Romance Novels Perfect For Valentine's Day

How quickly time is flying by!  It is almost Valentine's Day, which means the perfect time to snuggle with a good romance novel..or even that special someone.  Throughout my years of reading I have come across a lot of different romance novels that I  have come to love and enjoy.  I have gone through series like Lords of The Underworld by Gena Showalter or the Dark Hunters by Sherrilyn Kenyon and I have gone through stand alone novels as well.  Here are a few romance novels that are perfect for the Valentine season (is it a season?)

Bowman's Inn is a collection of short stories from some amazing authors  The idea is that all the stories correlate with the Bowman Inn, where folks help Anteros find love.  Each story deals with magic, myths and legends, love at first sight and more.  You will find yourself pulled into each of the stories wanting more from the characters.  Because it is a collection of short stories, it is easy to put the book down and pick it back up where you left off without feeling like you missed out on something.  I am not one for short story collections, but I do love this book and highly recommend it.  It is a great way to discover new romance authors that you will be sure to fall in love with, I know I did.  I look forward to other installments of the Bowman's Inn and find myself looking for books by some of the authors included.

Speaking of authors included in Bowman's Inn, it's only appropriate that I mention RA Winter's series Kiowa in Love.  It starts with Little Sparrow which follows Karen as she returns home for the holidays and meets Richard, a man she ended up in bed with and vowed it would be a one time thing.  When she arrives home, low and behold there is Richard!  What are the odds.  Thanksgiving turns into a fiasco with a multitude of personalities and Grandfather who tries to play matchmaker for his granddaughter.  I love this series, I love this author.  She writes in a way that is beautiful and graceful, with a hint of naughtiness.  This novel does not focus on the sexual aspect of a relationship but rather the bond one needs to build.  The emotional intimacy rather than the physical.  Every time RA comes out with a new book or story, I find I have to jump on it to add to my collection.

Jacob is the veterinarian for a circus, Marlena is the star of the show.  When the circus takes on an elephant Marlena becomes the rider of the animal and Jacob must train her.  A bond forms between the man and woman as well as the humans and animal.  This is a romantic story with a little bit more added into it.  This was one of those books that is difficult to put down.  I know it's not as popular now, but I still think it was a fantastic novel to read and a great movie to watch (though I prefer the book).  It is one of those books that you find yourself on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next with Jacob and Marlena as well as with the elephant. The characters are one that will stick with you well after finishing the novel.  Rosie is as much a character as the humans were and provides humor and heart warming moments.  

The next is a series: the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilynn Kenyon.  Any one of these books would make for a great read.  I will say that the earlier novels are much better than some of the more recent ones.  The series revolves around a group of immortal warriors who live to serve Artemis and protect the world.  Each book focuses on a different hunter and him finding the love of his life and his freedom from Artemis.  What I love about this series is that it adds an interesting twist to traditional mythology that I am used to.  While there are some sex scenes, a lot of the books are action base and develop the relationships to show why each scene is so steamy and hot. I have read just about every novel in this series and find myself completely addicted to it.  Even though I didn't like the last novel, I find myself wanting to read more.

 This is one that is still on my to read list.  From the synopsis it is about a college girl who find herself drawn to the bad boy Travis who is tattooed, spends his nights fighting and charming women across campus.  he ends up making a bet with Abby that if she wins he's abstinent for a month if he wins she lives with him for a month.  Interesting bet.  I am not sure what the book holds or what type of romance novel this is.  I am interested in seeing what it holds, and look forward to checking it out, so you may see a review of it in the future!  If you happen to have read it or read it soon, let me know what you think of it.

There are many great novels out there that it's hard to touch upon all of them and give an adequate recommendation for novels of any genre.  These are just a few that I have enjoyed and one that I am looking forward to reading.  What are some romance novels you would recommend?  Leave your recommendations in the comments.

Happy Reading!

Dragonmark

Illarion is a dragon, who was force to become human, and then again forced to serve those same humans as a mount during their battles.  Understandably he becomes bitter as he is separated from his dragonkin and everything he ever knew.  He then is forced into the fey realm where he looses the one woman he loved...


Where do I begin with this one.  I couldn't give a more detailed synopsis because I honestly did not finish the book and that saddens me greatly.  I have been a fan of Kenyon since Fantasy Lover and all the way through the other Dark Hunter novels, but this...this book was shear crap and not up to the standards that I have held Kenyon.  This is probably her worst novel yet.  It is LITERALLY copy and paste from other books.  There were chapters from Dragonsbane and Son of No One.  Oh you might think those sections were rewritten with Illarion's point of view WRONG!  He was barely in his own book!  I actually pulled my copies of Son of No One and Dragonsbane from my shelf and compared the three....word for word the same info from those books in this one.  It is not an original story so to speak.  Honestly how dare Kenyon do this to her readers.


I cannot in good conscience recommend this book to anyone.  I don't even want to rate the book, so 0 out of 5 because there was no effort in this.  Granted in the past we have seen scene from other stories in with other books like Acheron, but never has she copied and pasted verbatim.  The scenes were always rewritten from the view of Acheron or whatever hunter the book was about.  I couldn't be more disappointed in this author.  This may be the book that makes me no longer read her work.

The Magic Queen

Baba Yaga has a reputation as a baby eating, ruthless badass witch.  Finding love has never been on her list of things to do with her life.  She was content with the way things were.  Until Calypso and Aphtodite decided to play a little matchmaking game.  Now Baba is psir with Freyr a god of sex and lust as they battle five other "couples".  The goal?  To fall in love and proclaim their love for one another before the deadline or they will be punished.  Will Freyr break through her tough exterior or will Baba be too stubborn to admit that to love doesn't mean weakness.

I got interested in this book based on the fact that it involved Baba Yaga.  For those unfamiliar, Bsba Yaga is a figure in Russian/Slovak folklore as a witch with iron teeth.  Many stories have her as having two sisters also named Baba Yaga, others have her having three forms.  It is said that she hold power over the elements and is the goddess of wisdom and death even though she isn't a goddess.  I find her to be a fascinating character and was happy to see her used in a story.  This story uses her in the form of having three forms to which Aphrodite and Calypso requests she be in maiden form for the "games."  We do see the crone form at another point in the story, but not the mother, which part of me wishes we had.  It would have added a different dimension to the story.

I enjoyed the romantic build up of their relationship even if it was far from romantic, but their banter back and forth was adorable.   There was a scene where Freyr was a frog in her bodice that made me laugh of loud.  The beginning of the stort takes a while to build up and really take off.  I almost wanted a little more of the battles, especially with the Pied Piper, but I understand why there wasn't more.  The dialog was well done, as I said the banter between them was funny and when theygot serious it was believable.

I  enjoyed the general concept of the story and the idea that love isn't a weakness, or allowing oneself to be vulnerable in order to allow love to enter into our lives.  I loved seeing her becoming soft and growing love in the beginning with Phlegm, and agreeing to the challenge that Freyr poses to her after their first battle.  There seems to be a lot happening in the story, but it all works well together and doing feel forced or unnatural.  When you read this book you not only get a story, but you get transplanted into different worlds as each battle takes place and have a front row seat to the love forming between Baba Yaga and Freyr.

Would I recommend this book?  Yes, I think anyone who enjoys fantasy, romance, and folklore would enjoy this book.  It was something different and unique to some of the other books I have read recently.  I give this a 4 out of 5 and hope others enjoy it as well.

 

 

Firefly Hollow

Sarah had a plan for her future,  but while away at school the tragic death of her father forces her to rearrange her plans.  Her family's land borders the land of the Campbell's and she was not supposed to go on their land, but she discovered a swimming hole that is perfect to read and reflect.  Owen Campbell has taken over his family's estate and has a secret about himself he wishes no one to know about, but keeping his secret is harder with Sarah around.  His attempts to keep her at bay seem futile.  Both are faced with new realities they need to come to terms with.

