Tag: #paranormalromance

Book Review: His Magic Touch by Debby Grahl

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

HIS MAGIC TOUCH by Debby Grahl is a contemporary paranormal romance featuring witches and ghosts set in NOLA. Ms. Grahl’s world-building effortlessly pulls you into the conflict between good and evil and the generational curse which is the suspense element of the story. The lore and setting of New Orleans adds to the story’s impact.

Jared Dupre is a powerful witch. He met his soulmate, Kendra O’Connel several years ago at a coven meeting.

Now, on the eve of their wedding, Jared discovers his brother has been kidnapped by Adam Montief, a powerful dark witch. If Jared does not follow, Adam has sworn to kill his brother and threatens to kill Kendra as well. Jared refuses to tell Kendra where he is so that she remains safe in New Orleans. Adam believes he is The Chosen One and has to kill Jared to settle a centuries old family vendetta.

A swordfight between the two sends Adam wounded and over the side of a cliff and leaves Jared severely wounded. As Jared heals in Connecticut, Kendra believes he has left her for another woman.

When Jared returns to New Orleans, he finds that Kendra does not want to hear the truth of what happened and Adam is alive and dating Kendra. Jared must now find a way to protect and win back Kendra as he investigates the reason for the vendetta between the Montief’s and the Dupre’s which will only end with the death of one of heirs.

I absolutely loved the setting and world-building in this book. The witches and ghosts of NOLA interacting with the human population was believable and interesting. The twisting suspense plot in the past and present kept me turning the pages. I did have a problem with the romance subplot. Kendra’s reactions on her own and with her two best friends, I felt were very immature. I dislike when a lack of communication or misunderstandings are the main reasons for a couple not being together for a large portion of the book especially when they are supposedly soulmates.

I really enjoyed the suspense and world-building in this book, but not the romance. I would read more books in this witchy world hoping for a more mature relationship in the next book.

Book Review: Drawing Bloodlines by Deborah Garland

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

DRAWING BLOODLINES (The Princeton Allegiant #1) by Deborah Garland is the first book in a new paranormal vampire romance series. The vampires are a bit different from the norm and this leads to new world-building opportunities for this author.

Dr. Alexander Manning is a doctor, a professor and a vampire. He is a valued member of the Princeton Allegiant due to his ability to supply blood to the group. Alex was turned over one hundred years ago and is still learning how to use the “special” gifts he received from his sire, Loren. No one knows about his extraordinary talents and he prefers to keep it that way.

Elizabeth Lockspier is a teacher and is adjusting to her life as a divorced mother of one. While having her blood drawn at a doctor’s visit by one of the most beautiful men she has ever seen, she becomes lightheaded as he takes too much and faints when she finds him drinking from one of the vials.

Alex could not help himself. He finds Elizabeth’s scent and blood intoxicating. The problem is that no human can know of a vampire’s existence and if they do they must be reported to the head of the Allegiant. Alex breaks into Elizabeth’s house to wipe her memory rather than report her, but finds she is as drawn to him as he is to her even though he is a vampire.

As Alex and Elizabeth grow closer, Alex’s past threatens to pull them apart forever. He must decide to obediently go into a forced marriage with a vampire he hates or attempt to change his immortal future with a secret science experiment of a colleague.

I was drawn into this new paranormal vampire world with all of the twists in the world-building and action. This is a complete story, but the author introduces enough secondary characters and questions to carry the series forward. The sex scenes are explicit, but not gratuitous. (Personally, I would not be interested in those cold interactions.) If you are looking for a new twist on vampire paranormal romance this is the book and series for you.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.

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.