Review: Dead Sexy Dragon by Lolita Lopez @NetGalley

Dead Sexy Dragon by Lolita Lopez

Series: Dragon Heat #1

Publication date: August 6th, 2013

Pages: 128

Synopsis:

The last thing dragon shifter Stig Wyvern needs is his dead friend's kid sister showing up on his doorstep. He's just minutes away from entering a mating phase. Sharing his isolated house with the young woman he's desperately lusted after for quite some time is a recipe for disaster.

But Cora Cardenas has nowhere else to go. She's in deep trouble with some really nasty people and Stig is the only one who can protect her. That he's deliciously sexy and makes her tingle with the simplest of smiles is just a bonus.

Cora quickly realizes Stig is hiding something from her. To make matters worse, she's plagued with breathtakingly naughty dreams starring a shadowed lover who bears a startling resemblance to her host. And just what the hell is going on down in the basement at night?

Stig needs to get Cora out of his house but his inner beast has other ideas. He's found his mate and she's not going anywhere...

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Review:

I received an e-copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read just about every dragon paranormal romance book I can get my hands on as of recently. You all can testify to this since a lot of the recent reviews are dragon related. So when I saw this on NetGalley I was extremely excited to read it and I just had a feeling I would love it.

Boy, was I wrong.

Essentially the book is about a dragon shifter, Stig, who is a hard as nails, no-holds-barred, bad ass who is forced to babysit his dead friend's sister who has gotten herself in trouble. To make matters worse, Stig is in his mating phase which makes his inner beast hungry for sex and to find his mate damned the cost. Having a female in the house that he is already attracted to is a recipe for disaster. He must spurn his romantic and sexual impulses, try to help Cora find her way out of the mess she has made of her life, and avoid a centuries old feud with the Knights of St. George who are dead set on ridding the world of dragon shifters. No pressure.

First of all, this book is more so erotica with a paranormal air to it then regular paranormal romance. There is a fine line between these two genres. I associate erotica with raunchy scenes with naughty language and even naughtier characters. Paranormal romance is a bit more tame than that (depending on the author). This was too much for me. I have read some books where the language was risque, but this one made me blush profusely.

Of course, it wasn't just the language the author used but the abundance of sex in the book. In a typical paranormal romance book there are two or three sex scenes TOPS, unless the book is in the Anita Blake series and then it's sex all the time. This book was a grand total of 128 pages and probably 100 of those pages were sex scenes. What story line there was was all but forgotten in the constant sex, sex, sex going on between the characters. I understand they have had the hots for each other for a long time and that Stig is all riled up from his mating phase but... c'mon. I wanted to embed myself in Cora's form just to push Stig away and tell him "not tonight" for once.

As mentioned, the story was short and with all the sex, there wasn't much to the background of the dragon shifters or their feud with the Knights. The story moved INCREDIBLY fast. All Cora's problems and all that sexual tension between her and Stig got resolved in 2 days. Not to mention in that time, they realized they were mated and meant to be forever. Yep, because that's plausible.

I really wanted to like this book. I TRULY did. But it just wasn't enough for me. The premise was great and there truly would have been something there if the story had been drawn out more and the sex scenes trimmed down. The ending was so abrupt I had no idea what just happened. It's almost as if the author got tired of writing and just stopped where she was.

I will more than likely read the next book in the series simply so I may get some more of the Knights vs Dragons story line. I hope the next installment won't be as disappointing.

Review: Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon @yvonnewoon

Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

Series: Dead Beautiful #1

Publication date: September 21st, 2010

Pages: 464

Synopsis:

On the morning of her sixteen birthday, Renee Winters was still an ordinary girl. She spent her summers at the beach, had the perfect best friend, and had just started dating the cutest guy at school. No one she'd ever known had died. But all that changes when she finds her parents dead in the Redwood Forest, in what appears to be a strange double murder.

After the funeral Renee's wealthy grandfather sends her to Gottfried Academy, a remote and mysterious boarding school in Maine, where she finds herself studying subjects like Philosophy, Latin, and the "Crude Sciences."

It's there that she meets Dante Berlin, a handsome and elusive boy to whom she feels inexplicably drawn. As they grow closer, unexplainable things begin to happen, but Renee can't stop herself from falling in love. It's only when she discovers a dark tragedy in Gottfried's past that she begins to wonder if the Academy is everything it seems.

Little does she know, Dante is the one hiding a dangerous secret, one that has him fearing for her life.

Dead Beautiful is both a compelling romance and thought-provoking read, bringing shocking new meaning to life, death, love, and the nature of the soul.

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Review:

Sometimes I choose books completely based on the genre tags that are applied to them on Goodreads. This one one of those cases. It is no secret to any who have read my reviews or know me personally that I have a thing for zombies. I will read anything that even mentions zombies in passing. I think it's the whole loophole to death situation that intrigues me. When you die, you imagine you stay dead. With zombies, that's not the case. Interesting, no? I seem to have a fascination with death and the reanimation of the dead.

Dead Beautiful is almost entirely composed of the questions of death and mortality. Renée used to be the typical California girl who was more concerned with relaxing by the beach than finding out the origins of burial proceedings. That all changed once Renée stumbled across her parents dead in the forest surrounded by coins and with gauze stuffed in their mouths. Renée's world gets shaken to the core from that point on.

Her disconnected and long-lost grandfather becomes her legal guardian and starts implimenting various changes to Renée's life, starting with a move to Maine and the enrollment in Gottfried Academy. Renée says goodbye to her best friend, Annie, and the boy she could possibly have fallen in love with and moves to a unusual school unlike any she has ever known.

It is there at Gottfried Academy that Renée meets Dante. Dante is the token mysteriously handsome boy that seems to plague every single young adult book ever written. The difference is, there is a reason he keeps his distance that has nothing to do with simply being cool. Dante and Renée are uncontrollably drawn to each other in almost a love at first sight type of scenario. Along the way, Renée realizes that there are just some things about the staff, students, and school in general that seem off. Donning her investigator's hat Renée sets out to learn why the school has such a hazy past and how that has some how effected the students and staff. What she finds out, is something she never would have imagined.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dead Beautiful and it wasn't even minutes after I closed the book, ran my hand over the cover affectionately, and set it aside to return to the library, that I was on my library database requesting the next book, Life Eternal, to be picked up on my next visit. I am not normally a morbid person, so the subject of death being so prevalent in this book should have turned me off to it completely. However, for some unknown reason, I found myself enthralled by the history of death and burials, the forbidden love between Renée and Dante, and the mysterious deaths of some of Gottfried's students. It was well written and had me guessing all the way through. The ending does leave off on a cliffhanger which is probably why I was so desperate to request the next book to read. So be prepared.

Dead Beautiful is a story of self discovery, the trials of love, and the realization of death being inevitable, although for some, not permanent.

Review: Uniquely Unwelcome by Brandy Nacole

Uniquely Unwelcome by Brandy Nacole

Series: The Shadow World #1

Publication date: November 20th, 2012

Pages: 322

Synopsis:

Being unique isn't all it's cracked up to be.

After searching all over the world for someone as unique as she is, Racquel finds herself back in her home town where she's treated like a monster ready to kill. Racquel is one of the most unique beings ever created. Four of the most powerful beings in the Shadow World are intertwined within her, making up her unique DNA. But no matter how unique her bloodline is, she's considered an outcast by the entire Shadow World.

Once arriving home, Racquel finds that greater evils exist and that the person she cares for most in this world, her half-sister Addie, has been kidnapped along with other Shadow World beings. Racquel finds herself facing horrible odds with those who would rather see her dead than alive.

As her journey continues, Racquel learns more about herself what she is capable of, and that not every being looks at her as an abomination. Coy, a human captive that Racquel saves from the Vampires, starts showing kindness toward her. Racquel tries putting distance between her and the human boy but as they spend more time together it becomes harder and harder for Racquel to fight the affection she wants and needs.

But will Coy's friendship and her new found discoveries be enough to help Racquel unravel the strangest mystery that has ever plagued the Shadow World?

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Review:

Have you ever had one of those books that just simply jumps out of nowhere and slaps you with a big bag of awesome? No? Well then you haven't read Uniquely Unwelcome by Brandy Nacole. Nacole's masterpiece is one in which you have never seen before in any fantasy novel ever written. Imagine taking all the creatures you love to read about and squashing them together into a single badass character. That is what this author did. As hinky as that may strike you and cause you to doubt whether it can truly work in the story, in this case, it does.

Nacole's concocted world is one in which fantastical creatures live side by side with humans but operate under entirely different rules. Segregation is alive and well in the Shadow World, the world that encompasses Vampires, Lycans, Shifters, Faeries, and Witches alike. No race is suppose to mix with a different race. It is seen as abysmal and distasteful, albeit not illegal. Racquel's family takes full advantage of the legality of such unions and through a macabre amount of unions, Racquel was born. She is Vampire, Lycan, Shifter, and Witch all rolled into one little sarcastic ball of a girl.

Of course, that is not the only basis of the story (even though that would have been quite enough). On top of that, there is a great evil out there who is also not so into the segregation thing. He kidnaps, tortures, and even kills people from every race, even humans. Racquel is happy to leave the situation alone and quietly shrug it off as someone else's problem until one of the kidnap victims turns out to be her beloved half-sister, Addie.

That is all it takes. Racquel is off and running with her high school tormentor, Ethan the Lycan bully. She is told she must visit each of the original races and find out what they know so she may combine the knowledge and find the missing people. Along the way Racquel meets and befriends several different people from different races including Danika the witch, Coy the human, and Jared the vampire. Racquel's journey also brings her face to face with her past torments, her present mistrust, and the possible end to her future.

This book was a surprise. I went into it not really believing I would fall in love with the story or the characters. Boy, was I ever wrong. I found my heart bleeding for Racquel, swooning at Coy, and laughing along with Jared's antics. I have not thoroughly enjoyed a book to this magnitude in a while. The ending does leave off on a slight cliffhanger, which I now must rectify by finding the second book in the series, Blood Burdens.

Review: Caged Warrior by Lindsey Piper @LindseyPiper

 

Caged Warrior by Lindsey Piper

Series: Dragon Kings #1

Publication date: June 25th, 2013

Pages: 380

Synopsis:

The first installment in this fierce and sensual new paranormal romance series features demonic gladiators, ruthless mafia villains, and a proud race on the brink of extinction.

Ten years ago, Audrey MacLaren chose to marry her human lover, making her an exile from the Dragon Kings, an ancient race of demons once worshiped as earthly gods. Audrey and her husband managed to conceive, and their son is the first natural-born Dragon King in a generation--which makes him irresistible to the sadistic scientist whose mafia-funded technology allows demon procreation. In the year since her husband was murdered, Audrey and her little boy have endured hideous experiments.

Shackled with a collar and bound for life, Leto Garnis is a Cage warrior. Only through combat can Dragon Kings earn the privilege of conceiving children. Leto uses his superhuman speed and reflexes to secure the right for his two sisters to start families. After torture reveals Audrey's astonishing pyrokinesis, she is sent to fight in the Cages. If she survives a year, she will be reunited with her son. Leto is charged with her training. Initially, he has no sympathy for her plight. But if natural conception is possible, what has he been fighting for? As enemies, sparring partners, lovers, and eventual allies, Leto and Audrey learn that in a violent underground world, love is the only prize worth winning.

Available at:

Review:

I bought this book to be read in my Paranormal Romance Book Club.

When I delved into this book, it started out smack-dab in the middle of Audrey's plight. I was a little caught off guard and had to quickly focus in on what was going on. To be perfectly honest, that was the theme throughout the entire book. I had to go back to the synopsis on several occasions in an attempt to understand what was going on. That was mainly, I figure, due to the fact that there was A LOT going on.

The story begins with Audrey awaking in a dank, drippy cell instead of the lab she has come to know so well. She has written her cousin, the leader of the Counsel of the five Dragon King families, pleading for help and awaits his response in this new circle of hell. She meets a no-nonsense warrior who is ruthless and cruel to the core. He is to be her trainer to fight in the Cage.

As the story progresses Audrey starts to find the warrior spirit within her, while Leto starts to learn the softer side of things. They take from each other what they were ultimately lacking in their lives. Audrey needed to no longer be a victim and Leto needed to no longer be a tormentor.

Audrey must overcome physical and mental limitations so she may fight for a years time and get her son back. She battles a gift she has no memory of ever using but fears all the same. She also fights against the overwhelming attraction to her mentor. She had just lost her husband, a man she loved with all her heart, and her son who was being poked and prodded in God knows how many ways, and yet she's still able to find companionship within Leto. I was a little hard-pressed to believe she could move on so easily not just from losing her husband and son, but from the physical torture and degradation she suffered within the laboratory. That sort of thing can really destroy a person. Audrey's resilience while admirable was almost unbelievable.

With Leto, I could see the potential for kindness within him. With the story's alternating viewpoints, I could see into Leto's every action and see that he never enjoyed pushing Audrey to her limits. He cared about her from the first moment he met her but getting over 20 years of brainwashing is not something easily done. To that aspect, it was believable and Leto fast became a potential book boyfriend.

While the story was hard to follow when Piper started referring to the families, histories, traditions, and guidelines of The Dragon Kings, the immediate actions of Leto and Audrey were easy enough. This book almost read like a middle book in a series. Something that mentions facts you should have already read about in previous books. Instead it is sprung on the reader in a most disorienting fashion. Even after reading the book cover-to-cover, I just realized that they are supposed to be demons from typing up the synopsis. There was no mention of that in the book. Only of a Dragon that birthed them (the devil?).

Caged Warrior takes its reader into a twisted world concocted of Roman gladiators and fantastical beasts, where love can be found even within the bowels of hell.