One Lucky Vampire by Lynsay Sands

Title: One Lucky Vampire (Argeneu, #19)
Author: Lynsay Sands
Source: Edelweiss
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: Novel (386pgs)
Reviewer: CaroleDee

Luck be a vampire tonight . . .

When Nicole Phillips agreed to hire a housekeeper, she pictured someone a little frumpy and almost certainly female. Instead, she gets gorgeous, unmistakably male Jake Colson. The man is proving indispensable in the kitchen—and everywhere else. Except Jake might not be a mortal man at all.

. . . and every night

Who wouldn't want to be a tall, dark, powerful vampire? Jake, for one. He's barely had time to adjust to his new state before he's roped into a family favor. Still, secretly playing bodyguard to sweet, sexy Nicole is turning out to be the wildest ride of his life. First he'll put a stop to whoever's targeting her. Then he'll prove that this kind of love, and luck, happens only once in an eternity.

Pure unadulterated romance where one of the characters just happens to be a vampire.

It seems like it's becoming harder and harder to find PNR that revolve around the hero/heroine's relationship building and ultimate HEA rather than 'taking out a faction of evil'. One Lucky Vampire kept things clean and easy in the sense that the majority of the book is about Nicole and Jake and the crazy thing that is falling in love. Yes there is a foe trying to cause Nicole harm, but it's used as a plot device to strengthen the h and H's relationship rather than dragging them into impossible situations with a lot of over the top drama.

Sometimes I want outrageous situations and sometimes I want sweet romance. This entry into the Argenau series definitley falls into the latter category. If you're looking for a sweet romance, with typically hot Lynsay Sands sex scenes then you're going to be happy with this one. I'm taking off one point solely because of the few ridiculous chapters when Jake/Stephano's HUGE family comes to help out with a situation. True to other Argeneau titles there were just too many family members barging into a situation where only one or two people would have been helpful. All those characters just seem to jumble the story. 
Don't let that keep you away, though, it's still good fun ;) 

Remember Me Thursday - Pet Adoption Awareness Campaign

I know what you’re saying these video are sad and it breaks your heart to watch them, but what you’re not seeing is these animals needs a home and the only way they can get a home is by you helping them, even if it's by sharing a simple post on any of your social networks. Just think about it only 30 percent of pets at home are from rescued felicitates, to me this video is not sad it's life that needs to be loved. So get your fingers to working and start sharing. Remember me Tuesday website Click on this link to find photos you can add on your Facebook page and other social networks. http://www.animalcenter.org/events/remember-me-thursday/light-a-candle.aspx

Review: My Familiar Stranger by Victoria Danann

Title: My Familiar Stranger (Order of the Black Swan #1)
Author: Victoria Danann
Source: Author Request
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: Novel
Release Date: April 21, 2012
Reviewer: Jasmyn

Smart. Sexy. Magical.

A secret society, modern day knights, an accidental pilgrim from an alternate dimension, and a vampire like no other come together where chance intersects romance for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, proving that true love can find you in the strangest places, even far, far from home.

DESCRIPTION...

Minutes ahead of inevitable assassination, Elora Laiken is forcibly transported to an alternate dimension similar, but not identical, to her own.  She is stranded.  Alone.  Far from home.  A stranger in a "strangish" land.

Of course a girl could suffer worse problems than having gorgeous suitors.  Perhaps more importantly, in the midst of an epidemic of vampire related abductions, can she stay alive long enough to choose between an honor debt, true love, or the breathlessness of single-minded passion?

I've been looking forward to this series for awhile - everywhere I hear such great things about it.  I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint one bit.  From page one Victoria Danann draws you into Elora's story as she is quite literally ripped from her own dimension into another.  The story related her experience beautifully.  With just enough of the world alike to ours that it's easy to understand and relate to the strange but little differences Elora experiences.

Saying Elora's arrival in this dimension was painful would be an understatement.  The men that witness her arrival aren't even sure if she's human at first.  But one, Storm quickly comes to the rescue and whisks her off to the infirmary where they patch her back up.  Storm sits by her side and the two become very close.  But when she is introduced to Ram, he realizes he almost missed out on meeting the most important person in his life.  These men that surround Elora are part of The Order of the Black Swan - vampire hunters and protectors of the "real world" from the paranormal.

