Review: The Admiral's Mate (Space Warriors #5) by Sydney Lain

 Creel Stark always felt like an outsider in Warsarian society. He never measured up and his family hated him because of it. Instead of trying to fit in, Creel left before his secret was exposed. He can see the future, a rare Warsarian ability that, if discovered, would limit his freedom.

Admiral Zeith Stern is the Warsarian king's uncle and head of the military. He doesn’t respect non-warriors. It’s survival of the fittest, and all warriors need to be prepared for battle. Those beliefs are challenged when Creel enters his life.

Creel has a vision and uses his ability to save Zeith’s life, which causes Zeith to question the real strength of a warrior. Will these two be able to work together and stop a dangerous group from attacking their home planet? Opposites attract and passions ignite, but can Creel and Zeith accept each other or will their different beliefs drive them apart?

Title: The Admiral's Mate (Space Warriors #5)
Author/s: Sydney Lain
Publisher: Siren Publishing, Inc.
Publication Date: March 2015
ISBN: 978-1-632591-09-8
Buy it from Siren Bookstrand

Maria's Rating: ★★★★★

I loved this book. I enjoyed it much better than the first four, and I grew to love the characters despite the novella's length. It was fast paced and to the point; there was no beating around the bush when it came to telling the story it wanted to tell.

I adored Creel. He wasn't the typical image of what a "warrior" was by Warsarian standards, but he was intelligent and he knew how to get things done. I was sympathetic to his plight as an outcast of his race, and I felt really bad about reading what he went through in the hands of his father. I was delighted to read him mention about Kaden, since it clearly showed how his story tied up with Theo's. I actually liked Creel better than Kaden because while Creel was rightfully scared of the implications of mating, he didn't spend ninety percent of the time trying to put himself down and/or trying to run away. He knew something needed to be done, and he was completely focused on accomplishing what he came for. Despite his terrible history with his people, he was brave and kind enough to return and warn them of the impending danger.

I won't lie: Zeith started off like a bit of an asshole. I had deep misgivings about how his feelings would be toward Creel, since Zeith supposedly had no regard for those he considered "non-warriors". Even when he bumped to Creel, you could immediately tell that he wouldn't have given Creel a second second glance if they hadn't been mates.

Even so, Zeith proved himself a pretty decent guy as the story moved forward. He had his doubts about Creel's claims, which I thought were pretty reasonable, with him being Admiral and all - he was required to doubt everything in the interest of his people. While I didn't particularly enjoy reading about him thinking that Creel was insane, I respected him for being wary even of his lifemate's claims. He had an important job, and I'm glad he didn't lose focus because of Creel. If anything, I appreciated him trying to do something so Creel would be cleared of possible charges that could be held against him. Zeith never once thought of losing his pride or whatever because of being mated to a non-warrior, but instead, he started contemplating on his long-held beliefs about strength and power. I thought it was quite admirable that he was willing to open his mind to a new way of thinking because of his mate.

Overall, I loved Creel and Zeith together because of their amazing dynamic. Zeith has a domineering personality, but underneath it all he really cares for Creel and what he wants to do. He's supportive of it, going as far as joining Creel in doing what he set out to do. Creel, on the other hand, may not be considered a warrior in the traditional sense of their people, but he had a unique strength to him that made him very realistic and easy to relate to. He wasn't as dominant as Zeith was, but he was stubborn and feisty and his dedication to what he was doing was admirable; I thought he was simply the perfect mate for Zeith.

Before I forget: I liked seeing Kwan and Alex in this book, too! It was nice to see them ruling together, with Alex having some influence on Kwan's decisions. I would have liked to see Creel's reunion with Theo, although I suppose it wasn't totally necessary in the story.

This is probably the best book in the series so far, and it's easily one of my favorites. Five stars.

Review: Temptation (Guardians of the Five Rubies #1) by Shannon West, Victoria Sue

Vampires are born, not made. Can one night change everything? At a nightclub called Temptations, Kaden, the Saak’da or future ruler of a race living on Earth secretly for generations, is trying to stop a massacre from happening. He’s had a tip that a small disgruntled faction of his people plan an attack that night that will result in a great loss of human life. Kaden is focused, disciplined, and determined to protect the humans who are ignorant to his people’s presence. But when he prevents a tragic accident from happening, one that would have been fatal to the little bus-boy, Matty, he sets a powerful force into motion. Kaden broke the rules about not interfering in human lives because one touch from Matty convinced him that Matty was his fated blood-angel, and that the bond between them would last for the rest of his very long life.

Matty can’t believe his good fortune when a sex-god like Kaden D’Marco wants to take him home. Matty is just a nobody, abandoned and abused as a child, bullied and picked on by his boss at the club. He washes dirty glasses for a living, and he’s never attracted the attention of a man like Kaden.

Kaden has waited a long time for his fated one, but can a man who feeds on human blood find happiness with someone who faints at the sight of it? Can he convince this scared young man to trade a taste of his blood for a love that will last a thousand years and bring him happiness and gifts that he can’t even imagine?

Title: Temptation (Guardians of the Five Rubies #1)
Author/s: Shannon West, Victoria Sue
Publisher: Dark Hollows Press
Publication Date: November 2015
ISBN: 978-1-944054-20-5
Buy it from Dark Hollows Press

Maria's Rating: ★★

This book was a bit of struggle for me. My biggest problem was actually the same as Kaden's dilemma – trying to explain the whole ruask'aa mating to Matty without freaking the human out.

I'm not a huge fan of insta-love, but this book made me realize just how awkward it is when one of the involve parties does acknowledge that yes, this whole thing is ridiculous and can you step away a little from my personal space, please? Of course, it must be said that shifters/mating stories usually involve this deal, which I’m actually okay with, because it can be done. I've read stories that can make you forget that fated mates have barely known each other for a month (hell, a week) but are already professing their undying love for each other, and it doesn't sound the least bit ridiculous. Unfortunately, while Temptation explicitly acknowledges this mating 'problem', it doesn't do anything further than… well, acknowledging that.

The relationship between Kaden and Matty is strained, at best. Their attraction for each other is not up for argument; it's obvious from the very beginning that they want each other. It's when they try to communicate that we see the problem – they can't. Despite being as old as he is (507 years old yay), Kaden fumbles very badly with his words. He is completely incapable of explaining his history and the mating ritual to Matty, and he doesn't get any better even as they move forward. He recognizes this problem, which I actually give him credit for, but other than that he is unable to do anything else but watch hopelessly as the love of his life flees from him in confusion. He doesn’t even explain his feeding to Matty, which is obviously the very basic of mating, since it can kill him. And he certainly doesn’t make things any better by thinking with his dick. Kind of makes me wonder what the future holds for his people, since he’s the guardian and all.

If there’s anything I actually like about Kaden, it’s that he’s aware he’s absolute shit at explaining his life, and he doesn’t pressure Matty into giving into him. Which would have actually endeared him to me, except he chooses instead to make sad puppy faces in hopes that Matty will understand what the fuck he’s on about (e.g. he doesn’t want Matty to go because it’s dangerous, but he doesn’t explain just how dangerous it can be, so Matty is left to his imagination). Oh man. Unlike him, Matty can’t read minds, so maybe he could have moved things along and said what he wanted to say?


I’m not sure how I feel about Matty. I understood his confusion and I found his pink bikini briefs hilarious (because c’mon, it was gold). While I like his independence, I find him a bit too flighty and too impulsive, especially as the story moves forward. He can’t make up his mind about how he feels or what he wants to do, but then again I guess that has a lot to do with Kaden being a confusing fuck himself. The addition of his sister toward the end is silly at best; it struck me as a sorry excuse to get him away from Kaden and get him busy. I wish they’d just established a friend nearby he could hang out with, while keeping the sob backstory about being abandoned.

And don’t even get me started on the number of things that they tried to add to this book. We saw (1) fated mates; (2) dying father who has something important for his heir; (3) rebellion against status quo; (4) vampires/aliens; (5) mpreg (which didn’t actually happen, but was mentioned; (6) estranged brothers; (7) good twin bad twin; (8) guardianship of something super important!!; (9) assassins; and (10) others, which include but are not limited to mind reading, teleportation, dumb attempt at jumping from one building to another, etc.

I’ve finished the book and I'm still not sure what it's about. For one, it doesn’t seem like Davv’id is the villain that he was initially made to be; I doubt he will harm Matty given his experience with his own ruask’aa. Amariska hasn’t shown herself yet, but she wasn’t emphasized enough to hold my attention; I don’t really care about what happens to her. The rubies sound like they're a big deal, but I still fail to grasp just how important they are, because they're simply mentioned like they're not that important. I wish there had been further elaboration on what these rubies can do.

I haven’t read a lot of Victoria Sue to really identify her writing, but I can definitely say I didn’t see much Shannon West in this one. I’ve seen these authors work together so well in Supremacy of Wolves, so this collaboration is a huge disappointment. Especially when they're able to write something as powerful as the following:

When he'd touched him, he'd known. His body had known. His blood had known. Five hundred years and he had given up searching for the one that legend said would complete him, love him, make him whole.

Overall, I didn’t hate the book, not when Shannon West and Victoria Sue can string very powerful words together beautifully. Unfortunately, that's not enough to make this book a very compelling read, so I'm giving it two stars.

Review: Monster Alpha (Rogue Wolfhounds #7) by Marcy Jacks

Peter Ramsey is a human and a doctor in training, all things that his mate, alpha wolfhound Phoenix, despises. Though Phoenix loves him, Peter thinks something is wrong, especially when he and Phoenix can hardly spend any time together thanks to Peter's work and schooling. If Phoenix decided he didn't want him, Peter wouldn't be able to survive it.

Phoenix doesn't understand humans. Even after mating with Peter, he still distrusts them, especially scientists and doctors. The only human he does like is his mate, and even then, Phoenix worries that Peter might not want to live the dangerous life that comes with being mated to a wolfhound.

When humans and rogue wolfhounds attack the pack, Phoenix loses control of the vicious animal within him for he first time in years. His nightmare comes to life as that bloodthirsty animal comes face to face with the man he loves. The man who cannot defend himself should Phoenix attack.

Title: Monster Alpha (Rogue Wolfhounds #7)
Author/s: Marcy Jacks
Publisher: Siren Publishing Inc.
Publication Date: December 5, 2015
ISBN: 9781632598561
Buy it from Siren Bookstrand

Maria's Rating: ★★★★★

I waited all week for this book, and I wasn’t disappointed. After the sixth book, I was looking forward to reading more about Phoenix and Peter and their adjustment to their lives as mates.

This will sound all wrong, but I love the miscommunication between them. It’s very realistic, especially considering Phoenix’s past experience with humans. He’s very guarded even against Peter, and it makes him more sympathetic and much easier to relate to. His uncertainty is adorable; he’s so convinced that Peter doesn’t want him despite being already told otherwise. His struggle to come to terms with his feelings and the fear of not being good enough is… oddly sweet, especially for a man (wolfhound) as tough and as powerful as he is. He’s undoubtedly the alpha in their relationship, but his moments of self-doubt make him almost too fragile.

I really like Peter. He has a certain manner of conducting himself that makes him the perfect match for Phoenix. His love for Phoenix is given, but he tries to strike a balance by not being so clingy, as he puts it. Like Phoenix, he’s scared that Phoenix doesn’t want him, but he still makes an effort to reach out. Granted, he’s not always doing a very good job of expressing himself and how much he really loves Phoenix, but he keeps trying.

Despite their weak communication, there’s something about Peter and Phoenix’s relationship that makes it work. I think it has to do with the fact that they genuinely care for one another, despite their struggle at saying just how much. Reading about how they gradually come around and finally say what they have to is beautiful, because you know that they took great pains to get to that point.

I specifically love the part where Peter coaxes Phoenix to shift from wolfhound to human. Peter is rightfully terrified, of course, but when it's done and over you realize just how sweet it really is. That it's Peter who can compel Phoenix to return to his senses and shift back from his wolfhound form is a great demonstration of just deep the bond is between them. Considering Phoenix's history with human doctors, the scenario delivers a very powerful evidence of just how far he and Peter have come as mates.

Overall, this was a very good read. It’s a slow, agonizing burn watching Phoenix and Peter fumble with their words, but the knowledge that they’re actually so into each other makes it all worth it. One thing I really would have liked to see was Phoenix finally setting Peter apart from other humans, but I guess it’s a start that he’s able to keep his bloodlust and not harm his mate even in wolfhound form. Nevertheless, it doesn’t keep the book from telling a wonderful story. This is definitely one of my favorites from this series.

Five solid stars.