Cora: The Unwilling Queen is the first part in a great re-telling of the Persephone myth (which happens to be one of my favorites). Cora has been selected by the ruler of the underworld to be his new queen, taking her away in her dreams to try and convince her to stay with him. She's suspicious and holds off his advances while she discovers the truth about what her dreams may really mean. She meets several other people of the underworld along the way, with one being quite memorable to her and the reader.

I enjoyed the character of Cora and her two best friends. None of them were perfect, but there were genuinely good people that cared about each other. The only part I found hard to swallow was how accepting Cora's parents were of her situation. I know it's fiction, but there was very little "shock factor" that was written in when she told them of her trips to the underworld.

All in all an enjoyable first part to the Persephone myth re-told in modern days. The myth itself is even mentioned a few times as the girls try to figure out what is going on.

As a lover of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, the concept of this book really appealed to me. However, it fell a bit short in my opinion. Chanti was a little too hard and unafraid. I wanted to see a softer side to her. While the author may have tried to show that with her interactions with Marcus, it didn't come across as much more than a high school crush.

The mystery aspect was great. Lots of clues to help the reader put things together, and Chanti wasn't a know it all that could solve everything on her own. There were things she didn't catch on to until someone else pointed them out which gave the story a little more realism.

Not a bad story, perhaps the others in the series show a different side the the characters that I just didn't pick up on in this volume.

The Strix was something new and different - a creature that I hadn't read about before. An evil witch that creates a race of vampire-like creatures, Arcona was not a very nice person in her past life. Tyr was one of her Upir Likhyi (no clue how that one is pronounced) and is dead set on vengeance. Too bad he falls in love first. Now the two of them must fight for their lives against the other Upir Likhyi that want Arcona dead and see Tyr as just another step in the process.

I loved the flashbacks to Arcona's previous life. It was a great way to show her history and background and let me see why Tyr disliked her so much at first. Once they decide not to hate each other, the story really takes off - and it gets quite hot and Arcona and Tyr discover more their past and begin to enjoy their future.

Rosemary is having a hard time finding her place in the world. After serving as a nurse during the Civil War, she hopes to stay busy with a similarly fulfilling job. When she approached Elijah Stewart, the new doctor in town, she hopes that he will give her a chance. Neither expects that their growing respect for each other will turn into something much deeper.

But there is always trouble. Someone in town has accused Rosemary of being a witch, and Elijah's family past may come back to haunt him. They will need to learn to trust in each other and in their feelings to find a way to their happily ever after.

My favorite part of this story was the characters. They were very well balanced and played against and with each other very well. The suspense of trying to find who is threatening Rosemary is spread out through the entire story quite well. I can't think of a single part that I would consider "dull". Well put together and fun to read.

An amazing conclusion to The Troy Game series. It had me on the edge of my seat almost the entire time and ready to scream in anticipation when the ending turned back and forth so many times I felt like I was in a roller coaster (which I'm sure was the intended effect). All the characters are back, including some we hadn't seen since they appeared the first time. The Troy Game is bound and determined to be completed in this lifetime and is willing to do anything to anyone to get it done.

Brutus and Cornelia reborn are in the lead again, but they have changed so much you could hardly recognize them. I don't know how Douglass could have ended the series any better.

Ember's curse is quite the exciting romance. Ember has been cursed to never feel love until she finds her one and only true mate. The chances of that happening anytime soon are pretty small. But when Collin walks into her life to help investigate werewolf slaying and kidnappings, all bets are off and she can only hope she survives long enough to figure out what the hell is happening to her.

One of my favorite parts of this book was that it wasn't just werewolves vs vampires vs witches vs human. Ember has friends from all those realms, and she has enemies from them all as well. The world was written in a way that supernatural types were just another part of life - some were good, some didn't care, and some were downright nasty.

Ember and Collin have sparks flying all over the place, but don't really have time to do much about it at the moment (but they do sneak off a few times to make get some alone time in). The end of the book leaves with quite a cliffhanger - and a possible second romantic couple. With some things tied up nice and pretty with a ribbon and others running out of control, it was the perfect set up for a second book that I can't wait to read.

Kassern has been sent to Earth to find an unlikely couple, and grow powerful on their union. He picks quite the unlikely couple. First, we meet Devyn, a stripper - the star of the show actually. Then we meet Troy, a holier than thou man of God. Now Devyn I enjoyed for the most part. She had an attitude and a chip on her shoulder, but who wouldn't with her history. Troy I found to be a bit humorous and I don't know if he was supposed to be. I felt really guilty for laughing at him, but I still enjoyed it. Their relationship has many struggles because of their vast differences in life experience.

While Kassern is trying to keep Devyn and Troy happily together he realizes that he has been having some awfully funny feeling towards Devyn's roommate and suddenly it seems like we may just have a second romance going in the background.

I loved the story and the concept, but had a few little problems. The biggest being that an angel of God was so dead set on the two having sex (before marriage) all the time. Kassern was also a character that was larger than life in a way that I don't really picture an angel being (the fight scenes in particular) and I had a hard time believing in his character. The second book will be a make or break for me in this series, but it has tons of potential.

An amazing and thrilling ride through a Russia that I never knew much about. Leo is all about living the propaganda as an MGB official, but when his family comes under scrutiny, he realizes what a sham it all is. Demoted and exiled into a small town, he stumbles upon the fact that there is a murderer on the loose. A murderer that the state won't even acknowledge exists because of if they did, then all they taught would be wrong. Leo teams up with an unlikely team and journeys not only to find the murderer, but into the his deep past.

Having read the books out of order and knowing some of the facts of the ending, it still took nothing away from this story. Hard to put aside from page one, the story flew by as clues and people were revealed.

Breaking the Nexus was a perfect mix for me. Lots of paranormal suspense/thriller with quite a good love story running right through the middle of it all. Sha's reaction when she suddenly falls into the Human Realm is perfect - and Connor's reaction to magic is right on track as well. His reaction to his first taste of it is priceless.

Working together they hope to track down the person behind some gruesome murders on the Human side, that just may be causing the portals to collapse in the Nexus. This bad guy is nasty business and they will need all of their combined skills to track him down.

I had an extremely hard time putting this book aside to get work done, and I can't wait to read the sequel.

A good start to a fantasy/urban fantasy mixed series. We travel from the "real-world" to a world of elves, fairies, and wood nymphs. I loved the non-human creatures a lot, they were extremely unique and memorable in their own little ways. While the world was somewhat stereotypical, it was very fitting - and the time spent in describing the important parts, such as Talvi's home, was amazing. It really comes to life in your mind.

There were some places where the pace of the story fell a little flat and I really wanted it to move a little quicker. While the primary goal of the story was to get Annika back home, many adventures unfold while attempting this near impossible task. The banter between Annika and Talvi is priceless, and was fun to read. A very big cliffhanger ending leads the reader straight into the second book.