Captive de Minuit ( Minuit 8) par Lara Adrian

Bonsoir à tous!

On peut dire que la journée a été mouvementée mais elle se termine bien heureusement, malgré l'heure tardive j'ai encore beaucoup à faire cependant je tenais également à poster au moins un avis en français ce mois-ci afin que vous ne vous sentiez pas délaissés au profit des anglophones.  J'ai encore beaucoup de livres à lire en français et j'ai encore un livre reçu spécialement pour que je vous donne un avis dessus donc ne désespérez pas cela va arriver.

 Juin a été un mois assez difficile pour moi ce qui fait que la lecture est passée momentanément au second plan mais j'espère bien que les vacances me permettront de reprendre un peu d'avance. En attendant, je vous donne mon avis sur le tome 8 de la série Minuit par Lara Adrian.. et oui j'aime cette série mais ne vous en faite pas, prochain avis en français sera pour une série différente c'est promis après tout j'aime vous faire découvrir d'autre choses.


Bonne lecture

Editeur VF: Milady 2012
Titre original:Taken by Midnight ( edited 2010)
Genre: romance paranormale, bit lit
Violence: élevée
Langage: normal
sexe: élevé
Public: +18ans
Obtenu par achat

Quatrième de couverture de l'éditeur Milady:

La Lignée est parmi nous depuis toujours : de puissants guerriers vampires mènent une guerre secrète contre les Renégats pervertis par la Soif sanguinaire.

Jenna Darrow a survécu à la profanation de son corps et de son âme. Mais elle doit désormais faire face à d’étranges séquelles que seuls les guerriers vampires de l’Ordre peuvent l’aider à comprendre. Sous leur protection, elle va faire la connaissance de Brock. Ce mystérieux vampire a un don singulier : ses mains ont le pouvoir de réconforter, de soulager la douleur et d’éveiller le désir.

Mais tandis que Jenna et Brock explorent les limites de la passion qui les unit, un terrible secret surgi du passé de ce dernier va mettre en péril la vie de sa maîtresse mortelle.

Avis:

        Comme vous le savez sûrement, cette série est une de mes favorites dû au fait de l’importance et du rôle actif donné aux héroïnes… ici les hommes, vampires, sont forts , puissants, protecteurs mais pas machos. C’est vraiment ce qui m’a fait préférer Minuit à la série de la confrérie de la dague noire.

Ce tome ne change pas la règle et bien au contraire les femmes sont ici plus actives que les vampires et efficaces ; pourtant l’héroïne principale de ce livre Jenna n’a pas trouvé grâce à mes yeux. Humaine en train de changer suite à sa rencontre avec l’ancien, elle se retrouve soudainement plus forte et rapide que certains vampires…mais elle agit trop stupidement à mon goût. Ce n’est pas le fait qu’elle panique, s’enfouie, cache ses blessures etc  car dans un sens ces attitudes peuvent être compréhensible  chez un individu lambda mais voilà pour moi elle n’en est pas un. Elle est avant tout un ex-flic…et en tant que telle elle devrait avoir un peu plus de jugeotte et  se rendre compte des dangers qu’elle court (pour elle-même et les autres). Franchement elle apprend qu’elle a un objet non identifié attaché à sa moelle osseuse… les seuls susceptibles de l’aider acceptent, elle a même une amie sur place (important car au milieu d’étrangers ça peut faire un peu peur)…mais non elle ne reste pas où elle peut avoir des soins.

Au départ elle ne veut même pas aider alors que peut-être ses compétences ou son expertises pourraient faire la différence, elle me frustre vraiment.

Brock est bien différent, son pouvoir ne fonctionne que sur les humains, il peut absorber leurs souffrances à leur place. Comme, il semble,  tout vampire qui se respecte il a des problèmes avec son passé qu’il n’a pas encor résolu. Dans le cas présent, c’est la culpabilité de ne pas avoir pu protéger la compagne de sang qui lui avait été confiée, cette dernière a été enlevée sous sa garde. Pour Brock cela signifie qu’il n’était et n’est pas encore digne de la confiance qui lui avait été accordée et il porte ce poids sur les épaules. Lorsqu’il se retrouve en charge de Jenna, pour qui il commence à ressentir une très forte attraction, c’est l’histoire qui se répè !te et il est fermement décider à ne pas échouer une fois de plus.

Le fait que les deux personnages partagent ce sentiment d’absence et de culpabilité vis-à-vis de leur défunts respectifs est un élément qui rend leur relation plus réaliste selon moi car peu importe le temps passé, les besoins restent les mêmes et ils sont capables de partager sur ce sujet afin de passer outre pour continuer à avancer.

 Du côté de l’histoire, on voit que nos héros marquent des points, il était temps après avoir perdu si souvent, toutefois, Dragos semblent préparer bien des mauvais coups et leurs alliés ne sont peut-être plus aussi fiables l’influence de ce dernier s’étendant bien plus largement que ce qu’ils pensaient. De nouvelles alliances se forment également car ils ont tous bien plus à perdre désormais.

Lara Adrian laisse sous entendre de grands bouleversements ou actions dans le futur car si ils ont gagné la bataille la guerre elle fait toujours rage.

Un excellent tome dans la ligne des précédents mais j’ai simplement moins accroché aux personnages centraux cette fois.

Score:  3,5/5

Disclaimer: Toutes les opinions exprimées ici sont les miennes, il s’agit de d’un avis honnête et personnel. Aucune compensation n’a été fournie en échange de ce dernier.

Challenges:

Sentinels of New Orleans: News, new release and free read!

Hello to all,

                   Today is really good one for all the fans of the urban fantasy series written by the talented Suzanne Johnson and I have a lot to share with you as you know “Sentinels of New Orleans” is one of my favourite series.

So first for those who haven’t had the opportunity to discover  it yet, the first book “ Royal Street” is currently in promotion on amazon ( for those buying from the US at least) -edit: i've just learned on Suzanne's blog that Barnes & Noble, Kobe, apple istores and ebooks.com have also aligned their price on the promotion - so don’t hesitate and give it a try. Suzanne Johnson is really a master at vivid descriptions.

 You can see my review here  or you can buy it on  amazon or on  Bookdepository

UK edition

US edition

Then because Suzanne get better with each book you can’t miss River Road . This second book takes place years after Katrina hurricane and the story is captivating and filled with action and humour as you can see in my review here.

Why do I tell you this today? River Road is just released in paperback today!! The editor/publisher decided to do a print hardback release end of 2012 but if like me you want to see the books on your selves matching you need this paperback edition.

 You can buy it on  amazon or on  Bookdepository -US edition- ( Uk edition )

US edition

UK edition

Want more?

 You can now see the cover for the US edition but also for the UK edition (I do want to add this one on my shelves as soon as possible!! So gorgeous! I love the color effects).

Elysian Field will be released on the 13^th August…don’t hesitate to pre order it!

UK edition

US edition

Elysian Field will be released on the 13^th August…don’t hesitate to pre order it!

 If you want this book you can buy it on  amazon or on  Bookdepository

( i will add the link for the Uk edition as soon as it's available)

And because Suzanne is so kind as not to make us wait in vain so long….she is offering us a free read!

 Each day of this week we get a new chapter of the novella featuring Jean Lafitte (you can’t resist him) titled Jackson Square.  Don’t miss it! It takes place after River Road but even if you haven’t read the series you can discover Suzanne’s writing style to make you want more.

 You can find the free read here or here

Now if you miss this opportunity for one reason or another don’t despair,  the novella will be later available on amazon for a little price AND because Suzanne knows how to make things even better… you will get bonus in that edition!!  ( i will add the link when it comes online)

 Now what are you waiting for? Don’t you have some shopping to do? Pre order to place or novella to read?

Which cover in this series is your favourite?

Hellforged ( Deadtown 2) by Nancy Holzner

Hello to all,

                  i guess the topic of this month: zombies don't motivate me a lot because i can't find a lot of free time but even when i have a few i don't feel like reading... it won't last though and i did make an effort so today i can share with you my opinion on a book full of zombies... the second Deadtown novel titled " Hellforged" written by Nancy Holzner

happy reading!

Publisher: ACE

Publication: 2010

ISBN:  0441019803

Genre: urban fantasy
Violence: strong
Language: mild
sex: none
Public: 18+

Source: bought

Short description from goodreads :

A demon is stalking Vicky's dreams-just as several of Deadtown's zombies are viciously attacked and become really dead. And when Vicky realizes she is the only connection between the victims, she suspects that the demon is somehow working through her dreams to become Deadtown's living nightmare.

My opinion:

          I read a lot of urban fantasy and a few darker too but this series is definitively too realistic for my taste. It’s not bad quite the opposite, the writing style is excellent, the world building is really well thought, the plot interesting there is a tough of romance and even better they are several kind of paranormal creatures: werewolves, zombies, vampires, shifters, demons and I’m sure we will discover more along the way too…

The idea that the paranormal have made their coming out and as a consequence find themselves parked in a part of the city with less rights than a normal citizen, need permit to go somewhere else and even are killed on sight in some states.. it’s interesting and sadly  really logic and realistic.  I would like to say it’s not  but if we are honest we must admit that if that happened now, humans would become afraid and they aren’t fair with what frightened them. Sure some would be pro paranormal but the majority will make sure their security come first and if it means treating them like garbage they would do it. It’s bothering me. Science fiction and other writing genre have always been used to send message and to make people understand some situation by transposing them in a fantasy universe but with enough element for reality so the readers can make the links and think about it. It’s not something bad quite the contrary.

However, I’m perhaps already to realistic at the moment I need to evade myself not to spend my time regretting injustice in a fantasy world. Nancy Holzner writes so well that you are thinking about the situation even if you don’t want to… and I must also admit that it’s a little dark with lot of deaths too ..

Now it’s true the story is interesting and developing after each book, this time we learn more about the nature of Vicky or to be more precise we get to discover the demon’s point of view on this story because as often where there are two camps there are two stories, two truths while in reality you need to know both to approach the real truth and leave the “propaganda”. It was really well shown here and it gave us a new perspective. The romance is also better in this second book, the characters discover what they really want and what the others is doing  so their feelings looks more real, not just the sparks of the moment but like a real relationship, a commitment in a sense.

The plot managed to keep my attention during all my reading and while we learn quickly who the main bad guy is we don’t know what he is planning until the end. Now the ending…we get the resolution to the main investigation yes, we get a little happy end yes but we also see the seeds for the next book, the next villains, and in that way it’s a little cliffhanger( not a angsty one fortunately)

If you want a urban fantasy book including zombies, this book  and series is more than interesting and you could enjoy it if you are not too sensitive.

Score:  3/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges:

Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath 1) by Keri Lake

Hello to all,

                   i'm sorry to have disappeared a few days but life got really busy and i got a little lost, i will try to do better . Today , while hiding from the sun ( too hot now, really too hot) i decided to share with you  the first book of a recent series written by an attentive and kind author.
When i heard about Soul Avenged last year, i knew i had to read it, i started to follow the author,to read all review, participate in all contests without any luck. Sadly too, for international readers the print book ( think big book) is only available on amazon at the moment. Fortunately, Keri took pity on me and i got this copy i could review for you.( Thanks again!!!!)

I decided to share this with you today because at the moment, Keri has a vote going on on her blog here to choose the model for the cover of the next book so more specificaly we are looking for the best personnification of Logan, the troubled, hurt, strong minded but sill yummy and touching demon... normally if you enter by this link you would grant me an extra entry too because each votant are entering a giveaway for  a t-shirt , gift card or perhaps something else. So don't hesitate to go to see the post about the model and then to vote ( my favourite are teh least three but perhaps you would prefer another one^^)

Now if you haven't read this book yet, here is my opinion on the book.

Enjoy and good luck!

Publisher: Keri Lake

Publication: 2013

ISBN:  0984851720

Genre: urban fantasy, paranormal romance

Violence: strong
Language: mild
sex: strong
Public: 18+

Source: gift
 

Short description from goodreads :

Passion is blind in vengeance and love ...

Ayden’s suburban home was invaded by a pack of Lycans.

The brutal attack is the only memory she carries of her former life.

Now, one motive burns in her soul:

KILL THEM ALL.

The Sons of Wrath—a brood of vengeance-dealing warrior demons—band with Ayden to hunt the Lycans on Detroit’s most deadly feeding grounds.

Kane Walker should’ve been her easiest kill.

Unfortunately, the newly bitten Lycan has something she wants—clues that may finally lay her past to rest. To reach them, she must be willing to submit to the sensual pleasures awakened by his touch.

Time is running out.

In seven days, Kane will become what Ayden despises most. She can halt his transformation but the antidote requires the ultimate sacrifice. As the beast takes hold, Kane becomes more of a threat.

Ayden must choose between her lust for revenge, or surrender to her enemy and discover a horrible truth.

Sons of Wrath

Never gamble with vengeance

My opinion:

          This book initiated different feelings in me.. when I saw the early excerpts before the publication I knew I really wanted to read this one and I tried to get it without success until the author took pity on me ( thanks!!). Now while reading I didn’t know where to stand… at first I was confused because it seemed the heroine, ayden , was alone in her mission then suddenly Zeke acts and i didn’t know what or who he was, where he came from.. I even when back a few pages to see if I missed something, if it was the name of her dagger or something ^^;; it lasted only a little moment though and we get the explanation. Another detail that bothered me a little is the way lycans, mostly werewolves, are described. Here they are mindless beasts, devouring babies, killing without reasons etc , I usually prefer shifters that keep part of their humanity while changing ( like adam Hauptman or tybalt), the fact they were all evil bothered me but it’s something personal and even more it’s not exactly how they are described but how Ayden had them described to her. We see the difference between demons and lycans from her eyes and she is learning that not everything is like she thought that not one camp is the good guy and the other the bad….. the evil are not who she thought during so long. I guessed some part of the plot but I was really in my reading and I didn’t want to take any break when it started to get deeper in the story.

I liked this book a lot as a whole, Ayden is suffering but she is hiding it behind a cold attitude and behaviour.. when she became an Alexi, her memories were ripped from her. Until getting bits of them she never thought she would want them. She was programmed as a soldier but at the same time she left them despites the fact it was going to make her a prey… she still had some independence and while she didn’t question the theory the alexi taught her  ( lycans bad, alexi superiors etc etc) she stil decided to seek her own revenge which was forbidden. I would have loved if she analysed the situation more but learning how she was conditioned I really understand her better. To protect herself, she went to the demons and not a simple one no she made a contract with the Sons of Wrath specialized in vengeance and punishments…. She even had before a relation with their elder Gavin but not wanting something lasting she broke it up for a professional relationship only… finding an Halfling, a lycan to be, she is surprised to feel something and decide to take him prisoner to learn more.

Kane was a doctor and someone simple until that night when he got attacked by beasts…he didn’t believe in werewolves or paranormal until then and he doesn’t understand what is happening to him.  However, when Ayden tells him what he will become, what he will become capable off, Kane is still sane enough to decide that it’s not what he wants and he ask her to kill him then. After when he has to put his new abilities to use he does it but only in hope to help and safe her. Slowly he becomes the proof that lycans are not what she was taught but a lot more complex and more human than some others.

The Wrath’ s sons are quite a gang: excessively handsome, proud and not lacking self esteem,  important lords in their universe they are really adapt at what they do: take revenge, punish those who wronged their clients. However they are also quite picky on who can be one of their clients. Each one has a speciality or a special power for example, the older one Gavin has some power of premonitions but those visions are  not complete nor are they coming on demand.  I really enjoyed to see the relationship they had together and how their personalities differs. They give us some information on the demon’s world and while it can be really barbaric there is some honor and rules that can’t be broken without repercussions. They aren’t evil just terribly violent with their own moral code..

