(Book 6 of the A Vampire In Waikiki series)
It’s Halloween in Waikiki, the holiday some call “Devil Night.” Tem and Divine Thunder, celebrating their first Halloween together, invite all their family, friends, neighbors, and former gay-porn co-stars to Trick or Treat. Tem’s gone berserk hiring caterers from every single island, and they’ve even built a spook house on their property for the festivities and planned moonlight pony rides.
Tem’s in full-scale party diva mode when things start going horribly wrong. One by one, their guests start disappearing, and even Tem’s beloved cat, Moontime, goes missing. And then from their mountaintop home on Tantalus, they see that Chinatown is on fire.
Tem and Div throw themselves into action, but are they too late to solve the mystery of what’s happening and stop the madness?
NOTE: This story was previously published with the ISBN: 978-1-55487-407-1. This reissued version of the story has been revised and reedited.
Review
A fun, scary, sexy, and funny way to end(?) the series of Tem and Div.
Tem is out in his Tiara but sad when his party ends in a fire. Ghosts from the past show up to keep things interesting (because a Halloween party thrown by real vampires isn’t enough?!). Poor Moontime goes missing and Div is left to pick up the pieces.
As always there is lots of laughs and steam and another great addition to this off-beat series.
Blurb (Book 5 of the A Vampire In Waikiki series)
You can steal a man’s heart or you can steal his wallet, but stealing his car?…that’s just asking for trouble. Waikiki Vampire, Divine Thunder, and his husband, Tem, thought that going to hell and back—literally—was an ordeal. Now they’re home and things are a mess. Even Div’s precious car, which he calls his “other husband,” has been stolen. Picking up the pieces of their half-demolished home, they find themselves in the middle of a new and weird mystery.
They’ve employed an art historian who’s a real weirdo, and somebody keeps pinching their good wine and leaving booby traps in their garden. So they decide to hire Francois, a big, beautiful, black security expert to get to the bottom of the twisted events. But wait…now they keep seeing Div’s car, driven by the thief, all over the island. This is gonna give a whole new meaning to “thunder in paradise.”
NOTE: This story was previously published with the ISBN: 978-1-55487-364-7. This reissued version of the story has been revised and reedited.
Review
This is the next short segment in the adventures of Tem and Div. In this “episode” Div’s car gets stolen, they invite a third to share their bed and they consult with Francois about security.
As always there is a lot of hot, steamy sex – ménage this time! – and lots of laughs.
If you’ve been enjoying this quirky series you will undoubtedly want to continue with this. This is NOT a standalone.
Tem and Div, Waikiki’s hottest vampires, are settling into domestic bliss when a tornado hits Honolulu and something sinister blows in. Mysterious forces, hell-bent on abducting Tem and Div’s baby nephew—Akua, a storm demon—whisk Tem away and hold him hostage.
Devastated, Div must fight to rescue the man he loves, which involves a descent into the past, to French Vietnam, a step back in time to undo the deal he made with the devil many, many years ago—a deal to give him a second chance at love. The catch is, Div must choose between the life of the man he loves and the baby…
Review
The blurb explains the gist of it. Jimmy has to fight for the baby against the devil with whom he bartered his soul.
This story is definitely a more action filled story than the previous 2 (which were more sentimental). There is still lots of sex and the “bad guys” and the “good guys” are pretty funny. It’s a bit longer than books 2 and 3 and the complexity of the story is evident as a result.
I like that AJ Llewellyn and the characters don’t take themselves too seriously.
The ending is a nice twist and I enjoyed having all the other characters back in the storyline.
On the run from his old-blood werewolf family, Tim Dirus finds himself in Wolf’s Paw, one of the last surviving refuges from the days when werewolves were hunted by humans and one of the last places Tim wants to be. Kept away from other wolves by his uncle, Tim knows almost nothing about his own kind except that alpha werewolves only want to control and dominate a scrawny wolf like him.
Tim isn’t in Wolf’s Paw an hour before he draws the attention of Sheriff Nathaniel Neri, the alphaest alpha in a town full of alphas. Powerful, intimidating, and the most beautiful wolf Tim has ever seen, Nathaniel makes Tim feel safe for reasons Tim doesn’t understand. For five years he’s lived on the run, in fear of his family and other wolves. Everything about Wolf’s Paw is contrary to what he thought he knew, and he is terrified. Fearing his mate will run, Sheriff Nathaniel must calm his little wolf and show him he’s more than a match for this big, bad alpha.
