October 26, 2014 by Caroline Barker

Recommended Halloween Horrors for New Adults and Mature Readers (17yrs+)

To celebrate the month of Halloween this year we thought we would share with you a selection of books suited to the Halloween theme. Yesterday we posted our Recommended Halloween Horrors for Young Readers, Teens and Young Adults (11yrs+), and today we are recommending reads for the more adult reader. The books that have been selected are some that we have reviewed or are hoping to review in the not too distant future!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Caroline and Tina 🙂

Demonica by Will Davis (reviewed by Caroline)

Dark, psychological, modern day fairy tale and horror

When spoilt eighteen year old Miranda suffers a terrible accident she survives, but her face is hideously scarred.

Unable to bear what has happened to her, she locks herself away. Her only companions are Veronica, her cruel and beautiful mother, and Nelly, the sympathetic housekeeper.

As time passes Veronica inflicts cruelty after cruelty on her disfigured daughter. Lonely and filled with despair, Miranda is astonished when Bernard, Veronica’s handsome younger boyfriend, takes an interest in her circumstances.

For Bernard believes there is an operation that can restore Miranda’s face. But it will involve committing an unspeakable crime. A decision that will haunt her for the rest of her life…

In the tradition of Angela Carter and Daphne du Maurier, Demonica is a terrifying modern fairy tale.

Available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Tatterdemon by Steve Vernon (reviewed by Caroline)

Terrifying tension, horrific, violent and gory, with some humour

In 1691 the town of Crossfall taught the witch Thessaly how to die. They beat her, they shot her, they hung her – but nothing worked. When they finally tried to bury her alive Thessaly set the field against them. The first man died as a gust of wind harrowed the meat from his bones. A root,flung like a dirty javelin, cut a second man down. Many more deaths followed. The Preacher Fell impaled the witch upon her very own broom but she dragged him down into the field to wait for three more centuries.

Three hundred years later Maddy Harker will murder her bullying husband Vic. She will bury him in the field as she buried her abusive father years before that. The very same field where the revenant spirit of Thessaly Cross lies waiting.

In three days Vic will rise again – a thing of dirt, bone and hatred.

Men will call him the Tatterdemon.

And hell – and Thessaly – will follow.

Available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

On the Lips of Children by Mark Matthews (reviewed by Caroline)

A Marathon like no other

Meet Macon. Tattoo artist. Athlete. Family man.

He’s planning to run a marathon, but the event becomes something terrible.

During a warm-up run, Macon falls prey to a bizarre man and his wife who dwell in an underground drug-smuggling tunnel. They raise their twin children in a way Macon couldn’t imagine: skinning unexpecting victims for food and money.

And Macon, and his family, are next.

Available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Control (The Soul of Voodoo, #1) Control (The Soul of Voodoo #1) by M.C. Lavocat (reviewed by Caroline)

Dark paranormal horror with romance and comedy

‘Control’ is a paranormal romance, about three lives that are thrown together in a desperate battle where love and lust are the catalysts that release a blood voodoo curse so dark that it could alter their destiny, as well as time itself.

******************

After spending three stale, miserable years in a neuroscience doctoral program, Cecelia Milonas throws caution to the wind and walks out; right into the arms of the man who has had the starring role in her panty-melting fantasies for over three years.

Andre St. Clair had never shown any romantic interest in Cecelia or anyone else, so she had resigned herself to the role of fangirl and very willing employee, since moving to New Orleans and into the apartment above his restaurant. Cecelia thinks that their relationship is a fantasy come true, but neither are prepared for a desire that burns hot enough to ignite a hatred, long thought dead.

As if one gorgeous man and deathly struggle aren’t enough, in walks Lance Bradley, with whom she has some kind of freaky-deaky, psychic-hotline connection that is determined to pull them together no matter who gets torn apart in the process.

So, nothing is easy in The Big Easy, where the past and the present are caught up in a struggle so dangerous and deadly that it’s changing destiny, and possibly time itself.

Author post by M.C. Lavocat

The Moon Trilogy by Tim O’Rourke (reviewed by Caroline)

Paranormal horror adventure

When eighteen-year-old Winter McCall is offered a chance to leave her life of poverty behind on the streets of London, she reluctantly accepts, and moves to a remote part of the south west of England.

Here she takes up the job as housekeeper to the young and handsome, yet mysterious, Thaddeus Blake.

Warned that he has some curious habits, Winter soon realises that not all is as it firsts appears at the remote mansion where she now lives and works.
Blind to the real danger that she is in, Winter finds herself becoming attracted to Thaddeus.

With nowhere to run and no one to turn to, she slowly succumbs to his strange requests. But none of them are as strange as his requests for her to stand each night in the moonlight.

Moonlight (The Moon Trilogy #1)

Moonbeam (The Moon Trilogy #2)

Moonshine (The Moon Trilogy #3)

Author post/bio by Tim O’Rourke

Moonlight (The Moon Trilogy, #1) is available at Amazon for £0.77/$1.24 at the time of writing. (Please be aware prices are subject to change.) Check it out at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

The latest release, Moonshine (The Moon Trilogy #3) is also now available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

The Purple Haze (short story)/After the Haze (sequel/full novel) by Gary Richardson (reviewed/to be reviewed by Caroline)

Crime thriller to action-packed horror

In the small town of Leyland, a group of thieves plan to pull off their final job and steal three million pounds from a bank. The job seems to be a success, until the alarm is tripped and the police surround the building. A standoff ensues, and the police try to negotiate a resolution before the thieves begin to kill their hostages.

Things take a strange turn, however, when an eerie purple mist renders everyone unconscious. When people begin to wake up, they find that they are among only a small few who haven’t been killed and mutilated by the mist. Then, the dead return to feed on the living, forcing the surviving police, thieves and hostages to band together in a bitter struggle for survival.

The Purple Haze is available at Amazon for £0.99/$1.69 at the time of writing. (Please be aware prices are subject to change.) Check it out at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

The sequel, After the Haze, is available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Cursed: A Werewolf’s Tale (Cheyenne Clark, Werewolf #1) (otherwise known as ‘Frostbite’ in the US) by David Wellington (reviewed by Caroline)

Urban fantasy with panic and horror

For Cheyenne Clark, there’s a bad moon on the rise . . .

There’s one sound a woman doesn’t want to hear when she’s lost and alone in the Arctic wilderness: a howl.

When a strange wolf’s teeth slash Cheyenne’s ankle to the bone, her old life ends, and she becomes the very monster that has haunted her nightmares for years. Worse, the only one who can understand what Chey has become is the man–or wolf–who’s doomed her to this fate. He also wants to chop her head off with an axe.

Yet as the line between human and beast blurs, so too does the distinction between hunter and hunted . . . for Chey is more than just the victim she appears to be. But once she’s within killing range, she may find that–even for a werewolf–it’s not always easy to go for the jugular.

Available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

That Risen Snow: A Scary Tale of Snow White and Zombies (The Scary Tales #1) by Rob E. Boley (to be reviewed by Caroline)

Zombie horror with a twist to the Snow White fairytale

The zombie sequel to Snow White begins where the classic fairy tale ends, with the Prince’s kiss waking Snow from her cursed slumber. Snow wakes up, but she doesn’t wake up right.

Now a deranged zombie, Snow infects both the Prince and the seven dwarfs’ leader. That leaves the young dwarf Grouchy, who is secretly in love with Snow, to find a cure for her malicious curse. So begins an epic journey that pits the lovesick Grouchy against dwarf-hating human soldiers, Snow’s ever-growing zombie horde, and his own bad temper. But when Grouchy and his motley crew of survivors escape Snow’s clutches and seek refuge in a nearby human village, he soon finds that her affliction has spread faster and further then he ever could have imagined. Snow is hell-bent on spreading her horrid curse across the land, and it’s up to Grouchy to stop her before it’s too late.

So begins THE SCARY TALES, a dark fantasy series featuring mash-ups of traditional fairy tale characters and classic horror monsters.

Available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Stilts (Tessa Dark Trilogy #1) by Tim O’Rourke (reviewed by Caroline)

Edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting, excruciating excitement

‘Stilts’ is the first book in a new dystopian trilogy by #1 bestselling author Tim O’Rourke.

While eighteen-year-old, Tessa Dark was serving her prison sentence for murder, the world beyond her cell walls changed forever. The thunder came and destroyed the world she had once known.

Trapped inside the prison and faced with no future, Tessa’s only glimmer of hope is her friendship with fellow inmate Joe McBride.

Despite Tessa’s fear, Joe decides to go beyond the prison walls to seek help. But when he fails to return, Tessa is determined to go and search for him.

To gain her freedom, Tessa must first learn to walk, run, and fight on stilts if she is to survive the new and terrifying world on the other side of the prison walls.

Available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Child of Woe, Dark Hunter (Children of Woe, Dark Hunters #1) by Simon Goodwin (to be reviewed by Caroline)

A horror journey through hell

The reports were growing in number: the Dead rising, zombies attacking people, others being found across the world drained of blood, and still others being torn apart by supposed wild animals in the middle of big cities. Zombies, Vampires, Werewolves and they are just the beginning.

The Walls between myth and reality are faltering and soon those walls will be gone and the Earth will become a battleground of chaos. As governments falter and civilisation tips ever closer to the abyss, one man and his dog find themselves on a journey home. It is a journey that will take them through hell and back.

Available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Bellmere Common: There’s Nothing Common About Bellmere by Mark Steen (to be reviewed by Caroline)

Supernatural horror

Patrick never knew he had an aunt until he was told she was dead. No one had ever mentioned her. He organises a family trip to sort out the house she has left him. Everything starts off well, but it isn’t long before an old sinister family secret rears its demonic head, and his wife’s recurring nightmares turn out to be visions. There is death and destruction all around them. Who can they trust? Will they survive?

Review Excerpt’s

E. Kerry (Amazon.co.uk) – “I really enjoyed this book.
I read a lot and enjoy thriller and horror novels, this was a really good example of the genre. Plenty of bits that made me nervous to be alone in the dark, some really good twists (which I love trying to see coming nice and early to ‘beat’ the author to it when I can – I failed here!) and a shocking and dramatic ending.
Great debut novel and an author I will be watching out for in future!”

S. Pearson (Amazon.com) – “I enjoyed this story very much and found it to be engrossing and exciting.”

Violence and explicit scenes.

75,000 word length

Available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

For more great reads and best sellers in the horror genre for adults please visit Amazon UK or Amazon US.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

October 25, 2014 by Caroline Barker

Sacrificed (True Alpha #5) (short story) by Alisa Woods REVIEW

For fans of paranormal, shifters and plenty of action!

Shifters live in the shadows of Seattle, just under the skin of the alpha male, dot-com entrepreneurs who are building a new Silicon Valley in the Emerald City.
Sacrificed (True Alpha 5) – New Adult Paranormal Romance

Even with Jak’s help, Mia finds escaping Mace’s grasp isn’t easy… in fact, it may require a sacrifice neither she nor Lucas want her to make.

Sacrificed (True Alpha 5) is 50 pages or 12,000 words. It’s the fifth of six episodes in the True Alpha serial.

REVIEW

Sacrificed is the shortest of the True Alpha series, focusing on the escape of Mia and her friend, Jupiter, from the Red pack. And the story picks up just where we left off in Captured, book 4. It appears that Jak, a shifter and member of the pack that is holding her, is trying to help her and Jupiter escape.

Mia is struggling with her thoughts. There is the question of why Jak would be interested in going against his pack and helping them. But worse still is the strong hold that her submission to Mace has over her, making it almost impossible to go against the wishes of her captor. In her human self she knows that she doesn’t belong here, with the Red pack, but her wolf has little control now that she has submitted. She must obey his wishes. Mia needs to find the strength to do the right thing, if not for her then for Jupiter.

Meanwhile, Lucas and his father’s pack have their own rescue plan to save Mia. Without spoiling too much, I can sat that there is plenty of action and it doesn’t go as smoothly as one would like. However, it is exciting to read and the fear for both Mia and Lucas’ pack reaches a high.

Mace was not so easy to escape from, and now the reader does not know what Mace will have in store for Mia. Lucas is only too aware of the situation and is helpless, regardless of his growling and snarling inner wolf. He knows that Mace will claim Mia for his own unless they can come up with something…………….. and quickly!

Sacrificed, as well as the previous books of the True Alpha series, create a fantastic build-up of tension and excitement for the final instalment, Claimed. I loved the ending of Sacrificed, especially with a nice surprise that no reader would guess. I am certain that Claimed will be as thrilling, if not moreso, than the first five!

Sacrificed (True Alpha #5) was provided by the author, Alisa Woods, in return for an honest and fair review.

Check out my previous reviews for Desired (True Alpha #1), Guarded (True Alpha #2), Hunted (True Alpha #3) and Captured (True Alpha #4)!

Sacrificed (True Alpha #5) is available on Amazon UK and Amazon US. (Currently individual books 1-6 can all be bought from Amazon for a small price. However, if you would like all books together in one set – this will be released on Tuesday 28th October, again for a small price. Book 6 and the boxset are available to pre-order in the time being.)

Reviewed by Caroline Barker

October 21, 2014 by Caroline Barker

Review Tim O’Rourke’s Moonshine (The Moon Trilogy, #3)

A Paranormal Horror Adventure Filled with Action, Adventure, Surprises and Heart-warming Moments! A great trilogy for Halloween!!

Weak and still not yet a true vampire, Winnie McCall heads north toward Scotland in the company of the last of the werewolves, Thaddeus Blake. Hunted relentlessly by two police officers, Thaddeus and Winnie must find the Moonshine, a prism that when matched with the Moonbeam, will destroy the vampires.

When two ancient enemies go head to head, the body count soon starts to rise, but who is it leaving a trail of dead bodies along the path that Thaddeus and Winnie are taking? And what is the terrible secret from Winnie’s past that is preventing her friend Ruby Little from staying dead?

With terrifying consequences, Winnie discovers how far she and the man she loves, Thaddeus Blake, will go to survive and remain the last of their species.

A shock ending that will leave you stunned, ‘Moonshine’ is the final book in ‘The Moon Trilogy’ by bestselling author, Tim O’Rourke.

REVIEW

Another action-packed adventure of paranormal horror and drama from Tim O’Rourke, with many twists and turns, especially as the ending nears. You will be blown away with this ending and the many surprises that the author reveals. Two questions many of you will be asking are, ‘Can there ever be a truce between vampires and werewolves?’ and ‘Will Thad and Winnie’s love be enough to hold everything together?’

Winnie is slowly turning into a vampire, whilst Thad is the last of the werewolves. Being hunted down by his last love’s vampire father, Thad has to keep going to prevent the end for all werewolves. After Winnie has been bitten by a vampire, and turning into one herself, these two are very unlikely characters to unite and work together. Yet Winnie’s love for Thad keeps her doing just that! For the very first time in Winnie’s life she feels the love and the freedom she thought she would never have. Thad has given her so much, despite his early intentions. The bond they have is strong and the reader feels that anything is possible as long as these characters are together.

Not only do they share their love for each other, but they both need each other to survive. During full moons, Thad needs Winnie to ensure he doesn’t harm anyone in his wolf form. He needs to be caged somewhere and watched until he returns to his more human state. Meanwhile, as Winnie is becoming more vampire-like, she also has the need and thirst for blood. She needs Thad to help her through her thirsts. They need to ensure their safety from each other as well as the safety for humans to prevent either of them being harmed and to prevent the truth from coming out.

“She would have to look after him as much as he would have to take care of her. They needed each other. Thaddeus, therefore, knew in his heart that he couldn’t leave Winnie behind, even if he wanted to – because without her at his side, he risked dying as much as she. Whether she held him back or not, they were now forever linked – held together that shrouded the world he lived in.”

The plan for Thaddeus is to travel to Scotland where he can threaten to destroy all vampires if he connects the Moonbeam with the Moonshine. As a result of this connection, all vampires will cease to exist. With Winnie turning, Thaddeus is hoping that the vampires are willing to see reason and once they are aware of the true love that exists between Thad and Winnie then perhaps a truce can be made. To make matters worse, there is a trail of dead bodies that are following Thad and Winnie and the local police are following them. The police are not all they seem to be as readers may be aware from Moonbeam (The Moon Trilogy, #2), and with vampires hunting them down Thad and Winnie do not have a great chance.

As well as the action, the chase, the attacks and the sheer desperation that Thad has, another element of Moonshine is the more spooky and eerie side, where the reader is given a much more detailed account of Ruby Little. Ruby Little was Winnie’s best friend from when they were younger and then living on the streets together. After Ruby’s death, Winnie began hearing her voice and seeing her. She has provided Winnie with advice and warnings. Still looking out for her friend from the other side. Some of these scenes are spooky and become more gory and horrific, especially as the trilogy has come on and the reader can envisage a Little Red Riding Hood character, back from the dead, but with maggots where her face should be. It is sad, especially for Winnie, and it is also horrifying and scary.

Moonshine is broken down into three sections: Thad and Winnie; Winnie and Ruby; and Winnie. Although I loved all three sections, I thought the flashbacks of Winnie’s history with her friend, Ruby Little, really stood out. This is partly due to the tragedy of Ruby’s life, the horrors that she endured. The whole atmosphere of this section is both dark and light as the reader begins to understand exactly what Ruby has gone through and her strength to cope with it and yet she also forms a special bond with Winnie that perhaps would never have been created if it wasn’t for the dark occurences. I feel that this type of scene is a new avenue for Tim O’Rourke and he has captured the hearts and minds of the reader magically. It is also extremely heart-warming when we discover how Ruby is protective of Winnie and she goes to great lengths, without really explaining an awful lot to Winnie to begin with. This is a friendship like no other and even after death, Ruby still looks out for her friend.

During the last chapters the tempo builds up again as the ending comes to a close. The rollercoaster of the series is set to turbo boost as the reader is thrown from one possible ending to another. The reader feels as desperate as Thad and Winnie as the heartbeat quickens from fight scenes to chases, from the uncertainty and the horror. This finale will leave the readers a little gobsmacked and torn between what has happened and maybe what they thought would happen. I love it when an author can completely baffle the reader and that’s what Tim O’Rourke has done.

The Moon Trilogy would be fantastic to read one book after the other, as one complete novel, as the reader is left on tenterhooks with the first two books. The pace is also very fast and full of action that you simply don’t want to stop reading. I would certainly love to see this series in a box set, but for now all three books are available for very affordable prices. (Currently Moonlight, The Moon Trilogy #1, is available for £0.77 at Amazon UK and $1.24 Amazon US. Please note that prices are subject to change.)

A copy of Moonshine (The Moon Trilogy #3) was provided by the author for the purpose of an honest and fair review.

You can purchase Moonshine (The Moon Trilogy #3) at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Review for Moonlight (The Moon Trilogy #1)

Review for Moonbeam (The Moon Trilogy #2)

Reviewed by Caroline Barker

October 17, 2014 by Caroline Barker

REVIEW Captured (True Alpha #4) by Alisa Woods

Strong, dark, scary and intense!

Blurb: Shifters live in the shadows of Seattle, just under the skin of the alpha male, dot-com entrepreneurs who are building a new Silicon Valley in the Emerald City.

Lucas and Mia’s story continues as she tries to free Jupiter from the Red pack and he tries to save them both.

Captured (True Alpha 4) is 70 pages or 17,000 words. It’s the fourth of six episodes in the True Alpha serial.

Adult content. Ages 18+.

Review

This series keeps on growing stronger and stronger. You can see from the recommended reading age, 18ys+, that this episode, Captured, is going to be darker than the previous, scarier than the previous and so intense! Mia really is in trouble now as she is being held by the Red pack and it doesn’t seem like there is much she or Lucas can do to save both herself and her friend, Jupiter.

With every passing moment the reader fears for her safety just as much as Lucas does. Not only has she been captured and held against her will, but an alpha from the Red pack, Mace, is quite keen to do more to her than simply hold her hostage. He wants Mia for himself, wants her submission – but just how far will he take his threat?

Lucas, meanwhile, is no fool. He is aware of the tendencies that members of the Red pack will have for Mia. Especially Mace’s! Lucas’ rage really comes to the fore, especially when he is willing to fight with his own pack members for Mia. He knows he can’t rush in and do anything stupid, putting Mia’s safety at greater risk (if that’s possible). But he wants his father’s and pack’s support and be able to go in strong to rescue her.

Another battle they both have in their minds is that they both blame themselves for what has happened. Lucas should never have gave in to his feelings and brought them to the fore, just to shut her out immediately after. And if Mia is truly what his inner self/wolf wants then maybe he should have given himself whole heartedly without messing her around. On the other hand, was Mia being too childish when she drove away in his car and left him naked in the woods?!

Alisa Woods has created brilliant suspense throughout and Captured really tops it for me. I simply can’t wait to read the final two episodes, Sacrificed and Claimed. Paranormal and shifter fans will love this series. The heat is turned up a little higher as each one is read. Now for Sacrificed……

Captured (True Alpha #4) was provided by the author, Alisa Woods, in return for an honest and fair review.

Check out my previous reviews for Desired (True Alpha #1), Guarded (True Alpha #2) and Hunted (True Alpha #3)!

Captured (True Alpha #4) is available on Amazon UK and Amazon US. (Currently books 1-5 can all be bought from Amazon for a small price. Book 6, Claimed, will be released on Tuesday 21st October 2014. However, if you would like all books together in one set – this will be released on Tuesday 28th October, again for a small price. Book 6 and the boxset are available to pre-order in the time being.)

Reviewed by Caroline Barker

October 14, 2014 by Caroline Barker

REVIEW By the Sea (novelette) by Katherine McIntyre

By the Sea

A short, light and refreshing romance with fantasy and paranormal elements!

Most kids had imaginary friends, but most weren’t like Megan’s friend Niall. There were rules: only at night and only by the sea. She could’ve sworn he was real, but when someone vanishes without a trace, what else can you believe?

All that was seven years ago, buried in the past until Niall shows up in town with his tight swimmer’s body and easy smile. For Megan, just the sight of him is enough to tear open a scar that never fully healed. However, their reunion only elicits more questions. Niall’s keeping secrets, unbelievable ones, and as Megan delves into the supernatural depths of who he really is, she’s sure he’ll vanish again.

Megan’s not stupid—she knows how bad it’ll hurt if she gets involved. The first time Niall disappeared, she never thought she’d recover. But the moment they lock eyes, it’s too late—because Megan will go to any length to see that boy smile.

REVIEW

By the Sea is a great novelette that reads as a short, fun, contemporary romance from the onset. However, as it opens up and the reader begins to settle into the story, the fantasy paranormal elements emerge.

Megan had been through so much to be rid of the delusions of her imaginary friend, Niall. And yet here is the new boy in town, Mason, with so many likenesses to her long gone friend. Megan wants to lead a normal life and decides not to let Mason in too much. She cannot go down that path and be left hurt and confused again. And yet despite this, her feelings of the past have not disappeared and have re-ignited with Mason.

As well as the romance current running gently throughout the story, later we realise that Niall is also on a mission to seek something that has been taken from him. Not only that but it could also bring a little paranormal trouble to Megan. These scenes I found exciting and left wanting more.

Being a short story doesn’t always allow much build up to prepare the reader, and I found this to be the case, only ever so slightly, with the supernatural element of the story. Once I had accepted the idea of what Niall was I was able to delve further and empathise with Megan’s character – the confusion and re-surfacing of her past feelings.

By the Sea is a nice story with something to offer the contemporary romance reader and the fantasy paranormal fans. I would recommend that it is suitable for Young Adults and over, and there is a coming-of-age feel in regards to the young characters of the book.

A copy of By the Sea was provided by the author in return for an honest and fair review.

By the Sea by Katherine McIntyre is available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Reviewed by Caroline Barker

September 19, 2014 by Caroline Barker

Guarded (True Alpha #2) (short story) by Alisa Woods REVIEW

New Adult Paranormal Romance serial

THIS IS THE SECOND EPISODE OF SIX in the True Alpha serial.

Blurb: Shifters live in the shadows of Seattle, just under the skin of the alpha male, dot-com entrepreneurs who are building a new Silicon Valley in the Emerald City.

As Lucas fights his instinctual attraction to Mia, focusing instead on guarding her and keeping her safe from the Red pack, Mia tries to discover the truth about Lucas’s dead mate.

Guarded (True Alpha 2) is 70 pages or 17,000 words. It’s the second of six episodes in the True Alpha serial.

REVIEW

Whereas book one was a very intense and hot read, Guarded (True Alpha #2) focuses on the emotional tension between Mia and Lucas. After a passionate night with Lucas, Mia’s inner wolf knows that he is right for her and that she belongs with him but Lucas is still in a great deal of heartache and pain from the death of his mate. The reader remains gripped to these characters and will question whether Mia will ever be able to help him come to terms with his deceased mate and allow her to belong with him.

Lucas battles his feelings for Mia, knowing that he can’t go there again. He can never be as close to anyone as he was with his mate. And, as much as he will protect and guard Mia from the Red Pack, he will not take her again or even come close. Guarded actually breaks down these two great characters where the reader will see Lucas’ more darker, serious side, his sorrow and pain, as well as his desire to keep Mia from this.

As a result he puts his defences up and distances himself. This makes him a little cold and impersonal with her at times, although it is also clear that he doesn’t want her to think bad of him. This in turn makes it more difficult for Mia to be with him and know how to respond. Book 2 certainly holds more emotional tension as opposed to sexual tension.

The reader can certainly empathise with both characters, making it unpredictable on the outcome of these two. There are twists and turns, a strong attraction, and danger from the Red Pack, as they will do anything to keep business going their way. (The Red Pack own a rival company to that of Lucas’, and threatening Mia may seem like a good idea to them – especially as they sense the connection between Mia and Lucas and his need to protect her.)

Mia’s character is strong as she feels that if she can help Lucas to open up and face what happened then she is in with a chance. She has much to understand about packs, mates as she has never been raised by one. At times this can make her seem a little naïve to Lucas. This makes the reader just long for Lucas to take Mia under his wing and teach her all he knows, guard her, protect her and love her! But will it all be too much for Lucas to bear?

Lucas’ dad has a strong impact on Mia as he is accepting, gentle and protective – all the things that a father should be that she has missed out on not having her own around. This scene was relatively small and yet had such a deep meaning, especially for Mia. I would like to read a little more about these two in the subsequent books.

The reader doesn’t miss a thing as Guarded (True Alpha #2) picks up where we left off in Desired (True Alpha #1). There are reminders of what happened previously, allowing the reader to easily remember and continue the story without having to keep checking back to the last episode. I cannot wait for the third instalment, Hunted. This series is a strong one for many a paranormal fan to follow. You will not be disappointed with the power and depth that these short stories provide!

