ARC Review : Alyssa Day - Vampire in Atlantis

Warriors of Poseidon:

Book 7:

Vampire in Atlantis: Daniel and Serai

Summary:

Eleven thousand years ago Daniel was a blacksmith and Serai was an Atlantis noble. Daniel and Serai fell deeply in love, despite their differences. One day while Serai was visiting the jewelry shop that Daniel worked at it was attacked. Daniel shoved Serai into an underground hiding spot to save her life. Daniel wasn’t so lucky, when Serai managed to get out if the tunnel it was to find Daniel on the edge of death, she had to make a terrible decision that would mean a second chance at life. When Serai returned home Atlantis soon fell into the ocean and she “volentold” to be one of the “lucky” maidens placed in stasis to be the queen to some future Atlantis king.

Eleven thousand years later Daniel has had enough of life, he can’t keep going on as he has been. He has had nothing but despair and even after eleven thousand years he still misses his one and only true love Serai, he is ready to join her in the afterlife.  After eleven thousand years Serai has fully awaken only to realize that something is going wrong with the Emperor (A jewel from Poseidon’s Trident) that has kept the maidens in their magical stasis, only to be partially woken once a year to be feed information. Serai has woken too early and she is fully awake when she shouldn't be, seizing her moment she uses her magic and busts open her cell and runs for it. As Daniel is walking into the sunlight he is sucked through the ocean and dropped at Serai’s feet. He thinks he has finally reached heaven only to find out that he is in Atlantis and Serai is alive! Daniel and Serai can barely believe that the other one is there in front of their face’s, after eleven thousand years both thought the other was dead. Serai doesn’t have much time to marvel that Daniel is right there in front of her, she has to get out of Atlantis and she has to get out of it NOW! She has to track down the Emperor. Someone is misusing its power and it is killing Serai and her sisters. There is no way that Daniel is going to let Serai go now that he has found her, even if that means they die on this quest together.

Review:

This is an excellent book in the Warriors of Poseidon series, once I picked this book up and started reading I did not put it down until it was done!  This is a more emotional story than past books, however there is still plenty of action but it is more of a story of redemption. Daniel's whole existence has been about atoning for the first years of being a vampire when he was all about killing and maiming. Now that he has found Serai he knows he doesn’t deserve her, she is all that is light and good and he has done horrible things in his past but he still wants her. He would only leave her side if she was to ask him to and then he would even if it killed him. His devotion to Serai is of epic proportions, for eleven thousand years he has loved her. I’ve read a lot of books and I don’t think I have read one before that spanned eleven thousand years. I can’t even fathom that amount of time. All those years in stasis Serai thought about Daniel, each year when she was brought to consciousness he was her first thought, but she thought he is long dead. All these years she had some regret for the decision she made that night, but she knew she had to give him the chance at another life. But now she has a second chance with Daniel, but she has a very dangerous quest she has to complete first. Serai feels like she has to save her sisters in stasis. She knows she is the only one that can find it. She feels the pull from the jewel, if she doesn’t get to the Jewel and soon she knows she will die and in fact does. 

*I received this copy as a ARC review from the publisher. 

Rating:

Review: Alyssa Day - Atlantis Rising

Warriors of Poseidon:

Book 1:

Atlantis Rising: High Prince Conlan and Riley Dawson

Summary:

In the great cataclysm over 11,000 years ago Atlantis sank into the ocean where it has remained and thrived ever since. The Warriors of Poseidon are sworn to protect the royal family as well as all humanity. Since the Vampires and the Shape Shifter revealed themselves almost a decade ago that task has become all that much harder. Conlan is the current high priest of Atlantis; seven years ago he was captured by the goddess of death and was continually tortured for the next seven years when she suddenly just let him go. Conlan is sure he may never be whole again in mind, body and spirit. Upon his return it is discovered that Poseidon’s Trident has been stolen. Riley is a social worker and most days she is losing the battle and today is a prime example of that. She is trying to talk her young expecting mother client down from killing her boyfriend when everything goes wrong and the boyfriend almost kills Riley and would have succeeded if the young girl hadn’t pulled her own trigger killing the boy. This is the 8^th crime scene Riley has been in the middle of in a year. Not sure how more she can take she goes to the beach, where the water has always calmed her, only to be threaten by some drunk men. Conlan is breaking the surface of the water when he feels Riley in his head and her emotions are projected to him. Feeling Riley with everything in his being he sets out to protect her and is enchanted by the courage and capacity for forgiveness as well as compassion for man. Riley is not sure who this man is, but he just saved her from a fate she didn’t even want to contemplate and strangely she can hear his thoughts and see into his heart and knows he is honorable. Riley and Conlan have an intense and instant attraction and both know that they can’t let the other go… But, Conlan and Riley are in constant danger and if they even make it through all the threats there is still the problem of Conlan being betrothed to some unknown lady back on Atlantis.

