Nightfall by Norah Wilson

 

Nightfall is the second installment of Norah Wilson’s A Vampire Romance series, and the war against the rogue vampires who are preying on the less fortunate among us, continues. The homeless, the drug addicts, the prostitutes… anyone who won’t be missed if they don’t come home at night are especially vulnerable, but in this book we’re introduced to another unique player in the battle, Samantha Shea, whose ability promises to make a big dent in the rogue vampire population.

Our hot, sexy hunter is Aiden Afflack--

“Sorry, you said Affleck? Like Ben Affleck?”

“No, not like Ben. It’s Afflack with an A, like the duck says.”

Yeah, and he was cute and harmless as that duck. Right.

**clears throat** – as I was saying, Aiden Afflack is a vampire hunter and one of the best there is, but there’s something about him that, when he’s near Sam Shea, kicks her ability into overdrive and turns them into an unstoppable team. From the start there's an attraction between them that can't be denied, and fortunately for Aiden and Sam - and us - they don't bother trying.

The bottom line - Nightfall is not only exciting and romantic, but burn up the pages hot. Aiden is one of the sexiest vampires I've read in a long time, and he made the story for me. If Sam ever decides she doesn't want him anymore... oh, baby... six ways to Sunday... just sayin'...

A few minor editing issues kept this from being a solid 5 stars, but I'm giving it 4.5/5 stars because I fell so hard for Aiden.

I'm so happy the author offered these books to me for review, and can't wait to read more in this series. Eli's story. Or RJ's... are you listening Ms. Wilson?

Protecting Paige by Norah Wilson

Tommy Godsoe’s life hasn’t always sucked, in fact until recently, it’d been pretty damned awesome. Being a cop was his life, being a dog handler was his passion, but being shot during a police raid has put a damper on things. Days that were once spent serving with honor and purpose are now filled with pain and uncertainty. Unable to stand the thought of the pity he'd see in the eyes of his ex-fellow officers, Tommy has closed himself off from any and all contact, but much to his displeasure, the fortress of painkillers and bitterness he’s locked himself in has been well and thoroughly breached by his new neighbor who comes bearing dinner, and — despite his best efforts to get rid of her, won’t take no for an answer.

It’s not easy being a single parent, just ask Paige Harmer, she’ll tell you. Her son, Dillon, is a really great kid, but at 18, he’s not much of a kid anymore, and so Paige has to perform that tough balancing act of caring but not smothering. Dillon’s smart, respectful, ambitious… he’s pretty much everything a mom could hope for in a son, but unfortunately for them, his clean cut, boy next door image is exactly what Derek Weaver is looking for, and Derek is not one of the good guys.

Nervous and in need of something to do and someone to talk to, Paige takes dinner to her next door neighbor who, according to her landlord, is recovering from a recent surgery. The man is gruff, rude and clearly unappreciative of her offering, but Paige, being the strong, persistent woman she is, won’t take no for an answer.

Protecting Paige is the third book in the Serve and Protect series and is, hands down, my favorite! Being a parent myself, I always worried that my kids would fall in with the wrong crowd and get involved in things they shouldn’t, so I was able to relate to this story. And because Paige was facing those same things that all parents are familiar with, her character drew me in. Her strength, her devotion to her son, and her determination to do whatever she had to do to protect him…the magnitude of her love for him truly pulled at my heartstrings and made her a woman I could understand and admire.

And then there’s Tommy. Though we didn’t see a lot of him in the earlier books, we saw enough to know that he was an honorable cop who loved his job and the men he worked with. It was a little bit heartbreaking to see the bitterness that had taken hold of him, heartbreaking but understandable. I can only imagine what it would be like at 30 years old to lose any chance of returning to the job you loved, the one you’d planned to spend the rest of your life doing.

I've always felt that when things go wrong in your own life, when you just can't figure out what to do next... help someone else. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself or fretting over things you can't do anything about, devote your time and energies to the needs of others and everything else will fall into place. So, with that in mind, one of the high-points of this book, for me, was that when Tommy did just that... when he focused on helping Dillon and Paige... that's when things in his own life fell back into place and he once again became the man he was born to be - an honorable, powerful, caring man and a force to be reckoned with!

Okay, sorry - enough rambling!

