When I was asked to review this book, I excitedly said yes. After all, I am not vanilla in any way, I like kink here and there, and have an open mind. I’m a pretty firm believer that most controversial subjects can be overcome, or at the very least made non consequential, if something is written well enough. Unfortunately Comfort Food is not one of those books. FYI – there will be spoilers.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room. The main character is kidnapped, deprived, locked away, and coerced into having sex with her captor. Even tho all of these things are uncomfortable and difficult to read about, after making a few phone calls and conversing with a few people more knowledgeable than I, I was convinced that if written well, I could get past my own hang ups. If you can connect with the characters, if you can connect with their motivations, you can connect and accept their story. I mean look at the tv show Dexter… how many of us absolutely adore that man even tho he is a violent murderer? I know I do.

Unfortunately, I hated the characters. I found Emily to be disappointing. She starts off as an educated and independent woman but is quickly turned into a pathetic shell of who she is. She is smart enough to know her captors motivations but goes along with them almost from the very beginning. I don’t remember her once considering holding out to see if she would be found. As a strong, independent, intelligent woman I found myself quickly placing her in the “To Stupid to Live” category. Maybe if she had held out and fought first? Maybe if she wasn’t so educated in regards to her captives motives? Maybe if her actions at the end were not so predictable? If any of those things had been different I think her character may have been at least tolerable.

Additionally, “Master”, is a cold manipulative bastard who shows no emotion and no concern for her well being. The only thing we get from him is his desire to control and break Emily. Yet, supposedly this is all handy dandy because he is good at delivering on the orgasms and is a handsome guy. I’m sorry, but no thank you. I may love myself a cocky alpha bastard, but good looks and a talented tongue can not overcome cruelty. Further, most cocky alpha bastards act of out love, protection, or wanting to provide pleasure…. “Master” acts out of none of those things. His sole goal is to break her and make her his, to break something beautiful. I’m sorry but what? In the end when his motivations were revealed I was completely shocked and disturbed. I mistakenly thought that the end would somehow justify the means, but the author left him absolutely unworthy of redemption. Because of my complete lack of connection with these two, I found the sex scenes entirely lacking in heat or eroticism.

All that said, unlikable characters do not always mean a bad book. There are many characters we all LOVE to hate, the key to those books is good writing. Comfort Food just doesn’t have the writing chops to pull this story off and could use the eye of an experienced editor. Sentence structure was awkward and distracting at times and I often got distracted or bored by Emily’s inner monologue. To throw the reader off even more the sex scenes are written in an awkward 3rd person perspective when the rest of the book is first person. It caused a disconnect that only added to the lack of eroticism.

As a somewhat kinky girl myself, I “get” the appeal to a kidnapping and/or rape fantasy and I get the appeal of giving yourself so completely to a master. However I don’t “get” or find believable the journey Comfort Food tries to take us on.

Disclaimer: After a discussion on Goodreads the author asked me to reconsider reviewing this book, worried I could not do so impartially. I believe I have done so, but I am posting this disclaimer so you can make your own judgements.
FTC Disclaimer: Book was given to me for review by author in exchange for an honest review

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The Missing is only my second Shiloh Walker read and it served as a good reminder that I really need to pick up more of her books. In spite of my “paranormal/romance burnout” I flew through this book yesterday and could not put it down. I was cursing Shiloh Walker and updating my goodreads status at 4 am, wondering where the night had gone.

Taige, pronounced like Paige with a t (I asked!), has a unique gift. Ever since she was a little girl Taige has had visions or dreams that help her find missing kids. As a young girl she does her best to ignore her gift and the inconvenience it causes. Yet, events in her life push her toward using it to help kids any way she can, no matter the cost her own life.

Taige and Cullen were a sweet, but electric, couple. At first I wasn’t sure where things were going and I was a bit apprehensive about meeting them as teenagers. Over the first 50 pages all reservations I had disappeared and I was smitten. Shiloh Walker wrote them in such a sweet, yet realistic courtship it was impossible not to fall in love with the pair. She then went on to take my heart, rip it out of my chest and stomp on it. Shiloh Walker is evil, in the way all good tragedy writers are. She made me cry. There I admitted it. Taige and Cullen were so perfect for each other, yet their relationship takes such a heartbreaking turn. I hated it and I loved it. I couldn’t put it down once I got to that point. I would have liked to see Taige drag Cullen around by his “you know what” a bit to make him suffer, but that could just be the evil bitch in me talking.

The suspense of The Missing was haunting and readers are given enough clues to figure out bits and pieces here and there, yet I didn’t have an clear hunch about the bad guy until three quarters of the way through. I think portions of the missing children plot could have been prolonged and I would have enjoyed seeing Taige and Cullen’s relationship change during that hardship, but overall the story worked well as it was.

The only annoyance I had were the dreams Taige and Cullen shared. I knew where that subplot was going and I just couldn’t get on that train. It felt too easy and neither of them seemed like the kind to not face their feelings and be honest with each other. In the end I think the couple really needed a knock down, drag out, all things on the table, tupperware thrown at your head type of discussion and I felt shorted that because of the dreams. It didn’t annoy me enough to not love the book, but I would be a slacker blogger if I didn’t mention it.

The Missing is a haunting and emotional story you will not want to put down once you start it. Clear off your schedule for the day, bake some brownies, grab a box of tissues and curl up with some Shiloh Walker. You won’t regret it, I promise.

Other Trusted Reviews:
WickedLilPixie – 4.5
Bibliophilic Book Blog – 3
Stacy’s Place – 4.5

FTC Disclaimer: Book was given to me for review by author

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Sigh. There once was a series about a vampire executioner/necromancer that kicked ass. Anita Blake was her name and she rocked my urban fantasy world. She kicked ass, took names, and didn’t care that she was wearing outdated/out-of-fashion clothing while she did it. She didn’t need stiletto heels or mid drift bearing leather vests. She wasn’t swayed into stupidity by the likes of hot men and out of the world orgasms.

Where oh where has our Anita gone to? She certainly isn’t being written by Laurel K. Hamilton anymore. Now before anyone says “oh you are just one of those who like to complain about all the sex”…. no, I’m not. I like sex in books…. in fact sometimes i LOVE it. What I don’t like is sex to the point that it has no relevance to the plot, or worse, sex instead of a plot. I’ve never been a complainer when it comes to Hamilton, other than what she did to poor Richard… I didn’t hate the ardeur or complain about the harem of men until I started losing track of who was who. I even kind of liked Blood Noir and Skin Trade… had hopes that maybe the Anita I loved was making her way back.

Unfortunately, Bullet is exactly as it is titled, a bullet into the coffin of the Anita Blake series for this reader.

Now here I could try to sum up what was going on in this book and put it into neat paragraphs… but I have put enough time into this one. Instead I am just going to give you a nice neat bulleted list (heh, pun intended) of my complaints and notes.

• The phrase “creamy goodness” should never be used more than once in a book, much less two times or more and when talking about one’s own breasts
• “too tall for straight missionary, or I was too short” was used more than once… relatively close together about entirely different men. Furthermore…. eh what? I want details in a sex scene but can they please be better than random thoughts like this?
• More than once I noted a big W-T-F is going on? There is all kinds of strange metaphysical triumvirate crap going on and most of the time it doesn’t make sense. If there are rules to the supernatural world Anita lives in now that she is ever-powerful, I can’t figure them out and I don’t like it. I don’t buy the weird magic touching mojo just works without rules or reasoning, giving Anita and gang the power to fix anything. Additionally, how many new powers does Anita have now and can someone get me a chart?
• Pages and pages and pages of description. Not just any description… but description of guys’ hair color, eyes, clothing, and shoes. It was endless… if the guys were not always wearing knee high boots we probably would have gotten description of their sock color… surely all varying colors of blue (cue *eyeroll*). Oh and it was not just Anita’s main squeezes that we were treated to unnecessary man drooling, it was every guy she lays eyes on. Bullet could have been at least 50 pages lighter if an editor would have done their job and not allowed her to bore us with Hamilton’s game of “how many different kinds of blue eyes can I shove in a book and how long can I write about them.”
• On the note of clothing… WHY does every man in the book have pants that were “painted on”? Really? I lost count of how many times Hamilton was painting pants on men.
• Boring, emotional, relationship drivel. Pages and pages of talking whether it be among the characters or within Anita’s head. Every scene was like one of those bad fights you had with your high school sweetheart where you both kept going long after everything was said and you found yourself talking in circles…. except in Bullet every one of those scenes involved 3 more more guys making them excruciatingly long. Sigh. I enjoy a good turbulent relationship but at some point in the book there must be a plot right? I mean something has to happen outside of the bedroom right?
• Rainbow of Tigers… they are confusing and totally weird. That is all.
• Poorly written sentences and paragraphs. Unnecessary details that only make my brain go into zombie mode… such as:
  

  Nathaniel had made me drink a Powerade from the cooler near the locker rooms, but he’d also insisted on stopping at the kitchen so he could make me a protein shake. They were designed to replace things a hard workout would take out of you, and the interesting thing was if you didn’t need the shake, it tasted bad, but if your body needed it, chocolate tasted like chocolate. It tasted very good today.

• Richard… sigh. My dear Richard. I want Richard to stop whining and being a pansy as much as the next girl. When forced to choose between a creepy old vamp (Jean Claude) and an uber hot alpha werewolf (Richard) I am always going to side with the warm blooded non-creepy one. Well, I got my wish in this book…. but I am sad to say it was disappointing. Not because unwhiny Richard wasn’t what I thought…. oh no.. Richard accepting the things he wants is totally SEXY. The problem is that the turnaround is completely unrealistic and poorly done. It is done without set up or any believable back story. A fellow blogger described it perfectly, it seems that Hamilton just got tired of writing him as a pain in the ass and decided to stop doing it.
• Sex scenes…. for those who complain about the frequent sex in the later books…Bullet was a nice inbetween. It wasn’t overwhelming and it wasn’t sparse…. but it was BORING. Uninspired and lacking chemistry or sizzle of any kind. I am going to blame it on all the talking during, before, and after.
• Anita getting it on with the girls. Hey, I am all about Anita getting a little help taking care of her harem… its large, she needs it. Yet when Anita actually gets some sexual mojo going with one of the girls underneath her Hamilton wimps out on committing to it. The girl is left to get off on her own by rubbing up against Anita’s stomach? Really? Either dive in or get out of the pool.
• Plot….. where the hell is it? Other than a dance recital at the beginning of the book, Bullet takes place entirely in the Circus of the Damned…. much of it in the bedroom. AND THERE ISN’T EVEN A LOT OF SEX! There is definitely sex… but not enough for most of the book to take place underground in a bedroom. We get glimpses of cool things Anita could be doing (vampires running amock everywhere!) but we never actually get the action! Even the end reads like “here are all the traditional urban fantasy things that happened when we weren’t having sex or talking about our feelings, but I didn’t feel like writing them into the story so let me just tell you how it ended.”
• No Edward. Do I need to say more?

Now, I could go on…. but really, who is still reading at this point? My words can not express how bad I think this book is. And honestly, its a pretty harsh review already. I probably harbor an unhealthy amount of anger in regards to Bullet. Hamilton used to write better than this… and where is her editor? Are you telling me that no one at her publisher read this and questioned anything? Or is it no longer about writing a good story but instead about just meeting a deadline so it hits shelves on time? If so, its shameful… readers spend hard earned money on these books and deserve better than this. When you are the author of a long running, popular series, you have a higher level of responsibility. Your fans trust you, they buy your books on faith. If you can no longer deliver a book of at least mediocre quality writing then do yourself, your fans, and your characters a favor. Stop.

With that, I say good-buy to Anita Blake. Anita, Richard, Jason…. I have loved you and you helped me escape from my crazy so-called life many many nights. I will miss you but I am afraid I no longer care what happens unless it involves Edward coming in and and going on a mass killing rampage complete with Anita/Edward showdown. I am going to try to appreciate Bullet for what it did give me – sexy alpha Richard and series closure.

Disclaimer: This book was purchased by me.

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Sanctuary Lost

Sanctuary’s Price

I <3 this series. Each installment is between 125-160 pages but Moira Rogers packs so much story into those few pages I never feel shorted or left wanting. Each book seamlessly continues the story of the Red Rock Pass sanctuary while delivering an engaging romantic story. I love the friendship and loyalty each character brings to the story, but even more than that I love that we never really say goodbye to any of the characters. Each book may focus on a new couple, but previous couples are there and a part of the action still.

I enjoyed each story for different reasons, but if I had to choose a favorite is is probably Joe and Brynn's story, from Sanctuary Lost. Partly because Joe is so very alpha, but also because of the twist in Brynn’s character arc. At one point I was swearing because a choice was taken away from her and I wasn’t sure I agreed with the author’s decision to do it, it felt like the easy way out. Yet as I kept reading I realize how wrong I was… it was the perfect turn of events and made Joe and Brynn’s journey so much harder and fulfilling. I don’t want to give anything away so I won’t go into detail, but Brynn is tested and will continue to be tested… even tho she gets her happily ever after with Joe I doubt things will ever be easy for them. It probably says something about me that my favorite characters are continuously tortured eh?

Sanctuary Lost may be my favorite, but I was surprised to find Dylan and Sasha’s book a close second. Dylan is not an alpha wolf, but he is sexy and sweet in his own ways. He is strong and commanding without being afraid to let Sasha be in charge. Sanctuary’s Price had some of my favorite quotes of the series.

Dylan lifted his head and stared at her. “I want you to come. I want you to feel so good you can’t image anyone else touching you. I want you to be mine because I give you everything you need.”

If you are looking for well written, sexy, engaging pararnormal romance reads do not miss the Red Rock Pass series. Don’t forget to pick up the FREE short stories for the series from Moira Rogers’ website…. I enjoyed the shorts just as much as the novellas.

Title: Sanctuary Unbound (Red Rock Pass, book 4 )
Author: Moira Rogers
Release: June 1, 2010
Purchase this book: here
Goodreads Entry: here
Rating: 4 Stars

Sanctuary Unbound is the newest release in the Red Rock Pass series and takes a break from the werewolves we all know and love. Adam Dubois is a vampire friend of Gavin Hamilton, the alpha of Red Rock Pass. Adam, vampire lumberjack, leaves his home in Maine to help the Red Rock Pass wolves fight an unknown vampire enemy back home. He expected to fulfill the life debt he owed to Gavin and return home to his solitude… he didn’t expect to find Cindy, a werewolf who tempts him in dangerous ways.

I admit, I wasn’t sure about the vampire lumberjack. Moira Rogers writes werewolves so well, what would their vampires be like? I am happy to say I enjoyed Adam, a lot. Not enough for me to switch to Team Vampire Lumberjack, but enough that I read his story in one setting. I could have used more depth into what being a vampire in this supernatural world means, but it wasn’t necessary to the story or take away from the believability.

Cindy and Adam can be frustrating, they both have secrets and painful pasts. Communication failures pepper their early encounters and I wanted to shake Cindy, hard. Yet the chemistry between them in undeniable and they set the bar for hot kitchen table sex. The ability for both of them to move past the physical attraction and find within each other someone they could be honest with and trust was touching. I am not usually a mushy romance type of girl, but their emotional connection was my favorite part of the story.

Unlike the other Red Rock Pass books, I felt the wolf politics took a back seat to the romance in this one. The danger to Red Rock is still there, but it didn’t get my attention as much until the end. It did, however, wrap up a few of those story lines and I am anxious to see what comes next for the wolves. Sanctuary Unbound won’t disappoint paranormal romance lovers and will have you looking at flannel in an entirely new way.

FTC Disclaimer: These books were purchased by me, with the exception of Sanctuary Unbound which was given to me for review

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Jack Barnes is a well educated professor who suddenly finds himself a zombie. Yet, he isnt a mindless brain eating zombie, he has somehow retained his ability to think and to write. He sets off trying to find other zombies like himself and ends up creating his own little zombie family, ready to show the world they can co-exist with humans.

Overall Jack is an interesting guy, if you can overlook the fact he comes across as kind of a jerk before he was zombified. His, and perhaps this book’s, downfall is the way he narrates the story. The narration is filled with pop culture references and one line zingers. Granted some are funny, but a lot of them felt forced just for the sake of trying to be funny and turned me off to his character. Add in that he is kind of a jerk when he talks about his wife and I soon found him to be a pretty unlikeable character. I did warm up to him as he warmed up to his new zombie family, but it was a little too late. What I enjoyed most about the story was the cast of characters he collects around him – they are a merry band of misfits and I would have love to get inside their heads and see some of the story from their perspective.

