Curse The Dawn by Karen Palmer
As such Cassie has to defend her life all the while trying to navigate the waters of How To Be A Pythia 101. Her predecessor’s untimely death has left her in the dark about her new duties and without any details about her new job. Details that would come in handy considering the substantial opposition she faces.
To add fuel to the already burgeoning flame there is an all powerful ancient evil that is intent on ushering in death and destruction that will take most of Cassie’s own uncertain powers to fight the impending doom. Fortunately she has some very influential and powerful friends: John Pritkin is a highly skilled war-mage with a wild side and a solid weapons background; Mircea is as deadly as he is handsome and debonair and belongs to the formidable Vampire Senate. With their help Cassandra may live to see another day.
Curse The Dawn starts off with immediate action when an on-the-job training session evolves into a dangerous gunfight. It isn’t much later that Cassie is brought into negotiations that once again put her life in peril and produces the biggest magical catastrophe in centuries. The drama in Cassie’s life never seems to let up and chaos, intrigue, and full out battles ensue. This book is the fourth in the Cassie Palmer vampire books series and it lives up to its predecessors as an energetic and highly entertaining read. Curse The Dawn has everything a good action fantasy should have; gunfights, explosions, high drama and in house magical temper tantrums.
The chemistry that Cassie has with John and Mircea propels the book along at a perfect speed. The readers really get a sense of what motivates the characters and will readily invest in their lives. The plot is ripe with underlying tensions and an intricate supernatural world. Fans of the genre and of Karen Chance will be satisfied with the action and energy Curse The Dawn delivers. Curse The Dawn is a hard book to put down and one that will leave the readers wanting more.
In Cursed to Death, the latest fantasy book in the Crimson Moon series, L.A. Banks has taken sexy to a whole new level. Not that the book is full of scenes that would make Hugh Hefner blush or anything, but more in the sense that the lead character Sasha, a shadow wolf, has become irresistible to men and, likewise, she feels irresistibly drawn to them. This makes for a very sexually charged book. Especially since she and her mate, Max Hunter, also a shadow wolf, have a healthy enough sex drive to begin with. There’s also Rodney, the Fae King, who’s become so obsessed with Sashsa that he’s pledged to give up his kingdom just to be with her. Finally, there’s her boyfriend’s brother, Shogun, who would rather die than not have her.
Oh BOY do I wish I had these problems!
The great thing for the reader is that all three of these supernatural beings are really hot and extremely masculine. Ladies, trust me - you’ll love reading about Sasha and her escapades in this sexy and sensual fantasy book.
The Story
Sasha, a member of a secret team of government operatives, has to investigate the murder of a female shapeshifter phoenix who used to dance at the local supernatural club. Sasha and her mate Max soon become aware that black magic is afoot. Additionally, after finding the dead phoenix they notice that members of the supernatural community (fae, shadow wolves and pixies) are getting weaker and beginning to lose some of their powers. On top of that, they discover that the dead phoenix probably held vital information about these strange occurrences.
Sasha also notices that both she and Max are becoming more and more irritable with each other – something that’s personally disturbing to her. To further complicate matters, she finds that every man in her vicinity is so attracted to her that fights break out almost every time she goes out the door. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that the dark magic being used has certain targets in mind and that she’s at the top of the list. She’s got to find a way to stop it before they all kill each other. This same dark magic is probably being used to slowly suck the power from the supernatural beings, except mysteriously enough, one race seems to be immune to it. This in turn causes a whole new set of problems.
There’s much more evil afoot than Sasha realizes and if she doesn’t figure out a way to stop the problem, thousands of supernatural creatures could die.
LA Banks has a wonderful talent for quickly drawing you into a story and this fantasy book is no exception. The realistic dialogue, fully formed characterizations and suspenseful storyline all come together in an urban fantasy book that will please all fans of this genre. She’s developed an extremely capable, independent and likable character with Sasha; readers will find it easy to identify with her.
Additionally, the action in this book was non-stop and have I mentioned the hot, sexual tension? You may have to take a cold shower after reading it but believe me, its well worth it. I’ve enjoyed all of the fantasy books in the Crimson Moon series so far and this latest novel is the best yet. You should check out Cursed To Death - some of the “adult scenes” are (ahem) still running through my mind!
One of my favorite things about L. A. Banks’ Crimson Moon series has been the intense relationship between Sasha Trudeau, Shadow Wolf and member of an elite squad of government agents, and her mate, Max Hunter. Their passion strikes a real chord with the reader and I thought there was no way to top it - but Banks has outdone herself in this latest novel, Undead On Arrival, because she has made the tension rise to the bursting point. Sasha loves her mate but, in this story, she has to battle the feelings she has for Max’s werewolf brother, Shogun, and the sparks that fly between the three are electrifying.
