~REVIEW of Larissa Ione's PLEASURE UNBOUND~

                      DARKLY ORIGINAL, SUPER SEXY AND COMPLETELY ABSORBING

Pleasure Unbound (Demonica, #1)

Opening Line: "Had Eidolon been anywhere but the hospital, he would have killed the guy pleading for his life in front of him.

Welcome to Larissa Ione’s utterly imaginative world of Demonica. Full of demons, vampires, shifters, weres, slayers, humans and every combined half version of them. PLEASURE UNBOUND is a great ride I just couldn’t put down; action packed, erotic and sinfully dark with witty humour and engaging, fresh characters. Including a kick-ass heroine and her uber-sexy, scrub wearing Demon love interest. It’s the perfect combination of paranormal romance and urban fantasy and it’s oh so good.

Tayla has been taught that all demons are evil and since they are also responsible for the death of her mother she has dedicated her life to destroying them, she is a demon-slayer, an Aegi. So when a slaying goes bad, killing her partner and she finds herself laid up in UGH (underworld general hospital) all she can think about is taking names and then taking the place down. (And unreasonably the cute doctor able to heal with a simple touch.)

Eidolon is a Seminus demon doctor, sworn to heal and protect even the worst of his world. He is also nearing his transition, a change that will cause him to go mad with lust, craving every woman in his path and likely getting himself killed by a jealous male in the process. He is fighting the change but when Tayla enters his realm even though he hates the Aegi, all bets are off.

The underlying moral here isn’t unique; what if your entire belief system was destroyed by getting to know and spending time with your enemy? What if you discovered that they weren’t the evil incarnate you’d been led to believe but in fact were no different from yourself? That they had families, jobs and problems and thought YOU were the evil one. And what if it then came to be that you were actually one of them?

Pleasure Unbound is the first in the Demonica series and like I said it’s original and fantastic. Eidolon’s demon brothers really piqued my interest and I look forward to reading their books in particular bad-boy Wraith‘s story. I would also highly recommend this to fans of the Ward’s BDB who will see several similarities between the sets of “brothers” with their tortured pasts, sacrifices for each other and continual bantering. Cheers!

~REVIEW of Gena Showalter's THE DARKEST PLEASURE~

The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld, #3)
 

Opening Line: Reyes stood on the roof of the Budapest fortress, five stories up, his feet balanced precariously on the highest ledge.

THE DARKEST PLEASURE is book 3 in the fantastic and addictive Lords Of The Underworld Series and this time it's is all about Reyes, an immortal warrior cursed after opening Pandora's box and ever since bound to the demon of pain. We've been waiting since book 1 to see Reyes' unrequited love for Danika reach its foregone conclusion and Showalter doesn't disappoint.

As in past books this is an ensemble piece, involving the continuing stories of past immortals and their now mates, as well as those Demons yet to have their stories told. Rather than distracting I found all these characters only added to the story in a very `Brothers' living in the mansion kind of way. I love the bantering between the warriors who at the same time respect each others torturous curses. This dysfunctional family unit continues to change and grow, all the while maintaining their constant search for Pandora's Box and fighting off the ever threatening `Hunters.'

Reyes is kinda sexy but he's been cursed with the demon of pain. To avoid hurting others (and feel some pleasure himself) he must satisfy the demon by either releasing it during a fight or self inflicting pain. I.e. cutting or stabbing himself, although he has also been known to jump off the roof of a building just to feel his bones break and hear the demon purr. Reyes was introduced to Danika Way back in The Darkest Night and he's never been able to forget her. She unfortunately was targeted by Cronus the new King of the Titans and along with her family sentenced to death. To make matters worse it was Reyes's best friend Aeron ordered with upholding the death sentence and the longer he's kept from this task the more bloodthirsty his own demon Wrath has become. In fact Aeron's become so crazed that he's been locked in the dungeon where he's trying to chew off his own hands to escape the shackles. Reyes can't bear to see his friend like this but he can't allow Aeron to kill Danika either and will fight him to the death if need be.

Meanwhile Danika remains on the run, now separated from her family she fears that they may all be dead and in an attempt to find and protect them strikes up a deal with the `Hunters' allowing herself to be used as `Bait' against the immortals. Once inside the castle walls however her resolve starts to fail. Something draws her to Reyes, this man who warms her skin and haunts her dreams. He has shown her nothing but safety and kindness and she has come to desire him, demon and all. Reyes in turn is pretty much useless, unable to concentrate on anything except getting Danika into his bed and keeping her safe from the bloodthirsty Aeron. Now if only he could figure out where Danika's loyalties lie and why Cronus wants her dead they could all live happily ever after.

This was a great read and anyone invested in the series won't be disappointed. Besides the love story there are some excellent sub-plots. (Paris's story is getting progressively heartbreaking *sigh*) My only regret here would be the surprisingly mundane love scenes. Given the subject materiel I guess I expected a little more, I mean pain=BDSM right? Unfortunately (or fortunately?) Reyes wants to keep things gentle and not exploit Danika's dark, kinky side. At times I also felt bogged down with too much Greek Mythology and history but all the same can't wait to read the next instalment. Cheers

~REVIEW of Jacquelyn Frank's JACOB~

Jacob (Nightwalkers, #1)

Opening Line: "How ridiculously simple it would be to cause them harm."

Jacob is the Demon enforcer for his people. His responsibility for the past 700 years has been to protect the human population from fellow Nightwalkers who fall victim to the maddening Moonlust. He takes his duties as enforcer seriously and over the years has even had to punish close friends and family members when they stray too close to humans. Because of this Jacob has become feared within Demon society, now an involuntary loner. One night while hunting a rogue Demon, Jacob inadvertently rescues a woman after she falls from her apartment window, landing safely in his strong arms. The attraction between the two is immediate, he cannot let her go. Has Jacob himself fallen victim to Moonlust?

There's something strange about this raven haired nymph. Isabella's not just your average human, for within minutes of being rescued she senses something and runs into a warehouse. Jacob follows and is rendered helpless as she proceeds to kill a Necromancer (bad guy) while it practices the black arts. Jacob, unable to believe what he's seen puts Bella into a deep sleep and takes her back to his castle where he'll try to figure out what she really is. When Bella awakes she isn't at all scared, just excepting and curious about this new world she finds herself in. She's apparently really horny too despite the fact that she's a virgin (why are they always virgins?) The couple can't seem to keep their hands off each other, even though this little collaboration will mean certain death for Jacob. Just as the intense make-out session reaches a precipice it is rudely interrupted by the demon king Noah. He also assumes that Jacob has gone mad with lust. Now who will enforce the enforcer?

 After some explanations, Bella proceeds to hang out in the Demon library learning about their rich culture as her psychic connection with Jacob and strange new powers inexplicably grow. Eventually Bella locates some ancient papers that will change the course of human and Demon destiny forever, and thankfully explain what she is becoming.

Jacquelyn Frank has created a very detailed and complex world with this first book in her Nightwalkers Series. And although I really enjoyed the initial chapters as well as the exciting and romantic final chapters, the middle section seemed to stall. As the author filled in pages and pages of Demon history, rules and culture while Jacob and Bella just hung out in the castle having telepathic phone sex in each others minds. I just wanted to get on with it, for SOMETHING to happen.

I also found Bella's character to be particularly annoying with her rolling eyes and silly quips. There were parts however that I loved and this is a good book, maybe just not great. It was nice to read a paranormal without Vampires and I appreciated the tightness and detail of Ms Frank's well written first novel. The secondary characters have also been well developed and left elusive enough for you to want to come back for another instalment. Cheers!

~REVIEW of Ozzy Osbourne's I AM OZZY~

 

Opening Line: "My father always said I would do something big one day."

I grew up in the 80’s so the Ozzy that I knew wasn’t the comical, stuttering MTV family man of today but the Prince of darkness. Black Sabbath’s scary, out of control singer who bit the head off of bats and doves and worshiped the devil. (Or so the rumours said) My brother used to play his records (yes I’m that old) during his rocker/bad boy phase (he’s now with the RCMP) and I remember being forced to listen to Ozzy Osbourne Crazy Train and Bark At The Moon 24 hours a day. Ozzy’s exploits with drugs, women and Satan were legendary. In those days he was the ultimate in heavy metal music, if you wanted to be cool there just wasn’t anybody badder or scarier.

So you can imagine how strange it was for me to see him years later bumbling around with his family on MTV. Who the hell was this guy? Although he did provide an excellent example of the 80’s campaign “this is what happens to your brain on drugs” (anyone remember that ad with the fried egg?) It was hard for me to comprehend that this was the same man, Ozzy was the devil not a man who lived in the English countryside with a wife and kids. I was intrigued enough that I had to read his biography, to figure out which Ozzy was the real Ozzy. The truth is though, they both are.

Honestly this is one of the better rock biographies out there and I give credit to co-author Chris Ayers who’s managed to piece together all of Ozzy’s insane stories yet still allowed his true voice to ring through. I did wonder how on earth Ozzy could possibly write a book much less remember anything after 40 years of drug and alcohol abuse but it turns out the godfather of heavy metal remembers quite a lot. We start at the beginning in England with “John” growing up in a poor factory town without enough to eat or an indoor toilet. Crazy from the get-go John always wanted more and his rise to fame is an amazing journey.

Ozzy admits early on to struggling with dyslexia and I can only assume that he dictated this, leaving Chris Ayers with his work cut out for him. He’s done a fantastic job though because this flows really well and every page is funny, fascinating, shocking, at times unbelievable and brutally honest. All the dirt is here too so if you’re a fan of the music then theres a plethora of information about album covers, lyrics, band politics and the truth behind the music. We also get to see a lot of other rock royalty joining in the debauchery. In the end I wondered (as Ozzy does) how he’s managed to stay alive through it all. All aboard ….

Some of the many highlights for me were;

32 pages of color photographs

His jobs in a meat processing factory and testing car horns (pardon?)
His rise to fame and first experiences in America, the land of plenty (of cocaine)
His sexual exploits with groupies including an aids scare
Details of his first marriage and trying to keep it together for the kids while seeing Sharon
Almost killing a vicar with hash cake
The real story behind the bat
The death of his guitarist in an airplane that crashed into his tour bus
Waking up in the middle of a freeway
Figuring Betty Ford could teach him to drink like a gentleman or James Bond
His remorse over the moments he missed in his children’s lives because he was always pissed
Buying a horse because he couldn’t pass his drivers test and riding it to the pub
The realization that guns and booze don’t mix
His numerous arrests including the infamous pissing on the Alamo
The chaos that ensued after the success of the Osborne’s
Meeting The president and the Queen
The horror when he wakes up in jail not knowing why he is there and is told he tried to kill Sharon.
How Sharon stuck by him through years of outrageous intoxicated behaviour.
Why he stutters and shakes

~REVIEW of Gena SHowalter's THE DARKEST KISS~

The Darkest Kiss (Lords of the Underworld, #2)

Opening Line: " Anya, Goddess of Anarchy, daughter of Lawlessness, and dealer of disorder, stood on the edge of a crowded dance floor."

THE DARKEST KISS is book 2 in the exciting and original Lords Of The Underworld series and it's absolutely fantastic. Gena Showalter has outdone herself here, further developing previous characters and sub-plots she has also created my new favourite couple in Lucian and Anya. Their story is filled with raw emotion, tons of sexual tension and non-stop adventure. There are also several other immortals stories taking place at the same time which instead of distracting from only added to the tension in a very JR Ward kind of way. I never knew what was going to happen next and will absolutely be doing a re-read as well as continuing on with this amazing series.

Lucian, as one of the Lords Of The Underworld is the warrior bonded with the demon of death. As such he is responsible for removing the souls of the dead and transporting them to either heaven or hell. (Surprise, most don't want to go) Of his fellow immortals he is the most in control but also the most serious and sombre. Having distanced himself long ago he has no choice but to do what the gods command of him.

 This book starts out with a sexual bang as Lucian meets the Goddess of Anarchy in a nightclub. Anya doesn't mince words or actions in the fact that she wants Lucian and no other will do. He doesn't understand what a modelesque looking goddess could possibly see in him because he's not much to look at these days, having permanently disfigured himself to make sure no woman ever looked his way again. Anya however is a wicked girl and finds the scars sexy, wanting to run her tongue over them. After their first meeting Lucian is unable to keep the teasing, sexy spitfire out of his thoughts. She was able to make him smile and even laugh for the first time in hundreds of years and that kiss... It's a damn shame that the leader of the Titans has just ordered him to kill her with the added incentive that if he fails his fellow immortals will suffer the consequences.

So the chase begins, with Lucian trying desperately not to feel anything for Anya and her enjoying the fact that he's been ordered to kill her because it only makes the game of seducing him that much more fun. The duo `flash' (dematerialize) to exotic locations trading barbed words and having the occasional swordfight along the way all as part of their amazing foreplay. Ultimately they join forces which only complicates things further because Anya never mentioned her own curse, that of being unable to consummate a relationship.

I couldn't put this book down and found Anya to be hilarious, a sort of a female version of Bones from Jeanine Frosts Night Huntress series. It was refreshing to get a heroine who is not helpless, insecure and whiney but instead cheeky, aggressive and confident, never apologising for who she is. Lucian in turn is an alpha male but not in the typical chest beating way he's thoughtful, compassionate, loyal and self sacrificing. Yeah I loved these two and highly recommended.

~REVIEW of J.R Ward's ENVY~

~THE BEST OF THE SERIES~

Envy (The Fallen Angels, #3) 

Opening Line: "It was in the spring,on a dark April evening, when Detective Thomas DelVecchio Jr. learned that nigthmares could in fact make the  jump out of the mind and into real life."

As others have mentioned this is the best yet from Ward’s Fallen Angels series. She seems to have gotten the mix just right here and I found myself completely caught up in the story, it’s romance and all the many sub characters and their ongoing battles. I suppose introducing the hero in the last BDB book didn’t hurt matters, as from the get-go I was wondering how a Vampire attack and Veck’s subsequent “memory loss” was going to be explained. However the two series feel very different to me now, and even though I can still sense the BDB world in the background, its no longer a distraction. (I do become a squealing fan girl when I find those cameos though) Speeding black Escalade in the rain or old landlord in a butlers uniform anyone.

  

I would describe this as a romance wrapped in urban fantasy. The mix works though, along with Ward’s usual hilarious male banter, excessive product placement, seriously hot love scenes and a few major surprises -which we should see the trickle down effect from for several books to come. I also feel that she finally got the romance right here; I enjoyed Veck and Reilly and found myself rooting for their HEA.

Through some unique world building we also get a much closer look at arch angels Nigel and Colin (who are growing on me) and of course our sexy saviour Jim and his badass fallen angel sidekicks Adrian and Eddie… (Sigh)

Lastly I have to mention Devina. She is just awesome, probably Ward’s best female character to date and a superb villain. Yes she is evil but she is also so much more, what with her therapy sessions, hoarding issues, insecurities and school girl crush on Jim -which let me tell you he uses to his full advantage. Alls fair in love and war bitch.

As with all of Ward’s books there are many characters fighting for POV time; popping us back and forth between hero and heroine, into heaven and hell and the minds of angels, demons and anyone else caught in the crossfire of battle #3. I can honestly say though that I didn’t ever want to skip any of their sections (Lessers) as each POV was an integral part of the story and more than held my interest.

Yes, the WARDen got it right with ENVY and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

Homicide detective Thomas “Veck” Delvecchio is convinced he’s just killed a man. Haunted by the legacy of his serial killer father and followed by a dark shadow, it was really only a matter of time until he gave in to the dark side. The problem is he doesn’t remember the attack and the evidence says he’s innocent. Sent to monitor Veck is internal affairs officer Sophia Reilly whose interest in Veck grows increasingly personal as they share pizza and a mutual admiration for Victoria’s Secret.

-Veck



Entwined in their budding romance is Jim Heron, now facing the 3rd round in the ultimate end game of good VS evil. He and his two back up angels have been given the task of battling against the devil for Veck’s very soul.

Bringing our group together is Reilly and Veck’s investigation of missing person Sissy Barton. She is of course being held by Devina (CRAVE) Jim is determined to find her body and retrieve her soul from hell whatever the consequences which gives him more reason then ever to shadow Veck, who’s own internal struggle is just beginning. Honestly I could go on and on about the plot. So much happens and I‘m not doing it justice here so I will stop. It is intricate, shocking, suspenseful, exciting, sexy and just well played. Cheers

~REVIEW of Gena Showalter's THE DARKEST NIGHT~

 ~YUMMY, LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD~

The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, #1) 

Opening line: "Every night death came, slowly, painfully, and every morning Maddox awoke in bed, knowing he'd have to die again later."

 

As a fan of paranormal romance and in particular JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood my searches for what to read next kept taking me to this series. That's not to say the two are comparable, because they aren't but if you like continuing story arcs with multiple character POV's, hot, sexy love scenes, the occasional bloody fight and tortured yet strong alpha males who become kittens once they meet their prospective mates then you might like this too.

The premise for Gena Showalter's world is quite elaborate. Centuries ago a group of immortal warriors released the demons from Pandora's Box. (Yes the Pandora's Box) As punishment the Greek gods cursed the warriors, forcing each to act as host to one of the demons, sort of like a duo personality. Maddox, this books hero is the keeper of violence and because he was unable to control his demon in the beginning and killed Pandora. (Yes the Pandora) Maddox was additionally cursed to die each night at the hands of his fellow warriors, burning in the pits of hell until morning (which can`t be fun) The Lords of the underworld now live in a secluded castle in Budapest, each struggling to coexist with their own personal demon. The other warriors possess things like disease, wrath, death, pain, doubt, promiscuity, lies, and disaster, all of whom getting their own book as the series progresses.

Our heroine here is Ashlyn Darrow. She works for the World institute of Parapsychology and has come to Budapest with her team to investigate the warriors. Poor Ashlyn has a curse of her, born with the ability to hear any conversation that has ever taken place in the location where she is standing. These voices in her head have ruined her life and she'd do anything for a moment's silence. Maddox finds Ashlyn in the woods outside the castle and even though he thinks she's `bait' sent by the `hunters' (bad guys) he is instantly drawn to her. For Ashlyn it's a miracle, because even though she finds this violent and bloody (he's just killed some hunters) man terrifying the voices have stopped. Now she can't bear to be separated from him and Maddox can't help himself either (they never can) carrying her back to the castle and into his chambers. Of course he's going to have to explain himself to the other men, if he can leave Ashlyn's side long enough and what happens at midnight when his friends have to kill him? That's sure to put a damper on the ole love life.

The premise for this series is original and exciting and I will definitely be continuing on, despite the fact at times I was overwhelmed by Greek Mythology and couldn't keep track of who was who and cursed with which demon. I also had trouble with Ashlyn and found her to be written too young and virginal to ever handle a man like Maddox (maybe I was just jealous though?)