Review:

This is a great start to this series. The concept of Atlantis although is not new, is presented in a new and intriguing way. Each of the warriors will quickly endear themselves to the reader; each has their own strong personality. Riley is such a compassionate young woman, I have a soft spot for social workers as my best friend is one. It is a hard thankless job and fight a losing battle every day.  Her capacity to keep on giving first to her young clients and then to the warriors is something to envy. She would gladly give life to save someone elses.  She is also perfect for Conlan, especially after his torture, she is able to calm his soul and make him feel whole again after he thought that may never happen again. He felt broken before Riley but with her she fills in the cracks of his soul. Conlan is a proud, brave, strong, slightly broken warrior. He is not sure if he has what it takes to be the king of Atlantis but he will certainly try to do the best by his people, but no one comes before Riley. His intensity of feeling for Riley is amazing! He would do anything for this woman even if it means giving up his own life. There is plenty of action and magic to keep even the most ADD reader entertained throughout the whole movie. In no time you will be addicted to this series and eagerly moving on to the next tale.

Rating:

Lynsay Sands - Hungry for You

Argeneau Series:

Book 14:

Hungry For You: Cale Argeneau and Alex Willan

Summary:

At over 2000 years old Cale has given up on ever finding his lifemate, when Marguerite calls him and tells him she just might have someone that will be his lifemate, he is definitely not going to get his hopes up but what can he lose by just meeting the girl? Alex does NOT have time for her sister Samantha’s match making attempts. Alex has 2 weeks until the opening of her restaurant and everything that can go wrong is… The latest mishap is her chef up and quits on her hours before her first restaurant is due to open, there is no way she will be able to find a chef in time for the dinner crowd. When her sister tells her, her latest attempt in a match is a chef Alex jumps at the offer for him to fill in for the time being. Cale cannot believe that Samantha told her sister that he can cook, he hasn’t even eaten in over 2000 years! But when he arrives at the restaurant and can’t read Alex he knows he can’t screw this up!

Review:

Alex is the last of the Willan sisters and she measures up to the other two sisters! I really liked her as a character, a total sweetheart with lots of drive and I have a soft spot for creative types. J Cale is an interesting character he has no idea how to woo a woman and everything for him is riding on his being able to win Alex over and he definitely flounders in parts but that just makes him all the more endearing. There are several attempts on Alex’s life as the restaurant opening date grows closer so the novel brings in some mystery; it’s another case of “who done it”! There is plenty going on to keep your interest in this novel, I would definitely recommending you to check it out.

Rating:

3.5 moons out of 5

Lynsay Sands - The Renegade Hunter

Argeneau Series:

Book 11:

The Renegade Hunter: Nicholas Argeneau and Josephine Willan

Summary:

Ever since Jo’s sister Samantha shacked up with Mortimer she has been parading men in front of her and her other sister and all the men stare at their foreheads and then walk away. It is the weirdest thing ever, too bad all the men are gorgeous!  She is at one of those slightly humiliating “parties” of her sisters when she goes outside only to be tackled by some man with horrendous breath.  Right on his heels is the most breathtakingly handsome man she has seen who tackles the bad breath man probably saving her life. Nicholas is a rogue vampire because of the biggest mistake of his entire life. He went a little crazy after his life mate’s death and woke up with a human woman’s blood all over him, the only thing he can assume is that he killed her and he has been on the run for the last 5o years. When Nicholas tracks a rogue vampire to the new hunter compound he knows it is risky but he has to go in after him. When he sees the vampire tackle a beautiful woman he knows it is now or never and he has to get to her before it is too late. When Nicolas can’t take control over her to move her out of harms way he is distracted and loses the rogue vampire and just as bad his fight drew attention to him and the hunters manage to capture him and throw him in a cell. There is NO way Jo is going to let the very handsome captivating man that rescued her be captured because he saved her so she breaks him out. Knowing that Nicolas is not going to be able to stay away from Jo they put a tail on her. Only problem is the rogue vampire with the bad breath is after her so Nicolas is staying near her and the hunters are staying on Jo to capture Nicolas and Jo is in the middle of it all….

