REVIEW: Kiss of Darkness by Deborah Cooke

Kiss of Darkness

(Dragonfire #9.2)

by: Deborah Cooke

3.5 HEARTS

From Deborah Cooke's Website

Damien, the Heartbreaker of the dragon warriors called the Pyr,can’t forget Petra, the only woman who could both captivate him and destroy him. He’s haunted by their firestorm, the prophecy that compelled him to leave her—and her subsequent death. When the darkfire crystal takes the Dragon Legion to the underworld, Damien seizes the chance to save his son. To his surprise he finds Petra just as enticing as ever...and still pregnant. When his kiss makes their baby stir to life again, they both hope for a different future. Can they learn from the past and trust each other? Even if they solve the riddle of the prophecy, will they be able to escape the underworld, save their son and claim the promise of the firestorm?

Even if I have been out of the world of the Pry for a while, every time I pick up a story about them, I feel like I never left. They are just so captivating, and each one’s story is so different. It’s always an adventure with them.

And of course finding your mate and son in the most devastating and highly unlikely of places alwaysmakes for an interesting time.

Damien was very much a wounded soul. He left his original time under less than good circumstances, his heart hurting, only to be trapped for hundreds of years as a tooth. When the Darkfire drops him off in a very inaccessible place, he knows what he must do. At first, he is rather hard on Petra. She hurt him and he believed she would be his destruction. Since he left her all those years ago, he has tried to fill the void she left with many things, all of which left him hollow. He became detached from his heart and his emotions. When he finds Petra again, they come flying back like a whirlwind. He’s thrown for a loop, unsure as to what to believe, their past no longer what he believed it to be. He was determined to know the truth, to show Petra that she could believe in him again, and to prove that even though they both made mistakes, true love is never lost.

Petra has spent countless years in this godforsaken place, bored and trapped. She made mistakes. She acted on impulse. But she never thought she’d have ended up where she was because of it all. When Damien reenters her life, she’s both excited and angry. He betrayed her, her hurt her deeply, and he left her when she thought he of all people would understand. Despite that, she wasn’t about to let him be condemned with her. She had an inner strength that was beyond compare. She was fiery when angered and passionate when enflamed. She stood up for herself and would accept no less than what she felt she deserved. She was willing to take responsibility for her actions and sacrifice much for the lives of those she loved. She was very powerful and very sincere, and always led with her heart.

After a very disappointing first installment of this 3-part novella series, I was very happy this one turned out to be so good. I enjoyed Damien and Petra’s journey of forgiveness, love, and rescue. It just goes to prove that things may be damaged, but they are not always irreparable.

There really is something about dragons that is so magical.

Hotness Rating
2 out of 5

REVIEW: Reburn by Anne Marsh

Reburn

(The Hotshots #1)

by Anne Marsh

3.5 HEARTS

From Goodreads

Not every man knows how to put out a fire. Fewer know when to keep it burning. . .

He Battles The Flames. . .

Nobody messes with Sam Clayton--or his territory. The big bruising ranger is the last line of defense in forest infernos and he'll go up against anyone who gets in the way of putting them out. Even the FBI tracking a terrorist through the heart of a blaze. But when Sam discovers the agent is ex-lover Olivia Albert, saving himself will be more dangerous than any fire he's faced before. . .

She Lives For The Heat. . .

Olivia needs Sam's help to survive the heat, but when it comes to keeping her quarry from detonating a major strike, this Bureau agent is calling the shots. Except when Sam's hard body and expert hands are reigniting a second chance that could be hot enough to burn forever. .

Reburn is the first book in The Hotshots series by Anne Marsh. This book had a great premise and showed lots of promise it just never quite got there for me. I'm hoping it just suffered a bit from "first book in the series" syndrome and the next books will be more.

Olivia Albert will stop at nothing to get her man. She has earned her stellar reputation as an FBI agent. She always apprehends the guy she's after. That's how she has found herself deep in the forest searching for a terrorist right in the middle of a forest fire. She would never want to put her men in danger, but she just keeps pushing knowing the "bad guy" is just around the corner. Falling down an embankment she's in deep trouble and not sure that she's pushed too far and put herself in danger.

Sam Clayton fights fire and he's damned good at what he does. That's why when he gets the word that he has an FBI agent right in the middle of the drama he can't help, but get mad. Not only is he putting himself in danger, but now Sam, too. Imagine his surprise when he not only finds out the FBI agent isn't a man as he originally thought, but it's none other than Olivia Albert; the girl he had a summer romance with and has never been able to forget. Now, he not only has to get her out of the fire safely, but deal with a terrorist hell bent on destroying them, all the while fighting the attraction that has never cooled.

She'd been his first, and now she'd be his last and best.

I really liked both characters and the story was a solid one. I just never got to the point where the couple seemed "made for each other". The words were there about the attraction, but I never felt it. That being said the book is a good read and I wouldn't be opposed to reading the next in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley.com for the loan of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Heat Rating
3 out of 5 

ARC REVIEW: Christmas on 4th Street by Susan Mallery

Christmas on 4th Street

(Fool's Gold #12.5)

by: Susan Mallery

3.5 HEARTS

From Goodreads

There's nowhere better to spend the holidays than with New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery in the town of Fool's Gold, where love is always waiting to be unwrapped... Noelle Perkins just got a second chance at life, and she intends to make the most of every minute. That's why she ditched a frustrating legal career to open her own store in Fool's Gold, California. The Christmas Attic celebrates everything that's magical about her favorite season. Business is booming, and as a bonus, gorgeous army doctor Gabriel Boylan has offered to help out during the holiday rush.

