Tuesday, 7 February 2017

Review: For 100 Nights - Lara Adrian

Avery Ross is living a dream. After struggling all of her life to make ends meet, a chance meeting with a powerful, darkly handsome man has catapulted her into a dazzling new world of penthouse luxury, elegant parties, and a wild, consuming passion with her billionaire lover, Dominic Baine. Nothing is out of his reach in business or in pleasure, yet the only woman he wants is her. Nick sweeps her to sensual heights she has never dared explore, commanding her body the same way he commands her heart. Yet Avery knows the fantasy she’s living cannot last.

With dark secrets and a dangerous enemy haunting her past, Avery must find a way to trust Nick with the truth before it destroys everything they share. But Nick is harboring secrets of his own as well. And when they come to light, Avery will be forced to decide if the love she feels for Nick is strong enough to endure a betrayal she may never be able to forgive.

100 Series:
For 100 Days
For 100 Nights
For 100 Reasons

100 Series Standalone Romances:
(These stories are set in the same world as the 100 Series but can be read completely separately with each book featuring a HEA for a different couple)
Run To You
Play My Game

Visit Lara Adrian's website for more information

Review:
For 100 Nights is the second book in Lara Adrian's erotic romance trilogy and it follows on immediately from the first so I'd recommend reading the books in order. I'm going to write this review assuming you've already read the first book so if you haven't it's probably best not to read any further. However, if you're looking for a hot new contemporary romance along the lines of Sylvia Day's Crossfire series then you're not going to want to miss this series.

At the end of the last book we saw Avery agree to spend 100 nights with Nick, completely on his terms and with no more barriers between them. Although she has come clean with him about most of her past she's still hiding a very big secret, unfortunately for her someone from her past has figured out her secret and when they find out she's dating a billionaire they figure they'll be able to make a fortune blackmailing her. Avery desperately wants to handle the situation on her own and I can understand why she doesn't want her past to impact Nick's life but I did get a bit frustrated that she kept things hidden from him for so long after everything they'd already been through.

It's hard to be honest with someone when you know they're hiding things from you though and Nick obviously has things from his past that he's just not willing to talk about. He's also not very open when it comes to talking about his feelings for her or where their relationship is going. Nick is brilliant at action - he's romantic, he puts her above his work, he treats her like she's precious and their sex life is phenomenal - but he's never told her that he loves her and Avery is hurt by the walls he keeps up between them emotionally. We do get to dig a bit deeper into Nick's past here but it's obvious he's not shared everything yet so I'm looking forward to learning more in the final book.

For 100 Nights is an incredibly hot read, Avery and Nick spend a lot of time screwing each other's brains out but I also enjoyed the more romantic side of their relationship and seeing them learning to trust each other more and starting to share their secrets. I will warn you that this book ends on a cliffhanger but I didn't actually find it was a bad one. The final book will definitely jump straight to the top of my to read pile as soon as it's released but I don't feel annoyed that I've only been given half a story like I sometimes do with cliffhangers!

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:

Blog Tour: For 100 Nights - Lara Adrian (Giveaway)


Today we are the stop for For 100 Nights by Lara Adrian! Check out today’s stop and be sure to grab your copy today!



About For 100 Nights:

Avery Ross is living a dream. After struggling all of her life to make ends meet, a chance meeting with a powerful, darkly handsome man has catapulted her into a dazzling new world of penthouse luxury, elegant parties, and a wild, consuming passion with her billionaire lover, Dominic Baine. Nothing is out of his reach in business or in pleasure, yet the only woman he wants is her. Nick sweeps her to sensual heights she has never dared explore, commanding her body the same way he commands her heart. Yet Avery knows the fantasy she’s living cannot last.

With dark secrets and a dangerous enemy haunting her past, Avery must find a way to trust Nick with the truth before it destroys everything they share. But Nick is harboring secrets of his own as well. And when they come to light, Avery will be forced to decide if the love she feels for Nick is strong enough to endure a betrayal she may never be able to forgive.

Don't miss the bestselling first book in the series, FOR 100 DAYS - available now!


Get Your Copy Today!






For 100 Days:





Lara Adrian Bio:

LARA ADRIAN is a New York Times and #1 internationally best-selling author, with nearly 4 million books in print worldwide and translations licensed to more than 20 countries. Her books regularly appear in the top spots of all the major bestseller lists including the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Indiebound, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, etc. Reviewers have called Lara’s books “addictively readable” (Chicago Tribune), “extraordinary” (Fresh Fiction), and “one of the best on the market” (Romantic Times).

