romance

Rise Again Warrior: Mission Accept by Stacy Eaton

Dana is a spoiled rich girl who is cut off by her parents because she is directionless.  Derek is a homeless veteran who carries a lot of guilt around for what happened when he was a Navy Seal sniper.

Dana meets Derek by accident on the streets and they keep running back into each other as Dana begins to realize that there is a lot more going on around her than worries about shoes and penthouse apartments.  

When her dad cuts her off, he suggests she approach her cousin Shane about a job.  Shane founded Rise again warrior, and he offers Dana a job at the ground floor, literally.  Rise Again Warrior is a project to help veterans accept and overcome the baggage of war and move on to re-join society.  Gradually, Dana begins to learn about the problems the veterans have and the need for a place like Rise Again Warrior. 

I enjoyed the book.  It is challenging in places because of all the hurt and emotional scars of the numerous characters, but rewarding with more than one happy ending.  This book is well worth your time.  

I received a review copy from the author.

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Royally Hitched?

Review for Royally Hitched: the Fae Prince by G. K. DeRosa

Dark Fae Series book 1.

Royally Hitched revolves around a “Batchelor”-style reality TV show where twelve contestants from the four fairy realms try to win the heart of the Prince Drake of the Winter and Summer Courts (It’s complicated!).  Tempest and Arabella are entered as fae from the Autumn court, but they are really half-human witches sent by their father to spy on the Summer Court.  

Everybody involved in the contest, on and off camera, has their own secrets and plans.  The book builds excitement from the very beginning as Tempest and Arabella arrive, wondering if they will be exposed as imposters.  Soon enough other problems arise and the plot moves quickly along.  

The story is told from alternating points of view with Tempest, Arabella and the Prince trying to investigate what is going on and trying to stay alive in the process.  Both Tempest and Arabella have developed feelings for the Prince, and he has feelings for both of them.  

The book ends on a cliff-hanger in the mid-point of the contest, so I’ll be waiting eagerly for the next book in the series.  Royally Hitched is set in the same world as the Hitched and DarkBlood Academy series, but you don’t need to read either in order to enjoy this book.

I read a advanced review copy of this book. 

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Arthur’s mate by Lisa Daniels

Book 1 in the Bears of Valor Lake series

Emma is living in Valor Lake, a place she picked off a map when she couldn’t tolerate life in Phoenix with her parents and manipulative boyfriend a moment longer. She finds a job and eventually runs in to Arthur at a bar. He’d just had a very public breakup with his girlfriend, and the two start to chat. Arthur invites Emma fishing and, to his surprise, she accepts. She thinks that if she’s going to live here she should figure out what people do for fun and get to know some people. She has no intention of rushing into a relationship, but the way Arthur keeps looking at her makes her wonder. Arthur’s sister Yara is becoming a good friend, too.

Arthur has some problems of his own. Family members can’t agree on how to use the land and tensions are high. Meanwhile, his mother and grandmother are obsessed with him having an heir to protect their claim to the land. Strangers are unusual in bear shifter lands, but he’s intrigued by Emma and her problems. He wants to help her.

I enjoyed the book and read it in an afternoon. The story of Emma and Arthur was a nice story with interesting supernatural aspects. I recommend it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout. My opinions are always my own.

Kasey Briggs Leave a comment

The Shifter’s Hostage by T. S. Ryder

Lydia and Amber are late closing the restaurant.  They are busy dreaming about Lydia opening her own restaurant and hiring Amber to bake desserts. Their daydreams are cut short by robbers bursting in with guns and herding the girls into the walk-in freezer.  Worried about what comes next, they are alarmed to hear an explosion and then Ian, a regular customer they dislike because he is so picky about food and never tips.  Ian explains that the robbers were demons and he grabs the two of them and throws them in his car explaining that they aren’t safe unless they are under his protection.  That includes living with him indefinitely.

Ian is a dragon shifter–the last of his kind– and he is charged with making sure demons stay in hell. Frankly he hasn’t been doing a very good job lately (say, the last 300 years) because he is bitter that humans killed his family.  Lydia’s family was also killed when she was young and it turns out that she is a paladin.  Paladins are humans who hide the gates to hell.

Ian also decides now is the time to think about having an heir (or several) and to propose a loveless mating with one of the women.  Given that he has zero social skills, this doesn’t go well at all. Fortunately for him, Lydia stays around to be trained as a Paladin and help find the gate.  If she can manage not to kill him first, maybe with time attraction can bloom between them?

The Shifter’s Hostage starts off quick with action and then switches to humorous culture-shock sequences between Ian and Lydia due to Ian’s complete lack of social niceties.  Lydia is not afraid to call him on his rudeness, even if he is a dragon. Their by-play is amusing as they work together to train Lydia to use her powers and to find the gate so they can seal it.

