Book Review: Enemy Lover By Karin Harlow

Enemy Lover

By Karin Harlow

First book in the L.O.S.T. series.

Blurb:

It’s Jax Cassidy’s first mission for L.O.S.T.—one that will give the former cop who went rogue a chance to prove herself. Her assignment: gain the trust of assassin Marcus Cross . . . eliminate him . . . then take down Marcus’s mentor, Joseph Lazarus, a man with a bold eye on the White House. But the woman who’s known by her team for being a femme fatale succumbs to passion, only to discover Cross’s deadly secret. He’s a vampire, and Joseph Lazarus is his creator.

Left for dead by his platoon in the violent hills of Afghanistan, special ops sniper Marcus Cross was given a second chance at life. His newly heightened skills make him the perfect killing machine, and as Lazarus's right hand man, he’s quickly rising to the top of his dark empire, purging enemies with speed and precision. Only when dangerous beauty Jax Cassidy is sent to bring him in does he begin to question Lazarus’s motives and his own actions. But when Jax’s life is threatened by the one thing that can destroy them both, Marcus must make a bitter choice—her death or his.

My thoughts:

Something that is always nice to find in this genre is an original plot and Enemy Lover has it. A lot of set up at the beginning but then the story starts moving and is filled with action, suspense, angst, distrust, deception & betrayal, sexual tension and some pretty hawt love scenes.

Tight storyline that is straightforward and flows well with a natural dialogue set in today’s world. Harlow just needs a bit more work on her MC’s imo. Which is why this gets a 3 ½ stars from me because I am major into the characters before anything else.

Both characters are strong and unpredictable. The hero, Marcus, has more depth then the heroine, Jax, and I would of liked to see more from his POV but they are well matched for each other. Jax’s past was pretty solid, if somewhat brutal, but she lost her complexity when they came to present time. She was cold & distrustful at first and then all of the sudden she was all hot and in love with Marcus. There’s no denying the combustible lust & attraction but love? Didn’t get much emotion & reasons as to the change of heart, just seemed to happen a little too drastically. Especially considering her major, but understandable, trust & touching issues. But even though I found her lacking there she is still a strong, loyal and kick-ass heroine. Where as Marcus’ feelings are a natural progression and don’t seemed forced. He is a def. hot hero, very deep, honorable, driven and just rawr. LoL Just being a special ops sniper is hotness in itself imo. So good background pick on that Ms. Harlow! ;)

With the ending I’m not sure how these characters are going to be seen in other installments, and it didn’t fit with what was represented as the L.O.S.T. team in the beginning of the book. So that was a little odd and disappointing. It also seemed too brief and wrapped up quickly. Still, I am very interested in some of the side characters that are introduced here, especially the mysterious Godfather.

Not as intense as most paranormal romance reads, more of a romantic suspense with a dab of the paranormal (vampires) but it’s a good start to the series with a lot of potential and an interesting read. It kept me captivated and I finished it within two days. Which is my norm for books that don’t bore me even a little. LoL

3 Wine Glasses

and a Snack Tray

3 Flaming Hearts: Hot!

Newly titled Enemy Mine is the second book in the L.O.S.T. series; you can find the blurb HERE. Sounds good!

Find out more about L.O.S.T. HERE. Karin also writes under the name Karin Tabke.

"Waiting On" Wednesday #1: This Side of the Grave

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


I had to pick This Side of the Grave, Book 5 in the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost because I got this cool book mark in the mail Monday. *Squee*

This one is going on my bookshelf with my displays! 

This Side of the Grave 

Book 5, Night Huntress series

By Jeaniene Frost

Release Date: 02/22/2011

Pre-order: Amazon, Borders,  Barnes & Noble, BooksAMillion

Danger waits on both sides of the grave… 

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her vampire husband Bones have fought for their lives, as well as for their relationship. But just when they’ve triumphed over the latest battle, Cat’s new and unexpected abilities threaten to upset a long-standing balance… 

With the mysterious disappearance of vampires, rumors abound that a species war is brewing.  A zealot is inciting tensions between the vampires and ghouls, and if these two powerful groups clash, innocent mortals could become collateral damage. Now Cat and Bones are forced to seek help from a dangerous “ally”—the ghoul queen of New Orleans herself. But the price of her assistance may prove more treacherous than even the threat of a supernatural war. …to say nothing of the repercussions Cat never imagined.

Can't. Wait. 

World Filled Wednesdays (Reviews)

Have a few reviews today. J. R. Ward’s Fallen Angels series; Covet & Crave. 

If you like J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series then I would recommend that you check out her new Fallen Angels series. Although don’t expect BDB, I would give those a 5-star as a series and this one a 4-star so far. 

It’s set in the same timeline as BDB and in Caldwell, NY.  There are also some cross-over’s from BDB that you will enjoy, I don’t want to spoil it so I won’t mention any that aren’t needed in the review but BDB fans will get a kick out of a few. This is a totally new series though so don’t worry if you haven’t read BDB yet, but I do suggest that you move that up higher on your TBR list. *wink-wink*

The romance is a little different, doesn’t involve the hero and not as intense, but it is still great. So far both books have revolved mainly around Jim Heron and then a couple that have a difficult time hooking up when Heaven and Hell get in the way. Jim doesn’t see much action in the romance department, like I mentioned, but the couples do and they’ll get your blood pumping. *Mmmhmm* 
The stories are consistent and the plot flows nicely without an overabundance of world building and focus mainly on the characters which I love in a book. For me, the characters are what I connect with, not the world. A book can have the most spectacular & fantastical world but if I can’t connect with the characters then it’s a no-go for me.

Ward’s distinct writing and story telling style is present in this series with the same language, slang & term use, witty, sarcastic, rough around the edges manly men who like to drop f-bombs like crazy; classic Ward that I personally find hysterical.

No fangs in this one but it’s about the Creator getting sick of the bickering and setting up an end-game, war between Heaven and Hell, Angels, Fallen Angels, Demons and the humans that get caught in between. Read on for more on each book…

Covet

Book 1: The Fallen Angels

J. R. Ward

Summary: Redemption isn't a word Jim Heron knows much about-his specialty is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charged with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. And failure is not an option. 

Vin DiPietro long ago sold his soul to his business, and he's good with that-until fate intervenes in the form of a tough-talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior. And then he meets a woman who will make him question his destiny, his sanity, and his heart-and he has to work with a fallen angel to win her over and redeem his own soul.

My thoughts:

Basically there is a war going on between Heaven and Hell, Earth is the playing field with Jim Heron as the quarterback. It is up to Jim, who was chosen from both sides because of his equal capacity to be both good and bad,  to decide which team to play for and then find seven souls that are at a cross roads and help nudge them in the right direction. This is a winner-takes-all game with everything on the line. If Jim can’t retrieve enough souls for Heaven and the Angels to win then Hell and its demons will rule with all the souls on Earth trapped and the Angels as slaves. It’s all about free will though of course. Unfortunately, Jim’s not getting much help from the sidelines and ya’ know Hell isn’t going to play by the rules.

Jim Heron is an ex-XOp’s assassin who lives by his own code and pretty much rolls with the flow of things and can handle whatever is thrown his way but the last thing he expected was to meet two pierced and leather-bound Harley riding angels on a construction site. His first soul on the line is Vin diPietro. Jim knows that Vin is on the path to loose his soul and needs to steer him in the right direction but which direction is the right one? By the time he realizes which way to go it may be too late.

Vin is a rich, powerful and cold-hearted business man who will do whatever it takes to remain at the top. He has his life mapped out and set until a construction accident brings Jim into it. You can tell he doesn’t have a lot of joy in his life but his money and possessions make up for it; then he spots Marie-Terese across a crowded bar and starts to realize that he may still have a heart and soul somewhere deep inside. But will Marie-Terese put Vin even further down the wrong path? Or is she his salvation?

Marie-Terese works as a prostitute at the Iron Mask. She is an educated woman who is oddly a faithful Catholic. Trez from BDB appears as the owner of the Iron Mask and Marie-Terese’s protective and understanding boss. He tries to hint at her that maybe she should get out of the business but what else can Marie-Terese do? There is no where else she can make this kind of money and she needs it desperately to pay off her debts and support her son. When she encounters Vin’s stare from across the room she feels an instant connection but she has been there, done that and bought the t-shirt. She is so not getting into a relationship with another rich playboy, the last one didn’t turn out so good for her.

Okay, first off I want to say that the prologue totally flew over my head. I didn’t get it and it aggravated me that I couldn’t figure out who was narrating it.  Is it the Creator, the Angels, Demons, Jim, who? I still don’t know. BUT it does get better.

I absolutely loved Vin & Gretchen’s (Marie-Terese) love story in this book. You don’t really connect with Marie-Terese as much as you do Vin and she seemed a bit weak but he more then makes up for the romantic lead. They both had troubled pasts and so many struggles to overcome to be together but Ward made smooth transitions for both of them. Some parts with Marie-Terese did get a little slow and boring and probably could have been left out and I wish Ward got into a bit more of the story of Vin and Marie-Terese together but you get most of what you needed from the story to relate. It kind of reminded me of BDB Lover Avenged with Rhev, who is one of my fave BDB characters.

Jim’s foe, the demon Devina is a well thought out villain and I actually liked her. Not rooting for her of course but she’s pretty kick-ass. Much better then the Lessers in BDB or many other foes I’ve read about.

I love Jim’s dedication to Dog too, it’s great to see this big hard guy have such a soft spot for a little fur ball.

The kind of Heavenly councils that went on with Jim and ‘The Lads’ got bit over my head and I felt didn’t really explain enough of the understandable, if that makes sense. But the rest of the side characters are interesting and you want to know more about them but don’t take up more air time then needed.

All in all I’d give this 3 ½. It would have got four but like I said, a lot of the archangel stuff went over my head and I got bored with. But I am looking forward to the next installment in this series and expect it will get better with each one.

Crave

Book 2 of The Fallen Angels

J. R. Ward

Summary: Seven deadly sins. Seven souls that must be saved. One more no-holds- barred battle between a fallen angel with a hardened heart and a demon with everything to lose. 

Isaac Rothe is a black ops soldier with a dark past and a grim future. The target of an assassin, he finds himself behind bars, his fate in the hands of his gorgeous public defender Grier Childe. His hot attraction to her can only lead to trouble-and that's before Jim Heron tells him his soul is in danger. Caught up in a wicked game with the demon who shadows Jim, Isaac must decide whether the soldier in him can believe that true love is the ultimate weapon against evil.

My thoughts:

Jim is on to his second soul that needs to be pointed in the right direction. But Hell is up to bat and he is hoping to God that Devina won’t get to him first since he still isn’t getting much help from sidelines. Jim feels he has more invested in this inning though because a lot of the players are from his human past as a XOp’s assassin. BUT he is growing into his powers, finding his wings so to speak, and getting a handle on the whole Angel thing so things should start getting easier right? Right?

Isaac Rothe is on the run from his past life of being a XOp’s assassin. He starts off as being a hard-ass but you come to find out that he is a southern gentleman that couldn’t handle adding anymore to his conscience with the way Matthias had been running things with the XOp’s. He had to get out, even if that meant a short life, because no one get’s out of the business unless it’s in a body bag. Trying to earn some extra cash as an illegal cage fighter (bringing the popular MMA sport into it here) he gets arrested while in the cage. Issac knows that he needs to get the heck out of dodge because being in jail under his real name he is a sitting duck for Matthias and his second in command to find and eliminate.

  

In walks gorgeous, blonde haired, blue-eyed Attorney Grier Childe as his public defender. Grier goes out on a limb for Isaac and manages to get his bail posted but she can tell that he is going to be a flight risk and she is determined to do everything she can to prevent that so she can help get him on the straight and narrow. Grier has a bright and beautiful soul and is on a mission to save those who are headed down the wrong path in life and the wrong side of the law. This could be because of her inability to save her brother and partly blaming herself for his death. Her brother does show up as a ghost on Crave which really isn’t needed but adds an extra element to the story.

Angels, demons, lost souls and ghosts, oh my! Sorry, couldn’t resist. *grin*

I enjoyed this book more then the first one and would give it a 4. I finished it in less then two days because I just couldn’t put it down. Ward def. found her groove in this second book and I am itching for the next installments in the series to see what happens next.

Though I loved Vin’s story I think Ward did a better job in Crave splitting the time between Jim & Isaac and other secondary characters in this book. The plot is intense, action filled and the story flows quickly & smoothly with several more POV’s but nothing that makes it confusing.

Isaac and Grier are stronger characters then Vin and Marie-Terese were as well. Isaac is a sexy & flawed yummy bad boy hero who has the potential to either kill you or throw you up against the wall in the heat of passion. Grier is a rich girl that was brought up with a silver spoon but is strong willed, brave and has a big heart. Isaac wants to pay back his debt to his attorney quickly and cleanly so he can get out of her life before XOp’s finds him, he doesn’t want Grier to get caught up in his world. Their attraction is intense from the get-go and wrought with danger which just adds more sparks and fuels the fire between them. But do two people from totally different worlds have a chance in hell, literally, to make it work?  They get off to a quick romantic start at the beginning and have a few hot and fast encounters but then that kind of dwindles down as the storyline becomes more involved. This really isn’t a bad thing because the story line is good and keeps you interested but if you are expecting lots of steamy scenes you might find this disappointing.

Ward delves more into the characters here. ‘The Lads’ had less air time but when they did intercede a bit more needed info was explained in an easy and understandable way, unlike what I found in the first book. Jim get’s tighter with his back-up’s Ad & Eddie which I look forward to seeing more of. The villain’s, demon Devina, character acquires some depth and you actually start getting attached to her emotionally. Who ever thought a demon would have such human issues like OCD. LoL Also, like I said before, Jim grows quiet a bit into his character and as the series Hero and you can tell that it’s only going to get better as the series moves along. I am really falling in love with Jim as the MC, the first book didn’t do him justice imo. Not seeing a HEA in the ending for him yet but I have a feeling about something. Don’t want to give any spoilers though. Crave is a bit darker then what Covet was and there is a very dark scene of physical and emotional torture but it only makes the story and characters better.

The outcome was not predictable and there is a major “oh, shit” twist near the end that made my heart stop along with the characters. And one thing I must mention that I loved from the start was this quote as a metaphor for life, “Nobody got a guided tour to their own theme park. You had to hop on the rides as they presented themselves, never knowing if you would like the one you were in line for…or the bastard was going to make you throw up your corn dog and your cotton candy all over the place.” How true is that? And it’s classic Ward phrasing. A very good read and if you weren’t that into the first book, Covet, you’ll be glad you continued the series when you finish Crave.

BONUS: A little sneak peek of Lover Unleashed at the end too, yay!

 *For some reason I had a heck of a time trying to write this so I apologize if I jumped around a bit. Hopefully you got the jist of it though. =)


Contest and giveaways:

• Don’t forget we have two giveaways going on right now.THIS one ends Thursday so head on over there now! And the second one ends on the 28th, you can go HERE for it. A new giveaway will be up Friday so check back for that! 
• Avon is having a giveaway everyday until Halloween HERE. Joss Ware's newest Envy book up for grabs today! 
• 15 Days to Embrace the Darkside: Day 11 Elisabeth Naughton HERE
• Halloween at the Haven still going on HERE, giveaways daily!
• Win an e-reader/gift card/more in special Spread the Word contest for author Michael Spradlin HERE at Jeaniene Frost's website.

Have a wonderful hump day everyone!

Mmm…Mondays

Here is your man candy for this mmm…Monday:

**IMAGED REMOVED**

Okay, the wings photo shopped in are kind of cheesy but don’t you just love fallen angels? I think it has something to do with a creature being light and dark, so good yet so bad at the same time and not knowing which side they’re going to choose at any given moment. And being hawt don’t hurt neither!

Hehe, I just realized that Crescendo is out tomorrow so this goes great. What a cowinkidink! 

Quote of the week:

A good book is the best of friends, the same today and forever.
~ Martin Farquhar Tupper ~

Word of the week: I picked this word because I absolutely love it. I don’t know why but I do and I love the meaning too. Whenever someone says “BAM”, “BANG” or “BOOM” I always spout off this info. LoL Yeah, I’m weird.

onomatopoeia – on-uh-mat-uh-pee-uh

–noun

1.The formation of a word, as cuckoo or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent. 

2. A word so formed.

3. Rhetoric, the use of imitative and naturally suggestive words for rhetorical effect.

Some new releases out tomorrow (10/19):

• Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick, a Hush, Hush novel. 
• The First Book of Grimm by Shiloh Walker
• Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
• The Lightkeeper's Bride by Colleen Coble
• Blood Trinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
• The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2010 by Kelley Armstrong

Giveaways:

Don’t forget we have two giveaways going on right now.

THIS one ends Thursday so head on over there now! And the second one ends on the 28, you can go HERE for it.

Other contests/giveaways going on:

• Juliana Stone’s: 15 Days to Embrace the Darkside second week of daily giveaways happening HERE.  Win a copy of Jeaniene Frost's Eternal Kiss of Darkness today!!!
• Julianna Stone is at The Romance Dish giving away a signed set of her Jaguar Warriors books HERE.q
• Halloween at the Haven still going on HERE, giveaways daily!
• Parajunkee is giving away Hush, Hush AND Crescendo HERE but giveaway ends today!
• Just Your Typical Book Blog also has a few giveaways that end on the 31 HERE.
• Haunted Halloween, tons of giveaways going on HERE.
• Win a signed copy of Haunted by Your Touch with a story from fab author Jeaniene Frost HERE.

If you have a blog and are having a contest or giveaway and would like me to post it in my next post (Wed.) just contact me HERE with the info and I'll be happy to. It would be awesome if you visited our GIVEAWAYS page and spread the word too!

Crazy ramblings:
Two more weeks until Halloween, Yay! I’m a bit sad though too because then I’ll have to take down my decorations and there will be no excuse for dressing up or having my hair be crazy colors. Though I’ve never really needed an excuse to do that, LoL! The jack o’ lantern starts wilting, :sniff,sniff: 

And all the great movies will stop running. AND I HAVEN’T EVEN SEEN HOCUS POCUS YET! When is that coming on the Disney channel? I love that movie, if we get another black cat I’m gonna name him Binx. Bones & Binx, goes well dontcha think?

Here’s my Bones. 

He’s a fabulous lover (loves to be on your lap or laying next to you, purring the whole time), a fighter (he likes to spar with our dog who is 10X his size), patient (let's the kiddos drag him around), a bad boy (he broke my pot), smart and gorgeous; just like his namesake. And check out his extra toes, how cute is that? He has six toes on each paw and looks like those chameleons when he walks.

Back to movies though I’ve probably watched the Nightmare Before Christmas about six times in the last two weeks. But I can continue watching that through Christmas, woohoo. And the hubby is now searching the guide for The Great Pumpkin. He is also super happy about all the horror movies being on TV. Me, not so much. I have way too active of an imagination to watch horror movies because I believe anything is possible and that the world is CRAZY and that shit can really happen! Crazy hill people really get me. You know the kind that hide out in the hills and mountains in there own little towns (kinda like Hotshots from True Blood) and they all inbreed and are scary and then you drive down a dark deserted road where there’s no cell phone reception and they set tire traps on the road for you and come flying out of trees to eat you. Yeah, scares the pants right off me. And there are a couple dark scary roads here like that that totally freak me out when I have to drive on them just because of those damn movies. I keep looking for traps on the road or crazies in the trees.
Right now as I write this I can hear screaming and yummy flesh eating (zombies, I think) going on in the background from another lovely horror flick. Don’t turn your head Crystal; you don’t want to know what’s going on. (I have to keep telling myself this. It’s like driving by an accident.) And I HATE when I peep over the top of my book at the wrong moment. *Eeek!* Head down, head down.


So do you dig horror movies like my hubby or are you a "AG, hide!" kinda girl like me when they come on?

Okay, I'm done now. =D 
So enjoy the next two weeks of October, go to a local festival, watch your favorite Halloween movies, go on a hay ride or to the pumpkin patch, sit out by a bonfire and drink some warm apple cider, maybe with a splash of the Captain? Use the holiday as an extra excuse to throw candy at the kids, turn on Spookly the Square Pumpkin and go hide to read a book about things that go bump in the night. LoL 
Whatever you do, do it, have fun and have a lovely week.

Till next time…

P.S.

A great BIG thank you to everyone who visited and followed from the Friday Follow & Tag-a-long. I was a hoppin' virgin before Friday and look forward to my next experience!;)

18 & Over Book Blogger Tag Along

Visit HERE for more info! 

Because all the good books *raise eyebrows* are 18+ Yum, yum....

Go ahead and say "HI!" and leave a comment with your blog addy so we can check ya' out too. Smexy pics don't hurt either. *wink, wink*

Have a freakishly fantastic Friday!

Follow Friday and Blogger Hop!

Don't be afraid to leave a comment to say "HI!" We won't bite, unless you ask nicely. ;)
And while you're at it why don't you check out some of these other awesome blogs listed as well? 
Thanks and have a Spooktacular Halloween!!!