Marieke’s thoughts:
Tim, aka Little Wolf is on the run. He’s a wolf shifter but only half and that makes him smaller and weaker than most full wolf shifters. He came to Wolf’s Paw because someone he trusted sent him there. But the first day he arrived he made a foo out of himself with the Sheriff. Luckily Sheriff Neri is his mate, and a very powerful yet controlled wolf. He tries to show Tim that he can be patient and trustworthy.
Tim slowly gets used to Nathaniel, even starts to look forward to his visits to the café/ souvenir shop where Tim works. He’s still scared shitless though, and freaks out with every little thing that happens.
But when his room is breached by magic, he runs straight to Nathaniel––without knowing why. Nathaniel takes him home, stating can protect him better there.
Of course then the whole ‘starting to get to know each other’ begins, and Tim learns a lot about Nathaniel but also about himself. He lets himself shift for the first time in years, which is quite the victory for him. The sexual tension is overwhelming and the two end up having sex. But that’s not the end of the problems Tim has.
I loved how Nathaniel cares for Tim, even if I sometimes wished he’d just hurried up and claim the guy already. Tim is frustratingly slow in understanding anything to do with shifters, and I often wanted to hit him on the head. But when you hear his story, you understand why. He’s in denial and his brain won’t let him out of that.
It’s a slow burn book, and you really have to love that to be able to read this. I happen to do love it, so this book was great for me. If you like action and fast paced stories, you better skip this one though.
Little spoiler alert
In the end there is action, and suspense so you do get it. But you have to wait for it. Tim’s uncle, who you think is the evil bastard in this story, ends up kind of stealing my heart….kind of, because he’s still an ass. But, not an asshole like his right hand, who I truly wanted to end up dead…alas, that wish didn’t come true. Thank God he did get some sort of punishment.
In the end, this was a very pleasant read for me, even if it sometimes was a bit too frustrating that Tim was so clueless and Nathaniel so reluctant to force the issue. Another good story in this series that I adore.
On the eve of his fortieth birthday, Ian Parker is looking for a reboot. He may be the proud owner of a trendy coffee shop in Austin called La Tazza Magica, but his love life has been MIA for years. During a trip to Denver with his best friend, Mark, Ian buys an enchanted chocolate from a mysterious candy store—then wakes up from a nap two decades younger. After the initial shock, Ian realizes a quirk of the universe has given him a second chance and, with Mark’s help, he devises a plan to start over.
With a new lease on life, Ian sets his sights on handsome architect Bartley James, a regular customer at La Tazza. He pursues Bartley as Ian’s twenty-one-year-old alter ego, Ryan, with decidedly unexpected results. Joining Ryan on his adventures are Matthew, the dreamy new barista, Jeremy, the geeky high-school math teacher, and Sam, the pizza delivery boy. Even as misunderstandings and expectations collide, Ian remains determined to right his past mistakes and find his off-ramp to happiness.
Book Review (Previously posted on this site.)
I would strongly recommend that you read these books in order to fully appreciate the nuances. Brad does an amazing job of creating this “alternate” world with the Walsh brothers and laying out that time is very non-linear and to ignore all that history is silly.
Sure, technically this is a stand alone – but why? Just read the others – they’re great!
In this story we see – again – people making small decisions that have huge implications which can affect their lives (and other’s lives) and lots and lots of trivia.
I think that you are either a fan of the trivia – in this case old porn – or not – and the rapid-fire game-playing will either charm or repel you.
I find Brad Boney’s writing to be fascinating and I love his alternate world view and though I wish he’d had a different game plan – one where our MCs spend some actual time together – I always enjoy the time I spend on his books.
This was not my favorite in the series – but still an excellent book.
Audio Review
Dan McGowan is new to me as a narrator, and has not done any of the other narrations for this “almost”-series. I appreciated that he tried to make the different voices distinct and he had a lot of enthusiasm for the story, but I didn’t really care for his style, especially in comparison to the others by this author.
College freshman Parker Osborne is having the worst day ever. He humiliates himself trying to pick up a cute guy, he hasn’t made any friends at school, and his stupidly hot jerk of a TA gave him a crappy grade on his paper. He’s going to drop Adam Hawkins’ film class and start fresh tomorrow after he’s had a good sulk.
But Parker’s about to find out what a bad day really looks like—if he can survive the night.
A virus is unleashed, transforming infected people into zombie-like killers. After these quick and deadly creepers swarm campus, Parker only escapes thanks to Adam swooping him onto the back of his trusty motorcycle. Now they’re on the run—and stuck with each other.
