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Blood Kiss (Black Dagger Legacy, #1)
Blood Kiss (Black Dagger Legacy, #1)
J.R. Ward | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I read my first Black Dagger Brotherhood book back in 2010, I think, and fell in love with this group of warriors. I have books 1-12 in paperback and they sit proudly on my bookshelf, as shown below

I guess it's not fair to have favourites but two of them always stick in my head: Rhage and Vishous, though all the guys are memorable. The King, Wrath's second book in the series took me a while to read so I gave up on the series for a while, though I have been buying the rest of the books in this series as Kindle books.
This spin off series - Black Dagger Legacy - is about the original guys finding new recruits who they will train so they can help them take on the lessers and any other threats to their population.

This one follows Paradise, a society heir who wants more from her life than parties so she fills in an application form and hopes her father will give her permission to join the programme and he does, believing she won't make it very far. Paradise proves everyone wrong, though, including Craeg - fellow trainee and the guy she has an intense attraction towards. And the feeling is definitely mutual.

I enjoyed watching this play out, although Craeg's reluctance to start with annoyed me a little. But Paradise certainly wore him down in the end and it was fun watching.

It also focuses on Butch and Marissa's relationship. Both are dealing - or more precisely NOT dealing - with issues from their pasts and it's starting to drive a wedge between them. Then there's the battered female that comes into Safe Place - where Marissa works - on the brink of death that brings up old memories.

I did enjoy seeing a lot of the brothers again, it reminded me why I love this series and I can't wait to read more. I think The Shadows will be my next read.
  
This review and more can be found at my blog https://aromancereadersreviews.blogspot.com A Romance Reader's Reviews

This has been borrowed from the Kindle Unlimited library.

It's been a good five years or so since I read books one and two in this series and I honestly can't remember that much other than their initial hostility during that first murder in book one and them hashing things out until they ended up together and then in the second one them going through a lot of ups and downs. Oh, and the dead bodies of course.

They're now moving in together and as J.X. goes off to a writers convention, Kit stays home to unpack and ends up finding a dead body in one of the boxes. As police come to investigate, they identify the body as a wanted art thief and that's when the mystery begins. Who killed him? Who stowed his body in the van? Where are the missing coins?

Once again, things aren't the smoothest for our couple. They argue and fight about stupid things, about important things and then realise they might have been wrong and try and make things right again. It was a bit of a rollercoaster.

As for the mystery of the murder and the missing coins? I didn't see it coming but at the same time I wasn't all that caught up in it all. I was more interested in Kit and J.X's relationship.

I found Jerry rather creepy in the way he kept appearing but I won't go into too much detail about him or it will spoil it for you.

I enjoyed seeing Adrien and Jake make an appearance in this. I never read the full series - unfortunately! - only books 4 and 5 and really fell for the couple, though I soon realised they'd been through some crap so to see them happy is great.

I'm unsure as of yet if I will continue the series.
  
Gypsy Blood (All The Pretty Monsters #1)
Gypsy Blood (All The Pretty Monsters #1)
Kristy Cunning | 2020 | Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
193 of 200
Kindle
Gypsy Blood ( All the pretty monsters book 1)
By Kristy Cunning

 
I'm not all that special, really. Or uncommon. I'm sure there are a lot of girls with old gypsy blood who see the dead, have killer cults hunting their family, and turn into something that gets scary when they panic. Yep. Completely unoriginal, if I do say so myself.
Move along. Nothing to see here. Nope. I'm just an ordinary girl.

I wish people would believe that.

I've been labeled as one thing or another for most of my life:
Death Girl.
Crazy Gypsy Girl.
Gothic Chick.
Monster...

It took my mother's death for me to finally start getting answers about what's really been going on. Unfortunately, most of the answers come from men...who aren't just men. Somehow, I've gone and landed myself in a world truly filled with monsters, and I'm starting to think this is where I should have been all along.

Only...I don't understand what's going on. I'm walking into the middle of a story that's thousands of years old, and I'm the new girl on the block who doesn't have a clue how this world even works. My only guides happen to be the most lethal of the bunch.

They decide who lives or dies. They decide who gets stabbed or tortured.
Yeah...

I've gone and drawn attention to myself, and the ones paying attention are the ones everyone else seems to fear.

How do these things always happen to me?


I didn’t know what to except but found myself totally involved! I love the idea of these alphas and I love her Gypsy powers and how she still has so much to learn! We get to learn with her because this is written so you want to keep going! Anna her ghost is so bloody funny I laughed quite a bit woke my husband several times from sleep! I do think Ace was a bit obvious and she was a bit stupid there but now things get a bit more interesting
  
Reap This Too (Oh So Happy Holidays #2)
Reap This Too (Oh So Happy Holidays #2)
Rafe Jadison | 2020 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I sent a right snotty message to Mr Jadison!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 2 in the series, and you MUST, I say, MUST read book one, Reap This, before you read this one. You NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED it for the full experience!

Ian is Seamus' twin, but he doesn't class himself as a good witch. Taking himself off to see the Pyramids, he becomes involved in a chase across the world. And he falls in love!

I loved this book, more than book one. It's again only short, and only Ian has a say, Khnurn the vampire doesn't get a voice. And of COURSE I wanted to hear from him, epsecially as there is history here between Ian and Khnurn.

Well, I was loving it, until, Jadison does what he does and you have never heard such foul language come out of my mouth!

I mean, there I was, happily reading away. The spectre that chased Ian across the globe wants his reward. I couldn't see how that would happen but then??

THEN???

Well, I can't say exactly, cos spoilers, but suffice to say, I had a proper Violet Elizabeth moment (google it ;-)) and I threw my toys out the pram, and I spat my dummy out and I flung my poor kindle so hard it bounced off the bed and I was worried I had broken it! And I sent a right snotty message to Mr Jadison, telling him just what I thought of what he did and asking how he was gonna fix it! Because it needs fixing!

There was a hint as to that it would be fixed, to be fair, I just can't see HOW it's gonna be fixed.

Anyways! Even though Mr Jadison done caused me to turn the air blue, or maybe BECAUSE he did, I don't much care either way . . .

5 full and blue streaked stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Tristan (The Hawks, #1)
Tristan (The Hawks, #1)
Jennie Lynn Roberts | 2021 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
TRISTAN is the first book in The Hawks series and be prepared to lose your heart to every single one of these men!!!

After many years of war, a chance of peace happens, before betrayal takes over. This devastates Tristan as it looks -- and he is told by his king -- that his best friend is one of those responsible. He is sent away from the main city as penance for 'allowing' the old king to die. Whilst he and his men are gone, lots of changes take place, and none of them good.

What a brilliant story!!! Now, as an unbiased reader, I can tell you I was shouting at my kindle when Tristan believed the prince. I mean, come on, but Tristan was honourable and loyal, and his vow to the king was everything. Nim is Val's sister and believes him to be innocent. Of course, this may have something to do with the way she is treated by the king and his chancellor. When she escapes them, the only thought in her mind is to save her brother. Once she is captured by Tristan and his men, things get really interesting.

The world-building is simply sublime! Details are given in passing that you won't even need to think about, just because they simply are! Wings, scales, healing, you name it. I just want to know more! It is a fast-paced story that takes you on a steamy, and sometimes violent, adventure - where good is good and bad is downright horrible.

As a first book in a series, it's amazing. As a debut novel, it's astounding. I was captured by this world, and the characters who live there, and I really can't wait for more. Absolutely fantastic and highly recommended by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
Okay, upfront confession.. I am someone who spent 9 years of his life learning/experiencing the joy that is owning (or, maybe in my case, it would be <i>owned by</i> a Mini Schnauzer! They were some of the best years of my life, and it helped me realize how awesome the breed is! So, that said, when I saw this book offered for my Kindle, I had to get it!

The author lets you know upfront that it is a book for young adults, but that it could be enjoyed by parents, or even those who opted not to be parents. Either way, I was kinda prepared when I went into it. What I was <u>not</u> prepared for was how much I enjoyed the book!

Forner is clearly a fellow Schnauzer enthusiast, as well as being a parent to one. It shows in the way that he writes for the character of Monty, coming off as someone who has had experience with one, as well as paying good attention to their behaviors.

I sometimes like to read before going to sleep, but unfortunately, it tends to leave me waking up the next morning having to re-read what I read the night before, as it was just too much to remember after I fell asleep. With ...THE CASE OF THE STEALTHY CAT BURGLAR, I was provided with a suitable way to a) have an enjoyable read before bed and b) have a book that I could read a couple chapters before bed and still be able to remember them in the one. Bravo, good sir!

Look, this is a great little read! Only folks who probably wouldn't enjoy are cat lovers and people without a soul! Now, that's enough from me, go get this book and be prepared to enjoy the heck out of it!

Now, where is Monty's next adventure, hmm? ;)
  
Digging Up the Dead (The Gravedigger #3)
Digging Up the Dead (The Gravedigger #3)
Willie E Dalton | 2020 | Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
200 of 200
Kindle
Digging up the Dead ( The Gravedigger book 2)
By Willie E. Dalton

Reapers, vampires, and… zombies?”

I wasn’t sure just how much more emotional upheaval I was capable of handling. I never knew this would still be an issue after death. I was still coping with the latest trauma, when my best friend, Grace came to me with startling news. Boude, her boyfriend, was missing.
Vampire affairs is something I try to avoid, after all, the vampire Rasputin had tried to kill me more than once, and had been the one to take Grace’s eye and disfigure the side of her lovely face. I had a sneaking suspicion he was also the one behind our missing friend.
Not one to sit idly by while my friend suffered, I started investigating the inner workings of the Vampire Quarter; a breathtaking and sinister area of the underworld.
In the fields of the dead, bodies were disappearing as fast as the other reapers and I could dig them up, and things at the Assignment Hall were profoundly more strange as all of the employees suddenly had fangs.
The deeper we kept digging into the bizarre events, a terrifying plot unfolded that could bring down the underworld as we knew it. And when the bodies in the field started clawing their way out of the graves, I realized we were up against something more powerful than we could ever have imagined.




Been a while since I read book 2 but was able to pick it up and remember exactly where it left off! I enjoy this series it’s a totally different take on how life in the afterlife is. I kinda wished they made more of the big bars death though. Also separating Hell and Soren hoping they find a way back to each other! I like the idea of Hell covering for Persephone as queen too!
  
Stolen (Saving Setora #1)
Stolen (Saving Setora #1)
Raven Dark, Petra J. Knox | 2020 | Dystopia, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
180 of 200
Kindle
Stolen ( saving setora book 1)
By Raven Dark and Petra J. Knox

 
It all began when the road warriors found me outside Hell's Burning, lost and dehydrated. When the bikers took me into The Compound, I thought I was saved.

Especially when, as a Violet - a rare genetic anomaly prized above all - I'm taken in and raised by one of the wealthiest men in the world. Educated and groomed by the best teachers money could buy, I mistakenly thought he had a great future planned for me, one in which I'd be cared for and cherished.

I was wrong.

For centuries, women have been sold as slaves. In my 18th year, my benefactor reveals a truth that shatters my world. I'm to be put on display before the wealthiest of society at one of the biggest auctions this world has ever seen... as a slave.

But that night at the auction, something goes wrong. I am stolen by members of the infamous Dark Legion, a road warrior crew feared the world over. Torn from the only world I have ever known, now I have not one master, but four.

I shouldn't want these dangerous, deadly men with their leather cuts and their growling bikes, but the deeper my captors draw me into their dark and twisted world, the more I crave what they do to me. They stole me from a powerful man who'll stop at nothing to get me back. If I don't find a way to escape soon, my new masters might just steal my heart.

* trigger warning for this book *

Not quite sure where I stand on this book! It definitely needs a trigger warning for several reasons! I was searching somewhere through for one of these “men” to redeem yea Hawk isn’t as bad as the others. I did enjoy the writing style I’m just still not sure of where it’s going I like a bit of dark but is this too dark?
  
Wolf Girl (Wolf Girl, #1)
Wolf Girl (Wolf Girl, #1)
Leia Stone | 2020 | Paranormal, Romance
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I got this from the Kindle Unlimited library

This starts with Demi being picked on by her school class for being the only shapeshifter and her trapped wolf trying to break free causing her to leave the room at a run and heading outside where she lets out a howl of pure anger. Only she isn't alone, an attractive wolf shifter - Sawyer - is behind her and invites her back to Wolf City - turns out he's the Alpha's son and will be Alpha very soon himself - and she goes with him, not expecting much, but finds herself included in a strange sort of real life The Bachelor type scenario.

I've never watched The Bachelor but i know the general idea for the show and this felt very similar. Although it was clear from early on that Sawyer is very much into Demi - more than any of the other girls, anyway. I liked how different it was in that way, I've never read a book that went along the lines of a dating show. It was kinda fun.

I actually really liked Sawyer. He wasn't the typical Alpha shifter. He could be very humble at times and was always considerate of what Demi wanted, unlike most other shifters you read about who are rather demanding and shove their thoughts and feelings onto others. I REALLY liked him!
Until that end bit! What was that all about? Doing a total 180 because of one strange thing that happened and then publicly declaring your marriage to someone else without talking about it? That totally knocked my rating down a full star because after everything that you'd done for each other, you do that to her?! It was totally out of left field.
Fair enough Demi thinks she's figured out whats happened but then it ended and I'm all up in the air. On one hand I was loving it up until that last chapter or so...

I need book 2 pronto so I can see what happens next with these two.
  
The Burning Chambers (The Burning Chambers #1)
The Burning Chambers (The Burning Chambers #1)
Kate Mosse | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance
9
8.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is an immersive experience! I found myself drawn in to the world of 16th Century France - and to be fair, it was all pretty exciting stuff! Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres, one of my ‘go-to’s’, and this did not disappoint one bit. It’s a story of religion, conflict, ambition, with a bit of a love story thrown in for good measure.

It’s all history that I know little about - my history education being that of the carefully selected English type. I’ve always tried to find out more about European history (ahem, German degree) and further afield if I can, and historical fiction makes it a bit more interesting than a dry history book. This book taught me a lot about the tensions between the catholic majority, and the Huguenot minority.

Minou is the 19 year old daughter of a bookseller, and lives in Carcassonne with her family. She meets Piet, a Huguenot convert, and helps him to escape from the town. Later, in Toulouse, they meet again in far more dangerous circumstances. They become trapped in a city at war - Catholic against Huguenot - and someone that Piet believes is a friend is very far from that. In Puivert, the chatelaine of the castle has a secret that she wants to keep hidden, and the only way to do that is for her to find Minou.

First, the most obvious thing: this is one big book. It’s the kind of book that I would buy on my kindle, because at 600+ pages, it definitely won’t fit in my handbag! The Pigeonhole is great for these circumstances!

Secondly, although this book is a serious whopper, it didn’t feel that way when I was reading it. It’s an exciting, fast-paced, delight of a read. It has it all: action, history, romance. Everything that makes for a compulsive read! The heroes and heroines are good, and the villains are thoroughly bad, and I loved them all!