2016/02/29

Dream Chaser( Dark Hunter #13)

Dream Chaser (Dark-Hunter #13, Dream-Hunter #3)Dream Chaser Summary:
Hades doesn’t often give second chances...

Xypher has one month on Earth to redeem himself through one good deed or be condemned to eternal torture in Tartarus. But redemption means little to a demigod who only wants vengeance on the one who caused his downfall.

Until one day in a cemetery...

Simone Dubois is a medical examiner with a real knack for the job. Those who are wrongfully killed appear to her and help her find the evidence the police need to convict their killers. But when a man appears and tells her that she’s more than just a psychic, she’s convinced he’s insane.

Now the fate of the world hangs in her hands...

It was bad enough when just the dead relied on her. Now’s there’s the seductive Dream-Hunter Xypher who needs Simone’s help in opening a portal to the Atlantean hell realm to fight insatiable demons. The future of mankind is at stake—and so is her life. The only question now is: Who is the bigger threat: the demons out to kill her, or the man who has left her forever changed?

Dream Chaser Review:

The third installment in the Dream Hunter series was a resounding success, in my opinion. Xypher and Simone had a much more believable love story and very fleshed out characters. Simone was a strong female heroine. She did not give way to Xypher's demands and knew what kind of person she was. Her witty humor was paired perfectly to her empathetic and intelligent persona. Her isolation also made her interesting. Without any friends to guide her through her tough times, she has a hardened personality and it was lovely to see her sisterly relationship with Jesse, Tate and her love for Xypher. Xypher was the same, on a much more serious level of course. Falsely accused and tortured for an eternity, he is given one month to prove his worth and to kill the one who caused him so much pain. With the time he was given, Xypher managed to get stuck to a human, fall in love with said human, bargain with a demon, nearly lose his life and discover a secret for his fate, and he threatened Ash. Quite a list for a guy on Earth for only a month! It was a sweet story while we watched Xypher reveal his inner vulnerability. I must say that Ms. Kenyon perfected her tortured hero in Xypher, leading to an interesting and touchy love story between Simone and Xypher. I am not a huge fan of dramatic love stories and sex scenes, so this book worked for me.

Secondary characters like Jesse, and Tate were great ways to relieve stressful situations with witty humor. Jaden was an interesting addition to the series. For anyone who has continued to read this series and those who have read the latest book of Chronicles of Nick will understand why he is such a pivotal character. He is a man of many secrets and one day some must be revealed. If you were looking carefully at Ms. Kenyon's posts, we know that we are now in the Jaden story arc, so our wishes may be answered soon! We also go to see old characters like Julian, which was great and of course Ash.

The plot was intriguing. We got to see a different side to the Dimme and meet the Charonte demons of New Orleans. The action was a underlying theme through the book and it was continuously peppered with light humor.

One such scene is the dance scene with Xypher, Gloria, Jesse and Simone. It was a cute scene right in the middle of drama, and was a great way to reveal the true emotions of the main characters.

The book is filled with very interesting sub-plots that keeps on expanding throughout every book. There was HUGE world-building in the novel and it will continue to grow from here. I love the direction the series is going, but a fair warning that there is probably going to be less romance from now because of the mythology and series of characters involved. Overall this book was a 4.5-5 star rating, so far the best in the Dream Hunter series.

2016/02/28

Upon the Midnight Clear(Dark Hunter #12)

Upon the Midnight Clear (Dark-Hunter #12, Dream-Hunter #2)Upon the Midnight Clear Summary:
Ever think Scrooge had it right before the ghosts ruined his life? Meet Aidan O'Conner. At one time he was a world-renowned celebrity who gave freely of himself and his money without wanting anything in return...until those around him took without asking. Now Aidan wants nothing of the world--or anyone who's a part of it.

When a stranger appears at his doorstep, Aidan knows he's seen her before…in his dreams.

Born on Olympus as a goddess, Leta knows nothing of the human world. But a ruthless enemy has driven her from the world of dreams and into the home of the only man who can help her: Aidan. Her immortal powers are derived from human emotions--and his anger is just the fuel she needs to defend herself…

One cold winter's night will change their lives forever…
Trapped together in a brutal winter storm, Aidan and Leta must turn to the only power capable of saving them--or destroying them both: trust.

Upon the Midnight Clear Review:
This was a very quick read that felt more like a novella than an actual book. It had a much more darker twist than most Kenyon books contain, and I was worried that she might not be able to pull it off so well. Sadly, it didn't live up to her previous books. Don't get me wrong it was still good, but compared to the book she had written before, this fell short. I felt there was not enough time for the world building nor for the necessary character development.

This book centers on two different characters. Leta has been mentioned before but never made a true appearance. She is interesting enough but it gets a bit tiring because there doesn't seem to be much depth to her outside of protecting the good guys. This was the same problem with Aidan. He constantly repeated how he was such a successful actor and repeated over and over again how he was betrayed by everyone. This made the plot very simple and short. I appreciated that Ms. Kenyon didn't want to make the book longer, it would have made the book more tedious than it already was.

The action was good and there was some romance. There was a lot of mythology and it was interesting to see how this book tied in with the others. Knowing what happens in the books after, I found it quite ingenious how Ms. Kenyon planned out the characters and story lines ahead of time.

The quick short story that came with this book was the Dark-Hunter Christmas and it was a lovable gathering. I'm glad this was included as it greatly raised the rating of the novel.

Without the short story, Upon the Midnight Clear was a 2.5-3 star rating. With the short story it was a 4-4.5 rating!

