[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of When Darkness Hungers

 

J.K Beck spent more than ten years as a litigator in Southern California and Central Texas, using her rare free time to indulge in her passion for writing. Now she uses her legal background as inspiration for her paranormal romantic suspense series, The Shadow Keepers, set in and around a secret judicial system hidden within and mirroring our own.

California born, J. K. now lives and writes in Texas, where she hangs out with her husband and daughters and drinks far too much coffee.

When Darkness Hungers, SHADOW KEEPERS series, Book #5 
Author:  J.K Beck

Synopsis:  FBI agent Alexis Martin knows that vampires exist—because one of them killed her sister. Assigned to investigate a series of bizarre homicides in Los Angeles, Alexis believes the murders are the work of rogue vampires—perhaps even the monster responsible for her sister’s death. Now she finally has a chance for retribution. Even better, Alexis receives unexpected help from a sexy stranger as hungry for rogue blood as she is.

Serge is a centuries-old bad boy who stays off the grid—keeping his secrets, his hunger, and his heart safe from exposure. A new breed of vampire that feeds off other shadowers, Serge finds sweet torture in Alexis’s arms. Loving her is a chance to be free from the hiding, the loneliness, the secrecy. But the truth about what he is, and what he’s done, may banish him to the dark confines of his own private hell—and destroy the beginnings of their love.

Our Review [By LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha-Michelle L Olson]: 

     *eARC received from NetGalley

This is one of the most creative series I have had the luck to stumble across & I have had a soft spot for Serge since the beginning. His book couldn't have been better. The roller coaster of emotion & the extreme sides to every puzzle piece were thoroughly enjoyable.

Serge is a tortured soul, haunted by his past as a degenerate, his curse that may be broken but is still a part of him, the guilt he feels over things he’s done and those he’s let down and so much more.

Alexis is an ex-FBI agent turned vampire hunter trying to get vengeance for her sister who was killed in a vicious vampire attack. With the help of a witch she’s following the trail of vampire killings in CA and getting ever closer to avenging her sister’s death.

Division 6 is still hard at work covering up preternatural crime while following through with their own brand of justice with Sara (who we met in one of the earlier Shadow Keepers titles) at the helm as lead vampire prosecutor and her husband Luke as vampire governor.

Serge and Alexis cross paths early in the book, both on the trail of the same rogue vampire and there is instant chemistry.

When Serge ends up saving Alexis’s life as well as that of an innocent 16 year old, they get pushed together and the chemistry explodes.

Despite the fact that Serge is exactly what Alexis fights she can’t help her feelings for him, and Serge feels that Alexis is his path to redemption.

They don’t have an easy go of it, that’s for sure, but their story is definitely riveting.

The ending was incredible and a perfect set up for the next installment of the series. I hate waiting for it, but I’m excited to get my hands on it when it is available.

LITERAL ADDICTION gives When Darkness Hungers 5 Skulls, and would recommend it to all Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance readers. While the book can be read as a stand-alone, I highly suggest that you read the entire Shadow Keepers series in order to get the most of the books. You won’t be disappointed, I promise. It’s a fresh series full of amazing future potential and has been seated in my ‘favorite series’ list for quite some time. 

 

When Darkness Hungers:

[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of Rise of the Fallen

Donya Lynne's friends in high school voted her “Most Likely to be a Romance Novelist” because she would fill her notebooks with love story after love story.  She has always had a flair for dark fantasy however, and enjoys erotica as well.  She loves to write about damaged characters and controversial subject matter, and revels in the fact that readers seem to like it too. 

In 2010 Donya found herself the victim of the failing economy and lost her job.  After much thought, she decided to truly begin her career as a writer and pursue her love.  A year later, after honing her skills and educating herself once again about the publishing world, her first story was published in the “Evernight” anthology, and at least 4 more of her works are planned for release in 2012.

Rise of the Fallen, ALL THE KINGS MEN series, Book #1

Author:  Donya Lynne

Synopsis: In the streets of Chicago exists an uneasy, centuries-old truce between vampires and their distant cousins, a race of shifters called drecks. Vampire enforcement agency, All the King’s Men (AKM), is charged with maintaining the truce, but when volatile enforcer Micah Black loses his mate and falls into the biological agony that results from the broken bond, he tests the boundaries of the truce by seeking out Apostle, a leader in the dreck community. Micah wants Apostle to kill him, a request Apostle is more than happy to fulfill.

When ex-Army medic Samantha Garrett inadvertently disrupts the plot and saves Micah’s life, a chain reaction sets Micah’s heart on a collision course with Sam’s, but he will have to protect her from Apostle and her obsessive ex-husband, Steve, if they will have a chance at forever. Can Micah hold his emotions together to keep Sam alive?

Our Review [By LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha-Michelle L Olson]: 

Generally I don't like to do the comparison thing, but I feel like I sort of have to here so people get a bit of a feel of what they'll be jumping into. ALL THE KINGS MEN is sort of like a subset of The Black Dagger Brotherhood, meets Alpha Pack, meets Brotherhood of Blood.

All the Kings Men is a group of warriors trained to fight rogue shapeshifters and other problematic preternaturals.

Micah is one of the strongest on the team, but he's had a rough run with his mates and is in a VERY bad place as the story begins. He's a complex, tortured, bad boy and if you like alpha males, you can't help but love him and feel for the guy.

Sam is one of those bad a** heroines that you love to love. She holds her own, looks out for others, is sexy, savvy and smart.

Her and Micah together are absolute dynamite! The sexual chemistry of these two literally jumps off of the page and you can't help but re-read sections because they are really...just...that...good!

The supporting cast was phenomenal as well. I personally cannot wait to find out more about Trace, the myserious self appointed guardian of Micah and best friend of the couple. There is so much more than meets the eye with him and I am so excited to find out what's up.

The bad guys in this tale were nasty. Diabolical in their scheming, ruthless in their pursuit, and utterly enjoyable to read.

If you haven't gotten the hint, I loved the book. I thought it was fantastic. My one problem was the ending because I am not a fan of the cliff-hanger and Donya was a dirty tease at the end of this book. The bonus is that I don't have to wait long for book #2 to find out what the heck happens. :)

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Rise of the Fallen 4 1/2 Skulls and would recommend it to Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance and all Alpha Male Vampire lovers. Definitely a great new find and I want to thank Jowanna at Pimpin' Reads for telling me I had to read it! :) 

Rise of the Fallen:

 

 

[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of The Claimed

Caridad Pineiro was born in Havana, Cuba and settled in the New York Metropolitan area after coming to the States.  She attended Villanova University (Go Wildcats!) on a Presidential Scholarship and graduated magna cum laude.  Caridad earned her juris doctor from St. John’s University and became the first female partner of Abelman, Frayne & Scwab, and intellectual property firm in midtown Manhattan. 

She is a multi-published and award-winning author whose love of the written word developed when her fifth grade teacher assigned a project – to write a book that would be placed in a class lending library. She has been hooked on writing ever since.
When not writing, Caridad teaches workshops on various topics related to writing and heads a writing group.

The Claimed, Sin Hunters series, Book #2

Author:  Caridad Pineiro

Synopsis: Victoria Johnson loves her life. She's her own boss in a quaint beachside town, and has great friends who keep her grounded. If only they knew who she really is: an heiress to an ancient race who possesses astonishing superhuman powers. It's Victoria's duty to restore her clan of Light Hunters to their former glory by choosing the perfect mate. In Christopher Sombrosa, she just may have found him. Strong, smart, and successful, Christopher exudes a powerful energy. Their connection is sensual, irresistible-and forbidden.

A member of the Shadow Hunter clan, Christopher has defied his own father to lead his people away from affliction and violence. Yet he cannot ignore his duty to carry on his ancient bloodline. Stunningly beautiful and brimming with an erotic life force, Victoria is everything Christopher ever hoped for in a mate . . . but as a Light Hunter, she's his mortal enemy. Together, they could unite their warring tribes. But murderous factions on both sides don't want peace-and they'll stop at nothing to keep light and darkness apart forever . . .

Our Review [By LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha-Michelle L Olson]: 

Once again, Caridad Pineiro does not disappoint. I enjoyed this book even better than book #1, The Lost, and cannot wait for the next installment.

Those of you that read my review for The Lost may know that I wasn't so sure about this series, despite begin a huge Caridad fan, but I am so happy that I put my apprehensions aside and jumped in.

Like book #1, this was a 2 sitting wonder, and only because I was forced to put it down. As I mentioned, I thought it was even better than the first book, and I absolutely adored the characters.

Christopher is a Shadow trying to walk the straight and narrow, even though is father is diabolical, and the Light Hunters were groomed to hate all Shadows. With his best friend and cadre captain Ryan by his side, he tries to get his tribe back in order and revert back to the ancient ways to combat the plague that has been haunting them for ages.

Victoria is a Light Hunter in line to take over the ocean tribe, and living the life of a virtual human. With her best friends around her, she has a charmed life, but it's missing one thing... love.

When the two meet, sparks fly (literally) and they can't deny their unbelievable attraction. But does the whole 'Romeo and Juliet' thing ever end up being more than a tragedy? In their case, and with a lot of hard work, convinction and support... Yes. :)

This series continues to be an emotional roller-coaster full of excitement, regret, love, passion, uncertainty, betrayal, retribution, and so much more! In true Caridad Pineiro fashion it was incredibly written, with vivid imagery and strong, well developed characters.

The book was an incredible installment to the series and it just makes readers want book #3 all that much more.

In a nutshell, LITERAL ADDICTION Paranormal Book Club gives The Claimed 5 Skulls, and would recommend it to Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance and even some Sci-Fi readers.

The Claimed:

 

[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of Black Dawn

 

Rachel Caine is the New York Times, USA Today and internationally bestselling author of more than 30 novels, including the immensely popular Morganville Vampires series, the Weather Warden series, and the Outcast Season series.

She was born at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, attended Socorro High School in El Paso, Texas, and earned a bachelors degree in business administration from Texas Tech University. She’s worked in many jobs, including accounting, graphic designer, insurance investigation, corporate communications, and web design, to name just a few. She became a full time writer in 2010.

Rachel is married to award-winning fantasy artist R. Cat Conrad, and has two iguanas as pets: Popeye and Darwin.

Black Dawn, Book #12 of the Morganville Vampire series

Author:  Rachel Caine

Synopsis:
 The hotly-anticipated twelfth instalment in the Morganville Vampires series

In Last Breath, the rain brought a new and dire threat to Morganville and its vampires... their ancient enemies, the draug. Now, the vampires are fighting a losing war, and it will fall to the residents of the Glass House: Michael, Eve, Shane and Claire, to take the fight to an enemy who threatens to destroy the town, forever.

Lovers of Morganville, rejoice: Black Dawn takes the intrigue, romance and nail-biting suspense of the series to its highest level yet!

Our Review [by Michelle L. Olson – LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha]:

I love the Morganville Vampires series and have been an avid follower since book #1.  While I didn’t think that anything could surpass the incredibleness that was Book #11, Last Breath, I stand corrected after the completion of Black Dawn. 

If I said that Last Breath was a home run, then Black Dawn was a grand slam! 

Like all Morganville books, there was tons of action, danger lurking around every corner, sweet romance, problems to be solved, friendships solidified, alliances forged, enemies made and mysteries galore, all packed into a fabulously eerie and quirky package. 

Like Last Breath, Black Dawn gives us insight into other characters by switching between points of view.  It was seamlessly written and a wonderful gift for the reader to get inside these other characters’ heads. 

Last Breath was definitely darker than the other Morganville books.  They’ve been getting increasingly darker installment after installment (to my utter delight), but there were times during Black Dawn that you could actually feel the hopelessness, and those times just lent more credibility to the glimpses of hope that were uncovered like rays of sunshine.

While Morganville is known for its danger, and we fans have come to expect and love the town and its residents for it, the Morganville in Black Dawn is literally flooded with death, destruction and despair.  All that deranged action is thrown at you in a non-stop thrill ride that grabs you from the very beginning and doesn’t’ really ever let go, because even after completion of the last page, you want to scream, “Well, what now??”. 

The character development in Black Dawn was intense, the storyline intriguing and demanding nothing short of utter investment, and the world, in true Rachel Caine fashion, beautifully fashioned. 

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Black Dawn a thoroughly deserved 5 Skulls, and would recommend it to EVERYONE!  Morganville may be classified as YA, but we like to call it YA for the not-so-young-adult, and this installment proved that Rachel can capture both sides of the audience with ease. 

I am so happy that there will be more Morganville to come.  I absolutely adore this series. 

Black Dawn: