Promise by Kristie Cook plus Giveaway!

I am part of the Romancing Your Dark Side Tour, and today I am reviewing Kristie Cook's first novel in the Soul Saver series, Promise! I'm also giving away an e-copy of this book, and I'll include instructions on entering the giveaway at the end of my review.

Alexis has moved many times during her childhood because of her special abilities. Her mother refuses to tell her exactly what she is, but she is not human. She is able to heal faster than normal, and when she's angry, she's got enough strength to knock a nasty ex-boyfriend across the room with one punch.

She and her mother Sophia move to Florida where Alexis is already enrolled in college. On her first day of class, she literally runs into Tristan. She has a knack for knowing who is good and who is evil, and Tristan screams good guy to her. They begin getting to know one another, despite the misgivings of Alexis's mother. As time goes on, her mother is forced to start answering some of the big questions that Alexis has about who and what she is.

I'm not sure what I expected of this book, but I was blown out of the water! I really loved it. I started out feeling like it was more a novel that belonged in the Young Adult genre. The more I read, the more I felt like it was for grown-ups, too.

The romance was perfect for me. It moved slowly with the those moments that make your heart(and other parts) tingle! I'll be honest, there was a little bit of a wet panty factor going on. There wasn't a lot of profanity. It's not something I usually notice the presence or absence of, but one of the characters said "son of a witch!" a lot, and that made me chuckle a little. No one I've ever known has used that particular phrase when they were trying to avoid cursing. Toward the end, the f* bomb got dropped a few times, and that startled me.

I got the feeling that the author was a Christian. It doesn't bother me--I've read multiple Inspirational fiction novels, and even some paranormal that include characters who claim Christianity as their religion. I've also read some overly preachy sci-fi. I did not at all feel like this author was preaching at me, trying to convince me that Christianity was right. It was an undertone in the book instead of being an overtone.

The writing got better as I got farther into the book. There were some times at the beginning that I noticed some places where I would have written a sentence or two differently. The story pulled me in quickly enough that I quit noticing any places where editing might have been needed.

Overall, I highly recommend this book! I liked the characters, the story was strong, and the writing was strong as well. If you like the Sookie Stackhouse novels, Jessica Anderson's Skykeepers novels, and the Anita Blake novels, you will most likely enjoy this novel. It's not really like any of those books--it's a twist I haven't really read in any novels before.

Developing a Title, Guest post by B.K. Walker

First, let me apologize for the tardiness of this blog post. A dear friend of mine passed away over the weekend, and I've been somewhat mired in grief over that. 

Secondly, I have 2 e-copies of B.K. Walker's Night Secrets to give away! Anyone who comments on this post, follows me publicly on Google Follow, votes in my poll, follows me on Twitter, and retweets the contest will be eligible. Please leave one comment per entry! In addition, each person who comments will be entered in a contest to win a free Kindle! Check out www.vbtcafe.com for more information and for an expanded schedule of the Romancing Your Dark Side book tour!

  

I think this has to be the second worst thing in writing, editing being the first. Title creation does take some time and creative thinking. We want the title to be catchy, to make a reader think "What's this about?" If you were looking to buy a book, the first thing you look at is the cover, the second thing the title. If a title said something like, "The Life of Copper Dugan", that isn't so interesting, but if it read, "The Life and Times of Copper Dugan" or "Would the Real Copper Dugan Please Stand Up", now that's more likely to have the reader turning the book over to find out more.

So how do we authors come up with titles? It's a process, and sometimes we have the title before we even write the story, but that's a rare occasion, at least for me. Usually the title will come to us in an "Ahh hah" moment during the writing process. Other times, we have to work it out, sit down and really think about our story, what does it tell, what words would represent it best. Sometimes it's easy to come up with a title, other times it's mind boggling. For Night Secrets, it was easy to come up with the title as Night Secrets, a club in the story plays a significant role in the storyline. This is where a lot of the action takes place, not to mention that it's also a secret underground where vampires seek sanctuary. This making it the basis of all of the Night Secret books, it was an easy decision.

For Near Suicide, the main character was in such a turmoil that her entire life she thought about committing suicide, and when I revised this I just needed to think of something that also represented being Near Suicide, and with the cover I developed, Death Upon Me was what became close to tell what the story was.