Devil May Cry( Dark Hunter #11)

Devil May Cry (Dark-Hunter, #11)Devil May Cry Summary:
As an ancient Sumerian god, Sin was one of the most powerful among his pantheon. . . Until the night Artemis brutally stole his godhood and left him for dead. For millennia, this ex-god turned Dark-Hunter has dreamed only of regaining his powers and seeking revenge on Artemis. If only life were that simple.

Unfortunately he has bigger fish--or in Sin's case--demons, to fry. The lethal gallu that were buried by his pantheon are now stirring and they are hungry for human flesh. Their goal is to destroy mankind and anyone else who gets in their way. Sin is the only one who can stop them--that is if a certain woman doesn't kill him first. Unfortunately, Sin discovers that now he must rely on her or witness an annihilation of biblical proportions.

Enemies have always made strange bedfellows, but never more so than when the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Now a man who knows only betrayal must trust the one person most likely to hand him to the demons. Artemis may have stolen his godhood, but this one has stolen his heart. The only question is will she keep it or feed it to the ones who want him dead?

Devil May Cry Review:
After reading Dream Hunter, this story was much, much better! We are introduced to a new hero, Sin, a Sumerian God of Fertility. Some readers found his name, Nana funny but with a little research I found that this was Sin's real name. Sin was the modernized name that Sherrilyn made, but Nana was the Sumerian God of Fertility in Mesopotamia. We also have the heroine Katra, who have met three or four times since the beginning of the series. I went into this book confused because of Seize the Night. I thought that she was in love with Acheron, until I saw she is supposed to love Sin. The reason she cares so much about Ash, is discovered and what a secret it is!

Sin and Katra are very "3D" characters that were intriguing and smart in the way they handled their problems. It was also realistic to what a normal couple would face. Both have been isolated largely due to external factors. Sin has been abused by everyone that was supposed to love him and lost the ones that did. His tragic story blended perfectly with Katra's deception. It is because of Sin's tragedy that he can teach Katra an important life lesson, to stop keeping secrets from the people she loves. Unfortunately, there were some moments where I was rolling my eyes. For example, Katra is an eleven thousand year old virgin. It is understandable because of the protection she gets from both Apollymi and Artemis, but I was skeptical that she could keep it in so long. And then she gives it to a guy who she met a few days ago. Other than the plot flowed seamlessly, and the characters had constant development throughout the story. The novel was full of humor and witty comebacks timed to perfection. Just look below for one such scene:

“Any game plan? Xypher asked Sin.
Don't die.
I like it. Simple, bold. Impossible. Works for me.
Kat scoffed at his sarcasm. What are you bitching about, Xypher? You're already dead.
He laughed. You know, for once, it's good to be me.”

and


“Kat laughed. 'Who wants to live forever?'
Kish put his hand up. 'For the record, I do.'
Sin scowled at him. 'Then why do you irritate me so often?'
Suicidal tendencies are inherent in my species?”

and

“We need to gather everyone we can.
Damien scoffed. Uh, boss, hate to be a pall, but I think everyone we can gather is currently in this room.
Sin paused to look at Simi, Xirena, Damien, Kat, Kish, and Xypher. It was a pitiful number of defenders. But it was all the world had. In that case, we need to seriously arm ourselves.
Damien crossed himself. Hail Mary, full of grace-
What are you doing? Kish asked. You're not Catholic.
Yeah but I'm feeling really religious all of a sudden and it seemed like a good idea.”


The plot was riddled with mythology and lots and lots of action. From this novel we can see a major clash that is soon to come in the series, between the Gallu, Daimons, DH and Humans. We now get even more bad guys and the line between good and bad is blurring. There was a lot of tension and excitement between Kat and Sin. Added to the fact that they are almost mortal enemies, it provided a lot of humor and balance to the story.

Secondary characters like Xypher, Ash, Simi, Kish, Damien and Kessar all added to the suspense of the ending. Kessar is an evil villain, meaning 10 times worse than Stryker. I hope that he eventually falls, but right now it was very interesting to the see the aftermaths of the war play out. The last battle was awesome, with just enough to action and gore to please readers, but enough happy endings to not be a cop out.

This book is mandatory for every reader as it has HUGE world building themes, reveals important characters and sub-plots and was overall an astounding read. Overall a 5 star book!

The Dream Hunter(Dark Hunter #10)

The Dream Hunter (Dark-Hunter #10, Dream-Hunter #1)The Dream Hunter Summary:
In the ethereal world of dreams, there are champions who fight to protect the dreamer and there are demons who prey on them...

Arik is such a predator. Condemned by the gods to live eternity without emotions, Arik can only feel when he's in the dreams of others. For thousands of years, he's drifted through the human unconscious, searching for sensation. Now he's finally found a dreamer whose vivid mind can fill his emptiness.

Dr. Megeara Kafieri watched her father ruin himself and his reputation as he searched to prove Atlantis was real. Her deathbed promise to him to salvage his reputation has now brought her to Greece where she intends to prove once and for all that the fabled island is right where her father said it was. But frustration and bad luck dog her every step. Especially the day they find a stranger floating in the sea. His is a face she's seen many times.... in her dreams.

What she doesn't know is that Arik holds more than the ancient secrets that can help her find the mythical isle of Atlantis. He has made a pact with the god Hades: In exchange for two weeks as a mortal man, he must return to Olympus with a human soul. Megeara's soul.

With a secret society out to ruin her expedition, and mysterious accidents that keep threatening her life, Megeara refuses to quit. She knows she's getting closer to Atlantis and as she does, she stumbles onto the truth of what Arik really is.

