Author Archives: Sadie

Team TBR Challenge Review: The Vampire’s Cursed Kiss by Kristen Painter

The Vampire’s Cursed Kiss (Shadowvale book 2) by Kristen Painter
Paranormal romance released by Kristen Painter on June 24, 2019

Shadowvale isn’t your typical small town America. The sun never shines, the gates decide who enters, magic abounds, and every resident bears some kind of curse.

Vampire Constantin Thibodeaux was cured of his sun “allergy” when he moved to Shadowvale. Now he runs the local bookstore, which is really just a sideline to filling his own library. Books, unlike people, are far more forgiving of his prickly nature. But he doesn’t care if people don’t like him. He is who he is. And he’s happy. Well, he’s content. Okay, he’s…fine.

Sprite and all around party girl Andromeda Merriweather loves her carefree life – or at least she did until her sister cursed her into a magical time out. Thankfully, she’s just been set free by a totally hot, but kind of grumpy vampire. Too bad this handsome grouch now holds the key to her freedom, something she’ll only get if he agrees to abide by the rules of her curse.

Constantin isn’t interested in the terms and conditions Andromeda gives him, until he needs her to be his temporary girlfriend to shut his brother up. Then Constantin agrees. But what happens after a surprisingly fun evening creates brand new problems for both of them. Sure, two opposites can attract, but will that attraction last? Or are they both too cursed to give love a chance?

I adore paranormal romance (PNR). Now, I started reading romance when I was a young thing, maybe 11 or 12. I cut my teeth on Harlequin and Silhouette category romances, dipping my toes into the waters of historical romance. Think Bertrice Small, Judith McNaught, and Johanna Lindsey. I also read horror and especially loved the now defunct Twilight: Where Darkness Begins imprint. Sprinkled in were SFF books by Anne McCaffrey, Robin McKinley, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Douglas Adams. It’s no wonder that when I stumbled across PNR in the late 90s that I read almost everything in sight. PNR can be a wonderful blend of SFF, contemporary romance, and horror. It’s amazing!

I  purchased the fist two books in Kristen Painter’s Shadowvale series because I was going to be traveling and was loading up my kindle with  books that would be quick reads. A friend had recommended Kristen’s books, and these two seemed like they would make great car reading. I know I read the first book in the series, The Trouble With Witches, but for whatever reason, The Vampire’s Cursed Kiss sat on my kindle until recently, when I was dealing with vaccine brain and once again needed something light to read. Continue reading

Team ALBTALBS TBR Challenge Review: Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu

Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu
Paranormal romance released by Dorchester on March 1, 2005

Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. LiuLong ago they roamed the earth —dragons, tigers . . . shapeshifters — men who wore the forms of beasts. Their world was magic. Now it is gone.But some remain . . .

He looks out of place in Dela Reese’s Beijing hotel room—exotic and poignant, some mythic, tragic hero of an epic tale.With his feline yellow eyes, he’s like nothing from her world. Yet Dela has danced through the echo of his soul and knows this warrior will obey her every command.

Hari has been used and abused for millennia. But he sees,upon his release from the riddle box, that this new mistress is different. There is a hidden power in Dela’s eyes—and with her, he may regain all that was lost to him. Where once he savaged, now he must protect; where before he knew only hatred, now he must embrace love. Dela is the key. For Dela, he will risk all.

I have a huge TBR, so large I really don’t want to know how many books I have hidden around the house or stored on my ereader. When Lime told me I could review any book from my TBR for the ALBTALBS TBR Challenge this year, I was excited. And then I froze. How do I go about choosing a book from the hundreds I own? After I stopped hyperventilating, I settled on finding a paranormal romance novel to review. I used to read a lot of paranormal romance and realized I haven’t read from this genre is a few years, and I kind of miss the over the top stories that take place in a world that’s a bit more magical than our own.

I’m a big comic book fan, and especially love Marjorie Liu’s original Monstress series. I have read almost every comic Marjorie has worked on and her storytelling is sparse and yet contains a world of meaning and action. While I started reading Marjorie because of her work in comic books, I also read her Hunter Kiss urban fantasy series. But, I had never read the series that started her career as a writer, and since I had apparently purchased all the Dirk & Steele novels, why not read her very first book. Continue reading

Review: Moonlight and Whiskey by Tricia Lynn

Moonlight and Whiskey by Tricia Lynne
Contemporary romance released by Loveswept on March 12, 2019

Moonlight and Whiskey book coverWhen life gives you curves, you gotta learn how to rock them.

Successful businesswoman Avery Barrows likes her dips and curves, but she’s sick of the haters telling her that she should be ashamed of her body instead of embracing it. Determined to send them a big f*** you, Avery resolves to cut loose during a girls’ trip, hightailing her quick-mouthed, plus-sized self to New Orleans. So, what’s a smart woman with a little extra gotta do to get laid in this town?

Not much if you ask Declan McGinn, the lead singer of BlackSmith. Tall, dark, and tattooed, with a body made for sin, Declan prefers his women as curvy as his guitars. Avery’s sharp tongue and keen mind makes him want her even more.

As they burn up the sheets, Avery and Declan realize this is no one-night (or even one-week) stand. But for all of her bluster, Avery isn’t sure she can handle any more rejection. Besides, Declan has demons of his own. Now Avery has a choice to make: play it safe, or place her trust in the hands of a man who’s as tempting as the devil himself.

