ARC Review: Dragon Lost (Dark Kings #16.5)

Dragon Lost (Dark Kings #16.5)

by Donna Grant

Blurb:

Destinies can’t be ignored. No one knows that better than Annita. For as long as she can remember, it's been foretold she would find a dragon. A real-life dragon. She’s beginning to think it was all some kind of mistake until she’s swimming in one of 
the many caves around the island and discovers none other than a dragon. There is no fear as she approaches, utterly transfixed at the sight of the creature. Then he shifts into the shape of a thoroughly gorgeous man who spears her with bright blue eyes. In that instant, she knows her destiny has arrived. And the dragon holds the key to everything.

All Royden wanted was to find an item his brother buried when they were children. It was supposed to be a quick and simple trip, but he should’ve known nothing would be easy with enemies like the Dragon Kings have. Royden has no choice but to trust the beguiling woman who tempts him like no other. And in doing so, they unleash a love so strong, so pure that nothing can hold it back.

Themes:  Paranormal, Dragon-Shifters, Fae

Rating:  4 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

Damn, that story was so not long enough. This series has gotten really intense as it moved on and it was nice to see a simple story where the focus was on the couple falling in love and the passion between them.  Donna Grant’s magic with romance and skill with story-telling shines even in this simple story, but I really do wish it had been longer, because Royden and Annita were interesting characters I would have liked to see more of. Annita has known her whole life she was destined to meet a Dragon, though what that really means for her future and in the long run is a mystery to her. She has lived her entire life on her family’s estate in Crete, awaiting her destiny and wondering how her life would change, until one day it happens in the most surprising of places and ways.  Annita’s always been pulled to the underwater caves below her family’s island estate, but one day the pull is truly undeniable and she walks into the dark only to come face to face—if only for a single second—with a huge dragon, until suddenly he’s replaced by the sexiest man she has ever met. Royden has returned to his old stomping grounds searching for a family heirloom lost for millennia hoping to reconnect with his dragons and family.  When Annita stumbles across him in dragon form, resting in his family caves, he is totally surprised by her acceptance of him and her story of her destined fate to meet a dragon. I loved getting to meet these two and see them find love, the sweetness of their emotional connection not cluttered by the danger and drama of recent stories in the series and see the simplicity of their deep connection. Royden was a sexy beast with a lot of emotions to work through and internal turmoil that Annita was able to help him come to terms with as they fell in love deeply and quickly.  Annita was a sweet and simple woman.  She showed her courage and strength in many ways as well as in how she pushed and pushed to make Royden accept her presence and explain his truth to her, so they could have a chance to learn about one another and have a future together.  The passion that flared as they accepted their fated love was hot enough to heat the ocean around them as they frolicked, while the depth of their connection shows that sometimes the length of time you know someone doesn’t mean anything to the strength of the love that develops. I am dying to know what comes next in this world and find out more about Rhi and her King in coming stories.  I understand that this main arc is ending in two more stories (OMG I am DYING for Con’s story) but that the series will continue with more Kings finding their mates and possibly another new arc beginning.  Donna Grant will always be one of the Queens of Paranormal Romance for me and will remain one of my favorite authors, earning herself a place on my shelves and in my heart. Another masterwork of love, despite my wish for it being longer for my personal enjoyment. ;)

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.

ARC Mini-Review: Unforgettable (Always #2)

Unforgettable (Always #2)

by Lexxie Couper

Blurb:

Sometimes being an optimist is hard work.

Brendon Osmond’s an optimist, a fitness geek, a man with a plan and the drive to achieve it. He’s sure he knows everything there is to know about his life and where it’s headed—until he gets one brief text.

A text from her.

Amanda. The girl who broke his heart.

‘Thinking of you.’

Just three little words, but they’re enough to make Brendon drop everything and head half way around the world to see her.

Acting only on gut instinct, nothing can prepare Brendon for the truth he’s about to learn.

A truth Amanda kept from him for almost two years. A truth who has Brendon’s eyes and claims his heart in an instant.

A truth that comes with a devastating diagnosis with the power to destroy everything he never knew he wanted or held dear.

Themes: Contemporary  

Rating: 3 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

Ok I’m gonna have to be honest here, while I have loved just about everything ever written by Lexxie Couper, this one was nowhere near my favorite and I am not going to be going back or finishing this series.  To my understanding this series was written a while ago under one of Ms. Couper’s pseudonyms and I can honestly say that I would not ever associate this story with her current writing style or any other story of hers I have read.  Yes, other series have had seriously heavy themes to overcome in the love story as well, but this one was just too much and there was too much going on in way too short a time for me to find it either believable or enjoyable.  The premise of the story is that a young man is called to make a long journey back into the arms of the girl that broke his heart once, only to have his world turned upside down again and again as he is forced to come to terms with secrets and drama.  I couldn’t relate to Brendon at all, being that I am pretty much the opposite of an optimist, but I was intrigued at the way he was able to roll with the punches (and there were a LOT of them) and find a way to put himself back together again.  Amanda on the other hand was one of those girls (sorry I just can’t call her a woman) that I can’t bring myself to like.  I can understand her fears, but keeping the secrets she did and then springing everything on Brendon the way she did multiple times... that level of immaturity was just unforgivable in my opinion.  The passion between them was undeniable and it was obvious to see that they loved one another despite all the issues they were dealing with. This story has so much going on in really less than a three-day time period, that it’s just too much to comprehend and process for the reader and to expect Brendon to either.  The fact that there was so much against Brendon and Amanda, more than just the obvious, makes it just too much and had it been spread into perhaps a few months, I might have been able to believe the story better.  I will say that some readers will love the story, but it was just not my thing.  I am looking forward to what comes from Lexxie in other series, but I doubt I will be back for the last in this one.

