28 February 2013

Be Mine Tonight (Brotherhood of Blood #1) Kathryn Smith

{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.}


Be Mine Tonight  (Brotherhood of Blood, #1)
 
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Be Mine Tonight (Brotherhood of Blood #1)

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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77  ·   rating details  ·  2,186 ratings  ·  121 reviews
I am called Chapel.

For nearly six centuries I have roamed the night, a mortal man no longer. Would that I could undo the past—when I entered the sanctuary of the Knights Templar to wrest from them the Holy Grail, only to discover the chalice I raised to my lips was not the sacred relic but a hellish cup of damnation. Now I shun the day and all things human, driven by an ungodly thirst. And yet...

Never have I known a maiden the like of Prudence Ryland, whose beauty and spirit awaken a heart I feared long cold and dead. But her young life is slipping away, and she also seeks the deliverance of the Grail—unaware that the cost of her search could be her soul. I must help Prudence, for in six hundred years, no other woman has stirred my passions so. But dare I tender to my beloved that which she most desires—the sensuous "gift" of forever that is both rapture and a curse: my immortal kiss?























Hello visitors! Geesh, feels like it took me FOREVER to finish this book! Oy! Not sure, but towards the end there, it kinda sorta felt like I had less and less time or maybe even interest in the book itself because I was dreading the "END". So... here I am! LOL! I actually read a few reviews on GR about this book before I started it, and I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about it because there are actually a lot of negative & nasty review on it! I was fearful! I try not to read too many reviews BEFORE I read a book because I hate spoilers (which many of the reviews contained) and I really just don't want to have any sort of opinion on the book either way before I start it... well, I had put this book off several times, opting for a 'new release' from a more well known author or what have you, and well, I thought it was time to start it. Besides dreading the end bit (NO SPOILERS) and what would inevitably quite possibly come to pass, I really did enjoy this book. It's a "period piece", so it takes place in the 1800/1900's and there's proper tea and meals and dress etc. There could have been a little bit more detail in regards to fabric, dress clothes... things like that, but all in all, I really did like it. It had an interesting story behind it, and the first book ended on a sort of kind of cliff hanger, type of to-be-continued ending, so I have faith that I will undoubtedly pick up book 2 and read it as well. Parts of it were a little whiny, I have to admit, the main character Chapel grated on my nerves towards the end with his eleventh-hour crap, but he was vaguely likable, lol! Prudence was proper and witty and just adorable! I enjoyed her a lot. I think she was paired perfectly with Chapel and am looking forward to hearing more about the rest of group of "friends".

Now, the narrator was a bit interesting, her voice was familiar, but I don't have any posts tagged w/ her name in them, and am too lazy to read through the books she's read for right now, so I am not 100% sure if I'd heard her before, but she reminded me of my Grandma who lived on beer and cigs! LMBO! She had that seriously gravely voice, deeper and just read the book soooo strangely. Her "flow" was just way off. I'm not sure if that's just in production or what, but there were pauses when there shouldn't have been, and just the whole smooth flowing concept of reading a book went right out the window for me! LOL! It was odd and disjointed at times, to say the least! It wasn't the WORST I've ever listened to, but by far, not the best either! Meh! :P

Anyway, I have my hot little hands on Lara Adrian's newest Midnight Breed (#11) book and I'm sooo excited to start it!!! I love love love the Midnight Breed!!! :) See you soon!


Gave this book:


Up Next:

Edge of Dawn (Midnight Breed, #11)







21 February 2013

Sweet Addiction (Sweet Series #6) by Maya Banks


{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.}


Sweet Addiction (Sweet, #6)
 
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Sweet Addiction (Sweet #6)

3.87 of 5 stars 3.87  ·   rating details  ·  3,312 ratings  ·  224 reviews
He awakened a need within her…

Cole is successful beyond his dreams. He can have any woman he wants, but there’s only one he can’t stop thinking about. His childhood sweetheart, Renita. He’s never forgotten his first taste of innocent love and the desire that consumed them—or the pain he brought upon her…

But now she belongs to another…

Her long ago brush with submission awakened a longing in Ren that drove her to walk the darker edge of desire. She’s become a beautiful woman at ease with her sexuality and unapologetic about her need for a dominant man. When Cole finds her again, he’s gutted that she belongs to another. Ren’s current master agrees to give her to Cole for a short time, but then she must return to his keeping. And though Cole agrees to this bargain, he knows he will never be able to let Ren go again…

























So hello again! I'm back, having finished Sweet Addiction- book #6 in the Sweet Series by Maya Banks. And although this book has a lot of "oh poor me" / whiny parts in it, I was able to get past that because of the copious amounts of sex involved. Hahahaha!!! This book was probably OVER sexed, much like another earlier book in the series, Damon's book... almost TOO much sex, but hey, you'll never catch me saying that! heh! ;) I really did like the plot and enjoyed the leisurely but "moved right along" feeling I got when listening to it. I know, that was totally contradictory, but everything in this book, kinda was, for me! Luckily, I was introduced through this series, to the feelings a woman could possibly harbor in regards to having to feel dominated and made to submit etc. I had previous been introduced through these books, to the fact that when down to the nitty-gritty, the WOMAN is the one with all the power in a sub/dom relationship because she is ALLOWING the man to "control" her... etcetera... So I've read my fair share of sub/dom books and part of me see's the appeal and the other part makes me think I'm ALL dom, ALL the time! LMBO!

But overall, I did enjoy this book. It was sort of the same ol' thing with the flow of the series, part of me is burnt out on the whole sub/dom stuff, but the characters were great and I was happy to finally learn a little more about Cole, having been introduced to him vaguely since book 1! And the other two characters that were introduced, Lucas and Ren, were good, round characters, but a little on the shallow side. I like to know why a person ticks, you know... and with Lucas, you only got the very surface of the character... sort of the same with all of them except for Ren- we delved a little deeper with her and got to know a little more about her, but still, to me it didn't feel like enough was learned about any of the characters really. *shrug* Either way, it was a decent read, nothing really wow'd me in it other than the explicit sex scenes which were pretty hot as hell. :P I'm moving back into paranormal, I'm all done with pesky humans and their human kinks for now! :)

This book got:



...and even though most of the reviews of this book are kinda terrible, I'm giving it a try:


18 February 2013

Sweet Possession (Sweet Series #5) by Maya Banks


{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.}




Sweet Possession (Sweet, #5)
 
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Sweet Possession (Sweet #5)

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14  ·   rating details  ·  3,860 ratings  ·  218 reviews
She’s a singer who lives for the spotlight—and can’t resist her adoring fans… 
Outrageous and out-of-control, Lyric Jones is a spoiled pop star who lives hard and fast, always outrunning her past and the nightmares that haunt her. She’s used to getting what she wants—groupies included—because she can’t stand to be alone. So in bed, it’s the more the merrier, even if it means closing off the deepest part of herself…

He’s a hands-on bodyguard—and a one-woman man. 
There is nothing Connor Malone wants to do less than babysit the celebratty songstress while she’s on vacation. But part of him relishes taming Lyric and showing her what it’s like to be possessed—body and soul—by one man. And though Lyric’s crazy antics nearly drive Connor to the edge, his quiet intensity penetrates her defenses, leaving them both vulnerable to the secrets that could topple Lyric from the stage






















Hello, hello! Well it's actually been a little bit since I finished this book, it was a couple days ago, and I'm just now getting around to giving a review. To be honest, this was the most tame and mellow book of the Sweet Series that I've listened to so far! I'm actually several chapters into book #6 by now (can we say WOW!!!) and it's definitely left this book, #5, in the dust! I truly liked the characters, but even the author mentions towards the beginning something in regards to Connor being "vanilla". LOL! And vanilla he was! He had a lot of passion and he was paired with a great female character, quite tortured and all that Lyric was, it had a sweet feeling about it once they connected... but overall, it tended to be a tad on the boring side! Sorry :/ I mean, I know I shouldn't compare the book to its predecessors like I am, but having had a good listen to book #6, it is obvious that this book was very different than all the others. Something that kinda irked me a bit was how FAST everything came into play, how instantly after one LOOK, the two had this love-hate thing going on, that quickly turned into "love"... very odd and strange, as I listened along I found myself going WTF?! *snort* Anyway, I'm really looking forward to getting more into book #6 so I'm cutting this review short. Don't go into this book expecting it to be anything like books 1-4 in this series because it's not!

I gave this book:






13 February 2013

Dark Desires After Dusk (IAD #6) by Kresley Cole


{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.}




Dark Desires After Dusk (Immortals After Dark, #6)
 
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Dark Desires After Dusk (Immortals After Dark #6)

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4.37 of 5 stars 4.37  ·   rating details  ·  15,372 ratings  ·  535 reviews
RITA Award-winning author Kresley Cole continues her bestselling Immortals After Dark series with this electrifying tale of a ruthless demon mercenary and the lovely young halfling who enchants him.

A seductive beauty he can never have, yet can't resist...
Cadeon Woede will stop at nothing to atone for the one wrong that will haunt him forever. But once he secures the key to his redemption, the halfling Holly Ashwin, Cade finds that the woman he thought he could use for his own ends and then forget haunts him as much as his past.

A tormented warrior she should fear, but can't deny...
Raised as a human, Holly never knew that some frightening legends are real until she encounters a brutal demon who inexplicably guards her like a treasure. Thrust into a sensual new world of myth and power, with him as her protector, she begins to crave the demon's wicked touch.

Surrender to dark desires...
Yet just when he earns Holly's trust, will Cade be forced to betray the only woman who can sate his wildest needs -- and claim his heart?





























