J.T. Geissinger's "Shadow's Edge"

Night Prowler Series - Book 1 Shadow's Edge

I'm not sure how I came upon this book, maybe from one of those "Top Fantasy/Sc-fi Books" lists, but I'm glad I did. In the world of paranormal fiction, The Night Prowler series has the potential to be one of the best. Admittedly, I'm basing this opinion soley off of the first book "Shadow's Edge", but that's how good I thought it was. 

So, what makes it so great? Simply stated, it's beautifully written. Every aspect of the book is wonderfully descriptive without being tedious. The characters are approachable and believable. But most of all, the premise of the story is fairly unique, especially in a genre filled to the rafters with vampires, werewolves and witches. 

The Night Prowler series is about a hidden race of ancient creatures, the Ikati, "people" with magical powers and the ability to shapeshift into panthers. They live in secluded communities and keep to themselves, following a strict Ikati Law to keep their kind protected. 

The main character, Jenna, is not aware that she is the daughter of a renegade Ikati leader, or that his former Ikati tribe has been keeping tabs on her. All she knows is that she is different, that is until the current Alpha, a tall, dark and handsome Englishman named Leander shows up with two other members looking for her. Jenna must return to their tribe with them to get the answers to who, what and just how powerful she is.

The book is engaging, vivid and just to reiterate - the hero is a sexy Englishman named Leander. Need I say more? Of course there's a romance, and sex scenes aplenty, but they have the added bonus of being laced with the panther's primal urges. I can't wait to start the next book in the series, "Edge of Oblivion".

BUY "SHADOW'S EDGE" ON AMAZON.COM

H.P. Mallory's "Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble"

"Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble" on Amazon.com

May I start by saying that I LOVE that "Paranormal Romance" is an actual genre now? It cracks me up, and man do I love my paranormal romances. I would definitely say that they are my literary guilty pleasure.

This series, "The Jolie Wilkins Series", was recommended to me by a fellow PR lover, and upon the first couple of pages, I had my doubts.

Jolie Wilkins is a 28 year-old psychic in LA, who doesn't date and is perfectly content with her life, running her psychic business with her best friend, Christa and spending her evenings at home with her cat.

Then, one day, a Adonis-esque stud of a guy enters her shop, tells her his name is Rand and that he's a warlock and her life is never the same. Jolie finds out that not only is she a witch, but after taking a job offer from Rand, she learns that she has the unheard-of ability to bring back the dead, a power which makes her a prized trophy in the brewing war between the Underworlders. 

Once thrown into the world of the creatures of the night, Jolie must learn her craft while fending off the advances of every hot magical being that she comes into contact with, including not only her new employer, but a Master vampire, a werewolf that she brings back from the dead, a ghost and the King of the Fairies. 

Despite my initial doubts, "Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble" is sexy, quirky, fun and a very entertaining read. Get a hot cup of cocoa and curl up, because it's a perfect read for a lazy day in.

BUY "FIRE BURN AND CAULDRON BUBBLE: BOOK 1 IN THE JOLIE WILKINS SERIES" ON AMAZON.COM

Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"

Pride and Prejudice on Amazon

This is one review that I am particularly happy to write. No, not because it's one of my favorite books, but because I was finally able to remove "Pride and Prejudice" from my "To Read" list. Since my high school days, roughly 12 years ago, I have attempted to make it though this book 5 or 6 times, and have never made it more than 10% in. I just can't read Jane Austen. It's nothing personal against her, really. I'm not a huge fan of Brit Lit, but she does seem to catch my attention less than most.

So why continue on this quest to read it? Well, honestly, I was just determined to figure out this world-wide obsession with Mr. Darcy.

All I remembered of Mr. Darcy was that he was an arrogant prick who didn't seem any different than the British guy that I recently dated, who has now soured me on all Brits. So the quest began to read Pride and Prejudice all the way through.

If you aren't familiar with the plot line, the story is about a middle-class family, The Bennets, which is comprised of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their 5 daughters, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine and Lydia. Mrs. Bennet's sole goal in life is to marry her daughters off to affluent gentleman, and the she goes about this task with obnoxious zeal, much to the occasional embarassment of her two eldest daughters. 

Jane is the first Bennet daughter to make a "catch", in the form of Mr. Bingley, a rich, handsome and attractive man who has just moved to town. With him, he brings his close friend, Mr. Darcy, who just as I remembered is a wealthy, yet arrogant, stuck-up and extremely unpleasant person, who much to his own  chagrine finds himself falling for the lower-class-than-himself, Lizzy Bennet. 

The story then follows his attempts at both avoiding and pursueing the extemely independent, vivacious and opinionated Lizzy, as well as lightly following along with the relationships of the other Bennet girls. 

I will say that once I got about a quarter into the story, it started to pick up for me, and by the middle, I actually found it interesting enough to breeze through. However, by the end, I still didn't understand the Darcy-mania. Yes, he's a bit more humble and kind, but that's all the credit I'll give him.

I think I'd like to a see a modern-day film adaptation of the story, because it definitely lends itself to a "Mean Girls" type film, and it would actually be pretty funny.

BUY PRIDE AND PREJUDICE FROM AMAZON.COM