Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Bravo and Encore for Olivia Gaines, Xyla Turner, and Tiana Laveen's Anthology - The Company

As we just discussed in my last blog post, the foundations of my love with reading lies with PnR. I had just come off the high of reading J.R. Ward's The Story of Son, and I was craving another, well instead of one I got three!

I was hanging out on Twitter, where along with my beloved Kindle App, I come across some killer reads. I saw a Tweet about the anthology, The Company. I saw that Olivia Gaines was one of the authors and I was sold. I trust Olivia's writing so much that I knew if she decided to combine a work with two other writers they HAD to be stellar as well. Needless to say my instincts were spot on.

The company is an combination of three PnR/BWWM works authored by Olivia Gaines, Xyla Turner, and Tiana Laveen,  that can be enjoyed as a stand alone, but are best enjoyed together. Each work has it's own flavor, but the blend together to make a mouth water creation. (Literally mouth watering...OK it was more like panting and drooling. What can I say these ladies know how to write the Good! Good!)

Each work in The Company has just the right amount of dark mystery, romance, unexpected twists and turns, and plenty of hot and steamy stuff. There was only one problem with this anthology...it came to and end. It is my serious hope that these ladies bring other characters from The Company into their own love stories. Are you listening ladies? From my lips to God's ears!

If you're a lover of PnR, then you're going to fall head over heals with The Company. Bravo Ladies and Encore! Encore!

Much Love

Pandora~

The following is an excerpt found on Amazon

Truth is stranger than fiction at The Company. Things get especially exciting when the unknown comes wrapped in the gossamer thread of magic and mayhem. On the other side of this shimmery coin lies Love, the protective cloak that gives all we do meaning and validation. Thus, the world of the supernatural is a prelude and backdrop to romance that unfolds in all its glorious colors.

A woman uses a love potion to attract a man and repel another, yet gets more than she bargained for when the unexpected happens right where she least expects it. A man, both angel and demon, struggles with his identity while danger lurks around the corner and a new, powerful emotion takes over his being, shaking him to the core. An ambitious account executive is thrust in the midst of an old war between vampires and hunters, a kiss has her float in mid-air, and the world she’s always known shatters around her.

Trapped in the Company by Olivia Gaines

It all went wrong. Clarice's plan was to use just a bit of the love potion to attract one man, hoping to repel another, but a twist of fate and poor timing left her trapped in the company with Elliott Marsden for the weekend. Keeping her reputation intact was the least of her concerns; she needed to be extra savvy to survive a night with Elliott

Company Secrets by Xyla Turner

Jessica Cayman is an ambitious Account Executive for Delancey, Inc. She stays in her lane, works hard and has her eyes set on becoming a partner within the next year. The plan is easy until Sage Wesley, III from The Company refuses to work with her.

His aversion to Jessica turns into a kiss that literally has both of them off their feet. Floating in midair? Then a bite on her neck?

There are too many secrets and Jessica soon finds herself in the middle of an old war between vampires and hunters…too many company secrets.

Cruz Control: In Bad Company by Tiana Laveen


Born in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, Cruz Black spent most of his life attempting to escape the stifling, horrifying bonds of his bloodline. Part Angel Child, part Demon Child, his upbringing was built on the opposite side of ‘normal’. But, things change when the notorious King Angel Child of New York, Dr. Saint Aknaten, takes him under his wing. During an investigation into a Los Angeles hate crime case assigned to him by Saint, Cruz finds much more than he bargained for causing the sparks fly in an inferno of attraction when Cruz meets Chef Erika. Like brimstone bricks, the pair fall for each other fast and hard, and the chemistry is unmistakable. Cruz has found his mate, but will Erika stick around once he reveals the true nature of a beast?

P.S. - Author Tiana Laveen also has a series of books that begin with The Naughty Sins of A Saint, that you can also read that tell the stories of some of the major characters in Cruz Control: In Bad Company.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Going Back To My PnR Reading Roots With J.R. Ward's, The Story of Son

If I tried to count all the books that I have read in the last 5 years I would probably lose my mind, and that's putting it mildly. I've always had a passion for reading, but life got in the way. Being a full-time wife and a mother of four, working full-time, trying to go back to school and finish my degree...all of it left no time for the relaxation and solace that a great book has always provided.

But then my life changed, my husband at the time decided that he was leaving, leaving me, leaving us. Please don't feel bad about it, I don't any more, but at the time, I was a broken mess. Suddenly I had a need to be able to find a safe place, that safe place was between the pages of books.

One of the first authors that I picked up was J.R. Ward, and the book was from her Fallen Angel series, book one, titled Covet. I will never forget the day. I had left work and was wandering through the Gallery Mall in Center City Philadelphia, while making my way to the train and I stopped at a book store called Books-A-Million. There was this super, super helpful employee whose name sadly escapes me. I told her that I was looking for something good to read. She asked me if I knew what kind of genre that I was interested in and I simply said I have no clue. She looked at me with a glint in here eye and said, "I think I have just the book for you." She showed me the display that contained all of the Fallen Angel books that were out at that time and she hands me the book. She said, "This is book one in the series, the author is AMAZING! Her name is J.R. Ward and I promise you will fall in love with her."

She asked me to stop back by and tell me if I liked it or not. Now this was before my fascination with e-readers so I was still buying paper backs. I made my way to my train, found my seat and started reading. By the time I reached my stop I was hooked!. I think I read through Covet in about two days. Needless to say I made my way back to Books-A-Million and went in search of the young lady that helped me, I didn't think she would remember me but she did. She smiled at me and simply said, "Well...."

She knew I was hooked just as she had said. Well, to make a long story short, I read through that series, then polished off all that had been published the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. (I have also read The Bourbon Kings as well.) So about little less than a week ago I was browsing through my Kindle app and I came across a title of hers that I wasn't familiar with it was called The Story of Son, which was originally published in 2008. It's a stand alone read that was originally included in the Anthology Dead After Dark, which also includes works by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Susan Squires, and Dianna Love.

The Story of Son blew me away...there's something to be said for picking up a read by an author that you know will not fail to pull you into what lies between the pages. Even though I am never with out something to read, there are times when I don't want to start something by an author that I've never read. I want warmth and familiarity, it's like coming home. I curled up on my couch with my blanket and my steaming cup of coffee and let me self be swept away.

All I can say is thank you J.R for always giving me what I need, when I need it. Beautiful story. Maybe there will be a sequel? Just a thought.

Much Love,

Pandora

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Evangeline Anderson - Restoring My Faith In Paranormal Romance

I am a die hard lover of all things romance. I don't discriminate when it comes to the type of romance that I read.  I'll be honest with you, there are some genres that I rarely read, but there are always exceptions. With all that said, my favorite genre is paranormal romance. I mean come on, who's never watched a vampire flick and thought to themselves, "Ooo! Bite Me Baby!", you know you have confess.  Anyway, there was a particular book that I had seen pop-up on my suggested reading list on my Kindle App, more than a few times, but I ad never read it. Finally this past weekend I decided to give it a go....needles to say, I fell, and I fell hard!

The book that I read was "Crimson Debt" Book one in the Born to Darkness Series, by Evangeline Anderson. If you have a serious love of  PnR and you haven't read this series you're seriously missing out. All three of the stories are extremely well written and the characters are fully developed. There were three things that stand out in this series.  First, they are full length reads, not those books that you can breeze through in a solid 30 minutes. Second, Evangeline takes the time to craft a story where the conflict is not rushed and it's outcome unpredictable. There's nothing worse that reading a story and knowing the ending as soon as you finish the first chapter. Thirdly, the Good Good is OFF THE CHARTS!

All of the leading ladies and their men are unique, I also like the fact that the author writes one of the ladies as AA. Yes, I'm partial, what can I say. Her Character is in the third book "Ruby Shadows", and her name is Gwendolyn and her leading hottie's name is Laish. Ok, I don't do spoilers, but I will tell you this. Laish will seriously do some damage to your pulse! That's all I can say!

Evangeline Anderson has a crazy number of published works to her credit and I'm looking forward to reading every single one!

Much Love!

Crimson Debt

Born to Darkness, Book 1

Addison Godwin is a Non-Glam—one of the one in ten thousand humans who is immune to vampire glamour and mind tricks. Her gift enables her to work as an Auditor, enforcing the law that vampires and humans keep their distance from each other except in a purely non-physical way. The law is necessary because when a vampire tries to have sex with a human their blood-lust combines with their sexual appetite and the result looks like road kill.

Alec Corbin is a Four Star Master Vampire with piercing blue eyes and intentions to get Addison into his bed. He promises he can be gentle but Addison has seen way too many vamp/human crime scenes to go for that. She has no interest in the six foot four hunk of sexy vampire man candy, even if he is supernaturally hot.

But just because she Audits (and sometimes executes) vampires for a living, doesn’t mean she hates them all. Her best friend, Taylor, was turned against her will. Now, living as a slave to one of the crueler Master vamps in town, she leads a miserable existence and Addison is helpless to save her within the confines of the law.


Things come to a head when the Vampire Inquisitor comes to town and Taylor is given to him as a sex slave. When Addison sees her best friend tortured, beaten, and burned with silver she knows she has to do something—even if it means teaming up with Corbin and paying the Crimson Debt.

Scarlet Heat

Born to Darkness, Book 2

Taylor is a vampire—but she doesn’t want to be. Turned against her will by her sadistic mistress, Celeste, she has been living a miserable life of bondage and abuse for the past six years. Finally, through the help of her best friend Addison, Taylor is rescued but she can’t relax for long. In order to save her from an even worse fate, she is married off to Victor—a very reluctant groom who just happens to be a werewolf.

Victor doesn’t want to be responsible for the fledgling vampire, no matter how beautiful she is. Especially when he finds out he is the only one she can drink from. But aside from the strange arousal that overtakes him every time she sinks her dainty fangs into his throat, he has other problems to deal with…and a very big secret to hide.

Their marriage of convenience is only supposed to last for three months but Victor and Taylor finds themselves drawn together by more than the vows they took. But as their attraction grows, so does something else. Inside Taylor, something is changing. She begins to have physical cravings she has never had before, insatiable appetites that only Victor can satisfy.

Will she succumb to the madness growing within her or can Victor save her from the Scarlet Heat?

This one will make you fan yourself! Truly!
Ruby Shadows

Born to Darkness, Book 3

Nothing is for free when it comes to demons…a fact that Gwendolyn LaRoux finds out the hard way when she summons Laish, a minor demon from the Shadow Lands to help her cook up a little black magic. Unfortunately black magic has a way of growing and soon Gwendolyn finds herself drowning in darkness. Still, she’s determined to clean up her own mess. But when a creature from the Abyss enters our world and threatens her beloved grandmother, Gwendolyn has to admit she needs help—which means summoning the infuriating Laish, even though she swore never to call on him again.

Answering Gwendolyn’s incantations in a moment of boredom was a mistake for a demon who keeps what little heart he has left under lock and key. Laish immediately fell for the Creole beauty with jade green eyes and creamy, cafĂ© au lait skin and now he’s determined to have her—no matter what the cost. And thanks to Gwendolyn’s sticky dilemma, the price just went up.

When it turns out that the intrepid witch must travel through the Shadow Lands and close the door she left open to the Pit, she knows at once she can’t make the dangerous journey on her own. Of course Laish is more than willing to act as her escort and bodyguard…for a not-so-small fee. Gwendolyn doesn’t want to use her body as a bargaining chip but the lustful demon will accept no other form of currency. And since her grandmother’s life is at stake, she has no choice. Little by little she must give in to his demands.

As Gwendolyn and Laish travel further and further into the interior of Hell, will he be able to keep her safe? And will she be able to keep her innocence? Or with they lose themselves and each other among the… Ruby Shadows?


Evangeline Anderson is a registered MRI tech who would rather be writing. And yes, she is nerdy enough to have a bumper sticker that says “I’d rather be writing.” Honk if you see her! She is thirty-something and lives in Florida with a husband, a son, and two cats. She had been writing erotic fiction for her own gratification for a number of years before it occurred to her to try and get paid for it. To her delight, she found that it was actually possible to get money for having a dirty mind and she has been writing paranormal and Sci-fi erotica steadily ever since.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

J.S. Scott Billionaire Obsession Series - So Delicious You Can't Read Just One

Hello my beautiful people! It's been way too long since I've finished a book review, but I have been distracted in the best way possible! I have been up to my eyeballs in romance that was so intoxicating that I could do nothing short of allowing myself to drown in it.

I have told you more that once, that I am almost anal about book series. If I find one book in a series that blows me away, I won't stop until I have greedily consumed all of them. Such was the case with J.S. Scott's Billionaire Obsession Series. It all started with book one in the series, "Mine For Tonight".

Mine For Tonight is the Simon Hudson and Kara Foster.

"Down on her luck, nursing student and full-time waitress Kara Foster gets a massive blow to her already desperate financial situation that will surely find her living on the streets. Needing nothing less than a miracle to save her, Kara gets rescue from an unknown, unlikely and overwhelming source. Billionaire Simon Hudson makes her an offer that is impossible to refuse, but terrifying to accept from a man that she's never met. Will the handsome, alpha billionaire really be a solution to her problems, or will he end up being a major complication and a danger to her emotional sanity?

Reclusive billionaire Simon Hudson would rather be behind a computer creating computer games than rubbing elbows with the elite and he knows exactly what he wants...until he meets Kara Foster. Something about Kara touches Simon in ways he's never experienced and definitely doesn't like. For over a year, Simon watches over Kara, but stubbornly refuses to admit his desire to possess her, not even to himself. But when she ends up in a situation that could very well be her destruction, Simon steps up to help her, not realizing that in saving Kara, he might very well be salvaging his own soul."

What I enjoyed most about Scott's "Billionaire Obsession Series" is the fact that she weaves real life issues that society sometimes chooses to turn a blind eye to, into some of her stories. Each of the books can be read as a stand alone; however there is a definite intersect of characters. You would be doing yourself a huge disservice if you didn't start with book one and work your way through the series. 

The next book in the series Billionaire Undaunted: The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Zane, is scheduled for release on June 7, 2016, and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon.com (And yes I've already pre-ordered mine!) I can't wait to read the story of Zane and Ellie. 

So until the next time, keep turning the pages! Much Love!

Pandora~

















J.S. Scott is a NY Times & USA Today bestselling author of erotic romance. She’s an avid reader of all types of books and literature. Writing what she loves to read, J.S. Scott writes both contemporary erotic romance stories and paranormal romance erotics. They almost always feature an Alpha Male and have a happily ever after because she just can’t seem to write them any other way! She lives with her husband in the picturesque Colorado Rockies.

Visit her website for a complete listing of her work - http://authorjsscott.com/about-js-scott/