Review - Dangerous Shift by Jill James

Title: Dangerous Shift
Author: Jill James
Publisher: Jill James
Publication Date: July 31, 2012
Length: 195 Pages 
Genre: Shapeshifter Romantic Suspense
Heat Level: Spicy


Blurb:  

HE IS MR. BY-THE-BOOK, WITH A SECRET...
Shapeshifters live among us but remain unknown to most people except for the highest echelons of law enforcement, the military, science, and medical fields—until now.

SHE IS A LOOSE CANNON WITH AN ATTITUDE...
When a fatal virus strikes Shapeshifters all over the West coast, including members of the Shapeshifter Task Force in San Laura, California, reinforcements are called in from around the United States. 

TOGETHER, THEY JUST MIGHT CATCH A KILLER.
Lt. Nikki Hill of Missouri comes to San Laura and is partnered up with Lt. Sean Evans. They quickly butt heads on everything from proper police procedures to the moral ethics of euthanasia. They can’t seem to get a lead on the serial killer even as members of their own families are stricken with the virus. In their grief they turn to each other and hope they have time to discover if their relationship stands a chance or if they might just be the next victims of the species extinction disease.

My Review:  

Dangerous Shift by Jill James is based on a unique and interesting premise; what if shapeshifters were real, had different dna and could shift into different genders without having to shift into an animal form.  How would humanity deal with that in general and specifically when fear and anger turn into bigotry?  With interesting characters, a touch of romance and enough suspense and action to keep the story moving, Ms. James provided a fascinating tale. 

Sean Evans, secretly a mixed blood shapeshifter, is a no nonsense cop working the toughest case of his life.  A deadly virus has been attacking the West coast and has almost decimated his special task force.  Forced to ask for additional shapeshifter help, Sean in unprepared for the officer he's sent.  She's tall, beautiful and his complete opposite.  Trying to make the best of the situation, he never planned on his new partner being his  "Mari Kei" or pure mate.  He also hadn't planned on having to deal with her own version of "anti-normal" bias.

Nikki Hill, a tall, leggy shapeshifter from the Mid-West, was pleased to be picked to join the special task force in California dealing with the deadly virus attacking her kind.  One of the youngest Lieutenants on the force, she's determined to solve the case and get back to her life at home.  She never planned on falling for her boss or on discovering he's a mixed-blood shapshifter; he's half human.  Something most shapeshifters didn't know could exist and that most would look down on.  

As Sean and Nikki investigate this new terrible disease, they discover it's specifically being target to just their kind.  Unable to discover how the disease is being delivered or how the targets are being selected; the case becomes more complicated and the number of death's keep rising.  Just when it looks like there's no hope, a member of Nikki's family becomes infected and is able to give provide them with a clue.

Will Sean and Nikki be able to stop the killer before another shapeshifter becomes a victim?  What will happen when one of them becomes infected?  You'll have to read Dangerous Shift to find out.  

My Rating:  3 out of 5 Stars 

Virtual Review Tour - Star Crossed by Kele Moon

Hello and Welcome to my stop on Kele Moon's Virtual Book Review Tour for Star Crossed (Battered Hearts, Book 2).  Please make sure to leave a comment or question below for Kele as she will be awarding a $25 Amazon Gift Card to one random commenter during her tour.  The more often you comment, the better your chance to win. You can follow her tour here and read my review here.  

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Star Crossed (Battered Hearts Book 2)

by Kele Moon

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BLURB:

Heavyweight UFC fighter, Romeo Wellings comes from the hard streets of New York where his family ties to the mafia cause him nothing but pain. His life takes a surprising detour when he crosses paths with the twin sister of his long time enemy. After a steamy one-night stand, he faces the fight of his life, but it’s not in the cage. The secret relationship that blooms between Romeo and his real life Juliet has him battling his family and a dark past rather than let her go.

The only lawyer in her hometown of Garnet, Jules Conner is also a volunteer Sheriff’s deputy and co-owner of a successful MMA training center. Strong and dependable, Jules is always there for those who need her. Until one forbidden night in Las Vegas with Romeo leaves her feeling so alive she can’t stop reaching out to the sexy, bad boy of MMA, even knowing the forbidden love affair could jeopardize everything.

As the tide rises against them and the people they love work at keeping them apart, Romeo and Jules hold onto a dream for a better life together and vow to go down fighting rather than accept a tragic ending.

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EXCERPT:

Jules reached into her purse to pull out a business card and an expensive gold pen. She laughed to herself, shaking her head as she wrote on the back of the card. “If you would’ve told me yesterday I’d be buying Romeo Wellings dinner, I’d have called you crazy. Things change faster than I can keep up with sometimes.”

Romeo had to agree. The very last thing he expected to be doing on his remaining night in Las Vegas was having dinner with Wyatt Conner’s sister. He’d spent a good deal of time hating the bastard. The irony wasn’t lost on him, and his smile was wide as he took Jules’s card when she offered it. He stared at her cell number on the back.

“I’m not your enemy.” Romeo lifted his gaze to hers and studied her beautiful face under the bright Nevada sun. “Juliet.”

She gasped in surprise, her eyes growing wide. “I don’t—” She floundered. Her cheeks flushed pink as she narrowed icy eyes at him. “How?”

“That’s what Jules is short for, isn’t it?” he asked simply, refusing to look away. “Juliet.”

“I go by Jules,” she said rather than rise to the bait. For a brief moment it looked like she might reach over and snatch the card back. Her guard was obviously up, but instead of lashing out and rescinding the offer, she looked to his left hand that was wrapped in a white gauze bandage and sighed in defeat. “I’ll see ya at eight, Wellings.”

“I go by Romeo.”

“Fine.” Jules took a deep breath, her cheeks more flushed than ever. “Then eight o’clock, Romeo.”

He did it then, took one long, hard look of Jules Conner standing there in formfitting jeans that clung to her long legs like a second skin. It took everything he had not to adjust himself, because eyeing her made his jeans tighter than usual.

Romeo gave her a devious smile. With a voice low and husky with anticipation, he said, “I’ll look forward to it.”

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

A freckle-faced redhead born and raised in Hawaii, Kele Moon has always been a bit of a sore thumb and has come to enjoy the novelty of it. She thrives on pushing the envelope and finding ways to make the impossible work in her story telling. With a mad passion for romance, she adores the art of falling in love. The only rules she believes in is that, in love, there are no rules and true love knows no bounds.

So obsessed is she with the beauty of romance and the novelty of creating it, she’s lost in her own wonder world most of the time. Thankfully she married her own dark, handsome, brooding hero who has infinite patience for her airy ways and attempts to keep her grounded. When she leaves her keys in the refrigerator or her cell phone in the oven, he’s usually there to save her from herself. The two of them now reside in Florida with their three beautiful children, who make their lives both fun and challenging in equal parts—they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Email: kelemoon@me.com

Website: http://www.kelemoon.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kele_Moon

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kelemoon

Please don't forget to leave a comment or question for Kele below in order to enter her contest.  You can follow her tour here.  

Review - Star Crossed (Battered Hearts, Book 2) by Kele Moon

Title:Star Crossed
Author: Kele Moon
Publisher:Loose Id, LLC
Publication Date:July 3, 2012
eBook ISBN: 978-1-61118-940-7
Length: 374 Pages
Series: Battered Hearts, Book 2
Heat Level: Blistering Hot (explicit)

Blurb:  

Heavyweight UFC fighter, Romeo Wellings comes from the hard streets of New York where his family ties to the mafia cause him nothing but pain. His life takes a surprising detour when he crosses paths with the twin sister of his long-time enemy. After a steamy, one-night stand, he faces the fight of his life, but it’s not in the cage. The secret relationship that blooms between Romeo and his real life Juliet has him battling his family and a dark past rather than let her go.

