Short Story Review - Christina's Bear by Jane Wakely @JaneWakely (Chestnut Rock Shifters #2)

Christina’s Bear

Chestnut Rock Shifters #2

by Jane Wakely

Goodreads blurb:  Christina Mills’ loud, bubbly personality gains her numerous friends and dating opportunities. Unfortunately, being labeled a “party girl” and dating a lot can give people the wrong impression. When Christina’s dates learn the truth about her, they soon move on.

James “Bull” Johnson is a restless bear shifter ready to settle down. At the urging of his friend, he relocates to the mid-sized town of Chestnut Rock. Bull hopes the nearby forest and being near his best friend will help soothe his bear and cure some of his loneliness.

When Bull and Christina meet, he recognizes her as his mate. However, their first two encounters leave Bull thinking Christina is afraid of him and Christina is confused by her feelings toward the stranger. Both Bull and Christina have secrets and insecurities that keep them guarded, but if they can trust one another, they’ll discover they’re made for each other.

About the Author:  Heart Melting Heroines, Heart Stopping Heroes

Jane has been creating stories of love and romance for as long as she can remember. She’s a sucker for a happy ending and thinks the best thing about any movie or book is when the characters find someone to love.

Jane writes romance in the contemporary, fantasy and paranormal genres, but paranormal romance is her true passion. She loves creating worlds around sexy shifters and vamps—even if the shifter is a smelly skunk!

Jane writes sensual romance that will warm your heart, and a happy ever after is guaranteed!

Connect with Jane:

~ Website ~ Blog ~ Goodreads ~ Twitter ~

~ Facebook Page ~ Facebook ~

My Thoughts - 4 out of 5 Unicorns - I really liked it!!!

The cover is pretty :)

Again this is a short story and a quick read.  It definitely kept my attention and was an extremely enjoyable story.  This series reminds me of a shifter happily ever after fairy tale.  You get a little background on the two main characters, some dating drama & misunderstandings, and some time with the Jenn & Matt from book 1 :)  I definitely don’t want to give you anymore details because I don’t ever want to ruin someone else’s journey :) I sort of wish finding a mate was this obvious to us mere humans, and I’d like mine to be a shifter mate :)

I really like Jane’s writing style.  I can’t wait to read story 3 :)  I bought all of the books in this short story series :) If you are a shifter story lover and into short shories like I described, then you will thoroughly enjoy this :)

See my review of book 1 HERE!!!

Interested in Reading???

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Short Story Review - Jenn's Wolf by Jane Wakely @JaneWakely (Chestnut Rock Shifters #1)

Jenn’s Wolf

Chestnut Rock Shifters #1

by Jane Wakely

Goodreads blurb:  Jenn is used to being overlooked by men. She’s short, slim, shy and her past keeps her guarded against others—especially men. It also gets her labeled as having a “good personality.” When she sees Matt for the first time, she realizes he’s the first man she’s willing to take a chance on.

Matt is a wolf shifter worried that he’ll never find his mate. Without a mate, a shifter’s life is incredibly drawn-out and lonely. Willing to try anything, he agrees to a blind date with Jenn and is stunned to find out she’s the one.

A misunderstanding interrupts their first night together and leaves them both miserable. After determining she may have overreacted, Jenn apologizes and they agree to start over. When Matt tells her about his wolf, she has to decide whether to trust her heart or run from the only man she’s ever wanted.

About the Author:  Heart Melting Heroines, Heart Stopping Heroes

Jane has been creating stories of love and romance for as long as she can remember. She’s a sucker for a happy ending and thinks the best thing about any movie or book is when the characters find someone to love.

Jane writes romance in the contemporary, fantasy and paranormal genres, but paranormal romance is her true passion. She loves creating worlds around sexy shifters and vamps—even if the shifter is a smelly skunk!

Jane writes sensual romance that will warm your heart, and a happy ever after is guaranteed!

Connect with Jane:

~ Website ~ Blog ~ Goodreads ~ Twitter ~

~ Facebook Page ~ Facebook ~

My Thoughts - 4 out of 5 Unicorns - I really liked it!!! 

The cover has aspects I love, but I’m let down with Matt (on the cover) soooo not how I pictured him.  I love the moon :)  reminds me of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland :)

Okay I stumbled on Jane Wakely’s books on another blog, and it intrigued me enough that I wanted to read the series….I bought them all :)  Okay that being said make sure you know these are short stories not full novels.  This story is about 30 pages and a quick read.  One of my pet peeves is people complaining how the length when they can check that before buying.  Ok, sorry small rant :)

If you are expecting a battle ridden shifter book, this is not for you.  This is more like Mating 101 I guess is the easiest way to put this.  You learn about the characters a little, there’s some dating drama, a small fright…well two :) and it comes together nicely.  I like the author’s style of writing, but do not want to say much more because the blurb tells you enough about the story.  I don’t want to ruin your chance at reading the story :) 

This is a great story if you don’t want to start a major read or if you are like me and need a quick paranormal fix when you have a busy work week.  I think any of my shifter friends who read this review and are interested will thoroughly enjoy this read :)

Interested in Reading???

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Review - Change For Me by Lynn Red

Change For Me

The Alpha’s Kiss #1

by Lynn Red

Goodreads blurb:  New faces were hard to come by in Fort Branch, Arizona. From the moment she saw Damon, Lily Kyle’s heart was stolen. He and Lily were inseparable, until he finally pushed her too far away.

Despite the distance Damon put between them, Lily never stopped loving him.

Motorcycle riding, rough-around-the-edges Damon King has a complicated life. He’s trying to juggle existence after high school, while attempting to get back the only girl he ever really loved. On top of all that? Damon has to figure out his new role as Alpha of a scattered pack of werewolves.

When Damon learns that Lily is more than just his high school sweetheart – she’s his fated soul mate – he also realizes he’s not the only Alpha in town. Will he be able to protect her, and drive his dangerous rival out of town before it’s too late? Or will his savage, feral werewolf rival tear Fort Branch apart and claim Lily first?

About the Author:  Lynn doesn't love anything more than being wrapped up in a hammock with her corgi on her stomach and a pile of her favorite books to read. And by "pile of books" she means "a kindle."

She loves all sorts of romance, but especially ones that feature big, strong alphas who will stop at nothing to prove themselves to the women who melt their hearts.

Sign up for her mailing list HERE, to keep up with new releases and get free reads and exclusive excerpts!

Connect with Lynn:

~ Facebook ~

My Thoughts - 3.5 out of 5 Unicorns - I more than liked it!!

***Part of the Fated Mates box set which I now own and the individual ebook too

The cover is beautiful and dramatic :)  Love it!!

This is a great start to a series, and I definitely want to read more of this series.  This story did start a little slow, and I wished it was more action packed.  But I see this happen in the first book of a series where you are building characters and the world for the readers. 

Both Lily and Damon remind me of my high school students, but this is NOT a young adult book, it is for adults only due to the sexual content.  They are scared and unsure of themselves and their futures; I know I was terrified when I graduated high school and tried to figure out what I was doing.  Lily has a strength of character where she does not give up fighting or on her love for Damon which I really admire :)  Damon loves her but keeps running away.

Grandpa Joe and Poko are both interesting characters, and it definitely helped add something to this shifter tale.

This has a few different ideas for shifters that make it unique and a world to explore more.  I think if you like shifter tales, you will enjoy this story.  Though I am hoping for more action in the next book, I do own both of the next books in this series :)

Interested in reading???

Free on most sites!!!

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99 Cent

12 book bundle

Fated Mates ON SALE!!!

Cover Reveal @Month9Books - A Whispered Darkness by @VanessaBarger Vanessa Barger

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

A Whispered Darkness 

by Vanessa Barger

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

When a soul breaks, it isn’t pretty. The pieces are sharp; they cut and bite and rend at flesh. They seek blood, want vengeance. They congeal, become something more than they were, something dark and beautiful and terrible.

A Whispered Darkness 

by Vanessa Barger
Publication Date: August 26, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books

She’s a middle grade and young adult author, represented by Jennifer Mishler and Frances Black of Literary Counsel. She teaches high school technology education in rural Virginia and is the slave to one cat, Molly. She spends all her free time writing. She’s a member of the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). When not writing, she’s reading, and an avid movie fan. She also loves long walks on the beach discussing Shakespeare while sipping large fruity drinks with little umbrellas.

Connect with the Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Review - Charming the Alpha by Liliana Rhodes @Liliana_Rhodes

Charming the Alpha

The Crane Curse #1

by Liliana Rhodes

Goodreads blurb:  Hannah Crane just graduated college, lives at home with her mom, and has no idea what to do with her life. One night while visiting her grandmother, she's startled by a wolf and everything changes.

In the forest investigating a recent rash of murders and missing shifters, werewolf Alpha Caleb Overstreet doesn't expect to run into a human, let alone a witch. Especially not one whose scent tells him she is his other half…or is she?

As the secrets of her ancestry are revealed, Caleb and Hannah are unable to stay away from each other and Hannah finds herself in danger. A rival pack believes her to be at the center of a curse that would enable them to control other shifters. But is Hannah the wolf charmer they believe her to be? Or is she really Caleb's fated mate?

About the Author:  Liliana Rhodes is a USA Today Bestselling Author who writes romance with fun, engaging characters. Blessed with an over active imagination, she is always writing and plotting her next stories. She enjoys movies, reading, photography, and listening to music. After growing up on the east coast, Liliana now lives in California with her husband, son, two dogs who are treated better than some people, and two parrots who plan to take over the world.

Connect with Liliana:

~ Website ~ Goodreads ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~

My Thoughts - 3 out of 5 Unicorns - I liked it!!

***Part of the Fated Mates Anthology which I received from the publisher for an honest review, but I bought it because I liked it :)

The cover is great, and you definitely think shifter when you see it :)

This is the 2^nd story in the Fated Mates Box Set that I just bought.  This story had me confused in the beginning, and while the confusion cleared up, I just didn’t connect with any of the characters.  I’m thinking it is because this is the first book in the series, but not sure it could be my head cold and headache.  

I liked and enjoyed it, but no fireworks here.  Hannah is sort of naive as a character in my opinion because she never asks questions and knows nothing about her community that is full of shifters.  Caleb protects her, but you do not know much about him.

I think if you like shifter books that you will enjoy reading this story.  I am definitely going to continue reading more by this author.

Interested in reading???

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Fated Mates Box Set on sale of 99 cents

Netgalley Review - Rajmund by D.B. Reynolds @DBReynoldsWrite

Rajmund

Vampires in America #3

by D.B. Reynolds

Goodreads blurb:  RAJMUND GREGOR is a vampire . . . and the undisputed Master of New York City. He bows to no one but his Sire, Krystof, who is the Vampire Lord for the entire Northeastern U.S. Based in Buffalo, NY, Krystof is an old vampire—-too old, it would seem, because he’s slowly losing his mind. Summoned back to Buffalo by his Sire, Rajmund finds his master out of touch and rapidly weakening. He knows the territory will crumble if something isn’t done, and he’s the only one of Krystof’s children strong enough to seize power. But there’s also the matter of some missing women and a rogue vampire who seems to be moving in for the kill.

SARAH STRATTON has a secret, one she’s never shared with anyone–—at least not anyone who knows her now, not even her good friend Cyn. It’s a secret that could destroy her carefully constructed life, but it’s one she may have to share with a vampire, if she’s going to save the lives of the missing women.

About the Author:  D.B. Reynolds is the award-winning author of the popular Vampires in America series, as well as other paranormal fiction. She lives with her husband of many years in a flammable canyon near Los Angeles, and when she's not writing her own books, she can usually be found reading someone else's. 

Connect with D.B.:

~ Website ~ Goodreads ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~

My Thoughts - 5 out of 5 unicorns - I loved it!!

***Received ebook from Belle Books for an honest review

The cover has recently had a makeover, and Raj is looking yummy :)

I really love this series :)  I read this book straight through because I couldn't put it down.  The story is mostly about Sarah, but Cyn does have some appearances which I love because I loved the characters in the first and second books.  It helps ease you into the new characters and provides connections for you to love the new characters :)

Sarah is much stronger than everyone realizes because of her secret past.  I will not give you more than that though because I don’t ever want to ruin someone’s journey into this great story :)  Raj is sexy and powerful, and Sarah is knocking him for loop after loop.  Okay, there is a cliffhanger of sorts at the end of this book, but the story is complete when the cliffhanger is thrown in.  It is the hook to get you to read the next book ;)

D.B.’s books are well written and suck you right into the story where you are invested into the characters.  I can’t wait to read more in this series because I see changes coming :)

I highly recommend this series to my vamp lovin’ friends :)  Check it out if you haven’t read it yet!!

See my review of Raphael book 1!!!!

See my review of Jabril book 2!!!!

Interested in reading???

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99 Cent Spotlight & Excerpt - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead by @patriciaeimer Patricia Eimer

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

by Patricia Eimer

Ebook:  368 pages

Release Date:  February 24, 2014

ISBN:  978-1622661183

Blurb: 

Not Even Death Keeps a Good Demoness Down

There’s never an end to the crazy when you’re demon spawn. Not that Faith Bettincourt’s complaining. She’s been patching things up with her angelic on-again off-again boyfriend, Matt, and her best-friend-turned-sister-in-law is soon giving birth to the Anti-Christ Part Deux. Oh, and Faith is saving kids from Death in her pediatric unit one soul at a time. Life is good.

Until Faith accidentally runs over the Angel of Death and is forced to take his place. Now she’s taking lives instead of saving them. Which is kind of a problem when you’re a nurse. As if that weren’t bad enough, she is suddenly thrust into the worst scenario of them all--Matt’s ex Brenda is back, and she’s brought the Apocalypse with her.

Faith’s not about to give up the world...or her man. But when the chips are down, what’s a demoness supposed to do? Besides take matters into her own hands, of course.

~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~

About the Author:  Patricia Eimer is a small-town girl fated to be a storyteller. After a stint of "thinking practically," she earned degrees in Business and Economics, but her passion has always been a good book. She lives in Pittsburgh with her two kids and a husband who learned the art of frozen pizza to give her more time to write. When she’s not writing she can be found fencing or arguing with her dogs about plot points. Most days the beagle wins, but the dalmatian is a close second. She’s a distant third.

Connect with Patricia:

~ Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads ~

Excerpt:

“Close your eyes,” Death said. “Then just like you moved your power from your stomach to the base of your skull, take that power and let it travel down your arms and into your fingers. Imagine watching it slide from you and into Ignatius.”

I did exactly as Death instructed and closed my eyes, imagining a blue-black knot of power traveling down my arms and up into the tiny hamster feet resting on my hands. Iggy let out a muffled squeak and I opened my eyes. I felt lighter somehow. Like there was nothing inside of me that could do harm. “So did I do it?”

“I think that would be an unabashed yes.” Death nodded toward my hands, and I looked down to see that Iggy had sprouted little black wings and two flea-sized black horns. He flapped his wings lazily and lifted off of my hands as a little black tail sprouted out of his hind end.

 “Oh yeah!” I threw my hands up in the air and wiggled a bit. “Look at that. Iggy and I have this totally off the hook.”

“Ignatius,” Death said his face stern. “The hamster’s name is Ignatius.”

“Only to those who haven’t spared his life today. Those of us with awesome, but completely contained, powers over the forces of life and death can call him Iggy.”

“Iggy?” Matt asked from the doorway.

“He’s our new evil hamster of death.” I gave him my brightest smile as the hamster began flittering around the deck, his little tail lashing back and forth as he sniffed at things, snorting little bits of fire out of his nose.

“Our new what?”

“Evil hamster,” I said. “Iggy is my new snuggle buddy.”

Giveaway Details:

5 bundles of an ebook copy of Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead with any other Entangled ebook released at the same time -- Covet, Suspense, etc.

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Tour Schedule

Week One:

2/24/2014- book's blog- Excerpt

2/24/2014- The Reading Obsession- Spotlight

2/25/2014- Urban Fantasy Investigations- Guest Post

2/25/2014- BookHounds- Interview

2/26/2014- Happy tails and tales- Review or Spotlight

2/26/2014- In The Pages of a Good Book- Excerpt

2/27/2014- Manga Maniac Café- Interview

2/27/2014- Margay Leah Justice- Review or Spotlight

2/28/2014- Fade Into Fantasy- Guest Post

2/28/2014- Toot's Book Reviews- Interview

Week Two:

3/3/2014- Books, Movies, Reviews. Oh my!- Interview

3/3/2014- Books and Things- Excerpt

3/4/2014- Romantic Reads and Such- Guest Post

3/4/2014- Let's Talk About Books- Review

3/5/2014- The Jeep Diva- Guest Post

3/5/2014- Cassandra Lost in Books- Excerpt

3/6/2014- Sapphyria's Book Reviews- Guest Post

3/6/2014- Read-Love-Blog- Excerpt

3/7/2014- Miriam Smith- Review or Spotlight

3/7/2014- Fantasy Book Addict- Guest Post