Apr 26, 2013

{Review} of Manhattan Ten series Temptress and Ivory by Lola Dodge

Temptress by Lola Dodge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
GENRE: Fantasy
THEME: Superhero, Romance
RECEIVED: Author
AUTHOR BLOG: Lola Doges' Site

BLURB:
Kiss your powers goodbye.

Kidnapping a super-powered suspected felon from a Vegas bachelor party is another day at the office for Jenny Ray, alias Temptress. With one kiss, any naughty supe’s powers are hers. Except this time she’s caught by her mark’s boss, who’s no ordinary superhero.

It’s Thinktank, leader of the toughest hero crew around. One destroyed men’s room and near-toilet-drowning later, Jenny’s forced to steal an innocent hero’s powers.

For a super brain, Tank’s feeling pretty idiotic. First, he let Jenny close enough to get to him. Second, he’s helpless against the tide of desire that rises in him every time he kisses her. Which he’s doing a lot, since she’s trying to give him back his power—only it’s not working. As he shadows her on her various freelance casino security jobs, he realizes she’s no she-demon—she’s a time bomb. Her acquired powers are shredding her, body and soul.

As they give in to desire, a shadowy figure from Jenny’s past surfaces with a kidnapping plan of his own. Jenny will do anything—even level Las Vegas—to rescue the man she loves. But there may not be anything left of her when the dust settles.

Product Warnings
Contains high-stakes poker, high-end cocktails, and high-flying over Las Vegas skies. Never drink and fly!

REVIEW:
I finished Temptress book one in Manhattan Ten series in one sitting, I love superhero stories, and this short story focuses on strong female super who is actually the strongest character in the novella. As a comic book fan I loved stepping into this comic type setting. I decided to post both reviews in one post since they are both shorter stories.

Temptress follows Jenny known in the superhero world as Temptress; she has the ability to take powers from other supers. She is assigned a job with the local police trying to bring in one of the Manhattan ten heroes who is accused and has to be brought in to the authorities. But her job goes very wrong when she ends up stealing the powers of the leader known as Thinktank, who was innocent and trying to help his friend. Now they are stuck together until Jenny can find a way to give him back his powers while dealing with the problems in Sin City.

Jenny Ray aka “Temptress” was a bundle of spunk and seriously one strong girl. Her powers make her probably the most powerful super but it comes at a cost. She is also a normal girl at heart, someone who would rather stay in and relax. Her life seemed a little sad though as Thinktank (Jason) started to see how she was living. She uses her ability to help people but does seem to have a bit of a lonely life. In the end she’s a girl that wants to do the right thing, but gets stuck with some drama from her past along with her chemistry with Jason. The best part about her character is that even though her name is Temptress she only used that persona for her job and never really cared about being the “hot” girl, she’s just a real kind of girl.

Jason aka ThinkTank is my kind of superhero; I love the strong and mellow type of guys. He really is just a super good guy, looking out for his friends, being their leader, and not a playboy like the others. I enjoy the ever-growing chemistry with Jenny and how they worked together despite the lack of his powers. Even though he’s a hero he’s such a sweet guy, one that will cook you breakfast and look adorable doing it.

Overall I loved this superhero duo and the introduction to the members of the Manhattan Ten. We get some fun insight on the humorous personality of the other guys and their powers. The plot reels the reader into to one super action packed battles along with some mystery, humor and of course romance. I highly recommend this novella to readers needing something different than the usual vampire, werewolves and fae genre, this was such a fun and steamy read that I jumped right into the next book Ivory.


RECOMMENDATION:
This is an adult novel with adult content meant for mature readers. Fans of Phenomenal Girl 5 by A.J. Menden and Holding out for a Hero anthology will love Temptress by Lola Dodge.

View all my reviews

Ivory by Lola Dodge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GENRE: Fantasy
THEME: Superhero, Romance
RECEIVED: Author
AUTHORS BLOG: Lola Doges' Site

BLURB:
That cold day in hell? It’s here…

Manhattan Ten, Book 2

If Ivory’s fellow flight attendants whisper that she has ice in her veins, they’d be right. She’s spent years ruthlessly suppressing her dangerous ice powers, pretending she didn’t grow up wild on the tundra.

Her legendary coolness has held solid—until a crazed attacker snaps her composure, unleashing her ice beast and blowing her cover. And she’s not sure if the man who defuses the situation is any less dangerous.

When Panther’s trans-Atlantic catnap is interrupted by Ivory’s ice spear through his mark’s gut, he doesn’t hesitate to claim her as one of the Manhattan Ten. It’s the only way to shield her from prosecution. It doesn’t hurt that the Nordic beauty puts his inner cat on the prowl.

Panther tempts Ivory in every smoldering way, but to let him melt her resistance is a risk she can’t afford. But when her past rises up to claim her, Pan is caught in the crossfire…and the only way to save him is to let the beast claim her, body and soul.

Product Warnings
Contains one smoldering ice vixen and the sexy beast man who wants to get his claws all over her. Make sure your icemaker is in tip-top shape before reading. Mukluks optional

REVIEW:
I’m definitely in superhero mode after finishing book one of this series; I loved jumping right into Ivory, which has a unique female warrior superhero that is very different from the rest of the supers. This novella actually takes place before the first book Temptress and even though it’s book two I would say read Ivory first, but you can read both as a stand-alone.

Ivory follows Valdis aka Ivory who is just trying to make it through a hectic flight as an attendant, dealing with ventilation issues and angry passengers. Luckily she has a secret, her ability with ice helps cool off the passengers, but also catches the eye of Panther a superhero of the Manhattan Ten. After a serious incident on the flight, Panther brings her into the headquarters and tries to help her with control and keep her from running.

Ivory was such a different heroine, she reminded me a bit of Wonder Woman with her exotic background belong to a tribe. Her abilities were controlling ice and most of the time she never has control. It was great to follow a character with many flaws and seeing how she can cope with being around other superheroes like her. I loved watching the chemistry between Ivory and Panther start to evolve, they are such wild characters having tribal backgrounds. I feel Dodge did these two justice with pairing them up and creating such a fantastic dynamic and passion.

Panther is a lot like Ivory in the sense they are both hunters, as I said before “wild”. He has the ability to shift into a Panther. He is a big flirt and tries very hard to get Ivory to open up to him and also help her with control.

In the end I loved these two together, they were so very opposite but had such similar instincts that it was destined for them to connect. There is a lot of action and suspenseful scenes that it felt like I was reading one of my comic books. This is a quick read that doesn’t leave out details but gets right to the character plot twist and keeps the readers hooked with the steamy romance.


RECOMMENDATION:
This is an adult novel with adult content meant for mature readers. Fans of Phenomenal Girl 5 by A.J. Menden and Holding out for a Hero anthology will love Ivory by Lola Dodge.

View all my reviews

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