Switch of Fate Book 1
by Lisa Ladew and Grace Quillen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was recommend by Kindle based on other books that I have read, and actually - one look at the guy on the cover and I was sold - I figured even if the book wasn't good I could enjoy looking at him for awhile!!
Turns out the story was pretty good - it started out a little slow, the first fourth of the book maybe was laying some background sorta, but it was a fuzzy background, and that went a little slow, but once you got into the meat of the story it was a lot better.
Jameson is The Keeper - but he never got the chance to learn what that meant, he was to start his training when he turned 12, but on his 11th birthday his world was shattered by the deaths of his family and the former Keeper. He was lost and alone in the world, and he had no idea what he was suppose to be doing. For years he blamed himself for not knowing, when in reality with wasn't his fault.
Coraline, or Cora to most has always had a fascination with vampires, in fact she did her Literature thesis on vampires in literature, but what she didn't know was that she was one of the lost switches of the world, a breed of women born to hunt and kill vampires.
This first book in the Switch of Fate series tells the story as Cora and Jameson fumble together to discover their history and knowledge and be the guardians they were destined to be.
This is well written and is unlike most shifter novels that I have read. It plays on a completely different aspect of the relationship and buts them in more of a heroic although unseen and shadowed role - humans are unaware of shifters, vampires or switches.
Lots of adult themes and intimate interactions, so definitely an adult book - not for the faint of heart.
View all my reviews
Captivity: Hollow Rock Shifters Book 1
by Brenda Trim and Tami Julka
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
So I am on the Kindle the other night, and in my list of "books for you" I find this book, another series by my favorite authors Brenda Trim and Tami Julka. I don't even think twice, I download it immediately!!
Liv is a little naïve, but an amazing researcher, coming in most weekends to get more work done. This weekend when she comes in the air conditioning is on the fritz and it is like a sauna. In her quest to find out what is going on, Liv sees a door open that she has never seen open before in the lab, thinking it is a mechanical room since it is near the breakroom, she walks through only to find a completely separate lab and what she sees in the rooms terrifies her. A dirty mattress, chains on the walls, door window incredibly high, what is this place. Then in the last room she is treated to a gorgeous specimen of a man, a shifter to be precise, who is chained to the wall and being beaten by a guard. Liv can't control herself and steps in to stop the guard, which causes even more trouble.
Lawson has been in the lab for three years, being repeatedly beaten and yelled out, but so far he still hasn't given up his will to live, but he is close, when a vision of red hair wanders into the room. He knows he will protect her, and given her spunk, he is tested on that resolve soon.
The Hollow Rock Shifters is a new series by my favorite authors, and this series revolves around shifters. At this time period, the human population knows about shifters, but for the most part they are either scared or dubious of them. Mostly because they have been told they are savages and criminals, when in reality we all know that they are just like anyone else.
This story follows Liv as she decides what to do now that she knows there is a shifter in the lab, and because she is appalled at his treatment, she is bound to make thing better, even if that means helping him escape.
This is a fast moving and page turning story. In fact I was finished with it before I realized it and wanted more. This is what I have come to expect from the authors, the team of Brenda Trim and Tami Julka have created some of the best books I have ever read in the Dark Warrior Alliance Series, and so I was expecting the same quality from this series, and so far they have not disappointed.
Great series set around the shifters, with a different world view. Something any fan of the authors or of shifter novels could enjoy.
View all my reviews
Shelly Laurenston
Website
Genre
Originally from Long Island, New York, Shelly Laurenston has resigned herself to West Coast living which involves healthy food, mostly sunny days, and lots of guys not wearing shirts when they really should be. Shelly Laurenston is also The New York Times Bestselling author G.A. Aiken, creator of the Dragon Kin series. For more info on G.A. Aiken's dangerously and arrogantly sexy dragons, check out her website at www.gaaiken.com.
Pseudonym G.A. Aiken
Pride Series:
2. Beast in Him
3. Mane Attraction
4. Mane Squeeze
5. Beast Behaving Badly
6. Bad, Bad Beast
7. Bear Meets Girl
9. Bite Me
Magnus Pack:
1. Pack Challenge
2. Go Fetch
3. Here Kitty, Kitty
3.5 When He Was Bad
Call of Crows:
1. Unleashing
2. Undoing
3. Unyielding
The Gathering:
1. Hunting Season
Deviant Warrior (Dark Alliance, Book 3)
by Brenda Trim, Tami Julka
My rating: 4.8 of 5 stars
Kyran may be a Dark Warrior, he may fight demons and skrim on a daily basis, but he has his own personal demons that he has yet to deal with, instead of pushing them under the surface all the time and numbing the pain with alcohol and deviant sex.
Mackendra may hide the scars on the outside with tattoos, but the scars on the inside run just as deep if not deeper, and she is pretty stubborn once she gets an idea in her head. She's been told twice now that the villains she's been fighting aren't vampire like she thought but skirm, and that vampire are good, but she refuses to listen.
When good friend Elise has a premonition of a fire at her home, Kyran is there is rescue her before anyone else knows what has happened, only probably, somehow Kyran and Mackendra slip though a portal to another realm that no one can seem to open again. Now they are stuck together, and she still thinks he's the enemy, to find a way home!
Deviant Warrior is the story of Kyran and Mackendra, and although most of the book is focused on them in the realm they landed and their struggles trying to get home, we do see the rest of the warriors on this side doing everything they can to find a way to get to them to help. Turns out the Goddess knew what she was doing when she trapped them away from everyone else with only each other to depend on.
This is the third book in the Dark Warrior Alliance, and it is amazing in that is brings some light on the history of Kyran and Zander, their upbringing, and their parents deaths. Kyran has always blamed himself, even though he was still a child, and his mother pleaded with him not to show himself, to save his brother and sister. It takes a hard woman like Mackendra, who grew up without the loving family he had to get him to see through his guilt and pain.
I'm serious, I can't get enough of this series!! I have enjoyed them all and wanted to learn more are more about each character. I honestly hope that are at least two more planned beyond what is already planned. They have to to hit everyone in the family at some point, or at least I want them to hit everyone!!
Dark Alliance Series:
1. Dream Warrior
2. Mystik Warrior
3. Deviant Warrior
3.5 Mistletoe & Mayhem
4. Scarred Warrior - (originally slated to release 2015 - not released yet)
View all my reviews
Mystik Warrior (Dark Alliance Series, Book 2)
by Brenda Trim, Tami Julka
My rating: 4.8 of 5 stars
Jace may be a doctor to the world around him, but he is a centuries old sorcerer with a heart of gold and scars that run deep. When he learns that Cailyn may be in danger, he is ready to run to her aid, even if thoughts of her sacre him to his core.
Ever since the day that Jace walked into her sister Elise's apartment with Rhys, to bring over a television, Cailyn has become undo. Her nice orderly world is in question. she thought she wanted safe and stable, but there is something in Jace that sets off every deep dark fantasy that she could ever dream of and then some!
Mystick Warrior is the story of Jace and Cailyn. How they learn to talk to each other, come together, over come their pasts and find that fated mates is something to enjoy and relish, not to run away from.
Mystick Warrior is the second book in the Dark Warrior Alliance Series, and in book one, we were introduced to Jace, the sorcerer and doctor, who lives at Zeum with the other Dark Warriors. Cailyn is Elise's older sister, and although she was in San Francisco most of book one, she does know what is going on, having been involved in a major fight outside a club on Elise's graduation. Still the whole fated mate thing, while she loves it for her sister, is scaring her just a little, and to that the fact that Jace doesn't seem to like her, she thinks.
In this story we learn Jace's history and the horrors and tortures that he endured, and with Cailyn's help, he might just learn to over come them, that is if he can release himself from the guilt and tell her about it all.
Let me just tell you, this series has me HOOKED!! I read book one in a couple hours, didn't even close my kindle, but immediately went and bought the rest of the series that was available at the time! Yes, I am one of those readers, when I find a writer - or team of writers in this case - that draws me into the characters to the point that I just have to know what is happening, then I have to read the whole series!!
Dark Alliance Series:
1. Dream Warrior
2. Mystik Warrior
3. Deviant Warrior
3.5 Mistletoe & Mayham
4. Scarred Warrior - (orginally slated for 2015 release - not released as of yet)
View all my reviews
Dream Warrior (Dark Alliance Series, Book 1)
by Brenda Trim, Tami Julka
My rating: 4.8 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Life was simple, Elise always thought, there was nothing extraordinary out there, just regular people living the same as she was, until the day her world was turned upside down. Her husband Dalton was murdered, and what the police didn't admit, but Elise had seen was that it was not a human killer. She thought is was a vampire and joined a vigilante group that went out at night killing them, only there was was so much more to the world than what Elise could ever imagine. A chance encounter at a burrito restaurant brings her face to face with the Vampire King, Zander, and neither of them can get the other out of their thoughts or dreams. To make matters worse, a new archdemon has arrived in town, and the fight between the dark and light is getting intense. Dream Warrior is the story of Zander and Elise, the delicate and complicated dance they do as she has to heal from the death of her husband, to then accepting the reality of the world, and then becoming part of this new world. Authors Brenda Trim and Tami Julka create an amazingly complex and romantic, yet dangerous world of supernaturals. Full of adventure and fighting, while at the same time a delicate, sweet romance of fated mates and everlasting love is playing out on the side.
Dream Warrior is the first book in the Dark Alliance series. Not only is this the story of Zander and Elise, we are introduced to the whole extended family of the Dark Warriors. Authors Brenda Trim and Tami Julka do such a wonderful job of creating characters that you can't help but fall for, you want to know what happens, you root for them, cry with them, cheer with them, and keep reading until you turn that last page. There is plenty of action, fighting and adventure, twists and turns around every page that keeps you on the edge of your seat. At the same time, there is the tender and steamy story of the complicated dance of fated mates, one immortal mate forever, that the Goddess has chosen for you. I mean, who doesn't love a steamy love story, but at the same time, the idea that you had no say in the matter. This is a wonderful book. Yes there is violence and steamy romance in the book, so as long as you are ok with that you will love this book! In fact, you will probably devour it and be rushing to find the rest of the series, if you are anything like I was! Enjoy!!
Dark Alliance Series:
1. Dream Warrior
2. Mystik Warrior
3. Deviant Warrior
3.5. Mistletoe & Mayham
4. Scarred Warrior (originally slated for 2015 release - not released as of yet)
View all my reviews
Dark Waters (Elementals, Book 1)
by Rain Oxford
My rating: 4.3 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
As a private investigator, Devon Sanders is good, not just good but extremely good, he seems to have a real touch for the job. Never mention it might be magic in his presence though because he has stayed as far away from magic as possible as long as he can remember. Problem is, the best paying job ever means he has to go undercover at the Magic School. Devon must find the killer of five students, then murders start happening at the school, and there is more of a rush to figure who is behind it. Dark Waters is part magic, part vampire, part shifter, part fae story mixed with a huge murder mystery, topped with some repressed memories that start coming out now at the school. Author +Rain Oxford takes so many different parts and seamlessly puts them together into a story that works. The reader feels part of the world of the book.
The magic school in Dark Waters immediately makes me think of Hogwarts from Harry Potter, and although there are some similarities, there are differences too. This school includes not just magic, but shifters and fae, including Devon's two roommates. Mixing all these groups, magic, vampires, shifters, and fae together is usually hard and something doesn't sound right, but this book is written well and it feels right. Author +Rain Oxford does well to take a major murder mystery and add in the whole paranormal, supernatural element. There are a few times when you might get confused, mostly because Devon and his roommate Darwin's names are so similar, you find yourself re-reading parts to make sure you read that right. Although Devon is in his thirties, his roommates are in their twenties, and with the school aspect, this could really even be considered as a young adult novel. This is definitely a good read.
View all my reviews
