BORN IN FIRE

Born In Fire by K. F. Breene
Book 1 of the Fire & Ice Trilogy
Read by Nicole Pole
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Born In Fire:

Heart pounding and laugh out loud funny, USA Today Bestselling author K.F. Breene will take you on a magical joy ride you won't soon forget.

Supernatural Bounty Hunter isn't the sort of thing you see on LinkedIn. But with a rare type of magic like mine, I don't have many options.

So dangerous or not, the job is mine. And it was going fine, until an old as sin vampire stole my mark, and with it, my pay day.

Knowing I'm poor and desperate, he has offered me a job. I'll have to work by his side to help solve a top secret case.

Everyone knows not to trust vampires. Especially a hot elder vampire. But without any other jobs coming up, I'm stuck. As I uncover a web of lies and treachery, revealing an enemy I didn't know existed, the truth of my identity is threatened. I might make it out alive, only to end up in a gilded cage.

Source: Info in the About Born In Fire was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34341759-born-in-fire on 01/06/2018.

My Thoughts:

A grand start to a new-to-me series!

This is the first K. F. Breene book that I have read and am quickly becoming a fan. I thought that the special girl and vampire routine is old and jaded. It's been used around the block ones too many times. It's cliché. However, this author managed to make it interesting never-the-less, despite my scoffing. So of course I bought the books of the rest of the series already. I'm a little cautious though because I do not want to keep my hopes high only to be dashed by the end of the trilogy so much like The Kingmaker Chronicles. Now that one, is a real downer!

This is also the first Nicole Pole audiobook that I have listened to, and I have to say, she reads amazingly! Just the right amount of derision, sass, and intonation as the book calls for it. Kudos to the narrator! But for some reason though, I needed breaks from the book from time to time. This lead to the pace of the book slowing down despite the great world building. However, it also makes me look forward to reading further after the break. It adds an 'anticipatory pleasure' to the reading. And that gotta be a plus, right?

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = 3
Plot = 4
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Fire & Ice Trilogy:

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

Meet The Author

About K. F. Breene:

K.F. Breene is a USA Today Bestselling and Top 10 Kindle All-Star author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy and fantasy novels. With two million books sold, when she’s not penning stories about magic and what goes bump in the night, she’s sipping wine and planning shenanigans. She lives in Northern California with her husband, two children and out of work treadmill.

[Source: Info in the "About K. F. Breene" was taken from the author's website at: http://www.kfbreene.com/bio]

www.kfbreene.com | twitter | facebook | google+ | youtube | instagram | pinterest | bookbub | amazon | itunes | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook copies of the book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

MISFIT PACK

Misfit Pack by Stephanie Foxe
Book 1 of the Misfit Pack series
Narrated by Amanda Dolan
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Misfit Pack:

A redhead with a drawl, a lawyer with pink hair, and a homeless seventeen-year-old have no business forming a pack.

In a world where magic is commonplace, and your neighbor is just as likely to be an elf as a troll, three humans are unwillingly changed into werewolves.

Unprepared and unwanted.

The pack may have chosen Amber as their Alpha, but that’s not a title she is supposed to have. In order to be legally recognized as an Alpha she must pass the Trials, and it won’t be easy. If she fails, her pack will be disbanded and forced into a halfway house for bitten werewolves, aka The System.

But the pack needs a sponsor in order to even enter the Trials.

With everything to lose, the brand new pack must learn to work together before it’s too late.

Source: Info in the About Misfit Pack was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41156454-misfit-pack on 02/10/2019.

Buy Link(s):
 

My Thoughts:

I am so glad I stumbled into this book/author because this is starting to read like a wonderful series indeed! This is also my first Amanda Dolan listen and I like the way she reads. Her voice is not aggravating to the ears. And she does not have a singsong to the way she reads that a few narrators seems to have, which is a huge plus to me!! And of course, I dived into the next book right after finishing this one so the cliffhanger ending did not feel so aggravating to me. Amber, our alpha heroine, sometimes feels stupid to me but she hasn't acted all out "too stupid to live" (tstl) yet so I am keeping my fingers crossed that she doesn't in subsequent books! And I love the world building!! It's not that original, but it is beautiful!!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = 4
Plot = 4
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Misfit Pack Series:

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

Meet The Author

About Stephanie Foxe:

Stephanie Foxe was born and raised near Houston, TX. She grew up playing in the pond and woods in her backyard, and devouring every book she could get her hands on.

Her teen years were spent transitioning slowly from reader, to writer. She spent most evenings on the phone with her cousin writing the first few pages to many books that would never be finished.

Her adult years were spent toiling away at a corporate job until one fateful day when she heard about a little writing project called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). From there, the idea of writing a book went from a fanciful dream to a finished manuscript. The first book in the Witch’s Bite series was written, and Stephanie was addicted.

Now, she has plans to publish everything from paranormal fantasy to science fiction.

One book at a time.

Join the Newsletter to be kept updated on any new releases. Sign up today to receive Unsteady Magic, the short story prequel to the Witch’s Bite series, for free!

stephaniefoxe.com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Amanda Dolan:

Amanda is a New York City based actor, improvisor and voiceover artist, who has recorded over 100 audiobooks. She has an MFA in acting from Brown University, and is a member of Actors’ Equity.

Born in Astoria, New York, but lucky enough to have been transplanted to sunny Orange County, CA, Amanda’s upbringing was a perfect mix of East meets West (And by East she means bagels, not sushi).

Amanda loves to develop new plays and musicals. She has workshopped new work with Trinity Rep, Pipeline Theater Company, Soho Rep, Marginal Man Theater Company, The Lark Play Development Center, Playwrights Rep, Brown University and many more.

In addition to stage and film work, Amanda can be heard voicing hundreds of characters in over 100 audiobooks for Audible, Inc., AudioGo (BBC Audiobooks America), Blackstone Audio, John Marshall Media, HarperCollins, and Tantor Media.

www.amanda-dolan.com | facebook | youtube | pinterest | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The different formats of this book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

SACRIFICED TO THE DRAGON

Sacrificed To The Dragon (Part 1) by Jessie Donovan
Book 1 of the Stonefire Dragons Series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook

About Sacrificed To The Dragon (Part 1):

In exchange for a vial of dragon’s blood to save her brother’s life, Melanie Hall offers herself up as a sacrifice to one of the British dragon-shifter clans. Being a sacrifice means signing a contract to live with the dragon-shifters for six months to try to conceive a child. Her assigned dragonman, however, is anything but easy. He’s tall, broody, and alpha to the core. There’s only one problem — he hates humans.

Due to human dragon hunters killing his mother, Tristan MacLeod despises humans. Unfortunately, his clan is in desperate need of offspring to repopulate their numbers and it’s his turn to service a human female. Despite his plans to have sex with her and walk away, his inner dragon has other ideas. The curvy human female tempts his inner beast like no other.

Source: Info in the About Sacrificed To The Dragon (Part 1) was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22717692-sacrificed-to-the-dragon on 01/11/2015.

Sacrificed To The Dragon (Part 2) by Jessie Donovan
Book 1 of the Stonefire Dragons Series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook

About Sacrificed To The Dragon (Part 2):

Abandoned and humiliated, Melanie tries her best to maintain her composure as Bram explains the reason for Tristan leaving — something called a “mate claim frenzy”. In other words, the next time Tristan comes face to face with her, his inner dragon will take control and claim her for his own. Both Bram and Samira try to convince her to accept his attentions earlier than her contract specifies or risk putting not only herself, but also the members of their clan in danger.

Tristan stays away from Melanie as long as possible, but to prevent his dragon from completely taking over, he returns to Stonefire’s lands the afternoon after the First Kiss ceremony. When he shows up naked on Melanie’s doorstep, his human-half maintains control long enough to garner her consent.

Now it’s only a matter of time before Melanie conceives and fulfills her contract. But once she does, will Tristan overcome his hatred of humans and stay with her, or will he push her away?

Source: Info in the About Sacrificed To The Dragon (Part 2) was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22843254-sacrificed-to-the-dragon on 08/11/2019.

My Thoughts:

I've read this book years and years ago, so this is a retrospective review. I did not realise that I bought just a few chapters of the book until after I read the next book. The next book was just another couple of chapters also. It was then I realised that this author has published the book in chopped-up chunks as "Parts" with different covers. Part 2 has no end and no beginning because it is just a middle chapter of a bigger book. I really do not like this kind of publication technique! So even though I like the premise of the story and the story telling quality of this author, I stopped reading her.

Overall Rating: 1 out of 5 cherries

DRAGON BITES

Dragon Bites by Allyson James
Book 6 of the Stormwalker series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: kindle ebook

About Dragon Bites:

While Janet and friends try to relax in Vegas, Janet discovers that one of Mick's old nemeses has called in a debt, which is bound to result in Mick's death. This is a problem for dragons, and Janet and Gabrielle have to convince Drake and Colby to assist them before it's too late.

Source: Info in the About Dragon Bites was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28645451-dragon-bites on 24/03/2018.

My Thoughts:

The cover is not the best, but don't get discouraged by it because the inside is totally kick-ass! Even though the cover is apropos to the story.

The good news is, this is a good book. The bad news is, you have to get through several books to get here. Reading this series in order may not be a must, but, it gives you a better appreciation of the people and events that happens in this book.

I don't know if Colby is red in his dragon form but this image of a red dragon is sure impressive!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 2.5
Pace = 4
Plot = 4

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

About Allyson James
	Allyson James writes paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and erotic romance (paranormal and futuristic). She is a nationally bestselling author, a multiple RITA nominee, an RT Award winner, and a Prism winner. She also writes romance (paranormal and historical) as Jennifer Ashley. See Allyson's website for current and upcoming books. See also Allyson's GoodReads bookshelves for all books under all pseudonyms.
www.allysonjames.com | twitter | facebook | google+ | pinterest | amazon | goodreads

Books In The Stormwalker Series:

             

FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.