Paranormal Romance Review: Immortal Wolf by Bonnie Vanak

Immortal Wolf

by Bonnie Vanak

http://www.bonnievanak.com

Silhouette/Harlequin Nocturne

ISBN: 9780373618217

Release Date: October 2009

from the author's site: 

An immortal, Harley-riding Cajun werewolf faces his greatest challenge when he races against time to save a woman from being sacrificed to spare the Draicon werewolf race from her "death touch."




Exiled to a life of extreme loneliness because everyone she touches dies, Emily Burke has every reason to distrust Raphael Robichaux. The immortal werewolf possesses immense power and has been summoned by her pack to end her life. And yet, from the moment she lays eyes on the powerful rebel, he awakens all the longings she's kept bottled inside...and gives her hope. When Raphael meets Emily, he knows something enormous is at stake. For not only does he see that her blood can restore life--but she is his destined mate.


Trust doesn't come easily to Emily. But somehow Raphael must convince her to put her life in his hands. Only then will an ancient prophecy be fulfilled and a terrible evil destroyed....


my thoughts: 


Immortal Wolf held me captive from the first page. It became clear quickly that something wasn't right with Emily's pack. I had to keep reading to find out what they were hiding. Emily is so sweet and full of goodness that the very idea of her being cursed did not seem right. All is revealed in good time, but I'm not posting any spoilers here. 


I've enjoyed all of Bonnie Vanak's Draicon books and I look forward to reading more. If you like a good werewolf story or even just like reading stories about destined soul-mates, I recommend taking a look at Immortal Wolf. 


how I acquired this book: 


I bought it. 

Paranormal Romance Review: Time Raiders: The Avenger by P.C. Cast

Time Raiders: The Avenger

by P.C. Cast

http://www.pccast.net

Silhouette/Harlequin Nocturne

ISBN: 9780373618200

Release Date: October 2009

from the author's site: 

For Alexandra Patton, the Time Raiders project sends the reluctant psychic back to 60 AD Briton—a world where she can barely understand the accents, let alone its culture of brutality and superstition. Armed only with her "freakish" ability to talk to the dead, Alex must use all her gifts to entice Caradoc, a savagely sexy Druid warrior, into helping her succeed in her mission.

What they discover along the way is pure passion.

Now, torn between duty and the man of her dreams, should Alex return home if given the chance? Or dare she risk everything to begin anew in this strange and mystical land?

my thoughts: 


The Avenger has what my friends would call Pagan-y goodness. The majority of the story takes place among the Celts of ancient Briton and the tribe's patron goddess, Andraste. I loved everything about this story, especially all of the Pagan-y goodness. P.C Cast always does an awesome job and The Avenger is just another example of that. 


Alex is the kind of woman who will do what is right and what is in her heart even if it goes against orders. Caradoc is damaged by the brutality inflicted on his people and yet he remains strong. It is absolutely beautiful reading about their relationship as it unfolds. The Time Raiders mini-series is an intriguing one and so far this is my favorite installment. I can't wait to read the fourth story to see how everything comes together. 


how I acquired this book: 


I bought it. 

Contemporary Romance Review: Only Mine by Susan Mallery

Only Mine 

by Susan Mallery

http://www.susanmallery.com

HQN Books

ISBN: 9780373775880

Release Date: July 26, 2011

from the author's site: 

Her town’s lack of men may make headlines, but it isn’t news to Dakota Hendrix. The beautiful blonde has bigger problems to deal with, such as overseeing the romance reality competition filming in Fool’s Gold. Screening eligible bachelors is a difficult enough task, but Dakota hits an unexpected snag when a sexy stranger comes to town.

Finn Anderssen will do anything to keep his twin brothers—the perfect contestants—off the show. Despite Dakota’s better judgment, she finds herself drawn to the mysterious outsider. Like her, Finn knows about heartbreak and how a family can fall apart, so she doesn’t dare to hope for anything more than a fling. After all, even in the Land of Happy Endings, finding true love is never as easy as it looks on TV.

my thoughts: 

Susan Mallery tugs at the heart-strings again with Only Mine. I've yet to read a Mallery book that I haven't liked. Finn is the kind of hero that anyone would fall for. He certainly has his frustrating moments, but Dakota knows how to handle him. Dakota is a lovable heroine; she's strong and she knows she has the love and support of her family and friends. 

I love that Dakota is one sister of a set of triplets. I can't wait to read her sisters' stories. Only Yours is Montana's story, and Only His is Nevada's. These two are on my immediate must-buy list. I recommend you go out and pick up all three as well, and look into Susan Mallery's other Fool's Gold book while you're at it. 