It’s a good urban fantasy and really promising for the first book of a series. If you don’t mind some werewolves mindless and barbaric ( at least for a moment) and love urban fantasy, give this one a try you would be surprised

To recommend

Score:  4/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges:

Nightshifted ( Edie Spence 1) by Cassie Alexander

Hello to all,

 The sun distracted me so much that i forgot to post this earlier in the week buit i miss i don't regret it, i needed to enjoy it a little and i did well because he has already disappeared again.

Now, though, it's time to share my opinion on a new title with you and June's topic is zombie... to be honest i don't think i have a lot of books with zombies, i'm not reallly fan of horror after all but in some urban fantasy they are zombie in a form or another so i can at least share that with you.  And his first book qualifies too so it was a good motivations until i get in the mood some some of potential titles from my shelves so here comes Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander

Happy Reading

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication: 2012

ISBN:  0373277210

Genre: urban fantasy, romance ( dragon shifter, zombie, vampires)
Violence: strong
Language: normal
sex: strong
Public: 18+

Source: bought

Short description from goodreads :

From debut author Cassie Alexander comes a spectacular new urban fantasy series where working the nightshift can be a real nightmare. Nothing compares to being Nightshifted.

Nursing school prepared Edie Spence for a lot of things. Burn victims? No problem. Severed limbs? Piece of cake. Vampires? No way in hell. But as the newest nurse on Y4, the secret ward hidden in the bowels of County Hospital, Edie has her hands full with every paranormal patient you can imagine—from vamps and were-things to zombies and beyond…


Edie’s just trying to learn the ropes so she can get through her latest shift unscathed.  But when a vampire servant turns to dust under her watch, all hell breaks loose. Now she’s haunted by the man’s dying words—Save Anna—and before she knows it, she’s on a mission to rescue some poor girl from the undead. Which involves crashing a vampire den, falling for a zombie, and fighting for her soul. Grey’s Anatomy was never like this…

My opinion:

          I was intrigued by the summary of this book and I haven’t been disappointed but I still have a lot of questions too....

To start with the premise, I really enjoyed it; I mean a special hospital for paranormal creatures with human nurses even that’s a great change. After all, often the vampires, werewolves etc are described like nearly invulnerable like all what they could be suffering from are the repercussions of fight and still in the majority of case they heal alone. Here that’s different, yes there are injuries resulting from fights but also “simple” illnesses. All species have their specificities, weaknesses etc but they need medical help from time to time. Like the dragon suffering from syphilis^^;;  that’s really the first time I come across a dragon sick like that in a book and it was a fresh change.

I also loved that the story was only about one kind of creatures, it’s not a hospital for vampires… they are vampires yes, the main plot is linking to vampires yes but we learn about others species too and those species are supporting the story in their own way. So we learn about werewolves, so far they seem to be quite common to the rest of werewolves I’ve read ( save the fact they can be sick etc),weres, dragon, shapeshifters( those doesn’t change into animal but into human they got a skin to skin contact with), zombie and perhaps ghosts or some kind of demons but on those we are still a little unsure. The author doesn’t name them really just made them act so we get the result only and a little description sometimes^^… the mystery stays.

The plot it itself was good but I would have loved to get more for example, in the apartment there were several files: the ones already saved, Anna’s but also other.. I’m surprised Edie didn’t take them to try to save them too , even later.  Yes she was under the risk to be killed etc but the first time she went to the apartment, she didn’t know about the vampires etc so I’m surprised she let everything there.  Perhaps we will learn more in the other books of the series we will see.

Edie is an interesting and believable character. I can relate to her relationship with her brother ( no mine isn’t into drug but since young I was a little responsible of him and it’s something not easy to let go)… he is destroying her slowly by slowly and he isn’t conscious of it. He is so self-centred I wanted to punch him, shout at him etc. I mean how he could steal from her like that; try to make her feel guilty when she risked everything for him. I don’t like him but I understand why Edie, even if she should, can’t cut the link. What bothered me was the way she went with Asher to start with …. As a nurse she should have been more vigilant yes but even simply as a woman I thought it was too quick. .. and she give him her address even… really a bad example… worse just after she jump on Ti… oki perhaps when you think you will die you can do things you wouldn’t normally do…. Except that she did that with Asher a few days before…if there hasn’t been the thing with Asher I could have understood she felt for Ti but after… no I don’t approve and it’s not because Ti is a zombie. I guess she disappointed me. Asher is even worse in my opinion, I could understand his curiosity but not what he did to get an answers…

Now it’s what I think personally and in a whole she is a great determined, courageous character and I will probably love more as the series goes on but at the moment she is far from my favourite heroine model.

