#BookReview – “Edge of Darkness” anthology by Christine Feehan, Maggie Shayne, and Lori Herter

Blurb

Dark Crime by Christine Feehan
Blaze knows who killed her father and she has merciless plans for payback. Until a phone call from a seductive stranger pleads with her to wait. Retribution is in his blood, too. Now, he and Blaze will be united in the blood of the guilty. Tonight, vengeance is theirs.

Dead by Twilight by Maggie Shayne
Bloodsuckers may be an accepted minority but one of them is getting away with murder. Until a female vamp teams with a mortal detective to end the killing spree. Now the night belongs to them—and so does every pleasure and danger lurking in the shadows.

Cimarron Spirit by Lori Herter
While excavating an Anasazi ruin, archeologist Annie Carmichael uncovers the resting place of a centuries-old vampire who finds in Annie the liberating mate he has longed for. But how much is Annie expected—or willing—to surrender for the man she now desires?

 

Review 

“Dark Crime” by Christine Feehan

In book 23.5 of the Dark/Carpathian series, Blaze McGuire is full of rage and grief. Two rival mob factions have moved into her city, which is unnamed, and one of the groups—the Hallahan brothers—murdered her father. Blaze intends to kill the murderers and suspects she’ll die in the process. Signing over the rights to her family’s business to the rival gang, she expects them to carry out her mission to destroy the Hallahan brothers if she fails, but she never expected the mobster she spoke with on the phone to race down to the bar and save her life.

Maksim Volkov and his fellow Carpathian warrior Tariq are presenting themselves as mobsters and even opened a nightclub, but their main focus is hunting down vampires in the city. They haven’t realized, however, how deeply the vampires have integrated themselves into human society. Maksim knows Blaze is his lifemate as soon as he hears her voice. She’s a warrior, like him, trained to protect the ones she loves. She dead-set on revenge, and Maksim can do no other but help her achieve her goal.

Blaze and Maksim’s relationship develops fast. They’re likable characters. He’s understanding of her warrior spirit and she’s accepting of his protective nature. As always in this series, each heroine is more gorgeous than the last. Since repetition and multiple sex scenes stretch out the word count, this novella is the longest in the anthology. Head hopping and a few inconsistencies took me out of the story, but I liked the gritty urban setting and the overall narrative.

3 Stars

“Dead by Twilight” by Maggie Shayne

In this Wings in the Night: Reborn novella, book 3.5, city cop and vampire Chloe Madison is hunting down a powerful vampire that’s killing innocent human men. Believing she’s finally found the bloodsucker, she follows the lady vamp and her sexy victim to a graveyard. Turns out, the bloodsucker is just a human playing dress up and the vic is actually a state inspector who’s seriously pissed at Chloe for blowing his cover.

Inspector Shepard Daniels doesn’t want to team up with Chloe after his boss forms the new Vampire Crimes Unit, but he can’t deny her skill and knowledge when it comes to all-things vampire. Two years earlier, the world found out that vampires are real, but Shep doesn’t believe vamps and humans can co-exist. While investigating the murders, they check out a vampire-themed D/s club and the sexual tension between them soon ignites.

Chloe and Shep are awesome! She’s feisty and pretends to be human, he’s protective and bigoted against vampires, but they work great together. They have a HFN ending, but it’s easy to see the HEA coming up.

The story is told in first person POV, from Chloe’s perspective only, but I really would’ve liked some scenes from Shep. Still, I loved this novella. It’s my favorite in the antho.

5 Stars

“Cimarron Spirit” by Lori Herter

Archaeologist and professor Annie Carmichael is dating Brent, a wealthy cattle rancher, and excavating Anasazi ruins on his property. Though she feels comfortable with Brent and can see an easy future with him and his daughter, she secretly longs for passion and adventure.

Vampire and horse rancher Rafael de la Vega believes the ruins belong to him. After years of loneliness, he needs someone in his life, but his previous relationships with women ended badly. While trying to scare off the invading archaeologist, he realizes Annie is his soul mate and sets out to seduce her.

Annie and Rafael are interesting characters. The story is told predominately from Annie’s perspective, but there are a few scenes in Rafael’s POV. Their relationship bloomed fast and there was insta-love on his part.

There are a few unanswered questions. Will Annie be able to continue excavating the ruins since she chose Rafael over Brent? Will Rafael still have access to the kiva (an Anasazi ceremonial chamber and his preferred resting place) after the excavation team takes over?

Anyway, I really enjoyed this story and would like to read more of Ms. Herter’s work.

4 Stars

I love reading vampire books because each author changes the vampire mythos with new twists, but keeps the basic facts the same. I definitely recommend this anthology.

