Review: Dark and Dangerous in other realms
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 2, 2014
I wish I could rate this book higher. Five is the highest Amazon gives us. There are six novels in the bundle and I recommend all of them with the exception of Seduce. Each novel is filled with clearly defined characters, realistic development, a good story, and romance. There is even some pretty hot loving going on, but, except for Seduced, it never takes over the story. Just like in real life, it's an integral part of the relationship between the hero and heroine. I have tried very hard not to put any spoilers in my reviews. In this group of stories, NOT knowing things enhances everything about them.Hard Mated (Jennifer Ashley)This story is about a shifter, the son he never know he had, and the woman who will brave anything to protect Jordan. Spike is a jaguar shifter, a fighter in the ring, and generally not a nice guy. Five years ago, he had a one-night stand with Jillian. Jordan was born as a result. Now Jillian is dying and Jordan is showing signs of his shifter heritage. She asks her best friend, Myka to find Spike and ask him to come see her. It is there that Spike meets his son and dicovers he does have a gentle side. Myka doesn’t trust him so she insinuates herself into their lives. This doesn’t please Spike – even though he is attracted to her – but he puts up with it because Myka’s connection with Jordan is strong and her presence is making the transition from “normal” living to living in a world of shifters easier. He doesn’t want to admit it but she is also helping him learn how to be a father. The growing affection Spike and Myka is fun to watch.  Sometimes I wanted to smack both of them “upside the head,” but I refrained and let them figure it all out. As a first entry is an anthology of six stories, it is a keeper. I’m not going to give details. I’m just going to say that I enjoyed the story, the development of the characters and their relationship, and the many different kinds of shifters. This is the first time I’ve read a story of multiple types of shifters all living together.  I recommend this story and rate it a 5.The Mating Hunt (Bonnie Vanak)This story is about Kyle and Arianna. He is her guardian. Both are wolf shifters. Arianna is just coming into her first heat and must mate. There is a problem though. Arianna was viciously raped and beaten at twelve and is terrified. Kyle has always been her protector but he also knows that he won’t let anyone else mate with her. For Arianna, Kyle is the only man/wolf who has ever attracted her. There is a lot of tension because of this and Kyle does his level best to introduce her to sex gently. The memory of the rape is very strong and Arianna’s continued trauma is realistic. All she wants is to have a normal life with a mate she loves and who loves her. She want’s children and envies the women with families.  As the tension between Kyle and Arianna intensifies, the wolf clan learns that humans are stealing shifter children. Kyle is warned that if Arianna does not mate before the full moon, she will be executed to protect the rest of the clan. It seems that an unmated female in heat makes all the males crazy and dangerous to all the members of the clan, so there is logic to the demand. The patience that Kyle shows Arianna is poignant and real. Her desperation to comply is also real. That story, interwoven with the stolen shifter children keeps interest elevated. Who is stealing the children? Why? How can Arianna obey the clan rule? Can Kyle stay patient or will he crack under the strain of her oncoming heat?  I rate this a 5 primarily because of the love story and the very realistic reactions Arianna displays to sex.Embrace the Dark (Caris Roane)The wedding celebration is in full swing in the Merhaine Realm castle gardens. Gerrod, the mastyr vampire, is staring at Abigail, a human who is expanding her business by opening a second cookie bakery/store in Merhaine. As a gift to the bride and groom, she made the wedding cake. Gerrod is angry that she is here. Their relationship is “hate at first sight and beyond.” She is over his domineering unfriendly disagreeable argumentative ways. He is over his seeming uncontrollable attraction to her and the way she treats him, like his status as mastyr vampire is nothing. She is human, for goddess sake. She has no business messing with his mind and body, driving him mad. They have an argument and Abigail pokes her finger in his chest. Oops, she feels threads of emotion coming to her from him and worse, she can hear his thoughts and responds telepathically. “Impossible!” he says. Evidently, it’s not impossible. Their conversation is concluded entirely through telepathy.  Then the Invictus, wraith abomination, attack and everything else becomes incidental. Using his incredible powers, he both fights off the Invictus and casts a protection spell over the partygoers as they race to the castle’s protecting walls. Abigail sees a child forgotten in the garden, races to him, asks Gerrod to reform the protection spell over her and the child. He does, but this depletes him more. Abigail has always known Gerard’s devotion to duty. For three hundred years, he has protected and defended his people. Now he fights alone until he is close to death and only gives in when help arrives and the Invictus are vanquished.  Through it all, Abigail watches, notices his exhaustion, and asks the butler, a troll named Augustus (a wonderfully developed character who “shifts around like a child who has to go to the bathroom but that’s okay because he has pretty feet”) about Gerrod. Abigail’s natural personality is kind and caring. She decides that she will help Gerrod. It is now we at introduced to Abigail’s very strange condition. Her body manufactures too much blood and she has to have it drained frequently.  I do not want to spoil the rest of the story. You have the gist. You can probably figure out some of the plot line. Doesn’t matter.  The way Caris writes, I was pulled along (willingly) and enjoyed every word, laughing at Gus’s antics keeping Gerrod in line, and the growing love between Gerrod and Abigail. In a world of elves, Fae, trolls, and vampires, each has a place and purpose. Gerrod’s character struggles with his fiercely growing need for Abigail. She is quite calm about it.I recommend this story and author and rate this story and very strong 5.Assassin’s Touch (Laurie London)There are portals leading to another world. It’s a peaceful place until the portals are discovered by our side, and we decide the Cascadians have something we want – magic. The Pacifican soldiers roam the mountains looking for portals to attack the Cascadians. Neyla was a normal person enjoying her work as a costume designer until she barely survives a train wreck. Because of her injuries, she has a new talent as a Protector.  The Pacifican Army forces her to work for them. As much as she hates the work and the men she has to work with (“real slime,” if you ask me), she understands their need for her ability. She believes what the media says about the Cascadians – that they are responsible for the accidents (including her train wreck) so she goes along.  She gets tossed off a cliff by one of the “real slime” and thus begins the story. Rickert is an assassin protecting his people from the Pacificans. He is on his way back through the portal when he finds Neyla, realizes she is a Protection Talent, and knows he cannot leave her behind. How he takes her through and her reaction is a mixture of humor and stress. He tells her that he is taking her to the Cascadian prison. He’s determined to do just that but every time he touches her, they both see the same vision – they are making love. That it is lovemaking is a shocker for both of them. Riddick is so puzzled that he introduces her as a friend because he wants answers and doesn’t want to put her in harm’s way until he figures it out.  Neyla is just as puzzled and grateful she’s not at the mercy of the prison guardian, whose reputation as a master of torture is well known and shared. Character development is at the heart of this story. We watch both Riddick and Neyla struggle with long held beliefs and learned enmity as their attraction grows into trust and love. I highly recommend this story to anyone looking romantic adventure with humor as well as fear. I give this story a strong 5.Shadow Bound (Erin Kellison)Oh, my God! I have to say that this story wore-me-out. There were times I had to stop reading just to catch a breath. I’d turn off my tablet and within a few minutes, I was pulled back to see what was happening. There is a world between life and death (Shadowland) occupied by the Shadowman who guides the dying to whatever comes next. He has watched and loved one woman who has been sick all her life. Now she is dying and Shadowman has come to take her when she’s ready. She sees him (has always seen him) and asks that he come to be with her. They make love and she lives long enough to give birth to Talia. Shadowman has broken all the rules and as his punishment, the “Demon” is released into the world. He offers humans immortality in exchange for their souls. What results are the wraith.  They look human until the hunger comes over them, at which point they “eat (eeeu)” their prey – humans. Adam Thorne is a hugely rich man who has built Segue, an organization that hunts for the cause and how to destroy the wraiths. Talia O’Brien is Shadowman’s daughter. She can hide herself in shadow and does to evade the wraith that are searching for her. She has also written her dissertation on life after death and the transition. Adam searches for her, rescues her from a wraith attack (actually it’s a mutual rescuing), and brings her to Segue.I don’t want to take away from any readers anticipation of the what happens during the war against the wraith. Erin does such a marvelous job of mixing the conflict between Adam and Talia and their growing trust and attraction, and the life and death struggles of those trying to save the world. To put is simply, there is love, betrayal, jealousy, pride, emotional growth in confidence as well as learning to give up control. Adam and Talia are so real and watching their story wrapped in a scary, world altering war, is worth every minute. Just be sure to have a fluff piece ready when you’re done. I rate this story a 10.Seduce (Felicity Heaton)If you want a story of virtually non-stop sex, this is for you. Personally, I got bored and started scanning for conversation and activity that did not involve getting naked. I rate this story a 1/2.