Book Review: No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld #7
Publisher: Bantam Spectra
Release Date: Februaty 26th 2008
My Rating: 5 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Jaime, who knows a thing or two about showbiz, is on a television shoot in Los Angeles when weird things start to happen. As a woman whose special talent is raising the dead, her threshold for weirdness is pretty high: she’s used to not only seeing dead people but hearing them speak to her in very emphatic terms. But for the first time in her life – as invisible hands brush her skin, unintelligible fragments of words are whispered into her ears, and beings move just at the corner of her eye–she knows what humans mean when they talk about being haunted.

She is determined to get to the bottom of these manifestations, but as she sets out to solve the mystery she has no idea how scary her investigation will get, or to what depths ordinary humans will sink in their attempts to gain supernatural powers. As she digs into the dark underside of Los Angeles, she’ll need as much Otherworld help as she can get in order to survive, calling on her personal angel, Eve, and Hope, the well-meaning chaos demon. Jeremy, the alpha werewolf, is also by her side offering protection. And, Jaime hopes, maybe a little more than that.

I was so happy to finally read this book. You know, it's Jeremy!! If I had to pick a Best Werewolf of all times, it would be Jeremy. He's the perfect werewolf and yet he's so not the perfect hero. He's strong, smart, sexy, powerful, funny, caring, patient. And then there are the few moments of weakness, not in a "oh my god, I'm helpless, I don't know what to do" way. But in such a sweet way. Like when he talks to Jaime about his alpha status and what it actually means and there's a moment when you can actually feel his patience sort of dimming a little. You could see how frustrated he was. Did I say he's sexy? Yes, yes he is. He's very sexy. Swoon-worthy!

Then there's Jaime. She's a redhead first and that's always a good thing. I love redheaded heroines *grin*. But she's also extremely funny. And I loved her brain. She really is smart. She's also sexy and she isn't ashamed of acting like a sexy woman. I liked seeing her getting flustered while talking on the phone with Jeremy. There's this adorable scene with them, I think it was in Haunted? Anyway, it was very cute and sweet and funny. And I also liked the fact that she tried to not ask for help. I think anyone in her shoes would have done it, would have called for help and play the weak female card. But she didn't. Also, she was lucky that Jeremy let her do that. I have a feeling that Jeremy wanted nothing more than to make her sit quietly in a corner while he took all the risks and do all the crazy, dangerous stuff that needed to be done.

You'll get some suspense with this book. I liked that I didn't figure out who was doing the bad things. You'll also get to see some very, very hot, sexy scenes *fans self* And it's Jeremy, for God's sake. You can never go wrong if you're reading a book or scenes with or about him. 

 

Book Review: Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld #1
My Rating: 5 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Elena Michaels seems like the typically strong and sexy modern woman, She lives with her architect boyfriend, writes for a popular newspaper, and works out at the gym. She's also a werewolf.
Elena has done all she can to assimilate to the human world, but the man whose bite changed her existence forever, and his legacy, continue to haunt her. Thrown into a desperate war for survival that tests her allegiance to a secret clan of werewolves, Elena must recon with who, and what, she is in this passionate, page-turning novel.

I remembered last week that I was supposed to read this book for the Women of the Otherworld reading challenge. Now that I've read it, I can honestly say I have no idea what made me wait this long to read it. I did enjoy it, a lot I might add.

What I really liked about this book was that there wasn't a scene that I felt was less important for the main plot. You know how sometimes you read a book full of unimportant scenes that are there just to make you wait till the end? I didn't have that feeling with Bitten. That's what was so good about it, the fact that every scene, every little detail was important and it all played a part in the main plot.

Also, this was not your typical werewolf novel. I enjoyed the new take on these creatures and, as with vampires, it is hard to find a book that to me is fresh and Bitten managed that. I do hope that in the future books we get to explore more of the history of werewolves and the Pack.

The book was fast-paced and very intense. It made me "feel" like a part of the action, which is actually rare for me with a book written in first person. Actually, for a big part of the reading, I forgot it was written in 1st person.

I liked the sarcasm, the action, the tense moments, the tender moments, the funny scenes, the sad scenes, I loved them all. Then there was this very hot scene with a tree *sigh* Yeah, loved it all.

I think if you like urban fantasy, paranormal, werewolves and supernatural creatures, this is the book for you. I'm just sorry I didn't read it earlier.

Book Review: A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole

Author: Kresley Cole
Series: Immortals After Dark #2
Blurb: (from Goodreads)

A mythic warrior who'll stop at nothing to possess her . . .

After enduring years of torture from the vampire horde, Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, is enraged to find the predestined mate he's waited millennia for is a vampire. Or partly one. This Emmaline is a small, ethereal half Valkyrie/half vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him.

A vampire captured by her wildest fantasy . . .

Sheltered Emmaline Troy finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents -- until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae -- and their notorious dark desires -- ebbs as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings.

An all-consuming desire . . .

Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be?

The second book in the Immortals After Dark series introduces the Lykae Clan with it's very sexy pack leader, Lachlain MacRieve. If you think Kresley Cole's vampires are sexy, wait till you meet the werewolves. Imagine Gerard Butler multiplied by hundreds. The Scottish accent, the strength, the alpha male vibe, all of it made me fell in love with Ms. Cole's werewolves.

Lachlain is the king of the Lykae Clan, so he's the ultimate bad boy, alpha male in town. After 150 years of imprisonment at the hands of the vampires, he senses his mate somewhere in Paris and escapes his bonds, even if that means severing his leg (I was happy to realize at this point, that werewolves regenerate ). Now for me that was more than just plain sexy. To endanger his life for a mate he hadn't yet met means that he would do anything for her, no matter what. And even after he realizes she's a vampire, he doesn't hurt her just to get rid of her, he protects Emma, trying to see the good in her. It also made me sad, because it meant that he truly was alone before he sensed her, even before he was captured by the Horde vampires.

What I found really maddening were Emma's insecurities. Would her aunts like Lachlain, would they have a problem with him being a werewolf, would they try to hurt him... Not once does she think "Hey, I like him, I'll take him as he is, if they don't like it, so be it!" The little confusion I was having ended when, at a more careful reading, I realized that the events in this book happen at the same time as The Warlord Wants Forever, at which point I understood that Lachlain was, in Emma's eyes, the first "enemy" to mate with a Valkirie. Still, Emma's insecurities bugged me a lot. I understood them, but I still wanted to shake her up a little bit.

This book, although not my favorite in the series, made me hungry for more IAD stories. The main reason I had this moment of "I'm going to read this series as fast as I can" thinking was because of Lothaire. This book introduces "the Enemy of the old", the mysterious bad vampire Lothaire.

But back to the book in question. I liked the fact that Emma finally got past her insecurities and her fears. I wish she would've done it sooner, but better late than never. I loved Lachlain and his entire pack. They all had that "larger than life" air. I hope we'll get more werewolf heroes in the future from Ms. Cole.

My Rating:

Book Review: A Werewolf in Manhattan by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson
Blurb (Goodreads):

"Emma Gavin writes about werewolves, but that doesn't mean she believes in them-not until a pack of real-life New York weres decide to investigate the striking accuracy of her "fiction".

When Aidan Wallace, son and heir of the pack leader, tries to sniff out Emma's potential informant, he discovers something even more dangerous- an undeniable attraction to her."

My Opinion:



A werewolf in Manhattan is the first book of the series Wild About You by Vicki Lewis Thompson. I think it's pretty good for a start. Like with all the other series I've read, I was left with a lot of questions and way too few answers. I hope some of those questions will find their answers in the next book in the series.

I liked Emma. She's the girl next door. Maybe a little plain Jane. An ordinary girl with a talent at writing. But she's also witty, very curious, a loyal friend and daughter. I think her character was sort of fresh. Not the sex bomb I'd expected, which was really refreshing. I would've liked her to accept the whole "werewolves are real" part a little bit harder, but that's another story.

Aidan is... Well, he's a werewolf first. A very sexy one. A cursed werewolf, given his genetic little problem. He's the oldest son, which means that he has to take a werewolf female as a mate, not a human one, and become leader of the pack. I like that he stands up to his father in order to protect Emma. I really liked that.

One of the things that I didn't like was, as I said before, the quick acceptance of the werewolf concept. I wished Emma was a little bit skeptical. I know that she was forced to believe in this world, but I don't know. I was expecting something else.

The second thing that I didn't like was the quick ending. This isn't my first Vicki Lewis Thompson book, so I'm used to her writing style. But I felt this ending was a bit too rushed. I would've liked a scene with Emma and Aidan's father alone. See how they interact and how Emma convinced his dad she's trustworthy.

All in all, I liked the book. It could've been better though. I'm anxiously waiting for the second book in the series. Maybe we'll get to see more of Aidan's sexy brothers :P