Review: Blackbird (Redemption, #1), by Molly McAdams

Blackbird by Molly McAdams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

‘Blackbird’ is the first book in Molly McAdams ‘Redemption’ series and is a lot darker than her previous works. I have enjoyed just about every book that I’ve read by Ms. McAdams and as a lover of dark romance, I was very excited to hear that she was trying her hand at writing “darker” romance. While not as dark as I was hoping for, ‘Blackbird’ proves to be a captivating read.

The story centers on Briar Chapman, a young lady that comes from a wealthy family. She is finishing up college and is engaged to Kyle Armstrong, the son of the Georgia governor. Much to her family’s disappointment, she chooses to make her own way, waiting tables while going to school.

One day she picks up a shift for a coworker and her life is forever changed. Just outside of the restaurant, she is kidnapped. The next thing she knows, she’s been sold at auction to a wealthy man.

Briar finds herself in a helpless situation. She is at the mercy of a man that says he owns her. He has no intention of ever letting her go and he refuses to entertain her pleas.

In time, Briar finds herself growing attached to her captor. Before long, she is questioning her own sanity and whether or not she really wants to return to her real life. Eventually, she has to face the fact that she has fallen in love with the man that she should hate.

While this story has many things in common with other captivity-themed romances, it also stands out from the rest in many ways. For starters, the man that purchased Briar, Lucas Holt, is not what he seems. The “world” that Lucas is a part of is also unlike any other that I’ve read about. The setting and circumstances were really quite unique. These differences were enough to make ‘Blackbird’ stand out from the rest.

There were quite a few twists and turns along the way. If you enjoy a bit of danger and action, this book delivers it in spades. In fact, ‘Blackbird’ was every bit as much of an organized crime romance as it was a captivity-themed romance.

My only gripe is that it wasn’t dark enough for my tastes. There were quite a few scenes that were heading into some very dark territory, but then something would happen right at the last moment and Briar would be saved. Lucas couldn’t ever really commit to do what he set out to do because he couldn’t stand the thought of hurting his blackbird.

While I can appreciate the sentiment, it was kind of a letdown for me. I love disturbing, dark stories and the strong emotional response that they elicit. This book was like a big tease in that sense.

I’m of the mindset that if you want to go dark, then go dark. Don’t skirt the edges of the forbidden territory while being too afraid to take that leap. This seems to be pretty common among authors that want to write “dark” content. I’m not sure if it is because they are afraid of the backlash that will come with delving into truly dark content, or what. However, for a fan of darker reads, this can be very frustrating.

Otherwise, this was a fantastic story. I would’ve liked it to be darker, but it was certainly much darker than anything that I’ve read by this author before. Even though it wasn’t as depraved as I would have liked, it was still a highly enjoyable read for me.

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Review: Slade (Walk of Shame, #1), by Victoria Ashley

Slade by Victoria Ashley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hmm…Where do I even start with this one? It definitely wasn’t what I expected. Totally my fault, by the way. For some unknown reason, I had it in my head that this was a biker romance. Clearly, I didn’t read the blurb. Again, totally my fault. Instead, ‘Slade’ tells the story of a male stripper that is super-slutty. I didn’t see that coming! LOL.

Although I was able to adjust to the unexpected storyline pretty quickly, I found this short read to be mediocre at best. There was a huge dose of insta-lust and not enough time to actually make the supposed emotional attachment between the two main characters seem genuine.

Essentially, Slade is a manwhore that “falls in love” with his new roommate, Aspen. The attraction is instantaneous, followed by some roommate rivalry. He wants in her pants. She wants to deny her attraction because he is such a slut. His sluttiness is really the result of ineffective coping, using sex to avoid dealing with his tragic past. She has her own secret reasons for not wanting to get involved with the sex machine under the same roof. Eventually, he reforms himself for her.

As you can see, this is similar to a thousand others in this trope. However, the short length of ‘Slade’ resulted in this story being unbelievable and having a rushed feel. It takes time to make readers feel a real connection to the characters. That never happened with this one.

I love a steamy love story as much as the next girl, but I need to have some “meat” in my stories. This one was a little smutty for my taste. The sex was plentiful, even gratuitous, but it lacked appeal because I felt no connection to the characters at all.

Overall, ‘Slade’ is a 2 1/2 star read for me. If you’re in the mood for something quick and very smutty, then you might enjoy this one. I needed more of an actual story and I didn’t find it with this one.

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Review: Until the Sun Falls from the Sky (The Three, #1), by Kristen Ashley

Until the Sun Falls from the Sky by Kristen Ashley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It has been a while since I read a vampire story, but ‘Until the Sun Falls from the Sky’ was just what I needed. This story puts a different spin on the “vampire and human fall in love” trope. This one took a little time to warm up to, but in the end it was well worth it.

In Kristen Ashley’s ‘The Three’ series, human and supernatural beings have coexisted for centuries. A war fought centuries earlier resulted in some rules to keep vampires in check and to keep both species alive. This has helped to maintain the balance of power and to keep vampires from hunting the humans to extinction.

