Darkness by Nora Ash (Complete Series Books 1-4) (M/F/M romance)

This is a review of the Darkness Series by Nora Ash. This is a M/F/M manage romance. It is a serialized novel that consists of four parts. They must be read in order.  You can pick up each book individually or all of them as one book. It is also available for free on Kindle Unlimited.
The reading order of the individual books is listed below:
1-Into the Darkness
2-Hidden in Darkness
3-Shades of Darkness
4-Fires in the Darkness

In the world created in the Darkness series, we encounter sueperhumans living amongst humans. Each superhuman has a secret identity and superpowers (think like Batman or Superman). Some of these superhumans are good and some are evil.

Kathryn Smith is a culture blogger that longs to be a real reporter. She goes to a coffee shop one night and it is held up in a robbery. Lightning one of the superhumans comes to the rescue and Kathryn films the whole thing on her cell phone. She ends up writing a scathing blog post about the city's dependence on the superhumans and about corruption in the mayor's office. Little does she know, she opens a can of worms with this blog post. She is paid a visit by Lightning and he tells her to back off the story and she refuses because she realizes she actually hit on a real story that could make her career. Lightning marks her for "protection". Kathryn continues to investigate the story and almost gets raped and kidnapped. Another superhuman calling himself The Shade comes to her rescue. He kills the people trying to kidnap and rape her. He finds out Lightning marked her but he tells her the mark isn't complete because Lighting didn't have sex with her. The Shade wants Kathryn for his own so he has consensual sex with her in the alley and layers his mark over Lightning's mark. He only wanted to mark Kathryn because Lightning is his nemesis. However, The Shade decides he wants Kathryn. Kathryn doesn't want to want The Shade because she is scared of him but attracted to him at the same time. Kathryn continues to investigate the case despite being warned not to by The Shade.

At the mayor's ball, Kathryn figures out The Shade's secret human identity when she shares a dance with him however, she doesn't reveal she knows who he is. Lightning finds out that The Shade marked Kathryn and is angry over it. He ends up marking Kathryn for real and layering his mark over The Shade's mark. Kathryn continues to have a sexual relationship with both Lighting and The Shade.

Kathryn ends up being kidnapped by Bright who is an evil superhuman that wants to take over the world. He leaves a message for Lightning and The Shade that if they want Kathryn back that they must go before the ruling council and claim her together saying that she belongs to both of them. If they don't claim her, he plans on killing her. They both show up in front of the council to claim Kathryn much to everyone's surprise including Kathryn's.

Lightning and The Shade end up going together to see their old mentor and he tells them that Kathryn is their true mate and that she is capable of producing a child that will be a superhuman which is very rare. The two end up having sex with Kathryn. Neither one wants to let her out of their sight. She slips out later while both Lightning and the Shade are sleeping to go meet her friend Trish. She is betrayed by Trish. When The Shade and Lightning discover she is gone they are very fearful for her safety. They read the note she left and Lightning knows something is wrong because of the person she said she was going to meet in the note. This doesn't make sense yet to the reader but it will. Kathryn is kidnapped by her so called friend and also Lightning and The Shade's former mentor. Before he knocks her out she manages to call The Shade's cell phone and he hears the whole kidnapping. They track Kathryn's cell phone and find where she is being held. They go to rescue her.

They discover that the mayor is actually the superhuman villain Bright who is trying to take over the world. He says he will turn Kathryn loose if either Lightning or the Shade will sacrifice himself to save her. Lightning volunteers and Bright removes Lightning's mask and his secret identity is revealed.  He plans on killing Lightning on TV. It makes sense now how they knew Kathryn was in danger after reading her note because it is revealed that Lightning's secret identity is the reporter that Kathryn was supposed to be meeting with.

The Shade take Kathryn to safety but realizes that their triad won't be complete without Lightning. So they devise a plan to rescue Lighting. They enact their plan with the help of the police force. They save Lightning. The Shade almost gets arrested because he had to reveal his identity to the police chief and he doesn't exactly have a sterling reputation. He manages to get out of it but they seize Lightning's and The Shade's assets. They move in with Kathryn and we find out the true reason for the angst between Lightning and The Shade. The two men begin to mend their relationship and the three settle into a life together. Kathryn becomes and ambassador for  relationships and right between superhumans and regular humans. Kathryn also learns she is pregnant.

My recommendation: Read this one. It's a great story.

