Tag: Milly Taiden

Guest Review: The Big Alpha in Town by Eve Langlais, Milly Taiden & Kate Baxter

Posted May 17, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: The Big Alpha in Town by Eve Langlais, Milly Taiden & Kate BaxterReviewer: Tracy
The Big Alpha in Town by Eve Langlais
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: May 15, 2018
Format: eARC
Point-of-View: Third Person
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars

Three hot stories about three sexy shifters from a trio of today's hottest paranormal romance authors, headlined by bestselling authors Eve Langlais and Milly Taiden!

Bearing His NameMeeting his mate should have been cause for celebration. There’s just one teeny tiny problem. Jade thinks Ark might have impregnated her sister. He didn’t, but convincing Jade is going to take a bit of honey.

Owned by the LionKeir’s been told to stop playing the field and settle down—difficult advice for a hard and hot man with a lion’s heart to follow. But his sights have always been set on Ally. She’s his mate, plain and simple. With her sweet and delicious curves, she’s nothing but sugar and trouble all rolled into one. But he’s known her and sparred with her for years. She’s his best friend’s little sister, and it’s going to take a whole new level of convincing that he’s the mate for her.

No Need Fur LoveMoving with his pack to the tiny town of Stanley, Idaho has Owen Courtney a little on edge. With literally no women in sight, Owen will be lucky to find a date, let alone his true mate. But you know the saying about a werewolf walking into a bar…Gorgeous wood nymph Mia Oliver is on a mission: Find a suitable male to get her good ‘n pregnant and provide her with an heir. But when Mia decides to pick up a gorgeous and oh-so willing werewolf at the bar, she realizes she might be in over her head. …

Bearing His Name by Eve Langlais

Jade sent snarky “Congratulations you’re a father!” cards to a whole slew of men in the same extended family.  Her sister Ruby is pregnant by one of them, but she has no idea which one.  She was at a Halloween party and only knows that the guy was dressed as Zeus – as were a bunch of men there.  When Ark heads to Jade and Ruby’s apartment he’s not sure if he’s the father of Ruby’s baby or not but he hopes he isn’t because it looks like Jade is his mate.

This story was just ‘OK” imho.  I liked Jade and Ruby but Ark made me crazy.  He pretty much stalked Jade and would break into her apartment and watch her sleeping. That is the definition of creepy stalker in my book.  I think this was all supposed to be forgivable because they were mates and he just wanted to be with her, etc.  It wasn’t.  He was also so arrogant it made me want to hit him. Because of his attitude I never really got into the romance – probably because I kept thinking Jade could do better.

Owned by the Lion by Milly Taiden

Keir knew immediately upon meeting Ally that she was his mate but he didn’t tell her.  He wants to woo her but she hates him something fierce, for some reason that is never explained.  He finally gets her to talk to him and she finally sees he’s a good guy.  Too bad all of his many women keep coming around.  Of course it’s hard to get away from them when they are literally everywhere they go.

This story wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great for me either.  I couldn’t understand why Keir didn’t just come out and tell Ally she was his mate.  It truly would have solved all the issues because of how mates in this world are so devoted to each other.  She would have known that the other women he’d been with previously now meant nothing to him.  Of course then their wouldn’t have been a story so…  Because of Ally “hating” Keir so much at first it was hard for me to get into their relationship, unfortunately.

No Need Fur Love by Kate Baxter

Mia is out for a one-night stand so that she can get pregnant. Her father, who is the leader of their wood nymph band says that if she’s produces a child then he’ll let her in more of the leadership issues.  Mia meets Owen at the first bar she goes to and it hardly takes any time at all before they’re leaving with each other.

Owen is at the bar wishing he could have the type of relationship that his Alpha has with his new mate when Mia walks in.  He knows immediately she’s his mate but after their night together she disappears.

This was a cute story.  I liked Mia and Owen a lot.  It wasn’t insta-love but pretty close.  Owen was all about the mate bond but Mia didn’t feel it the same way so that brought a little tension into the mix which was nice.

The story also involved Mia’s crazy dad and his hatred of Owen’s wolf pack which brought even more tension into the story which I liked.

Overall not a fabulous anthology for me but at least somewhat entertaining.

 

Overall rating: 3 out of 5

three-stars


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DNF Review: Elemental Mating by Milly Taiden

Posted July 18, 2017 by Holly in Reviews | 4 Comments

DNF Review: Elemental Mating by Milly TaidenReviewer: Holly
Elemental Mating by Milly Taiden
Series: ALFA #1
Publisher: Intermix, Penguin
Publication Date: July 18th 2017
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
DNF

Their existence was a secret the government stumbled upon. In exchange for continued autonomy, the paranormals entered an alliance with the government. Now they are A.L.F.A.: Alpha League Federal Agency, sworn to protect and serve humanity.

Brilliant scientist Melinda Caster has discovered a new strain of the Zika virus that stimulates synaptic growth in embryos, causing neuron development beyond normal human levels. Way beyond, like ESP-levels of cognitive abilities. When the lab is broken into, Melinda realizes that someone has been keeping tabs on her research and wants it for themselves. A happy accident destroys critical data before it can fall into the wrong hands, but unfortunately that makes Melinda and her perfect memory a target.

A.L.F.A sends in jaguar-shifter Agent Parish Hamels to discover who is after the virus and why. The beautiful scientist acts like catnip to his senses and throws his mating instincts into overdrive. And then she disappears along with the only sample of the virus…. Now Parish must canvas the darkest areas of the supernatural underground to rescue Melinda, and what he discovers is beyond a paranormal’s worst nightmare.

