Herewith I want to wish you all in the digi-world Happy Holidays. I hope you can spend it with those you love, cherish and hold close to heart. Every day you can spend with them is a blessing and I hope 2011 will bring you all the joy in the world!



Mass Market Paperback; 352 pages
Publisher: Zebra Books (September 6, 2010)
ISBN-10: 1420109871
ISBN-13: 9781420109870
Genre: Anthology; Horror; Paranormal; Short Story
Main Characters: Derek & Maggie
For Sale At: The Book Depository

SUMMARY
New Orleans native Dr. Maggie Dillon thought she left her past behind her - until she's enraptured by a handsome patient who has been possessed by a malevolent spirit. To find a cure, Colby revisits her magical roots - and unleashes a primal lust too vital to ignore...

REVIEW
Musician Derek, finds himself on the mental ward of a hospital after being possessed by a ghost on the verge of getting his revenge. In an act of despair he tries to get rid of this ghost who is trying to take over his body in the only way he knows how and that is to take his own life. However, Chief Resident Maggie Dillon is his tending physician and their instant attraction might be the one thing left to safe him.

I had no idea what to expect from this author as this anthology in Nocturnal was the first story I’ve read by her hand, but I was pleasantly surprised by the original and intriguing read. As a firm believer of ghost-possession, this book held an extra suspense factor in the plotline, especially as it was written in the first person. Through Maggie’s eyes you could see the possession take over and I got goose bumps in the process each time it occurred.

It’s quite difficult to get a grip on and feel for the main characters in Anthology stories because they are quite short reads. But for me the way it played out in My Soul To Take, worked well . The connection between the two leading characters was solid and real. Emotions were as well worked-out as can be expected from an Anthology-story. Both characters had a soft side to them, and the dreamy character of a musician mixed well with the practical and down to earth side of a physician, both not Alpha, both not Beta but both a unique addition to each other, just as it often is in real life. It gave it an extra plus for me.

I absolutely adored the fact a Voodoo Priestess from New Orleans, was helping out on the exorcism. The feel of the ritual and how it was set up was amazingly done, in both horrifying and cleansing way.

For me this Anthology is definitely a reason to pick up another book by Clare Willis.

4 Stars

Hardback 312 pages - Stand Alone - Paranormal Suspense

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
ISBN-10: 0-312-38471-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-38471-5
Release date: June 8, 2010
Main Characters: Adam Garrett & Tanish Cabarrus
HC copy received for reviewing
Purchase at: The Book Depository Store

SUMMARY
The discovery in a landfill of the mutilated corpse of Erin Carmody, the 18-year-old daughter of a prominent Boston businessman, presents homicide detective Adam Garrett with a particularly sensitive case. Marks on the body suggest the killer was conducting Satanic rituals. When Adam and his partner, Carl Landauer, question the prime suspect, Jason Moncrief, a college friend of Erin's, Jason chants the name of the demon Choronzon, then assaults Carl. Despite what appears to be an open-and-shut case, Adam can't discount the claim that Jason is innocent made by Tanith Cabarrus, an attractive witch who comes to police headquarters to report that she dreamed of other murders—and who believes that supernatural forces are behind the slaughter.

REVIEW
Fact meets fiction in this enticingly thrilling story. This turned out such a well written story with an exquisite eye for detail, where Alexandra Sokoloff takes the reader into the crime scene and murder investigation after a body has turned up headless and handless at a city landfill. It captivated me from the first written word and didn’t let go, not even after I had read the final page and closed the book.

It showed a great background research in the paranormal plot and murder scene investigation, keeping it so close to the real deal. As I am quite familiar with the paranormal workings, the suspense factor of the major plotline on who the perpetrator was all the more thrilling that it might have been to others. However even for none-believers the built up of the storylines are fantastic and it is definitely a page turner till the end.

Adam Garrett- with his black irish eyes and hair and temper, hard-muscled, impatient, edgy;
is not a strictly go by the rule cop but likes to keep his feet firmly down-to-earth and grounded. However when a girl turns up at his desk, claiming a few weeks ago she dreamed about the murder he is currently investigating, and that they had the wrong boy in custody, he quickly finds himself needing to deal with the paranormal, and though he is just not a believer he seems to be attracted towards believing her and seeking her advice. He has to set his mind open to the – up to them for him impossible – and finds that this case would change his outlook on life as a whole new world seems to open up with a range of possible suspects.

Tanith Cabarrus - a witch who dreamed gruesome things and trying her best to get her voice heard within the police department, finally might be able to get a foot in. Mysterious and otherworldly tuned, she attracts the attention of Adam Garrett, hoping she could get through to him while doing her utmost to solve the murder case and freeing the person she knows was not involved in this murder.

Carl Landauer - chain-smoking, whisky-drinking, donut-eating, a living, breathing amalgam of every cop cliché known to man: middle-aged spread, broad sweating face, and bawdy, cynical humor - a lifer who used the caricature as a disguise. You just got to love him, he is Adam’s partner and has a smaller part to this story as the plotlines are following more Adam’s life but Land is the solid cop with humorous remarks taking the edge off the edgy in this story.

