Monday, 28 February 2022

REVIEW - The Last Eligible Billionaire by Pippa Grant


The Book
Release Date: March 2022

Emotionally unavailable doesn’t even begin to describe my new fake boyfriend. He’s cold. He’s distant. He has more defenses than a nuclear missile silo. And he’s the ultimate catch of the century. At least, according to his bank statement.

My job’s simple: Keep Hayes Rutherford’s matchmaking relatives and all interested ladies away from the cranky, grumpy, walled-off heir to my favorite movie empire, and in return, he won’t ruin my life over a teensy, tiny little misunderstanding.

But the more I sneak past Hayes’s walls and fences, the more I realize that while we might be from different worlds, we have more in common than either of us expected. The man under all the glitz, glamour, and dollar signs could be the real love of my life.

But you know what they say about fake dating a billionaire—it’s all fun and games until the scandals start.

The Last Eligible Billionaire is a swoony, laugh-out-loud romance featuring a botched wax job, a woman in over her head, a man in over his heart, and the sweetest misguided dog to ever play matchmaker…or at least make sure these two anti-love birds never have clothes when they get out of the shower.

A new stand alone romantic comedy from Pippa Grant.

My Review  5 STARS
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

Oh. My. Goodness.  It has been a while since I have laughed quite so much at the actions of characters in a book, but this book had me in hysterics at times.

Begonia is certainly a character and she is living her post divorce life and has such a big and friendly hear that you cannot help but fall in love with her.  Her dog Marshmallow is such a chaotic thing, that you cannot help but fall in love with him and his mischievous behaviour that at times embarasses his owner and other member of the Rutherford family.

Hayes Rutherford is in a point in his life where others are getting on his nerves and he has had his heart shattered by others who should have known better and broken his trust.  This in turn has lead him away from love and wanting to be married.  When he finds that Begonia is in his Maine house, he decides that he can find a use for her, especially with his mother on the way with a potential marriage partner.

There are some really good support characters in this story and the extra bonus epilogues are great, although I perhaps would have loved to see them after they are married, but it certainly had me smiling taken completely along with the ride.

I cannot wait to see what Pippa Grant comes out with next.

REVIEW - Scored by Lili Valente


The Book
Release Date: 1 March 2022

Begging my brother’s best friend—aka NHL superstar, Ian Fox—to help me ditch my V Card wasn’t part of my “make it big in NYC” plans.

But after years of being “cute little Evie,” I’m tired of waiting for Mr. Right. I’m ready for Mr. Right Now and Ian is everything I’ve ever wanted in a first time. He’s kind, funny, confident, and has a legendary…stick.

Seriously, his stick has its own page of search results, complete with gray sweatpants shots hot enough to make even a clueless virgin drool.

And yes, my brother will murder us if he finds out, but we’re both grownups.

We can keep a secret. We have to since I just landed an art therapy job working with his troubled team.

All we’re doing is a little practice. (Or…ehem...big practice.)

Too bad my heart didn’t get the memo.
 

My Review  5 STARS
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

Evie is a 24 year old artist who is living with her friends in New York and she currently has a job as an art therapist while going to college.  Her brother is on the staff and is more than a tad overbearing after picking up after their mother ran off and their father all but neglected them.

Ian is the captain of the ice hockey team that both Evie and her brother Derrick are working for and has also been Derricks best friend since childhood.  He has also always been there for Evie, but it is only when Evie starts standing up for herself and he finally sees her in her new clothes and she propositions him to help her with the problem of her v-card.

Both Ian and Evie discover something though that their friendship hold something even dearer to them, a love that started long before they even realised and a belonging with each other and a rightness that was not there with anyone else.

I really enjoyed this story and we get to meet Evie's friends and housemates that hopefully all get their own HEA.  I am glad that we will see Evie's best friend Harlow and Evie's brother Derrick get the next story though.  Derrick may finally find a strong woman that can stand up to him and his more controlling ways.

REVIEW - Archangel's Viper (Guild Hunter #10) by Nalini Singh


The Book

Release Date: 26 September 2017 

Goodreads Link

Enter New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s breathtakingly passionate Guild Hunter world with the story of a woman who isn’t a vampire or an angel…or human…

Once a broken girl known as Sorrow, Holly Chang now prowls the shadowy gray underground of the city for the angels. But it’s not her winged allies who make her a wanted woman—it’s the unknown power coursing through her veins. Brutalized by an insane archangel, she was left with the bloodlust of a vampire, the ability to mesmerize her prey, and a poisonous bite. 

