*This title will be released on February 28, 2012*

Title: By a Thread Author:  Jennifer Estep Series: Elemental Assassin #6 Cover Art: Tony Mauro Genre: Urban Fantasy Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Julia Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages Publisher: Pocket Books; February 28, 2012 ISBN-10: 1451651767 ISBN-13: 978-1451651768   Sexual Content: Sex scenes, references to rape. Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & put this author on your watch list.

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*This title will be released on October 25, 2011*

Title: Adam Author: Jacquelyn Frank Series: The Nightwalkers #6 Cover Art: N/A Genre: Paranormal Romance Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Abigail Paperback: 354 pages Publisher: Zebra; Original edition (October 25, 2011) ISBN-10: 1420109863 ISBN-13: 978-1420109863 Sexual Content: Several scenes of sensuality. A graphic sex scene Rating: Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.

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*This title will be released on August 30, 2011*

Title: Succubus Revealed Author: Richelle Mead Series: Georgina Kincaid #6 Cover Art: N/A Genre: Urban Fantasy Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Julia Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Kensington; August 30, 2011 ISBN-10: 0758232012 ISBN-13: 978-0758232014 Sexual Content: Several sex scenes, references to sex. Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & put this author on your watch list.

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Title: Downpour Author: Kat Richardson Series: Greywalker #6 Cover Art: Chris McGrath  Genre: Urban Fantasy Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Julia Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Roc Hardcover; August 2, 2011 ISBN-10: 0451463986 ISBN-13: 978-0451463982 Sexual Content: A sex scene and references to sex. Rating: Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.

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Title: Dark Taste of Rapture Author: Gena Showalter Series: Alien Huntress #6 Cover Art: N/A Genre: Paranormal Romance Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Julia Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages Publisher: Pocket Star; August 23, 2011 ISBN-10: 1439175780 ISBN-13: 978-1439175781 Sexual Content: Sex scenes, references to oral sex and masturbation, prostitution and human trafficking. Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & put this author on your watch list.

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Description

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter captivates with a dark, tantalizing world of humans, otherworlders, and a powerful AIR agent consumed by his desire for a woman he can never have. . . .

With one caress, he can give unforgettable pleasure . . . or unending pain. . . .

Hector Dean is shaved, tattooed, and totally ripped—and he has a deadly secret. He is a walking weapon, capable of killing with a single brush of his fingertips. Little wonder he’s determined to remain on his own. But Noelle Tremain is a temptation like no other. She is beautiful and rich, with a party girl smile that hides a shocking vulnerability, and from the beginning his sizzling attraction to her is undeniable. For the first time, his stone-cold resistance is tested. But to be with her, he risks destroying her.

When a wealthy businessman is murdered in New Chicago’s seediest district, the two are partnered, and there’s no escaping what they both want: each other. Yet neither Hector nor Noelle knows what to fear more—the killer case, or their own lethal desires. . . .

Review

In DARK TASTE OF RAPTURE Gena Showalter offers us a trip back through the looking glass to Ava and Noelle's basic training as AIR agents. If this book is a love story, it is as much about the relationship of these two girls as any sizzling chemistry between Noelle and Hector. Some of the issues raised get resolved, some don't, and I'm on the fence trying to decide if all of these are intentional threads left dangling for the rest of the series, or if some of the story slipped away. Either way, in the end, this book was entertaining and fun, with enough one-liners and mayhem to keep me giggling through to the last page.

Laugh out loud lines aside, DARK TASTE OF RAPTURE does address some weighty issues. Hector and Noelle are both products of abuse, despite being from different ends of the socioeconomic ladder.  Noelle diagnoses (and treats) her own insecurities and codependency, with more or less success, and she manages to be Hector's saving grace on occasion. All in all, despite the heinous treatment Hector suffered as a child, I felt like the two main characters were able to move forward with a minimum of second guessing and miscommunication. Showalter manages this both with the passage of time in this novel (starting with basic training and then jumping past the events of ECSTASY IN DARKNESS to Ava's bachelorette party), and by writing two protagonists that truly want to trust each other.   Despite their tough exteriors, Noelle and Hector are gentle with each other where it counts.  Hector's "skin condition" is a tough hurdle for any relationship, even when out in the open, though it added a little extra zing to every hands free encounter the two orchestrated. The only roadblock that seemed really out of place was Dallas’s vision.  This gambit never really gelled as anything substantial (nor was it resolved in any way). I can only hope that this means Dallas will be featured front and center in the next Alien Huntress book.

The tough love camaraderie of Ava and Noelle can be a little over the top for me at times, as were the heavy handed descriptions of how much no one "gets" the real Noelle, but these blips on the radar were never enough to slow me down. Hector and Noelle's romance is sweet, and I enjoyed the back story and supporting characters as much as anything else. Showalter's Alien Huntress world is well rounded, and DARK TASTE OF RAPTURE is sexy, intriguing, and just the right amount of silly to keep me coming back for more.

Previous Books in Series	Also Reviewed By:
Awaken Me Darkly Enslave Me Sweetly Savor Me Slowly Seduce the Darkness Ecstasy in Darkness – 4/5	Mother/Gamer/Writer – 5/5 Reading Between the Wines – N/A Joyfully Reviewed – N/A

*This title will be released on March 1, 2011*

Title: River Marked Author: Patricia Briggs Series: Mercy Thompson #6 Cover Art: Dan Dos Santos Genre: Urban Fantasy Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Abigail Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Ace Books; 1st edition (March 1, 2011) ISBN-10: 0441019730 ISBN-13: 978-0441019731 Sexual Content: Kissing. References to sex. References to homosexuality. References to rape.   My Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & pre-order the sequel.

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Description

Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.

 

An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help...

Author’s Comments

Review

Why does it always feel like Christmas come early when a new Mercy Thompson book comes out?  Oh right, because it’s Mercy Thompson. Mercy has changed drastically over the course of this series going from someone who was wary, tough,  and very independent to a much softer, more playful, and embracing woman.  It’s taken me a little while to adjust to this new Mercy, but I think RIVER MARKED is probably my favorite Mercy book since IRON KISSED.  Mercy is a lot more emotional this time, and not without reason, as she has to deal with revelations about her father, her heritage, and what the future of her relationship with her mate will be like.

 

The majority of RIVER MARKED takes place outside of the Tri-Cities, and as much as I like all the wolves, vamps, fey, and human characters we’ve met since MOON CALLED, it was nice to pare down to just Mercy and Adam.  We do meet some rather significant new characters who provide real answers and explanations about Mercy and Walkers in general.  I know Briggs has said that she was nervous about delving into Mercy’s Native American origins, but she' needn’t have been.  It never felt like information overload.  Most of the explanations—apart from one about Joe Old Coyote—felt logical and interesting. 

 

And after missing Stefan in BONE CROSSED, I was very pleased with the scenes he got in RIVER MARKED (including my favorite description of him to date: “He was like Superman, but with fangs and oddly impaired morals”).  I’m guessing here, but I’d be surprised if Mercy #7 didn’t deal heavily with Stefan and the Seethe.  We’ll have to wait until 2012 to see if I’m right.

 

The Mercy Thompson series is one of the best in the urban fantasy genre for good reason.  The mythology of the series is rich and complex, borrowing just enough fact to feel real, and mixing just enough fantasy to feel magical.  Mercy’s world is about to get much bigger in RIVER MARKED when she learns, in a lot of ways, that she is not nearly as alone in this world as she thought. Overall, Mercy 2.0 may be more domesticated than the, pardon the pun, lone wolf mechanic we met in MOON CALLED, but her transformation into the woman we see now has been believable and hard won. 

 

Mercy is happy now in a way I don’t think she imagined possible.  And I’m happy for her. Of course Mercy’s happiness is about as far from boring as it gets.  In RIVER MARKED she battles river monsters, Otterkin, and Native American gods armed only with her wit and walking stick.   And she does it all with the same cool and tenacious attitude that endeared her to so many of us six books ago, and hopefully for many more books to come.

 

Previous Books in Series	Also Reviewed By:
Moon Called Blood Bound Iron Kissed Bone Crossed Silver Borne	Genre Go Round Reviews