Claimed by Rebecca Zanetti

Claimed by Rebecca Zanetti

Emma Paulsen is a geneticist driven by science.  But she's also a psychic, so when a dark, good-hearted vampire frees her from the clutches of the evil Kurjans, she realizes he must be the man who's been haunting her dreams.  But with a virus threatening vampires' mates, Emma may discover a whole new meaning of "lovesick"...

As King of the Realm, Dage Karys has learned to practice diplomacy.  Still, it's taken three hundred years to find his mate, so he'll stop at nothing to protect her--even if it means turning on his back on his own kind...

Whew.  This book starts right in the middle of the action!!  Emma has been found by the Kurjans and is being transported to one of their strongholds when Dage teleports into the helicopter holding her and lays waste to all inside--including the pilot.  Luckily, he is able to teleport them back out before the helicopter crashes, unluckily the landing leaves a LOT to be desired.  Dage is determined to keep his mate safe...while his mate is determined to save her sister, Cara, who has been infected with a virus which is not only undoing her mating to Talen, but is also turning her back into a human.  As Cara is pregnant with a vampire child and humans aren't strong enough to carry vampire fetuses, the pressure is on to save both of them before the virus progresses to far.

Emma is used to protecting Cara as they grew up with an abusive father and often Emma would focus his attention on her to protect Cara and their mother.  However, Emma did not use that as a reason to not trust Dage which I thought was an interesting choice which I appreciated.  It also helped that Emma had been dreaming of Dage for years--seeing scenes of his life which allowed her to get to "know" him and his abilities and personality.  Emma and Dage are both incredibly strong characters who fit each other so well.  Dage does not want to be king but he knows he is the best choice to be so and therefore he sucks it up and does his duty to the best of his ability at all times, although he definitely does what he has to to protect his brothers and their mates as they come first and foremost.  

There is a lot going on in this book as the virus attacks not only Cara, a vampire mate, but also at least one shifter and a prophet while Emma and Kane frantically try to figure out a cure.  Meanwhile, while Moira (Conn's mate) was mentioned in book one, she is actually "introduced" to the reading in this title as the witches as a whole are brought more into the fold.  There will be a lot more action from that segment of the paranormal world in upcoming titles I am sure.  Also, demons were introduced and while they played a minor role the implications for further development were huge.  There are at least three other couples that have already been paired off (not counting Janie and Zane who will have to wait longer due to their ages at this point) and I can't wait for each of their stories.  

Even with all of that going on, all of the raids against the Kurjans, the developing (and devolving) relationships between individuals and groups of paranormals, the virus and the research to cure it, the introduction of new species and characters, Rebecca Zanetti did a phenomenal job of never letting the relationship between Dage and Emma to feel forgotten or overshadowed.  The balancing act that she must have performed in order for their story to still be front and center in the reader's mind amidst EVERYTHING else is phenomenal and to be commended.  And what a relationship it is...fireworks occurred often as both characters have strong beliefs about the way their relationship will go.  Not to mention Emma has seen visions of her death for years and isn't about to commit either herself or Dage too far until she is certain she can change events.  And yet.  Somehow, both Dage and Emma found themselves falling more and more in love with their partner as well as becoming more and more willing and able to support them in their needs and desires.  It truly was beautiful to watch them figure out each of their own issues as well as each others'.  That is not to say that Dage was not overbearing and neanderthal at times or that Emma wasn't mule-headed with one foot out the door, but they were both so complex that it simply wasn't that easy.  Always, one or the other (or both) would grow from their interactions and you could see the proof of that based on their behavior in later interactions.

Reading Challenges
I Love Library Books
Witches and Witchcraft
What an Animal
Story Sprites

I borrowed this title from my local public library.

Fated by Rebecca Zanetti

Fated by Rebecca Zanetti

Cara Paulsen does not give up easily.  A scientist and a single mother, she's used to fighting for what she wants, keeping a cool head, and doing whatever it takes to protect her daughter Janie.  But "whatever it takes" has never before included a shotgun wedding to a dangerous-looking stranger with an attitude problem.

