Real Vampires: The Complete Series

Gerry Bartlett first pulled me in YEARS ago while I was still working at Borders. I was shelving/alphabetizing/shopping while working in the Romance section. At this point in time -
1) I did NOT read Romance.
2) I did NOT read Series (except for Harry Potter!)
3) I did NOT read Paranormal.

Gerry's covers pulled me in. They were so bright, fun and playful. I remember buying the 3 we had on an whim. A whim that would would start me on my paranormal loving kick which would later turn into my ridiculous love of Romance. Gerry finally ended this series for her fans with the 11th in the series, 'Real Vampires Say Read My Hips.'  She ended it with incredible grace too. Before I get into the final page, let me give you a background on the series.

1) Real Vampires Have Curves

This is my FAVORITE cover of the
whole Series! <3 td="">

2) Real Vampires Live Large

3) Real Vampires Get Lucky

4) Real Vampires Don't Diet

5) Real Vampires Hate Their Thighs

6) Real Vampires Have More To Love

7) Real Vampires Don't Wear Size Six

8) Real Vampires Hate Skinny Jeans

9) Real Vampires Know Hips Happen

10) Real Vampires Know Size Matters

10.5) Real Vampires Take A Bite Out Of Christmas

11) Real Vampires Say Read My Hips

You get to meet Glory and the gang in the first book. Here's the blurb! 

'What - did you think all vamps were pale, thin and brooding?

Don't I wish.

Me, I just happened to be bloating when a sexy Scotsman sank his teeth into me, so here I am, eternally "full figured." On the plus side, Glory. St. Clair can rock a corset like nobody's business. Oh, and as for Angus Jeremiah Campbell III, aka Jeremy Blade? We've been on and off again for centuries, currently off. After a couple hundred years we sure know how to press each other's hot buttons - in good ways and bad. 

***Fun, right? Glory is a riot. She is currently living in Austin and running her very own vintage clothing store with a cat of fun and feisty paranormals. I shall introduce you to some. 

Blade. Geez. This Highlander is your typical "I am man - obey me Woman!" Except for the centuries under his belt. He turned his love, Glory when she was acting in Shakespeare's original works. He rocks a kilt better than NOBODY. His Da has always liked Glory, but his Ma is a different story. He has always loved her and protected her even when she pushed him away. Which leads me to...

Rafe. Rafe first appeared in book one as a Cheetos and Twinkie loving dog. He is a shifter who has been Glory's protector and the one who reports back to Blade. Somewhere along the line his relationship with Glory has blurred lines. There friendship stands the test of time, and Rafe is just the beginning of the men who are trying to have Glory stray from her sire. 

Israel Caine/Ray.Rock star. Subject of a shrine of Glory's well before he became one of the undead. This one is just TOO juicy to give away, and doesn't even get fully resolved until the end of book 11! 

Flo. and Richard. Flo is Glory's BFF and rich and flighty. A great match for a no nonsense Glory. Flo is married to a former priest, Richard who is Blade's best friend. 

Olympus. Glory finds her parents are Gods! She has brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents who can (and DO!) cause tons of trouble for this laid-back bloodsucker. 

N-V. This is Rafe's club. After he is relieved of Glory duty - he opens a club/bar for paranormals. Israel Caine frequently performs. 

Glory faces a lot in the 11 books and a novella: She finds she has a potential future daughter-in-law, weight loss guru's offering her to leave behind her size 12, being called a Blueberry, her lover having amnesia, kidnapped to Olympus, arranged marriages, Vampire hunters bombing her shop, turning her first vamp (and quickly regretting it!), demon possession and so much more! 

I haven't even begun to touch base on the Were's you met, the Gods, the Sirens, the fascinating things you learn about history and so much more. This series is chalk full of Romance, but that is so balanced with the suspense throughout every book. I loved that Gerry gave us fans the ending we all wanted, but it wasn't a book of fluff. Suspense up til the end. (Even getting to see a Blade/Ray face-off... I was giddy with excitement!) 

The book that started it ALL! 

A big FIVE STARS for the entire series. 

If you need a light series to pull you in, try the one that started my love of paranormal. 