When they’re not bickering, they’re fighting off the infected in a bloody battle for survival. Their only hope is to head east to Parker’s family, but orphaned Adam has a secret he’s not sure Parker will accept: he’s a werewolf. Can they trust each other enough to find some light in these dark days?
Review
When I read the blurb I said – what? Keira Andrews? Yes! Zombies? Heck Yes! Werewolves? Eff Yes!
(I used a different word than heck and eff but…)
I was NOT disappointed.
This story captures your attention right from the beginning.
Parker is an uptight, insecure freshman at Stanford. He’s used to being the big fish in a small pond and now he’s … not.
He meets his TA Adam over a bad grade in what is supposed to be a super easy class. Adam, of course, thinks the course is important and not just “filler” so he’s offended by Parker’s disdain.
It isn’t too long before the two accidentally meet in the quad on the day the “creepers” (zombies) take over the university. In a move that changes both their lives, Adam rescues Parker on the back of his bike and rides off with him to safety.
In the beginning there is a lot of sexual tension – Parker thinks Adam has a girlfriend. Adam has a secret he’s trying to keep from Parker. But both are really attracted to one another.
Of course at every turn they are also battling this unknown element – the virally infected hordes who mindlessly try to eat you if you get in their way.
Over the course of days and weeks they head cross country, trying to reach Parker’s family on the East Coast, and stay alive through both creeper invasions and vigilante challenges.
When Adam gets bitten it looks like their time together may be over or at least changed, since nobody knows how the disease is transferred. Luckily they meet someone who can help with that information.
The ending is… well… appropriate. I’m not sure if she’s setting us up for a sequel (Please, please, please!) or if a Zombie Apocalypse only has so many endings… but … it’s a definite HFN for their survival and HEA for their love.
**
What I loved about this book was the many different layers. Both Parker and Adam have felt marginalized in their lives – for different reasons. The fear of the unknown pushes them together faster than normal, but it still feels very organic and real. The human nature shown by the mobs of scared people felt real and the reaction to a possible cure brought up some real moral questions that struck a cord.
I loved Keira’s Rumspringa series and was so happy to see that her writing chops are well prepared to cover this entirely different genre.
In fact – maybe even better?
I highly recommend this book and give it 6 of 5 hearts!
It’s the summer of 1983, and Trent Days is Major League Baseball’s rookie sensation. Since he was born in Alaska to an Inupiat mother, the press have dubbed him the Eskimo Slugger, but a midseason collision at home plate temporarily halts his meteoric rise to the top.
Sent back to Austin to recuperate, Trent visits his favorite record store, Inner Sanctum, where he meets amiable law student Brendan Baxter. A skip in the vinyl of New Order’s “Blue Monday” drives Trent back to Brendan, and their romance takes them into uncharted territory. As Trent’s feelings move from casual to serious, he’s faced with an impossible dilemma. Does he abandon any hope of a future with Brendan and return to the shadows and secrets of professional sports? Or does he embrace the possibility of real love and leave baseball behind him forever? As he struggles with his decision, Trent embarks on a journey of self-discovery to figure out who he really is and what matters most.
Book review(Previously posted on this site.)
Trent is a baseball player from Alaska, thus the name Eskimo Slugger. He’s at the top of his game when he gets injured and ends up spending two weeks in Austin, TX. There he meets Brendan, a law student/record store clerk. They start as friends but once Brendan tentatively asks Trent “Is this a date?” the two acknowledge the deeper aspect of their blossoming relationship. The two immediately set sparks off one another, though neither has ever had a gay relationship before.
With some pretty funny forays into gay sex, the two explore each other and a relatively unexplored aspect to their personalities. For Brendan, being gay is something he’s pondered but been afraid of, but with the right incentive he embraces the idea and eventually decides to incorporate into his life fully and without secrecy.
For Trent, being gay means possibly (probably) the end of his career, certainly the end of his life as it stands currently, and though he’s always known he was gay, he has never let himself entertain the idea that he could actually live as a gay man.
Brendan enlists the help of Stanton and Hutch (from The Return) as “gay mentors” and together, with Bill Walsh (from The Nothingness of Ben) the group bonds, smoke a lot of weed and begin to form relationships that even death won’t end.
Ultimately, Trent has to make the biggest decision of his life: Choose baseball or choose Brendan. Perhaps the two can be together, but probably it’s one or the other.
**
By now you should have read the first two books (The Nothingness of Ben and The Return). If you haven’t – go! What are you waiting for? Technically this could be a standalone, I guess, but it won’t make a heck of a lot of sense and will leave you very unsatisfied.
If you have read the other books you know that the end of this book is really the beginning of TNOB. That, Brad Boney, is an amazing feat! Mr. Boney has managed to create this beautiful circular set of books that literally bleeds one into the other so that (as a reader) you want to just keep going round and round the merry-go-round.
I found myself referencing both of the earlier books time and again with the “treasures” that were revealed throughout this book. Without completely giving away all the secrets just know that the MCs of all three books are inter-related in various ways and little bits of their stories, past and present are slipped in throughout the story.
In The Return it was all about music – fast paced facts and quips, with Slugger it’s baseball. For me, the music was more interesting, but if you are a baseball fan this will really hit home. (See what I did there?)
I didn’t like the love story as much in Slugger as in The Return or TNOB, probably because it happens so quickly. I just never felt the emotion – especially from Brendan. Trent was invested, you get that feeling so strongly. Brendan was too standoffish for me and it made me a little sad. But… since I know what I know about how things end… he’s forgiven ☺.
I really, really enjoyed these books and was sad to see it end. I can’t say for sure, but I think that if I were to recommend a reading order I would say start with The Return, then Slugger then finish with TNOB. There may be something “missing” with that order, but I think, ultimately, it will be so much more satisfying. Or… do as the author may have intended and read it : TNOB, Return, Slugger, TNOB… and so on and so on…
Just a fantastic book all around, 5 of 5 hearts and for the series 6 of 5!
Audio
Michael Ferraluolo did an excellent job with this! I adored Charlie David and was disappointed he didn’t narrate this, the third of the series. I think the continuity would have been great. But… Michael didn’t disappoint with his performance. He has a great voice that is easy to listen to, did a nice job differentiating the characters, really got into the emotion of the story and even managed to do a nice job with the female voices.
All in all I am sticking with 6 of 5 hearts for this in either book or audio form!
For two years, Thierry has wanted the one thing Sebastien’s past denies him: an Aveu de Sang. With the help of friends new and old, he has finally assembled a ritual that will give him a close approximation of the ultimate bond between vampire and mortal… if it succeeds.
Review
This is more a chapter than a book. It’s the ceremony where Sebastian and Thierry bind themselves to one another. It’s very erotic (almost a bit kinky) and very sensual and sweet at times, too.
Aiden Lobo is a graduate student in a world where magic, gods, and demons are part of everyday life. After a terrible betrayal, he is cursed with a Crack in his heart, turning him into a living doorway for an ancient demon of war to come to Earth and kill millions. Aiden is rescued by his guardian angel, who seals the Crack with his own Light. As a servant of the divine, the nameless angel was supposed to kill Aiden to prevent the growing cataclysm inside him. But he loves Aiden too much to end his life, even to save the world.
Aiden falls for his guardian and names him Eskandar, but then learns to his horror that because Eskandar was created for him, when Aiden dies Eskandar will too. Aiden will do anything to keep his beloved angel safe. But with no choice except to sacrifice himself to prevent the apocalypse, he only has one option: a terrible betrayal of his own.
Review
This is a fast paced, low steam, full of maglc novel. The smexy times are more suggestive than actualized, but still very nice. The love is sincere and sweet. The fantasy is engaging and well done.
The bulk of the story is Aiden fighting against the evil forces that are trying to come out through a gateway opened in his heart. Everywhere he turns, people he trusts are turning against him. Only his guardian angel and sidekick are completely trustworthy but the answers they give – he doesn’t want to hear.
I really enjoyed this, even without tons of hot sex, and think that those of you looking for adventure and sentimentality will like it as well.
Part of the First Time For Everything Daily Dose 2011 collection
Facing the Germans outside Amiens, Denis was prepared for the possibility he wouldn’t survive the battle. Shot and left for dead, he didn’t expect to open his eyes to a vampire offering him a chance at a different existence. Now newly turned, the hunger for blood grows insistent, but an instinct Denis doesn’t understand presses him to make the right choice for feeding, not the most expedient one. Which will Noël prove to be: a temporary succor or the companion of a lifetime?
Review
This is a very short – almost prequel – to the series, introducing the concept and characters we will see in other books.
Denis is “killed” in the battle then offered life after death. Since he’s only 19 he takes the offer and Noel must show him the ropes and more?
As always Tachna is a wonderful writer, if the story is a bit too short to really delve into.
Blurb
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