Phoenix Rising by Heather R. Blair

I got this book free of charge in exchange of an honest review (Lovers of Paranormal). The following review contains spoilers.

Rating 6 of 10

Obviously I expected more. The summary sounded absolutely captivating and I couldn't wait to get my hands on the story. But... even if the plot was interesting, it wasn't really developed. The potential was there for sure, but got lost in meaningless sex scenes. The book is 86 pages long only and in 50 of them the main characters are either remembering how they have had sex, have sex or imagine to have sex.  The romance got lost too. For the same reason. We barely saw the characters have other interaction but sex. The only thing that came to mind to them when thinking of each other was sex and hurt. Nothing bad with that, it's just not love, it's pure lust. Or maybe it's just me, because I do not necessary connect sex with love. Love for me is in the time spent together - talking, joking, little things you remember about the other like how they like their coffee or tea, how they prefer to sleep and so on.  Things that weren't there.

Now enough of what I didn't like in the story. What I did like? First, the plot(as much as it was there) was actually good. Would have appreciated if they haven't figured out who the killer is so fast but the idea was good. Second, I loved Kelsey. Mostly because she didn't play the damsel in distress and waited for someone to save her. She is strong, she is smart and she knows it. She doesn't let herself be brainwashed and manipulated. I would love to see more of her and also more of Jules. Really hope next installments concentrate more on the plot than on the sex and will surely read them. Best part of the book - Miles' "No, I thought I will give her time to save herself." 

Taker(The Final Deity #2) by Patrick Wong

I was given the book free from the author in exchange of an honest review(Thank you, Mr. Wong!). The following review contains spoilers.

Rating 8 of 10

First I will say I really liked the book. And Nicole is still in top 10 of my all time favorite main heroines. She proved herself as a smart girl in the first book and for most part kept that reputation in the second too. The situation on the plane was fast paced and really spiced up the book, mostly I liked the way Nicole and her friends dealt with it.

A few things that put me back thought. First, the book started exactly where Balancer left off, which was good as I hate wondering what happened in the mean time, but I would have appreciated a bit of a introduction. It have been a while since I read Balancer and 20-30 pages into Taker I had to leave it down and go back to the first book, because... yeah, who was Drake(for example)? And as I mentioned Drake, I will admit he was a nice guy, brave and... forgettable. Amy and Ben were a lot more memorable in my opinion, they had more character in them. I really felt for Amy when she was grieving. 

Another thing that bugged me a bit was how easy team Balancer trusted the professor down in the well. I know Ben vouched for him, but still I think they decided to go with him waaaay too easy. At this point I was thinking Nicole will be a lot more careful and maybe even a bit paranoid.

And one more thing - Nicole believed DuBois too easily, without questions. I sort of expected from a smart girl like her to doubt him a bit and think of options or possible consequences.

Agent Bishop is steadily on the path of becoming a favorite of mine too. He is smart and a man of action. Think he is someone worth having as a friend and dangerous to have as an enemy.

Now about the new hero in the book - Jason. I will admit I am not a big fan of instant love, but even I fell for him the moment I first met him. He is kind, brave and I didn't forget about him till he reappeared. His past remained a mystery thought and I would really love to know a bit more of him.

Overall the book was a very good read and I am wondering if there will be a next one. There were some answers offered in it, but still a few questions remained open. I am curious, very, very curious....