Writing as TINA ST. JOHN, her historical romances have won numerous awards including the National Readers Choice; Romantic Times Magazine Reviewer’s Choice; Booksellers Best; and many others. She was twice named a Finalist in Romance Writers of America’s RITA Awards, for Best Historical Romance (White Lion’s Lady) and Best Paranormal Romance (Heart of the Hunter). More recently, the German translation of Heart of the Hunter debuted on Der Spiegel bestseller list.

With an ancestry stretching back to the Mayflower and the court of King Henry VIII, the author lives with her husband in New England.

Visit the author’s website and sign up for new release announcements at http://bit.ly/LaraAdrianNews

Connect with Lara:

Follow Lara at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lara-Adrian/e/B001JSFD7M/

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www.LaraAdrian.com

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Sunday, 5 February 2017

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone gets a 20th Anniversary Makeover with Brand New House Covers!

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Bloomsbury UK are publishing 8 brand new editions of the book with gorgeous new covers inspired by the four Hogwarts houses.

The hardback versions are black with colourful crests and sprayed edges to match the house scarves:


While the paperbacks are much brighter with a black house crest and edges sprayed in a single colour:


Aren't they beautiful? I honestly can't decide whether I like the hardback or paperback versions more and I'm seriously tempted to add all 8 versions to my wish list but I just can't justify buying 8 more copies of a book I already own five times LOL.

I have to show my House Pride and buy the Hufflepuff versions though! I mean, just look how pretty they are!


Who else is going to be buying the new versions? Which House are you a member of?

Saturday, 4 February 2017

Review: Sparrow Hill Road - Seanan McGuire

Rose Marshall died in 1952 in Buckley Township, Michigan, run off the road by a man named Bobby Cross—a man who had sold his soul to live forever, and intended to use her death to pay the price of his immortality. Trouble was, he didn’t ask Rose what she thought of the idea.

It’s been more than sixty years since that night, and she’s still sixteen, and she’s still running.

They have names for her all over the country: the Girl in the Diner. The Phantom Prom Date. The Girl in the Green Silk Gown. Mostly she just goes by “Rose,” a hitchhiking ghost girl with her thumb out and her eyes fixed on the horizon, trying to outrace a man who never sleeps, never stops, and never gives up on the idea of claiming what’s his. She’s the angel of the overpass, she’s the darling of the truck stops, and she’s going to figure out a way to win her freedom. After all, it’s not like it can kill her.

You can’t kill what’s already dead.

Incryptid Series:
14 Jonathan Healy & Frances Brown Short Stories (Read for free on Seanan McGuire's website)
3 Alice Healy & Thomas Price Short Stories (Read for free on Seanan McGuire's website)
Discount Armageddon
Midnight Blue-Light Special
4 Antimony Price Short Stories (Read some for free on Seanan McGuire's website)
3 Istas and Ryan Short Stories (Read most for free on Seanan McGuire's website)
Half-Off Ragnarok
1 Sarah Zellaby and Arthur Harrington Short Story (Read for free on Seanan McGuire's website)
5 Verity Price & Dominic De Luca Stories (Read for free on Seanan McGuire's website)
Pocket Apocalypse
Chaos Choreography
1 Elsie Harrington Short Story (Short Story in the Shadowed Souls anthology)
Magic for Nothing
1 Aeslin Mice Short Story (Purchase though Seanan McGuire's Patreon Page)
Tricks for Free
That Ain't Witchcraft

Ghost Roads Series:
(Stories are set in the Incryptid World)
Sparrow Hill Road
Train Yard Blues (Short Story in the Coins of Chaos anthology)
The Ghosts of Bourbon Street (Crossover Short Story with Verity from the Incryptid series free on Seanan McGuire's website)
Last Call at the Last Chance (Short Story available via Seanan McGuire's Patreon Page)
The Girl in the Green Silk Gown

Visit Seanan McGuire's website for more information

Review:
Rose Marshall was just sixteen when she died in a car crash and became a hitchhiker ghost, her car was run off the road by Bobby Cross and he has been chasing her ever since trying to claim her soul as payment for his own immortality. She's spent the last 60 years wandering the ghost roads trying to avoid Bobby while also protecting others from her fate. Sometimes she is able to help people avoid tragedy but other times there is nothing she can do but hold their hands until the end and help them move on in the afterlife so they don't get stuck like she has. Rose is a legend with many names and this is her story.

