Book Reviews

Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh

 in Adult / Book Reviews / Books / Older Readers by

Royal House of Shadows
Book 4

Summary

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

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.

-From Amazon.com

Review

Yes, I did once again screw up a reading order. I feel like this has become a habit for me, not paying attention to the number that is in very small print somewhere on the cover of the book or inside the cover. But, thankfully it still kinda made sense without it.

So I thought it was really an interesting story and an idea of how it was written with the creatures and the lore that they used behind it. Now of course, since I didn’t start with book once, because I’m so stupid, some things didn’t really add up, as to why certain people were there, how Liliana got to where she was going, and such things like that, but if I read the full series (which I will as I’m waiting for book 1 to come in), then the answers will be given and I’ll be able to repost this review with more information! xD

While the book was a classical Harlequin bodice ripper kind of book, compared to Nalini Singh’s other writing, this didn’t stand up at all. Her Guild Hunter series was way better because there was more character development, the writing was more descriptive, and it was just overall a more enjoyable read. I understand why it was like that, because Harlequin novels are for people who want a quick fix of romance and simple writing is what they want, while her series has so much more going on. So it made sense, but compared to her other writing, it didn’t stand up that much.

The character development also wasn’t as much as in her other books. The main male in the book, Micah, was so terrifying but suddenly had this interest in Liliana and fell for her so far, such as it is in Harlequin novels. But compared to her Guild Hunter books, where a romance takes time and there is always an edge of danger, it was quite different.

The cover of the book did draw me in. I mean, of course there was a shirtless male which was a nice bonus, but the coloring was interesting: a vibrant purple.

The sex in the book wasn’t too graphic overall, the use of language light and less crass the others, but of course, once again, it’s for 18 and older definitely.

Overall it was an enjoyable read, and I do recommend it, though I need to read the rest of the series now and figure out what was going on to answer a few questions I did have.

Happy reading!

Night Prince Series (Vlad and Leila) by Jeaniene Frost

 in Adult / Book Reviews / Books / Older Readers by

So I never would have really picked up these books but I saw it on some random stand and of course the attractive guy on the cover pulled me in and I just had to get it, and it was also cheap. But, the book I got turned out to be a later one in the series, so of course I had to get the first book and then read the entire series.

I’ll definitely give the series credit, while it wasn’t as good as the Guild Hunters Series it was pretty decent and I’ll give it that. The female protagonist wasn’t terribly wimpy but she did have her feminine moments which was fine with me. I mean, she was dating Vlad the Impaler .

There was character development as you saw Leila change as she was introduced to the supernatural world but you also saw the effect that she had on her lover, Vlad. He slowly started to get soft and as the story progressed he changed, though I’m not saying how, you gotta read to find out (mwahaha). But the changes weren’t for the worst and the story still kept its pace. This is a small series but it is part of a larger series known as Night Huntress Universe (click here to see reading order and books.) But I hadn’t read any of the books in the suggested reading order and I didn’t have any difficulties, though I will be trying to read the other books in the series as it looks quite interesting.

The book, as it is by definition, is considered more erotica than romance, so the sex did have moments of being slightly graphic so I recommend this book for 18 and older. There were a few times where crude language was used to describe body parts and I don’t really like that as much though it wasn’t used too much so it didn’t detract from the overall book.

One thing which I honestly didn’t like about the book was that it was written in first person. I don’t know what it is about it, but I really dislike reading books in first person. Third person just seems to show so much more and while it is a little less personal as you don’t get to necessarily hear thoughts, you get to see so much more going on. Now, some people like first person because it is easier to get into one of the characters head, but my mind is very overactive so I have no issue slipping into characters heads and seeing things from their perspectives. I find it harder to do so when in first person because you are channeled in one direction while in third person you are open to go any direction that you choose to. But that is just my personal opinion and even though I’m not one for first person, I still did enjoy this read.

Yes, there was violence in this book as they are vampires and his name is Vlad the Impaler but it wasn’t as gruesome, in my opinion, as the Guild Hunter Series, thought there were a few moments where what was implied wasn’t that nice. I will also say that there was talk of rape a few times in the book but nothing serious. Just putting it there as I know for some if that is a theme in the book, people highly dislike it. I’m not one for those kinds of themes either, but I’ll just say that it wasn’t what you thought it was. And I’ll leave it at that.

Also, the man on the cover of the books is supposed to be Vlad. I’m sorry, but I pictured Vlad so differently and while the cover did draw me in, I was going for a more elegant vampire, though, it still worked.

Overall I did enjoy the book and read the 3 books in just over 3 days. Yes, I know I have no life. I do recommend that you read it and let me know what you think, but yes, this is for mature audiences.

Get book 1 here!

Book 2 can be found here!

Book 3 is over here!

Enjoy and happy reading!

Guild Hunter Series by Nalini Singh

 in Book Reviews / Books / Fun / Interesting / Series by

I just had to reblog this again because when I have had some free time recently, I have been picking up these books and am slowly but surely making my way back through the series. I forgot how much I love it…>Swoons<
So please, check these out because they are amazing and I want someone to rant and fangirl to ^^ xD

Lover Eternal: The Second Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward

 in Adult / Book Reviews / Books / Fiction / Series by

Summary

“Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He’s the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover—for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Possessed by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships, is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage’s protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. Her faith in miracles was lost years ago. But when Rhage’s intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves…”

-From Amazon.com

Review

I can’t even. I’m totally in love with this series and this one just carried it on perfectly. I thought the entire series was going to be focusing on Wrath but now I find out that some of the books focus on just one character and how they open up and find true love.

This was about Rhage, one of the Brothers, and how he found the woman who would be with him forever. Rhage has this curse from the Scribe Virgin that turns him into this monster when he looses control and the only way for him to calm it down is to kill (but only to a level because severe anger causes the beast to get free) or to have a lot of sex. He goes through women really fast until he meets Mary whom he falls in love with and the romance ensues.

There is the whole side where Rhage doesn’t want to hurt Mary because of the creature but like hot-damn. xDDD Mary is one stubborn woman.

Once again the romance scenes in this book were not crude but written in a style that was, essentially, quite respectful. I hate when the crude words of body parts are used…it just sometimes annoys me quite a lot so I loved how this series is written.

I will say that I did read this book in a day; all 441 pages. I loved it so much.

The first book, Dark Lover, and this one are similar in the sense of what the characters go through. The women start off the same and then grow to find out what their lovers really are and both women are extremely strong mentality wise. As I have stated before, I hate when the women are made to look weak, but in this they aren’t. Mary had a sickness and even through all of that she still pushed through and protected a male who was definitely able to protect himself.

The series does have this primal quality to it because the Brotherhood is made up of men who are killers and are animals at the heart. They call their lovers leelan which means ‘dearest one’ while they are in a conversation with their lover or friends, but other times the female is referred to more as a mate and quite a few assertive times where the male blatantly says ‘You’re/She is mine!” Then sometimes a massive fight ensues xD. Come on! Who doesn’t want really big, good-looking men willing to fight to the death for you?!

Overall though this series is amazing. There is some serious character development. You saw in the first book that Wrath opened up to his lover, and in this one Rhage opened up to his as well. The next book in the series shows Zsadist opening up, which is definitely interesting as he is almost soul-less.

I should be finishing the next book soon and I hope that I will be able to get an interview with J.W. Ward because she is one of my favorite authors currently.

So happy reading and let me know what you think of the series if you read it!

Dark Lover: The First Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward

 in Book Reviews / Books / Series by

Summary

“The only purebred vampire left on the planet and the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who killed his parents centuries ago. But when his most trusted fighter is killed—orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate—Wrath must put down his dagger and usher the beautiful female into another world.

Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn’t there before, Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of the Brotherhood and blood frighten her. Yet his touch ignites a dawning new hunger—one that threatens to consume them both….”

-From Amazon.com

Review

Okay….brace for serious fangirling.

THIS BOOK WAS TOTALLY AWESOME. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG! I CAN’T EVEN! LIKE YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH I’M IN LOVE. This and Nalini Singh’s series are definitely my favorites!

This and the Guild Hunters series are so similar in so many ways. The writing styles aren’t the same, but the fuzzy feeling I get in my tummy is….Oh…wait….that’s with most romance novels xD

Anyway. This story had badass guys, kick-ass women, and a really good story. There are 9 books in the series and one insiders guide and the next two in the series are on their way…and I’m dying to read them (update: reading the next one now and almost done xD).

The romance in this series wasn’t explicit or anything like that. They didn’t use really any crude words and it was all pretty gentle unlike some other things I’ve read in the past. Honestly there isn’t tons to say about this book and its series because it’s just so good and I’m literally in love and there are 9 books.

One thing that I do like is that the author has created another world completely. In the beginning of each book is a few pages with definitions of words that you may need to know for the book; definitions of words that relate to the vampiric culture in this particular series and I always love when they do that. You have the generic idea of vampires, then you have the Twilight vampires, Dracula vampires, Van Helsing vampires, and then you have vampires from books that are based off these types of creatures. In romance books they usually make them more sexy and deadly…not sparkly. So I love the vampires in this series and also in Singh’s as they use the same idea.

In addition to this I LOVE the character names and how they twist their spelling. Wrath is Wrath; can’t really go wrong there. But then you have Zsadist, Thorment, Phury, Rhage (I believe there is another or two but I can’t remember their names right now x.x) I really liked that because you still have those really bad-ass names with this awesome spelling.

Anyway, if you like romance, then this is definitely a book for you. It’s obviously supernatural and I know that some people don’t like it, but this doesn’t have a serious supernatural feel to it. The vampires are mostly human except for a few things that they can do and drinking blood is not common in the novel; in fact it’s extremely rare which is nice.

So enjoy and happy reading!