Review of The Last of the Demon Slayers by Angie Fox

Last of the Demon Slayers

Angie Fox

Create Space

320 pages

ISBN 13:9781453888942

Last of the Demon Slayers is the 4^th in Ms. Fox’s Demon Slayer series staring Lizzie Brown.

Vacations are great and Lizzie, the Red Skull Witches, her talking Jack Russell Pirate and their adopted dragon Flappy all lounged at the Greek Estate of her Griffin Shape Shifting boyfriend Dimitri, but now it’s life back in the fast lane so Harley’s to the highway, but when she gets a frantic call for help from her biological dad (who she’s never met), things go to Hades in a handbasket, literally.

Angie Fox first caught my attention because she’s a local author here in my home town of St. Louis Missouri and I always like to patronize locals so I bought her first book “The Accidental Demon Slayer” and I never stopped laughing unless I was holding my breath waiting for the next awful thing to happen to poor Lizzie and then when the dog starts to talk, well let’s just say it’s been a true love affair ever since. And in this her latest in the life and times of Lizzie Brown she won’t let you down either and although the plot is straight out of Grimm’s Fairy Tales for adults she leads us down the merry path believing every word, it’s like she puts a hex on us. Then there’s her dialogue, be prepared for full belly roll laughs when you get a load of what Pirate says, it’s almost like she can get inside the dog’s head and really listen to him, the rest of the narrative is easy to read everyday jargon. Her characters are the real stars of the show they each have their personalities and she spotlights each and every one. Her heroine Lizzie is a one of a kind character one you want to be like but knowing what she goes through everyday of her life don’t want anything to do with either. Yes this is a romance and it’s a doozie and the love scenes are hot and spicy when demon slayer meets griffin lip locked and raring to go and even though they’re enough to light your socks on fire I don’t think any true romance fan would find anything offensive.

If this is your first introduction to Lizzie, I know you’ll do yourself a favor and order the backlist and if you’re a true Lizzie fan well you’ll definitely get your money’s worth.
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Kudos Ms. Fox for one of the best paranormal series out there.

Review of Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione

Eternal Rider

Larissa Ione

Grand Central Publishing

ISBN 13: 9780446574495

432 pages

Eternal Rider is the first novel of Ms. Ione’s new series Lords of Deliverance The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, it’s also a spinoff of her highly popular and explosive Demonica series so as you meet these new unbelievable characters you’ll also get to catch up on your old friends from Underworld General, if you’re new to the series have no fear you will not be in the dark for long because this exquisite storyteller will fill you in with no problems.

The human and demon world is on a crash course to Armegeddon and with one of the four horsemen already turned evil it’s up to the other three to prevent total annihilation of the world as we know it.

Ares has lived for more than four thousand years knowing that if the seal he wears breaks he will turn into War and Apocalypse will soon follow, he’s already lost one brother and now it’s up to him and his remaining two siblings to prevent the ultimate big bang.

Cara Thornhart’s life has been in upheaval ever since “the event” two years earlier but when an injured animal shows up at her defunct vet clinic she can’t turn him away but he’s way more than she’s bargained for and he leads her on a crash course to Ares and life as she knows it will be a thing of the past. When Cara and Ares meet it’s fireworks of an epic proportion, the question is will they survive the explosion.

Ms. Ione is a master storyteller and it becomes obvious on the first page as she baits her audience and keeps them on the line until they’re well and truly reeled in by the end of the novel. She gives us a bigger than life plot the biggest good vs evil yet filled with dialogue that will keep her readers turning pages faster than you can say God of War and with characters straight out of our fondest dreams and worst nightmares. She presents to us characters that will make us gasp, make us gag and keep us up nights. Her hero Ares and heroine Cara are two of the most haunted lovers you will ever have the pleasure of reading about. They will tug at your heartstrings as they stumble through relationship potholes that we mere mortals could only ever imagine on their way to that all important Happy Ever After. Will they make it, read on my friends for that’s for you to find out. The love scenes are exactly what you’d expect with an immortal, edgy, sensual, gritty and powerful, so if it’s cold outside you might want to open a window and if it’s hot for heaven’s sake turn down the air.

Be prepared to nail bite your way through this one, if you have a heart problem you might want to consult your doctor before reading. For the rest of you healthy human beings get ready for one heck of a ride.

Ms. Ione thank you for another start of a great series, my only disappointment is that I will have to wait just like the other mere mortals for the next instillation.
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Review of Operation Spank Me by Christina James

Operation Spank Me

Christina James

Scarlet Rose

ISBN13: 978-1601549172

268 pages

Deep in the special ops of the military Finn Coleman has no time or desire for a committed relationship but naughty cybersex with e-pen pal Emma is just what the doctor ordered. Small town Emma Shields has no idea what she’s getting into when she lets friends talk her into e-pen palling with mystery military man Finn Coleman the chatting takes on a definite X rating. Keeping her identity a secret she refuses sending a picture so when he shows up on her doorstep unannounced how will she receive him.

