Author Archives: karenjvjohnson

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Old Tin Sorrows

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Old Tin Sorrows (Garrett P.I., #4)

Old Tin Sorrows (Garrett Files #4)

 

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
I love Garrett because I always have the most fun reading his exploits, he is such a romantic, aggravating, womanizing character.

Here he goes to help a fellow Marine who has a dying boss and former commanding officer. Garrett thinks it will be a simple matter to figure out who the culprit is, but of course he should know that when he gets called in things get weird fast. His world is populated with all manner of fantastic character like Morley Dotes, a black elf who owns a health food restaurant and does assassination work on the side, when he’s not sleeping with married women. The women are all shapely and rarely human but he goes for them no matter what they are, as long as they are beautiful.

This is just a fun read with elements of mystery, the supernatural, and mythical creatures. Enjoy it if you like a good noir type mystery with a fantasy twist. Think Raymond Chandler.

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CONTEST!!! How to enter!

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This is a chance to read something you may not have before. Great books!

Sadie Hart's avatarSadie Hart

contest

The Prizes:

ONE winner will receive a free copy of Christmas Moon (STE novella), Frozen Mercy (Northern Wolves #2), and the first book in my new series coming next year.

How to Enter:

All you have to do to enter is leave an honest review on one of my books at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Goodreads, then email me with a link to that review along with your preferred format for eBooks. What books are included in the contest for reviewing? Hounded, Cry Sanctuary, Big Cats Don’t Purr, the Shifter Town Enforcement Box Set, and Cold Mercy. Every review emailed to me gets an entry into a raffle which will be drawn on October 25th.

So Sadie you ask, what if I review them ALL? You get an entry for every book you review AND for each of the three places you post your review as long as you…

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Before The Moon Rises

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Before The Moon Rises (Ritter Werewolves, #1)

Before The Moon Rises (Ritter Werewolves #1)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would and it has piqued my interest in other books by this author. I can say that I would have liked it to have been a little longer because I was really into it just as started getting to the end. This was a fast paced story that managed to introduce the characters in a way that made them real and give you the entire run-down on what was going on in their world. While the romance was almost instantaneous, it gave meaning to the males need to protect. Not to mention the fact that shifters always seem to fall in love/lust immediately.

Max Ritter is found in the middle of Los Angeles naked and unconscious, he is taken to the hospital and meets Janet O’Brien, the nurse taking care of him. Also at the hospital is Gorman, the werewolf he has been following. When he sees that Gorman has set his sights on Janet what else can he do but try to protect her. Though they have an instant attraction Janet has no idea what Max is and he does not enlighten her even though he knows the danger that stalks her. The Ritter’s are a family of werewolves who are sworn to protect people from being killed or turned but can they do it when it’s most important to them and Max.

This was a really good story about the good and evil that can be found within the werewolf community with a villain who was evil and had plans for everything and everyone. Our good guy was rich, handsome, and almost to good to be true. Then there is the nurse, Janet, who has found herself between two adversaries without knowing the real cost to her.

Fast, sexy, brutal, and engrossing!

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Luca’s Magic Embrace

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Luca's Magic Embrace (Immortals of New Orleans, #2)

Luca’s Magic Embrace (Immortals of New Orleans #2)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was an excellent read that moved and flowed so well that I read it one sitting. The story was engaging and kept me wanting to no more from the first page. The characters are well fleshed out and speak and act in a manner that is natural for them and makes it easy to relate to their various situations.In this second book in the Immortals of New Orleans series Luca has been captured after an attack as he was delivering Samantha and Ilsbeth to the coven house. When he is rescued by Kade and Sydney he is unresponsive, though once healed he is sure that the attack was intended to capture Samantha. She was traumatized by being kidnapped,brutalized,and turned into a witch. She has fled the coven house in the hopes of regaining her former life unaware of the danger she is still in, but Luca is going to retrieve her and bring her back to New Orleans for her own safety. Or so he tells himself. Samantha is being stalked by an unknown person who wants something she has no idea about but must find in order to go back to a normal life, if they will let her.

This story has suspense, love, sex, and a very deranged villain. Vampires are the least of their worries. The love scenes are hot and well-played out within the context of the story and make it worth a second read. 🙂

 

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It’s Not The Great Pumpkin, Maxie Duncan

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It's Not The Great Pumpkin, Maxie Duncan

It’s Not The Great Pumpkin, Maxie Duncan

(Maxie Duncan #1.5)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a novella length book, so not very long, but very entertaining. It is fast paced with interesting characters and the storyline makes for a nice Halloween read.Maxie Duncan has not been a witch for long and is looking forward to her first Halloween as one. It’s her favorite holiday and she wonders why her new supernatural friends do not want to celebrate with her. There is a male witch, her friend and possible boyfriend, a pixie roommate and her boyfriend the trickster, they all reside in an apartment complex full of other supernaturals. Maxie wants to show them that the season has more meaning than they give it credit for. And as a nascent witch trouble of course ensues.

I enjoyed this so much that it has definitely interested me in the series, so I will be going back to number one and getting to know the whole story of Maxie and how she became a witch. This is just a cute and fun little romp and if you love Halloween and all the ghouls and ghosts that come out to play,  just give it a look.

Jack-o-lantern

Jack-o-lantern (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Three Parts Dead

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Three Parts Dead (Craft Sequence #1)

Three Parts Dead (Craft Sequence #1)

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this eventually, but it started out pretty slowly. Once we get past the first 4 chapters or so things start to flow nicely and we get to really know the characters. I was drawn to the book because of the premise but then it seemed to take so long to get there that I would have given up if not for the fact that I felt it was going to get better. The characters are different and the world they inhabit bares a passing resemblance to our own in many ways, but it’s the differences that make this worth reading.

” The Craft was difficult to master, half art, half science, and an extra half bull-headed determination.”

Tara Abernathy is a young Craftswoman who was not graduated from the Hidden Schools in a traditional manner, but was ejected though she has great ability. Though she has great ability she is untested in real world applications. Kos, the God of Alt Coulumb is dead and Ms. Keverian has chosen to take Tara on as her associate for the negotiations to resurrect him. This is a make or break situation for Tara, she can show that she knows what she is doing and gain a position in a prestigious firm or she can go back to her small town and fade away. The problem is that there is more to the death of this deity than has been revealed and now they have to dig deeper in order to find out what is really going on.

What you have here is a murder mystery within a world of technology, myth, religion, and law. There are Gods, Goddesses, vampires, and any manner of creature.

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Hounded

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Hounded (Shifter Town Enforcement #1)

Hounded (Shifter Town Enforcement #1)

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
This book got my attention because it started in such a strange place, with Lennox crawling through grass in search of her arrest. There was no major lead in but you are brought into the story just as it begins to progress. I was ready to keep reading as soon as I realized this might be a little different from other novels I had read in the same genre and that this might be some interesting characters to get acquainted with. While some of the motivations of the characters seem off the story itself moves forward smoothly and logically allowing you to get insight into who these people are. I could feel for each of them as I found out a little of their backgrounds.

Lennox Donnely is a Hound (shifter police) who has been sent out to arrest Kanon Reyes for assaulting a Hound in her pack. Kanon is a lion shifter and is considered to be dangerous, this is because he had been a rogue in the past. When Lennox gains access to his home she is confronted by his partner Tegan Sharpe who asks that she allow them to prove Kanon’s innocence since he would be killed for a fight. Lennox agrees and from that moment her life changes in ways she could never have imagined. She undertakes to protect Kanon after finding that he is being framed for more than a simple assault and the person is continuing to kill in order to bring him down.

This is a bit of crime drama with a love story interwoven, though a hot love story between not two but three people. A forbidden love at that. Lennox is a ridgeback, a hound that tracks and arrests lions, they do not sleep with the enemy. While there are some really hot moments here the serial killer is the main focus with the romance seeming to be more of an aside. Regardless of what you take away from it this is a must read if you enjoy shifters of any type.

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Hounded (Shifter Town Enforcement)

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Sought

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Sought (Brides of the Kindred, #3)

Sought (Brides of the Kindred #3)

 

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was written in the same fantastic style as always. Once again we have characters who are so well written that you could not help to sympathize with their plight as they attempt to go about their lives. A story which this time has more action but no less hot sex and the pursuit of a lasting bond between a man, a woman, and a man. We literally get to fly off past the very edges of our universe.

Kat O’Connor is the best friend of Olivia and Sophie Waterhouse, they are more like sisters than anything. When Sophie and Sylvan became lost on Earth and were being Hunted, Kat went to the only people who could help her, Baird & Sylvan’s second brothers Locks Tight and Stabs Deep. The Twin Kindreds are seeker/finders and Kat becomes their focus in order to find them. The side effect unfortunately was a partial soul bond which caused her great pain and the only solution was to complete the bond. With Kat unsure about being bonded to the brothers and Deep in his own funk of self-hatred. While Kat fights her attraction to the brothers and Lock tries to persuade his brother that loving her will be good they are also simply trying to keep her alive.

