Hoping For More: October 2011

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Lord of the Abyss - 5/5 Stars

Title: Lord of the Abyss
Author: NALINI SINGH
Series: Royal House of Shadows: Book 4
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy
Page Count: 288 Pages
Pub. Date: Paperback, to be released on 11/29/2011 by Harlequin Nocturne

*ARC received from publisher through NetGalley*
Rating: 5/5

Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out…

As the Dark Lord who condemns souls to damnation in the Abyss, Micah is nothing but a feared monster wrapped in impenetrable black armor. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows—the daughter of his enemy. Liliana is nothing like her father, the Blood Sorcerer who’d cursed Micah. She sees past Micah’s armor to the prince inside. A prince whose sinful touch she craves. But first she has to brave his dark, dangerous lair and help him remember. Because they only have till midnight to save Elden.

Once upon a dark time, they were the only hope to bring their kingdom back to the light!

~ My Review ~

I think that this was my favourite in the series. Nalini's writing style is just my cup of tea :) The kinks were ironed out, the seams mended, and one heck of a romance unfolded between the lost prince and the ugly blood sorcerer's daughter.

I liked the setting change in Lord of the Abyss. The Black Castle was mysterious and full of danger. But having Lily choose to be there gave the story a whole new depth. Which brings me to the other thing I liked, the difference in Micah in comparison to his siblings. In the other three books the child of Elden is in need of saving, of someone to make them stronger or set them free - but Micah is this bad-ass Dark Lord with so much power and all he needs is to remember who he is.

I loved the relationship that Lily and Micah form in the book, especially with both of them being so used to rejection and learning to accept the others attention. I thought the play off of Cinderella was subtle in the story, and I had more of the feel that Lily was both Cinderella and the stepsisters and it gave a great dynamic to the story - hated and ugly, with an evil father and an absent mother, never chosen for who she was, and fighting to race the timepiece before it hits midnight - genius!

I don't have time to read Desert Warrior (the bonus story paired in with Lord of the Abyss) but if I do, I will post a review - I wanted to review the last of the Royal House of Shadows separately. It was a great read and really rounded out the series for me.

My Rating: 5/5

~ Other books in this series ~

Royal House of Shadows series:

Book I: Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter (August 2011)

Book II: Lord of Rage by Jill Monre (September 2011)

Book III: Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Andersen (October 2011)

Book IV: Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh (November 2011)

~ You'll like this series if you liked ~
Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward, Guild Hunter Series by Nalini Singh or Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning

~Links 4 More~
Author Website: here
Read about this series here : here
*NEW. Watch the series book trailer! : here
Add to your Shelfari: here
Add to your Goodreads: here
Buy it at Bookdepository (Free Shipping): here

B.J. Kenney

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Lord of the Wolfyn - 4.5/5 Stars

Title: Lord of the Wolfyn
Author: Jessica Andersen
Series: Royal House of Shadows: Book 3
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Page Count: 288 Pages
Pub. Date: 10/18/2011 by Harlequin Nocturne
Rating: 4.5/5
*ARC received from publisher through NetGalley*

Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out…

For practical Reda Weston, nothing could explain how reading a sexy version of “Little Red Riding Hood” catapulted her into another realm—face-to-fang with the legendary wolf-creature who seduced women. A wolf who transformed into a dark, virile man…

Dayn cursed the Sorcerer that turned him wolfyn and damned him to a lonely fate. As a beast, he mated with women to gain strength. Strength he needed to rescue his royal parents. But as a man, he craved Reda’s heated, sizzling touch. With little time left, Dayn had to either embrace his wolf to save his kingdom…or fight it to save his woman.

~My Review~

Another great story, with another new voice to tell it. I liked Dayn's character in this book. He was self deprecating but in a way that worked. I hate it when characters go on and on about their mistakes - but Dayn knew what he did wrong, felt responsible/bad/sad and decided to do something about it.

Dayn, like his siblings, was transported away from their kingdom. He awoke in not only another country, but a whole other realm. Where he had to live amongst his enemies, the Wolfyn, hiding his true identity for fear of death should they find out his true heritage - that of the vampires, who hunted down their kind in the Magical realm, believing them to be only beasts.

Reda is a human cop who froze on the job, causing the death of her partner. She is lost to her own guilt and grief, until she stumbles upon a book she thought long lost. As she reads the ancient fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood she remembers her longing for the the woodsman that has been plaguing her dreams. She starts to remember the tales her grandmother told her of the hero and is transported into the Wolfyn realm to rescue Dayn and lead him to his homeland, but can he convince her that it's not all just a figment of her imagination?

