Book Review: Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh (Psy/Changelings Series)

I haven't posted for a long time again, but I have been doing a lot of reading during this time. One of the series that I'm very much addicted to right now is called the Psy/Changelings Series by Nalini Singh. The first installment of the series, Slave to Sensation, is a wonderful page-turner written in a convincing original alternative universe (with very yummy male characters, of course).

Summary:

As the alpha of one of the most powerful leopard packs in the country, Lucas is committed to protecting his pack at all cost. When a brutal murder descended upon his pack, DarkRiver, he was determined to find and bring Changeling justice to the serial killer. But to do so, he must extract information from someone of a race devoid of all emotions.

Where the Changelings depends heavily on their emotions and the bond of pack, the Psy denies all emotions, considering it as a weakness. Sascha Duncan was the daughter of a Councilor of the Psy race and was taught to become the perfect Psy from a young age, but she was flawed. Fascinated and attracted to her new Changeling business partner, Lucas, she must hide her emotions to avoid the horror of a "rehabilitation", a fate worse than death, even as he temps her otherwise.

What I liked:

I must admit, I never really liked shape-shifters with the exception of the ones in Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark Series (see my reviews here), and those Lykae weren't even real shape-shifters. I like animals, but having a lover who'll go all furry on you wasn't exactly the sexist thing to imagine. I already have my cat, Kuhla, who snuggles up to me when he's in a good mood, thank you very much, lol. But, I must say, Nalini Singh managed to make her Changelings beyond sexy. What I really love about the Changelings is that their animal is very much a part of them even when they are in human form. This is not something I see all the time in other shape-shifter stories. Throughout the series, you see their human-side battling with their animal-side, which wants to act on instinct. This made their race very interesting and real, which brings me to my next point.

Another reason I was so hooked on this book and, subsequently, the series, is how well and convincing the world was developed. The story takes place in an alternative universe with three different races, Human, Changeling and Psy. Introducing new races and an original alternative universe is very difficult. What was great about the author's approach is how she took ideas we are familiar with and expanded on it to make it her own. We are familiar with the idea of shape-shifters, so she took that as a base and added her own elements to it to make the Changelings. We are familiar with the idea of psychic powers, she took that and added her own twist to make the Psy. What's even better is that we get to discover the ways of the unfamiliar Psy race along with the Changelings, as they are almost as equally clueless about this "emotionless" race as the readers are.

Of course, the hero of the story, Lucas, was super yummy and I can never resist a dominant male (not in a chauvinist pig way) who cherishes females. I loved how he is so protective of Sascha even as he still saw her as an enemy and wanted to extract information from her to get to the serial killer. I also liked Sascha's character development and her struggles to hold on to what is "right", as was taught to her from childhood, even though it goes against everything in her nature. Again, I think that is certainly very real. Most of us are afraid to be different because we know we will become an outcast, so often we do everything in our power to fit it. And that's exactly what Sascha was doing in the earlier parts of the story, until love conquers all, so to say. :)

What I didn't like:

There isn't really anything I didn't like about Slave to Sensation. But there were a few minor things that bothered me a little. For example, at one point in the story, it was said that one of Sascha's favorite memory exercises she does on the computers involved a list of different sex positions. It just seemed odd to me that as a race that views emotions as a weakness, promotes reproduction through the use of sperm banks instead of sex and a governing body that erased information they don't want their people to know would allow the use of sex positions as part of a memory exercise. However, as I said, the things I found odd are only minor things that did not really affect the rest of the story.

Some reader found it unrealistic that once Sascha decided to let go of Silence, the practice of getting rid of all emotions, she was able to transition right away and became like everyone else. Although, I would have liked to see her struggle just a little more on adjusting to her new life with emotions, I wasn't too bothered by it. How I see it, was that she was not able to be herself before, and now that she let go of Silence, she was just being herself - a normal person with emotions. But then I guess it all depends on how you see it.

Conclusion:

If you haven't seen Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh, then you're missing out. I highly recommend this book, and the series to shape-shifter-lovers and non-shape-shifter-lovers alike. The world created in this story is highly believable and intriguing that you'll find yourself immediately hooked. Right now, the Psy/Changeling series is almost at the end of the first arc, with Kiss of Snow coming out in June, so it's getting super exciting to see how things will turn out.

