Romance Book Review: Rebecca Royce's Darkest Wolf

Author: Rebecca Royce
Series Connection: Westerbelt Wolves
ISBN 978-1-59578-920-4
Genre: Werewolves/ Shifters/ Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books

Purchase this book here

Welcome back to Westervelt Island where we find youngest brother Rex on an errand to find a witch the young princes can use to help in the fight against their evil father.

Rex has always felt like a screw up and feels that this is his last chance to convince his Alpha brother that he has the pack's best interest at heart. His mission is to find a witch. By coincidence the first witches that he comes across are the same that meet his sister in the previous book.

Liz is a cursed witch. The witch that has taken over her coven has cursed her with a face that when seen is so ugly that human flinch at the sight. She is also forced to travel with the witch's twin daughters and do their bidding her her mother and the rest of the coven will be killed.

When she meets Rex she doesn't know what to make of him, because werewolves are know to kill witches, but Rex is the only one that sees the real Liz without the curse following her. He tells her that it is because he is her mate and as such will help her break the curse. But can he save her in time before the evil witch kills those she loves?

Nice addition to the Westervelt series. Rex has always been an interesting character in the series. While each of the brothers seem to offer a different personality, Rex has always been a character that stands out. Even from the beginning when he fails to meet his older brother on time, which has Tristan being captured and sent to live in a zoo for years until his mate gets him out.

Description:
Rex Kane has always known he was different than his brothers, down to the fact that when he shifts into his wolf form, his coat is completely black. Always in trouble, he is given one more chance by his brother Tristan, the alpha of the Westervelt pack, to bring back to their island a witch who can stop some of the magical assault that has plagued their war-torn home. Rex knows he has one last chance to set things right. Everything depends on him and he cannot fail.

Elizabeth Willow has been cursed to look so repulsive no human eyes can bear to view her. Raised in a gentle coven of witches, she is ill prepared for the realities of the harsh world she now lives in.

Raised to mistrust wolf-shifters as witch-killers, she cannot seem to help being drawn to Rex. Even if she doesn't believe she is his so-called mate. He can see her as she really is and is the first person to look her in the eyes in years. Although she is not naturally devious, she sees no choice but to use Rex to gain her own freedom and her family’s safety.

Together, Rex and Elizabeth will see just how evil the people around them can be. If they can trust their hearts, perhaps they will survive another night. If not, both of their battles will never be won.

Romance Book Scene: G.A. Aiken's The Dragon Who Loved Me

Author: G.A. Aiken
ISBN: 978-1420108897
Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy, Shifters, Dragons
Publisher: Zebra

Purchase this book here

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I've read this whole series and have fallen in love with the dragons and humans who live in this world. As the series has gone through some of the most funny romance I've ever read. The Dragon Who Loved Me, had some bits and pieces of the hilarity that makes up G.A. Aiken/Shelly Laurenstein's stories, for the most part was by far more serious, filled with action, conspiracy, beheading, massacres and blood letting.

As Queen Rhiannon and Queen Annwyl's land is at war from all sides. The Southland and Northland dragons are fighting to keep their Independence from the Iron dragons. It took a little while for me to figure out what time period the author is working in, as she seems to have no order in how she tells her story. However it soon becomes clear that this is about five years since Ragnar and Keita's story.

The groups has been away from home for five years fighting the war and keeping both empires safe. There is a big plan together to finish off the war for once and all. Annwyl has some crazy ideas of her own.

The love story is between Rhona the Fearless and Vigholf Abhorrent. Rhona, like many of her kind, doesn't trust the Lightnings, or Northern Dragons, at one time the Northern Dragons would kidnap Southern Dragon females to mate. Now that the Northern Dragons are on the side of good, Rhona isn't sure what to think when she find Vigholf following after her. He's been doing it for five years.

When Rhona is sent to escort her cousin Keita to Annwyl's castle, Vigholf decides he can't let her go alone. During the time they spend together their attraction grows.

This isn't a story for the faint of heart. Annwyl is just as bloody as usual. Her children, the twins now five, are just as violent as their mother and their cousin Rhain has a few surprises of her own.


Description:
I was raised for battle. And as the first daughter of a warrior family, I’ve earned my reputation the hard way. Yet now I fight alongside uncivilized male Northland dragons who think a female is only good for breeding and waiting back home in the cave. But it’s the foolish and foolhardy who would try to stop me, Rhona the Fearless, from doing what I do best—destroying the enemies of my kind.

So the smartest thing wily barbarian Vigholf the Abhorrent can do for me is stay out of my way as we risk all on a deadly mission in enemy territory. I don’t care if he’s fascinated by me, even though he is as attractive as he is resourceful. He’s having far too much fun putting me in difficult situations and testing my sense of duty to the limit. And I’m going to enjoy challenging his insufferable confidence, outwitting his schemes, and making him surrender in the wildest ways…

Romance Book Review: Lush

Author: Jenika Snow
Series Connection: Luecross Wolf Series: Book 4
ISBN: 978-0-85715-488-0
Genre: Paranormal/ Shifters/ Werewolves/ Erotic Romance/ M-F-M
Publisher: Total-E-Bound

Purchase this book here through Amazon

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Looking for something so hot it might be hotter than the summer temps, then check out Jenika Snow's recent release from the Luecross Wolf series. A friend turned me on to this book stating that this author is one of the best erotic romance writers she's read in a while. 

