Demon Hunting in the Deep South by Lexi George

Back of the Book Blurb:  Evie Douglass doesn’t know what’s worse—the demons secretly infesting her small Alabama hometown…or human belle-from-hell Meredith Starr Peterson, who’s made her life miserable since high school. But when the “Death Starr” is brutally murdered and Evie is the number-one suspect, she’s suddenly besieged by the evil-not-dead-enough and Meredith’s furious specter. The only way she can clear her name is to get out from under demon hunter Ansgar’s grim protection. He’s blond, breathtaking, and the most lethal of all his kin, but after years of teasing, Evie is wary of anyone who swears her plus-size self is beautiful. However, having Ansgar all over her is sparking outrageous powers Evie didn’t know she had. And she’ll face any ultimate evil to keep this sexy slayer in this dimension and in her bed for all eternity…

Review:

I won a copy of this book from an author giveaway on my friend Lisa's awesome book review blog, Modokker Book Picks at http://modokkerbookpicks.blogspot.com/?zx=bb75491281932fdc.  Check it out!

Warning:  This is one of those books that keep you reading while you should be helping your kids with their homework, working, finding out what the new puppy is destroying, or listening to your husband talking about...something.  Too bad!  Because this is one of the funniest, wackiest and most romantic books I have read in a very long time.  Lexi George has one of the strongest, and clearest voices writing today.  Her writing is chock full of laugh-out-loud expressions and turns of phrase that add such personality and humor to every paragraph.
Evie is a smart, sexy, curvy (uh, what happened to that scrawny cover model?) woman who is also shy and quiet by nature.  She has a fiercely loyal and fabulously outspoken best friend named Addy who is married to a demon hunter, and a mysterious recent past that has left her confused and lost.  Evie has been verbally abused by her bitchy former classmate, Meredith "Death Starr" Peterson, and her minions since they were children, and when Evie finds Meredith hacked to death at work, things don't look good for Evie.  Pretty soon mysterious things start happening (teleportation, fairies, sexy guys coming in to her) , and Evie thinks she might be losing her mind.  Before the book even gets to page 50, Evie has a hunky demon-hunting bodyguard who's crazy in love with her, an oddly perceptive (and hot!) sheriff investigating her for the murder of the Death Starr, a demon-possessed chihuahua and his nutty human mama, both on the run from a doggie serial killer, and the ghost of the rotten Meredith in her life.  Whew!  And then things really get going, so hold on tight.
One of the best things about this book besides the zany humor and fun, is the humanity of the characters.  Rather than cardboard-thin stereotypes, George has created people with foibles and talents, who try their best but frequently make stupid and hysterical mistakes.  There's a lot of love and a lot of heart in this book.  Add in hunky demon-hunters, violence, mayhem, deliciously hot sex, and baked goods, and you've got one delightful story.

Published in August 2012, this is the second book in Lexi George's funny, romantic series, following Demon Hunting in Dixie.  There is also a related short story in the book So I Married A Demon Slayer (reviewed on this blog).



For more information visit the author's website at http://www.lexigeorge.com/.

The Reckoning (Harlequin Intrigue Series #1380) by Jana Deleon

Back of the Book Blurb:

In a tiny bayou town with far too many wicked secrets, the sudden disappearance of a six-year-old girl is a mystery Sheriff Holt Chamberlain is determined to solve. But teaming up with Alexandria Bastin is a complication he didn't expect. Nor is he prepared to collide with the dark side of Cajun culture—and his own troubled past.

The frantic search leads them to a place said to hold magic, an eerie island where Alex is also working her charm on him. At one time, he'd been forced to leave her brokenhearted. And now , dangerously close to the truth, he'll do anything to protect her from the evil that surrounds them—an evil that might hold the key to sending a little girl home.…

Review:

Released October 1, 2012, The Reckoning is the first of a three book series by Deleon being released by Harlequin Intrigue featuring the citizens of the creepy Mystere Parish in the steamy bayous of Louisiana.  Jana Deleon is one of my favorite authors, and her new series has a great start, establishing Mystere Parish as a place of dark secrets, danger, and strange happenings. 
The book starts with a bang, when Alex is called home from New Orleans by her cousin Sarah, whose daughter has been kidnapped.  The police in their small hometown think Sarah's estranged husband has taken his daughter, but Alex believes Sarah that a stranger must have taken her.  As a psychiatrist Alex quickly prescribes something for Sarah, believing she needs help to stay calm and deal with the situation.  I thought that was a little  arrogant on Alex's part, and it took me longer to warm up to her than I would have liked.  The acting sheriff soon arrives, and it turns out he is none other than Holt Chamberlin, the man who broke Alex's heart ten years ago when he left her and joined the military.  Seeing each other again after all those years gives both Alex and Holt a shock, triggering feelings both thought long gone.  But their focus is on finding the little girl, and they soon realize that not only did her father not take her, but the kidnapper is someone local, someone they know.
They find evidence pointing to a spooky island inhabited by an old woman believed to be a witch, who was implicated in the disappearance of three little girls over thirty years ago.  When Alex was a little girl she and Sarah went to the island on a dare, and saw something so horrifying that as an adult Alex is still terrified of the place.  Adding to the creepy atmosphere is the strange, watchful presence of crows, and the sinister appearance of dolls.
Alex is a strong, capable heroine, who is focused on supporting her cousin Sarah and finding her little girl.  She is determined not to let her feelings for Holt show, believing that he has not changed much over the years.  But Holt is no longer the same boy who ran away from both Alex and his father's legacy, and as they work together their feelings are rekindled.  Getting to know one another as adults, while dealing with their still-present feelings, all under the pressure cooker of looking for a missing child created a really compelling story that had me reading way past my bedtime.

Jana Deleon is great at blending mystery, romance, and a touch of the paranormal.  Her stories have well-developed characters who have complicated histories.  Her settings are like an additional character, because they are so vivid and real.  When I read her books I feel like I can see, smell and hear the sounds of the swamps and the small towns.

The Reckoning is primarily a mystery with some romance, and the single sex scene is not graphic.  The Vanishing (#1386) will be released on October 30, 2012, and The Awakening (#1393) will be released on November 27, 2012.

Bear Claw Lawman by Jessica Andersen (Harlequin Intrigue #1363)

Publisher's Blurb:  When DEA agent Nick Lang came to town, even the toughest cases got closed. But his latest had become way too personal. He'd thought CSI Jennifer Prynne was just another no-strings fling, until a serial killer's attack left her battered, bruised and struggling to remember her past. Now, as the key to the entire case they'd been investigating for months, Jenn's safety became Nick's responsibility. He knew the murderer's identity was buried deep in Jenn's mind, but releasing it was dangerous—yet necessary. The old Nick was an expert at getting answers and moving on. But his heart told him this was one case he couldn't walk away from.…

Review:  Well, this book got off to a good, solid start and for the most part I really enjoyed it.  I liked Jenn - she is trying to pull her life back together and prove herself professionally after a tragic/embarrassing combination of losing her husband and then finding out he was a crooked cop (her last name is Prynne - get it?)  Then Nick, a rock star DEA agent arrives in town and within 12 days they have supposedly had 4 dates and Nick moved in so they could continue the incredibly hot sex.  Rather unbelievable but a fun read, even when the required obstacle-to-true-love occurs and Nick dumps her, terrified of his feelings for her.  Shortly afterward Jenn is attacked by the Investor, a homicidal criminal mastermind, and Nick is assigned as Jenn's bodyguard.  And this is about where I started getting annoyed.  First, Jenn and Nick are having all kinds of intense, personal conversations and tiffs in the Police Department.  It was hard to believe they would be so unprofessional, and harder to believe that those around them did not have a problem with it.  Second, and the larger problem for me, we learn that Nick has two sons who live with his ex-wife and her new husband who has adopted them.    Nick sees them a few times a year and is more like the Cool Uncle than their father.  But I cou1d not get past the fact that Nick has effectively abandoned his children.  Doesn't a parent have to give up his/her legal rights for another adult to adopt their children?  And Nick is so casual about it, in an I'm-a-complicated-role-playing-tough-guy-cop-who-is-not-father-material kind of way.  And I'm reading this otherwise fun book, and my fun has come to a screeching halt as I'm thinking that Nick is a spineless, whiny, douchebag, who chose to father two children and then bailed when fatherhood got too hard.  Which ended the whole sexy hero image for me, right there and then, so of course the romance is now tainted - TAINTED!   And it simultaneously pissed me off because I was really enjoying this book and I like the author's style enough to read another book. The ending was the standard HEA, although the Bear Claw PD is looking pretty incompetent when the Investor waltzes in and grabs Jenn.  I felt like the author's writing style was superior to the character-deprived hero and quickie ending.

