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Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost

Dating the Prince of Darkness has its challenges...

Leila's psychic abilities have been failing her, and now she isn't sure what the future holds. If that weren't enough, her lover, Vlad, has been acting distant. Though Leila is a mere mortal, she's also a modern woman who refuses to accept the cold shoulder treatment forever–especially from the darkly handsome vampire who still won't admit that he loves her.

Like choosing between eternal love and a loveless eternity...

Soon circumstances send Leila back to the carnival circuit, where tragedy strikes. And when she finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer who may be closer than she realizes, Leila must decide who to trust– the fiery vampire who arouses her passions like no other or the tortured knight who longs to be more than a friend? With danger stalking her every step of the way, all it takes is one wrong move to damn her for eternity.



Vlad's worst enemy might be dead so it's safe for him and Leila to really be together. Or not. Leila runs away, drama ensues, they get back together, powerful enemies are still on the prowl, betrayal hits close to home, and Leila can't act like a grown up even once.

I'm saying it again... I really don't like single perspective stories. Especially when they come from a character like Leila. I guess I'm supposed to like her. She's the light to Vlad's darkness, her innocence versus his jadedness and blah di blah blah. But I couldn't get over how childish she was. She was like every bad cheerleader stereotype without being a cheerleader. She couldn't decide who she was much less what she was supposed to do or feel. Love... this lady didn't have a clue. Every time she was horrified or appalled by something Vlad did or said, I had to ask myself "This chick realizes he's VLAD THE IMPALER, right?!"

I was going to quit while I was ahead, but for some reason I kept reading this book. The author's writing keeps making me want to continue, then I get stuck with all that is Leila, and not even my craven curiousity for Vlad makes it a pleasant experience. I wish I could get inside his head. Maybe that would make me want to read further, but this is probably the end for me. If Leila isn't leading on Vlad's best friend, she's trying to turn Vlad into a pussy, a real punk bitch, and I'm just not here for that. I don't need to read romance that serves to try to emasculate its alpha hero.

Why couldn't Leila be a better character? Why did she have to ruin everything for me? Gosh, if she was a fraction of all that's awesome about Veritas, I'd be okay. Sadly, she's not. I'm hoping Cat in the Night Huntress series is better. Please tell me it's better. Please tell me it's dual pov. And if it's not, please tell me that I'll enjoy it anyway.


I searched for one online, but I'm just going to put down some bits. Maybe you can see why I can't stand Leila...

"You're with Maximus." A statement, not a question.
I shrugged even though he couldn't see it. "That's none of your business."
Flames appeared, crawling up from his hands to his upper arms. "Oh, but it is."
Then his eyes opened and he sat up, looking around as if to pinpoint my location. I waved my hand back and forth, pleased when he didn't so much as glance in my direction. Vlad always seemed to know where I was before when I spied on him, further proof that none of this was real.
"It ceased to become your business when you walked away from us without a backward glance," I said, relishing the chance to unload some hurt. Thank you, subconsious!
"I walked away?" His snort managed to be both contemptuous and elegant. "I offered you everything, yet you spurned it all. I've had enemies be less merciless in their dealings."
I grabbed his shoulders but my hands went right through. So much for shaking some sense into him!
"Me merciless? All I wanted was for you to love me, but according to you, THAT was asking too much."
Those flames extinguised. Good. I didn't want to dream about him accidentally blowing up his plane.
"Words." His tone sharpened. "I shared my house, my bed, and my blood with you, as well as offered you a place in my life forever. What are words compared to that?"

---------------------------------------------

"You've proven to be the exception to my rules."
Those burning lips made the cool pressure of his fangs feel that much more erotic. Still, a deep-seated hurt overrode the passion slamming into me.
"Not all of your rules."
Vlad made a sound too harsh to be a growl. "You won't be satisfied until you've brought me to my knees, is that it?"
"Why not?" It shot out of me with all the recklessness of my still-broken heart. "You brought me to mine."
He released me so abruptly I had to use the couch to steady myself. Without his body against mine, I felt cold despite the pleasant warmth of the room.
"I told you that you can't have it both ways, and that's true for us as well."
Did I miss something? "What are you talking about?"
"I'm Vlad the Impaler," he said, biting off each word. "I've survived for over five hundred years because if someone crosses me, I kill him, and if I am betrayed, I exact my revenge. I told you this when we met, yet you're still upset when I act on it."
"Oh, you don't have to remind me how merciless you are," I said, bitterness leaping to the surface.
"Obviously I do," he replied. Then he cupped my face with hands so heated they felt like brands.
"You claim to love me, but the man you love doesn't exist. That man wouldn't have survived years of beatings and rape as a boy because sheer hatred kept him from breaking. That man wouldn't have impaled twenty thousand prisoners to terrorize a larger advancing army because fear was the only tactical advantage he had, and that man wouldn't have imprisoned one of his closest friends for lying to him over a woman he was enamored with. I am not that man."
His hands dropped and he stepped back, his expression still frighteningly intense.
"You see, you don't want me to love you. You want the version you've made up. The knight, even though I'm the dragon and I always will be."




