Tag Archives: PNR

Review of The HOT Wolf (Werewolves On Heat Series #1), by Ellie Valentina

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I received an Audible code for this book (Hot Wolf, by Ellie Valentina), or rather for the compilation of the first three books in the Werewolves on Heat series. It was my plan to save the reviews for a single blog post, once I had listened to them all. However, I’m traveling for the holidays and don’t anticipate actually finishing the series in 2019. My sense of order just won’t let me a review a book I read in 2019 in 2020. So, I’m posting this one now and will post again when I finish the series next year….decade. Crazy.

Description from Goodreads:

Ava Sparks was a paranormal assassin tasked with eradicating werewolves from existence. 

Her latest target was gorgeous billionaire Chase Elliot. Intelligence suggested he was hiding a secret life as a werewolf and because of that he was to be erased from existence. 

However, once Ava became close to the charming Chase she made a stunning realization that changed everything. 

Now, instead of killing the werewolf, she was to find herself making love to him and life as everyone knew it would never be the same again… 

Review:

First, I think both the title and the cover of this book are misleading. The title makes you think it’s erotica, but it’s not at all. There is VERY LITTLE heat in it. What’s more, the werewolf in question is very cool and collected. He may be attractive, but hot isn’t an adequate description of him as a whole. He’s a politician, not a soldier or anything else that would have him hulking ripped on the cover either. All in all, you are simply given there wrong first impression of this book (and probably series). 

This is exacerbated by the fact that werewolves are basically extraneous to the plot. The characters could be from opposing political factions, or ninja clans or corporate spies. None of it would change the plot one iota. I was disappointed by this fact.

Getting past all that, I though it was still only so-so (not bad, but not good either). The ‘parents’ seem to make decisions based on who knows what that make the heroine go off and make ill-thought plans and take poorly executed actions. (She’s awfully inept for an experienced assassin.) She seems to have several personality shifts throughout the book. And the happily-ever-after is just too pat to stomach easily.

Review of The Dragon’s Psychic (Immortal Dragon #1), by Linzi Baxter

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I received a free audible code for a copy of Linzi Baxter‘s The Dragon’s Psychic.

Description from Goodreads:

She was supposed to be just a job. A paycheck. Now she’s his destiny.

Talia hadn’t planned on dying today. Accidentally defying the supernatural council wasn’t exactly her plan either. But when she did her duty and touched a bloody knife to determine guilt or innocence, her vision seemed… off. So was Councilman Gideon’s rush to declare a shivering child guilty of murder. Now Talia’s trying to lose herself in the West Virginia mountains with the child in tow, and the mercenary on their tail has an uncanny ability to find them, no matter how far they run. 

Kirin’s dragon-shifter senses make him the most sought-after mercenary in these parts. But something about this job smells wrong. And when he finally lays his hands on the fugitive, he gets the surprise of his three-hundred-year life. The fragile, determined woman in his arms is his mate, who he’d given up all hope of finding. 

His mercenary target has become his chosen partner, and instead of breathing down her neck, he’s bound to protect her at all costs. But if Kirin and Talia can’t figure out who wants this child dead—and why—they could all wind up sharing the same grave. 

Review:

This was what it was. I didn’t find anything especially impressive about it, but I also didn’t think it a bad version of a basic dragon shifter-find-his-mate story. I liked the characters and thought the inclusion of a child interesting. However, I also thought the child got over losing her parents too easily and the conclusion was too swift (rushed). The narrators did a fine job and I’d be willing to both read another Baxter book and listen to another of Costa and Kafer’s readings.

Review of Fantasy Lover (Dark-Hunter, #1), by Sherrilyn Kenyon

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I borrowed an audio copy of Fantasy Lover, by Sherrilyn Kenyon through Hoopla.

Description from Goodreads:

It might sound like a man’s favorite fantasy — to live forever, destined to be the lover of thousands of women. But for Julian of Macedon, it’s a nightmare. Once he was a proud Spartan general, now he’s a love-slave, his essence magically held captive in a book, cursed to spend all eternity pleasing women. Then, one day, Grace Alexander summons Julian to fulfill her passionate dreams — and sees beyond the fantasy to the man himself. Long years as a sex therapist, listening to other people’s bedroom problems, has taken a lot of the fun out of the physical side of love for Grace. She’s remarkably understanding about Julian’s situation — and that’s disconcerting for all concerned. With or without sex, the rules of the enchantment cannot be changed. Julian is hers for the next month. And, as their time together slips by, Julian and Grace find more to share than sympathy and conversation — and they begin to wonder if love might be within their grasp. That leaves only one question. Is love enough to break a 2,000-year-old curse? 

Review:

A while back I read Deadmen Walking. It’s one of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s newer book and the first one by her that I’d read. I thought it was awful, which surprised me since so many people like her books so much. Another reader commented that she loves Kenyon’s writing, but agreed Deadmen Walking isn’t the best. She recommended I try Fantasy Lover instead. The reason I never read Kenyon before is that I was baffled by all the overlapping series and didn’t know what to read first. So, with a recommendation on where to start I picked this one up at the library. 

I didn’t hate it. I won’t say I loved it. But it was a sight better than my previous Kenyon experience. The book has a certain self deprecating humor I appreciated and poor tortured Julian was too sweet for words. But I also thought Grace too prim for a sex therapist, wondered why her Ph.D. best friend was running a tarot stand, thought no one reacted reasonably (or at all) to literal gods popping up in their lives, and I got desperately bored with 300+ pages of sexual angst but no actual sex until the conclusion (and then it was abrupt and without any foreplay at all). 

Some of what irritated me just comes from the fact that the book is 15+ years old and the norms of the PNR publishers of the time are ones I find irksome now. Grace’s whole personality seems to be based on being giving, caring and generous, for example. Because of course a woman is, right? But still, I didn’t hate it and that’s something.

The book talked enough about Kyrian that I’m curious about him. But I’m also not particularly interested in having to read another one. So, I don’t know which way I’ll go, maybe read the next book, maybe not.

Edit: A search of my reviews shows that Deadmen Walking wasn’t actually my first attempt at a S.K. book, Dragonmark was. However, I didn’t finish it. So, I’m not going to change the wording of this review.