Our new unit was formed in a little over a month. It consisted of nine men: Jack, James, Gabe, Elliott, Max, Dougie, Justin, Malcolm and myself. I was appointed to Captain of the unit, much to my surprise. - Sam

Boomtown by Lani Lynn Vale

Standalone - Freebirds #1
Release - June 27, 2013
Genre - Contemporary Romance (military, instant connection)
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5
Format/Source - Kindle purchase
Length - 302 pages
Publisher - Indie

Her

I wanted to have a pity party of one when I went for that beer. I never imagined I would meet a dark and dangerous man. That man took me on the wildest ride of my life. Literally and Figuratively. He quickly became my entire world.

Him

I didn't know I was looking for her. I saw her warming that bar stool and knew she would be mine. A man like me doesn't deserve the likes of her. But damned if I didn't take it.

Her

When we met for the first time we didn't know that we already had a connection. A cruel game was being played, and we didn't know the rules. Sam would save us, but at what cost? Sam was one of my main reasons for living. If he wasn't in this world anymore, would I still want to be a part of it?

Ever read a book and wanted to know the history of a character? How did they get this way, what or who influenced them, and who they are at their core? Boomtown gave me all of that and more!

Cheyenne was having a bad day. It was her birthday and she was all alone, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from getting a little celebrating in. The bar she chose... Sam's haunt. And when he gets his first glimpse of her, something tells him he won't ever be looking away. They started off explosive, the suspense that stalked them was creepy, and their love was sublime.

I've read plenty of books by Lani Lynn Vale and one of the things I love most is that her characters, main and otherwise, just may pop up in a future story. This book not only gave me insight to the background of Free, but I learned about Sam and Cheyenne, Luke Robert's story has so much more context for me, and I saw Janie and Kayla when they were little girls. I've learned so much about characters that I've come to somewhat know and definitely love. Now I have more questions and I can't wait to discover the answers in the books to come.

Lani Lynn Vale is married to the love of her life that she met in high school. She fell in love with him because he was wearing baseball pants. Ten years later they have three perfectly crazy children and a cat named Demon who likes to wake her up at ungodly times in the night. They live in the greatest state in the world, Texas. She writes contemporary and romantic suspense, and has a love for all things romance. You can find Lani in front of her computer writing away in her fictional characters world...that is until her husband and kids demand sustenance in the form of food and drink.

"I watched you for four months and fell head over heels. You're perfect, and I can die knowing I found love, even if it was short. Thank you for that."

Vampire by Rebecca Zanetti

Standalone - Dark Protectors #12.5
Release - April 13, 2021
Genre - Paranormal Romance
Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 3 out of 5/it's there but not frequent or terribly descriptive - it's a novella so...
Format/Source - eARC provided by the author through InkSlinger PR
Length - 108 pages
Publisher - 1001 Dark Nights Press

Dr. Mariana Lopez has finally stopped bailing friends out of difficult situations. Well, except for substituting as the leader for another anger management group, pitching in as a campaign strategist for a prospective sheriff, and babysitting three dogs. Even with such a full life, she can feel the danger around her—a sense that something isn’t right. Nightmares harass her, until the real thing comes to life, and only the dark and sexy male sitting in her group can save her. However, with safety comes a price she might not be willing to pay.

Raine Maxwell is one of the Maxwells out of Montana, which means he's not only one of the most deadly vampires alive, but his path is set and his mate has been chosen for him. To save him—to continue his line. Unfortunately, his mate is an enhanced human female who has no idea of her abilities, of his species, or of her future. He’d like to lead her gently into this new world, but his people aren’t the only ones who’ve found her, which puts her into more danger than she can imagine. Plus, in order to follow his laws, he only has one week to convince her that immortality with him is what she wants—and needs.

Find your copy of Vampire here:
Amazon CA * Amazon US * Amazon UK * Amazon AU

Any time I can get my hands on a book from the Dark Protectors series, I'm here for it. After the glimpse I got in Vixen of what would be the story of Raine and Mariana, I knew I needed to know more.

Raine Maxwell is from a long line of cursed males. After centuries, if they don't find their mate, they die. Raine has found his mate and while it's love at first sight for him, he's not mating her. He knows he's dying, but he's honorable and doesn't want to drag an innocent female, no matter that she's enhanced, into the dangers of his world. So what happens when those dangers make their way to her despite his noble intentions?

Raine was über Alpha and a bit old fashioned and quickly won me over. I was invested in his mission to keep Mariana safe and silently pushed him to save his own life! I kept wanting to push him closer to her, to get him to accept his destiny, however, I also respected the author's reasons for him being hesitant to mate. Zanetti sure knows how to create amazing heroes.

I made a list of things I enjoyed about this story, such as:
🧛 Raine of course. For most of the story, I found Mariana to be rude and ignorant, incredibly abrasive, and not worth my time. However, Raine made every moment something I needed to experience, so her nonsense didn't bother me as much as it could have. Raine was just that awesome!
🧛 Tabi and Evan were there! I was so glad to see the spunky demoness and her sweet lover. It was fun to see him getting used to his new powers and that Raine considered him a friend.
🧛 BENNY!!! I freaking love this male and getting some of him here, knowing that his story is soooo close to my fingertips... such a great bonus. Oh yeah, there's also peeks from Faith and Mercy :D

The Dark Protectors series is one of my absolute favorite PNR stories of all time and I can always be counted on to buy and review. How can anyone resist hot alphas, fierce heroines, intriguing plots and twists, the danger element, the familial dynamics, the love... the everything??? If you're a fan of the series, this a neat treat to hold us over until the next book. If you're new to this series, what an amazing introduction!

Rebecca Zanetti is the author of over forty romantic suspense, dark paranormals, and contemporary romances, and her books have appeared multiple times on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks bestseller lists. She lives in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest with her own Alpha hero, two kids, a couple of dogs, a crazy cat…and a huge extended family. She believes strongly in luck, karma, and working her butt off…and she thinks one of the best things about being an author, unlike the lawyer she used to be, is that she can let the crazy out. Upcoming series are: The Blood Brothers, The Realm Enforcers and The Scorpius Syndrome.

Stolen by Alison Aimes

Standalone
Release - June 1, 2020
Genre - SciFi Romance
Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5/a few scenes
Format/Source - ebook purchase from Amazon
Length - 340 pages
Publisher - Orchid Publishing

He’s a half-Martian Warlord. Savage, dominant, and dangerous—and now he’s on the hunt. For her.

Deception is a way of life for desperate thief Aurora Blake. Her sole purpose is to snatch enough jewels to escape her vicious stepfather, the powerful head of the corrupt Earther Corporation.

And the fierce Warlord she frames for her crimes? He's the last complication she needs.

She never expects to cross his path. Or to burn so hot after watching from the shadows as his rough commands bring exquisite pleasure to another female.

But Aurora's expectations don't matter when the Warlord wants her for himself. He won't stop until he's claimed her as his obedient mate.

Can she survive whatever he has in store once he discovers she's stolen far more than his barbarian heart?

Stolen is a sexy, standalone Alien Alpha Romance full of danger, betrayal, love, and the kind of epic steam that will have you flipping the pages fast!

Amazon * Nook * Kobo * iBooks

I can obey too, DaKar! I can so freaking obey!!

The year is 9094 and what is left of Earth is unrecognizable. After many wars, all that's left of what we call home is protected by a dome. The people of Earth are divided - the Élithe and the others. DaKar was the son of a powerful member of the council that rules over everyone. He was also half-Martian, seen and treated as an Outer World freak. He was abused and tormented for his half blood, surrounded by monsters who believed themselves somehow above him. Years later, after returning to his true home and becoming the man he was always meant to be, he arrives back on Earth to take his inheritance and finally shake things up in the oppressive culture that was propagated by the wealthy.

A chance 'meeting' when he was just a boy created a connection between DaKar and Aurora. She was Élithe and supposed to be untouchable. But DaKar isn't one for rules and Aurora can't deny what is quickly growing between them. However, she has a secret she cannot tell. When DaKar's honor is called into question, the one person he would never suspect is also the person responsible for his predicament. However, there is more at work here and I loved all of the moving parts the author introduced.

