Mini Book Reviews: The Becoming, Originally Human, Bayou Noel, Tempting Ecstasy

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I found The Becoming when I was in a thrift shop and while I wasn't 100% sure what to make of it, I decided to adopt buy it.

The book reminded me of the older urban fantasy books, with its darker themes and dark characters. Although some details were a bit easy to anticipate, the book still managed to surprise me.

Anna was also a pretty cool character. She was a little morally ambiguous and she cheats on her boyfriend. While that usually is enough to make me dislike the book and DNF it, there was something about this story that kept me engaged despite the issues. All in all, I enjoyed this book and I'm excited about reading the rest of the series.
Rating: 4 Cups

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I was in one of my Goodreads shelf-browsing sessions and I stumbled across Originally Human, in audiobook format. It was a freebie, and since everyone seems to have a thing for audiobooks I thought I'd give the format a fourth chance. The great thing about the audiobook is that it's made to seem like a movie, complete with different voice actors and sound effects. So it made the experience intense and something I would consider repeating.

The story is also pretty interesting. Molly is an interesting choice of heroine. She's definitely not what I expected a succubus to be like. The mystery behind the naked man she finds in the woods is also pretty cool, and the reveal behind who he actually is is super interesting. I'm tempted to try out the rest of the series, because I liked the setting and it seems like a paranormal series I'd enjoy.
Rating: 3.5 Cups

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Another freebie I stumbled upon was this Christmas story set in the world of the Wildlands.

Although I can't really say I liked Molly and Garrick's relationship, it was a pretty cute story. Molly has been having a crush on Garrick for years, while Garrick is trying hard to be cold to her whenever he visits home. I would have wanted a little bit more sincerity from his part, but at the end of the day they work together.

I've been meaning to pick up this series from the start and this short story served as a reminder for me to do so.


Rating: 3.5 Cups

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The more this series progresses, the more I like it.

Conn and Dacia have an interesting story. There are a lot of differences between their story and that of his fellow mated Guardians. We finally get to get a tiny peek into why it's difficult for females to find a partner that is not their fated mate. It's an interesting discovery, really.

I liked where the story is going, and the main plot tying all these books together is starting to slowly make more sense.

At the time I'm reviewing this book I've already finished the entire series, because I just went on a binge with it, so I know what happens, but I'm thinking a reread might be in order.

Rating: 4.5 Cups

Blog Tour Book Review & Excerpt: Blade by Alexandra Ivy & Laura Wright

   

From New York Times Bestselling authors Alexandra Ivy and Laura Wright, comes BLADE, a new novella in their Bayou Heat Series, brought to you by 1,001 Dark Nights! Be sure to grab your copy today!

 

Author: Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright
Series: Bayou Heat #23
Audience: +18
Genre: Erotic Romance, Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Release Date: August 8th 2017
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Sexy Suit, Blade was held captive and abused for decades. Benson Enterprises was desperate to use his superior blood to create super soldiers. But when he’s finally rescued, he can’t return to the Wildlands with the other prisoners. Not without the female he was forced to watch being impregnated. The female who has gone missing.

Beautiful and broken, Valli just wants to run away and never look back. But with the shocking news of her pregnancy fresh in her mind, she wonders if that’s even possible. Told by her captors that one of the caged animals assaulted her, she knows she must do everything in her power to keep her unborn child safe. But when a glorious male tracks her down and claims her and her baby as his own, will she have the strength to walk away? 

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

I enjoyed reading this new installment in the Bayou Heat series. 

This book offers an interesting perspective into the world of the Pantera. Blade is one of the shifters that has been kept captive, tortured, tested, prodded and who knows what else by Benson Enterprises. I found it very refreshing to see the perspective of the males kept captive there, to explore the damage that was done to the males as well. Granted, I'm late in reading the series and I haven't read the first installments yet, so I'm not sure if this is something that was explored in earlier books. I liked Blade. I liked that he wanted to track Valli down and take care of her, when he really didn't have to. they were both victims of mad people, and no one would have blamed him if he had chosen to go on living his life away from everyone and everything. I thought his choice showed how much of a good person Blade is, how brave, loyal and honorable he is.

Valli is just as brave as Blade is, albeit a bit too naive at times. I was a bit sad for her, because it was easy to see how her childhood affected her, and influenced her ability to defend herself or to sense when people want to harm her. Even so, I liked her. I liked how she tried to understand what had happened. She's a perfect match to Blade, if you ask me. 

