4 Star
Review: Master of None by Sonya Bateman
Title: Master of None
Author: Sonya Bateman
Release: March 30th, 2010
Purchase this book: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle Version
Goodreads Entry: here
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 4 Stars
Gavyn Donatti is the world’s unluckiest thief. Just ask all the partners he’s lost over the years. And when he misplaces an irreplaceable item he was hired to steal for his ruthless employer, Trevor—well, his latest bungle just might be his last. But then his luck finally turns: right when Trevor’s thugs have him cornered, a djinn, otherwise known as a genie, appears to save him.
Unfortunately, this genie—who goes by the very non-magical name of “Ian”—is more Hellboy than dream girl. An overgrown and extremely surly man who seems to hate Donatti on the spot, he may call Donatti master, but he isn’t interested in granting three wishes. He informs Donatti that he is bound to help the thief fulfill his life’s purpose, and then he will be free. The problem is that neither Donatti nor Ian has any idea what exactly that purpose is.
At first Donatti’s too concerned with his own survival to look a gift genie in the mouth, but when his ex-girlfriend Jazz and her young son get drawn into the crossfire, the stakes skyrocket. And when Ian reveals that he has an agenda of his own—with both Donatti and the murderous Trevor at the center of it—Donatti will have to become the man he never knew he could be, or the entire world could pay the price…
Finding male authors and/or protagonists in the urban fantasy genre can be tricky. I can probably count the ones I have found and enjoyed on one hand, with Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden shining like a supernova as the best of the bunch. I saw reviews for this book popping up on blogs and my interest was piqued. When I was offered it for review I anxiously said yes…. a male protag written by a woman? Could she pull it off and would I enjoy it? The answer to both of these questions for me is yes, tho I admit I would love to see a male’s review of this book to see their opinion on it.
Gavyn is a thief, and an unlucky one at that. When he loses an item he stole for a very dangerous man, he finds his life on the line and on the run as a new and dangerous magical world is revealed to him. I loved Gavyn’s character. He’s funny, sarcastic, and self deprecating; his mouth constantly getting him in even more trouble than his actions. This story is as much about his journey to finding out his own strengths and weaknesses as it is about the suspense plot.
Gavyn’s sidekick in this magical mystery tour of danger is Ian, a djinn(genie) prince. At first, Ian is crotchety, cranky, surly, and downright condescending. Yet I grew to love him as the story progressed and his relationship with Gavyn developed. The world of djinns created by Bateman was unique to me, my only other experience with them through Rachel Caine’s Weather Warden series. Bateman’s djinns have their own realm, their own politics, their own battles and it is spilling out into our mortal world with possibly fatal consequences. The djinn are not all powerful beings enslaved to a master granting any wish requested, but instead they have power limitations and freedom of choice. Ian and his djinn counterparts are on equal footing with the other characters in this story, adding depth and credibility to the plot.
Master of None by Sonya Bateman is a good solid read from a debut author, a welcome addition to the Urban Fantasy genre. It is not without its slow segments and could use a bit more world building to add to the story, but the first person male character was done well and entertained me from the start. This book is the first in a new series and Sonya Bateman is an author I will be watching.
FTC Disclaimer: Book was given to me by the author for review
Review: Make Your Move by Samantha Hunter
Title: Make Your Move
Author: Samantha Hunter
Release: May 1st, 2010
Purchase this book: Amazon | Kindle Version
Goodreads Entry: here
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 4 Stars
Behind his owlish glasses, Jodie’s business partner, Dr. Dan Ellison, is the male equivalent of the Naughty Professor. Jodie is more than ready to indulge her fantasies with this wolf-in-geek’s-clothing as long as they set some ground rules: sex is sex, business is business and nothing will change. Yeah, right! After that first addictive kiss, it’s time to see if they can really satisfy each other’s appetites….
I am a relative newbie to “vanilla” contemporary romance novels, and by that I mean romance novels that don’t involve special ops, seals, or very dominating men. I started Make Your Move a little uneasy because I wasn’t sure I could fully enjoy it… it has no guns or secret missions, no super evil kidnapping plots, and no growly men. Yet I had enjoyed Samantha Hunter’s Kindle Short, Barely There, so I was pretty sure I would enjoy the writing. Luckily I was right, and Samantha Hunter didn’t need any of those things to get my attention, I was caught up in this sweet and enjoyable story from the first chapter.
