Not Your Ordinary Faerie Tale (The Others #12) by Christine Warren

I saw this book and figured, why not? It's the first I have read of this series and by this author, and I am glad i gave it a chance! The author's writing style is pretty good, not the best, but likeable all the same. I say this because there was some awkward phrasing here and there that had me rereading to get a better grasp of the situation. It definitely didn't stand in the way of my liking the story!

The MC, Corrinne, is a reporter for a small newspaper and she has been given an assignment that puts her smack dab in the middle of Other territory. Now, as I said, I have not read the previous books in the series, so I gathered pretty quick that she has watched her best friends marry into the Other world and is less than thrilled about it. In fact, she is pretty thoroughly creeped out by it and has sworn off any possibility of ever getting involved with the opposite species. It's so distressing in fact that she depends heavily on her bottle of aspirin to an almost unhealthy degree--which I found quite humorous.

Luc is from Faerie and is part of the Sidhe race. He is the head of Queen Mab's warrior elite and he has been sent through the magical doorway to Manhattan to retrieve her troublesome nephew who has been calling far too much attention to himself. He seems to both love and hate his job. And he definitely holds some pent up rage against the nephew of his Queen. When he seeks help from Rafe, the head of the Other council, he runs into Corrinne, who is also seeking Rafe's assistance.

Luc has never considered the human race as particularly attractive. Actually, he and his kind consider humans to be children in comparison to their longevity and life experience. So when he sees Corrinne and is instantly overwhelmed by his attraction to her, he is take aback. Likewise, Corrine can't believe she is fantasizing about the hot "fairy" in the room, considering her massive distaste for anything Other.

Their relationship took off like a bullet and the heat never went below a low simmer. The two of them pair up to hunt down this mischief making nephew while trying to unravel another layer to the mystery surrounding him that I won't give away. All this while trying, and failing, to keep their hands off each other! Along the way, Luc discovers the connection between him and Corrinne goes deeper than simple attraction that I found simply lovely.

This is definitely a series that I would like to check out. It's a refreshing departure from the traditional vampire saga, although hints at previous books in the series tell me they are no exception. I'm hoping to see more characters from the Other community, like Leprechauns and Brownies!

Lothaire by Kresley Cole

LOVED this book! 

Once again Kresley Cole makes my heart melt. With each book I am swayed to another of her delectable men-good, bad, or in between, scarred or made of utter perfection, doesn't matter in the least. She manages to make each one mouthwateringly delicious.

Lothaire, the fearsome rageaholic suffering from a touch of the crazy never fooled me. Well, maybe a little what with the plotting and the killing and deceiving "Lothaire-talk". But deep down I thought I had glimpsed a seriously misunderstood immortal hottie.

I have to say, I was seriously impressed with Elizabeth's fortitude. She was ready to kill herself or die trying to keep evil from taking over the world. I really felt for her predicament. Having your body possessed by a former goddess bent on death and destruction? No thanks. But she handled it with grace and had the good sense to fight back instead of cower where others most certainly would. Of course Lothaire would want her! She's everything he's looking for, except for that disgustingly human condition of hers. No matter, he'll fix it!

That's pretty much their relationship. She lacks everything he imagined his woman, his queen, would possess: goddess qualities, strength, cunning, and a fierce warrior instinct...all of which she actually has but he is unwilling to see because he was raised to despise humans. However, he can no more resist her than he could a good torture session with one of his enemies, because Ellie is his Bride.

It takes him a long time to come to this conclusion, but once he does, he is faced with myriad problems to solve so they can be together. Including the pesky fact that he took an oath to the Lore-an unbreakable vow-to kill her! Plus, it seems that Lothaire is stuck in his own times mentally. He's brash and unwitting when it comes to handling females. He's completely without thought to Elli's feelings unless it's sexually based, he's overbearing and possessive and basically everything the women's movement sought to obliterate. It's no wonder Ellie had reservations about becoming his Bride.

Through it all, there is no doubt the two have forged a bond, and maybe even love each other, but both are too stubborn to cop to it. The struggle was almost unbearable at times, but I kept turning pages because I simply had to make sure these two made it to their fairytale ending. I won't say that's what I got, but it's probably as close as you're going to get when you're dealing with a millennium old vampire who's known nothing more than death and destruction and revenge his whole life. I can say that I am completely satisfied with the ending and am eager for the next in the series to hit the shelves.

Type faster, Cole! For the love of the gods, type faster!!

In Shadows by Rebecca S. Foote

                        An Enchanting Read!

The story opens in a town where strange disappearances are rumored but dismissed as “old wives tales.” It becomes apparent very early on that the stories are very true. Dimitri travels and hunts with his brother, Trevaun, sometimes even making a game of it. During a challenge of who can kill the most, Dimitri abducts Ariana Dallenhauf upon her leaving a social event, and determines to make her his protégé. 

When Ariana awakes to her new life, she finds it difficult to adjust. Although her abilities come oddly easy to her, some of which even Dimitri is astonished by; she has a hard time parting with her mortal life much to Dimitri’s annoyance. She soon discovers a whole new world before her, however, one that existed right beneath her nose that is as complex as it is frightening. But with Dimitri by her side to guide her, it’s bound to be an exciting, eye opening experience.                 

When Dimitri and Trevaun are summoned back to the d’Avange castle by their uncle, the Grand Ruler of the Vampire Realm, to investigate a possible conspiracy, Ariana soon learns there is more to her than meets the eye, and the source of uncovering the mystery lies at D’Avange castle. 

I liked following along with Ariana as she tried to make sense of this new world she found herself in and of her instructor, Dimitri. It is obvious that he is a man hardened by his past. But as he and Ariana interact, a certain softness is revealed. 

I also found myself a little on edge when it came to Trevaun and his wife, Katrine. They are a ruthless couple that takes utmost pleasure in scouting and killing their victims. I often times felt the panic of the couples they targeted when they found out they were staring down the mouths of predators and they were the prey. Since I love a little darkness in my reading, it was very entertaining!

Overall, the story had a bit of a jerky beginning, but was quickly found its footing. I felt it was a little slow paced, and at times a little too descriptive as far as detailing every step and movement each character made. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. Foote is very good at describing even the smallest detail, which transported me back in time and made it easy for me stay firmly rooted in the story. The story took some interesting and unexpected turns as well, including dark magic and demonic influences that melded nicely with the vampire lore. I highly enjoyed trying to unravel who was behind the conspiracy, feeling like a bit of a detective and suspecting everyone in play at one time or another. The action sequences were lovely and delightfully gruesome. But if you are expecting an epic love story, you won’t find it here. Instead, I found the connection between Dimitri and Ariana to be very fitting of the times and generally very sweet and endearing. In short, Dimitri is a complete gentleman, which I loved. 

I recommend In Shadows to anyone looking for a story that combines mystery, revenge, love, friendship, and, of course, vampires. It’s truly an enjoyable read. 

Find Rebecca at any of the following links:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Goodreads