Lord Of The Vampires- Gena Showalter

4 out of 5 stars.

This is the first in a new series by 4 different paranormal romance authors. This one is by Gena Showalter, and is the first Gena Showalter book I have read. I must say it is unlikely to be my last! Full of original ideas and steamy scenes, this has everything you need in a paranormal romance.

This book centres around Nicolai, who is a vampire being held as a sex slave and Jane, a human scientist who finds herself magically transported into Nicolai's world. Which is handy for her, because he's her predestined soulmate! Not so handy for Nicolai who finds himself unable to carry out his original plans to escape slavery due to his complicated emotions for Jane.

Nicolai is a real alpha male, which makes for some great action scenes of both the steamy and the non steamy variety. Jane is strong, intelligent and feisty; the kind of heroine you can really get to like.

The world building was excellent, and the alternating POV's added interest and allowed a connection with both of the main characters. Along with the romantic elements of the book there is a great balance of action and humour and the pace of the book is perfect.

This is a good, fast read that will definitely leave you wanting more.

Beyond The Grave- Mara Purnhagen

Beyond the Grave by Mara Purnhagen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The third and final addition to this series, and a fairly good read although not my favourite book of the trilogy. I found myself being frustrated sometimes with Charlotte's inability to see what was going on in front of her. The book has a few twists and turns, but I had guessed them all before they happened and was just waiting for our heroine to catch up. The ending does wrap everything up nicely though.

The story starts shortly after One Hundred Candles left off, and there is a novella "Haunting The Night" that bridges the gap between One Hundred Candles and Beyond the Grave.

Although Noah played a big part in the story, I was disappointed that we don't really get to see very much of him. There was also a lot of setting the background for the finale, and minimal action in the first two thirds of the book.

Charlotte has a hard time in this book, struggling with her mum being in a coma and starting community college when her best friend has gone away to college. She is feeling pretty low but manages to find a good friendship in an unusual place! Over the course of the book we see the emotional growth in Charlotte as she pushes through her problems and gets her 'spark' back with the help of her friends and family.

I did enjoy the story and how it developed on and concluded the events in the first two books. if you have read the other two books in the series, Past Midnight and One Hundred Candles then I do recommend this book. It would not make a very good stand alone story, as I do think that you would need to understand previous events before really being able to appreciate it.





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Killing Time- Elisa Paige

Killing Time by Elisa Paige

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Fast becoming one of my favourite series, the second book in the Time series by Elisa Paige was almost as good as the first. Feisty heroine with slightly shady background? Check. Gorgeous love interest? Check. Nefarious scheme to upset the natural balance of the world as we know it? Check. Not earth shatteringly original but still a definite must read. I am astonished that this isn't as well known as some other, IMO inferior, PNR.

There was a slight 'sameness' to this book with Ms Paige's other books that lost it that one star for me. However, as other reviewers have pointed out, this lady can write! Rich world building and sensitive character development make this another book that is a pleasure to read.

The romance develops realistically over a reasonable amount of time so that we really start to identify with the main characters. The action is, well, action packed, and there is plenty of it to keep the plot moving along at a good pace. Although I was a bit sad to not be spending more time with James and Evie, I soon grew to love the new characters and the overall story arc develops over the course of events, continuing on from Stealing Time.

If you haven't already started this series then I suggest you get yourself a copy of Stealing Time to see what all the fuss is about. If you've already read Stealing Time then no doubt you've pre-ordered Killing Time, I know I did!



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Divine Misdemeanours- Laurell K Hamilton

Spoiler Alert! Don't read on if you don't want to see spoilers. I usually avoid them but couldn't say what I needed to without them on this.

I am a big fan of the series but I found this book pretty disappointing. There have been many incidents discussed in the book and series at length- the return of the sidhe powers to Merry's lovers, the Goddess answering Merry's prayers and crowning her queen (which she turned down), Merry's pregnancy etc, etc. This book had the opportunity to expand on these and give us some kind of plot development and tie up some of the very many loose ends. Instead there was a half hearted serial killer and too many pointless sex scenes fleshing out the book and we are still left with no answers at all.

There was an inordinate amount of explaining and re-explaining the same thing. Frost and Doyle are stuck on the phrases "I was once the Killing Frost" and "I was once the Queen's Darkness" nothing we weren't already aware of!

Also, we get drawn out descriptions of the same characters we already know as well as detailed dialogue on long, ankle length hair. Page space that would have been better used to develop the plot.

Most of the rest of the book is devoted to petty bickering between Merry's "people", and her putting the men in their place.

The small amount of page space left is devoted to the "killer Tinkerbelle" storyline.

All in all a forgettable instalment to a series that I will be seriously reconsidering continuing with.

Spell Bound - Kelley Armstrong

Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Another great book from Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series. This book is the second of the final 3 books which are narrated by Savannah Levine.



I wasn't sure I'd enjoy Savannah as a narrator. I loved all the books but the novellas and shorts that have Eve as a narrator are my least favourite. As Savannah is similar to Eve I was apprehensive. Luckily I have really enjoyed them, especially seeing how much Savannah has grown and evolved over the two books. I am looking forward to seeing her develop further in the final story.



The romance between Savannah and Adam was really good, although I suppose it is technically more romantic tension than actual romance! I loved getting an insight into their relationship with each other that has been growing since Paige's books.



There was plenty of action to keep me turning pages and practically all of the recurring characters play a role in this book. I love how threads from previous books in the series are coming together and am excited to see exactly what is in store for the main characters. I'm just sad that it will be quite a while before I get to find out.



Overall a great addition to a brilliant series.



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Always a Witch - Carolyn MacCullough

Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book is a fun, fairly quick read. I made the mistake of starting it on the bus journey to work and was a third of the way through by the time I got there. The reason this was a mistake is that I couldn't stop thinking about it in work, and was even more desperate for the end of the day so I could finish it!

I definitely recommend that if you read this book you set time aside and read it in one sitting. The story is well paced and the world building is good and expands on the elements introduced in the first book. I really enjoyed the historical aspect to the story. It is a sequel to Once a Witch and whilst you could read this as a standalone the experience will be better if you have read Once a Witch.

The story follows Tamsin as she travels back in time to protect her family from a rival witch family who have been using blood magic to enhance their powers. This time Tamsin travels back without her boyfriend Gabriel with no way of knowing if, or how, she will be able to return.

She soon finds herself in the midst of the Knight family and in grave danger. Relying on her ancestors to trust and help her is not as easy as she had hoped, but luckily help finally arrives and she manages to set everything right. Unfortunately, saving her family and their future comes at a high price.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is perfect when you want a quick read with a fast moving, interesting story. The characters are well written and the members of the Knight family were particularly well done.





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