Review: Black and Blue by Gena Showalter

Publish Date: October 22, 2013
Mass Market Paperback {p.387}
Genre: Paranormal
Series: Otherworld Assassin #2
Source: Personal Library
Evangeline Black, Corbin Blue

He is every woman’s fantasy

Corbin Blue is a man of many talents. One of the most powerful otherworlders ever born, he is wealthy, a professional football star, and a legend in the bedroom. But only a select few know he is also a black ops agent…and there is no better killer. When he and his crew are attacked and separated, he’s forced to turn to his boss’s daughter for help—a woman with even more secrets than Blue.

She becomes his only obsession…

Evangeline Black has always been wary, guarded. No man has ever breeched her walls. Until Blue. He has never been denied something he wants, and now, he’s decided he wants her. As he sweeps her into his double life of seduction, intrigue, and danger, he helps her see beyond the darkness of her own past. But as an enemy closes in, Blue will have to let Evie go to keep her safe—even though he'd rather die than live without her…

This story started out slow and I never really got into. Blue and Evie had some very funny moments together, but I never truly connected with either one of them. It was a struggle just to finish it.

Evie constantly berated Blue for being a "man-whore" but in the same time wanted to be one of his long list of many. Beyond their connection of Michael, Evie's father and Blue's boss, they have absolutely nothing in common. They had sex a couple of times and the rest of the story was just page fillers.

The communication, or speech, between the two main characters was very reminiscent of that of my junior high cousins. "Amazeballs" "Gorge" "Snugs" Very troubling for the speech of the future. Not the best I've read from this author.

Book Beginnings & Friday 56: Black and Blue

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice. Check out the rules and join in the fun.

Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog. Post a link along with your post back to this blog.

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Rose City Reader. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence, or two, of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.

Book Beginning:

Corbin Blue tucked his girlfriend against his side, smiled his patented bedroom smile, and faced the cameras, playing the part of irreverent debaucher to perfection.

Friday 56:

Plant life was compromised, animals were almost wiped out, and huge bodies of water either dried up or turned to sludge. Now all three were expensive commodities.

Black and Blue by Gena Showalter

Review: The Darkest Passion by Gena Showalter

The Darkest Passion
Gena Showalter
Series: Lords of the Underworld #5
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: May 25, 2010
Mass Market Paperback {p.438}
Source: Personal Library
Genre: Paranormal
Olivia, Aeron
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

For weeks, the immortal warrior Aeron has sensed an invisible female presence. An angel--demon-assassin--has been sent to kill him. Or has she? Olivia claims she fell from the heavens, giving up immortality because she couldn't bear to harm him. But trusting--and falling for--Olivia will endanger them all. So how has this "mortal" with the huge blue eyes already unleashed Aeron's darkest passion?

Now, with an enemy hot on his trail and his faithful demon companion determined to remove Olivia from his life, Aeron is trapped between duty and consuming desire. Worse still, a new executioner has been sent to do the job Olivia wouldn't....

Olivia is an angel who has been given the task of killing Aeron, keeper of Wrath. Unable to complete this task because of her growing attraction to him, she chose to fall.

Aeron and his demon child, Legion, I enjoyed from the previous book in the series, so I was excited to get more of them. But in this installment I struggled to like either of them. At times I just wanted them to get rid of Legion and be done with her. And Aeron refused to see Legion’s love for him as anything more than a father-daughter type of love. Both Legion and Aeron managed to be redeemed in the end. I truly felt bad for Legion in the end. I want her to find happiness.

Olivia was not all sugar and innocence I expected her to be. Yes, she was kind and sweet, but I guess all her years of watching humans taught her a thing or two about sex. I know the book was about her and Aeron’s journey, but I would have loved to see her interact more with the other ladies of the house. Some of my favorite scenes were Olivia with the girls and Olivia with Gideon.

The ending has me intrigued. I’m anxious to see what happens next. Although this wasn’t my favorite of this series it was still an enjoyable read.

Book Beginnings & Friday 56: The Darkest Passion

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice. Check out the rules and join in the fun.

Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog. Post a link along with your post back to this blog.

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence, or two, of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.

Book Beginnings:

"They don't seem to care that they're dying."

Friday 56:

He remembered her fear, the way she'd trembled even uttering the word angel.

The Darkest Passion by Gena Showalter

Theme Thursday {13}: Female Name

This meme is being hosted by Kavyen @ Reading Between Pages. Each Thursday she will be posting a new "theme" Anyone can join in; here are the rules:

• A new "theme" will be posted each Thursday
• Select a conversion/snippet/sentence from your current read
• Post your selection, but don't forget to list the title and author of the book
• This event is open for one whole week
• It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
  
  Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

This week's "theme" is: FEMALE NAME (any male characters name)

"Who are you?" "My name is Olivia." Olivia. A pretty name. Fitting. Delicate. "What are you doing here, Olivia?"

page 31; The Darkest Passion by Gena Showalter

And the Winner is...

Lords of the Underworld Series by Gena Showalter

Brooke_Lyn4

Giveaway: Signed Lords of the Underworld Series by Gena Showalter

In honor of Gena Showalter's latest release in her amazing Lord of the Underworld series, The Darkest Secret, Harlequin has been kind enough to sponsor a signed copy of the series!

Gena Showalter | Harlequin | The Darkest Secret | Twitter | Facebook

In this sexy new installment of New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series, the haunted Amun meets a woman who tempts him like no other.

Keeper of the demon of Secrets, Amun can manipulate the darkest thoughts of anyone nearby. But when the immortal warrior is chained and isolated to protect those he loves, death is his only hope of release—until he meets Haidee, a fellow prisoner whose beauty and hidden vulnerability draw him into a reckless test of his loyalty.

Haidee is a demon-assassin, raised to despise Amun’s kind. Yet how can she hate the man whose touch sets her aflame? But to save him, she must give herself body and soul…and face the wrath of a powerful adversary sworn to destroy her.

*Thanks to Harlequin and Big Honcho Media for providing the prize!

WANT TO WIN A COMPLETE SIGNED LORD OF THE UNDERWORLD SERIES?

{April 6-20, 2011}

• Only residents of the U.S. and Canada are eligible to win
• No P.O. Boxes please
• Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen
• Giveaway copies will be sent directly to winners from the publisher
• 1 winner will receive the complete (to date) signed series.
• Winner will be randomly selected using random.org and contacted via email.  

Giveaway is sponsored by Harlequin
To win, please complete the following:

1. In the comments section, please leave your email address (If you win, I will need to be able to contact you), and your answer to the following questions:

List your favorite Lords in order? And heroins?
Who do you consider the celebrity counterpart to your #1 LOTU?

Extra Entry:

1. Tweet this giveaway with the hashtag #DarkestSecret and publisher @HarlequinBooks (leave a link to your tweet in a separate comment)

Tackle It Tuesday {3}: Catch a Mate by Gena Showalter

Tackle It Tuesday is a meme I started here, that's a play off of a similar meme of the same name hosted by Janice and Susan at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Here at the Book Obsessed version of this meme, the idea is to "tackle" books that have been sitting on your shelves collecting dust waiting to be read. Or to "tackle" those we've started, but yet to finish because life has gotten in the way. Also to help encourage blogger interaction, which is always a plus.

Anyone can participate!! Just link your posts in the comments section!

Catch a Mate
Gena Showalter

Shelved since September 2008

Jillian Greene is always getting caught in the act—it's her job! Working at Catch a Mate, Jillian gets paid by suspicious wives to smile, flirt and prove that no man can be trusted around the opposite sex. But she never gets physical—until a heart-stoppingly gorgeous male walks in.…

Marcus Brody has just been hired to test female fidelity. But the last thing Jillian needs is a partner…especially an infuriating, irresistible man who's got her fantasizing about tearing off his clothes!