Book Review (129): Forever Werewolf - Michele Hauf

Forever Werewolf: Forever Werewolf\Moon Kissed

by Michele Hauf 

Publication: 18th September 2012
Publisher: Harlequin
Pages: 576
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Age Appropriate: Adult
Alexis Conner, princess of the Alpine pack and pureblood werewolf, hides a painful secret-she has never shifted. If she can’t shift, she can’t mate, and so Lexi resigned herself to a lifetime of loneliness. But then a stranger arrives, and Lexi senses that her world will never be the same….

A massive avalanche might be to blame for Trystan Hawkes getting stuck at Castle Wulfsiege, but after one look at Lexi, Trystan is not about to leave. Lexi is strong, smart and incredibly sexy. Not that it matters. Tryst is an omega-the fabled lone wolf. Even more damning is his mixed vampire heritage.

Lexi knows that the vampire blood running through Tryst’s veins makes him off-limits, but what if he’s the one man who can rouse her inner wolf?

My Thoughts...

I've always been a big fan of the Harlequin/Mills And Boon books, at one point they were all I'd ever read, so I always love it when I get the opportunity to pick one up again, I was very excited when the Harlequin Nocturne books started being produced as the paranormal genre is my favourite, these are the one's that I gravitate to more so than any of the other's.

I like it even more when there are two books in one which is the case here.

Forever Werewolf

This one was my favourite out of the two, and while reading this one it seems that the pages flew by.
Trystan 'Tryst' is the son of a mother who is a full-blood vampire and a father who is half vampire and half werewolf, vampire's are not at all liked by the werewolf's and the fact that Tryst is a half-breed dosn't help the matter.
Tryst is sent to Castle Wolfsiege by his father to deliver a briefcase personally to the principal (pack leader), but before he gets the chance to deliver it there is an avalanche which buries quite a few of the pack, Tryst who all his life has wanted to belong in a pack jumps right in and takes charge in rescuing the people under the snow.
He becomes attracted to Lexi the principal's daughter, who seems to be hiding something behind the sunglasses she never takes off.
With the secrets between them and Lexi's father against a relationship because of him being a half-breed they have their troubles before they even begin.
I loved Tryst and Lexi as a couple which had me loving the story even more.

 Moon Kissed
I did like this story but it took me longer to get through than the first one.
Bella is chased one night by three men whom she later finds out are vampires, after running into an empty warehouse she is saved by a man Severo, who just happens to be a werewolf.
Severo believes that Bella may be his mate who he's been searching for, for quite a long time.
Bella takes a while to come around to the idea that vampires and werewolves are real, but they start a relationship and soon fall in love with each other, but what happens when she becomes the one thing that Severo can't stand?

I didn't like the characters so much in this story but it was still an enjoyable read.

I give this 4/5.

Mailbox Wednesday.

Wednesday's Mailbox...
I've decided that I will stop participating in In My Mailbox, the reason being I seem to get a lot of books every week and it takes me forever to put them all together in one post and link them up.
So I will be doing Mailbox Mon-Fri every week.


                                               Review...

The Lord Of Lies (Strange Threads #2) - Sam Bowring
(Hachette Australia)

Defiance (Courier's Daughter Trilogy #1) - C. J. Redwine
(Hachette Australia)

Bitter Seeds (Milkweed Triptych #1) - Ian Tregillis
(Hachette Australia)

Brought...

The Demon Catchers Of Milan - Kat Beyer

Blog Tour: The Guardian Of Bastet - Jacqueline M. Batisti / Giveaway & Review (128).

The Guardian of Bastet

by Jacqueline M. Battisti

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Carina Press

Date of Publication: 8/20/2012

ISBN: 978-14268-9424-4

ASIN: B0088NH1Z8

Number of pages: 237

Word Count: 84,000

Amazon  Barnes & Noble

Carina Press - http://carinapress.com/blog/coming-soon

Book Description: 

Cat-shifter Trinity Morrigan-Caine has discovered a demon is killing supernaturals. Magically challenged, she has every intention of letting handsome Alpha werewolf Gordon Barnes handle it. But after a dying vampire gifts Trinity a mystical amulet, she is drawn into the fray as the legendary Guardian of Bastet, a warrior born when the need arises.

Though Trinity initially rejects the role, she warms to the idea when Gordon agrees to train her—and their passion for each other grows as he teaches her to embrace her animal instincts.

As she begins to accept her destiny and believe in her growing powers, Trinity realizes the danger is even closer to home than she ever imagined—and she and Gordon are going to have to face the demon in a fight to the death...

The Guardian of Bastet Short Excerpt:

Like a good girl, I try to say my prayers every morning. This morning was no exception.

“Goddess, it’s me, Trinity Morrigan-Caine. Could you please let me get through today without pissing off too many people or wanting to kill anyone? And would you please grant me patience for the idiots I meet and guidance to keep my mouth shut when they say something really freakin’ stupid? Thank you.”

Afterward, I felt better. Today was just one of those days. I slept through the alarm. My familiar, a longhaired Birman feline named Bronwyn, had to wake me up and there is nothing like being swatted in the face with a clawed paw first thing in the morning. I showered and then realized I had no clean work scrubs. Crap. I put on already worn scrubs which didn’t smell too bad. The only brightness of the morning was my cousin and roommate, Lily, had made a pot of coffee and saved me some before she left for work—and probably on time, of course.

Once again, I was late and I knew my boss was going to have kittens because of it. Okay, not literally, although the thought of that made me giggle aloud. No, I was the one who turned into a furry feline once a month. She was just a human pain in my ass.

I grabbed the travel mug and took a swig of the coffee I had heated up before leaving. I didn’t even care I burned my lips on the brew. I let out a deep sigh. Ah coffee, the elixir of gods and humans. There was just nothing better than the jolt of caffeine to wake up to. I drove to work whistling. 

My Thoughts...

I'm a big fan of paranormal books featuring shifters of any kind and this book was no exception.
Trinity is a veterinarian with a gift, she can understand what animals are saying and thinking, that's because she has the ability to shift, the daughter of a witch and a father who can shift into a puma, the only thing she can shift into is a house cat and her magical abilities are pretty much non-existent.
All of a sudden people from different supernatural factions in their community are being murdered and they discover that a demon who has been summoned is responsible, not only that but Trinity discovers that she's crossed paths with this demon but had no idea at the time.

The local vampire Vincent comes to her one night injured after fighting the demon and informs Trinity that she is the Guardian Of Bastet and he's been waiting for the last three-hundred years for her to come along and to gift her with an amulet which holds power for whomever is the current Guardian, of course it takes Vincent a while to convince her that his story is true.
It then becomes Trinity's job to get rid of the demon for good, of course not before getting a crash course in witchcraft from her grandmother and tagging along with Gordan the local alpha werewolf to learn how to work with a pack.
I loved the characters in this story especially Trinity who finally came into her own after feeling like a failure to her parents.
And I like the relationship she found with Gordan, they make a good couple.
I would love it if this was to become a series, it's quite an interesting story that I can see continuing throughout further books.
A great new addition to the Urban Fantasy genre.
I give this 4/5.

Tour Wide Giveaway

5 free copies of The Guardian of Bastet - Winners can choose epub or .pdf format

3-Pewter Egyptian Bastet Cat Pendants, The Goddess Bastet (cat goddess) is an important role in The Guardian of Bastet

Open to North American Shipping

Please fill out the Rafflecopter to win

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Bio:                           

Jacqueline Battisti was raised in Little Falls, New York where she met and married her high school sweetheart. They have two children and live near Rochester, New York where she is a stay at home mom and writer of the paranormal and urban fantasy of her vivid imagination.

Her first novel, The Guardian of Bastet, is being published by Carina Press August 20, 2012. She is currently working on a sequel as well as a dystopian paranormal.

Her life has taken her from the trials and tribulations of working as an administrative assistant at various companies, back to college as an adult student, and then into the adventurous world of motherhood.

Jacqueline began writing seriously in 2007 after attempting NaNoWriMo for the first time. It was the first time she had disciplined herself to finish a novel. From there, her supportive critique group was formed and attended, and then she attended RT Booklovers Convention in 2009. Jacqueline attended their aspiring authors workshops and met with many talented writers who inspired her to continue writing.

Flash forward to today: Jacqueline has two children who are very outgoing and keep her on her toes. Cub Scouts, Daisy Scouts, play dates, school activities for the kids...then writing, reading current authors, following blogs, facebook, household chores, gardening and exhaustion for mom. Add in a new puppy, two furry feline children and fish and you have the craziness that is the Battisti household.

www.jacquelinebattisti.com

https://www.facebook.com/jacquelinebattisti.author   

Twitter:@jmbattisti

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/jacquelinebattisti

Mailbox Tuesday.

Tuesday's Mailbox...
I've decided that I will stop participating in In My Mailbox, the reason being I seem to get a lot of books every week and it takes me forever to put them all together in one post and link them up.
So I will be doing Mailbox Mon-Fri every week.

Brought...

Heaven (Halo #3) - Alexandra Adornetto

The Raft - S. A. Bodeen

The Shadow Queen (The World Of Hetar #5) - Bertrice Small

Mailbox Monday....

Mailbox Monday....
I've decided that I will stop participating in In My Mailbox, the reason being I seem to get a lot of books every week and it takes me forever to put them all together in one post and link them up.
So I will be doing Mailbox Mon-Fri every week starting today.

Review...

(ARC) Amarok - Angela J. Townsend
(Spencer Hill Press)
My photo of this book (and I took many) would not show up the right way, they were either on the side or upside-down, hence the picture!

Total Recall (Movie Tie-In Edition)
(Hachette Australia)

Brought...

Howl For It Anthology - Shelly Laurenston & Cynthia Eden

Blog Tour: The Interrogation Of Ashala Wolf, Guest Post & Giveaway

Today is my stop on The Interrogation Of Ashala Wolf Blog Tour.

I have featured a Guest Post and a giveaway open to AU/NZ only.

The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf (The Tribe #1)

by Ambelin Kwaymullina 

The Reckoning destroyed civilisation. Rising from the ashes, some people have developed unique abilities, and society is scared of them. Guided by the ancient spirits of the land, Ashala Wolf will do anything to keep them safe. When Ashala is captured, she realises she has been betrayed by someone she trusted. When her interrogator starts digging in her memories for information, she doubts she can protect her people forever. Will the Tribe survive the interrogation of Ashala Wolf?

Published July 2012 by Walker Books Australia

Purchase At:   Fishpond + Booktopia + Dymocks + Angus & Robertson

Add It On Goodreads: The Interrogation Of Ashala Wolf

Guest Post: Inspiration Behind The Writing Of Ashala Wolf

I’ve said before about writing Ashala Wolf that sometimes you find a story, and sometimes a story finds you. The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf was the story that came to me. The primary source of inspiration for the novel were the characters themselves – Ashala and Ember and Georgie, Connor and Jaz, the saurs, the Serpent and the Firstwood. Ashala’s reality is different from mine, of course. To understand her world, I drew on things I knew. I can point to specific things that influenced what I wrote – the tuart forests of the south-west of Western Australia inspired the Firstwood; and the saurs are loosely based on a species of Australian megafauna that lived thousands of years ago. But beyond all the small details of Ashala’s reality were the characters themselves, telling their own story and teaching me of a world that I always felt I discovered more than created.

It’s a great responsibility, to tell a story. You owe your characters all your skill and knowledge. And you have to be brave. Firstly you’ve got to believe that you can do it, and that can be hard, to continually maintain that belief in yourself through every draft and long rewrite. Secondly, you have to prepared to suffer some pain. When I wrote this novel I lived everything I wrote, experiencing Ashala’s journey as she did. It was often a shock to me to look up from the computer screen and find myself sitting in my house, rather than surrounded by the towering tuarts of the Firstwood, or the white walls of the detention centre. Ashala’s best and worst moments were my best and worst moments too – when she was happy I was happy, and when she despaired, I despaired. So there’s moments in the book that it hurt to write. I love Ashala and all the rest of the Tribe so much that I didn’t want any of them to be in trouble. I wanted them to be happy and carefree and safe. But that wasn’t the story they came to tell me, at least, not yet.

People sometimes ask why I write. I feel like they might as well ask why I breathe! It certainly isn’t easy – like a lot of other authors, I don’t have the luxury of being a full time writer. I write whenever and however I can. Usually it’s late into the night, when everything is quiet and still, so it’s just me and the steady tapping of my fingers on the computer keyboard, not to mention many, many cups of coffee. Writing can be a lonely business. But, like Ashala herself, I am never truly alone. I have Ash and Ember and Georgie, Connor and Jaz and the rest of the Tribe, and the Firstwood and the saurs and Serpent. To me, these are people and places worth knowing about, and worth fighting for. And I am proud to consider myself their friend.  

Make Sure to Stop By The Next Stop On The Blog Tour At Shiirleyy's Bookshelf

 Giveaway.

1 Copy Of The Interrogation Of Ashala Wolf

Open To AU/NZ Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review (127): Blood Storm - Rhiannon Hart

Blood Storm (Lharmell #2)

by Rhiannon Hart

Publication: 1st August 2012

Publisher: Random House Australia

Pages: 384

Genre: Fantasy

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

**Warning This Review Contains Spoilers From The Previous Book In The Series**

The rain wanted to be ocean; the ice in the mountain caps wanted freedom. I never knew that water held such longing. The clouds above my head rumbled like a growling wolf, impatient to release their burden. I held the rain there a moment longer. I turned to Renata, heard her gasp and knew my eyes glowed blue.

I spoke a single word. 'Rain.'

In the Second Book of Lharmell, Zeraphina and Rodden must travel across the sea to find the elusive ingredients that will help them to win the coming battle against the Lharmellin – but shadows from Rodden’s dark past may come back to haunt him. And while she learns to harness her new abilities, Zeraphina still fights the hunger that makes her crave the north – not to mention avoiding her mother, who wants to see her wayward daughter married to a prince at all costs.

My Thoughts..

Why it has taken me so long to read this series is definitely beyond me, it's full of adventure, humour and a great sizzling tension between out heroine and hero, Zeraphina and Rodden.

The first book Blood Song was so good and this one was as good as the first, but with a killer ending that left me jaw-droppingly speechless and desperately needing and wanting the third book to read, unfortunately it won't be released till next year.

It's been five months since the end of the last book, Zeraphina has stayed in Pergamia, training with Rodden to eventually defeat the Lharmellen's, her seventeenth birthday is drawing near and her mother Queen Renata is back home in Amentia searching for a husband (preferably a Prince) to marry Zeraphina now that she will be of marrying age, but Zeraphina is not interested in marrying somebody just to produce heirs, she want's to marry someone of her own choosing, she's also in love with Rodden but he doesn't seem to reciprocate her feelings.

'Me and Rodden nothing. I'm marrying a limp-wristed inbreed and I can't wait.'

Rodden has discovered a lot of mysterious deaths outside of Pergamia which point to Harmings, he and Zeraphina journey to these places to investigate and also to collect materials to make up the poison which is fatal to all with Lharmell blood, there is a lot of action and adventure in their travels and nothing ever really runs smoothly, there is an incident at home in Armentia when they arrive to visit the mines, Zeraphina's betrothed has been chosen by her mother, and he's a extremely awful character who you only wish bad things for especially after what occurs between them both, we also find out Rodden's back story and how he came to have Lharmellen blood flowing through this veins, and it's such a tragic story, you feel so bad for him and I can definitely understand why he's the way he is.

And then the end, I don't know what to say, this book would have to have one of the biggest cliffhanger's I've ever read, and I've read a lot!

It's just cruel to have us read that and then expect us to have to wait soo long to see it resolve itself, and it had better because I just don't think I could handle it if it doesn't.

Fingers crossed the third book comes out in a hurry!

I give this 4.5/5.

A Big Thanks To Random House Australia.