SOME LIKE IT HOT
Rising Star Chef #2
Author: Louisa Edwards
Source: Donation from another blogger
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks; Original edition (November 29, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312534396
ISBN-13: 978-0312534394

Sexy, single, and even sweeter than the treats he bakes, New York pastry chef Danny Lunden is trying to stay focused on food—not females. With the Rising Star Chef competition approaching, he doesn’t have time to get all steamed up over the gorgeous woman he encounters on the plane to Chicago. Even if she is Eva Jansen—the billionaire heiress in charge of the contest…

Danny assumes that “Eva the Diva” is a spoiled rich girl who doesn’t share his passion for food. But when the two meet up again in an elevator—alone—they share more than just passion. They share a kiss hot enough to start a kitchen fire—and they’re hungry for more. To indulge their new secret craving, Eva and Danny have to break every rule in the cookbook. But—like chocolate and caramel—some ingredients are are so sinfully good together, one scrumptious bite is never enough…

Again, take your eyes off that gorgeous cover and dive into another great installment in the Rising Star Chef series!  With this one, we get to read about Danny – the head pastry chef – and Eva whose is the one putting together the competition.


While I am a huge fan of this series, I can’t say that I enjoyed the characters as much in this book.  While Danny is definitely a great catch in more ways than one, I just couldn’t figure out why or how he could be attracted to Eva.  She was not the type of character I imagined him to be with.  While there were some hot scenes –including the scene where his hands were bandaged — the rest was just okay for me.  Eva’s character was just a spoiled girl that Danny first thought she was.  I didn’t like her work ethics and the extreme she went to when trying to get the Food Channel to pick up the competition for TV.  She was easily persuaded by the camera man — who had no reason to voice his opinions — and caved to the pressure of it all.  She was suppose to be strong and independent, but she caved too easily for me to see that spine straighten up near the end. Her character alone made this just an okay book for me.


I will however be reading the next book because I have been desperately wanting to read about Beck’s past.  We get to read a little bit about his past with a few surprises entered into the competition to appease our appetite for him now, but I need the full story now! If you are a fan of Louisa Edwards work, then continue the series and stalk the authors web page for more information of Beck!

 
Okay book, but it left me wanting more! 3 STARS

THE FALLEN
Book One: The Nine Lives of Chloe King
Author: Liz Braswell
Source: Personal Purchase
Genre: Young Adult/Teen

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse; Mti Rep edition (June 28, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1442441348
ISBN-13: 978-1442441347

Chloe King is a normal girl. She goes to class (most of the time), fights with her mom, and crushes on a boy…or two. But around her sixteenth birthday, Chloe finds that perhaps she isn’t so normal after all. There’s the heightened night vision, the super fast reflexes – oh, and the claws. 

As she discovers who she is – and where she comes from – it is clear she is not alone. And someone is trying to get her. 

Chloe has nine lives. But will nine be enough?

I deliberately waited on starting this series because there was so much hype focused around not only this book, but this show on TV as well.  It seemed like everyone was talking about both the book and the TV series, but as always I was late to the party.

When I first started reading this,  I kept trying to imagine it in my head since I haven’t watched a single episode.  So I started out slow with just the first book in the series instead of devouring it all at once.  I loved the story structure and the writing the author uses in the book.  The characters were fun to read about and Chloe was definitely one to enjoy.  Unfortunately, this wasn’t a great book in my opinion.  Like I said, I was enjoying the story and characters but something just wasn’t clicking with me.  I couldn’t get my enthusiasm up for reading the rest of the books.

While I tried time and again to really try to like the book, it just didn’t happen for me.  Maybe the TV series will be a better suited match for me than the actual book this time around.

 
  If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it! 2 STARS

BLOODLUST
Nightshade #2
Author: Michelle Rowen
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
Source: Personal Purchase

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley; Original edition (July 5, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425242137
ISBN-13: 978-0425242131

Jillian Conrad’s blood has killed the vampire king. Now an enemy to all vampires, she is targeted for elimination. So is the infant daughter of the dead king. If Jillian doesn’t stand in the way of her death, then everyone, living or dead, is in great peril.

When I first started this series, I got the feeling of it being more of an urban fantasy than a paranormal romance.  While there was definitely some sexy scenes in the first book, it was still edgy enough to be a darker read.  So when Bloodlust released, I was excited to jump back into the world of dark and suspense with Jillian and Declan.


What I loved the most was the turmoil between Jillian and Declan.  While they are both attracted to each other, they each have their reasons for staying at a safe distance as well.  They do the mating dance of should I or shouldn’t I, but they also have some steamy scenes of caving into the lust between the two.  I admit that I was actually looking forward to Declan and Jillian coming together and figuring out a way to make it work.  I was also anxious to see how they were going to deal with the fallout from killing the Vampire King.  I loved the twists and the surprises the author brings to this book.  While I wasn’t a big fan of the former Vampire King until the end of the first book, the introduction of his brother brings evil to a whole new level.


If you looking for a more edgy and dark feel to your paranormal romance books without falling into the deep end of urban fantasy, then the Nightshade series should give you enough enjoyment of both worlds to satisfy you as a reader.

Very Good! I would recommend this book! 4 STARS