Book Review: Civil Hearts by Claire Gem

05/10/2018Claire Gem, Paranormal, RomanceLeave a Comment

Author: Claire Gem
Release Date: 1st April 2018
Genre: Paranormal Romance
~~Series~~:
Edition: e-book
Pages: 326
Publisher: Erato Publishing
Blurb:
He’s a sexy Southern gentleman–with epilepsy. She’s a widow scarred from her late husband’s brain cancer. Her new home, an abandoned antebellum mansion, is haunted by a Confederate ghost–and she’s a Yankee.
A widow with no family, web designer Liv Larson yearns for big change. After all, she can work from anywhere, right? Why not throw a dart at the map? She heads out of the big city for the rural South and falls in love as soon as she arrives—with the Belle Bride, an abandoned antebellum mansion.
Heath Barrow loves his country life, managing his antiques store in sleepy Camellia. But he’s lonely, and his condition—epilepsy—makes life uncertain. It’s already cost him a marriage. A new medication and the new girl in town have his heart hopeful again.
Sparks fly between Heath and Liv. But his first seizure sends Liv into a tailspin. Its mimics those her husband suffered before he died . . .
To make matters worse, Liv discovers she’s not living alone. Her challenge? Dealing with a Confederate soldier, one who clearly resents his Yankee roommate—even though he’s been dead for over a hundred and fifty years.

Review

★★★+1/2

Civil Hearts by Claire Gem is a fast-paced and enjoyable new paranormal romance book. The book was written well and it had a cast of interesting characters. I wasn’t particularly able to relate to the characters, but they seemed interesting enough for me to want to know what happens to them.

The story was a good blend of a romantic relationship and a ghost story. The pacing was good and the storyline interesting. I enjoyed reading this book as much as I can a paranormal romance book (I’m not a fan of the genre, so that’s something.) I’d recommend this book to all the genre fans and to those who’re looking to explore a new light read or a new romance author.

this review is also posted on Goodreads and Amazon

Book Review: Forever And A Night by Lana Campbell

27/09/201627/09/2016Lana Campbell, Paranormal, Romance2 Comments

Author: Lana Campbell
Release Date: April 26, 2016
Series: –
Genre: Paranormal Romance > Vampires
Edition: e-book (kindle)
Pages: 398
Publisher: Tate Publishing & Enterprise

Rating: ★★★

Blurb:

Nathan Davenport is being stalked by Isabella Ravini, the feral vampire who stole his human life over a hundred and sixty years ago. She made him her fledging, a slave for her dark, evil purposes-hunting humans. After a few years she released him, and Nathan reluctantly learned to accept the cursed life she’d foisted upon him. Over time he amassed a great fortune, which today has made him famous worldwide. Isabella decides she wants to be a part of this world of fame and fortune Nathan created for himself. She’s determined to marry him, and love has nothing to do with it. His money is her primary target, and the fame and prestige attached to being the wife of one of the richest men in the world wouldn’t be so bad either. In an effort to evade her until he can figure out how to stop her, he hides at a safe house he owns in New Orleans. One Saturday evening in NOLA, he decides to have dinner in the city. He chooses a quiet little Italian bistro, never imagining this night will change his life forever. The human woman who delivers his order isn’t a server, but the restaurant’s sous chef, a beautiful ethnic woman possessing the most delicious blood scent he’s ever encountered. The moment Mia Peebles arrives at his table with his plate, tasting her becomes an obsession. Mia wants nothing to do with him because of Nathan’s reputation as a playboy. So Nathan enchants her, feeds from her, but his lusts for her blood and body play havoc with his thinking. Nathan finds a way to bring her into his life as his personal chef and quickly falls in love with her. The trouble is Mia has no idea he’s a vampire because during the enchanting episodes, Nathan blocked her memories of those sensual encounters. How will Nathan tell her the truth without losing her and keep Isabella from finding him? Or worst yet, will Isabella discover how much Mia has come to mean to him?

REVIEW

Forever And A Night by Lana Campbell is a decent paranormal romance.

I enjoyed reading it because of the writing. Author’s writing was really good; it flowed smoothly and made this book a surprisingly quick read given the total number of pages.

I did like the story too, but at more than a dozen places I found a lot of resemblance to the plots of other Vampire novels. I do enjoy good paranormal romance books, but while reading this book I couldn’t stop myself from comparing to the other books in the genre.

The romantic relationship between Nathan and Mia was believable and engaging. It was dangerously bordering on the borderline of clichéd but somehow managed to not fall off the wall.

What I did find interesting was the fact that the leading lady was the mother of grown up children, a fact that is hard to find in most of the paranormal romance books. That was the biggest redeeming factor for this book, at least for me.

The beginning and ending were good and the story was medium-paced which made it a pleasant read. In spite of the problem I had, I still liked the characterization and the story settings. I liked the concept and enjoyed knowing more about the characters as the story progressed.

This book might not be the best one in the genre, but it didn’t fall short either.

If you’re into vampires and love reading romance novels then this is a book for you, but if you don’t then you might or might not like it.

Goodreads

Book Review: Hearts Unloched by Claire Gem

25/08/2016Book Reviews (by Genre), Books Reviews (by Author), Claire Gem, Paranormal, Romance1 Comment

Author: Claire Gem
Release Date: April 14, 2016
Series: –
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 320
Publisher: Erato Publishing

Rating: ★★★★

Blurb:

AWARD-WINNER! 2016 New York Book Festival Runner-up!
A psychic interior designer reluctantly agrees to renovate a sexy investor’s abandoned hotel on a lake rumored to have once been the mob’s body dumping ground.
Interior designer Kate Bardach loves her single girl’s lifestyle—living in Manhattan and spending weekends at her lake house. She’s passionate about her career, reinventing old buildings. But there are some projects she can’t take on because of the spirits trapped there. Kate is psychic—she sees dead people.
Marco Lareci is one of Wall Street’s most successful investment brokers who’s achieved all of his life’s goals—except for finding his soulmate. His latest project, an abandoned resort on Loch Sheldrake, needs a savvy designer to transform the crumbling complex into a boutique hotel. When Marco meets Kate, he can’t believe his luck. She’s the perfect match for his business and his heart.
Marco’s body excites Kate even more than does his renovation project. But the haunting there, a bonafide poltergeist, affects her on an intensely personal level. Kate’s aunt disappeared from the place fifty years ago.
Will the spirit doom Kate and Marco’s love, or drive them closer together?

Review

This book started out with a brilliant opening and I was dragged into the story right from the very first page. It was a perfect blend of all the emotions one can think of, love and lust being the primary ones. I really enjoyed it and would love to read more books by the author.

The writing is great and had a really good flow to it. The characterization was also brilliant and I was able to connect to both Marco and Kate. And to top it all off, the book really scared the hell out of me. I’m easy to scare and this book hit the bullseye beautifully (at least for me.)

I really enjoyed how the author explored an abandoned and aged property and associated it with spirits and ghosts. Seriously, how can it not be a perfect setting for a spooky story? And the passionate romance just elevated the plot to a whole new level.

The ending is was good too and one that I thought went perfectly with the story. I’d highly recommend this book to people who enjoy ghost stories and don’t mind passionate romance (or the other way around.)

You can also read this review at Goodreads and Amazon.

Book Review: The Illusions of Eventide (House of Crimson and Clover #1)

04/03/201618/03/2016Reviews By Contributors4 Comments

Author: Sarah M. Cradit
Release: December 14h, 2013
Series: House of Crimson and Clover
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Edition: Kindle
Pages: 407 pages
Publisher: Self-published
Source: Author
Buy it here: Amazon

Blurb

Nicolas Deschanel was betrayed by the only two people who matter to him. Their disloyalty stung and an overwhelming sense of loss lingers. Nicolas has lived the high life professing to not have a care in the world, and now this illusion is calling his bluff.
Determined to take control of an existence now devoid of purpose, he sojourns to his family’s holiday home on the Gulf of Mexico. Resolved more than depressed, he plans to privately say goodbye to a world which no longer needs him. Of questionable fortune, he finds a woman, Mercy, sitting alone on the shore at eventide. Nicolas is conflicted between an obligation to help, and annoyance at her intrusion.
Mercy has many layers of secrets. Deepest of all, she cannot tell this Child of Man she is thousands of years old and very powerful. In her presence, Nicolas’ own dormant powers begin to surface, triggering a sequence of events that cause both of their lives to spiral further out of control. When old friends from both sides come to help, together they all learn a painful truth: new life can only begin once you’ve set free what means the most.

Rating

★★★★★

Review

Plot/Story: The book has a weird/awesome combination of Paranormal, Fantasy, and Romance. The evolving relationships made the book a great read and not just another Romance book, it had real emotions and dark problems combined.

Characters: Each character comes with lots of secrets that made the story even more compelling and fun to read.
I loved Nicolas Deschanel a lot and his attitude, he was the main reason I stuck with the story. Loved his humor and his dark view on things, Nic may seem like pretty boy type jerk, lol and he is but I just get him, lol 😉 He has changed much throughout the story, making him even more compelling.
It was a bit hard for me to connect with Mercy but as I read further I could really see who she really is. She is such a strong Empyrean and I really enjoyed knowing her better.
Finn, Oz, Ana, and Aidrik are such wonderful addition to the story.
All the characters are so fantastically created and I enjoyed the different POVs.
Romance/Kills: Sorry, must read the book. Even the smallest hint (and I have placed a few hints here and there) will tell a lot, must keep this spoiler free 😉

Writing: This is my first ever book of Sarah M. Cradit and I truly enjoyed her writing. Even though it’s hard for me to connect to Romance type of books, her writing made it much easier for me to do so 🙂
The author wrote so well that this book can be even a standalone if you want and her world building is amazing and flawless.

Beginning: The Deschanel family has mysterious abilities and the story start by explaining all this and why the main character Nicolas does not have any abilities, but things are not as they may seem.
I was completely glued to the book from the start. The author shows us the dark side of Nic and even though he is such a jerk, he still has such complex emotions and is willing to help Mercy even though he hates the idea of helping at all.

Ending: The book ends in a perfect moment. All my questions were answered, but still making me crave for more, perfect.

Cover Art: The cover is gorgeous, just look at it. I love the colors and the burning phoenix, amazing cover.

Blurb: The blurb set the mood nicely for the beginning of the story, but the story is even better written and more gripping than the blurb.

Other Stuff

Opening Line: “Living no longer interested me.”

Highlights: Everything, from the wonderful writing to the great characters and amazing plot.

Lowlights: None.

Final Thoughts: Amazing book and I enjoyed ever second reading this book, now I must go and read the rest of Sarah’s work.

You can also read this review at Goodreads and Amazon.

Book Review: Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2)

04/01/201526/02/2015Books Reviews (by Author), Richelle Mead15 Comments

Author: Richelle Mead
Release Date: April 10, 2008 
Series: Vampire Academy 
Genre: YA | Fiction | Paranormal-Vampires | Contemporary
Pages: 327
ISBN NO.:  -
Publisher: Penguin India
Preceded by: Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1)
Followed by: Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy #3)

Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2)

Book Review: Frostbitten

20/09/201404/11/2014Heather Beck8 Comments

Author: Heather Beck
Release Date: June 23, 2014
Series: None
Genre: YA | Paranormal-Romance | Shapeshifters- Werewolves
Edition: e-book (epub)
Pages: 296
Publisher: Enchanted Publishing
Interest: Requested by author
Source: Author (Thanks, Heather!)
To buy Frostbitten click here.

Blurb

Great beauty hides dark secrets…

Seventeen-year-old Anastasia Lockhart has never led an easy life, but when she starts getting into serious trouble, she’s sent to live with her grandparents in Cedar Falls. The small, picturesque town hasn’t changed since she visited four years ago, with one exception – the presence of a handsome, mysterious boy named Frost. Despite warnings from her grandparents and friends to stay away from Frost, Anastasia can’t deny their attraction, and the more time they spend together, the deeper in love they fall. Unfortunately, Frost has a secret that is beyond Anastasia’s wildest imagination, and she soon finds herself in the midst of a supernatural legend that has haunted Cedar Falls for years.

Can Anastasia and Frost’s love really overcome anything, or are their fates much darker?

Review

Positives:

Frostbitten is a well written book. What really makes Frostbitten a good book is Heather’s writing. I can’t stress enough on how much I liked it. It’s a lovely book that has all the elements a paranormal book should have. Right from the beautiful and stubborn young girl to a gorgeous and loyal werewolf, from a caring BFF to a rich and jealous bitch (who makes Anastasia’s life a living hell!) The mystery involved is also quite good.

I really liked Cedar Falls and I’d love to get answers about it’s past in the next instalment.

Negatives:

Even after liking this book I can’t ignore 2 facts. First, that it was really hard to connect with the leads. I mean they are well-explained and all, but still they felt very far-off. And secondly, this book has some really odd similarities to Twilight: A girl whose life is hell, meets a gorgeous guy who takes comfort in solitude, and falls in love with him. She finds out about him being a shape-shifter and then accepts the truth in no time. They they stand together against the world. Overall it’s totally like Twilight except for the fact that Frost is a werewolf and secondly he was unaware of his past.

Conclusion:

I understand that as this is the first part, establishing the basics is very important and in this book it’s been done quite neatly (well, except for the characters.) I guess that the next part is going to be better, so I’m looking forward to read it 🙂

You can also read this review at Goodreads | Amazon | Leafmarks