Review:

I heart Jo! She is feisty, loyal, funny and smart which is a great combo. Her unwavering belief in her man may be the only thing that saves his life!  Nicholas is so touching; his grief for his past mistakes and the loss of his wife certainly makes you so sympathic to his cause to save his life and to be with Jo. After all he has been through you really want that for him. There is plenty of action with the rogue after Jo, the hunters after Nicholas and everyone chasing everyone else.

Rating:

4 moons out of 5

Lynsay Sands - The Immortal Hunter

Argeneau Series:

Book 11:

The Immortal Hunter: Decker Argeneau and Dr. Danielle McGill

 

Summary:

Danielle and her younger sister have been captured and taken deep into the woods by some dangerous deranged lunatics!  She is seriously worried for both of their lives, when she looks over the edge of the cliff she is standing before there are bodies of other young girls and she knows that is to be her fate… when fate intervenes.  Decker is seriously skeptical when the rogue Vampire and his cousin Nicolas tells him there is a pod of rogue no fanger Vampires nearby and he has to get there ASAP before more girls are killed. But more scared what would happen if what Nicolas says is true and he ignores the warning he grudgingly agrees to go with; when they get to the spot in the woods Decker is surprised that Nicolas was not lying and two women are about to be brutally killed. Decker saves one girl and Nicolas goes after the other which separated them, but that is a worry for later.  Danielle is about to be shot and dumped in the ravine when some man takes a bullet meant for her, before she can check on him she sees her sister being dragged out of the forest, so Danielle charges after her. Fearing for the woman Decker takes after her and is surprised when he cannot control her to bring her back to safety. Danielle doesn’t know what to do her sister was taken and these men might be the only way to get her sister back, so she agrees to go with them after all one did take a bullet for her. When it becomes clear that the captured no fangers father wants his sons back and takes Danielle things really heat up…

Review:

This story has plenty of action! Danielle is not a female to bow down and let men handle things she is definitely a take charge sort of woman and does not take shit from any of the men. She is a force to be reckoned with! Decker is a great match for Danielle, he has a backbone and won’t let her walk all over him, and she is a strong woman and needs a strong man which he is. This novel will keep the pages turning non-stop there is plenty going on to keep you interested.

Rating:

4 moons out of 5

Lynsay Sands - Rogue Hunter

Argeneau Series:

Book 10:

The Rogue Hunter: Garrett Mortimer and Samantha Willan

Summary:

Garrett is starting to feel every one over 800 of his years. When his job as a hunter sends him and his partner Bricker out to the boonies he is less than enthused, but he has a job to do. When they get to the lake to stay at one of their co-workers lake house the power is out and they discover there is a trio of what looks like sister staying next door. There is one sister in particular that seems slightly intriguing to Mortimer but he doesn’t think much else about it as they have a job to do. Samantha and her sister are extremely close and they always take a trip out to the lake whenever the three of them can get together in their busy lives. Samantha is a consummate workaholic, she killed herself in law school and is now working every bit as hard in her prestigious law firm trying to make partner so this trip is much needed. When Mortimer discovers that he can’t read Samantha he is appalled, he always thought when he met his life mate she would be more like Jessica Rabbit with lush curves and less like Olive Oil all skin and bones. When Mortimer starts paying attention to Samantha she is confused, skinny girls like her don’t attract handsome muscled men like him! The more time Mortimer spends with Samantha the more he discovers that he likes. When Samantha boss calls her on vacation to try to locate their largest clients 20 year old daughter 2 hours away Mortimer volunteers to go with her. When they get there Mortimer is concerned that there may be more to this disappearance then meets the eye and he may have stumbled upon their rogue…

Summary:

Samantha is smart and funny and you can see why she would draw Mortimer even though she is on the skinny side. It is fun to watch as Mortimer rediscovers life’s passions; he goes from cranky and boring to warm and funny.  The banter between the vampire men and the sister is genuinely funny and you will find yourself laughing. The book can drag in spots but for the most part is a quick and funny read.

