Bam:

Ghosts, magic and shapeshifters, oh my! If I keep repeating that phrase will I get through the books in time? First: that might have been the biggest box of books EVAR. Are you trying to make me go blind? Second: I am in the middle of busy season, but feel REALLY bad about not reviewing more often. Third: I am employing the lightning review technique used for the last box. Since there were so many books, I’d like to make sure I get through as many of them as possible, so everyone can share the love! Here we go again with Shuzluva’s Superfast Box Review!

Book: Heart Fate
Author: Robin D. Owens
Grade: D+

In Brief. The story of Tinne Holly and Lahsin Burdock is the 7th book in the HeartMates series by Ms. Owens. Clearly, I’m well behind the curve here since I haven’t read any of the previous books in the series. Lahsin is on the run from her husband as her powers are beginning to appear. She seeks shelter in a hidden corner of Druida City that can only be found by those truly in need. Tinne has just been forced to divorce his wife Genista and seeks refuge in the same hidden spot. Tinne knows that Lahsin is his HeartMate but can’t tell her for some reason that I wasn’t quite clear about, and I’m not spoiling anything here, because there is a list of characters and their relationships prior to the first page of the story.

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Bam,

Thanks for the box ‘o books. I am diligently (or making the earnest attempt at) reading everything. Since I received the new box, I decided it was high time for me to get together reviews of the old box. Man, that was a lot of books. I laughed, I cried, some were better than Cats. And some definitely were not. I couldn’t imagine writing full reviews for all of these, and seriously applaud those who do, because it’s just too overwhelming for me. So instead, here’s Shuzluva’s Superfast Box Review!

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Bam,

I can’t believe summer is officially over. Of course, I didn’t bother reading the entirety of an email sent out by our HR department, so I’m in business casual today and everyone else is in suits. I’m glad I set such a delightful example for all of the people that work for me. Of course, with summer over, I suppose I owe you a few reviews. Let’s start with the fabulous: Hostage to Pleasure.

Yes, yes, I’m a Nalini Singh fangurl. In the middle of this book, I actually had a serious fangirl moment and nearly embarrassed myself. I came thisclose to writing Nalini an email detailing why I loved the book and how happy I was that she has continued to develop fascinating characters in a series that has a choke hold on my attention. I think I might have been on hormone overload, but the Psy/Changeling series continues to fascinate and delight with complex characters, twisting plots, and strong continuation of story lines. As I’ve noted in every review, it is important that you read the prior books in this series. If you don’t you will be missing out on fantastic writing, characters, and important plot points.

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It’s another review!

Bam,

If you’re going to faint, make sure to set up the video camera so I can watch it later on YouTube. Ready for this? I’m actually reviewing another book, and in a semi-timely fashion. I’m sure you’re wondering how this could be possible, so I’ll tell you a dirty little secret: we’re slower than dial-up at work. While that’s not a good thing for me professionally, it certainly helps my romance-review hobby.

I admit to being a Kresley Cole fangrrrl. Her Immortals After Dark series is one I’ve been hooked on since the story of Myst and Nikolai appeared in Playing Hard to Get. The Lore, which is populated by nearly every mythical creature imaginable, is one of those universes I’d love to visit in my nonexistent free time.

With that said, you can guess that I liked the book. I managed to blow through Dark Needs at Night’s Edge in two days - record time for me lately - and immediately picked up Dark Desires After Dusk. Ms. Cole has a talent that I require in series authors: she writes about the same world, but her characters are definitely not carbon copies of each other with “wash, rinse and repeat” storylines. She manages to make her heroines strong and spunky with the right touch of vulnerability (thereby avoiding the Mary Sue death-spiral) and her heroes deliciously alpha, but self aware and fearful that they just might not be good enough. LOVE IT!

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Shuzluva: Aaaaaaaaaand…we’re back! The subject of today’s virtual ping-pong match is Lover Enshrined, the sixth book in J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Who will type faster? Who will be reduced to screaming in capital letters first? Before we take off the gloves, we wanted to make sure everybody’s on the same page; thus, Bam has asked me to provide you with the following brief synopsis.

When we last left the BDB, Phury had become the Primale, a glorified sperm donor for the Chosen, the chicks that live in The Fade with the Scribe Virgin. The Primale is responsible for churning out new members of the BDB by making sure he gets every one of the Chosen prego. Phury, being the self-sacrificing whiner that he is, has voluntered for the responsibility, taking Vishous’ place. Of course, the irony here is that Phury is a virgin (don’t tell me that crap in the bathroom de-virginized him. Really.), a loner, and a drug addict. He also thinks he is in love with Bella, providing himself with more reason for self flagellation since Bella is well into the elephant-like gestation period and Zadist is going bananas with worry, which I have to admit is kinda cute and horribly annoying at the same time. Phury’s first sperm recepticle is Cormia, who was introduced to us in Lover Unbound. Cormia is unsure of herself, scared of her discontent with the Fade and has fallen head over sandals for Phury. We will definitely delve into this below.

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