Vigilant ( I-Marshal Stories book2) by Michele Hart

Hello to all,

                     Today i've decided to share with you another discovery that i made during a blog hop. I came upon the Michele Hart's blog and i was captived by her universe and the excerpt so when i received the news that i won her second book i was estatic. I've read it and i was hooked, i absolutly love her writing style and the idea behind her universe. However like you will read in my review i also had some questions and i wanted to know if it was because i started by her second book.
She answered me and she even did it quickly, it's my first experience like this and i'm so happy, even better she kindly offered my a pdf of her others books so i could review them . I'm really grateful for it because after that first read i wanted more. You will then be lucky to discover the other books in this series but first, here comes  I- Marshall Stories book 2 " Vigilant" by Michele Hart

author: Michele Hart

Publisher : BookStrand Publishing

Publication : 2011

ISBN:  1610343964

Genre: science-fiction romance
Violence: strong
Langage: normal
sex: strong
Public: 18+

source: ebook won from the author

Short description from goodread :

Alliance I-Marshal Weber hauls Yadira to her home planet and infiltrates the human-trafficking ring controlling her. But he finds himself unbearably attracted to his witness. A gift for detecting deception reveals she's the next victim of a criminal industry. Descending into shadowy worlds of slavery, Yadira endures a dark angel stalking her dreams and watches the quiet I-Marshal become dangerous in her defense. Everything about him moves her...except the memory of seeing him execute the most important man in her life. Shouldn't she take vengeance? Delusions of a heavenly guardian affect her mind. Slavers and demons plan to snatch her from Weber's custody while he is uncovering connections, and Weber won't hesitate to execute the guilty surrounding Yadira. Who but a son of fire can save her from fiends harboring hardcore fantasies of harming her? Note: This book contains adult language used as profanity.

My opinion:

          A wonder! I wasn’t sure what to think at first while reading it was a science-fiction with angels and demons. It seemed original but as for the quality only the complete book could answer me. What an answer! I absolutely loved this new kind of science-fiction romance. It’s the second book and I haven’t read the first one so perhaps it’s normal I was a bit lost in the universe background but even without reading another one you can enjoy this story a lot. It’s really different from the other I’ve read this month and the quality is really there same for the originality.

We learn quite a few about I-Marshall and their angel part in this book. However, the minimum we have is enough for the plot in Vigilant. We know that Weber has a special ability and that he can spot evil entities that he must kill. Simple yes. The how, when, why can wait. Here we have a cop, special cop with a mission and while doing it he discovers that one of the accomplice isn’t as guilty as she should. He wants to discover why and even if he killed her protector supposedly lover he needs her cooperation. And while he is at it, breaking some of a lot of rules to achieve his goal isn’t a problem at all.

Yadira is a character that grows on you. At first, a bit like Weber, you just think that she must be punished for her part in the kidnapping but soon, you learn that all is not like it seems and perhaps the victims aren’t always known. As long as you haven’t discovered the reason for her relation with J you don’t understand why she is so broken, so afraid that she prefers to die. Once you discover her past and how her world works you pity her, would like to help because no one should live that and if it’s not an excuse that explain quite a bit. Even if at beginning she hates Weber for having killed J she feels that there is more and she become conflicted once Weber start “ courting” her. Part of her enjoys the affection, the protective feeling and the other thinks she must feel guilty because he killed J, that she is making a treachery.  A angel’s kiss makes her feel new sensations and she remember what she should have forgotten. Slowly she reveals herself for what she really is, drops the disguise and discovers that hope can give you courage and with that you can move mountain.

Dokiel is cute and a bit funny for an angel, I wouldn’t want to make him angry. The romance is building slowly at first and after blossoming and it was really great because at first I didn’t like how he used the intimacy to gain her trust. But after I understood that he was also his trust he was trying to build because Weber is a solitary one before this mission and for once is found himself in a sort of team.

In the end I can’ t say how I loved this book and I really happy I get the opportunity to read the first one and the new published 3^rd book of the I-Marshall Stories. I’m really pleased to have discovered this author and I want more^^. You don’t have to read her books in order because each one has a complete story that are linked by the universe not by the characters. So give it a try.

Score:  5/5

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

ebook read for the 2012 ebook Challenge



Centauri Dawn ( Centauri series book1) by Cynthia Woolf

Hello to all,

                     In this quest to discover the subgenre science-fiction romance i was lucky to find a author during a blog hop and even better i've won one of her contest so it will be my pleasure to introduce you to Cynthia Woolf and her trilogy Centauri starting with the first book called  "Centauri Dawn".

publisher : Cynthia Woolf

Publication : 2011

ISBN:  0983937206

Genre: science-fiction romance
Violence: mild
Langage: normal
sex: strong
Public: 18+

Source: won from the author

Short description from goodread :

Audra is a normal grad student in law school in Boulder, Colorado. Until the day she finds out she isn't. She's a princess from the planet Centauri. Her mission, whether or not she chooses to accept it, is to marry an alien and save the world, in order to save her family.Darius is charged with delivering his brother's bride home to Centauri, ready to be queen. Falling in love isn't just forbidden, it's a death sentence for him and for his world.

My opinion:

          It was pleasant to read. My first reaction was curiosity because like the title says it’s about “Centauri” or if you have read my other reviews of science fictions romance, touched by an alien in particular where the aliens come from Centauri, you can see that Centauri is really popular at the moment and I admit I’m wondering why. But the similarities stop there.

Cynthia Woolf has created a parallel universe on Centauri, a word with several kingdoms, countries, not completely different from ours but not the same either. Her characters are interesting and I liked to learn with Audra, princess but who lived all her life on earth without knowing her real identity or history.  In the same time that’s also what bothered me a bit, we don’t learn a lot about this world and the authors don’t give us a lot of details during Audra lessons, we just discover that she is learning. I would have liked this opportunity to see more about the studies and universe. Perhaps we will learn more is the next book of the trilogy and it’s just something I would have liked not something essential in this story.

Darius is a wonderful knight in a way; I loved his dilemma between his honour and his lifemate. Not easy but Cynthia manages to show us his torments and it’s really well done. The romance isn’t too strong at the beginning and is growing chapter after chapter and that’s something I love.

The rhythm isn’t too quick, perhaps even a bit slow sometimes but I really appreciated this book. Also, there exist an omnibus, paperback and ebook format, with the complete trilogy and that’s really great for the readers.

Score:  4/5

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

ebook read for the 2012 ebook Challenge





Héritière de l’espace par Tess Mallory

Bonjour à tous,

                     J'espère que ce vendredi vous portera bonheur en attendant je vous présente mon premier avis sur un livre en français de Science-Fiction romance "Héritière de l'espace" par Tess Mallory. Je nepensais pas vraiment en avoir en réserve mais ma merveilleuse maman a cherché et trouvé dans l'ancienne bibliothèque ce qui pourrait me convenir. Pour être honnête j'avais oublié jusqu'à l'existence de ce livre et c'est grâce à ce challenge que je le découvre.

A bientôt,

Editeur VF: Harlequin  2001  collection sixième sens
Titre original:To Touch the Stars ( edited 1998)
Genre: science-fiction romance
Violence: moyenne ( allusion à la torture)
Langage: normal
sexe: moyen
Public: 16+
Obtenu par achat

Quatrième de couverture de l'éditeur Harlequin:

La galaxie enbrasée...

La petite princesse Mayla Cezan a disparu. Héritière du trône d'Andromeda, douée de pouvoirs surnaturels, elle possède un secret que l'empereur Zarn, maître des trois quarts de la galaxie, veut absolument s'approprier, car cette petite fille est le dernier obstacle à son pouvoir absolu. Commence alors une course haletante de planète en planète entre Eagle, fils de Zarn, et Sky, commandant en chef de la rébellion, sœur aînée de Mayla. Qui, de ces deux guerriers des étoiles, parviendra le premier à retrouver la trace de l'enfant et à l'arracher aux mains de l'autre ? Désormais, le destin de l'Univers dépend de cette lutte à mort entre Sky et Eagle, entre l'esprit et l'orgueil, entre le bien et le mal. Une lutte qui se complique singulièrement quand, entre les puissants adversaires, le feu de la passion se met à brouiller les cartes de l'espace...

Avis:

          Une très belle romance naissante au Coeur des galaxies et d’une guerre assez cruelle. J’ai passé un bon moment avec ce livre que j’ai lu d’une traite.  Il est assez classique certes mais parfaitement équilibré. Il y a de la tension et de la violence mais celle-ci n’est que peu ou pas décrite. On la sous entend beaucoup par contre. De même les scènes de romance entre les deux personnages principaux sont très légères de sorte que ce livre est aisément accessible dès 16ans.

Sky est un personnage assez complexe, sœur ainée dans une famille régnante elle n’en est pas pour autant l’héritière et doit protéger sa très jeune sœur. Ce qu’elle fait sans aucune rancœur par ailleurs. Cependant suite à des évènements que je ne préciserais pas ici, elles se retrouvent séparées. Sky met dès lors tout en œuvre pour la retrouver et la sauver des griffes de leur ennemi l’empereur Zarn. Pour ce faire elle ne peut compter que sur son équipage car même si elle est une cezan et de fait dispose de pouvoirs, ceux-ci la mettent plus en danger qu’ils ne l’aident.

Eagle est le fils de Zarn, pourtant il n’approuve plus ses méthodes. Après la perte de son meilleur ami, il est envoyé pour diriger une planète servant aux «  redressement » des enfants. Or voir ces enfants enlevés très jeunes, à leur famille et leur monde, obligé de changer de nom et auxquels parfois on modifie le cerveau, le perturbe énormément. I voudrait changer cela mais ignore comment. D’autant plus que son père semble lui reprocher sa compassion.  Soudain, il apprends qu’une enfant va arriver et son père exige qu’il la lui amène directement c’est alors que la planète est attaquée.  Face à face avec Sky, il se retrouve subjugué mais en même temps il reste marqué par la propagande dans laquelle il a grandit. A l’heure des choix, il n’est pas toujours aisé de savoir qui ont est et ce qu’on veut vraiment. Au milieu des étoiles, il y a bien des secrets et de vérités qu’on préfèrerait parfois oublier.

Le rythme de ce récit n’et ni trop lent ni trop rapide et même si on peut parfois deviner un peu les évènements, cela ne dérange pas trop. C’est une agréable lecture, simple, facile qui nous offre un bon moment d’évasion.

Score:  4/5

Challenges:

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading Challenge

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Touched by an Alien ( Katherine “ Kitty” Katt 1) by Gini Koch

Happy Easter to all of you!

On this happy day, i wanted to share with you my last science-fiction romance discovery, one book that i really loved, once that was again recommended to me by Stella, and she really knows me it seems.
So now here comes " Touched by an Alien" first book of the serie Katherine "Kitty" Katt by Gini Koch

Editor : Daw Books

Publication : 2010

ISBN:0756406005 

Genre: sciences-fiction romance
Violence: mild
Langage: normal
sex: mild
Public: 18+

Source: bought

Short description from goodread :

 How can a sexy marketing manager join forces with an Alpha Centauri male in Armani to save the planet-using hairspray, a Mont Blanc pen, and rock n' roll?

Easy...

She's Touched by an Alien

Marketing manager Katherine "Kitty" Katt steps into the middle of what appears to be a domestic dispute turned ugly. And it only gets uglier when the man turns into a winged monster, straight out of a grade-Z horror movie, and goes on a killing spree. Though Kitty should probably run away, she springs into action to take the monster down.

In the middle of the chaos a handsome hunk named Jeff Martini appears, sent by the "agency" to perform crowd control. He's Kitty's kind of guy, no matter what planet he's from. And from now on, for Kitty, things are going to be sexy, dangerous, wild, and out of this world.

My opinion:

          Wonderful! I loved this book, no problem at all with the vocabulary, you are immediately immersed in the story and what a story. Humor and full of action, I couldn’t stop before the end and I really want the next one.

Gini Koch managed to keep the things light even when the tension is really high.

Kitty is a strong willed heroine and she has good reasons to be with her family. While seeing a monster going on rampage she doesn’t flee but kill him with what she gets her hands on strange stuff sometimes, but quite effective. After this event she is “kidnapped” by an agency whose work is to take care of these aliens by killing them. Some could have been afraid but instead this woman wants to learn more and her intuition is really good, so much even than these “ good guys”  want to recruit her. 

Jeff is the first member of says agency she met, an empath and a gorgeous good looking alien. As soon as he saw her he declared she was his and he keeps reminding her of this fact. Strange to say at least ^^ fortunately for Kitty these aliens can’t lie and she is friend with one human member of the group so she is learning a lot and not every answers is good knowing because now the big boss of the bad guys wants her dead. All family and pets are put under protection… but who is protecting who when kitty’s words was just an illusion.

I can only recommend this book; the romance is well done and so touching, the story while full action packed is still funny.  Once again Stella knew what I was going to love. You want something a bit different ^^ try this book.

Score:  5/5

Challenges:

Book read for the Reading Challenge 2012

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Ce livre s'intègre dans le challenge de Natasia

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading Challenge

La Marque du Démon ( Kara Gilian-1) par Diana Rowland

Bonjour à tous,

                             Normalement, cemois-ci je dois me concentrer sur les livres de sciences-fiction romances et il y en aura même au moins un en français mais avant j'ai fait un petit écart pour découvrir une nouvelle série publiée chez milady.  Sans plus attendre voici donc "La Marque du Démon" premier tome de la série Kara Gilian par Diana Rowland.

Illustrations :Anne-Claire Payet

Editeur VF: Milady 2012

Isbn : 9782811206826
Titre original: Mark of the Demon( edited 2009)
Genre: Urban Fantasy 
Violence: Très élevé
Langage: normal
sexe: élevé
Public: +18ans

Prix : 8,70euro
Obtenu par achat

Quatrième de couverture de l'éditeur Milady:

Son métier : flic. Son hobby : invoquer des démons.

Kara espérait utiliser ses pouvoirs pour arrêter un tueur en série. Mais son invocation n’a pas eu l’effet escompté : Rhyzkahl, un seigneur démon à la beauté surnaturelle, est apparu dans sa cave. La jeune femme est partagée entre la peur et le désir que cet être éveille en elle. Peut-elle lui demander son aide pour arrêter un meurtrier qui a déjà pris la vie et l’âme de treize personnes ? Kara est la seule à pouvoir résoudre cette énigme, mais avec Rhyzkahl qui hante ses rêves et un charmant agent du FBI qui surveille ses moindres faits et gestes, elle risque d’être complètement dépassée...

Avis:

          Un très bon exemple d’ Urban Fantasy, ce livre n’en reste pas moins extrêmement sombre. L’auteur Diana Rowland a un parcours assez atypique avec entre autre comme emploi agent de patrouille, inspecteur, assistant à la morgue….et  elle s’est nourrie de toutes ces expériences pour créer son héroïne Kara Gillian, ancienne flic de patrouille devenue inspecteur et récemment muté aux homicides. Ce vécu lui sert également à apporter une grande précision dans les détails de ses enquêtes ce qui donne au récit un aspect très réaliste malgré la part de fantasy, l’invocation de démons et le reste.

L’écriture très précise garde cependant un rythme assez soutenu et on se retrouve immédiatement plongé dans l’intrigue aux côtés de la jeune inspectrice Kara. Toutefois, la violence est vraiment extrême dans ce récit qui est vraiment très sombre. La romance y est une touche de fraîcheur mais en construction encore.

C’est un excellent livre pour les amateurs de romans d’urban fantasy plus noirs mais à déconseiller aux âmes sensibles et aux moins de 18ans qui débutent dans le genre. Si vous recherchez un peu de frisson par contre et que vous avez les trippes bien accrochées, lancez vous et découvrez cette série.

Score: 4,5 /5

Challenge:

Book read for the Reading Challenge 2012



Grimspace ( Sirantha Jax 1) by Ann Aguirre

Hello to all,

                   April is the month for the sci-fi romance subgenre in the romance challenge, i've already in the past read some books from this category but it was a long time ago so in a way it's a novelty.
I won't read only that of course but i will try to present you several series and authors that i'm discovering.

First we start with the Sirantha Jax serie, book 1 Grimspace by ann Aguirre.

all the best,

Editor : Ace Books ( penguin group)

Publication : 2008

ISBN: 0441015999 

Genre: Science-fiction romance
Violence: Strong
Langage: mild
sex: strong
Public: 18+

Source: bought

Short description from goodread :

 By all accounts, Sirantha Jax should have burned out years ago…


As the carrier of a rare gene, Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace—a talent which cuts into her life expectancy, but makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. But then the ship she’s navigating crash-lands, and she’s accused of killing everyone on board. It’s hard for Jax to ...moreBy all accounts, Sirantha Jax should have burned out years ago…

As the carrier of a rare gene, Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace—a talent which cuts into her life expectancy, but makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. But then the ship she’s navigating crash-lands, and she’s accused of killing everyone on board. It’s hard for Jax to defend herself: she has no memory of the crash.

Now imprisoned and the subject of a ruthless interrogation, Jax is on the verge of madness. Then a mysterious man breaks into her cell, offering her freedom—for a price. March needs Jax to help his small band of rogue fighters break the Corp monopoly on interstellar travel—and establish a new breed of jumper.

Jax is only good at one thing—grimspace—and it will eventually kill her. So she may as well have some fun in the meantime…

 
My opinion:

          If Grimspace can be a bit difficult during the first pages, it‘s mainly because you don’t have a strong sci-fi reading background. I was a bit put off at the beginning because I didn’t understand some words and English not being my native language I wasn’t sure of me. But each sci-fi world has a universe with specify words and while an addendum, a listing to explain those words would have been great you can do without. After the fist chapters you are immersed in the world and you understand the meaning of the terms used naturally.

I was afraid I wasn’t going to like this book however the more I read the more I loved it. The characters revels more of themselves progressively and you start to love them a lot. The action is full packed and the intrigue important. You get the reason of why the situation is what it is only in the last chapter. Even then , you know that there is more so the next book isn’t read soon enough because there is still a lot we don’t know about Jax for example.

Sirantha is a strong heroine, strong willed and in the same time so vulnerable. She is living a life that she knows, or believes, is killing her but she thinks she doesn’t deserve more. She starts with losing her pilot and in this universe a pilot is more like a soulmate so she looses a part of herself and her confidence. She will have to find who she is or decide who she wants to be. Even if she rejects March at first because she is seeing him as a betrayal of her last pilot, Kay, she needs him.

March is like Sirantha, hiding behind what he would like. He thinks he is a monsters and doesn’t deserve happiness…he is just a psi and I really think it must be hard to know what people are really thinking. But for him, Sirantha jax is a strange phenomenon, their minds are attuned to each others so the link is stronger than most and she isn’t hiding. Both have been hurt and both have trusting issues.  If they didn’t choose to collaborate at first, now they are a team and rely on each other.

The romance is strong, first in the memory of jax and Kay, after it’s building with March. The secondary characters are interesting too, I was so sad for Loras and I found Vel so attaching. I would love to see more of this bounty hunter, it could be great if he joined the team.

For a first step in the Sci-Fi romance subgenre, I don’t regret it at all and I recommend it.

Score:  4/5

Challenges:

Book read for the Reading Challenge 2012



This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading Challenge

RAK April Sign Up

Hello to all,

     Sharing the love of books is one things bloggers and readers have in common so the Random Act of Kindness so the event created by the Booksoulmates is really a wonderful idea.  I got a lot of joy participating the past months so here i'm signing up again for April.  Like always first a bit recapitulation of the rules for the newcomers with all the informations needed.        

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 and they offer FREE shipping!

Easy peezy!!

 Links you will need:

Sign up for April 2012 [HERE]
See who else is participating [HERE]
If you have any questions regarding RAK, please contact us via the following:
rakbybooksoulmates @ gmail . com

For april i'm number 111 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):
- Stray by Rachel Vincent
- under the same sky by geneviene graham
- Iron fey serie ( book 1-3)
-The faerie Ring
- kindling the moon by jenn bennett

Thanks you a lot to Booksoulmates for the organisation and thanks you to all participants, you really are great. Happy RAK


all the best,