For Arik his quest is no longer simple. No human can know of a Dream-Hunter's existence. His dream of being mortal has quickly turned into his own nightmare and the only way to save himself will be to sacrifice the very thing he wanted to be human for. The only question is, will he?


The Dream Hunter Review:
The Dream Hunter was an interesting read to say the least, and not always in the best way. The plot line was VERY interesting, same with the secondary characters. I can't say the same for the main characters. It is important to note that this book goes back before the first DH novel, back when Nick was still 24.

At this point, it is getting a bit irritating to have the same introduction about Were, Daimons and Apollites in every book. I understand that it is made for new readers, but for some of us it gets irritating because we have already know this information. Anyways, if you manage to skim over this, the story gets much better than the explanation. It starts off interesting enough with a Gaery (heroine) sleeping with Arik (hero) in her dreams. He is a skytos, a dream hunter that feeds off human emotion because he comes from a race that has no emotions. Arik then literally sells Gaery's soul to Hades so that he can spend 2 weeks with her. This is somewhat understandable because he knows no compassion and has no idea the value of a soul.

We then watch him stumble through him discover of human emotions and feelings. It was quite entertaining actually but other than that he didn't have much substance. For example, his non-existent love story between him and Gaery. I did love his relationship with Tory and Solin though. It was great to see him learn sarcasm, deal with young girls and figure put what friendship was. I also loved how he acted with characters like Ash, Kyrian and Nick. If there were more scenes like this, the book could have been more interesting.

What I didn't like about Arik was his reaction to Gaery. While it was quite amusing to see him stumble to impress Gaery, he doesn't seem to care too much about her. Don't get me wrong, by the end of the novel they did work to love each other, but from the start Arik only wanted to have sex with her. You would think that after 27,000 years he would learn something about humans or DH cause they do have similar mannerisms, and how one should interact with them. Also, I can forgive giving away a human soul at the time, but he made an extremely stupid choice by bargaining with a god. He is old enough to know better yet foolishly makes the same choice. In conclusion, he wasn't the strong alpha type from previous books and his innocence was fascinating, the rest of him was very 2D making him quite weak in some aspects.

Gaery on the other hand was just irritating. She hated on her father for ruining her life but continued on his mission instead and pretended it was the best thing. Also, I know she has an extensive background, but it seemed like she was her justification for think she found Atlantis was based on something being old, or ideas like that. She was also incredibly uptight, and this up until the last couple of chapters. I can understand characters be suspicious of others up to a point but she was rude, suspicious and demeaning to him for a long time. Even her 15 year old cousin, Tory had more sense than her.

The plot itself moved irritatingly slow and there was hardly any action. The only good battle is the last one and it was over in a matter of minutes. Another problem I had with this book was the fact that Arik and Gaery had to rely heavily on secondary characters. That does happening in other books to a certain extent, nevertheless you have to give the main characters to stand up for themselves. Almost all of their problems could have been solved without anyone's help yet it wasn't.

That leads to the best part of the series, and frankly what made it worthwhile, the secondary characters. Beings like Kat, Tory, Solin, ZT, Apollymi were an integral part of this story and I loved how they made brief but life changing scenes. Solin was probably the biggest surprise. A man with MANY secrets, he does live life to it's fullest while still holding back from going over. I hope that we get to see a lot more of him! This with all the mythology and world building in this novel, it was a pretty good book.

Overall it was 3.5-4 star book, no matter how the main characters were acting.

Dark Side of the Moon(Dark Hunter #9)

Dark Side of the Moon (Dark-Hunter #9, Were-Hunter #3)Dark Side of the Moon Summary:
Half animal, half man, wholly dangerous.
Locked in eternal battle, a Were-Hunter knows everything about peril and pain. But the greatest threat is yet to come...

Susan Michaels was once the hottest reporter on the Beltway Beat until she walked into a setup that ruined her reputation. Now she's working for a small Seattle paper, penning stories about killer moths and alien babies, convinced that her life couldn't get any worse...

That was before an idea for a breaking news piece brings her to a local animal shelter where she ends up listening to her source rant about vampires and gets coerced into adopting a cat despite her allergies. But when her new pet suddenly reveals himself to be a gorgeous - and lethal - shapeshifter, Susan realizes that there's far more at stake than a career-saving by-line.

Born into a world of predators, Were-Hunter Ravyn Kontis was betrayed by those he loved best. Soulless, pitiless, he has spent three hundred years battling the Diamons who seek to subjugate humankind. And with the ultimate battle about to begin, this one very human woman holds the power to shatter both their worlds...

Dark Side of the Moon Review:

To be honest this wasn't the most memorable book in this series. I knew going in I wouldn't be too interested because I didn't know any of the characters that well. Don't get me wrong, this book was still pretty good but not up to par with others in the series. A problem that most other readers had was with Susan. She can come off as a bitch or a little insecure at times and that makes her irritating, or you could have loved her sarcastic, kick ass self. I was more in the later. I also found some parts weird weird but funny. For example, how she's allergic to cats but fell in love with a werecat. Very ironic!

The characters were much more fleshed out than some other books because once again there was less mythology and more romance and character development. Susan was full of sarcasm no matter how dire the situation. She could be facing evil demons or having an allergic reaction and she could still bring on the snark. It was very entertaining. Paired with Ravyn's quiet humor and brooding mood, they balanced and complimented each other. Ravyn was more withdrawn than expected, for me at least. He was an unusual mix of wereanimal and dark hunter, making a him a being of unnatural power, and he was hated because his mate lead the deaths of many members of his clan. He reminds me a lot of Spawn. Hopefully we'll get a story about him as well. I loved meeting other characters such as Phoenix, and meeting old characters like Bryanna, who I know from CON. Nick was back, but not his usual Cajun self. He is angry and putting a lot of blame both on Ash and himself. And he is starting to come off a little whiny. This book takes place in Seattle which adds a nice change of scenery and it was nice to see how Kenyon wove Hurricane Katrina into her world.

The story was full of action, obviously and was full of witty humor. I may be getting a little irritated by the sarcasm because it happens so often and sometimes in the wrong spot. But it does good in action scenes and suits characters like Susan. Love, pain, hate and so many emotions are wrapped up in a wonderful package.

Just look at this quote:

"I've got to start taking drugs," she mumbled. "At least then I'd have an explanation for all this."

Overall it was a 4.5 star rating!

2016/02/27

Dragonmark (Dark Hunter #26)

Dragonmark (Dark-Hunter, #26; Dragons Rising, #1; Lords of Avalon, #5)Dragonmark Summary:
Centuries ago, Illarion was betrayed– a dragon made human against his will, then forced to serve humanity as a dragonmount in their army, and to fight for them in barbaric wars, even while he hated everything about them. Enslaved and separated from everyone he knew and from his own dragon brothers, he was forced into exile in a fey realm where he lost the only thing he ever really loved.

Now he has a chance to regain what’s been lost— to have the one thing he covets most. But only if he gives up his brothers and forsakes the oaths he holds most dear. Yet what terrifies him most isn’t the cost his happiness might incur, it’s the fact that there is just enough human in his dragon’s heart that he might actually be willing to pay it and betray everything and everyone– to see the entire world burn...


Dragonmark Review:
Can't wait for this!! So many questions that need to be answered!

Unleash the Night (Dark hunter #8)

Unleash the Night (Dark Hunter, #8; Were-Hunter, #2)Unleash the Night Summary:
It's a predator-eat-predator world for the Were-Hunters. Danger haunts any given day. There is no one to trust. No one to love. Not if they want to live...

An orphan with no clan that will claim him, Wren Tigarian grew to adulthood under the close scrutiny and mistrust of those around him. A forbidden blend of two animals - snow leopard and white tiger - Wren has never listened to anyone when there was something he wanted. Now he wants Marguerite.

Marguerite D'Aubert Goudeau is the daughter of a prominent U.S. senator who hates the socialite life she's forced to live. Like her mother before her, she has strong Cajun roots that her father doesn't understand. Still, she has no choice but to try and conform to a world where she feels like an outsider. But the world of rich and powerful humans is never to meet the world of the Were-Hunters who exist side by side with them, unseen, unknown, undetected. To break this law is to call down a wrath of the highest order.

In order to have Marguerite, Wren must fight not just the humans who will never accept his animal nature, but the Were-Hunters who want him dead for endangering their world. It's a race against time and magic without boundary that could cost Marguerite and Wren not just their lives, but their very souls...

Unleash the Night Review:
I honestly went into this book not expecting a lot. It was probably the feeling of the last book and the fact that Wren had not left a big impression on me from Chronicles of Nick. And I had not met Maggie before so I didn't know how to feel about her. I was glad to have fell in love with this book. Both the characters, especially Wren made this book amazing! The book started with both Maggie and Wren being aloof with one another but they do meet and have a chance to get to know each other. It could be a little because of Nick, who knew both of them. It was great to see them defying the odds to be together. The main thing that irritated me was her father, and all her friends. They were the stereotypical rich people, and it angered me that they thought they could control Maggie and her life choices. I loved, on the other hand how she fought them away and how Wren let Maggie make her own choices. I feel that Maggie might have been the stronger one in the relationship because she brought Wren out of his shell and led him to his destiny. Also, it was nice to see Wren show the rich friends how powerful he is when his secret company was revealed!

This book was a little confusing, because of the time travel.

*SPOILER WARNING* He goes back in time to see his dad to pick up a package. This causes him to save his dad's life and to die and to make the dad send the package. None of this would have happened had Wren not gone back in life. It also made Maggie into a snow leopard. So I was stuck in this loop, and I was just confused. *END OF SPOILER*

This did nothing to detract from the story, but it was something that lingered in my mind. The whole plat was based on Wren saving his name from being killed by the Omegrion. I couldn't stand Nicole in this series because of how she treated Wren. She hated him for none other than the fact that he was a hybrid. I loved her in other books, but this one I wanted to hurt her, even at the end when she tried to apologize. I loved seeing some old characters like Fang and new like Sav. And I hope to see them more often throughout the series.

I was happy that Kenyon focused more on the romance than the world building. The book wouldn't have been nearly as good if it was the other way around. Overall this book was 5 stars!

Sins of the Night( Dark Hunter #7)

Sins of the Night by Sherrilyn KenyonSins of the Night Summary:
In the realm of the Dark-Hunters there is a code of honor that even immortal bad boys must follow:

Harm no human. Drink no blood. Never fall in love.


But every now and again a Dark-Hunter thinks himself above the Code. That's when I'm summoned. Who am I? I'm the one thing the fearless fear. Step over the line and it's my wrath you will face. Nothing can touch me. Nothing can sway me. I am relentless and unfeeling.

Or so I thought until I met a female Dark-Hunter who goes by the name of Danger-it's not just her name, it's how she lives her life. She doesn't trust me at all. And who could blame her? She alone knows that I'm here to be judge, jury and most likely executioner of her friends. Yet she is my key to saving some of them. Without her, they all will die.

Dangereuse St. Richard is a deadly distraction. Something about her is reawakening a heart I thought was long dead. But in a race against evil, the only hope mankind has is that I do my duty. And how can I do my duty when it means that I will have to sacrifice the only woman I've ever loved?


Sins of the Night Review:
This book wasn't as good as I thought it would be. The first six in the series have been relatively interesting but this, I just couldn't get into for the longest time. Once again I get the feeling that these DHs are just like little kids. Like spoiled kids, they will hate you if they don't get what they want every minute. Honestly! They turned on Ash, even though he gave them a second life, because he doesn't help them as much as he should, and that he has been lying to them his whole life. Last time I checked, he doesn't owe them anything. And while they are free to their opinions, they have no reason to turn on their leader based on rumors after all Ash has done for them.

The story, if you got over the stuff above wasn't too bad. The romance was quite hard to get into, kinda a love triangle, but the action definitely made up for it. I'm not afraid of main characters dying, I read GoT and nothing compares to that! It was nice to see that Sherrilyn Kenyon is, yet again not afraid to sacrifice her characters to provide a real story not necessarily a HEA. The romance in this novel had taken a backseat to the world building from the series. This is a turning point in the series because soon after this, there is more world building in each book and less of the characters. We barely get to know Alexion and Danger, just the borderline essentials and not really why they fall in love with each other.

Alexion starts off as a normal horny guy....and that's it. He is meant to save the world, but he acts like getting into Danger's pants is much more important. And he doesn't give a lot of information for Danger to trust him. This leads into Danger. She has commitment issues because she was killed by her husband during the French Revolution and hasn't got back the ability to trust anyone. Everyone else is kinda meh. Ash is cool and Stryker is a nice villain. Sadly, there were not a lot of old couples which probably would have raised the rating for this novel. We do meet a bunch of new characters, but they don't play a pivotal role in the book, so it was kinda useless to meet them.

The characters do become better by the end of the story, and their love story is a little more believable. On the other hand, action is really good! The book literally opens up with a fight scene between Danger and Alexion which shows how kick ass both of them are! There was some major face palms and eye rolling because of how cheesy parts of the novel is and how stupid some of the characters are.

Finally, the last battle scene was pretty darn cool. I agree with some readers thinking it was kinda of like Jesus vs Satan, but Ash and Stryker have different roles to play than good and evil. Once you read their books, you'll understand. It was sad to see so many DH *SPOILER WARNING* die, but it did make sense. If Ms. Kenyon hadn't included it, it would have felt like a cop out. It was nice to make Danger a shade (?) so that she can live with Alexion.

Overall it was 3-4.5 stars, higher if I look at it just from the action perspective. The book could have been better but it felt more like it was made for world building than romance.

Upcoming Books That I Can't Wait For!!



Dark Hunter:
Dragonmark (Illarion & Edilyn): August 02/2016
Dragonsworn (Falcyn): August 04/2017
Battle Born (Urian): August 04/2018

Chronicles of Nick:
  • Invision: May 03/2016
  • Intensity: April 03/2017

The League:
  • Born of Legend (Dagger & Ushara): June 21/2016
  • Born of Vengeance ( Bastien & Ember): February 01/2017
  • Born of Trouble (Ryn and Mack): December 08/2017
  • Born of Darkness (Nero): February 08/2018

Deadman's Cross: TBA

Untitled (Rock Kiss #4): Abe and Sarah: Unknown

Archangel's Heart (Guild Hunter #9): Elena and Raphael: October 26/2016

Psy-Changeling:
  • Allegiance of Honor: June 14th/2016
  • Wild Embrace: August 23/2016

Magic Binds (Kate Daniels #9): September 27/2016

Seize the Night (Dark Hunter #6)

Seize the Night (Dark-Hunter, #7)Seize the Night Summary:
Hail Glorious Reader:

I was born the noble son of a legendary Roman senator. I walked through the ancient world as a general, admired and supreme until a brutal betrayal caused me to bargain my soul. Now I'm an immortal Dark-Hunter, bound to protect mankind from the evil scourge that haunts it. Over the centuries, I've seen many frightening things: plagues, pestilence, disco music...

And now Tabitha Devereaux. A human, she has trained herself to fight vampires every bit as capably as any Dark-Hunter. Idiosyncratic and off-beat, she is my personal bane-and yet she beguiles me. There are only two small problems. She happens to be the twin of my mortal enemy's wife. More than that, Tabitha and her sister are being stalked by a power that will not rest until everyone she holds dear is dead.

Unlike my Dark-Hunter brethren, I rely on no one but myself. They spurned me and I turned my back on them. But the only way to save Tabitha and her family is to find some way to bridge a two thousand-year-old feud.

They say opposites attract, but can they stay together when even the Fates conspire to keep them apart? Then again, the Fates have never dealt with the likes of Tabitha Devereaux before. They're going to be in for quite a fight...

--Valerius Magnus

Seize the Night Review:
Yes!! We finally got a female on the cover! I kinda wish we could see Val on the cover but it's about time we got a female on their! Anyways, back to the actual story. I loved it because we got to see the enemy of Kyrian and his life. After this I kinda felt like all these immortals are like children. While they are hundreds or thousands of years old and mature in many aspects of life, they can hold a grudge to rival a three year old. And the whole time they have been dead, they have fostered a hatred for their enemies that are most likely dead or to a whole group of people that largely did nothing to them. I wish some of them could grow up, but I also understand why them might hold on to this.

Tabitha was a strong character that was somewhat of a Mary Sue and Buffy. She kicked butt and took names, while still handing out food to the homeless. Misunderstood by most people around her she has a somewhat isolated life, yet also a wild one. Valerius is the opposite completely isolated and uptight he doesn't know what friends mean and has a deep guilt of killing everyone he else he has loved. The way these two meet is hilarious and is a throwback to how Tabitha meets Kyrian! Stabbing him through the chest, what better way to get up close and personal with someone! After this, they have to fight killer Daimons, some from Night Pleasures, their own family and some very serious enemies that could potentially kill Ash. Very serious compared to the last book, that was more of a love story. While his story wasn't as tragic as Zarek's before his death, it was heartbreaking to see how he was treated when he became a DH. Spurned by everyone just because he was Roman, even when he tried t apologize or repay debt. I would hope by the end of the series, Valerius can make friends with the ones who spurned him.

The love story between the two was different. The were COMPLETE opposites but they balanced each other. Tabitha would always stun Valerius with her actions and teach him to let go of the shell of his old life. And he manages to bring her back a bit. She is a little hypocritical and cocky at the beginning of the book but Valerius manages to teach her something and she comes to accept herself better. And together they are an unstoppable couple.

"Life is serious."
"No," she said, her passion glowing in her blue gaze. "Life is and adventure. It's thrilling and scary. Sometimes it's even a bit boring, but is should never be serious."


The action was breathtaking, both in a good and bad way. I love Kenyon for the fact that she was willing to sacrifice some very important and lovable characters to create a realistic story. But it was also because of this, we get a startling lesson how quickly a life can be taken from us and how powerful a word can be. While I was thankful that Ash saved that day, it did come off a bit godly that with a snap of his fingers some people's lives could be fixed. I know that every single character was still traumatized by the events, but I was a little skeptical when

*SPOILER WARNING* almost everyone became immortal. *END OF SPOILERS*

Overall it was a pretty great book. Mind you, the book started off with a lot of look based love but it is PNR so you kinda got to get used to it. Thankfully it got a lot better throughout the book! Oh, and the wedding scene was a great way to close of their love story! I give it a 4.5-5 star rating!

Night Play (Dark Hunter #5)

Night Play (Dark-Hunter #5, Were-Hunter #1)Night Pleasures Summary:
New Orleans. Bride McTierney, dumped by ex after 5 years constantly criticizing her lush size, finds her knight in shining armor is a wolf in white fur. Vane Kattalakis 400+ years hides with comatose brother Fang from enemies in were-bear family Sanctuary. But matching palm marks mean Bride and Vane are mates. He has 3 weeks to finish the ceremony or live impotent.

Night Play Review:
This book was fantastic! Most PNR deal with a woman who is beautiful and has a perfect body. For the average female reader this may seem a goal that we cannot reach. This book, though deal with that problem. Like Fantasy Lover, Bride from Night Play is not comfortable with how she looks. Being verbally abused by her 5 year boyfriend about her weight, you can see why she would feel this way. While many people had a problem with her shaming herself over and over again, you have to understand her mind set. A woman who was constantly told she was too fat to be seen in public and was shamed for her weight does not suddenly change in her way of thinking when her life changes. Being in her situation once in my life, I understand how hard it is to deal with thoughts like that and once you get into a position like that it is hard to see the light. Sometimes you need help, in the book it was through Vane that she could see her worth. While it may seem bad that a gorgeous man had to come around to show her worth. It is also because he is a gorgeous man that you can see he doesn't care about looks to match his own. And it's not only him but her friends, family, Vane's family and the last scene where she fights for Fang that create a new beliefs that she is worth it. For that I give props to Ms.Kenyon for writing such a book.

The actually book started off a little rough. I mean within the first 40 pages or so, they have already slept together and are mated, Bride doesn't know this yet. It was ridiculous and this is after she had just broken up. Not that you can't go out right after, but for some reason I couldn't believe she would do that. Literally right after she met him. From this point on though, it was amazing. It was about Vane trying to court Bride into not only believing that they are destined for each other but that the supernatural exist and she has been a part of it longer than she thinks.

I'll give you this quote to show you how funny this whole process was:

"I need dating advice. Fast."
Ash arched a single brow at that. "I'm useless. I've never been on one."
The three human men turned to gape at him.
"What?" Ash asked them defensively.
Nick started laughing. "Oh man, this is priceless. Don't tell me the great Acheron is a virgin?"
Ash gave him a droll look. "Yeah, Nick. I'm lily-white."
"How did you get through life without a date?" Kyrian asked Ash.
"It wasn't an issue back then," Ash said curtly.
"Yeah, well, it's a serious issue to me," Vane said, nearing them. "Julian, how did you meet your wife?"
Julian shrugged. "My brother the sex god cursed me into a book for two thousand years. Grace got drunk on her birthday and summoned me out of it."
Vane rolled his eyes. "That's useless. Kyrian? What about you?"
"I woke up handcuffed to Amanda."
Vane could work with that. "So I need to get a set of handcuffs?"


It was really funny to see Vane asking the DH for dating advice, when clearly none of them had any. And take into account that Ash and Nick tried to help as well and failed miserably! It took Amanda and Grace stepping to give Vane a chance with bride. And he aced it! Their love story was believable and this book is a top favorite because both characters are believable in their actions. If only all books could be like this, but alas we wouldn't be able to find gems like this. The action and mythology had taken a back seat and because of this we could focus more on the couple and other characters. It was a wonderful read and I would recommend this to everyone!

Overall rating of 5 stars!

