Review: M.L. Ryan - Special Rewards

The Coursodon Dimension Series:
 
Book 2:
 
Special Rewards: Hailey Parrish, Alex Sunderland and Sebastian Kess
 

 
Purchase on Amazon: M.L. Ryan - Special Rewards (The Coursodon Dimension)
Summary:
From Goodreads.com
What would you do if you discovered there was a parallel dimension?
 
Hailey Parrish used to be an average, everyday human. Boring, in fact. After being possessed by Sebastian Kess, a magically inclined enforcer from the parallel dimension Coursodon, her life took a decidedly less mundane turn. Besides coming to grips with the existence of supernatural beings, she risked her life helping Sebastian and her heart falling for his protégé, Alex Sunderland. Now, Hailey has to deal with the bit of arcane power that Sebastian left behind when he returned to his own body and try to stay out of the crossfire when an unknown assailant seeks revenge against Alex.
 
Review:
After reading the first book in this series and being very pleasantly surprised I was happy to take on the second book in this series as a review for the author M.L. Ryan. Not only is the author incredibly nice and willing to work with my review schedule, she can write a good story too! Nice with brains! Great combo!
 
When I started this book, I had totally forgotten how funny ML Ryan is, and I was quickly reminded as I was chuckling within the first few pages. Sarcasm is my favorite humor and there was plenty in this book. Hailey is one of those characters that have an uncanny knack for always finding some sort of trouble; she keeps the reader on their toes wondering what could possibly go wrong next. Hailey and her antics keep you entertained throughout the book. You can always count on her to provide you with a laugh or a wince as she gets into some sort of trouble.
 
The supporting cast in this series also has their own entertainment value. Sebastian or as Hailey calls him “Sabastard” is also good for a laugh, he is such an a$$, but admittedly a likeable one. He just has that way about him! Alex is a steady influence on the characters he’s kind of the rock of the group, somewhat unflappable. But don’t take Alex as a push over, he is definitely an alpha male at heart and is willing to risk his own life for Hailey’s and in this book, he has to do so several times. Hailey’s best friend while doesn’t make as many appearances in this book her presence often packs a humorous punch. One scene in particular that really comes to mind. I still laugh when I think of it!
 
Although, I wouldn’t call this book “action packed” it does have several moments of action and a few surprises up its sleeve. There are plenty of laughs to go around; which keep you entertained. While this is not always the most exciting, it is not a boring read. I found myself quite entertained and engaged in the story from beginning to end. What I also love about this series, is although this is an indie publishing it is well edited and intelligent. It is obvious this author has a vast vocabulary and/or knows how to use a thesaurus, which is totally welcome when reading!
 
*A copy of this title was provided to me by the author for an honest review. No other compensation was provided.
 
Rating:
 


 

Review: Maria V. Synder - Scent of Magic

The Healer Series:
 
Book 2:
 
Scent of Magic: Avry and Kerrick
 

 
Release Date: December 18, 2012
 
Purchase this book on Amazon: Maria V. Snyder - Scent of Magic (The Healers)
 
Summary:
From Goodreads.com
As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.
 
Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.
 
War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.
 
Review:
As with the previous book we got a very clear picture of this world. Maria V. Snyder definitely knows how to paint a picture with words. You can clear imagine the textures and the feelings of the world you are immersed in. It is one of my favorite things from this series and one of the reasons I am determined to at some point go back and read some of her other works. This is a feudal, medieval, magical world, where two opposing forces are battling to govern and “unite” the 15 Realms.
 
Tohan is just as evil in the second book as he is in the first, he is slimy and will use any tactic he can to gain ground. He is definitely a good bad guy as in you just don’t like him and want him to lose and someone to lop his damn head off! LOL! His army is basically made up of zombies that he controls and are basically unbeatable. It is up the opposing forces to find a way to beat them but most of them refuse to even believe that the army is possible. Avry is immersed in the army life so we get an in depth look at the army life and army camps and it is not pretty. Ms. Snyder does not mind getting to the nitty gritty and doesn’t paint a rose colored world. There is good, there is bad and there are shades in between.
 
Avry is just as fierce in the second book as she is in the first. With her second chance at life she decides that they have to beat Tohan, so she convinces Kerrick to let her go to the opposing forces camp so that she can spy and get information to her allies. She decides the best way that she can do that and help is to infiltrate the army and start to teach them to go silent. Since she is technically dead and no one but Kerrick knows she’s alive she has no problem getting into the army, but getting them to trust her is a whole other monster. They know she is hiding something but no one can figure it out, which is exactly how she needs it to stay, but it is getting harder and harder to keep her secret. As the threat nears it becomes clear that Avry may be of the few that can come up with a place to fend off the army of dead. While she is living the army life she is separated from Kerrick and their new love, her longing and worry for him is palpable. Your heart aches for her a little each time she touches leaves in the forest seeking him. She knows that the chances of ever seeing him again are not high, and when everyone returns and he’s not with him…
 
Kerrick, had his own little sections in this book. I can’t remember if he does in the first because well I don’t remember a whole lot from the first book since I read it over a year ago. LOL But I enjoyed my time from his POV. He gets approximately a third of the book to himself. In the first book, well I hated him for about half of the book because he was such an ass, but he turned it around and his better behavior continued into this book. He shows a softer side of himself with the children that Avry rescued and he starts to think of Avry and if they will ever be able to have children if this ever ends. His love for Avry is a wondrous thing, you wouldn’t think someone so hard would end up being so good for someone but somehow these two make it work. When he and Avry separate he leaves a chunk of his heart with Avry. However, his troubles are just beginning. He barely makes it back North when a new threat is discovered. An army of the Northern Tribes is making its way to his home land. Everyone knows that the tribes are vicious and take no prisoners. Kerrick has an army of 400 versus over a 1000 of the tribes and for every 3 of Kerricks people it is worth 1 of their fighters. Kerrick knows he’s not walking out of this one alive, but true to form he has to try because his homeland depends on it…
 
This book is full of action at every turn. It is gritty and interesting and I’d say a bit more grown up than the previous book. I still think this could still fall in the Young Adult Category, but it was more suggestive than the first. The conflict with Trohon escalates and blood is shed. Everyone’s lives are at risk. We take many twists and turns, we lose some people that you may have grown to love but we are introduced and reintroduced to new characters that may take up residency in your thoughts. I had really hoped that we would have reached a conclusion in this book, but it’s looking like there will be at least one more book in this series. I am on the fence if I will read the next one, but I did really enjoy this installment and it had me in its grips until the very end.

This book was provided through NetGalley for an honest review. No other compensation was given.
 
Rating:

Review: Laurann Dohner – Ral’s Woman

 
***Warning this review is of erotica, proceed with caution***

Zorn Warriors:
 
Book 1:
 
Ral's Woman: Ral and Ariel
 

 
Click Here to Order on Amazon: Laurann Dohner - Ral's Woman (Zorn Warriors, Book One)
Summary:
From Goodreads.com
Ariel never knew aliens existed until she finds herself kidnapped and taken from Earth. When the Anzon declare humans useless, she learns her fate-prize for the winner of a brutal fight between large, muscled alien men.
 
Ral is a Zorn warrior. He has also been kidnapped by the Anzon, along with his crew. Forced into slavery, he's got one thing on his mind-freeing his people. That is, until he sees the small human woman he's willing to fight to win. He doesn't just want her body, he wants her heart forever.
 
In the hands of a hot alien, Ariel is about to discover how pleasurable captivity can be.
 
Review:
This book is about 100 or so pages, so it is fairly short.
 
