Category: Paranormal Rom/Urban Fantasy

Book Review: Captivated by a Gargoyle by Lisa Carlisle

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

CAPTIVATED BY THE GARGOYLE (Boston Stone Sentries Book #3) by Lisa Carlisle is the next in a series of paranormal romances following Larissa and Roman. Although this is the third book, I believe you receive enough backstory and can pick-up the storyline and romance quickly enough to read this as a standalone.

Larissa Riley is still on suspension from the Boston P.D. at the start of this book. She discovered that she is a witch and she is the best hope to save her friend from an incubus demon king. She has not been trained and her belief in her power is spotty, but Roman believes in her and her power.

Roman is a gargoyle shifter and Commander of the Boston Stone Sentries. He knows Larissa is a powerful witch, even though she still has doubts and he knows she is his life-mate. When Larissa’s best- friend, Janie is kidnapped by the demon, Roman will follow Larissa through the portal into the demon realm to save her.

I enjoyed this addition to the series. Roman and Larissa are put through their paces in this action packed plot and their romance gets back on track. The sex scenes are explicit, but not gratuitous. I enjoyed how Larissa matured and grew into her powers and emotions in this finale. I also enjoyed the other gargoyle sentries becoming more three dimensional and integrated into the plot as characters and not just placeholders. This novella wraps up Roman and Larissa’s story well and hopefully Ms. Carlisle will follow more of the gargoyle shifters into the future.

Book Review: Combust by Lisa Carlisle

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

COMBUST (Underground Encounters #7) by Lisa Carlisle is an addition to the VAMPS paranormal series of novellas. In this book we return to Maya’s and Nike’s stories, best friends who have been permanently changed as they have learned of the paranormal world and found their soul mates from that world.

Michel and Nike were unsuccessful in finding a solution to Nike’s condition after being attacked by a vampire. Nike can still live in daylight, but she has an uncontrollable thirst for blood. Nike withdraws from everyone except Michel to protect them from herself. Now she has a decision to make, to continue as she is or to let Michel make her a true nightwalker.

Maya is so happy. She and Tristan are planning their wedding and she wants her best friend as her maid of honor, but Nike refuses because she is afraid of hurting an innocent guest. Maya has never liked Michel or the idea of her best friend becoming a nightwalker, but even so she is devastated when Nike turns her down. Maya not only has to deal with Nike’s choices, but her adoptive parents reveal some information about her past that explains some things about Maya’s talents.

This novella is a quick read that I could not put down because I loved all of these characters in their previous individual stories and this novella updated their character development. Instead of just a line or two in a new couple’s story, I got to follow both Maya and Nike in-depth. I always enjoy returning to the VAMPS world.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.

Book Review: Enticed by the Gargoyle by Lisa Carlisle

RATING: 3 out of 5 Stars

ENTICED BY THE GARGOYLE (Boston Stone Sentries #2) by Lisa Carlisle is a paranormal romance/urban fantasy. This is the second book in the trilogy and has more worldbuilding and action and less romance than the first novella.

Larissa Riley has been placed on leave from the Boston police force after the demon attack. Larissa and the police are trying to understand what happened, especially when Larissa had light beams coming from her hands to chase the demons back into the portal.

Roman, a gargoyle shifter, is Larissa’s lover and her mate. Roman believes Larissa is a witch, but Larissa is having a hard time understanding how that is possible. When she confronts her father and then her grandmother, the truth of her heritage is revealed. Larissa has had her life beliefs turned upside down and now must start to work to bring her powers under control.

Larissa has another vision of a demon threat. Roman and his gargoyle sentries have spotted demons on this side of the portal. The demon threat continues and they are coming for Larissa and those she loves. Can Roman protect the woman who is his mate and the world against demons as Larissa learns her magical powers and what being a gargoyle’s mate entails?