Sure, the mysterious Talen says he's there to protect Cara and Janie.  He also says that he's a three-hundred-year-old vampire.  Of course, the way he touches her, Cara might actually believe he's had that long to practice...

After finishing the available Maverick Montana books by Rebecca Zanetti, I looked into her other series and decided to read the Dark Protectors.  I began with book 1 (which I always prefer to do although I am not currently as particular about that as I have been in the past) which was Fated.  After finishing it in almost one sitting (I fell asleep but continued reading immediately upon waking) I can say that I really liked it.  I didn't love it as much as the Maverick Montana series but there is so much potential here that I think later titles in this series might get the same amount of love.

This book begins with Cara not really knowing what is going on.  Her daughter is worried because the bad men are coming, a VERY large man has just broken into her house claiming he is there to protect Cara and Janie, Janie seems very comfortable following the big man and Cara kind of gets swept up in it all striving the whole time to protect Janie from any danger.  I loved that I found out what was happening along with Cara--it really strengthened my connection to her.  Cara finds herself caught up in the whirlwind that is Talen Karys and his family as they are quickly married (the reason makes sense) and she is installed in their safe house which is really a series of underground rooms in a mountainside somewhere in Colorado.  

This book is the ideal example of how to set up an entire series without taking away too much time from the main couple and their HEA.  We meet plenty of sequel-bait characters, several of which I can't wait to read more about but the focus always returned (and quickly) to Cara and Talen and their story.  She has trust issues and an ability to sense people's emotions and where-abouts while Talen is an immensely strong and capable warrior.  There is quite a bit of violence and some of it is graphic and yet it never crossed the line of too much for me.  

There is a lot going on in this book as the future of the good guys and their mates are definitely in imminent danger from the bad guys (who are pretty creepy--and I have a feeling they will only get worse--goody!).  You know that future titles are going to get a lot darker before it is all over and I can only cross my fingers that these books are in at the library so I can go on a binge-read.  The timing could be better as my job is gearing up to go through a busy phase, but I know I will be carving out every spare minute to return to this fascinating world created by Zanetti!

Reading Challenges
I Love Library Books
What an Animal

I borrowed this book from my local public library.

Over the Top by Rebecca Zanetti

Over the Top by Rebecca Zanetti

Dawn Freeze had a huge crush on Hawk Rain for years, and the entire town knows it.  It's understandable--the man is total hotness.  That tall, lean body.  Intense dark eyes.  And always one foot out the door.  Now he's on leave for exactly one week.  And this time, he's made it crystal clear that he only wants one thing.  Her.

Hawk's been fighting his attraction to Dawn for as long as he can remember.  She's his best friend's little sister, and that means hands-off.  Except now she's all grown up, and her sweet sexiness is exactly what he craves.  But just as Hawk allows himself one mindblowingly intense night with Dawn, he learns that everyone he loves is in danger.  Especially her.

And the only way to protect Dawn is to push her away...

Holy hotness, Batman!  This may be my favorite book in the series yet and that is HIGH praise indeed as ALL the entries have been phenomenal.  This book made me laugh out loud several times, once to the point that I was snorting out loud (so glad I was reading in the privacy of my home!!)  It also made me come close to tears with both frustration and empathy with the characters and the way that Hawk's past kept getting in the way of his present and possible future. 

Hawk is HOT!!  He is alpha to the core and yet even when he was being overbearing, I totally understood it.  Hawk knows that Dawn is it for him but he also knows that most likely he won't ever actually get to have her--that his choices and responsibilities will keep him from ever possessing the one thing that has kept him alive all these years.  And then Hawk decides to live in the moment.  If he can't have Dawn forever, maybe he can at least have her for right now.  He doesn't really expect to make it through his last mission alive and never knowing what it is like to truly be with Dawn is too much for him.  

