Book Review: A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer

A Blood Seduction
by: Pamela Palmer

Wow. That's all I have to say on this wild ride of a story.

Quinn Lennox, a human that's been a little bit off for most of her life, thinks that she's been having mental breakdowns as she see buildings that aren't even there. When her and her brother get sucked into the weird world she's been seeing, all hell breaks loose.

Vampire Arturo Mazza feeds on fear and Quinn's fear is as delicious as they come. There's only one hang up. She's the only chance their dieing world has to live and he'll do anything to keep it alive. Even if it means that turning over Quinn to a maniac who feeds on pain.

I could not put this book down. It was a joy to read and kept me riveted to the pages with every twist and turn. That being said, there really wasn't any real character growth in any of the characters and at some points the way Quinn escaped dangerous situations became repetitive.

The sexual tension between Quinn and Arturo was amazing. The love hate relationship Quinn and had with his character was believable, understandable and a mix of emotions that played well in the story.

I am glad that they labeled this novel as fiction as this was more of a quest story then a romance.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 for storyline/romance and a 3 out of 5 for bedroom steaminess.

If you'd like to read more about Pamela Palmer and her other novels, click here.

Book Review: Kiss of the Vampire by Cynthia Garner

Kiss of the Vampire
by: Cynthia Garner

This book is about a half-demon, half-human Nix de la Fuente, who works as the human-preternatural liaison with the Council that is supposed to maintain the peace between the perternaturals and the humans. When Nix is assigned to work a work a case of a bloody massacre, vampire Tobias Caine is assigned to work with her. With a past between them that Nix hasn't been able to get over, can she keep her hands and eyes off of the vampire long enough to solve the case?

When I first started reading this novel, I was really excited to see how it would play out. This is a new take on the classic vampire/shifter/demon theme, involving a temporal rift and the unwanted 'people' who get tossed through it and have to take up residence on earth.

Nix was initially a really strong female character that seemed to be able to hold her own against Tobias. As the story went along, she became less of a female worth saving to someone who was becoming more of a victim that Tobias had to continue to rescue.

Tobais' character didn't really have any grow either. The most he came to the realization of was that he shouldn't have left Nix all those years ago.

Also, the storyline included exact descriptions of the actions of the characters when the got into the car. I found this a bit distracting and it slowed the flow of the story down.

I give this a 3 out of 5 for storyline/romance and a 31/2 out of 5 for bedroom steaminess.

If you'd like to find out more about Cynthia Garner and the other novels, click here.

Book Review: Nightborn by Lynn Viehl

Nightborn
by: Lynn Viehl

The latest in the Lords of the Darkyn series, this novel packs a punch.

When the high lord's most loyal servant Korvel is sent to retrieve a mysterious scroll which has been guarded by the the high lords most trusted servant. Korvel has no idea what he's in for.

Simone Derien knows the terrible power of the scrolls and its her duty to ensure the curse doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Tasked with killing Korvel after they retrieve the stolen scroll, Simone has to decide if she'll follower her heart or her duty.

With a crazed assassian on their trial, Korvel and Simone must navigate the dangers that follow them and keep the passion they feel for each other under warps.

This was an interesting novel with a complex plot line and even had several of the characters from previous novels cameo in the storyline. The attraction felt between Korvel and Simone was realistic and complex.

What I enjoyed about this novel:
The strong female and male characters
The ominous relic/s
Believable evil characters

What I didn't enjoy:
Simone kept slipping/running away from Korvel (the same scenario repeated again and again)
The only difference between the bad character and Simone was that she wasn't as willing to kill
Korvel didn't seem to be as emotionally involved as he acted in the end of the book
I didn't like how the villain died

I give this story a 4 out of 5 for bedroom steaminess and a 4 out of 5 for storyline/romance.

If you'd like to find out more about Lynn Viehl and her other novels, click here.

Book Review: Warrior by Kristina Douglas

Warrior
by Kristina Douglas

This was an interesting book to read. It can be a bit hard at times to get into a book where the hero originally doesn't really care if the heroine survives or is even willing to kill her himself. That is how the Fallen stories tend to start out and Warrior was no different.

