Review: Dark Taste of Rapture by Gena Showalter

 

Dark Taste of Rapture
(Alien Huntress # 6)

by Gena Showalter

Paranormal Romance

How do you like your heroes? Tall, muscled, strong, tortured, tattooed, oh-so-sexy, with golden eyes and . . .dimples! Is that close? Well then, meet Hector Dean. I mean, just take a look at the cover. He is edible!! And to make the cover justice, the man you will meet in the book is a fantasy come to life!

This book backtracks in the storyline to when Noelle and Ava go into the AIR agent training. And really, how can they be expected to concentrate on training when you have Dallas and Hector as your instructors? The connection is instant between Hector and Noelle but there are so many layers to their relationship that need to be peeled back from there. And it’s a lot of fun to see it happen.

Hectors past was very hard, and his present is a major thing to deal with. Although he is human, his arms heat up and can burn through even metal when he gets aroused, angry, or any strong emotion. Great in a fight, not so great around a girl. But he is intense!!! Hot in more ways than one!! I wouldn’t mind going up in flames with him. . . At all. . . He’s worth it!

And then there’s Noelle. She is my favorite heroine in this series. She can be funny, snarky, a bit spoiled. But she hides behind a mask and inside there’s a girl who has never been good enough for anyone, not her family, not her boyfriends. The only constant in her life is her friendship with Ava. Their loyalty to each other is amazing! But now she is getting married. I loved seeing their friendly interactions, her sadness at losing her friend or so she thought. They are hilarious together, they get each other in all their quirkiness.

But Hector sees through Noelle’s act as well. He knows there’s more to her than she lets on. And when Noelle really starts pushing the boundaries of their relationship, well I just love how he gives in to his desires and passions 100% and as much as he can. Even though he fights going further.

We revisit the alien trafficking storyline in this book instead of the Schon queen. She was completely absent here and I just wonder what happened with her. We do get somewhat of an answer to Dallas vision but there is still an open question about it at the end. I think I just heard Dallas saying he is ready to have his book written. And since I’m on the Dallas subject. . . He is so cute, trying to put his "best moves" on Noelle. It was hysterical. I gotta admit I’m jealous though!! I want to be Dallas' pretzel!

And just as we had best friends forever Ava and Noelle, we also see a small glimpse of my favorite bromance: Devyn and Dallas. I’m soooo on Brides side when Devyn mentioned that she wanted them to kiss like Noelle and Ava had done. *purrrrr*

Pretty much the whole cast shows up in this book. We also see Jaxon and Mia as well as McKell obviously. Together, AIR solves a case of missing girls aaaaaaannnnmnnd in the process a blast from the past character reappears! No, can’t tell you who it is. You’ll have to read to find out. But I’m sure this will play a big role in future books.

So what are you waiting for? Pick up this book, or if you haven’t yet, start this series!! You know you want to see Hector burn holes in brick walls, burn through gloves and burn down a house!!!!

Favorite Quotes:

Speaking of funny looks. "Did you see the way that Hector guy eyed me up and down, as if I belonged in a scientific studies magazine for newly discovered fungus?" "Yeah, but did you see his muscles?" "How could I miss them? His I've-tasted-human-heart-and-liked-it black T-shirt was strained to the point of lunacy." "Vocab lesson time. You mean lewdness. As in, indecent."

"Graduate Camp Hellhole - check," Noelle muttered. "Hired by AIR - check. Complete my first mission successfully - check. Kick Hector's ass at a foot race - check. Lose my best friend - check, check, fucking check, and scribble and crumble the notepad and slam it into the trash." 

The T-shirt was a gift from Ava and read Good Girls Need Spankings Too.

"Hey!" Dallas frowned at him. "When I tell you something's a secret, and you tell me that secret is locked in the vault, you aren't supposed to blab about it." Devyn blew him a kiss. "How was I supposed to know Hector would have the key to my vault."

 

Review: Seduce the Darkness by Gena Showalter

Seduce the Darkness

by Gena Showalter

(Alien Huntress # 4)

Paranormal Romance

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! What can I say! I love Devyn's character. He's sexy, he's sweet, he's funny, he's hot, he's self-centered, and he thinks he's God's gift to women... And I've been waiting for his book since he showed up in this series in book 2.

I really enjoyed this story, so far my favorite in the series, but they get better with each book. I definitely recommend the Alien Huntress series to everyone. The alien angle is done perfectly, and it's a great and different take on paranormal romance.

Devyn is actually paired with "Bride", a vampire living on the surface, who doesn't know any other vampires, and has much to learn about her own culture and world. She's actually pretty likeable and kick ass. She's had to basically survive on her own, with only one friend, her shapeshifter friend, Aleaha.

Bride has been having problems feeding, or keeping blood down. In her search for Aleaha she finds Devyn. And for the love of everything that's holy he cannot understand why she doesn't fall at his feet drooling and wanting him. But the attraction is there from the first moment.

