Month: June 2014

Item: Archangel's Legion (Guild Hunter #6)
Rating: 4.5
Author: Holly

What I Read Last Week

Posted June 30, 2014 by Tracy in Features | 0 Comments

How do neighbors! How the hell are ya? I’m doing well. I’m getting ready to go on vacation next week and frankly work for vacation is a huge PITA. The amount of work that I have to do before I go – in preparation for when I’m gone – is almost enough to keep me home. I’ve worked here for 13 years and I’ve never been gone for 2 weeks straight because it’s such a PITA. lol I’m sure the vaca will be worth it though.

On to what I read:

I started out the week with Tease by Sophie Jordan. This is a story about Emerson who does a lot of making out with boys but never goes further. Of course her reputation around college is that she’s pretty free with sex. When she gets stuck at a biker bar that she should have never walked in to she’s saved by Shaw who is rough around the edges but ends up having a soft heart. The pair have a tumultuous relationship and Emerson almost succeeds in pushing him away completely. This was a good one and I really liked it. You can read my review here. 4 out of 5

Next up was No Attachments by Tiffany King. This is about Ashton who has lived in Woodfalls for 4 months and loves it. She has a bucket list and is determined to do it all. One of the items is to pick up a random stranger at a bar and have a one night stand. She chooses Nathan who is there in town to find her but she doesn’t know that. They hit it off and both of their plans go awry in the end. A great story that was very good. You can read my review here. 4 out of 5

Snowcroft Lost by Christi Snow is about Jamie who is in love with his best friend Trevor who is straight. Trevor is found unconscious on a trail and when he awakens he has amnesia. He can’t believe it when everyone says he’s straight as he wants nothing more than Jamie. Unfortunately not everyone wants to couple to be together and they’ll do just about anything to keep them apart. This one had lots of great elements to it and many twists and turns to keep me turning pages. You can read my review here. 4 out of 5

Before the Mission Begins by Christi Snow is a prequel in the When the Mission Ends series. It’s to be read in between books 2 & 3 (according to the author) but I happened to get it first so there ya go. The story is about Chris and Julie who meet on a Valentine weekend at Chris’s sisters house. Chris never looked twice at Julie but now that she’s all grown up he can’t stop looking at her. The story is short and sweet and enjoyable. 3.75 out of 5

Where the Horses Run by Kaki Warner is about Josephine Cathcart whose father has spent his money and invested badly and now he wants Josephine to marry money so that he can be saved. She is not really marriage material according to most people as she’s a single mother. Back in 1817 that was a big no-no as she was never married. Rafe Jessup is in England from America to look at the horses that Josephine’s father is selling and the pair meet and fall in love. Unfortunately decisions and life aren’t simple and there are many hurtles to jump if they want to be together. This was a good one, I must say. You can review my review of this one tomorrow. 4 out of 5

Next was the novella Pia Saves the Day by Thea Harrison. This is book 6.6 in the Elder Races series and has Dragos in a horrible accident. He loses his memory but Pia’s not giving up on him. She won’t lose him to his wilder side no matter what she has to do. This was so good! I love Pia and Dragos and showing us the couple facing a huge obstacle in their life was emotionally moving yet wonderful. 4 out of 5

Running Wild by SE Jakes is the story of Sean Rush. He’s a mechanic who just got out of the Army. He’s also an adrenaline junkie and loves stealing and racing cars. Ryker is in the Havoc MC and has been breaking into Sean’s house for the past 8 months and having wild wonderful sex with him. One of Sean’s car thefts go bad and Ryker is there to pick up the pieces but all is not as it seems with Ryker or the Havoc MC. A really good m/m story that added the bonus of an MC. How could I not like this one? 4 out of 5

Debutantes Don’t Date by Kristina O’Grady is a time travel story of an event planner who gets thrown back in time to 1813 from 2013. She immediately meets an Earl and practically attacks him in an alcove at a ball. They’re caught and have to marry. She doesn’t want to marry, she just wants to go home but the longer she stays the more confused she is as she’s falling in love with the Earl. This book had a great premise but unfortunately the romance lacked….romance. On page it was completely lust driven and while steamy it didn’t solidify things in my mind. There was also the heroine who took a bit of getting used to as she couldn’t make up her mind about what she wanted. So decent read but not great. 3 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Last for the week was Peanut Goes to School by Thea Harrison. This short novella is about Peanut aka Liam, the son of Dragos and Pia, and his first day of school. It’s fun, heart warming, tender and wonderful. Definitely a must read. I just wanted to grab Liam and hug and kiss him he’s so cute. Put this on your must have list. Releases 7/14 4 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Date Night by RC Matthews
Hard to Hold by Incy Black

Happy Reading!

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Tagged: Christi Snow, Kaki Warner, Kristina O'Grady, SE Jakes, Sophie Jordan, Thea Harrison, Tiffany King, What I Read Last Week, What I've Been Reading This Week

Review: Archangel’s Legion by Nalini Singh

Posted June 30, 2014 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Reviewer: Holly
Archangel's Legion (Guild Hunter #6) by Nalini Singh
Series: Guild Hunter #6
Also in this series: Archangel's Kiss, Archangel's Consort, Archangel's Blade, Archangel's Consort, Archangel's Storm, Archangel's Storm (Guild Hunter #5), Archangel's Legion, Archangel's Shadows, Archangel's Shadows, Archangel's Enigma (Guild Hunter, #8), Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter #1), Archangel's Heart, Archangel's Heart, Archangel's Heart (Guild Hunter, #9), Archangel's Kiss, Angels' Blood, Archangel's Viper (Guild Hunter, #10), Archangel's Viper, Archangel's Prophecy, Archangel's Consort (Guild Hunter, #3), Archangel's Prophecy, Archangel's War, Archangel's War , Archangel's Kiss, Archangel's Sun, Archangel's Light, Archangel's Resurrection
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: October 29th 2013
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
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Series Rating:

FIRST TIME IN PRINT
Nalini Singh, the New York Times bestselling “alpha author of paranormal romance” (Booklist) returns to an immortal world of violent passion and lethal power…on the brink of a deadly archangelic war.
Angels are falling from the sky in New York, struck down by a vicious, unknown force.
Vampires are dying impossibly of disease.
Guild hunter Elena Deveraux and the Archangel Raphael must discover the source of the wave of death before it engulfs their city and their people, leaving New York a ruin and Raphael’s Tower under siege by enemy archangels.
Yet even as they fight desperately to save the city, an even darker force is stirring, its chill eyes trained on New York…and on Raphael. Rivers of crimson and nightmares given flesh, the world will never again be the same…

I started Archangel’s Legion around midnight, thinking I’d read a couple chapters before bed. At 4am I finished it with gritty eyes and adrenaline pumping through my veins.

In book six, Singh returns to continue the archangel saga from Elena’s point of view. She and Raphael are trying to deal with his mother’s return, the continued estrangement from her father and the development of new powers throughout the Cadre.

Though I’ve enjoyed Singh’s foray into the lives of Raphael’s seven over the last few books, it was really good to get back to Elena and Raphael. There were many loose threads left dangling after their last book and I was anxious to see how those intrigues were playing out. I wasn’t disappointed.

Raphael’s and Elena’s relationship is still developing. Traversing their way through the relationship minefield is difficult normally, but while being attacked from outside forces (both literally and figuratively) is, shall we say, even more difficult. They’re learning to deal better with each other, however, and they continue to grow closer. This aspect of the series is probably my favorite – their ever growing and changing relationship.

The second half of the book focuses more on the action and outside plots. I really loved the action and found myself on the edge of my seat as I read.

This was a phenomenal read. The series just keeps getting better.

4.5 out of 5

This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

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Tagged: 4.5 Reviews, Berkley, Guild Hunter, Holly's Reviews, Nalini Singh, Reviews, Urban Fantasy

Review: Vixen in Velvet by Loretta Chase

Posted June 30, 2014 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Vixen in Velvet (The Dressmakers, #3) by Loretta Chase
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: June 24, 2014
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
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From the Diary of Leonie Noirot: The perfect corset should invite its undoing . . .

Lethally charming Simon Fairfax, Marquess of Lisburne, has reluctantly returned to London for one reason only: a family obligation. Still, he might make time for the seduction of a certain redheaded dressmaker—but Leonie Noirot hasn't time for him. She's obsessed with transforming his cousin, the dowdy Lady Gladys, into a swan.

Leonie's skills can coax curves—and profits—from thin air, but his criminally handsome lordship is too busy trying to seduce her to appreciate her genius. He badly needs to learn a lesson, and the wager she provokes ought to teach him, once and for all.

A great plan, in theory—but Lisburne's become a serious distraction, and Leonie's usual logic is in danger of slipping away as easily as a silk chemise. Could the Season's greatest transformation be her own?

It seems like forever that I’ve been waiting for this book but boy am I glad that we finally have it.

We met Leonie Noirot in Silk is for Seduction and she was the business brain of the family business. She was a no nonsense kind of woman who wasn’t easily distracted from the bottom line but in this book, we see her become very distracted. And it was a real treat to tag along for the ride.

Simon Fairfax, the Marquess of Lisburne is captivated by the woman who is so entranced by a piece of art that he donated to the museum from his personal collection. She’s gorgeous (which goes without saying) but the attention that she’s paying to the Boticello is something that you don’t see very often and he’s mighty interested in getting to know the beautiful woman but she’s slips in and out of his life with ease and even that is interesting.

Chase doesn’t disappoint with this entry into the Dressmakers series and seeing the sisters reunited was great fun. Seeing Leonie struggle with her emotions, her worries of the future and just everything in this book made for a great reading experience. I really enjoyed seeing Leonie fall in love with Simon and I really loved seeing Simon realize that what he’s feeling for Leonie is so much more than unadulterated lust.

The story’s pacing is fast and easy to fall in with. Chase does a great job of stringing the reader along (in a good way) and I really couldn’t read this book fast enough. It was nice to see everyone together again because it’s been so long and seeing Clevedon being the protective older brother for Leonie was sweet and seeing Longmore and Lisburne chopping it up when he comes back made me fall in love all over again. I really liked seeing Lady Clara and Lady Gladys (which was surprising since she was such a beast in the beginning) and even Swanton was a great addition to the story.

There’s a lot of things going on in this book and I thought Chase handled all of the different parts of the story with ease. There wasn’t a moment when I was taken out of the story because I was confused or anything like that. It was a great read all around and I’m glad that I read it. When I was done, I put the book down and was kind of sad that it ended. I wanted to keep reading and I think I’m going to miss these characters.

I adored Lisburne and Leonie and the way that he tried to coaxe her into saying yes to marriage to him just about had me swooning. I loved it.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5