Romance Book Review: Hazel Gower's Kane's Mate

Author: Hazel Gower

Series Connection: Armageddon mates

ISBN: 9781937325619 

Genre: Shifter/ Paranormal/ Demons/ Romance

Publisher: Beachwalk Press

Publication Date: March 18, 2013

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Faith has loved Alpha Kane nearly her how life. He was always a fixture in her life, but when she realizes he can never want her, she decides it is best to leave him alone and live her own life away from him. Leaving home for two years she finally decides it is time to go back home. She's there for one day before she meets Kane again and he kidnaps her and takes her for his mate.

Ever since the day he and his family met Faith, Kane has loved her. She was his princess, but she was so young. At 14 years younger then him, he didn't even realize that she was his mate. That is not until she comes home after being away from him for so long. Now he knows exactly what she is to him and he isn't taking no for an answer. 

Faith is a psychic powers and she's seeing the future and it isn't good for the people around her. She'll need everything she is to not turn and run, but to face the problems head on. The only question is will Kane be by her side or not?

Nice start for this new series. Faith is no push over and I like that in her character. Kane is an interesting character for an alpha, readers will have to make their mind up if he is strong enough for the job. I also like the demons in this one. This should turn out to be a pretty good series and there are plenty of siblings to keep the story going for a while. 

Description:

Faith's life has always balanced in two worlds—the normal human world and the supernatural. Now she has to choose between the two. 

Faith York is human, but she has psychic powers, which is a little odd since neither of her parents have paranormal abilities. Thankfully, the werewolf family who lived around the corner help her learn to control her powers. She instantly fell in love with the entire family, but especially Kane, the oldest son who is next in line to be Alpha. Unfortunately, Kane doesn't see Faith the same way she sees him. Heartbroken, she leaves town. 

When Faith returns from two years overseas, her parents throw her a welcome home party. Faith is shocked when Kane kidnaps her from the party and mate marks her. Now she struggles with the choice of whether to leave again and live a normal life—a life she yearns for—or stay with the man she's always dreamed of and live a supernatural life.

To complicate matters further, her psychic powers intensify and she begins to have visions of an upcoming demon Armageddon. Then she learns she was switched at birth, and she has a half-brother…who is half demon.

Faith must be stronger than she ever believed possible, and maybe in the process, she can trust herself to give Kane another chance. 

Romance Book Review: Nina Cole's Snowbound

Author: Nina Cole

ISBN: Not Assigned

Genre: Romantic Comedy/ Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Whispering Publishing

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A delightful love story between a tomboy sports writer and an accountant. 

Taking his nephews on a trip to the family cabin, Wes' car nearly runs into an old beat up car in a snow storm. With no other choice, Wes takes the car occupant to the cabin with them and immediately becomes attracted to the young woman. 

Jessie needs to get away for the weekend of Valentines Day after her boyfriend cheats on her with a prettier woman. Deciding it is time to be more dress up her looks she goes to a spa to learn how to put on make up and dress more feminine, but before she gets there she gets run off the road and meets a new man and his three nephews and gets snowed in the mountains for a few days. 

Description:

Recovering from a bruised heart, Jessie Brown takes a break from men and the dating scene with a Valentine’s Day weekend getaway, only to find herself rescued during an unexpected blizzard by a handsome accountant.

Wes Brighton discovers the challenge of starting his own business pales in comparison to hiding his attraction to Jessie. It wouldn’t be so difficult if he hadn’t gotten a glimpse of her in a pair of black lace panties.

Romance Byte: Kelly Gendron's Fatal Promise

Author: Kelly Gendron

ISBN: not assigned

Genre: Erotic Romance ~ Contemporary

Publisher: Siren-BookStrand, Inc.

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Description:

When Rainey Ann McKenna's dying husband asked her always to be there for his brother, Tex McCoy, she had no idea that five years later her promise would bring a murderer into her home. According to the conditions of his release, for the next three months Tex will be on house arrest before starting his probation. 

Obligated by a promise, Rainey takes the gorgeous but dangerous felon in.

Tex McCoy may have gone to jail for murder, but after almost a decade of being incarcerated, he too is dead inside. Resurrecting any of Tex's feelings-including the ones he once had for Rainey Ann McKenna-could not only be hazardous to her heart, but fatal to her body.

But beyond his crime, Tex has many other secrets, and with a single word spoken from the killer's mouth, Rainey's ordinary life will be changed forever...

Romance Book Review: Marisa Chenery's Love Everlasting

 Author: Marisa Chenery

Series Connection: Wolves of East Anglia

ISBN: 978-1-59578-948-8

Genre: Paranormal/ Shifter/ Werewolf

Publisher: Liquid Silver

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Before reading the current in the Wolves of East Anglia series I went back and read all of the series over again. As with the rest of the series, Love Everlasting recaps the history of the warriors past and how they came about being the immortal warriors of the God Tiw, who commissions them to kill off all of the Fenris', (son of the God Loki), Get or the werewolves of today's world who are bent on killing mortals. 

In the latest edition we get to see Brand finally get to met his mate. Seven years go Brand found his mate, however she was only 16 and he didn't really understand his wolf's reaction to her back then. Now she's old enough and has broken her engagement to another man and Brand is taking his chance while he can.

Each book in the series follows the same basic suit. A mortal woman must decide if she can take on eternity with a sexy warrior and become his immortal bride. 

Description:

For the last seven years, Brand has only longed to make Elsa his mate. After meeting her when she's sixteen and having to wait until she's old enough to claim her, his chance to make her his seems to slip through his fingers. But when the opportunity comes to win her, he acts quickly.

Having to deal with her idiot ex-fiancé, Elsa is more than happy to see Brand arrive to take her ex's place. She falls hard and fast for Brand, but he comes with a world she doesn't understand a disturbing world that makes it hard to accept the love Brand offers her, no matter how much she wants to. 

The Wolves of East Anglia Series

Title:  Mate for a King

Series Connection: Wolves of East Anglia-

ISBN:  978-1-60592-099

Description: 

Lexi Weller’s vacation in England doesn't exactly start off all that great when she almost ends up getting into a car accident. But when the driver of the car she almost hits steps out to speak with her, she finds herself practically drooling over him. And before it's all over, Mr. Tall, Muscular and Good-looking asks Lexi out on a date

Raedwald he hopes he hasn’t made a mistake by asking the sexy American out to dinner. Charged by the Anglo-Saxon god, Tiw, to protect mortals from the werewolves sired by Fenris the wolf, Raed knows he can’t put Lexi before his duty. But when Lexi comes to mean more to him than he ever imagined, Raed must find a way to explain what he is without scaring off the woman he never wants to let go.

My favorite cover of this series.

Title:  Forever Claimed

Series Connection: Wolves of East Anglia-

ISBN:  978-1-60592-135-8

Description: 

Out for a walk on her fist evening of her holiday in Norwich, England, Kamryn finds herself literally knocked on her butt by a gorgeous hunk of a man named Algar. He is quick to apologize when he helps her to her feet, and holds her hand a little longer than necessary, but he still reluctantly rushes after the man who he had been chasing. Kamryn returns to her hotel, sure she won't see him again.

Algar quickly takes down the werewolf sired by Fenris the wolf, in the hopes to find the woman he'd knocked over before she disappears. After following her scent, only to come to a dead end at the hotel's elevator, he plans to return in the morning to wait for her to put in an appearance. When she does, he finds she stirs his wolf as much as she stirs his body.

Certain she is the woman meant for him, meant to be forever claimed by an immortal werewolf warrior, he knows he can't let her go, even if she comes to fear what he is.

Title:  Reluctantly His

Series Connection: Wolves of East Anglia-

ISBN:  978-1-60592-231-7

Description: 

When Nika had emigrated from California to Norwich, England to run a pub with her then British born boyfriend, she'd never expected him to leave her for another woman when the going got rough. Now gun shy when it comes to men, she's sworn off them for a while. Until a hunky man comes to the pub one night and asks if she's on the menu. Not ready to start a new relationship, she fights her attraction for him.

Garrick knows Nika is his mate when her scent stirs his wolf. Having never really cared if he found his mate or not, now that he's found her, he wants her as his. Trying to tell her he is an immortal werewolf warrior is something he wants to put off until she gets to know him better. Until Nika forces his hand when she tells him to reveal it or lose her. But telling her the truth may cause him to lose her anyway.

Title:  Designs on a Warrior

Series Connection: Wolves of East Anglia

ISBN:  978-1-59578-917-4

Description:

Finished with university and leaving her native Canada behind, Cydney visits Norwich, England with her best friend. And she's on the hunt...for a British boy toy to help fill her vacation. She finds the perfect candidate one night in a nightclub—he's tall, muscular and as good-looking as sin. She doesn't waste any time determining if he can be the one to occupy her time.

Wulfric—a shape shifting immortal warrior charged by the Anglo-Saxon god, Tiw, to protect mortals from werewolves sired by Fenris the wolf—has followed his prey's scent trail to a nightclub. Following inside to continue the hunt, he's confronted by a gorgeous woman who introduces herself while grabbing his crotch. He's even further distracted when he realizes that she's his mate.

