A Night of Forever takes us further into the events of Arend's kidnapping - which we see from others' perspectives in the previous book. It did take me a few moments to find my place in the timeline, but once I was settled I really enjoyed the story. Although, knowing part of the outcome did make it a bit less suspenseful for me.

Lady Isabel is the step-daughter of the woman the Libertine Scholars believe is trying to ruin and kill them. How could she not know what is going on when she is right in the middle of it all? Arend is determined to prove her collusion and is willing to take some rather extreme measures to do so. But or course this backfires, and he finds himself deeply intrigued by the lady.

There is a lot of action, and even though I knew how it was going to end already, there were a couple surprises along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed Lady Isobel. She had a quick wit and was fiercely loyal once she deemed you worthy of her trust.

I wasn't as fond as Arend, he's never been my favorite of the Libertine Scholars. A bit too roguish for my tastes - and too much of a blackguard to really seem like the hero. In fact, he's the one in need of rescue a few times. I'm all for a damsel rescuing her hero, but that isn't the case. In fact, she's rescued by someone entirely different (I hope he finds love) that I liked much better than Arend.

A great addition to the story of the Libertine Scholars, and sort of an end. There's still more to come and I can't wait to read it. As a series, it is near the top of my list for great reads.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book**

Must Love Wieners is even more fun than the title sounds. This was such a fun read from start to finish. A couple that just worked great together, some amazing dialog, a little over the top personality, and of course a couple cute pups. It was the perfect recipe for a book I couldn't put down.

Piper is a struggling student, trying to make ends meet until she can pass her vet exams and land a real job. In the meantime, she's working three jobs at once and things are just piling up and ready to topple. And topple they do, right into the lap of Aiden Caldwell, a super rich CEO that didn't know he needed to have his life shaken up until Piper does it.

When Piper's life begins to crumble around her, and they someone seems out to get her. When clues point to that someone being Aiden - well, there's trouble in paradise. I loved how the suspense element built up. The answer always seemed to be just out of reach.

The nice little topper on the cake of this romance was the dogs. Even a bit of romance there when two long lost buddies are allowed to re-connect. Well written and a great story. You won't regret picking this one up.

This one just didn't hit the spot for me. There was so much that I needed to know more about, or that just didn't quite add up. Corliss is the pack healer, which seems to be a very honored and special position, and yet she isn't treated that way. She seems to be looked down upon and is being forced into a mating she doesn't want.

Thankfully, her old friend Liam steps in and takes his place in the mating ceremony instead. I was good through here. It's what happens when they go on their "honeymoon" that I just had a hard time with. A random group of wolves seems to have it out for Corliss, we find out somewhat of a reason later, but at the time it occurs, it was just confusing.

While they are trying to figure out what is going on - even though they don't really know anything is going on - there's a family with two children that are dying and Corliss isn't able to save them. This seems like it was just thrown in to take up space and give her something to do later in the story as well.

There were some good moments, but overall this one fell flat for me. Things weren't tied together well and the bad guys were a little too erratic and out of the blue.

A really fun office style romance. Carrie needs this job desperately, and Jed is determined to hire her even though he knows he won't be able to keep his hands off. I think what really made this memorable was the office drama. The receptionist was a riot and really had it in for Carrie - it was very well done and just added an element to help give this novella a little more depth.

Jed and Carrie are very sweet together, but Jed is denying his family legacy. When he's called home unexpectedly, he convinces Carrie to come with and pretend to be his girlfriend. I loved the reactions of the family and I really loved the book.

Why three stars?? I didn't get an ending. This is more of a serial style romance that a complete HEA of HFN ending and I wasn't expecting that at all! It really soured it for me because I was looking forward to that great ending moment and I didn't get it.

I quickly fell in love with Dragon Springs Road. The character of Jialing is adorable at the beginning, and watching her grow into a strong woman willing to push the boundaries of what society allows her do was incredible. As a Eurasian, Jialing doesn't fit within any society and both look down on her as something less.At first she accepts this role in her life, but after making friends with the daughter of the Chinese family she lives with and attending a mission school, her views begin to change. She doesn't understand why she is worth less than Chinese or European women, why she can't do anything they do.

Pushing her, and helping her behind the scenes is Fox, an ancient Chinese animal spirit that befriends her after her mother abandons her. Fox nudges the people in her life in directions to help Jialing along the road she needs to follow. Fox was a very interesting character. At first she seemed very frivolous and selfish, but as I got to know her better I discovered how selfless and giving she was. In the end, I think she was one of my favorite characters of all.

Jialing has to navigate a very difficult Chinese world. There is murder, coups, wars, and so much political drama. And each one threatens in some way to tear apart the little world she's made for herself. Dragon Springs Road was a fascinating tale, and I think I'll have to explore more from Janie Chang soon.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book**

I would recommend reading the original Many Lives series before starting. I did not and there were a few times that I was a tad confused about the world in general. Laxmi Hariharan did a great job trying to fill in the blanks without going overlong for this novella, but there were still a couple holes for me.

Maya doesn't fit in with her pack. She doesn't even think she is pack, so she leaves to find out where she came from. Her search takes her into the main city of Bombay where life is much different. There are rules for everything and lives are planned out.

Her search reveals some unexpected things, and I'm not 100% sure I'd call this a romance even. There is a romantic element, but it's in the background for most of the story. I enjoyed watching Maya find her place and learn her history, but I think a little bit more overall would have been nice.

So we have fully entered the realm of the love triangle, which I normally hate. But, this one is different. There's a respect that grows between all parties (even Evie) that makes this seem less like childish indecision or the desire to pit two people against each other. Much of that is Evie's history and attitude. The Empress wants Death - Evie wants Jack. But since the Empress is Evie, well, she's got a decision to make. And....just so you know.....she does. But I'm not telling and I never would have guessed at how it all turned out!!!

Leading up to this, we get a really good look at some new-ish Arcana. We've briefly met a couple of them, but we get to see what makes them tick, and we get to see them as people instead of just powerful cards. Relationships are formed, trust made and broken. And we finally get to really meet The Lovers.

My favorite bad guy(s) so far. The Lovers seem extremely powerful and just as crazy. But it's through the journey to defeat them that Jack and Death come to an agreement and respect for each other. A very exciting addition to the story with one hell of a cliffhanger!!! Oh my goodness, it nearly killed me.

A cute and very suspenseful Christmas story. I would recommend reading book one first, while the story stands alone, there was obviously some back story that I had missed going into it that I missed out on.

Michael's long lost love, Shay, is back in town and seems to be in trouble. So, like any good romance hero, he sets off to save the day. But none of it goes as planned. He ends up in trouble himself and there are some really good secrets that come out at the end of the story. Debbie Mason drops just enough hints that I wasn't completely surprised, but it was still a great reveal when it happened.

Almost too short to get a lot of romance in, but the characters already have a history, so the connection was in place. They just needed to reconnect. They don't quite do that (just warning you), but I think it might be something that happens in a future book at some point.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of the book**

I had a hard time buying some of this one. Vishous is quite a cold hearted vampire. His history was a rough one, and I did enjoy seeing how it shaped him and his personality. A lot more about him made sense after reading this book. I felt a little sorry for him to be honest. Although I still don't quite understand how this odd relationship with Butch fits into the whole thing.

Vishous is feeling a little sorry for himself now that his bromance has found a mate of his own. He puts himself at risk needlessly and ends up in a human hospital - this is one of the worst things that can happen. Human doctors can quickly see the difference between vampire and human anatomy (and I found some of the differences to be fascinating).

Enter Dr. Jane Whitcomb. We get a ton of history about her - some of it was a bit confusing. I kept waiting for her sister to pop up again in the story and she never did. Maybe she does later? There were some pretty heavy hints dropped that I kept waiting for her to appear.

Jane quickly realizes Vishous is different than any patient she's ever seen before. And when she's kidnapped to keep watch over her patient after he's rescued the "I love her - but she's human - but I love her - but she's human" begins and never seems to end.

Well, eventually it does, and I think JR Ward wrote herself into a corner again. There are a few times now that she's really broken the rules of her own world again. I think this was my biggest pet peeve of the series so far. She finds a way to sort of make it work, but it's not quite within the rules either.

There are some pretty big reveals about some of the brotherhood, which I like. And I enjoy seeing all them in each story. Revisiting past favorites is always fun - but I wish the women had a stronger appearance as well.

The Holiday Gift was a sweet second chance, friends to lovers style romance. There wasn't anything overly dramatic or exciting, it was just a really solid and down to earth story. Faith is determined to prove that she can make it on her own after her husband's death a couple years ago. She's raising her kids and running the ranch, and things seem to be perfect.

Then, her best friend has to go and ruin everything by asking her out on a date. Like a real date. She's not sure if she's ready for that, and she's definitely not ready to risk her friendship with Chase if things don't work out. But Chase has other ideas, he doesn't want to miss this second chance to be with the girl he's loved since they were young.

A fun and beautiful romance. I loved the connection that Chase and Faith had already built through the years and the community that surrounded them. I just had a hard time finding something that stood out and make this one something special.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book**