I'm a huge fan of Seanan McGuire's Incryptid series and I've been wanting to know more about Rose ever since she appeared in The Ghosts of Bourbon Street short story so I was really looking forward to reading Sparrow Hill Road. This book is quite different to the Incryptid stories though, it's less light hearted and funny and a little more melancholy. It was also originally published as twelve short stories (although I believe some extra material has been added when it was turned into a book) so I found the book was a little disjointed at times, particularly in the beginning. It took me quite a while to get used to the way the story jumped from the present to various different points in the past, initially there didn't seem to be much logic to the order the story was told in but it's only as you get later in the book that you start to see the method behind the madness and realise how cleverly the author pulled all the different elements of Rose's life and afterlife together.

Rose a great character, she never asked for her fate and that could have made her bitter but instead she's tried to make the best of things and help others where she can. She has spent a long time trying to hide from her murderer but Bobby's immortality is at stake so he is equally determined to find her and their confrontation has been 60 years in the making so as you'd imagine it's quite epic when it finally happens!

I loved learning about the different types of ghosts, what caused them to become ghosts in the first place and how that affected the abilities they had after death. Seanan McGuire draws on all different kinds of legends and stories and she's used it to create a rich and detailed afterlife with all kinds of layers to it. She includes humans like the route witches who are able to communicate with the different road ghosts and other types of incryptids who Rose is also able to interact with. There were so many characters that I'd love to revisit in the future so I'm hoping that they'll either crop up in the main Incryptid novels or perhaps be given stories of their own later on.

Source: Purchased

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.

Original Cover
Paperback:

Friday, 3 February 2017

Chapter Reveal: Mastering Her Senses - Laura Kaye


Decadent… Sensual… Forbidden…


12 Masters. 12 Desires. 12 Fantasies Come to Life.
Meet the Masters of Blasphemy…


About MASTERING HER SENSES (Blasphemy #2, 2/21/17):

12 Masters. Infinite fantasies. Welcome to Blasphemy…


He wants to dominate her senses—and her heart…

Quinton Ross has always been a thrill-seeker—so it’s no surprise that he’s drawn to extremes in the bedroom and at his BDSM club, Blasphemy, where he creates sense-depriving scenarios that blow submissives’ minds. Now if he could just find one who needs the rush as much as him…

When an accident leaves Cassia Locke with a paralyzing fear of the dark, she’ll try anything to get help. Ready to fight, she knows just who to ask for help—the hard-bodied, funny-as-hell Dom she’d always crushed on—and once stood up.

Quinton is shocked and a little leery to see Cassia, but he can’t pass up the chance to dominate the alluring little sub this time. Introducing her to sensory deprivation becomes his new favorite obsession, and watching her fight fear is its own thrill. But when doubt threatens to send her running again, Quinton must find a way to master her senses—and her heart.

Pre-order now!

Amazon: Coming 2/21/2017 | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks




Dear Readers,

I’m having so much fun writing in the sexy, sensual world of Blasphemy that I couldn’t wait until release day to share a chapter from my next story in this series, Mastering Her Senses. Quinton is funny and sexy and smart as hell, but he also has that intense, dominant side that I just can’t get enough of! The Blasphemy series are stand-alone erotic romances all set in an exclusive play club located in the ruins of an abandoned church in downtown Baltimore. That means you can read them in any order and enjoy them all! Now, read on to meet the next Master of Blasphemy!

And don’t forget to preorder – now available everywhere!

Thanks for reading!
Laura Kaye


MASTERING HER SENSES (A BLASPHEMY BOOK)
BY LAURA KAYE
CHAPTER ONE

Quinton Ross was in his happy place.

Standing behind the bar at Blasphemy, the club he co-owned with eleven of the coolest assholes he’d ever known, he surveyed the roomful of wonderfully kinky people wearing a whole lotta nothing. Totally his jam.

And the fact that he’d get to play with one of them later? Seriously, a man’s life didn’t get any better.

Well, having a submissive of his own…that could be better. Theoretically.

Except the one and only time he’d attempted that, the woman had screwed him over so royally he’d almost needed lube. Heh.

