shifter

Shadow’s Claim by Kresley Cole

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Shadow's Claim (The Dacians, #1)
Grade-B
Hotness Level-Inferno
Kink Level-None
Series-The Dacians #1
Reviewed by Kay

Trehan Daciano is the Prince of Shadows from the kingdom of Dacia. He is an assassin tracking Caspian, a demon that escaped from his secret realm. When he arrives to the kingdom of Abadin on Caspian’s trail, he finds Bettina. Bettina is the princess and soon to be queen. His vampire heart starts beating and he realizes she blooded him. That means she is his mate. Bettina fights their attraction for all she worth. To win Bettina, Trehan has to enter of fighting contest which is a last man alive contest. The winner of the contest gets the princess and gets to be King.

I loved Trehan as a hero but Bettina drove me nuts! Constantly moaning over a guy who made it plain for all to see that he didn’t want or love her. I thought Trehan deserved better. This was my first audio book and I think I liked listening to it better than if I would’ve read it. I had a great narrator. Over all I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one but probably only in audio format. I apologize for any and all misspellings as I didn’t read the book, I listened to it.

Fire & Frost (Sims, Crane & Brook)

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Fire & Frost (Iron Seas, #3.4; Code of Shadows, #0.5)

Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Paranormal, Steampunk, Novellas
Series: see below
Reviewed by Anne
 
This is a set of three novellas.  To make things a bit easier on myself, I’m going to use the cover blurbs off of Goodreads
 
Speed Mating by Jessica Sims – Estrella may be going into heat, but she’s determined to remain in control. Just because she’s ovulating doesn’t mean she has to settle for just any man (or his beast). Her sexy alpha’s determined to find her a tiger to take care of her heat and father her child…but no one seems to look quite as good as the man in charge. Will giving in to her need for her alpha ruin her tenuous relationship with her clan or be a match made in heaven?
This was really cute and funny.  I enjoy Jessica Sims/Jill Myles’ sense of humor.  This story takes place in her Midnight Liaisons world, but it stands alone just fine.  I smiled the whole time I was reading and only said “Would you just TALK to each other” only once!

Conjuring Max by Carolyn Crane – The witches of the world ridiculed and rejected nerdy Veronica for trying to use newfangled computers to enhance old world spellcasting. Well, it’s 1984 now, and she’s perfected her spellcasting computer program. Hey, who needs friends when you can conjure virtually anything…or anybody? So when Veronica makes powerful new enemies, she conjures Max, a pitbull of a cop, to deal with the pesky hitmen who keep coming around. Maybe Veronica can finally get some peace and quiet so she can work on her computer. But tough-guy Max is in no mood to play lapdog to a gorgeous witch.

 
This was intellectually interesting, but just an ok read for me.  Goodreads shows this as a prequel in her Code of Shadows world.

Wrecked by Meljean Brook – Elizabeth has spent the past five years running from her father; her father’s huntsman, Caius, has spent the past five years pursuing her. But when he finally catches up to her on an airship flying above Europe’s zombie-infested cities, Elizabeth discovers that Caius isn’t the only danger she has to fear—and now that he’s found her, Caius doesn’t intend to let her go.

This one just barely edged out Speed Mating as my favorite entry in the book.  It’s listed as Iron Seas books 3.4.  I think I’ve read almost all of them, and loved every one, so it was no surprise that I enjoyed Elizabeth and Caius’ story.  I think Meljean Brook does steampunk better than anyone else.  Reading a story by her is just delightful.  Elizabeth is a strong female character who has managed to outwit and out run Caius and other hunters for years.  The story is packed with adventure, too.  
I recommend this book.  Another quality anthology put out by Sims, Crane, and Brook.  Wild and Steamy was another set of novellas they released.  Also really good.)

Bite Me by PJ Schnyder

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Bite Me (London Undead, #1)

Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Paranormal (shifter, zombie), Novella
Series: London Undead #1
Reviewed by Anne
90 pages
Zombies have invaded the world, but seem especially drawn to London.  Werewolves have always existed in secret, and they are immune to the zombie virus.  The zombie outbreak presented them with an opportunity to come out to the world.  Seth is Alpha of a werewolf pack in London.  He and his pack are working to protect the humans, even though many humans are still pretty scared of werewolves.  Maisie is a young woman who was orphaned and maimed in a zombie attack.  She’s on her own now, and despite needing crutches to walk for any distance, she is a fierce hunter and defender of those she cares about.  One night she comes across some tourists under zombie attack.  Yes, in this London there are still tourists.  Now they come to see or hunt the zombies!  Just as Maisie’s assistance is looking to be not quite enough, Seth comes to their aid.  He’s fascinated by this small but feisty human.  She admires his strength and skill and remarkably isn’t afraid of his bad werewolf self.  
 
I really liked this story! The author accomplished a lot in a novella format, leaving me with both a satisfying story and some unanswered questions about the world she built. Maisie and Seth were fun characters, though a little simple, probably due to the novella format. The post-zombie attack London – complete with the Zombie Hunter tourist crowd was well done! There were interesting questions about the zombies. What had started them? What might stop them? Why were they so drawn to London?  There’s plenty to work with in future installments.

I loved that Maisie is really tough, even though she’s a human. Seth, as alpha of his pack was a pretty stereotypical alpha with the heart of gold. I’m pretty fond of that stereotype, though, so it wasn’t a problem for me.

I did have one issue with the story, though. I thought the ending was too much, too abrupt, and too soon.  It was both that I wanted more time with Seth and Maisie and that the final sex scene seemed poorly timed. Maybe a few days later would have been more believable.

It says a lot of good about the book that my complaint has to do with the sex in it. Generally I complain because a book has too little sex. In this case I was so engrossed in the story, the sex pulled me out (ha!) of it. So it’s a good thing.

I recommend this book for readers who enjoy a good shifter story and those who enjoy a strong female lead. I really enjoyed it and will be looking for the next one!

I will say I’m not a huge fan of the cover.  I’m fine with a romance that has zombies in it. Not so much zombies on the cover. Or maybe that’s supposed to be Maisie?  It’s definitely not my favorite cover.  What do you think?