REVIEW ~Tamed by Rebecca Zanetti~

Title: Tamed
Author: Rebecca Zanetti

Series: Dark Protectors #6.5

Release Date: May 15, 2014

My Rating: 4 Stars

Caleb Donovan was never meant to be a prophet. At heart he's a conqueror, his appetites far more carnal than spiritual. He's not inclined to repress his passions and surrender to fate. After all, that's what cost him Lily—three centuries ago. She married another, because it was ordained. Now that he's in the same benighted calling—and forced into proximity with her—all the old desires are roaring back to life. . .

After widowhood and centuries of celibacy, Lily is eager to explore the wild side of life, except now she's vulnerable to another forced relationship, with an enemy. But this time she's determined to choose her own path. And if hot, furious Caleb comes charging to the rescue, it might just change both their destinies. . .

Love is about to start conquering. . .

This is just what I needed to hold me over until the next book from this series. More alpha sexiness and strong-willed women. Dark Protectors is quite possibly one of my favorite paranormal series. It keeps getting better and better each book. Tamed delivers everything that I love about this series. Caleb and Lily just about broke my heart. They're a forbidden love. Yet, Caleb is a "screw the rules" kind of guy and I couldn't be a bigger fan of his. Lily, on the other hand, is on the straight and narrow. She's the prophet that goes by the book. Caleb is the prophet that fights his destiny and rebels at every turn.

The connection  these two had was never smothered. When they're thrown together again they can't deny it. And when Lily begins to experience visions that cause her to second guess her rule abiding ways, it bends her entire reality. Including her once adamant rejection of Caleb. Can the rebel teach the angel to blur the lines? Will Lily learn that it's more important to do what is ethical by your own standards than what is right by someone else's?

I was thrilled to read this book. The forbidden love, and missed connection aspect really got to me. It made Lily and Caleb's relationship all the more special when they had to fight so hard for it. This story continues the arc that the entire series as followed. There's more unearthed about the doom coming soon. Janie Kayrs life is handing on by a thread. Who will live? Who will perish? And who will find their HEA? That's yet to be seen. There is going to be some MAJOR wrapping up needed in Janie's story. Her story is one of my most anticipated books of the year. I will be waiting not so patiently and reliving the amazing tales already produced in this series! I highly recommend this series for any lover of alpha men and paranormal books!

Happy Reading!

*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

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ARC REVIEW ~Bite Me by Shelly Laurenston~

Title: Bite Me

Author: Shelly Laurenston

Series: Pride #9

Release Date: March 25, 2014

My Rating: 3 Stars

Livy Kowalski has no time for idiots. When you shapeshift into a honey badger, getting through life’s irritants is a finely honed skill. Until she gets stuck housing her nutso cousin and dealing with her dad’s untimely and unexplained demise.

That’s where Vic Barinov comes in—or his house does. Vic can’t step outside without coming back to find Livy devouring his honey stash and getting the TV remote sticky. It gets his animal instincts all riled up. But he’ll have to woo her at high speed: all hell is breaking loose, and Livy is leading the charge…

I hate to say it because I really loved the rest of this series, but this book wasn't Ms. Laurenston's best. As a reader, I begin to set certain benchmarks for authors when I've read several of their books. I don't begrudge authors that step out of the box, I actually applaud them... if they do it well. My benchmarks for the Pride series are hilarious antics, beloved characters, and erotic play to boot. What I got with Bite Me was more of cameo reel for past characters and a very twisty plot that was dragged out. I didn't get enough of the main couple and the plot was thinned out too much among too many characters. Don't get me wrong, I love hearing from past characters but, in this instance I was bombarded with so many of them I couldn't remember who most of them were, and I didn't get to spend enough time with them to remember why I loved them. I know I loved them because I love every single one Shelly Laurenston's characters. It was more like a family reunion on speed than anything else. Having said that, the parts with Vic and Livy were simply awesome. 

