Showing posts with label favorite series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label favorite series. Show all posts

May 9, 2020

Review: WINTER TALES: An Original Sinners Christmas Anthology by Tiffany Reisz



Return to USA Today bestseller Tiffany Reisz's Original Sinners series with Winter Tales, a collection of three fan-favorite Christmas novellas plus a brand-new novella exclusive to this anthology.

In December Wine, the long-awaited story of Nora Sutherlin's first meeting with Nico can finally be told. Nora enlists her editor (and sometimes lover) Zach Easton on a mission to track down Kingsley's long-lost son. Nicolas "Nico" Delacroix turns out to be young, strikingly handsome, and very French. He wants nothing to do with his father...but everything to do with Nora.

This special holiday-themed collection also includes the novellas Poinsettia, The Christmas Truce, and The Scent of Winter (previously available only as ebooks). A bonus short story starring Søren rounds out the Winter Tales anthology.









I step into the Original Sinners world and I never want to leave.

Especially now.

When I closed my copy of Winter Tales, all I wanted was more OS tales. I had the urge to go back to The Siren again and reread everything and anything that is Original Sinners related. It would be lovely to get away from the world and get lost in these books once again. Until I manage to do that, a few words about these wintery tales from me are long overdue.

Tiffany Reisz has been gifting us with Original Sinners Christmas stories for a long time. They've always been something to look forward to in the cold, bleak winter time, especially in the years after the series ended the first time with the eight book. It's really nice to have them collected in print form. I love having them in print on my bookshelf. It makes the book lover and the OS fan in me very content.

There are five winter tales in this collection. Three I've read before, and happily reread, and two are new.

This series has introduced us to a lot of characters, but at the heart of it is the unholy trinity: Kingsley, Nora, and Søren. All three are present in one way or the other throughout the collection, though I would say Søren here has the lead role. That's how it felt to me, at least.

The tale that comes first chronologically is Poinsettia . Poinsettia is the story of a Christmas many years ago. Christmas that young Søren spent in the house of a sadistic madam that was a great teacher to him. Magdalena was quite mean to him. It's something I enjoyed reading the first, second, and the third time. Søren was lovesick over Kingsley. I enjoyed that even more. If only Kingsley knew about it.

Next comes The Christmas Truce in which my dearest trio put their differences aside for one night. The story is set at a difficult time in their relationships, but they let it all go for a little while and celebrated in style. Original Sinners style. With a flashback to an even earlier and even more difficult Christmas for Nora and Søren, this was two Christmas stories in one. It was sweet, emotional, heartwarming, and a bit kinky.

Next in line are the two new additions: December Wine and Blood and Snow.

December Wine has a few elements to the plot. It is about finding Kingsley's son Nico. It is the very start of Nora and Nico's relationship. It's a glimpse into Nico's life and personality. More than that it is Nora and Zach's last tryst. Nora bargained a night with Søren for a week with Zach, and this is that week after which they're friends and friends only. So, it was sort of a goodbye to Zach and hello to Nico. The story is also filled with uncertainty of what the future will be for them all. Lots of changes happened at that time. New city, new children, new relationships.

That brings me to Blood and Snow . It's another Søren and Magdalena story. It takes place at the same time as December Wine, and as such it is also filled with uncertainty. Søren was in such a mental state he sought out Magdalena. A nice bonus short.

The last and my favorite story of the five is The Scent of Winter . It comes as no shock the story entirely from Kingsley's POV is my favorite. I'm nothing if not consistent when it comes to my fangirling. In fact, my original review for this novella was:

"KINGSLEY! KINGSLEY!

KINGSLEY!!!"

Yeah, that summed it up nicely.

The Scent of Winter was Kingsley and Søren's. Two winter stories in one: one from their teenage days, and one from their fifties. All quite romantic and bittersweet.

And that's all five lovely winter tales. I look forward to the future ones, and revisiting the old ones, because as I said at the beginning, I step into the world of the Original Sinners, and I never want to leave.


***An ARC was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, but I also got a paperback copy from Amazon in exchange for my money, sooo...***



Until next time, happy reading! 


XOXO,

Mar 25, 2018

ARC Review: THE CHATEAU by Tiffany Reisz


THE CHATEAU: AN ORIGINAL SINNERS NOVEL

As the Jack-of-All-Wicked-Trades for a secretive French military intelligence agency, 24-year-old Lieutenant Kingsley Boissonneault has done it all—spied, lied, and killed under orders. But his latest assignment is quite out of the ordinary. His commanding officer's nephew has disappeared inside a sex cult, and Kingsley has been tasked with bringing him home to safety.

The cult’s holy book is Story of O, the infamous French novel of extreme sado-masochism. Their château is a looking-glass world where women reign and men are their willing slaves. Or are they willing? It’s Kingsley’s mission to find out.

Once inside the château, however, Kingsley quickly falls under the erotic spell cast by the enigmatic Madame, a woman of wisdom, power, and beauty. She offers Kingsley the one thing he’s always wanted. But the price? Giving up forever the only person he’s ever loved.

The Chateau is a new standalone Original Sinners novel from international bestseller Tiffany Reisz, author of The Siren and The Lucky Ones.
 






The only appropriate reaction to this is:

KINGSLEY! KINGSLEY!

KINGSLEY!!!

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I had to pinch myself when I saw Tiffany Reisz was writing another novel about Kingsley — the news was just too good to be true! Kingsley Théophile Boissonneault was and remains my favorite character in The Original Sinners series. I feel like I should write the author a thank-you note for writing The Chateau, and not only for writing it, but for making it available on NetGalley this month, too. This book could not have come at a better time. When I had hardly any desire for reading, when I only kept on starting books and leaving them, and when I had a terrible cold, King's book was just what the doctor ordered.

The author, as I've learned long ago from her many erotic stories, has the best wicked imagination. Especially when it comes to Kingsley, although I admit I'm extremely biased when it comes to this particular character. Truth be told, Ms. Reisz could have written a whole novel about King reading the newspaper, and I would've found it interesting. The Chateau isn't about that; it is the story of Kingsley's time in a sex cult. It was the beginning of 1989. I was about a month away from being born, and Kingsley was sent on a mission to a sex cult, because of course he was. If anyone would be sent on a mission to a sex cult, it would be Kingsley Edge. But the story didn't start with that mission. It started with him.

The most compelling part of The Original Sinners series to me was the relationship between Kingsley and Søren. You can't speak about Kingsley without mentioning Søren. So, of course, The Chateau started with Søren. Kingsley was 24, living in Paris, doing unofficial official work for the French military, and years after parting ways with Søren, his dreams were still haunted by that blond monster who smelled like winter. Then he got a new assignment: rescue the nephew of his commanding officer from a sex cult. In that cult men served women. For Kingsley, who hadn't served since Søren, it wasn't just another assignment, but also an opportunity to satisfy the submissive part of himself.

The 24-year-old submissive Kingsley was just so freaking beautiful. I was quite taken with him. Luckily, lots and lots of pages were dedicated to the erotic games the women in the château played with willing Kingsley. The most intense game was the one Madame played. Madame, the owner of the château, was quite an intriguing character with the air of mystery around her and with extensive knowledge of Kingsley's life. While the other women Kingsley met in the château played pleasurable games, Madame, a sadist, played a cruel one. However, it did answer questions that had plagued Kingsley about himself and Søren. Søren, again. Always Søren.

As was the case with, I believe, all of the books by T. Reisz I've read, the story in The Chateau took some unexpected turns. Kingsley assignment turned out to be more complicated than saving his superior's nephew from Madame's home. The château and Madame hid big secrets for Kingsley to uncover. I guessed one twist, at least. What was interesting was how Kingsley's observations about that place and its owner reflected in the underground kingdom he built and ruled some years from then. That was a nice touch.

In the end, like in the beginning, there was Søren.
Kingsley leaned forward, wanting to kiss Søren, and it seemed —for once— Søren would let him. At the last second, however, Søren brought his hand up and clapped it over Kingsley’s mouth.

“If you ever try to kiss me again without permission,” Søren said calmly, “I’ll eat your heart like an apple and throw the core on the ground and let the worms have the rest.”

The Chateau is a book all Kingsley fans, all Søren fans, and really all Original Sinners fans should read.


***ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
 
 
Until next time, happy reading! 


XOXO,
 




Jan 4, 2018

REVIEW: Wildfire (Hidden Legacy #3) by Ilona Andrews


Genre:

Paranormal Romance/ Urban Fantasy

Buy The Book:

amazon /   b & n / kobo

Connect With The Author:

Summary On Goodreads:


Just when Nevada Baylor has finally come to accept the depths of her magical powers, she also realizes she’s fallen in love. Connor “Mad” Rogan is in many ways her equal when it comes to magic, but she’s completely out of her elements when it comes to her feelings for him. To make matters more complicated, an old flame comes back into Rogan’s life…

Rogan knows there’s nothing between him and his ex-fiance, Rynda Sherwood. But as Nevada begins to learn more about her past, her power, and her potential future, he knows she will be faced with choices she never dreamed of and the promise of a life spent without him.

As Nevada and Rogan race to discover the whereabouts of Rynda’s kidnapped husband and are forced to confront Nevada’s grandmother, who may or may not have evil motives, these two people must decide if they can trust in each other or allow everything to go up in smoke.



REVIEW

Ilona Andrews simply can't do wrong when it comes to creating a compelling, action-packed and breath-taking urban fantasy/paranormal romance story with a fair dose of humor and fierce, charismatic and lovable characters. They show that with their every next book, just as they showed it with the third installment of HL series. The book was simply addictive. Unputdownable. I've read it in one day.

These two authors are one of few authors who know the perfect receipt when it comes to my ideal uf/pnr romance book and they keep delivering it every time. The series is fairly new, but they've become one of my favs as soon as I've read the 1st book. One of the biggest reasons for that are kick-ass, witty main and secondary characters who never disappoint. And I can't finish this review without mentioning the main hero - the (in)famous Prime Connor Rogan who makes me think R rated thoughts...dayum... that guy is definitely my new Barrons. 4 stars because of the Rynda case which was a bit irritating in the beginning.

Highly recommended to every urban fantasy/paranormal romance fan!


RATING: 4/5 STARS


xoxo,

Purple

Dec 30, 2017

REVIEW: Archangel's Viper (GH series, #10) By Nalini Singh

Buy The Book:
AMAZON / B & NKOBO

Author's Page:


Genre:
Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance


Summary on Goodreads:

Enter New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s breathtakingly passionate Guild Hunter world with the story of a woman who isn’t a vampire or an angel…or human…

Once a broken girl known as Sorrow, Holly Chang now prowls the shadowy gray underground of the city for the angels. But it’s not her winged allies who make her a wanted woman—it’s the unknown power coursing through her veins. Brutalized by an insane archangel, she was left with the bloodlust of a vampire, the ability to mesmerize her prey, and a poisonous bite.

Now, someone has put a bounty on her head…

Venom is one of the Seven, Archangel Raphael’s private guard, and he’s as infuriating as he is seductive. A centuries-old vampire, his fangs dispense a poison deadlier than Holly’s. But even if Venom can protect Holly from those hunting her, he might not be able to save himself—because the strange, violent power inside Holly is awakening…

No one is safe.


REVIEW

“They let you drive now?" he said in a wondering tone of voice calibrated to get under her skin. "I leave for a couple of years and miss kitty's first steps. Did anyone take photos for the baby album I sent you?"

"It's full of pretty pictures." Holly bared her teeth at him in a caricature of a smile. "Honor is a little concerned about how I keep drawing you with your head cut off," she said in a deliberately thoughtful tone, "but an artist must follow her instincts.”

If you ever read one of my reviews of this series you are more than aware that this is one of my favorite uf/pnr series out there and that since book #5 I've become an obssessed fan-girl a hardcore fan of the potential next couple Aodhan & Illium. I might even say that I started that theory or was one of the first fans that saw the potential, so of course that after every next book I'm religiously praying that Nalini Singh will finally succumb to my dirty mind and that the next installment will be theirs, but the 10th book is actually Venom's book, so tough luck poor Purple, maybe next time. :'( xD

But, despite slight disappointment I was still fairly excited for this book, because Venom, a centuries-old vampire with his seductive viper's eyes has definitely been one of the most intriguing GH characters. I got even more excited after I read that he'll find his partner in Holly, Uram's mysterious creation. Unforutunately, when the book was finally published I was still in the phase "I've lost my reading mojo", so it took me some time to give it a chance, but when I did - I could not stop.

Without spoiling anything, my impression of this is installment is that the story was good, uber action-packed and suspenseful, but I'll have to agree with other fans who also described it as a bit lacking, especially in the romance department. The parts I've enjoyed the most were their witty and snarky dialogues that never failed to entertain me. That's why 3.5/ 5 stars. In the meantime, my never-ending prayer for Aodhan's & Illium's book as in mm couple book continues...



RATING: 3.5 / 5 stars


xoxo,

Purple

Dec 18, 2017

ARC Review: MICHAEL'S WINGS: An Original Sinners Collection by Tiffany Reisz


Griffin has just popped the question—yes, that question—and Michael doesn’t have an answer. He flees town for New Orleans to see his confidante and sometime-Domme, Mistress Nora. Will a weekend of beignets and beatings help him untangle his knotted-up heart?

Thus begins Michael's Wings, the eponymous novella that kicks off the latest entry in Tiffany Reisz's LAMBDA Literary Award-winning* Original Sinners series.

This companion collection to fan-favorite The Angel also contains six previously-published stories starring Mistress Nora's favorite angel and Griffin—his master, his true love, and the sexy-as-hell bane of Michael's existence.


*The King (LAMBDA Literary Award 2015 Winner — Best Gay Erotica)
 







There are many reasons I love The Original Sinners. I won't go over them now because I've done that so many times, I've started to sound like a parrot. Suffice to say one of those reasons is that over the course of eight books, and who knows how many novellas and short stories, I've grown to love each and every one of the main Sinners, Michael and Griffin included, of course. The beginning of their romance was my favorite part of The Angel, so I couldn't be more glad that over the years since that book came out Ms. Reisz has been giving us stories about the couple with updates on how their relationship was progressing. Michael's Wings is a collection of those stories. Five of them used to be available on the author's website or elsewhere, one still is, and one story is new. They cover the start of Michael and Griffin's relationship, their first fight, the break, and their engagement. There is also one story without Michael, which chronologically comes first, so I'll start with that one.

Griffin in Wonderland takes place six years before the series' first book. In the story Griffin had left rehab too early, partied hard, punched an asshole, passed out and woke up hungover and with a man's boots on his chest. The man in question was Kingsley and he had some good advice: Griffin needed a new hobby. I do so love the stories where Kingsley invites people in need of a new hobby into his kingdom. His notorious townhouse and the kinksters in it are so much fun to read about from the perspective of a newcomer which Griffin was here. He was in Wonderland, and he was Alice, and by the time Kingsley with Eleanor's help demonstrated what his new addiction could be, Griffin had a heady feeling without having taken any substances and his mind was made up: he was in!

Seven years or so later, Griffin met Michael and they fell in love. Gauze takes place during this amazing book named The Angel, just after Michael and Griffin finally declared their feelings for each other. Griffin's gift to Michael — beautiful tattoos to cover ugly scars were fresh so his wrists were wrapped in gauze. It was a sight that led Michael down bad memory lane. Luckily, Griffin was there to bring him back to reality that was almost too good to be true: Griffin and Michael were officially a couple. And as the thoughtful master that he is, Griffin made sure Michael had a good association with gauze from there on. Like everything with these two characters, it was super sweet.

A Better Distraction , The Theory of the Moment and The Couch take place shortly after The Angel when Michael and Griffin were still figuring their relationship out.

In A Better Distraction they learned to communicate better. The previous weekend there was an incident, and ever since things were awkward between them. It was high time to put an end to the awkwardness. Plus, Griffin needed a distraction, and what better distraction than his beautiful sub. While Mick worked on his school assignment using Griffin as the subject, Griffin revealed something from his past which was pertinent to their current situation. The air was cleared and everything was right between them.

In The Theory of the Moment Griffin met Mick's mom Melissa, and it's actually told from her perspective. Over the lunch where she was going to conduct an interrogation to find out what she could about her son's boyfriend, she actually learned something very important about her son that allowed her to understand him better. Griffin painted an amusing picture of the kinky world he and Mick lived in for Melissa, and made it clear he would always be there for Mick. All in all, it was a beginning of a beautiful friendship.

