Paranormal Romance

Review: A Shiver of Light by Laurell K. Hamilton

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A Shiver of Light by Laurell K. Hamilton (UK edition)

Title: A Shiver of Light (Merry Gentry #9)
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Bantam Press (3rd June 2014)
Blurb:

I am Princess Meredith NicEssus. Legal name Meredith Gentry, because princess looks so pretentious on a driver’s licence. I was the first faerie princess born on American soil, but wouldn’t be the only one for much longer . . .

Merry Gentry, ex-private detective, now fill-time princess, knew she was descended from fertility goddesses, but it was only when she learned she was going to have triplets that she began to understand what that might mean. Infertility has been the curse of the high ranks of faerie for centuries and now the nobility – of both sexes and of both courts – are coming to Los Angeles to woo the exiled Merry and her male courtiers. They will do anything to have children of their own.

But the attentions of Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, are a more pressing – and deadly – problem. He once forced himself upon Merry – and now he is claiming one of her children as his own.

To save herself and her babies, Merry calls upon the most dangerous powers in all of faerie: a god of death, a warrior known as Darkness, the Killing Frost, and a king of nightmares. They are her lovers, and they will confront the high courts of faerie – and do whatever it takes to contain the war that threatens to engulf the innocent humans who are now in very real danger of becoming collateral damage . . .

Five years after Divine Misdemeanors, Merry Gentry is back – and her life’s become a lot more complicated . . . and even more dangerous.

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

A SHIVER OF LIGHT is the latest installment of Laurell K. Hamilton’s MERRY GENTRY series. A SHIVER OF LIGHT takes place several months after the end of the previous book in the series, DIVINE MISDEMEANORS, with Merry due to give birth only days away. Life is, of course, never easy or quiet for America’s only faerie princess.

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Review: Kinked by Thea Harrison

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Kinked by Thea Harrison, UK cover.

Title: Kinked (The Elder Races, 6)
Author: Thea Harrison
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Piatkus (5th November 2013)
Blurb:

Two opponents must confront the cause of their obsessive fury in the latest novel of the Elder Races . . .

As a harpy, Sentinel Aryal is accustomed to dealing with hate, but Sentinel Quentin Caeravorn manages to inspire in her a burning unlike anything she’s ever known. Aryal believes the new sentinel to be a criminal, and vows to take him out as soon as the opportunity arises. But the harpy’s incessant wrath has pushed Quentin to the limit, and forces him to make a deadly vow of his own.

To put an end to the conflict, Dragos, Lord of the Wyr, sends them on a reconnaissance mission to the Elven land of Numenlaur. Forced to work together, Aryal and Quentin’s antagonism escalates. Each fight draws forth more passion – culminating in an explosively sexual confrontation. But when their mission reveals real danger, Aryal and Quentin must resolve their differences in ways beyond the physical, before the entire Wyr is threatened . . .

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

KINKED is the sixth book in Thea Harrison’s spectacular THE ELDER RACES series. Set not long after the previous book in the series LORD’S FALL (review), KINKED tells the story of Aryal (no last name) and Quentin Caeravorn two of Dragos’s Sentinels. Their dislike of one another and the ensuing fights force Dragos to send them on a mission to the Elven land of Numenlaur to sort out their differences once and for all. Like the previous books in the series KINKED is very definitely a book which is aimed at an adult audience.

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Review: Awaken by Meg Cabot

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Awaken by Meg Cabot (UK cover)

Title: Awaken (Abandon Trilogy #3)
Author: Meg Cabot
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Macmillan (26th September 2013)
Blurb:

DEATH HAS HER IN HIS CLUTCHES. PIERCE DOESN’T WANT HIM TO LET GO.

Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera knew by accepting the love of John Hayden she’s be forced to live forever in one of the places she’d always dreaded the most: the Underworld. The sacrifice seemed worth it though, because it meant she could be with the boy she loves.

But now her happiness – and safety – are threatened, all because the Furies have discovered that John has broken one of their strictest rules: he revived a human soul.

If the balance between life and death isn’t fixed, both the Underworld and Pierce’s home back on Earth will be wiped away. But there’s only one way to restore order: someone has to die.

THE MYTH OF PERSEPHONE… DARKLY REIMAGINED

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

AWAKEN is the final book in Meg Cabot’s ABANDON TRILOGY – a re-telling of the Greek myth of Persephone. Pierce Olivierea captured the attention of John Hayden, the lord of the Underworld. Eventually she fell in love with him, even though it meant living in the Underworld. Unfortunately, the balance between life and death is broken and Pierce and John have to find a way to fix it so they can have their happy ever after.

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Review: Tiger’s Quest

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Tiger’s Quest by Colleen Houck

Title: Tiger’s Quest (The Tiger Saga #2)
Author: Colleen Houck
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Hodder (9th June 2011)
Blurb:

Back in Oregon, Kelsey tries to pick up the pieces of her life and push aside her feelings for Ren. But danger lurks around the corner, forcing her to return to India where she embarks on a second quest. This time with Ren’s dark, bad-boy brother Kishan, who has also fallen prey to the Tiger’s Curse.

Fraught with danger, spellbinding dreams, and choices of the heart, Tiger’s Quest brings the trio one step closer to breaking the spell that binds them.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

TIGER’S QUEST is the second book in Colleen Houck’s superb series THE TIGER SAGA. It tells the story of Kelsey an average teen who comes across two Indian princes who have been cursed to spend their lives as tigers. In TIGER’S CURSE (review) Kelsey and Ren embark on a quest to break the curse, and along the way come across Ren’s brother Kishan. In TIGER‘S QUEST, which continues not long after the end of the first book, Kelsey undertakes the second quest with Kishan.

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Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

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The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Title: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
Author: Holly Black
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Indigo (3rd September 2013)
Blurb:

TANA LIVES IN A WORLD WHERE WALLED CITIES CALLED COLDTOWNS EXIST.

In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. It’s an eternal party, shown on TV twenty-four hours a day – gorgeous, glamorous, deadly.

The problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave . . .

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

THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN is a stand-alone novel written by the fabulous Holly Black. It tells the story of Tana a seventeen-year-old girl who wakes up the night after a party to a silent house. As she stumbles through the house, she discovers that vampires attacked whilst she slept. In THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN Holly Black takes on the vampire myth, and adds her own twist in this compelling tale.

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Review: Archangel’s Legion by Nalini Singh

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Archangel’s Legion by Nalini Singh

Title: Archangel’s Legion (A Guild Hunter Novel, #6)
Author: Nalini Singh
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Gollancz Fiction (31st October 2013)
Blurb:

Nalini Singh, the New York Times bestselling ‘alpha author of paranormal romance’ (Booklist), returns to the immortal world of violent passion and lethal power . . . on the brink of a deadly archangelic war.

Angels are falling from the sky in New York, struck down by a vicious, unknown force.

Vampires are dying, impossibly, of disease.

Guild Hunter Elena Deveraux and the Archangel Raphael must discover the source of the wave of death before it engulfs their city and their people, leaving New York a ruin and Raphael’s Tower under siege by enemy archangels.

Yet even as they fight desperately to save the city, an even darker force is stirring, its chill eyes trained on New York . . . and on Raphael. Rivers of crimson and nightmares given flesh, the world will never again be the same . . .

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

ARCHANGEL’S LEGION is the sixth book in Nalini Singh’s brilliantly hot GUILD HUNTER series. The story focuses on the Archangel Raphael who lives in New York, and his consort Elena Deveraux – a Guild Hunter. In ARCHANGEL’S LEGION the events of the previous five books come to a head, and The Cascade crests. Things are changing in the world of the archangels, and nothing will ever be the same.

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Review: Angels’ Flight by Nalini Singh

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Angels’ Flight by Nalini Singh

Title: Angels’ Flight (Guild Hunter 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, and 3.5)
Author: Nalini Singh
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Gollancz Fiction (10th January 2013)
Blurb:

Open the cover for four fabulous novellas set in the world of Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series.

Angels’ Pawn is a tale of flirtation and danger set in the Guild Hunter world. Ashwini and Janvier have no reason to be drawn to each other – but they are. Will the spark between them be fanned to become flames . . . or are they both the pawns of angels?

In Angel’s Judgement Sara and Deacon are Guild Hunters; their life’s work is catching and capturing – or killing – rogue angels. They have to make life or death decisions in a moment, but when judgement comes, should love be allowed to get in the way . . . ?

In Angel’s Wolf Noel may have been promoted, but in the Guild Hunter world that’s not always as positive as it sounds. And now that he’s working for the beautiful, dangerous, seductive Nimra there are a whole host of new risks he has to contend with . . .

And in the compelling never-before published Angels’ Dance read the compelling story of Jessamy, a beautiful flightless angel who has always held her own in a world of angels and archangels . . . until she meets Galen, and begins to dream of flying . . .

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

ANGELS’ FLIGHT is a compilation of four short stories written by Nalini Singh and set in her GUILD HUNTER series. Three of the four stories have already appeared, with ANGEL’S DANCE being the only new addition to the compilation. In the short stories Singh gives voice to the stories of characters who have only been minor players in the main series – readers of the GUILD HUNTER series will recognise them because although they are only minor, each has played an important role in the main series.

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Review: Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

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Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

Title: Untold (The Lynburn Legacy #2)
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon and Schuster (29th August 2013)
Blurb:

The link between Kami and Jared has been cut.
But can their bond ever be truly broken?

ON THE SURFACE, SORRY-IN-THE-VALE is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. The Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love who she chooses. But who should that be?

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

UNTOLD is the second book in Sarah Rees Brennan’s gothic inspired paranormal romance series THE LYNBURN LEGACY. It deals with, and starts not long after, the events of the first book in the series UNSPOKEN (review). UNTOLD follows the story of Kami Glass a would-be reporter, and her friends, as they deal with the revelation of Rob Lynburns’ plan to “bring back the old ways” – putting all non-sorcerers at risk.

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Review: After Dead by Charlaine Harris

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After Dead by Charlaine Harris

Title: After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampire Mysteries #13.5)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Gollancz (31st October 2013)
Blurb:

Dead Ever After marked the end of the Sookie Stackhouse novels – a series that garnered millions of fans and spawned the hit HBO television show TrueBlood. It also stoked a hunger that will never die . . . a hunger to know what happened next.

With characters arranged alphabetically – from Ancient Pythoness to Bethany Zanelli – bestselling author Charlaine Harris takes her readers into the future of their favorite residents of Bon Temps and environs. If you’d like to learn how Michele and Jason’s marriage fared, what happened to Sookie’s cousin Hunter, and whether Tara and JB’s twins grew up to be solid citizens, this is the book for you.

Charlaine Harris will even reveal the details of Sookie’s own happily-ever-after . . . !

Rating: ** (2 stars)
Review:

In AFTER DEAD Charlaine Harris wraps up the unanswered questions in her SOOKIE STACKHOUSE/SOUTHERN VAMPIRE MYSTERIES series. Beginning with A and ending with Z, Harris relates what happens to the characters in her series once the events of DEAD EVER AFTER (review) ended.

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Review: The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

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The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa, UK edition cover.

Title: The Eternity Cure (A Blood of Eden Novel, #2)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: MIRA INK (3rd May 2013)
Blurb:

ALLISON SEKEMOTO DIED SO THAT SHE MIGHT LIVE.

AS A VAMPIRE, SHE FACES THE RISE OF A DEADLY NEW PLAGUE TO HER KIND.

ALLISON THOUGHT THAT IMMORTALITY WAS FOREVER.

NOW ETERNITY ITSELF HANGS IN THE BALANCE . . .

THE VIRUS MUST BE STOPPED

No matter what the cost

No matter what the sacrifice

Mankinds survival depends on us

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

THE ETERNITY CURE is the second book in Julie Kagawa’s magnificent vampire series BLOOD OF EDEN. The series follows the story of Allison Sekemoto a human resident of a vampire town who through a series of events ends up being turned into a vampire. In THE ETERNITY CURE Allison finds herself pursuing the vampire who changed her, while doing so she discovers that the virus that is destroying her world has mutated with terrible consequences.

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