#34 Awaken Me Darkly (Alien Huntress, Book 1) by Gena Showalter

My Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Mia Snow is an agent for A.I.R. (Alien Investigation and Removal). She's been hunting aliens her entire life, and hated them ever since she was a little girl and they had killed at least one of her brothers, the other gone missing and never found.

Now she's on the hunt for an Arcadian that's killing human men and leaving them to be found in compromising positions. But if she's to find who's behind these murders, and save her partner in the process, she must accept help from the most unlikely of sources: a tall, exotic Arcadian by the name of Kyrin en Arr. And as she gets closer to the truth, and closer to Kyrin, she discovers some shocking secrets about herself in the process.

I went into this book not sure what to expect. I was thinking I might just be getting another romance in a paranormal wrapper, but I couldn't be further from the truth. :-) I totally enjoyed Gena's writing style, and Mia's kick ass character reminded me of the Anita Blake of old. This book would probably be considered more Paranormal Fantasy, or even Sci Fi because of the Aliens, though some of the powers they exhibit are very similar to what we see in Vampires in other stories: strength, quick moving, mind control, enhanced life, etc.

After finishing this story, I immediately added the rest of the series to my wishlist. There's currently one other published, Enslave Me Sweetly, with the next two coming in June and July 2007 actually being YA, and a return to the non-teen version in January 2008. I believe the YA books, going by the series title "Teen Alien Huntress", will take place in the same world but with different characters. (I added the forthcoming titles and release dates to the Ongoing Releases Dates thread at BookObsessed if you want all the details.)

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#33 When Darkness Comes by Alexandra Ivy

My Rating: 5 out of 10 stars

Abby Barlow has unknowingly become The Chalice, a host body for The Phoenix, the Goddess designed to keep the Prince of Darkness and his minions at bay. Dante is a 341 year old vampire who's been bound by ritual to protect The Chalice from all the demons and minions now hunting her. With the death of the current Chalice, and it's transference into Abby, they're now running for their lives from the demons that hunt the Chalice, in the hopes of bringing the Prince of Darkness back into our realm.

This book struck me from the beginning because the main character's last name is very similar to mine, and then on the very first page of the Prologue, the Duke of Granville is mentioned, and Granville is my Dad's middle name, taken from what was once part of his last name before he moved to America from England as a teen. In any case, it just struck me as quite coincidental. :-)

This is Alexandra Ivy's first novel and though the story itself was fairly decent, it did have a bit too much romance for my liking. Also, I thought her style left something to be desired. She was constantly using incomplete sentences as entire paragraphs! I know authors often do this for emphasis sometimes, but I thought it was very much overused, such that as a reader, you couldn't stop mid-way through a chapter because you might stop at a paragraph that makes no sense standing alone. I didn't like that... but I often see a lot of quirky things I don't like in an author's first novel anyway.

The story itself was supposed to contain an element of danger, and it tried to, but for some reason, it just didn't come across that way, probably because Abby and Dante were stopping to have sex every 1/2 hour. We hear at least once per chapter about his silver eyes, and long dark hair, and gorgeous body, etc. It's this kind of thing that made it too romance-y for me, and caused my attention to wander. Once I got beyond all these things though, I did enjoy the underlying story. If I hadn't, I would've given up without finishing. So I'm guessing romance readers might appreciate some of it more than I did.

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#32 Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms—a struggle that could very well mean her death.

When Kaye discovers she's actually a Changeling (changed at birth), her whole world starts to get really confusing, and some of the new friends she's met could possibly be her worst enemies.

I really enjoyed this book, which portrays the struggle between the Seelie and the Unseelie Court of Faerie. It is dark and suspenseful, and definitely doesn't refer to the light fairy which perches on flowers and flutters about. I'm anxiously looking forward to book 2, Valiant, which is also waiting here on Mt. TBR.

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#31 Vamps and the City by Kerrelyn Sparks

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Darcy Newhart has only been a vamp for 4 years now, but every day she longs for her previous life: the sun, the beach, and the man of her dreams, an Apollo-like Sun God! Little did she expect to meet him on the set of her new reality TV show, The Sexiest Man on Earth. Now Adam, an Undercover agent for the Vampire Stake-Out team, has been accepted to participate in the competition, undercover of course. He falls hard for Darcy, not realizing at first that she's a vampire, and she's totally smitten with him as well. But can things work out between them when they're both from two separate worlds... and when one of them is actually a vampire slayer.

I'm not sure I enjoyed this second book in the Love at Stake series as much as the first, How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire. Some of the events were a bit too far-fetched to be believable, even in a novel based on fantasy such as this is. A few times I found myself thinking, "yeah right, as if that would happen". Beyond that however, there was some good action, the romance scenes weren't too sappy, and it was a pretty enjoyable read. :-)

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#30 Legend of the Jade Dragon: A Chintz 'n China Mystery by Yasmine Galenorn

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

The bad luck begins for Emerald O'Brien after a client leaves a statue of a jade dragon at her shop, and is then struck by a hit-and-run driver right outside her store. To thwart the statue's curse, Em and her friends will have to follow a trail of heartache which leads all the way back to China's Ming Dynasty.

I enjoyed this second story in the Chintz 'n China Mysteries as much as the first. The author herself is a Witch and Wiccan High Priestess, and uses her knowledge of Wicca and Paganism well in these stories, portraying Em's character realistically in integrating her magickal practices with her everyday life. And with just the right amount of the fantastical added in. :)

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#29 I Thirst for You by Susan Sizemore

My Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

Marcus Cage is on the run from some shady characters conducting experiments on him to discover the secret of immortality. The poor vampire has been driven mad and his heightened senses upon his escape lead him right to Josephine Elliot. Her empathic qualities, though psychically wounded, call to him in the night, and he goes to her craving what he needs to bring back his strength and sanity.

This is a story of love on the run, between an immortal "Prime" and his bondmate. For those who enjoy romances, this is a book worth reading. The writing was good, and there was a modicum of suspense added to the story line which made it more interesting for me. However, since the main premise pretty much revolves around the romantic relationship between Cage and Jo, it wasn't one of my favorites. But at least the sex scenes were a bit above the tame or lame-o-meater! (pun intended) LOL

I think Ms. Sizemore holds a lot of promise as a writer, so though I don't particularly care for this genre (the romance part, not the paranormal), I'm happy that I've got her Laws of the Blood urban fantasy series (also vamp) waiting here on Mt. TBR.

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#28 Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean by Justin Somper

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Twins Connor and Grace never dreamed that there was any truth to the Vampirate shanty their father sang to them before he died, but that was before the two were shipwrecked and separated from each other. For Connor, who is taken aboard a pirate ship, there's the chance to learn to sword fight, but for Grace, aboard a mysterious ship of vampire pirates, the danger is great. The twins want more than anything to find each other, but their time is limited and they're an ocean apart.

This was a swift-moving, interesting read... reminded me a bit of Darren Shan's wonderful Cirque Du Freak series. It's young adult so not a very complex or convoluted story line, but that simply made for an even quicker read considering it's 330 pages.

Though all ends on a happy note when Connor and Grace are eventually reunited, another danger has boarded the Diablo, which causes the story to end on another minor cliffhanger, and thus left me craving Tide of Terror, the next in the series.

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#27 Secrets, Volume 8 by Jeanie Cesarini, MaryJanice Davidson, Alice Gaines, Liz Maverick

My Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

Taming Kate by Jeanie Cesarini:
When Kathryn Roman inherits a legal brothel, she refuses to trade her high-powered career in Manhattan for a life in the wild, wild west. Little does this city girl know that the town of Love, Nevada wants her to be their new madam so they've charged Trey Holliday, one very dominant cowboy, with Taming Kate.

A so-so story. The whole cowboy/pretty lady thing got old pretty fast. I can't say I disliked it totally though, only that there was a bit too much romance for my liking.
Rating: 4 stars

Jared's Wolf by MaryJanice Davidson:
Jared Rocke will do anything to avenge his sister's death, even believe in werewolves. What he doesn't believe is that he's attracted to Moira Wolfbauer, the she-wolf sworn to protect her pack. In Jared's Wolf, two enemies must join forces to stop a killer while learning that love defies all boundaries—even those between species.

Much better than the first story, which to me read much more like a pure romance novel, a genre I don't particularly care for.

These are the first 2 Wyndham Werewolves stories written by MJD's. And I specifically put off reading Derik's Bane, Dead and Loving It, and even Undead and Unpopular until I read these two short stories, "Love's Prisoner" from Secrets 6, and this one from Secrets 8. I'm now more looking forward to reading Derik's Bane since I should feel like I'm coming back to familiar friends.
Rating: 8 stars

My Champion, My Love by Alice Gaines:
My Champion, My Love tells the tale of Celeste Broder, a woman committed for a sexy appetite that is tolerated in the men, but not the women of her time. She desperately needs a champion, and finds one in mayor Robert Albright. If she can convince him her freedom will mean a chance to indulge their appetites together.

Bah, this story was so boring I don't even know how or why I finished it! I guess I can only blame it on my OCD, my need to complete things I start, and particularly since I liked the stories in Secrets 6 so much better.

One of my main problems with this story is due to the fact that this story takes place back in 1888, when things were extremely uptight and Puritan sexually. And that alone is a huge pet peeve of mine! I hate the sexual repression we live with even today, and since the basis of this story was the fact that Celeste was put into an insane asylum because of her strong sexual nature and the books she read had me screaming with indignation on her behalf. And I guess because I don't really like romances just for the sake of romance, without any danger or other stuff in the story. And this story just did not have enough "other stuff" for me, and not nearly enough erotica. *sigh*
Rating: 3 stars

Kiss or Kill by Liz Maverick:
In this post apocalyptic world, Camille Kazinsky's military career rides on her ability to make a choice—whether the robo called Meat should live or die. Meat's future depends on proving he's human enough to live, man enough... Should Camille Kiss or Kill this man/machine that makes her feel like a woman?

I really liked this story a lot and was surprised to read that the short story appearing here in Secrets 8 was her first published work. I have a couple of her books from the Crimson City series, including the first one aptly named Crimson City, waiting on Mt. TBR so now I'm more looking forward to reading that.

Unlike the Cesarini and Gaines stories in this anthology, this was a lot more erotic and thus was more to my liking. And for the romance portion, I didn't have to deal with a swooning female and a bunch of "mushy gushy". LOL The sex scenes weren't really long, but were explicit enough to get me hot! ;-)
Rating: 7 stars


Overall, I'm rating this book a 6 when I average out the 4 individual ratings (which actually come to 5.5). The stories from Davidson and Maverick definitely made this anthology worth reading. The other two I wouldn't recommend for anyone who's not a die-hard romance fan.

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