Review: Beauty - Lexi Blake

The princess in the tower

In one horrifying night, Bronwyn Finn lost her family, her kingdom, and the princes who had haunted her dreams for years. Left alone, years pass as she fights for survival and craves revenge against the uncle who took everything from her. But she’s never forgotten her Dark Ones. Now she hides along with her guardian, but the war rages ever closer.

Two dark princes

A tragedy marred Lach and Shim’s lives. The future kings of the Unseelie Fae are obsessed with finding their promised wife—Bronwyn. Lach and Shim have never stopped believing that Bronwyn is their mate. She is the bond that connects the halves of their shared soul.

A destiny that will change a kingdom

With the blessing of the renegade kings, Beck and Cian Finn, Lach and Shim begin a dangerous quest to find their bride before Torin and his hags take her life.

Across two planes, a war will rage. Lives will be lost. Love will be found. And the Seelie Fae will welcome their true kings home.

Re-released in a second edition. Re-edited but no substantial changes.

A Faery Story Series:
(Originally published under the pen name Sophie Oak)
Bound
Beast
Beauty

Visit Lexi Blake's website for more information

Review:
Bronwyn lost everything the night her uncle invaded her home and killed her parents so he could take their throne for himself. Her brothers, princes Beckett and Cian, escaped but believing Bronwyn was dead they left her behind. She only survived with the help of the unseelie princess Gillian and the two have spent years in hiding hoping to find a way to escape and reunite with their families. Throughout her childhood Bronwyn dreamed of two men who she called her Dark Ones, they grew up with her and where her closest friends but their connection was lost the night she almost died and she has missed them desperately ever since.

Lach and Shim are the unseelie princes and symbiotic twins, one soul split into two bodies. Technically they should be fading away without finding their mate but they both bonded with Bronwyn across the planes the night she nearly died. For years the connection has been weak and they feared she might be dead but recently they've been able to connect with her through their dreams once again. Now they need to convince their father, and Bronwyn's brothers, that she is alive and desperately in need of their help. The seelie and unseelie must unite against the imposter king if they're going to have any chance of protecting all of the realms but it won't be an easy battle.

The first two books in this series were brilliant and my jaw almost hit the flaw when it was revealed at the end of the last book that Bronwyn was still alive. I couldn't get my hands on a copy of Beauty fast enough and I enjoyed every minute of it. We get to spend time with the previous couple and triad which was fun but I think Bronwyn, Lach and Shim probably had my favourite romance of the series. Lach and Shim have always known who Bronwyn was, in fact they sent their sister Gillian to the seelie court hoping to arrange their marriage, but things went to hell before anything could be arranged. Bronwyn on the other hand believed the guys were just a figment of her imagination so she gets quite the shock when they walk into town expecting her to marry them!

All three of them have very different personalities but put them all together and they balance each other out perfectly. There were a few frustrating moments when Bronwyn wanted to be allowed to fight for her people but the brothers wanted to hide her away and protect her but once they come around they're a force to be reckoned with. This book ties up the loose ends from the previous books, we've been building towards a war with Bronwyn's uncle for a long time now and it was satisfying seeing them all come together to take him down. It's been years since these books were first published but I'm really hoping that now Lexi Blake has made the decision to rerelease them that we might get an extra book with Gillian's story, I'd really like to see her get her own happy ending but I think enough hints were given in this book to give us a good idea how her life will turn out.

This has been a fun series to read and it's definitely one I'd recommend to paranormal fans who like a little Dominance and submission in their stories. I love how all of the books in Lexi's different series are loosely interlinked, and here we get to see a few familiar faces from Bliss and Texas Sirens but with a twist.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Beast - Lexi Blake

A playboy who needs to grow up

Fresh from his latest tabloid scandal, vampire playboy Dante Dellacourt has been given an ultimatum. Either he takes a consort and settles down, or his family will disown him. Unwilling to lose everything he has, he reluctantly agrees to find a wife. Marriage is just another kind of contract, after all. No one said anything about love being a part of the bargain.

An outcast who has only known hardship

Exiled by her pack, Kaja is a werewolf without a home. Her life was never easy in the frozen tundra she grew up in, but it was familiar. Waking up in a foreign landscape, surrounded by bright lights, loud noises, and far too many people has left her overwhelmed. Frightened and with no one to trust, she savagely fights to get free of this strange new world.

A passion strong enough to change them both

Called to defend the gnomes of the marketplace, Dante is almost blinded by the radiant light coming off the fierce werewolf. Kaja glows like no consort he has ever seen. Gorgeous and wild, she calls to him in ways he had not dreamed possible. For Kaja, she finds in Dante a man unlike any she has ever known. They could not be more different, but she finds him irresistible.

In order to claim his werewolf bride, Dante must first discover how to overcome their differences. Will he tame his ferocious beauty, or will she unleash his inner beast?

Re-released in a second edition. Re-edited but no substantial changes.

