Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense

POV: 3rd Person

Sensuality: Warm

Violence: This is a very dark book, but most violence occurs off page

Format: Print

Source: I received an ARC from the author

Why I Read It: I enjoyed Leslie Parrish’s Black CATs trilogy

My Grade: B+

Cold Sight is the first book in Leslie Parrish’s new Extra Sensory Agents series. It’s a dark paranormal romantic suspense with a compelling plot. I literally read it in one sitting. Cold Sight is a stand alone novel, but some of the characters who will appear in future books in the series are introduced.

Aidan McConnell is a trained cop turned psychic investigator. After his involvement in an investigation which went horribly wrong, Aidan left Savannah for the tiny town of Granville, Georgia. Although he occasionally assists as an advisor on cases, Aidan has become a recluse with a particular hatred of the media.

Reporter Lexie Nolan has been demoted. She’s convinced a serial killer has been targeting teen girls from disadvantaged backgrounds. Unfortunately, the Granville police department and the powers that be in the town refuse to listen to her. They are adamant that the missing girls are runaways, and don’t want any rumours to the contrary to circulate.  The only person who believes her is her boss, Walter. However, he has a sick wife and four daughters to support, and can’t risk losing his job by publicly backing Lexie.

When bright and promising Vonnie Jackson is reported missing, Lexie is determined to continue her search for the truth. In desperation, she turns to Aidan McConnell for assistance. Aidan hates reporters and is reluctant to ally himself with Lexie. However, he realises that the nightmares he’s been having recently probably relate to her disappearance. Despite his distrust of the media, Aidan’s instincts tell him that Lexie is onto something. Plus there’s no denying the sizzling chemistry between them. As the case hots up, so does Aidan and Lexie’s relationship.

Cold Sight is a compelling read. As with Leslie Parrish’s Black CATs series, the primary focus is on the suspense element. In romantic suspense novels, my preference is for more emphasis on the suspense than on the romance, but even I felt that Lexie and Aidan’s relationship got very short shrift. Despite this criticism, so many aspects of the story worked for me that I have no hesitation recommending it to readers who like their romantic suspense dark and gritty.

The paranormal element is minimal, at least in comparison to many paranormal romances and urban fantasies that I’ve read. Aidan has a psychic gift (or curse, depending on how you wish to view it). His colleagues at eXtreme Investigations all possess some unusual powers. Apart from Aidan’s ability to sense the thoughts and feelings of others, the book is a traditional suspense/mystery with no fangs, fur, or other unusual creatures.

The storyline of Cold Sight is, at times, very bleak indeed. This is not a story in which everyone gets a happy ending. I felt the chilling atmosphere fit the book, and some of the more upsetting incidents made it stronger. The conclusion to the mystery was convincing, and I was pleased to see Lexie and Aidan get their HEA.

The next book in the series is Cold Touch and it will be released in April 2011. I can’t wait to read it!

Other Reviews of Cold Sight:

Stacy’s Place on Earth – 4 out of 5 stars

Errant Dreams Reviews – 5 out of 5

Hunter’s Need is the latest installment of Shiloh Walker’s Hunter series. It’s billed as a paranormal romance but I’d modify this description to paranormal romantic suspense as it contains an excellent mystery.

Although I haven’t read the preceding books in this series, I found it easy to follow. Most of the scenes involving characters from previous books occur in the first couple of chapters. Once the action moves to Alaska, the focus is entirely on the hero and heroine.

At the opening of the story, Analise Morell is the oldest student at Excelsior, a school run by the Hunters for children with special gifts. Ana’s younger brother, Brad, is also a student at the school. Ana is there to learn to control her psychic abilities after an unfortunate incident four years previously when Ana and Brad were abducted by Cat, a sadistic vampire . In order to protect her brother, Ana was tortured and forced to lure others to the vampire’s lair. One of the people Ana seduced into accompanying her was Duke Lawson, a shapeshifter and one of the elite Hunters. Duke was tortured and almost killed by Cat, before his fellow Hunters helped them to escape.

Four years later, their physical wounds have healed but the memories of betrayal remain. Duke is disgusted with himself for feeling attracted to Ana. Ana still feels enormous guilt at the suffering Duke was forced to endure because of her actions. Most of the students and staff at Excelsior distrust Ana and she is aware that her brother suffers as a result. Deciding she’s learned as much as she ever will about psychic shields, Ana knows it’s time to move on, as much for her brother’s sake as for her own.

Ana builds a new life for herself in Alaska. While she’s sometimes lonely, she knows that striking out on her own has helped her to regain her self-confidence. One day, she notices something odd. A homeless man to whom she often gives money appears to have a ghostly companion. When a co-worker admonishes Ana for approaching him, she learns that Paul is suspected of the murder of his girlfriend many years before. Ana is astounded by this information as her psychic abilities indicate that Paul is innocent of the crime. A little research reveals that Paul’s ghostly companion is Marie, the woman he is alleged to have murdered. Realizing there is something very wrong in this scenario, Anna decides to call in the Hunters.

The Hunter sent to investigate is none other than Duke Lawson. Being in such close proximity to one another, Duke and Ana are forced to work out their differences and learn to forgive and accept past mistakes.

When Paul is found dead next to the mutilated body of a young woman who bore a striking resemblance to his murdered girlfriend, the police decide this proves his guilt and connect him to a series of similar murders. Ana is not so sure. As the body count rises, so does Duke and Ana’s mutual attraction. Soon, they are in a race against time to find the killer before he strikes again…

Hunter’s Need is an imaginative, beautifully-written romance. Ana is a strong character without being the sterotypical kick-ass paranormal romance/urban fantasy heroine. Duke is very alpha, but he respects Ana’s abilities and doesn’t condescend to her. Duke hates to be confined and I thought the Alaskan setting worked particularly well for his character.

I appreciated the fact that several years elapsed between the incident with the vampire and Ana and Duke getting together. This made their relationship more believable. I think he needed time to overcome his anger and she needed a chance to heal and reclaim her independence.

My only quibble lies with the resolution of the mystery. There were only two suspects and I wasn’t overly surprised at the identity of the murderer. I would have preferred a couple more possible suspects to add to the element of surprise.

I’d recommend Hunter’s Need to all fans of urban fantasy and paranormal romance. This is the first book I’ve read by Shiloh Walker, but if it’s any indication of the quality of her work, it certainly won’t be the last. Grade: B+

* I received an ARC of this book from the author. Hunter’s Need will be released 01 December 2009.

Skin Game is a dark and edgy paranormal romance. It’s the first book in what promises to be an exciting new series. Author Ava Gray also writes SciFi and Urban Fantasy as Ann Aguirre. This was the first of her books that I’ve read and I’ve already ordered a couple of her Ann Aguirre novels to try.

Kyra Beckwith is a con woman with an unusual ability. She can “borrow” people’s greatest skills for a limited time by virtue of a single touch. This means she can be an athlete, an expert pool player, a boxer, or acquire any other talent at which her target excels. To avenge her father’s murder, Kyra uses her special ability to insinuate herself into wealthy casino owner, Gerard Serrano’s, inner circle. She publicly humiliates him before fleeing with money she “won” at his tables.

Ripping off Serrano is a decision Kyra may live to regret. That is, if she lives at all. Serrano has hired notorious hit man Reyes to find Kyra, kill her and return the money she took from him. Reyes is absolutely ruthless. He’s the best at what he does and he knows no mercy – until he meets Kyra. Reyes thinks nothing of sleeping with Kyra, especially as she is so willing to be seduced. He persuades her to take him on as her partner in crime. Reyes soon realizes Kyra is not the woman portrayed in the file he was given by Serrano’s assistant, Addison Foster, and is reluctant to follow through on the hit. There’s also the unwelcome possibility that he might be falling for his target…

Skin Game is a fast-paced story with unusual characters. The body count is high and the sex is hot, so if neither of these aspects work for you in a romance, be warned! The paranormal element is confined to Kyra’s ability. There are neither fangs nor fur in this book. My one and only quibble is that we never find out about how Kyra acquired her paranormal ability. I’m assuming this will be addressed in future books in the series but I would have liked to know more about it by the end of this story as Kyra and Reyes’s romance seems pretty self-contained within the parameters of this book.

I loved Kyra and Reyes. They are bad people and show no remorse – there’s very little moral ambiguity here. By the end of the book, they’ve found their HEA but there’s no talk of them giving up their respective professions and becoming reformed characters. I found this a refreshing change from the majority of romances featuring criminal heroes and heroines who inevitably go on the straight and narrow at the end of the book. Despite not wishing to meet either one of them in a dark alley, Kyra and Reyes are fun characters. They have a good sense of humour and they care deeply about each other. I found their romance totally credible.

There are also a couple of interesting secondary characters. Mia Sauter is Kyra’s best friend. We don’t learn much about her in this book, but what we do discover is intriguing. Serrano’s assistant, Addison Foster is excellent future hero material. We get a few glimpses at his back story in Skin Game and my interest is piqued. I’m really looking forward to his and Mia’s book, Skin Tight, which will be released June 2010.

Fans of romantic suspense and paranormal romance would do well to check out this book. I can highly recommend Skin Game. Grade: B+

Soulless is author Gail Carriger’s debut novel and the first in a series entitled The Parasol Protectorate. It’s billed as a Fantasy/Horror on its spine, which I think is misleading. I’ve also heard it described as a steampunk romance. I would reject the horror classification as it definitely does not belong to that genre. It could be considered a Fantasy. The description I would use, though, is a paranormal romance with steampunk elements. However you want to describe it, Soulless is a funny, original tale featuring a wonderful cast of characters. Unfortunately, its scant worldbuilding and weak suspense plot dragged down the grade.

Soulless is set in an alternate reality Victorian London. It features a few steampunk elements such as flying machines and robots. In this world, vampires and werewolves coexist with humans. They have their own sets of rules but their leaders cooperate with the Queen as part of a shadow cabinet. They also have a special section of the civil service devoted to the registry and control of all unusual creatures. The head of the Bureau of Unnatural Registry (BUR) is Lord Maccon, who is also the local werewolf alpha. Lord Maccon and his assistant, Professor Lyall, are charged with keeping track of all vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures residing in Britain. One of these unusual creatures is Miss Alexia Tarabotti.

Alexia is a spinster with a secret. At 26, she’s considered firmly on the shelf. Her Italian complexion, prominent nose and direct speech render her unmarriageable. There’s also the slight matter of her soullessness to contend with. Alexia is considered a preternatural as she has inherited her Italian father’s lack of soul. This gives her an unusual ability: merely by touching a vampire or werewolf, she can render them powerless. As the alternate world in which she lives abounds with both species, it is a convenient knack to have. Although her existence is known and monitored by BUR, she keeps her unusual condition from her very proper English mother, step-father and half-sisters.

One evening, at a particularly dull party, Alexia seeks tea and refuge in the library. Much to her consternation, she is set upon by a vampire whom she accidentally kills with her trusty parasol. Lord Maccon – Alexia’s particular nemesis – is sent to investigate. He discovers that the dead vampire was not registered with his office and no local vampire group claim him. This leads Maccon to assume the vampire was illegally created and he begins an investigation.

Soon more vampires start disappearing, and Alexia’s life is under threat. Lord Maccon and Alexia become reluctant allies in the search for the truth, and soon find themselves putting up a very half-hearted fight against their mutual attraction

I adored the humour and chemistry between Alexia and Lord Maccon. Every scene with them together was a joy. I also loved the outrageous Lord Akeldama and I hope he will appear in future books in the series. The characters and the humour are what define this book and made me want to read more by this author.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of elements which did not work for me, and they dragged down the grade. The focus of the story is the relationship between the hero and the heroine. However, I felt their romance could have unfolded against a regular Victorian background. The alternate setting seemed more of a colourful backdrop then an actual world.

Another aspect of the story which did not engage me was the suspense subplot. This is a frequent refrain of mine, I know. I rarely react well to suspense in non-suspense books. For readers who have less of an issue with knowing the outcome of the mystery from the very beginning, perhaps this won’t be a problem. Personally, I like a mystery to keep me guessing rather than serve as a convenient source of external conflict.

Despite my criticisms, I enjoyed spending time with the characters in Soulless and I intend to read the second book in the series when it’s released next summer. Grade: B-