Last Day of Love gives us a glimpse into Ander's past before the beginning of Teardrop. It was nice to see his history in a little more detail and understand a little more about how his family works and their beliefs. You can really understand why he behaves like he does in Teardrop after reading this. There really isn't a happy ending - it's just a short blast of memory from his past. Unfortuantely, I think it was too short for the amount of money asked for it. Have the book is actually the first part of Teardrop, so it was a lot shorter than it looked from the page count on Amazon. - See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2013/12/review-last-day-of-love-by-lauren-kate.html#sthash.BsN49XvR.dpuf

Riley is still as adventurous as ever in book three. One would think that she might be a little more hesitant after her previous experiences. But her fear nothing attitude comes in handy once again. I loved the addition of the gypsies in this book. A group of people that live on their own outside the walls, with their own rules and laws - but instead of behaving poorly (like raiders), they take care of their own and keep their heads down - for the most part. The strange religious cult that Riley and Luc have run into in both book one and two have decided that she must pay for her crimes against them with her life - and they have an army at their disposal to get the job done. Book three follows Riley's current timeline as her perimeter prepares to defend itself. It also follows a story from the past - a story that you will recognize if you have read book one. At the end Shalini Boland merges the two timelines together seamlessly to create another great book. This seems to be the last in the series and it takes every little loose end out there and wraps them up in one fell swoop - everything tying together in an amazing way. There wasn't as much development character-wise from Riley and her group in this one, but the other timeline was truly a study in developing a complex and dynamic character - the kind I love. A great conclusion to the series. *This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

What could possible happen in just one night? Well a whole heck of lot happened in this night. Forced to share a hotel room, Lily and Bruno spend the night learning about each other. Both have some issues they're dealing with, especially Lily - and Bruno is more than willing to help her work through them. Their attraction becomes hard to deny, but the biggest question isn't if they'll do it, but what will they do afterward? Will it remain an amazing one night in paradise, or will things lead to a future these two travellers can share together?

This was a really fun story. Both Lily and Bruno have great personalities that worked really well playing off each other. It was hot when it needed to be, and emotionally mushy just enough to make it all seem real.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

The Housemaid's Daughter flew far beyond any of my expectations. Set during the heart of apartheid in South Africa, so much happened that I'm not sure how to begin. Ada, the housemaid's daughter, was born and raised in the white household that her mother worked for - living in a small hut in the back. As she grew, it was apparent that she was a bright girl, and the Madam of the house, Cathleen, wanted to give her the best opportunites she could. The Master of the house, Edward, who grew up in South Africa and understood the racial diferences better, would hear none of it - Ada could not go to the best school - blacks just didn't do that sort of thing. So Cathleen begins to teach Ada herself. Ada grows up as a part of Cathleen's family alongside Cathleen's son Phil and Rose. Without giving too much away - we get get to see Ada's journey from a pampered black maid, to an outcast in both black and white society - to being a rallying cry for change. Cathleen will have many difficult choices to make. Theirs is a house divided along political and racial lines, with half supporting equality and half thinking the separation is best. Watching the struggles South Aftrica saw through this point of view made it a lot more personal. The love of a family - even if they were not all blood - was all that held this group together at times. While the story is told from Ada's side, Cathleen takes a very major role and is, at times, the strong character holding it all together. "Startling and thought-provoking" isn't strong enough to describe the story in these pages. This is one that will remain on my best of the best shelf, read over and over again through the years. There are messages in the words that the world still needs to hear today. *This book was received in exchange for an honest review* - See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2013/12/review-housemaids-daughter-by-barbara.html#sthash.QlSxJDnE.dpuf

This was such a cute story. I loved the emotion Rebecca Thomas was able to explore in such a small novella. Lady Arabella isn't your typical noblewoman, she would rather be out riding her horse than try to find a husband. It's a good thing that Oliver Westwyck, her betrothed, ends up being just as much a horse lover. They meet for the first time and they don't know who the other is at first. Arabella mistakes him for a horse breeder.

I'm not a big fan of intential mistaken identity storylines, but he way this one plays out is quite humorous. It was a great Christmas story.

I have always loved Jill Shalvis and jumped at the chance to start her Lucky Harbor series. This is a great book to get started in it as well since it includes books 1, 2, and 2.5 - but the final short story (#6.5) jumped way out in the future a couple years and didn't quite fit with the flow of it all.

