Dark and Deadly: Eight Bad Boys of Paranormal Romance Dark and Deadly: Eight Bad Boys of Paranormal Romance by Alyssa Day, Bonnie Vanak, Caris Roane, Erin Kellison, Erin Quinn, Felicity Heaton, Jennifer Ashley, Laurie London
on April 14, 2014
Genres: Chick Lit, PNR
Format: eBook
Source: author
Goodreads
three-stars

Eight hot paranormal romances by New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors. Alpha-male bad boys will fulfill your darkest, most deadliest desires in these stories about shifters, werewolves, vampires, magic, special powers and other realms. But only if you dare…

Featuring the bad boy heroes of:

BODYGUARD (Shifters Unbound #2.5) by Jennifer Ashley
Elizabeth Chapman is saved from an armed attacker by a Kodiak bear who shifts into a tight-bodied, naked human male. Ronan takes Elizabeth to Shiftertown, becoming her 24/7 bodyguard. The mateless Ronan has adopted a houseful of orphaned Shifters--having grown up in foster care, Elizabeth is touched by his protectiveness. Ronan only wants to keep Elizabeth safe, but the sassy woman is triggering his long-buried need to mate.

ALEJANDRO’S SORCERESS by Alyssa Day
He’s a warrior, hardened by years of protecting his town from vampire attack. She’s a garden witch who sees the world in shades of sunshine and delight. Opposites don’t only attract, they go supernova in this sizzling tale of magic and mayhem.

BEWITCH by Felicity Heaton
A vampire with a bloodstained past and a soul tainted with darkness, Payne is perfect in his self-control, never surrendering to his darkest desires. Now a beautiful witch in the shadowy fae underworld reawakens long denied hungers and tempts him with pleasure. When one incredible night of fulfilling their fantasies leads to more than just keeping a promise and saving a friend, will they be able to overcome the barriers that stand between them and forever?

DARKNESS FALLS by Erin Kellison
Agent Malcolm Rook is hunting for people with the rarest of talents—the ability to master dreams. He finds the undeniably gifted Jordan Lane, but she’s wary of mysterious Rook and resists his pursuit as long as she can. Yet the dreamwaters they enter are too exhilarating to resist, and attraction soon ignites electric passions. Delving too deep stirs a nightmare, one they must defeat, or be forever lost to darkness.

ROGUE’S PASSION by Laurie London
Blaming himself for the death of a friend, Iron Guild warrior Asher Kane vows to bring those responsible to justice. After he’s hurt on a mission and nursed back to health by a beautiful yet mysterious woman with special psychic abilities, this dangerously sexy bad-boy finds himself falling for her…even as he struggles to stay away. But stalking them on the streets of New Seattle is a cruel and vengeful evil—one that threatens to destroy them both…

THE FORBIDDEN LIFE OF ALEX MOORE by Erin Quinn
Alex’s mission: Kill the hellhounds that have invaded earth and return to his home in the Beyond. But from the start, things go horribly wrong. The hounds are cunning and a human female witnesses their attack—she intervenes and saves Alex’s life. Now he must keep the alluring Lilly alive while fighting his desire for her. When passion flares, Alex risks all to protect her and defend the forbidden life he craves.

THE MATING HEAT by Bonnie Vanak
Werewolf Kara Mitchell fled with her brother Aiden to Montana after their alpha father punished her for kissing sexy omega werewolf Ryder Carrington. Left scarred by her father’s cruelty, Kara believes no one can love her. After killing his alpha to save the pack, Ryder now rules, but needs a mate. His blood runs hot for Kara. Ryder will do anything to claim her, even risk an all-out pack war that could cost them everything…

TRAPPED by Caris Roane
Mastyr Vampire Zephyr, a one-man fighting force, struggles to save the life of a woman who despises his warrior ways. She’s been a thorn in his side, but he has one goal: to keep her safe. For Alesia, however, she just wishes he’d leave her alone since she can never approve of his profession. She broke up with him months ago and wants to start a new life. The trouble is, he’s still the one man who can curl her toes.

When you buy an 8 book anthology for 99 cents, if you find one story you liked, I consider that a win. I wanted this anthology for the Alyssa Day story alone. Everything else was just bonus at that point. But I’ve been waiting for Alejandro’s Sorceress for years.

Now I did DNF 1 story in this antho, but with 7 others, you really can’t go wrong! There is something for everybody here.

Quick ratings:

Bodyguard by Jennifer Ashley- 5 stars

I loved this story about a girl who works at a convenience store and the bear who saves her.  Hot shifters, a fight club, drug lords, and romance. This story has it all. Full Review here
Alejandro’s Sorceress by Alyssa Day- 4 stars

This is the start of a new cross-over series with Alyssa Day’s Warriors of Poseidon called the Cardinal Witch series. It’s a lighter in tone and more of a  PNR lite. Alyssa Day’s trademark sense of humor shines through as we see one of her warriors dealing with a witch and her kooky family.

Bewitch by Felicity Heaton- DNF

This was a mess. All over the place writing and While I don’t mind a broody, angsty hero,too much self-loathing makes for an emo character I don’t enjoy reading. onto the next story.
Darkness Falls Erin Kellison- 4 stars

That was a 5 star story til the end. It literally ended mid-action. The next book does pick up where it left off, but it’s the sister and not the same action/plot. I feel like I have half a book and the end is missing. Other than that, I think the world is so interesting and really different.
Rogue’s passion by Laurie London- 3 stars

From Iron portal series, this is the only full-length novel in the antho. We’re taken back to the alternate universe of a slightly different Seattle, and another world that coincides.
The Forbidden Life of Alex Moore by Erin Quinn- 3 stars

This story definitely has potential, but really, it was missing something. Either it needed more world-building, or more clarity on the hero. Basically, he comes from his world to hunt hellhounds, but he knows it’s a suicide mission, as his people rarely come back? <–I guess, this is where it was a little confusing. Plus it was his first time hunting hellhounds, and I don’t know. It just needed more.
Mating Heat by Bonnie Vanak- 2 stars

This sounded good, but it really didn’t work for me. The heroine is being kept by the leader of her old pack. She calls her brother to prevent all out war, but instead of reassuring him, she basically ramps up the fear, and doesn’t tell him anything helpful. She makes it worse. I had to wonder what the purpose of that phone call was. The hero then calls her brother to demand 1 night with the heroine, and he’ll trade half of their father’s gold for it. But when he makes the call, the brother doesn’t know she’s there…she already called him! He should have known, I still don’t get that.

Trapped by Caris Roane- 3 stars

This is part of an established series and I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more if I’d read the previous books. I still enjoyed it, and I think the series looks interesting, though, especially since I still love vampire PNR.

 

***Review copy courtesy of the authors

 

 

three-stars