Lord of the Abyss - Advance Review + GIVEAWAY

Lord of the Abyss (Royal House of Shadows #4) by Nalini Singh

Publication date: 22 November 2011 by Harlequin Nocturne
ISBN 10/13: 0373837755 | 978-0373837755

Category: Adult Paranormal Romance
Keywords: Parnormal, romance, revenge, magic
Format: Mass market paperback, eBook

From goodreads:

Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.…

As the dark Lord who condemns souls to damnation in the Abyss, Micah is nothing but a feared monster wrapped in impenetrable black armor. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows—the daughter of his enemy.

Liliana is nothing like her father, the Blood Sorcerer who’d cursed Micah. She sees past Micah’s armor to the prince inside. A prince whose sinful touch she craves. But first she has to brave his dark, dangerous lair and help him remember. Because they only have till midnight to save Elden.

Thuy’s review:

Lord of the Abyss is the fourth book and conclusion to the Royal House of Shadows series. This is the story of Micah, the youngest Elden prince, who has no memory of his life before becoming the Lord of the Abyss. Liliana, the daughter of the Blood Sorcerer, endeavors to find him and bring back his memory before time runs out and Elden is lost forever.

This is the book I had been waiting for - the whole reason I started the Royal Book of Shadows series. I admit that I had high expectations for this book and Nalini Singh did not disappoint. I loved, loved, loved the story of Micah and Liliana. Lord of the Abyss is a take on Beauty and the Beast but, in this case, it’s Liliana who is the Beast to Micah’s Beauty, at least on the surface. Born with a hooked nose, straw-like hair and a limping gait, Liliana is no beautiful maiden. Micah, on the other hand, looks like the prince he is. But though she is not beautiful on the outside, Liliana shines with beauty from within. It is her pure and good heart, her generous nature and intelligence that are able to capture Micah’s interest and tame the wildness in him.

Micah and Liliana are such rich and unique characters. Romance novels are often rife with cliches but this was delightfully not so with these characters. Neither has had an easy life. Liliana has been the target of the Blood Sorcerer’s cruel games and punishments since she was a child. But instead of becoming dark and twisted like him, she’s developed an inner strength that would rival that of any warrior. Lilian is willing to risk everything to right the evil that her father has committed. People make cruel jokes about her looks and whisper behind her back. It hurts but Liliana knows that outer beauty does not equal inner beauty. She is kind to all of the creatures and people of the castle, and isn’t afraid to stand up to Micah’s autocratic ways. And Micah, oh Micah. Big and handsome and covered in armor, a shield for both his body and his heart. He never had a chance to be a child, the spell his parents cast flinging him to the bowels of the Black Castle, in a sleep state until he was old enough to take over as Guardian of the Abyss. All he has ever known is the castle and his grim role of Guardian. Used to getting his way, Micah is demanding and sometimes a little spoiled. But he is also very generous and fair. Naive about the ways of the world outside of the castle Micah has an air of innocence about him. Neither Liliana nor Micah has ever had any real friends and both lead a lonely existence. An unlikely pair of kindred spirits, they are able to see something good and beautiful in the other that no one else does.

The halls and grounds of the Black Castle really come alive in this book. Singh has created a vivid world in which to set Liliana and Micah’s love story. All of the books have been different in their setting and Singh did a great job of creating the unique and believable world of the Black Castle. From the dark stairways and dungeons to Jissa and Bard - all of these elements came together to form a new and interesting world. For the final journey to Elden, Singh conjured up a whole host of dangerous creatures for Liliana and Micah to battle. Some are scarier in looks than personality but all of them are strange and different and add to the rich landscape.

The only slight, very slight, criticism that I have for the book is that the ending seemed a little rushed. Because all of the books had been leading up to this battle with the Blood Sorcerer, I was expecting an all out epic fight. What happens is still satisfying but isn’t as grand as I was expecting. I also thought that the siblings would play a larger part in the battle. It ends up being Micah’s fight though they all lend their powers to defeat the Blood Sorcerer. This is a very minor complaint, as the ending is still awesome and everything wraps up nicely. This is easily my favorite book of the series and I still sigh a small sigh when I think about Micah and Liliana.

Lord of the Abyss is a great book and fitting end to the tale of the royal heirs of Elden. It’s a unconventional fairy tale that is sweet and passionate and utterly captivating. It’s a story that makes me believe in happy endings and I know that I will be coming back to it again and again.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book. 

GIVEAWAY

Because I love this book and want to share the love, I am going to give away a copy to one lucky winner. I will even spring for the fancy version that includes a copy of Desert Warrior. 

CONTEST RULES:

1. Please do not enter any personal information in the comments section - the Rafflecopter widget collects that, so don't forget to fill it out!
2. The contest runs from November 8 to November 22, 2011 (the book's release date)
3. You must be 18 or older to participate in this contest.
4. If you are selected as a winner, I will notify you by e-mail. If you do not respond within 48 hours, I will select a new winner.
5. This contest is open INTERNATIONALLY, as long as book depository will ship this book to your country, so please check. 

6. MANDATORY ENTRY: Comment on this post--what's your favorite fairy tale and why?

All the other entries are optional. The winner will be chosen on Nov. 22. Good luck!

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Visit the author online at www.nalinisingh.com and follow @NaliniSingh on Twitter

Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Anderson - Review

Lord of the Wolfyn (Royal Book of Shadows #3) by Jessica Andersen
Publication date: 18 October 2011 by Harlequin Nocturne
ISBN 10/13: 0373618700 | 9780373618705

Category: Adult Paranormal Romance
Keywords: Paranormal, romance, vampires, weres, revenge
Format: Mass market paperback, eBook (e-ARC received from Netgalley for review)

Thuy's synopsis:

Lord of the Wolfyn is the third book in the Royal Book of Shadows series and continues with the sage of the heirs of the royal family of Elden and their quest to find vengeance for their family and save their kingdom from the evil Blood sorcerer. Dayn, the second prince of Elden, finds himself in the Wolfyn realm after he’s cast from his home by his parents’ warped deathbed spell. The Woflyn realm is a realm with both magic and technology, with features of both the human realm and the kingdom realm. There, Dayn learns to live with the wolfyn (werewolves to us humans) and wait for the guide that his father said would lead him back to Elden to defeat the Blood Sorcerer.

Meanwhile, former cop Reda is recovering from a robbery that left her partner dead. With shattered self confidence, Reda is trying to put together the pieces of her life when she is drawn to a fairy tale book from her childhood that was lost a long time ago. The book brings her face to face with her greatest fear as well as her greatest desire. Chanting an old spell, Reda is transported to the wolfyn realm and to Dayn, the woodsman from her book. Now Reda must find the strength to accept her fate and lead Dayn back to Elden to reclaim his birthright.

Thuy's review:


Lord of the Wolfyn is another fun installment in the Royal Book of Shadows series. While this wasn’t my favorite book in the series, I enjoyed Jessica Anderson’s writing and had a hard time putting it down.  Like the other books in the series, Lord of the Wolfyn is a retelling of a classic fairy tale. This one is based on Red Riding Hood and is probably the most literal, as the fairy tale book actually plays in role in the plot.  The book is what draws Reda into the wolfyn realm and foretells her journey with Dayn.

Dayn is probably the least alpha of the males we’ve seen so far in this series. That’s not a bad thing - it’s actually kind of refreshing. There’s a lot of chest beating in romance novels and it is nice to have a hero who doesn’t say “mine” all the time and proclaim eternal love after five minutes (not that there’s anything wrong with that). After the trauma of her partner’s death, Reda has become very withdrawn and unsure of herself. Dayn is very careful of her feelings and tries to protect her.  However, he’s torn between his obligation to his family and his feelings for Reda. This leads him to do a lot of back and forth with pushing her away for her own good and the good of his mission but also clinging to her because he loves her. It gets a little frustrating because he can’t seem to make up his mind.

Unfortunately I didn’t care much for Reda. She seems to be very emotionally unstable at the beginning of the book. I do feel for her.  She blames herself for her partner’s death and hasn’t been able to forgive herself. When she meets Dayn, she convinces herself that she’s in a dream and goes along with it trying to wake herself up. Once she figures out it’s not a dream she has to deal this weird fixation and fear she has of being brainwashed. She’s very wary of the wolfyn because, in her book, they are portrayed as being able to enthrall women to do their sexual bidding.  When she finds out that Dayn can become one of them, she freaks out and accuses him of entrancing her.  She second guesses her own feelings and assumes the worst about every situation.  She does eventually herself together becomes a pretty badass warrior, but it takes her awhile to get there.

I thought the back story about Reda’s mother was really interesting but, unfortunately, the story doesn’t delve too far into what happened to her. I am not sure if we’ll come back to it but I hope we do. Since this is the last book before the end of the series, there’s a lot of buildup in this one and it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. The time difference is as confusing as ever and I have no idea where Dayn’s timeline is in comparison to his siblings. Perhaps I should make a chart.  

This is my first Jessica Anderson book and I liked her writing style. The story was fast paced and flowed nicely. And even though I didn’t fall in love with the characters I was thoroughly sucked into the story. This has been a fun series so far just because it’s introduced me to several new authors.  The next book is the one I’ve been waiting for, though, because I love Nalini Singh.  I am excited to see how this series wraps up!
 

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book. 

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Visit the author online at www.jessicaandersen.com or visit the website for Royal House of Shadows here. 

Lord of Rage - Review

Lord of Rage (Royal House of Shadows #2) by Jill Monroe

Publication date: 20 September 2011 by Harlequin Nocturne
ISBN 10/13: 0373618689 | 9780373618682

Category: Adult Paranormal Romance
Keywords:Paranormal, romance, shifters, revenge
Format: Mass market paperback, eBook
Source: e-ARC received from Netgalley for review)

Thuy's synopsis:

Lord of Rage is the second book in the Royal Book of Shadows series and is the story of Princess Breena, only daughter of the royal family of Elden. Like her brother Nicolai in Lord of the Vampires, Breena is flung from her home when, in an attempt to save her life, her dying parents cast two spells on her and her siblings - one to survive and one to seek vengeance on The Blood Sorcerer. The spells cause Breena to be whisked away during her attempt to escape the castle and she finds herself in unknown woods, with a patchy recollection of who she is and what she is doing there. She’s also without her magical powers, which were always weak at best. Unlike her mother, who can speak to people in her dreams, Breena’s only ever been able to find one person in her dreams - a dark and dangerous warrior who knows her body like no one else. Starving and exhausted, Breena stumbles upon a small cabin in the woods after wandering the woods for several days. She breaks in and steals some food before she collapses into one of the beds in the house.

Osborn is one of the last of his people. An Ursan warrior, he has secluded himself with his two younger brothers in the small cabin at the edge of town. His people were wiped out 10 years ago by a group of vicious vampires in the colors of the Elden guard. He’s sworn revenge against Elden and has become a mercenary in order to survive and support his family. When he finds Breena in his bed, he is furious until he realizes that the woman from his dreams is real and is in his home. Breena pleads with Osborn to help her avenge her family as she tries to piece together what’s happened to them and fights her attraction to the gruff warrior.

Thuy's review:

I didn’t love the first book in this series, Lord of the Vampires (see review here), and went into this one cautiously. I am glad I did, though, because I really enjoyed Lord of Rage.

Breena’s your typical princess - bred to be a political asset and a good wife, she has been sheltered and is somewhat naive about the ways of the world. She is a stark contrast to Osborn, a fighter who is adept at surviving any way he has to. Breena’s no wilting flower, though. She has a rebellious spirit and strong will. She isn’t afraid to stand up to Osborn or seek the vengeance she feels her family deserves. Osborn definitely has a dark side to him. Being one of the last members of his race, he’s very isolated. He is also consumed with guilt still seeks revenge. He comes off as rude and moody at times but it’s tempered with humor and tenderness. His feelings for Breena confuse him and he doesn’t handle it very well at first. I love antagonist romantic relationships, though, so I enjoyed the verbal (and physical) sparring between Breena and Osborn. There’s plenty of sexual tension between the two. When they finally succumb to their feelings, watch out! Their love scenes are HOT and also surprisingly sweet.

I also loved the mythology that Monroe created around Osborn and his people. I am not sure how much of it, if any, is grounded in any real mythology but I found myself captivated by it. The spiritual connection that Osborn feels towards the bear is profound and quite beautiful. Even though the ritual and its accompanying power are violent, there is also a great respect for the spirit of the animal and a sense of partnership vs dominance.

A fun twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Lord of Rage is an entertaining read and a solid installment to the series. This is my first Jill Monroe book and I enjoyed her writing very much. All of the characters were well developed and the story furthered the overall plot with the siblings and The Blood Sorcerer. I am still a little confused about the timeline of this book - where Nicolai’s story comes and if Brenna jumped time at all. Also unsure about the importance of the magical timepieces that each of the siblings have but hopefully this will all be explained soon. Overall I had a lot of fun reading this book am looking forward to reading the next one.

*I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

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Visit the author online at www.jillmonroe.com and follow @JillMonroe on Twitter

Lord of the Vampires - Review

It's October and officially fall, my favorite season and one of my favorite months. Halloween is right around the corner and I've already stocked up on my fun size candy. There will be lots of book reviews featuring vampires, werewolves, ghosts and other creatures of the night. To kick it off, I have a review of Gena Showalter's Lord of the Vampires. Happy haunting!

Lord of the Vampires (Royal House of Shadows #1) 

by Gena Showalter

Publication date: 23 August 2011 Harlequin

ISBN 10/13: 0373618662 | 9780373618668

Category: Adult Paranormal Romance
Keywords: Paranormal, vampires, romance, revenge
Format: Mass market paperback, eBook, audiobook 

Source: e-ARC received from Netgalley

From goodreads:

Once upon a time...the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with a need for vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs...and time is running out.

Nicolai the Vampire is renowned for his virility, but in a cruel twist of fate "The Dark Seducer" has become a sex slave in the kingdom of Delfina - stripped of his precious timepiece and memory. all that remains is a primal need for freedom, revenge - and the only woman who can help him.

When the wanton vampire summons Jane Parker, she is helpless to obey. She's dawn to his dark sensuality and into his magical realm. But for this human, all is not a fairy tale. For saving Nicolai could mean losing the only man she's ever craved...

Thuy's review: 

Lord of the Vampires is the first book in the new Royal House of Shadows series which will be written by 4 different authors. I'd heard great things about Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series and was excited when I found this book on Netgalley.

The king and queen of Elden are slain by the Blood Sorcerer in a bid for power. But before dying, they each cast a spell on their four children to help them survive. One spell got them to safety and the other instilled in them the need for vengeance. The first book is about Nicolai, crown prince of Elden. Nicolai takes after his father's side of the family and is a blood drinker. He is also a notorious lover, bedding a different woman each night. In a cruel twist of fate, Nicolai finds himself as a sex slave to the cruel princess Odette. Having lost his memory, all he knows is that he has to escape and seek vengeance on the current king of Elden. To accomplish this he secretly casts a spell to bring back a human female, Jane, from another world to help him.

Let's start with the good things about this book. The premise is interesting and original. Jane and Nicolai have great sexual chemistry. There's plenty of fighting and action, in full bloody detail.

Now for the bad. Unfortunately this book just didn't do it for me. I never felt a true emotional connection between the characters and, therefore, was never able to invest in their relationship. Nicolai's plan is to use Jane to escape and then ditch her but he does an about face shortly after Jane appears. Suddenly all he can think is "Mine" and is willing to risk everything for her. Jane, likewise, is ready to risk her life for a man who kidnaps her and plans to leave her high and dry. She's even ready to kill for him, offering to accompany him on his quest to murder the Blood Sorcerer. Though they get to know each other a little more as the story goes on, I still found myself puzzled over why they were drawn to each other.

I wanted to like Nicolai. I really did. Normally I love the dominant alpha male types. Unfortunately I didn't find him very charismatic or memorable. Jane was interesting though not particularly compelling. She accepts her predicament way too easily, even for a scholar of fringe science. Her guilt over surviving a horrible car accident is an interesting facet but it's never fully explored. And, while I admire her survival instincts, I find it hard to believe that she can make a hut from leaves, fashion tools from rocks and fell ogres after six months of self defense classes.

The dialogue also felt off in this one. Nicolai often spoke in short, caveman-like sentences peppered with modern words and phrases. And don't get me started on the ogres. Their comical and cliche one word statements actually made me laugh while reading.

The plot was also hard to follow at times. With the various spells, memory wipes and time/world travel, I had a hard time keeping track of what was going on. And Nicolai's ultimate mission was never resolved. I am guessing it's going to continue on into the next book?

Despite the problems I had with this book, I am going to stick with the series. I am interested in the fates of the other siblings and in seeing what the other writers can do with these characters.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

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Visit the author online at www.genashowalter.com/ and follow @genashowalter on Twitter