One Good Book Deserves Another

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Entwined Realms, Book 1
Rating: 5 Stars
Length: 374 Pages
Formats: Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Romantic Geek Publishing via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.



Twenty-six years ago, her life began...and her world ended.

Larissa Miller grew up in the years following the Great Collision, the day the human realm and the realm of magic slammed into each other and merged. Sheltered by her single father and four elder brothers, all of them cops, she's lived a pretty idyllic life in the human-only city, the dangerous reality of orcs, necromancers, werewolves, and any of the sundry deadly creatures who now share her world a distant concern.

Of course, distant concerns can get a whole lot closer pretty damn fast when you're attacked by a group of zombies, creatures of nightmare who shouldn't even be able to get past the magical wards that protect the city. Larissa's life doesn't seem quite so idyllic after that. She just doesn't know why. Neither why she is being targeted by the baddest of the baddies nor why a gargoyle came to her rescue. But she's going to find out.

For three months Terak has clung to the shadows, watching the human woman whose fate is linked to that of his clan, according to one very inscrutable Oracle. As clan leader, it is his responsibility to protect her. He just didn't know what he was protecting her from until he caught the scent of death and decay on the breeze.

Even after the zombie rescue Terak doesn't know how Larissa's safety will impact his clan but it no longer matters. Given the depth and breadth of the rage that courses through him at the mere thought that anyone would dare attack what was his, he has more than a sneaking suspicion that the little human has become very important to him. And with a necromancer after her, as being set upon by zombies would indicate, his little human's problems are just beginning.

He will end them for her or die trying. He is gargoyle. It's what he does.


I can't even begin to adequately express just how much I loved this book. Reading it was the most fun (with a book) that I've had all year. I loved it. I loved the world, loved the story, loved the characters. It was a trifecta of awesomeness!

There was so much great storytelling going on in this book. Everything from the prologue, which gutted me, to the conclusion, which tantalized me, was a thorough, intriguing, thrilling, emotional journey that captivated me and held me in thrall until the end. Not only were the primary plot threads and story elements woven together well and fully developed, but there was a delicious subtlety to elements which were merely introduced. At times it was maddening, but in the very best, "Ohhh, I want more of them/that NOW!" way that left me ravenous for the continuation of the series.

Without doubt, Monsch has a gift for creating exactly the sort of varied, sophisticated narrative and three dimensional plot that I most enjoy. To be honest, though, that gift pales in comparison to her sheer, unmitigated genius for character creation.

Larissa is a solid heroine, and while she isn't my preferred type for the genre (she's a little too innocent for that), I loved her personality and practical attitude. She gets a lot shoved at her at once, and I couldn't help but admire the way she soldiers through some fairly massive paradigm shifts, adapting as she goes. Her growth and evolution throughout the story was appealing, and I was pleased with the ease of her acceptance of Terak.

And positively delighted by his consternation over it.

Terak was a whole other massive dose of fantastic. First: gargoyle. Yay! I think they're sadly underutilized in the genre and I'm a total sucker for them. Second, Terak is my absolute favorite type of romantic hero. He's a big, bad, and totally kick-ass warrior, but when it comes to Larissa, he's befuddled by the strength of his instinctive reaction to her, even as he revels in it. And his confused pleasure every time she does or says something that displays her trust and comfort level with him was so damn endearing. Loved him.

That said, I have to be honest. Though wonderful and fully entertaining, neither Larissa nor Terak, nor their romance, were what pushed this book over the edge of five star reads into that ultra-small group of books I consider favorites. That honor lies exclusively with the few members of the Guild we meet in this book. Secondary characters Fallon and Laire stole every single scene they were in, exploding across the page and into the main characters' lives with a vitality and multihued vibrancy that is absolutely unmatched in recent memory.

I loved Larissa and Tarek, but Fallon and Laire rocked my world. I'm dying to spend more time with them and find out all those devious, delicious little details about their lives and acquaintances, details that were merely hinted at in this book. They were truly spectacular.

I'm not saying there weren't any critical elements. There were one or two things that didn't work for me nearly as well as the rest, or things that I would have liked to see evolve a bit differently. Most notably was a moment late in the book where Larissa hops on the Stupid Train for a short jaunt to Hapless-Victimtown despite spending every preceding moment in the book being exceedingly cautious and pragmatic. And I think I pulled an eye muscle with the severity of the eye roll that her moment of doubt about Tarek's motives caused. That was pretty heavy-handed and awkward.

All of that is usually exactly the sort of stuff that dims my enthusiasm for a read, but it just didn't in this case. There was way too much awesome going on before and after it all. The minor quibbles I had didn't do much more than flash on my radar before being overshadowed by my overwhelming pleasure in everything else. So very much pleasure, so much reading entertainment, so much fun. Absolutely the best time I've had while reading in a very long time. I'm so incredibly bummed that the next book won't be around until 2014. So long to wait!!

Quotables:

"Before Laire comes up with a reason why we should start removing clothes to prove some theory, I got a question." Fallon said. "Can we teleport out of here if this turns ugly?"
"Nope, our only hope will be for you to swing your sword, Wulver to fang out, and me to set everything on fire... Ooh! Liquor," And Laire turned way, walking to the bar.
"Laire, get back here! You do not drink before we meet with our mortal enemy."

"I don't think you belong here."
Laire plopped down on the barstool. "And I'm supposed to care about the opinion of someone who drools over corpses? Your implants have more sense than you do."

"Please tell me you recognize the most in-demand mercenary in the business?"
"Why, did we have a drunken one-night stand you forgot to tell me about?"

"Who do they think I am, sending a pansy-ass like that against me?"
Fallon patted Laire's shoulder, a there-there motion. "I don't think they knew we'd be waiting when they prepared this trap. But for you, we'll send his head back to them with a note to not insult you again. Does that make you feel better?"
Laire gave a long, theatrical sigh. "I don't know, maybe."

Genre: Steampunk Romance
Series: London Steampunk, Book 1
Rating: 5 Stars
Length: 448 Pages
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Sourcebooks Casablanca publisher Sourcebooks via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.


When her father was murdered and the Blue Blood responsible put a price on her head, Honoria Todd slipped out of the city proper with her younger sister and brother. They disappeared into the rookeries, into the fringe of life on the edge of Whitechapel. For six months she's been using an assumed name and practically starving as she works to the bone to feed her family and keep her brother's illness at bay.

The rookeries have their own version of a king, and no one dares cross the rogue Blue Blood known as Blade. If you're under his protection, no one would dare hurt you. If you're an enemy, the angels themselves couldn't save you. And as Honoria scurries home from her much-needed job, hiding herself along the journey to keep secret where she lives, one of Blade's people waylays her and lets her know a chilling fact. She's been summoned for an audience with the king.

Blade's viral count is dangerously high. He's already showing signs of the first symptoms of the Fade, that slow, inexorable descent into madness that will change him from man to monster, from blood-drinking ruler of the rookeries to mindless, ravening vampire. He doesn't have much time left.

Blade views Miss Todd, and yes, he knows who she really is, as a pawn. He's aware that his most reviled enemy, the member of the Echelon responsible for his infection and, ultimately, his sister's death, is hunting Honoria and her siblings. The price on their heads, most notably Honoria's, is extremely high.

He doesn't know why...yet...but he'll find out. And he'll use that knowledge to get what he wants. That's what he does. That's what he has always done. Then again, he's never before met anyone quite like Honoria Todd. And as he gets to know the fiercely prim warrior that challenges and resists him at every turn, even when exhausted and half-starved, he comes to realize something almost miraculous for it's simple truth. The king of the rookeries, battle-hardened gang leader and borderline monster, has met his match.

But with a voracious vampire cutting a bloody, deadly swath through Whitechapel and his own Fade creeping ever closer, the damnable truth is that it may just be too late for him. It may be too late for them all.


Wow, what a spectacular debut this was! I loved everything about it. The world was gritty, dangerous, and dark, the characters were full of strength and passion and furious honor...even as they danced along the gray line between black and white, and the story was action-packed, dangerous, and powerfully emotional. Hands down this is one of my top three reads of the year to date. I'm definitely the most excited I've been about a new series in a very long time.

I'm still sort of a steampunk neophyte, so I don't have a large reservoir of material to compare, but I loved the mix of steampunk and paranormal in this fantastic romance. The steampunk elements were fairly low key, which might bother true enthusiasts, but my largest passion is paranormal romance, so this worked just fine for me. I'd even suggest the steampunk-curious try this one to get their toes wet. I think it would be a good way to delve into the genre.

The whole grimy, soot-stained, virus-ridden world felt deliciously fresh and original, and I adored what was a completely new take on both vampire and werewolf mythos here. The ruling Echelon, with their infected blood rites and power-hungry House structure, was freaky-scary in concept. Considering they were knowingly and enthusiastically infecting themselves with a virus that demands blood-drinking and would lead to their eventual destruction when the virus overwhelms them, it all seemed a rather profound statement on the vagaries of vice and power.

I loved it.

And Honor and Blade were fantastic main characters. Honor was everything I could have ever dreamed. Fierce, intelligent, independent, proud, she was both a free thinker and riddled with prejudice and fear, stubborn and generous in equal measures. She sometimes took wild, dangerous risks, throwing herself into battle for those she loved, and she would defend them to the death. She stood up to Blade, a man who is everything that most terrifies her, even when he had her completely at his mercy. I liked her as a person and respected the hell out of her character, even when her obstinacy regarding Blade started to really frustrate me.

One of my favorite things about this book was that it wasn't just me that it frustrated. Blade was quite vocal in his frustration with Honoria, as well. That was a fantastic thing to read. I can't tell you how many times I've suffered with a mind-numbingly frustrating heroine's sundry issues only to curl my lip at the hero's seeming limitless patience for - or obliviousness to - those issues. Sometimes it's just nice to see a hero call her on it, be affected by it, acknowledge it as the head-cracker it is. Blade did that, and I loved it.

That's not the only reason I loved Blade though. He was...it. The perfect "it." Bad boy with a heart of gold, borderline monster with a soft spot for his woman, honorable crook, violent protector, the most loyal libertine. And he had this unguarded tenderness in him for Honor. Against even the warnings of his own people he wanted her and took care of her, fought with her and yearned for her, protected her and wanted to throttle her. He was jealous and adorable with it, fierce and sexy as hell with it, resolute and uncompromising and utterly trustworthy with it. He was, in short, perfect. Even his flaws were perfect.

Together their chemistry was tempestuous, emotional, fraught with tension, and absolutely incendiary.

Combine two awesome characters with a perfect complement of memorable secondary and ancillary characters, give them a layered, complex plot with several meaty, overlapping plot threads to keep them racing against time and evading danger, and you have this book. I was in reader heaven. I loved the story, the journey from the opening words to the final sentence. Villains and their villainy, hopelessness, loss, injury, lust, threat, risk, failures and triumphs littered the whole of the book in such a way that every chapter was an odyssey.

Some story elements surprised the heck out of me, some I'd figured out fairly early, some made me nervous and some made my gut churn with dread, desperate for it all to work out. The overall plot did absolutely everything it was supposed to do. It entertained the hell out of me.

Books like this are exactly why I'm so rabid about reading. I was transported into McMaster's world and held there until she deigned to let me go. Her writing is a stylized joy, her imagination a fierce weapon, her sense for story and character a tremendous gift. And I'm thrilled, just thrilled, that there is more to come in this series. I can't wait.

Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Spindle Cove, Book 2
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Length: 356 Pages
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle



Though Minerva Highwood loves her sisters and suffers her mother, she can't embrace the sort of life they lead. She is happy only when her nose is buried in a book, or when she's off by herself, studying the rocks and fossils that thrill the geologist in her. She's a brainy bluestocking who wants nothing more than to be respected for her intellect and acknowledged for her discoveries.