Demon's Mark by Nora Ash (Complete Series Books 1-6)

This is a review of the Demon's Mark Series by Nora Ash. This is a serialized novel where each segment picks up where the previous one left off.  This is a very dark romance that has some pretty brutal scenes and some scenes that are basically rape. It is rich with demons. I don't normally read books this dark but I like Nora Ash so I figured i would give it a try.

You can purchase the books as one book or buy each installment individually on Amazon. If you are a Kindle Unlimited member you can read the series for free. You will need to read these in order. The reading order is as follows:
1-Branded
2-Tricked
3-Hunted
4-Captured
5-Claimed
6-Cherished

We meet a young woman named Selma that can see demons. Selma ends up in a mental facility after stopping a brutal attack on a young woman. She finds out she is she has been marked as a breeder for a demon lord so that she can have his children. Apparently certain women are capable of breeding with demons and only the pure breeders are capable of being with a demon lord. She finds out she is one of these pure breeders and will be sent to an auction to be auctioned off to the highest bidder out of the demon lords. She doesn't want this. She manages to escape from the procurer for the breeder who is posing as a psychiatrist at the mental hospital. She tricked him into believing that she wanted to be with him. She goes on the run hiding from the demon. Selma has been marked by the procurer with a brand and any demon that touches it will ignite a sexual frenzy in her that won't abate until she has sex.

Selma gets captured by female demons who want to torture and kill her to keep her from breeding with a male demon lord because the male and female demons are at war with each other.  She is also being hunted by the demon she ran from because he wants her for himself and vows to have her.  Selma is saved from the female demons by a demon lord named Kain. Kain doesn't want a relationship with a breeder. He knows the location of a sanctuary for breeders who don't want to be breeders. He tries to take Selma there but she is captured and taken to be prepared for an auction to be given to a demon lord. They keep her in a sexual frenzy for days until they decide that she is ready for auction. Meanwhile Kain has decided he wants Selma for himself so he goes to the auction. He wins the auction and he violently takes Selma in front of the other demons as is the demon custom.

Kain decides to take Selma to the sanctuary after all but Selma doesn't want to go anymore because she loves Kain but Kain doesn't know that. He thinks he's doing her a favor by letting her go. Kain is in love with Selma but doesn't admit to it and proceeds to take her to the sanctuary. However, Selma is expelled from the sanctuary before she can enter it because she finds out she is pregnant with Kain's demon child. Kain ends up getting kidnapped by the evil demon queen who want to use him for breeding. He refuses and is beaten and chained. Meanwhile Selma is ambushed by the procurer and she manages to kill him because of a new power that she discovers. She flees to Kain's family. Kain's brother, father, and Selma engineer a plan to rescue Kain. They manage to rescue him and Selma kills the demon queen.

Kain realizes that he will have to become a ruler of the demons because their is a demon prince that almost won Selma at the auction and he wants her for himself and plans on killing Kain to get her. A battle ensues between Kain and the demon prince and Kain kills him and he becomes a demon king with Selma as his queen.

My recommendation: This is a very dark romance with lots of violence and brutal sex bordering on rape so avoid it if those offend you. Otherwise it is worth a read. 

Fierce Salon by Aspen Drake (Complete Series Seasons 1-3)

This is a review of Fierce Salon. Fierce Salon is a serialized novel that contains three different seasons. This is a review of all three seasons.

Season One is entitled Wash (Episodes 1-5) by Aspen Drake. This is all 5 episodes of Season One entitled Wash in one collection.

Fierce Salon is set in a hair salon. It is owned by former model Nate Edwards. We meet Nate and several of his employees in this story.  We get a peek into the lives of each of them but this story revolves mainly around Nate and a new stylist named Amy. Nate has a strict policy about not dating his employees but his clients aren't off limits to him. However, he just can't resist Amy and the two embark on a relationship together that they try to keep secret for as long as they can. Nate can be a bit of a jerk and will make you want to strangle him.

 Season Two of Fierce Salon is entitled Rinse. It contains episodes 6-10.

In Season Two, Nate receives a nasty surprise in the form of his ex showing up with a 3 year old in tow claiming that it his child. Everyone believes the child belongs to Nate including Nate because the child has a strong resemblance to him.

We met Olivia, one of Nate's stylists in the previous book and in this one after a fight with her boyfriend she meets a dangerous man in a bar that results in a brutal rape and attack. Frankie (another employee at the salon) becomes worried when Olivia doesn't show up to work and he goes to her home and finds her after the attack and gets her to the hospital.

