Betrayed

Betrayed by PC Cast and Kristin Cast is the second in a House of Night series. Betrayed picks up right where Marked left off. Zoey Redbird is now the leader of the Dark Daughters society and must find a way to make sure the society becomes more. Zoey is also drawn not only to Erik and her ex-boyfriend Heath, but also to Loren who is a teacher at House of Night.

In Betrayed someone starts kidnapping and killing humans, which Zoey knows from her old life. Zoey even makes an unlikely friend of sorts with Aphrodite. Aphrodite is still having visions, but no one believes her because they were told by Neferet, the High Priestess, that Aphrodite no longer was seeing accurately. Zoey seems to be the only person at the school that believes anything that Aphrodite says.

There is mystery, romance, and even the death of a good friend that only makes the reader want to know what happens next in the series that much more. Chosen is the third in a House of Night series and I can't wait to start reading it!

Marked

Marked by PC Cast and Kristin Cast is the first in A House of Night novels. This book is classified as YA, and I loved it. Zoey Redbird is marked as a fledgling vampyre at age 16 and joins the House of Night, as school where she will train to become an adult vampyre. She has been given special powers by the Goddess Nyx and soon discovers that she isn't the only fledgling with special powers. Zoey is even invited to join the exclusive Dark Daughters and Sons society.

Zoey soon realizes that the current leader of the Dark Daughters, Aphrodite, is using her power to bully others around and not revealing all of the visions that she sees. Zoey also is having problems with her ex-boyfriend showing up at her new school. Zoey must look into herself for the strength to battle Aphrodite and she finds it with the help of her new friends.

PC Cast and Kristin Cast write a fabulous book that I couldn't put down. I have the next two in the series in my TBR pile and plan to start Betrayed, which is the next in the series, right away.

The Darkest Pleasure

The Darkest Pleasure is the third in the Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter. With each book, the series just gets better, as you learn more about the Lords, humans, and immortals. The Darkest Pleasure focuses on Reyes, who is the Lord or pain, and Danika Ford, who is on the run from the Lords as Aeron is trying to kill her. Reyes and Danika have been drawn to each other from their first meeting, but both have fought their feelings. Reyes because he doesn't feel that he deserves anyone good to be with him and Danika because she doesn't understand why she has such strong feelings for Reyes.

Reyes and the other Lords are in the process of finding the remaining 3 artifacts that will help them locate Pandora's box. Unknown to anyone, Danika is the key to locating one of the artifacts. She had been kidnapped by some of the Hunters searching for the Lords and even thought for a time to work with the Hunters to bring the Lords down. However, Danika's feelings for Reyes mean more to her, especially as she watches her continue to protect her over and over, even when I suspects she is talking to a Hunter.

Showalter delivers another winner and I can't wait for the next books in the Lords of the Underworld series.

Feast of Fools

Feast of Fools is the 4th in the Morganville vampire series by Rachel Caine. Vampires and humans have lived pretty peacefully in Morganville with Amelie in charge of the town. There is always a bit of a power struggle between Amelie and Oliver, but nothing of the likes to what the city sees when Bishop, Amelie's father, shows up in town.

Claire and her friends Eve, Michael, and Shane are immediately put on notice when Bishop shows up at Glass House. Bishop wants to take over Morganville and end the co-existence of the vampires and the humans. Amelie must host a formal ball to welcome Bishop to the city, and it is only at the ball where Claire realizes that Bishop will end the relatively safe living conditions in Morganville.

Caine leaves the reader wanting more and perfectly sets up the next book in the series.

One Night in Memphis

One Night in Memphis by Allie Boniface is a fast paced romance that takes place over the course of one day. Dakota James seems to attract men that are attached to other women. When her latest boyfriend, Sean McCabe doesn't finalize his divorce, she is finished with him for good. On the spur of the moment, she decides to leave her little New Hampshire town to visit her best friend Sarah in Memphis. Before she leaves, she finds a flash drive in her laptop and throws it in her purse on the way out the door. Unknown to Dakota, the flash drive contains a video of incriminating information on her ex-boyfriend Sean. When he discovers the flash drive is no longer in Dakota's apartment, he follows her to Memphis sure he can get the flash drive back with no problems.

Dakota and Sarah go with her friend Gunnar to the park to watch Gunnar play basketball and Dakota meets Ethan Meriweather briefly, but figures a chance encounter will never turn into anything. Sean even shows up at Sarah's apartment later to convince Dakota to return the flash drive. At that time, Dakota sees Sean for the person he really is and decides to never see him again. As luck would have it, Dakota and Ethan run into one another again that night in a local bar and the attraction between them builds the longer they are together.

With lots of suspense and several run-ins with Sean, Boniface gives the reader a great read with both action and adventure and romance. This was my first book by Boniface, but will continue to look for her books in the future.

Dance of Seduction

Dance of Seduction by Elle Kennedy is a wonderful quick read out in ebook format. Luke Russell is sent to find his best friend Josh's sister Ellie, who left home 6 months ago after her engagement was called off. Luke finds Ellie dancing in a jazz club run by Vivian Kendrick, who is the mother of Ellie's college roommate. Luke is immediately attracted to Ellie, but fights his attraction as he feels guilty for wanting his best friend's little sister.

Ellie decides the best way to get Luke to leave is to seduce him. Of course, she is playing with fire as she has had feelings for Luke since she was a teenager. Josh decides to come down to see what is taking so long, and runs into Vivian, who he has had feelings for since their first meeting. Vivian, who is over 15 years older than Josh is convinced that he could never be attracted to her.

Kennedy writes a wonderful love story that gives you two great romance stories in one. It was so fun to see each romance grow as the stories progressed. Another winner from Elle Kennedy!

The Darkest Kiss

The Darkest Kiss is the second in the Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter. Lucian, or Death, and Anya, goddess of anarchy are the focus of The Darkest Kiss. Showalter writes another winner with The Darkest Kiss. Lucian and Anya each are battling their feelings for one another. Lucian has never felt the attraction to another woman he feels for Anya, and Anya has never wanted to be near another man the way she must be around Lucian. Lucian is told he must kill Anya by the Titan God Cronus, but Lucian delays doing his job to the point that he is severely weakened. Anya and Lucian are also looking for artifacts that will lead them to Pandora's box. It was really fun to read how Lucian and Anya fought their attraction, and yet the reader could almost feel their true feelings coming off the pages.

Showalter keeps the reader ready for the next Lord's story. The next in the Lords of the Underworld series is The Darkest Pleasure, which is the story of Reyes, Keeper of Pain.

Whispers in the Dark

Whispers in the Dark is the first book released by Kira Sinclair. I loved it and hope the there are many more books to come from Sinclair.

Karyn Mitchell once thought she would never let another man touch her, until she listens to Dr. Desire every night on the radio. Christopher Faulkner, Dr. Desire, has built an on-air career in carnal counseling. Karyn calls in because she is still trying to get past a date rape that happened 5 years ago. She knows that having sex with Dr. Desire will make it so she can lead a normal life.

Karyn and Chris both grow over the course of the book. They both learn to first stand on their own and then to trust another person. Sinclair writes a wonderful fun and sexy book.

Acheron

Acheron is the latest and most anticipated book in the Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. As Ash has always been on of my favorite characters in the books, I couldn't wait for his book. In Acheron you learn the entire history of Acheron, from his birth to his death, and finally his re-birth. Kenyon had always let the reader know that Acheron's history was ugly, but the exact details were brutal. Ash is the son of two God's who is sent to be born as a human to save his life. Unfortunately, the humans treat him worse than any creature should ever be treated, with the exception of his sister Ryssa. Ash learns early to trust no one and they carries over into his life after his re-birth.

Once the history of Acheron is told, Kenyon brings the reader to the present, where Ash is attending a lecture at the Parthenon in Nashville to hear a lecture by Dr. Soteria Kafieri, or Tory, about the search for Atlantis. Tory has grown up with her family searching for the lost land of Atlantis. Ash comes to the lecture to discredit Tory, since he knows if the ruins of Atlantis are ever found, the world would come to an end. Tory, unlike every man and woman to come into Ash's presence, isn't immediately attracted to Ash. She actually throws a hammer at Ash upon their next meeting. Tory and her crew have found journals written by Ash's sister Ryssa that will tell not only about Ash's history, but how to kill both Apollo and Artemis. Ash doesn't want anyone to every see the journals, since it would reveal everything that ever happened to him as a human. However, he had promised Tory that he would teach her how to read the language of the journals. Ash knows, from past experience, that as soon as Tory learns anything about his past life, that she will turn away from him in disgust. Ash has never really trusted anyone in his entire life. Ash, the Weres, and the Dark-Hunters must fight to save Tory when her life is put in danger.

There is as much action and romance in Acheron as in every Dark-Hunter story by Kenyon. Once I made it through his history, which just about had me in tears, I loved watching him choose how his life would move forward. He is a very strong man who could only ever learn to trust due to the love of a very strong woman. The romance between Ash and Tory is one of the sweetest I've ever read. Ash and Tory both move slowly toward their choice of each other, but have a love that seems like it will last forever. I look forward to the next book in the Dark-Hunter series, which is Stryker's book called One Silent Night and comes out in November.

Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn is the final book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. Breaking Dawn opens the night before Bella and Edward's wedding from Bella's point of view. Meyer actually breaks the book up into 3 sections, with sections 1 and 3 from Bella's point of view and 2 being from Jacob's point of view. I struggle to say more than I absolutely loved Breaking Dawn, as I don't want to give anything away about the book. Meyer had me laughing out loud many times and a couple of the twist and turns even caught me by surprise. You do get to see more about the characters of Jacob, Edward, and Bella and I really think it only made the book better.

I highly recommend Breaking Dawn to anyone who loves the Twilight series. Although the Twilight series is classified as a YA book, anyone who enjoys reading a great story will love this series.

The Darkest Night

The Darkest Night is the first book in the Lords of the Underworld by Gena Showalter. Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past her entire life. She is in Budapest for work and hears of some men who are rumored to have supernatural abilities, who she believes can help her with the voices she hears. The first of these men she meets in Maddox, their most dangerous member, who has the demon Violence trapped within him. As soon as Ashlyn is around Maddox all the voices from the past stop immediately. Maddox and the other Lords believe that Ashlyn is Bait for the Hunters that have been searching for the Lords for centuries. However, Maddox is so completely drawn to Ashlyn, and promises anyone who touches her death. Ashlyn, who has never had a family, is strangely Maddox and feels like she is home for the first time in her life surrounded by the Lords.

Showalter writes a winning story with lots of passionate romance and a bit of mystery to keep the reader turning the pages. Right now only the first 3 in the series are published, but I hope that each of the Lord of the Underworld will get their own story as Maddox and Ashlyn's story made me a Showalter reader for life.