She cannot, however, abide the thought of her beloved sister marrying the town rogue. In exchange for leaving her sister alone, she offers Lord Payne a deal. It's brilliant, really, and mutually beneficial. Instead of wedding Diana, he can run away with her. They can make it look like an elopement. If he accompanies her to Edinburgh to help her present her recent findings at the upcoming symposium for the Royal Geological Society, she will give him the five hundred guineas that she's sure to win for best presentation. Any ensuing ruin to her reputation is a personal price she's willing to pay.

Payne wants nothing more than to get out of Spindle Cove, but even he has his limits, and Miss Highwood has definitely exceeded them with her outlandish scheme. That's even assuming he could do what she asked, which he can't. The symposium is less than two weeks away and travelling would be problematic given his restrictions - restrictions he's loathe to explain in detail.

He may be a rake, and his reputation may be suspect at best, but even he has honor, and he refuses to ruin an innocent lady in such a callous way. Still, Minerva is intent and leaves him with exactly two choices, indulge her harebrained scheme until she begs off the journey and scurries back home, or become the worst sort of cad, letting her traipse off into the wide world all alone. That is really no choice at all, and he resigns himself to do what he can to look after her.

But neither his tattered honor nor his best intentions may be enough to help him ignore the passionate nature he starts to see peeking out at him from behind Minerva's spectacles now that she's slipped beyond the shadows of propriety. Heaven help them both.


My first visit to Spindle Cove secured my appreciation for author Tessa Dare. The delightful blend of sardonic humor, romance, and story in that series debut helped it become my favorite historical romance of the year and one of my favorites of all time. I was anxiously looking forward to continuing the series with this book, but I was trepidatious, too, as it's so rare in a series to have the same level of spectacular fun for two books in a row.

I needn't have worried.

Though this book as a whole wasn't quite as totally thrilling and all-encompassing in it's pleasure to read (only by a slim margin), the main characters Minerva and Colin, their evolving relationship, and their adventurous journey far exceeded my expectations and provided several hours of sublime enjoyment.

I loved Minerva for all her intelligence and strength, her honesty and her unabashed curiosity. She's guileless and true, and even with her insecurities she's forthright. She is truly a sharp character, and I adored how she took Colin to task on all manner of things when necessary. She never backed down, often initiating volleys of verbal warfare, keeping him on his toes. I even liked the bit of intellectual elitism she displays once or twice, and appreciated how she uses her intellect to shield her most tender feelings.

Colin ended up being even more of a delight to me than I had anticipated. I was expecting a fairly pedestrian if well-written transformation from rogue to dedicated hero, but what I got was a remarkably complex personality with some startling issues and a slow journey towards self confidence. Charming, yes. The man is definitely a charming rogue, seeming one with all the personal depth of puddle at the beginning, and Colin uses that charm like Minerva uses her intellect, both as a shield and a bludgeon.

We know of Colin's issues with sleeping alone from the first book. In this one we find out exactly from whence those issues sprung, and it is tragic. He is also a man dangerously close to the edge, living life day to day to quiet the rumblings of self-loathing and jaded cynicism that have him in his clutches. He is someone who has mostly given up the idea of being a truly good man because though his heart is often in the right place, his actions tend to blow up on him and anyone else in his vicinity.

He's a bit of a chameleon, actually, and easily adapts to every situation in which he finds himself, often in the most outlandish ways. He's one of those people who can be a friend to all but truly known by very, very few. And he's a little touchy about feeling worthy of Minerva's affections. All these wonderful, juicy layers to his character are slowly peeled away and displayed throughout the arc of the story and it provided much more depth and sweeping emotion to their romance than I was expecting.

Together, Min and Colin are simply fabulous. The banter between them was superb. Then their journey started and the relationship they began cobbling together becomes something remarkable. It's almost a begrudging friendship at first, growing warmer and warmer through familiarity and helped along by a wealth of inside jokes and tender moments. Along the way we see both characters grow and mature, finding their joys in themselves as well as each other.

As far as romances go, the one between Minerva and Colin was one of the best I've read for the depth and dimension given to their relationship. These two people truly learn each other, then truly feel for each other, for who they are at their core. It startled me a little, actually. There was such complexity in their relationship, so much knowing and accepting of their core selves, that it hit me just how rare that is in romance fiction.

I wasn't as enamored with the scenes from Spindle Cove that are sporadically interspersed between the chapters of Minerva and Colin's road trip. As much as I love that town with all its quirky charm and unique characters, those scenes were more a distraction than a benefit. I appreciate that they set the foundation for the romance between Kate and Thorne for the next book, but they just seemed an unnecessary disruption in this one.

For ardent fans of absolute historical authenticity in regency romance, I would caution readers this may not be the book or the series for you. The dialogue is more conversational and relaxed, and the plot is a bit out there. On the other hand, if you prefer your historical romance heavily sprinkled with humor, don't mind a lack of stiff-upper-lipness, and are hit by waves of spontaneous lust when you hear mathematical terminology, then I would suggest booking a trip to Spindle Cove as soon as possible. Like me, you'll fit right in.

Quotables:

"My name is Minerva. I'm not your pet. And you're deranged if you think I'd ever marry you."
"But I thought you just said-"
"Run away with you, yes. Marry you?" She made an incredulous noise in her throat. "Please."
He blinked at her.
"I can see you're baffled."
"Oh, good. I would have admitted as much, but I know what pleasure you take in pointing out my intellectual shortcomings."

"How could you be certain of winning the prize?"
"I'll win. I could explain my findings to you in detail, but a great many polysyllabic words would be involved. I'm not sure you're up to them just now."

"Oh no. Oh God. I couldn't possibly be so stupid."
"Don't limit yourself. You can be anything you wish."

"At least Sir Alisdair would remember my name."
"Perhaps." He closed the distance between them, standing so near his chest grazed her breasts. "But could he kiss you so hard, you forget it?"

Genre: Paranormal Romance; Alternate Universe; Futuristic
Series: Psy/Changling, Book 10
Rating: 5 Stars
Length: 432 Pages
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle


He wants her. There's no use lying to himself about that. Hawke aches to possess her with a single-minded intensity that has his wolf starving for the most intimate of skin privileges. But he's not going to take her. He's a mature wolf changling, alpha of SnowDancer, and significantly older than she is. But damn, he wants her.

