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Lies Beneath
Anne Greenwood Brown
Dark Passage
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Death Turns a Trick (A Rebecca Schwartz Mystery)
Julie Smith
Broken Beautiful Hearts - Kami Garcia

I have been a fan of Kami Garcia ever since I read her Beautiful Creatures series and I've been meaning to pick up one of her contemporary books for a while now. I am very, very happy that I ended up loving this book. A lot.

Broken Beautiful Hearts is the story of Peyton and her journey of healing and finding strength, courage, and the true meaning of friendship. Peyton is a girl that went through a lot of things. Her father died in an explosion when he was deployed, her boyfriend turns out to not be the perfect guy but instead pushes her down the stairs, causing her to have a torn knee ligament that puts her future in danger, her friends abandon her, and she has a stalker. She has moments when she's scared that history will repeat itself with another boy, she has moments when she feels like she needs to hide what happened to hear for fear of being judged or be seen as that girl, the victim, but I also think she hides what happened because she's ashamed; like she should have seen it coming and prevent it in some way. I was very happy when her new friends show her that Reed was the one who should be ashamed, not Peyton. I also loved how Peyton learns to be strong, whether that means finding out what truly happened with her dad, or learning to accept and move on from what Reed did. She goes through a transformation. All of that is secondary to one important lesson: asking for help. I feel like that is the main theme of this book, learning how to ask for help when you need it, how not to be ashamed of something someone did to you, and it's an important lesson to learn.

Owen is a great guy, that has some secrets of his own. I liked Owen, mostly because he represented the courage that Peyton learns to have. He also has a reckless side, probably due to his childhood and his family situation, of which you learn more about as the story moves on. I liked how he doesn't push Peyton beyond what she's comfortable with, in their relationship, but he does challenge her to learn how to trust again.

This was a great story, just as great as I expected from Kami Garcia. I only wish Peyton had found that courage to trust again in herself and in others by herself. The pacing was great and there were a few surprises along the way that I didn't see coming. I just wish there was a book for Peyton's twin cousins, because I loved them.

All in all, I loved this book, and it showed me exactly why I love Garcia's books.

Source: http://rubys-books.blogspot.com
Love and Let Die - Lexi Blake

*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

 

The big guy of this series is finally getting his story told and let me tell you, I'm a really happy reader.

 

You already know about my love of Ian and Charlotte Taggart, so it's no surprise that I love their book as much as I do. I may or may not have read this book multiple times too, because that's just what I do with stories I love as much as this one, I obsess over them.

 

I finally understood why Ian was as dark as he was in the beginning of this series. And as reckless as he was. It all makes sense. I also kinda understood why he did what he did in the first book of the series, Sean's book, when he made a decision that put his relationship with his brother at risk. But I get it. Everything made sense when I read this book. The fact that Ian survived the emotional pain of losing his wife shows just how strong he is. And I say survived, but definitely not recovered from it, because we know he never truly did recover from it. Charlie was the one for him. And I completely understood the way he treated her in the beginning of this book. He basically got his heart broken twice by the same woman, so him being a bit angry, hurtful and mean makes a lot of sense.

 

At the same time I couldn't help but love Charlie. She had to overcome a lot of tough shit from her past, and while she had to do some really bad stuff along the way, she didn't lose her humanity or her soul in the process. I loved how throughout the book she and her sister Chelsea are shown to be complete opposites. Chelsea, her younger sister, is darker, more lost due to the horrors of her childhood, while Charlie still has some pureness in her.

 

I really liked how the issue of commitment in a BDSM relationship was approached in this story. Here we have a guy whose wife died and tried everything in his power to survive that pain and did everything he possibly could to cope and to live in the fantasy of being with her one last time, while at the same time we have a woman who knows her husband is alive and well, and she did everything her Dom told her to do, even after she left him. I liked that aspect, as well as Charlotte's reasoning behind doing some of the things she did to honor her contract with Ian.

 

There were some funny moments too. As already used to from future books when these two appear, I already knew Ian and Charlie are a really funny couple, so I was very glad to see that this was also present in their book.

 

The plot was really interesting and it shows how cunning the villain was, and how dehumanizing ultimate power can be for some people. It also kind of explains the first arc of this series really well and it shows that sometimes there's a fine line between good and evil. We also understand what ties together certain events and certain characters, because this book adds a piece to the puzzle that shows exactly those details. The ending was really fitting and I liked how in the end Ian chose Charlie above everything else, even when everything seemed to be pointing towards her not being a trustworthy person. So I liked that he took a chance with her. As always, we get a glimpse in the future of the series and Damon is next. I am very excited to see what his story will bring.

The story of Dell and the Lorimar pack continues in this heart-pounding story and I couldn't help but love it.

Wolf at the Door (Gemini Book 5) - Hailey Edwards

The story of Dell and the Lorimar pack continues in this heart-pounding story and I couldn't help but love it.

Wolf At The Door takes Dell and her friends to Faerie. It was a really fascinating journey, to be honest. The thing I loved most was that it was not as magical as I initially thought. The story has a ton of twists and turns, both on Faerie and on the earth plane, and I loved where the story went. I have to admit that this was my first visit to Faerie, because I'm reading these books out of order *hides in shame*. But I loved seeing the fae world through Dell's eyes. It was an intriguing experience, seeing it through the eyes of a non-fae creature, because she wasn't as enamored by that world as I would imagine an earth fae would be. She was able to question certain things, and not let them compel her to ignore the danger around her, while at the same time not recognize the danger in other details.

Dell still has a lot of growing to do, and a lot of baggage that she needs to deal with, but she's slowly getting there. As with the previous book in the series, I loved seeing the difference between Dell's human and wolf sides. Not only was it a intriguing aspect of the story, it helped understand Dell more. I know I said this before, but the way Edwards created the warg mythology in her books is really unique and I like the fact that the human side and the wolf side are two separate entities in these stories.

The pace was awesome, as expected, and there were a lot of surprises during this book. A few things I did not anticipate happened, and I quite enjoyed that. I don't want to give away too many spoilers, so I'll leave it at that. But just know that I loved this book and that I am very anxious to see what happens next.

Love, Honor, and Ink (Montgomery Ink) - Carrie Ann Ryan

I'm slowly falling more and more in love with this series, and I'll soon have to go back and read all of the books in it.

Even though I'm a newbie in this world, I was pretty sure that this story isn't like any of the others, or at least the ones that I read. Not only because neither of the main characters are Montgomerys by blood, but also because of the entire feel of this book. It felt like a behind-the-scenes story, which I liked.

I liked Arianna. I've never given much thought to wedding planning as a career, because I never truly understood what it actually means to plan such an important event for someone else, so I really enjoyed learning more about it through Ari's voice. I also loved how in love with her job she was. I'll be honest, I love reading about people who genuinely love their jobs, who adore what they do for a living, even if sometimes they do stuff they don't enjoy all that much. Another thing I liked about her is the fact that she was dedicated to her job enough to not let personal relationships get in the way of things. With her father and with a woman she never thought she'd work with, Ari didn't allow what she felt cloud her judgement or let herself do a less-than-perfect job, which shows how truly professional she is, and I respect her for that.

Harper is the kind of hero I don't usually like 100%. He's a sexy, funny, charming guy, and he's a really good friend, but sometimes he's too good of a friend, if that makes sense. I know he always tried to help Ari, and he didn't mean it to get out of hand, but sometimes that is something that bothers me just a tiny little bit. All that aside, I did like the fact that he gave Ari the courage and self-confidence she needed in a truly low point in her life, and I like that he knew just what she needed in order to get her butt in gear.

The plot was great, and I read this book pretty easily. Because this was a short story, I feel like a few details weren't fully explored, or explained, and I'm just hoping they'll be at least mentioned in future books, but apart from that, I did enjoy this story. And, as I said, I plan on bingeing this series pretty soon.

Source: http://rubys-books.blogspot.it
Beauty of the Beast - Rachel L. Demeter

I am so happy I got to read this gem of a book guys! After I stared at the cover a little bit, because let's face it, it's gorgeous, and read the blurb, I knew I had to read this book and I'm happy I did.

 

The first thing that stands out when I think about this book is that this is a retelling with a twist. It's a gorgeous story about two people falling in love, without any kind of magic in the mix. I wasn't exactly sure how that would work, but it did, and it was a fantastic ride. What is a fairy tale retelling without magic, you ask? A historical novel set in a really dark time in history, told in such beautiful prose, that it makes it seem impossible for at least a few elements from the story to not have happened in real life. I love the attention to detail that the author had for creating the kingdom of Demrov, from the geography of it, to the historical context of the story. And I love how refreshing the author's voice was. I haven't read many Gothic novels, but if this is how most of them sound, I'll definitely delve into the genre more.

 

I loved Isabelle so, so much. Her story is tragic, and yet beautiful at the same time. She was willing to sacrifice her entire future for the good of her family, even if her two younger sisters are selfish brats and don't really deserve anything beyond a good time-out. Some of the things that Isabelle goes through are really painful and hard to read about, but I feel like that makes her stronger. I also like how she sees past Adam's scars, and tries to understand him, to be civil with someone who has not had that much contact with the outside world in decades.

 

Adam's story is the one that I loved the most. For someone to not end up a madman after seeing the horrors he experienced at a young age, that speaks of a truly strong individual. I loved his sense of duty, even if there was no one who truly knew of his existence. The saddest part of his story is that, when you think about it, some version of it might have actually happened to someone during the French Revolution, or during any revolution really. Which is another thing that Demeter did beautifully, in my opinion, making sure that in some corner of their mind, the reader knows that this story is set in that historical time.

 

I am absolutely in love with this book, and I am truly, truly excited for the future of this series, to see what other fairy tales the author will tackle and transform them into literary gems. This book actually reminded me that once upon a time I used to love reading historical romances. All in all, I truly hope you guys will read this book, as it is one of the best retellings I've read so far and probably will be for a long time.

Source: http://rubys-books.blogspot.com
Razr: A Demonica Underworld Novella - Larissa Ione

Every trip back to the Demonica world brings me so much joy, and Razr is no different. I have to be honest and say that, since it's been a while since I've read the Horsemen part of the series, I don't remember much about the heavenly weapons that the angels used, especially not the Gems of Enoch. I do assume it's mentioned in Revenant, but I haven't read that one yet. I'm rereading the entire series, so I'll get to it pretty soon.

 

It always surprises me how the world of Demonica shifts and manages to get bigger and bigger with each new story. Jedda is a creature I haven't even thought of being possible, to be honest, and I'm truly truly excited because that means there is new stuff that can be explored within this world *winks*.

 

Razr also was really interesting, and I don't remember much of him from before, but I like how his story sheds some more light into the truly mysterious world of the angels within the Demonica series. We might know a few angels, but I feel like the more angels are brought into this story, the more we get to discover about the creatures.

 

The pacing is great and I didn't feel like I was reading a novella, although I am definitely keeping my fingers crossed for new, longer novels within this world *fingers crossed*. I wonder if this story somehow will influence the events in future books or if they somehow set the scene for more stories. I'm definitely looking forward to new stories, even if just novellas. Anything to keep me coming back to this world.

Source: http://rubys-books.blogspot.com
Arranged - Lexi Blake

It's not a secret that I love this series, and I was super excited to find out that the playboy king would get his story told.

The thing that I loved most about this book was how it touched on the delicate subject of male submissives from a cultural point of view. It's true that society believes that men should be the dominant ones, while women should be 100% submissive, at least from a sexual perspective. Seeing Kash try to reconcile his status as king and a sexual sub was really interesting. I also loved how Ian, the ultimate Dom, gave Kash a really great speech about that. Blake really knows how to deliver some really powerful words, and she managed to do just that in this book.

Day was a wonderful heroine and I would have loved to have more scenes with her outside of her relationship with Kash. I would have wanted to see her battle her way through politics and changing the lives of so many women and girls with her ideas.

Kash was an interesting character. It's really great to see he's not just the playboy I thought him to be, he was pushed by circumstances out of his control into that life, as a way to hide from his problems. I don't agree with how he did that, but I get it. I would have wanted to see a more complex scene following a certain really dramatic scene between these two, because I feel like the way it was dealt with wasn't as dramatic as what happened between them, but in the end it all works out.

I totally didn't anticipate who the bad guy of this story was. I had my eye on another character, and I'm very happy that in the end it turned out to be someone else.