Now, someone has put a bounty on her head… 

Venom is one of the Seven, Archangel Raphael’s private guard, and he’s as infuriating as he is seductive. A centuries-old vampire, his fangs dispense a poison deadlier than Holly’s. But even if Venom can protect Holly from those hunting her, he might not be able to save himself—because the strange, violent power inside Holly is awakening… 

No one is safe.

My Review   5 STARS

**My thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This book happens along in the same timeline as the previous book Archangels Heart and focuses on Venom and Chloe, Chloe a girl that was saved when Elena and Raphael nearly died in the first book of the series.  Now we get to see her survival and transformation into a person that is not broken and starts to accept who she is now.

Chloe has a task to do and when Venom comes from the Sanctuary while Raphael and Elena are away he offers to look after Chloe when he sees how much she is actually struggling and how much they are alike in many ways.  He can help her and both of their poison does not work on the other.

When something unexpected comes up as Chloe finds out more about the 'thing' inside her, they both end up on an adventure in another Archangels domain and along the way, find out that there is a fine line between love and hate and that maybe there is someone who compliments them and gets them better than anyone else in the world.

Chloe certainly had an inner strength that she was not aware of and Venom certainly learnt a few lessons from Chloe.

I am really looking forward to the next book in the series.  This is one awesome series.

Sunday, 20 February 2022

REVIEW - Archangel's Heart (Guild Hunter #9) by Nalini Singh


The Book

Release Date: 1 November 2016

Goodreads Link

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us into a dangerous and exhilarating world where a deadly, beautiful archangel and his once-mortal consort are caught in a fury of twisted darkness…

One of the most vicious archangels in the world has disappeared. No one knows if Lijuan is dead or has chosen to Sleep the long sleep of an immortal. But with her lands falling into chaos under a rising tide of vampiric bloodlust, a mysterious and ancient order of angels known as the Luminata calls the entire Cadre together to discuss the fate of her territory.

Accompanying her archangelic lover Raphael to the Luminata compound, guild hunter-turned-angel Elena senses that all is not as it seems. Secrets echo from within the stone walls of the compound, and the deeper Elena goes, the uglier the darkness. But neither Raphael nor Elena is ready for the brutal truths hidden within—truths that will change everything Elena thinks she knows about who she is…

Nothing will ever be the same again.
 

My Review   5 STARS 

In this edition we have Raphael and Elena as they head to meet the rest of the Cadre and their escorts.  However things are not all as they seem with the Laminate.

We get to seem more of Aodhan as he is Elena escort and we see a little more of the reset of the Cadre especially Elijah and Hannah and Raphaels mother Caliane.

There is far less romance in this book and it focuses more towards the mystery of the Lumia and the secret they are hiding along with the mystery of Elena's heritage.

I loved the interactions with Aodhan and really hope that he and Illium get a story where they get a happy ending together.  They really deserve a happy ending with each other.

Looking forward to what happens in the next edition.  This series is really addicting.

Friday, 18 February 2022

REVIEW - Archangel's Enigma (Guild Hunter #8) by Nalini Singh


The Book

Release Date: 3 September 2015

Goodreads Link

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to her world of dark passion and immortal power—and to one of the most seductive and impenetrable heroes ever to stalk the Guild Hunter landscape…

Oh, Naasir. So weird, so bloodthirsty, so unique and wonderful…I have fallen for him…”—Fiction Vixen

Naasir is the most feral of the powerful group of vampires and angels known as the Seven, his loyalty pledged to the Archangel Raphael. When rumors surface of a plot to murder the former Archangel of Persia, now lost in the Sleep of the Ancients, Naasir is dispatched to find him. For only he possesses the tracking skills required—those more common to predatory animals than to man.

Enlisted to accompany Naasir, Andromeda, a young angelic scholar with dangerous secrets, is fascinated by his nature—at once playful and brilliant, sensual and brutal. As they race to find the Sleeping archangel before it’s too late, Naasir will force her to question all she knows…and tempt her to walk into the magnificent, feral darkness of his world. But first they must survive an enemy vicious enough to shatter the greatest taboo of the angelic race and plunge the world into a screaming nightmare…

My Review  5 STARS

I loved Nassir in the previous book and I completely fell in love with him in this book.  He is a complete character, but has an honest childlike quality to him which draws you in further.  I really do hope to see more of him in future books.

Andromeda is a scholar who led her ruthless father and parents that had not fostered a close relationship with her.  Andi is kidnapped by Lijiun for the information that she knows about the sleeping ancients, especially one called Alexander about whom there is a prophecy, however after meeting Andi before she is kidnapped, Nassir believes that she is the mate that he has been searching for.

With Andi having made a vow of celibacy until a certain grimoire is found, Nassir plays by the rules and the pair get ever closer, especially after Nassir gets Andi out of her prison.

It this edition we get more romance, war, a continuation of the long running story, new characters, more depth to other characters, a little more of Raphael and his spymaster Jason and Elena.  The main story focuses on Nassir and Andromeda and their two tasks, find Alexander and wake him and find the Grimoire.  

As always I cannot wait for the next instalment of this series and love that I do not have to wait after having taken so long to read the rest of this series.

Thursday, 3 February 2022

REVIEW - Archangel's Shadows (Guild Hunter #7) by Nalini Singh


The Book
Release Date: 28 October 2014

In the wake of a brutal war, the archangel Raphael and his hunter consort, Elena, are dealing with the treacherously shifting tides of archangelic politics and the people of a battered but not broken city. The last thing their city needs is more death, especially not a death that bears the eerie signature of an insane enemy archangel who cannot - should not - be walking the streets. This hunt must be undertaken with stealth and without alerting their people. It must be handled by those who can become shadows themselves...

Ash is a gifted tracker and a woman cursed with the ability to sense the secrets of anyone she touches. But there's one man she knows all too well without a single instant of skin contact: Janvier, the dangerously sexy Cajun vampire who has fascinated and infuriated her for years. Now, as they track down a merciless killer, their cat-and-mouse game of flirtation and provocation has turned into a profound one of the heart. And this time, it is Ash's secret, dark and terrible, that threatens to destroy them both.

Nalini Singh, the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling 'alpha author of paranormal romance' (BOOKLIST), returns to her stunning world, as it braces itself for destruction.

My Review  5 STARS
In this latest instalment the romance features Cajun vampire Janvier and the guild hunter Ashwini who have been circling each other for around four years.

Ash was injured during the war again Lijuan, at it was Janvier who helped her recover as he knows that she is the one for him, however, Ash is keeping a secret that she believes will be the end of them.

Going on her first assignment since her accident, Janvier happens to be at her door when she is leaving so decides to tag along.  In the end, when Janvier also gets an assignment they end up having to team up anyway.  

We also get to see more from Raphael and Elena as well as more from Raphaels circle as you see even further the bond between them all and we get to see more of Nassir, who certainly seems to be a character.

Loved this instalment and cannot wait to see what happens next in both romance and the angel war.

Tuesday, 1 February 2022

REVIEW - Archangel's Legion (Guild Hunter #6) by Nalini Singh


The Book
Release Date: 31 October 2013

Nalini Singh, the New York Times bestselling “alpha author of paranormal romance” (Booklist) returns to an immortal world of violent passion and lethal power…on the brink of a deadly archangelic war.

Angels are falling from the sky in New York, struck down by a vicious, unknown force.

Vampires are dying impossibly of disease.

Guild hunter Elena Deveraux and the Archangel Raphael must discover the source of the wave of death before it engulfs their city and their people, leaving New York a ruin and Raphael’s Tower under siege by enemy archangels.

Yet even as they fight desperately to save the city, an even darker force is stirring, its chill eyes trained on New York…and on Raphael. Rivers of crimson and nightmares given flesh, the world will never again be the same…

My Review   5 STARS
The Archangel and his consort are back in this tale so expertly woven that at times you cannot help but weep for the characters when they hurt.

Raphael has warmed since falling for the once mortal vampire hunter Elena, who shows him what he was starting to ignore.  She is almost like a conscience to him and keeps him on the straight and narrow where she can, even if it hurts.  He in turn is a constant for her and is there for her even when she does not realise that she hurts and helps her face her pain.

There are lots of secondary characters that we have seen in previous books that we also love to see and we certainly get to see the bond that they have all created and the stubbornness of each of them.

When the war finally gets started, we see a true bond and a team that would die for each other if needed and Raphael and Elena prepared to died for the cause if this is the case.

I really enjoyed finding my way bak into this world and cannot wait to sink my teeth into the next book to find out what happens next in this saga.