Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet by Darynda Jones

This afternoon's review is Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet, the current installment in the wildly hilarious Charley Davidson series and trust me, you don't want to miss this one. Can anyone say sexy Son of Satan? Yum!

Unfortunately, Charley has gone off the deep-end. Her last case caused her severe PTSD. She hasn't left her apartment in months and is now addicted to the shopping channel. Her apartment is full of kitchen appliances that she will never use (she can't cook, remember?) and there's also the matter of the stain in the corner, which she has covered up with boxes (sorry Mr. Wong!). When Cookie cancels all of her credit cards and embezzles all her money (harsh, right?) Charley has no choice but suck it up. She takes on a new case of a woman who is convinced that someone is trying to kill her. Oh yeah, and she saw him again. You know him. The Son of Satan. Reyes. Scrummy yummy! After her last case, Charley told Reyes she never wanted to see him again, and being a gentleman, he's tried to oblige her. But one day she sees him outside her apartment for a split second, but she knows he was there. She summons the trusty Angel to help her locate him. She isn't happy when she finds him, but thank the Lord and Darynda Jones that she does, because things get steamy! Not right away, mind you, but they can't be within a 100 mile radius of each other without us readers needing some fresh air to cool us down. Ms. Jones sure knows how to write the chemistry. mmmMMMmmmm!

Jam-packed with fantastic one-liners and fall out of your seat laughing moments, Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet is an action-packed, suspenseful and oh so sexy read! 5 out of 5 stars!

Alliance Forged by Kylie Griffin

Today's review is of Alliance Forged by Kylie Griffin. This is book #2 in the Light Blade series. In just over 1 month, book #3 in the Light Blade series, Allegiance Sworn will be coming out. The date is April 2nd. If you haven't read the first book in the Light Blade series, Vengeance Born, head over to my review of it here http://mrsclaresbooks.blogspot.com/2013/02/vengeance-born-by-kylie-griffin.html and then read it before you get started on this review.

Alliance Forged is the story of Varian and Kymora. Varian and Kym are my two favorite characters and at the end of Vengeance Born, I was really hoping they would get together. Of course, Ms. Griffin didn't let me down :)

Varian is the leader of the Na'Chi that found their way to Sacred Lake, the human village. He is very reserved and stoic as he's had to protect his "family" his whole life. The other Na'Chi depend on him for survival. Varian also has scars on his face, which he feels makes him undesirable. Kymora is the Temple Elect and she is blind. However, she never lets that stop her.

After the events of Vengeance Born, the humans and Na'Chi wish to learn how to live in peace. Some of the Na'Chi stay in the village and some of the humans move up to the caves with the Na'Chi. Kymora decides it is her path to go live with the Na'Chi. The alliance is tumultuous at best, but everyone understands that in order to have any chance of defeating the Na'Reish, the Na'Chi and the humans must align themselves with each other and forge a bond. Caught in the middle of this are Varian and Kym. For all of Varian's hardness and unwillingness to show his feelings, he is somehow drawn to Kymora in a way he doesn't understand. Kymora is also unschooled in the ways of romance and finds herself longing for something with Varian. But can she break into his seemingly hard heart and make him trust her?  There are things about Varian's nature that frighten him and he worries that Kymora will be a victim to his rage. Kymora has always felt that nobody believes she can take care of herself because of her blindness, but her unwavering trust in Varian may just give him the healing he needs.

This book was fantastic! Even better than the first. The chemistry and sexual tension was unbelievable! My heart was racing the entire time wondering how this ticking time bomb hadn't exploded yet. It'll be a hard one to beat, since it surrounded my 2 favorite characters of the series, but I'm sure Kylie Griffin will come through. 5 out of 5 stars!

Don't forget to mark your calendars for Allegiance Sworn on April 2nd!

Darker After Midnight by Lara Adrian

This afternoon's review is Darker After Midnight by Lara Adrian. This is leading up to the release of the next Midnight Breed novel, Edge of Dawn, which is out February 26th.  ***Spoiler Alert*** If you haven't read the previous Breed novels up until Deeper Than Midnight, do not continue reading. There are spoilers from the end of Deeper in this review. Quite shocking ones, so go read Deeper first!

Lara Adrian is a brilliant story teller and has crafted a world so extraordinary, you wish it was real.

Darker After Midnight is Sterling Chase's story. For those of you already familiar with the Breed nation, Chase is our good boy turned bad boy. A former member of the Enforcement Agency, the Breed's law enforcement, Chase left to become a member of the Order, a warrior group tasked with fighting Rogue vampires and keeping the Breed existence secret. In the last few books, Chase had started to go off the deep end. His long time secret love, Elise, had bonded to the first Gen warrior Tegan and he began to let Bloodlust take control.

Darker After Midnight begins with Gideon, Lucan and the other warriors standing outside their compromised Order headquarters. If you remember, at the end of Deeper Than Midnight, Dragos' evil plan led human law enforcement directly to the Order's door and Chase gave himself up into custody to save his Brethren. While Chase is in human custody, he encounters Tavia Fairchild, the assistant to a Minion senator under Dragos' control. Tavia is a brilliant, but shy woman who harbors deep scars. She believes that her parents died in a fire many years ago, leaving her with extensive burn scars, and that because of that horrible incident, she suffers from severe anxiety disorder and must be medicated at all times. Chase kidnaps Tavia in order to save her from whatever Dragos' has planned and that is when things get interesting. Tavia goes without her medication for an entire day and Lara Adrian gives us a twist I never ever saw coming.

Chase and Tavia's story finally gives us a glimpse into the real Sterling Chase. Underneath his steely gaze and anger issues, we discover the real reasons behind his self-deprecating feelings. Tavia is the perfect woman for him and their story is the hot HOT HOTTEST of them all. 5 out of 5 stars!

Be sure to check out Edge of Dawn, book 11 in the Midnight Breed series, coming February 26th!

Vengeance Born by Kylie Griffin

Today's review is Vengeance Born by Kylie Griffin.

Vengeance Born is Kylie Griffin's first novel in her Light Blade series and let me tell you, this is THE BEST new series of 2012 for me and possibly the best EVER! Finding new books is so hard for me, so when I find an author I like, I pray with all my might that they have 30 other books previously written that I can move onto. Unfortunately, this is Kylie Griffin's first book, but let me tell you, she's now got a groupie for life!

I'm a sucker for paranormal. And paranormal romance? Woowee! Excuse me while I fan myself. Vengeance Born has all the marks of a well-fleshed fantasy world as well as characters that you really want to see united. At the end of this book, I was already thinking about which characters I wanted to get together next and how it would be if even more characters were entered into the story. This book was so good, I think I finished it in 4 hours. I could not put it down!

Vengeance Born is the story of Annika. She is half human and half Na'Reish, a demon race that is constantly at war with the humans. Annika's father is the leader of the Na'Reish. He raped her mother, simply because he could, and because he knew that a half-blood child (a Na'Chi) would never be accepted among the humans. She was to be a constant reminder of the demons' superiority over the human race. Annika, with the help of a captured Light Blade warrior, manages to escape the demon city and Kalan takes her to his village. Annika has no lover for the demon population that she grew up in and endeavors to help Kalan bring peace between the races. But the Na'Reish are a vicious race and are determined to prove to the humans that Annika is no different.

I can't tell you how much I loved this book. The world that Kylie Griffin crafted is exquisite and unique. The characters practically leap off the page in their realness. Annika is a woman who doesn't fit into the world she grew up in and doesn't belong in the world she longs to be a part of. She doesn't trust her gifts and doesn't understand her own value. Kalan is a stubborn warrior, set in his ways. He doesn't trust Annika, because he has seen the destruction caused by the Na'Reish and believes that even though she is half human, that she is just as savage. Their love story is touching and grabs a hold of your heart and the underlying battle has you rooting for world peace.

This book was 5 out of 5 stars for me. Easily the best book I read in 2012 (with the exception of the second book in the series. So hard to choose!). Stay tuned for a review of Kylie's second book, Alliance Forged later this week. Her newest novel, Allegiance Sworn comes out April 2nd, and I can't wait! For a review of the next book in the Light Blade series, go here http://mrsclaresbooks.blogspot.com/2013/02/alliance-forged-by-kylie-griffin.html

Go visit Kylie Griffin on her website www.kyliegriffin.com

Welcome! And a review of Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Welcome to Mrs. Clare's books!

This first book I am going to review is Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, first in the "His Fair Assassin" series. Grave Mercy is a Young Adult Fantasy Romance complete with historical characters and assassin nuns. Intrigued? I was too.

Ismae is a 17 year old whose father is trying to forve her into an arranged marriage with a horrible man. She escapes and is brought to a convent where the nuns and other girls serve St. Mortain, the saint of death. They are trained in combat, seduction, potion-making and other skills in order to carry out their assassination orders on whomever death deems their time has come. 

On Ismae's first mission, she is sent to Brittany, into the family of Anne of Brittany. Anne was a real figure in 15th century Brittany who became Duchess at age 11. In this book, she also has a sister Isabeau (another real figure) and two half brothers. One of the half brother, Duval, is Ismae's handler, and eventual romantic interest. Grave Mercy details Ismae's struggles with following her heart, versus following the mission given to her supposedly by St. Mortain. She and Duval have a very subtle, yet sizzling romantic interest throughout the book, and eventually Ismae's heart wins out. 

I really enjoyed the underlying true story line with the story of 15th century Brittany. Historical fiction fascinates me, especially when little bits of fictional events or characters are thrown into it. The romance was also heartwarming and satisfying. Duval is a prickly character, with a very gruff personality, but in that lovable way where you just know that the right woman can get under his skin.
Ismae is the perfect woman for him and they have a palpable chemistry on the pages.

This book was 4 out of 5 stars for me and I can't wait for the next one. Dark Triumph, book 2 in the series is set to come out April 2nd. If you haven't checked out Grave Mercy yet, you better hurry, because I guarantee you'll want to read the next one as soon as it comes out.

Check out Robin on her website at www.robinlafevers.com to see other books written by this talented story-weaver. And don't forget to pre-order your copy of Dark Triumph. You won't want to miss it!