June/July Part Two

Rachel Gibson

No, that’s not the name of the book, that’s the name of the author of a series of books I read. Early in June the daughter gave me one to read, which I posted about HERE and since then has given me a bunch more to read. The three sequels are: I’m In No Mood For Love , Tangled Up In You, and Not Another Bad Date. She also gave me The Trouble With Valentine’s Day and Simply Irresistible.

I have to admit, I really enjoyed the first book, Sex, Lies and On-Line Dating. The second book was pretty good too. The third in the series was okay, but by the fourth one I was skipping through it. The truth is they were starting to sound all the same. My interest perked up again with Simply Irresistible, but the ending didn’t quite do it for me. The change in the protagonist, John was a little too abrupt and it was never really explained what made him change. I think to really appreciate these books you need to read them one at a time, with some other reading in between. I think the real problem was reading too many of them too fast. Even chocolate will make you sick if you eat too much of it. :-)

The Immortal Hunter
by Lynsay Sands

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I love the vampires Lynsay Sands has created. If I was ever going to be bitten, these are the guys I’d want to bite me. The Argeneau Vampires have their roots in Atlantis where their technological advancements in nano technology left them with nanites in their bloodstream that continually repair any damage done by disease, the environment, or time. The downside to this is that the nanites use up the blood in their host to make these repairs, the worse the damage, the more blood is needed to fix it. Which is why the Atlanteans need to drink blood to survive.

These are, for the most part, a very civilized bunch of vampires. They have their own laws and, of course, their own way of enforcing them. Because the nanites give them such long lives, they’re only allowed to have a child once every hundred years and can only turn one person in their lifetime. The other thing I like about these books is that although they’re a series, you can read them in any order and not be totally lost. You’ll just get the urge to look for the stories of some of the other characters you meet along the way. :-)

Since the invention of the blood bank it’s been forbidden to them to feed “off the hoof” (bite someone for blood) unless it’s an emergency or there’s extenuating circumstances. Of course not everyone adheres to this law and that’s where Decker Argeneau comes in. He hunts down these rogue vampires and turns them over to the council to be dealt with. Along the way he rescues a young woman who just may be his lifemate, if only he can convince her of it.

Faeries Gone Wild
anthology

This anthology was sweet, funny, sexy, and gripping in turns. Four very different stories of four very unique faeries. We have Scarlett, a six foot four inch faery with a compulsion to count things. We have Avalina, a healing faery that’s visiting the mortal realm to save a species of fern and in the process saves a man from himself. Then there’s Sidney Tooth, librarian by day and Tooth Faery by night who’s in danger of losing both her job and the man she loves. And finally we have Tia Mayberry, a faery/human hybrid who finds the truth about her father is a little more than she was counting on.

If you like faeries, or are even looking for something a little different in the paranormal field, I highly recommend this book.

Bloodline
by Maggie Shayne

Maggie Shayne has created another unique twist on the vampire. In her world people can be born with a belladonna antigen in their blood, which allows them to become vampires. This is the story of one of these people. Her name is Lilith and she was stolen from her mother just after her birth by a government agency called the DPI. She was raised on “the Farm” with other children like her, and trained to serve the government’s purpose, but with the help of a dying vampire manages to escape, but at the cost of her memory. She’s aided by a mysterious man from her past named Ethan, who was also once a captive of the government. Meanwhile, Lilith’s mother has never given up hope of finding her baby girl, and has joined a sisterhood that’s dedicated to helping all vampires.

Back to Life
by Linda O. Johnston
Silhouette Nocturne Line

Skye Rydell is more than just your average K9 division police officer. She’s also descended from a long line of Valkyries who, like her, have the power to ease a person’s transition into death or bring them back from the brink. When she chooses to save the life of fellow officer Trevor Owens, she inadvertently shares her power with him, with unexpected results. They do a good job of resisting their attraction to each other, but when they end up working together to find a serial killer, they finally give in to the inevitable. The way Trevor uses his gift is unexpected, as is the identity of a copy-cat killer the pair come up against. A really great read.

