[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of An Alpha's Choice

Carrie Ann Ryan is a bestselling paranormal and contemporary romance author. After spending too much time behind a lab bench, she decided to dive into the romance world and find her werewolf mate – even if it’s just in her books. Happy endings are always near – even if you have to get over the challenges of falling in love first. 

Carrie Ann’s Redwood Pack series is a bestselling series that has made the shifter world even more real to her and has allowed the Dante’s Circle and Holiday, Montana series to be born. She’s also an avid reader and lover of romance and fiction novels. She loves meeting new authors and new worlds. Any recommendations you have are appreciated. Carrie Ann lives in New England with her husband and two kittens. 

Feel free to stalk Carrie Ann at the following places online – 
Facebook, Twitter, Website, Blog, Goodreads, Amazon Author Page and Pinterest.

An Alpha's Choice

TALON PACK Book #2

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Brynn Brentwood has spent the whole of her life protecting the Talon Pack through terrors only she will ever know. She’s never asked for more in life other than to live to take her next breath and to ensure her family is safe. Regardless of her selfless wishes and the atrocities the former Alpha committed, she has always known that fate would provide for her as it had countless others. Fate is what has carried her through with one exception—upon meeting the one wolf who could be hers, he doesn’t feel their bond.

Finn Jamenson has been broken more than once, left beaten and half dead—and that was before he was an adult and Heir of the Redwood Pack. When called upon to work with their allies, the Talons, he finds himself intrigued with a woman who his wolf doesn’t claim as his own. Though he knows there could be something there, he refuses to tempt himself with a wolf who could never be his when his own mate could waiting for him.

The world changed in a blink of time and now the two wolves must fight as one—ignoring the burning temptation between them—when their people are threatened. With one wrong move, their homes could be destroyed and its up to Finn and Brynn to save them all…if only they could save themselves.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Chelle:

An Alpha's Choice was my first 'official' foray into the world of the Talon and Redwood packs and I must say... I want more! Passion, conflict, beautiful story arc... Carrie Ann brings it all.

Talon Pack is a spinoff of Carrie Ann's astoundingly successful Redwood Pack series. In Talon, Packs have allied and the secret is out. Shifters exist. The humans aren't completely comfortable with that yet, so the Packs are treading carefully.

Our heroine, Brynn, is an Alpha female with Submissive tendencies. She's had a rough life, and it seems that everywhere she turns things are working against her. The mate her wolf covets doesn't seem to feel the same way about her. Sure, he craves her as a man would any beautiful woman, but she doesn't have that connection with Finn that she feels she should have.

Heir to the Redwood Pack, Finn, is the definition of a tragic hero. He was literally killed and put back together by the Pack's Healer has changed him--both emotionally and physically. His duty to his Pack is first and foremost in his mind, so if he's forced to work with the beautiful and aggravating Brynn, he'll do it. Despite how she affects his libido.

When things with the humans hit a critical plateau, Brynn and Finn must work together to smooth things over and save their Pack but it is anything but easy.... Not only within the conflict, but with each other.

Carrie Ann gives us a beautifully written Paranormal Romance with tons of tension, beautiful back story, an arc that promises loads of goodness to come, and even some parts that will be a bit.... shocking (especially to long-time fans). Intense, wonderful, gripping... two thumbs up!

*Copy gifted by the Publisher in exchange for an honest review

An Alpha's Choice

[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of Twilight Vendetta

Maggie Shayne It was a sleepless night spent caring for a sick baby that jump-started New York Times Bestselling Author Maggie Shayne’s writing career.
A voracious reader and prolific writer from childhood, Maggie found herself without a book to read while coddling the colicky child. So instead she began spinning a tale of her own, creating a plotline that evolved in her thoughts until, a few days later, she sat down and wrote the story in longhand.
Now the author of more than forty novels, ranging from stories about Witches, vampires, psychics and ghosts, to bone chilling, edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense and beyond. The genres she has mastered include women’s fiction, category romance, romantic suspense, and paranormal fiction. Maggie has honed her lyrical prose and made a name for herself on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon.com, B.Dalton, Booksense, Ingram’s, Barnes and Noble, and Waldenbooks (where she reached #1) bestseller lists.
Maggie is the winner of numerous awards, including two Romantic Times Bookclub Career Achievement Awards, the National Readers Choice Award, and the coveted RITA Award, for which she was nominated twelve times before finally winning.
She has also written for CBS daytime dramas, Guiding Light and As the World Turns. One of Maggie’s novels, Eternity, has been optioned for film.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / GoodReads

Twilight Vendetta

WINGS IN THE NIGHT: REBORN Book #2

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Most would support the extermination of the entire vampire race, and that’s exactly what will happen, unless his plan to organize a resistance force succeeds. Eva is the only mortal who’s ever managed to get under his skin. She’s haunted him his entire life. He senses when she’s in trouble, is drawn to her by energies he cannot understand. Eva is a thrill seeker who makes a hefty living writing about her adventures. Now, she wants to walk with vampires, to live among them. The book she’ll write afterward will be the work of a lifetime, and will help establish peace between the races. Education, enlightenment, understanding–these are the ways to end the current climate of fear and violence. Devlin is determined to visit destruction on humans. Eva is determined to stop him, even if it means betraying the powerful passion that burns between them, and the feelings underneath, feelings so explosive that even she is afraid to plumb them too deeply. Now, anti-vampire forces have taken captives–two young mutants Devlin is sworn to protect, and Eva’s own peacenik father. Eva and Devlin must find common ground to save innocent lives, and to prevent the annihilation of a species. Maybe his, or maybe her own. And in such close proximity, with so much at stake, the feelings they've been fighting, reach the boiling point.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Chelle:

Another enchanting installment from Maggie Shayne's legendary vampire world of vampires, Chosen, and the evil DPI, now made even richer by the addition of the Offspring and another new group that joins the party at the end of this installment.

Maggie Shayne has always captivated my attention with her Wings in the Night world, and Twilight Vendetta was no different as it took me on an action-packed thrill ride of danger, betrayal, loss, love, and growth.

Twilight Vendetta picks up where Twilight Guardians left off with the discovery of the Offspring, the destruction of the ship, The Anemone, and the vampires running for their lives from the evil government agency known as the DPI. While I would suggest reading Twilight Guardians before reading Twilight Vendetta, Maggie wrote it in such a way that things are laid out for you to follow. You just don't get the emotional investment of everything that happened with Twilight Guardians, and trust me, it's not something you want to miss. :)

Emma isn't your normal, everyday girl. She's an adrenaline junkie, and one of the Chosen--humans with a rare blood condition that stunts their life and the only ones able to be made into vampires. She also grew up with a vampire for a mother, and genius for a father, but her life has been all about living, in between doing everything she can to find out what happened to her mother when she was just a child. Her life has also been consistently tied to a certain handsome vampire who has saved her more times than she even knows about.

Devlin is a vampire with a tragic past. And he's not much for people. He's a loner, and his main goal is ensuring the survival of his kind. Unfortunately, a troublesome, beautiful Chosen keeps popping up every so often, disrupting his solitude and making him feel things he doesn't want to be feeling.

As circumstances force Emma and Devlin to work together to save Devlin's friends, the children the vampires saved from the Anemone, and Emma's father, they can longer fight their feelings for each other and sparks ignite.

As the DPI gets more and more corrupt and ruthless in their strides to take down the vampire race, secrets are revealed, alliances are formed, and some big changes must be made to ensure survival. The world-building and story arc of Wings in the Night: Reborn is unfolding beautifully, and I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Twilight Vendetta

[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of Edge of Darkness

#1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan has over 40 novels published, including four series. Each of her four series has hit #1 on the NY Times. Her debut novel Dark Prince received 3 of the 9 Paranormal Excellence Awards in Romantic Literature for 1999. Since then she has been published by Leisure Books,Pocket Books, and currently is writing forBerkley/Jove. She also has earned 7 more PEARL awards. 

She is pleased to have made numerous bestseller lists including the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Bookscan, B. Daltons, Amazon,Barnes and Nobles, Waldenbooks, Ingrams, Borders, Rhapsody Book Club,Washington Post, and Walmart. She has received numerous honors throughout her career including being a nominee for the RWA’s RITA. She has received a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times and the Borders 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award. 

She has been published in multiple languages and in many formats, including large print, palm pilot, e-book, and hardcover. In October of 2007 her first manga comic, Dark Hunger was released in stores. This was the first ever manga comic released by Berkley Publishing and it made #11 on Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller’s List. Her ground-breaking book trailer commercials have been shown on TV and in the movie theaters. She has been featured on local TV, appeared on the The Montel Williams Show, and her book Dark Legend was featured on the cover ofRomantic Times Magazine. 

Christine Feehan has also appeared at numerous writers’ conventions and book signings including: Romantic Times Convention, Get Caught Reading at Sea Cruise, Celebrate Romance Conference, Emerald City Conference, and numerous Romance Writers of America Conferences.

Connect with Christine on her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads.

Maggie Shayne It was a sleepless night spent caring for a sick baby that jump-started New York Times Bestselling Author Maggie Shayne’s writing career.
A voracious reader and prolific writer from childhood, Maggie found herself without a book to read while coddling the colicky child. So instead she began spinning a tale of her own, creating a plotline that evolved in her thoughts until, a few days later, she sat down and wrote the story in longhand.
Now the author of more than forty novels, ranging from stories about Witches, vampires, psychics and ghosts, to bone chilling, edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense and beyond. The genres she has mastered include women’s fiction, category romance, romantic suspense, and paranormal fiction. Maggie has honed her lyrical prose and made a name for herself on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon.com, B.Dalton, Booksense, Ingram’s, Barnes and Noble, and Waldenbooks (where she reached #1) bestseller lists.
Maggie is the winner of numerous awards, including two Romantic Times Bookclub Career Achievement Awards, the National Readers Choice Award, and the coveted RITA Award, for which she was nominated twelve times before finally winning.
She has also written for CBS daytime dramas, Guiding Light and As the World Turns. One of Maggie’s novels, Eternity, has been optioned for film.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / GoodReads

Lori Herter grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, graduated from the University of Illinois, Chicago Campus, and worked for several years at the Chicago Association of Commerce & Industry. She married her husband, Jerry, a CPA, and they moved to Southern California a few decades ago. They still live there with their two cats, Freddy and Jasmine. They have traveled extensively in the U.S., Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and Tahiti. Lori’s favorite destination of all is Ireland. Over several trips to Ireland she has visited all parts of the island, both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Delving into Celtic legends and Celtic Spirituality has been a special interest of Lori’s in recent years.

