Wrap-up of Book Expo of America/ Book Blogger Con

So this past week I went to BEA and Book Blogger Con and it was awesome! I'm already planning out my strategies for next year - which involves hiring a book sherpa or maybe acquiring some minions (I think a zombie would be perfect for this job) and learning how to be multiple places at once. For most my time there I teamed up with Tori from the Book Faery Blog and we tried our best to conquer BEA. There were the author signings, publisher booth book giveaways, and the mad dash for book shwag. I've shared some of my pics below from this amazing event. Let me say I loved meeting fellow book bloggers and talking books and the publicity people at the different publishing houses that I did get a chance to meet were all great. And don't let me forget the authors, they were all super nice and smiling at the book signings I went to, and I even got a chance to chat with Jeri Smith-Ready and talk to her about the WVMP series a bit while I was getting her latest book, Shade, signed. All in all it was a great experience I hope to repeat next year!

You can see the crazy signing area above and the picture below it is me at Tricia Rayburn's signing - her book, Siren, comes out this July and it looks awesome!

Most the publisher booths had pics of their upcoming release covers and I just couldn't resist getting my picture next to some hot urban fantasy leather clad booty.

I've managed to wedge most the books I got onto a couple bookshelves that you can see above, I got some great reads and I hope to do a post later in the week about the books I got and release dates when I get a chance. One thing I didn't realize that was given away at BEA is awesome book shwag. I got some great bags (two of my favorites are shown above), t-shirts, and posters. I do have some book duplicates and shwag duplicates so stay tuned for future giveaways coming up this month.

Review of Half Past Dead by Zoe Archer and Bianca D'Arc and a few zombie confessions!

Since I feel a little bit like a zombie after going to BEA this week I thought it would be appropriate that my first review when I got back would be zombie oriented since I was a bit like a book zombie at BEA. I shuffled around mumbling "books..books.." I probably had some otherworldly moaning and grumbling going on due to the pain of carrying all those books, and I definitely felt like I was dragging my body and lurching around everywhere trying to get books. There were alot of us book zombies there picking up review copies and mumbling to ourselves while we took out innocent civilians with our totes as we tried to shuffle by. Stay tuned for more of my book zombie con/BEA wrap-up later!

Title: Half Past Dead (Includes: The Blades of the Rose, Prequel -Undying Heart; Guardians of the Dark, #1-Simon Says)
Authors: Zoe Archer & Bianca D'Arc
Pages: 150 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series (Both start new series)
Release:  Already Out
Publisher: Brava
Downloaded for free from Sony Reader Store
Author info: Zoe Archer & Bianca D'Arc's websites
Spoiler Alert: Small plot spoilers
GoodReads Blurb: The Undying Heart by Zoe Archer - Samuel Reed had no idea magic existed, until it almost destroyed him. Thirsting for vengeance against the enemy who made him something less than human, Sam returns to England and crosses paths with Cassandra Fielding. His best friend's little sister has become a fearless woman on a dangerous mission of her own. And against all odds, she sees past what he's become, and stirs a desire he thought he'd lost forever.

Sam, once an officer in the British Army, has returned to England to track down the man who has destroyed his existence - Colonel Broadwell. Little does Sam know that someone else is also hunting Broadwell, Cassandra, his best friend's younger sister. But Cassandra is no longer a little girl and has been charged with tracking Broadwell for the Blades of the Rose - an organization focused on keeping powerful magic or Sources, out of the hands of evil men like Broadwell. Though Cassandra has grown into a fearless woman, Sam is no longer the man he once was, his being warped by the magic Broadwell possesses to make him into the living dead. The hunt for Broadwell pushes these two together but they find they might need each other for more than just for tracking down the evil they face.

