Weird Nights by Rebecca Royce

Weird Nights
By: Rebecca Royce
Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc.
Published: May 23, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal, Thriller
Content: M/F
Length: Novella
Heat Level: Scorching
Reviewer: Toni
Date: June 11, 2014

 

Mindy Spellman hasn’t been the same since a demon stepped into her life, murdered her boyfriend and left her scarred inside and out.

Jonah is one of the blood-oathed, sworn to guard mankind against things that go bump in the night. He’s promised Mindy he’ll teach her how to protect herself. But a poltergeist on the loose leaves him feeling protective—and lust-struck.

She’s supposed to be under his care, but as they battle the forces of evil, he finds himself caring too much.

What a different spin on the second book in the Shadow Promised series.

Weird Nights built off from the first book, Strange Days, where we met Mindy and Jonah. In a normal storyline, Mindy would have received the lead in the first story because most of the time it is the heroine that has a rough time with the villain. Not the case in Ms. Royce’s universe. Mindy may have gotten her butt kicked in the first book, but she comes back more determined and strong in Weird Nights. When Jonah was introduced to us, he played the cute and funny side kick. He’s actually a very strong man but something was off about him. We discover what it is in Weird Nights.

WOW – I sure didn’t see what came at me. Ms. Royce totally threw a curve ball at me and I am completely thrilled. She was able to bring two people together, even though they both were total dumbasses regarding their feelings. The hurdles she made them jump were full of twists, turns and sacrifice. They had to earn their love. Ms. Royce didn’t easily hand it over to them.

My only real issue with the story is I wish I would have read more about the young rescued siblings. They play such a small part in the story; I feel they could have used a bit more book time. The initial problem wrapped up too neatly in my mind.

Just like in the first book we are introduced to the next hero in the series (at least I’m hoping), Braxton. Now he is one troubled soul you just want to hug and fix. He is a bad boy that showed moments of heart, but most of the time he was veiled in a dark mass of pain and confusion. I have a feeling he is going to give us one wild ride.

Weird Nights was a very good read. I enjoyed the paranormal suspense and the all-around different feeling it gave me. It’s a great experience that knocked me out of my normal reading material and shook things up. Ms. Royce did a wonderful job and I can’t wait for the next installment.

So what was up with Strange Nights?

Find out here!

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Gimme Some Sugar by Kimberly Kincaid

Gimme Some Sugar
By: Kimberly Kincaid
Publisher: Zebra
Published: June 3, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: Novel
Heat Level: Spicy
Reviewer: Toni
Date: June 6, 2014

  

Out of the frying pan. . .and into the fire!

Desperate to escape the spotlight of her failed marriage to a fellow celebrity-chef, Carly di Matisse left New York City for a tiny town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The restaurant she's running these days may not be chic, but in Pine Mountain she can pretend to be the tough cookie everybody knows and loves. Until she finds herself spending too much time with a way-too-hot contractor whose rugged good looks melt her like butter...

Jackson Carter wasn't looking for love. But he's not the kind of man to walk away from a worksite—or from a fiery beauty whose passionate nature provides some irresistible on-the-job benefits...

It's the perfect temporary arrangement for two ravenous commitment-phobes, except that Jackson and Carly keep coming back for seconds... and thirds... and fourths...

Ok I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I was so right!! This series has gotten better. While we are only on the second book of the Pine Mountain series, I can say I think Carly and Jackson may just be one of my favorite couples.

Both Carly and Jackson have been burnt by love, but on totally different ends of the spectrum. Carly is hurt by a ladder climbing, soon to be, ex-husband and Jackson from past family history. They both know there is something special between them, but are too stubborn to allow it to blossom, out of fear and self-preservation. What a major loss!

Gimme Some Sugar is 100% about them and their journey to heal and find the love they both deserve. Their story is about their instant attraction, how they fought the pull and came to a mutual agreement and then had a ton of fun together. I enjoyed how utterly blindsided they were when they finally realized what they had to lose and how it all came about.

Gimme Some Sugar was well written and an extremely enjoyable read. I was thrilled that some old characters from the first in the series, Turn Up the Heat, played a visit and a small part in the story, but I am sad that Grady wasn’t around. No, no, no not gone. He’s around, just happily retired. I loved the new additions to the town and I’m very excited about the next installment, Stirring Up Trouble.

Stirring Up Trouble will be about Sloan and Gavin. Sloan played a minor part in this story, but made her mark. I love that she is a romance writer and is in need of inspiration. Enter Gavin. He on the other had played a very small role in this novel and I can’t wait to see what secrets this man has hidden.

I highly recommend this book for sheer pleasure of reading a solid romance novel. Gimme Some Sugar most definitely can be read alone, but Turn Up the Heat was a very enjoyable read too. Not as solid for me as Gimme Some Sugar, but still good fun. Together, they would heat up weekend and warm your heart. What more can you ask from a feel good romance?

My review for:

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Turn Up the Heat by Kimberly Kincaid

Turn Up the Heat
By: Kimberly Kincaid
Publisher: Zebra
Published: March 4, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: Novel
Heat Level: Spicy
Reviewer: Toni
Date: June 4, 2014

  

"It's not you."

