Alice Janell

When I first spotted this book back in October 2010, it caught my interest with its gorgeous cover. Then I found out that it was recommended for fans of Jacqueline Carey (who I absolutely love) --- I knew then that I had to read "Passion Play" by Beth Bernobich.

"Passion Play" is the story of Ilse Zharina, the daughter of a wealthy merchant who chooses to run away rather than stay and marry a man she despises.

Along her journey away from her home she is robbed and made into a slave. Eventually, Ilse escapes once more and finds herself at the mercy of Kosenmark, a puppet master of a notorious pleasure house.

"Passion Play" is lush with magic and political intrigue, however, it lacks passion and excitement.

There is a romance between Isle and Kosenmark, but it's dull and seems to just sort of happen out of the blue. There's no tension, no build up. The relationship itself is a bit weird and towards the end, I felt unsatisfied at were the relationship was at. I forgive this, since this is a series, but I would have loved more build up toward the romance.

The world building, at times, is phenomenal; rich cities, various characters and interesting concept of learning magic all lend themselves to the unique voice that Bernobich possesses. However, there are times when the world building disappears altogether, seemingly forgotten.What about the magic? Somewhere in the book the magic aspect seems to disappear --- does it come back later? Or was it just a side note?

Then there is Isle. She's strong -- and all that she endures throughout her journey shows it. But at the same time, the reader is offered little glimpse into Ilse's character. All we see is that she is a spoiled rich girl who runs away to live her own life and then is disheartened to see that life isn't as easy as she assumed it would be.

Still, Ilse does what she needs to do to survive and endures horrors and comes out stronger for them.

Kosenmark remains a bit of a mystery.

All in all, I'm on the fence with "Passion Play". There were moments of sparkling beauty; Bernobich definitely has a great voice, but there were moments where the story was confusing, flat and dull.

However, it's the first in a series, and I can only hope that "Passion Play", despite its lack of passion, is a set up for a fantastic new fantasy series.

Originally, I wanted to post this review in January. However, it felt better to wait and truly let the story sink in before diving into a review head first.

I was first introduced to "Across the Universe" in July 2010, when Jaye Wells tweeted about the OMG AMAZING! first chapter she'd read online. A few minutes later, I read the first chapter and I knew I was hooked. This was going to be a book that I had to read, no matter what.

For the next six months, I entered every contest for an ARC I could find -- and lost all of them. Finally, release day came and I marched into the book store. I read the book across a span of a couple of days, and came out with a lot of mixed emotions, which is why I decided to postpone my review.

"Across the Universe" is told through two viewpoints. Amy, a regular girl from Earth who is cryogenically frozen along side her parents for what is going to be 151 years, and Elder, a teenage boy who is next in line to command Godspeed, the ship.

When Amy is woken up fifty years too soon, she's a wreck. Everything and everyone on the ship is alien to her. The technology is far more advanced than what she was used to back on earth, the people all look similar -- dark hair, dark eyes -- and they're weird. They go through mating seasons like animals and yet it's Amy who is the freak.

The majority of the story is kind of like a murder-mystery. Someone aboard the ship is killing the "frozens" and though the story is told from two different perspectives, it's hard to know who to trust. Like Amy and Elder, the reader has to put things together and decide for themselves who they want to trust.

I don't read a lot of science fiction; I'm always worried it's going to come across as super cheesy. Beth Revis, however, made the science in "Across the Universe" believable. Most of the story takes place on the ship and through Amy's eyes we discover new things, while through Elder's eyes we learn the history of the ship and the society aboard it.

For me, the best character was Harley, the artist. He was a lot of fun to read. Amy's whining for her parents kind of got old, though it's understandable. What teenager alone on a weird spaceship worrying about her parent's untimely demise wouldn't whine? Elder seemed a bit wishy-washy to me. One moment he's a scared teenage boy, another he's a boy on the verge of becoming a man. I disliked his immediate love interest in Amy -- it made me wonder why he was chosen to be Elder if he's so easily "corrupted"/distracted by a pretty blond? Granted, Amy's the only blond on Godspeed, but I would have liked to see Elder be more like Eldest and struggle to be different, rather than just being "OK, I'm different from you because I'm in love with the blond chick."

