Wednesday, October 31, 2018

PARANORMAL ROMANCE READS--THEY WON'T BITE...NOT UNLESS YOU WANT THEM TO...WELL, MAYBE JUST A NIBBLE...(see my reviews)


Fated (Dark Protectors, #1)

Fated (Dark Protectors, #1)






Blood on Silk (Awakened by Blood, #1)











"Half Past Dead" is quite an appropriate title for this paranormal romance anthology from authors Zoe Archer and Bianca D'Arc. In each of the stories the zombified hero is not really human, but not really dead. Both "men" retain enough of their humanity to not only be heroic, but romantic as well. Actually, they are intensely erotic. Who knew? Zoe Archer's story, "The Undying Heart", is the prequel for her "Blades of the Rose" series, and it takes place in the Post-Civil War Era. Samuel Reed served valiantly in the War Between the States, only to be betrayed, murdered, and made one of the living dead by his own villainous commanding officer. After years of struggle, he is able to control his own will and seeks to destroy the man who defiled his existence along with the lives of so many of his fellow soldiers. His search brings him face-to-face with Cassandra Fielding, the sister of his best friend, Charlie, whose battle injuries were too severe for his body to be reborn as undead. Cassie does not turn away from Sam, even though she fully realizes that he is no longer a living, breathing man--he has no heartbeat. She is also on a mission, working for a select, secretive society, and she and Sam are after the same man. As they work together to bring an end to a heinous evil, feelings from their youth bloom and mature into a powerful passion. If they succeed in their quest, will they find a way to let love win its own war? Bianca D'Arc's contemporary story, "Simon Says", features a special ops superman, Simon Blackwell, who was bitten by a zombie and lived to tell the tale. Not only lived, but did not lose his humanity. After being quite ill from the bite, he bounced back stronger than ever with unusual physical abilities and the capability to quickly heal from injuries. His unique resistance to the zombie virus makes him unequaled as a hunter of the undead, and it also brings him back in contact with Dr. Mariana Daniels, the woman he turned away from after he was stricken. The explosive chemistry between them is just as hot, and the love they had never acknowledged is as deep as it is unspoken. When the threat of the undead comes too close to Mariana, Simon goes into overdrive when it comes to protecting his woman. She is only too glad to have Simon back in her life, even if he is now a different man. Together, they must eliminate the zombie warriors that threaten their community. If they survive, will they have a future together? "Half Past Dead" is the first book that I have ever read which features zombies as romantic heroes. Zombies--intensely erotic--who knew? 







Cast a Lover's Spell









































"Hearts of Darkness", from author Kira Brady, is a whip-cracking wild ride which blurs genres between urban fantasy and paranormal romance and creates something shockingly new. The bleak, black depths of alternate reality Seattle, WA are the battlegrounds of two powerful shapeshifter clans: the Kivati, whose animal shifters seem to leap from Native American totems, and the Drekar, whose wings are given flight from ancient Norse legends. This parallel universe Seattle is home to the gate between the real world and the other world, a gate which holds back the dead from the land of the living. Into this world comes Kayla Friday, on the heartbreaking mission to identify and claim the body of her dead sister, Desi, who supposedly died from a drug overdose. Kayla is a nurse, and once she sees her sister's body, she knows the death was not due to drugs. Kayla's tragic reunion with her sister is forcefully interrupted, first by sexy wolf shifter Hart, who claims Desi stole a valuable item from his boss and demands its return. Hot on Hart's heels are a group of goons also desperate to recover the missing artifact. Hart needs Kayla's trust so that he can recover the stolen goods and gain his freedom from enslavement by Norgard, the ruthless, soulless ruler of the Drekar. What Hart never imagined was that his own hardened heart would start to thaw from the genuine warmth and spirit of this lovely human woman, and now he must choose between a free life...or the love of a lifetime. Can a were shifter have both? Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance is based on a harsher, darker world with escalated drama and violence. The heightened tension leads to more intense sensual situations. All of these elements combine for a knockout punch, but they have to handled just right to avoid overkill and remain readable. As far as "dark or light" goes, it all depends on the story line and the personality that the author builds within each character. Thanks to talented and imaginative authors, Paranormal Romance, Sci-Fi, and Urban Fantasy genres continue to cross boundaries and merge storytelling elements in an increasingly delightful feast for fiction lovers! My interest in the subject will draw me to the work, be it light and humorous or dark and compelling. The skill of the author as a storyteller is what will hold my interest in the work. Since Urban Fantasy is futuristic fiction, it's pretty much wide open to speculation. I think it is great fun to take our present reality and amp it up into a decidedly darker view of things to come. "Hearts of Darkness" is the first book in Kira Brady's "Deadglass" series.

