Eternal Every After

Eternal Ever After by A.C. James
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Okay. I'm not even sure what I just tortured myself with here. But I do know one thing for sure.



The synopsis sounded promising. Vamps with a little BDSM thrown in? What more could a girl ask for, right?

Well something that was a little less ridiculous would have been just peachy!

Vampires, Fairies, and witches! Oh My! These wouldn't have been bad things if they were introduced with just one tiny bit of believability.

*Dramatic Facepalm*


This book is more along the lines of Twilight meets True Blood. There are similarities to both. A LOT of similarities.



The Vampires in this book don't sparkle or glamour though... they dazzle!!



There were things in this book that were constantly mentioned or pointed out, her "satchel" for instance. What the hell was up with the satchel? I kept thinking there would be something important revealed about it since it was mentioned fifteen different times.

Another was when Arie dazzled her and jumped off the top of a 1,000 ft. building, she constantly gets migraines when trying to remember what happened later, (a kiss) but those things were never followed up on. It's not like he didn't kiss her, spank her, bind her, have sex with her throughout the book, so what was so important about her forgetting that kiss? It's never explained.

Then on the opposite end of the widely swinging spectrum there were things that were way over the top in being overly descriptive.

For instance at about 24% in the author takes us on a little ride.

"We drove north on Lincoln Park West" "Arie turned right onto West Fullerton Parkway and continued straight at the intersection of North Cannon Drive." "He merged onto the highway, heading south." "Arie pulled off the highway, taking the Grand Avenue exit, bearing left onto Lower North Lake Shore Drive." "We continued over another bridge." "Arie turned right onto East Wacker Drive...” "Arie merged onto a ramp continued past the Chicago Riverwalk; its scenic view made me dizzy...” (Yeah! I feel ya on that one!) "He turned left on Columbus Drive..."

I actually felt carsick after just *reading* that!



Did the author think I was gonna plug all of this into Google Maps and go for a scenic Sunday afternoon drive? Really? All of that took up *way* too much space, and that doesn't even mention all the filler in between all of those twists and turns.

The funniest line in the whole book; "I laughed. ’You seriously expect me to believe that the mafia is controlled by a bunch of faeries?'"

Yeah well, I can believe that more than the plausibility of the rest of this book.

Holly doesn't seem in the least shocked when Arie reveals that he's a vampire, or that there are faeries, witches, etc., she's more shocked that said vampire is standing in her kitchen cooking.



There is one scene in the book where Aire starts laughing at her, and by the end of the paragraph I feel like I’m reading about a 12 year old boy rather than a vampire who's been around since about 108 BC. Sometimes he seems very old world and refined, then all of the sudden he seems like a schoolboy.

I don't think I ever developed a connection with a single character in this book. They were all one dimensional and unbelievable.

*ponders*

Except maybe Mystic, the cat.



I almost gave up on this book at around 75%, but felt that I needed to finish at that point. I had to see if the Rogue vampire actually ever showed up, or was that just one more thing that was being led up to that didn't materialize?



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Forgotten Sins Is Unforgettable!

Forgotten Sins by Rebecca Zanetti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, let me preface this with, this was a pretty good book. But there were some inconsistencies that kind of glared at me.

I enjoyed the characters, well, most of them. I liked Shane and his brothers of course, and Det. Malloy.

I found Detective Malloy to be a fatherly sort. Very protective of Josie. Sweet in his own way. A lot smarter than his rumpled suit implied. I loved the connection to the "nice ties" throughout the story, and I wonder if the Detective will get a chance to headline in a future book with the brothers, or at least feature in some way or the other.

Shane and his brothers were well... pretty hot! And Shane and Josie were just hot, hot, HOT together!



Josie... hmmm. She kept going on and on about how she didn't need help, she didn't want help. But was constantly putting herself in situations where she needed to be rescued, over and over and over. I don't think I've ever seen a character so susceptible to being kidnapped before! She was strong. She was soft. She loved Shane and could, didn't want to, live without him. She was tough enough to live without him. She waffled so much from page to page she should have been slathered in butter and covered in syrup!



But even with that, I still enjoyed the read.




