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Jen (That's What I'm Talking About) has
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2013 reading goal:
15 new-to-me authors.
1) Stacy Gail
2) Heather Massey
3) Sidney Bristol
4) Ann Mayburn
5) Thea Harrison
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Showing posts with label Stacey Espino. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stacey Espino. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Review: Fearless Love
Fearless LoveAuthor: Stacey Espino
Release Date: November 2, 2010
Publisher: Siren Publishing
Immortal Love Series Book #2
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format(s): e-book
I received a copy of this book from the author for the purposes of an honest review.
From the author’s website:
Javen Highland is the most ruthless Fear Demon and has the reputation to back it up. He keeps away from love, seeing it as a vulnerability. When a breathtakingly beautiful vampire steals his blood, she also captures his heart.
Javen’s new mission is to convince the blonde beauty that her bite is erotic, not painful. If he doesn’t succeed, he could lose her forever. Emma doesn’t realize just how persuasive Javen can be. He’ll have to show her over and over exactly how good it feels to sustain her with his blood.
What I’m talking about:
Javen and his brothers are Fear Demons - they look human, but are immortal and feed off human fear energy. Javen is a proud member of his race and seeks to keep it pure, especially after two of his brothers mate with Lust Demons (see Fearless Desires). He has sacrificed a lot for his race and has mixed emotions when he finds that he is attracted to Emma, an ER nurse. She isn’t a Demon, but she isn’t human, either. Javen makes it his mission to discover exactly what Emma is and if she’s a threat to his race.
Emma has lived her whole life in the dark. She and her twin brother seem to be the only of their kind - they live off human blood and cannot be in the sunlight. Emma is convinced she is a mythical vampire, but her brother disagrees and travels the world in hopes of discovering an answer (leaving Emma alone for months at a time). Emma is a weak soul and she refuses to feed off humans -- opting to steal donated blood or feed from her brother, when he’s around. One night when Emma is close to death, she finds herself with Javen, who just happens to be in the right place at the wrong time. She takes one taste of his blood and knows she cannot go back to her solitary life.
And so the dance between Emma and Javen begins. He needs to know the truth about Emma. Emma just needs. Their passion builds and it is hot! But Emma is a needy, weak heroine. She constantly is waiting for someone else to take care of her. And Javen goes from hate to lust to hate to love so quickly, it made my head spin. I felt that the characters both became wishy-washy and neither could figure out exactly what they wanted.
Although I really enjoyed large parts of this book and I honestly couldn’t put it down, there were a couple things that bothered me. One was Emma’s weakness. She could have been such a kick-ass heroine, but she chose to wait for others to take care of her throughout most of the book. When she finally took matters into her own hands I was so excited and enjoyed the story - but it just took too long for my tastes.
The second issue is a major pet peeve of mine (in stories)... The whole “I’m going to leave my mate for his/her own good - I’m no good for him/her and he/she will be better off without me.” I want to scream when that happens. One time, I can deal with - the couple learns and moves on. But in Fearless Love, it happened too often. Emma and Javen have SERIOUS trust issues and it bothered me. I felt like they were a mismatch for most of the book - even down to the fact that they didn’t want the same things out of life at points.
But even with those frustrating issues, I still enjoyed the book. Ms. Espino has created an exciting, sexy world, and I can’t wait to read the next story (which should be a hoot based on hints of the next coupling). Although Emma and Javen aren’t the ideal couple, they have several touching moments together. I love how Emma helps Javen face his past and move towards a brighter future. I guess sometimes true love (in books) isn’t perfect, and I’ve learned that it’s okay!
My Rating:
Liked it, there were a few issues - recommend (B)
Labels:
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Sunday Snippets #34
From Fearless Desires by Stacey Espino
Delius entered Selina’s bedroom just after one in the morning. She was curled up on her side, deep in sleep. He knelt down on one knee as he had the previous night and rested a hand on her forehead. He couldn’t resist brushing her skin with the backs of his fingers and noticed how satiny soft it felt. Pure female. Before entering her mind, he kept still and found peace just watching the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest, the innocent calm of her face and random twitching of her lips. She was having a good dream, not a nightmare. Satisfaction nearly toppled him over, even though his existence was to steal her sweet dreams away.
With a deep breath and personal encouragement that he was strong enough to resist the pull of this human’s mind, he delved in.
Immediately, erotic clips bombarded him, making him dizzy. What was wrong with this human? She packed a powerful punch of lust, unlike anything he’d experienced before. As if invited, he heard his name called. Not again. He needed to get into that second scar and find out what made this human tick. Javen would not stand waiting any longer without answers.
With as much strength as he could muster, he escaped the dark expanse where incessant random images flashed— images that no doubt held sexual meaning for Selina. He could feel her arousal even through her mind and he wasn’t immune to the effects.
He saw the two past scars. One he had visited, the other stood close enough to have occurred within hours. Having two life-changing traumas occur so close together would have made for one really shitty day. Then worry filled him. Was she capable of harming her adopted parents for being the informants of such painful news? He hadn’t asked her about her adoptive family. He would look into her history as soon as he returned home. What else could be so bad and on the same day?
He reached into the scar. But just as he felt contact, he was ripped from her mind, left feeling dazed.
“Delius!”
Selina’s stared up at him with open eyes as he loomed over her bedside. She was conscious.
He pulled back in utter shock. No human had ever been able to regain consciousness with a Fear Demon working their mind. It was like anesthetic during surgery. Merciful.
Delius didn’t know what to say or how to react. What the hell reason could he have for being in her room in the middle of the night, kneeling by her bed with his hands on her? Not good, definitely not good.
He contemplated dematerializing, hoping she would think she dreamt the whole thing. He certainly couldn’t tell her the truth. Any minute she would no doubt start screaming bloody murder, so he had to think fast.
“Delius.” Her voice rang sweet, sensual, and inviting. Shit. The human was hot and emitting more of that potent sexual energy. Javen was absolutely right. Where the fuck was the fear? She should be terrified with a stranger at her side in the dead of night.
“Selina, are you okay?”
She leaned up onto one elbow, still on her side, and reached out to latch onto the back of his neck. Her touch sent shock waves through his already aroused body. She pulled him closer, her lips parting in anticipation. His logic fizzled away, and his sense of self-preservation was stomped out as she closed the distance between them. One kiss. Her lips were satiny soft like her skin, full and delicious. Her taste was as strong and sweet as her scent within him, and he could not pull away. Delius kissed her back, their lips moving together, savoring the sensations with deep thoroughness. He had to use both arms to brace himself on the mattress on either side of her as she pulled him closer. Her little moans had his muscles tensing. She was a siren, reeling him in and blinding his logic with her heady lust. He wanted nothing more than to take her right there and then, but he had to resist. Somehow she was his undoing and he had to keep control. But every lustful kiss told him to forget everything that ever mattered to him.
READERS: Be sure to come back on Tuesday (November 16, 2010) when I post my review of the second book in the Immortal Love series: Fearless Love.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Review: Fearless Desires
Fearless DesiresAuthor: Stacey Espino
Release Date: June 10, 2010
Publisher: Siren Publishing
Immortal Love Series Book #1
ISBN: #978-1606017371
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Erotic
Format(s): paperback (266 pages), e-book
I received an electronic copy of this book from the author for the purposes of an honest review.
From the author’s website:
Delius never asked for his fate, but in a world that placed all its faith in prophecy, he would be a fool to challenge it. He felt like a parasite, forced to live off the fear of humans.
From the first time Delius became trapped in Selina's mind and seduced by her provocative thoughts, he was drawn to her. She was a mystery that turned into an obsession. Yet, for them to have a life together, Delius would have to go against his own race that demanded he fulfill his destiny. One that did not include Selina.
From the first time Delius became trapped in Selina's mind and seduced by her provocative thoughts, he was drawn to her. She was a mystery that turned into an obsession. Yet, for them to have a life together, Delius would have to go against his own race that demanded he fulfill his destiny. One that did not include Selina.
What I’m talking about:
Delius and his five brothers are Fear Demons. But in Ms. Espino’s world, demons are not hideous creatures from hell. The Demons (Fear, Lust and Aggression) are immortal beings that look like humans (good looking ones, albeit) and feed off human energy. They (rarely) hurt humans, but they (are not supposed to) interfere with human activities.
Delius has never been happy with his lot in life - feeling like a leach and always witnessing the “evil” humanity has to offer. He is sent to investigate a human that doesn’t project fear, and as soon as he sees Selina, he is drawn to her. She is an enigma, but it’s more that the mystery that attracts him. He cannot help but feel possessive and the desire for both blooms. Soon, Selina is pulled into the unknown world of Demons, where faith in prophecy rule above all and an impending Demon War is looming.
This book was like CRACK for me. I seriously could not put it down. I was reading while at work, in my car (not while driving), while making dinner, in line and the grocery store, etc. It started with the unique and engrossing mythology. Then I couldn’t resist the smokin’ hot sex scenes. But Ms. Espino reeled me in with the love story. Delius and Selina are a great couple. They come from different worlds and they struggle to find their way together. They try to figure out if love can conquer all... can one choose love that is forbidden? What if it is not fated? What if choosing love means war and death? Their scenes were touching, heart-warming, and at times heart-wrenching.
I did get a bit annoyed with the brothers’ and Selena’s critical thinking abilities. There is no question that Selena is different, but when they all jump to the same (and wrong) conclusion about her origins I wanted to scream, because it was obvious that they were wrong! But luckily, they all figured out who is what and who belongs to whom in a fairly timely manner.
And in the middle of all of this hot romance, mating and action is a mystery. There is a rogue Fear Demon killing humans through nightmares (which is against the rules). It was fun to try and put together all of the pieces and watch them unfold (I was wrong with my guesses!) This story is a wonderful mix of paranormal fantasy, erotic romance, action and mystery. I cannot wait to read Ms. Espino’s follow up book, Fearless Love (which I will review next month).
My Rating:
Loved it - enthusiastically recommend (A)
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