But, whatever. Quinton tried really frickin’ hard to let things roll off his shoulders. People had much worse shit in their lives than him. Most of the time, he considered himself lucky and just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Besides, he never lacked for company or partners around the club, and no submissive ever left him anything but fully satisfied. He made damn sure of it.

“Hi, Master Quinton,” came a feminine voice from further down the counter.

He turned to find a blond-haired woman with a sleek, silver prosthetic arm leaning against the marble of the ornate bar. Kenna Sloane. And right behind her stood her big mountain of a Dom and one of Quinton’s best friends, Griffin Hudson. “Aren’t you looking lovely tonight, Kenna,” Quinton said with a smile as he made his way to where Griffin was sliding into a seat and pulling Kenna’s slim hips between his legs. “And am I wrong or is this some snazzy new hardware?” He nodded at her arm. She’d lost everything below her right elbow while serving with the Marines in Afghanistan. If she and Griffin hadn’t been fuckin’ fated, Kenna might’ve been Quinton’s kind of woman.

Adventurous. Brave. Willing to push life to the extremes.

But they were fated, something the diamond on her finger and the platinum collar with its unique interwoven knot sitting at the hollow of her throat both indicated. Loud and clear.

Kenna smiled, so much more comfortable here at the club—and seemingly in her own skin—than she’d been when she and Griffin had first reconnected a few months back. “I have a couple different sockets. And a girl has to coordinate,” she said, holding it up to the almost sheer sparkling silver halter top she wore.

Chuckling, Quinton nodded and clasped hands with Kenna’s Dom. “Master Griffin, how the hell are ya?” Their wrists bore matching leather cuffs with embroidered Gothic M’s. Every Blasphemy Master—the experienced Dominants who owned the club and took turns running and monitoring it—wore one like it.

“Never better, my friend. Never better.” The skin crinkled around Griffin’s dark eyes as he spoke, his smile coming a million times easier than it ever had before. Quinton guessed that was what happened when you were not only able to correct one of the biggest mistakes of your life, but find a submissive who was also your soul mate in the process.

Lucky fucker.

“I know that’s true,” Quinton said, winking at Kenna. She ducked her chin but was smiling bright enough to light up the whole room. And that was saying something given the size of Blasphemy. Located in the renovated remains of an old abandoned church, the massive rectangular nave formed the central part of the club. Filled with lots of seating and play areas, it had a soaring ceiling, massive stained-glass windows all around, and a performance and demonstration stage where the altar had once been. Themed rooms and other private spaces stretched off from the main floor. In addition to the very private and exclusive Blasphemy, the public front of their business—Club Diablo, a three-story dance club in a renovated warehouse—stood across a courtyard.

And Quinton provided hands-on management over it all.

He’d been with the clubs from the beginning, and had used his savings and the money he’d made selling a small but successful bar of his own to purchase his ownership stake in Blasphemy, a deal that got even sweeter when his partners had offered him the job of managing the bars and all the food service at both clubs. Food, drink, and sex all tantalized the senses and therefore were equally high up on the list of things he loved, and always had been. Given his prior experience, he pretty much had full control of the operation. Just like he liked.

Griffin placed an order for him and Kenna, then asked, “You have a scene set up tonight?”

Quinton got busy making their drinks and shook his head. “No,” he said with a grin. “But I’m looking forward to the thrill of the hunt.”

Griffin chuckled. “Good luck with that.”

The quip on Quinton’s tongue died when a flashing red light under the bar’s edge caught his eye. An emergency in one of the rooms. He glanced at the tag over the light to determine which one, then slammed the drinks down in front of his friends harder than he’d intended. “Shit, G, sorry. Emergency in the dark room. Get someone to cover?” he said, moving without waiting for an answer. He knew Griffin would have his back.

Quinton moved as fast as he could without calling undue attention. Their members knew that the Masters and a team of other Doms who worked as monitors responded to all sorts of problems around the club, some as mundane as an equipment malfunction and others more delicate situations involving disputes between players in a scene. Hell, a few months ago, Quinton had responded when Kenna broke down during a bondage scene, and Griffin had called for help extricating her from his intricate ropework. Sex at the extremes was bound to run into a few issues, which was why consent and safety were hallmarks of BDSM and Blasphemy itself. But none of that meant any of them wished to distract players from their pleasures with worry or curiosity, either.

