Lori Devoti, paranormal romance and urban fantasy author

One week until release day! Can you believe it? I’m really not prepared. I didn’t even send the book to hardly any reviewers this time. I did, however, send it to Amelia Richard at CataRomance and her review is up. Here’s the key bit…

With imagination and cleverness, Lori Devoti gives readers what they crave in a paranormal story. The premise of her Unbound series is completely unique, and the featured characters are very individualistic in every aspect of their nature. Ms. Devoti gives her characters distinctive personalities and the thoughts of each being are vividly shown, particularly the differences between those with the same heritage. With the vast number of different beings in this story, the author’s gift for creativity shines through when the way they think and react is expressed. The plot of WILD HUNT is masterfully carried out as each second brings forth a new revelation, many of them surprising and unforeseen. There was not a moment when I was not held ensnared by the happenings in the story, as each one became more significant in what would ultimately come to pass in the lives of Venge and Geysa. This couple, with their differences in not only genetic makeup but also their goals, is powerfully portrayed with intense passions and strong wills. When their temperaments clash, the scenes are filled with genuine emotions and inner conflicts. Ms. Devoti gives these two a myriad of dilemmas to overcome, and Venge and Geysa prove their true natures time and again. WILD HUNT is a mesmerizing love story, one where potent feelings and danger constantly collide.

You can read the full review here…Oh, and she gave it 5 stars. :)

I am bumping this post, because I wrote this too early the other morning when my mind was occupied with other things, and I wasn’t sure that I got across what a fun read this is. Plus, it pushes the envelope of the “expected.” This is why I don’t do reviews..I stink at them.

I just finished reading Getaway Girl by Michele Hauf. This is going to be one of the last Bombshells. (sigh)

Anyway, I thought I’d talk about it because it is different–always a good thing when so many books start to blend one right into the other. I am horrible at writing synopses for reviews so here is the back cover copy off Amazon…

Jamie MacAlister has a need for speed. Now she’s making a break from the illegal racing circuit to run a professional driving service. That’s right…Jamie is a getaway girl.

Her first assignment: help rescue a kidnapped woman. Suddenly, though, Jamie’s taking a wild ride through the streets of Paris with bad guys in hot pursuit. To further complicate things, her own people–the good guys?–have just double-crossed her. What’s the world coming to when the very sexy Sacha Vital, perhaps the baddest of all bad guys, might be the only one she can trust?

Maybe fate will decide, because Jamie’s not about to put on the brakes for anyone….

There were a number of things that made this book different. First there was the protagonist’s (or heroine if you want to read it like a romance) chosen career–getaway driver. I thought this was a really unique and interesting choice. I also liked that (unlike what the cover would lead you to believe) the protagonist (Jamie) doesn’t dress like you might expect her to–Doc Martins and short school-girl type skirts being her preference.

The basic theme of this book is a shell game–think you can trust this person? No, no, no. Try again. And Jamie goes through a lot of twisting and turning trying to decide who she can really trust–the book ending with at least one character (the woman who sets up her jobs) still not clearly defined in my mind–although I would say if Bombshell wasn’t going bye bye she might have gotten her own book.

Another major thing that made this book different is the hero (to look at it like a romance). There is a scene early on where he does something rather unexpected of a hero (still in romance land) and I’d really love to hear what anyone else who has read the book thought of this. Did it upset your romance-reading sensibilities? (Remember, this isn’t a romance…) Or did it fit the character to a T? I think Michele Hauf was doing what she felt was right for the characters and I applaud her for not wimping out.

On Michele Hauf–have any of you read her other books? This was my first, but I will definitely read more–starting with her November Nocturne release. And, if you want something a little different, I definitely recommend Getaway Girl.

One comment on the back cover copy–the “illegal racing” bit makes you think she was drag racing or something. Not so. Instead it was more a case of her working for who she knew were the bad guys and thinking she is switching to work for the good guys–but are they?