Shannon K. Butcher

HOT new author!!!

A book-lovin' friend told me about this author's debut book No Regrets, which was released last February. So, of course, book-hog that I am, I ran out and bought it the next day and now I'm completely enamored with this author's writing and she's going on my auto-buy list.

Here's the blurb:

NO SURRENDER
Renowned cryptologist Noelle Blanche refuses to have blood on her hands. So when the military asks for her help in a covert operation, she refuses - until masked gunmen raid her home and threaten her life. Suddenly it’s all too clear that the blood spilled may be her own. Noelle has no choice but to trust the dangerous stranger sent by the military to safeguard her. A stranger who is everything she detests, everything she fears…and everything she desires.
NO LOOKING BACK
Former Delta Force operative David Wolfe thought he left it all behind—the horror, the hurt, the guilt. But now the men who savagely murdered his wife have set their sights on a brilliant cryptologist who can lead them to the cache of weapons they prize. As passion ignites between David and the woman he’s sworn to protect, what began as just a mission escalates into the fight of his life. But can he prevent history from repeating itself?
NO REGRETS

I was totally into this book from the first. It's a great example of romantic suspense that is strong in both the romance and the suspense plot-lines with incredibly engaging characters. It did have some pacing issues at a few points where I was ready for more action to further the suspense element but that is literally my only complaint.

As much as I enjoyed No Regrets, I was totally blown away when I got my hands on No Control the next book in the series (just released).

Here's the blurb:

No Hiding
Lana Hancock knows all about danger -- and betrayal. Eighteen months ago, she was captured by a terrorist group known as the Swarm while one of its member, a rugged man with sinfully dark eyes, did nothing to help her. Now when she’s freed and desperate to put it all behind her, the unthinkable happens. The Swarm is targeting Lana once again and the man who stood silently by has become her protector. But can she trust him?
No Escape
Delta Force operative Caleb Stone will never forget the hatred shining in Lana’s eyes. Ordered to take down the Swarm by infiltrating its ranks, Caleb couldn’t blow his cover to save her -- no matter how much it haunted him. Now, gifted with a second chance, he vows to move heaven and earth to protect her…and fulfill her every desire. But the Swarm has reorganized. It’s more powerful than ever and hell-bent on revenge…
No Control

Once again, Butcher created both a strong romance and strong suspense plots and blended them together with finesse. We met the hero (one of a trio of friends including David) in the first book and I was immediately intrigued by him. He brings tortured hero to a new level and suffers immensely from the remembered horror of standing by, watching as the lives of innocents were taken and someone with such a beautiful spirit as Lana was beaten so brutally. He had to stand firm to wait for the opportunity to irradicate the entire terrorist group and save the lives of many others but, despite the fact that he would make the same choice again if he had to, it haunts him.

Lana is an amazing heroine, strong and giving. After rising to the challenge of survival and recovery, she is compelled to devote herself to her cause of helping children. Sounds too perfect? Not really, she is very realistically created. She still has a good-sized dose of survivor's guilt and has nutured her hatred for the operative that stood by and did nothing while her friends were murdered and she was brutalized beyond recognition. However, after seeing the torment burning in the eyes and soul of Caleb she discards all of her daydreams of expressing her hate for him, lets the hatred go, and gains a greater understanding of the choices forced upon him. She still gives him a hard time because not only is he a reminder of that terrible time but she has secrets that she fears could put her families safety in jeopardy.

It's really and excellent read. It also introduces more Delta Force men that I hope we'll see in the future and gives some insight on the third member of this trio of friends, Grant, who freely admits that he's waiting for his "turn" at happiness and love. Since he is so willing to embrace the future and emotions, his heroine will probably have to be the one convinced that HEA's do exist. I can only imagine what type of heroine he will be paired with and the hurdles he will have to scale to convince her that they belong together.

Learn more about Shannon K. Butcher.

Sherri L King's Horde Wars

II have been devouring Sherri L. King's series The Horde Wars over the last couple of days (I'm a bit obsessive when I find an interesting series). They're paranormal erotic romances available from EC.

Ms. King built a unique world and cast of characters with interesting paranormal elements all wrapped up in this series. The basic premise is that there is a secret war taking place that the humans are unaware of - the battle between the Daemon Horde (the bad guys) and the Shikar (aka the good guys). The Horde is made up of monster-like creatures who, throughout the series, begin to evolve into slightly more intelligent and powerful creatures - much to the horror of the Shikar who are the only thing standing between the Horde and the fragile humans. The Horde literally eats humans and crave psychic humans in particular.

The Shikars are warriors (well, the males are) who have special powers (power over elements like fire, knife-like objects springing from their bodies called foils, time/space travel, etc.). They are not humans and although they do 'dally' with human women, their sperm is actually poisonous to them but we later find out that some human women can be converted to Shikar after dying from the poison. I totally loved these heroes - their abilities depend on which caste they're from but they're all dangerous, kick-ass alpha males.

In all four books the heroes are powerful Shikar warriors (although the last book is about the leader who is The Elder and not your average warrior) and the heroines are human females with psychic powers that attract the attention of the Horde and thus the attention of the Shikar who want to protect (and recruit) them. I really loved all of the characters - the females were very strong and sassy and the males are dangerous but loving. The action was really well written and was a nice foil for the romance which is the focal point (of course) and bulk of the stories. The love scenes were hot, although there was a little tongue/anal action that had an "ick" factor for me personally but overall very exciting.

The only book I didn't like as much was the last one LORD OF THE DEEP. It just felt like there was too much going on outside the main characters in this book and I didn't really connect with them. Nor did I feel like they really connected with each other - the evolution of their relationship is very quick and jerky. Also, there are a lot of loose ends left dangling in both the storyline and the character development... like it never really feels like the heroine gets control of her power (and what exactly IS her power?) which is supposed to be a major issue in the book. This one just didn't work like the rest of them did.

There are also two related "Shikar" books (I haven't read them yet) titled: Caress of Flame & Ride the Lightening.

Sherri King's website is too 'techy' and hard to navigate IMO so for more info I recommend checking out Sherri L. King’s booklist at Ellora’s Cave.

The "baddies" and some important lessons...

I realized that I'm neglecting posting about books I really don't like so here's a rundown of some of the less-than-wonderful things I've read in the last few days.

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The Zoo by Eve Vaughn

This was WILD - pun intended. I actually purchased this e-book knowing that it probably wouldn't be to my taste but after reading the blurb I was just very curious as to how the author would write such a scenario.

It's a futuristic and the basic story is that a deaf earth-woman is taken prisoner by a group of aliens and sold to another planet as an animal attraction at their Zoo. Of course, she's humanoid and similar to the inhabitants of the planet but because it is so far removed from earth (and they don't speak the same language) they don't know that earth people are intelligent beings.

The hero of the book is one of the zookeepers and he is the best at working with difficult "animals" so he is assigned to work with the new earth creature. He realizes that she isn't a "beast" to be put on display and is extremely attracted to her but knows that in order to help her he has to keep his hands off of her because sexual relations between the two of them would be considered un-natural (since she's a zoo exhibit) and could land him in jail where he would be unable to help her at all. Finally, he realizes that the only way he can save her from living and being treated (poorly) like an animal at the zoo is to escape with her leaving - which he'll do because he loves her, of course.

Did I mention that the hero has two penises? No? well I should have. And what is the plural of penis - does anyone know? Is it peni? Penis's? Penis'? I just really don't know. I also should have mentioned that the zoo also has a male earth beast on display and the zoo hopes that the heroine will procreate with him. Sadly, their plot is doomed to fail because the male is gay. The zookeepers don't know that of course, since they don't even understand that earthlings are sentient.

Since I got it merely to satisfy my curiousity, I wasn't expecting much. The story wasn't absolutely horrible but it wasn't very good either. The characters were pretty flat and the plot needed way more developing to be any kind of decent read. But it was kind of a thought-provoking premise. What would aliens think of us? Would we be lower life-forms to them?

If you're curious too this one (and others in the series) is available from Changeling Press.

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The Dark One by Angela Knight

This is another one from Changeling Press that I got yesterday. It was actually the reason that I wandered onto the Changeling website in the first place - I was searching for more AK books. I bought it on the basis of her name but WHOA!! It is NOT the Angela Knight that I adore reading. The story was dark and brutal in regards to the sexual content (which is almost all of the content). I'm not going into details but it went way beyond my personal boundaries.

TODAY'S LESSON #1: There really is a "dark side." If you don't want to see it, be careful where you look.

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Mating Net by Rowena (Beaumont) Cherry

This is a prequel to FORCED MATE by Rowena Cherry (who evidentially uses Rowena Beaumont Cherry for her more spicy reads *snorting in disbelief*). I've read FORCED MATE and thought it was basically OK (but just OK). So when I came across this on the New Concepts website I decided to give it a try. UGH!

TODAY'S LESSON #2: A rose by any other name sometimes smells really, REALLY bad.

This book was HORRIBLE. Some of the worst crap I've ever seen published. Not because it was obscene or anything but because it was just crap! The development of the characters, the plot, heck - even the world building was non-existent. The whole damn book was absolutely pointless. Fifty-eight wasted pages containing a whole lot of NOTHING. I wish I could get both my time and money back. The only way this story should have seen the light of day is as a 'freebie' on Rowena Cherry's blog. It was so poorly written that I really can't believe they have the nerve to charge money for it. It's rubbish!

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Feline Heat by Madelaine Montague

This one was like a car accident - I just couldn't look away. Yes, I actually finished the story but who knows why.

