belongs to another. Ren’s current master agrees to give her to Cole for a short time, but then she must return to his keeping. And though Cole agrees to this bargain, he knows he will never be able to let Ren go again…


{2 stars}
Bored......
Cole was an intriguing character in the first books, so I thought I would love his story. But truthfully, I was bored and skimmed the majority of the book. Nothing about this one pulled me in emotionally. It bordered on porn without plot because I couldn't get involved with the characters. After reading the epilogue, it hit me. I am only emotionally invested into the Malone and Sons group. Gray/Faith, Nathan/Julie, Micah/Angelina, and even Connor/Lyric (because the "girls" made Lyric's story fun in parts). They are what makes this series fun and entertaining, for me at least. Don't know if this is the last in the series, so I can't say for sure if I would read any future ones. But I doubt it.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Maya Banks--Sweet Possession (Sweet #5)

Romance-contemporary

She’s a singer who lives for the spotlight—and can’t resist her adoring fans…
Outrageous and out-of-control, Lyric Jones is a spoiled pop star who lives hard and fast, always outrunning her past and the nightmares that haunt her. She’s used to getting what she wants—groupies included—because she can’t stand to be alone. So in bed, it’s the more the merrier, even if it means closing off the deepest part of herself…

He’s a hands-on bodyguard—and a one-woman man.
There is nothing Connor Malone wants to do less than babysit the celebrity songstress while she’s on vacation. But part of him relishes taming Lyric and showing her what it’s like to be possessed—body and soul—by one man. And though Lyric’s crazy antics nearly drive Connor to the edge, his quiet intensity penetrates her defenses, leaving them both vulnerable to the secrets that could topple Lyric from the stage.


{2 stars}
This series is really supposed to be erotic, and the last 4 were supremely erotic (especially Micah's story, which was uber erotic), but this one was just plain vanilla for me. Lyric is an OK character, and I knew from previous books that Connor was not into the same kind of sex life as his friends. But this was more about Lyrics drama filled life than anything. I actually was more interested in Kane, the guy in charge of her security team than the relationship between Connor and Lyric. The only thing that kept me reading was the girls we have come to adore from this series. They make everything an "umbrella drink" fun filled event. Not giving up on this series, but hope the next one is at least a little Hotter...

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Karin Slaughter--Criminal (Will Trent #6)

Mystery/suspense/thriller

Karin Slaughter’s new novel is an epic tale of love, loyalty, and murder that encompasses forty years, two chillingly similar murder cases, and a good man’s deepest secrets.

Will Trent is a brilliant agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Newly in love, he is beginning to put a difficult past behind him. Then a local college student goes missing, and Will is inexplicably kept off the case by his supervisor and mentor, deputy director Amanda Wagner. Will cannot fathom Amanda’s motivation until the two of them literally collide in an abandoned orphanage they have both been drawn to for different reasons. Decades before—when Will’s father was imprisoned for murder—this was his home. . . .

Flash back nearly forty years. In the summer Will Trent was born, Amanda Wagner is going to college, making Sunday dinners for her father, taking her first steps in the boys’ club that is the Atlanta Police Department. One of her first cases is to investigate a brutal crime in one of the city’s worst neighborhoods. Amanda and her partner, Evelyn, are the only ones who seem to care if an arrest is ever made.

Now the case that launched Amanda’s career has suddenly come back to life, intertwined with the long-held mystery of Will’s birth and parentage. And these two dauntless investigators will each need to face down demons from the past if they are to prevent an even greater terror from being unleashed.


{5 stars}
There is a reason I love Karin Slaughter.....she has an amazing imagination and attention to detail. And I never guess the surprise at the end! This one takes us back in time to when Amanda Wagner's career took off. Where her and Evelyn finally earned the respect of all the men in their squad, a rare thing in the 70's. We flash back and forth between the 70's and present day, where the murdered convicted in the original case is back out on the streets killing again. This is truly a "coming home" story, we learn how Amanda and Will's strange relationship started, where Will really came from, and who all the players were in his life. And it really makes you see Amanda in a whole new light. Add to Will's drama the fact that his "wife" won't really go away, and his fear of Sara knowing the whole truth of his life. Whew! What a ride, I was spellbound from the beginning. (She can really come up with some twisted methods to kill someone.) We learn a lot in this one, and I am amazed each and every time by Slaughters imagination, style, and ability to draw us into the story while still giving us plenty of surprises right up until the end. Love, Love, Loved it!!!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Maya Banks--Sweet Temptaion (Sweet #4)

Romance--erotic (warning explicit content)

He was a by-the-book cop who broke the rules in the bedroom ...Micah Hudson has painful secrets he's run hard from. He has new friends, a new life, but he's about to be confronted with the one person who reminds him of all he's tried to forget--Angelina, the sister of his oldest friend David. She knows everything about his past, including how he and David fell in love with the same woman, and how they decided the best way to prevent her from tearing them apart was to share her between them. But then a terrible accident left Micah alone ...

