Tag: Addison Cain

Addison Cain-Corrupted

So, if you’ve read here for a while, you know that I love omegaverse. You may also know that Addison Cain’s Alpha’s Claim series was the first omegaverse series I read. And Addison has finally come out with the 5th book in the series, Corrupted. She’s been teasing us for so long with it, and finally she took mercy on us. And? The next one is already up for pre-order, and I’ve already hit that button, thank you very much.

We’re in Bernard Dome with Brenya and Jacques. She’s been forcibly pair bonded to him and she’s not really all that happy about it. She hates Jacques, and now she’s stuck with him in her head all the time. He, on the other hand, is thrilled as fuck. He thinks that he’s madly, passionately in love with her, and he has this omega now, and it’s perfect. He also thinks that Brenya is madly in love with him, even though it’s pretty obvious that she’s not. She just barely tolerates him, and the only thing that gets her through is a blank, quiet spot in her soul. She falls into that space when Jacques gets too overwhelming and is able to handle everything.

Meanwhile, Jules, who was also bonded to Brenya at the same time, is sitting in a cell. He’s just sitting in the same space, not moving, not doing anything. Just sitting. And, as we all know that Jules is Shepherd’s right hand man, I think that Jacques should be very worried about this. But, nope, Jacques is sure that he has everything under control because he has a rabid dog on a leash.

Over on the other side of the world, in Greth Dome, we have Shepherd and Claire. She’s getting healthier and she’s happy, but she doesn’t want to leave the house. Shepherd isn’t going to put up with this, so he’s being his normal autocratic assholeish lovable self. #AlwaysAndForeverTeamShepherd He has plans, lots and lots of plans.

I have ever liked Jacques, and I’ve never made any secret of it. He wants to be what Shepherd is, but he isn’t that smart. I mean, he thinks that he is, he thinks that he’s all that and an extra large bag of chips, but yeah, not so much. This book didn’t make me like him. In fact, I may even dislike him more than I did before. There is only one action that he took in this book that I am happy about. Other than that, he can just go and kick rocks.

I am #TeamJules 1000000%. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for him because he is just so very much together and so steady and stoic. I’m pretty sure that there is a whole lot underneath that we haven’t seen yet. Jules was a good friend and good support to Claire in her early days with Shepherd, and that’s part of my soft spot for him.

Brenya? Yeah, she is pretty fucking awesome. She’s not in a good spot, and she doesn’t handle the world she’s currently living in well, but that’s not a huge surprise. I mean, living in this rarified lap of luxury where pretty much everything goes has to be so weird for Brenya, who is very much by the book rule keeping kind of person. She has figured out how to deal with the world where she grew up. She liked that world. She understood the rules, the edges, and the boundaries. But there are no rules where she is, and the boundaries shift constantly. She can’t cope. But, for all of that, she’s still pretty fucking awesome. She is brilliant, and she manages to make connections that no one else would make.

I am, as always, madly in love with Claire and Shepherd, and I can’t wait to see what is going to happen with them next.

I have so many thoughts, but I’m not putting any of them here, because they would be spoilers. Just know that the book is great, and there is so much going on in it, and I’m still trying to see if I can guess what Shepherd’s plans are. I’m pretty sure that I can’t.

Top Dark Reads of 2020 pt. 2

OK, we’re back for part 2 of my top dark reads of 2020. Keep in mind, these are in no particular order, and just because something doesn’t get mentioned doesn’t mean that I didn’t think it was dark, it’s just that these are the ones that really stuck with me. (You should see how many GR, Zon, and WordPress tabs I currently have open, lol)

Natalie Bennett-Periculum

Natalie Bennett tends to write dark, twisted, and fucked up, and this one is no different. I don’t know why I didn’t look up the definition of periculum back when I wrote my blog post, but I did today, for shits and giggles. It means danger or risk, and that totally fits for this book. Anyway, this book stars Lana and her friends, as well as Ciaran and his friends. There’s an accident, there’s some strange and terrible things, and there’s lots of darkness and twists, so, yeah, Natalie Bennett. This is the first book of a duet, and the next one comes out in March. I can’t wait for it.

Addison Cain-Swallow It Down

You didn’t think I was going to create a dark list without an Addison Cain book, did you? Yeah, that will likely never happen. Swallow It Down is another near future, post-apocalyptic, dystopian story. Yes, I have a type. LOL. This takes place 6 years after the bombs have dropped, and what’s left of humanity is huddling around each other in small places, trying to survive. Except for Eugenia. She’s trying to get to this one specific place she heard about. She heard it was safe. But then she runs into this huge ship, and well, things change. Even months after reading it, I’m still wondering about certain things.

Kitty Thomas-The Game Maker

Kitty is one of the OGs when it comes to dark romance. And she will fuck your brain over with nary a blink. She has created some of my favorite male characters, and one of the best mindfuck books ever. Go check out Comfort Food. But today we’re talking about The Game Maker. Now, knowing that it is a Kitty Thomas book, and it’s got a title like it does, you might think that there are some mindfucks and twists around the corner, and you would be right. I never knew what was going to happen with this one.

Loxley Savage-Feathers and Fire

Feathers and Fire is a 3 book series. It’s a MFMM, RH, PNR. (My husband laughs at all the acronyms in Romancelandia) The books in the series are Bound for Blood, Cursed to Crave, and Freed By Flames. The story is about Trinity, who has spent her life as a slave. As a child, she had frequent blood draws. As an adult, she’s a sex slave in high demand, mostly because, as a 1/2 succubus, 1/2 phoenix, she can take a lot of abuse and heal quickly. Trinity goes through hell through all 3 books, but she becomes who she is and who she should be by the end of book 3. Books 1 & 2 end in cliffies, but the whole series is out, so you can go read it all back to back. Which is what I did. And I was just like WTF through a lot of it, in a good way. It is dark, it is dirty, gritty, and wow.

Alright, there we are. My Top Dark Reads of 2020. Go check them all out!

Addison Cain-The Relic

Addison is back with a new book. The Relic is either the 2nd or 3rd book in this series, depending on how you want to look at it. It started with Pearl in Catacombs, then we had Jade in Cathedral, and now we have Pearl again, this time it’s with Vladislav. This is a real change from the other 2 books, and it was fucking amazing. I have so many, many, many things to say about this one.

So, we met Vlad in the last book. He came and dealt with his son, Darius, and set up his granddaughter, Jade. Vlad is basically the oldest living, or unliving, thing anywhere. Malcolm came to him and told him about Pearl, so Vlad went down and rescued her, his wife, his soul, from the crypt in which Darius had bricked her. So, now, he has to convince Pearl to love him again.

Pearl is… well, she’s not in good shape. She has a long, traumatic history before she even got to Darius and before he did what he did. She has all these triggers and all these damaged areas, plus her memory is all fucked up because of Darius. So, when she has this powerful creature telling her that he loves her, that she’s his wife, she, well, she just doesn’t do all that well. And, you have to remember that she was trapped by Darius in the 1920s, and now it’s 2020, so there’s all kinds of instant culture shock.

I absolutely adore Vlad. He’s incredibly powerful and incredibly ruthless. In fact, he’s so ruthless that I think that there needs to be a better description for it. He’s violent and might be just a wee bit psychopathic. In short, he just ain’t right. And I mean that in the best possible sense. He’s also got a really interesting sense of humor and is terrifying toward everyone but Pearl. There’s just something about him that’s just so visceral and that I like so much.

Pearl is so delicate, but at the same time, she’s not. She just has to find that bit that isn’t so delicate. I think that she hasn’t figured out that she has that strength, but she had to have had it so that she could handle everything that she was dealing with when it came to Darius, and then when it comes to everything else that she has to deal with. She will be utterly terrifying when she realizes all of her power, I think. I know that I don’t want to mess with her, because I think she’s rather terrifying now.

OK, here’s where we are going to get into my opions. It may be spoilery, so I’m going to put it all under the picture. Before I do that, I’m going to say that this isn’t tremendously dark, but it is definitely and Addison read.