But as things heat up between them, the disappearance of Cydney's best friend forces Wulfric to tell her the truth about himself before he's ready. And the chance of having to let her go could be one battle he'll lose in the end. 

Title:  Taming Her Heart

Series Connection: Wolves of East Anglia

ISBN:  978-1-59578-923-5

Description:

Maggie can’t deny she’s drawn to Dolf, and she’d like nothing more than to get to know him better if the whole “fur” thing didn’t freak her out, that is. After having been kidnapped by the pack leader of the werewolves sired by Fenris the wolf, she figures Dolf should be the last person to blame her for harboring a healthy dose of fear toward anything that howls at the moon. Though she’s determined to get over the traumatic incident, right now, becoming Dolf’s mate is the furthest thing from her mind.

Dolf is certain Maggie is his mate, but her terror toward his kind is keeping them apart. Worse yet, he has no idea how to win over her heart and, just as importantly, her trust. Her body and soul belong to him, and Dolf will stop at nothing to make Maggie his, even if it means ending the life of the werewolf responsible for keeping his mate from his arms.

Question is, can he? 

Romance Byte: Mariah Stewart's The Long Way Home

Author: Mariah Stewart

Series Connection: The Chesapeake Diaries

ISBN: 978034558413
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Ballantine Books

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Description:

As the only child of a wealthy investment manager, Ellie Chapman has never known anything besides a life of perfect privilege. But her years of good fortune come to an abrupt end when her father is exposed for swindling billions of dollars from innocent investors in a massive Ponzi scheme. And just like that, Ellie loses everything: money, job, home—even her fiancé, who’s jailed as her father’s partner in crime. With no job prospects on the horizon, no cash, and her family name in tatters, Ellie has only one place to go.

Sleepy St. Dennis, Maryland, is hardly where Ellie intends to stay, however. Keeping her identity a secret, she plans to sell the house her late mother left her in the small town and use the proceeds to move on with her life. Unfortunately, her ticket to a new beginning is in dire need of a laundry list of pricey improvements, many of which she’ll have to do herself. And until the house on Bay View Road is fit to be sold, the sole place Ellie will be traveling is the hardware store. But as the many charms of St. Dennis—not to mention Cameron O’Connor, the handsome local contractor who has secrets of his own—begin to work their magic, what begins as a lesson in do-it-yourself renovations might just end up as Ellie’s very own rejuvenation.

Includes a preview of the next book in the Chesapeake Diaries series, At the River’s Edge

Romance Book Review: Marisa Chenery's Loved by a Werewolf

Author: Marisa Chenery 

Series Connection:  Oh, Canada!/Big City Pack

IBSN:  978-1-41993-817-7

Genre: Paranormal/ Shifter/ Werewolf/ Contemporary Romance

Publisher:  Ellora's Cave

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Beginning of the book is set in Hatley Castle, which was situated in Hatley Park National Historic Site in Victoria, British Columbia where Sierra's cousin is getting married. Sierra is at the wedding with her brother and mother when she noticed her brother, who was drinking too much and goes off with a married woman.

While in the woods behind the castle looking for where her brother ran off to, she runs into, first a wolf and then a very handsome man. 

Cole in on vacation from Toronto when he finds his mate, Sierra, in the woods. Getting to know his mate and taking her home with him is his only goal for the rest of his vacation. 

The short story pretty much follows the same path as Marisa Chenery other shift books, however the location description in the front of the book makes this book stand out from the others in the Oh, Canada series.

Description:

At her cousin’s wedding, Sierra is stuck on drunk-brother patrol. When he slips out of the reception with a married woman, Sierra must go in pursuit. But her efforts are in vain and she finds herself on a hiking trail along the edge of the property. She’s not alone, however. A wolf is staring her down as if she’ll be his next meal. Damning her brother to the pits of hell won’t get her out of this one.

Cale knew he’d found his mate the moment he caught Sierra’s scent in his wolf form. Things don’t start off well, however, when she throws a rock at him. Not to be deterred, Cale disappears into the forest where he shifts to man. No rocks go flying when he approaches her this time and soon the two of them can’t keep their hands off each other. But Cale has a furry secret. One Sierra must accept, because living nine hundred years without her has been enough for this werewolf.

Hartley Castle

Romance Book Review: Laura Browning's Remember Me

Author: Laura Browning

Series Connection: Barlow-Barrett

ISBN: 9781616504373

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Lyrical Press

Purchasing Link

Once I started reading the next up in the Barlow-Barrett series I couldn't put it down and read it in one lazy Sunday. 

When Lucy goes on her first vacation ever she experiences a lot of firsts. Her first time skiing, her first time on a commercial plane, her first time on a small plane and her first time meeting Brandon Barlow-Barrett. She tells herself this is just a vacation fling, she can't get too attached to Brandon, but can she help falling in love with him.

Brandon really needs this vacation. Before he gets on the plane he sees the most beautiful woman he's seen in a long time. Deciding he wants to spend some of his time with her, he agrees to give Lucy first time skiing lessons and if he's really lucky he get to some time off the slopes with Lucy as well. 

Of the three books in the series so far, Remember Me is turning into my favorite. It can be read on its own, but best read if the series is read in order. 

Description:

The plane went down…and took their love with it.

All Brandon Barlow-Barrett wants is a week away from his family’s newspaper empire, time on the slopes to relax and refocus. What he gets is Lucy Cameron, the most extraordinary woman he’s ever met.

Lucy Cameron doesn’t take vacations. Not until now. Her very first vacation is full of highs–falling in love with Brandon Barrett–and lows–realizing she has to tell him she earns her living as a stripper.

But there’s no time to reveal her secret. On the way back from a day trip to a neighboring Colorado town, their plane’s engine sputters and stops. All they have left is the dangerous peaks of the mountains, a nearby lake for a crash-landing, and Brandon’s last-minute declaration of love.

CONTENT WARNING: This is not an easy road to Happily Ever After. Some readers may be disturbed by the detailed description of the plane crash. Also, explicit language.

Romance Book Review: PG Forte's Finders Keepers

Author: PG Forte
ISBN: 978-1-62300-089-9

Genre: Sci Fi/ Mystery and Suspense/ Menage/ MM-MF-MFM

Publisher: Loose-id

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Emotionally charge futurist novel two people leaving with the grief of losing a partner and another who can't remember who is once was, other than a soldier. 

A year ago Sally's husband died in a work related incident. His partner Aldo, is Sally's best friend. As an undercover cop Aldo meets Caleb. Something about Caleb reminds Aldo of his past, but he can't quite make out what that is. At the same time Sally meets Caleb at her job in the ER. 

Caleb is immediately attracted to Sally, but he's also attracted to Aldo. When Aldo  realizes that the two have met he decides that despite his own desires for Caleb, Caleb is exactly what Sally needs to get through the holidays. Aldo invites both Caleb and Sally to his cabin for the holidays, but once they are there he can't stop thinking that Caleb is so much like his own dead husband and can't help but wonder, especially since Caleb's body has been so surgically changed with nanos and electrodes that Caleb himself can't remember who he is. 

There isn't a whole lot of sci-fi action in this story, except to set the scene of how Caleb can't remember his past. Still, I like the premise behind the story and the well played characters dealing with a complex issue. 

Description:

Sometimes finding what you want is the easy part.

Caleb is a bionic soldier with little-to-no memory of his past. He's seeking the truth about himself and those missing memories.

Aldo's an undercover cop who just might have the answers to Caleb's questions. But if Caleb's the man Aldo thinks he is, how can he let him get away a second time?

Then there's Sally; she's an ER physician who used to be married to Aldo's late partner, Davis. Sally's not dealing with widowhood very well. In fact, it's getting harder, every day, just to find a reason to keep getting out of bed. If the truth about the men's shared past comes to light, she could lose them both. Along with her last, best reason to go on living.

This holiday season, chance will bring them together and give them an opportunity to help one another find what they each want most. But every gift comes with a price. And keeping what they've found once they've found it? Yeah, that's gonna be the hard part.

Romance Book Review: Lucy Oliver's Winter Storms

Author: Lucy Oliver

ISBN: 9781440564154

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Crimson Romance

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In Lucy Oliver's debut novel, Carly hurt her leg and became disabled in a boating accident two years ago. The accident took her dreams away of sailing on an Olympic sailing team and at the same time she lost the love of her life.  Since then she's turned her life around and started a new business in her home town. 

Daniel has decided to come home for Christmas and get his life back. He isn't sure that Carly will ever forgive him and get back the relationship they once had, but it is worth a try because he can't truly love another woman. 

Making their way back together is going to take everything they have. 

Very emotional story of a young couple working out their problems, while trying to accept their shortcomings. 

Description:

Two years ago Carly Roberts split from her lover, Daniel Edwards, after he caused a terrible sailing accident that cost her both the use of her right leg and her Olympic dreams. Unable to watch his climb to double Olympic success, she stayed in the Cornish village they grew up in, while he travelled the world. 

Racked with guilt, knowing he destroyed her future, Daniel has finally returned home to make amends. But he didn’t expect to fall in love with her again.

Carly has her own life now and it doesn’t include him. She can’t forgive him for the catastrophic injuries that changed her life. While the storms of a Cornish winter lash their village home, can Daniel persuade her to give him a second chance?