Coffee Pot Reviews: Wounded Angel by Stacy Gail and Sweet Soldier by Misty Evans

 
Welcome to Coffee Pot Reviews! These are short and sweet reviews done in the length of time it takes my coffee pot to brew! I have two yummy adult books to share from the Earth Angel and Kali Sweet series. 

Adult books contain mature content and are not intended for readers under 18 years of age.  

Wounded Angel
by Stacy Gail
Series: Earth Angels #3
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication date: May 27, 2013
Genre: Adult Paranormal
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon
ARC provided by author for unbiased review
My review of Nobody's Angel #1 & Savage Angel #2
*purchase through buy links supports this blog

A descendant of the Angel of Vengeance, Nate da Luca was gifted with an uncanny ability to find things. It made his job as a detective a breeze—until he learned the hard way that some things should remain hidden. After that, his powers vanished, along with his belief in himself. Which is going to make tracking down Gabriella Littlefield for his latest client a challenge. Personal trainer Ella Little paid a hefty price for her life—now all she wants is to live it in peace. Then a sexy hulk of a man turns up in her gym, reigniting desires she thought she'd left behind along with her real name and hair color. Desires she can't deny even after she discovers Nate's no stranger to her dark past. Before he can convince her the attraction is mutual, Nate's going to have to earn Ella's trust. But a demon is playing for keeps in the world of humans, using Ella as bait, and the last thing they have is time.

Wounded Angel the third installment in the Earth Angels series introduced us to Nate da Luca; a descendant of the the Angel of Vengeance. As a half-human angel his abilities make him a natural as a police detective. He can find anything he is looking for, but when his last case goes wrong and his powers fizzled he retires and starts his own private investigator firm. He is in Chicago looking for Gabriella Littelfield and something is hunting him. Each book in the Earth Angels series features a new angel their love interest and its all wrapped up in an action-packed mystery/case. I loved Nate, he is a well-toned, smexy, kind-hearted, swoon-worthy man who is deeply scarred by events from his past. Gabriella now known as Ella has done everything to put the horrors of her past behind her and for the first time in years she feels an unexpected attraction to a man. Ella is such a strong woman and her story survivor story is exceptional. The tale that unfolds was suspenseful and I loved how it tied into the overall ARC of this series. We learn more about the demons as the angels communicate with each other through a website and I loved the interaction between Nate and the previous characters. The relationship that developed between Nate and Ella was filled with sexual tension, denial and a sweetness that felt genuine. I laughed at some of their banter and loved the way they gave each other strength. While the tale was predictable I found myself turning the pages to see how it all worked out. This series is such a fun escape and each time I open a new book in the series I am rewarded. Fans of romantic suspense with a paranormal twist will adore this series.

Three and half cups of coffee out of five

Like my review? Want to win the first books in the series? I am hosting a giveaway today over at Nocturnal Book Reviews so be sure and stop by to enter! 

Sweet Soldier
by Misty Evans
Series: Kali Sweet # 3
Publication date: April 9, 2013
Genre: Adult Urban Fantasy
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon
ARC provided in exchange for unbiased review
*purchase through buy links supports this blog
My review of Revenge is Sweet #1 & Sweet Chaos #2 

Armageddon is coming and it’s up to me to stop the Four Horsemen and their heavenly army of angels. Unfortunately, one of the Horsemen happens to be my rock star boyfriend, Radison Beaumont. At least that’s what his ex-fiancée, Parker Burkett, claims. Parker wants revenge on me for stealing Rad and she’s working with my archenemy, Queen Maria, a succubus who wants me back in her court of supernaturals. The only way I can stop them and the coming biblical apocalypse is to recruit an army – an army led by the king of hell. Lucifer’s not about to help without getting something in return, and following anyone’s orders – even his – is not my style. I’m turning my inner demon loose on Parker, Maria, and the Horsemen – and saving the humans I love at the same time. But what price will I pay for dealing with the devil? Going to the dark side has never been so sweet.

Wow, Misty Evans brought us the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Sweet Soldier the third installment in the Kali Sweet series and the action was not stop intense. Kali is up to her neck in chaos, her nemesis Queen Maria is back and so is Lucifer. We see growth in Kali especially in the romance department and I loved her little chat with Di. Rad is back and hotter than ever but he is one of the horsemen and Kali needs to decide if she can kill the man she loves. I love all the banter between the characters and Kali is such a snarky kicking-ass!  There is a softer side of her emerging that I loved discovering even if it makes her want to barf. Evans delivers a wonderfully paced tale, and skillfully fleshing out characters that I have come to adore. She rips one of my favorites away from us and it broke my heart. I am excited about some changes coming up in the series and cannot wait to read the next installment. Fans of action-packed urban fantasy with kick-ass, fleshed out characters, and well developed world-building this series is for you! 

