TITLE: King of the Unblessed
AUTHOR: Michelle Pillow
COPYRIGHT: 2006
TYPE: Fantasy/Romance
PAGES; 268
SERIES: Yes

REASON FOR READING: This was my re-read for the month!

Summary : {From Goodreads}
Immortality has a way of changing fate. Merrick, dark elfin King of Valdis, had once been heir to all that was good-happiness and pleasure his domain. Now, trapped as the ruler of mischief, king of necessary evil, he stands on a precipice of choice. On one side, his estranged brother, now ruler of what should have been Merrick's and, on the other, King Lucien of the Damned. Both would sway him. Damnation is winning. Lady Juliana of Bellemare is from a human family, protected by the blessed, coveted by the damned. Betrothed to an old friend of her father's, Juliana is resigned to living out her days close to her childhood home, longing for an adventure, never dreaming she'd get what she wished for. When her fiancée is murdered and the children of Bellemare are stolen, Juliana is sent on a quest in a strange realm where appearances are deceiving. Merrick brings more adventure and passion than any woman could want. Can she withstand the temptations of the unblessed king? The spell she weaves over him is more than he can resist and, desperate to be the one to rule her, Merrick offers her a choice; either come with him until he tires of her.or die.

THOUGHTS/OPINION: in 2008
I liked this book a lot the reason it doesn't get five stars is simply the price I can't afford to buy it and the series it is creating. That being said I loved the story line. Merrick is the King of the Unblessed and becomes interested in a mortal woman. So interested he brings her into the Otherworld on an adventure that she craves. However Lucian King of the Damned is playing his own game with Merrick and Ean the King of the Blessed. Throw in some faries hot mortal men. Sexy Unblessed Men some graphic sex and a not too shabby story and well you get Chapter 1 in the Realm of the Immortals Series. The next is about Hugh one of the brothers of Julianna (The girl the Unblessed King wants) and his story of the Tania the Queen of the Faries. Can't wait to see how that one goes. I also want to see who she pairs the other two brothers with as well as the ever evolving story of Mia and Lucian. (Such a good side story too!) I gave it 4 out of 5 stars in 2008

THOUGHTS/OPINION: in 2009
Okay I really, really like this book. This is definitely a keeper!! I enjoyed reading it so much I re-read it in a day. Now granted there aren't a lot of pages but still! And this time I really enjoyed learning more about the characters. I saw more of the game playing and how it was working in Merrick's favor. I really enjoyed watching Juilianna come to the realization that Merrick wasn't all that evil and that he did care for her. I wanted to shake them both off and on for being so dense but then I wanted to cry when they realized their mistakes. Very GOOD!!!

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it!!! Still

SCORE: 8 out of 10


RE -READ Challenge

TITLE: Blood Angel
AUTHOR: Justine Musk
COPYRIGHT: 2005
TYPE: Urban Fantasy
PAGES; 352
SERIES: You know I don’t know.

REASON FOR READING: This was a re-read for me.

Summary : {From Goodreads}
In downtown Manhattan, a rising young painter is haunted by disturbing dreams...In small-town Minnesota, a teenage orphan struggles with a knowledge beyond his years-and a destiny he wants no part of...In California, young and old, hipsters and hippies, fall under the spell of a wildly charismatic singer whose voice breaks down all barriers-including the ones between heaven and hell.

The fans of Asha are finding one other-and the world is running out of time

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
So first time I read this I gave it 5 stars or 9 out of 10. However, on my re-read I discovered that for some reason this book just wasn’t doing it for me. I couldn’t get past the switching POV’s the constant going back and forth. Jumping around from flashbacks to present. And really comprehending what in the world was going on.

This is a complicated book that is really interweaved quite well. Ms. Musk is an excellent writer and if I had been in the mood for a complicated story this would have been perfect. However since I wasn’t in the mood for it I found myself dreading the re-read part. The characters are well drawn out and fully fleshed out. You find yourself actually feeling sorry for the demon and taking her side. Even though if it was real you would be the enemy. LOL

IDK this book was a complicated story and I wish I had stayed with it. No I haven’t given it up and hopefully I will give it one more go before I do. Then again there are a lot of good books out there screaming for my attention.

SCORE: 4 out of 10

TITLE: Slave to Sensation
AUTHOR: Nalini Singh
COPYRIGHT: 2006
TYPE: paranormal romance
PAGES; 334
SERIES: yes
1. . Slave to Sensation (this is my re-read for the month)
2. Vision of Heat
3. Caressed by Ice

REASON FOR READING: I am getting ready to move and wanted to see if I still wanted to keep this on the shelf.

SUMMARY: {From goodreads}
In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of "rehabil' ' n"—the complete psychic erasure of everything she ever was...

Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy coexistence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murders of several changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice- cold Psy is very capable of passion—and that the animal in him is fascinated by her. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities—or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation...

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Wow what a way to kick off a fantastic series. This has 2 storylines going on first the storyline of Sascha Duncan and her abilities (I won’t give it away b/c it is an important part of the story) the second storyline being the killer that is kidnapping young changeling women and torturing them as well as raping them. The fact that both stories are weaved together so well is amazing in it but to add in the fact of suspense and love and you get a powerful storyline.

Things I enjoyed:
I enjoyed re-discovering this world and how it all began. I loved learning about the leopards and their worlds and when you throw in the wolves I was hooked. The psy have a very interesting world, it is very complex and difficult to follow but Ms. Singh has a fantastic writing ability that enables you to live in their world and understand what is happening.
I also enjoyed Sascha and her constant struggle to be a normal psy who is fighting against her inner nature b/c she has been told her whole life she is broken. Not wanting to be rehabilitated she works at and struggles at being more psy, more cold, more unattached.
Lucas is just the opposite he is full of love, touch and emotions. And he happens to just be the right man to help Sascha with her problems. Very nice…

Things I didn’t care for:
It was hard to find one thing about this story that I didn’t like and I have to admit I liked that we didn’t have to see what the council was doing without it directly relating to Sascha (in other words her ease dropping) This time the Council doesn’t talk on their own.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Yeah after my re-read I’m still keeping it *drops head on desk*

SCORE: 9 out of 10 (Huh same score I gave it last time)

Anything Else: This is definitely a book you should read before starting the series. This book sets up the rest of the series and dips your toes in just enough to hook you into the series.

TITLE: Mine to Possess
AUTHOR: Nalini Singh
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: paranormal romance
PAGES; 328
SERIES: yes
1. Slave to Sensation which I plan to re-read this month to kick off my re-read challenge also the book club choice at Reading Romance
2. Vision of Heat
3. Caressed by Ice


REASON FOR READING: I read the first three and this one was calling my name.

SUMMARY: {From goodreads}
Clay Bennett is a powerful DarkRiver sentinel, but he grew up in the slums with his human mother, never knowing his changeling father. As a young boy without the bonds of Pack, he tried to stifle his animal nature. He failed...and committed the most extreme act of violence, killing a man, and lost his best friend, Talin, in the bloody aftermath. Everything good in him died the day he was told that she, too, was dead.

Talin McKade barely survived a childhood drenched in bloodshed and terror. Now a new nightmare stalks her—-the street children she works to protect are disappearing and turning up dead. Determined to keep them safe, she unlocks the darkest secret in her heart and returns to ask the help of the strongest man she knows...

Clay lost Talin once. He will not let her go again and hungers to possess her with a clawing need born of the leopard within. As they race to save the innocent Clay and Talin must face the violent truths of their past... or lose everything that ever mattered.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
This was yet another fantastic read from Ms. Singh she has created a fascinating world that sucks you in and doesn’t let you go until your body is on overload. I thought the last one was good because of the psy being a guy. But for some reason this friends to lovers story (which I should have saved for my TBR reading challenge but I’m glad I didn’t) was even better.

Things I enjoyed:
This is yet another example of me actually liking the heroine which is weird for me and difficult for me to understand. Yes Tally had moments where I wanted to strangle her but not in the A typical way. She wasn’t tough as nails but yet she was strong, she wasn’t a fighter and yet she fought for those she cared about. The reasons I wanted to strangle her were her internal struggles of her feelings with worthlessness. And yet at the same time my heart broke for her because I understood why she had those thoughts. She was a fully fleshed out character that didn’t suddenly change her whole way to be with Clay. Tally actually grew into a woman I could respect and be friends with. And the love she had for Clay oh god the love it was perfect.

Clay was one of those cats I had forgotten about. Hard to image after reading this story but I had. I couldn’t remember him at all and then all of the sudden it came back in waves. He was the angry one the one that was the loner in the group more than V was. But yet nothing stood out about him. Until this book, Clay had a hard life he grew up as a leopard without a pack confined in a city. He fell in love with his mate as a child but was unable to recognize her as such until he felt it was too late. Clay loved Tally so deeply it was almost his undoing before he even got started. This was the perfect man for Tally to help her heal and grow as a woman and yet Tally was the perfect woman for Clay for the same reasons.

Things I didn’t care for:
Again this wasn’t a problem for me. I even enjoyed the subplots of the Forgotten I found them interesting and I wonder where else she will take it. I even enjoyed the M psy her name is escaping me. I guess to make an even longer point there was nothing I didn’t like about this story.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping

SCORE: 10 out of 10

Anything Else: I really think you have to read the first one in this series in order to understand what is going on in this book. This is simply due to the storylines tying into each other and the evolving storyline of the psy vs. changeling going on. Same as before but this might be able to be a stand alone. I still think you can get more out of it if you read the whole series though.