The Couch marked Mick and Griffin's first fight. Michael wanted to blame the couch, their new, very expensive couch, but he couldn't. Not really. After the fight Griffin went out, and Michael was left in the apartment to freak out. What Micheal did whenever he was freaking out about something concerning his relationship with Griffin was talk to Nora, so that was what he did. His wise mentor calmed him down, and Griffin came back. They made up on the couch, of course.

Christmas in Suite 37A is 2014 Original Sinners Christmas story, and it's set during The White Years. Since the books in The White Years are primarily prequels, and have only small parts depicting the lives of the Sinners after The Mistress, I was glad this story started with Griffin visiting Nora and others in New Orleans. It was great to find out how happy they are in their HEAs, and I can't say how much I loved the scene where Griffin hugged Søren, saying "Cuddle me, big guy." Hilarious! Griffin, however, wasn't in the best of spirits at the beginning of the story. He was visiting Nora because he couldn't stand to be home without Mick. Mick had gone to Rome to spend a semester abroad, and they were on a break. With his relationship with Mick in question, he went to Nora to hide out at her place. Of course, Nora nudged him in the right direction. Griffin reached out to Mick, and Mick responded. Back in New York Griffin went to great lengths for his Michael to show how much he missed him, how much he loves him, without pressuring him. It was wonderful, sweet, and... magical.

Michael's Wings is the new novella. Griffin had popped the question, and ordered Mick not to give him an answer right away. As is the tradition, Michael flew to New Orleans to talk about it with Nora. Micheal figured it was better to obsess over his answer at Nora's than to obsess over it at home. He knew he did the right thing when he found himself in the dungeon with words The floggings will continue until morale improves hanging on a wall. His Mistress knew how to make her Angel feel better, and knew which questions to ask to help Michael find out what he truly wanted. After a thorough flogging and wax play his morale had indeed improved, and his answer was crystal clear. Decision made, he went back home and waited for Griffin to tell him what that answer was, and he found a perfect way to do it.

This year I reread The Red Years which includes The Angel, and it was better than the first time, and the second time. I could say the same about the stories from this collection. I've said this before, but it doesn't hurt to repeat it: I've always gotten more than I expected from these shorter stories. That's not an exaggeration. Every single one was better than I expected, and believe me, I expected a lot. They've been quite helpful in getting to know the Sinners better, and understanding their actions, especially in the beginning. Now they're a great and I guess the only way to find out what's going on with the Sinners, so I hope there will be many more of them in the future.


***ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
 
 
Until next time, happy reading! 


XOXO,
 






Jun 5, 2017

Review: THE CONFESSIONS: An Original Sinners Collection by Tiffany Reisz


Three Sinners. Three confessions. And all the dirty little secrets you could possibly desire...

Father Stuart Ballard has been Marcus Stearns' confessor since the young Jesuit was only eighteen years old. He thought he'd heard every sin the boy had to confess until Marcus uttered those three fateful words: "I met Eleanor."

So begins the 40-page "The Confession of Marcus Stearns," a moving coda to the RITA Award-winning Original Sinners series. Originally published as a limited-edition paperback for the 2014 RT Booklovers' Convention, and available worldwide for the first time.

This collection also includes "The Confession of Eleanor Schreiber," a companion 36-page story written exclusively for The Confessions.

And, finally, all secrets are revealed in "The Confession of Tiffany Reisz," an exclusive, in-depth interview.
 







If I were asked to name my favorite book, I'd say it was impossible to only pick one. But naming my favorite series, well, that's another story. It's The Original Sinners, without a doubt. Yet, sometimes I forget how much I loved ignoring the world and focusing all my attention on these Sinners. It's fortunate that Tiffany Reisz still likes writing about them, so even if the series technically ended in 2015, I haven't had to say a real goodbye to it. Nor do I want to. I know in 2015 I naively thought I was ready for the series to come to an end, but I now know differently. That's why reading the third confession in this collection gave me hope there would be new Original Sinners stories, perhaps even novels. Whether they'll be about the same characters or about the next generation, I don't care. I just want more.

I've had this collection for a while now, saving it for a time when I could give it my full attention. After reading The Red, when that OS nostalgia kicked in, I knew it was time to read it. Now, because of those two books, I'm reading The Siren for the third time, and loving it. There are books I read a while ago, that I don't think would be as much to my liking as they were in the past, but The Siren isn't one of them. If anything, it's even better now than when I read it back in 2013. Oh, 2013, the year I read The Siren for the first time and went to Goodreads to rate it. I debated between 4 and 5 stars, and it was like Søren was looking over my shoulder warning me to choose carefully. I went with 5, just to rid myself of that unnerving feeling. Reading the fun facts about Søren reminded me of this; the one where he made Tiffany change the ending of The Siren, to be exact.

What's also mentioned in the interview is that Kingsley was supposed to be only a minor character in the series. I already knew this, but, damn, it made me shudder with horror all the same. The Original Sinners without the King? No, I will not entertain that thought for a second. Whatever happened to give Kingsley his rightful part in the books, I'm grateful for it.

Those were just a few things that came up in the interview with Tiffany Reisz. There was much more, and I enjoyed the discussion about the series and the characters.

Now, the characters in The Confessions: Søren, Nora, and Father Ballard who heard their confessions. It was good to meet Father Ballard. He was an incredibly open-minded priest. I loved both him and reading about Søren and Nora from his perspective.

The topic of Søren's confession was more or less familiar: Eleanor. They'd just met, and Søren was...conflicted? He was sexually pursued by a sixteen-year-old girl. Sounds funny, and so very Nora. What I took from this story, though, were some bits and pieces about Søren's past I hadn't known. So many books later, and there's still so much to learn about him. I like how it let me understand him more, and his actions, but I also kind of hated it for that same reason. I much prefer being pissed at him. That is why one of the reasons I liked Ballard was that he gave Søren a hard time.

Nora's confession came many years after Søren's. I didn't know what hers would be about, and even if I had tried to guess, this wouldn't have been it. I was surprised, but at the same time, it made sense. Her confession would be a good read for those who, because of Nora, have had their reservations about Grace and Søren having Fionn. She confessed her feelings about that and some other things to Father Ballard. He made an accurate statement: Nora and Søren have a complicated relationship with Zach and Grace, and Nora made another: that was the understatement of the century.

After reading all eight novels, all the novellas, and almost all of the short stories, I can safely say I like these shorter works almost as much as the long ones. In the novels there was so much going on and fast, which made them unputdownable. In rushing to find out what had happened next, it was easy to miss some little things. The novellas and short stories had a slower pace. In them the characters were either having kinky fun, or discussing some important events in their lives, but mostly both. Reading these extra stories was quite helpful in getting to know the Sinners better, especially at the time when not even all the Red Years books were out. I've always gotten more than I expected from these stories. I'm keeping my fingers crossed Tiffany Reisz never stops writing them.

Until next time, happy reading! 


XOXO,
 






Jan 29, 2017

REVIEW: The Summer Palace (Captive Prince #3.5) by C.S. Pacat

Genre: MM Fantasy

Buy The Book: AMAZON

Connect With The Author: Twitter /BlogGoodreads

Synopsis On GR:

"When all this is over, we could take horses and stay a week in the palace..."

Set after the events of the Captive Prince trilogy, The Summer Palace is a story about Damen and Laurent. It's an epilogue of sorts to the Captive Prince series.










REVIEW

"You were watching the road..." 

This novella is yet another proof how long I've been AWOL from the reader's world, because I've found about it totally by accident and it's the part of one of my most beloved mm fantasy series.

The one thing that prevented me from rating the 3d book of the series, Kings Rising, with 5 stars was the absence of a worthy epilogue and in this short story we get exactly that- a 30 pages long, worthy epilogue.

We finally get a glimpse of our favourite ex-archenemies in their honeymoon-phase, a couple of months after the plot of Kings Rising. Emotional, touching with a bit of steam. Almost perfect. Just like every short story- it gives you a small, sweet tast, but soon enough leaves you hungry for more. That's why 4/5 stars.

Purple's Reviews Of  The Rest Of The Series:

Review Of Captive Prince: Volume One (CP, #1)

Review Of Kings Rising (CP, #3) by C.S. Pacat

xoxo,

Purple
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