Four cups of Italian coffee out of five

Clean Sweep Challenges

9am (EST) Kristen @ My ParaHangover
4pm (EST) Crystal @ Elegantly Bound Reviews

Review/Guest Post/Giveaway: Nobody's Angel by Stacy Gail

Today is my stop on the Fiery Hot Reads for Icy Cold Nights Blog Hop and I have a hot little paranormal romance to keep you warm on a cold winter's night! Enjoy and be sure to enter the giveaway and stop by the other blogs participating today:

Nobody's Angel 
by Stacy Gail
Series: Earth Angels #1
Publisher: Harlequin/Carina Press
Publication date: January 21, 2013
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance 
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon 

Investigative journalist Kendall Glynn is horrified when a friend and colleague signs off permanently during a live newscast, jabbing a pen into his jugular. Kendall's no expert, but judging by the strange white veil in the anchorman's eyes, she would swear he was a man possessed. A descendant of the accursed Nephilim, Zeke Reece prowls San Francisco by night, keeping the city free from paranormal phenomena. But even he is no match for whatever malevolent force is behind a recent rash of murder-suicides. And when a beautiful tenacious reporter becomes the next target, Zeke has no choice but to stay close to her, until he can find the evil spirit and cross it over. The closer Kendall gets to the truth, the more danger she's in. Fortunately, a sexy and mysterious masked stranger keeps swooping in to the rescue. Kendall's life depends on finding who or what is responsible for the killings, before it finds her.

To create Nobody’s Angel the first book in Stacy Gail’s new fiery hot Earth Angel series you will need to take one smoking hot descendant of the Nephilim, a little Supernatural, part superhero and then stir in an investigative journalist named Kendall who just has to know the how, what and why of everything! Gail’s first book in this series was highly entertaining, completely swoon-worthy and held me completely captive. It is the perfect escape on an icy cold night!  

The tale begins with a horrific on air attempted murder and successful suicide. Kendall Glynn was on cloud nine as her friend and colleague began reading her report about a rash of murder-suicides live on air; that is until he begins to try to kill his anchor partner all while screaming, “Somebody stop me!” Kendall is able to thwart the murder attempt but isn’t fast enough to stop her friend from killing himself with a pen to the jugular. As Kendall goes into shock in the aftermath, she tries to work out what she saw. Just before he snapped a white veil covered his eyes that no one else seems to have seen. If she did not know better she would say he was possessed. Zeke Reece is the paramedic on duty and he checks out Kendall all the while asking her questions about her friend’s eyes. He knows something and Kendall needs answers. Zeke knows a lot more than Kendall thinks but he’s determined to keep her safe and the ooh-la-la tale that unfolds was so much fun.

First I have to tell you that I loved Kendall and Zeke. Kendall is a rocking investigative reporter who is really good at connecting the pieces even if it ends up putting her in the middle of things. Zeke is smexy walking and a Nephilim to boot. He spends his time protecting the city of San Francisco from malevolent forces.  By day he is a paramedic and your average drop dead, abs of steel guy. By night he is the masked hero known as the Guardian Angel. He has this whole Batman-Superman vibe right down to his crib and while these are all elements that felt familiar Gail's made it her own. The characters were lovable and had depth. Zeke is not perfect and he has some emotional baggage which just made him all the more desirable  The banter, sexual chemistry and escapades of these two really worked and I was quickly caught up in their story.   

Nobody’s Angel was a delightful, fun escape. While a lot of the elements were not new, Gail added her own special ingredients to the mix and gave me characters and a storyline that held me captive and made me smile. Kendall’s view on coffee and her witty one-liners made me laugh aloud. Zeke was the perfect superhero. I mean who doesn’t like a smexy dark-haired man who saves the day and makes your toes curl? The tale behind the murder-suicides was fascinating and I loved the supernatural elements. I liked Gail’s approach to Angel mythology and look forward to seeing where she takes this series. 

I totally recommend Nobody’s Angel to fans of paranormal romances wrapped in mystery. From a  sneak-peak in the back of the book I was able to deduce that each book will feature some type of Angel and their romantic interest. They will be neatly wrapped up in some type of suspenseful mystery, crime etc.  As ya all know this is hands-down my favorite kind of series and I cannot wait for Savage Angel, ooh and the angel is a Seraphim! Look for my review soon!

I want to thank the author for sending this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Four heavenly cups of coffee out of five 

Guest Post 

Before we begin, I’d like to thank Kimberly for allowing me to drop in and chat about my new paranormal romance series, The Earth Angels, published by Carina Press!

I have mad love for anything paranormal.  What else do you expect from someone who read “The Shining” at the age of nine?  It doesn’t even matter what the subject is—shapeshifters, lab experiments gone wrong, vampires, witches and wizards, immortals, ghosts, angels or demons—I’m not picky when it comes to this genre.  If it’s an outside-the-box kind of idea, I’m all over it like a Kardashian at a Prada shoe sale.

Over the years, though, I’ve noticed I have an affinity for paranormal characters I can relate to.  Don’t get me wrong, the only supernatural thing I’ve ever experienced was capturing an EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) when I went on a ghost hunt at The Menger Hotel in downtown San Antonio.  But I have trouble relating to a supernatural character that’s, you know, perfect.  That’s probably because I’m about as far from perfect as the sun is from the moon, so I’m a happy camper if paranormal characters are just as fallible and flawed as I am.  To me, it makes them more real.

Take the hero in NOBODY’S ANGEL, for instance.  Zeke Reece is all sorts of yummy, a paramedic by day and a masked protector by night.  He’s the 21^st-century version of the Nephilim, an ancient human-angel hybrid race.  The original Nephilim were supposedly wiped out by the Great Flood, but since Goliath (that super-sized guy with a fatal allergy to slings) was a descendant of the Nephilim, it’s obvious that some escaped extinction.  That’s what happened with Zeke’s ancestor, as well as all the other modern-day Nephilim, and they’re hyper-aware that their continued existence might not be wanted by the heavens.  This has affected Zeke in a big way.  He’s brooding, a loner, and doesn’t know how to share his life when he’s convinced he’s going to be wiped out if he steps even a toe out of line.  When the heroine, Kendall Glynn, is targeted by a phantasm known as a geist, he does his best to protect her and eliminate the threat.  That’s great, but he fumbles the ball time and again when it comes to trusting Kendall with all that he is.  It’s a good thing Kendall is willing to teach him a thing or two when it comes to opening up his solitary world and trusting others to accept him the way he is.  And most importantly, he learns that even if heaven itself doesn’t love him, he’s still worthy of being loved.

The second book in The Earth Angels series, SAVAGE ANGEL, was released this week (yay!).   In my mind, the super-powered heroine of the story appeared right out of the gate as a true descendant of the Seraphim (the Seraphim, or The Burning Ones, were created to be the Secret Service of heaven, as they guard the throne of God).  There’s nothing that personal bodyguard Sara Savitch can’t do when it comes to being the perfect soldier.  She’s ready to lay down her life to defend those who cannot defend themselves, and with her super speed, heightened senses and ability to manipulate fire, there isn’t anything that scares her… except having a conversation with Gideon Mandeville.  Come to find out, Sara is socially awkward.  She can field-strip an AK-47 in thirty seconds, but small talk is simply beyond her.  Beneath the no-nonsense, battle-hard exterior of a soldier beats the tender heart of a woman who has no idea how to handle the electric chemistry between Gideon and herself.  When she’s hired to be the bodyguard of Gideon’s father, they uncover a demonic plot while also revealing Sara’s painfully vulnerable side.  While it might be hard to understand what it’s like to sprout wings of fire, that vulnerability of Sara’s as she falls hopelessly in love with Gideon is something everyone can relate to.

WOUNDED ANGEL is the third book in The Earth Angels series, due to be released by Carina Press in May.  When I first sat down and outlined this four-part series, I wanted four very distinctive takes on the supernatural character—the superhero, the soldier, the wounded warrior, and the lover.  Nate da Luca is my wounded warrior who starts out with no power, yet finds himself at the heart of a demonic plot that showed hints of pulling itself together from the beginning of The Earth Angels series.  Because Nate starts out so damaged and with no powers to speak of, he was the easiest for me to relate to, and one of the first character-outlines I put together.  I’ll also admit to a special fondness for Kyle Beaudecker of DANGEROUS ANGEL, the fourth and final book, because his glitchy ADHD brain is very similar to my own. ^_^ 

All of these paranormal characters in The Earth Angels are both miraculous and flawed in their own very human way.  For the most part, they really are human, complete with morning breath and split ends, aggravating work commutes and gripes about cable bills.  They live in our world, struggle to make a place for themselves, and find love when they least expect it.  In short, they’re exactly like the rest of us.

Except they can fly.

Question:  Have you ever experienced anything supernatural?

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an eBook copy of Nobody's Angel 

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Today's Stops on the Fiery Hot Reads for Ice Cold Nights Hop

 Check out these awesome posts and giveaways! Each day different blogs will be participating so be sure to check in daily for your chance to win and discover new Fiery hot reads!

Cambria Hebert@CambriaHebert: Cameo Renae

Sara@Sara In Bookland:Komal Lewis: Impossible

Christy@Love of Books: Kristin Halbrook:Nobody But Us

Karla@Book Addict: Jus Accardo 

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings:Pam Jenoff The Ambassador's Daughter

 Veronica@ Mostly Reviews:RIchelle Mead: Vampire Academy