Nikyta’s Reviews

Book Review: Shelter Me by Catherine Mann

Reviewed by Nikyta

Shelter Me (Second Chance Ranch, #1)Title: Shelter Me
Author: Catherine Mann
Series: Second Chance Ranch #1
Hero/Heroine: Mike & Sierra
Genre: M/F Contemporary
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 5, 2014
Available at: Berkley, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Nestled in the sunny fields of Tennessee lies the McDaniel family’s Second Chance Ranch Animal Rescue. Two new arrivals are on their way, but only one is the four-legged kind.

Staff Sergeant Mike Kowalski wants only one thing after he gets home from Iraq: to sleep in a king-sized bed with clean sheets. But first, he has to hand off his fallen commander’s dog, Trooper, to his family without handing off his heart to Sierra…

Sierra McDaniel needs a break. Her family life is crazy, and when she’s not mucking out kennels, she’s slogging through grad school. Sierra certainly doesn’t want another dog, especially one that reminds her of her father. And she definitely doesn’t want to see Mike with that charming smile of his…

But Trooper has a mission of his own. Before too long Mike is moving to the ranch to lend a hand—and hoping for his own second chance with Sierra.

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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Deep Plunge by Rory Ni Coileain

Reviewed by Nikyta

iTitle: Deep Plunge
Author: Rory Ni Coileain
Series: SoulShares #3
Heroes: Lochlann Doran/Garrett Templar
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Length: 202 Pages
Publisher: Ravenous Romance
Release Date: August 28, 2013
Available at: Ravenous Romance, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: For the last six hundred years or so, the only things reminding Lochlann Doran he’s a Fae have been his faceted aquamarine eyes and the fact that he can’t die. He’s been a wanderer for so long in the human world – over two thousand years – that he’s lost his magick, including the gift of healing that goes along with being a Fae of the Demesne of Water. Finding his SoulShare might get it back for him. But it might kill him, too.

Garrett Templar has been living on borrowed time, in a sense, since he was eighteen, when one of the johns he entertained to pay the bills while he danced at Purgatory infected him with HIV. It was always supposed to be a “manageable” disease, though, at least until a cure was found. Except he’s just found out that the virus in his system has inexplicably mutated into full-blown AIDS, and no known drug cocktail can even slow it down.

And when Lochlann and Garrett find each other at last, on Purgatory’s dance floor, the only thing as urgent as their need for one another is the hunger of an ancient evil to do whatever is necessary to possess Lochlann’s magick…
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: In Your Eyes by Cardeno C.

Reviewed by Nikyta

22472374Title: In Your Eyes
Author: Cardeno C.
Series: Mates #3
Heroes: Samuel Goodwin/Korban Keller
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 200 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: July 14, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Raised to become Alpha of the Yafenack pack, Samuel Goodwin dedicates his life to studying shifter laws, strengthening his body, and learning from his father. Taking control comes easily to Samuel, but relating to people, including those he’s supposed to lead, is a constant challenge.

When Samuel meets Korban Keller, the son of a neighboring pack’s Alpha, he reacts with emotion instead of intellect for the first time in his life. Resenting the other shifter for putting him off-balance, Samuel first tries to intimidate Korban and then tries to avoid him. What he can’t do is forget Korban’s warm eyes, easy smile, and happy personality.

When a battle between their fathers results in tragedy, Samuel and Korban are thrown together. With his world crashing down around him, Samuel must save his pack and show them he can lead. But first, Korban needs to save Samuel by inspiring him to feel. Two very different men with a tumultuous history must overcome challenges from all sides and see past the rules they’ve been taught to realize they are destined to fit together.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mobster Week Review: Yakuza Courage by H.J. Brues

Reviewed by Nikyta

7Title: Yakuza Courage
Author: H.J. Brues
Series: The Way of the Yakuza #2
Heroes: Kinosuke/Brendan & Kotaro
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 336 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: August 1, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Ex-Navy SEAL Brendan O’Farrihy enrolls in kendo classes to investigate a Honolulu dojo acting as a front for a yakuza syndicate. Or at least that’s what Brendan’s client, Senator Harris, believes. Through his kendo instructor, the cocky, short-fused, gorgeous Kinosuke Yonekawa, Brendan learns the criminals who are supposedly using the senator’s son, Kenneth, to expand their activities into the US, seem to have severed any yakuza connections. The jaded, soul-scarred former soldier is captivated by the loyalty these gangsters show each other and the way they protect Ken like a tight military unit. Brendan wonders why the senator lied to him, and what the yakuza are shielding Ken from.

