Dark Secrets: A Paranormal Noir Anthology - Review

Title: Dark Secrets: A Paranormal Noir Anthology

Author: Anthology
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: 560 pages
Publisher: Indie
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Source: Author Request
Rating: 4
Heat Rating: 2
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Six award-winning authors bring you this spellbinding collection of stories about dark desires, mysterious worlds, and danger that lurks in the shadows of the night. Where nothing is black and white; where things might not be as they seem; where magic and mayhem rule.

MARION, MISSING by Rachel Caine

Valentine is a detective with two major problems: he's been offered a kidnapping case that will probably get him killed, and his partner won't let him turn it down. He owes her that much … since his partner's a ghost, and he blames himself for her death. A dark, haunting noir mystery of love, hate and loss.

FEMME FATALE by Cynthia Eden

PI Mick Swayne has seen it all—his clients have included liars, thieves, and even killers. He thinks he can handle anything and anyone. Then she walks into his office. Savannah Moreau is beautiful, seductive, and…a vampire? The gorgeous vamp hires Mick to help her track down a killer who is hunting in Chicago, but as Mick slips deeper into Savannah’s paranormal world, he wonders if he can really trust his new client…

DANCE WITH THE DEVIL by Megan Hart

When the devil starts the music, you'd better get ready to dance. Kathleen Murphy has sold her soul to the devil. Fame, fortune, success...everything she's ever dreamed of is hers, and all she has to do is the devil's bidding. When love comes knocking, the last thing in the world she wants to do is involve Jake in her twisted world, but the devil's started up the jukebox and Kathleen has no choice but to learn the steps

THE CONSORT by Suzanne Johnson

Faulkner Hearne, the captain of the ruthless Fae Hunters, finds his duty at odds with his heart when he’s ordered to capture the consort of Faerie’s cruel Prince of Summer when she flees across the veil into modern New Orleans. Can Faulk turn Liandra over to a certain death at the hands of the prince, or will he risk a war with Faerie in order to save her?

An all-new novella set in the Sentinels of New Orleans multiverse.

HEART’S BLOOD by Jeffe Kennedy, a Twelve Kingdoms novella

A dark fairytale retelling of a princess robbed of rank, husband and even her name. Nix is nothing. The Princess Natilde—her former waiting woman—attacked her on the journey to wed Prince Cavan, stripping her of everything and taking her place. With no serving skills, Nix becomes a goose girl. Perhaps if Nix keeps her promise never to reveal who she really is, Natilde won’t carry out her vile threats. Prince Cavan entered his arranged marriage determined to have a congenial, if not loving relationship with his future queen—for the sake of both their kingdoms. But, his wife repels him more each day and he finds himself absurdly drawn to the lovely Nix.

THE DJINN IN THE MIRROR by Mina Khan, a Djinn World novella

A paranormal Cinderella story with a young witch as the heroine and a wicked, sexy djinn instead of a fairy godmother.

Dahlia, the step-daughter of a power hungry wizard, promises to free a djinn trapped in a mirror if he rescues her from impending death. But Ashmael the djinn has his own agenda: to trick & seduce his way to freedom. The only problem is he ends up falling for Dahlia. Can he win his freedom and save the girl?

This was a really great mix of stories. There is a little bit of everything here, and it all has a bit of a dark twist to it. While not all are technically romances (it doesn't claim that either) they all have an element of a love story and a few do have the HEA we all love.

Marion, Missing:
Old school noir detective story - but with a ghost. This was a good old fashioned PI that was determined to find his bad guy. Did it help that he was just a little in love with the ghost that asked him to take the case? Maybe. A really great story with very subtle paranormal elements. Even non-paranormal readers will really get into this one.

Femme Fatale:
This one was a lot of fun. A vampiress hires a PI to protect her and find out who is giving vampires a bad name by leaving bodies all over the place. This one gets a little complicated as two of the main characters have different stories to tell. You will be left guessing up until the very end to try and figure out who is really the bad guy in this one. Lots of action and intrigue.

Dance With the Devil:
What does selling your soul to the devil really mean? There's a definite twist on the tale in Dance With the Devil that I absolutely loved!!! Kathleen has been doing the devil's bidding for years - afraid that she will lose everything she has if she stops. But things aren't always what we think and be prepared for quite a surprise ending on this one.

The Consort:
While I loved the world concept in this one, the story fell a little short compared to the rest. There were a lot of dynamics that I don't think I was able to pick up on in the short novella form that I would have liked to be there. The story is definitely romantic, with Faulk willing to put his life and people on the line to save Liandra from becoming, well, basically a sex slave to a seriously creepy guy.

Heart's Blood:
This is definitely the darkest of the stories, but it was also one of my favorites. Not only does it deal in love and romance, but it tackles the concept of individual identity and what it really means to honor a vow. I loved every word - even the ones that had me sitting there with my mouth hanging open in shock at how horrible the pretend Princess is. Nix may seem like a wilting flower at first, but she is one of the most powerful female characters I've read - and she gets there in just a short novella!!! I may be buying this entire series very very soon.

The Djinn in the Mirror:
Djinns - you gotta love the tricky creatures. It helps that they seem to fall in love with human women just when she needs them the most. This was the sweetest of the stories, but still had some definite dark moments (the cellar near the ends still makes me shudder). A really great twist on Cinderella. At times I didn't realize I was in the modern world, the characters were kept so away from everything that they almost existed in a time unto themselves. I loved our little glimpse into the Djinn world and a taste of all the intrigue and politics there as well.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

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Review: A Christmas Wish (A Djinn World Novella) by Mina Khan

Title: A Christmas Wish (A Djinn World Novella)
Author: Mina Khan
Source: Author Request
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: Novella
Release Date: December 29, 2015
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

*Proceeds from sales of this book will be donated by Mina Khan to the Concho Valley Food Pantry - there's still time to make your purchase count*

Rating - 4
Sexual - 3

Rayez, a smoking hot chef and fire djinn in exile, lands himself in deep trouble (at the
bottom of a beer bottle) when he tries to help a mysterious beautiful woman.

Selene is pursued and desperate. She’ll do anything to keep her brother safe—including capture a djinn.

While deception brings them together, dangerous enemies make them unlikely allies. Can one gigantic wrong lead to two rights and true love?

*Also included are some of the recipes Rayez made in the book.*

*This is an enhanced and expanded version of a story previously published as Sealed With A Kiss in the Alphas Unleashed anthology.*

While Christmas may be in the title of this book, it is just a really nice wintery read.  Selene and Rayez get off to a big of a rough start - seeing as how she captured him and all.  But they manage to have a few civil conversations and agree to help each other with one bad guy, and end up doing it with two.  Now there is another djinn in the story that may have been mentioned in a previous story?  There seemed to be just a tad bit of backstory that I missed.

I loved the take on the sorcerer and how he was using Selene and her brother for power.  It was a twist on some of the more common rules of magic to make it something a little more unique and exciting.  The big "fight scene" was very intense for being in a novella.  The whole story was just very well done.

I did not get a chance to actually try the recipes - a few of the ingredients are not things we normally keep around the house - but then I don't cook much either.  However, after reading the recipes - I must say they do sound quite good.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

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More Posts Featuring Mina Khan

Cover Inspirations - Wildfire

Woohoo Scenes in Romance: The Djinn's Dilemma

Jasmyn's Review of Wildfire

Cover Reveal and Exceprt from Wildfire

Laurie's Review of The Djinn's Dilemma

Special Post with Mina Khan

New Author Spotlight

Cover Inspirations: Wildfire by Mina Khan

I love this book!  I was so excited when Mina Khan asked to share a little bit about why she chose this cover for her book Wildfire.  If you are an author interested in sharing more about your cover - check out our Cover Inspirations Page for more information.

