THE GARNET DAGGER by Andrea Cooper

THE GARNET DAGGER by Andrea Cooper
REVIEWED BY: Reading in Pajamas/Donna
PUBLISHED March 25, 2013
RATED: 3.5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
Forbidden to cross the Elvin barrier into human lands, Brock cannot sate his curiosity. Cursed by a vampyre bite that forces him to feed on the life-essence of others, he is unable to touch another without taking their life. Chained by prophesy, he must find a witch, pierce her heart, and draw her blood for his cure.

Celeste must escape the monks who have held her prisoner for years. Her magic has been kept dormant by her captors. An ancient powerful Warloc craves her powers. If he succeeds in devouring her magic, she and the world will die.

When Brock falls in love with Celeste before realizing her demise is his cure, will love triumph over his desire to be healed? Will he risk everything to save her from a Warloc, an oath breaker, who also wants her dead?

REVIEW:
This was a fairy tale story full of elves, monsters and witches. The author delved deeply in the characters to give an idea of why they made the decisions they did when given little information regarding the quest. The romance part was a bit slow moving and lacked the characteristics of what I like to read. That being said, it would appeal to those that like an emotional bond rather than the physical. It was an interesting story but for some reason I found the journey to be a little long.

***ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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SHADOW OF HOPE by Elizabeth Rose and Tina Pollick

SHADOW OF HOPE by Elizabeth Rose and Tina Pollick
PUBLISHED: June 21, 2013
REVIEWED BY: Reading In Pajamas/ Donna
RATED: 3.5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
A secret passed from generation to generation. A line of heirs destined to protect those they once persecuted. One god who seeks to destroy humanity’s last Hope…

Zoe is an ordinary woman who talks to her grandmother’s spirit, was raised by her coven, and is estranged from her father. Until one day she finds out that the necklace left to her by her mom, holds humanities last hope.

Evan is her reluctant protector, the last of the Templar Knights, who’s watched her from the shadows since she was a teenage girl. When an assailant from the past emerges and steals the key to keeping the rest of the world safe, Evan and Zoe must form a tenuous alliance to get it back.

Up against a mysterious enemy older than time, and a really pissed off God of War, Zoe and Evan have the odds stacked against them as they try to reclaim the Hope of all humanity. That’s if they can avoid killing each other.

Shadow of Hope is a fast paced, thrilling paranormal romance novella.

REVIEW:
This was a fun quick read with plenty of action and an unusual storyline. My only critique is that Zoe was a little one-dimensional, didn’t have a back story like the others and you never really got to know her. That being said, I couldn’t wait to see where the authors were going to take me and I anxiously kept turning the pages.

*Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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Buy Links:
Amazon ($2.99)|Smashwords ($2.99)

THE LONER by Lindsay McKenna

THE LONER by Lindsay McKenna
PUBLISHED June 25, 2013
REVIEW BY: Reading in Pajamas/Donna
RATED: 4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
In all her years as deputy sheriff, Shelby Kincaid never met a man as stubborn as Dakota Carson. Practically eaten by a grizzly bear and still that man insists on returning, alone, to his isolated cabin in the Tetons. Shelby’s not even sure why it ruffles her—but she suspects it has a lot to do with the instant, powerful connection she feels with Dakota. If only he’d let down his guard with her….
Ten years as a Navy SEAL took its toll on Dakota’s body, his mind and his heart. Since being released, he’s endured months of painful physical therapy…and brutal nightmares. Dakota wants nothing more than to hide from the world, so why does Shelby’s gentle presence suddenly make him question his seclusion? But when Shelby’s life is threatened, Dakota knows his warrior spirit won’t hide any longer. He just hopes it’s not too late….

REVIEW:
The action started on page one and wove in nicely with a returning SEAL’s struggle with PTSD. I liked how the author dealt with this topic and didn’t make it stereotypical. The romance was both tender and fierce as they dealt with so many emotions. Two strong people faced with ongoing danger and finding each other through it all. I couldn’t put this book down.

*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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MINE TO TAKE by Cynthia Eden

MINE TO TAKE by Cynthia Eden
PUBLISH DATE: June 14, 2013
REVIEWED BY: Reading in Pajamas/Donna
RATED: 4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
Skye Sullivan knows that someone is watching her. Not just watching—stalking her. Months ago, Skye was involved in a dangerous car accident. The accident ended her dancing career and sent her fleeing back to Chicago. Skye is convinced that her stalker caused the crash, and she fears that he won’t stop pursuing her, not until she’s dead.

When someone breaks into her apartment in Chicago, Skye turns to the one man she believes can protect her—Trace Weston. Once, Trace was her lover. Two lost souls, they’d come together in a firestorm of need and desire. But then Trace had pushed her away. He’d joined the military, vanishing from her life. She’d put all of her emotion into dancing, and she’d tried to forget him.

Now Trace is one of the most successful men in the United States. Rich, driven, and carrying dark secrets, he agrees to help Skye. He’ll protect her from the danger that lurks in the darkness, but Trace wants more than to just be a guard for Skye.

He wants her. And he’ll take her. The years have changed him, hardened him. He’s not just a poor kid from the streets any longer. Now, he can have anything—or anyone—that he wants. And the one woman he has always wanted has just come back into his life. He won’t let her go again.

But with the threats mounting against Skye, she suspects that her stalker may be intimately close. He’s a man who knows her too well. As his attacks grow ever more dangerous, she realizes that if she trusts the wrong man, she could be making a fatal mistake.

REVIEW:
This story is full of action, drama and suspense. It really kept me guessing and on the edge of my chair… and I loved it! There may not have been a lot of steamy action but I didn’t really notice that while reading. The author made the sexual and emotional tension between Skye and Trace intense and seamlessly part of the story. I’ll be thinking of this book for a while.

*ARC provided by Netgally in exchange for an honest review.

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**Special Release Week Sale – MINE TO TAKE will be priced at .99 until 6/24.**
Buy Links:
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Excerpt:
“H-hello, Trace.” She hated that stupid break in her voice. Trace made her nervous. Always had.He stopped in front of her. He stood at several inches over six feet, while she barely skimmed five feet three. Skye tilted her head back so that she could meet his stare.

“It’s been a long time,” Trace said, the words a deep, dark rumble. His voice went perfectly with the rock hard body and the sexy face—a voice that a woman could imagine in the darkness.

She swallowed because her throat was suddenly dry. “Yes, it has.” Ten years and three months. Not that she’d counted.

That assessing gaze of his slid down her body once more. There was an awareness in his stare that she hadn’t expected. A heat that made her remember too many things.

He was close enough to touch. Close enough for her to smell the crisp, masculine scent that clung to him.

His nostrils flared, as if he were catching her scent, too.

“You look good, Skye.” Again, that heat was in his stare. A heat that said he knew her intimately.

She wished her heartbeat would slow down.

“But you’re not here for a friendly chat, are you?” And he stepped away from her. He waved to the open chair near his desk and returned to his seat.

“We’ve never really been the friendly chat kind,” she said softly as she eased into the leather chair.

She didn’t take off her coat. She just pulled it closer to her.

A faint furrow appeared between his brows. “No, we weren’t, were we? More the hot sex type.”

Her lips parted. He had not just said that to her.

His faint smile said that he had.

“I’m not here for that, either.” She’d been wrecked after her last go round with Trace.

He leaned back in his chair. The leather groaned beneath him. “We’ll get to that…”

Uh, no, they wouldn’t. She wasn’t ready to feel that burn again.

He tapped his chin. “You’re not here for pleasantries, you’re not here for sex, then why have you come looking for me?”

This was where she’d have to beg. Because there was no way she had enough money in her account to cover his services. Not with the guy sporting this high rise building and looking like he’d just walked off the cover of GQ. How things have changed. “Someone is watching me.”

He stilled. The heat banked in his eyes as his whole expression instantly became guarded. “And what makes you so sure of that?”

“Because I can feel him.” Wait, that sounded crazy, didn’t it? When she’d gone to the cops, they’d sure looked at her as if she were crazy. You couldn’t feel a stalker. So they said.

She disagreed.

MY NOW AND FOREVER by H. J. Bellus

MY NOW AND FOREVER by H. J. Bellus
PUBLISHED: June 2, 2013
REVIEW BY: Reading In Pajamas/Donna
RATED: 4.5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
Whose parents abandon them in a trashy trailer when they are five years old? Oh Yeah! Mine do!

Hey Hoochies! I’m Milly, and I am tired of taking kicks to the gut. A broken family, an asshole husband and the loss of loved ones have left me crying Uncle, and declaring a serious case of the Fuck-Its!

I had my heart broken, stomped on and shattered before I ever started on my journey to find my little piece of happiness. With a bucket list, a ’66 Ford and wild dreams, I set out on an adventure that changed my life forever. Follow me on my journey that resurrected my inner badass.

I found my soul sista from another mista, and opened my dream shop along the way. Just when I gave up on finding true love, a pirate and a princess swept me off my ever lovin’ feet and filled my world with sprinkles, mac n’ cheese and the courage to live again. They forced my fragile heart to trust and love without fear.

Truth is, nobody’s past stays hidden forever. It’s an invisible monster waiting to attack and destroy. It has the capability to ruin everything you’ve worked to set right. All it takes is one final blow to the gut to end everything.

***Sexual Content and Adult Language***

REVIEW:
I truly enjoyed this book. Her snarky sense of humor and friends she surrounds herself with reminded me of myself. For all that happened in her life, she picks herself up and faces the world head on with bucket list in hand. I laughed, cried and cringed….but mostly smiled. The first-person writing style took me a little bit to get used to but when I did it was fun. Written from her perspective only, like it is in real life. Yep, I enjoyed this book and H.J. Bellus is now added to my list of authors to watch.

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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Buy Link:
Amazon

NOTHING BUT TROUBLE by Trish Jensen

NOTHING BUT TROUBLE by Trish Jensen
PUBLISHED: April 30, 2013
REVIEW BY: Reading in Pajamas/Donna
RATED: 3.5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

He’s gorgeous, rich, sexy, super nice, and head-over-heels for her. So what’s the problem?
Her psychic best friend predicts that Laura Tanner is due to meet a prince—the man of her dreams. Not a likely scenario for a hard-working bar owner who’s better at karate-chopping rowdy patrons than hobnobbing with the silver-spoon crowd. When Ivy League lawyer Brandon Prince (a prince!) strolls into her bar, Laura admits he’s hard to resist. Brandon quickly realizes that this lovely, funny, take-no-prisoners woman is the special someone he’s always wanted.
Brandon is an expert at wooing women, and even a tough cookie like Laura can’t help but fall under his spell. Before she knows what’s happening, he’s lured her on a romantic adventure filled with laughter and desire. Dazzled, she begins to believe that she really can have this prince of a man as her own.

One problem: Brandon’s powerful mother is used to women chasing his family fortune, and she’ll do whatever it takes to keep yet another money-grubbing female out of his life. If a man is everything you have ever wanted, how can he also be nothing but trouble?

REVIEW:

This was a light fun story that makes you think of fairytale romances. Laura and Brandon’s attraction was instant, even though they were from different worlds. The rich boy, poor girl storyline was a bit predictable, but it was still an enjoyable quick read and perfect for a lazy day at the beach.

*Review copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Buy Link:
Amazon|B&N

DREAM NIGHTS WITH THE CEO (Secret Desires Novel) by Kathy Lyons

DREAM NIGHTS WITH THE CEO (Secret Desires Novel) by Kathy Lyons
PUBLISH DATE: May 27, 2013
REVIEW BY: Reading In Pajamas/Donna
RATED: 3.5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
Hotel chain CEO and millionaire Wyatt Monroe is a stick in the mud. Sure, he’s hot as sin, even with the tie, but free-spirited assistant Megan Bradford refuses to jeopardize their perfect working relationship. Why mess that up with sex? She knows he’s the love ’em and leave ’em type, and she’s determined to find a family man.

Wyatt would never cross the line between boss and employee with Megan, no matter how hard it might be to resist the temptation. But when they visit a mysterious B&B in a bid to acquire the property, he starts having erotic dreams about the sexy brunette that make it hard to resist her in daylight.

Soon the line between reality and dreams further blurs when they learn they were sharing the same erotic dreams…

REVIEW:
I was pleased that Megan and Wyatt were not stereotyped, but rather realistic likeable people. They worked together, but truly liked each other as friends before letting their true feelings loose. Of course their steamy romance was most pleasing also! The quirky storyline was different and kept me wondering where it was going…I enjoyed that. It is a nice light romance with a twist and makes me wonder if we’ll be seeing more of that B&B.

*Review copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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IN TOO DEEP (BOOK 1, OTHERS OF EDENTON) by Brandy L Rivers

IN TOO DEEP (BOOK 1, OTHERS OF EDENTON) by Brandy L Rivers
PUBLISHED: April 14, 2013
REVIEW BY: Reading In Pajamas/ Donna
RATED: 4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
Fallon is a brilliant tattoo artist with inherent magic. Tired of men and their games, she climbs onto her Harley and leaves her old life behind. Brody is a talented motorcycle mechanic and werewolf stuck in his painful past. It’s just another depressing night until he’s attacked by vampires. Thinking he killed them, he runs into the night and crashes into Fallon. Unwilling to walk away from anyone in need, she heals Brody and then takes out the vampires who aren’t as dead as he thought. Her past collides with the present, and she finds herself stranded in Edenton, Washington where an old friend lives. With no ride and no real plan, she winds up staying in Brody’s empty apartment. Feeling alive for the first time in years, Brody is determined to claim Fallon’s heart and keep her safe from the shadows in her past. However, she prides herself on her independence and would rather keep him safe, even from herself. With the impending danger from the group of vampires and dark mages, they will have to work together. The closer they get, the harder it is for her to fight her attraction. Be prepared for monsters, magic and lots of ink.

REVIEW:
Weres, Vampires and Druids all in one town and all in one book. I thought I would be overloaded with all the “others” in one story but the author kept it all on track. I like how the Weres and Druids all worked together to combat the evil threat while basically being normal people that you could relate to. The story revolves around Fallon, a tattoo artist and Druid. She is strong, powerful and fiercely independent without being annoying. Brody is a strong werewolf who appreciates her strength and abilities. I loved how he would step back and let her deal with things instead of going all alpha on her. Their romance was nice and simmering hot.

Ms. River’s first book built a good foundation for the rest of the series and introduced all the characters and the world without getting bogged down with it. I enjoyed this book and noted to look for book 2 as I know she will get better and better as the story evolves.

*Review copy provided by the Author in exchange for an honest review.

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DRAWING THE LINE by Kimberly Kincaid

DRAWING THE LINE by Kimberly Kincaid
PUBLISHED: April 24, 2013
REVIEW BY: Reading In Pajamas/ Donna
RATED: 4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
When Detective Jason Morgan is tasked with keeping a local restaurant owner safe as part of a make-or-break case, he rises to the challenge. The job is his first priority, and he owes it to the memory of his father, a detective killed in the line of duty, to do it at any cost. But Jason never expected Serenity Gallagher to be so beautiful, so serious…or so tough to protect.

Serenity has moved from place to place at the whim of her capricious mother all her life. The last thing she wants is to leave the diner she finally calls home, even if it means being stuck with a sexy blue-eyed detective. But she’s the only witness to a horrible crime, and the man behind it wants her very, very dead. Going into protective custody means survival, no matter how much Serenity hates hiding.

As Jason and Serenity bide their time together, they are shocked to discover they have much more in common than the surface reveals. But keeping her safe is Jason’s number one priority, no matter how much he’s drawn in by the woman beneath the witness, and Serenity’s past makes it difficult to trust. As the stakes get higher and the spark burns hotter, can Jason and Serenity draw the line?

REVIEW:
This was a delightful read. I enjoyed Serenity’s personality as both honest and real. Dedicated to her business yes, but still a caring and fun person. Now Jason, he may be trying to keep it all professional policy business, but we aren’t fooled. There is real attraction between them. This short novel was a very fun read that hit my wants. Likeable people, action/suspense, romance and steamy sex. It even had a killer recipe included.

*Review copy provided by Kimberly Kincaid in exchange for an honest review.

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FOREVER (Book 2 in World of the Nightwalkers) by Jacquelyn Frank

FOREVER (Book 2 in World of the Nightwalkers) by Jacquelyn Frank
PUBLISH DATE: May 28, 2013
REVIEW BY: Reading In Pajamas/Donna
RATED: 4.5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
After being brought back from death, police officer Jackson Waverly receives the shock of his life: he has become host to a Bodywalker, a spirit that is reborn in flesh and blood, and part of a proud, ancient race that uses its extraordinary gifts to battle dark, evil forces. Jackson’s spirit is a powerful one—none other than the Egyptian pharaoh Menes, who longs to reunite with his eternal love, the Egyptian queen Hatshepsut.

While Menes is obsessed with finding the perfect vessel for his queen, Jackson cannot stop thinking about Dr. Marissa Anderson, the gorgeous precinct shrink who keeps pushing him to confront his grief over the loss of his K-9 partner. But what Marissa really arouses most in Jackson is intense desire, which is exactly what Menes is looking for. To fight a great enemy, pharaoh and queen must join; but to host Hatshepsut, Marissa will first have to die. Fate has given Jackson a profound choice: save Marissa from Menes’s plan or keep an entire species from the brink of extinction.

REVIEW:
Book 1 of this series, Forbidden, explained how ancient Egyptian royalty maintained a form of immortality by “blending” with humans on the cusp of death. Giving them a choice to live with an added soul and powers in exchange for helping protect others from evil. I like that this book did not have to delve into that as much and went straight to the good stuff.

Jackson is an alpha male, blended with an ancient alpha male. Somehow I don’t think it would have gone as smoothly as written, but it is a story, one that I enjoyed, so I will concede that point. I liked Jackson and the way he is around his friends and of course with Marissa. She is strong and intelligent so she took a bit of time to come to terms with her new reality. That life on earth is not all she thought, nor is her place in it. Marissa and Jackson’s romance was built smoothly to the simmering point while enemy chaos surrounded them. Her reluctance to blend with Hatshepsut was understandable regardless of her feelings for Jackson. It may sound confusing but was actually easy to follow and just flow with it. I would recommend reading book 1 first however.

I truly enjoyed this story. Not only the battle of good vs. evil, but the inner struggle of the Bodywalkers as well. The romance was very satisfying and I can’t wait for book 3 to see what happens next.

*Review copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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