Jeaniene Frost is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Her works include the Night Huntress series, the Night Prince series, the Broken Destiny series, and the new Night Rebel series. Jeaniene’s novels have also appeared on the Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal, ABA Indiebound, and international bestseller lists. Foreign rights for Jeaniene’s novels have sold to twenty different countries.

Jeaniene lives in Florida with her husband Matthew, who long ago accepted that she rarely cooks and always sleeps in on the weekends. In addition to being a writer, Jeaniene also enjoys reading, writing, poetry, watching movies, exploring old cemeteries, spelunking and traveling – by car. Airplanes, children, and cook books frighten her.

Visit https://www.jeanienefrost.com/ for more information

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Adriana Locke

• $1.99 - Like You Love Me (Honey Creek #1)
• $1.99 - Tangle (Dogwood Lane #2)
• $1.99 - Trouble (Dogwood Lane #3)

Amy Harmon

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Brittainy Cherry

• $1.99 - The Mixtape

K.A. Tucker

• $1.99 - The Simple Wild

Mariana Zapata

• 99 cents - Under Locke

 Meghan Quinn

• $1.99 - The Wedding Game
• $1.99 - The Highland Fling

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Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost

She's a mortal with dark powers...

After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person's darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude...until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world's most infamous vampire...

He's the Prince of Night...

Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all—but whatever you do, don't call him Dracula. Vlad's ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him—a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.



I was very interested in reading Vlad's story after meeting him in the Night Rebel trilogy. I wanted to know more about the firestarter who was also fireproof. And I'm so glad I got to read this book because not only was he cold, deadly, and extremely hard to kill, he was someone who had really lived, suffered, and survived.

However, I couldn't really get into this story because of Leila. She was a hard pill to swallow. While reading this book, I kept thinking about all the people who told me that I would love Vlad's story more than Ian's. You were wrong! Leila was no Veritas. There's just no comparison. And we all know how much I absolutely hate single perspective stories, but they're easier to enjoy if I enjoy the voice telling the story. I didn't enjoy Leila's voice.

Here's the thing... single perspectives are like listening to someone tell you a long story in a monotone. There's no inflection, no variety, no excitement. At least most of the time. That's what Leila's voice was like. A solid hum that I wanted to silence so badly!

Even Leila's 'super powers' didn't give me enough. She was delusional, irrational, immature, and I hate saying this... but she was unworthy of someone like Vlad. It also didn't help that I felt absolutely no chemistry between them.

I wish I could get Vlad's side. It would make such a difference. And since the bad guy wasn't caught in this book, I'll be reading the next one, hoping beyond hope that I'll get something different.




Jeaniene Frost is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Her works include the Night Huntress series, the Night Prince series, the Broken Destiny series, and the new Night Rebel series. Jeaniene’s novels have also appeared on the Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal, ABA Indiebound, and international bestseller lists. Foreign rights for Jeaniene’s novels have sold to twenty different countries.

Jeaniene lives in Florida with her husband Matthew, who long ago accepted that she rarely cooks and always sleeps in on the weekends. In addition to being a writer, Jeaniene also enjoys reading, writing, poetry, watching movies, exploring old cemeteries, spelunking and traveling – by car. Airplanes, children, and cook books frighten her.

Visit https://www.jeanienefrost.com/ for more information

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The Mastermind by Dylan Allen

He lives under a golden spotlight.
I’m shackled to a past that must stay hidden.

Omar Solomon is the king of the comeback.
Ten years ago his career as a star athlete ended in injury and scandal.
He may have traded in his cleats for Gucci loafers, but he’s been as victorious in the boardroom as he was on the pitch.

He returns to London, wealthy, influential, and powerful beyond measure.
And he spends every weekend in the pub where I work.
A law student with a night job and a dark past,
I’m hardly the type of woman a man like him would notice.

Or so I thought.

When he offers me a no-strings-attached affair,
I forget all the reasons I should say no.
He’s straight out of my dreams—
with a body and a mouth made for sinning.

Our passion turns my gray existence into a vibrant, colorful life.
But it has an expiration date.

When his time in London is over, we will be, too.
And it will be for the best.
Because he can never find out who I really am.

But my Mastermind has set his sights on a new goal: me.
And this time he’s playing for keeps.



Sweet and charming
Sexy and spicy
Dylan Allen knows how to deliver must-read, heartwarming, happily ever after romance!

Omar Solomon was a man who seemed to have it all—money, celebrity, family, friends, etc. Yet he was uncomfortable with the press and failed to make real connections in his love life. And his family seemed to be falling apart due to secrets and lies.

Jules knew all about lies—heck, she was living the biggest one of them all. She didn't allow anyone to get too close, stayed under the radar, and dreamed from afar.

It was like these two were each other's kryptonite. They were doing things they vowed never to do. Feeling things they never experienced before. While their romance seemed to build quickly, it actually started off extremely slow (their pseudo meet-cute forced things to develop in steps).

I was even caught up in the mystery surrounding Jules's past. Who did what? She is who now? What happens next?

However... don't act like you didn't know a but was coming... I did find that this story was too long and yet not long enough. While some parts were explored in depth, like the relationship between the main characters (so good), the other parts, those surrounding the past, seemed to be left up in the air. Touched, but barely. I'm greedy. I think we all know this by now and I needed more.

Not quite a novella, not quite a novel, but definitely worth the read.



Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author, Dylan Allen writes compelling, dramatic, emotional romances with exceptional, diverse characters you'll root for and never forget.

A self-proclaimed happily ever junkie, she loves creating stories where her characters find a love worth fighting for. When she isn’t writing or reading, eating, or cooking, Dylan indulges her wanderlust by planning her next globe-trotting adventure.

Dylan was born in Accra, Ghana (West Africa) but was raised in Houston, Texas. Dylan is a proud graduate of Tufts University, Howard University School of Law and the London School of economics. After twenty years of adventure and wild oat sowing, Dylan, her amazing husband and two incredible children returned to Houston where they now make their home.

Visit https://www.authordylanallen.com/ for more information

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Always Someone's Monster by Lani Lynn Vale

A few years ago, when his sister went missing, Haggard Crow turned into something he never wanted to be. A killer.

Even after his sister is rescued a year after she was kidnapped and sold, Haggard ‘Thief’ Crow doesn’t have any plans on changing. He sort of likes the zero fucks given guy that he is now.

Bonus points, he saves women and children from extreme situations, along with his club and real life brothers by his side.

After a horrible marriage, Haggard has zero plans of ever finding a woman again. One-night stands not counting, he adores his life as a single man. There are no expectations. No ‘where are yous’ and ‘are you coming homes.’

The life he chooses to live is a simple one. Until he makes a huge mistake, and he steps over that line between ‘daughter’s best friend’ and ‘a woman he desperately wants.’

Before long, he can’t stop thinking about her. Can’t stop wanting her. Can’t stop feeling things for her that a man twenty years her senior should never feel for a girl he watched grow up.

After one lapse in judgment, he decides she needs to go. But the funny thing is, he never expected Sophia Madden to fight back. And dirty at that.



I think it's hilarious that the author actually predicted that most of us would be extremely upset by this book. I can't even think right now. I'm typing this up at the speed of lightning, hoping the ferocity of my pecking at these keys can be felt along LLV's back. I'm kidding. Maybe.

I'm just so freaking mad right now!

You ever become so invested in side characters, waiting for the day the author will bless you with their story? What happens when you realize that story will NEVER be coming???

You get a normally cool and controlled Natalie basically foaming at the mouth!

Did I love so many aspects of this story? Of course! I'm a sucker for a well-defined silver fox. Throw in the taboo that his happily ever after is with his daughter's best friend? With his best friend's daughter? Yeah, I'm here for all the taboo-ishness of this read.

I do have a question though? If I'm older than the oldest character (Haggard) and he's basically categorized as middle aged, does that make ME middle aged? Nuh uh. Nope. I've barely dipped my toes into the 40s and I'm forever young, thank you very much!

Back to the story... I loved how Haggard and Sophia had loved each other for so long, not knowing the other felt the same. I loved how everyone knew how they felt before they did. I loved how they finally got on board with the program. It felt organic rather than rushed and because of their many years of knowing each other, it was very easy for everything to fall into place. I actually wanted more and despite my tears, I would have welcomed more opportunities to see all of these characters together. I guess that's what the following books are for.

I'm super mad right now, in case that wasn't clear. But it doesn't even really matter, does it? I'm still going to have this author on my auto-buy list. I'm still going to read (and love) her books. And I'm still going to urge each and every one of you to get to reading. Seriously, you need her books in your life.

About the characters:

Main Characters - Haggard "Thief" Crow & Sophia Madden
Children - Clementine Crow (Haggard's) & Boston Crow (Haggard's)
Haggard's Family - Derringer Crow (father)
Reedy Crow (mother)
Trinket Crow (brother)
Rook Crow (brother)
Bram Crow (brother) - coming soon in Never Trust the Living
Shine Crow (brother) - coming soon in Make Me Your Villain
Channel Crow (sister) - featured in Chalk Dirty to Me
Sophia's Family - Madden (father) & Jasper (twin brother, RIP)

Check out the other books from the series:

Lani Lynn Vale is married to the love of her life that she met in high school. She fell in love with him because he was wearing baseball pants. Ten years later they have three perfectly crazy children and a cat named Demon who likes to wake her up at ungodly times in the night. They live in the greatest state in the world, Texas. She writes contemporary and romantic suspense, and has a love for all things romance. You can find Lani in front of her computer writing away in her fictional characters world...that is until her husband and kids demand sustenance in the form of food and drink.