The bottom line – If you’re like me you love romantic suspense, but sometimes you want the stories to be about everyday people, people who could be your friends, neighbors, or even yourself. You want to be able to relate to what’s going on in their lives, believable events and situations that could, for the most part, happen to anyone. So yeah, if you look for those things in stories, too, then I really do think you’d enjoy Protecting Paige. It’s emotional but not angsty, the characters are flawed but not stupid, and the friendship, the romance, the courage... all of these things combined have made this my favorite book in the Serve and Protect series and I’m hoping there will be many more books to come!

4.5/5 stars

Saving Grace by Norah Wilson

Police Detective Ray Morgan and his wife, Grace, an up-and-coming newspaper reporter, have it all – jobs they love, a nice home, and the perfect marriage. Or so it seemed. But when Grace announces that she’s leaving Ray for another man… well, no one ever saw that coming, especially not Ray. Stunned and devastated by Grace’s revelation, Ray can only watch as the woman he loves walks out the door. He can't imagine anything being worse than this, but then just a few hours later he gets a phone call telling him that Grace has been in a car accident. The angry, betrayed part of his heart tells him to keep his distance, to let her lover care for her now, but the husband part, the part that still loves her, wants to go to her, to make sure she’s okay. When Grace claims no recollection of the hours before her accident, Ray can’t be sure whether she’s faking the amnesia or not. He wants to believe her, but doesn’t want to be hurt again, but can he trust her… does he want to?

Saving Grace is the second book in Norah Wilson’s Serve and Protect series, and another exciting read. When we first met Grace and Ray in Guarding Suzannah, we learned that Ray is well liked and respected by his fellow officers, devoted to his job and very good at what he does. But despite Ray's camaraderie with the guys, both on and off the job, Grace has never quite felt like she fit in, never felt that she was really accepted by the wives of the officers Ray works with. She’s smart, pretty, chic, and perfectly proper… not at all like the other women, so of course things might be awkward for all of them. But what I loved about Grace in this story is that we get to see the woman she really is, her heart and soul, and we also see that the car accident is probably the best thing that could have ever happened to their marriage.

Now, you might be thinking, 'Oh, no! Not another amnesia story!!' because yeah, let's be honest… that storyline has been done time and time again, especially in romantic suspense, but I have to say, I really enjoyed this version of it! It’s fresh, exciting, emotionally charged… and watching Grace and Ray, these two people who care deeply for one another, try to salvage their marriage by learning the truth about what led up to Grace’s supposed affair… it was both heartbreaking and heartwarming, and in the end, absolutely beautiful.

The bottom line - Once again Ms. Wilson has created a story that fits her characters, and characters that make the story. Even though there were moments of predictability, I enjoyed Saving Grace a lot. It’s romantic, passionate and very sexy, and I’m soooo looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Protecting Paige and anything else I can get my hands on by Norah Wilson!

Guarding Suzannah by Norah Wilson

Guarding Suzannah is a fun, sexy, romantic suspense novel, and my first taste of Norah Wilson’s writing. I enjoyed her easy, comfortable way of storytelling, and the voice she gives to her characters, making them believable, quirky people I couldn't help but love!

Suzannah Phelps is a criminal defense attorney who has been dubbed ‘The Ice Princess’ due to her cold, calculating demeanor in the courtroom. She’s every cop’s worse nightmare because with her razor sharp mind and well honed skills, she can tear their cases apart, and few of the people she represents ever end up behind bars.

John “Quigg” Quigley is a no-nonsense Detective who has seen firsthand how The Ice Princess works in the courtroom, but despite her aloof, seemingly snobbish behavior, he sees something else in her, too – that Suzannah’s need to keep people at arm’s length, to be in absolute control of her life is her way of making sure no one sees how vulnerable she really is. But when it becomes clear to John that Suzannah’s life is in danger, there’s no way he’s going to let her out of his sight. John knows she needs the kind of protection he can provide, and despite her protestations to the contrary, becomes her self-appointed bodyguard.

I really enjoyed this story. While it is romantic suspense, it’s more romantic than suspenseful, and I loved that through their budding relationship, the characters drove the story. There's certainly a ‘bad-guy’ plot there - and a well told one at that, but what I loved about it most is that it enhanced, rather than overshadowed, the romance. Another thing that I enjoyed about Guarding Suzannah is the location. This story takes place in Canada which made it refreshing in that phrases, dialogs and settings were not the same places we so often read about.

The bottom line – If you're looking for something fresh, and you enjoy romance in your romantic suspense like I do, you’ll definitely want to give Guarding Suzannah a try. As I said, it’s a fun, sexy story and I’m thrilled to have found another author who knows how to tell a tale – by letting her characters pull us in and keep us coming back for more.