Tag Archives: Joely Sue Burkhart

Fiction Friday — “it’s been forever” edition

Hi everyone! It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these! I’ve been pretty busy. But to make up for it, I have LOTS of books to review today. So let’s get started!

As a reminder, here is my rating system:

Double yay – Astounding read! Perfect in every way! Get thee to a bookstore NOW.
Yay – I recommend with no reservations. Guaranteed good read.
Maybe – Read at your own risk. A mixed bag
Nay – DNF (Did Not Finish) or sucky or both. I do not recommend.

And all links in this post are affiliate links. If you buy a book using my links, I will get a tiny little commission from it.

 First up is Die For Me by Dan Rix. A double yay for sure. I am a HUGE fan of Dan Rix because his books are so amazing. They are mostly sci-fi, and this one kind of is too. There is a big mystery. A girl commits suicide and she leaves TWO suicide notes. Her best friend and boyfriend race against time to find out what really happened and why she did what she did. This book had me in such a stranglehold that I even put off dinner (which I never do) so I could finish it. The ending has quite the twist.  Link to my review.

Next is the Nashville series by Inglath Cooper. A yay.  I actually read the 10-book boxed set, which was the entire series. I can’t find it on Amazon so here’s the 4-book set. I’m not much into contemporary romance, but my mom was raving about how great it was so I decided to give it a whirl. It’s about these four people who are trying to make it as singers/musicians in Nashville. In the opening scene, the main character for that book, Cece, ends up with a car on fire and nowhere to go. She’s picked up by two guys (also musicians/singers) and they form a kind of family by choice type thing. There’s romance, heartache, crazy stuff, and fun stuff. I enjoyed it a lot.

Next up is Blood Fury by J. R. Ward. A solid yay. I have been a fan of J.R. Ward since the beginning (2006 or thereabouts). This book is part of her Black Dagger Legacy series which is a spin off of her amazingly awesome Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I really enjoyed this one. It’s about this guy (vampire) who’s an aristocrat and a girl who is one of his fellow classmates in the training program. I really loved their romance because it started with wild monkey sex but then they had to catch up to what each other was feeling. And the female lead gets injured, and he’s there for her, but as always, there are complications. Of course! But it does end happily.

And now we have Queen Takes Queen by Joely Sue Burkhart. Double yay. Vampire reverse harem, sexy as hell, and bloody! This is book 3. The series is about this young woman who’s part vampire but doesn’t know it. But she’s also a queen, and she has several yummy, sexy men guarding her and feeding her and doing other things with her. She is trying to gain more power because The Triune (all the most powerful vampires) has caught wind of her and will want to kill her. This book also features her first female/female pairing. There isn’t a lot, but it is there. I personally like that so it wasn’t a problem. But some may not, which is why I’m mentioning it. A great book and a great series. Link to my review.

Next we have Shattered Memories by V.C. Andrews. A maybe. This is the final book in her Mirror Sisters trilogy. As I’ve mentioned before, I was a fan of hers in the 80s and 90s but drifted away for a long time. When I saw book 1, The Mirror Sisters, I was intrigued. This series has been pretty good overall, but I almost felt like it could have been two books instead of three. This book deals with the aftermath of what one of the twins did to the other. And the synopsis says something like, “…but her twin isn’t through with her yet..” and I was gearing up for something epic. I was a bit let down when that epic thing did not happen. But a good book overall.

And now we come to Painless by Marty Thornley. Double yay. This was a horror/sci-fi book and it was just dark enough to catch my interest. It’s about this scientist who is experimenting with eliminating pain. Like, for example, if someone has a back injury, or a bad knee. He brings a group of people into his remote compound for treatments and finally surgeries, but something goes really wrong and…well, I’ll just let you read it. It’s a bit gory, so be warned.

And finally, we have The Treasurekeeper by Joely Sue Burkhart, which is part of the Shamrocked anthology. A yay. It’s a reverse harem, but it’s really unique in that it’s based in Irish lore. This woman wakes up after a night of partying and finds this statue of a gargoyle in her room. And it talks to her inside her mind. It wants her to find it (there’s an extremely sexy man trapped in another, larger statue) and also find four other “treasures.” They are also sexy Irish men. The one in the gargoyle has been cursed and must be released or the world will fall to demons. No pressure, right? She’s the treasurekeeper which is a big deal. They are destined to love her and have wild sexytimes with her. After the gargoyle is released, of course. Loved it. It’s the beginning of a new series so stay tuned. Link to my review.

And that’s it. 🙂

Fiction Friday – Aug 25th edition

It’s been awhile. As usual, I am totally behind on my reading. However, I have four books for you today.

Once again, my rating system:

Yay – Great book, would recommend.
Maybe – Read at your own risk.
Nay – Was a DNF (Did Not Finish) or finished but would not recommend.

Let’s do this!

Cashing Out by SM Reine – Another solid yay. Book #3 in her new Dana McIntyre Must Die series. You would need to start at the beginning because there’s a lot of stuff that starts in previous books and is now coming to a head. Really enjoyed it. Link to my review.

Mirror Sisters by V.C. Andrews – Yay. I used to be a rabid V.C. Andrews fan back in the 80s and 90s (along with Danielle Steel). But I started moving away from her stuff and over to fantasy, paranormal romance, and sci-fi. I just never found anything else that interesting until this book. It’s about these twins that are more or less forced to be identical in every way by their neurotic (possibly mentally ill) mother. And let’s just say that one of them doesn’t like that and takes some very drastic action. It was somewhat predictable — the final twist I had figured out in two seconds — but I enjoyed it and will be getting book #2 in the trilogy.

Vile Magic by Holly Hook – #4 in her Abnormals Underground series. A yay. I liked it because it forced the main character, Alyssa, to face a pretty big revelation and things are heating up story-wise. Lots of action. There’s one more book coming, I believe.
Link to my review

Mine to Break by Joely Sue Burkhart – a solid yay. I’m a longtime fan of Joely’s and just love her stories. This one also features BDSM, but a bit lighter than she normally writes. And the romance was awesome! I loved both main characters and what they went through to get their HEA. (If you haven’t read her Connaghers series, you are missing out!) Link to my review

And that is it, unfortunately. I have a few books on my radar, including:

A Demon Bound by Debra Dunbar
Allegiance of Honor by Nalini Singh