Review: The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens

Title: The Kingdom (Graveyard Queen #2)
Author: Amanda Stevens
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Heat Index: 2 out of 5
Release Date: March 27th, 2012
Word/Page Count: 400 pages
Format: NetGalley

Deep in the shadowy foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains lies a dying town...

My name is Amelia Gray. They call me The Graveyard Queen. I’ve been commissioned to restore an old cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina, but I’m coming to think I have another purpose here.

Why is there a cemetery at the bottom of Bell Lake? Why am I drawn time and again to a hidden grave I’ve discovered in the woods? Something is eating away at the soul of this town—this withering kingdom—and it will only be restored if I can uncover the truth.

Review: Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

Title: Shades of Milk and Honey (Shades of Milk and Honey #1)
Author: Mary Robinette Kowal
Genre: Historical Romance, Paranormal Romance
Heat Index: 1 out of 5
Release Date: July 26th, 2010
Word/Page Count: 304 pages
Format: Purchased

The fantasy novel you've always wished Jane Austen had written

Shades of Milk and Honey is exactly what we could expect from Jane Austen if she had been a fantasy writer: Pride and Prejudice meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It is an intimate portrait of a woman, Jane, and her quest for love in a world where the manipulation of glamour is considered an essential skill for a lady of quality.

Jane and her sister Melody vie for the attentions of eligible men, and while Jane's skill with glamour is remarkable, it is her sister who is fair of face. When Jane realizes that one of Melody's suitors is set on taking advantage of her sister for the sake of her dowry, she pushes her skills to the limit of what her body can withstand in order to set things right--and, in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own.

Review: Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan

Title: Fractured Light
Author: Rachel McClellan
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Heat Index: 1 out of 5
Release Date: February 8th, 2012
Word/Page Count: 312
Format: NetGalley

I’m dying, I thought. This was unexpected and not at all how I envisioned my death. I was supposed to die gardening in a flowerbed as a hundred-year-old woman, not as a seventeen-year-old trapped in a lake beneath inches of ice.

Llona Reese is used to living on the run. After the Vykens killed her parents, she knew they would eventually come for her too. She can’t take any chances. But when she starts to make friends for the first time in her life, she gets careless and lets her guard down. Big mistake.

As an Aura, Llona can manipulate light and harness its energy. But if she wants to survive, Llona will have to defy the Auran Council and learn to use her power as a weapon against the Vyken whose sole desire is to take her light. Now she’s caught in something even bigger than she can understand, with a power she can’t wield, and no one she can trust, except, just maybe, a mysterious stranger.

In this breathtaking and romantic adventure, Rachel McClellan delivers a truly mesmerizing story that will keep you guessing to the very end.

Review: To Summon a Demon by Lisa Alder

Title: To Summon a Demon
Author: Lisa Alder
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Erotica
Heat Index: 4 out of 5
Release Date: August 25th, 2011
Word/Page Count: 81 pages
Format: Copy from The Romance Reviews for review

To gain revenge, she summons a Demon...and loses her heart.

After Lili is viciously attacked by the Fae, she wants revenge. Who better to help her than the sworn enemies of the Fae, Demons. So she uses an ancient sex ritual to summon a Demon lover and offers her body in exchange for his aid.

Prince Gaap, commander of the Water Elemental Demons, is curiously drawn to the mysterious Lili. Though her summons is clearly a trap, an attempt by the Fae to infiltrate and harm the Demons, he cannot resist the seductive lure of her battered soul.

Even forewarned, Lili is helpless against Gaap's sensual attraction and loses her heart to her Demon lover.

Review: Stray by Rachel Vincent

Title: Stray (Shifters #1)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Heat Index: 3 out of 5
Release Date: June 1st, 2007
Word/Page Count: 618
Format: Purchased

There are only eight breeding female werecats left . . .
And I'm one of them.

I look like an all-American grad student. But I am a werecat, a shape-shifter, and I live in two worlds.

Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a Stray attacked.

I'd been warned about Strays -- werecats without a Pride, constantly on the lookout for someone like me: attractive, female, and fertile. I fought him off, but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared.

This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back . . . for my own protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty. I'll take on whatever -- and whoever -- I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out, Strays -- 'cause I got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them . . .

Review: Chain Reaction by Zoe Archer

Title: Chain Reaction (8th Wing #2)
Author: Zoe Archer
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy Romance
Heat Index: 2 out of 5
Release Date: January 9th, 2012
Word/Page Count: 43,000 words
Format: NetGalley

Elite 8th Wing pilot Celene Jur was taken captive after a mysterious device temporarily disabled her ship's controls. Three solar months later, when Celene receives intel on the man who built the device, she's ready to get the bastard. Only problem is, the higher-ups think her mission partner should be Nils Calder, a tech-head who can understand the disabling device. The attraction between them is electric, but Celene needs a soldier who can watch her back as she exacts her revenge.

