Review: Christmas Past by Susanna Fraser

Title: Christmas Past

Author: Susanna Fraser

Source: Entangled Ever After

Genre: Romance, Time Travel, Christmas

Release Date: November 25, 2013

Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Time-traveling PhD student Sydney Dahlquist’s first mission sounded simple enough—spend two weeks in December 1810 collecting blood samples from the sick and wounded of Wellington’s army, then go home to modern-day Seattle and Christmas with her family. But when her time machine breaks, stranding her in the past, she must decide whether to sacrifice herself to protect the timeline or to build a new life—and embrace a new love—two centuries before her time.

Rifle captain Miles Griffin has been fascinated by the tall, beautiful "Mrs. Sydney" from the day he met her caring for wounded soldiers. When he stumbles upon her time travel secret on Christmas Eve, he vows to do whatever it takes to seduce her into making her home in his present—by his side.

Christmas Past is a sweet time travel romance.  When Sydney finds herself stuck in 1810 after her time machine breaks, she must make a tough decision on what to do next.  Unfortunately (or maybe on the bright side) Miles has found her secret.  He takes her under his wing and talks her into waiting until after Christmas to make a final decision on her fate.

Of course the romance follows very quickly and it is a very sweet one.  A very feel good style romance with one really good explosion (literally).  I also liked how the author handled the issues of multiple time lines and changing the future.  She had a lot figured out for such a short novella.

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Entangled Ever After November Releases and Giveaway

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Ever After features paranormal, sci-fi, and horror novellas, all with the romance you've come to love from Entangled--just in a shorter format. Make sure to like their new Facebook Page and follow them on Twitter.

Today I'm happy to be featuring Ever After's November release!

Christmas Past by Susanna Fraser

Time-traveling PhD student Sydney Dahlquist’s first mission sounded simple enough—spend two weeks in December 1810 collecting blood samples from the sick and wounded of Wellington’s army, then go home to modern-day Seattle and Christmas with her family. But when her time machine breaks, stranding her in the past, she must decide whether to sacrifice herself to protect the timeline or to build a new life—and embrace a new love—two centuries before her time.




Rifle captain Miles Griffin has been fascinated by the tall, beautiful "Mrs. Sydney" from the day he met her caring for wounded soldiers. When he stumbles upon her time travel secret on Christmas Eve, he vows to do whatever it takes to seduce her into making her home in his present—by his side.

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Review: Less Than Perfect by Kelly Jensen

Title: Less Than Perfect
Author: Kelly Jensen
Source: Entangled Ever After
Genre: Dystopian, Romance, Science Fiction
Release Date: October 28, 2013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Mikayla’s read every book in her collection of post-apocalyptic novels at least twice. She thinks she’s prepared for aliens taking over Earth. She’s not.

Nor is she prepared for the attention of a good-looking refugee named Reg.

All Mikayla and Reg want is a safe place to see out the end of the world, hidden away from the aliens that call themselves The People, but cities of the depopulated United States not infested with The People are rife with gangs, the detritus of civilization and disease.

On a mission to restock their supplies, Mikayla and Reg are captured by The People and prepared for the procedure that will make them perfect, but no longer quite human. In order to escape, they need to rely on each other…if Mikayla can trust a man who seems too good to be true.

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One of my favorite Young Adult genres is a good science fiction dystopian.  So when I come across a romance that mixes that up in the storyline I get really excited.  Less Than Perfect takes a different approach to the aliens than I had seen in the past so it was a very exciting read in that respect. The story was fast paced and seemed to pack a whole lot into a novella.  The action very rarely stopped, but it didn't feel like it was overly rushed.

The character of Mikayla was amazing.  She had a box of end of the world books she tried to take with her everywhere, which sounds like something I would try to do at the end of the world.  Reg was a bit of a mystery throughout the whole story.  Even at the end I didn't really have a feel for who he was, and I really wanted to know him better.  The way they learned about each other and fell in love was sweet, but Mikayla seemed far more open than he did - partly because it was told from her perspective.

I haven't found many dytopian style books that are primarily a romance, and this one did a great job combining the two elements without losing either one along the way.

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Review: Vampire Games by Tiffany Allee

Title: Vampire Games (Files of the Otherworlder Enforcement Agency #4)
Author: Tiffany Allee
Source: Entangled Ever After
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Police Procedural
Release Date: October 28 2013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

She’s seen the past…

OWEA Agent Beatrice Davis is haunted by the death visions that help her solve crimes. When Detective Claude Desmairis, her vampire ex-lover, asks for her assistance on a case, she’d rather help him than take the mandated leave to stave off her burn-out.

The truth won’t stay buried…

Pressed to solve a series of crimes before the perpetrator blows the vampire world apart, Claude turns to a woman he thought he’d been able to leave behind. But he was wrong, and his feelings for her will only bring trouble in an investigation this dangerous.

As their passions reignite, they see a possible future together. Until her visions show her the face of the murderer—a man Claude can never betray.

*This can be read as a standalone*

Unfortunately,Vampire Games fell a little short for me.  I had a difficult time relating to the characters.  Beatrice Davis can see past emotional and visual imprints on objects, which is a very powerful gift.  At the beginning of the story she was full of spunk and attitude and I loved it.  But somewhere along the line her attitude changed and I just didn't like her as much - she dwelt far too much on her past relationships to the point it seemed to be a little whiny at times.  Claude, her romantic interest, was just a little too stagnant.  I would have liked to see him as a more dynamic character.

The story of Bea and Claude involves rogue vampires as well as a crime that has haunted Bea's dreams for years.  The detective part of the story was very good.  Even though we are pretty sure who the bad guy in early on, we don't know the why or the how until the very end.  The clues were dropped nicely and the characters didn't have a lot of sudden inspirations for no reason that solved everything.

If you are looking for more of a detective story and aren't worried as much about the character development, you will enjoy this one a lot, it just ended up being not quite up  my alley.

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Review: Ghosts of the Falls by Sarah Gilman

Title: Ghosts of the Falls
Author: Sarah Gilman
Source: Entangled Ever After
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: October 28, 2013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Determined to prove she’s fit for the family business, exorcist Jade Clarence knows the assignment waiting in Maine is her last chance. Born into a family of exorcists, Jade’s unorthodox ideas have gotten her into trouble in the past...and cost the life of a client.

After haunting a Maine state park for more than a century, Dutch Hutchinson will do whatever it takes to bring an end to his unfulfilling existence. When an act of arson brings a beautiful exorcist to town, Dutch takes corporeal form in order to spend his last hours in her company.

Jade quickly uncovers Dutch’s true identity and finds herself falling for the man behind the spirit. But when Jade’s legacy threatens their future, they will have to overcome the greatest of odds—life and death.

Ghosts of the Falls was one of the most unique story lines I've read for a paranormal romance.  When Jade shows up to exorcise a very powerful ghost, she doesn't realize the pull he will have on her heart.  She's drawn to him from the get go, before she even realizes who - or what - he really is.  Dutch has been "living" for too long.  He is ready to move on and he hopes that Jade will be able to help him do it, but instead she gives him something he wants to stick around for.

With Dutch's very soul on the line, he and Jade will need to find a way to stop the exorcism from destroying him forever.  The ending was so different and unexpected, and it fit the story perfectly.  This was a fantastic story that I won't soon forget.  I hope that maybe someday Sarah Gilman will decide to find endings that are just as happy for the rest of Jade's family as well.

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Review: Ghosts of Kingston Cottage by Libby Bishop

Title: Ghosts of Kingston Cottage
Author: Libby Bishop
Source: Entangled Ever After
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: October 28, 2013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

She believes in ghosts.

Medium and paranormal investigator Arabella Pierce is sent with her crew to Kingston Cottage, a haunted Maine seafarer’s cottage on an isolated island, but for this investigation, her boss has stuck them with skeptical reporter Lucas Brown. Though he’s hot as they come, Arabella can’t trust a man whose sole job is to discredit her and the work she does. Not after what happened with the last few skeptics...

He believes in evidence.

But Lucas isn’t as skeptical as he seems—he wants the truth, no matter what that is. When the ghosts appear, he and Arabella must work together—in tight quarters—to convince the resident ghosts to move on before a storm strands the entire crew on the island. If Arabella can put aside her prejudices, she and Lucas just might have a shot at a lifetime.

Arabella Pierce has had some bad luck with men in the past - both personally and professionally - and she's very hesitant to trush skeptic Lucas.  Lucas is determined to follow the famous ghost hunting team and prove to his readers if they are the real thing or just more fakes trying to make a quick buck.  He doesn't expect to fall head over heels for the lead investigator, Arrabella.

The story isn't just about Lucas and Arabella though.  It's also about a pair of ghosts that have been searching for a way back to each other for decades.  One of them isn't always so nice in the search and Arabella's team needs to find a way to deal with her or help her move on.

Ghosts of Kingston Cottage was the perfect read to kick off the week of Halloween.  Equal parts ghost story and romance, it had a bit of an eerie feel to it without losing the feeling of romance that ran throughout the entire story.  With happily ever afters all over the place, it was just about perfect.

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Ruby Hill by Sarah Ballance

From her earliest memories, Ashley Pearce has been drawn to Ruby Hill Lunatic Asylum, and she's not the only one. Decades after the abandoned hospital ended its institutional reign of torture and neglect, something lurks in the shadows. Since she’s a paranormal investigator, it's Ashley's job to find out what.



Crime scene expert Corbin Malone doesn't believe in ghosts. A born skeptic, he has no interest in entertaining the hype surrounding the mysterious deaths at Ruby Hill, but he won't turn his back while more women die. He agrees to an overnight investigation, never expecting his first encounter would be with the woman he pushed away a year ago. But when he discovers Ashley is a target, he learns his greatest fear isn't living with his own demons, but losing her for good.

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One Thousand and One Nights by Ruth Browne

Sheri spends her days fighting zombies and her nights chained to a wall, earning her every breath by telling stories to her captor Aleksy—stories that make them both forget the ruined world. Sheri could put up with the conditions—at least she knows her sister is safe in the community Aleksy leads—until she realizes she’s falling for him...even though he wants her dead.



When Aleksy allowed Sheri and her sister into his compound, he didn’t know about the zombie bite on her back. It's only a matter of time before she turns into one of the rising dead and threatens their existence, but Aleksy has a secret need for Sheri and her stories. For everyone’s safety, he chains her to his bedroom wall, hoping for just one more day. But how long will the community allow Aleksy to ignore his own rule: always kill the infected. Always.

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Mercy by Jan Coffey

Julia Klein’s life has begun to unravel—her daughter Amy has been suspended from school, Julia is about to lose her job, and her boyfriend Garrett is being transferred thousands of miles away. Overwhelmed, she and Amy leave for a weekend at a rambling old colonial inn. Julia never suspects that Garrett, desperate to find a way to keep Julia in his life, has decided to surprise her by joining them. Nor does she expect her daughter to befriend a mischievous ghost...or that she herself would be possessed by the malevolent spirit of a long-dead mother.



As a dark secret emerges, Julia, Amy, and Garrett find themselves pitted in a fight for survival against a savage presence that intends to resurrect/repeat/relive a horrible crime committed two centuries ago. And this time, Amy and Julia will be the victims.

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Haunted Chemisty by Lindsey Loucks

When bookish college co-ed Alexis heads to the laundry room in her new apartment, she runs into Ian Reese, the chem lab partner she crushed on all last semester. And the guy who stood her up on their first date. But she’s down for an awkward reunion, and no better place than her creepy laundry room.



Ian has every intention of making amends, but just when Alexis begins to trust him again, a new threat calls more than their future together into question. A ghost from the apartment’s past is hellbent on revenge, and if he wants to get his girl, he’ll have to get the ghost first.

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Wish Upon a Star by Michelle McLean

Ceri McKinley never stopped wishing that her ex-fiancé Jason Crickett would come back into her life. But when he finally does, he comes with a request that puts them both—and all of humanity—into jeopardy.



Jason only wants two things: to bury his brother properly and to convince Ceri to trust him again after he jilted her. But when Ceri agrees to help him get his brother back, they end up fighting for their lives as a zombie uprising threatens them all.

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Northern Light by E.J. Russell

Nothing gives art fraud investigator Luke Morganstern a bigger rush than busting forgers, the low-life criminals who dare victimize true artists. But when his latest job sends him to a remote cabin in the Oregon Coast Range, he’s stunned to discover the alleged forger is his former lover, Stefan Cobbe, the most gifted painter Luke has ever known.



Stefan, left homeless and destitute after the death of his wealthy partner, doesn’t exactly deny the forgery -- he claims he doesn’t remember, an excuse Luke can’t accept.



But Luke’s elderly client suggests Stefan may be telling the truth and presents another possibility – a dark presence in the woods, a supernatural fury simmering for decades. Luke must face down his fear of the uncanny – and admit his feelings for Stefan – if either of them is to survive.

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