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Review: Black Dagger Brotherhood Series

6/28/2017

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Dark Lover
​by J.R. Ward

Synopsis

The only purebred vampire left on the planet and the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who killed his parents centuries ago. But when his most trusted fighter is killed—orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate—Wrath must put down his dagger and usher the beautiful female into another world.


Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn’t there before, Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of the Brotherhood and blood frighten her. Yet his touch ignites a dawning new hunger—one that threatens to consume them both...

Review

I am a sucker for series books. I am a sucker for vampires. So, of course, J.R. Ward's The Black Dagger Brotherhood series was just the thing for me. I don't like to give away spoilers, but I do like to give enough information so that you, the reader, will be encouraged to read the book in question. So, here it goes. 

Dark Lover is the first book in Brotherhood series, and it concerns Beth who is your average woman who happens to come in contact with the neighborhood master (purebred) vampire, Wrath. There is a whole...background to these books so hopefully I do it justice without telling you everything (that's part of the fun!). 


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Okay, so - what I love about this series so far (I have only read the first three books in the series) is that each book is about a different vampire in the Brotherhood. The first book Dark Lover is about Wrath, the head of the Brotherhood and the only purebred vampire left, and Beth, the human woman he ends up falling in love with. The second book Lover Eternal is about Rhage, the member with the, um, biggest appetite. It's also about Mary, the human woman who also happens to be used to being on her own, and has no interest in looking for love. The third book Lover Awakened is about Zsadist, the most terrifying member of the Brotherhood, and the fellow vampire, Bella.

As far as I understand, the series continues this way. As someone who absolutely loves learning about characters, their backgrounds, fears, loves, etc., I LOVED this arrangement. I've heard people give Ward flack for the names of each member, and I was also surprised at how simple each name came to be. However, Ward does not skimp on each member's backgrounds. They are often horrible and excruciatingly sad. What's lovely, however, is how the women of these stories also have their backgrounds that helped shaped them, and their joining is one of two individuals. This isn't one where the female disappears and it's all about the male. I appreciated that.

There is a lot of information about the Brotherhood, and characters from previous books show up (another major plus!) in later stories. It was easy for me to keep up with the characters, and personal stories because I grew to love each of these vampires and the women who help them. Well, as much as one can love a fictional vampire. Ha.

Also, just learned that Lover Awakened is, at least in some ways, based on Beauty and the Beast (Bella, anyone?) - and I love Beauty and the Beast :D

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Review: London Belongs to Me

6/26/2017

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London Belongs to Me
by Jacquelyn Middleton

Synopsis

Alex Sinclair couldn’t jump on a plane fast enough. Broken from an unexpected betrayal, she flees sunny Florida for the Britannia cool of London—home of her favourite TV shows, plays, and fangirl heroes. Alex believes London is where she belongs, where she’ll heal old wounds, and chase her dream of writing for the theatre. Staying with her British friend Harry with barely a year’s rent money in her pocket, the clock is ticking. 

But when a wealthy rival fueled by ambition and jealousy threatens her career and a fledgling romance, Alex once again questions her self-worth—and is left wondering if London is where she truly belongs.

Review

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

​
I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. It's not that I expected anything less than good; I was sent the book for review, and I was a blank slate.

Alex Sinclair is your average, anxiety-stricken woman who has just arrived in London. She hopes to be some kind of successful with her play-writing while living with her British friend Harry (until she can make ends meet by herself). Things don't go as planned, however, when she comes to find that Harry's girlfriend is of the jealous sort and a play writer herself. 

Through some crappy and wonderful moments, Alex  finds out more about her skills, limits, fears, and....herself. She meets people who help her along the way to discovering who she is. I found this book to be a beautiful rendition of what it means to make yourself a priority in your life. It isn't selfish, and it isn't being self-centered. London Belongs to Me shows the reader that we really are able to begin again, and with a little help, find who we are meant to be.

I recommend this book to everyone, but especially anyone who is a fan of coming of age stories (Alex just graduated college), and anyone who might be at a crossroads in life. Read this and soothe your soul. 
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Review: The Billionaire Beast

6/25/2017

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The Billionaire Beast
A Billionaire Fairy Tale
by Jackie Ashenden

Synopsis


Nero hasn’t left his house in ten years—he demands the world come to him, and the world is only too happy to bend to the strong-willed billionaire. Ruthless, cold, and selfish, Nero wants for nothing and takes care of no one but himself. His last handful of assistants have left his house in tears, but the prim redhead applying for the job looks up to the task. Nero has spent his life shut within the walls he built, with no care to have more than a window to the outside world. But the fiery passion he senses beneath his reserved assistant’s exterior makes him want to break down the barriers he lives behind, and unleash the beast within.

