Review: Never Deal with Dragons by Lorenda Christensen

Posted on March 4, 2014March 1, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, audiobook
Genre: Urban fantasy, paranormal romance
Series: DRACIM #1
Length: 209 pages
Publisher: Carina Press
Date Released: July 22, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, All Romance

Consoling a sobbing dragon and serving pig buffets are just part of the job for Myrna Banks. Working for a mediation firm, it’s her job to get humans compensated for damages caused by the dragons who now rule. But her “typical” day is interrupted by Trian Chobardan, an old flame who sneaked out of her bed two years ago, taking her heart and a handful of classified documents with him.

Myrna would love to show Trian the door, but he’s been sent by North America’s reigning dragon lord for help negotiating a truce with a powerful rival to avert war. Myrna agrees to help, even though she’ll be stuck with Trian as a partner.

As the two work together, Myrna finds Trian to be surprisingly supportive—and still irresistibly attractive. Though her brain tells her not to forget his betrayal, her body feels differently. When they learn the enemy dragon lord is planning something no one could have imagined, Myrna has to learn who she can trust before she loses not only her heart, but her life.

My Review:

I picked this one up because Cass liked it. The idea that Cass liked anything with even a smidgen of romance made this one too tempting to resist.

Never Deal with Dragons turned out to be way too much fun for a story that starts after World War III, but then, the causes (and effects) of that war are all part of what makes this story such a blast.

Somebody really screwed up genetic manipulation, and instead of curing cancer, they created dragons by accident. That’s one heck of an accident, especially since those brand new dragons got such an interesting mix of genes that they are pretty much indestructible, at least by anything that humans can cook up.

Mankind is no longer the apex predator on Earth. The societal consequences are enormous. If it weren’t for the fact that dragons find us useful (we farm, they don’t), the dragons would probably have wiped us out in a heartbeat.

Especially since the results of that war include global cooling and a nearly complete breakdown of telecommunications due to too much EMP radiation. We’ve lost a lot of history and communication, and everyone wants to live in the new temperate zones, which have shrunk and moved towards the equator.

This is only the beginning of the worldbuilding, which is fantastic as well as incredibly well thought out.

Our heroine is a dragon mediator. She speaks dragon. The lord dragon of North America prefers to negotiate rather than fight or enslave when there’s a dispute between dragons and humans, such as when a dragon eats a bunch of cows without asking permission first. Smoothing over everyone’s feathers and scales is definitely required.

But Myrna Banks is stuck in a dead end secretarial job (to an asshat boss) because even though she is one of the few dragonspeakers, she lost some confidential documents a couple of years ago. She says she lost them, but her ex-lover actually stole them, on his way out the door in the middle of the night.

Trian Chobardan is back, and with a job offer. It turns out he works for that reigning dragon lord, and Lord Relobu wants a dragonspeaker to mediate between himself and the crazy-but-powerful Dragon Lord of China.

Myrna sees the mission as her chance to get out of her dead-end job and back onto the fast-track. She just has to ignore her still-definitely-simmering attraction to Trian–and all the dragons who suddenly want to kill her.

Escape Rating A: This one is all about the dragons, and the new society that is created in their wake. And it’s awesome.

The reactions of the people involved in this thing are just so much fun, even when the people are dragons.

Myrna is in such an interesting position, because even though her talents are needed, there are a lot of humans who don’t want to admit that the world has changed. They hate dragons, and therefore undervalue anyone who can communicate with them. There’s an element of human society that thinks they can go back to the “good old days” if they just manage to eliminate the dragons. This is so short-sighted, because they don’t have a way to get rid of all the dragons, and because things never go back to the way they used to be. That genie is long past out of the bottle. (Yes, I see it as a commentary on current society, as always, your mileage may vary)

I liked Myrna a lot. She’s a great point of view character because she understands both sides. And because she’s a mediator and negotiator rather than a warrior. It’s marvelous to see someone who fights with their brains first as the heroine.

I also liked that, as much as she’s still attracted to Trian, they don’t get back together until he comes clean about his betrayal, his disappearance from her life, and his true identity. He has to rebuild her trust, and it takes the entire story for that to happen. And so it should.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Bittersweet Darkness by Nina Croft + Giveaway

Posted on March 3, 2014March 9, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> blog tours> book reviews> Giveaways

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: The Order #3
Length: 251 pages
Publisher: Entangled: Edge
Date Released: February 24, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo , All Romance

There are no monsters, only good guys and bad guys. That’s the creed by which Detective Inspector Faith Connolly has always lived.

