Archive for May, 2010
New Paranormal Romance Book-Strange Neighbors
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Title: Strange Neighbors
Author: Ashlyn Chase
Release Date: June 1, 2010
Pages: 384
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Best Line From Book: “What a minute, are you telling me that because you couldn’t hail a cab you had yourself turned into a vampire?”
Ashlyn Chase has written the quintessential supernatural romance with her new novel Strange Neighbors.
Merry Mckenzie, a nurse, rents an apartment in Boston from the hottest baseball pitcher to hit the circuit in recent years. As you can imagine, she’s not complaining. Especially since she was hoping that a move to Boston, away from her loving but overprotective father, would put her in the path of some really hot guys. You see the small town she grew up in did NOT have what she needed and she realizes just how lucky she is when her landlord, Jason Falco, turns out to be one of the hunkiest guys she’s ever met.
As far as Merry is concerned, everything is working out great; she loves her new apartment and her social life is improving. She starts settling in to a nice, normal way of life.
But of course, things aren’t normal AT ALL.
First, there’s a chance that her apartment might be haunted. Then, there are the odd characters in the apartment building:
-witches who run a phone sex business
-a vampire in the basement
-a shape shifter. Or two.Taken together you have the makings of a playful, hilarious story.
I enjoyed reading about Merry’s antics and was inspired by her general outlook and openness. And although the book contains several supernatural characters I love Ashlyn Chase’s approach for embracing this segment of society; she makes “life amongst the monsters” entertaining without wasting too much time on the mythology associated with the paranormal characters in the book. She keeps it light and moves the story along at a good pace.
I hope Ashlyn Chase continues writing supernatural stories of this nature because I really enjoyed laughing at (and along with) the quirky characters in the book. Job well done!
Strange Neighbors is available in paperback and Kindle formats.
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There’s Good vs. Sexy Evil in Masked by Moonlight
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Do you like books that have a strong woman battling wits with a sexy bad-boy villain? If so, tighten your belt because you’re in for an exhilarating ride because Masked by Moonlight by Nancy Gideon fits the bill!
Meet New Orleans detective Charlotte Caissie who is doggedly pursuing an underworld crime boss implicated in lots of murders – including her father’s. Each time she visits the evil crime lord, Jimmy Legere, Charlotte is confronted by his bodyguard, Max Savoie, and his constant sexy, but a bit belittling, regard for her. Although Max is always polite to him and tolerant when he comes on to her, she senses something deep inside him that’s always teetering on the edge and about to lose control. Even worse she can’t understand why she’d drawn to him – a man that’s the hired killer for a New Orleans crime lord.
As Charlotte and Max dance around their attraction to each other, they’re inevitably pulled together when he saves her from a vicious attempt on her life. And that’s when she starts to suspect that there’s something not quite right about Mr. Max Savoie. Her attackers are savagely killed– how could a mere man do that?
Nancy Gideon gives us two very strong characters that constantly fight to maintain their independence – a characteristic that pulled me further into their story. One the one hand there’s Charlotte who has a sad and ugly history to overcome, something that causes her to carry baggage into every relationship. Then there’s Max who was adopted at an early age by a crook and knows nothing about life except what exists in the criminal world.
Until he meets Charlotte.
Kudos to the author for giving us a new spin on the good vs. evil tale. Her rendition of how a cop and a villain fight their attraction and the inherent obstacles around them kept me glued to every page. If you like strong women and hot men overcoming complicated life situations then you’ll love Masked by Moonlight.
Devilishly Good Fantasy Book – Demon Possessed
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I was so excited to see a new book from Stacia Kane called “Demon Possessed.” Having read her last two books featuring the demon couple, Meg and Greyson, I had to have this one. And I was not disappointed! Greyson is a fire demon, head of a large business empire that’s not always on the right side of the law. He’s involved with Meg, a psyche demon, who is brand new to this demon world and she’s not very interested in becoming totally immersed in it – causing palpable tension between the two of them.
Greyson and Meg are scheduled to attend a large meeting of all the demon leaders which she is dreading since it’s a lot of posturing, politics and pretension. The big problem being that everyone wants her to formally accept her ‘demon side’ through a ritual that will diminish her humanity and allow the demon insider her to grow –
something she has been fighting against since she first found out about the demon world. And her rejection of the ritual is not helping her relationship with Greyson, he sees her rejection of the ritual as a rejection of him. How can they ever make their relationship permanent if she is not a full demon?
The action heats up when Meg is attacked and almost killed – it becomes apparent that someone wants her dead. Who to suspect in a room full of demons? Everybody? Yep – just about… And when a secret that Greyson has been keeping from Meg comes to light at the conference, the sparks really start to fly. Once again, Stacia Kane does an excellent job of pulling you into the lives of these two, rooting for them to make it. Greyson is so smooth, urbane, and devoted to Meg, you almost want her to give up her annoying humanity just to stop the indecision and make him happy.
Greyson’s three bodyguards – Malleus, Maleficarum, and Spud – are on the scene again, protecting Meg and entertaining us with their special brand of comic relief. It’s no problem picking up the storyline in the third book – the author is adept at giving you all the back story without weighing down the current tale. I cannot say enough good stuff about this book. It’s got all the elements I like – a happy couple, a bizarre mystery to solve, a real humdinger of a lover’s quarrel, and a great ending. If you have not picked up a Stacia Kane book before, do it! I promise that you won’t regret it.
Great Fantasy Adventure Book – Torn by Julie Kenner
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Torn by Julie Kenner is Book 2 in the Blood Lily Chronicles. The series has an extremely unique heroine who has learned to accept the fact that she is the “prophecy girl” – the person who has the answers to everyone’s questions about the future. In the first book, Lily Carlyle spent all her time working toward the goal of saving the Earth – only to find out she was duped by her demon handler. In Book Two, Lily (understandably) has major anger issues. She now knows she’s been working FOR the demons instead of against them. So, she devises a plan for revenge: become a double agent and take down the demons who tricked her.
But as with most things, things aren’t as black and white as they appear. Case in point, there are good demons as well as bad ones: Lily has a tenuous relationship with Deacon Camphire but a bona fide hateful one with another demon, Lucas, who recently invaded her sister Rose’s body. Keeping herself from accidentally killing her sister while she interacts with Lucas becomes one of Lily’s biggest challenges. She’s a tough, no nonsense heroine that will do anything to keep her sister safe.
As a double agent, Lily has to play many different roles to keep up her charade. Julie Kenner delivers a powerful story about a woman who has many difficult decisions to make and writes it in a way that has you rooting for her the whole way, hoping she makes the right ones. While it’s easy to pick up and follow the storyline in Torn I also recommend reading the first book, Tainted, to get a real feel for how intense Lily’s anger is at the betrayal she suffered. And knowing the full storyline helps make the revenge – and there will be revenge – oh so sweet!
Julie Kenner creates a dark and believable fantasy world where the thrills of Lily’s subterfuge keep you engaged from page one.
True Blood Minisode 1: Eric and Pam
Posted by: | CommentsAs you know, HBO is releasing several True Blood “minisodes” that promote the upcoming highly anticipated True Blood Season 3. Here’s the first minisode. It’s called “Eric and Pam” and it’s hilarious! Think “Vampires Meet American Idol”.
The scene: Eric and Pam are auditioning dancers for their vampire club, Fangtasia. Some of the dancers are, shall we say, rhythmically-challenged? Check it out:
I love it! Get ready for True Blood Season 3 by re-watching the strange and sexy things that happened in True Blood Season 2!
