Review: The Exorcist Who Loved Me by Jennifer Savalli

Product Description:

Hiring an exorcist is not something widowed single mom Holly Archer ever thought she’d do. But the blackouts she’s been having mean someone—or something—is hijacking her body and she wants it stopped, like yesterday.

The hottie who shows up at her door is the first man who’s sparked her interest since her awful marriage. It’s no hardship to give herself over to his skills, and in short order the spirit is ejected—and Holly comes face to face with Celia, the ghost of her dead husband’s mistress.

Lawe Callahan figured this would be an easy case, and by morning he’d be headed for another town, leaving Holly and her witchy amber eyes behind. Until she agrees to help the ghost, who refuses to budge until her killer is brought to justice.

As the investigation heats up, so does Lawe and Holly’s attraction. But their differences not only threaten any chance of something real, their quest for the truth could drive a killer to tie up all loose ends—permanently.

My Thoughts:

Cheesy title aside, The Exorcist Who Loved Me was a great book. Being released by Samhain Publishing I also thought it would be a very spicy read but the romance was actually on the tamer side. My beef with romance books is how fast the main characters fall in love and jump into bed and this one is no exception but the story most definitely makes up for it.  

Being haunted by your dead husband's mistress is like the ultimate slap in the face but Holly handles it well and with Lawe's help they uncover the truth of what was thought to be Celia and Holly's husband's accidental death. The way the mystery is solved is very believable and the story flows naturally around it.

This is Book 2 in the Must Love Ghosts series but is also a stand alone as I have not read the 1st book in the series and didn't feel like anything was missing. I enjoyed this one so much, I'll most likely be going back to read book 1, Must Love Ghosts.

Product Description:I highly recommend this one for anyone who loves paranormal romance with a well balanced storyline.  

Review: The Exorcist Who Loved Me by Jennifer Savalli

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2016/02/review-exorcist-who-loved-me-by.html

Review: The Basilisk's Creed Omnibus by Eme Strife

Product Description:
Moving to San Francisco was a decision twenty-three year old Elisheva Tilton thought would change her hard life in Little Rock, Arkansas, for the better. Yet, Eli still finds herself living in shambles and being constantly stressed out just to make ends meet in the Big Bad Bay. 

And the stress only piles on when the most unusual of things begin to happen around her—including the mysterious disappearance of the Atlantic Ocean—and even more so when she strangely meets the unlikely individual who would irrevocably change her life forever; a gorgeous, unbelievably sexy, and sophisticated high-ranking soul reaper.

My Thoughts:
I have to be 100% honest. If the author hadn't followed up with me on the promised review, The Basilisk's Creed just may have ended up on my Didn't Finish list for 2014. It wasn't a terrible book it just wasn't my style of read. 

I always take into consideration that I'm reading fiction meant to entertain when outrageous things happen in the books. I usually bump heads with a friend in my book club when unlikely scenarios play out in the books we read. She thinks it ruins the story and I think its fun if I accept it as fiction but this one was a little too over the top. Pigs fly, the Atlantic ocean disappears and my favorite, Eli's landlord goes a little over board when told to go eff himself, are just a couple of things that go too far in my opinion. 

Overall it's a good story (with a lot of spice) and good writing but not my cup of tea.

My Recommendation:
I recommend this to any who enjoys urban fantasy with emphasis on the fantasy. 

Review: The Basilisk's Creed Omnibus by Eme Strife

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2015/01/review-basilisks-creed-omnibus-by-eme.html

Review: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Blurb:
Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.

Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries, delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the season.

My Thoughts:

I loved A Discovery of Witches (read my review) and was eagerly awaiting Shadow of Night but was a very dissapointed with the story. Diana and Matthew travel back to 1590 to search for Ashmole 782 and to find someone to help Diana get control of and learn how to use her magic more but the story just went off on historical tangents and almost no progress was made in either endevour until the very end. Several famous historical characters were thrown in to make the book more interesting but really I would have appreciated more story line dealing with Diana's magic and the search. The was just too much fluff and not enough meat in this story for me to enjoy this one as much as A Discovery of Witches.

Even with all that being said I'm still interested in reading the final book of this trilogy hoping that we finally get some resolution to the problems Diana and Matthew face.

Recommendation:
I wouldn't exactly recommend this one to anyone who hasn't read book one but if you have I'd say to save this one for a library read.

