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REVIEW: Every Second Counts by Arya Grey

8/12/2013

Every Second Counts
Author: Arya Grey
Genre: Romance
Reviewer: Jessica
Rating: 4 Stars - Recommended Read.
Heat: 3 - Blush Worthy.

Every Second Counts is the very short story of Faye, the proud owner of tattoo parlor, Vintage Ink. Faye keeps to herself, her only real friends are also her employees at her shop. That all changes when Brody, a new client of Vintage Ink tattoo artist Jackson, comes in for some intriguing new ink. There's no denying
the sparks that fly between inked up Faye and rock band lead singer, Brody.

This was a really well written, quick little romance full of drama and humor, sweet romance and sexy steam. The characters are all likeable right out of the gate. You literally want to hang out at Vintage Ink and get to know Faye and her crew. Brody is instantly intriguing, a sexy quiet rocker who has
some pretty intense emotional baggage he's carrying around. I thought the relationship went from sexy flirtation to epic declarations of love rather quickly...maybe too quickly to be realistic... but that's exactly what you'd expect from an on-the-go romantic read.

Arya Grey creates an awesome world filled with interesting characters, and sweet romance. This book is perfect for when you're feeling the need for a quick romantic fix but don't have the time to curl up with a lengthy novel. It has everything you're craving in a speedy novella.

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REVIEW: Saving His Mate by Marie Medina

8/12/2013

Saving His Mate (The Year of Hearts #2)
by Marie Medina
Genre: M/M paranormal romance
Length: novella
TBR Reviewer: Amanda
Rating: 4 Stars - Recommended Read.
Heat: 4 - An Erotic Ride.

Lance has served one vampire for ten years and now has found that he is another vampire's mate. Although he has no trouble with the fact that his mate is a man, he struggles with moving on with his life after his mistress has gone crazy and died. When his mistress' twin brother comes back from exile, more trouble faces Lance and Lord Tavok before they can cement their life together.

Although this is the second book in the series and refers to things that must have happened in the first one, enough details were given to keep me from having any problems following the plot. I enjoyed watching the two main characters try to find out how they would fit together and that the "one and only mate" aspect did not mean smooth sailing, even though both seemed to automatically assume that
they would work things out together. It had a little bit of the "insta-love" flavor to it, but not so much as to be off-putting. The villain was very villainous, and as details of his crimes came out, it made
more sense of Lance's mistress' problems and helped him move on which I liked. For the length of story, a lot happened and the set up for the third vampire brother's story was given without taking away from the main characters. I also liked how it combined feudalism and paranormal aspects.

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REVIEW: Ridin' Red by Nikki Prince

8/12/2013

Ridin' Red (Once Upon a Dream #3)
by Nikki Prince
Genre: erotic paranormal menage
Length: novella (55 pgs.)
TBR Reviewer: Amanda
Rating: 3 Stars - A Good Read.
Heat: 5 - Orgasmic.

Anastasia Trumane, one of Cinda's evil stepsisters, is a submissive missing her Dom, Lucien Wolf. Working for the first time in her life, living in one room with her sister, Dru, and trying to get over the heartbreak from Luc dumping her unexpectedly, she seems to be growing up finally. When a stranger brings her a note from the club where Luc works, though, she finds out things are even stranger than she knew. Luc and Bruno are werewolves needing their mate desperately. Luc drove her away because she was human, not realizing that he had started a mating process that needed to be completed for all their sakes. They enlist their boss, Doc Fairee, to help them bring Ana to them.

The series concept seems to be a BDSM club where fairy tale type fantasies occur, which appealed to me. However, I found the book heavy on sex (which was fine), but light on plot and needing another edit. I thought Ana making up with Cinda and standing up to her sister great, but falling in love with Bruno immediately was too far-fetched. I could buy her and Luc because they had a previous relationship (although she forgave him too fast) but Bruno was a total stranger. Lust I could see but not love yet. I found some of the "what big eyes you have" lines quite cute as they played off the Red Riding Hood story that was the base for the fantasy.

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REVIEW: Destiny Calls by Lydia Michaels

8/12/2013

Destiny Calls
Author: Lydia Michaels
Series : The Order of the Vampyres 3
Genre: Romance,
Length : 372 pages
TBR Reviewer: Shyla
Rating: 5 Stars - A Must Read
Heat: 4 - An Erotic Ride

Ms. Michaels has done it again, written a fantastic story that had me hanging on every word! Admittedly
I’m a fan, but this heroine in particular deserves praise. Destiny is a feisty, successful, plus-size, firecracker. The best part about that description is plus-sized came last and is presented as a tiny sliver of whom Destiny was. I adored that! Destiny's high profile job as a news anchor requires a certain persona but she holds so many secrets in her heart.

I loved watching the layers fold back to reveal the woman who lived deep down. Trying to solve a rash of murders happening in the local woods lands Destiny into hot water, and she ends up accosted by a creature hell bent on killing her. Panicking she ends up shooting the wrong person. Imagine her surprise when she comes too, and he, Cain is right as rain. Welcome to the confusing, secretive, intriguing, world of the order.

Now if you’re coming into this review with no knowledge of the series you’ll be lost, so read the previous books in the series.

A web of well spun connecting concepts and plots, this story will satisfy your need for adventure, romance, sizzling sex, and mystery. I highly recommend it. I also have to add... you’ll never look at the Amish the same again.

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CONTEST: Supernova by Jessica Marting

8/6/2013

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Supernova
Author: Jessica Marting
Page count: 134
Genres: Sci-fi
TBR Reviewer: Victoria
Rating: 5 Stars - A Must Read!
Heat: 2 - Flirty.

This book starts out in the near future (2017) Lily Stewart is utterly bored with her life, having recently moved to Toronto from a tree farm in the wilds and is working for a cryonics facility when she stumbles onto something the scientists running it rather wish she hadn’t. They drug her and when she wakes up, she’s being held at bay, in a cargo bay on a spaceship in the year 2867 (give or take a couple of decades). The captain of that spaceship, Rian Marska, wants nothing more initially to be rid of the inadvertent stowaway discovered in his hold, but then takes her under his wing (not literal wing, he’s human) as she tries to adjust to the life she has been handed.

There are bad guys a plenty, including a traitor and the aliens who originally froze Lily. Lily isn’t a shy,
retiring flower, though for most of the book she (understandably) wants to go home. When she finds herself in yet another bad position because of the evil aliens, she doesn’t sit back and wait for Rian to rescue her. Oh no, she takes the bull by the horns, a phaser and works to rescue herself.
She’s not a kick-butt heroine precisely, though she’s had self-defense classes and loves to play zombie video games in the 21st century. She’s courageous and willing and able to adapt. Rian was likable too, though more remote for most of the book. He had his own ambitions, which included being granted an actual captaincy of a battleship in the space fleet. He never counted on meeting someone like Lily though and his well-laid plans get thrown to the wayside when she pops into his life. He’s able to deal with the changes and ends up making as many adjustments to his life as she does to hers when she finds herself in the 29th century (though he doesn’t necessarily have to deal with being dropped into a future century the way she does).

Holy smokin’ space-ships, Batman! I’ve never read anything by Ms. Martin, but let me assure you I will leap at any chance to read more by her now. I’ve been looking for a good sci-fi
romance, rather than para-rom, and this gave it to me. The world building is top notch and you sincerely feel like you’re seeing the world (galaxy/universe) as it might be in eight centuries. Ms. Martin doesn’t
focus overmuch on the technology, which to my mind is a good thing, but does talk about some of the nifty technology available (replicators, custom-made clothes tailored to you – considering how much I
hate shopping, I’d go to the future in a heartbeat for this!, spaceships, and aliens). I loved this book.

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Giveaway: Ms. Marting is generously giving away an Ecopy of Supernova! The TBR Pile is giving away an Ebook from our prize list. To ENTER: Comment below on why you want to read Supernova!

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REVIEW: Dangerous Descent by Sabrina Devonshire

8/6/2013

Dangerous Descent
Author: Sabrina Devonshire
Page count: 191
Genres: romance
TBR Reviewer: Victoria
Rating: 3 Stars - A Good Read.
Heat: 3 - Blush Worthy.

Rebecca was blamed wrongfully for the death of a hiker while she was leading an expedition and essentially blacklisted from ever leading hikes again. Several months later, she’s trapped working in what would be my personal (and hers as well) hell: department store retail. Looking for some sort of
escape (and who can blame her), she comes across Prof. Kent Dunbar’s ad looking for hikers to go on an expedition to Vietnam to explore what could well be the largest cave ever discovered. When Kent gets her application, he’s intrigued because she appears to have everything he needs in a hiker to go on his
expedition. He even hires Rebecca’s friend to go along with them, though it’s revealed that the woman fluffed up her resume a little, claiming camping experience when clearly she had none. The only weakness I found in this set-up is that the ladies were able to get to Vietnam (getting their shots, plane
tickets provided, etc) within a couple of days of Rebecca finding the ad. I just am skeptical that any real expedition could be so badly planned out. Once in Vietnam, we’re exposed to the idea of a smuggling ring and the danger starts to grow. There are some great secondary cast members, including Bunny who Kent
acknowledges using at one point to make Rebecca jealous/as payback for dropping her towel while still at the hotel. Poor Bunny was soooo out of her element. I’d like to think an academic with serious credibility would have been smarter than to hire someone like Bunny.

