The Hunter by Kerrigan Byrne

The Hunter by Kerrigan Byrne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I hate that I am so late writing this review. It's in no way a reflection on this book, because I loved it. Christopher Argent is the real deal. He is in every way a lethal assassin. Yes he really does almost kill Millie. But he can't do it. Something about her, he just can't. They form a bond that is terribly inconvenient to Christopher, he's a damaged soul who has vowed not to love anyone or anything since he lost his mother in such a horrible way. He is rich beyond calculation, has a fearsome reputation, is at the top of his game as an assassin, but inside he's a prisoner. He is truly a tortured hero in every way. I love tortured heroes. I love dangerous heroes. I love assassins. And he's a redhead. Bingo! It's Christmas.

Millie is a great heroine. She's strong and intelligent and loving and determined. She's able to work past her fears or rejection and rightfully fear of being with a cold, ruthless man like Christopher, to try to reach his heart. He's the man for her and she knows it very quickly. The question is how to conquer his arctic heart and soul.

Kerrigan Byrne knows how to write a spicy romance that will burn the pages up. She doesn't disappoint in this book. However, because Christopher is so damaged, it takes a while for them to get intimate and even longer before it's truly satisfying. I liked how she shows the ice melting around his heart, and how it's a painful process, much like when one has frostbite and hypothermia and must be warmed slowly. Millie is so good about giving Christopher space, but not giving up on him. She also has some wounds of the soul, but in contrast, she has gotten healing for her wounds. And she has her adorable son who anchors her and gives her a reason for being.

The action is very good and the villains are very evil. There are some quite violent moments. Nothing gory, but it's done in a way that cements the authenticity of the dangerous world that Argent lives in, and the seriousness of the thread that Millie is facing. I loved seeing Farah and Dorian from The Highwayman, and we get to meet the heroine for the next book The Highlander. I confess I read that one first, so I'm excited to look back and see where Mena came from. Her story is very sad. I'm glad she gets her happy ending in the next book.

If you're a historical romance fan and you're not reading this series, you need to rectify that immediately. This is a great series. I've loved every book I've read. Dangerous heroes and strong, intelligence, loving heroines in an authentic historical setting with plenty of action and intrigue. Oh and some hot loving. What more can you ask for?

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Unlawful Contact by Pamela Clare

Unlawful Contact by Pamela Clare

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Unlawful Contact is another example of Pamela's Clare's ability to write top notch romantic suspense that satisfies both the heavy-duty romance fan who wants a true love story and the analytical reader who looks for realism in her fiction.  In this case, her story is about Sophie and Marc aka Hunt, who met in high school, parted for twelve years, and came back together in a very explosive fashion.

Incidentally, I couldn't help but think about Arrested Development as I read this, since that is a very hilarious recurring joke on the show since Bluth Sr. is in prison.




There's a scene near the end of the book where I laughed out loud because it was such a reminder of this. 

Okay, back on point!

I can't say I'm a fan of underage sex, fuddy duddy that I am. However, I think that Pamela Clare made their teenage encounter very romantic, and I felt the lasting and powerful bond they formed and why it was so meaningful. I'm glad she did show this, because it makes their later interactions and relationship have an added depth.

Sophie is both a sweet, caring person, but also tough and incisive as a character.  Clare shows the integrity that journalists have and seem to largely lack in the public image we get from the media. I am glad that I had friends who strongly recommended that I read Extreme Exposure despite my dislike of journalists and politicians because Clare has caused me to re-evaluate my negative closed-mindedness of journalists by showing what they do, how seriously they take it, and how many sacrifices and risks that are involved in making sure that the news is fairly reported. I can't say I view the news media favorably over all still, but I am sure there are plenty of true believers with integrity in the industry.

Certainly, I've not walked Sophie's life journey, but I felt like I grew to know her and love her with each page I read.  I can see why Hunt never forgot her or got over her. I can understand her willingness to trust and believe in Marc, and her determination to help him, even though she was torn after he kidnapped her.

As for Hunt, Oh my!!! I loved him.  He is very tortured and his life pretty much sucked.  It's sad to say that the best years of his life were when he was a military sniper in Afghanistan, and the short night he spent with Sophie. The burden of guilt he carried made me want to cry for him.  Even though he is shown in a violent way early in the book, I knew that wasn't truly who he was. I knew that while prison turns many people into the basic, most animalistic parts of their natures, Marc managed to maintain that core of dignity despite six hard, hellish years inside. I loved him for that.  I am afraid of prison, let's be honest.  (Only my sister is more afraid of prison, which is strange since we are fairly upstanding citizens).  I can't imagine how horrible it would be to have a life sentence, especially as ex-law enforcement. The reveal near the end made my jaw drop, that Marc would be willing to do that!  Of course, I already adored him, but my adoration quotient when up even more.

The storyline was intense and really disturbing that such an injustice would occur and would go on so long. I was freaking angry about it.  I did a huge amount of yelling at the book near the end. My sister's cat was looking at me like I was crazy, in fact.  I wanted blood.  I could see why Marc was willing to take the risk to break out of jail. I couldn't blame him. Let me just say, a girl couldn't have a better older brother! 

Ms. Clare captures the reality of the wrongs that are inherent in a man-made system of justice.  It breaks my heart to know that women/girls can be abused in such a way by people in the system.    I'm not much of an Old Testament justice kinda girl, but I really wanted to see these guys get sentenced to castration for what they did!

The love scenes were hot, hot, hot, and I do mean hot.  I love that Clare can write such hot love scenes without going over the line into kinky/ick factor. You could see that poor Marc was 1)making up for lost time (since he was celibate 7 years), 2)taking the opportunity to get his true girl, 3)living a short amount of life he could before they put him back into the pen.  The love scenes showed the intensity of the feelings between Marc and Sophie and cemented my feeling that they had loved each other for that long time apart, even if it was an embryonic sort of love. It touched my romantic soul.  That's a good thing.

I read this book slowly and savored it.  I have gotten into a bad habit of reading fast because of deadlines, and I appreciated the opportunity of allowing a book to sink in and to digest the words, allow the scenes in the book to play on the movie screen of my head.  This was a great book to do that with.

Excellent from beginning to end. Each book in the I-Team series tops the preceding, which is something!  I definitely recommend it to romantic suspense fans and fans of misunderstood/bad reputation but true blue heroes and heroines who are truly likable.

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Heads Up!

In preparation of the November release of Striking Distance, The Pamela Clare Fan Group will be hosting a group read of the series, starting with this book! If you haven't yet read Pamela Clare's I-Team series, you're missing out on some truly fantastic stories.

So what are you waiting for?? Grab a copy of this book and join us on June 25th! We'd LOVE to have you!! Extreme Exposure Group Read




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If you're already a Pamela Clare fan, or interested in learning more about her and her books, be sure to stop by our Pamela Clare Fan Group  here on Goodreads!




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Warrior by Kristina Douglas

Warrior by Kristina Douglas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I probably would have rated this higher if I hadn't been so strung out from sleep deprivation and just feeling so tired and worn out this past weekend. I feel bad about that, because that's the reason why I hoard my favorite authors' books for when I am in a good/receptive mood. Even with my beloved books, I can set the bar high and being moody can interfere with my reading experience. I guess it seems silly to qualify a four star rating. But Anne Stuart/Kristina Douglas is probably one of the authors I will have near my dying bedside, other than the Bible. That's how much I love her books. Anyhoo, let's get to the review.

I was looking forward to Michael's story because he seemed more light-hearted and jocular than the other Fallen. Lo and behold, he is a moody grump in his book. I can sort of get why. He's forced to get married for a prophecy to a woman who will die after he mates with her. He's chosen celibacy and the warrior life over sex, love and marriage (the Fallen variant). It's not that he didn't like sex. He gorged himself on it shortly after falling, and it was just empty for him after a while. He decided he likes his monastic warrior lifestyle better. Plus, he's repelled by the fact that Fallen are blood-eaters. Because of their curse for falling, they must ingest the blood of human women to sustain their lives. Fortunately, Michael can take just enough blood from the Source, the wife of the Alpha of the Fallen, to sustain his bodily needs. Other than that, he's not tempted in the least by women, neither for sex nor for blood. Until Victoria Bellona.

Now I thought the concept of Tory being a goddess was kind of weird. This story is based on Judeo-Christian legends of the fallen angels, although Douglas takes an extreme right turn with some of her theology. I can't say I love some aspects of that, which I have mentioned in my reviews of the first two books in this series. At any rate, throwing in the Roman pantheon just felt weird. She had a good explanation for it, and since it's her book, oh well. Having accepted who Tory was, I got over that, and just experienced her character. I liked Tory a lot. She's feisty and independent, especially considering the way she was raised. She could hold her own against Michael, and often kept him off balance. I loved seeing how she conquered her warrior angel with her personality and just being herself. He had no chance against her! I loved her silly names for him, like "Your Impeccable Angelic Magnificence." I mean, how does a stoic warrior angel confront that? He just has to give in.

While the world-building isn't award-winning (fairly basic), I love the interactions between the characters. How Douglas shows hate turn into love so well. She writes love scenes that evolve as the relationship between the characters evolves, which is the way it should be. You see these hardened heroes turn to slush before they even realize it. You smirk and say, "I knew it!", and enjoy the ride. I also love the description of the angels with their wings unfolded and their majestic beauty. I just love angels! Although Douglas is not a wordy writer, she conveys the heavenly beauty of even the fallen angels with words that say so much and paints such a vivid picture.

In the end, I didn't think much of the suspense elements. I don't care for the idea of Uriel being both the ruler of heaven and the big bad. Nor did I like the concept of Dark City and Beloch. But I did love the angelic romance on display. The interactions between the Michael and Tory, as well as catching up with the other Fallen make up for any world-building/suspense shortcomings. Had I been in a better mood, I would probably have been more forgiving. But four stars isn't bad at all.

Despite the things I don't like about this series, I do love the angels, the snarky heroines, and the romance, dark, although love always wins out, and I am excited for Rebel, because Cain looks to be a very bad boy indeed! Since I know who his love interest is, this should be very interesting!

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Devil's Kiss by Zoe Archer

Devil's Kiss by Zoe Archer
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Devil's Kiss is the first in the Hellraisers historical paranormal romance series by Zoe Archer, and she has created an interesting world and an intriguing storyline that will keep me coming back to this series.

I loved how immersive this story was. I felt like I was in the Georgian period, where anything goes, if you have the money, power and status to make your own rules. With this background, the character have validity and their choices and motivations make sense. Whit is a hero that really sucked me in. He is not a good man, but he is a man that you want to be good, to make the right decisions in the end. I have to say that force of his personality pulled me right into this story. I found Whit very magnetic. Ms. Archer does an excellent joy of portraying the tug of war that Whit has between his good nature and his darker one. I don't think gambling was his vice in itself, but the desire to control fate and have power to manipulate fate and circumstances. Losing his family so young and becoming an Earl so early in his life gave him this vacuum inside, this feeling that he is being buffeted by fate, so that living on the knife's edge became the only valid lifestyle for himself. It's probable that he might have been a thrill-seeker, explorer or adventurer if he hadn't inherited his title. I found him quite fascinating as a character. I could see why Zora found him so irresistible and fell in love with him even though he's not a good man by any stretch. This aspect of the story, as well as the manner in which Archer establishes her story in the Georgian period reminds me of Anne Stuart, and that's always a good thing.

