Review: Mine to Possessby Nalini Singh

A woman returns from a leopard changeling's past, making him question his base animal instincts-and unlock the darkest secrets of his heart. {goodreads}


Book Information
Title: Mine to Possess (Psy-Changeling #4)
Author: Nalini Singh
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 02/05/2008
Page count: 328
Available at: Borders ♦ Barnes & Noble ♦ Amazon

I am officially Hooked, Line, and Sinker to Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series. Somebody…please smack me for not reading this series sooner. Mine to Possess, is the fourth book in the series and features Clay from the Dark River Leopard pack and his childhood sweetheart, Tally. After denying his Leopard side for years, Clay is now a sentinel for the Dark River pack. Still, his wild side threatens to overtake him, leaving behind a rogue beast. Only one thing can change Clay and that’s the little girl who befriended him as a child. Unfortunately, Clay’s savior was killed in a car accident, or so he was told.

A social worker, Tally has one mission. To help the children she is sworn to protect. When a serial killer comes into play, Tally knows of only one person fierce and brave enough to help her rescue her kids …her leopard, Clay. Unfortunately, Tally’s dying from a degenerative disease, so her time is running out. On top of that, Tally’s not sure how Clay will respond when he finds out her death was a hoax created to chase him away.

The chemistry in this book is explosive. Clay and Tally both come from tragic backgrounds, as well as an emotional past that ties them together eternally. Clay is “ALPHA male” to the core, a stubborn and broody sexy male, my personal favorite. I love how Clay is so tough with everyone, except with Tally, the one who melts his heart and soul. As for Tally, her story is an emotional one. Despite her predicament, she’s strong and fights for what she believes in, including the only person she’s ever loved, her savior Clay.

Over and over again, Ms. Singh proves her talent is endless. Mine to Possess is a wonderful story that fits in perfectly with the series. I was happy to see characters from previous books, such as Sascha, Lucas, Vaughn, Faith, and Dorian, as well as some new characters, such as Max and Ashaya. With each new installment, I find myself losing hours of sleep as I get lost in the Psy-Changeling world. Up next is book #5, Hostage to Pleasure, starring my favorite sexy heart-throb, Dorian, which I already know I’ll devour. This series is really just that good!! If you’re a PNR fan or just a romance fan in general, I definitely recommend you check out this series.

Overall Rating: 4.75 out of 5

Review: Born at Midnightby C.C. Hunter

 

Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever.  Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just troubled.  Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side, learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either.  Or does she?  They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason.  As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas.  Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past.  Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…{goodreads}

♦ Reviewed by: Rachel ♦

Born at Midnight is the first book in the Shadow Falls series by C.C. Hunter. It’s a fun, enjoyable read that is a nice addition to the YA supernatural genre.

 Kylie Galen’s life has recently taken a turn for the worse; her boyfriend dumped her since she wouldn’t go all the way with him, her mom and dad are going through a messy divorce, and she’s getting terrifying nightmares when she sleeps. To escape the drama for a little while, Kylie decides to go to a party with her friends. However, the night doesn’t turn out nearly the way Kylie thought it would. Cops show up at the party- and find both drugs and alcohol. Shortly after that, Kylie has to be picked up from the police station by her mom, who is convinced that Kylie has developed problems with drinking. This leads to her mother deciding to send Kylie away to a camp for troubled teens- Shadow Falls Camp. Kylie isn’t happy at all with this idea, but realizes she has no choice but to go.

Upon arriving at the camp, Kylie discovers the existence of creatures she never thought were real- werewolves, warlocks, vampires, fae, etc. Even more disconcerting, the people at the camp insist Kylie is one of them, a supernatural. As she learns more about who and what she is, Kylie meets two new best friends, and also finds herself attracted to two guys; Lucas, a werewolf from Kylie’s past, and Derek, a half-fae who makes no secret of the fact that he wants more than just friendship from Kylie.

The story moved along at a steady pace, although at times it could be a bit slow, and the love triangle was set up nicely. It did get a bit tiresome when Kylie continued to miss and talk about her ex; I understand that she was hurt by his decision to dump her, but his reason for breaking up with her made him a jerk, and he was even seen with a new girl shortly after they separated, so when Kylie kept trying to make him seem like a decent guy, I wasn’t buying it. But Kylie’s new love interests are intriguing guys who I can’t wait to learn more about. And I thought Kylie’s connection to the ghost who has been following her around was an interesting revelation.

 Overall, Born at Midnight is a great coming of age story with good world-building and likable characters. It contains all the things I like in a book; a relatable main character, a cast of secondary characters that I’m genuinely interested in, romance, and an alluring mystery. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. Definitely recommended to fans of the paranormal YA genre.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Liked Rachel's review?? Check her out on Goodreads here

Book Information
Title: Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls #1)
Author: C.C. Hunter
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: 03/29/2011
Page Count: 416
Available at:  Borders ♦ Barnes & Noble ♦ Amazon

Review: Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, warrior cloth as her brother: A fighter by nature, and a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of Chosen females, there is no place for her on the Far Side… and no role for her on the front lines of the war, either.

When she suffers a paralyzing injury, human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello is called in to treat her as only he can- and he soon gets sucked into her dangerous, secret world. Although he never before believed in things that go bump in the night- like vampires- he finds himself more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks both his body and his soul. 

As the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human and vampire worlds collide … just as a centuries old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy. {goodreads}

Initial Thoughts

Of all the PNR books out there today, I'd have to say that Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood's series is one of my absolute favorites. With each new installment, I find myself biting my nails and literally going crazy waiting for each release date to arrive. Lover Unleashed was no exception. Although, I will admit to being a bit skeptical for two reasons: 1.) The predecessor to Lover Unleashed, Lover Mine was in one word, "brilliant," so anything after had a massive pair of proverbial shit-kickers to fill. 2.) Word on the street was that "this book fell short" in the romance department. Having now read Lover Unleashed, book #9 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, {sighs in relief} I am happy to report that my preconceived skepticism was, as Ward puts it, no "BFD." LOL, here's the low down.

The Good

Overall, I really enjoyed Lover Unleashed. Payne, sister to Vishous and daughter of the scribe virgin was a completely different person in this book. No longer the hard-arse, kickin' the crap out of Wrath type, this Payne is innocently naive. Still a warrior at heart, it was nice to see her with her guard down, especially as she experiences the emotions of "first time" love with Manny. Vishous and Jane get a lot of page time in this book. For V, his emotions are on overdrive, and  facing them force him, Jane, and Butch down a very, very, dark path. This is a much needed journey, one that leads V to reveal his true feelings for both Jane and Butch.  Finally!! A new character is introduced in this book, XCOR, who comes with a very interesting back story, along with a merry band of bastards. Warden opens up a whole new can of worms with these characters, and I'm interested to see what their role will be in the future. Last but not least, the Lesser dialogue, which normally consumes so much of the series is almost non-existent in this book YEAH, we get a break from Mr. D, Mr. X, Omega yada...yada crap!

The Bad

My only issue with Lover Unleashed is that most of my favorite characters/brothers are MIA. I really wanted a glimpse of how the couples: Wrath and Beth, Mary and Rhage, Butch and Marissa, Phury and Cormia, Rhevenge and Elena, John Matthew and Xhex are doing. Unfortunately, there wasn't any. Also missing from the scene is Tohr, Lassiter, and most importantly, N'One. I'm pretty sure that N'One is supposed to be Payne's caretaker, although there is no mention of her within the book. I also would have liked to see some headway with Qhuin and Blay, but again, no such luck. Poor Qhuay:(

Overall Reaction

Lover Unleashed is a great addition to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I found the relationship between Manny and Payne to be, in simple terms, sweet and I look forward to seeing where the Warden takes them in the future. I'm also extremely happy the Warden introduced us to some new characters, one's that will hopefully keep the BDB series alive for a long long time, true! I'll admit that yes, the book has some issues, but for the most part, these issues are minor and not distracting enough to take away from the integrity of the story. In the end, it's "No BFD!"

Final Rating: 4 out of 5

Book Information

Title: Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood #9)

Author: J. R. Ward

Publisher: NAL

Published: 03/29/11

Page Count: 489, Hardcover

Available at:  Borders ♦ Barnes & Noble ♦ Amazon