Night Blade by J. C. Daniels 
Series: Colbana Files #2 
Genre: Urban Fantasy 
Published by Shiloh Walker Inc. on March 4, 2013 
Format: eBook 
Pages: 212 
Source: Purchased 
Purchase: Amazon • Barnes & Noble

My Initial Thoughs: J.C. Daniels left me with my heart in my hand!

NIGHT BLADE continues the story of Kit Colbana who can’t seem to stay out of trouble! When various Council members are murdered, a face from the past comes back to Kit, requesting her help with the investigation. Her relationship with the Alpha Damon is going strong and business is good, until now. Kit wants nothing to do with her ex-lover Justin but when he names Damon, her new love as the number one suspect, she’s forced to work with him in order to save the man she loves from a death sentence.

Kit Colbana became an instant favorite heroine of mine in Blade Song and continues impressing me with this installment. She’s not one of those perfect heroines with extraordinary supernatural abilities but can still hold her own with the Mercy Thompsons and Gin Blancos of the world. Kit is no stranger to pain and suffering but I really wanted to just give her a hug while reading NIGHT BLADE. She’s just trying to find happiness and the second it’s in her grasp it’s gone.

Even though she’s not a shifter, Kit definitely has nine lives. She faces rejection from Damon’s pack, is attacked by werewolves, takes on a vengeful witch and is captured by an old vampire enemy. All through this her number one priority is to save the man she loves…you gotta love her for that. To make things worse, Kit learns the person who’s made her suffer the most, her grandmother, is intent on finding and killing her, the girl can’t catch a break!

NIGHT BLADE is another action packed installment to the Colbana Files that keeps you on the edge of your seat. J.C. Daniels isn’t afraid to make her heroines suffer and rip the hearts out of her readers! The stakes are higher for Kit this time around and I can’t help but root for her more than ever after the emotional roller coaster she gave me. I still need a day or two to recover from this ending…

A Single Girl's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse by JT Clay 
Genre: Horror, Romance 
Published by Momentum Books on November 1, 2013 
Format: eARC 
Pages: 261 
Source: NetGalley 
Amazon • Add to Goodreads 

An unexpected twist to the zombie apocalypse!

When I saw the title and cover for this book I thought “I must read this!” and requested a copy on NetGalley. I’m all about zombie books since getting hooked on The Walking Dead so this was pretty much a no brainer (no pun intended!). Needless to say, what began as a promising zombie read soon turned into a horror comedy I wasn’t prepared for that left me saying WTF?! Literally.

Quentin, known as Q, is a 22 year old kindergarten teacher’s assistant living in Australia who is somewhat of a geek girl. She spends most of her down time planning for the zombie apocalypse by playing video games, reading survival guides and practicing martial arts. Quirky but not too weird so far right? Wrong…

Q’s sarcastic mouth and less than empathetic ways make her socially awkward and pretty much a loner, with the exception of her best friend Hannah who also happens to be six years old! Yeah, our girl has a few issues.

Q acknowledges that she’s not exactly Ms. Popular when it comes to friends or dating and has given up on finding love. When a handsome vegan singer by the name of Rabbit shows up to entertain her students one day, Q is instantly smitten and misses her chance to ask for his number. Unwilling to forget about her future “prince charming,” Q signs up for a vegan hippie retreat with the hopes of snagging her Rabbit but there’s one major obstacle standing in her way…the looming zombie apocalypse!

First I’d like to say that I tried really hard to like this book and its characters. The beginning is too slow paced for me and I kept wondering where the zombies were going to make an appearance at all. I like the author’s twist on the typical zombie myth but I would have liked to have seen more of the walking dead. Things do pick up once the zombies come into play and other characters are introduced. I thought that Q’s character would change for the better in a social setting and around her crush Rabbit, but sadly her no-filter policy just got worse!

As a fellow geek girl I found Q’s “nerdiness” endearing…for about a few pages. The more she opened her mouth the less I liked her. I don’t want to make this a bashing session of her character, I’m just stating why I couldn’t connect with her. Here are some of those reasons:

1. She is just too weird for me, and not in a Big Bang Theory kind of way!
2. There’s a problem when the six year old best friend is more mature than the protagonist.
3. Her instant “love connection” with Rabbit and stalker-ish behavior didn’t help her cause.

What smart, strong young woman pretends to be something she’s not and joins a retreat of vegan hippies just to get close to a guy who didn’t even show that much interest in her to begin with?! Then constantly bashes his way of life…yeah, that’s the way to get him Q!

What I couldn’t comprehend is Q’s damn sarcasm and lack of seriousness of the situation around her, it’s the zombie apocalypse…you’re in the Australian bush and people are getting eaten and you still find the time to joke?! Also, you have a sure way to communicate with your BFF and are more concerned about getting close to the guy who has a crazy ex-girlfriend. She did step up towards the end of the book and became a decent heroine, it was just a little too late for me.

A SINGLE GIRL’S GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE is a unique and lighter side to horror and the zombie myth. The story while sometimes slow, is entertaining, but the character development left me wanting. I’m not against humor in my zombie books (i.e. The White Trash Zombie series) but it just didn’t work for me in this installment. In the end I was hoping for a more substantial plot, a kick ass heroine with a fun sense of humor and a not so happily ever after. If you’re a fan of movies like Shawn of the Dead and Warm Bodies you’ll probably appreciate this read, as for me…I’ll stick to The Walking Dead when it comes to my zombies!

Repossessed by Shawntelle Madison 
Series: Warlock Repo Man Chronicles #1 
Genre: Paranormal Romance 
Published by Author on January 13, 2014 
Format: eARC 
Pages: 207 
Source: NetGalley 

Purchase: Amazon • Barnes & Noble

Add to Goodreads 

A fun and flirty unexpected romance between a matchmaking witch and a warlock repo man!

Tessa Dandridge is a not so powerful water witch who has continued the family legacy of matchmaking among the supernatural community. Her job is no easy feat, her clients are beyond demanding and their late payments are putting her business in danger of failing. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, Tessa’s car is repossessed, along with a magical scroll she uses to contact her clients. To save her business and reputation, Tessa must team up to work with Rob the sexy repo man (by paying him to tag along) who has access to the place her car has been sent…Limbo. As Rob and Tessa join forces to get her scroll their attraction grows stronger and it’s not long before danger finds them in the form of a rogue warlock set on attaining his repossessed possessions and starting an all out supernatural war!

REPOSSESSED is a light and entertaining romance with just enough paranormal elements for this PNR junkie! First off, I was thrilled to see the story is set in NYC, my hometown…it made my connection to the story that more special. Tessa is a delightful leading lady who is totally relatable, she comes from a wealthy family (with plenty of drama) but wants to earn her own money and follow in her grandmother’s footsteps as a great matchmaker. She’s a single, independent woman dedicated to her job and has some of the worst luck, but her determination to succeed on her own is admirable. As a water witch she doesn’t have extraordinary powers, they range from cloaking spells to possibly saving herself while in water, but only if she isn’t distracted! Tessa is extremely curious and outspoken which often gets her into trouble and Rob is the perfect compliment to her strong personality. Her supernatural abilities are not enough to help her out of the sticky situations she gets herself in but thank goodness she has a warlock repo-man in her corner!

The leading man in this story is none other than Rob Shin, a real renaissance man…he’s a Navy SEAL, powerful warlock and supernatural repo man. He comes off as a flirty alpha hero but there’s more to him than that. To help his struggling aunt and uncle, he takes on odd jobs as a repo man while on medical leave from the Navy. The last thing he needs is a sexy feisty witch with money problems over his shoulder as temptation but the need to help his family trumps anything else. He has a few secrets he’s hiding from them and ultimately Tessa, but he’s just trying to be honorable and do the right thing. I love his non-chalant attitude and sexy banter when it comes to Tessa…this warlock definitely has swagger!

The chemistry between Rob and Tessa is electric from the moment they set eyes on each other, but I enjoyed the build up to their romance. They spend a lot of time together on repo jobs which gives them time to really get to know each other (in between their flirting..haha). I especially like that the author paired up a witch and a warlock, I love a forbidden romance as much as the next girl, but this was a refreshing romance of two people who can actually be together without any outside conflict. Rob and Tessa are a sweet and sexy couple that keeps you engaged from beginning to end.

REPOSSESSED is more character driven and focuses less on world building, leaving me curious about a few things but completely expected while reading the first in a new series. I hope to learn more about this fascinating world of witches, warlocks and wizards and the politics behind it all. Although this is a romance, Shawntelle Madison adds a little darkness to the plot with a villain by the name of Dagger (yes, it doesn’t get more villainy than that!) and also introduces Rob’s “spirit” bag Harabeuji and Tessa’s grandmother who love to share their hilarious thoughts at the most inopportune times. A little bit of magic, suspense, and a smexy romance will leave you eager for more of this fun, new supernatural world.

i thought finding 3 book the color of  Aquamarine (shades of aqua, ice blue) would be difficult, just looked at my books, i have HEAPS!!

omg so stoked! 

Im ready for you March, bring it on!