Three talented authors wove fantastic tales of shifters and magic, angels and demons in this amazing anthology of paranormal romance.
TANGLED TINSEL
Vivian Arend sure knows how to write her shifters, especially playful cat shifters. Kyle caught my imagination from the start, with his playful demeanor and cat-like behavior. The first time he caught sight of El and chased her--wow, that was a great scene! The chemistry between them was hot and blinding, and the passion--whew! I needed ice to cool down.
El is one confused cat as she buried her cougar nature in trying to be accepted by her human colleagues. But being with Kyle freed her, who encouraged her to surrender to her cat nature. Still, no matter how Kyle pushed her buttons, she wasn't willing to surrender her career to a man who might only want her to stay at home and push out kittens.
A thread of mystery and suspense was interwoven into their story as a result of Kyle's investigative work and family shenanigans. This provided some tension toward the end, but I had a feeling of something left unresolved. Still, this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. TANGLED TINSEL is one passionate, mysterious, tangled tale that I had fun unraveling.
NO ANGEL
The world that Vivi Andrews created for this novella is fun and original, with angel masses, angels as celebrities, etc. Angels and demons are recognized as another group of citizens, living side by side with the humans.
Not only that but her characters are so vividly portrayed that they seem larger than life. Sasha Christian--great name!--may seem like a good girl, but she's as capable of some wickedness and she wished she has a man who understands her wholly, both the good and bad. She's a kick-ass heroine, literally. On the other hand, there's just something so delicious about long-time boyfriend Jay, a half-demon who found himself experiencing the finer emotions the first time in his life. Tired of court intrigues in Hell, he escaped to the mortal plane, where he found something, rather, someone, that might just persuade him to stay. However, he had a problem. He really can't stay, because his nature might subject him to being incinerated on Christmas Day.
Ms Andrews drew me effortlessly into her fascinating world with a delightful, very original concept, and she kept me on the edge of my seat with a good balance of action, suspense and shocking revelations. NO ANGEL is one hell of a story that kept me in heavenly delight long after I finished reading.
FREEZE LINE
A breathtaking futuristic world, two lonely, heartsick protagonists who can't survive in the other's world, and the passion that drew them together.
A great book cover could set the tone of the story in the reader's mind, and this is what this book's cover did. Kudos to the artist and all the people responsible for this cover. While reading this fascinating story, the snowy expanse depicted in the cover, coupled with the author's descriptions, filled my mind and became the backdrop for this story to blossom.
A simple story, but it's a fitting addition to the anthology. The world building is superb, featuring nature magic and the different ways it affected our protagonists. I like that there wasn't any magical solution that came out of the blue to solve the characters' problem toward the end, but their HEA was a product of compromise and love. The quiet, solemn tone of the novella befits its backdrop and the personalities of the characters, and it was because of that reason that the moments of violence and passion should stand out so starkly in comparison. Read FREEZE LINE and it would hold you spellbound.
Reviewed by Ashia
for The Romance Reviews
