BOOK REVIEW: TWO PRINCES by VICTORIA DANANN - SONS OF SANCTUARY MC # 1 - MC ROMANCE

By: Victoria Danann
Published By: 7th House Publishing
Released: Available Now
Details: Kindle Purchase, 310 Pages

RATING: 3.5 STARS

Blurb: Goodreads

New Biker Romance series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Victoria Danann. No cliffhangers.

Two brothers, one a player, one a playboy, are on a crash trajectory with destiny and two broken hearts.

BONUS PREQUEL INCLUDED: Intro to the Sons of Sanctuary MC. A Season in Gemini

Brigid was a graduate student at the University of Texas. She had no trouble getting her thesis approved, but finding a Hill Country motorcycle club willing to give her access to their lifestyle was looking impossible. Then she got a lead. A friend of a friend had a cousin with family ties to The Sons of Sanctuary. Perfect. Or was it?

What Brigid wanted was information to prove a proposition. The last thing she had in mind was falling for one of the members of the club. Especially since she was a feminist academic out to prove that motorcycle clubs are organized according to the same structure as primitive tribal society.

Brash was standing in line at the H.E.B. Market when his world tipped on its axis. While waiting his turn to check out, his gaze had wandered to the magazine display and settled on the new issue of “NOW”. The image on the cover, although GQ’d up in an insanely urbane way, was… him. 

After reading the article, Brash threw some stuff in a duffle and left his only home, a room at The Sons of Sanctuary clubhouse, with a vague explanation about needing a couple of days away. He left his truck at the Austin airport and caught a plane for New York, on a mission to find a mysterious guy walking around with his face.



BOOK REVIEW:

This is my second Victoria Danann read, my first being My Familiar Stranger, Knights of Black Swan # 1.

I really enjoyed the bonus prequel story A Season In Gemini. It is a great background introduction.

I did have a little trouble with Two Princes.

Two grown men going to one hell of a lot of trouble to play at essentially ‘The Parent Trap.’ It did feel a little…erm… what is the right word? Immature?

I found it hard to believe an MC guy and a billionaire (twins) wouldn’t just straight up talk to their parents. It felt kinda lost on me the energy they spent setting it all up.

I have to rate this book in the lower range of 3.5 STARS as it just didn’t feel realistic that a billionaire couldn’t just straight up talk to his mother and an MC guy couldn’t just speak to his father about it. Not the way this story was written anyway.

There was no obstacle put in the path of the twins to make them choose the path they took (swapping identities) only to do the big reveal and the parents didn’t have a major reason to not have told two grown men about their brother. There wasn’t like a dirty reason or anything. I think I was looking for some major reason for the whole shenanigans apart from the mother’s father which was kinda lame.

I needed there to be a real purpose to going to the lengths they did rather than just talking it out.

There were other things like Brigid paying $250,000 for something so she could write her thesis. I don't care how much money a student has got, that just seems preposterous to think it's okay to spend that kind of money to get information for a thesis. If it's gonna cost you that kind of money, pick a new idea for your thesis. 

I get what Victoria was doing, but a little OTT.  

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BOOK REVIEW: ELIZABETH AND THE CLAN OF DRAGONS by AVA MASON - RH FATED ALPHA # 1 - PARANORMAL ROMANCE

By: Ava Mason
Published By: Ava Mason
Released: Available Now
Details: Kindle purchase, 114 Pages

RATING: 4 STARS

Blurb: Goodreads

A female Wolf in danger. Four Sexy Dragons determined to protect her. A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance.

Elizabeth is certain she’s not meant to rule the Southeastern White Tooth Pack. Since birth, she’s been told she was the wolf pack’s fated leader. She is, after all, the first-born of the pack Alpha. But how can she lead them if she’s never shifted? She doubts herself, but her fate is tied to the moon and Elizabeth is honor-bound to fulfill her destiny. To help Elizabeth, her mother presents her with a secret diamond necklace, magical jewels that have adorned the neck of every female in her family for hundreds of years.

But evil forces lurk in the shadows.
Not every wolf shifter in the pack wants Elizabeth to take power. When the Wolf Council sanctions Elizabeth as the official Fated Alpha, enemies attack her family, killing her parents. When they discover that Elizabeth survived, she must flee for her life. With nowhere to go, help comes in the form of four sexy and powerful Dragon shifters.

The fierce warriors offer her their protection in their secluded mountain home.
As Elizabeth mends, it’s clear the four Dragon shifters crave more from her. All four men desire her. Each wants to claim her body and heart and soul.
As her enemies close in, can the men keep Elizabeth safe by their side and help her reclaim her place as leader of her pack?



BOOK REVIEW:

This story starts off in one direction, and I actually forgot dragons were going to be involved and then we make an abrupt right angle.

Enter the dragons.

I did like the idea for this story. I do understand it is a shorter read, but within these pages, I would have liked a little more time spent in some areas.

I really liked Aaron’s character, but then…

I ended up pretty much forgetting about the lad in the first part of the story as I'm now in the reverse harem of sexy dragons, which I likey, maybe a little bit too much.

Hunter is a fave.

I did feel like Elizabeth's character was more seventeen than twenty-four, but then there is what felt like a rather large leap in maturity towards the end of this first installment, which I found a little hard to grab hold of.

I think what I am trying to convey is the story felt a little hurried along for me to be able to give five stars.

I will be reading more in this series as I am intrigued and the covers are beautiful.

I will say this was a good start, but for me personally, I would have liked the change in direction to have been a little more curved—not so hurried and more depth to Elizabeth's character and some of the scenes.

I did enjoy this read.

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BOOK REVIEW: BLACK IN WHITE by JC ANDRIJESKI - QUENTIN BLACK MYSTERY # 1 - PARANORMAL MYSTERY

By: JC Andrijeski

Published By: White Sun Press

Released: Available Now

Details: Kindle purchase, 280 Pages

RATING: 4.5 STARS

Blurb: Goodreads

"My name is Black. Quentin Black."

Gifted with an uncanny sense about people, psychologist Miri Fox works as an off and on profiler for the police. So when they think they've finally nailed the "Wedding Killer," she agrees to check him out, using her gift to discover the truth.

But the suspect, Quentin Black, isn't anything like Miri expects. He claims to be hunting the killer too and the longer Miri talks to him, the more determined she becomes to uncover his secrets.

When he confronts her about the nature of her peculiar "insight," Miri gets pulled into Black's bizarre world and embroiled in a game of cat and mouse with a deadly killer--who still might be Black himself. Worse, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to Black, a complication she doesn't need with a best friend who's a homicide cop and a boyfriend in intelligence.

Can Miriam see a way out or is her future covered in Black?

Standalone novel. No cliffhanger.

*Warning: this book contains graphic language, sex, and violence. Mature readers only. Not intended for young readers.*

BLACK IN WHITE is book 1 in the Quentin Black Mystery series - a series set in the Quentin Black World. It is also a spinoff from the Bridge & Sword (Allie's War) series and takes place in the wider history/world of the seers.

Next in the Quentin Black Mystery series: Black As Night, Black On Black, Black Is Back.

THE QUENTIN BLACK WORLD encompasses a number of dark, gritty paranormal mystery arcs with science fiction elements, starring brilliant and mysterious Quentin Black and forensic psychologist Miriam Fox. For fans of realistic paranormal mysteries with romantic elements, the series spans continents and dimensions as Black solves crimes, takes on other races and tries to keep his and Miri's true identities secret to keep them both alive.

BOOK REVIEW:

This is my first JC Andrijeski read and it won’t be my last!

OMG! I SOOO enjoyed Black In White, but just hear me out on a few things little ol' me as the reader/reviewer has to say below.

Miriam Fox aka Miri is a great character. To be truthful I thought—purely from this first installment of the Quentin Black Mystery series—that it should have been titled the Miriam Fox series. Miriam is the focal character, in my opinion, with a delicious helping of QB on the side.

Quentin Black…OMG! I LOVE Quentin. He is such a great character. Well done JC! There was only one time where I was physically shaking my head and pulling a NOOOO face when he did something.

I do love Nick as well. He was a little too determined about one thing and kinda let his professionalism be swept away, but I really like him in Miriam's life.

I’m not going to say much more than that because I reckon you need to dive in and read for yourself.

I am gonna go a little crazy here and still give it 4.5 stars even though I (personally) felt it was too darn easy to pick the baddie. It was a bit of an eye-roll for me when we got to the da…da…da…daaaa... big reveal. This I usually take stars off for and I think quite rightly so as a reviewer. If more suspects were thrown into the plot then it wouldn't be so darn easy.

I also felt at times the author (for me personally) wrote some plot areas too conveniently. What I am trying to convey is certain things happened more in the telling, rather than the showing and it was too convenient the outcome for me as a reader. I would have liked more detail in those areas and it wouldn’t be filler-in, it would possibly enrich the storyline. I do have examples, but I don’t want to point them out as they are my personal issues I have. 

But each to their own. It could be a case of it's me and not you.

I really did love the bones of this story. Actually, I freakin’ loved the bones of this story and at the moment Quentin’s personality has totally washed the negative away for me.

This does not happen at all with me as a reviewer usually.

There are so many more books in this series already written that I can hardly wait to dive back in. The cover designs are gorgeous.

I am still admittedly trying to work out the title meaning: Black In White. I have been pondering it and can't seem to nail the title. 
New edit: I think I just worked it out. 

I understand QB series is a spin-off of the Bridge and Sword series. I happen to have ROOK on my Kindle and the second book Shield is currently FREE (at the time of this posting).

I do recommend meeting Quentin Black and Miriam Fox. QB is a new book boyfriend of mine.

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