Bite Me, Try Me & Fang Me

The Demon Underground Series

Parker Blue

Bell Bridge Books

From the Publisher:

Eighteen-year-old Valentine Shapiro got a raw deal in the parent lottery. Her father was part incubus demon, and her mother's never forgiven her for that. Thrown out of the house by her mother, Val does the only thing that seems to make any sense—she takes aim at the town vampires. A stake a day keeps the demon at bay. Soon enough, she finds herself deep in the underbelly of the city, discovering the secrets of the Demon Underground with the help of her faithful hellhound, Fang, and fighting to save those she loves. Whether they love her back or not.
IMO:
I couldn't read this fast enough!  I really loved Val and Fang and had the overwhelming urge to smack her mom.  Val gets kicked out of her home, gets a job with the paranormal branch of the San Antonio police and discovers other part demon residents of the city.  It's a lot for an 18 year old to absorb on their birthday!

From the Publisher:
This part-demon teen vampire fighter and her faithful terrier hellhound are once again patrolling the dark streets of San Antonio, Texas. Val's hunky human partner, Detective Dan Sullivan, is giving her the cold shoulder since she beheaded his vampire fiancée. Vamp leader Alejandro is struggling to keep the peace between vamps, demons and humans. The mucho powerful Encyclopedia Magicka has been stolen, someone in the Demon Underground is poisoning vamps, and Val's inner lust demon, Lola, is getting very restless since Val's now partnered with sexy Shade, the shadow demon with the blond good looks of an angel.

IMO: Couldn't put it down!!  Dan needed a swift kick in the pants in this story, but Shade was...WOW!!!  There was plenty of action and teen angst in this story.  I love that Val can be confused and unsure but still able to function and accomplish so much!


From the Publisher:
This part-demon teen vampire fighter and her faithful terrier hellhound are once again patrolling the dark streets of San Antonio, Texas. Val's hunky human partner, Detective Dan Sullivan, is giving her the cold shoulder since she beheaded his vampire fiancée. Vamp leader Alejandro is struggling to keep the peace between vamps, demons and humans. The mucho powerful Encyclopedia Magicka has been stolen, someone in the Demon Underground is poisoning vamps, and Val's inner lust demon, Lola, is getting very restless since Val's now partnered with sexy Shade, the shadow demon with the blond good looks of an angel.

IMO: I am thrilled that Parker Blue keeps adding to this series!  I love Val and Fang and can't wait to see what adventures they get up to in the next story.  The only bad thing about this book is that I have to wait until next spring to see what happens next!!

Good Girls Don't

Victoria Dahl
HQN

From the Publisher:


Too much of a good thing…
 
 With her sun-kissed hair and sparkling green eyes, Tessa Donovan looks more like the girl next door than
a businesswoman—or a heartbreaker. Which may explain why Detective Luke Asher barely notices her when he
arrives to investigate a break-in at her family’s brewery. He’s got his own problems—starting with the fact that
his partner, Simone, is pregnant and everyone thinks he’s the father.
Tessa has her hands full, too. Her brother’s playboy ways may be threatening the business, and the tension could tear her tight-knit family apart. In fact, the only thing that could unite the Donovan boys is seeing a man come after their baby” sister. Especially a man like Luke Asher. But Tessa sees past the rumors to the man beneath. He’s not who people think he is—and neither is she.

IMO:
This is the first book in a trilogy of the Donovan siblings.  I will definitely be checking the remaining two stories out!
Tessa is definitely a candidate for not judging a book by its cover.  On the surface she is girl next door, but underneath she is part peace-keeper, part temptress, and all woman.  Luke is a man who can't get away from his past-even things that happen to him halfway across the country follow him nibbling at his reputation.  Both Tessa and Luke have issues with trust, and Tessa's need to protect her brother's from, well, everything means that her little fibs are growing and multiplying and quickly burying Tessa in the after effects.  It takes quite a bit for these two to work things out and not only solve the mystery of the robbery at the Tessa's family brewery, but decide and commit to a relationship.   

Deeper Than Midnight

Lara Adrian
Dell Publishing

Story Summary:
Delivered from the darkness, a woman finds herself plunged into a passion that is DEEPER THAN MIDNIGHT . . .
At eighteen, Corinne Bishop was a beautiful, spirited young woman living a life of privilege as the adopted daughter of a wealthy family. Her world was changed in an instant when she was stolen away and held prisoner by the malevolent vampire Dragos. After many years of captivity and torment, Corinne is rescued by the Order, a cadre of vampire warriors embroiled in a war against Dragos and his followers. Her innocence taken, Corinne has lost a piece of her heart as well--the one thing that gave her hope during her imprisonment, and the only thing that matters to her now that she is free.
Assigned to safeguard Corinne on her trip home is a formidable golden-eyed Breed male called Hunter. Once Dragos's most deadly assassin, Hunter now works for the Order, and he's hell-bent on making Dragos pay for his manifold sins. Bonded to Corinne by their mutual desire, Hunter will have to decide how far he'll go to end Dragos's reign of evil--even if carrying out his mission means shattering Corinne's tender heart.

Review:
I have to say that Hunter is one of my favorites characters in the Midnight Breeds series and I have been waiting so long for him to have his HEA.  I think that this story was sort of an intermediary tale.  What I mean is that it is a great story if you like the series, but there are some big changes about to take place and this is the book that sets it all up.  I love that Hunter is willing to blood bond with Corrine to help her find the son taken from her by Dragos.  Neither Corrine nor Hunter think they are worthy of the other and their romance is a very gooey almost high school sweetheart feeling story-there were times they were so awkward with each other it was too cute (mostly because he is such a toughy!)!  The tale left at a HUGE cliff hanger and I will be impatiently waiting for next spring to roll around so that I can find out what will happen with Harvard and how the discovery of Dragos's documents can be utilized by The Order.  I have a feeling that Corrine and Hunter aren't done with finding young Gen Ones (I might be proven wrong, but that's my theory and I'm sticking with it...).  All in all, it's was a must read for me.

Blood of the Demon

Rosalie Lorio
Entangled Publishing

One of the best books I've read this summer, I couldn't put it down!!

If you liked The Immortals series by Jennifer Ashley, Robin T. Popp and Joy Nash, then Lorio's Demons of Infernum is for you!!

From the Publisher:

Keegan lives to exact revenge on the evil demon who sired and abused him. When his father devises a plan to bring on the apocalypse, he and his three half-brothers, interdimensional bounty hunters for the Elden Council, are charged with capturing and delivering their father for punishment.
Art gallery owner Brynn Meyers has no idea that her ability to read memories embedded in objects and drain people of their life force means she has demon ancestry. Unfortunately for Brynn, she’s also the key to raising an ancient zombie army, which puts her on every demon’s Most Wanted List.
And no one wants her more than Keegan’s father.
Keegan must protect Brynn from his father by any means necessary, but he’ll have to learn to harness the other half of his genetics—the far deadlier, uncontrollable half—when he starts to fall for the one woman standing between him and the vengeance he so desperately seeks. The one woman he’ll never be able to resist.

Review:

Keegan and his younger brothers are wonderful and I can't wait to read their developing stories. Brynn took the surprising news that she had demon ancensters in stride and managed to not only roll with the punches (figuratively and literally) she also knowinlgy and intentionally puts herself on the line to save the man she loves.  I love heroines that don't play the shrinking violet.  There is something about a story that has people so in love they are willing to make tremendous self sacrifices for the sake of the other.
Lorio's writing is smooth, the dialogue engaging and the story telling wonderful. She will definately become one of my "must read" authors.

Paradise 21

Aubrie Dionne
Entangled Publishing

In this future, earth has been destroyed and a group of survivors are aboard the ship New Dawn. Their purpose is to preserve what the can of earth-especially the genetic code of the best and brightest. Everything on the New Dawn is designated by The Guide;  from the jobs people are best suited for to who their perfect genetic code match will be.
Aries Ryder has no desire to fulfill her designated purpose, she wants to make her own choices in life and one of those choices is to not marry Lieutenant Astor Barliss. She takes destiny in her own hands when she jettisons an escape pod from the New Dawn and ends up on the planet Sahara 354. Here she discovers sand worms, lizard-like Raiders and Striker-a space pirate whose crew mutinied and left him stranded. Aries starts to see the world for what it can be and what follows in an adventure of galactic proportions.
I love the premise of this story! The characters are well-developed and favorites quickly become evident. It took about 2 sentences to dislike Lieutenant Barliss, it took 2 more to loathe him, and by the end of the first chapter I would have jettisoned away from all I knew just to get away from him.
I would have to say this book has all the elements I like in a novel: great characters, a plausible story line, romance, deceit, sacrifice and true love. Definitely a yes-read in terms of recommendations to others!