*Book source ~ NetGalley

On The Hunt by Alexandra Ivy ~ 3 bites and a nibble

Sentinel Mika Tanner and healer Bailey Morrell were once a couple, but their differences split them up. Years later an incident with a Sentinel in training and dangerous enemy bring them together again. Can they make it work this time around?

While I like this story, I didn’t like it as much as the other two I’ve read in the Sentinel series. I just didn’t have a connection with the characters and while I like Bailey, I thought Mika was too overbearing. He comes across as an ass of the first order.

Scorpius Rising by Rebecca Zanetti ~ DNF 2 bites for the pandemic part

Microbiologist Nora Medina and her team have been kidnapped by their government in an effort to stem a pandemic. Too bad her ex-husband Deacan McDougall is head of the black ops that are keeping them secure.

I’m not a fan of old relationships being rekindled, but the pandemic part made it interesting. Unfortunately, I discovered in Chapter 5 that Deacan had been in the Marines long after the author had called him a soldier multiple times. A Marine is a Marine (and it’s capitalized!) and soldiers are Army. I’m not interested in reading about a Marine being called a soldier, it pisses me off, so I stopped right there.   

Phantom Embrace by Dianne Duvall ~ 5 bites

Immortal Guardian Yuri Sokolov can see spirits and he’s been obsessed with one he keeps seeing around. Cat Seddon has been a spirit for a very long time, but there’s something about Yuri that draws her. An immortal and a spirit, what kind of relationship are they going to have? Only one way to find out.

I love, love, love the Immortal Guardian series and this short story (#5.5) is a wonderful and unique addition to a really great line up. Even though it’s short it lacks nothing in development and has all of the trademarks I love from the longer books: humor, suspense, steaminess, romance, mystery, awesome action and I mentioned the humor, right? The ending is both heart wrenching and heartwarming. Don’t skip this one when making your way through the series.

Stake Out by Hannah Jayne ~ No rating

This series no longer interests me, so I didn’t read it.

I received a copy from Netgalley.

The premise of this book sounded pretty good, Bex Andrews, the daughter of a never caught serial killer trying to start a new life without the stigma of always been known as that killer's daughter. New school, new adoptive parents who don't know the truth, and then girls start turning up dead in the same manner as the previous murders.

Should be pretty interesting. Unfortunately, this is a DNF for me. I made it 30% but I'm not really interested in anymore. I'm finding it flat and dull, and I don't particularly like the main character. While I can't imagine what it must be like with the worry over your head that your own father may  have allegedly been a serial killer, even though she had nothing to do with anything, she seems to be blamed. It must be awful to live with that knowledge.

But I just did not like Bex much at all. I found her very wooden, and it was a tad bit annoying how she started at a new school and became insta-friends with the most popular girls there and instantly had a hot boy liking her immediately. Yes, I get she's worried constantly that people will find out the truth about who she is...but...it was the same thing over and over. Something about the style of the writing wasn't sitting well with me, there was a lot going on, but I found it boring.

I just don't like it. Not for me.

Thank you Netgalley and SourceBooks Fire for approving my request to view the title. 

The cover for author Hannah Jayne’s The Escape grabbed my attention but the novel’s premise hooked my intrigue. While it did sound like your basic amnesia/murder mystery story, I soon learned that The Escape by author Hannah Jayne was incredibly unique. The Escape was unlike most murder mysteries that I’ve had the opportunity to read. It was exciting and exhilarating and a total ride from start to finish.

In The Escape, Adam and Fletcher go into woods for a hike when they are both attacked. Uncertain of where they are or what is going on, it seems hopeless and unlikely that the two boys will find help. It isn’t until the Police Chief’s daughter, Avery, stumbles across Fletcher on a search party that the mystery of who attacked the two boys begins to unravel. When Adam is found murdered, both Fletcher and Avery begin to seek out just who it is that attacked them both. But as new information arises and strange flashbacks begin to haunt Fletcher, the killer’s true identity might be closer to the two of them than either of them know.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected myself to love The Escape was much as I did. I thought that it would be typical and average, but it turned out to be anything but. What immediately reeled me in was Jayne’s writing. There’s something about it that just works. It’s beautiful and descriptive. Readers will be able to imagine the setting with ease and find their hearts pounding often through Jayne’s use of descriptors and thoughtful prose. Her distinct style makes The Escape a wonderful read that takes hold of you and never lets go.

The point of view (POV) in The Escape switches between both Fletcher and Avery. It’s very interesting to live inside both characters’ heads. Mainly because both Fletcher and Avery have contrasting personalities that provide different insights into the story. Personally, I loved reading Fletcher’s POV. Jayne writes his character in a way that provides some major psychological implications. Fletcher isn’t ‘cool’ like Adam was. Fletcher is the less than average ‘weird kid’ and getting to see the story through his eyes was great.

If I were to describe The Escape to someone interested in reading, I would tell them that this novel is more than a murder mystery. It’s a psychological thriller than messes with your head. There’s a constant use of red herrings, making it impossible to fully know who the novel’s true antagonist is until its final pages. There are instances where you aren’t sure the force that Fletcher and Avery are up against is even human. It’s terrifying in the most spine-tingling way and I loved every moment of it.

I would recommend The Escape to readers who are big fans of murder mysteries with a twist. Any readers who are big fans of novels that are filled with nothing but heart-pounding action should definitely give The Escape a go. It’s a thrilling novel that you could easily finish in one sitting and will leave you breathless.

Wings are sexy. Pretty, soft, feathery wings are especially hot. And if the winged ones job is to protect? Super Awesome!

Enjoy these Romances with Guardian Angels in the hero or heroine spot. 

My lists are never in any particular order. Enjoy!

1.  Fallen by Erin McCarthy

New Orleans, 1840s. Sent to watch over the decadent city, the angel Gabriel loses himself in the liquid pleasure of absinthe. So when his mistress, Anne, is murdered—and all evidence points to him—a foggy Gabriel cannot be sure he didn’t do it. His penance: to be forever denied love. Then in modern-day New Orleans he meets forensic scientist Sara Michaels...

2. A Touch of Crimson by Sylvia Day

Adrian Mitchell is a powerful angel leading an elite Special Ops unit of Seraphim. His task is to punish the Fallen--angels who have become vampires--and command a restless pack of indentured lycans. But Adrian has suffered his own punishment for becoming involved with mortals--losing the woman he loves again and again. Now, after nearly two hundred years, he has found her--Shadoe--her soul once moreinhabiting a new body, with no memory of him. And this time, he won't let her go...

3. Burning Skies by Caris Roane

A vampire warrior in exile, Marcus Amargi resists the call to return to the ranks of the Guardians who fight the death vamp armies. Here on Mortal Earth, Marcus has another battle on his hands—the seductive lure of Havily Morgan. The woman meant for him. Whose blood he craves. The one who comes to him in dreams—and demands his surrender…

A beautiful immortal with extraordinary powers, Havily lives in the realm of Second Earth but, in her fantasies, yearns for her winged lover Marcus. Soon, their bond will be put to the ultimate test. When their bloodthirsty enemies set the night on fire with sky-blazing weapons, Marcus and Havily must unite body and soul, to unleash the full power of their passion—and fight fire with fire…

4. Her Dark Angel by Felicity Heaton Free!

An angel trapped in Hell for centuries, Apollyon is tired of guarding the Devil. He longs to break free and feel the wind in his feathers, but he cannot leave the endless darkness without permission from above. When he senses someone calling him, he seizes his chance for freedom, but soon discovers the call came from a beautiful woman he has watched over from Hell, a woman who casts a spell on him and awakens the darkest desires of his heart. 

Serenity is shocked when a wickedly sensual black-winged angel shows up in her city of Paris claiming that she called him when she was only casting a simple vengeance spell. He’s no other than the angel of death! When the lethally handsome warrior offers to obey her and give her revenge, Serenity can’t resist the temptation, but can she resist the forbidden hungers the dark angel stirs in her? 

5. Her Accidental Angel by Melisse Aires

The spell was a trick! 

Kari thinks a weight loss spell is worth a try. Unfortunately, the spell is a trick that unleashes a centuries old famine demon. 

Fallen Guardian Angel Rahmiel once defeated the demon and was bound so he could fight it if it ever descended to the earth again. But there is the little problem of his imprisonment in an ice prison. What he needs is a bonding ceremony with a human woman--like Kari.

6. Daniel's Gift by Barbara Freethy

In her impetuous summer of love, Jenny St. Claire found Luke Sheridan -- her dashing knight in intern's scrubs. But a fast-track future and rigid, ambitious parents drove passion out of Luke's life. And the summer ended, leaving Jenny with a broken heart... and a beautiful son, Danny, to help mend it. 

Years later it is tragedy that reunites them -- the father whom a son longs to know, and the mother who has tried desperately to forget. And as Luke and Jenny struggle to ignore the pain and desire reborn in a look and a touch, only the remarkable courage of a young boy -- and the help of a rather unorthodox guardian angel -- can offer them the most precious gift of all: a second chance at the love of a lifetime.

7. Bedeviled Angel by Annette Blair

At the Works Like Magick employment Agency in Salem, Massachusetts, matching clients in need with magical temps is a piece of cake, especially since sexy Chance Gordricson also happens to be heaven-sent. He's Kenya Saint-Denis's guardian angel. And when he's hired to keep an eye on her and the two surrogate children she's become saddled with, he just might fall prey to temptation.

8. Under a Spell by Hannah Jayne

Sophie Lawson was seriously hoping life at the UDA would get back to relative normal now that her boss Pete Sampson has been reinstated. Unfortunately, her new assignment is sending her undercover into a realm where even the most powerful paranormals fear to tread. . .her old high school. Being a human immune to magic is no defense against soulless picture-perfect mean girls--or a secret witch coven about to sacrifice a missing female student. And Sophie's Guardian, uber-proper Englishman Will, is determined to convince Sophie he's the kind of temptation she should indulge in permanently. Now as the clock ticks down to apocalypse, he and Sophie will have to summon every trick in the book to battle devilish illusion, lethal sorcery--and betrayals they'll never see coming . . .

9. Dark Nights, Dark Dreams by Savannah Russe

Government agent Susan Chase always kept her psychic abilities a secret. Now her secret is out and the C.I.A. needs her help. A highly classified all- female team of paranormal agents, Susan and her squad are now entrusted with the government’s most unusual and dangerous assignments.

10. White Heart of Justice by Jill Archer

ince Lucifer claimed victory at Armageddon, demons, angels, and humans have coexisted in uneasy harmony. Those with waning magic are trained to maintain peace and order. But hostilities are never far from erupting…

After years of denying her abilities, Noon Onyx, the first woman in history to wield waning magic, has embraced her power. She’s won the right to compete in the prestigious Laurel Crown Race—an event that will not only earn her the respect of her peers but also, if she wins, the right to control her future.
                          
However, Noon’s task is nearly impossible: retrieve the White Heart of Justice, a mythical sword that disappeared hundreds of years ago. The sword is rumored to be hidden in a dangerous region of Halja that she is unlikely to return from. But Noon’s life isn’t the only thing hanging in the balance. The sword holds an awesome power that, in the wrong hands, could reboot the apocalypse—and Noon is the only one who can prevent Armageddon from starting again…

Did I miss your favorite? Let me know!

Vote on my Goodreads list: Guardian Angels in Romance Novels ‎