While I'm not the biggest fan of how this story reached its climax or its ending, I enjoyed the journey to get there. It was so much fun to watch all of the minor characters go about their business, gossiping, griping, and generally being pains in the behind. I was also entertained by everything about DaKar and his experiences, both as a boy and as a man. I loved the way his mind worked and I would have been happy to spend more time with him. Aurora wasn't very impressive. I get that her being a liar and a thief were meant to feature heavily in the plot, but she didn't do herself any favors.

After being introduced to this author's work with Ruthless King, I'm making it my mission to read all of her books!

Alison Aimes is the award-winning author of the sexy sci-fi romance series the Condemned as well as the sizzling contemporary romance Billionaire Bad Boys collection. A sci-fi fanatic with a PhD in Modern history, she’s an all-over-the-map kind of woman with a love for dramatic stories and great books, no matter the era. Now, she’s creating her own stories full of intrigue and passion, but always with a happy-ever-after ending. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two kids, and dog. When not in front of the computer, she can be found hanging with family and friends, hiking, trying to turn herself into a pretzel through yoga, listening to a fabulous TED talk, or, last but not least, sitting on the couch imagining her characters’ next great adventures.

Depends On Who's Asking by Lani Lynn Vale

Standalone: SWAT Generation 2.0 #12
Release: December 8, 2020
Genre: Contemporary Romance w/ suspense - instalove
Dual POV: 1st person
Heat level: 4 out of 5
Format/Source: eARC provided by the author
Length: 213 pages

It was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring…nope. No. Nuh-uh. That’s a lie.
The moment that Caro wakes up, she knows that she’s not alone.
One thump-thump from the living room and she quickly moves into action.
One 9-1-1 call later, and she’s ready to defend herself.
Only, she gets more than she bargains for when she steps out into her living room and comes face to face with a living, breathing nightmare.
And isn’t it just fitting that the man that saves her by coming down the chimney with a large black gun in his hand is named Saint Nicholas?
***
It seemed like the start of a bad joke.
Saint Nicholas comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve night, but he isn’t there to bear gifts. He’s there to take out the trash.
When he lands on his silent feet, he has no other choice but to put himself in harm’s way.
One look at Caro’s terrified face, and he can’t stop himself.
He steps in just as the bullets start flying, saving the damsel in distress and taking a bullet to the shoulder for his trouble.
But one thing he can say is, heroes always win the girl.
And Caro is the best Christmas miracle of all.
I've read and loved every book from this series (including this one) and I can't believe it's done. Being here, at the end, is giving me such a bittersweet feeling. I have now finally really met Saint and Carolina in their very own story and while I couldn't put this book down, I didn't want to finish it either. Unsurprisingly, I loved both Saint and Carolina. From their awkward and suspenseful meet-cute to their forced quarantine to all the things that made up their connection, they were easy to fall for.

Things did get a bit messy for these two and some of the moving parts didn't really flow properly, but none of that took away from the beauty of what was developing between these characters.

I loved that Saint was an introvert because it made him so relatable. He learned (the hard way) that some people were only in your life to get what you could give. Finding Carolina, a woman who only wanted him for him and not what he could do or for who he knew, was a blessing and he didn't take that for granted.

I also adored Carolina and the organic way her feelings grew. She was patient and understanding and loyal and exactly the type of woman Saint needed in his life. The author did an amazing job of bring these people to life for me. So it's the end. And while I'm happy for the journey and sad that it's concluded, I'm excited for what's to come. Mayor Lynn's story is next and I cannot wait to get my eager little hands on it. Lani Lynn Vale is married to the love of her life that she met in high school. She fell in love with him because he was wearing baseball pants. Ten years later they have three perfectly crazy children and a cat named Demon who likes to wake her up at ungodly times in the night. They live in the greatest state in the world, Texas. She writes contemporary and romantic suspense, and has a love for all things romance. You can find Lani in front of her computer writing away in her fictional characters world...that is until her husband and kids demand sustenance in the form of food and drink.

Who would want us together? Who would want us apart?

A Wicked Song by Lisa Renee Jones

Kace August: famous, intense, dark, addictive. Aria Alard: a woman with secrets, passion, and a dangerous past. Passion. Secrets. Mystery. Aria fell hard for Kace. She trusted him. But did he deserve that trust? And where is Gio?

Find your copy of A Reckless Note here:
Amazon * Indigo * B & N * Kobo * Audible