“What exactly do you think we’re trying to do here?” Deep demanded. “You think we want to fuck you?”His rough words made Kat’s stomach clench. “I sure as hell hope not for your sake,” she said evenly. “You try it and I’ll knee both of you so hard you’ll be wearing your balls for bowties.”“Bravely spoken, little Kat.” Deep had the nerve to sound amused. “But that isn’t what this is about at all. We just need to heal you.” ― Evangeline Anderson, Sought

I can’t give away much more of the story though because it would not be as good for the new reader. With two large Kindred males who cannot be separated and who must share a woman you can imagine how the lady would feel. Twin Kindred must penetrate the female at the same time and it can be a scary prospect (to say the least) but how could you say no without at least getting the details.

Another hot read with more of the sci-fi element with a trip into deep space, astral projection, and an alien fruit that has interesting effects. I love this author and her vision, it is so different from anything else I have ever read and I can’t wait for more.

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Hunted

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Hunted (Brides of the Kindred, #2)

Hunted (Brides of the Kindred #2)

 

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am really enjoying these books so far. They are so well thought out and the characters have such diverse personalities that you cannot help but feel for whatever they are going through. The plots follow a natural progression which allows to follow along even if you have not read the previous. The flow is seamless and allows for better understanding of not only the characters but also situations which are represented. And to make it even better, at least for me, the stories are told from multiple points of view. I also like the fact that even though each story is about a separate couple you still have interaction with the original couple and are setting the stage for the next book.

Olivia and Sophia Waterhouse are twins and when Olivia is claimed by a Kindred warrior Sophia is devastated. She takes out her anger on Sylvan, brother of the warrior who claimed her sister. Now Sophia is attending her sister’s wedding and finds out that she must kiss the man she has been abusing and feels hates her. While she is worrying about this she does not know that the Scourge are planning to kidnap her, as they did her sister, thinking that she is the one who can fulfill their prophesy. As Sylvan is returning Sophia to Earth they are attacked and crash-land in the mountains and must allude their pursuers. Sophia feels things for Sylvan but is frightened of him because he is a Blood Kindred, they have fangs and bite their mates to bond with them. What follows is a chase across galaxies and the realization that the past cannot stand in the way of a love that is fated in the stars.

This series is beyond HOT! It scorches and can make you blush or reduce you to a puddle, either is good. The heat does not take away from the fact that the story is always front and center. Science fiction is not everyone’s cuppa but this is more than that, it’s a story of finding that one love who completes you, it’s about seeing the difference in someone and accepting it and so many other things.

If you are a romance junky then you have to read this series.

 

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Blood Slave

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Blood Slave (The Nightlife)

Blood Slave (The Nightlife)

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
This was a great read and took me away within the the first few sentences. The characters are fleshed out and vivid giving you a feeling for who they are and what you can expect from them. The language is straight forward and descriptive allowing you to visualize each situation and location. I could relate to all the characters, even those who were not necessarily human because they had personalities like people I had known at one time or another.

The book is about a woman named Esperanza Salvación or as she prefers to be called Hope. Her life in Bogotá Colombia was not an easy one and did not get any better after her arrival in New York. She is also telepathic which can make her useful to anyone who needs information. She is an escort who is tied to the Colombian cartel and unable to get out because of a debt she has with the representative there. Things are not so bad until a client, who is more than human realizes that there is something about Hope that could be dangerous for them. This places her in a world she had no idea existed and she soon finds herself a blood slave, addicted to the bite of a vampire and unable to get away because of it. Her life becomes both a blessing and curse, just another thing she will have to survive.

I liked Hope because she was a survivor and even after years of abuse she still has dreams for the future. She comes across as hard and capable but she has a soft side that she keeps hidden. Enrique de la Riguera is a Spaniard who does not wish to kill Hope and so instead brings her into his family much to the chagrin of his servant Lia, a woman he once loved and turned. While Enrique is a benevolent sort he is blind to many things. Lia on the other hand is a psycho and wants nothing more than to rid herself of Hope. How things play out makes for a fun ride.

This story is SEXY, sad, brutal, and heart breaking in equal measures. But if you are squeamish when it comes to battery of women or menage then you should maybe take a pass. Otherwise enjoy this tale of the Blood Slave, it is well worth the time!