Review: Lord of Rage

Reviewed by Jen
 

It's no secret that Lord of the Vampires didn't exactly light my fire.  But I am so glad I didn't give up on the series, because I enjoyed this installment so much more.

If you're unfamiliar with the Royal House of Shadows books, the basic premise is that a Blood Sorcerer has attacked the royal family of magical land of Elden.  He killed the king and queen but before he could attack their children, the royals used their powers to spirit the princes and princess away.  The queen imprinted on them each a will to survive, while the king instilled in them the need for vengeance.

The princess, Breena, has always had the power to walk in the dreams of others. And for some time, she has been sharing her dreams with a mysterious warrior. When her parents' magic sends her away from home, she is drawn to the man who she comes to know as Obsorn. She doesn't remember everything that happened right away, but she remembers Osborn. What she doesn't know is that he is the last of the Berserkers. His people were killed off a decade ago and he's been caring for his younger brothers, the only other survivors from his village. Osborn thinks the people of Elden planned the bloody attack... so you know it's not going to be good once he finds out where he dream woman is from.

Anyway, Breena manages to convince Osborn to train her in battle.  But every moment they are alone together, neither can deny the rising heat between them. Can Obsorn teach Breena what she needs to know to reclaim her lands? Will he still burn for her once he finds out who she really is? Could berserkers be any sexier? Meow.

This was my first book by Jill Monroe and I'd be happy to read from her again.  The writing was clear; the dialogue good; the sex was hot. The only thing I would have changed if I could would have been a bigger climax at the end, but I guess that won't come until the end of the series.  I'm also wondering about the time discrepancies among the different installments. Hopefully, that will be addressed as well.  4 stars.

P.S.  The book was a take on Goldilocks and the Three Bears, which made me wonder if Lord of the Vampires was supposed to be a play on any particular fairy tale.  I looked it up and it was supposed to be a take on Alice in Wonderland.  I had no idea.

*ARC Provided by NetGalley

Lord of Rage

by Jill Monroe

Release Date: September 20, 2011 

Publisher: Harlequin Nocturne

Review: Dreams of a Dark Warrior

I’ll admit, I am a Kresley Cole fan-girl. But I have a very good reason for that: her books are simply the best in the Paranormal Romance genre.  And this latest installment in the Immortals After Dark series features Regin the Radiant, one of the raucous Val-Hall Valkyrie we’ve grown to know and love.  Hundreds of years ago, she fell in love with a Berserker warrior named Aidan and they planned to marry. But he was killed by a vampire before he could realize his plans to become immortal.  Now his love for Regin prompts him to reincarnate over and over.  But each time, as he remembers their love, he is killed more brutally than the time before.

In this incarnation, he is Declan Chase… a man who has devoted his life to the destruction of Lorekind.  He is running an island facility that tests and tortures members of each species, hoping to exploit their weaknesses and harness their strengths to use against them.  This is the same camp where Carrow was taken in Demon from the Dark.  Of course, Regin is one of those abducted.  Declan doesn’t remember her, but he feels a pull towards her that he can’t explain.  He’s lived a tortured life and has good reason to hate the Lore, but despite that, and despite the drugs he takes to suppress his berserker strength, he can’t ignore the attraction.  At the same time, Regin struggles with a terrible choice: sacrifice herself or help Declan remember his life as Aidan and hasten the death of the only man she has ever loved.

As always, Cole fleshes out her characters so much that I can’t help but care for them deeply.  And each book is a symphony of sexual tension and payoff.  She always finds such a great balance between the love and the sex. 

Just like the group of books that take place simultaneously surrounding the Hie, we see the storyline converge from this book  in the same time frame as Lucia’s and Carrow’s before it. We’re also seeing the set-up for the next book in the series, which can’t come soon enough in my opinion.  And that is Lothaire’s story. (I’m also dying to get Lanthe’s story… which is a suprise, considering how much I hated Sabine.)
 
It can't be ignored that Declan is not the best hero. He does some pretty crappy stuff and it's hard to forgive him for it.  His issues are also pretty substantial and he is what keeps this one from rating as high for me as some of Cole's other books. I kind of wish that the hero would have been Aidan instead. 4 stars.

Review: To Tame a Highland Warrior

Reviewed by Jen
 

Grimm Roderick isn’t your average Highlander. He is a warrior of legend — a Berserker.  He first called the beast within him when he was just 14 years old. He had seen his mother killed and his village raided.  He embraced the Berserkergang and slaughtered the enemy. But then he ran away from home, convinced everyone saw him as a monster and that his father was responsible for his mother’s death. After wandering in the forest for two years, he was adopted by another family and quickly became enamoured of their young daughter Jillian.  He believed, though, that she’d be better off without him and left when he realized they had feelings for each other.

Now, seven years later, Jillian’s dad has summoned him back to their land.  Grimm and two other men will vie for Jillian’s hand in marriage. Of course, Jillian has eyes only for Grimm… as she has since she was a child.  Grimm is determined to see her wed to a better man than himself, but she is determined to have him for her own. 

It was a good story.  Grimm is a solid tortured hero.  He believes he is damaged goods and he has Jillian so high on a pedestal, he can never measure up.  Jillian, meanwhile, is so true to Grimm in her heart that she refuses to even consider a life with anyone else.  It takes a little while for the two of them to seal the deal, but it’s a not a boring wait.  There is great angst and romance. Almost 4 stars.