Rating:

3 moons out of 5

Lynsay Sands: Vampire, Interrupted

Argeneau Series:

Book 8:

Vampire, Interrupted: Julius Notte and Marguerite Argeneau

Summary:

For over 700 years Marguerite’s life revolved around her now deceased husband and raising children. Now free from many years of her tyrant husbands control and her children grown with mates of their own she has decided to try something new with her life, something for her. When Christian Notte asks for Marguerite’s assistance in finding his mother she is compelled to agree, here is something to spice up her life. The task is harder than she thought it would be since no one is talking especially not Christian’s father. Things really heat up when an attempt on Marguerite’s life are made and Christian’s father conveniently shows up immediately following the attempt.  Julius cannot let Christian find his mother, not after she tried to have him killed as an infant. When Julius comes into contact with Marguerite he realizes that she is his life mate and grudgingly agrees to not hinder the investigation and in fact to stick around so he can woo the lovely Marguerite, but when more attempts on her life are made this investigation may be more than what it seems…

Review:

This is actually one of my favorites of the series. There is plenty of action and intrigue. There are several twists in the plot to keep you guessing! Marguerite is sweet as always, you have to love Marguerite, she is such a loving, strong, determined person that endured so much and is deserving of any love that she may find. Julius is just the man for Marguerite, the opposite of her late husband, a caring loving person with a backbone! He obviously loves his son and would do anything for and to protect him and you have to love a man that is that good of a father. There are several new characters introduced in this novel and I look forward to seeing more of them especially the twins!

Rating:

4 moons out of 5

Lynsay Sands - Vampires are Forever

Argeneau Series:

Vampires are Forever: Thomas Argeneau and Inez Urso

Summary:

Thomas has always been the fun loving cousin, raised by Marguerite Argeneau since he was a small baby he has always thought of her as his mother. When Marguerite goes missing in England Thomas is the first available to be able to go search for her. Bastien sends his newest executive Inez to aid Thomas in his search. When Thomas arrives in England tired and low on blood levels during daylight he realizes he doesn’t have much choice but to use Inez as a small snack to hold him over until he can get to Amsterdam on the next evening flight where Marguerite’s phone was last tracked. When Thomas can’t control Inez and wipe her memory of the bite he realizes two things: 1. He has met his life mate! and 2. She found out that he is a vampire in the worst possible way and he has no idea if he can turn this around. Biting your life mate as a snack is not the best way to introduce her into his world. Inez is pissed, not only did she miss Thomas at the airport but he bite her, she can’t believe that vampires actually worse and that means if Thomas is a vampire than her boss at the job that she LOVES is also one. She doesn’t know what to do at this point and is scared for her life. Everything is riding on Thomas being able to convince Inez to give him enough time to explain everything to her. Not only is she his life mate but he needs her help locating Marguerite. Thomas manages to calm Inez enough to get her on a plane and to help him but as they are chasing leads all over Europe it becomes clear that someone wants them off Marguerite’s trail and they are willing to kill Inez to make that happen.

Review:

Thomas was one of my favorite characters going into this novel, but I was somewhat disappointed with this book. I would have liked to learn more about his music which was briefly discussed and wasn’t really mentioned again. Inez wasn’t really my favorite of the female characters and I usually like intelligent, motivated woman, but I never really connected with Inez. This story does leave you on a cliff hanger that is a nail biter. =)

Rating:

3 moons out of 5

Lynsay Sands - The Accidental Vampire

Argeneau Series:

Book 7:
The Accidental Vampire: Victor Argeneau and Elvi Black

Summary:

Victor lost his life mate centuries ago and never quite recovered.  As an enforcer for the council he is sent to the town of Port Henry to investigate a female vampire that placed a wanted ad in the newspaper for a male vampire mate, which is very much against the few rules the Council has set in place. Victor and his partner are convinced that this is all a hoax but they are sent on the off chance that there really is a female vampire looking for a mate. Elvi went on vacation to Mexico a 62 year old woman and came back as a Vampire looking 25 again. She has no idea if there are any other Vampires let alone that there are rules, she just has information based on movies, books and folklore. She also has no idea that her lifelong friends have put an ad in the newspaper looking for a boyfriend for her.  When Victor and DJ arrive in Port Henry they realize that nothing is quite what it seems, Victor doesn’t know what to quite make of this unique situation and when he realizes he can’t read Elvi he knows he is going to have to handle everything very delicately. When attempts on Elvi’s life start occurring Victor has to now worry about the council as well as some unseen enemy from killing his lifemate.

Review:

The story was humorous in places, but over all mostly mediocre. It was a watered down version of previous stories. I’d say skip this one but it looks like it is going to be a precursor to Lynsay Sands next one in the series due out in August.

