Well, I did promise that the next post would be about Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series, didn’t I? And since I’ve been slacking off on posts — the understatement of the year, if ever there was an award for it – it’s more than time I make up for it, so here goes …

For a reader who’s been weaned on fairy tales, Arthurian legends and Greek myths in her childhood, and got hooked on paranormal/ urban fantasy stuff late in her adulthood, this series is a dream come true. I can’t think of another series that combines, urban fantasy, Greek mythology in the form of the Olympians, the Titans and the mystery of Pandora’s box, and melds it into the framework of a paranormal romance novel so successfully.

Quite frankly, apart from Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling and Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series, no other story arc has captured my attention in a long while. Let me share with you why.

As a prelude to my next review post … enjoy the videos below.  No prizes for guessing what the next review post will be about.  Check them out!

My favourite is this fan-made video incorporating and weaving in scenes from the TV series Heroes and Supernatural:

Every once in a while, you come across a book series that not just entertains but engages with its lively characters, credible universe building, and snappy dialogues which grab your attention and spark off your imagination.

The Immortals after Dark series by Kresley Cole surely showcases some of the best paranormal rom writing there is. I was wary of stories of werewolves, vampires, demons and witches before picking up the first book of this series, A Hunger Like No Other. Having watched one vampire movie too many, and skeptical of being bitten by what I call, the ‘para rom’ bug, I was totally and pleasantly blown away by her sheer talent in reinventing Lorekind and giving paranormal an alternative spin on the traditional vampire and werewolf tale.

Of course, Ms Cole has gone beyond that, to weave in other urban fantasy characters using the coven of Valkyries as the catalyst of many a wonderful work which followed. I may have lapsed in following up on the series, but I never forgot the characters Ms Cole created.

Recently, I had the immense pleasure of finishing up not just books 4 to 6, Dark Needs at Night’s Edge, Dark Desires After Dusk and Kiss Of A Demon King, but also the prequel written as a novella, The Warlord Wants Forever. Let’s talk about Dark Needs at Night’s Edge first.

It has been a while since my last Nalini Singh novel … 14 months and 25 days if one were inclined to be precise. So, when I managed to obtain a copy of her new series debut, I decided to catch up on the Psy Changeling world.

Naturally, it was a joy to relive the series by rereading the previous instalments before arriving at Mine to Possess. This time round, the focus is on Clay Bennet and Talin McKade, a friend from his past who survived a violent, abusive and love-starved childhood with him and whom, he had been told, died more than 15 years ago. Talin’s human heritage hides a secret gift that could be Psy in its mysterious origin, but was causing Talin’s health to deteriorate.

Her appearance on the scene after missing for so long served as the catalyst for a lot of the action in this book, and the kids she was guardian to provided the missing link to a growing crime that the clan had uncovered in book 3 which clued them in on the bigger picture of a quiet rebellion that’s taking place amongst the Psy.

Figured that it’s better late than never, so even though I’m 5 days behind the deadline for Keishon’s TBR Challenge, I’m still honour bound by my participation to put up my post, since I’m not at RWA nor any such convention.

This month’s theme, “Wrongfully accused or just released from jail”, had me in a fix.  One of the books that Keishon recommended, Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer,  was also recommended by Kristie and Cindy 2 years ago, and having already reviewed that book, I’m obliged to find fresh material.

Then I thought of Donna Mcmeans’ The Trouble with Moonlight, and the misunderstood hero, British spy James Locke, who was released not too long ago at the beginning of the story, from imprisonment and torture by his Russian enemies, and finally found a fit with the theme.  The book has a promising plot premise, that of a master spy suffering from a temporary impediment in his safecracking abilities, teaming up with an unconventional woman, Lusinda Havershaw, with the ability to become invisible when unclothed in moonlight, to retrieve a list that, fallen into enemy hands, would put the entire British Intelligence team at risk of exposure.

Amongst the many paranormal romance authors I’ve read, Jacquelyn Frank was one of the most memorable ones for the Nightwalkers race and the universe she’s created around them.

The irony of naming the various heroes of her books, excepting Damien, the Vampire Prince, after famous Biblical characters was not lost on fans. But brushing aside that transgression, the stories Ms Frank has created made for some incredibly enjoyable reading.

Take Damien and Noah, the latest two instalments in that series, for instance. The author up the ante by introducing a potentially explosive development in the union of Damien with Syreena, the Lycanthrope Princess who has intrigued him since Book 2 or 3. As if that’s not enough, towards the end of the book, the secret behind the powerful union was revealed and subsequently used by the rogue Nightwalkers led by Ruth with dire consequences. But enough of my rambling, if you’re not convinced of reading this racy, sensual paranormal, the synopsis here, and this stellar review by bookaholic Gin, should be persuasion enough, I hope.