Review – ‘The Darkest Angel’ by Gena Showalter

Blurb 

Winged warrior Lysander has been alive for centuries, and yet he's never known desire—until he meets Bianka. Spawned from the bloodline of his enemy, the beautiful but deadly Harpy is determined to lead the untouched Lysander into temptation. He may try to evade her attempts, but even the most iron-willed demon assassin can resist for only so long….

Review 

Even though this short story (in the Heart of Darkness anthology) doesn’t feature a romance between one of the Lords of the Underworld and a love interest, it’s one of my favorites in the LOTU series. Lysander, an elite warrior angel who’s quickly becoming obsessed with Bianka Skyhawk, abducts her and imprisons her in his home, which is a magical cloud up in the heavens. Bianca is a fierce Harpy with a soft side—you really gotta look for that soft side—and she makes life hell for her captor. Their arguments and her seduction of Lysander are both hilarious and so sexy. The best scene is when she abducts Paris, the demon of the keeper of Promiscuity, and forces him to wrestle Lysander in a pool of cherry-scented oil. So hot and funny! Anyway, I love their romance, their need for one another and the emotions both of them are trying to figure out. He’s a goody-goody angel, she’s the great-granddaughter of Lucifer, it’s not gonna work. Right?

As with all the LOTU books, we see the gang in the Budapest during Gwen and Sabin’s wedding. I love that this series doesn’t just focus on the main couple, but draws in everyone of importance.

I wished the story was longer just because I love Lysander (even though I know what he has to do to Aeron, the keeper of Wrath, in the next full length novel—The Darkest Passion). Although I’m crazy about these demons and prefer them to the other species in the series, I really like the introduction of angels and Harpies, and that everyone is working together and forming friendships and alliances. The LOTU universe seems to be getting bigger, and that’s definitely two thumbs up.

5 Stars

Disclaimer – I bought this book for my own enjoyment. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.

Review – ‘The Darkest Whisper’ by Gena Showalter

Blurb 

Bound by the demon of Doubt, Sabin unintentionally destroys even the most confident of lovers. So the immortal warrior spends his time on the battlefield instead of the bedroom, victory his only concern…until he meets Gwendolyn the Timid. One taste of the beautiful redhead, and he craves more.

Gwen, an immortal herself, always thought she’d fall for a kind human who wouldn’t rouse her darker side. But when Sabin frees her from prison, battling their enemies for the claim to Pandora’s box turns out to be nothing compared to the battle Sabin and Gwen will wage against love…

Review 

I forgot how much I actually like this book until I started reading it a second time. I was under the impression I didn’t like Gwen but I was totally wrong. She’s timid and scared of even her own shadow but only because she’s been babied her whole life by her well-meaning but overprotective older sisters and insulted by her mother who’s ashamed of her gentleness. Gwen is part Harpy and part demon, but she doesn’t know about her demon father. She always thought he was an angel.

Anyway, Sabin, the keeper of the demon of Doubt, rescues Gwen and a few other women from the Hunters’ captivity and it takes a while for their relationship to blossom. They’re attracted to one another, yes, but she’s so timid around dangerous men and all this brutal warrior cares about is the war between the Lords of the Underworld and the human Hunters, no matter who gets hurt. He doesn’t have time for romance, especially since his last lover died because she couldn’t handle his demon, Doubt. Their relationship is rocky throughout most of the book but it felt believable. I loved seeing Gwen, at first shy and awkward, grow and mature into a fighter, someone she always wanted to be. Her timidness, in fact, was a strength all on its own because that was the only way she knew how to control her darker side.

The only part of the book I didn’t really like was the stupid choice Gwen made at the end. After what happened to the Lords and Gideon especially while locked up by the Hunters, she had no right to let their enemy go. One other thing that bothered me, and is the reason why this story is knocked down a star, is that the two fight scenes at the end of the book felt rushed. I also couldn’t picture what was going on, especially the battle on the street in Budapest. There were so many people doing stuff, the words he and she were used more often than the names of the characters, and I didn’t know who was doing what and exactly where they were located. So many words and actions were omitted that I don’t know how some of the characters got from place to place.

Other than that, I really liked the story and the romance. The side characters are amazing as always. Paris is hooked on ambrosia and it’s just getting worse, but at least Aeron (who needs Legion to calm down from mild bloodlust now and then) and I think some of the other guys finally know about Sienna. We meet the Skyhawk sisters and though I liked them in this book, they’re not some of favorite characters in the series. Like Anya, they’re just too bitchy for my taste. Also, I think this story is funnier than the previous one, thanks to Anya, William and the Skyhawks.

Overall, this is a good story but a few scenes could be tightened up. Still, I’d probably read it again in a few years.

4 Stars

Disclaimer – I bought this book for my own enjoyment. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.

Cover Reveal - 'Carter' by Brie Paisley

Photograph by Christopher Correia from CJC Photography

Cover model: BT Urruela

Cover model: Jessie Reis

Cover designer: Rebecca Pau from The Final Wrap

Carter

She was the one for me.

The one that I knew would be mine forever until I made the biggest mistake. I pushed her away and I’ve regretted that decision ever since. I’ve tried to move on, tried to put the memory of her behind me, but she’s always consuming my thoughts. Now, she’s back in our hometown, trying to rebuild a new life. I know she’s keeping secrets. She tries to hide them from me, and I will do whatever it takes to prove that I’m the one she needs. Because Shelby Ross is the other part of me that I can’t live without and I refuse to let her go again.

Shelby

He broke my heart.

I never thought I would be able to pick of the pieces he left behind. When he let me go, I ran away from it all, thinking it was the easiest thing to do. But, running has a price and I’ve paid it in full for years. Now, I’m back where it all began, back to putting my life together and starting over. It should’ve been easy, but Carter Harlow is reawakening long buried emotions that I thought were gone. He wants to make me his again. I can’t let that happen. He ruined me, broke me, and I’m afraid I’ll never survive it a second time around.

Brie Paisley is a small town gal from Mississippi. She always wanted to write at a young age and was always filling journals with her thoughts and short stories. Brie started with the idea of Worshipped a year ago and with the encouragement of her husband and sister in law, she was able to write her first book. When she is not writing, you can find her reading a good book, painting, scrapbooking, or watching a good movie with her husband and her boxer.

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Cover Reveal - 'Beautifully Decadent' by L. A. Fiore

Beautifully Decadent by L.A. Fiore
Series: Beautifully Damaged #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release: June 28, 2016




Avery Collins has just landed her dream job, pastry chef for the posh-Manhattan restaurant Clover. Her new boss, Trace Montgomery, even helped with securing her an affordable place to live: a beautifully restored carriage house owned by his friend, Rafe McKenzie—a man that makes her catch her breath and stirs her imagination. Trouble is, he's involved with someone, his father is being released after 25 years in prison and Avery is just his tenant. Exploring the attraction that sizzles whenever they're together would be the icing on the cake, but Avery knows all too well that you can't have everything. Of course, what's cake without icing?

Rafe McKenzie's world shattered at nine when his father Liam—the only parent he knew—was arrested and convicted for armed robbery. Growing up in the system, Rafe managed to survive his childhood and now has a job he enjoys, a house he's restoring and a tight circle of friends. He's even working on reconciling with his dad, both eager to put the past in the past.

Happy for the income a tenant would bring, Rafe agrees to rent his carriage house to Clover's new pastry chef. When Avery Collins pulls up his drive, she's not at all what he's expecting. Funny, sexy and as sweet as her desserts, it doesn't take long for things between them to heat up. Just when it seems as if they'll have their cake and eat it too, the past comes back with deadly intent leaving Rafe to figure out who's pulling the strings before his world shatters again.

















L.A. Fiore is the author of several books including: Beautifully Damaged, Waiting for the One and A Glimpse of the Dream. She's also the social secretary for her two children, a tamer of ill-mannered cats, the companion to one awesome dog and married to her best friend. She likes her wine red, her shrimp chilled and her social gatherings small and intimate.




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