Who Needs Enemies by Keri Arthur

WHO NEEDS ENEMIES is a departure for Arthur -- but a departure of the best kind. You can't go into this novel expecting the usual blend of ultra sexy heroines, supernaturals, and mystery. Instead, in her first self-published effort, Arthur delivers something much more lighthearted, but which still retains her characteristic wit and flavour.

The star of WHO NEEDS ENEMIES is very different from Riley, Risa, and the rest of Arthur's heroines. Harri Phillecky is not, in any way, alpha. She hasn't got superpowers, she isn't backed by any agency, and she lives a fairly unremarkable life. She's also an outcast -- part elf, part siren, rejected by both races. All Harri has are her friends, who are a bunch of ogres who take over her home for beer and TV, a dragon, a brother she doesn't see very often, and Ciri, Harri's best friend and partner in the PI industry. They're very much a motley crew but they're a lot of fun. We get to spend a fair bit of time with the ogres but I wish we'd learned more about Ciri, who's part gargoyle and incredibly intriguing. Harri has made a life for herself as a paranormal investigator (and sometimes as a news photographer), surrounded by her circle, but things escalate to a whole new level when the only elven relative willing to speak with her asks Harri to look into a missing siren.

As you would expect in a Keri Arthur novel, things immediately get complicated. Harri's dragon friend Keale gets accused of flying drunk and killing a helicopter full of people, Harri is set upon by trolls, and more. It's a very well crafted story that will keep you on your toes until the last page. I never knew where the story was going to take Harri and it was extremely fun for me, trying to figure out how the mystery surround Mona (the siren) would resolve itself.

On the downside, there are some copyediting issues. Small things, like capitalisation and spelling errors, but it's frequent enough that I noticed. It didn't mar my enjoyment of the story but it might throw you out of the story if you're one of the people who really notice things like this.

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Posted by Tynga at 03:00

 Adult, Author, Harry Phillecky PI, Keri Arthur, Review, Self Published, Urban Fantasy  1 Person left their mark

Fireborn blog tour: Interview with Keri Arthur

I have to be honest, moments like this are part of the reason I love blogging. The one and only Keri Arthur, whose books I adore, is visiting Team Tynga's Reviews and I got to interview her!! If that's not an amazing moment, I don't know what is. I've been a major fan for years and it was incredibly hard for me not to fangirl all over her but she is here to promote FIREBORN, her newest release and the start of what is sure to be an amazing new series.

Please join me in welcoming the inestimably talented Keri Arthur!

---------------------

First of all, thank you for visiting Team Tynga's Reviews and congrats on starting a new series! What's the most exciting part about kicking off a new series?

Thanks! And thanks for inviting me here to chat.

I think the most exciting thing about starting a new series is the ability to follow the journey of not only brand new characters, but to build a brand new world. I know that’s a bit of a standard answer, but you need to remember that between the Riley Jenson and the Dark Angel novels, I’ve spent 16 books in the one world, and I’m loving the ability to stretch as a writer.

How would you describe FIREBORN if you only had ten words?

 I’m never very good at doing something like that! Lol. Um... In a world where supernaturals aren’t entirely accepted, a phoenix battles to save mankind. Nope, that’s fourteen. Told you I wasn’t very good!

What inspired you to write a series based on phoenixes?

 I think it mainly stemmed from the desire to get away from both werewolves and vampires as main characters. As much as I love both, I just wanted to do something a little different. I spent hours trolling the net, looking at all sorts of supernatural beings--something I usually do when I’m researching for bad guys, not good. I kept stopping on references about phoenixes, and the idea of a character with the ability of being reborn from the ashes of their past just fired my imagination. Emberly was born  :)

All of your heroines are very confident, sexy women. How do you come up with some strong yet individual characters? 

 It’s very much a backlash of all the fantasy novels I used to read in the 70s and the 80s. You know the ones--the heroine was always tripping over, doing something dumb, or in need of rescuing. It drove me up the wall. Sure, not every female character in fantasy fiction needs to kick arse, but surely it wouldn’t have hurt the (mainly male) writers at the time to write one or two capable females? You have no idea how relieved I was to find writers like Anne McCaffrey and Mercedes Lackey.

Who are your favourite characters to write dialogue for (in this or any of your other series)? 

 Actually, my favourite all time character to write dialogue for is, believe it or, a sword. Or rather, the demon who gives the sword life. Amaya was not supposed to be such a strong presence in the Dark Angels series, but once she got page time, she was not giving it up.  I had enormous fun thinking up snark for her.

