Review: Allegiance of Honor by Nalini Singh

Allegiance of Honor by Nalini Singh
published by Berkley in June 2016

The Psy-Changeling world has undergone a staggering transformation and now stands at a crossroads. The Trinity Accord promises a new era of cooperation between disparate races and groups. It is a beacon of hope held together by many hands: Old enemies. New allies. Wary loners.

But a century of distrust and suspicion can’t be so easily forgotten and threatens to shatter Trinity from within at any moment. As rival members vie for dominance, chaos and evil gather in the shadows and a kidnapped woman’s cry for help washes up in San Francisco, while the Consortium turns its murderous gaze toward a child who is the embodiment of change, of love, of piercing hope: A child who is both Psy…and changeling.

To find the lost, protect the vulnerable—and save Trinity—no one can stand alone. This is a time of loyalty across divisions, of bonds woven into the heart and the soul, of heroes known and unknown standing back to back and holding the line. But is an allegiance of honor even possible with traitors lurking in their midst?

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Psy-Changeling, Book #15

The Story: It's pretty much as the blurb describes. The world Ms Singh has created have undergone a lot of changes since Slave to Sensation. The Psy no longer have a Council, Dark River and Snow Dancer packs are allied, the Arrows are independent and humans have proved they are not as weak and fragile as the Psy and changelings thought. Now, all of these people have to figure out how to live together harmoniously instead of separately. However, the task is not simple because decades of grudges and distrust are hard to overcome. In addition, there are still individuals looking out for their own only... and of course, not everyone is happy and in favor for an unified world.

Aside from politics, some people still face big challenges. Parts of the PsyNet is still rotting and nobody knows the reasons. A bounty has been put on the head of Naya, Lucas and Sascha's daughter and the first Psy-changeling child in this new era. Finally, the BlackSea pack is still dealing with its missing members...

My Opinion: The Psy-Changeling series is one of the most popular series in blogland and for good reasons. The writing is excellent, the characters are intense, interesting and appealing, the romance is hot and the story is interesting and actually moves forward! You can feel that Ms Singh knows where she's going with the story and each book was a step in the direction she wanted. For years, there were rumors that Ms Singh would be writing a spin-off of the Psy-Changeling series and this year, it was confirmed. The first story arc is over and Ms Singh used Allegiance of Honor to wrap things up.

To tell the truth, I actually have mixed feelings about Allegiance of Honor. I always enjoy seeing characters from previous books and see what they are up to and where they are now. And that was basically the purpose of Allegiance of Honor. It's usually fun and sweet and logically, I should have loved this book... but the reason why I have mixed feelings instead is that I felt it was too much ^_^; I don't mind when it's novella, but a whole book dedicated to past characters? It was just a bit too much, especially since there were so many of them! Plus, everything was wrapped up too neatly. Every issue, every question was addressed. Yes, it's satisfying... however, when it feels like a list being ticked off, it's just not as enjoyable. Also, I have an excellent memory when it comes to characters and stories. I know not everyone is the same and therefore, recappings are necessary... but those recappings probably made up a quarter of the book!

Basically, Allegiance of Honor reminded me a lot of Tangle of Need in the sense that both are transition books. Allegiance of Honor's purpose was to wrap up the story arc and set up for the next. In that aspect, it did the job. There was no romance like in Tangle of Need; instead, there was a mystery thread about the disappearance of a member of the BlackSea pack and most of the action and exciting bits came from that thread. At times, I felt this mystery thread didn't bland well with the rest of the story, but overall, it was interesting.

My Grade: B-. Allegiance of Honor was not as intense or exciting as the last few books in the series. It had a purpose and fulfilled it well. Yes, it was fun to catch up with the past characters... but was it really necessary? I'm not convinced. If you enjoyed Tangle of Need, then I'm pretty sure you will like this one as well :) No matter how I feel about this book, one thing I know for sure: I'm looking forward to Ms Singh's new book and see where she takes us for her new story arc!

Romance Starter Kits - Paranormal romance

It's really tricky to make the distinction between paranormal romance, urban fantasy and sometimes, even fantasy romance. It's actually quite subjective and everyone has their own criteria. I was there when paranormal made it on the scene... but I feel it was quickly eclipsed by urban fantasy. Nowadays, there's only a handful of paranormal series and authors that I follow... and as you can imagine, they are part of my starter kit :)

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh
Demon Angel by Meljean Brook
Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper

I think that Ms Singh's Slave to Sensation goes without saying. One of the best and most popular series, the Psy-Changelings delivers in every book: great characters, great romance and awesome plots. Each book was key for the overall storyline. Really looking forward to Allegiance of Honor and the next story arc.

What I like about Demon Angel is the different twist Ms Brook has on vampires and angels. Okay, they're not really angels, but still. It was quite refreshing from all the other shapeshifters and vampires books. The romance in Demon Angel was also epic. Something else that's great about The Guardians series is that it's complete! With a very satisfying ending.

Not all paranormal romance books need to be dark. Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs is the best example of that. I consider this fluffy paranormal romance, something that is definitively needed :) Just love the heroine in this one, she's so much fun.

Hmmm, my list is a bit short, but that's all I can think of. What about you? what books would be in your paranormal romance starter kit?

Review: Bitter Spirits by Jenn Bennett

There are some posts and reviews that I want to write, but this week has been busy, busy. Luckily, Ames and I have been working on this buddy review so I have something to post today :) I've read Ms Bennett previously and when I saw this new series of hers, I was intrigued... I wasn't the only one. Head over to Breezing Through to read our review of Bitter Spirits or click here :)

Have a good week-end!

Bitter Spirits by Jenn Bennett
published by Berkley

It’s the roaring twenties, and San Francisco is a hotbed of illegal boozing, raw lust, and black magic. The fog-covered Bay Area can be an intoxicating scene, particularly when you specialize in spirits…

Aida Palmer performs a spirit medium show onstage at Chinatown’s illustrious Gris-Gris speakeasy. However, her ability to summon (and expel) the dead is more than just an act.

Winter Magnusson is a notorious bootlegger who’s more comfortable with guns than ghosts—unfortunately for him, he’s the recent target of a malevolent hex that renders him a magnet for hauntings. After Aida’s supernatural assistance is enlisted to banish the ghosts, her spirit-chilled aura heats up as the charming bootlegger casts a different sort of spell on her...

On the hunt for the curseworker responsible for the hex, Aida and Winter become drunk on passion. And the closer they become, the more they realize they have ghosts of their own to exorcise…

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Roaring Twenties, Book #1¸

Review: How to Run with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper

How to Run with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper
published by Simon & Schuster (Pocket) in Decembe 2013

Down, Boy

Anna Moder has just witnessed a shooting, seen her car pulverized, and rescued a wounded stranger only to discover he's really a werewolf. And by her recent standards, things are actually looking up. Lycanthropes don't faze Anna. Doctoring a wolf pack outside Grundy, Alaska, is the closest thing to home life she's known in years. But hitching a ride to Anchorage with long-absent pack member Caleb Graham that's a risk. Part of her itches to whack his nose with a newspaper. The rest is trying unsuccessfully to keep her own paws off every delicious inch of him.

The problem is, Caleb employs his lupine tracking abilities as a not quite-legal bounty hunter, and Anna is suspicious of both him and his profession. On the run from her past, with old problems closing in, she'd like to stay far, far away from anybody with connections to the law. Caleb, however, seems determined to keep her close. Are his intentions noble, or is he working a more predatory angle?

Anna's been dreaming of returning to a semi-normal life, but now she's experiencing a strange new urge... to join Caleb in running with the wolves.

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Naked Werewolf, Book #3

The Story: The blurb is actually quite accurate. Before Anna Moder had to go underground to escape her abusive and controlling husband, she was a doctor in Nashville. She escaped to Alaska and held menial jobs to stay under the radar. The only respite she had was the couple of years she spent in Grundy being the doctor to a werewolf pack before being on the move again.

After a 12-hour shift at the grocery store, the last thing Anna expected is to be the witness of a shooting. Even though she hasn't been practicing, the doctor in her cannot leave the victim behind. However, she did not expect him to be a werewolf and the only member of the Grundy pack that she has not met, Caleb Graham. To thank her, Caleb agrees to drive her to Anchorage... but with a few detours for his job as a bounty hunter.

Soon, Anna and Caleb find themselves in a comfortable relationship. However, Caleb has been keeping a secret from Anna... one that she might not forgive him when she finds out.

My Opinion: When an author has two series, do you ever wonder why one works for you and not the other? That's the case with me and Ms Harper's series, especially given that both are light paranormal. I'm a huge fan of her Jane Jameson series; however, the Naked Werewolf series hasn't work as well for me. Of course, it's hard to be sure since I've only read the first book, How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf. That's why after enjoying her latest book, A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curves, so much, I decided to give How to Run with a Naked Werewolf a chance... Alas, it didn't change my mind.

I really, really wanted to enjoy How to Run with a Naked Werewolf, because I like Ms Harper's breezy writing style and sense of humor. Unfortunately, while those elements were present, the rest of the book fell flat for me. My main issue was pretty much the romance. I didn't feel the chemistry between Anna and Caleb. I think part of it was because Anna had so much baggage and there were too many secrets between them, but also because they settled in a relationship, a routine so fast. Almost the whole story, they were together, but we didn't get to witness many of their interactions. Some discussions, banters during their drive would have been fun and would have given us some insight. The fact that the whole book was told from Anna's POV did not help. In this case, I think it would have been interesting and helped the romance along if we've known what Caleb was thinking. I actually suspect the book would have been more engaging from his POV. He knew something that Anna didn't and I would have liked to know what Caleb saw in Anna - it would have had more impact than what we got... as Caleb was a hunky werewolf and that was pretty much it. Caleb's character felt very one-dimensional in comparison to Anna who had an interesting back story. As a whole though, the two of them were okay characters.

As for the storyline, well it was pretty much Anna and Caleb driving to Anchorage, catch some bad guys and fall in love. I think Ms Harper wanted to focus on the H/H; however, only having Anna's POV was a bit detrimental. As for the stops they did to catch the bad guys, it was a bit too episodic. I guess what I mean is that in the storyline wasn't balanced enough between the two. It didn't help that some elements were a bit too predictable. Seriously, why do exes always have to make an appearance? Especially when the H/H have been rid of them for years? I did enjoy the part of the story where Anna and Caleb were in Grundy with the pack though. That part was fun :) Finally, I think How to Run with a Naked Werewolf would have profited having good secondary characters to support Anna and Caleb.

My Grade: C-. Seems like I'll be sticking to Ms Harper's vampires and witches in the future ^_^;

Week-End's Minis XXXVII: Lord's Fall by Thea Harrison

Lord's Fall by Thea Harrison
published by Berkley in November 2012

Before she met Dragos, half-human/half-Wyr Pia Giovanni was alone and on the run. Now she’s mated, pregnant and heading south to repair the Wyrs’ frayed relationship with the Elves. Being separated from Dragos is painful, but for the good of the Wyr demesne they need to figure out how to be partners—in more places than just the bedroom.

In New York to preside over the Sentinel Games, Dragos is worried about his mate, but knows that finding two replacement sentinels is essential to show the rest of the Elder Races just how strong and brutal the Wyr demesne can be. But as the Games heat up, Pia’s negotiations with the Elves take a turn for the dangerous, straining her bond with Dragos and threatening everything they hold dear...

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: The Elder Races, Book #5

What do you need to know? Well the story is pretty much as the blurb described. After losing two of his sentinels, Dragos needs to replace them, hence the Sentinel Games. All of his current sentinels have to enter as well, to show that they are the best of the best. There is only one rule and it is not to kill. At the end, the seven that will be left standing will get the prized positions.

While all the attention is focused on the Sentinel Games and New York City, Pia thinks it's the perfect time to conduct a diplomatic mission of her own. So she sets of with a group of canine Wyrs who act as her bodyguards to visit the High Lord and his lady to repair treaties and better their relationships with the Elves. However, this mission won't be easy. First, Pia has to compose with her new bodyguards who don't know her, have misconceptions and are not thrilled to miss the Sentinel Games to protect Dragos' new mate. In addition, perhaps Pia's timing is not as good as she thought because something is clearly going on in the Elven demesne.

Why this book? Hmmm, because it's part of a popular series and there was a lot of buzz for it. I probably shouldn't have though considering I didn't love Pia and Dragos in Dragon Bound ^_^;

What did I like? Well, Pia continued to impress me as an heroine in Lord's Fall. The maturity, the way she handled herself and everything that was thrown at her. Her confrontation with Eva at the beginning of the novel was the perfect example. I also appreciate that Pia is different from most heroines, that she's not a predator. It makes the way she's dealing with Dragos even more admirable. I also applaud Ms Harrison for her consistency with Pia's character, that Pia didn't undergo out-of-character changes in personality.

The premises of Lord's Fall had a lot of potential in my opinion and the ending is intriguing, pointing at changes to come.

What didn't work for me? Overall, I think my main issue with Lord's Fall was that it fell flat. As I just mentioned, Lord's Fall had a lot of potential, but Ms Harrison failed exploiting it. I was actually really looking forward to the Sentinel Games - the description for them so grand, but in the end, it wasn't exciting at all. The Sentinel Games turned out to be like background noise, a filler to keep Dragos occupied and justify the separation between Pia and Dragos. Also, the results were totally anti-climatic since Dragos' five sentinels did not meet each other and easily survived. Ms Harrison also had something with the Elven storyline, but I feel she couldn't fully develop that storyline because she was too busy with other elements. And once again, there was no excitement to it, most of the time, Pia was kept waiting or stone-walled...

I know a lot of fans were looking forward to Lord's Fall for the romance, to see Dragos and Pia together again... and I hope they were satisfied. As I was not a huge fan of their romance to begin with, this continuation didn't do much for me. I mean, the two of them are already together, there is no real issue between them and Pia continues doing a good job at managing Dragos' uber-alphaness. So really, their romance was just there to please the fans.

My Grade? C-. Lord's Fall wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't great either. While I continued enjoying Pia's character, she couldn't make me overlook the fact Lord's Fall definitively lacked omphf.  

Review: Archangel's Storm by Nalini Singh

Woohoo, another review I've been wanting to put up and inspiration just wasn't coming. I think I'm on a roll at the moment. Two weeks ago, I was worried how I was going to juggle reading, blogging and curling... but now, it seems everything is simply coming together. Rare, but you won't hear me complaining :) And I sure hope it continues this way!

Enjoy the review!


Archangel's Storm by Nalini Singh

published by Berkley in September 2012

With wings of midnight and an affinity for shadows, Jason courts darkness. But now, with the Archangel Neha’s consort lying murdered in the jewel-studded palace that was his prison and her rage threatening cataclysmic devastation, Jason steps into the light, knowing he must unearth the murderer before it is too late.

Earning Neha’s trust comes at a price—Jason must tie himself to her bloodline through the Princess Mahiya, a woman with secrets so dangerous, she trusts no one. Least of all an enemy spymaster.

With only their relentless hunt for a violent, intelligent killer to unite them, Jason and Mahiya embark on a quest that leads to a centuries-old nightmare… and to the dark storm of an unexpected passion that threatens to drench them both in blood.

Genre: Urban Fantasy, paranormal romance
Series: The Guild Hunter, Book #5

The Story: After the execution of her daughter in Archangel's Kiss, Neha's, the Archangel of India, rage threatens the balance of the world once again upon the discovery of her consort and husband's mutilated corpse. To avoid Neha falling to madness, Raphael decides to divert her by sending Jason to her territory to investigate Eris' murder. However, Neha is unwilling to welcome Raphael's spymaster to her court unless he swears a blood vow... and that's how Jason finds himself bound to Mahiya.

Mahiya is a 300 years old angel with a doomed future. She is the result of Eris and Nivriti's, Neha's husband and sister, forbidden affair. Consequently, Eris was imprisoned in his jewel-studded palace while Nivitri was executed for their betrayals. Mahiya has no illusions of Eris and Neha's feelings for her. She quickly found out as she grew up that her aunt only kept her to torment her, to exact her revenge... and all Mahiya can do is bite her lips till the day she escapes... And she will escape one day.

As Jason and Mahiya investigate Eris' death, they realize that not all is as it seems at Archangel Fort... As old secrets are uncovered, they realize that something is brewing... something that could disrupt the Cadre of Ten's power and no one can do anything about it.

My Opinion: To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect of Archangel's Storm. Oh sure, the reviews for it were good... but then again, they always are for any books written by Ms Singh :) The truth is, I don't enjoy The Guild Hunter series as much as her Psy-Changelings series. I'm just not clicking with the feel of this series as I think Ms Singh is trying too hard to be dark, to have tortured heroes... However, while Archangel's Storm doesn't escape this syndrome, I did end up enjoying this book quite a bit :)

I think one of the reasons why I enjoyed this book so much was for the heroine, Mahiya. I simply found her really refreshing. She's a young angel, very resilient and brave. Her background is not rosy pink, but she doesn't dwell too much on it. She doesn't let it weigh her down and that's what I found admirable. Instead, she's determined to survive, to escape... that's her motivation to endure the humiliations and embarrassments and she's learned not to let them show. To me, she is different than all the other angels we've come across in this series. All the others could rely on the knowledge of their immortality... A lot of them are unhappy, scarred and so on, but one thing they know for sure, is that they'll live. For Mahiya, it's different. She knows the only reason she lives is because her aunt Neha allows it, she's there on sufferance. The day Neha has decided she no longer wants Mahiya around, Mahiya won't be around anymore. That gave her a different perspective and in my opinion, distinguished her from other angels. All in all, I liked her character very much. It was also poignant to see that after 300 years, she still craved for family, for maternal love.

