Tag Archives: PNR

Book Review of the Altered States series by L. Harner and T.A. Webb

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I grabbed Laura Harner‘s short story Altered States and the subsequent novella written with T.A. Webb, Deep Blues Goodbye, off of the KDP free list. I then bought Deadly Shades of Gold. As of the time of posting the first two appear to still be free and MrsConditReadsBooks seems to have a giveaway running for the third (though the one thing I couldn’t find posted was the closing date. So…)

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I have to start out by saying that I almost missed out on reading this series. I’d seen Altered States on the KDP list a couple of times and never paid it any attention. It had the double handicap of being a short story, which I tend to ignore, and a cover that doesn’t really appeal to me, which I ignored. I never even read the description. Mistake. I’m pretty sure M/M vampires would have gotten my attention from the start. It sure did when I found them in the blurb for Beep Blues Goodbye. It was only when I realised that they were a set that I went back and got Altered States too.

It’s a good thing I’m a little obsessive about reading descriptions of books even if I don’t like covers. Otherwise I would have passed on DBG too. And if I didn’t read reviews I wouldn’t have realised that AS is a prequel. I would have missed out on a whole lot of fun. So thank you to all those wonderful reviewers who made that connection apparent. 

Before I get on with reviewing the series let me pause and mention that all three books…or rather the short story and both novellas wouldn’t stand alone very well. It’s one story. Each ends in a severe cliffhanger and a reader would be scrambling to catch up if they read a latter book without having read the first ones. That’s why I’m breaking my usual routine and reviewing them all as one. I’m also going to forgo my usual rant about partial books. We all know I would normally make it here, ’cause yes, none of these instalments is a full story arc in itself and, yes, that normally makes me grind my teeth (especially when they are all short enough to fit in one binding). But I’m letting it go here because I got two of the three for free and enjoyed them so very much. Moving on…

I could sum my review of this series up in one explicative ridden sentence. GAWD DAMN, THAT MOTHER FUCKIN’ SHIT IS HOT!! But, while that may be all some need to know before picking the series up (probably would have been enough for me), letting my less than eloquent inner teenager (or apparently budding cougar) out wouldn’t tell you much of substance about these gems.

The series starts out following Sam Garrett, New Orleans Police Detective and gay black man. He is smart, sarcastic, sexy, and honest in his lustiness. I love that. I found his character to be a joy. Well spoken black men are too rare in fiction and well spoken gay black men few and far between. When he is partnered with the arrogant, by the books detective Travis Boudreaux things start to go a little sideways. 

When Boudreaux later “had the bad taste to sit up at his own funeral” the series finally earns its paranormal tags. There are vampires, werewolves/bears/panthers/dogs, cops, hookers, feds, Homeland security, and mobsters involved in an ever expanding plot. There is also some really, really steamy sex. One particular dance scene had me fanning myself and I don’t even know if the M/M/M ménage à trois is physically possible. (Being singularly lacking in a penis I suppose I’ll never find out.) But Wow! 

What really struck me about AS and DBG is that they were unquestionably steamy reads, but they did this without all of the power plays. No one was dominated, subjugated, or abused in any fashion. There were no whips, blindfolds, or kinks of any sort, but the sex still smoldered. I don’t mean to make grand sweeping generalities, but I kind of think modern erotica’s frequent heavy dependence on fetishism is a plot crutch. Yes, it is titillating to read about exotic sex, but it takes a stronger story to keep the scene equally captivating without taping into people’s sense of the taboo. These didn’t go there. They didn’t need to. DSoG did a little bit in the character of Henri, but he’s the über bad guy so I can forgive it. 

In and amongst all of this testosterone-laden male goodness is a story too. There is a murder mystery to solve and a gentle romance struggling to bud. There are some wonderfully colourful characters too—Russ, Jet, Danny, and right there at the end Wayne. The man-banter between these guys is great. I can’t wait for more. 

If I understand correctly there should be another book, Free Falling Crimson apparently, out later in the year. This makes me very, very happy. 

The Ghost and the Graveyard

Book Review of Genevieve Jack’s The Ghost and the Graveyard

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The Ghost and the GraveyardI grabbed Genevieve Jack’s The Ghost and the Graveyard from the Amazon KDP list.

Description from Goodreads:
Left destitute by an unscrupulous ex-boyfriend, Grateful Knight takes her father up on his offer to live rent-free in a house he hasn’t been able to sell. Desperate to make a new start, Grateful tries to overlook the property’s less desirable features, like the graveyard that stretches to her back door. On the bright side, the unbelievably gorgeous cemetery caretaker, Rick, is dead set on helping her feel at home. She vows to take things slow, considering her recent disastrous relationship, but is baffled when she literally can’t keep her hands off of him.

