Cloud Nine by Melissa A. Smith

About the book:
Cloud Nine (A Paranormal Romance of the Guardian of Man) by Melissa A. Smith
Format: Nook Book, Lendable, 221 pages
Publisher: Smith Books, Young Adult
Series: The Guardians of Man, #1

Synopsis

What happens when you receive a guardian angel?
What if you don't believe you need one?
What if one wants you removed?

My Thoughts:
Claire is a 17 year old high school senior whose parents seem to be too busy and leaves her to her own devices quite a bit. She wakes up one morning to get ready for school and finds a floating fog in her room named Sterling. Not only does she see a fog cloud in her room, but she can hear the voice of a male coming from the cloud in her head. Of course she believes she's dreaming. But wherever she goes, the cloud follows and can only be seen and heard by her. The cloud explains to her that he has been  sent to her as her Guardian to help her with her "needs". As a teenager she of course doesn't believe she needs anything.


Eventually Claire comes to terms, kinda, with having a Guardian which happens to be a floating cloud that she can converse with in her head. Claire then of course being the teenager she is, she begins to ask the cloud questions he's not used to. She then asks him if he can transform into a human. This is a request he's never had to grant in the past but he does for Claire. And there is the beginning of a budding romance. Once she sees him, she immediately becomes attracted to him and figures out how to shut him out of her thoughts. This confuses him because he's never had someone he's guarding shut him out of their thoughts before. He seems to experience quite a bit of 'firsts' with Claire.


Throughout all this however, Claire's ex of over six months decides he wants back in life and will do anything to get her back, including toeing the stalker line. This of course drives Sterling nuts. At one point I thought he was going to use some kind of magical power and have the ex disappear. However, Claire isn't the only one with a psycho ex. Except, Sterling's ex is also a Guardian and can appear wherever Claire is. Which she does and she also threatened her life not once but twice and the second time included a dagger.


Cloud Nine was a simple yet refreshing YA romance with a little bit of a paranormal twist to it. There were laugh out loud moments and moments where I thought I was going to cry. This is the author's first book and she is an indie author. Outside of the editing errors, I thought the book was an easy and quick read. For the price, I will definitely read the next installment to see how Claire handles Sterling's ex.

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I purchased on my own.

Tempted by Fate (The Guardians of Destiny) by Kate Perry

About the Book: Willow Tarata is a Guardian who trusts no one. She hunts those who prey on the vulnerable. And she's driven by a vengeful goal-find the man who murdered her mother. Yet suddenly Willow's quarry now has her on the run . . . straight into the sights of San Francisco's most dangerous detective.
Three bizarre murders have Inspector Rick Ramirez baffled-and determined to uncover the truth. But to catch the real killer, he needs the help of his prime suspect, Willow Tarata, even though this fierce and sexy blonde is challenging his professional cool. And now, unless they believe in each other and trust their deepest instincts, a relentless evil will end both Willow's and Rick's life-and claim this Guardian's extraordinary powers forever . . .
About the Author:As a little girl, Kate dreamt of many things. Like becoming a ninja. Dressing up in black and carrying a big sword? Seemed like a no brainer.
However, Fate had other plans for her, and she studied Kung Fu San Soo instead. A Kung Fu Master, Kate now has more weapons than she ever imagined-including several swords.
She lives in San Francisco. Voted by her friends as the woman they'd most want to stroll with down a dark alley, Kate's as likely to be spotted at the opera as she is doing tai chi in Golden Gate Park. Usually wearing black-in both cases.
For more info on Kate, check out http://www.kateperry.com.
My Thoughts: When I received this book, I did not realize it was a part of a series, let alone the third in the series. Even though it is the third book in the series, I did not feel like I was missing anything about the story. The author gave great detail that allowed me to piece things together and not feel like I was missing anything. 


The story begins where Willow, the now Guardian of Wood, has been handed over the task of protecting the scroll, The Book of Wood and was also witness to her mother being murdered by "The Bad Man". Twenty years later, Willow is drawn to San Francisco where a slew of strange murders are happening. However, all evidence is pointing to her and this is where we meet the handsome but tightly wound homicide detective Rick Ramirez. Although all the evidence points to Willow, Rick realizes that she may be the help he needs to solve them.


Tempted by Fate begins strong and continues that way throughout the story. The story flows nicely and the characters are well built with the storyline. If you like paranormal stories and romance, this is a great book to read. I believe I will be adding the first two in the series to my TBR list in 2011.

I GIVE THIS BOOK

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I received from Anna Balasi with Hatchette Group. 

Night of the Vampire - Heather Graham

About the book: As a soldier, Cole Granger fights to restore peace to a world divided by war and evil. His extraordinary talents are enlisted to prevent the president's horrific premonition from becoming reality. Nothing—and no one—will stop him from fulfilling his duty. Especially the mysterious young woman who claims to be his comrade's sister. Enemy or ally, he can't yet determine. But one thing he knows for certain is that he must keep her close. Very close.
Megan Fox's quest to uncover a family secret leads her to the center of vampire riots in West Virginia. To find the answers she needs—and clear herself of suspicion—she must join forces with Cole. They work undercover to bring justice, but they can't disguise the potent attraction and need that draw them together. Yet trust doesn't come easily for Cole…and when Megan unearths the grim, dark truth, can she trust him to believe her?


About the author: New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than a hundred novels, many of which have been featured by the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild. An avid scuba diver, ballroom dancer and mother of five, she still enjoys her south Florida home, but loves to travel as well.


My Thoughts: This is my very first time reading Heather Graham although I do have a couple of her books sitting in my TBR pile. I found this story to be full of action and a very easy read. I also found that with the setting being during the Civil War, it was interesting to read how she combined history, mystery/thriller, romance and paranormal all in one to make a captivating story of a sheriff, an ex-military, a half-breed vampire fighting the war, not the war of the North v. South, but a war against the spread of the blood disease that humans are being infected with. Then we meet the sister of the half-breed vampire who tries to gain the trust of these men and help them fight the war.
Although there were a few times where the incorrect name was being used in a scene, the story flowed very well. The characters were well developed and the historical pieces of the story seemed to be well researched. What I enjoyed much about the book was that it was not predictable and although I'm known to read the end of a book before I get to the end, I did not do that with this books. The story moved quick enough that I didn't have time to think about who was changing people into vampires. At the end, I did not expect it to have been the person it was.

I GIVE THIS BOOK:

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I from Harlequin through NetGalley.

I LOVE A GOOD MYSTERY

Review: Spoilt – Joanne Ellis

Book Description:

Synopsis

Passion turns to envy. Love to murder. One way or another, everyone is spoilt.

A sadistic killer is stalking the streets, carving his hatred into the bodies of beautiful, young women.

The murders are stirring up bad memories for Detective Lucas Hudson, as he struggles to remain focused - juggling the horrors of today with horrors from the past.

When Chelsea Summerville's best friend goes missing, she's unwillingly dragged into the race to stop the killer.

As Lucas and Chelsea find happiness together, Chelsea becomes the hunted rather than the hunter.

Can Lucas shake off his demons and save the woman he loves, or will everything he holds dear be spoilt?

About the author: 

Joanne Ellis is a prolific Australian writer who won the Night Reading / Publishing 'First Chapter of the Month' in May-June 2010 with her first chapter of 'Spoilt'.

Other novels written by Joanne include: 'Fire Starter', 'Womaniser', 'The Rookie', 'Charlottesville', 'Control' and 'The Mystic Garden'.

My Thoughts:  I love a good mystery. Spoilt began with a big “bang” and I loved it. It instantly captured my attention and I did not want to stop reading. The romance between Lucas and Chelsea was so intense that it made me want to believe in love at first sight. The way Lucas was so intent on protecting Chelsea was very endearing. Without, ruining the end of the story for everyone I just wanted to say that by the end of the book, I became scared for Chelsea, angry at Lucas, felt the pain and heartache they were both feeling and wanted to hurt the maniac serial killer.

Spoilt was a well written story that flowed through the chapters like melted butter. From the beginning when the murders are being investigated, to when Lucas and Chelsea initially met and then when they fell in love, the story was easy to follow. I didn’t have to go back a few pages to see if I missed anything.

I GIVE THIS BOOK

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I was given by Night Publishing.