I have to say I wasn't disappointed in this short story.

In Lush, Jenika Snow tells the story of Ophelia, a young Luecross Wolf who has come into her first heat. Ophelia knows that sex without having something invested into a relationship will only leave her heart broken in the end.

She can't control herself though when the two Luecross Wolves she has been most attracted to tell her they will help ease her pain through the heat. The problem is what happens when the heat is over and they leave her?

Description:
What is Ophelia to do when she comes into her mating heat and is irresistible to every male in her pack?

Ophelia realises she has just come into her mating heat and that she will not be able to resist the arousal that it causes. Being irresistible to every male in her tribe would be any girls dream come true, but when the two men she lusts after the most don't show an interest, Ophelia must decide if she can let her inhibitions go with the other males.

When Chase and Xavier offer to ease Ophelia's fierce arousal, she knows that although she may not be their mate, she can't pass up their offer. She spends a pleasure filled night with the men she has always dreamed about, but when Chase and Xavier announce they have found their mate, Ophelia knows she shouldn't have let her fantasy of being with them cloud reality.

Ophelia must now decide if she can finally let Chase and Xavier go and start her life with another male, or if the temptation to be with them again is too much to resist.

Romance Book Review: Wolf's Magic

Author: Rebecca Royce
Series Connection: Westervelt Wolves
ISBN 978-1-59578-737-8
Genre: Paranormal/ Shifters
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books

[Excerpt]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This is the fourth book in the Westervelt Wolves series. The story continues with Aziel Kane. Az is the more at ease in his basement lab than he is at fighting the battles his father has been sending him and his brothers. He's been spending hours down in his lab trying to figure out how his father is turning humans into "made" wolves. So far all of the "made" wolves brought into his lab have died except for one.

Leah has no idea how she got into a wolf's body. One day she woke up in a cage, remembering nothing but her name. She knows she's woken up in the cage more than once. She remembers the man who approaches the cage.

When Az realizes that Leah is his mate, he is all the more dedicated to defeating his father and finding a way from releasing Leah from wolf form.

Well written shifter book that should be read in sequence with the other books in the series.

Description:
Wolf’s Magic is the story of Azriel Kane, fifth brother in the royal Westervelt wolf pack. Always different from his siblings, Azriel prefers to spend his time underground in a lab than out fighting battles to save the pack from destruction. In his own way, he feels he is contributing to the pack’s success. However, when fate plants his destined mate in a cage where he can’t ignore her, Az will be forced to face up the demons that have plagued him since childhood and be the shifter she needs him to be.

Leah St. James has no idea who she is or how she came to be trapped in a cage in Azriel’s lab. The only thing she is certain about is that she is not a wolf and that she wants out of her false wolf body as soon as possible. Counting on Az to save her from the same doomed fate as the other wolves Az is given to study, from the distance of her cage she can see Az for who he really is and not the false front he presents to the world.

But Kendrick Kane is not done with Westervelt and when he steps up his game to eliminate the Kanes from Westervelt, Az and Leah will need each other to discover the truth behind his evil plans, that is if Azriel can finally reveal the secret he has been keeping since he was a child.

With Leah’s help, can Azriel finally take his place in the pack hierarchy or will they fail and lose Westervelt forever?

Go Fetch by Shelly Laurenston in print

Go Fetch
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Series connection: Magnus Pack, When He Was Bad—Miss Congeniality
Genre: Paranormal/Werewolf/Shifter

YYYYY

Description:
How much trouble can one small female be to a modern-day shapeshifting Viking? Well…it really depends on local gun laws.

Conall Víga-Feilan, direct descendent of Viking shifters, never thought he'd meet a female strong enough to be his mate. He especially didn't think a short, viper-tongued human would ever fit the bill. But Miki Kendrick isn't some average human. With an IQ off the charts and a special skill with weapons of all kinds, Miki brings the big blond pooch to his knees-and keeps him there.

Miki's way too smart to ever believe in love and she knows a guy like Conall could only want one thing from her. But with the Pack's enemies on her tail and a few days stuck alone with the one man who makes her absolutely wild, Miki is about to discover how persistent one Viking wolf can be.

My View:
If I were a published author I would want to be just like Shelly Laurenston. The woman knows how to have fun with her story line and plot. I have read all of her books she has listed on her Website and a few others she wrote under another pen name. I was so excited when I heard that she was bringing her Magnus Pack books to print. (I have the e-book versions previously released.) I went out and purchased them right away to have for my collection.

In Go Fetch, Shelly picks up six months after we last saw the Magnus Pack. Conall is still crazy about Miki, who is in denial. She's about to complete her doctorate and has to take a trip to Seattle from her home in Texas. First she stops to visit with Sara now living in Northern California with Zach and the Magnus pack and of course Conall is also there. As expected there's trouble along the way, but that doesn't worry Miki, she'll just pull out any handy gun and start shooting. The story is lively, filled with great sex and the best one liners you'll read in a romantic comedy in a while. The third book in this series is set to be in print this summer. Although I've read Here Kitty, Kitty. I can't wait to read it again and add it to my collection, as well. Great job Shelly! Keep up the good work and we'll keep reading.

Laurenston Pack Challenge first of Magnus series

Pack Challenge
Author: Shelly Laurenston
ISBN: 1-59998-122-X
Series: Magnus
Series connection: The Beast In Me
Genre: Paranormal/Shifter

YYYY

Description:
All Zach Sheridan ever wanted was to become Alpha Male of his Pack and to be left alone. What he definitely didn't need in his life was some needy female demanding his attention. What he never saw coming was the vicious, scarred female who not only demanded his attention but knew exactly how to get it.

Sara Morrighan knew this was the best she could expect from her life. Good friends. A nice place to live. And a safe job. But when Zach rode into her small Texas town with his motorcycle club, Sara knew she wanted more. She knew she wanted him. But after one sexy encounter with her dream biker, everything is starting to change. Her body. Her strength. That new thing she's doing with the snarling. Even her best friends are starting to wonder what's going on with her.

But this is only the beginning. Sara's about to find out her life was meant for so much more. And Zach's about to find true love with the one woman who makes him absolutely insane.

My View:
One of the funniest writers I've read in a long time Shelly Laurenston's Pack Challenge is the first in her newest re-released and expanded Magnus Series. The Shifter, not werewolf, clan was first introduced in 2006 as an e-book and then brought up in Shelly's more recent The Beast in Me book. I love this authors style, there are times that tears were coming from my eyes I was laughing so hard reading her books.

Pack Challenge is a good start to the Magnus series. There we meet Zach who is on the verge of taking over as pack leader. He isn't interested in settling down because all women want to do is think about having babies. Not Zach's cup of tea at all. Then he meets Sara. He just can't resist the woman he has been sent to help change over into her natural beast. She is perfect for him. She's more than a little crazy and Zach's total match. I would give this books a five except it wasn't as funny as the others I've read by Shelly. While I like Zach and Sara, Sara's friends both make the story. I can't wait to read Go Fetch! and Here Kitty, Kitty which feature Angelina and Miki. Both are scheduled to be out in print within the next few months.

Reread on Leigh's Mercury's War

Mercury's War
Author: Lora Leigh
Series: Breed
ISBN: 978-0-425-22418-2

YYYY

Description:
There's trouble brewing at Sanctuary. Someone has been slipping secure information to a pharmaceutical company. Now it's up to Ria Rodriquez to pose as a clerk and uncover the leak. And she has no idea of the danger she's about to encounter.

Years ago, Mercury Warrant—who, according to his file, is one of the greatest Breeds ever created—thought he lost his mate, and he's had to live with the idea that he'll never know true bonding. Then he's tapped to protect the mysterious Ria—and finds himself falling in love.

But Ria is a woman of many secrets, and she fears being consumed by her feelings for Mercury. Little does she know that she has every right to be afraid. Because the woman believed to be Mercury's true mate is back from the grave, and she's not about to let Ria—or anyone else—get in her way...

My View:
"They were created, not born. They were trained, not raised. They weren't meant to be free, to laugh, to play or to love. They were men and women whose souls had been forged in the fires of hell..."

The prolog to the first few book goes a long way in telling the story Lora Leigh has created. Mercury's War is the 16th book in Leigh Breed series. These are her explanation to the existence of were creatures. I've enjoyed these books from the first. Sometimes they idea behind the stories get a little repetitive—there are just so many times that one can go through the explanation of the mating heat—but the intrigue, betrayals and characters created through the series keeps it going.

Mercury's War is no exception to the rule. As the story line unfolds readers get to learn more about Mercury's past. We first meet Mercury in the second book of the series, when the original group first moves into Sanctuary and learn that he is the only breed among the group who has lost his mate. Through much of the series Mercury pops up many times until he works his way into the position of enforcer under Jonas.

Leigh does a lot with his character and provides him with a mate he can be proud of. Ria is a smart, strong and viable heroine. She brings along with her the connection of "The Leo" and his son Dane. As usual even in the end the Breeds are still in danger and the story continues. According to Leigh's blog, we can expect to see at least four other books in the near future. This review is written after the second time I read this book in the past several months. I wanted to prepare myself again for the Breeds' world again now that Coyote's Mate is out. I'll have to wait another day though, as I take a quick reread at Aiden's Charity. This will be the first time we meet the character in the new book. I'm so excited I'll probably pull an all-nighter.

Just a quick note: Whenever I read blogs and comments about the Breed series it is always in reference to Jonas and his story. Jonas is a great character, but what about Dane. I’d love to see if he ever meets his mate and what his story is.