Jeri Smith-Ready Wicked Game

Book 1 in the WVMP Radio series

Sometimes you don’t discover a series until there are a couple of books out already, then you get the wonderful pleasure of reading them back to back.  This is the first book in the series and I decided to review this one for those who haven’t found the series yet.

I am not a mega vampire fan, I actually prefer shape-shifter stories but I liked this story because the vampires aren’t your typical vampires, and the main female character is actually a con artist trying to go straight.  So why aren’t the vampires your typical vamps? Becuase when they are turned they get stuck in the decade they died in, they then find it very difficult to live in the modern world, in fact they average only about 70 years after their death because they just can’t cope with life Now.  Whilst they are your usual amoral, don’t give a damn blood suckers, this twist also gives them a vulnerability that you often don’t get in vampire books.  Without the radio station that they work for these vampires would just fade away in their own little past world and die.  I also absolutely love the way they have obsessive compulsive tendencies as a result of being turned and trying to live in the present.  I also found the way Ms Ready-Smith explained this to be very insightful and very well written.

The story centres around Ciara, a con woman going straight who manages to get an intern job at a local independent radio station, only to discover the night DJ’s are in fact vampires.  Ciara finds out the hard way what they are, when Shane the youngest of the DJ’s bites her.  After refusing to work for them but getting sucked in by circumstances Ciara comes up with a plan to save the failing station…tell everyone tongue in cheek that the Dj’s are Vampires!  The ploy works with some unforeseen consequences.

I enjoyed the novelty of vampires with OCD, but I also enjoyed how Ms Smith-Ready managed to keep the story moving forward in a a manner that wasn’t too dark and heavy and yet tackled some pretty deep things, such as why the vamps have OCD, why they are stuck in the past and why Ciara is the way she is.  There were some very profound moments in the book for me but without feeling that its heavy or out of place, in fact just the opposite as the book was very much fun to read. 

There is a wonderful balance of humour, compassion, action and  romance to make the book not only great but interesting.  Its a unique take on vampires that I found thoroughly enjoyable, so if you’re like me and want your vamps to be something other than smoldering sex machines pick this book up, you just might enjoy it, I know I certainly did.

I’m now off to read the second book, Bad to the Bone cos the idea of a vampire dog really does intrigue me!

Tazallie

P.S. Stop by the authors site for some great short stories about the DJ’s  http://www.jerismithready.com/

1. Wicked Game
2. Bad to the Bone

Sharon Ashwood – Ravenous

Book 1 in the Dark Forgotten Series

This is a wonderful new series that promises to be one to watch out for.  The book centers around Holly Carver, a witch from a long line of powerful witches, only Holly has a slight problem she can’t perform Big-M magic without series consequences.  Normally this isn’t a problem as magic is just a way to pay the bills, not something life or death, but something strange is happening in Fairview and it is up to Holly and her vampire partner and friend Alessandro to stop the demon on the rampage in this quiet college town .

From the start this story catches you in its thrall, raising your heart rate and blood pressure, alternately through on the edge of your seat action and through the tenderness displayed by Alessandro.  Whilst this is a vampire story it feels different, perhaps it is Alessandro’s old word charm or Holly’s almost naivete but this book felt like a new voice in the urban fantasy/paranormal genre.  Holly isn’t your typical kick ass heroine with no friends or family, she’s a normal woman hoping to go to college to further her business and live happily ever after with her college professor boyfriend.  Alessandro isn’t your typical dark brooding vampire even though he is dark and brooding, there is something old world about him a chivalry that is seldom seen or portrayed so well.  This book is akin to a classic horror tale but with a modern bite to it. 

The support characters were equally well written and whilst the next book is about Mac I can’t help hoping that Perry and even Queen Omara will have their stories told.  Ms Ashwood’s world building was good and lays down a strong foundation for future stories, however I have to admit that I had to go and check that I hadn’t missed a book in the series. There appeared to be an assumption in the begining that we should have already known Holly’s background  and the world she lives in (although it did get explained later on in the book).  Whilst this was annoying at first I can forgive Ms Ashwood for the simple fact that I did not see the sting at the end, and that is something incredibly rare for me…I have usually figured out who did it, where, when and why very early on in a book!

I eagerly look forward to Mac’s story and hope that it can contine to deliver what this one has promised!

Tazallie

1. Ravenous
2. Scorched (Dec 2009)

Rachel Vincent – Prey

Book 4 in the Faythe Sanders (Were-Cats) Series

Before I start I just want to say two things:

Firstly that this series is just getting better and better and secondly that I feel Ms Vincent must surely have a sadistic streak as wide as her talent and as her talent is huge that’s saying something!

Over the past books we have watched Faythe get herself in and out of many situations, some of which are of her own making.  But in this book we see Faythe grow into the leader that her father always hoped she would be.

We join Faythe and the South Central Pride as they are taking Manx to face the tribunal and her trial.  For Faythe this means that she is finally going to get to see Marc for the first time since his banishment because of  her own trial.  But as you may well imagine things are never as easy as Faythe may want and this time is no exception.   After Faythe returns home she hears that Marc has been kidnapped by a group of strays and so she heads off in search of him, but things are taking a turn for the worst at home with the council vote and soon her loyalties are divided between saving the man she loves and her responsibilities to others at home.

What I truly enjoyed about this book was the way that Faythe is maturing and turning into the woman that her father and Marc always believed she could one day become.  Ms Vincent has allowed her character to slowly mature through painful mistakes and difficult choices.  Over the books we have watched Faythe grow from this almost spoiled bitch/princess to the woman she is in this book, a woman that you can respect and admire but one who still makes mistakes and who doesn’t have all the answers.  A woman who has had to come to terms with the fact that her actions past and present have hurt a lot of people, including her lover and her father.

Not only that though but we see a real depth to secondary characters, characters that other writers may have missed.  Ms Vincent first introduced us to Faythe’s mother as Faythe saw her…a stay at home Tabby who was a quintessential housewife but who we now know is the steel back bone of her family and more than capable of defending her children…with claws if necessary.  Then there is Faythe’s father, the tyrannical Alpha who isn’t such a tyrant but rather a father and leader who sees something in his daughter that she hadn’t yet seen in herself.   Then there is Jace, I’m not going to say anything more about him because in this book we see a real change in him, one that I’m not sure will be for the better but that I am pretty sure will make for an interesting read.

The whole Pride storyline in the series is building with a fantastic tension that I didn’t see coming in the first two books but that is keeping me gripped and desperate for more.  Its an intricately woven story that is only being revealed slowly, almost like looking at a tapestry close up..we start by only being able to see Faythe then we take a step back and can see her family, take another step back and we see the how the family fits in with the other Prides.  I am eagerly awaiting to see what is reveled in the next step of this expanding world and story.

And that is where Ms Vincent is sadistic…how can she keep drawing me in, making me stay up till 4 am to finish the book and leave it with another major cliff hanger and not just on one, but on a number of levels!  Its just too cruel, to evil, to sadistic… but its a brilliant glimpse of the storyline to come!

Tazallie

1. Stray
2. Rogue
3. Pride
4. Prey

July 2009 New Release list

England is basking in glorious sunshine, so what better time to pick up a tall glass of something cool and fun and relax in the garden, or at the beach or the park or inside where its cool with a good book!

I may not be able to forecast the weather over the next month but I can forecast some fantastic books coming out this month.

• Prey – Rachel Vincent – 1st July
• City of Souls – Vicki Pettersson – 1st July
• Skinwalker – Faith Hunter – 7th July
• Black Hills – Nora Roberts -7th July
• Burn – Linda Howard – 7th July
• Finger Linkin Fifteen – Janet Evanovich – 7th July
• Dragons Prefer Blonde’s – Candace Havens – 7th July
• Destined for an Early Grave – Jeaniene Frost – 28th July
• Hot Pursuit – Suzanne Brockmann – 28th July
• Leader of the Pack – Karen Macinerney – 28th July
• Speak of the Devil – Jenna Black – 28th July
• Promises in Death – J D Robb- 28th July

So pick up a drink with an umbrella in it and sit back and enjoy the books of July!

Tazallie

Maya Banks – Sweet Persuasion

Book 2 in the Sweet series

Maya Banks is a consummate storyteller of erotic romance, in fact in my opinion I have yet to find anyone who surpasses her.  Her characters are well developed, intelligent and engaging, and her stories are incredibly hot yet incredibly tender too.

This book brings us Damon’s story, a character first introduced in Sweet Surrender.  Serena is the owner of fantasy incorporated, a business that allows people to live out their dreams.  She decides its time to live out her own sexual fantasy of being a sex slave and approaches Damon, the owner of The House, an exclusive BDSM club.

Serena embarks on a journey of sexual discovery with Damon, one that takes her to the edge of her fantasy and beyond.  But what happens when fantasy and reality begin to blur? What happens when you realise that your fantasy isn’t just a fantasy but a way of life?

This book explores the relationship between a strong woman who wishes to be completely submissive to her lover and a man who is strong in his desire to dominate, but with a tenderness that shows true strength of character. 

Ms Banks writes with a passion that is exquisite and intensely erotic, the Dominace/submision scenes are edgy, exciting and leaning toward the extreme so are not for the feint hearted. However they are done with an amazing combination of passion, tenderness and respect that is not only amazing to read but has the ability to make you think about pre-conceived ideas of what it means to be submissive or dominant, and the difference between reality and fantasy.

This book took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions from the erotic to tears with everything in between.  And it made me want my own Damon!  I can’ t wait for the next books - Sweet Seduction that will give Nathan & Julie their story and Sweet Temptation that will tell Micah’s.

Tazallie

Sweet Series

1. Sweet Surrender
2. Sweet Persuasion
3. Sweet Seduction (Oct 2009)
4. Sweet Temptation (Apr 2010)

June 2009 – New Release List

Well another month has sped by and summer is upon us…and it looks like there is lots of great summer reading coming out soon! 

So here’s my top picks this month, and with any luck I will be able to read some of them sitting in the garden enjoying the sunshine (although I will keep my brolly handy just in case!)

• Cry Mercy – Toni Andrews – 1st June
• 6 Killer Bodies – Stephanie Bond – 1st June
• Secrets She Left Behind – Diane Chamberlain – 1st June
• Caitlin Kitteridge – Street Magic – 2nd June
• Undead & Unwelcome – Mary Janice Davidson – 2nd June
• Charmed & Dangerous – Toni McGee Causey – 2nd June
• Red Kiss – Deidre Knight – 2nd June
• Sweet Persuasion – Maya Banks – 2nd June
• Eve of Destruction – S J Day 2nd June
• Demons not Included – Chyenne McCray 2nd June
• Hidden Currants – Christine Feehan – 30th June
• Dying Bites – D D Barant – 30th June

Happy reading

Tazallie

Michele Bardsley – Over My Dead Body

Book 5 in the Broken Heart Series

This book is perfect chic-lit vampire fare, it fun, its sassy and its short…well not to short but it feels like it, cos you just whizz through it in a single sitting (or at least I did).

The Series is about a small town in rural Oklahoma that has a high rate of single parents, and in one night 11 of those parents are turned into vampires.  From this we meet the consortium who is setting up base in the now deserted town of broken heart, the consortium being a group of vampires, lycans, sidthe and an assortment of other para’s who want to live in peace with each other and the human world.

Each book tells the story of one of the single parents, and this time its Simone Sweet’s turn.  Simone is the mechanic in broken heart, but she has some deep dark secrets that are about to come back to haunt her.  But hopefully the new man in her life, Brady, will be there to help her through the life and death choices she faces.

As I said earlier, this book is short and sassy, its perfect reading for an easy afternoon when you just want to chill out and have some fun.  Its not laugh out loud funny, or even chuckle to yourself but its well laced with humour, sarcasm and wit.  As well as hot bods, chocolate induced near orgasm’s and nasty villains. 

Some of the books in this series have been better than others, and this one is one of the best so far.  The books are far from engrossing reads but then they aren’t supposed to be, they are light hearted reads that are for fun.  The characters are great to read but have little heavy substance to them, even if they do have emotional back stories.  But again they don’t need to, the fun and chaos that makes these books great would be lost from the series if they were weighted down with too much back story, or too much angst waiting to be resolved.

The real beauty of these books is that they are pure light hearted escapism at its best, they arent looking to be anything other than what they are…and that is a fun read on a lazy day.

If your new to this series you could pick this book up cold and read it without benefit of having read the others, as Ms Bardsley does a wonderful job of explaining all the characters, without boring those who have read the other stories.  However to really enjoy the book I would recommend you read the others first, and they are worth a read!

Tazallie

1. I’m The Vampire That’s Why
2. Don’t Talk Back To Your Vampire
3. Because Your Vampire Said So
4. Wait Till Your Vampire Gets Home
5. Over My Dead Body

Christine Feehan – Burning Wild

Book 3 in the Leopard People series

I haven’t read the other two stories is this series because they just never appealed to me.  Whilst this is book three it is also very much a book that can stand alone.  I certainly don’t feel that I have missed anything from not having read the others in the series, Ms Feehan has done a wonderful job of explaining the world of the leopard people and more importantly, Jake’s world.

The first part of the book focuses on Jake Bannaconi and the abuse he suffered at the hands of his parents, parents who had bred him as an nothing more than an experiment.  They thought they had failed, little realising that the child they despised was everything they wanted him to be…a full shifter, a leopard.  Jake has no concept of love, his childhood didn’t allow it in any way, shape or form and he has now dedicated his adult life to destroying his enemies…his parents.

However Jake’s life is about to change when Emily enters it, a young woman whose husband was killed in the same accident that kills the mother of Jake’s  unborn child.  Jake decides that she is just who he needs to raise his new son and sets out to trap her in his life.

I’m not going to go any further into the plot here as it has the potential to spoil it for some, but this story kept me turning the page late into the night.  This is a story of a wounded hero who doesn’t think he is wounded and doesn’t think he is any kind of hero and a woman who can see far beneath the rough exterior of the man she loves. 

Ms Feehan has done a wonderful job of showing a man changing step by step, day by day, having his life changed without him even realising it.  I loved Jake, he had, to me, an innocence that was at odds with the fact that he was a manipulative SOB and yet it rang true, explained very well in the first part of the book.

When you add the action to the emotional reactions of the characters you really do get a fantastic reading experience, one that I won’t hesitate to say surprised me…I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book nearly as much as I did.  Don’t get me wrong there were bits of it that had me shaking my head wondering what on earth the characters were doing, but they in no way detracted from the whole of the book, in fact we often look at people and wonder what on earth they are doing!

I doubt I will ever go back to read the other books as they in no way impacted on this one but I do know who I want the next book to be about, but I shall just have to wait and see if I get my wish!

Tazallie

1. The Awakening (in Fantasy)
2. Wild Rain
3. Burning Wild

Charlaine Harris – Dead and Gone

Book 9 in the Sookie Stackhouse Series

The first time I came across this author was at a book remainders fair, I was new to the book selling industry and had gone with my sister (and boss) to have a look and find some new suppliers.  The first two books in this series was on display on one of the tables.  We ordered them and as soon as they came in I confiscated them (luckily we had three copies of each).  I have read each one with the same enjoyment as those first two, way back when.

In this book Sookie has to deal with a faerie war, her feelings for Eric (who she finds herself  ‘bonded’ to, her sister-in-laws death and the revealing to the world of the were’s.  Just another week in the crazy world of Sookie.

However I cannot say that this  book was as enjoyable as the others have been, and that some of the character development felt well… wrong.  The story was overall good but the first part of the book just felt not finished almost.  The characters rushed in, almost on cameo then rushed back out leaving me with a sense of confusion.  I am struggling to put my finger on what was really wrong with the book but it just didn’t feel right to me.  I cant help wondering if there are just too many characters to fit in the book, and too many past actions being explained again, resulting in no one really getting any meaningful page time.

An example of this is the sudden appearance of Quinn and his equally sudden disappearance.  The Quinn of old wouldn’t have just left without the answers he had come to find, especially as Sookie was injured, even if Bill did beat him up.

What I did love though was the introspection of Sookie towards the end, and the way that she couldn’t deal with everything all the while, it made her so much more human.  I especially enjoyed the realisation from Sookie that she will never be the same again.  With everything she has gone through I would hate it if she remained unchanged.  It was also a pleasant change from some books in this genre in that the violence wasn’t graphic, but instead left to the readers imagination, and believe me I have a scary imagination!  The ending of this book was without a doubt its redeeming quality, it was very well written, and left me wanting to know that Sookie will be OK, well, as OK as Sookie ever will be.

I did enjoy this book, but it isn’t on any top lists of mine, but on the other hand it hasn’t spoilt my enjoyment of the series, so its still worth reading, just don’t expect too much from it!

Tazallie

Sookie Stackhouse Series

1. Dead Until Dark
2. Living Dead in Dallas
3. Club Dead
4. Dead to the World
5. Dead as a Doornail
6. Definitely Dead
7. All Together Dead
8. From Dead to Worse
9. Dead and Gone
10. Cruel and Unusual (November 2009)

Fun Poll Added

You may (or may not) have noticed that I have added a fun poll on the sidebar.  I will run a new poll regularly, just as a bit of fun but also so that I can get a feel for what you guys are all looking for or want to read reviews on. 

So dont forget to vote when you visit!

Tazallie