The blurb on the back of the book gives away far too much if you ask me. I didn't read it until after, and I am glad I didn't. I liked some of the surprises they threw in there. I think that the only thing I didn't like about Lord of the Wolfyn was that it wasn't cohesive with Lord of the Vampires (book 1). They are all set apart in that the siblings were sent to different kingdoms or realms, but in the first book Nicolai is in contact with Dayn through their blood bond, and it isn't mentioned at all in Lord of the Wolfyn. I thought that was odd, but other than that I quite enjoyed the book and am interested to see Jessica Andersen's other work.

My Rating: 4.5/5

~ Other books in this series ~

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Books Whose Titles Or Covers Made Me Buy It:

(I cheated and picked my top 10 series)

Lord of Rage: 4.5/5 Stars

Title: Lord of Rage

Author: Jill Monroe

Series: Royal House of Shadows: Book #2

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Page Count: 288 Pages (Kindle)

Pub. Date: Published September 2011 by Harlequin Nocturne

Rating: 4.5/5

*ARC received from publisher through NetGalley*

Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out…

Princess Breena had been dreaming of her warrior lover when she was ripped from her Elden castle and thrown into a strange, dangerous realm. Lost and alone, she prayed for survival and vengeance for her stolen kingdom. She found both in a woodland cottage…in a dark bear of a man.

The golden-haired beauty had eaten his food and slept in his bed when Osborn found her. Though he wanted to awaken his virgin princess to carnal pleasures, Breena wanted more—including his warrior skills. Skills the once-legendary mercenary had long buried. Now Osborn had a choice—risk his life or deny his princess her fairy-tale ending...

~ My Review ~

Goldilocks and the Three Bears was the inspiration behind this one. I loved the chemistry between Breena and Osborn, but I hated their names - I found it distracting throughout the book and preferred it when she called him Warrior. I found the timeline a little confusing in respect to the first book, but that melted away amid their love story. I loved that Breena thought she needed a Warrior to fight for her, and learned to become one instead. A quick and fun read.

The writing style was different from the first book (obviously) but I really liked that fact. Breena has a very different story and a unique voice that was portrayed well by Jill Monroe. I am loving this series and have already started Dayn's story "Lord of the Wolfyn"

I have read a lot of anthologies lately and was enjoying the different authors take on a common thread, but I love what this series is doing in collaborating four great authors to tell four different stories within the same world. It is fun and refreshing. I hope to see more of this type of thing in the future.

My Rating: 4.5/5

~ Other books in this series ~

Royal House of Shadows series:

Book I: Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter (September 2011)

Book II: Lord of Rage by Jill Monre (October 2011)

Book III: Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Andersen (November 2011)

Book IV: Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh (December 2011)

~ You'll like this series if you liked ~

Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward, Guild Hunter Series by Nalini Singh or Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning

~ Links 4 More ~

Author Website: here

Read about this series here : here

*NEW. Watch the series book trailer! : here

Add to your Shelfari: here

Add to your Goodreads: here

Buy it at BookDepository (free shipping): here

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

NetGalley Review - Lord of the Vampires

Title: Lord of the Vampires

Author: Gena Showalter

Series: Royal House of Shadows: Book #1

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Page Count: 288 Pages (Kindle)

Pub. Date: Published September 2011 by Harlequin Nocturne

Rating: 5/5

*ARC received from publisher through NetGalley*

Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out…

Nicolai the Vampire was renowned for his virility, but in a twist of fate “The Dark Seducer” had become a sex slave in the kingdom of Delfina—stripped of his precious timepiece and his memory. All that remained was a primal need for freedom, revenge—and the only woman who could help him.

In her dreams, a wanton vampire called to Jane Parker, drawing her to his dark sexuality and his magical realm. But for a human, all was not a fairy tale in Delfina. Jane was the key to Nicolai’s memory…but exploiting her meant dooming the only mortal he craved...

~ My Review ~

My first Gena Showalter book, and now I see what all the fuss is about. I loved her writing style and character development. The plot was seamless and kept me riveted. This is the first book in a multi-author series that is fast becoming a new favourite of mine.

One of my favourite things about Lord of the Vampires was Jane. Finally a strong smart female lead! It was a breath of fresh air to not once have to ask "how can't she see this?" There was the element of self-doubt when it came to Jane and Nicolai's future, but they were believable and not overdone.

Nicolai was a fantastic hero in this one. He was strong and powerful, but bound by his captors. Like waiting for a bomb to explode you could feel the anticipation of what he would be able to do once he was released. He killed without qualms and the possessive drive to protect was perfect for the alpha male.

The villains of the story were painted perfectly so that you wanted them to be destroyed. The "Queen of Hearts" and her daughters are revolting and powerful, giving a worthy opponent to the powerful duo that Jane and Nicolai have the potential to become.

I loved the references to Alice and Wonderland, and the undertones of fairy tale that were laced through the framework of the story. I can't wait to start Lord of Rage and see Jill Monroe's continuation from Breena's side of the story.

My Rating: 5/5

~ Other books in this series ~

~ You'll like this series if you liked ~

Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward, Guild Hunter Series by Nalini Singh or Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning