Tag: Michelle Rowen

Guest Review: Primal by Lora Leigh, Michelle Rowen, Jory Strong and Ava Gray

Posted February 10, 2011 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 2 Comments

Genres: Paranormal Romance

Tracy’s review of Primal by Lora Leigh, Michelle Rowen, Jory Strong and Ava Gray.

When desire cannot be controlled…When personal will is overpowered by carnal cravings…When only one fearless impulse feeds you, body and soul…

You can’t deny it. It’s something primal.

Primal is an anthology with 4 novellas in it.

Bleeding Heart by Michelle Rowen.

This is a continuation of her novel, Nightshade, and though I never read that book I was quite caught up in what was happening in the story. A human, Jill, has been injected with a poison and she wants it out. It’s the kind that will kill her eventually and her dhampyr (half-human/half-vampire) bodyguard, Declan, is trying to help her find someone that will drain the poison from her blood.

Jill and Declan are assisted by Jackson who takes them to an underground lap where experiments are done on vampires. The scientist who assisted in making the nightshade poison in the first place is there but he has ulterior motives to helping Jill.

On top of the stress of the poison and the scientist, Jill is having a hard time with her feelings toward Declan. I’m not sure how they came to be together but in order to suppress his vampire side Declan is under the control of a serum that makes him completely unable to feel emotions. Jill wants nothing more than to be held by Declan but she doesn’t want that if he’s not feeling the same things she is.

This was an action packed novella that really sucked me in and I’m thinking I may have to read Nightshade now to get all the background. Jill’s plight is heart wrenching as she had no idea vampires even existed a week before. Now she’s not only caught up in their world but her body is a walking time bomb because of them. The story was quite good but incredibly heart-wrenching as well.

Skin & Bone by Ava Gray

In Skin Tight we met Silas who worked as a lackey for the Foundation. In this story we find that Silas isn’t the brainless helper that we thought he was. He’s not only quite intelligent but was acting the idiot in order to fool the Foundation doctors into believing that he was a failure and had no power at all. Wrong. He could actually hurt people with his mind – break their necks, their arms, cut them…all with a thought. He definitely doesn’t like this part of himself but he didn’t want the crazy people (scientists) discovering this and using him for their own gain.

So Silas got out of the lab he was held in and has been moving around. He’s in Ecuador when it is hit by an earthquake. He saves a woman from certain death by uncovering her from the rubble and together they set out to help the village. Silas decides that it’s time to move on but the woman, Juneau, wants to move on with him. It seems that they’re two of a kind – moving around, finding no roots, etc. The pair finds a common bond and that bond grows stronger as time passes.

The Foundation has located Silas though, and so has the resistance – who gets to him first and what will happen with his relationship with Juneau.

I love the Skin series! I’ve been hooked since book 1 and this novella was no different. Gray makes all of the characters unique and it really makes the stories so very interesting. I loved Silas and his big heart and Juneau was just the right fit for him. Good story!

Angel-Claimed by Jory Strong

This is the story of Sajia who works for a vampire family in San Francisco. Her charge has gone missing and she must find her or suffer the wrath of the Master. Addai is an angel who loves has waited for the reincarnation of his wife who ends up being Sajia. Sajia wants nothing more than to take off with Addai, but she can’t betray her family who would suffer from the vampires should she disappear. She must find her charge but in order to do this Addai must suffer at her hands.

I didn’t care for this story all that much. I couldn’t get into it as it seemed that it was a continuation from previous books by this author and I was thrown in to a story all ready in session. At one point Addai had taken Sajia to someone he thought could locate her charge and she has to beat him with a cat-o-nine-tails first. Though the angel can heal himself instantly I found it most disturbing and I think it colored my view of the story from then on.

Primal Kiss by Lora Leigh

Creed has been guarding Kita Engalls for a little over a year and Kita wants nothing more than to throw him down and have her way with him. But Creed Raines is a Breed and is working under-cover for Kita’s father – Horace Engalls who was Philip Brandenmore’s partner in crime.