Christina James gives us the first of a new erotic romance series with Operation Spank Me, her plot could be from any town any where USA where a lonely GI is paired with a pen pal only this author takes it two steps further into the e-rom universe where the pen pals exchange more than just the weather, and she adds a storyline climax that has nothing to do with sex but will certainly make her readers breathe a little harder because of. Her dialogue is everyday easy to read chit-chat mixed with the directness and politeness you’d expect from an Officer in the Forces added to this is very explicit sexual desires and commands. Her characters are very well developed and I enjoyed meeting and getting to know them from all the small town folks to her hero and heroine. Speaking of her hero Finn and her heroine Emma I also liked them and the author does a good job of promoting their lust at first sight, sex at every possible moment, turns into love everlasting very convincingly. The romance is fast paced and the readers will be able to see when lust turns to love for both Finn and Emma. The love scenes are scorching hot, smoking sexy and might be offensive for readers not into explorative and inventive sex scenes.

Fans of e-rom and also those who like a huge dose of hot sex with their genre romance would enjoy this read, also fans of the more traditional romance between one man and one woman would also like this. Not sure if your a fan of e-rom but want to dip your feet, this would be the perfect test. The next in the series will be Operation Tempt Me, check out the author's website here to find out more.

Review of Outlaw by Angus Donald

Outlaw

Angus Donald

St. Martin’s Press

ISBN 13: 9780312678364

352 pages

It’s long been debated whether Robin Hood actually existed, in a 14^th Century poem he makes an appearance and in the 15^th Century he’s been mentioned in ballads but whether he’s fact or fiction doesn’t seem to lessen his popularity as he’s been immortalized in print, song, poem and in present times on film. One of the reasons he stays alive for us is because of the astute storytelling ability of some of his tale-tellers like for example this one.

In this fictionalized tale of Robin Hood we may find the most truthful version yet in Outlaw, the first in a new series by Angus Donald first published in the UK.
Between the years 1188 and 1189 is the timeline in this novel, Robin is the still the ultimate outlaw, he’s still madly in love with lady Marie-Anne and is public enemy number 1 with the Sheriff of Nottingham, we’ll find all the usual cohorts too including Tuck and Little John in addition to a few new names to add to the lore.

Angus Donald brings us his vision of the ultimate noir hero in “Outlaw”, book number one in the Legend of Robin Hood series. He gives us the bigger than life hero/villain but shows him in a more realistic light, emphasizing the cruelty and barbarism of the 12^th Century in the guise of authority, he shows us the leftover paganism melded with the Christian world and he shows us beauty the likes of which may no longer exist in this world and in fact showing a more factual Robin Hood who would have lived, loved and thieved in England in the late 1100’s. The novel is narrated by Alan Dale, Robin’s troubadour who was taken under wing as a young teen after being caught stealing in Nottingham and saved from certain death by the Sheriff. The dialogue is conversational, interesting and descriptive, readers will be able to picture Alan as an old man recounting his tumultuous youth, writing down the good, the bad and the ugly in excerpts as he also lets us know what’s going on in his present. The characters in this adventure go above and beyond in their portrayals as we get legend, myth and history in one piece of work.
This is far from the Robin Hood of our youths on TV or in the movies, this is truly an adult story with explicit scenes of violence and sex, so keep that in mind as you choose where to store it and who to share it with.

If you like your folklore with a huge slice of realism packed with danger, adventure, drama and action, Angus Donald is your man. If you love historical fiction with a bite this is for you. If you like your myths and legends on the wild side, here you go.
To learn more about the upcoming novels visit the author’s website here
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Review of The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain - It's available today

The Midwife’s Confession

Diane Chamberlain

Mira – Publish Date April 2011

432 pages – ISBN 13: 9780778329862

In the blink of an eye a friend they thought they knew takes her own life and so Tara and Emerson embark on a journey to find out why. What they don’t realize is that in their mission for information about Noelle and her suicide only leads them to more questions. They find that happiness was just a mask she wore to hide a darkest of secrets that will change every life it’s touched when they learn “The Midwife’s Confession”.

Diane Chamberlain has given us a storyline that could be taken from the front pages of any news paper or from the headlines from any CNN or CNBC report, with one exception, she gives it that human touch and in doing so will take her readers on an excruciating trip down endless dark hallways of a troubled woman’s mind. She tells it in the first person from the voices of several of her main protagonists and she does this with dialogue that’s easy to read and will take her audience into the hearts and minds of her characters, characters who will become friends as you entwine yourselves into their lives. Her readers will be in awe of the intimacy she gives us into her characters especially Tara and Emerson along with their daughters Jenny and Grace and as we her readers get closer to solving the puzzle of this mystery she throws us a curve ball with Anna and Haley. Her co-stars of this drama are equally important to the telling of the story and couldn’t be done without them. At the heart of this tale we find a love story, the love between friends, the love of children and the love of a spouse, but she fills the pages with twists and turns to get us there and at the end we will let go a breath we didn’t know we’d been holding.

