Heart Of The Demon by Cynthia Garner (Warriors Of The Rift #3)

Available: Now Amazon/B&N

Type: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Grand Central

My Copy: Sent

Reviewer: Nikki

Warriors of the Rift

Once a generation, the rift between the paranormal world and the human world opens, allowing supernatural entities to cross. Vampire, demon, or shapeshifter, they can save the world—or send it spiraling into chaos.

The next opening of the rift is coming—and its consequences will be deadly. A rogue group of human-hating preternaturals is planning an apocalyptic attack, but the Council of Preternaturals may have found the key to saving the world: Keira O’Brien, a fey with a long criminal record, whose empathic abilities once made her the queen of con artists. If she successfully infiltrates the dangerous faction, the sins of her past will be forgiven.

Keira isn’t the only agent working against the rogue prets. Finn Evnissyen, a powerful demon with a dark lineage, is a hired assassin looking for a way out. If he stops the threat, he will finally earn his freedom. As the rift fast approaches, and danger escalates, Finn and Keira must discover if they’re on the same side—or sleeping with the enemy . . .

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Book three of Garner’s Warriors Of The Rift hits readers with a bang…and as a reader who hadn’t read the the first two books in the series, the bang was informational and entertaining.

Every so often a rift between the realm where supernaturals live and earth opens up allowing them to cross. When they cross they take over a human body. Now a rogue group of supernaturals aren’t happy with just the few who manage to cross and they’re determined to bring over more then over before and overthrow the human race once and for all.

Keira is a professional con artist. Or she was until she decided to turn over a new leaf. Now she’s being asked to infiltrate the rogue group with her impressive skills and gather intel to take them down. Working undercover should be easy until she runs into the one man who threatened to make her emotional walls crash down around her.

Finn is the son of the devil and he’s tired of working for his old man. Bargaining for his freedom he agrees to go undercover in the rogue supernaturals to find out plans for his father and the governing “Council”. Seeing Keira there effects him more then it should and he becomes determined to save her from herself and the rouge group.  She deserves better then him but that doesn’t mean they can’t have some fun along the way.

I enjoyed this book a lot. There are a lot of unique aspects that I felt set it apart from other paranormal romances. The “body snatching” of humans being the biggest aspect. That’s something I expect in sci fi books, not paranormals so I liked that though I wish the author would have went into a little more detail about what exactly that entails for the humans and the transition process.  Having a “rift” was also something I found unique to this series. Again, very sci-fi. In my mind I kept picturing something like Stargate and demons/vamps and other supernaturals walking through a oil like center that separates our dimensions.

Keira and Finn together was what made the book for me though. They both had HUGE trust issues and since they were both working undercover I can understand why. Each one wanting so badly to let the other in but with such big stakes at play, both were afraid of the others true feelings. I think they each knew the other would never truly believe in the madness the rogue group was spouting but they had a extremely hard time acknowledging that. Together they had this sensual heat neither could deny, though they tried…a lot. I also liked how we got points of view from both characters. I love reading from the male POV especially and Heart Of The Demon gave me that.

I will definitely be reading more from Cynthia Garner in the future! I was completely consumed by the light and dark that Keira and Finn represented. I found her writing to be engaging, thorough and wonderfully done.

I give Heart Of The Demon by Cynthia Garner 4 stars!

Own The Wind by Kristen Ashley (Chaos #1)

Available: April 2, 2013 Amazon/B&N (Paperback in June 2013)

Type: Contemporary Romance/Erotic

Publisher: Grand Central

My Copy: Sent

Reviewer: Nikki

Tabitha Allen has a not-so-secret crush on Parker “Shy” Cage. Shy thinks he knows the path Tabby’s on and it isn’t a good one. So he decides to teach her a lesson to lead her to the right path. 

Unfortunately, he was wrong and his actions wound Tabby, breaking her heart. It’s Tabby who then teaches Shy a lesson about casting judgment and Shy Cage learns what it feels like to be invisible. But when tragedy strikes and Tabby’s heart is broken again, Shy does what he can in the background to help. Trying to forget her heartbreak, Tabby finds herself in danger. To keep it secret from her biker family, the Chaos Motorcycle Club, she calls Shy to rescue her. But when she lets him back in, she gets much more than she bargained for.

Kristen Ashley weaves a tale that is impossible to walk away from and Own The Wind, book 1 in her Chaos series (a spin off from her Dream Man series), is absolutely no different. I will admit that I was wondering how she’d start a new series with a character who is essentially a child in her last Dream Man book. Luckily a jump ahead in time and quite a lead up solved all my issues and suddenly Tabby is a woman on the brink of a budding relationship with motorcycle man, Shy.

Tabby has had quite a crush on Shy for years but after a very harsh lesson from him one night they parted ways and she’s done her best to stay out of his way and concentrate on growing up. A tragic event throws them back together years later and as Shy helps Tabby heal they become closer then they have ever been resulting in a searing attraction that is sure to rock the entire club.

I found the story of Shy and Tabby to be starkly realistic and incredibly well wrote. Shy, like all the men attached to the motorcycle club, is insanely alpha and yet he treats Tabby with such a gentle hand it’s hard to reconcile his high handed ways with that other part of him he really only shows to her. I found myself alternating between “OMG I’d KILL him” and “aww, ok I guess that makes sense”.  I mean let’s be real…if a man said to me some of the things these men say to these woman I’d knee him in the crotch and follow it with a pimp slap to the face. In a book though I want my men alpha, mouthy and over the top. Kristen Ashley gives me everything I want. What’s better though is that the females know exactly how to handle these men. Tabby doesn’t back down from Shy and she makes sure she is heard in every instance. Sure, she could be immature and sure, they fought over some stupid shit. But what couples don’t? Adding those things in just gave it another realistic layer that I appreciated in the story. Plus the fighting leads up to some sheet scorching sex that was awesomely explicit and full of “omg where is my mechanical boyfriend?”.

Shy was a complex character once you got past the alpha-ness. He is driven by the loss of his parents when he was a boy and has taken on the roll of protector in everything he has done. He’s fiercely loyal to the club but he’s more loyal to Tabby and her needs which was definitely sigh worthy. He often lays everything on the line where she is concerned and makes no excuses for his feelings or actions. He is what he is and though Tabby stumbles over that often she comes to understand that learning to love a motorcycle club member takes skill and management abilities.

Own The Wind brings back all the characters readers have come to love and nicely sets up future books and couples. The only thing I thought was odd was the lack of an action packed ending I’ve come to expect. There is a slight scuffle, though it’s glossed over but we don’t actually get to experience it first hand. It’s also left open so I expect the problems that Chaos is now facing to follow them into the next book, which will be Hop and Lanie’s, sometime this summer.

I give Own The Wind by Kristen Ashley 4.75 stars!

Lord Of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt (Maiden Lane #5)

Available: February 26, 2013 Amazon/B&N

Type: Historical Romance

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

My Copy: NetGalley

Reviewer: Pam

When Strangers In The Night He lives in the shadows. As the mysterious masked avenger known as the Ghost of St. Giles, Godric St. John’s only goal is to protect the innocent of London. Until the night he confronts a fearless young lady pointing a pistol at his head—and realizes she is his wife. Become Lovers… Lady Margaret Reading has vowed to kill the Ghost of St. Giles—the man who murdered her one true love. Returning to London, and to the man she hasn’t seen since their wedding day, Margaret does not recognize the man behind the mask. Fierce, commanding, and dangerous, the notorious Ghost of St. Giles is everything she feared he would be—and so much more.

Desire Is The Ultimate Danger When passion flares, these two intimate strangers can’t keep from revealing more of themselves than they had ever planned. But when Margaret learns the truth—that the Ghost is her husband—the game is up and the players must surrender…to the temptation that could destroy them both.

The intrigue continues with this wonderful historical series.

Lady Margaret is bound and determined to kill the Ghost of St. Giles, she was pointing a gun at him pulling the trigger but since she was not a very good shot she misses. Godric St. John is glad his

wife is a terrible shot because as soon as he is done saving her life, he is going home, hopefully without being injured. Godric has not seen his wife in two years, not since that awful night they were married, he left her in the countryside at his estate while he went back to his lonely existence in London.

Megs watches the Ghost get away but is determined to try again soon, as she believes the Ghost killed her lover Roger several years ago. Roger is the reason she married Godric, with her lover dead and a child on the way, her brother needed a husband for her. Unfortunately the night they married she lost the baby and has lived for two years in the country without seeing her husband. But she is done with this existence and has come to London for one purpose, she wants a baby and her husband is the only one that can help her with her quest. She is just unsure of how to seduce a man she does not know.

Megs and her entourage which includes Sarah, Godric’s sister and Megs’ aunt along with several servants invade Saint House, the house where Godric lives alone with his butler Moulder. She did not want him to tell her no, so she did not write and tell him they were coming, which was unusual. For the first year of their marriage there had been no correspondence, however Megs started to write him letters in the second year and even though he rarely responded she kept writing, telling him about the garden, his sister and other odd and interesting things that were happening at the country house. Although he is a little intrigued by his wife, Godric does not want his life and his nightly pursuits to be interrupted so he believes he can make his wife leave within a week. And when she is gone he will go back to being the solitary person he has been since his first wife, Clara died.

The Ghost had dropped off two small girls at the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundlings the evening before and while Godric and Winter talk, they find out that the lassie snatchers seem to be back in business. The lassie snatchers are those that take young girls off the streets to work in workshops making lace for the wealthy, it was only several years ago the Ghost and others managed to break up this evil practice so Godric knows he has to stop it again.

Much to Godric’s dismay, Megs still wants to find Roger’s murder so one night she goes back to St. Giles and runs into the Ghost, determined to kill him this time, she stabs him, only to find out after he speaks that it is Godric. She is so worried she has killed him; however when they get home Moulder takes control of the situation making her feel left out. She finds him alone later and he tells her the story of how he became the Ghost and that there were two others out there helping with the fight. He also tells her that someone else killed Roger, the Ghost was not near where he was killed that night and he tells Megs that he will continue to look for the murderer for her, which seems to be the first of the ice around his heart thawing.

I love this book, the continuing story of these fascinating characters and the fight that goes on in St. Giles is both intriguing and full of heart tugging moments. Both Godric and Megs must come to terms with their lost loves and move on no matter how hard it is for them. Everyone believes Godric must return to the living, to those that love him including his sisters, step-mother and eventually to Megs. The danger for Godric as the Ghost is exciting as he races through St. Giles helping those less fortunate while on his tail is the enigmatic Captain James Trevillion who is the head of the dragoons, the force that wants to take out the Ghost forever. An interesting twist at the end leaves us wanting more as we wait to see if another Duke finds his love and who else is taking up the cape of the Ghost.

I give Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt 4.5 stars!

Rogue Rider by Larissa Ione (Lords of Deliverance #4) & GIVEAWAY

Available: November 20 2012 Amazon/B&N

Type: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Grand Central

My Copy: Sent

Reviewer: Nikki

They’re here.

They ride.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Born of a match between good and evil, four siblings stand between hell’s minions and everything they want to destroy. They are the Lords of Deliverance, and they have the power to ward off Doomsday . . . or let it ride . . . 

ROGUE RIDER

Jillian Cardiff came to this remote mountain town to forget the demon attack that almost killed her. Instead, she rescues-and falls for-a gorgeous stranger who has no memory of anything other than his name. Handsome, charming, and protective, Reseph seems like the kind of man whom Jillian can trust. But with hints of a troubling history of his own, he’s also the kind of man who can be very dangerous . . . 

Reseph may not know why he mysteriously appeared in Jillian’s life, but he knows he wants to stay. Yet when Jillian’s neighbors are killed, and demon hunters arrive on the scene, Reseph fears that he’s putting Jillian in danger. And once it’s revealed that Reseph is also Pestilence, the Horseman responsible for ravaging the world, he and Jillian must face the greatest challenge of all: Can they forget the horrors of a chilling past to save the future they both desire?

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I was afraid to open this book. There I said it. The prior four books set this one up nicely and Reseph was painted in such a horrible light as Pestilence, I was equal parts excited and afraid. How could Ione take a character that had caused so much death and despair, and turn him back into someone I could root for, fall for…shoot, even just like? That kind of set up can spell disaster to even the best author. This book could go either way and I knew it when I cracked open that first page.

Jillians finds a naked man, in the middle of winter, passed out in the woods on her secluded property. Not wanting to sign his death certificate she loads him up on her horse and takes the mysterious stranger home with her. She finds herself instantly attracted to him even though when he awakens he has no memory of who he is.

The stranger is Reseph, aka Pestilence, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse  Though his family thinks he is suffering an eternity in hell for his role in the wars and plaques that have spread worldwide, in a twist of fate he’s back on earth, sans memory of his horrible deeds and constantly battling the demon inside him intent of getting back out. As his memory slowly starts returning, a league of demons intent on bringing back his demon set their sights on Jillian and Reseph must enlist the help of those he hurt in order to keep her safe.

While I found Reseph to certainly be sexy and alpha and just hot hot hot, I was less intrigued by the story line and the role he played in Jillian’s attack from demons a few years earlier.  I don’t know why really, all the usual aspects were there and I did “like” them both but I just failed to have strong emotional attachments to them. I did chuckle at myself throughout this one because even when Reseph was Pestilence, I found myself quietly lusting after him. I have a thing for bad boys. Anyone remember when Angel turned into Angelus on Buffy The Vampire Slayer? He lost his soul and started tormenting Buffy and her friends? That was exactly what I thought about during this book. I found Angelus hot…and well Pestilence had this bad boy, Imma kill you vibe, and I’m a sick individual and yeah, I liked it.

There was complete transparency in this one and I wasn’t surprised by any twists and turns the book took along the way. Even the watcher/bad angel/fallen angel triangle failed to surprise me. I will say that while it didn’t excite me, I look forward to that book because the set up was well executed and I think there is more to a certain fallen angel then we are told so far. Reaver though, he makes me SWOON. I figured once all 4 Horseman had books the series would be over. Nope. I’m happy Reaver gets his own, not only to tie up loose ends but I want to know everything about him. I want to know where he came from and where he is ultimately going.

I didn’t think there was as much action in this book then in the previous books. Maybe it was just my mood when I was reading it but I thought at times it kinda dragged along with all the information, which was needed of course to do the story justice, but it dragged all the same. I found my attention strained several times which is unusual with not only this series, but this author as well. I just don’t think it was up to the same standards as the rest of the series. I have no doubt I will keep reading, not only this series but the author as well. There is usually one book in every series that makes me grumble and I think this one was it.

Of course I want to give it 5 stars on principal, but I just can’t. I know for a fact that my little ole 3.50 won’t even cause a disruption in the giddy feelings of all the fans and I’m sure plenty of people will love this book regardless.

This one, while good, wasn’t the typical excellence I’ve come to expect and for that I have to give Rogue Rider by Larissa Ione 3.50 stars! 

*GIVEAWAY*

The awesome people over at Grand Central are allowing me to give away a copy of the book today! This one is US ONLY. I will leave it open until 11/23/12 @ 11:59 EST. Simply comment to enter *

Blame It On Texas Blog Tour & GIVEAWAY

Things You Will Learn from Blame it on Texas.

 

1. Guys don’t like to play dress up; but when one willingly dresses as a clown for their six-year-old niece’s birthday party—because the real clown canceled—he’s one special uncle. And could possibly make a special hero for some lucky lady.

2. Sometimes, fear itself can do much more damage to us than the thing we’re actually afraid of.

3. Any man who doesn’t cuss up a blue streak when you dump a plate of hot grits on him can’t be all bad. (In fact, he might just be The One.)

4. It’s important to remember the lessons of the past so we can use them when making decisions for the future. But those lessons should never keep us from having the future we deserve.

5. Before accusing the sexy guy who pounced, knocked you down, and crawled on top of you of being foreplay impaired; check to see if someone is shooting at you.

6. The southern delicacy of a banana and mayonnaise sandwich may be an acquired taste, especially when a hungry hero chomps down on the delicacy and is expecting ham and cheese.

7. If you think getting caught screaming and dancing on top of a mattress—all while attempting to rescue your cat from an overzealous dog—can be slightly embarrassing, try doing it while you’re wet from the shower, and as naked as a jay bird. Oh, and just to make it even more fun, make sure you’re caught by your possible love interest who hasn’t seen you naked yet, and . . . (yes it can get worse) his two best friends.

8. It’s downright amazing how playing a few rounds of Strip Scrabble can spice up an evening.

9. A family doesn’t always have to be the people who share your bloodline; sometimes, the best families are those we make when we gather together all the people we love.

10. Learning to trust yourself is usually a lot harder than trusting another person. But both are generally required before finding true love.

Zoe Adams has always been content with her quiet nights at home, watching TV alone-until her life turns into a real-life episode of Unsolved Mystery Hunters. The story of a kidnapped girl triggers unexplained memories, and Zoe is dead-set on figuring out why. Her search leads her to one of the Lone Star State’s richest families-and to sexy PI Tyler Lopez.

Tyler has sworn off women, especially redheads with killer curves who poke their noses into his clients’ private lives. Still, he can’t deny the attraction any more than he can deny that some of Zoe’s crazy story makes sense. But when she becomes a hit man’s target, this cold case starts heating up. Suddenly, Tyler will do anything to protect Zoe-even risk his heart

****GIVEAWAY****

The great people at Grand Central are allowing me to give away 3 copies of this book to a US/Canadian winner. No PO Boxes please. Contest open until Sept 2nd 2012 @ 11:59 pm EST

At Last & Forever And A Day by Jill Shalvis (Lucky Harbor #5 & #6 ) and GIVEAWAY

Available: Now Amazon/B&N

Type: Contemporary Romance

Publisher:Grand Central/ Forever

My Copy: Sent

HER LOVE HAS COME ALONG . . .
Amy Michaels loves her new life in Lucky Harbor. A waitress in the local diner, she’s looking forward to her first weekend hike through the mountains. But when a wrong turn takes her off the trail, she finds herself up close and personal with forest ranger Matt Bowers. And even though she’s tempted to kiss that sexy smile right off his face, she won’t make the mistake of getting involved with the town heartthrob.

A former cop whose life went south, Matt doesn’t let anyone get too close. But something about the feisty beauty caught his eye the moment he first saw her in the diner. After a hot night under a starry sky, Matt can’t deny their attraction-or the fact that for the first time in a long time, he feels the stirrings of something more. Now it’s up to Matt to help Amy see that, no matter what is in their past, together they can build a future in Lucky Harbor.

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What can I say about Jill Shalvis that hasn’t already been said? I mean, everyone loves these books and it isn’t like I can tell you in words any better then anyone else right? At Last is my fifth return to the quaint town of Lucky Harbor, where small town living is every day living and your neighbors are larger then life.

Amy blew into town years ago with nothing to her name. A run away, a screw up, she needed to start over and armed with her grandmother’s journal she’s determined to find whatever gave her grandmother hope and peace in the small town and surrounding woods. Problem is that  the journal can be confusing and a city girl like Amy doesn’t really know her way around the mountains in Lucky Harbor. Pride stops her from asking for help which often leads to her stumbling into situations which force her to depend on someone. That someone being Matt, local forest ranger and eligible bachelor.

I adored Amy! She was just so adorably….wrong. She may have thought she was content but she spends a lot of the book running from her past. Using sex as a teenager was great until it got her some attention she’d rather not have. Now as a adult she tries her best to not want/need anything from Matt. Especially since Matt doesn’t seem to want a relationship any more then she does. She follows her grandmothers journal like it holds the secret to life. When all she really needed to do was look within herself and see what she had been running from and finally just let someone in. With her best friends Mallory and Grace helping to lead the way, Amy finally starts to see that putting down roots may be exactly what she needs to finally feel at home.

Matt has his own relationship problems that mainly stem from him feeling inadequate. Not able to keep his ex safe he has taken the stance that he is unworthy of taking care of anyone but himself. His connection with Amy is immediate and even though she tries to fight it there are just some things that are meant to be. His job as ranger means everything to him and he is completely over working himself. He’s devoted to the people of Lucky Harbor but his personal relationship suffer as a result. Strong and with so much to give, Matt spends a lot of time selling himself short.

The comedy Shalvis incorporates really makes her books pop for me. I find myself laughing through out the book and, for me, it always makes me love them more. The snarkiness between characters just feels so right. Friends making fun of each other. This works both in the relationship of the women as well as the men of the series. Shalvis then adds in all kinds of secondary town characters who make it their lives to embarrass the main characters on Facebook and it’s just golden writing…love love love when I get a dose of romance with my romance.

When these two polar opposite people get together sparks flying is the least that happens. Fireworks on a grand scale is more like it. Jill Shalvis makes you care about these characters and this town. She makes you believe. She weaves the written word so well you will be sucked into the book until the last page. Contemporary romance at it’s ultimate best this series is one of my all time favorites!

At Last needs to be on your reading list! It can be read on its own without any problems but I recommend the entire series. Jill Shalvis has been and will always be an auto buy for me!

I give At Last by Jill Shalvis 5 stars! 

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Available: July 31, 2012 Amazon/B&N

Type: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Grand Central/ Forever

My Copy: Sent

 LOVE CAN HAPPEN IN A HEARTBEAT.

Grace never thought she’d be starting her life over from scratch. Losing everything has landed her in Lucky Harbor, working as a dog walker for overwhelmed ER doctor Josh Scott. But the day his nanny fails to show up, Grace goes from caring for Josh’s loveable mutt to caring for his rambunctious kids. Soon Grace is playing house with the sexy single dad…

With so many people depending on him, Josh has no time for anything outside of his clinic and family–until Grace arrives in town. Now this brainy blonde is turning his life inside out and giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “good bedside manner.” Josh and Grace don’t know if what they have can last. But in a town like Lucky Harbor, a lifetime of love starts with just one day…

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Forever And A Day is the 6th and final book in the series, at least for a while. Nothing is out of the question I suppose and there are always more characters to write about. At least I’m hoping for more but as of now Jill has no plans to write more.

We finally get to see sexy town doctor Josh in this one and I do believe Jill Shalvis saved the best for last! I adored Josh and his completely crazy family!  From his bratty but misunderstood wheelchair bound sister to his hyper active son, Josh has his hands full and he constantly work works himself. When someone is strung that tight it seems everything in their life suffers and that was truly the case with Josh and his family. Each member rebelled his work-a-holic nature in their own ways. His son insisted of acting like a dog and his sister was continually acting out by openly defying him. Though in her defense Josh treated her like a child incapable of making her own life choices and as a 21 year old woman she needed to be able to make her own mistakes. I loved that they played such a integral part in the book.

Grace was only supposed to be in Lucky Harbor temporarily. Taking odd jobs to help her dwindling savings account she ends up dog walking for Josh who owns a demon dog that is completely untrainable. Once there she finds herself perfectly integrating into the craziness which is exactly what she doesn’t want. Grace is driven by trying to impress her extremely intellectual adoptive family. She thinks that to be happy she needs to live up to her parents high expectations. As her feelings for the cute doctor grow she keeps telling herself she only wants something fun…something temporary. Lucky Harbor is the only place she’s ever felt at home and it scares her to not have path in life that she feels secure in.

There was some serious sexual tension in this book as each character fights their attraction. Josh and Grace together felt so natural and the sex…holy smokes the sex. Jill Shalvis can write a love scene that will knock your socks off! She somehow makes you feel the emotions without getting erotic and I think that takes incredible talent. Her writing is a constant mood lifter for me. I seem to always pick up a book of hers when I want to laugh and become totally engrossed in a world.

Once again the secondary characters make for some incredibly funny moments. Everyone needs friends like Mallory, Amy, Matt and Ty. People who always have your back but who aren’t afraid to tell you when you’re being incredibly stupid and hard headed. Without them the book wouldn’t have been nearly as funny. They make even the hardest parts seem lighter.

Jill is my favorite contemporary romance author hands down. There is no one that writes like her and no one I connect to more! I love her work and she has  life long reader in me! I could never say enough amazing things about her books, you just need to experience them for yourself and find out!

I give Forever And A Day by Jill Shalvis 5 stars! 

* Because the people at Grand Central ROCK, I have one copy of each to give away to a US winner (one winner, two books)! All you have to do to enter is tell me if you read any of Jill Shalvis’ books and which has been your favorite so far. Please make sure to leave me a way to find you if you win. Contest open until 7-22-12 at 11:59pm EST with winner announced the next day*

Elizabeth Hoyt GIVEAWAY

Available: Now Amazon/B&N

Publisher: Grand Central

Type: Historical Romance

A Masked Man . . . 

Winter Makepeace lives a double life. By day he’s the stoic headmaster of a home for foundling children. But the night brings out a darker side of Winter. As the moon rises, so does the Ghost of St. Giles—protector, judge, fugitive. When the Ghost, beaten and wounded, is rescued by a beautiful aristocrat, Winter has no idea that his two worlds are about to collide.

A Dangerous Woman . . .

Lady Isabel Beckinhall enjoys nothing more than a challenge. Yet when she’s asked to tutor the Home’s dour manager in the ways of society— flirtation, double-entendres, and scandalous liaisons—Isabel can’t help wondering why his eyes seem so familiar—and his lips so tempting.

A Passion Neither Could Deny

During the day Isabel and Winter engage in a battle of wills. At night their passions are revealed . . . But when little girls start disappearing from St. Giles, Winter must avenge them. For that he might have to sacrifice everything—the Home, Isabel . . . and his life.

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Past Books In The Series

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Elizabeth Hoyt is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of historical romance, including reader favorite, The Raven Prince.

Elizabeth was born in New Orleans but grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was fortunate to be able to travel extensively as a child, visiting St. Andrews, Scotland; Germany; France; and Belgium. She spent a year in Oxford, England and was a summer exchange student to Kawasaki, Japan.

Elizabeth has a BA in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and, as a result of having no clue what to do with her life thereafter, a career history as a barista, a (terrible) sales clerk, a Wisconsin Revenue Service data entry slave, and an archeological field work grunt. Fortunately, Elizabeth married relatively young and produced two children who kept her busy until her mid-thirties. At about this time, when her youngest was entering Kindergarten, Elizabeth’s mother hinted that perhaps Elizabeth should get a Real Job.

Sadly, Elizabeth was so delusional she thought writing a romance novel might qualify as a Real Job.

But! Five years later, to everyone’s surprise, she actually sold that romance novel (The Raven Prince) and began a rather successful career as a Romance Novelist. This was most fortunate since Elizabeth is singularly unqualified to do anything else but Make Up Stories.

Since then Elizabeth has written eleven books to critical acclaim: The Prince Trilogy (The Raven Prince, The Leopard Prince, and The Serpent Prince); the Legend of the Four Soldiers series (To Taste Temptation, To Seduce a Sinner, To Beguile a Beast, and To Desire a Devil); and the Maiden Lane series (Wicked Intentions, Notorious Pleasures, Scandalous Desires, and the upcoming Thief of Shadows.) All of Elizabeth’s books are set in eighteenth century England and all feature a fairy tale story that serves as a foil to the main story.

Elizabeth’s books have finaled five times in Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award contest, have won two Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Awards, and were nominated for a third. All of her books have received Top Pick reviews from Romantic Times BookReviews magazine. Wicked Intentions, Notorious Pleasures and Scandalous Desires received starred reviews fromPublishers Weekly. Four of her books were voted into All About Romance’s (AAR’s) Top 100 Romances of All Time list and six were Desert Isle Keepers at AAR. Elizabeth’s books have been translated into thirteen languages.

Elizabeth researches extensively for her historical romances, both by reading books on topics such as: history, costume, warfare, social mannerisms, and cooking, and frequenting museums whenever she can to study portraits and the little dogs that aristocratic Georgian ladies seem to always be holding. When desperate she often consults Mr. Hoyt, who is an archaeologist and Historical Research Wizard.

Elizabeth lives in central Illinois with a trio of untrained canines and a garden in constant need of weeding.

