Wild Instinct-Sarah McCarty

Wild Instinct

Sarah McCarty

Heat, Dec 2009, $15.00

ISBN: 9780425227619

 

“Garrett”.  The werewolf clan rejects Garrett due to his human blood.  However, they turn to him to rescue Sarah Anne, whose son is missing and daughter may prove to be the child prophesized as the bringer of doom.  Still he knows his mate when he meets her and will risk his life to keep her safe.

 

“Daire”.  The werewolf Daire saves Teri, but cannot save her unborn.  He knows his mate, but she believes his bond is not one of love but of protectiveness.  Daire has to persuade her it is both.

 

“Curran”.  He seeks Rachel, who has Sarah Anne’s son with her.  When Curran finds the pair he knows she is his mate, but she rejects his assertion and distrusts him to bring the duo to safety.

 

These three exciting interrelated werewolf romances contain fully developed characters who make for a strong thriller as the sex is hot but not over-gorging the action-packed story lines especially the relationship issues as the men know but the women doubt.  Sarah McCarty provides her audience with a superb collection.

 

Harriet Klausner

 

 

Kitty’s House of Horrors-Carrie Vaughn

Kitty’s House of Horrors

Carrie Vaughn

Grand Central, Jan 4 2010, $$7.99

ISBN: 9780446199551

 

One of the talk radio hosts on KNOB is werewolf Kitty Norville, who was forced to change on the air.  Since her outing, other supernaturals that include weres, vampires and psychics have also come out in the open.  Mortals either believe or think strongly a conspiratorial fraud is occurring.  The paranormal want acceptance in a mundane world so when SuperByte approaches Kitty to join others of her supernatural  kind on a reality TV show, she accepts.

 

They are flown to a lodge in the mountainous wilds of Montana with no one around for miles.  At first the filming proceeds like any reality show, but soon the weres, vampires, and psychics wake up to find all electrical power cut off and three crewmen dead in the plane and three others missing.  They are further trapped and isolated by silver fences and weapons.  The contestants know they are in mortal danger.  A natural leader, Kitty takes charge with resolute determination to kill her enemy before they kill her.  Lives are lost on both sides as Kitty struggles to prevent a massacre in the lodge prison.

 

Romance, action, and mystery come together in this fabulous urban fantasy mindful in a paranormal way of Christie’s And Then There Was None.  Kitty is an alpha Lara Croft type heroine who goes into danger with her eyes wide open and a grit to be the predator and not the prey.  She not only becomes the leader, she is there only hope of survival as slim as that seems as Kitty’s House of Horrors is a death trap.

 

Harriet Klausner

 

Bound by Dreams-Christina Skye

Bound by Dreams

Christina Skye

Harlequin HQN, Dec 1 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9780373774067

 

Kiera Morrissey promised her dying mom she would return to Draycott Abbey, which she does, but hell literally breaks out when she sneaks on to the grounds of the estate.  Two goons attack her, but she shocks them when she fights back.  They are followed by the biggest canine she has ever seen.  She manages to escape the human thugs mostly because of the wolf.

 

Calan MacKay awakens the next day knowing he was drugged but that he saved the female’s life.  He has come back to Draycott Abbey because his friend Nicholas Draycott needs his help to keep his family safe during some political dealings.  He wonders why Kiera apparently loathes the Draycott brood and whether she is the threat and why he believes she is the answer to controlling his curse, but allied as his enemy.

 

This is a super entry in the Draycott Scottish Highland fantasy as DNA haunts the lead couple.  Like Calan, readers will want to know why Kiera hates all things and people Draycott while also wondering will she accept his other the wolf.  Fans will enjoy this terrific suspense thriller as each is Bound by Dreams to each other, but is love enough to overcome their respective heritage especially with someone willing to answer with a lethal negative.

 

Harriet Klausner

Wild Blue Under-Judi Fennell

Wild Blue Under

Judi Fennell

Sourcebooks, Nov 1 2009, $6.99

ISBN: 9781402224270

 

When his father steps down as High Councilman, Rod Tritone knows his duty is to replace him running the Kingdom of Mer.  However, the ruling Council directs Rod that before he assumes the position he will marry the lost daughter of Mer.  Although he does not want to marry anyone nor go on land, Rod understands his people’s needs come before his desires.

 

He is given legs so he can walk with the landlubbers as his queen is on the surface in ironically land locked Kansas selling ocean tchotchkes at Therese’s Treasure Trove.  Valerie Dumere scoffs at Rod’s instance that she is a hybrid human-mermaid as she has never had a tail nor can she even swim.  However, when someone tries to kill her, Val knows something is not right, but still scorns her rescuer’s insistence that he lives under the sea.

