Tag: Lolita Lopez

Guest Review: Wicked Dark Dragon by Lolita Lopez

Posted October 1, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Wicked Dark Dragon by Lolita LopezReviewer: Tracy
Wicked Dark Dragon (Dragon Heat #3) by Lolita Lopez
Series: Dragon Heat #3
Publisher: Forever Yours
Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 128
Add It: Goodreads
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two-stars
Series Rating: two-stars

Adopted a few weeks after birth, Ivy Morales suspects that she might not be totally human. Fully aware that one whisper of such insanity would land her in a mental institution, she keeps the outlandish thought to herself. But there's no ignoring the increasingly vivid and stunningly powerful dreams of an ancient blood feud that plague her nightly—or the darkly erotic turn those dreams have recently taken.

Drawn to Mexico for Spring Break, Ivy unwittingly stumbles right into the path of the same evil presence from her mysterious dreams. Kidnapped and held hostage, she has only one chance to survive. She reaches out to the wickedly sexy man from her dreams and prays he'll answer her call for help.

Welsh dragon shifter Ian Madoc struggles to understand the strange dream connection he shares with this unknown woman. In all his centuries of life, he's never experienced anything like it—and it unsettles him. When the dreams turn to pleas for help, Mad rushes off in the middle of the night, hell-bent on saving the young woman he fears may be his mate.

But rescuing Ivy from the clutches of the Knights is only the beginning of Mad's problems. When Ivy's true identity is revealed, old secrets and a close friend's betrayal put him at odds with the rest of the Brotherhood. Protecting the dragon species is no longer his top priority. He'll do anything to keep Ivy safe, even if it means walking away from the only life he's ever known.

Ivy is in Mexico with a friend when she’s kidnapped.  While she always thought she was a little different from other kids, she had no idea until getting kidnapped that she was half human and half dragon. The people who took her are the Knights who are the enemies of the dragons.  They’ve taken Ivy to try to get info from her mind and also to try and get her mate, or who they think is her mate, to come rescue her.

Her mate is Ian Madoc and he’s a dragon.  He does come to Ivy but gets caught.  In that time Ivy is tortured and the Knights try anything to try and get Ivy and Mad to mate.  Ivy and Mad can only speculate as to why they want them to become mates. Once they’re rescued can Ivy and Mad have a relationship when everyone around them is trying to use them?

I really love dragon shifter romance novels, so I had high hopes when I picked this one up.  Sadly, it was not to be.

First off, I really liked Ivy.  She seemed like she had a good head on her shoulders and was willing to protect those she believed were worthy.  She had endured almost 3 weeks of torture before Mad showed up and then more after he arrived.  She tried to do what was right and I liked that about her. She was the child of a Knight/dragon mating so she had ancestors on either side of the fight and wasn’t sure where she belonged.  Since her aunt was the one who was torturing her she decided to be on the side of the dragons.

Mad showed up where there were holding Ivy and he was in his dragon form.  Why he couldn’t defeat the puny humans while a dragon was never explained but he was then captured.  I kept thinking it was on purpose, but was it?  He had left word for his friends but then they didn’t show up for 12 days and it was never explained what the delay was – it was strange.  The pair

Mad and Ivy finally mate after they’re rescued but then it was because they were betrayed by other dragons.  These people are his friends but they betray him?  IDK, it just didn’t ring true to me.  There were always so many ideas flying through the book about why everyone wanted them to mate, and Ivy had a vision about it, but we’re not told until the very end of the book what the exact reason was.  By that time I truly didn’t care what it was, I just wanted the book to end because it was slow and boring (even the sex scene was bad, imho).  Maybe if I had felt a deeper spark of connection between Mad and Ivy I would have overlooked some stuff, but their relationship felt dull and not something I would think of as an HEA.

Another thing that made me crazy was that these dragons kept shifting in the house and moving around rooms!  What?  How? These must be the smallest dragons ever.  At one point Mad shifts inside a bedroom and can still move around to try to get away from Ivy’s seduction!  No wonder he couldn’t beat the puny humans – he’s apparently the size of a toy chihuahua!

Needless to say, the dragons didn’t work for me.  I didn’t care for the H/h and the other dragons were kind of assholes, so I really didn’t like them either. I won’t be picking up any other books in this series.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Dragon Heat

two-stars

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What I Read Last Week

Posted March 17, 2014 by Tracy in Features | 0 Comments

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and all that. Hope you had a lovely weekend. If you plan on going out tonight just be safe, okay? I like all my peeps just the way they are!

Here’s a little vid just to make you smile. How can you not love a cat on a skateboard? Especially when that tail’s in the air. 🙂

I didn’t end up reading all that much this past week. The church (where I work) was having a Goodwill Donation Drive fundraiser and I spent most evenings in my garage cleaning things out and getting items ready for donation. My garage is so much happier now – so am I! Then Saturday my kids and I spent the day at the Drive accepting items and filling bins with the donations. We ended up filling 45 bins and that raised $2,200.00 for our youth group. Very cool. Anyway – on to what I read…

I started off the week with Blitzing Emily by Julie Brannagh. This was a great story about a couple who starts a fake engagement and then ends up falling in love. It was very sweet and I liked the authors writing style a lot. You can read my review here. 4 out of 5

Next up was Dragon Heat 2-in-1 by Lolita Lopez. The book includes books 1 and 2 in the Dragon Heat series: Dead Sexy Dragon and Red Hot Dragon. (I actually only read the second story in this book as I’d read book 1 a while back.) The stories are both good. I definitely want more history on the dragons and their enemies in the future. :0) You can read my review of both stories here. Book 1: 3.75 out of 5 Book 2: 3 out of 5

Winter Bride by Anne Gracie is book 2 in the Chance sisters series. Damaris Chance never wants to get married. She is determined to keep this fact. We realize this has something to do with her past but we don’t’ know what til later in the book. Freddy, trying to get his mother to quit bride searching for him (as he also plans on never getting married), gets Damaris to fake an engagement with him to get his mom off his back. Of course the pair fall in love but Damaris is determined to never marry which creates a bit of a problem. Good story – very emotional. I’ll post my review in a couple of weeks. 4 out of 5

Last for the week was The Kraken King by Meljean Brook which is a serial novel of 8 installments that will release its first installment on April 15th and run weekly through June 3rd. The serial takes place in the Iron Seas world and its heroine is Zenobia Fox – sister of Archimedes Fox that we read about in The Iron Duke and Heart of Steel. I read parts I: The Kraken King and Scribbling Spinster 4 out of 5, Part II: The Kraken King and the Abominable Worm – 4.5 out of 5 & Part III: The Kraken King and the Fox’s Den – 4.25 out of 5 and thoroughly enjoyed them all. I’ll post my reviews of these as they come out. Besides the books being great I think that the covers of the stories are seriously to die for. Here are the covers for parts I, II & III:

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Desperately Seeking Suzanna by Elizabeth Michels
I Found You by Jane Lark

Happy Reading!

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Review: Dragon Heat 2-in-1 by Lolita Lopez

Posted March 13, 2014 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Genres: Anthologies (multiple authors)

Dragon Heat 2-in-1 is one book that is a combination of 2 novella’s – Dead Sexy Dragon and Red Hot Dragon.  These are books 1 & 2 in the Dragon Heat series.  I reviewed the first novella back in August but I’m reposting it for you in case you missed it.  

Dead Sexy Dragon

The last thing dragon shifter Stig Wyvern needs is his dead friend’s kid sister showing up on his doorstep. He’s just minutes away from entering a mating phase. Sharing his isolated house with the young woman he’s desperately lusted after for quite some time is a recipe for disaster.

But Cora Cardenas has nowhere else to go. She’s in deep trouble with some really nasty people and Stig is the only one who can protect her. That he’s deliciously sexy and makes her tingle with the simplest of smiles is just a bonus.

Cora quickly realizes Stig is hiding something from her. To make matters worse, she’s plagued with breathtakingly naughty dreams starring a shadowed lover who bears a startling resemblance to her host. And just what the hell is going on down in the basement at night?

Stig needs to get Cora out of his house but his inner beast has other ideas. He’s found his mate and she’s not going anywhere…

As the blurb states Cora shows up on Stigs porch just minutes before he’s due to lock himself up for the night. It is the first night that he will be in heat, an event that happens every three years, and he wants to be clear of Cora when it happens. He’s been hot for Cora since he met her but as she is the sister of his friend he’s always held himself back. When Cora starts having sexy dreams involving a dream lover and then has Stig’s voice telling her to go to him – she complies.