Book Overall – 4 Stars

#BookReview – “Christmas Kisses: Zodiac Shifters” box set

Blurb

A shifter’s mate is in the stars … but sometimes that rugged alpha hero or sassy heroine is waiting under the mistletoe for his or her one true love.

Christmas Kisses is a boxed set of ALL NEW short stories set in Zodiac Shifters, a collection of books with an astrological spin on love. From Aries to Virgo … discover all-new tales of paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Our world features New York Times, USA Today, and other bestselling authors.

Warning: Christmas Kisses is all about the sexy Zodiac Shifters who made Santa's Naughty List this holiday season.
And it's our gift to you... because we're soooo nice!  

Review

“Under the Mistletoe” by Amy Lee Burgess

Emily and Orlando used to be best friends as children, but since they come from rival dragon clans, they’ve come to hate one another. At the annual Christmas party with all the dragon clans on Zodiac Mountain in attendance, Emily and Orlando find themselves trapped together in a witch’s magic box and finally talk about their problems.

The H/h argued and insulted each other a lot. I haven’t read any other stories in this series, but I got a fairly good idea of what the world is like, and I find it intriguing. I liked and appreciated the overall message of the story—do not hate or show prejudice to someone—but the arguing was a bit much.

3 Stars

“Through the Blizzard” by Dominique Eastwick

Framed for a crime he didn’t commit, Oakley was banished from his snow leopard leap, and his beloved mate, Nova, shunned him. Five years later, he’s angry and shocked to find Nova on his doorstep. Though he wanted to turn her away, he couldn’t do so with a blizzard on its way. As they talk and get to know one another again, they both soon realized their love never died.

I liked both characters, especially gruff Oakley. Though Nova was young and immature at the time she had shunned him, she owned up to her mistakes and turned out to be respectable.

The plot is good, but punctuation typos were distracting. As a new reader to the series, I was a little lost with the world building and how all the shifter clans worked within Zodiac signs, but I followed along well enough to enjoy the story.

3 Stars

“What a Scottish Shifter Wants” by Jennifer Hilt

Angus is a wolf shifter, banished from his pack because he refused to pick a mate. Throughout his travels, he meets Bree, an Amazon warrior, and has hard, wonderful, no-strings-attached sex with her. After he leaves her, he meets a witch and loses years of his life to a curse.

Angus is a stubborn, foolhardy man, and Bree is levelheaded and patient. I liked both characters, but I connected better with Angus since the story is told only in his POV.

3 Stars

“Blizzard Bound” by Rosalie Redd

In this Warriors of Lemuria series short story, the winter solstice is only a day away, and panther shifter Aramand needs to find the perfect gift for his new mate. Danae only wants Aramand to remain safe, but their life isn’t an easy one. As part of the Panthera race, they and their Stiyaha allies are at war with the Gossum, and each night could be their last.

Aramand and Danae’s love story begins in the Marked by Love novella, but I haven’t read their main story and very little of it was mentioned in this one. As such, I didn’t feel like I got to know the characters well. I still like this story, however, and I’ve read other books in this series, which I’ve enjoyed and can definitely recommend.

3.5 Stars

“All I Want for Christmas” by Bethany Shaw

Cassidy is struggling to raise her two young nieces and is often late to work. Luckily for her, her gorgeous boss is very lenient and understanding. Santiago is a phoenix shape-shifter working undercover as a human private investigator while in search of maniacal lycanthrope plaguing the city. After Cassidy is targeted, Santiago will do everything he can to protect the woman he’s fallen for.

Cassidy and Santiago fit well together. There are lots of side characters from previous books in this series, which I haven’t read, and I’d liked to know more about them. This is my second favorite story in the set, but the typos were surprising. If not for that, I could’ve rated this story higher.

3.5 Stars

“A Very Foxy Christmas” by Melissa Snark

Silver is a coyote shifter getting ready to head to Las Vegas with his rock band for a performance when he overhears his fox shifter wife Hannah and their family/friends talking about him. Now he’s on edge since he thinks Hannah doesn’t believe he would be a good father. Hannah owns a security company and is doing a job in which she needs her husband’s help. They’re both highly skilled thieves, so they plan to rob her client as part of the job. Only things don’t go according to plan, and their baby argument could cost them their lives.

Silver and Hannah are well-rounded, three dimensional characters. I would love to read their main book, Out Foxed, but this short story gave enough info for me to understood and connect with the H/h. I enjoyed the world building and all the different sorts of shifters, but the climax could’ve used more detail. (I just had a hard time picturing the air duct systems and the H/h being stuck between the fan blades.) Anyway, this story is the longest one in the anthology. It’s also my favorite.