For more information visit the author's website at http://www.jessicaandersen.com/.  I also reviewed Lord of the Wolfyn on this blog .

The Prophet by Amanda Stevens (Graveyard Queen Series)

Publisher's Blurb:

My name is Amelia Gray.

I am the Graveyard Queen, a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. My father passed down four rules to keep me safe and I've broken every last one. A door has opened and evil wants me back.

In order to protect myself, I've vowed to return to those rules. But the ghost of a murdered cop needs my help to find his killer. The clues lead me to the dark side of Charleston—where witchcraft, root doctors and black magic still flourish—and back to John Devlin, a haunted police detective I should only love from afar.

Now I'm faced with a terrible choice: follow the rules or follow my heart.

Review:
Love this series!  It's darkly original and creepy, with twists and turns that kept me reading late into the night holding my breath.  In Amelia Gray's world, ghosts are parasitic energy-suckers, haunting the living by leeching their warmth and energy until they are shells of their former selves.  Amelia has spent her whole life following her father's rules for avoiding contact, but falling in love with a haunted police detective has exposed her to the ghosts of his sad daughter and vengeful wife, and his murdered former partner, all of whom want something from Amelia.  As she investigates his death, she uncovers the dangerous subculture of Charleston involving a zombie-making poweder called gray dust and a powerful sorceror recently returned to town who had close ties with John Devlin's wife.
This series is notable for it's unique take on ghosts, and the fabulously original Amelia Gray, a complicated woman with a special talent that has gifted her with a life of loneliness and isolation.  Each book has a well-written mystery with nail-biting suspense and jump-at-any-sound surprises.  As Amelia slowly begins to break her beloved father's rules, she exposes herself to more danger but also learns more about ghosts and the Gray, the world they inhabit.  It is is scary, lonely, fascinating and compelling.  The atmosphere in these books is almost another character - it is like a living mist, floating around the reader and slowly enveloping her until the dark and mysterious world of twilight and Amelia Gray seems more real than anything else.  Powerfully magical, like Amelia's beloved white garden in her backyard, these books will haunt you long after the last page has been turned.

For more information check out the author's website at http://www.amandastevens.com/.

Bloodline by James Rollins (Sigma Force Series #8)

Publisher's Blurb: 

Immortality is not just within our reach—it is already here.

Galilee, 1025. A Templar knight uncovers a holy treasure, a priceless icon that holds a mysterious and terrifying power that promises to change humankind forever.

A millennium later, Somali pirates hijack a yacht, kidnapping a young pregnant American woman. Commander Gray Pierce is enlisted for a covert rescue mission. Suspicious that the kidnapping masks a more nefarious plot, Gray must confront a shadowy cabal that has manipulated events throughout history.

And the danger is only beginning . . .

Halfway around the world, a firebombing at a fertility clinic in South Carolina exposes a diabolical conspiracy that goes back centuries . . . a scheme that lies within our genetic code. With time against them, SIGMA must race to save an innocent unborn baby whose very existence raises questions about the nature of mankind:

Could you live forever? Would you live forever?

Review:

Another great ride by James Rollins, this Sigma book is notable for introducing two new characters and for making women the focus.  Rollins has always written great female characters, strong, capable and smart, complicated and full of depth.  But this is the first book that places Kat and Lisa as the action-drivers while Painter is busy researching and Monk is home watching his young daughters.  Kat and Lisa are trying to infiltrate a fertility clinic with links to the President's family and his kidnapped daughter, when the operation goes horribly wrong.  Meanwhile, Gray is globe-trotting with Kowalski and Seichan, who has a much-expanded role as we learn a lot more about her background and see more of the person she is beneath her smooth-as-glass exterior. While the women have a different style of running an operation, they are just as fierce and action-oriented as their men, and it was a lot of fun to watch their brains and ass-kicking take center stage.  The fact that Lisa was wearing St. John while doing so was a really fun detail, one that I got a kick out of but it doesn't take away from the non-stop action/adventure/freaky science that is
Rollins' trademark style.
The new characters are Tucker Wayne, a former Army officer, and his war dog Kane, both of whom bring a rare set of skills.  There are several passages narrated from Kane's point of view, which was really unique and eye-opening.  It made me look at my dogs differently, giving me some insight into their worldview.
As the search for the President's pregnant daughter begins to overlap with the Guild and the mysterious family at the center of its powerful core referred to as the Bloodline, Painter begins to realize just how close Sigma is to unmasking the puppetmasters behind the Guild.
Kowalski is there for comic relief, Gray's interest in Seichan deepens, and although there are a lot of questions answered, the story takes a different turn at the end, leaving me both satisfied at the resolutions and curious about the new directions.
Good stuff!!

Read this 99 cent short story first for an introduction to Tucker and Kane.

+-*

For more information about James Rollins, check out his website at http://www.jamesrollins.com/.

Author Debra Kayn and a Great Giveaway!

Check out author Debra Kayn's fun giveaway - who wouldn't love a pair of cowgirl boots?!  The following is from her blog at http://www.debrakayn.com/.

Contest! If Rodeo Rebel makes it to the top 100, I’ll be giving away cowgirl boots and a cowgirl hat to one lucky winner!

Contest time!

For the next month, I’ll be running a contest. I want to get my book, Rodeo Rebel, to the top 100 at either Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

If Rodeo Rebel hits the top 100, I’m giving away a kickass pair of cowgirl boots PLUS a cowgirl hat to one lucky winner…delivered to your front door. (Red Corral Picasso Cowgirl boots valued at $209.99 + Bullhide Winston Straw Cowgirl hat valued at $39.99 for a total prize worth $249.98)

How do you enter?

It’s easy!

All you have to do is tweet the contest, blog about the contest, Facebook the contest, or buy Rodeo Rebel. No purchase is necessary. If you’d like to tweet every day, you can still earn 25 points a day into the contest. If you want to copy and paste this contest on your own blog, you’ll earn 25 points. You can even like me on Facebook for 10 points. There’s lots of different ways to get your name entered. Check out the Rafflecopter widget below on all the ways to earn points, and go spread some love for Rodeo Rebel.

That’s not all!

If I make it into the top 25 in category romance on Amazon, I’ll also give away a cowgirl hat to one lucky winner. (Bullhide Winston Straw Cowgirl hat valued at $39.99) Florentine McDougal, my heroine in Rodeo Rebel, wears a lucky cowgirl hat when she rides. Wouldn’t you like one too?

Here’s the catch. You’ll have to get the word out about Rodeo Rebel. If I don’t get into the top 100, I’ll be giving away a $25 dollar gift certificate to a store of your choice as a consolation prize. So, it’s important to spread the word if you want a chance to deck yourself out in new boots and new hat. The more friends you get involved, the higher Rodeo Rebel will climb on the charts.

Here’s an example tweet!

If #RodeoRebel hits the top 100, @DebraKayn is giving away cowgirl boots + hat!  http://tiny.cc/hx93gw @EntangledPub Please RT!

Check out Rodeo Rebel at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Rodeo-Rebel-Sisters-McDougal-ebook/dp/B008BW9FQE/ref=sr_1_5_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339843464&sr=1-5&keywords=rodeo+rebel

Check out Rodeo Rebel at Barnes & Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rodeo-rebel-debra-kayn/1111591750?ean=2940014704991

You’ll find all the ways you can earn points in the Rafflecopter widget below. Contest ends 8/8/2012

Louisiana Longshot by Jana DeLeon (Miss Fortune Series #1)

Publisher's Blurb:  It was a hell of a longshot...

CIA Assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever - in Sinful, Louisiana.

With a leak at the CIA and a price on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element. Posing as a former beauty queen turned librarian in a small, bayou town seems worse than death to Fortune, but she's determined to fly below the radar until her boss finds the leak and puts the arms dealer out of play.

Unfortunately, she hasn't even unpacked a suitcase before her newly-inherited dog digs up a human bone in her backyard. Thrust into the middle of a bayou murder mystery, Fortune teams up with a couple of seemingly-sweet old ladies whose looks completely belie their hold on the little town. To top things off, the handsome local deputy is asking her too many questions. If she's not careful, this investigation may blow her cover and get her killed.

Armed with her considerable skills and a group of old ladies referred to by locals as The Geritol Mafia, Fortune has no choice but to solve the murder before it's too late.

Review:  OUT-FREAKING-STANDING!  I can't believe how much I loved this book.  When I finished it I was really annoyed because I love Fortune and the nutty world of Sinful, Louisiana so much I didn't want to leave them.
Fortune is a CIA assassin whose cover has been blown, so her boss sends her to lay low in the tiny bayou town of Sinful, posing as his beauty-queen/librarian niece who has just inherited a house from her deceased aunt.  Fortune has spent her entire life - including her childhood - training for her career as CIA spook/assassin, and she only understands tactics, weapons and missions.  The idea of spending months in hiding in a small town terrifies her almost more than the price on her head.  Immediately after arriving, though, her life is anything but quiet.  She meets two old ladies who are full of surprises, and before she knows it she's teamed up with them to locate their missing friend Marie, whose abusive, jackass husband disappeared years ago.  But one of his bones has just washed up on Fortune's back yard, and Marie is nowhere to be found.  Everyone assumes Marie murdered the jerk, and her friends want to find her and simultaneously find another suspect to give Marie a chance at beating a murder charge.  Pretty soon Fortune is up to her eyeballs in the wacky shenanigans of her two new friends Ida Belle and Gertie, who do not act like little old ladies.  They are shockingly prepared for anything, well-armed, running the town, and think nothing of bending the law a bit.  And every time Fortune ends up in a compromising position, usually dressed in a towel, or a trash bag and ski mask (yes, you read that right), she is caught by the town Deputy, a hunky, exasperated man trying his best to find Marie also.
Fortune is a great character - she is paranoid,smart and capable, comfortably killing anyone who needs killing, but her solitary live has left her ill-prepared for her budding friendship with Ida Belle and Gertie, and the emotional aspects of friendship.  Plus, they seem to be hiding something - a lot of things, and Fortune is never sure just how much they know before they rope her into their next hare-brained scheme.  From outrunning alligators on an island that smells like dung,  shooting raccoons in her own attic, racing old ladies for banana pudding, or stripping naked to ride in Ida Belle's car, the craziness never ends and it all makes perfect sense.
DeLeon is really funny - I was laughing out loud so many times.  Her writing is confident and self-assured, allowing the pace to move along at a fast clip.  As crazy as the characters seem, and as nutty as their adventures are, they still seem so real  and believable.  I really cared about them and hope this is the start to a very long series.

For more information check out the author's website at http://janadeleon.com/.


 

The Spy Wore Spurs by Dana Marton (Harlequin Intrigue Series #1364)

Publisher's Blurb:  Top secret commando soldier Ryder McKay is shot and left for dead in South Texas. But when he comes to in a bedroom on Grace Cordero's remote ranch, he realizes the beautiful former army medic did more than save his life. She risked her own. Not that he can tell her the whole truth about his mission. Ryder is sure dangerous thugs are using Grace's vast property to smuggle drugs, weapons—and people—across the border. But to prove it without blowing his cover, he has to let her ride shotgun on the investigation. And keeping his heart guarded against sexy, off-limits Grace will be the hardest part of all.
Released July 2012.

Review:  This the latest book by one of my favorite authors, Dana Marton.  She writes the best suspenseful romantic mysteries, full of danger, intrigue and fast-paced action.  I've reviewed several of her books and they're all really enjoyable, hard-to-put-down reads.  She is one of a handful of authors who I consider to be "must-reads". 
Her latest, The Spy Wore Spurs, is no exception.  It begins with Grace returning to her family ranch to scatter her brother's ashes.  Grace has been away for several years, and is almost finished with her veterinarian training.  She is also a former Army medic suffering from PTSD, trying desperately to hold herself together.  But her first night home brings anything but a sense of peace, as the sound of gunshots leads her to the near-dead Ryder, shot by smugglers on Grace's land.  Luckily for Ryder, Grace is as brave as she is tough, and she manages to stop the bleeding, get him into her truck in a torrential rainstorm, deal with a flashback, and sew him up with her vet medical kit.  AND, she takes in a desperate, frightened woman who has just crossed the border illegally in a search for her missing children.  Ryder is on a secret mission to locate a terrorist  trying to cross the border, and once he learns that Grace is a well-liked local girl, with friends throughout the community, he decides to use her as a consultant to help him get information.  As Grace and Ryder spend the next several days looking for clues to the terrorist/smuggling operation, and Grace tries to track down information about the woman's missing family, they learn the woman's husband has been murdered, her children are missing, and Grace's ranch is being used for something illegal.
There are several opportunities for Ryder to learn that Grace does not take orders and is every bit his equal when it comes to investigating and taking care of herself.  Grace knows how to defend herself and can handle herself with weapons, animals and bad guys, which is a good thing because she gets captured more than once. Their attraction grows along with their respect as they get to know each other.
I loved the characters of Grace and Ryder.  In a refreshing change from stereotypes, Grace is completely against marriage, and considers herself broken from her PTSD.  She is prickly, strong, defensive, and courageous.  Ryder has decided it's time for him to settle down, and he has the perfect candidate in mind - a petite blond who is both maternal and a warrior/partner.  Grace does not match his delusion, er, I mean vision, and he is soon squashing all thoughts of attraction to her, even though his respect and admiration for her is growing.  Ryder is a great hero - he's all alpha male, former soldier/black ops, rugged manly man.  He is surprised to find himself so attracted to Grace at first, thinking that she is simply pretty and capable.  But when he sees the steely strength in her, he is completely turned on.  Grace is one of the best heroines I have read in a very long time.  She is struggling to stay strong as she completes vet school, grieves for her brother and the loneliness of having no family, debates whether to stay on her ranch, and helps a woman find her missing children while spending time with Ryder, who aggravates her no end.  She is flawed and fabulous.  I liked and admired her, and wanted to be her. 
The setting for this is south Texas, along the border, and the scenery comes alive from the beginning.  Marton's descriptions of the landscape are vivid, colorful and came alive in my mind as I read.
The ending sets up the story for a series (I hope!) and had a moment that made me actually cry.  Great book!


For more information visit the author's website at http://www.danamarton.com/.

Blood of the Wicked by Karina Cooper (Dark Mission Series)

Publisher's Blurb: 

When the world went straight to hell, humanity needed a scapegoat to judge, to blame . . . to burn.

As an independent witch living off the grid, Jessie Leigh has spent her life running, trying to blend in among the faceless drudges in the rebuilt city. She thought she was finally safe, but now she's been found in a New Seattle strip club—by a hard-eyed man on a mission to destroy her kind.

A soldier of the Holy Order, Silas Smith believes in the cause: trawling the fringes of society for the murderous witches who threaten what's left of the world. Forced into a twisting web of half-truths and lies, he has to stay close to the most sensuous and electrifying woman he has ever seen and manipulate her into leading him to the witch he has to kill: her brother. Silas doesn't know that Jessie's his enemy, only that he wants her, needs her, even as he lies to her . . . and must protect her until his final breath.

Review:  This novel grabbed me from the beginning. The setting is about 50 years in the future, after planetary catastrophes caused massive destruction.  A religious order has risen to power after blaming witches for the destruction, and a new Inquisition is the norm.  Witches are hunted and slaughtered, and the religious order called the Mission has unlimited power.  The story starts with Mission agent Silas Smith, a ruthless, experienced witch-hunter, going into a seedy dance club in the gritty lower levels of New Seattle tracking a lead to find Jessie.  Jessie is a witch on the run and she knows Silas is a hunter the second she lays eyes on him. She's been on the run since her mother was murdered, and over the last several years she practically raised her brother Caleb, teaching him to hide and survive.  Jessie is resourceful, smart, and desperate to find Caleb who disappeared a year ago, after telling Jessie not to try and find him.  Caleb's gift is seeing the future, and his last vision before he left was of Jessie's fiery death.
Silas doesn't know Jessie is a witch, though, and he plans to find her and use her to get to Caleb, who has been linked to several ritualistic and sadistic deaths in New Seattle.  When Silas captures Jessie, she agrees to help him find Caleb, planning on using the hunter to get to her brother.  But while both Silas and Jessie are plotting to use each other, they are also shocked to discover an intense attraction between them.  They are soon hunted by the coven that wants Jessie for her powers, betrayed by a traitor in the Mission, and closing in on Caleb, forcing them to depend on each other.


What sets this book above many others out there is the incredibly rich imagery in the writing.  Cooper's writing is like a rich, elegantly woven tapestry - the images jumped from the page and into my mind's eye, and as I read I was in the bar, on the run, chased through the destruction of the lower city, and I would swear I could see, smell and taste everything.  Which was pretty damned awesome when it came to the sex scenes.  Hot, intense and breathless are apt descriptors for their first time.  At the same time she is steering the reader along a very well-crafted plot, as we discover clues that Caleb may not be the innocent younger brother Jessie believes him to be.


Rich, exciting, dark and sexy, Karina Cooper is now on my must-read list.  I've already bought Lure of the Wicked, the second Dark Mission book and will review it soon.




For more information visit the author's website at http://www.karinacooper.com/.






For more information visit the author's website at http://www.karinacooper.com/.

The Braddock Boys: Colton by Kimberly Raye (Harlequin Blaze Series #690

Publisher's Blurb: 

Guys don't tend to find gals with guns too sexy. So after years of awkward fumblings, deputy Shelly Lancaster is lookin' for a man…. Not for love—good Lord, no. She just wants some hot, heavy and unforgettable sex with a man who knows exactly what he's doing!

As it turns out, Shelly's just found the perfect guy. Cowboy Colton Braddock is tasty as hell—and one of the perks of being a vampire is that he has years of hot, lusty loving under his belt. Unfortunately, this cowboy also has a wicked thirst for vengeance. But will it prove stronger than his hunger for her?

Published May 2012.

Review:
Finally, I can say that I have read a cowboy vampire romance novel!  Or is it a vampire cowboy romance novel?  Either way, you know what?  It was pretty damn good.  This book was a delightful, quick read that had some incredible sexual tension, a solid story and a pace that zipped right along.  Shelly is a tough, determined, stubborn woman who was born on the wrong side of the tracks and has worked her entire life to become a respected and trusted deputy.  She has a plan and it includes getting elected sheriff, and finding some hot stud to have sex with, leaving love and relationships out of the question and out of the way.  But when Shelly sees Colton Braddock, her hormones go into lusty overdrive and she struggles to balance her needs and desires as a woman with her long term goals of being a single, hard-working sheriff.  Plus, something seems just a little bit off about Colton.  Purple eyes, telepathy and rock hard abs are quite the combination!
For his part Colton has never met a woman like Shelly.  For over 100 years he has used blood and sexual energy to feed himself, but once he meets her he has these super strong urges to kiss her (not usually his focus) and be with her.  But he also has other plans and his focus is revenge and death.  And death and revenge.  But love is in the air, and it's flavored with serious lust, raging hormones and sexual frustration.  This story was a lot of fun and sexy as hell.  The cast of characters includes the serious, quirky, and the realistic and it was a frothy fun read.  One quibble I have, though, is when Shelly wore a wool trenchcoat over her sexy dress in summer.  In Texas.  No way!  All I could see in my mind's eye was a sweaty puddle of Shelly and pink spandex.


And nothing is better than discovering a new author who has a large backlist!  Love the cover art for  the Dead-End Dating Series!!

For more information about the author, visit her website at: http://kimberlyraye.com.