#REVIEW: Archangel's Heart (Guild Hunter #9) by Nalini Singh

Buy The Book:

KOBO  / B & N

 

Connect With The Author:

Goodreads / Blog / Twitter / Facebook

Genre:

Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance

 

Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us into a dangerous and exhilarating world where a deadly, beautiful archangel and his once-mortal consort are caught in a fury of twisted darkness…

One of the most vicious archangels in the world has disappeared. No one knows if Lijuan is dead or has chosen to Sleep the long sleep of an immortal. But with her lands falling into chaos under a rising tide of vampiric bloodlust, a mysterious and ancient order of angels known as the Luminata calls the entire Cadre together to discuss the fate of her territory.

Accompanying her archangelic lover Raphael to the Luminata compound, guild hunter-turned-angel Elena senses that all is not as it seems. Secrets echo from within the stone walls of the compound, and the deeper Elena goes, the uglier the darkness. But neither Raphael nor Elena is ready for the brutal truths hidden within—truths that will change everything Elena thinks she knows about who she is…

Nothing will ever be the same again.

*** REVIEW ***
RATING: 3/5 stars

I don't know what's up with me this year since I've rated quite a few of the newest and most expected installments of most of my favorite series with 3 stars. Blasphemy, I know!
 

Never thought that the day will come I'll rate Singh's Guild Hunter series lower than 4 stars, but that day has come people and I can not lie. Unfortunately, I'll have to agree with other readers who said that this book was more of a "filler" and while I did like it, it didn't blow my mind like the rest of the books in the series. I did crave this installment to be Bluebell's & Sparkle's story and was a bit disappointed we've got Elena & Raphael again instead, but the main reason for my rating is:

~ the slow pacing/dragging of the story at the beginning and towards the end which made me want to skip pages. IMO, the author resolved the main mystery in an antclimatic way and I've found the behaviour of some important characters considering their past unrealistic. And there was too little Bluebell/Illium, damn it!:(
 

I won't say anything else about that, because there would be spoilers. The things I loved on the other hand are our lovely and fierce consort Elena & her archangel Raphael who are still in the honeymoon phase, of course not to forget our beautiful Sparkle/ Aodhan who had an important role in this installment (yessss!) and the new creepy characters known as the Luminata (w.t.f. O.O)

No matter my rating, this series still remains one of my top urban fantasy series out there and I highly recommend it to every uf reader out there. The next book is again included in my most expected reads of 2017 list. Will I finally get my Bluebell's & Sparkle's story? It remains to be seen.*fingers crossed*

xoxo,

Purple

ARC Review: THE LOST COAST by Jane Kindred

  Summary:

Some histories should stay lost. Especially those written in blood.
 
The only things Millie Lang’s mother gave her were third-degree burns, and a name Millie refuses to use. Abandoned as an infant, Millie grew up as “the girl with the scars”, shunted from one foster family to the next.

Before she met Lukas Strand, she’d never understood what “home” meant. Then Lukas disappeared without a word. Eight years later, Millie is secure in the life she’s built as a physical therapist. Until she gets a letter from a mysterious stranger who knows her real name.

From the moment she arrives at the sprawling vineyard manor on California’s Lost Coast to work with the owner’s young son, she begins to doubt her secret benefactor’s motives. The vineyard is known as The Strand—and Lukas is her patient’s father.

As Millie delves into the tangled threads of their family histories, she realizes the fire that scarred her may not have been an accident—and Lukas’s son is in danger. Unless she survives long enough to unearth the key to some very uncomfortable truths…

Warning: Contains a vineyard owner whose family tree may not have the ideal number of branches, and a woman who is about to discover the magic hidden in her own DNA. May cause unsettling feelings of creeping anxiety and a sudden urge to make bad puns about wood.

Buy links:

Samhain Publishing | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo |All Romance eBooks | iBooks 

Connect with the author:

 Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

Review:

Rating: 1 star.

I've been trying to remember what it was about this book that once made me think I would like it and request it on NetGalley, but it's been so long I can't recall anything about it. All I know now is I made a mistake.

It's quite simple: this was not a book for me.