Elora is eager to help her new friends and in the process runs into a very unique vampire by the name of Istan Baka.  I can't say too much about him just yet, but he's quite the character and I loved him.  Now it may seem like there is a lot going on...and there is...but the book paces everything beautifully.  Keeping the action going without being overwhelming.  There were several points that had my heart racing and unable to put the book down.  The romance was touching, but it did keep you guessing which wonderful guy she would eventually pick.

I couldn't wait to pick up the next.  These books were written perfectly to follow one after the other.  Enough of a cliffhanger to make you extremely curious, enough of an ending to give you a little resolution.

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ARC review: Bound by Night by Larissa Ione

Tile: Bound by Night (MoonBound Clan Vampires, #1)

Author: Larissa Ione

Source: Publisher request 

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Length: Novel 

Reviewed by Laurie 

The first installment in a sexy new paranormal romance series by Larissa Ione, author of the bestselling Demonica series!

A WOMAN OUT FOR BLOOD
Nicole Martin was only eight years old when the vampire slaves rose up in rebellion and killed her family. Now she devotes her life to finding a vaccine against vampirism, hoping to wipe out her memories—along with every bloodsucker on the planet. But there’s one thing she cannot destroy: her searing, undeniable attraction for the one man she should hate and fear the most . . .

A VAMPIRE OUT FOR REVENGE
A member of the renegade vampire MoonBound Clan, Riker is haunted by demons of his own. When he recognizes Nicole and remembers how her family enslaved his loved ones, his heart burns for vengeance. But when he kidnaps Nicole and holds her in a secret lair, his mortal enemy becomes his soul obsession, his greatest temptation, and, perhaps, his only salvation—a hot-blooded lover who could heal him with her touch . . . or bury him forever.

Cover Reveal: Latham's Landing Anthology by Tara Fox Hall

Title: Latham's Landing Anthology
Author: Tara Fox Hall
Publication Date: October 2013

The Origin of Fear
Four college friends mount an expedition to Latham's Landing - an abandoned island estate infamous for mysterious deaths - to gather pictures and inspiration for a thesis on the origin of fear.
All That Remains
Sandra has come to Latham's Landing seeking to discover what really happened to her relative who disappeared there years before, persuading her reluctant friend Tina that a little paranormal investigation will be fun.
The Fire Within
A bittern Caroline Stone embarks on a mission to destroy the evil isle estate that took her fiance, joining with several others also out for retribution.  Can the combined fire of their hate triumph over the relentless evil of Latham's Landing.

Excerpt:
It was a clear calm night.  Carolyn watched the lake waves lapping the shore, then looked out into the blackness.
The cursed house was out there, waiting.  Latham's Landing.  It had killed Rob.  It hadn't been any accident.  Tonight she was here to settle the score.
She hefted the twenty-gallon cans of gas into the boat one by one.  It had taken a stop at each station on the long journey here to not arouse suspicion.  That last place she'd had to buy three, and the guy had taken her name.  That didn't matter though.  By tomorrow she'd have burned all that stood on Cairn Isle down to the granite.
It was said if you went to the island, you never came back.  That was fine.  Without Rob she didn't want to live.  The fire within her raged, its fury poisonous.  She would destroy the cursed house, or die.

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ARC Review: Bound by Night by Larissa Ione

Title: Bound by Night
Author: Larissa Ione
Source: Edelweiss
Genre: PNR
Length: Novel (400pgs)
Reviewer: CaroleDee
Pub Date: Sept 24, 2013 by Simon and Schuster

A WOMAN OUT FOR BLOOD
Nicole Martin was only eight years old when the vampire slaves rose up in rebellion and killed her family. Now she devotes her life to finding a vaccine against vampirism, hoping to wipe out her memories—along with every bloodsucker on the planet. But there’s one thing she cannot destroy: her searing, undeniable attraction for the one man she should hate and fear the most . . .

