Monthly Archives: January 2016

Review: Double Hexed

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Double Hexed
Double Hexed by Allyson James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Novella About Janet and All Her Friends Trapped in Her Hotel by an Evil Spell

“That was my MIck. Forgiving me for turning into a crazy, murderous, insulting bitch who’d just tried to kill him. Times like these kept a relationship strong.”

FINAL DECISION: A book that takes all the main characters from the series and traps them in the hotel, this book ups the drama and the angst from the main series. Everything is condensed to good effect.

THE STORY: Janet Begay is a half-Navajo, half-underworld goddess with the power to control storms. She also runs a hotel in the Southwest. When her hotel is hexed, Janet along with her friends are trapped in the hotel. Cassandra, a witch believes that her past has caught up with her and she is the reason the hotel has been hexed.

OPINION: I enjoyed this book because it has all the good aspects of a Stormwalker book but everything has been condensed. Janet’s concerns about her powers, her love for her friends. The quirky personalities of the series cast of characters, the intense relationship between Janet and Mick, a weird paranormal mystery and serious action and danger. Sometimes novellas don’t accurately represent the tone or pace of the series, but this one does very well.

WORTH MENTIONING: This novella has a full storyline with a lot of drama and angst for such a short story.

CONNECTED BOOKS: DOUBLE HEXED is book 2.5 of the Stormwawlkers series. It can be read as a standalone another many of the nuances of relationships between the characters will be lost without the background of the other books.

STAR RATING: I give this novella 4 stars.

Review: Firewalker

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Firewalker
Firewalker by Allyson James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Expanding Mythology Makes This Book Better Than the First in the Series

“Despite everything Mick and I had been through, despite what we had together, I knew that Mick still watched me with wariness. He loved me, protected me, shared a bed with me, yes. Had complete faith that I wasn’t a danger to every living being on the planet, no.”

FINAL DECISION: FIREWALKER which improves and expands upon the paranormal world of the first book in the series has more emotional conflict between the characters and within Janet herself.

THE STORY: Janet Begay, a Stormwalker with goddess power from her evil mother, is concerned that her boyfriend MIck, a dragon, will be put on trial by the dragons for failing to kill her. She wants to help and Mick wants her to stay out of it. Janet is also struggling with her goddess powers that she cannot control. She has been warned that her friends might have to kill her as she becomes a danger to everyone. Also, there is a resurrected killer running around.

OPINION: The problem of Janet’s powers and the conflict it brings with her friends and lover was the best part of this book. Janet struggles with the powers she inherited from her mother. Those powers threaten to overcome the person that Janet is. I found this storyline to be more intriguing than the story in the first book in the series. In addition, this book assumes knowledge of the first book and thus there is less worldbuilding than in the first book. Additionally, the relationship between Janet and Mick feels more developed as well. This is a long term series where the character relationships are more slowly developed and there are ongoing and overlapping stories. This book is an episode, but there are many things left unresolved.

WORTH MENTIONING: The relationship between Janet and Mick feels much more developed in this book at by the end of the book has become much more a pairing of equals.

CONNECTED BOOKS: FIREWALKER is the second book in the Stormwalker series. The books should be read in order because the mythology builds upon itself.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

Review: Stormwalker

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Stormwalker
Stormwalker by Allyson James
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Paranormal Based on a Mix of Native American and European Myths with an Erotic Romance Taste

“The only thing I knew was that MIck, whose last name was not Burns, was very dangerous, more dangerous than most things out there. I’d known that from the very first night I met him.”

FINAL OPINION: I liked much about this book. The characters and the situation were intriguing but, for me, the book suffered from too much necessary explanation and world building.

THE STORY: Janet Begay is half-Navajo and can harness the power of storms. She lives in Magellan where strange happenings occur. Janet owns a hotel in town that she is renovating. One day her lover from five years ago reappears in her life. Mick can wield fire and not be burned. Janet knows that Mick is not human but doesn;t know who or what he is. Mick has returned to protect Janet from some strange things that begin to occur.

OPINION: This book is the first in the paranormal action series. There is also an ongoing romance between Janet and Mick, but that relationship is not resolved here, nor is it the focus of the story. This world combines many elements of Native American myths along with witches, vampires and other European and pan-myths. The addition of the Native American culture and myths give this paranormal series an interesting point of view. This book focuses on Janet and her gaining knowledge of her own background and her powers. I didn’t feel Janet’s relationship with her boyfriend as much because he remains very mysterious and much of their relationship feels uneven. By the end, however, their connection felt better. This book has some erotic romance language and situations without much of the emphasis on the sexual relationship from erotic romances. I missed some of that here.

WORTH MENTIONING: This book is really focused on the paranormal with only a smattering of romance. This is part of a series where the romance is not completed in one book.