PsyNet defector and cardinal X-Psy Sienna Lauren is an adult in the pack, and given her past, she's older than her years. She is the ultimate weapon, one that requires unimaginable discipline, and it makes her crazy that the one man she wants, Hawke, refuses to see her as anything but the child she was never allowed to be.

As attacks by an aggressive faction of Psy known as Pure Psy are leveled against SnowDancer and the winds of a burgeoning war start to blow in their direction, Hawke's focus is torn between his pack and his desire for the one woman he refuses to take. His resolve is legendary, but even he has to see that a woman who can fight for her pack, risk her life for them, is old enough to decide who she lets into her bed.

She has to do something to show the stubborn wolf she is more than the child he sees. Even if it endangers the woman she's become.


I can't tell you how many times I've highly anticipated a book in series only to have that book disappoint in some way or another. You'd think I'd know better than to ever let myself feel that anticipation, but it's a lesson I seem to need to keep learning. Or maybe it's books like this, those rare awesome books that are highly anticipated...and manage to deliver for me on every front...that keep anticipation burning.

Don't know. Don't care, either, at the moment. I'm too busy being thrilled with this book.

Obviously, as I'm still reading this series at the tenth book, both the series and the author are favorites of mine. Some of the books in this series have been more beloved than others, and I do slightly prefer Singh's Guild Hunter series to the Psy/Changling series, but both are two of my favorite ongoing series and I highly recommend both for fans of well-written and imaginative paranormal romance/urban fantasy romance.

I loved everything about this book. The complexity of the plot and the myriad of plot threads that Singh wove together throughout the story were impressive. There's so much that goes on, and so many characters involved in so much of it, with a rock-solid foundation built by every one of the preceding books, that I would definitely not recommend a reader new to the series start here.

It could be done, Singh has a gift for condensing necessary exposition and fitting it in well with current developments, but so much of the emotional impact would be lost that it just shouldn't be.

I adored the relationship arc and character developments for Hawke and Sienna in this book. It wasn't what I would call a traditional romance, really, and that's what I love about Singh. She has such a gift for creating stories that fit perfectly with the characters featured in it. Hawke and Sienna have known each other for a while, have battled and locked horns, have struggled against their attraction for years, so the relationship between them is in a completely different place and needed completely different things than, say, Judd and Brenna did in their book.

The pack, the past, who they are, what they're responsible for, what they can do, the issues each have with how they feel, the threat of the Psy, all of that plays a significant role in each character's definition and development, not to mention on their romance. It was frustrating at times (very frustrating at times). It was enlightening at others. There were moments that made me mad and moments that made me laugh. Sometimes it just flat-out broke my heart. For me, though, all the sublimely well-crafted pieces that factored into their personalities and into every moment of their relationship arc worked...perfectly. I loved every second of it.

I was also very much in love with the secondary romance between pack healer Lara and Walker, Sienna's uncle. Where the relationship between Hawke and Sienna was rocky, fiery, raging with emotion, and practically shouting its passion and angst, hurt and strength, stubbornness and pride, Lara and Walker's relationship balanced that with its quiet implacability, its soft moments and tender touches. The frustrations were more internal, the feelings more subdued. That relationship created such a wonderful counterpoint to Hawke and Sienna's point that I can't imagine what the book would have been like without it.

By no means is this book, or any of the books in this series, focused solely on the romance, though. This one definitely provided some forward progression on the Pure Psy threat and the continuing degeneration of the Council and the PsyNet. There are so many, many balls up in the air in this series that a single book can't really touch on every plot point without being six hundred pages long, but there were certainly a lot covered here. Singh manages to keep me guessing on some things, keep me horrified about others, and still manages to introduce new story elements all the time.

Honestly, I don't know how she does it. I don't know how this series, even at the tenth book, feels just as fresh, just as original, just as intriguing and compelling and a thousand times as complex as it did in the beginning. I open a Psy/Changling book and feel like I'm visiting old, beloved friends who I care about very much...even if I wouldn't want to catch a meal with them. In particular, I want to thank Singh for the gift of seeing Lucas and Sasha's newest development meet the world.

I'm so incredibly invested in this series. To me that's the mark of a series that is a step above, one that has just that little extra that makes it stand out among a huge crowd. This, its tenth installment, is perhaps the best of them for me. It certainly did not disappoint.

Quotables:

"Do you really think I'd let you go that easily?"
An implacable glance from eyes that were suddenly decades older than him. "I'm not yours to let go."

"Walker doesn't glare...He just looks at you until you obey."

"You're in my every breath and every thought, intertwined so deep inside me that love's not a strong enough word - you have my devotion, your name branded on my soul, my wolf yours to command. A hundred years? It'll never be enough. I want eternity."

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Team EDGE, Book 1
Rating: 5 Stars
Length: 301 Pages
Formats: Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: A copy of this book was provided to me by the author for review. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.


When EDGE operative Dillon Caldwell was given a mission to infiltrate the Sanchez Drug Cartel and bring down its head, Rafael Sanchez, Dillon figured it would be a long, grueling year that he might not survive. He had no idea it would be three horrific, gut-churning years, or that the price paid for his efforts would be a nightmare worse than abject failure.

Then, after his cover was blown, he watched in horror as his wife was slain in front of him. His parents were next. And his sister, who died, broken and burning, in his arms.

Dillon, wracked by loss and guilt, is nearly rabid in his hunt for Sanchez, intent on ending his reign of terror. What he finds along the way, though, will change everything Dillon thought he knew to be true. Washed up on a nearby beach, badly beaten and suffering from exposure, is the woman he thought dead for the past twelve months. His wife Sara is alive.

Dillon's stunned relief and joy are short-lived, however, shredded by the razor-sharp fangs of betrayal and kept secrets, scorched by the obvious disdain from a woman who may as well be a stranger. And if that's not enough, not only is Sanchez is still out there, but Dillon can't even trust the people he works for. Not when they kept the truth about his wife from him, not when someone on the inside burned his cover.

