Review: Grimm Tidings by Shiloh Walker

Hi everyone, it's review time *bounces up and down*! I have received an ARC from the amazing Shiloh Walker from her Grimm's Circle series...meet Jacob and Celine but beware...they can and will kick your ass!

Title: Grimm Tidings
Author: Shiloh Walker
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd
Release Date: 24th April 2012
Series: Grimm's Circle, book 6
Source: ARC copy provided by the author.

Blurb from Goodreads:
Never fear the pain. Fear what lies behind it…
In his mortal life, the only thing Jacob liked better than money was a good brawl—until he stuck his fist into the wrong fight, and a demon sent him spinning into a new life as a Grimm.
Now, a hundred years later, he’s been called to protect someone too much like himself. A woman who could let the chains of her past drag her down unless she learns to let go. A woman who fights like there’s no tomorrow, because she clearly doesn’t want a tomorrow.
Celine thought her second chance at life would be an opportunity to fix some of her worst mistakes, to set things straight. She couldn’t have been more wrong. She’s trapped by the past and her regrets, and nothing—not even her darkly sexy new trainer, Jacob—has a blade sharp enough to cut her loose.
Chains are Jacob's specialty, but his help comes with a price. To her, the cost is her heart. To Jacob…something much more.
Product Warnings: Contains a heroine with enough fight in her to put the 300 to shame. And a hero who knows how to take a punch.

Review:
First Line - “You can chase death a little too closely.” Death was no stranger to the Grimm—men and women who dealt with the demons who managed to cross over into the mortal world. The three men stood there, staring down over the edge of the building into the alley below, watching the bloody, brutal battle taking place. Will—their leader—watched the woman closely. Few others knew him by any other name. Their leader was rather closed-mouthed, especially about himself.
I think this opening give you a good glimpse into what the book is about. Plus I love the product warning, because it's so true! Jacob and Celine are Grimm, one of the few men and women turned and brought over to wage a battle older than time itself. For the Grimm are guardian angels - their task...to protect humanity from the evil that stalks the night...evil we don't even know exists. For Celine, it's more than just a calling...it's her life, the only time she feels alive is when she is fighting, whether that be with the demons she hunts or the trainers who help her. But Celine's time is running out...she's a loose cannon, one who without the propper direction will self destruct. The task falls to Jacob to tame this wild woman, because if Celine contines down this path, she will be walking into death's open arms. Can Jacob save this scarred woman...or is she already beyond his reach?

'He leaned in and licked her cheek. The feel of his tongue sent a shudder of revulsion rushing through her and she swore, a lingering panic rushing in. Those memories, too many of them and too many of them were clear, rose up to taunt her. In the back of her mind, an ugly, depraved scream raged.
“Fear. I taste your fear…”
Hell, she could taste her fear. Taste it, feel it, hear it—
The parasei all but crushed her into the ground and that only made it worse. Sensory memory slammed into her, making it worse—the pain. It had torn through her—ripped her—no, no, no, NO!
She screamed and managed to get a hand free. But before she could make contact, the demon was gone.
Gasping for air, she sat up, scurrying backward as her eyes struggled to adjust and see.
Jacob.
It was Jacob.
A sob escaped her.
The long leather coat he wore whirled around him as he flung the parasei across the alley. Tears blinded her and she scrubbed them away. In the time it took for her to do that, he’d already killed the demon.
Killed it, and was walking toward her, his face tight with fury, his eyes cold.'

Our hero is Jacob, he's been one of the Grimm for the past century following a fight that didn't end too well. Thankfully his fighting skills have drastically improved since that day. Jacob is now one of the more fearsome fighters the Grimm have on their side...but his past still haunts him. I love the way Jacob's character is based on someone else...I'm not going to say who because it'd ruin the surprise when you read it, but I can tell you Shiloh Walkers genius is in full swing. I absolutely love Jacob, he's stubborn and completely hard-headed at times, but he also has a soft side that emerges around Celine...as does one heck of a jealous streak! Jacob has a tendency to look for a fight that he knows he can't win...and it's this trait that may end up costing him more than his life.
Our heroine is Celine. Now, none of the Grimm had a particularly good last day on earth but Celine's was particularly brutal. Murdered by parasei after an argument with her husband Celine never got to say she was sorry...and it's eating her alive. Stuck in her past, full of rage and grief, Celine wouldn't care if she didn't see tomorrow...but the Grimm can't afford to loose her and this is her last chance. You can really empathise with Celine, she's a brilliantly written character. You feel her grief and anger...and you root for her all the way through. Despite spurning all her previous trainers, the task of reaching through Celine's grief falls to Jacob, for he and he alone has the power to bring her back from the brink. Celine and Jacob have a spark between them...but can Celine let go of her grief...of her husband and move forward? Or will it destroy them both?

I really enjoyed this novella, not only was the main story between Jacob and Celine engaging but I am very intrigued by some of the other characters we meet. Red-eyed Rob is one of those characters that has a bit of a deranged air about him...the one you know has something awful in his past that has made him so cold. BUT the character I really want to know more about (and I mean that in a sat on the edge of my seat way) is WILL! He's the leader of the Grimm and the one who decides which humans to make one of them. He's their trainer and disciplinarian, but he is extremely guarded about his past...in fact just anything related to him. I'm so excited to read more about him. He has obviously awesome amount of power, that with an obsessive need to keep himself mysterious is a dangerous combination...as you can see here:

“You’re not quite ready to leave yet,” Will said, his voice neutral.
“Oh, yes, I am.” Grimly, Rob gathered up what few weapons he carried and started for the door. “I’m done with the team-player bit for now. You can—”
An invisible force froze Rob in place. “Oh, would you just stop?”
Or that was what he tried to say—he managed, Oh before he went flying across the room, slamming into the solid oak of the front door, smashing his head into it.
Will flipped him around with a twist of his mind and started toward him. “Whatever you think you know about me,” he said quietly. “You need to forget it.”

SEE! I'm so intrigued! As this was my first Grimm book (which you totally can read as a stand alone) I intend to go back and hunt down every book before this and read them immediately! Anyway I've rambled on for longer than I intended...I just loved it that much, and I hope you found it useful. The only downside is that it's only 129 pages long (I wanted more haha)...but it's 129 pages of pure gold!! I'd really recommend this of fans of the Paranormal Romance genre...because it's a superb addition :)

My Rating: 4.5/5

Review: Deeper than Midnight by Lara Adrian

Time for the turn of one of my newest interests in the Paranormal Romance world. This is Deeper than Midnight from Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed Series. Enjoy.


Title: Deeper than Midnight
Author: Lara Adrian
Publisher: Robinson (UK Edition)
Release Date: August 2011
Series: Midnight Breed Series, Book 9
Source: My own personal copy


From Lara Adrian's website:

Delivered from the darkness, a woman finds herself plunged into a passion that is DEEPER THAN MIDNIGHT . . .

At eighteen, Corinne Bishop was a beautiful, spirited young woman living a life of privilege as the adopted daughter of a wealthy family. Her world was changed in an instant when she was stolen away and held prisoner by the malevolent vampire Dragos. After many years of captivity and torment, Corinne is rescued by the Order, a cadre of vampire warriors embroiled in a war against Dragos and his followers. Her innocence taken, Corinne has lost a piece of her heart as well--the one thing that gave her hope during her imprisonment, and the only thing that matters to her now that she is free.

Assigned to safeguard Corinne on her trip home is a formidable golden-eyed Breed male called Hunter. Once Dragos's most deadly assassin, Hunter now works for the Order, and he's hell-bent on making Dragos pay for his manifold sins. Bonded to Corinne by their mutual desire, Hunter will have to decide how far he'll go to end Dragos's reign of evil--even if carrying out his mission means shattering Corinne's tender heart.

Review:

Ok, well first off, you could try to read this as a stand alone story, however I wouldn't recommend it. I've read a couple of the previous Midnight Breed books but was still a little confused to start with as I had not read the one before this..or the one before that for that matter. But I did manage to get my bearings about a quarter of the way through. Lara Adrian does, in a round about way, do a bit of a recap for those of us who haven't read the previous books...which I think is great. The series contains great things - Vampire Warriors (the Order), who have an inasne arch-enemy vampire who is tampering with genetics and killing off people in his own race (aka. Dragos), as well as a healthy dose of romance.

Anyway from what I gathered, Corinne (female lead) had been rescued by the Order in a raid on one of Dragos' lairs. She'd been held captive along with many other women for 75 years for being what the vampire society (Breed) value most. A Breedmate - a human born woman who can become the blood-bound mate of one of the Breed. Each Breedmate possesses a unique ability which is passed down to her children. Corinne's skill is sonokinesis- basically the ability to blast people with sound waves, a sonic boom type thing..which I must say is pretty cool. Anyway, getting sidetracked, she's placed under Hunter's protection (people who've read from book 3 onwards will have heard of Hunter) as he escorts her back home. And lets just say Corinne's welcome home wasn't what she expected and included nearly getting shot, discovering her beloved brother's death and finding out that someone close betrayed her to the man who had held her captive for 75 years.

When Corinne decides to leave her home she accompanies Hunter on his mission for the order - only she has a secret and ulterior motive to following him...one that she can't trust the stone cold assassin with.

Hunter is the stone-cold assassin who was born in one of Dragos' labs and raised to kill without empathy. The assassin now works for the order through a stroke of fate and is one of their most level-headed warriors.However when he meets damaged Corinne and recognises her from a vision he saw in a child seers eyes, he finds himself intrigued. And for a man who has never known affection, let alone love, Hunter finds himself compromising the principles he has always lived his life by and following his heart instead of his head. This leads to an intense but complicated relationship with Corinne and like her he carries a secret. But will the couple ever trust enough to share their burdens and will their relationship survive what they reveal?

I enjoyed the story, however I did feel the relationship between Corinne and Hunter progressed quickly considering their pasts. I mean Corinne was raped and tortured by madmen for 75 years, and Hunter doesn't even understand the concept of intimacy, let alone love. And yet, their relationship very quickly moves through all the stages and suddenly they're declaring their love for each other. I understand that being mates probably quickens the pace but still I just found it unbelievably quick and that they didn't really have to come up against any barrier more than once. Don't get me wrong I still enjoyed their story but it was a tad unbelievable.

However I was fascinated by the other warriors continuances slotted in between the main plot-line. Tess had her baby :) and Lucan has several decisions to make as leader concerning the future of the order and Chase's involvement in it in particular since he seems to be going off the deep end (Chase that is.. not Lucan). Also the glimpses into Dragos' mind always had me holding my breath because I knew something bad was just around the corner for the Order. 

All in all an enjoyable book, and a pretty good addition to the Midnight Breed series.

My Rating 3.5/5

Review: Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Review time! This is the fantastic Sherrilyn Kenyon with her Dark Hunter Series, Book 1 of which is Night Pleasures, get ready for the world of Dark Hunters, Daimons and one spoilt Goddess.

Title: Night Pleasures

Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Publisher: Piatkus Books

Release date: 7th April 2005
Series: Dark Hunter Series, book #1
Source: My personal copy

From the author's website:
See how it all began...
Have you ever wanted to know what it's like to be immortal? To journey through the night stalking the evil that preys on humans? To have unlimited wealth, unlimited power?
That is my existence, and it is dark and dangerous. I play hero to thousands, but am known to none. And I love every minute of it.
Or so I thought until one night when I woke up handcuffed to my worst nightmare: an accountant. She's smart, sexy, witty, and wants nothing to do with the paranormal.
My attraction to Amanda Devereaux goes against everything I stand for. Not to mention the last time I fell in love it cost me not only my human life, but also my very soul. Now I find myself wanting to believe that love and loyalty do exist.
Even more disturbing, I find myself wondering if there's any way a woman can love a man whose battle scars run deep, and whose heart was damaged by a betrayal so savage that he's not sure it will ever beat again.

Kyrian of Thrace

Review:
Ok then, first off, this book is NOT written from Kyrian's point of view despite what the passage above suggests. Also let me explain about who Kyrian of Thrace is just so no-one's confused. Kyrian of Thrace is the male lead in this book, he's an immortal warrior of the night and having been a General in the Greek army before he died and sold his soul to Greek Goddess Artemis, he's pretty kick ass, not to mention gorgeous. If you're wondering about the whole selling his soul to Artemis part, let me explain. Kyrian is a Dark Hunter. Dark Hunters are an elite group of warriors who died in their mortal life by suffering such a betrayal that their very soul screams out for justice. Enter Artemis, a Greek goddess who offers that person a chance at revenge in exchange for an eternity of fighting Daimons, and of course she also wants their soul.

For over 2000 years Kyrian faithfully served Artemis as a Dark Hunter, relishing in his job protecting the innocent, until one night when his battle with Daimons ended with him waking up handcuffed to his worst nightmare. An accountant.
Amanda Deveraux is quite content with her perfectly normal life, in fact she goes out of the way to avoid anything paranormal. Happy as the 'normal' twin (her sister Tabitha is a vampire hunter) Amanda is unprepared when she wakes handcuffed to an admittedly gorgeous man. Handcuffed together by a Daimon Kyrian is hunting Amanda wonders how she could have been caught up in this insanity...she's been mistaken for her sister. Running from the Daimon who has chained them together, Amanda and Kyrian have to fight for their lives. At the same time these two can't help but be attracted to one another, despite being exact opposites.
Together they face the strongest Daimon ever known and along the way they discover parts of themselves they'd buried deep inside. Together they must face the trauma of Kyrian's past, his betrayal at the hands of the woman he loved. Slowly Amanda reaches the heart of this warrior who shields himself from the world. But will she become the other half of Kyrian's heart or will she betray him to save herself?

I loved this from start to finish Kyrian and Amanda have such great chemistry, the way that this is written is just superb, the romance between Kyrian and Amanda does not detract from the general plot at all (as can sometimes happen). The humour in this is just genius, I absolutely love books that can mix a good sense of humour in with the storyline (I'm a sucker for a good giggle). We meet Julian again (who featured in Fantasy Lover...sort of the Dark hunter Prequel if you like) and we also meet Talon, whose book is coming up next. Finally we are introduced to the best character in the entire series, Ash a.k.a. Acheron, a.k.a. someone you do not mess with... or ask questions about...or question in ANY way...because he might decides the world would better off with out you, and you'd be in itty bitty pieces on the carpet. Ash has weird, scary-ass powers and is by far the most mysterious character I have come across in any series. I'd be happy to read the entire series just to find out more about him! The banter between the Dark Hunters is fabulous and constantly has me laughing, though I admittedly have an odd sense of humour. It just shows how much camaraderie these strapping warriors have and how much they care about each other, in a non touchy-feely way. Honestly can't see them having a group hug.

Thankfully this plot has enough twists to keep me interested but the character development is by far the best part. If Mrs Kenyon keeps this up I'm going to have to buy the entire series.. all 15 of them! Overall, a good read with fantastic parts (mainly Ash's bits). I loved the banter between the Dark Hunters and will happily buy the next one.

My Rating: 4/5

Review: A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole

Hello again. This time it's the turn of Kresley Cole's fantastic Immortals After Dark Series. Technically A Hunger Like No Other is book 2 of this series, however since I haven't read the anthology that contains book 1 I'll have to start with book 2.

Title: A Hunger Like No Other
Author: Kresley Cole
Publisher: Pocket Star Books
Release Date: September 2007
Series: Immortals After Dark Series, Book #2
Source: My personal copy

From Kresley Cole's website:
After enduring years of torture from the vampire Horde, Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, is enraged to find the predestined mate he's waited millennia for is a vampire. Or partly one. This Emmaline is a small, ethereal half Valkyrie/half vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him.
Sheltered Emmaline Troy finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents--until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae--and their notorious dark desire--ebb as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings.
Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be...?

Review:
Ok, first off despite this technically being book 2 in the series you really can't tell. It can be read as a stand alone book like I did and it won't make any difference. In fact I had no idea there even was a book before this one until I looked it up. This is something I quite liked about this, and it seems that the entire series is a bit like that, subtle interlinking of characters and plots in the different books but not enough to effect the story as a whole if you don't know the previous books.

The storyline for A Hunger Like No Other in short is that Lachlain (aka leader of the lykae/werewolves) has been captured by the Horde (Vampire clan) and chained beneath the streets of Paris, doomed to be burnt alive every minute of every day. His immortality makes this an eternal torment as despite his massive strength, the pain of the fire weakens him to the point he cannot escape but not so much that it kills him. Lachlain's torment seems ensured to last forever....that is until he catches the scent of his one true mate on the surface. The woman meant for him and him alone. Having waited over 1000 years for his mate Lachlain is not going to let her escape now. As her scent fades Lachlain, in desperation, pulls himself free of his chains, but before he gets his strength back to follow her, she's vanished. But Lachlain will not rest until he finds his woman...

Emmaline Troy is a half Vampire half Valkyrie searching Paris for information about the lives of her parents when she's confronted by a man who claims that she's his mate. The tall, muscular and ridiculously gorgeous stranger then insists she come with him to Scotland where they will live with his clan. The stranger introduces himself as Lachlain, king of the Lykae. However when Lachlain learns of Emma's vampire heritage he goes mad and attacks her, blaming her and her kind for the century and a half of torture he'd just escaped from. Dismissing her as not his real mate Lachlain is determined to drag her to Scotland and sort this all out. Timid little Emma is terrified of this man who attacks and brutally handles her. But despite all this Emma can't help but be attracted to him, nor him to her. Lachlain refuses to believe a Vampire is his mate and does not treat Emma gently, denying that she is the one for him, yet he is still drawn to her, all the time questioning whether fate could really have given him Emma as a mate....

The first part of the book is basically the journey to Scotland, where Lachlain is still denying Emma, and he attacks her several times, something I did not like about this book. Although the journey to Scotland is important to the development and the readers understanding of both Lachlain and Emma, I personally feel it dragged a bit. However after Emma is attacked by Vampires and the couple reach Scotland, the book vastly improved. Emma gets to prove she's not some meek woman when she's challenged by another lykae and Lachlain works on his temper and relationship with Emma and as a relationship blossoms I started to love the couple for all their faults. And the interaction between Lachlain and Emma's Valkyrie aunt's is just hilarious, especially Nix who is just awesome.

By the end of the book I was completely sold on the series, and went and bought the next one. So despite the problems I had with the beginning of the book I would still recommend it to anyone. Overall it's a pretty good read, you just have to persevere through the beginning, but the end is definitely worth it.

Rating: 4/5

Review: Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

Hey all, time for another review and today's pick is Dark Lover by #1 New York Times best selling author... J.R. Ward! This is the first book in her phenomenal Black Dagger Brotherhood series. 


Title: Dark Lover
Author: J.R. Ward
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
Released: September 2005
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book #1
Source: My personal copy


From J.R. Ward's website:
In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There also exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Among them, none relishes killing their enemies more than Wrath, the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood...

The only purebred vampire left on the planet, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But when one of his most trusted fighters is killed- orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate - Wrath must usher the beautiful female into the world of the undead…


Review:
Wrath is the last purebred left in the vampire race, but due to a birth defect he has extremely poor sight. Wrath is also their King if he chooses to be. Too bad he really doesn't want to be King and that if you call him 'my Lord' he's likely to snarl at you or put you into a coma. Be careful not to become his enemy because if you are....he will hunt you down and tear you apart with help from the Black Dagger Brotherhood he leads. There maybe only be 6 of the Brothers left but that's more than enough to put a world of hurt on the Lessening Society (enemies of the vampire race). The Black Dagger Brotherhood is the elite group of warriors whose calling it is to exterminate the those humans who have sold their souls to the Omega (aka Lessers), who are killing off civilian vampires one by one. Lessers have the distict smell of baby powder surrounding them as well as hair and skin that turns white the older they get. All 6 brothers love what they do and are the ultimate alpha males of their world. The BDB is made up of; their leader Wrath, second in command Tohrment (Tohr), model gorgeous Rhage (aka Hollywood), tech-savvy, precognitive Vishous, and finally twins Phury and Zsadist. 

At the beginning of Dark Lover the brotherhood has 7 members but Darius is killed in an explosion, leaving his half human, half vampire daughter, Beth, unaware of her heritage or her fate. As a last favour to his fallen brother, Wrath decides he will help Beth through the transition from her half human state to becoming a full blooded vampire (something that occurs around age 25). Wrath becomes unexpectedly attracted to stunning Beth and his world is shaken up by her... he rejects his lust and attraction, fighting his feelings believing he is the last thing she needs...Beth, in turn, is frightened by this leather clad, muscled warrior who appears in her life telling her wild stories of vampires and her fathers involvement with them. However her attraction to Wrath is strong and soon they find themselves unable to live without each other...but the Blind King has enemies. Soon the Lessening Society is hunting them down, and the question becomes can they keep each other safe or will the Lessening society claim the lives of the Royal couple?

Wow, Wow, Wow.....Seriously..just Wow. I mean I'd read other people's reviews and knew it was going to be good, but I was still amazed at just how good Dark Lover was. This book has everything I could have ever asked for. Amazing characters, good plot and a genius author who pulls it all together with such brilliant writing that you can see what Wrath and Beth see, feel what they feel. I know I became so connected to these characters that I found myself willing them on.. hoping they'd see what's right in front of them, how good and perfect they are for each other . I must admit, I often found myself yelling at Wrath that he's an idiot for whatever he did to Beth this time to screw up their relationship! I could quite happily stay in the world J.R Ward has created for hours on end...in fact I did...I read Dark Lover all in one sitting, completely forgot all about work and anything else I'd meant to do that day. It all became unimportant compared to my longing to know how Dark Lover turned out for Beth and Wrath. It was a decision I never regretted. Even the other characters who weren't the focus were complexly described so we could have an insight into them as well. Got to say I love Zsadist, can imagine his story's going to be brilliant. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for those strong characters with tortured pasts. The scar on his face, soulless black eyes plus the warnings the other BDB members give about him really intrigue me...there's going to be a deep story behind it all, something that will be equally as amazing, if not better, if J.R. Ward keeps this calibre of writing throughout the series.

The two things I've heard people don't like about Dark Lover are the language and the sex scenes. Ok well, the 'bad' language comes with the territory of these Brothers being the type of 'look at me the wrong way and I'll break you in two' men that they are so I have no problem with it. And the sex scenes were not so often as they detract from the book, just enough so that they add another dimension to Wrath and Beth's relationship, they're not too long and drawn out either, so again, this is not something I had a problem with.

LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT! Definitely one of the best books I own. If you love paranormal romance you have to read this!


My Rating: 5/5