Blood Fury by J. R. Ward 3 ✭

Title:	Blood Fury
Author:	J.R. Ward
Publisher:	Ballantine Books
Series:	Black Dagger Legacy
Genre:	Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publish Date:	January 9, 2018
Sold by:	Random House LLC
Pages:	442
Ages:	18+

Rating: ✭✭✭

I'm sitting here with a cup of tea and not in the meme way that anyone who is under 30 would immediately assume. No, I'm trying to cut back on coffee. I drink too much, but I love the whole flavor that makes coffee what it is. But sometimes you just hit a point and enough is enough. I feel like that is this Black Dagger Legacy for me. I love the world and the characters. I love how easy you can just pick up one of these books and just roll with it. Just enjoy the blend of old characters and new characters. The setting is like the aroma of coffee. It just feels like home. But when you have too much coffee you become jumpy, maybe cranky, and dissatisfied in the end. That is where I am at.

I like the idea of what Ward is doing. Making this series about multiple people and getting some new blood in with old blood. I love the family value themes in each of these books. They're more than just a super dramatic romance story. These are good books. They deserve to be picked up off a shelf and read for sure. I just don't know how I feel about the two couples per book thing going on. I don't think I have read any other books with authors doing that. So that is really cool. I feel like Ruhn and Saxton's story was short and worked good. It brought enough to the table to feel right sharing with another couple. Novo & Peyton had a good story too. I think the story arc that they went through was good. I just wish there was a little more. Maybe more of Peyton's fun side that only came out when things were going well with him and Novo. Just a bit more. 

I want to say that this feels like two novellas that take place at the same time and so they were put together. That isn't a terrible thing. I like it. I just wish there was a little more feeling. A little more depth. Just a little bit more. 

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Blood Kiss by J.R. Ward 4 ✭

Title:	Blood Kiss
Author:	J.R. Ward
Publisher:	Berkley
Series:	Black Dagger Legacy
Genre:	Paranormal Romance
Publish Date:	December 1, 2015
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Pages:	428
Ages:	18 +

Rating: ✭✭✭✭

I just can't quit J. R. Ward. No matter how a book may leave me sometimes wishing I could, I just can't. I always hope for better in the next one. Better character connections, better display of emotions, or better story advancement. Something like that. With Blood Kiss, I am actually looking forward to reading more about the new recruits. Now, I'm not knocked out of the park like I was with Consumed by Ward. But I am interested in continuing. For example, with the main Black Dagger Brotherhood series, I am stuck on The King, and can't finish it. I don't even remember the two books prior to it really either. I have just lost interest in the events of the story, but not the characters. So it's nice reading new "events" with the who recruitment process and still seeing some OG BDB.

I was stuck between a 3 and a 4-star rating for this. I think it has to do with my unpopular opinion, to be honest. Craeg is a good male character for this story. I feel like at the end of the book his character could really have been a little more conflicted. I feel like there could have been a little more emotional build-up to the HAE end there. It wasn't bad. If it was supposed to snap into HAE like it did because of the saving the day moment, then I feel like not the emotions then more internal talking about how it snapped into place. 

Paradise is the Marissa I wanted. Although, we don't want a giant world full of similar type casts for EVERY book in a huge series right. So I respect Marissa for who is she as a person and how she fits into the world. Paradise is just more interesting to me. She is a young woman in the Glymera world who is supposed to be this pretty trophy with a good pedigree. But she wants to push herself to more. It turns out she is blindly capable of the recruit program. She makes it in and is the top of the class and it barely seems like it registers to her. Until later, there is an internal monologue that she intends to be true to the program. I wish there was a little more to read from Paradise and Craeg for sure.

Unpopular Opinion: I have never been a fan of Marissa and Butch. I was just never super into them. I feel like this book made me tolerate them more. And I also appreciate that it was like a character redo. Like Paradise is the new Marissa. Same for Craeg. Half of this book is about Butch and Marissa. So it took to be from near the end of November to read this book, till about the end of January. That is so many months, but again, I just can't quit Ward. I just have never been a fan of them. If it was a book just about them I would have rated it lower. They go through some mundane emotional struggles that are kinda of redeeming to read. A developed relationship with some problems. But I am just not a fan of them. Sorry.

Overall, I feel like this is a decent start for a spin-off from the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I liked the new characters introduced. I liked the conflict that does happen within the story, and that it isn't just more Lessening Society.

You can check out the beginning of Blood Kiss by J. R. Ward below,

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Shades of Wicked by Jeaniene Frost 5 ✭

Title:	Shades of Wicked
Author:	Jeaniene Frost
Publisher:	Avon
Series:	Night Rebel
Genre:	Romance, Fantasy
Publish Date:	October 30, 2018
Sold by:	HarperCollins Publishers
Pages:	384
Ages:	18+

 Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

Oh snap! I am so happy with this book. I, like many other people, have waited for Ian’s book for so long and I am so happy to have it. I devoured it. I loved it just like Cat & Bones story, maybe more. I will say I feel ill knowing the next book isn’t out til summer 2019. My mind is still spinning. I literally just put the book down and had to run to fangirl about the book.

Where to start? Even in the dedication of the book, she writes to her fans who keep asking about Ian's book. This is for us fam!! Jeaniene Frost has a sweet part in her acknowledgments to her husband that made me tear up because I just love her and it was so sweet. Chapter One I almost starting DMing her on twitter because I was so amused by the whole start. It felt perfect for Ian. It was everything that I would hope from his amusingly wicked (pun intended) character. Here’s the thing, I don’t even use twitter, really. I feel stupidly awkward using it, but I wanted to scream and shout my support out to her. I wanted to express how happy I was, and that was just chapter one. It continued to amaze me as I went and I read 70% of the book in the first half a day of having the book.

Ian was the multidimensional character that you have been getting hints about through all the books. He was amusing like a kid, dastardly with his schemes, downright dirty and you will love every bit. I think by the end of the Night Rebel series, He will be very strong. Like on scaled with Bones and Mencheres. He knows how to wield magic even though it is against the law. He is extremely intelligent which she found out when she was using many languages and he knew them all. He is impulsive, but it's amazing.

I really liked Veritas. With Jeaniene Frost, you always expect a strong, capable female able to take care of herself. Same goes for Veritas. She couldn’t be thousands of years old and not be able to. She’s got the dual lineage thing going for her too. Honestly, I was really concerned that she would be too tough. I didn’t want to read a predictably tough chick. Which is what I feel like Leila in the Night Prince series has become. Veritas has had a different life since she isn’t just a vampire. She has had to live always being guarded so people wouldn’t discover her mix breed. She also is a Law Guardian, so living to the law and being distant from people has made her have this guarded, boring personality. But like Ian says in the book, when she was drunk (which is my absolute favorite part of the book) and wearing her true form, that’s when she is most herself. When she and Ian were being playful with each other, it was such a fangirl moment for me. I can totally see them being an amazing duo for the rest of the book (s). 

It does leave on a major cliffhanger about a demon war that will be coming. I don't want to reveal too much about the ending, or the major events that unfolded during Shades of Wicked. But I will say with the last few lines of the book, it completely reminded me of a scene in one of Cat & Bones books. It felt like coming home to a warm hug. I don't know, I can't explain that well enough. I just felt right. I need to unpack and reread ALL of the books again. Soon. I will soon. I would absolutely pimp this book out to anyone I know to read. I just love these books. I love Jeaniene Frost. Whatever lacking I may have felt in any previous books, it's gone. I am so happy.

I may be biased. Jeaniene Frost is my favorite author. She always delivers a sense of humor that gets me. I urge you to at least read a sample of the book. You can below without leaving the page. 

Into the Fire by Jeaniene Frost 4 ✭

Title: Into the Fire

Author: Jeaniene Frost

Publisher: Avon

Series: Night Prince

Genre: Supernatural, Romance

Publish Date: February 28, 2017

Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers

Pages: 389

Ages: 18 & Older

Rating: ✭✭✭✭

Yes, it has been a little bit since a post and I am so sorry for that. It has been busy with kids birthdays, and best friends visiting from out of state. It's going to keep being busy because we finally have a house. We are in the final stages of buying our first house. So I decided that I am going to try and borrow a few audiobooks to listen and pack. So far I have finished one book and I'm like a third into another. We get the keys to our house on July 25th, so since today is the 15th, I have less than 10 days to be done packing so we can load up a truck. I really wish I could dig into a few more ARC's I have waiting but I'm going to have to wait. 

To the Review!

I want to start off by informing you that I am totally a Jeaniene Frost fangirl. I really do enjoy her books a lot and I can't put my finger on the exact reason why I just overall love her writing and her characters. The narrator for this audiobook did an amazing job. She was able to put the feelings into her voice so good that it blew me away. It has been a while since I have listened to an audiobook too so maybe I didn't pay attention to those things before. I don't know.

This is the finale to the Night Prince series in the Night Huntress World. These books featured Vlad and Leila and their romance. Over the four total books, you get to see Leila transform into a strong badass woman. I suspect Leila and Cat (The OG Jeaniene Frost badass chick) will be best friends in no time. Vlad has also changed a little but really he is always angry and ready to kill anyone in an instant. This definitely doesn't change in this book as they search for a way to remove the spell that is linking Leila's life to Vlad's nephew. Mircea has also been trying to kill Leila and is Vlad's enemy. With Vlad's tendency to kill first ask later, this has forced Vlad to have a little patience. 

This really does finish off the series good. I feel like it is a good ending and a good HEA. You see just how far Vlad is willing to go to save his wife. It also completely sets you up for Ian's book coming this fall. So I would read this for sure just so that you can see the events that lead into Ian's book properly. Will I be getting Ian's book? Yes, I already pre-ordered it because I have wanted Ian to have his own book forever. Fangirl... 

Check out a Free Sample below of Into the Fire without leaving the page.

Ride the Storm by Karen Chance 4 ✭

Title: Ride the Storm

Author: Karen Chance

Series: Cassie Palmer 

Genre: Paranormal & Urban Fantasy, Romance

Publish Date: April 7, 2017

Pages: 606

Ages: 18 + 

Rating: ✭✭✭✭

I have been reading this series for years and what keeps me going is how Karen Chance solves the problem. It's so unique, it's things I wouldn't have dreamed of.  Maybe that's my lack of creativity, who knows, but its what keeps me coming back for more with this series.

Cassie has gone through a lot in this series and this book really shows her individual growth an individual with multiple talents. She is still getting chased all over but the Pythias that think that she is a rogue, she is still trying to save Pritkin, and she is finally learning key bits of information from Mircea.

I would have rated this book higher but it was slow in the beginning. I jumped from one thing to another and it was very chaotic. I feel like it was very important for Cassie to have all these little battles pile up on top of each other for the story to progress the way it did. But, there was a lot of pages where Cassie was drained or dead tired. So that's what the dull aspect to the book was, but again it was very important to her growth. 

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