All in all a great addition to the world of Masters and Mercenaries, and, as usual, I cannot wait for more!

Source: http://rubys-books.blogspot.com
The Alchemists of Loom - Elise Kova

Steampunk isn't one of my favorite genres, but it might just become one if all books are just like this one. I've heard a lot of great things about Kova's books, and I've decided to give this one a try.

There's something incredibly magical about this book, and it's truly amazing to experience. First of all, the world of Loom is really interesting, with steampunk themes blending perfectly with fantasy, in a way I hadn't quite imagined. There's magic, dragons, and technology that, strangely, work just fine together. The world itself is really complex, with a lot of stuff to understand, and a lot of stuff that I didn't quite understood at first. I kind of felt a lot like Cvareh, being thrown into an unknown world and trying to understand it. At times that proved a bit difficult, especially since there's a lot of stuff that we don't know about what happened in the bast, way before the events in the book started.

I also liked having the book told from different POVs. It helped show a bigger picture than what one side would have shown, and I loved that we got even the villain's side of things.

Ari was a really interesting heroine. She is definitely not an easy person to understand, or even like. She has a lot of secrets, and the more I read about her, the more intrigued I became. I wonder if in the future we'll get to fully know who Ari is, what her motives for hating the dragons are, and if she'll get some kind of closure. But I did respect her, to be really honest, because as cold as she wanted others to see her as, she was truly loyal to her friend, even though that put her in a lot of danger.

Florence was one character that I loved from the very start. She was witty, funny, and kind of impossible to resist. I can understand why Ari wanted to protect her at all costs and why she rescued her when she did. I also liked that even though Florence had a pureness and tenderness that made her seem soft and breakable, she found it in herself to make the hard decisions, even though she was truly scared of the outcome.

Cvareh was the character that, much like Ari, was interesting, but it took me a while to understand. I still feel like there's a lot about him that we don't know, that he's keeping a lot of things about himself hidden, and I'm curious how that will work out in the next book. But as I said, having different POVs in this book made it difficult to decide which side of the war to sympathize with, because contrary to what Ari believes, Cvareh didn't seem so bad.

The more I read, the more I understood why I had so many people urging me to read Kova's works, mainly because she managed to get me to like a story in a genre that I don't normally connect with. The only thing I would have wanted was to have more background information, to maybe understand how to navigate the world of Loom better, but all in all this book was a great series-started, and I'll definitely read the next book in the series.

Source: http://rubys-books.blogspot.com
Hunted: An Eternal Guardians Novella - Elisabeth Naughton

If I ever doubted that I need to read this series, now I don't.

I loved that this book explores the ruthless side of the ancient gods, something that I've missed reading about, to be honest. I liked the fact that Zeus is portrayed as a bad guy, and I'm super excited to see how that will play out in future stories.

Erebus is pretty much a mystery for the entire story. I didn't feel like we get to know him well enough, but that is appropriate, since he doesn't know himself all that much. He doesn't remember his past, he doesn't know much beyond being a slave to the gods, and that makes him hard to understand to be honest. I would have wanted to see that side explored a bit more, but since this is a novella I kind of get why his story remains a mystery. All I know is that he is pretty sexy.

Sera is a good heroine. I spent a lot of time wondering about her, but once the full story was revealed, I understood why she ran away, why she stole something precious to Zeus, and why she tried everything in her power to keep the god from getting the object back. I truly felt sorry for her, especially once her past was revealed. I also couldn't help but admire how stubborn she was, even though it made no sense at the time.

I got to the end of this book and, I'll be honest, I was a bit miffed that it ended as fast as it did. I wanted to read more, which I'll definitely do, because all this mystery surrounding the war between Zeus and everybody else is making me curious. Also, I love how Sirens are portrayed in these books, like they're the ultimate army that Zeus has. Or does he?

The book is pretty sexy, and Erebus and Sera have a ton of chemistry *fans self*. I also like how they eventually allow themselves to be vulnerable around each other. I'm only sorry we didn't get to see more than a glimpse into their past as trainer and trainee. I bet that was fun. The book is really fast paced and I finished it pretty quickly. The ending was surprising, especially by how simple it all turned out to be, which I loved.

As I said before, I'll definitely be reading the entire series in the future, because I'm truly curious to see how it all started and also what it all means.

