Author Archives: Sadie

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Book Review: Mia, by J.A. McCorkle

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This is a replacement post, as the original seems to be missing. I believe the author, J.A. McCorkle, sent me a copy of the book.

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Mia Harrington’s life as a wealthy socialite is changed forever when a duo of deadly vampires attack her home in the middle of the night. Lucas Bradshaw, the handsome and powerful leader of a vampire clan, rescues Mia from the evil clutches of her attackers and vows that nothing will ever hurt this woman again. As Mia is exposed to the vampire world that she never knew existed, can Lucas really keep her safe? Especially when his clan is being threatened by the same vampires that attacked Mia?

As Mia recovers from that violent night, the attraction to the mysterious vampire leader grows. Will Mia be able to handle the intense attraction she shares with Lucas? Will he share more with her than he ever has shared with anyone before?

My Review:
Mia is just what it claims to be: a vampire erotica. Mia is a strong-willed protagonist who is easy to like. Lucas is every bit as powerful and sexy as you would want him to be. The uncharacteristic vulnerability he shows Mia endears him to the reader. There is no lack of steamy sex between them. The bad guy, Blair, is truly evil, and this is made abundantly clear by his cruel domination of the women around him. When he was around, the book often read like a cautionary tale of sadism and misogyny. I didn’t care for this, but that is more of a personal preference than an indictment of the book.

My only real complaints are the frequent tense changes and that Mia and Lucas have an instant, almost visceral reaction to each other that sets in motion the events of the book. But you never really find out why. Similarly, Mia has a fairly drastic change of opinion at the end of the story with no identifiable instigator. Despite this I would still suggest giving it a read.

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Book Review: Natural Magick, by Kathi S. Barton

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I purchased a copy of Natural Magick, by Kathi S. Barton.

Description from Goodreads:

Dominic Marshall is sick to death hearing about Pete. The way the women keep going on about him Dominic swears that the first time he sees the guy he’s going to punch him in the nose, then drain him. There is no way in Dominic’s mind that any one person could be that great.Piccadilly Bartholomew or “Pete” to everyone who knows her is in trouble. She had to do some work for the man she’d just broken into his ‘secure’ computer system by telling him not only how she did it, but also show him how to fix it. In the mean time, she meets Duncan to help him with a computer purchase.When Pete has to deliver the twins of Sara’s in a restaurant, Dominic decides to claim her as his mate and make her his. Pete thinks Dominic is nuts and has no problems telling him so.Her family finds her and has decided to come and fetch her home. With her powerful magic and their black magic they are going to breed her with the most powerful being alive. But they didn’t expect a pack of werewolves, several thousand vampires and the Queen of Magick to be with her.Sparks, steamy sex and magic bring Diminic and Pete together and their combined strengths. But will it be enough to take on someone as powerful as a former King?

Review:

The first paragraph of the description is great and it made me want to read this book immediately. I put it off for a long time because I haven’t actually read the first two books. I finally gave in and was able to follow the story well enough. But I think I probably did miss out some. The story here does stand on its own, but the events of the previous books are referenced and all of the characters are only vaguely described. I assume fuller descriptions were previously given and what was here was only meant as a reminder. That detracted from my enjoyment a little, but no one to blame on the one but myself.

Pete was a fun character. I appreciated her straight shooting, no nonsense attitude. Dominic was just your average PNR vampire alpha mate. (Though he wasn’t actually THE alpha vamp here. Aaron was.) There wasn’t much about him that stood out for me. He was completely made up for in the character of Duncan though. Duncan was the light of this book. I adored him. I don’t know what species he was supposed to be, but I still wanted to hug him to death.

Everything in the book moves quickly, too quickly, unbelievably quick. Pete gains the trust and admiration of everyone she meets immediately. She does one job for a company and so impresses them that they purposefully overpay her and offer her a stellar full-time job. Dominic knows she is his mate within seconds of scenting her. One moment he and Pete are having their 2nd somewhat civil conversation, the next they’re lip locked and racing for the bedroom. One paragraph he’s apologising for the pain caused when he breaks her hymn, the next she is bent over a chair screaming “f_ck me harder”…and within a week they’ve moved on to what some would call kinky fetish play. She has to confront her mother, stepfather (essentially) and seven brothers. Then dispatches all nine of them in about two pages, despite never previously fighting with her abilities.

It was very apparent early on, from the tone and everyone’s hearts and flowers acceptance of Pete that this was not going to be a book in which anything bad was allowed to happen to the heroine. That’s just what it proved to be, a litany of happy outcomes. Kind of takes some of the enjoyable tension away when you know the outcome from the beginning. But if you’re the type that really likes a lot of mushy affirmations and a predictable HEA this is the book for you. (I know that sounds snarky, but I was being serious.)

Lastly and on a side note, I would just like to point out for the record, and I know I’m probably being pedantic by mention it, but the cover has NOTHING to do with the book. Not once does Pete or anyone else carry a sword and while the dogs are cute, her mate is a vampire not a werewolf. I’m just sayin’.

 

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Book Review: The Shadowed Valley, by Y.I. Lee

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I was sent a copy of The Shadowed Valley by the author Y.I. Lee.
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In The Shadowed Valley, nothing is quite what it seems. What Celia faces here is worse than anything she experienced in the land of Dauthus. The evil residing in the valley messes with your mind.

My Review:
The Shadowed Valley is a Christian novel. It is definitely an allegory of God’s continued dominion over Satan and a reaffirmation of the power of faith. It does this very well. While I wasn’t initially aware of its religious bent, I also wasn’t particularly bothered by it. But it does mean that I am not the intended audience. I, for example, found the continued assertion that someone else will always save you if you are just willing to place yourself wholly under their protection cloying, even if that someone is the personification of the Lord. This isn’t a criticism of the novel itself but rather an artifact of its appeal to a particular audience. There are those who will find such reminders of heavenly accompaniment familiar and enjoy the book more for it. The story is straightforward and easily followed. Someone looking for an enjoyable novel situated within the Biblical arena would likely enjoy this book.