Thoughtful by S. C. Stephens

Hey everyone,

My last few days have been consumed by Thoughtful. I loved the original Thoughtless trilogy and devoured them one after another; to this day it is one of my favourite trilogies. Therefore when I found out that S. C. Stephens was writing Kellan’s POV I was both ecstatic and nervous. Ecstatic because this was Kellan! But nervous  because whenever I’ve read a companion book before I’ve been disappointed.

The book:

In Thoughtless, Kiera told her story. Now it's time for Kellan Kyle to share his side in Thoughtful . . .

The only place Kellan has ever felt at home is on stage. Gripping his guitar in a darkened bar, he can forget his painful past. These days his life revolves around his music and his band mates, and that's the way he likes it. And then one woman changes everything . . .

Kiera is the kind of girl Kellan has no business wanting - she's smart, sweet, and dating his best friend. Certain he could never be worthy of her love, he hides his growing attraction . . . until Kiera's own tormented heart hints that his feelings might not be one-sided. Now, no matter the consequences, Kellan is sure of one thing: he won't let Kiera go without a fight.

My thoughts:

I loved this book! I loved it more than Thoughtless and that is probably because I found Kellan a more likeable character. Reading the story from Kellan’s POV was like wearing an old jumper that had been distorted in the wash. 

The Lycan Hunter by Kelsey Jordan

Hey everyone,

The publishers sent me a copy of The Lycan Hunter by Kelsey Jordan in return for an honest review. Its a paranormal romance where the hero and heroine are on opposite sides of the Forever War and in my opinion it has a pretty awesome cover.

The book:

When Alexis James arrives at her first assignment in months, she anticipates the danger and violence rife in her calling as a Lycan Hunter. What she doesn’t expect is a handsome, blue-eyed wolf saving her life and kidnapping her. Surrounded by the enemy, Alexis must not only survive her prisoners but the bonds of a different sort that begin to form against her will.

Mikko Kyran was chosen by the gods to lead his pack, and he has made it his mission to end the eight thousand years of war plaguing his people. The Alpha never suspected that the key to the prophecy ending the Forever War would be held by a smart-mouthed, sexy Hunter determined to kill him.

Can two people from different worlds set aside everything they know about one another long enough to survive retribution from the Hunters, the pack, and the gods? Or will their difference start war that neither can win?

My thoughts:

As previously mentioned this is a paranormal romance, and yet in some ways it felt more like a fantasy romance, purely because of the incredible and complex world building. Kelsey Jordan has not only created two ‘species’ in the form of her Lycans and Hunters she has imbued them with an entire back storying, a religion, God and Goddesses, specific rituals and even a language. I personally haven’t read a paranormal romance with such in-depth world building for quite some time and it was surprisingly refreshing.

A New Man by P.D. Singer

Hey everyone,

I stumbled across A New Man by P.D. Singer by accident on Amazon and it looked too tempting to resist. The blurb completely intrigued me and I’ve spent most of Sunday reading it. So without further ado lets get on with the review!

The book:

Senior year of college is for studying, partying, and having fun before getting serious about life. Instead, Chad’s days are filled with headaches and exhaustion, and his fencing skills are getting worse with practice, not better. Then there’s his nonexistent love life, full of girls he’s shunted to the friend zone. Is he asexual? Gay? 

Grad student Warren Douglas could be out clubbing, but his roommate is better company, even without kisses. He’s torn up watching Chad suffer, gobbling ibuprofen and coming home early on Friday nights. If Chad weren’t straight, Warren would keep him up past midnight. They’re great as friends. Benefits might answer Chad’s questions. 

A brief encounter with lab rats reveals Chad’s illness—he needs surgery, STAT, and can’t rely on his dysfunctional parents for medical decisions. Warren’s both trustworthy and likely to get overruled—unless they’re married. “You can throw me back later,” Warren says, and he may throw himself back after his husband turns out moody and hard to get along with, no matter how much fun his new sex drive is. Surgery turns Chad into a new man, all right… 

…but Warren fell in love with the old one.

My thoughts:

To say A New Man packed an emotional punch would be an understatement. From the blurb I knew this book wouldn't be a chocolate box love story, partly due to Chad’s illness but also because of what Warren was willing to risk and lose. Yet I wasn’t prepared for the book to make me cry and think about some of the issues raised. P.D. Singer did a fantastic job of portraying topics such as illness, coming of age, alcoholism and infidelity without relaying on melodrama.

Did I say yes because I him enough to let him go if he needs to go? Or does that mean I don't love him enough to fight for him?

The Raven by Sylvain Reynard (Audiobook)

Hey everyone,

I feel like this is the book everyone is talking about this month, and because I had an excessive amount of credits on my audible account I decided to get the Audiobook version. Now, although I probably don’t need to I’m going to introduce the book, because tradition and all that.

The book:

Raven Wood spends her days at Florence's Uffizi gallery restoring Renaissance art. But an innocent walk home after an evening with friends changes her life forever. When she intervenes in the senseless beating of a homeless man, his attackers turn on her, dragging her into an alley. Raven is only semiconscious when their assault is interrupted by a cacophony of growls followed by her attackers' screams. Mercifully, she blacks out, but not before catching a glimpse of a shadowy figure who whispers to her . . .

Cassita vulneratus.

When Raven awakes, she is inexplicably changed. 

Upon returning to the Uffizi, no one recognizes her. More disturbingly, she discovers that she's been absent an entire week. With no recollection of her disappearance, Raven learns that her absence coincides with one of the largest robberies in Uffizi history--the theft of a set of priceless Botticelli illustrations. When the police identify her as their prime suspect, Raven is desperate to clear her name. She seeks out one of Florence's wealthiest and most elusive men in an attempt to uncover the truth. Their encounter leads Raven to a dark underworld whose inhabitants kill to keep their secrets . . . 

My thoughts:

What is it about this author? Every single one of Sylvain Reynard’s book draw me and absorb to the extent that the rest of the world ceases to exist until I’ve finished. It the alluring wonderful quality of these books that resulted in me staying up until three in the morning listening to it and then spending all of the next day listening too it. Seriously I listened to TEN hours worth in one day. Driving, food shopping, cooking, working etc everything was done with The Raven as my background.

Off Course by Bailey Bradford

Hey everyone,

Hopefully you all had a lovely Valentines day, regardless of whether you were all loved-up or flying solo. Today I thought it was time I got back to reviewing some actual books, for some reason it felt like ages since I’d reviewed one. Therefore I give you Off Course by Bailey Bradford an M/M paranormal romance e-book that came out late last year.

The book:

For the coyote shifters near Del Ray, hope lies in a prophecy that Miller Hudson, their would-be alpha, doesn’t believe is ever going to come true. As far as he’s concerned, their old medicine man ingested a few too many hallucinogens. Nothing the man did helped the newer generations of coyote shifters. They might as well have just called themselves regular ol’ humans.

Something has happened to them, and no one has been able to shift since long ago.

Only time and faith will hold them together.

Only a return to their true nature will save them.

Only love will fulfill them.

My thoughts:

In many ways this was the ideal book for my reading mood and it actually brought be out of a prolonged book slump, which is always a good thing. I really liked Bailey Bradford’s relaxed and witty writing style, none of the dialogue felt forced but the characters still maintained their individuality.