• Elizabeth’s interview at All About Romance

Fun Facts about Elizabeth

Elizabeth is a five-time Romance Writers of America RITA finalist, has won two Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Awards, was nominated for two more, and was nominated for a lifetime award in Innovative Historical Romance—despite the fact that she’s only been published for three years at the time. All of Elizabeth’s books to date have rated a “Top Pick!” from Romantic Times Book Reviews. Elizabeth’s books have been translated into thirteen languages: Russian, French, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Japanese, Portuguese, Czech, German, Hungarian, Thai, Chinese, and Indonesian. At sixteen Elizabeth Hoyt was once accidentally locked in the Ashmolean Museum—the oldest museum in Britain—in Oxford England. Apparently, she didn’t hear the bell that warns that the museum is about to close. She denies categorically that the reason she didn’t hear the bell was because at the time she was looking at risqué Greek pottery. Elizabeth spent much of her youth catching frogs in the ponds of Minnesota—her father was a frog biologist. To this day she is one of the few people in the world who can tell the difference between a frog and a toad. Elizabeth once won a pumpkin in a fourth grade composition contest. Despite—or perhaps because—of this prize she did not take up writing again until she was thirty-five. Elizabeth has three dogs named (in descending size) Max, Fritz, and Rue. All three dogs are mutts and were acquired from the local animal shelter. None of the dogs are trained. Elizabeth met Mr. Hoyt on an archaeological dig. Her initial impression was that he was something of a jerk. Time would prove otherwise. Elizabeth is an avid—some would say rabid—gardener. She has twenty-six named varieties of daylilies in her garden and too many different hostas to count. Don’t get her started about the iniquity of slugs. One of Elizabeth’s few skills is eating with chopsticks. She was adept at this even before she spent a summer in Japan as a teenager.

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I have one copy of Thief Of Shadows to give to a US or Canadian winner! Simply comment to enter and answer his question:

What is your favorite historical romance book?

Thank you to the great ladies at JOAN SCHULHAFER PUBLISHING & MEDIA CONSULTING for providing the copy of the giveaway today! I will leave this contest open until July 3rd 2012 with the winner announced shortly afterwards. Don’t forget to leave me a way to find you if you win.  

Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione (Lords Of Deliverance #3)

Available: Now Amazon/B&N

Type: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Grand Central

My Copy: Sent

They’re here. They ride. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Born of a match between good and evil, four siblings stand between hell’s minions and everything they want to destroy. They are the Lords of Deliverance, and they have the power to ward off Doomsday…or let it ride…

LETHAL RIDER

Thanatos, the most deadly Horseman of the Apocalypse, has endured thousands of years of celibacy to prevent the end of days. But just one night with the wickedly sexy Aegis Guardian, Regan Cooper, shatters centuries of resolve. Yet their passion comes with a price. And Thanatos must face a truth more terrifying than an apocalypse-he’s about to become a father.

Demon-slayer Regan Cooper never imagined herself the maternal type, but with the fate of the world hanging in the balance she had no choice but to seduce Thanatos and bear his child. Now, as the final battle draws closer and his rage at being betrayed is overshadowed by an undeniable passion for the mother of his child, Thanatos has a life-shattering realization: To save the world, he must sacrifice the only thing he’s ever wanted-a family.

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Larissa Ione is one of my favorite authors right now! Ever since I picked up her Demonica series a few years ago I have been hooked. The Lords Of Deliverance series is a stand alone series but I fully recommend reading the Demonica series first because they are based in the same world and a lot of the characters cross over.

Lethal Rider is the third book in this series about the four horseman of the apocalypse. Up to this point we have read about War and Famine, aka Ares and Limos (who happens to be a female horseman- horselady, whatever). Each trying desperately to make sure their seal doesn’t break because if it does they turn evil. Reseph (Pestilence) wasn’t so lucky and now he has made it his mission to break the remaining three and turn them against the world.

Thanatos is Death, doomed to be attracted to the destruction his brother is creating across the globe. Though he carries a huge burden he is fun loving and carefree when he’s with his family. It was previously thought that him losing his virginity would break his seal but at the end of Immortal Rider, drugged and out of their minds, Thanatos and demon slayer Regan managed to get a little nookie. Not only did he get some sex, he knocked her up with the help of Shade from the Demonica series. He is angry for being practically raped at the hands of this gorgeous woman and in a fit of anger he nearly kills everyone on the same island as him which results in his family putting him out of commission for 8 1/2 months. Coming to and finding out he’s about to have a son leaves him feeling both excited ans extremely pissed off.

The thing I love about this series is the action Ione packs into every page. There is always something going on and the lore of the horseman runs deep with every twist and turn the book makes. Lethal Rider puts Thanatos and Regan in impossible predicaments. I really enjoyed Regan and her complex personality. She suffers from OCD that seems to be triggered by extreme nervousness or being scared. It made her feel “real” and since I have tend to have some of the same reactions, I instantly connected with her. It’s nice to see real flaws in a heroine. She just desperately wanted to belong and finding out those she trusted did not have her and the baby’s best interest at heart really tore her down. Turning to Thanatos and deciding to trust him was her biggest hurdle. I wanted them to be happy. Happiness for Death wasn’t something he thought he could ever have but looking at Regan ripe with his child made him realize that he could. Trading the best interest of his growing family for the life of Reseph who he realized he just couldn’t save. His over the top alphaness never failed to make me catch my breath or snort with his ridiculousness. He’s hard…..everywhere. *Smirk*

Speaking of Reseph…good lord I am so looking forward to his book! I WANT IT NOOOOOOOOOW! I can’t wait….just can’t wait. That is all.

Lethal Rider is a fantastic book and a great third installment to the Lords Of Deliverance series! Filled with action packed awesomeness and smexy goodness between death and a gorgeous preggo demon slayer. You want this series, trust me.

I give Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione 5 stars! 

Lucky In Love by Jill Shalvis (Lucky Harbor #4) and GIVEAWAY

Available: May 22, 2012 Amazon/B&N

Type: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Grand Central

My Copy: Sent- Blog Tour

Mallory Quinn has had enough of playing it safe. As a nurse and devoted daughter, she takes care of everyone but herself. And as the local good girl, she’s expected to date Mr. Right. But for once, she’d like to take a risk on Mr. Wrong. And who could be more wrong than Ty Garrison? The mysterious new guy in town has made it clear that he’s only passing through, which suits Mallory just fine. Besides, his lean, hard body and sexy smile will give her plenty to remember once he’s gone…

For the first time in his life, Ty can’t bear to leave. Helping this sexy seductress-in-training walk on the wild side is making him desire things he shouldn’t — including leaving the military for good. As their just-for-fun fling becomes something more, Mallory and Ty wonder if they could really be this lucky in love. After all…anything can happen in a town called Lucky Harbor.