Lori has written romance novels published by Dell Candlelight Romances, Silhouette, and Harlequin. Some of these books are currently available as ebooks on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. She also wrote a four-book romantic vampire series published by Berkley with the titles OBSESSION, POSSESSION, CONFESSION, and ETERNITY.

Website / Facebook / GoodReads

Edge of Darkness

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Take an all-new excursion in the world of the Carpathians from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan—joined here by Maggie Shayne and Lori Herter, two other masters of vampire romance in an original anthology that takes dark fantasy to rapturous new heights.

Dark Crime by Christine Feehan
Blaze knows who killed her father and she has merciless plans for payback. Until a phone call from a seductive stranger pleads with her to wait. Retribution is in his blood, too. Now, he and Blaze will be united in the blood of the guilty. Tonight, vengeance is theirs.

Dead by Twilight by Maggie Shayne
Bloodsuckers may be an accepted minority but one of them is getting away with murder. Until a female vamp teams with a mortal detective to end the killing spree. Now the night belongs to them—and so does every pleasure and danger lurking in the shadows.

Cimarron Spirit by Lori Herter
While excavating an Anasazi ruin, archeologist Annie Carmichael uncovers the resting place of a centuries-old vampire who finds in Annie the liberating mate he has longed for. But how much is Annie expected—or willing—to surrender for the man she now desires?

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Vivacious Valkyrie and Pack Alpha - Marta & Chelle:

Dark Crime by Christine Feehan (Marta):

It's very hard to keep readers engaged as a series gets longer and it's a trap that many authors fall into. What worked so well in the beginning can become stale and readers constantly demand to be surprised. Ms. Feehan's Dark series has been such an interesting one full of intense emotions, beautiful narrative and incendiary heat. This story is shorter than most and yet is still full of passion and a few surprises and, of course, there's that little thing of claiming a life mate!

I really liked the beginning of this story and felt so much empathy for the heroine Blaze, whose life has been brutally changed forever. She deals with her grief by taking control of her own destiny, but a chance call to a stranger sees yet another rock thrown her way and this time it's a landslide ! The male who answers her call is Maksim and he's definitely not human he us Carpathian and now Blaze has fallen into his world and there's no way Maksim will ever let her leave.

Ms Feehan has somehow stepped away from her previous style and this felt far more modern with a fresh twist. If honest at first I didn't realise it was a Carpathian story and the plot was fuelled by unexpected alliances. Diehard fans will enjoy this but I think those who perhaps felt jaded might also see a fresh approach to tempt them back. I'm happy to report the story was not bogged down by excessive chanting (which many readers find repetitive) and as this story arc continues I know I wil be back for more!

Dead by Twilight by Maggie Shayne (Chelle):

I've been a fan of the Wings in the Night series since book #1, continuing with Wings in the Night: Reborn and Twilight Guardians this last year. I can, without a doubt, say that this was one of my favorite Wings in the Night tales, to date.

Maggie brings us another of her feisty, fiery, independent heroines with Chloe, and I found myself comparing her a bit to Rachel de Luca from Maggie's Brown & de Luca stories. She's just a heroine you love to love and her interaction with the hero was witty, sexy, and full of intrigue.

Overall, the story was smart, fun, and gripping. I am so, SO excited Wings in the Night is back and properly reborn! :)

Cimarron Spirit by Lori Herter (Marta):

This is quite a short read and it's by an author who is completely new to me. Our heroine is Annie an archeologist who, whilst investigating ruins, stumbles upon the find of the century, a vampire! Rafael de la Vega waited a long time for someone to ease his lonely undead life and although at first he wants nothing more than to see the back of the meddling woman as he gets to know more about Annie it's clear that what they both feel could be so much more than mere attraction.

Now nothing is ever that simple and if it was where would the story be? You see Annie is caught up in the midst of the dreaded triangle as Brett, who owns the land she digs on has proposed to her but is it love or just convenience ? Annie proudly proclaims the she is " her own woman " but can she make the right choice for her? A life with a family in the sun or whatever a vampire can offer and then there's the slight problem of Rafaels past and it's a lot closer than Annie realises!

I must point out that I did feel this was very reminiscent of Ms Feehan's work with similar names used and even shifting. I wonder if this was written possibly as a homage or even as fan fiction? Either way it did for this reader end a touch abruptly and I would have liked just a little more but as a quick read to while away an hour it hit the spot perfectly.

OVERALL:
We would recommend this anthology, especially for fans of the authors' series, those who discovered Christine and Maggie's work by first reading Lori Herter, and, of course, any fan of vampire fiction.

Edge of Darkness