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 Rage by Jill Monroe

Lord of Rage, by Jill Monroe, is the second story 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 a shared world of magic and blood. Book two focuses on Princess Breena, beloved and sheltered but forced into a life unknown to her, I was hoping for a bit more from this book, with her being the only female in a family of boys. Overall it's a good addition but nothing compared to book one.

Plot:

Princess Breena had been dreaming of her warrior lover when she was ripped from her Elden castle and thrown into a strange, dangerous realm. Lost and alone, she prayed for survival and vengeance for her stolen kingdom. She found both in a woodland cottage…in a dark bear of a man.

The golden-haired beauty had eaten his food and slept in his bed when Osborn found her. Though he wanted to awaken his virgin princess to carnal pleasures, Breena wanted more—including his warrior skills. Skills the once-legendary mercenary had long buried. Now Osborn had a choice—risk his life or deny his princess her fairy-tale ending.

Dreams seem to be the motif in this series so far, whether on purpose or by accident I've yet to figure out. But nonetheless we have book two taking off with the lone sister Breena getting dumped smack dab in the middle of nowhere. She's a low-level witch in this book, but book one's references to her powers seemed to imply she's capable of more than we see in this book, OR her abilities are yet to fully manifest. Either way it seems one of the few powers this female has is dream scape. She's been spying on a hunky berserker for a while, but after her home is besieged by the Blood Sorcerer, Breena and her bear of a man are brought together.

Osborn lost both parents as a young teenager, setting out to raise his two younger brothers he takes on the task of father figure and sole provider. Taking jobs here and there as hired muscle, the man earns his rep as a badass while keeping his remaining family secluded in a forest. He's been scarred so deep from a painful past, Breena's got her work cut out for her if she's going to get his help avenging her parents deaths. As she stumbles upon the boys' home you really get a feel of Goldilocks and the three bears, eating their porridge and sleeping in their bed it's a laughable moment that ends with a much bigger punch in the story than we're used to.

Trained to fight alongside Osborn's younger brother, Breena learns to wield a sword. But it turns out all her hard training doesn't end up being utilized by the end. It's a bit anti-climatic which leads one to wonder why the the author spent so much time on the training if it was never to be used in the climax of this book. Aside from that, the pampered princess has a harsh reality to get used to but she does a pretty decent job of managing in her own way. She's innocent in more ways than one and while I did enjoy her humor, I was a bit disappointed she didn't get more backstory or building of what's to come. Things end pretty abruptly and not much is given to her past and the future of saving her kingdom.

A good edition to the series that will keep me intrigued to see what happens next. Will the siblings ever make it home and take back what was once lost? I'm dying to find out!

The second half of this book contains another story by Monroe called Primal Instincts. For those wanting to know more from this author it's a great opportunity. Folks wanting more of the Royal Shadow series are cut off at the knees once again and will just have to grab book three. That review will be coming tomorrow with: Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Andersen.

Getting 3 and 1/2 'I've never kicked anyone's cat!' Sheep

KD

Lord of Rage & Primal Instincts

Sheep Review: Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter

Lord of the Vampires, by Gena Showalter, is the first of 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 and if book one is any indication to the rest...then I'm sold!

Plot:

Nicolai the Vampire was renowned for his virility, but in a twist of fate “The Dark Seducer” had become a sex slave in the kingdom of Delfina—stripped of his precious timepiece and his memory. All that remained was a primal need for freedom, revenge—and the only woman who could help him.

In her dreams, a wanton vampire called to Jane Parker, drawing her to his dark sexuality and his magical realm. But for a human, all was not a fairy tale in Delfina. Jane was the key to Nicolai’s memory…but exploiting her meant dooming the only mortal he craved.

A vampire Prince is stripped of his memories and forced to become a sex slave to some of the nastiest witches you'll ever meet. He's bound and chained but he's unbroken, if only through sheer force of will keeping him going. Ripped away from his two younger brothers and sister and haunted by a bloody past he can't remember, Nicolai is one lost soul trying to breaking free of not just his physical chains but mental as well. Stuck in a land where time holds no meaning he has no clue what day or even what year it is, but he has one thought pounding in his mind. Escape. Of course, escape is closely followed up by KILL! I fell in love with this dark and twisted man from the start because he's sex and danger all wrapped into one. He's honest and willing to fight to protect what's his. With nothing standing in his way, except the hag witches, he uses powers seeded deep within his soul to call forth the one woman that can free him from this hell.... Jane Parker, the scarred earth realm scientist with a heart of gold.

I LOVED Jane, with her nonstop thinking and her ability to assess any situation and pull it together. She's not a weepy, needy type of lead female, oh no, she's a ballsy take no-prisoners gal who may not win a fight but she'll be damed if she goes down without trying. LOVED her. Jane is drawn to Nicolai through a series of dreams and a mysterious book that ends up on her door step. Jane ends up traveling through time and space to the one man who's been calling to her. The sexiest vampire in all the land...and he's got eyes for only her. Did I mention he's also a Prince and one day ruler of his land?

Action-packed high-stakes adventure that leads these two on the chase of a lifetime. Vividly written and given such exquisite detail my mouth was watering for more! Magic spells gone array and plot twisting mystery leave you wanting to know more, while sticky situations and run-ins with grotesque Orges take these two to hell and back but never do they give up. They end up forging a bond that's one out of fairy tales but a fairy tale you can buy into. A heavy Alice and Wonderland influence is felt throughout the book as well, giving a much darker side to the stories you read as a child.

I loved this book and I'm recommending it as a must read to fellow PNR folks that can't help but love an alpha and a lead female that can bring down the house with pure excellence. The only thing I would have liked was MORE STORY! Coming in at 278 pages it's a short read that breezes buy like lighting. The second half of the book is filled with other Showalter works like: The Darkest Angel (2012) The Amazon's Curse (2009) and The Darkest Prison (2009) for folks wanting more from this author it's a win but if you're needing more of this particular series you'll have to wait for the next book.

That review will be coming up tomorrow! Jill Monroe takes over in book two with Lord of Rage, Princess Breena.

Getting 4 and 1/2 oiled up dancing Sheep

KD

Lord of the Vampires 4-in-1