When things in Grateful’s house start moving on their own another man enters her life, a sexy ghost with a dark secret. Magical forces are at work in the tiny town of Red Grove and they’re converging on Grateful. Solving this ghostly mystery won’t be easy and with the caretaker becoming increasingly jealous of her spectral relationship, Grateful may be forced to choose between the ghost and the graveyard.

Review:
I really quite enjoyed this book. That’s despite it being told in the first person present tense, which I generally hate and involving both a love triangle and insta-lust, which usually drive me crazy. The book somehow managed to overcome all of its handicaps and provide an enjoyable read. And it did it with surprising ease. The magic irritation-nullifying ingredient? Humour. The Ghost and the Graveyard is funny. Yes, yes it’s hot and steamy too, but that wouldn’t have been enough to overcome my dislike for the parts that make up its whole. I needed Grateful’s quick wit and sarcastic internal monologue for that. She’s a great heroine. She manages to stay strong and sure of her own sense of self in the face of some fairly severe identity shake-ups. She might have gone weak at the knees in the face of Rick and his awesome sex appeal, but she was never weak-willed. I respected that.

Rick was a surprisingly complex hero. He was simultaneously strong and fragile, loyal and of a little untrustworthy. I’m sure (in my own imaginings) that there will be a lot more to him and his backstory in the future books. I liked Lucas too. He was like a lost puppy, but I was a little tired of his whinging by the end of the book.

I was a disappointed that the book didn’t quite wrap up by the end. Don’t get me wrong it ended OK, but only one small part of the larger whole was solved. There were a lot of loose threads about. I’m always left wanting when that is the case. It’s a shame the next book isn’t out yet.

Kade’s Dark Embrace

Book Review of Kade’s Dark Embrace, by Kim Grosso

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Kade's Dark EmbraceI grabbed Kym Grosso‘s erotic paranormal thriller, Kade’s Dark Embrace, off of Amazon’s KDP list.

Description from Goodreads:
After a series of girls are ritualistically murdered on the cold streets of Philadelphia, seasoned detective, Sydney Willows, is forced to work with sexy, alpha vampire, Kade Issacson. While working the case, Sydney finds herself inexplicably drawn to Kade, fighting the passion she feels towards him. Kade, determined to solve the case and mete out justice, is captivated by the independent, fiery detective. As he attempts to protect her from a very real murderer, Kade grows concerned that the beautiful, but very human detective, could easily end up dead should she tangle with supernatural forces that are beyond her control.

The investigation leads them into a dark and dangerous world, deep in the heart of New Orleans, where together, they search for the perpetrators of the Voodoo killings. Sydney soon becomes the target of the killer and ends up fighting for her life and love in the Big Easy. Will she eventually give into the intoxicating desire she feels for Kade if she makes it out alive?

Review:
This one really didn’t do it for me. I appreciated having a mature heroine who knew what she wanted sexually, no trembling virginal 20-somethings here. But Sydney just felt like a needy slut who disregarded even the most basic tenets of self-preservation, but still miraculously never seemed to get hurt. The dialogue was unnatural. Here is an example: “Now, now, little whore. You will not get away from me so easily. Consider yourself lucky that I cannot take your body for my own carnal pleasures before giving you to my Mistress. So greedy she is…she wants you all to herself.” Ugh, really? Sydney’s dedication to the children at the children’s centre came out of nowhere and felt very much like a forced effort to give her character some depth. It is a stunning example of insta-love. For Kade it starts before they even actually meet. Apparently a giant diamond engagement ring says I’ll love you for eternity better than a sacred blood bond. Who knew? The foray into the bondage scene just felt like pointless titillation and the sex scenes lacked sizzle.

There was a good mystery involved, but the whole thing wrapped up far too easily…and apparently no one needs a warrant to go kicking in doors in Philadelphia or New Orleans anymore…oh and why did it start in Philly again? There were also a number of editorial mistakes. So yea, not for me.

There were a few really funny lines though. Example: “Yep, no matter how supernatural you were, testicles were always vulnerable. Tried and true, Sydney loved how that worked.” Yep, funny. Setting the book in two such historic cities allowed for some good environmental atmosphere and I appreciated that. Plus, all of the alpha males seemed to be loyal, honourable, and looking for their forever mate. That’s sexy in and of itself. I think there’s probably a lot of potential here, but it didn’t feel realised…at least not in my opinion. Of course, that’s all any of this is.