Jodie is a naughty vixen. Yes I said vixen. She is a girl who is not afraid to get what she wants, and for her that is short and sexy flings with a new man each week. She doesn’t want a committed relationship and she isn’t ashamed of it or afraid to admit that. I loved how confident she was and Samantha Hunter did a fabulous job of portraying her as an empowered sexy woman when it would have been easy to cross into promiscuous slut. It’s so unusual for women in romance to be given the OK and ability to enjoy one night stands and I really enjoyed the twist.
Now let’s talk about Dan. Oh Dan, sigh. Dan is not a growling heavy handed alpha man, yet I loved him just the same. He is so sexy in his uber geeky ways. Dan is sweet, and caring, yet unexpectedly smoldering when he gets to the bedroom. How can you not love a guy who can gauge a relationship and how it will fare based on a combination of statistics?
“Additionally, you can’t argue that our sexual compatibility is off the charts. Do you know the odds against the number of orgasm that you had–”
Jodie put up a hand. “No, I don’t, and I don’t think I want to. Listen, Dan, people can’t become lovers based on statistics.”
“Why not?”
She looked at him long and hard, as if trying to figure out whether he was serious.
The relationship develops between Jodie and Dan in such a sweet and realistic way it was hard not to love. The characters are likeable and easy to relate to. If you are looking for a fun, sweet, and sexy read I would highly recommend Make Your Move. It was just the thing I needed to break me out of my tortured urban fantasy bender I was on.
FTC Disclaimer: Book was given to me by the author for review
Review: Laid Bare & Coming Undone by Lauren Dane
Title: Laid Bare (Brown Siblings, book 1)
Author: Lauren Dane
Release: August 4th, 2009
Purchase this book: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle Version
Goodreads Entry: here
Genre: Erotic Romance, Menage
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Now, life has thrown the pair back together. But picking up where they left off is tough, in light of a painful event from Erin’s past. As Todd struggles to earn her trust, their relationship takes an unexpected and exciting turn when Todd’s best friend, Ben, ends up in their bed–and all three are quite satisfied in this relationship without a name. As the passion they share transforms Erin, will it be enough to help her face the evil she thought she had left behind?
After reading a couple of heavy hitting Urban Fantasy books I wanted some light sexy books, I looked through my library and settled on the Lauren Dane books I had been hoarding. FictionVixen loves herself some Lauren Dane and she hasn’t steered me wrong yet, so it was settled. Of course I had some reading comprehension issues that day and mistakenly read Coming Undone before Laid Bare, but no harm was done as they stand on their own. Laid Bare and Coming Undone are not a series, but they are related as they are focused on a small group of friends and family. You can read one without the other, but why would you? They are too good to pass up on.
Laid Bare focuses on Erin Brown, a tough non nonsense sort of chick who has been put through hell and is somehow still standing. Erin struggles to get through each day pushing the loss she has suffered down and out of the way. The fates have plans for her tho and one day strong, sexy, dominant Todd Keenan walks back into her life after more than 10 years have passed. Todd Keenan has returned to his hometown after 10 years and a divorce, finally ready to be comfortable with who he is. When he walks into a small cafe to find the only woman to ever accept his dark desires sparks fly and the two embark on a wicked path of burning hot sex and unexpected emotional twists and turns. Things are only made more exciting, and complicated, when the couple find themselves intrigued and interested in adding Ben Copeland to their bed.
I absolutely loved Laid Bare. Words can not express exactly how much I loved this book. Lauren Dane blew my socks off and clear out of my house with the dominating and sexy Todd Keenan, and later Ben Copeland. To say that the sex scenes in this book were steamy is an understatement… they were an inferno unlike anything I have read so far. But Laid Bare is about more than just sex, Lauren Dane has a talent for creating endearing characters you wish you knew in real life. The sense of family and friendship she writes into this story compliment the plot perfectly and give the characters added dimension and depth. The emotional development between all three main characters was a joy to read.
My one complaint is that I felt the ending dragged on a smidge. I felt like I had my happy ending a good 50 pages before the end of the book and the rest could have been cut and I would have still been happy. Those last 50 pages do have value, i just wonder if they should have been rearranged to happen sooner.
I’m convinced Lauren Dane somehow downloaded all of the things that make me tingle from my head and put them into this book… Erin even has pink hair! If you like steamy sex scenes featuring dirty men and their dominating ways, you will not want to miss Laid Bare – just make sure you have a high speed fan nearby to cool you off.
Title: Coming Undone (Brown Siblings, book 2)
Author: Lauren Dane
Release: January 5th, 2010
Purchase this book: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle Version
Goodreads Entry: here
Genre: Erotic Romance
Rating: 4 Stars
Elise Sorenson has come to Seattle with her young daughter to find peace. After years as a world-famous ballerina—(and just as many years in a marriage-gone-bad)—she’s looking for neither love nor attention. But she finds both in the handsome, honest man who befriends her with no strings attached.
More than friends, Brody and Elise discover in each other what they need—wild, physical passion without commitment. But it’ll take a shadow from Elise’s past to make them look beyond what they need—to what they truly desire.
Coming Undone focuses on Brody Brown, Erin Brown’s (from Laid Bare) brother. Brody is the ideal big brother, if you can still say that about a sexy 40 year old tattooed biker guy. He took up the reigns raising his siblings when he was just 17 and has been their protector for all of his life. He runs a successful tattoo shop and has little time for more than a casual fling here and there. His world is reshaped when he starts up a casual relationship with his new neighbor, Elise Sorenson. Elise is a single mom who has to worry about her daughter first and foremost, she has no time or desire for a full time boyfriend….. but that doesn’t mean she can’t have herself a piece of man candy here and there. Famous last words in any romance novel….
Just like Laid Bare, Coming Undone will have you wishing you had a strong breeze blowing through your living room… or maybe a cold shower. Brody is strong, admirable, loyal, and devoted to his family. He is also sexy and confident enough to turn any woman into a melted pile of goo. I really enjoyed this book, tho not as much as Laid Bare. That isn’t because the writing or story isn’t as good, but it is solely based on the male leads…. Todd is just more my kind of guy than Brody is…. but Brody is a very close second.
The growth of relationship between Brody and Elise is sweet and timed perfectly. I really enjoyed the way Lauren Dane incorporated Elise’s daughter into the story, giving her just as much importance as the other characters and doing so realistically. As with Dane’s previous book, the theme of family and friends is a strong support to the plot and only adds the depth of the story. There were a few time when I felt scene transitions were a bit off or done too quickly, but it was easily overlooked.
Lauren Dane writes erotic romance novels that feel realistic. The characters deal with real problems, real threats, and do it with real courage and bravery…. yet they get smoking hot love making to go along with it. If Lauren Dane isn’t on your auto buy list, she should be. Excuse me while I run off and stalk her mercilessly on twitter.
FTC Disclaimer: Books were purchased by me
Review: Succubus Shadows by Richelle Mead
Title: Succubus Shadows (Georgina Kincaid, book 5)
Author: Richelle Mead
Release: March 30th, 2010
Purchase this book: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle Version
Goodreads Entry: here
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 4 Stars
Helping to plan her ex-boyfriend’s wedding is a different story. Georgina isn’t sure which is worse—that Seth is marrying another woman, or that Georgina has to run all over Seattle trying on bridesmaid dresses. Still, there are distractions. Georgina’s roommate, Roman, is cluttering her apartment with sexual tension. Then there’s Simone, the new succubus in town, who’s intent on corrupting Seth.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, she’s started having dreams shadowy, dangerous but alluring dreams, dreams that don’t want to let go. These dreams are created by the Oneroi, demons in the service of Nyx, a creature from Hell who’s bent on revenge. These are dreams that can trap their chosen victim and drain their powers through nightmares. This mysterious force that’s visiting her thoughts, is trying to draw her into a dark, otherworldly realm. Sooner or later, Georgina knows she’ll be too weak to resist. And Georgina is powerless as she watches those in the real world try to find her, she comes to understand that her freedom her fate lies in the hands of the only one who can find her soul, who just happens to be the man who s about to marry someone else. She’ll discover who she can trust, who she can’t—and that Hell is far from the worst place to spend eternity…
I stumbled upon Richelle Mead’s books because Amazon was giving away free kindle versions of 1 book from her Dark Swan series (which is very good – you should be reading it). After working my way through the 2 books in that series I needed more so I gave Georgina Kincaid a shot and it was love. I can’t remember the last time I read through a series as fast as I did this one, ignoring everything around me and finishing all 4 books in two days. Now if you like happy ever afters and mushy love stuff…. this series isn’t for you. Its fun, sexy, and full of humor but its also heartbreaking and addicting. I can’t imagine anyone reading this series and not becoming entirely invested and emotionally devastated by the twists and turns Mead throws you.
