Soulbound by Kristen Callihan

Finally free! Or so Eliza May thought. She'd been chained to Adam for months when she'd been finally freed. She didn't know she was getting herself into another form of enslavement when she moved in with her aunt Mab, though. She must now escape once more and ironically, she'll need the help of Adam to get away.

I really love Kristen's books and Soulbound is no exception! Fool that I am, I almost missed the release day of this book altogether! It would've been a grave offense! Anyhow, this pretty is now sitting on my shelf, along with the previous books, and I am eagerly awaiting the next one!

Adam had always been some kind of enigma to me, and even though he is still mysterious by the end of this title, I feel I know him a lot more. Actually, the man itself laid it all out for all to see and judge, it really is his job and how he controls the GIMs that still remains mysterious. BUT, I got enough answers to keep me satisfied. I really like him and despite not approving all of his decisions, I can understand where he is coming from, and I loved that Callihan shed light on his past, allowing us to really understand his motives. He is a true knight in not-so-shiny armor at his core, but had to become a scheming bastard to survive this long. It's a complicated mix, and I truly enjoyed it.

Eliza May is a force to be reckon-with under her lady attire. She had a very troubled past, has those really weird- and deadly - powers and has to deal with her last slaver to  escape her most recent nightmare. It took a lot of strength to face all that came her way and I command her for it. She is smart and wary, has a strong attitude and the language to back it up, and I loved her verbal sparing with Adam. I rooted for her the whole time and I really hoped it would work out for Adam and her, in the end.

The plot was highly addictive and I have to tip my hat and give a round of applaud to Adam. He is a master manipulator and I can only admire how he managed to make it all work the way he wanted to. With all his smarts, Eliza still managed to get one on him in the end, and I am SOOOO glad she did! What a sad ending it would've been otherwise.

The end isn't your typical happily ever after, and Adam and Eliza aren't your typical couple either. I guess all things considered things didn't turn out not so bad and I'm glad Sin gave his 30cents to Eliza!

Now, I'm under the impression Sin will be the star of the next novel (or maybe Lucien?? who knows) and I can't wait to read it! This series is awesome, and I urge you to read it if you haven't started yet!

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Posted by Tynga at 00:32

 Adult, Banshee, Darkest London, ghosts, Grand Central Publishing, Hachette, Historical, Kristen Callihan, Netgalley, Paranormal, Review, Romance, steampunk  Leave your mark

Evernight by Kristen Callihan

I am a big fan of Kristen Callihan and once again I enjoyed my ride with her great characters. This time around, we follow brilliant, human, Holly has she tries to regain her composure after being kidnapped and forced to do terrible things. One of her terrible actions resulted in William Thorne having a titanium heart, poisoning his body and mind. He wants nothing more than the death of the tool (Holly) who forced this transformation onto him, but he had no idea how amazingly good she would make him feel.

I've heard other say this novel was their favorite in the series so far and while I cannot claim the same, I definitely enjoyed it. The most amazing thing about this series is that each novel is so great I simply cannot pick a favorite. They are all equally awesome.

One of the aspects I particularly liked about this installment is that Holly, even though she has an affinity to control metal, is human and that she pulls her own weight in a world of supernaturals. She is super smart, and trained physically be as strong as the supernatural next door and I can only command her for it. I don't want to spoil anything but at some point she fought against a particularly nasty demon and I was awed by her quick thinking and tricks. She is definitely a force to be reckoned with even though she flies under the radar because of her quiet and over-analyzing demeanor.

Will was a delight and I loved witnessing his contradictory feelings. He is a rebel, yet falls for quiet Holly and find himself craving a simple life. She is, despite her circumstances, the source of his torment but her regrets are palpable and go straight to his heart. I really loved how he slowly falls for her and that it drives him nuts to see her so devoid of emotions. They are complete opposites, but draw each other like magnets.

On a side note, the cover is super pretty, and Holly is well represented, but William has long white hair... so yeah, I wish to cover portrayed him better.

I was completely committed to the plot and was surprised by the different twist and turns. The bad guy isn't necessarily whom we think they are and I always appreciate that in a novel.

