Hiya peeps, we have Angel Martinez & Bellora Quinn popping in with their tour for their new release Kellen’s Awakening, we have a great post from Bellora, we have a great excerpt, a fantastic giveaway and Lisa’s review, so enjoy the poat and click that giveaway link <3 ~Pixie~
Kellen’s Awakening
(AURA 03)
by
Angel Martinez & Bellora Quinn
The staff at AURA has had a busy summer. Between chronic understaffing, dealing with warring goblin factions and an unusual number of hazardous Events, everyone is overworked. Sinistrus the incubus, newly hired as an AURA medic, actually enjoys his busy new life of responsible employee and faithful lover to his gorgeous police sergeant, Ness the centaur. Life would be perfect, except for a niggling suspicion about a colleague. Everyone else seems to disagree, but Sin’s certain something’s not right with that pixie.
Kellen, a pixie crossover, loves his job working in AURA medical, even if he is something of an outsider. His job and the friends he manages to make are happy spots in an otherwise dark and secretive life. As the rest of AURA tries to discover the root of the inexplicable rise in violence and large scale Events, Kellen fights to preserve his own life and what dignity he has left.
These two unlikely heroes must put their differences aside and navigate tragedy and ever-escalating disaster together in order to stop the sinister forces that hold Kellen in thrall.
Blurb: The staff at AURA has had a busy summer. Between chronic understaffing, dealing with warring goblin factions and an unusual number of hazardous Events, everyone is overworked. Sinistrus the incubus, newly hired as an AURA medic, actually enjoys his busy new life of responsible employee and faithful lover to his gorgeous police sergeant, Ness the centaur. Life would be perfect, except for a niggling suspicion about a colleague. Everyone else seems to disagree, but Sin’s certain something’s not right with that pixie.
Kellen, a pixie crossover, loves his job working in AURA medical, even if he is something of an outsider. His job and the friends he manages to make are happy spots in an otherwise dark and secretive life. As the rest of AURA tries to discover the root of the inexplicable rise in violence and large scale Events, Kellen fights to preserve his own life and what dignity he has left.
These two unlikely heroes must put their differences aside and navigate tragedy and ever-escalating disaster together in order to stop the sinister forces that hold Kellen in thrall.
Review:Each book in the AURA collection features a different romantic couple. To enjoy the overall story arc and crossover characters, I would recommend reading the series in sequential order.
This series has so many different types of paranormals in it that makes it absolutely unique to me. The worlds so fascinating and beautiful even though there are some dark spots to it. This world was created because of an accident that had happened at Berkley. It made our world merge with a world of magic and paranormal beings. It changed the way of life for everyone involved.
There are also a lot of different types of emotions put into this story and I found that it was enticing. Although there are some parts that I did not care for at all.
Ness is in love with Sin, but because Sin needs to feed on a female, he gives him what he needs. However it doesn’t make him like it. Now for me I didn’t really see the need for this in the book. It brought it down for me, because who wants a character to have to sleep with a female when we are all for men on men action.
Ness is a centaur but not like any one would know. He doesn’t act like the others and is damn sweet that you want to grab him and hug him. Now Sin is sad sometimes knowing that his feedings doesn’t make Ness feel good. However he truly loves Ness and shows it in other ways.
Then there is Kellen a cute little pixie that is being forced to serve a coven. A coven that wants to use his magic for evil. Now I must admit that I do like Kellen, Sin and Ness, but the way this book ended ruined the whole thing for me. I want Ness back with Sin and if you want Kellen then add him. Now I won’t go into detail because it will give the story away, but let’s just say it sucked.
I was happy with the way the book started but then it went downhill for me. So much so that I think I will skip the next book. It pissed me off but don’t get me wrong Kellen is a sweetie. I just didn’t like the twist that this book had at all. I do hope that in the next story they bring Ness back somehow. I absolutely hated this book but I suppose since it kept my attention I must read the next book.
It did its job though, caught my attention and kept me wanting for more of it.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Title: Flax’s Pursuit Series: AURA, #2 Author: Angel Martinez, Bellora Quinn Genre: Paranormal / Ménage / Urban Fantasy Length: Novel (255 pages) Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing (July 14th 2015) Early Download Available June 16th 2015 Heat Level: Moderate Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts Blurb: A murderer haunts the city, turning the unwary to stone. Between hunting this evil and corralling new arrivals, Flax struggles to guard both his life and his heart.
Quinn and Valerian have come through the trials of facing an undead lich queen and the perils of falling in love. Now they work to restore AURA to its previous strength and efficiency while navigating their new life with each other. Fortunately, they’re not in this alone.
Kai Hiltas has taken over as the head of the research department at AURA and has become everyone’s favorite workaholic, everyone except his lover Tenzin, who has had enough of his late nights and broken promises. As Kai tries to salvage his relationship, he finds a teacher for Quinn, who also happens to be one of Valerian’s new officers, Flax Wolfheart, a sexy elf with trouble written all over him.
Flax has motives beyond simply teaching Quinn to control his magic. He’s trying to recover from his own losses and failures, but he has a plan. The two newest elvish crossovers, Ash and Sage, are sizzling hot and might even like him. With them as backup as he tracks a deadly stone mage and figures out how to teach Quinn, Flax sees his chance to impress Val and snag a place by his captain’s side.