Nils knows his department is nicknamed NerdWorks. Pilots like Celene think the closest tech geeks come to combat is all-night Nifalian chess tournaments. But behind the NerdWorks insignia on his sleeve Nils is an able fighter, ready to prove himself and gain Celene's trust.

The desire between them is unexpected, but with the fate of thousands hanging in the balance, the hotshot pilot and the tech genius must succeed in their mission—no matter the cost.

Review: The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

Title: The Demon Lover (Fairwick Chronicles #1)
Author: Juliet Dark
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Heat Index: 3 out of 5
Release Date: December 27th, 2011
Word/Page Count: 416 pages
Format: Purchased

I gasped . . . or tried to. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t draw breath. . . . His lips, pearly wet, parted and he blew into my mouth. My lungs expanded beneath his weight. When I exhaled he sucked in my breath and his weight turned from cold marble into warm living flesh.

Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly erotic dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of writing her bestselling book, The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. After all, Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she finds herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name.

But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: He’s not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the incubus, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult—banishing this demon lover from her heart.

Review: Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep

Title: Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin #1)
Author: Jennifer Estep
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Heat Index: 2 out of 5
Release Date: January 26th, 2010
Word/Page Count: 395 pages
Format: Purchased

My name is Gin, and I kill people.

They call me the Spider. I'm the most feared assassin in the South — when I'm not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don't use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.

Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I'm out for revenge. And I'll exterminate anyone who gets in my way — good or bad. I may look hot, but I'm still one of the bad guys. Which is why I'm in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I'm battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction...especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy.

Review: Sins of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Title: Sins of the Demon (Kara Gillian #4)
Author: Diana Rowland
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Heat Index: 1 out of 5
Release Date: January 3rd, 2012
Word/Page Count: 320 pages
Format: Purchased

The homicide beat in Louisiana isn't just terrifying, it's demonic. Detective Kara Gilligan of the supernatural task force has the ability to summon demons to her aid, but she herself is pledged to serve a demonic lord. And now, people who've hurt Kara in the past are dropping dead for no apparent reason. To clear her name and save both the demon and human worlds, she's in a race against the clock and in a battle for her life that just may take her to hell and back.

Review: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Title: I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies #1)
Author: Pittacus Lore
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Heat Index: 1 out of 5
Release Date: August 3rd, 2010
Word/Page Count: 440
Format: Purchased

Now a major motion picture starring Alex Pettyfer

In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now.

The Nine had to separate and go into hiding. The Mogadorian caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. All of them were killed. John Smith, of Paradise, Ohio, is Number Four. He knows that he is next.

I Am Number Four is the thrilling launch of a series about an exceptional group of teens as they struggle to outrun their past, discover their future—and live a normal life on Earth.

I AM NUMBER FOUR.
I AM NEXT.

Review: Unclean Spirits by M. L. N. Hanover

Title: Unclean Spirits (The Black Sun's Daughter #1)
Author: M. L. N. Hanover
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Heat Index: 1 out of 5 (On-Screen Kissing, Off-Screen Sex)
Release Date: December 2nd, 2008
Word/Page Count: 357
Format: Purchased

In a world where magic walks and demons ride, you can't always play by the rules.

Jayné Heller thinks of herself as a realist, until she discovers reality isn't quite what she thought it was. When her uncle Eric is murdered, Jayné travels to Denver to settle his estate, only to learn that it's all hers — and vaster than she ever imagined. And along with properties across the world and an inexhaustible fortune, Eric left her a legacy of a different kind: his unfinished business with a cabal of wizards known as the Invisible College.

Led by the ruthless Randolph Coin, the Invisible College harnesses demon spirits for their own ends of power and domination. Jayné finds it difficult to believe magic and demons can even exist, let alone be responsible for the death of her uncle. But Coin sees Eric's heir as a threat to be eliminated by any means — magical or mundane — so Jayné had better start believing in something to save her own life.

Aided in her mission by a group of unlikely companions — Aubrey, Eric's devastatingly attractive assistant; Ex, a former Jesuit with a lethal agenda; Midian, a two-hundred-year-old man who claims to be under a curse from Randolph Coin himself; and Chogyi Jake, a self-styled Buddhist with mystical abilities — Jayné finds that her new reality is not only unexpected, but often unexplainable. And if she hopes to survive, she'll have to learn the new rules fast — or break them completely....

Review: Grave Witch by Kalayna Price

Title: Grave Witch (Alex Craft #1)
Author: Kalayna Price
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Heat Index: 1 out of 5
Release Date: December 16th, 2010
Word/Page Count: 325 pages
Format: Purchased

Not even death can save her now.

As a grave witch, Alex Craft can speak to the dead-she's even on good terms with Death himself. As a consultant for the police, she's seen a lot of dark magic, but nothing has prepared her for her latest case. When she's raising a "shade" involved in a high profile murder, it attacks her, and then someone makes an attempt on her life. Someone really doesn't want her to know what the dead have to say, and she'll have to work with mysterious homicide detective Falin Andrews to figure out why...

Review: Dead on the Delta by Stacey Jay

Title: Dead on the Delta (Annabelle Lee #1)
Author: Stacey Jay
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Heat Index: 1 out of 5 (Has some illicit kissing)
Release Date: May 31st, 2011
Word/Page Count: 389 pages
Format: Purchases

Once upon a time, fairies were the stuff of bedtime stories and sweet dreams. Then came the mutations, and the dreams became nightmares. Mosquito-size fairies now indulge their taste for human blood—and for most humans, a fairy bite means insanity or death. Luckily, Annabelle Lee isn’t most humans. The hard-drinking, smart-mouthed, bicycle-riding redhead is immune to fairy venom, and able to do the dirty work most humans can’t. Including helping law enforcement— and Cane Cooper, the bayou’s sexiest detective—collect evidence when a body is discovered outside the fairy-proof barricades of her Louisiana town.

But Annabelle isn’t equipped to deal with the murder of a six year-old girl or a former lover-turned-FBI snob taking an interest in the case. Suddenly her already bumpy relationship with Cane turns even rockier, and even the most trust-worthy friends become suspects. Annabelle’s life is imploding: between relationship drama, a heartbreaking murder investigation, Breeze-crazed drug runners, and a few too many rum and Cokes, Annabelle is a woman on the run—from her past, toward her future, and into the arms of a darkness waiting just for her. . . .

Review: Kindling the Moon by Jenn Bennett

Title: Kindling the Moon (Arcadia Bell #1)
Author: Jenn Bennett
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Heat Index: 3 out of 5
Release Date: June 28th, 2011
Word/Page Count: 358 pages
Format: Purchased

Meet Arcadia Bell: bartender, renegade magician, fugitive from the law. . . .

Being the spawn of two infamous occultists (and alleged murderers) isn’t easy, but freewheeling magician Arcadia “Cady” Bell knows how to make the best of a crummy situation. After hiding out for seven years, she’s carved an incognito niche for herself slinging drinks at the demon-friendly Tambuku Tiki Lounge.

But she receives an ultimatum when unexpected surveillance footage of her notorious parents surfaces: either prove their innocence or surrender herself. Unfortunately, the only witness to the crimes was an elusive Æthyric demon, and Cady has no idea how to find it. She teams up with Lon Butler, an enigmatic demonologist with a special talent for sexual spells and an arcane library of priceless stolen grimoires. Their research soon escalates into a storm of conflict involving missing police evidence, the decadent Hellfire Club, a ruthless bounty hunter, and a powerful occult society that operates way outside the law. If Cady can’t clear her family name soon, she’ll be forced to sacrifice her own life . . . and no amount of running will save her this time.

Arai's Ten Books for 2012

I was looking through the book release dates on FictFact the other day, marking down when my books for the series that I follow are coming out. It was then a downward spiral of, "ohh, this book looks interesting," and, "wow, I have to add that to my TBR pile."

Needless to say, this site is a black hole of wonder.

In this spirit, I decided to make a list of the top ten books I'm currently looking forward to in 2012. I say currently because, unfortunately, FictFact might have a new book that I stumble across tomorrow and I might end up being fickle. But, I promise, these are still going to be up at the top of my list.

Review: Slip Point by Karalynn Lee

Title: Slip Point
Author: Karalynn Lee
Genre: Science Fiction
Heat Index: 3 out of 5
Release Date: November 7th, 2011
Word/Page Count: 35,000 words
Format: NetGalley

From childhood, Shay had one dream—to join the Space Corps with her best friend and sweetheart, Jayce. When the Space Corps reveals that the father she thought was dead is actually an infamous pirate and rejects her application, the dream dies and she leaves the planet without saying a word to Jayce.

Ten years later, Shay is a pirate herself. She captains her own ship and has earned a reputation as one of the slipperiest pilots around. That's why she's recruited for a dangerous secret government mission. But the cargo she's assigned to smuggle turns out to be a woman with a government bodyguard—Jayce.

Jayce never thought he'd see Shay again, and when the mission forces them together on her ship, he isn't sure he can forgive her for deserting him; but their desire for each other is stronger than ever. Jayce knows he wants to be with Shay, but how can he trust a woman who's both a pirate and the girl who broke his heart?

Review: Midnight's Daughter by Karen Chance

Title: Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab #1)
Author: Karen Chance
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Heat Index: 2 out of 5
Release Date: October 7th, 2008
Word/Page Count: 373 pages
Format: Purchased

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir-half human, half vampire. Subject to uncontrollable rages, most dhampirs live very short, very violent lives. So far Dory has managed to maintain her sanity by unleashing her anger on those demons and vampires who deserve killing.

Now Dory's vampire father has come back into her life. Her Uncle Dracula (yes, the Dracula), infamous even among vampires for his cruelty and murderous ways, has escaped his prison. And her father wants Dory to work with gorgeous master vampire Louis-Cesare to put him back there.

Vampires and dhampirs are mortal enemies, and Dory prefers to work alone. But Dracula is the only thing on Earth that truly scares her, so when Dory has to go up against him, she'll take all the help she can get… ...

Review: Demons Not Included by Cheyenne McCray

Title: Demons Not Included (Night Tracker #1)
Author: Cheyenne McCray
Genre: Paramormal Romance
Heat Index: No idea. But the gratuitous talk of breasts in chapter 2 has implications
Release Date: June 2nd, 2009
Word/Page Count: 352 pages
Format: Purchased

Meet Nyx. This half-human, half–Drow private eye investigates paranormal crimes by day and is an elite Tracker of demons by night. She prefers working solo—and playing rough. So when a terrifying force starts murdering innocent humans and paranorms, and leaving strange demonic symbols burned into their buildings, it’s a case Nyx takes very personally…

Meanwhile, Nyx’s fellow Trackers are being killed one by one—and a sexy new Tracker named Torin is shadowing her every move. Torin has powers Nyx can’t read, and sometimes she wonders whose side he’s on. Nyx’s instincts tell her something’s brewing in the city’s meanest supernatural streets, and that it’s ready to unleash hell on Earth. Who can she trust? Now it’s five minutes to permanent midnight…and Nyx’s last chance means risking everything—even her own life.

Review: Break Out by Nina Croft

Title: Break Out (Blood Hunter #1)
Author: Nina Croft
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Space Opera
Heat Index: 4 out of 5
Release Date: July 5th, 2011
Word/Page Count: 140 pages
Format: Purchased

Irreverent. Irresponsible. Insatiable. Who says immortals can't have any fun?

The year is 3048, Earth is no longer habitable, and man has fled to the stars where they’ve discovered the secret of immortality—Meridian. Unfortunately, the radioactive mineral is exorbitantly expensive and only available to a select few. A new class comprised of the super rich and immortal soon evolves. The Collective, as they’re called, rule the universe.

Two-thousand-year-old Ricardo Sanchez, vampire and rogue pilot of the space cruiser, El Cazador, can’t resist two things: gorgeous women and impossible jobs. When beautiful Skylar Rossaria approaches him to break a prisoner out of the Collective’s maximum security prison on Trakis One, Rico jumps at the chance. Being hunted by the Collective has never been so dangerous–or so fun!

Review: Awaken Me Darkly by Gena Showalter

Title: Awaken Me Darkly (Alien Huntress #1)
Author: Gena Showalter
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Heat Index: 3 out of 5
Release Date: February 28th, 2006
Word/Page Count: 358 pages
Format: Purchased

RIDDING THE WORLD OF EVIL,

ONE ALIEN AT A TIME.

In a time and place not too far away, Mia Snow is an alien huntress for the New Chicago Police Department, and she's the perfect girl for the job. Tough and sexy, she's earned each of her scars battling the elusive enemy among us. Now, investigating a series of killings, she is shaken to the core when a burst of violence leaves her partner Dallas fighting for his life. A tall, erotic stranger holds the power to heal the injured agent -- and to bind Mia in an electrifying and dangerous seduction. He is Kyrin en Arr, of the deadly Arcadian species -- an alien, a murder suspect -- who has Mia walking a knife's edge, risking her badge and even her life. . . and edging closer to a shocking revelation that will shatter everything she's ever believed.

Warning: Not holding back on spoilers. Also, long-winded.