When Faith discovers that she has a time bomb counting down in her head, she has one goal; to solve the murder case she’s working on—a young girl who was found drained of blood—and in doing so gain closure for a long ago murder never solved. Her investigation brings her in contact with Ash Delacourt. Ash is all black leather, big guns and sexy bad attitude—definitely not one of the good guys.

As payment for a debt, Asmodai AKA Ash Delacourt, finds himself working with the Order of the Shadow Accords. He’s the demon representative on the newly formed Committee for the Integration of Mankind and well…everything else. It’s a chance to be near his daughter, make a new start, and—once he’s met the delectable detective—maybe have a little fun.

There are no monsters. But as Faith’s investigation deepens, her beliefs are eroded and for the first time, she is falling in love—with one of the bad guys. But how can she ever let Ash close when her time is running out…?

My Review:

I always believed that “bittersweet darkness” was just a description for especially delicious dark chocolate, until I got into Nina Croft’s Order series. The books are every bit as yummy (and addicting) as the best pure dark chocolate.

Like the other books in the series (Bittersweet Blood and Bittersweet Magic, both absolutely marvelous) Bittersweet Darkness is the story of a woman who has unknowingly been living a lie about her relationship to the supernatural, and a man who embodies everything that is dark, dangerous and otherworldly.

It’s not just about exploring the fire between Faith Connolly and Ash Delacourt, it’s about Faith finally discovering the truth about her past, and Ash figuring out that even a demon is capable of loving and being loved, even a second time around.

Ash Delacourt is a demon. In the first two books, he has been better known as Asmodai, a Prince of the Abyss. He’s also the father of Tara Roth, vampire Christian Roth’s wife. (Their story is the heart of Bittersweet Blood).

Tara and her dad have issues. Ash was using Tara to get back at Christian. By the time he discovered that Tara was the daughter he thought had died, Ash had done one heck of a lot of damage, and most of it to Tara.

Both Tara and Roz, the heroine of Bittersweet Magic, are mixed-blood. Tara is half-demon and half-fae. Roz is part-Angel. The fae hate mixed bloods, but the angels are positively rabid about it. They believe that any part-Angel is an abomination, and they want Roz obliterated.

Meanwhile, The Order of the Shadow Accords has created a Council that represents all the races, in the hopes of keeping all this internecine warfare from spilling over onto the unsuspecting original-recipe humans.

But it already has. They wiped out one crazed vampire who was going around exsanguinated young women, and leaving them for the human police to find. But one team of human police got a little too close for the Council’s comfort.

One partner was recruited, but the other refuses to admit that there might be anything supernatural in the world. Ms Oblivious is Faith, the heroine of Bittersweet Darkness. There’s a block in her mind that absolutely prevents her from believing in anything that goes bump in the night, even when confronted with incontrovertible evidence.

But she can’t let her last case alone. She believes that if she finds her serial killer, she’ll find a link to her own past. She doesn’t know that the Council has already wiped him out.

She also doesn’t have a clue that she’s absolutely right. There is a link to her past. The question is whether she can find resolution to her case, to both her cases, before the aneurysm in her head blows up and kills her.

And whether Ash is able to let another woman he loves die without a fight.

Escape Rating A-: Unlike the first two installments of the series, Faith starts the story as 100% human. A little too human in fact, as she has a ticking time bomb in her head in the form of an inoperable aneurysm. She wants to close that serial killer case, and find some answers, before she dies.

She has had an involvement with the supernatural, but she’s been blocked from remembering it. While it’s pretty clear early on that somebody messed with her mind, exactly who and exactly how is quite a surprise in the end, but it doesn’t change a lot about who Faith essentially is.

Faith doesn’t want to get involved with Ash because she knows that she can’t give him a future. She’s interested (very) in a fling, but she is dying and doesn’t want to break anyone else’s heart in the process.

Ash is the one who changes the most in this story, and in the course of the series. He starts out on a selfish quest for revenge in Bittersweet Blood, but by the time he meets Faith, he’s on the road to becoming a better man. He desperately wants a good relationship with his daughter, and he’s having to work damn hard to get halfway there (with good reason). But his need to make things up to Tara turns him outward in general, makes him less self-centered. It also helps him to heal from his loss of Tara’s mother, and he’s ready to let others into his life and heart.

