Sassy paranormal adventure story with a dash of romance
582470
There seems to be a new genre of book coming out now: Sassy, independent women in paranormal mystery/adventures with a bit of flirtation or the occasional tumble in the hay thrown in. I'm not quite sure how to classify that in terms of tags or categories, but In a Fix is right there on whatever shelf that might be.

Ciel is not your average life coach.  She is an aura adaptor (but don't call her a shapeshifter) who helps her clients solve the sticky moments in their lives they don't want to handle by assuming their forms (with permission) and getting the job jobbed. This book promises to be the start of a series of Ciel adventures. She's busy at work posing as her client, who is eager for an engagement ring from her handsome sweetheart.  It's all almost in the bag, (and in the bed), except the hunk in question gets kidnapped, and their vacation love cottage gets blown to smithereens. Ciel enlists the aid of her quasi-step-cousin (who wants the relationship to move into the kissing cousins realm) and the best friend of her elder brother (who she has a super-sized crush on) to rescue the guy.  Did I mention that the brother and crush are CIA, and that all are adaptors? And that the bad guys are modern day Vikings who are protesting against the unmanning of the male gender? They're on the rampage against having to pee sitting down and other emasculating gestures of society.

Though it sometimes got a little confusing who was taking which form/body, the premise was clever, and had some downright brilliant moments. Some of the unique ways Ciel used her adapting were quite inventive. The romantic tension added a nice touch.  It'll be interesting to see how Ms Grimes chooses to take the series.

As an additional note, not only was there a cover blurb from one of my favorite authors, Diana Gabaldon, but she was thanked in the acknowledgements as well.  If Linda Grimes is a Gabaldon fan/friend/mentor, it's no wonder there were some pretty sizzling encounters in the book.

Thanks to Tor Books for sending this along for my reading pleasure.
1968007
Bell  Book and Sandals is a fun romance novel with a touch of the paranormal thrown in. We follow the main character Maxi Duncan  and her adventures when she moves to LA,  meets a girl called Van, falls in love with a good looking movie star and discovers that she herself is a witch. But not only that,  also her new friends and her new love of her life, are not what they seem.

I found this to be a very easy read, it certainly bought a smile to my face and I could see it appealing very much to young women readers.  So if you like a little romance, a sense of adventure with a sprinkling of magic, then this is a book for you.
2804570
This book wasn't quite what I expected after reading the blurb, but it turned out to be an interesting read with quite lot of elements that made it worth the time. The paranormal abounds in this novel and there is no shortage of creepiness.

This is a sort of cozy mystery book with a few good laughs along the way. The main characters make the book worth reading with plenty of fun banter between them. I thought the romance was a bit on the predictable side and there were some events that I saw coming a while before they actually happened, but for the most part the story was enjoyable.

I liked that the characters were very different from one another and there was a broad array of personalities to enjoy. I also thought this story had a bit of a Christian feel with a stark contrast between good and evil.

Overall this was a good book with plenty of redeeming qualities. If you like paranormal stories where there is some history, some mystery and some humour too, this might be a good one to choose.

This review is based on a digital ARC from the publisher and provided by netgalley.
3519927
This is a fluffy but effective supernatural adventure/romance. It is set in a world a lot like our own, but where vampires, werewolves, warlocks, and other supernatural entities are totally for real. They're segregated in walled-off communities like lepers. Turns out there may be good reason for that -- there's a fatal disease going around and people are dying all over. The only cure -- if you'd call it that -- is to get a warlock to turn you into one of those supernaturals.

The main character, Alena Budrene, is on her deathbed. She's a sweet-natured, wholesome, somewhat naive bakery owner who wouldn't dream of becoming one of those awful supernatural creatures. But dying doesn't seem like such a treat either, so you can guess what happens.

Alena's adorable personality is the highlight of this book. She is feisty but so prim and proper. She says things like "Never you mind, it's not a single bit of your beeswax" and she calls supernaturals "Super Dupers." She has a consistent sense of humor in the face of dark realities. Her gentle humor is one of the things that makes the story such fun.

