Black and Blue by Gena Showalter – a Review

Black and Blue by Gena Showalter – a Review

Black and BlueLinks to order Black and Blue: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / The Book Depository

 

Description:
He is every woman’s fantasy…

Corbin Blue is a man of many talents. One of the most powerful otherworlders ever born, he is wealthy, a professional football star, and a legend in the bedroom. But only a select few know he is also a black ops agent…and there is no better killer. When he and his crew are attacked and separated, he’s forced to turn to his boss’s daughter for help—a woman with even more secrets than Blue.

She becomes his only obsession…

Evangaline Black has always been wary, guarded. No man has ever breeched her walls. Until Blue. He has never been denied something he wants, and now, he’s decided he wants her. As he sweeps her into his double life of seduction, intrigue, and danger, he helps her see beyond the darkness of her own past. But as an enemy closes in, Blue will have to let Evie go to keep her safe—even though he’d rather die than live without her…

 

Review:

Black and Blue is the 2nd book in Gena Showalter’s Otherworld Assassin series.  I enjoyed the 1st book in this series, but Black and Blue is so so much better.  I loved this book, which is one of my favorite books of 2013.

Gena Showalter outdoes herself with this book, which has everything….paranormal, supernatural, sexy heroes, romance, a fantastic couple, action, violence, suspense, hot hot sexual scenes, and a lot of humor in between the heavy action.  I was so engrossed in this story, that I read this almost 400 page book in less then a day.

As for this fabulous couple, they were so good together. Totally opposites, strong dislikes for each other, and both very good at their jobs.  Corbin Blue is an Otherworlder, a supernatural assassin, with awesome powers, and has worked for & trained by Michael Black since he was 13 years old.  Blue leads a double life as a spy/assassin, and a football player, as well as being known as a “love em & leave em” ladies man.  Blue works as a Black Ops agent with Solo (book 1 hero), John and others, with Michael as their boss.  

Evie Black (Evangeline) is Michael’s daughter, and she too has worked for her father’s agency, until a tragedy happened causing her to leave, and become a doctor instead.  During one of her first cases for her father, she met Blue, and the two of them started off on the wrong foot immediately. She having known he was a ladies man (He-Slut), who thought nothing of cheating on his girlfriends; caused Evie to dislike him very much.  Blue was the type of man all woman (except Evie) would want to jump him immediately.  What a hot sexy hunk…gorgeous in everyway.   He was attracted to Evie immediately, though he knew she was off limits because her father (his mentor) would never forgive him.  Evie was very sarcastic with him, turning him off on her.  But as they say opposites attract, and forbidden fruits always make it more tempting.   However, 4 years pass, with neither having much to do with one another.   Then an explosion,  that threatens to kill everyone with Michael’s agency, changes everything. 

Blue is horribly injured in the explosion, and his friends are no where to be found.  He finds himself going to Evie for help. At first she isn’t interested, though she does help treat him; but she needs to be involved in what is happening, as her father is missing. 

What follows is a fast paced, exciting action packed adventure, with danger, & violence, as they try to uncover who is the perpetrator that is trying to kill them.  But the best parts of this book was the relationship between Blue and Evie.  Despite her dislike of what and who she thought Blue was; she had this extreme attraction to him, that she tried desperately to block.  It was so much fun to watch both of them slowly begin to fall hard, with such explosive intensity, and the hot..hot…did I say hot sexual chemistry between them. Showalter steamed this book with their sexual scenes…Whew!!  The fun though was their constant flinging of funny comments between them, as their camdarie was awesome.  Blue would constantly give her nicknames…butter buns, sugar dumpling, honey badger, buttercup,,  just to name a few.  Of course, our Evie was always quick to counter..calling him a nifty toy, or Mr. Brothario.  In between all the action, these humorous moments brought out the much needed enjoyable laughter.

Black and Blue is an awesome addition to this series, with an exciting, fun and action filled romance thriller.  I loved Blue & Evie so much that if Gena made a series based on just the two of them, I would be thrilled. I also would like to say that this is an awesome cover.  Black and Blue is one of the best books I have read this year, and as I have said before, I have read some great ones.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Author

 

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Last Kiss Goodnight by Gena Showalter – a Review

Last Kiss Goodnight by Gena Showalter – a Review

last kiss goodnight

Last Kiss Goodnight is a new series by Gena ShowalterOtherworld Assassins series is a spinoff from Showalter’s Alien Huntress series.

Description:
     The breathtaking first novel in New York Times best selling author Gena Showalter’s new paranormal romance series, Otherworld Assassins, featuring a black ops agent who is captured and enslaved…and the beautiful deaf girl who holds the key to his salvation…

    THE SWEETEST TEMPTATION

     Black ops agent Solomon Judah awakens caged and bound in a twisted zoo where otherworlders are the main attraction. Vika Lukas, the owner’s daughter, is tasked with Solo’s care and feeding. The monster inside him yearns to kill her on sight, even though she holds the key to his escape. But the human side of him realizes the beautiful deaf girl is more than she seems—she’s his.

     THE ULTIMATE PRICE

     Vika endures the captives’ taunts and loathing, hoping to keep them alive even if she can’t free them. Only, Solo is different—he protects her. But as hostility turns to forbidden romance, his feelings for her will be used against him…and he’ll be put to a killer test.

Review:

Last Kiss Goodnight by Gena Showalter begins with some members of the Alien Huntress series.  Michael Black meets with his alien team (Otherworld Assassins) to discuss a mission, but before breaking up, they are attacked.

We meet our heroine, a young girl named Vika, who helps her father run a zoo.  Vika cares about the animals under her care, especially the lion.  Her father is a bitter, angry man, who thinks nothing of hitting Vika. Because he wants to teach her a lesson, knowing he will hurt her more, he kills all the animals in front of her.  Years later he has a different zoo, made up of Otherworld aliens, who have been kidnapped and caged. 

Solomon (Solo) is our hero, and the newest addition to the zoo, having survived the attack.  Vika’s father keeps all the Otherworld aliens cuffed with special magical bindings that will cut into each person, as well as drugs.  No matter how strong they are, they cannot escape.

Vika’s job is to take care of them, feed them, but they all hate her, not knowing she too is a victim.  Vika’s is deaf, something her father did to her long ago.  Only Solo, who is a giant of a man, used to being called fugly, begins to discover that what he feels when he sees Vika, is that she belongs to him;  and suspects something is not right when Vika never responds to threats from the other caged aliens.  Solo finds out about her reading lips, and that she cannot hear. Vika finds herself attracted to him, though she tries to fight it, but she takes care of him, when he is beaten. For the first time in his life, Solo cannot find a way to escape, and he worries about the beating Vika takes from her father and the assistant.   This was a nice build up of a romance between two unlikely people, and it was nice to see them discover their love later in the story.

I thought the book was a bit gross, by the torture of the Otherworld beings.  A lot of time was spent on that, and it seemed somewhat repetitious during those long scenes at the zoo. The torture, humiliation suffered by them was not pretty to read. Once Solo and Vika escape, the storyline does pick up with excitement, and romance. 

Showalter does show very well the desperation of Vika, who turned into a very nice character.  I also liked Solo, but more so later on.  I had mixed feelings, especially with so much time spent on both the evil father and his assistant, who wanted Vika for himself. 

Overall, I think this series has great potential, with the use of these wonderful Otherworld characters.  I just did not care for some of the gross torture that we spent too much time on,as this took away from my enjoyment of the book.  But I plan to read the next book in this series.

Reviewed by Barb

 

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