In book one, Simply Irresistible, we meet the three sisters that kick off the series, Maddie, Chloe, and Tara. While they may all share the same mother, they grew up very different lives and haven't really connected with each other in a very long time. When they show up at the inn that has been left to them after their mother's death, they all have different ideas on what to do with it. Maddie alone wants to keep it and make a new life - create a new family with her sisters. But she will have an uphill battle in this one - as Tara and Chloe both want to sell, but they do agree to a trial run. Enter Jax, the sure hot contractor/bartender/jack of all trades. When the sparks fly between him and Maddie they will both need to overcome some heavy personal obstacles to make things work. This was a wonderful introduction to Lucky Harbor, the sisters, and the many unique characters that live along side them.

In book two, The Sweetest Thing, Tara gets her spotlight with an old flame. Tara is my favorite sister so far. Known as the "Steel Magnolia" she prides herself in keeping her control no matter what, but when she's around Ford things never seem to stay calm at all. Their attraction is impossible for her to resist to matter how hard she tries. But in this case, they have a history together along with lots of baggage they've built up since the last time they saw each other. This was a very heart-felt story and my favorite in the bundle.

The short story, Kissing Santa Claus, wraps up a few loose ends from book two, and we get to see the man not chosen find his love. It was a cute wrap up with a very nice Christmas theme - just perfect for this time of year. The second short story is the only one that didn't really fit for me. It was also a Christmas story, but it happens several years in the future. It references things that I didn't know had happened yet in between books 2 and 6. It was cute, but hard to follow sometimes.

I'm a complete sucker for the odd shifter types, and I've never run across a phoenix shifter before. This book took the lore of the Phoenix and owned it, integrating it perfectly into a new shifter species. The majority of this story covers the first couple months of Ambrosia's pregnancy and her coming to terms with the fact that she'll be having a phoenix baby. There are a few good freak outs before being forced (in a good way) into believing.

Reece is a great guy - willing to step up and take responsibility for his new family, while protecting them from the prejudices of his old family. The blurb really doesn't do the book justice at all. There is plenty of action at the beginning, but it settles down into a very beautiful and emotional romance. Perhaps Sarah Gilman could write another beautiful Phoenix story about Reece's sister. She sounded like she needed a little love in her life.

Adriana has a quite a few secrets about her past - a past she wants to leave behind and live as a governess in Alexander Hunt's household. But Alexander has found out her secret and is threatening to throw her out into the snow - and right before Christmas. He's willing to compromise and let her be his mistress instead though (how generous).

While he sounds a bit like an old fashioned pig, he really is a very good guy that wants to keep Adriana in his life, even if she isn't suitable for employment as a governess. They begin a little game and it gets quite interesting. Adriana has quite a mouth on her when she has an important opinion and she's astonished when Alexander actually backs her up on many of them.

This was a very sweet holiday story and I loved the Christmas scene with everyone opening presents. It really let you see into their personalities.

Having heard wonderful things about the Demons of Infernum series, but never reading them, I thought I'd give this one a shot. Even though it is 3.5 in the series, it held up very well as a stand alone. I loved that Cresso wasn't only an amazingly hunky incubus, but a brilliant scientist as well. A scientist that is determined to find a cure for the toxin that his kind have to their non-incubus lovers. He's been even more determined since he met Genevieve, a human scientist that he can't get off his mind. Genevieve, on the other hand, is bound and determined to resist all of Cresso's impressive charm and hunky incubus vibes.

With a stalker Genevieve's trail, Cresso is terrified that something permanently bad might happen to her. A very exciting chase filled with quite a few different paranormal types lead them just about no where. But along the way Genevieve realizes that maybe she judged Cresso a little too soon. Could it be possible that his charm is starting to wear down the walls around her heart.

I loved the crazy mix of paranormals in this one - I will be adding the beginning of this series to the soon to be read list. They were dynamic and the backstory behind their presence here on earth was great. This one had a great mixture of action and romance. I only wished that I had liked Genevieve a little bit better. She took a little too long to drop the ice maiden act for me to really enjoy her.

Demons can be fun to read about - especially when they are unique. Lisa Kessler has some very unique demons in her world (I really liked Lago) that the demon slayer, Gabe, has to deal with. When the very cute Tegan shows up asking for his help, he knows that he won't be able to turn her down. But when he starts to fall for her, he's afraid that history will repeat itself and she'll end up getting hurt because of him. Tegan, on the other hand, is bound and determined to make the most of her life (finally) - and that includes killing the demon that attacked her and finding what might be between her and Gabe.

I loved the fact that they were both totally kick ass - but at the same time needed to have each other's back to defeat the demons. The demons were varied in the attacks and vulnerabilities, and some were even informants for the good guys. It was fantastic. Kessler introduced a lot of Welsh lore and I would have liked to see a little more of the history than the little stippets we got.