When Ken disappears, Brendan suspects foul play and decides to help the man he is falling for, Kinosuke, and his friends, find Ken. But when Kinosuke discovers Brendan has been on the senator’s payroll, all bets are off.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: So I Married a Werewolf by Kristin Miller

Reviewed by Nikyta

So I Married a Werewolf (Seattle Wolf Pack, #3)Title: So I Married a Werewolf
Author: Kristin Miller
Series: Seattle Wolf Pack #3
Hero/Heroine: Carter & Faith
Genre: M/F Paranormal Romance
Length: 260 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Release Date: July 28, 2014
Available at: Entangled Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Carter Griffin, enforcing officer for the Seattle Wolf Pack, has a problem. He’s been offered the promotion of his dreams…if he can find a wife to prove he’s over his playboy ways. But Carter’s already walked the matrimonial road and bought the stinkin’ T-shirt. Besides, a werewolf only gets one fated mate. Been there, done that.

All werewolf dog trainer Faith Hamilton wants to do is earn enough green stuff to put her younger brother through college. Okay, okay, so she also totally wants Carter, her sexy next-door neighbor, to look at her as more than a friend. It’s too bad size 12 and plain isn’t his type. At all.

The two friends strike a deal to help one another out. They must face a variety of challenges from a psycho ex-girlfriend to a Yorkie with a shoe fetish…and that pesky problem of only having one-fated mate in a lifetime. Will a relationship ruin their friendship…or spark a love neither anticipated?

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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews

Reviewed by Nikyta

fTitle: Magic Breaks
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #7
Heroine/Hero: Kate/Curran
Genre: M/F Urban Fantasy
Length: 381 Pages
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: July 29, 2014
Available at: Ace, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: No matter how much the paranormal politics of Atlanta change, one thing always remains the same: if there’s trouble, Kate Daniels will be in the middle of it…

As the mate of the Beast Lord, Curran, former mercenary Kate Daniels has more responsibilities than it seems possible to juggle. Not only is she still struggling to keep her investigative business afloat, she must now deal with the affairs of the pack, including preparing her people for attack from Roland, a cruel ancient being with god-like powers. Since Kate’s connection to Roland has come out into the open, no one is safe—especially those closest to Kate.

As Roland’s long shadow looms ever nearer, Kate is called to attend the Conclave, a gathering of the leaders from the various supernatural factions in Atlanta. When one of the Masters of the Dead is found murdered there, apparently at the hands of a shapeshifter, Kate is given only twenty-four hours to hunt down the killer. And this time, if she fails, she’ll find herself embroiled in a war which could destroy everything she holds dear…

*Please be aware this review may contain major spoilers. Read at your own risk.*
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Black Rook by Kelly Meade

Reviewed by Nikyta

Black Rook (Cornerstone Run Trilogy, #1)Title: Black Rook
Author: Kelly Meade
Series: Cornerstone Run Trilogy #1
Hero/Heroine: Rook/Brynn/Knight (No, this isn’t menage!)
Genre: M/F Paranormal
Length: 334 pages
Publisher: InterMix
Release Date: July 15, 2014
Available at: InterMix (Penguin), Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: She never saw this coming…

Brynn Atwood is a low-level Magus whose unpredictable precognitive powers have made her an outcast among her people—and an embarrassment to her highly-regarded father. After a frightening vision in which her father is murdered by a loup garou man, Brynn decides to prove herself by finding the killer, and stopping them at any cost.

