Captive: The Forbidden Side of Nightshade by A.D. Robertson

Twenty-five-year-old Tristan Doran enjoys a life of incredible power and privilege. As a direct descendant of the Keepers—witches who have embraced dark magic—he defers to no one but his overlord, Lord Bosque Mar. For most of his life, Tristan has been kept out of the centuries-old Witches War, his bloodline too valuable to risk in battle.

But when a beautiful, young human Searcher named Sarah is captured and made a prisoner in his Irish castle, Tristan’s infatuation with her flings him headlong into the fray. Captive and captor, unable to contain their longing, embark on a passionate, forbidden romance together—only to learn that their love is at the heart of a prophecy predicting the downfall of the Keepers’  ages-old reign.

Captive explores the darker side of the richly imagined Nightshade universe, a fantasy world of powerful dark witches, shape-shifting wolf warriors, and fascinating history. The first of three erotic novels, Captive delves deeply into the fiery, illicit romance of two young lovers whose very desires invite their doom.

***** 

 Witches and wolf-shifters, wars and prophecies, of such is the Nightshade world!

This first book in A.D. Robertson’s The Forbidden Side of Nightshade trilogy is set in her popular Young Adult Nightshade world, which she writes as Andrea Cremer. But, as the title suggests, Captive is a much more adult story - sensual, intriguing, and a bit on the dark side!

When I was asked by the publisher to review this book I was a bit apprehensive. Truthfully, neither the Young Adult nor the Fantasy genre appeals to me much, and I wasn’t convinced that an adult spin-off of a series evolving from both would, either. But this world Ms. Robertson has created is just so imaginative, just so exciting, that once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down! Tristan and Sarah's forbidden love is so sensual, and the unfolding prophecy so compelling that Captive kept me turning the pages into the wee hours of the morning, and I'm anxiously awaiting more.

Many thanks to Liza Cassity at Dutton Adult for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Devil's Heart by Cathy Maxwell

 

On the Cover: They call her the Unattainable. Lady Margaret Chattan spurned every suitor for her hand, vowing never to marry. The only way to break the curse plaguing her family for two centuries is this ultimate sacrifice. But now her brothers' lives are in danger. Determined to save them, she risks her very soul by traveling into the heart of the highlands to battle a force that has transcended time.

Heath Macnachtan is not superstitious. Laird of the most independent, nonconforming, madly infuriating clan ever to grace Scotland, he believes he has his hands full. And then, a woman lauded as one of the most beautiful in England, arrives on his doorstep with wild accusations and a mystical quest . . . one that just might help him discover who murdered his own brother.

But the real danger for Heath and Margaret is not a supernatural foe, but a very real love that could destroy them both.

*****

"Love well, love fully, love completely. Because in life, love is all that truly matters."

Exciting, thrilling, passionate, and romantic, this final book is a brilliant, fitting end to Cathy Maxwell’s The Chattan Curse trilogy!

I’m not normally a fan of fantasy novels, but this trilogy really worked for me. The writing is excellent, the characters compelling, the world complex… it’s everything I could ask for, and more.

If you’ve been following these books then all you need to know about this installment, other than what we're given in the book blurb, is that Margaret and Heath are the last hope of breaking the curse that was cast upon Charles Chattan and his descendants almost 200 years earlier. And if you haven’t been following this story but are interested in doing so, I strongly urge you to start at the beginning and read in order. The world building and character development is critical early on, and to miss those books would be to miss watching two beautiful love stories unfold. These happily ever afters are just too good to pass up.

The bottom line: The Devil’s Heart is a truly well told story with a great cast of characters and plenty of twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out how they could possibly succeed in time. Until this trilogy I hadn't read anything by Cathy Maxwell, but you can bet I'll be reading more by this very gifted writer.

My thanks to Avon Books for providing me with a copy of The Devil's Heart in exchange for an honest review. It's been a pleasure!

To purchase the books in this series:

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

 

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos.

 

**********

 

Okay, well, that blurb isn’t the best and while it gives the readers somewhat of an idea of what to expect, the book is actually much, much better than it suggests.

 

A Discovery of Witches is the first book in the All Souls Trilogy, and Deborah Harkness's debut novel. It’s a unique story that subtly brings together and addresses many of today’s cultural and societal issues, as they pertain to the All Souls Trilogy world, without beating the reader about the head with messages of political correctness. In fact, the story is so fun, so well written and meaningful that by the time I was through I was left wishing I had the next book right here in my hot little hands!

 

I’m going to give you a heads up here… this story is slow to start, but it’s only due to the very necessary amount of world building and backstory that we readers need in order to understand the complex society these beings exist in. My point is, Do. Not. Give. Up! At about the twenty some percent mark it really picks up and once it does, it doesn’t let go. The romance is slow to build, too, but it's there and it’s sweet. The sexuality is mild with most scenes taking place behind closed doors, but I loved the sexual tension and passion between Diana and Matthew.

In my opinion, the true excitement of this story lies in the quest to unravel the mystery of vampire, witch and daemon origins and, depending on who existed first, deciding which species is most entitled to the fullness and truth of that knowledge.

The bottom line: Loved it. What an incredible, exciting, thought provoking, fun debut novel! Deborah Harkness is well on her way to making quite a name for herself in the PNR/UF genres and I am so looking forward to watching it happen, each story and every step of the way!

Many thanks to my Goodreads friend, Nomad, for suggesting this book as a buddy read. I'm afraid I would have put it off indefinitely had it not been for her suggestion. Also, for those who took part in the DHASG buddy read - Pat, Tammy, Heather, Teresa, Megan and Cindi - I enjoyed discussing this book and sharing thoughts with you all!          

 

Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter

Warning! This book contains sex… wow. Hot, crazy, vampire sex! And lots of it.

Lord of the Vampires is the first book in the new Royal House of Shadows series, and my first read of Gena Showalter’s writing. I’ve heard her name mentioned time and time again as friends encouraged me to read her Lords of the Underworld series, but when I saw Lord of the Vampires listed on netgalley, I just couldn’t pass it up!

The first thing that really stood out, and I enjoyed very much, was just how edgy and vicious Nicolai is. Hell bent on a revenge he had to have but didn’t quite understand, he’s bloodthirsty and brutal in getting what he wants. Calling Nicolai “alpha” is like calling a tornado a gentle breeze. Caveman, Neanderthal, heathen… seriously, he’s the most over the top brute of any book I’ve read in a long time! And. I. Loved it! Every time Nicolai growled, “Mine” or “Want you…” I got all tingly inside!

Then there's Jane, our heroine, who is summoned to rescue Nicolai.

Speaking of Nicolai – Have I mentioned how much I love him? A hot, sexy vampire, cursed, memory stolen, he can summon me any day!

I’d say the first half of the book was a solid 5 star rating for me. I was impressed with the world building, the unique storyline and interesting characters – especially Nicolai. Rawr! Then somewhere into the second half we suddenly started getting a lot of repetition of thoughts... internal rehashing of things that had already been hashed to death. That would have been fine had I been reading only a chapter or two every few days and needing reminders of things I’d previously read, but that wasn’t the case, so I found myself skipping over things, and being annoyed at having to do so! I wanted more Nicolai time, not time spent listening to Jane whine about being attacked by witches and nearly raped by Ogres. Whatever, Jane! Grow a set and get over it! Anyway, the second half of the book gets about 3 stars from me, so I’m giving it an overall rating of 4 stars.

Some of my favorite quotes from the story all come from Nicolai -

“Mine,” Nicolai snapped. “No touching.”


Behind her, she heard Nicolai jerking against his chains. “Mine!”


And her resistance…gods, he’d wanted to quash it. Still did.
Wanted her to know his bite, his kiss.
His possession.
Perhaps she was merely a challenge he had to triumph above. He didn’t care. Quite simply, she was his. That was not in question. Mine, his cells continued to scream. All mine.


“Mine,” he said more forcefully, perhaps sensing her doubts.
“What do you mean by that? Explain.”
“Want you. No secret of that. You want me, too.”
God, those short, abrupt sentences were sexy as hell.
As if his mind was locked on one thought—pleasure—and nothing could penetrate his determination to have it. With her and only her.

And my favorite of all -

"Want. You."

Be still my heart! So romantic, so hot, sooo... caveman!

I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Lord of Rage which will be written by Jill Monroe.