Pleasure of the Night (Dream Guardians #1) by Sylvia Day

There are sensuous pleasures that can only be tasted in the night . . . 
He comes to her in the twilight between sleep and consciousness to fulfill her secret desires. Lyssa Bates has never experienced such ecstasy, brought to her by a man whose deep, soul-penetrating blue eyes hold the promise of tempting intimacies and decadent pleasures. But this stranger, this lover, this immortal seducer is only a dream—a phantom of her nocturnal fantasies—until he appears, inexplicably, at her door in the flesh!
Lyssa aches for the reality of him, but there is grave danger in surrender. Because Captain Aidan Cross is on a mission, and the passion that consumes them both, body and soul, could have dire consequences in a world of dreams . . . and in the waking one as well.

Hello, hello! So... thought I would try out another Sylvia Day book... this is apparently an older one (2007?!) which I wasn't really aware of when I was browsing, I guess I don't pay attention to those details! LOL! There are only 2 books in this Dream Guardian series, so apparently this is it? Since book 2 looks as though it was published in 2007 as well! Hmph! Anyway, this one had an insane crazy cliff hanger ending, which makes me scramble for book 2, but no... it wasn't THAT good. I mean, I will read book 2 EVENTUALLY, but I have more pressing books to devour at the moment... So. Sylvia Day... she goes Gideon and Eva pretty well (Crossfire series)... VERY well actually, I'm pretty fond of them... and then there is her crazy angel theme'd books... *head shake* So this book sounded pretty interesting, and it WAS, but this was one of those "reader ruins the books" situation. Oh holy smokes! Shana Savage was the reader and I just have to say, Irish brogue is NOT her thing! Like... really, NO. It was killing me the whole time, I mean I think it would have really benefited from having a hearty male reader reading this like, oh say... Holter Graham or even the equally lovely Fred Berman, but this chick... yeah... it was NOT working out at all. It was the opposite of working out actually! *snort* The story was really interesting and neat, and like I said earlier, total cliff hanger ending, making it extremely difficult to focus on anything else, but reaching out for book 2 (hell, I MAY just give a go, not sure yet)... So the male character, Aidan, had sooo much potential, and the sexy sexy times were out of this world (though with too much repetitive phrases like *coughCOCKcough* which could have used some variety...) but the narrator just really killed it! :/ Sadly! It happens to good books sometimes! Anyway... not sure what's next... I got my hot little hands on LKH, so we'll see! ;)

Shitting reading aside, it was a good solid start to a pretty cool sounding series:

See you all next time!

Entwined with You (Crossfire #3) by Sylvia Day

The worldwide phenomenon continues as Eva and Gideon face the demons of their pasts, and accept the consequences of their obsessive desires… 
From the moment I first met Gideon Cross, I recognized something in him that I needed. Something I couldn’t resist. I saw the dangerous and damaged soul inside–so much like my own. I was drawn to it. I needed him as surely as I needed my heart to beat.
No one knows how much he risked for me. How much I’d been threatened, or just how dark and desperate the shadow of our pasts would become.
Entwined by our secrets, we tried to defy the odds. We made our own rules and surrendered completely to the exquisite power of possession…

Hello hello! So... even though this was an eagerly awaited third book in the Crossfire Series and was HOT HOT HOT beyond measure, some parts and aspects of this book really were MEH for me! :( About 4 chapters in, I just got sooo tired of the "lifestyles of the rich and famous" attitude and descriptions and it got very old, very fast! I get it, everyone's rich and insanely gorgeous... is there anything else that is worthy of mentioning? Anything... at all?! *sigh* Of course I am familiar with Gideon and Eva, have read the other two books and really loved them a lot, but this one for some reason kinda struck a strange cord within me. It was like... when will the "honeymoon phase" or the "infatuation phase" end? And I don't mean honeymoon because of...errrr... ummm... yanno (no spoilers!) I just mean this insane goo-goo gah gah that Eva has for Gideon! It takes "love at first sight" to a kind of annoying sickly sweet creeptastic level that I am getting kind of bored with! I understand she likes him, and he likes her, but really now, people! Get over it! LOL! And I guess it makes sense because essentially these books plot-wise really only cover a span of months, like maybe 3 months? So I guess the "FIRE" is still burnin' and alive but it just is getting a little meh for me! :/ And... when was the act of rape ever been seen as a proper "cure all" for a PTSD rape victim...?! I mean really!? I dunno, maybe NEVER? Yeah, probably never. And this book just abruptly ended, like I honestly felt like it was just the end of a chapter, and I would wait a couple seconds and the familiar voice of Jill Redfield (who's a decent narrator) would continue on but nope! It just stopped! And I guess there is a note at the end of the book explaining and I've been reading on her Facebook that a 4th book is on its way, but holy smokes, talk about just a utter and complete let down. The end of the book didn't answer questions, ease any tensions- nuthin'! Just left me kinda hanging and wanting a lot more steamy scenes! LOL! I do have to give this book THAT much credit- it was HOT... steamy, smokin' hot! Which I expect from Day anyway, her other books were pretty hot, but this one pushed a few more limits and took one tiny little step out of the vanilla flavor, which was very nice! ;) Anyway, of course I will go on to read book 4 when it's released, but the semi-bad taste of this one needs to be replaced for me!

I have lots of books loaded up on my mp3 player, so I have to decide what is next... we'll see!! ;)

A Hunger So Wild (Renegade Angels #2) 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.}

 

Read

My rating:

1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars[ 5 of 5 stars ]

A Hunger So Wild (Renegade Angels #2)

by Sylvia Day (Goodreads Author)

4.27 of 5 stars 4.27  ·   rating details  ·  1,666 ratings  ·  168 reviews

Sylvia Day draws us back into the shadows of a seductive underworld where lycans, vampires and angels vie for supremacy...
Elijah Reynolds is the most dominant of lycans, a rare Alpha whose skill on the hunt is surpassed only by his primal sexuality. When the lycans revolt due to the iron fist of angelic rule, he steps into command, becoming both enemy and coveted ally in the conflict between vampires and angels.
Vashti is the second most powerful vampire in the world, a lethal beauty with a path of devastation in her wake. Tasked with proposing an alliance between vampires and the lycans who killed her mate, Vash approaches Elijah, whose need to avenge a friend demands Vash's death even as his passion demands her surrender.
Soon, their enmity erodes beneath an all-consuming desire. Elijah has never encountered a woman whose warrior spirit and fierce sexual appetite rivals his own, while Vash is faced with the one man strong enough to be her equal. But as war looms, each must decide where their loyalty lies--with their own kind or with the enemy lover they can no longer live without. 

Hello! I'm just a few minutes out from having finished the above book; A Hunger So Wild by Sylvia Day. It's book 2 in her Renegade Angels series and was read to me (I feel so special heh!) by someone whom I've not heard before, Rachel Vivette, who did a magnificent job! I actually recall not really preferring book #1 in this series, I remember feeling a little 'meh' about it and not rating it very high. I had been putting this sequel off for some weeks now, thinking it would probably be just as unimpressive as its introduction book... BOY! WAS I WRONG! LOL! I actually absolutely LOVED this book. I loved everything about it and was really happy with Day's choice of whom the main characters were! We had touched on them very briefly in the first book, sort of got to know them, but definitely got to know them better in this second book! I loved the way the reader did the voice of Elijah, it was smokin' hot and the temperament and attitude of his counterpart, Vashti, was freaking awesome. She was bad ass and he was bad ass too! Lots of badassery going on in this book LOL! Oh, and it was steamy hot too, which is always a bonus! ;) I'm really glad I finally gave this book a listen and didn't let the fact that I wasn't fond of the first book in this series deter me! I'm thinking that the third book is going to be JUST as awesome, and I'm definitely looking forward to it! :)

I easily gave this book:

I am loading this one up today, mp3 player is charging right now hehe!

Darkfever (Fever, #1)

Moning, Karen Marie

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.}

 Read

Read

read excerpt

A Touch of Crimson (Renegade Angels #1)

by Sylvia Day (Goodreads Author)

 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:

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

Cole, Kresley

Sweet Possession (Sweet, #5)

Banks, Maya

Sweet Addiction (Sweet, #6)

Banks, Maya

Reflected in 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.}

Reflected in You (Crossfire #2)

by Sylvia Day (Goodreads Author) 4.41  ·  rating details  ·  10,451 ratings  ·  1,987 reviews

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Gideon Cross. As beautiful and flawless on the outside as he was damaged and tormented on the inside. He was a bright, scorching flame that singed me with the darkest of pleasures. I couldn't stay away. I didn't want to. He was my addiction... my every desire... mine.

My past was as violent as his, and I was just as broken. We’d never work. It was too hard, too painful... except when it was perfect. Those moments when the driving hunger and desperate love were the most exquisite insanity. We were bound by our need. And our passion would take us beyond our limits to the sweetest, sharpest edge of obsession...

