January 6, 2014 by Tina Williams

One Way or Another You Will Pay, by Eve Rabi

Revenge of the Master Manipulator!

This novel is once again an original, emotional and compulsive work from Eve Rabi. It is a read that her fans will not want to miss and those who enjoy thrillers and dark romantic suspense will also enjoy. Do not read after the first paragraph if you want to avoid spoilers for book 1, You Will Pay- For Leaving Me (currently FREE on Amazon US and Amazon UK and Smashwords). Please note that as it describes scenes and the repercussions of domestic abuse, this series does contain scenes of violence and threat, some of it sexual.

In this and the previous instalment in the tale, You Will Pay: She Left her Abusive Husband He Took Revenge, (click title for our review), the author tackles the difficult and often taboo subject of domestic abuse. The abuser in this story is a sociopath who seeks brutal revenge on his wife who leaves him after years of abuse. There are harrowing scenes of threats, violence and murder and although not an easy read the ability of Eve Rabi to weave a compulsive and addictive story containing real life issues and characters with whom the reader can identify with is once more underlined. The remainder of this review contains spoilers for book 1.

In book 1, You Will Pay – For Leaving Me, we met Arena, married to businessman Tom. Tom likes to control Arena, from how she dresses to how she wears her hair and who she socialises with. His control also extends to their son Warren and after Arena becomes pregnant and their daughter Sasha is born, his behaviour turns violent. Arena finally takes the plunge and leaves him to make a new life for herself and her children. However, Tom dishes out the most terrible revenge imaginable on Arena and her family and is truly beyond redemption. Arena and Bear, the new man in her life, dish out their own revenge on Tom, which I absolutely loved! After the end of book 1, I was sort of happy that Tom had been incarcerated, although secretly I would have preferred him to have been AT LEAST 6 ft under! The fact that he was in prison due to the actions of Arena and Bear I regarded as natural justice after his sickening crimes against Arena and baby Sasha.

In book 2, Arena and Bear are happily married, living with Warren, Tom and Arena’s son, Bear’s daughter Amy, by his first marriage, and their own baby Savannah. All is fine and dandy apart from a series of abusive and threatening letters that Arena begins to receive from Tom, trying to persuade her to bring Warren to visit him. Arena does not respond to his letters and they abruptly cease. After a brief respite, the tenor of the letters changes and Tom claims that he is suffering from terminal cancer and that he needs to see Warren before he dies. Arena is torn between her hatred and distrust of Tom and the fact that he is in effect making a deathbed request that it would be heartless to ignore. After all what can he possibly do to her if she does visit as he is behind bars?

You need to read the book to see how Arena copes with the situation and the consequences of her decision on whether or not to acquiesce to Tom’s request. What I will reveal is that this instalment and Tom’s actions are just as chilling as book 1, as even from his prison cell Tom attempts to bring Arena, Bear and their family to their knees. Arena and Bear’s love is tested to the full and lives are put on the line. Once again this stellar read contains some intense and dark moments and once again I read it into the small hours.

I enjoyed finding out more about Bear in this book, such as what makes him tick, his relationship with Arena and how he seeks to protect her and their family from Tom. I felt for them both when they were faced with the terrible consequences of Tom’s actions and there were some truly heart rending scenes. I also enjoyed the character of Ritchie, Arena’s brother who supported them and the pivotal role played by the character of Ingrid.

This is perhaps one of Eve Rabi’s darkest works to date, Nevertheless it still contains her trademark scenes of intense love between the hero and heroine, the survival of a strong woman who survives against the odds, self-sacrifice, heart rending emotional scenes and a plot where the reader has absolutely no chance of predicting what will happen next, let alone the outcome.

I strongly rrecommend this book to fans of Eve Rabi and also to those who are not adverse to reading about difficult issues and examining the darker side of humanity.

Reviewed by Tina Williams

A copy of this novel was given to me by the author for the purpose of a fair and honest review.

Purchase links: Smashwords Amazon US Amazon UK

Eve Rabi’s website

Eve Rabi Facebook

June 21, 2013 by Tina Williams

Wicked Nights (Angels of the Dark #1), by Gena Showalter

Heavenly Match between Human and Angel

Wicked Nights is the first book in Gena Showalter’s Angels of the Dark, a spin off series from her fantastic Lords of the Underworld series. Gena writes hot paranormal romances with uber alpha heroes, snarky heroines and passionate and toe curling lovemaking scenes. The scorching cover of this novel certainly lives up to its promise!

In Wicked Nights, the brutal and emotionless angel, Zacharel, whom we met briefly in her LOTU series, is put in charge of a ragtag army of warrior angels. Zacharel’s deity is frustrated with his lack of compassion and both he and his army have to work together as a team and above all refrain from killing humans in their war against the demons, or risk falling and losing their wings – not easy when you meet the less than angelic warrior recruits who all have mega issues! As part of their duties, Zacharel’s army are given the task of destroying demons attacking an institution for the criminally insane in the human realm.

The human Annabelle has been incarcerated there since being wrongly convicted of slaughtering her parents, her claim that they were murdered by a demon being dismissed. Since the attack, Annabelle has been tormented by other demons and is often heavily sedated to minimise her violent outbursts, in which she defends herself against demon attacks unseen by others. She has also suffered physical abuse from other inmates and wardens and sexual abuse from one warden in particular.

During the attack, Zacharel is drawn to Annabelle. He becomes intrigued by her and takes her to his cloud, despite realising that she is in fact a demon’s consort. Things then get complicated as Zacharel’s frozen heart begins to melt and he starts to feel strong emotions for Annabelle, wanting to protect her. Annabelle in turn is attracted to her captor and decides to use the opportunity to learn from him how to fight demons. However, it is not long before demons attack Zacharel’s cloud and Annabelle is put in danger. Yet what will happen when the demon high lord who has marked Annabelle as his consort decides to claim her? Will Zacharel and Annabelle consummate their relationship, when Annabelle struggles with deep seated fears of intimacy and trust? What long term future do they have when angels live for thousands of years, yet a human life is over in the blink of an eye? As usual Gena Showalter has plenty of tricks up her sleeve before the action packed plot concludes.

Zacharel, a truly tortured hero, is a complex character, despising demons with a passion and for very good reasons. He is not only an alpha, but a VIRGIN to boot and has locked away his emotions since a personal tragedy devastated him and gave him major guilt issues. Annabelle is a strong heroine. She has somehow kept hold of her sanity, but is also deeply vulnerable due to the horrors she has endured. She will fight the demons and the demon high lord who wishes to claim her, even if it leads to her own demise. She finds Zacharel attractive from the off, but is fearful due to her prior experiences.

I loved the developing romance between the couple in this book, which I felt was truly a match made in Heaven. The banter was both poignant and amusing and I enjoyed the fact that the hero, once his emotions had come to the fore, would do anything for his woman. I particularly enjoyed the fact that Zacharel finds himself wanting to bond with a woman who has been marked by a demon, a race he despises. The lovemaking scenes are both sweet and hot, as Zacharel strives to overcome Annabelle’s fears and assert his new found sexuality. Fortunately for a virgin he is a fast learner!

I enjoyed meeting the other angels of Zacharel’s army, who no doubt will each have their own story. I also welcomed the appearance of some of the characters from her Lords of the Underworld series. The demon foes are truly hideous and there are plenty of violent, gut spilling scenes full of blood and gore to keep readers entertained and to contrast with the romance. The author has done a great job of balancing the main story with the world building and the introduction of major characters to feature in subsequent books, which can be difficult in the first book in a series.

I am looking forward to reading the next book, Beauty Awakened, which tells the story of Koldo, one of Zacharel’s men, whom we are introduced to in this book. I recommend the series to lovers of steamy paranormal romance which is also full of humour, passion and action.

Reviewed by Tina

Gena Showalter’s website

Goodreads link to Wicked Nights reviews

Publisher Harlequin’s website

May 15, 2013 by Tina Williams

Archangel’s Storm, by Nalini Singh

Sensual Tale of Love and Vengeance

Nalini Singh is one of my automatic ‘go to’ paranormal authors, where I know that I can be guaranteed an awesome read. I have been following her series of Guild Hunter Novels and also her Psy/Changeling Series for some time now and they are both amongst my favourite paranormal series. The Guild Hunter Series novels, the first of which was Angels’ Blood, take place on an earth where the Cadre of Ten Archangels, supported by vampires, rule across the various continents. These angels however, are far from angelic. They are thousands of years old and have become jaded in their immortality, indulging in great power games to stave off their boredom and trying to avoid the madness that can overcome them.

In Archangel’s Storm, Jason, the taciturn spymaster for Archangel Raphael, is sent on a mission to the court of Archangel Neha. Neha’s consort Eris has been murdered and her rage threatens cataclysmic devastation unless Jason uses all his skills to unearth the killer. Neha, like many of the Cadre’s Ten, is deadly and capricious and to earn her trust necessary to complete his mission, Jason is compelled to tie himself to her bloodline through a blood bond to the princess Mahiya. Jason believes that Mahija will pose no threat to his investigations. However, Mahija has secrets and an agenda of her own and neither she nor Jason is willing to trust each other. Neha’s court is dangerous however, and there is a great deal more than politics at play as the body count continues to rise. As Jason and Mahija are thrown together they are blindsided by an unexpected passion they feel for one another. Yet can Jason, who has kept his emotions tightly controlled after a horrific childhood experience, find it within himself to let Mahija in, and will Mahija survive the machinations of the Archangel and her court and other dark forces that are at play?

Mahija and Jason, like all of the author’s heroines and heroes are a great couple. Mahija has been abused both physically and mentally by Neha, her aunt. Her crime being that she was born out of a liaison between Neha’s sister Nivriti and Neha’s consort Eris. Neha murdered Nivriti as soon as she birthed Mahija, who has paid for her mother’s sin on many occasions. Despite her tortured past, she has not allowed her aunt to poison her mind. Indeed, she has an inner strength and optimism, despite her outward facade of compliance, which many see as weakness. Jason soon sees through this outward show however and connects with the strong but vulnerable woman within.

Such was the extent of Jason’s childhood trauma, that he has closed his mind to any close emotional attachments. He tells Mahija that he can never offer her a long term relationship. However, I loved that Mahija little by little, through her acceptance of what Jason was willing to give, managed to break down the barriers that he had put up for his own protection. It was beautiful to watch how the relationship developed between them and there were plenty of sensual and erotic lovemaking scenes, which the author excels in.

I also enjoyed the character of the Archangel Neha, who we meet in previous books. Although not at all likable, she is complex and unpredictable, with her own code of honour, which Jason and Mahija must play on to survive. It was also gratifying to meet other characters integral to the Guild Hunter world, such as Archangel Raphael and his consort Elena, the vampire Dmitri and his new wife, the Guild Hunter Honor and other characters such as the vampire Venom.

Nalini Singh has a fantastic ability to create a beautiful love story at the heart of each of her Guild Hunter novels, setting them within the framework of the overall story arc, neither of which detracts from the other. Her novels also contain vivid and beautiful descriptions of the magical world she creates. In this novel, for example, many of the buildings comprising Neha’s court she has based on forts in Rajasthan, India. This beauty contrasts vividly with the violence which she does not shy away from featuring in great detail. Her descriptions of broken bones, blood and internal organs ripped from body cavities is not for the squeamish, but reflect events which can occur in the world she has created.

I recommend this novel for lovers of paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Whilst I feel that it could be read as a ‘standalone’, the reader would gain maximum enjoyment by reading the Guild Hunter Series novels in sequence.

Cover art by kind permission of Patrick Knowles

Author Nalini Singh’s website