A VAMPIRE OUT FOR REVENGE
A member of the renegade vampire MoonBound Clan, Riker is haunted by demons of his own. When he recognizes Nicole and remembers how her family enslaved his loved ones, his heart burns for vengeance. But when he kidnaps Nicole and holds her in a secret lair, his mortal enemy becomes his soul obsession, his greatest temptation, and, perhaps, his only salvation—a hot-blooded lover who could heal him with her touch . . . or bury him forever.

Oh geez, I feel like I'm about to tell my best friend that her butt does indeed look big in those jeans :(

I love Larissa Ione's Demonica series. I've read it over and over again. Heck, they were part of the reason that I got hooked on PNR, which is why this review is so hard to write. The premise sounds promising, but as I started to read there were things that aggravated me:

Vampires have been used as slave for over 50 years. That's fifty years of humans being exposed to them and in all that time no one realized that they have the same emotions/wants/needs of humans? At first I wrote this off using examples of slavery from our past. For centuries our ancestors treated people different to themselves as nothing more than animals and felt no moral qualms, so, I used this reasoning and tried to move on. BUT it eventually got to be too much for me. Nicole's doctorate in vampire physiology leads me to believe that she's been exposed to vampires. A lot. Add to that the fact that her family owns a huge company that would lead to further exposure to vampires and I started asking questions. How in the heck in all that time did she not realize that they're just people that need a little sip of blood occasionally to live? It's just so unbelievable I wanted to pull my hair out.

Nicole as a character was just soooo naive. Poor little rich girl has all of the book smarts in the world, but streets smarts she is 'a lacking'. *I'm talking more than a couple of too stupid to live moments*

Then there's the originality factor. Maybe I have read too much PNR, so I'm jaded, but it just doesn't seem like there was anything new going on. 
Feuding vampire clans? Check. 
Idiotic heroine? Check. 
Alpha vampire male that hates humans but somehow falls for idiotic heroine? Check, check, check!

I have a feeling that if Bound by Night had been written and released three years ago I would have given it a solid 4 stars, but since the bar for the vampire genre has been raised in the last few years I'm letting it stand at as a 2 :(

Sorry Larissa, I still love you!

Review: Captured Love, Zankli Chronicles Book 2 By: M. J. Duffy

Title: Captured Love, Zankli Chronicles Book 2
Author: M. J. Duffy
Source: Review Request 
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: 297 pages PDF 
Reviewed by: Emi 

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review** 

CAPTURED LOVE is the second volume of the Zankli Chronicles, which continues the sensual, epic fantasy of a race of beings whose superhuman gifts and soul connections transcend time and distance. Their ancient fables tell the story of a sacred river whose location high in the mountains of West Africa has been lost to memory. The greatest threat to the survival of Zankli—as well as to the survival of humankind—is the Tibooquee, known throughout Zankli as the Anomaly. It is the Anomaly that has sequestered the river, cloaking it from all humanity.

In LOST LOVE Book One, Nadu the daughter of the King and a Promised Child is abducted by slavers and taken aboard the Black Jewel, her entire world is turned upside down, and a set of events is set in motion that appears to challenge the prophecy – or does it?

Three hundred years later in America, Hara, a Prince of Zankli experiences a revelation following a chance encounter with a beautiful woman. To his astonishment, Monique turns out to be the unusually gifted sister of his kinsman Andre Dunn, and a purebred Zankli who possesses the power of travel. Hara is inexorably drawn to her, and she to him. But unobserved and in various disguises, Tibooquee conspires to keep the two apart. So begins an adventure whose outcome will determine the fate of all Zankli.

In this tale of seduction, betrayal, dark rivalries and psychological warfare, the Zankli’s only hope for salvation lies in a young time-traveling warrior, Tukvihi, the Supreme Chosen, who joins his cousins in the battle to defeat the forces of darkness and once again open the path to the River of Life.

The Zankli Chronicles have been an amazing read so far. The first book Lost Love was a very deep and emotional read, you can find my review for it here. And Captured Love has been an extraordinary ride. It takes us for not only an incredible journey through time but is also an amazing story about love and destinies fulfilled. We are introduced to Hara and Monique in Lost love, but there roles are significantly more important in Captured Love. They are the Chosen ones and are both part of a prophecy to save human kind from the Anomaly. The Anomaly is the most evil being to exist on earth and has been working since the beginning of time to destroy The Zankli. 

Hara is the Prince of the Zankli and is very accustomed to getting whatever he pleases, he's also a total chauvinist, which is the total opposite of his prophesied mate.   Monique is a beautiful  independent woman who is not very happy with the chauvinist ways of the Zankli men, but even more so when it is her intended mate. They must come together and defeat the Anomaly, which is not very easy to do. 

I have read of some wicked villains but the Tiooquee are just pure evil and  absolutely crazed with the goal to eradicate all of the Zankli. Hara and Monique's union must never happen if the Anomaly is to succeed in taking down the Zankli. While the Tibooquee's efforts are thwarted at every turn, they may have at least accomplished to hurt the Zankli along the way. 

Captured Love was a great read and I highly recommend the series.

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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:

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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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Review: DraculaVille 2, Danger in Los Angeles By: Lara Nance

Title: DraculaVille 2, Danger in Los Angeles 
Author: Lara Nance
Source: Review Request 
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: 144 pages PDF 
Reviewed by: Emi 

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

The DraculaVille Series continues as Drake and Pip travel to Los Angeles to wrap up details of his human life. Unfortunately, he becomes embroiled in a war between vampire hunters and a local flock. His problems become even more complicated when he's called upon to rescue an old girlfriend. Talia has her own dilemmas in Romania facing the ever volatile Madam Negrescru, who seems intent on thwarting Talia's plans at every step. The stakes for building the Dracula theme park go up when the U. S. ties the project to negotiations for a new military base on the Black Sea, and a mysterious and wealthy Russian vampire sets his sights on the project...as well as Talia. After escaping her troubles in Romania, she rushes to California when Pip is kidnapped. Caught between a crazed vampire intent on Talia's death and warring vigilantes determined on destroying all the vampires in Los Angeles, it will be a miracle if she and Drake make it back to New York alive.

What a great continuance of the series!! If you haven't read the first book in the series, DraculaVille, here is the link to buy on Amazon and the link to my review is here.

Ok so Drake is in LA trying to tie things up in his old life so he can finally make NYC his home. At least that was his plan anyway, until he receives a text from his old girlfriend saying she needs his help. While Drake is visiting the Los Angeles Patron of Vampires a dire situation is brought to his attention. There is a group of slayers that are picking off vampires that are part of the LA flock. Now he has two problems that need solving before he can get back to NYC, to Talia.

 Meanwhile Talia is in Romania trying to bring in investors for Draculaville and is surrounded by shady people. Her and Felix are having a hard time getting the information they need to make things go smoothly, but Talia the Tiger always has things under control. lol 

Great read!! It starts where things left off and gradually builds to all of the action. And once the action starts its at every turn. Totally awesome! I cannot wait to read the next installment! 

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Review: TWILIGHT HUNTER (EXECUTION UNDERGROUND #1) by Kait Ballenger

Twilight Hunter (Execution Underground #1)

Author:  Kait Ballenger

Source:  My Private Stash

Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Length:  379 Pages, Mass Market Paperback

Reviewed by:   Artemis

Hunters of the supernatural, the Execution Underground are an elite group tasked with protecting humanity...but what happens when danger collides with desire?

Jace McCannon has one loyalty: the Execution Underground. Despite his mixed blood, his hatred for the werewolves he hunts is legendary. But in his search for a sadistic killer, Jace finds himself face to face with a stunningly seductive packmaster…and longing for a night with his mortal enemy.

Nothing can stop Frankie Amato from defending her kind—or catching the rogue responsible for killing women in her territory. For that, this alpha female needs Jace’s skills more than she wants to admit. But as their investigation exposes evil truths, need burns into a passion that dare not be fulfilled. For to do so will have deadly consequences for them both…

Review for Lady X by Claudy Conn

Title: Lady X

 Author: Claudy Conn

Source: Author request

Genre: Time travel paranormal romance 

Length: Novel

Reviewed by Laurie

Exerilla is a white witch.