This could also be because I wanted Amy with someone else... *ahem*

All in all, Revis delivers a good story; personally, I think it was all the over-hype about the book that took away from the story. When something is hyped up for six months, I'm expecting to be blown away by the story and immediately fall in love with the characters. I guess I was expected something like "Harry Potter" but in space.

All hype aside, it's a good story and good read for those who, like myself, aren't very comfortable/familiar with science fiction.

3.5 stars

Probably best known for being the author of "P.S., I Love You", Cecelia Ahern brings another charming tale to life in "The Book of Tomorrow".

Though I am very familiar with the movie "P.S., I Love You", I was unfamiliar with Ahern's writing. I received "The Book of Tomorrow" as an advanced reading copy from Harper, and I am glad that I got the opportunity to discover Ahern's writing.

"The Book of Tomorrow" follows sixteen-year-old Tamara Goodwin, a spoiled brat who has always gotten what she wants. When her father dies and leaves the family in debt, Tamara's world does a 180 and she and her mother are forced to move with her aunt and uncle into a world with no modern luxuries.

No TV. No computer. No Facebook. No Twitter.

Already, I'm kind of sympathizing with Tamera. A spoiled brat she may be, but living without Twitter? That's all kinds of cruel.

As you can probably imagine, Tamara grows bored with her new life very quickly. Her mother is grieving to the point that she's almost comatose, her uncle communicates with grunts and snorts and her aunt is just plain weird. Soon, however, Tamara makes a friend in Marcus --- a cute boy who works from a traveling library --- and in Sister Ignatius --- a nun who lives in the abbey down the road and is a little more than what she seems.

To pass the time at her new home, Tamara begins keeping a diary out of a blank book from Marcus' traveling library.

Except that the diary entries are all from tomorrow. Tamara hasn't actually written in it yet.

When tomorrow passes exactly as it has in the diary, Tamara discovers that she can change the things out of her control. Like what's wrong with her mother? And what's up with the mysterious neighbors and why doesn't anyone tell her anything?

"The Book of Tomorrow" begins a little slow for my tastes, but I'm glad I stuck with it because what ensues is a truly heart-warming tale about a teenage girl who learns that there is more to life than parties and Prada and that somethings can't be changed no matter what you do.

Ultimately, Tamara learns that she is responsible for the consequences of her actions, which causes her to think more about her actions. I thought this was a great piece of advice to weave into the story.

Ahern writes beautifully and is truly adept at giving the reader little nuggets of clues as the story slowly unfolds. Fair warning, however, though this book is intended for a YA audience, there is a lot of sex talk and F bombs. Despite that, the story is compelling, unique and very, very enjoyable.

Four stars.

As I've said a few times before, historical romance is not my favorite genre (unless it involves men in kilts --- but that's another topic for another day). Historical romances, for whatever reason, have never held a lot of appeal to me. Whenever I read a historical by Monica Burns, however, I'm instantly engrossed in the time period and the characters.

It's not easy for a historical to capture my undivided attention, and Monica Burns does just that.

"Pleasure Me" centers on Ruth Attwood, a courtesan who, at age 41, fears she is no longer desirable. Enter Garrick Stratfield, a young nobleman who provides Ruth with an offer she can't refuse.

Garrick has lived his life with an embarrassing birth defect. As a result, he's spent much of his life overcompensating. What I enjoyed about Garrick was that despite overcompensating, he was still an all-around decent guy. He was by know means bitter or angry.

Neither, for that matter, was Ruth bitter or angry at her lot in life.

Monica Burns excels at creating unique characters. An older courtesan. A young virgin man.

These are two flawed characters, and one of the things I enjoyed most about "Pleasure Me" is that the story focuses on two people not only finding each other and falling in love, but finding and loving themselves.

Though Ruth is stubborn. She spends the majority of the book despising her age. Garrick is too concerned with his defect to allow people to get too close to him. Though individually Ruth and Garrick have difficulty overcoming their fears, together they grow as people and learn that age is nothing but a number and beauty lies within.

In true Monica Burns style, "Pleasure Me" is both a heartwarming and sizzling read.

Five stars.

