Romance Book Review: Larisa Anderson's Taming the Hunted

Author: Larisa Anderson
Series Connection: The Hunters Series 

Digital ISBN: 9781940744001
Genre(s): Erotic, Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Beachwalk Press

Purchase Link: Beachwalk Press

Marian is a hunter who searches the nice for the monsters that walk the night. One night after attempting to take down a vampire, she gets thrown into a tree and is rescued by a creature of a different kind. 

Marian is instantly drawn to Gabriel but she knows she's in trouble if he finds out exactly what she is. She has to get away from his pack before they discover her. Unfortunately Gabriel doesn't seem to want to let her go and before she can get away the unthinkable happens. 

This story is just a tad too short. While the premise is good and the dialog runs through well, I kept wanting more explanation about Marian's past and even bringing out Gabriel's character a little more. 

Description: 

Hunting just got hotter.

Marian is a hunter of night creatures. She stalks and stakes vampires, isn't afraid of the odd silver bullet if a werewolf turns rogue, and is perfectly content with her complete lack of social life.

When a staking goes wrong, a handsome, mesmerizing man comes to Marian's rescue. But Gabriel isn't what he seems to be. After Marian loses consciousness she awakes to find herself in a house filled with werewolves.

If she can survive the night she might discover that sometimes opposites attract in the best ways. Now if she could just silence that irritating little voice in the back of her mind that keeps reminding her that hunters are supposed to kill creatures of the night, not date them.

Content Warning: contains mature language and graphic sexual content

Romance Book Review: Martha O'Sullivan's Last Chance

Author: Martha O'Sullivan

Series Connection: Close Encounter, Second Chance

ISBN: 9781603108355  Genre: Contemporary Romance Publisher: Red Sage

Purchase Link: Red Sage | Amazon

In the third in this series set in California/Nevada's Lake Tahoe-Reno area Martha O'Sullivan finishes up her series with the story of Paul and Moira. Paul is the ex-fiance of Lindsey from the first book and Moira is one of Lindsey's best friends.

When Lindsey was coming to terms with the fact that she was still in love with Brian, her first love, she realized that Moira was in love with Paul.

Since Lindsey's wedding Paul and Moira continued to see each other but nothing serious until Paul realizes that waiting might just cost him the woman he loves, but can he get over the fact that his last love left him for another man. Moira has a few insecurities of her own. Are the odds against this couple who have waiting so long to get together.

Of the three books in the series, this isn't my favorite because it's too common a theme, otherwise the book is worth reading for it well developed characters and the fact that it end the tree stories and adheres to them.

Description:

Amid the blinding blue sky and snow-capped peaks of the Lake Tahoe winter, Paul Webster and Moira Brody will see one another through new eyes. But not everybody is on their side. Paul has some worthy competition and Moira’s survival instincts have kicked into high gear. Love and truth will be put to the ultimate test. 

Moira will have to take a leap of faith and Paul will have to take the ultimate risk--again. And sometimes discovering that what you’ve been searching for is right in front of you is more terrifying than not finding it at all.  Their adventure will bring them full circle. But they’ll be plenty of collateral damage along the way. 

Reader Alert! Moira Brody has been saving herself for Paul Webster without even knowing it. She is more than willing and eager to enroll in the Paul Webster School of love making. And she doesn’t want to be treated with kid gloves…

To My Readers:  The veil between love and friendship can sometimes grow thin. And when both of you start to look at each other through different eyes, it all but disappears. What better way to conclude the Chances trilogy than to come full circle?  Come with me as Moira Brody and Paul Webster take a chance at love. And discover it was worth waiting for.

Romance Byte: Julia Quinn's The Sum of All Kisses

Author: Julia Quinn

Series Connection: Smythe-Smith

ISBN: 978-0062072924

Genre: Regency

Publisher: Avon

Excerpt

Purchase Link: Amazon | B&N

Description:

From Julia Quinn, the New York Times bestselling author of steamy historical romances, comes the third seductive installment of the Smythe-Smith Quartet, The Sum of All Kisses.

Hugh Prentice has never had patience for dramatic females, and if Lady Sarah Pleinsworth has ever been acquainted with the words shy or retiring, she's long since tossed them out the window. Besides, a reckless duel has left this brilliant mathematician with a ruined leg, and now he could never court a woman like Sarah, much less dream of marrying her.

