Archives for June 2013

Meet Me At The Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

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Meet Me At The Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan
Publisher: Sourcebooks-Landmark
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (410 pgs)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Stephantois

Ever dreamed of starting over?

Issy Randall can bake. No, more than that – Issy can create stunning, mouth-wateringly divine cakes. After a childhood spent in her beloved Grampa Joe’s bakery she has undoubtedly inherited his talent. So when she’s made redundant from her safe but dull City job, Issy decides to seize the moment and open up her own café. It should be a piece of cake, right?
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Wrong. As her friends point out, she has trouble remembering where she left her house keys, let alone trying to run her own business. But Issy is determined. Armed with recipes posted to her from Grampa, and with her local bank manager fighting her corner, Issy attempts to prove everyone wrong. Following your dreams is never easy and this is no exception. Can Issy do it?

Reading a good book while eating cupcakes. No better combination and that’s what’s to be found in Meet Me At the Cupcake Café. Ms. Colgan has managed to combine an interesting, witty plot with recipes for various sweet treats scattered throughout its pages.

I found myself cheering for everyone in this book. They’re skillfully drawn and come across as real people with issues we can all relate too, like losing a job, aging parents and grandparents etc. The lead character, Issy, is fun to follow as she deals with what to do with the rest of her life. There’s also Pearl who I thought was a memorable character and who often had the funniest dialogue.

Despite its 400 plus pages, the story seemed to clip by and you find yourself wanting to read just a little more at each sitting. I’ll definitely be looking out for more of this author’s books. If you enjoy chick-lit with a British setting, plus tempting cake recipes, this might be one for you to try.

Excuse My Fairy by Kinley Baker

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Excuse My Fairy by Kinley Baker
Publisher: Etopia Press
Genre: Action/Adventure, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (184 pgs)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Aloe

Her magic breaks all the rules. He breaks all of hers.

Draybeth is broken. Her fairy powers don’t work, her magic is completely dysfunctional, and not even her bad attitude and soft heart can win her back into Fairy favor. Exiled from their land, she struggles to make a life for herself in the human world. But when her bar burns to the ground and she meets one of the Impassables–the devastating Lawman Barrett–things become even more of a struggle. An arrest, murder, and abduction challenge everything she’s worked for, and worse, the Impassable Lawman appears to be her destined mate. But darkness stirs deep within Dray’s heart, and she’s not about to drag the gorgeous lawman down with her.

Though it has been available in the market since 1999, to buy Sildenafil Citrate you needed deeprootsmag.org buy cialis online a prescription until say a few years ago. This pill helps build blood stream to prevent cost levitra low any interruption in the mechanism. It is preferable to intake a 2.5mg dosage when you are looking levitra 20mg, there are a couple of different things that you want to look for. viagra tab deeprootsmag.org Considerably, there are elements that play a vital roles in alcohol addiction. Barrett never expected to find himself mated to a fairy, let alone one with such a wicked temper and a short fuse. Being an Impassable, he should be immune to fairy magic, but Dray’s magic burns through him like lightning, just as everything else about her ignites him, body and soul. The fairy’s power over Impassables threatens everything this new realm was built upon, and as a Lawman, Barrett’s job is to make sure those threats are eliminated. But his feelings for Dray make him question just where his duty lies.

Dray is a broken fairy. She can’t use any fairy powers and she feels the darkness growing with her. If her father doesn’t kill her, the dark will take her over soon. And then some dragon broad burns down her bar. It looks like her luck has left her, too.

This is the beginning of a new series for Ms. Baker and she’s created a fantasy world that has a lot of story possibilities. What I really liked about this story was the relationship she creates between a broken fairy and an impassible (one who is immune to magic). Fairies and impassables don’t have relationships. So how can he be her mate? Dray and Barrett meet after the fire–he’s a lawman. They both try to avoid each other and deny any attraction. You can guess how well that works.

