Dirty LIttle Secret

Dirty Little Secret

This weeks question was inspired by the Guild Hunter series and the latest release of Archangel's Blade:

"If you could have wings, what would they look like?"

I'm all about fire and dark, so my wings would be made of heat and fire. This is a good representation of how I imagine my winds would look.

The Hunt - C.J. Ellisson

The Hunt is the second in the V V Inn series. We start off shortly after leaving Vivian and Rafe after they hunted a rogue vampire on the Inn's property. After that incident her quests have a desire to have their acclaimed hostess have a planned hunt of their own for a high level Tribunal Rogue at the V V Inn.

This story is formatted different than Vampire Vacation, Each chapter is from a different characters POV, it rotates between five of the characters. One of which whom wasn't a main character in the first book. I felt this helped get a better scope of what was happening as the characters were not all together through this book, for apparent reasons....hunting the rogue.

In this book things get continue to spiral out of control as the rogue is skilled in more ways then one, and many of the hunters are far outclassed in attempting to match their skills. Even with that becoming known to many, the challenge of the hunt is hard for most to resist. Some run into more then they can handle, which doesn't bode well in their favor, while others have better luck in hunting the rogue and facing off.

Vivian is faced with her inner demons of being the master vampire and trying to not let her power and darkness take over again. She has a great deal of difficulty in realizing that she may need a seethe and others to help her, stubborn as she is and believing it to be solely her job to protect the guests and her seethe from more losses. She eventually realizes through a few of he seethe that they are there to help her as well, she isn't alone in this.  Once she realizes things become crystal clear to her on how to handle the rogue.

Rafe is by her side for much of the story and at times is the one who helps her clear her head and get back on track. He also helps her reason and not make rash decisions. He also realizes of of the seethe has eyes for Vivian and he wants to do something about it, but knows that Vivian would loose her best servant if he does, so he wisely keeps his mouth shut. This situation has a drastic turn later in the story which you have to read to believe.

This story is a great continuation of the first in this series and if you liked the first, this one doesn't disappoint in the least. The characters are greatly developed and have a better sense of themselves. The plot is astounding and keeps you guessing. The villains are well thought out, very calculating and cold. A excellent sequel.

A pure 5 from this reader and fan.

Vampire Vacation - C.J. Ellisson

This is one of my top reads of the season so far.

I really loved this story as it tells about a vampire/human couple who have been happily married for a long time. They run a vacation hotel where couple and their companions can play out some of their hidden fantasies. There is sizzling chemistry and some sex scenes with the husband/wife team ,but nothing over the top...after all with an Inn catering to fulfiling fantasies did you expect anything else?

When a dead body is found in the in things start to go from bad to worse...a rogue vampire, not booked at the inn, is hunting and preying on other patrons. The innkeeper and her husband attempt to find the rogue, but he slips past them for a while. It comes down to our innkeeper contacting an old friend to find out this rogue has a connection to a guest. After things start to escalate they bring in outside help to track and kill this rogue. Let the hunt begin. With guest safety on the line, the innkeeper asks the guests to step up and help. They gladly do and things are finally coming under control. They help seek out the rogue and try to surround and trap him. I won't go much past here as it ruins the great finale awaiting in the end of this novel.

I instantly feel in love with the innkeeper/master vampire Vivian, as she is called. She is funny, witty, a bit of a voyeur and exhibitionist, but has killer instincts I wouldn't want to come up against. She has many vampiric powers, she can sense your deepest thoughts and desires with just a touch, read your emotions, she's empathic and anyone she has a blood bond with is fiercely protected by her and her seethe. She can come unglued at times and almost goes to her dark side when provoked, but with the help of her human husband, Rafe (Rafael) she can calm down and gain her composure. She has put her dark past behind her and has run the Inn for more then 50 years, but when the rogue shows up she knows he's after her for what he claims she did to him to ruin his life.

Rafe is a perfect match for Vivian, he's tall dark, handsome, quirky and has a very dirty mind. Noting of course that Vivian can't handle. With being her bonded mate, he doesn't age and with her blood he also gains some of her powers. This bond also provides one big benefit, they can communicate telepathically. This doesn't just mean words, they can transmit images or videos to one another. Rate is fiercely protective of Vivian, but he knows she can handle her own. 

I give this a 5. Its a great read and the story flows along perfectly. You get an in-depth look at Vivian and Rafe and get a good feel of all the other characters in this cleverly written story.

Highly Recommended!!

Ward Against Death - Melanie Card

I have to admit up-front, this book was very hard for me to get into and want to keep reading. I have found through reading it that it was much more of a mystery then most other categories.