Review: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2012/07/review-shadow-of-night-by-deborah-e.html

Review: Real Vampires Hate Skinny Jeans by Gerry Barttlett

Product Description: 


Someone is eating for two...

Full-figured vampire Glory St. Clair thinks things are finally going her way. She's no longer possessed by a demon, the legions of hell aren't on her tail, and her love life is heating up since she managed to reconnect with her maker-and longtime lover-Jeremy Blade.

When a pregnant demon shows up on her doorstep, Glory knows that everything is about to go to hell. Alesa is claiming that the baby she's carrying is Rafe's, conceived while she was inhabiting Glory's body. A clever trap? Or could it be true?

Booties and bibs are the last thing on Glory's mind when she discovers dark secrets from her own forgotten past. Who is she? What is she? And how will the men in her life deal with the fact that she may be more powerful than she knew? One thing is certain. Glory has way more to worry about than fitting into her favorite pair of jeans...

My Review:

When I read book seven in the series I was pretty disappointed (read my review) and swore that if book eight didn't wow me then I would give up on the series. Well now that I've read book eight I have to say that while the book didn't wow me it will keep me in the series at least until the next book. 

There was more of Glory flip-flopping with the men in her life which I hate but the story lines in this one were pretty interesting. First Glory has to deal with the return of the demon Alesa then she learns that before she was turned she wasn't a human. Now in addition to figuring out what she is, she's learning to control all these awesome new powers that she now has and taking back control of her life. 

Book nine in the series has Glory traveling to Scotland to save her relationship with Jeremy so I hope Real Vampires Know Hips Happen is as much fun as the first six books that I loved so much. I recommend this series for all paranormal romance lovers. 

 

Review: Real Vampires Hate Skinny Jeans by Gerry Barttlett

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2012/05/review-real-vampires-hate-skinny-jeans.html

Review: Invisible by Jeanne Bannon

Being the big girl in her family is hard enough but for 5' 9" Lola Savullo it's even worse because she's overweight and forced to wear a bathing suit during her summer job as a camp counselor. Not anticipating having to wear it she didn't even shave her legs and sadly her towel doesn't cover up much. Humiliated beyond belief Lola is in for a shock when she realizes that she's become invisible.

Now eight months later she's about to graduate from high school and since it never happened again she's thinking her invisibility was her imagination. But when the school bully sets his sights on making Lola miserable, she learns that it was real and sets about learning to control her awesome power.


It's really sad to think that bullying like this happens everyday but there is no magic power to help real victims. I like the fact that Lola didn't use her power as a crutch. She actually became a better person because of it along with her best friend Charlie, another social outcast, and her friend Jon. Invisible is a great story with a positive ending that I recommend for anyone who loves a quick story with a paranormal twist.

Review: Invisible by Jeanne Bannon

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2012/03/review-invisible-by-jeanne-bannon.html

Review: Born To Darkness by Suzanne Brockmann

The philanthropic organization Obermeyer Institute is doing incredible research working with Greater-Thans, people who can use more of their brain than normal people. In fact these elite individuals can use anywhere from 30% to 70% of their brain and have special talents like telekinesis, the ability to heal their own bodies, super seduction and empathic powers. Part of what the OI does is seek out Potentials who have an elevated brain function and show potential for more with their specialized training.

Dr. Joseph Bach heads up OI with 70%, Dr. “Mac” Mackenzie and Dr. Stephen Diaz are second in command with 50%. Enter dishonorably discharged and blacklisted former Navy SEAL Shane Laughlin and suddenly there are mysterious spikes in their numbers. While looking into this further, another potential that was on OI’s radar, Nika, is kidnapped by The Organization, an evil group that is draining the life out of young potentials to create a drug called Destiny which gives the user Greater Than powers and is instantly addicting. Can the team save Nika and figure out how to manage these spikes in their Greater Than powers without losing anyone?

Phew! That was a longer than usual description but there is so much going on in this book and I wanted to touch on a little bit of it all. Basically Born to Darkness is a love story between three main couples but there is so much more going on throughout the whole book. I love the characters and their quirks. They are written so well that I wanted to reach into the pages and take one or two of them by the shoulders and shake some sense into them. When a book has you that hooked you know it’s a winner. This is book one in the Fighting Destiny series and I will definitely be reading the next installment as soon as it hits the shelves. I highly recommend this one for all paranormal romance lovers.

Review: Born To Darkness by Suzanne Brockmann

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2012/03/review-born-to-darkness-by-suzanne.html

Review: The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells

Half vampire, half mage Sabina Kane was raised by her grandmother who just happens to be the leader of the Dominae council which controls all vamps. Recently Sabina learned that her grandmother was actually trying to kill her so she flees to the east coast. Sabina learned that she has a twin sister there, Maisie who was raised as a mage. In the middle of learning to use and control her mage powers Sabina steps right into a heap of trouble when she's out for a midnight snack. And on top of that, things are looking more and more like war with the Dominae is inevitable and Sabina suddenly becomes the target of someone who will stop at nothing to see her dead.

The Mage in Black is book two of the Sabina Kane series. I really didn't remember much about book one in the series, Red-Headed Stepchild, so I went back and read my review to refresh my memory before starting this book. I gave book one a glowing five star review and was disappointed that I couldn't give this one the same.

Sabina was too stereotypically vampy in this one. She was tough and kick ass in the first book but in this one she ran across one obstacle after another. Plus being an assassin it doesn't make any sense that she would regret a killing to the point where she pukes just remembering it just because the kill was done using her newly forming magic. It just didn't mesh with the character I remember.

Another disappointment with this book was Sabina's demon familiar, Giguhl. In book one he was wise cracking and loved the home shopping network. In this one he's kind of whiny, strains his groin and falls sappily in love. Nothing seemed to work together as well as it did in the first one.

I'm hoping the next book in the series, Green-Eyed Demon pulls it all back together otherwise I'll be quitting this series. I liked the book but I'll hold off my recommendation until I read the third book in the series.

Review: The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2012/01/review-mage-in-black-by-jaye-wells.html

Review: Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls by Victoria Laurie

Ghost Hunter M.J. Holliday and her team have gone from the frying pan, in their last adventure, to the fire during their latest assignment for their reality TV show Ghoul Getters. They are investigating Dunlow Castle which is known to be haunted by a malevolent phantom that guards a hidden stash of gold. On their first foray into the castle their producer, Gopher, comes up missing and if they phantom has his way Gopher is gone forever.

With each new book in in this series I have been just a little more disappointed than the last book. Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls is book 5 in the series that started off so fun. In the beginning it had me eagerly awaiting the next release but now I’m to the point that I’m thinking of giving up on the series completely. M.J,’s assistant Gilley was such a whiny, petulant, brat in this book that each time he threw a fit I wanted to throw the book in the trash. Ugh! Additionally this book was pretty much a repeat of the last book with just a different location. Overall it ended well but I’m seriously thinking about whether I want to read the next book up, Ghoul Interrupted. I’m on the fence about recommending this one so I’ll just say if you’re a fan of paranormal romance this one might be for you if you start with book 1 in the series.

Review: Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls by Victoria Laurie

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2012/01/review-ghouls-ghouls-ghouls-by-victoria.html

Review: Real Vampires Don't Wear Size Six by Gerry Bartlett

Now that Glory St. Clair has finally rid herself of the demon that inhabited her body she hopes that life will return to normal. No such luck. The Austin Vampire Council just stuck her with a newly turned vampire. She has to show the young college student the ropes but Penny is a super genius who thinks she knows it all and can do it all herself.

In the middle of dealing with the headstrong new vamp, two demons show up and as punishment for Valdez using his demon powers the demons demand that Glory collects souls for Lucifer. They tempt her into working for the devil by promising to make Glory a size six and allow her to see her reflection which she hasn’t seen in over 400 years.

As much as she’d love to be a size six again Glory turns them down but agrees to collect one soul to get Valdez out of trouble. As Glory works on a plan to collect that soul she gets a visit from Lucifer himself that shakes her to the core.

Real Vampires Don't Wear Size Six is book seven in the Glory St. Clair series and if the next book in the series doesn’t wow me like the first few books did I’ll be giving up on this series. The storyline didn’t make very much sense to me. I don’t understand why Glory has to collect souls when it was Valdez who used his powers. Yes there is an explanation about how the demon who possessed her talked about how strong Glory was and that made Lucifer want to recruit her but it just didn’t go over well with me. Also Glory and her constant man jumping is getting very tiresome. She swears she’s Blade’s girl but then lets Valdez and Ray kiss and put their hands all over her. I enjoyed the book overall and recommend this series to anyone who loves paranormal romance but I hope that Real Vampires Hate Skinny Jeans, out in April, can save it for me.

Review: Real Vampires Don't Wear Size Six by Gerry Bartlett

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2012/01/review-real-vampires-dont-wear-size-six.html