BLOGGER TEMPLATES - TWITTER BACKGROUNDS

Can't Wait

Styxx

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Review of Jaguar Fever



JAGUAR FEVER may be purchased here.

JAGUAR FEVER
Terry Spear

Maya Andersen, a jaguar shifter, hasn't been around others of her kind, much, except for her brother.  So when Maya discovers a club in a nearby city that caters to jaguar shifters, she is game to go and have some fun.  Maya has, also, discovered some cousins, whom she plans to meet at the club.  Once at the club, Maya causes a stir among the male shifters, especially Wade Patterson.  Wade has come to the club to investigate the illegal smuggling and hunting of jaguars.  Of course, Maya gets involved in the investigation and helps Wade and his brother.

JAGUAR FEVER is an enjoyable paranormal romance with interesting characters and an action-filled plot.  I really enjoyed the fact, that Maya could take care of herself and didn't take any guff from the overprotective, alpha male shifters in her life.  Wade is a great hero, who although he wants to claim Maya from their first meeting, gives her the space she needs to overcome her fears.  Maya is hesitant to have a long-term relationship, because her father deserted her brother and herself, when he learned their mother was pregnant.  Along with being a good romance, this book contains lots of action and adventure dealing with the smugglers.

All in all, JAGUAR FEVER is an entertaining read, which I recommend.  I'll be on the lookout for the next book in the series.

NOTE:  I received this book in return for an impartial review.  

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Review of Once Upon a Tartan




ONCE UPON A TARTAN may be purchased here.

ONCE UPON A TARTAN
Grace Burrowes

Tiberius "Tye" Lamartine Flynn, the Earl of Spathfoy and heir to a marquessate, travels to Scotland on a mission from his father to retrieve his niece, Fiona, from her Scottish relatives.  Hester Daniels, Fiona's step-aunt has been left to care for Fiona, while Fiona's mother and step-father are on their honeymoon.  Hester has been hurt by a smooth-talking Englishman and left to face the scandal alone. Therefore, Hester is reluctant to trust Tye but is very attracted to him.

ONCE UPON A TARTAN is a lovely Victorian romance with lovable characters and a satisfying ending.  Tye is one of my favorite heroes, to date.  At first, Tye seems all British reserve and stiff upper lip, but Hester and Fiona worm their way into his heart, and he must make a choice between honor and love.  There are times that Tye reminds me of my all-time favorite hero, Mr. Darcy.  I find myself falling a little bit for Tye.  Who wouldn't love a man, who puts his family first and dotes on his horse?  Hester is a great heroine, who has been shuffled off to Scotland in disgrace but is determined to do the best for Fiona, whom she loves.  Hester finds herself falling for Tye but is hesitant to commit, because of her past situation.  There are numerous scenes which made me smile, and Fiona and Tye's horse are great characters on their own.

All in all, ONCE UPON A TARTAN is a heart-warming romance, which I highly recommend.  It saddened me to read the last page, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

NOTE:  I received this book in return for an impartial review.


Thursday, August 22, 2013

Easy Canvas Giveaway and Review



Easy Canvas contacted me about reviewing their canvases, and I was happy to comply.  The ordering process was super easy and the canvas arrived very quickly.  The above picture is the canvas, that I chose.  It has a great look, and I've really been enjoying it.  I haven't hung it, yet, but will hang it someplace prominent, because it makes me smile and brightens my day.  These canvases would make awesome gifts, and you might want to get one for yourself.

The kind people at Easy Canvas are offering a canvas to one of my readers. (US only)
Please enter via the rafflecopter below.  This giveaway is sponsored by Easy Canvas and they will handle everything dealing with it.


a Rafflecopter giveaway




Canvas
Photo on Canvas

NOTE:  I received this product in return for an impartial review.

Review of Tall, Dark, and Vampire



TALL, DARK, AND VAMPIRE may be purchased here.

TALL, DARK, AND VAMPIRE
Sara Humphreys

Olivia Hollingsworth, a vampire, has remained faithful to her deceased lover for three centuries.  When Doug Paxton, a cop, arrives at her club to investigate a murder, Olivia is shocked to see the spitting image of her lover.  Olivia, immediately, feels a connection, but she feels she must let him go.  Olivia doesn't wish to turn him into a vampire, like herself.  Unfortunately, a rogue vampire is making more rogue vampires, and they are going on killing sprees, which seem to be focused on Olivia's nightclub.

TALL, DARK, AND VAMPIRE is an entertaining paranormal romance with likable characters and an action-packed storyline.  Olivia is a strong, intelligent, heroine, who has a soft spot for strays and has made her own little family.  Doug is thrown into a world that seems unbelievable, but he adapts very quickly and soon becomes a great partner for Olivia.  From almost the very beginning, I was drawn into Olivia's world, became involved with her struggles, and grew to like the characters in her "family". 

NOTE:  I received this book in return for an unbiased review.  

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Deathwatch Release Day Blitz



DEATHWATCH by Dana Marton releases August 19th and may be purchased here.  DEATHWATCH is the third book in the Broslin Creek series.  DEATHSCAPE is book 1 and may be purchased here.  DEATHTRAP is book 2 and may be purchased here.

Deathwatch Blurb:
The only person who can identify the most notorious hit man in the country, Kate Bridges is running for her life. Murphy Dolan is in the Army Reserves, returning from his 2nd tour of duty, only to find a stranger hiding in his house. She's scared spitless. He's completely burned out on violence. Neither has any trust left to give.


Deathwatch Excerpt:
“Let’s try one more time.” Murph moved toward her. “Pretend I’m the assassin. Murph is dead out in the kitchen. You’re out of bullets and cornered.” He reached for her. “First choice?”
“Kill the bastard.” Kate grabbed for the barstool and whacked him in the head as hard as she could, but he twisted in the last second and the blow glanced off his skull.
He’d ordered her right at the beginning, fairly forcefully, to hold nothing back. And then he’d pushed and pushed, baiting and goading her. At this stage, if she maimed him, she figured he deserved it.
“Second choice?” He pushed forward with a growl.
“Incapacitate him then call 911.” She lunged forward instead of pulling back, and kicked at his most sensitive parts, but wobbled at the last second and missed by a fraction of an inch.
“Third choice?” He grabbed for her.
“Run like hell and live to see another day.” She put her head down, then yanked it up hard, smashing it into his chin so that his head snapped back and his grip on her slipped.
She ran for the stairs that led up.
He was on top of her in a second, bringing her down and pinning her. “Wrong move. What did we say about the stairs?”
“If I have a choice, go down.” The basement had an outside exit, while upstairs she could get trapped.
“Right.” He lifted his body off her and sat next to her, his eyes narrowing as he watched her struggle to catch her breath. His biceps bulged from under his black T-shirt that was barely wrinkled, while her shirt and pants looked like he’d mopped the house with her. Which, technically, he had.
She sat up. He was insanely strong. She hadn’t expected that, considering his injury. And he was fast. He didn’t have to think about what move he was going to make next. He fought on instinct, while her instincts pushed her to run away screaming.
Except when they pushed her to throw herself into his arms. She looked away from him, not wanting him to read her pitiful reaction in her eyes.
“I’m going to reinforce the rainspouts. Then you can go upstairs if you have no other choice, and climb down without breaking your neck.”
“I can break my neck even if the rainspout doesn’t break under me. Severe balance deficiency. Remember?”
He closed his eyes for a second. “All right. If at all possible, go for the basement.” He reached into his pocket and gave her a set of car keys.
“What’s this?”
“I got a rental today. It’s parked in front of 212 Summer Lane. You run out the basement door, cross the back neighbors’ yard. It’s a black Mustang. There’s some money and a backup gun in the glove compartment. If all else fails, you get in and drive away. Tank is full. It has GPS. Just drive and be safe.”
“And you?”
“Don’t worry about me.”
Tension filled the air between them as they stared at each other.
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“We’re going up against a master hit man. We’re going to get hurt. Our best case scenario is just not to be dead when this is over.”
She drew back, her limbs going cold suddenly. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this. I could just leave. I’m good at running. I’m a hell of a lot better at running than I am at fighting.”
“If all goes well, you won’t have to fight. I’ll fight for you. We discussed this already. This is the only way you’ll ever be free. This is your best chance. You have a partner this time, someone who’s been trained both as a cop and a soldier. And we know Asael is here, that he’s coming. He loses the element of surprise.”
He moved closer and took her hand. “If you want to be free…I’m pretty sure it’s one of those now or never things. We’ll set the trap for the day after tomorrow. I don’t want to wait too long, or he might make his move when we’re not expecting it.”
She nodded.
“We’ll make a show of me going off,” he said. “But I’ll circle back and come in through the back door. When he comes, I’ll engage him. You go call for help. If he gets through me, you run for your life. But it’s not going to happen. I’m going to handle him.”
He stood then reached out to pull her to her feet.
She hesitated a moment before she asked, “How is your shoulder?”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
“Right. That’s why you still favor your right arm.”
“I can use my left arm.” He put his left hand under her chin, tilting her face to him. Then he lowered his head to hers and kissed her.
Everything went still inside her as his warm lips touched hers. She could barely remember the last time she’d been kissed. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed this, a man’s arms around her, his dark gaze boring into hers with scorching heat. And, boy, could Murph Dolan fix a girl with a look that sent tingles down all the way to her toes.
He smelled like man, tasted like coffee and felt like heaven.
Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she gave herself to the sensation of being pressed against his hard chest while his mouth explored her gently, teasing her, tasting her. His great warrior body vibrated with restrained need, but he took the kiss slowly.
He brushed his lips over hears in agonizingly slow motion, covering every nook and cranny, then catching her bottom lip between his teeth for a minute before he swept inside and tasted her fully, making her weak in the knees.
Maybe he remembered her balance issues, because he gathered her against him tightly. Part of her wouldn’t have minded staying like that forever.
“I wanted to do this from the moment I saw you sleeping in my bed,” he murmured against her mouth.
“I just wanted to shoot you,” she said the first thing that popped into her dazed mind, then caught herself and winced. “Sorry.”
He laughed as he stepped back. “That’s a very healthy survival instinct. We’re going to develop more of that in whatever little time we’ll be given.”
And then he attacked her.