We start off getting to Meet Ward - Edward De'Ath - a failed necromancer. He is called to the wealthy home of a Domincus, the Carlyle family. He was called to do a wake for them, in this wake he can temporarily bring a soul back from the veil of the Goddess and into a body. He is in high doubt of his abilities and knows his history will only catch up with him. we come to find out that from a very young age,he has wanted to be a surgeon, but in the book surgery is not legal yet. He was also expelled from the Physicians school, which eliminated his future as even a doctor. After he performs the wake and his patient seems to think they've woken from a rest. As the story unfolds we find Ward Following his patient into all sort of mishaps and getting in deeper into trouble with each one. He ends up learning a lot about himself and what he will go through to covet the Physicians Oath he took to turn away no soul in need of help. He has trouble keeping an eye on his patient once they are set on finding out why they were killed. Ward find out that his patient has something in their possession which is a mystery to them, but could spell big trouble if unlocked and acted upon.

Celia Carlyle is the patient Ward came to perform a wake on so her family can have closure to find why she was killed. At first she thinks hes come into her room just to admire her in her sleep and is shocked, but she comes to find out, that since she was dead, her assassination was a success and is determined to find out who killed her and why, but with her true identity and her position her list of prospects is dauntingly long. She goes on a hunt to find out and with Ward following things don't go as planned. She begins to think Ward may have been sent to assassinate her as she finds out he has been sneaking out with his medical supplies. She gets very suspect and even follows him one time. After this she truly believes he is snitching on her ans was almost dead set on killing him for for his supposed betrayal. She manages to fend that of in lieu of finding out more. Celia has also been keeping something big from Ward - She hold documents and research about the Ancients and one BIG thing.

I felt the plot dragged as Celia and Ward both got deeper into trouble then they both bargained for. After she awoke, Celia leaves her father's home to find out who killed her, having already believing it could have even been her father. After she leaves, Ward is close behind and follows her into the sewers under the city. She leads him to a cavernous hideout where she goes after her assignments. Her first mission is to go to the Guild and see if there is note of an assignment on her. Much to her dismay there is nothing recent. However, with her body now missing from her home, her father has sent someone after them, his head-huntsman. They get into more trouble as they dig deeper to unravel that this isn't about her, its about the entire balance of life and death, which is teetering precariously on becoming imbalanced and sending the world back into Dark Times. After allowing Ward to look over her documents he discovers an disturbing piece and begins to see that not only is Celia in danger, but now so is he. There is a person of great power after Celia for her own purposes and she's doing anything within her powers to have her master plan become reality. Ward now knows what Celia's part is and he must do everything within his powers as a necromancer to stop it.

I give this story a 3. There are a lot of words associated with this, that for me were hard to get through and hindered a good reading flow. But there are a lot of details which make this a full story.

Third Sentence Thursday

"After Celia had dabbed away the dried blood from around her uneven stitches, she wrapped the wound and left." - Ward from Melanie Card's Ward Against Death

Retribution - Sherrilyn Kenyon

This one is going to be hard for me to top this year, and THAT is saying a lot.

I dove head first into Jess' world in this awesome book, which I read in a little over 10 hours total this weekend.

 I'm going to admit straight-up that this is the first of Sherilynn's book's I've ever read. *cringes waiting for fall-out from other fans*

For those who haven't read Retribution yet, this is the story of our Dark-Hunter, William Jessup "Sundown" Brady. It starts out with going back to his mortal life and what should be the best day of his life, which turns ugly in a flash. In a weird twist of fate, he is handed a change at vengeance against the person who wronged him and eternally changed his destiny. We come to see his quirky sense of humor and his dark side as he find out there is someone out in the world hunting the Dark-Hunters. Jess, being a little cocky of his powers and being nearly invincible, doesn't take much heed in the warning foretold to him by many of his allies. It isn't until he finds himself face to face, with a person from his past and drawn into a trap that his world, again is flipped upside down. As he fights this foe, he comes to realize that they have changed, and not in the way he hoped.

Abigail Yager, is a human with a Dark-Hunter complex... She craves to Kill Jess "Sundown". Once she has him in her grasp, she comes to find out things aren't always what they seem. And that includes finding out the the events of her past which lead her down this path, were not as she remembered then in her youth. She learns a lot about who she truly is what happened that dark and frightening night and what happens now as a result of her mis-deeds, which were of no fault of her own.

Sundown is caught between wanting to hurt Abby, as he comes to call her, and love her as he begins to help her find out the truth about her past. He struggles with his Dark-Hunter instincts to kill those who are hunting his kind and protect her with his own life. Through profound and other-wordly circumstances they join forces to fight against even more powerful forces hunting them both. Will they survive or will the forces hunting them win? Will Jess winover Abigail's heart in the end?? You need to read to find out.

I give this one a perfect five!