Georgina Kincaid is a succubus and has been one for a long time, but that doesn’t mean she likes it. Just because you have a signed contract with Hell doesn’t mean you have to be a bad person. She struggles to meet her quota and live with her conscious.
Surrounding Georgina are lively and lovable characters – funny and supportive vampires, demon bosses that look like John Cusack, and an angel entirely too obsessed with Georgina’s love life. The interactions between Georgina and her friends are just as entertaining as the plots themselves. You wouldn’t expect a book featuring evil doers to feature friendship and love so heavily, but Richelle Mead does it very well in this series.
Book 3 and 4 of this series were heartbreaking and painful to read, emotional and full of suspense at the same time. I love the pain a Urban Fantasy story laced with romance can give to you, but sometimes a series needs a light break in it to keep moving forward. I took a deep breath and dove into Succubus Shadows worried this one would be packed with angst and not sure I was in the right mind set for it. In the end, this installment surprised me for a few reasons. First, book 5 was light on action…… there was a suspense plot but it was very laid back and not the focus of the story for once. Instead Succubus Shadows focuses heavily on the inner turmoil Georgina feels as she helps Maddie plan a wedding to Seth, Georgina’s lost love, as well as her own bad choices throughout her life. For as internally driven as the plot was, I didn’t feel emotionally drained at the finish of this one. I was left feeling a bit…. hopeful? There was some definite growth in Georgina’s character and some big steps made.
Succubus Shadows is not the strongest of the series so far, but it was enjoyable and a necessary part of the overall story. Richelle Mead manages to write an emotionally driven story without breaking the readers heart, and sets up the next book perfectly. The lack of a strong suspense and action made this one feel a bit like a transitional novel, so I wouldn’t suggest reading it without the other books, but I would absolute recommend you pick up the series if you haven’t already.
FTC Disclaimer: Book was purchased by me
Review: Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
Title: Silver Borne
Author: Patricia Briggs
Release: March 30, 2010
Purchase this book: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle Version
Goodreads Entry: here
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 4 Stars
I’ve been sitting on this review for a week or so, just unsure of what to say. Mercy Thompson is one of my favorite Urban Fantasy series, and I was expecting a lot from this one. Silver Borne doesn’t disappoint, for the most part it delivers. I gasped out loud and had to tweet friends at various interludes. Yet, it I still found myself feeling a bit off after setting the book down.
Mercy Thompson is a shapeshifting(coyote) mechanic. She is tough as nails, brave, and fiercely independent. Silver Borne has her still recovering from the traumatic events of previous books and her vulnerability was touching. She finds herself once again mixed up in the world of Fae and some of her most cared about people in danger.
In this installment we make our way through what the mating of Adam and Mercy really means, for the pack and for her. I think this is where the story stumbled for me. There were a lot of pack things explained that I did enjoy, but I often felt that Mercy joining the pack put a damper on some of her personality as well as some of the sexual tension that I love. She apologized too quickly and too easily for her character in my opinion and it nagged me a bit.
What did work for me and was far more interesting was Samuel’s story. I don’t want to spoil anything, but he is a huge part of this book and he is what kept me turning pages in the middle of the night. I loved the resolution of his situation, but do admit it felt a bit rushed or glossed over.
As a whole, the Silver Borne was a good read. Fans of the series do not want to miss this one as it marks a turning point in the series for Adam and Mercy’s relationship. There is a lot of intimacy and tenderness between Adam and Mercy and it felt great to see them happy, yet it left me missing the tension between them. The plot was done well and the cast of characters filled out the story perfectly. There are so many wonderful side characters of this series it is hard to choose a favorite but if I had to make a choice…. Warren the gay werewolf is in the lead.
FTC Disclaimer: Book was purchased by me
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) by George R.R. Martin
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