Zora was a great character. I loved her strong personality, her determination, her independent spirit, and that she doesn't give up on what is important to her. She always felt strange and disjointed in her Romani family and life, although she does value it. When the giorgo men show up in her camp, her eyes are drawn to Whit, and she can't look away. He compels her in a way no other man has. His obsession with her isn't one-sided at all. And she becomes the only means through which he can regain his soul back from the devil. Zora is a good woman, but she's also a vital, primal woman, not a plaster saint. It means that much more when she stands up for what is right when it is so easy to choose self and do what is wrong in the process.

When I read romance, I want the bond and the relationship between the characters to be meaningful, real, and deeply emotional. I felt all that with Whit and Zora. Although they share a very primal sexual attraction, there is also an intellectual connection, and an emotional bond. Zora could have walked away and left Whit to his fate, but she cared for him and wanted to help him get free from his devil's bargain; or she could have destroyed him when she realized that his actions might bring on the end of the world. But love kept her with him. As for Whit, although his actions towards Zora weren't honorable initially, he shows that she is very important to him, her love and her light keeps him grounded and gives him the strength to fight for his soul and to do the right thing. The love scenes are very sensual and well-written, and they fit very well into this intense story about dark passions and desires.

This series has gotten me hooked, probably from the first page. Ms. Archer promises to deliver forthcoming books that avoid being predictable, and where the main character could perhaps be the worst villain of all, if he chooses wrongly. I like that kind of risk-taking when I read a story, especially when it's well-written as Devil's Kiss is.

For this very enjoyable, well-written book, I have to give a rating of 4.5/5.0.

Definitely recommended!

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Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Granted, Bloodfever seems to have less forward momentum than Darkfever, but I still loved it. I like this voyage of self-discovery that Mac is on. She is growing up the hard way. I think the first person POV works beautifully, because this is fundamentally Mac's story. Of course, Barrons is a huge draw. He's delightfully enigmatic, querulous, and his feelings for Mac come through clearly, even though Mac doesn't really get it. I think Barrons is crazy about Mac. He is very possessive of her, and it's not just because she's his OOP detector. All the simmering jealousy pheromones are turning the air around Mac bright red and screaming "MINE". I could put a Supreme Court-winning case together about Barrons' feelings for Mac, but I won't belabor the point. Yes, he's a bit of a jerk, but I have to say I love him! He's a hard man, so he loves hard. I think I'm okay with that. Mac can handle it. I'm glad that KMM writes this series (thus far) in such a way that Barrons is compelling and desirable as a character, but he doesn't quite steal the show from Mac.

I like the writing here, with some elegance, but not overwritten. Emotions are conveyed through imagery and the intensity carries through to my heart as I read. I feel Mac's anguish over her sister, and it takes me to that dark place where I am sure I would live if something horrible happened to my own sister. It helps me to identify with Mac in a way that I probably wouldn't normally, since we don't have a whole lot in common. That's the sign of a good writer for me.

If there are any downpoints, I feel that some aspects are a bit too oblique. We get the whole "wink, wink, keep reading treatment" that I find irksome when it comes to series reading. Let's face it, I'm going to keep reading the books, so you don't have to lead me on. At the same time, I do think a little mystery is good, but maybe not so much mystery.

I won't go on and on about the faerie stuff. If you know me, you know already that I have a huge fascination with all things fae, so it's a forgone conclusion that I would love those aspects of this book. I believe that KMM and I share a kindred love for faerie legends, and this is lovingly inscribed throughout this series and her Highlander series to a lesser extent.

This won't be a long review like Darkfever. I think I've said enough about my feelings for this book. There were some parts that didn't really propel the story forward, but the writing, the characters of Mac and Barrons, and the city of Dublin are so engaging, that this one is a fiver for me. The emotional elements of Mac's story truly draw me in and don't let me go. And I'm totally down for more Barrons! I don't know when I'll get to Faefever, but I know I will be looking forward to spending more time with Mac and Barrons in the meantime.



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