Book Review: Damned (The Circle of the Red Scorpion World Book 1) by Charlene Johnson + giveaway

Damned (The Circle of the Red Scorpion World Book 1)
by Charlene Johnson

September 27, 2021

Genre: Paranormal Romance

When Archangel Michael discovers a demon pierced the veil into another realm, he assigns his top warrior, Rayven Stone, to retrieve her.

Desiree Black is the fiery haired demon with stunning emerald eyes Rayven can’t resist. And the one thing he never expected to do was to fall in love.

Returning to present day meant protecting Desiree from the cruel demon leader who vows to punish her for disobeying him. What will Rayven have to do to save her?

It’s angel versus demon. Who will emerge the victor?

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Book Trailer:

https://youtu.be/4pP-HbbLRx4

Damned (The Circle of the Red Scorpion World Book 1) is a hot and steamy new PNR series that I can't wait to continue! What a fun ride, these two characters had all the chemistry you could want in a leading pair. At about 280 pages, I just wished it would have been longer!

A very detailed new world was built on these colorful pages. Tons of action and adventure, a longing for love, and some twists that kept me wanting to race from the next page to the ending. I hope we see these two in upcoming stories, they really lite up the pages. Good stuff for sure, some darker turns could have added even more of an edge. But that's just my opinion. Fun and entertaining for sure!

Getting 4 Sheep

KD

About the Author
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Charlene writes Paranormal Romance and Romantic Suspense/Thrillers. She lives on a farm outside of Colville, Washington.

She's won the following books awards:

2020 Book Excellence Awards Finalist for Homecoming (Sterling Wood Series Book 1)

2020 Literary Titan Silver Award for Blown Away (The Crimes of Passion Series Book 2)

2021 Book Excellence Awards Finalist for Blown Away (The Crimes of Passion Series Book 2)

2021 Book Excellence Awards Finalist for Awakened ( Circle of the Red Scorpion Series - Book 5)

2021 Literary Titan Silver Award for Awakened ( Circle of the Red Scorpion Series - Book 5)

She is currently writing two paranormal romance series, Circle of the Red Scorpion and Circle of the Red Scorpion World, and a romantic suspense/thriller series, Sterling Wood. She also wrote a book for a multi-author romantic suspense/crime thriller series, Crimes of Passion, and several short stories for anthologies.

Books have always been Charlene's passion. She started reading at an early age and progressed to full-length books by age nine. The first supernatural book series she read was Dark Shadows, and it sparked her interest in all things paranormal, with a spicy touch of romance mixed in for good measure. She also started writing poetry in grade school and continues to do so today. Being an avid reader, the consummate daydreamer, and an incurable romantic with a Cinderella complex, she started creating her characters and storylines because she realized she had her own stories to tell. She’s traveled the world, crossed galaxies, traveled through time, and explored history on the pages of books.

Besides reading and writing, she also enjoys photography, travel, music, great movies, and Elvis.

Giveaway

$15 Amazon giftcard – 4 winners!

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Damned (A Magnus Blackwell Novel, Book 1) by Alexandrea Weis & Lucas Astor

Damned (A Magnus Blackwell Novel, Book 1)

by Alexandrea Weis & Lucas Astor
October 3, 2017

Pages: 427
SOME MONSTERS NEVER DIE

Over a hundred years after the death of Magnus Blackwell, Altmover Manor sits abandoned.

Lexie Arden and her fiancé, Will Bennet, are determined to rescue the neglected Mount Desert Island landmark. They want to make Altmover Manor their home. But Magnus has other plans.

A spirit bound to his former residence, Magnus finds himself inexplicably drawn to the young woman. She has a supernatural gift; a gift Magnus wants to exploit.

As Lexie and Will settle in, secrets from Magnus’s past begin to surface. Compelled to learn all she can about the former owner, Lexie becomes immersed in a world of voodoo, curses, and the whereabouts of a mysterious dragon cane.

Magnus’s crimes won’t be so easily forgotten, and what Lexie unearths is going to change the future … for everyone.

I was blown away by the writing in this book. The characters were well developed and easy to visualize, the story was detailed with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The story was original, unique and amazing.

Lexie is a pure-hearted woman who wants to believe the best in everyone. Will, her fiance’ buys a home in Maine that needs lots of work and she moves from Boston with him to begin the process. The minute she sees the manor her gift comes to life. She has always known she has special gifts but the events in her life are about to prove to her and others just how strong her gift really is. Lexie is special. You can tell from the moment you meet her. She is one of those people that you want to be friends with because you know she will be there, no matter what.

Magnus is a hundred-plus-year-old spirit who haunts his abandoned house, Altmover Manor. When Magnus meets Lexie he is drawn to her and feels her power. He believes he can use her to gain the one thing he wants most. Magnus was fantastic. You knew that he had dark secrets and seemed to have a personal agenda but you wanted to like him anyway. Even when all his secrets are revealed it was hard to hate him.

Will was not a character I liked. I didn’t trust him and could not see how they could possibly have a happy marriage. He is controlling and I kept thinking that he was going to betray Lexie around every corner. I am also not a fan of the term “baby” so that didn’t help his case any. Towards the end, I started to thaw slightly, so time will tell if he can win me over in the next book.

If you are looking for a well-written story that is not lacking in imagination, complexity or romance check out this series.

Getting 5 sheep

Denise B

About the Author:
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Born and raised in New Orleans, Alexandrea Weis grew up in the motion picture industry and began writing at the age of eight. After finishing her Ph.D. in Nursing, Alexandrea decided to pick up the pen again. She has published a number of award-winning novels, and won countless national awards for fiction. A certified/permitted wildlife rehabber with the La. Wildlife and Fisheries, when not writing, Alexandrea rescues orphaned and injured wildlife. She and her husband live in New Orleans.

Guest Post: Music and Writing (Damned Series by LM Pruitt)+ excerpt

HODGE-PODGE

Playlists are a huge thing in the book world. Readers always want to know what writers were listening to when they wrote that scene, you know the one, the one which ripped the reader’s heart out or sent shivers down their spine or made the reader’s heart beat a little faster. Writers, for the most part, are more than happy to share the details of what inspired them or helped move the story along. Karen Marie Moning, for example, is famous for not only sharing her playlist but also incorporating lyrics into her work.

Unfortunately, I am not nearly as organized.
Now, that isn’t to say I don’t listen to music when I’m working. However, since I tend to write in coffee shops and restaurants, whatever I’m listening is Pandora or Muzak with the occasional political discussion thrown in for good measure. The music in the coffee shop tends to change with whoever is behind the counter—Mondays and Wednesdays, it’s eighties music with a foray once in a while in to classic country. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, it’s music from the fifties and sixties, heavy on the Rat Pack and blues.
This is music which, for the most part, I wouldn’t listen to while relaxing at home. It is, however, music which has provided some of my biggest plot breakthroughs. The huge cliffhanger scene at the end of BARRY which set up the premise for DAMNED happened because I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You played on Pandora and got stuck in my head for a week. The first intimate scene in DAMNED was written while Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On was playing in the background—which gave me more than a few giggles, to be honest. As I’m writing this, getting ready to dive back in to the world of DAMNED, Tainted Love is playing on Pandora—again, shockingly apropos.

Influence can come in the strangest of places and at the strangest of times. Mine tends to come at eight in the morning, surrounded by ducks and people on their way to work and a hodge-podge of music—and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Damned (Damned Book One)

by LM Pruitt
Release Date: February 15
Genre: PNR
256 pages
From the writer of the international bestselling WINGED series comes a look at the other side... where it's good to be bad....

I was thirty years old when I chose to die--or rather to give up my soul.

Eternal youth, endless money... and sex.

Mind blowing, life changing, otherworldly sex.

For all those things, being damned is a small price to pay.

WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE AND EXTREMELY GRAPHIC SEX SCENES. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

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See the Entire 4 Book Series on Amazon

4 1/2 Sheep Review of Damned

Excerpt Damned:
“I’m Lacey Jackson.” She stuck out one hand, something in her eyes daring me to not take it. “And you are…?”

“Julie Watson.” I took her hand, making my reluctance more than obvious. The second my skin made contact with hers, a spark of energy shot through me so violently I couldn’t help but gasp. Swallowing, I said, “What brings you to Savannah?”

“Oh, I’m here for work.” Without releasing my hand, she slipped out of her seat and slid in to the one across from me. Leaning in, she lowered her voice and said, “I was fully prepared for it to be another dull, routine trip but now… well, now I think I’m glad I got assigned this route.”

“Oh.” The low fluttering in my stomach wasn’t unfamiliar—I was far from a virgin and I’d not only done Mardi Gras and Spring Break in Miami but I’d also spent a month in Europe after my college graduation. But this… this was something different. And not because it was caused by a woman.

This was… raw. Visceral. Almost feral. Like she’d tapped in to some hunger I wasn’t even aware I’d had and now that I did the idea it would go unfulfilled was almost too much to bear.

“You should come work with me.” She lifted our joined hands, brushing her lips over my knuckles. “I have a feeling you would be… amazing.”

“What?” It was as if all my attention was focused on the small bit of skin where she’d kissed me, tendrils of lust spooling out through the rest of my body in lazy ribbons. “What do you… what do you do?”

“I collect souls.” Her eyes darkened, her breath catching in her throat and I realized for the first time I wasn’t the only one affected by our contact. “Or rather the energy from them. The actual soul is taken up by someone else—it doesn’t matter, the details can be explained later.”

“You collect….” I trailed off, part of me sure she was joking and an even larger part of me sure she wasn’t. “Really. Why?”

“Because I can.” She flicked her tongue over her lips and I sucked in a shallow breath. “Because it’s fun.”

“But that would make you….”

“A demon, yes.” This time when she smiled, a dimple appeared in her left cheek and I was caught with the sudden urge to kiss it. “More specifically a succubus.” My confusion must have shown because she laughed. “I fuck people for their energy—sometimes to death, sometimes not. It all depends.”

“And you want to do that to me?”

“Oh, no.” She shook her head, her hair sliding across her shoulders, the tips curling over the swell of her breasts. “I told you. I want you to work with me and my sisters and Lilith.” She leaned closer and I breathed deep, the scent of her perfume almost painfully exotic. “I want you to join the ranks of the Morning Star and spend eternity tempting the weak and the wicked.”

What she was suggesting was lunacy. Madness. Even if I believed her, the idea of giving up my life to be some sort of demonic minion was ridiculous. Although….

What would I be giving up? A lifetime spent catering to David’s whims, denying myself the things I truly enjoyed because it would be bad for his reputation or his political chances or his weight? A lifetime attempting to please my parents and knowing it would never happen because nothing would ever overshadow Joanne’s sacrifice? A lifetime being nothing but the substitute?

What, exactly, would I be giving up?

“Jules.” The nickname I hated hearing from David sounded and felt like a caress coming from Lacey. Lifting our hands again, she ran her tongue over one of my fingertips before nipping lightly. Her voice was heavy with promise when she spoke again. “Come play with me.”

“Yes.” I breathed out the single word before leaning over the table and crushing my mouth to hers.

Who needed a soul anyway?

Wicked (Damned Book Two)

by LM Pruitt
Release Date: April 2017
Genre: PNR
181 pages
All things truly wicked start from innocence.
—Ernest Hemingway

Being a demon isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Especially when you make a massive mistake your first month on the job.

Even more so when your sister is one of the all-star players on the other team.

Add in the rumors of not one but two coups and it’s not hard to see—something wicked this way comes….

Amazon

5 Sheep Review of Wicked

Ruin (Damned Book 3)

by LM Pruitt
Release Date: May 31, 2017

Genre: PNR
83 pages
I can resist everything except temptation—Oscar Wilde

But what happens when temptation is everywhere?

Cam is tempting to me toward the darkness.

Barry is tempting me toward the light.

And I want them both. I want it all.

Temptation will be my salvation. Or my ruin.

Amazon
5 Sheep Review of Ruin

Torment (Damned Book Four)

by LM Pruitt
Release Date August 8, 2017
Genre: PNR
164 pages
Enemies are so stimulating.--Katherine Hepburn

If you can look past the part where they're trying to kill you.

The Damned want my head on a platter. The Winged have similar plans.

As for Morning Star and the Power... well, only They know.

One false step... and everything is lost.

CONTAINS SCENES OF GRAPHIC LANGUAGE AND SEXUAL ACTIVITY. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Amazon
4 Sheep Review of Torment

About the Author:

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L.M. Pruitt has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. A native of Florida with a love of New Orleans, she has the uncanny ability to find humor in most things and would probably kill a plastic plant. She knows this because she's killed bamboo. Twice. She is the author of the Winged series, the Plaisir Coupable series, Jude Magdalyn series, the Moon Rising series, and Taken: A Frankie Post Novel.

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Book Review: Ruin (Damned Book 3) by LM Pruitt + excerpt

Ruin (Damned Book 3)
by LM Pruitt
May 31, 2017
I can resist everything except temptation—Oscar Wilde

But what happens when temptation is everywhere?

Cam is tempting to me toward the darkness.

Barry is tempting me toward the light.

And I want them both. I want it all.

Temptation will be my salvation. Or my ruin.

amazon

Ruin is the third installment in L.M. Pruitt’s Damned series, a spin off to her vast Winged chronicles. Damned follows the transformation of Julie Watson from entitled socialite to damned succubus. Characterised by its imaginative paranormal intrigue, colourful characters, wry humour, and delicious erotica, this series is fresh to be sure. Pruitt bravely takes her characters into territory rarely traversed in this genre.

In this installment, Julie is steeped in danger as double agent for Abby, right hand to Morningstar. Realizing her life is in serious peril, Julie casts herself in the role of Cambores’ political partner and lover. For his part, Cam wishes to overthrow the leadership of Asmodeus, Julie’s maker and former lover. Over throwing middle management isn’t enough for Cam, however, as he has his sights set on a hellish revolution. Deemed an emergent queen to be, Julie needs to assert herself if she’s going to survive. Julie’s tie to her sister Joanne, a highly influential member of the Winged, only adds a layer of danger and complication to Julie’s operation. But the more time Julie spends with Cam, the more deeply she feels the allure of power.

I’m absolutely loving Julie’s transformation and she’s quickly becoming my new favourite. I’m drawn to her deeply flawed character and unabashed honesty about her shortcomings, materialistic proclivities, and insatiable sexual appetite. Julie’s magnetism is quickly amassing her a rich and wildly entertaining entourage, which is only adding to the entertainment. I’ll even admit, just between us, that I identify more with Julie than I do with most book leads. Julie says what everyone else is thinking but hasn’t dared utter, much less act upon. And Pruitt just keeps taking it there. I’m thrilled to be along for the ride. This series has been my most fun read of 2017 so far.

Excerpt

“Is it done?” Cam strapped the saddle bags he’d somehow managed to stuff all my clothes in to the little bike—not quite a motorcycle but bigger and less dorky than a scooter. When I didn’t answer right away, he stepped over to me, grabbing my face in his hands and squeezing. “Coniglietto. Is it done? Did you take care of her?”

“Yes.” Even to my own ears my voice sounded dull and lifeless. Considering the fact I felt high as fucking kite, I could only assume it was shock. “I took care of her.”

Not in the way he meant, not exactly, but I’d taken care of her the best way I knew how.

I’d done a lot of horrible things, on purpose and accident, and I had no doubt I would do more horrible things still. But I’d be damned even more than I already was before I actually killed my sister.

“Good girl.” Cam pressed a quick, hard kiss to my forehead before steering me toward the bike. “I have little doubt the archangels will be here soon—so we shouldn’t be.”

“Where are we going?” It didn’t matter. I had, for all intents and purposes, hooked my wagon to his. If anyone threw doubt on my commitment to the so-called cause, all Cam would have to do was point out what I’d done to Joanne. Sure, there might be trouble when it came out she wasn’t actually dead but it could all be explained away as yet another newbie mistake.

After all, they taught us how to not kill people. Not the opposite.

“I’m thinking Prague.” He settled himself on the bike, gesturing for me to do the same. He handed me a helmet, his lips curving upward when I stared at it blankly. “Safety, little rabbit. And a disguise. It’s safer for us to blend in at the moment.”

“Right.” My hands felt thick and clumsy as I struggled to strap on the protective headgear and I cursed under my breath when Cam finally took pity on me and did it himself. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Change is hard, little rabbit.” He brushed his lips over mine before flicking the tip of my nose. “Now, let’s go take over the world, hmm?”

Double  Sheep Book Review: Damned (A Damned Novel #1)

Reviews: Wicked (Damned Book 2)

Five Sheep

Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:
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L.M. Pruitt has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. A native of Florida with a love of New Orleans, she has the uncanny ability to find humor in most things and would probably kill a plastic plant. She knows this because she's killed bamboo. Twice.  She is the author of the Winged series, the Plaisir Coupable series, Jude Magdalyn series, the Moon Rising series, and Taken: A Frankie Post Novel.

Book Reviews: Wicked (Damned Book 2) by L.M. Pruitt

Wicked (Damned Book 2)

by L.M. Pruitt
April 5, 2017

181 pages

The bestselling series which proves there's no rest for the wicked continues....

All things truly wicked start from innocence.—Ernest Hemingway

Being a demon isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Especially when you make a massive mistake your first month on the job.

Even more so when your sister is one of the all-star players on the other team.

Add in the rumors of not one but two coups and it’s not hard to see—something wicked this way comes….

amazon

Southern belle Julie is a newly created succubus. Having traded her eternal soul for a life of passion and glamour, Julie is still learning to navigate the complex dynamics of her new reality. In this second installment, Julie is given a covert assignment to uncover details of a brewing coup among the ranks of incubi and succubi. As a succubus turned spy, Julie is continually forced to compromise her relationships and very existence to deliver intel to Abby, hell’s second in command. Amidst her attempts to please her boss, Julie is also desperately trying to forge a unique identity for herself. As the sister of a heavenly heavy hitter, and the lover of a hellish heavyweight, Julie struggles for autonomy and self-preservation.

I am loving this series. I like Julie as the main character, an anti-hero of sorts. Julie isn’t perfect, not even close, and I like that. I get to lose myself in a character who makes the bad choices and the fallout is oh so entertaining. Julie’s southern charm and manners contrast humorously with her wild sexual abandon. She becomes something of a walking contradiction, but instead of inciting frustration, her follies create intrigue. Because Julie is such a wild card, I really have no clue where all this is leading and I find that refreshing.

This book is full of sex. Like, full. And it’s descriptive. And, at times, unconventional. Surprisingly, though, it works and, for the most part, an integral part of the story. So, if liberal sex isn’t your thing, steer clear.

Book one ends in a cliff-hanger, a technique I don’t care for. With this installment, while there are some major question marks, the transition to book three, Ruin, has been more interestingly set. I can’t wait.

Double  Sheep Book Review: Damned (A Damned Novel #1)

Five Wicked Sheep

Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:
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L.M. Pruitt has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. A native of Florida with a love of New Orleans, she has the uncanny ability to find humor in most things and would probably kill a plastic plant. She knows this because she's killed bamboo. Twice.  She is the author of the Winged series, the Plaisir Coupable series, Jude Magdalyn series, the Moon Rising series, and Taken: A Frankie Post Novel.

Double Book Review: Damned (A Damned Novel #1) by LM Pruitt

Damned (A Damned Novel #1)
by LM Pruitt
February 23, 2017
256 pages
All things truly wicked start from innocence.
—Ernest Hemingway
Being a demon isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Especially when you make a massive mistake your first month on the job.

Even more so when your sister is one of the all-star players on the other team.

Add in the rumors of not one but two coups and it’s not hard to see—something wicked this way comes…

Bianca Greenwood's Review

Four ½ Damn’ that’s Good Sheep

Thirty year-old Julie is rather aimless. She’s beautiful and privileged, but not challenged and definitely not happy. When a couple of lust demons make her an offer she can’t refuse, Julie sells her soul in exchange for eternal life, abundant wealth, and endless mind-blowing sex. In exchange, Julie must fill energy quotas for her boss at a weekly tip-in. Julie tumbles headlong into a glamourous lifestyle with an immensely powerful, thousand-year-old demon at her side, barely looking back at the life she left behind.

Julie is an interesting character. She starts the book a bit damaged, a bit empty. Ironically, her transformation into a demon is what makes her more human.  In short order Julie knows she’s being manipulated and there are secrets she needs to uncover. Her journey, so far, is one of self-discovery and awakening. At times she’s definitely not likeable, not even close, but when a main character is an anti-hero, and indulges in things a typical hero wouldn’t, the possibilities are wildly endless. 

Now, this may speak to my own flawed character, but I adore the character of Asmodeus, Julie’s mentor and lover. He’s domineering to the core, but so damn sexy. The relationship between the two is interesting and anything but pedestrian. I’m staunchly team Asmodeus. 

This book is off the charts sexy. So if that’s not your thing, it may not be for you. For the record, it’s sooo my thing and this book was a delicious guilty pleasure and a damn near perfect reading experience. I have one major complaint to lodge. Damned ends with a cliff hanger. I despise cliff hangers. I need closure! Also, there are some emerging character dynamics I don’t care for. But we’ll see where this goes. Eventually.

Every so often, I devour a book.  Damned has been the first book this year to wholly capture my attention. I read with feverish devotion, never wanting it to end. I need book two. Like, now. The book is a spin-off to Pruitt’s Winged series, a series I knew nothing about until this week.  Pruitt’s whole collection just shot to the top of my TBR.

Jeanie G's Review

Getting 3 "you make the decision" sheep!

This is the second book I have read from this author so I went back and looked at the review from last year. I had some of the same concerns. Character building was a little thin but then this book was about Succubi and what can you really say about them!? Constant pleasure? No Judgement? Why not join those ranks when you are unhappy with your human life? I also thought this was a continuation of the "Winged" series but apparently it starts a whole new series. Although characters such as Gideon, Gabriel and Raphael all play some cameo roles.

I still felt like I was missing some background story on Julie's sister who died 3 years ago. She apparently plays an important role in the recruitment of Julie and no mention of where she is or why is provided until the last couple pages. There were other characters introduced but most didn't seem to play a major role.

The first few chapters were fun. The recruitment and mentoring of Julie were pretty standard (I would imagine) for a new Succubi and definitely had the erotic factor front and center. The next 50 percent was mainly more erotica. Julie and her mentor "fall in love" but then jealousy and control rear their ugly heads and Julie begins to question her decisions. I felt like the author got on this track and forgot to get off. Mainly descriptive erotic writing with little substance. The last couple chapters of the read picked up and advanced the story but left you hanging. UGGGGHHH! I would pick up the next installment when it's out but not sure I want to go through a lot of miscellaneous erotica to get to the storyline.

I think I am in the minority with most of L.M. Pruitt's readers as most give rave reviews. I would be more attracted to the books if the storyline instead of the erotica was the main feature. There is a place for both but in my opinion it doesn't work well here.

About the Author:
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goodreads-amazon
L.M. Pruitt has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. A native of Florida with a love of New Orleans, she has the uncanny ability to find humor in most things and would probably kill a plastic plant. She knows this because she's killed bamboo. Twice.  She is the author of the Winged series, the Plaisir Coupable series, Jude Magdalyn series, the Moon Rising series, and Taken: A Frankie Post Novel.