Dark Bites (Dark Hunter #2.5, 2.6, 7.5, 9.5, 9.6, 10.5)

Dark Bites (Dark-Hunter #23; Hellchaser, #0.5; Dream-Hunter, #0.5; Were-Hunter, #3.5)Dark Bites Summary:
For years, eager fans have been clamoring for an all-in-one collection of #1 bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon’s novellas. At their enthusiastic behest, we have delivered this brand-new short story collection, including stories previously exclusive to Sherrilyn’s website, as well as an all-new, never-before seen story!

Sherrilyn Kenyon takes readers from the Dark-Hunters to the demigods, from Dream-Hunters to demons, and everything in between. Dangerous and exciting, each story is one thrill ride after the next, proving time and again how Sherrilyn has captivated millions of readers worldwide. Now, readers are invited to go deep into Kenyon’s rich and imaginative world and experience the heart-racing moments that never stop coming!

Novellas from the World of the Dark-Hunters:
Phantom Lover (V'Aidan)
A Dark-Hunter Christmas (Gallagher)
Winter Born (Dante)
A Hard Day’s Night Searcher (Rafael)
Until Death We Do Part (Velkan)
Fear the Darkness (Nick)
Where Angels Fear to Tread (Zeke)
Shadow of the Moon (Fury)
House of the Rising Son
The Guardian Wedding

Unrelated Stories:
Love Bytes
Santa Wears Spurs



Dark Bites Review:
The book is made up of several short stories, each focusing on different characters and two that are not related to any other series. I will be reviewing each one individually in the order listed as above.

1)Phantom Lover: It was a little different TBH. It started off good, with a normal woman being plagued by nightmares, and with a Kenyon classic, a tortured Dream Warrior. For some reason I got confused by this story. I didn't know who was the actually villain, what was the problem and how these events were supposed to tie into the rest of the DH world. To talk about this I will have to list book events so SPOILER WARNING... relatively close to the end Erin discovers that V'Adian was the one to help plague her nightmares. I'm not sure if that was how it was supposed to have ended, but that is how I remember it. Also, Erin literally gets the shit beat out of her, travels through evil and faces off evil nightmares to protect V'Adian and then he asks if she actually loves him *face palm*. I just couldn't deal with it. Overall this was a 2 star book and without a clue the point of this story.

2)A Dark-Hunter Christmas: We open up with a introduction to Gallagher. Born to a poor Irish family, joined a gang and was killed while trying to see his wife. Like every other Kenyon novel, we have the tortured male hero, but unlike other book there is no romance. It was really sweet and a wonderful read. We got to see Simi in all her glory giving her advice to Gallagher about letting people into your heart to become a family. That was a really bad description so here's the quote: "We have three kinds of family. Those we are born to, those who are born to us, and those we let into our hearts." We got to revisit our favorite DH couples and characters and it was nice to see them relax from the normal violence and action of their lives. Overall it was 5 stars, if only more books were like this!

3)Winter Born: A short story about Dante (Owner of Inferno) and Pandora (a Were-panther on the run from people who want to make her a sex slave) who meet at DragonCon. With the help of Ash, this Arcadian and Katargaria couple fall in love and deal with their enemies. It was heartbreaking to see the injustice that befalls the woman of these panther clans and it was great to see them get the justice they deserve. It dealt with a lot of trust and superiority issues that they two groups of Weres face against each other. I wish this book was longer cause it was really cute to see Dante's brothers and the interaction between certain characters. It also dealt with issues of slavery and rape, and I was glad that none of the main characters thought this was right, and worked to resolve it. Overall this book was 5 stars!

4)A Hard Day’s Night Searcher: This story was quite boring and irritating. I mostly skimmed over this because of the unnecessary details and how stupid some of the characters. The only good thing was when we got to see some old characters and finally, hate to say this, when the story was over. It was basically about the heroine that had commitment issues because she saw two DH dies and a horny, thinks he's charismatic hero. And it all was started by an idiot squire who thought it would be a great idea to write a story about Rafael as a fictional character and post it in the newspaper. *Face palm* I don't know why this guy isn't dead yet, seriously he was that stupid! Unlike Winter Born, I couldn't believe that the Rafael and Celena were in love, it felt more life lust, and I still don't know how this related to the DH world. Anyway this book was about a 1 to 1.5 star.

5)Until Death We Do Part: An interesting take on the Dracula story. It follows Velkan (Dracula...kinda) and his love interest Esperetta meeting after a few decades and dealing with their issues. In a weird twist of fate they both had turned DH at the same time and Esperetta was forced to be one. This paired with Velkan killing her father drove her away and they have never talked since. Fast forward a while, her new best friend tells her to come over to her place in Transylvania to live with her family. With some reluctance she goes and to her surprise she realizes that they work for Velkan. And from then on they start to overcome their issues with each other, and they do have quite a bit! I really liked Velkan. He was misunderstood, caring and he just seemed really great. I couldn't say the same for Esperetta. I found her to be to whiny and and couldn't understand why she was so hard on Velkan and literally everyone else. But by the end of the story, I could see that they did fall in love and could understand their relationship. I didn't like Esperetta, but I could stand her now. Overall this book was 4 stars mostly because of the humor and Velkan!

6)Fear the Darkness: A very short story about Nick reflecting on his life and what Stryker wants him to do. It was sad to see him falling so low. He was slowly recuperating, from a previous event and the fact his home was destroyed in Hurrican Katrina. There were a few grammatical errors with the story and I really wanted to slap Nick on the sometimes. He did come off a bit whiny but a lot more hurt and it was heartbreaking to see him so different from the beginning of the series. I hope does get a happy ending, he certainly deserves one at some point. Overall it was a 3.5-4 stars.