Cover Inspiration for Wildfire: A Paranormal Mystery with Cowboys & Dragons by Mina Khan

I love a good dragon story. Give me a strong, mysterious, powerful fire-breathing dragon and I’m in reader heaven. However, most of the stories I found in paranormal romance (my favorite genre) books overwhelmingly featured alpha males and a very Western version of dragons. Nothing wrong with that, in fact I have enjoyed several such stories. However, I wanted something more.

My mind kept returning to the South Asian dragon stories I’d heard in my childhood. Dragons get a more equitable deal in Eastern mythology, in that there are both positive and negative references. In many instances dragons are portrayed as downright benevolent and a necessary part of life – credited with rainfall and fertility. They are also portrayed in some stories as vengeful and destructive.  Dragons like humans could be good or bad. I liked that sense of balance, the idea of free will.

Also, being a modern female and partial to strong heroines, I wanted a female protagonist. Why should the alpha males have all the fun breathing fire and flying across the sky? So Lynn Hana Alexander, my Japanese American shape shifter heroine was born.

Since Wildfire is essentially Lynn’s story, it was important to me that the cover reflect her – a strong, sexy girl-next-door heroine holding her own in the wilds of West Texas.

I was very fortunate to work with the talented artist Ana Grigoriu of Kingwood Creations.

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I'd like to take a moment to mention Mina Khan's newest release, A Christmas Wish that released on Dec 29, 2014.  All proceeds from the first two weeks of sales will be donated to the Concho Valley Regional Food Bank.  So take a look and consider helping out those that may need a little extra support.

Author Bio:

Mina Khan is a Texas-based writer and food enthusiast. She writes about djinns (genies), dragons, hunks and whatever else sparks her fancy. She also writes a weekly food column for the San Angelo Standard-Times as Rashda Khan. Originally from Bangladesh, she is now a proud West Texan.

Her first published work, The Djinn's Dilemma, won the novella category of the 2012 Romance Through The Ages (published) contest. A Tale of Two Djinns won the 2013 Readers’ Crown for best paranormal romance and Wildfire won the 2014 Prism for Best First Book.

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More Posts Featuring Mina Khan
Woohoo Scenes in Romance: The Djinn's Dilemma
Jasmyn's Review of Wildfire
Cover Reveal and Exceprt from Wildfire
Laurie's Review of The Djinn's Dilemma
Special Post with Mina Khan
New Author Spotlight

Review: Wildfire by Mina Khan

Title: Wildfire
Author: Mina Khan
Source: Author Request
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Release Date: September 10, 2013
Reviewer: Jasmyn

Lynn Hana Alexander is a 25-year-old Japanese American shape-shifter haunted by guilt. She’s been questioning herself and her dragon abilities ever since she failed to save her grandmother. 

When her best friend is threatened by mysterious fires burning up acres of West Texas, Lynn rushes to the rescue determined not to fail again. However, with a tempting firefighter, a flirty city developer and dragon pheromones distracting her, how is she going to find the arsonist?

And worse: is her primary suspect a malicious rogue dragon or the love of her life?

*** Author's Note: Wildfire is a paranormal mystery with romantic elements. It is not a traditional romance. I hope y'all enjoy the read!***

As a bit time lover of old school fantasy stories, I always love when I see dragons and magic brought into more contemporary story lines.  Mina Khan does the wonderfully with her dragon-shifter, Lynn Alexander.  She's not some little petite dragon - she's the real deal and could probably eat you whole if she got angry enough.  After experience a series of somewhat prophetic dreams she flies off to check on her friend Jen and finds her house about to go up in flames.  When she senses the presence of a powerful male dragon in the area she wonders if he might be the cause of the blaze, which is just one in a string of what looks like arson.

I loved Lynn.  She was just the right mixture of tough and timid, confidant and unsure, all at the same time.  Just when she thinks she has everything finally figured out, a series of events changes everything putting her friends, both new and old, in great danger.  She will need to learn to trust and balance the dragon in her in order to save everyone.

Through all this mystery and detective work, she meets a few eligible bachelors - all of which could be the bad guy.  When her heart settles on the one that looks the most guilty, she resolves herself to finding proof and living with her broken heart.  I think the only small part I didn't like about this was at times her best friend, Jen, got a little on my nerves.  This is a great story for lovers of crime drama, romance, or fantasy.