There was no lack of heat between Kent and Rebecca, which made the icky trek through the sweltering jungle more bearable. I’m not an outdoor girl, and I definitely felt lost in the wilds there. Ms. Devonshire does a great job describing the environment and the hardships. The trek to the caverns themselves was awesome. The caverns were heart-stopping in their complexity. As a claustrophobe, you couldn’t pay me enough to go cave diving, and there were at least a few moments as I read this that I was squirming uncomfortably, even though there was very little time in super-tight spaces.

This book would have easily gotten the four-star rating from me because I loved the characters, and I adored the setting. I don’t read enough books taking place out of America, so this made for a nice change of pace. There was no supernatural element to this (which is rare for me to read and so thoroughly enjoy). And then….it ended. There were two or three plot threads in this, and all had progress made. However, none of them wrapped up. This book isn’t complete. This book is part 1 of at least 2. Nowhere in the blurb does it indicate that. In fact, the blurb seems to promise what your standard romance novel promises: a satisfactory HEA. Clearly the two are on their path to romance, but it’s not complete. Nothing is wrapped up. Nada. Zilch. Zero.

Still, anyone who wants to go on an Indiana Jones-like adventure, to feel like they’re slogging through the rainforests (or at least the jungles) of Vietnam, or just have some phenomenal sexual tension building, read this book. If you want at least one story arc completed, skip it, or at the very least go in knowing you won’t get any satisfactory conclusions by the end.

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I would like to add that this is part of a series. Book two is titled, The Unseen. ~ The TBR Pile.

REVIEW: Twice Bitten to Paradise

8/6/2013

Twice Bitten to Paradise
Series: Vampires of Eternity 2
Author: Lynne St. James
Genre: Erotic Romance, Paranormal,
Length: 238 pages
TBR Reviewer: Shyla
Rating: 3 Stars - A Good Read.
Heat: 5 - Orgasmic.

Mrs. St. James writes an intriguing, sexy, mysterious tale in Twice Bitten to Paradise. As I turned the pages, I never knew what to expect. The book had more winding roads than a mountain. I hadn’t read the first book in this series, but it only took me a second to get up to speed. Bree is an insatiable woman with an aversion to commitment and a weakness for the tall, dark, and undead. Caught up in a legacy she doesn’t understand she’s haunted by an evil gypsy and a prophecy she plays a vital role in. As the story delves into her past I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the woman constantly on the run since her teens. Terrified by waking dreams I was on the edge of my seat as she hit the road. I liked the independent, sassy, and gothic vibe Bree had. It made her relatable, and helped bring a believability to the fantastic things happening.

Rafe and Luc have been looking for centuries for the one woman who will be their mate, and ensure they won’t slowly go mad. The plight of all their people since the Gypsy laid her curse down. The last thing they expected to find in the walls of the BDSM club, Eternity was their mate, but once they had Bree it’s undeniable. When Bree is threatened by an unknown source they will stop at nothing to keep her safe. Between chasing down the woman hell bent on handling the situation herself and battling against
a powerful curse these men are put through the ringer. Lost limbs, and blue balls a very human take on vampires, which I found darned interesting!

With all the drama going on in the story and mystery being revealed. I did think the characters lost out. I would’ve liked to see them more developed , along with smoother transitions between scenes and reveals. In the ended I found the story to feel a bit rush and lacking in depth. If you like your vampires out of the ordinary and your sex of the chart hot with floggers, spankings, and things in-between, this may be the perfect match for you.

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REVIEW: The Spirit Dragon by Tianna Xander

8/5/2013

The Spirit Dragon
Author: Tianna Xander
Page count: 95
Genres: Paranormal Romance
TBR Reviewer: Victoria
Rating: 3 Stars - A Good Read.
Heat: 1 - Tame

Having reviewed the prior book in the series, The Water Dragon, and thoroughly enjoyed it, I jumped at the chance to review the next book in the series, The Spirit Dragon. I’m happy to announce that much of the book lived up to my expectations, including a very healthy dose of humor.

Jasmine’s witchy gift is bringing things back from the dead. Until recently, it’s been limited to plants, but about a month ago, formerly living creatures have started getting up and walking after her. This includes a rather humorous recitation of one of the zombies shambling after her saying
“Braaaains.” Understandably, she’s a bit tired of that and retreats to a sanctuary provided by Drake, her brother-in-law, where she just has a couple of guards and limited interaction with things that might have once been alive.

Honestly, I never stopped giggling throughout the book. Ms. Xander’s humor was fantastic and I just didn’t get tired of the zombie jokes. Given everything Jasmine had been going through in recent days, you couldn’t blame her for clinging so long to the belief that Ryuu was yet another reanimated body. And, with that in mind, who can blame her for not wanting to be attracted to him or objecting more than she might otherwise at being abducted.

These two made a great pair, their innate gifts (her ability to reanimate the dead and his to pull a spirit back from the afterlife) matching perfectly. I don’t remember the Water Dragon having the same perfect compatibility, but they made a lovely combination.

Anyway, all that said, this got knocked down from a 4-star to a 3 because of some of the issues in the latter pages of the book. Primarily, the utter confusion (in my mind, to the point I actually went back and reread a few pages when I stumbled over the issue as I read) over why exactly Jasmine didn’t want to be with Ryuu (after she finally believed he wasn’t a zombie).

The only other minor problem I had with this was definitely one I hadn’t had with The Water Dragon: the secondary cast. Had I not read the other book, I would have had no clue what they were talking about when they threw in a conversation about finding/rescuing Emily (friend of the heroine who got snatched by a dragon at the end of the book). While it’s always a delicate balance to avoid info-dumping and boring those who are a long-time fan of your series while providing enough information to newcomers, I think this book definitely fell shy of that balance.

Other than these two issues, I loved this book and am eagerly awaiting a chance to get my hands on the next Dragon book.

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REVIEW: Gavin's Submissives by Sam Crescent

8/5/2013

Gavin's Submissives (Creek Valley #1)
by Sam Crescent
Genre: menage (M/M/F) BDSM erotic romance
Length: novel
TBR Reviewer: Amanda
Rating: 4 Stars - Recommended Read.
Heat: 4 - An Erotic Ride.

When Landon finds out that Heidi, a young woman he loved since his younger days, is divorced and coming back to their hometown, he and his master make plans to make her theirs. Heidi is emotionally beaten, insecure, and has no idea why Gavin and Landon want her with them. As the three of them try to build a relationship, Landon makes a huge mistake that threatens everything they are building and Heidi's ex-husband follows her to town, setting up a showdown for her future.

This book sets up a new series in a town where gay or poly relationships are accepted, so none of the problems come from the fact that their relationship is not the standard male/female one. Instead, one man's foolish words and the hurt he causes people he loves just goes to show that building any kind of relationship can have stumbles and trials. I liked the way Gavin and Heidi made Landon work to earn the forgiveness he needed without being overly cruel and how they were so much stronger afterwards. The only drawback was one seen in many romance stories, in that it seemed that time was telescoped
to make the relationship happen faster and Heidi got over the past abuse quickly. However, it was a story that had characters that knew each other in the past, so that helped make the speed more acceptable. I enjoyed it and would be happy to read more in the series.

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REVIEW: Bonded Hearts by Tamsin Baker

8/5/2013

Bonded Hearts (Third Bite #2) by
Tamsin Baker
Genre: paranormal historical menage romance (M/M/M)
Length: 77 pgs.
TBR Reviewer: Amanda
Rating: 4 Stars - Recommended Read.
Heat: 3 - Blush Worthy.

Eric and Malcolm are vampires that are nearly a thousand years old. In all that time, they have not found their third, the one person or vampire fated for them that will complete them. Without her or him, they are beginning to fade away and lose hold on their sanity. After realizing how bad the situation is, Lady Margaret Tonnington and her two vampire mates decide to throw a ball in hopes of helping their friends find their third. Only after meeting Jackson Essex do the two vampires realize that they will need more than just a meeting to save their lives.

In this story, a glimpse is given into the trio from the first book and their happy life and how they want to share the love. Margaret's meddling saves the day twice! This time, even more societal taboos have to be fought and Jackson really struggles, even to the point of lying to himself, Eric and Malcolm about what he truly wants and feels. Once the crisis point is reached though, the true mettle of the man shines through and of course, leads to the happily ever after ending the reader expects. I liked how the vampires were so old that it took them some time to "get" that Jackson was not going to just make the same snap decision they had about their suitability for each other. It was another very enjoyable read.

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