Arial Burnz

Russell Schmidt is an arrogant novelist who writes about vampires, claims to be one and speaks with a German accent. He has a huge readership and fan base, and knows he’s hot stuff. He’s obsessed over an aloof mystery woman in red who he repeatedly sees at his functions and the sex scene between him and one of his groupies, Layla, is soooooo hot.
This is a short, erotic horror/romance story with a punch, told from Russell’s POV in first person. There’s not a HEA, which is disappointing, but I love Russell’s comeuppance. It was definitely justified.
4 Stars

Disclaimer – Thank you, Arial Burnz, for sending me an ebook copy for an honest review. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape or form for this review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.
… (plus d'informations)

Kami and Mona have been best friends since grade school but lost touch when Mona moved off to college. Mona has just returned home to the Chicago area and her friendship with Kami picks up right where they left off. While exploring a local graveyard people believe to be haunted, Kami tells her a secret and things get a little heated between the two girls. Then they met Kami’s boyfriend, Kenny, and things really heat up.
I enjoyed this short erotic F/M/F story a lot. It’s told from Kami’s POV in first person. I expected one of the twists at the end, but the second one threw me for a loop. What a surprise! The ending is bittersweet but I’m happy it ends in a HEA for all three characters.
4 Stars

Disclaimer – Thank you, Arial Burnz/Kami Cummings, for sending me an ebook copy for an honest review. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape or form for this review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.… (plus d'informations)

This is the second book in the Bonded by Blood series that focuses on vampire Broderick and his soul mate, Davina. However, the main romantic plot centered on his adopted daughter, Cailin, and her intended husband, James.
The story is told from multiple viewpoints (Cailin, James, Broderick, Davina, the villain Angus, and a few others I think). Sometimes these viewpoints were separated by proper scene/chapter breaks. Sometimes they weren’t which led to confusion as to who was thinking and speaking. Anyway, the author has a way with words and she strings them together like a romantic poem or a song. I didn’t find any typos and this third person POV story is very well-written.
I’m disappointed because I couldn’t connect with James and Cailin, the main H/h. Cailin seemed feisty and strong-willed when we first meet her but she acted a bit childish throughout most of the book (I think she was 17 years old), especially when she found out about the kidnapping plot and decided to handle the problem herself.
James is 25, a Grandmaster swordsman and much more mature. At age 17, he willingly negotiated a promise of marriage to Cailin with his father and Broderick when she was only 9. He soon left home for seven years to go to school and he returned home to Scotland as a man who seems to have experience with women. I couldn’t help but wonder how many women he slept with while away at school with his fiancée still at home. Then he tried to seduce a stranger in an alley, not realizing she was Cailin, while he planned to find his future bride and marry her. After this, I had a hard time respecting him.
Cailin and James didn’t spend much on-page time together. She believed she wasn’t a worthy wife for James but he appreciated her swordsmanship and thought of her as an equal (kudos for him but he wouldn’t tell her this). Her parents and handmaiden were more concerned with keeping Cailin a virgin until her wedding night than letting Cailin and James get to know one another. The few times Cailin and James actually spoke, they would argue and Cailin would run from the room in a fit because she couldn’t control her temper.
The best part of the book for me were the long kidnapping scenes. Cailin definitely matured and seemed to grow into herself as a woman so I started to like her better. James redeemed himself in his quest to save her and I appreciated his strength to do what was needed even with the cost to himself.
A good third or more of the book showed Broderick’s quest to find out how to protect his family. He met a seer, Malloren Rune, who taught him a protection spell to use against vampires. Malloren also told him about the prophesy he’s destined to fulfill.
Every scene with Angus held my attention. He was strong, psychotic, and an interesting, three-dimensional character.
The overall story is good. The prophesy information, the cleansing/protection spell, the scenery description and the history of the time is sooooo interesting. I’ve read in various reviews for the series that the first two books don’t support strong female leads but, from book 3 on, the women are much stronger. I hope that’s the case because I want to continue the series. I already know some of what to expect ahead (poor Broderick) and I’m anxious to learn more.
3 Stars


Disclaimer – I won a copy of this ebook in a contest/giveaway. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape or form for this review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.… (plus d'informations)

As book 1 in the Bonded by Blood series, the book starts with a punch and I love the world building.
Broderick MacDougal became a vampire, a vamsyrian as they’re called in the book, thirty years ago to avenge the death of his brothers and their families from a rival clansman, Angus Campbell.
Davina Stewart-Russell is married to Ian, a horribly abusive man. She’s strong-willed, determined to survive, and she seeks her family for help. When her father refuses to end the marriage, she attempts to take her own life but decides against it at the last moment. Then she's attacked and ‘saved’ by Angus.
A year later, Ian is believed long-dead in battle and Davina is free from his torment, other than in her nightmares. She meets Broderick, whom she met years before as a child and has fantasized about ever since, but their relationship is rocky.
This is when I started to lose interest in the story. Broderick only cared about bedding Davina and learning about her connection to Angus. Davina refused to tell him about her dead husband, the abuse, her child from the marriage, or anything about herself because she’s terrified of men. I understand her timidity but she took it too far. Then again, all Broderick did was to try to seduce her so I understand why she didn't trust him. He and Davina argued for a good chunk of the book and I don’t see how they fell in love with their lack of communication. Once they finally started to talk and trust one another, around 70% or so percent of the book, the storyline started to pick up and I enjoyed it more.
I loved the side characters. Rosselyn, Nicabar and Amice were great. I felt sorry for Veronique and I hated Ian and Angus.
There were a few loose ends in the story and unanswered questions, but hopefully they’ll be answered in future installments. The book ends with a HFN, a happy for now, since he’s a vampire and she’s still a human and they have a prophecy to fulfill.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about this series and I’m anxious to read the other books, but the poor communication between the H/h in book 1 frustrated me. I just hope Broderick and Davina, and Davina in her new incarnations, will be more open and respectful of each other in the future books.
3 Stars


Disclaimer – I downloaded a copy of this book free from Amazon. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape or form for this review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.… (plus d'informations)