+Giveaway: 1 Ebook
Paranormal, Romance - Novella
TBR Reviewer: Shyla

Review

This is a completely different take on vampires and the way they operate. I liked the rich details, creative angle and social hierarchy Ms. Pilla set up. From the moment the heroine Anastasia enters the invitation only ball, it feels like we’ve entered a time warp. Hotel Sinn is exquisite, the drinks flow freely and the man who invited her, aka Mr. Sexy is present. We learn soon after that Mr. Sexy is a vampire and the hotel is not what it seemed to be at all. 

A magical entity in itself, it’s like the hotel mentioned by the Eagles, You can check in any time you want but you can never leave. ( yeah I quoted them) . Every one hundred years the hotel revamps itself ( no pun intended) and the vampires invite humans over for a ball that spans a weekend. The catch is these humans became a sacrifice.  You have more questions about this I’m sure, and I’d love to go into detail. But that discovery is for you to make on your own as you read. ;) Despite all the action occurring on the pages, Pilla doesn’t skimp
on the sex. The passion between Anastasia and VIctore is potent and strikes in the most interesting palces. :Coughs: Against the wall on the balcony. I enjoyed her growth throughout the story and the glimpses of her humanidio syncrasies really kept the story on point. IE if I was thrust into the crazy world of vampires and had people messing with my mind I might suddenly develop a pension for panic attacks too. In my mind the small additions like that really helped sell the story. 

The hero, Victore is someone I’m torn about. He was dark, sexy and dangerous, but his emotions seemed a bit off. He went from being amused and attracted to Anastasia to being in love and risking life.  Pacing was a bit of an issue for me with Hotel Sinn. I liked the concepts, but I was overwhelmed by how much I had coming at me.  I think the story as a whole would have benefited from additional length, with Ms. Pilla spending more time on each new twist she introduced to the story.  I enjoyed this story and  I really reccomend it to vamp lovers looking for a new spin.

Excerpt

"I'm glad you came."


More dirty thoughts crossed her mind. Oh Lord help me, his voice sounds like
sex. Is that even possible? “Yes, I'm glad I came too. My name is Anastasia, by
the way." She held out her hand to shake his. He took her hand in his and turned it to kiss the top. His onyx eyes never left hers. Her body melted, her knees went weak,
and she felt a tingle between her thighs. Staring into the man's black eyes, the world
around her seemed to fade away, leaving just him and her.


"My name is Victore." She barely heard him speak, and when he let go of
her hand, she came back to reality. Weird.


"Are you feeling all right?" he asked, concerned.


"Yes, I'm okay; it's just a bit warm in here, and I've had a few glasses of
wine already." Victore extended his hand, and she immediately took it without
a thought. Get a grip, girl, control yourself.


"Come, let me show you the terrace and you can get some fresh air."


She could barely think with her arm in his, feeling like a hormonal
teenager. Anastasia didn't go gaga over a guy like one of those brainless girls.
Did she?


"Do you like what you have seen so far?" he asked. Anastasia nodded
slowly, regaining control over her brain cells. She liked everything,
including Victore.


"Everything is exquisite." She pointed to the ceiling. "Were those carved?
The beams?" she asked.


"Yes," he said simply, and she frowned. Music began to play as they crossed
the ballroom floor.


"Oh, Victore, would you care to dance with me?" she said excitedly.


"I thought you wanted to get some air?" he replied.


"Yes, I do, but after one dance," she pleaded. What was happening to
her? Pleading? She didn't plead. He twirled her around, and she faced him and
his dark, sexy eyes. His pale skin brought out every dark feature—his hair,
his eyes, and his suit—against his flesh. He pulled her close to him, his
arm wrapping around her waist. She felt the heat from his body and something
else. No, it couldn't be.

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3 Comments
 
 
Horror - novel
TBR reviewer: Mark

Blurb

Set in a dystopian, religiously-demented American Empire, the city of Las Vegas is no longer a city of sin. Now called Necropolis, it is a city that eats sin. The vampires of Necropolis wait
patiently for the Empire's weekly drop off of guilty Penitents; sinners and criminals full of fresh blood.

Hank Evans is one of those Penitents and he would gladly let the vampires take every drop of his blood if it weren’t for one detail: Toby. Toby is Hank’s only son. Now, Hank must do whatever it takes to escape the city of the dead and save his son from an Empire as bloodthirsty as the vampires it uses to keep its people in line.

Review

Shining In Crimson is a modern-day horror tale set in an alternative future where the government of The United States Of America has been replaced by a heavily religious Imperial Empire that holds its citizenship under dictatorial rule. Most serious crime, including crimes of morality, are punishable by death though not by execution. Instead criminals are dropped off in what was once the center of sin and immorality, the city formerly known as Las Vegas; there to be fed on by the Vampire population that live there as part of an agreement with The Empire. Hank is just one of these criminals, arrested for being caught with a prostitute, but Hank is different. Because Hank intends to survive....