The reincarnation of a Greek Goddess, Troy has been held in a tower for the majority of her life. Trained in the art of warfare and strategy, if Archangel Michael hadn't shown up to collect his bride, she would have been killed and another re-incarnation goddess would have been born and trained again (can't have a goddess growing old) until they were called upon to serve.

When Michael actually arrives to claim his unwanted bride, Troy is forced to chose between marring him or dieing in her prison. With few choices available, Troy decides to try her luck with Michael and is brought to the Fallen's home. Except she finds that her new found freedom is a double edges sword. Danger is coming again to the Fallen and she is the only one who can turn the tide and when the next battle.

With her desire for Michael increasing with each hour and his determined attitude to stay away from her, how can she fight for the man she's come to love with the battle looming near.

When plot lines swing from indifference to true love in 373 pages, it can be hard to correctly navigate the emotional twists and turns and Kristina does an awesome job. I've read a few books where the characters suddenly just all of a sudden love each other and  everything has magically worked its self out.

This is not the chase. Kristine has a wonderful way of drawing the characters out of their shells and exposing the centers of their very characters and in doing so allows their counterpart an opportunity to squash that small hope and when they can't, the emotions continue to build until you have a worth while and believable storyline and  awesome character growth.

What I enjoyed:
Michael at first seemed like such a one dimensional character, and she was able to unravel the layers that consisted of his personality to show to the readers that he was a worth while male to read about
I love Michael's wings and the tattoos that covered his body
Troys strategic personality, although she was in a horrible position, she knew how to pick her fights and how to end them
The growth of Troy's character

What I didn't like
I wish that she had provided more information on the tattoos that covered Michael's body and how he got about getting them
Michael's initial willingness to let Troy die
When the storyline traveled away from Michael and Troy (it wasn't that often), but I felt broke up the novel's pace
I felt like the pair of 'unique' people who birth/trained/killed a goddess a bit hard to get into as they seemed as if they were a bit out of the natural order of things, she also didn't explain how long this has been going on or why they knew that Michael was the one who needed to marry her

I give Warrior by Kristina Douglas a 3 out of 5 for storyline/romance and a 4 out of 5 for bedroom steaminess.

If you'd like to find out more about Kristina Douglas and her novels, click here.

Book Review: Pray by Linda Howard

Pray
by: Linda Howard

This book was an awesome installment to Linda Howard's novels. It was an intense ride, full of murder, mayhem and love.

The story is about Angie Powell, a blunt and honest trailblazer, who has made her home and runs her business in Montana. Except business hasn't been going well for her. In fact its very life is being drained away by rival businessman Dare Callahan.

After having served in the military, Dare has settled down in Montana and currently life and business is good. There's only one problem, he wants Angie and she'll have nothing to do with him.

When Angie takes her last clients of the year out on a hunt, things take a turn for the worst and her very life is put in danger. Fortunately Dare is camping near by and comes to the rescue. Their lives take an turn when they are forced together in a fight for survival.

Wow, this book was awesome. The rough, no holes bared, Dare was a joy to read and get to understand. He's attitude was perfectly paired with the sarcastic whit of Angie, whose survival instincts in intense situations saved her life on numerous occasions.

Their relationship was worst at best before they get shoved together and the tension soars whenever they interact.

What was great about this novel:
The storyline was smooth and the transitions between scenes and timelines understandable and didn't detract from the story
The character depth and flaws were believable
The 'base' steps were covered before the couple reached their first sex scene
Both main characters had strong personalities buy did not over power each other

What I didn't like about this novel:
The bear in this novel had it's own internal thoughts and at times it detracted from the storyline, although I do understand why this point of view needed to be added.
The bear seemed like more of a villain in this story then the human villain trying to kill her
Dare is phsyically scared from his time in service and although she touches on it, I wish she had brought these scars a bit more to the readers attention instead of sprinking them in throughout the story

I give Prey by Linda Howard a 5 out of 5 in storyline/romance and a 4 out of 5 for bedroom steaminess.

Find out more about Linda Howard and her novels by clicking here.

Emerald City Comic Con- only 3 days away!

This years Emerald City Comic Con is closing in fast! I'm just glad that I don't have to make my entire costume again this year. Last year I made my own warrior skirt and silk screened a Klingon face on the back of my shirt with the outline of their armor on the front. It wasn't horribly sewing crafty but keep in mind I also had to make my sisters too, which took quiet a bit of time. I managed to get everything completed the night before.

The shirts turned out okay, they looked great on my sister but if you're shirt stretches a bit when you wear it, I'd not suggest using fabric paint that cracks when pulled apart, like metallic gold. The skirt made it most of the day and is still lying like a corpse in my closet.

This year we are going as female versions of Han Solo from Star Wars. Hey! Its a comic convention, I can go as what ever I want! (PS- I'll also be wearing this at the Anime Convention the following weekend). Black skinny pants, yoga in my case and jeans in my sisters, with a red stripe down the sides and a pair of combat like boots complete the bottom half of this outfit. The top will consist of a white lace 1/2 sleeve shirt with a red coverup underneath and a black open back shirt that we will be cutting down the front to form the vest.

Just for fun I'll be making leather wrist cuffs with the rebel insignia branded into the tops. They'll be tied close with red ribbon. The hardest thing I have to do this time around is create the leg gun holster (if I wear a fake gun) and create the wrist cuffs. No sweat! Although I've never branded leather before, so that will be an interesting experience.

The Comic con is also holding  a speed dating event which is becoming all the rage at events like this, Sakura Con will also be holding one but I won't be attending that. My sister and her boyfriend decided to join me in attempting to get signed up for the Saturday speed date fest. As I've never done speed dating and its at a convention, it will be interesting to see how it turns out!

I can't wait. Wish me luck on my wrist bands!

Book Review- Shadowlight

Shadowlight
by Lynn Viehl

This is the first novel of her Kyndred series, which is an off shoot of her Darkyn series and even tends to have a few character overlaps. This story focuses primarily on Jessa Bellamy, an entrepreneur who has caught the attention of a pharmaceutical company, GenHance that has been paying special attention to how she uses her extra set of skills and Matthias, whose history is shrouded in mystery and seems to be a man of action and little words. 

They are forced together when Matthias has to act fast in order to save Jessa from GenHance who would like nothing better than to take her back to their lab and harvest her DNA. Forced to live in close contact with Matthias, she fights both her need to open up to another person like herself and her desire for him. With a madman on their tail, she struggles to overcome her desires and the need to protect the others who are like herself.

This novel was a blast to read, although at times it dragged a little, but I plowed through anyway as I knew she wouldn't be providing information unless it was essential to her storyline, and thankfully it was. Since half this story takes place in a cellar with only a few people Jessa comes in contact with, some of the conversations tended to get a bit repetitive. I wasn't quit sure how long Jessa was held, but her thread of the storyline moved very little while the outside world continued to move at its fast pace.

The storyline started out with a big boom of sexual tension about three chapters in, then nothing really happened on that side of things till the last quarter of the story. I do understand that there is a fine line between natural attraction and Stockholm syndrome, but in this retrospect of the story I had hoped for a little more. I will say that most of her stories, although they do focus around a couples growing emotional involvement, this story was more on par to her normal style of writing, although she does throw a few more sexually charged stories in from time to time.

There was one part of this storyline that she could have elaborated on, especially given who the characters were and what they were obsessed about, but that thread wasn't picked up (I don't want to elaborate any more as it will give away part of the story). Maybe it will in the last book she has released (4th in this series) that I haven't read yet.

I give this novel a 4 out of 5 for storyline/romance and a 3 out of 5 for bedroom steaminess.

If you'd like to read more about Lynn Viehl, please check out her website by clicking here.

Upcoming book reviews
Darkness Undone by Jessa Slade
The Mate Attraction by Shelly Laurenston
Dire Needs by Stephanie Tyler

If you have any suggestions/requests for book reviews, please leave a comment!