Review: Final Siege (Love Over Duty, #2) by Scarlett Cole

Final Siege by Scarlett Cole
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In the second entry of the Love Over Duty series, the reader is introduced to Delaney Shapiro the heroine of this tale. Delaney is smart, independent and a real go-getter and this is what makes her an excellent investigative journalist. Unfortunately, I really couldn't get into her character, at least I will not be apart of the Delaney fan club. The character's back-story has affected her personality and Delaney seems really selfish and maybe way too stubborn. As the reader, it is always a goal of mine to find books that highlight strong female leads. Female leads who kick butt and take names with some flying kicks here and a couple of roundhouses for good measure. Delaney holds her own when her in this story but her interactions with her male lead (Mac) leaves a bit of a sour taste. It seems that her character didn't contribute much to balance the relationship.

Malachai “Mac” MacCarrick is the overly considered hero of Final Siege and he is what all heroes are chalked up to be. Mac is dashing, handsome and an all around good/protective guy. Like so many of these stories the hero is easily twisted around the small finger of the heroine and does whatever it takes to get into her good graces. Where’s the balance? Mac spent a lot of time securing the heroine’s safety without much appreciation. Honestly, I thought that these two characters would part ways towards the end of the book in order to save the hero his dignity or just to give him some of his dignity back. Now, I must say that grief is a hard thing to deal with (even for us regular folks) and people cope with their grief differently. I just needed a little more balance between the characters.

A sign of a really good author is his/her ability to draw the reader into the story. Scarlett Cole was able to draw this reader into the book and into her characters. Though I did not care for the heroine, the male lead and the secondary characters were really great. The action sequences we're fascinating and a setting/background were well-thought-out and well-planned.

As the series progresses it will be interesting to see the different types of female leads introduced. Not only that, it will be equally as interesting to see how the stories of future female leads connect with established heroines.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Royal Pain (His Royal Hotness, 1) by Tracy Wolff

Royal Pain by Tracy Wolff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes, its good to be royal or at least that's what Wildemar's
  playboy prince

thought. Why should the handsome Prince Kian care about what happens at home if he is only the spare ... the just in case royal heir? Life has a way of twisting things about and with the kidnapping of Wildemar's Royal Heir (Garrett), the spare is called to duty.

Every Prince Charming must have the girl from the wrong side of the tracks and that role is filled by Savvy (Savannah), the American who has her own secrets. The hero and the heroine have very good chemistry and while reading it is easy to see what draws them together. Savvy is the independent heroine while Kian is accustomed to women falling at his feet.

For the first installment to the His Royal Hotness series, this was a solid entry with characters (primary and secondary) that kept the reader's interest. Also, there is enough angsty material that makes this first entry hard to put down.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Baby, I'm Howling For You by Christine Warren

Baby, I'm Howling For You by Christine Warren
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

WELCOME TO ALPHAVILLE, where the she-wolves and alpha-males play. . .for keeps.

Renny Landry is a wolf on the run. Pursued by a shapeshifting stalker and his slobbering pack of killer coyotes, she is forced to flee her job as a librarian to find sanctuary in the wooded hills of Alpha, Washington. A well-secluded safe space for troubled shifters, Alpha is Renny’s last hope. But the first person she meets there is a gorgeous alpha male with fiery eyes, fierce tattoos, and one ferocious appetite—for her…

Mick Fischer thought he left his past behind when he moved to Alpha. But fate has a way of biting him in the tail when a female wolf shows up on his property. Wounded, desperate—and disarmingly hot—Renny brings out the snarling, protective alpha beast in Mick like no other woman he’s known. Can these two haunted, hunted wolves manage to mate for life…even as the deadliest past demons howl at their heels?

The Review

First, it has to be admitted that the title for this first entry of the Alphaville series is kind of cheesy but besides that, it embodies some of my favorite PNR characters/elements that I love to read about. 

Female red wolf, Renny 'Little Red' Landry is on the run and she is doing everything she possibly can just to stay alive. As for character, Renny would be considered a typical leading female in a Paranormal Romance, but I feel that her character is a bit annoying. When reading paranormal romances, I look for female leads who are strong, have a take-charge attitude, can hold their own in a fight, and have a good bit of common sense. Renny’s character is strong and determined with that keeps her moving forward. What is annoying are the portions of the story where her character willfully misunderstands her counterpart. The misunderstandings between the main characters become a bit of a distraction and I spent a good amount of time fussing at the book … at her character.

A reader actively fussing at the book or being drawn into the character(s) is a very good indicator that the author really, REALLY knows their craft. Just my opinion.

As an alpha male, Mike Fisher is a pretty good lead. His character hits all the good guy benchmarks like he’s handsome, strong, protective attractive and super indulgent. I do feel that there was a bit of an imbalance between the two leading characters. The leading male is an Alpha and not much of that Alphaness got through. Where the leading female willfully misunderstood everything, there wasn’t much on his part to counter her behavior. The author does a good job of detailing this character's background and I would have liked to see more of his past overlap in this story. Just enough to show Mike’s true Alpha abilities.

This is a solid entry into the Alphaville series and there are enough action and crazy secondary characters to keep the reader interested. As secondary characters, the Coyotes are an interesting mix and I really would have liked to see more from them. Their characters are so varied, dysfunctional and it would have been good to see more of the inter-workings of there group.

I look forward to seeing you what happens in the next installment. Overall, 3.5 review for this installment.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

About the Author

Born and raised in coastal New England, Christine Warren lived in the South and the Mid-Atlantic before hopping to the other side of the country to take up the life of a transplant in the Pacific Northwest. She completely bypassed those states in the middle due to her landlocking phobia. Hmm, need to research a scientific term for that...

When not scrambling frantically to complete her latest writing project, Christine spends most of her time as a crazy animal lady, hanging out with her dog Levi (he’s the one with the hair) and pretending to train him to have some manners. She also hangs out with her horse, Cal—a thoroughbred with a craving for strawberry licorice twists—her goddog, Merlin; and her best friend, fellow author Hannah Murray. In addition to playing with her pets, Christine’s hobbies include identifying dog breeds from photos of their underbellies, appreciating fine and not-so-fine wines, shopping for the perfect pair of Christian Louboutin shoes, and most of all reading things someone else had to agonize over.

She enjoys hearing from readers and can be reached via email sent to Christine@christinewarren.net or by postal mail to Christine Warren, PO Box 871900, Vancouver, WA 98687-1900.