Phoebe Taylor: Uptight. Misunderstood. Engaged. 
​

Phoebe needs the obscene amount of money that comes with being Nero’s personal assistant for one thing, and one thing only—to pay for the mounting hospital costs that her fiancee’s two-year coma continues to incur. She’s heard rumors that the de Santis beast is a force that cannot be tamed—but even she isn’t prepared to handle the smoldering intensity simmering beneath his hard shell of feral dominance. Nero is hiding something, something he is fighting with every step he takes. Yet he can’t help but stake his claim on this woman who has shaken up his life, and Phoebe can’t believe this animal of a man is the one person to ever look into her eyes and see her soul. Nero wants to keep her. He wants to devour her. And Phoebe just might let him.

Review

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second of Ashenden's books that I review. The first being The Billionaire's Virgin. Please take the time to look at that review as well as I think it may help in how I review. 

I am a true sucker for fairy tale retellings. Not just any fairy tale either; I have my favorites (e.g. Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid). So, I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to read and review The Billionaire Beast. There were some great parts, and some less than stellar parts. 

​First, what I liked. I loved that this big, powerful beast of a man cannot seem to leave his home. I will leave the reason why out of this conversation, but know that it was definitely one of my favorite touches on this story. The juxtaposition of being so powerful, but not being able to walk a step outside of your home was just so tragic in my eyes. I also quite enjoyed having Phoebe as the female protagonist as she is strong, and willing to put up with a less than gentle boss. 

Now, for what I didn't enjoy. I did not like that Phoebe had a fiancee, but I could have lived with that fact had it turned out a bit different. I felt that in order for Phoebe to enjoy Nero, the fiancee had to be portrayed a certain way to "make it okay". I really could have done without the whole "other man" business, to be honest. 

This book won't be for everyone, but I recommend it to those curious about retellings, and who love billionaire bad boy stories. 

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Review: Grave Robbers

6/15/2017

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Grave Robbers
by Matt Drabble

Synopsis

DI Lucas Grant thought that he'd seen everything that Bayport had to offer. A grim town run by a crime lord with half the police in his pocket and no one willing to take a stand.
 
But now something new is happening, something that makes no sense. Bank robbers who won't stay down despite being shot multiple times, men returning from the dead to wreak havoc and death on his streets.
 
Bayport might be a crime ridden hellhole, but it is still his town and outsiders don't get to burn it down, not without a fight.
 
Saddled with a new partner he can't trust and forced into an uneasy alliance with the criminal who ruined his town Grant will finally have to make a stand.
 
Forced to fight against the darkness he will get answers and find those responsible, wherever the truth lies and however incredible it might be.
 
GRAVE ROBBERS on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2psEzIB

Review

I'm not a huge fan of zombie things. That goes for books, television shows, and movies. Don't get me wrong - I do like Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead, and Shaun of the Dead (I see a theme?). But otherwise, the subgenre doesn't really interest me. 

With that said, I am a fan of Matt Drabble, and have had the opportunity to review some of his other books, with the last one reviewed being Gated 3. I knew he'd find a way to get me drawn into the world of zombies. Sure enough, he did just that by making this story about an outbreak of zombie-ism rather than a huge apocalypse-type of event. The zombies are almost like a side note to this story that ends up being about a lot more than just zombies. 

I am also the kind of reader that needs to enjoy the characters I'm reading. This doesn't always mean having the "nice" characters, and that's what I got in Grave Robbers. These characters are gritty, and far removed from the "perfect" characters we expect in our fiction sometimes. With that said, the characters did fit some kinds of "cookie cutter" stereotypes - but it's almost what I come to expect from horror nowadays. 

If you're not a usual reader of zombie stories, check this one out as a way to ease you into the genre. Will I read more zombie stories? Perhaps. Even if you're a hardcore reader of this sub genre - check it out for a story that doesn't fit the average formula for zombie stories. 

​About the Author

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Born in Bath, England in 1974, a self-professed "funny onion", equal parts sport loving jock and comic book geek. I am a lover of horror and character driven stories. I am also an A.S sufferer who took to writing full time two years ago after being forced to give up the day job. 

I have a career high position of 5th on Amazon's Horror Author Rank of which I am immensely proud. I was also accepted as a full member of the Horror Writers Association.

"GATED" is the 2015 Readers Favorite Gold Medal Winner. It is also a UK & US Horror Chart Top Ten Best Seller & winner of the Full Moon Awards 2014 Horror Book of the Year.

"ASYLUM - 13 TALES OF TERROR" was a US Horror Chart #5. It was also voted #5 on The Horror Novel Review's Top 10 Books of 2013 & was the Readers Favorite 2014 Gold Medal Winner for Anthology Fiction.

"ASYLUM II" was also a UK & US Horror/Anthology #1 and is the 2016 Readers Favorite Silver Medal winner for Anthology Fiction. 

"THE TRAVELLING MAN" won an Indie Book of the Day award.

"ABRA-CADAVER" was a 2015 Kindle Book Review Finalist, an Indie Book of the Day winner and the 2016 Book Excellence Award Winner for Horror Fiction.

Visit me at www.mattdrabble.com to download free short stories and the full length multi award winning novel "Abra-Cadaver" for free.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattDrabble01
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Matt.Drabble.Author/
or to sign up for a newsletter: http://mad.ly/signups/95503/join

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