Review: Romani Armada

Romani Armada
Tracy Cooper-Posey
Erotic/MMF/UF/Futuristic/TimeTravel
Beloved Bloody Time/Book 3
Patchwork Press/September 6, 2013

Justin Edward Kelly, vampire and Chronologic Touring Agency member, hates time traveling and prefers to pretend he’s human. Deonne Rinaldi is human and arm-twisted the Agency into the deal of a life-time: They make her a vampire if she pulls off the PR campaign of her career and make humans like vampires. Everyone was stunned when the mismatched pair became lovers, including Deonne and Justin and neither of them will admit even to themselves how well the relationship works.

While Deonne is tucked away in history to protect her from Gabriel’s psi-file army ravages, Justin gets a time-delayed letter from her telling him their affair is over. She is in love with Adán Xavier Santiago, a Romani vampire from ancient Spain who will turn her. Despite the massive dangers screwing with time this way can cause, Justin travels back to China to confront Deonne, but when he arrives there is no Adán and Deonne knows nothing about the letter. Justin, not used to time traveling, figures he’s averted a personal disaster until Deonne meets a sexy Spaniard who introduces himself as Adán….

WARNING: This book contains two hot, sexy alpha heroes, frequent, explicit and frank sex scenes and sexual language. It includes heart-stopping sexual scenes between the aforementioned sexy heroes, menage scenes, and anal sex. No vampires were harmed in the making of this novel.

Oh, my.  Take the warning to head, this is a very sexy, hot romance.  This is the third book in the series and I do wish I had read the first two.  I think it would have help get into the story and characters had I read the previous books.  But once I did feel like I was caught up, it was easy to become involved in the characters and their lives.

Time travel is now an option for some and vampires are the ones who make it possible.  Imagine going back in time to watch a famous battle or visit a historical site.  Now imagine taking that journey with a sexy vampire.  The author has created a interesting world where humans and vampires coexist although not all humans are happy about sharing their world with vampires nor do they trust them.  I really enjoyed the politics of the story and how they continued to develop throughout the storyline.

The romance is a mix of drama, tension and out-right sexiness.  I liked the tension between Deonne and Justin.  They fit well together making it easy to see them as a couple.  When Adán joined in it wasn't as easy to shake off the vision of Deonne and Justine as a couple.  Adán didn't feel as developed as a character as the other two.  Maybe that's why it was more difficult to have him become part of the romance.

The strength of the story was the world building.  It's a fully envisioned world of political strife, tension, courage and love with the added excitement of time travel.  I look forward to reading more set in this unique world.

Rating:  B+

Beloved Bloody Time Series ~

Bannockburn Binding
Byzantine Heartbreak
Romani Armada

Review: On the Edge

Title: On the Edge

Author: Ilona Andrews

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

Series: The Edge/Book 1

Published: September 2009

From the back cover ~

Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, between the world of the Broken (where people drive cars, shop at Wal-Mart, and magic is a fairy tale) and the Weird (where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny). Only Edgers like Rose can easily travel from one world to the next, but they never truly belong in either.

Rose thought if she practiced her magic, she could build a better life for herself. But things didn’t turn out how she planned, and now she works a minimum wage, off the books job in the Broken just to survive. Then Declan Camarine, a blueblood noble straight out of the deepest part of the Weird, comes into her life, determined to have her (and her power).

But when a terrible danger invades the Edge from the Weird, a flood of creatures hungry for magic, Declan and Rose must work together to destroy them—or they’ll devour the Edge and everyone in it . . .

One of my favorite authors and a new series to enjoy - I'm in heaven. Imagine my surprise when this little beauty landed on my doorstep last week. It was perfect timing since I'd been having a crappy day. This totally brightened my day and kept me reading late into the night. On the Edge isn't what I would strictly call a Paranormal Romance nor is it an Urban Fantasy novel but a beautiful blending of the two.

When we first meet Rose Drayton she is dealing with her drunken grandpa, again. And deal with him she does by nailing him between the eyes with a bolt from a crossbow. No, not everything is as it seems in the Edge. Rose is an orphan and the eldest of three, taking care of her younger brothers Georgie and Jack, who are 10 and 8 years old respectively. Rose is mother, father, sister and drill sargent to the boys. They're chock-full of the adventurous natures that are common in young boys. The big difference with these two boys is that they have special powers that can cause some major consequences. Rose is a heroine to admire and love. With her dry wit and determination I couldn't help but cheer her on whether she was taking on the neighborhood bully or fighting the big bad that was trying to kill her and her family. She is definitely one of my favorite heroines.

The boys ~ Georgie and Jack are absolutely wonderful. Andrews gets you into their heads and hearts and makes these two characters an integral part of the story. Georgie with his big heart and caring nature and Jack, oh Jack. I couldn't help but be reminded of Curran, from Andrews' Kate Daniels series. What would Curran have been like as a boy? Maybe a bit like Jack. :) The boys keep Rose on her toes but they also try to help her and understand more of what's going on than Rose thinks they know. Most importantly these brothers look out for each other. Georgie tries his hardest to take care or those that he loves and Jack is fierce in protectiveness for his family. They don't sit on the sidelines while the adults "do their thing". Not these two. Their special talents are utilized well and not once did I wonder why they were in the story.

Our hero is, well, a bit full of himself. Yeah, a lot full of himself. :) Declan is arrogant, overbearing, gorgeous, proud, intelligent, haughty at times and wicked deadly with a blade. He's also the best thing to happen to Rose in a long time. She, of course, doesn't think so but time will tell. Declan has his own agenda but he also has a code of honor and integrity that puts him in the path of the evil that has come to the Edge. He's determined to keep Rose and her family safe and destroy the monster that tries to kill Rose and the boys. Declan is a source of frustration, irritation and attraction to Rose, which just irritates her more. LOL

I enjoyed getting to know Declan and watching him and Rose dancing around each other, always wondering what the other was really up to. Declan and his sometimes peculiar Weird manner driving Rose crazy. They were such a treat to read and oddly perfect for each other. They way the authors reveal Declan in bits and pieces made me at times question what his real agenda was. Both Rose and Delan have difficulty trusting but are left with no choice and agree on a tentative alliance. And lets not forget the romance between these two. It's not the main focus, I'd say that would be their getting to know each other and fighting off the dangers that stalks Rose and her family. The romance is there and does come to a natural conclusion with Rose and Declan finally admitting not only their physical attraction but their deep affection for each other.

The world building is intricate and pulls the reader into this place of the ordinary and the magical. The worlds of the Broken, the Edge and the Weird are at once familiar and still so very different from our own. The beings of the Weird are aware of the Edge and the Broken. The people who live in the Edge know of the other two worlds while the inhabitants of the Broken remain ignorant of the worlds of the Edge and the Weird. The Broken is without magic, once a being with magic enters the Broken they loose their magic. It can also be very painful for a magical being from the Weird to enter the Broken. It's one reason they tend to stay out. The Weird is full of magic, of mystical beings and humans for who magic is the norm. With creatures of great power and horrific guise and people who are not always as they appear. The Edge is the in between, the great divide. It is not for the inhabitants of the Broken or the Weird but for those who don't quite fit into either place. The Edge is for the forgotten, the misfits. It's where Rose and her family make their home and where they feel the safest until the evil that hounds them comes to their door.

I know many of us have numerous series that we keep up with so why start a new one? Because the writing talent that is evident in the Kate Daniels series shines through in this new series as well. The pacing kept me immersed in the story - balancing the fighting and violence with the character development and the progression of the plot. This is probably one of the strongest first books of a series that I have read. It left me satisfied but still wanting more of this fascinating new world that Andrews has created. On the Edge is set for release on September 29th.

The husband and wife writing team that makes up Ilona Andrews can be found hanging out at their LiveJournal blog and information on all their novels can be found on their website.

Rating: A

Review: Angels' Blood

Title: Angels' Blood
Author: Nalini Singh
Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance
Series: Guild Hunter/Book 1
Published: March 2009

There are angels among us. Though these are not the heavenly beings that usually come to mind. These are archangels who rule their territories with awe, fear and respect. They entice humans to sign away 100 years of their lives to become immortal... and vampires. But sometimes those vampires choose not to honor their contract. Sometimes they think they can get away. That's when the Guild Hunters go to work. They hunt the vampires and return them to their masters, the archangels. Elena Deveraux is one of the elite hunters. She was born a hunter and she is one of the very best. And only the best will do for archangel Raphael.

There's been a lot of buzz about Nalini Singh's new series. Many fans of her Psy/Changeling series have been eagerly anticipating the release of Angels' Blood (myself included). The Psy/Changeling series is Paranormal Romance, with a different hero and heroine in each book. Notice the genre above ~ that's what is on the spine of the book. I found it interesting that this is not simply marketed as Urban Fantasy but the "romance" is added. Could this be a marketing tool to get the fans who read PNR but don't want to read UF because of the lack of the HEA? Since there seems to be so much online talk of what is PNR as opposed to UF this might be the happy medium many have been craving. I think Singh's fan base is such that it doesn't matter what is on the spine as long as Singh's name is on the cover. And Angels' Blood does have a designated hero and heroine but do they get a HEA? Maybe...

Elena Deveraux is a total and completely kick-ass heroine. She's hard working and takes her job very seriously. She has a close, select group of friends that she knows she can always count on. Her home is her haven. The way she feels about her apartment tells a lot about her. It's more than just a place to crash, it's a place where she can take comfort from her surroundings after long days and nights on the job. When Elena finds out that Raphael wants her to hunt down another archangel she's not at all thrilled. Hunting down an archangel who's bent on destruction isn't exactly in her scope of experience. But she has no choice. She could refuse and try to hideout from Raphael but that's just not her style. Nor does she wish to put her friends in jeopardy. So she sucks it up and uses her talents to find the sick bastard. I love the fact that she does get disgusted and upset over the horrors that she sees and isn't afraid to show it. She even throws up a few times but shakes it off and gets right back to work tracking the rogue archangel.

Raphael is the archangel over all of New York. He's acquired a reputation for ruling with strength, respect and fear. He's not the easiest hero to get into. He's very reserved and projects a very cold, almost sterile, personality. It's as if he's seen and done everything and is now simply bored by it all. As he and Elena work together he begins to thaw. Singh shows the reader through Raphael's actions and thought how he is thawing. How his humanity is showing. Elena practically forces reactions from him. I loved it when he would get pissed off and Elena would basically tell him to deal with it or remind him that he needs her.

The story was a bit slow for me to get into-not in a bad way but more of an ease into the world instead of a jump. The jump happened for me when Elena shot Raphael(page136). Then it became difficult to put down. It's possible it happened at that point because Raphael became more real, more mortal with all the emotions that go along with possible mortality. Elena showed concern for Raphael, not only because if he dies she does too at the hands Dmitri but also because of what was a developing attraction on more than a physical level - no matter how much Elena denied it.

The world building was done in and around New York City as we know it today. The difference is that archangels, angels and vampires exist in the world Singh has created. Otherwise it felt like present day earth with cell phones, cars, elevators and references to the Titanic and the Soviet Union. The world is certainly darker with the powerful archangels and vampires inhabiting it. Angels' Blood undoubtedly makes use of it's UF stamp and has far more blood and gore than the Psy/Changeling series.

Elena's work takes her to a much darker world than what most of the human population in Angels' Blood is exposed to. She has such a strong heart to bear seeing so much pain and ugliness. Her good friends and Guild Hunter co-workers are there for her as much as they can be. There is no doubt they would stand beside her even if it means dying. In this we also see how Raphael learns to care for Elena and offer comfort. Something I'm not sure he thought he was capable of.

Singh's secondary characters are, as always, well developed and give this reader hope for many more books in this series. One character in particularly grab and held my attention. He's not a member of the Guild Hunters but a vampire. I absolutely without a doubt loved Dmitri. Why? I shouldn't like him. He threats Elena numerous times, not only with the biting and drinking from her but killing her. And I have no doubt that he would have killed her if he thought it necessary. Yet I liked him. Whenever he was in a scene I couldn't wait to see what he would say or do. When he wasn't in a scene I would be wondering where he is and when he'd be back. I think I got a little obsessed over him. *grin* He's the leader of Raphael's elite guard. He's nearly a thousand years old so he's more than served his 100 years yet he stays with Raphael. I liked that loyalty in him. He also mentioned a few little tidbits about his past that left me curious to know more and to believe there's more to him that the bad-ass imagine he projects.

Singh uses her magic to weave a fascinating world in the first installment of the Guild Hunter series. There's a whole bunch of cool characters and happenings that I didn't include in the review simply because you really should read the book for yourself and find out. I will definitely read the next book in the series, Angels' Judgement in the anthology Must Love Hellhounds. Next year the second full length book, Angels' Kiss is due out. No set date yet. For more info on both the Guild Hunter and Psy/Changeling series check out Nalini's website.

Rating: A-