He's got a sadistic, murderous drug kingpin after him and someone from his own country betraying him. He's got a wife who is alive, but looks at him with loathing. And he's got the knowledge that, despite all best efforts, he has failed every single person he loved. Struggling with that burden is bad enough, but Dillon's plate isn't yet full. The stakes that he's played with for three years are raised higher still when he finds out that Sanchez has something of his, something Dillon didn't even know existed. And it's a game-changer in every way.


K.T. Bryan doesn't just kick off her Team EDGE series with this powerhouse of a story, she fills it with rocket fuel and launches it straight into the stratosphere. Powerful writing, a hell of a plot, and two flawed characters thrust into one incredibly perilous situation after another are the backbone of this awesome debut. As in all things, the devil is in the detail, and Bryan proved herself adept and snagging that devil by the throat, slamming it down on the page, and introducing her characters to hell. Gut-churning emotion, sweat-soaking suspense, and so much action I felt like I needed a nap after, The EDGE of Trust snatched me up and commanded my attention through every single white-knuckled page.

Sure, there is no shortage of like-themed romantic suspense out there. There are certainly elements in this book I've read elsewhere. It has a military flavor, of course, and the former Navy SEAL alpha male warrior, now an EDGE operative, with plenty of testosterone and a rabid sense of duty to cause and country. The Bad Guy, head of a Mexican drug cartel, is an extremely violent sociopath who is so coldly ruthless it's a wonder he doesn't shit ice cubes. You'll surely recognize him, too, for all that type has been portrayed in everything from books to television to movies.

The plot, too, didn't have a whole lot of surprises in the direction it took or in it's major points...but how it was set up, fleshed out, and executed in full was superb. The fluid timeline, including moments of the past interspersed with current events, so often a stumbling block in books, was handled exceptionally well. Readers are treated to a fairly comprehensive view of the lives of the characters leading up to and including the real-time crises without once obscuring the main plot thread. Of note, I loved the passages from Dillon's journal, as it gives readers insight into the emotional price an undercover agent pays and how his character in particular evolved during his undercover assignment.

And when it comes to Dillon and his wife Sara as characters, we reach what, for me, elevated this book from a solid suspense read I really enjoyed to one of my favorite reads this year. Not only were they deliciously flawed and grievously wounded individuals (preferred for the depth it gives the characters), but their emotional baggage and all their issues were ripped open and exposed in deliciously gritty, brutal fashion, in actions and reactions, fights and fury, angst and passion. It wasn't always pretty, certainly wasn't traditional for a romance novel, but it was so damn realistic (within the fictional framework) that I was left shaken by several scenes, my heart in my throat and my stomach in knots.

Grief, confusion, betrayal, guilt, blame, shame, and worse...including ugly emotions that danced dangerously close to hatred, Bryan gleefully dipped her brush into them all and splattered them into the gaping, bloody wounds of her characters' lives. The result was a story-long evolution of a relationship, one that provided an unflinching and brilliant portrayal of two characters who used to love each other very much, then lost it all...or gave it away, and now have to deal with the aftermath of every painful choice and uncertain decision if they are going to have any hope of peace. Never mind absolution.

It was messy and harsh as hell, and made for some gripping, frustrating, and agonizing reading. I loved every second of it.

This definitely isn't a book for the faint of heart. Not only was the emotional gamut fairly harsh and unrelenting, but Bryan doesn't shy away from scenes of physical brutality either. While the majority of the book was fairly average for the genre in that regard, there were at least three scenes I can think of right off the top of my head that pushed the envelope. One was graphic enough and included subject matter that hit me hard, and I'm not a particularly sensitive reader.

I am a reader who appreciates Bryan's ability to create the sort of story she's written here. Well-written and complex, taut and emotional, action-packed and exhausting, this series debut is the whole package. It's one of the best romantic suspense novels of this type that I've read and one of my favorite reads of the year. In short, wow. Awesome read.

Genre: Fantasy Romance
Series: Dragon Kin, Book 5
Rating: 5 Stars
Length: 383 Pages
Formats: Paperback, Kindle





The Fearless and The Abhorrent

For five long years the war has been waged against the Irons of the west, the alliance between the Southland Fire Breathers, the Northland Lightnings, and the Mad Queen Annwyl the Bloody holding strong against a force of almost unimaginable numbers. For five years mates have been apart, children have grown, life has slogged on. And everyone, frankly, is tired of it.

Ragnar the Cunning is the master strategist of the dragon forces, and he's got a plan underway to finally bring an end to the war, but not before some choice intelligence drops in his lap (courtesy of his love's...skill...at torturing) that could change the course of battle and break this vicious stalemate. The safety of Annwyl and Fearghus' twins and Briec and Talaith's youngest daughter are at stake, and the choice of whom to trust with that information, who to send to secure them, is one that could affect not just the war, but the lives of everyone in two different kingdoms.

The plan starts simple, Keita and Ren will travel to the childrens' sides and secure them, their safety across a war-torn land assured by Rhona the Fearless, a highly skilled Cadwaladr dragoness soldier in the Queen's army, and Vigholf the Abhorrent, brother to Ragnar and second of the Olgeirsson Horde of Northern Lightnings, who is determined...in that totally chauvanistic and not the least oblivious way he has...to protect the weak female warrior on her cute little trek.

Rhona calls him Commander Pest. Vigholf calls her The Babysitter. She hates him. He watches her. And their epic journey starts here.

"I'm a dragon, my lady. Dragons don't become martyrs. We create them."

There are books that I adore, authors that I follow rabidly, series that I love, and a myriad combinations of all three. Then there is G.A. Aiken. Or Shelly Laurenston, as she is otherwise known. Regardless of the name on the book jacket, over the course of all her published works Aiken/Laurenston has - hands down - given me the most entertaining reading of my long, long experience.

In short, her books make me happy.

