Review: Succubus Revealed by Richelle Mead

Succubus Revealed
~Richelle Mead
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Kensington
Publish Date: August 30, 2011
ISBN-10: 0758232012
ISBN-13: 978-0758232014
ASIN: B005CRY8CW

From the author's website:
Georgina Kincaid has had an eternity to figure out the opposite sex, but sometimes they still surprise her. Take Seth Mortensen. The man has risked his soul to become Georgina's boyfriend. Still, with Lucifer for a boss, Georgina can't just hang up her killer heels and settle down to domestic bliss. In fact, she's being forced to transfer operations...to Las Vegas.
The City of Sin is a dream gig for a succubus, but Georgina's allies are suspicious. Why are the powers-that-be so eager to get her away from Seattle—-and from Seth? Georgina is one of Hell's most valuable assets, but if there's any way out of the succubus business she plans to take it--no matter how much roadkill she leaves behind. She just hopes the casualties won’t include the one man she’s risking everything for...

Georgina Kincaid has had a rough few months, but things are finally settling down.  She's working as an elf at the Mall since she quit her dream job at the bookstore.  Maybe it's not ideal, but it pays the bills.  She's back together with her boyfriend Seth, and although there are a few things in their relationship that aren't perfect - namely every time they have sex a piece of his soul turns dark - she's happy they're together.  They've had their ups and downs and everything seems to have worked itself out.

Then, out of nowhere, she gets a message from hell - she's being transferred in a month from Seattle to Las Vegas.  She's devastated, until she realizes she can bring Seth.  But his sister-in-law is sick with cancer, and it's suddenly gotten worse; Seth must stay to help his brother and sister-in-law with their five young daughters.  Georgina takes a weekend trip to Las Vegas to check in and make preparations for her arrival, and it's too good to be true:  her boss is and old favorite, her new roommate is a very good friend, and he introduces her to another succubus who is a lot of fun and helps her land her dream job as a showgirl.

Later, as she's telling her roommate, Roman, about all these things, he's deeply suspicious.  Roman wants to know why hell wants her out of Seattle so quickly.  As more and more secrets are uncovered, Georgina's future looks uncertain - for good or bad, no one knows.

My thoughts:
A fabulous ending to a fantastic series. I couldn't have asked for more.  I had so many questions at the end of Succubus Shadows, and they were all answered in Succubus Revealed.

Georgina's crew is like hell's version of Friends:

"No trouble at all.  I get a discount at the mall."
Jerome sighed and set down his fork.  "Are you still doing that Georgie?  Don't I suffer enough without having to endure the humiliation ofa succubus who moonlights as a Christmas elf?"
"You always said I should quit the bookstore and find something else to do," I reminded him.
"Yes, but that was because I thought you'd go on to do something respectable.  Like become a stripper or the mayor's mistress."
~page 9, Succubus Revealed

Ms. Mead writes the quirkiest demons I've ever read.  I mean, really, where else are you going to read about a bowling competition to prove demonic superiority?

Seth was on my shit list for part of the series, but I'm firmly back in the Team Seth category.  He's good for Georgina; he loves her more than anyone knew.  Well, almost anyone...

Roman was another character I had doubts about earlier in the series, but I must say that Roman was amazing.  Everyone needs a friend like Roman; someone who's there for you despite the situation or the risks, someone who will fight for you and do everything in his power to ensure your happiness.

And Carter, oh Carter.  I think this is the only series where I like a secondary character more than the actual hero.  Carter is an amazingly wonderful and complex character - his non-answers frustrated me throughout the series but really, why should that change in the last book, lol.  (The last thing Carer says to Georgina on the very last page of the book brought tears to my eyes.)

Throughout the entire series I've wanted a HEA for Georgina but I could not figure out for the life of me how she was going to get it.  In her Succubus series, Ms. Mead has done a wonderful job weaving clues through multiple books, ending with a scene that left me holding my breath and closing one eye because I was afraid to look but had to keep reading.  The epilogue left me extremely satisfied, although I may have needed a tissue or two.

I can't really say whether or not you would enjoy this book if you haven't read the rest of the series - but I wouldn't advise it.  This is book 6, and as such there is so much history between Georgina, Seth, and her demonic counterparts that you really should read the whole series.

