Awake at Dawn by C.C. Hunter ~ Review

Step into the world of Shadow Falls, a camp that helps teens tap into their special... talents. Once you visit, you’ll never forget it—and you’ll never, ever be the same.

From the moment Kylie Galen arrived at Shadow Falls Camp, she’s had one burning question: What am I? Surrounded by vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters, fairies and witches, Kylie longs to figure out her own supernatural identity…and what her burgeoning powers mean. And now she’ll need them more than ever, because she’s being haunted by a new spirit who insists that someone Kylie knows—and loves—will die before the end of the summer. If only she only knew who she was supposed to save. And how...

But giving Kylie the most trouble is her aching heart. Gorgeous werewolf Lucas left camp with another girl, but he’s still visiting Kylie in her dreams. And Derek, a sexy half Fae who’s always been there for her when she needed him, is pushing to get more serious—and growing impatient, especially when Lucas returns. Kylie knows she needs to decide between the boys, and it’s tearing her up inside.

Yet romance will have to wait, because something from the dark side of the supernatural world is hiding in Shadow Falls. It’s about to threaten everything she holds dear... and bring her closer to her destiny.

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I'm pretty sure I'm stuck in this series.  I picked up this book, the second in the series, as soon as I finished the first.  It's a continuous story from book one to two with Kylie still at Shadow Falls camp for the summer.  She's still trying to figure out what kind of supernatural she is.  She's still struggling to forgive her dad and to decide which boy she likes.  But this book has a new issue for her to deal with.

I like the overall world the author has created.  Despite being paranormal, it models themes that most young adults struggle with.  Who is she?  How does she fit into this world?  How does she deal with friends?  How does she decide between two boys she's attracted to?  All pretty normal questions for teens.  But add do that the spell mistakes of her roommate friend, the inability to understand what a ghosts wants from you and how to convince her mother that she really needs to stay at the supernatural school without telling her she is one.  Poor Kylie does have an overabundance of problems.  But she does a good job of navigating them. 

I enjoy these characters.  They're real and make mistakes like normal teens.  I laughed a lot as Kylie's kitten had a few struggles in this one.  And I care about her two roommates.  Mostly, I really like Derick and Lucas.  Both are good guys that try very hard to be there for Kylie.  I will admit that Derick surprised me with his choices in this one.  He can read emotions and I think he knows something more than he's telling.  I did admire his choice.  But Kylie was pretty frustrated with him.  As for Lucas, I think he needs to communicate more.  Yeah, it's a universal guy thing.  Strangely, I don't have an opinion on which boy she should choose.  I would be happy with either, though I do see a direction I think she's headed.

I enjoyed the story and did guess part of what the ghost wanted, but really not the whole thing.  There were a couple of other surprises for me.  I like when that happens.  The story definitely had hold of me and kept me very interested.

Overall, this is a good book two and I'm excited to move on to book three.  I definitely have missed reading YA.  Reading this series was good life choice for me. :)

                                    

Born at Midnight by CC Hunter ~ Review

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

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This story is almost eight years old.  The same age my blog turns next month.  As a matter of fact, I bought this book almost eight years ago.  And it sat on my shelf waiting it's turn.  And I really wish it hadn't have had to wait so long.  Because it's a really good story.  And I'm not the only one that feels that way.  There are over 75K ratings and over 4K reviews on Goodreads for this book.  It averages above 4 stars after EIGHT years.  That's amazing.  But I'm also glad I waited to read this story.  Why?  Let me tell you.

First, I've been in slump.  I'm not sure it was slump so much as a streak of reading meh books.  I began to think it was me that had the issue and not all the really bad books I was reading.  So I called it a slump.  And I hid in the pages of old favorites to deal with my reading need.  I was afraid to read a new book for fear it would be just as bad as everything else I'd read lately.  Then I was wondering through the bookstore looking at YA books.  And I found this book.  This book that's eight years old.  And I remember that I owned this book.  And I went home and found it.  And I got stuck in it's pages.

Second, I'm really glad that the whole series is out and I can just beige read it.  AND there's a spin off series I can dig into after that.  

Finally, it's clear I've just been reading the wrong books.  I need to refocus my book choices to the things I really enjoy.  

You might wonder why this book is good.  I'll tell you.  It's got great characters.  I love the struggle that Kylie is facing as she tries to deal with who she really is.  I even love her indecision as she tries to decide which boy she likes.  I actually really like both Derick and Lucas.  I have a preference but I could be okay with either choice.  Derick is there for her a lot.  A good friend.  Lucas has the mystery about him and he's not everything Kylie thinks he is.  There's enough of a difference between them for her to be confused.  I like that struggle.  It feels real despite this book being paranormal.

I'm a very character driven reader so it's important that I see the characters as real.  But the story needs to be there too.  It's not just the beginning of a story.  There is a whole story here.  Yeah, I want more.  I have questions and the next book I read will be book two but this one ends in a good place.  And the important threads of this book have answers.  The mystery of who Kylie is evolves slowly and while there is no answer yet, a big question has been answered.  There's nothing left that I'm growling about not being answered.  It's clear they will be answered.

The pacing felt like it was right for this story.  Things unraveled as the characters could handle it.  I had a hard time putting the book down and read it over just a couple of days.  And like I said, I definitely want the next book now.

It's nice to stumble upon a book, a series that can draw you in and make you happy.  This one has that effect.  Books don't need to be just released to be good.  And I'm really glad I found this one at the exact time that I found it.  Maybe you need this book now too.

                                  

Hostage to Pleasure (Psy-Changeling #5) by Nalini Singh ~ Review

Source: Purchased.

Hostage to Pleasure (Psy-Changeling #5) by Nalini Singh

Separated from her son and forced to create a neural implant that will mean the effective enslavement of her psychically gifted race, Ashaya Aleine is the perfect Psy--cool, calm, emotionless...at least on the surface. Inside, she's fighting a desperate battle to save her son and escape the vicious cold of the PsyNet. Yet when escape comes, it leads not to safety, but to the lethal danger of a sniper's embrace.

DarkRiver sniper Dorian Christensen lost his sister to a Psy killer. Though he lacks the changeling ability to shift into animal form, his leopard lives within. And that leopard's rage at the brutal loss is a clawing darkness that hungers for vengeance. Falling for a Psy has never been on Dorian's agenda. But charged with protecting Ashaya and her son, he discovers that passion has a way of changing the rules...

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Reading this series is turning into a long-term thing for me. I read the first four books what feels like forever ago now. Like, I honestly can't remember how long ago it was that I read book 4. And it's not because the series isn't good -- heck no. It's because the series is so dang long, it's intimidating to me to think if binge reading it. So then I take way too long to pick up the next book. And then when I do, I wonder why I didn't do so sooner because the book, just like the series as a whole, is. so. good. Yes, that was the case with Hostage to Pleasure.

Nalini Singh is brilliant. This world she's created? Large and complex, but oh so easy to fall into. The PLOT? Dear goodness. So. Damn. SMART. There are countless threads, both throughout this one book but also throughout the series as a whole, and the way they seem to effortlessly build and work together is something that I am truly in awe of. Singh's writing is out of this world amazing.

Then there's the romance, which is top notch. Dorian and Ashaya have one of the most sensual slow burns I've ever read. Ashaya slowly growing on Dorian, despite Dorian wanting nothing to do with his attraction to her...wow. And Ashaya gradually opening up her emotions to him, feeling safe enough to do so...the growth of trust and affection and tenderness between the two... Nalini Singh is truly a master.

And how could I not mention the other relationships? In Hostage to Pleasure, in particular, there's Ashaya and Dorian's bonds with Keenan. The sweetest, I swear. Ashaya being his mommy. And Dorian being protective and kind and caring. It was beautiful. Then there's the pack dynamics -- the close friendships and die-hard trust. I loved spending time enfolded in their world.

There were only two little things holding the novel back from being perfect for me. One of those things was Amara. I just did not like her plot thread. I have no doubt she'll come into play somehow later, but in this installment her portion was just so over complicated when all I wanted was for her to go away. The other thing is the overall pacing -- it was slow for me. I suspect this is just a me thing (trying not to miss anything, catch all the important tidbits while also enjoying the parts I loved, which were many) but it felt like it took me forever to read this book. I'd read twenty pages but it'd feel like I read at least double that. Which in a way is good -- it meant the pages were jam packed -- but it made my overall reading experience feel like it was dragging.

All that said, Hostage to Pleasure was another amazingly written installment in the Psy-Changeling series. A masterful slow burn romance, brilliant plot and world building, and other lovely relationship dynamics make this a PNR I don't recommend passing on.

4 stars - A brilliant, passionate installment in a series that is not to be missed!

Dragon Avenged by Ophelia Bell ~ Cover Reveal

Dragon Avenged 
Ophelia Bell 
(Immortal Dragons Epilogue)
Publication date: September 4th 2018
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

The indulgently sexy epilogue of the “Immortal Dragons” series is here!

A year has passed since the explosive conclusion of the Dragon Council’s quest to find their mates and destroy their mortal enemy. Revisit all six Immortal Dragon siblings to see how they’ve fared in the aftermath.

The world of the higher races is on the verge of a dangerous shift. The dragons have one more ritual to undertake to ensure their secrets are kept and the human world remains oblivious to their presence. One woman is the key to their safety.

With a mix of power no other creature in existence possesses, Deva Rainsong is finally on the verge of understanding her purpose. She must cast the spell required to reach all the humans tainted by the enemy’s bloodline, even if it comes at the expense of her innocence. But Deva’s nature craves a true awakening, and her rapture might just be the thing that saves them all.

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Author Bio:
Ophelia Bell loves a good bad-boy and especially strong women in her stories. Women who aren't apologetic about enjoying sex and bad boys who don't mind being with a woman who's in charge, at least on the surface, because pretty much anything goes in the bedroom.
Ophelia grew up on a rural farm in North Carolina and now lives in Los Angeles with her own tattooed bad-boy husband and four attention-whoring cats.
If you'd like to receive regular updates on Ophelia's publications, freebies, and discounts, please subscribe to her mailing list: http://opheliabell.com/subscribe/

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Dragon Marked by Jaymin Eve ~ Review & Giveaway

Source:  Purchased the audio book.

As a wolf shifter with razor-sharp senses, Jessa Lebron can perceive the slightest change in the air. And her lupine instincts go into overdrive right before her mother, who abandoned her years ago, returns to the pack bearing secrets that change everything.

The biggest secret of all: Jessa is dragon marked, a designation that places her in grave danger. The dragon marked are destined to resurrect the dragon king, a fearsome ancient warmonger. And they must be eliminated.

Soon Jessa is locked up in Vanguard, the notorious paranormal prison that houses criminal vampires, feys, and magic users. Thankfully, she’s not alone: Braxton Compass, her best friend and a dragon shifter, has her back. Jessa and Braxton must find a way to free themselves and the rest of the dragon marked. But can her pack mates help her stop the dragon king before his deadly return?

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I've really, really needed a good read for a while now.  It's been a low summer reading break for me and I don't like it.  I finally figured out I needed paranormal reads to keep my interest right now.  So when a bookish friend suggested this series, I jumped to grab the first book.  And before I had gotten half way through it, I was buying the rest of the series.  Yep, this is just one of those series that captured me and held.  Devoured it and was so glad book two was already waiting.

What's really interesting about this series is how it's set around the supernatural prison system.  The city where this is set houses one of the prisons.  The supernaturals work at or support that prison.  There are five types of supernaturals:  shifters (all types of animals), fae, magic users, vampires  and the demi-fae which included all kinds of creatures from trolls to merpeople and more.  The dynamics of that type of a community was an interesting setting for this story.

The characters were excellent.  I loved Jessa.  She puts the bada$$ in shifter.  That girl does not put up with $hit from anyone especially her quads trying to shield her.  Her inner dialogue was funny and had me cracking up lots of times.  I'd compare her to Alex from Jennifer L Armentrout's Covenant series.  Add to her the four boys that are her best friends.  A set of quadruplets each a different member of each race, they were seriously protective of Jessa.  I adore all four boys but Braxton was my favorite.  He's a dragon shifter and he seemed to be much more attached to Jessa.  Altogether, this group of five made up a pack of friends that I was cheering for the whole book.

There were a lot of well developed secondary characters that made this book special.  The sorcerer was adorable.  The surprise arrivals certainly added an interesting dynamics to things.   And the head of the shifter packs, Jessa's father, had some explaining to do.  I really enjoyed how all of these players carved out an essential piece of the story making it richer and fuller.

The story was compelling and had me listening to every second.  I had an idea of who I wanted Jessa to end up with but of course that isn't what this book was about.  This first book sets the stage for the conflicts that are sure to come in book two.  And it does such a good job of crafting the story that I wanted to dive right into book two as soon as I finished the first. Yeah, it ends on a cliffhanger and you definitely want book two on hand for immediate consumption.

Really and truly enjoyed this one.  It was just what I needed.  Lots of good world building, well developed characters and a compelling story all had me devouring it.

Have you read it?  If you enjoy paranormal, then you should.  It's almost as good as a JLA book! (That is very high praise indeed).



                                         

Giving away a paperback copy of the Dragon Marked by Jaymin Eve!

INT as long as the book depository sends to you.

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Mine to Possess (Psy-Changeling #4) by Nalini Singh ~ Review

Source: Purchased.

Mine to Possess (Psy-Changeling #4) by Nalini Singh

Clay Bennett is a powerful DarkRiver sentinel, but he grew up in the slums with his human mother, never knowing his changeling father. As a young boy without the bonds of Pack, he tried to stifle his animal nature. He failed...and committed the most extreme act of violence, killing a man and losing his best friend, Talin, in the bloody aftermath. Everything good in him died the day he was told that she, too, was dead.

Talin McKade barely survived a childhood drenched in bloodshed and terror. Now a new nightmare is stalking her life--the street children she works to protect are disappearing and turning up dead. Determined to keep them safe, she unlocks the darkest secret in her heart and returns to ask the help of the strongest man she knows...

Clay lost Talin once. He will not let her go again, his hunger to possess her, a clawing need born of the leopard within. As they race to save the innocent, Clay and Talin must face the violent truths of their past...or lose everything that ever mattered.

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After finally picking up the first Psy-Changeling book, Slave to Sensation, earlier this year I've been slowly but surely -- and very happily -- making my way through the series. Books 2 and 3 were fantastic and fed my Psy-Changeling addiction. And now I've finished book 4, Mine to Possess, and I'm not only pleased but also in awe of how amazing these books are shaping up to be.

Nalini Singh's worldbuilding is outstanding, and her storytelling is so intricate. The way things tie together and evolve and build with each book is so skillful. Mine to Possess is a strong example of this.

And in Mine to Possess, the characters were so developed. Clay and Talin are solid people with pasts that they're still working through, and personalities that both clash and blend beautifully -- thus leading to an awesome chemistry in their romance. Honestly, the things these two did to my heart...perfection.

One thing I loved to much about this book in particular was how Clay and Talin had serious actual hurdles to work through as a couple. They had a past together they had to work through to get to their happiness together, and they did this reasonably. This made their relationship feel so earned and stable in the best, most satisfying way.

Overall, Mine to Possess is an outstanding installment to a marvelously crafted series. I absolutely adored Clay and Talin's story. And I am so excited to continue on to the next Psy-Changeling book, Hostage to Pleasure!

5 stars - An outstanding and satisfying addition to a skillfully crafted series!

Fragility Unearthed (The Cascade #3) by Rebecca Royce

Source: e-copy provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Fragility Unearthed (The Cascade #3) by Rebecca Royce

Malcolm is missing. Levi is taken. And all the light from the world has gone with them.

Kendall Malcolm thought the world ended when her marriage ended and her life fell apart. She was wrong. Things could be a lot darker. She stands at the precipice—leader, mother, warrior—placing herself between the world and darkness.

But does she have to do it alone? It’s looking that way.

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After the cliffhanger ending of Phoenix Everlasting, I was so excited to pick up this third book in the Cascade series. Luckily this one picks up right where book 2 left off, resolving that intense situation and moving on with the story -- which, as a whole, I liked, even though I can't say that this was my favorite installment.

As always with this series, everything that happened was super interesting. The story is so cool and unique. And it was such a quick read. I easily read this book in less than a day. Considering how much happened and how much the overall story progressed, that shows a great strength in Rebecca Royce's writing.

That said, Kendall kind of danced on my nerves. She had her reasons, and they were good ones. But without Malcolm there to lighten things up (because I adore him), I spent a huge chunk of the book kind of annoyed. Basically the entire time he wasn't there, I was just waiting for him to come back. Which made it tough to get as invested in this book as I had with the previous two. On the bright side, I now have a new appreciation for Block. So that's nice.

Once the Malcolm thing was resolved, the story picked up A LOT. Good things happen and bad things happen and sweet things happen and romantic things happen and I was so in for all of it. It's because of that last chunk of the book -- the END in particular -- that I'm rounding up from 3.5 to 4 stars. Because, man, that ending was top notch.

Overall, Fragility Unearthed was a good installment, but compared to the previous two books it is my least favorite in the Cascade series. I'm glad I read it, though, because this series is really good. And I am looking forward to reading the fourth book. I definitely recommend this series to anyone looking for a unique adult paranormal series!

4 stars - A good installment with a top notch ending!

Phoenix Everlasting (The Cascade #2) by Rebecca Royce

Source: e-copy provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Phoenix Everlasting (The Cascade #2) by Rebecca Royce

Maybe it was better when she couldn’t remember who she was supposed to be…

Single-mom, Kendall Madison has a lot on her plate. Her ex-husband wants back in the picture, her three children have all developed super-natural powers, and the love of her many lives wants to have another go at their forever.

She has a team to lead and homework to manage. The shadows are growing in strength and the battle she was brought back to life to fight has begun. How is a woman supposed to manage all of that and not fall apart? Kendall needs to figure out how to cope or the entire world will fall apart. Or maybe it already has and was always meant to. If she can find the missing phoenix there will be a chance…the only problem is no one has seen it twenty years…

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After finishing Haunted Redemption, I jumped right into Phoenix Everlasting -- and proceeded to fly through this sequel even faster than I had book 1. And now I'm so glad to say that I was incredibly pleased with this sequel!

The storyline of this series continues to fascinate me. I was never once bored reading this book. We got a lot of new information, and I was interested in it all. And all of the THINGS that happened...I was so here for all of it. Even though this installment is longer than Haunted Redemption, I couldn't help but to devour it even faster than I had the first book. Either important stuff was happening, or I was excited to get to things, or I was just plain enjoying certain moments. I had such a great time reading this book.

Kendall is still her strong, perfectly imperfect self -- and my like for her grew. Same with Malcolm. Especially with Malcolm, actually. We learn more about him both in the past and now, and I honestly love him even more. My respect for Levi grew, too. Not only is he always a good father, but he was so supportive and helpful (when he could be) to Kendall and the group's endeavors. And speaking of the group, I liked reading about all of them again -- and I have a growing love for Brick, for whatever reason. He's cool.

The romance definitely took a huge step in the right direction, which made me so happy! I was worried after the way the book began, but from then on I was head over heels and loving the advancements of my couple. I'm sure they've got a ways to go (especially after the way the book ended!!!) but my heart greatly appreciates the wonderful moments throughout this book.

Overall, Phoenix Everlasting was an incredibly satisfying sequel that I could not put down. I am loving these characters and their story, and I am so excited to see where it all goes next!

4 stars - An incredibly satisfying sequel!