Book Review: A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K. Hamilton

A Kiss of Shadows 

(Meredith Gentry, Book 1)

by Laurell K. Hamilton

Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (February 2002)

Kindle Edition
File Size: 1336 KB
Print Length: 480 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0345423402
Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st edition (January 18, 2001)
Publication Date: January 18, 2001
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Ratings: ★ ★    

My thoughts:

Merry is Anita Blake's twin sister! I left Anita's world (after book #10) when she became power-hungry then slutty. This is just book #1 and yet I can see Merry now being the slutty AB. Yikes, even Merry's voice, humor and skills as private investigator, purely Anita. The fantasy part is flat, characters are forgettable. DNF!!   

I'm about to start Nightseer, my last book from this author, hoping it's better than this. 

About the book:

My name is Meredith 'Merry' Gentry, but of course it's not my real name. I dare not even whisper my true name after dark for fear that one hushed word will travel over the night winds to the soft ear of my aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness. She wants me dead. I don't even know why...

I fled the high court of Faerie three years ago and have been in hiding ever since. As Merry Gentry, I am a private investigator for the Grey Detective Agency: Supernatural Problems, Magical Solutions. My magical skills, scorned at the courts of Faerie, are valued in the human world. Even by human standards, my magic isn't flashy, which is fine by me. Flashy attracts attention and I can't afford that.

Rumour has it that I am dead. Not quite. I am Princess Meredith NicEssus. To speak that name after dark is to call down a knock upon your door from a hand that can kill you with a touch. I have been careful, but not careful enough. The shadows have found me, and they are going to take me back home, one way or another.

Book Review: Heat (Outlaw Romance) by Holly Roberts

Heat: Outlaw Romance 

Hotter Than Hell Novel

by Holly S. Roberts

Series: Hotter Than Hell Novel
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (January 1, 2016)

Kindle Edition
File Size: 1733 KB
Print Length: 240 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Four Carat Press (January 18, 2016)
Publication Date: January 18, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Note: I received a review copy of this book free from the author, Holly S. Roberts. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

My thoughts:

I had this book since December last year or was it January? I'm not sure. I stopped accepting requests, just re-reading favorite books and learning gardening for a while now. I'm just stressed out in sooo many ways that I didn't want to waste my precious time (if you have been following me since last year, you know why) over new books. When I picked this out from my library, I was ready to be disappointed. Thought it was better that way than to up my expectations. Oh well, this is surprisingly sooo good that when I dived into it, I didn't stop until I flip that last page. 

Madison Abigail Kinlock, also known as Mak, is a tough, kickass female lead (reminds me of the young Anita Blake). Her character is credible, I love her voice, and values as a cop (an ex-cop turned PI. Met few PIs in my line of work so I know how cool to have them as friends) . . 

As for the male lead, the romance part? Yay! Moon is a swoon-worthy-drug lord! Okay, before you question my morality, I was actually pretty conflicted with my feelings with this guy. Like Mak, I was attracted to Moon but couldn't accept for what he is (a criminal!) but the author added some goody twist in Moon's character that made me want him and his world. 

Sex - although yes so hot, it's not so over the top. Thankie! Hey, just tagged this as an all-time favorite book, this means this is so goood. It was THAT good I bought the second book! Highly recommended for readers looking for a great series to start!

Purchase your copy

About the book:

She’s an ex-cop and he’s the head of a crime syndicate. 

Heat turns to sizzle and hearts combust when they find themselves wanting more than a few hot nights between cool sheets. 

After a shoulder injury ends her respectable career as a police officer, Mak also known as Madison Abigail Kinlock turns to the seedy world of private investigations by default. Now her job consists of cheating douchebags and baby daddies dodging child support. Things can’t get much worse. 

Moon controls Arizona’s largest crime syndicate. His bronze skin and blue eyes leave a girl breathless even when that girl knows he’s bad news. Moon doesn’t give a flying fig what Mak thinks; he wants her—ex-cop, bad attitude, and all. 

How does she resist the dark side when her body craves Moon’s searing touch? Things only get hotter in Phoenix when Mak finds herself in a deadly situation and must turn to Moon for help. 

He’ll help but there’s a price.

About the author:

USA Today Best-Selling Author Holly S. Roberts is a retired sex crimes and homicide detective who managed to retain her sense of humor. She writes under three pen names dreaming about stories from life on the street as a beat cop in an unflattering blue uniform to erotic romance.

She married her high school sweetheart at the age of eighteen after experiencing love at first sight at age twelve. Her husband took a little longer to realize he couldn't live without her but came along nicely after he stopped fighting fate.

D'Elen McClain is her paranormal romance pen name and Suzie Ivy her tough crime fighting alter ego pen name.

Her two dogs, Dizzy, a Rottweiler with anxiety issues, and Duchess, her overweight Chihuahua, sleep and play at her feet while she writes steamy fantasies at her home high in the Arizona mountains. She also keeps her pen in blue ink as a contributing writer for UniformStories.com, Below The Salt News, and Bad Luck Detective blog.