Sarah has never forgiven Hugh for the duel he fought that nearly destroyed her family. But even if she could find a way to forgive him, it wouldn't matter. She doesn't care that his leg is less than perfect, it's his personality she can't abide. But forced to spend a week in close company they discover that first impressions are not always reliable. And when one kiss leads to two, three, and four, the mathematician may lose count, and the lady may, for the first time, find herself speechless...

Written with Julia Quinn’s trademark style, The Sum of All Kisses is a witty and lighthearted Regency romance.

Romance Book Review: Belinda McBride's Toxic

Author: Belinda McBride

Series Connection: Truckee Wolves

ISBN: 9781623002824

Genre: Paranormal, Shifters, Wolves, Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Loose Id

Purchase Link: Loose Id | Amazon

Briony Theale loves chocolate, but she realizes she wants Rico more, so one day she throws all her chocolate in the garbage not realizing how that one act is going to change her life.

Rico is a wolf shifter and chocolate isn't really good for wolves so when he eats the chocolate he makes himself really sick.

When Briony finds a sick wolf at her door she doesn't realize it is Rico's she's taking care of until she finds Rico in the cage where she leaves the wolf and she find the Rico instead. Now all of a sudden a whole new world opens up for the veterinarian.

Great story premise featuring a woman who loves chocolate and a strong hero who has a few secrets. Loved Briony's persona. She is a woman who understands her flaws, even though she is self conscious about them. This should pan out into an interesting series. Light BDSM, but nothing more than some handcuffs and a little rough sex.

Description

There are three things that Dr. Briony Theale loves. Her job as a veterinarian, a good bar of rich, dark chocolate, and Rico, the ranger in charge of the Wildlife Rescue center. When a casual dinner with Rico turns surprisingly intimate, Briony realizes that she might just have a chance with him after all, if only she could lose a few pounds. It's the ultimate sacrifice, but Briony goes cold turkey, and swears off chocolate forever.

Rico Montgomery fell hard for Briony the first time he set eyes on the curvy little doctor. Her rich brown hair and cocoa skin trigger cravings he can barely control, and her fragrance is like the sweetest, richest chocolate he's ever scented in his life. That's a bad thing for Rico, because to a werewolf like him, chocolate is literally a toxin. After his pack warns him off the very human doctor, Rico finds himself even more drawn to Briony.

Rico can't live with it, and Briony can't live without it. And when a certain wandering wolf finds a bag of chocolate in the trash near Briony's clinic, these two will find out just how toxic love can be.

Note: This book has previously been released by another publisher but has been substantially revised and reedited in this edition.

Romance Book Byte: Denise Daisy's Thirteen For Dinner

Author: Denise Daisy
ISBN: 978-1482063639
Genre: Sci-Fi, Time Travel, Romance
Publisher: Self-Published

Purchase Link: Amazon

I haven't had the chance to read this book, but the premise sounds great and the ebook is free today, so it can't hurt to take a chance on it.

Description:

Averie agrees to sit in on an exclusive dinner party as the fourteenth guest, in order to rescue the other attendees from bad luck. But it’s Averie who needs rescuing when all hell begins to break loose. 

Averie Cooke has never set foot on the old Faulkner plantation because of the macabre history surrounding it; not to mention everyone says the place is haunted. A hundred and fifty years ago a slave by the name of Lunar Wilson was hung there. His lifeless body dangled in the breeze along with the gray Spanish moss. Later that same night, the petite southern belle, Emily Faulkner wrapped a thick rope around her delicate neck and joined her lover in the afterlife. Legend says all hell broke loose after that. Unaware that their only daughter was hanging dead up in the cupola, Emily’s parents continued on with their festivities, gorging themselves on prime rib, and guzzling expensive wine. They were pretty drunk by the time Lunar’s brothers burst inside the house slinging their hatchets, vindicating their brother’s murder. They decapitated James Faulkner, his socialite wife Elizabeth and dismembered all eleven dinner guest. The massacre was the bloodiest ever recorded. 

So why would Averie agree to sit at the same table, on the same night, a hundred and fifty years later? She needs the money that’s why. But, she gets much more than she bargains for when she and another mysterious guest transports back to the year 1859, exactly one month before the fateful hanging of Lunar Wilson. Things go from bad to worse when she discovers the only way back home is to stop his murder. Can she put her fears aside long enough to change the past?

Thirteen for Dinner is a page turning thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat one minute, laughing out loud the next and crying while you contemplate the meaning of life. Dealing with issues such as racism, slavery, hatred, and fear you’ll discover the only weapon that has the power to damage them all…love. 

Romance Book Review: Sophie Pembroke's Summer of Love

Author: Sophie Pembroke

Series Connection: Room for Love, An A to Z Love Story

ISBN: 9781616505028

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Lyrical Press

Purchase Link: Lyrical Press

Lily Thomas has been in a relationship with Edward for seven years when one day she realizes that the two of them want different things. It is just too bad that she found this out after he has asked her to marry him and everyone in their small town is waiting for them to tie the knot. The worst part of all is how she is going to tell her mum and her best friend. 

Just when she is starting to realize that everything is going all wrong in her relationship with Edward her old crush, Alex comes back to town. Alex is looking to settle down and get married and suddenly he is seeing his old friend Lily in a different light. But Lily has sworn off marriage. For seven years she let Edward mold her into a person she doesn't recognize and she doesn't ever want to lose herself in a relationship again.

Can Alex convince her he doesn't want her to change the free-spirited person she used to be before he loses her for good. 

This is the classic bad-boy crush comes back to town and girl falls for him all over again story, with a few twists and turns. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes sweet, contemporary romance. No hardcore sex involved and good old fashioned romance 

Description: 

It’s only a summer fling…

Boutique jewelry designer Lily Thomas knows hating the boring ring her fiance gave her isn’t a good enough reason to end a seven-year relationship. Especially when settling down with Edward is the only thing she’s ever done right in the eyes of her mother–and her hometown. Besides, everyone else seems to be getting married: Lily’s best friend Cora, her cousin, her friends from work. So why not Lily?

But when Alex Harper, Lily’s high school crush, moves back to Felinfach, he shows her exactly why. She can’t pretend to be someone she’s not just to keep her fiance happy. It’s a terrible way to start a marriage, and a terrible way to live. Lily calls off her engagement, but she still needs a date to all the weddings crowding her summer calendar. Conveniently, Alex has a few weddings to attend as well.

They agree to be wedding buddies, and soon the whole town is talking about them. If everyone’s going to talk anyway, why shouldn’t Lily and Alex make the most of it? As long as they both know it’s only a summer fling…

CONTENT WARNING: May induce desire for pretty jewelry…

Romance Book Review: Susan Arden's Alpha Speed Dating

Author: Susan Arden

Series Connection: Rocky Mountain Shifter 

ISBN: N/A

Genre: Shifter romance, Werewolves, Erotic, Paranormal

Publisher: Sweet-N-Spicy Tales

Purchase Link: Amazon 

Reporter Mari has just been fired from her job after she presents a story to her editor that tells the true story about a famous shifter and future Earl who has been making the tabloids lately. While she's excited that she found the truth, she quickly finds out that she is mixed up in a family game where she comes out the loser. 

She gets a chance to still make her rent this month by working for the evening in an exclusive club just for shifters. All she needs to do is be an organizer, and oh yeah find a costume for the evening that doesn't show off too much of her behind. The evening is going well so far when who walks in other than the future Earl himself and he's instantly attracted to Mari and if she doesn't watch out her whole life could change in an instant. 

This book promotes itself as just a one night story from the "Den", but still I was a little disappointed because I would have liked to have seen it past the one night stage and move into a full novel. It would have been interesting to see where the couple's life moved on from here. Otherwise it was a good story, even if at times the dialog did get a little sappy. 

Description:

When a rich playboy's out of control life causes a reporter to get fired for doing her job, their meeting at the Den is about to get crazy-hot fast. 

As the next Earl of Essex, Conrad Fisher’s reckless life resembles a hurricane, wreaking havoc on Mari Dunhill’s career. A reporter at the Denver Times, Mari was fired for her attempt to set the record straight about Conrad’s recent tabloid fiasco.

They meet by chance at the Downtown Den during a round of speed dating. Suddenly, Mari is thrust onto a collision course about to implode thanks to one commanding English playboy.

Running on empty, Conrad refuses join the almighty Wolf News media conglomerate owned by his family’s powerful pack. Without a mate, his parents are playing hardball to get him to fall in line. Conrad marches to a lone alpha wolf drum fused with a fiery temper until he encounters an alluring she-wolf. Driven to the brink by the curvaceous and lush Mari, Conrad refuses to back away when Mari attempts to shut him down.

Now the chase is on. One night and Conrad won’t stop until she is upstairs and under him.

