Ravaged

I enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed reading each book in this series. I love meeting new characters and also getting updates on the characters from earlier novels, but unfortunately, rarely any of the mates. Every time I start reading a book, I get pulled into the story and find it hard to put down until I finish, but I have to stop often because sleep and work get in the way. The world they inhabit is like ours but with a subtle twist.

Ever since Aiden stopped aging, he has been struggling with his dark impulses. Unlike his brothers who only had to deal with one dark impulse, Aiden is fighting against multiple ones such as bloodlust, sex, violence, and death. His work with Ronan has helped him to keep the darkness at bay, but he’s starting to lose the battle. He hopes someone will take him out before he gives in.

Maggie Doe had a difficult upbringing and always dreamed of having things she never had especially her own home. However, her life takes an unexpected turn when Aiden is rushed into her ambulance. Aiden has lost all hope for his future, but Maggie’s arrival brings a glimmer of hope back into his life.

This book has a good balance of mature themes, including sex, violence, and gore. It can be enjoyed as a standalone or as part of the larger series. I am excited for more young readers to experience it.

I found this book just as engaging as the others in the series. Tavia Gilbert’s narration is excellent and she brings each character to life, regardless of gender. I highly recommend it.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Fractured

I just finished reading a book that continued the story from the previous one. Although it was short, it felt just right for the established and new characters involved. The characters were all well-developed, even the ones who only appeared briefly. The stories were engaging and helped to advance the plot lines.

Mia was freed when Abby and her family came to find Vicky and found her and other purebred vampires being held captive. While the other captives have all moved on she and Vicky remain at the training center for similar reasons, both feeling that they cannot move forward just yet. David wants nothing more than to help Mia get past her anxiety over being held captive. He has feelings for her that could be more than she can handle.

Just as Mia starts to think things can really be better a past she does not remember comes back to tear her newfound happiness apart.

I was so happy to see one of the Stooges finally in a position to get a little real romance. They have been a part of the family and got to see it happen so often it is only fair one of them gets a chance. This was a wonderful story that was a little heartbreaking. You could not help but feel for Mia and all that she had gone through but she proved to be a fighter. This is definitely for a mature audience with some seriously hot sex scenes. Enjoy!

My rating: ✩✩✩✩✩

Undone

Undone
(Vampire Awakenings #5)
by Brenda K. Davies

I have been reading this series since the first book and have loved every one of them. This one literally grabbed me with the first sentence and I could not put it down until I had gotten to the end. I am not even sure what it was about this that had me so captivated but it was something that I want to experience again. The characters were so vivid and alive that I could see what was happening to them every step of the way. The situations were plausible and did not seem so fantastic that they were totally unbelievable. It flowed perfectly and kept you engrossed and sunk into the world that was being built around you.

Abby Byrne has been warned about Brian Foley by her family, saying he is dangerous and a monster. But when they find themselves in trouble and need someone who knows how to kill they call on him. Well this time Abby needs his help and does not want to tell her family what is going on. Her twin sister, Vicky, has gone missing and she needs someone who can help find her without alarming her parents or siblings.

There is another thing between her and Brian that she had hoped to avoid for a few more years if at all possible. The first and only time she had seen him was in a hotel room when she was fifteen and he was saving her and her sister from a killer, that he had led to her family. But after that night she could not get him out of her mind and dreamed about him for years. She really hopes that it doesn’t mean what she fears it might.

This was a story that will be really enjoyed by those who have read the previous stories, especially since you do get to check in with some of the other family members. I highly recommend this series and this book. There is some violence, sex, mutilations, and drug use.

**Tavia Gilbert is a great narrator who continues to bring the characters in these novels to life.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Humans know they face death every day, yet they bravely go out into the world. They smile, laugh, and love all while knowing it could be over in the next instant. We’re immortal and yet they’re a far more resilient species. I mean, how is it possible to live so much while knowing death is the only end they will have?”

Enraptured

by Brenda K. Davies

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am so in love with this series! I love the characters who continue to grow and make me care for them and what is happening in their corner of the world. I was pulled into this story pretty fast and did not want to stop reading until the end because something was always happening to pull me along. Even though they are vampires they are more human than some that they come in contact with. The new characters are always fully fleshed out with a background that makes sense for their interaction with our mains. The language of each character is right for them and does not cause a drag on the overall story. Everything flows very well and the story moves forward at a pace that builds the tension and gives you a chance to follow and figure things out for yourself.

Ian reached maturity 11 months ago and has seen his sexual appetites go off the charts. He only has a few more months until graduation and then he will not see a lot of his college friends again since he has stopped aging, and will have to devise a new way to find women to bring to his bed. While his older sister and brother have found their mates, he does not think he will be doing so for a while and so must simply endure.

Paige has had a hard life after being attacked by a vampire and left for dead. She has aligned herself with the hunters because they have promised to help her track the vampire who scarred her. But as luck would have it she finds him and is not prepared but is lucky enough to be at the bar frequented by Ian who finds her being drained and rescues her, with no sign of her backup.

Paige wakes up and finds herself in a house filled with vampires, whom she believes to be nothing more than monsters. Here is where things get crazy for both as they try to find trust and safety for each other and family.

Another great entry and I am already jonesing for the next one. I want Aiden to hit his maturity next but it can be about one of the new guys we have met or even one of the Stooges (that would be a hoot). I enjoy the fact that the family is always in whatever story is being told because they really are a part of the whole. As usual there was a little hot sex, some great banter, laughs, tears, and heartache. These books take you through the wringer and leave you wanting even more. Highly recommend the series!!

Untamed Blog Tour

Untamed (Vampire Awakenings #3)

by Brenda K. Davies

My rating:  5 of  5 stars

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had been waiting for this third entry since finishing book two and it was so worth the wait. I was pulled into the story right from the start partly because I had been anticipating this story and partly because it had just the right hook to draw me in. I was so glad that it was in more than one voice so that you got the point of view of each of the mains as they took us on this journey. Things start off on a tense note and continues to build from there as the story expands to include more characters. The characters themselves are so well-defined that you cannot help but feel that they are people you know and want to help. I could totally see myself hanging out with all of them, human and vampire, because I liked them so much. The story, even though it deals with vampires, has a ring of truth to it that keeps you interested in what is happening as it takes you from the mundane to the fantastical.

Ethan has always felt different from the other members of his family and when Isabelle asks him to come to Bermuda for a month he thought maybe it would help. He has never really liked being around humans like his siblings and avoided them as much as possible without alerting his family to what he was doing. Emma has come to Bermuda after graduating and just wants to have fun after getting out of a dysfunctional relationship that turned dark.  She and her two friends have rented a house and are ready to party,  meet men, and enjoy the tropical days and nights. Sometimes though you can find something that you didn’t even know you were looking for or needed while just trying to live your life.

I had so many feelings running through me while I was reading this that it was hard to sit still sometimes. I had a smile on my face every time Ethan stepped on deck because I knew he was so much more than he gave himself credit for.  I thought Emma was sweet and maybe a little to good to be true but she seemed perfect for Ethan. Her friends were the typical girlfriends you find in college, each a bit of a stereotype but not enough to bother. There were a lot of things going on here and every one of them kept me more than engrossed.  I laughed, cried, cheered, was angry, sad, and any number of other feelings bombarded me as I read this.  I knew it was going to end but as it drew to a close I kept wishing it would go on a little longer, now I can only hope that I will see more of this amazing family and their interesting problems as they continue to grow. Highly recommended!!

***Due to mature content and language this book is recommended for readers 18+***

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EXCERPT #1

They were almost to the door when the sky opened up and a deluge of rain began to fall. He went to hold her back but she was already stepping outside. He followed her out the door and stood beside her beneath the overhang as the rain pelted the ground around them in a loud crescendo that drowned out the noise of the restaurant.
“It should be over soon,” he said. “We can wait inside.”
The mischievous look she shot him over her shoulder should have warned him, but he still wasn’t expecting it when she asked, “Why?” and stepped into the storm.
Disbelief and amusement filled him as she tilted her head back and lifted her arms to the sky. Laughter trailed from her as the rain falling over her plastered the deep blue dress to her body. He could only stand and stare as she tilted her head back to the sky. There was something about the picture of her, laughing in the rain that made his heart clench, and caused a strange warmth to spread throughout him.
He thought he could stand there and watch her forever but the urge to touch her drove him toward her and into the rain. She was still laughing as she dropped her head down to look at him. Rain had turned her hair darker and caused it to curl as it clung to her face and neck. He barely noticed the drops of water as they pelted against him; the only thing he could focus on was her.
“It feels wonderful!” she cried above the noise.
He didn’t know what possessed him, but words completely failed him. It felt as if he had been taken over by something entirely primitive, he felt a burning itch that would only be appeased by touching her. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he lifted her up and pressed her flush against his body. Her mouth parted but before she could speak, his lips descended upon hers in a kiss that would have been bruising if the contact of their mouths hadn’t immediately eased some of the savage strain within him.
A low groan escaped him; his erection was extremely uncomfortable as it pressed against the front of his jeans. Her fingers curled into his shoulders, her mouth opened to his. She tasted of wine as his tongue entwined with hers. He could lose himself in her forever; if it wasn’t for the fact that he wasn’t going to allow anyone else to see her naked, he would have taken her here and now without any thought to where they were. If it were any other girl he wouldn’t have cared if someone else saw her body, but no other woman had ever driven him this crazy before or pushed him to these kinds of heights. No way was he about to play show and tell with any part of her body.

EXCERPT #2

“Run Emma! Now!” he shouted. A scream swirled up and choked in her throat as she swore his eyes flashed red when he looked at her over his shoulder. That was impossible though, completely impossible, no one’s eyes could do that. He was pushing her forward before she could even pause to consider what it was that she might have seen in his eyes. “Go!”
The urgency of his voice, and the look on his face, caused her to turn and flee toward where Jill and Mandy had moved further down the beach. Her feet slipped in the sand, her lungs burned from the exertion, but she continued to race onward.
Ethan spun to face the threat he had sensed in the air. The shimmering on his left caused him to move in that direction. He used the strength that had flowed so freely through him since he was a child, and that had intensified tenfold upon his reaching maturity, to hone in on his prey and seize him by the throat. He lifted the man above his head as if he weighed no more than twenty pounds and slammed his two hundred pound frame into the sand. The man landed on his back with an explosive exhale that blew the hair back from Ethan’s face.
Lips skimmed back to reveal the man’s fangs as he released a low hiss and his eyes turned a volatile shade of red. Ethan had never seen the vamp before, but the aroma of a landfill radiated from him and caused Ethan’s nose to instinctively wrinkle. “Who are you?” Ethan growled.
He didn’t get an answer though as another flash on his right caught his attention. This one wasn’t coming at him though; it was heading for Jill, Mandy, and Emma. Ethan twisted the head of the man beneath him sharply to the side. The crack of his neck breaking resonated loudly through the air, it wouldn’t kill the vampire but he wouldn’t be able to follow them for a little while.
Launching to his feet, Ethan poured on the speed as he raced across the beach to where the girls were heading toward the road. Mandy’s gate was the most awkward he’d ever seen it as she struggled to run through the shifting sand. She stumbled and nearly fell but Emma and Jill grabbed hold of her arms and kept hold of her as they helped her forward. The other blur was almost to them when Ethan lowered his shoulder and smashed into it. Years of playing football with his family and The Stooges had trained him on how to take down another vampire, and he did so now with ease. Satisfaction filled him as he heard a couple of ribs give way from the impact and he felt the unhinging of the other vampire’s shoulder.
The vampire sprawled across the sand, kicking it up around him and causing Emma and the others to turn at the sound of the commotion. “Keep going!” Ethan yelled at her but none of them was looking at him, their eyes were on the other vampire that had rolled over and climbed to his feet.

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EXCERPT #3

A small mewl of protest escaped her when he pulled his mouth away from hers. He caught her hands pressing against his chest, lifted them above her head, and flattened them against the door. Her breath came in rapid pants that caused her breasts to push temptingly against him. A seductive smile curved her mouth as she pressed her hips invitingly against his.
She would be the death of him, but he would welcome that death if she was smiling at him like that. Unable to resist her, he brought his mouth back to hers and kissed her with a deliberate slowness that allowed him to savor in the honeyed taste of her. Her hands jerked in his grasp but he didn’t release her and she didn’t try to pull away as he left a trail of kisses across her neck and down to her collarbone. His tongue swirled over her rain-dampened skin as he tasted her. He could hear and feel the rapid beat of her heart but he stayed away from the tempting vein that beckoned to him.
“Ethan,” she gasped when she felt the press of his fangs against her flesh. The sensation of his fangs scraping over her skin caused her to quiver with anticipation. That was when she knew that she’d completely lost her mind, and that she didn’t care. His eyes were burning embers when they came back to hers, his fangs clearly visible as he stared at her. “I want this.”
He released her hands and seized her face in between his palms; he stared at her as he waited for her to change her mind, but she had no intention of doing that. When she didn’t tell him to stop he kissed her so ardently that he stole the breath from her completely. She jerked a little when one of his fangs pricked her lower lip but it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sensation and he kissed away the sting of the bite.
A rumble of satisfaction escaped him as his tongue licked up the trickle of blood that flowed into her mouth. Blood that was as deliciously sweet and magnificent as he’d known it would be. Even that small bit of blood caused strength to seep through his system as it filled him in ways that no other’s blood could have. He almost bit down on her lip to get more but he knew it would hurt her and though he would cause her future pain, he was going to do everything he could to minimize it now.
Her fingers curled into his back when he broke the kiss but before she could protest his heated mouth was on her neck and his fangs were pressing against her skin. The breath she’d just managed to take rushed out of her again when his fangs sank deep into her flesh. Her body jerked against his as he took possession of her vein. The sensation of his teeth piercing her skin was like a pinprick that was gone almost as soon as she felt it, and once it was gone there was only endless waves of delight as he held her more firmly against him.

The first book in this series, Awakened, is free. Each book in this series is a stand alone novel.