My rating: 4 of 5 stars
GENRE: Romance
THEME: Paranormal, Mature, and Shifters
RECEIVED: Authors
BLURB:
From Carrie Ann Ryan's Dante's Circle series, a demon from the fiery depths of hell must make his choice to follow in the footsteps of his father or love the submissive wolf who lays claim to his heart in His Choice.
From Marie Harte's Beasts of Burden, Eira, a fierce valkyrie, has spent fifty years trying to get a rise out of her goddess’s guardians. But when the battle-cat shifters give her what she wants, can she handle the heat—and the danger—that comes from loving them?
From Rebecca Royce's brand new series, the Alphas of each Werewolf Pack are on the brink of war. Travis Michaels will use all in his power to keep innocent Lilliana out of danger and into his arms…away from rival Alpha Cyrus Fennell.
From Lia Davis’s Ashwood Falls series, buried pain, old lies, and dangerous secrets aren’t enough to keep the sparks from flying as Sarah Mathews and rebel leader, Damian Palmer, try to survive a new threat against their race.
From Leia Shaw’s Shadows of Destiny series, a war is brewing in the supernatural world. Rebel shifter Dalton’s only passion is protecting the colony, and flirtatious misfit, Eden, is a distraction he can’t afford. But as danger approaches, he learns that underestimating the sexy little wolf is a big mistake.
From Marie Harte's Beasts of Burden, Eira, a fierce valkyrie, has spent fifty years trying to get a rise out of her goddess’s guardians. But when the battle-cat shifters give her what she wants, can she handle the heat—and the danger—that comes from loving them?
From Rebecca Royce's brand new series, the Alphas of each Werewolf Pack are on the brink of war. Travis Michaels will use all in his power to keep innocent Lilliana out of danger and into his arms…away from rival Alpha Cyrus Fennell.
From Lia Davis’s Ashwood Falls series, buried pain, old lies, and dangerous secrets aren’t enough to keep the sparks from flying as Sarah Mathews and rebel leader, Damian Palmer, try to survive a new threat against their race.
From Leia Shaw’s Shadows of Destiny series, a war is brewing in the supernatural world. Rebel shifter Dalton’s only passion is protecting the colony, and flirtatious misfit, Eden, is a distraction he can’t afford. But as danger approaches, he learns that underestimating the sexy little wolf is a big mistake.
REVIEW:
Ever After is an anthology packed full of supernatural romance that sets the pages on fire with the heat from each story. I usually stray from reading anthologies because I never feel I get enough of the storyline to get involved with the characters, but these five authors know how to hook line and sinker with their storytelling.
The first story is by an author whom I’ve read before Carrie Ann Ryan, she focuses on her Dante’s Circle series, that’s full of wolves, demons and angels. Fawke is the son of the devil and has chosen not to follow in his father’s footsteps. His friend Hunter takes him in to his pack, where he meets Leslie, a wolf who is broken and may be the key to his happiness. I loved this story and really want to know how the other characters I was introduced too had met. I’ll definitely be starting this series from the beginning; it had some intense romance and interesting plots.
Second was Marie Harte, Beats of Burden, which is set in Asgard and the Goddess Freya and her people are focused on. After just watching the movie Thor, I was hyped to start this storyline. I was a little surprised on the romance side but it was extremely hot and super sexy. The story follows Eira a Valkyrie who is known for her fascination with Freya’s two guards Avarr and Hall, which are feline shifters who are intense and overpowering. She doesn’t realize what she’s in for after teasing the two for so long.
Third is by author Rebecca Royce who has officially awaked my love for werewolf stories again, I’m definitely going to be continuing this new series. Alpha Rising follows Lilliana, who doesn’t know that she has a wolf side to her persona, but when she meets Travis, the alpha of her city, she discovers the other side of herself. But with a rival pack ready to take over, Travis will do anything to protect his mate.
Fourth is by the wonderful Lia Davis, I just finished the third book in her series and was easily sucked into the world of the Ashwood Falls shifters once again. A Rebels Heart follows Sarah Mathews, after losing her mate and her children now being grown up, she feels like giving up. But when a close friend returns from the dead and claims she’s his mate, her life seems to be starting over. I loved Sarah and Damian’s story and hope to read about them in the future books.
Lastly Leia Shaw’s Destined for Eden, a story within her Shadow’s of destiny series. I’ve read the first two and they were seriously great. I highly recommend starting this series from the beginning because it’s that good. I loved the spunk and humor of the characters and Dalton is just one big hunk of a shifter. I loved the chemistry between him and Eden, and can’t wait to jump back into this series to read more about them.
Overall this was one smoking hot anthology and each story is a quick read that you can jump into easily even if you haven’t read the series on some. I look forward to seeing where each of these characters goes from here.
RECOMMENDATION:
This is an adult novella with sexual content meant for mature readers. Fans of any Urban Fantasies and Paranormal Romances will enjoy getting a sneak peek into each of these series and their talented authors.
EXCERPT:
Sarah Matthews was tired. Life had become lonely and less exciting. Sure she had her kids, but they had their own lives, their own families. It just wasn’t the same, and considering she’d lost a part of her soul it had become an effort to just get out of bed some days. Her mate had died a little over five years ago in a car accident that, until today, she’d believed just that.
An accident.
A case of being in the wrong place and all that.
However, today she received a package that made her wonder if her mate was indeed murdered. She opened the mailbox and frowned at the small box inside. Pulling it out, she studied it, suspicion twirling inside or mind. She put the thing to her ear and listened. She didn’t know what she’d expect to hear. A ticking from a bomb? Now she was being ridiculous. She rolled her eyes. “Ever so suspicious,” she muttered to herself.
There was no return address, nor was there a receiving one. That was odd. It was like someone had placed it in the mailbox. She didn’t hear any vehicles stop or even slow down in front of her house last night or this morning except for the mailman a few minutes ago. With her supernatural hearing, she’d heard a car pull up. Even her puma would had sensed another shifter in the area. Yet her senses didn’t go off.
Another mystery about the box in her hand.
The only writing on the top of the box was her name, hand-written.
Curiosity crept in, and after a quick sniff to make sure there weren’t any non-ticking explosives inside, she opened the box. Cold sensation went up her spine, and a hot fear burned her belly as she peered at the contents. Tears blurred her visions, and each heartbeat hurt as the wound that had slowly healed over the years was ripped back open. Inside the box was a gold wedding band with the words my love, my soul engraved on the inside. It was identical to Walt’s.
The ring he’d said he lost while working.
Underneath the ring was a slip of paper that read: You’re next.
Unable to go back into the house she and Walt had bought together, lived in, raised Nevan, and filled with their love, she ran into the woods, seeking some kind of peace. The tears fell in fat drops, soaking her cheeks and making it even harder to breathe.
She came to a stop at a large oak tree and dropped to her knees while she cradled the ring to her chest. The raw pain transformed into anger toward the sick bastards that could have done it. Whoever they were.
She peered back at the note. The two ugly words blurred as a tear dropped on them. Did this mean that Walt had been killed? If so, why? What would be the point of killing her? She didn’t have any enemies that she knew of anyway. And Walt…he was the most gentle and caring male she knew.
The sound of footsteps running in her direction made her stand and shove the note and ring into her pocket as her cat instantly went on alert. She scented the air and was relieved when she didn’t smell the acidy sweet smell of the Onyx Pack’s mutants. The half-animal, half-human creatures were not only gross; they were more powerful than she was.
The scent she did pick up belonged to a human, but there was another scent she couldn’t place, though it seemed familiar. The pounding of shoes hitting the earth grew closer, and she ducked behind the tree, unsure of what the human was doing in this part of the Smoky Mountains.
A human male ran past the tree, turned to look right at her as if he knew all along she was there, and pointed a gun right at her. Sarah gasped and fell to the ground a split second before he fired. Scrambling on hands and knees, she crawled around the tree and froze as another man barreled past her toward the human. The new man wasn’t a man, but a male puma shifter.
And she knew him.
Damian Palmer.
No, not possible. Damian had been in the car with Walt at the time of the accident. He’d died right along with his best friend. She’d seen his body, damn it.
An accident.
A case of being in the wrong place and all that.
However, today she received a package that made her wonder if her mate was indeed murdered. She opened the mailbox and frowned at the small box inside. Pulling it out, she studied it, suspicion twirling inside or mind. She put the thing to her ear and listened. She didn’t know what she’d expect to hear. A ticking from a bomb? Now she was being ridiculous. She rolled her eyes. “Ever so suspicious,” she muttered to herself.
There was no return address, nor was there a receiving one. That was odd. It was like someone had placed it in the mailbox. She didn’t hear any vehicles stop or even slow down in front of her house last night or this morning except for the mailman a few minutes ago. With her supernatural hearing, she’d heard a car pull up. Even her puma would had sensed another shifter in the area. Yet her senses didn’t go off.
Another mystery about the box in her hand.
The only writing on the top of the box was her name, hand-written.
Curiosity crept in, and after a quick sniff to make sure there weren’t any non-ticking explosives inside, she opened the box. Cold sensation went up her spine, and a hot fear burned her belly as she peered at the contents. Tears blurred her visions, and each heartbeat hurt as the wound that had slowly healed over the years was ripped back open. Inside the box was a gold wedding band with the words my love, my soul engraved on the inside. It was identical to Walt’s.
The ring he’d said he lost while working.
Underneath the ring was a slip of paper that read: You’re next.
Unable to go back into the house she and Walt had bought together, lived in, raised Nevan, and filled with their love, she ran into the woods, seeking some kind of peace. The tears fell in fat drops, soaking her cheeks and making it even harder to breathe.
She came to a stop at a large oak tree and dropped to her knees while she cradled the ring to her chest. The raw pain transformed into anger toward the sick bastards that could have done it. Whoever they were.
She peered back at the note. The two ugly words blurred as a tear dropped on them. Did this mean that Walt had been killed? If so, why? What would be the point of killing her? She didn’t have any enemies that she knew of anyway. And Walt…he was the most gentle and caring male she knew.
The sound of footsteps running in her direction made her stand and shove the note and ring into her pocket as her cat instantly went on alert. She scented the air and was relieved when she didn’t smell the acidy sweet smell of the Onyx Pack’s mutants. The half-animal, half-human creatures were not only gross; they were more powerful than she was.
The scent she did pick up belonged to a human, but there was another scent she couldn’t place, though it seemed familiar. The pounding of shoes hitting the earth grew closer, and she ducked behind the tree, unsure of what the human was doing in this part of the Smoky Mountains.
A human male ran past the tree, turned to look right at her as if he knew all along she was there, and pointed a gun right at her. Sarah gasped and fell to the ground a split second before he fired. Scrambling on hands and knees, she crawled around the tree and froze as another man barreled past her toward the human. The new man wasn’t a man, but a male puma shifter.
And she knew him.
Damian Palmer.
No, not possible. Damian had been in the car with Walt at the time of the accident. He’d died right along with his best friend. She’d seen his body, damn it.
Inspiration: It has teleport capabilities
No, really it does. At least it seems that way. Ideas, characters, story lines, and even full conversations seem to pop in at the strangest times and places.
The best times for ideas to teleport in are while I’m watching TV, reading, and many times while I’m writing. I keep a note book handy at all times so I can write down the ideas as they flash in. If I don’t I lose a lot of good stuff my muse feeds me.
My inspiration for Ashwood came at me as a “what if”. What if wolves and leopards lived together? The setting was easy for me. I’d recently spent a week in Cherokee, NC and spent every day driving through the Smoky Mountains. I loved it! I didn’t want to come home. LOL. So I just knew my shifters had to live there.
The rest just stated to flow after that.
ABOUT LIA:
Lia Davis is a mother to two young adults and two very special kitties, a wife to her soul mate, a paranormal romance author, and co-owner to Fated Desires Publishing, LLC. She and her family live in Northeast Florida battling hurricanes and very humid summers. But it’s her home and she loves it!
An accounting major, Lia has always been a dreamer with a very activity imagination. The wheels in her head never stop. She ventured into the world of writing and publishing in 2008 and loves it more than she imagined. Writing started out as a stress reliever that allow her to go off in her corner of the house and enter into another world that she created, leaving real life where it belongs. Now it has become her career. A real life dream come true.
Her favorite things are spending time with family, traveling, reading, writing, chocolate, coffee, nature and hanging out with her kitties.
I love the great stories in this book. Thanks for sharing your review.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Eva!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review! Love Lia and Carrie! New to the other authors and can't wait to read more from them!
ReplyDelete