As for Jason, he was an interesting character... but even now, I don't really know how I feel about him. I guess I'm neutral where he is concerned. He was yet another tortured hero, having gone through a family tragedy when he was very young. And even now, centuries after, he still has flashbacks of what happened. I don't want to make light of what he went through or what any of the heroes in this series have gone through... but don't they say time dulls the pain? Do they have eidetic memory, as in they can never forget? Do they purposely cling to their pains and memories? Or perhaps because their lifespan is so long, their minds are different. Seriously, I'd really want one main character who is happy, who hasn't gone through anything tragic. I mean, I don't usually mind tortured characters, but so many together? I think the only one we got so far in this series who had a normal upbringing is Galen... and from what we've glimpsed from the rest of Raphael's Seven, he might be the only one ^_^; But back to Jason. He was an interesting and intriguing character, a competent one as well, and I'm very sad for what happened to him... but at the end of the day, I didn't really connect with him... and I feel that affected my view of the romance a little bit. I mean, I like Jason and Mahiya as a couple, but I didn't see such a deep connection between them. Their romance just seemed to have happened and I'm not sure exactly what brought them together besides proximity.

As for the rest of the book, I quite enjoyed everything. I liked that we got to see more of the Seven, but in a different context, outside of New York City, the Tower and Raphael's proximity. I feel we got to see more of their personalities. I also liked the different setting - India and Archangel Fort. We got to see a different culture, different ways... It was interesting to see a territory that wasn't under Raphael. We all know that each Archangel governs its territory in a certain way and it was interesting to witness it. And I really, really enjoyed the court intrigue as well at the mystery in Archangel's Storm. One thing Ms Singh can do is plot and come up with complex storylines and it was neat how everything tied up together. It was also very clever... I'm really curious at how it is going to impact the world and its balance. I hope we get to meet the other Archangels soon as well :)

The Grade: B. Despite its tortured hero, Archangel's Storm finds itself at the top of the list for my favorite read in this series, just under Archangel's Kiss because I enjoyed Mahiya, the storyline and the setting very much :)

WEM XXII: The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires by Molly Harper

Yay!! Long week-end! What are you guys up to? By the time this goes up, I'll be on my way to New Jersey for a quick visit to Hilcia :) Yay! However, this time around, I was able to have some posts ready before I leave. Yes, I'm very proud LOL. So enjoy this mini-review of The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires by Molly Harper which turned out not to be as short as I thought it'd be LOL.

By the way, any plans for this long week-end? :P


The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires by Molly Harper

published by Simon & Schuster (Pocket) in July 2012

Iris Scanlon, Half-Moon Hollow’s only daytime vampire concierge, knows more about the undead than she’d like. Running all their daylight errands—from letting in the plumber to picking up some chilled O neg—gives her a look at the not-so-glamorous side of vampire life. Her rules are strict; relationships with vamps are strictly business, not friendship—and certainly not anything else. But then she finds her newest client, Cal, poisoned on his kitchen floor, and only Iris can help.

Cal - who would be devastatingly sexy, if Iris allowed herself to think that way - offers Iris a hefty fee for hiding him at her place until he figures out who wants him permanently dead. Even though he’s imperious, unfriendly and doesn't seem to understand the difference between "employee" and "servant," Iris agrees, and finds herself breaking more and more of her own rules to help him - particularly those concerning nudity.

Turns out what her quiet little life needed was some intrigue & romance—in the form of her very own stray vampire.

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Half-Moon Hollow, Book #1

What do you need to know? This is the first book in Ms Harper's new series which is a spin-off of her Jane Jameson series. In The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires, Iris Scanlon runs a daytime vampire concierge. She kind of stumbled into the business after dropping out of college and moving back to Half-Moon Hollow to take care of her younger sister, Gigi, after her parents' deaths. This works out for her because most of the time, she takes care of their day-time errands and therefore, does not have to meet them. Her newest client was referred by the Council and it should have been an easy job: stock his fridge with supplies of blood... except that she stumbled over his almost-unconscious body. Turns out the Council's welcome basket was tampered with and jaw-dropping handsome Calix was poisoned! And it's even more alarming given that Cal's presence in Half Moon Hollow was kept under wrap as he is investigating a company whose blood products might have turned vampires extremely violent and caused deaths. And just like that, Iris found herself embroiled in Council's business against her will... Not to mention fighting her attraction to this stray vampire!

Why this book? I really enjoyed Ms Harper's writing as well as her Jane Jameson series. It's just so much fun, so I was hoping for the same with this spin-off series :)

What did I like? To introduce this spin-off series, Ms Harper has written a novella, Driving Mr. Bad, and in it, I thought the heroine was very, very similar to Jane, both so accident-prone. So I was worried going into The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires that Iris and Jane would turn out to be identical. While they were not total opposite, in the end, I think Ms Harper did a good job at giving Iris a distinct personality. I find that it's hard for authors who write at 1st POV to really come up with distinct "voice" when they switch characters, which I guess that's why 1st POV is mostly utilized in urban fantasy when the series follow one main character. Anyway, I digress. So yes, while Iris was not unique, she was different enough from Jane. In a way, I find she was more mature, competent and also cautious, which is a good thing - although it means there aren't as many laugh out loud scenes. All in all, she was likable and nice heroine.

My favorite element in The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires was Iris and Gigi's relationship. That was the source of laughter in this book :) I really liked that the two sisters were on good terms and looked out for each other, but without clinging to each other. Their dynamic was really good. In that same vein, I also enjoyed Gigi's interactions with Cal. It was just great fun. Another enjoyable part was to see the friendship between Iris and previous characters such as Jane, Andrea and Jolene. I liked the easy camaraderie between these women and I love that Iris still doesn't know Jolene's true nature LOL. Overall, I enjoyed revisiting these characters, but was glad they did  not steal the spotlight. In that respect, Ms Harper stroke the right balance.

Finally, the intrigue was interesting and had potential. However, the letdown was the execution and the villain's identity which seemed a bit too obvious.

What didn't work? Unfortunately, my biggest issue with The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires was the romance and that's never a good thing ^_^; In this case, I find the failure was two-fold. First, Cal's personality was not developed enough in my opinion. This is always a challenge when we don't get the hero's POV and in this case, it played against Cal. I actually find this is a weakness in Ms Harper's writing. In the Jane Jameson series, she got around it because Gabriel was developed over the course of three/four books and even then, it was iffy. Anyway, so far, we only got the big lines about Cal - mainly that he is alpha and over-protective and a bit bossy. Same goes with his background/past. I don't know, it just wasn't enough for me to connect with him... and quite frankly, I think the same goes for Iris. My second reason for why the romance failed was the lack of chemistry between Iris and Cal and the lack of development. Aside from physical attraction, I just don't see why Iris and Cal fell in love with each other. One minute they were at each other's throat and the next, declared their love. Sometimes, it works, but in this case, Cal was so prickly!! It just didn't compute for me. I need more development, "more showing."

In the end, I think the romance also affected the pace of the story. In my opinion, The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires felt patchy where the romance and the intrigue were two separate threads instead of being one story. The two simply weren't well integrated together and as a result, the flow wasn't fluid. Also, as  I mentioned earlier, the intrigue had potential, but it kind of missed the mark because it was not fully develop.

My Grade? C. There were a lot of elements that I liked, but also some issues with The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires, hence the grade. Still, I'll most probably going to pick up the next book because Ms Harper's writing is so much fun :)

Review: Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

Happy Independence Day to all my American blogger friends! Hope you have a great day :)

I'm sorry for the lack of posts, responses and also comments on your blogs! I'm getting ready for my vacation - it starts officially on Friday, yay!! Can't wait!! Ugh, let just say my boss is really making me earn those 3 weeks off ^_^; Sigh. And I wish I could say "Hey, no problem, I'm going to be off for 3 weeks and will have plenty of time to catch up!" However, I already know it's going to be extremely busy and my internet access might be restricted. Ugh. So I apologize in advance for the lack of posts and my disappearances in the next few weeks!

For now though, I have a review! Yay! Today, I'm over at Breezing Through reviewing Nalini Singh's latest release, Tangle of Need, in company with Brie from Romance Around the Corner! Click here for the review :) We dragged our feet a while before writing this review, but once we started, wow, it just took off LOL. So I hope you enjoy it!

Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh
published by Berkley in May 2012

Adria, wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past--one as unpredictable in love as it was in war. Now comes a new territory, and a devastating new complication: Riaz, a SnowDancer lieutenant already sworn to a desperate woman who belongs to another.

For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal. For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual. It consumes her. It terrifies her. It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion toward one another proves a losing battle.

Their coming together is an inferno...and a melding of two wounded souls who promise each other no commitment, no ties, no bonds. Only pleasure. Too late, they realize that they have more to lose than they ever imagined. Drawn into a cataclysmic Psy war that may alter the fate of the world itself, they must make a decision that might just break them both.

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Psy-Changelings series, Book #11

Review: Chaos Burning by Lauren Dane

Hi everyone! How was your week-end? I hope it was as good as mine :P The weather was gorgeous and I finally had a productive week-end!! Yay! Let see, I did some cleaning, I finished my TBR read for Wednesday, Breezing Through got a new look and I updated my book spreadsheets :) Not bad, right? What about yours?

As you can see, there was no Hauling Sunday yesterday... Considering the amount of books I've bought recently, it's no surprise really LOL. The good news though is that it gave me time to work on this review :P A good trade-off I think :)

Oh, before I forget! New poll for this week-end's mini-review is on the sidebar! Don't forget to vote!

Chaos Burning by Lauren Dane
published by Berkley in June 2012

The life of Lark Jaansen, hunter in Clan Gennessee, has been shaped by violence and unrest—and it defines her future. Well-trained and resilient, she’s met her militaristic match in Simon Leviathan, a warrior not of this world. Locked in mutual admiration, and a desire so hot it burns, Lark and Simon have something else in common: they love the dark, and as a shadow is cast over their world, they’re each coming into their own.

A mysterious war has been waged among the Others. As witches and humans turn against each other, as faes retreat in fear, and as vampires rise, Lark and Simon discover that an unseen force is behind it. A single, hungry entity older than recorded history has returned to gorge on the magick of his victims. It is the Magister, nothing less than the end of time. Finding it is Lark and Simon’s first hope. Surviving it is their last.

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Bound by Magick series, Book #2

The Story: War is brewing between the witches and mages - humans who steal witches's magic, and after an attack on their leader, Clan Owen from Seattle has realized how unprepared they are. To bring their hunters, i.e. enforcers, up-to-date, they invite Lark Jaansen, one of Clan Gennessee's hunters' team leaders. Based in Los Angeles where the lifestyle is more frenetic and relations between Others, less amiable, Clan Gennessee has more experience dealing with threats... and Lark has had no qualms utilizing modern weaponry such as guns and security cameras instead of only relying on their magic.

This change of scenery is a welcome distraction for Lark who for the first time in her life, finds herself at odds with her sister, the other hunter's team leader in LA. Their strained relationship is putting the unity of their team at risk and as such, distance is necessary. In Seattle, Lark has found a new place to belong and is making new friends. Among them is Simon Leviathan, most probably the sexiest male specimen Lark has ever seen and a Lycian, kind of a werewolf/shapeshifer from the other side of the Veil. As a third son from a powerful pack and having set out to make his own ways, Simon knows what Lark is going through and admires her.

To their surprise, their friendship turns into something more... even though they are not each other's type and therefore have a lot of doubts as whether or not this relationship will work. However, they don't have much time to figure things out as the threat looming over them is much greater than they anticipated...

My Opinion: Yay, I finally read my first Lauren Dane book! This is something I've been wanting to do for a while, as I've been hearing so much good about Ms Dane's writing and her books, and I have the books in the TBR pile to prove it! LOL. But for some reasons, I just never picked them up to read ^_^; I think deep down, it's my subconscious telling me something. I bought those books because everyone enjoyed her books and I wanted to jump on the bandwagon, but really, they didn't appeal to me ^_^; Heart of Darkness and Chaos Burning are different though because they are about witches and you know how I like witches as characters :) I've yet to read Heart of Darkness, but after Chaos Burning, I definitively will!

I really, really enjoyed Chaos Burning and it's in large part due to Lark, the heroine. She made the book for me :) I loved her quirkiness and joie de vivre, it made her fun to read. And in my opinion, what sets her apart and makes her so interesting is instead of being flaky and ditzy, she was competent and decisive. It was a very lethal and sexy combination and it's really no surprise that Simon fell in love with her :) Outwardly, she might not have been Simon's type - and by the way, I enjoyed reading the descriptions of her outfits LOL, but personality-wise, she fits him perfectly. As for Simon, he was a good hero... I do feel his character wasn't as developed as Lark though, but still, you get a good sense of his person. He's such a good guy and very considerate and caring. I have to say though that I preferred him prior to when he realized he was in love with Lark, that's when his alpha instincts all came out and he became ultra-protective. It's good that Lark didn't take his shit and set him straight, that she could handle him. Still, I felt that from then on, the relationship became a bit uneven. I was more equal, honest and interesting when they were friends and hung out, playing cards and smoking cigars LOL. Still, I did quite enjoy the romance :) I really liked that it wasn't love at first sight or a rushed relationship. Instead, Lark and Simon spent time together, got to know each other and actually became friends, before realizing this was leading to more. It sounds so simple, but it felt refreshing ^_^; I wished Lark and Simon had taken more time once they acknowledged their attraction to each other to transition between friends to lovers. I felt Simon's change in behavior was quite abrupt and too domineering. Obviously, Lark was attracted to Simon, but I don't think she really considered a relationship between the two and then, Simon started pushing her into one and she had no choice. I'd have liked for Lark to have more time to come to term with it. Still at the end of the day, this couple just works because their personalities matched so well :)

As you know, I'm a fan of witch, mage, wizard and sorcerer characters and while they are a few series with them at the center, very often, I find the world building a bit lacking and their abilities, undefined. That's actually why I still haven't read Heart of Darkness yet ^_^; But I'm glad to say it's not the case with Ms Dane's series. I found the world building to be quite interesting and I liked that the witches clans were so structured. I think the key here was to not focus too much on the other supernatural beings as to limit the information dump. I admit there was a few instances where I felt a bit lost, but that was more me starting the series on the second book than the world building. While I think the world building was solid, I still would have liked for the witches powers to be more defined, a short explanation of everything they could do would have been great.

So I loved the characters, enjoyed the romance and liked the world building. That means Chaos Burning should have rated very high... and it did, but not as high as it could. Basically, I felt with so many good elements, the storyline was a bit of a let-down ^_^; On one hand, I liked that the timeline spanned weeks instead of just days, that Lark had time to settle in, meet people and create contacts instead of being thrown in. I liked seeing the witches work with the Others... but on the other hand, I felt the storyline was to passive. I would have enjoyed seeing Lark investigated a bit more, for them to really find clues and the lead up to their discovery. In this case, I felt it was too easy and they were handed the answer. I mean, the villain's thugs were so stupid that Lark really had no problem catching them and then, she just ripped their minds for the answers. So not the best, but it was acceptable. What wasn't was the whole storyline with the Magister, which is supposedly a huge storm that cleanse and by cleanse, read kill all Others and humans. This is a huge threat that concerns everyone, but the way it was written... Readers should have been at the edge of their seat and I wasn't, my feelings weren't invested in it. One of the problem is from the discovery to the dealing of the Magister, it was too quick and unrealistic. One second, you have no idea what the Magister is in essence and the next, you're vanquishing it. In my opinion,Ms Dane should have taken a few books to really developed this threat, make it something big and dreadful instead of squeezing it in the second half of Chaos Burning... and unfortunately, that's why this book lost steam for me.

My Grade: B. Chaos Burning started out really well, it's just too bad it didn't finish as strongly. It remains a very enjoyable read though and I'm definitively going back to read Heart of Darkness now :) And good news, Ms Dane has the third book planned for next February! Yay!

Monthly Reads: March 2012

Okay, so I keep telling myself that I have time, that there's a few more days left to April. But the truth is, May is creeping up on me!! But I'm done, so it really doesn't matter how much longer April will last or how close May is! Phew LOL.

I have to say, ever since I started the Week-End's Minis feature, my Monthly Reads posts are so much easier to write!! I think the WEM is my best idea ever LOL. And guess what? I'm really close to be reviewing everything I read. Wow!

So without further ado, here is what I read in March:

1) Driving Mr. Dead by Molly Harper: C

This is a novella taking pace in the same world as the Jane Jameson series, actually not only same world, but same town! Its purpose is to introduce the spin-off series featuring Iris Scanlon and her business, Beeline - Half-Moon Hollow's premiere vampire concierge service, to the readers. However, Driving Mr. Dead is not about Iris, but about her employee, Miranda Puckett. Miranda comes from a family where everyone is organized and knows what they want in life. But it is not the case for Miranda and as a result, she is considered a flake and her parents are still looking out for her, hoping that one day she'd come back to her sense and work in the family's law firm. Miranda's newest job is the position of driver for Beeline and her assignment is to drive to Washington state, pick up Collin Sutherland - a vampire, and drive him back to Kentucky before the deadline so he can deliver the mysterious black case to Council official Ophelia Lambert. Needless to say, with Collin's paranoia and OCD quirks and Miranda's emotional turmoil due to her fiance's affair, the drive is anything but straightforward. Especially when Miranda is prone to run in the most unimaginable situations :)

Overall, I thought Driving Mr. Dead was a fun read and a nice set-up for Ms Harper's new series. I liked both Miranda and Collin. Collin's OCD quirks were hilarious, especially that 16 pages document about the conditions for the travel LOL. However, at the end of the day, I felt like the changes in Collin were too quick and sudden and it was hard for me to believe the two have fallen in love, especially since it seemed they didn't have anything in common ^_^; It was just a bit too unrealistic to me, although I definitively wouldn't mind reading more about them :) Another little niggle... I don't know if it was due to the length of the novella, but the vibe I got from Miranda was very similar to Jane. I know that personality-wise, the two women are very different. However, the fact that they both find themselves in ridiculous situations... I think it was even mentioned in the novella how Miranda reminded someone of Jane ^_^; Then when you pair Miranda up with a stuff shirt like Collin, you can see the similarities. I understand part of the similarities is due to Ms Harper's writing style, but I really don't want interchangeable characters. I really hope Ms Harper will be able to give a distinct feel to Iris in The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires which comes out in August.