Rating:

2 moons out of 5

Lynsay Sands - A Bite to Remember

Argeneau Series:

Book 5:

A Bite to Remember: Vincent Argeneau and Jackie Morrisey

Summary: 

Vincent has had a string of bad luck with his plays, starting with a few small fires and escalating to his actors being injured and walking out on him. At first he thought it was just accidents but now it has become more serious. Vincent calls his cousin Bastien who in turn sends Vincent; Jackie a Private Investigator Bastien often uses. Jackie dislikes all Immortals/Vampires, having been burned once by a vampire named Cassius she carries a deep seeded prejudgious against the entire race with the possible exception of Bastien who has always treated her as an equal. So when she and her partner Tiny are sent on a job in California to help an immortal she is not a happy camper and is even less happy when she discovers that she is actually attracted to Vincent, in her mind there could be nothing worse! Vincent has seriously been on that fine line of boredom that many immortals find themselves in; he has long since found much pleasure in anything. He has been searching for his lifemate for hundreds of years and has all but given up the hope of ever finding her until Jackie appears on his doorstep and awakens him like none other have accomplished before. When Vincent’s very mortal VP, Stefano is murdered him his office, Vincent feels immediately guilty and turns Stefano not thinking of the ramifications of that action. It is not until later that he realizes that even if he gets Jackie on the same page with him he can’t turn her.  As things heat up Jackie realizes that more than ever she has to find the killer with things escalating the likely hood that it is Vincent is the next victim is high and she doesn’t want to look to deep into why that disturbs her so much!

Review:

This book has several twists and turns, through the whole book I thought I had the killer pegged and it turns out I didn’t! I was totally fooled, which doesn’t happen often.  And then there was the problem of how Jackie can be turned if Vincent used up his one turn with Stefano. I was left in suspense with something or other with this book for most of it. There were also fireworks between Jackie and Vincent as she kept denying what she felt. You will not be bored with this novel!

Rating:

3.5 moons out of 5

Lynsay Sands - Tall Dark and Hungry

Argeneau Series:

Book 4:

Tall Dark and Hungry: Bastien Argeneau and Terri Simpson

Summary:

Bastien is the problem solver in the family, as head of Argeneau Industries since his father’s death Bastien has become the go to man for any issues that need solving. When Lucern and Kate need somewhere for Kate’s maid of honor/best friend/cousin Terri to stay for the two weeks leading up to the wedding they look to Bastien to house her in his penthouse in NYC. Bastien has no problem agreeing to let Terri stay with him after all there is plenty of room and he doesn’t expect to see her much, he is usually too busy running the company to have time for guests. What Bastien didn’t count on was his intense attraction to Terri and a desire to show her the sites of NYC. When Kate is called on to go to California after her fellow editor C.K. is horribly injured Bastien gets the excuse he needed to spend plenty of quality time showing Terri around the city. When disaster after disaster occurs with the wedding and with poor C.K. Terri and Bastien are thrown together more and more often and an intense attraction between the two ensues. When Bastien finds he can’t read Terri he realizes he has finally found his life mate! Terri has never been so attracted to a man before, not even her late husband so she is overwhelmed with feelings. When Kate starts seeing signs that not is all what it seems with Bastien she jumps to some conclusions and none of them are good for Bastien. Can Bastien overcome Terri’s fears before he loses her forever?

Review:

This novel is humorous! All that could go wrong does, and it’s funny to watch this motley crew of characters scramble to fix everything. For once you get to watch a man flounder over wedding decisions and he is totally out of his element! My favorite character from the previous novel C.K. is back in this novel and he is a walking disaster, starting with a falling toilet! You also meet Vincent in this novel, Bastien’s fun loving actor cousin. He adds some flare to this novel. Terri is that female you can’t help but love, she is incredibly caring and selfless. She will endear herself to you and Bastien very quickly. Overall I enjoyed this novel I was looking forward to Bastien’s story and hoped he would find someone worthy of him and I feel like he found his perfect counterpart.