Find Dana on facebook here.
Dana's website is here.

Author Bio:
Dana Marton writes fast-paced action-adventure romances that take her readers all over the globe. She is a Rita Award finalist and the winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence. She loves writing stories of intrigue, filled with dangerous plots that try her tough-as-nails heroes and the special women they fall in love with. Her books have been published in seven languages in eleven countries around the world.
She would love to hear from her readers.

Okay, the above version is the glamour version for press releases. The truth is that my path to publication was nothing but unglamorous. I wrote for 13 years and completed 4 books (as well as having others in various stages of completion) before I finally received a call from a Harlequin editor. I was beginning to wonder if I was being tenacious or just too dense to know when to quit. But it all worked out at the end! J I love, love, love writing and would spend all day in front of the computer if I could just break my family of the habit of wanting to eat and wear clean clothes. What’s up with that? But I must get up from the desk now and then, if only because my Internet connection goes down or my ancient PC overheats. Then I do enjoy cooking, knitting, hunting for treasures at the flea market, our Beagle, Peanut the Destroyer, and gardening.
I’d love it if you picked up one of my books and emailed me to tell me what you thought of it. I’ve been known to name characters after readers. Just ask Princess Judi.







\

Review of Serenya's Song



SERENYA'S SONG may be purchased here.

SERENYA'S SONG
Mysti Parker

Serenya Crowe is half elf and doesn't know, who her father is.  After her mother died giving birth to her, Serenya's stepfather takes Serenya and runs.  Serenya and her stepfather settle in Summerwind, where her stepfather owns a tavern.  Serenya has claw-like hands, that she keeps covered and can interpret dreams.  When her stepfather falls on hard times, Serenya marries Sebastian, the Earl of Summerwind, but after five years of marriage with no children, he proves to be abusive.  Then, Jaden Ravenwing enters the picture.  Jaden is a secret agent who decides to settle in Summerwind, while he recovers from a broken marriage and a broken heart.  When Serenya and Jaden meet, it is instant attraction, but the forces of evil have plans for Serenya.

SERENYA'S SONG is an enjoyable fantasy romance with complex world-building and intriguing characters.  While it took me a little while to get into the story, once I did, I was hooked.  Serenya isn't the kick-butt heroine, that I expected, but by the end, she shows great strength.  Ms. Parker does a great job of showing the psyche of an abused woman.  This part of the story felt really realistic and believable, even though, I wished Serenya would stand up for herself and leave her husband.  Jayden is Serenya's perfect match, and he is determined to save her.  Ms.  Parker creates a picturesque world, that can be beautiful but, also, terrifying.  I became involved with all the characters and the action and adventure kept me on the edge of my seat.  Sebastian, whom I thought I would hate, left me a little conflicted.  While his actions were reprehensible, they could be explained by some outside influences, and by the end, he did something that almost redeemed him in my eyes.

All in all, SERENYA'S SONG is a very entertaining fantasy romance, which I highly recommend.

NOTE:  I received this book in return for an unbiased review.