I'm not talking about whether or not I liked, loved, or was ambivalent about an individual book's content or characters, I'm talking an overall feeling of general happiness when I read them. It goes beyond appreciating technical writing skill or how creative and imaginative the world. It's not just about how well a series is fleshed out or how lovable the characters are that inhabit that world. It's even more than the fact that every one of the featured female characters in her books are all brutally strong (physically, mentally, or both), independent women who are more than capable of taking care of themselves - something I'm known to favor. Of course that all plays a significant part. How could it not? But it's also in large part the way Aiken/Laurenston thinks and relates those thoughts in her books; the humor - the bawdy, rowdy, bloody fun of it all, and yes, even the moments of drama and angst, that combines with the rest to put her books head and shoulders above other reads.

There's just something about the Dragon Kin series...and the series/books she writes as Laurenston...that intrinsically appeal on every level, even if (as in the most recent book in the Pride series), the stories or characters aren't always my favorites in their respective series. I just think of these books differently than others I've read, feel differently about them. Bluntly put, I'm a fan. A huge, huge fan.

That being said, The Dragon Who Loved Me is one of my favorites in the Dragon Kin series. Not because of Rhona and Vigholf, really, though they are adorable, perfectly matched, and a lot of fun as individuals and as a couple. In truth, their relationship evolution was one of the more peaceful and easy I've read by Aiken/Laurenston, and the characters themselves are a bit more low-key than the royal dragon contingent so the romance story arc lacked a little of the intensity of the other pairings. In this book, though, it's the scope, the depth, and breadth of the surrounding story, as well as the feeling of seamless reconnection to previously featured/introduced characters who I've long since loved that worked so well for me here.

Everyone's back, and I applaud the attention to detail and continuity that Aiken/Laurenston maintains as the war plods on, battles get fought, lives are saved...and lost, and characters and relationships tested. It's fairly amazing, actually, just how huge and complex this book is as far as plot and pacing and characters. Definitely the most dynamic and multi-layered I've seen in the series so far, though perhaps not the most emotionally powerful. It certainly didn't turn me into the blubbering mess I was during What A Dragon Should Know, the third book of the series (and I thank hell for that, because I'm quite happy never to go through that again). It is the mark of an accomplished author that so very many characters and such divergent plot threads were woven together into such a rich and satisfying tapestry of reading entertainment. I loved it.

Maybe the humor that Aiken/Laurenston brings to the table isn't for everyone. It's certainly bawdy and crass and no-holds-barred. So is the sexuality in her books. Hell, so are the lives of her characters and many of the characters themselves. The books also tend to be bloody with the occasional pillage and plunder and more than occasionally a dismemberment...or ten. I can't fault those for whom that may not appeal. Maybe it says something about me that I find it so very appealing. Don't really care, actually, because there's no other author I've ever been able to come close to saying this about (though I for sure wouldn't mind a legion of them): Whether it's G.A. Aiken's Dragon Kin series or Shelly Laurenston's various series/books, her books make me happy.

And I like being happy. A lot.

Quotables:

"Right now she hates me. That is a form of caring, which could easily, with some skill, turn to love and eventually adoration."
"My mum was right. You are thick as two planks."

"The beauty of Mum is that she never gets bored. She can kill and kill for days at a time without ever feeling boredom. I think that's a foreign word to her. Like rational. Or caring."

"So what are you going to do? Wander around all evening bleeding like a stuck cow until you pass out and die and we're forced to quickly burn your remains so the stink of your corpse won't bother the children?"
"Your concern for my well-being overwhelms me, Sergeant." 

"You are, however, surprisingly light of touch."
"Pardon?"
"The way you're holding my hand. I always thought you'd be more of a mauler. Like a diseased wolf chewing the knuckles off me fist."
"That's very nice."
"Not really."
"I was being sarcastic." 

"I'm irresistible."
"I've been resisting you for five years."
"Because you're stubborn and unreasonable. I thought we already established that." 

"Your cold, inflexible heart makes me burn to be inside you."
"Charmer." 

Dragon Kin Series:

Genre: LGBT - M/M Romantic Suspense
Series: N/A
Rating: 5 Stars
Length: 310 Pages
Formats: Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC was provided to me by Dreamspinner Press via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.





Fantastic

The FBI isn't known for being an agency of free thinkers and sympathetic humanitarians. They are the top dogs in the overcrowded junkyard that is this nation's quagmire of crime and punishment. They serve with prejudice and without compassion against those who break the law. The belief is simple: either you are law-abiding, and therefore have no cause to worry about their existence, or you are not...and worry is the least of your problems.

For years, Agent Miller Sutton had been firmly entrenched in that black-and-white world as the prototypical Feeb. It was only recently that the whispers of doubt in his mind had grown to murmurs, that conscience twinged when once it had been quietly quiescent. Now, though he fought against seeing it and questioned its validity, there was a blur at the edges of his black and white world, and in that blur, a clawing, crawling, ever-widening strip of gray.

In that strip is Danny Butler.

There is just something about the insouciant man that affects Miller in ways that are as uncomfortable and unwanted as they are inescapable. He had been watching him for six months, knew his habits inside and out, and was all set to flip him against his drug cartel boss, Hinestroza. But Miller still had questions about Danny, questions that were impossible to ask without opening himself up to a far too dangerous internal debate over why he needed those questions answered.

His job, which he clung to fiercely, was to flip Danny and use him. Promise him safety, promise him protection, promise him a life, but force him to risk everything and go against one of the most coldly vicious crime bosses in the world. This time, though, some spark in Danny that makes him who he is turns the lies and promises to hot ash on Miller's tongue. And that's why this time, when the inevitable happens and Hinestroza catches wind of Danny's betrayal, Miller steps up and whisks him away, setting him up in a safe house and guarding the man himself until Hinestroza can be caught.

Danny is a thug...a mid-level drug runner...a criminal...gay...and he's the most compelling man Miller has ever met. Danny's life choices may be suspect, but the inherent honesty in which he lives in his skin - embracing all those shades of gray which scare Miller so very badly - is a seductive draw that the shaky Miller can't seem to escape. Even if he wanted to.

Miller's job is to keep Danny alive. He had no idea that it was Danny who would offer Miller the first opportunity he'd ever had to truly live. One thing is certain, protective custody has never been so dangerous...for either of them.

Every once in a while - far less frequently than I would like - a book sets itself apart and speaks to me a little more intently than others, affects me a bit more deeply, stays with me a little longer, echoes life's truisms a little more keenly. In those instances, the combination of quality storytelling, story, character, and meaning all come together to elevate a book to the highest level of my esteem. Shades of Gray is one of those books.

McKinley's powerfully written prose struck a brilliant balance of stark lyricism and gritty realism and the many-tentacled monster that was the plotline served up enough action and suspense to double as a summer blockbuster. At the core, though, were two men at a painful and dangerous crossroads, each needing something from the other, each loathe to depend on the other for those needs. Their search and eventual success in finding mutual ground was littered with the sort of gripping, character-driven drama and emotional detritus that leaves a long and lasting impression.

In a word, it was...perfect.

Miller's struggles with his identity and his sexuality were painful and poignant, and Danny's torment over his past and the grim acceptance of his present were heartrending and bitterly honest. Together these two characters were a powerhouse of personality and conflicted, conflicting desires. Their character evolution through the events of the story and the development of their relationship as those events start to spiral into deeper and more dangerous waters is some of the most darkly entertaining fiction I've read recently.

I credit McKinley for the adept manner in which she kept the lives of Miller and Danny real while carefully navigating the pitfalls of hopelessness, despair, loss, anger, and a myriad of other ghosts that haunted both their souls. There was by no means a calm and easy trip to a pat HEA for these characters. It was painful, it demanded its sacrifices, and it was certainly not without a high cost for both of them.

I'll remember it as my favorite novel in the genre that I've read to date.

In Shades of Gray I found a rare treasure in gay romance, exceptional quality fiction that tells a phenomenal story. One that doesn't simply seek to titillate with the sex, but that truly captivates with the emotional journey. Gritty, poignant, starkly real, and at times brutal, it was a harrowing but ultimately triumphant odyssey that was a joy to read. I loved it.

Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance
Series: The Time Series, Book 2
Rating: 5 Stars
Length: 125,000 Words
Formats: Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Carina Press via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.


She was created for one purpose. To kill. She has no name, just a designation. Her kind, bitterns, are genetically engineered clones that serve the fae lords as their keenest hunters and assassins. They are little more than animals and are treated as such. She has always been different, however, resistant to conditioning, rebellious, obstinate, and unbreakable. No matter how brutal her masters' torture, she defied restrictions. And she escaped.

Since she crossed over to the world of round ears, to the human realm, she has pursued one goal with frightening intensity. Find the immortals who shared a common enemy with her and ally with them. Get the information she needs. Kill the psychotic vampire allied with the Dark fae king, then, when the walls between planes fall on Samhain, return to the fae realm and release her beserker rage all over the king and whomever else has the misfortune of getting in her way. She will slaughter them all. She knows this. She will not survive. She knows this too.

With her first goal nearly in sight she is forced into a slight change of plans. The immortals she was tracking are battling rival vampires and fae beasts and to save them, she lets her berserker rage free. When she wakes up back at the building she'd been squatting in since arriving in Dallas, she comes nose to furious nose with an exquisitely carved and obviously disgusted Native American face.

That face belongs to Koda, ancient guardian, protector of his people, and friend of the immortals she was tracking. He loathes her, thinking her fae, as the fae have annihilated his race for centuries. Convincing him that she's not fae, that in fact she reviles them at least as much as he, is a herculean task. As it becomes clear that she's being targeted by her former fae masters, and the vampire she planned to execute suddenly ups the stakes on an impending war with humans and immortals alike, joining forces with Koda becomes the only viable strategic option.

Two magical beings with a common goal, beginning as enemies, becoming wary allies. They must battle against the forces of evil before the death count spirals out of control and the land is scoured by the ravages of war. Along the way they will discover a fiery need for each other that neither had anticipated and it will forge allies into friends, then lovers. He is Koda. She is bittern...and she calls herself Sephti. Together they are the best hope for mortal and immortal alike.

One hundred and ninety. That's the number of books I've read, including this one, since January 1st. Nine. That's the number of those books, including this one, that I've tagged as a favorite. It's definitely not a tag I give out generously. It's also the first time I've ever tagged a series book as a favorite when I haven't read the preceding book/books in the series. Those are the facts. Killing Time deserved it. That's my opinion.

I was a little bowled over by Paige's Killing Time. I wasn't expecting to be as impressed as I was, but despite not reading the first book in the series, Stealing Time (an oversight I can assure you I will be rectifying), just about every single one of my Happy Reader buttons got stroked, tickled, and pushed with delicious abandon.

Fantastic characters - especially Sephti, who I was completely in love with before the first chapter was done. A layered and imaginative plot that struck the perfect balance between the urban fantasy elements and paranormal romance elements. A rich and vibrant world and mythos brimming with originality. A narrative that brought all those aspects together, reached out and grabbed me by the throat and carried me along for the duration. Man, Paige is a hell of a storyteller.

The relationship between Sephti and Koda was so satisfying. Not only did they work well together as a couple, providing the romance lover in me with tons of heart-pounding moments of love, angst, and sexy sensuality, but Sephti was also a complete and three dimensional heroine in her own right, independent, deadly, and more than capable of not only pulling her own weight but rallying those around her to pull theirs too. I could easily imagine her as the center of her own urban fantasy series, and that satisfied the UF lover in me.

The bad guys were heinous and truly threatening, their impact on the world and the characters tragic, so the plot started strong and maintained its intensity throughout. There was conflict on all sides, and Paige kept me guessing on what dangers would pop up next, satisfying my need for pulse pounding entertainment that ratchets higher and higher as the story progresses. There was little in the way of story down time or moments when the pacing lagged - hell, there was hardly a moment for the characters to catch a breath before the next twist in the plot roared over them. I was captivated from cover to cover.

There were a few places in the narrative that I think would have been enhanced for me if I'd read the first book, some setup for the arc of the series plot, some secondary and ancillary characters with obvious backstory I wasn't familiar with, and previously established relationships that I had to guess at. Never once did I feel lost, however, or think I was missing an important aspect of the story because of it. This novel stands well on its own, but I'm still kicking my own ass for missing out on the start of it all. I can only imagine how much more entertaining I would have found this book had I read Stealing Time first.