Will Emberly's world overlap with Riley and/or Risa's? Can we expect any familiar characters to crop up, even just for a cameo?

I’m afraid there’s no chance of that happening, because Fireborn is set in a completely different world to the Riley and Risa’s. Yes, it’s still Melbourne (that old ‘write what you know’ chestnut) but it’s a very different, somewhat darker Melbourne. There’s definitely no werewolf clubs in this version!

Melbourne is very much a character in your books, including FIREBORN. What are some of your must-see or must-do attractions in the area?  

 Melbourne is the most European of all Australian cities and, like France, you’ll find restaurants and cafes everywhere, most of them with tables and umbrellas out on the sidewalks so people can enjoy the sunshine (or get protection from the famously unreliable weather here) and people watch. If you’re coming to Melbourne, allow plenty of time to explore all the interconnecting little laneways with their amazing variety of shops, and sampling some truly fantastic cuisine. We do love our food, coffee and tea here. Then head off down the Great Ocean Road for some spectacular scenery, or head on over to the Yarra Valley, where some of the best wine makers in the country are located--and eat and drink some more while you’re there  :)

How many stories do you have planned for the Souls of Fire series?

 I have two planned at this point, but there will be more after that. I just don’t know how many as yet, because I usually need to be several novels into a series before I have some idea.

Finally, can you give us any exclusive teasers about what's to come? I'm so curious about everything, but especially about what's going on with Sam.

 You do find out what is going on with Sam, but I’m afraid it’s going to take a couple of books. As for a teaser...let’s just say it’s connected with what happened to his brother.

Thanks very much for taking the time to answer my questions.

Thanks again for inviting me.  :)

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For more Keri, check out the following links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

You can also visit the previous tour stop, Fang-tastic Books, or check out Rambling from This Chick tomorrow for more FIREBORN goodness.

And here's the scoop on FIREBORN:

From New York Times bestselling author Keri Arthur comes a brand-new series featuring heroine Emberly Pearson—a phoenix capable of taking on human form and cursed with the ability to foresee death....

Emberly has spent a good number of her many lives trying to save humans. So when her prophetic dreams reveal the death of Sam, a man she once loved, she does everything in her power to prevent it from happening. But in saving his life, she gets more than she bargained for.

Sam is working undercover for the Paranormal Investigations Team, and those who are trying to murder him are actually humans infected by a plaguelike virus, the Crimson Death—a by-product of a failed government experiment intended to identify the enzymes that make vampires immortal. Now all those infected must be eliminated.

But when Emberly’s boss is murdered and his irreplaceable research stolen, she needs to find the guilty party before she goes down in flames....

Jenn's thoughts

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

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Posted by Tynga at 03:05

 Interview, Keri Arthur, Penguin  1 Person left their mark

Fireborn by Keri Arthur

I've been a big fan of Keri Arthur's for quite some time. She's a wonderfully talented writer who consistently delivers engaging stories, strong characters, steamy sex scenes, and interesting worlds. In FIREBORN, the first book in her new Souls of Fire series, we're back in Melbourne, in a world where vampires and werewolves are out but other supernaturals, including phoenixes like Emberly, our heroine, are still hiding from humans. I was so excited to see Arthur develop a series around a phoenix since we so rarely see them in stories, let alone as main characters in a series, and it makes FIREBORN a really fresh, exciting book.

In the Souls of Fire mythology, phoenixes have been cursed to never find happiness in love. They have a bonded partner that they spend all of their lives with (phoenixes get reborn every 100 years) but they can never be in love with their mate; instead, they seek love with humans or other beings, but are destined to never have a happy relationship. It's a terrible fate and you can see how it would wear someone down. But Emberly and her mate Rory stay strong, supporting each other and taking turns leading the more dangerous life; if one half of a a phoenix pair dies before their allotted 100-year span is over, the rebirth is painful and can only happen if their partner is still around. I particularly liked this aspect of Arthur's mythology because it creates a true sense of danger for Emberly and Rory, in a way that wouldn't have happened if the phoenixes could be just fine after each death.

Emberly is a very typical Arthur heroine: she's confident in all of the professional and sexual aspects of her life, though she does have a muddy romantic life. Like Riley and Risa before her, Emberly has multiple potential/current/previous lovers: Rory; Jackson Miller, a fire Fae; and her ex, Sam, who's presented as human but is probably something more. I have my suspicious about where Arthur will go with Sam but we'll see what happens -- Arthur has a way of surprising me even when I'm looking for it!

The overarching plot is an investigation into the death of Emberly's boss, which is being led by Sam and his team. There are mysterious vampire-like red cloaks who are after Emberly's boss' research, which means the Emberly is forced into the investigation even though she's supposed to be laying low this rebirth. We don't get a lot of resolution about the red cloaks since this is the setup for a mystery that will likely span several novels, if not the entire series, but we do get a nice bit of information about their origins and potential goals. They're still a creepy hive-mind baddie without really clear motivations but there's enough of a tease in FIREBORN to have me completely intrigued.

If you're looking to start a new urban fantasy series with a compelling plot, fully realised characters, steamy romance, and standout worldbuilding, look no further than FIREBORN. Keri Arthur has kicked off what's sure to be yet another amazing series and you won't be sorry you've given it a shot!

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Posted by Tynga at 03:00

 Adult, Keri Arthur, Penguin, Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated, Phoenix, Publisher, Review, Souls of Fire, Urban Fantasy  4 People left their mark

Daring You To Read...Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur

Daring You To Read is a weekly feature here on Tynga’s Reviews where we dare you to read some of our favorite older releases (at least 6 months old). All the books/series we choose to feature are titles we adored and think you should give them a shot! We think it’s a super awesome way to discover that special book who might have slipped off your radar!

You’ve already read the book? Let’s us know what you thought!
You are accepting the dare? We’d love to know!
Have a dare of your own? Leave a comment ^^

This week, I'm daring you to read FULL MOON RISING, the first book in Keri Arthur's sexy and thrilling Riley Jensen series. There are nine books in the now-complete series and you’ll love each and every one if you’re a fan of strong characters, meticulous world building, steamy moments, and fast-paced plotting.

First off, let me say how refreshing I found the series’ setting. The books take place in Melbourne, making it stand out in a genre where most books are typically set in a handful of American cities. (I’m looking at you, Atlanta and Chicago! (There are other cities that get used in multiple series but I can’t remember them off the top of my head.))

And then there’s the characters. I loved Riley Jensen from the moment I met her, when she’s saving a group of humans even though she’s scared. She’s smart, sassy, obsessed with stilettos, unashamed of her sexual drive, and generally a lot of fun. She works at the Directorate of Other Races, which police supernatural beings, mostly because it was that or the military, because Riley and her twin brother Rhoan are hybrids – part werewolf, part vampire – though Riley is more in touch with her werewolf side and Rhoan with his vampiric one. Her boss, Jack, wants her to become a guardian (a.k.a. supernatural assassin fighting for the side of good) like her brother but Riley has, up until now, avoided that type of training. Of course, that all changes when she senses that her brother’s in trouble and she has a naked vampire outside her door.

We don’t see as much of Rhoan in this book as we do in future novels since he goes missing, which is the main impetus for Riley becoming more involved with Directorate work, but I think you’ll enjoy him when you meet him. And I know you’ll love Lysander, Rhoan’s partner. He’s probably my favourite character in the series even though he’s very much a secondary one. He’s so in love with Rhoan and he accepts Rhoan’s work but he’s not a wallflower and he has some fantastic moments across the series. I truly appreciate that Keri Arthur has included successful hetero- and homosexual relationships in her story and that her characters don’t make a big deal out of it. It’s a type of diversity that’s lacking in the genre as a whole and I love it when authors have a more representative world.

Of course, I can’t talk about any Riley Jensen novel without mentioning Quinn, Riley’s love interest. Quinn is alpha male all the way, plus he’s a vampire, so he’s more than able to keep up with Riley and her antics. He’s got a lot of secrets that come out over the course of the series and I really enjoyed the push-and-pull in his relationship with Riley as the books go on.

Before I sign off, I should let you know, though, that this book – and the series as a whole – has a lot of sex. It’s not erotica but it’s not fade to black either so you should be prepared for some extremely steamy scenes. As the series progresses, the A storylines do get stronger but there’s always a lot of focus on Riley’s romantic life, so you best be prepared for a lot of sexy time. I don’t typically gravitate towards books with many sex scenes but I really enjoyed the characters and the world that Keri Arthur has created so I’m glad that I got my feet wet with something a little sexier than my usual fare, maybe because the werewolves in this series, despite having copious amounts of sex, believe in soulmates.

Interested in finding out more? Here's the scoop on FULL MOON RISING:

A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races–and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker–until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming.

Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she’s going to find her brother….Easier said than done as the city pulses with frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful–and delectably naked–vamp who raises her temperature like never before.