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Burn For Me (A Hidden Legacy Novel)

Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn’t sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she’s kidnapped by Connor “Mad” Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan’s after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she’s getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world.

***We received this book in exchange for an honest review***


Piercing thoughts about Adam?
Catherine: Adam. "Rich. Adam Pierce was rolling in money. This morning when I saw him on TV he was wearing a designer jacket and posing against a bike that looked like something out of a science fiction movie and probably cost a lot more than my car." Evil? Sure! Crazy? Yep! Still, I was in lust. Haha. His cocky self had me thinking the story would turn down a different street. I know, I know - he is the villain. But, I'll be damned if Andrews doesn't write an amazingly sexy bad guy. And then you have your heroine who is contracted to bring this hunk in UNHARMED. She may not physically harm him, but his ego is in for a bruising with this feisty lady. 

"You bought me a T-shirt?" He raised one eyebrow. 

Every nerve in my body was shivering with tension. Steady. "You keep forgetting to put one on, so I thought I'd bring you one. Since we're having a serious discussion."

He leaned forward, his beautiful face framed by soft hair. "Do you find my chest distracting?

"Yes. Every time I see that panther with horns, it makes me laugh."

If I could ask the authors ONE question about Adam, it would be - If he were to write Nevada a sonnet to get to fall in love (for the benefit of touching her!) what would it sound like. 

Kristyn: When I first started this book, I knew nothing of it except that it was the amazing Ilona andrews. I didn't read the description or anything. So at first I thought maybe this will be the love interest. At first, I could see it. He was cocky, funny, charming, and sexy. He was also very damaged.

"Love is control. People say they love you when they want to run your life. They wedge and pound you into a shape they find comfortable, and when you try to escape, they hog-tie you with guilt.My family figured it out years ago.  We've been marrying and breeding for profit for over a century.  No love involved."

I honestly felt for him.  He clearly grew up in a place where he was not loved, and did not know what love was. At first I kind of hoped Nevada was going to be the one to show him.. The more I read, the crazier he became and the less I liked him.   

 “I opened a writing app and began typing what I knew about Pierce.
Vain. Terminal fear of T-shirts or any other garment that would cover his pectorals.
Deadly. Doesn't hesitate to kill. Holding him at gunpoint would result in me being barbecued. Whee.
Likes burning things. Now here's an understatement. Good information to have, but not useful for finding him.
Antigovernment. Neither here nor there.
Hmm. So far my best plan would be to build a mountain of gasoline cans and explosives, stick a Property of US Government sign on it, and throw a T-shirt over Pierce's head when he showed up to explode it. Yes, this would totally work.”

 
 

Mad about Rogan?
Catherine: I bet any woman with a pulse, to not fall hard for the badass that is Mad Rogan. The tension could be cut with a knife. And the relationship that formed between him and Nevada was nothing short of comical. Rogan is a Prime with top notch powers partners with Nevada for the greater good of bringing Adam in. Dangerous, no regard for human life are just a few things that Nevada associates with Rogan, and yet she finds herself seeking his help. (And dreaming about him in less than professional situations!) 

 “He glanced at me, his eyes dark. "Would you rather talk about your dream?"
"No."
"Considering that I was featured in it, I think I deserve to know the particulars. Were my clothes missing because we were in bed? Was I touching you?" He glanced at me. His voice could've melted the clothes off my body. "Were you touching me?”

He doesn't hide his attraction to Nevada and that is the most entertaining thing since it obviously makes her so damn uncomfortable. 

"So the best way to fight you is to strip naked and attack?"

His eyes flashed with a wicked light. "Yes. You should try it and see what happens."

He almost has a robotic feel to his approach to situations that are emotion filled. He approaches relationships and problems so logically it is humorous. 

"We should have sex."

I must have misheard. "I'm sorry, what?"

Kristyn: I have come to the conclusion that I love narcissistic, controlling, sexy, but kind of funny men. I am very picky about my book boyfriends.  I dont just call anyone that.  I can actually count on one hand the guys in books that I love and I LOVE Mad Rogan!  I agree completely with what Catherine says.  Throughout this book, I kept finding myself begging for Nevada to just give in already!  

 “He would have sex the way other men made war.”

Nevada though has issues.  She really doesn't like or trust primes at all.  I'm not sure what gives her this deep rooted prejudice but she turns him down over and over believing that primes are entirely selfish, power hungry, greedy people.  She believes that if she were to give in and maybe actually start to fall for him, it will lead to heart break later.  Because in her eyes, she would just be a fling, something non permanent because there is no way a prime would ever stay with someone like her, and that he would one day leave her to marry someone with a lot more power to ensure the future of his next generation is maybe even more powerful than Rogan himself.  But, I think the whole not falling for Rogan may be impossible for her, no matter how much she tries.  I love their witty banter the most. I love their witty banter and I love that fact that she was terrified of him at first, she still did things like this...

“You seem to be under the impression that I work for you and you can give me orders. Let me fix that." I hung up.”

The more they work together, the more I love seeing them work together.

 “One school of thought says that the best way to handle an issue like this is exposure therapy," Mad Rogan said. "For example, if you're terrified of snakes, repeated handling of them will cure it."
Aha. "I'm not handling your snake.” 

What kind of magic would you want? 

Catherine: I am really not sure. I know that I would NOT want to be a truthseeker. While it has it's benefits, I don't want to be able to always know what is the truth. Fire? HELL NO. I would burn myself. But, the ability to throw stuff would be AWESOME! 

Kristyn: I honestly do not know. It seems like the kind of powers Rogan has is scary.  He can lose himself in them and not know who is around him and capable of hurting anyone.  Definitely not fire and being a truth seeker is scary.

Penny for your thoughts on Nevada?
Catherine: Nevada is such a complex character. She fights all emotion and hides her talents. She holds all this responsibility for her family that it breaks my heart. While she is incredibly close to her family, she shelters so much from everyone. Rogan somehow breaks the walls. She shows such bravery (laced with LOTS of sass and snark) while dealing with Rogan - she just had so many layers. 

"Sure, let me get right on that." Hey, my voice still worked. "Should I bring my own chains this time? Or do you have bigger plans, and is this some sort of freaky murder foreplay"-why did the word foreplay just come out of my mouth - "and I'll end up cut up into small pieces inside some freezer at the end? I can just spray myself with mace and shoot myself in the head now and save you the trouble."

"Are you done?" he asked.

"Just getting started." I was so brave over the phone. 

Kristyn:  Nevada is a strong willed person who is trying and struggling to keep her family afloat.  Since her father passed away, she became the "man" of the family, so to speak.  Everything she does is for them.  She is incredibly strong emotionally to be able to handle the things that come her way.  She's closed off and doesn't seem to have a personal life at all.  No friends and no love interests.  Everything is for the greater good of the family.  Both her mom and grandmother were decorated soldiers, so its no wonder Nevada turned out such a strong woman. 

Favorite supporting character?
Catherine: Hands down - Nevada's Grandma. Epic character. And her need for pictures of the hotties in her granddaughter's life tells me that she and I would be BEST FRIENDS. 

Kristyn:  I LOVE her grandma.  She is hilarious but at the same time, a very incredibly wise woman. 
I also really liked Leon.   

 “You're Mad Rogan!" Leon burst out.
"Yes," Mad Rogan said, his voice calm.
"And you can break cities?"
"Yes."
"And you have all this money and magic?"
"Yes."
Where was Leon going with this?
My cousin blinked. "And you look . . . like that?"
Mad Rogan nodded. "Yes."
Leon's dark eyes went wide. He looked at Mad Rogan, then glanced back at himself. At fifteen, Leon weighed barely a hundred pounds. His arms and legs were like chopsticks.
"There is no justice in the world!" Leon announced.”

 



Lines you won't likely soon forget?

Catherine: I am just going with ONE. 

"Fine," he said. "You had no idea it could be this good. Nobody in your past was ever that good and you know that nobody in your future will ever be this good. You've had a taste and you want more. You want sex. Dirty, naked, hot sex. It's floating through your head as we speak. You think you can imagine what it would be like. Trust me, you have no idea. I haven't even started. So run from it, think it over, pretend it didn't happen, it doesn't matter. I'll allow it for now. The more you fight, the more irresistible it will become, until one day I'll motion with my hand and you'll come running."

Kristyn:  I second that!! that line was EPIC!!

Final thoughts?

Catherine: This was SO much more than a romance. I loved all the details about this world. The history behind the Houses was so intriguing. I loved learning all about Primes and the different jobs that were tied to each type of magic. Nevada's family was so much fun to get to know. I am incredibly eager for the next book in this series. The mystery and the chase held my attention for the entire book. The tension caused me to keep the fan on. Kristyn told me that Rogan was Book Boyfriend worthy - and she wasn't wrong. That  man will show up in my dreams for months to come. I am sure of it! 

Kristyn:  This book was beyond amazing!  It gave me a book hangover for three weeks!  I loved the characters, I loved Mad Rogan especially.  It wasn't just the character that I loved.  It was the world.  Only Ilona Andrews can create these worlds that you just fall in.  So imaginative and real.   Once you fall in, You want to stay there for ever.

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The Mark of the Tala

"The tales tell of three sisters, daughters of the High King. The eldest: a valiant warrior-woman, heir to the kingdom. The youngest: the sweet beauty with her Prince Charming. No one says much about the middle princess, Andromeda. Andi, the other one. Andi doesn't mind being invisible. She enjoys the company of her horse more than court, and she has a way of blending into the shadows. Until the say she meets a strange man while out riding. A man who keeps company with wolves and ravens, who rules a land of shapeshifters and demons. A land she'd thought was no more than legend - until he claims her as its queen."
I came upon the wonderful Jeffe Kennedy through her friend (and fellow ROCKIN' author) Darynda Jones. Jeffe sent me an ARC of this book, and I started to read it on my way to RT Booklovers Convention. I was sucked into the story immediately with the first sentence. Something about the way she penned this story, it just oozed mystery filled fantasy. Instantly, I needed to know more about the story. You are introduced to 3 sisters who couldn't be more different from one another. This book is told from Andromeda, the middle sister. Better known as Andi, she desires to be away from the day to day politics of being a princess. She does not desire marriage like her younger sister, Amelia or does she desire to be the heir of the throne like her older sister Ursula. While there are traits within both of her sisters that she envies, she is content with her horse and riding beyond where she was allowed. 

Andi's mischievous ways lead her right into the arms of Rayfe. "Tala are drawn to one another in the outside world, I understand like a kind of deep, irresistible attraction." She smiled then, as the blush heated my cheeks. "Ah, yes - you felt it with my son. That's all to the good. You two will have enough to face together. You deserve to at least enjoy each other." Rayfe knew his place and his purpose at a young age. Their connection was instant. The pull towards one another was too strong; even for a stubborn, hard-headed princess of the High King. The blooming, and sometimes awkward, romance between these two is Hot with a capital H. And while that was an incredible part of the story, I couldn't help but put the "LOVE" on the back burner for the world that Jeffe created in this story. I want to walk barefoot through the grass in Annfwn and ride Fiona alongside the beaches. I found myself jealous of Dafne and all the scrolls and hidden texts she had access to. Jeffe created a world so vivid that I desired to learn all the history of the Twelve Kingdoms and Tala. I found myself re-reading the informational portions just to ensure that I absorbed every last word.
If I could pick a favorite thing about the story, it would be the broad range of readers it could reach. (This also lead to a problem of categorizing the book) This book set in a FANTASY world with a strong REGENCY presence with the kings and my ladies. Add a dash of PARANORMAL with the Tala, some MYSTERY of the 5 W's and top it off with a little ROMANCE and you have a book that doesn't fall under one heading. With the turn of every page, I wasn't sure what I was getting.
I adored the snarky banter between Andi & Rayfe. It lead to several dog-eared pages (SORRY, Jeffe... I know that is unforgivable) and a lot of highlighting... which wouldn't be a bad thing - except I was not reading an e-book. Since I don't write spoiler reviews, I will leave you with this before I share my favorite quotes of the book:
I felt different after reading this book. The lines of my imagination were tested, and I LOVED IT. Jeffe writes with a paintbrush of a talented artist. Her words are filled with beauty and pain all at the same time. I found that this story was so well written, that even the simplest line, "And there was Rayfe. Waiting for me," overflowed with emotion. You could feel what she was feeling as she wrote the words. It was an amazing feeling to be so tuned into the author just by reading her words. Now for my quotes!!! 

"You can't just waltz into Ordnung, Rayfe!"
"You don't say." He grinned at me, but stern resolve was carried under the words. "Besides, a waltz is too circular. I prefer a more direct approach."

"I fly over the walls, meet up with Rayfe. He sends the prisoners back. And I - I guess I marry him and go back to his castle or his tree house in the wild forests of Annfwn or whatever. Happily ever after."

He kissed me, slow and tender, and dropped his forehead against mine. "This may hurt."
"I ride a lot of horses," I whispered. 

"Thank you. It comes as a comfort to me that you wish me warm."
"I wish far more than that for you, my wife, but this will do for a start."
"I'm not your wife yet."
"Then we shall remedy that immediately."

I craved for more about Amelia and Ursula, and almost squealed with joy with I read that the second in the trilogy would be Amelia's story. I feel each sister has a part to tell in a larger story that has not fully been revealed and I cannot wait to have the big picture revealed to me. Thank you Jeffe for this INCREDIBLE book, and for being such a sweet person! 

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My Familiar Stranger - Victoria Danann

WHAT IF YOU SUDDENLY LOST EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE YOU KNEW? In a matter of minutes Elora Laiken lost everything familiar. She escaped assassination by being forced into an experimental device that left her broken, physically and emotionally, in another world. She woke up to find modern day knights, elves, vampires, werewolves, witches, demons and fae. This is the story of how they became her allies, friends, and family. 

I'm trying to think of a way to describe this book to where it makes sense. I read this book because someone somewhere decided to do a mashup competition between hot book guys. A character from this series went up against Jericho Barrons from Karen Marie Moning's fever series. The guy was winning! Who can even compete with my sexy as hell Barrons? So I downloaded it and it sat in my kindle library for months. I finally started it and I was hooked. I have to say that the men are all hot but they didn't make the Barrons cut.

This book was strange and confusing at first. Elora came from another dimension and literally fell in the middle of a military type base where the people study paranormal phenomena and hunt vampire. I don't think either dimension is supposed to be our dimension. Very similar to both but not the same.  There are some things that exist in both worlds and some things that only exist in one and some things that don't and do exist in our world. It took a minute to get acclimated. She was unrecognizable as human. She was hurt and dying. In come the Black Swan Knights. Uber hot and sexy guys who are the elite of the elite. There is Storm who quickly becomes her savior and close friend who wants to be more. Cam, the elf and ladies man with the vulgar mouth who from the moment he sees her knows she is meant to be his mate. Kay, the berserker and seemingly only man not in love with her. Throw in an older than dirt vampire, turned informant who also writes vampire romance novels under a different name and you have a very eclectic and wonderfully interesting set of characters. 

I love the way this author wrote more than anything. She has a way of writing as if the book is from all points of views. There are even moments to where you know what the dog is thinking and feeling. I don't think I have ever read a book that does this. You know the main character is Elora but you are told how everyone else feels without switching off of her as the focus. The best way I can describe is that the book reads as if someone were telling a story. Like there should be a narrator behind the scenes. I even imagine a voice.

This book was captivating and very very interesting. It introduced this world and these amazing characters that you can't help but root for all of them. It was a different look into vampires that I have not seen before. I loved every guy and wished she didn't have to choose. I really enjoyed this book and give it a 4 stars.

And of course, some quotes...

"Being short on actual relationship experience, neither understood that every woman had a medusa side."

"He thought that if he was writing this scene in one of his novels, he would say that she brought a warmth to the room that made the fire want to die of shame."

"He's the sex version of fast food drive-through. It looks so good. It smells so good. It tastes so good. And you can get it quick. But, afterward you feel yucky and sorry you did it."

"She killed him with a toothpick that she grabbed out of some fellow's mouth as she ran by. Did you know that?"

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