Devyn will come to teach her many things about her race, as well as risking his own life to take her underground to find out who she really is.

I loved the part where Bride goes into McKell's room and Devyn ends up following her and having sex, all the while Devyn knowing that McKell can hear them! Mean... so mean! LOL

I also thought it was soooo cute the friendship and bond that has developed between Devyn and Dallas. They are BFFs!! And Devyn is loyal to his BFFs!

Favorite quote:

"I'm very good at math. Example: Devyn plus Bride minus clothes plus a hard, flat surface multiplied by roaming hands equals greatest pleasure ever. When shall we begin?"

This is a must read! And I can't wait to read more about the vampire world in the next book. Also, I can't wait to read Dallas's book, it all sounded VERY interesting in this one, and he's been one of my favorite characters from the beginning.

Review: Awaken Me Darkly by Gena Showalter

3.5 Feathers

Awaken Me Darkly

by Gena Showalter

(Alien Huntress # 1)

Paranormal Romance

Mia Snow is a Huntress, she hunts down aliens who have commited violent crimes on humans and executes them, and her most recent case, where a man shows up dead and posed in a seedy alley is no different, she hs to find the alien responsible and execute them. Only things aren't quite what they seem, espcially with a certain handsome but deadly alien, and the case soon becomes really personal.

I think this book starts of really well, she sets up an interesting futuristic world where aliens now live openly amoung us. However, some aliens aren't quite as peaceful as others and that is where Mia comes in. And the case is interesting, I wanted to know why these men had been abducted and murdered and I wanted to learn more about Mia and this sci-fi world. But as the book progressed it seemed like the whole thing was being rushed through and one minute you were in the thick of the action and revelations and the next everything was resolved and they all lived happily ever after, the last 5% of the book read more like a list of what happened next rather then a story.

I also felt like I never really got to know Kyrin who was the hero of the story, as it was told from first person POV I think this may be why as we go to know Mia quite well. But Kyrin, he seemed like an after thought and I don't get how the fell in love I didn't really feel the chemistry with them. One minute she hated him, the next she didn't.

There were also plot points left open, which I think are probably left that way on purpose for future books, like Mia's brother and the children. But I think there needed to be something more between Mia and her father to get some closure on that.

But despite all that I still enjoyed it, the whole thing was a bit different and I just can't resist the lure of sexy aliens!

Review: Ecstasy in Darkness by Gena Showalter

Ecstasy in Darkness (Alien Huntress # 5)

by Gena Showalter

Paranormal Romance

Find it on GoodReads!

Ladies, it's official! I am now a huge fan of the Alien Huntress series and I can actually say I like it better than Lords of the Underworld. *cue gasps*

I love the novelty of this paranormal world. There's aliens, of all types, and some sort of an alien invasion that the AIR agents are dealing with, by a particular alien species called Schon. They are sex aliens, basically succubi/incubi that need sex to survive, but when they have sex they infect the person with some sort of flesh eating, mortal disease. AIR has been fighting them since book 3, and now that the Schon Queen has finally arrived they have to stop her at any cost.

The usual suspects are here, mainly Mia from book 1, who has a bit more of a role in this investigation, Dallas, one of my crushes, the human who has alien abilities after drinking some of Kyrin's blood, Bride and Devyn, ohhhh Devyn, can I keep him? Like, maybe... tied to my bed and at my total mercy? Sorry got distracted. Where was I?

I was not familiar with the heroine, Ava, human, but apparently she's an AIR trainee, along with her best friend Noelle, human, Jaxon's cousin. These two are a riot! I love their friendship and their banter and I can't wait for Noelle's book next. The hero however, we met briefly in book 4. Gorgeous, tough, and brooding vampire Victor McKell. He has now been kicked out of the underworld where vampires live, and has to learn how to live topside. Except he wasn't expecting to mate Ava, a human of all people!

While figuring out a way to seduce her and keep her, McKell helps AIR in the investigation and hopefully aprehension of the Schon Queen. And he manages to turn a dog into a vampire. Yep, I've seen it all, a vampire-dog.

And let me go back to Dallas. Ahhh yes. Dallas has some sort of a connection to the Schon Queen, apart from his desire for her, which he can't seem to control. But will he be able to resist her? And will he be able to stop the events he forsees in his vision, which might ruin his friendship with Hector? Hector... sexy, tattoed, "special-hands/magic-fist" AIR agent, who has a crush on Noelle.

The only thing missing... I could've definitively used some more "sexy time" between Ava and McKell.  Even though they had a lot of smoking hot almost moments, I can't give this book the hotness award!

If you haven't read the Alien Huntress series, START NOW! You don't know what you're missing. Even after a "rough-start" with book 1, these books DO get better as the series goes along. They're sexy, full of humor, with enough action and intrigue to keep you on your toes, a great supporting cast, drool-worthy heroes, VERY likeable heroines, and a fun take on aliens. READ THEM NOW!

