Posts Tagged ‘Paranormal’
Midnight Reckoning by Kendra Leigh Castle Review
February 2, 2012 | 
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Lyra Black is determined to defeat all the other werewolves at the next Proving, becoming the Second to her father’s Alpha. Midnight Reckoning by Kendra Leigh Castle, Lyra has spent her entire life being told what to do and being forced to abide by the werewolf law. Leaving the town she grew up in she is determined to learn from the new vampires about changing tradition but her past catches up with her in a deadly way. When she is saved by Jaden she decides to return home to confront her problems head-on.
Jaden Harrison is a Cait Sith, a vampire cat0shifters, who saves Lyra and then can’t get her out of his mind. When Jaden finds a necklace belonging to Lyra he has the perfect excuse to follow her to her town but when her father requests Jaden help Lyra, Jaden ends up dealing with more than he bargained for when old enemies show up in Lyra’s town. As that wasn’t enough, Jaden and Lyra must fight their attraction together because history has decried that cats and dogs don’t belong together.
I struggled to get into Midnight Reckoning mostly because the beginning of the novel covers so much of the different tribes and I had a hard time keeping them straight. I also struggled to keep the different tribes’ special characteristics straight, especially where the different paranormal characters mixed together. However, once I got into the novel it all started to make sense and the story pulled me in. Lyra is a women struggling to get her pack to change with the times, allowing women to have more of a say in the running of the pack. Jaden is a vampire cat who has lived for two hundred years and just years for a normal life. Castle’s world is a bit on the dark, complex side with intense characters with a lot of emotional baggage they had to work out. I enjoyed Midnight Reckoning once I got into the story, if you are a fan of the darker side of paranormal you will like it also.
Dark Dynasties Reading Order
Shadow Rising (release July 2012)
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Title: Midnight Reckoning
Author: Kendra Leigh Castle
Format: Paperback, eBook
Page Nos.: 384
ISBN: 978-1609418380
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: January 2012
Available for purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
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Firelight by Kristen Callihan Review
Miranda Ellis has spent her entire life trying to suppress her exceptional abilities after her loss of control cost her family their business. In Firelight by Kristen Callihan, Miranda’s family’s downturn in fortune has caused her to accept the marriage proposal of London’s most infamous nobleman.
Lord Benjamin Archer has never forgotten his first meeting with Miranda and has arranged it so she becomes his wife. But Archer is forced to live his life behind a mask, both literally and figuratively, which doesn’t allow him to get close to his fiery new bride. When he finds himself drawing closer to Miranda he wonders if he can share his true self with her or if she will leave him forever…
Firelight was a fabulous debut novel! Set in Victorian England it is the combination of two of my favorite genres, paranormal and historical. The characters are complex and the world Callihan has created is intriguing. The blending of the historical time period with paranormal characters was seamless and entertaining. I read Firelight in one sitting and eagerly look forward to Moonglow. The only concerns I had with the novel were the level of sexuality and the end scene is a little violent (think in terms of Indian Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark).
You can read an excerpt here.
Darkest London Reading Order:
Moonglow (release August 2012)
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Title: Firelight
Author: Kristen Callihan
Format: Paperback, eBook
Page Nos.: 400
ISBN: 978-1455508594
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: February 2012
Available for purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor Review
In Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Karou has always been different. Her hair grows blue naturally, she has tattoos on the palms of her hands since she can remember and she was raised in an unusual home. The characters that she sketches in her sketchbooks may or may not be real. Creatures that could only come from imagination are actually her friends. Karou was trained to fight at a young age so that she is prepared for her “errands” that she runs for the creature who raised her, Brimstone. Now there are dark handprints burned into the portals that lead to Brimstone’s workshop and Karou has a feeling that something bad is coming. One night she gets in a fight with an angel named Akiva. Karou is drawn to him but doesn’t know why since he seems to be on a mission to hurt everyone she loves. Akiva is taken back not only by Karou’s uniquness but she awakens something in him that he had thought he lost long ago, Hope. Can Karou and Akiva find out who she is and why they are drawn to each other?
I really enjoyed Daughter of Smoke and Bone. It didn’t grip me at first since it starts off a little slow but once the characters are really introduced the story comes alive! Karou is quite the character. She is sassy, independent, funny, strong, the list goes on! I really like how she is exactly what you want a heroine to be. When Akiva shows up she holds her own against him even though he is much stronger than her. The plot is very different from other Angel, Demon novels and I found it quite refreshing. The setting takes place mainly in Prague which is so unknown to me but after reading this I want to go there immediately! Such an enchanting story and characters I would highly recommend it!
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Title: Daughter Of Smoke And Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Format: Hardcover
Page #’s: 418
ISBN: 0316134023
Publisher: Little Brown
Release Date: September 2011
Reviewer: Megan
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
Copper Beach by Jayne Ann Krentz Review
Abby Radwell can unlock the paranormal secrets of books but when she starts receiving blackmail threats, she knows she needs help. Copper Beach by Jayne Ann Krentz , Abby hires Sam Coppersmith, an paranormal investigator, to help her track down her blackmailer and to help for find an ancient text known as The Key.
Sam Coppersmith, has an affinity for crystals and he is willing to help Abby but in exchange he needs Abby to help him find The Key. When dead bodies start showing up, Sam worries that he won’t be able to keep Abby safe especially since his feelings for Abby have gotten stronger the more time they spend together.
When I hear the words “paranormal romance” I immediately think vampires and shape-shifters, but Copper Beach is not your normal paranormal (I grinned after I penned that phrase). Jayne Ann Krentz is the queen of physic powers in the paranormal field. The chemistry between Abby and Sam is hot but it is the character of Newton, Abby’s dog, that made me smile most often. Being a devoted cat owner (translation: slave to the grumpy old man cat who is currently sitting on my lap making it so I have to bends my arm unnaturally to write this review), I love Krentz’s pet characters. With as many devoted pet owners out there who read romance novels you would think that more authors would include them in their novels but beyond just including a pet in her novels, Krentz does an amazing job of having the pets in her novels play an important role to the movement of the novels without overshadowing the main characters (dust bunnies are my favorite under her pen name of Jayne Castle). Copper Beach was a fabulous read that I highly recommend and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
Dark Legacy Reading Order:
My understanding is that this is a trilogy but I haven’t been able to find any information about future releases.
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Title: Copper Beach
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Format: Hardbound, eBook
Page Nos.: 352
ISBN: 978-0399157875
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Release Date: January 20, 2012
Available for purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from the author but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