My favourite “character” so far is “ grandfather”…I love how he is protecting Edie and I’m curious as why he is protecting her, who or what he really is ^^ and why german…couldn’t he adapt itself to his listener ^^;; because if Edie has to take some lesson in addition to her nightshift she will be really busy.

It’s really an enjoyable series and if you want an urban fantasy a little different, if you want different kind of paranormal creatures in the mix that’s a good series to discover. I really want to read book 2 to discover more^^

Score:  3,5/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges:

JUNE RAK sign up

Hello to all,

                   Welcome to a new month of Random Act of Kindness created by the girls ( Isalys and Vanessa) from Booksoulmates to share the love of books between the blogger from all around the world.

I'm really enjoying participating in this event as it shows how the community can be strong and generous, i hope i will be better this month so i planning to send a few gifts this month to make up for the fact that i participate a little less last month

So don't forget to write if you want handmade gift, if i don't contact you this month i could still mark you on my list for a future time.

Happy RAK!

COMPLETE RULES RE-CAP:
Please read carefully & follow all rules! Thank you!

• Please sign-up each month that you can participate (and by participate, we mean give as well as receive).
• Show off your participation by grabbing our RAK button (code is in the right sidebar).
• Create a wish list (on Amazon, Goodreads, or your blog, etc) and post it in the Google Doc located in each R.A.K post for the month.
• If you choose to do a R.A.K for someone, check out their wish list and contact that blogger directly for their information.
• Once you receive a RAK, send us an our new email to [rakbybooksoulmates @ gmail . com] so that we can update the Google Doc. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU SEND EMAILS TO THIS ADDRESS!
• E-book participation is limited to files being gifted directly to a person from the e-book store. Amazon's Kindle Store is set up to allow this, as well as the Kobo store and we believe Barnes & Noble with Nook as well.
• At the end of the month, SHOW US YOUR R.A.K by making a "RAK Wrap-Up" post. This post should include who you SENT gifts to as well who you RECEIVED gifts from :)

OPEN TO EVERYONE including all our International brethren!

Remember, there's always the Book Depository  or fishpond and they offer FREE shipping!

Easy peezy!!

Links you will need:

Sign up for June2013 [HERE]
See who else is participating [HERE]
If you have any questions regarding RAK, please contact us via the following:
rakbybooksoulmates @ gmail . com

This month, i'm number 12 on the list. If you want to grant me a RAK, please send me an email at isabelle(dot)frisch(at)gmail(dot)com and i will give you my information.

I have a long wishlist but that way everyone can find something they like and in their budget. I also accept gently used books from no smoking house (allergic), but i'm international so the shipping without bookdepository can be expensive. 

You can find my complete wishlist here and if i have to choose some favorite ( always difficult) in no particular order ( but really any book from my wishlist is fine):

-Once sweet ride ( play by play6) by Jaci Burton

-Alpha instinct by Katie Reus

-Dead embers by TG Ayer

-Exiled by MR Merrick

- Midnight blue light special by Seanan McGuire
-School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins
-Etiquette and Espionnage by Gail Garringer

- Cursed by Jennifer L Armentrout

-In a fix by Linda Grimes

-An heiress at heart by jennifer Delamere

-Othermoon by nina Berry

ps: i don't accept ebook normally but there is a small exception for the pdf files of the Tales from the archives ( short stories from the ministry of peculiar occurences) by pip ballantine and Tee Morris. It exist only in digital so far and i'm a fan of this series and fortunately they are on smashword in all format ( included pdf) so the list for that is:

Tales from the Archives collection 2
Tales from the Archives collection 3
Tales from the Archives collection 4

Happy RAK to all participants and don't forget to write if you accept/want handmade gifts either in the right case on the form or in the comments!