"I clutched the edges of my sheets and allowed myself a thin measure of hope. To believe maybe there was a way out of this that didn't involve a pine box, hearse, off-key choir, and questionable meat platter."

Alena finds herself in deep when she joins the supernatural world. She doesn't become an ordinary, regular mythical creature like she expects. She is turned into something else -- something that might get her killed. Adventure ensues.

The story is fast-paced and exciting. There is real tension to drive the story forward, but it's also just short. It feels rushed at times. The story can be low on detail, especially when dealing with the mythologies of the supernatural world which aren't entirely fleshed out. But that's not always a bad thing, especially if you're looking for a light-weight, fun read.

The bakery angle is a common thread running through the story. Baked goods show up in metaphores throughout the book. For example, "my mouth was dry as a brownie made without enough buttermilk." Also Alena draws on her experience in running her own business many times in her tribulations. She admirably displays strength and fortitude that she herself might have never expected she had. It is an excellent example of how kindness is not the same as weakness.

This is the first book in a series, and it feels that way too. The story reaches a conclusion, but there are also a lot of loose ends left hanging. It's not a cliffhanger, but not exactly a self-contained novel. For example, there is a vampire character that looks like he is being set up as a romantic interest, but things don't go far in that direction at all (which was fine with me -- I found the guy creepy and disturbing -- YMMV).

In conclusion, I'd say this was a quick, easy read and a super duper fun story.

* Rating: 4.25 stars
* Length: 90,000 words
* Violence: Mild
* Sex: Daydreams
* Drugs: No
3619279
Loved it. Ronan is a bit of a rake and Makayla is just the right combination of sassy and bull-headed for them to work as an intriguing couple. Looking forward to reading more from this author and I'm glad I got to start with a book that had a unique take on paranormal romance. I enjoyed it greatly.
635882
I would like to thank Diversion Books & NetGalley for granting me a copy of this e-ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. Though I received this e-book for free that in no way impacts my review.

Goodreads Teaser:
"I spent my birthday fast asleep. In a coma to be exact.

When Savannah wakes up after two months in the hospital, she sees a whole lot more than expected, things that could put those close to her at risk.

The five Delcarta sisters have never believed in the paranormal, not like their woo-woo mother. Instead they believe in the power of sisterhood, of romance, and rebuilding their lives after their father's mysterious disappearance nine years earlier. Starting anew in the small town of Iris Harbor, they see potential in all.

But Savannah's awakening after having surgery on a life-threatening aneurysm brings a unique ability to the Delcarta sisterstogether, each can predict the future with one of the five senses. And Savannah has the gift of sight.

A serial arsonist has been terrorizing the tight-knit community, and the Delcarta sisters have their suspicions on who could be to blame, including a boy who starts as an adversary to Savannah and then very quickly becomes her whole world. Investigating these crimes, trying to stop them before the next flame is sparked will call upon Savannah to use her newfound abilities with the help of her sisters, and will put each of their lives in danger.

This stunning new paranormal series blends the sweetest of romances with breathless suspense, and introduces five young women who share a haunted past, an extraordinary gift, and an uncertain future."

I began this book a bit surprised and mildly disappointed as for some reason I'd anticipated the target audience as being a bit more mature. Thankfully I stuck with it, for it grew on me more and more - all the way to the end.

Savannah is a sweet, but slightly innocent for her age, protagonist. In fact all the sisters seemed a bit more innocent than one might expect them to be given their past history. Yet as the story unfolds their very innocence becomes part of what makes them so appealing. Each girl is her own person, even while they form a very cohesive unit. Discovering that they each have a psychic gift is only the tip of the iceberg for these five sisters.

Between the mysteries that are woven through their daily lives is also a strong family bond, romance, and personal growth for each and for the family unit. The character development and arc of the story are well matched, pacing one another nicely. As nicely as the distinct personalities of each sister, making them all individuals within their tightly knit family. A family that's already undergone one tragedy, faced down a possible second, and one that's clearly ready for whatever the future might bring their way.