I enjoyed the book.  I must say that the ending seemed a little abrupt as the story bogs down a bit when the action and banter stops.  Still, an enjoyable read. Currently comes with a variety of bonus stories.

 

 

Kasey Briggs Leave a comment

A new shifter world opens in turmoil in A Wolf’s Hunger: Rafe by A K Michaels

A K Michael’s new shifter series, a Wolf’s Hunger, opens with a world in turmoil.  Rafe, the Alpha of his pack, is suffering from a strange uncontrollable hunger that cannot be sated by any number of kills.  For days he has hunted in his wolf form as his Beta wolf has followed and worried.

Meanwhile, Tasha is on the run after a mysterious illness and an attack by rogue wolves has destroyed her pack.  At the insistence of her mother, Tasha fled the attack to warn other packs. After days of pursuit, the rogue wolves are almost on her heels.

I enjoyed this book tremendously.  The story is full of action from the very start and with only brief romantic interludes the plot continues at a fast pace until the mysteries are solved and the story resolved.  Rafe and Tasha are strong characters and the supporting characters are also well developed.  I look forward to other books in this series.

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Luther – Base Camp Bears by Amelia Jade

So, a bear shifter walks into a bar and runs into a friend.  Then he’s smitten with a cute waitress and says all the wrong things.  Then… all hell breaks loose.

Bear shifter Luther just lost his job with the Green Bearet border patrol due to budget cuts. He wanders into a bar in the neutral city of Cloud lake to drown his sorrows and decide what to do next.  Once there he’s smitten with Allix, a human who works as a waitress at the bar. When shifters from the Fenrir enclave arrive and cause trouble, he acts to defend her.  It turns out that the Fenrir shifters enclave have started attacking humans and shifters all over town. Fenrir has just declared war.  Luther and his friend have no choice but return to their old base in the Cadia enclave.

Allix has been wandering all her life looking for something.  She sees Luther in the bar and there’s definitely some special bond there.  Suddenly, Allix finds herself in the middle of a shifter war and in need of rescue.  Can love bloom in the shadow of war and can Allix finally find a place to belong?

This was an exciting story based in Amelia Jade’s Cadia shifter world.  Green Bearets – Luther is Book 1 in the Base Camp Bears series.  I thoroughly enjoyed the book.  It combined a lot of different elements such as shifter/human conflicts, conflicts between shifters, Military tactics and training, and of course romance.  The story is unpredictable and keeps your guessing what will happen next.

 

Kasey Briggs Leave a comment

Blueblood dragon by Amelia Jade

This is book one in the Genesis Valley series

Ferro has a terrible mission before him.  Something has gone wrong with the Dragon Council and he must find out what and fix it before millions are endangered.  To make it even worse, all the members of the dragon council  and the rebellion are his children.  Ferro is the first dragon shifter. He is thousands of years old, and he’s clearly stayed away too long.
As Ferro makes his way towards the secret lair of the dragon council he sees a shifter in trouble and intervenes.

As far as Ana knows she is the only one of her kind.  Drifting from one small village to another it always ends the same.  Somebody crosses the line and when she defends herself  she is hunted as a demon and called an abomination.  It’s really getting tiresome.
When Ferro helps Ana out she is suspicious, but when they touch they both feel a powerful pull.  Can two ancient shifters  adapt to a life together?  Maybe if the Order, as they learn their mutual enemy is called,  would give them a moment’s peace they could find out…

I enjoyed this book a lot.  The characters are well defined, the dialogue  is snappy, the action is fast, and the plot is full of rich detail.  It builds on the story  from the Jade crew series while opening up a new set of circumstances  for a new series.  It’s a fast read, but a satisfying one.

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Pyramids and Promises, by Kimberly Loth

I just finished this book and I loved it!  It has an expansive setting and a wonderful story.

Jessica is a therapist for the diplomatic corps.  In the process of divorcing her controlling husband she requests and immediate transfer from Russia and is sent to Egypt (lucky girl!)   At first she hates the “brown country” where she doesn’t speak the language.

Connor works in the oil business and is very wealthy.  He sees Jessica from a distance at the pool in her apartment building and at first mistakes her for Nour, a woman he fell in love with but who married another man.  He meets Jessica and offers to show her the sights.    He soon realizes Jessica is nothing like Nour, but he is still very attracted to her.

Jessica is wary of a rebound relationship, especially so soon after leaving her controlling and unfaithful husband, but she’s also attracted to Connor and unused to being treated so well.  Their relationship develops as they travel around seeing all the beauty the “brown” country has to offer.

I loved the descriptions of sites in Egypt and other places and enjoyed trying to guess what would happen next in their relationship.  This is the second book in the Omega Mu Alpha series built around the interacting stories of eight fraternity brothers who all found their fortunes and now are finding love.  I can’t wait to see what happens with the other six brothers!

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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