Posts Tagged ‘demons’
Monday, July 2nd, 2012
Pros: Very nice new set of characters and dynamic between them
Cons: End-game relationship troubles are way too similar from book to book
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Sidney Westerbrook has arrived in Chicago to act as the temporary bookkeeper for the local talyan, those possessed by repentant demons who fight against evil. His job is supposed to be easy compared to theirs: he studies what they do, keeps the records, does research when needed. He’s planning to use some of the weird stuff going on in Chicago to finish the research that will make a name for him and allow him to take over the London bookkeeper position when his father dies. Unfortunately for him, since the last bookkeeper betrayed them, the Chicago talyan don’t plan to make his job easy on him. They give him no respect and little aid, and soon he ends up in the middle of a demon attack.
Alyce Carver is adrift; she has lost track of the passage of time and moves from one demon attack to another with little awareness of her surroundings. Until, however, she saves Sidney from certain death. He brings her to the League, constantly pushes at the lost memories of her past, and gives her a steady rock to hold onto in the storm that is her eternal life. But a gathering group of evil djinn threatens to destroy not only them, but all of Chicago as well.
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Tags: demons, Jessa Slade, Marked Souls, paranormal, romance
Posted in Horror & Paranormal, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | No Comments »
Monday, July 2nd, 2012
Pros: Interesting world with plenty of explosive action and raw sexuality
Cons: Somewhat predictable
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Jonah Walker was a missionary before he became possessed by a repentant demon and found himself trapped in an eternal fight against evil. Recently he lost a hand to that fight—an injury that even his demon can’t undo. That loss makes him less than able to carry out his purpose, and has left him on the brink of despair. Now, he finds himself drawn to a newly-made possessed, Nim, a stripper who really didn’t count on spending eternity killing demons. She’s one of the very few female possessed in existence, and together with Jonah she has the potential to take control of powers the rest of the Talya haven’t even imagined. The only problem is, the two of them have to work together to make that happen—and the demon-possessed don’t play well with others.
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Tags: demons, erotica, Jessa Slade, Marked Souls, paranormal, romance, urban fantasy
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Friday, June 15th, 2012
Pros: Interesting story and world with some great action
Cons: I didn’t enjoy the dynamic between Liam and Jilly
Rating: 3 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Also posted on Epinions.com.
Liam Niall is the leader of a Chicago chapter of demon slayers who are also all possessed by repentant demons. It’s a dark, lonely, and dangerous existence, but it’s the only thing they know. Until recently, only men were possessed by the repentant demons. Now women have been brought into the fold, and they’re displaying particularly violent powers, ones that only come fully under control once a strong relationship has been established between the possessed woman and a member of the existing group. No one really trusts or understands what is going on.
Jilly Chan is the most recent demon-possessed. She’s in great danger from those who would turn her power against the world. Liam wants to use her as a weapon, but fears the danger she might represent to his people. It doesn’t help that he’s incredibly attracted to her.
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Tags: demons, Jessa Slade, paranormal, romance, urban fantasy
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Thursday, March 8th, 2012
Pros: Fantastic story and characters
Cons: Too much re-re-explaining
Rating: 4 out of 5
Also posted on Epinions.com
Trixa Iktomi is a bar owner who sells information to the human—and not-so-human—residents of Las Vegas. When she gets the itch to have some fun, she and her friends, Griffin and Zeke, hunt demons for the hell of it. She has a particular fondness for pissing off one sexy, smooth-talking demon called Solomon, typically by burning down his nightclub—over, and over, and over again.
Trixa’s been keeping an ear to the ground for a while now in hopes of finding an artifact called the Light of Life, and she finally has a lead. She knows if she can get her hands on it she’ll have angels and demons lining up on both sides to bid for it, if of course she can survive long enough to keep it out of their hands in the first place. But it isn’t money she’s looking for; it’s her brother’s killer. And she won’t stop until she’s had her revenge, no matter how dangerous things get along the way.
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Tags: adventure, angels, demons, paranormal, Rob Thurman, Trickster
Posted in Horror & Paranormal, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 7th, 2012
Pros: Powerful and moving; incredibly erotic; understandable motivations for terrible actions
Cons: Bad guy could have used more fleshing out
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Ruby owns a gun shop because frankly, guns are more reliable than the magic she was born with. Guns are less likely to fail her when tragedy strikes. She’s been hiding away from the one man she hasn’t wanted to see again—Derek—only now he’s found her, and he needs her help. He’s a powerful sorcerer and can help to protect a magical fault line that’s in danger, but she’s the best teacher of magical practice he knows, and he needs her to train a coven of witches to continue guarding it after he’s gone. Ruby might not want to deal with Derek, but the help he needs gives her a needed opportunity for revenge against a demon named Asmodeus, a demon she’s been working up the ability and nerve to kill for years. Derek, however, isn’t about to let Ruby get away without telling him why she left him, and what’s changed her into a woman he hardly recognizes.
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Tags: B&D, demons, erotica, Joey W. Hill, paranormal, romance, witches
Posted in Horror & Paranormal, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | 1 Comment »
Monday, February 13th, 2012
Pros: Love to see Darrak dealing with his insecurities; fascinating demonic/celestial politicking
Cons: Still would like a little more depth to some of the villains
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Also posted on Epinions.com
Eden’s unwanted black magic has started to manifest itself without her conscious direction—a particularly dangerous development, since any use of her magic darkens her soul. Darrak, for his part, is turning into something other than a demon thanks to feeding off of Eden’s celestial energy—something half-light and half-dark. And Lucifer has big plans for Eden, plans that will put Darrak in terrible danger. To make matters worse, Eden’s father has come to earth, but he’s in the hands of Malleus, the group that wants to destroy all supernatural beings. Their plans for him don’t really fall in line with that ostensibly noble goal. The machinations pile up one on top of the other, and somehow Eden and Darrak have to avoid being crushed between them…
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Tags: demons, erotica, Living in Eden, Michelle Rowen, paranormal, romance
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Friday, February 10th, 2012
Pros: Fun relationship; neat plot and world; enjoyable characters
Cons: Still a bit much bickering between Eden and Darrak
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Also posted on Epinions.com
Eden is trying to find a way to get the demon that’s possessing her, Darrak, out, and he’d like nothing more than to comply—as long as they find a way to do it that doesn’t destroy him. In the course of trying to find a local wizard who might have a clue, they end up instead encountering an old friend of Darrak’s, Theo. There’s just one big ol’ problem: since Theo’s a friend from the days when Darrak had a body and thus was an archdemon, Theo is one badass, mean, immoral, deadly creature—in short, just what Darrak used to be. Theo’s more than a little disappointed to find out that Darrak’s becoming tainted by humanity, and is determined to “help” him become what he once was. What else are friends for, after all?
Theo’s plan might just allow Eden and Darrak to go their separate ways—if it doesn’t get Eden killed, of course. Or destroy any number of other equally important beings, since Theo was never one to let a little mayhem and destruction get in the way of a good ambitious plan. His goal hasn’t changed in the last 400 years: he wants to destroy Lucifer, and he wants Darrak’s help to do it. Soon Darrak will have to choose between having his old self back, and saving the life of the woman he’s coming to care about.
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Tags: demons, Living in Eden, Michelle Rowen, paranormal, romance
Posted in Horror & Paranormal, Humor, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | No Comments »
Thursday, February 9th, 2012
Pros: A rather fascinating start to an unusual series
Cons: Poor Eden gets embarrassed a lot; tone struggles a little between dark and campy; a character or two could have used a bit more detail
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Also posted on Epinions.com.
Eden has an unreliable touch of psychic ability, and a knack for being in the right place at the right time… or is that wrong place, wrong time? Right place, wrong time? Wrong place, right time? Any and all of the above, most likely. She’s crushing on the hunky cop who doesn’t believe in anything supernatural (especially psychic consultants), and her first experience working with him is nothing short of traumatic. It also leaves her with one really big problem: a disembodied demon possessing her.
Darrak’s physical body was destroyed hundreds of years ago, and now he’s forced to move from body to body, host to host, just to survive. This is the first time he’s been able to communicate clearly with his host, and even better, Eden’s psychic energy allows him to manifest during the daytime. He can feel that the witch who cursed him is somewhere nearby; he just has to get Eden to help him convince the witch to lift the curse. Before, of course, Eden decides that she’s going crazy. Or has him exorcised (i.e., destroyed). Or falls for that annoying blond cop he dislikes so much…
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Tags: demons, Living in Eden, Michelle Rowen, paranormal, romance
Posted in Horror & Paranormal, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
Pros: Falling Under caught hold of me and refused to let go, even days after I’d finished reading it
Cons: If there were any, I was too enthralled to notice
Rating: 6 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Also posted on Epinions.com
Theia is a Brit living in the small California town of Serendipity Falls. Her father is, at best, chilly, and Theia only has two good friends; she’s hardly part of the in-crowd. Her father keeps her in a gilded cage, so she’s never experienced the dubious teenage joys of dating. Then a mysterious new boy arrives in school, and everything changes—because Theia started dreaming about Haden before he arrived.
Haden confuses Theia. He runs alternately hot and cold, swinging wildly from fixating on her to flirting with any other pretty girl he sees—preferably in front of her. In their dreams they dance among skeletons and dine with ghouls, but he refuses to touch her or allow her to touch him. As Theia gradually finds out why Haden has come to Serendipity Falls, she has to decide what to do about her love for him, and her fear of what he is and might do.
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Tags: demons, Gwen Hayes, Horror & Paranormal, paranormal, romance, YA, young adult
Posted in Horror & Paranormal, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | 2 Comments »
Thursday, January 6th, 2011
Pros: Fantastic characters; much better policework/crime procedure than in most books!
Cons: Must go back and read the other books; a little cluttered with supers
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Kara Gillian is a natural demon summoner, and she uses this to help her solve murders. She’s a police detective who’s ended up on an FBI task force that deals with… unusual matters. She’s attracted to her partner, Ryan, but Ryan’s angry with Kara over her relationship with the Demonic Lord Rhyzkahl. She agreed to be his summoner in return for Ryan’s life, and somehow she always seems to end up in bed with the beautiful Lord. Contrary to popular misconception, “demons” aren’t inherently evil—they’re just alien, and inherently self-serving. Meanwhile, Kara’s trying to solve a series of murders that involve a rock band, teenagers, and, well, mud. Yes, mud.
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Tags: crime drama, demons, Diana Rowland, erotica, Kara Gillian, paranormal, police procedural, supernatural
Posted in Horror & Paranormal, Romance & Erotica, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | 2 Comments »
