Forgotten Book Reviews ~ Menagerie by Rachel Vincent

Whilst going through my archives I found a few book reviews that seem to have been overlooked and left unpublished... so here's the first from my 'forgotten book reviews' file!

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Title: Menagerie (Menagerie #1)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Publisher: MIRA
Release Date: September 29th 2015
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley

When Delilah Marlow visits a famous traveling carnival, Metzger's Menagerie, she is an ordinary woman in a not-quite-ordinary world. But under the macabre circus black-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah in her black swan burlesque costume is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she's forced to "perform" in town after town.

But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival. Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other "attractions"—mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons and kelpies—are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she'll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed.

The general meaning of Menagerie is a collection of wild animals kept and trained in captivity for exhibition, so I was interested in the concept of keeping animals/beings/mythical creatures in a fair-ground, much like the oddities in freak shows back in the day - or most recently as seen on television on the show American Horror Story (Season 4, 2014). And I've always been a sucker for myths and legends, so I was intrigued as to how this story would bring all the elements of story together.

I liked the beginning - it had a definite changeling (Irish/Scottish) folklore feel to it and I was immediately sucked in, such a promising start. The flash forward to her 12 year old self was okay - but it didn't really follow on the anticipation of the introduction. And then another time jump to 'present' day. *note: I'm not a fan of the multiple time jumping thing unless it completely affects future narrative and/or is actually at time travel novel (in hindsight - not so much).

TBH - Dililah is boring. Boring life. Boring job. Boring boyfriend. Just boring. And I guess that's the point - she needs to grow as a person once she 'reveals' herself, it's a plot point - only it doesn't really work because she stays consistently boring! There are no high points or light points of story line to really get you motivated to root for her character and the possible romance factor is on such a slow burn it may in fact fizzle out - and for all their abilities/talents/weirdness - nothing of any importance ever really happens. It's all too even keeled which really is a shame. The potential for this story to blow your mind is right there - and yet its totally overlooked in favor of a 'nice' read.

I also was not a fan of the news 'snippets' interspersed amongst the chapters in an attempt to clarify 'the reaping' that had occurred - it just tended to add mud to an already murky story line.

So while I was not impressed at all by this book, I am curious to see if the author can improve on the story next time around, so I may give book #2 a look.

I so wanted this to be an epic story... but with very little light and shade, it was just mediocre at best - 2 stars

Book Review ~ Rough Justice by Sarah Castille

Title: Rough Justice (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #1)

Author: Sarah Castille
Release Date: February 3rd 2015 (originally published in 2013 by Avon Books)
Publisher: St. Martin's
Source: Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

From bestselling author Sarah Castille comes a scorching new series featuring red-hot, hard-riding bikers and the women who can’t help but love them…

IT TAKES A GOOD, STRONG WOMAN

Raised in a motorcycle gang, tough, beautiful Arianne Hunter has always dreamed of a normal life. But no sooner does she escape her father’s domineering grasp than she wakes up to find herself in a rival gang’s clubhouse—at the mercy of the dangerously sexy Jagger Knight.

TO TAME A MAN WHO’S HELL ON WHEELS.

The alpha leader of the notorious Sinner’s Tribe, Jagger Knight is all muscle, all biker, and all man. But somewhere inside this hard tattooed outlaw, Arianne senses a kindred spirit—and she can’t ignore their tempestuous attraction. Can she beat him at his own game in a revved-up blaze of glory? Or will their passion spark a war that’s the end of the road for them both?

I have to say SOA has a lot to answer for. Never have I seen so many motor cycle club themed romance novels!!

Considering Rough Justice is all about a criminal MC, I found it all a bit tame - I was expecting a lot more violence, a lot more hard edged danger and meanness from the bikers.
I also found myself getting thoroughly confused as Rough Justice contained members with the same or extremely similar names to bikers in other stories I have read recently!!

The writing was okay, I did find myself zoning out a bit. Rough Justice could have done with something to set it aside from all those other biker books, and it didn’t.
Over all 3 ½ stars

Book Review ~ Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh

Title: Rock Addiction (Rock Kiss #1)
Author: Nalini Singh
Release Date: September 9th 2014
Publisher: TKA Distribution
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley 

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New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh stuns with a sizzling contemporary romance…

A bad boy wrapped in a sexy, muscled, grown-up package might be worth a little risk…

Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media’s harsh spotlight, she vowed to live an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker with a voice like whiskey and sin, and a touch that could become an addiction.

A one-night stand with the hottest rock star on the planet, that’s all it was meant to be…

Fox promises scorching heat and dangerous pleasure, coaxing Molly to extend their one-night stand into a one-month fling. After that, he’ll be gone forever, his life never again intersecting with her own. Sex and sin and sensual indulgence, all with an expiration date. No ties, no regrets. Too late, Molly realizes it isn’t only her body that’s become addicted to Fox, but her heart…

 

Most people that know the phenomena that is Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changeling paranormal romance series, a world filled with changeling shifters and conditioned Psy or the urban fantasy Guild Hunter series that drips with the blood of vampires and maddened archangels may not necessarily know about her contemporary roots and this return to a more realistic vein may throw some people off.

There was an element of adjustment required for Rock Addiction – a settling in of sorts if you like, because this is a version of writing by Nalini Singh not seen since her early days as a Harlequin romance writer. So if you’re not a paranormal romance fan and/or haven’t read her stuff before then Rock Addiction will probably be a winner, but because it is a complete shift – perhaps even a new experience for her para/rom fans – there may be some pre-conceived ideas to overcome.

I’m really not a fan of the whole insta-love or in this case, insta-lust scenario but considering that this is a heart throb rocker novel it kind of goes with the territory. There were a few bumps along the way as with any first book in a new series, and I definitely think Rock Addiction is far from a perfect read, but it has great bones, a great set of characters, and because of a built in fan base that adores Zachary Fox and his universally recognized band Schoolboy Choir, the reader kind of gets dragged along in the fever pitch of all that hype and adoration, it’s contagious. Molly and Fox are pretty hot together and there is a lot of sex, maybe more so than is completely necessary but again, it’s a rock star life!

Overall, Rock Addiction is pretty good; I enjoyed this grungy, tattooed, rock star romance and I’m already eager to read about the other members of the band. A good start to a new chapter of Nalini Singh stories, 4 stars.
 
Memorable scene...

"You know when you get the whisper of a melody in your head, or the murmur of a song? And you have the gut feeling that if you could just hear the rest of it, just capture the music" - the need an ache as frustrating as it was piercing - "you'd have something fucking amazing?"

Noah nodded.

"Yeah, well, that's what it feels like with Molly." The most compelling whisper of his life. "I'm not about to walk away from that."

Quickie Book Review ~ Crave the Night by Lara Adrian

Title: Crave The Night (Midnight Breed #12)
Author: Lara Adrian
Release Date: August 5th 2014
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group - Bantam Dell
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley
Purchase Link: Amazon US
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Born and raised to be an emotionless killing machine, Nathan is one of the most lethal Breed vampires in existence. A key member of the Order—an elite group of warriors charged with protecting both mortals and vampires—Nathan executes each mission with flawless precision and a total lack of mercy. Now he must pursue a powerful, hidden enemy. But Nathan’s hard discipline and training are no match for the fierce pull he feels toward a young woman he has no right to desire—a woman of wealth and high social standing who has long been promised to another Breed male, and who may also prove to be the key to rooting out Nathan’s elusive quarry.

Jordana lives a life of glittering privilege as a member of a prominent Breed family in Boston. Surrounded by fine things and fawning admirers, Jordana wants for nothing—until she crosses paths with a dark, intense warrior from the Order and finds herself swept into an impulsive, sizzling kiss that neither of them will forget. As much as she tries to deny her deep feelings for Nathan, Jordana cannot resist the craving to be near him, to break through his forbidding walls and see the man he truly is. But getting close to Nathan will thrust Jordana into a treacherous new world, forcing her to risk all she has and all she knows about herself and her past. And loving this seductive man could be the most dangerous temptation of all.

Crave the Night is book #12 in the Midnight Breed series and the second book in the next generation of Breed warriors.

Lara Adrian has really pulled off an awesome story, Crave the Night was fantastic from start to finish. I had some misgiving after reading the previous instalment, things just didn’t flow for me; but it was a huge relief and a pleasure to see the author produce a story that I came to love, characters I fell in lust with, and a whole new race of supernatural’s to look forward to reading more about. I’m already craving the next book!
4.5 stars.

Book Review ~ Reaver by Larissa Ione

Title: Reaver (Lords of Deliverance #5)
Author: Larissa Ione
Release Date: December 17th 2013
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley

WARRIOR OF HEAVEN

Reaver is an angel with a past, a record, and a less-than-heavenly attitude. Powerful enough to fight alongside the fiercest battle angels-and crazy enough to risk his wings on a one-way mission to hell-he's agreed to go where no angel has ever gone before...to steal the most seductive and dangerous prize of Satan himself.

ANGEL OF HELL

Harvester is one of the Fallen, a once-heroic angel who sacrificed her wings to work as an undercover agent in hell. But now her cover has been blown, and she's been doomed to an eternity of agonizing torture. Even if Reaver can snatch her away from Satan's lair, even if they can fight their way out of the underworld's darkest depths, there is one thing Harvester can never escape-her newfound thirst for an angel's blood...

My Thoughts

I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was expecting a little more from Reaver by Larissa Ione. Because with such a long history to their love/hate relationship, I was anticipating a whole lot of fireworks and tension to be present between Reaver and Harvester. However, I found the first half of the book – while nearly all based in Sheol (Hell) – rather tame and restrained.

I just wanted so much more pain, torture and pure evil that is associated with Satan, Lucifer and Hell, to be rained down on Harvester and Reaver! I also felt that Harvester lost what little bitchiness she had in this book all too quickly and easily and Reaver… Reaver didn’t feel like the Reaver I’ve come to know. He felt like a shadow of his former awesomeness!

However, the second half of the book picked up quite a bit (thank God!)
I loved re-visiting characters from the Demonica series; I loved the interactions and excitement I always feel with the Horsemen and when it was all said and done, I ended up loving Reaver!

Larissa Ione made it work; she came through at the end. Reaver and Harvester got their HEA (of sorts) and Heaven and Earth were saved (for now)

And with so many secrets revealed, little hints at things to come, I can happily sweat it out and speculate about the next book in this great series (roll on May 2014!) 4 stars

Release Day Book Review ~ The Greatest Lover Ever by Christina Brooke

Title: The Greatest Lover Ever
Author: Christina Brooke
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
Release Date: Jan 2 2014
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley

Passion to last a lifetime...

The Sweetest Scandal

Beautiful, exuberant, and stubborn Georgiana Black has more spirit than sense—which she learns when an ultimatum to the Earl of Beckenham ends their engagement. Six years later, Georgie is less concerned with impending spinsterhood than with making sure her young sister doesn't make the same mistakes she did. But soon Georgie stumbles into a scandalous encounter with none other than her former fiancé. Beckenham is still breathtakingly desirable.

The Truest Temptation

Beckenham's brief engagement to Georgie taught him one thing: when it comes to a wife, he wants a woman who will do her duty and cause no trouble. When the fiery Georgie falls unexpectedly into his arms, Beckenham remembers just how lushly delectable she is. Suddenly, the idea of actually marrying Georgie is irresistible. In a battle of wills, can passion conquer pride?

My Thoughts

I love a great historical romance, and seeing as Christina Brooke is a friend to, and has been compared to one of my favourite historical romance writers, Anna Campbell, I just had to give The Greatest Lover Ever a read.

The title did lead me to believe the book may have been a little more raunchy than it actually was, and admittedly, I did find that a little disappointing. However, there was plenty of great dialogue and sexual tension between Beckenham and Georgie to make up for it.

A cleverly thought out plot, with twists and turns to keep you on your toes, The Greatest Lover Ever is a really engrossing story. I read it in one sitting and found it to be very entertaining.

Although a little less risqué than I usually like my historical romances, I look forward to reading more stories in The Westruthers series.
 
The Best Lover Ever is a fun and flirty 4 star read.

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Book Review ~ Alienated by Melissa Landers

Title: Alienated (Alienated #1)
Author: Melissa Landers
Release Date: February 4th 2014
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.
 
My Thoughts

Alienated by Melissa Landers is a fresh and interesting YA story that revolves around the integration of an alien boy and a human girl.

I pretty much devoured the first two thirds of this book, soaking up the well written story, the interesting characters and the journey of prejudice and love in which Cara and Aelyx find themselves.

However, I felt let down by the rushed and too easy ending that just didn’t ring true for me. The hurried and seemingly simple solution to the plight of the entire world, and the punishment met out by the L’eihr elders just didn’t measure up with the punishments the reader is led to believe exists for much lesser crimes, earlier on in the book. 

The lack of emotion and compassion we are also led to believe about the L’eihr race seems to disappear in order to round out the story, letting Cara and Aelyx off pretty much scot-free.

Overall, I did enjoy the story and I’ll be sure to read the follow up, but in-my-opinion, there needs to be more story consistency in order to make it coherent and believable. 3.5 STARS

Book Review: Bound by Night by Larissa Ione

Title: Bound by Night (MoonBound Clan Vampire #1)
Author: Larissa Ione
Release Date: September 24th 2013
Publisher: Pocket Books
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley
 
A WOMAN OUT FOR BLOOD
Nicole Martin was only eight years old when the vampire slaves rose up in rebellion and killed her family. Now she devotes her life to finding a vaccine against vampirism, hoping to wipe out her memories—along with every bloodsucker on the planet. But there’s one thing she cannot destroy: her searing, undeniable attraction for the one man she should hate and fear the most . . .

A VAMPIRE OUT FOR REVENGE
A member of the renegade vampire MoonBound Clan, Riker is haunted by demons of his own. When he recognizes Nicole and remembers how her family enslaved his loved ones, his heart burns for vengeance. But when he kidnaps Nicole and holds her in a secret lair, his mortal enemy becomes his soul obsession, his greatest temptation, and, perhaps, his only salvation—a hot-blooded lover who could heal him with her touch . . . or bury him forever.

My Thoughts

I’m a big fan of Larissa Ione, especially her ‘Lords of Deliverance’ series, so I was eager to see what she could do with her own brand of vampires.

The first half was slow and a bit long-winded with its background, history and world building etc, but that sometimes happens with the first book in a new series. Allowances tend to be made for that fact. But I also didn’t really care for either Nicole or Riker all that much. I found them both to be very self absorbed and bitter. I really couldn’t find many redeeming features.

However, the second half picked up considerably. Events (no spoilers!) brought out another side to the characters, revelations about them changed my opinions of them, the story began to take on an interesting shape and I was very pleased with how it all played out. This was the Larissa Ione I have come to love.

Overall, I enjoyed where this book went, it just took a long time to get there.

I’ll reserve judgment on the authors new vampire world until the next installment but I think it shows promise, a reasonable 3.5 star read.