Sheep Book Review: Up From the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Up From the Grave 
Night Huntress (Final Novel)
By: Jeaniene Frost 
Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance 
Released 1/28/2014 

Plot: 
The Grave Ends Here.

Lately, life has been unnaturally calm for vampires Cat Crawfield and her husband Bones.  They should have known better than to relax their guard, because a shocking revelation sends them back into action to stop an all-out war...

A rogue CIA agent is involved in horrifying secret activities that threaten to raise tensions between humans and the undead to dangerous heights.  Now Cat and Bones are in a race against time to save their friends from a fate worse than death...because the more secrets they unravel, the deadlier the consequences.  And if they fail, their lives--and those of everyone they hold dear-- will be hovering on the edge of the grave.

Final novel in the Night Huntress series.

***Spoiler free review***

As the plot description states, this is the final installment of the Cat and Bones saga. *hangs head* You may have just heard my heart die a little. But, as all good things must some day come to an end, Cat and Bones get one hell of a send off!

Frost has stated this won't be the last time we see this powerhouse couple, they will make appearances in other spinoff stories. However, this is the last full novel of Cat and Bones so make sure to get your fill! Personally, I would have enjoyed an even longer story, but no matter the page count each word hit it's intended emotional mark. 

The entire eclectic gang of undead buddies is back once again, ready to take on the next threat to vampire and ghoul society. Up From the Grave felt like a supernatural reunion of the best kind, littered with all the previous characters we love and the introduction of new ones. All that was missing was a rocking 80's van!

Action, snark, gore and drama are sure to ensue, because Frost loves to make you hang from the edge of the pages. What new emotionally taxing situation could possibly happen to Cat and Bones next? You don't know, but you're game to find out! 

I'm sad to see two of my favorite characters go but looking forward to the new stories Frost has on the horizon! Grab this one and enjoy, it's worth every second!

Getting 4 and 1/2 'Genetically Enhanced' Sheep 
KD

About the Author:
website-FB-twitter-blog
Jeaniene Frost is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of the Night Huntress series, the Night Prince series, and the upcoming Broken Destiny series. To date, foreign rights for her novels have sold to twenty different countries. Jeaniene lives in North Carolina with her husband Matthew, who long ago accepted that she rarely cooks and always sleeps in on the weekends. Aside from writing, Jeaniene enjoys reading, poetry, watching movies with her husband, exploring old cemeteries, spelunking and traveling – by car. Airplanes, children, and cook books frighten her. Jeaniene is represented by Nancy Yost atNancy Yost Literary Agency.

Book Tour: Lora Leigh's Rule Breaker (Breeds #29) + giveaway

Rule Breaker (Breeds #29)
by Lora Leigh
Lion Breed, Rule Breaker had just a few rules he didn't break. Not for anything. Not for anyone.

#1. Never have sex with a woman outside his own subspecies, especially a human woman.

#2. Never, at any time, accept a mission concerning a female when Jonas Wyatt stinks of a lie.

#3. Run don't walk, skip or stumble. Run, hell for leather away from any female, human or breed, when his desire for her appears, in any way, to have so much as a single sign of Mating Heat.

Now, the woman believes he's mated, is too helpless, to fun loving and too full of life to ever be able to protect herself, let alone aide him in protecting her.

If the damned animal inside him insisted on a mate, then why pick the woman it did? One that could be struck out at, at any time?

But, what he suspected was a mating, may not be. No swollen glands? No heat? Just his animal instincts rioting, pacing, irritated whenever he's away from her.

Okay, he could handle that.

What ensues is a fiery affair that breaks all the rules of mating heat and will eventually endanger his mate with the very rules designed to protect the breeds when Jonas learns she's possibly been working against them.

About the Author:

website-FB-blog

Lora Leigh lives in the rolling hills of Kentucky, often found absorbing the ambience of this peaceful setting. She dreams in bright, vivid images of the characters intent on taking over her writing life, and fights a constant battle to put them on the hard drive of her computer before they can disappear as fast as they appeared. Lora’s family, and her writing life co-exist, if not in harmony, in relative peace with each other. Surrounded by a menagerie of pets, friends, and a teenage son who keeps her quick wit engaged, Lora’s life is filled with joys, aided by her fans whose hearts remind her daily why she writes.

Wow, there are 29 Breed books! Instead of listing each one here is a link to her amazon page where you can find all of them! Should keep you busy for a while <G>

Lora Leigh Breeds Series on amazon

GIVEAWAY

one copy of Rule Breaker from Berkley/NAL, Penguin Group USA

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review (ARC): Avenger's Heat by Katie Reus

Avenger's Heat (Moon Shifter #4)
by Katie Reus
To truly have her, he must free her from her dark secret…

Enforcer Erin Flynn has dedicated her life to protecting her kind. But keeping her heart safe from Noah Campbell, the smoking-hot shifter who saved her life last year, is more difficult. The deadly beauty would love to sink into his arms and become his mate, but she knows she can’t—he must never know about her dark past.

When Erin is sent to investigate the disappearances of pregnant shifters in New Orleans, Erin and Noah find themselves involved in a mystery more sinister than anyone expected. And as Erin delves further into the crimes, chilling information about her own past is revealed. The people who wanted her dead in the first place are trying to finish the job, and Noah wants nothing more than to shield her from harm. But can Erin truly trust Noah and let him see the wounded beast she’s hidden for so long?

With so many big name paranormal romance authors out there it’s hard for me to find a new to me author that suits my tastes. I hadn’t had a chance to read Katie Reus’ books before now but if they’re even half as impressive as Avenger’s Heat then I’m going to be a very broke reader soon.

I love shifter romances but often times the males are just too overbearing and the females too wimpy for my tastes but, with Noah and Erin that was not the case.

Noah is all alpha, but he knows when to step back and give Erin her space to stand on her own. He understood Erin’s need for closure from her past and even her need for revenge. Noah didn’t have the “Step back and let me take care of your problems babe” macho complex and Erin didn’t expect him to either. I loved Erin because she’s the type of female who doesn’t ask any male’s permission to be who she is, she just goes in and kicks major butt all while dealing with a violent past. Separately, Noah and Erin are great characters and together they form and impressive team. In the areas where Erin is weakest, Noah is strong and vice versa. It was a partnership in the best sense of the word.

Their romantic relationship took a while to develop but it fit with the pacing of the story and Erin’s past but the chemistry is definitely there from page one.

Noah and Erin aren’t the only characters in Avenger’s Heat. There seems to be a revolving door of characters that sometimes made my head spin and took quite a bit of page time away from the main characters in the story. Not that I didn’t enjoy them, but most readers can only handle a handful of characters at a time and if this is a series, there’s plenty of time to introduce and spread out the characters through different books. No need to overload the reader with so many characters and story lines in one book.

The action and suspense aspect of Avenger’s Heat was well done and definitely marks the book as a paranormal romance with the inclusion of vampires and bloody battles. It didn’t go over the top on the blood and gore though so I would say this rates as a medium on the paranormal scale.

Avenger’s Heat is fast paced and interesting from start to finish, it has a full roster of characters that can sometimes be confusing, but none the less interesting. It can be read as a stand alone or as part of a series, I for one will not only be checking out the previous books in this series but also the rest of Katie Reus’ books.

Sheep Rating: Four Sheep

Adria Reyes
Reviewer/Owner of Adria's Romance Reviews
http://adriasromancereviews.blogspot.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdriasRomanceReviews
Twitter: @adria_r

About the Author:

website-fb-twitter-blog

Katie fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she pilfered from her mom’s stash. Years later she loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it. However, she didn’t always know she wanted to be a writer. After graduating summa cum laude with a degree in psychology and working too many jobs she hated, she finally figured things out. 

She now spends her days writing dark paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense. Her publishers include Carina Press, Harlequin Nocturne, Ellora’s Cave and NAL/Signet Eclipse (Penguin). Regardless of genre, she always includes a happy ending. When she’s not creating stories she loves spending time with her husband and family.

Sunday Swag: Carolyn Crane

Sunday Swag Team!
Riverina Romantics 
 I Smell Sheep 
Froggarita's Bookcase

Now you have 3 chances to get your swagger on

Featured author: Carolyn Crane

About the Author:

website-FB-twitter

I write romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and some books that don’t have any genre at all. I’ve been published by Random House, Samhain, and self published, too. I guess I get around!

I live in Minnesota (complete with an accent that people sometimes laugh at) in an old 1920′s condo with my awesome writer husband and two cats. I love to run and also to read, even though I’m probably the slowest reader ever. And I love to eat chocolate and Mexican food, and if you invite me to your party, your cheese plate will be in even more danger than one of my suspense heroines.

Also, I use too many exclamation marks, I care deeply about animals and finding ways to help them, I work a day job as a freelance marketing writer, and I dream that someday I’ll having the time to do all the crafts in the many craft newsletters I subscribe to. But I guess I’m having too much fun throwing my favorite characters into dangerous and sometimes steamy adventures.

Trading cards from
The Disillusionists Trilogy

Head over to these blogs and win more Swag!

look! I remembered to put the raffledude up!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sheep Book Review: Burn For Me by Cynthia Eden (ARC)

Burn For Me
A Phoenix Fire Novel
By: Cynthia Eden
Releases: 1/28/2014
Paranormal Romance

Eve Bradley was undercover looking for a story, not a cause. But something about the man they called Subject Thirteen got her involved. The scientists said he was a devil, and they had a decent case: Terrifying power. A bad attitude. And looks that could lead anyone to sin. . .

Cain O'Connor knows the minute he catches her candy scent that Eve could drive him wild. But she's a threat--in a way no one has been for him in years. She's safer away from him, too. But with a powerful conspiracy determined to shut Eve up for good, there's no time to argue. All they can do is trust their instincts--and their hearts. . .

I've been on the fence about Eden's writing style for a while. One second I love it and can't get enough of the drama. The next, I hate it and wished there was more diversity to the dramatic scenarios. This author has some creative ways of making her characters shine, but in the next heartbeat she can turn that all around with a drop kick. So maybe, I'm a gluten for reading punishment. Maybe I like not knowing what I'm going to get, page by page. With Cynthia's writing style, I'm left unfulfilled, yet reading another of her stories.

There are not many authors that make me feel this mixed bag of emotions. However, fundamentally, each of her stories has enough of that magical something to keep me going. I like the dramatic pull between each lead pair, I like the history that's created to give each a past they had to claw their way out of. There's a lot here to like.

On the downside, there tends to be plot inconsistency. One second a couple is hiding out in a "super secret hide out spot that every hero should have", the next they are mysteriously found! This happens again and again. If your super secret safe house is not-so-super-secret, it's time to move. Find a new lowcal and get there pronto. Cause it gets pretty boring reading, yet again, that the heroes of the day have been found.

Add to this our couple being forced back to the bad guys uncool mancave time and again, and it's all too much. One time is fine. But several times in a story starts to make me shout "Bob, that's too much!". (If you know that gameshow refrence, kudos to you.) It's easy to have the bad guy find you, take you back to where they will do wicked things. It's harder to find new ways to get the pair to overcome dangerous situations and ultimately find love.

But saying this, I will read the next Eden story. Like I said, there is enough to keep me going, but that does not mean I wont expect more from the author!

Getting 3 and 1/2 'we need a secret hideout handshake'Sheep

KD

About the Author:

website-FB-twitter

Award-winning author Cynthia Eden writes dark tales of paranormal romance and romantic suspense. She is aNew York Times, USA Today, Digital Book World, andIndieReader best-seller. Cynthia is also a two-time finalist for the RITA® award (she was a finalist both in the romantic suspense category and in the paranormal romance category). Since she began writing full-time in 2005, Cynthia has written over thirty novels and novellas.

Cynthia is a “hybrid” author. She has published extensively with New York (her New York publishers include Kensington, Grand Central, and Harlequin), and she has also enjoyed success in her indie writing career.

Cynthia lives along the Alabama Gulf Coast. She loves romance novels, horror movies, and chocolate. Her favorite hobbies including hiking in the mountains (searching for waterfalls) and spelunking.

Release dates:

1/28/2014        4/29/2014

8/26/2014