Giveaway! Immortal Craving by Kendra Leigh Castle

Immortal Craving
by Kendra Leigh Castle

Genre: Paranormal Romance
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Release date: January 29, 2013 | Series: Dark Dynasties (Book 4)
The last-and most lethal-of his kind . . .
Wild, uncontrollable, and powerful, the lion-shifting Rakshasa were hunted down by vicious rival vampires who feared their dark, magical abilities. Somehow one survived, and now, after centuries of hiding, Tasmin Singh reemerges as fierce and fearless as ever at the door of the Lilim queen, seeking answers . . . and sanctuary.

The human best friend to a vampire queen, Bay Harper traded her quiet, comfortable life for a world filled with immortal assassins, warring werewolves . . . and this hauntingly sexy shifter. Only Bay's gentle touch can subdue Tasmin's inner demons, even as he brings out a passion and sensuality she never imagined she could feel. But when a bloody struggle threatens to tear them apart, can Bay risk everything on her faith in him-or will his dark side be stronger than even their all-consuming desire?

My review went up a few days ago but I had forgotten that the publisher authorized a giveaway!
Thanks to the fine folks at Forever Romance, Hachette, for offering TWO Books for Giveaway!

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for TWO Print Copies

ENTRY FORM HERE

For 3 Extra Bonus entries Visit the author's website and tell me something you find of interest.
Extra bonus +2 for comment on Review.

THERE WILL BE THREE WINNERS!

* This contest is only open to residents of US.

* No P.O. Boxes Please - for shipping reasons.

* Limit one win per household.

* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on February 8, 2013.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.
WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED on February 9, 2013.
Winners will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winners form linked in the announcement.

Book Review: Immortal Craving by Kendra Leigh Castle

This is very engaging action with a star crossed romance.

Immortal Craving
by Kendra Leigh Castle

• File Size: 542 KB
• Print Length: 400 pages
• Publisher: Forever (January 29, 2013)
• Sold by: Hachette Book Group
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007ZFIU0K

Genre: Paranormal Romance
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Release date: January 29, 2013 | Series: Dark Dynasties (Book 4)
The last-and most lethal-of his kind . . .
Wild, uncontrollable, and powerful, the lion-shifting Rakshasa were hunted down by vicious rival vampires who feared their dark, magical abilities. Somehow one survived, and now, after centuries of hiding, Tasmin Singh reemerges as fierce and fearless as ever at the door of the Lilim queen, seeking answers . . . and sanctuary.

The human best friend to a vampire queen, Bay Harper traded her quiet, comfortable life for a world filled with immortal assassins, warring werewolves . . . and this hauntingly sexy shifter. Only Bay's gentle touch can subdue Tasmin's inner demons, even as he brings out a passion and sensuality she never imagined she could feel. But when a bloody struggle threatens to tear them apart, can Bay risk everything on her faith in him-or will his dark side be stronger than even their all-consuming desire?

Review:
Bay is comfortably human but she has powerful, non-human friends. Her relationship with her best friend, Lily, is starting to show strain as Lily’s attention has shifted to her new mate, Ty, and to her stressful duties as the vampire queen of the Lilim. Bay has met various Cait Sith, vampires and werewolves who are gathering with Lily as she negotiates alliances to fight the power hungry and evil Arsinoe, Queen of the Ptolemy, an enemy sect of vampires.

Bay dreams of finding a normal mate until a gorgeous man, with strange amber eyes, comes seeking information about Lily and collapses in Bay’s shop. Bay sees below the fierceness to the fear and tenderness within the powerful but confused Tasmin. He is the last of his kind, a lion-shifting Rakshasa. He should be dead but instead he has awakened four hundred years after his pride was killed at the urging of Arsinoe. And he hasn’t awakened alone - apparently Arsinoe cast a spell that put a demon within his body. Now she wants the demon for her own purposes.

The demon is Hunger and he is a vicious killer.  He wants revenge against the Queen who imprisoned him. Hunger and Tasmin battle internally for control of Tasmin’s physical form. If Tasmin can’t maintain control he would rather die than kill with such dishonor. Yet Tasmin may have to make a deal with the demon to protect the woman he has come to love; the woman who accepts him for who he is and brings him a measure of peace.

Bay and Tasmin are the targets that trigger war between Arsinoe and the other clans. Tasmin may find a way to protect Bay but it is going to mean giving up any chance of a future with her.

I really liked this action packed story and the warm, intense relationship that builds quickly between Tasmin and Bay. He is a tortured, vulnerable hero and she is the mere human who proves stronger than anyone realized. Their star crossed romance is beautifully written with intense warmth and light humor. There are a couple of heavy scenes when they finally give in to their doomed attraction but it fits well and is just a small portion of the bigger action plot.  I didn’t want to put it down and read this in one day. This releases 1/29 and, if you love action with warm romance, I recommend you pick this up and enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bay’s reaction to Tasmin:

How something so fierce could hide this kind of gentleness amazed her–but Tasmin was a creature of contradictions.  Location 1882.

Tasmin’s reaction to Bay:

He supposed it should shame him, that he would want her so desperately as an anchor when things around him–and within him–kept shifting. He had never been a weakling. Location 2002.

I received this from Forever Romance through NetGalley.

The first half of the story is set in Tipton, Massachusetts for my 2013 Where Are You Reading Challenge.

Forever's Paranormal Blog Tour and Giveaway> Two Books, Three Winners!

As part of the Forever's Paranormal Blog Tour I am please to share a Mini Q&A with Kendra Leigh Castle, author of Midnight Reckoning.

1.      Do I plot out the series?

I openly admit to being a pantser extraordinaire.  I never know what’s going to happen when I sit down to write!  Each book flows naturally from the previous one, and I like it that way.  It’s actually really difficult for me to plot.  I do have to write synopses, but they rarely bear much resemblance to the finished product.  Fortunately, my editor is awesome and doesn’t seem to mind!

2.      Do I do anything helpful for world-building?

I don’t really have much of a system.  I do like visuals, but I rarely tack up anything more than character models on my bulletin board.  If I need to “see” something, I’ll go hunting on Google.  I do keep a notebook for each story, but they’re sort of jumbled—sometimes I’ll write chapters longhand when I’m not getting anywhere on the keyboard.  One of these days I really need to sit down and put all my bits and pieces together into a story bible, because it really is a pain to have to look things up that I’ve forgotten.  Oh, I also write things on Post-it notes, which I would not recommend for anyone.  My husband sometimes gets overzealous with the cleaning!

3.      Best tips I’ve received on writing

I’m a fan of the Nora Roberts method: just get your butt in the chair.  There are really only a few tips that apply to everyone as far as the actual process goes.  We’re all different, and we all work our own way.  But truly, one of the most important things is just getting your butt in that chair, every day, and writing something.  You can’t wait until the spirit moves you if you want to make a career of this.  Deadlines are unmoved by anything, especially the spirit.  Along those lines, one of my favorite pieces of advice is from Steven King in his amazing book On Writing.  He basically says to keep pressing forward with every story, to get your word count in for the day, every day, because sometimes you’re actually doing good work even if you feel like all you’re doing is shoveling, um, manure from a sitting positionJ

 ~~~~~~

 Thank you to Kendra for sharing these answers on her writing:
 Please check out my review of Midnight Reckoning - a very enjoyable read!

Thank you to Jillian at Hachette Forever for these two books to read and for providing THREE sets of Midnight Reckoning and Firelight for giveaway!

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for BOTH BOOKS: 

1. Visit BOTH Kendra's website and Kristen's website and tell me something you found interesting and each site.
You must visit both please.   This is required for entry and worth TWO entries.

2.  For extra entry, comment on one or both of the reviews - worth one entry a piece.

3.  For an extra entry, become a follower or tell me if you are already a follower.

4. For two more entries, blog, facebook, tweet (any of those networks!) about this giveaway and tell me where you did.

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.
(Seven total entries possible.)

THERE WILL BE THREE WINNERS!

* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.

* No P.O. Boxes Please - for shipping reasons.

* Limit one win per household.

* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on February 10, 2012
The winners will be randomly selected from all entries and announced on February 11 with 72 hours to complete the winners form.

Book Review: Midnight Reckoning (Dark Dynasties) by Kendra Leigh Castle

This is very engaging with strong protagonists.

Midnight Reckoning (Dark Dynasties) 

by Kendra Leigh Castle

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Forever; Original edition (January 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1609418387
• ISBN-13: 978-1609418380

      Genre: Paranormal Romance
      My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Product Description 

Two separate worlds . . .

One passion that binds them

Wild and passionate by nature, Lyra Black is not just any werewolf. She's the future leader of the powerful pack of the Thorn-if she can stay alive long enough to inherit the title.

One of the Cait Sith bloodline of vampire cat-shifters, Jaden Harrison has no interest in the wars plaguing the world of night. But when he rescues Lyra from a violent attack, they're both captured by an insatiable desire that threatens to overwhelm them and bind them together for eternity . . . just as ancient enemies prepare to strike. And when they do, the Thorn and the Cait Sith-and Lyra and Jaden's love-may never recover from the deadly blow . . .

Review:

Lyra Black is the only child of her father, the Alpha leader of the Thorn werewolf pack. She is beautiful, smart and pretty much fearless. She is determined to participate in the Proving where the werewolves battle for the right to become the next Alpha of the pack.  The problem is that her father and friends refuse to train her to fight and she is seriously out “manned” by the bigger wolves, especially her cousin, Eric, who has a very nasty reputation. Even though there are concerns that Eric’s leadership would be repressive, it is the tradition of the pack that they conform to the leader.

Jaden is a powerful vampire cat-shifter who has recently been freed from a live of slavery. He met Lyra briefly once before and hasn’t been able to get her off his mind. He stumbles upon her and rescues her when she is attacked by a larger wolf. He is so intrigued that he decides to help train her to fight in ways that are suitable to her slight build - flexible and fast.  Although they are two different species and have no business wanting to be together the attraction is undeniable.  Jaden thinks that maybe he has found a woman who is strong enough for him.  But if Lyra dares to succumb she will be driven from her pack and lose everything she has ever loved.

As they struggle with fulfilling or losing their individual dreams, Jaden has to duck attacks from an old enemy. Meanwhile the pack doesn’t know that there is one among them who is leading them toward destruction.

These are both wonderfully strong characters caught in lonely lives. I was rooting for them all along hoping they could overcome the difficulties and be able to be together. There is plenty of action, emotional and romantic conflict, with sensual interaction leading to a sexy union. The writing is easy and there is underlying humor that makes the reading even better.  I’m sorry I missed the first book in the series and hope to pick that up as well as additional books by this author.

A couple of passages I liked:
"When you were a vampire, especially a lowly shape-shifting cat of a vampire, deadly kisses were sort of your stock and trade." p 2
"[Lyra had] been so worried about shaping her own destiny she'd nearly missed the best parts that fate had sent her."  p 331

Thank you to Forever Romance for the book to read and review.
This is set primarily in Silver Falls, NY for my Where Are You Reading Map.
I will add this to my ARC and New Author challenges.

Check out the Author mini-Interview and Giveaway post for a chance to win this book together with Firelight by Kristen Callihan - two great reads!