Paranormal Romance Review: Moon Kissed by Michele Hauf

Moon Kissed

by Michele Hauf

http://www.michelehauf.com

Silhouette/Harlequin Nocturne

ISBN: 9780373618194

Release Date: September 1, 2009

from the author's site: 

A fine line between fear and desire…
 Escaping from bloodthirsty vampires, Belladonna Reynolds ran straight into the arms of a werewolf.  As a man, Severo drew her in with his dark good looks; as a beast he astounded her with his insatiable sensual appetite.  Whether afraid or aroused, Bella fled to his lair when threatened by an evil monster of the night….


And between hatred and love…
 Severo tried to keep Bella—his mate—safe from the vampiress who held a malicious desire for revenge against him—but he alone wasn’t enough.  How could he desire the very thing he’d spent his life destroying?  And even if hedid, what would the werewolf do to Bella on the next full moon?

my thoughts: 

I love Michele Hauf's books. She just has a way with her characters that pulls you in to the story and makes you care about what happens. Initially I wasn't sure what to think of Severo as the hero because in The Highwayman he isn't a terribly likable character. I got over my hesitation pretty quickly because he is one HOT werewolf, and this is coming from a girl with a preference for vampires. 

Belladonna or Bella as she's usually called knows when to fight and when to stand down and let her werewolf do the fighting. I like that. I'm all for an independent heroine, but it drives me a little crazy when the heroine insists on independence to the point of unnecessarily putting herself in danger. 

This book is hot and I should warn readers that some of the love scenes are not for the faint of heart. But if you can handle the spice and the paranormal nature of the romance then this is the book for you. 

The romance happens quickly, but it's not hard to suspend your disbelief and just go with it. By the end of the book, I was right there with them as they fought to keep their love together. Michele Hauf is absolutely one of my must-read authors. I can't wait to read another book from her. 

So Many Books, So Little Time

Has it really been a year since I last blogged? Wow. I've been so focused on my YA blog that I hadn't realized that I had so neglected this one. That and school is stealing my life away. Only one more week and the semester will be over and I can finally read for fun again. Yay! I promise I'm going to get some more great books up here for you. I may even branch out and start sharing book trailers and features like I do over at Want My YA (http://www.wantmyya.blogspot.com). So stay tuned, I've got some great books in my TBR to talk about. 

Non-fiction Review: Chicks Dig Time Lords edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O'Shea

Chicks Dig Time Lords

edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O'Shea

Mad Norwegian Press

http://www.madnorwegian.com/

ISBN: 9781935234043

Release Date: March 15, 2010

from the publisher's site:



In Chicks Digs Time Lords, a host of award-winning female novelists, academics and actresses come together to celebrate the phenomenon that is “Doctor Who,” discuss their inventive involvement with the show’s fandom and examine why they adore the series.

These essays will delight male and female readers alike by delving into the extraordinary aspects of being a female “Doctor Who” enthusiast. Essays include Carole Barrowman discussing what it was like to grow up with her brother John (including the fact that he’s still afraid of shop-window dummies), columnist Jackie Jenkins providing a Bridget Jones’ Diary-style memoir of working on “Doctor Who Magazine,” novelist Lloyd Rose analyzing Rose’s changes between the ninth and tenth Doctors and much more.

my thoughts:

I'm a new Who fan and I quickly became obsessed. :) Chicks Dig Time Lords is a fabulous collection of essays for any fan of Doctor Who. I laughed and learned from the women of Chicks Dig Time Lords. Some of their insights gave me a new perspective on one of my favorite shows.

I highly recommend these essays to anyone who enjoys Doctor Who. They are a lot of fun and well worth the read.

Steampunk Review: The Bookman by Lavie Tidhar

The Bookman

by Lavie Tidhar

Angry Robot

http://www.lavietidhar.wordpress.com
ISBN: 9780857660343
Release Date: September 28, 2010

from the author's site: 

When the woman he loves dies at the hands of the mysterious Bookman, young poet Orphan will do anything to bring her back – but how far will you go for love?

Enmeshed in a web of secrets and lies, with a changed England on the brink of revolution, Orphan would have to unravel the secrets of his world, all the while trying to stay alive himself. His journey would taken him from the hidden catacombs of London, through pirate-infested seas, to the mysterious island that may hold the secret to the origin not only of the shadowy Bookman, but of Orphan’s own…

my thoughts:

I've been in an absolutel Steampunk mood lately. I've been buying up as much as I can because I'm craving it like crazy. The Bookman popped up as a recommend somewhere, so I decided to give it a shot. It quickly became my primary read (since I'm known for reading many, many books at a time).

The Bookman is very unique, even for Steampunk. We're talking about a Victorian England where the Royal family is a group of lizards! And of course there's the mystery of the Bookman, himself. As Orphan gets drawn deeper in, he finds out there are more players in the game than anyone knows. And everyone has their own motives

I can't wait for the release of Camera Obscura.I really want to see more of the world Lavie Tidhar has created.

So that's my recommend for you. :) Anyone got any great Steampunk recommends for me?