A Shiver of Light (Merry Gentry #9) by Laurell K. Hamilton

Blurb:

I am Princess Meredith NicEssus. Legal name Meredith Gentry, because “Princess” looks so pretentious on a driver’s license. I was the first faerie princess born on American soil, but I wouldn't be the only one for much longer...

Merry Gentry, ex–private detective, now full-time princess, knew she was descended from fertility goddesses, but when she learned she was about to have triplets, she began to understand what that might mean. Infertility has plagued the high ranks of faerie for centuries. Now nobles of both courts of faerie are coming to court Merry and her men, at their home in exile in the Western Lands of Los Angeles, because they will do anything to have babies of their own.

Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, is a more dangerous problem. He tried to seduce Merry and, failing that, raped her. He’s using the human courts to sue for visitation rights, claiming that one of the babies is his. And though Merry knows she was already pregnant when he took her, she can’t prove it.

To save herself and her babies from Taranis she will use the most dangerous powers in all of faerie: a god of death, a warrior known as the Darkness, the Killing Frost, and a king of nightmares. They are her lovers, and her dearest loves, and they will face down the might of the high courts of faerie—while trying to keep the war from spreading to innocent humans in Los Angeles, who are in danger of becoming collateral damage.

My review:

Laurell K. Hamilton is one of those authors that some folks love to hate.  I am not one of those folks.  If I don’t like your work I vote with my dollars and don’t buy it.  I also trust the author to know where he/she wants to go with the story.  Sometimes I don’t agree but LKH has always turned it around and no loss is without gain.  You will hear extreme opinions about this story.  I figure that means that Ms. Hamilton has done her job.  If she can get you to react that much her work has made an impact.

I along with everyone else waited anxiously for this installment of the Merry Gentry series.  The last book came out in 2009.  We finally get to meet Merry’s babies and get to play who is the Daddy.  Watching Merry’s big strong men deal with dirty diapers is worth the price of the book.  I enjoyed this book and am ever curious to see where Ms. Hamilton takes us next.  I just hope it won’t be so long between books.

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Shield of Winter (Psy-Changeling #13) by Nalini Singh

Blurb:

Assassin. Soldier. Arrow. That is who Vasic is, who he will always be. His soul drenched in blood, his conscience heavy with the weight of all he’s done, he exists in the shadows, far from the hope his people can almost touch—if only they do not first drown in the murderous insanity of a lethal contagion. To stop the wave of death, Vasic must complete the simplest and most difficult mission of his life. 

For if the Psy race is to survive, the empaths must wake…

Having rebuilt her life after medical “treatment” that violated her mind and sought to stifle her abilities, Ivy should have run from the black-clad Arrow with eyes of winter frost. But Ivy Jane has never done what she should. Now, she'll fight for her people, and for this Arrow who stands as her living shield, yet believes he is beyond redemption. But as the world turns to screaming crimson, even Ivy’s fierce will may not be enough to save Vasic from the cold darkness…

My review:

I LOVE Nalini Singh! I think she is incapable of putting out a bad book.  Other than the fact that I was really hoping that this would be Aiden’s book Shield of Winter did not disappoint.  Vasic has been a quiet hero in the previous books.  He has used his incredible talent to save countless lives.  Sadly he focuses on the lives he didn’t save and those he took.  He feels deeply for a Psy Arrow who is supposed to be Silent.   With the fall of Silence the Arrows will play a pivotal part in helping the Psy to recover.  Ivy is a powerful empathy who had been “rehabilitated” for her breach of Silence.  Fortunately it didn’t destroy her or her abilities because her gifts may be the very ones needed to save those that thought to wipe out those same gifts.  Can Ivy and Vasic save each other?  Of course but you definitely want to read along to find out how.   

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Cross & Crown (Sidewinder #2) by Abigail Roux

Blurb:

When Nick O'Flaherty arrives at the scene of a double homicide to find he has a witness to the crime, he thinks it’s his lucky day. But when he realizes his witness is suffering from amnesia and can’t even remember his own name, Nick wishes he’d gone with his gut and put in for vacation time.

Then Nick’s boyfriend and former Recon teammate, Kelly Abbott, joins him in Boston, and Nick finds his hands a little too full as the case and his personal life collide. The witness he’s dubbed “JD” is being tailed by Julian Cross, a retired CIA hitman. To complicate matters further, JD forms an attachment to Nick that Nick struggles not to respond to as they search for the key to JD’s identity.

Trying to determine whether JD is friend or foe as they investigate the crime puts them on the trail of a much older mystery. When multiple attempts are made on their lives, Nick is forced to turn to old enemies and new allies to solve a centuries-old crime before he and Kelly get added to the history books.

My review:

I was not a big fan of Nick when I thought he was a threat to Ty & Zane’s (Cut & Run series) relationship but since he has hooked up with Kelly in this spin off I have come to really like him.  He is comfortable in his own skin finally and things are going well with Kelly even if it is a long distance relationship.  In Cross & Crown Nick and Kelly run into Julian Cross (Warriors Cross) as he is on the tail of the same crooks as Nick but for more personal reasons.  This is a romp through history and Boston.  I am really becoming a fan of this series.  Ty & Zane are still my favorites but Nick & Kelly are right behind.  Snappy dialogue and sweet sweaty sex make this a fun read.

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Riptide Publishing

Fighting Fate (Redwood Pack #7) by Carrie Ann Ryan

Blurb:

With her blue-black hair and striking green eyes, Cailin Jamenson is the epitome of beauty and the exemplar of strength. She has fought the enforced boundaries of being the lone Jamenson daughter and Redwood Pack princess, but it is the potential future with the dark wolf in her path that threatens everything she thought she desired.
Logan Anderson’s own darkness provided the reasoning for his abandonment of his former Pack, the Talons. Now, newly accepted into the Redwood Pack, this jade-eyed wolf and all she represents could be his own undoing.
In this final installment of the Redwood Pack, unimaginable tragedy strikes, and the two wolves who have fought the longest for their independence now face the uncertainty of fate and the epic battle that could end the war… and their lives.

My review:

Being the only girl and the baby of the family with 6 older alpha brothers wasn’t always a pain.  They spoiled Cailin and treated her like a princess.  Then they grew up and found their place in the pack.  Cailin is still struggling with that and it seems like her brothers don’t acknowledge that she has grown up.  Now her wolf wants to mate with a male who is as dominant as her brothers.  No way is she getting out from under them just to end up under another even if he is hot as sin.  Besides there is a war going on and the pack needs her to act as Jaspers assistant right?  Logan wants Cailin just as she is.  He has been giving her time to get used to the idea but war has a way of screwing up time tables.  When tragedy strikes it brings home just how short life can be even for long lived werewolves. 

Cailin is the last of the Jamenson’s to fall and I for one will be sad to see them go.  I am thrilled that Ms. Ryan will be giving us occasional glimpses back at these old friends and look forward to meeting the men of the Talon pack.  This like the other books in this series is full of fun, action, adventure, magic and really hot sex. 

I was fortunate enough to have received a complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.

Back on June 10th

Back on June 10th

His Choice (Dante's Circle #3.5) by Carrie Ann Ryan

Blurb:

As the youngest son of Lucifer, Fawkes has long since known what paths his future could take. He could follow his father’s footsteps, stealing the souls of humans and slowly lose his own, or starve himself and wither away until he finds his true half and forms a bond that can not only save his life, but his soul.

Leslie Masterson’s life has been one torment after another. A submissive wolf, she’s tried to hide in the shadows of her Pack and find the will to live another day. After her brother—the man who has beaten her verbally and physically her entire life—is killed when he challenges the Alpha, Leslie finally sees a path to freedom.

It only takes one look between the two for them to know that they could be the answer to each other’s prayers, but some of the Pack isn’t ready to let Leslie go. It will take the strength of a fiery demon from hell and the love of a submissive wolf to overcome not only their past, but their chance at a future.

His Choice was also found in the Ever After Anthology.

My review:

Yay! We get Fawkes story.  We met Fawkes in Her Warriors' Three Wishes (Dante's Circle #2) when he helped fellow demon Balin and the werewolf Beta, Hunter (who’s story we get in An Unlucky Moon (Dante's Circle #3)) escape from hell.  Now Fawkes is in his time of transition and has to decide whether he is going to go the way Balin did or follow his father’s plan and take a soul.  Fawkes’ mate isn’t one of the ladies from Dante’s Circle so I guess that makes this a spin off.  This is a short sweet sexy romp that will convince you that you need to read the other books in this series.

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