In My Mailbox...(10)

In My Mailbox is a meme that is hosted by The Story Siren every Sunday.

Right, this week I think I am going to do this a bit different as I have quite a few books from before I went on holiday. I never had time to write them up in the last IMM post.

Bought

Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost - bought via Amazon.co.uk - Review is here
Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles - bought via The Book Depository
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles - bought via The Book Depository

Recevied for Review

Matters of the Heart by Danielle Steele - Received from Transworld as part of their Summer Reading Challenge, find more info at Between The Lines

Borrowed from Library

Bloody Bones by Laurell K Hamilton

Won

I won these three books as part of an ARC giveaway over at READFREEK REVIEWS.
Images of book covers taken from author's websites; Kira Morgan's Website and Dee Davis' Website.

Review: Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost

My Rating: E, P, X

Published: July 2010
Publisher: Avon

Author's Website: jeanienefrost.com

Purchase @ Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com

Chicago private investigator Kira Graceling should have just kept on walking. But her sense of duty refused to let her ignore the moans of pain coming from inside a warehouse just before dawn. Suddenly she finds herself in a world she’s only imagined in her worst nightmares.
At the center is Mencheres, a breathtaking Master Vampire who thought he’d seen it all. Then Kira appears—this fearless, beautiful…human who braved death to rescue him. Though he burns for her, keeping Kira in his world means risking her life, yet sending her away is unthinkable.
But with danger closing in, Mencheres must choose between the woman he craves, or embracing the darkest magic to defeat an enemy bent on his eternal destruction.

Eternal Kiss of Darkness is the second instalment in the Night Huntress World series by Jeaniene Frost. This book focuses on Mencheres and Kira.

Mencheres is an ancient and very powerful vampire. He co-rules his people with Bones. Kira is a private detective who happened to save his life. Saving Mencheres has changed her life irrevocably.

I absolutely loved this book. Jeaniene Frost has outdone herself yet again. I never actually thought much about Mencheres other than what Cat thought of him throughout the Night Huntress series so I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book at all but I am glad to say I was proved wrong. This book has totally changed my thoughts of Mencheres. I thought he was a heartless vampire by messing with Cat and Bones in Frost’s other series but this book has made me realize that underneath it all he is just a man that feels total and utter regret for what he did in his past and he can’t seem to overcome it.

I can’t seem to be able to pick just one favourite character from this book. I love them all. However, I can pick one favourite scene was with the bath tub. I thought it was brilliant, that and the ceiling scene. Pure masterpiece of literature. I think those scenes should win awards. I don’t want to say too much as it will ruin the story for those of you that haven’t read the book yet.

Overall, I loved this book and feel that if I keep writing I will end up writing huge spoilers and I don’t want to do that. This book and series is brilliant and I highly recommend it to any of you that have read the Night Huntress series. Definitely a good way to learn more about the characters from the aforementioned series. I can’t wait to read the next book. Bring it on! I can only imagine what Jeaniene Frost will come up with next, this woman has a magnificent imagination when it comes to writing.

Disclaimer: I bought this book with my own money and I have not been paid to review this book. Everything I have said is of my own honest opinion.

Review: First Drop of Crimson - Jeaniene Frost

My Rating: VG, B, X Released: 9th February 2010 Publisher: Avon Books Author's Website: jeanienefrost.com Available @ Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com The night is not safe for mortals. Denise MacGregor knows all too well what lurks in the shadows – her best friend is a half-vampire Cat Crawfield – and she has already lost more than the average human could bear. But her family’s past is wrapped in secrets and shrouded in darkness – and a demon shapeshifter has marked Denise as prey. Now her survival depends on an immortal who lusts for a taste of her. He is Spade, a powerful, mysterious vampire who has walked the earth for centuries and is now duty-bound to protect this endangered, alluring human – even if it means destroying his own kind. Denise may arouse his deepest hungers, but Spade knows he must fight his urge to have her as they face the nightmare together... First Drop of Crimson is the first novel in the Night Huntress World series, a spin off series from the Night Huntress series starring Cat Crawfield. The Night Huntress World series are novels, I think are, introducing us to the other characters that you would have met if you have read the Night Huntress series and giving us a more in depth look at their history. I’m not sure that I knew what to expect from this book or what to make of it. The beginning felt a bit off for me with Spade’s automatic lust and feelings towards Denise. This was probably because I am used to reading about the emotions flitting back and forth between Cat and Bones, and haven’t really thought much about the other characters and their lives/feelings out with Cat’s knowledge before. I certainly didn’t catch the look that they gave one another in the Night Huntress series – come to think of it, I don’t think it was actually mentioned (I could be wrong, don’t have the book in front of me to check). The plotline was rather interesting as the Night Huntress series, so far, hasn’t dabbled with demons so that put a nice new spin on things. The demon is quite essential to the plotline because he is the one of the reasons that Denise and Spades cross paths. I liked that we found out more about Spade’s rather unfortunate and sad past and what happened to Denise as she was hardly mentioned in the fourth book of the Night Huntress series. It’s a shame that she blamed herself for everything that happened. I felt bad for Denise for being dragged into this whole mess with the demon. Denise’s family’s past has created some serious bad karma for her and has caused some of her family members to end up dead. The demon threatens to kill the rest of her family unless she brings him what he wants, and believe me it’s nothing short of simple. His sought after toy has been hidden deep within the vampire world. This demon business has a bad affect on her and she has to learn how to control herself. Spade craves Denise like he craves blood, ever since the first time he met her, but was warned to stay away, which he has done. But when she calls him requesting supernatural help, he wilfully obliges. He never realised what he was getting himself into when he agreed to help. As the story progresses, Spade doesn’t want to let Denise go. He ends up falling for her and because of what has happened in his past, he is determined not to let her die. The only thing stopping him carrying out his plan is that Denise doesn’t agree with it one bit. (WARNING - SPOILER’S FOR NIGHT HUNTRESS & NIGHT HUNTRESS WORLD SERIES IN FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH) It was a nice surprise to see Cat and Bones in this book. I didn’t think they would appear what with the story focusing on Denise and Spade and their problems, but I suppose Spade has helped them quite a bit in the past. Once they turned up, if felt like everything would be okay, they would take over and save the day. They didn’t take over, but they did help a lot. I was constantly wondering when Denise would find out that Cat had finally gone all the way to the other side – seemed like Spade wasn’t going to tell her. (END OF SPOILER WARNING) Overall, I thought the story was very good and there was a fine balance between romance and the plot. There quite a lot of scenes that contain sexual content. It’s not too explicit but I would recommend the book for more mature teens and adults. First Drop of Crimson was definitely a page turner and I had trouble putting it down at certain bits, so I had to keep reading, even until the late hours of the night, luckily it was a weekend. Disclaimer: I bought this book with my own money and I am not receiving money in for this review. Everything I have said is of my own honest opinion.