BOOK REVIEW ~ THUNDER BY TARYN KINCAID -- WITH GIVEAWAY

Title: Thunder (Sleepy Hollow, Book Two)

Author: Taryn Kincaid

Release Date: October 26, 2012

Reviewer received eBook from author for an honest review

Lonely young witch, Veronica Hardwicke, has struggled to get on with her life after the death of the elderly husband who’d left her a fortune and a sprawling estate in mystical Sleepy Hollow. When frightening things go bump in the night on a stormy Fourth of July, who better to call than the sexy developer and contractor, Sean Jones, who's been renovating her mansion for months?Sean may grace the tabloid pages with a different supermodel on his arm every night, but it's Veronica who drives him nuts. Ignoring his instinct to stay away, he answers her summons.

Will the thundering passion of their 1Night Stand tear down the barriers between them?

Book Review 

Thunder is a novella of thirty-six pages and part of a series entitled, Sleepy Hollow. 

Strange things are happening in Veronica Hardwicke's mansion--noises that have the witch wondering who or what is making them. 
Over the last few months, the construction company, By Jones, has been busy renovating the older home. And one night during a bad storm, all the mysterious banging and eerie sounds make Veronica very nervous. She calls the only man she cannot stop thinking about--Sean Jones. 

Sean Jones thinks that Veronica is about as "nutty as a bag of trail mix" and despite the fact that he constantly argues with the woman, he's extremely attracted to her. But so far, he has made no moves to take her to bed. 

Sean is upset at Veronica's phone call, but leaves his bed (and the woman currently in it) to head back to Sleepy Hollow.  On the way, he learns his brother has signed him up for a date set up by 1-Night Stand.  When he arrives at the mansion, he discovers that Veronica has also been set up with her own 1 Night Stand. 

What follows is one helluva night of passion between the two lovers, but when the sun sets, will Sean decide to walk away? 

Thunder is an sweet, entertaining read that delivers what is totally expected--hot sex and a happily-ever-after. There are really no surprises.  However, sometimes the dialogue between the characters fell into the cheesy category which was a bit irritating. This happened more during the sex scene than any other time of the story and lessened the hotness of it. 

Links for author:

Website  / Twitter / Facebook / Blog 

Taryn Fisher will be giving away one eBook copy of Lightning or Thunder, plus some great swat! Contest ends on February 6, 2013.

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BOOK REVIEW: DANGEROUS MAGIC ~ DONNA GRANT

Title:  Dangerous Magic (Sisters of Magic, Book 3)
Author:  Donna Grant
Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 303 KB

Where To Find The Author:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Blog





Book Blurb:


With the darkness holding firmly onto his soul, Cade knows he's destined for Hell. Men like him don't perform the deeds he has, regardless if they came by order of the king, and not elude the darkness.

A loner, even keeping far away from towns, Cade takes what the land provides and vows to keep the two men he thought of as brothers alive from the great evil after them.
He knows his time is short and the evil is looking for him, but there is just enough humanity left in him to aid his friends.

Book Review

Dangerous Magic is the third book of the Sisters of Magic Series. Although, you can read DM without reading the first two books, I highly recommend NOT doing that--There is a build-up here, people. And it plays a major role in the overall development and climax of this series.
The reader gets to meet Cade in the first book and see the complete character ARC. It's also where I first fell for the man. He was dark, mysterious, and deliciously aloof--I wanted more.




Sisters Of Magic Book One



Sisters of Magic Book Two


Donna is truly an epic writer when it comes to the historical romance genre--this is where she shines. You can tell she takes her research seriously when writing. She places the reader in 12th century England and paints a vivid picture of the surroundings in the true language of that time.
Because this IS a series, the reader can truly get to know her characters and grow to love them. Cade instantly stood apart from the others for me. I wanted his book to be next.
If you are a lover of historical romance with a touch of the paranormal ~ Donna is your go-to gal. She has published several books in this genre ~  All of them great reads for the hopeless romantic. 

This book features Cade, the ultimate tortured hero with a secretive past, who feels he is fated to die alone.

You don't deserve happiness. And God forgive him, it was the truth. Nigel wasn't the only one who needed to die. He did as well.

There are some serious hot moments in here, with instant heat and attraction between Cade and Francesca.

It was all he wanted. Just one taste. His head lowered until their lips were nearly brushing. Her magic washed over him, making his skin quiver and his heart quicken. And then he realized that if her magic could affect him, his darkness could affect her.

There is a tremendous build-up to the climax of this book. Nigel, the villan of all three books, has sold his soul to the big man downstairs and represents the ultimate evil. He is hell-bent (HAH)  in destroying Cade. He lies, kills, and uses a deadly force to seek revenge on those residing in and around Wolfglynn. And that is where things fell for me in this series. I was disappointed in the wrap-up...maybe I missed something, but I was expecting a bit more. Maybe I'm just a blood thirsty bitch, but I wanted Nigel to suffer more, and when that didn't happen,  I was left with a WTF moment. His death was too damn quick.

Overall, I still remain a HUGE Donna Grant fan. She pulls at my heart strings and writes such beautiful, poetic words that make me swoon.

Adrianna might have healed my body, but you healed my soul, witch. Never forget that.

See what I mean? SWOON...

Book Review-A Discovery of Witches ~ Deborah Harkness

Title:A Discovery Of Witches: Book One All Souls Trilogy

Author: Deborah Harkness

Hardback: 579 Pages

Publisher: Penquin Group

ISBN - 10: 0670022411

ISBN - 13: 978-0670022410

Links To Purchase:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Indi Bound

Link for Author:

website

Twitter

Facebook

Really, I rate this 4.5 stars. I ususally don't do the 1/2 thingy...but as you'll see below, I have my reasons :)
Wow--this book was truly a wild and weird ride.
To be honest, I started this book and wasn't impressed--AT First. It was very difficult for me to get into the characters, the plots, and at times, very confusing. There is just so much going on at the beginning, I felt sort of disconnected. So only after reading around 150 pages, I stopped.
The book sat there taunting me---I so hate to not finish a book. Plus, I had three friends tell me how great it was. I didn't see the charm (no pun intended). The fact that it was also voted  as a possible best book of 2011 on Goodreads made me pick it up again.
I admit I am a sucker for action--and the first half of this book lacks that suspensful, edge-of-your-seat kind of vibe. I swear, they ( Diana and Matthew) spend most of the book in a damn library researching books and it drove me crazy. I am not typically a skimmer, but I was tempted a few times. My warning here--Don't skim--all the backstory is important and little facts will pop back up near the end of the book.
This book is thick--could give a person a concussion if you use it right. The page count is 570 some odd pages. So, it's length can be a bit daunting. But having read Pillars of the Earth--it was a piece of cake for me. LOL
The pace picks up (for me, at least) around 60-70% through the book. I can't tell you when, because I LOATHE spoilers--but something major finally happened, and I did a little squee dance of joy. FINALLY--I thought--We're getting somewhere, lol.
From that point on, I was hooked. And like pieces of a puzzle, things started to fall into place. There are still some huge major questions left unanswered--but that is what an author is supposed to do--hook you in, leave you screaming and banging your head in frustration with questions left unaswered. This book is supposed to be a trilogy--and I can't wait for book two.
This story leaves you theorizing what will happen--Where will Diana and Matthew end up? What exactly did the aromas of cinammon, honeysuckle, blackthorn and chamomile--a haunting familair and FORBIDDEN scent-mean? And what about the bargain with the Goddess of the Hunt?
The secondary characters drew me like a moth to a flame as well. I loved Diana's family--ghosts included. And Matthew's vampy family had me tearing up with the blossoming mother-daughter relationship between Ysabeau and Diana. And just how the hell do you pronounce Ysabeau? 
No matter--I can't wait to see where Deborah takes this truly amazing couple next---and I bet the road will be filled with obstacles along the way. AWESOME