31 July 2012

Wicked Nights by Gena Showalter

{YES, I've listened to this book on audio and YES this post contains spoilers, as I am reviewing a book!! LOL! may contain questionable language, discretion is advised! Excerpt below from Good Reads.}



Wicked Nights

Wicked Nights (Angels of the Dark #1)

by 
4.18 of 5 stars 4.18  ·  rating details  ·  1,844 ratings  ·  385 reviews
Leader of the most powerful army in the heavens, Zacharel has been deemed nearly too dangerous, too ruthless--and if he isn't careful, he'll lose his wings. But this warrior with a heart of ice will not be deterred from his missions at any cost...until a vulnerable human tempts him with a carnal pleasure he's never known before.

Accused of a crime she did not commit, Annabelle Miller has spent four years in an institution for the criminally insane. Demons track her every move, and their king will stop at nothing to have her. Zacharel is her only hope for survival, but is the brutal angel with a touch as hot as hell her salvation--or her ultimate damnation?





























Hello everyone! I just finished this audiobook last night. To be quite honest, I KNEW I had listened to a Gena Showalter series before, but at the very moment of loading and starting this audiobook, I couldn't for the life of me remember which one. Does that mean I listen to too many books? Bahahah! NO!! So yeah, total embarrassing moment for me, not remembering! And as I started listening, the lovely, most wonderful Max Bellmore (narrator) read in my ear, it all slowly came back to me. It actually took about 3-4 chapters, and I said to myself THE LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD!!!! and then shortly thereafter, Showalter mentioned the LOTU in the plot of the book. I was sooo pleased to see that much later in the book, they even had speaking parts in the book. I LOVED the Lords of the Underworld. I've listened to THEM ALL and loved them tons! I can't wait for the next LOTU book! I think that was when I really fell in love with Max Bellmore's reading style and sound of his voice. He's read other series by other author's that I've listened to and he's AH-MAZING! Anyway!!! So, I grabbed this book right when it came out and I'm sooo pleased to see that this is going to be a series (hence the Angel of Dark # 1) and that we got to meet a few of the characters Showalter is going to give their very own books to. I wasn't pleased though, to poke around her website and find out whom book # 2 is going to be about. He didn't really stand out and impress me much in this book (Koldo) as much as other characters did (Oh I can't WAIT to hear Thane's story... meoooow!), but I know it will be an amazing journey, like this book was. Again, to be honest (what's with this honesty crap?), when I started the book, it was a slow starter, to me. It took me several different goes and about chapter 4-5 to really sink my teeth into this book. I tried "the other angel series" but JR Ward (Covet... Crave... etc) but did NOT get into them and quit before I'm sure the first book got good, those books have great ratings, but this book nods towards the LOTU and I just loved those books sooo much, so I knew I had to stick this one out even though that first night of giving it a go, I pulled my ear buds out of my ear to go to sleep and said "Bleh, slow starter... boring..." But thankfully, I gave it a couple more listens and then could NOT take my ear buds out! I literally spent all of yesterday listening to that book. A good 7-8 hours, listening and then finishing it up right at midnight last night! I loved it and it picked up nicely! I love the characters, although Annabelle started to sound and act exactly like another character from the LOTU named Anya. It was very very similar but that's okay! Anya was cute and sassy and wouldn't ever give up no matter what- although Annabelle was "human" and Anya wasn't. It's just the way Bellmore did the voices, I think, it all kinda started to sound exactly the same, but again- that's okay by me I was just tickled pink to hear the mention of the LOTU's in this book because the characters are slightly tied together, they assist the angels from time to time, and they are "friends" (putting that mildly lol!). There was a main plot twist at the end, that I don't even know why I didn't see coming. Once it was revealed shortly before the book ended, I was like DUH!!! WHY DIDN'T I SEE THAT COMING! I felt stupid, but was so wrapped up in this angel,  Zacharel, and his quirks and everything else, that I didn't see it coming and it was a good little surprise. I sincerely hope that anyone who loved the LOTU as much as I did, will pick up this book and give it a try. The familiarity of this book and the world described in it and characters will really get into your mind and heart! Great book!!! Can't wait for #2.... #3 and more!!!


I gave Wicked Nights:  ★★★★★ = Loved it!


I have no idea what I really want to start next... I have loaded on my mp3 player the following book, so I guess I will give this new series a go...


Atlantis Rising (Warriors of Poseidon, #1)



I'm editing to add, a day or so later, that I changed what I'm currently reading... found a new series that had a higher rating, so starting that first... I am now wrapped up in... (and kind of enjoying...)


Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, #1)

27 July 2012

Adam by Jacquelyn Frank

{YES, I've listened to this book on audio and YES this post contains spoilers, as I am reviewing a book!! LOL! may contain questionable language, discretion is advised! Excerpt below from Good Reads.}



Adam (Nightwalkers, #6)

Adam (Nightwalkers #6)

by 
4.19 of 5 stars 4.19  ·  rating details  ·  1,808 ratings  ·  208 reviews
Haunted by magic, beset by evil, the Nightwalkers face their darkest hour yet. And when they unthinkable happens, only one legendary male has the power, the will, to save them:

Adam....

FOR 400 YEARS HE WAS LOST TO HER, BUT HE IS HERS TONIGHT...

From their first tantalizing touch, Jasmine knows he is different. What other lover could unlock her tight control, flood Vampire senses jaded by a lifetime of decadent self indulgence? Centuries ago, when he disappeared without a trace, she had given up hope of ever fulfilling the promise of incomparable passion. But here he is, against the very laws of nature, ready to bring down their most vicious enemy, ready to bring her blood to the boiling point.... If she will only let him

































Hello again friends and followers! I'm here reviewing Adam by Jacquelyn Frank! This book, too, as the others in the series was narated by the lovely Xe Sands.


I finished this on audiobook last night and felt like it was good closure to the series, but I was curious... so this morning I did some googling (that sounds dirty!) of Ms. Frank and happened upon her website to do some reading as to whether or not this is indeed the last book in the Nightwalker series... It appears so. Which is sad, but okay, since like I said; there was closure. I also read some interesting tid bits from Frank who stated she didn't necessarily enjoy spoilers, especially in reviews. Now, I'm not wanting to upset the powers that be and get authors irritated at me or anything, but since this IS a book review blog, I do warn my readers up front that there may or may not be a spoiler here and there. I think I've been pretty safe though, looking back on my other reviews and given each book fair exposure without going into too much detail on real plot twists and ruining surprise endings and whatnot... I do hope that I am not causing authors any heartache over my reviews. I think I'm pretty open minded and fair and keep in mind that there's a lot more to a book then one little opinion! I may dislike a book and express that here on my blog, but that doesn't mean that the next person who picks up that book won't completely love it!


But... I digress, because I thoroughly enjoyed Adam! I have to admit when I first gave it a listen, I was in a Nyquil induced coma with a killer summer cold (bleh!) and I thought I was kind of hallucinating when the plot started to pick up... I was actually saying to myself "What the fuck...??" (...and actually after having perused the Frank website today and reading her story regarding the THREE YEAR wait to release Adam -GASP- when it was finally released, I kinda see why I was shocked/confused as the book started up) and literally felt like my heart was being pulled right out of my chest (okay, slight exaggeration there, so what!) with the plot that was unfolding right before my... ears! (audiobook, remember!) I was shocked and stunned at how Frank decided to take this book but it all ended up quite clever and well thought out! I really actually enjoyed how she toyed with my emotions through this one, much more so than with any of the other books, I might add! They all kind of built up to this crescendo, which is Adam. It was a very fun little journey full of plot twists and that warm, fuzzy happy ending feeling that you always want to have at the end of any book; or any series even. I enjoyed the complexity of the situations and the time Frank took to explain everything, but not overly so to where you invested more than you wanted to, or more than you felt you should have when all was said and done. I will definitely be considering other books of Frank's in the near future as I plod through my TO BE READ list, that is to be sure! Once again, I do hope anyone reading this out there in internet land gives the Nightwalker series by Jacquelyn Frank a go. It's six great books that take you on a really easy, fun, slightly smoldery little journey. 


I give the final book in the series- Adam, this many stars:  ★★★★ = Liked it!


...and I just loaded up this book, which I will be starting once I publish this post! :)

Wicked Nights




23 July 2012

Noah by Jacquelyn Frank

{YES, I've listened to this book on audio and YES this post contains spoilers, as I am reviewing a book!! LOL! may contain questionable language, discretion is advised! Excerpt below from Good Reads.}



Noah (Nightwalkers, #5)View a preview of this book online

Noah (Nightwalkers #5)

by 
4.16 of 5 stars 4.16  ·   rating details  ·  3,413 ratings  ·  187 reviews
The Nightwalkers have lived in the shadows of our world for centuries, gifted with abilities few humans can comprehend. For Noah, duty is all--until he meets the woman who is his destiny...

SHE WILL TAKE HIM BEYOND HIS WILDEST DREAMS.

As Demon King, Noah is dedicated to protecting his kind from their human and Nightwalker enemies. Yet for six months he has struggled with vivid dreams that threaten his very sanity. Every night he's tormented by images of a woman both achingly real and tantalizingly beyond his grasp. And his bone-deep need leaves him no choice but to force her to leave the life she's known and enter a world beyond her imagining...

Every day, Kestra risks her life in perilous missions that veer just shy of the law, but she instinctively knows that the imposingly sensual figure before her is a danger unlike any she's ever faced. Kestra has sworn never to trust or need another man, but Noah's lightest touch scorches her with fevered desire, branding her as his mate, blinding them both to the terrifying truth. For within the ranks of their own people lies an adversary growing in number and power. And nothing and no one will be safe again...

Desire awakens at night...












































Hi again! Here I am with the review of the 5th book in the Nightwalker Series- Noah by Jacquelyn Frank, narrated by the lovely Xe Sands. I know this is going to sound just like the last book- but this one, by far is my favorite book in the series! I LOVED Noah! Oh my gosh! What a spectacular book. Nothing was sacred in this story line as Frank took us along the journey of Noah finding his mate (in such a cool way, might I add), even as far as making Noah's mate- Kestra, barren. And from listening a bit to the next book in the series Adam (started this last night and gave a bit of a listen this morning) the fact that Kestra is barren is extreme foreshadowing... but I digress! I won't give away anymore until it comes time to review Adam.
So anyway, the struggle in this book is pretty paramount and the realizations and epic battles go hand in hand. I loved the tension and near-death situations that occurred as well, even though the poor nightwalker's still can't seem to catch a break. Poor nightwalker's. LOL! So if you've read the rest of the books in the series, they are just as great as this one, but this one was a little more special because Noah is the "demon king". Ruler of all the demons. So, he's been without a mate for quite sometime and he's got great powers as he's the most powerful male fire demon around. As I said in the beginning it was a great struggle to find Kestra, for Noah, and a great struggle to keep her, but the path they took was a great read! I'm really happy that I picked up this series, it's turned out to be a really great story! All of the characters are beloved and endearing in their own little ways and Kestra was a great addition to the mated pairs. If anyone is still on the fence about this series, I would highly suggest that they pick it up and just dive in! You won't be disappointed!


I give Noah this many stars: ★★★★ = Liked it!










Stay tuned for my review on this book I started last night:



Adam (Nightwalkers, #6)


12 July 2012

Damien by Jacquelyn Frank

{YES, I've listened to this book on audio and YES this post contains spoilers, as I am reviewing a book!! LOL! may contain questionable language, discretion is advised! Excerpt below from Good Reads.}

Damien (Nightwalkers, #4)View a preview of this book online

Damien (Nightwalkers #4)

by 
4.12 of 5 stars 4.12  ·   rating details  ·  4,426 ratings  ·  190 reviews
They are the Nightwalkers, mysterious beings who dwell in the shadows of our world, and Damien, the Vampire Prince, is among the most powerful of them all. But one woman will tempt him with a desire unlike anything he has known, and together they will face a terrifying and relentless foe...

HE'D NEVER LOVED. BUT SHE WAS IRRESISTIBLE.

As reigning Vampire Prince, Damien has tasted every pleasure the world has to offer--consorting with kings and queens and delighting in sensual adventure. Now, tired of such pursuits, he devotes his energies to protecting his people. The war between human necromancers and Nightwalkers has escalated, and when the enemy makes a daring move, kidnapping Syreena, a Lycanthrope Princess, Damien boldly follows. He succeeds in rescuing her, but is unprepared for the erotic longing her lush sensuality awakens in him.

Gifted with rare abilities, Syreena grew up in a cloistered setting and was forbidden to form attachments to others, yet the connection Damien feels with her is immediate, intoxicating, and impossible for either to resist. But claiming Syreena as his mate could have shattering repercussions for every Nightwalker--and leave their enemies more dangerous than ever before...

Temptation tastes sweetest at night













































Hi again! I just finished up Damien by  Jacquelyn Frank, narrated by Xe Sands. This is book #4 in the Nightwalker series that I'm quite fond of. I took a short break between books 3 and 4 to catch up on some other new release books and found my way back to Frank's great series. Although the narration at the very beginning kind of threw me off (felt like Xe Sands was giving a little too much "period piece" / renaissance feel, it sort of skeeved me out a bit) and the fact that the plot seemingly was quite similar to book #3 (Elijah was found by the queen of the lycanthropes; Siena, healed and tended to in a secretive hide-out of sorts, they fell in love in their seclusion etc etc), there were definitely things that I really liked about this book. Xe gets her groove back and since it's more so present time, her 'reading' of the book takes on a more familiar tone and she reads the book perfectly and in the familiar way that I've grown used to. I really like how Frank put the twist of  the 'female best friend' role into the plot and through out the book, giving Damien a more personal feel (even though he's a vampire lol!) and keeping the tension between Damien's new mate Syreena and his 'female best friend'- it was a good little personal feel! And, I also like how she gives the nightwalkers kind of a leg up against the fight against their nemesis Ruth, the 'method to her madness' mind demon who's gone off the deep end a bit. Ruth got the upper hand in the beginning of this book, and held it pretty well while she brought a vampire into her clutches to mold him into her little helper, but towards the end, Frank tends to give a good twist and the nightwalkers kinda gave Ruth the 1, 2 punch, which was pretty cool. It wasn't a huge fantastic win for the nightwalkers, but they are getting closer, and it is neat to watch the power struggle and learn more and more about their lore!


I give Damien this many stars:  ★★★★ = Liked it! 

And just loaded this onto my mp3 player yesterday, which I will be starting today!


08 July 2012

Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione

{YES, I've listened to this book on audio and YES this post contains spoilers, as I am reviewing a book!! LOL! may contain questionable language, discretion is advised! Excerpt below from Good Reads.}



Lethal Rider (Lords of Deliverance, #3)

Lethal Rider (Lords of Deliverance #3)

by 
4.46 of 5 stars 4.46  ·  rating details  ·  1,804 ratings  ·  350 reviews
They're here. They ride. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Born of a match between good and evil, four siblings stand between hell's minions and everything they want to destroy. They are the Lords of Deliverance, and they have the power to ward off Doomsday...or let it ride...

LETHAL RIDER

Thanatos, the most deadly Horseman of the Apocalypse, has endured thousands of years of celibacy to prevent the end of days. But just one night with the wickedly sexy Aegis Guardian, Regan Cooper, shatters centuries of resolve. Yet their passion comes with a price. And Thanatos must face a truth more terrifying than an apocalypse-he's about to become a father.

Demon-slayer Regan Cooper never imagined herself the maternal type, but with the fate of the world hanging in the balance she had no choice but to seduce Thanatos and bear his child. Now, as the final battle draws closer and his rage at being betrayed is overshadowed by an undeniable passion for the mother of his child, Thanatos has a life-shattering realization: To save the world, he must sacrifice the only thing he's ever wanted-a family.










































Hello! So last night I finished the third book in an amazing series about the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse. It was quite the jam packed read! Sooo much went on in this book that it was a whirlwind ride to keep up. Now, I've read the other 2 books in this series, Eternal Rider and Immortal Rider, each one about different horsemen (well Immortal Rider was about Limos, the only female in the foursome) and their struggles with their part in regards to the Apocalypse. This 3rd book was great though! Sadly, it wasn't read by the narrator that read the other two books, who is a real favorite of mine (Hilary Huber), it was read by a female named Erin Bennett, whom I have not heard before. She started to sound like the character Pam from True Blood, LMBO! Anyway, she did a fine job reading the book and quite honestly the writing of Ione is just fantastic, so anyone could have read it and made it sound great! I've listened to Ione's whole Demonica series as well quite a while back and LOVED it, and the 4 Horsemen were mentioned briefly in that series- so when I heard that she was releasing the books about the 4 Horsemen, I knew I would love them because of her style and mention of previous characters. I LOVE that about books in a series- did you know that about me? LOL! I just love series! I very rarely will read just ONE book based on whatever... I also cling to a series of books, the more involved, the better!

But, this book had it's interesting points... for one the main fmale character Regan was 8+ months pregnant when we start the book AND has OCD issues. That in itself was interesting because I can't imaging doing half the shit that Regan did while 8 months pregnant. Now... YES, I've been pregnant two times and have two lovely daughters, and I guess it's just a topic that doesn't really sit right with me when I'm reading about apocalyptic topics, magic, fangs, paranormal etc! And let's not remember how put off I was during the 3rd 50 Shades book when the characters were getting all bdsm'd out while she was pregnant. It's just not a topic I really want to "read", "relax", "escape" to... you know what I mean. There's nothing 'sexy' about pregnancy and to be quite honest, the sex they had in this book while she was literally less than 10 days from giving birth was a little far fetched. I guess some women are into that thing while 9 months pregnant, but me... yeah, not so much. Everything ached and hurt, I couldn't sleep... oh, the list goes on and on... but I digress, the whole pregnancy thing aside, this book was VERY involved. The plot was extremely thick and had amazing up's and down's and the twist at the end (although she slowly led up to it, so it was like a no-brainer) as quite interesting! I really enjoyed it. And it will be a total pleasure when she releases the last book in the series. I think she saved the best for last! ;) So in conclusion, I would highly suggest this book to anyone who loves a good action and story & a little bit of sexy sexy time! I would also highly suggest her Demonica series as well! Fantastic series!!!

I give Lethal Rider: ★★★★★ = Loved it!



And I just started this last night- I'm back into the Nightwalker books and can't wait to finish them!


Damien (Nightwalkers, #4)

02 July 2012

Bared To You by Sylvia Day

{YES, I've listened to this book on audio and YES this post contains spoilers, as I am reviewing a book!! LOL! may contain questionable language, discretion is advised! Excerpt below from Good Reads.}


Bared to You (Crossfire, #1)View a preview of this book online

Bared to You (Crossfire #1)

by 
4.2 of 5 stars 4.20  ·   rating details  ·  9,018 ratings  ·  1,432 reviews
"Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness... "
He was beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I'd never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily...
Gideon "knew. "He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other's most private wounds...and desires.The bonds of his love transformed me, even as i prayed that the torment of our pasts didn't tear us apart... 






























So I just finished up the above book last night... and wow. That's pretty much a good word to sum it up! LOL! But of course, if you know me well, you know I will use many more words than just 'wow'! ;) I hate to do this, but I have to start with the obvious... Bared To You is VERY 50 Shades. I was looking at the publication dates and they were both same year (though 50 Shades was I guess a 'fan fiction' before it was turned into the novel that is out now, so I guess it was BEFORE Bared To You, but then finally published around the same exact time as Bared To You- very interesting, nonetheless!) and whatnot and well, the similarities do NOT end there! The characters are pretty similar and the obsession / domination aspects are very similar- to be honest, even the narrator sounds similar! LOL! I actually had to look it up and see if it was... but Bared to You was narrated by Jill Redfield and Jill did am amazing job making Gideon's voice sound all deep 'n naughty. Yes, Bared To You is a book that WILL make you squirm, even if you have or have not primed the pump so to speak with 50 Shades. The two books are completely separate- different authors, different writing styles, but the similarities speak volumes themselves. This book was a serious emotional roller coaster. It was very frustrating as well, for me. Felt like I was reading about temperamental teenagers, rather than grown men and women. And it's VERY interesting that the main character Ava, actually seems like she's starting to ENJOY being obsessed over and controlled. What woman WANTS to be controlled like that? What type of women is that?! *shudder* I am not sure. It's all very strange to me since I'm such a feminazi myself LOL!!! I just didn't see any part of their "relationship" as something normal. Even though the got dressed each morning together, went to eat, hung out and did whatever (mostly just sex)- those are NORMAL things to do, but the way in which those simple acts transpired just didn't seem normal to me. But what is "NORMAL" anyway? Everyone does their own thing- different strokes ya de ya... *shakes head* I don't know. This book was just emotionally exhausting- much more so than 50 Shades ever was! So I guess the comparison's end there? Eh, probably not. Rich, gorgeous male goes for typical female of nothing special... male owns every building in town, female just works at a typical run of the mill 'job'... male completely obsesses over female... You know, it would be interesting to read one of these dominating books from the MALE'S point of view. At the very end of 50 Shades, there was a snippet written from Christian's point of view and it was very interesting. So... I wonder if Day plans on any future books like that. That would be kind of neat... and I hope and pray to god that she doesn't have them get pregnant right away, get married... bleh! That totally ruined 50 Shades for me! I really enjoyed the writing style of Day as well, it was a very well written book and like I said before the narrator really hits the voices perfectly. She made Gideon a little grumbly and forceful sounding, I have her voice echo'ing in my ear "Ava....!" LOL! Won't be forgetting that any time soon. The book is lusty, squirm inducing and a relatively interesting read, the twist at the end is pretty interesting as we all know about jealousy in our lives pretty well (at least I do!)... good book overall!

I give Bared To You ★★★★ = Liked it!  many stars!


Right after Bared To You ended, I started up the book below! Very excited to listen to it at some point today!


Lethal Rider (Lords of Deliverance, #3)
 

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