Guarded (True Alpha #2) was provided by the author in return for an honest and fair review.

Guarded (True Alpha #2) is available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

You can also check out our review of Desired (True Alpha #1) (short story) by Alisa Woods here.

Reviewed by Caroline Barker

September 6, 2014 by Caroline Barker

BLOG Tour The Endangered by S.L. Eaves with full Prologue and Author Bio

Title: The Endangered

Author: S.L. Eaves

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publication Date: September 4 2014

Publisher: Zharmae; Imprint is Luthando Coeur

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22458720-the-endangered

Blurb: S&D Industries is a prominent pharmaceutical company based in New York. It has, for many years, appeared to exist only for the benefit of humanity, and this year’s chief product seems no different. The company’s CEO, whom we know only as Striden, announces the imminent delivery of a powerful flu vaccine. The true purposes of S&D are anything but philanthropic, however. The newly-engineered drug does not protect against flu. It turns people into werewolves.

The only group which stands a chance of resisting this change is a population of vampires. The foremost of them, who go by the name of The Endangered, are determined to turn back the mass werewolf infestation. Among them are an ambitious rebel named Catch and Lori, Catch’s newly-turned protege. Catch has brought this treacherous world to Lori’s doorstep and both their worlds are turned upside-down in the process. Secrets are exposed, alliances are formed. Blood is spilled as the vampires must do everything in their power to preserve both their own kind and that of their food supply.

Author bio

S.L. Eaves is a graduate student at Drexel University, pursuing her MBA in Marketing. She received her undergraduate degree in Film from University of Pittsburgh. While attending Pitt, she took a number of writing courses and earned a certificate in Professional Writing.

Originally from West Chester, PA, she has lived in Pittsburgh and Minneapolis before returning to the Philadelphia area, where she currently resides.

Her professional background is in marketing, primarily in media and publishing industries. She enjoys being in an environment that promotes creativity and challenges her to apply her film and writing skills to generate innovative marketing campaigns.

Outside of writing, she’s an avid sports fan and concert goer who enjoys running and biking in her free time and readily confesses to being bit of a film and television junkie. When home, she’s never without a book in arm’s reach.

The Endangered is her debut novel and is slated to be the first in a new series from Zharmae Publishing Press, with the sequel scheduled for 2015.

Author links:

Author page on Fb: https://www.facebook.com/SLEavesAuthor

Book’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheEndangeredBk

Author pg on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/SLEaves

The book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22458720-the-endangered

Read the full Prologue:

“Drive faster.”
80…85…90. The pedal vibrates under my foot.
“I’m pushing a hundred. These winding roads make it hard.”
Crina climbs over the front seats and settles into shotgun. She’d been taking care of Xan, who was unconscious in the back.
“How’s he doing?”
“He took one hell of a blow to the head, but he’ll be okay.”
I turn up the radio to drown out the sound of the police sirens behind us. My eyes keep darting to the rearview.
There were two of them back there. At least.
They’d caught our trail while we were tearing through the city. You could say we had a police escort out of Los Angeles.
“How far till Mexico?” Crina was wiping blood off her hands.
“Far. Dunno. At this rate we’re not gonna make it.”
“Where the hell are we anyway?”
“Somewhere mountainous,” I respond dryly.
“You shouldn’t be driving. You lost a lot of blood.”
“Well right now that’s the least of our problems.”
I’d hotwired an old 90s roadster while Crina was hoisting an unconscious Xan through the hatchback. An easy steal, but the old beast of a transmission was fighting me on every turn. It was a miracle we’d made it out of the city at all.
Headlights glimpse the guardrail. We hit a sharp curve, catch some stones in the tires and skid through the gravel for a spell. I grip the wheel tightly, downshifting. Crina claws the dash. Xan remains sprawled across the backseat. We fishtail, then straighten out.
I shift gears and keep my focus on the road ahead.
The speedometer climbs back over 80 mph. Crina shoots me a nervous glance.
“Just keeping the cops on their toes.”
“They’ll be sending out backup and lots of it…likely include a chopper. We aren’t going to make it much farther in this car. We gotta bail.”
“Yeah…”
I hate when she’s right.
Crina rolls down her window.
“We should’ve stolen a convertible.”
I grin. “Next time.”
“There’s a ravine nearby. I smell the water.”
There was a valley down to our left, a fitting host for water. And our escape.
“Something to aim for. What about Xan?”
An over-confident Crina is halfway out the window; she ducks back in.
“Can’t toss him. Gotta pull him from the wreckage.”
My stomach churns. Not what I wanted to hear. Cops are still in tight pursuit. They would not be relenting anytime soon. Someone blew apart several blocks of downtown LA, and we presently carried the titles of Suspect One, Two, and Three.
Our options are limited at best. There is a tight bend up ahead.
“Get ready to bail.”
My foot slams the accelerator. Crina climbs most of the way out the window, bracing her feet on the door handle.
“See you at the bottom,” I promise Xan under my breath.
The road curves sharply to the right.
We do not.
The car runs out of road and we eject mid dive over the rocky and tree-filled terrain. From my own airborne position, I watch as the car clips the tops of a few trees and nosedives into the jagged landscape below. Its short-lived plummet is followed by a dramatic landing as it bounces into tree trunks, flips over laterally and eventually rolls to a stop.
I have similar luck.
My feet strike the ground, but I don’t stick the landing. Hurling forward over some rocks, I bounce along the mountainside until a tree brings me to an abrupt halt. Still conscious, I lie at its trunk watching the world spin.
Ouch.
Stumbling, I force my feet to keep me vertical. My head is spinning. I stagger toward the light supplied by flames now emanating from the pile of metal and gasoline that used to be a car. My eyes start to focus as I near the overturned vehicle.
“Xan,” I cough, holding my rib cage.
Had that fall not jolted him awake? Lucky bastard.
I look around. No sign of Crina.
Hastily, I pry back the driver’s side door and am relieved to see Xan inside, still unconscious. The fall had tossed him onto the footwell of the back, but he seems no worse for wear.
Folding the driver’s seat forward, I climb in and slip my arms under his shoulders. Grasping his underarms, I slide him out from the burning car. Crina catches me as I fall backwards under his deadweight. She pulls us both to safety, beating out my pant leg, which had caught fire in the process.
We take shelter in some dense underbrush. From there we can see the police cars up the hillside. They are parked, headlights beaming out across the night sky, illuminating the treetops. I spot the silhouette of an officer as he crosses the front of a car. None of them appear to be making their way downhill. Perhaps they are waiting for a fire truck or a medical unit.
“How are you doing?”
“Okay. Caught ahold of a tree branch mid-flight. Made for an easy descent. You?”
I feel my sides, which are covered in blood. Some of the earlier wounds have healed, but the fresh ones still carry some sting.
“Had a kinda rough landing. Cracked a few ribs.”
Xan begins to stir.
“Xan!” we both exclaim.
“What happened?” His voice is hoarse and weak. I bend down to hug him.
“Lori!” He wraps his arms around me and stays clenched as I straighten up. I grimace at his weight on my half-eaten shoulder. Crina takes his arms from my neck and helps him to his feet.
“You sure you can stand okay?” she asks. He is looking around, a dazed expression on his face.
“Where are we?”
“Somewhere outside LA,” I mutter, bracing myself against a tree. I look over at the car a few yards up the hillside. Cops are shining flashlights around, but they don’t quite have the range. The car is now completely engulfed in flames.
“We have to keep moving,” Crina states. “I lost my comm a ways back.”
“I have mine.” I pop it out of my ear. Surprised it’s still intact. I tap the button, stick it back in. Not even static.
“Nothing.”
“Damn.”

We continue downhill. Crina had been right about the water. We trudge along the crooked path cut by the river, crossing when it narrows. It isn’t long before we are out of range of the sirens.
The silence manages to feel both refreshing and disconcerting.
Crina leads the way, hacking through the foliage. Xan and I stumble along behind. A good hour passes with none of us speaking. I feel dizzy, nauseous, exhausted.
Eventually we reach a clearing.
“Break time,” I proclaim, dropping flat on my back and letting the soft earth break my fall. Crina and Xan join me.
We lie there taking in the beautiful, crystal clear night sky. And a full moon, apparently, illuminating the field around us.
“Full moon tonight. With everything else going on I’d completely forgotten.”
“So had I,” Crina sighs. “Ironic now, I suppose.”
“Where are the others?” Xan asks absently.
“That’s a good question.”
I reach into Xan’s cargo pocket, fishing around.
“Feeling frisky?” he jokes. I remove my hand, displaying the cigarettes and Zippo he’d been holding for me.
“Oh, right,” he laughs as I wink at him.
I light one and briefly feel human as the smoke fills my lungs. Some vices are worth clinging to if only for the memories.
Crina reaches across and slides one from the pack. She normally complains about the smell. I don’t comment. Just flip open the lighter. I give them back to Xan, who hasn’t moved since our collapse.
“And yet you still managed to start a fire.” Xan plays with my Zippo. He takes a cig from the pack, now resting on his stomach, and cranes his neck to light it.
After a moment, Crina props up onto her elbows.
“Does this mean it’s over?”
“I don’t know.” I close my eyes and picture the bomb detonating.
She cranes her neck for a better glimpse of the moon.
Xan groans. “My head is splitting.”
I reach out and run my fingers through his hair.
“My head…is full of static. The comm!”
I sit up with a jolt, hand on my earpiece.
Static comes over my comm, followed by a faint voice. I can’t make it out. My ears are still ringing from the blast. I hand the comm to Crina.
“Thought I heard a transmission. See if you have any luck.”
Crina holds the piece to her ear, pushing the button in.
“Hello. Anyone hear me? Hello.”
I close my eyes, relaxing on the moist earth. The blades of grass prick my skin. It is a warm night. A perfect night.
It is not enough.
I had heard a voice over the comm. A voice that sounded like Catch’s.

PURCHASE LINKS:

AMAZON UK

AMAZON US

PARTICIPATING BLOGS:

September 5, 2014 by Caroline Barker

Soul Rebel by C.J. Pinard REVIEW

Blurb: When 21-year-old Nolan Bishop meets a seductive woman named Eva at a dark club in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana, little does he know his soul will be gone as soon as she is. Realizing she’s taken something from him, he finds out he has a very limited time to destroy her before he turns into something sinister and inhuman. In a race against all that is holy, Nolan has to find Eva and get his soul back while trying not to fall in love with Charity, the twin sister of the succubus who took his soul – all in 7 days.

Review

Wow! What a read! I have to say Soul Rebel is probably my favourite C.J. Pinard novel to date. From beginning to end there is action, suspense and romance. Not to mention some great characters in Nolan, Eva and Charity.

From the beginning Nolan’s character drew me in. He is a real gentleman, polite and kind, with the ability to fall in love wholly and easily with the girl that pulls at his heart strings. However, after being left broken hearted early in the novel, C.J. Pinard has created a vulnerable, lovable victim of love that many females would find hard to resist! And with many reads these days focusing on lead female victims-come-heroes (at least the books I have been reading!), it was interesting to see a fallen guy be the main focus.

To make matters worse, whilst Nolan is coming to terms with being single again, he then has to deal with his disbelief that a redhead woman whom he met in a nightclub, Eva, is actually a female vampire, a succubus, who stole his soul after a passionate kiss! Little does he realise to begin with that he only has 7 days before he turns into a vampire himself unless he can get his soul back.

What will it take to make Nolan believe what Eva is? Although reluctant to believe, despite a warning, Nolan soon realises he has a mission on his hands. It probably feels to Nolan like he has been kicked when he’s already down. The reader really feels for this guy and constantly roots for him to find his feet and take back what is his.

Soul Rebel is so much more than a regular paranormal story with a vampire bite and then the human turning. I love the idea of souls being taken. It gives the novel more edge and heaps more darkness. And, to add to the tension is the time frame in which Nolan has before he turns – just 7 days. That’s 7 days for Nolan to realise and believe what has happened to him as well as try to get his soul returned.

Extra suspense is also included when Charity, Eva’s human twin sister, turns up in Nolan’s life. Charity has the same sexual attraction as Eva, and over time as they search for Eva together, Nolan and Charity begin to grow closer and have feelings for each other. Not only does this cause confusion with Nolan, after all she is the enemy’s sister and he’s already been given grief twice by females, but it also causes conflict within Charity.

Charity knows her sister has done wrong, but it’s the only way Eva survives (from taking good souls). Charity knows Eva needs to meet her end in order for Nolan to have his soul back but can she stand the thought of Nolan killing her sister?

As well as the thrill of the drama and adventure there is also a great moody and gothic atmosphere during some scenes, especially the evening scenes and when Eva is mentioned due to where she is living. Eva lives out of town in a Victorian style mansion and its Victorian style and when Nolan and Charity are trying to find her and take her by surprise there are some eerie moments and the reader can feel the fear and intensity as these scenes are written at a steady pace with the reader having no idea what the outcome will be.

Soul Rebel is definitely one for any paranormal fan to read. Due to the pace throughout it makes for a fairly quick read and yet has so much to offer. The reader can feel how Nolan becomes stronger throughout the novel. It is so gradual which makes it all the more real. The reader is certainly taken on a ride of all emotions of despair, anger and love. There is nothing obvious with this story. There are constant surprises throughout this novel. And fans of C.J. Pinard may enjoy a small overlap with her Enchanted Immortals series! I’ll say no more. But I would love to be reading a sequel in the not too distant future!

A copy of Soul Rebel was provided by the author, C.J. Pinard in return for an honest and fair review.

Soul Rebel is available on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Reviewed by Caroline Barker

August 16, 2014 by Tina Williams

Unlovable (The Case Files of Dr. Matilda Schmidt, Paranormal Psychologist), by Cynthia St. Aubin

Just what the Good Doc Ordered!

Book Blurb

It isn’t every day a sexy demigod throws a pissed-off Cupid onto psychologist Matilda Schmidt’s couch and informs her the fate of the world depends on her ability to get him off his diapered ass and back to helping people fall in love. Just when Matilda convinces herself she’s not hallucinating, in walks a Vegas hit man with a big gun and a bigger threat: pay back the million dollars she owes a notorious casino mogul, or wind up as fish food in Lake Mead.Rocketing across country with a gun to her head, Matilda has a dysfunctional love-god in her laptop bag, a million dollar debt she has no knowledge of, and must convince the seductive hit man he’s snatched the wrong woman before he convinces her he might be the right man—for a night. Can Matilda stay alive long enough to keep love from becoming history?

My Review

A Panty-Wetting, Laugh-out-Loud Read!

Unlovable is the first instalment of The Case Files of Dr Matilda Schmidt Paranormal Psychologist, other instalments of which are available and include Unlucky, Unhoppy and Unbearable (see below for link to author’s Amazon page for more info).

I recently read in the press that medical professionals are being encouraged to prescribe books to their patients, alongside or instead of conventional prescriptions. Well, if you are in need of a tonic, Cynthia St. Aubin’s rollicking, panty-wetting read Unlovable, is just what the good doc ordered!

This read contains a love-sick Cupid, a sex obsessed demigod, in the form of Crixus and a dark and dangerous hit-man cum kidnapper, with his own psychological issues. All three burst into the well-ordered life of Dr Matlda Schmidt, a sexually repressed/control loving kinda girl and chaos reigns big-time!

Matllda is faced with the seemingly impossible tasks of saving the world by counselling a love sick Cupid and saving her own ass from the mobster whom the hit man is contracted to deliver her to. She is also fighting the temptation presented by said hit man who is giving her some serious signs that he wants to get her naked. Suffice to say that Matilda is not the same woman at the end of the read as she is at the beginning………

I enjoyed getting to know Matilda, and how her life gets shaken AND stirred and I’m looking forward to reading about her further adventures in the subsequent instalments. I recommend Unlovable to readers of contemporary and paranormal romps who like their reads to contain plenty of humour and snark with some smexy scenes.

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