Everything seems to be going perfectly for Sasha at the end of the last novel, Bite The Bullet. She had stopped a war and found that her bond to Max is stronger than ever. Unfortunately, the demon virus that had infected Max in the past returns with a vengeance. As such, he has to be monitored constantly as they try to find a cure. But when he escapes and a human turns up dead, Sasha fears that even if the demon virus doesn’t kill him, it’s likely he’ll be tracked down and murdered by either the werewolves, the vampires or his own Shadow Wolf clan. And although Sasha doesn’t want to believe that Max is capable of murdering an innocent human, the evidence against him is pretty overwhelming.
Sasha has to watch as the man she loves becomes something she cannot comprehend as the virus takes over his mind and body. Working with Shogun to try and get a sample of his blood, she’s determined to do anything to find a cure for Max. Fighting for her man, Sasha ends up in the middle of a sizzling love triangle between herself, Max and Shogun which threatens to end the truce between werewolves and shadow-wolves. Did someone, or something, set up this entire ordeal? Or did Max really commit murder? Either way, it’s going to take all of her strength to find out what’s going on, to stop a potential war, and to finally cure the man she loves - a tall order even for Sasha.
Banks has done an excellent job of weaving several plots together that keep the reader on the edge of their seat. The world she has created is believable enough to have you wondering if there really could be werewolves out there. And, after reading what happens between Shogun, Max and Sasha, you may end up wishing it were true.
Undead On Arrival is Book 3 in the Crimson Moon series. I enjoyed reading it so much that once done, I paid for the Kindle version as well. This book got excellent reviews at Amazon as did the next book in the series, Crimson Moon, which I’ll be reviewing next week!
Also, see my review of Cursed to Death by L.A. Banks.
Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
In this first book we meet Wrath, the leader of the Black Daggers, King of his species and the last true, pure blooded vampire on earth. Wrath is tired of his empty life and exists in a tormented haze of bitterness. His only purpose in life is to ensure the safety of the vampire race that has suffered over the generations at the hands of the lessers.
In this fantasy world vampires begin their lives like humans and remain completely unaware of their powers until their mid-twenties when they undergo a dangerous transformation. Once the change is complete they then drink the blood of vampires of the opposite sex in order to feed and survive.
Enter Beth, our primary female character. Beth has no idea she is anything but normal. Her life as a journalist keeps her busy if not completely satisfied. When she learns that her father is a vampire she enters a state of denial; after all, acknowledging her father’s genetics makes her half vampire/half human. But although she’d love to dismiss her heritage, cooler heads prevail and her father makes arrangements for someone to help her with her transformation. He convinces Wrath to take her under his wing and oversee the process involved in changing from human to vampire.
Now, you have to understand that Wrath has no interest whatsoever in helping this half-breed.
That is, until he meets her.
The attraction between the two of them is instant and tangible. Though Wrath and Beth fight their feelings it’s impossible to deny the chemistry between them. Wrath is hopeful for the first time in his long and lonely life that he may experience something other than duty and obligation. But he first has to convince Beth that vampires exist - preferably before she becomes one herself.
Dark Lover is a wild ride of action and drama. The brothers are the epitome of sexy, macho alpha males but are also charmingly flawed and interesting. Readers will have no trouble investing in the lives of each character. The sensual scenes between Wrath and Beth are erotic and seamlessly intertwined into the story line; readers will be captivated from the first page. Dark Lover is guaranteed to satisfy romance fans and fantasy book lovers alike.
But don’t just take my word for it. Check out what over 400 people have to say at Amazon.
I love it when the sequel to a book I love comes out and it is better than you expected. That’s exactly what happened with Maria Lima’s newest installment “Blood Kin“, in the Blood Line series. I have commented before on the infinite possibilities that Keira Kelly presents as she is going through her transformation (see Blood Bargain), but in this newest book, her change is finished and the possibilities are still infinite as she discovers that she has a conglomeration of all abilities wrapped up into one. She can be anything from shape shifter to weather witch.
The Story:
Keira is heir to the kingdom of the Kelly Clan. Keira doesn’t necessarily consider this a “perk” since her newfound abilities (and title) have caused her great-grandmother Gigi to order her to return to the family homestead in Canada. It’s not too tough of a gig though since she’ll be living in the lap of luxury.
However Keira’s a bit downhearted because her best friend Bea won’t speak to her after a decision Keira had to make to save her cousin’s life. And her lover Adam flatly refuses to go with her to Canada.
So when the day arrives to leave in her private Lear jet (now that’s a real perk) only her brother Tucker, his boyfriend Niko, and her cousin Daffyd are there to accompany her. Both Adam and Bea are no shows.
It’s at this point that Keira decides that although she may be the heir to a powerful kingdom, she wants her life in Texas to stay as is; she plans to come back home as soon as possible. Those plans are quickly put on hold when her plan is diverted to Vancouver due to bad weather and her cousin Daffyd mysteriously disappears. On top of that homeless people are dying and no one quite knows why. When all is said and done Keira will have to confront murder, lies and revelations from the dark world before her dream of going home can be realized.
This latest Keira Kelly book by Maria Lima snares the reader’s attention early on with an intriguing story line and provides a steady stream of mystery at every turn. Maria Lima certainly knows how to keep her readers begging for more. I know I am.
Go here for more information on Blood Kin.
read more reviews at Amazon
The story begins with a modern day Jane Austen – now known as Jane Fairfax - running a bookstore in a small university town in New York State. She’s a vampire, having been turned by a handsome stranger back in the 1800’s and she’s spent the last 150 years keeping her identity a secret, while trying to get a new book published. Needless to say she’s not been successful with that endeavor. However to add insult to injury, since she now owns a bookstore, she sees firsthand how other writers are profiting by using her characters in unauthorized sequels and spin-offs of her work. As you can imagine, she’s not too happy about this.
However she does have a few admirers of the male persuasion. The scandalous Lord Byron, the person responsible for turning her into a vampire, wants to court her. And a local friend and widower Walter Fletcher, makes it clear he’d like to spend more time with her.
And then finally, after hundreds of rejection letters (remember, she’s been submitting this manuscript for decades) she finally connects with a publisher who’s interested. And that’s when the excitement begins. Jane is suddenly thrust into the whirlwind world of celebrity authors where book signings, interviews and talk show appearances prevail. But that’s not the only attention her sudden fame brings her; an old rival begins stalking her and a dead body turns up in her hotel room during her book tour.
With a crazy poet declaring his love for her and her need to “come clean” and tell Walter about her vampire lifestyle, not to mention the stalker problem which threatens the safety of those around her, it’s no wonder that Jane feels overwhelmed and a bit desperate to live a normal and peaceful life.
What will Jane choose – the secretive vampire lifestyle or risk exposing herself to the humans closest to her in an attempt to save their lives? You’ll have to read it to find out . . .
Jane Bites Back just went on sale this week at Amazon. Check it out to find out how Jane deals with her problems - and learn the secret identity of the stalker!
Coyote Dreams
The main character, Joanne Walker, a.k.a. Siobbhan Walkingstick, is a shaman who does most of her work in the astral plane and most of her communications through dreams. A good bit of the story occurs in visions interacting with mystical guides such as the raven, the coyote, and other American Indian legends.
Joanne is a tough Seattle police woman who has reluctantly discovered that her healing powers are needed again when a good portion of the police department fails to show up for work. It appears that they have all gone to sleep and no one is able to wake them up. Using her powers as a shaman, Joanne realizes the sleepers are being slowly drained of their life forces by some parasitic type of magic. As her investigation progresses, she realizes she’s the source of the coma problem and she’s got to move fast to save her friends, her fellow officers–and eventually, the world.
The character of Joanne is well developed and it’s enjoyable getting to know her in the book. She’s tough and vulnerable at the same time and I like that combination in a female lead character. All of the male characters are described as good looking, except perhaps Gary, a friend of hers, who is a good bit older than the other characters. But even he is compared to Sean Connery by Joanne, and that makes him pretty good looking to me. The nice thing about the male characters in the book is that they are intriguing, they all have a ‘real’ personality, and they engage your interest as one tries to evaluate their romantic potential for ending up with Joanne.
If you’ve read previous entries in this fantasy book series you know that Joanne has a love/hate relationship with her boss. I’ll bet you’re wondering if anything comes to fruition in this book . . . let’s just say that anything can happen in dreams. And, like in dreams, when you wake up you wonder “did this really happen”? You’ll have to read this one to find out!
This fantasy book was a change of pace for me. The use of dreams as the communication path gives you a different approach to the urban fantasy novel. Joanne spends about half of the book in some kind of trance giving wonderful descriptions of her dream world which makes you want to be there as well. C. E. Murphy provides us with a unique setting that you are happy to jump into, postponing your own dream world as needed, in order to finish her novel. Check it out at online retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Note: this book is also suitable for young adult readers.