June/July Part One

One measly post in June and then you’d think I didn’t read anything after that. Sadly, such is not the case. I started a book review post at the end of June, blanched at the number of books I had to review, and gave up. Then I read all through July. Now it’s August and the pile of books I’ve read is threatening to topple over onto me . . . and that many books can do some serious damage!

So I’ve decided to take it a few books a time and post in parts. When I get tired of posting, I’ll stop and continue in the next part. Sound fair to you? Meanwhile, I’ve made some half-assed suggestion on my writing blog that I’ll only read after getting so much written. Yeah, we’ll see how well I stick to that suggestion.

These books are in no particular order, just the way they’re stacked up on the desk.

Too Wild by Jamie Sobrato

This book, from the Harlequin Temptation line, was sent to me by my friend Jamie (anyone who sends me books and tea is a friend indeed! :-) ) I have a soft spot for books with writer protagonists, they never disappoint. This one features Jenna Calvert who’s a journalist looking for a place to hide while she re-creates her story about the beauty pageant circuit. Someone’s trying to kill her when she meets Travis Roth, who makes her an offer she finds hard to refuse, especially after someone trashes her apartment and steals her laptop. She makes him a counter-offer that he’d be a fool to pass up, and Travis may be uptight, but he’s no fool. These two show why opposites attract in the very best way. This book is sexy and funny and fast-paced - the scene where they’re caught in the coat closet by Travis’ father is priceless!

Midnight Cravings

This is a collection of Nocturne Bites. For those of you unfamiliar with Nocturne, it’s a paranormal line from Silhouette. At one time Silhouette had a line called Silhouette Shadows which was one of the first lines to foray into the paranormal realms of romance. Then Harlequin bought them out and shut down the line. A couple of years later they tried to revamp it under the name of Harlequin Dreamscapes, but this line was a dismal failure.

The Nocturne series has been around since 2006 and according to the blurb about it from Silhouette: The promise we are fulfilling to the reader with each Nocturne story is that the book they are reading will be a sensual, dark, atmospheric paranormal story with a strong hero and compelling, sympathetic heroine.

The Nocturne Bites are basically short Nocturne stories, and by short I mean not novel length. You can actually go to the Nocturne Bites Website and download them individually as e-files, but I prefer holding the book in my hand.

Midnight Cravings runs a gamut of paranormal including shapeshifters and vampires, hellhounds and soul-suckers, cops and healers. Six dark and sensuous tales of paranormal passion. Have a bite.

The Queen in Winter

I bought this anthology as one of my “four” in 4 for $10, not really expecting much out of it. Boy do I love it when I’m wrong. This is an anthology of four tales of adventure, filled with both enchantment and love.

There’s a story of the elfin princess held by a dark sorcerer, and the human prince who saves her. Both are without hope, for different reasons, but find A Whisper of Spring in the end. Then we have a story of two sisters and the mystic baby they’re trying to protect, and of the nobleman who drops in out of their lives in When Winter Comes. Next is Kiss of the Snow Queen, which is a new take on an old tale. The story of the Snow Queen with its own twist. And finally we have A Gift of Wings, the story of a man who’s been broken and the woman who loves him enough to try and piece him back together. Four very different fantasy tales, each touched by romance and excellent in their own, unique way.

Kick @$$

Yes, that’s exactly how the title appears. Yet another anthology, this time a little more contemporary. First we have a woman with amnesia who’s preparing for her wedding in the Bride Wore a 44. But is she marrying the wrong man? And where’d she get all those guns? Next is the story of a unique vampire slayer who picks herself up a very unwanted side kick in the Incredible Misadventures of Boo. Another fast-paced story, but laced with humour. Next is Angela Knight’s Warfem, a futuristic story of the lengths a mother will go to to keep her child safe. And finally, we have a supermodel spy wannabe, who turns out to be more of a secret agent than she realized in Painkillers. All four stories have strong female characters who do indeed kick @$$.