Immortyl Kisses is based on the kiss of an immortal, and just to change it up a bit I changed the spelling.

Dares And Dreams, again was based on a bar in the book, where a lot of the action takes place. I have a tendency to lean towards a specific name in my storyline that I can create a decent title from.

I usually find something in my story that I can base a title on though. An overall theme that is both intriguing and telling of what the book is about. I will admit too, that I've even used a Title Generator. These are fun because it just randomly generates a title, and if I see one I like, and many times I do, I can pick one that best fits my story. The trick is for me, if it makes me want to find out more from a book, then most likely a reader would too.

Find BK Walker:

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1831525609

Twitter - @bk36

www.vbtcafe.com

http://authorbkwalker.blogspot.com

http://www.immortylcafe.com

www.bkwalkerbooks.com

BK Bio:

BK Walker currently lives in Central Pennsylvania with her three children, Brittney, Hunter and Danny, her dogs Rancid, Sadie and Haven, a cat named Whiskers and a goldfish named Fat Albert. She has always had a love for reading and writing, even as a child she created stories reading them to her stuffed animals. With a love for vampires and werewolves, you will not be disappointed with her writing as she mixes up the paranormal juice. Aside from writing, BK also supports Indie Authors organizing virtual book tours, helping them to market and promote their work. Her book review site, BWB Reviews, is just another small way she contributes to the reading world. With many stories floating around in her head, she writes when she gets the time between working as a Pediatric Home Care Nurse, being a single mother, and continuing her college education in Graphic Art Design. When BK's not fighting with her muse, Mouthy Mary, who has much to say way too often, you will find her at a baseball game with her children, or relaxing with a good book in her hand.

Night Secrets Blurb:

Keara Crosby had the perfect life. Her family was not hurting for anything. When her parents are suddenly killed, Keara must learn to live without them. After mourning their death for two months, Keara starts to live again. She follows her favorite band, hangs with her best friend Jared, and falls for the new kid on the block.

When her favorite band is playing at Night Secrets, a new club downtown, she takes her first outing since her parents death and finds this mysterious boy watching her. Mesmerized by his lapus blue eyes, she can't help but feel drawn to him. Her body responds to him in ways she never thought possible, and she needs to figure out why. What is it about Channing that has her yearning for his touch?

Not only is Keara drawn to Channing, but the owner of Night Secrets seems to be drawn to her. Giving her special treatment, she can't help but wonder what he's hiding, and the sense she's seen him before. When she's attacked in the parking lot, her world turns inside out, literally. Keara will soon learn that secrets of the night, just may be the death of her.

Excerpt:

     Tonight was the night ‘Shot In The Dark 357’ would be

playing at Night Secrets. I wasn’t exactly sure where it

was downtown, so I drove around earlier today to see if I

could find it.

     It was on the south side of town, in what used to be an

old abandoned, run down factory. Pretty much in the

middle of nowhere, I wondered how they thought they

would make any business out here. They did fix it up nice

though with the outside being black, with a shiny exterior

that reflected like a mirror around the entire building.

Painted on the left corner of the front, were the words

‘Night Secrets’, angled in a white ghostly script that

dripped beneath each letter like wet paint from a paint

brush.

     I couldn’t help but think how perfect the name was, as

the whole place put off a secretive, seductive effect.

Tonight would be their grand opening. No wonder

Buddha seemed so excited, they were the band chosen

for the grand opening.

     I rummaged through my closet looking for the perfect

outfit. It would have to be black, to match the theme of

the club. That seems to be all I wear anymore anyways.

Black.

     I settled for black jeans with a baby tee that sported

‘SITD 357’ in florescent green, with my new Buddha

hoodie. I straightened my hair, pulled money from my

wallet along with my ID to place in my back pocket.

Doing a quick turn around in the mirror, satisfied, I

headed to the club.

     Jamison met me at the bottom of the stairs, holding

my keys. “Thank you Jamison.”

     “Anytime Miss Keara.” He grinned.

     I smiled and kissed his cheek. “Don’t wait up.”

     Pulling into the club I couldn’t believe all the people

surrounding the building. The parking lot was full, people

lined up from the door of the club, down to the street

corner. It was going to take forever to get inside.

