Paranormal Romance

Review: Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

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Night Broken UK cover

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Title: Night Broken (A Mercy Thompson novel, #8)
Author: Patricia Briggs
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit (11th March 2014)
Blurb:

MECHANIC.

SHAPESHIFTER.

FIGHTER.

Mercy Thompson’s life is never simple.

Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam won’t turn Christy away when she’s in need, but Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right.

Soon, Mercy learns that Christy has the furthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and will do anything to get him, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.

Meanwhile, there’s an even more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s ex is more than a bad man – in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies pile up, Mercy fings herself facing a creature with the power to tear her world apart.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

NIGHT BROKEN is the eighth book in Patricia Briggs’ MERCY THOMPSON series, which follows the life of Mercy Thompson mechanic and skin walker as she tries to find her place in the world. In the eighth book Mercy has to deal with the return of Christy, Adam’s ex-wife, and the dangerous threat following in her wake…

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Review: Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Half-Blood (Covenant, 1)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Genre: Mythology, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (14th August 2014)
Source: BookBridgr/Publisher
Blurb:

The Hematoi descended from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi, pure-bloods, have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals – well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pure.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, especially rule #1:

Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.

Unfortunately, she’s crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn’t her biggest problem – staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

And discover the very beginnings of Covenant in the prequel novella . . .

Daimon

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

HALF-BLOOD is the first book in Jennifer L. Armentrout’s COVENANT series which follows the story of Alexandria Andros, a half-blood who isn’t a big fan of rules but who is determined to do her duty. In a society where few things have changed since the gods walked among them, Alex is in a dangerous position as half-bloods have little power. This review is also going to cover the prequel novella DAIMON, as my copy of the book also including the novella.

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Review: Rising Darkness by Thea Harrison

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Rising Darkness Cover

Rising Darkness by Thea Harrison

Title: Rising Darkness (A Game of Shadows Novel, 1)
Author: Thea Harrison
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Piatkus (2nd April 2013)
Blurb:

Bestselling author Thea Harrison begins and all-new, darkly romantic paranormal saga, in which the fate of existence itself lies in the balance – and the key to victory may rest in the hands of two eternal lovers . . .

In the hospital ER where she works, Mary is used to chaos. But lately, every aspect of her existence seems adrift. She feels disconnected from herself. Voices appear in her head. And the vivid, disturbing dreams she’s had all her life are becoming more intense. Then she meets Michael. He’s handsome, enigmatic and knows more than he can say. In his company, she slowly remembers the truth about herself . . .

Thousands of years ago, eight creatures came to our world: the Deceiver to destroy it, and the other seven to stop him. Reincarnated over and over, they carry on – and Mary finds herself drawn into the battle once again. The more she learns, the more she realises that Michael will go to any lengths to destroy the Deceiver. Then she remembers who killed her during her last life, nine hundred years ago . . . Michael.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

RISING DARKNESS by Thea Harrison is the first book the GAME OF SHADOWS series. It tells the story of Mary, an ER doctor whose life is pretty ordinary apart from her dreams. Then her path crosses Michael’s, and everything changes.

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Review: Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop

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Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop

Title: Murder of Crows (A Novel of The Others, 2)
Author: Anne Bishop
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: ROC (4th March 2014)
Blurb:

Return to New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop’s “phenomenal”* world of the Others – where supernatural entities and humans struggle to coexist and one woman has begun to change the rules . . .

After winning the trust of the Others residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard – Lakeside’s shape-shifting leader – wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat.

As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet – and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

* Urban Fantasy Investigations

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

MURDER OF CROWS is the second book in Anne Bishop’s fantastic THE OTHERS series. It continues the story of Meg Corbyn, who we first meet in WRITTEN IN RED (review), a cassandra sangue who wants to live a ‘normal’ life. Meg has survived so far, and slowly adjusted to the world outside but prophecy still calls to her, and as events in the world build the desire to cut and see the future grows.

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Review: Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon

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Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Title: Fantasy Lover (Dark-Hunter #1)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Genre: Mythology, Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Piatkus (7th April 2011)
Blurb:

It might sound like a man’s ultimate fantasy – to live forever, destined to be the lover of thousands of women. But for Julian of Macedon, it’s a nightmare. Once a proud Spartan general, he’s now a love-slave, his essence magically held captive in a book for eternity. Then, one day, Grace Alexander summons Julian to fulfill her passionate dreams – and sees beyond the fantasy to the man himself.

Long years as a sex therapist have taken a lot of the fun out of the physical side of love for Grace. But the rules of the enchantment cannot be changed – Julian is hers for the next month. And as their time together slips by, Julian and Grace find more to share than sympathy and conversation and they begin to wonder if love might be within their grasp. That leaves only one question. Is love enough to break a 2,000-year-old curse?

In FANTASY LOVER, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon has penned a highly original novel inspired by Greek mythology that is utterly captivating and completely unputdownable.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

FANTASY LOVER is the first book in Sherrilyn Kenyon’s well-known DARK-HUNTER series. It tells the story of Grace Alexander, a sex therapist, whose friend thinks that her life should be about more than just her work. Grace’s friend convinces her to try the spell on the book containing Julian of Macedon.

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Review: Dinner With A Vampire by Abigail Gibbs

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Dinner With A Vampire by Abigail Gibbs

Title: Dinner With A Vampire (The Dark Heroine, 1)
Author: Abigail Gibbs
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Vampires, Young Adult
Publisher: Harper Voyager (11th October 2012)
Source: Secret Santa
Blurb:

One moment can change your life forever . . .

For Violet Lee, a chance encounter on a darkened street draws her into a world beyond her wildest imaginings, a timeless place of vast elegance and immeasurable wealth – of beautiful mansions and lavish parties – where a decadent group of friends live for pleasure alone. A place from which there is no escape . . . no matter how hard Violet tries.

Yet all the riches in the world can’t mask the darkness that lies beneath the gilded surface, embodied in the charismatic but dnagerous Kasper Varn.

Violet and Kasper surrender to a passion that transcends their separate worlds –  but it’s a passion that comes at a price . . .

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

DINNER WITH A VAMPIRE by Abigail Gibbs is the first book in THE DARK HEROINE series. It tells the story of Violet Lee an almost eighteen-year-old who stumbles upon something she shouldn’t have, and gets drawn into a strange and dangerous world.

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Review: Dark Lover by J. R. Ward

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Dark Lover by J. R. Ward

Title: Dark Lover (A Black Dagger Brotherhood Novel, #1)
Author: J. R. Ward
Genre: Erotica, Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Piatkus (3rd February 2011)
Blurb:

In the shadow of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There also exists a secret band of brothers like no other – six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Among them, none relishes killing their enemies more than Wrath, the leader of the BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD . . .

The only purebred vampire left on the planet, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But when one of his most trusted fighters is killed – orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or fate – Wrath must usher the beautiful female into the world of the undead . . .

Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of brotherhood and blood frighten her. But his touch ignites a dawning hunder that threatends to consume them both . . .

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

J. R. Ward’s series the BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD is considered one of the series to read if you are a fan of the paranormal romance genre. I have been a fan of the paranormal romance genre for a while, but for various reasons haven’t read Ward’s series yet. DARK LOVER is the first book in the series it tellls the story of Wrath the king of vampires and Beth Randall the half-human daughter of one of Wrath’s fighters.

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Review: Tiger’s Voyage by Colleen Houck

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Tiger’s Voyage by Colleen Houck

Title: Tiger’s Voyage (The Tiger Saga #3)
Author: Colleen Houck
Genre: Mythology, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Hodder (10th November 2011)
Blurb:

With the head-to-head battle against the villainous Lokesh behind her, Kelsey confronts a new heartbreak: in the wake of his traumatic experience, her beloved Ren no longer remembers who she is. As the trio continues their quest by challenging give cunning and duplicitous dragons, Ren and Kishan once more vie for her affections – leaving Kelsey more confused than ever.

Fraught with danger, filled with magic, and packed with romance, Tiger’s Voyage brings Kelsey and her two tiger princes one step closer to breaking the curse.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

TIGER’S VOYAGE is the third book in Colleen Houck’s superb THE TIGER’S SAGA. It continues the story of Kelsey Hayes American girl who comes across two Indian princes who are cursed into tiger form – Ren and Kishan – and helps them try to break the curse. By the beginning of TIGER’S VOYAGE they have already completed half of the tasks required to completely break the curse, but the final task came with a terrible price – the repercussions of which play out through the book.

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Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

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Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Title: Everneath (Everneath #1)
Author: Brodi Ashton
Genre: Mythology, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon Pulse (2nd August 2012)
Blurb:

SIX MONTHS AGO, NIKKI BECKETT VANISHED INTO AN UNDERWORLD KNOWN AS THE EVERNEATH.

Now she’s returned to her old life for another six months before the Everneath comes to claim her. Nikki longs to spend this precious time  reconnecting with the people she left behind – her family and friends and, most importantly, her boyfriend Jack, the one person she loves more than anything.

But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smouldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki home, hoping to take her back to the Everneath . . . this time for ever.

Now Nikki only has six months for goodbyes she can’t find the words for, six months to  make the hardest decision of her life, six months to find redemption, if it exists . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton is the first book in the EVERNEATH TRILOGY It tells the story of Nikki Beckett a high school student who returns from the Everneath to find that six months have passed. She has just six months to say her goodbyes – to her family and friends – before she leaves permanently, when the Everneath claims her back.

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Review: Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

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Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

Title: Dance of Shadows (Dance of Shadows #1)
Author: Yelena Black
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury (12th February 2013)
Source: Faye of A Daydreamer’s Thoughts as part of her blogoversary giveaway.
Blurb:

An elite academy with the darkest of secrets.

A dancer with a talent she never wanted.

A legacy she can’t escape.

Vanessa Adler is dancing in her sister’s footsteps as a student at the exclusive New York Ballet Academy. Margaret Adler disappeared three years ago and Vanessa is searching for answers.

Dance is in Vanessa’s blood, in her soul – and perhaps it holds the key to the mystery. But the academy is a sinister place, plagued by fierce rivalry and scandal. Finding her sister is going to be dangerous, and the sexy, charismatic Zeppelin Gray may lead her far beyond the truth she is looking for . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

DANCE OF SHADOWS by Yelena Black is the first book in the series, with a sequel coming out in Winter 2014. It tells the story of Vanessa Adler, the younger sister of Margaret Adler who attended the New York Ballet Academy and then mysteriously disappeared. Three years after this Vanessa follows in her sister’s footsteps and attends the academy, determined to unravel the mystery and find out exactly what happened to her sister.

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