7)Where Angels Fear to Tread: A tiny story that about Zeke, a Hell Chaser. It was quite a bit of fun to read this, especially his obsession with transformers. I hope that Zeke gets a full length novel after this. Overall 5 stars!

8)Shadow of the Moon: Finally! We get Fury's book and even though it's a novella, it's still his story! We get to learn about his childhood and his best friend before he was brutally kicked out of the pack. The best part of the novel was him with his new family, especially Vane, Bride, Fang and the kids. My least favorite part of this story was the heroine, Angelina. She was a hypocrite who was extremely ignorant of anyone outside of her clan. Even though she felt bad about betraying Fury, she still felt it was the right choice until almost the end of the story. I felt she was to weak for Fury and would have preferred someone else for him. I was waiting for him to kick her out of his life, but they eventually fell in love and I just couldn't deal with it. By the end of the novel, she had a complete 180 switch and was on Fury's side now. Thank god there were other characters, otherwise this book wouldn't have been as good. Overall this book was a 3-3.5 stars.

9)House of the Rising Son: This story was about Aricles (a farmer from an Atlantean Family) and Baathymaas (daughter of set that knows no emotion and is made to be the balance for Set who is Chaos). It featured a host of old characters like Caleb, who I love, Apollo, who is just to irritating to live. It was heartbreaking, amazing and lovely. It was a nice prequel to Styxx and I'm glad I read it. Overall this book is a 5!

10)Love Bytes: A cute little story about an overworked programmer and his employer falling in in love. The characters dealt with their problems, fell in love and it was all believable!! And how the last scene played out was heartwarming and humorous. That is how all woman should be courted! Overall this book was 5 stars!

11)Santa Wears Spurs: A cute story set in the Wild Wild West. A man who was on the run came back to see his lover with a kid. He inserts himself back into their lives, defeats his evil brother and the three of them get a HEA. A lovely story with a rating of 5 stars!

12)The Guardian (The Wedding): This was the Beast Beauty Wedding (literally) between Seth and Lydia, it was really quiet. It was nice to see Savitar being the Master of Ceremony and Solin's response to his daughter getting married. I loved it! Overall a 5 star rating!

Kiss of the Night (Dark Hunter #4)

Kiss of the Night (Dark-Hunter, #4)Kiss of the Night Summary:
What do you get when you have an immortal Viking warrior no one can remember five minutes after he leaves their presence, and a demon on the run for her life who is being pursued by one seriously pissed-off demigod?

That would be my life.

It started out simple enough. One night I went to save a woman in trouble. The next thing I knew, the doorway to hell had opened and out stepped Daimons- soul-sucking vampires the likes of which I’d never seen before. Led by the son of Apollo, they are out to end the curse that has banished them all to darkness. The only problem with that is they have to kill Cassandra Peters to do it and if she dies, so dies the sun, the earth and all who dwell here. Life’s just a bowl full of cherries, ain’t it?

Brought together by fate, it’s now my job to protect a daughter of the very race I have been hunting for centuries. Neither of us dares to trust the other. But if we don’t find a way to overcome our differences and to bridge thousands of years of animosity, we won’t die alone. We’ll take the entire world with us.

Wulf Tryggvasen

Kiss of the Night Review:
Getting off the high from the last book, Kiss of the Night was lagging a little behind in my tastes. The book started off well enough. A bad ass hero meets the heroine and from there starts their star-crossed love story. I loved how we get to see in they eyes of an apollite and the problems they face on a regular basis. How they have to leave their families so soon and how they have to painfully disintegrate when they turn 27. It was heartbreaking it was nice to see why they live the way they do. What I didn't like was the how Wulf had treated Cassandra throughout the beginning of the book. While he was open to the ideas of her race, he was very close-minded about falling in love with one.

Like every other Kenyon book there is a lot of mythology to keep up with, not even close to how much comes later on in the books but still a lot, and this can pull the plot a little to thin. The first half of the book was centered on the characters meeting while he saves her from daimons. This leads to a few more interactions and we see why Wulf is so isolated and has very few friends outside of the DH community. While his story was sad, it was nowhere as close to as Cassandra's. She lost her family because of the curse of the daimons and will soon die. To make matters worse she has to move in with strangers to protect the people she loves. This first part was a little bit eye-rolling and a little bit unbelievable

*Spoiler warning* She got pregnant in a dream that was supposed to be a fantasy but was somehow reality. And Wulf managed to get his soul switched around to Loki then Artemis or something like that, and readers are left confused how her turned into a DH. On top of that, if his soul was gone, he wouldn't be able to have kids since he never had any with the other women he did sleep with. Somehow though, Cassandra got pregnant and none of this was really explained. *Spoiler Warning Over*

Luckily, all those events took a back seat to the actual problem and we dived into the action.

Being chased by Spathi Demons, meeting an Apollite community and getting to see the old characters helping out Wulf was wonderful. Kenyon does have a astounding ability to show both sides of the story. It was great to see how Kyrian, Zarek, Talon and Jullian were doing with their families, especially with Kyrian! And it was amazing to Simi in all her glory as well! Not only did she redeem the apollites, but also the daimons including the Spathi. Full of adventure, close-calls and a heartbreaking end. And I mean a truly heart-breaking end, it left me at least eagerly awaiting the next book.

I would recommend this book to DH fans and anyone interested in fantasy. This book, even with its slow plot line and seemingly unimportant characters, is actually very necessary for the series. It helps in the world building and teaches us once again why the daimons and human's situation is so hopeless, and something big is going to have to be done to change it.

Overall I would give this a 4-4.5 stars! Not bad but could have been much better!