Brandenmore has been held by the Breed’s while they try to discover what he’s done. Brandenmore, in a previous book, injected Jonas’s adopted daughter with a serum. They are trying to find out exactly what she’s been injected with and what it will do to her body. Brandenmore injected himself with it and his aging has regressed to make him look incredibly young – but it’s also screwed up his brain.

Creed is trying to get information from Engalls while on duty but he never imagined that Kita would be so appealing – or that she would be his mate. When she disappears and he follows he wants nothing more than to make her his but he wants her to know everything so that she won’t hate him later.

This was a great novella in the Breeds series. Leigh made the story quite interesting by really making this story an integral part of the series. Information was discovered that could have a major effect on previous events and people.

On top of the suspense portion of the story we got to have a great little love story as well. I loved that the pair had been, more or less, circling each other for a year even if they didn’t know that’s what they were actually doing. Creed was a complete bad ass but not a bastard and truly loved Kita. He wanted what was best for her and therefore didn’t want to lie to her. Needless to say there were great kissing scenes in this story. How could there not be with a title of Primal Kiss?

Overall a very good anthology that I truly enjoyed.

Rating: 4 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

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


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What I Read Last Week

Posted February 7, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 14 Comments

Pretty quiet week this past week.  The most excitement we had was my girls getting their hair cut – big event in Tracyland. lol  I took my youngest because she had attempted to cut her own.  I have to say that she did a damned good job but it still needed fixing.  She figured if she was going to get a little cut then she wanted a new style.  She pulled one off the internet and off we went (oldest was in Saturday detention at the time – oh joy).  Here was the end result. (you can see all the hair that was cut off in the background of picture on the left – it was a lot!)
Then when we went to pick up my oldest she wanted her hair cut as well.  We went home and ate lunch and watched a movie and then she too picked a style off of the internet and away we went.  My girls don’t have a regular stylist they go to but the one that cut my youngest’s hair did such a good job and subsequently cut my oldest’s as well I think she’ll be their new girl. She did a fabulous job with both girls incorporating the pictures to fit their tastes and their hair.  This is the oldest. (and yes, if she smiled her face would crack, in case you were wondering *sigh*) but she was thrilled with the result even though she doesn’t show it:
I think they’re both adorable!
I’m not sure if I mentioned it perviously but before I went down to Holly’s a couple of weeks ago I took the bull by the horns and went through my TBR and tried to be brutally honest with myself. I had a lot of books that I had gotten from book swaps or that people had sent me and I had to ask myself, “am I really going to read this any time soon…or ever”? Well when it was all said and done I’d taken almost 100 books off of my shelves. I took them to Holly’s and let the girls take whatever they wanted. I then took them to my friends Jen and Jenn and let them go through them and then I donated about 50 books to the library. So this Sunday I spent some time (ok, a long damn time) going through all of the books on my shelves that were left over as well as all of the books on my stick drive where I keep my ebooks and added all of the books that I have, that I haven’t read, to my Goodreads TBR. I ended up with 601. That’s just wrong – especially since I’d just gotten rid of 98 or so! lol There were also some ebooks that I had read that weren’t rated on Goodreads so I did that too. One more thing that I get to mark off my to do list!
So on to what I read this past week:
FYI – I completely failed on my Tracy’s TBR challenge read for this past week. I’ll try to do better next week. *hangs head*
I started off with Passion: Erotic Romance for Women edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel.  This was a collection of short erotic romance stories.  Some were really good – some disturbed me a bit but overall it was a good set of stories. I read this for The Book Binge and will let you know when my review posts. 3.5 out of 5
Next up was Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt.  The story of Temperance who runs a foundling home with her brother, Winter, in a very bad part of the city.  Temperance is approached by Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, who wants Temperance help him find someone since she knows the area of London, St. Giles, very well.  Temperance helps Lord Caire but she gets more than she bargains for since there’s a powerful person in St. Giles who doesn’t want Lord Caire finding the killer of his mistress, and wants Temperance out of St. Giles completely.  I loved this book.  I thought it was so well done with the romance as well as the suspense portion of the book.  Then there were the secondary characters that we got to meet – one that stood out the most, Silence, Temperance’s sister.  Her story was heart wrenching and I ached for her by the end of the book.  So good! 5 out of 5
My next read was a novella called Arctic Winds by Sondrae Bennett. This was the story of a fox shifter who is shunned by her skulk (fox pack) and has been on the move for the past 4 years. She makes her way into a town but since she has a cold can’t pick up the scent and the fact that she’s landed right in the middle of a wolf pack town. And who wants her from the minute he catches her scent? The alpha of the wolf pack, of course. The story covers their romance and it was cute. 3 out of 5
Next up was Primal by Lora Leigh, Michelle Rowen, Jory Strong and Ava Gray.  This 4 story anthology was a good one.  I hadn’t read either Strong or Rowen so they were new to me.  I really liked all of the stories except the Strong one didn’t agree with me very well but even that was well done.  I read this for The Book Binge so will let you know when my review posts. Overall rating 4 out of 5
RiverTime by Rae Renzi was my next read.  This was a really good story about 2 people who are stranded in the Grand Canyon, what they experience and how that experience changes their lives when they get back to civilization.  I’ll be posting my review this week so keep your eyes peeled. 🙂
I was so excited that my copy of Notorious Pleasures by Elizabeth Hoyt came into the library since I’d just finished the previous book in the series.  This book was just as good as the first.  The romance between Hero and Griffin was just wonderful and again the secondary characters were great.  We got to read more about Silence, we got to know more about Hero’s brother who’s a Duke and her sister – Phoebe.  Poor Phoebe, I certainly hope we get to know her a little better in future books.  This also included an excerpt to Silence’s book which releases in Nov. and I just can’t wait to read it! 5 out of 5
Last for the week was Hammer & Air by Amy Lane. This was an amazing story/fairy tale that is about 2 boys from an orphanage who find themselves on the run. The more I think about this story the more I think I need to review it so I think I’ll post it on Wednesday.
My Book Binge review that posted this past week:
Happy Reading!