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Cover Reveal and Excerpt: Wildfire by Mina Khan

Title: Wildfire: A Paranormal Mystery with Cowboys and Dragons
Author: Mina Khan
Release Date: September 20, 2013

Make sure you check out the excerpt below - the description of her shifting is one of the best I've seen.

Lynn Hana Alexander is a 25-year-old Japanese American shape shifter haunted by guilt.  She's been questioning herself and her dragon abilities ever since she failed to save her grandmother.

When her best friend is threatened by mysterious fires burning up acres of West Texas, Lynn rushes to her rescue, determined not to fail her friend as well.  However, with a tempting firefighter, a flirty city developer and dragon pheromones distracting her, how is she going to find the arsonist?

And worse: is her primary suspect a malicious rogue dragon or the love of her life?

Excerpt from Wildfire:
Fear incinerated sleep, left her mouth tasting of ash.

Lynn Alexander's parched throat ached.  Her mind plucked at reason.  She'd been dreaming of fire again.  Wild, angry flames.  Billowing smoke.  A faint voice pleading for help.  Through it all, someone - something - watched her.  Waited.

"Come here."  Another voice, dark and intimate, had commanded from the depths of the fire.  "Come here, little girl."

Then a man's face emerged from the smoke and flames.  Strong and grim with rugged angles, sensuous lips and intense green eyes that glittered with blistering heat.

Panic pressed on her windpipe.  Lynn wrenched her head sideways, blinked back tears and stared at the pebbled texture of the wall next to her bed.  Ragged breath caught in her lungs and she focused on the present to escape the grasping remnants of the dream.  She turned in to the soft swish of the fan, the quiet roar of the air conditioner, the wild thrashing of her heart.

A nightmare.  The same damn nightmare she'd been having all week.

An insidious whisper echoed in her head: Not a dream.  A vision.

Like before, like when her grandmother died.

Dread rolled through her, cold and certain.

Who was the mysterious man?  The person in trouble or the murderer she hunted?  A prickly knowing grew inside her, jamming at the base of her throat.  The tightness turned needle sharp, and then popped.  A single thought formed: Save Jen.

Tangled in bed sheets she twisted around to snatch her cell from the nightstand.  The clock blinked three a.m. in poison green numerals.  Jen would be mega-pissed if the phone woke her at this ungodly hour in the middle of a work week for no reason.  Worry itched between Lynn's shoulder blades.  But what if this was a true warning?  She'd rather risk her best friend's wrath than her life.

Clutching the phone, she speed dialed Jen.  No answer.  Pick up the phone.  Pick up the damn phone.

After six rings. she snapped the phone shut and threw off the covers.  Lynn leapt out of bed, and stripped out of her sweaty clothes.  She grabbed the backpack she always kept ready by her bedside, shoved the phone into a front pocket, and slipped her arms into extra-long straps.  She knew she shouldn't risk exposure, but she had to get to Jen.  Protect her from whatever danger threatened.

Naked, she rushed to to French doors and threw them open.  The cool October breeze embraced her and dried the sweat clinging to her skin.  She stared into the night, glad of the darkness.  Being one of the rare shape-shifters in the family garnered her a room with rooftop access.  Closing her eyes, she inhaled the dank smell of the bayou and sumoned the change.

Heat crackled across her skin, filled her mind, as blue-green scales rippled over her body giving her tan a bronze sheen.  Lynn's core dissolved to molten lava, reformed and hardened.  Muscles stretched and grew stronger, bones pushed and molded to flesh.  Nubs emerged from her back, elongated and flared into wings.  A deep burn spread from her gut, igniting cell after cell, until she shook like a live wire juiced on raw power.

Her leathery wings flailed behind her as she stumbled around a bit before settling into the new weight.  One would think a five foot one and half-inch Asian American woman would transform into a delicate, miniature-poodle type of dragon.  Not so.  In dragon-form, Lynn was seven feet of sharp scales, sinuous muscle and steely strength.