Livy is a cut throat, no holds barred, honey badger who never fit into her family. So when her estranged father passes away suddenly, her feelings don't reflect accordingly. She never got along with him, and her feelings in general, even toward her closest friend, don't showcase appropriately in the first place. Vic Barinov is on the same wavelength. He is an easy to love, awkward, bear/tiger shifter. They both have an achilles heel for honey, and on more than one occasion Vic has found Livy hunkering in his cupboards, stealing his honey. It is painfully obvious that Vic has a soft spot for Livy, but he doesn't know what to do about it. While their love affair is slow progressing through the book, they must still team up when a shifter killer hits too close to home, and has friends in the upper echelons of the shifter world helping hide him. They pull all their resources to find the killer and with a blend of danger and hilarity this journey will be no small feat.

I feel that Bite Me was more mystery laden than the previous books. With that mystery the author felt the need to pull in several older characters and it kept the book off center for me. The time with Vic and Livy was few and far between. BUT when it was their turn center stage I loved every minute of it. I love that they are awkward and unsettling with everyone except each other. They just get each other, and it made their gradual progression to love that much sweeter. While, I loved them as a couple and even their friend chemistry together, I felt like I would get invested in them only to be thrown into another character two seconds later. It was almost never the same characters either. I think you could cut out half of the scenes without the major characters in them and the integrity of this book would stay intact. In this book I just wish the author would have narrowed the scope of the world a little bit. I still liked Bite Me, but it just wasn't up to par with its predecessors.

Happy Reading!

*ARC received by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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ARC REVIEW ~Wulfe Untamed by Pamela Palmer~

Title: Wulfe Untamed
Author: Pamela Palmer
Series: Feral Warriors #8
Release Date: January 28, 2014

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

SYNOPSIS

They are called Feral Warriors—an elite band of immortals who can change shape at will. Sworn to rid the world of evil, consumed by sorcery and seduction, their wild natures are primed for release...

The most enigmatic and tortured of the Feral Warriors, Wulfe is haunted by the quiet beauty of a human woman who no longer remembers him. Once a captive of both the Mage and the Ferals, Natalie stole a piece of his heart before he took her memories and sent her safely back to her fiancé. But now the Mage are threatening her again, and Wulfe will risk anything to protect her.

Natalie Cash is stunned when she's saved by a wolf who shifts suddenly into a splendidly built, if badly scarred, man, a man with the kindest eyes. Swept into a world of intrigue and danger beyond her comprehension, she turns to the powerful Wulfe, finding a passion she'd only dreamed of. But when time runs out, they must trust one another and surrender to a wild, untamed love.

MY REVIEW

Pamela Palmer knows how to make shit hit the fan. Her Feral Warriors series is one of the most alluring paranormal series I have read to date. The fantasy world she builds is nothing short of immaculate. All too often in paranormal series the details fall through the crack. Not with these books. Every character is developed to their fullest and every emotion is communicated perfectly. Wulfe Untamed is the perfect addition to Ms. Palmer's Feral Warriors series.

Wulfe Untamed continues with the previous story arc from the books before. The evil of all evils is trying to rise and the warriors are doing everything in their power to stop it. Along the way many warriors have fallen prey to the women they now call their mates. Wulfe already experienced a mating once and it left him reluctant to try it again and doubtful he would even get another shot. His previous mating was for shear utilitarian reasons. There was no love lost. But hope sparks in Wulfe when the warriors save a group of innocents from death at the hands of the Mage. Natalie, one of the captives, calls to Wulfe. They connect on the most basic and emotional of levels. But he must send her back to her life with no recollection of their time together. All is well and good, until a good deed Wulfe executed comes back to haunt both him and Natalie. Once again Natalie is back at Feral house and under the protection of the warriors.  

Despite not remembering their previous time together, Natalie is once again instantly attracted to Wulfe. But now they must pay the price for Wulfe's actions. As the ferals are losing touch with their animals and therefore losing their strength and immortality, it is a fight against time to kill Inir and stop Satanan's escape. With Natalie's life in the balance, Wulfe must embrace his Daemon side to save the woman who has awoken his soul and heart. The only problem is that he has inadvertently made her the key to end this horror show but, it will also end her life. 

This book was SO good. As in I read it in one sitting and completely ignored the fluke, gorgeous weather we were having that day. I have wanted Wulfe to get his HEA from Book #1. He always seemed the most deserving of the ferals to experience happiness again. But this book was more than just Natalie and Wulfe's story. This was the end  all, be all of this story arc. Everything the past seven books have been leading up to came to head in Wulfe Untamed. It was dramatic, heartbreaking, and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. They looked like they were coming to a conclusion and I look down and I'm only at 48%. Then all hell breaks loose. If this book were a haircut, it's be a spiky mohawk- up and down, up and down. 

Wulfe, with his light and dark soul, and a horrendously painful past, has been shut off emotionally. He does his job and takes care of his fellow warriors and is kind but, he is hardened on the inside. Until Natalie. She gives him back his self-worth and shows him the love he has always deserved. And he reciprocates in kind. I love that Natalie got the greatest pleasure from helping Wulfe feel whole and love again. He was eventually able to offer his entire being to her- heart, body and soul, and she gladly accepted. While they still had that magnetic chemistry, that all the ferals have with their mates, Wulfe and Natalie are one of those easy couples. They're not combustible, they just... are. I read them together from the very beginning and it was understood, without being said that they were each other's perfect match. I love those couples. The ones that aren't all over the place, and can simply just be together without the hysterics. Suffice it to say, Wulfe's story delivered. Big time. I got the conclusion to this eight book story arc and my favorite character in the series found his mate all in one book. I call that a fantastic read! And I look forward to hopefully reading more about the unmated ferals in the future.

Happy Reading!

*ARC provided by the author/publisher through in exchange for an honest review*

REVIEW ~Unleash by Felicity Heaton~

Title: Unleash
Author: Felicity Heaton
Series: Vampire Erotic Theatre #6
Release Date: May 18, 2013

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

A powerful vampire lost deep in his bloodlust, Snow is a savage animal, mindless with rage and a thirst for violence, and trapped with no hope of awakening from an endless nightmare… until a song draws him up from the abyss, restoring his sanity but leaving him haunted by the sweet feminine scent of lilies and snow, and fragmented familiar lyrics.

When the mysterious and beautiful songstress reappears in Snow’s room at Vampirerotique, she awakens a fierce protective streak and stirs dark desires that drive him to claim her as his female, even when he knows his touch will destroy her innocence.

A single forbidden taste is all it takes to unleash emotions in Aurora that she shouldn’t possess, tearing her between duty and desire, and luring her into surrendering to her wildfire passion and embracing hungers that burn so hotly they threaten to consume them both.

One act of kindness can lead to one thousand acts of sin though, each a black mark against the bearer’s soul and another grain of sand that slips through an hourglass. The clock is ticking and time is almost up. Can beauty save the beast?

So, I've been waiting for Snow's story since I started the Vampire Erotic Theatre series, and I could not have been more pleased with how his story turned out. I'm going to call Unleash a "heavy hitter". It dealt with so much baggage between all of the characters and even characters I didn't know existed yet but, that happened to have a huge impact on Snow's life. At the end, I didn't feel that there was a single loose end to be seen. Everything was resolved, and everyone gets their happily ever afters. But along the way I experienced so many emotions and my heart ached for Snow and Aurora . For me their HEA couldn't come quick enough.

Unleash touches a bit on each of the couples from previous books, we get to see how their relationships and families have grown. But, the main part of Unleash is Snow. At the beginning he is deep in bloodlust and in his own head, to a point where no one can get him out. The stories we've never been told though, are what happened when Snow first experienced bloodlust all those years ago that changed his life forever. Those stories are what Snow relives every time he experiences the bloodlust, and therefore we get to see the gore and trauma first hand as well. I never knew what set Snow off in his rampage to begin with, and we get a glimpse of that as well. The real turn of events is when we meet Aurora, an angel who saved Snow all those years ago and helped set into place the horror that would follow suit. After saving Snow, for every terrible act he committed it was a mark against her, causing her to be an outcast among the angels. 

So, how was this supposed to work? The girl who saved him, when he didn't want to be saved, and the man who caused her a lifetime of burdens and pain? Ironically, Aurora and Snow are perfect for each other. Both extremely misunderstood, they are the only ones who truly see the real behind their facades. The pain that Aurora and Snow have been through was almost unbearable to read about, but their pain didn't end once they found each other again. These two could only find solace in each other's arms. Aurora helps quell the bloodlust in Snow, and he makes her feel. But they have a long journey and many enemies to fight to get to their happy place. I loved every second of Unleash. It was definitely one of those "FINALLY!" books for me. Snow finally got his HEA, which he so rightly deserved. And Aurora, who we don't meet until this book will have a special place in your heart too. Ms. Heaton has done it again with lovable and captivating characters, and a spell-binding story that will hold you from beginning to end!

Happy Reading!

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BOOK BLITZ + GIVEAWAY ~Born in Chains by Caris Roane~

Title: Born in Chains
Author: Caris Roane
Series: Men in Chains #1
Release Date: October 1, 2013

In the epic battle of vampire against vampire, one warrior’s fate is bound to a mortal woman who controls him, commands him, and craves him like no other…

CHAINED FOR LIFE

Two years ago, the rogue vampires invaded Lily Haven’s home and kidnapped her son. Now, if she hopes to see her child again, she must do the unthinkable—bind herself, body and soul, to a vampire warrior. She must choose one of the rogue army’s prisoners of war and force him to do her bidding. But when she sees the warrior Adrien, naked, beaten, and straining against his chains, it is she who is held captive…

HUNGRY FOR MORE

Adrien has been waiting for her. A beautiful woman who appears to him in visions. Who soothes his tortured body, feeds his erotic cravings—and quenches his thirst for blood. But Lily is more than he ever hoped for. She is the master of his destiny, and he is her willing slave. Even when she asks him to find the ultimate weapon for his enemies, he must obey her. Even if the task destroys them both, he will fight for her love, forever…

“Sexy, cool, edgy romantic fantasy…Prepare to be enthralled.”
—New York Times bestselling author Lara Adrian

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Meet Caris:

Caris Roane has published nine paranormal novels and novellas and writing as Valerie King, fifty Regency works. In 2005, Romantic Times gave her a Career Achievement award in Regency Romance. As Caris Roane, she currently writes paranormal romance for St. Martin’s Press and also self-publishes the continuing stories for her Guardians of Ascension series as well as stories set in other worlds.

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BLOG HOP + GIVEAWAY + BOOK BLAST ~ Black and Blue by Gena Showalter~

Title: Black and Blue
Author: Gena Showalter
Series: Otherworld Assassin #2
Release Date: October 22, 2013

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter's pulse-pounding paranormal series continues with an electrifying story about the ultimate warrior and his prize: a beautiful woman he will do anything to possess.

HE IS EVERY WOMAN’S FANTASY. . .
Corbin Blue is a man of many talents. One of the most powerful otherworlders ever born, he is wealthy, a professional football star, and a legend in the bedroom. But only a select few know he is also a black ops agent...and there is no better killer. When he and his crew are attacked and separated, he’s forced to turn to his boss’s daughter for help―a woman with even more secrets than Blue.

. . .SHE BECOMES HIS ONLY OBSESSION
Evangeline Black has always been wary, guarded. No man has ever breeched her walls. Until Blue. He has never been denied something he wants, and now, he’s decided he wants her. As he sweeps her into his double life of seduction, intrigue, and danger, he helps her see beyond the darkness of her past. But as an enemy closes in, Blue will have to let Evie go to keep her safe—even though he'd rather die than live without her…

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Meet Gena:

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the White Rabbit Chronicles, Otherworld Assassins, Angels of the Dark, Lords of the Underworld, and several of other series. She has written over thirty novels and novellas. Her books have appeared in Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazine, and have been translated in multiple languages.

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