Even without it, I loved this book. I loved Sephti. Koda remained a bit of an enigma, but I liked him very much. I loved their relationship and the conflict of the external threat. Yup, this book has a little bit of everything that most tickles me as a reader, and it joins the select list of books I've read this year that I've tagged as favorites. I can't wait for more.

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Kate Daniels Series, Book 5
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Length: 320 Pages, 5825 Locations
Formats: Paperback, Kindle



Adjusting to life as the Beast Lord's mate and starting up her own investigator's business has kept Kate Daniels more than a little occupied in the two months since she kicked the ass of her plague-wielding auntie Erra. She held off all challengers to her position as the alpha's mate, stayed by a comatose Curran's side when the other alphas wanted her gone, and since Curran woke, has been serving with him and learning the intricacies of Pack politics.

Unfortunately, she hasn't actually had a single client since she opened her business thanks to a hell of a slander job by the head of the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid. She parted ways with them on, shall we say, acrimonious terms just before the fight with Erra got really out of control. Now she's going a little stir crazy as she sits on her butt in her new office and waits for the bills to pile up and listens to the phone not ring. She's fully aware that her very existence and the magic in the blood in her veins has set her up for a collision with the world's biggest bad guy, so it's hard to be bored, but until a client walks in the door and she can start supporting herself she's going to feel like Curran's kept woman, and that is not exactly who Kate is. Pack politics aside, Kate is a fighter. A killer. A solver of the sorts of problems that require bloodshed to solve. And she's very good at it.

What Kate is best at, however, is finding catastrophe-sized impending disasters and tripping right into the middle of them, so it is hardly a surprise when her phone does ring or her first client finally strides boldly through the door. Now Kate, along with her newly hired staff of Cutting Edge Investigations, Inc. (fond and familiar faces, both), have to find a missing object that does who-knows-what, track down a kidnapped magic theorist taken by who-knows-who, and prevent the city from blowing to you-know-where.

Just another beautiful day in Kate Daniels' deadly neighborhood, boys and girls!

For the uninitiated or uninformed, Magic Slays is the fifth action-packed book in the Kate Daniels series, a complex and dangerous world full of intricate and original mythos featuring fierce and fearsome characters. Of the active series I'm currently reading - and they are legion - the husband and wife writing team known as Ilona Andrews pens two of my top five: The Edge, a paranormal romance series, and this one. I highly recommend both for fans of either genre, and I strongly suggest both series be started at the beginning, though truly, more so for this one than the other.

Throughout this series, happy readers have seen Kate grow into a far less secluded, closed off mercenary. She's still got the big fight with Roland to look forward to, but in the mean time she's finally taking a chance to live a little with the mate she loves, the kid she saved, the friends she trusts, and of course, the attack poodle with the digestive track from hell. One of the things I love most about this series in general and this book in particular is the rich and thorough glimpse we get into Kate's day-to-day issues above and beyond all the potential world-ending catastrophes. Andrews peppers her readers with these tasty gems - squabbles between new mates, best friend gossip, stupid kid antics, pet problems, etc. - and mixes it all up with the catastrophic life-ending stuff to present a stunningly realistic (relatively speaking) whole that is recognizable as life...to the extreme.

The storyline of Magic Slays is one of my favorite in the series for the very development and maturity that is in evidence with Kate, and the heartwarming but realistic relationship she has with Curran. The series arc development had some major plot points fleshed out here, but more subtly than in the last book, and some startling family history came to light for Kate that provided some interesting insight. For the book arc, the danger was probably the most threatening and potentially devastating I've seen so far in the series, and I really enjoyed how all the pieces were so meticulously fit together.

I just flat out love how Andrews spins a story.

Of course, there were still the ubiquitous mythos info dumps that have been scattered through the series in various degrees of abundance. I've always admired Andrews for the way exposition concerning series history is handled in every book, reminding readers of what's come before or catching up new readers in as thorough but concise a manner as possible. Other instances of info dumps, however, have caused some problems for me.

This series is full of a diverse stable of creatures with various cultural histories and religions which necessitate a ton of explanation, not to mention the necessary definition of story-centric magical and technical mythos that defines the world building. More than occasionally all that detail comes out in large descriptive sections full of very technical, historical, or magical information and it does, on occasion, make my hair hurt when I come across them. Fortunately, there was only one that really made my eyes glaze over in Magic Slays, where readers are afforded an exceptionally complex Lyc-V dissertation, including but not limited to a breakdown of all the nasty stuff that leads to going Loup. The rest of it was handled in smaller, easier to digest chunks that didn't bog the story down or slow the pace too much.

I wasn't totally thrilled with a couple of the plot developments in this book, in particular one between Kate and Julie, the details of which will remain undisclosed to prevent spoilers. Also - and for the first time in the series, I was less than thrilled with the conclusion, which felt a little rushed and under-written considering the depth and detail preceding it in the narrative. I wish the epilogue had been developed into a couple of full chapters, instead, as there was too much important stuff that got crammed in and cut off.

None of those issues took too much from my enjoyment of the book, though, and it's still one of my favorites in the entire series. And maybe it's the romance lover in me, but there's a scene in this book between Kate and Curran that I swear was worth every single second I've spent reading every single word in this series prior to it and more than worth every single dime spent on each and every book. I love them together. I just do.

It's not a romance series, per se, but the thread of their developing relationship has been stitched into the fabric of the series to fantastic result. Yes, Curran is a secondary character; always has been. This really is Kate's show. That being said, I can't help but thoroughly and completely enjoy seeing them together as a realistic couple, not just some romantic HEA fairy tale (and believe me, normally a big fan of the HEA fairy tale). It was...surprisingly heartening to see them cope with each other in what felt like a very true-to-character, organic fashion. It is a trend I hope continues because the Beast Lord and his deadly consort are so very, very perfect for each other.

Kate Daniels Series: