*REVIEW* ~ Shattered Hearts (Bad Blood, book 1) and Broken Minds: A Dark Romance (Bad Blood Book 2), by Marissa Farrar

#darkromance #romanticsuspense #eroticromance #revenge

Book Blurb

She’s the daughter of the man I hate most in the world…

For almost ten years, I’ve been waiting to exact my revenge.

Ten years to allow her to blossom from a child to a woman.

Ten years in which I’ve grown a million-dollar business and built a powerful body to match.

And now my wait is over.

I’ve kidnapped her. Taken her. Made her mine, just as her father did to others before her.

With her sexy body, fierce mind, and sharp mouth…

The one thing I did not expect was to fall for her.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42377087-shattered-hearts


Book Blurb

My father is a serial killer.

I didn’t think it possible to hate a man more than I hated him.
That was until the night a different man kidnapped me.
Now I know hate on a whole different level…
Hayden Vale might be rich and devastatingly handsome, but he’s also cruel and dangerous, and he has me handcuffed in the basement of his home on his private island.
He claims to hate me, but I’ve had a taste of him now and I know how he looks at me – with dark desire in his eyes.
He has a plan to use me to get revenge on my father, but what if I manage to use him first…

Get the second book in this brand new dark romance series!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42380644-broken-minds

My Review

Compulsive and heart-rending dark romance ~ 5 stars

I loved the premise of this series. After downloading and virtually inhaling the first book, I quickly purchased and read the subsequent instalment. I’m a huge fan of dark romances as I adore the conflict and tension between the protagonists and the journey they embark on as an individual and subsequently as part of a couple. This series certainly has conflict and tension in spades as Hayden, the hero (or rather the anti-hero) abducts Jolie, the heroine in a twisted tale of revenge.

I found the abduction scene and what happened to Jolie chilling and very well done. The reader is kept on their toes with the events that ensue. Hayden is a dark and damaged man. He has no misgivings about using  Jolie to encourage her serial killer father to break out of prison so that he can enact his revenge upon him for the murder of his mother. Indeed, he holds Jolie partly responsible and despises her with a passion.  For Jolie’s part, although she is revolted by what her father has done, she is naturally terrified as to what will happen to her at the hands of this desperate individual who is using her as a pawn to lure her father.

Jolie is certainly in a desperate position – escape from Hayden, who has spent a decade planning his plan for revenge, seems impossible. There are plenty of page-turning and harrowing scenes and I also enjoyed how Hayden and Jolie reflect upon their respective roles as captor and captive and also finding out how the actions of Jolie’s father, a serial killer, cruelly impacted on their lives…

Jolie resolves to use the sexual attraction that exists between them  to help her escape – she has no other option. Jolie is a strong woman and I admired her strength, bravery when faced with the situations Hayden puts her in. Hayden is torn between attraction and hate for his captive and I loved how little by little he comes to see her as a person whom he starts to develop feelings for.

Will Hayden go ahead with his twisted plan of revenge and avoid going to prison himself for his actions? Will he seek to persuade Jolie to have a future with him or does he sees her as purely collateral damage in his quest for revenge? Could Jolie even contemplate a future after all he has subjected her to and plans to do?

Both books end on a cliff hanger and I was impatient to find out what happened next! A great read for fans of dark romance who love damaged heroes and heroines.

Reviewed by Tina Williams

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*ARC REVIEW* ~ Branches for Cover (Legends of Kake), by Kate Kelley

#darkfantasy #paranormal #eroticromance #shifters

Adult/18+ read


Book Blurb

Kinna is trapped in hiding in a remote village in the Mouth of Daylight, aka Kake, Alaska. She catches fish for money in the daylight and hunts for food by moonlight, all the while praying the Alpha of her ex-pack doesn’t find her. Because if he does, she won’t survive the encounter. That is, if the mysterious creatures in her own backyard don’t get to her first.

Ren is a lone bear, separated from his pack by choice–he isn’t interested in being a part of a feral, non-shifting society that lives only for seeking blood instead of a way to prevent the worst of their curse. Ren seeks a cure, a cure that can only be found in a particular coven of witches–a coven that just happens to be long-dead.
Or so he thinks.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42904104-branches-for-cover?from_search=true

My Review – Engaging dark erotic paranormal read ~5 stars

Branches for Cover is a thoroughly engaging read with a memorable hero and heroine, plus it has the most gorgeous cover, which perfectly sums up the character of the heroine! It is the first book that I have read by the author Kate Kelley and I would most definitely read more of her work. The plot ticks so many of the boxes I love – a smexy and dark erotic paranormal read; an enemies to lovers romance, a mystery and creatures of myths and legends.

Indeed, I adored the relationship between the two central characters, Kinna and Ren. Both Ren, a bear shifter, and Kinna, a wolf-witch, are alphas and the sizzling attraction they have for each other is clear from the off. However, it is complicated in that it is based on mutual loathing and mistrust and they both fight their feelings: Ren hates Kinna as he believes her kind is responsible for a great ill that has befallen his pack and Kinna despises Ren as, although she is innocent, Ren is hard on her as he is not so easily convinced. The read contains scenes of violence, sexual situations and possible triggers and is intended for mature readers.

The sexual tension between them ratchets up as the story progresses and there are a number of sizzling scenes … Ren is one sexy and dominant bear shifter who has met his match in Kinna and Kinna, despite her unwillingness to commit to another, especially another alpha, finds him increasingly hard to resist.

There are a number of complications which hinder the development of their relationship, not solely the mystery behind what has afflicted Ren’s pack. A lot is at stake and their are some startling revelations. Trust does not come easily to Kinna nor Ren – they are both very stubborn individuals and  I found their relationship extremely entertaining as they fight their feelings for each other all the way.

The author does an excellent job of drawing on folklore to create the world Ren and Kinna inhabit: a world of creatures from myth and legends who live undetected amongst humans. The book ends on a cliffhanger and I am itching to find out what happens next.

Reviewed by Tina Williams

Please note that a copy of this book was given to me by the author, via Booksprout, for the purpose of a fair and honest review.

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*REVIEW* – The Path to Horn Cottage: A Cunning Folk Mystery, by Prudence S Thomas

#fantasy #alternatehistory #suspense #magic #crime #mystery

Blurb

Horn Cottage, an ancient cave house, has been home to the cunning folk of Thornton Cleveleys for generations. The early death of her mother left Meryall as the cunning woman for her village before her training was complete. A young man seeking Meryall’s help to find his missing sister draws her into an ever more complex and sinister mystery. Can she use her divination skills to help solve the mystery of the missing woman and avert a tragedy? An atmospheric journey through a mystical land, The Path to Horn Cottage is the first book in the Cunning Folk Mysteries series.

My Review

A Delightful Read – 5 Stars *****

I found Prudence S Thomas’ A Path to Horn Cottage to be a thoroughly entertaining read, which effortlessly transported me into a world of magic and belief in the old gods and their ways.

Also what a gorgeous cover – it perfectly reflects the essence of the story and it’s central character, the young ‘cunning woman’ Meryall, as she strives to reveal the whereabouts of a missing woman whilst balancing her own responsibilities to fellow villagers. As the story unfolds Meryall finds she has to journey from her home in her quest to uncover the shocking truth.

The author does an excellent job of creating an alternative reality where England has resisted the conversion to Christianity, instead cleaving to the old religion and its associated magic. I liked the central character Meryall: a strong and capable young woman, who is finding her way in life. She harbours her own doubts and frustrations as she seeks to balance her duty as her village’s ‘cunning woman’ with her natural curiosity to explore more of the world. Her partner Madoc is a perfect foil for her. The book is full of many interesting secondary characters, not least Meryall’s adversary.

I enjoyed the world the author has created,  – it is clear she has done a considerable amount of research into making it both credible and diverting. I look forward to reading more about Meryall in future works.

Recommended for readers who enjoy a suspenseful read set in a historical/fantasy context.

Reviewed by Tina Williams

Please note, a copy of this book was given to me by the author for the purpose of a fair and honest review.

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