#Review : The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith

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18589656The Last Hour of Gann
Author: R. Lee Smith
Release Date: 9/12/2013

SUMMARY
From Goodreads

It was her last chance:

Amber Bierce had nothing left except her sister and two tickets on Earth’s first colony-ship. She entered her Sleeper with a five-year contract and the promise of a better life, but awakened in wreckage on an unknown world. For the survivors, there is no rescue, no way home and no hope until they are found by Meoraq—a holy warrior more deadly than any hungering beast on this hostile new world…but whose eyes show a different sort of hunger when he looks at her.

It was his last year of freedom:

Uyane Meoraq is a Sword of Sheul, God’s own instrument of judgment, victor of hundreds of trials, with a conqueror’s rights over all men. Or at least he was until his father’s death. Now, without divine intervention, he will be forced to assume stewardship over House Uyane and lose the life he has always known. At the legendary temple of Xi’Matezh, Meoraq hopes to find the deliverance he seeks, but the humans he encounters on his pilgrimage may prove too great a test even for him…especially the one called Amber, behind whose monstrous appearance burns a woman’s heart unlike any he has ever known.

WARNING: This book contains graphic violence, strong sexual content and explicit language. It is intended for mature readers only.

MY THOUGHTS

Wow. What the heck? Scales? Lizard men? Wait…this is suppose to have a romance involved? With LIZARD MEN!?

That was my reaction to reading everyone else who left a review of this book.  Every person I talked to told me to have faith in the author and the story. I still could not wrap my head around how humans and lizard men were suppose to fall in love or even attempt to the naughty.   Then I had to come with the realization that this book is long. Not an extra day long, but try an extra week or two long if you have work and kids at home.

I am not going to recap the entire story for you because of length and all the other reviews that are out on this story.  I will say though, Lizard men can be worth reading about.  Meoraq was a good guy/lizard and paired nicely with Amber who was nice and fierce.  Every single woman in this story was weak except for Amber.  She was strong woman and deserving of Meoraq.

I truly enjoyed everything about this book except the ending.  There are rapes scenes in this story, but the author handled them well.  They aren’t just scenes thrown in, they are scenes that are needed to tell the story and way of life of the Lizard men.  The thing that lowered the rating was how some things were left unanswered or left open.  Does the baby turn out okay? Do the Oracles accept what Meoraq has to say? Is the way of life changed enough to accept a different world to begin?  And can someone please find me one of those bots that clean things up daily, because my housework has lacked since reading this book. Be prepared for the long haul when starting this story!

MY RATING
[sc:rate4 ]

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Review: Wulfe Untamed by Pamela Palmer

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Wulfe Untamed
Author: Pamela Palmer
Series: Feral Warriors #8
Publisher: AVON
Expected Release Date:  1/28/2014

SUMMARY
From Goodreads

They are called Feral Warriors—an elite band of immortals who can change shape at will. Sworn to rid the world of evil, consumed by sorcery and seduction, their wild natures are primed for release…

The most enigmatic and tortured of the Feral Warriors, Wulfe is haunted by the quiet beauty of a human woman who no longer remembers him. Once a captive of both the Mage and the Ferals, Natalie stole a piece of his heart before he took her memories and sent her safely back to her fiancé. But now the Mage are threatening her again, and Wulfe will risk anything to protect her.

Natalie Cash is stunned when she’s saved by a wolf who shifts suddenly into a splendidly built, if badly scarred, man, a man with the kindest eyes. Swept into a world of intrigue and danger beyond her comprehension, she turns to the powerful Wulfe, finding a passion she’d only dreamed of. But when time runs out, they must trust one another and surrender to a wild, untamed love.

MY THOUGHTS

First of all, can we just take a moment to mourn the fact that this is the last book in the Feral Warriors series? Seriously Ms. Palmer? How could you do this to us?!

Now that we have that over with, let us continue on.  Wulfe Untamed is book #8 in the Feral Warriors series by author Pamela Palmer.  The main characters are Wulfe and Natalie Cash.  Characters from previous books are featured as well.

I was anxiously waiting for this book to arrive in my inbox.  I love, love , LOVE this series and the writing.  Ms. Palmer is an amazing author and has created a rich fantasy world featuring these Alpha animal shifters.  While this book could be read as a stand alone if the reader is just dying to start with book eight, I wouldn’t recommend it.  To get the full effect of the world the author created — and the plot itself — starting with book one in the series is best to avoid confusion.

In this book, the Ferals are starting to feel the full effect of the evil created by Satanan and Inir. One by one, the Ferals are losing their animal spirits and are no closer to figuring out how to stop the evil two.  As each warrior loses the animal spirit, Inir is one step closer to releasing Satanan into the human world for mass destruction.  Natalie is involved in this as well now that Wulfe healed her wound in the previous book. She is now a key — or conduit for better understanding — for the Inir and Satanan to use.

While this book was good and one I was looking forward to, I will say that it was quite confusing at times even for someone who has followed this series since book one.  Also, the ending was sort of rushed and not too exciting.  We have this big build up in story for seven books and when we reach the conclusion in book eight, it is resolved too easily and too quickly.

The epilogue was touching and beautiful.  I am sad though that we don’t get to get stories for the other Ferals who had developing stories of their own throughout these books. I need to know what happens to the rest of them! <—- Pay attention Ms. Palmer!!!

Overall the series as a whole was great, amazing and action packed! The book as it is was just okay though with repetitive story, confusion and too quick — if not easy — ending.

MY RATING
[sc:rate4 ]

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Review: One Lucky Vampire by Lynsay Sands

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One Lucky Vampire
Series: Argeneau #19
Author: Lynsay Sands

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Luck be a vampire tonight . . .

When Nicole Phillips agreed to hire a housekeeper, she pictured someone a little frumpy and almost certainly female. Instead, she gets gorgeous, unmistakably male Jake Colson. The man is proving indispensable in the kitchen—and everywhere else. Except Jake might not be a mortal man at all.

. . . and every night

Who wouldn’t want to be a tall, dark, powerful vampire? Jake, for one. He’s barely had time to adjust to his new state before he’s roped into a family favor. Still, secretly playing bodyguard to sweet, sexy Nicole is turning out to be the wildest ride of his life. First he’ll put a stop to whoever’s targeting her. Then he’ll prove that this kind of love, and luck, happens only once in an eternity.

MY THOUGHTS

When it comes to author Lynsay Sands, I am a sucker for the story!  I absolutely adore her writing, characters and plot lines.  You would think after 19 books in a series I would grow bored with it.  Sadly, it just makes me crave more from her!

With One Lucky Vampire we get to read about Jake Colson and Nicole Phillips.  Jake you might remember as Stephano Notte from A Bite To Remember.  He was turned by Vincent in that book in order to save his life.  To say that he isn’t happy with being turned is an understatement. While he is glad to be alive, he did end up leaving his family behind to try and adjust on his own and in his own way.  When Marguerite asks Jake to help protect a friend of the family, Jake is nudged back into the family unit and accepts the job as a housekeeper/cook while actually being a bodyguard for Nicole.

Nicole has been through the ringer. Her previous husband was  guy who would rather spend her money than spend time with his wife.  He has made attempts on her life trying to get her money instead of losing it in a divorce.  She hires Jake as a housekeeper/cook to help her out while she finishes up her work in the art world.

With everything that takes place in this book between Jake and Nicole, I found the side characters of Dante and Tomasso to be my favorite.  They had some of the best lines in this book that left me laughing each time they opened their mouths!

“Nina’s gone,” Tomasso rumbled.

“What?” Nicole glanced around with amazement at that.  The woman had been standing guard over Jake like a German drill sergeant since arriving.   She hadn’t even allowed Nicole to peek into his room just to see for herself that Jake was alive and well.  “Then who’s watching over Jake?”

“Pinocchio doesn’t need watching.  He’s not sick anymore,” Dante informed her.

“Yeah, he’s walking and talking like a real boy now,” Tomasso added dryly.

…..”Right, so he was on his death bed the day before yesterday and now he’s up and moving around?”  She shook her head. “What if he passes out or just falls down and hist his head?”

“IT’s okay, it couldn’t hurt anything,” Tomasso assured her.

“Of course it could,” she snapped.  “People have been known to die from head wounds.”

“People have,” Dante agreed.  “But not Pinocchio.  His head is full of wood.”

I loved how they always called him Pinocchio in the story.  There is a reason why they call him this and it is one of the main reasons why Jake was unhappy about being turned and why he ran from his family.  Even with the jokes they throw Jake’s way, Dante and Tomasso truly love Jake and would love to have him back into the family fold.  I love how they end up having Nicole be the one person who saves Jake instead of the other way around.

If you are a fan of the Argeneau series, then this book should be a must buy book for you.  It brings back the feel of earlier books but also keeps it progressing for the entire series.  Keep them coming!

MY RATING

[sc:rate5 ]

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Review : Fall of Night by Rachel Caine

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Fall of Night
Series: Morganville Vampires #14
Author: Rachel Caine
Young Adult Paranormal

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Thanks to its unique combination of human and vampire residents, Morganville, Texas, is a small college town with big-time problems. When student Claire Danvers gets the chance to experience life on the outside, she takes it. But Morganville isn’t the only town with vampire trouble…

Claire never thought she’d leave Morganville, but when she gets accepted into the graduate program at MIT, she can’t pass up the opportunity. Saying good-bye to her friends is bittersweet, especially since things are still raw and unsettled between Claire and her boyfriend, Shane. 

Her new life at MIT is scary and exciting, but Morganville is never really far from Claire’s mind. Enrolled in a special advanced study program with Professor Irene Anderson, a former Morganville native, Claire is able to work on her machine, which is designed to cancel the mental abilities of vampires. 

But when she begins testing her machine on live subjects, things quickly spiral out of control, and Claire starts to wonder whether leaving Morganville was the last mistake she’ll ever make…

MY THOUGHTS

Fall of Night is the 14th book in the Morganville Vampire series by author Rachel Caine.

I am a huge fan of this series.  I feel connected to Shane, Claire, Eve, Michael and yes Myrnin. There town is complicated and full of suspense and not much down time to just relax.  But that is what makes them the best characters when they have to deal with problems in a vamp run town.

In Fall of Night, Claire travels away to MIT.  She needs to find her way on her own and see what life is like outside of Morganville.  What she finds though is another game of chess being played between scientists, vampires, and undercover organizations.  They are all deadly and they want one thing.  They want the Vampire Gun also know as VLAD that Claire created.  They want it to start the war between humans and vampires and could care less for the reasons and rules that Claire had it built for.  This group of people are wanting to disable the vampires permanently.  The results in the final mock-up of the gun can have serious side effects though for the vampires.

I really enjoyed this installment in the series.  This book is shown with alternating chapters from Shane and Claire.  We get to enjoy Myrnin arriving to rescue them all.  Oliver finds his way into the group as well to help lead the group.  Also Jesse and Pete help the gang out and Jesse does have a deeper role than what we think.  While there is action and suspense with a little bit of sexy times thrown in when needed, it does leave the book left with unanswered questions.  With the way the book ends, you can’t help but wonder how they gang is going to make it to the next book.  Is it the Daylight Foundation taking over?  Where is Amelie now when Morganville is having a major war between humans and vamps with the humans being the ones with the upper hand.

I can’t wait for the next book and I do hope we will get to read more about Myrnin and how crazy that contraption actually made him.  Is he really going crazy again, or is it all a defense to keep  the humans on their toes?

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

Review: Need by Todd Gregory

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Need
Author: Todd Gregory

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

On the sultry streets of New Orleans, you can indulge every desire. Even when what you crave is blood.

As far as the mortal world knows, Cord Logan died two years ago. In reality, he stalks the French Quarter, searching for victims. Cord knew that coming back to New Orleans would be risky now that he’s broken with the fraternity of vampires who first claimed him. But a chance encounter with an old friend triggers unexpected desire, and reveals a lethal curse that endangers not just his kind, but all of humanity.

Cord’s quest to break the curse leads him on a journey of carnal self-discovery and deep into the bayous. Here, where magic reigns unchecked, Cord must tap into his dark, unpredictable abilities and all his seductive powers. And if he fails, he’ll have all eternity to regret it…

MY THOUGHTS

I admit that the cover is what caught my interest. (Look into my eyes!) I can’t resist the dark and broody brow.  Then the blurb captured my curiosity into thinking this might be something different for me to enjoy in the vampire world.

This was a book that I had to force myself to finish.  There were many points where rolled my eyes and hoped I was getting closer to the finish line. This book was also bogged down by history and setup for the character with tons of narration. Back story can be a good thing, but too much is overkill.  I also need my characters to have interaction and less flashback.  While the story had promise with a good foundation, it was one that was overly done without the bang it needed.

Another thing I want to mention is that this book does fall into the M/M category of paranormal romance.  If this isn’t your cup of tea, then please step back and go back to your usual reading.  The sex scenes weren’t as sexy as I thought they would be, and at times they seemed to be there for page filler.

This was another case of great cover art luring me in, but the story failed to keep me interested or entertained.  This is not to say it was horrible or not worth a try for some, just not one I would want to read again.

MY RATING

       
I did not like this book at all!