I loved the conclusion even though it was a bit predictable. I just love those HEA!

I am under the impression the next novel will feature Adam and Eliza May and I can't wait to know more about these two!

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Posted by Tynga at 01:30

 Darkest London, Grand Central Publishing, Hachette, Historical, Kristen Callihan, Netgalley, Paranormal, Review, steampunk, Vampire  Leave your mark

Shadowdance by Kristen Callihan

Two years after being tortured for is his blood by demons and being rescued by the lovely Mary Chase, Jack Talent is still trying to recover from the mental damage. His own brand of therapy includes murder, which would be frowned upon considering he is an investigator. All is well though, until the SOS decides that Miss Chase should become his partner and she starts poking around. His strategy to keep the woman his heart desire as far away as possible is utterly destroyed.

Shadowdance had a very different mood than the previous novels in the series and I enjoyed it all the same, if not more, because of it's dark complexity. Talent and Chase have been lashing at each other for four years, since they first met, and things don't get better because they are partnered. See Talent has a terrible secret involving Chase weighting him down and he cannot risk her finding out. So despite his desire to keep her close and cherish her, he does his best to be despicable to her and keep her at bay. Not knowing better, the poor Chase reciprocates teeth and nails and it makes for some quite heated up exchanges. I truly enjoyed their colorful exchange even though I felt bad for them. Callihan did an awesome job keeping their angst and banter believable.

Both main characters are highly lovable individually and they are a diamond in the rough when together. Each of their tormented past is endearing and I can only command Kristen for the complexity of their past. They are entwined in a much deeper way than we are first led to believe and I enjoyed discovering the different layers of their involvement. Their feelings of betrayal and unworthiness felt true and broke my heart on more than one occasion.

I found the main plot line to be jaw-dropping and engrossing. Despite discovering early on who the Bishop of Charing Cross (the killer) is, many plot twists kept us on our toes as a copy cat started mocking the first series of murder. Miss Callihan also introduced new supernaturals we hadn't encounter in the series yet and I enjoyed learning more about this new lore. A new character also made an apparition and I can't wait to know more about him! Lucien also really grew on me and I really hope he gets his own novel in the future.


I really liked how the conclusion played out and I have to say I had all kinds of speculations going on as to how it would end and I got quite a scare at some point! Thankfully, I got my feeling of happy feelings in the end and even got a bit teary-eyed, emotional mess that I am lol


I haven't found information on a fifth novel in the series, but the conclusion leads me to believe their will be an other novel, this one featuring Will Thorne, an old friend of Jack Talent. The Darkest London series is an extremely well written and engaging paranormal romance series and I would definitely recommend it to lovers of historical settings. Steampunk lovers will also find elements they'll like in this amazing series!



 

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Posted by Tynga at 00:19

 Adult, Darkest London, Forever, ghost, Hachette, Kristen Callihan, Netgalley, Paranormal Romance, Review, Shifters  4 People left their mark

Entwined by Kristen Callihan

This story was unexpectedly sweet.  The story is about Eamon and Lu, two young people living in the early 1800s. Lu was promised for marriage to Aidan, Eamon's older brother, to pay for her father's dept. Fate has other plans in mind though!

I loved how filled with romance this novella turned out to be. Eamon writes to Lu, impersonating his brother, and over the years they fall madly in love with each other, despite their initial rebuttal. I loved their wits and sweetness and I couldn't help but root for Eamon when Lu finally came to his manor to marry his brother. Both have very big secrets, and even though it could've been handled better, I command them for their strength of character.

Even though it's pretty obvious that Eamon and Lu will end up together somehow, the road was eventful and some-what surprising. Especially for such a short story.

We don't really know how this story relates to the Darkest London books until the very end, and I was definitely shocked by the revelation.

Not having read Shadowdance yet I can't tell you how necessary it is to read the story before the fourth book of the series, but I feel like it's more extra material than mandatory one. Nonetheless, it's a nice and quick read and I see no reason for you not to read it!

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Posted by Tynga at 02:42

 Darkest London, Forever, Hachette, Historical, historical fiction, Kristen Callihan, Netgalley, Paranormal, Review  4 People left their mark