REVIEW : Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

Series: The Disillusionists Trilogy #1

Genre : Adult, Supernatural, Romantic, Mystery.

Publisher : Spectra

Released : March 23, 2010

Kindle Edition 384 pages

Buy the book here

Book Synopses (from goodreads)

JUSTINE KNOWS SHE’S GOING TO DIE. ANY SECOND NOW.

Justine Jones has a secret. A hardcore hypochondriac, she’s convinced a blood vessel is about to burst in her brain. Then, out of the blue, a startlingly handsome man named Packard peers into Justine’s soul and invites her to join his private crime-fighting team. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal. With a little of Packard’s ha...more JUSTINE KNOWS SHE’S GOING TO DIE. ANY SECOND NOW.

Justine Jones has a secret. A hardcore hypochondriac, she’s convinced a blood vessel is about to burst in her brain. Then, out of the blue, a startlingly handsome man named Packard peers into Justine’s soul and invites her to join his private crime-fighting team. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal. With a little of Packard’s hands-on training, Justine can weaponize her neurosis, turning it outward on Midcity’s worst criminals, and finally get the freedom from fear she’s always craved. End of problem.

Or is it? In Midcity, a dashing police chief is fighting a unique breed of outlaw with more than human powers. And while Justine’s first missions, including one against a nymphomaniac husband-killer, are thrilling successes, there is more to Packard than meets the eye. Soon, while battling her attraction to two very different men, Justine is plunging deeper into a world of wizardry, eroticism, and cosmic secrets. With Packard’s help, Justine has freed herself from her madness—only to discover a reality more frightening than anyone’s worst fears.

My Thoughts 

This was such a nice change on my book genres. From the beginning till the end it had me captive. I routed for teams and found myself connected to Justine on many levels. 

Let's start why I found Justine so appealing, she was ogling every man meat she came across. Not complaining, I do too. lol. 

Justine leads a double life with her stoked up fear. And it's a relief for her when she finds herself without it but everything has a IF at the end of a bargain so does her new found freedom from dilutions. 

Along the way she finds herself attracted to the boss along with a few others. And to be honest I was routing for the boss the entire book, even though she had a boyfriend most of the book.

Packared and Otto both very powerful man and both attracts Justine. No wonder girl was very confused till the very end. And frankly I am secretly hoping she ends up with the boss in the next book. *shifty eyes*

Overall a good book. There are mention of some smexing, mystery and little bit of sup world, I highly recommend it.

My Rating For This Book

Review : Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta

Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta

Series : Casa Dracula #1

Genre: Supernatural, Romantic, Humor
Publisher: Pocket
Released: August 1, 2006
Kindle Edition, 320 pages
You can purchase this here 

Book Synopsis (goodreads)

Latina Ivy League grad Milagros de Los Santos can't find her place in the world or a man to go with it. Then one night, at a book party for her pretentious ex-boyfriend, she meets an oddly attractive man. After she is bitten while kissing him, she falls ill and is squirreled away to his family's estate to recover. Vampires don't exist in this day and age — or do they? As Milagro falls for a fabulously inappropriate man, she finds herself caught between a family who has accepted her as one of their own and a shady organization that refuses to let the undead live and love in peace.

My Thoughts : *HAS SPOILERS*

I relate to Milagro in so many levels that it was scary. Yes, I do think men are fabulous...hell I do check out men once in awhile. ;p

I really enjoyed this book. The progress between Milagro and Oswald and then there was Sebastian, Ian and of course Sam, all Milagro's love interest. From the get go I hated Sebastian's snootiness. He was attracted to her and he has issues admitting it because of their family backgrounds. He could have been a ideal choice for Milagro if he had stayed the sweet boy in college. But he didn't. That get's him out of the book for me. 

Ian was somewhat preferable but seeing they don't entirely believe themselves as vampires, his actions were rather offensive. And he kindda got crossed out after the chest carpet part.

Oswald, now that is a man who had me captivated from the get go. Milagro's "infection" (as they call it) was from Oswald's blood. Their physical attraction was instant and they had a easy going flirtatious  friendship going on the entire time. 

Milagro gained a family of vampire that she never had. Fell in love, made some wrong decision and tried to correct them as she went. The lack of strong role model in her life leaded her to make those decision IMO.Her choice of friends in real life was few but those few did seem to be caring for her.

This book was snappy, fluffy and funny. Recommended to all who loves paranormal humor. 

My Review Rating For This Book

Review: The Dream-Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon

The Dream-Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Series:  Dark-Hunter Series #11 Dream Hunter #1

Genre: Supernatural, Romantic

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks

Released: February 6, 2007

Paperback, 384 pages

You can purchase this here

Book Synopsis (goodreads)

In the ethereal world of dreams, there are champions who fight to protect the dreamer and there are demons who prey on them...

Arik is such a predator. Condemned by the gods to live eternity without emotions, Arik can only feel when he’s in the dreams of others. For thousands of years, he’s drifted through the human unconscious, searching for sensation. Now he’s finally found a dreamer whose vivid mind can fill his emptiness.

Dr. Megeara Kafieri watched her father ruin himself and his reputation as he searched to prove Atlantis was real. Her deathbed promise to him to salvage his reputation has now brought her to Greece where she intends to prove once and for all that the fabled island is right where her father said it was. But frustration and bad luck dog her every step. Especially the day they find a stranger floating in the sea. His is a face she’s seen many times.... in her dreams.

What she doesn’t know is that Arik holds more than the ancient secrets that can help her find the mythical isle of Atlantis. He has made a pact with the god Hades: In exchange for two weeks as a mortal man, he must return to Olympus with a human soul. Megeara’s soul.

With a secret society out to ruin her expedition, and mysterious accidents that keep threatening her life, Megeara refuses to quit. She knows she’s getting closer to Atlantis and as she does, she stumbles onto the truth of what Arik really is.

For Arik his quest is no longer simple. No human can know of a Dream-Hunter’s existence. His dream of being mortal has quickly turned into his own nightmare and the only way to save himself will be to sacrifice the very thing he wanted to be human for. The only question is, will he?

My Thoughts

Well, if you are purchasing it out of a library where your librarian has read this book, be prepared to be gush with her. 

First dream hunter on the Dark Hunter series, Arikos a skotos dream hunter, who takes pleasure from human's creative dreams. Wanting to feel human emotion on flesh he bargains with the God of the underworld, Hades. Only to have his humanity for two weeks and at the end deliver a human soul, one specific soul. 

Geary is out on expedition to find the lost city Atlantis. She will go above and beyond to recover his father's lost reputation. When the stunning gorgeous man stumble upon her path, water she has the very opportunity to make her dream come true.

I did something out of curiosity after the 7th book, I sneaked on Acheron's book. So the leading woman in his book makes is introduced as Dr. Geary's geeky cousin. WITH whom I don't have any problems with. Just the fact she ends up with Ash. *feel free to ignore fan-girl rant on Acheron*

Book's time line is before the dark hunter series started. 

Lot of characters makes re/pre-appearance. Overall a good book. Perverted word building of Kenyon will never disappoint. 

Recommended to all who loves Dark Hunter world.

My Rating For This Book

Review: Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Series:  Dark-Hunter Series #9 Were-Hunter #3
Genre: Supernatural, Romantic
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Released: December 27, 2005
Paperback, 384 pages
You can purchase this here

Book Synopsis (goodreads)

It's a predator eat predator world for the Were-Hunters. Danger haunts any given day. There is no one to trust. No one to love. Not if they want to live…

An orphan with no clan that will claim him, Wren Tigarian grew to adulthood under the close scrutiny and mistrust of those around him. A forbidden blend of two animals—snow leopard and white tiger—Wren has never listened to anyone when there was something he wanted. Now he wants Marguerite.

Marguerite D'Aubert Goudeau is the daughter of a prominent U.S. Senator who hates the socialite life she's forced to live. Like her mother before her, she has strong Cajun roots that her father doesn't understand. Still, she has no choice but to try and conform to a world where she feels like an outsider. But the world of rich and powerful humans is never to meet the world of the Were-Hunters who exist side by side with them, unseen, unknown, undetected. To break this law is to call down a wrath of the highest order.

In order to have Marguerite, Wren must fight not just the humans who will never accept his animal nature, but the Were-Hunters who want him dead for endangering their world. It's a race against time and magic without boundary that could cost Marguerite and Wren not just their lives, but their very souls…

My Thoughts:

I have been reading this series for a while now. And skipped a story before this one .. hopefully I didn't skip too much.

Wren Tigarian a were hybrid who is usually a loner, anti-social and likes to keep an arms length from everyone. He is practically a youngling compared to most of the weres and dark hunters. 

His attraction to Maggie is instant, who happens to be a human and also the only daughter of a high profile U.S. Senator.

The relation growth between the two is somewhat believable. We get some new characters here. Savitor, whom I am looking forward to reading more about. 

Recommended to all Dark Hunter fans.

My Rating For This Book

M/M Romance Challenge 2011

TIMELINE: January 1st to December 31st 2011
RULES: Read five(5) or more m/m romances in 2011

Hosted by I Heart Paperbacks

DETAILS:

This challenge is for those who enjoy reading gay romances (also known as m/m or male/male romances) or those who are interested in starting. If you aren’t familiar with this genre, it consists of novels and stories where the main focus is the romantic relationship between the male protagonists.

• You don’t have to select your books ahead of time. Even if you do, you can change your books as you go. Your books can crossover with other challenges.

• You don’t need a blog to participate. You can comment on this post if you’d like to share a book list or reading pool.

• You can join at any time between now and the latter part of 2011. Just give yourself enough time to read your chosen amount of books.

• eBooks, hardbacks, paperbacks, audio books, and re-reads are welcome. Comics and manga count as well.

• You can post the links to your reviews, if you write any, on the Review Post (coming soon).

There are 5 reading levels to choose from:

- Read 5 M/M Romances
- Read 10 M/M Romances
- Read 15 M/M Romances
- Read 20 M/M Romances
- Read 20+ M/M Romances

If you’d like to make your challenge a little more challenging, try any or all of these OPTIONAL add-ons:

- Read 3 or more books in the same series
- Read 3 or more books with the same theme (Firefighters, Pirates, Friends-to-Lovers, etc)
- Read 1 book that isn’t your usual type of read (Cheating Hero, BDSM, Menage, etc)
- If you’re not new to reading m/m romances, go back and re-read the first title you ever read. Do you feel differently about the book now than you did when you first read it?

I love reading M/M genre books. So now I am going to stick with 5 romance novels and work my way up.

M/M ROMANCE READING LIST 

1.  Catch Me If You Can by L.B. Gregg
   
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2011 Erotic Reading Challenge

I just realized, while I had signed up for almost all the reading challenges I liked, I haven't signed up for the MOST IMPORTANT one!! 

Erotic reading Challenge.

I save a weakness for smexy books, what? I do! 

So when I found The Forbidden Shelf were holding Erotic Reading challenge, I had to sign up. ; )

Challenge Rules:

• Pick your ‘heat’ challenge!

• Books can be novella's, novels, or a combination of the two. They can also be print and/or ebook format. 

• Challenge runs from January 1, 2011 - December 31, 2011

• You can start the challenge anytime during the year.

• Link yourself

• At the end of the year, we will put all blogs who linked to their completed challenge into a magical little hat (i.e. random.org) to be entered into a $20 electronic gift card to a book store!! 

• Don't have a blog? That's okay!! Just email us your challenge level, book list, and a paragraph telling us what you liked/disliked about each book (So we know you read them).

The Flicker Challenge:

Read five forbidden books in the sub-genre’s of erotica, erotica romance, and/or BDSM.

The Smolder Challenge:

Read ten forbidden books in the sub-genre’s of erotica, erotica romance, and/or BDSM.

The Burn Challenge:

Read fifteen forbidden books in the sub-genre’s of erotica, erotica romance, and/or BDSM.

The Scorch Challenge:

Read twenty forbidden books in the sub-genre’s of erotica, erotica romance, and/or BDSM.

I am sticking to The Burn Challenge for now, will see if I can climb my way through The Scorch Challenge.

Happy readings!

MY BURN LIST FOR 2011

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 GAH! That was too loud! 

i am whispering though...it seems like the noise of keyboard hurts mah head o_O

ahhhh better!!

This years new years resolution - I will not get drunk next new years eve. I promise! (hope I remember this, so i won't forget)

But it was pretty good. We watched the fireworks till 1 in the morning and  I was in skype till 3 am. *sigh* and drunk wine the entire time

It was nice saying goodbye to 2010. 

We have a tradition that my mother has introduced us to during this time and I still love to follow this through. 

We write down what we regretted doing and what we achieved this year, in two different papers. The regrets one, we lit them up and throw them in to a bowl. 

I had 200+ regrets but who is counting!

And my dad stands by with the fire extinguisher. lol. (seriously he does, better safe than sorry)

And the achievement one, we tie it to a string of a balloon and let it drift away in the sky. (sadly none make it too high.. but still it's fun)

So with a new book, new resolutions and a hangover, Happy New Years  Hope this year is filled with wonderful books for everyone!

Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge 2011

Timeline: January 1, 2011- December 31, 2011

Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge 2011 hosted by Crazy Book Slut.

Levels:

* 1-3 books: Born into Royalty
*4-6 books: Princess in Training
*7-9 books: Awaiting Prince Charming
* 10+ books: Queen Bee

I am going with "Born into Royalty" and smaybe slowly climb up in the Throne of Queen Bee!! 

BORN INTO ROYALTY READING LIST

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100+ Reading Challenge 2011

100+ Reading Challenge is hosted by My Over Stuffed Bookshelf.

DETAILS:

1. The goal is to read 100 or more books. 

2. Audio, Re-reads, eBooks, YA, Manga, Graphic Novels, Library books, Novellas, Young Reader, Nonfiction – as long as the book has an ISBN or equivalent or can be purchased as such, the book counts.

What doesn't count: Individual short stories or individual books in the Bible.

3. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.

4. Crossovers from other reading challenges count.

5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2011. Books started before the 1st do not count. You can join at anytime.

6. When you sign up here

100+ lets see how far I can go. ; )

100+ READING LIST

1. Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
2. The Dream-Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon
3. Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta
4. Midnight Brunch - Marta Acosta
5.  The Bride - Marta Acosta
6.  Haunted Honeymoon - Marta Acosta
7. Mind Games by Carolyn Crane
8. Double Cross by Carolyn Crane
9. Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
10. Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning
11. Faefever by Karen Marie Moning
12. Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning
13. Shadowfever by Karen Marie Morning
14. The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher 
15. Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory 
16. Toil and Trouble by H.P. Mallory 
17. Life, Love and a Polar Bear Tattoo by Heather Wardell