Recommendations from Karin for September 2015.

In order to bring some more variety to my blog, I have asked some of my bookish friends to tell about the books they have in the past month, and to give us a recommendation. Today’s post is made by Karin from Austria.

Karin:

The last month had one definite highlight for me. I read

Archangel’s Enigma by Nalini Singh



Naasir is the most feral of the powerful group of vampires and angels known as the Seven, his loyalty pledged to the Archangel Raphael. When rumors surface of a plot to murder the former archangel of Persia, now lost in the Sleep of the Ancients, Naasir is dispatched to find him. For only he possesses the tracking skills required - those more common to predatory animals than to man.
Enlisted to accompany Naasir, Andromeda, a young angelic scholar with dangerous secrets, is fascinated by his nature - at once playful and brilliant, sensual and brutal. As they race to find the sleeping archangel before it's too late, Naasir will force her to question all she knows...and tempt her to walk into the magnificent, feral darkness of his world. But first they must survive an enemy vicious enough to shatter the greatest taboo of the angelic race and plunge the world into a screaming nightmare.


This book has everything that I could wish for as far as paranormal romance is concerned. The worldbuilding continues flawlessly, the villain is as black as one could wish for, the hero is not only enigmatic but also an enigma, the heroine is strong and loveable and the supporting characters are interesting, compelling and you wish to read more in this series – like yesterday.
Rarely have I read a book where I loved the hero as much as I loved Naasir. He is not only a warrior, he has a wicked sense of humour and when he decides on his mate he doesn’t start pampering her (“Here, here little woman, let me take care of you”! – oh, how I hate that!!!) but he shows her the respect she deserves. He doesn’t steamroll over her, he honours her vow and he finds the perfect solution for them to come together.
I don’t like to repeat myself but again I have to say that rarely have I read a book where I liked the heroine as much as I liked Andromeda. She is still quite young – in Angelic turns of course – but she has shown from an early age that she knows how to carry through with what she wants. She is a clever scholar but also a great fighter. And most of all she accepts Naasir the way he is – she doesn’t try to make him into something better, more civilized or whatever society might think is necessary.
We also get glimpses into the lives of Dmitri and Honor, Jason and of course Illium. (I’m still waiting hard for his book). And of course there is the Archangel himself. Raphael and Elena make such an interesting couple that I wouldn’t mind to read another book with them as the leading persons.

And now to something completely different. I read three books in a series that is the exact opposite of what I’ve been talking about so far.
The first book in the series “A Neighbor from Hell” by R.L. Matthewson is

Playing for Keeps



As the series title implies the books are always about a young woman and her disgusting neighbour. It doesn’t take much to realize that the two will fall in love and end up as a happy couple. This book and especially the second in the series

Perfection



are laugh - out funny. One can’t take them seriously, they are just plain entertainment with lots of sex, and situations which make the reader laugh out loud.
Unfortunately I didn’t like the third book in the series as much.

Checkmate



It drifted too much into slapstick (not the good kind) and I thought it was ridiculous for two adults to behave as they did. Still, I will continue reading this series as there are six books out now.

I hope you like these recommendations and perhaps I have lured one or the other to read one of the books. Take care and happy reading.



Aurian: Thanks for the recommendation Karin! I also loved Archangel's Enigma very much, I am happy the series is still going strong.

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian