6 stars My heart is literally pounding in my chest right now. I’m not kidding when I say I just had to take a Xanax. Aly Martinez nailed it with this gripping story that takes you on an inspirational, breathtakingly emotional journey and never lets you go.
Whenever I need a tried and true escape, I know I can rely on the In Death series by J.D. Robb (AKA Nora Roberts). It’s hard to believe that Thankless in Death is the 37th book in the series.
I know, I know. I gave a rather scathing review of Debt Inheritance, so why on Earth did I read First Debt? Apparently I’m a glutton for punishment because I decided to give this book a chance when I saw it was available at the library. I figured I had nothing to lose except maybe some of my precious reading time, because…free. Oh, and it was the audio book version so…bonus!
In Calculated in Death, Eve, Roarke, Peabody and the rest of the gang are back to solve another case—this one involving the murder of a likable accountant. The book gets off to a slow start, primarily due to the story being bogged down with too many similar suspects to keep straight, but things pick up considerably about one quarter of the way through. In fact, I’m pleased to say that although this is the thirty-sixth novel in the In Death series, it manages to sustain a fresh feel.
Dark romance may not be at the top of my list of favorite genres, but I’ve read several that I quite enjoyed. Ones with characters I could relate to and relationships that I could ultimately root for even when those relationships were rather twisted. I think maybe I’m just not cut out for this particular style of brutal dark romance.
One piece of advice before reading this book: buckle up. Scarlet Stone dished up every conceivable emotion and then completely obliterated my senses. Even when my emotions were tied in knots, I reveled in this spellbinding, original story.
Ohmygosh! This book! I freely admit I’m an angst whore, but Low takes angst to a whole new level. It is, without a doubt, the most anxiety-producing novel I’ve ever read. At one point I had to reach out and phone a friend. (Thanks, Christy, for the hand holding.)
The Sugar Bowl series by Sawyer Bennett has proven to be one intense, mysterious, and sexy trilogy. Sugar Free is the highly anticipated conclusion.
Transfer is the second book in the Retrieval Duet. I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into this continuation, and hallelujah it’s a juicy one. The story picks up seconds after the plot-twisting, stomach churning cliffhanger at the end of Retrieval and continues to propel readers through an adrenaline rush of a plot.
When I found out Jodi Ellen Malpas was writing a standalone I was crazy excited. Factor in the premise of a bodyguard falling for his client, and The Protector was an easy sell for me. Perhaps my expectations were a bit too high, but this wound up being a middle of the road read for me. It wasn’t my favorite, but I didn’t hate it.
Kudos to Marni Mann for daring to delve into the area of dark erotica. It’s a risk that takes her well outside the boundaries of her previous novels, and while the premise is intriguing, unfortunately Prisoned just didn’t resonate with me.
Do you enjoy a healthy about of suspense with your romance? If so, I think you’ll love Sugar Rush, the second book in Sawyer Bennett’s Sugar Bowl series. It’s like book crack for an angst addict with an insane amount of tension and devious scheming that keeps you on the edge of your seat. This book is not a standalone. The beginning of Sugar Rush overlaps with the final seconds of Sugar Daddy’s ending.