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Review: Lady and the Vamp by Michelle Rowen

Posted April 24, 2008 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Lady and the Vamp by Michelle RowenReviewer: Rowena
Lady and the Vamp by Michelle Rowen
Series: Immortality Bites #3
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: April 1st 2008
Pages: 368
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

Former vampire hunter Michael Quinn is living a nightmare: he's been turned into a vampire. His only hope is the "Eye"--a long-lost artifact that, once every millennium, will grant one wish to its possessor. Fortunately for Quinn, he has a map detailing the path to the "Eye." All he needs to do is find it, then he can wish himself back into humanity.Janie Parker has made a lot of many mistakes in her life, not the least of which was getting tricked into working for a demon. Not only is the pay awful, but she has to successfully complete all her unsavory assignments or risk a torturous death. Her latest mission is to track a vampire who apparently knows where some stupid treasure is. No problem. Until she sees who the vampire is -- Michael Quinn, a man she's had a crush on since she was twelve years old. Too bad she'll have to kill him to get to the "Eye." But Quinn and Janie are kindred spirits, and soon they're falling in love even though they're after what the other person is desperate for: the "Eye".

This is the first book I’ve ever read by Michelle Rowen and I don’t know what I was expecting but I wasn’t expecting what I got. Let’s see, I’m going to try to explain how I feel and why I felt that way but first things first, what I was bummed to find out was that this was NOT the first book in the series, I think it’s the third…damage.

Anyway, on with the review…

The book is about Michael Quinn and Janie Parker and their mission to find The Eye. The Eye is an ancient relic that only shows up once every million (or was it thousand, damn I forgot already) years to grant ONE wish to whoever finds it. Quinn is a newly turned vampire and he’s not happy with his new status as an undead, especially after he had spent his entire mortal life killing those monster bloodsuckers. He used to be a vampire hunter, he was raised to be a vampire hunter so when he finds himself turned into the very monster that he was raised to kill, you can just imagine how he’s feeling.

He finds out about The Eye and begins his search to find it so that he can make his wish to be human again and all will be right in his world. Well enter the wrench in his plans, Janie. Janie Parker is a mercenary who is tasked with following the vampire who is looking for The Eye. When she finds out that the vampire she’s supposed to be following is her childhood crush, Michael Quinn, she is not a happy camper. Why? I guess Quinn had something to do with her brother’s death and she just flat out doesn’t like him. Some stuff goes down then Quinn and Janie end up joining forces to find the eye.

The story is told while Quinn and Janie are trying to a) find the eye and b) not fall in love with each other because, oh did I forget to tell you that Janie is also tasked with killing the vampire who is searching for the eye? Oh well, she was.

What I liked about the story was the actual story itself. I like stories where the hero and the heroine know each other from their pasts and I love the whole childhood crush come back to turn into true love as well. I liked that even though the story is told within a few days, the love match between Quinn and Janie didn’t feel rushed or unbelievable. I enjoyed seeing Quinn get jealous over Janie and I laughed out loud when Janie was hella jealous of Quinn getting flirted with by her sister. It was great fun to read. You could tell that they were friends before all that time passed between them and it was totally obvious that Janie loved her some Quinn, no matter how much she tried to tell herself otherwise and the same for Quinn.

I enjoyed getting to know Barkley, Lenny and even Angela. They were great additions to the story and I liked how Michelle Rowen wrote Malcolm’s character. Each character was well rounded and solid. Oh and I’m totally intrigued by Gideon…what happened to him? Where did he disappear to, inquiring minds want to know! And I’m totally glad that Barkley ended up not being the coward I thought him to be, I mean seriously…the boy ran away from everything.

Now as much as I liked Quinn and Janie’s relationship, them two spent most of the story making me mad. I mean, with Janie, she’s this big kick ass heroine who can kill with her eyes closed and make no apologies for it and I know that she had no reason to trust Quinn but when she kept messing up the plans, I wanted to take her stun gun away from her and taze her ass. Every time Quinn would tell her to do something and she’d do the exact opposite, I wanted to zap some electricity into her stubborn ass. If I didn’t know that she could probably kick my ass all the way to China, I would so challenge her to a duel and pop a cap in her ass.

Sheesh.

And then there was Quinn.

With Quinn, it was more like I was disappointed with the hero that he was. I mean, in the beginning of the book, Quinn is sexy, mysterious and has that lethal quietness about him that makes you think, “Yeah this is one bad mutha shut your mouth!” but then as the story went on and Janie was saving his ass time after time, it was like, okay, when are you going to step up and save the day? I mean, I read about how he was this Big Billy Bad Ass Vampire Hunter but I never saw it. Most of the time, he talked. I spent most of the time reading this thinking, Quinn should’ve stepped up here, Quinn should’ve stake him there but he never did. It was like he was totally content to sit back and watch Janie kick everyone’s ass.

And she totally did, well for the most part.

It’s not that he was a bad hero, he just didn’t seem very alpha to me considering he was a Hunter before he became a vampire, one of the best there was at that. I don’t know, maybe it was just me and I missed something because I didn’t read the other books but for me, Quinn’s hotness was more lukewarm than anything. He just wasn’t alpha enough for me and sometimes you don’t have to be alpha if the hero is like a writer or a engineer or something but he was supposed to be this big bad ass and I just didn’t see it. So that bummed me out a bit.

So, all in all this story was easy to read but it wasn’t the big love story that made me sigh with pleasure or jump for joy, my head was already on the next book that I was going to read and that kind of bummed me out because I wanted to enjoy this story more than I did and I’m just sorry that I didn’t. Maybe it will help if I read the other books in the series but I’ve got too many other books to read to take the time to do that, maybe someday soon I’ll do it but I’m really enthusiastic to try it out.

Ugh.

three-stars


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