She was willing to do anything to make him see the woman she'd become ...
Micah lost the two people who meant the most in the world to him. Angelina lost her only family. And she kept her deepest secret close to her heart. Her love for Micah. No longer willing to wait, she decides it's time to go after him and bring him to his knees. She knows his secrets, his desires, his kinks and fetishes, and she'll use whatever it takes to reel him in. Behind the easygoing, loves women exterior lies a man with dark needs and passions. She can give him what he wants. But will he decide she's what he needs?

{3 stars}
OK, warning: This book has some really dark sexual content. Now, I am open minded and adventurous, probably more than most people. But there are some lines that I am not comfortable with. And Micah and Angel's sexual interests crosses my comfort line. So I just skimmed over that and kept to the core story of the book. Micah has a lot of demons lurking in his past, he lost his wife and best friend. But Angel lost her brother and the love of her life. Complicated beyond belief.  But now Angel has decided she is going to get what she wants whether he knows it or not. But she has danger following her, one who may take everything she has ever loved away. Micah's story turned out to be more serious and dark than I expected, coming off the really fun couple of Nathan and Julie, it was an almost about face in the storyline. And even thought I skimmed some parts along the way, I really liked them. 

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Maya Banks--Sweet Seduction (Sweet #3)

Romance-erotic

He was the stuff erotic dreams are made of.
Salon owner Julie Stanford wanted Nathan Tucker ever since she gave him his first massage. Getting paid to feel every inch of his body, stripped, oiled, and spread out in front of her...the stuff dreams are made of. But the sexy guy was oblivious to the signals she was sending - until she finished off his final rubdown with something extra. In fact, the best extra he ever had. Unfortunately, he came around too late. Now Julie's moving on...

She was everything he'd dreamed of.
The woman was driving him crazy. She lit fire to his insides, then ran like a scalded cat. And now she's going to someone else to have all her fantasies fulfilled? Over his dead body. He's more than willing to give her what she wants, and as soon as he pins the little minx down, he'll show her his own brand of sweet seduction.


{4 stars}
This series is getting better and better for me. This time around we get to watch Nathan and Julie dance around each other, chase each other, and torture each other. All because they are to tangled up to really let go and take the proverbial leap of faith. But when Julie decides to have Damon set up a fantasy for her, Nathan flips his possessive switch....and let the games begin...Along the way we get lots of updates from the other couples including Micah. Can't wait for his story...

Maya Banks--Sweet Persuasion (Sweet#2)

Romance-erotic

For five years, Serena has run Fantasy Incorporated and has devoted her time to fulfilling her clients' fantasies. Never her own. Until now...

Her most secret desire is to give ownership of her body to a man. Someone who will command her, pleasure her, and have complete authority over her. So she seeks out Damon Roche, owner of an exclusive sex club and a man strong enough to make her do anything he wants. Anything.

Together they'll journey into a world she's only dreamed of. She's given the opportunity to immerse herself in a different life while her normal one waits for her to return whenever she wishes. Damon has no desire to let her go, however. Serena is the woman he's long searched for, and it's up to him to convince her to stay when the game is all over with. He wants their fantasy to become their reality and for Serena to remain his pampered, cherished submissive.

{3.5 stars}
A liked this one much better than the first, the overall storyline and flow of the book made more sense to me. Serena is a strong character, equal to the strong character of Damon. I didn't think I would like Damon, but as much as he seems in control of everything around him, he is just as vulnerable as the rest of us. They start out planning and playing out Serena's fantasy, but along the way they both realize that they really just want reality with each other. Serena runs, not knowing what is real or fantasy and is unsure of what Damon really wants. But leave it to her best friends to help her realize what is best for her. I couldn't give this book 4 or 5 stars, because I just don't enjoy reading about pain for punishment. I know it was part of their storyline, and it was written with as much class as possible, and that it is truly part of the whole BDSM world, but there were a couple of parts that were a little hard for even me. But at the core of this book is Damon and Serena, and it was a great romance.....