Review: Blood Flows Deep in the Empire

 

Title: Blood Flows Deep in the Empire
Author: N. Isabelle Blanco
Publication Date: March 7, 2013
Source: Publisher via Net Galley
Summary (from Goodreads): Dyletri, God of Fertility, has locked away his powers. No woman is allowed to touch him, not until he can return his long-dead lover back to life. All he has to do is sacrifice one human girl, a girl who unlocks his powers and rips his dormant lust right out of his body. Trapped by his promise, Dyletri has no choice but to watch Ismini die, no matter how much he wants her.

Yet the darkness of his calling is spiraling within him, demanding he claim the human as his. If he goes back on his promise, the energy of the Fates will cause untold destruction in the Universe. That doesn’t change how Dyletri’s begun exhibiting symptoms that point to more than just lust. How does he allow Ismini to die when she’s come to own him from the inside out?

Desire and torment spiral into something much darker than obsession, more turbulent than an addiction, and something much more brutal than a mere soul-mating. As a war is being rekindled right under his nose, Dyletri will have to come to terms with a destiny eleven thousand years in the making. He thought he’d known what path his future would take, but he’d been wrong. Now the one woman he truly loves might pay the price for his decision.

Blood Flows Deep in the Empire is the first in a series that will pit free-will against Destiny, Destiny against Fate, and love against brutal desire. Everyone likes to think they have a choice as to who they end up with, but as they rise to face the greatest threat they’ve ever known, even the Gods will learn they have to bend to Destiny’s whim to survive.

First, let’s address the hotness of this cover. Can you say yum? Being a cover whore it was obviously the first thing that attracted me to the book. And once I was able to tear my eyes away from Ablicious, the summary caught my attention as well.  

Now that I’ve read it I just have one question. Where has this author been hiding? TWCS has struck gold once again with the talent that has landed

Her characters are kick ass, take-no-shit Gods and Goddesses with so much heat packed into their million year old abs I’m surprised my e-reader didn’t catch on fire. Although, I have to say I was a little… I don’t know, irked by how Ismini went from fragile human to wicked, leather wearing Goddess in two seconds flat. I would have liked her to stay human.  

But as kick ass as the characters were it did get somewhat old how every single character had pretty much the same attitude. I’m all for making strong heroes and heroines but there really didn’t seem to be any depth to any of them, it was like reading the same POV from each of them because the way they spoke and acted were identical to one another.

The way the story was written reminded me of The Black Dagger Brotherhood. There were so many similarities in the writing style it was hard not to compare—maybe too much similarity. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not yet.

While the book is labeled Erotica there really are only two or three sex scenes. There’s a lot of smut talk but not so much action which isn’t such a bad thing. It proves that Blanco put the plot before the sex and only added it when necessary. As much as I love a rough and dirty adventure, I don’t want to read sex thrown into books just for the sake of having sex in it. I want it to be part of the story and Blanco did a great job of this.

Blood Flows Deep in the Empire is the first book in this new series and I have to say that I’m really looking forward to reading more from this author.

Author Bio:

N. Isabelle Blanco, the woman who would come to be known as “Nyddi,” was born in Queens, New York. By age three, due to an odd fascination with studying her mother’s handwriting, she’d already begun to read and write. By the time she reached kindergarten, she was reading at a second-grade level, not to mention talking up a storm and showing off her extensive vocabulary. Her obsession with words and reading ended up bleeding into every aspect of her life. As she got older, romance novels took the reins of her obsession, leading her to devour every romance story she could find.

Thanks to the world of Japanese Anime, N. Isabelle was introduced to the wonderful universe of Fanfiction. She would come to write fanfics on and off again as a hobby for the next ten years, but it wasn’t until the Twilight phenomenon came along that she began dedicating hard hours to writing. For the next year and a half, she amassed a following that, by her own admission, she would never be able to live without. It is those fans that encouraged her to step beyond the fanfic realm and take her talent out into the publishing world.

N. Isabelle’s first ebook novel, Destructively Alluring, came out in July of 2012, followed by "Addictive Lunacy" in September, and "Allure Magnified" in November of 2012. The Writer’s Coffee shop Publishing House has recently signed her first print novel, the highly anticipated first book in the Szolite series. Blood Flows Deep in the Empire is scheduled to be released in March of 2013 and will be available in both print
and ebook formats.

Buying link: http://ph.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/books/detail/84

Review: Waking Up Married

Title: Waking Up Married
Author: Mira Kyn Kelly
Publication Date: December 1, 2012
Source: Publisher via Net Galley
Summary (from Goodreads):

Her first thought: "Who are you?"
It's the morning after her cousin's bachelorette party in Vegas and Megan Scott wakes up with the mother of all hangovers. Even worse, she's in a stranger's penthouse having woken up with something else as well - a funny, arrogant, sexy...husband!
Up until now, finding even a boyfriend had seemed impossible - been there, got the broken heart, sworn off men for good. Then a few martinis with Carter...no, Connor Reed and she's gone from first meet to marriage in one night!
Megan wants a lawyer. But Connor's shocking bombshell?
"I don't want a divorce." 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m a huge fan of Harlequin. I’ve seriously spent thousands of dollars on Harlequin romance novels since I was 15. Shut up, don’t judge me. But this one just fell so flat for me. It had no depth. It had no pull on me. It was such a short book but I was so bored reading, it took me forever to get through.

Megan and Conner wake up married after just meeting and having a fun night in Vegas. What could have been a super sweet romantic comedy just came off as irritating and somewhat creepy. Conner aggravated the hell out of me. And honestly he came off as controlling and manipulative. Megan wanted to end things (the reasonable thing to do when one marries a stranger in Sin City) but Conner kept trying to get her to remember their night together and how they belonged together because neither believed in love but both wanted kids. Um, what? Of course books don’t have to make sense or be based on realistic events, but c’mon.

“But suddenly all he could see was a woman concerned with her image, and for the first time he wondered if he really didn’t know her at all. He shook his head. It couldn’t be right.”

He’s known her for, what, 12 hours at this point? Of course he doesn’t know her! This line made me roll my eyes so hard I was surprised they didn’t fall out.

The author wanted you to believe Megan was this awesome independent woman, and in some ways I can see how she was—except when it came to Conner. And what bugged the hell out of was the way she kept trying to sabotage the whole marriage deal as if she didn’t really want it in the first place and was just hoping she would fuck up enough for him to “let her go”—as if she was some kind of prisoner.

I can only hope this is not the kind of stories I can expect if I continue to pick up this new Kiss line from Harlequin. If so, I’ll stick to Blaze since I’m rarely ever disappointed by those books.

Unbeautifully Loved Cover Reveal

COMING IN APRIL.....

On the run from her dark and painful past, Lexie Todd is finally forced by her best friend Mollie into settling into a new place for the first time in months. Having been hurt in more ways than one in the past, the last thing Lexie is expecting or wanting is to meet someone as persistent and annoying but incredibly gorgeous as Lukas Gunn.

When an incident leaves Lexie banged up and rattled, Lukas knows there’s more to her than meets the eye as something is haunting her to the core making him nothing but determined to make her his and protect her from whatever it is that casts the dark painful shadow behind her eyes.

But when her past shows up and pulls Lexie back into the nightmare she already once escaped while leaving her closest loved ones in danger it’s up to Lukas to save her from her darkest nightmare relived.

Will Lukas be able to save Lexie? Or will Lexie succumb only having known what it’s like to be Unbeautifully Loved?

 

 

Review: The End of All Things

Hello my lovelies!

Yes, I'm back. A little later than I anticipated, a little less done that I would have liked. But I come back with a bang and bring you a very awesome review of Lissa Bryan's new novel that is being released today!....

Title: The End of All Things
Author: Lissa Bryan
Publication Date: January 24, 2012
Source: ARC via Publisher
Summary (from Goodreads)
 After a terrible virus ravages the planet, Carly Daniels, one of the few survivors, hides in her apartment in Juneau trying to survive the best she can with only occasional forays to gather food. With her is Sam, a wolf puppy she found starving on the streets. He becomes her companion and a reason to continue when giving up sometimes seems like the more attractive option. Still dazed with shock and grief, she hopes for the world to go back to normal soon.

She is discovered by Justin, an ex-soldier who is intent on making his way to Florida before the winter sets in. Justin coaxes her out of her hiding place and convinces her to join him on his journey, because a warmer climate will be their best chance against the extremes of Mother Nature.

Together, they begin a perilous journey through a nation laid to waste by the disaster. Challenges abound along the way. The weather, injury, and shortage of supplies all help to slow them down. In time, they discover that they aren’t the only survivors. Some are friendly but some have had their minds destroyed by the high fever. Then there are those who simply take what they want, leaving Carly and Justin with no choice but to defend what is theirs.

But their journey is not without joy and love. Together, they face every struggle, including an unplanned pregnancy. Despite the perils of bringing a child into a world of chaos, their baby is a new beginning for themselves and a symbol of hope for the other survivors they find along the way.

This is the story of their journey to find a place to begin a new life, and a home in each other.

To say I was excited to read another book by Lissa Bryan would be an understatement. I loved her debut novel Ghostwriter and couldn’t wait to get my hands on her new novel. Even though mixing supernatural elements—or in this case, the end of the world as we know it—with romance isn’t something new, I love the way Bryan does it. Her writing flows in a way that completely draws you in and it’s so easy to imagine the novel as pictures that you’re viewing rather than words that you’re reading. What she’s trying to get across in her story is just so clear.

Whether people want to admit it or not, 2012 was probably the most contentious year ever. You had some who were running around preaching about the end of the world while others sat back and laughed at the idea. Personally, I don’t believe we will see the end of the world in our time, or our children’s time or their children’s time, etc, but one day it will no doubt happen. All good things must come to an end, and all that.

What I love about The End of All Things is Bryan put a spin on the apocalypse and made it an infection that took out (most of) the world rather than the world exploding or whatever its supposed to do. Her characters were once again ones that you cared about, that you were worried for.

I want a Justin in my life to take care of me if I’m faced with starting over in the world. He was smart and resourceful, take charge yet not bossy or suffocating with his opinions. At first I was worried Carly would be one of those women who lived in denial and just went along and let others make decisions for her because she couldn’t deal with what was happening around her. I was happy when she realized she was so much stronger than she gave herself credit for when she stepped up when Justin needed her most.

And can I just say how much I loved the secondary characters—the animals. The relationship that Sam and Tigger had was just as touching as the one between Justin and Carly. It’s sweet and charming and at one point completely heartbreaking.

In the opinion of this reviewer, it’s another hit for Lissa Bryan

 

Booking off Christmas

With the holidays fast approaching I've become very busy with family stuff and have had no time to read. No reading means no reviewing as you can see since the blog has become pretty neglected. So I've decided to book my Christmas vacation which means Passion for Pages will be quiet until after January 1st.

I hope all of you have a great holiday and I'll see you after the craziness calms down.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

Leeann

Review: All the Wrong Reasons

 

Title:All the Wrong Reasons
Author: J.L Paul
Publication Date: February 24, 2011
Source: Borrowed
Summary (from Goodreads)
Irelyn's life is headed in the right direction: College education, new friends, fantastic boyfriend. Her dream of writing romance novels isn't too far out of reach. Her relationship with her family is good. And to top it all off, she's positive her boyfriend is going to propose soon. Yes, life is wonderful.

Until that night with Lucas changes everything.

Maybe it’s just me and I’m in a reading funk, but 98% of the books I’m reading just aren’t doing it for me. When did books stop thrilling me?  You remember those. The ones that kept you up late and made your eyes hurt because you just couldn’t put it down. Sure I’ve read a couple of those over the last few months, but most of what I pick up lately is just lacking that all night enthusiasm.

All the Wrong Reasons definitely sounded like it had promise. People were raving about it, comparing it to other popular books (which I haven’t read yet) so I figured what the hell? I’m left wondering why I even bothered.

It was just another mediocre read for me. It started off awkward - maybe it was me or maybe it was the writing. JL Paul didn’t seem to find the proper groove for the book until half way through and by then I was a lost cause.

Irelyn is caught between the good on paper guy Dustin and the good in bed guy Lucas. She’s been dating paper guy for over a year when suddenly, after two vodka and crans and a very brief conversation with Lucas – seriously it was like “hello” and then all of a sudden HELLO – she tumbles into bed with him. She’s guilt ridden she’s screwing over the wonderful boyfriend but not guilty enough to stop screwing Lucas.

See the potential this story could have? Instead I was left feeling like I was reading fan fiction. Maybe it was fan fiction. I can’t keep track of everyone that’s making a buck from someone else’s characters. No, I don’t have a problem with authors who start out as fan fiction writers, good on you for doing it! But come up with your own characters if you want to venture into publishing so I’m not left feeling like I’m reading recycled crap. (Okay, I admit some fan fic turned o-fic are good. I’ve actually loved a couple of them knowing what they had started out as, and then there were others that I was in the dark about. *sigh* I’ll just stop being a bitch now)

The book wasn’t crap, okay? Not crap. I think teens would like it. But I’m no teen anymore and I’m looking for a lot of bang for my buck. Delicious, juicy, descriptive bang. Can someone send something like that my way, please?