He doesn’t plan on falling for Faith, but watching it sneak up on him is terrific. And nearly heart-breaking, both his and ours.

About Nina Croft

Nina Croft grew up in the north of England. After training as an accountant, she spent four years working as a volunteer in Zambia which left her with a love of the sun and a dislike of 9-5 work. She then spent a number of years mixing travel (whenever possible) with work (whenever necessary) but has now settled down to a life of writing and picking almonds on a remote farm in the mountains of southern Spain.

Nina’s writing mixes romance with elements of the paranormal and science fiction.

If you’d like to find out about new releases then sign up for my New Release Newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/rZ5rz

To find out more about Nina, look for her at her website, Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

TOURWIDE GIVEAWAY

Nina is generously giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card to one lucky commenter on the tour. To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter below. For more chances to win, check out the other stops on the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

The Sunday Post AKA What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 3-2-14

Posted on March 2, 2014March 2, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Giveaways> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

For all you lovers of science fiction romance out there, the latest issue of Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly is out! We have lots of terrific stuff on tap, including interviews with Gail Carriger and Beth Ciotta and an original short story by Danielle Davis. And of course, reviews by yours truly and some of my fellow SFR lovers. Check out the latest issue here — especially Charlee Alden’s editorial about cyborg squirrels!

One of this week’s giveaways is for the second book in a series that I absolutely love, and that totally surprised me. Last year, Library Journal sent me The Garden of Stones by Mark T. Barnes to review. I really enjoy a good epic fantasy, but this was an author new to me. Also, it was published by Amazon’s 47North, and those have been hit or miss for me so far. The story completely blew me away. It has magic, and epically nasty politics, along with a pair of star-crossed lovers and a potentially deadly romantic triangle. Mark is giving away a signed copy of the second book in the series, The Obsidian Heart, and I just can’t recommend this series enough.

And this week we have dragon books. Cass practically forced me to read Never Deal with Dragons, and she should have a review of The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan as well. She gave the first book in the Lady Trent series, A Natural History of Dragons, 15 stars over at Book Lovers last year. I can’t wait to see what she has to say about this one! (I think it’s a question of how many pluses Cass will add to her A. We’ll see.)

Current Giveaways:

$10 Amazon or B&N gift card in the Leap into Books Giveaway
One copy of Cider Brook by Carla Neggers (paperback)
SIGNED copy of The Obsidian Heart by Mark T. Barnes
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal cash courtesy of Susan Kaye Quinn
(1) $50 Amazon Gift Card, (2) $10 Amazon gift cards and 2 Author swag packs courtesy of Susannah Sandlin

Blog Recap:

B+ Review: Lovely, Dark and Deep by Susannah Sandlin
Guest Post by Susannah Sandlin on Pirates and Templars + Giveaway
Guest Post by Mark T. Barnes on Starting in the Middle + Giveaway
B Review: Cider Brook by Carla Neggers
Q&A with Carla Neggers + Giveaway
A- Review: Third Daughter by Susan Kaye Quinn + Giveaway
Leap Into Books Giveaway Hop
Stacking the Shelves (78)

Coming Next Week:

Bittersweet Darkness (The Order #3) by Nina Croft (blog tour review and giveaway)
Never Deal with Dragons (DRACIM #1) by Lorenda Christensen (review)
Deceiving Lies (Forgiving Lies #1) by Molly McAdams (blog tour review)
Death Defying (Blood Hunter #3) by Nina Croft (blog tour review and giveaway)
The Tropic of Serpents (Lady Trent #2) by Marie Brennan (review by Cass)

Stacking the Shelves (78)

Posted on March 1, 2014February 28, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | ARCs> blogging> Stacking the Shelves

Someone blogged a couple of weeks ago about the temptation to get ARCs, resisting the temptation, and feeling overwhelmed by the number of review copies in one’s TBR stack versus the number of books one actually wanted to read, but wasn’t committed to. (And now I can’t find it!)

I know I get more books than I can reasonably read in a week, month, or possibly year. But I only get eARCs unless I have a firm commitment to review a particular title. (Library Journal sends print ARCs, but they also send a deadline)

It’s about having LOTS to choose from. Which seems contradictory, because I usually end up reading books based on what tours I have scheduled. But I only pick tours or eARCs that I think I will like (we all get disappointed occasionally!)

So how do you feel about the size of your TBR? Does it weigh you down, or is it just a fact of life? Or perhaps you revel in it, just a bit?