Review: Colters' Woman by Maya Banks & Giveaway

Description:
Adam, Ethan and Ryan aren't looking for women. They're looking for a woman. One woman to share their lives and their beds. They don't want a casual romp in the hay, they want the woman who will complete them and they're losing hope of finding her. That is until Adam finds Holly lying in the snow just yards from their cabin. He knows she's different the minute he holds her in his arms. But before Adam gets his hopes up, he knows he has to gauge his brothers reactions. Soon its evident that she's the one. There are a few problems, however convincing her she belongs with them and keeping her safe from the man who wants her dead. Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, graphic language, ménage à quatre, violence.

Review:

I won this book over at Patti's place. I agreed to review it cuz she was not so fond of the book and wanted to give it another chance(here is Patti's review). But I have to say it really wasn't a book for me either. It took me forever to read it and I had to force myself to do it. But I think my reason for not liking it aren't all the same as Patti's so I will try to tell you what my problem was.

The beginning reminded me of Amber Eyes also by Maya Banks but after I grabbed that one again I saw that the beginnings aren't that identical but it was what I thought as I started it. When he finds Holly in the snow and immediately knows that she is the one I thought okay, it is a book and not reality after all. But when we learn what horrible things Holly went through and then see her falling in love again to 3 men so soon after that I was rather disappointed. I don't have any problem with the 3 men being brothers. They don't really interact in bed with each other, what I find rather an achievement with all these bodies and all, so I really don't mind. But seriously: you have a frightened woman running away from her murdering husband and she meets 3 brothers and bam she loses all her problems with commitment after perhaps 24 hours? I so don't get that at all. I think I would have liked this book more if at least the building up of the relationship would have been more. You can say a hundred times that the men love Holly but that doesn't make me believe it.

I want to read about the struggles and the inner problems all 4 of them faced and not only a short rundown of it.

Another problem I found myself confronted with where the sex scenes. I think this was the first book where I really skipped some of them cuz I just couldn't stand it. Not at all sexy. I felt like reading a porn movie. Perhaps this book is written for men? No idea. Since I finished it I'm thinking about why I didn't like the smex. Perhaps it is connected to the first problem. I think I like the smex in a romance or erotica book when I can feel for the characters or at least like them. Neither was the case in this book for me.

The suspense plot was unfortunately not to my liking either. It was too slow for me and it didn't grab me. The decision for the divorce felt a bit too forced for me and all the surprising action was not surprising at all. I always knew what would happen next- it was really predictable.

So all in all not really my kind of book. The romance was too fast and the action was to slow. I couldn't really feel for the characters and it all left me untouched in the end.

To learn more about Maya Banks and her books please visit her website here.

Other reviews @goodreads. Buy the book @amazon

 

*~*Giveaway*~*

I decided to give the book to

another reviewer so we all can read another opinion about this book.

All you have to do is state that you want to read and review this book in the comments and I will pick one commenter next Sunday(April, 4th).
Good Luck everyone!

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Review: Moonlight Ménage by Stephanie Julian

Description:

For eight years, Etruscan witch Tira Belludi has longed to give herself, body and soul, to the two shifter men who hold her heart. But visions of death and fears for her sanity have forced her to keep her distance.
Nic Rocca and Duke Ducati are brothers in everything but blood and partners who have each other’s backs. They share a home, a job and had planned to share their life with Tira between them…until the night she saw their future and built a fortress around her heart.
Now danger and death stalk Nic and Duke. And Tira must make a choice—grab love while she has the chance or watch Nic die from afar and lose Duke forever.

Review:
I received this book as a review copy from the author and I was a bit shy to start it at first. I haven't read Kiss of Moonlight so I was afraid to be totally lost in this one but I was wrong. Okay from time to time I noticed that I missed out on something but I plan to get Kiss of Moonlight ASAP.

This book starts with a big bang. We are thrown in the middle of a burning house and with the fear of losing someone important. This part was the confusing part for me because I had no idea who all these people are but after the first chapter I was totally drawn into the story and just couldn't stop.

 

Tira is very complex character. She cares for the ones she loves but she also has to shield her heart from breaking. She knows nearly all her life that she loves Drake and Nic however unusual that may seem. She always accepted that and knew they would live their lives together. But one day she gets this awful vision while touching Nic and she just can't resume living this way. She accepts that the decision to leave them will probably break her but it's better than the alternative. Or that's what she thought before Nic nearly dies in the aforementioned fire. Now she sees how short life could be and she has to grab her opportunity of happiness however short it may be, now.

Drake is the silent broody type and he could never accept Tira's decision. He thinks she hates him because of what she saw in her vision so long ago and he just can't let it go. Every chance he gets he makes some asshole comment and always gets into a fight with her. He still wants her but he just can't stand this situation.

Nic is more outgoing than Drake. He's full of life and some would say he has a death wish with all the risks he takes each day. He's a real Don Juan and didn't waste any time in the eight years without Tira.

What I found real surprising that these relationship seemed so real to me. I'm mostly skeptical when it comes to long time threesomes. I always think that this kind of relationship could be really problematic from time to time. After all there is one person who can get hurt or feel out of the loop. But I could believe it works for these three.

The relationship development between these 3 was heartbreaking. I so felt for them and I was they find a solution through the whole time and I felt as desperate as they felt . The whole situation seemed to be unsolvable.

I also enjoyed the side characters. The whole story around the 3 was gripping and I loved the community Ms. Julian created. I especially liked that all seemed so tolerant and full of love. I'm always a sucker for a strong family and I always had to smile at all the Italian words. That was so like being in Italy. LOL

All in all the book is a really hawt read with good m/f/m action. You will so need extra undies for this one. *wink* At times the story felt a bit rushed and the solution at the end was way too easy for me but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

To learn more about Stephanie and her books please visit her website here.

The Lucani Lovers Series:
1. Kiss of Moonlight: reviews @goodreads, buy @Ellora's Cave

2. Moonlight Ménage: reviews @goodreads, buy @Ellora's Cave

Steph will be here on Tuesday for an interview and she will also give a copy of Moonlight Ménage for one lucky commenter.

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Review: The Rose of Shanhasson by Joely Sue Burkhart

Description:
Shannari is destined to unite the Green Lands and wear the Rose Crown, though she doesn't yet know how. SHe's the avatar of the Goddess, but she's only ever been betrayed in love. She's beset on all sides by enemies, including the current pretender to the throne, who wants to marry her and then kill her, cementing his claim.

When she prays to the Goddess for Guidance, she doesn't expect her answer to come in the guise of a barbarian warrior who demands her hand. Now, all she has to do is survive a battle with the barbarian, marry him, escape him and his elite warrior band, kill her former fiancé, and make it home in one piece.

Shannari's worth fighting for, and the men in her life don't take no for an answer easily. Unfortunately for them, Shannari never says yes. She doesn't believe in love. Now Rhaekhar, her barbarian warrior, has to convince her that his love is worth fighting for, and help keep her alive while doing it.


Review:

I received this book from the author and I'm totally biased cuz Joely is one of the nicest people I know and I totally adore her work. You have been warned!

I haven't read a romantic fantasy book as good as this one for a long time. It has everything I love about this genre and even a bit more. I always like it when the fantasy is something special. I don't want to read about orks and elves any longer. I have so had enough of those.
I appreciate it when the author creates something new and creative and not just a Tolkien copy. I love the invention of new races and divine creatures. I love it when the different cultures speak individual languages. Yes, I know it's totally crazy but I'm one of those people who actually owns a copy of the Elvish Dictionary.

But back to this book. The world we find ourselves in is kind of medieval with a touch of magic and more than enough divine intervention. The people in this world believe in the power of their deities, so they all try to stay on the good side of the one they chose to follow.

The story is all about Shannari. She is a princess but not the kind we normally think of when hearing that word. She had to defend herself more than once and got gravely hurt in the process - physically and even more so emotionally. She is a strong character with deep bonds to her people. She knows what her destiny is and she is not afraid to sacrifice herself on the way. She knows what the important and right thing to do is but all this knowledge doesn't make her feel better. She knows there is no way around it so she will hold her head up high and just live through it.
The first time she meets Rhaekhar is in a battle and she sees him as a strong warrior and also as the barbarian he is. But OMG, I want my own barbarian now. Nope, I take that back I want my own PAIR of barbarians now. *wicked grin* But more about that later.

Rhaekhar is the Khul of the Nine Camps of the Sha'Kae al'Dan, so to speak their leader. He is the best in everything *wink* and has to stand up to all expectations in order to stay Khul. He's an alpha male from head to toe and he never gives up when his goal is in sight. And his goal is to have Shannari. Not as some low sex-slave as some of our dirty minds might think. No, he wants to marry her and spend the rest of his life at her side- forever. He knows from a vision that she is the one and he will fight for her hard with all he has and let me say that this would win my heart ASAP. He's a kind man although he rules with a strong hand. But he has a good heart and wants to make everything right.

And then we have Gregar *big sigh*- the Shadowed Blood. A Blood is a kind of personal bodyguard for the Khul and all 7 of them should never leave his back. And with never I mean like not even in the personal moments we sometimes have. *blush* Gregar is a special one- he has so much darkness, shadow inside that it sometimes broke my heart. He's a passionate man with a really wicked grin and oh so many other good characteristics but he really can be scary from time to time. I can't even say for sure why I loved him so much. Perhaps cuz I wanted to hug him and make it all better? I'm really not sure but Gregar is so my new book boy friend. We get the first glimpse at a wonderful love triangle but at the end we have to be patient for the next book to get a better look at my beloved Gregar.

The Rose of Shanhasson grabbed my heart from the first sentence to the last word and I wanted to scream for the next book when I closed this one. Okay, it's probably not for the faint of heart with all the blood and shadows in it but I felt honored with every drop. The emotional build up was heart wrenching from time to time and the sexual tension will boil your blood. The fantasy is fascinating and wonderfully developed, the storyline thrilling through the whole book. All in all a must read for all the fantasy lovers out there who love to read something hot and spicy. The Rose of Shanhasson so deserves the title na'lanna for me.


To learn more about Joely and her books please visit her website here. You can also find a free prequel about Gregar here(The Shadowed Blood) and another one called The Horsemaster plays in that world too.

The Shanhasson Trilogy:

1. The Rose of Shanhasson: reviews @goodreads, buy print copy @amazon,
                                                   buy ebook @Drollerie Press
2. The Road to Shanhasson: reviews @goodreads, buy @Drollerie Press

3. Return to Shanhasson (TBD)

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