 

The second Tritone brother Mer urban-oceanic romantic fantasy (see In Over her Head) is a terrific tale of the tail from the moment Rod arrives at the store knowing this can’t be Atlantis.  Fans will enjoy the amusing banter between the disbeliever and the Mer trying to convince her to dive into the ocean as his mate while a predator wants her dead.  This is a fun fantasy with readers wondering whether Val will there’s no place like home when you are loved by the one you treasure.

Harriet Klausner

Darkness Unleashed-Alexandra Ivy

Darkness Unleashed

Alexandra Ivy

Zebra, Nov 2009, $6.99

ISBN: 9781420102970

 

After centuries of torture, vampire Jagr escaped, but now prefers being alone with his only companion being books.  However, his superior amongst the Guardians of Eternity Chicago clan of warriors Anasso Styx assigns him a mission that Jagr would like to reject, but knows he cannot.  He is to find and escort back to their haven recently discovered pureblood were-sisters of Styx’s wife Darcy (see Darkness Everlasting).

 

Regan Garrett spent a seeming lifetime being tortured by a nasty imp.  Whereas she wants to enact vengeance she knows she also does not want to ever beholden to a male.  Worse Regan recognizes her wannabe rescuer is not just a soul she lusts over, but much more.  Meanwhile other folks want the pureblood for their nefarious schemes, forcing two tortured souls to decide between a loving team up or two solo acts.

 

The latest Guardians of Eternity urban romantic fantasy stars two intriguing lead characters who have tasted the worst of the Darkness tale, but now face something even more horrific considering their respective pasts: love.  Neither wants it nor welcomes it, but both cannot ignore it as each is used to being alone rather than have a mate, a sister or a friend.  They make the tale as love devastates their hermit existence while a horde want the pureblood, but Jagr would die before he allows any of them to harm his soul mate.

 

Harriet Klausner

Shades of Midnight-Lara Adrian

Shades of Midnight

Lara Adrian

Dell, Dec 29 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9780440245261

In frozen Alaska, nineteen year old Teddy Toms returns to his family compound only to find everyone dead.  A gigantic humanoid creature appears and kills him too.

Bush pilot Alexandra Maguire lands at the Toms compound to deliver supplies only to be greeted eerily by corpses with bite marks on them.  She has seen these bite marks before when her mother and younger brother were murdered.  Alex and her father tried to move on  and  get passes what the monsters did to her family by leaving Florida for Alaska.  The pilot notices a gigantic footprint in the nearby snow, but says nothing to the authorities.

After seeing a clip of the carnage, the Order sends warrior vampire Breed Kade to investigate what appears to be a rogue in bloodlust.  He has lived his entire life on his family’s Darkhaven estate to take care of his brother who has an uncontrolled violent streak. Kade thinks the predator is his brother Seth who has killed humans before, but he soon realizes that this massacre is the work of the Ancient other worlder who escaped captivity.  Alex and Kade meet with each incredibly attracted to the other.  She realizes as she falls in love there are good and evil Breed and her beloved must be the former as he risks his life for her.  She leads him to a defunct mine where the evil Breed reside led by the malevolent grandson of the Ancient: Dragos.

The seventh Midnight Breed tale is a compelling action-packed thriller from the onset with the slaughter at the Toms compound.  Both protagonists have demons to overcome as Kade fears he will turn out like Seth did and Alex fears loving a monster like the vampire in her nightmarish past.  Lara Adrian provides her fans with a strong tundra romantic fantasy as the human and the vampire find love and death in the frozen wasteland.

Harriet Klausner

The Mane Squeeze-Shelly Laurenston

The Mane Squeeze

Shelly Laurenston

Kensington Brava, Nov 1 2009, $14.00

ISBN: 9780758231666

Philadelphia street smart Gwen O’Neill is a hybrid shapeshifter of the lion-tiger combo.  Suburban Lachlin “Lock” McRyrie is a calm purebred bear who is almost seven feet of muscle.  These two are from opposite walks of life, but opposites attract at least in this case.

Gwen rejects their obvious desire for one another as she prefers the single life and also acts as protector to her loved ones.  Besides which being inner city, she feels the burb is not strong enough for her.  However, Lock shows his inner strength when someone commits hate-crimes trying to hurt his loved one Gwen apparently for being a hybrid.

The latest Mane urban romantic fantasy (see The Mane Event and The Mane Attraction) is a fabulous entry in a wonderful series.  The story line is fast paced from the first meeting when the ferocious female basically growls at the gentle giant to get out of her heart and never slows down especially going over a mountain.  Character driven by the lead couple and a nasty racist, fans will enjoy this fine tale while wondering whether the couple should buy Venetian blinds.