So I may have mentioned this before that I have different standards for erotica then I do for Romance. I expect that erotica will be more heavy on the steamy and to some extent less so on the actual story. So even keeping that in mind, I was a bit disappointed with the story aspect of this book. It kind of felt incomplete maybe is the right word. Although to be fair there was a huge communication barrier for part of this book. There was also a insta-love connection that was abrupt. After a couple of bouts of booty she was “in love”, Ariel kind of explained why she had come to love him so quickly, but we didn’t see any of that so it was abrupt, for me. Also, this is just a personal thing, I’m not that into the whole alien thing. It’s not my favorite but sometimes I’ll dip into the Sci-Fi theme. That being said, for a Alien theme this one was pretty good. The physical descriptions didn’t creep me out as it sometimes does. Oh and also, the dad’s abrupt turnaround was, just that abrupt. One minute he hated Ariel and was ready to off her and the next he was all about being her best friend. LOL Tho this was a short so I guess Miss Dohner had to pack everything in. One thing I really liked was the getting used to each other colloquialisms. Ariel having to explain English words to Ral and his reaction to them was quite amusing. It had me chuckling a time or two!
On the erotica front this was a hit! It was hot and steamy; it will set the sheets on fire. I don’t think I can find a complaint with this aspect of this story. If you enjoy a good short story erotica, I would recommend this book for that aspect. Ral and Ariel sexual relationship takes off at a run and doesn’t stop!
 
I may continue on to the next book in this series, I read the synopsis for the next one and it I enjoyed the blurb, but we will see. There are so many books I want to read right now and not nearly enough time.
 
Rating:

 

Review: Kiersten Fay - Demon Possession

Shadow Quest Series:

Book 1:

Demon Possession: Sebastian and Analia

Buy on Amazon: Kiersten Fay - Demon Possession (Shadow Quest Book 1)

Summary:

From goodreads.com

After being enslaved on the spaceship Extarga for most of her life Analia has no memory of her life before, and has lost all knowledge of her people. Her mysterious gift and pointed ears are the only indication that she is different.

Analia is alone, and for all she knows, shes the last of her kind. By chance Analia escapes her captors, and hides herself on the merchant ship Marada, planning to get off at the very next stop.

Unfortunately for her, there is no next stop. The crew is planning a delivery that could take months, and according to a stipulation in the newly signed contract, no one is allowed on or off the ship until the package is delivered.

When Analia is found by a handsome demon, and captain of the Marada, she must adapt to her new role on the ship, and try to control her newly awakened desire for the brutal, and devastatingly erotic demon.

**Again sorry for all of the generic, summaries. I swear I am trying to get caught up at least on my reviews. On my reading I am hopelessly behind.  I am just trying to save time where I can, I do apologize.

Review:

*Disclaimer, again with my hopelessly behind, but I read this book about a month ago and 13 stories ago so some of the details are fuzzy or completely gone from my memory.

I found this book when I was doing one of my free Kindle eBook posts and was immediately intrigued, which actually surprising as, I have never been one for Sci-Fi and space travel, but I am one for sexy demons and mysterious gifts. So even though I knew that I had other books that I should have been reading I skipped those in favor of this one and I was not disappointed. I was immediately pulled in with Analia daring escape from the ship she was enslaved on (She had a name she called it but damn I can’t remember it) and her alluding to her dark gift with tantalizing glimpses but no big reveals. We do know she holds a lot of power that her master will do anything to keep her in his grasp. Analia is near deaths door when she escapes to the merchant ship, which makes her either really desperate or really brave or as it turns out a combination of them both.  Anya as her pet name becomes grows tremendously as the book develops as you could imagine as a slave when we first meet her she is timid but does still have a bit of a backbone as her escape suggests, but by the end of the book she is a sword welding warrior women who will do anything to protect those she loves.  What I also really loved about Anya is she just has this warm, sunny personality, she just isn’t meant to wallow in doom and gloom for long. I like my male characters broody not necessarily my heroines, sometimes the sunny can be too much but Anya was just the right amount of untrusting/optimistic ratio. The tension between Sebastian and Anya is explosive as it builds. They are on a ship they can’t avoid each other for long and each time is more explosive then the next.

Sebastian, trusts no one, he learned that the hard way.  Only his brother, sister and another demon are even allowed to his inner most thoughts. They were betrayed by those they loved the most and barely escaped with their lives. For over a thousand years they have been trading through space and never has anyone rattled Sebastian like Anya. Even as he is doing everything in his power to stay away, he is finding reasons to be near her and protect her. He knows that someone is going to be coming after her so he decides to give her everything at his disposal to make sure she can take care of herself when she is no longer on the ship. As the days and weeks pass his frustrations build as his desires for Anya increase and his determination to stay away from her starts to crumble.  When he realizes she might be “His” it may already be too late, as danger is right on her tail.

Overall, it was a steamy, erotic, fun tale that I highly enjoyed. It was intriguing and new, at least to me seeing as I don’t read much Sci-Fi so I guess this could be a stale concept, but I guess this is a testament to the crossover appeal to the Paranormal Romance lover. There were quite a few editing issues. I do remember that and had made note of it in my progress notes on goodreads, I usually don’t even notice editing issues so they must have been pretty numerous and noticeable.  So, if this is one of your pet peeves this may be an issue for you, but for me, eh I can live with it if the story is enjoyable enough and this one was. I am planning on continuing this series, I already have book 2 downloaded, I just have to fit it into my schedule somewhere. :-/

Rating:

Review: M.L. Ryan - Special Offers

The Coursodon Dimension Series:

Book 1:

Special Offers: Hailey Parrish/ Sebastian Kess and Alex Sunderland

Click here to order on Amazon: M.L. Ryan - Special Offers (The Coursodon Dimension)

Summary:

From amazon.com

Hailey Parrish is quick-witted, irreverent, and hasn’t had a date in three years.  She only wanted an eBook reader because her collection of paperbacks threatened to take over her small living space. 

Little did she know that the "special offers" that prompted the purchase included much more than a reduced price in exchange for a few ads.  The device came pre-loaded with the essence of Sebastian Kess, an erudite womanizer with magical abilities from a parallel dimension.

When she inadvertently releases him and he inhabits her body, she finally has a man inside her, just not in the way she imagined. And soon her predicament introduces her to yet another supernatural, the handsome could-be-the-man-of-her-dreams Alex Sunderland.  Can Alex and Hailey find a way to return Sebastian to his own body, stay one step ahead of the criminals who want to keep him where he is, and not lose their sense of humor?

Review:

I was delivered a pleasant surprise with this book. I was contacted by the author for a possible review. After reading the description there was some slight hesitation but mostly intrigued by the trapped in a Kindle concept. I figured it could either go well or horribly wrong and I was intrigued enough to find out.  It turned out to go well! ML Ryan took what could have easily been a very cheesy concept and turned it interesting.  Sebastian on the verge of death transferred his spirit into an electronic device which due to technical issues ended up transferring him to a Kindle manufacturer and then shipped to Hailey when she ordered a “Special Offer” kindle. The whole Kindle aspect turned out to be a very small but pivotal detail of this entertaining tale.

At first it took me a moment to get used to the point of view, it’s told from Hailey’s point of view but much like a person actually telling the story out loud so there are a lot of “I”s and “Then I”. After a few chapters I got with the flow and it no longer bothered me.  The story itself was humorous and entertaining, I found myself in turns laughing and finding myself caught up in the multidimensional world that Ryan built. The story line moved along quickly and you found yourself wrapped up in what was going on.  I never found myself bored with the story line and it kept me up later then I should have been and I was eager to pick the story back up the next day. Too many times I put a book down for the night without much enthusiasm to pick the story back up the next day.  Those books generally get left behind, so I am happy to report this was not the case here. I was eager to return to the story and was not disappointed.

Sebastian instead of being intrusive was a humorous addition to this motley “threesome” he butted in when appropriate and added to the conversation and the laughs and never stole the show. His character was well written and was a great compliment to the characters dynamic.   Alex was everything you want your hero to be; he was sweet, understanding, and thoughtful. When he warmed her side, I definitely had an “Aw” moment. He was very supportive of Hailey and patient. He managed to be sensitive but still remain a hard a$$, this man is no push over and can handle himself in any situation. You don’t get to know him as well as you get to know Hailey and even to some extent Sebastian, because you are never in his head which is a shame. I would have liked to have felt like I knew him a bit better, what makes Alex tic and what are all of his talents; however, overall he was quite likeable and enjoyable. I always like to get at least a little bit into the males head. 

Hailey is our center stage in this book, after a failed marriage she is unsurprisingly gun shy. She hasn’t even had a date in 3 years. When she meets Alex she is a bit on the weary side; after her marriage she is not quick to trust any man, even when she wants to with all of her heart. She is sweet, shy, but does not lack a back bone. Since her divorce and job change she has been in a state of limbo, while content she doesn’t quite know what to do next. Hailey is on a path of self-discovery in this book; by the end she discovers what exactly she is capable of.  I don’t think you will be disappointed in what she discovers. Overall, I enjoyed Hailey and this book. I will be reading book 2 whenever it comes out, I enjoyed it that much. I would suggest snatching this book up at amazon or smashwords, I believe it is a bargain at $0.99.

Rating:

Review: Jacquelyn Frank - Seduce Me in Flames

A Three Worlds Series:

Book 2:

Seduce Me in Flames: Rush “Ender” Blakely and Ambrea Vas Allay

 

Summary:

Ambrea is the rightful heir to the throne of Allay, but kept in exile most of her life, first by her father whos had her mother executed as a traitor, then her uncle and young brother who rose to the throne after her father’s death. The IM has decided to get involved and restore the right heir to the throne, if only they can keep her alive long enough. Rush “Ender” Blakely and the rest of his specialized elite team from the IM has been tasked with getting Ambrea out of her “prison” and restored to the throne, but it seems like everywhere they turn there is someone trying to take her out. While Rush is extracting Ambrea from her home country she notices something very strange about him, even though he was directly hit by fire he remained unscathed. Rush has not disclosed his secret to anyone since his village found out and tried to execute him yet this princess uncovered his secret within hours of meeting her and she didn’t run off screaming or try to set him on fire like his village did those many years ago. Her easy acceptance of his “gift” only helps in building the fiery attraction he felt before. After Ambrea finds our Rush’s secret she realizes even more that she needs this strong man by her side if she is to battle the evil that infiltrated her kingdoms court and remain alive.

Review:

So this book had the misfortune of my reading it almost immediately after I read the Dark Taste of Rapture by Gena Showalter. The concept of the two books are basically the same. A female fair above the man’s station in life and the man has a secret a “gift” of fire. I have to admit I enjoyed Dark Taste of Rapture a lot better, although Gena Showalter is one of my favorite authors. Hector was really scared of doing any damage to Noelle and that came out clearly. With Rush, it was like aw well I have these powers that could hurt you but I don’t want to hurt you but ok, I’ll just sit in water, that shouldn’t be too dangerous. That feeling of terror that Hector had was just not present in this book, it was a lot watered down, literally. J. Frank plopped his arse in some water and things were a lot better. Fire welders are not uncommon in the Paranormal/Urban Fantasy world, so if you are going to go this route you really have to go for it. I can think of at least 4 other fire welder characters that I have read in the last couple of months alone (Vlad - Night Huntress, Sienna - Psy-Changling, Blaine - Soulfire, and Hector - Alien Huntress) and with all of those characters it was more everything. Even the plots of the attempts on Ambrea’s life were kind of watered down. I wanted more from this book, and I didn’t really get it. I can’t say that there was really anything wrong with the book but it was kind of lukewarm when it should have been sizzling.

Rating:

3

Jacquelyn Frank - Seduce Me in Dreams

A Three Worlds Series:

Seduce Me in Dreams: Bronse Chapel and Ravenna

Summary:

Bronse is the commander of a specialized unit of the Interplanetary Militia; they take the jobs that no one else can do. They are sent into impossible situations, but lately it seems like the odds are even more against Bronse than usual. Missions that shouldn’t being going wrong, are… Recently his feeling of foreboding is getting stronger and stronger, and he even has started dreaming of a woman warning him that he cannot be separated from his crew; if they get separated all will perish. After the last mission gone wrong one of his crew found evidence that one of the admirals has been sending Bronse and his crew on suicide missions trying to get Bronse out of the way. After this news Bronse has one of his most intense dreams, the woman that has been warning him came to him again only this time they were able to talk and touch, she once again warned him and said soon they would meet.  Ravenna is the High Priestess of the Chosen Ones; she is able to look into the past, present and future of a person.  She has been captured to be “gifted” to a powerful Shiasha to be added to a large harem and to be used for her gifts. Ravenna knows she is in a bad position that she can get herself out of if she was willing to use her other gifts but she knows Bronse is getting closer and she knows she has to stay so he can rescue her. On another mission gone wrong Bronse and he crew abort the mission only for him to be sucked into the sand and finds himself in an underground tunnel, which leads him straight to Ravenna. The recognition is powerful and swift, all he knows is he has to get her and her brother out of this situation. Ravenna has been beaten terribly and caught a fever that is now racking her body. She needs Bronse to get her to her sister the healer and then get them all off planet. Bronse doesn’t know what to do, he knows his judgment is clouded but he can’t help himself. He allows Ravenna to talk him into saving her and her family of Chosen Ones, now he doesn’t know what to do with them or himself and there is always the threat of the admiral over his head…

Review:

As is usual with first books in a new series a lot of time is setting up the new world and characters. Sometimes I think the first books somewhat get the shaft since the author can’t always just dive right in.  Overall, I think J. Franks did an excellent job setting everything up, but at the same time keeping the excitement level high, we still see plenty of action. Bronse is your typical alpha, military man, and it never gets old: Strong, intelligent, dominating, leader, and honorable.  He is a man you can count on to keep you save and make you feel like the most protected woman, but if you let him he would completely dominate you. Ravenna is a warrior woman at heart! She is very powerful in her own right, she has a quiet strength about her, as the leader of the Chosen Ones which are other gifted individuals she has a lot on her hands but she knows how to be a leader. She has a backbone of steel. Bronse and Ravenna are both strong and passionate, and are a great match. He accepts her for all her power and lets her lead as she sees fit, and she does the same for him. They truly become partners. Overall, I highly enjoyed the book; however, there were two things that got to me. Each of Bronses crew essentially has three names: First, military nickname, and last. J. Franks will switch up which ones she will use referring to each character. Sometime by their first name, most of the time their military nickname and occasionally their last, usually I am good with details but I am terrible with names. If you are anything like me you will get confused as to which names belong to which person. I wish she has introduced the characters and than just stuck with a preferred name. And then there is the ending, don’t get me wrong it is a happy ending, but there was just this one thing that when I read it I was like: “NOOO! I want to know!”, I know why the decision (not giving it away) was made, but I’m basically selfish and I wanted to know!  It was kind of a letdown.

Rating:

4 moons out of 5

Jacquelyn Frank - Drink of Me

Jacquelyn Frank:

Drink of Me: Reule, Prime of the Sánge and Mystique

Summary:

Reule is the Prime of the Sánge people. His people have been persecuted by the other tribes of this world and kicked out of their lush tropical paradise. Having traveled across harsh land Reule finally found a place to make a home, vowing that no one what will take what is theirs again. The Jackels have been a pain in Reule’s side for many years but when they take and torture one of his Pack, Reule will get his Pack Mate back and retribution for this attack will be his. During his rescue as the most powerful telepath and empath Reule feels the presence of infinite sadness coming from a female inside the same house as his Pack Mate is being held, Reule is compelled to save the woman whose sadness is affecting him so strongly.  Upon Mystique’s rescue she has no idea who or what she is, she only knows that this man that rescued her is the man for her. The attraction between Reule and Mystique is instantaneous and anyone around them is also deeply affected by what is going on between the two of them and soon they are not able to keep their hands off of each other. Even Mystique’s mysterious past can’t keep them apart, but as more time goes by the more they discover there is more to Mystique than they first thought…

Review:

J. Franks creates a whole new interesting world. The Sánge are a complex and intriguing people, the telepathic and empathic twist along with the third ‘pathic ability adds a whole other dimension to the people. The more glimpses of Mystiques past you get the more intrigued you are by her and what she is. The chemistry between her and Reule is scorching! Add the dynamic of the Pack, Mystiques mysterious past and the dangers of the Jackels you will have enough in this novel to keep you entertained for the duration. What I am not sure I like about this novel is it read like it was going to be a first of a series following the Sánge Pack, it was certainly setting it up for one, but when I went to J. Franks website she has this novel listed as a standalone. This disappoints me, there was a set up for a second novel and it ended like it was building up to something with no conclusion on that. I liked this Sánge world and hope J. Franks changes her mind and continues on…

Rating:

4 moons out of 5