My Book Boyfriend: Zsadist

We decided that Thursday needed a little pizazz and stumbled on this meme. So we took ourselves over to The Unread Reader to see what it was all about and join the fun. The Unread Reader features this meme on Wednesdays, but we figured moving our participation to Thursday wouldn't hurt anything. We'd love it if you'd leave a comment if you participate in this so we can check out your book boyfriends as well.

My Book Boyfriend is Zsadist from The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward.

Stop me if you've heard this one from me, actually don't! I know I have subjected many a friend, err, victim, to my drunken professions of love for Zsadist, but if you haven't been so lucky I will give you my condensed version: I love this character. From the first introduction of Zsadist in Dark Lover I was smitten. He's the guy that sits back in the corners looking dangerous and unobtainable. The guy that's worth the wait and the long bumpy road that brings him closer to you. He's THE Bad Boy. He's never going to be perfect, or fixed and I love that Ward left him that way instead of turning him into the perfect hero, she left him as the beautifully flawed hero. He is a beautiful contradiction-- Lethal, but vulnerable and gorgeous, but terrifying. He is exactly what my mother had warned me about, and exactly the type I would seek out. I think it's his attitude as much as his appearance that draws me in.

Book Review: Beyond the Highland Mist

Beyond the Highland Mist

Highlander #1

By: Karen Marie Moning

Published by: Dell

Release Date: May 2007

Buy it from IndieBound and Amazon

Audience: Mature
Source: Owned by Reviewer

You know, it is said that you never forget your first.

Well, Hawk was my first . . .

Highlander.

I have to admit I've never been one to swoon over the kilt-clad Highlanders. As far as the romance genre goes I usually stick with the paranormal romances and steer clear of the historical romances, BUT I love (okay, maybe I'm borderline obsessed with) Karen Marie Moning's Fever series. From the Fever Series lovers, I have heard mixed opinions about the Highlander Series by Moning. Feeling as if I was less than adequate to figure out all the mysteries in the Fever Series, I decided to see if any of the Highlanders would give me insight into the brilliantly twisted world Moning created in the Fever Series. If you are looking to compare the two series, you might want to stop right here. This is like comparing apples to oranges. Although, the plot in Beyond the Highland Mist is more complex than your typical romance, it's not comparable to the Fever series. I have found myself enjoying the Highlanders (Who wouldn't? They are overtly sexual guys in kilts WITH accents. Duh.) That being said-- I have still caught myself looking for clues to the Fever Series, and the Highlanders provide great insight into how Moning became one of the great romance writers. (I think I might have an author crush!)

Book Review: Eternal Rider

Eternal Rider

Lords of Deliverance #1

By: Larissa Ione

Published by: Grand Central Publishing

Release Date: April 1, 2011

Buy it at IndieBound and Amazon

Audience: Adult
Source: Purchased by Reviewer

What can I say? I'm a sucker for a bad boy, and they don't come much badder than the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. Ares is the first Horseman in Larissa Ione's Lords of Deliverance series, and I think it's best to start with dessert first.

A bad boy of biblical proportions? Can't be beat. Although, Ares is not as bad as he could be. His Seal, which prevents him from ushering in the Apocalypse (he embodies War ), could be broken by a lucky lady, Cara. Just kidding. The situation with Ares is dire as he struggles to protect his seal (that just sounds a little dirty, huh?), which in an obviously not too unfortunate event, has been left in the possession of a lonely mortal woman. Can I get an Amen? What single woman in her prime, and in her right mind, would ever be disappointed with that?

Well, Cara isn't so sure about this brash and distant stranger with whom she's been thrown into the most bizarre of situations. Ares is unsure as well, and that makes for one cranky Horseman. I love how the relationship between Ares and Cara develops. To see a mortal woman bring a Rider of the Apocalypse to his knees is good stuff. Larissa Ione has delivered another great series.

Summary of Eternal Rider from Goodreads:

They are here. They ride. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

His name is Ares, and the fate of mankind rests on his powerful shoulders. If he falls to the forces of evil, the world falls too. As one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, he is far stronger than any mortal, but even he cannot fight his destiny forever. Not when his own brother plots against him.

Yet there is one last hope. Gifted in a way other humans can't-or won't-understand, Cara Thornhart is the key to both this Horseman's safety and his doom. But involving Cara will prove treacherous, even beyond the maddening, dangerous desire that seizes them the moment they meet. For staving off eternal darkness could have a staggering cost: Cara's life.

Book Review: Darkfever

Darkfever

Darkfever (Fever Series, Book 1)

By: Karen Marie Moning

Published By: Delacorte Press/ Dell

Page Count: 309

Release Date: October 31, 2006

Buy it at Amazon and IndieBound

Audience: Adult

Strangely, I resisted reading this series after being told, forcibly, by the most reliable of my reader friends that I HAD to read it. Maybe the hesitation was because the series is categorized as “romance”, even though I’m still not convinced that any of the books in this series would neatly fit into that genre’s box. I’m never opposed to some well-written smut, but I play favorites and usually stick to certain authors. Once I started Darkfever I quickly became addicted. Moning spins a tale so rich and well conceived that even by the last book of the series she was still able to surprise me, bring me to tears and enrage me.

No review written by me is going to do this book justice, but I hope I can entice you into at least picking up Darkfever. This is my favorite series in Romance that is not Romance; it’s Romanti-action-murder-mystery-suspense-supernatural. Yeah. That about does it. Did I mention the ass kicking? And that it is also a coming of age novel? Moning’s heroine is in her twenties, but she still has a lot of growing up to do.