Let me know what you think of this book or series. Did you like it?

All reviews for the Psy/Changeling series by Nalini Singh

Movie Review: Twilight Saga - New Moon

I know I haven't posted in a long time, and this post isn't even a novel post. But I figured I should do a little update on the paranormal romance world.

So! After a long wait, I was finally able to see the New Moon Movie from the Twilight Saga today. I've already written a book review here so I'm just going to be commenting mainly on the movie. And to get to the bottom line without wasting people's time, the movie was slightly disappointing, but not so much as an absolute don't-watch-it-category movie, mainly because Taylor Lautner had his shirt off for a lot of the scenes.

So first of all, I was so glad that the movie wasn't as disappointing as the last one. I really think that having a higher budget and a different director worked in its favor. And Taylor Lautner was definitely smoking HOT when he took his shirt off.

You know, I admire Taylor Lautner, as he added 30 lbs (or whatever) of muscle on himself so that he could keep his role. And I believe it was a good choice. New Moon portrayed him well, and I bet that a lot of Edward-fans or non-Twilight readers will be joining Team Jacob after this.

But note that I will not be one of those, because my love were for the characters from the books and not the movies. But I do like Taylor a lot, and have no love for Robert Pattinson at all.

Anyway, off topic.

The reason I liked this movie more than the last one was because it was obvious that the director tried hard to stay true to the book for as much as possible. Unlike the first one, no super major scenes were cut, and nothing, at least to me, screamed WRONG like the kiss scene in the first movie. However, I think it stayed a little TOO true on some lines. You know how somethings sounds perfectly fine when it's written, but when spoken, it would just sound cheesy? There were quite a few moments of those in there. >_<

It was nice to see the CGs in this movie were very well done, and I absolutely adore Jacob's wolf form. I was quite worried about seeing some ugly wolves running around until I saw the trailer, but was still worried that they didn't portray the wolves correctly. Luckily they did. THANK GOD!!

Now what's wrong was the Vampires... Ok, I never considered them Vampires, really. I'm sorry to say, but I just kind of treated them as a different species that drinks blood when I read the book. Vampires are supposed to have FANGS!!! If you're a vampire and have no fangs, you're like... handicapped or something. You've got to have fangs to be vampires... But, off topic again.

I don't really blame this movie for how the vampires look. It was set in the first movie, and you can't really change it drastically. So I guess they were forced to "go-along-with-it." But still... >_<

My BIGGEST problem with this movie is Edward though. OMG, he was so hot and so great in the books, but he's just a lame ass ugly white... THING in this movie. I'm going to apologize in advance for people who likes Robert Pattison, but he's terrible!!! He can't act, and every time he speaks, he acts like he's a ventriloquist by not moving his lips at all. I could barely understand him on many occasions!!

Another thing is, and I think Jacob fans would definitely disagree with me, that I believe although Edward wasn't present most of the time in the novel New Moon, I still think that it is a story about Bella and Edward, not Bella and Jacob. It's about how much Bella really loves Edward and for him to realize that leaving her for "her own good" is just not an option. However, this movie did not capture the essence of it. So, it was quite disappointing in that way.

Don't get me wrong though, I still enjoyed the movie on some level, just not the way I was supposed to enjoy it. Oh... Did I mention that Taylor without a shirt on was HOT? Yah, he was HOT!!!!

Book Review: Dark Challenge by Christine Feehan (Carpathian/Dark Series)

Dark Challenge, the fifth installment of Christine Feehan's Carpathian/Dark series, was a novel with a decent storyline, less than satisfactory flow, and too many distractions. Hence, my rating of a 3.5 Pink Hearts.

Summary:

Julian Savage was a Carpathian male who was tainted by a vampire at a young age, forcing him to live a solitary life away from his kind and his twin for centuries. The time has come for him to greet the dawn and end his bleak existence, but not before he performs one last task for his Prince, to protect the singer, Desari, targeted by human "Vampire Hunters." But the instant he heard her beautiful voice, he knew he had found his true lifemate.

