Tag Archives: PNR

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Book Review: Marked, Entwined, Temped – by Elisabeth Naughton

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This is a replacement post. I see that I reviewed Elisabeth Naughton’s Marked, Entwined, and Tempted on Goodreads. But I do not see that I posted them here. I am rectifying that. I believe the first was an Amazon freebie, and I purchased the second two.

eternal guardians covers

About Marked:

THERON — Dark haired, duty bound and deceptively deadly. He’s the leader of the Eternal Guardians, an elite group of warriors that defend the mortal realm.

From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn’t exist in real life—silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her.

She was the one. She had the mark. Casey had to die so his kind could live, and it was Theron’s duty to bring her in. But even he wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull in her fathomless eyes, to tear himself away from the heat of her body.

As war with the immortal realm nears, someone will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

My Review:
I grabbed Marked off of the KDP free list just because the cover is so tempting. The main character, Theron, lives up to it too. The book reminded me A LOT of J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood, though I don’t know which series came first. The Eternal Guardians has the same leather-clad, hulking alpha-males oozing testosterone all over the place and falling hard for that certain female. But hey, that’s why we read these types of books to start with, right? It’s all good.

I liked Casey’s strong spine and Theron’s dedication to his duty. The Greek pantheon makes for an interesting casting too. Though, starting with a little knowledge of the mythology will probably help. For example, I misremembered Persephone and Hades’ relationship at one point and was confused when she was excited to see him. The book does present the mythological history, so no worries if you don’t know it.

Other reviewers have commented on the random placement of sex scenes, and it’s true. The first one seemed to especially come out of left field. It generally bothers me to find characters thinking about sex when their circumstances are life-threatening. Seriously, who thinks about getting down and dirty when they’re running for their life? I’m fairly sure some aspect of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs comes into play here. The steamy nature of the same scenes kinda makes up for it, though.

While it didn’t top my favorites list by a long shot, I enjoyed it enough to buy the second and look forward to the third. (Demetrius was one of my favorites.) So I have no real complaints. It amused me for an evening and, therefore, served its purpose.

About Entwined:

ZANDER — The most feared of the Eternal Guardians. It’s rumored he can’t be killed, and he always fights like he has nothing to lose. But even he has to have a vulnerability… somewhere.

Forces of daemons are gathering and have broken through the barriers of the mortal realm. Now more than ever the Eternal Guardians are needed to protect both their own world and the humans’. Zander can’t afford to think about what might have been with the bewitching physician he once regarded as his soul mate. But with eternity stretching before him, he also can’t fathom spending his life without the one woman who makes him feel most alive. Perhaps he’s found his weakness, after all…

My Review:
Entwined continues much in the same vein as Marked and focuses on Zander. He makes a good tortured soul and the breach with his soulmate is believable. I generally enjoyed the book. If anything I think that it is better than the first. The world-building was done in book one, leaving more room for story here. I really liked that the Brothers…oh, did I say that…Arghonauts interact more. I like their snarky comments to one another. The women aren’t wilting violets and are more than willing to stand up for themselves, even if their culture doesn’t approve.

I did have a few issues worth venting about, though. How did Atalanta manage to raise Max to be a good kid? I’m having a hard time believing he would be psychologically sound after ten years with her. I’m just saying. Did Callia’s father really deserve to be forgiven so quickly? Did Zander, for that matter? The happy ending seemed a little too convenient. If it was being arranged ahead of time, surely someone would have said something, or the existing plans would have been canceled. Lastly, the book could do with a bit more editing. There are some inconsistencies, like “she covered her hand with her mouth “instead of mouth with hand. There are also a lot of fragment sentences. I realize that lines such as “That hurt. A lot.” is a writing device intended to force the reader to stop, thereby emphasizing the last statement. But here, it is used so much and in such a manner that it often just felt too jarring; commas would have a similar effect and not have rattled my brain so much.

Despite all of that, I enjoyed the read. Zander and Callia are a steamy couple. The Eternal Guardian’s effort to protect their worlds is honorable, and the politics of Argolea are interesting. I look forward to reading the third in the series.

About Tempted:

DEMETRIUS — He’s the hulking, brooding warrior his fellow Guardians avoid. Too dark. Too damaged. And given his heritage, he knows it’s best to keep everyone at arm’s length.

Isadora is missing. The words pound through his head like a frantic drumbeat. For her own protection, Demetrius did all he could to avoid the fragile princess. And now she’s gone—kidnapped. To get her back, he’ll have to go to the black place in his soul he’s always shunned.

As daemons ravage the human realm and his loyalty to the Guardians is put to the ultimate test, Demetrius realizes that Isadora is stronger than anyone thought. And finally letting her into his heart may be the only way to save them both.

My Review:
I have to say I think that this series is getting better as it goes along. Tempted focuses on the Guardian Demetrius, his soul mate, and his secret. I liked the way Isadora finally came into her own, but Demetrius stole the show. One of my favorite types of characters is the brooding, damaged male whose game is completely thrown off by a female. That is Demetrius all over. He is big, strong, dark, and cruel, but in the presence of little ‘ol Isadora, he’s…well, maybe not an awkward, blushing teenager, but definitely not himself. It makes me smile. The smex was pretty amped up too. There was no lack of steam here. I did get tired of the Robinson Crusoe routine after a while. I thought the plot stalled for a little bit, but not long enough for me to consider dropping it or anything.

Note: I also read Enraptured and Enslaved. But I only reviewed them as heavy-handed and repetative.

The Nightlife New York

Book Review of Travis Luedke’s The Nightlife: New York

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Travis Luedke and I recently connected on Twitter. At the time he jokingly offered me a free copy of his first Nightlife novel (New York). It happened to be free on KDP that day so there wasn’t much sincerity in the offer, but it was amusing. Turns out I had already downloaded the sucker (pun intended since it’s a vampire book). I like the cover art and that’s often enough to grab my attention…that and it’s about vampires. I’m a sucker, I know. (OK I’ll stop.)

LONG Description from Goodreads:
Vampires, strippers, escorts, night clubs, gangs, pimps and corrupt cops, the Nightlife of New York is never boring.

Is she a beautiful blond guardian angel as he imagined, or something else entirely? When Michelle saves Aaron’s life she shares the benefits of her blood (after getting him shot accidentally). He awakes a changed man, living in a purgatory of eternal night, never to see the sunrise again.

Michelle drags Aaron through a hardcore learning curve of vampiric slavery. Forced to adapt to servitude, Aaron is subject to her authority of compulsion. She orders him around like a puppet on a string, a dog on a very short leash. First things first, he must learn to feed properly without creating bloodslaves (humans addicted to the powerful drug-like effect of their venomous bite).

And then she puts him to work-a male escort in the sex trade-same as Michelle. Aaron walks a tightrope of strictly controlled feeding regiments and intensely erotic sexual adventures while catering to the neurotic control-freak tendencies of his new master. It’s do or die, Michelle vows to eliminate him if he proves too difficult to control. The real kicker-amidst all these shocking and degrading adjustments, Aaron finds he’s falling in love.

Can he maintain and keep a sliver of his humanity intact? Innocence is a luxury few can afford in the decadent nightlife of New York. In a world where sex, blood, and power over women is so readily accessible, Aaron struggles against the predatory instincts deeply rooted in his new psyche. He must find his way quickly, practicing rigid self-control, or risk the consequences of Michelle’s wrath.

Review:
Nightlife: New York is a paranormal romance unlike I’ve ever read and it took me a little while to pinpoint why. Surprisingly, I think it is the fact that it was written by a man. It changed the feel and focus of the romance. There was a realism to the main character, Aaron’s, thoughts and actions that I can only imagine was born of the male author’s innate ability to relate to the emotions of a male character. This multidimensionalism  is often lacking in other PNR. They regularly focus almost exclusively on the man’s alpha qualities, to the exclusion of all others. And while I enjoy these novels it was nice to come across a PNR hero who had a little more depth to him.

Aaron Pilan is the nice guy who never gets much coverage in this genre. He isn’t 6’5”. He isn’t build like a tank. He isn’t bulging with muscles or oozing raw sex appeal. He doesn’t even wear leather or shitkickers. He’s attractive, but innocent and a little naive. Meeting the gorgeous vampire Michelle and being brought into her way of life throws him for a serious curve. I adored him! Over the course of the book he grew to be the strong alpha lead we women currently love so much, but managed to maintain the caring qualities that attracted Michelle in the first place. He was interested in more than just pounding a hapless, lust-driven female into a mattress (though the springs did get a workout or two) and I appreciated his internal debates as he tried to reassess his new role. 

There was a little bit of an info-dump in the beginning as Luedke established what type of vampire we’re dealing with. Do they sparkle or brood? Do they maintain their human intellect or become mindless predators, etc? The book gets a little dry during this necessary evil, but quickly picks back up. There are a whole host of interesting underworld characters who play their role without ever cluttering up the plot, a little bit of humour, some sizzling moments, and some tender moments. There really is just about enough of everything.

This is definitely one worth picking up. I have Nightlife: Las Vegas which I have every intention of reading. As an aside, I happened to notice that both books are still be free on Amazon at the moment. I don’t know how long that will last though. 

Book Review of Stephanie Rowe’s Darkness Seduced & Darkness Surrendered

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I bought Stephanie Rowe’s Darkness Seduced and Darkness Surrendered after reading Darkness Awakened (which I reviewed here). They are the second and third books in the Order of the Blade series. 

Description from Goodreads:
Immortal warrior Gideon Roarke made an oath five hundred years ago to the woman who died for him. The ancient Calydon is ruthless in his quest to honor that promise, even if it means risking everything by teaming up with the one woman who will either destroy him, or finally bring redemption to his blackened, hardened soul.

After escaping from a two-year imprisonment at the hands of a madman, the only thing Lily Davenport wants is to go home and reclaim her life. Unfortunately for Lily, standing between her and that goal is a sensual, demanding protector whose dangerous seduction threatens to claim her life…and her soul.

Review:
This is the second book in the Order of the Blade series, and it was a fun little read. It picked up where the first left off and, as expected, followed the soul mates Gideon and Lily. I liked Lily. She was a strong survivor, which is good since she also seemed like a perpetual victim. I also like Gideon. He was a strong, honorable man, and anyone who has read many of my reviews knows that I like that character type a lot. Unfortunately, I didn’t like Lily and Gideon together very much. 

I could get over the insta-love. It’s really to be expected in this genre. I even accepted that they had an extra strong attraction to one another due to her magic and his whole Sheva thing. What I had trouble with was that she essentially condemned him for doing what he was supposed to. Yes, she accepted him eventually, but she still made him grieve his previous actions, grovel and apologize. I don’t mean that she forced him to do it, but she made him feel like he needed to.

No doubt this was meant to be read as her bringing the ice-king to life and teaching him to feel again. In fact, we’re essentially told so. However, to me, it just felt wrong. Soldiers do horrible things during times of war, and the Order is at war. Why should he have to apologize for difficult but honorable actions? His personal need to atone undermined the unavoidable necessity of those situations. It felt like it weakened his commitment to the cause, and I simply didn’t like it. This is, of course, a completely personal opinion and nothing more. 

The ultra baddie that they were up against kept me interested, though his minions seemed awfully easy to beat. I thought the ending was a little sappy for my taste, but the threads left open for Elijah and Ana’s story is really tempting. I’m torn because I like the characters and would like to know more about the rest of the Order members, but I already kind of feel like I’ve had enough of the series. Maybe there just wasn’t enough of a difference between the first and the second books. I don’t know. I’m still undecided. 

As an interesting (probably just to me) aside, I wonder if Ms. Rowe has something against cunnilingus. I’ve read a lot of PNR lately, and there is almost always at least one scene in which it occurs. It’s a PNR/Erotica staple, but not once in either book one or two did it happen. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bemoaning the lack of oral sex or anything. It just seemed notably absent, like an expected step had been skipped. I wonder if I should be embarrassed to have noticed it.

darkness surrenderedDescription from Goodreads:
Six hundred years ago, Elijah Ross was tortured into insanity and thrust into a mental hell that no living creature has ever survived…except him. Now, that same evil is back, and Elijah is all that stands between it and the destruction of all of humanity, but each step he takes drags him further back into the nightmare that once consumed him. Elijah’s only chance is Ana Matthews, whose sensual kisses and passionate fire thrust hope and light into his blackened heart and fragmented mind, but her deadly past could be the final trigger for his descent into irretrievable madness and the destruction of his soul…and humanity.

Review:
Once you get a couple of books into a series, it gets harder and harder to review them. What can you say beyond I liked it more or less than the previous ones? Book 3 of the Order of the Blade series falls right in the middle for me. I liked it more than the second and less than the first. Rowe still manages to hit all of the right emotional notes with her überprotective males but still overplays the hand a bit by telling the reader repeatedly how desperate they are to actually protect their mates. Ana and Elijah are a good pairing. Well, actually, they’re a horrible pairing, and they know it, but they work.

I have to admit I really felt sorry for ultra-baddie Ezekiel in this one. He was a psycho and all, and I certainly didn’t want him to triumph, but I did sympathize with him a little bit. It made for a nice emotional conflict. The whole double-branding thing (you’ll know what I mean if you read it) didn’t sit well with me. I felt like it undermined the sacredness of the soulmate bond, but I kind of got the point too. As the series progresses, I keep waiting for some sort of divine architect to come into play. I guess I’ll just have to keep at it to see if that happens.