Review: Cold Memory by Leslie A. Kelly

Format: ebook
Pub Date: January 2017
Publisher: Self Published
Length: 260 pages
FTC: Purchased myself

I was a HUGE fan of the first two books of this series, which Leslie Kelly published under the name Leslie Parrish several years back. (Cold Sight was 2010) Unfortunately, they didn't sell well enough for her publisher to continue to support the series. Thankfully, Kelly decided to bring the series back on her own.  This is book 3, but I believe they can all stand alone.

What I love about these books is that the paranormal aspects aren't too far outside of what we already consider normal. It's light on the woo woo. These are pretty much standard romantic suspense, and 3/3 the mysteries are good and compelling.

Waiting on Wednesday: Cipher by Moira Rogers

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted over at Breaking the Spine. It highlights books we just can't wait to get our greedy, book loving hands on.

I'm a huge fan of Moira Rogers's Southern Arcana series. It has great characters, scorching chemistry, and plenty of heart. I just finished up Deadlock (book #3 in the series) and now cannot wait for Cipher which doesn't come out until SEPTEMBER! That's a long, long time to wait. But since it's Kat's story, I'm sure it will be wonderful.

Format: ebook
Pub Date: September 2011
Publisher: Samhain

The Blurb:

Fourteen months ago, Kat Gabriel's life changed forever when she used her empathy as a weapon. Now she can't escape the weight of those deaths--or the loss of the easy friendship she and Andrew once shared. Obsessed with her mother's violent past, Kat is determined to learn the truth of her inner-darkness by understanding her legacy.

Since the attack that turned him into a wolf, Andrew Callaghan has done everything possible to make himself stronger. More capable of protecting Kat--both from the supernatural world that forced her to kill, and from their own volatile connection. Pushing her away hurt them both, but he's finally made himself into the protector she needs.

As Kat's quest leads her into the darkest underbelly of the psychic world, Andrew is determined to be at her side. But every step forward reopens old emotional wounds and shakes their control. For a dangerous alpha and a deadly psychic, distraction could be fatal--especially when the greatest threat they pose is to each other.

Hidden Currents by Christine Feehan

Although initially it seemed as though Ms. Feehan had mistakenly packaged a Ghostwalker book as a Drake sisters novel, Hidden Currents redeemed itself as a terrific finale for a unique series by the queen of paranormal romance.

Followers of the series have been able to watch Elle and Jackson dance around the issue of their relationship--or lack of one--for 4 full length novels and 2 novellas prior to the release of their story, Hidden Currents. So it's no real surprise that the traditional 'learning to love' phase is completely missing from this book. They already know and love each other. It is their struggle to find some common ground and build a real relationship--one that exists outside their heads--that forms the emotional center of the novel.

I'm a little (well a lot) uncomfortable with what happens to Elle in this book. It brings back some of the worst stereotypes of the genre--although admittedly not in the same way. The first 1/4 of the book is ugly and uncomfortable to read. It is far more violent than most of the other Drake series--which is why it seemed more like a Ghostwalker book than a Drake book.

Jackson is one of my favorite characters in the Drake series, and I think Christine Feehan did him justice. And while it may seem rushed to some, I really enjoyed the way she shows the marriages of the sisters. We also see brief appearances by just about every important secondary character as well--which I love for finale books.

So while the violence was a bit off-putting, this was a solid book with great characters, plenty of suspense, plenty of romance, and a compelling read.

The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick

Amanda Quick aka Jayne Ann Krentz's Arcane Society series is unique. She switches from Victorian to Contemporary settings depending upon which name she uses, but the underlying themes and premises remain the same. Two very different styles dealing with the psychic powers and filled with suspense.

The last Quick installment left me a bit bored. The characters seemed overwhelmed by the themes of psychic power, murder and mayhem. And without strong characters, the plot really doesn't matter. This one brings Quick back to the strong heroes and heroines that made me pick up her books in the first place. Even her earliest historicals had suspenseful plot lines, but over time the heroines had succumbed to a high degree of wimpiness.

So, while not perfect--the suspense was not very suspenseful this time--the Perfect Poison is a vast improvement over previous Quick installments in the Arcane Society series.

If you like your Regency or Victorian historicals without the paranormal or psychic aspects, though, you should avoid this one.