Protecting Caroline by Susan Stoker

 

5 Star

Matthew “Wolf” Steel and his SEAL teammates are heading to Virginia for some R&R.  When the woman sitting next to him offers him the aisle seat so he will be more comfortable he jumps at it.  He forgets all about her until she stops him from drinking his beverage.  Caroline works with chemicals everyday and something smells off with the drinks.  With Caroline’s help the SEALs are able to prevent the plane from being hijacked.  After they are all safe, they continue to talk until she goes missing.  Wolf will need to do everything he can to find her and keep her safe.

This book was amazing.  I really enjoyed seeing Caroline come out of her shell and protect the guys who are supposed to be taking care of her.  The relationship between Caroline and Wolf was awesome to read progress from seatmates to soulmates.  Caroline goes through hell and she still has a positive outlook on life and people.  I liked seeing the hints of where the series is going.

Book 1 SEAL of Protection

Gypsy Magic by J.R. Rain and H.P. Mallory

 

1 Star DNF

Poppy Morton moves her and her son from LA to a small town in Oregon for a fresh start.  She is from a long line of Scottish gypsies.  She’s hoping to open a shop to sell her potions.  Her son would like her to find a man.  In a small town full of available bachelors he just might get his wish.

I could not finish this book.  I got about 40% through it before I gave up.  I was hoping it would get better and less confusing and it didn’t.  There was no world building.  They alluded to things without actually going into it.  I do know how it ends since I skipped to the end to see what happened and it sounds like there might be an interesting story somewhere in there.  My philosophy is to read what makes you happy and if it doesn’t then move on to the next.  With authors I like I am always willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on the book.  I usually like H.P. Mallory but this one was not my cup of tea.

Book 1 Poppy’s Portion

Cyborg by Anna Hackett

 

3 Star

Magnus Rone can’t remember who Ever is even though she carries his baby.  Ever remembers their steamy night together and wants to get to know him better while still looking for the other humans.  He may not remember who she is but he feels a connection to her and wants to keep her safe.  She is determined to track down the other humans as well as connect with Magnus.

I had a few issues with this one.  The biggest being Ever being too stupid too live.  She is heavily pregnant and is running off into danger.  I get the wanting to save the other people but actively looking for them when you’re that far along is asking for trouble.  That and her actions lead to Magnus being taken a second time.  If she had just stayed behind and let the others go after the humans everyone would have been better off.  I still enjoyed the book and I liked seeing Magnus and Ever discovering how they would be together.  Here’s hoping the next book is better.

Book 10 Galactic Gladiators

Rogue by Anna Hackett

 

4 Star

Dayna Caplan is relieved to be free from the desert arena of Zaabha but now she is unsure what to do with herself.  She’s trying to figure out the symbiotic being she’s hosting.  To better understand it she has to live with mysterious Rillian.  He is all powerful casino owner who keeps a tight control of his life.  He doesn’t really want that life to be interrupted by Dayna but he can’t turn her away and he doesn’t want.  When people start turning up dead in the casino he will need to utilize her skills to find out who is killing his people.

I really enjoyed reading this story.  The struggle Dayna had in excepting her new life was a good read.  It was also a different story then some of the others as it mostly takes place in the casino and not House Galen.  Dayna is also able to sort of go back to her old job.  I loved reading Dayna’s interactions with Rillian’s staff.  She liked to poke at them to make sure they did their jobs well.  I had more issues with Rillian’s character and didn’t necessarily see the connection between him and Dayna.  It did get better between them towards the end of the book.  What sold it for me was really Dayna and the secondary characters.  This was a really good addition to the series and I can’t wait to read the next one.

Book 9 Galactic Gladiators

Wolf Gone Wild by Juliette Cross

 

3 Star

Evie Savoie bartends but is also a talented curse breaker.  Mateo Cruz is an alpha wolf who can’t shift.  He is desperate for help from anyone.  He goes to Evie begging for help.  She wants to help but has always been told to stay away from werewolf.  When she can’t break the curse on her own she will have to ask her sisters who are hesitant to help. They will all need to work together to break the curse.

I enjoyed this story for the most part.  The romance was slow burn kind of romance.  It was interesting to see.  They got to know each other and slowly build into a couple.  One of the parts of the story I didn’t enjoy as much was the problem Mateo was dealing with.  There was no conflict to find a resolution.  It just all kind of clicked into place without any problems.  Evie also keeps some information from her sisters because she doesn’t want to worry them which leads to some slight problems.  Overall, it was an ok book that I finished but it isn’t one I will be checking out the second book in the series.   

Book 1 Stay a Spell

1001 Dark Nights: Cherish Me by J. Kenner

 

4 Star

Nikki and Damien have been together for years and he has just gotten more protective over those years.  While visiting friends for the holidays they have plans with their girls to spend family time in Manhattan.  In addition to the family time Nikki has a surprise for him.  When danger strikes will they all make it out alive?

I must I haven’t read the rest of this series.  There are things in this story that would probably make more sense if I read the rest of the series first.  I was still able to follow along nicely.  Even with that I enjoyed this story a lot.  I enjoyed the writing style from J. Kenner as well as the story.  It flowed really nicely from the beginning to the end.  I am now going to go and look up the series and add that to my TBR pile to catch up.

Stark Ever After Novella

Rogue by Anna Hackett

 

This book is two short stories. Each book is reviewed separately.

Information Rogue: 4 Star

Zhim has been helping the House of Galen with finding the humans who have been trafficked.  He thrives on discovering new information and selling it at a premium.  He is thrown for a loop when he meets Ryan who is just as good as he is with a computer.  They team up to try and find the rest of the missing humans.  Zhim didn’t want anything permanent but he’s not sure he can let her walk away either.

We were able to see these two interact in other books leading into this book and I really enjoyed seeing it fleshed out in this story.  I also liked seeing someone outside of the House of Galen finding his lady love. 

Desert Rogue: 3 Star

Neve doesn’t want or need any help.  She will find her sister without any help.  Corsair is the desert leader of the Corsair Caravan.  He is drawn to Neve even though she has made in known she’s not interested.  However, much Neve thinks she can do it alone she will need the help of Corsair to discover the location of her sister.

Where I liked both Zhim and Ryan I can’t say the same for Neve.  I loved Corsair but she just frustrated me to know end.  I didn’t like her character which led me to enjoy this story less since I really wanted to like who Corsair ends up with.  This was also more insta love then the other short story.  The other couple had spent a lot of time talking before getting together and this couple hadn’t.  This story did help progress the overall world story with another House and I can’t wait to read the next book.

Book 8 Galactic Gladiators