Monday, February 23, 2015

Paranormal Picks from Lyrical Press - Review & Giveaway


Welcome, everyone! Today I'm featuring four paranormal reads from Lyrical Press.
I really wish I had the time to read all four, but I only had the time to read and review one. Below you'll find my review of Love, Lattes and Mutants. It's a fun YA paranormal full of action and some sweet romance.
Don't forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post.




Black Wolf’s Revenge
Silver Wolf Clan # 2

Tera Shanley

He’ll risk it all to bring her home.

Morgan Carter witnessed her sister’s murder, has been turned into a werewolf and is now raising her young niece. Then her fiance, Greyson Crawford, proves he wants to be with her for the wrong reasons, and she knows her life couldn’t be any stranger. Devastated, she retreats to her cozy house in the city with her sister’s little girl, Lana. There, they’ll have normalcy, and maybe eventually, even happiness.

But Morgan’s the only living silver wolf. Her uniqueness—the ability to produce werewolf offspring—means, without Grey’s protection, she’s unknowingly put herself and Lana in deadly danger. Other werewolves want to claim her for their pack, and she’s the easiest, most tempting prey ever.

When they strike, Grey has to find her and rescue her before it’s too late. Not so simple a task; he has only the uncontrollable beast inside him, Wolf, and an unlikely pack of allies he’s forced to rely on. Can he get to her in time? And if he does, can he convince her he’s there for the right reasons, saving them both?

Buy Links:  Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo | Publisher
Author Info
Born and raised in small town Texas, Tera Shanley grew up in books. Her cousin gifted her a signed copy of Beauty by Bill Wallace when she was young and that was it for her. So smitten was she with getting lost in a story, that while other eleven year olds her age were groaning at the accelerated reader program in school, she was racking up the points just for fun.
Balancing chronic book-wormyness is her devotion to the outdoors. Hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, camping - her soul is happiest out of doors. And lucky for Tera, her family feels the same. She grew up a wild child helping her grandma ranch cattle, and has a hundred memories out in the wilderness which tend to influence her books.
When she's not eating chocolate, slinging rifles, or soaking up some sun, she's lost in a book, but these days it's more often one she's writing. From historic western romance, to paranormal romance, to apocalyptic (zombie) romance, the genre doesn't matter quite as much to her as the love story.
She currently lives with her husband and two young children, and is owned by two crazy mini-cujos. 
Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads


Windburn

Nightwing # 2


Juliette Cross

In the Gladium Province, the boundaries between humans and Morgons, the dragon-hybrid race, continue to blur as a new generation surrenders to long-forbidden temptation…

Sorcha Linden does whatever she wants whenever she wants, and no one can stop her. Least of all a man. After all, they’re good for only one thing—warming her bed. But then she meets Lorian, brother of Lucius Nightwing. Seductive and iron-willed, Lorian is determined to melt her emotional defenses—and warm her rebellious heart.

The beast within Lorian longs to cage Sorcha and mark her as his own. Forever. Yet the man within also longs to protect her. When a stalker starts leaving Sorcha suggestive gifts with cryptic messages bearing an ancient blood cult symbol, Lorian’s dragon side takes over. With her life at stake, Sorcha can no longer deny the love they share. But when evil tracks her into the night, will she be too late to claim it?

Buy Links:  Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo | Publisher
Author Info
Juliette Cross calls lush, moss-laden Louisiana home, where the landscape curls into her imagination, creating mystical settings for her stories. She has a B.A. in creative writing from Louisiana State University, a M.Ed. in gifted education, and was privileged to study under the award-winning author Ernest J. Gaines in grad school. Her love of mythology, legends, and art serve as constant inspiration for her works. From the moment she read Jane Eyre as a teenager, she fell in love with Gothic romance—brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own. Visit her website at www.juliettecross.com. 
Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads


Enchanter’s Echo
Mayflower Mages # 2

Anise Rae

Aurora Firenze lives a quiet life hiding in a junkyard. Her repair shop is the last hope for gadgets and gizmos before they get tossed onto the trash towers. Fortunately, Aurora can fix almost anything, including mages, though repairing people with metal enchantments is highly illegal.

Edmund Rallis, heir to the Rallis senate seat, has spent months hunting down his errant enchantress. He’ll play every game he knows to win her back and entice her to share the secrets she hides. But he’s inadvertently put her on the frontlines of a new game, one with an opponent who’s determined to destroy Rallis Territory and drive the Republic toward war. If the new enemy isn’t stopped in time, Edmund will lose his enchantress again—and this time there won’t be another chance.

Goodreads
Buy Links:  Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo | Publisher
Author Info
Anise Rae grew up among the cornfields and soybeans of Ohio, dreaming of being a ballerina, an astronaut, and a romance writer. With no turn-out and a soul deep love of chocolate, her ballerina dreams floated away as high as the moon, equidistant with the astronaut aspiration. She stuck with writing. After 22 years, she got the call. Or rather, she got the email. Syphon’s Song, a 2012 Maggie Award of Excellence finalist, will be released March 3, 2014 from Lyrical Press.
Now transplanted to the South, Anise lives in Georgia with her family and a cast of characters that flit around in her head. A select few of those imaginary people are ever so grateful for their chance to escape into the real world of books. The remaining characters, enough to form an army, still clamor for freedom. 
Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads


Love, Lattes and Mutants
Mutants # 1

Sandra Cox

Finding love is hard, even when you aren’t a mutant.

Like most seventeen-year-olds, Piper Dunn wants to blend in with the crowd. Having a blowhole is a definite handicap. A product of a lab-engineered mother with dolphin DNA, Piper spends her school days hiding her brilliant ocean-colored eyes and sea siren voice behind baggy clothing and ugly glasses. When Tyler, the new boy in school, zeroes in on her, ignoring every other girl vying for his attention, no one, including Piper, understands why...

Then Piper is captured on one of her secret missions rescuing endangered sea creatures and ends up in the same test center where her mother was engineered. There she discovers she isn’t the only one of her kind. Joel is someone she doesn’t have to hide from, and she finds herself drawn to the dolph-boy who shares her secrets. Talking to him is almost as easy as escaping from the lab. Deciding which boy has captured her heart is another story.

Buy Links:  Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo | Publisher

Author Info
Multi-published author Sandra Cox writes YA fantasy, historic and paranormal romance and metaphysical nonfiction. Sandra lives with her husband, a menagerie of pets, and an occasional foster cat in sunny North Carolina. To see the brood go to her website www.sandracox1.com and click on the cat tab. 
Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads


*******

My Review: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review

Love, Latte and Mutants was such a fun read! Perfect for a sunny afternoon on the deck. I'm not entirely sure how I'd classify it: maybe YA sci-fi meets paranormal meets romance. I loved the characters-- all of them, even the bully. The villain scientist made my skin crawl. I sure hope Ms. Cox is working on a sequel. It would be nice to know what happened to a couple of the characters. Sorry can't explain further-- spoilers.

I really liked main character Piper. Strong, loyal, sweet, she was an instant hit with me. Being born a mutant, she was forced to hide herself in glasses and baggy clothes in an attempt to remain unnoticed. I loved the scenes where she was in the ocean, and she can finally be herself. Romantic interest Tyler was really too good to be true. Perfect, well other than his insecure streak whenever Piper wanted to hide their relationship. Just a great book boyfriend.

The story was fast-paced, with a slight lull in the middle. But once I reached the 3/4 mark, I couldn't read fast enough to satisfy my curiosity. So much happened in that last 1/4 of the novel. Mainly I'm dying for more information. I felt like the entire section when she was a prisoner at the lab was a tad rushed. I found this part to be the most interesting part of the novel.On the plus side, it left me wanting more.

There's a bit of a love triangle once Joel is introduced. But since he was a resident at the secret lab, he wasn't in the story for very long. I could understand why Piper would be drawn to Joel, since he was like her and she didn't have to hide. But her instant attraction to him was somewhat annoying.


Overall I really enjoyed Love, Latte and Mutants. The characters were well-written and fun to read about, and the story will leave the reader wanting more.

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12 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for hosting all of us!!

    I LOVE your blog's banner. So pretty!

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    1. You're welcome! I love the cover of your novel, Enchanter's Echo :)

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    2. I have to admit, I love it too. Lyrical has some very talented cover artists. I feel so lucky!

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    3. Covers are so important. I hate to admit it, but I'm guilty of judging a book by its cover :)

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  2. LOL!! Love, Latte & Mutants! Sandra Cox is a new-to-me author and I have to get this. I have the others already and I'm about to wallow in Enchanter's Echo.

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    1. I'm a huge fan of light, fun reads, and Love, Lattes and Mutants definitely fit the bill.

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    2. Yay for new authors, LOVExtra! And I'm so excited Enchanter's Echo is on your TBR!

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  3. Thanks so much for sharing Lyrical's paranormal picks. Very much appreciated. :)

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    1. You're welcome! Paranormal is my favorite genre so I love to share :)

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  4. I like the sound of these books! If I have to be honest about which one I am most likely to read it would definitely be the Enchantress one - I love the cover as well. But the one you read it seemed like you enjoyed :) Great review!

    Check out my review and giveaway: http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2015/02/kolchae-book-review.html

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    1. I just couldn't resist the title- it was as cute as the book :)

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