In addition to an unlikable main character, I found the story to be slow. I wanted more to happen… its only 182 pages but I found myself yawning at page 100. Even in the end, I felt the plot just kind of went pfffft. There was a small climax but it was more of a speed bump and all of a sudden the book was over.

So, I have am complaining about all of these things… why am I giving it a 3?? Well even with these faults it was a decent read. It was quick and there were some moments where I laughed out loud. Robin Becker is certainly a talented writer and the idea is one I would love to see expanded on with a bit better story line. As it is, I had some problems with it stylistically – but you may not. I can certainly see the potential for the idea and the writer behind it. The end is a bit open ended, allowing room for a sequel. If there is one I will certainly pick it up to see where it goes.

FTC Disclaimer: Book was given to me for review

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I have a confession, I am a VPeep, yes that’s right. I am a Vicki Pettersson fangirl. It’s partly because she is a Vegas girl and I love that connection in her stories, but also because she writes dark urban fantasy and I love it. She isn’t afraid to torture her characters or break the rules for the sake of the story. The last book in the series was shocking and turned the series upside down on its head. The main character, Joanna, was forever changed to the point that many thought the series was over with.. Yet, the series isn’t over and Pettersson returns to torture us, and Joanna, in the fifth installment of the Signs of the Zodiac series, Cheat the Grave.

The Signs of the Zodiac series feature not vampires, or werewolves, or any other typical supernatural character…. but instead modern super heroes. The world is made up of Agents of Light and Shadow, battling to keep the world balanced with the events being recorded in comic books, known to the agents as manuals. Our main protagonist is Joanna, an Agent of Light, mostly. Her mother was Zoe Archer, the Sagitarrius Agent of Light while her father was the Tulpa, the evil genius in control of the Shadow Agents in Las Vegas.

Joanna Archer is tough, hard, bitter, angry, battle worn, and alone. Abandoned by her mother and practically disowned by her assumed father, she started off this series all of these things and more. When I read the first book I wondered where she could possibly go from there? Over the last 4 books she has found companionship and family through her troop and some unexpectedly inherited friends and family. She has been trained to be a deadly weapon, but she has also softened in her judgment and acceptance of those around her. She lets people into her life and get to know her and becomes a better character because of it. Yet letting people in often means getting hurt, and Joanna is no exception. Her troop has abandoned her, her lover betrayed her….she is once again alone and wondering what she has left to live for.

Cheat the Grave gives us a rare look at our super heroine weak and vulnerable. Joanna is wallowing in self pity and unsure of where she belongs. This part of the book was the hardest part for me to read, I didn’t enjoy it but I know it was necessary and real. I wanted to smack Jo upside the head and tell her to snap out of it – she was a tough kick ass chick, not some mopey do nothing! As a side effect, this section was the slowest for me to read and I found myself wishing things were moving a bit faster.

Things picked up and the story shined for me as new characters were introduced to Joanna’s world. Cast out of the Light and not willing to be Shadow, Jo is looking for some place to belong. Rogue agents, independents no longer light or shadow, make themselves known to her and she is forced to question her beliefs about light and dark. Can there be Gray and is she willing to be part of it? The Gray Agents are all interesting characters that will make you smile, Carlos especially. Even Zoe Archer makes an appearance, and man she kicks some serious ass.

Cheat the Grave teases us mercilessly through Jo and Hunter’s relationship, bringing to light new facts and background information. The connection between the two is as strong as ever and a I can’t wait to see what is in store in book 6. The end of this one left me with hope for them, but Vicki Pettersson is known for taking that hope and stomping on it while laughing maniacally.

In the end, Cheat the Grave is another great installment in the series, featuring a few “oh my god no way” moments you don’t want to miss. It may have been a bit slow moving at times but the story telling and world building more than make up for it. Joanna Archer is at her limits and this book just pushes her harder, asking what will she do? What is she really made of? In this gritty dirty urban fantasy there are no happy endings, but if you are looking for great story telling and riveting character growth, this one is for you.

For a limited time you can get book 1 of the series, Scent of Shadows, free on Kindle from Amazon.com here.

FTC Disclaimer: Book was won in a giveaway

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