Let be known that this is the third book in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series.

Mead fans know what this means.

It means that this is the book that will have you crying. It will have you throwing the book across the room, cursing at Mead for putting you through such intense emotional turmoil. This is not (repeat: is not) an exaggeration. This is the honest to God truth. The third book in a Richelle Mead series is always a bad OMG WTF WHY?!?! Book.

I've read "Shadow Kiss" previously. I read it last year. Still, I was very angry with Mead.

I knew what was coming, knew how the ending would play out -- and still. Still I was angry and heartbroken.

I will do my very best to write this review without any spoilers of the previous books, but as this is the third in the series, it may be hard to do -- I will try to warn in advance if something spoilery is about to be said.

"Shadow Kiss" finds Rose a bit more mature than the first two books. And why shouldn't she be? After all that she's been through, it makes sense that she'd have grown up a little. She's fought against the Strigoi, she's lost friends and she's lying to her best friend about her feelings for her older instructor.

Rose, who has made her first kills, begins to learn what it means to really be shadow-kissed. She begins to question her role in Lissa's life as well as her purpose in life and the choices that others seem to have made for her. As she questions her lot in life, she's haunted by ghosts and is dealing with the upcoming Guardian graduation and trial for Victor Dashkov.

Then there's there ever growing threat of the Strigoi --- a threat that is steadily moving closer and closer toward St. Vladimir's Academy. As Rose runs into battle, she faces the biggest choice of her life to date: Lissa or Dimitri.

One of the things I love about this book is watching Rose grow. Not just her questioning the things around her, but how she handles herself in the face of adversity and how she keeps her wits about her when shit hits the fan.

But remember, this is the third book. The thing that I hate (which I can't mention without spoiling the story), I also secretly love. I love the emotional drain Mead puts me through. Finishing this book leaves a person exhausted physically and emotionally. By now you're attached and emotionally invested in all of these characters, so when Mead puts her characters through the ringer and then kicks them while they're down -- yea, you get angry.

This is my interpretation of Mead's third book in the Vampire Academy series (and this is probably a good interpretation of the third book in any of her series): "Hi, I'm Richelle Mead. Here's my book, it's like the heroin of the reading world, only more addicting. When you get to the end, I'm going to take that heroin away and leave you with the shakes, a cold sweat and no alternate form to sate your addiction."

Reading "Shadow Kissed"….it was like the pearly gates of Heaven opened up and the moment I was about to step inside, an evil Richelle Mead threw me down into Hell, laughing maniacally.

So, thanks Richelle. Thanks a lot.

But, if you're a fan of the books that keep you emotionally invested to the point of insanity, this book is amazing. Depending on your taste for masochism, will depend on how you rate this book.

Me? I'm a glutton for punishment.

Five stars.

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Earlier, when I reviewed Ann Aguirre's "Blue Diablo" and "Hell Fire", I mentioned that Aguirre is rapidly becoming one of my newest favorite authors. When she writes as Ava Gray, she's still one of my favorite authors.

Aguirre, known for her Sirantha Jax and Corine Solomon series, writes paranormal romance as Ava Gray. When you read Gray, be prepared for some heat between the pages.

In the first book of her Skin series, "Skin Game", Gray introduces a new world. In this world, the paranormal aspect is not limited to shape-shifts, werewolves or vampires. Gray writes a more realistic paranormal element. The main female, Kyra, has gift that allows her to steal her target's strongest skill with a single touch.

Kyra doesn't steal the skill forever; in fact, she never knows if the skill (be it fighting, stealing or scrapbooking) will last five minutes or five hours. Think, Rogue from X-Men, but minus the "sucking-away-your-talent-AND-life" aspect.

"Skin Game" follows Kyra -- a con artist -- as she is on the run after pulling a big con on the powerful Vegas mobster, Serrano, who was responsible for her father's death. Serrano has lost a lot of money because of Kyra, but it's not the money that has him bent on revenge, it's the damage she did to his pride. Serrano sends a hit man who has never failed to complete a contract -- Reyes. When Reyes catches up to Kyra and gains her trust, he finds himself drawn to her.