What happens next is a shock for all of them. Stig is floored when Cora touches him and changes start to occur. Of course after he mates with her Cora starts to show her own changes which frighten the crap out of her. On top of all of this Stig is worried about what his dragon brotherhood will say when they find out that he’s broken not one but two of their sacred rules – no human woman and definitely no mating. Oops.

This was a cute little novella. I thought it did a good job of giving us some background on dragon shifters in general, the brotherhood that Stig is involved in and who their enemies are. We meet a couple of Stig’s friends in the story as well.

There’s a little bit of action and a lot of lovin in this story and it all got wrapped together well. I think this was a decent start to what might end up being a great dragon shifter series.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Red Hot Dragon

Griffin Cadogan is shocked to see Avani Monroe, sworn enemy of his dragon family, walk into his gym. With his mating phase soon approaching, Griffin is curious as to why she has to come enemy territory knowing the risks. Not only does she surprise Griffin and his cousin, Mad, by coming to enemy territory, but what she wants is borderline insane-Griffin must help her have a baby.

After her mother’s line was annihilated by the Knights, Avani accepted her duty to ensure the continuation of their unique dragon breed. She’s searched the dragon registries and Griffin is the most likely candidate for her crazy plan. Working up the courage to approach a man who considers her an enemy wasn’t easy but she manages to calmly lay out her carefully orchestrated plan.

But Griffin isn’t about to agree to her harsh terms. If she wants him to father her child, he intends to play an active role in his offspring’s life, not simply walk away as she requires. Shocked by her instant attraction to him, she agrees to his terms. Once together, they realize their connection is about more than creating a child, but that happiness is short-lived when Mad suddenly disappears. Knowing the dragon slayers are behind it, Griffin must risk it all to save the ones he loves.

Griffin is a dragon who hasn’t ever taken a mate or had a child because his work is dangerous. In walks Avani Monroe and his mind changes on part of that.

Avani has done her research and has found that her best bet of having a baby that is of her kind (of which she is the last) is to try to have one with Griffin (due to the blood of his grandmother). At first he thinks she’s a bit nuts but he can’t say he’d mind getting down and dirty with her. He soon agrees and they head to her house to work off their “heat” together. He is adamant that when a baby is produced that he be a part of its life but Avani was only planning on single parenthood.

As the days of their heat pass (it’s about 9 days long) they find that they’re compatible in ways they never expected. Yes, in the bedroom they’re scorchin’ but they love being together and soon love is blooming. When Griffin can’t get in touch with his cousin Madoc they take a chance and head to his house (the possibility that they’ll be attacked by their enemy is high). They find Madoc gone and find other disturbing news. When they’re attacked Griffin starts to wonder if he can keep Avani and a baby (if there is one) safe from their enemies.

Red Hot Dragon was a cute novella and a fast read. There are a lot of sex scenes and one fight scene that’s pretty great.

I loved Griffin and Avani – from what I got to know of them. The story was pretty short so it was hard to get in-depth with anyone. I really want to know more about the Brotherhood that Griffin works for as well as the enemies their fighting. Hopefully more info will be provided in the next book (which I hope is Ivy and Madoc’s book). I didn’t like it quite as much as book 1 but it was still a  sweet and sexy story. Great heat and chemistry between the two characters and of course awesome dragon shifting. Good stuff.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Lolita Lopez

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What I Read Last Week

Posted January 6, 2014 by Tracy in Features | 7 Comments

Happy New Year to you all! Here’s to good friends and good books in 2014! 🙂 

I hope everyone had a save New Year’s Eve. We stayed home but stayed up late…or very early (whichever) and had a good time.

It was a pretty nice week last week. The weather here was beautiful and in the mid 70’s so that was nice. Not too hot, not too cool. I feel for all of you in the colder states as I know it’s awful for you right now. Hopefully our warm front will head your way next.

Here’s a couple of pictures that my oldest took of our cat Echo looking absolutely adorable. I think she ate some magic cat food that makes her more adorable cuz she’s not only cute she’s been really cuddly lately and that’s just not like her. 🙂

Ok, on to what I read…

I started off the week with Barely Undercover by Sarah Castille. This story is about a woman who is a PI who is staking out the leader of a Motorcycle Club so that she can get dirt on the guy so his wife can divorce him and get custody of their daughter. Lana runs into James – the man who broke her heart two years prior – who is an undercover cop trying to take down the MC. James tries to protect Lana but in doing so brings her farther into the club. This causes Lana’s past to rear its ugly head and the shit hits the fan. This was a great book and I really liked it a lot. 4 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Next up was Badlands by Jill Sorenson. This is book 3 in the After Shock series and it was Owen and Penny’s story. Such a good book! I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend it. You can read my review of it here. 4 out of 5

Saved by Venom by Lolita Lopez is the 3rd book in her Grabbed series. This book has Venom in a “Grab” where he meets Dizzy. They hit it off and become mated but there are more than a few issues in the relationship. For the most part it was a pretty tame book when it came to angst but it was sexy, sexy and I really liked Venom a lot – even though he was pig-headed at times. 🙂 4 out 5

Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare is about a woman who has nothing and no home who inherits a decrepit castle in the wilds of Northumberland. She arrives to find the Duke that lives there – who thinks he owns the castle – a bit put out to have her about. He’s blind but that doesn’t stop him from trying to get rid of her. They of course end up falling in love but the road is not always smooth. This was a fantastic read and I’m saying READ IT when it comes out! 5 out of 5

Last for the week was Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young. Nate and Olivia’s story.  I’ll post my review this week. 4 out of 5

 

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Desperately Seeking Heaven by Jill Steeples


Happy Reading!
 

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What I Read Last Week

Posted September 30, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 3 Comments

Hi-di-ho neighbor!  How the hell are ya? 

The past week zoomed by once again. I’m home today with a serious migraine. (I’ve got my laptop screen brightness so low it’s hard to see the darned thing – but it’s oh so good on the eyes and brain.)

The excitement of my week was getting this:

That’s Catch Me If You Can by LB Gregg…translated into Japanese!  So freakin cool!  It was such an awesome surprise to open my mailbox and find this.  

So on to what I read this past week:

I started off the week with All of You by Christina Lee.  This was a New Adultish book that had a nursing student and an artist in her building starting a friendship and then a relationship.  Avery only does one night stands, however, and Bennett is a virgin and only wants a long term relationship.  It made for a great story and it was pretty emotional for me. 4.25 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Next up was Lady Pirate by Lynsay Sands.  Valoree takes over her brothers ship when he is killed and the entire crew believes her to be a man (except 1).  After 5 years on the high seas she needs to claim her home and inheritance but the will stipulates she must be married and either have a child or be with child by the time she’s 25 – which is like 8 months away.  The crew who now knows her to be a woman sets out to get her married off and that’s when the fun begins.  Between face makeup made of cake batter, allergic reactions and fortune hunters it’s not easy trying to be a lady and find a man.  The story was fun, funny and touching. I really liked Sands’ historicals.  4 out of 5


Always on My Mind by Jill Shalvis is the story of Leah and Jack who have been friends for years and after a “fake” relationship fall in love.  The story was great and I loved it just like I have the other books in the Lucky Harbor series.  I’ll post my review later this week. 4 out of 5

Heart’s Truth by Tamsin Baker is an m/m story about a man who is out and proud and the younger man he falls for who hides the fact that he’s gay and that he’s with Marcus from his friends and family.  It’s a sweet sexy story that I really liked.  4 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Caught by Menace by Lolita Lopez is a sci-fi story about military men who “grab” their brides.  Menace is on the tail of one woman, Jennie, but Naya and Jennie have plans to get out their planet and not by being grabbed.  Naya saves Jennie but Naya is caught.  Menace and Naya end up starting to like each other but Naya’s past catches up with her and the two may be torn apart forever.  I really liked this book.  Yes, there was a ton and a half of sex but the story was very good and had me turning page after page.  4 out of 5

Last for the week was Lady in Red by Maire Claremont.  The story of Mary who was put into a mad house by her father, escapes and wants revenge on her father.  The man who helps her loves her, though he denies it, and soon realizes that Mary just might ruin herself if she goes after the revenge she seeks. Not a completely fulfilling romance but I like the rest of the book. 3.75 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Ablaze by Morgana Black
Unexpected by Maisey Yates


Happy Reading!

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