Quote upon finding certain satanic marks on the body of the murder victim:
“What the fuck is that? The Devil Lite? Satan can't count?"

For those who expect romantic suspense, there is no undying romantic love, but a fast-paced passionate and sensual fling between two human beings. Very raw and basic but complementing the overall story-arc. I admire Ms. Sokoloff for keeping it on that level, because the built up of plotlines and characters didn’t require anything more than what was given away.

Because the story-built and everything going on in between the written lines was so intense, this was not a light read. When reading a novel like this, that took hold of me and grabbed me so that it kept my mind busy outside reading hours as well, it classifies as a prime-read on my shelves, and one that most definitely will be re-read in the future.

There is a rawness in the satanic side of the paranormal way of living, making the evil in this novel very evil. Up unto the very last scene question marks on who was the villain invoking these energies was unrevealed, and the climactic ending tied all the loose ends together making it a tight fit.

This is my first book by Alexandra Sokoloff but definitely not the last!!!

4,5 stars

 LONGING WHISPER
A whisper on the wind I caught
A gentle swirl, a caressing breeze
It silently tells about a secret love
As I see the dancing leaves

Teasing my soul and warming my heart
I feel my other half
Giving me reason to believe and to long
While my gaze wanders off

Looking afar in hungering knowlegde
Knowing he's not far from here
Whispering back in the flowing wind
To let him know I'm near

The full moon will light the rest of the way
Making the path towards me clear
So I'll sit back awaiting impatiently
For welcoming he, whom I hold dear

Once I know, we will be united
For we both know we really long
To love, to touch, to finally be
As we once were, to be one 

I know there is this big thing about whether or not it's 'ok' to do coversongs of classic numbers for bands these days, and to be honest they usually are the underdog to the original, but sometimes you come across a song sang a lot better than the original.


Now a song called 'Total eclipse of the heart' by Bonnie Tyler I used to love already, I bought her cd and everything, so we're cool on the fact she made a great song.

But years later this song was covered by an Irish boyband called Westlife and now even after hearing it a lot of times (I think it was released somewhere around 2006) it's still on the cd I keep remixing for in my car, and giving me goosebumps and on occassion a tear to my eyes.




You can listen to it here:

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Book 1 in the Shadow Keepers series
ISBN-10: 0-4402-4577-X / ISBN-13: 978-0-4402-4577-3
Releasedate: August 2010
Publisher: Bantam
Format Owned: Bound Gally
Main Characters: Sara Constantine & Lucius Dragos
For Sale At: Book Depository Store

Synopsis:
Attorney Sara Constantine is thrilled with her promotion - until she finds out that she must now prosecute vampires and werewolves. The first defendant she'll be trying to put away? Lucius Dragos, the sexy stranger with whom she recently shared an explosive night of ecstasy.

When Lucius kisses a beautiful woman sitting next to him at the bar, he's hoping only to avoid the perceptive gaze of the man he's planning to kill. But what starts as a simple kiss ignites into an all-consuming passion. Charged with murder, Luke knows that Sara is determined to see him locked away - unless he can convince her that he's not a monster. And that might mean making the ultimate sacrifice.

REVIEW
The Paranormal Romance genre is going into a new direction and JK Beck is one of the leading ladies in doing so. Combine the booming Paranormal Romance Novels with the popularity of police law enforcement series on TV and you find a mixture that thrills the reader with suspense and love.

This was what first came to mind when I closed this book after reading it. I was a bit ‘warrior-band-of-brother-exhausted’ and JK Beck has blown new life into my love for reading about vampire’s, werewolves, demons and everything not so common to the human world.

At first it took me some getting used to the pace, world build up, and where this story was taking me, but once I went way down under and got settled into division 6 – PEC (Preternatural Enforcement Coalition), a whole new world of Paranormal Investigation’s, DA’s and their own Judicial System opened up to me, making my heartbeat rise and my longing to read on grow with each page I turned.

Straight away we’re thrown into a murder scene, which on the surface seems a slam-dunk arrest, but turns out to be a lot more complicated that it was at face-value.

Sara is a prosecutor and after her promotion is thrown into the paranormal world, she’s an honest woman, seeking out justice and not feeling ruled with the fact she had to prosecute someone for a crime they might have done according to the evidence on the surface. I found it a bit difficult to connect with her as a character at the start, but as the story progresses I felt she opened up more and more.

Lucius is a centuries old vampire, and within this series, vampire’s struggle with their inner daemon who is seeking blood/souls to feed of and have a craving need for violence. When I came across him the first time he didn’t come across as a straight forward villain to me, more like a rogue out loose in the paranormal world, with a big sense of responsibility, but not feeling sorry for the things he has to do (as an assassin for the Alliance), which aren’t quite so legal or by the book. What I found so great about him was that he didn’t apologize for it. It was either accept him for who he is, flaws and all, or don’t accept him and have it that way, but either way was fine with him. I absolutely loved that!