Kyra is a tough cookie. She has a very independent streak, due to the fact that she's spent most of her life on her own. She's fierce and thoroughly enjoys her life as a con-artist. Despite her tough exterior, Kyra isn't without her faults. Throughout the story, as she begins to trust "Rey" (Reyes), Gray gives Kyra humanity with various revelations about the character's vulnerability. Kyra sleeps with the light on, something she's done every since she was a child; Kyra loves her old car -- it's the only thing of her father's she has left; Kyra has one friend that she's kept since childhood.

Similarly, Reyes' character is also tough; he's a fighter with a very keen intellect and gift for observation. He notices straightaway that Kyra's overly fond of her car. As Reyes gains Kyra's trust and gets her to reveal herself to him, he, too, is revealing himself to Kyra.

Though Kryra and Reyes sleep with one another early on, for most of the story they dance around one another with double entendres and an almost laughable shyness. Sometimes it's endearing to read adults acting like shy teenagers, but for two tough characters like Kyra and Reyes, it tends to be a yawn at times. Regardless, it's sweet to see Kyra realize that she doesn't have to be tough all the time. Gray writes fantastic characters.

Gray's writing is sexy and edgy. The sub-plot that revolves around Serrano and his right-hand man, Foster, provides a bit of a twist near the end. Be prepared, however, there are loose ends at the end of "Skin Game" -- these loose ends are tied in book two of the Skin series, "Skin Tight".

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Cozy mysteries -- mysteries usually featuring a woman who is an amateur slueth -- are usually fun reads; they're the perfect books for curling up on the couch with on a lazy weekend.

Maggie Sefton's knitting mysteries series is no different. As an avid knitter, I've always loved this series. They're a bit campy, but very entertaining to read. It doesn't hurt that Sefton includes free knitting patterns and recipes in the back of her books.

I've been sitting on "Fleece Navidad", the sixth in her knitting mysteries series, for a month or two, but I really wanted to wait until the holiday season started before reading this.

"Fleece Navidad", while still fun, was not my favorite of the knitting mysteries. As in the previous books in the series, the heroine is Kelly Flynn, an East Coast accountant who has settled down in the sleepy town of Fort Connor, Colorado.

The biggest difference "Fleece Navidad" had from previous books in the series is that the crime/murder took longer to get to. And while I liked that Sefton introduced all the players first -- versus having Kelly discover them after the crime has been committed -- some scenes felt completely unnecessary to the central story line.

There is a brief sub-plot near the end of the story where Kelly finds herself putting on a Christmas pageant for a church and she's worried because the event is a big deal and she's dealing with middle school aged children. This entire subplot didn't add anything to the story, and I felt Sefton should have either done away with it entirely or added a mini-mystery to it.

"Fleece Navidad" takes place, of course, during the holidays. Kelly and the rest of the knitting gang are working furiously on knitting hats for charity. When the local librarian is killed in a hit-and-run, Kelly suspects foul play and begins using her amateur sleuthing skills to crack the case. The mystery is a bit predictable (though, I admit for a little while, I suspected someone other than the killer), but it's still entertaining to read all the clues coming into place.

Like I mentioned before, there are a lot of scenes that felt unnecessary to me. The entire first chapter did nothing to set up the book, other than establish it was the holidays. My biggest problem with "Fleece Navidad", however, came from some loose ends that were never resolved: the librarian's fiance -- what happened to him? The gift Kelly's boyfriend, Steve, got her -- what was it?

Also, I have to wonder: How many more people in Fort Connor can be murdered before people start moving out of town? Will Sefton ever kill of a main character? Will Sefton ever do a mystery other than a murder?

I have no idea, but I'll certainly keep reading the series to find out!

"Fleece Navidad", like others in Sefton's series, is light-hearted (insofar as a murder mystery can be light-hearted), campy and very enjoyable. Three stars.

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I received this as an eARC back in September. I breezed through it pretty easily, and it wasn't until the very, very end that I realized I was reading a book that was part of a series.

"Shadow of the Sheikh" is book two of Nina Bruhns "Immortal Sheikhs" series. Though, honestly, you can definitely read "Shadow of the Sheikh" without reading the first book.

Be prepared for a bit of a let down, however. While you may not need to read book one, you'll definitely want to read book three -- "Shadow of the Sheikh" ends on a huge cliffhanger. It makes me wonder if book one ended on a similar cliffhanger, though through reading it, I couldn't tell.

"Shadow of the Sheikh" opens with anthropologist Gemma Haliday and her sister receiving a letter from their youngest sister, who had apparently run off with a man without a word (I'm guessing this is book one).

Gemma isn't buying the story the messengers have brought her, so she sets out to discover what really happened to her sister. Her search brings her into the center of a well-laid trap.

Sheikh Shahin Aswadi, "The Black Hawk", is a ruthless legend. He is one of the immortal shape-shitfters who serve ancient Egyptian vampire-gods.

Shahin is a very typical alpha male. He doesn't just want Gemma, he wants to possess her. But you can easily ignore that, because what really turns this story from "Oh, it's Harelquin. I don't want to read that," to "That was a Harelquin? Wow, I'm impressed!" is Bruhns' mythology.

Bruhns' takes Egyptian mythology and gives it a paranormal flair. These aren't just desert sheikhs, these are shape shifting desert sheikhs. They don't just serve and worship Egyptian gods, they serve and worship vampire Egyptian gods.

I admit, when I first saw that this story was published by Harlequin, I didn't think much of it. To me, Harlequin is one of those brands of romance that I tend to think is mostly smut between pages. With "Shadow of the Sheikh", that's not so.

Yes, there is sex, it is a romance, after all. But there's an actual story and plot, centering around two warring factions under the leadership of enemy vampire gods. There's something important about one of the Haliday sisters, and as the story progresses and the war between the factions comes to a head, be prepared for a lot of action and an OMG NEXT BOOK NOW! moment.

It's the cliffhanger at the end that's really frustrating. Not just because it's a cliffhanger, either. It's the way it was done. Bruhns may have well ended the book mid-sentence for all the help that cliffhanger was. I mean, I want to know what happens, but I'm wary of another big cliffhanger moment. I don't want to invest in a series that's going to give me heart attacks every last page.

There's also a lot of back-and-forth stubbornness between Shahin and Gemma. Both have a strong desire for one another, but neither wants to admit it -- they want the other to admit it first. Usually, I love this kind of agonizing stubbornness, but Bruhn over does it just a tad. Nearing the end the stubbornness factor becomes a bit of an eye roll. I found myself skimming over these passages in order to read more about the mythology and to get to the action sequences.

I give it three stars for being a surprisingly interesting (in a good way) Harelquin with a fascinating mythology. Stars taken away for drawn out stubbornness that didn't help the story and a cliff hanger that was just cruel.

After receiving an ARC of "Angel Thief" from Netgalley, I was excited to read this novella from Carina Press.

The premise caught my attention straight away: a paranormal romance with angels and dark genies (djinn). Finally! Something other than vampires, werewolves, witches and faeries. The paranormal spectrum is large and wide; it's nice to read about something different.

However, I had a hard time connecting with the characters. They felt one-dimensional and the romance wasn't as believable as I would have liked it to be.Though I enjoyed reading about a rule-breaking angel, it just wasn't conveyed believably. I would have liked to know more about the "rules" of this paranormal world. This may have worked better if this story were a novel, rather than a novella.

There was simply too much being squeezed into too little pages. Overall, "Angel Thief" was a quick, adventeruous read.

I received a PDF file copy of this novella by the author, who is a part of the Indie Book Collective (IBC).

Even though this was a novella, which means it's shorter than the average novel, it took me longer finish than it should have.

At only 165 pages, I should have finished this in about an hour.

I liked Embry, she's a tough chick who's dealt with her past by throwing herself into her work. Cade, who remembers nothing of his life, manages to make a name for himself and build a life, despite not having past. As Gage, however, he seems a bit more friendly and confident. I don't know if that's because he's reunited with Embry or because he can remember his past --- maybe it's a little bit of both.

Forsaken by Shadow starts off slow, building steam as the story goes on. The first two chapters were really confusing as chapter two is set ten years after chapter one, and you don't find out until a few pages into chapter two.

There are some flashbacks that don't read as flashbacks until midway through, and though that writing technique is a good one and it works, for Forsaken By Shadow, it just didn't feel believable. I was more confused than anything.

Even though this is a novella and an introduction to the Mirus world Kait Nolan is creating, there is more back story thrown into it than necessary and not enough world building. I didn't get a feel for Embry's gift until midway through the story.

At times it felt as though Nolan wanted to write a novel, but pulled herself back into the novella mode at the last moment.

Nolan does have an interesting world of magic and paranormals that I would have liked to see more of. I would have liked to have read more about the magic use, the Mirus people, the Shadow Walkers, the Council of Races and the paranormal races she introduces throughout the story.

Once Embry and Cade/Gage are reunited, they dance around one another, unsure of how to pick up their past relationship, or even if they should. Besides, they're on a suicide mission -- there's not really a lot of time for talking about the past.

The last third of the book is exciting and action-packed. It reads quickly, as is the strongest part of the story. Nolan has a strong voice -- if you enjoy urban fantasy writers like Patricia Briggs, Carrie Vaughn or Devon Monk, you'll enjoy Kait Nolan.

I rate Forsaken by Shadow 3 stars. Though her debut novella could have used a bit more work, Nolan is definitely a writer to watch out for, and I believe her writing will get stronger with time.


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The second in Elisabeth Naughton's Eternal Guardians series, Entwined follows the Argonaut Zander, who is a descendant of Achilles.

It's rumored that Zander is immortal. But as a descendant of Achilles, he's got to have a vulnerability somewhere. The political unrest in Argolea finds Zander volunteering to marry Isadora, the king's daughter. But when he begins to run into Callia, the soul mate he loved and lost, more frequently, Zander can't get her out of his mind.

Despite still wanting Callia, Zander remembers how she betrayed him 10 years ago. Zander can't find it in him to forgive her, soul mate or not.

This series is fantastic. Naughton takes her readers into a world where Ancient Greece is still alive. Entwined has a lot of action, but it's the strong emotions that grip readers into the story. The emotions are so strong and so compelling, I could not put this book down.

Entwined is thrilling and captivating -- it's full of deceit, betrayal and love gone wrong. Naughton introduces a slew of new characters, including the mysterious Orpheus -- is friend or is he foe? And what's up with Persephone showing herself to Isadora -- what's she playing at? When the gods are involved, it can't be good...

About the only thing keeping me from giving this book a five star review is the sub-story with Maximus. I honestly just didn't buy it. I didn't even realize Max was a 10-year-old boy until two-thirds of the way through the book. And while I love HEA just as much as the next person, Max reunited with his parents as though he were only missing for a weekend, not 10 years. I was just a hard pill to swallow.

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The second installment of Devon Monk's Allie Beckstrom series picks up right where book one left off. I will do my best to omit spoilers, but some details from book one may spill into this review.

After clearing her name, Allie just wants life to go back to normal, whatever normal is. Allie doesn't remember anything of the recent events in her life, including her relationship with a man who she supposedly loved (loves?) -- Zavyion Jones.

All Allie wants is to go back to doing what she does best: Hounding. But between trying to piece her life together, seeing the ghost of her dead dad in her bathroom, meeting up with a dangerous ex-con and working with a secret group of magic police, Allie soon finds herself smack dab in the middle of danger.

...so maybe life went back to normal after all.

Throughout Magic in the Blood, Monk reveals a little more of some details mentioned at the end of book one as well as information regarding Allie's father and his empire. There is a new group of Hounds, each one intriguing. They all have different ways of coping with the effects of magic -- cutting, pill popping, alcohol, etc. Despite their flaws, they work together to protect their own, and I can't wait to read more about them throughout the rest of the series.

The romance between Allie and Zayvion hasn't changed much since book one, which was a little disappointing. However, given that Allie doesn't remember Zayvion at all, it's understandable that Allie would tread the same "I don't fully trust you, no matter how much I want to jump your bones" waters she did in book one.

Watch out for the last third of this book. There is action and plot coming out the ying yang as Allie deals with the dangers of blood magic and the possibility that a friend is behind a series of kidnappings.

Monk's writing style is fluid and captivating. Magic in the Blood is a return to a gritty, unglamorous and dangerous world of magic with a heroine, who, despite her flaws, is as kick ass as they come.


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I had been seeing Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series for a while, before I finally caved and bought the first book, The Darkest Night.

The premise of this series is pretty cool, Showalter takes a nifty spin on the Pandora's Box story. The concept behind this series centers around a group of immortal warriors who killed Pandora and let lose the evils in the world. As punishment, these warriors were made to house a demon inside of themselves.

The Darkest Night introduces the reader to Ashlyn Darrow, who is in Budapest searching for men rumored to have supernatural abilities. She's hoping they can help her with her problem --- all her life, Ashlyn has been tormented by voices of the past. She can stand in a spot and replay conversations that have already taken place in that spot.

Wandering the woods looking for men people believe are angels (and yet they still fear them) struck me as a really dumb thing for a girl to do. But, you know, I looked past it, because sexy man candy came in, saved her and dragged her back to his castle (which may seem a bit archaic, but hey, he's hot and this is a romance book). But I liked Ashlyn, overall. She's sweet, and I feel like too many heroines are badass -- the world needs a little more femininity. She's also a bit pudgy, which I thought was nice. There are more body types than just thin, athletic and slender, and it was cool to see Showalter include a girl with curves as the main female lead.

Maddox, who houses the demon of violence, feels an instant attraction to Ashlyn. In the castle, you're introduced to the other Lords of the Underworld, and here is where Showalter really flourishes.

I loved the interaction between the guys. They're warriors who have been cursed, but in living with the curse and their prospective demons (Wrath, Death, Pain, Promiscuity, etc.), they've become as close as brothers. They bicker, which makes for some light-hearted moments. However, even here there are some clear "uhh, really?" moments.

For example, Paris, the demon of promiscuity, has the curse of having to sleep with at least two women every day -- not bad for a guy. The catch is, it has to be a different woman each time. He can only sleep with a woman once. Being that they live in Budapest, I wonder at how Paris is managing to find a different woman each night. It would have made a lot more sense if he lived in New York. You know, some where a lot more populated.

The plot was decent. There was a lot of action, and though at times it was a bit predictable, it was still an enjoyable read. At the same time, however, it feels like Showalter was pushed to crank out this series as fast as possible --- some scenes just read sloppily, and the character development isn't as good as it could be.

There are a couple of pages where Showalter is writing some very steamy interaction between Maddox and Ashlyn, but for some reason, only uses the word "honey" to describe Ashlyn. In two pages, I read that Ashlyn has honey-colored eyes, honey-colored hair, honey-kissed skin, smelled like honey and tasted like honey.

...and all I can picture in my head is Maddox diddling a honey bear bottle.

It's an OK read, but I've read much better. The only reason I went out and bought the second book in the series, The Darkest Kiss, is because the overall arc is intriguing -- plus, I'm curious to get to the book about Paris. It'll be interesting to see how Showalter writes her way out of his particular curse.

Three stars for a creative concept, but if you want romance with a Greek mythology twist, I recommend Elisabeth Naughton's Eternal Guardians as the better read. Visit Book-Addicts.com to read the reviews for both Marked and Entwined

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OK, Ann Aguirre, is definitely one of my newest favorite authors. After reading Blue Diablo, I was really excited to start Hell Fire.

Hell Fire finds Corine making good on Chance's promise to her in book one. She helped him, now it's his turn to help her. Corine heads to Kilmer, Georgia, to discover the truth about her mother's death and the origins of her "gift".

But there's something not quite right about the town of Kilmer. For starters, no one outside the town is even away Kilmer exists. It isn't on any map or any website. Inside Kilmer, there are signs of a dark curse that's affecting the town and the people in it. And this dark curse seems to only be satisfied with death.

Though Chance is making good on his promise, he's still trying to win Corine back. His transformation/evolution is brilliant to read as we see the consequences of his gift unfold. There's no luck to be had in Kilmer, not with the curse hanging overhead, and Chance has to learn that luck isn't everything. When Jesse Saldana makes an appearance, Chance really starts feeling as though he's no good to Corine. After all, Jesse can take care of Corine in ways Chance can't.

I really love how believable Aguirre writes romance in her series. Corine has two guys on either side of her, and she recognizes both their strong and weak points. With Chance, Corine has history, but his luck puts her at a risk. Jess, on the other hand, is an all around good guy, but his protective nature is suffocating at times.

I'm looking forward to the next Corine Solomon book, not only for Aguirre's brilliant writing, but watch Corine grow and decide who (if either of them) she wants to be with.

Hell Fire reintroduces some of the characters from Blue Diablo, but there are also new faces as well. Namely, Shannon Cheyney, an eighteen year old Kilmer native, who wants nothing more than to put as many miles between her and Kilmer as possible. After learning that Shannon is gifted, Corine becomes her mentor, and seems to fall easily into a big sister role.

Aguirre blends the grit of urban fantasy with just enough of a touch of horror that kept me up at night. Hell Fire is spooky and gives you chills.

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I was so super excited when I received an ARC of Wicked Highlander. Of all the MacLeod brothers, I immediately fell for Quinn, the youngest.

He's lost a wife and a child, and has never quite forgiven himself for their deaths. Because of his grief and guilt, Quinn has a hard time controlling his inner god. So as happy as he wants to be for Lucan and Cara, he's tormented by his guilt and jealousy and ultimately he decides that some time on his own will do him good.

Only, immediately after leaving, he finds himself in trapped and made a prisoner in Dierdre's mountain fortress. Deirdre's determined to break Quinn so that he unleashes his demon, but for once, Quinn's keeping a tight leash on his demon -- despite daily torture and torment.

But when Deirdre tosses Marcail, a powerful druid, into the pit, Quinn protects her while wondering why Deirdre has spared the life of a druid. Marcail is as beautiful as she is a mystery and the more time he spends near her, the less Quinn can resist his desire toward her. Dierdre, however, has different plans for these two and their passion is put to the ultimate test.

Wicked Highlander was epic. Donna Grant definitely does not disappoint. There's a scorching hot romance and a whole lot of action. Wicked Highlander surges with sensuality and is by far the best Dark Sword book yet.

If you've yet to read the Dark Sword series, do so. You definitely won't regret it.

Forbidden Highlander, the second installment of Donna Grant's "Dark Sword" series, follows the oldest MacLeod brother, Fallon. In the first book, we really only glimpse Fallon as a drunk - he uses wine to keep his god at bay and wants to shoulder no responsibility, despite being the oldest of the brothers.

While I did not enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the first, it was still a good read. Grant still wonderfully weaves paranormal with historical romance in a rich world filled with alpha males in kilts and strong women.

What I loved most about this book was seeing Fallon transform. He goes from guilty drunk to proud warrior and it's really cool to see him start to man up and face who and what he is. As the story unfolds, Fallon begins to slowly take his place as the head of the MacLeods. The war against Deirdre is building, and the life of the youngest MacLeod, Quinn, is on the line.

Before anything can be done to move against Deirdre, Fallon must go to court and re-claim what is rightfully his, MacLeod land. At court, however, Fallon almost immediately lays claim to a woman who is not at all what she seems.

Larena is the only known female Guardian, and has devoted her life to both hiding from Deirdre and protecting a powerful artifact. She's heard rumors about the MacLeod's, and when Fallon shows up at court, she knows that he is her only chance for protection.

The two are uncontrollably drawn together, and to be honest, it was a little disappointing. I tend to like romances that slowly blossom or have a little more conflict than these two had. For these two it was lust at first sight, not love; and the two seemed too close emotionally after just a few hours together.

Mostly, though, I didn't care much for Larena. I thought it would be cool to have a badass Guardian chick, and while she's strong in her own right, she's so full of insecurities, that it's hard to believe she's one of the Guardians.

In all honesty, I preferred reading about the secondary characters, like Broc, and reading the small glimpses into what was going on inside Deirdre's mountain fortress. I couldn't connect with Larena, which is probably why I didn't love the romance between her and Fallon as much as I loved the romance between Cara and Lucan. Still, Forbidden Highlander is filled with Highlander warriors, magic and mystery -- it'll definitely having you on the edge of your seat waiting for next installment in the Dark Sword series: Wicked Highlander.