Storm by Carian Cole

I had no idea crashing into a ditch would change my life forever.

Fate had other plans, and I never stood a chance.

A series of weather and road mishaps left me trapped in the middle of a blizzard with a complete stranger in the back of a pickup truck.

For forty-eight freakin' hours.

A stranger with long hair, tattoos, and rippling with muscle.

A stranger with an insanely sexy voice and a smile that turned my insides to jelly.

A stranger who held me in his arms, calmed me, and then set a fire in me that I couldn't put out.

I didn't know I was trapped with America's favorite bad boy guitarist, Storm Valentine. And he was in no rush to reveal his secret. He's used to getting everything he wants, and for some reason, he's decided he wants me.

Some people chase storms for the beautiful thrill. What happens when the storm chases you? 

Storm is Carian Cole's debut album and let me tell you, this lady has some skills! This book does not read like a debut album and I'm very happy I discovered her after she wrote a few more books so I didn't have to wait to read the next story. While this series is billed as a rockstar romance, there isn't as much actually rock starring as there are in other series. This book revolves primarily around the lives of the characters, and only spends a little bit of time on-stage or on-tour. 

Storm is the story of Storm and Evelyn, who meet each other in the middle of a blizzard. They end up stuck in Storm's truck, with his dog, for 2 days. Needless to say, those cramped quarters with a sexy, tatooed, muscled bad boy and a cute, sexy woman, lead to some interesting warm fuzzy feelings. Even after they are rescued from the blizzard, Storm can't help but feel something for Evie, even though she is currently in a long term relationship. Throughout their time together though, Storm shows Evie the things she's been missing in her relationship and makes her start to question why she's been in it for so long. Together they are cute and sweet and funny and loving and all the things we love in swoony romance couples. I absolutely loved them!

While there isn't expressly cheating, per se, a few lines were crossed. I won't say I loved that part of the story, but I did love how much Storm loved her, in spite of the obstacles they faced. Their story had its shares of ups and downs, but wasn't terribly angsty, which I also like. It gave me all the feels and I just wanted to hug Storm over and over again.

This book was fantastic, and I am super excited to dive in to Ms. Cole's next book.

The Lasaran by Dianne Duvall

 

New York Times bestselling author Dianne Duvall brings readers the first novel in a thrilling new sci-fi series full of action, intrigue, humor, and romance.

Taelon searches the galaxy for his younger sister, who mysteriously disappeared while on a diplomatic mission. When an ally reveals that she was seized and is being held prisoner on Earth, Taelon descends upon the blue planet, intent on freeing her and exacting vengeance. However, all does not go as planned. Before he can find her, Taelon is captured and becomes the subject of torturous experiments. For what feels like an eternity, all he knows is pain and fury… until a mind tentatively touches his own and a woman’s voice forever changes his world.

After suffering tragic losses, Lisa is finally beginning to carve out a future for herself when chance sends her to the Anomalous Cognition Research Institute. What at first appears to be a benign organization seeking participants for a psychic study instead turns out to be a government facility harboring a much darker intent. Lisa discovers this too late and soon becomes the unwilling subject of a terrifying experiment. Just as fear and desperation threaten to consume her, a deep, compelling voice penetrates the looming insanity and lends her hope.

Having seen only the worst of humanity, Taelon is shocked when Lisa risks everything to free him. Together the two make their escape, and Taelon finds himself fascinated by the small human woman who—despite all she’s suffered—can still laugh and tease and lure smiles from him. Friendship swiftly grows between them as they work together to evade soldiers intent on capturing them and find themselves hunted by mystifying preternatural beings. Through it all, Lisa steadfastly remains by his side, stealing more of his heart each day while she helps him unravel the mystery of his sister’s fate. Can they find his sister before the hunters find them? If they survive their quest, will Taelon have to bid Lisa farewell… or can he coax her into leaving her planet and joining him for the adventure of a lifetime?

You should all know by now that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Dianne Duvall. I have read everything she has ever published and I crave the next release like it's my next breath. When I found out her next release wasn't going to be part of her amazing Immortal Guardians series, I was devastated for half a second. Then, she told us that it would have IG characters, so I calmed down pretty quick. Now that I've read it, I'm not sure I'm ready to go back to IG books. The Aldebarian Alliance is another level for incredible! 

***A slight caution*** While this is "technically" a standalone and a new series, I would recommend starting with her Immortal Guardians series, and specifically start with 'A Sorceress of His Own', which is a prequel to the series. If you hate spoilers and you haven't read all the IG books, I would not proceed

The Lasaran is the story of Taelon (who we know from the end of Death of Darkness is Ami's brother) and Lisa. The book shares some scenes with Death of Darkness. We see the raid on Gershom's compound and peripherally see the rescue of Seth's IG family and we also see the scene where Taelon shows up at David's house from his point of view. And while you may think that this would be where the story would start winding down, I assure you, friends, this is only half way through the book! There are spaceships and aliens and intergalactic battles and of course.....some love 😍

Taelon and Lisa escape the compound where they have both been held and begin a journey where they have literally no idea who they can trust. Taelon is an alien and Lisa has no family, so who can they turn to. As they navigate what comes next after escape we see their relationship develop in the sweetest way. They are both so uncomfortable with themselves after their detainment (read the book to find out why) and both think the other should not be attracted to them, but of course they are! Even though we know that they are going to end up at David's eventually, you can feel the struggle that they endure to that point. Add in a few unforeseen complications along the way and Taelon and Lisa certainly don't have an easy road to the HEA. 

There was the perfect amount of set-up and background and action and story progression. This is always the case with Dianne's books, but the start of a new series can be complicated to build in the first book. It certainly helps that she didn't have to do any world building, since it is firmly intrenched in the IG world. I expected to love this book, but I wasn't quite prepared for how much I LOVED this book. And as if that wasn't enough, she TORTURED us with a sneak peek in to the Segonian, the next in the Aldebarian Alliance series. Talk about an agonizing wait! I'm telling you, run, don't walk to pick this book up. You will not be disappointed.