WELCOME TO HELL

     The prison ship Perdition, a floating city where the Conglomerate’s most dangerous criminals are confined for life, orbits endlessly around a barren asteroid.

     Life inside is even more bleak. Hailed as the Dread Queen, inmate Dresdemona “Dred” Devos controls one of Perdition’s six territories, bordered on both sides by would-be kings eager to challenge her claim. Keeping them at bay requires constant vigilance, as well as a steady influx of new recruits to replace the fallen. Survival is a constant battle, and death is the only escape.

     Of the newest convicts, only one is worth Dred’s attention. The mercenary Jael, with his deadly gaze and attitude, may be the most dangerous criminal onboard. His combat skill could give her the edge she needs, if he doesn’t betray her first. Unfortunately, that’s what he does best. Winning Jael’s allegiance will be a challenge, but failure could be worse than death…

     This was a very interesting read. We have this bunch of criminals that love a good fight but that have banded together to defend their territory in the hopes of having at least a good night's sleep and a meal.

     Dred is a great ruler that helps these convicts with their desires for fighting by hosting rivalry matches and other methods that keep the men occupied and out of their heads for a while. When new "fish" come along the different territories vie for the chance to recruit new and able bodies to help defend the territory.

     This was a very interesting story because every character, including the main couple, is a criminal.

     I liked the story and the characters. I liked the plot and its twists. I think the author did an excellent job with this story and how all of the details fell into place. I do have to say that I did not expect that ending and I can't wait to see what comes next for this lot. I have never rooted so hard for criminals like I've done with this book.

     Anne Ashburn is a woman consumed...

     By her bitter family legacy, by her scorched career as a firefighter, by her obsession with department bad-boy Danny McGuire, and by a new case that pits her against a fiery killer.

     Strong-willed Anne was fearless and loved the thrill of fighting fires, pushing herself to be the best. But when one risky decision at a warehouse fire changes her life forever, Anne must reinvent not only her job, but her whole self.

     Shattered and demoralized, Anne finds her new career as an arson investigator a pale substitute for the adrenaline-fueled life she left behind. She doesn't believe she will ever feel that same all-consuming passion for her job again--until she encounters a string of suspicious fires setting her beloved city ablaze.

     Danny McGuire is a premiere fireman, the best in the county, but in the midst of a personal meltdown. Danny is taking risks like never before and seems to have a death wish until he teams up with Anne to find the fire starter. But Danny may be more than a distraction, and as Anne narrows in on her target, the arsonist begins to target her.

     Anne is a firefighter with something to prove. She is consumed by a past that she doesn't want to dwell on and an uncertain future after a fatal mistake almost cost her her life.

     Danny is a fellow firefighter that has a lot on his conscience and just keeps pilling thing on top of everything else because (in my opinion) of survivors guilt.

     I was engaged in this story from the very beginning. It has Ward's writing style of modern slang and multiple POVs. I liked how Anne's boss put her in her place after that first investigation because she really didn't want to be doing that job. I think it was something that needed to happen for her to realize that any job that involves the authorities in any capacity is an important job to bring justice to any type of situation, be it big or small.

     Anne wanted very much to help Danny realized that what happened wasn't his fault and that she was fine but I don't think anyone can come out of their head until they are ready to and without the help of professionals.

     The other side stories had me intrigued and I really hope we get an announcement soon for the next book on this series. I can't wait to delve deeper into this "brotherhood".

     In Howling for You, Jeff Christopher is a shapeshifter and all of Chicago's Cadogan House of Vampires. For a long time, Jeff had eyes only for the beautiful Fallon Keene. Unfortunately, she is the only sister of the lethal North American Central Pack Apex Gabriel Keene. But fate takes a hand when the pack's totem is stolen, and Fallon enlists Jeff's help to retrieve it before the pack is thrown into chaos. Can she and Jeff find the totem and restore order before it's too late? And will Jeff finally be able to prove himself to the only person he truly loves?

     In Lucky Break, Merit and Ethan are in desperate need of some alone time, but their attempt at a romantic getaway is quickly interrupted when one of Ethan's vampire friends shows up at their door - covered in blood and accused of killing her shifter husband. Now, Merit and Ethan must put their passion on pause to figure out who's really responsible for the murder before all hell breaks loose...

     Jeff! I got me some sexy Jeff Christopher story!

     I have to say that Jeff is most definitively my favorite secondary character in these stories. He is cute, charming, and hella genius and funny. I was so happy when he got together with Fallon although there was something to their story that was hinted at but never mentioned as to why they weren't together. But then they were and I needed more on that story.

     Well, I got it and I have to say that I loved every second of their HEA.

     We also get a second part to this book in which Merit and Ethan want to go on a vacation away from the Chicago drama and are invited to the guest house of one of Ethan's longtime friends. But when they get there is not for a romantic getaway but to solve a mystery of murder.

     I liked the insight of what might have started the feud between the vampires and the werewolves (or at least a fraction of it) and what sacrifices these two races are willing to make to be happy with each other. It also gives me a look-see of what Eliza and Connor might go thru on the spin-off.

     Vampires generally aren’t afraid of things that go bump in the night, but Merit and Ethan are extra jumpy after a recent attack by a dark sorcerer. So when they learn that someone is messing with graves in Chicago’s cemeteries, stealing skulls and snatching souls, they fear that their powerful foe might be back for even more magical vengeance.

     But after a specter begins haunting Cadogan House—and targeting vampires—they realize that their being taunted by an altogether different sort of monster. A ghoulish villain straight out of the Windy City’s urban legends is on the prowl—and he won’t stop until he’s killed again...

