Cover Love - Archangel's Storm

Look at how scrumptious Jason's cover is! I know Nalini must be delighted, goodness knows I am!

Angel's Flight by Nalini Singh - A Review(-ish)

Can't get enough of Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series world? This book is just the antidote. Featuring four novellas (three of which have been previously published), the book gives Happily Ever Afters to three minor characters in the series and gives a tempting taste of another possible couple.

Angels’ Pawn:

A vampire hunter faces off against two rival factions and the angel manipulating them both, and a vampire whose help is not entirely selfless…

We first meet Ashwini, a Guild Hunter, in Angel's Blood (the first full length Guild Hunter book). She is fearless, tenacious, and has been chasing the vampire Janvier all over the bayou. The two have a contentious relationship filled with sexual tension and zingy one liners. In Angel's Pawn, Janvier helps Ashwini get to the bottom of a disagreement between two vampire kisses who are fighting. Ashwini and Janvier must go to Nazarach (the angel's) home to broker the peace. The two continue to circle around each other, with the tension and attraction between the two growing. While the story does promise a possible connection between the two, it ends up being another chapter in their ongoing hunter/prey relationship. The question is, who is the hunted and who is the prey?

Final grade: C+/B-

Angels’ Judgment:

A hunter must track one of her own gone bad, while surviving the deadly tests placed in her way by the archangels themselves. Unexpected backup comes from a stranger who might just be the most lethal threat of all…

When we first meet Sara, the Guild Director in Angel's Blood, she's already married with a baby. In Angel's Judgement, we learn how she and Deacon, her husband, fell in love. Sara is about the be promoted to Guild Director, but first she must help the Guild's "Slayer", the enforcer who tracks down Guild Hunters gone bad, find one of their own who has been up to no good. Deacon designs weapons in "real life", but is also who the Guild calls upon when one of their own must be hunted.

I found the idea of a Slayer to be interesting, because of course, any group needs a regulator. I liked the interactions between he and Sara, although I felt that the romance was a bit ancillary to the story, and felt slightly rushed. But then, that's usually my objection with novellas. I rarely feel like I got enough time with the couple.

Final grade: B-

Angel’s Wolf:

A vampire becomes fascinated with the seductive angel who rules Louisiana. But all is not what it appears to be in her court.

We meet Noel in Archangel's Kiss, when a vampire is almost slaughtered in an attack. That vampire was Noel, who is inevitably changed from the attack. He is sent by Dmitri to Nimra to help her get to the bottom of who made the attempt to poison her. Nimra is an extremely powerful angel in her own right, holding Louisiana with a power so frightening other angels avoid her. Despite her great power, she is a gentle soul, one who keeps cats, despite their short lives, and who loves those in her court so much, she finds it difficult to believe any would try to harm her. The attraction between the two is immediate, which is convenient, since the court believe Noel is there as Nimra's lover. But as they close in on who might be trying to harm Nimra, Noel becomes an anchor Nimra never expected to have.

I'm so glad that Nalini gave Noel a Happily Ever After. He was absolutely mangled in the attack in Archangel's Kiss, and it does my heart good to see him happy. This book features a sweet, quiet romance between two likeable characters.

Final grade: B+

Angels’ Dance:

An angel trapped in the mountain stronghold of the Refuge finds herself under siege by a warrior angel from a martial court.

This is easily my very favorite of the stories. I've been intrigued by Jessamy since Archangel's Kiss. A teacher with a mangled wing, who is ancient and kind and unassuming. I love how Galen, one of Raphael's Seven (his closest advisers and enforcers of his rule), narrows in on Jessamy immediately, and pushes her beyond her comfort zone, and into love with him. Galen is blunt and hard and alpha, and Jessamy is a wonderful juxtaposition from him. She's soft and sweet, but not scared at all to stand up for herself. This story was wonderfully satisfying.

The story also allows us to get a tiny taste of others of the Seven, particularly Jason and Aodhan, both of whom NEED their HEAs! Jason will be getting his this year, then I'll be initiating my campaign for Aodhan (fair warning, Nalini!)

Final grade: A

If you are looking for a satisfying taste of the Guild Hunter world while you're waiting for Jason, this book is just the ticket! It's full of interesting characters and enjoyable (if slightly short) romances.

Overall grade: B

*Book blurbs borrowed from Fiction Vixen, who reviews Angel's Flight here. 

**An ARC of the book was provided by the author. Thank you, Nalini!

One Wicked Night by Kelly Jamieson - A Review(-ish)

Kaelin Daume is a good girl. She moved back to tiny Mapleglen, IL when her dad got sick and took care of him until his death. She's an attorney, and smart and pretty. She's also a nice girl. But on the inside, Kaelin feels somewhat hemmed in by her existence. She knows that she wants more, but can't seem to work through the inertia that is keeping her in place to get it.

Recently, Kaelin has been planning her best friend, Avery's wedding. Avery and Kaelin grew up together, and Avery wants to be married in Mapleglen, even though her life is now in L.A. So Kaelin agrees to handle the details so that Avery's mom, who can be a little bit over the top, doesn't blow the wedding up into something Avery doesn't want.

Kaelin has always been drawn to Avery's family, particularly her brother, Tyler. Two years younger than Kaelin, Tyler has always been a bad boy. He's a successful businessman now, but that's no thanks to his parents, who threw him out of the house when he was seventeen. Kaelin knows why Tyler was thrown out, she witnessed the threesome between Tyler, his best friend, Nick and Tracy, a girl from high school. In fact, she can't seem to stop thinking about Tracy tied up and those things that Tyler and Nick were doing to Tracy. Now, Avery has demanded that Tyler be at her wedding, so he's swallowing his resentment towards his parents and showing up, Nick in tow.

Tyler always had strong feelings for Kaelin, but knew that she was way too good for him. So he resorted to teasing and tormenting her to keep her at arm's length. unbeknownst to Tyler, Kaelin and his best friend, Nick, have always kept in touch. So Kaelin is aware that Tyler is coming back, and she knows it's going to be difficult for him. But as soon as he arrives, the sparks start flying between the two of them. Both are still attracted, but Tyler still thinks he's not good enough for Kaelin. Plus, he's quite sure she'd never understand about his relationship with Nick, which is much more than just best friends. They're lovers.

Tyler is wrong. Kaelin still wants him, and is totally fine with his relationship with Nick. Now the question becomes, what will Kaelin do to make Tyler understand how much she wants to be wicked with him.

This book wasn't without its issues. The author had a ton of dynamics going on within the story. There was a small backstory between Tyler and Avery's parents, which was never really addressed. There was the Tyler and Nick dynamic, which was touched on, but not really fleshed out. There was some sort of a fight between Tyler and Nick about work, which was never really delved into. Kaelin had an ex-boyfriend who had unresolved feelings for her, who cameoed as an annoyance, but was never really expanded upon. Then there was the dynamic between Tyler and Avery AND between Kaelin and Tyler. There was many moving parts, and unfortunately, it drew attention away from the main story, which was intended to be the relationship between the three protagonists, Tyler, Kaelin and Nick.

I think the story would have been better served to have fewer dynamics, and more focus on the growing relationship between the three. While Kaelin is pretty well fleshed out, most of Tyler's past is "told" rather than experienced, making him seem mostly like a big jerk because the reader didn't really understand his motivation for being so nasty. For his part, Nick just seemed to be a really nice guy, who inexplicably loved Tyler, even though he really wasn't that nice to him.

I will say this, Ms. Jamieson writes really lovely sex scenes, well orchestrated and emotional. But the interpersonal dynamics between the characters really made it hard to invest in their happily ever after, and the book ended with me still not convinced that Tyler was worthy of either Nick or Kaelin. While this wasn't my favorite menage book by any means, I'd definitely give Ms. Jamieson another shot. I think she's got an effective voice for romance, but hope that the next book I read by her focuses more on the romance and less on creating a big whirl of extraneous drama.

Final grade: C

By His Rules by J.A. Rock - A Review(-ish)

By His Rules by JA Rock explores the impact of an abusive BDSM relationship on a young actor named Aiden, as well as the healing power of a healthy domestic discipline relationship that heals his wounds, both physical and mental.

Aiden is a submissive. He's looking for a strong top who can teach him to ins and outs of the BDSM lifestyle after realizing that the relationships he's had in past are mostly role playing and not the "real" aspect of BDSM. Aiden hooks up with a man named Scott who has a reputation as a brutal Dom. After a painful yet enjoyable night with Scott, Aiden decides to take Scott up on his invitation to spend three nights a week with him learning how to be a "real" Sub. Learning to be a "real" sub involves abuse, pure and simple. Scott brutalizes Aiden both physically, causing vicious wounds, but it's the mental brutality that takes a real toll on Aiden. Scott calls him "Shithead", he constantly tells Aiden how ugly he is, how stupid, and makes Aiden question everything, his intelligence, his self-confidence, even his talent as an actor. Aiden ends up losing his job because he's so scattered from Scott's nastiness that he can barely think straight. He moves in with his friend, Hera, who along with her partners try to rehabilitate Aiden, who is now at turns angry, frustrated, and terribly sad. After weeks of living with the girls, Hera is at a loss as to how to help Aiden recover. She goes to her art professor, Keaton, who she thinks might be in the life due to some of the art he shows in his classes.

Sure enough, Keaton knows Aiden. And knows of Scott. He's seen Aiden before and even interacted with him after Scott's abuse began. He's worried for the young man, but didn't know how to intervene. He agrees to speak with Aiden, and ends up offering Aiden a place to stay. Aiden, like the beaten down young man (child) that he is, thinks that he owes Keaton sex for his hospitality. Keaton doesn't want that. He does want Aiden, but not for Domination. Keaton wants to have a Domestic Disciplinary relationship with Aiden. What is Domestic Discipline? Here is a definition, as written by Learning Domestic Discipline, a blog:

Domestic Discipline is the practice between two consenting life partners in which the husband (or head of the household) takes the necessary measures to achieve a healthy marriage (or relationship) dynamic; the necessary measures to create a healthy home environment; and the necessary measures to protect all members of the family from dangerous or detrimental outcomes by punishing the contributing, and thus unwanted, behaviors for the greater good of the entire family.  In addition to punishing the unwanted behaviors, the husband (or head of the household) is also responsible for rewarding the positive behaviors in an effort to reinforce them for the greater good of the entire family.  The husband is ALWAYS to do this in a very safe, loving, healthy, controlled, and composed manner.

Keaton wants he and Aiden to come up with a set of rules that will set boundaries and limitations for their relationship. And he wants Aiden to allow him to enforce those rules by spanking, writing lines, or sitting in the corner, if Aiden breaks them.

Aiden is hesitant about allowing the DD lifestyle to become his own. He yearns for someone to discipline him, but he also is not sure about handing over the running of his life to someone else. Keaton explains to him that they will have a mutually loving relationship, but that Aiden will put his trust in Keaton to make the decisions about when rules are broken, and to take responsibility for enforcing those rules on Aiden.

Aiden, his confidence shattered, agrees to the relationship. And strangely, he finds that when Keaton provides structure for his life, he does better. He needs the discipline, and Keaton forces Aiden to talk to him about how he's feeling, slowly but surely building Aiden's self-worth as a man, and helping him to grow.

I was actually SHOCKED that this book worked for me. I had read a M/F DD book in the past, and was completely outraged by it. I could not for the life of me understand why a woman would hand over the running of her life to a man. But in this case, Aiden came from a brutal relationship where his confidence was shot. He was rudderless and devastated. Keaton's gentle reassurance, and yes, discipline helped Aiden's character grow. He accomplished his goals, and yes, he was disciplined when he screwed up. The dynamic between Keaton and Aiden was paternalistic, but for some reason it worked for me. I think part of the reason was that Aiden was a submissive. Also, embarrassingly for me, another reason was he was a guy. While the discipline scenes were never titillating in any way, I did find the relationship between Keaton and Aiden to be sexy. Even if I found Aiden to be immature and childish a lot of the time.

The beginning of this book started out so violently, which was shocking to me as a reader, but the second half of the book, which built the relationship between Aiden and Keaton were touching in sweet in their juxtaposition from the violence of the first half of the book. While I still have serious reservations about domestic discipline books, this one worked pretty well for me, with likeable characters who really do grow and flourish from the relationship.

Final grade: B

Broken by Megan Hart - A Review(-ish)

CONFESSION: I've bought and DNF'd three Megan Hart books prior to reading this one. Mostly because her books make me squirmy uncomfortable. Not the kind of uncomfortable that comes from something good, but from socially awkward situations that make me just want the floor to open up and swallow me. Much like watching the auditions from American Idol make me uncomfortable. ANYWAY...

I bought Broken because Mandi from Smexybooks bought it, read it, and found it devastating. Since I am a great lover of a heaping helping of angst with my romance, I went ahead and bought it.

Sadie is a therapist. She is also a wife who may or may not be cheating on her husband, depending on how you look at it. You see, Sadie's husband, Adam was paralyzed from the neck down in a skiing accident about four years before the book opens. Adam was Sadie's sun and moon, he was what her life revolved around completely. And when his accident happened, her life changed. Sure, Adam is still what her life revolves around, but now it's around the constant care that Adam requires. It's about remembering all the reasons she loves him, even if he takes his frustrations out on her. It's about being faithful, even if she hasn't had sex with anyone but herself since the accident.

And that's the kicker. Each month, on the first Friday, Sadie sits on a park bench in an atrium near her office. And she waits for Joe. Joe is gorgeous. He's an attorney, he's single, he's dynamic, he's everything Sadie is attracted to. And in the last two years of sitting on this park bench, Sadie has fallen in love with him. Joe is also a man whore. Every month he tells Sadie the story of some woman (mostly girl-childs) who he has hooked up with during the last month. And Sadie fantasizes that she IS that woman. He's a wonderful raconteur, and the stories are very vivid in nature. But Joe is unable to commit to any woman. Sadie believes it's because he's searching for the perfect woman for him. His perfect match. But the longer Sadie listens to Joe's stories, the more entangled she becomes in his spell, and the closer she slides to a line that a married woman should not cross.

Mandi was right. This story is devastating. It's uncomfortable. It's difficult, and it's splendidly written. The story is told only from Sadie's perspective. And the juxtaposition of those stolen moments with Joe, where she fantasizes about his women, and her real life, which is focused on bringing just a little joy to her husband, and whether he has bed sores, and whether she can really go out and grab a cup of coffee with her sister, is remarkable. In the moments with Joe, I believe that Sadie is her true self. With Adam, Sadie must constantly reassure him. She must be caregiver, wife, mother all at once. And Adam is not always appreciative of the roles she takes on. She loves him. But he makes it difficult. And as the story goes on, we know that Adam realizes that *something* is going on with Sadie. But really, there is no way that Sadie will leave Adam, even if she is entranced with Joe.

My reaction to this book was mixed. I think that Megan Hart is a brilliant author. Her story was smartly told by a character whose voice was authentic to me. But I wasn't sure how I felt about Sadie's wavering feelings. I completely understood her reaction to Joe. I understood her true frustration at loving her husband, but also understanding that her life was inextricably changed. But I also felt to my core that she was over that line. The line of appropriate behavior for someone who was married. I understood it. I empathized with her loneliness, but I also judged her for her behavior. I think because she had already crossed the line with Joe before the book opens, it made it even more difficult for me to excuse her behavior.

The book also ends on a hopeful note, but not an HEA. And honestly, it's so emotionally devastating, I'm not sure that was enough for me. It's one of the few books where I was absolutely tempted to read the end first because until the final few chapters, I had no idea how the story would end. I believe that Ms. Hart ended it in the only way that she could. But I'm just not sure it was enough for me. I needed a moment or two of shiny happy, and that was definitely not there. The technical writing, the prose, the character development were all fantastically done. But the I'm not sure that I can overcome the discomfort I felt reading the book. Overall, I found Broken to be a brilliantly written, emotionally draining novel. Will I ever try Megan Hart again? I can't say I ever would. I don't like squirming that much.

Final grade: B