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Until Forever Comes (Mates #2) by Cardeno C. (5 Stars)

Feb15

Can a vampire and a shifter, supposedly mortal enemies, become each other’s soul mate and savior?

Ethan Abbatt is a wolf shifter and the weakest link in his pack. He is unable to shift, and fears his days are numbered. Discovering that his true mate is a vampire is earth shattering, but Ethan is determined to make the best of it.

Miguel Rodriguez is one of the strongest vampires around and has no idea why a shifter, who originally tried to attack the vampires, is now so determined to stay by his side. As they work through developing their own relationship, they also have to deal with vampire and pack bias.

Ethan is such a lovely character. He’s a bit insecure after spending his life unable to shift, making him an outcast in his pack. However, he had the unconditional love of his family, especially his sister, allowing him to value himself and making him determined to hold unto his mate after finding him.

Miguel is extremely old, powerful, and smart. He is on the verge of going feral since he can’t seem to feed enough to satisfy his hunger. Since a shifter’s blood is poisonous to a vampire, Miguel is shocked that he can not only feed from Ethan, but actually feels better afterwards.

Once Ethan and Miguel accept their mating, the amazing steamy sex scenes happen fast and frequently. They also spend a lot of time talking, helping the pack, and dealing with the other vampires who aren’t fans of shifters.

It was absolutely adorable how jealous and protective each of these men were of the other. The epilogue was perfect, answering some questions from the first story and giving us a solid feeling of forever for Ethan and Miguel.

You can’t go wrong with this riveting page turner with true love, a suspenseful plot, wonderful dialogue, vampires, shifters, and steamy hot sex. I couldn’t put it down, and I’m anxiously awaiting the next book in the series!

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Mad About the Boys (Anthology) by J.L. Merrow and Josephine Myles (5 Stars)

Feb10

A sexy anthology by two talented authors tapping into both the contemporary and paranormal worlds where three hearts are the rule.

Dinner for Three by JL Merrow (3.5 stars)

After leaving her abusive ex-boyfriend, Claire is now living with two sexy gay men, Tom and Justin. Tom and Justin have been dropping some not-so-subtle hints that they wish to include Claire in their relationship, but she isn’t catching on. They decide to make things very obvious over an extremely steamy dinner one night.

Since the story is only told from Claire’s point of view, and there aren’t a lot of conversations, we really only get to know her. She’s a great character and enjoyable to read. Tom and Justin were both nice guys with some adorable banter but pretty interchangeable. This is basically an enjoyable, well-written sex scene with some flashbacks in Claire’s life.

The Greenwood by Josephine Myles (5 stars)

Mirabelle is an immortal, beautiful sprite living in the forest where the story takes place. Jay is the sullen artist living alone with Mirabelle as his only companion. He doesn’t think she’s real, but he loves her dearly. Along comes Will, a woodcutter who has decided to live in the forest. Jay and Will quickly become lovers, but can Mirabelle ever truly become a true part of their lives living in her spirit form?

I loved this story with Mirabelle’s amazing character acting as narrator. It felt magical and tugged at my emotions. I felt like I was living in the woods with these wonderfully interesting people, and I desperately wanted them to be happy. It worked as a short story, but I could have easily read about these characters for so much longer.

Antithesis of Magic by JL Merrow (2 Stars)

Gus has had a hard life being born without magic like other people. Gus goes to the local bar to meet Max on a blind date. But while waiting at the bar, he is getting hit on by Lila. After Max arrives, it turns out that Max and Lila are together and really want Gus to join them. At this point, we learn a little bit about why Lila and Max want Gus so bad.

The story is told from Gus’s point of view, and he’s not the happiest guy in the world. The characters don’t really spend very much time getting to know each other before they have sex together. At the end of that scene, I felt like they used Gus to get what they needed, which was a bit sad. I think this story needs more character and relationship development and a stronger ending.

Changeling by JL Merrow (5 Stars)

Meg and Adam are the best of friends and do everything together. They live in a time in history where witches and faeries exist. Meg is a strong character, who works hard and is willing to stand up for what’s right. Adam is a very simple man who has had a rough life growing up, but he’s a sweetheart. His troubles stem from the time he was born when the faeries switched him for another baby. They wish to be together, but it’s forbidden until the original child can be recovered. At this point, we meet the original Adam, but now have to see what impact he’ll have on the original couple’s lives.

I loved Meg, and the story is told from her very interesting point of view. She’s the kind of character I could listen to all day long. The romance was sweet, and the plot was interesting. This was also a fairly long story which worked very well.

Kiss, Mark Two by Josephine Myles (4 stars)

Ruby loves Ty, but she really wants to invite Ty’s best friend, Mark, into their bed. Mark and Ty have been best friends forever, but can their relationship handle that kind of encounter?

This was one scorching hot sex scene with three people who obviously cared very much about each other. I actually cared about them, and really wanted to see this relationship work out.
Overall, this was an excellent anthology with several extremely good and unique stories. I really enjoyed this mix of contemporary and paranormal love stories with two sexy guys and one lady.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Duck (Avian Shifters #1) by Kim Dare (5 Stars)

Feb1

Two shifters fall in love based on an incorrect assumption. Can their love survive when the truth comes out?

Ori is a fledgling looking forward to his full transformation into a duck. He’s living and working with a group of other avian shifters, but the other shifters are physically and emotionally abusing him. Fortunately, most of the abuse is described during flashbacks with minimal detail.

Raynard recently lost his uncle and is now responsible for taking over all of his business dealings. He’s beyond angry at Ori’s treatment, and decides to take Ori in as his own servant. They quickly settle into a beautiful, loving relationship as Raynard discovers Ori is the perfect submissive for him. Ori would do anything for Raynard and the feelings are mutual. These two take care of each other in so many ways. Ori creates a true home for Raynard, while Raynard protects Ori and builds his self-confidence.

As certain events unfold, Raynard makes a sacrifice out of his pure love for Ori. Although my heart was breaking, and tears were streaming down my face, I was also touched by their deep love for each other. As always, the author delivers on her promise of a happy ending.

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Book Blurb

In Your Eyes (Mates #3) by Cardeno C. (5 Stars)

Jan11

Samuel Goodwin spends his entire life training to be the best alpha, both mentally and physically, but until he can connect with his pack on an emotional level, he knows he’ll never be truly successful. The story is told from his point of view, and with his uniquely quirky personality, it was quite the treat to read. He takes his responsibilities very seriously, and he would do anything to ensure the safety of his pack. Unfortunately, he is missing the other half of his soul and isn’t sure where to look for his mate.

Korban Keller, who was absolutely adorable with his sweet and pleasant disposition, is next in line to be the alpha of his pack. Samuel and Korban meet at a young age and run into each other fairly often. Samuel is convinced that Korban couldn’t possibly have good intentions and is always leery of everything Korban says. This made for some very interesting interactions between the two of them.

While the first half of the story focused on Samuel and his viewpoint on life, the remainder of the story focuses on his relationship with Korban. Korban brings out the passionate side of Samuel that nobody had ever seen before. For the first time in his life, Samuel understands what it means to truly love and care about somebody. These two alphas made an amazing team, and you can easily envision their future together.

I really enjoyed the action that takes place as the pack alphas fight to gain control. Although this is part of a series, each of the stories can be read on its own. However, I highly recommend each of the three stories. They are each uniquely told, and this is one of my absolute favorite paranormal series.

I love the concept of one true mate, and this story delivered it beautifully.

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Originally reviewed for Swept Away By Romance. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb