Review: Alpha Off Limits (Serpent's Tongue Ink, Book 3) by Katja Desjarlais

 

A fantasy older woman hiding her past. A younger bad boy with everything to prove. It’s wrong. Unthinkable. And irresistibly tempting.

Four months after a brutal attack and kidnapping at the hands of a drug kingpin meant to teach his notorious brothers a lesson, twenty-three-year-old engineering graduate student Grey Baker needs to seize back control of his life. He heads back to class and the gym, driven by the need to be faster, stronger, better. His smokin’ hot trainer fiercely builds his body and provides a sexy distraction through the pain. But Grey wants more from her.

Melody Zeher will never again cede control. Divorced at thirty-three and still dogged by the mental and emotional abuse of her ex, she pushes her clients to their edge and beyond and trains rescue dogs all while attempting to tamp down the burning lust her young client ignites. She doesn’t want the emotional burden of a relationship ever again.

But Grey offers to play it her way. The rules are set. Lines drawn. Limits established. What could go wrong?

 

My Review:

I couldn’t get enough of Grey and Melody. 

I have been waiting for Grey’s story for a while now and it sure didn’t disappoint.  As the youngest of the Baker brothers, everyone has high hopes for Grey to finish college and get a good job.  After the attack, the family worries about Grey’s mental health.  But Grey is doing good and even falling in love with his personal trainer, Melody.  Melody has her own issues, a stalker ex.  I enjoyed seeing Grey and Melody fall in love in this exciting and passionate book.

 

Review: Buttercream and Bullets (Frosted Misfortunes Mysteries, Book 7) by Lisa Siefert

She just wants to sell cupcakes and avoid drama. When a killer strikes close to home, will she whisk up the perfect trap or get burned trying?

Ava Decker is starved for commitment. Unsure what to do about the three men tearing her in different directions, the sarcastic baker is kicking off January with a massive hangover and the urge to eat her feelings. But when she drags herself to the museum to clean up after the town’s New Year’s Eve bash, she discovers not only stale treats but also the editor of the local newspaper … shot to death.

Leaning on forensic skills she’s earned by being an unfortunate corpse magnet, the big-hearted shop owner resumes her role as neighborhood amateur sleuth and starts exploring clues. Yet as she digs up info on feuding co-workers, missing money, and crooked politicians, she realizes the sharp-tongued wordsmith had a whole pantry’s worth of enemies.

Can she celebrate the sweet reward of catching a murderer before this becomes a recipe for disaster?

 

My Review:

Great writing and characters. 

Bakery and chocolate shop owner, Ava Decker, always seems to be finding dead bodies in her town.  This time, she found a body while helping with the cleanup at Clover Creek Museum, the day after their New Year’s Eve party.  Ava, along with her cat Lucky, and a new friend, Iris, go on the hunt to find the killer before he/she strikes again.  Ava is also dealing with the mysterious disappearance of her boyfriend, Jean-Carlo, a US Marshall, who she hasn’t heard from since he went on an undercover assignment. This fast-paced book is fun and unpredictable.  I enjoyed it just as much as the previous books in the series.

 

Review: These Immortal Vows (Bound by Blood, Book 1) by Kelsey McKnight

 

Familiars serve. Vampires command. But hearts never obey.

Cassandra Rollins was born to serve the immortal. A human familiar bound to the will of vampires, she’s spent her life walking the razor’s edge between power and peril. No creature—living or undead—has ever shaken her control. Until him.

Ruairidh Calder, a Scottish vampire forged in battle and haunted by centuries of war, is ready to abandon his wandering life. But when he settles in New York’s glittering vampire court, he’s forced to rely on Cassandra—his reluctant guide and the one human who defies him at every turn.

Their fiery clash ignites a forbidden desire neither can contain. Yet when vampires and their human familiars begin to vanish, their uneasy partnership turns into a fight for survival. In a city pulsing with dark magic and ancient rivalries, Cassandra must decide whether to trust the immortal who tempts her heart—or risk losing everything to the darkness hunting them both.

In a world ruled by blood and power, love is the most dangerous vow of all.

 

My Review: 

So good, I didn’t want it to end. 

Cassandra should have been off limits.  She was another vampire’s familiar and another man’s girlfriend.  She was also mortal.  When Cassandra is given the job of providing Ruairidh with documents and a place to live, she had no idea her life was about to change in ways she never expected.  When an ancient vampire is killed, Cassandra and Ruairidh move in together (where she will be protected) and search for the killer before someone else gets killed.  They eventually give into the temptation they have both been fighting, crossing the line from friends to lovers.  This book had everything I look for in a vampire romance, action, passion and excitement.  I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.