2) Fair Game by Patricia Briggs: B+


3) Nice Girls Don't Bite their Neighbors by Molly Harper: B


4) By a Thread by Jennifer Estep: B

5) The Temporary Wife by Mary Balogh: B-

For a more comprehensive review, please check out Hilcia's :) Otherwise, keep on reading!

In the past year, I've been going through Ms Balogh's extensive back list. She's quite popular as an historical romance author and while not all of her books have worked for me, they are solid and consistent reads :) Why did I pick up The Temporary Wife in particular? Well I like marriage of convenience plots.

Lord Anthony Earheart is the heir to a dukedom and to say he is on bad terms with his father is an understatement. When Anthony finally decides to respond to his father's summons, he's determined to thumb his nose at his father. After all, he's made a name and a fortune for himself in the past 8 years without the duke's support... and the last thing Anthony wants is to marry the bride chosen for him. As a result, Anthony places an ad for a governess... but what he's looking for in reality is a bride - one who is mousy and beneath his station. And he chooses Miss Charity Duncan. Unfortunately for Anthony, first impressions are often misleading as Charity turns out to be a lovely young woman. Her father's death left her family in a dire financial situation. Charity wanted to help her brother shoulder the burden and therefore has been working as a governess; however, she lost a few positions due to her outspoken and direct personality and her look. When she responded to Anthony's ad, she tried very hard to downplay her person... She never expected that Lord Eearheart would propose! And the money that he offers would be salvation to her family. All she has to do is keep the charade up.

The Temporary Wife has everything I usually like to read: marriage of convenience, opposite attract and it's almost a "happy-go-lucky heroine thawing a stuffy hero" story... So theoretically, I should have loved this book. However, I felt that The Temporary Wife was very similar to another of Ms Balogh's book, The Ideal Wife... and it turns out I enjoyed The Ideal Wife better - hence the grade. However, this book remains very enjoyable :) Indeed, it had good characters - I very much liked Anthony and Charity. I liked how brave and perspicacious she was, but also clever. As soon as Anthony explained to her his ploy, she knew what part he wanted her to play, what to expect, etc. I also loved that she didn't care what other people thought and did what she thought was right. My kind of heroine :) As for Anthony, he was a good hero as well. I think he felt like he had to prove something... and there were so many misunderstandings between him and his father and brothers. So much time lost. I also thought the dynamics of the family were very interesting and totally did not expect what was the source of so much misery on both sides. That was very well-done by Ms Balogh.

A few reasons why I didn't like The Temporary Wife as much as The Ideal Wife were the lack of background development for Charity. She has all those qualities, but we know next to nothing about her. For example, her father is supposedly a gentleman... Was he a good or bad guy? What happened for him to leave so many debts? When did her mother pass away? Where do all the kids come from? I also felt the H/H fell in love a bit too fast and would have appreciated seeing their romance developed a bit more. There was a lot of aspects to this book and while it wasn't overwhelming (like too much), it wasn't well-balanced in my opinion.


6) Doubletake by Rob Thurman: A-
Upcoming buddy review to come over at Breezing Through


7) Oracle's Moon by Thea Harrison: B


8) The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook: C


9) Between the Duke and the Deep Blue Sea by Sophia Nash: C+


10) Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas: B-


11) Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas: B


Books bought: + 17
Books read: -11
TBR pile: + 6


Genre

Historical Romance – 2
Contemporary Romance – 2
Paranormal Romance – 3
Urban Fantasy – 3
Steampunk Romance - 1

***

All in all, I think March was a good month. I admit being a bit disappointed by the number of books I've read in total. 11 is my smallest number so far this year... However, it's not so much that I've read only 11 books... It's that the month started out so well, with so many books I wanted to read! It was like the UF/PNR festival with so many good releases in the genre coming out at the end of February and beginning of March! :) Fair Game, By a Thread, Nice Girls Don't Bite their Neighbors, Angel's Flight, etc. With such good authors, it's no surprise that half my reads were UF and PNR :P So basically, I was in heaven at the beginning of March, but I ended the month feeling blah, not knowing what to read anymore and taking forever to read one book! I felt like I lost my reading mojo which is really not a fun feeling :( I wonder if it's not the Rob Thurman effect ^_^; For some reasons, I tend to read her books really slowly and it seemed I just continued that pace the rest of the month. Or maybe I just burned out reading too much UF/PNR? Hmmm.

Also, March was the first month I had a positive balance in my TBR pile in a while. LOL, I blame the "Buy 3, get the 4th free" promo at the bookstore. I mean, how can you not take advantage of that? :) I also don't mind very much because I've been doing really well in the past month.

So there you, my month of March! How was yours?

Review: Oracle's Moon by Thea Harrison

Ugh, where did my week go?! I'm exhausted!! I feel like I spent the whole week running around :( Work was very busy this week, especially since my boss is going to a conference in Chicago tomorrow. The good news is that he'll be gone for a couple of days! Yay!

I was also very busy in the evenings. Basically, I had guests and friends over Monday, Tuesday and Friday. That's really rare for me LOL. Usually, once I come home, that's it. No going out again... Just the computer, TV and/or a book. I was planning to catch up on my reading this week, but yeah, didn't happen. I shouldn't complain though, because I had a great time :)

Now, I'm just looking forward to relax this week-end :) There's going to be more curling - yay! This time around, it's the Men World Championship. There's also some figure skating... but really, I just want to stay in bed and cuddle in my blankets :) Especially since the temperature is cold again! :)

What about you, any plans this week-end? If you don't, well you could read this review LOL.


Oracle's Moon by Thea Harrison

published by Berkley in March 2012

As a second daughter, Grace Andreas never had to worry about the intrigues of the Elder Races. But when her sister, Petra, and Petra’s husband are both killed, Grace inherits the Power and responsibilities of the Oracle of Louisville, as well as her sister’s two young children – neither of which she is prepared for.

Yet, she is not alone. Khalil, Demonkind and Djinn prince of House Marid – driven by his genuine caring for the children – has decided to make himself a part of the household both as their guardian and as an exasperating counterpoint to Grace’s impudence toward the Elder Races.

But when an attempt is made on Grace’s life, she realizes that Khalil is the only one who can protect her – and offer her more than a mortal man…

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: The Elder Races, Book #4

The Story: Grace Andreas was in the same car accident that killed her sister - the Oracle of Louisville - and her brother-in-law. While Grace survived, it came at a cost: a shattered knee. With the death of her sister, Grace has inherited the Power, which has been passed down in the female line of the family for century, and has become the new Oracle, but more importantly, she's also become her sister's children's guardian, Chloe and Max, 4 years and 9 months old respectively. For this young woman, it is a lot on her plate; however, she is determined to do her best to protect and provide them a good life.

When the most powerful entities in the world show up at her doorstep asking for a prophecy, Grace cannot turn them down and ask them to come back at a later time. The good news is that she ended up saving Carling and, by extension, Rune's lives. However, all she has to show for her efforts is the presence Khalil, a condescending and critical Djinn who's taken an interest in her children... but at the same time, she's grateful to Khalil for the protection he provides as Grace seemed to have become a person of interest for very powerful Wyrs and other supernatural beings. When Grace suddenly has a vision, prompted by Dragos Cuelebre's presence, in bright daylight and on her front lawn, she realizes that perhaps all the traditions that have been handed down about manifesting the Power were wrong... As such, she sets out to harness the Power, take control of it, so her niece can be spared from becoming the next Oracle.

Khalil's first impressions of Grace are not good. However, he has elected to stay behind, entranced by the children. His protective instinct is awaken as such innocence is not seen among the Djinns. As he comes to know Grace better, to understand the circumstances and witnesses Grace's devotion to the children, his opinion of Grace changes for the better... and he actually finds himself being attracted to this young woman.

My Opinion: Well, well, well. If you have not heard of The Elder Races series, I'm sad to be the one to let you know that you've been living under a rock LOL. While this series is hugely popular, it didn't click with me :( I thought Dragon Bound was a good book, but not the wowzer everyone raved about. As for Storm's Heart, it was just a let-down. So I decided not to continue the series... and I was able to stay strong when Serpent's Kiss was released... But it was another story with Oracle's Moon LOL. Almost all the reviews for this book were positive, but more importantly, the blurb made me want to read this book and the storyline sounded interesting to me. And here we are :)

It's clear to me the strength of Oracle's Moon was definitively Grace and good thing too, since she was the focus of the book :) Ms Harrison definitively did a great job with her characterization. Here you have a young woman of 23 years old, who got into an accident. She lost her sister and brother-in-law, finds herself in charge of her young niece and nephew, has become the new Oracle, is recovering from her injury and has to deal with the pile of debts from the surgeries, but also student loans for a degree she has not been able to complete yet because of the accident. She's struggling to make ends meet as being the Oracle is not very lucrative... and despite everything, she still has a positive outlook on life. Oh, she's not bubbly and cheerful, but she's not grim and depressed either. She's very pragmatic and doesn't mind setting her pride aside for the sake of the children. She doesn't try to shirk her responsibilities as Oracle, even if she wished to. I couldn't help but admire her. I mean, most women under this much amount of stress would have cracked, but no Grace. There was so much strength, so much focus in Grace... However, what I liked most about her was her devotion to Chloe and Max, how much she cared about them. They came first, no matter what... She was truly a good mother: loving, understanding and solid, but also strict when needed it. And when the burden got lifted a little and Grace could relax a bit, you got to see her spunky side. It's no wonder she had the guts to  go toe to toe with a Djinn who's almost immortal. Something else I appreciated was her sense of fairness and justice. As you can see, I really loved Grace and she made the book for me :)

There were also some great scenes in Oracle's Moon between the characters, especially involving the children. Khalil's interactions with them were so sweet and made me smiled. I thought Ms Harrison did a great job with the characterizations of Chloe and Max as well. I know some readers don't like children in their books, but I do and really, Chloe and Max were very good secondary characters :) And seriously, there's just something about a powerful, almost immortal being asking to spend time with children, reading to them, etc. It makes my heart melt LOL. Another good scene was when Khalil tracked down Carling and Rune, reminding them that they own the Oracle and then, letting them know he's going on a date with Grace. LOL, their reaction was great and then, Khalil getting dating advice from Rune? Priceless LOL.

One weakness of Oracle's Moon for me was the pacing of the story. It was simply to slow to my taste. I felt it took an eternity for the storyline really take off. It's unfortunate, because I thought the overall storyline was very interesting. I also expected a lot more action and there was some near the end, but not the big bang like in Dragon Bound or Storm's Heart . Instead, there was a large part of the book focused on Grace harnessing the power, becoming the Oracle... and that was building up to the main intrigue, but with a lot of subtlety. It also felt like Ms Harrison spent time on many superfluous story threads such as where the Power came from and the tortured Djinn, Phaedra. And in actuality, they feel superfluous because Ms Harrison did all the built-up, the but resolution was a let-down. For example, the ghost that is the source of the Power. There was a description of what she looked like, how she gave the Power to Grace's family, her reasons for still clinging to the Power... and one tug from Grace and she was gone. It's unfortunate because it was all very interesting, but at the end of the day, I wonder why Ms Harrison did not focus on something else or really develop that part?

The second weakness of the book was the romance. It seemed a bit off for me in terms of timing. Everything happened too fast in my opinion. Yes, Khalil and Grace got to spend a lot of time with each other and therefore, got to know each other very well. That was definitively a plus in the pro column... but I had difficulty believing that Khalil would fall under the charm of someone so fast. It just seemed to me that for someone immortal, it'd take more time to thaw his feelings, warm up his personality. Also, I have to say, I never really got a good sense of Khalil as a character ^_^; It just seemed we got to know the "him"
 with Grace, but what about the "him" before Grace? There's no doubt to me he wasn't the same person and I felt he was able to let go too easily. Perhaps he didn't like himself ^_^; I'm just a bit baffled because I think someone like Khalil would have a lot of issues and I expected his issues to come into play, but it never really did. I would have liked for his character to be as well developed as Grace.

My Grade: B. In everything, Grace tried her best, give her best and that's my kind of heroine :) She made the book for me and that's why Oracle's Moon is getting this grade. Otherwise, I think the book lacked a bit of balance between the characters, storyline and action. I feel if there's been a bit more focus on the storyline and Khalil, Oracle's Moon could have been a wowzer.

Review: Nice Girls Don't Bite their Neighbors by Molly Harper

Hey everyone! How it's going? My week-end was really nice! There were 4 very good curling matches... In the end though, Korea didn't medal. Ah well, perhaps next year! Switzerland won the championship (yay!) and Sweden and Canada came second and third respectively. You know it's a good game when it is won on last rock!

Since I didn't buy any books last week, I took a break on Sunday. I was planning to get some posts ready, but I ended up reading till 3am... Let just say that I was dead yesterday LOL. But it's okay, because I have this review done :) I discovered Molly Harper previously with her Jane Jameson series. While I really enjoyed the series, I never got around to review the books ^_^; And I really didn't want to let Nice Girls Don't Bite their Neighbors slip through the cracks! One day, I hope to re-read the first three books and review them. But for now, you'll have this review :)


Nice Girls Don't Bite their Neighbors by Molly Harper
published by Simon & Schuster in February 2012

Just as Jane Jameson’s unlife seems to be stabilizing, fate sinks its fangs firmly into her butt. Despite her near-phobia of all things marital, her no-frills nighttime nuptials to her sexy boyfriend Gabriel are coming along smoothly. But the road to wedded bliss gets bumpy when a teenage acquaintance is fatally wounded in front of Jane’s shop and she turns him to save his life. The Council pronounces Jane responsible for the newborn vamp until he can control his thirst.

Jane’s kitchen at River Oaks barely holds enough Faux Type O to satiate the cute teen’s appetite and maintain Gabriel’s jealous streak at a slow simmer. As if keeping her hyperactive childe from sucking the blood out of the entire neighborhood isn’t enough to deal with, the persnickety ghost of Jane’s newly deceased Grandma Ruthie has declared a war on the fanged residents of River Oaks. Suddenly, choosing monogrammed cocktail napkins and a cake that she can’t eat seems downright relaxing in comparison.

Tensions inside the house are growing... and outside, a sinister force is aiming a stake straight for the center of Gabriel’s heart. Most brides just have to worry about choosing the right dress, but Jane fears that at this rate, she’ll never make it down the aisle for the wedding all nice girls dream of...

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Jane Jameson, Book #4

The Story: The blurb is pretty accurate. After all that happened, Jane is settling down with her HEA ending. Gabriel has moved in and Jane has finally acquiesced to marry him after his third proposal. And while she really hoped to elope, she has resigned herself to a wedding ceremony and reception. If only she can contains her mother, who is ecstatic that her daughter is finally getting married, from going crazy with the wedding plans. She hopes that by hiring Iris Scanlon, Half-Moon Hollow’s only daytime vampire concierge, it will help.

However, as customary with Jane, things get complicated and not always because of Jane... First, her grandmother, who has always been critical of Jane and obsessed with Jane's house, dies and grabs the opportunity of to be mistress by haunting the house. Then, when Jane witnesses Jamie, the kid she used to baby-sit, being run over by a car and dying, she decides to turn him. So now, she lives with her boyfriend and her childe and let just say the two men in her life are not getting along well. Finally, someone seems to be after Jane's life... but she has no clue who it could be!

Is a HEA ending really attainable for Jane?

My Opinion: The best way to describe the Jane Jameson books is that they are a blend of paranormal romance and chick-lit and therefore, very fun to read :) At first, I was a bit hesitant about the style and had difficulty getting into Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs... but in the end, Jane and her entourage as well as the story just sneaked on me :) Before I knew it, I was devouring the series! So when I found out that Ms Harper was writing another Jane Jameson book, I was really, really happy!

Some say that Nice Girls Don't Bite their Neighbors was an unnecessary book in the series and while I can see where they come from, I have to say I really enjoyed revisiting Jane and her entourage. For me, it was really a fun book and I liked that we got to see her HEA ending. I think a part of me wasn't convinced at Gabriel's commitment to Jane... The relationship seemed a bit uneven to me where Jane was the one more into Gabriel. This feeling was partly because he didn't have much "screen time" in Nice Girls Don't Live Forever and therefore, not enough interactions with Jane. However, after reading Nice Girls Don't Bite their Neighbors, I really can imagine Jane and Gabriel together forever as they indeed matched and Gabriel does love Jane a lot :)

I actually think that Nice Girls Don't Bite their Neighbors was the perfect continuation to the series :) Jane will never have her own babies, so the next best thing is to become a sire... And while it was unexpected, it worked out well :) Not only was Jamie one of her acquaintance, she's actually baby-sat him when he was younger. So she knew Jamie and did have maternal feelings towards him. Also, I think Jamie fits Jane's entourage very well LOL. The last scene where she's talking to Jamie's girlfriend - those were hilarious.

Another thing that I really enjoyed was Jane's interaction with her friends and family. It was great to see that Jane and her sister have made up, have come to an understanding in their relationship and are now close. That's really something I was wondering about. And surprisingly to me, Jane's mother isn't as annoying anymore :) Actually, Jane is really lucky that her mother never turned her back on her, never stopped caring. One thing though is that I wished we've seen a bit more of Zeb, Jolene and the twins. Otherwise, it was simply great to see Jane live her life and be with her friends and family. I think Jane has really found her place and the life she wanted to live :)

There was also an intrigue in Nice Girls Don't Bite their Neighbors where someone seems to be after Jane and Gabriel. It was actually quite amusing and well-done, but at the same time, I could have done without it ^_^; I don't know, it just seems like Jane deserves a break. Why does she always finds herself in those situation? Also, there was a twist at the ending concerning Jamie and that, I really did not expect!

My Grade: B. Overall, the entertaining value of Nice Girls Don't Bite their Neighbor was really high. I simply had fun being back in Jane's head :) And I think this slice of Jane and Gabriel's HEA ending concludes this series on a high note for me, better than Nice Girls Don't Live Forever. Now, I'm really looking forward to the spin-off series and hope it'll be as good and fun!