Well... I just finished Reflected in You by Sylvia Day. I had bought the book a week or so ago, but had another on my plate to finish before starting this. I was giddy with anticipation, to be quite honest. I guess I'm just a shameless hussy! LOL! Unfortunately, this left a wee bit of a bad taste in my mouth... *sigh* I just finished it mere moments ago, and felt compelled to type of a few notes on how I'm feeling right now, on my laptop, from bed. Yes, it's late, yes I'm extremely tired and yes, I loathe typing on this infernal contraption! LOL! So, without further ado,  here are a few of my feelings... it should be fun to rummage through these tomorrow morning over coffee! *snort* I had actually snuck into my daughters room to find a notepad and a pen after getting out of the shower this evening, to scrawl out a few point of interest before snuggling down into my bed to give the rest of the book a listen. I knew I was close to the end and wanted to remember a few highlights... a lot actually "bothered" me, "bugged me" (??), made me take notice about this book this time around. I'm not sure if it was the fact that that giddy, tingling in the tummy of that first infatuation / crush was completely gone for me, or if it was that needy, blatant obsession, desperation factor in there that really rubbed me the wrong way- but it kind of did. I was really looking forward to this second installment, after having read and enjoyed the first book- Bared to You. I was gushy over it and told anyone who swooned over 50 Shades, to please, for their own sake, read Bared to You- it was FAR better in writing style and plot (which I'm starting to second guess myself on the "plot" aspect...). I have down in my notes (I can barely read my own handwriting, gah!) that I've walked that fine line of feeling obsessive and kinda kooky over someone, where you'd do just about anything to be with them, even if it meant debasing yourself (which I HAVE done in the past multiple times w/ different people) and I guess now that I'm an adult and older and wiser (yeah, right), it just doesn't thrill me to really read about that kind of stuff anymore. I love the characters, don't get me wrong, Day paints a great picture and is a great writer, and I adore the fact that she makes her descriptions very tangle, touchable... and it's very easy for me to picture each motion and action and scenario... but that is all this book really was to me... a bunch of random, almost diary written'esque scenario's from day to day, week to week with a handful of sex scene's thrown in to show that Day still has that "edge" in her books. I like that "edge", don't get me wrong, it left me feeling awfully randy and playful, but then again, it left me feeling pity and feeling sorry that Eva was just a stupid girl in a fucked up situation and what kind of role model (yeah, I know, thinking WAY tooo much into this at this point...) was she for GIRLS or WOMEN? She was spineless! I am reiterating that I've felt just about damn near close to how Day describes the NEED, the WANT, the absolute MUST HAVE and looking back, it was bleh! Pathetic and just icky. Feeling that was is any sane person's RED FLAG / FIRST CLUE that that shit is just NOT RIGHT. To like... um, run away. And run far away! The plot was interesting and I enjoyed the outcome at the end, and obviously it was another 'cliff hanger' of sorts, to keep the reader hanging on, waiting and waiting for Day's 3rd book which will take another year to be released! LOL! It was an okay wait between the first book and this one... I was filled with excited anticipation when this book came out and even more so when it came out shortly after on audio format for lil ol' me (and everyone else who prefers to listen to their books!) heheh! The same narrator, Jill Redfield, blessed us with her lovely reading of the book as she did the first book in this series, and so that was familiar and pleasant because I adored how she did Gideon's voice. Rough and gravely and just perfect. It was nice to hear her again and listen to her describing Day's world to us that she created. I haven't read any other reviews on this book because I didn't want anything spoiled for me, but now that I've completed the book and this (sort of) review, I will partake and see what others thought, if they were just as happy with this one as they were the first one, or visa versa or just the MEH feeling that I have for it. In devoured the book, don't get me wrong, listening all hours of the night and day, it was a strange little roller coaster of events, frustrating moments of me rolling my eyes thinking that Eva was just being a stupid slut and to move on with her life and wondering what exactly, that Gideon had up his sleeve. I was actually fairly happy to hear that even though through chapters 2-4 or 5, Day repeated Eva being on her PERIOD, or the fact that she was due for her PERIOD any day now, period this, period that wasn't the terrible foreshadowing I thought it was going to be, kudos to Day for not ruining a perfectly good plot and coupling with a freaking pregnancy throw in there. Nothing dumps a huge bucket of cold water on a hot hot hot sex life and exploration of a relationship like a god damn pregnancy! (put that in your 50 Shades pipe and smoke it!) Anyway, I will be editing this in the AM with the Goodreads snippet and other bits and pieces, but for now, I'm off to bed as my wrists are aching and it's welllll past my bed time! :)

Edited to add... this to me, was around 

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)

by Sylvia Day (Goodreads Author)

 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)

Ione, Larissa