MsNalla's Take...

Reading is my passion. I love nothing more than to get lost in a story. Whether that be a fantasy story or one true to life. I love being able to share my experience through reading it.

— feeling love
Dark Desires (Pure Ones #3) - Aja James

Alright... I'm feeling way too much right now after reading this one. Trying to get my head together..

I gotta be honest and say it took me a minute to actually become invested with what was going on here. I wasn't feeling all the technical aspects/jargon with this one. It felt in certain areas , for me, to be throwing me out of the flow of the story; even though it was central to Ryu & Ava's story. But because of this fact, I quickly got over it. Especially when the pacing of everything began to pick up. I knew it was a point to all of it, and that's what kept me going :D

I fell in love with the way Ryu's story unfolded. Past and present. How it was all woven so well together. There were some hard truths here that had me physically & emotionally unbalanced. I was crying ALOT of tears here. Tears of heartbreak. Tears of pure joy, & tears of anger & impotent frustration with certain things that occurred. There was an instance where my Husband actually closed the book and was like "That's it Babe. We're done. You need to step away for a bit" So yeah, I was extremely in my feelings with this one. I'm a sensitive soul anyway, but when an Author can cause me to feel every emotion across the spectrum, whether I come away loving the book or not; I feel the writer has done their job. When doing this they force me to face it. Roll with it. Figure out how I'm feeling as I'm being swept away. This is an AWESOME thing & if you don't know by now, I love this story because of it.

I LOOOOOOOVE Ryu & Ava together & individually. Their interactions with one another just had this sort of raw, pureness to it. It was on an elemental level that you literally got to see and feel as it occurred. Watching how things unfolded and progressed with them, broke my heart & put it back together beautifully all at once. It was great.. I loved how throughout this they remained who they were to their core, while trying to figure out how to be what they needed to be for one another. I'm a big fan of loving completely without losing yourself in the process. So this spoke to me on that level.

That Epilogue *sighs* I am just beside myself.

Hubby and I got to read this one together, so below are his thoughts and experiences while reading this with me..


Well, I am agreeing with majority of what my wife said about this book. Except I had no problem getting into the story immediately. It all intrigued me from the beginning. There weren't any slow moving aspects of this story for me at all. I especially enjoyed all of the fight sequences concerning Ryu and the shadow ninjas. I liked seeing how things were coming together for Ava when she was working in the Labs. Her trying to understand and figure out just what her role is in all of this, when it became apparent to her that something just wasn't quite right. I'm a science buff to a degree, so getting that aspect here was refreshing for me.

There were some very intense hot scenes in here with Ryu and Ava. This I enjoyed immensely because I benefited from some of those encounters ;) What can I say? They were written well.

Seriously, the writing with this book was done incredibly well. I am very invested in this series now. I think that this story solidified that for me. I am intrigued by Inanna's father. I think the suffering that I saw here was just the tip of the iceberg with this guy. I am eager to know more of his story and if retribution is granted for him.

My wife gives this one 5 stars, I am going to go with 6 stars on this one.


Well done Ms. James. -AJ

Aran: Love me Harder  - Alien Paranormal Romance - Serena Simpson, Lori Merlotti
Okay I have to be fair and give this one at least a 3.5* rating..

I liked the premise. I thought it was interesting. I liked the chemistry between the MC's always a good thing. And I liked how you got a glimpse of all of Aran's brothers. Very different males on appearance and personality. Does make you want to come back to see them all in their own story.

What I didn't like was that the "Beast" within that makes Aran and his family different, wasn't visited upon as much as I feel the story warranted. You just got VERY brief cameos with it. 4 to be exact. Out of the whole novel. If this beast is a big part of Aran's make up, and it is a paranormal story, then we need to see more of it. Details and situations where it's needed to make its presence known. Didn't get nearly enough of that here. Disappointing for me. Also more hotness with the couplings would have been nice too.

Now, I don't know if the Author saw some of the many reviews complaining about spelling and grammar, and went back and changed that, but I did not encounter any of that here when I read this book. So Kudos for changing that. I did however encounter what many reviewers stated that it was hard to know who was speaking to whom in any given scene. This unfortunately was true. You could be in the middle of a conversation and lose track of who is saying what. Which made the writing very choppy and threw you out of the flow of the story. VERY annoying at times. The fact that this was a common theme through out the book was not good. So the physical aspect of the writing needs to be a lot tighter.

But based on the premise, the characters, and the continued on going plot; I would recommend this read. I may give book 2 a try sometime in the near future.
 
 

 

Marex (Immortal Forsaken, #1) by Verika Sloane (Alias), Kimber Troy

Sexy... An interesting take on the social structures of Vampires and Werewolves, and the mating bond differences between the two.

Was a good intro to a series when setting up both plots for couples involved, and the common plights they share that will ultimately affect them all; and their way of life..

This seems like this will be a great Onion to peel back as the series goes on.

I would recommend this read.

......

A Slave For The Demon: M/F Demon Monster Paranormal BDSM (Paranormal Demon Lust Book 1) - Verity Vixxen

This was actually kind of comical to me. Though I doubt that was the intention of the author.. So for laughs, and the cover, it gets 3 stars..

This is a very brief short, that's apart of like a mini series of stories. Basically, the chapters are released as a series, when all of them could just be added to one book for a decent sized Novella. This book has a total of 6 quick chapters and ends on a cliffhanger for the next few chapters. Price gouging at its finest.

Sexorcist: Explicit Adult Science Fiction Short Story by Natasha Bender

Weird and frightening stuff... *Shudders* The transfer of demons through this particular instance is a very real thing. The fact that it's being written as sensationalism, scares me.

If you're looking at this through a strictly informative standpoint, it's very interesting, but reading this for any other reason; all I can say is please be careful...

"Where Winter Finds You" by JR Ward Black Dagger Brotherhood #17.5

— feeling bad egg
Yeah.. I wasn't crazy about this one. Honestly, Ward should have left this one alone. I got why she went the route she did with Trez in "Shadows" though it was heartbreaking and the glue that held the explanations of Selena's illness were flimsy at best, still I got it. It felt way more organic to me than this TOO SOON reunion/second chance for Trez. I would have felt better if Therese was just someone he fell for with no other link to him whatsoever. *shrugs*

Now, I did love that I got a story where the book was totally just about the MC's, something I haven't gotten in sooo long with the original BDB, it still felt like I was being Told how I should feel about these two, and not really being allowed to see it unfold for myself. If that makes sense?
Trez and Theresa spent way too much time in their own heads for me. Even when they were together. Just not enough dialogue or opportunity for things to just flow with them IMO. Was a let down. Not to mention not enough hotness here for me either. UGH!!! Trez is my baby. Why I couldn't enjoy him the way I had hoped, kills me.

The explanation as to why Trez and Therese crossed paths to begin with, was a decent explanation. I liked that. It was more solid than the explanation of why he was so heartbroken in the first place that's for sure.

Conclusion:
This felt like a filler book to me. More like a 445 page Novella that did not need to be this long. Also it felt like a half apology by Ward for those who were just so ticked about the "Shadows" book. I think Ward should have waited longer when she had more inspiration to work with, if she wanted to give Trez a second chance. Cause this just was not it.. Weird too, because when I met Therese in the "The Thief" I think it was, I was actually rooting for a good story between them...

In any case, I'm only giving this 3 stars because of Trez and iAm, a few cameos of my faves, the Epilogue, and that 1st time locked corridor encounter ;)
 
The Savage King: A Dragon Lords Story (Lords of the Var Book 1) - Michelle M. Pillow

Well, this one surprised me. It was a quick, sexy read, with an interesting spin on a much visited Shifter world. Kirill I love. He and his brothers won my heart. The Brief glimpse you get into their world/culture is illuminating. It makes you want to know more... Ulyssa I loved her in the beginning even in the middle. She was strong. Steadfast and determined. Her background gives the sense of why she is the way she is, but towards the end she seemed to lose something for me. She came off as a bit lost, whinny in her dealings with Kirill. It just didn't flow organically in this regard for me, considering all that we've been shown thus far, with her and him.

But the ending was a sweet one. If not a little cheeky.

I would recommend this read if you're in the mood for something sexy, a bit erotic, and sightly suspenseful.

Personal Thoughts & Goals...

— feeling excited

So I took on the task of challenging myself to a Kickboxing Bootcamp.
Which is set to start next week. I'm really nervous. New goals always make me nervous. Cause if this turns into a lifestyle change for me, (which I'm 99.99% certain it will)

I'm gonna want to tackle teaching it to everyone else next :D

 

 

Three Times The Fun by: Blythe Reid

 

Okay. I was kind of surprised by this one. Make no bones about it, this is a very sexy raunchy read. LOTS of freak nasty here. But in a sensual, good, everyone consents type of way.


It has all the predictable tropes. New Divorcee', hot guy(s) great sex/chemistry etc., but within that predictable simplicity, it did something VERY original and IMO, refreshing for a read like this. There was NO drama with the past threatening to ruin the present or the promise of a future. I liked the fact that here we're seeing consenting adults who are completely open and upfront & honest about EVERYTHING with themselves and one another. And because of that, their arrangement morphs into something that even they were not expecting, but they took it and went with it. :)

This was a quick reverse harem read that left a feel good, dare I say it, romantic mark in the end.

Yes. I would recommend this FREE read.

A Mutt In Disguise by: Doris O' Connor

A Mutt in Disguise - Doris O'Connor

This one was kind of sweet. Quick read. Some scenes were funny. Others had some heat. But this was an overall quick supernatural, sexy, fantasy read. It kept everything simple.

A nice refresher book when you're trying to come out of a reading slump or a book hangover.
I would recommend this read.

Her Marine Daddy by: Lee Savino

This was alright. I guess. Nothing really remarkable here. But not a waste of your time either.
Another okay, quick read.

Daddy Wants Milk: A Taboo Story by Lacey Wild

NOPE.... LMBO!!! I only gave this one 2 stars because:
1. It was so short. But in this case that's a blessing.
2. The dialogue and non plot is so ridiculous, you can't help but bust a gut laughing at it.

So it gave me a good laugh, but that's it. But at least that's something for the 15 mins I'll never get back for reading this book. I certainly see why this one is free, and I should have known it was going to be... not great, by the title alone.

No. I would not recommend this read.

Dark Longing (Pure/ Dark Ones Book 2) - Aja James

Okay...

I still have no clue what to say about this 2nd installment to this series. All I know is that I LOVED every confusing, freaky, frightening, poignant verse, thought, and scene this book shared with me.

It was dark, erotically beautiful, and I saw everything as if I were watching it unfold on a screen. The same as when I was reading book 1. In case you don't know this about me, I LOVE when my books afford me this type of perk. I get lost in everything. Oh and I got my Hubby hooked on this series too ;) He was so enthralled with the first 5 chapters of this one, he stopped and went back to book 1 to get the whole experience from the beginning.

This is a very involved plot it has so many characters, plights & POV's there's no way you should tackle this series out of order. Everything that occurs has a cause & effect. A point. It's just way too tightly woven together for you to attempt a book out of order. I strongly suggest you start from the beginning and keep going.

Based on what I've read and experienced with these first 2 books, I would highly recommend this series. I love both books equally, but for very different reasons. But that's the way journeys are supposed to be. They have you all in your feelings :)

Love, Peace, and Joy :)

Pure Healing (A Novel of The Pure Ones Book 1) - Aja James

OH. MY. SWEET. BABY. JESUS!

What have I gotten myself into here?!….

Read this book people. Please..

I'm on to book 2 ;)

I have no words...

As cray cray as these folks were, they still had me over here like...

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Breaking Dragon - Jordan Marie

AWESOME!!!! That's all I have to say.

 

Except why I waited so long to read this, I don't know.
And I'm not understanding why I decided to skip this book, and read some of the others after it, first.


Who knows. Just glad I was able to come back and enjoy this one. :)