Sheep Review: Lord of Abyss by Nalini Singh

Lord of the Abyss, by Nalini Singh, is the final book in a series of four books in the Royal House of Shadows saga. Each book in this series is written by a different author (Showalter, Monroe, Andersen, Singh) but all the authors teamed up to create the shared world of Elden. This final story was, in my opinion, the BEST of the whole series!

Plot:

As the Dark Lord who condemns souls to damnation in the Abyss, Micah is nothing but a feared monster wrapped in impenetrable black armor. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows—the daughter of his enemy. Liliana is nothing like her father, the Blood Sorcerer who’d cursed Micah. She sees past Micah’s armor to the prince inside. A prince whose sinful touch she craves. But first she has to brave his dark, dangerous lair and help him remember. Because they only have till midnight to save Elden.

Nalini Singh is hands down one of the best female PNR writers on the market today; she has the ability to turn out some amazing stories that are action packed and emotionally charged. Our latest and final book in this wonderful series feels like it gets a lot of influence from the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast but as all the stories have proven, they are much steamier and ten times darker then the fairy tales we're used to.

Micah is the youngest of his family, with three older siblings. Ripped from his home at the tender age of five, Micah is trapped in another realm where he grows up to be the Dark Lord of the Abyss. As the Dark Lord, Micah takes people to the depths of hell and while also ruling over his lands. He's the darkest character shown thus far and by the undead gods I LOVED this man. He's got a temper and so much alpha male supremacy going on it's dripping right off of the pages. I want to lick this man up and never let go! Under all that gruff exterior and full body armor is the heart of a lion, a soul of pure innocence, and the power and strength to tear down a nation. He's fire and ice and I don't care which one burns me first! Micah is my male dream boat and I'm ready to hop on board! *boat horns sounding in the background*

Liliana is the daughter to our main baddy, the Blood Sorcerer. (boooo! Throws rotten fruit at Blood Sorcerer) And belive me, he's not going to win any father of the year awards. Especially if you count whipping your child, draining their blood and overall torture that exceeds any of the Geneva Conventions. The guy's a loser with a capital L, and I felt 100% for this young spirited gal. I loved seeing how she endured and how she turned out as awesome as she is a feat in and of itself. Truly the perfect match for our gruff Beast. These two are the best book couple I've read about in a very long time.

The only drawback to the series as a whole is the short length of each story. You have one amazing world being brought to life but you only get half the book in that world, the other half of each book is a work by the same author but a completely different story. In this one you have Desert Warrior (2003) I did read the story and while it's not PNR and not flashy or action based in any way it's a good straight feel mushy romance.

Lord of the Abyss is pure perfection and I'd eat the pages and consume this book in my soul if people would not look at me like I'm one can short of a six pack. (of Coke) I'm recommending this series as a whole to every PNR lover out there who likes a strong alpha male and action mixed in with there smutty romance. It's rare that I ever give a book a full Sheep rating but hands down this story deserves it! Check out the link below to get your copy of Lord of the Abyss.

Getting 5 "Lock me in Micah's dungeon and have your way with me" Sheep

KD

Lord of the Abyss & Desert Warrior

Sheep Review: Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Andersen

Lord of the Wolfyn, by author Jessica Andersen, is the third installment in the gripping PNR series called Royal House of Shadows. With four books in total this series features a new author heading each (Showalter, Monroe, Andersen and Singh). The latest edition is a magnificent journey across the wolf realms where man and beast duke it out for control of a kingdom.

Plot:

Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs… and time is running out.…

For practical Reda Weston, nothing could explain how reading a sexy version of Little Red Riding Hood catapulted her into another realm—face-to-fang with the legendary wolf-creature who seduced women: a wolf who transformed into a dark, virile man….

Dayn, cursed by the Blood Sorcerer who killed his parents and sent to the wolfyn realm damned to a lonely fate. As a beast, he mated with women to gain strength, in both body and blood, as a half vampire it gave him the strength he would need to save his home world of Elden. But as a man, he craved Reda's heated, sizzling touch. With little time left, Dayn had to either embrace his wolf to save his kingdom…or fight it to save his woman.

This story picks up with Dayn after being saved from a spell gone awry by his dying parents. Dayn's parents were the king and queen of Elden, who sent him into another realm where he must await the woman that will lead him on the journey home. So far this is the most info given on the actions his parents took to save the lives of their children. His two brothers and sister have also be sent to different realms to await their fated return on the 20th anniversary of their parents' death. With the Blood Sorcerer out to cause mayhem and evil with dark magic, Dayn awaits for his fated guide... amongst the wolfs. Despite being a vampire by birth and the natural enemy of the wolf, Dayn has to keep his fangs in check or become dog food.

Enter Reda, the earth realm cop who ends up being sucked through a vortex (because really this happens all the freaking time in this series! ha!) which takes her to Dayn's doorstep. She's been having dreams of this man for a very long time and awakes thinking she's just in another of these all too real dreams, but as things start to get a little hairy (literally) the reality of her situation starts to set in. With a major Red Riding Hood feel the latest edition in this series taps in yet again to wonderfully darker side of beloved bedtime fairy tales.

This was personally my first time reading a book by this author and I'll be honest, I really enjoyed it. The premise of this story is incredibly well written. The fact that these siblings are all separately awaiting their fated return yet not knowing if any of the others are still alive was intriguing. The spells and magic used in the book are pretty incredible and Dayn is definitely a sexy hot front man any lady can get behind..or in front of. The only major downside I found was the author's overuse of Reda's constant wishy washy feelings toward Dayn. It was like reading someone plucking petals off a flower "He loves me! He loves me not. He loves me..." and so on. On top of that, the girl cries and whines pretty much throughout the first half of the book. Add on some more fickle behavior and she starts to grate on the nerves. Not the strongest of women in this series thus far and for me the least to get behind and cheer for.

It's a shorter then normal story, as are the other three, the second half of the book contains a different story from the same author: Twin Targets (written 2008) it's not a PNR but a suspense/romance which is also well written except it has the same undertone of constant doubt, this time coming from the lead male. It might just be the author's go-to type of writing style but I personally dislike it.

Overall Lord of the Wolfyn is an action-packed adventure with some steamy romance that will keep you turning the pages. I would have enjoyed, yet again, more background on our leads and maybe a less whiny female but I'll continue this series till the end with the hope that the next gal will be less irritating. Wonderfully written in all other areas and magic-adventure packed it's completely immersing! This series continues to be a must read.

Tomorrows review will be the final book in this saga Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh!

Getting 4 Enthralling Wolf Sheep

KD

Lord of the Wolfyn & Twin Targets