Her father is a dark and dangerous warlock with an agenda to marry her to someone she despises. He has the power to do this before she reaches her majority, which will occur at Samhain, Halloween. 

Her mother has a plan and against her daughter’s will, implements that plan, which sends Exerilla into the past, where she must remain until October 31st—months away. And magic is something she can’t use because her father could trace it to her.

Here is the problem, plans have a way of seeping from black and white into gray

I Love Claudy’s paranormal romances, they are always fresh and exciting to read. Lady X is a time travel paranormal romance that is very realistic. What I loved most was the way she ended the story. You come to a point where you’re thinking, there is no freaking way she is going to be able to pull this all together and clean up all of these loose ends, but she does and it suits the whole book. 

Exerilla (X) and Lord Hunter MacTorry, romance doesn’t start with sparks right off the bat but once they start flying its nonstop, until one of them Exerilla is left making a hard choice, that will leave one left behind in time desperately trying to find the other. 

I loved both X and Lord Hunters characters, they are both strong and are willing to do anything for the ones they love. 

I recommend this book for readers who love any of these paranormal, time travel and historical romances.

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Cover Reveal: Burdened by Desire by J.L. Sheppard

Title: Burdened by Desire
Author: J.L. Sheppard
Release Date: September 25, 2013

Another gorgeous cover that I'd love to have blown up and hung on my wall.  I love the colors and how the elements are are circled around the world in the center.

Jocelyn, an Elemental, is stuck between mortal and immortal worlds, yet not quite a part of either.  Her power over the elements of the Earth won't evolve until she meets her mate.  Before then she's an easy prey and a coveted possession for the Malums Immortalis who wish to conquer the world.

Alpha werewolf, Landon, has been living with the knowlege his fated female, the one woman created for him, is just beyond his reach.  For months he's forsaken her, refusing to accept his mate because she can never grant him a much-needed heir for his nearly extinct pack.

Despite his decision Landon finds himself drawn to Jocelyn and when an attempt is made on her life, he realizes his destiny lies with her.  Can they overcome the long-held prejudices of his kind and defeat their enemies in time to find what the future holds?

Excerpt from Burdened by Desire:
His heart-wrenching confession took Jocelyn by surprise.  As his eyes continued to bore into hers, her heart skipped several beats.  Was he being truthful?  She wanted to believe he was.  Maybe it was the way he stared at her, consuming her like nothing else mattered, like she was the center of his universe.  She wanted to believe he was sorry and that she excited him.  It would comfort her knowing he was as drawn to her as she was to him.  But were the words he spoke true?

He pulled her a touch closer, his body rubbing close to her own, and she felt every muscle on his chest and his heat, the warmth from his body soothing her.  Her eyes settled on his lips and she imagined what would happen if he kissed her again?  What would she do?  She was supposed to be angry with him but the reason was beyond her grasp.

"Baby?"

The endearment caught her off guard, and her eyes drifted to his again.  She fought to catch her breath as his gaze enveloped her.  If she waited any longer, his scent would once again devour her.  Was he waiting for, a response?  What was she supposed to say?  Did he ask a question?  She couldn't remember.  All she wanted now was a kiss.  Just one mind blowing, gut wrenching, searing kiss.

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Indie Romance Author Claudy Conn Book Trailer

Claudy Conn is one of the attending authors for the Indie Romance Convention!!  Hope you can make it!

Her name is Nikki Walker, and she is a vampire slayer. She never thought she would have to use her slayer powers...but she does. She is on the trail of an ancient and secretive vampire called Deadly Moon, and Nikki wants to destroy her. She has her reasons. His name is Damon Drummond who some of you have met before, and already know that he is a hunk of an unusual vampire. He is bent on keeping Nikki away from Deadly Moon. The sociopath vampire, WB, who had been Pentim Rawley's right hand man has taken over the Pentim clan, and is turning out to be even more of a problem than his predecessor had been. In fact, if someone doesn't do something soon...Dublin will go dark under his power, and other cities will follow. Damon and Nikki are on opposite sides. He is a potent vampire--she is a skilled and powerful vampire slayer. Problem right there...but, when they look at each other, sparks of all kinds fly. Too much stands between them. He will live forever...she will not...and yet...

Review: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory

Title: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble (Jolie Wilkens #1)
Author: H.P. Mallory
Source: Kindle Freebie
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: Novel
Release Date: July 2010
Reviewer: Jasmyn

Life isn't bad for psychic Jolie Wilkins.  True, she doesn't have a love life to speak of, but she has a cute house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, a cat and a quirky best friend.

Enter Rand Balfour, a sinfully attractive warlock who insists she's a witch and who just might turn her life upside down.  Rand hires her to help him solve a mystery regarding the death of his client who also happens to be a ghost.  Jolie not only uncovers the cause of the ghost's demise but, in the process, she brings him back to life!

Word of Jolie's incredible ability to bring back the dead spreads like wildfire, putting her at the top of the underworld's most wanted list.  Consequently, she finds herself the center of a custody battle between a villainous witch, a danger but oh-so-sexy vampire, and her warlock boss, Rand.

I think I went into this one expecting too much.  I had heard over and over again how great this series was going to be, and it was just a little more hyped that what I got out of it.  It is a good book and I did enjoy it, just not enough to rave about it.

Jolie was humorous.  This is a very sarcastic and joking type of paranormal romance that seems to becoming more and more popular.  I love her attitude and her banter with the people all around her - and her best friend is quite the character as well.  She's the perfect play off of Jolie.  Rand was far too serious for me to really get into, but I can see that he needs to be that way to play his part of the story well.

I'm not one that likes my leading characters to have "relations" with others in the book, so when this occurs it is a bit of a turn off for me.  There was plenty of supernatural creatures to go around, and quite a few interesting abilities that were fun to read about.  I'm still not sure if I will continue on the series or not.

Review: Embraced (A Samantha Scott Novel Book 2) By: Rachel Robinson

Title: Embraced  (A Samantha Scott Novel Book 2)

Author: Rachel Robinson

Source: Review Request 

Genre: Paranormal 

Length: 138 pages PDF 

Reviewed by: Emi 

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

Samantha digs a little deeper to find out about her witchy past. What she discovers sends her world and her magic into overdrive. She discovers secret realms and begins to uncover a truth she always somewhat anticipated. While she is half Bruxa--a light witch, something more sinister may lay claim to her other half.

After the stone curse wears off and Jade returns to Cadiza to assert her rule and Blythe, the dark magic ruler makes a plea for her help, Samantha is forced to choose a side. Should she embrace the known? A life that she's loved and revered since birth. Or does she stay true to her tenacious vendetta against the Elders council for their tyrannical ways? 

Swaying her decision is her omnipresent match, Xander and the very human love of her life, Malakai. With both men still vying for her affections, Samantha has bold decisions to make. She has to make them quickly as time is running out. The threat of war between light and dark witches is scary, but the fact that magic is bleeding into the human world is disastrous. Will Samantha be swayed by her heart or her head?

First let me start by saying that if you haven't read the first book in the series Escaped, you should definitely check it out. Here is a link to Amazon. It was a great start to the series. And I will try not to put any spoilers in my review for Embraced. ;) 

Samantha is trying to find some peace and quiet in her new life after the whole mess that happened in Cadiza. While she knew it would be short lived she still did the best she could do with Malakai. They had everything planned out and were going to get ahead of the Patrol. Malakai leaves Samantha to go do some investigating and while he is gone she takes a trip to the Dark Realm and can't believe what she sees. She's been lied to her entire life, what she thought she knew, no longer mattered. When she returns to Cadiza to confront Jade, she's thrown threw another loop, she finds it in total disarray and in the middle of a rebellion. 

Samantha is torn between Light & Dark and needs to make a decision, but who can she trust? 

Embraced was a great read! At first it was a little slow, but then once the ball starts rolling, I quickly found myself at the end with a big OMG! What a cliffhanger, I literally screamed NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, my daughter thought I was having a melt down lol. Book 3 cannot come fast enough, lol.    

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