It was a very pleasant gift to read a story in which family, and their shared bond, are so important. It's never downplayed or sacrificed for the sake of the plot. If anything the plot is built around this strong familial bond. And that's something one doesn't see all to often in YA books these days. Broken families are more often the norm, so the newly christened Delta Girls, and their Mom, are reverting to a more traditional family norm - and yet they remain current at the same time.

The daily experiences, when combined with the less frequent mysteries, make for a very entertaining combination. This series is off to a very good start - I'll be interested to see if the subsequent books in this series will be able to meet the bar set by this first book, and maybe even raise it as the storyline develops.
4401084
While the romance was a little predictable, the paranormal world it is set in is unique and set neatly in the world we know today. I think I'll be buying the follow-up novel.
2225722
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a witchy paranormal romance with a fated mates spin.  It was a little dark but had a new kind of witch/warlock lore that I was unfamiliar with.  You can tell that this book was being used to set up a series to come.

Storm is a tomboy type who is definitely not ready to accept any woo-woo magic stuff in her life.  Shes represents the contractor portion of a group of sisters who own a construction company.  I can easily see how this book will slide into other stories about each sister.  They were all very different and will be coping with the revelations in this book in different ways.  Backing up, Storm is excited about a new job to renovate an empty building into a surgery center.  When the owner of the job, Nate, runs into her at his day job as a surgeon, the sparks fly in some conflicted ways.  Nate is a Paladin, tasked with defending witches from the evil warlocks.  When he meets Storm, he isn't sure if shes good or evil, but a mating brand removes any doubt from his mind that she is his to protect.

The romance was a little stop-and-go with the feeling of fated mates being rushed to consummate the relationship in record time.  The ending delivers a solid HEA for at least one sister, but we aren't sure what the future holds for the rest.  Because of the amount of groundwork and the shifty past of the characters, I had some trouble getting into this one.  However, this first book easily leads right into future ones to come.
3373660
I was instantly drawn into the interesting world-building, which was painted with a very light but elegant hand (no infodumps here!). The authors writing is a notch above most paranormal romances and I ended up thoroughly enjoying the story.

I don't want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say that Beauty is legally blind and the beast is a werewolf. Expected and unexpected antics occur, the pages turned awfully darn fast, and I was ready for the sequel before I knew it.
432616
Review: 3  out of 5 stars

This book is Adult Paranormal Romance - Please be advised that this book is NOT YA friendly, not even in a New Adult category.

Thank-you kindly to Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Unchained by J. Lynn, the first book in her new paranormal/Urban Fantasy series, Nephilim Rising. Unchained is a book that has been on my radar since I first glimpsed the cover and read the synopsis, and despite angel books generally being hit or miss with me I found it to be enjoyable none the less.

Our main protagonist is 22 year-old Lily Marks who is a  Nephilim, she spends her days/nights guarding the Sanctuary where other Nephilim reside, protects the humans from soul sucking freaks and disposing of the fallen angels who cross her path, except for Julian who has managed to work his way into her life.

Lily was an interesting heroine, she was protective of those she cared for, had faith in what she believed in and was kick-butt awesome with a fast trigger temper and a quick wit; there was a loneliness and vulnerability about her that I couldn't help but sympathise with. I came to admire her for her beliefs and decisions.

Julian was just ok for me, I have come to adore JLA's smexy, snarky heroes and the way he was described certainly ticked all of the boxes but he unfortunately fell flat, when I would read his dialogue for some reason it came across as robotic (that probably doesn't make sense at all), it didn't seem to flow or sound natural but that could have been because of his age? Not quite sure. I did enjoy the way he cared for Lily but his stalking was a little creepy.

The romance was sweet and slow to build; I liked the forbidden love aspect, the banter between them was amusing and the smexy moments were written very well. I'm curious to see how their relationship will progress.

The plot was entertaining with a few surprising twists to keep it all exciting; it mainly follows the search for a traitor within the Sanctuary who has been discovered to be working with the Fallen who are corrupting the Nephilim by turning them into their minions. I found the action-sequences enjoyable and it kept the pacing flowing well. Unfortunately the premise isn't completely unique and there was a lot of information to take in but it wasn't overwhelming or confusing in any way and the world-building I found to be convincing.

