Bittersweet Darkness Review

Bittersweet Darkness by Nina Croft
The Order Book 3  
Published February 24, 2014 by Entangled Publishing
ARC Review
5 BLOODY FANGS!!!!


"There is no such thing as black and white, good or evil.  But there is right and wrong."


Summary - 

There are no monsters, only good guys and bad guys. That’s the creed by which Detective Inspector Faith Connolly has always lived. 

When Faith discovers that she has a time bomb counting down in her head, she has one goal; to solve the murder case she’s working on—a young girl who was found drained of blood—and in doing so gain closure for a long ago murder never solved. Her investigation brings her in contact with Ash Delacourt. Ash is all black leather, big guns and sexy bad attitude—definitely not one of the good guys.

As payment for a debt, Asmodai AKA Ash Delacourt, finds himself working with the Order of the Shadow Accords. He’s the demon representative on the newly formed Committee for the Integration of Mankind and well…everything else. It’s a chance to be near his daughter, make a new start, and—once he’s met the delectable detective—maybe have a little fun.

There are no monsters. But as Faith’s investigation deepens, her beliefs are eroded and for the first time, she is falling in love—with one of the bad guys. But how can she ever let Ash close when her time is running out…?  (Goodreads)

Review - 

I had been waiting impatiently for this book to come ever since I read Bittersweet Magic, longing to see what was in store for one of my favorite demons, Asmodai.  I am happy to say Croft did NOT disappoint.

Asmodai has gone by many different names, Ash Delacourt, Demon of Lust, Prince of Darkness, but none does he crave more than the name Father.  After losing the only woman with the ability to break through with black heart, his wife Lily, the only woman's affection he has craved is that of their daughter he believed to be dead, Tara.  But after ordering her best friend to be brutally murdered, successfully, that seems like a pretty impossible feet.  Even after he goes to his best friend Luc, Lucifer himself, to procure a present for her.  A gift that comes with a price on his part they may lead to him falling for yet another female, a frail human woman, something he always vowed he would not do.  And that woman, with her fiery spirit and strictly black and white attitude has a ticking time bomb getting ready to go off inside of her that will cut whatever time they may have shorter than he realizes.

Faith is one of those women that lives in a world with rose colored glasses; everything is black and white, good or bad with no room for nothing in between.  A world where no ghosts or ghoulies exist.  So when she is offered a position at a government facility, by a Priest and ex-Military man no less, a faction called MI13 that is investigating Christian Roth whom they tell her is a vampire, it takes all of self-control to not fall out of her chair laughing.  Though even when undeniable physical evidence is right in her face, she still can't except it, as though an impenetrable wall comes up at the mention of the word Vampire.  A wall that has been there since her mother was murdered and her body found by Faith when she was only twelve years old.   Being forced to take the job, she refuses to spy on her former partner, Ryan, but she may cede to spy on Ash.  After-all, there is nowhere she take the attraction she reluctantly feels for him.  Not when her Government, the good guys, have deemed the people he works for as bad.  But her righteous government is about to do something so heinous that she will have to change the way she view things.

Full of action, heat, lust, violence, intrigue and most importantly characters readers will actually feel a vested interest in, Bittersweet Darkness is a true must read.  Just not if you are righteous, holier than thou, squeamish or believe that vampires should sparkle and Angels only create miracles.  Because in this world, Demons may be the not-so-bad guys and Angels the not-so-good guys.  And I am also happy to say that Croft has proven to be one of those authors with the ability to surprise even me, which is saying something after all the Paranormal books I have read.  

Yes, this can be read as a stand alone, though I recommend reading the entire series'.

Fangs for February, 2014

Wild Things by Chloe Neill
Book 10 of Chicagoland Vamires Series
February 4, 2014

Since Merit was turned into a vampire, and the protector of Chicago’s Cadogan House, it’s been a wild ride. She and Master vampire Ethan Sullivan have helped make Cadogan’s vampires the strongest in North America, and forged ties with paranormal folk of all breeds and creeds, living or dead…or both.

But now those alliances are about to be tested. A strange and twisted magic has ripped through the North American Central Pack, and Merit’s closest friends are caught in the crosshairs. Gabriel Keene, the Pack Apex, looks to Merit and Ethan for help. But who—or what—could possibly be powerful enough to out-magic a shifter?

Merit is about to go toe to toe, and cold steel to cold heart, to find out. (Goodreads)

The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison
Book 12 of The Hollows Series
February 27, 2014

Witch and day-walking demon Rachel Morgan has managed to save the demonic ever after from shrinking, but at a high cost. Now strange magic is attacking Cincinnati and the Hollows, causing spells to backfire or go horribly wrong, and the truce between the races, between Inderlander and human, is shattering.

Rachel must stop the occurrences before the undead vampire masters who keep the rest of the undead under control are lost and it becomes all-out supernatural war. However, the only way to do so is through the ancient elven wild magic, which carries its own perils.  (Goodreads)

Shadowed Review

Shadowed by Rebecca Zanetti
Book 6 of the Dark Protectors Series
Published October 3, 2014 by eKensington
5 BLOODY FANGS!!!!!!!!


"The worst part of torture may not be the brutal pain one is forced to endure, but the memories, guilt and fear that are left behind."





Summary -

Jase Kayrs was the fun brother. The warm, charming, easy-going brother of the vampire leaders. Until he was taken and tortured by demons with their evil mind tricks for nearly five years. Upon his return, he’s dark, violent, and not the man they all thought they knew. Not the man he once was. He’s haunted that the only reason the demons would have let him live was to use him as a weapon against his family—but he can’t figure out when or how he’ll explode. Plus, once again the demons are after Jase with a vengeance…or rather, a female demon he rejected is out to destroy him.

