Review - Exiled (The Protector)

Title: Exiled (The Protector)

Author: Matthew Merrick

Synopsis (Extended Smashwords):

Chase Williams is a demon hunter in the Circle, or at least he was supposed to be. On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped.

Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna - a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret. In their attempt to stop them, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it. 

My Review:

WOW. Just plain WOW. This book was an incredible action packed, fast paced, thrill ride, that kept me hanging on until the end.

I absolutely loved this book, and am definitely looking forward to a sequel!

~*~*~*~

M.R. Merrick's writing style is fantastic. I'm not a big fan of 1st person stories, but this was written so well, I forgot it was in 1st person. He is so detailed in is his descriptions,  you feel like you are right there in the rooms and situations with the characters. The plot and storyline were well thought out and executed, and all of the characters were very well developed. There are some definite twists in the story, which add to the mystery and action, and by the end of the epilogue I was crying my eyes out.

~*~*~

Exiled weaves together some of my favorite fantasy and paranormal elements. There are demons, vampires, humans, and the use of the elements (fire,earth,water,air). I read this story in one sitting; I loved it so much I just could not put it down. I was quite fond of the relationship between Chase and his mother Tessa - "You and me, always" - that line always got me, and the witty banter between Chase and Rayna (she was definitely one of my favorite characters - as was Willy). Overall this was just legen...wait for it...dary. Legendary. Yea. It was that awesome.

Fantastic Job Mr. Merrick!

My Rating:

An Awesome Wedding Cake!

Exiled is currently available @

Amazon

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Review - Amaretto Flame

Title: Amaretto Flame

Author: Sammie Spencer

Synopsis (Goodreads):

When Olivia Landry screams, people die. No wonder she's been shunned by humans her whole life. When Olivia makes a huge mistake, she's banished for a summer to a human town; forced to live as one of them. She's out for revenge when she discovers the humans are different than she imagined, especially the rugged, sexy guitarist, Jackson Vance.

Pretending to be human isn't as hard as she thought it would be...until the witch hunters attack. Now Olivia must somehow protect herself, her family, and her new human friends. There's a problem with that. When you go around screaming, people are bound to learn your secret. Can love really conquer anything?

My Review:

When you pick up a book, you want to feel connected to it. You want to be absorbed in it. That is exactly how I felt while reading Amaretto Flame. Sammie Spencer does a wonderful job of creating this unique cast of characters. And by the time I was done reading this book I was crying my eyes out...

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You know you've struck gold when you finish a book and you are crying your eyes out! =D

I loved every minute of reading Amaretto Flame. Olivia reminded me of myself in so many ways, it was so easy to connect with her. Her undying loyalty to her family and friends and her strong personality made for a very likable and well developed character. Although a few times during the book I wanted to slap some sense in to her. LOL.

As for the amazingly sexy Jackson??? Can we say RAWR!!! *Sigh....Oh yea. Too Scoops please! ;-D The chemistry between the two of them made a habanero look like a red hot. 

As for the rest of the cast? Each one had their particular moment to shine.

~*~*~*~

Seriously though, this book was very well crafted and well written and there was a bit of a twist that I didn't expect. But it really made the story. Here's my quick summary:

~*~

Olivia has been punished and forced into seclusion by one of the only people she's ever trusted. After being sent away to a human town, Liv-vy's stubbornness starts to surface and she takes a job at a local bar. Here she starts to let her guard down a bit, befriends some of her co-workers, and even starts to ignite a romance. But when the Venator attacks one of her coven family members, all bets are off. She must now fight to defend herself, her friends and her coven, while trying to discover what or who the Venator are after.

~*~

 My favorite scenes? Definitely the poker scene in the bar. And the ending of course!!!

I very much hope there is a sequel, because I would love to read more about The Eagleton Coven.

Fantastic Job Sammie.

(and just so you know, I was drinking my coffee with my Amaretto flavored creamer when I finished this book.)

My Rating:

An Amazing Wedding Cake

pick up Amaretto Flame @

Amazon

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Review - The Book of Lost Souls

Title: The Book of Lost Souls

Author: Michelle Muto

Synopsis (Goodreads):

When teen witch Ivy MacTavish changes a lizard into her date for a Halloween dance, everything turns to chaos. And when no one is powerful enough to transform him back except Ivy, it sparks the rumor: Like father, like daughter. Ivy has heard it all before - that her father, who left when she was seven – was involved with the darkest of magic.

Making the rumors worse, someone uses an evil spell book to bring back two of history's most nefarious killers. Ivy's got a simple plan to set things right: find the real dark spell caster, steal the book, and reverse the spell. No problem! But she’ll have to deal with something more dangerous than murderous spirits that want her and her friends dead: the school’s resident bad boy and hotter-than-brimstone demon, Nick Marcelli. Nick’s offering Ivy more than his help with recovering the missing book – he’s offering her a way to ditch her scaly reputation as a lizard-lover. Demons are about as hard to handle as black magic, and as Ivy soon discovers, it’s going to take more than a lot of luck and a little charm if she wants to survive long enough to clear her status as a dark witch, get a warm-blooded boyfriend, and have her former date back to eating meal worms before the week’s end. 

My Review:

One of the most adorable books I have read in a while. I read this in one day and couldn't put it down. I loved all of the characters, especially Nick . =D  

What I loved the most in this book was the nice tight-knit group of friends that Ivy had. It was very reminiscent of The Scooby Gang (in Buffy).   I also  loved the fact that the town they lived in consisted of Regulars (humans)  & Kindreds (witches, vampires, werewolves, fairies, trolls etc.) that coexisted together. I think this adds a nice dynamic to the story, you would always be wondering who's a regular? Who's a kindred?

I felt that the story was told very well, and the essence of high school was presented wonderfully. I think this book would make a great movie. It has it all: Magic, Teen Angst, Crushes, Murder. A perfect mix.

A must read!

My Rating:

A Beautiful Wedding Cake

pick up The Book of Lost Souls @

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble

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TBR Thursday #1

TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Stephanie 

@ Book Love Blog

here's was sittin' on my shelf,  well my fireplace actually:

Harm None

(a rowan gant investigation)

by M.R. Sellars

When a young woman is ritualistically murdered in her Saint Louis apartment with the primary clue being a pentacle scrawled in her own blood, police are quick to dismiss it as a cult killing. Not one for taking things at face value, city homicide detective Ben Storm calls on his long time friend, Rowan Gant-- a modern day practicing Witch-- for help. 

In helping his friend, Rowan discovers that the victim is one of his former pupils. Even worse, the clues that he helps to uncover show that this murder is only a prelude to even more ritualistic bloodletting for dark purposes.

As the body count starts to rise, Rowan is suddenly thrust into an investigation where not only must he help stop a sadistic serial killer, but also must fight the prejudices and suspicions of those his is working with--including his best friend

***read this book about 8 years ago, want to read it again so I can finish the series***

______________________________________________________

Beautiful Sins-Leigha Lowery

(The Thaneaddus Chronicles)

by Jennifer Hampton

The skies of the Dark Coast, the Pacific Coastline of U.S. States has been infected with a strange chemical reaction from a military experiment gone awry. Constant cloud cover rules over the lands. Leigha Lowery, a sixteen year-old popular fiction writer in the local free press is pulled from the only home she knows in Detroit, MI when her mother decides on an impulse to marry a doctor she's been dating over the internet and moves to the small town of Banks, Oregon. As she adjusts to her new life of wealth and power, she begins to realize that the rumors about the Dark Coast aren't even close to what she's witnessed. Prince Alexander Sommers, the son of King Royce, and heir to the throne has taken a fascination to her. He pulls her into a world of vampires, werewolves, witches, and many other creatures of the night that

have decided to make the Dark Coast their home.

*** A pdf of this story was sent to me for review***