Off the main floor, Quinton picked up his pace as he moved down the long hallway off of which most of the themed play rooms were located. The dark room was at the far end. Master Wolf came up beside him. “Hey, man,” he said.

Quinton gave him a nod. “Didn’t know you were on tonight, Wolf. Good to see you.”

A little taller than Quinton, the guy had dark blond hair, the brightest green eyes you’d ever seen, and a chiseled Scandinavian face that turned heads all over the club. “Running the security control room. Relieving Isaac because the baby’s sick,” he said, referring to Isaac Marten, their head of security operations, who had a two-month-old son.

“Damn. Sorry to hear that,” Quinton said as they closed in on their destination. The dark room was actually a series of three interconnected rooms. In the center was a pitch-black bedroom, accessed only through two changing/waiting rooms on either side of it—one of which let out into this hallway, and the other of which let out into a different hallway so that the players couldn’t run into each other before or after the anonymous scene. The dark room was very popular, and given Quinton’s interest in sensory deprivation, it was one he’d used many times.

He heard someone in distress before they even got inside.

Quinton and Wolf burst through the door to find one of the monitors trying to calm a woman curled on the floor, gasping like she couldn’t breathe. She wore a slinky bronze dress that bared most of her legs.
“What happened?” Quinton asked, grabbing a blanket from a shelf and going to his knees beside her. He tucked the soft fleece around her.

“I don’t know,” the monitor said. I sounded the alarm but she told me not to call an ambulance when I asked.

“She just freaked out. I swear. Nothing hardly happened between us,” a shirtless man said from the doorway to the dark bedroom.

Quinton hadn’t even noticed him there, but Wolf was already questioning him. He nodded to the monitor, a Dom in his forties, and then peered up at Master Wolf. “You all clear out. Debrief him and get his information.”

“You got it, Q,” Wolf said, motioning the other men out into the hall. “Call if you need help.”

As they left, Quinton brushed the woman’s shoulder-length hair back off her splotchy face. “We need to get your breathing under control or I have to call an ambulance.”

“No…no…I…it’s…” Clenching her eyes, she shook her head and growled as if in frustration.

Damnit, he needed to do something for her. The part of him that needed to care and soothe decided, and he scooped her off the floor and carried her to the couch. Everywhere they touched, her pulse hammered against her skin. If this was a panic attack, it was one of the worst he’d ever seen.

He sat with her in his lap, the blanket still wrapped around her, and cradled her so that they were facing each other. “Breathe with me, little one. Do you hear me? Look at me and breathe with me.” Striking hazel eyes with flecks of gold cut to his. Almost familiar…

Focusing, he exaggerated one breath, than another, and another, until she struggled to match her rhythm to his.

Griffin appeared in the doorway, questions clear on his face. Quinton spared him the smallest of glances and gave a single shake of his head. Griffin nodded and closed the door. Quinton had this. The others would be there in a heartbeat if he was wrong, but he didn’t think he was.

Because the woman’s body was calming. Her breathing was evening out. Her pulse was slowing. Her muscles were losing their tension.

“That’s it. That’s good. Just watch me and breathe with me. Don’t stop. We’ll kick this thing, don’t you worry.” He stroked his hand over her hair, wanting to soothe her. The color was so rich it almost matched the bronze of her dress. Her hair was beautiful and soft. As was the rest of her, all golden skin and pretty curves. Her weight felt good in his arms. She turned her face into his hand, just the littlest bit, and he stroked her hair again. A jagged scar ran along her forehead and into her hairline over one eye.

The scar triggered the oddest thought: That wasn’t there before.

His gaze cut back to those eyes. Hazel with the gold. And he suddenly knew he’d seen them before. Years ago. Right here at Blasphemy. A name clicked into place.

“Cassia?” he asked. Cassia. As in Cassia Locke, a submissive he’d flirted with quite a few times and was once supposed to play with…but she’d stood him up the night of their scene.

“Y-yes, Sir,” she whispered. “H-hi, Mas-ter Q-quinton.”

So she recognized him, too. Did she remember that night? He shook off the thought. Their history wasn’t something to deal with just then.

“Hi yourself, kid.” He gently scratched his fingertips against her scalp and concentrated on taking slow, deep breaths that she mimicked. Studying her, Quinton noticed another scar on her right shoulder. Her hair was also much longer than the almost boyish style she used to wear. Finally, Cassia went limp in his lap, and her ease unleashed a satisfaction in his blood. “Feeling better?”

She gave a long sigh, the sound exhausted and defeated. “As better as I can feel after utterly humiliating myself. Sir.”

He shook his head. “No such thing happened. Not as far as I’m concerned.”

Her gaze skittered away.

“Did I tell you to stop looking at me?”

Cassia’s eyes snapped back to meet his. “No, Sir.”

Her obedience unleashed even more of that satisfaction. The attraction of BDSM, to him, was as much about the psychology of it as the physicality of the acts. Her reaction—that obedience—represented an ingrained instinct, a need to serve, a desire to surrender. And that fucking heated his blood. He arched a brow and nodded. “Good girl.”

She shifted in his lap, but kept her eyes on his. The movement reminded his body that he’d been planning to find a partner, but he locked that shit down tight. First, because she’d been through something tonight he didn’t entirely understand. And second, because given that she’d stood him up and never bothered to follow up to explain, he wasn’t sure what to make of her anyway. And trust was kind of a thing, for him. Well, for most Doms, really. Which meant he needed to know.

“Now, tell me what happened,” he said, nailing her with a stare. “And tell me the truth.”


Books in Series:






Join the MASTERING HER SENSES Facebook Party on February 21st!

About Laura Kaye:

Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirty books in contemporary and erotic romance and romantic suspense, including the Blasphemy, Hard Ink, and Raven Riders series. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. Laura also writes historical fiction as the NYT bestselling author, Laura Kamoie. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

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Thursday, 2 February 2017

Review: The Ghoul Vendetta - Lisa Shearin

Men in Black meets Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum in the fourth urban fantasy novel in the series starring seer Makenna Fraser and her fellow agents at Supernatural Protection & Investigation.

The agents of Supernatural Protection & Investigations (SPI) are paid to keep the peace. But that’s not so easy when an endless evil threatens to tear that peace to pieces...

A vampire gangster’s nephew is abducted off his yacht by a bunch of low-rent Creatures from the Black Lagoon. A slew of banks are knocked over by what looks like the cast of Night of the Living Dead. All of this may seem like the movies, but, I promise you, it’s not.

I’m Makenna Fraser, seer for SPI, and I know the culprits aren’t wearing disguises or makeup. They’re real. Deadly real. Especially their leader—an ancient shapeshifter who leaves a trail of chaos and blood in his wake. Now, he’s taken my partner, Ian—and his intentions aren’t pretty.

The worst part? This is only the beginning...

The beginning of the end of the human race.

SPI Files:
Lucky Charms (Novella included in the Night Shift anthology)
The Grendel Affair
The Dragon Conspiracy
The Brimstone Deception
The Ghoul Vendetta

Visit Lisa Shearin's website for more information

Review:
What should have been a fun date for Seer Mac and her Goblin boyfriend Rake quickly turns sour when the yacht they're partying on is attacked by a kraken and a bunch of other weird creatures normally only seen in bad sci-fi movies. Things only get worse when ghouls start carrying out perfect bank jobs and eating any security guards who come anywhere close to catching them in the act. Throw in an old vendetta against her SPI partner Ian and shocking kidnap and Mac realises the stakes have never been higher but can she rescue Ian from the clutches of a madman AND save the world from an ancient enemy or is she destined to fail?

One of the things I love most about this series is the way Lisa Shearin keeps coming up with interesting new creatures to populate her world with. We've had dragons, gorgons, demons and more but The Ghoul Vendetta increases the stakes and introduces a whole new host of monsters for Mac to worry about. We also get to find out a lot more about Ian's background which was fascinating (I wish we'd seen some of the story from his point of view though!). Mac is much more confident than she was at the beginning of the series and while she's not the strongest fighter in the SPI she's definitely willing to stand up when it counts, especially when her partner's life is on the line.

If there is one thing I'm a little disappointed with it's the romance though. Rake has really grown on me as a character but I just don't see any real connection between him and Mac which makes it very hard to believe in them as a couple. Mac spends so much time thinking about Ian that Rake is pretty much an after thought throughout the whole book, even when he's going out of his way to help her. It's probably easy to guess that I'm totally team Ian but I can see that ship has firmly sailed and I'm sure I'll get over it eventually. I just hope the author can actually create half the chemistry between Mac and Rake that she's already done between Mac and Ian. Luckily the romance isn't the main focus of the story though and I'm happy to just roll with the unbelievable relationships because I'm enjoying the rest of the story so much.

The Ghoul Vendetta has plenty of action and some really funny moments to lighten up the dark nature of the ghoul attacks. We're getting a much view of the world now and there are some really interesting revelations that will have a knock on effect as the series continues. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where things go from here and I'm still not-so-secretly keeping my fingers crossed that Mac and Ian will see sense and stop dating other people when they're both so obviously in love with each other LOL.

Source: Received from Ace 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:

Wednesday, 1 February 2017

January 2017 Recap


Books read in previous months but reviewed in January:
(Links will take you to my reviews)
  1. Rock Wedding - Nalini Singh (Read in August, reviewed in January)
  2. Day Zero - Kresley Cole (Read in August, reviewed in January)
  3. Wild Embrace - Nalini Singh (Read in September, reviewed in January)
  4. Dream Warrior - Sherrilyn Kenyon (Read in December, reviewed in January)
  5. Night Shift: An Insight into Depression That Words Often Struggle to Reach - Debi Gliori (Picture Book) (Read in December, reviewed in January)
  6. The Gathering Storm - Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (Read in December, reviewed in January)
  7. To Catch a Stolen Soul - R.L. Naquin (Read in December, reviewed in January)
  8. Breath of Fire - Amanda Bouchet (Read in December, reviewed in January)
  9. The Brimstone Deception - Lisa Shearin (Read in December, reviewed in January)
  10. The Joy of iPhotography - Jack Hollingsworth (Photography Book) (Read in December, reviewed in January)
Books read in January:
(Links will take you to my reviews)
  1. All He Wants for Christmas - Anthology
  2. The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden
  3. Chaos Choreography - Seanan McGuire
  4. Frostblood - Elly Blake
  5. Sweet Revenge - Rebecca Zanetti
  6. Moon Called - Patricia Briggs (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
  7. Ride 'Em - Delphine Dryden
  8. Phantom Kiss - Chloe Neill (Novella)
  9. Cry Wolf - Patricia Briggs (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
  10. My Last Name - Seanan McGuire (Short Story)
  11. Incryptid Short Stories Narrated by Elsie Harrington - Seanan McGuire (1 Short Story) (Review Coming Soon)
  12. Homecoming - Patricia Briggs (Graphic Novel)
  13. Chester 5000-XYV - Jess Fink (Graphic Novel)
  14. Chester 5000-XYV: Isabelle & George - Jess Fink (Graphic Novel) (Review Coming Soon)
  15. Sparrow Hill Road - Seanan McGuire (Review Coming Soon)
  16. Carve the Mark - Veronica Roth
  17. Hunting Ground - Patricia Briggs (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
  18. Blood Bound - Patricia Briggs (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
  19. Caraval - Stephanie Garber (Review Coming Soon)
  20. Martians Abroad - Carrie Vaughn (Review Coming Soon)
  21. Barbarian Lover - Ruby Dixon (Review Coming Soon)
  22. F*ck Club: Riley - Shiloh Walker (Review Coming Soon)
  23. Towers of Midnight - Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (Review Coming Soon)
  24. Iron Kissed - Patricia Briggs (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
  25. Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs (I re-read this book but the link takes you to my original review)
Other January Posts
  1. My Favourite Reads of 2016
  2. My Most Anticipated 2017 Reads
  3. Books Read in 2016
  4. 2016 End of Year Survey
  5. Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten 2016 Releases I Meant to Read But Didn't
  6. Crafting Corner: Book Folding Art Inspired by Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson Series
  7. Book Trailer: The King's Cage - Victoria Aveyard
  8. My Top Ten Most Anticipated Contemporary Romances for the First Half of 2017
  9. Book Trailer: Carve the Mark - Veronica Roth
  10. Book Trailer: The Dark Days Pact - Alison Goodman
January Books of the Month:
(Choices are made from books reviewed this month and the links will take you to my reviews)

My top YA read in January:


Frostblood by Elly Blake (read my review here)

My top NA read in January:

I didn't read any NA books this month

My top adult reads in January:


The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (read my review here)

I'm not counting rereads in my favourite books of the year lists but I have to give a special mention to Patricia Briggs and her Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega series here. I've started my annual reread of the series and I'm loving it just as much as ever on my 4th time through so if you haven't tried that series yet I'd highly recommend it!

My Challenge Updates:

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