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.

ARC Review: The Bear's Forever Mate (Borealis Bears #3)

The Bear's Forever Mate (Borealis Bears #3)

by Vivian Arend

Blurb:

He’s got the perfect mate in mind, for five years from now…

The final title in a light-hearted shifter trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Vivian Arend.

Cooper Borealis is fully onboard with the concept of fated mates. Except mating the woman he wants—his tempting, complicated, human secretary—is not an option. Or not yet anyway. Still, he’ll keep the vow he made to his brothers, with a few loophole caveats, mating fever be damned. He’ll be with Amber Myawayan at the place and time of his choosing.

Amber has spent the past two years in the north looking for her missing brother—and falling in love with the big, growly polar bear at the helm of Borealis Gems. More than once, she’s caught him looking at her with hungry shifter eyes. But getting him to admit it? Ha! Luckily, mating fever is a thing, and she’s happy to cooperate as nature forces the issue to the forefront.

But when their mating bond is unexpectedly blocked, Amber and Cooper find themselves in a race against time. She needs to track down her brother while somehow proving she’s tough enough to be with her favourite bear. Cooper plans to protect her at all costs, even if it means secretly stifling his stubborn shifter side.

Somewhere in the wilderness they’ll find the answer…or lose their chance at forever.

Themes:  Paranormal, Shifters

Rating: 4.5 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

The trilogy comes to an interesting and amazing ending as Cooper finds himself captured by the woman that has been teasing his senses and stealing his heart for the last two years. I love pretty much anything that Vivian Arend writes, but my heart was first stolen by her shifters many years ago when I stumbled across them by accident one day.  Each time one of them finds their mate and begins getting into mischief, I fall more and more in love with her skill and imagination as a writer, but this trilogy was beyond fun and sexy and I cannot wait for whatever she dreams up next. The premise of the trilogy is that the family patriarch has decided it is time for his grandsons to settle down and find their happiness with their mates—and he puts a deadline with some serious consequences on his ultimatum.  The two younger brothers have both found their mates, though in unlikely places,  and Cooper knows the woman he wants for his mate as well, but the problem is he knows the time isn’t right to claim her yet. Amber is a human that has come north into the wilds of Canada seeking the truth of the disappearance of her foster parents and brother, and she has found her place with the Borealis family and their friends, but she is no closer to the truth she sought than when she arrived.  Amber is in serious lust with Cooper and knows it can grow into something much more if the stubborn polar-bear-shifter would just drop his protective guard long enough to give them a chance, and when she sees her opening she is not willing to let anything stop her. Cooper tries to keep himself from Amber when the mating fever strikes, but she’s having none of that bullshit and soon they are tearing up the little cabin he ran to.  But the mating bond can’t click into place until all three parts of their future are aligned—Amber, Cooper and the stubborn bear spirit that shares his soul.  Now they have to find a way to solve all their problems and track down her brother while proving to his bear that Amber really is the only one strong enough to be their mate. 

This was one twisty and fascinating story, with so much going on in such a short time that one might fear there wasn’t enough filler to build the relationship for Amber and Cooper, but Arend’s skill once again proves she is a mistress of romance for a good reason.  Fact is that no one else could have truly done this story the justice it deserved.  Amber was the kind of strong and determined woman, with the backbone of steel, heart of gold, and patience of Job that I wish I could be.  She is the match that Cooper needs to keep him in line, laughing at the ridiculousness that life can sometimes be, and just mischievous enough to keep their future mated life from being boring. Cooper is one of those people like me with a list for everything in life, one that doesn’t adapt well to change, and that has to think through everything little piece of a decision before he can commit, which is ironic considering he shares his spirit with a wild polar bear.  That dichotomy leads to some hilarious internal dialogue between the two and of course some decisions that require Amber to work all the harder to overcome his obstinacy.  I loved seeing these two balance one another and find a way to make their lives perfect just by being what the other needed at the most important moments.  The heat between them was of course off the charts leading to passionate moments that even melted the snow protecting them at one moment (nope, not a metaphor).  I also loved seeing the family togetherness and the ways that Arend shows how two cultures and families can come together to make a whole that is so much greater than the parts combined, reminding me a little bit of her contemporary series that are so family focused.  I loved this story for each and every second, and while I, of course, wish it had been longer just to prolong the enjoyment, there wasn’t a single thing lacking from the plot or the romance and I cannot wait to spread the word about this series and this trilogy specifically, not to mention now I can binge reread all three. Another masterpiece Vivian!

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.