Secrets and Lies by Tracy James Jones is a novel of a different kind. Tracy weaves an unusual love story between a man confused about what he wants and who he loves and woman seeking true love. But the story isn’t that simple. Not by a long shot. It’s complex in a soap opera kind of way. You see the train wreck coming and can’t look away.

Kennedy Jordan loves a woman...a different kind of woman named Bren. He loved her, yet on a basic level, he wasn’t sure she would be enough to satisfy his needs...forever. Bren knew it and because of her secret, she overlooked his “affairs” as nothing more than his efforts at confirming his affections for her. Yes, it’s complicated all right.

Enter Camilla Vargas...the young woman with an agenda of her own. High on her list was finding an upwardly mobile business man to marry. She baited her trap (no pun-intended) and Jordan fell hard. But, did he fall hard enough to forget his feelings for Bren?

This story is not what I expected. Miss Jones addressed a contemporary love triangle with a completely different angle. It is not about being homo-sexual, hetero-sexual, or straight. It’s about love...just loving who you love despite societal prejudice. It’s about the struggle to be loyal, to be honest about your purpose, and to be honest with yourself. Fantastic read for a summer by the pool, the river or the beach.  

You can find Tracy James Jones at her Facebook page and twitter.Facebook: http://facebook.com/tracyjamesjones
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hatchiekid

You can also find her blogging @ http://tracyjamesjones.wordpress.com/

I jumped into Stacey Rourke’s Gryphon Series books with the novel Sacrifice. The book opens with the heroine, Celeste Garrett training with her mentor a grumpy little gnome. Yes, a walking, talking garden variety gnome. Celeste is charged with protecting humanity from the maliciousness of Titans...demons shaped like fire tornados with flaming whips, Bat-bulls and my favorite creepy one...land sharks like Great Whites! (Just the idea of a shark on land freaked me out.)

Celeste’s boyfriend is a devilishly handsome demon named Caleb. He is the quintessential tall-dark-haired-dreamy-eyed Irishman. He wants to shed his immortality for humanity, and Celeste has the potion to make it happen. What he thinks will bring them closer is really a ruse to make him disappear for his own safety. The aftermath of Celeste’s decision leaves her with the hollowness of grief that she attempts to fill with a rogue...a tattooed rascal pirate demon named Rowan. (Ah, he was my favorite! Go team Rowan!) I love a story where the bad-boy gets to be sexy, funny and scoundrel-ish. Celeste allowed Rowan to fill the gap left by Caleb’s “disappearance”...much to Rowan’s chagrin. Because Rowan has a secret of his own, although it should have been obvious to everyone, especially to Celeste. (Again, go team Rowan!) But, I’m not going to tell you how that little scenario plays out, as that would be a *spa-oiler*!  

Amidst all the demon and Titan fighting, a wedding is being prepared. Celeste’s brother  is getting married to the love of his life in a luxurious and beyond rich estate, courtesy of Rowan’s mind-bending powers. He has the ability to make people do things he wants them to do, like a “Jedi-mind trick” and the helpful power to mask Celeste’s painful feelings of missing Caleb. He also has the ability to make Celeste swoon against her will, but that’s all I’m saying about that. You’ll have to read it to find out what happens between them. I don’t think it’s over...not yet, at least.

I liked this novel for several reasons, not just because I liked Rowan more than Caleb (Go team Rowan!) Stacey created some really quirky, funny, and witty characters that live in a world shadowed by our own. She writes quick witty dialogue matching her quick witted characters. I liked that. I could hear Celeste’s voice in my head. The world of demons with flaming irises that travel in a puff of black smoke, a haughty High Council with a hidden agenda, fast paced fight choreography makes Sacrifice a fantastic paranormal adventure romance read. Stacey develops her characters, shows them love, and then yanks them away from you! Argh! Although I didn't scream out loud like I did watching the Red Wedding on Game of Thrones, BUT I kept reading into the wee hours of morning to finish the last twists and turns. Then, Stacey left me hanging....again...so, here’s to the next book...maybe she will have it out by the time I go back a read the first part of the series! 

You can find Stacey Rourke at her Facebook page:
 https://www.facebook.com/staceyrourkeauthor?fref=ts
and her webpage:
http://www.staceyrourke.com/
and her twitter: Twitter @Rourkewrites
(everyone knows i love tweeting)

Danielle's portrayal of angels was quite the deviation from the romantic idea...her ability to tell this story was thought provoking. I loved it.

I had the pleasure of reading Brandon Herbert's Walking Wolf Road this week. There are several things that struck me as I read, and the first was Herbert's ability to create a strong, compelling teen boy voice in his hero, Jimmy Walker.  Through this character, Herbert explored the realm of family relationships, high  school drama, and the paranormal world of Native American shapeshifters. These  are heavy, complex issues that Herbert dealt with satisfactorily and sometimes  with surprisely unexpected twists. **No Spoilers** here!!!!

Jimmy Walker  is being raised by his mother and stepfather, who seems at times overly critical  and demanding of Jimmy. This perceived rejection by his stepfather is part of  the fuel that feeds the fire with Jimmy, the dark fire that consumes, which  Jimmy calls his "dragon." To make matters worse, Jimmy's stepfather moves the  family around quite a bit. Jimmy has just landed, in chapter 1 in a new town at  the beginning of his senior year in high school. He hates the fake high school  culture that drives most of the drama and
encourages a group of jocks to be  bullies. Herbert's hero is the unlikely type: over-weight, depressed and totally  unaware of his talents, or dormant courage. The story unfolds and we get the  pleasure of watching Jimmy discover new aspects of himelf develop with a new  found group of friends, The Pack.

The premise: loner boy, Jimmy Walker,  meets strange new friends, Fen, Loki, and Geri, and finds a place he belongs.  They are werewolves who bring Jimmy into the Pack. When a dead boy speaks to  Jimmy and a dark shadow haunts his dreams, he is propelled on a mission of self  discovery as well as a mission of truth. With his Pack mates at his back, he  begins the journey. But life is rarely what you expect and loss changes  everything.

Jimmy's best friend is the beautiful, but creepy Fen, who  opens Jimmy's eyes to the world of the paranormal and WOLVES, or werewolves that  is! In the "Pack" is a dark-haired beauty named Loki and the quiet Geri. They  play like wolves, order their relationships like wolves and explore the world  like wolves. The relationship between Jimmy, new Pack pup, and Fen, the Alpha  dog, is perhaps where Herbert does some of his best teen relationship  exploration and it has intense momemts...you'll have to read to find out what  happens and why. The romantic triangulations will make your eyebrows  raise...

I appreciated his take on the "werewolf" concept. Herbert  incorporated just enough Native
American culture as to create a believable  "otherworld" complete with rules of engagement and mystical characters. His  descriptions were vivid and beautiful. As the hero, Jimmy, explores his  connection to his personal, inner wolf, he discovers that much of what he  thought was true about life, his family and his friends was actually  ...different, not wrong, but different. Herbert takes on the teen world with  great confidence. He creates a world where werewolves live among humans. A world  where you never know if someone is a wolf in sheep's clothing or a Wolf in a  man's body. I loved it. This is a great, fast-paced read you can really sink  your teeth into, no pun intended:)