Book Review: Gabriel (Stone Warriors, #3) by D.B. Reynolds

Title: Gabriel (Stone Warriors, #3)  

Author: D.B. Reynolds 

Stars: 4 stars

Review:
As a reader I am not much for Paranormal Romance books.  Every so often I figure why not try something different.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed Gabriel. The author brought two world together that were able to mash into mix of wonder, passion, adventure and romance.  Reader will be pulled into the world of Magic, vampires, Japanese mafia, and two enemies that have to work together to fight the darkest of evils.
The story will pull readers in with Hana who is devoted to someone she has never met but has seen every day of her life. Gabriel is a warrior from another times or place who has watched as Hana grown hoping to one day hold her. Each character is strong, has the ability to connect with readers.

The one down side is the endless pages of very graphic sex.  While I understand that sex is part of the paranormal romance or in fact all romance stories. The sex scenes take over a majority of the book that will leave some reader wishing for more background story, understanding of Hana's gift instead readers are giving a endless amount of biting, sex and graphic moments of blood.  

I would have giving this book a solid 5 if the story could have had less sex and more Hana's magical gift and teaching of her powers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher ImaJinn Books for the advance copy of D.B. Reynolds Gabriel.

Synopsis:
Gabriel Halldor. . . one of the fiercest warriors the world has ever seen, but his tremendous skill can’t save him from a sorcerer’s curse. Trapped in stone and left lying in darkness for thousands of years, he is, at long last, brought into the sunlight of a Japanese garden, where a young girl comes to sit at his feet and read him stories as she grows to womanhood.

Hana Himura. . . beloved granddaughter of a Japanese mob boss, raised to the life of a warrior. When death comes for her grandfather, he sends her to the one guardian courageous enough to protect her from a sorcerer who will stop at nothing to have her.

Raphael. . . the most powerful vampire lord on earth, and the only man who can save Gabriel and Hana from an enemy who would enslave them both.

Running from the certain death that awaits them in Japan, Hana and Gabriel flee to Malibu and the vampire lord her grandfather called friend. Raphael is magic and power combined, and Gabriel and Hana will need both if they’re going to survive long enough to defeat their enemy and light the flame of desire that’s been simmering between them for years.

Expected publication: October 30th 2018 by ImaJinn Books

About The Author:

D.B.Reynolds is the RT and EPIC award-winning author of the popular Vampires in America series, as well as other paranormal fiction. She lives in a flammable canyon near Los Angeles, and when she's not writing her own books, she can usually be found reading someone else's.

Book Review: A Bone to Pick (Widow's Island #2) by Melinda Leigh

Title: A Bone to Pick (Widow's Island #2)

Author: Melinda Leigh 

Stars: 5

Review:
Melinda Leigh has written a grown up Nancy Drew and I can't get enough of it!
To answer the question YES I have read all of Melinda Leigh's books and Yes I am a fan girl! Very few authors am I fan girl for I can count a total of 4.
This novella starts off with a scream and doesn't stop until the killer is caught.  Murder, Mystery and one Nancy Drew all grown up makes A Bone to Pick a can't out down story that readers will be able to finish in a day. 
The characters are brought into the world in book one of Widows Island but now we really get to know them to the point we feel Deputy Tessa Black frustration, kindness and fear from page one to the end.
Nothing will keep me away from this series of Novella I can't wait for more. Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh are at the top of their game with each new book or series.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Montlake Romance for the advance copy of   Melinda Leigh A Bone to Pick.

Synopsis:
Deputy Tessa Black gave up her career as a detective with the Seattle PD and returned to the Pacific Northwest island she calls home to care for her ailing mother. Tessa thinks her mother’s illness is the worst thing she’ll face—until she responds to a routine call in the state park and discovers a local man harpooned to a sign.

As the murder investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that the victim harbored secrets. Together with her FBI agent best friend, Cate, and park ranger Logan Wilde, Tessa must connect the pieces before the murderer strikes again. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more she finds herself—and the ones she loves—in harm’s way.