Then the king asks Jase for a favor…a big one. To mate with one of their allies in order to save her. She’s everything that’s good and light in the world…while he’s at home with darkness. Yet he agrees…knowing mating may be the only chance to save them both.  (Goodreads)


Review - 

Jase Kayrs, the youngest of the infamous Karys' brothers, was always the fun brother with an undeniable sense of humor.  Able to find a joke within any given situation, to make even the King crack a smile.  Which is what made it so devastating when he was kidnapped by the demons and lost to his family for five years.  And when they finally did find him; buried in a shallow grave, left for dead and practically decapitated, his head hanging on by a mere tendon, it was his spirit that had been killed.  Gone was the fun-loving Jase, all that was left was a pure Vampire hell-bent on revenge.

Brenna Dunne, the eighth sister, youngest sister of Moira, the seventh sister of a seventh sister, her birth in itself was an anomaly.  An eighth sister was unheard of in a Witch family, yet there she was, different from everyone in her family.  Some saw her as a curse, others, her family mostly, as a blessing.  Seeing as how she never should have been, everything about her has been unpredictable.  And on her birthday on the Winter Solstice, when another comet veers toward the earth, as it did on the day of her birth, she will possess insurmountable power, and just blow a whole city up.  That is if she lives to see that day.

The most powerful Witch family and the most powerful Vampire family in the Realm decide to form an alliance.  What better way to do that than to arrange a mating between these two, hoping that in the process they can both save the others life.  What they hadn't planned on was the possibility that fate had already arranged their mating long ago.  The only question that truly remains is which emotion is stronger; love or vengeance?

Non-stop action from the beginning til the very end.  With a war going on between the Demons and the Vampires as well as with the Kurjans, how could it not?!  Readers will once again be sucked into Zanettis' Realm, feeling every emotion right along with the characters', and find their faces practically glued to each page.  There is just enough violence, passion, humor and bloodshed to make any vampire lover happy.  This entire series' still remains as a definite must read.  And keep on the lookout for Tamed, which is due out May 4th.     

Ten Vampy Reads To Help Get You Into The Holiday Spirit

Holidays Are Hell by Kim Harrison

This holiday, spend quality time with family and loved ones—living and dead . . .

There's no place like home for the horrordays—unless you'd prefer a romantic midnight walk through a ghost-infested graveyard . . . or a haunted house candlelight dinner with the sexy vampire of your dreams. The (black) magical season is here—and whether it's a solstice séance gone demonically wrong with the incomparable Kim Harrison, a grossly misshapen Christmas with the remarkable Lynsay Sands, a blood-chilling-and-spilling New Year's with the wonderful Marjorie M. Liu, or a super-powered Thanksgiving with the phenomenal Vicki Pettersson, one thing is for certain: in the able hands of these exceptional dark side explorers, the holidays are going to be deliciously hellish!

A Vampire's Christmas Carol

A Vampire's Christmas Carol by Cynthia Eden

Self-Published November 11, 2013

5 BLOODY FANGS!!!

"Move over Ebeneezer, Vampire Ben's story will be told in a whole new light."

Synopsis -.

This holiday season has bite.

Ben Prescott hates Christmas—he’s a vampire, and to him, there’s certainly nothing jolly about the holiday season. While the humans are running around being merry, he’s hunting in the shadows. Ben plans to spend the holidays his way…by stalking deadly prey.

But fate has other plans for Ben.

Three visitors are coming Ben’s way…A demon who will force Ben to face his past, a ghost who will show Ben the present he could have, and a shifter who will reveal the darkness that waits in Ben’s future. Unless Ben can change his ways, he may just turn into a real monster, one who can’t be saved by anyone or anything.

’Tis the season…to be undead.

Ben’s redemption rests in the hands of the one woman he loved and lost—Simone Laurent. If Ben is going to have a chance at being more than just the beast in the darkness, he has to prove himself to the lovely Simone. A very hard task, considering that, once upon a Christmas Eve, Simone died in Ben’s arms…
_________________

Warning: This book features one very tortured vampire, a sexy ghost from his past, and hot scenes designed to melt the winter snow. Plenty of action, adult situations, and steamy times are ahead. Happy holidays!

Approximately 23,000 words (Goodreads)


Review -

I don't think there are enough toes and/or fingers in the world to count off just how many times A Christmas Carol has been retold, or rewritten.  In many cases leaving the reader/movie watcher left wondering, why?  Except for very few occasions, in which I can happily say, this is definitely one that makes one look at the tale in a whole new light!

Many, especially those who read this blog, see the traditional tale as a boring waste of time, like a record that been stuck on repeat for far too long.  Eden puts a spin on it to make paranormal readers everywhere fall in love with this retold classic.  What better way to tell the tale than with a Demon from Christmas Past, an Angel from Christmas Present and a Shifter from Christmas yet to come?  All to save the truly tortured soul of a Vampire, Ben.  This story is beyond excellent, and told in such a way that readers will feel as though they are watching the events unfold right before their very eyes.   And though it is a short Novella readers will feel for all of these characters, especially Ben and his fate.

This gripping story is full of action, compassion, love, humor and not one dull moment.  The play on names is excellent as well; Ben as apposed to Ebeneezer Scrooge, William Marley as apposed to Jacob Marley.  So if you are bored to death looking at all the Christmas shows that are coming on T.V., pick up this A Vampire's Christmas Carol, it just may do the trick of putting you in that Christmas spirit.

Bittersweet Magic Review

Bittersweet Magic by Nina Croft
Book 2 of The Order
Published November 11, 2013 by Entangled
4 Bloody Fangs



"Readers will find that in this novel, not only is magic bittersweet, but love is as well."