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.

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!

Wicked Wednesday Review of Blind Spot by Meljean Brook from the Must Love Hellhounds Anthology

Title: Blind Spot (The Guardians #5.5)/ Must Love Hellhounds Anthology
Author: Meljean Brook
Pages: 361 Pages (anthology), Paperback
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release:  Already Out
Publisher: Berkeley
Purchased by me
Author info: http://meljeanbrook.com/
Spoiler Alert: minor
Blurb: The job was simple: find her boss’s niece, bring her home safely, and hand out a whole lot of pain to whoever had abducted her. But Maggie hadn’t counted on her boss’s nephew, the hellhound who loved to make her life difficult, or her own past rearing its complicated and ugly head.

This was my first introduction into Meljean Brook's Guardian series and I'm sold on checking out more of her books after reading this novella. You do not need much of a primer for the Guardian world to understand what is going on in this entry but if you get lost Meljean has a great series primer on her website that will introduce you to the world and let you know what you missed if you are starting in the middle of the series. This entry into the series starts out with Maggie who is the head of security for a vampire known as Ames-Beaumont. Maggie is tasked with retrieving her employer's nephew Geoffrey Blake and saving Blake's sister who was kidnapped. The retrieval of Mr. Blake turns out to be quite interesting as she finds him chained up to a radiator in a house in New York City with just his smiley face boxers on. Though Maggie works for Blake's uncle, she doesn't realize until Blake opens his eyes that he is blind. What Maggie doesn't know if that through a twist in the family tree both Blake and his sister have some special abilities. Blake's ability allows him to see through other people's eyes which presents for some interesting situations before Maggie figures out that Blake has some ability to see.

The hellhound in this entry of the anthology was there more for comic relief and demon chomping back-up than as a main part of the story. The main plot line was the twisted connections between Maggie and the kidnappers as well as the growing attraction between Blake and Maggie which was very entertaining. This novella is told as a third person from both Maggie and Blake's point of view which was a little confusing to me at first but soon I figured out the POV switches. I also enjoyed the glimpses I saw of the Guardian world and I think next I'm going to jump to Savi and Colin Ames-Beaumont's story (Demon Moon) who we meet in Blind Spot.

Overall a 4 out of 5 - a sexy story with a smokin' ending that leaves some good parts to the imagination.

Review of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

Title: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker
Author: Leanna Renee Hieber
Pages: 320 Pages, Mass Market Paperback
Genre: Victorian Paranormal/ Gothic Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release: Out Now
Publisher: Leisure Books/ Dorchester Publishing
Received book from author

GoodReads blurb: What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Hidden in the dark heart of Victorian London, the Romanesque school was dreadfully imposing, a veritable fortress, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met its powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadows, of the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She saw simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gift. This arched stone doorway was a portal to a new life, to an education far from what could be had at a convent-and it was an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death... 

I loved this strangely beautiful tale from the start. The combination of gothic ghost story, paranormal thriller, re-worked Greek mythology, and heart-wrenching love story was wonderfully woven together and kept me engaged throughout the story. Miss Persephone Parker is a very unusual woman with her incredibly pale and ghostly looks as well as her peculiar gifts for seeing and hearing ghosts as well as her visions. Though I have to say what struck me most about her was not her ghastly looks but her tenacity. She believes that a fate awaits her and believes beyond what people snicker about her behind her back that she deserves love as well. When Percy first lays eyes on Alexi Rychman, her mathematics and alchemy professor, she hopes that one of her wishes has been answered. Unfortunately for Percy, mathematics is her worst subject so instead of catching the professor's eye with her mathematical genius, she is forced to get remedial math lessons from him instead. Though since it means spending time alone with him in his office every week, perhaps it is not so ghastly.

Professor Rychman and the school Headmistress hide a secret life from their students as well, they are part of The Guard that has been charged by a mysterious goddess to protect the mortals from ghosts that are still trapped in the mortal realm. The Guard has six members that come from all walks of life and serve a unique purpose within the Guard. Each member as well houses a spirit that gives them special abilities to fight the ghouls they face. When each member was given a power they were also given a prophecy to wait for a seventh to join their ranks as well to stop the Darkness from overwhelming the world. Alexi was given a personal prophecy that the seventh would be his true love and that he must wait for her and have faith. Several years later with no direction from their silent goddess, The Guard is on edge and questioning their reasons for following a prophecy that they have seen no signs of happening yet.

My favorite part of this book was reading the interactions between Percy and Alexi. Percy's desire for her intimidating and aloof Professor was sweet and her responses when he was close, even when it was to ridicule her math ability, had my heart going pitter-patter along with hers. Alexi was a great foreboding presence as well, though as you begin to learn more about him between the pages of the book you learn that he is vulnerable and has very human weaknesses as well. Although Alexi always puts up his emotional armor in the presence of The Guard, you begin to see the cracks as he spends more time with Percy. And their story was both tantalizing and heart-rending as well. I loved to read their forbidden romance budding as they discussed mathematical theorems and he gave her private dance lessons. After I finished this book I went back to re-read all the sections of the book that they were together in since I loved their story so much.

Overall this was a 4.5 out of 5 stars for me, a well-woven gothic tale with a tender romance that gets me all worked up - and the yummy tortured Alexi Rychman - le sigh...

Review of Her Vampire Husband by Michele Hauf - sexy chocolate sauce lovin'

Author's blurb: An arranged marriage between a werewolf and a vampire.

There will be blood.

She may resist his bite, but she can't resist his charms...

Werewolf princess Blu Masterson won't allow her seductive vampire husband to consummate their marriage with his bite, marking her forever. Alone in a secluded estate with her sworn enemy, Blu curses the marriage arranged to bring their rival nations together, especially since Creed Saint-Pierre calls out to her most feral desires.

When Blu uncovers her pack's secret plot to destroy the vampire nation—and Creed—she is forced to confront her growing feelings for her sexy undead husband. Will she choose the only life she's ever known or accept his vampire bite? 

I didn't know what to think of this book when I first read the book blurb - would I really like a werewolf princess and an older than dirt vampire getting together? Can that ever work and be convincing? Thankfully I took the chance and loved the characters and book, I'm so glad I did because it was a really sexy and suspense-filled read. The book starts out at the wedding of werewolf princess Blu to elder vampire Creed. The wedding is being touted as a way to bring peace to the two warring groups and while the council that approved of the wedding believes that peace might happen, both factions have other plans. Blu sees the wedding as a way to escape her evil father who is the pack alpha as well as escape the predominately male pack in general. Creed faces this wedding as a responsibility that his vampire clan has trusted him with - neither party expected to develop feelings for each other.

Blu is like a whirlwind in Creed's life, she's young, sexy, and stubborn and doesn't fit in with Creed's much more sedate life as first. Blu also has been hurt, used, and has a lot of defense mechanisms to keep others at bay. One of her protection mechanisms is to be over-the-top to push people away, particularly in the sexy and flirtatious department. Blu has numerous colorful wigs, revealing outfits, and hooker heels to maintain her image and to catch the interest of her new husband. And man do I love reading about playing sexy dress-up. As Creed spends more time with Blu he can't help but be attracted to her but he begins to realize that there is more to her than meets the eye and he starts to care about his former enemy. And man when the two of them start on the path of seduction and get more physical - it is hot! For Creed being such an old vampire you definitely get the idea that he has been quite the ladies' man in the past (apparently the 1800s were really good to his sex life). I will leave the little teaser that one of the best scenes involves gourmet spicy chocolate sauce - yum!

While the romancing is hot enough to fill up the book, the background battles between the werewolves and vampires are definitely action packed as well. You wonder if there is any resolution to this story that ends up with Blu and Creed together and if they will chose their budding romance or their responsibilities for their separate vampire and werewolf factions. While I don't want to give away the ending it definitely kept me on pins and needles till the end. 

This is a 4 out of 5 stars for me, an improbable but heartwarming and steamy romance between two former enemies...and chocolate sauce.

This book is being released March 30th 2010 from Harlequin, I received the ARC through NetGalley. To learn more about this book and read the first chapter or to learn about the previous books in the series (though you don't have to read the previous books to understand the plot in HVH) you can check out the author's website here and you can follow her on twitter at @Michelehauf