Archive for the ‘My Book Reviews’ Category

I finished this book this morning and it took me many stops and starts before I could finally complete it. It was an interesting read, and the end did succeed in ultimately capturing my attention, but I’ll admit, it took some work. The story is eloquently worded, replete with symbolism, and no detail, no matter how small, was left out. While the writing style enriches the tale and gives it depth, I found it could also be distracting.

While I have come away with my own understanding of the story, I wonder if it even remotely comes close to what the author was trying to convey. I appreciated the possibilities presented by the author, however, the complex story is confounded with both scientific and mystical reasoning.   I found myself re-reading sections to confirm that I was grasping the situation at hand, and just when I’d get into the flow of the storytelling, it would change and I would once again, be distracted by the imagery detailed so vividly.

The story is told through the perspective of two people.

Dominic is a neuroscientist plagued by past-life memories. By mystical standards, he is considered a “Reborn” (reincarnated). He disagrees and is desperate to rid himself of these memories once and for all. He is determined to prove that such memories, and delusions of being “otherworldly” (such as self proclamations that one is a vampire, fallen angel, etc..) are the result of childhood traumatic events, or brain “glitches”. He is funded by a rich socialite that is in fear for her god-daughter’s future (her god-daughter believes herself to be a vampire).

“My foundation supports innovation,” Ms. Wright said. “Your lecture today suggested the possibility of a psychiatric cosmetic surgery. If I understood correctly – and you may correct me if I did not” – Dominic nodded polite assent – “you’re postulating a technology to identify the locations of specific thoughts or memories, with the ultimate goal of disrupting only those targeted neurons to functionally erase the memory.”

He furthers his studies in a remote “hotel” in Ireland that caters to those that consider themselves “damned”.

In the midst of many intriguing “damned ones”, Dominic meets Olivia. She is apparently a fallen angel of desire, and considers herself a “vampire”. Reading the tale through her eyes, there is no doubt that she is a vampire. She hunts, feeds on blood, and live amongst others of her kind. She doesn’t feel emotions except when she is feeding off of humans. She is intent on finding love, and thinks that there might be a “loophole” in her condition if she is loved unconditionally (meaning that her lover would also have to accept her as a vampire).

If I can show him everything I am – wingscars and quills – and he can stay fallen with his fallen angel, then I might finally be free. But I’ve screwed this up every time since the fall of man. I must watch my step.

Each deeply committed relationship has failed when she has broached the “vampire” or “fallen angel” subject.

Shout yourself hoarse calling for your angel, but don’t lift your eyes to see.

Dejected, she returns to the “Hotel of the Damned” ready to accept her fate.

However, everything changes for them both, once they find each other. While they at first butt heads…

I turn to him. He looks like a warrior – proud, beautiful, powerfully built, straight and hard. I could break him for fun. “No man serves a god for its own sake, only what it might do for him,” I tell him. “You serve science with a zealot’s prayer for your own salvation.”

…they develop a friendship, that of which they had never before experienced. A sweet and funny moment that made me giggle, and eased the intensity of their communion. As they converse in a field of cows, together, getting to know one another:

“Olivia,” he reaches for my hand, but finds the apple. He takes it and throws it hard away from us. I turn to watch it fly. It tumbles up into the night and lands precisely between the eyes of a cow. I gasp, but the cow does not move.

“What will it do?” I whisper.

“It’s thinking,” he whispers back, an infuriating smile staining his warm voice. “‘It’s thinking ‘Ow! What happened?’” I stifle a giggle at his witless cow voice. The creature bends its head and snuffs the grass. “Now it’s thinking ‘Can I eat that?’” The beast raises its ghostly head, chewing.

“What’s it thinking now?”

“Nothing. It’s eating.”

“Does it know what hit it?”

“It’s forgotten.”

However, the question remains. Is she really a vampire, and are they they part of the “Damned Ones” or does science prevail? Is it all in their head?

“We are all broken, Dominic, all of us – cursed, or damned. Our fragile minds cannot span the paradox. We wish to stand out and fit in, to be unique but not alone, one with God and still ourselves.”

“I don’t believe in curses, Gaehod. Or God. I believe in reality.”

“Reality is only half the story.”

Honestly, after examining my own perception of the story, I realize that is not even the most important part. There is much more to explore, and really, perhaps a formal “discussion” of this book would unearth much more, through the contributions of each reader’s perspective. Yes…a book club situation would be great for this

It was beautiful, complicated, deep and perplexing. I almost felt as if the author had perhaps “tapped” into one of those monumental life awakening moments (you know, perhaps in a dream, she had an epiphany, and it just “clicked” for her), and was trying  to convey it to us through this narration. This one will require your complete focus and dedication but will reward you with intricately written tale of self doubt, self discovery and the most profound of powers; love.

People…I have an announcement to make. There’s a new vampire in my life (and possibly my favorite). Yes, I know, I am fickle, but I just couldn’t choose before.  Well, this book made it easy for me Zane’s the man! He’s all bad boy, with some “good” that keeps peeping through. And those fallen angel wings of his…mmmm…yup, I’ve discovered that I especially like my paranormal men with a few “added” features. Horns, fangs, wings…it’s all good!

But wait, there’s more…the added touch that makes this series extra special. There’s another fallen angel in the mix (and he’s actually the first one I got attached to in this book). Noah, all good boy, all righteous, and beautiful like an angel should be. But fallen, nonetheless (his crime? He simply fell in love with a human female way back when…) Sidenote: That’s “Noah” on the left (see Zane at the end of this post)…

You see, in this series, that’s what makes a fallen angel (also known as a “Serim”). The chosen ones in Heaven that make the mistake of coveting a human, are simply cast out of heaven (immortal, but cursed, and without their wings). Their punishment? To be obliged to satiate their sexual needs (and that of their partner) once a month, during the full moon. Not so bad right?

But it is bad. While the fallen ones struggle to get back into heaven, their lack of wings, and falling from God’s grace has them emotionally distraught, never feeling whole, as they once were. And that is what leads some to make a (twisted) deal with the Devil. Yes, they get their wings back…(blackened), but the curse extends to needing to feed on blood regularly.

I shook my head. “So Noah’s been cast out of Heaven?”

“Him and a few thousand other guys, yeah. Gabriel and the rest that stayed behind were really angry, too, so they cursed the Serim. Since they were so hot for female flesh, they were cursed to crave it and to indulge themselves every full moon. Not so bad, you would think – but then the Archangels went and killed all their women and they were left with nothing. It’s a sad story really. Some of the Serim turned to evil as a result, and that’s why we have vampires. They wanted their wings back, no matter the cost. Lucifer was willing to give them wings, but they had to sell their souls. At least that’s the rumor. All you need to remember is that the Serim can only go out in the daytime, and the vamps can only go out at night. That’s what happens when you mess with the big guns.”

Once they have fallen to that level, they’re all bad, right? I mean, to make a deal with the Devil, there could be no turning back from that. However, Zane, the ultimate bad boy, angry, tortured, and seemingly uncaring, is essentially, still an angel, nonetheless.

He shook his head and the stubble on his chin scraped against my hand. “Why do you distrust me so much, Jackie? Why is it you trust me so little and trust Noah so much?”

“Gee I don’t know,” I said. “Could it be the fact that one of your kind attacked me in a bar and sent me down the path that I’m on right now?”

“I see.” His voice sounded sad, so unlike the urbane, devil-may-care Zane I knew. “Perhaps someday you will learn to trust me.”

And I HEART him. It’s like the author plucked him right out of my head! LOL! Wait wait!! I heart Noah too….this is really complicated (but so deliciously fun!!)

Okay so enough with the sappy mooning, and onto the story, cause you know what? The heroine (Jackie) is awesome too. Totally someone any of us can relate to. An average girl with an average life, who somehow gets mixed up in this underworld. Why exactly? I don’t know yet, but I’m sure someone “fallen”, had a plan, somewhere…

But anyway, one night, she was bitten (and almost drained) by a vampire, and then in her post-bite throes of lust, seeks out a hottie at a local bar (that just happens to be Noah, the fallen angel, only too happy to oblige).

The next thing you know, she’s rising from the dead (in a dumpster, no-less), morphing into a sex-kitten, with barely a memory of that fateful night of debauchery.

He leaned back and his hand went to his thick blonde hair, ruffling it. “Well, ah. We met at the hotel bar. You’d been there all night from the look of things and I offered to call you a cab. The next thing I knew, you were climbing into my lap. I took it as an invitation – a very nice one if I do say so.” He looked over at me, and I could have sworn his eyes had a hint of blue to them. “You can do really amazing things with your mouth.”

I spat coffee all over the table. Good lord, that didn’t sound like me at all.

She’s becoming a succubus (cause that’s what normal people do after a wild night of vampire bites and angel sex). A little bad, combined with a little good, and *poof* you get the perfect mix of both beings! Maker one (fallen angel) requires once-a-month sex to ease his hunger, maker two (fallen angel now vampire) requires daily blood to ease his hunger, and the result is a female that needs sex every two days.

So the book takes us on a wild romp of Jackie’s new life, self re-discovery, and forced partnerships that eventually evolve into relationships. She makes a crazy new best friend “Remy” (who is the only other succubus in NY), that started off as a mentor. However, she has quickly attached herself to Jackie’s hip, thrilled that she finally has someone just like her, after 400 years of being alone. Then there’s Noah, feeling guilty for having “secured” her transition into a Succubus by having sex with her right after the vamp bite (but hey, he didn’t know, and what’s a boy to do when a lusty girl climbs into his lap like that?)

So he follows through with the only thing he can do. Being one of her “masters” (or “makers”), he makes himself available to ease her into her new world, teach her about the ins and outs of succubus-ary and of course, has sex with her at her every whim (I mean, come, he at least owes her that!)

“Jackie,” he warned, his lips brushing against my palm.

“Yes?” my voice sounded more like a moan.

“If your body needs release ” – Noah brought my fingertips to his lips – “I want to be the one you come to. Understand?”

Unfortunately, her inexperience with the “others” in the underworld, lands them all in a whole load of trouble when she makes a deal with another angel. In turn, this forces her to make yet another deal with the most evil of evil, the Queen of vampires (you’ll see how that comes about).

“I’m not working for Gabriel,” I protested, my words sounding weak.

“No? Then who?”

Ashamed at the compulsion I felt to respond to her words, I dropped my gaze to the floor. “Uriel”

Her low chuckle made my skin crawl. “Just as well. He’s been fascinated with our doings for centuries. I just never thought he’d find somebody foolish enough to do his dirty work.”

Yay me for being the biggest fool in millennia.

Basically, both sides want her to retrieve the halo of one of the first fallen angels. Having that halo would allow them to take on his powers, but of course, using them for objectionable plans (neither outcome is very good). Really, she has no choice but to follow through, as they hold a few things near and dear to her over her head (why..like Noah, for instance), and the only way to get him back is to hand over the halo.

Why her, I wondered? I reasoned the obvious – it was because she made the deals, and now had to own up to them, and of course, being a succubus, she had access to both the “dark” and “light” side, but I started to panic in her place! I mean, how does one even find a halo anyway? Can a halo even be held? And how can someone who was a just mere human a few days ago find anything so important and divine?

Who knew? But it was great fun finding out! Luckily, she wasn’t alone. While Noah was no longer at her disposal (being forcibly held and all – his sacrifice simply reinforcing my crush on him), the vampire Queen was gracious enough to give her “Zane” one of her head vampires to help her on her journey (and of course, Remy, her sex-crazed best friend was in tow to make the jaunt that much more complicated).

One of my favorite moments:

“I hope you can look past my nature to see the real me someday, Jackie.” His finger traced my jaw line softly.

I kinda liked the Zane I’d seen so far, despite my first impressions. I leaned into his touch sleepily, my thoughts becoming disjointed. “You’re not like the other vampires.”

“No, I’m not.”

So I’m ending it there. The book’s great! It just is, and now, I want to get on with book#2. Bad stuff’’s already happening again, and it was a real struggle putting it down. It’s calling me…I hear it!

By the way…meet Zane——->

Ok, so I’ve been enchanted with the cover of book #1 at my local Walmart for quite some time now…and WOW! This series (well, it’s only two books right now) is amazing. Funny, exciting, and HOT (I mean, it’s even built on a love triangle – how much better could it get?!)

Oh and the book covers….YES!!!!

An excerpt from the author’s website:

After a one-night stand with a fallen angel and a bite from a vampire, forgettable Jackie Brighton has been changed into a succubus.

• Gentlemen Prefer Succubi (Succubus Diaries)
• Succubi Like It Hot (The Succubus Diaries)
• My Fair Succubi (expected release date: Dec 28th 2010)

<——- Woooohooo *hot*! Book six in the series takes us on a journey through Rydstrom Woede’s struggle to get his crown back (he’s a Demon King…or was…), and the one woman who intends to derail his plans.

This story takes place at exactly the same time as Cadeon and Holly’s did. While those two travelled together to retrieve a special sword, Rydstrom was tricked and being held captive by a beautiful, but evil, witch (woops – excuse me…that should be “Sorceress”…they’re different… I don’t know… ).

Sabine is in cahoots with the very demon that stole Rydstrom’s crown, and while she knows she is his true mate, she doesn’t intend on letting their feelings get in the way of her goals.

So pretty much, you can imagine how this one goes. Two very focused, goal-oriented “go-getters”, that are hotter than hell (literally). Both (one good, one evil) with the intention of ruling, trying to overcome and resist this pesky “attraction”. Lots o’ trickery going on here! But they keep tripping up over their own “li’ol schemes” (<— I’m sayin’ it with an british accent) as they keep taking turns kidnapping each other!

“…how do I know you haven’t given me some potion to make me feel drawn to you? You could deceive me into thinking you’re mine.”

She released him, going up on her knees, then leaned forward until their faces were inches apart. “Look into my eyes, Rydstrom. See me clearly. You know it’s me.”

The book is fun. The steamy scenes are scalding hot…

To reward him, she ran her lips over his horn. His massive body shuddered beneath her, rattling the chains.

(Yeah you know I had to get a demon “horn” scene in…) *blush*  
Even my husband asked me if I got any “horn action” in this one…wait!?? Did I actually mention the horns to my husband? Woops!! lol!! Ahhh well…at least he’s a good sport

And yes, you read that right. He rattled his “chains”. This one’s a little less flowers and romance and a little more mmmmmm…let’s say….BDSM-ish? Ok well, not hard core or anything, but he’s pretty insistent that she call him master! tee hee!!

…and the adventure gets pretty exciting at times. Unfortunately, I didn’t connect to this couple as intensely as I did to Cadeon and Holly (it’s kinda hard to like a conniving witch), and while there were many memorable scenes, this book was not my favorite in the series. There’s an interesting part in the book that reminded me of a strange “Stargate” style episode…you know when O’Neill and Carter end up in a medieval style world…It’s still cool,  but the feel of the story “shifts” a bit.

All in all, read it! It is a well rounded. There are interesting character backgrounds, lots of action, twists and turns, secrets and turmoil, interesting powers, and something even more powerful than magic, the power of family. And of course…Rydstrom’s sex appeal is certainly worth exploring…

His sexy side…

“So this is what my demon likes.”

Sabine found herself secretly flattered by this. Of all the fantasies a male could have – multiple women and men, fetishes or even deviancies – his dreams were centered only on her. Only her.

His possessive side…

“And Sabine, I can wait as long as it takes. You will lose if you match swords with me in a battle of wills.”

“As long as it takes? Exactly how long are you planning to keep me? When will you release me?”

He gave her a strange expression-part possessive, part aggressive. His eyes turned sharply from green to jet-black. “I won’t.”

Ok I couldn’t resist some more possessive:

He ran his lips over her ear, nuzzling it as he said, “I’ve waited a long time for my female. Fifteen centuries I’ve gone without her.” He gently ran his horns against her neck. “Without you. No longer.”

Oh and I found another totally hot “Rydstrom being possessive” part..what’s with me today?

He rubbed his face against hers, inhaling her scent.

“I’ve never felt things like this, and I want more,” he growled at her ear. “You are my obsession, Sabine. I’ve heard every male has one in his life. And you are mine.”

and finally, last but not least, his protective side…

And each night, he still held her tightly in bed. Because she was sleeping five or six hours a night, she had multiple nightmares. Whenever she woke, he was there tenderly stroking her hair.

Last night, he’d rasped, “Shh, baby. I’ve got you.”

That made her toes curl every time she recalled it.

*sigh*

The demons in this series are quite something. Some of the hottest scenes are contained in the Woede brothers books. Hot I tell you! We were teased with promises of potential “horn licking”  (don’t look at me like that, you know you’re curious)! But teasing aside, this demon’s horns only got a little *rub* here and there…LOL!

Okay so we know Cadeon Woede to be the “black sheep” of the rage demon duo (Cade and Rydstrom). Cade managed to lose Rydstrom’s crown (Rydstrom was king) in a past battle, and is forever trying to make up for it.

“If you train me, I won’t stop until I have his head,” he vowed. “And once I do, I’ll pluck your crown from it and return it to you.”

Offered an opportunity to retrieve a sword that will kill the current king, Cade accepts the job, and sets out to find the female “Vessel” that he must trade for the sword. What is a Vessel you might ask? It is a rare female that comes around, ohh….every few hundred (or more?) years. Basically she will bring an immortal warrior into the world, and depending on who impregnates her, the warrior will be good or evil.

Cade quickly realizes that the human female that he has always believed to be his mate (Holly Ashwin), is the “Vessel” that he is required to hand over. While in the past, he has never acted upon his need to “attempt” Holly (human’s cannot survive a demon’s “way” of binding a relationship – uhhh yah you get the picture ), he realizes that Holly is part Valkyrie and quickly changing into her immortal status.

Just hours ago, she’d been living as a normal human – or near normal with some eccentricities. Now she had become something he never could have predicted. A Valkyrie. Or half one. he hadn’t know she’d possessed this latent potential. The shock of the ritual must have triggered the transformation.

Holly is freaked out! Here she is, a content, incredibly intelligent math genius, in a stable (unsexual – she’s still a virgin) relationship with only a “few” small quirks (her main one is that she suffers from an obsessive compulsive disorder – you know the typical germ issues, counting issues, re-arranging the furniture issues…).

One evening, she is kidnapped, stripped naked and tied down to an alter (all sacrifice-like), and about to be “taken”. While she has no idea that she has ties to the “immortal” world, or even what a “Valkyrie” is, because of her incredible fear, her Valkyrie powers and physical changes manifest themselves. Cade steps in just in time, and rescues her.

Cadeon hurdled the line of bullets to get to her. Scooping  her up in his arms, he tucked her against his chest. Just as shots reached them, he pressed her against the wall until his body covered every inch of hers.

He gritted his teeth when the first bullet hit him, unable to turn to run without risking her, She burst into tears. Two bullets, three, four…

He stared down at her, those jet eyes seeming to consume her, and grated, “No more…running from me. Yeah?”

“Y-yeah,” she whispered brokenly, crying harder every time his big body jerked from the impact.

Over his shoulder, he roared at them, a furious warning growl, and she whimpered. His voice a harsh rasp, he said to her, “No, no female. Shh.” He petted at her tears with huge fingers tipped with short black claws.

Cade is really suffering now. Here he is, next to the mate that he has been waiting for all his life, protecting her as he is naturally meant to do. He can even officially “attempt” her now, since she is strong enough for him (due to her unexpected immortal status). However, he has a terrible choice to make.

She equaled the crown he’d worked for nine hundred years to reclaim – the unyielding pursuit that had given him a reason to go on living.

Never had it been so close…

All he had to do was use and betray the woman he’d waited just as long to possess.

He either hands her over to potential evil in trade for the sword (to redeem himself in his brother’s eyes), or he once again renigs his responsibilities, and runs away with her for good to live in love for the remainder of forever.

This book is hilarious, exciting, anguished and extremely satisfying. I didn’t want to put it down. There’s a funny bar scene, Nix is her usual crazy and charming self, and the Valkyrie are on their game! 

Holly is as sweet as can be, and her OCD just adds to the funny in the book.  

He pulled a bottle of water from the space behind her seat, handing it to her. My favorite brand.

“Thanks.” She carefully twisted the cap, determined not to touch -

Crap! She’d touched the bottle rim. With a sigh, she put the cap back on and placed the bottle at her feet.

“Something wrong with the water?”

She debated not answering, but figured he’d encounter all her quirks over the next couple of weeks anyway – the eating difficulties, the germophobia, the endless arranging.

“I touched the rim.” She put her chin up. “There was transference. I can’t drink it now.”

On a long road trip together, both have many lessons to learn, and ideals to overcome (or at least re-evaluate). Cade proves himself to be loyal and gentle, protective and fierce and deliciously cunning. Sarcastically witty, he will have you both grinning and blushing at the same time:

“”You’re not going to distract me from this. We had a deal.”

“Maybe under duress. Did you ever think that I might be morally opposed to watching pornography?”

He snorted. “You’re not the good girl you used to be. You get drunk and carouse with demons, sitting on their laps and giving them horn jobs in front of an audience. You went rock star on this poor mom-and-pop motel room, you got me to show you my goods, though I was vulnerable and weak from a bullet wound.” He shook his head sadly. “Face it, Holly, you’re a bad girl.”

And yes…you read that right…horn jobs…tee hee! I don’t know why I love those horns so much, but the author is quite clever with that That bar scene was sweetly adorable and just plain naughty (but of course…all in a “Holly” innocence).
I heart Cade as much as Sebastian and Bowen. I can’t choose. I  just can’t.

I read this one (Book#4) while "watching" the Superbowl ("watching" is used loosely, here). Yup, I’m that behind in my reviews again. I’m tellin’ ya…this series is really good, and quite hard to put down.

So my question was…how in the world was an entire story about a vampire falling in love with a ghost going to work? No biting? No touching? Nooooo…well, you know

As I expected, this book did not contain a ton of that, but one thing it did do is recount a beautiful tale of two completely different beings overcoming their physical issues, to ease each other’s suffering and forge an unbreakable bond.

Conrad Wroth, the evil "other" vampire brother, is captured by his siblings; Sebastian, Nicolai and Murdoch, and brought to a newly acquired, empty manor. Strapped down for his own good, the brothers intend to reverse Conrad’s bloodlust and avoid his potential execution.

He fights them with everything he has. Full of contempt for his brothers, and all beings, he hates his undead life, and loves to hate.  But his brothers are optimistic that he might come around, and join them once again.

He soon realizes he is not alone when he catches glimpses of a beautiful female ghost (Néomi, a famous ballerina murdered at the height of her career). He’s curious but fears he might be going crazy, and she is thrilled that finally, someone can see her.

I don’t want to be alone. Not tonight…

At twilight, she found herself making her way to him as if pulled by an invisible string. When she hesitated just outside his door, he said, "Ghost, come to me!"

Enjoy the interaction, she commanded herself. Just don’t get used to it.

"I know you’re there." His voice sounded weary. "Are you frightened of me now?’

Despite her inexperience with communicating as a ghost (she has never had anyone see her, or talk with her in the past), she tries to speak to him, and keeps him company. As they forge a friendship she gets stronger and better at interacting, and his hatred dissolves into compassion and hope.

While she helps ease him back into sanity, he fears his brother’s (who don’t see her) might not interpret his interaction with this "ghost" as sane:

Nikolai exhaled wearily to find him moving about freely. "How did you  get loose?"

"Dislocated my shoulder."

Almost at the exact same time, all three raised their brows at the collection of papers. "You dislocated your shoulder to get to the newspapers on the road? You could have asked one of us if you wanted to read-"

"No. that’s not it." Why not tell them? They already thought him mad. What if one of them encountered a ghost? What if they believed him? "I got them for a female who lives here." He was sane enough to recognize how this sounded. "She likes to read them."

"The house is abandoned, Conrad." Nikolai pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know this."

He ran his palms over his pants. "I’m the only one who can see her. She’s lying on this bed right now."

To a man, they got that anxious expression as though they were wondering whether madness was catching.

"If there is truly a ghost there, get her to move something," Murdoch said. "Can she make a door slam? Or rattle something in the attic?"

"Yes, she can move things with her mind."

Sebastian waved him on. "Then by all means…"

Conrad glanced from them to her, and back again. "She’s…asleep." And he couldn’t shake her to get her to wake.

"Of course she is," Sebastian muttered. He’d always been the most skeptical of the brothers. Conrad figured that after three centuries, that hadn’t changed.

"Damn it, I’m telling the truth."

"Yet you can’t rouse her?"

Conrad considered explaining why she was so exhausted, but thought that would only make things worse.

Murdoch asked, "Why would we believe your seeing a ghost rather than another hallucination? You’re supposed to be bombarded with delusions."

"I was. Constantly. I’m not anymore. She’s real." Right at her ear, he said, "Néomi, wake up!" No response. "Wake up!" he said louder, aware that he appeared to be yelling at a sheet.

Murdoch had a look on his face as if he couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry over Conrad’s actions.

While there are many sweet moments, they even manage to have a few "steamy" situations, somewhat akin to…ohhh i dunno…phone sex? A "tamer" moment during their exchange…

"Would you want to bite me?"

"Yes," he hissed. "Would you let me?"

If he needed, she would give. "I’d deny you nothing."

"Then I’d take your neck and your breasts. I’d bite your white thighs right above your stockings."

Intense male. She stifled a whimper. "We’re doing it again, exchanging comments, bandying."

"Like dancing."

She shook her head and whispered, "Like sex."

He stared down into her eyes, making her feel like she was drowning in fire. "Néomi, you make me want to be blooded. But only by you."

Their situation proves to be a tough one as Conrad suspects Néomi would have been his mate had she been alive.

"Would you want to be with me? If you could? For more than sex?"

She gave him a sad smile. "You have a destined Bride out there awaiting you."

"Néomi, you might be…mine."

The benefit of Néomi as a ghost, is that she is safe from Conrad’s enemies, but could it be possible to have a fulfilling future with a someone that has no physical form?

Néomi, headstrong and passionate about life, love and Conrad, is determined to make something of her undead self. Tired of being alone and restricted to her manor, she makes a decision, taking this story on an exciting turn. Forever or for just a moment in time…she is determined to experience Conrad for real.

I liked it! While it wasn’t my favorite in the series (Sebastian and Bowen’s, and even Cade’s stories are hard to beat) I did enjoy all the turmoil, angst and sexy moments, and well, I’ll be honest…the cover model portraying "Conrad" sure didn’t hurt either…

• "Love’s Prisoner" in the Secrets: The Best in Women’s Sensual Fiction, Vol. 6 Anthology
• "Jared’s Wolf" in the Secrets: The Best in Women’s Sensual Fiction, Vol. 8 Anthology
• Derik’s Bane (Berkley Sensation)
• "Santa Claws" in the Naughty or Nice Anthology (This story is also available in the anthology Dead and Loving It)
• Dead and Loving It (Berkley Sensation) (as per the author’s website: The Wyndham Werewolves meet Betsy’s clan in this 4-novella anthology)
• Dead Over Heels (as per the author’s website: Now she returns to that sensual and irresistible after-dark realm of werewolves, vampires and mermaids in three more original novellas—including an all-new Betsy Taylor novella.)

However, after perusing the author’s website, I was enlightened to some reading order details. Considering her books overlap (her werewolf series, vampire series, and mermaid series), this is her recommendation when reading her stories (including her novellas that are included in certain anthologies):

To keep continuity you should read the books in the following order:

• Secrets: The Best in Women’s Sensual Fiction, Vol. 6: Love’s Prisoner
• Secrets: The Best in Women’s Sensual Fiction, Vol. 8: Jared’s Wolf
• Undead and Unwed (Queen Betsy, Book 1)
• Cravings: Dead Girls Don’t Dance
• Undead and Unemployed (Queen Betsy, Book 2)
• Bite: Biting in Plain Sight
• Derik’s Bane (Berkley Sensation)
• Undead and Unappreciated (Queen Betsy, Book 3) (Berkley Sensation)
• Undead and Unreturnable (Queen Betsy, Book 4) (Berkley Sensation)
• Dead and Loving It (Berkley Sensation)
• Undead and Unpopular (Queen Betsy, Book 5)
• Over the Moon: Driftwood
• Undead and Uneasy (Undead/Queen Betsy)
• Dead Over Heels
• Undead and Unworthy
• Undead and Unwelcome (Queen Betsy, Book 8 )

I was anxiously awaiting ANYTHING from this author, considering how much I love her Night Huntess series, and was thrilled her spin-off was about Spade, the “best friend hottie”.

While it was worth the read, and I did enjoy it thoroughly, I didn’t latch onto the "love story" part as much as I did with Cat and Bones. Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazingly tender moments with Spade, and he proves to be a very steamy male, but his emotional connection to the heroine happened so easily (almost too easily).

Denise, Cat’s human best friend, lost her husband (also human) during a preternatural battle. Wanting to avoid that world, Denise severs all ties with every non-human she has met, including Cat. Still mourning her husband’s death a year later, she also loses her aunt and two young cousins to "heart attacks". Followed home one night by a demon, she is informed that one of her ancestors (who basically made a deal with the devil), has gone missing, and it is up to her to find him. If she does not, more of her family will perish. Their lives in exchange for her handing the ancestor over.

"Your ancestor Nathaniel backed out of a bargain with me." Raum’s voice felt like phantoms in her ear. "He managed to lock me away for quite some time, but I’m back and I want my payment."

Denise shook her head to clear the awful images from it. "How can I do anything about that?"

"Because he must be hiding with vampires or ghouls," Raum purred. "I can’t go into their world, but you can. Find him for me. Bring him to me, and I’ll leave you and the rest of his spawn alone."

Side note: that whole part was super creepy, and my electricity went out just as I got to it. Sitting by candlelight, without a sound in the house, and my tiny book light on my e-reader, the part when a little girl comes knocking at her door….eeeeeeeeeeek!! Don’t do that part in the dark!

Okay back to the book:

Not having a clue who she is looking for (other than the horrifying images the demon has supplied her), she attempts contacting Cat and Bones for their help. Unable to get a hold of them, she reluctantly turns to another vampire acquaintance (Spade), who obligingly comes to her rescue. Of course, his very nature freaks her out (considering all the slaughter she had seen barely a year ago):

"Ah, you’re awake," Spade said, closing his cell with a click. "Ordered you breakfast, considering you didn’t touch your food last night." His mouth curled in a grin. "You’ll be pleased to know you slept through my breakfast. Perhaps now you’ll be able to keep your appetite."

"You eat the room service employees every time?" Denise asked, shocked.

"Of course. But don’t fret on their behalf. I always tip well."

Spade, determined not to care for the human (he’s suffered in the past from doing that very thing), explains that to keep their cover as they investigate, she must act as his "property" (following his commands, not questioning him in public, act as his lover – hey wait..that one sounds too convenient – haha!)

Forced back into the supernatural world, she begins experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (at his vampire gatherings no less), and his all too caring reactions to her, start raising eyebrows. After he seats her to his right at his table (instead of behind him as "property" should be seated), allows her to argue with him publicly, comforts her during a panic attack, and then calmly escorts her to their car after she vomits into his designer shirt…

My dear Denise, you have no idea. "It changes things," he said at last. "No one would believe you’re merely my property after tonight."

As they grow closer as friends, they have no choice but to acknowledge the undeniable attraction that has been plaguing them since they first met:

Spade’s voice was very soft. "Get up and walk away from me, Denise, or I will take you up on your offer."

His gaze pinned hers, that green glow penetrating. She knew he wasn’t using his power on her, because her mind felt clear, but she was drawn in nonetheless.

She had to end this bewildering attraction she felt for him. Now, before it got any stronger. If she was lucky, she’d have a PTSD attack on the spot.

"Go ahead, vampire," she replied, equally soft.

Spade’s mouth was on her throat before the last word left her.

However, they struggle with a few new issues. The demon has infused Denise with his essence, causing her some physical changes that throw a monkey wrench into the whole situation (and let’s just say that while human blood is tempting enough to a vampire, Denise’s blood is pure ecstasy). While they hunt for her ancestor, and dodge the demon, Denise now carries a secret that puts her whole life (and their future) in question.

Lots of action in this book (typical of this author’s storytelling). Good vs. evil, emotional struggles, wanting to protect the protector, jealousy, sizzling hot passionate interludes, funny quips, even Cat and Bones, it’s all here!

Oh and Ian (their other friend) got even sexier in this installment…alas, his book in this spinoff series is not the next one, but that’s okay. As long as Ms. Frost continues regaling us with their world, I will read everything with gusto!