Burn For Me by Ilona Andrews (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn’t sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she’s kidnapped by Connor “Mad” Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan’s after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she’s getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world."

My Thoughts:

 I absolutely loved everything about this book from the first page to the last.  Burn For Me was such a refreshingly great beginning to a new paranormal romance series and really left me excited about this series in general!  The characters, world that this author has created, and even all of the secondary characters are so original compared to other books out there in this genre.  Nevada's grandma works on armored vehicles for instance....how great is that??  I just couldn't get enough and didn't want to see this book end.  Nevada and Rogan are both such great main characters.  Rogan is dark, dangerous, and filled with all of this powerful magic inside of him.  Nevada is young, much lighter personality wise, and filled with all of this untapped potential.  They are just such a perfect match in my opinion!  The world that Andrews has created is filled with magic users with different abilities and levels of magic.  It is a dark, gritty world where powerful magical families rule, and I loved everything about it!

Sometimes I find that the books I love the most are the hardest to share my thoughts on.  All I want to say are things like "READ IT NOW!!!" and "No seriously, I really loved it!!!!" which works but only to a certain extent.  Why did I love it so much?  Because it was so different from many of the other paranormal books that I have read.  Because it has two amazingly great main characters who have this great romantic tension thing going on between them.  Because it was fast paced, hard to put down, and left me wanting the second book instantly upon finishing.  These are just a few of the reasons why I loved this book so much!

Obviously I loved this one and can't say enough good things about it.  I'm anxiously awaiting the second book (heck even the cover will be exciting at this point) and will be picking it as soon as it is available.  As this if officially one of my favorite authors I cannot recommend this book enough.  Don't be put off by the paranormal romance label if that isn't quite your thing.  Really to me this one reads much more like an urban fantasy and I think fans of both genres will enjoy.  Highly, highly recommended!

Bottom Line:  A top ten read for 2014.  Enough said :)

Disclosure:  I checked out a copy of this book from my local library.  Thoughts are my own.

Behind Closed Doors by Shannon McKenna (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Surveillance expert Seth Mackey knows everything about the women that his millionaire boss toys with–and tosses aside. Raine Cameron is something different. Night after night, Seth watches her on a dozen different video screens. Her vulnerable beauty haunts him and her fresh innocence stirs a white-hot passion that he can barely control. Raine is pure temptation, but Seth has something more important to take care of first. He’s convinced that his boss, Victor Lazar, is responsible for his half-brother’s murder. He cannot put his secret investigation at risk, but he can’t stop wanting her–craving her–and soon he knows he can’t let Victor have her. For Raine may be Victor’s next victim…"

My Thoughts:

So this is going to be an interesting review to write as I have very mixed feelings about this one.  I decided to go back to the beginning of this series after reading and liking the tenth book in the series, Fatal Strike.  I went back and read my thoughts on it and they were mostly positive with a few quibbles.  It is a good thing that I started with that book because I honestly don't think I would have continued on with this series otherwise.  

Behind Closed Doors was such a mixed bag for me.  I absolutely did not care for the hero whatsoever.  I wanted to kick him for a good majority of the book.  And because of this I could never get behind the relationship that developed between Raine and Seth.  For one, he is watching her without her knowing it which is creepy no matter how you write it.  Then he is a complete ass to her MULTIPLE times and my dislike factor just kept getting higher.  I think one of the reasons that I kept reading was that I wanted to see Raine stand up for herself to him.  And I mean really stand up for herself.  Not only to him but to everyone in her life as she just left people push her around.  Which was another completely frustrating thing to read about.  This might make you seriously wonder why I kept reading but there was something that just kept drawing me back.  I did want Raine to really gain the confidence that she so desperately needed. Also, the suspense portions of this book were really well done.  I found myself reading this one quickly and for long periods of time just so that I was able to see what was going to happen next.  Finally, I just really wanted to see how everything from Raine's past played into what was happening in the present.  The author had me intrigued by the storyline even if the characters frustrated the hell out of me.

Bottom Line, this isn't a book for everyone in my opinion.  I think that some will enjoy it and others will probably feel more like I did.  This was only an okay read for me and left me with mixed feelings.  Will I continue to read this series?  Probably as I'm hoping that it grows and develops more (and especially because I liked Fatal Strike so much more).  I am very interested to see other character's books because I have a feeling I am going to like them more.  I'm not going to recommend this one but instead will tell you to try Fatal Strike.      

Bottom Line:  Only an okay read for me.

Disclosure:  Checked out from my local library for my Kindle.  Thoughts are my own.

If you are interested here are my thoughts on Fatal Strike.  

Blythewood by Carol Goodman (thoughts)

Blythewood was my final read of 2014 and ended up being a great way to end the year!  I went into this book not knowing a lot about it (other than I have enjoyed both adult books by this author that I have read) and it worked out really well for me.  This was a book filled with questions, where I never knew quite what was going on, and the suspense/questions carried me through the pages with ease.  I loved it!

In this book Avaline Hall is taken in by her maternal grandmother after a few horrifying turn of events including the death of her mother, a fire, and a stay in a mental asylum.  Staying with her grandmother means getting the chance to go to her mother's old boarding school, Blythewood.  Despite never explaining the fallout that happened between her and her own mother, Ava's mother always spoke fondly of her time at Blythewood and her memories from there.  Ava realizes that to learn her mother's secrets she will need to go to that school to look for the answers.  Maybe now she will be able to finally find out who her real father is and what happened to make her mother leave Blythewood forever.  Ava is about to learn though that the world that she is stepping into is one that she could never have imagined.

I really, really enjoyed reading this book!  There are certain authors that you just trust as a reader and Goodman has become one of them for me.  For good reason too as she writes these books that just suck you in as the reader.  That is exactly what this one did to me!  Ava is about to step into this new world that she could never have dreamed of.  She's learning more about herself but she is also learning more about her mother's past.  All of these things led to questions for me as the reader.  This was mainly because I never quite knew what was going on for sure with this book.  The author took her time giving us pieces here and there.  It made the book so much more suspenseful for me!  I feel like I say this a lot in my reviews but this was yet another book that I just could not put down.  The author has set up such a unique storyline that feels different from a lot of what is out there.  It has a historical fantasy feel to it but there was just so much more.  I can't even explain without giving things away that I don't want to.  Suffice it to say that this book is exactly why I will read anything/everything that this author writes!

Other things I enjoyed about this book were the secondary characters.  Neither of Ava's roommates were what I expected and that was a good thing.  I'm eager to see how their characters grow and develop in the next book as this is part of a series or trilogy (not sure which).  There is a hint of possible love triangle that might bother others but what really left me excited at the end of this book was Ava's learning something new and completely unexpected about herself.  I am sure that this is going to play a huge role in the next book and I can't wait to see how!  The ending of this book was done well with things left open for the next book but not in a cliff hanger kind of way.  It just left me super excited to see what will happen next!  I can't wait to get my hands on book two!

Overall, this was a really great way to end my reading year in 2014!  There were so many reasons to love it but what really made this book stand out for me was the unique storyline.  I just cannot wait to see what this author does with the storyline in the next book.  I won't be waiting long to find out as my library has a copy that I can check out for me kindle!  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book and am hoping that more readers find it as it was a really great read.  Recommended!

Bottom Line:  A delight to read as this book just sucked me in!  I love this author!

Disclosure:  I checked this one out from my local library for my kindle.  Thoughts are my own!

This book counts as book 1 for the Winter COYER challenge that I am participating in.  Woohoo!

'Twas the Night After Christmas by Sabrina Jeffries (thoughts)

This is the second year in a row that I have managed to find a new to me author to read and love thanks to a Christmas romance.  This might turn into a yearly tradition if I am lucky.  I haven't made a lot of time to read historical romances this past year (shame on me) and this book really made me wonder why.  I adored it and cannot wait to read more by this author!

In this book Pierce Waverly (also known as the Earl of Devonmont) is called back home as his mother is said to be on her death bed.  He arrives to find his mother healthy and unaware of the deception that has been pulled by her lady companion.  Camilla Stuart sees how much it hurts Lady Devonmont to be estranged from her son and decides to do something about it.  Unfortunately she is unaware of the history between mother and son which brings more trouble then she has bargained for.  Especially when it becomes apparent that the Earl also has plans for seduction....will she be able to resist?

This was such a sweet romance and it really reminded me why I enjoy this genre so much.  From the very beginning the author managed to intrigue me by the mysterious history between the Earl and his mother.  We basically see what happened when the Earl was younger from his point of view only which means that there were more questions than answers.  Enter in Camilla Stuart, lady companion to the Earl's mother, a strong willed widow who is trying to patch up the rift between mother and son but is causing more trouble than she bargained for.  The chemistry between Camilla and Pierce was instantaneous and so sweet.  Camilla has secrets of her own that she keeps hidden from Pierce for various reasons.  For this reason she really takes awhile to allow herself to trust him and even then she keeps a distance thinking that they will never have a future.  For me I spent the book waiting for two separate things to happen.  One, for Camilla and Pierce to realize that they were in love with each other and find their happy ever after.  This is something that I always want with a romance read.  Ha!  Second, to figure out the reasons behind the estrangement between Pierce and his mother.  Both storylines were enjoyable and kept me reading long into the night.  And the author did a really nice job of wrapping these two storylines together in the end and finishing them in a way that felt right.

Overall, this was a really great read and perfect for the Christmas time of year.  It made me wish that we actually had snow on the ground while I was reading it (of course now we actually do have snow and I am less thrilled) and put me in the holiday spirit.  Really though, this was a just an enjoyable historical romance that I couldn't put down.  I found another new author to read which is always my goal.  Good chemistry combined with a bit of a mystery was the perfect combination to this holiday read!  Easily recommended!

Bottom Line:  A delightful read that was perfect for the holidays!

Disclosure:  I checked this book out from my local library.  Thoughts are my own!