BuckeyeAngel's Book Reviews, Travels and Other Interests

**I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review** This book is about Dominic Manton, the new Viscount Rathmoor, and Jane Vernon, the fiance he jilted over a decade earlier and whom is finally ready to marry someone else. At 20, Dominic was totally in love with Jane was supposed to marry her. When his brother disinherits him for defending their half-siblings forces him to struggle financially, Dominic forces Jane to end their engagement. Now, years later and finally with his rightful inheritance, Jane needs his help in finding her cousin, which might just ruin it again. I don't know if it's just because I haven't read many historical novels lately, but I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this book. Jane is the first female lead character that actually was confident enough in Dominic's love and character to later realize he was forcing her to end their engagement so she doesn't end up impoverished with him. I don't know how many books I've read where the fe...

Aiden, Father Neal, Reg and Darris are in an Ohio paranormal investigation club. They also fight demons and thwart evil magicians. Darin is the computer tech person. Reg is the resident skeptic as well as an OSU physics professor. Zoe is the group founder. Darris's girlfriend is the historical researcher. Aiden is an assistant pastor for a Presbyterian church. His girlfriend is Jen and she is a Columbus detective. Sometimes Aiden and the group are called in to help Jen on her investigations. The current investigation she called them in on showed some use of voodoo and Appalachian folk magic. Mike had been the pastor of the church Aidan is at but his evil came through. He and Daniel murdered Aiden's former fiance. Father Neal tells Aiden that the five sorrows have chosen him and also tells him about an old club of dark magicians called the Hell Fire Club. Aiden is not content at the church he's at, but finds his answers as the book goes on. He grows a lot throughout the st...

Nick lives in Alaska where was a homicide detective but he quit his job. He was tired of seeing so much that he had nightmares at night. Jimmy Evans is a 12 year old and Nick's neighbor. His father just died and his mother died when he was 6 in a car accident. He has no siblings. Nick met Jimmy one Summer and hired him to do odd jobs. Nick can sympathize with Jimmy as he lost his parents, but he has two older brothers, Dylan and Rafe. They sent him a ticket to go to Las Vegas, where he meets Samantha Hollis, a co-partner of Perfect Pup Grooming Saloons. Nick and Samantha spend the better part of three days together, eventually becoming lovers. The time comes for both of them to leave and go home. Jimmy goes to Nick and believes his dad was murdered, not dead from a heart attack. Samantha finds out she's pregnant and has to decide whether or not to tell Nick. Nick is very likable, willing to help anyone in need. He's loyal, dependable and at a cross-roads in his life. Sama...

This is the second book in the Huntress series. Roarke, with other agents, busts more people involved in a human trafficking group. Four traffickers were killed, thirteen of them were arrested, and twenty five victims were freed. Human trafficking is the most profitable business in the world. You could sell a girl to a "john" over and over. Cara had led Roarke to part of the ring two weeks before. He had no idea where she was, if she was dead or alive. She had killed thirteen men that Roarke knew of. Roarke is conferring with Chuck Snyder, legendary profiler for the FBI as he believes the reaper is back at his horrible work again. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and didn't want to put it down until I was done. Roarke has changed with his interactions with Cara. He understands, to some degree, her way of thinking. He can be very determined when he thinks he right and does what he has to do to get the job done. Cara is a very damaged young woman as she saw her entire...

Aurora is an enchantress that lives hiding in a junk yard. She has her own repair shop. She can repair almost anything, including people with metal and enchantments but it's highly illegal. Edmund Rallis is heir to the most powerful territory in the republic. She met Edmund about a year ago and had a weekend with him. Edmund accused Aurora of making a metal eye. When he had it in his hand, he tossed it and she destroyed it. There is a bond around the Rallis territory and an enemy has torn a fissure in it. Whenever this is  fissure in the bond, the ruling family feels pain. Aurora is able to heal the fissures. As Edmund and Aurora work together to fix the fissures, they start an adventure together. This book is enjoyable. You see Edmund and Aurora's love come through even as it's tested. Aurora is very kind and loyal and yet maintains an innocence about her.Edmund is also loyal but his loyalties change as the story goes on.