Desari was a singer with a mesmerizing voice and a talent unmatched by any others. An ancient Carpathian female herself, she traveled for centuries with her family unit of her brother, a couple other Carpathian males, and another Carpathian female, and for centuries she thought they were the only survivors of their kind. Meeting the solitary Carpathian, Julian Savage, she found herself helplessly drawn to him, but now, she must find a balance between being with her lifemate and staying with her family.

What I liked:

Of all the Carpathian/Dark series novels up to this particular book, this story was the only one that deeply explored the changes within a Carpathian male when they finally found their emotions again upon finding their lifemate. In the previous novels, the heroes seemed to have adjusted to their newfound emotions quite easily, which didn't make too much sense to me. However, Julian's story was full of mistakes made due to his new distractions of emotions, and they way he coped with it. I genuinely felt that this book did a great job in tapping deep into the difficulty of the transition for the hero, which made it all the more realistic and believable.

What I didn't like:

While the storyline was decent, Christine Feehan failed to make it flow properly. There were so many sex scenes in this book that made the flow awkward. It was almost as if she was using those scenes to make it so that she could reach the proper word count for her publisher or something. For example, there would be a fight between Julian and the ancient vampire, and then when the vampire retreats because dawn was coming, you would naturally want to know the results of the next battle ASAP. But then, there will be a sex scene right there. And I'd be like, "what???"

And what was worse, was that no matter what the situation was, Desari would always tempt Julian to have sex with her. I mean, it doesn't matter if they were within hearing range of her family, out in the open where it could be dangerous, or when Julian should rest and prepare for a battle. All she wanted was sex, sex and sex. It was almost as if she was a nymphomania. And she didn't even think it's wrong to distract her lifemate when it meant that she could put both of them in danger... that was rather selfish of her, I think.

Another thing about this story was that there was a little too much focus on Desari's brother, Darius. It was almost as if he was the hero of the book rather than Julian. I'm not quite sure about other readers, but when I'm reading a romance novel, I'd like to stay focused on the hero and heroine. I might fall in love with another character, but I would never want him to distract me too much from the main hero of the story.

Conclusion:

Unfortunately, Dark Challenge by Christine Feehan, had the potential to be a much better paranormal romance novel than it really was. The storyline was good, but, unfortunately, delivered rather poorly. If the number of sex scenes could have been cut in half, and not occur in the middle of a suspense buildup, it would have been a much much better book.

Read my reviews of the other novels in the Carpathian/Dark series by Christine Feehan

Book Review - Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Twilight Saga)

Book three of the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, Eclipse, is a paranormal romance novel with a good and interesting plot, but very annoying characters. For that, I can only give the novel a 3.5 Pink Hearts.

Summary:

With her boyfriend being a vampire, and best friend being a werewolf, Bella was torn between love and friendship. As much as she couldn't live without Edward, she couldn't give up her personal-sun, Jacob, even though the two hate each other so much that they want to tear each other apart. As Bella try to work everything out with this complicated relationship, Jacob just had to make things more complicated by insisting her feelings towards him was much more than friendship. And to make matters worse, a group of newborn vampires were roaming Seattle, just an hour or so away from their town of Forks, and an old enemy still lurks in the shadows threatening for revenge.

SPOILER ALERT!! SPOILER ALERT!!

What I liked:

I liked how the plot played out in this story, and their enemy's tactics. It was fresh, and helped to give much more insight about many secondary characters, especially Jasper. I really liked that because for the first two books, he was more like an unnecessary character, with no in depth description or characterization. But in Eclipse, he character finally developed, making him much less of an unnecessary background.

Although I fell in love with Edward in the first book, Twilight, I believe I fell in love with him all over again in Eclipse. It was just amazing how much he loved Bella, and how much he was willing to do for her.