From the moment I read the synopsis for this novel, the first in an upcoming series, I was intrigued. It sounded exactly my sort of thing, right up my alley and something I could really sink my teeth into (no pun intended). Unfortunately, after the first seventy pages or so and the initial excitement of the main character being dropped off in a city heavily populated by nothing but Vampires, everything started to go to down hill! The whole plot became overly convoluted, there were flashbacks galore as characters shared each others memories and experiences from one moment to the next and it quickly became increasingly difficult to separate who was who as everything else just seemed to descend into cliche!

This was a book with so much potential and a real chance to attempt something different with the whole Vampire genre but instead the author retreads old ideas and seemingly forgets about the aspects of this book that so attracted me in the first place. The whole idea of Las Vegas as Necropolis goes largely unaddressed other than as a  basic premise and there is little reference as to how The Imperial Empire managed to seize control of the good ol' USA in the first place which, to me, would have been an excellent angle to explore! I know that this is the first part in a series and these things may be gone into further in subsequent volumes but for me, the author lost a real chance and opportunity to hook me in and keep me interested beyond about the halfway mark!
 
Overall, that which was mentioned above ruins any chance Shining In Crimson had of being outstanding by not living up to the potential it promises from its initial premise. I really wanted to like this. It is a bad sign of a novel when you no longer find yourself caring about the characters and, with a hundred pages to go, I began seriously wondering whether I cared enough to go on. The answer to that question was yes but it was a very close thing.

Would I read any more in this series? Probably not. Life is too short to waste on books that don't live up to potential.

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Vampire, Erotica, Suspense - novel
TBR reviewer:B.H.

Blurb

Eva Sambucco is a stiletto-wearing, stake-wielding vampire huntress with everything a girl from the Big Apple desires. Good looks. A great job. Even an expensive wardrobe. But the one thing she wants the most, is the only thing she can’t have. The leader of the New York City vampire coven. Andreas Kristopolous is her Irresistible Nemesis.

Andreas runs AK Oil International - one of the wealthiest business conglomerates in the world. But money can’t fix a scarred relationship with his father or cure him of
his philandering chauvinism. With god-like good looks and a fat bank account,
women fight for his attention like wolves battling for the coveted alpha position.

Can Eva slay her own personal demons and come to grips with her feelings for Andreas? Will she be able to keep the bimbos at bay long enough to help mend his
relationship with his father and capture his heart?

Review

So there I was stuck in the car and I always read to pass the time which is why the Nook is my new best friend. But, silly me, I forgot to put the new books on my nook. I read all but one. A vampire book and I wasn’t particularly in the mood for sexy blood sucker. But with it being the only one and at least an hour to waste, plus it was on my list to review anyway, I gave it a shot.

Holy crap, I’m so glad I did! Have you ever read a book and within the first few pages thought – this is going to be a good one. Yes, Irresistible Nemesis was that. There were a few editing issues and a few scenes the pace was slow. Does it matter? Not much when the story is this good. 

Andreas was such a hot vampire with daddy issues. Eva was a great character. She’s tough  but only hides her wounded heart. The steamy feelings and I do mean 'steam up those windows' hot, grew between Eva and Andreas beautifully. There’s one twist after another and when Eva was kidnapped I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. The explosive ending made it official. Irresistible Nemesis is a fanged treat and gets 5 shiny stars!

This is the first book I’ve read by Ms Russo and certainly not the last.

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Vampire, erotica - Novella
TBR reviewer: B.H.

Blurb

When Lucifer looked upon God's works, he vowed to destroy it all. He followed  Adam and Eve from the Garden and stole Abel's soul before his drew his final  breath, thus creating the first vampire. Since then all vampires have been  damned creatures, their souls lost without hope.

That's  why God must be joking when He assigns Jophiel to intercede on a vampire's   behalf...

Review

This would have easily been a 4 or maybe even a 5 star review. It was entertaining, unique plot but it’s not complete. It’s a to be continued. It should not have been published without some form of ending. I would not pay to go to the movies and have the last 20 minutes of the movie cut out. Why would you do the same to a book?!
 
I really wish there was an ending because I liked this book a lot. David is a vampire trying to find his little brother while holding onto his humanity. He is a hot vampire with a touch of humor that really brings his character to life. I really enjoyed him. Jophiel is an angel tasked with helping David find his brother. He’s a goody-goody that is slowly opening up. Of course, we never find out how much because THERE IS NO ENDING!

Vampire and angel team up in an entertaining mix. There is 1 m/m sex scene and it’s a scorcher. Then there’s a twist that left me speechless of course this changed into a foolish grin. You’ll know what I’m talking about if you read Intercession. Nicely played, Ms. Cross,
nicely played. 
 
I would definitely read more from this author but I’ll be sure to check that the book she writes actually has an ending.

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