Posts Tagged ‘paranormal romance’

Good morning to all my fellow book loving friends! Today you are getting a double dose of my opinion, lucky you Below you can find my review for the newest book in the Meredith Gentry series and over at SmexyBooks you can catch my review of my very first historical romance read!

Title: Divine Misdemeanors (Merry Gentry, Book
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Release: December 9th, 2009
Buy Kindle version: here
Goodreads Entry: here
Rating: 2 Stars

I would like to say that I read this installment in the Merry Gentry series in 2 days because I enjoyed it, but the truth is… I read it because I am can’t stand to not finish a book or series I have started. Many times I was tempted to just toss it aside and give it a “Did Not Finish” tag. At first I wondered if I was set to not like this because I had followed along with Hamilton’s tweets and blog posts…. so I knew how fast this book was thrown together and how much she appear to dislike writing it. However much I wish this was the case, I don’t think it is.

Merry is a sidhe princess who has gathered a harem of men over the years, many of which I could do without. Doyle keeps me reading this series, he is oh so dark and yummy. Divine Misdemeanors picks up not long after book 7 leaves off. Merry is pregnant with twins, fathered by 6 of the men in her harem. She is now living in Los Angeles with a gathering of fey who have left the fairy mounds in St. Louis. She is back to working with the detective agency and we follow her as she is called in by the LAPD to help solve the case of a serial killer who is targeting fey.

I am not even sure where to start when discussing how bad this story is. The writing is awkward, the sex scenes drag on and are unexciting. Its almost like there is a script for Merry’s sex scenes that goes something like this:

~*~*~ Warning – below is my own writing, not a direct quote ~*~*~

He rose above me as his magically colored and surprisingly untangle-able hair swirled around us. His body was lean and tight, the part of him that is oh so male was large (note to self, each new man should be even bigger than the last). He pushed into me.

He found that spot and pumped while I watched him glide in and out. He brought me. I screamed my release and painted my orgasm on his skin

Seriously, “painted my orgasm on his skin” was used at least twice and it is a cheezy line to begin with. Secondly, no one orgasms as fast as Merry and surely not just from the sheer size of a man’s junk. Add that together with the this absolutely horrid line from one of Merry’s new men, “Not as tight as she was before I had my turn,” and I was rolling my eyes instead of needing a cold shower.

The serial killer plot of the book was weak. It felt like an afterthought, yet there was no real plot that took the forefront. There were only minor developments in the story of Merry and her men and most of the book felt like boring filler. Too often I found myself wondering why certain paragraphs or phrases were thrown in. There wasn’t even a scene with Merry and Doyle or Frost getting it on! How could there a Merry book without Doyle loving…..? Blasphemy.

Divine Misdemeanors was hugely disappointing. I am not even sure if my love of Doyle will have me picking up the next version. I am ashamed to say that I kind of wish Hamilton had ended the series with book 7, Swallowing Darkness. It was obvious that the series had to end or go in a new direction after Swallowing Darkness, but Divine Misdemeanors does nothing to encourage the reader that it is worth continuing on with.

Disclaimer: This book was purchased by me.

Title: Crossroads (Southern Arcana, Book 2)
Author: Moira Rogers
Release: February 9th, 2010
Buy Kindle version: here
Goodreads Entry: here
Rating: 5 Stars

I feel like I should knock on wood or something. I have had a string of really great books and keep waiting for one to let me down! Crossroads continued my lucky trend of great books and exceeded my expectations. I am hereby declaring Moira Rogers my favorite discovery of 2009.

Nicole Peyton is a werewolf. She also happens to be heir to the very rich and powerful Alpha of the United States pack of werewolves. We first meet Nicole in book 1 of the series, Crux. What makes Nicole so endearing is that she doesn’t want the wealth and power that she has every right to. Instead she leaves the world of werewolf politics and runs a bar in New Orleans. She is trying desperately to live a life of normalcy, constantly turning away from her father’s goals of making her into a powerful female Alpha.

Derek Gabriel is a sexy beast. Derek was turned a werewolf, instead of being born one. As he tries to adjust to his new life he pushes Nicole away, even tho its obvious to all around them there is a connection between them. Thankfully the wolf comes to his senses not too far into the book and tries to claim what his inner wolf is telling him is HIS. Unluckily, on the verge of Nicole and Derek finding out what the future holds for them, Nicole’s twin sister shows up with danger following her.

I went into this story fully expecting Derek and Nick to fight their attraction for half the book, it seemed obvious considering how stubborn they seemed to be! I mean they had already ignored it for 2 years, what was a little more time?!? I was overjoyed to find out I was wrong. The chemistry between the two was sweltering and just too much to ignore. The next thing I knew we had werewolves having sex on the kitchen floor amongst a flurry of waffle batter. This book contains an intimate scene in the forest after a run, which has to be the hottest scene I have read in a very long time…. I had to read it twice. Then I noticed I had a big grin on my face and was blushing furiously. Derek and Nick are just so needy, so intense, so passionate – it is perfection.

One hand dropped to her ankle, and his large fingers encircled it easily. “Tell me to stop.”

She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. “No.”

Derek dragged her ankles apart and dropped to his knees between her legs. He tickled his fingers up her calves as he jerked his gaze to hers again. “Put your hands over your head.”

Sheer primal instinct drove her to obey.

Where Jackson’s southern charm in book 1, Crux, made my heart go pitter patter, Derek’s protective and passionate alpha manhood makes my toes curl.

I should probably point out there is much more to this book than just hot forest sex, lest I get sidetracked and find myself rereading all my bookmarked scenes, again. Crossroads has a complicated and engrossing plot that takes us deeper into werewolf politics. We learn so much more about the life Nicole and her sister have been subjected to along with the bond between them. Crossroads drags you into the characters lives and forces you to experience their passion, their happiness, but also their sadness and pain.

As if all of the above isn’t good enough for a 5 star review, Moira Rogers manages to add a little bit more to the story. Jackson and Mackenzie from Crux are still in the mix and have small parts in the book. We get glimpses of the brooding and sarcastic Alec, at least once in nothing but a pair of jeans (hopefully low slung ones). We are also given a new development in regards to Kat and Andrew, side characters from book 1. They step a bit closer to the front of the stage in Crossroads and I hear that Andrew will be getting his own book after Alec’s. Based on the events in this book, I am going to go ahead and lay claim to Andrew right now. He is mine and you can’t have him.

If you have not read Crux, I encourage you to do so immediately so that you can pick up Crossroads on the day it releases, February 9th. Trust me, you will not be sorry. I am going to leave you all with a small glimpse of my newest book boyfriend, Andrew.

Once Mackenzie had opened the door, she glanced at Nick. “Should I have Jackson bring Kat? Or is he going to pee on her leg or something crazy?”

“I’m not going to pee on anyone.” Andrew growled, and Mackenzie stepped aside and let him pass.

She rolled her eyes and followed, already dialing the phone.

FTC Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Crux – Southern Arcana, Book 1
Moira Rogers
Release: March 3, 2009
Buy Kindle version: here
Rating: 4 Stars

Jackson Holt makes a decent living as a private investigator in New Orleans, home of one of the largest underground supernatural populations in the United States. He and his partners have never met a case they couldn’t crack…until a local bar owner asks him to do a little digging on her newest hire.

With time running out, she has no choice but to trust Jackson as he struggles to uncover the truth of her past-and her destiny.

Moira Rogers is a new author for me, or rather a new duo of authors. For some reason I went into reading this one expecting a plot heavy on the romance and was pleasantly surprised to find that this book is just as heavy on the action, plot, and character building. I love it when an author surprises me.

The story is about Mackenzie who is on the run from some crazy shifters looking to use her for her body. While on the run she falls into a web of really cool people who convince her the supernatural is real and give her an unexpected support system. Jackson Holt takes a liking to her immediately and will do whatever he needs to keep her safe.

The story arc is reminiscent of a paranormal romance…. girl is in trouble, our hero must use his super powers and super friends to save her. But, in this story our heroine isn’t weak or waiting around to be saved and our hero doesn’t expect her to sit back in a safe corner and wait it out. I found the characters to be honest. The dialogue between them was easy and free flowing. The relationship was realistic, a nice mix of playful flirting with sincerity. Jackson is funny and sexy, protective without being overbearing.

The plot of Crux builds quickly. The book is action packed and I had a hard time finding stopping points so I could get some much needed sleep! There is an atypical twist in the plot three quarters of the way through. After it I thought for sure we were getting an ending and the “Big Bad” would continue to haunt us in the next book, but instead the story keeps going! Because of this small twist in plot sequence, the story loses a bit of momentum and I felt the true ending was smidge anti-climatic. Not overly so, and definitely not enough for me to dislike it.

In Crux Moira Rogers has built a strong supernatural world with an exciting plot and realistic characters. With as much as I enjoyed the interactions between Mackenzie and Jackson, I am looking forward to the next books in the series! There were so many intriguing side characters introduced in this group of friends… only more good stories can come after this!

Crux is available for purchase now from a variety of ebook stores, find the links as well as full chapter excerpts here. Crux will be released in print format on January 5th.

Book 2 of the Southern Arcane Series, Crossroads, will be released in ebook format in February 2010 and print format in December 2010.

FTC Disclaimer: This book was given to me for review from the author