     I drove around in circles for fifteen minutes before I

finally found a parking space and pulled in, centering my

car perfectly between two others. Turning off the Jeep,

nervousness swarmed me. I wished Jared could have

come. Jared had made plans to go to dinner with Russell

though and he was going to try and stop in before the

night was over.

     I anxiously looked around the parking lot, pausing on

my rear view mirror. ‘Him’. What is he doing here? Our

eyes locked in my mirror. His eyes seemed to glow even

brighter than before in the moonlight and again I couldn’t

bring myself to look away. He was beautiful.

     Demanding my eyes to blink, which took extreme

effort it was almost like being hypnotized by ‘him’. When I

reopened my eyes, he was gone. I took a steadying

breath wondering if I imagined it, then departed from my

car to wait in that dreadful line.

     There was a lot of excited chatter in the long line.

Everyone was waiting in anticipation, not knowing what

to expect once they got inside and a lot of talk on how

great it looked from the outside.

     I stood there listening in to a couple of girls, watching

their reflections through the building. Feeling someone

grab my arm I turned sharply to see who it was, meeting

dark eyes.

     “I’m sorry. I thought you were my girlfriend.” He was

my height with long dark brown hair, a go tee, and silver

hoops in his ears. His voice was deep, mysterious with

an edge to it.

     “It’s okay.” I answered, eyes wide with surprise.

     After several seconds, he loosened his grip on my

arm, looking around in search of his girlfriend. Watching

him walk away, feeling bad he had lost her in this

treacherous line, I noticed he kept glancing back at me

causing a bit of unease in my gut. Why does he keep

looking at me? He already established I wasn’t her.

     “Keara!” I heard my name being called. I looked to

see where Buddha was, already recognizing the Irish

tone.

     “Hey Buddha.” I yelled back, raising my hand.

     “Aye. Come on girl. Yer comin’ wit me.” He grabbed

my hand and led me inside. “Wait till ya see this place. It

so grand.” He said with enthusiasm.

     Following behind him, I realized I’d probably follow

Buddha to the ends of the earth. As long as he had his

drums.

     We walked past a bouncer checking ID’s at the door.

Very very tall, an obvious well built body builder his arms

were huge, the muscles bulging from under the sleeves

of his tee. He was wearing dark glasses and I wondered

how he could see in this darkness. He gave Buddha a

nod as we passed by.

     “He didn’t even ask to see my ID Buddha.” I

whispered.

     “He'd be a weird one. I 've not ’eard em speak much.”

Buddha whispered back.

     We walked through the main doors into an entry way

coming to a narrow hall, coat racks lining each side.

There were several doors on either side of the hall after

the coat racks, with tinted double glass doors at the end.

That’s where we were heading.

     Buddha opened the door and stood off to the side

waiting for me to pass. I smiled at him, “Thank you.”

“It’s me pleasure. Wait till ya see this bloody place

Keara.”

     I couldn’t believe it. This place was beautiful. You

would never know it was an old factory the way it looks

now. As soon as you walked through the doors, you

could hear music playing. A mild classic rock, not too

loud, yet not too low you couldn’t hear it at all. In the

very front of the room, just past the doors, were a set of

stairs, leading to a circular bar. The bar was shiny and

black, and sat about five feet off the ground floor. The

platform that surrounded the bar was big enough to have

five people standing next to each other with their arms

outstretched and was full of people.

     There were tables on the ground floor, all stationed to

be able to see the stage that was off to the back. The

floors were glossy black, with the words Night Secrets in

the center with the ghostly dripping effect as on the

outside of the building. The stage too was black, with the

white letters again against the back wall.

     This was just the ground level. As I looked up, there

were three more levels of floors, all able to overlook the

stage. It was almost like a cell block, without the cells.

Each level had a railing to keep patrons from falling, and

there were people hanging on them looking down to the

ground floor. Large screen televisions hung on the wall

and from the ceiling, displaying the video to the song that

was playing.

     I was in complete awe. It was beautiful, shiny and

new. “It’s amazing.” I managed after realizing Buddha

was staring at me.

     “I told ya. Ya wer n’t gonna believe this here place. It’s

purdy awesome eh?”

