Night Keepers By Jessica Andersen (Final Prophecy #1)
11 May 2010 1 Comment
in Paranormal Romance, Reviews, Urban Fantasy Tags: Magic, Mayans, Paranormal Romance, review, Urban Fantasy
From B&N.com: The exciting debut of a new paranormal romance series
As a Miami narcotics detective, Leah Daniels never knows how her day will turn out. But she certainly never expected to be strapped to a stone altar, the human sacrifice in an ancient Mayan ritual meant to coax up a demon from the underworld. Or that she’d be saved by a handsome warrior-priest king who claims to recognize her from his visions…
Jaguar Strike wishes he hadn’t made the mistake of reuniting his fellow warrior priests, or broken the law by saving their chosen human sacrifice. Now, he has no choice but to join forces with Leah and invoke dangerous magic in a death-defying race against the end of time.
Kindlelicious Disclaimer: This book has a very complicated plot with about a millionty characters, so I will try to keep this short.
The Drama: Leah Daniels is convinced that the leader of the a local cult that believes the end of the world will happen in 2012 (as predicted by the Mayans) is responsible for the ritualistic killings of late, including the murder of her brother. While investigating a lead, she is kidnapped by the cult and nearly sacrificed, until she is rescued by the man of her dreams (literally), Strike. Strike is the last King of Night keepers, a race of beings with special powers that aim to prevent the end date from taking place. Their last attempt 24 years ago ended with the brutal slaughter of most of his race by demons. While rescuing Leah, Strike realizes the 2012 cult is responsible for allowing demons to possess humans. The actions of the 2012 cult lead Strike and his keeper, the winikin Jox, to assemble any remaining Night keepers to fight the demons being released on Earth. However, Strike continues to be distracted by Leah, who was meant to be a Godkeeper along with her brother, before he was murdered. Now one of the few Gods that can fight the demons on Earth is trapped between planes and the only way to release it is to murder Leah. Strike’s feelings for Leah won’t allow him to harm her, but he also knows if he doesn’t release the God and become the leader of the Night keepers, the world will indeed end in 2012.
The Smut: Night keepers is yet another example of a UF-PNR hybrid that is a dirty, dirty tease. Strike and Leah go at it when they first meet! They don’t even know each other’s names! So awesome. But then, Strike gets all “If we sleep together again I will like you more and then I won’t murder you” wah wah wah. And Leah is all like “Whatever! We are around each other all day dumbass; we’ll like each other more anyway!!” Leah is a smart girl, but unfortunately, Strike is stupid and we have to wait til near the end of the book to see any more serious action. But the good news is that since Strike is all Mayan and stuff, he has big stone altars in his bedroom (cause that’s how all Mayan’s were, right?), and…well they get used. The bad news is: I didn’t love Strike. He was kinda whiny about being King and just not as bad-ass as I wanted him to be. All of the other Night keepers were sort of unofficially coupled up though, so the series is set-up to feature the new Night keeper or Nightkeeper\Winikin couples in future books. Really hoping we will get to see more of those stone altars!
The Ranty Rave: The Night keepers reminded me of X-men. I know, X-men are mutants and Night keepers are…magical (?), but I couldn’t help the comparison. Reading the part where Strike is assembling the remaining Night keepers was like being in a movie montage or something. All of these people from different backgrounds, thrust together to figure out what magical abilities they have and how they can unify to save the world…definite movie material. Well…you would have to cut the number of characters in half so the audience’s heads wouldn’t explode, but it would still be great! I really like the potential of this series, and I LOVED all the Mayan culture and mythology. You can tell Jessica Andersen really did her homework in this area. And though I felt like I was watching the History channel at some points, it never really got boring, just interesting. Night keepers was really different than your usual vampy UF, don’t expect any of the standard supernatural beings. (Except demons, but they aren’t hot Larissa Ione demons, so who cares?) Like I said before, the central romance stalled several times, but I think introducing all the characters and history took up a lot of time and was pretty important for the series. I expect the future books to do better in the romance department. One last note, I can usually finish a book in a day, but this one took me a few days, mainly because I had to keep flipping back to the movie montage to keep track of everyone. This didn’t really bother me though, if anything I felt more invested.
Rating: 8.5
Kindle Freebie: Regina in the Sun By R.G. Alexander
22 Apr 2010 3 Comments
in Kindle Freebie or Cheapie, Paranormal Romance, Reviews Tags: free ebook, Hotness, Kindle freebie, Vampires, Werewolves
From Amazon.com: There’s only one place left to run-into forbidden arms. Children of the Goddess Book 1 Children of the Goddess Book One When she arrives at Ye Olde Haven Pub, the sanctuary for Trueblood Vampires, Regina is wounded and desperate. Her only thought is to save the Deva Clan, her family, from the dangerous Loups De L’Ombre, the Shadow Wolves. She knows she will not exactly be welcomed with open arms. She is, after all, an Unborn, the lowest caste of Vampire.
As a natural born from the purest line, Zander Sariel knows the rules are sacrosanct-a Trueblood mates with his own kind. But one taste of the young Unborn is all Zander needs to know that rules were made to be broken. With enemies at every turn, Zander risks everything to save Regina from the monster that hunts her, his own kind-s ignorance and-if he must-her lack of faith in her own unique abilities. Only together do they have a chance to defeat the shadow that haunts their future, and save their entire race from extinction. Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, voyeurism of an m/m/f menage-a plethora of vampire nookie.
Mini-Review:
Regina is a member of the Deva clan of undead vampires, meaning they were turned, not born that way. She is on the run from the Shadow Wolves, werewolves who use black magic and thought to be extinct. Her maker Liz, once told her of the kindness of the Sariel Trueblood clan and the sanctuary to be found at their pub Haven. Regina flees to Haven after escaping the leader of the Shadow Wolves, Grey Wolf, in hopes of warning her clan. Grey Wolf is interested in Regina’s special gifts that no other Unborn possesses. Zander and Lux Sariel (AKA Big and Tasty) take Regina in, without knowing of the danger that follows her. In Regina’s world, Trueblood vamps, Unborn vamps and Weres do not get along. However, their Goddess fated them to find their one true mate in any of the 3 species that they could procreate with. Regina has found her mate at Haven, but the newly-mated happiness is short lived when Grey Wolf comes knocking on Haven’s door. In the face of the new threat from the Shadow Wolves, the Truebloods and Unborns are forced to get over the prejudice and politics and save their race.
I find that certain books are great for certain moods. I just came off a complicated urban fantasy, and I was starting to feel bad for my little PNR tag getting lost in my tag cloud. I wanted a simple, completely smutty PNR. You know the type: guy sees girl, gets painful erection, girl gets excited by this, they get it on, and fall madly in love and/or are mated in less than 48 hours. Plot is there but takes a backseat to the lusty alpha male and whatever location he won’t let his woman escape from. Sometimes, I just need these kinds of books. They are like palette cleansers. If you need these as well, Regina in the Sun is the book for you! Zander and Lux are so freakin hot!! And the sex scenes were out of this world! There was this one scene where Lux and …some other people were….yeah and Regina was in the doorway…and yeah…and then Zander…WHOA…you get the picture. I am happy to report that this scene will stay with me for a while and I could not get my hands on the 2nd book in this series (Lux in Shadows) fast enough! So…you know pretty much all you need to about this book. Hence the mini-review is born! Enjoy! I have a date with Lux!
Rating: 8.5
Oh, and in the spirit of Earth Day, the Kindle version of this book is free! So get that, instead of the dead tree edition. Yep, that’s me, Kindlelicious: Saving the world one erotic download at a time.
Primal Hunger & Primal Attraction by Sydney Somers
19 Apr 2010 5 Comments
in Paranormal Romance, Reviews Tags: Fairies/Fae, gargoyles, Paranormal Romance, Shifters
From Amazon.com:When the sun goes down, passion is unleashed.
Pendragon Gargoyles, Book 1
Kennedy Beaumont loves her bartending job, even if her spirited nature sometimes gets her in trouble. Like threatening to hose down one of Pendragon’s co-owners. When it comes to Tristan, she could use a good hosing down herself-maybe it’ll help her stop casting him as the star of her wickedest dreams. Since he goes out of his way to avoid her, it ought to be easy to put him out of her head-until he reluctantly offers her a ride home.
Gargoyle shape-shifter Tristan Callaghan hasn’t had time for anything other than recovering the mystical dagger that was used to permanently lock his brother in a prison of stone. The cat inside him should have stopped craving Kennedy’s touch long ago, but now that she’s sitting next to him in his car, his very human need for her is sharper than ever.
The distraction is costly. In a split second, Kennedy finds herself thrust into a dangerous, millennia-old hunt for Excalibur. A hunt that marks her for death-and leaves Tristan with a painful choice-sacrifice his family, his quest…or the one woman meant to be his.
Warning: There’s nothing tame about this alpha male hell-bent on claiming his mate. Featuring bone-melting explicit sex, graphic language, violence and a little harmless bite…or two.
He’ll stop at nothing to claim her- If she doesn’t kill him first.
Pendragon Gargoyles, Book 2
A lethal huntress, Sorcha lives to track and eliminate rogue immortals-until her latest assignment turns out to be a sexy, gargoyle shape-shifter. From the start she-s shaken by the lust his touch awakens inside her. Not only that, but the cat is convinced she-s his mate, and for the first time, she-s unable to kill her target.
Still mourning the loss of his mate, Cale is stunned to find Sorcha alive. Yet the woman he aches to possess doesn’t-t recognize him and is after the only thing that will save his brother-a mystical weapon that will lead to Excalibur.
Determined to protect his family and reclaim his mate, Cale ruthlessly takes advantage of Sorcha-s one weakness-her desire for him. Desire that could unlock their past-or cause him to lose her all over again.
Warning: Featuring a sarcastic, ass-kicking heroine going toe-to-toe with the stubborn shifter who-s dead set on reclaiming his mate. Also contains graphic violence, death-threat foreplay and scorching sex that will make you roll over and purr.
The Drama: In Primal Hunger we are introduced to a family of Gargoyle, cat-shifters cursed to spend the daylight hours in stone for their role in the death of Arthur. Yes, the Arthur, as in Camelot and such. Tristan has just returned from retrieving a dagger thought to aide him in releasing his brother Cian from his stone prison, but these same daggers are also thought to point to the whereabouts of Excalibur. If Excalibur is located, Arthur can return, so his mother, the Goddess Rhiannon, is very interested in retrieving it. Unfortunately, Morgana wants Excalibur for her own selfish reasons, so all those seeking to appease her are after the daggers as well. When a wraith is contracted to retrieve the dagger from Tristan, Kennedy is caught in the middle. A bartender at his brother’s club, Kennedy has been secretly lusting after Tristan for months. When he is attacked outside the club, Kennedy is forced to get him to safety at his brother Cale’s home. Tristan must figure out a way to get rid of the wraith while keeping the dagger and protecting Kennedy and figure out who is behind the attacks.
Primal Attraction takes place around the same time as Primal Hunger and deals with why Cale has seemingly disappeared. Rhiannon has tasked her huntress Sorcha to kill Cale for threatening to sell the dagger Tristan retrieved. Hunters are responsible to taking care of anyone who threatens to reveal the existence of the fae, and they are pretty deadly, but part of the deal is having their memories wiped every 100ish years. When Sorcha approached Cale about the dagger, Cale is convinced the huntress is his dead mate. Sorcha has no memories of Cale, but for some reason is hesitant to kill him. Cale had no intention to sell the dagger, just to find the sorceress who can assist in using it to wake Cian. Somehow Cale has to convince Sorcha that he is innocent of the charges and that she truly is his mate.
The Smut: Oh the smut. I’m actually shocked I remember the plot at all, and to be honest, after the first love scene I was like “what plot?” In this series, as soon as the lovers are alone, it’s on! There really isn’t a ton of sexual tension, no building up to the money shot, just one big romp-fest. I mean, Tristan and Kennedy don’t leave any rooms in Cale’s mansion underutilized. And Cale and Sorcha’s locales are just plain HOT. Hidden Avalonian Lagoon, stairwells, Rhiannon’s throne room….yummmmm. Somehow these scenes don’t seem cliché though, just really well-written. But seriously, these gargoyles\cats\whatevers have one-track minds and I am a fan. Here is my fav quote: “His hand slid down her neck, his thumb doing that seductive sweeping thing to her throat. ‘If it means that I get to spend every day figuring out how to make you laugh and smile, and every night learning how to drive you absolutely wild in bed, then that’s more than okay with me.’” Le sigh.
The Rant: It’s a good thing when my rant is about these books being too short, right? I really could have dealt with at least 100 or so more pages. I felt like while the smut was VERY well-developed, the plot was not. In Primal Hunger, you learn just enough about Avalon, Arthur and gargoyles to get by, and there isn’t really a ton more information in Primal Attraction. I was confused by the whole gargoyle thing at first, I thought it was just a cruse, but then other gargoyle clans started popping up, so I kinda figured it out. But I still want to know more about their role in the war that Arthur died in and more about the powers they possess. I guess if I were to use proper terms here, I would say the world-building could use some work. And while I thought Cale and Tristan were super yummy, I really couldn’t distinguish them in my head. They are both dark-haired, blue-eyed hornballs, so it felt like I was reading about the same guy twice. I would have like to seen a little more personality there so I can tell them apart. Oh, and my inner middle-schooler really loved the name Kennedy. Made me reminisce on old-school MTV VJ goodness. But overall I really enjoyed these books and was genuinely disappointed they weren’t longer. They are great Kindle bargains though, both are under $5.
Rating: 8 for both smut-fests.
Angels’ Blood & Archangel’s Kiss By Nalini Singh
31 Mar 2010 1 Comment
in Paranormal Romance, Reviews Tags: Angels, Hotness, Paranormal Romance, Vampires
From Barnesandnobel.com:
Angels’ Blood
Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux is hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael. But this time, it’s not a wayward vamp she has to track. It’s an archangel gone bad.
The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other—and pull her to the razor’s edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn’t destroy her, succumbing to Raphael’s seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break.
Archangel’s Kiss
New York Times bestselling author of Angels’ Blood Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux wakes from a year-long coma to find that she has become an angel-and that her lover, the stunningly dangerous archangel Raphael, likes having her under his control. But almost immediately, Raphael must ready Elena for a flight to Beijing, to attend a ball thrown by the archangel Lijuan. Ancient and without conscience, Lijuan’s power lies with the dead. And she has organized the most perfect and most vicious of welcomes for Elena…
Elena Deveraux is “hunter-borne,” which basically means she can track vampires by scent. In Nalini Singh’s first entry in the Guild Hunter Series, we learn that vampires are actually made by angels, and angels don’t like it when their vamps misbehave. Elena works for the Guild, and is frequently contracted to track stray vamps for the angels, but this time an archangel is interested in her services. Raphael, the archangel of New York, needs Elena to track a fellow archangel gone bad. Though Elena knows it’s unlikely she will survive this hunt, she has little choice but to work with Raphael to track down the incredibly disturbing Raum. The hunt inevitably pushes Raphael and Elena closer together, giving us a seriously steamy romance laced within the action.
The sequel to Angels’ Blood, Archangel’s Kiss, picks up right after Elena seemingly perished while “saving” Raphael from Raum. We find Elena in the Refuge, where Raphael has somehow turned her into an angel. Since this is so rare, the other archangels in the Cadre of Ten are very curious about Elena. Raphael’s Seven (7 vamps and angels sworn to protect him) have been ordered to protect Elena from attack, though they really don’t care for her. Strange attacks are taking place around the Refuge, which are thought to be power plays by angels hoping to take Raum’s place in the Cadre. Raphael becomes increasingly concerned with Lijuan and the ball she is throwing to introduce her newly un-dead army. Meanwhile, Elena tries to come to grips with her new life as an angel and archangel’s lover.
The Good: There is just so much goodness in these books; I don’t even know where to start. I LOVE the idea of angels flying around New York and vamps essentially being angel pets. I thought the whole premise of the series was so fresh and original. I like the complexity of both Elena and Raphael, and the supporting characters were really great! LOVE Illium…but more on that later. The bad guys in the Guild Hunter world are seriously effed up. If I had seen some of this stuff in a movie, I wouldn’t have slept for weeks. Especially Raum, he was just disturbing. But I thought the idea of an angel existing so long that they no longer care about right or wrong was intriguing. Its nice to get a break from villains going on and on about how noble their motives really are and meet a bad guy who’s simply insane. Like the Joker with a raging case of bloodlust. I know this is blasphemy to some, but I don’t really care for the psy\changeling series by Nalini Singh. To be fair, I only read the first book, but I just didn’t care for the detached-ness (new word?) of the psy and I thought the book was just boring. But after reading these books, I am going to give the series another shot.
The Bad: I feel like I would be really nitpicking to find something bad about these books. I guess Elena’s flashbacks to her traumatic childhood get a little redundant. And there is something about Nalini Singh’s writing that makes me want to take a nap after I read. Its very soothing, even when she describes dismembered bodies. Would we call the ability to eloquently describe corpses a talent? I will say that some of the crime scenes are really violent, so if you are bothered by that sort of thing, you might not like the books. But chances are if you’re American, you’re more comfortable with violence than sex, so…. Anyway, yeah, that’s all I got for the bad. Moving on…
The Bumpin’ Uglies: In my Hierarchy of Paranormal Hotness, Elves just got gently nudged aside (but I totally copped a feel in the process). I am completely obsessed with angel wings and being dusted. I have a very severe sparkle addiction (except vamps that sparkle, that’s just lame), so the whole idea of angel dust being erotic and giving me a sparkly glow at the same time… well, that’s my own personal heaven. There were several steamy scenes with Raphael and Elena in both books, with some of my favorites utilizing the more sensitive areas of angel wings. Still waiting on that ‘angel dance’ scene though. And I totally blame Spartacus: Blood and Sand for getting me started on the curly blonde men obsession! Meet Varro:
Sup.
He looks a lot like I think Illium should look. Unfortunately, he was just killed on the show (Bastards!), so I don’t see much reason to continue watching. I am really hoping Nalini Singh will do a spin-off series, much like the Night Huntress World series, focusing on Raphael’s Seven. HOTNESS.
Rating: 10 with angel dust sprinkles.
First Drop of Crimson By Jeaniene Frost
28 Mar 2010 Leave a Comment
in Paranormal Romance, Reviews Tags: Demons, Vampires
From barnesandnoble.com: From the New York Times bestselling author of the Night Huntress series comes a breathtaking new journey to the dark side of desire. The night is not safe for mortals. Denise MacGregor knows all too well what lurks in the shadows—her best friend is half-vampire Cat Crawfield—and she has already lost more than the average human could bear. But her family’s past is wrapped in secrets and shrouded in darkness—and a demon shapeshifter has marked Denise as prey. Now her survival depends on an immortal who lusts for a taste of her. He is Spade, a powerful, mysterious vampire who has walked the earth for centuries and is now duty-bound to protect this endangered, alluring human—even if it means destroying his own kind. Denise may arouse his deepest hungers, but Spade knows he must fight his urge to have her as they face the nightmare together . . .
Because once the first crimson drop falls, they will both be lost.
My Spoiler-Laden Thoughts on First Drop of Crimson:
The Recap: This is the first entry in Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress World series, which is a spin-off from the Night Huntress Series featuring the always entertaining Cat and Bones. When we last saw Denise, our heroine, her husband had just been brutally murdered by zombie-like creatures and she had sworn off the supernatural world as a result. Now Denise is in a whole different kind of trouble when a vengeful demon, Raum, starts picking off her family members in an attempt to find a distant relative who escaped him once upon a time. Raum allows Denise to live on the condition that she can locate said relative, Nathanial. Unable to reach her bestie Cat, she settles for asking Spade, Bones’ friend and human hater for help before the demonic essence Raum left behind consumes her. It looks like this series is going to adopt the PNR formula of boys sees girl, girl sees boy, something gets all tingly, and they are ‘I Would Die 4 U’ in love 3 days later while battling some sort of big beastie. Not that I am complaining, this formula works, but the rest is pretty predictable so I will skip ahead.
The Drama: While I liked the plot, the action just really didn’t do it for me. Once Denise and Spade figure out her blood is like vamp crack because of the demon juice, they travel to Vegas to find a dealer in hopes of getting closer to Nathanial. The Vegas trip for me was just alright, except for that shower scene…more on that later. I did enjoy getting to see Spade’s home while the duo fled Raum, and I got really excited when Monaco was the next locale. I have always wondered why Monaco doesn’t pop up more in PNR, it just seems like such a romantic place. The climactic battle scenes towards the end were great, but I wouldn’t expect less from Ms. Frost. I especially enjoyed the form Denise chose to battle Raum with, though I was shocked the big bad demon went down so quickly.
The Smut: My absolute fav scene of the book was the Spade shower scene. HOTNESS. And when he later admitted that the shower was cold to avoid the steam, I thought that was too cute. On the other hand, Denise’s demon-y hands were a huge turnoff and I hated how they kept popping up at the worst times. And all the eating! Its like “we get it, you’re becoming a demon and you’re hungry…get to the banging!!” The sex scenes were good, and there was a fair amount of sexual tension built up throughout. The issue I have is that Spade and Denise’s personalities just didn’t shine they way they did in the Night Huntress series. I understand that Denise has had a really tough time lately, but I felt like all the angst took away from the romance.
The Rant: I have mixed feelings about spin-offs that rely heavily on knowledge of the original series. I think the series is a great idea, and a great way to showcase all the supporting characters that Cat and Bones overshadowed. But at the same time, I could barely remember details like what Menecheres’ powers were and how Cat acquired Fabian. That being said, I am so excited for Ian to get his own book! I always loved Ian and all of his Prince Albert-assholey glory. Yummmm…
Should I buy-with-1-click? If you were a fan of the Night Huntress series, you will enjoy this book. If I had to choose, I would go with Cat and Bones any day, but this is a nice filler until we see them again in July ’10. Rating: 8
Crux (Southern Arcana #1) by Moira Rogers
21 Mar 2010 3 Comments
in Paranormal Romance, Reviews Tags: Magic, Paranormal Romance, Shifters, Werewolves, Witches
From barnesandnoble.com: Jackson Holt makes a decent living as a private investigator in New Orleans, home of one of the largest underground supernatural populations in the United States. He and his partners have never met a case they couldn’t crack…until a local bar owner asks him to do a little digging on her newest hire. New Orleans is the fourth destination in as many months for Mackenzie Brooks, a woman on the run from a deranged stalker. After all, any man who shows up on her doorstep claiming to be her destined lover has more than a few screws loose. But crazy doesn’t explain why he always finds her no matter how far she runs. When her well-meaning boss puts a PI on her case, Mackenzie comes face to face with the incredible truth: magic is real, and whatever spell has kept her hidden and separate from the paranormal world is rapidly deteriorating. With time running out, she has no choice but to trust Jackson as he struggles to uncover the truth of her past—and her destiny.
Mackenzie Brooks is on the run from what she thinks is a crazy stalker. When she ends up at Nicole Peyton’s bar in New Orleans, she makes a whole lot of new friends. It doesn’t take long for Nicole and her PI best friend Jackson Holt to figure out Mackenzie is in serious trouble. A crazy old Cougar, Charles is desperate to keep his species alive and is determined to make Mackenzie have all kinds of little cougar cubs whether she likes it or not. Nation-wide shenanigans ensue as Jackson and his friends try to stop Charles and find Mackenzie before its too late.
The Good: As with any new series, there were a whole slew of potentially interesting characters introduced in Crux. I am really interested to hear more about the Nicole and Derek star-crossed lovers’ storyline. Oh, and I reaalllyyy curious about Wesley. Anyone who says stuff like this: “Jesus Fuck, Holt. It takes an act of God to get you on the phone,” is my kind of man. And while shifters, weres, and witches are nothing new, I liked the concept of combining magic and shifting with the Seers. As for the plot, I was kinda shocked that what I thought should have been the climax happened so early, while the actual climax happened much later and was sort of lackluster. I appreciated the deviation from the standard story arc, but I am not sure it worked in this case. As for Mackenzie and Jackson (I love that name, its sooo Steel Magnolias), I was so pleasantly surprised that they weren’t declaring their undying love for each other and/or married after a few days. So refreshing. I felt like they were more in lust than love, which is exactly what should happen when you meet some dude in a bar. And neither of them wore leather pants!! In fact, there was no leather anywhere in the book! Hooray for jeans!
The Bad: Well, the first sentence…”Nicole Peyton as I live and breath,’ and all the mama’s and darlin’s afterwards really made me cringe. ::Rant Alert:: See, I am from Georgia, so southern stereotypes really irk me. No one actually says darlin’ anymore unless they are my 84 year-old extremely sassy grandmother, and she only pulls it off because of said sass. Unless you are from Backwoodsville, (insert southern state), you don’t say mama, or even worse “mama en em.” So Jackson Holt being from Georgia and somewhere around my age should have maybe had a slight twang, an affinity for sweet tea, and used the term ‘y’all’ but not ‘mama’ ::Rant complete:: . Anywho, my only other real complaint is that the witty banter and charm seemed exclusive to Mackenzie and Jackson. I really didn’t get a feel for anyone else’s personalities, except for maybe Alec, who is just bitter. Because of this, the fact that all these other people would be willing to risk their lives for a girl they met three days ago felt a little contrived. Hopefully, the upcoming books will give us a better feel for the rest of the characters and their motives.
The Bumpin’ Uglies: I can honestly say this is the first time I didn’t want everyone to shut up during the sex scenes. Jackson and Mackenzie’s pillow talk was HOT. I especially like this line: “God damn it Jackson, if you tell me you’re not going to violate me in about ten different ways, I’m going to use my newly discovered super strength to kick your ass.” Rob and Big would call Mackenzie a “chacha sucia.” Hehe…yeah, I couldn’t really even remember what Mackenzie and Jackson looked like, but those sex scenes were STEAMY.
The Morning After: I think this series has a lot of potential. Hell, the pillow talk alone will keep me coming back. And if you are even shallower than me and will read a book for just the sex scenes, then you should definitely check out Crux. Rating: 7.5