I have a bit of a confession to make, I'm afraid of zombies. You would think that with all the dark urban fantasy I read that other paranormal creatures would prove to be a more frightening but zombies have always been a one-way ticket to nightmare-ville for me. I think it's the relentless push to destroy the living that gets me..like a telemarketer trying to sell you something you don't want and who doesn't believe in the word no (telemarketers and door-to-door sales people also freak me out). Or maybe it's the whole biting and tearing of flesh thing, I'm not a big fan of that either. Thankfully in the Undying Heart, the main zombie character (or "living dead" as he prefers to be called) Sam is sexy and has wrestled control of his mind back from his creator so he is no longer a mumbling shuffling flesh eater and his flesh re-generates so he doesn't look as horrific as most zombies are portrayed. Since becoming a living undead, Sam has only thought of vengeance on his creator, but when he meets Cassie again new thoughts begin to interrupt his plans. He is shocked when Cassie doesn't run from him in fear when she finds out what he now is and she is actually attracted to him. Cassie slowly dismantles the walls Sam has built around his heart and makes Sam more human again. Cassie also shows Sam the he is still a worthy male that she desires. I loved Cassie's independence as well as her forwardness towards Sam. Even though this book is set in the 1800s in England, Cassie definitely doesn't act like a typical lady - she has a naughty streak and we get to read all about it. She gets turned on a bit by facing life threatening situations and so her and Sam are getting busy alot through the book since Cassie's life and Sam's existence are constantly in danger. For a novella length story there was alot of both kinds of action and the battle to destroy Sam's creator as well as the developing relationship between Sam and Cassie were well-crafted and satisfying for me.

4 out of 5 stars - Loved Sam the sexy zombie-kicking ass and getting busy with Cassie!

Simon Says by Bianca D'Arc - Special Forces soldier Simon Blackwell ended his affair with Mariana Daniels three years ago, but he hasn't stopped protecting her. Mariana has no knowledge of the dark, deadly creatures that lurk in the forest surrounding her clinic, or of the mysterious powers that make Simon the only one who can defeat them. But soon he'll have no choice but to reveal the truth, and urge her to trust in an explosive passion that never faded. 

Simon, or Si as his friends call him, is forever changed by his last mission that took him away from his lover, Mariana. Now Si is back and hunting the creatures that changed him though he refuses to go back to Mari because he is afraid of what he has become and doesn't want anything to harm her. Si watches Mari from afar as he defends the area around her house and the military base she works at from the creatures the military scientists created, zombies. Unfortunately these zombies aren't the sexy kind but the I want to eat your brains, mumble mumble, shuffle shuffle, kind. When Simon was first ordered to take them out he got bit but rather than becoming one his body is immune to the zombie contagion and now he hunts them. 


Simon re-enters Mari's life after he suffers some severe injuries while out zombie hunting. Si ends up showing up at Mari's clinic for help and from there the two of their lives get more entangled although neither of them intended for that to happen. As the two spend more time together, old passions begin to re-ignite and since the zombies sleep during the day they really have to find something to do with their free time - right? The battle with the zombies really does take second stage to the relationship between Simon and Mari, but for someone like me who has severe zombie fear (almost as bad as my fear of spiders) I think it was the right amount of scary zombies for me.

3.5 out of 5 stars - Between defending his lover's life and playing a sexy game of "Simon Says", Simon is one hot ex-marine zombie hunter!

The next read of Zoe Archer's Blades of the Rose, Warrior,  will be out this September with a new book in the series released October, November, and December.

Bianca D'Arc's next book in her Guardian's of the Dark series, Once Bitten, Twice Dead is already out -

Off to NYC I go - attending BEA and BBC this week!

This week I'm off to the BookExpo of America and Book Blogger Con in New York City. Hopefully I'll get the chance to connect with bloggers I've already met through our blogs and twitter as well as meet new people. And of course meet great publishers, authors, and come away with a few new books. For those new to my blog I primarily review all books paranormal and occasionally do book giveaways and author interviews. Please check out my review policy and previous reviews as well as the methods behind the madness of my ratings.

Also please feel free to contact me by e-mail at darklyreading (at) gmail (dot) com or on twitter @darklyreading

For my readers:
Don't forget to sign up for my Bad to the Bone giveaway and stay tuned for my BEA/BBC wrap-up on Friday!

Review of Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith-Ready - Vampire Dogs and an Authographed Book Giveaway

Title: Bad to the Bone (WVMP Radio, #2)
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Pages: 384 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release:  Already Out
Publisher: Pocket
Purchased by me
Author info: http://www.jerismithready.com/
Spoiler Alert: some if you haven't read first book Wicked Game
GoodReads Blurb: Turn On. Tune In. Drop Dead.

If you’re just joining us, welcome to radio station WVMP, “The Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll.” Con-artist-turned-station-owner Ciara Griffin manages an on-air staff of off-the-wall DJs—including her new boyfriend Shane McAllister—who really sink their teeth into the music of their ‘Life Time” (the era in which they became vampires). It’s Ciara’s job to keep the undead rocking, the ratings rolling, and the fan base alive—without missing a beat.

For Halloween, WVMP is throwing a bash sure to raise the dead. They’ve got cool tunes, hot costumes, killer cocktails—what could go wrong? Well, for starters, a religious firebrand ranting against the evils of the occult preempts the station’s midnight broadcast. Then, when Ciara tracks down the illegal transmission, the broadcast tower is guarded by what appears to be…a canine vampire? And behind it all is a group of self-righteous radicals who think vampires suck (and are willing to stake their lives on it).

Now Ciara must protect the station while struggling with her own murky relationship issues, her best friend’s unlikely romance with a fledgling vampire, and the nature of her mysterious anti-holy powers. To make it to New Year’s in one piece, she’ll need to learn a few new tricks.… 

I loved the first book in this series, Wicked Game, that introduced us to Ciara - the con-artist with a tarnished heart of gold. We also met the vampire DJs that have their own decade themed shows at WVMP and Shane - the smokin' hot grunge music god/ vampire that won his way into Ciara's heart. Now we fast forward a few months and Ciara is still hoping to keep the radio station profitable and free of takeover by a big radio conglomerate while posing as her now deceased boss. The big live Halloween eve show for the station at the Smoking Pig, the bar her best friend Lori works at, starts without a hitch but soon goes down hill when their live radio show is pirated by a belligerent anti-vampire religious group. Soon they find out that the group pirating the show might have some ties to "the Control" - the group that regulates the vampires in the U.S. Ciara ends up in some very dangerous situations as she tries to get to the bottom of who is pirating the station and she will have to put all her con skills to good use to try and stay alive.

While trying to figure out the shadowy group targeting the radio station Ciara still has to deal with the aftermath of her father's betrayal of her and the Control from the previous book. Her feelings about her father are all mixed up, the need to report on him to the Control conflicts with the need to keep her family safe. I have a feeling that her daddy issues will take several books to resolve if they can ever be resolved and further bombshells are dropped on her about her family as the book progresses. I'm curious to see how it plays out in the future books along with her anti-holy blood that can heal wounds inflicted by holy water. Is it based on how she was raised by her family who in the end made a mockery of Christian faith by fleecing believers of their money or is it genetic and all her family members have the same trait. It's an interesting twist that Ciara's blood does have those properties.

Ciara is also still in a relationship with Shane - her vampire DJ with OCD, good taste in music, and is good in bed. For Ciara it's the longest relationship she's ever had with a man, four months, and she's terrified that she will screw it up like she seems to do everything in her life. Shane on the other hand wants to move their relationship to a new level and live with her. Though life with Shane isn't going to be easy - with his OCD it drives him to leave detailed multi-page notes about proper dishwashing etiquette even though he doesn't need to use dishes himself. Though in return she gets to live with her hot musician DJ vampire boyfriend who loves to ravish her body. Decisions, decisions....

I think one of my favorite "new characters" in this book  is the vampire dog that Ciara rescues from death by sunlight when someone from the group terrorizing her radio station leaves him changed up outside. The dog is fiercely loyal and protective of Ciara and thankfully can survive on blood donations from dogs so we never had to read about the vampire dog feeding from other dogs - thank goodness. His fierce loyalty and protectiveness also create some mayhem in Ciara's life as well.

This book is a 4.5 out of 5 for me - I love Ciara's dry and snarky humor as well as her smokin' hot vampire boyfriend. And yeah for vampire dogs!

 So I have a signed copy of Bad to the Bone to give to one of my readers (US/ Canada only giveaway). Since Jeri Smith-Ready is one of the authors I'm hoping to meet at BEA (she's doing a Shade signing/ YA panel/ and blogger reception -I swear I am not a stalker ;) I thought my giveaway question could be BEA/author oriented. If you're going to BEA who are some of the authors you're hoping to meet/ which signings are you going to? If you can't make it to BEA but have an author you would love to go to a signing of let me know?

To Enter:
-Answer a question from above

-To get extra entries: follow my blog/ follow me on twitter/ tweet about the contest - just let me know (and leave the name you use to follow me with) and leave a link if you tweet! (each counts as one extra entry)

The contest ends on June 2nd so make sure and enter!

Review of Be Mine Tonight by Kathryn Smith - Love a dark tortured hero!

Title: Be Mine Tonight (Brotherhood of Blood #1)
Author: Kathryn Smith
Pages: 384 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Historical Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release:  Already Out
Publisher: Avon
Purchased by me (and signed by the author)
Author info: http://www.kathryn-smith.com/home.html
Spoiler Alert: in the clear

 GoodReads blurb: For nearly six centuries I have roamed the night, a mortal man no longer. Would that I could undo the past -- when I entered the sanctuary of the Knights Templar to wrest from them the Holy Grail, only to discover the chalice I raised to my lips was not the sacred relic but a hellish cup of damnation. Now I shun the day and all things human, driven by an ungodly thirst. And yet... 

Never have I known a maiden the like of Prudence Ryland, whose beauty and spirit awaken a heart I feared long cold and dead. But her young life is slipping away, and she also seeks the deliverance of the Grail -- unaware that the cost of her search could be her soul. I must help Prudence, for in six hundred years, no other woman has stirred my passions so. But dare I tender to my beloved that which she most desires -- the sensuous "gift" of forever that is both rapture and a curse: my immortal kiss? 

Pru, a young and tempestuous Victorian woman, is searching for the Holy Grail - not for fame or fortune but as her last resort to hold on to her life which is quickly slipping away from her. While her desperation may have lead her to the true resting place of the Grail - it may not be the Grail she was hoping to find but one far more sinister. As her search begins to heat up and her illness begins to rob her of more time, the search also draws the attention of the church and Father Molyneux and Chapel. The moment Chapel and Pru meet something passes between them - maybe the call of kindred spirits. Both of them are desperate to be saved - Pru from the cancer slowly killing her and Chapel from the curse that has made him immortal but a monster for the past 600 years. Soon Chapel and Pru learn that the treasure they are chasing may not be the Holy Grail and that another deadly faction is after the Grail - which is most likely the Blood Grail - the same cup that cursed Chapel.


I have to say that Chapel takes the concept of catholic guilt to a whole new level. Living under the control of the church for the past six centuries while constantly punishing himself for a mistake he made all those years ago - Chapel can see no good in the curse he suffers. Although Chapel is cursed by the Blood Grail to desire to drink human blood - Chapel seems far from the monster he portrays himself as. Even Father Molyneux can see some advantage to the long life and strength that Chapel has but Chapel can only see a monster. Soon Chapel is forced to reconsider what his curse means as he spends more time with Pru and watches her struggle with her cancer quickly destroying her body. He also has to protect her and her family from the Order of the Silver Palm who are after the Blood Grail and Chapel for sinister reasons. There is an interesting backstory and mystery surround the Blood Grail and the Order of the Silver Palm that I'm looking forward to learning more about in future books.

The love the blooms between Chapel and Pru is so very fragile and heart wrenching - I must admit I got a little misty-eyed as Pru continues to get worse and sicken while Chapel refuses to change her into the soulless monster he sees himself as. Though Chapel and Pru make the most of her remaining days or nights since Chapel can't survive sunlight, by learning how to drive (the book is set in 1899), going to the theater, and getting busy inside the gates of Buckingham Palace. Soon though Pru isn't able to leave the house anymore and despair eats at Chapel and Pru's family as she gets worse. Though even in Pru's last few days she still wants to make Chapel see that he isn't the monster he thinks he is and that he is someone worthy of love.

Overall this is a 4 out of 5 stars for me - Chapel brings dark and tortured to a whole new level as he fights with his beliefs to determine whether or not he can save his love.

Weekend Wrap-Up: I'm a naughty book buyer-In my mailbox and in my hot little hands!

Hi guys! So I've got a few book prezzies over the past few weeks that I thought I would share with you all. First off is Lover Mine - I won this book at Smexy's blog and am making my way through the whole BDB series so that I can enjoy this book soon! I also won an ARC of Demon Blood at Meljean Brook's blog - I've only read a novella by Meljean (from the Must Love Hellhounds anthology) - and I loved it so I'm looking forward to checking out more of her Guardian series. My other book prezzies include Tsunami Blue by Gayle Ann Williams and Immortal Warrior by Lisa Hendrix.

So...I've been a very naughty girl. On Ilona Andrews blog last week (one of my favorite authors!) she (though I think it was Gordon who did the post) mentioned that it was okay for readers to buy Magic Bleeds (her new release coming out May 25th) before the release date. Some of her readers were asking her about whether or not it was okay to buy the book before the release date (since it's better to wait till release date for best-sellers lists) and being the great Kate Daniels Popes they are they absolved their readers of early purchasing guilt. So I thought to myself..huh..that means some bookstores have put it on shelves early and I really really want the book.. so I casually checked out one..or maybe three bookstores and found it! Yeah! Am I a bad reader for not waiting till the release date...maybe.. but I am also a very happy reader.

I figured since Magic Bleeds features some very nasty diseases I would have my giant microbes welcome the book home. That's Salmonella on the left hand side with it's cute flagella along with Herpes (the sun looking microbe) and MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus). So me and my giant microbes are going to kick back and enjoy some Kate Daniels!

ARC Review of Assasin's Honor by Monica Burns - He does it with a sword!

Title: Assassin's Honor (The Order of the Sicari, #1)
Author: Monica Burns
Pages: 352 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release:  June 1st 2010
Publisher: Penguin/Berkley
Received as part of Book it Foward ARC tour
Author info: http://www.monicaburns.com/index.htm
Spoiler Alert: You're in the clear
GoodReads Blurb: Archeologist Emma Zale sees the past when she touches ancient relics. It’s how she uncovered evidence of an ancient order of assassins—the Sicari. When a sinfully dark stranger shows up on her Chicago doorstep demanding an ancient artifact she doesn’t have, he drags her into a world where telekinesis and empaths are the norm. Now someone wants her dead, and her only hope of survival is an assassin who’s every bit as dangerous to her body as he is to her heart.

Ares De Luca comes from an ancient Roman bloodline of telekinetic assassins. A Sicari, he’s honor bound to kill only in the name of justice. But when the woman he loved was murdered, Ares broke the Sicari code and used his sword for revenge. Love cost him dearly once before, and he’s not willing to pay the price again. At least not until hot, sweet, delectable Emma walked into his life. Not only does she hold the key to a valuable Sicari relic, she might just hold the key to his heart. 

 Emma Zale is an archeologiest with a secret gift - she can tell the history of relics just by touching them. Though Emma tries to avoid using her gift at all costs since she wants her success as an archeologist to be based on her knowledge and not the unwanted ability that has plagued her and left her open to being used by people trying to further their own careers all her life. Her parents were both prominent archeologists who were murdered while hunting for relics of an ancient society of assassins known as the Sicari. The book opens five years later while on a dig in Egypt - Emma's dig leader and good friend Charlie meets the same fate as her parents. Now blamed for both her parents and Charlie's murder, Emma is barely able to escape an Egyptian jail cell. Emma returns to dark and rainy Chicago and despair envelops her while she deals with the aftermath of Charlie's murder and her continuing pain about her parents death. Little does Emma know that factions in an ancient battle are drawing closer to her as they try to use her to get at what her parents were searching for before they died - the Tyet of Isis. Thankfully, one of the people she attracts the interest of is Ares DeLuca, a warrior who is part of an ancient order and an enemy of those that most likely murdered Emma's parents.

When Ares and Emma meet it is like two storm fronts colliding - violent, exciting, and sexy as hell. Emma is afraid of Ares at first - who wouldn't be afraid of a stranger who breaks into your house and demands information from you that you don't have. Though she is at least smart enough to acknowledge how beautifully built the man is and isn't opposed to his seductive methods to try and get information from her. For Ares, all his tight emotional control is broken when he meets Emma. As one of the leaders of his order he should just take the information he needs and leave but he finds himself more than a little attracted to her. And Ares isn't just a normal mortal - he is bestowed with the gift of telekinesis that comes in quite handy in fights as well as in seduction. The ability to use his mind to touch Emma's body was a hot one and he definitely put it to good use.

Emma and Ares are thrown together as someone tries to kill Emma and they constantly dance around their developing feeling for each other. Neither one of them want to admit what they are feeling - they are both stubborn and have trust issues. The pigheadedness of both of them keep them from realizing they are falling for each other until almost everything between them is destroyed. The relationship between Emma and Ares was both rewarding and frustrating. I did love the mix of Italian, Latin, and English that Ares spoke and I am always a sucker for pet names spoken in a different language.

As for the world the Ms. Burns created - I loved the honorable assassins order of the Sicari and I am looking forward to learning more about the order in future books. Strong and sexy warriors who wear black leather and fight with swords - how can you go wrong? There are also female order members - including Ares godmother who I adored as well as Phae, Ares sister - so not just men do it with swords in this book.

