"Hearts of Stone: Guardian Wings 1" by Inka Loreen Minden

Disclaimer: I purchased the copy I reviewed.

Setting: Paranormal in a contemporary setting.

Synopsis: Vincent is a half-breed gargoyle (half human/half gargoyle) assigned to protect a young witch who goes by the name of Noir.  Vincent is not fully accepted by the gargoyle clan to which is father used to belong, and he's forbidden from having any contact with the witch he's assigned to protect.  Noir's family was killed by demons when she was around 15.  Her brother may still be alive in the underworld, so she spends her days (or rather nights) hunting demons and trying to find her brother, as she refuses to believe he's dead. 

Characters: The story has two parallel love stories: that of Vincent and Noir and the second one involving a young angel by the name
of Kara and the demon she falls for, Ash.  Ash was formerly an

Archangel, but he broke the rules and the other Archangels decided to teach him a lesson.

Both male leads were very appealing.  Vincent as pretty much an outcast, rejected by the gargoyles, and the only reason why he was not outright shunned was because of Kara, who was the guardian angel of the gargoyles.  Ash was a demon and he did quite a number of horrible things as one, but he never completely turned evil.

Kara was a somewhat naive and very sexy angel.  Later on the reader finds out why she seems to be so different from what an angel is supposed to be.  Noir is your standard kick-ass and take names type of heroine.  She's a demon hunter with magic powers, which make her a rather formidable opponent.

Impressions: "Hearts of Stone" is the first of Inka Loreen Minden's books that I've ever read.  She's a German author, with quite a number of books published.  Researching her name a bit, most of what I found is, understandably, in her native German.  I have to say that I hope she decides to issue more of her work in English, some of her other stories seem interesting, but I digress.

When I first started reading the book I wasn't expecting to find two romance stories.  Having two romances means that she did have to change perspective from one set of characters, to the other.  Though it was not badly done, it proved a bit distracting at times.  There were some grammar/vocabulary hiccups, but not enough to make those irritating or overly distracting (unless you are a grammar nerd).  

The characters were attractive and sympathetic.  Ash was a demon, but the reader couldn't but feel for him.  Vincent was just adorable and completely lovable in his insecurities.  Noir and Kara were more than just well-paired to these heroes.  I am the sort of reader that needs to like the characters and, thankfully, I liked all of them.

I am hoping that the author will continue the series and have it translated into English.  I am quite interested in reading more stories belonging to this universe she started.

"Dragon Bound" by Thea Harrison

Disclaimer: I purchased this book.

It has been a while since I last posted a review (my "review" of J.R. Ward's latest was more a pseudo review than an actual review, in all honesty, but mostly because I was rather pissed off with what the author did with the story than anything else).  Anyway, when I finished reading Thea Harrison's "Dragon Bound" I started this review, but somehow never got around to actually finish it, so here I am, finally posting some thoughts about it. 

Time and Setting: Present day New York/alternate universe

Characters:

Pia Giovanni was blackmailed by her ex to steal something from the hoard treasure of Dragos Cuelebre.  He's the only living dragon, extraordinarily powerful in more than one way, and very much feared by everyone.

This is the blurb.  Sorry, but the book has been out for a while now, so there is plenty of information circulating on the net pertaining to the plot as well as many reviews, hence, not going to summarize anything.

Overall Impressions:

I found that I liked it more than I expected.  Main reason is that I have been growing tired of paranormals, and have become very selective as to what paranormals I pick for reading.  I am now mostly sticking with the tested and true works of my personal favorite authors.  Right now I can't even remember what convinced me to try this one, I do think it was a either a comment or a review from someone whose taste I know resembles mine.  I am very glad I followed my gut and purchased the book.

Basically, if you like Kresley Cole's Immortals after Dark or Shelly Laurenston's paranormal series, you are bound to like Thea Harrison's paranormals.  This particular book, the first of the series, I still think is the best of the lot.  Both main characters were a lot of fun to read.  There was a lot of bantering going on, an Alpha male (though I didn't find him to be much of a jerk, contrary to other books with similar heroes) having to deal with a very smart yet vulnerable heroine who I thought was quite likeable.

The pacing was quick, so I felt the story was a breeze to read.  To me pacing is important.  If a book starts up "slow" , to my taste, I quickly lose interest and that's when the book turns into a DNF one (pacing and the characters are at the top of my list when it comes to deciding if I am going to finish reading a book or not).  Thankfully, my main elements of criteria were met and exceeded my expectations.

The book is fully stand-alone though it is the first of what is supposed to be a series.  This means it has a beginning and a full end as it pertains to the main characters love story, there is no cliff-hanger as it pertains to those two characters.

I have yet to catch up and continue reading the series, so I am hoping I will enjoy them as well.

"Eternal Prey" - Book 3 of the Gods of the Night series by Nina Bangs

Disclaimer: The review version was an ARC obtained via NetGalley.

Time and Setting: Portland, Oregon, present day

Characters: 

Utah Endeka thinks about one thing and one thing only: to avenge the death of his pack mate, Rap, at the hands of vampires.  He hates vampires with a passion and now that is pretty much all he lives for.

Lia, born human, is used to work harder and push herself to the limit.  As the daughter of a vampire queen of sorts, she was largely ignored by her mother, which motivated her to spend most of her life pushing herself to be tougher and to use her brains to compensate for being a weakling human.  She wishes to become a vampire, but her father, who is human, has convinced her to wait a little bit longer.  However, much bigger forces are at play.

Fin assigns Lia to work as Utah's "human", which does create certain issues due to Utah's hatred of all things vampire, and Lia's determination to become a vampire in the near future because of her heritage.  However, neither one can deny the very strong attraction that develops instantly between them.

Although both characters are quite sympathetic to the reader, I have to admit that this time around the main characters didn't engage me as much as the main characters in the previous two books in the series did.  I can't exactly pinpoint why.  I think that it has to do with the very quick pacing of the book, the different plot points that were included, and the further development of the universe the author is building in the series, all of which really didn't give a lot of room for lots of character development.  Though the relationship is definitely the central point, I'd dare say it was slightly more plot driven, or at least, that was the case as I perceived it.

Plot:

This time around the hunt for Zero's minion, Seven, takes place in Portland, Oregon.  Apparently, there is a rogue vampire wreaking havoc, believed to be related to Seven, and as a result, Fin (leader of the Eleven), establishes an alliance of sorts with the vampire leader, Adam.  Utah, who has been on a vampire killing rampage, is sent over as a token lackey for Adam.  Lia is the human assigned to accompany Utah at all times (humans in the vicinity of the Eleven helps keep them "concealed" from non-humans), this provides an advantage, though, as she knows everything about vampires, their hierarchy, rules, strengths and also their weaknesses.  Utah isn't exactly happy about having a "babysitter"... and much less a vampire lover type...

Ms. Bangs further develops the universe that she started in the first book, allowing the readers further glimpses into Fin, the origins of the Eleven, and the existence of other supernaturals, not just shifters or vampires.  I find all this fascinating.  However, anyone new to the series, will be better served by starting the series from book 1 and continuing in the intended order of the series.  By now, there is a lot going on in terms of the background story arc involving Fin, Zero and the Eleven, and it can get fairly confusing for some, particularly if they are new to the series.  The sex scenes are hot, which is standard for Ms. Bangs.  They do not distract from the story and they can even be outright skipped without affecting the reader's enjoyment of the story. 

Overall, if I gave ratings (which I don't) this book would be the equivalent of a round B in my personal opinion.  The story moved quickly and as fans have come to expect from this series, it didn't drag at any point. The characters were not, in my personal opinion, outstanding, but they were appealing.  This is a book that I would definitely recommend, even to those not familiar with Nina Bangs' work, but who enjoy paranormal romance.  On a side note, Ms. Bangs writes delightful lighthearted paranormal romances, however, this series is not lighthearted by any stretch of the imagination.


Author's website: http://www.ninabangs.com
Publisher's website: http://www.harpercollins.com