18 & Over Book Blogger Follow #1

18 & Over Book Blogger Follow is a weekly feature that begins on Fridays and runs through the weekend, hosted by Crystal from Reading Between the Wines. This is a Friday blog hop with the objective to find and visit other book blogs that share the same interest as you, namely books geared towards the 18 & over crowd, and make some new friends!

Question of the Week: If you could have a girl's night out (or guy's night out) with three of your favorite authors who would they be and why?

Tevya:
1. Sherrilyn Kenyon - She is so down to earth and sweet. She talks to her readers and fans like they are friends. I have met her one time, and it wasn't enough. I'd love to hang out with her.
2. J. R. Ward - She is hysterical. I think she'd be a total hoot to go out with.
3. Ednah Walters - She has been such a great author to work with on the blog. I love doing her blog tours and look forward to each new release in the Fitzgerald Family series. 

Andrea: I want to hang out with Chloe Neill, Darynda Jones, & Kelley Armstrong. I love the worlds they create and their sense of humor that comes across in their main characters.

Teaser Tuesday: Dream Chaser, The Highlander's Touch, & DX

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly feature, hosted by 

MizB of Should Be Reading. 

"She's not dying, Jesse." Xypher swallowed as pain hit him hard. Dying would be easier. Kinder. "She's turning into a demon."


~Dream Chaser by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Nook Location 129

"Images of one-person-in-particular's bare, rounded bottom assaulted him. Circenn kicked put a chair, dropped his head on the table, and reconsidered killing the lass just to put himself out of his misery."


~The Highlander's Touch by Karen Marie Moning

"He adjusted his position and continued his slow, soul-stealing kiss; like he had all the time in the world and all he wanted to do with it was kiss her. Hell melted, inside and out."


~ DX by Carolyn Jewel, Kindle Location 273 

My Book Boyfriend: Nick Gautier

We decided that Thursday needed a little pizazz and stumbled on this meme while hanging out at one of our favorite blogs, A Book and a Cupcake. 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 this week is the one and the only Nick A. Gautier, primarily from Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunters series, but his wise-cracking fourteen year old self is also featured in the Chronicles of Nick, a YA spin-off.

Who is my ideal Nick?
Henry Cavill, hands down. He’s got the playfulness, the dark good looks and the broody potential, all which make up Nick perfectly.

Nick's Appearance:

*Deep blue eyes, now swirling silver

*Dark brown, slightly messy, shoulder length hair

*6'4

*Muscular build

*A powerful, sexual aura, with a healthy dose of bad boy

*His Dark Hunter mark covers the left side of his face and neck

My Book Boyfriend: Vane Kattalakis

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..... 

Vane Kattalakis

Dark Hunters/Were Hunters series 

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Facts about Vane: (taken from Sherrilyn Kenyon's website)

*One of six children, Vane holds a dangerous secret that would get him killed if his pack ever learned it. He was born of a forbidden union and has spent his life trying to protect his siblings who were never fully accepted by their patria. He is fully aware of the fact that every minute he lives will most likely be his last.

*Hunted by the Arcadians and condemned by the Katagaria, Vane is resolute in his protection of Fang and Anya. He is a merciless soldier who refuses to let anyone inside his wounded heart. He learned a long time ago to reject the world before it rejects him.

Appearance:

*6'6 rugged and muscular, tall and lean

*dark hair, made up of many colors: ash, auburn, mahogany, brown, black, even some blond; long and wavy, sometimes pulled back into a ponytail

*hazel-green eyes

*handsome features sharp and chiseled

*a day's growth of beard on his face

*the face of a rebel who didn't cater to current fashions

*a body that was meant for sex

Book Review: Shadow of the Moon

Shadow of the Moon

Dark-Hunter 16.5

Book 1 in Dead after Dark Anthology

By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Publication: 2008

Source: eBook purchased by reviewer

Buy it on Amazon or Indie Bound

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Audience: Adult

My Thoughts:
Let me start off by saying that I am a huge Sherrilyn Kenyon fan, and I love the Dark-Hunter series. I have read all but the most recent book, and I realized that I had missed Fury. I love the Kattalakis pack, and it was driving me crazy that I had somehow skipped over Fury. I searched like crazy to find Fury's book. Low and behold, Fury doesn't have his own book. Shadow of the Moon is actually a very short novella in an anthology. It tells the story of Fury and Angelia, two wolves who were raised together but driven apart through a devastating act of betrayal. While there were aspects of the story that I loved, I was very disappointed in much of it.

Book Review: Retribution

Retribution: Dark-Hunter Series #21

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Format: ebook (448 pages)

Purchase: Amazon or IndieBound

Provided by: self-purchased

Audience: Adult

Synopsis:

A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey.

Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief— Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters and training for the day when she meeting the man who killed her family: Jess Brady.

A gun in the hand is worth two in the holster…

Book Review: Night Play

Night Play

Dark-Hunters Series #5

By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Published By: St. Martin's Paperbacks

Publication Date: August 3, 2004

Buy it at Amazon or IndieBound

Source: Owned by Reviewer

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Audience: Adult

My Thoughts:
Night Play is the story of Vane and Bride. Vane is a lethal wolf, a were-hunter use to fighting for everything he had; never finding comfort or safety. Bride is a curvy woman who is use to being hurt by men unable to accept her the way she is. When they cross paths unexpectedly, Vane is drawn to Bride in ways that he doesn't understand. It is not natural for a wolf to want a human the way he wants Bride. For Bride who has just been dumped by a boyfriend who was never satisfied with her and always had her on a diet or in an exercise program, Vane is too good to be true. He doesn't only accept her the way he is, but he loves her the way she is. Will she be able to accept him when his truth comes out? Will she be the safety and comfort he has never had? Vane will have only three short weeks to convince Bride that they are meant to be together and that only he can love her the way she has always dreamed of  being loved.

Book Review: Night Embrace

Night Embrace

(Dark-Hunter #2, Were-Hunter #1)

By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Published by: St. Martin's Press

Publication Date: July 13, 2006

Source: Owned by Reviewer

Buy it on Amazon or IndieBound

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Audience: Adult

Synopsis from Amazon:
As an ancient Celtic warrior, Talon made one giant mistake-- he killed the son of the war god Camulus. In anger and outrage, Camulus cursed him--Everyone Talon loved would die a horrible death in front of his eyes. But when Talon's clan slaughters his young sister while he watches, powerless to stop them, he sells his soul for vengeance against them. Two thousand years later in modern-day New Orleans, as part of the bargain he made, he's now an immortal protector who keeps mankind safe from the creatures who would prey on them. A life he's happy with until he meets Sunshine--an offbeat artist who reminds him what it's like to really live. Unfortunately for both of them, it's Mardi Gras, and New Orleans is teeming with a complex plot of ancient gods, including Camulus, who are now out to re-conquer the world. The gloves are off and it's time for a rematch with Talon out to save everyone, including the artist who makes him insane.

Book Review: The Guardian

The Guardian: A Dream-Hunter Novel
by: Sherrilyn Kenyon

• Pub. Date: November 2011
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Format & Source: e-book purchased for Nook
• Series: Dark-Hunter Series #22
• Audience: 18 and up
• Buy it on Amazon or IndieBound


Synopsis:

Dream-Hunter Lydia has been charged with the most sacred and dangerous of missions: To descend into the Nether Realm and find the missing god of dreams before he betrays the secrets that could kill her and her kind. What she never expects is to be taken prisoner by the Realm’s most vicious guardian…

Seth’s time is running out. If he can’t hand over the entrance to Olympus, his own life and those of his people will be forfeit. No matter the torture, Seth hasn’t been able to break the god in his custody. Then there’s the beautiful Dream-Hunter Lydia: She isn’t just guarding the gates of Olympus—she’s holding back one of the world’s darkest powers. If she fails, an ancient curse will haunt the earth once more and no one will be safe. But evil is always seductive...

Book Review: Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry

Dark-Hunter Series

By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Published by: St. Martin's Press

Release Date: April 1, 2008

384 pages (Mass Market Paperback)

Buy it at Amazon or IndieBound

Audience: Adult

Source: Owned by Reviewer

My Thoughts:
While I have been a fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon's for some time now, I skipped the Dream Hunter books in my rush to get to Acheron. (Yep, those of you who know the series understand where I'm coming from here.) Recently I have decided to go back and read the Dream Hunters, and in looking to see where I needed to start, I discovered that I had also skipped over Devil May Cry. (I know, I know! I don't know how this happened. And yes, I was blindsided by Kat when I read Acheron, so I knew that I had missed something somewhere...) So, to correct my grave mistake, I picked up Devil May Cry before starting the Dream Hunters.

Devil May Cry is the story of Katra and Sin. Kat is one of Artemis's maids, and Sin is a former Sumerian fertility god. Artemis sends Kat to kill Sin, but that doesn't quite turn out as she had planned. Turns out Sin isn't quite as bad as Artie made him out to be, and Kat teams up with him to - you guess it - help save the world from demons. The story line is typical Sherrilyn Kenyon fashion. Good vs. evil, and good wins in the end, with a lot of mythology thrown in for fun, of course. Kat and Sin's story has a few twists and turns in it due to who Kat's parents are as well as Sin's history with ol' Artie. I love that Katra is a strong heroine. She doesn't need to be rescued or saved, rather gets in there and fights right along side her man. She's no damsel in distress, and she is willing to make a huge sacrifice to save her man. Sin also steps up to the plate in a big way to save Kat when she needs him, even though saving her ties Kat to him for the rest of their lives. Of course things get rocky when Sin finds out who Kat is, and exactly what role she played in the loss of his godhood. But in the end, true love conquers all, even if it is in an unconventional way.

Book Review: Bad Moon Rising

Bad Moon Rising

(Dark-Hunter #18, Were-Hunter #5)

By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Publication: August 6, 2009

Source: Owned by Reviewer

Buy it at Amazon or IndieBound

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Audience: Adult

My Thoughts:
Fang and Aimee's story is one that Dark-Hunter/Were-Hunter fans wait for over the course of quite a few books. We first meet Fang in Night Play, his brother Vane's story. We watch the glimpses of Fang and Aimee's relationship through the eyes of others for quite some time until finally getting to this book. While frustrating in many ways, Bad Moon Rising was well worth the wait. It is a perfect example of what readers have grown to love about Sherrilyn Kenyon's books. It's an action-packed page turn loaded with quick wit, unrivaled sarcasm, and steamy romance.