Her target is Rook McQueen, the son of a small-town loup garou Alpha. Despite being the youngest of three, Rook is first in line to inherit the role of Alpha, a duty he isn’t sure he’s capable of fulfilling. When Brynn finally meets Rook, she doesn’t expect the attraction that draws her to him—and him to her.

No longer believing him a murderer, Brynn and Rook strike an alliance to find her father’s real killer. But when his older brother is targeted by an unknown enemy, Rook will have to choose between his growing feelings for Brynn and his duty as the future Alpha of his community.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Early Review: Swan Prince by Erin Lark

Reviewed by Nikyta

22718599Title: Swan Prince
Author: Erin Lark
Heroes: Oliver/Bastion
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 149 Pages
Publisher: Entangled: Edge
Release Date: August 4, 2014
Available at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Trapped between his royal heritage and swan shifter status, Oliver doesn’t pay close attention during his flock’s winter migration, and gets caught in the crosshairs of a trigger-happy hunter.

Careening toward the ground with no place to go, Oliver submits to his human form. As his swan’s feathers recede, he seeks shelter in an old barn.

Bastion’s spent the better part of his adult life caring for a bunch of bullheaded stallions, but this is the first time he’s ever found a naked and gorgeous man in one of his stalls. When he asks the man his name, he doesn’t get a reply. Without a wallet or a voice to tell him who this stranger is, Bastion takes Oliver in, clothes him and tends to a mysterious wound.

Oliver has nowhere else to go. Bastian is in a bind after firing a farmhand who would much rather call in sick than do his job. When passion flares, can Bastion and Oliver overcome their differences, or will this swan prince fly south?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Gale Force by Rory Ni Coileain

Reviewed by Nikyta

1Title: Gale Force
Author: Rory Ni Coileain
Series: Soulshares #2
Heroes: Connall Dary/Josh LaFontaine
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Length: 230 Pages
Publisher: Ravenous Romance
Release Date: March 12, 2013
Available at: Ravenous Romance, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Conall Dary is the most powerful mage born to the Fae race since the Realm was parted from the human world, over two thousand years ago. But that very power condemns him to a lifetime of celibacy, because sex calls to power, and he has power enough to drain a world. When he refuses to use his talents for a Noble lady’s petty revenge, he finds himself shanghaied to the human world, his soul torn in half and his magick blocked. Josh LaFontaine is the beautifully inked owner of Raging Art-On, a Washington, D.C. tattoo and piercing parlor. While taking part in New York City’s Pride march with a former lover’s dance company, his world changes forever when the man of his dreams materializes out of nowhere at his feet . Josh’s sensual and loving touch, the first Conall has ever known, may be enough to give him back the magick he’s lost. But before they can complete their Soulshare, a terrible accident leaves Conall bodiless, lost, and invisible, to everyone except – maybe – the human with whom he shares a soul. But Josh will need to find him before the ancient evil of the Marfach does or everything they have – and more – will be lost.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Early Review: Only with You by Lauren Layne

Reviewed by Nikyta

Only with You (The Best Mistake, #1)Title: Only with You
Author: Lauren Layne
Series: The Best Mistake #1
Hero/Heroine: Sophie & Gray
Genre: M/F Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Imprint: Forever
Release Date: July 29, 2014
Available at: Grand Central Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Love is the Biggest Gamble of All . . .

Cocktail waitress Sophie Dalton doesn’t exactly have a life plan. She’s perfectly happy being everyone’s favorite party girl. But when a Las Vegas bachelorette party goes awry and an uptight businessman mistakes Sophie for a prostitute . . . well, Sophie wonders if it’s time to reevaluate her priorities. Swearing off her thigh-high boots for good, Sophie slinks back home with damaged pride-and a jackpot of a hangover.

Yet what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay there. On a trip to Seattle to open a new office, Grayson Wyatt meets his latest employee-who turns out to be the same woman he recently called a hooker. Wealthy and gorgeous, Gray is a man used to getting what he wants. And it doesn’t take long to figure out that smart, sassy, sexy Sophie is everything he’s been looking for. As their late nights at the office turn into hot morning-afters, they realize their Vegas misunderstanding may lead to the real thing . . .
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment