As I headed off to my nearest B&N I couldn’t help but glance at the newest releases. I felt like Howie Mandel in Little Monster’s staring at the books and chanting ‘got ‘em’, need ‘em, need ‘em, got ‘em’. So I spy Jacqueline Frank’s new book, The Rapture and for some odd reason my NEVER AGAIN stance, -made after reading her Elijah book, fly’s out the window. I felt like I had tossed $10 on lucky number 13, (black of course) and took the gamble hoping it would pay off and I would break even.

I hadn’t realized I had picked up the second book in her new series and that this was a branch of her Nightwalker series only this one focus on the ‘Shadowdwellers’, a species I’m still fuzzy about who they are and what creature of the night they represent. Rapture takes place in the underground sanctuary of the shadowdwellers where priests and their handmaidens (best description would be wife??) run a seminary/school for younglings. Now, for those thinking that their religious rites are similar to ours, please be warned, some people took major offense that their priests are sexually active and that in their race sexual education is a required coarse with models to demonstrate the, ehem, more finer points of the love-making process. I must say I was astounded at the difference in her writing, it made me call up my partner in crime and state, “she’s back and it’s like Jacob”, code for it’s safe to purchase and you won’t be disappointed.

Points I liked about this series
1. No drab or boring characters here, be warned that if you do NOT like erotica then this series might be a little too stimulating for you. 

2. See point one, who doesn’t like erotica! I would place this on the softer side of the erotica spectrum but wow, totally unexpected from this author and she definitely gets a gold star for reinventing herself.

3. I’m digging her paranormal, retro-chick, medieval world and although I am not a historical romance fan, the best way to describe this series would be to say it’ a hybrid of paranormal and erotica channeling a medieval vibe. I for one am ok with this historical venue just so long as we are not catapulted to the ol’ west with cowboy romances. Give me a Scottish warrior, kilt and all, over the Marlboro man any day!

4. As a reader you can tell that she likes the premise of this series a bit better and is more comfortable with the plot lines and dialogue scenes. She is not as flowery and does not loose you in the monotony of ‘over-dialougeization’ translated -too much damn talking!

Overall, I am left feeling pleasantly surprised and I will be buying the next book in this series entitled Pleasures. {Due out August, you can find it on my calendar}

Scene Preview:

“Can I touch you to take these evil things off you?” he asked softly. {in reference to her chains}

“Are you really a priest?” she asked with suspicion as she looked over his uniform. She was searching for some kind of flaw that would reveal a deception, he realized. {Daenaira}

“Yes. I am a priest. And you, little spitfire, are going to be my handmaiden.”

That made her laugh. She started with a soft snort, but then belted out enthused amusement that might have made him smile if he wasn’t so appalled by all he was seeing and learning.

“Okay, first of all, I am clearly not religious material, M’jan….um….”

“Magnus. M’jan Magnus.”

———————————————————————————————-

Holy shit! She had spit in the face of a priest!

“Oh gods,” she groaned. “They definitely let you burn in the Light  afterlife for something like that.”  Not that she was a heavily religious woman, but she believed that much at the very least.

 And Scene.

This is the second book of Frank’s Shadowdweller’s series, Ecstasy is her first book of this newish series.  If you’ve read any of her Nightwalker books let me know, because I almost gave up on her, this series is waaaaaay better.

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I love all of Kenyon’s books (yes even the Dream Warrior books), but I thought it was a little unfortunate that Aimee and Fang seemed to spend most of the time in the book away from each other, but the action of the other characters helped with that little nuance. This is where Kenyon really has the keen ability to go back to her previous stories and be able to have a new story develop that occurs along the same timeline as her previous stories. A true stroke of genius at times! I don’t know how she does it, or if she has one kick ass editor, but this is one author that does not shirk on the details, no story shift here *cough* like some authors I’ve read. It’s times like these though, that I wish I had created an excel spread sheet to keep all of the characters straight! I do agree with some of the criticism that this book spent wayyyyyyy too much time on reviewing things that most of us already knew and thus cut into some serious QT Aimee and Fang time. My advice, don’t rush through the book expecting to have newer plot developments as the book is in essence a review of previous events. In a good way though.

That being said, the most surprising event happened toward the end of the book, with a showdown between two powerful werehunter clans that lead to the deaths of two very important figureheads. Oh no, no spoiler here on who dies, you’ll have to read it to find out buwhahahaha. Savitar gives out some major tough love that majorly affects Sanctuary. Gawd what a brute! I am left with wondering how will Sanctuary survive without the protection of Savitar and the convent of come in peace or leave in pieces? You’ll also discover an important secret Aimee has been hiding from her family, make sure to pay attention to the prologue or you won’t have as much of an A-Ha moment when reviled. Also, the line of the Katagania vs. the Arcadians seems to be somewhat dissipating and with the union of Aimee and Fang, this will be a powerful instigator of whether or not there will be peace between the Katagania and Arcadian werehunters.

Fav Character Newbie: Thorn, none of none other than Satan himself, who has his own band of warriors who offer protection from demons of the underworld.
Thorn: “Think of me like a governor or a wrangler. It’s my job to make sure that the inmates here obey the laws, especially when they go out on parole.” He is like a much cuter, sexier Dog the bounty hunter!

Guest Appearances:
Simi
Fury
Vane and Bride
Wren
Valerius and Ash
Xedrix

And Scene: Nether Realm
They closed in on one of the zombies he’d seen. Grabbing her, they tore through her neck with their teeth. She screamed out, then went silent and limp as the Harvesters seemed to inhale her essence. They cast her lifeless body aside as they searched for another victim.
Misery placed her finger to her lips to remind him to be silent.
“What are they doing?” he {Fang} projected to her.
“I told you, they’re taking a part of them and leaving them stuck in this place forever. They are now the Harvesters’ slaves and will do whatever they ask.”
“The Harvester trade their collected parts to demons and their ilk in exchange for borrowing the demons’ bodies so that they can escape from here time to time. They run us into the ground so that the can barter us. But they’re not the only ones to be wary of. There are other demons who will try to enslave or torture you. This is a dangerous place of all of us…”
——————————————————————————————————–—————————————
(Aimee and Fang)
“I don’t know. Hasn’t anyone ever rubbed you the wrong way?” Fang
“Yes, You a great deal of the time. But notice I haven’t beat your head in yet.” Aimee
He pulled her hand away from his face so that he could stare up at her. “Then why do you keep coming around me?” {Fang}
“It must be from the rock Remi hit me in the head with when I was 13. The concussion must have gone deeper than any of us guessed.” {Aimee}

Happy reading, share your thoughts on Fang and Aimee’s story.

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Well hello Ms. Feehan and welcome to the dark side, er Drake side.  I like that she is taking her series to an edgier, more rated R version for her readers.  I

 Elle is the youngest 7th Drake sister and the most powerful.  Elle has gone undercover to find out who is    behind   human trafficking assumed to be run by Stavros (Greek ga-gillionaire).  Stavros kidnaps Elle and takes her on a psychically blocked island where she cannot escape the violent torture Starvos inflicts on her.  Folks it gets graphic. Back at Sea Haven Jackson Devaru has been in love with Elle since she saved him from his violent torture at a POW camp, he’s kept from initiating his feelings for Elle due to his past. Jackson is able to psychically connect with Elle and urges her to stay alive (very Last of the Mohicans) no matter what is done to her and he will find her.

*Mini Spolier————————————————————————————————————————–

This book does contain some torture and rape scenes, like I said, rated R.  I do want to place a disclaimer here that although the book contains ‘mature content’, it truly was not the emotional beating that some are portraying it to be. Yes the heroine experiences some traumatic events but it’s not is such gruesome detail that makes it too graphic to read. I was a little shocked how negative a lot of reviews and comments were made regarding Elle’s kidnapping.  
 

Feehan’s previous Drake books were a bit more pg-13 and while I half-heatedly enjoyed them, I couldn’t help but feel they were a tad lack-luster in certain areas. (Very harlequin romance’esque.) This last Drake sister’s book is a more mature read and I was not turned away by the content. I give credit for Ms. Feehan’s chutzpa to start off with a bang and truly step out of her comfort zone. All that aside, I do agree with the criticism that if you are going to have your main heroine overcome such atrocities the likelihood of her wanting to jump into bed with someone does seem a little far-fetched.   My only real critique is that if you are starting your story off with a bang, it’s important to keep the momentum of that energy throughout the rest of the book. The book seemed to become a little stagnate once the heroine was rescued and spent the next 100 pages or so having the same argument over and over again. The dialogue dragged and so did the action,  I hate to say that because I really want to give this author props, but I felt it needed a bit more cohesion.  That being said, I still recommend this book and I like the direction that Christine Feehan is going.  This is not for the faint of heart, but isn’t that why we read paranormal romance…?

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So much of my beef with the erotica genre is that truly there are only so many ways that you can write about sex before it all just seems so formulaic and boring. After the initial vocabulary shock wears off, you start to focus on the writing and the storyline, which are often trite and forgettable. The essence of erotica in enmeshed in fantasy, so when an author has an ability to not only combine the sexual aspect of the fantasy with a believable, albeit fantastical storyline, it really makes the writing stand apart from the Hustler-like tendencies of the genre. Come on, there has to be some aspect of surprise in order to keep the interest of the reader; even if things are getting hot and heavy and it’s only page 32. It’s all about the chase, the dance, the build-up of tension; if you eat a chocolate éclair everyday, it starts to loose it’s original appeal and it becomes no different than eating a piece of chicken or sugar-free pudding (thank you weight watchers). The point is to make it interesting (even if every other chapter is down-right smutty…not that I mind)!!!

If I am going to read a novel about fantasy I want to be swept away in the story, be able to loose myself in the novel and be able to be an actual part of the fantasy. Enter in Ms. O’Connor’s futuristic romance, or as I like to say steamy sci-fi, or SSF for short. Her stories are often centered on the need for humans to find an alternate planet that would sustain life but each story is different in its approach to that goal. I will put a bit of a surgeon general’s warning for some people as the last title I read, The Portal, our heroine ended up with three happily-ever after’s, rather than a plain vanilla one-man, one-woman show. It takes a lot of creative writing to make me happy that our main character has three lover’s at the end of the book and it despite my misgivings it actually worked. Maybe not a fair shake for the three male characters of the book but hey, this is fantasy, and like the Bunny Ranch, anything is possible!

The Portal
Alexis Conyers, an anthropologist and elite scientists are on a mission to find a New Earth. Undergoing animal DNA webbing to survive the 10 year long journey, they arrive to colonize New Earth and set up a Portal for instant teleportation. Civilized humanity becomes overshadowed by animal DNA, forcing Alexis and the others to use the Portal to teleport to safety. Emerging from the portal they discover Earth is not how they left it, welcome to Post-Apocalyptic hell with barren cities and waste lands. Nearly 1000 years have passed, old Earth is filled with warring mutants a mixture of lions and tigers and bears – oh my, humans have now become the hunted.

I was in sci-fi haven, mutants check, post apocalyptic world check, steamy scenes check check check. Who wouldn’t want 3 sexy males to fawn all over you? A little warning this book may or may not have sexy ménage scenes, a lot of alpha male growling, and plenty of steam.  You’ve been warned

Other Hot Books We Read and Liked by Kaitly O’Connor

Below
Exiled
Enslaved Book 1
When Night Falls

P.S. I can’t take credit for the title, my husband often refers to my books as “sci-fi sex books, or vampire sci-fi sex books” 

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All books are not created equal.  In a series, some books stand out above the rest.   We’ve complied a hot booklist of our Fav books in a series, based on the best of the best, be all that they could be, and books that make us say Oooh-Rah.

Kresely Cole’s Immortals After Dark
A Hunger Like No Other
Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night
Dark Desires After Dusk

*Honestly You Can’t Go Wrong with any of her IAD books I prefer the Lykae and Demon books

Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter Series
Probably best to start from the first book or to read all of them, she weaves a lot of characters in her other books. She must have one hell of an editor!

Night Embrace
Dance With the Devil
Night Play
Seize the Night (you might want to read Night Pleasures first)
Unleash the Night
Devil May Cry
Acheron (You might want to read Dream Hunter first b/c Tory is mentioned in this series)
Dream Warrior

 
J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood
It’s best to read all her books, I know, even Vichous’s book.  Her supporting characters end up making big guest or main appearances in future books.

Dark Lover
Lover Eternal
Lover Awakened (my all time fav)
Lover Avenged
Lora Leigh’s Breed Series
Scientists splice animal DNA and created the breeds.  Caged like animals, they fight to escape and start to live amongst the humans.  She is steamy so be prepared to arm yourself with a fan when you read her books.

Elizabeth’s Wolf (Published by Elloras Cave I would buy used)
Tanner’s Scheme
Dawn’s Awakening
Mercury’s War
Coyote’s Mate

Shelley Laurenston aka G.A. Aiken

The Beast in Him

 Go Fetch

Christine Feehan GhostWalker Series and Latest Leopard Book
A brilliant but psychotic scientist Dr. Whitney, adopted gifted little girls ,(orphans) to conduct inhumane tests. The orphans named after flowers like test subjects, are enhanced psychically and physically, left to fend for themselves without anchors.  Fast forward 10 years and now Dr. Whitney is testing on special ops, later to be called Ghostwalkers.  The Ghostwalkers must find all of Dr. Whiteny’s orphaned test subjects before it’s too late.

Shadow Game
Night Game
Conspiracy Game
Deadly Game

*There are more, but these are my top favs.

Leopard Series
Burning Wild
Gena Showalter’s Atlantis Series, Alien Huntress, and Lord’s of the Underworld

Lord’s of the Underworld
Darkest Night
Darkest Pleasure

Larissa Ione’s Demonica Series
She only has 3 out, but there all good!
Pleasure Unbound
Desire Unchained
Passion Unleashed
Nalini Singh’s Psy Changeling Series and Guild Hunter
*Her Angel’s Blood is my top pick

Guild Hunter
Angel’s Blood

Psy Series
Slave to Sensation
Caressed by Ice
Hostage to Pleasure

 
Karen Marie Moning’s Fever Series aka what I like to call Fae Series
You have to read them all!  I am usually not a fan of one character series, but this series hooked, line, and sinkered me.
Darkfever
Bloodfever
Faefever
Series That Deserve a Mini Woot
Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dream Hunters
Christine Feehan’s Drake Sisters and Dark Series
Autumn Dawn’s No Words Alone (Don’t bother getting her second book in this series, stick to the first one)
Cheyenne Mccray’s Magic Series

 
Summer’s is here and many great books are coming out, I’ll be updating this Hot Booklist when I can get my hands on them!  Air kisses, happy reading.

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