Saturday, February 11, 2012

[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of The Purrfect Stranger

Bianca D’Arc is way more than just an author!  She is a former chemist with more letters behind her name than we could ever hope to have, a martial arts enthusiast, and an artist.  We’re not talking about being an artist just with her pen and computer, though that can’t be disputed!  We actually meant with a paint brush and a guitar, since those are 2 of her hobbies when she’s not creating fantastical worlds for us to get lost in.  Outside of that, she’s an avid bargain hunter and LOVES to shop!    

Bianca’s background in science has come in handy in her writing, as she enjoys mixing her real-world knowledge of science with her vast imaginary world library.  She writes in many genres and mixed genres, but concentrates most of her work in the paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy and futuristic realms with some contemporary and urban fantasy thrown in for the heck of it.  As fans, we can honestly say that we wouldn’t want it any other way!

Bianca’s series include:  RESONANCE MATES, VAMPIRE TALES (BROTHERHOOD OF BLOOD), DRAGON KNIGHTS (DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON & SONS OF DRACONIA), TALES OF THE WERE, JIT’SUKU CHRONICLES , STRING OF FATE and GUARDIANS OF THE DARK.  She also has single books out categorized under series for future expansion:  GEMINI PROJECT, GONE COUNTRY and GIFT OF THE ANCIENTS. 

 The Purrfect Stranger, Book #3 of the Tales of the Were series
Author:  Bianca D’Arc

Synopsis:   
Sparks fly when a failed witch makes a werecougar purr.

Valerie is a failed witch, doomed to always disappoint her very proud, magical family, until a blind date on Valentine’s Day brings her face to face with her real destiny. Keith Redstone is a werecougar on the prowl who’s a little different from the rest of his Clan. He’s clawed his way to the position of Alpha by earning their respect, but most don’t know his deepest, darkest secret. He can see magic.

When the two meet, sparks fly…very real sparks of magical energy that singe their senses and seal their fate. But how can they reconcile two very different backgrounds and traditions? Will Keith recognize their swirling magic as belonging together? And will Valerie understand what it means when she makes her very own big cat purr?

Our Review [by Michelle L. Olson – LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha]:
I’m a huge fan of Bianca D’Arc’s work.  I’ve followed every series that she has written and am always excited when I find out that there will be a new release.  Tales of the Were was the 3rd series of Bianca’s that I devoured, so when I heard about the release of The Purrfect Stranger I was very happy.
Those of you that follow my reviews or know me from LITERAL ADDICTION know that I’m kind of a hard nut to crack.  I can count the number of non-paranormal romances I’ve read on one hand, and I’m not a gushy romantic – in fact, too much of that will put me off of a book instantly.  In the staggering number of books that I’ve read, I think there have only been 2 that really got to me and literally made me do an “Awwwww” with a smile and a little squeal, and this book was one of the 2. J
The characters were fabulous – a witch from the most powerful Mage clan with no magic of her own, therefore a reject among her kind, and a area Alpha from the Cougar clan with magic that he’s had to deny because it was deemed unnatural by his peers, meeting on a true Blind Date (not even those that set them up knew what they were throwing together).
While the relationship in this book happened incredibly fast, for some reason it didn’t turn me off like it sometimes does.  Normally I have to remind myself that it’s a romance novel and things don’t follow normal timelines, but in this book it just seemed right and I didn’t question the instantaneous relationship at all.  In fact, given the fact that this was only a Novella, it happened even faster than usual, and yet I still was right there with them and cheering them on the entire way.  Maybe it was because fate had thrown them together and both of them, in their own way knew that, even before they had discussed it, and yet there was so much for them to still learn about each other and themselves… together!??  Whatever it was it worked for me and I loved every single page. 
The only complaint I have about this book was that there just wasn’t enough of it!  I’m glad that Bianca warned me about it not being a full length novel before I settled down with it because I might have been disappointed not having more.  As it stood, I went in knowing that it was a Short and just fell into the story. 
LITERAL ADDICTION gives The Purrfect Stranger 5 Skulls and would recommend it to everyone.  The entire Tales of the Were series (and the rest of Bianca’s Backlist) is fabulous, but this Novella is really something special, and this Short can definitely be read as a standalone.  Of course that’s only my personal opinion, and maybe it’s because it has EVERYTHING that I personally love in my PNR – magic, big cat shifters, adversity - but even if you don’t love it as much as I did, I still think you’ll enjoy it.  It’s a wonderful, quick, light-hearted, feel good read.
The Purrfect Stranger:



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