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Jason

23205616

Jason (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #23)

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
This was a nice short that gave a showcase to Jason Schuyler, a werewolf who works for Jean-Claude at his club and is also one of his blood donors. The story is straight forward and moves along cleanly and concisely as it lays itself out. The characters are mostly well established with a few new faces that are fleshed out good enough to make me like them. The language is just what you expect from the series after all this time. I am so happy that Jason got a feature since he has always been more of a side character, though he is mentioned quite often.

Jason has been speaking to several of Anita’s live-in loves behind her back. He has a request that he feels he needs back-up for even though Anita has managed to change so much over the past years. Jason is in love and he wants Anita to help him show J.J., the love of his life, what his type of rough sex is. He is considering making a move with J.J. and wants her to be completely good with who he is, just like he is for her. Things can go very well or very badly with the people involved in this little venture.

I would recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed the Anita Blake series.

“Anita,” Jason said. I looked at him and J.J. “You okay?” I shrugged. “I think this is the most complicated BDSM scene I’ve tried without Jean-Claude or Asher involved. It’s like we have all this talent and potential, but no one is in charge.” That was all true. It wasn’t exactly what was spooking me, but it was still part of the truth. It also meant that they’d probably quit asking me what was wrong. “I cannot be with Asher,” Jade said. I shook my head. “I wasn’t suggesting it, just not sure who’s directing everything.” “We’ve made love with Nathaniel in bed with us before,” she said, her voice soft, low, and strangely musical. Her voice didn’t always sound that way, but it often did when she was trying to persuade, or I guess manipulate me. I’d asked her if she’d had theater training, but she didn’t seem to know what I meant, so I’d let it go. I let a lot of things go with Jade, even I knew that, but when she puzzled me enough I stepped back rather than pushing. I wasn’t sure if I was growing up, or she was winning. “You’re in charge, Anita,” Domino said, “so be in charge. What do you want to do?” In my head I thought, Leave. Maybe it showed on my face, because he said, “Do what you enjoy and Jade will follow your lead.” Jade nodded. “Really?” I asked her. “Truly,” she said. “Okay, I know what I want to do.” “I will follow where you lead,” she said. I knew it was both the truth and a lie. She’d follow me for a while, until she decided she didn’t want to, or she got too uncomfortable, then she’d do whatever the hell she wanted to do and somehow it would be my fault, again. I was starting to seriously sympathize with the men who were dating me.”
Laurell K. Hamilton, Jason       Laurell K. Hamilton
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Devoured

22433773

Devoured (Brides of the Kindred #11)

My rating: 4.3 of 5 stars

This was another great entry in a series that I have come to love so much. The characters are ever-changing and yet still manage to allow time for characters which had been established in earlier books. The stories seem simple but have a complexity that makes them more interesting than if you had something just totally straight forward. The narrative flows very well though there are sometimes things that hold it back a little. The characters speak and act as you wold expect them to in most instances, though sometimes they seem to do things just to make the story progress.

Garron has been banned from his home-world, Pax because of his siding with his half-brother Truth when he had visited with his twin and mate. Garron is Rai’ku but his father was a twin Kindred who had lost his twin and mate. He is living on the mother ship and trying to come to terms with the new feelings that he has been having as well as the fact of his ‘other’ possibly coming out. Tess is running from an abusive spouse who could end her life and make it seem like an accident or something someone else did and has nowhere she can really hide. Her friend takes her to live at the Pairing House (pleasure-bots) for the unmated males where they figure her ex would never look for her. She has lived there for a week with no problems when Garron comes to choose one of the pairing bots and accidentally chooses her. Neither of their lives is ever the same after this.

I liked the story between Tess and Garron because they were both kind of lost. Tess because her ex had beaten her down so much she could not see the good in any man and Garron because he had loved and tried to protect someone he couldn’t and sought to punish himself forever. There was the requisite trip off-world which I have come to expect and look forward to since you never know what type of place it will be. I got to catch up with my girls from previous books to see what was happening in their lives. And we got to meet the next couple who will be brought together, and see what the malevolent entity in their midst will cause to happen. Really want that wrapped up because it just annoys me a bit.

Overall I would recommend this along with all the series as a must read!

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The Scarlet Deep

25500387

The Scarlet Deep (Elemental World #3)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have loved these books since I read my first Elemental Mysteries novel. I was pulled into those and when the series ended and started again with the Elemental World I was more than happy to continue following. We have many of the characters from the first series showing up and having an active place in these books, which always makes for a good read since you are able to relate to them as you get to know the new characters, though here most have been seen in prior books. The story which was started in earlier novels continues here and is added on to seamlessly as events continue and those in the past are recounted. The characters continue to evolve and become more than just flat actors on the page.

Patrick Murphy is a man who seems to have everything he could want, he runs the immortal side of Dublin with efficiency and a soft touch, he can have any woman he wants immortal or human, but he has regrets that keep him from fully enjoying his life. Anne O’Dea ran away from a relationship after 30 years because she felt her mate was not to be trusted and she had lost herself in their life together,and was no longer who she had been. With the threat of Elixir becoming more and more real for everyone in Ireland these two have to decide what they want before the choice is taken from them.

Murphy is a scoundrel but a lovable guy that you can’t help but root for as he tries to win back the love of his life. Anne is like most intelligent people, she can see the mistakes others make but not her own. The mystery of who is distributing Elixir is still an important part of the story and it is not neglected for the love story. I totally enjoyed this.

“I HATE you,” she told her sister over the speakerphone in her secure wing of Brigid and Carwyn’s house. “No, you don’t.” “I do.” “What did Murphy do?” “Nothing.”  Except kiss me in Galway and remind me that I miss him like a lost limb.  Stare at me during the opera as if he’d eat me alive in the most pleasurable way possible.  Show off his intellect, which has always been the most attractive thing about him.  “Patrick Murphy has been a complete gentleman,” she said. “Unerringly polite and respectful. Painfully welcoming.” Anne heard Mary suck on her cigarette and release a breath. “Hateful man. That would irritate the piss out of me.”
Elizabeth Hunter, The Scarlet Deep  Elizabeth Hunter
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Dimitri

22916532

Dimitri (Immortals of New Orleans #6)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have loved the Immortals of New Orleans since the first book and things just keep getting better and better. There is a lot more complexity to the relationships of the characters than was first shown and it makes them more interesting as they are revealed. Characters who have not been completely explored still can have an impact on you because they still have enough substance to make you care. The story naturally flows without bogging down at all and keeps you reading well after you should have stopped for the night. The banter between the characters is priceless and always one of the things I enjoy the most.

Dimitri has gone to San Diego, California in order to get away after his trip into hell world with Léopold to save Ava. Since he came out something has been wrong with his wolf and he has not been able to shift. He has gone off alone to try to find out if things can get better or if he may have to step down as Beta. Gillian was lured to San Diego by the area Alpha in order to force a mating on her. She is special and the Alpha wants her gifts for himself whether she is willing or not. Gilly escapes but brings down a pack of trouble on our Beta who cannot handle it at the moment.

There are a lot of things going on in this story, some of them happy, some of them sad, and some just plain wrong. There is always a good deal of heat involved when these supernaturals get together for any amount of time. You must enjoy menage, exhibitionism, and unconventional sex.

“When the music stopped, the curtains to their booth flew open. Jax, the devastatingly handsome Nordic wolf, leered down on the lovers, who smiled up at him in amusement. “I said pretend to be her mate. At any point, did you hear me say, ‘Come up to New York and fuck my sister in public…during one of my company events?’ Did I say that? I really don’t recall saying that.” Jax scrubbed his fingers over his tightly cropped hair. He moved to the balcony, overlooking the patrons who were shuffling into the lobby for the intermission. “Sorry.” Dimitri laughed. He knew that they should have been slightly less conspicuous but the draw of his mate had been too much to resist. “Sorry? Really? That’s all you’ve got?” He turned to Gillian, who scrambled up to her feet, adjusting her dress. “And you? What’s your excuse, little sister? Seriously, every shifter in the room could hear you.” “Um, well, yeah, sorry about that. But technically this is your fault. I mean, what did you expect? You asked Dimitri to come here…to pretend to be my mate.” Gillian reasoned that her comeback sounded solid, inexperienced in dealing with her Alpha brother.”
Kym Grosso, Dimitri Kym Grosso
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Divided

21457590

Divided (Brides of the Kindred #10)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been in love with this series from the very beginning and it just continues to get better. While each story has a different couple or trio, you are still able to check in with the couples that started it. The story is always interesting with an element of danger or something to be overcome in order for our people to get together. The planets that are visited are well constructed and fit in with what you would expect to find out in the big black of space. Cultures that are different but in many ways similar to ours make it easy to feel for what happens with them. And everything always moves forward and creates more story to follow.

Truth and Far are Twin Kindred who were separated at birth and grew up without their other half, something that is bad for this type of Kindred. While Far was raised on Twin Moons by an adoptive family he was still alone, without his brother or other real family. On the other side of the galaxy Truth was being raised on Pax in a society that frowned on everything that he and his father were. Far finds his brother but is disappointed when he does not seem to care for him or want a connection.

Becca stumbled into the middle of these two after eating a piece of bonding fruit cake at Kat’s wedding to her twin warriors. When she has an experience with the Truth and Far in the Sacred Grove she decides that she cannot take her vows to become a nun. Because of her upbringing she wants to choose between the brothers not realizing that she is doing harm to them by making it easy for them to stay apart. When they share a vision of the unmated males and a threat to the mother ship they must work together to keep it from happening. In the process they find that being together may be what they all need.

Another great book that gave plenty of tense moments where anything could have happened. There are some very hot encounters between our reluctant trio that made me wish I could participate. You cannot go wrong with the Kindred, these warriors are everything you could possibly want. Start with Claimed and read on through.

“Kat sighed. “Well, the first thing you’re going to need to do is keep in contact with both of them. Touch them a lot—and I do mean a lot—or you’re going to start getting sick.” “What? But I can’t,” Becca protested. “That’s what got me into this in the first place. And besides, every time I touch them, especially together, I keep wanting to…to…” She broke off, blushing. “Get down and dirty again?” Kat said sympathetically. “Yeah, I get it. Your body wants the full bonding experience. In fact, that’s probably what you ought to do.” “I don’t want to,” Becca said stubbornly. “I mean, Truth is on board with it and Far has always wanted the three of us together. But what happens when I have to tell my parents?” “Ask yourself this—who would you rather spend the rest of your life with?” Kat said. “Your parents or your guys? If you’d really rather move back home and never see Truth and Far again…” “No, I…” Becca put a hand to her throat. “I couldn’t. That…that would be awful.” “See?” Kat said. “Your heart knows who to choose even if your brain doesn’t.”
Evangeline Anderson, Divided Evangeline Anderson
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Score

19275240

Score (St. Martin Family Saga: Whiskey Cove #1)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is my first book by this author and so I am pleasantly surprised to find that I have once again picked someone who speaks to me. This was a story with more than just a heat level, it had a social conscience as well and used it to perfection. When you can educate and entertain in one forum I am all for it, as long as the balance is maintained well. The characters are realistic and full of life, making them more accessible as someone you might know or be willing to hang with in your world as well as theirs.

Chloe Mills has loved/hated Caleb St. Martin since they were children and he treated her so badly with all his tricks and barbs. The last person she would expect to hook-up with would be him, even after a drunken night in Vegas, but never say never. Chloe wakes up after a night out in a seedy motel with the neighbor from hell naked next to her, and she cannot seem to remember how they got there.

Caleb/Cal has known Chloe all their lives and knows exactly how she feels about him, and she has good reason. He does not feel bad about their night together and has changed from the boy who tormented her into a man who may want to have a life with her. The problem is she has not forgotten his cruelty and may never forgive him for his boyhood stupidity.

This starts the stories of the St. Martin brothers who are gorgeous, hot, alpha males who have more women than they can handle, then the one walks into their lives. Loved this because it was also about raising awareness on ALS, a disease that does not always get enough of the spotlight. But do not think it was not also a very hot and sexy read. I would take any one of these brothers at the drop of a hat! Definitely worth the time.

“He bent his head as if meaning to kiss her, but stopped short. With his mouth hovering over hers, he said, “I want you.” Chloe gasped and her chest rose and fell rapidly. She whispered, “I want you too, but I need you to be clear on something.” Her voice was determined, and Cal was disoriented as he was yanked from the cusp of passion and thrown into stark reality. “What?” “I don’t want you making fun of me like when we were kids. I’m not a girl anymore. I enjoy sex, but I won’t ever let you touch me if you bully me like that again.” Cal was dumbfounded. He stared at her, mouth wide. Had she been harboring resentment all this time? He didn’t remember what he’d done, yet she was clearly still upset about it. He couldn’t imagine hurting her now. Had he then? He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. “Chloe, I’m sorry. I never intended to upset you. I was a child. You’re definitely not a girl anymore. I intend to treat you as the beautiful and seductive woman you are.”
Gina Watson, Score  Gina  Watson
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Kamikaze

22887758

Kamikaze (Last Call #1)

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I really liked this little short. The characters came into focus quickly and fully engaged me into what was happening with them. Zoe came off sweet and a little naive but with enough of an edge to make her interesting. Connor was a guy I would be more than happy to spend some time with since he is up for a night or a lifetime, I like that in my men. This is mostly sex but that is fine because you know going in that it is really what the story is about, along with maybe getting them together.

Quick read with some very hot moments and a few smiles and laughs.

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Sexy as Hell

16089712

Sexy as Hell (More Than Men #1)

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I’m kind of torn on the rating I want to give this, so I am going with 3.5. This was basically a good story from an author I had never read before and so wanted to try at least once. The characters are not fully defined as to who they are and the story does not seem fully realized. I wanted more about what was actually going on and maybe some background on the characters that we meet so abruptly with only minimal explanation. The dialogue works well and at least makes them feel like a part of the world.

Seth was about to die when he was given the choice of becoming immortal and working for the Archangel Michael or facing his fate. For fifteen hundred years he has fought demons and sent them back to hell as an immortal warrior in the service of Michael but things are about change. Seth is being targeted by a succubus who has managed to find him and knows who is and wants to take his soul. The problem is that the temptation is going to almost more than he can resist.

The sex scenes were nice but not really hot as I expected. I liked Seth but would not have felt totally let down if he had died. Camille I had a hard time warming up to because she was such a blank slate as far as who she was. I still think it is worth reading and I will be reading the next book because it sounds pretty interesting.

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Erotic Diaries of a Warlock

18134250

Erotic Diaries of a Warlock: Book 1 of 3

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This was nothing like what I was expecting when I bought it. I cannot say that I particularly liked it but I did not totally dislike it either. There was no true story here that I could find. I mean it was supposed to be about this person finding out who he was but I could not follow completely because it did not go in a linear fashion. This is supposed to be being written by an actual Warlock, but if that is the case he should have gotten a ghost writer. There was simply not enough of a story to keep me from being bored and stopping and starting multiple times. The narrative was kind of disjointed and did not flow well from chapter to chapter or even within them in some instances.

This is the story of Justin, as he is to be called, and his journey to find himself as a warlock.

This has the word erotic in the title and I did not really find it to be so at all. I was actually a bit disturbed to find scenes between a prepubescent boy and older woman in sexual situations. I could not in recommend this to anyone. I will not be reading the next two books if this what I can expect. No real story, no heat, no interesting moments.

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Angel 6.0: Enslaved

25470834

Angel 6.0: Salvage (Angel 6.0 #3)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I received a free advance reading copy for my honest review.This was a great adventure with a girl that I am coming to like more and more. I had thought of Angel as childlike, which she was when this started, but she is maturing the more she is exposed to the world outside of Nugene. I like that the characters are becoming more clearly drawn as things go forward from book to book. The world they inhabit is more complex than you would at first think, but as you jet across the galaxy you see that not only the humans have a strange culture happening the Gran have their own way of viewing the world that may seem different but is actually quite similar to human culture in many respects. Everything is continuing to move forward smoothly giving a great trip through the cosmos as well as into how Angel is able to survive.

Captain Cronin comes for Angel on Cesar’s ship and is not planning on leaving her behind. Angel has had nice respite from dealing with overbearing Cat but has no choice but to return to him if she wants Cesar and his men to live. Before they depart Angel helps Cesar set up negotiations for trade and gives herself another chance to see him. Then it is the long ride to the Gran home world she must endure as Cronin continues to use her.

The Emperor and Empress are very impressed with Angel and invite her to stay with them while she is on their home world, keeping her away from the depraved Cronin. She becomes close to both their daughter and son who make her separation from Cesar at least bearable. But then she is once again on the ship for the trip for the negotiations and though she looks forward to seeing her man she still must deal with the insatiable Cat on the journey. Angel has endured a great deal since being taken from her home, how much more will she need to endure.

Angel has become a strong character who is able to work through whatever is tossed her way. The sex is usually very hot, whether inter species or just straight. The story pulls you in every time because you really have to find out what is going to happen with this woman as her intergalactic odyssey continues. It just keeps getting better and better. Do not miss this series!

**The title of the book  on Amazon is Angel 6.0: Enslaved, the title was changed after the I received my copy.