What I didn't like:

I was never a big fan of Bella, mainly because she was just a shallow teenager, who, for no particular reasons, fell in love with a vampire. But she did not officially begin to annoy and piss me off until Eclipse. Throughout the whole story, she was inconsiderate and indecisive. Knowing how much Edward worried about her being with unstable young werewolves, she still chose to run off (multiple times) to see Jacob. Knowing how Edward would be jealous of her being together with another person who likes her more than a friend, she still constantly talk about Jacob in front of him. And then, when she finally realize Jacob's feeling towards her, she tells him no, but still continues to see him all the time. If these actions are not inconsiderate, I don't know what what they are.

In a way, I see Bella's action towards Jacob was due to her insecurity towards Edward, and would just like to hold on to somebody. But that, in my opinion, is seriously cruel. If it was in New Moon, when Edward was still nowhere to be found, I can understand, but he came back, and Bella chose to accept him again. Then why the hell was she leading Jacob on while still clinging onto Edward? Unfortunately, Bella's behavior in Eclipse made me loose a lot of respect for her.

Jacob, was another annoying character. As much as Bella did somewhat lead him on by keep going back to him, she did, after all, repeatedly said that she didn't see him that way, that she only loves Edward, and yet, he kept pressing her. I'm sorry, persistence is good only to a certain point, after that, it becomes annoyance. And that was exactly what Jacob was. And, granted, I never liked Jacob's character in New Moon, I just hated him even more in Eclipse. By 3/4 of the story, he annoyed me so much that every time he appears, I would either want to strangle him, or pray that he would die soon or something.

Conclusion:

With all that said, Eclipse was still a decent read if you have been following the series. However, for me, the only thing that held the book together was a decent plot, and a very yummy Edward. If those two elements were not present or if I'm rating this book solely on Bella and Jacob's character... argh, I don't even want to think about it. But then again, Stephenie Meyer did do a good job wrapping up some of the lines in this book, and will leave you wondering what would happen next.

All reviews for the Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Book Review - Dark Gold by Christine Feehan (Carpathian/Dark Series)

Dark Gold is the third installment of the Carpathian/Dark series by Christine Feehan. It is an intriguing, sensuous read that I've very much enjoyed reading. However, due to certain flaws, which I will discuss later on in this post, I had to debate whether to give it a 3.5 or a 4 Pink Hearts rating. But I guess 4 Pink Hearts it is, because I enjoyed it very much despite that I did not like part of the story.

Summary:

Alexandria Houton loved her little brother and would do anything to protect him from harm. As a psychic, she could be safely turned into a Carpathian and become one of the few that could save the dying race, and now the Vampires hunted her, wanting to claim her as their own. Plunged into the mysterious, yet dangerous world of Carpathians and Vampires, her body turned into a Carpathian by the hands of the powerful Aidan. But, as much as her body embraced both her bond with the attractive stranger and her physical changes, she had yet to accept her fate mentally.

Aidan Savage was a hunter for the mysterious Carpathian race, and the only one that lived with a human family. After 800 years of life without a lifemate, his inner demons were strong, and was close to turning, but that was until he found Alexandria. To heal and cleanse his lifemate's tainted blood from the Vampire's attack, Aidan turned her into one of his kind without her consent. He was determined to give her time to cope, although he found his fight with his inner demon more of a challenge everyday, yet she continued to defy him, continued to deny her new existence and their unbreakable bond. And the latter, he would not allow.

What I liked:

Again, Christine Feehan was really the master of creating perfect men. I love how Aidan loved Alexandria so unconditionally that he was willing to risk himself to allow her time to adjust. I love how he accepted her little brother and gave him the best and everything he wanted just because he was someone Alexandria loved. And I loved it even more that, despite being 8 centuries old and without emotion for the most part of it, once he found his emotion back by meeting Alexandria, he was the most fun and loving person you'll ever meet.

In Dark Gold, I also really liked the fact that Alexandria did not accept the whole concept of Carpathians and Vampires immediately, and that she was in a denial state for quite a bit of time. This part of the plot was handled quite well by the author for most of it, as it was very real and very believable for a normal person to react the way she did when thrown into such a dangerous and foreign world.

What I didn't like:

Although Christine Feehan did handle the "denial-state" quiet well for the most part, it also caused me to dislike some parts of the story. First of all, Alexandria's denial-state dragged on for 3/4 of the story. First she wouldn't believe the existence of Carpathians and Vampires, then when she finally did, she wouldn't believe that she became a Carpathian, then when she finally did, she wouldn't believe the bond of lifemates in her new world. And the whole thing just dragged on and on as if she was just trying to find something to not believe in.

Now the second problem came when she finally was able to accept everything including her love with Aidan. One minute she was still denying that she was not human anymore and that she does not love him, and a minute later she turned around 180 degrees, accepted everything, and was willing to give him whatever he wants/needs...? I couldn't help but keep thinking from that point on towards the end of the story if I've missed part of the story. The transition was just not natural to me.

Conclusion:

Despite the problem with the heroine's personality of extremely repetitive denial and defiance (do we see a pattern here yet?) and a not-so-natural transition to the romance plot of the story, Dark Gold, the paranormal romance novel by Christine Feehan is a very good read that I would recommend to anyone who like the paranormal romance genre. As usual, I loved the hero in this story, and the plot definitely had me turning the pages. If it wasn't for the overdoing of the denial state and the unexpected (in a bad way) transition, I would have no doubt given this book a 5 Pink Hearts, and classified it as a must read.

Read my reviews of the other novels in the Carpathian/Dark series by Christine Feehan

Book Review - Dark Desire by Christine Feehan (Carpathian/Dark Series)

Dark Desire is the second installment of the Carpathian/Dark series written by Christine Feehan. This is a great sensual read, for those who likes intense fire-crackling emotion paranormal romance novels. And since I do, I'm giving it a 4 Pink Hearts rating.

Summary:

Jacques Dubrinsky was a once powerful Carpathian who was betrayed and handed over to the human butchers to be tortured and killed. After days of inhuman sadistic torturing, he had given up on life, and even welcomed death when they drove a stick into his chest and buried him in his cellar. During his seven years of imprisonment, the only thing that kept him alive was his mental connection with his lifemat across the ocean.

Shea O'Halloran was an American surgeon, who believed that she has a rare blood disease. For the past seven years, she heard summons of an unknown voice, felt the anguish of an unknown man across the sea. Drawn to the Carpathian Mountains, she found him, tortured, ravaged and mad, yet she felt compelled to save him.

Even though he believed that she was cruel enough to ignore his summon when he needed her the most, he recognized her as his lifemate, and he was determined to claim her as his own, but he was barely sane, and her courage and compassion was the only thing that could keep him from madness. She could see in his eyes his burning desire and unconditional love that she have so desired all her life, but she was afraid to have him become a part of her. And now, the betrayer, the vampire who handed Jacques over to the human butchers, was back, and he wanted Shea.

What I liked:

Dark Desire is very sensual and emotionally intense, and it kept me turning the pages. Although Jacques wasn't quiet sane towards the first half of the novel, he was, nevertheless, hot and yummy. And it was especially touching when Shea was under attack, and he tried to save her although he could barely move in his physical condition.

I also liked how Shea struggled mentally trying not to fall in love with her destined lifemate, because of her past. It made a lot of sense to me, and helped to intensify their relationship on the way. I couldn't help but smile from my heart when she finally accepted their love.

What I didn't like:

As with her previous Carpathian novel, Christine Feehan's heroine likes to defy the hero in whatever way she can regardless of the situation. Although Shea was not as annoying as Raven in Dark Prince, because she was less dumb, and a little more powerful, I was still annoyed by her. It would seem like Christine Feehan had a problem with distinguishing "independence" and pure "stupidity." Sometimes, it seemed that Shea defy and refuse Jacques' protection just for the sake of defying, nothing more. And that, I didn't appreciate.

Conclusion:

Although I do have a slight problem with Shea's stupid moves in the book, it is still a very nice read. Christine Feehan, although, in my opinion, not so good with developing her female characters, is extremely good at making the heros of her paranormal romance novels the man of any women's dreams... well, unless they really dislike alpha males. Once again, if you don't mind a slightly stupid women trying to be independent, Dark Desire is novel I would recommend to all paranormal romance novel fans out there.

Read my reviews on other Carpathian/Dark series novels by Christine Feehan

Book Review - Heart of the Dragon by Gena Showalter (Atlantis Series)

Heart of the Dragon is the first installment of Gena Showalter's Atlantis series that had just been reprinted by Harlequin in January 2009. Although it was imaginative to place mythical creatures together with the idea of the legendary island of Atlantis, this paranormal romance novel was somewhat of a disappointment; therefore, I'm only be giving it a 3 Pink Hearts.

Summary:

Shortly receiving a package from her brother, Grace Carlyle found herself lost in the Amazon Jungle trying to find him. But instead of finding him, she stumbled through the portal her brother intended to find into Atlantis, a world full of mystical creatures, and was captured by the sexy-beyond-words Darius.

Darius en Kragin, a shape-shifting dragon, was the Guardian of one of the portals to Atlantis. Having had his own family slaughtered by human "travelers," he was entrusted to kill any beings who dares cross the portal - intentionally or not - in order to protect their land. Over the centuries, he had lost his emotions, until he met Grace, and for the first time as a Guardian, he wasn't able to perform his duty. So instead, he brought her back to his castle and locked her up.

It wasn't long before she was able to escape back to her world, and although he knew he couldn't survive for an extended period of time there, he followed her, convincing himself it was for the sake of the secrecy of his land. Intended only to find her missing brother, together they found out the owner of her brother's company had joined forces with the Vampires in Atlantis to rip the Dragon's castle of wealth and to wipe out their entire race. Now with all that chaos, Darius must sort out his feelings for Grace, and try to save his land while keeping her.

A couple weeks ago, when I just finished Kresley Cole's Kiss of a Demon King and I was in between her books (again!), I saw readers on her board recommending Gena Showalter's Atlantis series. Having seen her "Author Talk" videos, the image of Gena Showalter being super funny was imprinted in my mind, and with some of the nice reviews on Amazon.com, I figured I'd try out the first book of the Atlantis series, Heart of the Dragon. (Oh, ok, I'll admit that another reason I chose to start with this one is because I really loved the cover. SEXY! ;P ) Unfortunately, it disappointed.

What I liked:

The prologue of the book was very well written with the tragic past of Darius and how he became a Guardian. It stirred up emotions that made me serious want a HEA ending for him because of what had happened to him in the past. It also kept the pages turning, because I was eager to see what kind of a mate Gena Showalter had planned for him.

The author also did a good job with Grace's reaction to the idea of her being in another world - Atlantis - when she first realized she was there. Grace actually did go through some sort of shock/denial period prior to her acceptance of where and what Darius was. This was a transition period that is commonly overlooked/missed by some authors, causing their story to range from "less believable than it should have been" to "utterly ridiculous." In the case of Grace, although her shock/denial period wasn't very long, it made sense because of her brother's line of work, and her believing the existence of mythical beings, to a certain degree.

What I didn't like:

Despite the strong prologue, the rest of the book did not live up to the expectations it set. First of all, although Grace's reaction to the world of Atlantis was well-written, her initial reaction to Darius was not logical at all. Ok, I understand that he was the sexiest man on Earth, but it did not make any sense whatsoever to be ogling him when he was ready to take a swing with his sword to end your life.

Secondly, although I could somewhat understand how Darius was interested in her - afterall, he felt emotions and senses for the first time in 300 years when he first saw her - I couldn't understand how that "interest" turned into "love." And the same goes for Grace. From the time they met until they declared (at least to themselves) that they love each other, all that was shown was their lust toward each other. Well, Grace did feel sorry for Darius when she learned of his past, but there was nothing beyond sympathy that was described. So I was taken by surprised when, 3/4-way through the book, Grace all of a sudden realized she was in love with him. I was like "Huh??? What??? How???" (I'm sure if it was possible, my pupils would have turned into question marks or something). It's not that I have any problem with a couple lusting for each other, and then eventually loving each other, but there must be some valid turning point in between. Unfortunately, that turning point was not present in Gena Showalter's Heart of the Dragon.

The whole story was also kind of flat in my opinion. There were several places that could have been more exciting and could have made the book more of a page turner. Unfortunately, the writing style could not put me on the edge of my seat, and, other than the prologue, there was no particular scene where I couldn't put down the book to do something else. Although, for the record, I did finish the book in two days, when I was off and at home with nothing else to do, I never hesitated to put it down for a break or to do something else entirely different.

Conclusion:

Unfortunately, Heart of the Dragon by Gena Showalter is not a paranormal romance novel that I would recommend if you're choosing among a variety of available books. It certainly did not make it to my "Must Read" list. I would admit that since it was the first book I've read by her, it certainly didn't give me the best impression; however, this will not be the last book I'll be reading from her. I do plan to try her Lords of the Underworld series, since I've heard it was better. So, as of now, I'll be putting the Atlantis series on indefinite hold on my reading list, and when I've no more books to read, I might just get back to it and give it a second chance.

Book Review - The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox

The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox is a witty, funny, paranormal romance comedy that will keep you awake all night disturbing your neighbor, because you're too busy laughing your ass off. This was the first paranormal romance that I've picked up one day in the supermarket, and it has proved itself to be well worth 5 Pink Hearts in my Romance Novels Review blog.

One minute, Lizzie Brown, a pre-school teacher, was worrying about being late to her 30th birthday dinner, and the next minute, she was thrown into her own bathroom by her biological grandmother, who she just met 30 seconds ago, with a demon emerging from her toilet trying to kill her. As her new biker witch grandmother was trying to fend off the demon by throwing magic spells from her Smucker's jars, she easily killed off the demon without knowing what she was doing. The next thing she knew, she was pronounced a Demon Slayer (by heritage), and on the back of her grandmother's Harley heading off to a whole gang of crazy biker witches for training.

On the way to Memphis for training, Lizzie and her grandmother were attacked and were rescued by Dimitri Kallinikos, a very VERY yummy griffin shape-shifter, who claims to be her protector. Within a couple hours, everything Lizzie knew about what life was were flipped upside-down and inside-out, lost everything she possessed, and where left to face the Red Skulls, the biker witch coven her grandmother belonged to, a whole new life to adapt to and a bunch of responsibilities she never knew she had. Oh, did we mention that her beloved dog, Pirate, can now talk, and her grandmother was suspected to have killed her biological mother?

The Accidental Demon Slayer was a lot of fun to read, as we go on this unexpected and hilarious adventure with Lizzie and see her develop from an average everyday girl to a brave Demon Slayer, who - well, perhaps still doesn't quite know what she was doing - saved the day, and everybody else.

Written in the first person POV, the story cuts right into action in the very first page, and not for even one paragraph after that does the action slow until you reach the very last word in the novel. Lizzie's character was also developed extremely well as we see her transformation throughout the book, both physically and mentally, and the reader could definitely feel her emotions and everything she went through just as though you were going through it yourself. And although she makes some very stupid mistakes throughout the story, but there is never a time you'd thought her "dumb," because, in a situation like hers, anyone will make the same stupid choices.

Dimitri, as I've mentioned was a very yummy griffin love interest for Lizzie, who played a big role in pushing the story forward. He had his flaws (ie. lying to Lizzie to get his way), but every bit of it was redeemed by his love towards her in the end of the story. Plus, his reason for lying wasn't unforgivable at all.

The only complain that I might have for this book is that the "romance" part was a little on the light side. Don't get me wrong, Angie Fox did a great job in convincing the readers the two fell in love, but the paranormal "action" dominated most of the story rather than the mushy, lovey-dovey feelings they had for each other. However, the story plot definitely made up for that 150%.

Although I normal very much dislike the whole idea of "Slayers," the way it was presented, Angie Fox really did it for me. All in all, this book is definitely categorized as one of my favorite paranormal romance novels, and I would gladly recommend it to anyone who would like a good laugh with tons of paranormal action. I cannot wait until the sequel The Dangerous Book of Demon Slayers comes out in April.

A word of caution: Allocate enough free time to finish the novel at one go. Otherwise, you'd either find yourself deprived of sleep or ruin any plans you had for the day once you open this book.