     Merit, Sentinel of Chicago's Cadogan House, is pregnant. She's ready to meet her daughter, but also very excited about the possibility of seeing her feet again. But trouble always seems to find her...

     Ethan and Merit have been married for eight months, and they're preparing for life-with-baby. Ethan's battling his overprotectiveness, while Merit's hoping she can figure out how to be a loving parent given her family's chilliness.

     While out on an evening walk, Merit stops to help a human in need, only to find herself under attack. A sociopath with a debt figures pregnant Merit is an easy target--and Cadogan House would pay handsomely for her return...

     This is a nice view of some of Merit's pregnancy. But what I really liked about this book was the side story of Jonas and Cadogan's House cook (who I can't remember the name of at this moment).

     I was always rooting for the side characters to find someone to love or to end up with whomever they had a crush on. I am glad I got to see why Margery? Margaret? wasn't open to Jonas' interest and that she was able (with the help of the Cadogan House and all the vampires she loves) to get thru it and find her true love.

     I also was glad to see into that intimate moment in which Ethan and Merit decided on baby Eliza's name. It was very touching and I think it was about time that Ethan had something good happen to him.

Glass Sword

by Victoria Aveyard

Series: Red Queen (#2)

Published by: Harper Audio

February 9th, 2016

Genre: Young Adult

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library Loan

Rating: 4 Stars

     The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they've always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul.

     Mare Barrow's blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

     Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

     I read the first book on this series at the beginning of last year and I have to say that I enjoyed listening to this book as much as the first.

     Mare is now on the run with Cal and they just want to save as many people as they can from Cal's brother. They two along with the red guard and anyone who'll willingly help go one many mission to get as many New Bloods as they can so they can build an army and fight against the silver bloods that want them dead.

     Although this book concentrated more on the survival of many characters and less in the action/adventure it did have a lot of intense and deeply moving moments that left me wanting more. I loved the rescue and how Mare embraced her path and I hope that she can come out of the mess she now finds herself in stronger than ever.

     I can't wait to listen to the next book and I hope I don't get disappointed with Mare's development and I hope Cal gets out of that funk he's in and goes after her.

Wild Hunger

by Chloe Neill

Series: Heirs of Chicagoland (#1)

Published by: Tantor Media Inc.

August 14th, 2018

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library Loan

Rating: 4 Stars

     In the first thrilling installment of Chloe Neill's spinoff to the New York Times best-selling Chicagoland Vampires series, a new vampire will find out just how deep blood ties run. As the only vampire child ever born, some believed Elisa Sullivan had all the luck. But the magic that helped bring her into the world left her with a dark secret. Shifter Connor Keene, the only son of North American Central Pack Apex Gabriel Keene, is the only one she trusts with it. But she's a vampire and the daughter of a Master and a Sentinel, and he's prince of the Pack and its future king.

     When the assassination of a diplomat brings old feuds to the fore again, Elisa and Connor must choose between love and family, between honor and obligation, before Chicago disappears forever.

     What I love about this book is that even though it's set in the Chicagoland Vampires world it has a completely different tone from that series.

     Elisa, who is Merit and Ethan's daughter, has been struggling with a secret that only Connor "stupid" Keene knows about.

     On top of that there has been a murder and the only suspect doesn't remember killing. Now it's up to her to find the killer before an innocent man pays the price.

     I really like this story as it is different from Merit's adventures. There are also some "futuristic" details that kind of threw me but then it is set in like 2030 or so. Still, in Chloe Neill's fashion, I enjoy the heck out of this book.

     I cannot wait for the next one and see how Connor and Elise's relationship evolves.

Barbarian's Touch

by Ruby Dixon

Series: Ice Planet Barbarians (#7)

Published by: Author

September 11th, 2018

Genre: Sci-Fi Romance

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library Loan

Rating: 4 Stars

     When I wake up on the ice planet, I’m scared of everything: this place is cold, silent, and the locals look more like blue devils than aliens. To make matters worse, one of the strangers decides I’m going to be his girlfriend and kidnaps me away from my sister. I’m completely and utterly alone. What’s a girl to do?  

     Well, this girl escapes. 

     Of course, that means I go from frying pan into the fire, and my situation gets even more dangerous. Just when I have no hope left, a new hero appears. Sure, he’s blue, horned, and has a tail. He’s also fierce, protective, makes me purr...and thinks I'm perfect. 

     But is what we have real or just a mating instinct?

     It's been more than a year since I read the last book on this series so I was a little lost at the beginning but I have enjoyed this book as much as I've enjoyed the previous books on this series.

     A couple of books back the aliens that originally kidnapped the girls have come back for them and one of the girls fights back and crashes the ship they are in. About a year has gone by and someone finds part of the ship and realized that there are people in it (or something like that the story goes).

     On this book, we get the rescue of the two girls trapped in this cargo section of the crashed ship. This two are blood sisters; Lila and Maddie. After a few kidnappings on previous books, the tribe's chief has forbidden to take any of the humans without their permission, even when they have resonated.

     Well, one of these men is desperate enough to not listen to the command and it is up to someone else to go rescue the poor girl that is deaf.

     I love how Ruby Dixon surprises me with every book. I mean there are a bunch of girls stuck in a planet with a parasite telling them who they have to mate with, how much can you do with that? It is with a fervent yearning that I start reading these books because Dixon always has a completely new and captivating story for every couple.

     If you don't mind your hero's blue-skinned, horned and with a tail, I recommend this series 1000%.