Holy Smoking Panties - Review of Candy Houses and Not Prince Charming by Shiloh Walker

These two books are part of the Grimm Circle Series by Shiloh Walker and are only available in ebook format.  I think the warning on Candy Houses best sums up what to expect "Warning: Dark, sexy, a little bit scary—this fairy tale is only for grownups and is best saved for bedtime."

I am, of course, a sucker for tormented male main characters and damaged yet strong heroines.  Thankfully, in Candy Houses, that particular sweet tooth is indulged. The book has elements of urban fantasy, fairy tales, and romance that are put together exceptionally well. The main characters, Rip and Greta are Grimms, which are kind of like super sexy ass-kicking guardian angels.  The Grimms protect humanity from demons that try to take over human bodies and destroy the soul that resides in the body.  Additionally, Grimms were once humans, whose past has been fictionalized in stories like Hansel and Gretel or Rip Van Winkle. You learn that the real stories happened quite differently.

Rip and Greta both end up in Ann Arbor, MI (yeah! I used to live there) on different missions that in the end become intertwined. The demons have it out for both of them and Rip arrives just in time to save Greta from a pretty dangerous situation. Though facing the demons seems a lot easier for them than facing the feelings they have for each other.  The romance between the two seems real and heartfelt while the love scenes are super sexy. Greta and Ren's struggles with trying to explain how they felt were great because I think most people are at their least eloquent when making themselves vulnerable to another person.

There were some great fights between Greta and Rip and the demons though I kept thinking -"What do they do with the bodies?" since the demons are possessing human bodies so dead demon equals body to hide from law enforcement. In a twisted way it's kinda funny to think of guardian angels leaving a trail of dead bodies as proof of their good deeds. There was also a pretty funny scene of Greta coveting Rip's "battle staff".

Definitely a 4 out of 5 stars for me – you’ve got battles with evil demons to save misguided human souls, engaging romance, and hot love scences – what more could you want?

So if you ever thought that Prince Charming never worked hard enough to get the girl then this is definitely the story for you.  Elle (as in Cinderella) shows up in Sandusky, Ohio (home of Cedar Point that has very awesome rollercoasters which I loved in my youth but now I think would make me barf) with her occasional lover Ren to clear out a nest of succubi and incubi that have set-up a nest in a very popular sex club. As Grimms, which are described as “unlikely guardian angels trying to keep the unsuspecting mortals from making bad, bad and worse mistakes”, Elle and Ren need to infiltrate the demon’s nest and take out the king or queen that controls all the lesser succubi and incubi. That means getting in to the sex club..oh yeah. What Elle doesn’t know is that another Grimm, her Not-so Charming Prince Michael, is also assigned to the case. Michael shows-up while Elle is in costume as “Barbie goes badass” and trying to get in the club with Ren.  There are some bad feelings between Michael and Elle which makes it very hard for the two of them to work together again, especially to try and infiltrate a sex club together.  Michael and Elle definitely have a complicated history that gets expertly revealed in tantalizing flashbacks as the story goes on.  You also learn that Elle and Michael’s real life story is much more tragic than the fictionalized fairy tale.

Michael’s torment at seeing Elle with Ren as well as facing the possibility that he might not end up with Elle in the end was heartbreaking. I won’t give away what happens but it was a great HEA. Though I have to say I loved the “in character” scenes when Elle, Ren, and Michael were infiltrating the sex club to try and save misguided humans from becoming sex slaves. And holy smoking panties the love scenes were hot, the “in character” and the more intimate scenes –woozah!

Definitely a 5 out of 5 for me for this book.  There was great action – both ass-kicking demon and the other kind, as well as an awesome love story and HEA.

The setting for these books were great! I went to college in Ann Arbor and can definitely imagine demons possessing college students - probably pre-meds- who would sell their soul to pass organic chemistry.  As a Michigan native I also drove down to Sandusky many times to go to Cedar Point and ride the rollercoasters. It seems only fitting that visitors might find a ride of another sort in book..hehe..

I hope there will be new additions to this series so that we can meet more super sexy ass-kicking guardian angels.