She raised her face to the moon and launched from the roof.  Below her, Buffalo Bayou wound through downtown Houston glittering like a new of diamonds under the silver moonlight.  The tremendous beat of her wings drowned out her worries for a moment.

If you want to learn more about Mina Khan or follow what she's up to, then check her out online at:

Website:  HERE
Blog:  HERE
Facebook:  HERE
Twitter:  HERE

If you'd like a signed paperback of Wildfire, check out the GoodReads Giveaway: HERE
There is also a special giveaway to celebrate the Wildfire release with dragonlicious prizes!!!


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Author Website Review by the Blog Squad

Blog Squad is sponsored by Romance book blogger group. 

About Blog Squad:

Blog Squad is a feature sponsored by a small group of bloggers on Facebook. What we do is rate and review authors websites. 

Some things we look for is a site that is up to date site and easy navigate etc. We do look at the design but it’s not our main objective, our main objective is to make sure readers get what they need from authors sites. This is also excellent for authors because if their site is not up to reader standards  then it could be costing them money. So this is a win, win for everyone. The Blog Squad is not meant to tear down any authors, but to help them.

I created this feature a few months back and found some other bloggers wanted to help out in our small group of romance bloggers. Sharon at I Smell Sheep came up our name and banner. I’m look forward to us helping readers and authors in this endear. 

Blog Squad is sponsored by Romance book blogger group.

Authors, how does your site stand up to readers?

I am a She wolf pack leader on a mission: My mission is to hunt down any paranormal romance authors and make sure their website or blog are up to the wolf pack codes. I feel as a paranormal romance review blogger I need to make sure my readers are able to find authors’ websites up to date and in true working order. My goal isn’t to tear anyone down, I want to make authors aware that their websites are very important to all readers, and to make them aware the poor state of their internet reach could be losing them money.

In doing this we all have to remember authors are very busy. Some work outside of the home, so as long as the website is up to date, all is well. If the author has a website and a blog, the blog doesn’t have to be updated each week. I would consider once a month a good rule here.

Whose site am I visiting today? Mina Khan

Did the site come up when the author’s name was searched in Google? Yes

Is the site up to date with current release books? Yes

Buy link by each released book? Yes

Book cover and blurb by each book? Yes

Does the author offer any book excerpts or free chapters? No

Can I browse books by SERIES or by GENRE? No

Does the author have any warnings listed by the book? No, but as of now her books don’t need any.

Does the author have upcoming releases on the site? Yes

Dose the authors have their series in order and are it easy to understand? N/A, her books are standalones.

Does the author offer a bio page? Yes

Is there a way to contact the author? Yes

Does the author offer newsletter? Yes

Does the author have a blog and can you access it easily from the site? Yes

Is the blog updated? Yes 

Overall rating of the author’s website- A-

Things I like about the site: Mina has a very nice blog style site. You can easily get around and find what you need. She pretty much has everything handy, like newsletter, buy buttons and add buttons. She also has a page for Djinn info.

Things I disliked about the site

Any other remarks: Mina’s website shows new authors a way to have a site without costing them money. So to you new authors out there you don’t have an excuse for not having a website to showcase books. 

*Feature inspired by one of Caroledee’s rants, she posted on Facebook one day about authors not having websites or updating them. I just hope this feature will help not only the readers but authors too. 

            A          Excellent

            B          Very Good

            C          Good

            D         Acceptable

            F          Fail

The Djinn’s Dilemma Birthday Bash with author Mina Khan

Hi, this is Mina Khan and I write genie romances. And I have some fun news for you!

Remember when you were a kid and you used to love birthdays? Well, I still do…especially when it’s of my first published story. So we are going to CEL-A-BRATE! And I’m thrilled to be here, sharing the deets!

The Djinn’s Dilemma, my sexy paranormal romance about a genie assassin who falls for his human target, celebrates its one-year publication anniversary November 1st! Woot!

So much has happened in a year!