In terms of genre, I wouldn't know how to classify it. The Lost Coast had paranormal elements, murder mystery, erotica, a little romance. Unfortunately, none of them worked for me.

My only status update was What is happening here?! It's a question I kept asking throughout the book, whether it was because I genuinely had no idea what was happening or because I couldn't believe some things were actually happening. In the case of The Lost Coast that was not a good thing.

The main star and narrator of The Lost Coast is Millie, a woman who as a child survived a fire that left her with severe scars, knew nothing of her family, and had her heart broken by one Lukas Strand eight years ago when he disappeared from her life without a word. They meet again when going after a mysterious job offer and promise to find out more about her mother brings her to a place called The Lost Coast and to the home of her long lost lover, one he shares with his wife, and son who she was hired to take care of.

That's when she starts receiving anonymous messages about her childhood and her mother, which makes it the beginning of solving the mystery that is her origin.

During her stay at that estate, Millie will find herself in the middle of the Strand family drama, murders, attempted murders, and family traditions that will really have you wondering what in the world is happening there. Traditions that included incest, a fact I wish was included in the warning. I know the publisher uses that warning portion to describe all the fun things in a book, but I think incest should be in a real warning. It's something I'd like to avoid in books, and in this story it was particularly difficult to read. It's only described through conversations, but it was difficult nonetheless.

Those family traditions are strongly linked with what Lukas's and his wife's families are. And what they are is what made this book a paranormal one. I don't read much PNR, so I can't say if something like this was ever written about. I can only say I haven't ever found it in a book before. Not sure if I would want to repeat it because I found it a bit confusing. That it was connected to the incestuous relations didn't help.

So, Millie is finding out about her mother, father, and her family in general, she's dealing with some odd people at that estate, she's helping her ex's son get better, and keeping him out of danger, she's still attracted to her ex, Lukas, and that's not even half of it. Her life couldn't be any more complicated.

That brings me to her love-life complications, and the erotic and slightly romantic aspects of the novel. Lukas, who for me even at the end was still a mystery, was in a forbidden zone for Millie, but staying away was hard for both of them. Then another man entered her life and bedroom. I had no idea where it was headed from there, but the ending sounded like there was happiness in store for her in the future.

Overall, this was not a book I hated; just one that confused me a great deal, and ultimately didn't work for me. If any of the story parts I've mentioned seem appealing to you, then by all means, pick it up and see for yourself.


***ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

Until next time, happy reading!

XOXO,

 

ARC Review: RAG AND BONE (A Charm of Magpies linked story) by KJ Charles

  Summary:

It’s amazing what people throw away…

Crispin Tredarloe never meant to become a warlock. Freed from his treacherous master, he’s learning how to use his magical powers the right way. But it’s brutally hard work. Not everyone believes he’s a reformed character, and the strain is putting unbearable pressure on his secret relationship with waste-man Ned Hall.

Ned’s sick of magic. Sick of the trouble it brings, sick of its dangerous grip on Crispin and the miserable look it puts in his eyes, and sick of being afraid that a gentleman magician won’t want a street paper-seller forever—or even for much longer.

But something is stirring among London’s forgotten discards. An ancient evil is waking up and seeking its freedom. And when wild magic hits the rag-and-bottle shop where Ned lives, a panicked Crispin falls back onto bad habits. The embattled lovers must find a way to work together—or London could go up in flames.

This story is set in the world of the Charm of Magpies series.

Warning: Contains a warlock who needs to go straight (but isn’t), a waste-man running out of patience, blood magic, bad-tempered justiciars, and a pen with a mind of its own.

Buy links:

Samhain Publishing | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo |All Romance eBooks | iBooks 

Connect with the author:

 Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

Review:

Rating: 4 stars!

Books written by the very talented KJ Charles are the ones I look forward to reading the most these days, and each one proves Ms. Charles's place on my favorite authors list is well deserved.

It was the Charm of Magpies series that made a fan out of me, so any new story from that world is more than welcome. Crane & Stephen's books remain my favorites, and I don't see that changing in the future, but I am loving reading about all these other characters from that world.

Ned and Crispin were introduced in the story A Queer Trade in which Crispin's search for some dangerous papers led him to Ned's shop, and in which Crispin learned the awful truth about his master. I couldn't wait to see what happened next, and thanks to the kindness of Samhain and NetGalley, I was lucky enough not to have to wait a minute after finishing A Queer Trade to continue reading about Ned and his Freckles.

I have to say this about Crispin and Ned, and not just them, but all the main characters KJ Charles has written about: they were all so lovely and wonderful, and I loved reading about all of them. Ned and Crispin were especially adorable. I wouldn't have minded one bit had this book been solely about the progress of their relationship, which is something that regularly happens when I'm reading KJC's works. But that is never all her books have to offer. No, sir. They not only have characters I regret aren't real, and romance stories that give me all the best feels, they also have interesting plot lines. In the world of A Charm of Magpies, one can always count on some people with magic using it in a bad way, causing harm, and making Stephen Day's job difficult. Rag and Bone was no exception.

At the beginning of the book, things weren't going so well for poor old Crispin. Learning to use magic the right way, and not the way he'd been taught, the way he'd been doing it for so long was proving to be almost an impossible task. Not to mention most of the practitioners neither liked nor trusted him. The only good part of his day was when he saw Ned, but his troubles with magic caused problems in his relationship with Ned, too. It hurt my heart reading about their fights when it was obvious how much they cared for each other, and how highly they thought of one another. Now, those thoughts warmed my heart. As I said before, reading about them resolving the issues in their relationship would've been enough for me, but that was not all there was. Trouble was brewing. Big trouble. And Crispin & Ned found themselves right in the middle of it.

Everything that happened and Crispin's involvement in it didn't escape the attention of those in charge, which meant even more trouble for Crispin. The man couldn't catch a break. Luckily, Rag and Bone was set at the same time as Flight of Magpies, so Stephen was there to make sure Ned and Crispin got the ending they deserved.

Just like all the books in this series, Rag and Bone was on the shorter side, sadly. I could've read about these characters a lot longer. That is why the ending left me hopeful that in the future I'd get to read more about their adventures. The possibility is there, so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.

In the end, all I can say (again) is that KJ Charles is an incredible author, and I cannot recommend her books enough. Read them, read them now!

***ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

Until next time, happy reading!

XOXO,

 

Pre-Release ARC REVIEW: Marked In Flesh (The Others, #4) By Anne Bishop

Expected Publication: March 8th 2016 by Penguin/Roc

Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal

Buy The Book: AMAZON / B & N / BD / KOBO

Connect With The Author: Goodreads / Website / Facebook 

Synopsis On GR:  

 For centuries, the Others and humans have lived side by side in uneasy peace. But when humankind oversteps its bounds, the Others will have to decide how much humanity they’re willing to tolerate—both within themselves and within their community...

Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, see the new, closer companionship as beneficial—both personally and practically.

But not everyone is convinced. A group of radical humans is seeking to usurp land through a series of violent attacks on the Others. What they don’t realize is that there are older and more dangerous forces than shifters and vampires protecting the land that belongs to the Others—and those forces are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect what is theirs…

*** Spoiler-free REVIEW ***

I hate when this happens, but- it is how it is and I can not lie. The Others by A. Bishop has recently become one of my favorite urban fantasy series and after *that* ending I was highly anticipating the 4th installment- Marked In Flesh.  

It was one of my most expected reads of 2016 and there was no one happier and more grateful than me when I got my ARC request approved, but then I started reading and the strangest thing happened- after first 20 % I got pretty bored. And what's most astonishing that feeling continued for awhile. Why is that? Well, without spoiling anything all I'm going to say is that the biggest reasons for that is the excruciating slow pacing of the story, too many povs and plot which could have been summed in 50 pages insted of 200 in my opinion. To be honest, I had to push myself at times to continue reading and that was definitely a first when it comes to me and this series.

In the book's defense, the 2nd half of the story was pretty amazing- dark, gripping, suspenseful and fun. It reminded me again why this is one of my favorite uf series. The person who entertained me the most this time was our one and only Vlad. "The talk" he and Simon had towards the end of the book made me laugh so hard. And the ending? 3 words- I loved it!

All in all- this was my least favorite installment of the series because of the 1st half of the book, while the 2nd half made me wish the book had never ended, so I'll settle for 3 stars this time.

RATING: 3/5 stars

xoxo,

Purple

SPOTLIGHT TOUR & GIVEAWAY: Halfway Bitten (Halfway Witchy Series #2) by Terry Maggert

Halfway Bitten 

(Halfway Witchy Series #2)

by Terry Maggert

Blurb:

The circus came to Halfway, and they brought the weird. 

When clowns, vampires, and corpses start piling up in town, Carlie has to break away from her boyfriend, Wulfric, to bring her witchy skills to the table- or grill, as the case may be. 

When the body of a young woman washes up in the lake, it unleashes a spiral of mystery that will bring Carlie, Gran, and Wulfric into a storm of magical warfare. Spells will fly. Curses will rain. Amidst it all, Carlie will make waffles, protect her town, and find out if a man from the distant past can join her in happy ever after. 

With love and honor at stake, Carlie has no peer. 

Available for purchase at 

Excerpt

Chapter One: Mail Call

            The moon hung full, meaning I would sleep on the couch to listen for the squeak of my mail slot announcing the plaintive request for a secret spell.  That was where people who I rarely knew would push a handmade envelope through the slim space to fall into my home; the letter would slide across the floor with a swishing rasp before coming to a stop. I would then open each letter in the moonlight of my kitchen, where I got down to the business of being a good witch.

            In a sense, I grant wishes.

            I have growing power. I’m a work in progress, I guess, and I feel it in my bones that every little bit of effort must be made to keep the most subtle kinds of evil at bay. Things like loneliness. Fear. A loss of caring. These are the things that all of my spell requests are built around; the words change but the pleas are always the same. I think that because of this ability to use my magic, I understand that there must be goodness in the world in order to foster even greater kindness. I’m okay with that. It’s my calling.

            My Gran taught me that goodwill should be freely given. The ability to be kind without strings is the mark of pure magic; its sole purpose can only be fulfilled when there is no expectation of reward. In a sense, the envelopes that fall to the wood floor of my foyer are the closest thing to a physical prayer that I will ever see. I treat each request with the care it deserves, and I am utterly committed to lessening the suffering of the people around me. Gran always told me that someday, I’d think of myself as a priestess who cared for the world around me, and I think I’m starting to understand.

            The moon slides across my kitchen in a soft pane of light for three nights out of each month, unless it’s cloudy, or snowing, or rainy. It’s during this transit of light that I wait in a state somewhere between dreams and reality. If I doze too soundly, Gus will wake me when an envelope arrives, but for the most part, there’s a part of my mind that anticipates each quiet plea. To fill the hours between now and then, I went to the kitchen to graze. It’s a scientific fact that if you eat while standing over the sink, it is neither a meal nor does it count against your alleged workout plan. Fortunately for me, the diner keeps me in shape, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling a twinge of guilt when I eat something that has no nutritional value whatsoever.

            Like right now. I selected a spoon that is just small enough to fit in my mouth, opened the fridge, and pulled out a tub of homemade peach ice cream.

            “Hello, beautiful,” I murmured. “We’re about to get uncomfortably close for the next half hour.” I spooned the first frigid bite of heaven into my mouth and let my eyes close with the kind of pleasure that only ice cream or a lingering kiss can bring. The spoon rested on my tongue, cold and brittle, and I was moving to dredge another bite when the mail flap opened and an envelope slid onto the floor. Gus eyed the ice cream with a feral speculation; he wasn’t above pilfering licks if I left the tub unattended, so the ice cream went with me to the foyer.

            I bent to pick it up and my hand stopped in mid-air. The paper was marred by three dark smears, but I knew it wasn’t ash or ink.

            It was blood.

            Moonlight has a curious effect on many things. It can spawn romance, or poems. It can light the water at night and the snow, too, spangling the frozen crystals with the second-hand sun from the other side of the world. In the fall, it can turn an innocent night into something sinister, looming over the harvest like a fat reminder that the veil between worlds is thin indeed. But for blood, it takes that which is crimson and makes it black, and I knew this because it’s something I’ve seen before.

            I reached for my power and let my senses drift across the innocuous paper, and I was sorry that I did. Fear, like blood, can stain things, and this message was fairly soaked with the kind of terror that can kill. Gus padded over and uttered a low growl from the depths of his throat; he knew that something bad had made the aura surrounding this plea for. . . .something.

            “I guess I have to open it.” Gus hunkered down next to me, an expectant look on his broad feline face. I stood and turned on the hallways light, then plucked the envelope from the floor and opened it in one smooth motion.

          

 It was a torn piece of paper, yellowed from sun or weather. The smell hit me first; a mélange of age and the coppery bite of blood that was still too fresh to be oxidized. The words were clearly written with a fingertip, and in a hand that shook so badly I wondered if the author had survived to the end of the message. I read, turned my eyes for a moment to steady myself, and then read the note once again.

            When they find her, you will know. Please do not forget the rest of us.

            My mind screamed at the opaque meaning, knowing that somewhere in the depths of those few words was a message that could save lives. I knew intuitively that what I held in my hand had been written at great cost, and curling fingers of dread hooked around my spine and began to squeeze, just to let me know that I was powerless in that moment. I sat down on the floor of my foyer and felt the first hot tears of rage spill down my cheeks, hating that all I could do was wait.

            If you know me at all, there are certain things I’m not very good at. Reaching things on the third shelf? Not my thing. Eating butter beans? No way. But the thing that actually galls me is to wait, yet that’s exactly what I did, resting on my couch with Gus until my gray eyes were dark hollows in my face. The sun rose as my stomach roiled with frustration and guilt, but as the light became impossible to ignore, I rose and went to make coffee.

            I stood sipping the first cup, my eyes gritty and red. I could feel the low simmer of anger percolating within me even as I stepped into the shower. This was going to be a bad day. I considered and discarded dozens of possible meanings for the note before walking to work with my head down and eyes locked firmly on the sidewalk. It was too early to bother Gran, but I resolved to call her when I could steal a moment away from the grill at the diner. I knew we’d be slammed, but there was something about the note that froze the marrow in my bones.

            I didn’t know what was coming, but I could tell it was going to be bad.

Halfway Witchy Series

Halfway Dead (Halfway Witchy Series #1)

Available for purchase at 

    

About The Author

Born in 1968, I discovered fishing shortly after walking, a boon, considering I lived in South Florida. After a brief move to Kentucky, my family trekked back to the Sunshine State. I had the good fortune to attend high school in idyllic upstate New York, where I learned about a mythical substance known as "Seasons". After two or three failed attempts at college, I bought a bar. That was fun because I love beer, but, then, I eventually met someone smarter than me (a common event), and, in this case, she married me and convinced me to go back to school--which I did, with enthusiasm. I earned a Master's Degree in History and rediscovered my love for writing. My novels explore dark fantasy, immortality, and the nature of love as we know it. I live near Nashville, Tennessee, with the aforementioned wife, son, and herd, and, when I'm not writing, I teach history, grow wildly enthusiastic tomato plants, and restore my 1967 Mustang.

You can find Terry at 

            

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Pre-Release ARC REVIEW: Stalked (The Slayers,#2) By H. C. Brown

Expected publication: September 24th 2015 by Momentum

Genre:

Science Fiction/MM Erotic Romance

Buy The Book:

AMAZON

Connect With The Author:

GR / Website

Synopsis On GR:

Who's more dangerous – a stripper, an assassin, or a serial killer?

The Stripper Ripper is stalking the streets of New York City, preying on male strippers, and the press is making mincemeat of a helpless police force.

In desperation, the police refer the serial killer's case to the Slayers, a team of enhanced, undercover super soldiers. The commander of the Slayers puts his team on the streets to watch over the Ripper's favorite targets.

One of these targets is Micah, a twink stripper and a desirable sub. Micah's baby sitter is one of the newest members of the Slayers, Sorren, as cold-blooded an assassin as they come, and the last person you'd expect to harbor feelings for his charge.

True to form, Sorren is as surprised as anyone at his new infatuation, but Micah is hiding something. Will Micah learn to trust his protector, or is he destined to be the next victim on the Stripper Ripper's list?

RATING: 2/ 5 stars

*** REVIEW ***

20 pages into this book and my thoughts were: What have I gotten myself into? O.O I haven't read the 1st book in the series, but my biggest worry was the mention of the BDSM Dom/sub romance, because those type of romances were usually hit/miss in my reading history. It turned out I shouldn't have worried about that at all, because this was your typical, lighter Bdsm relationship with a little spanking and nipple clamps and I've read much heavier stuff and enjoyed it.

The things that were actually a turn off for me were:

~ The Potrayal of the Characters

No offense, but the characters seemed pretty one-dimensional to me, with no true depth and pretty poor vocabulary volume. 

 

~ The Insta Relationship

I have no problem with insta relationship/ insta love in paranormal books, but when Sorren said that he liked Micah as a person after they had exchanged 5 sentences maximum it was just too much for me. I wasn't feeling their chemistry and their story left me feeling pretty indifferent.

 

~ The Plot 

The best part of the story for me was the crime/mystery, but overall I think the author could have developed it much better, because in the end, the best twists seemed pretty anticlimatic.

All in all, this wasn't the right type read for me, because it didn't satisfy my reading preferences. Read it and decide for yourself!

xoxo,

Purple 

PRE-RELEASE ARC REVIEW: Base Instincts (Demonica, #11.7) by Larissa Ione

Expected publication: September 14th 2015 by Riptide Publishing 

Genre: MM Paranormal Romance/ Urban Fantasy

Buy The Book: Riptide Publishing

Connect With The Author: GR / Website / Twitter

Synopsis On Goodreads:

As a Seminus demon, Raze’s life literally depends on having sex with females. The problem is that he doesn’t desire females, and it’s physically impossible for him to be with males. Thankfully, he and his best friend, Fayle, have an arrangement that keeps him alive . . . if lonely. He finds some solace in his work as a medic at Thirst, a vampire club known for its rough clientele. But his carefully structured world turns upside down when he meets a mysterious male who makes him want what he can never have.

Slake is an assassin used to getting what he wants, and what he wants is Raze. But he also wants to earn back the soul he sold when he was a much different demon. All he has to do is capture a runaway succubus named Fayle and hand her over to her family. What he doesn’t count on is being caught himself by a web of lies—and his attraction to Raze.

Raze and Slake must navigate a dangerous world to be together. But as Fayle’s jealousy of their relationship turns deadly, they find themselves embroiled in a battle not only for their love, but their lives and souls. 

RATING: 2.75/ 5 stars

***REVIEW***

I pretty much loved the first 7 books in the Demonica series, so there's no one more surprised than me after rating this installment this low. I was ecstatic when I saw that Larissa Iona wrote a mm Demonica book so much that I requested the arc even after being 3 books behind, but maybe I should have waited until I had read the other three books first before jumping at this one. Maybe in that case I would have felt more connected and interested in the characters and the plot. Therefore I will keep this review short.

There are 2 main reasons for this rating:

~ The Plot

The plot was pretty average imo for an urban fantasy/ pnr romance and the best twists were anticlimatic and solved poorly and pretty quickly. Basically, I've read better and that's why I can't give it more stars.

~ The Chemistry

Or better say no chemistry between the MCs, at least not in the beginning. Sorry, but I just wasn't feeling it. I thought it was rushed and kind of forced. It got better later on, but still with some up and down moments.

There were some good moments which I enjoyed, but considering my "issues", the story failed to leave any bigger impression on me. I'm sure there'll be readers who'll think otherwise though, especially those who don't read as much as mm romance novels as I do. This one just wasn't for me, but I'll keep reading this series because the rest of the books were dark, action-packed, fun, emotional and steamy- the type of  books I prefer reading about. Read it and decide for yourself!

xoxo,

Purple