Author Spotlight/ Book Spotlight: Ashlynne Laynne

I'm glad to say that today we are featuring author Ashlynne Laynne and her book The Progeny! Be sure to buy your copy of The Progeny today! Without further ado, I give you Ashlynne Laynne.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m married and the mother of one teenage son. I’ve worked full time for a large corporation for fourteen years. I love to cook, read and spend time with my husband and son. My favorite shows are Family Guy, Secret Circle and any Lifetime Movie.

When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?

My first memory of writing was placing third in an Optimist Oratorical Contest on Freedom in America when I was eight. I wrote poetry in my rebellious teenage years. The first novel I ever wrote is unpublished but I’m working on it and hope to release it in the future.

How did you choose the genre you write in?

I’ve loved the horror movie genre since I was very young. In fact, Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. I love vampires and witches so I incorporated my two fantasy loves into one project.

Do you work with an outline, or just write?

I start with a loose outline of how the project starts and ends. This rarely holds up because I could dream a scene or storyline that might change another part of the book. I’m finding my characters are rebelling against my “plotting” as of late.

Can you tell us about your upcoming book?

My upcoming book is Blood Bonds. It’s the sequel to The Progeny and is the continuation of Ascher and Shauna’s story.

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?

I’m guilty of injecting small traits of myself into my characters. Shauna has my fear of heights, my love of the color pink, a fierce sense of loyalty and some of her thoughts mirror mine exactly. Ascher has my stubborn streak and incidentally his name is similar to my pen name. I definitely borrow from some of my sexual experiences and emotions for the love scenes.

How did you come up with the title?

The definition of a progeny is a child, an offspring or descendant. Ascher is a descendant of a prestigious vampire clan and a human. I thought The Progeny would be a cool title to describe him. As I wrote the story, I realized that Shauna was also a progeny. I can’t say much more without spoiling a couple of story points.

Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?

“I wish I could hug each and every one of you. You spend your hard earned money in the hopes of being entertained and escaping life for just a little while. I’m so thrilled that you love Ascher and Shauna as much as I do. I hope you are as happy with Blood Bonds and continue on this journey with me. I can hardly wait to bring you the next installment of Shauna and Ascher’s story.”

Praise for THE PROGENY

http://fallenangelreviews.com/2012/February/teresa-theprogeny.htm

Fallen Angel Reviews

http://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/reviewsashlynnelaynn.htm

Paranormal Romance Guild

The Progeny by Ashlynne Laynne (Book One of The Progeny Series)  

 Publisher: Novel Concept Publishing

 Release Date: February 15, 2012

 Genre: Paranormal Romance

 The Progeny Blurb

“No fate other than the one I choose.” The timeless creed, and tattoo, bore by the Rousseau’s— a vampire clan with the purest bloodline of any vampire family. Out of this clandestine group came one who was different, yet the same: Ascher - a half-bloodling— half- human, half vampire.

             Ascher questions the purpose for his existence and which world he truly belongs to: the human world or the vampire world. Two months from sealing to Ursula— a prearranged union to a woman he abhors — he’s at his wit’s end. He knows if he calls off the sealing, the Romanian clan will strike with deadly force, but he cannot see eternity with a cold empty shell of a woman like Ursula.

             Just when he thought life was complicated enough, he meets Shauna— a beautiful, bi-racial human Wiccan — and immediately develops an unshakable attraction to her. She makes him feel alive and vital despite his origins and Ascher makes a decision that turns his immortal world upside down.

Thank you so much Ashlynne, for being here today.

All My Best,

Kayla 

Review: Motor City Mage by Cindy Spencer Pape

Title: Motor City Mage
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Carina Press
Publication Date: March 12, 2012
ISBN: 9781426893384
Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance
Series: Urban Arcana Book 4


The Blurb:



As a cop who keeps paranormals in line, Des has a hard time trusting them. So why does he want the beautiful werewolf Lana more than his next breath? She's mouthy, flamboyant and distractingly sexy-not the type of woman for a reserved mage like him. Lana admires Des, but she can't be with someone who won't take her seriously, no matter how much she'd love to rip off his dress shirt.