On the hunt for both danger and redemption, Flax’s pursuit leads him ultimately down trails he never expected.
Review:This book is part of a series and should be read in order.
This book picks up a little after the last. Since then Valerian has taken on the Captaincy spot that was left open after the prior events. Quinn has started working on a freelance basis for the AURA research department. Valerian and Quinn are now living full-time together as the bonded pair they are. The fire between them has not cooled down and they are still sex as hell together.
But this story is not only about Valerian and Quinn. There is also the Kai and his Tenzin having issues with their bonding. As an extra bonus there is the story of Flax, an elf hunter for AURA who finds his matches in two elf newcomers to Earth. Throughout all the relationships is the ongoing issue of someone with the power to turn people into stone. To say the least, a hell of a lot goes on.
There are the interconnecting relationships, not just the romantic but also the friendships that have developed. Even as they hunt for the person turning people into stone, the emotional bonds of the three romantic relationships are highlighted and explored.
Kai and Tenzin experience bumps in their bonding.
As Kai works himself to the bone, he has put a strain on his relationship. Instead of putting Tenzin first, he has focused on work. And Tenzin takes drastic measures. Now Kai has to learn a different way of balancing his work and personal life.
Meanwhile, Flax has issues of his own. When he first landed in the human world he did not handle it well. Alone he turned to drugs and nearly lost himself. Now working as an officer for AURA he hunts those bent on causing problems. When he is blackmailed into training Quinn, he does with the wrong ideas that nearly backfire on him.
It isn’t until Ash and Sage come through an event that he learns there may be something else out there for him. And let me tell you these three are smoking hot together.
The descriptions and dialogue are rich and lushly descriptive. Even with so much going on with the different relationship that are already established and the new one taking place I did not find myself getting lost. Everything was easy to follow.
I loved the first book and I loved this one too. The concept is different, interesting, and it’s not one-dimensional. Because of that I have been drawn into this world the authors have created. I enjoy the different characters and their unique traits.
This series is turning out to be an awesome urban fantasy and I cannot wait to see what happens next.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Title: Quinn’s Gambit Series: AURA, #1 Author: Angel Martinez, Bellora Quinn Genre: Paranormal / Fantasy & Fairytales Length: Novel (208 pages) Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing (March 6th, 2015) Early Download February 6th 2015 Heat Level: Moderate Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts Blurb: An unregistered human con wizard and a duty-bound, straight-laced elf cop. As New York explodes with dangerous creatures, their passion goes nuclear.
After a terrible magical accident at Berkeley created unpredictable holes between realities, all manner of non-human creatures started popping into our world. These displacements, called Random Anomalous Reality Events or RARE, have taken magic out of fiction and relocated it firmly in reality, resulting in a great deal of chaos and confusion.
Displaced elf Valerian works with AURA, the Agency of Unnatural Resettlement and Assimilation, to intercept these beings as they appear in the human world, helping the peaceful ones and subduing the violent, malevolent ones. It’s good, satisfying work, and Val would be happy if he wasn’t so lonely.
Quinten is a young mage just trying to get by, but New York isn’t the easiest city to make a living in. If his methods are sometimes morally dubious, his heart is still in the right place. Of course, for Quinn, the right place means firmly locked away, protected at all costs. Living by his wits and sometimes magically induced luck, he works as a ‘freelance magic user’, or unregistered mage and small-time con, according to the authorities.
The last thing Quinn wants is to draw the cops’ attention, but when an Event happens right on top of him, he’s forced to turn to AURA for help. Valerian isn’t at all what he’d expected in an AURA cop, and he certainly wasn’t expecting to join forces with the sexy elf, a snarky drow, and a bitter incubus, when certain individuals in power try to stop the RARE by any means necessary.
Things are not all what they seem at AURA headquarters, and a greater evil lurks at the top than anyone could have imagined.
Review: This is book one in the AURA series.
Quinten is a small time con. It’s not the best living but he does what he must to survive. Quinn has not had the easiest life. Becoming the ward of the state at a young age he finally run away. On the streets he met a man who taught him how to pickpocket and use magic.
When Quinn made a mistake, the man turned on him, raped him, and allowed others to do the same for a price. This has led Quinn to keep people out and close himself off.
Valerian is a misplaced elf who was pulled through one of the events. The human world is strange to him and also lonely. But he has made a life for himself as an AURA officer.
When he first meets Quinn, he is immediately drawn to him. However, Quinn and his issues make it hard for Val to get close to him. Than all hell breaks, loose and it’s a matter of finding the will to stay alive.
The push and pull Quinn had going on with Val was annoying at times, but also when it was explained about his past it also becomes more understandable. I really felt bad for Val. He is not human, so many things humans just for granted he just does not understand. However once they do finally get their act together, they are pretty intense and sensual together.
The world that was created is very lush and well described. There are so many amazing beings and creatures. The MCs as well as the secondary characters are well thought out. The story was fast paced and kept my attention. The interactions between all the characters were interesting at times and pretty funny at others.
There was a lot of information given about the people and the world, but it was never too much to take away from the story and bog it down. Something I very much appreciated.
Overall, this was a very entertaining book. I enjoyed the world created and look forward to reading more about it. Since this is billed as a series, I cannot wait for the next book.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Title: Kellen’s Awakening
Title: Flax’s Pursuit
Title: Quinn’s Gambit