1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Ten - Tessa Bailey, Lexi Blake, Larissa Ione, Laurelin Paige, Jenna Jacob, Sierra Simone

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of this review in any way.  

 

Rough Rhythm by Tessa Bailey

 

I absolutely loved this story! I felt pretty confused about what had happened between James and Lita when they first met, but I figured it had to be pretty important for James to act like such a scared cat all the time. Lita is a relentless woman. She knows what she wants, and she wants James, no matter what he tries to do to keep her away from him. I simply adored seeing her make tiny dents into his walls with her antics.

 

The thing that I loved most about this story is the fact that it says it like it is, that there's a huge difference between BDSM and abuse, and for that alone I'm going to love this story and keep it in my heart forever and ever. I don't think that this fact has been as plainly stated in other books as it was in this story, and for that alone I'm going to put Bailey on my auto-buy from now on.

 

Rating: 5 cups

 

Devoted by Lexi Blake

 

I see Lexi Blake on a cover and I'm already hooked. No questions asked. I liked to see two strong characters find their way in the crazy world that is the Masters and Mercenaries series and the BDSM lifestyle.

 

I did however have a teeny tiny problem with Flynn not being honest with Amy. I thought that he should have told her from the very start who he was. Yes, he makes up for it, but I would have wanted for them to have a completely honest relationship from the start.

 

As always however, Blake knows just how to spin a story enough for that aspect of the plot to make me fall in love with the characters, flaws and all.

 

Rating: 4 cups

 

Z by Larissa Ione


Every new story to the Demonica series makes me giddy and happy as a clam. Not only does this story finally explores Zhubaal's story, it also hints to what will happen in the future, which OMG I have a feeling it will be epic.

 

In the spirit of Ione's stories, there's more to Vex and Zhubaal than meets the eye, and I adore the differences between their story and your typical soulmate story. It's even different than some other angel stories from within the Demonica series. I love how Vex challenged Zhubaal, or Z, and how she was completely opposite to what he thought she should be. I also liked reading about his inner struggle. It was, as expected, a really good story and a nice addition to the Demonica world.

 

And again, holy hell if what Revenant said ties in to the next generation of Demonica books, it will be epic.

 

Rating: 5 cups

 

Falling Under You by Laurelin Paige

 

I liked this story a lot. Not because of the sex, although that was hot, but because of the chemistry between Norma and Boyd, which went beyond sex, it was a chemistry that translated very well in their professional lives as well. I liked the fact that they managed to find a balance between being work partners and romantic partners. I liked the idea that you could be both romantically and professionally involved with someone, something that I normally don't see so well explored, but Paige made it work perfectly. It kind of made sense for them to end up together and to make such a great team.

 

I'll definitely read more books by this author.

 

Rating: 4.5 cups

 

Craving His Command by Jenna Jacob

 

If the first novella of this bundle said that BDSM and abuse are two very different things, this one proves it. I don't know if this was made on purpose or if it was coincidence, but I love the fact that these two stories were put together as they were.

 

Mercy and Kellan have an interesting story. I felt sad a lot of the times for them, because they had really sad pasts. Mercy's was scary, but important to be told because that's what makes this story important I think. And even though I was furious about the outcome and the fact that she didn't get what she wanted (sorry, I don't want to give out spoilers, but you'll read it and you'll know), it made sense for the story to be this way because unfortunately real life is full of these stories. And so maybe, just maybe, reading about it will hopefully help in changing that truly horrible fact.

 

I also like that just because he knows about her past, Kellan doesn't treat her like a victim, but as someone who went through something horrible, survived, and can be treated like a normal person, which she is. I enjoyed reading that. This is another author that I'll definitely read more of.

 

Rating: 4.5 cups

 

American Queen by Sierra Simone

 

This was a very interesting story. A very hot, interesting story. A story that I want to know more of.

 

Embry, Ash and Greer make an interesting threesome, and I love that there's more darkness in them than in the rest of the threesome stories I've read about before.

 

There's a lot of intrigue and mystery in this story that makes this novella so unique to me. It's not only the sex, it's the questions that I have about what happened when Greer was a child, as well as what will happen in her future. In their future, actually.