When a dangerous new drug shows up in Detroit, Des must locate the source, and Lana is determined to help. But their plan goes awry, trapping them in a demon dimension. To return home, Lana and Des must flee through a series of unpredictable alternate realities, fighting enemies while trying to shut down the drug trade. But if they're going to survive, they'll have to rely on each other, even though getting closer will add fuel to a fire that's already burning out of control...



My Take:


Lana and Des clearly have some history, that starting the series with book four, I missed out on, but it's okay I was able to follow along quite nicely. Des is a Wyndewin (a mage) that works for The Legion a secret government type organization that helps regulate the different species of populace in the world. Lana is a werewolf who is also friends/bicker partner to Des, their friends are friends/husbands/brothers etc and their little group is a mismatch of all different types of species. Fae, Werewolf, Mage, etc. The Legion isn't happy about because it's old fashioned in it's thinking that the different species shouldn't associate with one another so Des' work is constantly on his ass about his relations with the other species. 


Lana and Des get together to try and stop the making and distribution of a new drug called Demon's Dust and in the process come in contact with a Demon that let's Des know that his boss at The Legion is involved with Malen, an evil demon in the processing and distribution of this new drug. The three of them team up to take out Malen, but the plan backfires and all three are shoved through a portal that takes them to Malen's demon world where they are thrown in a dungeon. 


Then ensues the escape attempt and then following that their attempt to get back to their own world using a combination of portals that will hop them to different worlds in the process. It's the getting to these portals that most of the story takes place and then of course there's the big show down once they return home because Des discovered that his boss is telling The Legion that it's Des that's involved with the Demons, after all what's to stop him from dealing with them when he already deals with many other species. The whole family, blood and not, set out to destroy Des' boss and Malen in hopes of getting proof of Des' innocence.


My Thoughts:


As a new reader coming into the series in book four, I didn't have a hard time following along with the story because the author tries to fill you in. My problem with it was that at times the author gave so much information regarding all the past characters that I really thought I was missing something and found myself having a hard time following who was who with it, which I'm sure, is the opposite of the author's intent. I think it would have been easier to follow if I was given tiny tidbits to get me through. That being said, I was still able to read the story fine.


I felt as though the relationship between Lana and Des progressed waaaay too fast. Now this may be in part (I'm thinking it's probably so, but am not sure) due to the fact that the tension in their relationship probably started in earlier books in the series so me, coming into this series in book four, missed out on all the "foreplay" so to speak. Which the sexual tension leading up to the first sexual encounter between hero and heroine, is one of my favorite parts to read in a romance novel, so I found it to be a bit disappointing. It just felt like one minute they're bickering and the next they're going at it on her couch. Speaking of foreplay...all of the love scenes severely lacked it and as such, for me, the love scenes fell kind of flat. His manly parts are out and inside her before he even puts his mouth to her breasts half the time and that's really the extent of the love scenes. They're too short and lacking in heat for my taste. I'm all for reading a quickie in a story, but not every time they have sex. It needs to be mixed up etc. 


The characters both Lana, Des, and their whole slew of friends and family, are very fun and I'm intrigued enough to pick up the first three books to see the other's relationships unfold, just so I can revisit these characters. 


The one thing that bothered me character wise was Lana's attempts at movie humor. I just felt like her jokes fell flat to me and taking those bits out wouldn't have changed the way I see Lana one way or the other. It's like they were added in as an afterthought. 


I love that both Lana and Des complement each other in their roles, taking turns being alpha/submissive to satisfy both their needs for control and I love Des' anger every time Lana tries to take things into her own hands to protect him. It shows just how much he cares for her and doesn't want her to get hurt. 


I'd like to take a moment and applaud the author on her world building. The worlds are so detail oriented without info dumping, she weaves the descriptions into the story effortlessly and makes me wish their was such a world like this and at the very least, makes me want to revisit this world she created over and over again.


Finally, I absolutely LOVED the ending. Even though I hadn't read the earlier books, it was really awesome to be able to see both Des and Lana, as well as their loved ones from previous books, finally get their happily ever after in full. It was cute, sweet, and touching.


I very much look forward to reading more of Ms. Pape's work.


My Rating:


4/5 Lattes





All My Best,


Kayla

Review: Love's Prophecy by Brenda Dyer

Publication Date: January 21, 2012
Publisher: Self
ISBN: B00702YWFO
Genre: Paranormal Romance

The Blurb:

Dark warriors of might...

Mel is a vampire warrior sworn to hunt and kill demons in the dark streets of Vancouver. But he's burdened with a new assignment: find the meaning behind the Vampire Prophecy. Having no faith in the gods and their empty words, he believes there's no truth to the ancient legend until he meets Breeana, a human woman who bears the mark of the prophecy and resembles the mysterious woman haunting his dreams. When a vengeful demon spies Breeana in his arms, she is marked for death. He must take her from the world she knows until he can eliminate the threat. But the real danger is the role Breeana must play in fulfilling the prophecy and the intense feelings she brings out in him. Mel is forced to choose between his obligations to his kind, the world, and the woman he loves. Does he have the courage to let the one woman who could heal his wounded heart and soul go, or will he risk her life and bind her to him for all eternity?

Small warriors of light...

Veterinarian, Dr. Breeana Spencer yearns for love and companionship, but the disappointment of failed relationships has left her bitter. She now finds solace in romance novels. But when she meets a mysterious stranger, she's drawn to him by a connection so forceful it shatters all reason, leaving her incapable of resisting him. Yet there's more to him than smoldering good looks and a rock-hard body. As she's drawn deeper into his danger-filled world, she learns she's part of an ancient vampire legend. Breeana fears her future is no longer hers and will not include Mel. As their enemies close in, desperate to destroy them both, she must fight to convince Mel her place is at his side. A  life-altering choice is before her—one that will take all her courage and love to make. 

My Take:

Brenda Dyer writes with a fresh voice and an interesting and original take on vampires as we know them, which is extremely hard to do with so many vampire novels out there for sale nowadays. The pacing in this story will keep you turning each page and the sexual chemistry between Breeana and Mel is hot hot hot. 

Mel has a very sad and painful past that only adds to his overall character arc and you can really see him grow as a "person" throughout the story. Breeana was his anchor, she's strong, accepting, kind, and she loves to have fun and mess around.

There is a lot of action in the beginning and end of the story right down to the final battle which I loved, however toward the middle of the story the action died down a bit and I wish there had been more to it than just Mel and Breeana's relationship (even though that in itself is great) Their relationship did keep me turning the pages but I just wished there was more action leading up to the final battle even if it meant going into the POV of another character. Also at times, while the playfulness between Mel and Breeana was cute, it did feel a little overboard and bordered on a little too lovey-dovey and sometimes felt out of place such as in an emotional scene.

Overall though I don't feel that those couple complaints in the paragraph above don't outweigh the many attributes of the story. The relationships between Kal and Mel as "roommates" is great and fun, you can tell they're really friends and even "brothers." I love that Breeana won't take no as an answer from Mel, she refuses to be a pushover which is great because it doesn't let Mel's "alphaness" get too out of hand and I find that I can't wait to read the next installment when it's available. Brenda Dyer is definitely an author to watch out for and I look forward to reading more of her work. 

Also I want to make a note that this book is self-published and wanted to applaud the author as aside from a few typos (honestly less than I see from many big-named publishers) I didn't feel as though I were reading something self-published. The formatting was great, the flow was great and the whole story was very professionally done, which having seen many self-published disasters, was very refreshing. Bravo to you Brenda Dyer.

My Rating:

4/5 Lattes

All My Best,

Kayla

Review: Deliver me from Darkness by Tes Hilaire

Author: Tes Hilaire

Published By: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Publication Date:  February 1, 2012

ISBN: 9781402264344

Blurb:

Roland once was a Paladin, a warrior gifted with special powers to protect mankind in its earliest days. For hundreds of years he fought alongside his kinsmen against underworld fiends until the unthinkable happened: he was turned by a vampire. Forsaken by his brothers and fighting new violent instincts, Roland believes his soul lost. But then his best friend Logan delivers a young woman for protection. She turns out to be a Lost Paladin -- and the only female Paladin left alive. She’s also Roland’s bond-mate.



Karissa Donovan knows the difference between good and evil, and the sexy-as-hell vampire holding her prisoner is certainly not good. Sure, he might not have sucked her dry—yet,  but that doesn’t mean she trusts him. But circumstances force Karissa to put her life in Roland’s hands. With each new danger they face, and each subsequent sacrifice he makes for her, she realizes that the question was never a matter of her trusting him, but of convincing him to trust in the integrity of a soul that he’d never truly lost.

My Take:

I found this to be a fresh and interesting take on Vampires and "Angels" (The Paladins are no longer angels but they used to be) and as I love novels with darker themes and tortured hero’s this particular story was right up my alley. Thanks to Net Galley and Sourcebooks for allowing me the opportunity to review this novel.

I found Karissa and Roland to be a good match together, and you could feel the emotion on the page. Poor Karissa has had a lot to deal with and take in in a short period of time, but she handles it well, and while I’m not usually a fan of temper tantrums, I found the results of Karissa’s initial tantrum and being held hostage by someone who’s protecting her (though she doesn’t believe that) to be amusing. Roland knows Karissa is meant for him but he resists as much as he can knowing that for him, he found his mate too late having fallen from the graces of his old family through no fault of his own. He believes himself to be evil, but his actions prove the opposite and it takes Karissa to prove that to him.

Spoiler Alert: Read at your own risk.

Roland struggles with the need to save Karissa’s life because the only way to do so was to change her into a vampire against her knowledge and he doesn’t want to doom her to a life of darkness, but with encouragement from his “brothers” he does so, realizing they’re right and that he can’t let her die. I liked that he struggled with doing it without her permission, but  what bothered me was Karissa’s lack of reaction to it. She just accepted it with no reaction really. To me it just read like, "Oh I woke up and now I’m a vampire. *shrug.* Okay, fine by me." I just wanted to see more to it, even if it was just her happiness at knowing that she gets to spend her life with her mate. I guess I felt this could have been an extremely emotional scene even with everything going on around them, and for me it was lacking.

Otherwise, I very much enjoyed the story and look forward to future books of the Paladin Warriors. It’s nice to read something with a different take on the paranormal stereotypes.

My Rating:

4.5/5 “Paladin” Lattes.

All My Best,

Kayla

Review: Blood Rage by Tory Michaels

Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Publication Date: February 7, 2012
Available on Amazon, Bookstrand, All Romance E-books, and Evernight Publishing
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Tory Michaels has created an amazing world and put some interesting twists on vampires as we know them, as well as other non-human species. I very much enjoyed having the opportunity to read this story and am personally looking forward to the release of book 2 in March.

Here's the blurb:

For eighty years since the Great Awakening, humans and non-humans have lived in relative peace together. The peace is threatened when three bodies turn up less than a mile from the Bureau of Non-Human Affairs in Tampa, all bearing the signature of vampires who once terrorized Europe.

The Bureau’s chief liaison to the vampires, Dara MacKechnie, learns that the Tampa victims are not alone when her ex-lover, and head of the vampire’s Great Council, Anthony Caldwell comes calling.

The pair discovers the lie that separated them two centuries ago only banked their passion, not extinguished it. Dara must decide whether she can trust Anthony with her heart a second time as they try to head off the war that threatens all they hold dear.

I have to say that I loved the characters and the dark tone of the whole novel. Anthony and Dara together make for a wonderful couple. Anthony is sinfully delicious and alpha. Dara is strong and loyal to her family. 

The author rights in a way that grabs your attention so that you can't put the story down, I finished the entire book in one day (and got absolutely nothing done mind you) I just didn't want to stop reading and I am honestly sad that the story is over simply because I wish to read more about these two characters that I enjoyed so much. 

The non-humans live openly in the world and have partnered with the government in order to keep things peaceful between all races, but their is a specific, copycat group, determined to undermine everything that Dara and Michael had worked towards to maintain a peace between all species. On the verge of an all out war, and forced to face a past that devastated her, Dara and Anthony team together to put an stop to the group and end up reigniting the flame of desire between the two of them that never truly disappeared when Dara walked out on Anthony two centuries ago. 

The ending, albeit a happy one that helped end the story on a lighter note than the tone of the whole novel, felt a tad rushed to me, but overall I am happy with how Anthony and Dara were able to resolve their issues and end up with their HEA. They truly are a couple that was meant to be together.

This is a must read and I am very much looking forward to more of Tory Michael's works particularly in the Dream Walker War Series.

My Rating: 4/5 Lattes

All My Best,

Kayla