Review: The Soft Edge of Midnight - Stella & Audra Price

After a horrible ordeal and lengthy captivity, Illori Swain is resigned to wither her life away in loneliness.  Then she meets Karsten Morris, a male unicorn she has been searching for, the other half of her soul.

A man of worth and a stallion of breeding, Karsten Morris sees Illori as his salvation, the love he's searched for all his life.  The luck and light that rule their existence finally bring them together, but everything worthwhile is tested, and fate isn't against making the good suffer.

After escaping her captivity, free from the bonds of hell that held her, Illori is now hunted by two of Hell's minions.

One, Sammael, a fallen angel with one foot in Heaven, is set on the scent by Lucifer himself.  The other, Nybras, is a devil vying for Sammael's job.  Nybras will stop at nothing to get what he thinks he deserves.

When the devil cheats to gain his prize, Sammael must join forces with Karsten to save the mare Illori to make sure the balance of the verses are not compromised.

Keepers of Twilight Series:
The Soft Edge of Midnight
Astoroth: Her Last Sin (Short Story)
A Bitter Kiss of Chaos (release date TBC)

For more information visit Stella & Audra Price's website

Review:
Illori has spent a thousand years held captive by a demon who wanted to use her abilities, and now she has finally managed to escape she just wants to find a mate and settle down.  But the Glimmer was sealed off from the mortal world years ago and she believes she is the last unicorn remaining so has resigned herself to loneliness.  Karsten is a stallion who has been trapped on earth since the portals were sealed, he has been searching for his kind and a way home ever since.  When he stumbles across Illori he is thrilled at finding a potential mate but there are dark forces searching for her - can he find a way to keep her safe?

Illori has been through a lot and has given up on having any kind of happy ending, unicorns are supposed to be lucky but she is convinced that she is the unluckiest unicorn to have ever existed - something that she has quite a lot of evidence to back up.  I did feel that she came across a little too innocent at first but I was pleased she had a backbone to her and was prepared to stick up for herself so that she didn't end up being captured again.  Karsten was a hot stallion who has a bit of a dark background and has worked as a spy in the past.  I really would have liked to have learnt more about both of their backgrounds as I feel it would have helped me become more invested in them as a couple but I still liked them both and wanted them to find a happy ending.

We spend a lot of time with Sammael, a fallen angel who seems to straddle the lines of good and evil working for both sides.  At first I didn't think I would like him at all but as you get to know him better I became really curious about him and hope that we get to see more of him in the future.  It'll be interesting to see how things change for him now he has become involved with a certain character (I don't want to say more for fear of spoilers).  I'm also looking forward to finding out more about the other fallen angels and seeing if there is a way for them to redeem themselves.

While the sex scenes were definitely steamy (and there were plenty of them!) I would have liked a bit more of the focus to be on Illori and Karsten rather than the side characters.  The plot was good though and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

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

Other Reviews:
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.

Paperback / Kindle

Review: Astoroth Her Last Sin - Stella & Audra Price

Meet Astoroth, high duke of hell. When a woman at the end of her bucket list meets him in a bar in Las Vegas, he sees the possibility for some harmless fun with a human just at her expiration date. what he doesn't count on is deciding to keep her...

Keepers of Twilight Series:
The Soft Edge of Midnight
Astoroth: Her Last Sin (Short Story)
The Bitter Kiss of Chaos (coming soon)

Astoroth: Her Last Sin can be purchased from All Romance Ebooks for $0.99 by clicking here

For more information visit Stella & Audra Price's website


Review:
Sarah only has months left to live so she has been working through her bucket list and the only thing left for her to do is flirt with a fallen angel.  That puts Astoroth (Astor) at the top of her to do list!  Astor is attracted to Sarah and more than happy to have a little harmless fun with her before she dies but he doesn't expect that he'll end up wanting to have her around on a more permanent basis.

I really Astoroth: Her Last Sin the latest short story released by Stella & Audra Price and would definitely recommend it if you're looking for something quick to read when you have a spare 20 minutes.  The chemistry between Sarah and Astor is fab & leads to some very heated scenes.  I'd love to read more about Astor and the Fallen so I'm definitely going to have to check out The Soft Edge of Midnight after reading this one!

Source: Received from Stella Price for review

Other Reviews:
Deadmen Tell No Tales
Story Wings
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 - Stella Price

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 Stella Price as my guest today...

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I don’t need kids. I have a Moo.  Every morning I get up and walk into my living room and smile at my Moo. He looks at me from the couch, growls, then goes back to sleep. This is a daily occurrence. Moo is a temperamental Chihuahua that thinks he owns the world, which is probably my mothers doing.

His eyes glow red at any time, which just proves to me he is the devil, LOL. Like all dogs, he smells because he finds gross things to roll in, and he has the worst gas in all creation, worse then my friend’s cat’s farts. Yes I said it. But why is Moo the best? Because Moo thinks he is human and he’s extremely neurotic.

Moo sits up when he sleeps, with his legs straight out. He sits on the couch or the lazy boy, and watches TV. He doesn’t like anyone sitting in his spot, but will pretend its ok till you get up and he can steal it, to steal the warmth. For some reason everyone loves the Moo. My grandparents carry pictures of him with them and they show people. My friends and my sister call and ask about him. He’s more popular then me.

And that neurotic thing? Well he wont leave the house without his harness on. I can leave all the doors open to my place and be standing outside beckoning him, but unless he’s got his harness on he wont step through. So Moo has a security harness, like Linus has a security blanket. He hates leaving his own house, and pisses a fit when we take him anywhere. In the car he likes to sit in the center of the back seat. Still not sure why, but its kinda funny seeing him there, snarling and grumbling.

And snarl and grumble he does a lot. When you walk into my house he will jump on you, stand above you and growl at you. No, he’s not challenging you, and no he’s NOT being mean, Moo has a lot to say. He doesn’t like his picture being taken, and he is vocal about it. He doesn’t like taking baths, and again, he’s vocal about it. Mostly, he bitches and complains about anything that doesn’t go his way. See? Like a child, or an old man, as I keep comparing him to as he’s now 8 years old and set in his ways.

Moo doesn’t do commands, he is above that. He’s his own “person” and nothing is going to change that. As you can see, Moo is not a little chichi. He’s what is called a “Standard” and should weigh about 10 lbs. He weighs 15. Blame THAT on my grandparents. When they come over it’s a never-ending processional of treats and goodies for him. Which is probably why he likes them so much.

Wow, sounds like Im bitching about him aren’t I? Im not. Moo is a special dog, and special to me. Almost 8 years ago, my mum rescued him from some complete asshole that was going to turn him out into the February night to freeze to death. I know theres a special place in hell for that dipshit, and I know that Moo dodged the bullet with my mum saving him. I cant imagine my life without The Moo. Hes… Hes precious when he wants to be, and when Im not feeling good, hes the one that stays with me and snuggles, making me feel better. I have given up a lot for him, last Feb he had a tumor they had to remove and I spent the better part of a Month only sleeping 4 hours a day because he wouldn’t wear the cone and his head was healing. I wouldn’t do that for my Hunny, but I do it for my dog. Truth is, I do anything for my dog.

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Thank you so much for visiting today Stella!  Stella Price writes with her sister Audra and together they have written among others the popular Eververse, Dragon Elementals and Weresnakes series.

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

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

The Download Dante Party - Giveaway with Stella & Audra Price

Released Today!

You Burn Me: A Tale of the Eververse

A priestess of The Morrigan, Xxieda Rolla is a woman who has known success in her business, fulfillment in her family life and is only missing one thing: the love of the man that would have her for always. Sent to Shadow Heights New York by her goddess to find him, she meets the ever tasty, ever surly Dante Barratt. Sparks fly, and so does Amaretto Latte.

Dante, a dealer of rare and illegal commodities, and a very tempestuous fire demon might want the woman who's brown eyes haunt him, but knows better then to get involved with someone who just screams purity. Shes hot, and successful in ways he never could be, and knows a man that just gave away his soul like he did didn't deserve a woman like that.

After a chance encounter on a dark street corner, and an earth shattering kiss, Both are powerless to deny the chemistry between them... until Xxieda tells him her secret: shes a virgin.

Caught between his head and his heart, can Dante accept the fact that Fate sometimes gives us exactly what we really need, not what we think we want?

Authors Note: This is a novella and answer to the question several readers have had of "What happened to Dante?" after his little cameo in Sugar and Sin.