A Faery Story Series:
(Originally published under the pen name Sophie Oak)
Bound
Beast
Beauty

Visit Lexi Blake's website for more information

Review:
Vampire Dante has a well earned reputation as a playboy but his latest scandal is one two many and his family are threatening to disown him if he doesn't clean up his act and settle down. It's the last thing he wants so he makes it his mission to find a wife that his family would disapprove of so that they won't mind when he quietly sets her aside. Kaja is a werewolf who has been exiled from her home, alone and in a strange new realm where she doesn't understand any of the rules she feels completely out of place until she meets Dante. She feels an immediate connection to him but she is wary of letting him get too close and ending up with her heart broken, especially when she feels so out of place in his home. Dante may have gone into this relationship expecting it to fail but the more time he spends with Kaja the stronger his feelings become, now he just has to convince her that they could have a happy life together.

I loved Dante in the first book so I was really excited that we were getting his story next. He was such a fun guy who brought so much humour to the story that I was sure I was going to love him so it surprised me when I didn't warm to him immediately. I really struggled with the way he initially treated Kaja, yes I could understand that he didn't want a long term relationship and that he felt pushed into marriage by his family, but he chose to court her and knowing her history and the abuse she had suffered he was still willing to use her for his own gain. He came extremely close to crossing unforgivable lines for me but I should have known that I can trust Lexi Blake and he managed to turn things around just in time. Once we got the Dante I remembered from the first book back I was so happy to see him and Kaja making a go of things.

Kaja was a really interesting character, she'd come from a totally different world, one that was much more brutal and unforgiving than we're used to so her way of looking at things could be very odd at times. She was really sweet though and desperately wanted to fit in with Dante's friends and family, she just wanted safety and a place to call home really so I was pleased that everyone was so willing to welcome her and I especially liked the friendship between her and Meg. The chemistry between Kaja and Dante was great from the beginning but it was once I started to feel the emotional connection between them that I really started to root for them as a couple.

Alongside the romance we also find out a lot more about Beck and Cian's family and the war that their uncle started when he killed their parents and claimed their throne for himself. Things are really building to a head on that front and revelations at the end of this book were jaw dropping. I'm definitely excited for the final book in the series and I'm glad it's already been published so that I can dive straight in!

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Bound - Lexi Blake

Megan Starke has given up believing in knights in shining armor. With an unrewarding job and a failed marriage, no one would confuse her life with a fairy tale. No one is coming to save the day or carry her off to a romantic fantasy. So when she wakes up in a magical world and discovers she is to be the grand prize in a fierce and bloody tournament, she isn’t sure if she’s having a sexy dream or a horrible nightmare.

Two kings without a kingdom

Beckett and Cian were raised to be the saviors of their people. Prepared all their lives to lead the Seelie Fae, prophecy proclaimed they would find a bondmate whose love would complete them and unleash their magical powers. But the thrust of a traitor’s blade stole that future and now it threatens to take their lives. Struggling in exile, their glorious destiny has become a curse. Unless they can find the perfect woman to save them, they will descend into madness and ruin. When all hope seems lost, Beck sees Meg and knows she’s the key to their salvation.

An epic battle begins

In a world filled with dethroned kings, upwardly mobile vampires, and dangerous, feline-loving hags, Meg will need all her strength to survive. Finding herself caught between Beck and Cian, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to claim her happily ever after.

Re-released in a second edition. Re-edited but no substantial changes.

A Faery Story Series:
(Originally published under the pen name Sophie Oak)
Bound
Beast
Beauty

Visit Lexi Blake's website for more information

Review:
When Megan is abducted by a demon and taken to a different realm at first she assumes its a horrible nightmare. Then, when she starts to understand what has happened all she can think about is finding a way to escape and get back home. But the longer she spends in Faery, especially with twin brothers Beckett and Cian, the more she starts to question herself. Why return home to a dead end job, a failed marriage and a family she never sees when she could stay here and be happy? But first Meg has to decide whether she can accept the relationship that Beck and Cian are offering her or whether she prefers to fight for something on her own terms.

I've become a huge Lexi Blake fan since I first started reading her rereleased Sophie Oak books, I love the Texas Sirens and Nights in Bliss series and I really like the way all of her books tie into one large universe. As much as I love her contemporary romances I'm really a paranormal girl at heart so I wanted to read this series the minute I first heard about it and I wasn't disappointed. Bound is a great introduction and pulls readers into a world full of fae and vampires, one with multiple realms and interesting politics.

Meg is a great character, she's a normal human girl who had no idea that other realms existed until she was forcibly taken into one so she's totally out of her depth in the beginning but she's no pushover and once she starts to figure things out she works hard to make a place for herself. She's had enough of living for other people's expectations and is determined to take control of her own destiny. Beck is the more dominant of the twins, he's the one who likes to be in control and who wants to protect the people he cares about but he has a few personal hangups that were very frustrating for Meg to deal with. I could understand why he acted the way he did but I was glad that Meg fought to show him what she needed. Cian was definitely the more relaxed brother, he's more of a joker and takes things less seriously but that doesn't make him any less committed to Meg and their relationship. Meg had a great connection with both of her men and this story was just as hot as the Bliss / Texas Sirens books.

I think what I loved most was that Meg was the real hero of the story, she is the one who comes to the rescue and she definitely earns her happily ever after. I loved the twin's vampire cousin Dante so I'm really happy that his book is next and I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

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