Review: Dragon Blues - Edie Ramer

Once a dragon…

Saxophone player Noah Long shifted from dragon to human 2500 years ago, but the dragon blood still coursing through his veins has kept him healthy and virile. Now his secret is out, and the man who discovered it will do anything to make Noah’s blood his own. Noah’s only ally is martial arts expert Lila Fox, who heats up the fire in his belly…and his heart.

Twice a killer…

Lila Fox’s first kill was at age sixteen after her stepfather put her mother in a wheelchair. Fourteen years later, she kills another abuser to save a woman’s life. When the man who wants Noah’s blood kills her sister, she can’t let the death go unanswered. She teams up with the strangely compelling Noah, and discovers he’s not all man and has a few tricks of his own.

Visit Edie Ramer's website for more information.
 
Cattitude can be purchased from Smashwords and is also available in the Kindle store from Amazon.
 
Review:
Noah may be a dragon but he has lived as a human for the last 2,500 years since he changed form for a woman he loved.  Now he lives for his music and for his treasures but his heart has never quite recovered from the reaction his first love had when she discovered what he was.  He thought his identity was a well kept secret but it appears that someone has figured out what he is and they are prepared to go to any length to find a way to use him to gain immortal life.  Lila is a strong woman and a martial arts expert who has an intense need to protect those around her.  She has a troubled past and a difficult relationship with the sister who she loves but has been unable to save from a drug addiction and violent boyfriend.  When the person who is after Noah kills Lila's sister she is determined to get revenge but she is going to need Noah's help to draw him out so she can go after him.  Can she bring herself to trust Noah in time to go after their enemy?

I enjoyed Edie Ramer's previous story Cattitude and love dragons so was looking forward to reading Dragon Blues and it didn't disappoint.  I loved her characterisation of Noah and even in his human form you could tell he was still a dragon underneath.  His obsession with his treasure was hilarious and I would love to get a look at his collection!  He isn't just a dragon though, he is also a sexy man but one who has suffered in past relationships and is wary of love.  Noah is intensely lonely though and when Lila catches his eye he doesn't hesitate to go after what he wants despite his fears which is something I really liked about him.

Lila struggles against the idea of trusting Noah, her past has shown her that even the people closest to her can't be relied upon so she has always kept to herself.  Despite feeling drawn to Noah she is wary of him and worried about giving in to her feelings.  She was a great character though, very strong and so protective of those that she cares about.  Lila didn't think twice about putting herself in harms way even for the chance of saving a stranger.

I really enjoyed the action in the story and Edie Ramer certainly knows how to create a great bad guy.  One of the things that sometimes annoys me is when there is no real motive for the bad guy's behaviour but in this case it is explained very well and understandable even if you don't agree with what he is doing.  With some sexy love scenes between Noah and Lila and a fast paced story line Dragon Blues is a great story and one I would recommend to paranormal romance fans.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the author comes up with next!

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

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Winners: Cattitude by Edie Ramer & Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne

It's time to announce some winners again so with the help of random.org here they are:

First winning an ebook of Cattitude by Edie Ramer is.....

Kelli (From I'd So Rather Be Reading)

Since I never heard back from the international winner of Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne I am announcing a new winner today.....

Lucy (From Lucy's Bookshelves)

Congratulations to you both!  If you can email me at sarahsreviews at ymail dot com to confirm your details I will arrange for your books to be sent to you.  If I don't hear from you within 48 hours then a different winner will be chosen.

Sorry if you didn't win but I have plenty more giveaways coming soon - the next one is for signed copy of Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and will be posted on Monday so make sure you come back for your chance to win.

Giveaway: Cattitude - Edie Ramer - NOW CLOSED

*UPDATE - THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED - Winner announced here*

It’s all in the Cattitude . . .

After Belle the cat switches bodies with a psychic on the run from a murderer, she wants her perfect cat body back instead of this furless human one. But she doesn’t count on falling in love with her former owner. Or that a CEO and a beauty queen want to use up her nine lives. Now is her chance to prove anything a human can do, a cat can do better.

Visit Edie Ramer's website for more information.

Cattitude can be purchased from Smashwords and is also available in the Kindle store from Amazon.






I really enjoyed Cattitude (you can read my review here) and I'm very excited that Edie Ramer has offered to give a copy of this ebook away to one of my readers. 

Giveaway Details:

• Edie Ramer has offered to give 1 ebook copy of Cattitude to a lucky winner.  The winners email address will be forwarded to Edie so she can send you your ebook.
• All you need to do to enter the giveaway is give your name and email address in the form below.
• You don't have to be a follower to enter (although of course I'd love it if you were LOL!)
• You can get extra entries by following either me or Edie on Twitter.
• You can get extra entries by spreading the word but that isn't required.
• You can also get extra entries by commenting on my review of Cattitude here or Edie's guest post here (again this is not required)
• To enter please fill in the form below
• You have until 22nd October to enter the giveaway and I'll announce the winner within a couple of days of the giveaway ending.  I will email the winner & they will have 48 hours to respond and confirm their email address or another winner will be chosen.
• If you are the winner you are agreeing for me to pass your email address over to Edie Ramer so that she can send you your copy of Cattitude

Review: Cattitude - Edie Ramer

It’s all in the Cattitude . . .

After Belle the cat switches bodies with a psychic on the run from a murderer, she wants her perfect cat body back instead of this furless human one. But she doesn’t count on falling in love with her former owner. Or that a CEO and a beauty queen want to use up her nine lives. Now is her chance to prove anything a human can do, a cat can do better.

Visit Edie Ramer's website for more information.
 
Cattitude can be purchased from Smashwords and is also available in the Kindle store from Amazon.
 





Review:
Belle is happy with her life as a cat, she lives with her owner Max and is adored by him and his brother & sister.  She rules the roost as all cats do and is fed, petted and fussed over on demand - it's a cats life!  When she is in an accident and exchanges bodies with a human she is horrified with her new hairless, clumsy body and wants nothing more than to go back to her life as a cat.  However with more than one person out to get her she is going to have to use all her cat wiles to make sure her human body survives long enough for her to change back into a cat.  As she tries to find out what is going on she becomes closer to Max realising she has feelings for him that she never felt when she was a cat.  Will she decide to remain human so that her and Max can be together?  And if she does what will happen to the human who is now trapped in her old body?

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Cattitude, I love cats so on the one hand I was really looking forward to it but I was a bit unsure about the whole idea of a cat becoming a human and falling in love with a man.  I just wasn't sure how well it would work & if it would be easy to relate to Belle.  I have to say I was impressed with this story & thought Edie Ramer did a fantastic job.

Belle is a wonderful character and Edie has perfectly captured the essence of a cat in her - Belle's attitude to life & humans reminded me of my cats so many times.  I loved watching Belle adjust to life in a human body - everything she knows about humans comes from the way she has been adored by the family who rescued her and from watching TV with them so she has some very funny ideas about how things work. 

The supporting characters are all well written and really help to make the story.  I really loved Max and his family and even the bad guys are well rounded so you find out more about why they act the way they do.  Sorcha (the woman who ends up in Belle's cat body) could be a little irritating at times but then again she has just been switched into a cats body without being given a choice in the matter so I guess it was understandable and I really liked the way there is a happy ending for her as well as for Belle.

Cattitude is a sweet romance that will have you laughing out loud and is a must for any cat fans.  The story is light hearted, comes with a great cast of characters and an amusing tale that will keep you turning the pages and leaving you wanting more.  I'd definitely recommend giving it a try and am looking forward to seeing what Edie Ramer comes up with in the future. 

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

Other reviews of this book:
I'd So Rather Be Reading
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Author's Animal Antics - Edie Ramer

Author's Animal Antics is a new regular blog feature here at Sarah's Book Reviews where I'm very excited to have some fantastic authors come and chat to us about their pets.  I'm thrilled to introduce the lovely Edie Ramer as my guest today...

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The animals in my life and my book.

I love my cat so much, I wrote a book and made her the heroine. In Cattitude, she changes bodies with a woman, and of course she hates it. If you were sleek and strong in a lovely cat body--never having to worry about bad hair days, cleaning, laundry, and grocery shopping--wouldn’t you want your cat body back?

I didn’t make the transition easy for Belle. I piled on the problems, including a murderous beauty queen. In real life, though, Belle is the queen of the house. She’s a bit arrogant (and who can blame her?) but never malicious. She loves to cuddle and is a great mouser.

Belle - the star of Cattitude!

Though she’s the queen, she’s not our only four-legged family member. We have an eleven-year-old English setter (field type) that we got ten years ago from a rescue association, and last February we inherited a seventeen-year-old beagle when my father-in-law died.

English Setter Sky

Yes, you read that right. Seventeen.

Not only is she old and arthritic, but when we got her she was obese, smelly, with a flatulence problem, and she snores. Despite all this (and some bathroom issues), I love her. Absolutely. She’s already gone from obese to stocky. Because her diet’s better now, the flatulence isn’t quite so bad. We’ve learned to take her outside more often, even when she doesn’t want to.

Beagle Rose

But one thing she came with and still has is a terrific personality. She’s ready for anything. When we walk the dogs, she runs to keep up with our long-legged setter, panting all the way. She can’t hear well and she’s starting to get cataracts. When she’s been outside for a while, I’ll open the door to see if she wants to come in. She’s usually on the grass facing the road and I have to step on the porch before she sees me out of the corner of her eyes.

Her whole body comes to attention and her face lights up, as if she’s thinking “There you are! I’ve been waiting for you!” Then she bounds toward me, ears flapping, tail wagging madly, her mouth open in a giant smile.

Rose - look at her cute grin!

How could I not love her? The only thing I’m sorry about is that we didn’t have her when she was younger.

I’ve already decided she’ll be a character in the next book I write. One of my characters will reluctantly adopt a smelly, flatulent, snoring old beagle who will be completely loveable. Or I could make her a human character. The heroine’s smelly, flatulent, snoring old uncle who is a loveable rogue.

If you have a pet, what character would yours be in a book?

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Thank you so much for visiting today Edie!  Edie Ramer is the author of a lovely paranormal romance story called Cattitude where the heroine Belle is a cat who ends up swapping bodies with a human and falling in love with her former owner Max.  This is a great story & you can read my review here.  Edie has also offered to giveaway a copy of Cattitude to one of my readers so click here to enter (Giveaway closes 22nd October 2010)

Find out more about Edie and her work here - Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook

For more information about the Author's Animal Antics feature click here