Fighting Dirty by Lori Foster

I am very excited to talk to you about Fighting Dirty today. This is the first book in this particular series that I have read but I have also read other books by Lori Foster. I must say she never disappoints! I would highly recommend reading her books to anyone, she is a personal favorite of mine. Armie and Rissy are characters that have appeared in other books to this series (so I can't wait to get my hands on those), but it isn't just those two that catch your attention though out this book. Every character has charm and charisma and they make you want to get to know each and every one more. Most of those characters have books out already or coming soon and I can't wait to devour them. Fighting Dirty is definitely a read that keeps you on your toes, between Armies past, Rissy and whatever is going on in her life at that moment, and the relationship the two find with eachother. It's great to see how that all plays out mixed in with the drama and suspense from whatever danger either one is in at any given point in the book. Armie did come off to me as a little bit too much at times. His playboy ways seemed overblown to me in places and the overall sensuality he was exuding in the story seems a bit much, but he is still a very loveable male protagonist. And he is still kind of adorable even with all that going on. Plus, I think that just part of how the character is supposed to come off. Rissy was also a great character. I have to say, I really liked that she has a backbone. Too many female characters these days are painted as helpless and not being able to stand up for themselves. I have not once run into that with a Lori Foster book, so major kudos to her!!! The names of the two seemed...odd to me but that's no big deal. It did get on my nerves just a little while I was reading for some reason. But when I started to change Rissy to Rissa in my head while I read and that worked 100% for me!

One of my favorite series by Lori Foster is her Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor series and for me, while this book was really enjoyable it didn't quite hit that level yet, but I also haven't read the first three books so I'm keeping my mind open. It very well could still hit that level with the back stories on the other characters. I will continue reading the Ultimate series, going backwards since I started from the last book. I can't wait to read the books I haven't read yet. I will also wait for the new series to be released about some of the other characters that gained my interest in this book. Leese in particular! I'm so excited about his book I'm practically shaking.

My final score for this book is 4 Stars! This book was a wonderful read that kept me on the edge of my seat, warmed my heart, and engaged my mind all at once.

An advanced readers copy was provided to me by the publishers in exchange for a honest review. This has in no was effected my rating on this book or the overall review.

The Dark Vampire by Kate Baxter

An advanced readers copy of this title was provided to me by the publishers in exchange for a honest review. This has in no way affected my review of this title. 

This title was my first book by Kate Baxter. I've been looking for a while for a new paranormal romance author to read because I've been through pretty much all of my Kresley Cole books and I have to say...Kate Baxter really measures up! I'm really very impressed with her writing style. I love that she writes from a duel POV. It takes a lot of skill to pull that off as flawlessly as she does in this book. I also like that it did this through the whole book, not just one or two chapters here and there. It really gave the right mood to the book. I loved her characters, specifically Jenner and Chelle. Chelle really has such a small part in this book but they way it's done leaves a big impression of her and I can't wait to read her story. Because I haven't read the first few books in this series I'm going to be working my way backwards through the books to get to know some of the other characters a bit better. I'm specifically curious about Naya. The white witch mated to a vampire thing really makes me wonder about her and Ronans history. Was he disappointed to me mated to a witch? Was she familiar with vampires before or was this a huge change for her? Things like that. I'm definitely going to be reading that title next.

As for the actual story line itself...I really enjoyed that as well. There were so many things in this book I couldn't foresee. I love that because normally I can tell what's going to happen in a book and when it will happen. The Dark Vampire had the ability to take me by surprise with some serious plot twists that I didn't see coming. I would give examples but I really don't want to give anything away. I loved the way Jenner and Bria were with eachother after they finally got with the program (and you'll know exactly what I mean when you read the book) but they left me feeling really frustrated with them at times in the beginning. Admittedly, Bria could act out a smidgen sometimes. Like at the end...when that one thing happpened....and she totally over reacted....because I mean...he was just trying to protect her. But it's something that is easily overlooked and isn't very bothersome at all.

The Dark Vampire is sexy, interesting, captivating, and so much more. I urge you to pre-order the title now or buy it when it's out on May 3rd. You won't regret it. Overall I would give it 4.5 Stars. I'm shocked and disappointed that I didn't discover this author sooner than now. It is very difficult for me to find paranormal romance authors that I can really enjoy and I'm sure I've found one with Kate Baxter. I can't wait to dive into more of her books!