If you love a great mystery, a story of family drama, a drama in general and just really the telling of an incredible story by an amazing artist, mixed with angst filled scenes and nail biting edge of your seat drama, let this be your choice. You won’t be sorry you did. Put this on the top of your next “Must Read” list.

Buy the book here.

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Review of When You Dare by Lori Foster

When You Dare
Lori Foster
Harlequin
448 pages
ISBN13:9780373775712

In Tijuana to rescue the sister of a friend, Dare Macintosh gets more than he bargained for when in a separate room he finds a badly beaten and drugged American woman, his honor won’t let him leave her but what’s he going to do with her.
Molly Alexander has learned the hard way to only rely on herself, when she finds herself kidnapped and abused she still won’t let her captors break her and then she’s rescued by Dare Macintosh and he’s appointed himself her personal protector which rubs the independent part of her the wrong way now with the attraction literally causing sparks between them the fireworks begin. If they can only keep their heads in the game, their hands off each other long enough to find out who’s behind the abduction they may make it out in one piece.

NY Times Best Selling Author Lori Foster hits her adrenalin addicted fans over the head with When You Dare, the first in her Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor series. It will be followed by Trace of Fever in May 2011 and Savor the Danger in June 2011, so have no fear there are more bigger than life and buffer than Greek God bad boys coming.
Her really imaginative plot for this one will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck as she takes her readers down the slippery slope of private security, so private that they’re practically ghosts. She brings us this tale with a dialogue that might surprise you with it’s at times almost modesty when compared to the characters, but have no fear you lovers of rough and tumble romance, she gives us just what we want too. And wait until you meet the characters, we’ll start with the co-stars some very good, some very bad and some in between but they all are so important to the story that she couldn’t have left even the least essential out or the tale would suffer. And that leaves us her hero Dare who is one of the most over the top and yet down to earth characters you’ll ever meet, in fact it’s his sincerity and sweetness that Ms. Foster gives him that makes him so endearing. Her heroine Molly is the most unsinkable character since, well, since the unsinkable Molly Brown, she faces her adversities head on and chin up and has that hard headed quality that makes her so real, while being incredibly vulnerable without being fragile. The romance, ah the romance is quite the adventure like rafting on rapids for the readers and while at first glance these two seem so different as you get further into the story you’ll see how those differences compliment each other and if any couple deserve their happy ever after it’s these two. The love scenes are hot enough and sensually sexy enough to scorch the paint off any surface but at the same time her readers will feel the vulnerability not only in the heroine but refreshingly also in the macho hero as well.

So if you like your heros on the darker side of good, your heroine with moxie out the wazoo and a story that will take you on a thrill ride that never stops, look no further. If you like love stories that are far from tame, here it is. If you like characters that carry the entire novel and then some, find it here. This is fiction to the ninth degree. Kudos to you Ms. Foster for another incredible journey thanks to your amazing storytelling talent.
Visit the author’s website here
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Review of Phantom Evil by Heather Graham

Phantom Evil

Heather Graham

Mira

368 pages

ISBN 13: 9789778329534

A distraught senator’s wife is found dead of an apparent suicide in the garden of her supposed haunted house. Wanting answers albeit discreetly the senator calls on a newly formed government team run by Adam Harrison and led by enigmatic Jackson Crow. This assignment may be just what the doctor order for Jackson after the tragedy that was his last case with the FBI. Now he’s teamed up with 5 specially equipped people to handle all things paranormal and what better place to test that theory and the team then The Big Easy. Angela Hawkins is a trained policewoman from Virginia who at a young age had her first experience with paranormal activity when the plane her family was on crashed killing her parents and almost herself as well. She’s learned who to trust and who to stay away from and she’s learned about love and loss, but Jackson is more than what she’s expecting and maybe more than her heart can handle. But their attraction is hard to resist and there’s enough to worry about without complications of the heart there’s something in the house something not right could it be “Phantom Evil”.

Heather Graham always does a bang up job when she expertly mixes paranormal with romance, she always comes up with likeable and believable characters and even though the plot may be quite a bit outside the normal box she somehow makes her audience believers during the read. Well Phantom Evil is no different there’s enough from both worlds to excite any fan. She gives us a storyline that could be seen on any news show or headline and then she makes it more interesting by giving it a shade of otherworldly. She will take you to the French Quarter and Bourbon Street, introduce you to the characters who call it home and she’ll show you the real New Orleans through her descriptive narrative. Her characters are spot on, perfectly portrayed and infinitely important to the telling of the story from the Voodoo Priestess to the ghosts themselves. Her hero and heroine are two people in desperate need of one another and she brings them together with earth moving and fireworks and keeps them together with honesty and compassion and of course with heat, because the love scenes are as hot as the humidity is high in a New Orleans summer.

So take a stroll downtown, blow the sugar off a beignet while you enjoy a cup of pecan coffee and batten down the hatches of your emotions as this paranormal, psychological thriller will take you on a frightening journey, one that will leave you breathless when the ride is over.
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