Rating:

3 moons out of 5

Lynsay Sands - Single White Vampire

Argeneau Series:

Book 3:

Single White Vampire:  Lucern Argeneau and Kate C. Leever

 

Summary:

Lucern is a writer, in the past he has written historical books for universities and now he has become his families “biographer”, but somehow those biographies have become “Vampire Romance Novels”.  Lucern is annoyed and aggravated by his new found fame and his pain in the butt new editor won’t leave him alone to do “publicity”. Kate is convinced Lucern is the most stubborn man she has ever encountered.  He refuses to even consider any publicity and answers all of her letters with a single word “No”, if that isn’t the rudest thing she has ever encountered she doesn’t know what is. Determined to get him to agree to something Kate goes up to Canada and refuses to leave until he agrees to something, what she didn’t count on was her overwhelming attraction to the stubborn man. Lucern does not like aggressive woman, he is from a time when women were docile and subservient so he is surprised when he is attracted to his super aggressive editor and even more surprised when he finds himself actually liking her. In an attempt to get her off of his back regarding publicity he agrees to do one Romance Times “interview” only to find out after Kate leaves that he actually agreed to a 5 day conference not a quick interview. When Lucern gets to the conference he is surprised to find that his attraction has only grown for Kate, during the next 5 days the romancing will commence…

Review:

I didn’t really connect with Lucern and Kate through this novel, I actually found myself enjoying the sub-character of Chris (Kate’s fellow editor) or C.K. as he is often called more than the main characters. There were a few amusing moments with Lucern and Kate, but overall they were not my favorites of this series so far. It might have been because we didn’t see much of Lucern before this novel like we have some of the other characters so there wasn’t much on him going into this novel. Usually I like aggressive go getter women characters, but Kate wasn’t very memorable, there wasn’t anything particularly wrong with her but she didn’t stick out of the crowd for me. This novel overall was ok, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either.

Rating:

2.5 moons out of 5

Lynsay Sands - Love Bites

Argeneau Series:

Book 2:

Love Bites: Etienne Argeneau and Rachel Garrett

Summary:

Rachel might be going a little crazy, after all she hasn’t been feeling well but a corpse is not supposed to move or be so good looking… When Etienne arrives in the morgue from a bullet through his heart he is a little put out with Pudge (the guy that put him there) Etienne is getting a little sick of these attempts on his life, now he has a mess to clean up, starting with the beautiful coroner.  It’s a shame he has to wipe himself from her memory, because he wouldn’t mind seeing her again. When a new burn victim corpse comes into the morgue Rachel is sure she has seen him before, he looks like the man that has been staring in her dreams the past week when she has been sick. As Rachel inspects the corpse closer she is not sure that he is actually dead. When a crazy man bursts into the morgue carrying an axe and screaming the burn victim is a “vampire” Rachel is sure he’s crazy, but when the crazy man goes to swing his axe Rachel instinctively puts herself in front of the body taking the axe into her chest instead of corpse. Rachel knows she is going to die, that was defiantly a killing blow. When Etienne comes to, he realizes that the beautiful coroner has taken an axe to the chest meant from him he realizes she saved his life and that he can do no less for her. Without hesitating Etienne turns Rachel to save her life and takes her home with him. When Rachel wakes up she knows she is supposed to be dead but she wakes up feeling surprisingly alive and in a strange house. Wandering around she enters an office and the man from her dreams pops out of a coffin telling her that she is now a vampire! That is too much vampires don’t exist and despite the indicators of the contrary she refuses to believe that she has become a soulless creature of the night especially when she was just promoted to the day shift! Etienne is not sure what to do, Rachel is not taking finding out she has been turned very well and on top of that he can’t read her so she may very well be his life mate.  When Rachel finally comes around to accepting she is a vampire Etienne and her life are still in danger with Pudge still out there hunting Etienne. Will Etienne survive long enough to make Rachel his?

Review:

This novel follows in the footsteps of all the other books in this series. It is cute and has some predictable suspense (Oxymoron I know). The chemistry between Rachel and Etienne is pretty sizzling and watching them fumble through their attraction is entertaining. The Pudge aspect of the novel turns out to be pretty amusing, so there are a few laughs to be had along this journey. Overall this novel was enjoyable.

Rating:

3.5 moons out of 5

Lynsay Sands- Bite Me If You Can

Argeneau Series:

Book 6:
Bite Me If You Can: Lucian Argeneau and Leigh

 

Summary:

Lucian is one of the oldest and crankiest immortals. He was alive with Atlantis was still above ground. As a council member and a hunter of rouge vampire’s life has become tedious, even his family members keep a distance from him. Leigh is a survivor of domestic violence with no family left so she makes her co-workers at her restaurant/bar Coco’s her family. Having survived so much she has a survivor outlook on life so when one night her life is irrevocably changed, she tries to make the best of her new vampire status. When Lucian finds Leigh she is knee deep in rouge vampires, having just been bitten by the leader of the rouges she is about to go through the change and Lucien isn’t sure whether to kill her or help her through the change. When it is decided to let her go through the change Lucien is reluctantly thrust into helping her and all he can think to do is hand her off to someone else, when he can’t find a single other person to hoist Leigh off on he realizes he is stuck in the reluctant role as vampire teacher. When Leigh wakes up she is hungry for more than just food, but for blood. Leigh is not sure what to make of this new life but she knows she is going to make the best of it, she refuses to ever be a victim again. Soon after Leigh wakes up Lucien realizes the horrifying fact that Leigh is his life mate. After thousands of years of being alone he don’t know if he can do the life mate thing and Leigh is not the best bet. She has scars from her ex-husband that go deep and he is not sure if he has the skills to get past that.  Leigh has an undeniable attraction to Lucien, how could you not, he is one fine specimen of male and he has been so kind through this whole thing, but when she finds out that she is his life mate there is no way she is going there again especially after only knowing him a couple of days. She’s been there and done that and barely lived to tell about it.

Review:

This was a cute book, there was humor and danger overall it was a pleasure to read. Overall was there anything extra special about the story, not really, but it entertained. Leigh as a victim of DV is believable; you can feel how that experience has affected her life and any future relationships or lack thereof.  For as cranky as Lucien has been in previous books he’s not really that cranky in this book, I expected more of a fight from him, although when he goes to the book store and gets all the books, that was pretty funny. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you read it. ;) Over all this series reminds me of a Jennifer Aniston chick flick, there are a few good laughs, but overall it’s predictable and a good watch but ultimately forgettable.

Rating:

3 moons out of 5

Gena Showalter - Jewel of Atlantis

Atlantis Series:

Book 2:
Jewel of Atlantis: Grayson James and Jewel AKA. Prudence and Blaze

Summary:

Someone really should have warned Grey, this was supposed to be a “in and out” mission to the fabled Atlantis. No one told him it was infested with dragons, vampires, demons and other nasty’s that he has no idea what they are. He was supposed to get in grab the Jewel of Dunamis for the OBI a covert (aren’t they all) government division for the things that go bump in the night. He has had a Demon chasing after him for two nights and now that he is in the middle of Mission Kill the Bastard or Mission KTB there is now a women’s voice in his head. He must be going crazy, but at least in insanity he conjured up a damn sexy voice so he got something right on this mission gone wrong. The sexy voice in his head did help him complete Mission KTB so in return he agreed to save his damsel in distress and she agreed to take him to the Jewel. Jewel actually has no name, she has often been referred to as “it” or “slave” she has been held captive of some Atlantis faction or other her entire life for her physic abilities.  She is the only one of her kind in Atlantis and everyone wants a piece of her. So when Grey finally arrived in Atlantis (she has had visions of him his entire life) she is ecstatic and she enters his mind to come help her, but in helping her is he in fact on a course to be killed himself?

Review:

This is the Gena Showalter I know and love! The novel is funny and smart and the characters are very lovable. There is just the right amount of humor and sarcasm and a fast paced action packed story. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first book in this series but I highly enjoyed this one.  Poor Jewel she doesn’t even know her own name, the nicknames Grey gives her depending on how she is acting are too cute! So it kind of makes up for not having a real name. He is the first being that has treated her like a real person and not an object so it’s no wonder she falls for him. I don’t think I would have been able to resist either. Grey is one of those lovable rouges you can’t help but love even when they are saying something so idiotic or inappropriate. He fiercely protects Jewel with his own life, its very heart warming and you hope these two can make it work but it’s not looking good. She can’t live in his world and he can’t live in hers. Can they make it work?

Rating:

5 moons out of 5

Alyssa Day - Atlantis Betrayed

Warriors of Poseidon:

Book 6:

Atlantis Betrayed: Christophe and Lady Fiona Campbell the Scarlett Ninja

Summary:

Christophe didn’t particularly like humanity and didn’t particularly like protecting it from itself.  If humanity was stupid enough to destroy itself who was he to stop it and he had experienced firsthand how cruel humanity could be. Christophe is bored, bored with his “job” and bored with life, he is ready for something exciting and different and he hopes stealing the Siren will give him the excitement. It’s something different from killing vampires and saving human from themselves. Lady Fiona Campbell is the Scarlett Ninja the beloved cat burglar of the United Kingdom, only no one knows it’s really her. Her current job is to steal the Siren a gem in the Vanquish sword. This is not her typical kind of job but the world “money is no object” were uttered and she is not the type of girl to turn that down. When she is out scouting her job the impossible happens she is spotted by a gorgeous hunk of man who is trying to steal her Siren and makes her so now she has a man encroaching on her job AND he knows who she really is. This cannot be good, everything she has built could be tumble down around her and her family. Christophe cannot believe that the Scarlett Ninja is a women and Scottish to boot. This job is looking up! Fiona has to be one of the most beautiful women he has ever seen and he is drawn to her like no other. So what is a man to do except to follow her home. Fiona can’t believe the man from the museum found her at home so fast, what is she going to do, he can ruin everything! Christophe knows he has her now she will do anything to keep her identity safe and he realizes he needs her for this job so he purposes they become partners; only to realize the next day that the Vanquish has already been stolen. Now Fiona and Christophe have to steal the stolen object and it brings them in the middle of a vampire, Fae and Shifter dispute. They have to figure out who has their gem and fast before all-out war breaks out.

Review:

I have to admit I was not so much excited about this novel when it came out. Christophe was my least favorite of the Warriors so I wasn’t that interested in his story. By the 30^th page my opinion of Christophe turned around. It turns out Christophe can be a charming man when he wants to be with a sense of humor to boot! By the end of the book you love him as much as the other warriors. Fiona is a kick arse women, she is the world’s greatest cat burglar, a children’s author and illustrator and philanthropist as well as can tame the surly Christophe all while looking fantastic. All in a day’s work for our heroine! There is plenty of action is this novel so you are never bored. The only thing was the ending, I was left with unanswered questions like what is Christophe going to do with all his magic? But besides that it was a highly enjoyable novel.

Rating:

4.0 moons out of 5

Gena Showalter - Heart of the Dragon

Atlantis Series:

Book 1:

Heart of the Dragon: Darius en Kragin and Grace Carlyle

Summary:

After Darius's entire family was brutally killed by travelers he has pledged his existence to protecting Atlantis from travelers. With a sense of purpose and no emotion he eliminates the traveler before it can possibly be a threat to Atlantis and all that Darius holds dear.  For 300 years Darius has had no issues protecting the mist until one day he finds a delectable, curvy, red headed human come through. Grace is in the Amazon looking for her brother Alex, he has been missing for several weeks and he is the person she is closest to in the world. The last she had heard from him is when he sent her this strange dragon medallion. When Grace is pulled through the mist the last thing she expects to see is a huge man with a sword who looks like he is ready to kill her. Darius is battling his urge to not kill this beautiful human, he knows his duty and ehat it entails, when he spots the medallion she is wearing. It is a dragon medallion that only dragons should be wearing, worse this particular medallion is his mentor’s.  Determined to find out why Grace is wearing his mentors medallion he takes her captive. After 300 years of never failing to do his duty Darius is perplexed why he couldn’t do it this time and why he feels this strong reaction to Grace, she brings out his emotions and all his senses and he’s not sure if he likes it, but until he finds out where she got the medallion he can’t kill her. Even though Grace is drawn to Darius like a moth to a flame, he is exactly like the gorgeous warriors she reads about in her romance novels, she knows she has to escape. Finally when Darius leaves her alone se manages to escape from Atlantis and return home to New York.  Upon her return Grace finds out her brother is still missing and there seems to be a conspiracy to keep her from finding any information about his whereabouts. Darius has failed not only did he fail to kill Grace but he didn’t get any information about the medallion, so he tracks her to New York.  Together Grace and Darius have to solve the mystery of the medallion because Graces missing brother and the takeover of Darius’s mentor’s palace all seem to come back to the medallion.

Review:

This is the first book in the Atlantis Series where we are introduced to dragons, vampires, centaurs, etc...  All those things that shouldn’t exist but do… I wasn’t that big of a fan of Grace, she is a curvy woman but didn’t embrace those curves and as a curvy woman myself that annoyed me. Called me biased, I’m ok with that! Darius as the alpha male was portrayed correctly he was cold and standoffish and confused by his new found senses.  When he is tasting food again for the first time in 300 years it brought a smile to my face the way he relished the experience. Because I know that the taste of an éclair is a party in your mouth even if you taste them on a regular, let alone for the first time. Overall this book was solid, it was kind of slow and I took a few breaks from reading it but overall a good story.

Rating:

2.75 moons out of 5