CONNECTED BOOKS: STORMWALKER Is book one of the Stormwalker series.

STAR RATING: I give this book 3.5 stars.

Review: Hot for the Holidays

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Hot for the Holidays
Hot for the Holidays by Lora Leigh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sexy Paranomal Collection of Novellas

HOT FOR THE HOLIDAYS contains four novellas that are paranomal romances and which have a small relationship with Christmas season.

VAMPIRE BALL by Angela Knight — This novella is part of the Mageverse series. Kat Danilo finds out at the age of 26 that her father is one of the Knights of the Round Table and a vampire and that Kat herself might become a witch. Kat decides to try and become an immortal in order find out who killed her sister and seek justice. In order to be transformed, Kat must convince Ridge Champion (himself a vampire) that she is worthy. I thought the connection between these two characters was weak in the beginning but it got better as the novella progressed. For me, the problem was the sexual relationship started without any real interaction between the main characters. I thought their relationship got better as the story continued. Rating: 3 stars.

A LITTLE NIGHT MAGIC by Allyson James — This is the prequel to the Stormwalkers series. Naomi is an Unbeliever who doesn’t believe in the magical energy to be found in the town of Magellan. She has a deaf daughter. Several years ago, she had a Navajo lover named Jamison Kee until he disappeared without a word to her. After two years, he has returned and he tells her that he is in fact a Changer — a shapeshifter. This was my favorite of the book. I liked the interesting twist on the shapeshifter theme. Jamison and Noami were a treat together and Noami’s daughter was so cute. I would read more of this series based on this novella. Rating: 4.25 stars.

SWEET ENCHANTMENT by Anya Bast — This is a second chance romance story about Bella Mac Lyr and Ronan Achais. The two reside in a realm of magic. Bella is supposedly possessing light magic and Ronan has dark magic. When Bella comes to offer marriage to save Ronan’s life, he rejects her. He wants her to come to him, but only for one reason. Years ago, he rejected her because he did not want her tainted by his blood. Now the two may have another chance, if Ronan doesn’t get executed and if they can find a place for themselves. I enjoyed this story although there was a lot of world building involved that limited the romance from my perspective. I still didn’t really understand Ronan’s motivations in the past for rejecting Bella in such a cruel fashion. Despite this, I enjoyed the story. Rating 3.5 stars.

A CHRISTMAS KISS by Lora Leigh — This novella is number 19 in Leigh’s Breed series. It is the story of Jessica Raines a human who unwillingly betrayed the breeds when her father drugged her. After a year, she has been released from custody although her movements are still restricted. Now Hawke Esteban has come back into her life. As a breed, Hawke has keep his distance from Jessica in order to allow her to be cleared, but now he is ready to claim his mate. I loved the connection between Jess and Hawke. They have a sweet romance despite all the drama surround it. I haven’t read the other books in this series, but I would read more based on this story. Rating: 4 stars.

Review: Spider Game

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Spider Game
Spider Game by Christine Feehan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hot But Hero Leans so Dominate That He is a Tremendous Jerk

“Trap wasn’t a man given to fantasies, and the last thing he would welcome into his life was a woman — especially one he was paired with.”

FINAL DECISION: This book is a mixed bag for me. I liked the scenario. I liked how Cayenne knocked Trap out of his comfort zone and I liked her. I even liked their relationship for much of the book except that Trap’s controlling, dominate nature is almost abusive at times.

THE STORY: Trap Dawkins is a Ghostwalker, a soldier who has been enhanced in both a psychic and a physical manner. A loner with a dark past, Trap is known as the Iceman because of his lack of emotion. For months, however, Trap has been obsessed with Cayenne, another experiment with whom he has been paired. Cayenne has been enhanced with spider traits. A deadly black widow and a failed experiment, Cayenne was slated for termination before being rescued by Trap. Trap hates feeling helplessly attracted to Cayenne and thinks that he will discover a way to reverse the attraction but realizes that there is something more than biological attraction between him and Cayenne.

OPINION: It took me a while to write the review for this book. I have conflicted feelings about it. There was much that I liked about it. Cayenne was a successful character for me. Her genetic modification was cool and her methods for operating in the world in a spider-like fashion were intriguing and kept me interested. When she operates in her nature as a huntress, she is strong, self-assured and confident. And she has a venomous bite.

I even liked Trap most of the time. He is haunted with a violent past that hangs over him every day. His isolation is shattered by his relationship with Cayenne and his fears and anxieties often overwhelm him. His reaction to this is my problem. He often treats Cayenne poorly when he is anxious or fearful. Some of that behavior — coldness is excusable. One scene, however, where he becomes somewhat verbally abusive to Cayenne is difficult to forgive because he doesn’t apologize but rather blames her.

Their relationship has shades of dominant and submissive, but without the formalities which makes those types of relationships acceptable. Sometimes these types of overly dominate and possessive relationships also exist in shifter romances, but there isn’t indications here that Trap’s behavior is caused by biology but rather his fears. To me, his misplaced anger and aggression against the innocent Cayenne didn’t work but rather seemed excessive.

This book is incredibly sexual being almost erotica. Hotter than even other books in this series, there is an incredible amount of sexual encounters in this book. As a consequence, the action on the overarching story is shoved into a few chapters towards the end of this book. At this point, I am not sure where the overarching story is even going. It feels muddled at this point and I’ve given up on it making sense. I read these books only for the romance now.

WORTH MENTIONING: I wish there was more time spent with all the previous characters. There is a rich stable of characters but this book is incredibly isolated from the rest of the series.

CONNECTED BOOKS: SPIDER GAME is the twelfth book in the Ghostwalkers series. I think it is impossible to understand the continuing story by just reading this book. The continuing story takes only a couple of chapters but there is no summary to help new readers.

STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars.

Review: Pride and Prejudice

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Review: Pride and PrejudicePride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Published by Modern Library on October 10th 2000
Genres: Historical
Pages: 279
Goodreads
four-stars

Classic of English Literature

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is the classic story of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. I won’t summarize the plot because others have done that job better than I could. I generally liked this book but the parts that are the best are the repartee between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Their relationship is the highlight of this book. The other parts of this book really dragged for me. I read this in high school and wasn’t impressed. I liked it better this time but it wasn’t the fantastic read that I had expected.

four-stars

Review: Catch a Falling Heiress

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Review: Catch a Falling HeiressCatch a Falling Heiress (An American Heiress in London, #3) by Laura Lee Guhrke
Series: An American Heiress in London #3
Published by Avon on January 27th 2015
Genres: Historical
Pages: 384
Goodreads
four-stars

Hero Falls Long Before the Heroine

“He didn’t know that jaunt across the Channel would lead him on a quest for justice that would destroy a villain, turn his life upside down, and hurl a beautiful woman into his arms.”

THE STORY: Jack, Earl of Featherstone has come to America to help get justice for his friend and his wife. In the process of destroying the man who raped his friend’s wife, Jack has to rescue an unwitting heiress who gets in the middle. Linnet Holland thinks the man who she dreamed of has fallen in love with her and wants her. Instead, she ends up ruined by Jack who she doesn’t even know. Linnet refuses to allow herself to be forced to marry a rake and a fortune hunter after refusing other offers in a search for love. Jack is determined to convince Linnet to marry him because he realized when he kissed her that they have something special.

OPINION: There is something special about a book that goes against expectations. It is surprising when Jack ruins Linnet that she doesn’t immediately agree to the marriage. Instead, she insists on finding a match that is acceptable to her and goes about creating her own future. Jack and Linnet have a very combative relationship which is simply adorable. Linnet has been naive with her dealings with men and is determined to not succumb to Jack’s plans for her. They are a sparkling couple. What is especially interesting is the Jack becomes enamored of Linnet long before she is even willing to try to get to know Jack. Guhrke has a way of writing the reformed rake story in an interesting manner by making Jack’s character more original and singular than the familiar trope. My one complaint is that I thought the resolution of the story was too rushed and could have used an epilogue.

WORTH MENTIONING: Readers of HOW TO LOSE A DUKE IN TEN DAYS will be pleased to get the story of what happened between the last chapters of HOW TO LOSE A DUKE book and the epilogue. Those events are depicted in this book.

FINAL DECISION: This is a book where the action occurs more slowly than might be expected based on the quick events in the early portion of the book. This is a book where the hero and heroine actually have time to get to know one another before they end up committed to one another.

CONNECTED BOOKS: CATCH A FALLING HEIRESS is the third book in the An American Heiress in London series. This book can be read independent of others in the series, although the book overlaps with the events in HOW TO LOSE A DUKE IN TEN DAYS and reading that book explains a lot of what is going on in the beginning of this book.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

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four-stars

Review: How to Lose a Duke in Ten Days

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Review: How to Lose a Duke in Ten DaysHow to Lose a Duke in Ten Days (An American Heiress in London, #2) by Laura Lee Guhrke
Series: An American Heiress in London #2
Published by Avon on April 29th 2014
Genres: Historical
Pages: 371
Goodreads
four-stars

Beautiful and Powerful Story of Love After Marriage

“Her marriage was perfect”

THE STORY: The Duke and Duchess of Margrave have a marriage of convenience. They agreed that Edie, and American heiress, would contribute her immense dowry, get the title, and take over running the ducal estates and that Stuart would go to Africa and never come back. Five years later, Stuart is nearly killed by a lion and realizes that he wants to try and build a real marriage with his wife. He returns to England and his wife is appalled. She has no intention of being close to any man, including her husband. Stuart offers Edie a deal, if she gives him ten days to try and win a kiss from her, he will agree to a legal separation if he fails.

OPINION: This book is a powerful story about pain and loss and recovery from deep wounds of all kinds. The way that Edie’s personal story is compared and contrasted with Stuart’s was especially illuminating. This book focuses especially on the power of love to heal, but there is also the power of choice and respect and trust. I was especially moved by Stuart’s reaction to Edie’s history and his determination to show her respect and earn her trust. I thought the story moved in ways that were unexpected and I came to really like the characters of Stuart and Edie. My only complaint was that their happy ending was cut a bit short. I would have liked more — maybe in subsequent book in the series.

WORTH MENTIONING: Readers should be aware that this book has depictions of rape and its aftermath.

FINAL DECISION: Although married, this book is really how Stuart and Edie get to know one another and fall in love. I thought the story was well developed and I would recommend it.

CONNECTED BOOKS: This is the second book in the An American Heiress in London series. It can be read as a standalone without missing anything.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

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four-stars

Review: When the Marquess Met His Match

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Review: When the Marquess Met His MatchWhen the Marquess Met His Match (An American Heiress in London, #1) by Laura Lee Guhrke, Susan Ericksen
Series: An American Heiress in London #1
Published by Avon on October 29th 2013
Genres: Historical
Pages: 384
Goodreads
four-stars

Glad I Didn’t Give Up On This Based On Some of The Negative Reviews

“Nothing causes more pain, frustration, and disappointment than unfulfilled expectations.”

THE STORY: Lady Belinda Featherstone is a matchmaker. Her own painful experience of having been wed for her fortune while she thought it was love. After the death of her husband, Belinda has made a name for herself finding suitable matches for young American women after he husband had gone through her dowry. When Nicholas Stirling, Marquess of Trubridge comes to ask her help in finding him a wife, Belinda sees him as cut from the same cloth as her husband and informs him that she will do everything she can to stop him. Nicholas has a reputation as a rakehell and is definitely in search of a fortune after having been cut off by his father the duke. Belinda and Nicholas are soon engaged in a battle of wits even while they have an attraction to one another.

OPINION: This is the story of two people who have been disappointed in their expectations of their lives. Such disappointments have made them both cynical and unwilling to trust again. It has also made them accept lives that are less than they could be.

Belinda’s past has given her deep scars. I found it almost painful to read the first half of the book since Belinda judges Nicholas so harshly. Once I understood her history, however, I could understand her fears that led her astray and she did end up changing and acknowledging her mistakes. By the end of the book, I believed that she had redeemed herself. Even better, Nicholas acknowledges that her judgment was not completely unwarranted and decides to change his own life.

I especially like how the book has a turn at the end that I did not expect. Belinda and Nicholas’s happy ending came in a way that I did not expect and I appreciated that fact.

I really ended up responding to this book because it challenged me as a reader more than I expected and the characters were not simple and easy to like. Readers who give this book an honest chance can experience a wonderful story.

WORTH MENTIONING: This book also introduces readers to the heroine from the second book and what an intriguing story is there.

FINAL DECISION: I recommend this book if the reader has an open mind and is willing to allow a character to grow and change.

CONNECTED BOOKS: WHEN THE MARQUESS MET HIS MATCH is the first book in the An American in London series.

STAR RATING: I give this one 4 stars.

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four-stars

Review: The Story of Son

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Review: The Story of SonThe Story of Son by J.R. Ward
Published by St. Martin's Press on April 14th 2015
Genres: Paranormal
Pages: 80
Goodreads
four-stars

Sweet Sexy Vampire Story

THE STORY: Claire Stroughton is a high powered New York lawyer who ends up being kidnapped in order to provide food for a imprisoned vampire. The vampire she meets has been held prisoner for years and doesn’t even have a name. He is incredibly sweet and Claire finds herself wanting to help him escape.

OPINION: I really liked this story. It was focused and the vampire hero was incredibly sweet and sexy. He certainly shakes Claire’s world to its foundations. The story is sexy and uncomplicated (in contrast with the Black Dagger Brotherhood books) and is focused only on the couple in the story. Anyone looking for sexy vampire should be pleased with this story.

WORTH MENTIONING: This story first appeared in the anthology “Dead After Dark”.

FINAL DECISION: I really liked this story. The intense and sexy focus on the characters romance makes this uncomplicated and compelling.

CONNECTED BOOKS: THE STORY OF SON takes place in the same place as the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, Caldwell NY, but doesn’t involve those books at all. Also, the rules of vampires seem similar but not identical to those detailed in the Black Dagger Brotherhood books.

STAR RATING: I give this story 4 stars.

four-stars