Tag: paranormal romance

Review of Monster by Carmen Caine

Review of Monster by Carmen Caine

Posted on by Anna Abner

Or, My Take On Caine’s 1st Cassidy Edwards Novel

monster
Author’s Back Cover Blurb:

Revenge. It’s all I’ve lived for. Revenge against those who stacked the cards against me from the start. But I’m changing the deck now. I’m getting even. Born to a vampire, I wasn’t supposed to survive—but I did.

My name is Cassidy. Cassidy Edwards. And I’m the first of my kind.

The Job
Trapping a sixteenth-century Scottish Highlander of a vampire who just might be seduction itself.

The Team
A firedrake with an attitude, a werewolf with a problem, and an imp in dire need of rehab.

The Boss
A dangerously powerful warlock as handsome as sin.

My Problem: Bluffing my way into a job, my first mission into the Charmed world opens a Pandora’s box of betrayal and secrets … along with attractions of the most lethal kind.

My Review:

I’m always on the lookout for great new paranormal series to read, so I was excited to start Monster. The writing is wonderful and Caine’s world is both fun and scary. There are opposing supernatural factions and lots of creative new monsters along with the traditional vampires and warlocks. I wish the secondary characters had more depth, but perhaps that’s coming in the following novels.

My biggest problem with the book is Cassidy slips into passive Mary Sue territory. As I was reading the big showdown scene it occurred to me that Cassidy didn’t DO much. She’s kidnapped, she’s threatened, and she’s carried around by strong men, but she hardly does anything to change her situation or advance the story. Instead, she’s advanced by others. But if you can forgive Caine for not making her heroine more dynamic, she’s created an intriguing new paranormal world.

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<3 Anna

Flirty Friday (Teen Wolf)

Flirty Friday (Teen Wolf)

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, I’m Sharing My Fave Romantic Montages With You!

I’m posting nothing but Teen Wolf clips this November. Prepare yourself for lots and lots of Scott + Kira kissing. You’ve been warned. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-I79zeqw2I

Video created by Éa Kim

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Enjoy this Free Red Plague Sneak Peek PDF full of excerpts and extras!

<3 Anna

Flirty Friday (Teen Wolf)

Flirty Friday (Teen Wolf)

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, I’m Sharing My Fave Romantic Montages With You!

I’m posting nothing but Teen Wolf clips this November. Enjoy this sweet video dedicated to first love (Liam and Hayden style)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH6aWtXpWC0

Video created by MarieCVideo

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Enjoy this Free Red Plague Sneak Peek PDF full of excerpts and extras!

<3 Anna

Review of Bite Me (London Undead)

Review of Bite Me (London Undead)

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, My Thoughts On PJ Schnyder’s Paranormal Romance
bite me
Author’s Back Cover Blurb:

Few people walk the streets of London since the zombie outbreak, but that’s not an issue for Seth. As a werewolf, he can handle himself and save humans reckless enough to take a nighttime stroll. While on patrol he comes across a group of people under attack. The one woman brave enough to take a stand against the zombies catches his eye—and not just because of her way with a gun. Learning the beautiful woman is homeless and fends for herself only intensifies his urge to protect and care for her.

Maisie can’t help but admit that she’s attracted to her werewolf rescuer. She’s drawn to Seth’s strength and ferocity, and finds herself opening up to him in ways she never imagined, even though she’s determined to not rely on Seth or anyone else. She doesn’t want another person to get hurt—or die—for her sake. She has enough scars, physical and emotional, from the last time…

But when Seth realizes something is drawing the zombies to Maisie, there may be nothing he can do to save her…

My Review:

First, this is a novella, so it’s a very quick slice of a larger world, but it’s a world I really enjoyed. Maisie is a wounded young woman with inner strength and survival skills to spare. Running into Seth, a giant werewolf, during a zombie fight is either the best or the worst thing to ever happen to her.

I loved this story. I’m a sucker for anything to do with zombies, so I enjoyed the fact that London is infested with them and normal people are simply trying to survive the best they can. The characters were both strong and sexy, and I cared about the situation Schnyder put them in. I’d love to read more by this author.

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Enjoy this Free Red Plague Sneak Peek PDF full of excerpts and extras!

<3 Anna

1st Week NaNoWriMo Update

1st Week NaNoWriMo Update

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, How I Slacked Off A Lot

NaNoWriMo pic

This first week of NaNoWriMo was tough for me. I started a new job recently, and I’m still exhausted from that so I didn’t have a lot of time to write. I did force myself to get up every morning at 5 am (boo!) and write for a solid 30 minutes before I had to get ready for work. That way, at least my daily totals weren’t zero.

Saturday I had my best day yet. With a lot of downtime I was able to crank out about 4,000 words. I was so happy! …Until I realized even with that burst I’m still behind.

How are your NaNo journeys coming along?

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Enjoy this Free Red Plague Sneak Peek PDF full of excerpts and extras!

<3 Anna

It’s NaNoWriMo Time Again!

It’s NaNoWriMo Time Again!

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, My Favorite Month Of The Year

NaNoWriMo pic

That high-pitched squeal you hear is me being super excited about November first rolling around!

November is my favorite month of the year because, thanks to the National Novel Writing Month, I get to obsess about writing for thirty straight days.

If you’ve ever considered writing a novel of your own, join me this month in all the fun. You’ll be asked to crank out 50,000 words in 30 days, but there are local write-ins all the time where you can meet other creative types in coffee houses and talk writing while sipping lattes.

If you register with NaNoWriMo, let me know. We’ll keep each other on the right track.

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Enjoy this Free Red Plague Sneak Peek PDF full of excerpts and extras!

<3 Anna

P.S. This year, I’m writing a YA paranormal in the same world as my Red Plague series about the 212R zombie virus and the people who struggle to survive it. 🙂

Review of Lessons After Dark

Review of Lessons After Dark

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, My thoughts On Isabel Cooper’s Historical Paranormal

lessons_after_dark_cover

 

Author’s Back Cover Blurb:

A woman with an unspeakable past

Olivia Brightmore didn’t know what to expect when she took a position to teach at Englefiend School, an academy for “gifted” children. But it wasn’t having to rescue a young girl who levitated to the ceiling. Or battling a dark mystery in the surrounding woods. And nothing could have prepared her for Dr. Gareth St. John…

A man with exceptional talent

He knew all about her history and scrutinized her every move because of it. But there was more than suspicion lurking in those luscious green eyes. Even with all the strange occurrences at the school, the most unsettling of all is the attraction pulling Olivia and Gareth together with a force that cannot be denied.

My Review:

I’ve been reading every historical paranormal romances I can get my hands on (I’m taking recommendations if you have any!), and since I’d already read Isabel Cooper’s No Proper Lady and loved it, I greedily began Lessons After Dark. The part I liked is how Cooper’s rural school for the extraordinary is a lot like both Professor X’s school in the X-Men comics as well as Harry Potter’s Hogwarts. Like in those other stories, a group of misfit young adults arrive at the school for help controlling their supernatural abilities. I only wish either there were fewer students or Cooper worked harder at distinguishing them because, even at the end, I couldn’t tell which boy or girl was which. The hero and heroine, however, are beautifully drawn and are a lot of fun.

This was a wonderfully written historical paranormal, though not as good as No Proper Lady, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes superheroes, mutants, and wizards.

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<3 Anna

Review of Devil’s Kiss (Hellraisers)

Review of Devil’s Kiss (Hellraisers)

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, My Thoughts On Zoe Archer’s Historical Paranormal

devils kiss zoe archer

Author’s Back Cover Blurb:

1762. James Sherbourne, Earl of Whitney, is a gambling man. Not for the money. But for the thrill, the danger–and the company: Whit has become one of the infamous Hellraisers, losing himself in the chase for adventure and pleasure with his four closest friends.

Which was how Whit found himself in a gypsy encampment, betting against a lovely Romani girl. Zora Grey’s smoky voice and sharp tongue entrance Whit nearly as much as her clever hands–watching them handle cards inspires thoughts of another kind. . .

Zora can’t explain her attraction to the careless blue-eyed Whit. She also can’t stop him and his Hellraisers from a fiendish curse: the power to grant their own hearts’ desires, to chase their pleasures from the merely debauched to the truly diabolical. And if Zora can’t save Whit, she still has to escape him. . .

My Review:

I read this book because I was interested in writing a historical paranormal, so I was very invested in how the author wrote her novel. Though I’m not a fan of gypsies, and the heroine Zora is a gypsy fortune teller, I really liked the first few chapters. I thought Archer had creative ideas about curses, devils, and invisible captives. My favorite part was how Whit could fit Zora in his pocket. It was a very magical and imaginative beginning.

The problem I have is, by the 50% mark the hero and heroine have overcome both the external and internal obstacles to their continued happiness. They were in lust (if not in love) and committed to each other. At that point, I felt like the story was over and I wasn’t interested in reading any further. I really wish Archer had structured the story in a way that kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire novel because I enjoyed her writing and her ideas.

If you’re interested in a dark and fun historical paranormal, I would recommend reading at least part of this book as a great example of the genre.

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<3 Anna

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