Overall this is a 4 out of 5 for me, Sexy sword-totting warriors who speak Italian words of love and like to fight in leather.

The next book in the series that features Phae and Lysander from this book (I loved Lysander and am so looking forward to his book!) is coming out in September of this year!

Review of Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh - I want to earn me some wings!

Title: Archangel's Kiss (Guild Hunter #2)
Author: Nalini Singh
Pages: 323 Pages, Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release:  Already Out
Publisher: Berkeley
Purchased by me
Author info: http://www.nalinisingh.com
Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for book one if you haven't read it
GoodReads blurb: Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux wakes from a year-long coma to find herself changed—an angel with wings the colors of midnight and dawn—but her fragile body needs time to heal before she can take flight. Her lover, the stunningly dangerous archangel Raphael, is used to being in control—even when it comes to the woman he considers his own. But Elena has never done well with authority…

They’ve barely begun to understand each other when Raphael receives an invitation to a ball from the archangel Lijuan. To refuse would be a sign of fatal weakness, so Raphael must ready Elena for the flight to Beijing—and to the nightmare that awaits them there. Ancient and without conscience, Lijuan holds a power that lies with the dead. And she has organized the most perfect and most vicious of welcomes for Elena… 

Elena wakes up after a year long coma to discover her life completely changed. She awakes laying on a pair of beautiful midnight and dawn colored wings which she "earned" through being loved by the sexy and dangerous archangel Raphael. Now the two of them cautiously get to know each other more, though both of them are still haunted by the terrible things that happened to them in their past. Elena is greatly weakened by her year long sleep and has alot to learn about her new life including how to use her new wings. Unfortunately she must learn fast since she is being pulled into the world of angel intrigue and will soon have to face one of the scariest archangels, Lijuan. As Elena starts to recuperate and work with her new wings, murders and grave attacks occur on vampires and angels in the Refuge where she is now living. Elena who despite the wings is still a guild hunter and still feels the need to hunt down murders and protect the innocent. As she begins to track down what is happening she also finds that she might be a target in someone's plot to grab more power.

Raphael finds himself battling between the need to protect and shelter Elena and the need to let her be his sexy warrior woman. One of the more heart-pounding parts of the book for me was when he holds off on taking pleasure from Elena for fear that his savage passion will break her since she is still so weak. Though that doesn't stop him from pleasuring Elena in other ways - the sexy lovin' in this book definitely gets the pulse pounding. This book is more paranormal romance than urban fantasy that was more prominent in the first book Angel's Blood as it  focuses on Elena's and Raphael's developing relationship. I thought the relationship was well developed, since these are two independent and powerful individuals they didn't instantly find their balance in the relationship but had to work at it. Elena is caught between her all too human heart and finding out how to find her balance with her archangel lover. And Raphael is sexy and sensual as well as hard and cruel in the same heartbeat.

The mystery in the book about who was destroying the peace and protection of Refuge and the need to get Elena in shape to meet Lijuan also gave an excellent backdrop to introduce us to the other members of the Seven. Illium is my favorite of the seven and he also seems like the one least likely to kill Elena to protect Raphael from having a weakness, unlike Galen and Dimitri. Though I worry over "Bluebell" as Elena calls him since I'm afraid that his feelings for Elena will put him at odds with Raphael in the near future. Though I do hope we get to read more about the sexy and lethal Seven in future books. Elena regains her strength in time to face the challenges surrounding her and Raphael and with Raphael's promise to soon teach Elena how angels dance I can't wait for the next book!

Overall this is a 4.5 out of 5 stars for me - the powerful and lethal archangel Raphael giving wings and his heart bit by bit to his warrior woman lover ... heartwarming and hot!

We have a Winner of one of the Strangely Beautiful Books by Leanna Renee Hieber!

Hi guys, you might notice my postings are a little sparse this week - I've been a busy worker bee at my day job and haven't had a chance to work on the blog of late... but don't fear - I have picked a winner or rather Buzz my Blog Contest Winner Picker has a winner of one of the Strangely Beautiful books by Leanna Renee Hieber. And never fear the posts are coming soon about my Black Dagger Brotherhood reading adventures (another reason I haven't been at the blog lately because I've been getting cozy with the brothers).

 So the winner is....Patti (BookAddictPatti) who gets to chose between one of these lovely books

Thanks to everyone who entered - there were actually alot of great Victorian era book recommendations in the post - more reading for me to do.