ARC Review - Beautiful Danger by Michele Hauf

Title: Beautiful Danger
Author: Michele Hauf
Series: In the Company of Vampires #1
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Date of publication: July 1st 2013 by Harlequin

Could Her Sworn Enemy Lead Her Out of Darkness?
As a member of an ancient order of hunters, Lark has found that eliminating dangerous vampires is about more than duty. It's personal—a kill for every day her husband was held captive before his death. Staking her prey isn't a challenge until she confronts Domingos LaRoque. Mad with vengeance and the blood of a powerful phoenix, Domingos tests her skills…and seduces her soul.

Once a talented musician, Domingos can't escape the constant music in his head …or his need to destroy the werewolf pack that tortured him. Though trusting the hunter ordered to kill him could be his gravest mistake, the dark desires between them can't be refused. Yet as he and Lark become allies to defeat a mutual threat, loving the enemy may be the ultimate sacrifice.

*Note: I received this as a free eARC through Netgalley*

Oh, the cover is awesome! Great concept, finally it's not the mainstream, one woman, one man posing in some kind of sexy way (I don't have real probelem with those, other than they're extremely boring). It screams of mystery, danger and a strong lead character. So the outside truly does reflect the inside, although at first I thought (and hoped) it was going to be some kind of light sci-fi. 

They say the forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest, and I think this is absolutely true. People want what they can’t have, it’s in our nature. I think a forbidden romance is way more interesting, but I also prefer a conflict between the two characters in these cases. I love when they're starting out as enemies, I think it makes it more interesting, exciting and entertaining. But obviously, everything depends on the the writing and the story. 

I loved this story. It's kind of unique in a way that the hero is literally going crazy and he is truly dangerous, and as a reader I too felt unsure what he would do next. On the other hand it's fascianating and also sad. It took some time for me to fall in love with Domingos (I still don't like his name, though), but he got under my skin too. He's such a riveting character, even though the character development is not the strongest aspect of this book. Lark also is a great character; kick-ass, strong, funny. However her constant guilt drove me nuts. I get it, but bringing it up in every situation wasn't helping her and it definitely won't help the readers get to like her story. It's a good impulsion in her job, but it got out of hands. And frankly, I didn't see why she would mourn that relationship for years with such force... it was an awful relationship! 

Anyway, I liked the first half of the book more, because the cat and mouse game between these two was entertaining without getting boring, and there was something else going on in the backround between the Order and the werewolves, so it was quite interesting. But from the moment Lark gave into the temptation, everything was about sex *sigh*. I know it's a romance driven story, but those can be balanced too, and I don't feel this was. In the second half, the characters were getting annoyingly restless. "Oh there's probably a price on both of our heads? Who cares, let's just running around and have sex and then just split up, so they can easily kill both of us, why not?! It'll be fun!" Whatever, at least something truly exciting happened again. Now, don't get me wrong, I loved their romance, and it was well built-up, I just didn't like the balance of the lustful sex scenes (whis sometimes felt pretty forced) and their actual connecting along with some other events. Events like what the hell is going on between the hunters and the werewolves??? Probably it's gonna be explained in the next books in the series, but right now it's just a big fecking mess!

Some other things that got on my nerves were, for example the leader of the pack is called principal...what.the.hell. Would it hurt to write alpha or there's some sort of other meaning to this, if so then what is it because this irritated me as f*ck. Also, I'm usually not a member of the grammar police, but sometimes complete words were missing and the author used "about" instead of "around" many times in situations that aren't right...

Overall I really enjoyed the story, and the uniqueness of the characters and the romance between them. I don't regret that I read it, it was a fast and entertaining read despite of my issues with it. 

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Cover Reveal: A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers + Giveaway

We're super excited to participate in the cover reveal for Lisa Desrochers' upcoming sizzling New Adult novel A Little Too Far !  Also, don't forget to enter the giveaway that includes a swagpack with a few goodies that pertain to the book!

Have you ever gone just a little too far?

Lexie Banks has.

Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother.In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for better part of the last few years…and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to Confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt…and maybe not burning in hell. 

Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy on the eyes deacon…only eight months away from becoming a priest. As Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

"More than a ridiculously sexy, HOT read, Desrochers takes you on a wild ride of self-discovery and bittersweet romance." —Jennifer L. Armentrout (J. Lynn), New York Times bestselling author of Wait for You

"I trace a finger along the lines of the tattoo over his heart—the kanji symbol for knowledge—as he grasps my thighs and rolls his hips underneath me." 

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ARC Review - Mist by Susan Krinard

Title: Mist
Series: The Midgard Series #1
Author: Susan Krinard
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Date of publication: July 16, 2013 by Tor Books
Goodreads || Amazon || Barnes and Noble | B-A-MBook Depository | Chapters | IndieBound

Centuries ago, all was lost in the Last Battle when the Norse gods and goddesses went to war. The elves, the giants, and the gods and goddesses themselves were all destroyed, leaving the Valkyrie Mist one of the only survivors.

Or so she thought.

When a snowy winter descends upon modern-day San Francisco in June, Mist’s quiet existence starts to feel all too familiar. In quick succession, Mist is attacked by a frost giant in a public park and runs into an elf disguised as a homeless person on the streets…and then the man Mist believed was her mortal boyfriend reveals himself to be the trickster god, Loki, alive and well after all these years.

Loki has big plans for the modern world, and he’s been hanging around Mist for access to a staff that once belonged to the great god Odin. Mist is certain of one thing: Loki must be stopped if there is to be any hope for Earth. But the fight is even bigger than she knows….

Because Loki wasn’t the only god to survive.

Note: I received this as a free eARC through Netgalley

When I first saw this book I couldn’t believe my eyes. An adult Urban Fantasy with Norse mythology? A Valkyrie for the protagonist? Loki as the main villain? "I must be dreaming" was my first thought. I’m in Love with all kinds of mythology, but I can’t seem to find a good adult urban fantasy with a great amount of mythology in it. As for Norse mythology, I always loved it, but forgotten about it. However my current favorite TV show, Lost Girl (you should watch it, if you don’t already!) reminded me of how much I'm intrigued by it so after the clouds in my mind dissolved, I knew that MIST was a MUST READ for me.

I’ve never read any of Susan’s book yet, so I didn’t know what to expect from her writing style, but what I hoped for was an enthralling, fast paced, compelling story with a strong, smart and dignified heroine, a crafty, so-much-more-than-simply-evil REAL villain and plenty of Mythological references.

What I actually got, fortunately, doesn’t alter much from those above. Like I said, I’m fascinated by the Norse Mythology, but I don’t know much about it yet, only scratching the surface. And MIST made me feel like I’ve been thrown into the deep water, even though I still had yet to learn to swim. However this is NOT negative. I had to google on some things, because the author didn’t explain every single thing to satisfy my ever growing curiosity, but I loved and enjoyed it. This book had everything on the mythology level. Runes, creatures, gods, weapons, spells, myths, really everything I could hope for. From the start ‘till the very end it's fast, interesting, there is always some fighting/chasing or mystery waiting to be solved to keep up my interest. Mist, the heroine is a real Valkyrie and so much more! She is strong -stronger than anyone expected, feisty and full of determination. I really liked her. She has a guardian, an elf. Dainn is an extraordinary elf with secrets and a quest on his own. By the end of the book, I've fallen in love with him. He is a complex, mysterious and intriguing character. Loki seemed like a great villain, a Master Manipulator in the first half of the book. I enjoyed his scenes. But then something changed and he was a simple minded megalomaniac. I still loved his driven-by-real-emotions-yet-evil personality, but he has fallen from a 1st class to a 2nd class villain. Also, I should mention that he has a “love interest” and there’s a little male/male “romance” thingy, which caught me by surprise and throw me off a little, but I managed to deal with it, and it is really not that big thing or that graphic. Speaking of relationships… Everyone has some relationship with Freya, using Loki's words; "The bitch goddess". I hate her! But I have a feeling I would hate every god and goddess in this series. I LOVED the development of the relationship between Mist and Dainn. It’s not a romance story, so don’t expect many romantic scenes, but without giving away anything, I can say that their relationship is extremely complicated, but well built.

The writing style is absolutely fascinating, even though I had some issues, like the fact that wherever the characters went the author basically drew a complete map for us telling almost every street they stepped on. It was a bit like reading a guide book and at some point most of the "bad guys" kept saying things that could easily fit into an erotic novel, rather than an Urban Fantasy. And a little more humour wouldn't hurt either. But other than these, the description of both places and events are full of life, creating a magical atmosphere. I felt as if I were a part of it. Absolutely stunning storytelling! Aaaaaand Cliffhanger alert! Yes, there is NO END yet, so I should start crating a survivor plan, because the waiting for the next book is already killing me, and this one isn't even out yet!! Oh Odin's hairy balls!

Overall: I got what I expected and I'm really glad that I had the opportunity to read this wonderful book, despite the issues I had. One of my eyes is smiling, while the other is crying over the fact that it's going to be a trilogy, because waiting for the next one is one of the worst kind of tortures, but I'm also happy because there's so much more to explore of this amazing world. I highly recommend the book to anyone who like the genre.