Marlowe is a top thief and petty criminal in the underbelly of London. She dresses like a male and acts as bad as one too. Maxwell, the Earl of Dane, is at the top of the upper class of London and he knows it. People like Marlowe are in a class so far below him that he doesn't think anything about striking down bills designed to help the less fortunate. He's also very bored with his life. So, when his brother, a bow street runner, talks him into helping on a job, he agrees. His brother is sure that Marlowe is a long-lost daughter of another high-class family, so he decides to kidnap Marlowe and ends up leaving her in Dane's care while he goes on other jobs. This pits Dane in a one on one battle of wills with Marlowe. This story to me was a little bit of My Fair Lady meets Oliver meets Pride & Prejudice. Dane's arrogance and disdain for anything dirty or beneath him leads to some pretty funny situations. Marlowe is unwittingly funny as she adjusts to the changes in ...

This is a story about Cassie Monroe and what happens when she encounters Gabriel, an MMA fighter, at a job interview. While they are able to avoid any relationship for a little while, eventually they can't resist. I really liked this story and the characters. I really liked Gabriel's dedication to to his child and Cassie's determination to be independent and have a successful career that she likes. I originally read this book in the anthology and had slight reservations, so I was excited to hear that she was releasing a complete story. Reading it completely fixed any issues I had. Loved it!!

Holly is a hard-working college student working several jobs trying to support herself and her dad. One day, for one of her jobs, she gets a housecleaning opportunity at the residence of the town's rich new resident, the reclusive Mr. Blunt. While Holly's first meeting with him doesn't give her the best impression, she agrees to work a steady schedule with him. During the midst of this, Holly's ex-boyfriend decides it's time to try to get her back. Working for Mr. Blunt ends abruptly amidst rumors and an unattainable attraction. Each time they run into each other tends to end in explosive results. The question is it enough to get him through his personal damage? Having read several books by P.J. Adams I can say Holly is definitely one of the more unsure main characters she has written. Holly is independent and determined to survive and yet there is a vulnerability/insecurity in her that is not usually seen. I really enjoyed seeing a character with those characteri...

Roarke is an FBI agent in San Francisco. Damien Epps is his right-hand man. Greer is an undercover agent that was supposed to meet Roarke but was killed by a semi. Roarke, Agent Wu, from another division, and Jay Harrison, a civilian, were witnesses to the accident. All three men noticed a blond-haired woman in black talk to Greer just before he stepped across the street. Something just doesn't seem right. Roarke had no basis to build a profile on the woman, who probably caused Greer's fall to death. Roarke does a search and gets two hits, one in Portland and one in Utah. Portland's killing was 9 months ago, and Utah's was one and a half years ago. Roarke is a very determined person, kind of like a pit bull with a steak, even if it's against the odds. He goes with his gut feelings as they are usually right.  He's a bit abrasive, even though he doesn't mean to be, leaving Epps to smooth things over and put people at ease. He's kind of a loner since his...

Fane is a sentinel of humans. He was raised by monks. He has the strength of an ox and speed of a cheetah. He just finished being the guardian to Callie Brown for the past decade. Wolfe is the leader of all of the sentinels. Fane decided he wanted to return to Tibet to be with the monks. Serra Vetrov is a powerful psychic and rare telepath. Serra and Callie were sisters. Their parents took them to The Facility when they were children. Serra seems to be missing and even Inhera, leader of the psychics, didn't know where she was. Bas Cavrilo is a leader of thugs, outlaws, and misfits, which are mercenaries. Bas's daughter Molly was 4yrs old when she was kidnapped. Fane is in love with Serra, but is leaving as he feels it's better that way. Fane is very stubborn, especially when he believes he's right. He's very loyal, and although he doesn't usually show it, he's very caring. On his journey to find Serra and free her, you feel like you are right at his si...

Nicolo Capitini took ten years to build a global health spa business. Poppy has worked at one of his spas for 2 years. 9 months ago, she was promoted to general manager. Poppy has been responsible for her sister Jas for many years, but very few know about it.Lately there has been 3 major accidents, causing booking to be down by 65%. Nic decides to go himself and fire Poppy, but he goes under an alias. So begins Nic's adventure in finding out of Poppy is responsible and dealing with his growing feelings for her. Poppy is a very inventive manager, very involved with her job. She's very loyal and smart. She dearly loves her problematic sister. I thoroughly enjoyed the book with it's little twists and turns. Anyone that likes romance books would like this book a lot.

Leia is 18 and has a twin brother named Josh. Even though they are 18, Leia and Josh still live with their last foster parent, Diane. Leia has a unique problem. Since she was a child, she's been able to see demons. A demon killed her dad and took her mom 11 years ago and nobody believes her. Leia used pills and alcohol to try to deal with seeing the demons while everyone else thinks she's crazy. Leia went with her friend Kasey to her old home that everything with her parents had happened in. An old neighbor gave her a manilla envelope containing an address, a video, and a key to a storage unit. She also finds out she has an uncle she never knew about named Frank. Leia is very close to her brother as he's the only one that's always been in her life. She's protective, loyal, and has strength she never thought she had. She goes on a journey and finds other people that see the demons and fight them. While you are reading, you constantly finding your...

Gage Dixon is a commander of a Dallas Police SWAT Team, a very special in that all of them are wolves. Mackenzie Stone is a reporter with the Dallas Daily Star. Her assistant and best friend is Zack Gibson. A low life criminal, Marvin Cole, came to Mackenzie and told her the SWAT wasn't right and showed her some ragged, deep scratch marks put on him when he was holed up with a child he had kidnapped. The SWAT team was well loved, so Mackenzie decided to make it her business and show that something wasn't right. So starts her journey with Gage and the SWAT team. Mackenzie is a determined woman, not afraid to put herself in the line of danger to get her story. She feels everyone has the right to know the truth. Gage is the commander of his pack. He is very strong, very forceful and very commanding as he has to be since all of the members of his team are Alpha wolves. He's very loyal and caring. As his story goes on, you really feel for him. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this a...

Morgan Carter's sister was killed in a werewolf attack, during which Morgan was bitten and turned. Because of her sister's death, she has custody of her niece Lana, who is her first priority. She is engaged to Greyson Crawford. Greyson's wolf has more control than his human side and is still considered dangerous if he doesn't get it under control. Morgan is a special wolf, and therefore several males want to mate with her. She breaks her engagement when she feels they aren't together for the right reason. Even though Morgan is no longer his fiance, Greyson still watches over her. Morgan gets kidnapped, so Greyson goes to rescue her. Morgan was a very likable character. She was very protective of her niece. She is a strong young women, even after everything she has gone through. Greyson's wolf is known as a beast (rogue), and he fights to control it. He's very protective of Lana and Morgan. He truly loves her. he's very strong and loyal. He also takes in ...

This is the story of James Gunn, a guardsman of a Scottish lord, and Emlyn, a princess from Wales that would rather be on a battlefield than in a dress.  James is a guardsman that arrives at Emlyn's home with his army to assist in a treaty between her father and another ruler. Rather than be turned over to the enemy, Emlyn seeks James' help in escape. I know that many romance novels rely on the reader's belief in love at first sight, and when it's a good story, I can totally believe it. However, for this story, it just didn't work for me, especially considering his first sight is of Emlyn skinny dipping. One of the biggest problems I had with the story is that Emlyn is supposed to be an independent female warrior and yet right from the first moment she saw James, I felt she totally broke that character. I know some might argue the love at first sight theory, but considering she hadn't even been a virgin beforehand, their interactions just felt like anything but ...

This is the second book in a new vampire series by Aubrey Rose. Having not read the first one yet, I was not sure how I was going to like this book. Luckily, the author did not disappoint. Robb Chatham is a billionaire vampire who is adjusting to feeling emotions for Liz for the first time since he became a vampire over four hundred years earlier. Liz is a scientist who is trying to create a cure for leukemia, which as a side effect, would also cure vampires. She is not used to having a boyfriend, especially someone like Robb. The end result is an argument that is the catalyst to all the problems that ensue. I really enjoyed this story. I accepted the explanation for Robb's behavior that would have otherwise made me not like him. I really liked Liz and understand her drive and determination, especially once she realizes and experiences first-hand how Robb feels. The only complaint I have is how Liz acted towards Robb that started the fighting. I really didn't understand h...