Oh, just one more thing: Hey Ms. Mead - how about a spinoff series or short story featuring Seth's little niece, Kayla, when she gets a bit older?


My Rating:
 

Book received by publisher at ALA.

Pam Reviews: My Dangerous Pleasure by Carolyn Jewel

My Dangerous Pleasure
~ Carolyn Jewel

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Forever
Publish Date: June 1,2011
ISBN-10: 0446563870
ISBN-13: 978-0446563871
ASIN: B004T4M600

From the author's website:
TEMPT THE DARKNESS Strong-willed and independent, Paisley Nichols is used to taking care of herself. But when an insane mage begins tracking her every move and threatening her at every turn, she has no choice but to put her life in the hands of a demon.

RISK THE PASSION Burned by betrayal, demon assassin Iskander won't get too close to anyone. He spends his days serving his warlord and his nights indulging in carnal pleasures . . . and that's exactly how he likes it. But when a mage wages a wrenching psychic assault on his beautiful tenant Paisley, Iskander must defend her. Under his protection, she will be drawn irresistibly into his life and learn about her own mysterious powers. And not a moment too soon. The mage haunting her isn't acting alone-and he won't rest until he destroys both Paisley and Iskander.

Paisley is an average young woman, living her dream by working in her own bakery. Life is good until she catches the attention of a certain man. They end up going on a date; and then the man who she was first attracted to, turns out to be a crazy stalker.

Iskander is Paisley’s landlord, and a demon. The very reason that Paisley does not have any magic in her is why Iskander has her as a tenant; so he knows that something is amiss when he feels magic coming from her apartment.

Paisley’s stalker turns out to be a mage that Iskander knows, and soon Paisley is relying on her landlord that she hardly spoke to before, for her own safety.

My thoughts:
This is the fourth book of a series. Although it’s not necessary to read the previous books, there was some terminology that I wasn’t familiar with, which made it a little confusing in the beginning. There is a glossary in the front of the book, so by the end of the first few chapters I didn’t have to glance back at it anymore.

It took me a while to warm up to Iskander; I think part of the reason was because of his whole playboy attitude. I did end up liking him as the book went on, but he was definitely not my favorite male lead.

Paisley, on the other hand, I liked right away. I liked how she would try to help out by doing what she does best, bake. (This book made me want to turn on the oven and bake some desserts a time or two.) She couldn’t pay Iskander for all his help, but she made sure that he ate really well.

Paisley and Iskander had some good chemistry, and some great sex scenes. The story flowed well and was interesting. While I won’t go back and read the previous books in this series, it was overall a good read.


My Rating:

Pam

Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Renfield Syndrome by J.A. Saare

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, 

that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I am a big fan of J.A. Saare, and the second book in her Rhiannon's Law series, The Renfield Syndrome, is coming out August 23!  I thoroughly enjoyed Book 1, Dead, Undead, or Somewhere In Between, and the cliffhanger ending made me want to throw my book across the room (what? it's true!); I did not see that ending coming.  I cannot wait to see what happens to Rhiannon and whether or not she finds Disco...

The Renfield Syndrome
~J.A. Saare

Publisher: Mundania Press
Publish Date: August 23, 2011
more information here
From the author's website:
ampires, and werewolves, and demons, oh my.

Rhiannon thought facing off against a deranged child vampire was the most dangerous task she would ever have to undertake, but she’s about to discover making a deal with a demon is far, far worse. Sent forward into another reality, one in which vampires are now dominating nearly extinct humans, she realizes the sooner she returns to her vampire lover, Disco, the better.

Unfortunately, time changes a lot of things; including those most trusted around her. When she’s faced with a loss and betrayal unlike any she has ever known, her focus shifts from severing the debt between the demon that wants to kill her, to exacting a revenge that will bring forth consequences she never could have fathomed. By reaching out to the darkness lingering within her, she’ll find the strength to push forward despite the circumstances that would see her dead and buried.

After all, when it’s all said and done, all that she has left to lose is her soul.

Read the first chapter.

What are you waiting for?

Review: In the Heat of the Bite by Lydia Dare

In the Heat of the Bite
~Lydia Dare

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publish Date: July 1, 2011
ISBN-10: 1402245106
ISBN-13: 978-1402245107
ASIN: B00514OX4E


From Goodreads:
Chivalry is far from undead...
Matthew Halkett, Earl of Blodswell, is one of the few men in the ton who can claim to be a knight in shining armor- because that's precisely what he was before being turned into a vampyre. When he spies a damsel in distress in the midst of a storm in Hyde Park, his natural instinct is to rush to her aid...

But not every woman needs to be rescued...
Weather-controlling witch Rhiannon Sinclair isn't caught in a storm-she's the cause of it. She's mortified to have been caught making trouble by the imposing earl, but she doesn't need any man-never has, and is sure she never will...

But when Rhiannon encounters Matthew again, her powers go awry and his supernatural abilities run amok. Between the two of them, the ton is thrown into an uproar. There's never been a more tempestuous scandal...

Rhiannon Sinclair has traveled from Scotland to England in search of her younger sister, Ginessa.  Rhiannon's Aunt Greer has taken her to England for the Season, and Rhiannon is worried Aunt Greer has a hidden agenda.   While she's in England, Rhiannon is staying with her newly married friend, Cait, who is one of her coven sisters - Rhiannon is also a witch who can control the weather.

Matthew Hilkett, Earl of Blodswell, is over 650 years old.  He's back in England at his ancestral home with the newly turned vampire, Alec MacQuarrie.  Blodswell was forced to turn him after a vicious attack, and now he must mentor MacQuarrie as a vampire.

While Rhiannon is walking home from her aunt's home, she is so distraught over her sister's situation that she creates a terrible storm.  Blodswell, thinking she is a damsel in distress, attempts to rescue her, but she runs from him.  They keep getting thrown together (oftentimes at Cait's insistence), and Rhiannon soon realizes Blodswell is not as terrible as she supposed, and perhaps he had reason to turn MacQuarrie.  Blodswell, in turn, is captivated by Rhiannon, he cannot get her out of his head - he can't drink except from Rhiannon, which he will not do in respect for her honor.

She wants him, he wants her, but there doesn't seem to be a solution to their dilemma....

My thoughts:
I really enjoy the writings of the duo that is Lydia Dare; their historical paranormal stories are captivating.   When the coven was first introduced (in Tall, Dark, and Wolfish), I didn't think I'd like the witches, but I do.  I'm not as enamored by the vampires as I am by the wolves, but they are entertaining.  Blodswell is a man of utmost breeding and manners, and for that reason he had a difficult time recriprocating Rhiannon's feelings for him and acting on his feelings for her.  Rhiannon is more hot-headed and impulsive; she doesn't think twice about sending a bolt of lightning to make her point. 

While I liked both Rhiannon and Blodswell, I found that for me, the best parts of the story involved the secondary characters in this book - Cait's lycan brothers-in-law (Dash's brothers from The Taming of the Wolf) were wickedly charming and I especially liked the oldest brother, Archer Radbourne, who seems to be a fun-loving scoundrel.  I also found myself searching for passages involving MacQuarrie - his heartbreak over Cait's marriage to Dash and his despair that he'll ever find love himself have me looking forward to his story in the next book in this series - Never Been Bit, out in September.

My Rating:

This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review and Giveaway: Love Story by Jennifer Echols

Love Story
~Jennifer Echols

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: MTV
Publish Date: July 19, 2011
ISBN-10: 1439178321
ISBN-13: 978-1439178324
ASIN: B004G8QU7E

From the author's website:
SHE'S WRITING ABOUT HIM. HE'S WRITING ABOUT HER. AND EVERYBODY IS READING BETWEEN THE LINES.

For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions--it's her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family's racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin's college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?

Then, on the day she's sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He's joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin's heart with longing. Now she's not just imagining what might have been. She's writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . . except this story could come true.
Learn more here.
About the author: Jennifer Echols is the author of romantic dramas for MTV and romantic comedies for Pulse. She currently lives in Birmingham. Visit her on the web at www.jennifer-echols.com.

Erin Blackwell is a Kentucky horse-racing princess.  Or rather, she was a princess, until she told her grandmother that she wanted to go to college to pursue her dream of becoming a novelist instead of majoring in business so she could come home and run the family farm.  Now Erin is attending school on an academic scholarship, working jobs to support herself in New York City while she goes to school.

Hunter Allen has been a fixture on Erin's grandmother's race horse farm since Erin and Hunter were both 12 years old.  Hunter's father is a stable hand, and Hunter works in the stable too.  Now Hunter is going to the same college to major in business and will become the heir to the farm.

Erin figures they probably won't see much of each other, until he transfers into her creative writing class on the day she's written a story to share with the class about a young girl and her affair with a stable boy.  Now she's afraid Hunter thinks she's in love with him, and worse, that he'll say something to the other students or the teacher that will affect her chances at an internship she desperately needs.  Hunter promises he won't say anything, because he doesn't want his new friends to know he was a stable hand, but he's already spoken about it with his two roommates.  Then, after a dorm party that both Erin and Hunter attend, Hunter's story for the class is about the party.  In the story, he talks about both Erin and a girl he was with at the party.  This leaves their friends (Hunter's roommates and Erin's roommates) speculating about Hunter and Erin's feelings for each other.

My thoughts:  I thoroughly enjoyed Love Story!  I love the idea of two people working out their histories through creative writing.  Each story, while different, was an interesting and significant glimpse into their personal histories, showcasing how their relationship ended up the way it did.  The way they each read into the subtext of the other's stories and reacted accordingly left me wanting to pitch in and help their friends get them together. I liked the background of the NYC college and their multicultural roommates; the cast of secondary characters were likeable and a good foil for the angst between Erin and Hunter.  While more a Happy for Now rather than a Happily Ever After, I liked the way the ending showed promise for these two.

I like Ms. Echols' style of writing and will be checking out her backlist. 

My Rating:

The Giveaway:

Gallery/MTV Books is offering two winners a copy of Love Story!

To enter:  leave a comment with a way to contact you.  Contest ends August 5.

US addresses only.

(Following is not required but is always appreciated.)

This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Fearful Friday: Amazon Reviews

I post my reviews here, and I post them on Goodreads. I hadn't been posting my reviews on Amazon, mostly because I'd heard horror stories from other bloggers about plagarism of reviews. However, I got the impression that some of the new publishing houses on NetGalley want to see reviews on Amazon, so I decided to give it a go. Does the "6 out of 10 people found this review helpful" option make anyone else feel like a failure? I guess that's how authors feel about reviews (times about a million), hmmm?  And, I don't know what to do when someone criticizes my review - reply or ignore?  So far I've just apologized.  That's probably the wimp's way out but that's me - Wimpy McDoormat.

My other thought about reviews on Amazon is that I'm suspicious of 5 star ratings from people who haven't reviewed any other book except the one they've given 5 stars to. Really? This book and this book alone moved you to share your thoughts with the world? Is anyone else suspicious that they're done by friends/family? Or am I becoming a cynical b!tch? (Don't answer that.  At least, don't answer it truthfully, lol)

That being said, I do love Amazon - the site is informative and I do look at the reviews when deciding which books/ebooks I'd like to purchase.

Do you post your reviews on Amazon?
Do you use the same format as your blog or change it up?
Any hints or tricks for an Amazon novice?

ALA Book Spotlight: Queer

There were a ton of books at ALA that caught my eye. One in particular was a book titled Queer.  Looking at the cover below you can see why.  Of course I flipped through it, and discovered that it's a serious book with a humorous twist:

I think it's fabulous that this kind of guide is out there for teens and young adults who may be feeling alone or  insecure about their sexuality.  Even with the creation of itgetsbetter.org, a lot of kids are still struggling with acceptance - both self acceptance and peer acceptance, and this book looks like it could be a wonderful resource.

Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens
~Kathy Belge and Marke Bieschke (Authors)
Christian Robinson (Illustrator)

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Zest Books
Publish Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN-10: 0981973345
ISBN-13: 978-0981973340
ASIN: B004Z8XYFG

From Amazon.com:
Teen life is hard enough with all of the pressures kids face, but for teens who are LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender), it’s even harder. When do you decide to come out? To whom? Will your friends accept you? And how on earth do you meet people to date?

Queer is a humorous, engaging, and honest guide that helps LGBT teens come out to friends and family, navigate their new LGBT social life, figure out if a crush is also queer, and rise up against bigotry and homophobia.

Queer also includes personal stories from the authors and sidebars on queer history. It’s a must-read for any teen who thinks they might be queer—or knows someone who is.