Monthly Reads: February 2012

Hello everyone! Hope you're having a good week-end :) It's gorgeous outside at the moment. It's also supposed to be +20C (68F) for the whole week! Which is quite unbelievable weather for March :) But I won't complain. In fact, I think I should try to do something outside... but I don't know what ^_^;

I didn't buy any books this week as there were no new releases I was looking forward to. So I decided to post my Monthly Reads post for February :) Initially, I was thinking later this week... but I realized there was also the TBR Challenge and it'd probably be too busy. So all works out well :) And as I mentioned yesterday, my Week-End's Minis feature is really working out well. This Monthly Reads post took me no time to put together and almost all of the books have already been reviewed! Yay!  I can't help but feel good about it :) Speaking of Week-End's Minis, don't forget the poll on the sidebar!

So here is what I read in February...

1) Deadly Intent by Kylie Brant: D

I've been on the hunt for new RS authors to discover. After reading No One Left to Tell, I was looking for other RS books heavy on the investigation side. I had Deadly Intent in my TBR pile and hoped it would satisfied my craving.

What is the worst fear for parents who had their child kidnapped? To have her being kidnapped a second time. This is what is happening to the Mulders and it's even worse this time around since it was from her own bedroom in their fortress. Millionaire Stephen Mulder does not hesitate one second to call Adam Raiker who returned Ellie the first time and bring in his team, in the hopes that the miracle will be repeated. Adam brings in Macy Reid, a linguist who's an expert on kidnapping and has gone through the trauma herself when she was a child, and Kellan Burke, an investigator who is not afraid to break some rules to obtain results. Macy and Kellan are complete opposite and often seem to be at each other's throat... but that's only because they are attracted to each other.

Overall, Deadly Intent was an okay read. There was some investigation going on - yay! - but at the end of it, it was more about turf war between Adam Raiker's team and the FBI and that got old pretty fast. In addition, the storyline didn't feel very suspenseful... you didn't feel like it was a race against time. Everyone, including the parents, were just so level-head. I think if Ms Brant has used some date/time headers like Karen Rose does, it would have increased the suspense a little... Because as it is, I found it hard to know how much time had gone by.

While I know this was Ellie's second kidnapping, I felt the investigators wasted too much time going through list of suspects related to the first kidnapping... which were pedophiles/human trafficking people. I guess this was to link with Macy's own kidnapping/past. By the way, I thought there would have been more links between Ellie and Macy's kidnappings... and perhaps it'd be more emotional. But it wasn't and I thought that was a waste. You give the heroine the perfect background to sympathize on such a case and you didn't carry it out. I know Macy is a professional, but still. Also, a bit part of the investigation didn't make much sense to me. The first time around, Ellie was taken from a birthday party outside... that speaks of opportunism. Kidnapping Ellie from her bedroom from a millionaire's house with so many security levels and all? It takes planning and money... and it's a complete different feel. I'd think trained investigators would have recognized this. Oh and the resolution of the case? The "who" did it? Not great either. Just very sad actually.

Finally, the romance was meh. I liked Kell because he was fun and a bit devious :) However, I never really warmed up to Macy... and I didn't feel like the H/H had much chemistry.


2) Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones: B


3) Because of the List by Amy Knupp: B-

4) Dark Awakening by Kendra Leigh Castle: C

I received this book at RWA last year. I've seen good reviews for the second book floating around blogland and therefore chose to give this a try :) Plus, I haven't read many new paranormal romance series and was wondering if I was missing any.

Dark Awakening focuses on the vampires in this world. Vampires are divided into Houses with low and high bloods individuals. Tynan MacGillivray is a cat-shifting vampire who is part the Cait Sith which are considered lowbloods and have been enslaved by the Ptolemy House. Because of his hunting abilities, Tynan has been favored the queen of the Ptolemy and he hopes to lessen the burden on his brothers' shoulders. Some dark entity/curse has been killing Ptolemy vampires and they need to find a Seer in order to launch an attack against he enemy. Enter Lily Quinn who lately has been haunted by nightmares of a woman being beheaded. When Tynan discovers Lily, he thinks he's found the Seer... but the strange mark on her neck makes him hesitate. Unconsciously, he knows that Lily is much more than a Seer and wants to find out for himself... even if it means defying his queen.

First, I'd like to say my mood wasn't great when I read Dark Awakening... so the grade might be more me than the book ^_^; Overall, I thought the book had a lot of potential with its world building. I really liked the idea of dynasties and the politics that arose. It definitively makes for a complex and interesting world :) What I liked less about this world was the whole lowbloods and highbloods, the prejudices and condescension. It just got old very quickly. I find I have a lot of difficulties with such behaviors lately, perhaps because there is still so much in own world. Anyway, I wondered why the Cait didn't rebel earlier... or at least try. Also, how do you decide who becomes what house? Does it depend on the sire? Are some born this way? Does it depend on your ancestry? I'd have liked for this to be clearer.

So I found the world building very interesting and by extent, Lily's and the House of Lilith's story as well. I think it was really well thought out and executed. What I didn't much care for was the romance ^_^; All in all, Ty and Lily were okay characters... I thought Ty's character was interesting and quite honorable. He's trying to gain favor of the queen so he could show his House's worth and therefore, elevated it... The only problem is that he remained blind to his queen's faults too long. And Lily, I liked her because she has guts and was smart. However, once again, I thought their attraction was too fast, too instantaneous. Sometimes it works, if the characters show really good chemistry or usually, a prior acquaintances. But in this case, I wonder how Lily wasn't overwhelmed with all the new knowledge, the new world and the danger.

On the plus side, Dark Awakening had some interesting secondary characters. I really loved Vlad and Anura... Such old and powerful characters must have interesting back-stories in my opinion and I would definitively read more of them. Jaden and Damien, Ty's brothers-in-arm, I`m not sure ^_^; Although I have to admit, I'm tempted by Jaden's book, Midnight Reckoning. Guess I'll find out :)


5) Frostbound by Sharon Ashwood: C+


6) Thread of Death by Jennifer Estep: C+


7) Conor's Way by Laura Lee Guhrke: B+


8) Sweet Enemy by Heather Snow: C-


9) Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb: B-

10) Black Wings by Christina Henry: D

Madeline Black is a 30 years old, single woman who happens to be an Agent of Death. As an Agent of Death, she is responsible for escorting the souls of the newly departed to the afterlife and she has retractable wings, which when opened makes her invisible, to reach her destinations. She inherited this job along from the powers from her mother who was killed by a monster which left her soulless. When Maddy's best friend is killed in the same fashion, Maddy is determined to find out the culprit and exact revenge... However, nobody at the office believes her, least her supervisor. The only help she receives surprisingly comes from her new tenant Gabriel Angeloscuro who's there under false pretense. Indeed, the angel was sent by Maddy's unknown father to keep an eye one her...

I was looking for a new UF series to start and remembered that Black Wings was one that I wanted to try. However, I doubt I'll be continuing it ^_^; I kind of liked the premises of this series, the fact that it involves demons, nephilims, angels and etc. And I also found Maddy's background/root story to be interesting... which actually all linked back to the demons and angels. However, the rest of the book didn't really impress me :( First, I thought that Maddy's attitude throughout the book was tad too casual. The timeline is quite short and given everything that's happening, it should be suspenseful and exciting... but Maddy's thought process and action negate that urging feeling. Also, it didn't make sense to me that she didn't seem to have any training in fighting or magic. Isn't that weird for Agents of Death? Does that mean that souls always follow them meekly? I didn't necessarily want a kick-ass heroine because there are so many out there in UF series... but I did expect someone with some basis. Add in the fact that she suddenly saves the day with magical powers she wasn't even aware of. Sigh.

Another strike for this book was the romance. It's clear that early on, Maddy and Gabriel are attracted to each other... but it seems their feelings for each other are a bit too premature. Then, Ms Henry seems to be setting up for a love triangle, if it's not a square.

In the end, instead of being satisfied with my read, I was left pondering too many questions. Sometimes it's a good thing, because it makes you want to read the next book to find out. Other times, like this instance, not so much because it shows that the book and the world building are flawed.


11) Ride with Me by Ruthie Knox: C
Upcoming Buddy Review for Breezing Through.


12) Trouble in a Pinstripe Suit by Kelly Hunter: B-


13) I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella: B


14) Angel's Flight by Nalini Singh: B


Books bought: + 8
Books read: -14
TBR pile: -6


Genre

Historical Romance – 2
Category Romance (Contemporary) – 3
Romantic Suspense – 2
Mystery – 1
Paranormal Romance – 2
Urban Fantasy – 3
Chick-Lit – 1

Something else to feel good about is the number in the TBR pile!! That's two months in a row with negative numbers :) I think I'm really doing well so far with my book-buying and reading. Also, something I've been wanting to add to my Monthly Reads post was the break-down in genre of my reads... But because my posts were always so long, I decide against. Now that it's much shorter, there you go :)

So what do you think of my months? Any books in there you've read and agree or disagree with my take? :P And how was your month of February?