And guess what? the book is Amazingly priced at 99 cents! that's right, a full 45k novella for only 99 cents! You know you wanna read about Dante and the woman that turns his world upside down, and now you can, for CHEAP!

Giveaway Details:

And how would YOU like to win 3 Ebooks from our backlist, YOUR CHOICE? Its simple! You have three chances to win:

1. Send your snail mail address to: stella@stellaandaudra.com with "Dante's contest" in the subject
2. Follow our Blog (http://stellaandaudra.blogspot.com/) And let us know you have
3. Buy 'You Burn Me' and answer the question: "Who do we thank first and foremost in the dedication? Send your answer to stella@stellaandaudra.com with "Dante's book answer" in the subject.

Winner will receive 3 books from Stella & Audra's backlist in ebook form.

You can read my review of You Burn Me by clicking here
I'm also very happy to announce that Stella will be dropping by my blog next week to take part in my new Author's Animal Antics feature, don't forget to drop by on Thursday to read Stella's guest post.

Review: Fire In His Eyes - Stella & Audra Price

Reduced to myths and legends, a small band of dragons still roams the Eververse...

Alcyone Sterling, succubus and owner of Pinkys XXX has a secret admirer who is leaving her exotic, rare flowers and jewelry beyond beautiful.  She doesn't know who it is, and gets even more curious after a clandestine liaison in her bedroom involving a few silk ties and a blindfold.

Char, Fire Elemental and strongest of the last dragons left in the Eververse, is obsessed and in love with the young succubus, and recognises her as his mate, regardless of her demon status.  He has to have her, and will do anything to attain her.

A threat from Char's past, and Alcyone's present, gives them little options in their future, but Char is not about to lose the one woman he has been waiting eons to find.  The choice between living a hollow hidden existence and finding absolution in a lovers arms is no choice at all.

Char's choices not only affect himself and his newly found mate, but those he is sworn to protect.

Dragon Elementals Series:
Fire In His Eyes
Deep Water
Moongardens (coming soon)

For more information visit Stella & Audra Price's website

Review:
Char is one of only a few remaining dragons and has been in hiding with his friends for hundreds of years.  The King of the Fire Demons ordered the execution of all dragons and ever since the dragons and demons have been enemies.  The last dragons have been in hiding for so long that the demons believe they are all dead and the dragons have no intention of letting them know otherwise.  That is until Char finds Alcyone and realises she is is mate.

Alcyone is not a born demon - she traded her human life to become a succubus in order to be beautiful.  As more and more of her friends find their soul mates Al finds herself becoming lonely and wishing for her own love.  When a secret admirer starts leaving her gifts she is desperate to know who he is and when they finally meet at a masquerade ball the attraction and passion between them is instant.  But Char must keep his existence secret from the other demons and Alcyone is a favorite of the succubus Queen so it isn't going to be easy for them to be together.

I really enjoyed reading Char and Alcyone's story they make a sweet couple and their story is both romantic and passionate.  Char has been alone for a long time and had almost given up on life before he first saw Al and knowing she was his mate changed everything for him.  He is determined to be with her but worried about putting his friends at risk by exposing himself to the demons.  Although the relationship between Char and Al develops quite quickly it was still believable.  They have some very sexy encounters and I loved it when Char marks Al with his mating mark.

I also liked getting to meet the other dragons - Kael in particular was a fantastic character who I can't wait to see more of (luckily for me his book is the next one in the series).  Watch out for the scenes with him and his new pets - they really made me laugh out loud.  I'm definitely looking forward to reading more about these sexy dragons and their mates!

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
Ramblings of a Book Bitch
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.

Quick Reviews: Bloodlust - Larissa Ione & Weaved for Pleasure: Sinclair - Stella & Audra Price

I think it's great when authors put free short stories on their website - it's a fab way of trying out new authors before you buy their books.  The 2 short stories I'm mentioning today are actually from authors I already know & love but I wanted to mention them for those of you who haven't tried their work before.

Bloodlust - Larissa Ione

Sometimes, you don't need romance…

Sir Brynn of Lochland has a serious problem. He's been captured by an evil vampire queen who wants to use him as her newest blood slave. But Bryann doesn't have a submissive bone in his body, and he intends to fight her every step of the way.

Can Brynn's willpower remain intact when pitted against Sorla's superior vampire strength, seductive skills, and underhanded cruelty, or will she ultimately take possession of both his mind…and body?

* * * CONTENT WARNING: This is a VERY graphic erotic horror/fantasy novella. Expect blood, sex, some M/M content, and bad, bad words

The PDF for Bloodlust can be downloaded from Larissa Ione's website here

Review: I'm a massive fan of Larissa Ione's Demonica series and enjoyed Bloodlust, a story about vampire Queen Sorla and Sir Brynn Blackheath of Lochland - a knight who was captured in battle and is now her sex slave.  I have to say that this is very different to the Demonica series so if you don't enjoy Bloodlust don't let that put you off trying Pleasure Unbound, the first book in the Demonica series.
 
Weaved for Pleasure: Sinclair - Stella & Audra Price

When Nora is willed a beautiful house on a bluff, and a musty old curio shop from a distant relation, She thought it would be great way to start over after her divorce.
 
While cleaning the store room, a carpet unrolls and a very naked and sexy man pops out offering her a month of sultry passion... and three wishes.
 
For more information you can check Stella & Audra's website and Weaved for Pleasure can be downloaded from All Romance eBooks here
 
Review: I really enjoyed Weaved for Pleasure - Nora was a likeable character and I couldn't help but love Sinclair.  I found it was a sweet romantic love story but that didn't mean we missed out on plenty of hot scenes between them.  I'd definitely recommend reading this if you've a fan of Stella & Audra's and it would also be a great first read if they are new to you - I'm sure you'll want to read more of their work.

ARC Review: You Burn Me - Stella & Audra Price

A priestess of The Morrigan, Xxieda Rolla is a woman who has known success in her business, fulfillment in her family life and is only missing one thing: the love of the man that would have her for always. Sent to Shadow Heights New York by her goddess to find him, she meets the ever tasty, ever surly Dante Barratt. Sparks fly, and so does Amaretto Latte.

Dante, a dealer of rare and illegal commodities, and a very tempestuous fire demon might want the woman who's brown eyes haunt him, but knows better then to get involved with someone who just screams purity. Shes hot, and successful in ways he never could be, and knows a man that just gave away his soul like he did didn't deserve a woman like that.

After a chance encounter on a dark street corner, and an earth shattering kiss, Both are powerless to deny the chemistry between them... until Xxieda tells him her secret: shes a virgin.

Caught between his head and his heart, can Dante accept the fact that Fate sometimes gives us exactly what we really need, not what we think we want?


Eververse Series:
Enjoy the Afterverse (free short story)
Bargain by Starlight (free short story)
Sugar and Sin
Silk and Steel
Frost and Flame
Valentine's Whispers
Masquerade
Incubus Lucky
You Burn Me (released 15th May 2010)

For more information visit Stella & Audra Price's website

Review:
Xxieda is a favorite Priestess of the goddess The Morigan and a successful business woman with a close circle of family and friends.  The only thing she is missing is the love of her life who her goddess has promised she will find in Shadow Heights.  From the moment she meets Dante she is sure he is the one but it isn't going to be easy to convince him they belong together.

Dante is a gorgeous but moody fire demon who deals in illegal commodities.  Having sold his soul he believes that he doesn't deserve someone as successful and pure as Xxieda.  Despite numerous misunderstandings between them the attraction they both feel is impossible to deny for long but will they be able to work things out?

Although I have the first 3 stories from the series in my to read list this was actually my first trip into the Eververse and I'll definitely be coming back for more!  Even though he was a moody bastard I found Dante impossible to resist - he was incredibly attractive and had a softer side that he tried to keep hidden.  I loved the fact that Xxieda wasn't a push over and was able to stand up to his bad temper.  Some of the scenes between them when they first meet were hilarious.

There was also a great selection of other characters, some of whom I know have already appeared in previous books (which have definitely jumped up my TBR pile as I am looking forward to getting to know them better) and others who I am hoping will feature in future stores.  I really liked Xxieda's sister Peyton and I loved Rhys (Xxieda's best friend) and can't wait to find out more about him.  You Burn Me is a romantic love story and although you have to wait for Dante and Xxieda to get it together it's definitely worth the wait!

Source: Received from Stella Price for review

Other Reviews:
Ramblings of a Book Bitch
Loose Knickers and Window Lickers
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.