Harriet Klausner

Soul Magic-Jennifer Lyon

Soul Magic

Jennifer Lyon

Ballantine, Oct 27 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9780345506351

 

Wing Slayer Sutton West has vowed to follow his father’s lead if the moment he can no longer control his blood lust begins.  When the curse began to overwhelm his sire chose suicide rather than harm an innocent witch.

 

Rogue witch slayers killed Keri Fisk.  Two years have passed and her twin sister psychiatrist Dr. Carla Fisk still mourns her loss.  Sutton finds he is attracted to Carla, who runs a clinic, but he fears that desire might be the first step in the curse.  However, he saves her life when rogues attack, but both realize a shocker; the rogue Styx and the demon Asmodeus have teamed up and trapped Keri’s soul in a knife used by the witch slayer to provide his partner with the souls of witches she kills.  As they try to save Keri’s soul, Sutton and Carla wonder which twin is his soul mate.

 

The second Magic romantic fantasy (see Blood Magic) is a super saga as readers learn more about the plight of Keri and the soul mirrors through the lead couple.  The fun in the tale is observing Sutton and Carla forging a loving relationship in spite of the curse placing them in opposite hostile camps in which their attraction means death.  Filled with danger Soul Magic is a terrific tale that stands alone, but reading the previous entry enhances the knowledge of the Lyon world of Magic.

Harriet Klausner

The Vampire Affair-Livia Reasoner

The Vampire Affair

Livia Reasoner

Silhouette Nocturne, Nov 2009, $5.25

ISBN: 9780373618231

When investigative reporter Jessie Morgan learns that supernatural creatures exist, she is unaware of how dangerous that knowledge is.  Vampire hunter Michael Brandt takes it upon himself to keep the intrepid journalist safe, but she rejects his plea to forget what she knows and move on back to her old world.

Instead Jessie demands Michael and his family of hunters train her in vampire combat.  When a vampire enemy of his bites Jessie, Michael desperately tries to save her life; having lost one woman to this ancient scourge.  However, taking a bite out of Jessie is not enough to destroy her as her Native American heritage enables her to stand by the man she loves hunting down the bloodsucking predators.

Although a modern day paranormal romance highlighted by what businessman playboy and hunter Michael carries an attaché case (filled with legal pad, gun, knife, wooden stake and holy water, etc), the super The Vampire Affair feels in some ways like a throwback novel.  Livia Reasoner leaves no doubt about the good and evil conflict that places Michael in a difficult situation as the rule is one bite and you’re dead.  Sub-genre fans will fully appreciate this terrific taut thriller as the hero knows his duty but cannot for the first time in his career carry it out as Jessie has metaphysically taken a bite into his heart.

Harriet Klausner

Immortal-V.K. Forrest

Immortal

V.K. Forrest

Kensington, Dec 2009, $15.00

ISBN: 9780758217189

The Kahill Sept was cursed by God because they refused to give up their pagan ways, rejecting the message of Christianity given to them by  St.Patrick.  They said they will never give up teirpaganism and their lust for power and blood. God gave them what they deserved turning them into vampires who have a continuous life cycle.  They die of old age only to return as fourteen years old three days later.  When they came to the New World they were given a chance to repent and if they chose God and help guard humanity He would lift the curse.

Now they live in Clare Point, Delaware where they watch over God’s children; killing those monsters whom the authorities cannot touch.  The human teen tourist Colin Meding  is drained dry of blood by a female vampire after they had sex.  Fin Kahill is spending the summer as a deputy and watching over his twin Regan, a recovering addict.  He is trying to also solve the vampire murder while enjoying his relationship with  visting tourist Elena Ruffino who with her family is in town on a vacationt. She is interested in Fin like he is with her.  As more murders occur, Fin gets closer to uncovering the identity of the serial killer but also fears what he is learning about his beloved Italian soulmate.

This saga is one of the best vampire series on the market as V.K. Forrest consistently provides super tales.  The UNDYING Kahill clan repents their sins and God gives them a chance for ETERNAL redemption, but they must obey his commandments including thou shall not drink human blood.  Someone is obviously breaking that commandment.  Still the Kahill clan has hope; something none of their species typically have.  Ironically as Fin dreams of dying and moving on to heaven, he also finds love on earth.  With a terrific police procedural supernatural hunt and a wonderful apparently bittersweet romance, fans will want to rush into the IMMORTAL romantic fantasy realm of this terrific author.

Harriet Klausner