The story was really fast-paced, almost a little too fast-paced if that makes sense. I definitely did not see the ending coming, because I wasn't able to figure out who the bad guy was. I am curious to see what will happen in the future with everyone that worked at or for the Benson clinic, as well as the future of Pantera. All in all, a pretty good book, perfect for Paranormal Romance lovers.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon Canada

 

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She was as passionate as he could ever desire. But there was a part of her that remained elusively out of reach.

It was why he’d never used the word “mate” to her. Even though every time she kissed him, touched him...every time he was inside of her or fuck, just holding her hand as they watched the sunset on the porch, he’d wanted to.

“Humans can be just as loyal.” Hiss broke into his dark thoughts. “We’ve seen that with our own eyes.”

It was true. Lately the Pantera had brought many humans into the Wildlands. They had proven to be devoted mates and treasured assets to the pack.

“Yes.” He spoke his worse fear. “I just feel like she’s holding something back from me.”

“Give her time,” Hiss commanded. “She’s been through hell. She needs time to heal.”

Blade grimaced. Logically he knew it’d only been a few days, far too soon for a human female to feel comfortable with the dramatic changes in her life. Especially after all that Valli had endured.

But logic had nothing to do with a male who was eager to mate.

“My cat doesn’t want to be patient,” he muttered.

Hiss dropped his hand and stepped back, a small smile curving his lips.

“Then be a man until she’s ready for your beast,” he said.

Blade scowled, watching as Hiss turned and sauntered down the trail.

Be a man? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Growling deep in his throat, Blade resisted the urge to dismiss the words. Maybe Hiss was right. Being in the Wildlands meant that his cat was much closer to the surface than when he was moving around in the outside world. Perhaps his female needed to know that he could be human as well.

So what did human males do to win the hearts of their females?

A slow smile curved his lips.

Romance.

Ah, yes...

A candlelit dinner. Flowers. Soft music so he could hold her close as they danced.

Yes. He would create a night that would sweep her off her feet. And then he would get down on one knee as a man would do, and ask her to be his mate.

But for that, he was going to need help.

Pivoting on his heel, he shifted back into his cat and took off through the trees and back to the communal center.

 

       

Alexandra Ivy & Laura Wright’s BLADE – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:

August 9^th

BFD Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

I Smell Sheep – Excerpt

Reading in Pajamas – Review & Excerpt

August 10^th

Another Book Hangover – Excerpt

Ramblings From This Chick – Excerpt

The Book Disciple – Review & Excerpt

August 11^th

A Fortress of Books – Review

Ruby's Books – Review & Excerpt

The Silver Dagger Scriptorium – Excerpt

August 12^th

Brittany's Book Blog – Excerpt

Gi's Spot Reviews – Review & Excerpt

The Reading Cafe – Review & Excerpt

August 13^th

Read-Love-Blog – Excerpt

Reading Between the Wines Book Club – Excerpt

Vagabonda Reads – Review

August 14^th

Books n Wine – Review & Excerpt

Fictional Rendezvous Book Blog – Excerpt

Obsessive Reading Disorder – Excerpt

Loves Great Reads Blog – Review & Excerpt

August 15^th

Kdrbck – Review & Excerpt

Romancing the Readers – Excerpt

Untamed Bibliophiles – Review & Excerpt

August 16^th

a geordielass honest blog on reviews – Review

British Book Binge – Review

Evermore Books – Review & Excerpt

Reads All the Books – Review & Excerpt

August 17^th

A small girl, her man and her books – Review & Excerpt

Jax's Book Magic – Excerpt

Angels With Attitude Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

August 18^th

Angel's Guilty Pleasures – Excerpt

G & T's Indie Café – Excerpt

Novel Addiction – Review

Reese's Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Alexandra Ivy is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. From Alexandra: “I’m not exactly sure when I fell in love with books. Probably on my mother’s knee listening to her read Dr. Seuss to me. I do remember that I was barely old enough to cross the street by myself when I discovered the delights of the local library. Could anything be more wonderful than spending summer days surrounded by stacks of Nancy Drew mysteries? Over the years I fell in love with Victoria Holt, Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, and J.R.R. Tolkien just to name a few. I read poetry, essays, biographies, and plays. In fact, I read anything I could get my hands on. Years later (no, I’m not admitting how many) I’m still an avid reader, and my tastes are still as varied as they were in my youth, which I suppose helps to explain why I enjoy writing regency historicals under the name of Deborah Raleigh, as well as my contemporary paranormals as Alexandra Ivy. For now that is enough to keep me busy, but who knows what the future might hold! I do have a few other loves in my life besides reading and writing, the most important being my unbelievably patient husband, David, and my two sons, Chance and Alexander. Without their constant support and belief in me, I never could have been able to follow my dreams. They are truly my heroes.

