Halloween is near and so is the Reaper!!!

I am excited to announce Dirty Book Club will be participating in the Promo Tour of Darynda Jones' newest novel in the Charley Davidson series, Seventh Grave and No Body.  Official release date is 10/20/2014, but here at the DBC to keep with the spirit of the season we will be celebrating our favorite reaper on October 31st.  Follow us on facebook for more details and reminders! 

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Book Review: Burn for Me by Cynthia Eden

First Published: January 2014

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

***Sizzling hot romance with scorching sexual tension!  Cynthia Eden is on fire!

Burn for Me takes place in a world where supernaturals have recently “come out” to the rest of the world, mainly in part to the ever helpful vampires.  Like many other paranormal authors, Cynthia Eden has created a world where all is not as it seems.  Enter the leading the lady, Eve Bradley. 

Eve Bradley, a young journalist, has spent the last six months undercover as a doctor in a government sanctioned program studying “volunteer” supernaturals.  BFM begins when Eve is finally granted access to one of the facility’s most dangerous volunteers, Subject Thirteen.  Instantly, she knows things don’t add up when she spies him chained half naked to a wall. 

Cain O’Conner, aka Subject Thirteen, knows his volatile nature can be deadly, but from the moment he lays eyes on Eve he finds himself fighting to be near her.  Having been betrayed by everyone he’s ever loved, trust is not a luxury he can afford.  So when the beautiful, candy scented spitfire tries to free him he finds himself pulled in by her naïve charm.

I love the way Eden wrote Eve’s character!  She’s a strong woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it.  So when Cain repeatedly pushes her away for her own safety, she has no problem standing up to him and telling him to “suck it up “.  That being said, I did get annoyed with how she insisted the all their problems could be solved by simply getting her story of the mistreatment of supes in print.  It was a character flaw for her that I thought went against her personality.  In the rest of the book she’s the counter weight to Cain’s literally fiery nature, yet it takes a couple of people to die and a close friend to be tortured before she realizes that it’s going to take more than a breaking story to solve anything.

Cain was spot on H-O-T!  I’ll have to say if you’re into the kick ass, never take names kind of guy you’ll love him.  He was definitely Alpha male material and once he discovered that Eve could handle his fire in the bedroom…the kiddie gloves came off!  I have to the sex scenes were spicy, but not too over the top.  The sexual tension was written well, but the real character development didn’t occur until later in the book, especially for the secondary characters.  Overall, I enjoyed BFM and found myself hooked enough to read the rest of the series.

Book review: Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James

In Silence for the Dead Simone St.James weaves an enticingly haunting tale that leaves you hanging on the edge of your seat.  Kitty Weekes is a strong, independent woman on the run from a shady past.  Using the last of her money, Kitty forges a new past in to gain employment at the Portis House, an estate turned hospital for afflicted war hero’s. 

Upon Kitty’s arrival her inexperience gives her away to the hard as nails Matron who forces her to endure the toughest of chores in payment for keeping her secret.  Determined not to be cowed, Kitty forges on and soon learns there is more to Portis House than crumbling plaster and a forbidden wing.  From the mysterious sounds in the pipes, the mass delusions of the patients to the whispers of ghosts walking the hallways Silence for the Dead has everything a good ghost story should. 

When Kitty meets Jack Yates, a highly publicized war hero, sparks fly.  The chemistry between Kitty and Jack is tantalizing sweet.  Jack’s anguish and self-doubt over his actual contribution in the war gives his character depth.  Kitty’s willful determination is contagious.  Finding friendship and more in each other the two pair up to solve the mysteries of Portis House and it’s haunted past.    

When catastrophe hits Jack and Kitty are forced to set out alone to hunt down the very specters out to destroy them.  St.James timing is impeccable and her talent for building a suspenseful setting is nothing short of stunning.  This novel is told from Kitty’s POV and the way that St.James builds her suspense had me sitting on the edge of my seat.  I instantly fell for the ruggedly handsome Jack Yates and his charismatic personality. 

Even the background characters were vividly portrayed in this novel.  Set in 1919, there is romance in the book, but not a lot of heavy petting.  This in no way takes away from the story.  If anything the tension that looms in the background only adds to the story. 

Simone St.James won two RITA awards with her first novel The Haunting of Maddie Clare.  This is her third novel and her natural ability to spin a creative, old fashion ghost story amazes me.