I'm not 100% sure how i feel about this book. I had a really hard time getting into it and believing in the characters. They seemed cookie cutter characters,  not that that is a bad thing, but it was hard to relate to them and feel a connection.  The characters are not one sided there is a lot of depth to them, probably the sister Kathy most of all.  We see them all experience a wide range of emotions throughout the novel.  I'm not sure why i couldn't get behind these characters.

The story is well right enough.  There were moments when i knew i was being told a story rather than watching it unfold before my eyes.  We do watch as their relationship grows from the awkward meetings to something more...um..steamy.  It was an interesting read, just not exactly what i was expecting.  It was a sweet story, and I can see people falling in love with the characters.  Haddix does a good job presenting the characters and their conflicts.  I wanted to see the story build up a little more, more of the shifting involved like with him visiting her as a deer.  I thought that was cute and almost hoped for a little more or him saving her as a wolf.  The sex scenes are very descriptive and are not for those who love a clean romance. As I said, things get steamy.

I do recommend the novel, it may not have tickled my fancy, but someone else who enjoys romance novels  may enjoy it.   My rating would be a 3 out 5.  I have not decided if I will check out the other books in the series, I guess we will have to wait and see.

 

The Wrong Girl

Hannah is the companion to the earl's daughter, who can mysteriously start fires with her hands.  Often she feels trapped within her affliction of narcolepsy as well as within the confines of the home.  She longs for freedom and the ability to experience life.  What she didn't want was to be mistaken for the earl's daughter and kidnapped.  Those who kidnap her try to convince her all they want to do is help her and she is not their prisoner.  But what they don't know is that they had taken the wrong girl.  What will happen when they find out the girl they took is not who they thought she was?


This book was far from what I was expecting, I am not entirely sure of what exactly I was expecting with this novel.  It starts off weird with Hannah being forced to live in the attic with the earl's daughter, Violet.  Kidnappers mistake Hannah for Violet and Hannah decides to play along.  One of the kidnappers Jack can start fires as well and tries to convince Hannah all they want to do is help.  Enter a little Stockholm Syndrome as Hannah falls in love with Jack but is afraid because she's not who he thinks she is.


What is with young adult novels having the girls fall in love with their kidnappers especially ones with a temper?  Seriously what kind of image is that portraying to young women? This isn't the first book that I have read that has this happening.  Couldn't there be someone else they fall in love with?  That being said, the story itself is slow moving like molasses slow, but once you get about half way it gets a little better, but not much.  The end leaves readers with more questions than answers which I guess could leave the door open for the next novels (this is the first in a trilogy).  There were times I felt lost at what was happening and I couldn't find myself getting attached or caring too much about the characters.


I enjoyed it enough to be able to finish it, but I don't know if I can say I enjoyed it enough to read the next books in the series.  Another reviewer on Amazon by the name of Dani described the book as X-Men meets Jane Eyre, which I agree would be an amazing concept (someone write that please), but it doesn't execute that theory quite as well as it could have.  So, I don't think I would recommend this book to too many people unless I know they would enjoy a book like this, primarily young adults, as for a rating, I'm stuck at a solid 3 out 5 for this one.  It fell short of the mark for me.

Banshee's Embrace

Jacqueline is confused at what is happening to her after a strange attack.  She should have died, but her husband sacrificed his life for hers.    Strangely, since then she is drawn to death, moreover she can see when it is coming for someone.  Even stranger is the urge to sing for those who are dying.  All of this happening to her becomes disturbing and affects her emotions.  Jacqueline meets Toby who has been charged with keeping an eye on her, as he knows the truth about her banshee origins, and how rare half-banshees are.  While they are rare, if in the wrong hand she can be a very powerful weapon, and Toby must work to help keep her safe from those who want to use her.  Jacqueline finds herself falling in love with Toby when she is kidnapped by another wizard and she must use her powers to save herself and the man she loves.

I was really excited about this book because it is something different from the typical, ghosts, vampire, werewolf, demon, angel stories we have been seeing all too often.  The idea of the main character being a banshee had a lot of potential for me and I had very high expectations for something unique.  That being said the book was very well written and entertaining, but it didn’t hit the mark for me.  The beginning was rather confusing and seemed to stumble a bit as it gives readers a back story of Jacqueline.  But once you get about 25% through, the story really picks up and begins to fly.

The book is paranormal romance, I would have personally enjoyed it without the romance aspect to it. I know sometimes it adds depth to the characters and gives them something more than her being a banshee and him a wizard trying to save her, but sometimes it also takes away from the story.  It almost feels like it began to take away from the story.  The romance didn’t help build a connection to the readers, nor did it seem to be natural.  The book unfortunately does not stand out as all that fantastic to me, yes it is a good read and a great way to spend an afternoon.  But there isn’t much that is making me excited to read the next book or hold on to the characters the way I do with another book.

Would I recommend this novel, sure. I think there are people who would greatly appreciate the story and get enjoyment out of it.  As for a rating, I would give this a 3 out of 5 star rating for the reason that it’s didn’t grasp me and hold on, and I have forgotten most it shortly after reading it.

Inferno By Sherrilyn Kenyon

Oh my do I love Sherrilyn Kenyon's novels.  She is one of my top favorite authors, right beside Kim Cormack.  Inferno is the fourth book in the Chronicles of Nick series and boy is it a great book!  Nick is still learning to deal with his Malachi powers and how to deal with Kody being sent to kill him when another entity begins entering his head calling itself the "Harvester." Through everything happening to him, Nick must learn how to not allow hatred to enter his heart or else that will be the end of him, and possibly the world as we know it.  Soon Nick finds himself in yet another battle, but with an ally he never expects to have.  Continue the epic series and see what happens to Nick next and where his journey takes him.

While reading the Dark Hunter series, Nick was one of my favorite side characters, and with his series he is quickly becoming one of my favorite main characters.  There is some much being through at this poor kid that it is a wonder he still has the strength to wake up every day.  As the novel progresses Kenyon lets out little tidbits of information about Nick, his father, and his friends that keep the readers entertained, surprised and eager for more.  Nick is probably one of the strongest teenaged leads I have read about in a long time.  He does complain a bit about things, but who wouldn't?  At the same time he takes his responsibilities and changes seriously.  He does what he can to protect the ones he loves and learn how to remain the man he is and not become the man he was designed to become.

As with most of her books, Kenyon has a strong balance between action, history, backstory, and romance.  We see a lot of character develop, not only individually but also as friends.  I appreciated seeing more of Caleb and Acheron in this novel.  Knowing what I know about Ash's and Nick's relationship in the future, it breaks my heart to see their friendship developing and cultivating (I almost dread the novel in this series that portrays their future).  Inferno gives us a little more backstory on Caleb and Kody both and how they came to be involved in Nick's life.  I enjoy when authors add backstories to their supporting characters because then we get insight into them and how they interact with the main character.  Kenyon does a wonderful job at this in all her books.

There is a lot of action and information thrown at the reader at once.  One may think this is a bad thing, but it isn't.  It works for the story line to have thrown at you as your read the way things are thrown at Nick as he progresses through his change.  I cannot wait to pick up the fifth book and find out what Kenyon has in store for Nick next.  I give this book a 3.5 out of 5, it didn't seem to stack up to the other books by Kenyon that I have read.  There seemed to be something lacking, but I am not sure what it is.

Darkest Whisper

Title: Darkest Whisper by Gena Showalter
Media source: Paperback

Rating 3.5 out of 5

Recommendation: Add this to your collection if you enjoy paranormal romance, mythology and sexy male characters.

Darkest Whisper is the fourth book in the Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter.  It is not necessary to read them in order, but highly recommended as the later novels mentions things from previous novels.

Sabin is the Keeper of Doubt, a demon who thrives off of pulling a person's doubts and insecurities to the surface and making them suffer.  When Sabin meets Gwen; a harpy who was imprisoned by the Hunters; he wishes Doubt would remain silent even for a moment.  He wishes he could keep this woman he slowly falls in love with.  Gwen is a harpy who fears and dislikes her Harpy aspects, she needs to learn how to accept and control her harpy before she loses control and does something she regrets later.  The Lords are still hunting for Pandora's box and fighting the war with the Hunters; having a harpy on their side could be a huge advantage, soon they find out the origins of Gwen's father, one that shocks everyone even Gwen.

I have mixed feelings about this novel.  It was as compelling as the other Lord's stories, but something seemed to be missing in this one.  Gwen was depicted as being so timid and meek, and yet she stands up to Sabin's demon.  There seemed to be a conflict within that portion of the story.  I wasn't thrilled with Sabin becoming weaker because of Gwen, he became a different warrior while the others became stronger.  It wasn't until the end that readers see him becoming stronger, could that have been from  his demon, I don't know.  If it was, it wasn't brought out well enough.  In other books the demon would become possessive over the female as much as the warrior did, this novel the demon wanted to attack her more and then eventually became afraid of her.  I enjoyed seeing the demon itself reacting differently and opposite of itself, but it almost seemed weak that the demon would instantly give up and go hide rather than fight against Gwen's Harpy side.

The pace is a bit slower than some of the other novels, I found myself wanting it to go faster and wanting to get to different parts faster.  Some elements began to feel all too convenient such as the truth to who Gwen's father is (I don't want to give things away).  I have to wonder do all the women who belong to the Lord need to have some relevance to their quest? There are some characters who get mentioned briefly, whom I want more of such as Amun, I want his story and this novel just increased that desire.   I also enjoyed the addition of a new creature, the Harpy and the mythos behind them becoming something different within this novel.  Gena does a great job at making things her own.  Would I continue to read the series?  You betcha!  Would I continue to recommend it to others?  Of course!!  While I found somethings lacking in this novel, it was still fantastic and had some sexy moments.  it was a great novel and I look forward to reading more from Showalter.

Darkest Craving

Title: Darkest Craving by Gena Showalter  (book 10 in the Lord of the Underworld Series)
Media Source: Paperback
Rating 3.5 out of 5

Darkest Craving the 10th book in the Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter.  It is a paranormal romance novel that follows the story of Kane: Keeper of disaster.  Wherever he goes disaster strikes, either to himself or those around him.

Kane is the keeper of Disaster, and he wants nothing more than to rid of the demon.  He longs for love, but anytime he gets close to a woman his demon acts up.  Whenever Disaster is "hungry" or upset he causes disaster to happen all around Kane.  Josephina is a member of the royal Fae family, well partly a member.  She desperately wants to be rid of her family and the life she lives in the Fae Kingdom.  She rescues Kane from the depths of Hell in hopes of convincing him to kill her.  Little did she expect to fall for the handsome Lord.  Kane struggles to avoid the Fate's prediction that he would cause the apocalypse, as well as marrying the keeper of Irresponsibility as he wants Josephina (aka Tinker Bell).  A whirlwind tale of romance and adventure erupts from the very beginning and continues until the end.

Gena Showalter is a compelling storyteller, but this novel does not display her talent as well as the others.  She takes the mythology of Pandora's box and weaves it into her own tales with the Lords of the Underworld.  She continues that with Kane's story.  We had glimpses of Kane throughout the previous novels, glimpses that made readers want his story and to see how his demon effects him as we've seen the other demons reacting in other books.  I was surprised Disaster reacted significantly different than some of the other demons in the previous books.  In the past the demons in the books acted out towards the Keeper, such as Reyes needed to harm himself rather than the people around him harming others, but with Disaster (and also Disease: Torin) the demon not only acts out towards him but others around him.  Which makes sense that he could possibly be the bringer of the apocalypse.

In this book we are introduced to some more mythical creatures such as the phoenix as well as Fae.  As with the legend of Pandora's Box, Gena Showalter makes the creatures her own.  I especially enjoyed the idea of each Fae having a different power rather than everyone having the same one.  In Jospehina's case she had two, one she could project herself to a different place while remaining in another, two with a touch she could take on the powers of the person she touches.  My inner geek immediately thought of Rogue from X-Men, so that is the image I now have of Josephina.  I thought this power would have been used in a different way throughout the story, but what Showalter does with it and how it is used was unexpected. 