First off, I don't usually read novellas, but I really enjoyed this one. Mia is a wolf shifter who is mated to Lucas, an alpha to a wolf pack in Seattle. She is in college and works part time for the firm Lucas's family owns. She is currently dealing with family issues like Lucas's brother wanting to be her mate and her mother hating shifters. Lucas is very much an alpha, but you can definitely see how he adores Mia. However, even though they are mates, he hasn't asked her to marry him yet, which is cause for some friction. Mia came from a poor background. Her dream is to save enough money to get her mother out of the neighborhood she grew up in. She is very sweet, but torn between her life as shifter and her mother's feelings. This was very well put together. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the story and didn't feel cheated at the amount of pages.

. Dethan is the oldest of four brothers. He is a great warrior and has conquered many cities in his life. He and his brothers go through an arduous journey to find a fountain that will give them immortality. They do find the fountain and become immortal, but the Gods feel that they don't deserve it so each brother is cursed in his own way. Dethan is cursed by fire. He gets burned to ash all the time but because of the immortality, he comes back to life. A goddess comes to him and offers him freedom, with the exception of certain hours of the night when his curse will still happen. In exchange, he has has to conquer cities and get them to worship the goddess. In one of the cities, Dethan meets Selinda, who is engaged to a ruthless, devious man. She turns to Dethan for help. Dethan goes on a mission to defeat a rival tribe and to save Selinda from her fiance. Dethan is a very centered, intelligent and strategic man. His goals have always been to conquer cities, but Selinda has given ...

Garreth is the  youngest of four brothers who went seeking a fountain to gain immortality. The Gods found out and each brother was cursed. Garreth tried talking his brothers out of it, but in the end still went along with it. Garreth's curse was to freeze over and over again, never able to die because of his immortality. Dethn, one of Garreth's older brothers, was able to break his curse of fire by conquering cities for his Goddess. The Goddess brought Garreth back to be her full time warrior in Dethn's place, even though he still goes through part of his curse every night. While conquering a city, Garreth meets a slave named Sariell, who is a wrenna. Through the story, Sariell and Garreth fall in love, giving the book a good ending. Garreth is a very likable character. You can really understand his reasoning for everything he does. You really sympathize with Sariell and understand what she is going through. I found that the plot flowed well. It was intere...

First off, the beginning of the story was really horrific. It made you almost not want to read the book. Everything Jada went through was horrible. However, there was something about it that made me want to continue reading it. Jada was a 14yr old teenager that was pulled into a war where soldiers were killing everyone, bombing hospitals, schools, etc. Somehow, with the training her father gave her, Jada was able to make it through. Like other books recently, it goes back and forth from past to present. Overall, it really doesn't tell you where Jada is trying to go and what she is trying to get to. It's an assumption she is trying to find her father after she finds the rest of her family dead. She is able to kill someone in self defense before anything horrible can take place. She does eventually come across a group of kids led by Zak, who take her in. She decides to stick with them for a bit as they travel through Syria. She gets close to Zak, experiencing her fi...

Play with Me by Marian Tee I've read other stories by Marian Tee and have had a lot of problems with her characters. I was hoping that with this story, since the male character that did the immediate falling, it would be a bit different. Unfortunately, it still just didn't work for me and I was unable to finish this story. Overall 1 star Playing Games by Liliana Rhodes This is a story about Cassie Monroe and what happens when she encounters Gabriel,, an MMA fighter, at a job interview. While they are able to avoid any relationship for a little while, eventually they can't resist. I really liked this story and the characters. I really liked Gabriel's dedication to to his child and Cassie's determination to be independent and have a successful career that she likes. I liked that, even though its not very long because of being in an anthology, the characters didn't rush too much into the relationship. That being said, the only problem I had was the time-frame for C...

This is a story about Julie, whom is trying to get over a break up with a boyfriend. During that time, she starts going back to a club they used to go to and gets a minor obsession with a mysterious man there. During the obsession, she meets a nice guy who slowly tries to get closer to her. I really liked this story and the way Julie handles everything. What makes this story different from others I've read that are similar is Julie and her knowledge/exploration of her wants and needs. She is a strong woman, so this is a bit of a different aspect than what one would think with the topic of BDSM. I really enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more from this author.