There were quite a few side characters and each played a pivotal role, I really liked Michael; he has me intrigued and the twist we are given about his character has me eager to learn more about him. Nathaniel was a great father figure, I liked learning of his link to a certain Fallen.

Overall, I enjoyed Unchained but I wasn't completely wowed by it as I have been by JLA's other series. Her writing is wonderful and the many plot twists and turns kept me engrossed, I'm keen to read the next book in the Nephilim Rising series.
2311922
What I liked: Thank you, Jackson Pearce for giving me a UNIQUE paranormal romance! I've never read one like this before, and the storyline was wonderful.

I also loved that the characters develop. Viola starts out feeling invisible and thinking somewhere in the back of her head that she wants to go back to the days of being with her ex-boyfriend. Jinn is a cocky, self-important, smug genie and at first he annoyed the you-know-what out of me. But he grows to see that there are ways to live other than what he is used to and begins to care for people other than himself.

By the end of the book, I was swooning over the romance between Jinn and Viola.

So, do I rec it? If you like a contemporary paranormal romance (check check check to all of the above), with a bit of bickering (YES), and plenty of character growth, be sure to pick this one up. As for me, it's found its way onto my favorites shelf on Goodreads. I Loved it.

- See more at: [...]
2842039
I was quickly drawn into this fast-paced story by Katie Mayo-Jackson.  It had elements of science fiction and the paranormal. These are two genres that I absolutely love and it was so interesting to see them melded together so well.

The heroine in the story is extremely likable and someone you want to root for.  This isn't the longest of stories, but you see a good amount of character development in her.  She is set up nicely for the next book in the series. I think I would have liked to see a little more back story for the villains.

I really did enjoy this and look forward to the next book!
1204744
Stone Kissed, by Keri Stevens, is a paranormal romance very much to my taste. There's a vampire, but that's the villain. The heroine has an unusual power -- stone statues talk to her, and how that works and how it complicates and enriches her life is all developed really well. The romance is sexy and challenging for both partners, there are some wonderful trust issues to resolve, and neither the relationship resolution nor the adventure plot gets short-changed.
2050360
This is the latest instalment in my favourite paranormal series and I was excited to read more about the world after the fall of Silence. It turned out to be such a turbulent journey, full of unexpected and sweet, a pleasure to follow through. I just bow my head to Ms Singh for the absolutely amazing paranormal world she has created in this series and the way she keeps elaborating and expanding it with each new book. There is so much going on, so much depth that it never gets boring or predictable.

The strongest element of this story for the me was the suspense/mystery plot. At times it even read more as urban fantasy than paranormal romance but I'm OK with it since it was really well-developed and created a rather engaging story.

This book is set in the aftermath of the fall of Silence and even though the action involves all the races, as well as some new players (Hello, Remy), the romance was focused on two Arrows - Aden and Zaira.

Aden was brilliant - strong and steady, calm and reliable and oh-so-fantastic with the Arrow kids. Clues but caring adults trying to figure out how the raise kids is a favoruite scenario in fiction for me. The tension was even stronger since the adults were Arrows - a squad of super fighters/assassins trained to suppress their emotion at the deepest level. The scenes between Aden/Zaira and the Arrow kids completely melted my heart. Aden focused on turning his Arrows into a sort of pack of his own and his efforts were both painful and admirable.

Zaira was a really troubled character. I liked the intricacy of her character very much, her journey to herself and allowing herself to feel was not an easy one. Her focus on "the beast inside, the madness" was repetitive at times and a bit annoying. Still, Aden was all too patient and he was strong enough to help her overcome her own fear and insecurities.

The romance was strong and captivating but I missed the moment of discovery that you have feelings which I love about the Psy - all the confusion, uncertainty, even refusal to admit, to try, to pursue. Aden and Zaira have had this strong connection/chemistry ever since they met as children and they both knew they belonged to each other. The conflict was based on Zaira's fear of her madness and her reluctance to risk the life of those she loved. They were together from the start, though they did walked their own path of discovery of sensual pleasure and true connection of body and soul.