Willing families have served as “concubines” for the vampires. When the children of the concubines come of age, they attend a gathering known as the Selection, where they are selected by a vampire to serve on a contractual basis. While serving their vampire, they are receive lavish gifts and attention. Even after their time of service is finished, the vampire continues to provide for their former concubine for the entirety of their life. The concubine provides sustenance to the vampire and companionship.

Leah Buchanan was born into a family of concubines. Her lineage included some of the most desired concubines in history. She was raised to believe that service to the vampire race is to be honored and even enjoyed, but Leah has no interest in ever fulfilling her predestined concubine role.

When Leah is finally unable to avoid attending a Selection, she goes begrudgingly. Whispers of a powerful vampire, Lucien, make her nervous. It seems that the mysterious Lucien has been waiting for Leah. She doesn’t know anything about Lucien, except she senses that he is a vampire that even other vampires fear.

As expected, Leah is selected by Lucien. Right from the start, he commandeers Leah’s life. The contract is altered and Leah is not offered the opportunity to decline to be Lucien’s concubine. It is clear that Lucien is willing to do anything to have Leah as his and is willing to break any rule to have her. She doesn’t stand a chance.

With every opportunity that she has, Leah defies Lucien. She is unaccustomed to the highhanded, domineering ways of this powerful vampire. Although he tries to be patient with Leah, his actions proved to be incredibly frustrating on more than one occasion. Lucien was definitely not an easy character to like. He had as much to learn about human ways as Leah did about the vampire world.

Eventually, Leah and Lucien manage to get on the same page. However, insecurities plague Leah and Lucien unwittingly adds to her insecurities with his reckless actions. Every time that I thought they were going to get things straightened out, something else would happen.

Meanwhile, there is war brewing in the background. It is clear that Lucien is getting ready to lead some sort of rebellion and that he is tired of abiding by the rules that were set in place following the last war. Leah’s role in this rebellion is largely unclear, but what is known is that she will be an integral player.

This is the first book in “The Three” series and I will definitely be continuing on to the next books. The following books are expected to focus on two other couples with different paranormal abilities. I am very interested to see where this will lead.

If you enjoy paranormal romances with over-the-top Alpha males, then this is a good choice. If you can’t tolerate a leading male that is a huge jerk for much of the story, acting in a callous and dominating manner, then this will not be a good choice. Personally, I have a weak spot for a$$holes, so this worked out splendidly for me. However, Lucien is a character that will make many readers cringe and want to throw their book/Kindle against a wall.

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Review: Mister Black (In the Shadows, #1), by P. T. Michelle

Mister Black by P.T. Michelle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This short read has been hanging out on my TBR list for awhile. I picked up the Audible version because it was a relatively short audiobook. I don’t like to start long audiobooks at the end of my workweek because I generally don’t listen as much on the weekends. This book was about the right length to occupy my commute time, while still having enough time to finish it off before the weekend.

In any case, this book started off promising for me. Natalia, aka Talia, aka Red, is a young teenage girl at the onset of the story. She is walking alone in the city when she finds herself in a compromising position. Refusing to hand over her necklace, she engages in a dangerous stand-off with her homeless mugger.

Just as Talia is growing to appreciate the precarious situation she is in, a handsome young man comes to her rescue. “Mister Black” fends off her assailant and offers her a ride home. After he leaves she doesn’t see him again, but she thinks of him often.

Years later, Talia is an aspiring reporter looking to land an exclusive interview for her college paper. She knows that there is more to the mysterious death of the wealthy co-ed than the authorities are letting on. She is determined to speak to the victim’s roommate to get to the bottom of it.

Talia’s opportunity presents itself in the form of an exclusive party. Her best friend has an uncanny resemblance to another girl that has been invited. This other girl is not planning on attending, so she plans to assume her identity for the night and take Talia along with her.

Once Talia has gained access to the party, she focuses on finding the elusive roommate. However, before she does, she runs into the handsome stranger from her past. She had dreamed of the mysterious Mister Black for years, but now learns that his real name is Sebastian Quinn.

Sparks fly immediately between Talia and Quinn. Things get real smutty, real quick. Everything happened so quickly that I was kind of like, “what the hell just happened?”.

Then, Talia returns her focus to the story. Sebastian introduces her to the roommate, who happens to be his sister. She uncovers some shocking circumstances surrounding the death of the girl’s roommate. What she finds out resonates with her on a deeper level, as the details are eerily similar to secrets from her own past.

Just as the story is starting to take off, it draws to a close. Apparently, Mister Black/Sebastian is a Navy Seal. He is going to be deployed soon and Talia will have to wait to see him again. Bad timing and all that.

To get answers, I’d have to read the next book. Unfortunately, I just don’t care enough to do that. While this story was “okay”, it didn’t hold much appeal for me. It was too convenient and felt a little reminiscent of ‘Nancy Drew’ or ‘The Babysitter’s Club’ to me. Young, naive girl takes on a huge criminal organization and tackles corruption, exposing the wrong-doers, etc., etc. I just wasn’t feeling it.

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