Book Review: Girl of Nightmares

                                                   Today's review is on Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Girl of Nightmares is the second and final installment in Blake's Anna Dressed in Blood series, and though I loved the first book I was a bit let down with this one.  After waiting so long and being so excited, for it to end like this makes it just that much more worse.

The writing is still exceptional, and the premise is still good.  There's even a healthy amount of drama thrown in.  It maintained the level of gothic charm, but lacked some of the stronger elements I had come to depend on.  In other words, the love was a bit lacking.  Sure, Cas still loves Anna, and she loves him, but I wasn't feeling it as much as I did in the first book.

Cas' level of depression over the loss of Anna takes up a large portion of the book, and when the action finally gets started, it's over too quickly.  I kept turning page after page, wondering when the story would pick up pace, only to find myself 3/4 of the way through the book when it began.

Thankfully the series is over, because if there was another installment I wouldn't even pick it up.  I just hate when a first book holds so much promise for a series only to fall flat on it's a@@. 

3 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon



Book Description: via Amazon

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

Book Review: All I Want For Christmas Is You

                                             Today's review is on All I Want For Christmas Is You by Lisa Mondello

All I Want For Christmas Is You is a delightful and well written story of forgiveness, love, and the magic of Christmas.

Lauren Alexander's life was turned upside down when she became pregnant.  Not only did the father of her baby leave, but her parents disowned her.  She was supposed to go off to college and become a successful architect, not create a scandal.  Taking her infant daughter with her, Lauren leaves her hometown and starts over.

Six years have passed by, and though Lauren struggles to provide for Kristen and herself, she tries her very best.  But her best may not be enough this Christmas.  This year Kristen wants the one thing that Lauren can not provide. 

Kyle Preston knows the pain of being abandoned by a parent.  He also knows the love of one too.  Adopted at a late age, Preston becomes a member of a large and happy family.  The love and care he received from them has made him a loving and giving man who dresses up as Santa each Christmas season for the children that visit his mall.

This year Kristen wants a Daddy, and that's exactly what she tells Santa.  But is this something that even Santa can't provide?

A beautifully written book that will definitely leave you excited for the Holiday's! I wonder what would happen if I put "rich and handsome husband" on my Santa list???

3 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon

Book Description: via Amazon

Estranged from her family, single mother Lauren Alexander is heartbroken when her daughter requests a daddy for Christmas from Santa. Sexy Santa, Kyle Preston, has gone from throw away kid to successful real estate entrepreneur. Taking these two stays under his wing, he sets out to make all their Christmas wishes come true.

NOTE: Cover image is from an older edition

All I Want for Christmas is You
Fate with a Helping Hand Book One
Lisa Mondello

Genre: Contemporary Romance

ASIN:  B005KDG236

Number of pages: 192
Word Count: 40,000

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Book Description:

Sometimes fate needs a little hand...

Santa Claus is going to have a rough season... Lauren Alexander is raising her daughter alone. Abandoned by her family for her decision to keep her daughter Kristen, she has done a pretty good job for the last six years. Or she thought she had. That's why she is crushed when little Kristen gives up her wish for a toy or goodie and instead asks Santa for a present for her mother. She wants Santa to bring a Daddy. Delivering Daddies isn't Santa's bag.

But this Santa has a plan...

Kyle Preston knows what it is like to be abandoned too. Luckily he found the support of loving adoptive parents and has turned himself into one of the most successful Real Estate developers in town.

Building a house is easy. Building someone's trust is a whole other story. But with a little helping hand, a little Christmas magic can make all the difference in the world.


About the Author:

Lisa Mondello (a.k.a. LA Mondello) has held many jobs in her life but being a published authors is the last job she'll ever have. She's not retiring! She blames the creation of the personal computer for her leap into writing novels. Otherwise, she'd still be penning stories with paper and pen.  Her first book, All I Want for Christmas is You, was the winner of the Golden Quill contest for Best First Book and to date has had over 400,000 downloads worldwide.

She is currently the author of 14 novels under the name Lisa Mondello and LA Mondello. You can find more information about Lisa Mondello at http://www.lisamondello.blogspot.com

www.LisaMondello.blogspot.com    

@LisaMondello

http://www.facebook.com/lisa.mondello.1
 

Book Review: The Darker Side of Heaven

         Today's review is on The Darker Side of Heaven by K.B. Cutter

This short 137 page adventure into the world of Angels, Demons, Vampires, and Shifters is a must read for those who enjoy the Paranormal. As an added plus, if you enjoy a little eroticism thrown in there, you'll thoroughly enjoy reading it. Cutter's ability to mix these elements together keeps the reader not only enthralled, but excited in the most intimate of ways. *wink* *wink*

The lines of good and evil are blurred as Chalice Noire, a mixed breed of Demon and Angel, sets out to not only stop the Fallen Angel Nikolai Voss from setting in motion events that will bring about the End of Times, but to also stay alive.

Dark, Edgy, and Sexy all wrapped up in one small package. Who could ask for anything more? Well, me. My only complaint about The Darker Side of Heaven is that, for me at least, it was a bit to short. Because of this, many times I felt that not only was the plot rushed, but the sub-plots as well, leaving me feeling a bit ripped off. I was hanging there wondering how did this happened? or simply saying AND?????? With that said though, I think this is a great book, just a little to short for me.

4 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon
Book Description:  via Amazon

Shadows lengthen over the world. Turmoil rages.

Something evil this way comes . . . .

Emotionally conflicted avenger Chalice Noire, product of an unholy union between demon and angel, is a slayer to the forces of darkness. Employed by shadowy benefactors in Rome, her sect is commanded by fallen angel Nikolai Voss, whose allegiance is not to the church but to the flame of vengeance that burns within.

But Chalice possesses a holy relic, a Weapon of the Mass, Nikolai desperately craves, and he will stop at nothing to retrieve it, destroying anything or anyone, including his own soul.
Renegade vampire Adam Blake is a recluse, attempting to bury his troubled past and the tortured memory of his former lover, Chalice Noire, in America's last frontier: the Alaskan wilderness.

Armageddon looms, the agents of light and darkness gather forces. The battle to be fought not on the sands of prophecy, but in the rugged beauty of Alaska, where Chalice and Adam once again cross paths. Can they reconcile their past to save humanity's future?