Review: Wow!!  All Great Standalones
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 24, 2014
1. Bodyguard is part of the Shifters Unbound series, by Jennifer Ashley and a great standalone. Elizabeth owns a variety store near a Texas Shiftertown, and is one of the few humans to allow shifters into her store. So when an armed robber forces her into the back office to open her safe, Ronan, a Kodiak bear shifter hidden by shelving,  comes to her aid. By disarming a human, however, Ronan places himself at odds with the law and is arrested by investigating officers, starting a series of events that bring into question who is really in charge.2. Alejandro' s Sorceress. This book is an often silly, yet good read and standalone in a series by Alyssa Day. Alejandro is a relatively new P Ops agent. He and his partner, Mac, are called out on a witches' garden infestation of chicken lizards, creatures that turn animals and people into stone with a glace. But the most disturbing creature in the garden is Rose Cardinal, a powerful witch who knows a person's deepest desire the instant they meet.3. Bewitch. This is a standalone and also book five in Felicity Heaton' s Vampire Erotic Theater series. Payne is a vampire/incubus hybrid who is looking for a certain witch who can help him find a magical ring.  Elissa is that witch and is looking for a way into the incubus' den to retrieve her young nephew.  They reach an alliance to help each other, all the while fighting the attraction that would lead to her ruin and death. This is a great read, and another plus is that Seduce, book three in the series, is included in Dark and Dangerous anthology.4. Darkness Falls is the first in the Reveler Series about the Chimera, the police of lucid dreamers in dreamscape. Reves have become the new rage, where people can buy tickets to enter "safe and legal" alternate realities while sleeping. But Jordan has natural talents that draw the attention of Chimera Malcolm Rook and of the crime lord that is already using her sister Maisie as a mule because Maisie can move between dreamscapes.  While the bad guys want Jordan and are willing to do anything to get her, Malcolm will do anything to keep her safe. I enjoyed this book and the excerpt for the next one about Maisie, where  another Chimera, Coll, sets out to free her from the powerful crime lord that has ensnared her.5. Rogue's Passion is Book Two in the Iron Portal Series by Laurie London and is a great standalone.  It is set in New Seattle, occupied by the Pacifica military ever since a catastrophic earthquake destroyed most of the city. Their continued presence is claimed to be necessary to protect citizens fromCascadian warriors who enter the city through hidden iron portals to set off  bombs. Olivia has been hiding her healer talent from the military because she knows they will capture her and force her to work for them, as they did her brother years earlier.  Then a bomb goes off in the street in front of where she works.  Asher, a Cascadian Warrior, didn't set the bomb, but saw who did. Before he can do anything, however, his injuries from the blast need to be healed and he just witnessed Olivia healing a dying woman. Unfortunately, he isn't the only one who noticed. I really liked this book and the excerpt from book one in the series, Assasin's Touch, which is included in Dark and Dangerous anthology.6. The Forbidden Life of Alex Moore is a standalone novella 1.5 in the Beyond Series by  Erin Quinn.  Lilly is out in the woods near her cabin chasing after the dogs left to her by her sister when she spots a man standing in the shadows.  Alex and his partner have come to the woods from the Beyond to kill the hellhounds that have crossed the barrier. With Lilly's assistance, Alex survives an attack and is helped back to her car, where a different threat materializes. Another slayer has arrived, and is ready to carry out the law that decrees there be no witnesses.7. The Mating Heat is the prequel to Bonnie Vanak's  Werewolves of Montana Series and also a good standalone. Ryder has taken the position of alpha from Alastair Mitchell, a wolf gone crazy after the death of his mate. Alistair's daughter, Kara, left after being beaten and scarred by her father. Ryder wants her back, and not for revenge.8.  Trapped is a short from the Blood Rose Tales by  Caris Roane about a vampire guardian mastyr  with constant hunger, and a fae blood rose, fated to produce sufficient blood for a mastyr.  Every night he fights Invictus, bonded wraith pairs that attack the realm. He then stops by her diner to take her home in safety, until the night the Invictus attack while they are in flight and he has to take her to his home. There they are trapped and forced to face the differences that caused them to break apart months earlier. Differences which seem insurmountable.If you enjoy paranormal romance, the only way you can go wrong is by not reading this anthology. It is a great showcase of talent and stories that left me wanting more. It is a Wow!