99. Heart of Darkness by Gena Showalter, Maggie Shayne, & Susan Krinard...

Title: Heart of Darkness
Author: Gena Showalter, Maggie Shayne, Susan Krinard
ISBN-13: 9780373774319
e-ARC: 328 pages
Publisher: Harlequin, 2009
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository

FTC Disclosure: My copy of Heart of Darkness was provided by the publisher for this review. I am an affiliate at IndieBound, The Book Depository, and Amazon, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.

drey's thoughts:
I have a confession to make. I signed up for NetGalley late last year, requested some books, and then promptly forgot about it. I finally got around to checking it out again this year, which is when I realized (oops) that I had books to review! The first on that list is Heart of Darkness, a collection of short stories from Gena Showalter, Maggie Shayne, and Susan Krinard.

Gena Showalter's The Darkest Angel is hot. An angel decides to kidnap the harpy who's his greatest temptation. Of course, being male, he hasn't quite figure out what he's going to do with that harpy once he has her. This one's irreverent and sensuous, and a lot of fun to read.

Maggie Shayne's Love You to Death twines lost love, death, and redemption in a romantic tale that will have you rooting for the boy and girl. Along with an ending that will have you holding your breath until all's said and done.

Susan Krinard's The Lady of the Nile weaves reincarnation with Egyptian gods, sacrifice, and second chances (albeit ages later).

For those who love their romances spiced liberally with the paranormal, Heart of Darkness provides satisfaction in quick bites.

drey's rating: 3/5 Good

Challenges: 100+

Tour: 231. Deep Kiss of Winter by Kresley Cole & Gena Showalter...

About the book:

KRESLEY COLE

delivers a breathtaking tale of a brutal vampire soldier about to know love for the first time...and a Valkyrie aching to be touched.

Murdoch Wroth will stop at nothing to claim Daniela the Ice Maiden -- the delicate Valkyrie who makes his heart beat for the first time in three hundred years. Yet the exquisite Danii is part ice fey, and her freezing skin can't be touched by anyone but her own kind without inflicting pain beyond measure. Soon desperate for closeness, in an agony of frustration, Murdoch and Danii will do anything to have each other. Together, can they find the key that will finally allow them to slake the overwhelming desire burning between them?

GENA SHOWALTER

puts a daring spin on a tale of huntress and hunted...and concocts a sensual chemistry that is positively explosive.

Aleaha Love can be anyone -- literally. With only skin-to-skin contact, she can change her appearance, assume any identity. Her newest identityswitch has made her an AIR (alien investigation and removal) agent and sends her on a mission to capture a group of otherworldly warriors. Only she becomes the captured. Breean, a golden-skinned commander known for his iron will who is at once dangerous and soul-shatteringly seductive, threatens her new life. Because for the first time, Aleaha only wants to be herself....

About the authors:
Before becoming a writer, Kresley Cole was a competitive athlete and a Master's grad in English. She sold her first two novels in 2003, and since then, she has published eleven more books and has seen her releases translated into nine foreign languages.

Kresley followed her highly-acclaimed Sutherland Series historicals with the bestselling MacCarrick Brothers Series, a trilogy of Highlander historical romances, as well as the continuing Immortals After Dark Series, a Rita award-winning paranormal romance collection, all with Pocket Books.

In January 2009, she became a #1 New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller with her sixth IAD installment, Kiss of a Demon King.

Kresley lives in Florida with her husband and far too many dogs. Find her online at her website, www.kresleycole.com.

Gena Showalter sold her first book at the age of 27 and now, four years later, is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirteen books, with eleven more on the way in a thrilling blend of genres: breathtaking paranormal and contemporary romances, cutting edge young adult novels, and stunning urban fantasy.

Her novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine, MTV, Seventeen Magazine, and have been translated in French, Italian and Korean. The critics have called her books "sizzling page-turners" and "utterly spellbinding stories", while Showalter herself has been called “a star on the rise”.

Find Gena online at genashowalter.com.

drey's thoughts:
Well, what can I say about Deep Kiss of Winter? Other than it's hot! This is my very first Kresley Cole, even though I've heard her name quite a bit. And Deep Kiss of Winter definitely lives up to what I've heard. The heat between the ice queen and the vampire soldier just sizzles off the pages. I wasn't quite sure I liked the image of the ice queen... You know--she's off-limits, cold (literally), etc. But somehow the relationship between Dani and Murdoch just worked. Even if he's such a dork sometimes. Even if she's just a tad melodramatic sometimes.

Gena Showalter's story is the meeting of Aleaha and Breean, characters I first came across--albeit briefly--in Seduce the Darkness. Aleaha is trying to be Macy, an AIR agent, without blowing her cover. After all, she can't quite be human if she can take on another's form, can she?

This being the romance genre, there's the requisite misunderstandings, antagonistic initial impressions, and the myriad of obstacles to overcome before true love prevails. Great read for fans of Cole and Showalter. Romance fans who're not into the paranormal will want to skip this.

Title: Deep Kiss of Winter
Author: Kresley Cole & Gena Showalter
ISBN-10: 1439159661
ISBN-13: 9781439159668
Hardcover: 426 pages
Publisher: Pocket Books, 2009

Challenges: 100+

Disclosure: My copy of Deep Kiss of Winter was provided by Pocket Books for this blog tour.

Tour stops:
Parajunkee’s View
I’m Bookin’ It
My Overstuffed Bookshelf
The Book Tree
What Book Is That
Morbid Romantic
Book Junkie
Jeanne's Ramblings
Poisoned Rationality
Brizmus Blogs About Books
Found Not Lost
I Heart Book Gossip
All About {n}
The Bibliophilic Book Blog
Jen’s Book Talk
Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!
Readaholic
Reading with Tequila
Mindful Musings
Pick of the Literate
Carol’s Notebook
Wendy’s Minding Spot
You Wanna Know What I Think?
Ramblings of a Teenage Bookworm
Patricia’s Vampire Notes
Seductive Musings
SciFi Guy
The Wayfaring Writer
Book Soulmates

Tour & Giveaway: 103. Gena Showalter's Seduce the Darkness...

Today's tour is for Gena Showalter's Seduce the Darkness... LOVE the cover!

About the book:

SHE HAS A BODY MADE FOR TEMPTATION...

AND A KISS TO DIE FOR.

The war between otherworlders and humans changed Earth beyond recognition. It also saved Bride McKells's life. Before, the gorgeous vampire was a target for every fanatic with a stake and a crucifix. Now, she's free to roam the streets -- and desperate to find others of her kind. One man claims to have the answers she seeks.

Devyn, King of the Targons, is a warrior and a womanizer, and he makes no secret of how much he wants Bride -- and how dangerous he could be to her in every way. An avid collector of women, Devyn easily seduces human and otherworlder alike. Until now. Not only does Bride resist him, but she leaves Devyn feeling something entirely new...a bone-deep need bordering on obsession. Her blood is the key to curing a vicious alien disease, but helping Bride uncover her origins will compel her to choose between electrifying passion and a destiny that could tear her from Devyn's side forever.

About the author:
Gena Showalter sold her first book at the age of 27 and now, four years later, is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirteen books, with eleven more on the way in a thrilling blend of genres: breathtaking paranormal and contemporary romances, cutting edge young adult novels, and stunning urban fantasy.

Her novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine, MTV, Seventeen Magazine, and have been translated in French, Italian and Korean. The critics have called her books "sizzling page-turners" and "utterly spellbinding stories", while Showalter herself has been called “a star on the rise”.

drey's thoughts:
Bride is a vampire. And, it seems, the only vampire in town. How can that be? She doesn't know. She can't remember... Not only that, she has a problem--a vampire who can't keep blood down would, don't you think? In any case, I like her. She's brave and strong, but also vulnerable. When she meets Devyn, she doesn't quite know what to make of him, or his attitude. He's brash and cocky, quite sure of himself. And doesn't get it when Bride turns him down.

The storyline here is not just (alien) boy meets girl, they fall in love, and live happily ever after. There's the requisite boy-and-girl-have-to-figure-out-they're-in-"love" part, boy-is-separated-from-girl-and-is-miserable part, and the girl-saves-the-day part. The supporting cast here is varied and interesting--I had trouble remembering who was who, as well as who was what, since there are apparently lots of aliens (& cyborgs!) in the world. And don't forget the don't-have-sex-with-them-or-you'll-catch-a-deadly-disease-that-you'll-spread-to-everyone-else-you-have-sex-with aliens... Holy cow, talk about unsafe sex!

There are quite a lot of things that are different in this world, even if it's set in "our" world, even if there's vampires & you think you know vampires, even if it is a romance novel. And I liked it. Read on to win your own copy...

Giveaway!
Thanks to Pocket Books, I have two copies of this book for you, if you live in the US or Canada (no PO Boxes, please!). To enter, comment on whether you've read any of Gena's other books (& if you have, did you like 'em?). I haven't, but will check at least some of 'em out, based on this one... As always, +1 for following, +2 for sharing this--do come back & let me know what/where.

Do it all before 6:00pm CST July 13th! Good luck!