Pressure mounts as Tessa attempts to juggle the current case with her search for the truth behind her childhood friend Samantha’s disappearance twenty years ago. Can Tessa find the murderer and uncover answers about Samantha without jeopardizing everything she holds dear?


About The Author:

Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh is a fully recovered banker. A life-long lover of books, she started writing as a way to preserve her sanity while raising her kids. Over the next few years, she learned a few things about writing a book. The process was much more fun than analyzing financial statements, and she decided to turn her hobby into a career. Melinda’s debut novel, SHE CAN RUN, was nominated for Best First Novel by the International Thriller Writers. She is a RITA® Award Finalist and has earned three Daphne du Maurier Award nominations, two Silver Falchion Awards, and a Golden Leaf.

Melinda holds a 2nd degree belt in Kenpo Karate. She’s dabbled in Arnis stick fighting, studied Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and taught women’s self-defense. She lives in a messy house in the suburbs with her husband, two kids, a couple of shelter dogs and two rescue cats who clearly run the show. With such a pleasant life, she has no explanation for the sometimes dark and disturbing nature of her imagination. Find out more about Melinda by visiting melindaleigh.com.

Book Review: First Earl I See Tonight (Debutante Diaries #1) by Anna Bennett

Title:  First Earl I See Tonight (Debutante Diaries #1) 

Author: Anna Bennett 

Stars: 4 Stars out of 5 

Review:
A humorous regency romance with the twist in the beginning. Our well  dowered heroine finds herself being blackmailed in regards to her adopted sister's birth with only two weeks to pay off the blackmailer. So, taking matters into her own hands, she writes a letter proposing marriage to an Earl who has been recently cast aside by his intended owing to his financial status. Although the Earl says no she is unwilling to accept that answer and so the game begins. A delightful book that will appeal to your sensibilities.

I have rated this book 4 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased opinion.

 Thank you Frank for the Review.

Synopsis:
Recently jilted by his fiancée, David Gray, Earl of Ravenport is not in the market for a wife. Even if Gray didn’t have his hands full renovating his crumbling country house, it would take more than a bold marriage proposal from a headstrong young beauty to thaw his frozen heart. Gray is confident that spending a week at his ramshackle estate will change her mind about marriage, but every passionate moment he spends with her tempts him to change his…


A talented artist, Miss Fiona Hartley desperately needs her dowry money to pay off a blackmailer set on ruining her sister. The handsome earl seems a sensible choice for a husband…if only she can convince him that romance will play no part. But marrying in name only may prove difficult for Fiona. Gray can’t help but be dazzled by her genuine warmth. Yet as their feelings deepen, Fiona’s deadline looms. Will her secrets destroy them, or is true love their final destiny?

Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages

Expected publication: October 30th 2018 by St. Martin's Press

About The Author:

Anna Bennett started swiping romances from her mom’s bookshelf as a teenager and decided historicals (with their balls, dukes, and gowns) were the best. So, when she had the chance to spend a semester in London she packed her bags—and promptly fell in love with the city, its history, and its pubs. She dreamed of writing romance, but somehow ended up a software analyst instead.

Fortunately, a few years and a few careers later, Anna found her way back to writing the stories she loves and won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® for Regency Historical Romance. She lives in Maryland with her husband and three children, who try valiantly not to roll their eyes whenever she quotes Jane Austen. Her weaknesses include reality TV, cute shoes, and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

Book Review: Into the Darkest Night (The Chaos Theory Duet Book 1) by Cassandra Giovanni

Title: Into the Darkest Night (The Chaos Theory Duet Book 1) 

Author: Cassandra Giovanni

Stars: 2 stars

Review:
If you have ever seen on episode of the CW Arrow TV show the author  in her own way tells you the same story to the point it is laughable.  She didn't really change the characters rich playboy kidnapped on lost on a island where he learned skills to kill ect.  The woman Ana Jacobs same thing kidnapped on a island and is beaten, has scars, ect and wants to right the wrongs of her rich up bring.  
Levi is Oliver and she doesn't even try to hid the face with his best friend dating his ex girlfriend. 

This book screams of plagiarism in the since that the story, the Inner Circle, the characters are all very similar to the TV show Arrow and lack any creative story line that differs itself from the TV series. 
The story lacks focus because it jumps between present and past.  It is a series but ends in a very excepted cliff hanger.

The author put her best foot forward but failed in using a very popular TV and comic book show as her basic story.
Thank you to netgalley for a copy Cassandra Giovanni  Into the Darkness #1

Synopsis:
I was born a child of the Elite; destined to live a life of privilege in Sun City. 
With one decision I gave it all up. 

Ana Jacobs knows the Elite and their depravity all too well. She was one of them once. Her father was a member of the Inner Circle and head of the Trinity funding the corruption of Sun City. When he learned she knew the names of those he'd hidden so well, he turned his back on her; had her kidnapped and tortured to protect his secrets. 

When she escapes the island and learns of her father’s death at the hands of a knife-wielding vigilante called the Nightwatchman, she returns to Sun City, vowing to use her knowledge to protect the city. As a city cop, she blends into the background, and no one suspects her real motives. 

Levi Bennett knows where Ana’s been. He's also an Elite, but where Ana was sent to the island, he ended up there by accident. While Ana buries herself in her work and stopping the flow of illegal drugs and weapons into the poverty-stricken Blue District, Levi covers his pain by partying and spending his trust fund on buying bars and restaurants. 

Thrown together by Levi’s constant pressing of the limits, the two can’t deny the connection they share through their dark pasts. 

Their demons are one in the same, but some demons can’t be tamed. 

Kindle Edition, 207 pages

Published September 18th 2018 by Show n'ot Tell Publishing

About The Author 

Cassandra doesn't remember a time when she wasn't writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then Cassandra has written more novels than she can count and put just as many in the circular bin. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character's stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. Besides being a writer, Cassandra is a professional photographer known for her automotive, nature and architectural shots. She is happily married to the man of her dreams and they live in the rolling hills of New England with their daughter and two dogs.

Book Review: Delta Force Defender (Red, White and Built: Pumped Up) by Carol Ericson

Title:  Delta Force Defender (Red, White and Built: Pumped Up)

Author: Carol Ericson

Stars: 3 stars

Review:
This wasn't an easy book to read to be honest.  The synopsis sounded interesting and every so often Harlequin has some really good Intrigue stories but this one has me scratching my head. 
Cam Sutton comes out of now where and decides to help the CIA translator Martha Drake who's fathers past and her looks have her question everything that comes out of the handsome Delta Forces mouth.
Everything about this book comes of as personal attacks to each other Martha who is wealth and well educated and Cam who is the opposite and can't read due to his dyslexia.  Martha has a lack of self confidence and Cam thinks she is hot and is attracted to a Intelligence than looks. 
Most of the story about them trying to figure each other out and less about why someone is after Martha or his Military commander.  There is sex but honestly it is really uncomfortable and removes readers from the adventure or the person who is trying to destroy everything about Martha and the life she created.
The story has a moral to it don't judge a book by its cover but it gets lost in the all inner monologue and awkward moments.

Thank you to Netgllaey and the publisher Harlequin Intrigue for the advance copy of Carol Ericson Delta Force Defender 

Synopsis:
Fiery, independent Cam Sutton will go to any length to prove his Delta Force mentor isn’t a terrorist—even bully the CIA into giving him the damning emails. But by-the-book CIA translator Martha Drake already knows the evidence is fishy, and it’s somehow connected to the recent attempts on her life. Soon the strong, capable soldier is her protector…and inciting a passion neither can deny. But will Cam still want to be her teammate once the real traitors are brought to justice?

Kindle Edition, 256 pages

Expected publication: November 1st 2018 by Harlequin Intrigue

About The Author:

https://www.amazon.com/default/e/B001KC6B5K?redirectedFromKindleDbs=true