Throughout the book, the story diverges to discuss some of the other Lords, briefly introducing us to their stories such as Torin and Cameo.  It is almost like a little teaser, giving readers a taste of what's to come in their books.  Smart movie Showalter!  We also get a small glimpse of another Sent One towards the end. A Sent One is kind of like an angel, but not entirely.  Something else Showalter makes her own.  After seeing a Sent One or two in previous, I want more from them.  I want to read their stories; could that possibly be her plans for the future?  One can only hope. These side characters are what helped bring the rating up slightly.  The character development of Kane and Josephina were highly lacking, if anything they backtracked.  The Fae started out a this kick ass woman who stole the powers of a phoenix, but then regressed into the victim mentality unwilling to fight for herself because she was afraid of the consequences.  Didn't seem like the Tinker Bell we met in the beginning.  And Kane, he seems to be the weakest of the Lords.  While the others find ways to control their demons, Kane allows his demon to control him even to the point of changing his eyes as the demon comes to the surface.  Is there a reason for this?

While there were points during the novel where the story seemed to slow down in pace and just drag on, or moments which seemed a little too cliché, this was a phenomenal book.  I enjoy everything I have read from this author and Darkest Craving was no different.  While I look forward to her next book I am a little weary about how well written it would be.  Hopefully I won't be too disappointed.

Recommendation: Darkest Craving is a paranormal romance novel.  It satisfies the craving for more from the Lords, as well as slight romance and adventure.

Styxx

"Styxx"  (Dark Hunters):  Sherrilyn Kenyon;  media source: paperback.  Rating 5 out of 5 stars.

We have all met Styxx throughout the other novels, but never got his story, nor completely understand him.  I don't know about other readers but I have always wondered what made him the man he was.  Who was Styxx really other than Acheron's twin brother?  We never seen him for who he truly was, until now.  There is so much that happens in this novel that it would take forever to give you a synopsis.

In order to protect her son, Acheron's mother had another goddess hide his unborn body into the womb of a queen.  A queen who happened to have already been pregnant which her own child.  When the two boys were born, there was a visible difference between the two.  One was marked as a god, Acheron.  The other was not marked.  When Styxx's father seen Ash, he accused his wife of infidelity and disowned Acheron as his son.  In doing so he also marked distrust and hatred towards Styxx.  Xerxes find ways to punish Acheron for whatever he felt is disrespectful or other things deserving of a punishment.  Unknown to him, Styxx felt everything that Acheron felt. Styxx spent his time agonizing over Acheron as kids, even more so after Acheron was sent away to live with their uncle.  An uncle who did unspeakable things to Acheron.  Styxx quickly learned of these things, when Estes decides to "break Styxx in" he learns exactly how bad things were for Acheron.  throughout his lie Styxx gets tortured by various gods in various ways, mainly Apollo who marks him as his own.  Then Apollo marries his sister and his life is made even more miserable.  Who would have thought that Styxx' life would be seen as miserable.

All the while Styxx falls in love with a beautiful woman he meets by the river, but he doesn't reveal who he truly is and we learn that both are keeping secrets.  Throughout the novel he meets up with
her secretly  slowly building a life together.  He goes to war where he is miraculously the only general to have success against the Atlantians.  Throughout the novels gods and men alike pin after Styxx and he can hear those thoughts.  Left over residual from being born alongside Acheron?  Flash forward a bit.  Someone kills Styxx's sister and Apollo is furious and both Ash and Styxx are killed (are they really?) Apolloymi (Ash's dear mother) goes crazy and kill or turns the gods and goddesses of her pantheon into statues.  Again a lot happens throughout the novel, too much to give a detailed synopisis of what happens, so I am leaving some things, but that gives you all the more reason to read the novel.


So Styxx dies, but not really cause he can only die if Ash dies and well, Ash can't die.  Flash forward a bit more and Styxx is greeted by Dionysus and another god of the Celtic pantheon.  Both want Styxx' help to kill Acheron which he gladly jumps at. Of course they are unable to follow through with their plan, but end up angering Acheron and we see just what that man in capable of.  As we go on Styxx is miserable with the loss of his beloved Beth and their unborn child, but makes a friend in one of Acheron's warriors: Urian.  Off and on Styxx is asked to help Acheron, which he does for various reasons.    Through deductive reasoning Simi; Acheron's Charonte demon realizes who Styxx's beloved is and tries to reunite them cause all hell to break loose.  Styxx is happy again, he finds out the true reason he can hear the thoughts of those around him, as well who Urian truly is.

There is a ton that happens as I said a few times throughout this, and it is a rather thick book, but it is an AMAZING book.  I loved the Acheron focused installment of the series, and I love this one just as much.  Kenyon quickly became one of my favorite authors and she never ceases to amaze me.  The novel is full of strong emotions radiating off the pages from Styxx.  Who knew he was such a passionate character?  We didn't really see that in the glimpses of him that we have seen thus far.  This story paired with Acheron shows there are always two sides to a story.  The twins hated each other for what they thought the other felt and thought, when what they perceived was not the truth.  Styxx' character endures so much throughout the novel  he becomes a completely different character by the end of the novel than he was in the beginning.  We watch as he becomes broken down, but picks himself back up again.  He is not the spiteful conniving character we tend to think he is, far from it. 

From the moment I picked up my first book from Kenyon I was hooked, I believe I have all her novels including those from the League series, though I am missing some of those.  I cannot get enough of her writing, she is simply amazing. She gives us characters that we continuously want more from.  After reading Styxx and Acheron, I kind of want a novel on Ryssa (the sister) as well as Urian, among so many others.  I cannot wait to get my hands on another one of her novels.  If you haven't read any of her novels yet, not just Styxx, do so.  You will not be disappointed.

MoonGlow

Moonglow: Kristen Callihan; Darkest London series; release date 2012
                    paranormal romance: source: Paperback
Rating 4 out of 5 stars

Summary: With the death of her husband, Daisy Ellis can finally live the life she desires, one with freedom to do as she pleases.  Until suddenly a series of mysterious murders come knocking on her door causing her to narrowly miss being attacked by a creature thought to be lore: a werewolf.  This causes her to fall into the arms of someone even more mysterious for safety: Ian Ranulf.  Ian tries to live his life hiding from society, almost in a hermit like nature. He is the Marques of Northrup, but there are times when it seems as though he wishes he could be of a different heritage.

But the murders that are sweeping through London are threatening to expose his deepest secrets he longs to hide. Ian and Daisy work together to quickly find the source behind the dreadful murders: the identity of the werewolf.  As they do so and are in close proximity to one another, they being to fall in love.  Although both are hiding things from one another, could those secrets be more dangerous to each other than the terror that threatens the night?  Daisy's sister Miranda and her husband Archer (formerly a good friend of Ian) know the secrets Ian is desperately trying to hide. Could their knowledge expose Ian to Daisy before he is ready to reveal who he truly is?


Review:  This is a novel I won from a giveaway at Goodreads; and I have to say if I did not win the novel I would have gone out and bought it. I went out and bought her other novel Firelight right after I read this one.  Callihan takes us into the darkest streets of London (hence the series name duh).  Both of her main characters have a secret and their own horrid past they are desperately trying to hide from the world and in turn each other.  Ian, himself, fights a daily war with himself regarding his secrets and his past.  But could that be his ultimate downfall?

The plot to the story was rather interesting in itself.  Murders being done by a werewolf we have seen before in different formats.  Werewolves are nothing new, and I admit I thought "not another werewolf story." She takes something so familiar and changes it into something of her own, and makes it seem new.  In "Moonglow", this werewolf's motive is simply killing women who have the same scent.  One that he is drawn to for one reason or another (and no I won't tell you because that just takes away from you reading it).  It was well written and well thought out, she stands her own ground in this genre and does a phenomenal job at it.

The story she creates captivates her audience from beginning to end, and then leaves them wanting more.  She had added to my addiction to not only reading, but also paranormal romance.  Once you open the book you step into a new world, or rather a new London.  I enjoye reading this novel and suggest it to others and look forward to reading more of her work.

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