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Laura Wright is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. From Laura: “Unlike many of my peers in the writing world, I wasn’t a writer or a reader until I left high school. During my youth I was into theater, song and dance, commercials and boys. I loved romance surely, but I had never read a romance novel until my late teens. With that said, I remember the day I did like it was a moment ago – my aunt gave me the Jude Deveraux novel, Knight in Shining Armor and I couldn’t put it down until the very last word. Then I went straight to the library and got another – then another until I’d read everything she’d ever written. After that, it was McNaught, Howard, Schone, Kleypas, and the Silhouette line, Desire. I instantly loved those emotional, sexy reads, so much so that I began to carve out ideas for my own stories, themes that were unique to me and moved me. In 1997 I enrolled in UCLA extension writing classes, met my mentor and critique partners and since have never stopped writing. I was committed then and I still am now; the need to tell my own romantic stories a full on obsession. My first manuscript was rejected, and though the second one was as well the editor who’d rejected it wanted to see something else from me. I had something (note to authors; always keep working, even after you’ve sent in a proposal) and sent it right away. The day I got the call telling me Desire wanted to buy Cinderella and the Playboy was the best day of my life. That is until I married my husband, and had my two beautiful children. But I must say, writing is much like motherhood – tough, grueling, surprising, delicious and for me, a dream come true.”  

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Book Review: Kayden/Simon by Alexandra Ivy and Laura Wright (ARC)

Author: Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright
Series: Bayou Heat #21-22
Audience: +18
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Release Date: August 9th 2016
My Rating: 4.5 cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):

ENEMY TO LOVER

Kayden is obsessed with revenge after his parents disappeared when he was just a cub. Now the gorgeous Hunter has discovered the man responsible for betraying them - Joshua Ford - and it’s time for payback. Beginning with the kidnapping of Joshua’s daughter, Bianca. But last thing he expects is to be confronted with the horrifying realization that Bianca is his mate. Will he put revenge before his chance for eternal happiness?

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Sexy male model, Simon refuses to give up his exciting life in New York City to return to the slow heat of the Wildlands. For a decade, many pantera have tried to capture the rogue Diplomat and bring him home, but all have failed. Now it’s Tryst’s turn. The hard, brilliant, and gorgeous, Hunter is the ultimate tracker. But can the admitted beast-girl of the Wildlands capture her prey without losing her heart in the process?

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from INKSlinger PR and Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion or rating of the book in any way.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. First of all, I've never before read this series (shame on me, I know), so I was a bit afraid that I'd be lost, that maybe I wouldn't understand the way the series works.

I am very happy that that was not the case. Yes, there are chunks of story that I'm missing, but I didn't feel that way while reading this book, I didn't feel like I was lost in an unknown place, which is a fantastic thing, especially for series this long.

The second thing that surprised me was the format. I felt that writing two stories into one book was a very unique idea, and also a very good one. It made the pacing be a little bit more smoother, more relaxed and yet fast paced. And because they're two stories into one, there's no need to drag the story to get to the page count that you need to get to, so the book is basically filled with scenes that need to be there, if that makes sense. Even with the two stories inside, I feel like the authors did a great job at creating the world and for making it as rich as it is.

Speaking of the two stories, I liked them. Kayden is a guy that has suffered a lot, especially since his parents disappeared when he was really young. I liked that even so, he didn't let that anger and that pain rule his judgement. I liked him, and I hope to read more about him in the next books. Bianca is a heroine that I enjoyed reading about. I liked that by the end of the story she finds courage to do certain things that I don't think in the past she would've done them.

Simon's story was my favorite one out of the two. Simon is a hero that hides stuff, and he hides them really well. I loved him, really. He's one of those characters that just need a bear hug, you know? I liked his interaction with Tryst, I liked seeing him trying to keep one step ahead of her. Tryst is a unique character. As the blurb says, she's more her animal than she is human, and I don't think I've ever read about a character like that before. It was interesting, but I would've wanted to read more on that subject. Maybe if the story was longer, we could've explored that side of Tryst more, but even so, I enjoyed reading the way she sees the world.

Like I said, I really enjoyed this book and I'll definitely be checking the other books in this series out. I may have (happily, I might add!) just found yet another paranormal series to fall in love with.