The last 10% or so of the book was full of twists and turns, it kept me guessing and at times on the edge of my seat. But, there were a few... inconsistencies that really made me wonder. It seems the author got so caught up in the fight scene and wrapping up the book that she forgot something that was, in my opinion, fairly important.

--When Shane was running after the plane to get on board, "He caught a glimpse of dark hair in a side window. Dr. Madison turned her face, a smile lifting her lips..." So she was on the plane. Matt had already warned Shane that Dr. Madison was his (to kill).

--Fight ensues on board the plane, Shane and Tom fight it out. Shane of course wins this fight. Next they are in Montana at the ranch. What the hell? No mention of Dr. Madison at all once Shane entered the plane. It's like she evaporated. She was deadly and psychotic and she worked for The Commander so why didn't she get into the fight, do something to Josie, pick up the gun that Tom dropped and threaten Josie to get to Shane? Did she just sit there, tapping her nails on the armrest while all the craziness was going on around her? Was she taking a nap?

Some other things that stuck out to me.

--Shane had super hearing, could hear a horn honk blocks away, supersonic hearing even, right? But every time he was in the same building as Josie, and some other kidnapping plot happened, he could be just around the corner, but he never heard her being threatened, never heard her talking? Ever? Did he have selective supersonic hearing then tuned out Josie's voice? At times I could probably understand that!



--When Josie was taken to the 9th Floor with George. And she hit him in the head with the bolt cutters and ran, "she YANKED the door and ran inside". "Yanking" the door tells me that it opened towards her, so that means that once inside the storage room she had to "pull" the door closed. Then it goes on to say that she "yanked a shelving unit down in front of the door. Then another." Then she "grabbed several tiles and piled them between the downed shelves." "George pounded on the door." She kept piling the tiles until they were all between the shelves keeping the door shut. "Even if he had a key and could unlock the door, no way could he *push* it open." Umm, when did she lock it? And wouldn't he just have to reach down, turn the knob and *YANKED* it open?

But these were just a few things in a very long, fun book. I'll read the next ones in the series... Maybe I'll find out what happened to Dr. Madison!


This was a 3.75 star read, and i have hopes the rest of the series just gets better and better.


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OH! HELL YEAH!

A Wolf's Dowry by Johnny Stone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Holy Red Riding Hood, Wolf Man!

That was one HAWT read! I don't even know what else to say about it! I was with the author daily on this book (and Slave World: The Ties That Bind) listening to the changes that took place as the book took shape. Reading as He wrote it, bouncing ideas back and forth, watching it morph into something incredible. But to sit and read it in its completed format, start to finish after all the changes were complete... there are no words!

Johnny Stone has a fantastic imagination and He put it to good use with this book.

It's a story of Paula Redding, a Homicide Detective with a secret, a *big* secret. She's a werewolf and there's an Alpha Male in her territory and he's baiting her and she's more than ready to take that bait.

Duncan Patrick is that Alpha Male, and he's ready to add another bitch to his long line of females that he services in his territory. He baits her, leaving his scent for her to follow. And what a scent he has.

Add Martin "Marty" Jenks to the mix, Paula's human lover, the man she wants to marry and have a family with, and things start to get dicey for Paula.

Will she stay with her kind? Become the were-female bitch that Duncan commands that she be, or will her humanity, what's left of it, keep her from becoming the very thing she has sworn to protect the people of her territory from?

This is a must read, a quick and very, VERY hot read. Character development is dead on, and I was connected to them one by one. Losing a bit of my own humanity when the story turned very dark and sexual.

This book isn't for the faint of heart, it's dark, sexual, and violent in some parts. It's a wild ride and if you're looking for a quick PNRe to read during lunch, this is the perfect one for that... but beware, the sexuality and hotness factor of this book will have you wishing for a place to take a cold shower before heading back to work.

Solid 5 stars!

*I have the continuous privilege to interact with the author in my personal life. With that said and even though I was involved on a daily basis as this story developed, and was written by the author, I believe this to be a true, fair, objective and honest representation of my opinion of this book*

~oOo~

Here is an excerpt from A Wolf's Dowry:

Paula stared about in a daze one last time. Unbelievable… There was an Alpha Were marking women in her city, in her territory. That could only mean one thing- it was an invitation on his part. He was looking for a mate.