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After years of being the safe one in her family, Mallory has decided to walk on the wild side. That wild side happens to come in the package of the new hot and mysterious guy in town, Ty. One quick time with Ty isn’t nearly enough for her and soon she’s finding that she is falling for him. But Ty has problems and he’s not staying in Lucky Harbor forever. He’s just passing through and when he leaves, it’s sure to be with Mallory’s heart.

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Lucky Harbor…..any small town, USA and a place I would love to live myself. Oh wait….I kinda already do. I moved to a small town last year and I now know what the small town mentality is. It’s knowing what is going on everywhere in town, it’s seeing the same people day in and day out driving through town and it’s actually caring about your neighbors lives and trying to help each other out. Lucky Harbor is my town, in a way. Lucky Harbor is every town in a way. Jill Shalvis is a remarkable author. One who will make you snort with laughter and then make you cry with happiness. I have read nearly everything Jill has wrote and they all have this funny vein running through them. Her characters are real and make real mistakes.

Lucky In Love took the emotional connection to a all new level. Ty is a wounded veteran, and the depth of his injuries don’t stop at the physical damage. His soul is hurting after witnessing the deaths of his four best friends and going back to his job as a Seal Medic just isn’t in the cards. He can’t even handle a bandaid let alone patch up major injuries. Coupled with his recent leg injury at this new job that landed him with some unexpected time off and his arrival in Lucky Harbor to stay at a local rental house. Of course that means that every resident in town is out to uncover his secrets. That includes Mallory though she has her plate already brimming to the edges. Full of her own guilt for not noticing her sisters descent into depression when she was a teen, she now is obsessed with stopping it from happening to another family. She has her sights set on opening a care clinic but the local residents her meeting her with resistance.

After a chance encounter at the local diner, Ty finds himself with a date to a town fundraiser that ends with a steamy tryst in a attic. Mallory and Ty together is just hot! They feed off each others emotions so well and the way they connected so deeply was touching. Mallory manages to chip away at the wall Ty has had up since his buddies deaths. I loved the evolution of their story. How they both learned that they could be happy but only if they were truthful with themselves on what was holding them back.

Lucky In Love is an emotional read that makes you stop and think about veterans and what they may be dealing with that you can’t see on the outside. The book is also a great opening to the next two books in the series that all revolve around a diner and some wonderful cake eating ladies. The next book, At Last comes out in June and Forever And A day in July, so it’s looking like a Jill Shalvis summer at my house!! Loved Lucky In Love!

I give Lucky In Love by Jill Shalvis 4.50 stars!

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Since I am part of the official blog tour, Grand Central is allowing me to giveaway 1 paperback copy of Lucky In Love to a US winner! I will leave the contest open till May 28th at 11:59 EST and announce the winner the next day. Good Luck!

Double Review: Run From Fear (Trilogy #3) and Deadly Dance (A-Tac #5) and GIVEAWAY

Available: NOW Amazon/B&N

Type: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Forever

My Copy: Sent

With each step she takes, he tracks her every move, waiting for the perfect time. The perfect revenge. Until then, he’ll watch her . . .

RUN FROM FEAR

More than anything, Talia Vega wanted to leave behind her harrowing past. Moving eight hundred miles away, she succeeded . . . until the one man who knows her darkest secrets wanders into the restaurant where she works. Now the agonizing memories come crashing back-along with an undeniable desire for Jack Brooks, the ex-Green Beret who rescued her from a sadistic monster two years ago.

Jack Brooks knows that showing up unannounced is a purely selfish move. Talia doesn’t need his protection anymore, but he can’t get the raven-haired beauty out of his mind. And when a twisted madman is hell-bent on resurrecting her torturous past, Jack vows to do anything to keep her safe-even risk his own life to save the only woman he’s ever loved.

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She is supposed to be safe. Talia has worked so hard to start a new life for her and her sister. She is managing a bar now, she’s not the same person that was beaten and drugged and basically left for dead in some basement two years ago. She’s different. With the reappearance of her hero, Jack, she knows none of that other stuff is true. Talia is struggling. Struggling to make herself whole again. With strange occurrences happening all too frequently, Jack vows to once again to save her. To save the one woman who even after two years he can’t get out of his head. Talia knows she should trust him…and she can…with everything but her heart.

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Jami Alden is quickly climbing my “top authors”  ladder with this amazing romantic suspense!  Run From Fear is exactly what I look for in a romantic suspense book. The villain is sadistic and creepy, the romance is hot and heavy and dull moments are non-existent! Triple perfection!

I will be honest and say that I fell in love with this book as soon as Jack walked onto the page. Hooooooo boy, Nikki was in lust love at first sight! He is big….he is an ex soldier with a cracked heart and he is way protective. Love…..love….LOVE! I could understand where Talia was coming from though. After being held prisoner and tortured like she was it’s hard to stand back and let someone take over certain aspects of your life. She wanted all the control. Justifiably so from her perspective at least. Jack keeping tabs on her over the two years since he carried her bloody body out of that hell hole wasn’t something Talia could handle. She was used to people only doing things if they wanted something in return. Everything had strings attached. Everyone wanted something. She just couldn’t understand why Jack wanted to help her but didn’t want to use her. She spends a great deal of the book telling herself that jack wouldn’t use her but then thinking that exact thing. Tali was definitely not what I would classify as fragile physically. That girl had honed her body in an attempt to quiet her soul. She figured if she took responsibility for her body then she could fight back if she was ever faced with an attacker again. Talia should have known that what landed her in a dungeon was her love for her sister and if ever faced with that again she’d do the same thing over again. Talia loves fiercely and is selfless when those she loves are threatened. Jack and Talia together just worked. He forced her to see that all men weren’t like her ex and those who exploited her. He taught her that she could feel again and give herself freely again without expecting the worst in return.

I enjoyed the multiple villains in Run From Fear. It’s apparent early on that we aren’t dealing with just one person after Talia, though the poor characters don’t know that. It made the book much more suspenseful to know something everyone else didn’t. I thought the copy-cat killer was sadistic and just kinda sad at the same time. The guy grew up with a mother telling him how worthless he was so there is no surprise that he snapped like he did. I liked her Alden had him progress throughout the story. So often a reader doesn’t get to see that progression and instead they are just told how he started. It was nice to be shown that for once.

Run From Fear is an excellent romantic suspense that should fit right in with lovers of that genre! Wonderfully written with great character building and filled with suspense, I can fully recommend this one as well as the past two books in the series, Beg For Mercy and Hide From Evil!

I give Run From Fear by Jami Alden 4 stars! 

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Available: April 1, 2012 Amazon/B&N

Type: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Grand Central

My Copy: Sent

“As the intelligence officer for”"A-Tac, a black-ops CIA unit masquerading as Ivy League faculty, Hannah Marshall is used to working behind the scenes. But when a brutal murder hits too close to home, Hannah finds herself in the middle of the action, falling in love while racing to outwit a sadistic mastermind. “ 
A KILLER CLOSES IN
After the death of her A-Tac partner, Hannah doubts everything she thought she knew about love and loyalty. When handsome Harrison Blake joins the team, she’s reluctant to trust him – or to act on her intense attraction to him. Then Hannah receives a podcast of a gruesome murder, and the only person who can help her find the killer is Harrison. 
Harrison has spent years trying to hunt down the cunning monster who killed his sister. Now investigating with Hannah, he faces a shocking possibility – his sister’s murderer has resurfaced. As the danger escalates, Hannah and Harrison grow closer, the desire simmering between them ignites. And when Hannah disappears, Harrison has only one chance to save the woman he loves.

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 The Cyber Killer has returned. Or so it seems. Harrison is sure that the recent disappearances of college students has to be related to the same killer that took his sister from him years before. Now working undercover with the A-TAC team he can’t be sure if the killer has found him out or if this rash of killings right under his nose is a coincidence.  His partner, Hannah can’t be sur either but working with Harrison so closely has really started to change her perception of him. No longer is he just the newest member of their tight knit team who works with computers. Suddenly he is larger than life. More. When Hannah becomes the killers next target can Harrison finally put his sister and his guilt to rest and step up for the woman he has slowly become to love?

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Dee Davis is a semi new to me author. I had previously read her novella in this series, Daring, but hadn’t read anything full length by her. When the opportunity to read this one was presented to me I jumped on it since I enjoyed the novella I figured I would give a full length a try. I enjoyed this romantic suspense, and not having read that rest of the series I didn’t find myself overly confused with past events either. Dee Davis gets all semi caught up fairly quickly without it feeling like a huge information dump.

I enjoyed that this seemed to be a bit of a variance from the main story arc of the shadowy group known as the Consortium. That group has orchestrated the past books storylines and though they turn up in this one the majority of the book doesn’t really talk about them. This is centered around a serial killer from Harrison’s past that seems to have returned in a big way.

Harrison was a great character! I loved how he was both brainy and had the muscle to back it up. Alpha male mentality  but not all in your face constantly. He also had a range of emotion I appreciated. Obviously distraught over the death of his twin sister years prior and the return of what looks like the same killer and hard as steel in his attempt to finally figure out the one case that he was too late for. I think brainy guys are hot, so Harrison totally worked for me. Add to that he was a strong character, mentally and physically, and I was instantly hooked. I appreciated his apprehension to being an in a relationship and thought it was cute he kept trying to tell himself that Hannah was only a “release of pent-up energy” for him. He felt fractured and so it was understandable he would feel like he couldn’t be in a relationship.

Hannah spends most of the book hiding. Hiding from her looks. Hiding from herself and hiding from Harrison. She tries to play off Harrison’s aversion to a relationship but it hurts her more than she is willing to show. She craves feeling included just like Harrison does and yet they both fight it. Hannah has a horrible past that involved the breaking of the one relationship a young girl should always be able to trust. As a result she balks at needing or trusting people and spends a good deal of energy keeping people out. Never letting them see the true her or know the pain that she suffers.  Even the group that she works with that is more like a family then co-workers. Though she covered her good looks with tinted hair and studious glasses, I thought her quirky looks fit her personality quite well. Smart and yet attention grabbing.

Since I haven’t read the rest of the series (a problem I plan on rectifying soon I hope) I didn’t appreciate the reappearance of past characters but I’m sure lovers of the series will enjoy that. I also think one of the last single group members, Simon, needs his own book. He needs to be taken down a peg or two by the forces of an emotional love.

The villain was scary…in fact when I put the book down to go to bed I checked the doors twice and that never happens to me. There was just something indescribably creepy about the entire thing. Gruesome and horrible come to mind to get across the way I thought of the murders and actions of this person. *shudder*

I didn’t like the fact that the undercover A-TAC team posing as college professors seemed to be able to stay off the radar of everyone. No one seemed to question the fact that they not only talk like cops/government, but they also act like it too. Professors simply don’t act like they do. At all. People would question professors acting like that did and so I found that aspect completely unbelievable.

I give Deadly Dance by Dee Davis 4 stars! 

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 Thanks to the wonderful people over at Grand Central publishing I have 3 sets of these books to give away to lucky winners! Each of the three winners will receive both books! This is open to US residents only (no PO boxes). I will leave this giveaway open until March 29th 2012 at 11:50pm EST. Winner to be picked by random.org and posted the following day.

GOOD LUCK!!! 

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