     “I don’t think there are words to describe it Buddha. It

must have cost a fortune!”

     “I’m sure it did. I ‘ave n’t met tha owner yet, but I ‘ear

he’s purdy extravagant.”

     I continued to look around. This place was just too

amazing. I have never seen anything so….amazing.

Wow. Just wow.

     Buddha excused himself to go get sound checked.

Wandering around like a kid in a candy store, wanting to

see everything they had, I went up the first flight of stairs

to the next level. The stairs were cement, but had black

carpet lining them. At the top of the stairs, the walls were

of that mirrored black like outside. A bar centered in the

middle, in the shape of a horseshoe and the floors were

shaped in a half moon, with stairs at each end. There

were several doors again off the back wall, and tables

lined up in between the doors. Black stools lined the bar.

Again the bar was shiny black, and this time I could

see that Night Secrets was engraved in the wood of the

bar, which was stained black, the letters stained white,

and a clear lacquer finish on top. Behind the bar were

mirrors, and in front of the mirrors were shelves lined with

liquor.

     The bartender here was built, much like the bouncer

at the door. His hair was black, his skin was pale, and

he too wore dark sunglasses. What was up with the

sunglasses? How can they see? It’s just as dark in here

as it is outside. Weird.

Born of Fire by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I love Sherrilyn Kenyon's books. I think that when I began delving into the world of paranormal romance, her Dark Hunters series was one of the first I discovered, along with J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood. It has been a while since I read through the Dark Hunters books, and I plan to pick them up again here soon. The TBR pile never gets smaller...

I hadn't read any of Kenyon's League novels until now. I picked this one up because of a conversation I overheard at a Kelly Armstrong signing, actually. I've read a few futuristic novels, but most of them are at best oddly done. Kenyon's was fantastic. I had no problem with believing in the setting like I have in other books.

I loved the characters, too. How can you not love a man named Syn? I loved the wordplay between him and Shahara about what the C.I. stood for. The characters were intelligent, and they were people I could have quite happily spent time with.

Here's a quick synopsis: Shahara is responsible for the care and feeding of her three siblings as the oldest. One of her sisters has a gambling problem and has landed herself in the hospital. In the future, hospitals won't continue to provide care if you don't pay. Shahara has only a few days to come up with the money to pay for her sister's health care or they will turn her out, resulting in her death.

Shahara, a bounty hunter, takes a contract for C.I. Syn. Syn is convicted of the rape and murder of Kiara, the daughter of a government official. Shahara doesn't know that Kiara is still alive and in love with Nyk, one of Syn's compatriots. She's already convicted him in her mind and is committed to bringing him in. Syn convinces her to let him go, but then Shahara strikes a deal with some of Syn's enemies. The two of them learn about each other as they search for the evidence that will keep Syn safe.

If you like Kenyon's Dark Hunter novels, you will certainly enjoy this book. I think that if you've read other futuristic novels and think they're hard to swallow, this one will make you try again.

Warrior Ascended by Addison Fox

The first in the Sons of the Zodiac series and the debut novel for author Addison Fox, Warrior Ascended sets the bar high for the series. Themis, the Greek goddess of Justice has been allowed by Zeus to create 12 groups of 13 immortal warriors to protect humankind from evil. However, he has pitted her against his daughter Enyo, goddess of war.

Immortal Leo warrior Brody Talbot is working undercover as an archaeologist on a mission to translate the Prophecy of the Summoning Stones. He meets Ava Harrison, curator of the stones' exhibit and daughter of the archaeologist who originally discovered the stones, Russell Harrison. Brody is immediately drawn to Ava, despite her horrid gray sweater. He follows her home and protects her from Enyo's warriors, the Destroyers.

Eventually Brody is forced to reveal exactly who and what he is to Ava after his lion tattoo manifests itself in the middle of the streets of London in order to aid Brody in fighting yet another set of Destroyers. She accepts this supernatural aspect of Brody's with much less questioning than I would have, presumably because each time she gets near one of the Stones, she sees visions.

Brody and Ava end up fighting to avert an Apocalypse, and I began wondering how she will top that for her next book! Buffy did it show after show, so I have no doubt that Ms. Fox can as well. I can just imagine the warriors asking Themis what they're going to do and Themis replying "Same thing we do every day, boys. Try to save the world from an Apocalypse," a la Pinky and the Brain.

This was a quick, enjoyable read. I will definitely pick up another one of Ms. Fox's books again in the future. If you like astrology, romance, and the paranormal, you'll enjoy this book.

Body Movers by Stephanie Bond

I picked up this book because I had read Bond's In Deep Voodoo earlier this year. I was looking for something funny, along the lines of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels. There are so many jokes to be made about working in "body retrieval," right? I was disappointed on the humor front, but I did enjoy the book nonetheless.

Carlotta's parents skipped out of town to avoid facing legal charges when she was 17 years old, leaving her in charge of her 9-year-old brother Wesley. Ten years later, Carlotta works at Neiman Marcus, rarely dates, and lives with 19-year-old Wesley. Her parents send an occasional postcard, but have otherwise been absent since they skipped town. Wesley is a computer whiz and gambler in debt to multiple shady characters.

When one of Carlotta's customers and high school classmates drowns under suspicious circumstances, Carlotta decides to do her own investigation. She runs up against the handsome Detective Jack Terry, who warns her to stay out of his investigation. Meanwhile, her brother takes a job moving bodies with the yummy Coop Craft, a former medical examiner. She also ends up entangled with her former fiance, the husband of the woman murdered.

I was honestly kept guessing the whole book about which of the three men Carlotta would end up with. It still wasn't resolved at the end, although the crowd was narrowed from three to two. I am not sure which I would rather Carlotta end up with either. I definitely want to find out what Carlotta is up to next and who she decides to date, so I'll certainly be reading the next book in the series.

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy a good mystery, and who like fashion.

Dogs and Goddesses by Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart & Lani Diane Rich

What a fun book this was! Three ladies, Abby, Daisy and Shar meet each other at a dog obedience class. They are greeted by the mysterious Kammani, who shares the name of a goddess no one knows much about. She gives them some punch, and all three wake up the next day with their dogs talking to them! These three ladies discover love while working to defeat Kammani, who actually is an ancient goddess. They unravel an archaeological mystery and discover that they are descendents of ancient goddesses as well, and have powers of their own!

I love books where women find their inner goddess, and I love books where people can talk to their pets, so this book was a great read for me. I am more of a cat person, so the only thing I would have liked was for it to be Cats and Goddesses instead! I don't think that would work out as well since people don't really take their cats to obedience classes. I have one that I would definitely take if I knew where to find a cat obedience class!

I was also impressed by the fact that these three authors worked together to write the book. I was expecting three shorter stories within the book, but I was surprised that it was one complete story. I can't imagine what it must be like to work with one other author during the writing of a book, let alone two other authors! Then again, it may help with writer's block. You get stuck, just send it along to someone else for some writing! Check out what the authors have to say about working together at their blog, Dogs and Goddesses, And pick up this book for a fun romantic read!

Teaser Tuesday: Insatiable Desire by Rita Herron

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

I am currently reading a book that I picked up (and graciously got signed!) at Dragon*Con! This one looks like a scorcher! I had to shuffle through a couple of pages before I found G-rated sentences for my teasers. Stay tuned for what I'm sure will be an exciting review!

"He had to get his head back in the case and forget about Bluster. It was possible a local might have snapped and turned into a killer."
--page 78, Insatiable Desire by Rita Herron

Coyote's Mate by Lora Leigh

Whoooooooo! This one had a serious wet panty factor! I am still cooling off after reading it. If you're looking for an erotic romance novel, this one's for you.

I had a difficult time at first. I didn't realize that I was jumping into the middle of a story. Since I've finished this, I've read another of Lora Leigh's books. Each of them is a standalone story, but it helps to have read some of the other books in order to puzzle out exactly what the back story is.

So, I'll give you the Cliff Notes as I see them. First, Leigh's Breed novels are set in the future. There's a group of scientists who have been doing genetic manipulations on people. I don't think they're shifters like we see in Sookie Stackhouse, Riley Jensen, and Mercy Thompson books. None of the characters have shifted in the books I've read so far. However, they've been bred with specific animalistic charactaristics in order to make them better soldiers. There are wolf, coyote, and quite a few feline Breeds that I've encountered so far.

The biggest factor in the novels is the breeding heat. It makes it impossible for the couples to deny that they are meant for one another and it makes it impossible for them to stay out of bed for very long. I think I'm going to have to write a whole post about how I feel about this type of story later, so I'll keep my opinions to myself for now.

I put this book down in the middle. For some reason, all the militaristic stuff going on quit making sense for me. Maybe it was me, maybe it was the fact that this book is something like the 18th in this particular world, but the first I read of them, maybe it was the things going on in my life at the time. When I went back to pick it up, I finished the rest of the book easily. The characters weren't all that compelling to me, though. I didn't feel like I would have liked to have gotten to know Anya or that I would have liked to date Del-Rey.

It was a light, fast, erotic, romantic, entertaining read. If you're looking for something to read on an airplane, at bedtime, or when you have some free time, it's perfect. Don't expect anything deep from it!

Teaser Tuesday August 11th Edition

I'm reading a novel by a Kentucky author! I've felt very enthusiastic about supporting locals lately--local authors, local farmers, local stores. So, here's my teaser:

"She was Del-Rey's mate. They might have trust issues. She might want to rap his head against a wall. But he was hers, just as she was finally accepting that she belonged to him."

Coyote's Mate by Lora Leigh
p. 158

Deadly Night by Heather Graham

I've been talking so much about BlogHer that I figured I should probably post about what the blog is really about--books!

Looking for something spooky to keep you awake at night? This first book of the Flynn Brothers Trilogy is just the thing! Heather Graham likes to write about New Orleans, and this book was no different. It's one of the best settings for a scary novel!

The Flynn Brothers, Aidan, Jeremy, and Zach inherited a plantation from a great-aunt that they didn't know about until she passed away. Kendall is a business owner and tarot card reader who cared for the brothers' great-aunt Amelia before her death.

There is a ghost story that goes along with the estate. During the Civil War, Flynn cousins reputedly killed one another in a fight over a woman. The woman threw herself off the balcony during the fight and was killed as well.

The Flynn brothers are all former FBI agents who now run a detective agency, among other pursuits. Aidan is intrigued when bones turn up on the property. At the same time, Kendall's tarot cards begin to come to life. The two work together to find the women that they discover are missing.

Heather Graham never fails to send shivers up and down my spine! I love reading about New Orleans, and it's absolutely the perfect setting for a scary novel. At the same time, Graham makes the paranormal believable for someone who definitely doesn't believe(but loves to read about it!). She also does a good romance, with neither the romance or paranormal aspect outweighing the other. The pacing is just right so that I don't want to put it down while I'm reading. It leads to a lot of late nights! I can't wait to read books two and three in this trilogy!

Before I Wake by Kathryn Smith

If you like Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dream Hunter books, you will enjoy this one as well.

Dawn is a doctor specializing in sleep disorders. It's appropriate, because she's also a Nightmare. She is one of the sentinels set to guard the sleep of mortals. Dawn is special because her father is Morpheus, king of The Dreaming.

In her work at a sleep clinic, she meets Noah Clarke. Noah is special, too. He is a lucid dreamer, able to bend things in his dreams and change them to his benefit. Because of their abilities, the two attract the attention of Karatos, a Terror.

Together, Dawn and Noah fight off Karatos with the help of Antwoine who has been banned from The Dreaming, and Dawn's father Morpheus. There was a lot of action to pull you through the book. I don't think I will ever look at dreams the same way again.

The author included a lot of pop culture references in the novel, and I had a lot of fun with that. Dawn really seemed like someone that I would like to get to know, someone I would get along with. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it, especially if you're a Sherrilyn Kenyon fan.

Night Life by Elizabeth Guest

It's a vampire book, yep. Seems like they all are these days. What is with everyone's obsession with vampire novels? I couldn't tell you, even though I read them!

Part of the reason that I picked up this book was the Egyptian imagery in the background. I love Egyptian culture, and if it can be integrated into my romance novels, even better! The premise of this story is that a pharoah was poisoned during his rule. Before he died, he drank a potion that allowed him to live again, thousands of years later.

Arisen again and now named Adrian King, he lives in Las Vegas and owns a casino. He meets Egyptologist Christine who has been dreaming of him for years. He shares his secret with her, and she helps to fight his soldiers who have also been raised with him.

I loved the new twist that this author put on the vampire story. I felt like the characters were believable and that the author had done enough research about Egyptian history and culture to sound believable. I'm no expert on Egyptian history myself, so I can't contradict any of her facts. Definitely worth the read, especially if you're always looking for a new twist on the vampire story like I am!

Ghost Walk by Heather Graham

I've been on somewhat of a horror/scary streak, which is appropriate since it's October. This was a ghostly read!

Nikki leads a tour group around what may be the most haunted city in the United States, New Orleans. She's drawn even further into that world when one of her friends, an employee appears in her bedroom late at night.

The next morning, she discovers that her friend has been murdered, and at the time when she appeared in Nikki's bedroom. Nikki goes to the police after multiple sightings of her friend's ghost as well as the ghost of a man who it turns out was an FBI agent. The police don't believe her, but Brent Blackhawk does. He's a paranormal investigator and a man who can also communicate with the dead.

The two of them embark upon an investigation to find out who killed these two people. Brent joins Nikki's tour company and is able to add some stories to the repertoire of the tour guides since he can speak to the dead and find out what really happened!

I enjoyed this book. There was some steam. There was plenty of action and suspense. I really enjoyed the ghost stories of New Orleans. If you are a believer in ghosts, it may be scarier than you can handle.

Edge of Fear by Cherry Adair

This is one of a trilogy of books, and I've already put the other two on my To Be Read list!

Caleb Edge is one of three brothers who is gifted with paranormal abilities. Caleb can "rewind" into the past and influence the way things happen. He can also heal, among other gifts. He uses his gifts in service to the T-FLAC paranormal unit, working to find terrorists and other evildoers.

Caleb and his brothers are subject to a family curse. One of their ancestors spurned a woman, and she gave them both their paranormal gifts as well as cursing them to lose the women they love. Caleb and his brothers have sworn never to fall in love in order to stop the family line and beat the curse.

Caleb has just been released from the hospital when he is sent after Heather Shaw. Heather's father has disappeared, along with billions of dollars belonging to terrorists who want their money back. Heather has gone into hiding in order to stay safe from the men who would use her to get to her father.

Caleb's been ordered to watch Heather to find out if she is part of her father's scheme as well as to track down her father. Heather is completely unaware of her father's actions or his whereabouts.

The two are (of course) instantly attracted to one another, and steaminess ensues. This one is somewhat graphic, so if that is not your style, choose another book. I really like paranormal romance than involves psi powers, so this book was another hard to put down for me. I would definitely recommend it to those who are interested in paranormal romance, and especially psi powers.

Touch of Evil by C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp

I like reading about vampires. But I don't want to read the same old story over and over again. I was thrilled to find a new twist on the vampire story in Touch of Evil! It's somewhat similar to Laurell K. Hamilton's vampires in her Anita Blake books, so if you like Hamilton, you'll likely enjoy this book.

Kate lives in a house she owns and is slowly renovating into several different apartments. She's also a courier, flying expensive items to the four corners of the earth. As she's returning from a courier trip, Tom shows up to rent her apartment. He's been illegally evicted from his apartment for being a lycanthrope. Kate is immediately attracted to him, and the feeling is mutual.

Kate has a history with the Thrall, this book's version of vampires. There are Hosts, who share their bodies with the vampires through the laying of eggs in their bloodstream, and there is the Herd, those who feed the Thrall. Each Herd is led by a Queen. Kate has been bitten by a vampire after being given to them by her former fiance. She also defeated the Queen, so she is considered Not Prey and off-limits for hunting or feeding.

Something changes, and the Thrall begin to come after her. It turns out that they want her to be their next Queen, and it leads to a confrontation between her, the Thrall, and the area's lycanthropes.

The book was action packed, and I couldn't put it down. The vampires are not pretty in this book, and that's something I've thought since I started reading vampire books! They're evil parasites, and the authors certainly made them evil in this novel. I would highly recommend this book to pretty much anyone who enjoys paranormal romance. I know I can't wait to read the next in the series!