She glanced down at several of the sealed evidence bags on the hood of the victim’s car- one of them contained the shredded remains of a dark blue T-shirt. With a quick glance at both Jenks and the Sheriff’s men, Paula snatched it off the trunk, doing her best to shield it from stray eyes. A mile down the road she pulled over, eyeing it in the seat beside her. She licked her lips, chest heaving, unable to resist the urge any longer.

Paula tore the bag open with frantic haste, bringing the mangled shirt to her nose, drowning in its musky odor. She felt drunk, while tearing at the button fly of her jeans, rubbing the shirt across her cheek and neck. Anxious fingers dove beneath the hem of her panties, probing until they found the slick, engorged crack they sought. Her body convulsed with ragged gasps while greedy fingers attacked her clit. She could almost see him, like in her dreams, while dark and dangerous visions began to swirl and solidify in her mind. Just as in her dreams, she wanted him without reservations. She wanted things she never knew existed, as instinct coursed through her body, making it come alive in unimaginable ways. She wanted to dance to the tune of a mating Were for the first time in her life. She craved the experience the chase, before he slapped aside her resistance, proclaiming his dominance over her, taking her, fucking her like the beast she inherently was. Just the thought of being pinned helplessly beneath him…

Paula’s fingers moved faster, grinding almost painfully against her throbbing clit, while moans of frenzied pleasure rent the air-conditioned interior of her car. It wasn’t enough- she wanted more, she needed more, as her desires grew beyond the point of no return. Her hand eased over a gossamer-soft tuft of damp pubic hair, clutching tightly at gentle mound of her pussy with the palm of her hand. One finger moved deeper, pushing hungrily between silky lips. That was all it took.

Jolts of electric heat streaked through her body, followed by the trickling warmth of pungent fluid seeping between her fingers. She whined helplessly, unable to breath, pinching her thighs together in silent ecstasy, while biting at the shirt of a killer. The release left her shaking, with a glow in her cheeks after the tremors passed. She’d never felt anything so intense in her life, and that was just from his scent.

Paula had never found a man, if you could call an Alpha Were that, that she’d wanted to share herself so desperately with, so completely, so uninhibited as she did right now sitting in her car on a backwoods, gravel road. Not even Jenks, the man she loved and fully intended to marry one day, had ever made her feel so liberated during sex. All her plans, all her dreams of a family with him seemed inconsequential right now, vanishing in the blink of an eye, drowned beneath primal desires that she’d repressed her entire life.

“This can’t be happening,” Paula breathed heavily, looking around nervously, before stuffing the shirt shamefully back into the evidence bag. She was a Werewolf, and in heat, and the Alpha knew it- that’s why he’d come looking for her- or was there another female infringing on her territory again that she didn’t know about? The thought alone that some skanky, wandering bitch was trying to steal him away almost brought on a violent change.

The call of her blood couldn’t be ignored this time- not any longer. If she didn’t answer his summons another bitch would, or he would move on in search of another, and Paula wasn’t about to let that happen. She was going to mate, soon, and her life would change forever. It was inevitable at this point, and there was no way to avoid it- Paula didn’t want to avoid it. Maybe I am nothing more than an animal pretending to be human, she mused glumly, starting her car.

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New Short Story by Johnny Stone

A Wolf's Dowry is only available in ebook format. Paula Redding is a woman of many faces; she is an orphan with a shrouded past. She is a Homicide Detective entrusted with tracking down the filth of society and bringing them to justice. She is a woman in a committed relationship with a loving man that wants nothing more then to marry her, growing old together as they raise a family. She’s is also a member of a species nearing extinction, a Werewolf, who is struggling to maintain her humanity against the very laws of nature itself.

A recent string of nightmarish murders will quickly bring her face to face with the darkness hiding in her soul, as she is forced to choose between the man she loves and the beast she is capable of becoming?

You can purchase the book directly from Pink Flamingo Publishing. Coming soon to Amazon.com!