Book Copy Gratis Zebra Books



Mariana 

From the winner of the Catherine Cookson Fiction Prize, this mesmerizing, suspenseful, and richly atmospheric tale of time travel draws us into the heart of a heroine we won't soon forget...

The first time Julia Beckett saw Greywethers she was only five, but she knew that it was her house. And now that she’s at last become its owner, she suspects that she was drawn there for a reason.

As if Greywethers were a portal between worlds, she finds herself transported into seventeenth-century England, becoming Mariana, a young woman struggling against danger and treachery, and battling a forbidden love.

Each time Julia travels back, she becomes more enthralled with the past...until she realizes Mariana’s life is threatening to eclipse her own, and she must find a way to lay the past to rest or lose the chance for happiness in her own time.


MY REVIEW:  I am not a great fan of time-travel tales, but "MARIANA", by Susanna Kearsley, got better and better as the story developed. I am now a great fan of Susanna Kearsley! I was involved with the characters and could have continued to read more about how their lives unfolded. The strong first-person narrative propelled the reincarnated romance to a nicely twisted ending. A very good read.  

Sunday, October 28, 2018

"Absolutely Chocolate: Irresistible Excuses to Indulge" from the Editors of Fine Cooking offers pure pleasure from page to page. Don't eat the book! Read, learn, give in to temptation, explore, experiment, and let chocolate do its magic and release those good brain chemicals! (see review)

Absolutely Chocolate: Irresistible Excuses to Indulge

Absolutely Chocolate: Irresistible Excuses to Indulge

from the editors of  Fine Cooking Magazine


For years, most cooks only worried about choosing between semi-sweet and milk chocolate when whipping up chocolate creations. These days, however, it's vital to know the origins, varieties, and unique characteristics of chocolates available. The experts at Fine Cooking magazine have taken the guesswork out of making more than 125 scrumptious sensations from layer cakes, tarts, and pies to muffins, cookies, and brownies to candies, sauces, and hot cocoa. Each recipe features must-know tips on choosing and buying just the right chocolate; step-by-step, cant-fail instructions; and authoritative advice from America's most respected experts. In other words, Absolutely Chocolate is absolutely fabulous!


MY REVIEW:  Chocolate is not just a food--it is a world unto itself! As if I needed an excuse, "Absolutely Chocolate: Irresistible Excuses to Indulge" from the Editors of Fine Cooking offers pure pleasure from page to page. Don't eat the book! Read, learn, give in to temptation, explore, experiment, and let chocolate do its magic and release those good brain chemicals! The process of how chocolate is made--from birth to bar, the types of chocolates and their uses, cocoa versus hard chocolate, cocoa content, and the proper techniques for cooking with various chocolates are all invaluable facts for serious chocoholics. All of those things get you ready to dive into the more than 125 chocolicious recipes! Reward yourself, and those you love, with terrific temptations like: "Mocha-Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies"; "Macadamia Double-Decker Brownie Bars"; "Brown Butter Banana Cake with Chocolate Chips"; "Chocolate-Espresso Pecan Pie"; "Bourbon-Chocolate Mousse"; "Chocolate Pavlova with Tangerine Cream"; "Triple-Chocolate Ice Cream Pie"; "Chocolate-Banana-Ginger Bread Pudding"; "Chocolate-Raspberry Truffles"; and "Bittersweet Chocolate-Rum Sauce". The recipes range from simple to more involved, but none of the recipes or required ingredients are out of reach for most cooks. Even chocolate lovers who don't cook will treasure this book--maybe even sleep with it under their pillow for the sweetest of dreams.

Book Copy Gratis Taunton Press 

Fine Cooking Magazine

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Saturday, October 27, 2018

"FBI K-9 Series"--author Sara Driscoll offers a thrilling new suspense series featuring FBI Special Agent Meg Jennings and Hawk, her loyal search-and-rescue Labrador

FBI K-9s by Sara Driscoll

FBI handler Meg Jennings and her black Lab Hawk are part of the FBI’s elite Human Scent Evidence Team, part of the Forensic Canine Unit. Their job―find the missing, lost, escaped, or dead. The team as a whole can be deployed at a moment’s notice around the nation to search for missing children, escaped convicts, or to find the victims of natural disasters. With a little under-the-table help from crack Washington Post investigative reporter Clay McCord, they tackle a spree bomber, track down a twisted serial killer with a taste for word games and asphyxiating his victims, and crack a human trafficking ring that is uncovered when a vicious hurricane hits the east coast.


Lone Wolf (FBI K-9 #1) 



When a madman goes on a bombing spree, an FBI K-9 team of one woman and her dog is the key to stopping him before more innocents die and panic sweeps the Eastern seaboard.

Meg Jennings and her Labrador, Hawk, are one of the FBI’s top K-9 teams certified for tracking and search and rescue. When a bomb rips apart a government building on the National Mall in Washington D.C., it will take all the team’s skill to locate and save the workers and children buried beneath the rubble.

More victims die and fear rises as the unseen bomber continues his reign of terror, striking additional targets, ruthlessly bent on pursuing a personal agenda of retribution. Meg and Hawk join the task force dedicated to following the trail of death and destruction to stop the killer. But when the attacks spiral wide and no single location seems safe any longer, it will come down to a battle of wits and survival skills between Meg, Hawk, and the bomber they’re tracking. Can they stop him before he brings the nation to the brink of chaos?
  




Before It's Too Late (FBI K-9 #2) 

 

In this powerful K-9 crime thriller, FBI Special Agent Meg Jennings and her trusted search-and-rescue Labrador, Hawk, must race against the clock before a diabolical killer strikes again...

Somewhere in the Washington, D.C., area, a woman lies helpless in a box. Beneath the earth. Barely breathing. Buried alive. In Quantico, the FBI receives a coded message from the woman's abductor. He wants to play a game with them: decipher the clues, find the grave, save the girl. The FBI's top cryptanalysts crack the code and Special Agent Meg Jennings and her K-9 partner, Hawk, scramble to the scene of the crime. Cryptic clues lead them astray and by the time they solve the puzzle, it's too late. But the killer's game is far from over . . .

Soon another message arrives. Another victim is taken, and the deadly pattern is repeated--again and again. Each kidnapping triggers another desperate race against time, each with the possibility of another senseless death. That's when Meg decides to try something drastic. Break the Bureau's protocol. Bring in her brilliant sister, Cara, a genius at word games, to decipher the kidnapper's twisted clues. Meg knows she's risking her career to do it, but she's determined not to let one more person die under her and Hawk's watch. If the plan fails, it could bite them in the end. And if it leads to the killer, it could bury them forever . . .
  




Storm Rising (FBI K-9 #3) 



The heart-pounding thriller of a series continues as FBI Special Agent Meg Jennings and her search-and-rescue K-9 companion confront the fury of nature—and the more dangerous nature of man . . .

In the wake of a devastating hurricane, Special Agent Meg Jennings and her Labrador, Hawk—invaluable members of the FBI’s Human Scent Evidence Team—have been deployed to Virginia Beach. They have their work cut out for them. Amid graveyards of debris, and the buried cries for help, the search and rescue operation begins. The most alarming discovery is yet to come—a teenage girl hiding in the Great Dismal Swamp. Shaken by the storm, she has reason to be scared. But this young survivor is terrified of so much more.

Her name is Emma—a disheveled runaway lost to the sordid underbelly of a Virginia sex-trafficking ring. Its leader has disappeared in the chaos—along with other victims. With so much evidence, and so many witnesses, seemingly washed away, Meg joins forces with Special Agent Walter Van Cleave to ensure no further harm comes to their vulnerable charge. They soon discover that this is no small-time localized syndicate. Its branches are rooted in some of the most influential powers in Virginia. Now as Meg’s investigation digs deeper, she’s making some very dangerous enemies. And one by one, they’re coming out of the storm to stop her.



@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
 

Sara Driscoll is the pseudonym for authors Jen J. Danna and Ann Vanderlaan. 


 
 
JEN J. DANNA
 
Jen J. Danna
 
A scientist specializing in infectious diseases, Jen works as part of a dynamic research group at a cutting-edge Canadian university. However, her true passion lies in indulging her love of the mysterious and thrilling through her writing. With her partner Ann Vanderlaan, Jen writes two series: the Abbott and Lowell Forensic Mysteries—suspenseful mysteries with a smart, scientific edge, and the FBI K-9 Mysteries—a new thriller series under the pseudonym Sara Driscoll starring FBI K-9 handler Meg Jennings and her search-and-rescue black lab Hawk.
 

"Lovers and Legends Series"--author Nicole Locke's Marvelous Medieval Romances transport readers to an exciting era of historical adventures

Lovers and Legends Series

Book 1

The Knight's Broken Promise
Black Robert. The most feared of all King Edward's men…


Book 2

Her Enemy Highlander

In the wilds of Scotland… 


Book 3

The Highland Laird's Bride
At the gates of a Scottish keep…


Book 4

In Debt to the Enemy Lord
"You have a debt to pay. You owe me your life." 


Book 5

The Knight's Scarred Maiden
A maiden for the mercenary...


Book 6

Her Christmas Knight
A knight to protect her—this Yuletide...


Book 7

Reclaimed by the Knight
He left to save his family…



Nicole Locke


Nicole Locke 

Nicole first discovered romance novels hidden in her grandmother's closet. Convinced that hidden books must be better, Nicole greedily read them. It was only natural she should start writing them (but now not so secretly).

If she isn't working on the next book in her historical series, she can be reached at NicoleLocke.com, Facebook and on Twitter @NicoleLockeNews!


 

"Fiery Tales Series"--author LILA DIPASQUA'S exquisitely-written, sensually-compelling, vivid reimaginings of classic fairy tales!

Fiery Tales Series

Sexy retellings of classic fairy tales that give new meaning to the term bedtime story...

 

Book 1

A Midnight Dance

Inspired by the tale of Cinderella

 

Book 2

Undone

Inspired by the tale of Rapunzel

 

Book 3

The Duke's Match Girl
Inspired by The Little Match Girl

 

Book 4

Sleeping Beau

**NOTE: Originally published in the AWAKENED BY A KISS anthology

 

Book 5

Little Red Writing

**NOTE: Originally published in the AWAKENED BY A KISS anthology

 

Book 6

Bewitching in Boots
Inspired by the tale of Puss in Boots
**NOTE: Originally published in the AWAKENED BY A KISS anthology

 

Book 7

The Marquis's New Clothes

Inspired by the tale of The Emperor’s New Clothes

 

Book 8

The Lovely Duckling

Inspired by the tale of The Ugly Duckling
 

 

Book 9

The Princess and the Diamonds

Inspired by the tale of The Princess & the Pea

 

Book 10

Three Reckless Wishes

Inspired by Charles Perrault’s classic fairy tale, “Three Wishes”



Awakened by a Kiss
Three classic fairytales—“Sleeping Beauty,” “Puss in Boots,” and “Little Red Riding Hood”—cleverly retold with enough sensual twists to prove wickedly ever after does exist….



The Princess in His Bed

Inspired by "The Emperor's New Clothes," "The Ugly Duckling," and "The Princess and the Pea," Lila DiPasqua spins three sexy tales that give new meaning to the term bedtime story...


Lila DiPasqua
Lila DiPasqua 

Lila DiPasqua is a USA TODAY bestselling author of erotic historical romance. She lives with her husband, three children and two rescue dogs and is a firm believer in the happily-ever-after.