Hello, hello!!! So, here I am, back with the 6th book in the AMAZING series called the Immortals After Dark by the talented Kresley Cole! All of these books are already out in e-reader and actual book format, but she's releasing them slowly (ohhhh soooo slowly!) on audiobook and I'm completely loving them and devour each one as it's released. This was just released a week+ ago, and I'm already done with it! They aren't "quick reads", I don't think, but for me, they are ALWAYS quick "listens" because I have my ear buds in 24/7 with her books LOL! Once again~ completely and utterly IN LOVE with a book in this series. There honestly hasn't even been 1 that I haven't fallen head over heels for! Most of the characters are relatively re-occurring (except the heroine, this was the first we'd heard of her, but the male counterpart; Cade, we've heard of in previous books) and that gives a very familiar and comfortable feel, which I totally love! I'm a sucker for a series! heh! You know I loved the book if, right after it ends and I'm turning off my mp3 player and pulling out my ear buds that I go "Awwwww!"... and I totally did that earlier. It was a warm, fuzzy happy happy ending like I enjoy, and it was a great roller coaster ride full of a good amount of "down time" as well as action, so it balanced out fairly perfectly, for me. I'm very much so used to Cole's writing style at this point, so for me, it was a complete pleasure to go along this journey. And... let's not forget who read the book to me, my own private little reading, hah! Robert Petkoff was at it again! I've had the pleasure of listening to him read all of the other books as well in this series and he does THE BEST job! There wasn't any funky accents, other than Cade's accent, which I don't even know what or how to even describe it, they mentioned in the book something like south African?! I honestly have no clue, but it was definitely unique and totally grew on me!
Now in nearly all of her books, there's a clear pattern of: boy meets girl, boy figures out girl is "fated mate", boy either fights the urge, or gives in, either way- he attempts to convince girl they are supposed to be mates etc. etc... it's the same "plot" in each book but the characters are obviously different and unique and the environment is unique and particular to each couple, but this back and forth between the male and female was really fun and I completely and utterly adored the female character Holly. She has OCD and was just so damn quirky that it ended up being extremely endearing! I just really, really liked her a lot! I think I liked the last "leading lady" as well, in book #5 (french ballerina turned ghost, turned phantom....*snort*) so Cole really knows how to make a STRONG leading male and perfectly pair them with the best female she can imagine! I just love these books and can not wait until May when book #7 is released in audio! :)


Completely absolutely give this book: 


Up next:


07 February 2013

A Touch of Crimson (Renegade Angels #1) 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.}





A Touch of Crimson (Renegade Angels, #1)
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A Touch of Crimson (Renegade Angels #1)

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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97  ·  rating details  ·  2,153 ratings  ·  298 reviews
From the New York Times bestselling author of Bared to You...
Adrian Mitchell is a powerful angel leading an elite Special Ops unit of Seraphim. His task is to punish the Fallen-angels who have become vampires-and command a restless pack of indentured lycans. But Adrian has suffered his own punishment for becoming involved with mortals- losing the woman he loves again and again. Now, after nearly two hundred years, he has found her-Shadoe-her soul once more inhabiting a new body, with no memory of him. And this time, he won't let her go.




















Hello all! Here I am with my review of A Touch of Crimson by Sylvia Day... now we all know the lovely Sylvia Day from her amazing Crossfire Novels about Gideon and Eva; Bared to You and Reflected in You and we're all desperately awaiting her third book in the series, but I thought I would try out some of her other books because she's a fairly decent author. So I picked up this "angel" book, and this isn't my first brush with angels, mind you, but some bits and pieces of this book were hard for me to "get into". I'm not 100% sure even now, how I feel about this book and I think it mainly had to do with the narrator  Luke Daniels. I hadn't heard him read before (even though he sounded extremely familiar) and his reading was a tad bit off putting. Male readers, for me, should have that certain something about their voices (hello! Holter Graham, Fred Berman, Robert Petkoff!!!!) something sexy, something with a lot of dimension and dynamic... IDK, this male reader didn't have a lot of dimension, he sounded very monotone and strange to me. Parts of him reading were cool, he did different voice changes for the different characters but some of them where off putting! Hmm. The plot was just okay for me too. It was a very neat concept, the details were decent, but not quite "THERE", ykwim? A lot of the time I was just wishing the book was over with, so that I could move onto other books that I'm more familiar with, in my TBR pile. I have several that I'm dying to start... which might have been my desire to sorta-kinda rush this one along. The hot 'n heavy scenes were pretty hot, but there was only 1 scene that was truly enjoyable, the other scenes where the characters were left with an negative feeling sort of brought me down. I didn't completely hate the book, I don't want it to appear that way, it just wasn't for me, I don't think. I may even, when I've nothing else to listen to, pop the second book in and give it a listen, but right now I have some books waiting to be listened to that I'm pretty stinking excited to get to!
The characters of Adrian and Lindsey (sp?!) were okay for me too, although I grew much more fond of the alpha wolf / lycan in the book named Elijah (I'm hoping maybe he'll get his own book sometime?? I would be very interested in reading that!)! Adrian seemed a wee bit whiny at times so he sort of rubbed me the wrong way, but I really liked the female counterpart Lindsey- she was a good, strong, solid heroine for sure! Meh... so yeah... I'm sorta kinda in the middle on this one. If you are into Day's other works, and are fond of her writing, are fond of a tumultuous up and down sort of rollercoaster ride/plot where you're wondering which way is up or down, LOL, ohhh, and like angels- then this book is for you...


But for me, at this time, I give this book:






....and! I am going to be loading up the following books to plow through:









 

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