Book source ~ NetGalley

Reyna Carpenter finished school, but she can’t find a job. In this world ruled by vampires, her only asset is her blood. So, to ease the burden of her brothers who work long hours in a factory earning little money to support the three of them, she goes to Visage to sign up for the body employment services. In other words, food for vampires. Her brothers would throw a fit if they knew so she didn’t say anything to them. But when she’s there, she discovers she’s eligible for a new program, one where she doesn’t feed a vampire for a month then get time off before rotating to another vampire. This new program is being tested with the wealthy vampires first and she would live indefinitely with her Sponsor. Or until such time as she wanted out of the program or her Sponsor terminates the contract. It pays more, a lot more, so Reyna signs up. Her Sponsor is a top executive at Visage, Beckham Anderson. Beckham is powerful, rich and handsome, but he’s abrupt and acts like he doesn’t even want Reyna in his apartment. That’s when things get even weirder.

This is a fascinating if totally bleak world and it would have been a great story if Reyna and Beckham could have been written better. I really can’t stand Reyna. What a twat. And Beckham is a class A asshole. Sure, there’s some juicy stuff revealed later, but for the most part this story just lacks all around. The bad guys are the best part and I found the blood type thing incredibly interesting. However, it’s mostly blah and meh and, frankly, at times, pretty fucking dumb. I’ll take a pass on the rest of the series.

DNF @33%

Book source ~ NetGalley

Miss Angela Ripon thought Matthew Harkness, the Earl of Colton, was going to ask her to marry him. Instead he dropped her like a hot potato. Now she wants revenge. She wants to seduce him until he can’t live without her and when he asks her to marry him, she rejects him. Seeking the advice of Madame Rouge, or Ruby as she’s known by her patrons, Ruby warns Angela that the game she’s playing will most likely not end up the way she hopes. Angela forges blindly on anyway. Matthew is newly intrigued by this change in Angela, but he’s wary. He’ll not be trapped into marriage. When Angela insists that she’s not looking for marriage he cautiously decides to play along and see where it goes.

The writing isn’t bad, but the characters are horrible. Neither one is honest with the other and neither thought or had the balls to just come out and say what they want, so they circle endlessly in a continuous loop of lies and prevarications and at 33% I just could not stand it anymore. I just couldn’t face another 67% of these two dipshits never coming out and saying what was actually on their minds. So, they are dead to me. Moving on.

*Book source ~ NetGalley

Mary Smith’s asshat half-brother sells her (and her virginity) in a seamy pub, but lucky for her Alasdair Thornham is there to save her from a nauseating fate. But is the marquess any better than the rabble who would have bought her? Damsel in distress meet wounded hero.

For the most part this is a decent tale of rescuing the damsel who, while not a totally strong heroine, is not simpering either. Mary has an interesting background as does Alasdair, but what could have been a heart-wrenching story turns out to be only so-so. Alasdair’s addiction recovery is totally unbelievable. In fact, it’s absurd. I do like the fact he’s an addict because who likes a perfect hero? But his addiction should have been handled a little more realistically. In addition, the characters do a few really stupid things. I wanted to bang their heads together like the Three Stooges. So frustrating. Finally, there wasn’t a lot of back story on the so-called villains of this piece and they were disposed of a little too easily. All-in-all, not a horribly written historical romance, but one that could have been so much better with a bit of work.

*Book source ~ NetGalley

It’s Christmas time in 1874 New York and Penelope Appleton, the youngest and most beautiful of the Appleton sisters, has seen her future. She will fall in love and wed Jared Marton. Unfortunately, after dancing with him at her debut she sees another future, one where Jared is shot dead in the street one cold snowy night. In order to protect her heart she does her best to discourage his attentions, but he’s having none of it. Can Penelope change the future? Or is their love doomed before it can even grow?

This is a sweet historical holiday romance. I enjoyed the paranormal part and the fact it was set in New York. I don’t often read historicals that are set in the US. Not sure why. I guess that’s just the way the books fall. Anyway, Penelope has a problem. She can’t warn Jared without him thinking she’s crazy, so she decides to send an anonymous note warning him to be careful and then she tries to avoid him. If she avoids him then she can’t fall in love with him and then have her heart broken when he dies. But he’s persistent and her family aids him in his pursuit of her. The writing is decent, but I wasn’t real impressed with the characters. Penelope is too perfect and Jared seems to be a bit of an ass at times. Maybe it’s just me. He just grated on my nerves a bit and Penelope seemed kind of spineless. All-in-all though it’s really not a bad read especially if you like quick historical holiday stories.

*Book source ~ NetGalley

Madame Rouge, also known as Ruby, rules her house of pleasure with a firm hand. She makes sure her girls are safe, that everyone follows the rules and she never entertains the clients personally. All of that changes when American Captain Derek Price enters her establishment. Will Ruby break her own rules for the sexy Captain?  Derek believes in no attachments, but Ruby is making him rethink his long held beliefs.

Oh. My. This is one well-written steamy historical! Nom nom nom! Derek and Ruby step off the page and bring heat to any room. The writing is wonderful and the plot is well-done despite the brevity of the story. My one and only complaint is the ending. I didn’t like it. It’s possible Ruby & Derek will be mentioned in future books, but I would have loved to see some resolution to their situation instead of being left hanging.