When a Stranger Loves Me - A Book Review by Voodoo Bride

When a Stranger Loves Me by Julianne MacLean

What is it about:
I saved his life . . . and I had much to demand in return.

When he washed up on shore, I knew my prayers had been answered, and that I, Lady Chelsea Campion, need no longer fear poverty and heartbreak. To secure my family's estate, all I needed was a child. Handsome, clearly noble-born, and with no memory of his previous life, the mysterious man was perfect. All I had to do was visit his bedchamber and seduce him. I had expected him to be a skillful, scandalously wonderful lover, but once in his arms I was overcome by something more than mere passion. I had fallen hopelessly, desperately in love.

My plan has gone shockingly awry. But I will not give up a man who makes me feel such wicked ecstasy. No matter his true identity, no matter the secrets he struggles to remember, I will do anything in this world to make this stranger love me.

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
If you're thinking this book is written in 1st person: It's not.
That out of the way: I really liked this book. Chelsea is a sweet, innocent character thinking she's quite the clever, scheming seductress and this is what makes the story work for me. Had she really been as scheming as she thinks she is I wouldn't have liked her, but in this case I really felt for her and got dragged into the story, hoping she wouldn't get herself too tangled up in the mess she's creating and really wanting to see her get her happy end. The one negative thing in this story is that I think the plot got unnecessary complicated near the end as some extra obstacles got thrown up that could have easily been left out and which would have lead to a more balanced story in my opinion. Still it's one of the better historical romances I've read lately.

Why should you read it:
It's a very nice Historical Romance

Stray - Book Review

Stray by Rachel Vincent (Shifters #1)

What is it about:
I look like an all-American grad student. But I am a werecat, a shape-shifter, and I live in two worlds.
Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a Stray attacked.

I'd been warned about Strays -- werecats without a Pride, constantly on the lookout for someone like me: attractive, female, and fertile. I fought him off, but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared.
This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back . . . for my own protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty. I'll take on whatever -- and whoever -- I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out, Strays -- 'cause I got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them . . .

What did I think of it:
Another book that I'm in two minds about. The writing is good, the story suspenseful, emotional and with some powerful action. So far so good. It's two things that hold me back from embracing this series however.

First there's Faythe, the lead character.
While I can understand her half of the time and feel for her, the other half she's just not thinking and doing stuff no one in their right minds would do. It kept me from really liking her.

Second there's the cats.
The males kept frolicking (for a lack of better word) with each other and while I understand this was meant to display the playful side of cats, I myself have never seen adult male cats act anything close to playful or frolicky towards each other. Now this might be just me and maybe male cats are more playful than the cats I've been around, but it just didn't feel real to me.

So all in all I did enjoy the story and the writing, but I don't think I will be picking up the next book in this series.

Why should you read it:
It's a well written, suspenseful Urban Fantasy story.

Deadtown - Book Review

Deadtown by Nancy Holzner

What is it about:
They call it Deadtown: the city’s quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its borders — but Victory Vaughn, Boston’s only professional demon slayer, isn’t exactly human…
Vicky’s demanding job keeping the city safe from all manner of monsters is one reason her relationship with workaholic lawyer (and werewolf) Alexander Kane is in constant limbo. Throw in a foolhardy zombie apprentice, a mysterious demon-plagued client, and a suspicious research facility that’s taken an unwelcome interest in her family, and Vicky’s love life has as much of a pulse as Deadtown’s citizens.

But now Vicky’s got bigger things to worry about. The Hellion who murdered her father ten years ago has somehow broken through Boston’s magical protections. The Hellion is a ruthless force of destruction with a personal grudge against Vicky, and she’s the only one who can stop the demon before it destroys the city and everyone in it.

What did I think of it:
I loved this book. It's fun, original and action packed. Vicky is a great character: kick-ass, smart, gutsy, but also vulnerable, stubborn and with a foot in mouth syndrome from time to time that keeps her from becoming a bitchy heroine I can't relate to. All the characters were rounded and well written I must add, down to the ones with tiny roles. I adored Tina, the teen zombie, and I hope that Tina will return in future books and gets a bigger part to play. I also hope the other zombies will get more screentime as well, as I found Holzner's take on zombies cool (and they're not even the brain eating kind!) and would love to read more about them.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun Urban Fantasy story with shapeshifters, demons and zombies!

Teaser Tuesdays - the Lord-Protector's Daughter

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Rachylana's words were cold, but behind them was pure fury. "You'd think you were the eldest son. You're not. You're a daughter, just like the rest of us, and it might be a good idea if you occasionally remembered that."
(page 53, The Lord-Protector's Daughter by L.E. Modesitt, Jr)

Mercy - A Book Review by Voodoo Bride

*
Mercy by Eleri Stone (ebook, novella)

What is it about:
To the Yaguara, an ancient jaguar shape-shifting people living deep in the Amazon jungle, nothing matters more than strength. Iada is their champion; genetically pure, she has been trained since birth to fight. Her destiny is to become the next Queen of the Yaguara by winning the tournament of succession—a battle to the death.

Her opponent is Gabriel, a half-blooded outcast whose mother was human. To everyone's shock, he defeats Iada but does not strike the death blow—instead, he extends mercy, thereby claiming her as his mate.

Despite their enmity, the attraction between them is powerful, and soon they are mates in more than name only. Their mutual distrust serves only to fuel their passion—two champions bested only by their overpowering desire for each other.

But Gabriel has an agenda that threatens the most basic tenets of Yaguara society—and that will force Iada to choose between her people or her King.

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
A surprisingly well rounded story for a novella. There's lots of hot, steamy romance, but the action storyline that frames this romance is well worked out as well. I liked that you got to see in both Gabriel's as Iada's thoughts so you can root for them both.
The whole Yaguara society sounds really cool, but as a large part of the story takes place outside of the Yaguara city it is only hinted at. So if I have one thing to say against this story it's that it makes me hungry for more Yaguara and their fascinating society and that I now have to hope that Stone will write more (and hopefully longer) stories set in this world.

Why should you read it:
Hot Shapeshifter Romance!

* I got this book for review from the publisher through Netgalley

Blameless - Review and yet another Giveaway

Blameless by Gail Carriger (The Parasol Protectorate #3)

What is it about:
Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.

While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.

What did I think of it:
I wasn't happy with the ending of Changeless (the second book) so it took me awhile to pick up Blameless, but I can tell you I'm glad I did. Where I found Changeless a bit stiff and emotionless Blameless makes up for that and got me firmly addicted to this series again. It's a fun, actionpacked story with old and new cool characters you can't help loving or in some cases hating.

I loved the fact that my favourite returning character Professor Lyall had quite a cool storyline and lots of screentime in this book and I must even admit I thought his storyline was cooler than Alexia's storyline (not that her storyline wasn't cool I must say).
There were quite a few events that may have their consequences in future books, but luckily this time it didn't end in such a grueling cliffhanger to keep me upset for months to come. So now I'm eagerly awaiting any further installment in this cool, steampunk series.

Why should you read it:
It's got Steampunk, Templars, Werewolves and Vampires!!
(review of Soulless can be found here and of Changeless here


And now for yet another giveaway:

Due to a mix up a friend of mine ended up with two copies of Blameless and kindly donated her second copy to giveaway to one of the readers of my blog.

So if you want a chance to win Blameless:
- Leave me a comment to let me know you want to be entered
- Leave a way for me to contact you
- You do not need to be a follower (only become a follower if you like my blog)
- Giveaway ends on Oktober 29th so comment before then.
- Open internationally


ps: Don't forget to check my other giveaways. Links to those are in the sidebar on the right.

Wolf Signs - Ebook Giveaway

Win a copy of A Wolf Signs by Vivian Arend!

Robyn Maxwell doesn’t care that her brother has to cancel out on their backcountry ski trip. She can do it alone. The fact she’s deaf doesn’t make her survival skills any weaker. The chance to get away from it all and relax in the Yukon wilderness is just what she’s been craving.

Meeting wilderness guide Keil at the cabin starts cravings of another kind. Keil’s one hot hunk of ripped, tasty male. Now she has to deal with raging hormones as well as strange questions about wolves and mates and challenges to the death.

Keil was trying for a nice reflective retreat before challenging for the Alpha position of his Alaskan pack. He wasn’t planning on meeting the woman destined to be his mate, or finding out she’s not aware she has the genes of a wolf.

Between dealing with his accident-prone younger brother, a deaf mate with an attitude and an impending duel to the death, his week—and his bed—is suddenly full.

Far from the relaxing getaway any of them had in mind...

Leave a comment for a chance to win a digital copy of Wolf Signs!

This contest is a part of Moira Rogers' & Vivian Arend's Fall Frenzy Event. For your chance to win books, gift certificates, ereaders and more, visit http://www.moirarogers.com/contests/

Some extra info:
Winner will be picked on october 29th so leave a comment before then.
It's international
You don't have to be a follower of my blog
Leave a way for me to contact you

Read Voodoo Bride's review of this book here