The love for each other was a built up from a one night stand and like an instant thing, and I would have loved to have seen more pages used for their actual love-relationship but there are only so much pages in a novel to write up. Throughout their encounters it is clear that there is more than just passion for each other so it was a believable development within this story.

Both Sara and Luke are brought into this story with baggage from the past to solve or lay to rest, making them characters that grow along in this story and in their encounters. Their past however, do make cause for obstacles and these could have gone awry leading their own life within the story, but JK Beck knows how to handle it and guide it into a great plotline.

Throughout this first installment in the Shadow Keepers series, quite a few secondary characters come to pass, all complex with a variety of paranormal powers, and I sincerely hope that in the next installments these characters will get a part as well or even their own story. The world build up was really well done, as well. It took some time getting into it, as it is very different from what I was used to reading, but once a bit more settled into the terminology and way of life, it all falls into place. It is definitely a world I want to continue reading about!

Some of the plotlines were predictable, but I didn’t see the major plotline coming, making this read a thrilling one until the end. Towards the end all small and big plotlines were completed leaving me satisfied as a reader. Though there was a point where I got a bit uncomfortable with reading on, which might be a break-point for some readers, I thought it great of JK Beck to not avoid this and use it in her story as it did have a purpose to things IMHO.

Quote of one of my favorite characters in this novel-Tucker-I just love his humor:
She peered at his shield and ID, then met his eyes, her own filled with confusion. "Homeland Security?"
She stared him down. "Are you shitting me?"
"No, ma’am," Tucker said. "We at Homeland Security do not have a sense of humor of which we’re aware."

This is definitely a strong, compelling and intriguing start of a new series, and I for one am looking forward to being taken back to the PEC and their paranormal investigations!

4 stars

Ok I had such big planns for this summerholiday, blogwise and elsewise but worries about my cats had my panties in a twist and focus on other things. Where to start....

In July 2007 I moved to the home where I still reside today, and catlover I am I ofcourse had to take a few feline companions, so when someone I knew had a litter of tiny little kittens I went to have a looksee and found myself the new owner of two adorable alpha cats and named them Ash and Simi (for you booklovers of the PRN genre aha yea indeed named after two main characters in Ms. Kenyon's Dark Hunters). It was love at first sight with the both of them. See for yourself they were gorgeous!!!





You see aren't they just adorable! So you can imagine that now three years later, they are my heart, my soul and my life! In my childhood, we had plenty of cats, but most of them didn't make it past 4 years due to urinary diseases. When my holiday started, the first week was planned for doing my garden. My dad and brother were going to stay with me for a few days to put up a fence so finally my cats could go outside in the yard without me needing to worry for their safety. (we have a cat-hater in the area, leaving around meatballs with poison in them, 10 cats have died so far)

On Saturday July 31st I brushed Ash in the morning as he is still changing his coat and losing a lot of hair, I like to help them along nothing wrong. He was content and after his brushing session with lots of cuddles and love he fell asleep like a king in his kingdom. He slept for like 2 or 3 hours and when he got up his frontpaw was twice the size compared to normally so my eyes did the cartoon thing and my heart skipped a beat. Now the internet is great for seeking information and looking things up, but when you try to figure out what could be wrong you find the most cruesome stories so after five minutes of research I knew enough! I phoned the vet to see which one was on duty (they are not open in weekends normally). Thank God my own vet was on call so I have to say, it's that I didn't have any sirens and lights on my car to flash like an ambulance otherwise I would have rushed him over them at warpspeed, but now I had to drive up 20 minutes anxiously and worried out of my mind what was wrong. He was doing this sickly miauwing and OMG tears struck my eyes because I just cannot see a cat suffor in pain. Ýou just cannot explain to them, that you are on your way to help them. All they see and feel is that they are in pain and in a dreadful car and that their owner is not ok on top of all!

At the vet when I took him out of his transport-box his paw was nearly thrice the size and the look in his eyes was filled with pain. The vet checked him out, gave him a painkiller- and antibiotica shot and gave me a weeks course of antibiotica tablets three times a day one tablet. He had what they call a fighters-paw. Now I had never heard of it before but it's usually when cats fight and they get bitten in their paw, it get's inflamed and that spreads quickly in the rest of their immune system.

BUT MY CATS DON'T FIGHT AT ALL!!!! I was thinking about it and my mum came up with the idea that, because they only live inside, there probably was a sharp little stone in their litterbox where he stood in which got infected. The vet confirmed that that might do the trick as well. But with the two shots and heavy antibiotics his paw should go back to it's normal size within a day or two, if not I had to go back in. He said that it was a bad case, even with a broken leg it wouldn't be this swollen.

Thankfully after nearly two days the swelling was gone and all went back to normal, finished the course of antibiotics and he was perfectly ok. So that was one less worry, my fence was up in the yard and my holiday could finally begin...



However scare number two came around very quickly.....

Last Saturday (what is it with these Saturdays!!!!) August 14 I went to spent a day up at my parents place, brought my dog along, the cats where their happy selves, had enough food and drink to get them through at least a day, litterboxes were cleaned out so they were in heaven so to speak. However when I came at home in the evening neither Ash nor Simi was at the door. They recognise the sound of the car, and they are just like dogs, they come from wherever they are to greet me when I come home, but they were nowhere to be found.

Because this was so very odd, and they didn't respond when I called out their names I went on the look-out and noticed they hadn't touched their food and didn't drink a lot either. When I came upstairs they were both laying on the bed and appeared to be a bit flueish. Luckily I had some syringes in the house so I went to give them something to drink by hand and that got them going again for a bit. Repeated that a few times over the next 3 hours and they seemed to be coming around again so I thought maybe one of those one-day flues, we all have them sometimes, and cats and dogs as well, the next morning however I found they had diarrhoea. I phoned the vet and they told me to put them on rice and cooked chicken for a day, the day after should be fine, however they didn't eat it at all and control freak I am I wanted them to drink so I went to give them water through the syringe again every hour, hour and a half but they slept the whole time and didn't want to eat.

Monday morning Simi was nearly none-responsive and Ash appeared to be very ill as well I didn't doubt a moment, put them in the transportbox up to the vet again, whom  said they were really very ill. Cecked them out, took his time for it as well, gave them both two injections, one antibiotics and one to give them an appetite so they would get the impuls to eat. And again a set of antibiotica course. In that day and a half Simi almost lost 3 pounds of bodyweight and was worst off out of the both of them. They had major bowel infections and we have no idea where they got it from. On top of that, they were emanciated and if I hadn't given them the water by hand they would have to be hospitalized. The vet told me to give them two syringes of water each hour to both of them all day long untill they would drink by themselves. And give them the special food to get their bowel going again. I took them up to this morning to start drinking on their own and finally they took their first few bites of eating as well.

There is nothing as worse for pet-owners in my opinion, than when you pet is sick. I had three sleepless nights but as long as my pets are going to be ok again it's been well worth it!!! But by goodness I had such a fright.

Hopefully their back to their own playful selves again wreaking havoc and eating like tasmanian devils!

Trade Paperback; 320 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group (May 27, 2010)
ISBN-10: 190741021X
ISBN-13: 9781907410215
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy
Book: Book one in the Chronicles of Nick series
Main Characters: Nick Gautier
On sale at: The Book Depository

SUMMARY
At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough, and savvy, Nick and his quick sarcasm are the stuff of legend... until the night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity.

Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil covering a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead. But before Nick can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh-eating zombies. And he's next on the menu.

As if starting high school isn't hard enough... now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chain saw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that?

REVIEW
It's been a while since I last read a novel by the hand of Ms. Kenyon, in all honesty I found that the Dark Hunter/Were Hunter/Dream Hunter world became a bit complex and due to said complexity, I lost interest because the last few novels were not up to standard and didn't hold it's quality I'm used to. So when I heard about the Chronicles of Nick I won't repeat my train of thoughts about it, because it's best not be repeated. However my sister got her hands on the novel and told me that I might actually enjoy it. So she brought it over for me to borrow and after I read the first 3 pages I was hooked onto it and finished reading it in a flash.

As it's a young adult, and Nick is a young adult himself, the problems he faces are a bit more basic bound and teenage material, but Sherrilyn is comfortable in her writing and able to put his pre-adult years to paper in a convincing and enjoyable way. Some of his feelings are described a bit adult-like in my opinion, but it can be rationally explained, due to the fact that he grew up between strippers and an adult style of life facing mature problems.

I absolutely loved the fact we were brought back to New Orleans, which in my opinion is the homebase of the Dark Hunters and has a certain feel to the world-build-up due to all it's lore. I felt later on in the series I actually started missing New Orleans, so this series makes up for that! Old characters come to pass in their previous way of life, Kyrian still being a Dark Hunter, Acheron, Simi, Tabitha and other squires come to pass in their unique way of being. It was something that really added to the reading experience, and I think that is what makes it an interesting and fun read for those not really into Young Adult-series.

The topic of Zombies is not one of my favourite reads but the combination of Zombies with teens made it work. It's a fast-paced, entertaining read where things once more twist and turn around in the Dark Hunter world as we know it, but as far as I can tell at this stage I think these changes are for the better instead of the worse! Some storylines in this novel seem to not add up to the series as we know it, but again towards the end of this particular read it all is set up really well and all falls into place, so if you come across a few anomalities, don't worry keep reading and be surprised!

I think the 'ick' factor works really well for young adults, there were times where I as an adult thought: “oh no, so way gross!!!” I could have done without it, and it being described a bit less icky but I forgave that because I knew it's a YA-series. I absolutely adored Bubba and Mark and their 'zombie-hunting' ways. They were compelling and funny to read about.

There lingers a misconception that the Chronicles of Nick are a prequal to the Dark Hunter Series, I think it's not. It's interwoven into the series and some plotlines are changing and explained as such in between the lines, so therefor I think that, if you are unfamiliar to the Dark Hunter world, it might not be wise to start reading this novel, and on the other hand, it can be read as a new starting series because these are written as Chronicles. So the unexplained might be left open till it's explained in a later novel.

Nick as a character in the Dark Hunter novels never stood out to me, but he actually scored some positive points in this novel and I'm looking forward to reading on in this series. It was great to see his witty sarcasm and I'm truly hoping these chronicles will progress in the way I'm thinking it will, because if it does, I think it will be a climactic change in the Dark Hunter world. But let's not get too carried away and see where the second novel in this series will lead us, this one left us with quite a great ending, which I'm curious to see how it will be picked up in the next installment.

4 Stars

__________________________________________________________________________________
Crave the Night by Natascha (formerly known as: Ashleagh )

This is a story based upon the Dark Hunter series written by Sherrilyn Kenyon with Acheron Parthenopaeus as main hero. The other Dark Hunters as well as affiliated characters might show up as the story writes out.
Because this story is a Fanfiction which came from my own imagination whilst reading on in this series, note that it is in no way affiliated to Sherrilyn Kenyon. Please be warned again, that this might show spoilers to the actual series but it can also follow a different path to the storylines.

This FanFic as it's written is copyright protected to Natascha apart from the pieces taken from the series as well as the characters and series idea, those are registered adn copyright protected by Sherrilyn Kenyon!!!

HAPPY READINGS,
Natascha
__________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER FIVE

Ok now Celeste knew Kyrian and Amanda had a beautiful home but, by Gods, it was a huge palace!!! She stood outside the iron gate awestruck by the dominance of the 18th century Victorian home. Dreamily she fantasized for a moment about the old-english interior decorations. Warm country-colourfull pillows and drapes, wooden oak carvings... A house like this just longed for classy-interior!!!
Tabitha and Valerius came up behind her, startling her. “Amazing isn’t it?” Tabby asked.
“Yes it is!!!”
“Wait till you see inside...” Valerius said “You’ll be surprised even more!”

The three of them walked up the driveway and even before they rang the doorbell the door opened up and a happy chatter came their way. They were the last one’s to arrive. The guys were going to see the American Football-team play.Marissa was running around anxiously as she knew she and her babybrother Ashleagh were spending the night at Amanda’s parents.

Still in shock as to what she saw inside, modern-furniture, no white and pastel country colours, no the opposite!!! And what was up with all the vampire things? The coffin-coffeetable, vampire tringlets what an odd combination...
As soon as Celeste sat down Marissa hopped on her lap and began chatting away relaxing her instantly. Amanda said “Marissa, come on stop taking up Celeste!”
“No, it’s alright Amanda.” Celeste said while watching the girl with the blonde curls and blue eyes giving Celeste a big smile talking on about her day at school and her best friend Simi.
Within the hour Amanda’s parents had come and left with the kids, they had drinks, laughs, the guys left and now finally the girls could go on their way. How strange Celeste felt, normally she had to get to know people to feel at ease, had to spend some time with them to feel at home but these people made her feel as if she rightfully belonged here. She had to get used to the feeling a bit.
She listened to the girls chatting and even though with the age of 28 she was the youngest there, she didn’t feel she was treated as such.

They went to Café du Monde for a nice dinner, nothing fancy, even though they had massive amounts of money to spend they didn’t act as such and Celeste was somehow relieved that they were this down to earth. Not the Mardi-grass type of gothic people who would normally come to Selena’s shop. The vampire wannabe’s or the Buffy-Slayer type of girls. She knew there were more people like herself, the type that was interested in the paranormal in a normal way. When they sat down at the restaurant and after they’d ordered they got down to girl-talk. Alpha Males, they all had a passion about books, the historical romances, the rogues who fall in love... Karen Marie Moning being the one they all thoroughly enjoyed. They all talked about their favorite Highlander and giggles and fantasy’s were shared. Celeste said “Well you all did a very good job though in finding your own ‘Highlander’ where did you all meet? And is there a brother laying around somewhere...”
Grace laughed “We all met in various ways, you know mine all too well...”
“Yes I do, Julian is a great teachor! At first I had to say it was a bit awkward knowing what he was before he met you and then standing in front of me in the Classic course... I mean if you think about it.... But he’s great, always ready with a helping hand.”
The others looked at Celeste as if she was saying something totally out of context.
Selena asked “That’s it?”
Celeste looked her way “Ehh yeah, what else is there to say? He’s a genuinely nice man. I don’t know him all too well but what else should I say?”
“How about he’s gorgeous, I mean I love my Bill but ohh my, Julian is sinfully beautiful.” Selena said still awestruck by Celeste.
“I’ll give him gorgeous, yes, but no nothing more...”
“Unbelievable.” Selena said.

Amanda took Celeste in for a while “No not unbelievable, she’s got googling eyes for someone else...”
Celeste blushed when Amanda totally out of the blue had her pinned with her back to the wall and all eyes focussed on her. She felt deep blushes come to her cheeks, and suddenly very aware of the fact that it was warm sitting next to the radiator...

Sunshine giggled “Oh my god Amanda I think you’re spot on! Come on girl spill the beans.... and no more of that has someone got a brother-thing, who is it? Do we know him, is he from around???”
“I ehhh.... Well it’s....” Celeste knew she couldn’t dodge the subject so she had to say something “I don’t know who he is. I only saw him briefly down Bourban Street a few weeks back nothing more. Haven’t seen him since – apart from in my dreams – but I can’t get him out of my mind.”
“What does he look like? Maybe we’ve seen him, or heck maybe we know who he is?” Tabitha said always in for matching couples.
Celeste sighed dreamily “Like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Talking about Alpha Males.... he is one to the core! But not for someone who looks like me.”
“Hey!” Bride said “Don’t let me hear that, look at my Vane.... If there’s love it doesn’t matter.”
“Yeah but Vane is not of this world!” Celeste said “He’s one in a billion who just love chubby girls....!”

It was as if she knew Vane had not been off this world....

Vane’s one of the were-hunters who resides in New Orleans. Were-Hunters were created when Lycaon, an ancient Greek king, unknowingly married an apollite. When the king realized what she was, he also realized that their two sons would follow in their mother’s footsteps and die horribly at age twenty seven. To prevent this from happening, the king captured Apollites and began experimenting on them. He magically spliced their life forces with those of various animals to create half-bred beings: arcadians, those wich held human hearts and shapeshifting abilities and Katagaria those who had an animal heart and could become human. When the Greek Fates saw this, they were angered that he would dare to try to go against them. They demanded he’d kill his sons and all the others he had created. When refused, his punishment ruled that the two species would always war against eachother. Vane was a distant-decendent from Lycaon and an Arcadian with wolf-heart, Bride knew this ofcourse, as well as the other girls but Celeste didn’t know.

After dinner they went to see a movie and after the movie they were on their way to sanctuary. They had a great table just overlooking the dance-floor and on a floor up a few steps. The guys were back from their footbal-game and were playing a game of pool while having a beer. Selena said dreamily “Celeste how you can’t drewl over a guy like Julian beats me... I mean look at him...”
Celeste laid her hand gently on Grace’s arm as to comfort her that it wasn’t meant like that and Grace smiled thankfully at her. Celeste nearly felt the pain inside Grace, knowing Selena didn’t do it intentionally, Grace knew Selena never would do anything to hurt her, but it was still hard to get used to.
Selena said “So Celeste, please tell us all about your dream man, I’m in the mood for nice storytelling...”
Grace said “Lena no, give it a rest, if she wanted to tell us she already would have...”
“It’s okay Grace, there are no juicy details, just a kiss that’s all. Ok it was the best one I’ve ever had, not that I’m that experienced, but I know it’ll be hard to top it...”

There was this loud tune playing somewhere in between middle and hard-rock when the music stopped and Lynard Skynards ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ started. Celeste was looking toward the dancefloor with her chin leaning on her left hand when she felt her head nodding along the song she loved. Then out of the blue she felt like time stood still, there in the middle of the crowd was this nearly 7 feet tall man – the man of her dreams – he was here, now, why oh no why? Was he for real or did all the talking about him tonight made her see things. She followed him with his eyes and when he looked their way her head slipped from her hand her chin nearly bumping on the table, making the other girls giggle and curious what made her do that. The other girls knew Acheron well and knew whenever he entered the Sanctuary ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ would start playing to alert the Daimons and Apollyte that Acheron was inside. The Sanctuary was a safe-haven for those who were otherworldly. Here they could mingle in with humans without being judged. As long as they followed the rules. The Sanctuary was run by a Bear-Were-Hunter family the Peltiers and they had their standards up high.

Amanda asked what was going on and when Celeste’s jaw nearly dropped when Acheron came walking their way, the girls obviously thought it was his looks she’s was completely in shock over.

Acheron went to Sanctuary to seek out Julian who he wanted to speak in person to about the Dream-Hunters he inquired about, he saw the girls sitting there and had the urge to go to say hi to them first. He hadn’t recognized Celeste as she was sitting at the back of their group and when he saw her he felt a jolt of joy and something like tingling in his stomach. His eyes were locked to hers and instead of standing at the head of the table he walked to her.

Was she dreaming? Was this really happening or was she going to make a fool out of herself? Was he really here, she didn’t dare to ask the other girls who seem to think things were still normal. She was so up in her thoughts that she didn’t hear them say hi to Acheron at all. She just had to know he was here for real. When he stood in front of her she laid her hand against his cheek, she felt whiskers.... Did this mean he was for real?

He closed his eyes to feel the soft touch of her hand on his face, turned his head and gave her palm a kiss laying his own hand over hers to keep it there a little while longer. The shock of the similarity to her dream came to her and she to her own amazement pulled back and ran off.

Oh my god, he knew, did he have the same dream as her? What was going on, this was not normal, hell no, this was paranormal at the least!!! She didn’t know what to feel, joy, scared, confused, she was all. He seemed to remember her, he seemed to have, dare she say, a longing look in his eyes? Eyes.... no not his eyes, he was wearing sunglasses, who on earth was wearing sunglasses in a bar in the middle of the night? Ohh no she did make a fool of herself, did she nodd off or something, then woke up in a frenzy and ran off??? She wanted to go back but was to embarressed.

Grace followed her outside after sending Acheron a questioning look. “Celeste wait up...”
Celeste stopped running and Grace stood still next to her “Come on Celeste talk to me. What’s going on?”
“He was real right? I’m not dreaming, I didn’t just make a big fool out of myself right?”
Grace said “Anyone not noticing Ash is making a fool of herself...”
“Ash?” Celeste asked, was that his name? Did Grace know him? If so, was this the Ash Julian phoned, about her dream? And if he remembered the dream, she made a fool of herself even more...

“Yes, the guy in the bar...”
“So I didn’t nodd off and dream he was there?”
“No, Celeste, what’s going on.”
“The ‘Ash’ you are talking about is the man I’ve been having dreams about...”
Grace fell silent. Pieces of the puzzle came into place for her now. Not the part where she could explain the alive-like dreams but Celeste leaving in a panic. She remembered very well how she handled Julian popping out of his book into her livingroom – naked at that – not at all!!!!, in fact she tripped and fell over. Celeste handled it mildly better than her, she was still standing on her feet.
“Sweety there’s nothing to be embaressed about. The girls all had their share of weirdness about them, they’ll understand, come back in, to at least get your things and finish your drink?”
Celeste doubted in what to do but Grace already was walking toward the entrance and she followed, not completely sure why but she did.

Once back with the girls Ash was no longer with them but up with the guys and the girls acted as if nothing happened. Amanda however did have a questioning look in her eyes as she knew Ash better than the others, she knew things haven’t been the same, he hadn’t been the same. The look in his eyes changed when Kyrian and herself were hugging or just even being together, was this the confusion she felt going on inside Ash, was there more to it. She felt the pain he felt when Celeste fled from him. How she wished she could get a clearer view on things.
Sunshine asked nearly whispering to Celeste “What was going on?”
“Girls sorry for running off like that, it’s just, well he, him, I mean Ash. He was the one I’ve been having dreams about... And the thing with the hand... well it was part of that dream, except the other way around and....”
“Say no more,” Tabby said “Girl we understand. In fact all of us say I for being jealous that you could touch Ash like that... Normally he’s the not getting close, gone quick kinda guy...”
She blushed at the fact that this in fact did happen, where from did she get the guts to touch him like that? She wanted to say she was sorry for dashing off like that. “I’ll be back in a sec girls.”
She walked up the stairs towards where he was and halfway up the stairs he met her while going down. “Hey listen, I’m sorry for running off like that it’s just, I was confused and all sorts of things at the same time and...”
“Shhh, what’s your name?”
“Celeste...” she looked confused and he felt he needed to explain himself “Celeste... hi I’m Ac- Ash, I at least wanted to get acquinted before I did this...” He pulled her in his arms and gave her a hungering kiss. She leaned against the arm-rest for support, his tongue demanded response and pulling her close so she could feel just how much he wanted her, needed her, making her blush even more with every touch of him. Once the longing was lessened, his kiss went more gentle trying not to bruise her lips even more. His hand supported her neck and his fingers hooked into her hair. She let out a soft moan, not realizing it was hers and his lips turned into a cheeky grin while still kissing her. He enjoyed this… way to much for his own goodness, he still had a job to do but found it very difficult to let go at this point.

The girls as well as the guys stood awestruck, was this Ash... the infamous Acheron Parthenopaeus? Kyrian said “I’ve known Ash for over 2000 years now, and not once have I seen him kiss someone? Heck I even thought he never had sex...”
“If he’s just in it for the sex I’ll put a stop to it, she a student of mine!” Julian said protectively not connecting the dots yet but surely Grace would fill in the blanks later on.
Amanda said “Well I’ll be d...”
And Bride couldn’t help herself saying “It’s about bloody time!”
All the girls looked amazed at her. “Well it is isn’t it. I’ve never seen him taken any interest in a girl, he’s what over 11 thousand years old, maybe he’s finally growing up....”
The girls laughed at that and then their eyes went to Ash and Celeste again, they couldn’t help themselves.

He rested his head against hers and whispered “I have to go and do a job, but I’ll be around...”
A sudden sadness fell over her, she didn’t want him to leave, she wanted him here, just here, nowhere else. He felt the panic inside her and wished he could do something to ease her restless feeling. He took off his shades (girls and guys even more in shock, Ash taking of his sunglasses in public.... most hadn’t even seen him without...) she again saw his eyes, a warm glow of hazelgreen with golden sparks. He kissed her again, eyes open and hers captured in his, and she knew he would be back. She didn’t know when, she didn’t like him leaving, but she knew he’d be back.
He left her standing on the stairs knowing she watched his every step till he was out the door so he wasn’t able to flash out but he didn’t mind. Before he went through the door he looked back, sunglasses on but she knew he was looking at her.
How long she stood there, she had no idea but Amanda took her by the arm and guided her to the rest of the group, giving the guys a glance as in to say she didn’t know what was going on either. Before Amanda went to get Celeste, they all had decided to not ask questions and leave things be but when Celeste sat down all girls asked questions at the same time, getting an agitated look from Amanda “Girls...!”
“Sorry,” Selena said “It’s just, we never saw Ash kiss someone before... and oh yeah if I smoked I would light a sigaret right now...”

When Celeste came home she just didn’t know what to think. So Ash kissed her ‘whoopy’, ok, it was a mindblowing kiss and her heart started beating faster when she thought about it, she still got weak in the knees but what did it mean? Apparantly there was something inside him that obviously made him want to kiss her but it told her nothing more. What would he want with the likes of her? They couldn’t come more plain and simple. But by Gods, he had felt like heaven on earth when he took her in his arms and his lips touched hers.
He reaked power, strength, raw eminating sex!

She could still see everybody making way for him when he had entered the club. True to say he was a bit scarry. He had this ‘don’t screw with me because I will take you on’ aura around him and honestly that was all she had on her mind-sort to speak.
She blushed at the thought.

She wanted him in her bed.
Hot and naked!
Oh dear, she was so in trouble! With no idea how to contact him and no idea when she would see him again she had to sober up and live her life like she was used to and not let her heart get in the mix because that was the last thing she was willing to give away...

Mass Market Paperback; 385 pages
Publisher: Medallion Press (June 1, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0758241283
ISBN-13: 9780758241283
Genre: Erotica Romance / Fantasy
Book: Book five in the Lords of Satyr series
Main Characters: Dane Satyr & Evangeline Delacorte
On sale at: The Book Depository

SUMMARY
When Dane Satyr approaches Eva for her services as a matchmaker, she offers him more than just introductions. Dane has discovered that Eva is a Satyr like himself, full of insatiable passion and dark desires. Their attraction combusts instantaneously, unlocking pleasures that neither can resist repeating...even as Eva seeks out a mortal bride for Dane.

REVIEW
Eva finds herself roaming on grounds where she’s not supposed to be and walks straight into the life of Satyr- Dane. Instantly there is an attraction giving Dane a certain strength and freedom that he keeps fighting to overcome on the night of the change, but Eva’s own personal differences makes her running away from him and into the safeness of her own home.

Events lead them in different directions, to find hhuman partners to marry but their attraction seems too strong to be denied!

With this new novel in the LORDS OF SATYR series Elizabeth Amber has brought her characters in new twists and turns making the world even more intriguing and compelling than before. If you already are a lover of her writing and men, this book will not disappoint and if you are new to her series the first trilogy is amazing but this book enhances the reading experience even more.

Dane is the sort of hero, that eats, sleeps and breathes the core element of Alpha Male in this novel, and with each step he made you experience just that. He’s instantly likeable and despite his traumatic past, he remains a strong person, determined to reach a certain goal and go for it.

Eva is just a genuinely loving female, with her own set of insecurities and mystery around her. With a heart of gold I felt she truly belonged to Dane and separate as well as together they made a tight fit. Their romance could be felt by the heart and as a couple they absolutely have the X-factor for me.

This was such a great story filled with emotions, drama, suspense and erotic scenes, making my heart flutter each time I had to put it down, as it anxiously awaited the next moment I was able to read another page. Even though sometimes I realized the complexity of the story, it reads with such ease that, the full extent of it, hit me when I turned the last page and started putting my mind around writing the review.

The way Elizabeth Amber uses tools and instruments from within the eroticism scene and weaves it into the story making it, not only functional but pleasure heightening, while reading the story of Dane and Eva in DANE, is superb. And despite the fact that the ways of the Lords of Satyr are still the same in the core elements, but so completely different within each romantic encounter that my reading experience within this series is such an enhancing one, making this world grow as the series continues on.

Though the beginning was slow at pace it all came together why it was a bit slow to start. Dane has this whole other side that had to be explored and Eva, well she is truly a unique person and has her own way in exploring her sexual desires when a man is not at hand! AS soon as the story unfolds, your pulled straight into the Satyr-world where evil is vile and eroticism is at an all time high.

In this book Bastian and Sevin (the next installments in this series) have come to pass and the right buttons were pushed to have tickled my fancy, so all one can do is, look forward to the next release as they are, once more, lick able men! This book had a perfect ending to me for Dane and Eva, but as well as for some secondary characters making me sighing to satisfactory.

QUOTE that left me in total ecstacy:
“I’m not going to tell anyone.”
“What are you going to do?” she demanded in a ravaged voice.
“Do?” His mouth touched hers, butterfly soft. “I’m going to undress you. Here on my big bed, and kiss you, and hold you, and come inside you. All.” A kiss. “Night.” Another kiss. “Long.”

4,5 Stars