Book Review: Vampires Like It Hot by Lynsay Sands

Vampires Like It Hot

Author: Lynsay Sands
Series: Argeneau, Book 28
Publisher: Avon (September 18, 2018)
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
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Summary
“Vampires...”

When Raffaele Notte pulls a barely dressed, disoriented woman from the ocean, the last thing he expects is for her to utter that word. The immortal has come to the island resort to help his cousin, but now, it seems, there are rogue vampires dining on unsuspecting tourists. And he soon realizes that not only is Jess a target, she’s also the life mate he’s been waiting for…

Vampires are real. Jess would’ve never believed it until she saw them with her own eyes. She knows she has to get off the island, and her gallant rescuer has offered to help. There’s something about Raffaele that’s unlike any man she has ever met, and his touch sends pleasure through her that is beyond all imagining. But when Jess discovers who he really is, will she risk life as she knows it for a chance of forever by his side?

Book Review: 100 Fathoms Below by Steven L. Kent and Nicholas Kaufman

100 Fathoms Below

Author: Steven L. Kent and Nicholas Kaufman
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing (October 9, 2018)
Kindle edition, 272 pages
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Summary
100 fathoms below ...The depth at which sunlight no longer penetrates the ocean.1983. The US nuclear submarine USS Roanoke embarks on a classified spy mission into Soviet waters. Their goal: to find evidence of a new, faster, and deadlier Soviet submarine that could tip the balance of the Cold War. But the Roanoke crew isn't alone. Something is on board with them. Something cunning and malevolent.Trapped in enemy territory and hunted by Soviet submarines, tensions escalate and crew members turn on each other. When the lights go out and horror fills the corridors, it will take everything the crew has to survive the menace coming from outside and inside the submarine.In the dark.Combining Tom Clancy's eye for international intrigue with Stephen King's sense of the macabre, 100 Fathoms Below takes readers into depths from which there is no escape. 

Book Review: Not His Vampire by Annie Nicholas

Not His Vampire

Author: Annie Nicholas
Series: Not This, Book 3
Published: November 20, 2017
Kindle, 288 pages
Goodreads     Amazon (Kindle Unlimited)

Summary
Magic is real. Shifters exist. Trixie Russell know this. Everyone does. But no one told her about the monster lurking in the basement of the dragon’s castle. Not until it was too late. 

Victor Petrov is ancient, and vampires his age should not lose control of their hunger. And yet, thanks to the dragon who chained him in a dungeon to protect the citizens of New Port, that’s exactly his problem. Then in walks a human female with cotton candy hair who smells like sunshine incarnate, her pulse a melody in his parched ears, and the fragile thread of his control snaps. Like or not, Trixie is now tied to an ancient vampire forever, and he seems short a few marbles. She plans on making his eternity a misery until he reveals the mission. It turns out they have an enemy in common, and Trixie is totally on board with helping him escape so she could get her revenge. After that, she’s done. They’re over. She wouldn’t be his vampire. 

Book Review: Curses, Foiled Again by Sera Trevor

Book Review: Curses, Foiled Again by Sera Trevor

Rating: 4 Stars

!!Happy Book-Birthday!!

 

Expected publication: November 27th 2017 by NineStar Press
Summary: Felix is a vampire—a fierce creature of the night who strikes terror into the hearts of everyone unlucky enough to become his prey. Or at least, that’s what he thought was true, until he met John. John is completely unimpressed with Felix, much to his dismay. Felix becomes fixated on proving his ferocity to John—and when that doesn’t work, he strives to make any impression on him at all.

John is a witch, and as all witches know, vampires are notoriously stupid creatures who only have the power to hurt those who fear them. Besides, he’s under a curse much more frightening than any vampire. Felix’s desperate attempts to impress him annoy John at first, but gradually, they become sort of endearing. Because of his curse, John has pushed everyone in his life away. But Felix can’t be hurt, so there’s no harm in letting him hang around.

Felix is technically dead. John has nothing left to live for. But together, they might have a shot at life.

This dark and witty vampire romance for adults is complete at 100,000 words, with no cliffhanger. Despite some dark twists and turns, it ends with a solid HEA.
(from Goodreads)

Review: The first chapter is such a total train wreck that I almost DNF’d this book, but there was also something compelling enough about it that I kept reading - and I’m so glad I did! Chapter one reads like a goth teen’s unedited NaNoWriMo novel, and then the rest of the book reads like it was written by an entirely different person. I love the evolution of several of the relationships (but won’t say more because spoilers) and was pleasantly surprised by the depth and growth of the main characters - definitely something I was NOT expecting from that first chapter! The name of John’s cat (Astray) was awkward for me (I kept reading it as “Ashtray” and thinking what an awful name that is for a cat). Also kind of bugged by how many characters in this book are gay. Which isn’t to say that I disliked the 80-90% gay cast, but each time another character was revealed to be gay/lesbian/bi I was like what are the odds? Also, I know a guy who is rather John-like and he can’t pick up chicks to save his life - is he playing to the wrong crowd? Because John seems to be man catnip for some reason.

Book Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Book Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Rating: 5 Stars

Published September 3rd 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Summary: Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown's gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.
(from Goodreads)

Review: I don't read much YA anymore these days because I just don't have the patience for most of it. Maybe that means I'm old, I don't know.

I really enjoyed The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. I listened to it on audiobook as narrated by Christine Lakin, and Ms. Lakin was a joy to listen to. She reads with a depth of feeling that was admirable, and gave each character a distinct voice of their own. I LOVED her accents for several of the characters, and she reads with a sensuality that's thrilling as well.

The vampires in this book are very The Vampire Diaries-esque, which I love. Dark and mysterious and sexy but also disgusting, compelling and at the same time repulsive. Definitely not sparkly with normal looking but somehow poison teeth (WTF, Twilight?)

Definitely left me wanting more!