Category Archives: Book Review

How To Run With A Naked Werewolf
Author: Molly Harper
Series: #3 in the Naked Werewolf series

Review Copy Provided by Publisher via Edelweiss

Description:
Down, Boy

Anna Moder has just witnessed a shooting, seen her car pulverized, and rescued a wounded stranger only to discover he’s really a werewolf. And by her recent standards, things are actually looking up. Lycanthropes don’t faze Anna. Doctoring a wolf pack outside Grundy, Alaska, is the closest thing to home life she’s known in years. But hitching a ride to Anchorage with long-absent pack member Caleb Graham that’s a risk. Part of her itches to whack his nose with a newspaper. The rest is trying unsuccessfully to keep her own paws off every delicious inch of him.

The problem is, Caleb employs his lupine tracking abilities as a notquite-legal bounty hunter, and Anna is suspicious of both him and his profession. On the run from her past, with old problems closing in, she’d like to stay far, far away from anybody with connections to the law. Caleb, however, seems determined to keep her close. Are his intentions noble, or is he working a more predatory angle?
Anna’s been dreaming of returning to a semi-normal life, but now she’s experiencing a strange new urge . . . to join Caleb in running with the wolves.

Review:
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge Molly Harper fan. So when I was on her website (ok, I admit, stalking her website), and saw that there was a new Naked Werewolf book coming out, I was doing a happy dance. And after reading it, i can say that the wait was worth it. Better yet, if you haven’t discovered the pleasure that is reading a Molly Harper, you can actually read this book (even if its the 3rd in the series), without reading the previous 2, because the main characters are only loosely mentioned in the previous books (in fact, it took me about 1/3 of the book to put 2 and 2 together on who they were – and I still got 5 😉 ).

I liked the whole on the run from something storyline that was used, because it is one of my more favorite tropes to be used. Especially if you add the werewolf twist into the story. I will say that while reading I noticed the typical Molly snark, there aren’t any specific quotes that are sticking out in my mind, like previous books (in fact, just tonight, I used one from another book by her). And once again I felt like I was transported to Alaska and the adventures there. (I credit the author with my sudden desire to freeze my butt off there – which is what the cover made me do – bare legs and boots)

I gave How to Run with a Naked Werewolf 4 stars and like always, look forward to reading what Molly comes up with next. I’d recommend this for anyone who likes quirky PNR, or smexy PNR because it hit my buttons on both accounts.

Amazon Purchase Links:
(Kindle) (Paperback)

I Know You’re There
Author: Susan Allison-Dean

Review Copy Provided by Author

Description:
Jill Bradley is a 24-year-old nurse whose life is going great; she’s established herself in her new career, and she’s looking forward to getting engaged to her high school sweet heart. When life’s tide changes and she is bombarded by tragedy, loss, and betrayal all at once, she can no longer cope. In a moment of despair, she books a trip to a Caribbean island in an effort to escape her problems. She finds respite and romance, but her problems have also packed their own suitcase.

Helen Bradley is Jill’s mother. Like many mothers of her time, she has dedicated her life to her life to her family. Despite her best efforts, however, she hasn’t always been able to be the type of mother she wished she could be. She has a secret she was hoping would just go away, but it won’t. If she doesn’t share it with her daughter, Jill, it might bring Jill more harm.

I Know You’re There is a mother-daughter journey, celebrating the highs and delving in to the lows of family life. Can the power of love heal all things?

Review:
I think if I had read the description that was on goodreads or amazon rather than just the back of the book, I might have been less surprised by the story and possibly enjoyed it more. However, the description on the back of the book was limited to the accident that occurs in Jill’s life, and so I was expecting more reprecussions from that and to have more of a mystery draw out about it – rather than a women’s lit, coping with life, dealing with tragedy that I got. I was also coming off the high of another book that I really loved and so while, this one might have worked for me normally, it just couldn’t compare to previous reads.

The author did have a good writing style and I can’t really find anything word with it, stylistically…it was just that the story line didn’t work for me. Ultimately, in such a short novel (only about 240 pages), I thought that the author tried to cram too much into the story. It just felt like the storyline was superficial and lacked development. Overall I gave I Know You’re There 2 stars.

A Love Worth Biting For
Author: Roxy Mews
Series: #1 in the Clan Hybrids series

Review Copy Provided by Author

Description:
Who’s afraid of the big bad hybrid?

Amber Paulson’s wolf has chosen a mate for her, but Amber is not amused with its pick. Jake Meyers might look amazing in a wet T-shirt and have the cheekbones and strong jaw that artists drool over. Too bad he is missing a pulse.

Jake is a vampire, well, mostly. Then a tall, curvy redhead pops up on his radar and something awakens in him. Even though he tries to stay away, Amber gets under his skin, and his vampire/werewolf heritage starts to become more bark and less bite. For the first time, he feels the call of the moon, and he knows it’s all because of Amber Paulson.

Amber’s trying to stay away, and Jake’s trying to not turn furry. They both fail miserably—and with a lot of sweaty and enjoyable property destruction.

By giving in to her mating call, Amber finds out more than she ever wanted to know about herself, her family, and the rogue wolf who took so much from her so long ago. As her past comes back to bite her, she’ll have to decide what she’s willing to give up for her mate. Her home? Her pack? Her…heartbeat?

Review:
It always makes me nervous to read/review a book by a person that I know and by know, I mean, we’ve been Goodreads friends since long before Roxy Mews was even a person. In fact, I even had the book for a good month before I even read it, due to my nervousness…but I had to take that plunge and i’m so glad I did. My initial thought was, I love the whole hybrid werewolf/vampire theme in the book. There are lots of paranormal/UF type books out there, but I couldn’t think of any books that used a more of a hybrid theme.

I loved the tension between the vampires and werewolved, it was kind of nice to see a book where they don’t miraculously get along (since that seems to be a common trope in PNR, especially where there is a diverse range of characters). But at the same time, it felt like it was set in a real world, not a completely made up paranormal realm. Almost like the author sat outside on a college campus, just observing what was going on. The first “meeting” between Amber and Jake was awesome (and if I understood something the author mentioned, it was inspired in part by her first meeting with her future husband).

I did feel that the conflict between the werewolves and the vampires was played down a bit, and needed more, but I kind of hope that is just because it was book 1 in a series (or at least it had better be)…and that the conflict will be explored a bit more.

Overall I gave A Love Worth Biting For 3.5 stars but rounding up to 4 and can’t wait to see what she writes in the future.

Unsound
Author: Toby Neal

Review Copy Provided by Author via Sisterhood of the Traveling Book on Goodreads

Description:
Only a volcano can cure some things.

Dr. Caprice Wilson, police psychologist, has spent her life unraveling the mysteries of the human mind—only to find herself in a deep crisis. Caprice prescribes herself a walkabout and goes hiking on Maui—but the solitary retreat she has in mind does not go as planned. Caprice faces an enemy she never knew she had and wrestles with questions of hope, identity, loss, and the nature of psychopathy in a cat-and-mouse game with survival at stake.

Review:
From the description, this book should have been right up my alley – the police psychologist as a main character caught my eye as did the comparison of a suspenseful story. Unfortunately, it just didn’t quite work for me. While I could tell that the author knew her stuff when it came to the psychological aspects, I just really didn’t like Caprice. I guess that I would have hoped, her being a mental health professional, that she could identify when she had issues (I know that might be too much to hope for but since she diagnoses people with issues, a girl can hope she could realize/admit her own).

But on top of that, the whole mystery/suspense angle just fizzled out for me. While I didn’t see the whole reveal of the evil person was coming, when it was revealed, I was just underwhelmed. I just didn’t really feel like they were well-developed as a character and then the whole suspense part was summed up relatively quickly…the tension building just wasn’t there. Ultimately, I think I’d probably only give Unsound 2 stars, because it just didn’t work for me, but maybe it will for other readers.

Letters from Home
Author: Bethanne Streasser

Review Copy Provided by the Publisher

Description:
An Army doctor, Lena Rodriguez has always been too busy with school or the Army for romance. But the letters she received during deployment have captured her heart. Back home for the holidays, she awaits Christmas morning to meet the man who has turned her life upside down.

When Zack Benson watched his best friend’s sister Lena leave for Afghanistan, he knew he had to tell her he loved her. So he sent her anonymous love letters. Now that she’s home, he realizes he’s made a tactical error. Lena has fallen for the man in those letters but still thinks of him as a brother. He has to convince her otherwise because if he succeeds, he’ll get the best Christmas present ever. But if he fails, he could lose her for good.

Review:
Ever since I read about Steven Spielberg’s War Letters, I’ve been fascinated by books, both romance novels and non-fiction that feature war letters. So when I saw this one in the list of ARC reviews, I was intrigued. Unfortunately, while the premise was good, the story just didn’t quite work for me. Novellas are hard for me because invariably I end up wanting more. In this instance, I felt like the author had a good idea – the secret admirer writing letters – but tried to cram too much into the 80pg(ish) novella. I think it would have worked better as a long story where the characters could be more developed.

That being said, I had some issues with the age of the characters – Lena is supposedly an Army doctor, but as far as I can figure, she is only in her mid-20’s (maybe late-20’s at the most). The timing just doesn’t work – 4 years undergrad, 4 years of med school. And no mention of her med school within the story line, only her undergrad was mentioned – which kind of just struck me as weird. IMHO, her being a medic (enlisted) would have been more believable and also done away with what would have been fraternization if Zack had remained in the military (as he was enlisted and her an officer). But that is just my military experience speaking out…for anyone not familiar with the military, it probably wouldn’t be as noticable.

I do think that the author has potential and i’ll be interested to see what she writes in the future – I’m just sorry that this one didn’t quite work for me. Overall, I gave it 2.5 stars.

Nothing Personal
Author: Rosalind James
Series: #2 in the Kincaids

Description:
When you wish upon a star . . .

Alec Kincaid has never met the obstacle he couldn’t overcome—or the woman who could resist him. And it’s not going to happen now, not with his star shining more brightly than ever in the high-stakes arena of San Francisco’s software industry.

Desiree Harlin doesn’t believe in fairy tales, and she doesn’t waste time wishing. She’s learned the hard way that dreams don’t come true. And with her reputation and hard-won security on the line, succumbing to temptation isn’t an option.

But not everyone is what they appear to be, and even stars sometimes fall.

Review
There are few authors that I do a happy dance for when I see they have a new book coming out – but Rosalind James is one of them. In the last year since I discovered (and subsequently devoured) her books, its been like waiting on pins and needles for her next release (be it her Escape to New Zealand series, or her newest one, the Kincaids). There is just something honest and raw about her writing style that sucks me in and Nothing Personal was no different. For anyone who has read Welcome to Paradise, Nothing Personal picks up immediately following the end of the previous book, with Alec returning to his work as a software developer in San Francisco.

While admittedly, I didn’t like Alec as much as his brother from the previous book (I mean, sexy doctor vs computer geek), he did kind of grow on me as the book went on. I did however, really like Desiree, she reminded me of that girl who never really figured out where she fit as a teen, but then become someone when she became an adult, probably a story that many of us can draw parallels to. Their romance (a bit of a childhood crush coming to life) was sweet, but had a few moments of hotness as well. Plus, as with her previous books, Ms James has a remarkable ability to bring others into the fold – you feel yourself either cheering for, or hating on secondary characters…in this instance, for me at least, mostly hating on 😉 The ‘mystery’ aspect of the story wasn’t overwhelming to the point of being more pivotal than the romance itself which was nice, and while I thought I had the whole done it figure out – yeah, I was wrong.

As always there were certain scenes that stick in my head when i’m done reading – in the case of Nothing Personal, it was the one where Alec attempts to try yoga with Ree one night…as you can guess antics ensued…I just love it when authors include stuff like that in the stories. And via tweets with the author, she disclosed that it was kinda based on a real-life incident…which made me laugh all the harder.

Overall, Nothing Personal got 4 stars and if people haven’t read her stuff yet, then you need to! (and that’s an order!)

Stay tuned for a post later on today, with an excerpt of Nothing Personal and an interview with Rosalind 😉 But in case you want to take the plunge now, below are the links to buy Nothing Personal

Nothing Personal Purchase Links:
(kindle)(paperback)

The Chosen
Author: Annette Gisby

Description:
The neighbouring kingdoms of Oscia and Arcathia have been at a tentative peace for three years after centuries of warfare. Prince Severin of Arcathia has been brought up to put duty before all else and as the only son of the King and Queen, it is his duty to marry and produce an heir. His parents want him to marry an Oscian princess to cement that tentative peace. Unfortunately Severin isn’t interested in princesses. Now, if he had his pick of princes that would be another matter.

Havyn has been a slave all his life. When his aptitude for wizardry is discovered, he finds himself purchased and freed by Prince Severin and apprenticed to the royal wizard, Ildar. His duty is to stay chaste to keep his powers strong, but his feelings for Severin sorely test his resolve.

With kingdoms at war, the throne hanging in the balance, magic in the air, and outside forces trying to keep them apart, can the two men find happiness together, or is duty more important than love?

Review:
When this book first popped up as a promo tour book, I was intrigued and when I took a look at it on Goodreads and saw that only a few people had read it (even though it was published a few years ago originally), I was even more intrigued. I love finding those hidden gems – books that no many people have read, but that should be read. While I can’t say that The Chosen quite reaches the OMG, everyone has to read level, it is definitely a book that I’m surprised more people haven’t read. If I try to think of something comparable in the m/m realm, it kind of reminds me of Eresse’s Chronicles of Ylandre series in world building, with a bit of Maculategiraffe’s Slave-breaker’s feel. I really enjoyed both of these series, so I hope that other readers of them, might like The Chosen.

The relationship between Severin and Havyn (although, i’m not exactly sure how to say his name – haven maybe) was sweet and the romance progressed at an even pace. While there were definately some hot moments between the two, it wasn’t overly angsty or torturous like some romances can be. And the supporting cast were interesting – I really liked the female body guard because it was nice seeing a non-bitchy female in a major role in a m/m romance (the use of the bitchy female is normally something that irks me) and the old man Wizard (Ildar) was very traditional, in a good way (I think).

Anyways, i think this is a book fans of m/m romance and fantasy would likely enjoy. Overall, I gave it 3.5 stars.

About Annette:
Annette Gisby grew up in a small town in Northern Ireland, moving to London when she was seventeen. Being a very small town there were no bookshops and a small library. When she’d devoured every book she could get her hands on in the library, she started writing her own stories so she would always have something to read later.

When not writing she enjoys reading, cinema, theatre, walks along deserted beaches or wandering around ruined castles (great places for inspiration!) New Zealand is her favourite place and she hopes to travel back there one day. She’s a fan of Japanese Manga and Anime and one day hopes to learn Japanese.

She currently lives in Hampshire with her husband, a collection of porcelain dolls and stuffed penguins and enough books to fill a small library. It’s diminishing gradually since the discovery of ebooks but still has a long way to go.

Annette in Social Media
Website: http://www.annettegisby.n3.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/havyn
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/252221.Annette_Gisby

Buy Links:
The Chosen (Kindle)
The Chosen (Paperback)
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords

Cut to the Bone
Author: Jefferson Bass
Series: #.5 in the Body Farm series

Review Copy Provided by Author via Sisterhood of the Traveling Book

Description:
In the summer of 1992, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and Tennessee Senator Albert Gore begin their long-shot campaign to win the White House. In the sweltering hills of Knoxville at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Bill Brockton, the bright, ambitious young head of the Anthropology Department, launches an unusual-some would call it macabre-research facility, unlike any other in existence. Brockton is determined to revolutionize the study of forensics to help law enforcement better solve crime. But his plans are derailed by a chilling murder that leaves the scientist reeling from a sense of déjà vu. Followed by another. And then another: bodies that bear eerie resemblances to cases from Brockton’s past.

The police chalk up the first corpse to coincidence. But as the body count rises, the victims’ fatal injuries grow more and more distinctive-a spiral of death that holds dark implications for Brockton himself. If the killer isn’t found quickly, the death toll could be staggering. And the list of victims could include Brockton . . . and everyone he holds dear.

Review:
After a bit of a disappointing read in the previous book in the series, I have to admit that I was a bit scared to pick up this one. But I was pleasantly surprised. This book took the reader back in time, a time when Dr Brockton’s wife is still alive (for those who have read the series, you know how that plays out) and a time when his relationship with his son was less fractured/ more like what you would expect a father son relationship to be like. It also featured many of the secondary characters who have appeared through-out the series from Art Bohanan (the fingerprint technician who plays a significant role in most of the books) to the disgraced (well, in the later books) Medical Examiner Garland Hamilton. It was really weird not to have Miranda though because she is one of the characters who has made the series for me, although I didn’t mind Tyler (although, I can’t remember if he has appeared in later books).

One of the interesting things to me was seeing how far that study of forensic anthropology/body decomp had developed from the time period when this book was set to the more modern books in the series. How, (while the authors admit in the author’s note that the timing was a bit different to how the body farm came about in real life (the real farm was established much earlier), the body farm was actually established – trying to get a space to conduct these often gruesome experiments, figuring out how body’s decompose (which i can’t say is something that I would actually like to study, but hey, to each their own right?). The experiment with the flies wearing Tennessee orange just made me giggle (but you have to read the book to see what I mean).

Anyways, overall, I gave Cut to the Bone 4 stars and felt that it was a big improvement on the previous book in the series that was released. This would be a good book for either someone starting the series as a brand-new reader, or someone well-established in the series.