Tag: Sarah

Blurb:

Since she was a child, Chloe has endured horrible nightmares about a Native American prince living in a time long forgotten. She never understood why, until she finds a stone that matches the one in her dreams. It has unimaginable powers, powers Chloe doesn’t understand. Fueled by memories of someone else’s past, she sets off on a wild quest for the stone’s birth place, hoping to also find answers to her foreboding dreams.

On the outside, Mason Green looks like a hard working, self-made millionaire, with too busy a life for romance. Very few people know the real reason for his self-imposed seclusion. It’s safer that way. But when a sexy historian shows him a supernatural stone from a forgotten tribe, Mason is intrigued – maybe the relic is the salvation he’s been waiting for. Ignoring the irrational attraction that threatens to crack the cask around his heart, Mason agrees to help Chloe.

As their wild quest becomes a dangerous mission, they must find the relic’s birthplace before Mason’s past catches up to them.

Review:

Chloe has just aquired her dream job: working at the Smithsonian Instutite in Washington, D.C. When she stumbles across a stone with Native American markings as she’s archiving items, she’s amazed to see it light up at her touch. Deciding she needs to find the mystical land of Manataka, she travels to Arkansas and hires a guide – Mason Green.

Mason is Native American with a huge chip on his shoulder. He takes the job with one purpose: to take the Tula stone and end his curse of immortality. The guilt and shame he bears from his life 200 years ago is too much and life has become meaningless over so much time. Then Chloe marches into his life and becomes his “little tornado” as they search for Manataka.

This is a great read. There were a few plot holes but nothing that ruined the story. It was full of steamy sex scenes and, I have to say, Phoenix is one of my favorite fighting-scene writers. I had figured out who the villian was, but was still surprised by his second (“real”) identity.

The characters were my favorite part of the story. Mason is a character you hate to love, and Chloe is just so damn sweet you can’t help but empathize with her. Watching them fall in love was too much fun.

This is the second book by Phoenix I’ve read and I am so impressed by the lore and worlds she creates. I envy her imagination. I hope she turns Manataka into a series!

Rated 4.5 Zs

BLURB:

Working undercover is nothing new for DEA Agent Rory Johnston. In the years following her sister’s death, she’s been involved in investigations in more high schools and colleges than she cares to count. The case in Bourland is different, though. Not only is she supposed to find the source of the drugs on the college campus, she also has a secret assignment – find the dirty cop within the department who has been responsible for having their informants killed.

Zachary Rowlins is the officer Rory must work with in her new assignment – but for all she knows, he might be the dirty cop. When Zach is unexpectedly pulled from the case, he discovers that the corruption within the department goes much deeper than either of them suspected. Zach finds himself in a race against time to save his partner knowing one thing – if he loses Rory, he’ll lose more than just a partner. He’ll lose his future as well.

REVIEW BY SARAH:

Rory Johnston (a.k.a. Kennedy O’Donovan) is an undercover agent going into a university to find out who’s dealing the ecstasy that’s been killing students, including her twin sister. Her partners, Christian O’Donovan and Zachary Rowlins, the lead detectives on the case in the narcotics unit, aren’t too happy to have her there. Christian is pissed because she’s his half-sister, and Zach is upset… well, I won’t reveal too much.

As Rory gets deeper into the university, into the party scene, and into the theater department, she gets deeper into trouble. While the mystery is a little shaky, the romance between Rory and Zach is fiery hot.

Rory, who is only 22, is one of those wish-I-could-be-her characters, in a totally good way. She is an undercover agent (though not a full cop), a genius, and a brilliant actress, but she has enough flaws to keep her balanced – including claustrophobia and a fear of water. Zachary, while totally hot, sexy, and smart, has his flaws as well, rounding him out to make him believable. Overall, the characters in this book are great, though I wish the antagonists had a little more motivation. Or, that it was developed more.

The plot was a little slow. There was so much great character development, though, that it keeps you turning pages. A little adjustment to the mystery, throw in some minor catastrophes, and Ms. Gray’s got a real winner for sure. One thing I think Ms. Gray did really well -and it’s not an easy thing to do well either – is switching the point of view to different characters to give different points of view. I was never confused about whose eyes we were looking through.

As a romance, I give this book 5 Zs, and as a mystery, 4 Zs, for a total of 4.5 Zs. Definitely worth reading. I am definitely recommending this book to my friends when it comes out!

Rated 5 Z’s

Blurb:

Lucas was a typical playboy – lots of alcohol and a different girl every night.

One woman brought his emotional walls and the beliefs he used to build them crumbling to the ground.

Now, an unexpected visitor is going to change both their worlds forever.

Burning is the short story lead-in to the upcoming Demon Legacy series by J.M. Gregoire.

Review by Sarah:

Wow! Short but enticing! I can’t wait to read the rest and find out what happens!

While there’s not a whole lot of content to this prequel (it’s short), it really gets to the point and I found myself instantly connected to the characters. Gregoire does a great job of drawing you in, especially in a short space.

I highly recommend this short story, and am looking forward to reading the whole series! 5 Zs!

BLURB:

Being the daughter of Lucifer keeps seventeen year old Dawn Belial busy. For almost her entire lifetime, she has been trying to think of a way to free her Archangel mother, Michaela, whom her father has held captive for centuries. She’s also attending high school – balancing trigonometry, history, and recruiting souls for her father along with her wicked half-sister, Venus.

There has been no time for love until she meets mysterious Gabriel, a British exchange student. As they fall in love against their will, she discovers a startling secret about him, and a shocking connection to her mother that changes everything.

REVIEW BY SARAH:

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  I was not compensated.

This was a great book. I’m giving it 5 Zs. It’s somewhere between fabulous and OMG! If you like books along the lines of Beautiful Creatures, Matched, Twilight (to an extent), etc., you will love this book. The author has come up with a great story involving Lucifer and his daughters without making it tacky, which, in my opinion, is difficult to do. The characters are believable and likable, the setting adds to the story, and the plot is definitely a page turner.

Meet Lucifer, who prefers to be called Luc, and his daughters, Dawn and Venus. Dawn is the daughter of Luc’s unrequited love, Archangel Michaela, who he has imprisoned. Michaela is in love with Archangel Ramiel, who is desperately trying to free her from her confines. In his efforts, he sends in his son, Gabriel, to manipulate Dawn, who is said to be the only one beside Luc who can free Michaela. Gabriel and Dawn fall for each other, and fall hard. Ensue chaos.

There are so many small details and descriptions that make this story come to life. You’ll definitely be laughing out loud at parts. I even teared up toward the end.

When this is published, it’s definitely going to rise to stardom in the Young Adult Paranormal Fiction genre. There was some brief, mild sexual content so it is not suitable for teens but is appropriate for young adults (18+).

 All-in-all, great book. I look forward to reading the second

Rated 5 Z’s

AUTHOR LINKS:

Twitter:  @twistedtanita
www.taniapenn.weebly.com
Facebook – Tania Penn – Author
Tania Penn – Google plus
http://bookblogs.ning.com/profile/TaniaPenn

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6888676.Tania_Penn

Click HERE for your chance to win a digital copy of Tania’s Book!

Confessions of a Sex Demon Review:

 Lennox is a sexy blacksmith (who doesn’t love blacksmiths?) with a grudge against sex demons, and Zahra’s brother especially. So, in order to punish her brother, he goes after Zahra. There are two long, luscious days of torture for Zahra to endure before Lennox has a change of heart.

The story is extremely well written. Ms. Shield’s style is easy to read, enticing, exciting, and hot. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 Zs is because of the believability, and I’m not talking about the sex demons part. Lennox’s change of heart came very suddenly and I wish it had had more time to develop fully. As it is, I was left thinking, “Wait, what just happened?”

Great story, though, with interesting characters and a very sexy plot. I’m looking forward to reading the next two and I will be posting reviews on those as well!

Claiming of a Sex Demon Review:

This is book two in Jaye Shields’ sex demon trilogy. It’s sort of a prequel to Confessions, in that it tells the story of Lennox’s wife, Emmerie, and Reza, who is Zahra’s brother, and how they fell in love, which leads to Lennox hunting down Zahra and torturing her for revenge.

Confessions was a really steamy story, but Claiming was really touching. I found myself really moved by the love Emmerie and Reza found together. Jealous, to be honest. My failed marriage aside, Shields does a great job writing. Her style is, again, easy to read, descriptive, and very hot. The characters, especially Emmerie, are endearing and compelling.

Addictions of a Sex Demon:

The third book in the Sex Demons trilogy was absolutely amazing. 5 Zs easily. Not only was it a great climax for all three books, as a stand alone, it was a great story too.
Sephina, Zahra’s sister, a slowly recovering addict, finds herself a new addiction – Axel, a dragon demon known as a quetzalem. As they find themselves spiraling down into love’s embrace, they also find themselves kidnapped by dragon hunters. No spoilers here, but I will say the end was spectacular.

Not only were the characters compelling, as usual, but the story was suspenseful, surprising, and just plain wonderful. Again, I find myself jealous of the love the Shields’ characters find with one another.

There are only a couple questions I would liked to have cleared up in a “series epilogue” of sorts. First, Reza is Zahra’s brother… isn’t that going to make for some awkward Christmas dinners considering he stole Lennox’s wife, even if it was for the better? Second, Sephina’s addiction was never FULLY cleared up. It says in the epilogue that she had been clean a month, but she had been clean a month before that and relapsed. I wanted more closure with that.

 I highly recommend them and give the series 5 Zs. Jaye Shields should be proud of the work she’s completed. If you haven’t read it, get it!