Ashley Bell (Ashley Bell #1) by Dean Koontz

Blurb...

At twenty-two, Bibi Blair’s doctors tell her that she’s dying. Two days later, she’s impossibly cured. Fierce, funny, dauntless, she becomes obsessed with the idea that she was spared because she is meant to save someone else. Someone named Ashley Bell. This proves to be a dangerous idea. Searching for Ashley Bell, ricocheting through a southern California landscape that proves strange and malevolent in the extreme, Bibi is plunged into a world of crime and conspiracy, following a trail of mysteries that become more sinister and tangled with every twisting turn.

Dean Koontz has been a favorite author of mine since reading Watchers in 1987, and then following Odd Thomas from his ‘birth’ in 2003. To say Mr. Koontz knows how to tell is story isn’t doing him justice because his stories are so much more than just words on a page, and Ashley Bell is further testament of that.

As I’m sitting here writing this review I’m both shaking and grinning. I feel like I’ve just stepped off Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, literary edition. Ashley Bell is an ‘edge of your seat, nail biting, heart-pounding, who dunnit’ that will have your mind reeling and, in the end, leave you breathless and desperate for more! This is the Mystery/Thriller genre at its best!

An ARC was provided by Random House Publishing Group via Netgalley. In appreciation I’m giving them an honest review.

Purchase Ashley Bell: A Novel at Amazon

Intrusion (Under the Skin #1) by Charlotte Stein

Intrusion is a story I had a hard time reading, at the same time not being able to put down. To say it’s gripping is to say the least, and finding the exact words to do this story justice will not be easy.

Blurb…

I believed I would never be able to trust any man again. That kindness was only for fools and would lead me down that same terrible path into darkness. I thought so with every fiber of my being-and then I met Noah Gideon Grant.

Everyone says he's dangerous. He never comes out of his house-a place that looks like it could be featured in Serial Killers Monthly. But the thing is … I think something happened to him too. I know the chemistry between us isn't just in my head. I know he feels it, but he's holding back. The pleasure he gives me is unreal-if only I could give something in return. If only he would let me in. I think I can make him feel something good. And for the first time in forever, I want to.

He's made a labyrinth of himself. Now all I need to do is dare to find my way through.

Reading Intrusion… well, at first I wasn’t sure what in the hell I was getting myself into…

…because this story isn’t at all what I was expecting. This is not my first Charlotte Stein book, but it’s definitely turned out to be my favorite. I want to call it a psychological thriller, but that’s not exactly right. A dark, romantic suspense might be more apropos, but I also have to add it’s one sensually erotic, passionate, poignant, and romantic journey. It’s a tale about two people who, for all intents and purposes, should be ruined, but who find a way to protect themselves by hiding behind the carefully constructed walls of their lonely but comfortable lives. Their journey… and that’s what it is, a journey… to finding their way back into the light is one that will stay with me, and in some ways haunt me, for a very long time.

If you enjoy darker stories about the resiliency of the human heart and the undying hope of the human soul...

...then definitely give Intrusion a try. It’s typical Charlotte Stein in that it’s told from the first person (heroine)POV, with a lot of internal dialog – some of which had me laughing out loud at the absurdity of Beth's thoughts, and other times wanting to weep at the harsh reality of them, too. Such an emotional roller-coaster read!

Note: This story can be read as a stand alone. While there's an ongoing theme, a different couple is the focus of the next book.

An ARC was provided by Red/Avon Impulse via Edelweiss. In return I’m giving them an honest review.

Samurai Game by Christine Feehan

In an underground club, a high-ranking public official spends his secret nights indulging in fantasies as exciting as they are depraved. For a seductive employee of the Dungeon, it’s her job to fulfill them. But she’s playing a far more dangerous game—one of blackmail, politics, and murder that reaches into the shadow world of the Ghostwalkers, and the creation of a spectacular, one-of-a-kind new weapon of defense.

But when a dictator makes his own catastrophic moves, the Ghostwalkers have no choice but to bring in two major players—a man and woman both driven by passion and revenge. Both expendable. Both with nothing left to lose.

 

*******

Christine Feehan’s GhostWalkers is one of my very favorite PNR/RS series. I love the plot, the characters, the writing… I’m always thrilled when a new book is released, then sad when I’ve finished reading it. That was, and is, the case with this tenth installment of the series, Samurai Game.

I always like to include the book blurb in my reviews, but the official blurb for Samurai Game sucks doesn't really give us much of what this story is about. Christine Feehan posted this on her site, and after seeing it on my friend Kris' review, I decided to post it here, too:

"I’m currently working on Samurai Game, a very exciting action/thriller/romance. My heroine, Thorn, was taken from an orphanage in Japan, enhanced by Dr. Whitney and when he couldn’t find exactly what her psychic ability was, he deemed her useless for anything other than experimentation. His experiments were brutal and at age eight, he threw her away, back to the streets of Japan, in the worst neighborhood, forgetting all about her. Thorn never forgot about him.

Team One is back in full force, and the story is action packed. The chemistry between Thorn and Sam Johnson sizzle. Sam is brilliant and has the most amazing psychic abilities. With his enhancements he and Thorn make a formidable team to fight an unexpected enemy and take out the lifeline between Dr. Whitney and the White House."

Yeah, that's a much better description!

There are so many things to love about this book. Azami "Thorn" Yoshiie creates a slightly different feel to the story than that of the previous books. A female of Japanese descent, she has a... quietude about her and is, in some ways, very unlike the other GhostWalker women. Peaceful, calm… she has a kind of tranquil aura that, for those who do not know her, is quite deceiving. And dangerous. Though she appears to be a non-threat, she’s probably the deadliest of them all because they never see her coming until it's too late. And sometimes, not even then.

Sam “Knight” Johnson is your typical male GhostWalker. He’s strong, determined, dedicated to the teams and does whatever he must to get a job done. Like all the men, his special abilities are vital to whatever mission they are on, so when the team learns that Peter Whitney has offered him up as a sacrifice, deeming Sam expendable, they're more than a bit surprised. But when it starts to look like they have a traitor amongst them - the last person on earth they’d ever suspect would want Sam gone, the team, with Captain Ryland Miller leading, takes matters into their own hands.

It's an understatement to say that I enjoyed this story! Loved it! The action scenes were intense, gripping, send your pulse racing excitement! I can’t remember ever being as captivated by this aspect of the story in any other book in the series. And the romance was very… romantic. Even though the passion and the physical attraction was there from the beginning, Sam and Azami’s romance was a slow build, as calm and peaceful as Azami herself. But remember, her sweet, zen-like demeanor is only one side to Azami and unlike some of the other GhostWalker men when it comes to their woman - and one of the things I love most about him - Sam digs her not-so-soft-and-fluffy side, too:

She sent him another smile. She touched the white balls at the end of the chains. “These are not real pearls, just shells to house the ammunition for my blow gun. It gives me ten extra needles in a fight.”

“I’m getting another hard-on just thinking about you with all those weapons.” His hand snaked out, fingers settling around her wrist. He tugged until she was between his legs. “How am I going to get through the day knowing you’re so damned sexy, woman?”

One of the high points for me in these stories is the chance to revisit characters from previous books, and such is the case – even more-so – in this one! To see where everyone is, how they’re doing… it’s such a treat for me because each couple has become a favorite.

The bottom line: Well, she did it again! Christine Feehan gave me a story that far exceeded my expectations and has left me longing for the next book in the series, and no matter when it gets here, it just won't be soon enough!

4.5/5 stars