Favorite Quotes:

"He came to me, so I don't have to wash a goddamn thing," she called, knowing Noelle was long gone.
"Still talking," McKell shouted from the bedroom.
"Still annoying me," she shouted back. - McKell and Ava

"So you weren't wanting the aid of another man?"
"No." She could barely handle McKell.
"Then I won't spank you."
McKell... spanking her... Someone get this man a paddle. - McKell and Ava

"Your franctic call dragged me out of bed, and I'm thirsty. So. . . Dallas. Beer? Blink once if the answer's yes." - Hector

"One day, Dear John, you're going to wake up, and your penis is going to be resting on the pillow next to you. Not that you'd notice its absence, small as it is." - Noelle

"Be a good boy and fetch me another drink."
"Darling, I can't. You know how jealous you get when every woman in the room watches my ass as I walk away from you. So, really, by refusing to help you, I'm doing you a favor." - Devyn and Bride

Review: Deep Kiss of Winter by Gena Showalter and Kresley Cole

Deep Kiss of Winter (Anthology)

by Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter

Paranormal Romance

Find it on Goodreads!

Untouchable by Kresley Cole

(Immortals After Dark # 8)

WHAT’S A WROTH BROTHER GOT TO DO TO GET HIS OWN FULL LENGTH BOOK!?!!?

First, Nikolai and now Murdoch? I WISH THEY HAD THEIR OWN FULL LENGTH NOVELS!!! These Wroth brothers deserve better!

Once again, Kresley Cole proves herself with this long novella. I didn’t think Murdoch’s story would be that great, considering his less than desirable reputation as a manwhore. I wasn’t that interested to read his story because I am so smitten with his brother, Sebastian, but Murdoch’s got some moves, no doubt!

I love Murdoch! As a former rake in his human life, he’s confident enough that his moves will work on Daniela, but when Danii doesn’t fall for his charming words and gift offerings, Murdoch realizes he can’t tempt Danii with his previously effective material. I found that the fights and conflicts between the two created for a much more interesting story. And the fact that Murdoch comes for her in the end makes me melt more than any words he can say.

Daniela the Ice Maiden is such a unique character. I found myself instantly adoring her. Part Valkyrie and part Ice Fae, Danii’s definitely got one of the most interesting powers from the Lore. But her Ice Fae half prevents her from forming meaningful relationships with either side. Her Ice fae side wishes to see her dead and she doesn’t necessarily fit in with her Valkyrie sisters. Being alone and untouched for so long, Danii finds it hard to let herself fall in love...especially with a vampire who has a reputation of “hitting it and then quitting it”.

I loved the interactions between Murdoch and Danii. I was surprised to see so much development in the plot and reading about familiar names here and there. I especially loved the part where Murdoch says he bought a gemstone comb for Danii, but when he tries to give it to her, he can’t find it. If you’ve read Dark Needs at Night's Edge, then you know that Neomi Laress, Conrad’s mate stole it from Murdoch when he was unaware. Little things like that make me smile and I can’t help but rave about KC’s plotting.

After reading Untouchable, I think Murdoch and Conrad are tied in second place for my heart. Danii and Murdoch’s story is so well-planned and eloquently written that I can’t believe it’s only a novella. It’s hard to believe that this story spans from the first IAD novella, The Warlord Wants Forever to the latest instalment when it was released. KC is a freaking genius!

Lastly, I need to mention that icicle scene in the wintery woods! That was HOT, right!? After reading all these books with sexy winter sexcapades (Sin Undone snowball scene ;P) I can’t help but find winter a little more enjoyable. I’ll admit, I’ve been yelling at kids having a snowball fight in the streets to SAVE THOSE SNOWBALLS! I can think of a much better use for them, if you know what I mean! ;P

Tempt Me Eternally by Gena Showalter

(Alien Huntress # 4.5)

I do want to bring up one issue that bothered me before getting into the review of this book. I actually read this story AFTER Seduce the Darkness, which is how it was published if I understand that correctly. However in my opinion, it would've been much better to read that book AFTER this story.

Anyway... on to my review...Aleaha is a shapeshifter, she can change into anything or anyone she wants, and she has currently taken the identity of an AIR agent. She thinks no one suspects her, but actually everyone knows she's no the real agent, but like that she's good at her job and doesn't have some of the issues the "original" girl had.

Breean... where to start, he's a rakan, which I'm coming to realize it's a race of aliens I really seem to like! *Rakans are completely gold, from the hair to their toenails and eyelashes* Him and his group of rakan soldiers landed on Earth while the AIR agents were expecting a different invasion, and that's where Breean meets Aleaha, and he's totally captivated. She has to be his.

And let me tell you these two are just HOT! I am enjoying this series more and more and I really can't wait to read the next book! This is a completely different take on aliens, so don't let the subject stop you from reading this series. It's amazing!