WEM VI: I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella and Frostbound by Sharon Ashwood

Time for the Week-End's Minis!! :) So, this week's winner was I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella :) I also decided to review Frostbound because this is the second time the book has come in 2nd place in the polls. Guess there are some people who really wants to know what I thought of the book, so I'm more than happy to oblige :)

It also turns out that I'm pretty much caught up on my reviews for my February reads. Probably a first, LOL. I'm really happy as it seems the WEM feature is really working out :) Plus, as I mentioned in yesterday's review, most of the books I've been reading lately are books I want to write full reviews for. So this week's poll is for books I've read a while back... and I decided to choose books from the same genre: YA. So let me know which one you'd like me to review!! :)

Also, this is the 6th edition of the Week-End's Minis... A lot of you told me you enjoyed the mini-reviews format when I started. Now that it's been running for a while, I'd like to get more feedback :) Do you still feel the same way? Are you enjoying the mini-reviews? Am I starting to be too lengthy?

Onto the reviews now! :)


I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

published by Random House Publishing in February 2012

I've lost it. The only thing in the world I wasn't supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It's been in Magnus's family for three generations. And now, the very same day his parents are coming, I've lost it. The very same day. Do not hyperventilate Poppy. Stay positive!!

Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry the ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her 'happy ever after' begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring but in the panic that followed, she has now lost her phone. As she paces shakily round the hotel foyer she spots an abandoned phone in a bin. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!

Well, perfect except the phone's owner, businessman Sam Roxton doesn't agree. He wants his phone back and doesn't appreciate Poppy reading all his messages and wading into his personal life.

What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other's lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents... she soon realises that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.

Genre: Chick-lit
Series: None

What do you need to know? The blurb is pretty accurate. Poppy and Magnus met 6 months ago and are about to marry. He and his parents as well as brothers all have academic careers and this leads to very intellectual conversations which often leaves Poppy out and feeling inferior. She believes that his parents don't approve of her and therefore, the last thing she wants is to let them know she's lost her engagement ring, which is a family heirloom.

So in the book, Poppy's cell phone is stolen... and then, finds another one in the trash. It's like faith! Except the cell phone she found used to belong to Sam Roxton's previous PA who just left him hanging. Not only he needs the cell phone back, but also a new PA. Since Poppy has given the number out for her cell phone, she's reluctant to give it back. She promises Sam that she will forward all his messages... and of course, she can't help herself and read them. Seeing how terse and strict Sam is, Poppy starts trying to help out...

Why this book? I didn't know what to read and was started a reading slump... so I asked for suggestions and Tabitha recommended this book. I thought I'd give it a try since I don't read many chick-lit.

My thoughts? I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed I've Got Your Number. It was a very cute read that made me smiled from one end to another :) I was also surprised at how much I liked Poppy's character :) Most of the time, when reading chick-lit books, I find either the characters or the situations they find themselves are superficial... but it wasn't the case in I've Got Your Number. Poppy's character actually felt quite real to me and one I could relate to. I think part of it is Ms Kinsella found the perfect job for Poppy - a physiotherapist. As a physiotherapist, Poppy has to know what she's doing. She was also self-sufficient and put together, it diminished the "airhead" factor to me... actually, it made her smart and normal in my book :) I also liked that she was like a white knight, standing up for her friends. And of course, she wouldn't have been any fun if she wasn't a bit noisy :) However, at times, I definitively thought she needed better friends ^_^;

Overall, I enjoyed her interactions with Sam :) I liked how she tried to help him out, but at times, it backfired LOL. I thought the two of them had good chemistry. Her confiding in Sam was easy because he was a stranger... and her, making Sam realizes that there is more than work was sweet. Although as a whole, I thought Sam being so dedicated to his work wasn't a bad thing :) Also, I thought Sam was quite yummy as a hero once you make him realize there's more to work. And oh, his grand gesture at the end? So sweet!

While I enjoyed the book, there were a few hiccups for me. I didn't like that the storyline took place so close to the wedding date ^_^; In the beginning of the book, you can feel that Poppy loves Magnus a lot and how it was "love at first sight" for them... And then, everything starts to unravel. Yes, finding out more about Magnus did precipitate things... but I guess I just didn't like the fact that Poppy fell out of love with Magnus so easily or quickly ^_^; Also, I think that at one point, the book lost some steam and started being a bit draggy. Not enough to get on your nerves, but enough to be noticed... Finally, I was a bit taken aback with how the whole "mystery" was resolved. I mean, would someone keep calling the wrong number for three weeks? Wouldn't that person realize at some point it was the wrong number? That to me seemed a bit far-fetched.

My Grade? B. Despite the few hiccups, I've Got Your Number was a very fun book :) I definitively recommend it if you're in the mood for chick-lit or something different.


Frostbound by Sharon Ashwood
published by New American Library (Signet) in June 2011

Every dog might have his day, but the hellhound guards the night...

As a snowstorm locks down the city, more than the roads are getting iced. Someone's beheaded the wrong girl, and vampire-on-the-lam Talia Rostova thinks it was meant to be her. Now she's the prime suspect in her own botched murder—and the prisoner of her smoking-hot neighbor.

Lore is a hellhound, bred to serve and protect, so he's not freeing Talia until he's sure that she's the prey and not the hunter. You'd think a beautiful woman in his bedroom would be a good thing, but trouble-prone Talia has run afoul of someone more sinister than your average lunatic killer. An ancient Undead is wreaking vengeance on the city—and on her—and Lore will have to go far beyond a stake to put him back in his grave...

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: The Dark Forgotten, Book #4

What do you need to know? Lore is the Alpha of the hellhounds and they have just escaped from the Castle (either a part of Hell or another dimension). So the hellhounds are slowly adapting to the world we know and as such, are kind of starting at the bottom of the ladder. Lore is focused on making the transition easier and building a better life for all of them... and finding his mate is not part of his concerns at the moment.

Talia Rostova grew up a part of the Hunters, a clan whose members are all skilled enough to take down supernatural beings. It's because she was a Hunter that Talia was changed into a vampire against her will. At the first opportunity, Talia stole a large sum of money and escaped from her sire, becoming a rogue.

When Talia's cousin/roommate who bears an uncanny resemblance to Talia is found beheaded, Talia knows it was meant to be her. She tries to run away, but is captured by Lore who is replacing the town's sheriff. And he won't release Talia until he finds the culprit... because he can feel that something really bad is coming.

Why this book? I read the first book in this series, Ravenous. Thought it was okay, but not a series I particularly want to continue. Then, at RWA last year, I got a copy of Frostbound and Ms Ashwood actually won a RITA for Unchained... So picking up this series was on my list of things to do. When I saw that Samantha has read and enjoyed Frostbound, it was the kick I needed to give this series another chance :)

My thoughts? Not having read Books #2 and #3 of this series, it wasn't the best idea to simply just pick up Frostbound. It's not that I had a hard time following the storyline, but there were obviously stuff that I missed... like Lore and hellhounds escape from Castle. Plus, the whole politics scene at Fairview with a vampire presenting himself as a candidate - this seems to be an ongoing story. Then again, I'm not sure I want to go back and read the books I missed ^_^;

Overall, I really liked the paranormal aspect of the book. How all the supernatural beings co-exist, the rules and so on. I thought the world building was well done and interesting. As well as the intrigue and the whole "who did it." The two elements really caught my attention and had me keep reading. I do admit I'm a bit tired of "humans" being so afraid that it leads to group like the Hunters whose sole purpose is to kill "monsters." I know it's understandable for humans to fear, because they are considered "weak." At the same time, it speaks of such bigotry ^_^; And perhaps, it's just a bit too real to my comfort :(

Anyway, back to Frostbound. Another strength of the book was Talia as a character and also, her storyline. I liked that Talia was able to take care of herself. From the blurb, I got a feeling she was weak... but it definitively wasn't the case :) LOL, the part where she called Lore "Bad dog" was simply priceless. She definitively had guts, but at the same time, wasn't too kick-ass :) Ms Ashwood did a great job creating a balanced heroine. I also liked the fact Talia was on the run. It shows she was smart... and had integrity (not spending the money she stole). Also, her torn emotions between humans and monsters because of the way she was raise and what she had become was well done.

What else did I enjoy? The quatuor: Lore, Joe, Errata and Perry and I wished they'd been more of us :)  I simply liked the sense of camaraderie and all.

Unfortunately, I thought the let down of Frostbound was the romance ^_^; I didn't feel that connection between Lore and Talia. The whole thing happened quite fast... One moment, Lore was suspicious of Talia and the next, he was all caring towards her. Sure, he was attracted to her before the book started. Plus, she really impressed him with her guts... but it still felt a bit too quick. It seemed their romance stemmed more of the situations they found themselves in instead of their attraction to each other. Plus, the whole resolution for the mate thing was too easy. I think it would have helped if there had been more of Lore in the book. It's not as if his character was neglected, but I didn't really get a sense of who Lore was. Instead, it was more about the hellhounds and his duty to them. Sure, it's a part of him, but I don't think it's all there is to him. Perhaps that's what I missed by not reading Book #2 and #3 of the series.

My Grade? C+. I'm glad I read Frostbound... but as I said, I don't feel the urge of going back and read Book #2 and #3, hence the grade despite some very good intrigue and world building.