This second book in the trilogy has more emphasis on Larissa discovering her witch heritage and action with Roman and his fellow gargoyles finding demons on this side of the portal who escaped the closing. The action plot and worldbuilding continue on at a good pace. My problem with this book in the trilogy was Larrisa and Roman’s romance. This went from a hot gargoyle meets mate with great sex in book one to emotions and actions that were very immature on Larissa’s part in this book. I really had a hard time believing these two were “mates” in this book. I am a big fan of Ms. Carlisle’s smoking hot relationships, but I feel this book did not live up to the promise of the first in the romance story line.

That said, I am looking forward to the last book in this trilogy to see how the author reconciles the demon threat and hopefully gets Larissa and Roman’s romance back to the level I expect from this author.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.

Book Review: Blaze by Lisa Carlisle

RATING 5 out of 5 Stars

BLAZE: A GARGOYLE SHIFTER ROCKSTAR ROMANCE (Underground Encounters #6) by Lisa Carlisle is another great addition to the paranormal romance series based around VAMPS nightclub. These books are all romances, all have paranormal creatures and can be read as standalones, but they are also intertwined and building a unique world with crossover characters.

Mike is the lead guitarist of the Velvet Cocks. Outrageous rock star by night and computer geek by day, Mike has taken full advantage of the girls who want to sleep with him for one night stands, never more. One night in VAMPS, he runs across a scene that has the head gargoyle/bouncer telling him to take a pretty blonde out of there and protect her. When he takes the girl out of there, she seems familiar, but he cannot remember her name.

Allana “Ally” is humiliated and mad. Mike was her fantasy one night stand several months ago and here she is with him again and he does not even remember her name. Mike’s personal quirk though is he does not remember any names, but he remembers everything else about Allana. They both feel an attraction and agree to see each other again, but to keep it casual.

Allana has a past that no one knows about and she is not willing to risk her heart on a man who does not know how to be in a relationship. Mike cannot seem to stop thinking about only Allana and wants to spend every minute with her. He has an overwhelming urge to protect her, which leads to a discovery of his heritage that he knows nothing about.

This series is one of my guilty pleasures. I always know I am going to get an entertaining paranormal story with great characters and plenty of steaming hot sex scenes. Allana and Mike, even with the paranormal twists are portrayed with emotions that anyone can relate to. The romance, plot and paranormal and/or human characters all pull you right into the story. Ms. Carlisle’s worldbuilding has witches, vampires, gargoyles and shifters that make me want to meet them all at VAMPS.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Rosemary Wolfe, M.D. (Monster Doctor) (Loving Monsters, #1) by Rexanna Ipock-Brown

Title: Rosemary Wolfe, M.D. (Monster Doctor) (Loving Monsters Series Book 1)

Author: Rexanna Ipock-Brown

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Release Date: April 15, 2018

Cover Designer: Angela Fristoe at Covered Creatively http://www.coveredcreatively.com/

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Buy links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2IIUocH

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Book Description:

Never date vampires.

Dr. Rosemary Wolfe loves her career as a physician and veterinarian to the Genetically Diverse Beings in her community. She’ll do almost anything to help them. Dating them is another matter. Been there, done that, almost married a psycho. A witch and werewolf, she’s convinced her differences make her unlovable, therefore she reluctantly embraces her friends-with-benefits lifestyle.

Bryce Gold meets Rosemary at a party and asks her on a date. After losing his last wife to a vengeful vampire, Bryce has sworn off serious relationships for good. Not a heartless vampire, he’s simply endured all the grief he can. But his thoughts are filled with the sexy Dr. Wolfe, and he’s reconsidering his principles. The more time they spend together, the more he realizes she could be the one to heal his heart.

Soon, Rosemary and Bryce find love might not be enough to save them from their pasts. They will have to awaken their neglected powers to save their lives and relationship.

CONTENT WARNING: This book includes an adventurous witch/wolf trying to find love. It contains smoking hot shifters and vampires, swoon-worthy love scenes, naughty language, and a dash of violence to spice things up. Intended for mature audiences

Goodreads book link:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39864667-rosemary-wolfe-m-d-monster-doctor

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My Book Review:

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

ROSEMARY WOLFE, M.D.: Monster Doctor (Loving Monsters, #1) by Rexanna Ipock-Brown is the start of a new paranormal romance series. This new world has your favorite vamps, weres, witches, shamans and daemons with a few new twists, suspense, hot sex scenes and light-hearted relief.

The great part of this new to me author’s writing are her characters. Rosemary Wolfe is a witch/werewolf hybrid who is brilliant as a doctor for the GDB (Genetically Diverse Beings), but is insecure in her personal life and her paranormal talents. She has a fear of unfamiliar vampires after being attacked by her ex-fiance vampire in a jealous rage, but is intrigued by the new head of the local blood bank, Bryce Gold. Bryce is a sexy alpha, 400 year old vampire who believes in love.

The author also introduces the reader to many other diverse characters during the world-building. Rosemary is friends with a long-term vampire couple, Johnathon and Edward. The story fills Rosemary’s new practice with interesting help and patients. Her family is quite diverse, also. The introduction of all of these characters is also my one problem with this novel. The world-building gets too intricate and bogs down the story in places. It is a delicate balance between setting up a new world and not writing everything into the first book. This story could have been a little leaner to make it more focused on Rosemary and Bryce’s romance and the suspense sub-plot and saved some of the character introductions for further into the series.

I am looking forward to reading more in this series. There are so many stories that can come from Rosemary and Bryce’s continuing romance, Rosemary continuing to explore her paranormal side and the characters introduced by her medical practice. This is a new paranormal with great characters, a growing romance and hot sex scenes.

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About Rexanna:

Rosemary Wolfe, M.D. (Monster Doctor) is Rexanna’s debut novel. Rexanna is a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Columbia chapter of the Missouri Writer’s Guild.

Rexanna’s characters are drawn from her work as a psychic consultant. She has assisted police departments with cold cases, was a popular guest on radio call-in shows, and has been featured on local and national television.

Rexanna married her college sweetheart, who also loves reading and is an easy blusher. Their long-shared Saturday afternoon activity is to go out for lunch and then to a library or bookstore. They’ve done this for most of their 35-year marriage.

Rexanna’s favorite hobbies include walking her dachshund/king cavalier spaniel rescue dog, collecting crystals, and reading romance novels.

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Social Media:

Website:http://rexannaswritings.com

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/rexannaswritings/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rexanna13

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17920790.Rexanna_Ipock_Brown

Book Review: Kiss Me, Bite Me by Sayara St. Clair

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

KISS ME, BITE ME (Blood Kissed #1) by Sayara St. Clair is described as a vampire paranormal romance, but it does not become a paranormal romance until well over halfway through the story. Normally because of this delay I would be disappointed, but the author’s writing, dialogue and contemporary romance in the beginning of the book is very well written and kept me reading and enjoying Kayana and Greg’s story.

Kayana Castello Branco is a scientist who studies blood. She overcame an abusive childhood and has never been secure in herself. Her one long-term relationship was lukewarm and ended the moment she bumped into a gorgeous stranger at a conference, but of course, with her luck he is taken.

Eight months later, Greg Morgan cannot believe his good fortune. He once again has run into the beautiful woman he could not forget. He is now free and the sparks are flying. Both Kayana and Greg believe they are the other’s soulmate. Their relationship and sex are beyond perfect until Greg disappears.

When Greg reappears, both Kayana and Greg want to return to their perfect relationship, but Greg is having control issues over his newly turned reality. Fangs and an insatiable thirst for blood may ruin this romance.

I enjoyed Kayana and Greg and was pulled into their romance. They were both unlucky in love until they found each other and then it was explosive. There are explicit sex scenes, but they are well written and interwoven into the plot. The author has written realistic and witty dialogue that added to the emotional pull between the characters. It is hard to categorize this book because the paranormal turn starts so late in the book, but even with the switch, I still was satisfied with the hero and heroine’s HEA. My only problem was that I do not feel that the cover is right for this book based on Kayana’s description and Greg grew the fangs.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.