 

I will definitely keep reading this series, because I am sooo curious to learn what happens next.

 

Rating: 4 cups

 

OVERALL RATING: 4 cups

Source: http://rubys-books.blogspot.com
Ecstasy Claimed - Setta Jay

Last year I discovered this new gem in the romance/sci fi & fantasy section of Netgalley and holy moly am I in love with this series.

 

Ecstasy Claimed continues telling the story of how the Guardians are struggling to keep the people under their protection safe from Cyril's madness and Elizabeth's cruelty, while pushing them further towards their destined mates.

 

Alyssa is a fantastic heroine and I am super in love with her. I like that she didn't wait for Gregoire to find the courage to go get her, and instead went to become her own person when she found out about him. I also loved how she did that, the choices she made, even though it infuriated her mate (good for her!).

 

I understood why Gregoire decided to stay away from his mate, I really did. I also admired his self-control. He could have taken advantage of the situation, but he proved to be worthy of being a Guardian of the realms by not abusing the gift given to him. Although yes, I'll admit it, I did enjoy seeing him suffer a little bit because of his mate, because he did kind of deserve it. He could have at least let her know he existed, right?

 

The thing that I love most about this series is that it's not just about Gregoire and Alyssa, you also have Sam and Erik going forward with their relationship and starting to heal from what Cyril put them through. We also get to know more about Cyril and to understand how truly evil he is, making it pretty obvious that if he is as evil and deranged as he is, I can only imagine how his father, Apollo was.

 

I am very excited to read the rest of the series, which I'm currently bingeing on, and I'm even more excited about the upcoming spin-off. If you're a fan of paranormal fantasy, you definitely have to read this series, now!

Source: http://rubys-books.blogspot.com
Going Hard (Steele Ridge) (Volume 2) - Kelsey Browning

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and KickSass Creations in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

 

My first ARC August read and we're on a really good start. While the hidden baby trope is not one of my favorites in romance books, I have to say that Browning did a great job at writing it.

 

Now, while I don't think Carlie Beth made the right choice, I do understand where her nineteen-year-old-self was coming from. I don't agree, but I get it. All of that aside, I liked Carlie. She was funny, she was a good mother, and a good friend.

 

Grif was an interesting hero, full of contradictions. I'm curious to see if in the next books in the series this aspect about him is explored, but he seemed like a chameleon to me. When the book starts, we meet him talking on the phone with one of his clients, and by that small interaction, I was expecting a cold, stand-offish guy. Except the more time he spent with his family, back in his hometown, the more laid-back he turned out to be, so I'd love to see him in a big city environment, just to see if somehow he becomes a different person in any way.

 

Throughout the book there are such hilarious moments that I found it hard not to start laughing like a loon in the middle of the night, which I liked because it's been a while since my last laugh-out-loud read. The story is pretty fast paced, which is also a good thing, but I felt like the ending was a little bit abrupt. I would have wanted a "several weeks/months/whatever later" scene, but I guess that maybe we get that in the next books. I didn't expect the stalker to turn out to be who it turned out to be, which is a plus (I was completely pointing the finger at some innocent person).

 

I would have wanted to see more bonding moments between Aubrey and Grif, but all in all I enjoyed this book and I'll definitely read the rest of the books in the series, because I need more Reid in my life, Reid being one of Grif's brothers.

Source: http://rubys-books.blogspot.com
Legend of Love:  Muse of Epic Poetry - Callie - Lisa Kessler

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Lisa Kessler in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

 

I'm completely in love with this series, and I'm waiting anxiously for each and every book in this series. The second book in this series takes the story further, by introducing a new Guardian, Hunter, but also by making the villains more evil and scarier, maybe even a little bit deranged.

 

Hunter is an interesting choice for a Guardian. I like how his military career was portrayed and how it played into his role as a Guardian. I also liked the fact that he didn't have the same gift as Nate, so I'm assuming each Guardian will have different gifts. I'm also assuming that their gifts are somehow tied to what the Muse they're protecting.

 

Callie was a great heroine. I like how she dedicates herself to working with military men and women, to help them heal from traumas from being in war zones. The thing I liked most about her is that she's not perfect, she has a little bit of a wildness in her, due to her Muse, that she tries a lot to keep under control.

 

I liked Callie and Hunter together, they make a great team, and I liked the little glimpse into Mel and Nate's future. The pacing was great, and there were a few developments in the overall story, that of some really deranged people trying to keep the Muses from opening up the Theater of the Muses, that I'm very curious to see how it will play out in the future books.

 

All in all, a great book and one that any urban fantasy lover should add to their TBR piles.

Source: http://rubys-books.blogspot.com
Blade: A Bayou Heat Novella - Alexandra Ivy

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

I enjoyed reading this new installment in the Bayou Heat series.

This book offers an interesting perspective into the world of the Pantera. Blade is one of the shifters that has been kept captive, tortured, tested, prodded and who knows what else by Benson Enterprises. I found it very refreshing to see the perspective of the males kept captive there, to explore the damage that was done to the males as well. Granted, I'm late in reading the series and I haven't read the first installments yet, so I'm not sure if this is something that was explored in earlier books. I liked Blade. I liked that he wanted to track Valli down and take care of her, when he really didn't have to. they were both victims of mad people, and no one would have blamed him if he had chosen to go on living his life away from everyone and everything. I thought his choice showed how much of a good person Blade is, how brave, loyal and honorable he is.

Valli is just as brave as Blade is, albeit a bit too naive at times. I was a bit sad for her, because it was easy to see how her childhood affected her, and influenced her ability to defend herself or to sense when people want to harm her. Even so, I liked her. I liked how she tried to understand what had happened. She's a perfect match to Blade, if you ask me.

The story was really fast-paced, almost a little too fast-paced if that makes sense. I definitely did not see the ending coming, because I wasn't able to figure out who the bad guy was. I am curious to see what will happen in the future with everyone that worked at or for the Benson clinic, as well as the future of Pantera. All in all, a pretty good book, perfect for Paranormal Romance lovers.

Source: http://rubys-books.blogspot.com
Legal Wolf's Mate - Eve Langlais

*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

This book was a nice discovery in the realm of paranormal genre. It had all the ingredients for a good paranormal book, and a good series starter.

Gavin is super sexy and super smart. Very stubborn too, which I guess you have to be, if you're going to be a lawyer. I liked how confused by Megan and by the way he felt for her he was, but I also liked that he was really trying to make the entire situation better and to save her.

Megan was a mystery. While the book is told both from hers and Gavin's perspective, at times I felt just as confused and in the dark about Megan as he was. It isn't until towards the end that we get to understand exactly the what, why, and how of it all, and let me tell you, I was surprised. I was expecting some kind of twist, but definitely not that.

The book is pretty fast paced, and I enjoyed reading it. The werewolf mythology was interesting, especially with how they shift. I'm curious if other shapeshifters are affected the same as wolves. As I said, I had a moment of confusion towards the end, but I certainly liked the book enough to want to read more books from this author. And I'm super ecstatic that there are at least two more books in this series, since we all know how much I enjoy paranormal series. Definitely check this one out if you like paranormal romance.

Source: http://rubys-books.blogspot.com
Geek Actually: WTF (Season 1 Episode 1) - Rachel Stuhler, Melissa Blue, Cecilia Tan, Cathy Yardley

*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy from Netgalley and Serial Box in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way

 

This is the first installment in the Geek Actually serial, the pilot if you may, and we get to meet five women: Michelle, Aditi, Taneesha, Elli and Christina. They're friends (Michelle and Christina are actually half-sisters) and we get to observe them navigating their lives. It kind of reminded me of Sex And The City, which intrigued me.

 

This book was told from multiple POVs, with an accent on Michelle and Aditi. I'm thinking that each episode focuses more on one of the women than the other, which is interesting. I connected a lot more with Taneesha, to be honest. She's a woman, she's a black woman, and she's a video game programmer, so she basically holds the job that once upon a time I wanted, and there's a scene with her and her bosses that is so painful and infuriating that I wanted to jump into the book and slap both of those idiots. I was also insanely curious about Aditi and her relationship with someone important in her life.

 

I felt like this was a bit too short for my taste, but I could see myself reading the rest of the installments. Since it was a pilot installment, I can't exactly say I was in love with the story, but it's good enough to make me curious about the rest of it.

Source: http://rubys-books.blogspot.com