As you watch the dance between the two destined mates, there is the beginning of another story line being drawn. The author throws in a soul eater that leaves the fairies a burnt out husk. There’s a cop who seems to be on the fairy side. And the fairy king is still determined to kill Dray.

This tale has lots of action and Dray and Barrett face a lot of danger. With so many people trying to kill them, you can’t be sure just how this is going to end. It’s not boring! The author grabs your attention in the first few pages and keeps until the last page. This isn’t the traditional fairy story and I liked that. Why not give the book a try and see what you think?

The Pleasures of Summer by Evie Hunter

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The Pleasures of Summer by Evie Hunter
Publisher: Penquin
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (448 pgs)
Other: BDSM, M/F, Fetish, Toys, Spanking
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Stephanotis

Summer O’Sullivan is rich, beautiful and in mortal danger. Her father has made powerful enemies who are targeting his precious daughter. Until the threat passes, Summer needs a bodyguard – someone to protect her and, she expects, to treat her with the reverence she’s used to.

Hence, add 10 to cialis price appalachianmagazine.com 12 hours of working in stuffy offices and they staying in traffic jams daily, and the entire picture is miserable. Besides that, some compounds like L-arginine are completely natural and are known to appalachianmagazine.com cialis 10mg price work for such conditions. ED or Erectile dysfunction is not a problem in patient. tadalafil generic canada Oral medications have viagra generic discount also been of great help to the sufferers of erectile dysfunction. Into Summer’s gilded cage comes former ranger, Flynn Grant. As far as Flynn is concerned, this is the assignment from hell, minding the spoilt daughter of a multi-millionaire. Summer and Flynn are poised to hate each other on sight. Even his devastating looks do not make up for how Flynn’s rules cramp Summer’s style. Unsurprisingly, the sparks fly between them. But when Summer breaks the rules one time too often, Flynn teaches her a lesson that leaves them shattered – and bound together in a way that astonishes them both.

In their remote hideout, the two start a battle over who is the tamer, and who is the tamed. It’s a duel that stretches their minds and bodies beyond every limit. And in time their hearts begin to surrender too. But when the dark forces that have been stalking Summer finally track them down, the battle is no longer a game, but a matter of life and death …

The Pleasures of Summer has a little of everything, erotic content, Chick-Lit, adventure with a dash of suspense. The opening really draws you in when the heroine, Summer is being chased and in some sort of danger. She’s not the easiest character to like straight away. Partly because the author did a good job making her come across as the spoiled off spring of a rich man, which is exactly what she is. In a way you don’t want her to end up with the sexy Flynn but half way through the book you get the sense that these two are a match made in heaven.

The two things I loved most about this story were the locales that the authors described perfectly and I found myself feeling like I was really in London and Scotland. The second, the humor and sometimes witty dialogue, especially between Summer and Flynn.

This is the second book I’ve read by Evie Hunter and I think the author’s carved out her own niche of what I’d call erotic chick-lit. And if that’s your pleasure then I think this story and her previous one will be definite musts on your summer reading list.

Sucked by Mia Watts

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Sucked by Mia Watts
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short Story (49 pgs)
Other: M/M, Anal Play
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Eddie has wanted to fuck his boss since the moment he signed on as an intern. Michael makes him nervous at the office, and oh so hot. So when Eddie finds the control-freak boss cutting loose at a dance club masquerade, he takes full advantage of the anonymity. Going down on the boss never tasted sweeter—until the mask comes off.

All he can do is watch him from afar. As a lowly intern, his boss, Michael, makes him much too nervous – and turned on – to do anything more. But is he really stuck looking when all he’d really prefer to do is touch, and touch some more? When Eddie stumbles across his boss, the idea of a lifetime strikes, but will he be able to pull it off and corner the man who makes him so crazy every day? There’s only one way to find out – and that’s to put his plan into action.

