Review: Winter of the Woft by Cherise Sinclair

Book: Winter of the Wolf

The Wild Hunt Legacy #2

Author: Cherise Sinclair

Paranormal, Erotic Romance

Blurb:

After years in foster care, Breanne Gallagher has the stable life she’s always wanted, living with her foster-sister, working as a chef, enjoying her comfortable routines. Then one devastating night, a hellish creature invades her apartment and shatters her fragile existence. Shifting between monster and man, it slaughters her foster sister and assaults Bree. Alone, wounded, her beloved home tainted by gruesome memories, Bree flees to a tiny wilderness town, following her only clue to her past.



Shapeshifting warriors, Zeb and Shay move from one pack to another, hunting the hellhounds which prey on their kind. Assigned to Cold Creek, they take over management of a decrepit fishing lodge for their “human” cover. Their first renter is a pretty human female who trembles at the sight of them—yet stands her ground. Furious at the hurt they see in her eyes, the protective nomads are drawn into helping her. Although no shapeshifter is ever attracted to a human, her scent is oddly compelling, and her ferocious determination to conquer her fears ignites longings neither loner ever expected to face.



Bree is healing, learning to shoot the biggest pistol she can find, and overcoming her fears, especially of the two deadly, disconcertingly attractive hunters. Her life is getting back on track…until she tries to save a little girl from a hellhound and discovers everything she knows about herself is false.

I could have picked any one of Cherise Sinclair's books and given her an accolade, cause... it's Cherise Sinclair and everything she writes is awesome. Seriously, though, this author never disappoints. Her books are always well written, with strong plots and interesting characters and you can't help but be pulled in from the first page. 

Winter of the Wolf is a great example of a story that, for me, has the right alpha male vibe, without needing any of the trappings of BDSM. Not that there's anything wrong with the BDSM trappings, Cherise Sinclair does those well too. Just that this story was more focused on the paranormal and menage, but still had the right alpha feel. Reading this book I was immediately pulled into the magical world Cherise described. I really enjoyed the details and that Cherise stayed true to wolf nature and delved into pack dynamics throughout the book, even when it didn't bode well for the main characters.   

It's not a light story, there's a lot that happens here that is sad and gory and unfair. Issues of sexual assault come up, as well as abuse of power and bullying. I obviously don't like those things, but I liked reading about the way that the characters dealt with these issues. How they came together, how they struggled and overcame. I appreciated that Cherise didn't gloss over the abuse and showed how it can be devastating and how it is possible to overcome even the worst with the right partner(s) and determination on your side.  

And while we're talking about partners... let me just say that when Shay and Zeb decide to turn on the heat, clothes come off. The sensuality was so intense and so sweet at the same time. It was so well written that I had to hold the book one-handed. ;-)

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormal, sexy menage, alpha male heroes who have the right combination of dominant, bad ass and scary without ever being mean, and sometimes frustrating and feisty heroines who think they can solve the world's problems by themselves without having to ask for help (yeah, that drove me a little batty sometimes, but don't worry Zeb and Shay straighten her out and that's fun to watch... or well read).

Purchase Link:

amazon

Review: Were Trilogy by: Dixie Lynn Dwyer

Series: Were Trilogy 

Books: Were She Belongs

Were Love Found Her

Were Love Conquers All

Author: Dixie Lynn Dwyer

Paranormal Romance, Menage

Blurb:

 After being abducted, Lexi is unable to escape and about to be murdered. Growls…bodies flying…the next thing she knows, she’s staring into the eyes of some sexy wolf she met at the club.

Her old friend Sierra helped save her, along with three very sexy and intimidating Alpha males. Although they are triplets, Lexi soon finds out that they are just as powerful individually as they are together. But she’s never really belonged, and all she can give them is danger and pain.

Paul, Saber and Andre have found their mate, and they’re ready to claim her body and soul. The one problem…Lexi trusts no one. She’s lived on the streets, survived on her own, and she’s not about to be pampered. They know she’s in danger and that she’s safest with them.

It’s going to take some sneaky, dominant sexual tactics to convince Lexi she’s where she belongs.

Blurb:

The Sinclair, McFay and Crimson wolf packs are not out of danger.



In fact, it is quite the opposite. Lexi’s cousins, Jacob and Troy Crimson, are about to be murdered. As they join the party in their club, VALERIES, they are attacked. If not for the quick reflexes of one sexy blonde, Jacob would have been killed by the blade of silver.



Antoinette is stunned by her reaction to the two Alphas and finds herself in a heap of trouble, quadruple style. Not two, but four Alpha males claim her for their mate, and she’s not sure how to handle them.



There’s an evil force set on destroying all Alphas and ruling the world. He wants to obliterate the Circle of Elders and sets his sights on destroying the Crimson, McFay and Sinclair packs.



The battle has begun, and both Lexi and Antoinette must combine their powers, with the help of their Alpha mates, to destroy the evil force before their packs are annihilated.

Blurb:

Princess Charity Mossano of Milan is the Chosen One. She is forced to remain in hiding as a magical rogue wolf named Devlon continues to hunt her. He wants to mate her to gain her powers, destroy the circle of elders, and rule the world. She establishes Caliber, a security firm, to protect the last Royal were family, the Venificus triplets. Maximus, Luther, and Dante are individually powerful and dominant males. They get what they want and are superior in battle, in wealth, and in charm.



Fate leads Charity to the Royal Venificus estate. She realizes that the three handsome, powerful royal Alphas are her mates. While there, someone Devlon is working with attempts to kill Dante. She reveals herself and the battle of all times begins. With the help of her spirit sisters, Lexi and Antoinette, along with their Alpha mates, Charity must fight the evil villains and save the world.

This is going to be a 3-in-1 review, cause the whole trilogy is, essentially, the same book. And for the purposes of the review I'll treat it as one entity and post this same review under all three books. 

This trilogy had so much potential to be great! The concept is fun and sexy and has some adventure. However, the execution was a little painful (no pun intended). This was a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, because I liked the story and actually read all three books, which is why I gave it 2 stars. But I couldn't give it more than 2 stars, because the writing was awful.  

All three books have heroines who are sexually inexperienced, independent women who had to survive on their own. All the heroes are Alpha wolves... blah blah blah. I get that cliches work and people like them. I read the books, so I'm no exception. However, a little variation here would have been appreciated. Also, the sex scenes were so repetitive that I had to start skipping over them. A little bit of creativity could have gone a long way.

What drove me crazy with this author is that everyone "states" everything. When I imagine someone "stating" something, I think of an authoritative, matter of fact type of statement. Kind of deadpan, even. Dixie Lynn Dwyer, however, thinks that everyone can state anything in any context. 

"I love you," he stated.  ... deadpan ... 

In the heat of passion ... "Mine," he stated... umm in the heat of passion, I'd expect him to growl it. He's a wolf for god's sake!

And just so you don't think my snarkiness is unjustified, I had my e-reader count the number of times "state," "stated," or "statement" appeared in all three books - Were She Belongs, Were Love Found Her, and Were Love Conquers All - and the combined number is over 400 times. That's scary. 

Other quotes that make me sad:

"His eyes roamed over the cleavage of her chest..." as opposed to the cleavage of her ... ass? do we really need that distinction? I'd let it go, if it only happened once, but... 

"Charity awoke, finding all three brothers holding her stare." umm... does she have three sets of eyes? 

Also, Dixie Lynn Dwyer likes for her characters to "lock gazes." A lot. Folks were locking gazes left, right and sideways. In all three books there were a total 56 "locked gazes."

"She moaned and withered from the triple onslaught of sensations..." withered? that is not a word I'd associate with mind-blowing pleasure, more like slow horrifying death. 

These are just some examples from all three books, I can go on. But I'll stop. I think you get the point. 

I gave the trilogy two stars because I really wanted to like it. I actually finished it and the story itself had potential. But the writing was just ... not good. I tried out some books from Dixie Lynn Dwyer's other series and it's just more of the same.

Purchase Link:

amazon

Review: Offside by Bianca Sommerland

Book: Offside

Dartmouth Cobras Series #4

Author: Bianca Sommerland

Erotic Romance, BDSM, Menage

I finally finished it! Oh my god, when does it ever take me this long to read a book? It took me a while to really get into it and then houseguests converged. Excuses, excuses... I actually liked having so many interruptions because it made me savor it more. I usually go through books so quickly that afterward, I get a little sad because then I have nothing to read. Thanks Bianca for an awesome read! I'm so glad it was long and there was plenty to savor.

Five stars, I'd say that's an accolade! Here's the blurb:

A pace ahead of the play can send you back to the start. And put everything you’ve worked for at risk.

Single mother and submissive Rebecca Bower abandoned her career as a sports reporter to become a media consultant with her brother’s hockey team. A failed marriage to a selfish man makes her wary of getting involved with another. Unfortunately, chemistry is hard to deny, and all her hormones are dancing when she gets close to the Cobra’s sniper, Scott Demyan. 

Zachary Pearce ‘came out’ to the world last season to shift attention away from a teammate. And his one night with Scott Demyan had been unsettling. There could be more there, if only Scott was a different person. Instead, a night of sensual BDSM play with Becky leaves him wanting more, but she thinks he’s gay and questions his interest. It’s been a long time since a woman has attracted him both as a man and a Dom, and he’ll do everything in his power to prove she’s the only one he needs. Or wants. His one time with Scott was a mistake.

Scott might have forgotten what happened in his childhood, but the effects linger, and he specializes in drunken one-night stands…until he meets Zach and Becky and sees what he’s missing. But neither one believes Scott can be faithful. Although he’s trying hard to clean up his act to avoid getting kicked off the team, they want more from him. He’s willing to make changes, but the most important one—putting their happiness before his own—means he’ll probably end up alone.

If you have read the previous Dartmouth Cobra books, then you already know what to expect from Bianca and she definitely delivers. I already admitted that it took longer for me to get into this story than I expected, because I'm a Cobra fan and expected all the drama to explode right in my face right away and to be unable to step away from the book ignoring all signs of life outside of my e-reader until I was done. That didn't happen, there was much more of a build up to the actual juicy part of the story. What put me off a bit in the beginning is that I expected a lot more build up for Zach and Becky's relationship and it just felt like everything was so dandy so quickly... But Bianca is sneaky and apparently has a sadistic streak of her own, all the drama hit as soon as I got comfortable and at that point, I could NOT put the book down (except when I had to cause life does still happen). 

I love that Bianca doesn't abandon the characters from previous books to the happily ever after fairyland. They all make appearances here. We get our fix of our favorite blasts from the past, some of them still working towards their HEA. We also get a glimpse of the characters whose books are coming up next. I was already super psyched for Akira's story, but now I'm just chomping at the bit! All these side stories add more layers to the book, make the main story that much more interesting and get the readers totally revved up for the next books. That's some major multitasking!

Alright back to Zach and Becky and Scott. The character development was great. There were layers to each character that were slowly revealed. Nothing is as it seems at first glance. That was my mistake - too many assumptions at first about how everything was going to go and I was totally wrong. Yet, it was all just totally right. The way that Bianca developed their relationship was not at all forced, things made sense and were explained. I like that. And I had to just fall in love with all of them... Except when they did really stupid things and made me very angry and I had to shake my head in their general direction. I'm looking at you Becky... and Scott... and Zach... and Ford... and ...Akira... Did I mention I can't wait for the next book? 

LUST! Yes, please. The sex was definitely HOT. Again, it wasn't forced, it made sense in the context of the story... the story didn't stop for impromptu sex or random spankings. It was a very good balance of build up, anticipation and delivering the right amount of hotness at the right time with the right people. Very well done. 

The editing wasn't very good, there were lots of typos. But I forgive that, because the writing itself was very good and the story more than made up for any confusion the typos may have caused.

I rarely re-read books. Once I know what happens, there isn't much to hold my attention. However, there are a few favorites that I come back to time and again. I think that I'll come back to this story and I might need to re-read Breakaway now that I'm in the mood for more Cobra action. 

Purchase Link:

amazon