Gabriel's memories of Christmas past contain more sour grapes than sugar plums, thanks to a drill sergeant father who ran his home like a boot camp. Spending the holidays with his family while he recuperates from injury sounds as appetizing as last year's eggnog. Still, there are some enjoyable distractions in town, including sunny, sexy Noelle...and the red-hot mistletoe kisses they can't stop sharing.

Gabriel didn't think he was made for happily-ever-afters. But when fate hands you a love as sweet and surprising as this, only a fool could refuse....

Overall this was a good story, but it just lacked the usual connection I get from Mallery's books. I liked Noelle and Gabriel. They had a beautiful story, a good relationship, I was disconnected.

Noelle is the type of person I could get along beautifully with. She was carefree and happy, and it was contagious. Nothing got her down for long. She kept her head high and took life as if it could disappear at any moment. She lived for the day and never let an opportunity pass her by. Her personality and outlook on life was the perfect complement to Gabriel. He gave her a reason to take a chance again, even if it may not have been the type of chance she hoped for. She was missing something in her life, and she found it in the most unexpected person.

Gabriel is a very exhausted and beaten down man. His life is not one he wishes to share with anyone. It's disturbing, horrifying, and very very dark. He never realized how broken he was because of it until he came to Fool's Gold and met the most remarkable woman in Noelle. Everything bad in his life was forgotten in the midst of her happiness and joy. She made him forget his life and relax. She allowed him to see the brighter side of life that he had been denying himself for so long. She healed him in a way he never expected, or believed, and she made him realize that he really could have happiness and love.

This is a very cute holiday story. I wish I would have connected to the characters more, but it was still a story worth reading. Although some of it was rather sad at times, overall it was a story of two forgotten souls finding each other and falling in love.

**ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hotness Rating
 3 out of 5

  

ARC REVIEW: So Tough to Tame by Victoria Dahl

So Tough to Tame

(Jackson #3)

by: Victoria Dahl

3.5 HEARTS

From Goodreads

Tough to tame, but not too tough to love... Charlie Allington is supposed to be on the fast track to the top-a small-town girl who was making it big in her career. Instead, she's reeling from a scandal that's pretty much burned all her bridges. Now, out of options, she needs a place to lick her wounds and figure out her future. True, working at a ski resort in rugged Jackson Hole, Wyoming, isn't her dream job. But if there's one perk to coming back, it's a certain sexy hometown boy who knows how to make a girl feel welcome.

Cowboy Walker Pearce never expected a grown-up Charlie to be temptation in tight jeans. She's smart and successful-way out of league for a man like him. But he's not about to let that, or his secrets, get in the way of their blazing-hot attraction. Yet when passion turns to something more, will the truth-about both of them-send her out of his life for good...or into his arms forever?

Yet another author first for me! I really enjoyed Walker and Charlie's story. Granted there were times I got frustrated with both of them and kinda wanted to slap them in the face with a giant fish, but for the most part I really felt for them and the different hells their lives have been. They were two very different people, yet fit so perfectly together. But some of those side characters--okay, most of them--needed to be sent to a deserted island so they could get their heads out of their asses. But that's neither here nor there.

I really liked Charlie's 'I'm-gonna-live-for-myself' type attitude throughout this book. She'd made a mistake, she knew that, and the consequences had really messed with her life--but she wasn't about to let that stop her from making he best of it. At times, however, that attitude got on my nerves, especially when it came to Walker. I can understand why she was doing it, but I still thought it was unfair. I did like that she was a very passionate woman. She wasn't afraid of who she was or her sexuality. She embraced her inner wild thing and rolled with the flow. I loved how she treated--for the most part--Walker. She never saw him as only half a man or as damaged goods. She knew what he was capable of and she showed him that. She did everything from the heart, and that made her a great heroine. 

Walker was an amazing guy, especially after what he had to go through as a child. Even after all the pain and suffering and feelings of inadequacy, he still turned out to be not only loyal, but very true to his heart. Like Charlie, he had his share of mistakes that shaped his life, but he still fought on. He might have let some things get in his way, his fear of them holding him back, but eventually he realized it and made steps to overcoming it. He was also a very passionate person, but for different reasons. He always tried to hold himself back, always thinking he was damaged goods and nobody would want him that way, but he still gave his all to everything he did. He just wanted to find acceptance, even if it was settling for something he didn't fully want. But I really loved that he was so true to himself. He grew up to be a wonderful man, and I wouldn't have wanted him any other way.

Overall I really like the connection Charlie and Walker had. It made the development of their relationship believable and I committed fully to it. The horribly mean side characters added to the drama and hells of their own personal yet intertwined lives. Everybody played a part, and that made the story so much more.

***ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hotness Rating: 
3.5 out of 5