These medicines can make a man impotent and can bring lots of humiliation in generic levitra online the bed. Enjoy Safe Remedy While there are other options that viagra buying online are available as well. So what happens when to us when we experience the ill effects of this issue regularly feel shy buy sildenafil online in discussing about this problem with anyone. They fill the body with more energy and stamina which will be helpful in a passionate encounter. viagra free sample is sold in the small fractional level starting from the range of 2.5mg and gradually increases to 5mg, 10mg and 20mg packs for the convenient of customers. Eddie is more than a little enamored of his boss, but Michael’s mere presence turns him into a clumsy ball of nerves. His utter ineptness when Michael is around is endearing and sometimes comical. I found it twice as hot that he was not only able to approach his boss once the mask was on, but also take complete and total control. This dominant side of Eddie was quite entrancing.

Michael is Eddie’s exact opposite. Calm, assured, and totally in control no matter the situation, he is the epitome of businessmen everywhere. That he was able to let go enough to be caught off guard by this masked stranger was both sexy and comforting. He’s certainly no stuffed shirt.

Although very short, the author does a good job of helping you to get to know the characters. You can feel Eddie’s pent up desire and his frustration, but you also get to see a bit of Michael’s loneliness, too. When the two boys come together, however, there is nothing left standing. Sparks fly and steam fills the room. They are one hot couple, those two! Sucked is a story that offers a bit of emotion, a handful of laughs and enough sexiness to melt your e-reader!

Fierce Creatures by AW Hartoin

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Fierce Creatures by AW Hartoin
Publisher: Self
Genre: Fantasy
Length: Full (263 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 10+
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Rose

Another day. Another disaster.
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After surviving a kidnapping and battling with spriggans, Matilda Whipplethorn finds her life in a suburban human house pretty boring. She’s been excluded from school because of her fire-making abilities and her former friends are afraid of her. Salvation comes in the form of a life-threatening illness. Her tutor, Miss Penrose, needs a medication and there’s only one place to get it, the spriggans. Matilda heads back to the antique mall to save Miss Penrose even though it just might cost her everything.

This is the second book of the Away from Whipplethorn series, but can easily be read as a standalone. If you read the first book in the series, though, I feel as if it would be a much richer experience for the reader.  It’s a well written, cleanly edited story that I quite enjoyed.

Matilda has been invited not to come back to school because of her fire-making power and is a little bored at home. She gets into scrapes when she tries to help her tutor by getting some medication she needs.  Matilda is a typical child (albeit a fairy) with the usual childish traits, but despite seeming to get into trouble regularly she is, at heart, kind and courageous.  A good role model for children who read this book–as long as they can’t start fires with a thought!

Ms. Hartoin again brings the invisible (to most humans) world of the fairies to life in such detail that you feel you are there.  She’s able to craft a story with skill and create a plot which keeps one reading.  I’m looking forward to many more books in this series, because there are a lot of ways Matilda can get into trouble!  A good addition to any tween’s shelf!

The Kidnapping of Aaron Greene by Terry Kay

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The Kidnapping of Aaron Greene by Terry Kay
Publisher: Untreed Reads Publishing
Genre: Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (288 pages)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

Aaron Greene is a shy, stay-in-the-background young Jewish boy, the child of shy, stay-in-the-background parents. Only a year out of high school, he has a part-time job as a mailboy in a large Atlanta bank. One morning, on his way to work, he is kidnapped and the kidnappers demand a ransom of ten million dollars – not from his parents, but from the bank that employs him.

The bank rejects the demand.

And what begins as a curious crime – the abduction of an unknown, a nobody – soon ignites a national crusade for Aaron’s safe return, because everyone, in one way or another, understands what it is like to be a nobody.

For the kidnappers, the money has no meaning. The mastermind, Ewell Pender, is a wealthy eccentric, an elderly board member of the bank, yet also the man who organizes the campaign to raise Aaron’s ransom. His criminal associates are young nonconformists, dreamers and daredevils. Keeping Aaron in the luxury of the Pender mansion is, to them, a clever and teasing adventure. For Aaron, it is not life-threatening; it is life-changing.

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Richly written, driven by baffling twists in plot, and featuring powerful portrayals of memorable characters, The Kidnapping of Aaron Greene goes beyond the elements of a classic crime. It is an experiment in human manipulation and behavior, and a riveting study of the passions and apathy historically exhibited by society.

If you were going to kidnap someone, would you kidnap a nobody, someone with no money, no resources? That’s what happens in The Kidnapping of Aaron Greene.  The reasons behind this unique kidnapping reveal a complex look at society and what drives it.

Terry Kay has written a page turning mystery with incredible twists and turns. We see the story unfold from multiple perspectives with a group of really engaging characters. A newsman’s voice is used on the kidnapper’s demand tapes, but Cody never said what is on the tapes. His phone was tapped and the tapes are spliced, but why was his voice chosen? Cody and his friend Detective Menotii work hard to unravel the mystery, but just as they appear to figure out something, the story takes another turn. There are wives and ex-wives. There are new loves and old. There is a pushy radio talk show host and a troubled bank. Nothing is at it seems on the surface. Aaron himself is kept “imprisoned,” but in the lap of luxury with access to a hot tub and sauna, a garden, great food, and videos, everything except freedom.

Kay has woven a masterfully imaginative plot that really rings true. His characters are very well-defined and for the most part likeable, so the reader really cares what happens to them. The mastermind behind the original kidnapping is a wealthy eccentric elderly man named Ewell Pender, and he demonstrates the ability to manipulate people to do what he feels is right. He also organizes a campaign to raise the ransom money, as this kidnapping is not about money. The truth behind the kidnapping is something that Kay’s readers must decide for themselves. I certainly had questions at the end that I wish had been answered more clearly, but the characters did end up in better places than those they occupied at the beginning of the novel. Furthermore, the main characters discovered life-changing understandings about themselves and their worlds.

I recommend this novel to any lovers of mysteries with unusual angles and plot twists. I look forward to reading more of Kay’s novels.

Seal Girl by Magda Knight

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Seal Girl by Magda Knight
Publisher: Buzz Books USA
Genre: Contemporary, YA
Length: Short Story (26 pages)
Age Recommendation: 12+
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Orchid

Ondine is the new girl at school, and with her flaming red hair, Irish accent and deformed hands, she’s used to being the odd girl out. She tells herself that she simply doesn’t care. But like the mythical selkies who swim in the cold Atlantic, Ondine swims to championships in high school pools, where she feels free. She chooses to be a free spirit, but when someone close starts to play dirty, it seems she runs out of choices …

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Ondine has moved to a new school and is finding it difficult to fit in. She has type IV syndactyly which fuses her fingers. The other pupils call her Flipper and make fun of her, but her swimming excellence gives her solace as she ploughs her way through the pool each day.

Some of the boys and girls seem friendly but others only pretend to be and then tease her mercilessly. Her swimsuit is unusual, but it belonged to her mother and reminds her of sealskin. When she wears it in the pool she feels like a magic creature of the sea.

Ondine learns some of her fellow pupils are not nasty, although sometimes she misunderstands their actions. She must learn to cope with a world where she is considered a freak.

Although short, this is a story of how a girl copes with being different at school, and being the odd one out in a society where it’s important to fit in. Staying aloof brings unhappiness, but a tentative offer of friendship could end in disaster. As with many new pupils in an already established hierarchy, difficulties spring not only from her difference but also from being new. I was interested to see how Ondine coped with these problems and think the author handled the situation very well.

Tainted Glass by Brian Carufe

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Tainted Glass by Brian Carufe
Publisher: Burst Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (220 pages)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

When Prince William’s father is murdered before his eyes, he thinks his miseries could never be worse. He’s wrong. Helped by Anna, his queen and love of his life, he struggles with a dark side he always knew existed, made worse with the tragic consequences of his daughter’s birth, the princess Snow White. Through the malice of a spurned love, and the scheming of rivals that covet his throne, William finds himself the victim of a curse that condemns him to live out his remaining days as the magic mirror of lore. With his daughter’s life hanging in the balance, William must save her the only way he can: engaging in a game of wits with the cunning and manipulative woman who imprisoned him behind the glass.
But is Snow White worth saving at all?

If you think you know the story of Snow White, then think again! Brian Carufe has written a dark and very compelling account of this story, the truth that was later made into the Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Carufe’s novel begins when Snow White’s father William is just fifteen years old and as William tells us in the prologue, “To you, I am a mirror; but once, I was a king. My name is William, a common name, though I have an uncommon story to tell. You know my daughter or, at least, of her, but whatever you think you know is merely a shadow of the truth.”

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Even though the basic plot is known to everyone, I couldn’t put this book down. I knew what was going to happen, but had no idea how it was going to unfold. Carufe has many clever twists in the plot, but my favorite is that it is William who ends up trapped in the mirror and he has to try to save Snow White, the love of his life. The story moves swiftly and without mercy or pause to its surprising conclusion. And as William concludes in his epilogue, “As one story ends, another can begin. The sun rises for the moon to fall again. If there is one thing I have learned in my time in the void, it has been that life is a domino effect: each decision affects the next and every one after that. So it has been done, and it will be done again.”

If you enjoy fantasy and the re-telling of fairy tales, I really recommend Tainted Glass. You will never think of Snow White in the same way ever again!

Her Pirate Master by Trista Ann Michaels

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Her Pirate Master by Trista Ann Michaels
Publisher: Loose Id LLC
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (156 pages)
Other: BDSM, M/F, Anal Play, Toys, Spanking
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Lisianthus

Jacquelyn Marcone is taken hostage by infamous space pirate, Haydrian Victis. He plans to use her as bait to lure Captain Jack Marcone. Unfortunately, or possibly fortunately for Jacquelyn, Haydrian has no idea that Jacquelyn is the ‘Jack’ he’s hoping to bait.

Haydrian’s intent was never to actually take her, but just make the man he was looking for think he did. But the pretty blonde who constantly fights him at every turn becomes too much of a temptation to ignore. ‘Jack’ will make a few discoveries of her own, such as her desire to sexually submit, her shocking reaction to flogging, and the fact that her Pirate captor isn’t at all who she initially thought.

Desperate circumstances can make people do things they normally wouldn’t and for this Pirate/King that rings all too true when he finds he must become a thief in order to save his people. He’s survived many battles, but the one thing he may not survive is the hurt he’ll feel when he finds out the delectable blonde submissive he’s falling in love with is the infamous Captain ‘Jack’ Marcone he’s been determined to get revenge against.

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Captain Jacquelyn “Jack” Marcone is taken hostage by Haydrian Victis, who’s known throughout the solar system as an infamous pirate. Haydrian has no idea that the woman he’s kidnapped is Captain Jack Marcone, but he does think he can trade her for Jack. The chemistry between Jack and Haydrian is off the charts, they push and pull and she surrenders to him beautifully. Haydrian is a pirate and a Dom and Jack wants to submit badly even when she can’t help but defy the man who kidnapped her. This story reminds me of the books I started romance on, stories of strong heroines who fight against love and life with arrogant heroes that are so hot and dominant they seduce the heroines into their beds.

The world building is well done, I could easily see this as a movie or miniseries, it played like that in my head. I could see the images, the ship, the bleak darkness of space and then Haydrian’s home world ravaged by war.

The sex is off the charts and very inventive. I loved the way that Jack gave in to him and just let herself enjoy and Haydrian’s softer gentler side made me sigh happily. I recommend this space romance for lovers of dominant gentle pirates and the heroines strong enough to love them.

Mark of the Bear by N.J. Walters

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Mark of the Bear by N.J. Walters
Hades Carnival Book 2
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Full Length (293 Pages)
Heat Level: Hot
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Foxglove

When the devil wants a deal, there’s no bowing out gracefully.

Hades’ Carnival, Book 2

At twenty-nine, Hollywood scream queen Kellsie Morris is acutely aware the clock is ticking on her career. Luckily, the one big role she needs to pad her retirement fund has just come through—the story of an immortal, shape-shifting warrior trapped in a carnival run by the Devil’s minions.

When Kellsie arrives on set, she can’t resist climbing aboard an amazingly realistic carousel bear—and finds herself flung into a world where the horror is real. As real as the heat radiating off the half-naked hunk in her arms.

Marko has waited an eternity for the chance to free his goddess, the Lady of the Beasts, and his fellow warriors from an ancient curse. But once he lays eyes on Kellsie, he knows to the bottom of his soul that his purpose is to protect her life.
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But in this hellish game, it’s the Devil’s move. And there’s no predicting when and where the final, brutal stroke will fall—and which lover will pay the ultimate price.

Mark of the Bear is N.J. Walters’ second book in her Hades Carnival series, and like Night of the Tiger, it is a fantastic addition to this world Ms. Walters has built. This is a dark world, filled with curses and demons, and strong, determined women, ready to do what is needed to survive. I like the characters Ms. Walters crafted for this series; strong, independent women with minds of their own, each with one cursed warrior to save. Of course, the warriors are strong, determined and yet each will face a decision on whether to accept their perfect mate or turn to the evil trying to ensnare them.

The Scream Queen. Top of the B-movie victims, Kellsie Morris, has made a comfortable living in Hollywood, but knows her time is running out for the kind of roles she plays. She hopes to segue into writing once she retires from her acting career. When her agent calls with a too-good-to-be-true offer for Kellsie to star in one last big budget slasher film, she jumps at the chance to add to her savings and go out with a scream. Little does she know, the screams here will be for real, and creatures straight from nightmares will be after her soon.

When Kellsie climbs on the carousel at the movie set, she sets in motion events she never could have imagined. Climbing on the bear figure feels right, but when the bear becomes a real, shape shifting being, Kellsie at first doesn’t believe it is real, as this was all in the script she read. Once Marko is released from his curse, the clock starts ticking; if he can keep both Kellsie and himself free of Hades’ clutches for twenty-four hours, they will be free. But they will need to escape Hades’ crew of demons, protect their souls, and avoid the Warrior turned traitor, Mordecai. Can Kellsie accept the truth, when her whole world has been turned into her own personal horror film? Can she accept Marko, knowing of his dual nature, in order to survive? Will these two, together, prove strong enough to stay alive and become more than either expected?

Kellsie Morris is smart and determined to live life on her terms. She realizes that, at her age, she is near the end of her Scream Queen career. I enjoyed watching as Kellsie made her plans for the future, knowing she had no idea what she was walking into with this final starring role. I like that she stood her ground, even when her whole world was flipped upside down and she learned things aren’t always what they appear to be. I enjoyed watching as Kellsie as she accepted Marko, and all that he stood for, and was able to see that he was the ‘good guy’ in the whole event.

Marko has been cursed for centuries, until Kellsie’s touch frees him. He is a strong and loyal warrior to the lady of the Beasts, and he is grateful to be free to search for the Lady. I enjoyed seeing him come to care for Kellsie, and I liked that he learned to admire her strength, and was able to listen to what she had to say, even though he was of an age where men were used to taking charge. I also liked watching as these two found strength in each other, and found what they would sacrifice to stay together.

There is plenty of danger surrounding these characters, but there are a couple of intriguing surprises to come for Kellsie, not just finding her mate in Marko, but learning about a side of herself she didn’t know existed. There is a brief mention of the characters from Night of the Tiger, and a hint of what is yet to come. The romance in this one starts slowly, but reaches the volcanic level once Kellsie and Marko get together. There are some interesting twists to how they evade Hades’ demons here as well. This one kept me reading long past my bed time, and I look forward to the next installment. This one is for all those who like their shifters hot, their heroines feisty, and their romance with a side of danger.