There are only so many times a girl can hear those words before she believes that it is, in fact, very much her. Unexpectedly jilted by her locally famous boyfriend and haunted by a boss who makes Attila the Hun look like a lap dog, Bellamy Blake does what any self-respecting girl in her shoes would do. She rounds up her two best girlfriends and makes plans to get the hell out of Dodge.

But Bellamy's escape plan takes a nose dive on the side of rural route 164 when her transmission self-destructs, leaving her in the middle of a cell phone dead zone with nothing but her wits. Oh, and Shane Griffin, the hottest mechanic who's ever checked under her hood.

Yet this small-town man isn't all he seems. Can Shane and Bellamy prove that sometimes the most unlikely ingredients make the most deliciously sexy mix?

I really enjoyed Turn Up the Heat. The characters were engaging, the sex was just warm enough and the plot was easy going. All around good afternoon relaxing read.

Bellamy’s life is up in the air and a little vacation is in order. Along with her two best buddies, she gets away from the city to the snowy mountains. Too bad her car didn’t like the trip.

What Shane doesn’t need is a city girl coming into town in her little broken down sports car. What was the woman thinking driving a Miata in the snow? One look at her and he knows she will be trouble. Shane couldn’t be more right.

When one door closes, another one opens is a good motto for Turn Up the Heat. Both main characters have issues in their lives but that doesn’t stop them from heating up the small town of Pine Mountain. As their issues start to implode or get resolved, Bellamy and Shane make a great connection; both inside and outside of the bed. I think Shane blew things out of proportion, but Bellamy made her fair share of mistakes too. I enjoyed their courtship, but at time I was completely frustrated at Ms. Kincaid’s ability to keep me guessing about Shane.

As the series continues I hope to see some of the people that were introduced to us. They were the icing on the cake and I loved how you could almost feel their bonds of friendship. I can also see myself falling in love with Pine Mountain and I can’t wait to read more about this small mountain town. Don’t even get me started on the tasty recipes that are included with the book. All I can say is YUM!

Turn Up the Heat is a great sweet story about friendship, love, trust, and food. I think Ms. Kincaid will have us craving for more and more.

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Born in Blood by Alexandra Ivy

Born in Blood
By: Alexandra Ivy
Publisher: Zebra
Published: December 31, 2013
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Romance
Length: Novel
Heat Level: Spicy
Reviewer: Toni
Date: June 1, 2014

  

In a stunning new paranormal romance series—even edgier than her bestselling Guardians of Eternity books—New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Ivy lures readers into the dark, seductive world of the Sentinels—humans outcast by their hidden abilities, treading the line between life and death, good and evil, pleasure and pain…

Born In Blood

Sergeant Duncan O’Conner has seen it all before. A beautiful erotic dancer is found murdered in her home—no suspect, no motive. But there’s one clue: she’s missing her heart. It’s enough to make the hard-bitten Kansas City cop enlist the help of a necro—one of the dead-channeling freaks who live in the domed city of nearby Valhalla. It’s a long shot, but desperate crimes call for desperate measures.

Unlike the other “high-bloods” in Valhalla, Callie Brown considers her abilities a gift, not a curse. But when she reads the dancer’s final thoughts, she senses a powerful presence blocking her vision. This is no ordinary homicide. This is the work of a legendary necromancer who controls souls. A ravenous force that will put Callie’s skills to the test, O’Conner’s career at risk, and both their hearts on the line…literally.

Born in Blood is a very good read but has typical “first book in a new series” syndrome; a whole bunch of vivid and descriptive world building that took away from the characters.

In this new universe, paranormal creatures and gifted people fall under the title “high blood” or freak, the derogatory term used for them. While their existence is known, they are still veiled in secrecy. They live in a city called Valhalla that is protected by a magic dome.

Callie has been living in Valhalla for as long as she can remember. Her gift was recognized by her parents and she was dumped into a dumpster. Luckily she found kindness and love in her new home and is now a grown woman who is in high demand by the local police force for her rare gift of necromancy. But she has a little problem. She needs to keep her mind on her job and off the sexy detective that has been occupying way too much of her time. She needs to concentrate or be woman enough to take what she wants and desires.

Today is Duncan’s lucky day. It seems his favorite fantasy is interested in him too. Now he needs to play it cool to catch her and keep her. The problem is, she has a huge tattooed killer of a bodyguard and they have a high blood killer on the loose. Oh and I forgot to mention…zombies. He doesn’t have the time to woo Callie, but he isn’t about to let her slip from his grasp.

Ms. Ivy does a very thorough job building her world, but it drew me away from where I wanted to be, with Duncan and Callie. I enjoyed the story as a whole, but I wasn’t blown away. Now that the building is done, I hope that the future installments will take what I expect to be a great series, to the next level. Ms. Ivy has always found a way to pull me in and I expect her to continue to do that.

On a very very positive note, the fact she is titling the series after the sexy hot and very deadly sentinels, well that alone will keep me coming back for more. I think Ms. Ivy has developed the next hottie of the paranormal world. Sentinels are deliciously alpha with mind blowing sex appeal. Need I say more?

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