Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Avon

Pages: 384pgs

The Story

Dating the Prince of Darkness has its challenges . . .

Leila's psychic abilities have been failing her, and now she isn't sure what the future holds. If that weren't enough, her lover, Vlad, has been acting distant. Though Leila is a mere mortal, she's also a modern woman who refuses to accept the cold shoulder treatment forever–especially from the darkly handsome vampire who still won't admit that he loves her.

Like choosing between eternal love and a loveless eternity . . .

Soon circumstances send Leila back to the carnival circuit, where tragedy strikes. And when she finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer who may be closer than she realizes, Leila must decide who to trust– the fiery vampire who arouses her passions like no other or the tortured knight who longs to be more than a friend? With danger stalking her every step of the way, all it takes is one wrong move to damn her for eternity.

The Review

You and I both know how much I love Jeaniene Frost as a writer. I will pretty much buy anything written by her regardless of the storyline because I know it's going to be awesome (I've probably said this a million times already but it's the truth). It's kind of her stamped-approval guarantee when it comes to every book of hers. But unlike her previous Night Huntress spin-off series books, I have to say TWICE TEMPTED is by far my favourite spin-off book of Frost's as we finally get to see a whole different side to Vlad (even if it takes him forever to be vulnerable with someone else other than himself and even though he can be a huge pain in the butt sometimes).

One of the major things I love about this book and this spin-off series alone is that the entire storyline (well most it anyway) is constantly surrounded with the romantic relationship between our two main characters, Leila and Vlad. As we know already, Vlad isn't exactly - if not at all - the warm and fuzzy kind of vampire who oozes romantic gestures and kindness so easily, so it was very interesting seeing him react to Leila's actions and feelings towards him in this particular book. It kind of threw him through a loophole and I don't about you guys . . . but I just love witnessing the 'oh-come-on-kiss-her-already!' moments and the ever-so-frustrating conflicts that arise from their relationship. It's just one of those rare and wonderful treats you get from Jeaniene Frost and boy I want more of it!

In terms of Leila's character, I really missed her from Once Burned. She is everything I love in a character - faults and all. She is strong, spunky and SO bloody determined unlike any other character I know, and I love for what she represents when it comes to protecting those closest to her. But much like with Vlad's character, Leila too opens herself up a little bit more and begins to let go of all of her insecurities, so just you wait . . . Leila is going to blow your minds with her bad-assery awesomeness and the fact that she will never say no letting go of Vlad . . . well who could blame her honestly?

Overall, TWICE TEMPTED offers so much more compared to the first installment Once Burned. With some action-packed adventures, sexy fun, and plenty of humor to keep you reading, I'm sure this next installment will NOT disappoint!

The Rating

5/5 stars

Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Avon

Pages: 384pgs

The Story

She's a mortal with dark powers . . .

After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person's darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude . . . until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with telepathic distress call to the world's most infamous vampire . . .

He's the Prince of Night . . .

Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all - but whatever you do, don't call him Dracula. Vlad's ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him - a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them  threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.

The Review

Like many of you, I'm one of those crazy obsessed fans of the Night Huntress series - it's something that I practically live on on these last few years, especially when it comes to literature. I mean, we're talking about Cat and Bones here people! How can you not have read at least one book of Jeaniene Frost's . . . she's like an urban legend in adult paranormal romance and an author who gives you winner after winner with her books along with some unbelievably sexy and complicated vampires! And like with the infamous characters, Cat and Bones, I've also been a big fan of the character Vlad and ever since I found out the author was going to give us the full story on him - a whole book all to himself - I just couldn't resist reading it and Frost sure doesn't disappoint us!

Before meeting Vlad once more, in ONCE BURNED we are quickly introduced to the new and totally kickass heroine, Leila. As a teenager, she touched a downed power-line which had electrocuted her and as a result she woke up to find a nasty scar on her temple that ran straight down to her right hand. Only . . . that's not all she finds. In fact, when she touches someone or an object with that right hand, she can not only read a person's worst sins, see impressions of people in the past and/or future, and heck, even see which object belong to whom, but she can also send volts of electricity through people within a single touch and some can even be killed by it. Living with these dangerous abilities of hers, Leila cannot help but not live a normal life nor form any sort of intimate relationships with people, which then forces her to travel with a circus, performing as a sideshow act that puts her acrobat skills and her "looks" to good use. But when someone begins to notices her abilities and sees potential in them, Leila is kidnapped by a group of men - vampires no less! - and she soon crosses paths (accidentally of course) with the great and powerful vampire named Vlad Tepesh (the Dracula himself) who comes to her rescue but with a price in tow. The question is . . . will Leila be able to pay up?

This book totally rocked for me - everything from the action, the romance, the emotion, the despair and the raw intensity was nailed in every single shape and form in this book! Sure, it wasn't as EPIC as I found the Night Huntress series to be, but it still had just enough elements to get excited on this new adult paranormal series and I can't wait for the bloody next sequel! Like with all of Jeaniene Frost's books, ONCE BURNED starts off very strong and keeps up the pace until the very end, until we are left with our mouths wide open. In all honesty, the only thing that really affected my overall rating would be that I needed or rather wanted some of Vlad's own perspective in some of the chapters, even little ones. I do realize that Leila was the main character that we would be focusing on, but since this series is all about Vlad and as we get to see a completely new side to him, I just 'kind of' wanted to see inside his head for once, but I guess that's part of the mystery and the allure of him, right? Other than that, I simply loved this book!

What I also loved was Leila herself. She was such a great heroine. Personally, I like my heroines who are tough as nails in protecting themselves and have an attitude, while also having that small vulnerability about them which the love interest or those closest to those heroines end up bringing out to the main character as the book goes along. I just love those types of gals and Leila was so that from the start for me. Both sometimes-frustrating and sometimes-just-completely-adorable, Leila was someone whom had suffered from many terrible things in her teenage years - including having a not-so-great family life and not to mention possessing uncontrollable powers that continue to help in closing herself off from the world - and in the end I enjoyed seeing into that life of Leila's and learning how to become a great woman that she is destined to become.

Then of course there's the leading man himself, Vlad! Known for being the comic relief of the Night Huntress series (which we're all aware of from the previous series), fans will be quite surprised when they get to see a completely new side to Vlad in ONCE BURNED. Now unlike the Vlad we know him well for, he is pretty serious in this new series of his, especially when it comes to people wanting to kill him and his new love interest, Leila, whose chemistry is just off the hotness charts! Seriously . . .  it was! Some say they'd preferred the banter-throwing Vlad and missed him as that, but to me he's still there people cracking a few one-liners here and there, and truth be told I actually liked this serious Vlad. It just radiated his powerful vampireness and it only showed to us readers what lengths he is willing to go in order to protect himself and those he cares most about . . . after all he's supposed to be the Impaler himself! And as far as his romantic relationship goes, with none other than Leila, even though he stated that he doesn't and will never actually love someone as love was lost to him long ago, however whenever he is with Leila . . . it's fair to say that they are the perfect match and test each other on so many levels, and boy oh boy . . . do I love them together! They are so sweet and complicated! Vlad is your typical protective Alpha male character and Leila is your strong-willed woman who is used to closing herself off from others. Seriously . . . I want more from these two characters!

Overall, ONCE BURNED is yet another delicious vampire tale coming from one of my absolute favourite authors Jeaniene Frost! I still can't believe I have to wait until 2013 to see where else Vlad and Leila takes us to next! 2013?!?!?!

The Rating

4 1/2 / 5 stars

One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost

Release Date: 30th August, 2011

Publisher: Avon Books

Pages: 358pgs

The Story

The grave is one wrong step away.

Having narrowly averted an (under)world war, Cat Crawfield wants nothing more than a little downtime with her vampire husband, Bones. Unfortunately, her gift from New Orleans' voodoo queen just keeps on giving - leading to a personal favor that sends them into battle once again, this time against a villainous spirit.

Centuries ago, Heinrich Kramer was a witch hunter. Now, every All Hallows Eve, he takes physical form to torture innocent women before burning them alive. This year, however, a determined Cat and Bones must risk all to send him back to the other side of eternity - forever. But how do you kill a killer who's already long dead?

The Review

As a long-time and loyal fan of Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series, I was absolutely thrilled to hear she would be writing yet another Cat & Bones book! Now I don't usually read adult paranormal romance books but Frost is an exception because every time I pick up one of her books, I know straight away that I won't be disappointed and that I'll be always entertained - whether it's by the action scenes or the hilarious banter thrown between characters. While this book may not be the strongest point in the series, as I felt something was missing from this particular installment, however this adventure definitely had its great moments.

Without giving away the storyline, I have to say that this series would not be successful without their main characters and their supporting ones too. Without Cat and Bones, together as a couple, this book series would not work. The thing I love about Cat and Bones is that from the beginning of the series to the very point here in ONE GRAVE AT A TIME . . . we've seen them grow and overcome all sorts of struggles, and see them be stronger as a couple and also individually. So it's great to see them finally come together and kick some major ass. They're probably my favourite fictional couple ever which is saying something since it's not common to love a couple so much like I do with them. Then of course, one of the book's strongest elements is the supporting characters. Fans of this series will be glad to have appearances from Ian (missed you Ian!), Spade (Spade!!!!!), Denise (Denissssseeeee you're awesome in this book), and even meeting a few new and hilarious characters. And I'm talking about you Tyler. The only real downer for me was that there was no Vlad! How could you forget one of my favourite characters?!?! But since he's getting his own spin-off series, I will try to forgive and forget.

While we've seen a lot of villains in our time, but nothing can compare to the evil and perhaps the most disturbing villain of all - Kramer. He was really evil! The things he would do to women . . . well, no wonder why Cat was so angry about him. Now as for the love scenes - which Jeaniene Frost is famous for - between Cat and Bones, I can say to you all that you will be disappointed by this book if you expect more from those type of scenes. From what I can recall, there's only one love scene in the book and it was - for my taste - a little crazy than I'm used to and I wished it was set in a way more intimately. But nonetheless, ONE GRAVE AT A TIME is another great installment to my beloved Night Huntress series and I'm seriously looking forward to the next book Jeaniene Frost puts up . . . which I'm sure will involve a lot of high stakes and more Cat & Bones love that all readers love her for!

The Rating

4/5 stars

This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Release Day: February 22nd, 2011

Publisher: Avon

Pages: 357pgs

The Story

Danger Awaits On Both Sides Of The Grave.

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her vampire husband Bones have fought for their lives, as well as for their relationship. But just whe they've triumphed over the latest battle, Cat's new and unexpected abilities threaten to upset a long-standing balance...

With the mysterious disappearance of vampires, rumors abound that a species war is brewing. A zealot is inciting tensions between the vampires and ghouls, and if these two powerful groups clash, innocent mortals could become collateral damage. Now Cat and Bones are forced to seek help from a dangerous "ally" - the ghoul queen of New Orleans herself. But the price of her assistance may prove more treacherous than even the threat of a supernatural war...to say nothing of the repercussions Cat never imagined.

The Review

Jeaniene Frost does it YET again! I rarely read adult books unless they have some supernatural content in them and from the very moment I read the first Night Huntress book a few years back...I was hooked from beginning to end, making Frost one of my favourite authors of ALL TIME! She talented, witty, and with every book she brings out, the more I fall in love with these characters - especially my darlings, Cat and Bones. What a team these two make! I mean, have you ever bumped into a old friend and realize just how much you miss them? That's how I feel whenever I pick up these books!

All of the strong features of the Night Huntress series are still here in This Side of the Grave: there's great world building, sharp-wit humor, awesome action scenes, a very steamy love scene that Frost always writes so well, and all the while...you have the pleasurable company of your favourite supporting cast including Mencheres, Vlad (gosh I love that guy so much, mainly because he makes me laugh so much!!) and many others that could take forever to mention my love for them. The only thing that's different this time is the fact that Cat and Bones's relationship is much stronger than the relationship you read about in the previous four books. And what I appreciated most about this, is that Cat and Bones are no longer running away from each other and having someone or rather something tearing them apart! Instead, they're are fighting together as one, which makes them my favourite fictional couple!

Without being spoilery - cause that would really suck, I can definitely say that Jeaniene Frost will never disappoint you with her books. She. Is. A. Writer. Legend. From beginning to end of her Night Huntress series and of This Side of the Grave, I can say that you'll NEVER get bored and there's NEVER a dull moment. Twists and turns, action and passion...to say at the least, expect some exciting new discoveries with Cat's new powers, some touching moments between Cat and Bones that make you smile, and some hellish drama that you can't help but crave for more!

The Rating

5/5 stars