4 Stars

Book Overall – 3 Stars

#BookReview – “Hot Blooded” by Christine Feehan, Maggie Shayne, Emma Holly, and Angela Knight

Blurb

When the sun goes down, four women will discover the man they desire within the beast that drives them wild in this sexy paranormal romance collection that includes an original Carpathain novella...

“Dark Hunger” by New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan In a dark jungle, a beautiful activist liberates animals from a secret laboratory—and stumbles across an unexpected prisoner. She releases the Carpathian from his bonds—only to unleash his voracious appetite on herself…

“Awaiting Moonrise” by New York Times bestselling author Maggie Shayne
A Science professor enters the steamy bayou to find a new species of animal, convinced that its presence is behind the stories of lycanthropy in the region, but finds herself tempted by a legendary creature straight out of her most sensual nightmare…

“The Night Owl” by USA Today bestselling author Emma Holly
Little ever seems to stir in the sleepy woods of a small Vermont town, until a new owner takes over the exclusive local inn. He is centuries old and has traveled far and wide to find his queen—and now nothing will stop him from claiming her…

“Seduction’s Gift” by New York Times bestselling author Angela Knight
All’s fair in the war between desire and resistance when a lady cop pulls over a speeder—and finds an immortal lover who is determined to seduce her into accepting her own passionate destiny…
 
Review

“Dark Hunger” by Christine Feehan

In book 11.5 of the Dark/Carpathian series, activist Juliette Sangria breaks into a secret South American laboratory to rescue captured exotic animals and finds a bleeding man chained in a room. As she’s attempting to free him, he bites her and changes her life forever.

Captured and tortured, Riordan de la Cruz expected death, not his lifemate to come and free him. Taking Juliette away to protect her from the vampires after him, their attraction is instant even though she doesn’t trust him.

I’m not crazy about the de la Cruz brothers due to their extreme arrogance and highhandedness, but Riordan isn’t as bad as the others. He’s able to see the error in his judgment and able to apologize without much difficulty. He’s understanding and accepting of Juliette’s need to fight for those she loves.

I really liked Juliette. She’s sharp, mouthy, and a Jaguar shifter, and like any cat, she sometimes goes into heat. Thank goodness! This series is full of virgin heroines, so Juliette was a breath of fresh air.

It’s no wonder why Jasmine and Solange (Juliette’s sister and cousin) don’t like or trust Riordan, but they do grudgingly come around. Some of the Jaguar men are vile kidnappers, rapists, and murderers, so Juliette and her family have taken it upon themselves to protect their fellow Jaguar women. Despite their need for men when they go into heat, they hate and distrust men in general. Jasmine, especially, has been hurt. What she went through was absolutely terrible.

The plot is strong, despite several sex scenes, and I liked the story.

4 Stars

“Awaiting Moonrise” by Maggie Shayne

Professor Jenny Rose is searching for a previously unknown species of animal living in the Louisiana bayou, but never expects that animal to be a werewolf. After the creature attacks her during the full moon, she goes to the local clinic and meets a man with similar eyes to that of the wolf.

Living under a family curse, Doctor Samuel La Roque has long embraced his wolf side and does his best to keep a low profile. Then a sexy professor, her nosy colleague, and some students move in next door to his cabin. He can’t deny the attraction between him and Jenny, and soon controlling his wolf isn’t the only thing that’s endangering their newfound relationship.

The first scene where the H/h met is probably one of the hottest opening scenes I’ve read in a while. Samuel is definitely direct and goes after what he wants. At times, he moved way too fast, but Jenny matched his sexual needs with hers, even though she was somewhat more reserved.

I loved all the scenes with Momma Louisa. She’s a great secondary character.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the story, but I’m not sure how Samuel, Jenny, and Momma Louisa is going to keep Jenny’s students in the dark about werewolves.

4 Stars

“The Night Owl” by Emma Holly

Mariann O’Faolain has always loved to bake, but after divorcing her cheating husband and now fighting with her ex-bakery partner over stolen recipes, she only finds solace when working in her family-owned bakery and in her deliciously dirty dreams she can’t stop having.

Bastien Luce and his friend Emile are renovating the Night Owl Inn and have earned a reputation as wealthy eccentrics in the small Vermont town. They’re so eccentric that they only come out at night, never by day. Both are uypr—shape-shifting vampires—and Bastien needs to be in control of his own pack. Then he meets Mariann and knows she’ll be perfect as his queen.

Mariann and Bastien have raw chemistry, even though he was pretty tongue-tied around her at first. The uypr history and Bastien’s back-story was interesting. Though I liked the story and the characters, I don’t understand why Mariann and Bastien didn’t care to find and punish the woman who ran Mariann off the road and nearly killed her. Luckily, Emile took care of that for them.

3.5 Stars

“Seduction’s Gift” by Angela Knight

In this Mageverse novella, police officer Grace Morgan doesn’t want anything to do with her cold, manipulative grandmother or the seductive man trying to woo Grace out of her pants. She knows all about magic, witches, and vampires, but has shunned that part of her life.

As a Magi—a vampire—and a Knight of the Round Table, Lancelot du Lac is also known as the Seducer of Avalon and will sleep with any woman the High Council deems necessary. For several centuries, the mystical council has been protecting humankind from destroying themselves and Gifting humans of the right bloodline with the power of the Magus (vampires) and the Majae (witches). Lancelot, Arthur, Morgana le Fey, and the other knights lead the council, and since Grace refuses the Gift, Morgana sends Lancelot after her wayward granddaughter, determined that he seduces Grace and gives her the Gift.

I really liked this story and the twists on the Arthurian legends. Lancelot and Grace are fun, strong-willed characters. Romance bloomed quickly between them, but it felt natural since they have known each other for years.

4 Stars

Book Overall – 4 Stars

#BookReview – “Scrolls of the Cridhe: Volume One - Highland Winds” anthology

Blurb

SEVEN BRAND NEW SCOTTISH ROMANCE NOVELLAS FROM THE GUARDIANS OF CRIDHE.

Highland Revenge by Ceci GiltenanDoes he hate her clan enough to visit his vengeance upon her? Or will he listen to her secret and his own heart's yearning?

The Taming of Mairi MacKenzie by Sue-Ellen WelfonderA forbidden love so powerful it could destroy them both.

Stealing Moirra's Heart by Suzan TisdaleShe didn't believe he was a thief when she rescued him... until he stole her heart.

Spirit Stones by Kate RobbinsSheona MacLeod has a gift. Malcom MacDonald seeks change. Together, they can change destiny...if they dare.

A Tear For Memory by Kathryn Lynn-DavisHow can a seer paint 'Truth' when she's lived a life of lies? Will she allow a man who has twice deceived her to open her heart to the truth?

A Jewel in the Vaults by Lily BaldwinShe has never met a man like him before. Then again, he has never met a lad like her.

Lord Grayson's Bride by Tarah ScottShe can't allow his love for her to destroy him...

The Legend...
Long, long ago, in the time before time, seven sisters were called from the far reaches of the realm. Each brought unique talents, but had one common gift; the ability to weave ageless tales of love and courage. An evil witch coveted their gifts and locked them in a tower, silencing their voices upon threat of death. But the Highlands are enchanted, and magic will not countenance seven pure hearts such as theirs to be lost.

With no one else to hear them, they sang their stories to each other. Fate blew a braw Highland wind to their prison, and the sweet, high timbre of the sisters' voices enthralled it. The wind gathered close their silver words as it raced past each day, and carried their love and goodness throughout the world...then across the ages.

Today, their words live on in the Guardians of the Cridhe, seven sisters who have sworn to preserve those pure and musical hearts so long as they live. It is said these seven descend from those ancient female bards. Only their words can bear witness to that truth...

Review

In “Highland Revenge” by Ceci Giltenan, Laird Eoin MacKay hates the MacNicol clan after their leader, Bhaltair, imprisoned him years earlier, and though a young lad had helped him escape the dungeon, he lives for revenge. After he kidnaps Bhaltair’s niece and holds her for ransom, he soon realizes he’s let his hatred control him for too long.

Fiona MacNicol isn’t afraid of her captor, not at first, but then Eoin fails to recognize the woman she is now from the scrawny child she was. When the truth comes to light, loves blooms, and her deepest wish comes true.

Eoin and Fiona are emotionally driven characters, and I really understood them and their plight. I disliked Bhaltair, but felt sorry for him at the same time. I enjoyed the story overall, but the pacing was a little slow.

3.5 Stars

In “The Taming of Mairi MacKenzie” by Sue-Ellen Welfonder, Mairi MacKenzie lives in a secret, hidden glen for protection and solitude even though most people believe the glen is haunted by the doomed souls of the dead and a banshee with healing powers.

Sir Gare MacTaggert desperately needs the banshee’s help, so he ventures into the glen and finds Mairi. They have both suffered from loss and pain, and through learning about each other’s painful past, they finally learn to heal.

I liked the story, but there’s more telling than showing. Troll the dog is adorable, but I don’t know why his name switched between Troll and Thor, and back again.

3 Stars

In “Stealing Moirra’s Heart” by Suzan Tisdale, Moirra Dondotter desperately needs a husband to help her take care of her farm and to protect her and her daughters. Unfortunately, she’s been widowed three times and has a reputation for being stubborn. No man wants her. Then she finds a man locked the pillory and makes him a proposition.

Alysander McCallum sees the spirited woman as his only way free from his prison, so he agrees to marry her. Though he’s determined to keep his secrets to himself, he wants to learn all of Moirra’s secrets and do what he can to protect his new family.

I absolutely loved this story. Alysander/John and Moirra have gone through rough times and both are dealing with pain and regret. Love bloomed from friendship and respect, and I really enjoyed their relationship.

Moirra’s four daughters are wonderful characters. They’re wise and strong, but also acted their age.

This novella has a HFN ending, but the H/h’s story is continued in a second book, which I’m interested in finding.

5 Stars

In “Spirit Stones” by Kate Robbins, Malcolm MacDonald, son of the MacDonald laird, hates the feud between his clan and the MacLeods, but he does his duty and fights his father’s war. During a successful raid on a small MacLeod village, he takes a woman captive, thinking she’s just a common wench who would be more than willing to spread her legs for him, even though her townspeople lay dead around them.

Sheona MacLeod, daughter of the MacLeod laird, is repulsed by the carnage, but she’s seen enough of battle to know that’s how life is when clans fight. Though her captor intrigues her, she refuses to give in to his kisses, at least until Malcolm’s father becomes a threat to her.

Though I liked this story, Malcolm doesn’t come across as a decent person in the beginning, but he does redeem himself throughout the book. Animosity and sexual tension sparked between the H/h, but they both fell madly in love with each other the first time they slept together. Despite the rush of their falling in love, the clan wars and politics were intriguing as well as the ghostly spiritual nature of the story.

4 Stars

In “A Tear for Memory” by Kathryn Lynn Davis, Cealia Rose is gifted with a second sight but can only see the truth, the past, and the future of the people she paints. When a mysterious man approaches her and asks her questions she never expected, her happy life starts to unravel.

Robert Hamilton knows more than he should. He and Cealia have a secret past she doesn’t remember, and he’s desperate for Cealia to know the truth.

I couldn’t connect with either Cealia or Robert/Rory. She often cried and acted immature, and Robert seemed more like a secondary character than the hero. The book is told mostly in Cealia’s POV with shifting into other characters, and seemed focused more on Cealia’s deceased mother, Lila, rather than on the H/h and their relationship.

3 Stars

In “A Jewel in the Vaults” by Lily Baldwin, Robbie MacKenzie knows only a life of pain and hunger. Born to a disgraced mother in the wretched underworld of Edinburgh, she grew up as a boy, struggling to survive. Now a young woman, she passes herself off as a lad to protect herself from the cruel men who would use and destroy her, never daring to dream she might escape the horror of her life.

Highlander Conall MacKay heads to the dreaded city to find his missing troublesome brother, but he needs a guide to help him navigate the slums. He finds a young lad, Robbie, and takes a liking to him. As they search for his brother, Conall soon realizes something is different about Robbie, and he vows to help the lad no matter what.

Robbie and Conall are amazing characters. Robbie, especially, is such a strong woman. Their friendship bloomed from mutual respect and admiration, and love soon followed once Conall learned the truth. The slums, the poverty, and the hopelessness of life, all of it was detailed and made so real. Tears came to my eyes more than once.

I sooooo loved this story and definitely recommend it. It’s my favorite in the anthology.

5 Stars

In “Lord Grayson’s Bride” by Tarah Scott, Lady Josephine Montagu loves her fiancé but is determined to ruin her reputation, so her fiancé will call off the wedding. She’s being blackmailed and refuses to tell anyone about it.

Nicholas, Lord Grayson, doesn’t understand why the woman he loves is flirting with other men. Though her actions hurt him, he forgives each indiscretion, determined to keep her no matter how much she betrays him.

I liked Nicholas for the most part, but I couldn’t connect with Josephine. She often acted foolish and childish, but had her family’s well being at heart. The villain was predictable, but he’s still a bad guy readers will love to hate.

The pacing is a little slow, but once Jo finally trusted Nick and her family with the truth, the book picked up speed.

3 Stars

I love how these novellas had the characters speaking with a Scottish accent and saying Scottish words. All of these stories could use a light edit to fix punctuation and/or spelling errors (I’m not talking about the Scottish words/pronunciations here). Some of the typos distracted me, but I still enjoyed the book.

Book Overall – 4 Stars