Hand of Miriam is a great mix of steam punk and romance with just a twist of religion to keep it even more interesting. Bayla Gideon has been marked with the ability to sense evil with a touch. Bayla is unique from women of her time in other ways as well. She is an academic that loves to go on expeditions looking for antiquities. One of her late husband's great prizes is a golem. When Bayla's new abilities begin to lead to threats to her life she decides to give life to the golem, never realizing what his true history really is.

There is a huge storyline in this book - almost too much. It involves the presence of Jack the Ripper - only his victims aren't only human. He's been killing vampiresses as well (oh yes did I mention there are vampires, werewolves, ghouls, demons, all sorts of fun stuff). Bayla and her golem, Gesher, are out to try and find out just what is going on - madness ensues with lots of fighting and lots of Gesher saving the day. And all along the way they are slowly falling love - but if they follow their desires he will never be able to return heaven - major issue.

The story is how they deal with the baddies, resolve their love delimma, and end with a mostly HEA. It is a series so there has to be more to the story somewhere. The only downfall for me was there was one too many "endings". I thought for sure she had written a fantastic ending that I loved, loved, loved, and then there were another 50 pages and another ending that just wasn't quite as satisfaying for me. I think the extra bit was important to the overall storyline though.

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The Enlightening picks up right on the heels of where The Tempering ended. Mackenzie is on the run with Geoff and Liam (the perfect love triangle). Now normally I'm not a huge fan of the triangle - but in this case all parties know what is going on - no one is hiding their feelings for each other, so it didn't really bother me. While this is one of the driving points it is not the only one. The main purpose of their journey is to find a place where they can live peacefully, and warn every pack they come across about Margaret's plans.

Sometimes their plan works well and other times it lands them in heaps of trouble. I like how Adrianne James balanced the good packs against the bad packs, and even within each pack themselves at times. Each one had their own little min-society with its own rules and guidelines and traditions. As the trio pack hops, a lot is revealed and I can't give away too much of the story. They run into old friends and people they thought lost with several very touching reuinions.

All three characters grow and change - both mentally and in their werewolf abilities. I don't think a single one left the story the same person as when the entered. I found this book to be much more of an adventure than book one which seemed to be more story and world building. It does end in a bit of a cliffhanger - I was really super pissed at one of the guys - you'll know exactly who I mean once you read it.
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-enlightening-by-adrianne-james.html#sthash.B7sa0EFv.dpuf

I think sometimes books are just supposed to be fun. This was one of those really fun reads. Grace left town after High School vowing not to return - but of course something drags her back to confront all her teenage demons. One of those is Beau - a crush that broke her heart.

With lots of apologies for silly mistakes and misunderstood words all around (not just from our two leads either), this was the perfect beginning to a wedding story, even if the characters aren't actually "in" the wedding. And I can't help but love a man that cooks.

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

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Unbound tackles an interesting aspect of an immortal's life. What happens when you get tired of living? Eaden has reached the point where he is looking for a way out of life, his key to doing this is Rachel - but Rachel isn't just a means to an end to him - he has followed her and watched her since the day she was born. He knows just about everything there is to know about her - and she has noticed him as well. This is their story - of how a mortal can mean so much to an immortal.

I enjoyed the world Georgia Bell created. It was full of mystrey and magic living hidden right alongside our everyday world. Rachel is just a little crazy (but not in a really bad crazy way) - a death in her family has made her grow up for too quickly. She seems to be the perfect match to quiet and somewhat brooding Eaden. They were so much fun to watch at the beginning as they really got to know each other for the first time.

As the book moved along we got into a little more action as we realize Rachel is even more special than we thought at first. She is wanted by many and Eadon will do anything to protect her from harm. While the characters were well written, I found I had a hard time connecting to the story at first. Once they meet the witches things took a turn for the better - I think hearing how they fit into the old legends was one of my favorite parts.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/02/review-unbound-by-georgia-bell.html#sthash.PhtCmCJ1.dpuf

D.C. can be a difficult city to maneuver politically and socially. And Marcus is realizing it's even more difficult if you don't have the old money - the blue blood family. His lack of history is causing problems with his most recent business deal, and when he discovers that the daughter of a senator needs something from him, he has the perfect solution.

This was a very new take on the marriage of convenience for me - I had only run into in historicals up to this point. Both parties enter the agreement knowing all the facts, so there was no hiding or fibbing involved and I found I really enjoyed the concept. Pamela was a little too much of a good girl through out the story though. While Marcus made his fair share of mistakes - she seemed to be too far above it all to be real.

The background of the business deal is quite interesting, but outside of that there really wasn't a lot of action or suspenseful moments. There were a couple, but they were wrapped up and moved on from rather quickly for my taste. However, this has shown me that I won't be turning books away just because they don't marry for love anymore.

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

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/02/review-tycoons-socialite-bride-by.html#sthash.OB2HKibq.dpuf

Every now and then you run across a book that seems to hit everything just right for you. This was one of those books for me. Each and every page had just enough humor on it to keep me smiling without overdoing it and making it old. A quick read that actually made me feel better about my day.

Tilly and Bryant couldn't be more opposite - especially when it comes to believing in Cupid's Curse. Each date they go on ends (and sometimes even begins) in catastrophe. Tilly blames it on the curse, Bryant on bad luck (so he brings some lucky charms the next time). This is a definite must read if you need a pick me up, feel good story.

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

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/02/review-cursed-by-cupid-by-wendy-sparrow.html#sthash.oSKIeX5n.dpuf

This was a cute and fun read, but the story jumped around a little bit for taste. There were a few things that just jumped up out of nowhere without a lot of explanation. I loved the premise of the developer going up against the historical preservationist aspect though. It led to a lot of interesting "discussions" and was a great conflict to underscore the relationship.

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

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/02/review-tycoon-reunion-by-candace-havens.html#sthash.O4VdT4qN.dpuf

In a round about way this is story of a missing girl. It is told in two parts. The beginning of the chapters details the events of the day of the disappearance and the investigation that follows, while the rest of the chapter tells the story of Rose and through Rose - her friend Pearl.

While the story is quite interesting, I really wasn't totally sure what it was about or why it was being told for a very long time. It seemed like it was mostly just a story about a couple girls. The writing was very good, but the story just wasn't what I was expecting and, unfortunately, not something I would have normally read.

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

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/02/review-midnight-dress-by-karen-foxlee.html#sthash.rR6QsNER.dpuf

Unable to regain her Goddess powers, but "gifted" with a different type of ability, Marley is out to make sure no one is given power that isn't already theirs. When they realize that another goddess must be giving away her power, she begins the hunt to find out who it might be. She doesn't expect to run into Gage, son of the leader of the newly discovered Numina group, also on the trail of the elusive goddess. Thrown together by mutual goals they never expect find out they actually like each other.

The third book in the series really brings all of what has happened in the first books to a huge and very climactic resolution. There was so very much going on all that at times I did find it a little difficult to keep it all straight. While Marley is trying (unsuccessfully) to hide her growing insanity, things take on a life of their own and the power starts to get out of hand for everyone. The last half of the book I really couldn't put down.

I loved that Natalie brought back all the main couples from the beginning of the series, it helped to tie things together and make the series seem extremely cohesive, it flows from one book into the next effortlessly. You know you've run across something great when the series ends spectacularly but you're still sad to see it go.

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

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This book just didn't quite cut it for me. While it fills in an interesting aspect of Honey's wedding, I just didn't like Eve. Showing up at a wedding to try and steal your childhood friend's groom just wasn't a good start for me. The groom's brother on the other had - now he seemed like quite the keeper and did a fantastic job of keeping everyone out of trouble.

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

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/02/review-eve-met-her-match-by-anna-cleary.html#sthash.gQyQSu4Y.dpuf