Review: Bittersweet Magic by Nina Croft

Bittersweet Magic

Author:Nina Croft

Release Date: November 11, 2013

Publisher: Entangled: Edge

The Order Book #1

ISBN:  1622661052

ISBN13: 9781622661053

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Review Copy Source: Publisher

Roz has been indebted to the demon Asmodai for five hundred years, and her freedom is just around the corner. All she has to do is complete one last task for him—obtain a key that had been hidden in a church centuries ago.

Piers, the Head of the Order and an ancient vampire, is intrigued by the woman who comes to him for help. She’s beautiful and seemingly kind, but she’s hiding something. And he’ll find out who she is and what she really wants once he uses his power to get inside her head. But Piers has no idea that Roz is immune to his mind-control...or that he is simply a pawn in her dangerous mission for freedom.

After liking BITTERSWEET BLOOD so much I was a little worried I wouldn't like BITTERSWEET MAGIC but  I worried for nothing. Roz has been in service to Asmodai for five hundred years, ever since she watched her mother burn and begged for help. She has no idea what she is but she keeps a low profile while she completes her tasks to finally gain her freedom. Her final task does not go as planned and she ends up in the company of those that Asmodai has warned her would kill her if they every knew what she was.

Roz is quite the character. She has a great head on her shoulders, she is kick ass and she can hold her own against Piers. Roz had me cracking up many times with her whole nun persona. She has no problem convincing people to see what she wants them to see and I found it highly entertaining. We originally meet Piers in BITTERSWEET BLOOD and he definitely is not that likeable. That all changes in BITTERSWEET MAGIC. He turns out to be a loyal guy that fights for what he cares about. We watch him change right before our eyes as he falls for Roz. They really fit each other well. I have one complaint, there wasn't a lot of world building going on. The story revolved mostly around the characters and I would have liked to see more of the world they live in. I wont spoil who Roz ends up being but know that it is super cool and I loved when Asmodai realized he could have been in deep shit if she would have unleashed herself before she did.

Book 3 should be extremely interesting as we follow Asmodai and his lady match. I am not sure what the final showdown will be all about but I do know that the order is stacking up to have quite a team of supernatural powerhouses to kick butt for their side.

I gave it 4/5 stars


* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Seven Years by Dannika Dark

Seven Years

Author: Dannika Dark

Release Date: October 22, 2013

Publisher: Self-published

Seven Book #1

ISBN:   1491065621

ISBN13: 9781491065624

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Review Copy Source: Author

Seven years ago, my world ended.
Seven years later, my new life began.

It's been seven years since Lexi Knight lost her brother in a tragic accident. On the anniversary of his death, her brother's best friend shows up unexpectedly - a man she hasn't seen since the funeral. He is no longer the boy Lexi once knew, but a dangerous-looking man with tattoos and dark secrets. He broke her trust and abandoned her family, yet what he reveals makes it impossible to stay angry. Lexi has been secretly infatuated with Austin since childhood, so finding out he's a Shifter just makes him sexier. Dammit.

Austin Cole has returned to the city where he grew up, and just in time. He's lived a hard life these past seven years, and the shadows of his past are threatening to destroy Lexi's family. It's time that she learned the truth about her brother, but there is a shocking twist that Austin never saw coming. Now he must protect her family when her mother and sister wind up in mortal danger. Will Lexi learn to accept the truth about who he is, and can Austin salvage a relationship from the ruins of their past?

I wasn't sure about SEVEN YEARS before I started it but i liked the cover and I jumped right in, WOO HOO am I ever glad I did. As Lexi, her mom and her little sister sit eating ice cream the last person Lexi expects to see walks through the door.  Austin wasn't only her brothers best friend but Lexi was head over heals for him as a little girl. After her brother died Austin disappeared. Now that he is back Lexi doesn't know how to feel.

So much happened its hard to decide where to start. I loved the characters, not one of them didn't bring something to the story. Lexi is a pretty strong and real gal. I had no problem connecting to her, her feelings or the situations she found herself in. Holy alpha male Austin. He is protective, overbearing, stubborn, name it he brings it to the table but oh how I loved reading about him and watching him grow as a character. Together the two rocked my brain. They seriously had great chemistry. Dannika did a great job of bringing you up to speed on the characters past's and merging them with their present and future. There is a lot of shifter political stuff going on and I enjoyed that. The twists and turns came frequently and they kept me on my toes. As I said above the characters all filled a space, not to say that I liked them all but they all played a role and I didn't feel like any of them weren't needed.  There really wasn't anything I didn't enjoy about SEVEN YEARS and I don't want to give away any spoilers.

So what comes next?  No idea because everything seemed to be well wrapped up by the end of SEVEN YEARS but I want more of Lexi, Austin and the pack so I will be looking out for book 2.

I gave it 5/5 stars


* This book was provided free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.

New Releases: 11/17-11/23

Tue Nov 19th

 The Curse Keepers by Denise Grover Swank

 The Fiery Heart (Bloodlines #4) by Richelle Mead

 Horizon (The Soul Seekers #4) by Alyson Noel

Happy Reading!

Promo: The Medusa's Gargoyle by Sally Max

The Medusa's Gargoyle
Breathless Press / Amazon /  All Romance ebooks / Manic Readers /  Bookstrand

Legend has it that anyone that looks upon a medusa will never live to tell the tale. However, fate has different ideas... 

Drucilla, a medusa-human shifter, is unable to control her transformations, which puts every living creature near her in danger of becoming stone. Her sisters have given her ten years to teach herself how to control it, but she is down to her last few days, and still cannot do it. 

Az, a gargoyle, is cursed to turn to stone every sun rise and to only be released from his rock tomb every sunset. He is the only living being that Drucilla has seen survive her medusa stare. Can he help her control her shifts or will she be forever alone, too afraid to face anyone ever again?

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Excerpt:

 

Drucilla!

She had followed him. If they found out she was the one—

The mob stopped, placing him in the middle of the two statues. Someone behind him ripped off the cloak, revealing his true self. Az took the moment of surprise to raise his wings. His wingspan was massive, at least two or three times his height. Drucilla had taken the opportunity to sneak out of the alley toward the crowd. He rushed over to her, grabbing her and hugging her tight to his chest as one would do a captive.

She squealed and struggled. Her hair whipped around her head in a flurry of its own.

"Change now," he breathed in her ear.

Feeling her tense, then release, her hair sank down atop her head.

"He has a hostage!" A woman yelled from the crowd. The mob quieted as he maneuvered himself back toward the statues. The archers surrounded him in a circle and he was afraid of them getting a bit too anxious with their arrows.

Drucilla had dropped her head so that her hair fell over her face. The shift of her body, rubbed against him and he found himself reacting to her warm presence.

"By the gods..." Az mumbled under his breath.

It made her turn, rubbing her warm behind against his lower regions. He felt himself harden.

"What?" she whispered.
 
"Stop moving."

"Why—" she moved slowly in his arms, and she must have felt why. "Oh."

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After not being able to answer, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” when she was little, Sally Max decided she wouldn’t settle on just one profession. Instead, she lives vicariously through her characters on the page, and gets a taste of every possible scenario she can imagine.

Sally Max currently resides in central Florida with her tuxedo tabby cat.

Find Sally and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Week in Review: 11/10-11/16

Books Ive Bought/received

* Turned by Virna DePaul- eARC- Netgalley

* Chaos Bound by Rebekah Turner- eARC- Netgalley

* Deadshifted by Cassie Alexander- eARC- Publisher via Netgalley

Books I Read

Irresistable Magic by Deanna Chase
Reflected by Rhiannon Held
Bittersweet Magic by Nina Croft
Turned by Virna DePaul

Reviews Posted
Hell Bent by Devon Monk
Quick Thought Reviews
Dangerous by Jax 
Dragon Rising by Jaimie Rush 
Four Weddings and a Werewolf 
Tempt the Stars by Karen Chance

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* New Releases for the week. Was there anything you were looking forward to reading?

* Monday- Promo and Giveaway for Bittersweet Magic by Nina Croft

* Tuesday- Guest Blog and Giveaway for Untethered by Katie Hayoz

* Wednesday- Cover Reveal for Mended by Kim Karr

* Thursday- Guest blog for Demon Jack by Patrick Donovan. Cover Reveal for 2 Entangled Select titles. 

* Friday- UFI was involved in MegaWars MegaWinner's Week. There is a  great giveaway posted.

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* Did you know you can follow UFI on these other sites?

BlogLovin

Networked Blogs

Facebook

You can also add me (as in Stacy) to your friends on these sites if you're on them.

Twitter

Goodreads

Librarything

Google+

 
 

 * I love comments so if you see something you like (or not) please comment away and let me know.

Quick Thought reviews

Sometimes I read a book where I just don't have a lot to say about it. Hence the name quick thought reviews. These will be short and sweet.

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Dangerous by Jax 

Review Copy Source: Netgalley

A body that won't quit
Clothes that are barely there
Eyes that openly invite him to take what he wants

Devon Candler is nothing like the helpless, vulnerable woman Liam expected when he agreed to provide security for her secluded Catskill Mountain estate. Yet her life is at risk. Her enemies monsters. Her secrets devastating.

Liam Nash is a trained killer who takes no prisoners, fears no man. But to him this woman is seductively, devastatingly. . .

Dangerous

I did not have the easiest time getting into the story. Everything built up really slowly and was quick to let it down if that makes sense. The world was interesting but nothing that really made me go wow. Both characters on their own were ok but there was something off about them together. I can't put my finger on exactly what their relationship was missing but there was something that didn't sell me on them. The ending was meh. Definitely something you should grab at the library if you feel you must read it.

I gave it 2/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Dragon Rising by Jaimie Rush

Review Copy Source: netgalley

Clues left by her missing father lead Lyra to a gorgeous, mysterious Caido, a descendent of fallen angels. When she discovers that his brother is also missing, she's determined not to let the exasperating man shut her out.

The last thing Archer needs is an emotional Dragon at his side, especially one whose heat reaches beyond the icy walls he, and all Caidos, must erect for good reason. Working together? Smart. Falling in love? Foolish…and inescapable.

I actually enjoyed DRAGON RISING. It was fast paced, I was not bored and I enjoyed the characters and the story. My only complaint was that it was too short and I would have liked to follow the characters a little longer. 

I gave it 3/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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 Four Weddings and a Werewolf by Kristin Miller

Review Copy Source: Netgalley

To have and to howl…

Logan Black, former Marine and bodyguard for the Seattle Wolf Pack, hates weddings and has no plan to walk the path to matrimonial misery. But when he’s hired to protect a hot-to-trot wedding planner with a werewolf stalker, he’s forced to put his feelings aside. Not such an easy task when the damsel can turn him on with a single smoldering glance.

Wedding planner Veronica Vale knows werewolves exist, but hates them. One bit her sister, changing their lives forever. When a sexy Marine shows his gorgeous face at one of her wedding appointments, Veronica finds it hard to focus on the task at hand.

The chemistry drawing Logan and Veronica together seems fated, but with Logan’s playboy attitude, Veronica’s hatred for werewolves, and a stalker lurking in the shadows, these two need more than passion to keep them together.

FOUR WEDDINGS AND A WEREWOLF was just as good as the first book in this series. The couple was hot, the story was believable and the characters kept you interested. Veronica's sister was attacked and turned by a werewolf and although her sister is happy with her life now Veronica has a hate towards werewolves. Unfortunately she is being stalked and the person that is protecting her is a werewolf. Logan likes to be alone but Veronica tempts him in every way. They romance between the two was rocky but it was believable and I like a book where I can picture the story happening right next door. This one did that.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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 Tempt the Stars by Karen Chance

Review Copy Source: Netgalley

Being a goddess is a lot less fun than you might think. Especially when you’re only a half goddess, and you only found out about it recently, and you still don’t know what you’re doing half the time. And when you’ve just used your not-so-reliable powers to burglarize the booby-trapped office of a vampire mob boss.

Yeah, that part sucks.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Cassandra Palmer, aka the Pythia, the freshly minted chief seer of the supernatural world. After all, Cassie still has to save a friend from a fate worse than death, deal with an increasingly possessive master vampire, and prevent a party of her own acolytes from unleashing a storm of fury upon the world. Totally just your average day at the office, right?

This series never fails to keep me coming back. It has been a while since the last book in the series but I had no problem jumping right back in with TEMPT THE STARS. I love the person that Cassandra has grown into, I love the position she now holds and I love the allies she has at her back. Emotions are pretty high in TEMPT THE STARS and I don't see the emotions dying down in the next book. Cassandra continues to learn what she can do and the All in all, a great addition to the series. REAP THE WIND comes out in 2014 and I am excited to see where it will bring some of my favorite characters.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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