The only lawyer in her hometown of Garnet, Jules Conner is also a volunteer Sheriff’s deputy and co-owner of a successful MMA training center. Strong and dependable, Jules is always there for those who need her. Until one forbidden night in Las Vegas with Romeo leaves her feeling so alive she can’t stop reaching out to the sexy, bad boy of the UFC, even knowing the forbidden love affair could jeopardize everything.

As the tide rises against them and the people they love work at keeping them apart, Romeo and Jules hold onto a dream for a better life together and vow to go down fighting rather than accept a tragic ending.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: violence. 

My Review:  

Fighters, and Mobsters and Cops - OH MY!  Star Crossed by Kele Moon is an incredibly hot, superbly written erotic romance which grabbed my attention from the first page and never let go.  It's an emotional roller coaster from beginning to end with a hotter than hell romance and a story about friendship and family love.  The characters are well developed and so realistic you feel as if they are real and if you're lucky they might be your neighbors.  While this book can be read as a standalone story, I highly recommend reading  Defying the Odds first as many of the secondary characters in this book are introduced there.  You'll also get to know more about the citizens and the city of Garnet, the setting for the first two books.  

Romeo Wellings, a six-foot six inch, heavyweight (280 lbs) fighter is contending for the UFC Championship title as this story begins.  He's got two younger half-brothers, and an entourage, who are all "connected" to a New York mob family.  While Romeo has been asked to "throw" the fight, he fully intends  to win regardless of the consequences.  Loosing the fight was bad enough, falling for one of the members of the winner's team was not a part of his plan, but then he never planned on meeting Juliet "Jules" Conner. I really liked how Ms. Moon developed Romeo's character; while it's easy to see why he's a professional fighter, there's a lot more to him than meets the eye.  He genuinely cares for his younger brothers, and wants to get them as far away from the mob as they can get.  He wants to live life based on integrity and honor.

Juliet "Jules" Conner is young, beautiful and out-spoken.  A lawyer by trade, she's also physically fit due to her involvement in martial arts training and part time deputy sheriff status.  Trash talking Romeo Wellings was natural since he was fighting her friend, getting to know the man in a more intimate way and falling for him was never a part of her plan.  Ms. Moon did an excellent job developing Jules character; I really identified with this thirty-ish woman who felt love and romance had passed her by.  Watching her femininity blossom as she fell in love was great to see.

Romeo and Juliet had incredible chemistry from the very start and it only gets hotter as their story develops.  While they try to keep their romance low key, due to their backgrounds and family situations, it soon becomes obvious they can't stay apart.  While the sex scenes between Romeo and Juliet are burn the paint off the walls hot; it's Ms. Moon's emotional development between the characters which kept me turning the pages.  I simply couldn't get enough of Romeo and Juliet.  

The secondary characters in this story are very well done and really contribute to the plot.  From Romeo's two younger brothers, "Nova" and "Tino", to Juliet's brother Wyatt, they help to move the plot along and provide additional tension.  As we get to know more of the residents of Garnet, and Jules life, I found myself falling in love with this fictional town.  

As the mob tries to pressure Romeo about his fighting career, he'll have to make a choice.....give in to the mob or stay with Juliet and fight for the life he now wants?  If you want to know what he decides, you'll have to read Star Crossed to find out.  I loved this book and have only one question for Ms. Moon, "When can I get my hands on the next book?"

My Rating:  5 out of 5 Stars 

Labor Day 2012 Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Romance at Random Labor Day Hop, which will run from September 1 - September 15, 2012 (9/1/12-9/15/12).  There will be two contests you can enter at my blog during this hop.  One sponsored by Romance at Random and the other sponsored by Me.  

I hope everyone has a safe, relaxing and Happy Labor Day! 

Please be sure to visit all of the stops:

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

  a Rafflecopter giveaway