So, go check it out! And see below for my opinions.

OK, so as I was reading this, I saw how much Vlad loved Pearl. And as I was reading it, I was just impressed with how tender this tremendouly terrifying demonic ancient creature was with this poor broken soul. Then, as I read more of Vlad’s back story and thought about the book after reading it, I started to wonder. And what I wondered was is it really love or is it obsession.

This is always one of the things that I think about when I’m reading Sigil’s story, because I have the same questions when it comes to how Sovereign feels about Sigil. I don’t doubt that Vlad has deep feelings for Pearl, it’s obvious by how he treats her. What I do doubt is that it’s love. Well, sort of. I think that he’s dangerously obsessed with her and it’s obsessive love. Which fits his personality and his back story perfectly.

Vlad is going to do anything he has to, ANYTHING, in order to make sure that Pearl is happy, even if it means that he has to mess with her mind or fuck her on the ground at her daughter’s wedding.

I would like to see a book set in the future, because I have a feeling that history may repeat itself.

Addison Cain-Swallow it Down

Surprise! Addison, the tease, has dropped a new book for us. Swallow it Down is a holy fuck of a book, and it will leave you trying to figure out exactly what you just read and then scratching your head trying to make sense of what you just read. Don’t worry if you are left feeling slightly used up at the end of this book, I think most of us are. I know that I was. I’m still not sure if the ending is a HEA, HFN, or just the end. And I love that.

This is post-apocalyptic and dystopian. Basically bombs dropped all over the place, and now, 6 years later, civilization has completely broken down. There are pockets of people living in various places, but you really don’t want to just fall into those places, because they ain’t too great.

Against this backdrop, we have Eugenia. She has managed to somehow survive the last 6 years. She’s killed people in order to stay safe, when she couldn’t manage to sneak away, talk herself out of trouble, or escape. She’s willing to do a lot of things in order to stay free and find a good place to be. She’s heard of a place to be safe and she’s taking no chances. She’s even managed to pick up a traveling companion named John. He may be a whiny little twat, but there is some safety in numbers. He did push her to take a shortcut, and now they are stuck on it. It’s hot, there’s no water to drink, and they are surrounded by a lake full of poison. And suddenly, there’s a flash of light off in the distance. There’s a boat, a very, very large boat, in the distance. And what’s more, it has electricity.

Eugenia knows better, but John drops his stuff and decides to jump into the water and swim for the boat. She waits to see what is happening, and decides that she’d rather go out fighting than not, so she swims out to the boat. Where she is promptly grabbed and sent to Level 15.

I like Eugenia. I think she is snarky, smart, funny, clever, and witty. She manages to keep a lot of men liking her even if she isn’t giving them all what they want. She also manages to stand up to the Captain, which is an interesting choice on her part. As much as I do like, I also think that she is naive. I get it, I mean, she wants to believe that there is some good left in the world, I don’t blame her. Before the bomb dropped, she had a pretty cushy life, and she still has the filters that nice life gave her, even after 6 years of living hard after the bomb. I don’t think that it’s a failing in her, but I don’t think she ever really had to face some hard choices before, so it’s easier for her to believe that there are good places to be out in the world. I think that if she had had some roughness in her life before the bomb dropping, she might be a little less naive.

Aaron, the Captain. Hmmm… I don’t know that he’s good or evil I think that he just is. If I were to create him as a D&D character, I would give him a chaotic neutral alignment. I understand his choices. I can even agree with *some* of them. But, that said, I wouldn’t go about certain things the way that he does. I know that a leader has to make hard choices and that the good of the many outweighs the good of the few or the one and all, but there are just some choices and actions that are heinous for anyone to have to make. And I think that Aaron would make those choices, quite easily. Honestly, I can’t tell you if I like him or hate him. I think it varies from moment to moment. Maybe even from word to word. I think, among other things, that he may be a pure sociopath. Or, at the very least, have sociopathic tendencies.

Like I said, this was a holy fuck book. I loved every word of it, and I literally ignored my family the entire time I was reading it. My poor kitty kept trying to get me to pet him, and I made him leave me alone, which should tell you how involved in this book I was. I think that this is going to be one that I read and reread often. And I think that I will come up with a different conclusion every single time I read it.

OK, that’s all for this one. No spoilers today. Go to your favorite bookseller and check it out! Happy reading!

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Addison Cain-Strangeways

So, Addison is back with a sorta new novella. This is one that showed up in another anthology last year or maybe the year before. But it has been extended and tweaked up a bit, and well, the tentacle dick is always worth a reread. I have a lot of things to say about Strangeways, so buckle yourself in and see what I have to say, shall we?

Over the generations, male birth numbers have gone done, and what males are born are generally dead by 40. It’s considered the duty of every guy out there to get out and spread his seed far and wide, and women are supposed to be all happy and shit, yeah, whatever dude. Emily has worked really hard over the years to not end up as one of the women who is going to be left as a single mom. She has a brother who is nearing 40 who is married and has kids and who Emily is trying to help support. Pretty much everything she makes that doesn’t go to feed or house her goes to her brother and his family.

She is a waitress at a nice restaurant, and one day, Phi shows up. As she leaves, he’s there, and she ends up taking him home, and fucks him silly, even though he’s an alien. And it’s pretty awesome, because he has the magical cock that does all kinds of cool things. It changes shape, it moves around, and there are yummy tentacles at the base. No knots, but tentacles that tickle all the good places has to be great. Anyway, Phi pays lots of attention to Emily, and all things are good.

This story, when I first read it, seemed very un-Addison like. It’s pretty sweet, has a very nice happy ending, and all sorts of good things happen.

But…

Then I reread it. If you want to read my new opinion, you will have to read under the picture, because that’s where they are all going to be.

I really do like this story and I do like it from both of the POVs I have on it, and which one I have can change from day to day, so that will give me a lot of rereading fun.

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So, here’s how I’ve changed my mind. If you look at the story, there’s a pretty deep level of dark going on, I think. I mean, Phi and his species are all doing this mind control thing, and the majority of the women that they are mating have been basically brainwashed into it. Plus, the aliens have used their powers to make the whole world feel very well disposed to them instead of afraid, like they might otherwise have been.

That makes me wonder if the guys are actually in love with the women that they are mating or if they have just picked a woman who they like and then brainwashed her into liking him so he can fuck her. And the women, of course, think that they are all head over heels, because of this whole urge thing, but do they ever develop real feelings about the aliens they have mated too?

And Emily, being who she is, does she decide that she’s going to just love him because it’s easier than fighting against him, does she actually catch the feelz, or is it a whole Stockholm kind of thing?

Like I said, I reread it and my perspective changed on it. I’ll have to go back and reread the original and see if I can pick up those things in the first one or if it is just in the extended version.

OK, that’s all I have to say about this one. Go check it out at your favorite bookseller. Happy reading!

2019 Round Up-Top Ugly Cry Books

I don’t know if there are going to be 10 or not, so this is probably just going to be a 1 part post. For me, an ugly cry book is different from a book that makes me cry. There are some books that will give me tears because there is something sad going on, a break up, a death, so on and so forth. Generally, they last for a couple of minutes, and they are just tears running down my face. An ugly cry is just that, really ugly. Full on tears, snot running out of my nose, sobs, the whole 9 yards. These are the reads that make my husband ask me if I’m OK. He’s learned to accept the answer that it’s just an ugly cry book. So, here are some of the books that made me ugly cry this year. There are some that I’ve already mentioned on other lists that gave me ugly cries, Nicky James’ Long Way Home and Eva Dresden’s Broken, so they are just getting Honorable Mentions here. So, let’s get on with the ones that made it, shall we?

***Full disclosure: I may earn a commission from Amazon from any purchase made from a link in this blog.***

Nicolina Martin-Redemption

Redemption is part of Nicolina’s Russo Saga, and is its own Duet with Absolution. (Expect to see that one show up tomorrow or Wednesday.) Anyway, no matter what the title says, there isn’t a lot of redemption going on in this book. This is the story of Christian and Kerry. Kerry is just a nice, sweet woman who happened to be working at a childcare center where a mobster’s son went. When she asked him a question, he sent Christian after her. When we first met Christian, in an earlier book, I really liked him. I didn’t by the end of this book. In fact, I downright fucking hated him. When Nicolina read my GR review on in, she asked me what my ugly cry moments were, and there were moments, not just a moment. Because it is a duet, it is a cliffhanger, but the second one is already out, so there’s that.

Addison Cain-Ravaged Captive

Ravaged Captive is the 4th book in Addison’s Wren’s Song books. They are Omegaverse and RH. All of the books have made me cry, but this one really made me cry because everything started to really fall apart. Caspian, Toby, and Kieran are at each other’s throat, Wren has been tossed out and thought dead, and the doll is in the way. I think that it was the addition of the doll that really got to me. I expect that the next one will also give me an ugly cry. Sooooooon.

Anna Wineheart-The Pretense

Anna is one of my favorite MM Omegaverse authors, and I’m lucky enough to be able to ARC her books. All of her books have some strong emotions in them, but The Pretense was just loaded with it. It’s a second chance, pretend boyfriend kind of story. It can be read as a standalone, but if you read all the Men of Meadowfall books in order, you’ll enjoy it more. They are all interconnected. There is one very particular moment that gave me a seriously ugly cry. There are some other spaces where I got teary, but this one particular scene was so hard, so heartbreaking that it really stuck with me, and made me ugly cry hard.

India R. Adams-Blue Waters

Blue Waters wasn’t published this year, but this was the year that I read it, so it counts to me, and since it’s my blog, that’s all that matters. This is the first of the Tainted Waters series that feature Whitney, Link, and Crash. All of the books in the series have made me full on ugly cry, but I’m just going to go with the first one here. It’s not a very long book, but it is very intense. Everything builds on the things before, but you do get a second to catch your breath in between. The entire series is worth reading. I don’t know that I would recommend reading them back-to-back, because of the intensity, but I would definitely recommend reading them.

B.B. Blaque-FTW

FTW doesn’t mean for the win here. It’s outlaw MC slang that means Fuck the World, and that is pretty much what happens here. This is the 3rd book in BB’s Masters MC series, and it is dark. I fell in love with Colt, Tuesday, Kash, and Barely when I read their books the first time, and I was really looking forward to this one. Let’s just say that it wasn’t a happy book. There were terrible, terrible things that happened, and I was devastated. BB will have GFY, Go Fuck Yourself, out soon, and I can’t wait.

OK, there they are, the Top 5 ugly cry books from this year.

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2019 Round Up: Top 10 Darkest Reads Pt. 1

So, we’re just days away from having another year under our belt. I’ve read another 800 books. I’ve written a few more blogs. Life has been in an uproar, it has been calm, it has been happy and sad. So, with a few more days left in the year, I thought that I would start my yearly round up. This blog is going to be part one of the top 10 darkest reads I read this year. They are going to be in no particular order, just however they happen to come to me.

Before I get started, I want to mention that I’m going to be giving away books and gift cards in my group, Slip in Between the Pages tomorrow and Christmas, so come check it out! And now, on to the books.

Addison Cain-Immaculate

Immaculate first showed up as a short story in Twisted Sacrament, and damn, was that twisted, and this won’t be the only story to show up on this list from that anthology. Anyway, when Addison got the rights back, she brought it out on its own. It takes place in the Vatican during the Renaissance. Our main character is a lovely young lady named Lady Agnese who has been kept pure and virginal so that she can serve God. It’s a very disturbing story because the story could absolutely have happened.

Jennifer Bene & Shane Starett-Jasmine

Jasmine was Shane’s second book and a co-write with Jennifer, who shows up on the blog all the time. I have a feeling Shane will too, as long as he likes me. 🙂 Jasmine is a woman who has been trapped by a man who says that she’s his wife, and she will obey him. The problem is that she really isn’t. The book was twisty turny, and packed full of places where if one small thing had happened differently, the entire book would’ve been different.

Jennifer Bene-Reign of Ruin

Reign of Ruin was another book that came out of Twisted Sacrament. RoR is what happens when Handmaid’s Tale meets the Apocalypse. I am going to flat out say that it scared the shit out of me. Handmaid’s Tale is hands down one of the scariest books I’ve ever read, because I can see how it can happen. I could see RoR happening too. I really did love the book though, even being scared by it. I would really love to see more of this world.

Eva Dresden-Broken

Broken really flat out broke me. Eva wrote a very dark MF Omegaverse, and Quinn really got the shit end of the stick. I mean, the stick was dipped into the shittiest, nastiest, most disgusting shit that you have ever seen, and then it was handed to her. And that was the good days. She ends up stuck in hell, and doesn’t see any chance of her hell getting better. And she’s right. I really felt for Quinn, a lot. The second book has come out, and I’m eagerly awaiting the 3rd.

Myra Danvers-Delirium

Delirium may not be as dark as some of the others on this, but it is pretty fucked up. There is a whole lot of action in here, and a whole lot more dark humor. I figured it was going to be a space opera, which it was, but it was a space opera plus. It was a twisty ride, and Iris just made it better. She’s in that category of crazy heroine who is fucking chaos embodied. She will take a disaster and make it even worse. And laugh while she’s doing it. I like that about her.

So, there’s the first 5 of my Top Ten dark books of 2019. Check back tomorrow to see what comes next.

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Addison Cain-A Night by My Fire

A Night by My Fire was originally in an anthology, if I recall correctly, and I think it was one about heroes, but don’t quote me on that. It’s been a while, and I’m feeling too damn lazy to pull up my Kindle and look. It’s not available anyway, so it’s neither here nor there. Anyhow, Addison has given it to us now, so Merry Christmas to us!

Here’s how our story goes. We open to a woman pulling a man out of the freezing water and saving his life. Oddly, he doesn’t seem all that cooperative when she tells him that he needs to get moving or freeze. He finally starts moving and cooperating when she tells him that he either comes with her now, or she’s going to leave him to freeze to death.

She takes him to her cabin, where we find out her name is River. River doesn’t care what the guy’s name is, but we know his name is Stephen, from when we see things from his POV.

I liked River the first time I read this story way back when, and I like her more now. She is really blunt, honest, and will tell you exactly what she thinks. She isn’t going to take anything from anyone, especially not the stranger who is only alive because she pulled him out of the freezing water and dragged him out of the freezing Alaskan winter before a blizzard hit and 589632457860 feet of snow fell.

One of the things I really like about River is that she isn’t afraid to argue with Stephen, even if he does scare her a little bit. In fact, not only does she argue with him, she often wins. She has a very sharp tongue, and she’s more than willing to keep it sharp on him. She’s also not afraid to give him a few home truths. I mean, he tries to tell her she’s not all that ladylike, and she was like, no shit, as well as pointing out that he’s basically a babe in the woods right now.

Stephen takes a hot minute to warm up to. He doesn’t have much of a personality in the first bit of the book, I think. He has this whole block in his head between what he thinks the world should look like and what his world currently looks like, and that blocks his personality. When he does start to emerge from his shell, he’s abrasive, but considering, I think that’s probably the best we’re going to get.

I would love, love, love, love, love more from this world.

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Oh, that end. Damn.

OK, go check it out!

Addison Cain-Cathedral

You all know that I am sooo down for any Addison Cain book, right? I mean, jump on it up and down with both feet kind of down for it. So, when I heard that she was coming out with Cathedral, I may have squee’d, just a little bit. In a totally dignified manner, of course. This book is the extended version of story that showed up in the anthology, Bite Me, which is now no longer available.

This is the story of Jade and Malcolm. Jade is the daughter of Darius, the ancient King of Vampires in the Americas. He’s not a nice guy. In fact, he fucks with Jade’s memory on the regular, he tortures her, he says that she needs to be seeded every day so that she can get pregnant and give him a grandchild. Jade is sure that he killed her mother. For Darius, Jade is nothing more than a tool. The only thing he wants from her is grandchildren, grandchildren who will also be daywalkers, and he will also be able to use to control things, just like he uses Jade.

Malcolm is another old vampire. How old? Well, he was a Pict. The Picts were a tribe in Scotland who scared the fuck out the invading Romans. Ever hear of Hadrian’s Wall? The one that the Romans built to keep the northern barbarians out of their conquered land and the one that the Romans said it was death to go north of? Yeah, totally because of the Picts. So, when I say that Malcolm is an old vampire warrior, believe me.

Malcolm has spent every second of every day since Jade was born watching out for her. Darius put her in Malcolm’s arms, pretty much fresh from the uterus. He was banned from courting Jade, but he’s not really let that stop him. He’s done everything he can while still flying under the radar and just brushing up against the line.

Oh my, oh my, oh my. This was a serious wow. I fell in love with Jade and Malcolm way back when we first met them and I couldn’t wait to get to know them more. And I really, really, really, want more of them. Jade is in that absolutely bugfuck crazy heroine category that I like. There’s that whole fragile, vulnerable, strong, powerful, sexy vibe that Jade has. There aren’t a lot of authors who can do that really well, but it’s something that Addison seems to specialize in. Her heroines walk that really fine line, very carefully. One inch too far one way or the other, and the heroines just don’t work, and Jade works.

I was fascinated by Malcolm. At first, I thought that he might just be a typical protective, strong, dominant kind of male character, but he really isn’t. I mean, yeah, he’s that, but there’s more to him too, I think. There’s something more to him. I feel like he has a different goal, more than just to have Jade. I mean, yeah, there is that goal too, but it’s a different way, I think. There’s just a whole different feel. I’m not sure exactly how to describe it, but I feel it.

I need so much more in this world, and I am pretty sure that I know that if we were to ask if and when there would be another one, the answer would be sooooooon. So, I will be sitting and waiting to see what happens.

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I want to know what’s up with V. And I’m assuming that the woman he was with was Pearl. I guess I’ll just have to wait, patiently, to see what happens next.

OK, that’s all I have to say about this one. Addison took it wide, so you can find it anywhere you buy your favorite ebooks. So, go check it out. Happy reading!

 

Anthology-Bite Me

So, several of the usual suspects, plus a couple new ones, have gotten together and given us 9 lovely vampire stories. Bite Me has stories from Addison Cain, Zoe Blake, Alta Hensley, Myra Danvers, Eris Adderly, Livia Bourne, Sara Fields, Anita Gray, and Cassandra Faye. Cassandra Faye may sound like a totally new person, but that is Jennifer Bene’s new pen name for her more paranormal stuff.

As with any anthology that includes these ladies, there is dark and then there is DARK. That’s one of the nice things about anthologies, if you ask me, you are going to get a wide variety of darkness plus different takes on the subject. All the stories are about vampires, but there are 9 different ideas. The stories also vary in length. Some of them are prologues to new series, which I am dying for. So, with all that being said, let’s dive in, shall we?

Addison Cain-Cathedral

If you remember When the Darkness Wins, you might remember Pearl and Catacombs. Addison also released it as a standalone. Well, Cathedral is about Jade, Darius and Pearl’s daughter. I feel sorry for Jade. Having Darius as a father can’t have been easy at all. She’s nothing but a pawn in the hands of her father.

I was really excited to see this one come out, because I’ve been dying for more of that story and that world since I read Catacombs a million years ago. Or at least a few months back, whatever. Of course, Addison being the tease she is, there’s more to the story that we don’t know yet. But I’m sure we will, sooooooon. 

Zoe Blake-Till the End of Time

Zoe went back to the 1400s, and the most well-known vampire, Vlad Tepes, Voivode of Wallachia, Son of Dracul, aka Dracula. Only this origin story doesn’t start with the Impaler. It starts with his wife, Mirella. It also spans a lot of years.

I love how much research that Zoe had to have put into this one to get the true flavor of 1400s Romania. You get a real feel for Mirella and the whole geopolitical situation of the day. A whole lot of historical fact was wound into this story as well as the fiction, and it makes for a really rich story.

Alta Hensley-Master of Ceremonies

You know, I’ve often thought that a traveling carnival is a good place for supernaturals to hide, and apparently Alta did too. Cirque Romani’s MC, Valian, is more than meets the eye, and the Cirque’s audience is perfect to feed all his various hungers. Ada is his mortal assistant who madly loves him.

I really, really, really want more of this story. I mean, like sell my son’s soul for more of this story. I’d offer to sell mine, but that’s assuming that I still have one. There’s so much that happens here, and I want to see how all the events play out.

Myra Danvers-Enthralled

Myra, who is now one of my favorite authors, has given us a prequel to this. I can’t tell you exactly when it’s set, but I’m guessing mid-1800s. Axton is a new vampire, who follows his Dark Queen, his Night Princess, his Dam, Selma.

One of the things that I like about this is Myra’s language. She uses all kinds of euphemisms for various genitalia and sexual acts. It could sound silly in other places, but it really works well in this story. On top of that, I think that Myra also did a really good job of drawing us in and getting us involved in Axton’s feelings.

Eris Adderly-V Is For Vampire

Eris’s story is a prequel too. And being Eris, she gives us a totally different take on vampires. Her vampires in a couple of hundred years in the future. It’s also a genetic thing with them. You either carry the gene or you don’t. If you have the gene, you live in the underground as a vampire. If you don’t, you’re a normal and you live on the surface. November is 22V positive and a gate guard, keeping her people underground and normals aboveground.

I really like the whole futuristic dystopic world that Eris has created. I’m not quite sure that I could call it post-apocalyptic, but maybe post-apocalyptic adjacent? I’m really looking forward to what is going to happen with this, because it looks like there are some major, major changes coming.

Livia Bourne-Blinding Salvation

This is another prequel, and I may have to start counting down the days to this one. Hopefully, Livia hasn’t been taking too many lessons from Addison and won’t be a sadist. Lily was abducted to become food to Armand, a trapped vampire. But, you know, it’s never quite that interesting.

I really like Lily and Armand. Lily is very smart and very canny. I think that she is going to be really good for Armand. I like him too. I want to see more of how his mind works, because I think that he’s good and sneaky, and really creative when it comes to revenge.

Sara Fields-The Devil’s Game

Sara likes to play with us, I think. She gives us the story of Cain and Ruby. They are both strong, in their own ways, doing their own things, but then, they meet up, and sparks fly. They are fantastic together.

I wonder if there is going to be more of this. I hope so, I would really like there to be more. I think that Ruby and Cain play off each other really well. I like the whole premise of the story, and it plays back to some of the old vampire origin myths, which was always fun.

Anita Gray-To My End

Oh, this is definitely an Anita story. There’s probably a mindfuck in there somewhere. We have a Hunter named Sonny who is chasing down the Potentials and has to kill them. Then we have Vi, who doesn’t know exactly how special she is. But she sure knows how sexy new guy in town Sonny is.

You know, when I first read this one, I wanted so much for there to be more. I mean, I still do, don’t get me wrong, but I also think that the way that it ended is actually pretty much perfect. I think more story might ruin that perfectness. Does that mean I won’t read more if Anita gives it to us? Hell no. I will definitely read it. I’m sure that Anita can fix it.

Cassandra Faye-Sweet Ruin

Grace had a sexy, sexy dream. Probably a dream. Maybe a dream. Then she has a hallucination. A sexy, sexy hallucination named Nic who keeps showing up wherever she is. Sometimes he’s even dressed.

Sweet Ruin is probably the lightest story in the book. When you realize it’s a Jennifer Bene story, you might be surprised by that fact, but only if you haven’t read some of her PNR. It fits in pretty well with her books in that genre. It’s a totally different flavor to some of her other books. I loved Grace and Nic, and I think that they are really cute together.

OK, that’s all the stories and how I felt about them all. I’ve always loved a good vampire story and 9 of them is even better. Go check out the book and tell me what you think! Happy reading!

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