Here's what I posted elsewhere when talking about it to a friend:
**MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!**
“This woman is being forced by the mob to be an exotic dancer to pay off an old boyfriend's debts. So they capture and bring in a Siberian Tiger and a Lion to be part of her act but what they've actually captured is two guys who are shape-shifters -their base forms are cats but they can shift into humans. Anyway, she's terrified but she's supposed to rub up against the animals and stuff while dancing but the shape-shifters are aroused by her even in their cat form and the tiger ends up *edited for language* having sex with her on stage - AS A CAT!! Yeah. Rips her and everything. NO *edited for language* kidding! So then, she knows she's going to be forced to perform with them again so she frees the cats - only they're men - and they take her on the run with them. And they keep randomly having unemotional (IMO) sex with her - not like menage but like who-gets-sloppy-seconds? Despite the fact that their kind isn't supposed to be mated to a human they both feel like they are. In the end, the chick ends up pregnant - which supposedly can only happen if a human REALLY loves a shifter - and, of course, it's twins. But who is the father? Nobody knows until they're born because they've both been 'seeding the field' so to speak. So the two cats (who have random bouts of challenging each other for her - cause cats don't normally share anything) decide that whoever the father is (evidentially they can tell when they're born) will be the one that gets to stay with the chick and the other will have to leave. Oh.... but it gets better. The twins are born and they're, of course, fraternal twins. And both cats are the fathers - one baby for each of them. NOT KIDDING!!! So they stay as one big happy cat-family. Oh yeah... and did I mention that the cat-shifters are foreign and English is the second language and it's actually WRITTEN with an accent with them saying everything like "I'm tinking ve vill run from the man-children wid dis veak and helpless pretty little ting" In the end, both shifters admit that they "luf" her. SERIOUSLY!””

TODAY'S LESSON #3: The instant gratification of e-books may lead to impulse buying and THERE ARE NO RETURNS!!

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This concludes today's lessons. I hope we've all learned a little something today - I know I have!

Shadow Music by Julie Garwood

Shadow Music by Julie Garwood

I am a rabid Garwood fan and unlike so many others, I love both her historical AND her contemporaries. I have NEVER been disappointed by a Garwood book until the previous one -Shadow Dance - which I thought was just a little flat for such a spicy character as Noah Claybourne but I still enjoyed.

Despite the fact that the feedback about Shadow Music has been mostly negative, I was ready for another "Garwood Experience." Sadly, this book is more like a false store-front version masquerading as a Julie Garwood novel. It all just felt superficial - no real depth to the characters, the romance, or the plot.

I'm not going to go on and on because what I have to say it much like what is being said everywhere else but if you want a more in-depth review I recommend checking out the ones on Book Binge or Dear Author. I'm just too disappointed to put any effort into it right now.

Unchained by CJ Barry

UNCHAINED by CJ Barry
The Blurb on the author's site for this book wasn't that great - in my opinion - so I'm going to summarize.

Cidra Faulkner's entire family was killed in a brutal massacre in retaliation for a supposed wrong done by her father. She escaped notice and therefore death that night and spent the next 10 years in hiding being trained to be a Kin-Sha warrior. When her friend and mentor dies, leaving her a box containing incomplete but compelling proof of her father's innocence, Cidra is determined to fulfill her duty and gain justice for her family and regain honor for the Kin-Sha. Luckily, her mentor has left her more than leads to the truth of the past, he's also provided the perfect partner with the means to get the job done.... Grey Stone. But as they travel, research and learn more about each other Grey quickly becomes more than a means to an end.

Responding to his former Kin-Sha mentor's request, Grey arrives just in time for the burial but in plenty of time to fulfil his last request - help Cidra find the proof of truth about the millions of deaths blamed on her father. Cynical and distinctly untrusting of women - well, anyone really - Grey nevertheless makes her part of his crew knowing all the while that resisting the combination of beauty, innocence, and warrior-woman that is Cidra will be nearly impossible. And he's right, the passion between them flares so hot and the emotions so deep that Grey finds himself willing to risk everything he cares for - himself, his ship, his crew... for Cidra's mission and safety.

My Thoughts:
I really, REALLY enjoyed this story! I've read all of CJ Barry's futuristic romances... or so I thought until I ran across this one listed on the New Concepts Publishing website. It was like an undiscovered gem!

The characterizations are awesome - Cidra is strong, sassy, and kick-ass but she is also sweet, vulnerable and innocent. She's very straight-forward, speaking her mind and doing what she thinks is best. I really loved this character - Ms. Barry did an amazing job blending Cidra's almost contradictory traits into a realistic and engaging whole.

Grey is cynical and doesn't trust people in general but not to the extreme that it makes him bitter. He is hardened by life's experiences but intelligent enough not to let it block him from finding love with Cidra. Grey's a great combination of strength and tenderness with a wee bit of naughty rogue and arrogant commander in him (it must come with the territory of being a treasure hunter). I SO fell in love with him - can you tell?

The plot, which revolves not only around Grey and Cidra's relationship but also finding the truth of the past "crime" that Cidra's father allegedly committed. It is very well developed, cohesive, and perfectly paced leading the reader into the action and through various revelations and emotional (relationship) levels with precision- I absolutely couldn't put the book (OK, ebook-reader) down until the end.

Find out more about Unchained and where to buy it in its various forms (it comes in e-book or paperback).
Find out more about CJ Barry.
CJ Barry also writes romantic suspense with a paranormal twist as Samantha Graves.

A little after Christmas reading....

The Christmas-rush is over - thank goodness! I love the season but every December 26th I'm a veggie lying limply on the couch all day trying to "recover". Here's what I've been reading during the after Christmas let-down...

The Accidental Vampire
by Lynsay Sands

This book was kick-ass! Then again... most of Lynsay's books are. Victor is an enforcer for the council that is sent to a small town to investigate a woman who placed an ad in the personals claiming to be a vampiress looking for a relationship with a male vampire and the rumor going through the club scene that there is a female vampire residing in a certain sea-side town. This is a big no-no according to the 'laws' because it draws attention to their kind. When he arrives, under the guise of a potential suitor who has been corresponding with said vampiress for weeks, Victor discovers that the woman, Elvi, didn't place the ad or correspond with him (or rather his friend at his behest) at all- it was her well-meaning but very meddling friends. And he is not the only immortal to respond to the personal, which results in a cast of characters that add to the opportunity for many an amusing scene.

It also becomes quickly apparent that the personal ad leading to possible exposure is the least of Elvi's offenses, the whole town knows who and what she is and she's been biting mortals. To make matters worse, because she had no Sire to train her not only is she ignorant of their laws, the very laws that my result in her losing her head... literally, but she's been sleeping in a coffin and *gasp* stopped eating real food (including cheesecake and chocolate!!) for the last 5 years due to the fact that she used the movie Dracula as her guide to living as a vampire.

When Victor realizes that she's his life mate he is torn between duty to the council and joy at finding someone to spend the rest of his days with. Then the attempts on Elvi's life begin and Victor (along with the other immortal men who answered the ad) are in a race against Elvi's independent nature to keep her from further injury.

The only issue I had with the plot is part of the ending where the threads (most of them at least) are tied off. Things were a little to conveniently wrapped up in conclusion with the people trying to kill Elvi, the threat of the council's wrath, and even the other immortal men brought to town by the personal ad. It was just a wee bit too pat.

This book has a good dose of Lynsay Sands' trademark humor mixed in with the romance, mystery, and light intrigue. I found myself laughing out loud at several points. I can't wait for the next Argeneau vampire romance to come out in February!

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Double Vision
by Fiona Brand

I was intrigued by this one because it appeared to be a romantic suspense with a bit of a psychic paranormal element - which it was... sort of. There was nothing particularly wrong with the author's writing but this book should not be classified as a romance, in my opinion. The romance was VERY poorly developed and the hero was a pretty flat character. I was highly disappointed. However, I'm betting that readers who like mystery/suspense books would find this very enjoyable. I just don't recommend it for romance readers.

Merry Christmas to all...

Hope you all have a great holiday!

Random Recommendation

Because we've been remodeling the kids' bedroom, I haven't had much time to read lately (I have read only two books in the last week and that is REALLY bad since I normally read 1-2 a DAY!) but one of the books I read was an oldie but goodie that is one of my favorite futuristic/paranormal romances by author Jayne Ann Krentz so I thought I'd give it a quick mention.

From the back cover:

Sariana was a cool, confident business-woman, an outcast from the East determined to regain her rightful status. Gryph was an intense mercenary respected and feared throughout the opulent cities and savage frontiers of the West. But from the moment they met, fate made them one. Was it their destiny to be bound to a powerful force that both captivated and frightened them? When Sariana and Gryph join forces in a dangerous quest to save their world, their love is tested to its limits - sweeping them into undreamed realms of shimmering, shattering ecstasy.

This description doesn't really touch on the paranormal elements... Amazon has a good review/description of the book posted though.

Now... back to work for me! Although the room itself is now finished I'm still dealing with the fall-out (messy and disorganized) that it caused in the rest of the house. *sigh*

Contests... contests... and more contests....

Here's a rundown of some of the interesting contests I found during my recent search:

My top contest pick.... *keeping my fingers crossed*
For November, Angela Knight is giving away a signed Advanced Reading Copy of BEYOND THE DARK, which contains her novella, Dragon Dance.
Enter Contest Here!

Win a copy of Shelly Laurenston's THE MANE EVENT and PACK CHALLENGE along with a Shelly Laurenston carry-all bag.
Enter Contest Here!