COME SPEND A NIGHT AT THE DEN ~ Novellas encompassing one night chance encounters within the exclusive shifter club, the Downtown Den.

Romance Book Review: G.A. Aiken's A Tale of Two Dragons

Author: G.A. Aiken
Series Connection: Dragon Kin
ISBN: 978-1-4201-3353-0
Genre: Shapeshifter, Dragons, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Zebra

Purchase Link: Amazon

This book is sold in both an ebook format with just this story, or it can be read as an extra novella attached to the print version of Dragon Actually.

Braith of Darkness has long had a crush on Addolgar the Cheerful and one of the Cadwaladrs Clan brothers for some time now. Painfully shy she knows she's not some small prissy royal like many of the warriors like, so she decides it is best not to get her heart stomped on. When her father summons her, Braith dreads the encounter knowing it can't be good. He has set her up to go on a trip with a group of his loyal warriors to return another royal to her home. She knows she has no choice to go, but when she finds out that Addolgar is sent with their caravan, she dreads the trip even more, especially because she sees how the handsome warrior looks at the other she-dragon.

Addolgar the Cheerful is just as his name implies, a happy dragon. He is happiest when he is in battle with his brothers and sister. He thinks nothing of taking this trip to bring the pretty royal back to her family. When Braith tries to warn him that the guard sent with them are not to be trust, Addolgar knows there is something going on. He just never expects the other she-dragon in his under his protection to be the one to poison him.

When it become evident that Braith's father is betraying the Queen, Addolgar knows that Braith will do the loyal thing and turn herself over the Queen who will more than likely kill her for her father's crimes he knows he has to knock her out for her own good and take her back to his father's castle to keep her safe from doing herself harm.

That ignites a who chain of events that bring Braith and Addolgar closer together.

In GA Aiken (aka Shelly Laurenston) style in her Dragon Kin series this book offers fun often bloody times among the Cadwaladrs' clan. I love her style and her way with words. These books aren't written in any particular order so readers will see a whole host of familiar names. Some couples from past books aren't together in this story. Read back on some of the other novels to get the whole story of the Cadwaladrs' Clan.

Description:

Braith of the Darkness likes going through life unnoticed. Not an easy task for a She-dragon of royal descent. But the evil plots of her father are turning her quiet, boring life upside down, and she has now become the enemy of the most vicious queen her kind has ever known. But for once, Braith won't have to fight alone. Not when the warrior dragon of her dreams is willing to risk everything to save her neck.

Addolgar the Cheerful wishes he could say he's helping the pretty royal strictly for honorable reasons--but he'd be lying. It's not his fault, though! He didn't tell Braith of the Darkness to have the most delicious tail he's ever seen! Yet before Addolgar can get his very strong claws on that tail, heads are going to roll. Just hopefully not theirs. . .

Romance Book Review: G. A. Aiken's Dragon Actually

Author: G.A. Aiken

Series Connection: Dragon Kin

ISBN-13: 978-1420103731

Genre: Paranormal, Shifter, Dragon, Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Zebra

Purchase Link: Amazon

One of my favorite authors is re-releasing the first in her Dragon Kin series Dragon Actually. Included in the new print edition is a new novella called A Tale of Two Dragon. The novella is also available for purchase as an ebook.

In Dragon Actually Annwyl the Bloody lives in a time when monarchies rise and fall at the end of a sword. Of all the Queens in this world the one to be feared the most is Annwyl the Bloody. Most think that Annwyl is insane. While in battle Annwyl happens upon a dragon that she can talk to. Living within Fearghus the Destroyer's cave she doesn't realize that he is actually a shifter and can shift into a man. 

Fearghus the Destroyer realizes that Annwyl is his mate, which is a bad thing because Fearghus doesn't really like humans, except  maybe to eat but Annwyl is totally different from any human Fearghus has ever met. 

Love, love, love this series, but this book isn't for the faint of heart. Incredible amusing and quite bloody it will certainly keep you laughing through the whole story.

Description:

With a nickname like Annwyl the Bloody, men tend to either cower in fear at the sight of me, or salute. So it would be nice to find a man I can actually talk to, just the way I can talk to Fearghus the Destroyer. Then again, Fearghus is a dragon...

Find out for yourself why All Things Urban Fantasy calls the Dragon Kin series, "As bawdy, crass, and hilarious as anything I could have hoped for!" and read the prequel novella, "A Tale of Two Dragons," to see where the insanity began!