Dawn is amazing!  Smart and tough she knows when to bend and when to stand her ground.  She is perfect for Hawk.  His constant pushing her away has hurt her but she is determined to remain friends as she can't imagine her life without him in it in some way.  Dawn loves Hawk more than anything or anyone but she isn't about to let that fact allow him to walk all over her or push her into a corner.  So many times he wanted to wrap her in cotton wool and put her on a shelf and Dawn wasn't having any of it...and yet she never, not once, ventures anywhere near TSTL territory.  She knows what she is capable of and she is determined to do her part to protect herself and Hawk if needed.

This book also included two of the best matchmakers since Nana from the Firsts and Forevers series (oh, to introduce Nana to Mrs. Poppins and Mrs. Hudson!).  Mrs. Poppins and Mrs. Hudson are determined that Dawn follow five rules to get her man and they shake their heads in despair as Dawn breaks rule after rule (not always on purpose!).  There was a very sweet secondary romance involving one of these two matchmakers as well.  There were just enough hints regarding other characters to give me hope that we haven't seen the last of this series!!  PLEASE let there be more books in this series!! I need to know what happens to Reese.  And Adam.  And Anne.  **Fingers crossed**

Reading Challenges

Contemporary Romance

New Release Challenge

I purchased this book with my own funds.

When a Rake Falls by Sally Orr

When a Rake Falls by Sally Orr

Having hired a balloon to get him to Paris in a daring race, Lord Boyce Parker is simultaneously exhilarated and unnerved by the wonders and dangers of flight, and most of all by the beautiful, stubborn, intelligent lady operating the balloon.

Eve Mountfloy is in the process of conducting weather experiments when she finds herself spirited away to France by a notorious rake.  She's only slightly dismayed--the rake seems to respect her work--but she is frequently distracted by his windblown physical magnificence and buoyant spirits.

As risky as aeronautics may be, once their feet touch the ground, Eve and Boyce learn the real danger of a very different type of falling...

I finished this book with a huge smile on my face.  Boyce Parker may be one of the best male leads I have read this year...there was something so earnest and so honest about him.  From the very first line of this book, I knew it, and he, were going to be great and I was right.  All Parker wants is his father's approval and he is willing to go to great lengths to get it.  One such attempt leads to his needing to get to France.  He decides a hot air balloon will do the trick and the lovely lady piloting it is icing on his cake.  

Eve Mountfloy is used to gentleman wanting to get down to the ground almost as soon as they leave it and is surprised when Parker insists on staying in the air.  She is determined to carry out some scientific experiments for her father and Parker offers to help on their way to France.  Ideas of being the first female to successfully cross the channel in a balloon lead Eve to make the attempt and one of the sweetest and funniest hero-heroine get-to-know-you scenes commences.  Eve and Parker are just so right for each other and everything is going swimmingly until: a balloon crash, a flirtatious "other" woman, a belittling father, and a  pernicious fiance among other things.  

There were times when I was reading when I got so frustrated with some of the characters who were standing in the way of the HEA...I know they were necessary for there to be a story but Sally Orr did such a great job of making them so ugh!!-inducing that there were times I was tempted to skip ahead in the book--but I couldn't because I didn't want to miss a second with Parker and Eve.  There were other times when I was sure the story was heading towards a predicable cliche but instead it would veer into an original avenue every time.  I liked how she turned my expectations on their head and it only made me enjoy the story more.  This is the second book in a series and I am looking forward to checking out the first.  I can only hope that it is as delightful as this one!

Reading Challenges
Around the World 
Historical Romance
I Love Library Books
Key Word
Monthly Mix Up Mania
New Release Challenge
New to You

Rising Assets by Rebecca Zanetti

Rising Assets by Rebecca Zanetti

Melanie Jacobs is in trouble.  With three jobs--including running her ranch--and dwindling funds, she's exhausted.  Not to mention desperately trying to hide a secret.  Unfortunately, her best friend Colton Freeze knows all too well that something is going on, and he won't give up until he knows exactly he needs to fix.

Then Colton learns the truth--that Melanie's future happiness rests in the fickle hands of fate, and her chances for having a family are shrinking with every passing day.  Her only comfort is Colton, but when a heated argument between them turns into an even hotter kiss, the boundaries of their friendship are erased, leaving only a scorching-hot hunger for more.

Every kiss--every touch--is a stolen pleasure.  But will their new friends-with-sexy-benefits arrangement bring them closer together, or destroy everything they once shared?

Rebecca Zanettis is three for three in the "oh-my-gosh-why-haven't-I-discovered-this-author-sooner??" reaction after finishing her books.  After having had plenty of hints in the first two books about Melanie and Colton's friendship that was obviously more (even if Colton hadn't figured it out yet) I was worried that this book wouldn't be able to live up to my expectations, especially with how much I enjoyed the first two books.  My worries were groundless...this book was as wonderful as I could have wished.  

Melanie is working three jobs trying to cover medical bills as she does not have medical insurance and has been diagnosed with endometriosis.  This leaves Melanie having to come to grips with the fact that she will most likely not be able to become pregnant.  She is looking into possible options for herself such as freezing her eggs but nothing is guaranteed.  On top of that, her forever friend Colton is butting into her business and she is finding it harder and harder to push him back out of her life.  She is afraid to take their friendship further because she has watched his love 'em and leave 'em ways for far too many years and can't imagine her life without him in it, even if she has to take him on different terms than she would really like.

Melanie and Colton are both amazing characters.  She is level-headed and stands up for what she wants and needs.  She lets Colton have it with both barrels when he deserves it and she doesn't put up with any baloney, but she also knows when to lean on his shoulder when things get to be too much.  Colton has a long fuse but when his temper blows, watch out!  He is very much a planner and it takes a big hammer to get his preconceived ideas about how is life is supposed to go out of his head.  There were times when I wanted to shake him a bit, but watching him realize what Melanie really meant to him was incredibly sweet, and oftentimes quite humorous.   

Reading Challenges
Contemporary Romance
I Love Library Books
Monthly Mix Up Mania

I borrowed this book from my local library.

White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz

White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz

Level-ten parasensitive Clare Lancaster has resigned herself to the fact that she may never find a suitable mate.  A human lie detector, any falsehood--no matter how subtle--sets her blood racing.  And most people, to one degree or another, hide behind a facade.

Including her father's new business "consultant," Jake Salter.  His careful conversation walks a delicate line between truth and deception.  But it is with his help that Clare begins to unravel a web of conspiracy and murder involving the powerful Arizona family that she just became a part of.  Caught in a dizzying storm of secrets, lies, and half-truths. Clare and Jake will plunge into an investigation that demands every bit of their special gifts, as something more than mere attraction sparks between them...

Eight months ago, Clare contacted her half-sister Elizabeth and received one word in reply: Help.  Clare raced from San Francisco to Stone Canyon, AZ in time to save Clare from her psychopathic husband.  The problem? Nobody but Clare believed Elizabeth when she declared that Brad, her husband, was dangerous.  When he is found murdered, by Clare, she becomes the prime suspect.  

Clare is now back in Stone Canyon, at the request of her father whom she has only met briefly as Clare was the product of a one-night stand between her father and his secretary.  Clare has grown up with her mother and great-aunt and his not sure about how she feels about being summoned by Archer (her father).  When she shows up, her father is entertaining friends and business associates, including Jake Salter who sends Clare's senses, both normal and psychic, reeling.  Clare is hesitant to crash the party but is not given much choice by either Jake or Archer.  Unfortunately, when Brad's mother sees Clare, she melts down as she still believes Clare to be a murderess.  

Archer has a business proposal for Clare, who reluctantly agrees to stay in Stone Canyon to think about it.  She decides to take some of that time to figure out what really happened to Brad and why he targeted Elizabeth in the first place.  Things quickly get complicated as it appears that someone is very uncomfortable with Clare's inquiries and Jake quickly steps up to help Clare as he decides it is the only way to protect the stubborn woman he is falling for.  

White Lies is one of my favorite JAK titles and I have read it several times.  I love the interactions between the Glazebrook family members as well as Clare's interactions with Jake.  The mystery is a good one with plenty of twists and turns and the love story between Clare and Jake is in turns, funny, witty, sweet, and sexy.  One of my favorite scenes is in the hospital when Jake is on pain meds...you have to read it!  

Reading Challenges
Hard Core Reread
Color Coded
Romantic Suspense

I purchased this book with my own funds.

Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick

Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick

The Kern Secretarial Agency provides reliable professional services to its wealthy clientele, and Anne Clifton was one of the finest young women in Ursula Kern's employ.  But Miss Clifton has met an untimely end--and Ursula is convinced it was not due to natural causes.

Bent on justice, Ursula hatches a plan: take Anne's place as stenographer to the reclusive poet Valerie, Lady Fullbrook.  There are dark rumors about Lord Fullbrook, and his gloomy mansion in Mapstone Square seems the logical starting point for an undercover investigation.  

Archaeologist and adventurer Slater Roxton thinks Mrs. Kern is off her head to meddle in such dangerous business.  Slater is familiar with mortal peril--and some suspect he has bone a bit mad since the year he spent trapped amid the volcanic rock and jungle of Fever Island, thousands of miles from civilization.  Nevertheless, he seems sensible enough to Ursula, though she does find herself unnerved by his self-possession and unreadable green-gold eyes...

If this mysterious beauty insists on stirring the pot, Slater intends to remain close by as they venture into the darker side of polite society and a den of iniquity called the Olympus Club.  Together they must reveal the identify of a killer--and to achieve their goal they may need to reveal their deepest secrets to each other as well...

Slater Roxton and his friend Brice have finally achieved their dream of finding Fever Island and are busy examining an amazing labyrinth filled with exquisite artifacts when Brice accidentally sets off a trap designed to ensure no one who is trying to relieve the ancient site of any of its treasures.  Due to its age, all but Slater are able to get out of the structure, and Slater is believed to be dead.  With no other alternative, they leave to sail to England.  Unbeknownst to them, Slater is safe inside but must find his way out of an amazingly complex labyrinth if he wants to have any hope of survival.  When he shows up in England a year after his ordeal, everyone is amazed.  His life and his habits have changed however, and he leaves to live his life on his own terms until his father passes away and he must return to London once more in order to take over his father's affairs until his legitimate heirs are of age.

Ursula Kern has reinvented herself after her life took some tough twists and turns.  She has established a secretarial agency which prides itself on hiring modern women who are trained in the very latest trends of shorthand on the newest typewriter models.  Her secretaries are known to be exclusive and expensive.  One such secretary, Anne Clifton is found dead in her rooms and Ursula discovers a handwritten note that proves to Ursula that Anne did not take her own life, but was instead murdered.  Ursula decides that she must uncover what really happened to Anne.  

Slater has hired Ursula to help him catalog his artifacts and is not happy when Ursula informs him she must take a leave of absence in order to look into her friend's demise.  Slater, determined to spend more time with the intriguing Ursula, offers to help her and another classic Amanda Quick adventure begins.  Many of the Amanda Quick hallmarks are here: a modern widowed woman who can take some liberties with the expected behaviors of the time, a man who has a dark past who uses logic and mental and physical rituals to derive answers to difficult questions, multiple shady characters with varying degrees of dastardliness, and house staff and relatives who are supportive and helpful and beyond the norm for most individuals of that time period.  This formula always works for me; it is like going to my favorite restaurant and ordering my favorite meal.  I know I am going to love it but it is always better than I remember it being.  The actual consumption is always richer and more enjoyable than the mere thought of it.

I hesitate to write any further details because this book is best discovered on one's own as the layers and pieces slowly move about until the final denouement  is revealed.  

Reading Challenges
Around the World
Historical Romance
I Love Library Books
New Release