In matters carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior–by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind–and just how much it needs her. She doesn't see dead people, but…

Tynga's thoughts

Read an excerpt (scroll down)

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

The rest of the series:

What do you think of the Riley Jensen Guardian series?

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Posted by jenn at 07:30

 Daring You to Read, Keri Arthur, Random House, Vampire, werewolf  9 People left their mark

Kissing Sin by Keri Arthur

Kissing Sin by Keri Arthur

Book Stats:
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Dell
Release Date: January 30, 2007

Series: Riley Jenson #2

Source: Personal Shelf

Reviewed by: Tynga

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

From Melbourne’s gleaming skyscrapers to its throbbing nightclubs, Riley Jenson’s world is raging with danger and desire. A drop-dead-gorgeous werewolf–with a touch of vamp coursing in her blood–Riley works for an organization created to police the supernatural races. But when she wakes up naked and bruised in a barren alley, she knows only that she must run for her life.

Within moments Riley collides with the sexiest man she’s ever seen: steely, seductive Kade, who is fighting a life-and-death battle of his own. With old lovers and enemies gathering around her, Riley knows she is being pursued by a new kind of criminal. Because in Riley’s blood is a secret that could create the ultimate warrior–if only she can survive her own dangerous desires….

Riley Jenson, half-Vampire, half-Werewolf, has been deceived by her lover.  In hopes of impregnating her and creating perfect half-breed offspring, he sneakily fed her drugs and ended up kidnapping her. Talk about destructive relationship. She managed, with the help of her friends, to escape this mad man, but she’s not out of trouble just yet. Words that she has special genetic has spread among an undercover genetic organization and many would love to get their hands on her. Will she be able to avoid being turned into a lab rat?

Kissing Sin starts pretty hardcore. At the end of the first book, Riley had a car accident and was kidnapped. The second book starts eight days later, when Riley wakes up in a research facility, with no memory of how she got there and what happened to her. She manages to escape though, with a new friend, a Stallion shifter and the action never really stopped until the end. It’s one of the main things I liked about this book: the pretty much none-stop action.  Of course at some point you wonder how the bad guys always manages to have the upper hand, but everything is explained at the right time!

On the flip side, the overwhelming dose of free sex bothered me. I totally understand that in the world Keri Arthur created, werewolves are free when it comes to intimacy and often have multiple partners at same time. To them, sex is just sex, without any emotional connections. And even though I do get it, I don’t think it was that necessary to have so many sex scenes within the novel. The Riley Jenson series is more a hybrid of Urban Fantasy (because of the action) and Erotica than Paranormal Romance, because even though there is love potential with a certain vampire, the possibility is choked under the abundance of carnal pleasures Riley insist to have with other partners.

Riley is a good character, even though she is really stubborn and annoying at times, she is determined to get control of her life and is willing to make sacrifices. I don’t agree with many of her decisions, but it does make an interesting read! I love her twin brother to pieces and I would definitely go for Quinn (aforementioned Vampire) if I were Riley, but obviously I’ll have to agree to disagree with her choices. Misha was probably the most interesting character of the book. He is somewhat a bad guy, he is very mysterious but Arthur gifted him with a multi-layered personality and the more we discover, the more interesting his motivations become. 

Overall I did enjoy the book and I plan to keep on reading the series even though the Erotic aspect is somewhat disturbing. The things I like in this series overweight the negative sides. I would recommend this series only if your not bothered by abundant carnal pleasures, the action and the characters will engross you, but it’s clear the series isn’t for everyone.

Read an excerpt

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Posted by Tynga at 08:17

 Keri Arthur, Random House, Review, Vampire, werewolf  10 People left their mark

Darkness Rising by Keri Arthur

Darkness Rising by Keri Arthur

Book stats:
Reading level: Adult
Mass market paperback: 368 pages
Genre: Paranormal romance
Publisher: Random House
Release date: October 25, 2011

Series: Dark Angels #2

Source: Personal shelf

Reviewed by: Jenn

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

The sexy, thrilling adventures continue in bestselling author Keri Arthur's new Dark Angels series, starring half-werewolf/half-Aedh Risa Jones.

Risa will go to any lengths to avenge her mother's murder-even if it means making a pact with the most evil vampire she's ever met. Lethal and powerful, Madeline Hunter is leader of the vampire council, and will put her resources behind finding the killer-for a price. The venerable vampire requires the assistance of Risa's psychic powers. Quid pro quo.

Someone-or something-is targeting the elders of the local council, cursing the immortal vampires to rapidly age, sink into madness, and die. Risa must track down the vengeful being responsible. But Risa's father, a rogue Aedh priest, also enlists her in a dangerous mission. And not even the great Madeline Hunter may be able to protect her from the shadowy forces that desire nothing less than Risa's destruction.

DARKNESS RISING picks up about two months after Risa’s mother’s murder. Risa is still devastated by her loss but she’s working through it. Unfortunately, her father and Madeline Hunter have other ideas: her father wants Risa to keep looking for the keys and Madeline wants Risa to prove her worth by figuring out who’s attacking members of the vampire council. Forced to work both problems at the same time, Risa has little choice but to call on her allies for assistance.

Plot-wise, DARKNESS RISING is very satisfying. There are developments in Risa’s search for the keys and the mystery of who’s killing vampires is resolved in an unpredictable but entirely logical way. (This is my favourite kind of mystery. I hate it when the answers don’t jive with the rest of the book.) Both of these storylines were exciting and well written and they made it incredibly difficult to put DARKNESS RISING down.

On the romance level, there are also developments. Sexy developments. Risa finds herself more and more drawn to Azriel, her reaper companion, though she continues her relationship with Lucien. And I find myself more and more in Azriel’s corner since Azriel is revealing more of himself while Lucien is starting to have a shady vibe, at least to me. In fact, my opinion of Lucien has definitely taken a downward turn since he does a few things in DARKNESS RISING that made me question his motivations. I’m looking forward to finding out whether Lucien really is on Risa’s side. Readers, please let me know what you think in the comments!

The Dark Angels series is off to a promising start with the first two books. DARKNESS UNBOUND let us settle back into the world Keri created for Riley and company while showcasing an almost-new set of characters. Grown-up Risa is a treat, and I love the constants that carry over from the Riley books, like Risa’s love of Coke. In DARKNESS RISING, the action and stakes escalate, increasing my investment in the series. It’s another fantastic entry in Keri Arthur’s oeuvre, filled with steamy scenes, great action, and a fast-paced plot. I can’t wait to see what happens to Risa next!

Read an Excerpt

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Posted by jenn at 06:48

 Keri Arthur, Random House, Review, werewolf  Leave your mark

Darkness Unbound by Keri Arthur

Darkness Unbound by Keri Arthur

Book stats:
Reading Level: Adult
Mass market paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Dell
Release date: September 27, 2011

Series: Dark Angels #1

Source: Personal shelf

Reviewed by: Jenn

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

The fight against darkness rages on for the next generation—in New York Times bestselling author Keri Arthur’s exciting new series set in the world of the Guardians.

Being half werewolf and half Aedh, Risa Jones can enter the twilight realms between life and death and see the reapers, supernatural beings that collect the souls of the dead. But she soon makes a terrifying discovery: Some sinister force is stealing souls, preventing the dead from ever knowing the afterlife.

Reapers escort souls—not snatch them—but Risa is still unnerved when a reaper shadows her in search of someone Risa has never met: her own father, an Aedh priest, who is rumored to be tampering with the gates of hell for a dark purpose. With the help of her “aunt”—half-werewolf, half-vampire Riley Jenson—and an Aedh named Lucian who may have lost his wings but none of his sex appeal, Risa must pursue whatever shadowy practitioner of blood magic is seizing souls, and somehow stop her father . . . before all hell breaks loose.

Having followed Keri Arthur’s work for many years, particularly her Riley Jensen series, I was very excited when I heard she was going to be writing Risa’s story. The Riley Jensen books are fantastic paranormal romance novels with lots of action and great storylines and I was hoping that I’d be able to say the same about the Dark Angels series. Thankfully, I can!

Risa Jones was just a kid in the Riley Jensen books but she’s all grown up in this series, running a restaurant with a couple friends and trying to lead a normal life -- at least as normal as a half-werewolf, half-Aedh woman can. (For the uninitiated, the Aedh are winged beings who have varying powers and can take different states (flesh vs. energy).) It’s a change from the Riley books; Riley was a Guardian, tasked with protecting Melbourne from the evil supernaturals, while Risa definitely does not want to be a Guardian, not after seeing the toll it took on Riley. Nonetheless, she has a good grasp of her powers and knows how to defend herself, which comes in handy when her curiosity has her running around town trying to figure out why everyone is suddenly interested in her absentee father.

Risa also has to deal with new developments on the romantic front, in the shape of an Aedh named Lucien. He’s very mysterious and I’m curious to see what his role will be in future novels. In Darkness Unbound, he proves himself to be a capable ally and a sexy, sexy dude, much like Quinn in Full Moon Rising (the first Riley Jensen novel). Risa’s also attracted to one of the reapers, the beings responsible for shepherding souls after people die. This particular reaper, Azriel, is one of the many folks looking for her father and just happens to be quite appealing. This also reminded me of the Riley books since Riley found herself torn between two men for almost the entire series. But this is good news, because Keri Arthur is a genius when it comes to writing love triangles in which you (and the character) have a hard time choosing who’s a better match!Another comparison with the Riley series: lots of steaminess. Keri Arthur doesn’t shy away from the sex and Darkness Unbound is no exception. Her characters have *very* healthy lives, if you know what I mean. ;) But the romantic antics in no way detract from the main plot, which is completely engrossing.

Fans of Keri’s other work won’t be disappointed in any way, and I suspect that this new series will attract even more readers since Darkness Unbound hooks you from the start! Plus there are a lot of familiar faces, like Riley and Rhoan, who were main characters in the Riley books but who take a more secondary role in the Dark Angels series, at least so far. It’s a fun glimpse into what happened to these guys after the series was over, but you don’t have to be familiar with the characters to enjoy them in Darkness Unbound.

Everything about Darkness Unbound made me happy and I can’t wait to see what happens to Risa next, in Darkness Rising, currently in my TBR stack.

P.S. How lush is this cover? I think it’s one of my favourites of the fall. Such dramatic colours and it really incorporates a lot of elements of the story and captures Risa nicely.

Read a teaser over at The Deadline Dames

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Posted by jenn at 03:15

 Keri Arthur, Random House, Review, werewolf  6 People left their mark

Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur

A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races–and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker–until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming.…

Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she’s going to find her brother….Easier said than done as the city pulses with frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful–and delectably naked–vamp who raises her temperature like never before.

In matters carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior–by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind–and just how much it needs her.

 

Full Moon Rising is set in an open world, aka a world where Paranormal Creatures are out of the closet and living among humans openly. These nonhuman are legislated by an organization called The Directorate and Riley Jenson is one of their employees. Riley is non ordinary werewolf, she comes from the Red pack. A nearly extinct pack of werewolves with red hair and slightly different body types. But that’s not the most important difference, Riley, just like her twin brother, is a Dhampir, I very rare combination of werewolf and vampire heritage. Her rather simple life goes havoc though when her brother goes missing, and she seems to be the only who cares. Mind set on finding him, she will stumble in a full blown conspiracy.

This was the first of Keri Arthur’s book I ever read and I really liked it. The world setting was great, her characters well thought and mysterious and a great plot to sink your teeth into. In this lore werewolf are “victims” of Moon Heat which occurs a few days before the full moon and cause in all werewolves an incontrollable urge to mate. As you can guess, Full Moon Rising is set in the key period of the month and even though there are A LOT of mention of sex and sex scenes, they aren’t all that graphic and don’t weight down the action.

I really liked the characters as a whole, they all have a different personalities, different motives and each a role to play in this story. I love that most of the main characters were given a past explaining their current behaving and the flavor Keri gave each of them. Riley is strong, stubborn and resourceful. She’s not all mighty and will fail, which makes her that much more tangible. Quinn is one hell of a sexy piece of man and his trouble past makes him that much more interesting and I’m really looking forward to discover more about him. Liander is a what I call a “back burner character”, he isn’t a main character, the story could go on without him, yet I had a soft spot for the guy. Hopefully he’ll take a more important place in the following books.

One of the aspect I really appreciated about this book is that it’s set in Australia. The majority of books are set in the States so it was nice to see a change of scenery!

I already own the following two books and I can’t wait to read them. If you are an Urban Fantasy lover and are interested in a different lore, set in a unique world, you have to pick up the Riley Jenson series!

Riley Jenson Guardian:

Full Moon Rising

Kissing Sin

Tempting Evil

Dangerous Games

Embraced by Darkness

The Darkest Kiss

Deadly Desire

Bound to Shadow

Moon Sworn

Book Stats:

Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages

Publisher: Dell (December 26, 2006)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0553588451

ISBN-13: 978-0553588453

Book Source: Won in a giveaway, Sent by Keri Arthur.

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Posted by Tynga at 14:19

 Keri Arthur, Review, Vampire, werewolf  4 People left their mark