Book review: This Time Next Year by Catherine Peace

Available July 11th from Decadent Publishing 
Vampire Kiernan Shaw has never forgotten the night twenty years ago when he’d been forced to stand by while another vampire killed a six-year-old girl’s parents in front of her. He’s spent the better part of the last two decades watching over her, protecting her and hoping for an opportunity to make amends one day.

Ever since surviving the vampire attack that killed her parents, Moira Curran has dealt with the resulting nightmares and abandonment issues the only way she could—by throwing herself into her biochemistry career, preferring a life of a hermit in her lab to facing the reality of her lonely life.

Madame Eve brings them back together for one fateful night. An immediate bond of sizzling chemistry and respect forms, but can it heal her fears and his guilt?

This is a short 38 page story by a brand new first time published author Catherine Peace. It's always hard to try brand new authors. It's a risk of course to our pocketbook and our reading time.  Miss Peace started with a beautiful cover and a great little blurb so i had good hopes i would enjoy the story.  it's It's hard to put enough  story into something this short and make it feel enjoyable. This is really like the after story of a horrific tale where years ago a little girl is forced to watch her parents get torn apart and murdered by a vampire. Now years later and grown up the newly made vampire who was forced tostand back and  watch what happened is back. Kiernan  had a good vampire maker that was murdered by another vicious vampire then was forced to watch him murder Moira's parents. He's watched over her all the years after and now wants to make amends. This story reminded me a bit of Twilight and Christine Feehan's Dark series. It's well written and your drawn through it by the intense emotions experienced by both Moira and Kiernan. A lot had to happen in a short amount of time and at the end i just wanted more. I would love to see this author write a longer story. Definitely would like to read more. 5 out of 5 stars for This Time Next year by Catherine Peace.

Find out more about Catherine Peace www.lexcade.blogspot.com

Book review: Strong Enough to Love (Jackson #1.2) by Victoria Dahl

Available March 1st. Was Free at the time.

Photographer Eve Hill was completely comfortable being single. Or at the very least, she was completely resigned to it. There was only one man who made every nerve in her body and brain light up when he walked into a room. But Brian Stewart had always been off limits. Hell, she'd never even kissed him!

For Brian, returning to Jackson Hole feels like coming home. But that has nothing to do with the town. It's Eve drawing him back. Eve and the chance to finally see if they have something or if it's all been in his imagination.

Eve doesn't think she can open her heart to Brian again after getting hurt so badly before, though her body still wants him. She offers Brian one night to fulfill their long-denied fantasies, and that's it. No love or promises, just a chance to get their attraction out of their systems. But can one night really be enough?

Return to Jackson Hole for more steamy romance by Victoria Dahl in Close Enough to Touch, Too Hot to Handle and So Tough to Tame

This is a short story in the Jackson Hole series. So far there is only one full book with number two coming up for release shortly on March 26th. This can be easily read as a stand alone. Brian taught Eve everything he knew about photography. They got to be best friends but there was a sexual attraction between them. Brian was married although mostly separated so neither did anything to mess up that friendship. Then Brian confessed his feeling in a letter and also decided he needed to try one more time with his wife so he left town. Two years later he's back and divorced and wanting a chance with Eve. Her heart can't take it she thinks. She was hurt to deeply by his leaving and not choosing her.  Fast paced great short story. You can't go wrong with this one. Your chance to try a new author if you have read Victoria Dahl before. 4 out of 5 stars for Strong Enough to Love by Victoria Dahl.

Find out more here www.victoriadahl.com

Book review: How to Misbehave (short story)Camelot series by Ruthie Knox

Coming January 28th 2013. Pre-order now.

What woman can resist a hot man in a hard hat? Beloved author Ruthie Knox kicks off her new Camelot series with this deliciously sexy original novella, in which a good girl learns how to misbehave . . . with all her heart.

As program director for the Camelot Community Center, Amber Clark knows how to keep her cool. That is, until a sudden tornado warning forces her to take shelter in a darkened basement with a hunk of man whose sex appeal green lights her every fantasy. With a voice that would melt chocolate, he asks her if she is okay. Now she’s hot all over and wondering: How does a girl make a move?

Building contractor Tony Mazzara was just looking to escape nature’s fury. Instead, he finds himself all tangled up with lovely Amber. Sweet and sexy, she’s ready to unleash her wild side. Their mutual desire reaches a fever pitch and creates a storm of its own—unexpected, powerful, and unforgettable. But is it bigger than Tony can handle? Can he let go of painful memories and let the force of this remarkable woman show him a future he never dreamed existed?

This is a short novella ebook that kind of will introduce you to Ruthie Knox's new Camelot series. It's packed with more of everything than i expected for a short story. Amber hasn't had the best experience with men. She's not exactly innocent but not experienced either. She's got cute sweet girl looks so she can't get the kind of hot sexy men to notice her that she would like. That seems to include construction guy Tony Mazzara, at first Tony is a pretty messed up guy. He's got some pretty dark secrets and fears and when a tornado sends the two  of them into a basement to wait out the storm he tells Amber a couple of those secrets. I really enjoyed this and am kind of revved up for the series now. Amber wants to dirty up her love life some and Tony is the right guy for the job but there is so much more. Loved Tony so much. He made a terrible mistake when he was younger and has been beating himself up for it ever since. Amber shows him it's time to forgive himself  and learns it's ok to let it go.  A sexy quick read! 5 out of 5 Stars for How to Misbehave by Ruthie Knox.

Find out more about this ebook and the first full book in the series due out in March 2013 here on Ruthie Knox website www.ruthieknox.com


Pre-Order here for 99 cents. Well worth it to try out a taste of this new series www.amazon.com/How-Misbehave-Short-Story

Free Ebook Friday! One dangerous Night by Lisa Renee Jones

Blake Walker left behind the ATF when the drug cartel he was hunting cost him the life of his fellow agent, and fiancee. Now, two years later, he’s working with his brothers at Walker Security, but he’s living fast, hard, and wild, until he reaches the ultimate high…revenge. And he’s close, so close he can taste it. He’s one meeting, one woman, away from being inside one of the money laundering shells the cartel operates.


One woman….

One dangerously hot night….

This is 20 pages and goes with the Tall, Dark and deadly series and goes with book 3 that out in October of this year. This is my favorite series by Lisa Renee Jones.

PS. Come back next Wednesday when Modokker Book Picks hosts Lisa Renee Jones blog tour. There will be a giveaway.

Find out more about this series and Lisa Renee Jones other work here www.lisareneejones.com She always has some kind of contest going to check her website and blog out.

Get this free from Amazon right now! www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Night-Tall-Deadly-

Book review: Free Short Story!! The Day of the Dead by Karen Chance

Review by Sarah





Back of the Book Blurb: The Day of the Dead is a short story connected to the New York Times bestselling Cassandra Palmer series of urban fantasy novels. It was first published in the Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance (2008) and is now being offered as a free ebook. It features Tomas, a character from Touch the Dark (2006), the first Cassandra Palmer novel. Tomas has returned to an ancient village in South America to destroy his former master, a former Conquistador named Alejandro. Before he can locate Alejandro, Tomas runs into Sarah, a mysterious woman searching for her missing brother.



Review: At just 36 pages, this is truly a short story. That being said, it was free (yay!) and pretty darn good. And absolutely perfect to read while my son was in his karate lesson and my daughter was bouncing off the chair next to me, chattering nonstop. Which is why I normally can only read at night:-)

Tomas is over four hundred years old, and has not had the best vampire life. He was born to an Incan mother and a Spanish Conquistador father, turned into a vampire and made to collect human snacks for a real sadistic master vamp named Alejandro. He ends up slave to another master vamp, escapes him, and has returned to the small village in the mountains to try and kill Alejandro (gahhhh, I hear Lady Gaga every time I type his name). It is the Day of the Dead, and there are other strangers in this tiny village, one of whom is Sarah, a mysterious and capable woman searching for her missing journalist brother. Not everyone is fully human, though, and Sarah and Tomas end up joining forces. I won't go into further plot points because, hey, at 36 free pages you can read it yourself.

Tomas is a well-developed character - I really felt like I knew him about halfway through the story. His motivations for killing Alejandro are understandable, and his morality really shines through. Sarah's secret identity is a unique twist in the paranormal genre, and I enjoyed reading about her, although I wanted to know more about her history. Usually short stories are focused on either action or character development, but the author has done a nice job balancing the two. The story moves along nicely with lots of fights, suspense and surprises, and the beginnings of a sexy romance.

Good stuff!

4 out of 5 Modokker Book Pick Stars

For more information about the author and her books, check out her website at www.karenchance.com
This is also where you can find this free read.