Dark Secrets: A paranormal Noir Anthology with Rachel Caine, Suzanne Johnson , Mina Khan and others ( early review)

Hello to all

I'm really happy to share with you  my opinion on an anthology which will be released soon " Dark Secrets"  which include a favourite author of mine but also new favourite ( some i  had read and just got even more fan of, some completely new)and new authors to me.... A wonderful group of women, very talented and generous as well because if you pre order the book now, before the release on the 29th, you can get it for 99cent only if you are in the USA.

Six stories for that price that's a great offer. But even better, they thought about those of us who love print books more and it will be released in print in the future as well.

I have opted to read the stories in order of the anthology and not jump directly to those of the authors i knew beforehand and i think i was a good way to go about it as I didn't get any specific expectations but was open to anything. I really recommend you this book if you love dark paranormal of if you want to try any of these authors, you have nothing to loose so don't hesitate.

I will give you my opinion, short as not to spoil too much, novella by novella so the post will be longer than usual  but first a little words about each of them.

 happy reading!

Publication: 2015

Genre: paranormal romance, noir, fantasy
Violence: mild to strong
Language: normal to strong
sex: strong
Public: 18+

Source: ebook received in exchange for an honest review

Short description from goodreads :

 Six award-winning authors bring you this spellbinding collection of stories about dark desires, mysterious worlds, and danger that lurks in the shadows of the night. Where nothing is black and white; where things might not be as they seem; where magic and mayhem rule.

MARION, MISSING by Rachel Caine

Valentine is a detective with two major problems: he's been offered a kidnapping case that will probably get him killed, and his partner won't let him turn it down. He owes her that much … since his partner's a ghost, and he blames himself for her death. A dark, haunting noir mystery of love, hate and loss.

FEMME FATALE by Cynthia Eden

PI Mick Swayne has seen it all—his clients have included liars, thieves, and even killers. He thinks he can handle anything and anyone. Then she walks into his office. Savannah Moreau is beautiful, seductive, and…a vampire? The gorgeous vamp hires Mick to help her track down a killer who is hunting in Chicago, but as Mick slips deeper into Savannah’s paranormal world, he wonders if he can really trust his new client…

DANCE WITH THE DEVIL by Megan Hart

When the devil starts the music, you'd better get ready to dance.
Kathleen Murphy has sold her soul to the devil. Fame, fortune, success...everything she's ever dreamed of is hers, and all she has to do is the devil's bidding. When love comes knocking, the last thing in the world she wants to do is involve Jake in her twisted world, but the devil's started up the jukebox and Kathleen has no choice but to learn the steps

THE CONSORT by Suzanne Johnson

Faulkner Hearne, the captain of the ruthless Fae Hunters, finds his duty at odds with his heart when he’s ordered to capture the consort of Faerie’s cruel Prince of Summer when she flees across the veil into modern New Orleans. Can Faulk turn Liandra over to a certain death at the hands of the prince, or will he risk a war with Faerie in order to save her?
An all-new novella set in the Sentinels of New Orleans multiverse.

HEART’S BLOOD by Jeffe Kennedy, a Twelve Kingdoms novella

A dark fairytale retelling of a princess robbed of rank, husband and even her name.
Nix is nothing. The Princess Natilde—her former waiting woman—attacked her on the journey to wed Prince Cavan, stripping her of everything and taking her place. With no serving skills, Nix becomes a goose girl. Perhaps if Nix keeps her promise never to reveal who she really is, Natilde won’t carry out her vile threats. Prince Cavan entered his arranged marriage determined to have a congenial, if not loving relationship with his future queen—for the sake of both their kingdoms. But, his wife repels him more each day and he finds himself absurdly drawn to the lovely Nix.

THE DJINN IN THE MIRROR by Mina Khan, a Djinn World novella

A paranormal Cinderella story with a young witch as the heroine and a wicked, sexy djinn instead of a fairy godmother.

Dahlia, the step-daughter of a power hungry wizard, promises to free a djinn trapped in a mirror if he rescues her from impending death. But Ashmael the djinn has his own agenda: to trick & seduce his way to freedom. The only problem is he ends up falling for Dahlia. Can he win his freedom and save the girl?

My opinion:

          Marion, Missing by Rachel Caine

It was well written and heartbreaking .... i don’t see how you could remain unmoved by this story Rachel Caine really did well but  for me it was too sad. So far she is the author i have the less affinities with so i’m not surprised  if i don’t connect too much with it.

The story speaks about racism too and in a such a way that you are not really sure of what time it... of course you have element showing it’s the past but it done in sucha way that you really can imagine it still done now in some place of the word and that’s probably what makes it unsettling. It’s not my favourite short stories but mostly because ofthe topic and ending and how it left me. I must  precise that this was REALLY wonderfully written.

Femme Fatale by Cynthia Eden

This was a novelty for me as i didn’t read this author before even if i do have at least one of her book in my TBR pile. In this short story about vampire and PI i really liked to be surprised as the author manages to maintain the doubt until the end.

 It was well built and Mick is an inetresting Heroe, i liked how he wanted to stay honorable and all.

So very good reading time.

Dance with the Devil by Megan Hart

Another new author to me and new series of course. The good point is that you can absolutely read this without prior knowledge. If you are one of those who don’t like to read about demons and angel you should probably  pass this one but if you have an open mind this is an interesting story.

 I don’t think i would follow up this series though but as a try it was good

The Consort by Suzanne Johnson

I LOVE IT!!! Suzanne Johnson never disappointed me but this is simply fabulous, even if you have never heard of her series you can follow this easily and it just leave you wanting for more.

You have the action, humour some suspense and romance... just perfect I really liked Liandra, she is only half fae but she is strong willed and intelligent and couregous. Faulk... i just want to read more of him and his team it’s a wonderful treat that works wonderfully aside from the main series but i do hope we will see more of the characters we met here either in other shorts or in the main series but i want more^^

Heat’s Blood by Jeffe Kennedy , a Twelve Kingdoms novella

Oki this is my last liked in the anthology... it’s not bad written or anything, quite the opposite even but it’s not my cup of tea at all... i don’t like cruelty towards animals ( fae or not) or  unjustified violence.... If only the vilains got what he/ she deserved but i didn’t feel as it was the case.

 Some how i would have wanted the fae‘s wrath to apply judgement or something... i’m definitively not ready for the series after reading this, like i said it’s not bad written simply it’s not for me at this time. I reassure you it has an happy ending but i ‘m still upset days after reading it so better if i put it aside for a time

The Djinn in the Mirror by Mina Khan, a Djinn World novella

I loved this one as well. I had read and loved other works by this author  but nothing about her stories with Djinn and now i really want to read those ( part of me want to see a certain revenge well deserved)

 This novella is a little difficult to tell you about without spoiler but if you are new to her Djinn universe like i am don’t fear you will be swept by the story really easily!  It’s engaging, mysterious and so well written.

 There is romance, action, tension and a lot more

You will love Ash and Dalhia story i’m sure if you love magic, witches, djinn and want a good romance.

Score:  4/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review. Source: an ecopy received in excahnge of an honest review

Challenge:

You can pre order this book on amazon Here

Blog tour: Release: Talon of the Hawk by Jeffe Kennedy

Hello to all!!!


                     If you know me, you already know that i'm not participating in a lot of blog tours.... i only do it if i love the book and/or the author.
In this case, a dear friend of mine is more than fan of this series "the Twelves Kingdoms" and while i haven't read book 1 yet ( i planned to but with the past monts events i'm behind schedule but you get my review of it later) i did have contact with the author, Jeffe Kennedy, in precedents books tour or in comments after interview and she won me over so i was really happy to participate in promoting Talon of the Hawk, third book in the series, which releases today!
 I did read the prequel novella "Negociation" too as you can see in the precedent post (and to celebrate today release it's free!)

So a little more info about this book:

Talon of the Hawk, The Twelves Kingdoms : book 3 by Jeffe Kennedy

Genre: Fantasy, fantasy romance

Publisher: Kensington

Date of Publication: May 26,2015

ISBN 13:978-0-7582-9447-0

ISBN 10:0-7582-9447-6

ASIN:B00ONTR57A

Number of Page: 438

word count ~130k

Cover Artist: Design by Kristine Mills,

Illustration by Don Sipley

Book Description:

A HEAVY CROWN

Three daughters were born to High King Uorsin, in place of the son he wanted. The youngest, lovely and sweet. The middle, pretty and subtle, with an air of magic. And the eldest, the Heir. A girl grudgingly honed to leadership, not beauty, to bear the sword and honor of the king.

Ursula’s loyalty is as ingrained as her straight warrior’s spine. She protects the peace of the Twelve Kingdoms with sweat and blood, her sisters from threats far and near. And she protects her father to prove her worth. But she never imagined her loyalty would become an open question on palace grounds. That her father would receive her with a foreign witch at one side and a hireling captain at the other—that soldiers would look on her as a woman, not as a warrior. She also never expected to decide the destiny of her sisters, of her people, of the Twelve Kingdoms and the Thirteenth. Not with her father still on the throne and war in the air. But the choice is before her. And the Heir must lead… 

Quite tempting, no? If you want here is a little excerpt to give you a better idea of the author's writing^^

Excerpt 
Two of the mercenaries marked off a circle with twine, roughly twice a man’s height in diameter, while Captain Harlan and another man began stripping off their shirts and pants. To keep from watching, I pulled up a bench and set to polishing my sword. Not that I hadn’t seen plenty of men unclothed—field outposts and battle left little room or reason for modesty—but Harlan’s muscled physique seemed unduly attention-grabbing.
His all-over golden tan hinted that he often went unclothed outdoors, and his fair hair barely showed, leaving the rippling cuts of his muscle plainly defined. He seemed more lithe, more like a male animal, without the hardened leather armor he typically wore. Fortunately he and the other man retained strips of cloth over their groins, though their buttocks were bared.

Unfortunately, they commenced applying some sort of oil, the morning light catching it and making Harlan’s golden skin gleam over taut muscles. I resheathed my sword when I came close to slicing off a finger, Danu take him.
“Now, that,” Jepp said, coming to straddle the bench next to me, “is a fine way to start the day.”
“I thought you were teaching those mercs the Midnight form.”
“This is much more interesting. Everybody is coming to watch.”

Indeed, the other female Hawks had drawn quite close, expressions avid with more than casual interest. Marskal circulated, taking more bets, no doubt, but everyone else watched Harlan and his man. At the far end of the practice yard, Madeline and some of the maids and kitchen ladies gathered, their giggles carrying on the air like birdsong. The castle ladies would likely be sorry that they were not early risers and had missed the spectacle.

“Nice of you to grab us a ringside seat,” Jepp continued, sounding entirely too casual, “but then, this is staged for your benefit, isn’t it?”

I was sorry I’d put my sword away, as I had nothing to do with my hands now and seemed to be unable to look away from the glistening display of Harlan’s masculine form. “Yes. Marskal knows I’m keen to learn more about how these Dasnarians train and fight.”

“Oh, Captain, we are all keen to see more,” she drawled.
“No consorting,” I snapped, without thinking it through. Always a bad sign.
Jepp gave me an astonished—and terribly disappointed—look. “You can’t mean it.”
She leaned in on the pretext of drawing her knives to polish and dropped her voice. “If we’re to get out, it will be through them. I’m working on making some special friends.”

“Duly noted. But you needn’t do anything you don’t wish to.”

“Not exactly a sacrifice.” She boldly eyed the near-naked men. “I don’t mind fucking one or two. Or five. Possibly all at once.” The two men in the ring circled each other, thighs flexing in their half crouches, backs rippling, as they flexed muscles in display. “Do you think they all look that good under their clothes? I need to know. Call it scouting. Postcoital glow is excellent for extracting information from a man. Danu, I love my job.”

“You worry me, Jepp.”
“I won’t touch the captain, but say I can try a few of the others. Please?”
“Danu. Fine. Have any of them—even the captain. I don’t care. Just watch your own glow and what gets extracted from you.”
She tore her gaze away to cast me a quick, delighted grin. “You’re flustered. I’ve never seen you flustered.”
“Shut up, Jepp.”

The men connected, grappling, their hands sliding off the oiled skin of the other before catching to hold. They strained to master the strength of the other, their muscles hardened and impossibly bulging.

“I missed my workout is all,” I added. “All this waiting and wondering. It’s making me restless.”

Harlan flipped the other man and they went down in a tangle of limbs, the oil gleaming bright. The other man slipped partly free and Harlan laughed, exultant, scrambling to lock him into another hold.
“Uh-huh,” Jepp breathed. “I feel exceptionally restless this morning also.”

The maids and kitchen ladies had made bold to press through the ring of onlookers now—else they wouldn’t have been able to see through the crowd—and cheered wildly, cheeks pink and eyes bright. No one blocked our view, however, much as I wished they might.

“We’ll have a crop of Dasnarian-made babies in nine months,” I predicted. “And likely no Dasnarian fathers about to help feed the lot.”

“Mmm,” Jepp hummed, not listening to a word I said, fascinated gaze locked on the men as they tumbled over each other. Harlan had the other man pinned, facedown, locked so that he could barely struggle. Another mercenary counted in what must be Dasnarian, slapping the ground on a shout.

Thankfully that ended the match, the mercs, Hawks, and overexcited ladies cheering alike. Even Jepp leapt up from the bench, squealing in most un-warrior-like fashion. Harlan and the other man rose to their feet, now swarmed by the onlookers with much congratulating and slapping of backs.

“Not bad for a little rabbit!” The loser clapped the mercenary captain on the shoulder, shaking his head as he did.

Jepp turned on me with a stern, expectant expression. “You can count on me, Captain. I swear to extract as much as womanly possible”—she couldn’t suppress her grin at the thought—“and hands off Captain Harlan. Fair?”

“I told you, I don’t care if—”

“I’ll report!” She gave me a distracted salute and sauntered over to the man Harlan had defeated, a saucy sway to her trim hips. Harlan used her arrival to deftly extract himself from the cluster. For a big man, he moved with slick precision, and came toward me.
I stood to go, but he stepped into my path.
“Not bad for a rabbit?” I echoed his man, raising my eyebrows.
Abashed by nothing, he grinned. “‘Harlan’ means ‘rabbit’ in Dasnarian.”

“Not very auspicious.”

“I don’t know about that. What did you think?”

“An interesting sport,” I commented, keeping my eyes on his, pretending that he wasn’t standing nearly naked in front of me, glistening with oil and sweat. “As you noted, not terribly useful on the battlefield.”

“Did you like what you saw, though?” he pressed.
“Not enough to be further interested.”

He smiled easily. “You’re not tempted—not even a little?”
“Tempted?” I had gone for arch, not breathless, Danu take it.
“I think you are. We could trade lessons. You’d enjoy it.”

“You’re mistaken.” I deliberately looked at the sun, pretending to gauge the time. “I have no interest in learning a new sport; nor do I have free time to squander on pointless activities.”

“Never pointless, if done well.”

Over his shoulder, Jepp had her hands splayed on the other man’s pecs, as if measuring, gazing up at him with a bright, teasing smile. Madeline had corralled the maids into heading back to their duties, but more than one gazed back longingly. We’d be in for a bumper crop of babies, indeed.

Harlan turned, following the direction of my gaze. “Shall I order the men to keep hands off? They are accustomed to exercising that discipline.”

“As are you?” I riposted, seizing the opening and regretting it instantly.

“As well you know, Your Highness,” he returned in that smooth, deep voice, a caress in it that reminded me of the feel of his hands. “I would never press an undesired advance. Nor would my men. But yon ladies look most willing. The men will resist any and all invitations, however, if I instruct them so.”

“No need,” I sighed, thinking of Jepp’s ulterior motives and enviable enthusiasm. “I’d have every woman in Ordnung out for my blood. But make sure they behave themselves—and that they pay up for any babies they start.”That should have been in his almighty contract. Docked pay for each child left for us to raise.

“There won’t be any.”

“You’re so sure?” In my skepticism, I made the mistake of looking at him, his blond hair dark with the oil, the thick neck and corded shoulders. For some strange reason, my fingers itched to do as Jepp was even still—run my hands over the shape of those muscles, to feel that strength for myself, to discover if his skin was as smooth as it looked. I shouldn’t want that. Had never felt that desire.

He knew it, too, Danu take him, eyes glittering with answering invitation. This is staged for your benefit, isn’t it? “We have methods for preventing unplanned babies. Our women are always safe with us. No Dasnarian man would have so little care for his lover as to expose her to that danger. I should have made that clear last night. It didn’t occur to me that it was one of your concerns.”

“I have many concerns—none of them to do with you. Believe me, Captain, I haven’t given you or your… offer the least bit of thought.”

“Liar.” He leaned in close to murmur the word, so I scented his skin. Man, sweat, and sunlight. “How did you sleep? I tossed and turned myself. I kept thinking of you and the way you taste. Imagining how your hands on me would feel.”

Calling it a strategic retreat, I stepped back, removing myself from the temptation to touch him, to run my fingertips over his oiled muscles. “How unfortunate for you,” I replied. “I had far more important things to think about and still do. Excuse me, Captain.”

Satisfied at having set him back on his heels, I strode away, ignoring the fact that his amused laugh once again followed me.

About the author:

Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning author whose works include non-fiction, poetry, short fiction, and novels. She has been a Ucross Foundation Fellow, received the Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship for Poetry, and was awarded a Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Award. Her essays have appeared in many publications, including Redbook. 

Her most recent works include a number of fiction series: the fantasy romance novels of A Covenant of Thorns; the contemporary BDSM novellas of the Facets of Passion, and an erotic  contemporary serial novel, Master of the Opera. A fourth series, the fantasy trilogy The Twelve Kingdoms, hit the shelves starting in May 2014 and book 1, The Mark of the Tala, received a starred Library Journal review and has been nominated for the RT Book of the Year while the sequel, The Tears of the Rose, has been nominated for best fantasy romance of the year. A fifth series, the highly anticipated erotic romance trilogy, Falling Under, released starting with Going Under, followed by Under His Touch and Under Contract. 

She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with two Maine coon cats, plentiful free-range lizards and a very handsome Doctor of Oriental Medicine.

Jeffe can be found online at her website: JeffeKennedy.com, every Sunday at the popular Word Whores blog, on Facebook, and pretty much constantly on Twitter @jeffekennedy. She is represented by Connor Goldsmith of Fuse Literary.

Jeffe Kennedy Website

https://www.facebook.com/Author.Jeffe.Kennedy

https://twitter.com/jeffekennedy

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1014374.Jeffe_Kennedy   

Have you started this series? If yes what do you think of it? If no are you tempted now?

As stated in my precedent post ( here) you can get the prequel for free for a limited time so it's a wonderful opportunity to discover a little of this series ( and could be useful for the already fans) so don't hesitate to get it while the promotion last!

Negociation ( The Twelves Kingdoms 0.5) by Jeffe Kennedy

Hi!

              Welcome on The Twelves Kingdoms Day event!!!!

Jeffe Kennedy is releasing the third book in the Twelves Kigdoms series today and to celebrate that she is offering the prequel novella " Negociation" for free but hurry because that offer will be for a limited time only!

Before the only opportunity to read it was in the anthology " Thunder on Battlefield, vol II" but now it's available in ebook format. A good way to start on the series if you haven't already and a sweet bonus for those who are up to date. In any case i had to share it with you ( i love the cover)

Book Description: Negotiation by Jeffe Kennedy

A Story of the Twelve Kingdoms

A wounded warrior trapped by the sorceress who knows him better than he does himself…

General Uorsin escapes the last devastating battle, only to find himself alone on a mountain, feverish and no closer to finding the paradise that drives him on. Salena, greatest shapeshifter and magic-worker of her people, springs the trap she’s set to protect her land—and to prevent the ravager Uorsin from ever reaching it.

Together, they spend a night setting the terms that will determine not only the rest of their lives, but the fates of the peoples of the Twelve Kingdoms—and the thirteenth.

A description it's not always enough to decide a reader to pick a book or not so i was even more happy when i got the opportunity to review this novella so here is what i thought of it.

My opinion:

          I love when a novella gives us a real insight into the story and author’s writing style which is what “Negociation” does. If like me you haven’t started the series yet this prequel is a wonderful entry in this universe in which the author put a lot of work building.

You can see how engaging her writing is and all the complexity of the world but also how determined the characters can be….Jeffe really put a lot of thinking into her character building and it shows even in such a short story. Salena knows what she wants and she did think, a lot even, before acting even if the outcome she knows will happen isn’t ideal, far from it;…I’m not sure I would have been able to make the same choice as her.

Uorsin….i don’t like him he makes my skin crawls and I fear Salena did not measure all consequences and even that aside just how he considers women makes me disliking him greatly.

And here come the detail that perhaps makes this series not one for me at the moment despite all the beauty of this universe and lovely writing…. In this series the women are acting, they are not simple trophies so far so good but even from this novella we can get that the author isn’t against making them use sex as a weapon…. I’m not naïve, I know women in all history often had to use that trick, weapon to survive or worse and I can read paranormal romance so it’s not the description that really bothers me either.- By the way in the novella they only speak of it, no steamy scene or nothing so don’t hesitate to give it a try- It’s just that I’m not comfortable with that idea, at least at this moment.

This is a fantasy romance so you can expect a mix of them and there isn’t a perfect ideal balance either it depends on the moment if fantasy or romance must be prevalent. I have no problem with that….after all I need some romance in my books but it’s also the reason why I can’t take it lightly either.. I want love not sex ( not sure if I’m  being clear) so I fear  it will come to clash for me at some moment of the story….the question is will this fear be enough to prevent me for trying….i don’t think so but at least I come prepared.I did like this novella!

So do I recommend this novella? DEFINITIVELY! Either you will be in love with the universe and jump on the first book if you haven’t already or it will at least gives you a really good idea of the style so you can make your choice in all conscience but one thing for sure the author is more than talented and really kind so don’t hesitate to send her a message if you read her books. 

So interested? Remember you can this Free for a limited time so don't be shy and gives it a try!

you can get it via the following links ( if it's not free when you are checking, just check again later it will be )

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/545307

http://www.amazon.com/Negotiation-Twelve-Kingdoms-Novella-ebook/dp/B00Y76WW0E

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/negotiation-4

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Jeffe_Kennedy_Negotiation?id=eVemCQAAQBAJ