Larissa's ARC Review: The Unleashing {Call of Crows #1} by Shelly Laurenston

  

The Unleashing

 by 

Shelly Laurenston

WINGING IT

Kera Watson never expected to face death behind a Los Angeles coffee shop. Not after surviving two tours lugging an M16 around the Middle East. If it wasn’t for her hot Viking customer showing up too late to help, nobody would even see her die.

In uncountable years of service to the Allfather Odin, Ludvig “Vig” Rundstrom has never seen anyone kick ass with quite as much style as Kera. He knows one way to save her life—but she might not like it. Signing up with the Crows will get Kera a new set of battle buddies: cackling, gossiping, squabbling, party-hearty women. With wings. So not the Marines.

But Vig can’t give up on someone as special as Kera. With a storm of oh-crap magic speeding straight for L.A., survival will depend on combining their strengths: Kera’s discipline, Vig’s loyalty… and the Crows’ sheer love of battle. Boy, are they in trouble. 

• Publisher: Kensington
• Release Date: March 31st 2015    
• Series: Call of Crows
• Author's Website
• Pre-Order the book:

*NO Spoilers!

I am a HUGE Shelly Laurenston fan! Her Shifters series is one of my favorite PNR series ever and her Dragon Kin series written by her as G.A. Aiken, is amazing!

When I found out she was starting a new series, I freaked out and when I saw it available and got it on Netgalley, it made my month!

The Unleashing is a great start and introduction to a brand new world and series. I loved the mythology Laurenston has inserted into this fantastic world. Such richness of characters and creatures, I cannot wait to read more.

Kera and Vig are such an awesome couple! I loved their romance from beginning to end. I really loved how awesome Kera is right from the beginning and the stalkerish behavior Vig shows in the beginning is just this side of creepy

The one minor thing that bothered me was how many POVs we get in The Unleashing. It was fun, but it was maybe one too many.

Despite that, The Unleashing is a superb start to a series by one of my fave authors!

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Larissa's Advanced Review: Figure of Speech {Halle Shifters #4} by Dana Marie Bell

  

Figure of Speech by Dana Marie Bell 

When two hearts speak as one, no words are needed.

Chloe Williams has waited four long years for her mate to acknowledge her. Time and again he has turned her away for being too young, even when she was hospitalized, recovering from a beating that left lingering after effects. Now that he’s been turned into a Wolf, his mating instincts are kicking in big time. Chloe has to decide if it’s worth risking her heart yet again.

Ten years older than Chloe and dealing with issues she knows nothing about, veterinarian James Woods is about ready to howl in frustration. He’s been drawn to Chloe since she was a radiant nineteen-year-old college student, but the age difference held him back from making a move on her. Now his Wolf wants what’s his, and Jim is finally in a place where he can claim her.

Between meddling mothers, Hunter brothers, and a mystery that threatens to end Chloe’s life, they might find an opportunity to tell each other just how they feel. Or find themselves separated by more than just misunderstood words.

Warning: This book contains explicit sex, graphic language, and two people who finally get their damn act together.

• Publisher: Samhain Publishing
• Release Date: March 3rd 2015    
• Series: Halle Shifters
• Author's Website
• Pre-Order the book:

*NO Spoilers!

I love this series! I love the Halle Shifters, the Pumas, the close-by Pack and this fantastic world Dana Marie Bell created!

I was dying to get Chloe and James's Story for so long and their romance was pretty awesome!!! I really enjoyed the glimpse we got of the other characters in this great town.

The only thing that brought down the rating for me is that we don't really get a conclusion to the issues Chloe and other shifters are having during the novel =(

I get that it's a set up for the next one, but I really needed at least some conclusion.

Other than that, Figure of Speech was a great read and I cannot wait for the next one in the Halle Shifters series.

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Larissa's Review: Blood Assassin {The Sentinels #2} by Alexandra Ivy

  

Blood Assassin by Alexandra Ivy 

They are the outcasts of humanity. Blessed with power. Cursed by fate. Driven by passion. The Sentinels have returned. . .

Out Of The Shadows

At six-foot-three and two-hundred-fifty pounds, Fane is a natural born guardian. A flawless mix of muscled perfection and steely precision, he has devoted years of his life to protecting a beautiful necromancer. But after she found love in the arms of another, Fane has been a warrior adrift. He swears allegiance only to the Sentinels. And no woman will ever rule his heart again. . .

Into The Fire

Not only a powerful psychic, Serra is that rare telepath who can connect to minds through objects. When the daughter of a high-blood businessman is kidnapped, Serra agrees to help. But when she stumbles onto a conspiracy involving secrets sects and ancient relics, her life is in mortal danger--and Fane is her only hope. Is the warrior willing to risk his body, his soul, and his heart, for Serra? Or will one last betrayal destroy them both?

• Publisher: Zebra
• Release Date: December 30th, 2014    
• Series: The Sentinels
• Author's Website
• Buy the book:

*NO Spoilers!

I really like the world Alexandra Ivy has created for her Sentinels series. It is a fantastic world, full of adventure, intrigue and great characters that I am looking forward to revisit.

Since it had been almost exactly an year since I read Born in Blood, I had a bit of a hard time remembering it's story and the world's particulars. I did glimpse at the previous book, but Blood Assassin did a pretty good job in getting me situated and back into the thick of things.

Fane and Serra's story is alluded to in Born in Blood and I really enjoyed getting to know these two better in Blood Assassin. I really love the ratio of smex, romance and action in The Sentinels series, it feels like the perfect balance for a PNR.

Fane is sexy as hell and Serra is a great, strong heroine. Their relationship is years in the making and when it is finally time for them to be together it is combustible.

Great addition to a very promising series! Cannot wait for more!

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Larissa's 5 Loveys Review: Crouching Tiger, Forbidden Vampire {Love at Stake #16} by Kerrelyn Sparks

  

Russell wakes from a coma to find he's become a vampire. Now he has a thirst for revenge. Determined to hunt down the master vampire who turned him, he's used to working alone . . . until he meets Jia. She is after the same vampire for murdering her parents and insists she can help Russell on this mission. Reluctantly, he agrees, and sets up some ground rules:

Rule #1: Their partnership is strictly business. If he holds her a little too close . . . if she looks at him with those exotic eyes . . . well, that has to stop.

Rule #2: He's in charge. Jia isn't used to taking orders and questions every move he makes. So he stops her the only way he knows how.

Rule #3: Don't fall in love. But the kiss that was supposed to quiet her awakens something else in him . . . something forbidden. Because Jia is engaged. To someone else.

• Publisher: Avon 
• Release Date: December 30th 2014   
• Series: Love at Stake 
• Author's Website
• Buy the book:

*NO Spoilers!

I love a great paranormal romance series that has steamy romances, amazing world building, fascinating cast of characters and a sense of humor. The Love at Stake series has all that in spades and apparently Crouching Tiger, Forbidden Vampire is the last book in the series, for now. 

Of course, because this is one of my fave series and since we don't know when or even if we are getting more novels in the series, I went into this newest installment with very high expectations.

I am very glad to be able to say that Crouching Tiger, Forbidden Vampire not only met my expectations but went above and beyond.

This was an amazing book and a perfect addition/finale. Although I would not be upset at all if we got more and more books in this lovely series.

I really don't want to spoil a second of this fantastic and thrilling journey, so I will just say that if you are a fan of the Love at Stake series, Crouching Tiger, Forbidden Vampire is definitely a MUST read! 

Russel and Jia were as utterly lovable couple and the conclusion to the story line we had been following for a while is pretty amazing. 

I absolutely LOVED IT and I am sure you will too!

Previously in The Love at Stake Series:

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Larissa's 5 Loveys Review: Magic Breaks {Kate Daniels #7} by Ilona Andrews

Magic Breaks {Kate Daniels #7}

by Ilona Andrews

No matter how much the paranormal politics of Atlanta change, one thing always remains the same: if there’s trouble, Kate Daniels will be in the middle of it…

As the mate of the Beast Lord, Curran, former mercenary Kate Daniels has more responsibilities than it seems possible to juggle. Not only is she still struggling to keep her investigative business afloat, she must now deal with the affairs of the pack, including preparing her people for attack from Roland, a cruel ancient being with god-like powers. Since Kate’s connection to Roland has come out into the open, no one is safe—especially those closest to Kate.

As Roland’s long shadow looms ever nearer, Kate is called to attend the Conclave, a gathering of the leaders from the various supernatural factions in Atlanta. When one of the Masters of the Dead is found murdered there, apparently at the hands of a shapeshifter, Kate is given only twenty-four hours to hunt down the killer. And this time, if she fails, she’ll find herself embroiled in a war which could destroy everything she holds dear…

• Release Date:  July 29th 2014
• Publisher: Ilona Andrews
• Author's web site
• Pre-Order Magic Breaks:

*No Spoilers for Magic Breaks

I have yet to read a novel by Ilona Andrews that I didn't love and Magic Breaks is not going to ruin my stride.

I absolutely love the world building of the Kate Daniels series, but most of all I enjoy the characters and their relationships. Kate and Curran are my favorite fictional couple and I adore how stable and awesome they are.

Magic Breaks is the culmination of the Roland story arch in the series. I will not spoil it for anyone but the resolution the main arch was crazy and very surprising. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did.

I am definitely looking forward to where Ilona Andrews is taking the series. I can't wait for more!

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Larissa's Review: Born in Blood (The Sentinels #1) by Alexandra Ivy

  

Born In Blood by Alexandra Ivy 

Sergeant Duncan O’Conner has seen it all before. A beautiful erotic dancer is found murdered in her home—no suspect, no motive. But there’s one clue: she’s missing her heart. It’s enough to make the hard-bitten Kansas City cop enlist the help of a necro—one of the dead-channeling freaks who live in the domed city of nearby Valhalla. It’s a long shot, but desperate crimes call for desperate measures. 

Unlike the other “high-bloods” in Valhalla, Callie Brown considers her abilities a gift, not a curse. But when she reads the dancer’s final thoughts, she senses a powerful presence blocking her vision. This is no ordinary homicide. This is the work of a legendary necromancer who controls souls. A ravenous force that will put Callie’s skills to the test, O’Conner’s career at risk, and both their hearts on the line…literally.

• Publisher: Zebra
• Release Date: December 31st 2013    
• Series: The Sentinels
• Author's Website
• Buy the book:

*NO Spoilers!

When I decided to read Born in Blood, I wasn't very open to new series. But, I had been dying to try a novel by Alexandra Ivy since I met her at AAD a few years ago. I still plan on trying her Guardians of Eternity series, but since this is Book 1 of a new series, I felt more inclined to give it a shot first.

I am SO freaking glad I did! I was very pleasantly surprised by how awesome Born in Blood is. Not only is the world building is quite original, a hard feat in Paranormal Romance nowadays, but the story of Duncan and Callie is a perfect balance of smexy and action-packed. Everything I always want in a PNR series.

I am definitely looking forward to more books in The Sentinels series and I plan to check out the Guardians of Eternity series ASAP. If you love PNR as much as I do, please check out Born in Blood, you won't regret it!

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