Way back in February a friend suggested I might want to read an upcoming debut novel because the main character is a self-proclaimed fat girl who loves her body and flips the bird at anyone who thinks she’s anything less than sexy. As a fat girl myself, I jumped on the chance to read this book for ALBTALBS. And then dropped off the face of the earth for six months for complicated life reasons. But life has started to untangle itself so here I am with my review of Moonlight and Whiskey

** TW/Spoiler: Avery endures episodes of fat shaming, and Declan’s relationships with Avery and his bandmates are various shades of dysfunctional due to past trauma.

Continue reading

Team ALBTALBS TBR Challenge Review: Second Chance with Her Billionaire by Therese Beharrie

Second Chance Her Billionaire by Therese Beharrie (Billionaires for Heiresses book 1)
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin on March 1, 2019

 Book cover for book by Therese BeharrieFrom “I don’t”…

To “I do”?

In this Billionaires for Heiresses story, Summer Bishop knew her parents’ anniversary party in stunning South Africa would be hard. Spending the week with her gorgeous ex-husband, Wyatt Montgomery, reminds Summer of their painful divorce but also—inconveniently—why she fell in love with him! Summer never told Wyatt why she left, and he’s determined to uncover her secrets. Will Summer reveal her heart for a second chance with her husband?

I was so thrilled to get the TBR Challenge for favorite trope. And then I struggled because I love so many tropes, how could I possibly pick just one? And then I  remembered pre-ordering Second Chance with Her Billionaire specifically because of the second chance at love trope. I love a good second chance at love story. My personal library is filled with stories that focus on a couple who had a relationship and for whatever reason, that relationship was doomed, except the love didn’t die and fate shoves a second chance in their way.  What made me want to read Therese’s latest novel wasn’t just the second chance plot, but also the fact the couple is forced together after two years of separation, and neither partner can say no. Continue reading

Very Belated Team TBR Challenge Review: Roaring Midnight by Colleen Gleason

Roaring Midnight by Colleen Gleason
Paranormal romance released by Avid Press on June 18, 2013

Roaring Midnight by Colleen Gleason Book CoverAmid the glitzy age of Jazz, when gangsters and bootleggers control the cities, there lies another, more insidious threat….the undead.
Macey Gardella is a typical young woman of the Roaring Twenties: she works a job, has her own flat, and loves to dance the Charleston. But when a mysterious man named Sebastian Vioget informs her she belongs to a family of vampire hunters, Macey is stunned and disbelieving.

Yet, strange and frightening things begin to happen, and when Macey comes face-to-face with one of the fanged creatures, she has no choice but to believe Sebastian. And when she learns his own soul depends on her willingness to carry forth the family legacy and hunt the undead, Macey capitulates and joins the fight.

As she begins to learn about her new calling, Macey encounters a handsome newspaper reporter known as Grady–who seems to know more about vampires than he should. And when he begins to ask too many questions, she has to juggle her strong attraction to him with the need for secrecy.

Slipping into speakeasies and sampling bootlegged whiskeys, dodging gangster gunfire and trying to keep her nosy landlady from finding the stakes in her flat, Macey Gardella must navigate through a world of stunning violence, passionate romance, and dark betrayal…

I have been reading Colleen Gleason’s books ever since I was lucky enough to hear her speak at the 2007 RWA Nationals conference. I snapped up her first two Gardella Vampire Hunters novels and became an immediate fan, following her writing into every genre she has written. She’s one of the few authors I’ll purchase even if I don’t have time to read her new releases right away. Which is how I found myself pulling out Roaring Midnight from my TBR pile for the September TBR Challenge. Continue reading

Review: Counting on a Countess by Eva Leigh

Counting on a Countess by Eva Leigh (London Underground book 2)
Historical romance released by Avon on March 27, 2018

Book CoverFor a shameless libertine and a wily smuggler in the London Underground, marriage is more than convenience—it’s strategy . . .

Christopher “Kit” Ellingsworth, war veteran and newly minted Earl of Blakemere, buries his demons under every sort of pleasure and vice. His scandalous ways have all but emptied his coffers . . . until a wealthy mentor leaves him a sizeable fortune. The only stipulation? He must marry within one month to inherit the money. Kit needs a bride and the bold, mysterious Miss Tamsyn Pearce seems perfect.

Husband hunting isn’t Tamsyn’s top priority—she’s in London to sell her new shipment of illicit goods—but she’s desperate for funds to keep her smuggling operation afloat. When a handsome earl offers to wed her and send her back to Cornwall with a hefty allowance, Tamsyn agrees. After all, her secrets could land her in prison and an attentive, love-struck spouse could destroy everything.

But when an unexpected proviso in the will grants Tamsyn control of the inheritance, their arrangement becomes anything but convenient. Now, Kit’s counting on his countess to make his wildest dreams a reality and he plans to convince her, one pleasurable seduction at a time.

I’m a fan of strong historical heroines who aren’t afraid of stepping outside of gender norms and building either the lives they want or the lives they need to have due to circumstances. When I read the description of Counting on a Countess I was thrilled! The description hit many of my sweet spots. The heroine has a unique job. Check. The heroine plans to keep on doing what she does even after she marries. Check. Both the hero and heroine are looking for a marriage of convenience. Double check. I was less thrilled about the reasons for the trope, but was willing to roll with it.  Continue reading