I found Elemental Mating while browsing NetGalley and was intrigued by the premise. Alpha shifter vs nerdy scientist? GIMME! Unfortunately, it wasn’t as successful as I’d hoped it would be.

Melinda Castor is a research scientist who discovered a new strand of virus that seems to give those infected supernatural powers (ESP, telekinesis, etc). Parish Hamel is an A.L.F.A. (Alpha League Federal Agency) agent and a jaguar shifter. He’s assigned to watch Melinda and keep her – and her research on the virus – safe. When Melinda is attacked and her lab broken into, both Hamel and Melinda race to find out who is after her information..and more importantly, what they want to do with it.

Since Hamel is essentially a Black Ops solider for the US government, I expected a certain level of competence from him. Sadly, he seemed like a bumbling amateur. He didn’t guard Melinda when he should have, ignored critical evidence in favor of flirting with her and, in general, put them both in danger when he could have avoided it. Melinda wasn’t much better. She constantly put herself in danger without considering the consequences. From following a wild jungle cat into the woods after dark to trusting the suspicious janitor with vital information, she didn’t often employ common sense.

Around Chapter 15 or so, a demon possession happens and Melinda is whisked off to Hell. Aside from some subtle hints here and there, it really came out of left field (both the demon possession and the trip to hell).
As much as I wanted to like this, I just couldn’t read any farther once a woman in Hell introduced herself as “The Head Harem Ho.”

This may be a case of the book just not being to my taste. I may have been looking for something a little more serious. Elemental Mating was just too campy.

DNF

DNF


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What I Read Last Week

Posted February 24, 2014 by Tracy in Features | 0 Comments

Hidee ho neighbor!

Wassup? Did you all have a wonderful week last week and a great weekend? Last week was pretty good but then I was down for the count with headaches all weekend. It was beautiful here, too, so not getting out of the house sucked.

Nothing much happening around here so I’ll get right to what I read last week:

My first read was Before You Break by Christina Lee. This was a wonderful story about a guy who is dealing with guilt over a car accident that killed his best friend – when he was driving –  and the woman is dealing with her own guilt over her brother’s suicide. Together they deal with their emotions and fall in love. It was oh, so good. I’ll post my review this week. 4.25 out of 5

Next up was Have You Any Rogues by Elizabeth Boyle. The novella is about Crispin and Henrietta who are members of rival families. They fall in love but then different events occur that keeps them apart for years. The story takes place while the pair are locked in a wine cellar and is told mostly in flashbacks but it’s like the characters are telling the story to each other. I really liked it but admit that I wanted more of the current time period but unfortunately there wasn’t much. I also thought Henrietta was way to impulsive over the years and was surprised that A) Crispin still wanted her after all of her rash decisions and B) she was even available after getting married so many times! 4 out of 5

Scent of a Mate by Milly Taiden was the story about a girl who is writing a book, per request, on the history of werewolf traditions…or maybe history. Anyway, she and her friends stake out a scenting ceremony but she gets a bit distracted when her mate, who is her best friends’ brother, decides to claim her that night. The book was cute although the heroine kept getting hurt which was annoying. This was definitely more erotic romance than straight paranormal with sex added – just fyi. 3.5 out of 5

The Bancroft Affairs: The Beginning by Liberty Valens. This short was free from Amazon and I’m really glad I didn’t spend money on it. The story is basically about Jillian who is blackmailed and forced to work as a call girl/prostitute. She is looking for a way out of her situation and trying to help her friends who are in the same sitch. I didn’t care for the story all that much (although there were parts that were ok), or the way the story was set up. It kind of felt like 2 stories in one which was amazing since it was so short and there was no conclusion. 2 out of 5

Stranger Delight by Tabitha Levin is a short erotic romance (also free on Amazon) about a woman who is at a party and is watching through a window as her friend has sex with her boyfriend. While watching a man comes up and has sex with her but she has no idea who it is – when she looks he’s gone. It was an ok story but was just too convoluted for me. 2 out of 5

Best Gay romance 2014 edited by R.D. Cochrane & Timothy J. Lambert was an anthology of short gay romance stories. I wouldn’t call this the BEST gay romance but there were definitely some good ones in there. I’ll post my review of this one later this week. 3.25 out of 5

Hard As You Can by Laura Kaye is book 2 in the Hard Ink series and it was really good! This is Shane and Crystal’s story. My review will post tomorrow to tell you my thoughts. 4 out of 5

My next read was a short novella called A Countess by Chance by Kate McKinley. This is mostly the reconciliation of a couple who had once been engaged but she had broken it off two years prior. There is a wager involved while they’re at a house party and erotic hijinks ensue. It was a cute story I just wanted more background. 3 out of 5 

In the Service of the King by Laura Kaye is a novella dealing with King of the Vampires (I thought he was THE king but since the series is Vampire Warrior Kings I’m guessing he’s A king. :)). He needs to feed every so often from either his mate or a virgin (called Proffereds) in order to hold on to his immortality and his humanity. His mate died 300 years ago so he feeds from virgins. He hates the ritual until he meets Shayla, one of the Proffered, who ends up being his mate as well. It was a cute story that was sexy and not too deep at all. 3 out of 5  

Come a Little Bit Closer by Bella Andre was last for the week – book 7 in The Sullivans series. This is Smith’s story and has him falling in love with the sister of one of his co-stars. I’ll post my review of this one later this week. 3.5 out of 5

 

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Fall For Me by Sydney Landon
Friends Without Benefits by Penny Reid

Happy Reading! 


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