I very much enjoyed the suspense elements of the story, it was complex, full of twists and turns and kept me on the edge till the very end. The plot is sort of setting the stage for further conflicts in the post-Silence world.

Another element in the story which I particularly liked is seeing so many of the characters from the previous books acting together here. The world has been irrevocable changed and Psy, changelings and humans need to find their place in the new world order. And there are some powerful enemies lurking around!

There will be more stories coming in the series and I'm already curious who will the star of the next book. Remy, probably? I'd love a changeling story next. Or Nikita and Anthony? Or someone totally unexpected?
4402814
I'm generally a fan of teen paranormal adventure/mystery/romance, plus already a fan of Laini Taylor's work, so I was already set to love this book before I read it. My biggest concern was the usual: too much kiddy romance. I like a passionate love story as much as the next fantasy-inclined young woman, but, well, let's just say I'm not a fan of a certain vampire series that involves a teenager and romance and...you know what I'm talking about.

Fortunately, this book is not like that dreaded series and I am really looking forward to reading more when they come out! Karou is not so strange that us mundate folk cannot relate to her, and the romance in her story is fantastical enough to be deeply moving and inspiring. I felt that Madame Taylor accomplished a lot to build a world in the length of the book and was very effective in making the reader comfortable in the varied surroundings. I never felt like I didn't have a clear idea of the environment that the characters were inhabiting, and at the same time, I never felt like any descriptions were being forced on me without having space to make up my own mental projections.
2899561
I am an avid reader of paranormal romance and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would have given it 5 stars if not for the gramatical errors. The quirky and loveable heroine and the macho alpha wolf create a scorching romance and an enjoyable story. The characters are colorful and well developed and the heroine has a sharp sense of humor and wit. The suppoeting characters help to round out the book and provide a source of explanations in werewolf behavior. The plot of the book was interesting and the story kept my attention throughout the entire book. The 470 pages are well used and are action packed. I would definitely reccomend theis book to fans of adult paranormal romance. I am excited for the next book!
1598047
Embrace the Darkness is the second book in the Guardians of Eternity series. Following the events in When Darkness Comes (Book 1), Viper (chief of a vampire clan) buys the Lady Shay (last of the Shalott demons, though technically she's half human) at auction. This annoys her more than a little as in the previous book she did save his life. Though Viper's motives may appear nefarious, he actually wants to protect Shay. However, unknown to both of them, she's actually in a lot more danger than they suspect. To survive, they'll not only have to depend on each other, but also their friends - both old and new.

I have a problem with this book, it was just so nice. Too nice. The bad guys were bad (or misunderstood), the good guys were good. It was well written. There were nice (there's that word again) comic touches from Levet, the heroine's gargoyle companion. But I don't think it's quite for me. I'm finding I prefer urban fantasy with its darker undertones, over paranormal romance.

Having said that, Shay and Viper have some strong dialogue and a great chemistry. I found Viper to be the more well-rounded character of the two, Shay was not quite so interesting. Levet is a little gargoyle with a big heart. He works as both a sidekick and a conscience and has some of the best lines.

There are some inconsistencies in the plot, or maybe I didn't pick up on all the subtleties. Specifically relating to Shay's curse. There's also a tendency to pull back from things, for example when Viper talks about the time before he was a clan chief how terrible things were for him. Shay questions him, but he just says - 'you don't want to know'. Also about the powers of each vampire clan chief - it's confidential. I'll make allowances for this once in a story, but more than that and it starts to annoy.

Alexandra Ivy does know how to keep her readers interested. New vampires are introduced here - Styx and Santiago. And there's mention of a 'young and fierce werewolf'. She puts in just enough to keep you interested in where the story is going. I also like that she makes the bad guy a little more three dimensional than your standard evil overlord. We get a glimpse of the hero he might have been in the past.

It's a nice story, well written with engaging moments. Slightly too light for me. The humour, and chemistry between the characters lifts it above a lot of the other paranormal romance out there. Recommended for fans of Jacquelyn Frank and Alyssa Day.

Book 1 - When Darkness Comes (available)
Book 3 - Darkness Everlasting (May 2008)