Janet Elizabeth Jones, Incubus

Author: Janet Elizabeth Jones

Title: Incubus

Rating: Siren's Best Book Stone

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Print ISBN: 9780373618514 (#104)

Publisher: Harlequin Nocturne

Buy Link: http://www.eharlequin.com/storeitem.html;jsessionid=981A0AD42CD4D8124C25E98B0FAA94BA?iid=22904&cid

Reviewer: Trinity

Blurb:

To save his kind, Meical Grabian agrees to participate in a dangerous experiment. One that takes his vampire's thirst for blood and leaves him hungering for something new. An incubus can be sated only with passion—but what woman could love what he's become?

Yet when Caroline Bengal finds him abandoned in a snowy wood, she senses his emotional turmoil and brings him to her desolate cabin. Caroline's compassion and earthy beauty tempt the hunger Meical has desperately been keeping at bay. And soon Meical is visiting Caroline's dreams, seducing his prey while she sleeps.

But another predator has set his sights on Caroline, with more sinister intentions. If Meical is ever to reveal his true nature to Caroline, he'll have to earn her trust…and keep her alive.

Review:

It is no surprise that I cut my reading teeth in the realm of horror. My world had been shaped by authors such as Stephen King and Clive Barker. Though I do read outside my favorite genre quite often, it is seldom that I come across an author who is able to grip my imagination and pull me into their world the same way as those I grew up reading. Today, I now have two that I can say have done this and Janet Elizabeth Jones is one of them.

Her book, Incubus, captured my mind and pulled me into her world of thrills, passion and needs. There is so much this book has to offer a reader, other than vampires, succubae and the run-of-the-mill sadistic humans out for revenge.

Foremost, I don’t think there was one character in her story that didn’t have a life of their own. They all meshed together in the story, but as you read, you become to know each as an individual person. Janet gave just enough back-story to each that it didn’t bog down the forward progression of the book but round out each life, giving the reader a sense of intimacy with her world.

To add to all characters playing a strong role in the story, her leads were woven together like Egyptian Cotton. This isn’t one of those romances where it’s almost equal to “I’m a guy, you’re a girl, ‘nough said.” Janet’s lead characters had individual needs that each could provide for the other, but they also contained deep-seated histories that (though they seemed clearly meant for each other) forced them to keep a distance from their inner desires. Meical and Caroline complimented each other with strong differences that proves the phrase “opposites attract.” Yet, Janet also creates aspects of them that tie them together in ways that nothing could separate them. Not even themselves.

Incubus took me only three days to read. The writing, characters, story, action and romantic elements kept me locked into the world of Meical and Caroline until the very end. If you are looking for a world to escape to, one that will make you feel like you woke from a dream in the end, then I suggest you pick up a copy of Incubus.

D.M. Slate, Day 94

Title: Day 94

Author: D.M. Slate

Rating: Four And A Half Siren Stones

Genre: Science Fiction

Sub-Genre: Horror

Keywords: Disease, Epidemic, Starvation

Word Count: 23,000

ISBN E-Book: 975-1-77065-004-6

Price: $4.50

ISBN For Print: 975-1-77065-012-1

Price: $4.95

Publisher: Eternal Press

Buy-Link: http://www.eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781770650046

Reviewer: Trinity

Blurb/Summary:

In the wake of a large meteor collision, a fast-spreading disease epidemic is unleashed upon rural Colorado. Joslin, Grant and their two young children find themselves barricaded within their home as the city is quarantined and the fight for survival begins; battling an airborne disease, lack of electricity and running water, starvation, frigid Colorado winter temperatures and worst of all morphs. The family embarks on a journey that tests their strength, sanity and conviction to live. As the morphs, carriers of the disease, become more numerous and aggressive, Joslin and Grant realize they’ll have to defend their home to protect their children. As each strand of hope frays away, the risks they must take in order to survive grow larger - until at last, Grant is attacked by a morph. Knowing he’s been infected, Grant leaves his family to fend for themselves. Just when Joslin thinks things can’t get worse, her morphed husband returns to their home on day 94. Crazed and delusional, Grant is determined to get into the house. Joslin’s unwavering desire to save her children drives the assault, knowing it may cost her life in order to stop her husband, Grant.

Review:

D.M. Slate writes a masterful tale of horror as she describes how one woman struggles to survive a meteor strike near her home. Trapped inside with no food or water other than what she had when the incident occurs, Slate’s character strives to protect her family as the meteor’s impact is just the beginning.

This book had me moving from one page to the next, waiting in anticipation to see what happens next! I couldn’t put it down as I was pulled into her world and living through the eyes of the mother. My heart raced and ached throughout the entire story.

D. M. Slate, Isolated

Title: Isolated

Author: D.M. Slate

Rating: Four Siren Stones

Genre: Mystery

Keywords: Thriller, Mexico, Honeymoon, Abduction, Drug-Lord, FBI Search Team

Word Count: 50,000

ISBN E-Book: 1453676872

Price: $4.99

ISBN For Print: 978-1453676875

Price: $15.95

Publisher: Moongypsy Press

Buy-Link: http://www.moongypsypress.com/slate.php

Reviewer: Trinity

Tagline: No one could have foreseen their Mexican honeymoon horror

Blurb/Summary:

As Anthony and Jazmine embark on their honeymoon to southern Mexico, they have no idea the dark trail that’ll unfold before them. The couple signs up for an ATV tour and snorkel trip offered by their resort. Two days later Anthony stumbles out of the Mexican jungle bloodied, half dead and suffering from amnesia; he’s the prime suspect in Jazmine’s disappearance. Through his multiple interrogations, Anthony struggles to regain his memory in order clear his name and discover the whereabouts of his missing wife.

The international search for Jazmine reveals nothing and the F.B.I. are convinced that Anthony is involved, somehow. As bits and pieces of his memory return, he leads F.B.I. Special Agent Monroe on a trail of clues that implicate the couple’s ATV tour guides. Further investigation reveals that Jazmine has been sold to a drug-lord in Panama, and nothing will stop Anthony from trying to rescue her. As he enters the foreign country, the distraught husband only causes greater chaos.

With the F.B.I. in fast pursuit to Panama, the race against the clock begins. When the authorities close in on the suspect’s house hoping to recover Jazmine, a grueling discovery is made; Anthony is already at the house. As the case comes to a close, Anthony is shocked to discover that this wasn’t a random crime.

Review:

First and foremost, it will take weeks to get the cramps out of my feet from curling my toes in fear and anticipation thanks to D.M Slate!

To be in a situation where you are separated from your loved one, just after being married, and being made to wonder if the other is alive made my heart race. And then to add to that, the fact that there is an FBI agent hell-bent on believing one of them is to blame for the other’s disappearance.

And that is only half of it! D.M. has put many twists and turns in this road of mystery and intrigue that by the time the story ends, you don’t know what to think. This is one twisted read that will make you want to never go on vacation again!

Kristin Daniels, Getting Naughty

Title: Getting Naughty

Author: Kristin Daniels

Rating: Four And A Half Siren Stones

Genre: Erotic Romance

Length: Quickie

ISBN: 9781419930119

Price: $2.49

Publisher: Ellora’s Cave

Buy-Link: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-8550-getting-naughty.aspx

Reviewer: Trinity

Summary:

Tara North is tired of her husband’s workaholic tendencies, tired of not being a priority. And very tired of the lack of action in their bedroom. So she sits in the company parking lot, impatiently waiting for his coworkers to vacate the building. Why? To seduce her husband, of course.

Tara’s going to get their sex life back on the fast track to Blissville. As she strips for him, Tara issues a challenge—how many times can Jared make her come before the cleaning crew reaches his office?

There’s only one way to find out. It’s time for Jared to really get to work.

Review:

Kristin Daniels makes me wish my husband worked in big business so that I could live out the fantasy she vividly plays out in her story, Getting Naughty.

I have never feared a cleaning crew, as much as I did when reading as her characters try to break free of the loneliness they share from Jared’s working late hours, trying to get a leg up on the world. Oh and does he—it may not be in the rat-race, but there are definitely legs going up in his office!

My heart couldn’t stop pounding as they worked to please each other, while trying not to get caught. So if your significant other is a workaholic, and you want some really good ideas on how to get his or her attention, I’d suggest you play in Tara and Jared’s world for a couple of hours!

Natalie Dae, Soul Keeper

Title: Soul Keeper

Author: Natalie Dae

Rating: Four Siren Stones

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Length: Quickie

ISBN E-Book: 9781419927980

Price: $2.49

Publisher: Ellora’s Cave

Buy-Link: http://www.jasminejade.com/pm-8335-613-soul-keeper.aspx

Review: Trinity

Summary:

Carrie Marsh anxiously awaits her online lover of two years, pacing the station in her stylish red coat with nothing but luxurious black lingerie underneath and stilettos on her feet. Will Rob Edwards really be on the train from Scotland? Will the attraction still exist in person? Can she even stave off the first anticipation-induced orgasm before he arrives? Excitement spirals through her, for Carrie has planned a night to remember.

Rob is shy, and Carrie intends to show him how to unleash his sexy side during a series of sexual encounters. But once he arrives, she can’t wait until they get to the hotel, let alone a bed. No. They hardly make it to the first tree, where anyone could spot their antics.

One unforgettable evening of passion leads two virtual lovers to a lifetime as each other’s soul keeper.

Review:

In today’s world, the stigma of online-dating has become less taboo than what it was ten years ago. Yes, there are always some negative thoughts when it comes to meeting someone online, whether it be through some personality-matching dating site or just meeting Mr. or Mrs. Right in an obscure chat room.

But does that mean that all instances are the same?

I say no and so does Natalie Dea.

Ms. Dae has a way of making you believe that true love can exist and can be found anywhere, even on the World-Wide-Web. Her story is realistic and the emotions portrayed are the same many of us would feel being in the same situation as her characters.

Will the man I meet online show up at our first meeting? Will he be the same as he is when we talk on IM or email? Will he feel the same about me when meeting me in person as he did when talking on the phone or on computer?

But don’t let that fool you!

Ms. Dae also has a way of showing you how much fun it can be to have such an encounter, by throwing in some of the steamiest sex scenes I’ve read. So if you have a couple of hours on hand, make sure to pick up Soul Keeper.