Enter Meljean Brooks' contest for an Advance Copy of the 5th book in her Guardian series DEMON NIGHT.
Enter Meljean’s Contest Here!

Win a bounty of books from Kathryn Caskie.
Enter Contest Here!

Enter Linda Conrad's to win a $30.00 gift certificate to Walmart, a box of Godiva, and the entire six book set of Linda’s Night Guardian series! I won one of Linda's contests for the whole Night Guardian series previously so I'm not entering this one but I thought I'd let y'all know about it - the series is interesting and well-written.
Enter Linda’s Contest Here!

Starting November 10th and going through Dec. 22nd, you can enter for a chance to win a signed copy of Julie Miller's AT YOUR COMMAND, along with one backlist title--winner's choice! All you have to do is email her your answer to a multiple-choice question about which cover is HOTTEST. This one was my choice...

Is this smokin' or what???
Enter Contest Here!









Win a signed ARC of Gemma Halliday’s upcoming release UNDERCOVER IN HIGH HEELS and some High Heels goodies.
Enter Contest Here!

And finally, Bertrice Small is giving away a $50 gift certificate to Borders Books this month.
Enter Contest Here!

Happy Entering!!!!

Savage by Lila Dubois

SAVAGE
Book 2 of the Zinah
by Lila Dubois

Savage, the second story in the Zinah series, is the story of Anleeh, the ex-Zinah called "Lord Justice." Anleeh is tasked by the King and Queen to facilitate agreements between the people of his homeland, the Den, and the new monarchy. His companion for this venture, Siara, is the Headmistress of the Temple College who longs for adventure. But adventure is not the only reason Siara is eager for the journey - the chance to explore her great attraction and long-denied feelings for the former Zinah is an opportunity she can't pass up.

The Den are brutal and raw in their passions. The mixture of submission and wildness is highly prized (and expected) in the women and at first Anleeh is reluctant to subject a female, any female, let alone a sheltered, plain pigeon like Siara to such conditions. He also harbors a secret fear that returning to his homeland will trigger his "beast", the one that made him the pride of the Den but which he has learned to control during his years of service as a Zinah.

As they journey through the lands and Anleeh begins Siara's training in the ways of Den culture and sexuality, he soon learns that Siara, though not of the Den, has her own "beast" and it is a powerful match for his. But can she accept and love him once she sees the reality of his beast in all its brutal glory in action?

I loved Savage even more than Forbidden (book 1) – which was a major emotional rollercoaster that I think we (as readers) and the characters had to experience before we could get to this point and move on in the series. I was completely absorbed in Savage by page 10 and couldn’t tear myself away from it long enough to even put the laundry in the dryer. I HAD to know what happened next!

Both Anleeh and Siara are well-rounded and realistic characters (for a paranormal-type book). They both have their own insecurities and flaws - they are not perfect cookie-cutter characters but rather a mixture of vulnerability and strength. Anleeh is alpha and a dominant male although not in a “me say, you do” sort of way – not even during the ‘training’ sessions but he is vulnerable to his need for control of his beast and his desire for acceptance of that same beast. Siara is highly intelligent, which often causes her to examine the world around her in a methodical, analytical way, but she also a woman who longs to explore her passions but only with the warrior she secretly fell in love with at first site so many years ago. The fact that she is not the average ‘perfect-body hottie heroine’ makes her even more interesting to me – although Anleeh (and the other warriors of the Den) think she’s pretty damn sexy!

The story was well-paced and moves forward in both the action and the emotion at a steady pace to the climax of the storyline. Most of the story takes place on the journey and revolves around the budding emotions of the two and Anleeh preparing Siara for Den life. In that part, I actually felt most connected to Anleeh but the most emotional scenes (IMO) come once they reach the land of the Den and then I felt more connected to Siara because of her experiences and emotions related to the cultural differences, specifically the violence and public expression of sexuality and because of her new awareness of self and power that she gained from being ‘trained’ on the trip there.

Overall, I rate Savage as a KEEPER. Not only is it highly erotic, it’s emotionally engrossing and actually rather intellectually stimulating – I see the author’s anthropological background shining through Siara in some parts of the story.

Learn more about the author, Lila Dubois.

Buy Savage, now available from Liquid Silver Books.

Update & some randomness

Savage is here (YAY!) and I forgot to post that it was available now on Monday. Actually, when I posted that it was only "two more days 'till Savage" on Sunday I was off by about a day... I seem to be in a time-warp right now and can't figure out what freaking day it is. *sigh* I downloaded it late Monday night but haven't had time to read it yet.

I did re-read Ritual of Proof by Dara Joy in random bits of free time this week. I enjoy the book but it's such an alternate warped reality from what we are used to in romance novels. I can't help but be TOTALLY fascinated with any writer who can create such a story and make it enjoyable. Still, whenever I read it I feel a vague internal sense of wrongness throughout because it is so opposite of the what society considers the "norm" - it really is an interesting piece of romance literature.

I'm in the middle of reading Atlantis Awakening by Alyssa Day right now (because Savage on my PDA and a hot bath just don't mix - so I had to choose a regular book to start instead). Atlantis Awakening is KICKING BUTT and takin' names so far.

So, what is everyone else reading?

Only 2 more days 'till SAVAGE!!!!!!!!

Find out more about Lovely Lila's contest HERE!

Find out more about Book 1 of the Zinahs HERE!

Which Zinah is your Match?

AnleehThat sexy fun exterior hides a dark and dominant side. Want to know more? Check out Anleeh's story, Savage, available November 5.http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com/books/savage.htm
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HURRY!!! for Gena Showalter's ARC contest.

The party has started over on Gena Showalter's blog. This author of awesome paranormal romances is having a blog-party to celebrate this week's release of books from other great authors. Today (MONDAY), she is having a contest on her blog for a signed ARC of Savor Me Slowly - she'll be drawing on Tuesday morning, I think, so enter quick!

ENTER HERE!

If you don't make it in time for this contest, pop on over to her blog anyway - she'll be running new contests everyday (M-F) this week. Woohoo! Contests!

Embrace The Darkness by Alexandra Ivy

Release Date: October 30, 2007

The Blurb:
Lady Shay is the last of her kind. Half human, half Shalott, her blood is a precious aphrodisiac to vampires, who consider it more precious than gold. Though Shalotts are renowned assassins, a curse held over Shay lands her on the slave auction block, where her fate is uncertain...
Viper, the beguiling chief of a deadly vampire clan, can't explain his longing to possess the beautiful Shalott who once saved his life, but now he is free to do anything he wants with her. Strangely, while he desires both Shay's blood and body, he wants her to surrender willingly.
A hidden evil has been stalking Shay since she left the slave market with Viper. It is an evil that endangers the very existence of Viper's kind, and there's no reason he should court such danger just to protect a Shalott. But the love he feels for Shay is enough to make him willing to go to hell and back if it means spending an eternity with her in his arms...

My Thoughts:
It's been less than a year since the first book in Alexandra Ivy’s (aka Deborah Raleigh) Guardians of Eternity series came out but I (and many others that I know) have been EAGERLY awaiting book two. It's finally here! For those who may not have read the first book yet, Embrace the Darkness is about two interesting secondary characters that we met in Book 1.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! Yep, you heard me. Looooooovvvveeeed it! The characterizations are fabulous - I really felt like I connected with both Viper and Shay. The storyline was exciting, well written, and kept me glued to the book until the very last page.

Viper is a great hero. Although he buys Shay from from the slave auction, he is not quite sure why he buys her or what exactly he's going to do with her, but he knows that he must have her with him - he has been unable to shake the memory of her from his mind since they fought the witches together (in book 1). In fact, before 'buying' her he spent weeks setting up the bedroom and things she would need (or want) to be comfortable in his house. He finds Shay to be exotically beautiful, exciting and a little dangerous with a core of honor and courage and it isn't long before he finally realizes what it is he wants - her... forever.

Shay is totally pissed that Viper buys her after she saved his life and although he calls her "pet" (which I find so sexy but he kinda does it to rile her up) as a nickname, he takes her home and essentially treasures her. He is strong, sexy, tender and he leaves Shay feeling TOTALLY confused. She's never had a 'master' treat her like Viper does and to top it off he is a vampire whom she would normally distrust and despise after her father was murdered by one and she has been in danger of becoming a delicious vampire snack (because of her Shallot blood) since birth. She can't bring herself to hate him though, the attraction is too strong and she begins to see much to admire and love in her vampire 'owner' who doesn't act like he owns her at all but rather like an equal and willing lover.

The big conflict/suspense of the storyline is that someone else wants Shay - bad enough to attack and kill anyone or anything in their way. This element is very well plotted and ties up very nicely in the end. Ms. Ivy also started the set up for the next book (Styx's) enough to make me hunger for his book without giving too much away or getting in the way of Viper and Shay's story. The next book in this awesome new series, Darkness Everlasting will be out in May 2008 - I can't wait!

I highly recommend this book for readers who love parnormal and vampire romance! It's an excellent example of the paranormal sub-genre that balances the paranormal, the romance, and the suspense elements to create a riveting effect on the reader. It's not essential to read the first book in the series to get into this one (it's pretty stand-alone) but I recommend reading When Darkness Comes anyway just because it was so good.

My Rating for Embrace the Darkness:

True Deception by Patricia Waddell

The Blurb:
A man who lives for revenge and a woman who clings to hope. Together they fight a common enemy . . . and discover a passion neither one dreamed could exist.

Aedon Rawn’s world died the day his wife and child were murdered by Conglomerate pirates. Now, his only reason for living is to avenge their deaths. The Directorate gives him that opportunity when he’s selected to become their first undercover agent. His mission: infiltrate and destroy the oppressive government of an outer region colony.

Kala Char’ari is a woman in need of a miracle. She’s dedicated her life to freeing her people, but they're on the edge of extinction. Risking everything, she dares to trust a dark stranger with the hardened heart of a warrior.

My thoughts:
The storyline of True Deception is pretty basic and one familiar to lovers of futuristic romance. The people of Hachyn are being oppressed and abused by the government and Kala is the second-in-command to (and being trained to be the next) the leader of the resistance. When her mentor is killed she has to put her trust in Korcian undercover agent, Aedon Rawn (although she doesn't KNOW he's an undercover agent). She's attracted to him and despite the fact that their first sexual encounter seems to be more of a result of her grief over the loss of her father-figure/mentor than true lust, she falls in love with the man that she knows is keeping secrets but cannot resist following her instincts and believing he means to help them fight the Conglomerate.

Aedon's wife and daughter were killed by the Conglomerate (the same gov't responsible for oppressing the people of Hachyn, and he wants revenge - his assignment is to assist the freedom fighters of Hachyn in overthrowing the conglomerate reps there and destroying factories that the Directorate (the good guys) believe may be producing weapons. When Aedon meets Kala he begins to feel emotions he thought he'd never feel again after the loss of his family

I really liked the first book in this series, True Blood. It was a wonderful futuristic romance - the perfect blend of romance, danger, and suspense.

This second book was a bit of a disappointment though. It was not bad, it was actually an OK read but I felt the story itself was kind of blah and the attraction between the H/h didn't feel very 'sparky' or real. I wasn't pulled into the story -probably because is was heavily detailed on the suspense side and not developed enough in the romance - I didn't really get to know enough about the main characters' "inner" selves enough to care or feel connected. But the part that took this book from a "Keeper" to a "Library" rating was that the ending felt somewhat incomplete and there were several random threads in the story that were never resolved, had no discernable purpose but seemed important at the time they were introduced, or were resolved too easily - that frustrates me because I have such a curiosity problem.

On the other hand, Ms. Waddell did an excellent job portraying Aedon's need for revenge and sorrow over the murder of his wife and child without it becoming an overblown conflict or letting it detract from the relationship between the H/h. While I don't highly recommend True Deception, it was a decent read - I have definitely NOT given up on this author or this series. I do highly recommend the first book True Blood though - it was a total keeper!




My rating for TRUE DECEPTION by Patricia Waddell:

What I've been reading

Just to get caught up since I was MIA for so long here are some recommendations for GREAT books that I read earlier this month but won't be going back to review:

Wicked Pleasure & Wicked Fantasy by Nina Bangs - paranormal

Unmasked by CJ Barry - futuristic

Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning - paranormal (it's written in first person though *gag*)

An Enchanted Season Anthology (I recommend Nalini Singh's contribution only - the rest were pretty blah) - Paranormal

The Sword, The Wolf, The Master by Joan Johnson - Paranormal (this is a FABULOUS series!)

Planet X by Evangeline Anderson - Futuristic

I discovered a couple of AWESOME new authors and read a bunch of their books I highly recommend:

Joanna Wylde (her books are available at EC) - futuristic

Lisa Renee Jones paranormal

Here an ARC, there an ARC, everywhere an ARC ARC

Alright.... y'all will have to rush on some of these but here are some of the interesting ARC contests happening this month:

Alexis Morgan (*sigh* Paladins make me HOT!) is having a contest for an ARC of her upcoming book Redeemed in Darkness. It's real easy to enter.
http://www.alexismorgan.com/contest.html

Enter Sarah McCarty's contest for an ARC of Caine's Reckoning at http://www.sarahmccarty.net/contest.html

Win and Advanced Reading Copy of Lucy Monroe's upcoming book Deal With This.
http://www.lucymonroe.com/contest.htm

Now, I've never read this author (she looks a little too tame for me) but just in case any of you are interested: Lauren Willig is offering an ARC of The Seduction of the Crimson Rose.
http://www.laurenwillig.com/diversions/contest.html

Cynthia Eden has a Halloween giveaway on the Bradford Bunch blog for an ARC of A Red Hot New Year. http://www.thebradfordbunch.com/cynthia/arc-giveaway-and-another-contest-too/

There were more great contests but my fever is back and I'm going to bed now. Damn cold! But I do want to make mention of a contest that Casee posted over at Book Binge for an autographed set of Robyn Carr's trilogy. Check it out! http://thebookbinge.blogspot.com/ This one ends Friday so BE QUICK!


On the upside, at the bookstore today I got:
Star Shadows by Colby Hodge
True Deception by Patricia Waddell
Embrace the Darkness by Alexandra Ivy
Highland Guardian by Melissa Mayhue
Howl at the Moon by Christine Warren (who has her website updated now and it looks GREAT!)

YAY!!

Alive

Yes, I'm alive (thanks for checking on me, Casee. You're a sweetie!). I hope everyone hasn't crossed me off of their blog-destinations since it's been so long. I had an express college course that was kicking my butt plus it seems like the kids have been in a perpetual state of illness. I swear I've spent more time in various doctor's offices with the kids in the last month than I did for the entire year of 2006. It's been a WILD time!

Anyway, I'm back. In fact, I'm going out to the bookstore today and, book-gods willing, they'll hopefully have some of the new releases that I'm looking for in stock and I'll be blogging about them soon and I have at least 3 great ARC contests to tell you all about.

Here's a little something as a reward for coming back to see me even though I've been MIA for OVER a month!








And for my friend Y:

The Contest Scoop - September

Hey everyone!

Here are some of the more interesting results to my recent contest-hunting expedition.

Vicki Lewis Thompson is counting down until the release of Over Hexed her upcomoing paranormal romance (a new direction for Thompson) and she's got a WHOPPER of a contest going on! It's a two-month contest with three tiers of prizes. All winners will be drawn on October 1st (the day before Over Hexed arrives in stores).
First prize is a $300 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble and your choice of six books from Vicki's backlist.
Second prize is a $200 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble and your choice of four books from Vicki's backlist.
Third prize is a $100 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble and your choice of two books from Vicki's backlist.
More Info: http://www.vickilewisthompson.com/contest.html

WooHoo!! The fun that I could have with one of those gift certificates!!!!!

I'm a JAK fan.... are you? Jayne Ann Krentz (aka Jayne Castle; aka Amanda Quick) is having a contest! The prize: a Sizzle and Burn ARC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
More Info: http://www.jayneannkrentz.com/drawing.html

Bloodfever - due out Oct. 16 - by Karen Marie Moning is giving away and ARC (advance copy) on her website.
More Info.: http://www.karenmoning.com/news/contest.html

Here's one that I'm pretty excited about! The second book by Alexandra Ivy (aka Deborah Raleigh) is due out in November. Her September contest winner will receive an Advance Review Copy (ARC) of Embrace the Darkness!!! YAY!
More Info: http://www.deborah-raleigh.com/contest.html

No Rest for the Witches is on my "Buy" list for October Lori Handeland is having a contest for an ARC of this anthology with stories from her and 3 other bestselling authors.
More Info: http://www.lorihandeland.com/contest.html

Marianne Stillings is offering up TWO ARC's of her upcoming release (book 2 in the Darling Detective trilogy) "Satisfaction".
More Info.: http://www.mariannestillings.com/index.htm

This one is ending the 25th so hurry! Shana Galen's contest is for an ARC of Blackthorne's Bride which is due out at the end of October.
More Info.: http://www.shanebolks.com/contests.html

Here's another one ending the 25th. Sydney Somers has ARCs (e-books) of her upcoming release Unbreakable for TWO lucky winners.
More Info: http://www.sydneysomers.com/

Brenda Joyce is giving away a ROMANTIC WEEKEND GETAWAY for two. The winner will also have the opportunity to be involved in the production of the book promo video. This contest ends October 31st.
More Info: http://mastersoftimebooks/contest..htm

Angela Knight is giving away a signed copy of her latest anthology "Warlord".
More Info: http://angelasknights.com/contest.htm

I've already posted about this one but it's not too late to enter!
Access Romance's quarterly ROMANCE GALORE contest for a box of 55 autographed romance novels ends September 30th.
More Info: http://www.accessromance.com/galore/index.php

From my latest reading 'obsession', Denise A. Agnew, you can win a download of her out of print historical MIDNIGHT ROSE.
More Info: http://www.deniseagnew.com/contest.html

Also of interest: http://www.joynash.com/contest.htm where Joy Nash is having a contest that offers the chance to win an autographed copy of the award-winning first installment in her Druids of Avalon series, THE GRAIL KING, plus a chance to win an Advanced Reading Copy of DEEP MAGIC later this year.

Happy Entering!

New Rating System

So I've finalized a 'rating' system - & created corresponding graphics - for the books that I read and talk about here. Here are the 4 categories:

My VERY top rating: "Absolutely Amazing!" - these are the books that I ADORE and will highly recommend to EVERYONE. This will be used VERY RARELY. It would be for books like Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling books, for example



"Keeper" is my rating for books that are.... you guessed it... going on my keeper shelf. These are books that I love - ones that I will re-read again and again. I think these books are worth buying and recommend them.



Rating a book as "Library" means that it was an OK book but not worth the money. These are the books that I wish I had gotten it (or am glad that I DID get it) from the library. They're not a recommended read but not a total stinker either.



Finally, this rating is for books that I "wish I'd passed on..." These are books that I REALLY didn't enjoy - basically, the books that I thought sucked.


What do you guys think... good system?