Frankie meets a new love and forms a relationship with a man much younger than him but they make each other very happy and are each what the other needs.He feels responsible for the attack on Olivia because he was with her at the bar and left her their with the man who attacked her so he could go meet his new boyfriend.

Carly, another one of Nate's stylists meets two men that turn out to be very wealthy named Max and Noah. They are stepbrothers who both want Carly. She becomes involved in a menage relationship with both of them. They make her very happy even though their relationship is a little unconventional.


Season Three in Fierce Salon is entitled Repeat. It contains episodes 11-15 and is the conclusion of the series.

It picks up where Season 2 left off. It wraps up all of the story lines very nicely.

 We learn more about the attack on Olivia in this book. She survives her brutal assault and rape but is left with scars both physical and mental that her boyfriend Greg helps her deal with. he is very patient with her. There is a moment where Olivia finds out she is pregnant and she is terrified that the baby belongs to her rapist. Greg tells her that he will love the child whether it is his child or not. However, they are both relieved to find out that the child belongs to Greg. Olivia and Greg marry and settle into a life together.

We also see Frankie and Andre settle into their relationship and see Andre starting to come out of his shell and slowly becoming more comfortable with being an openly gay man.

Nate learns shocking news about the child that he thought was his son after taking a paternity test. He find out that the child is not his son but turns out to be his brother. They decide it's better for all involved if everyone thinks that the child is Nate's son. Nate's mother signs full custody over to Nate and Nate and Amy decide to raise the child as their own. Amy and Nate marry and we find out Amy is pregnant with their own child.

Carly continues to settle into her relationship with Max and Noah and is very happy. Her story is to be continued in the story Creamy's Bakery: Knead which is her brother Mason's story so we will have to stay tuned for that one.

My recommendation: Pick up this complete series and read them!

The Water Thief by Jane Kindred (M/M romance)

This is a review of The Water Thief by Jane Kindred. This is a male/male romance so if that isn't your cup of tea you will want to skip this one. This isn't your typical male/male romance. This story is very unique and is heavy on the fantasy element. I did have an issue with this story though. The relationship between the two main characters is between first cousins and incestuous relationships are just not my cup of tea. If you can put that aside though this is actually a good book and the story is very suspenseful and will hold your attention.

It tells the story of a young Lord named Sebastien Swift that is falsely imprisoned in a mental hospital for the murder of his twin sister. Sebastien spends many years in this asylum (9 years if I remember right) with no knowledge of what happened when his sister drowned other than being told that he murdered her. In his heart, he knows he didn't murder her. One night his dead sister comes to him and helps him escape from the asylum and leads him to safety. Sebastien later learns that he would be dead if it weren't for his sister because the wing of the asylum he was in collapsed during a bad storm.

Sebastien is led to the home of a man named Sven that teaches him how to survive on his own.  Sebastien learns that his cousin Macsen is posing as him. Sven comes up with the idea that Sebastien should pose as his dead sister and try to find out what happened to his sister and also to be able to claim his rightful inheritance.  So Sebastien poses as his dead twin August. The deception is eventually exposed to Macsen and Sebastien and Macsen find out that they both know each other's true identities but decide to keep up the ruse. Sebastien finds out from Macsen that Emrys, (Macsen's father) is siphoning off his magical energy. Emrys has evil plans for the energy he is siphoning off of the real Sebastien but I won't reveal those.

Macsen and Sebastien flee the realm after an unfortunate event where they are caught in bed together by Emrys. In the new realm they flee too they slip and sign their real names and this allows Emrys to discover where they are. When Macsen returns to the realm they fled from he is eventaully beaten very severely by his father. Macsen also destroys the magical energy stores that his father siphoned off of Sebastien. His father beats him severely with a fireplace poker and ends up breaking his leg.

Meanwhile, he has his men capture Sebastien in the new realm where he is and once again locks him in an insane asylum where he keeps hi drugged so he can siphon off his magical energy for his own plans. Sebastien is almost convinced by the doctors in the asylum that everything has just been a figment of his imagination, but he refuses to give up the belief that Macsen is real and decides to keep that information to himself. Sebastien is rescused from the asylum after his sister and her friends fake his death. They manage to help him rediscover who he is and help him establish a new identity and a new life for himself.

Sebastien believes that Macsen doesn't want him and that is why he never came back but he doesn't know that Macsen believes he is dead.  After a series of events in which Emrys dies, Macsen returns to new realm to settle his father's business affairs and he does settle them but he is also reunited with Sebastien.

I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My recommendation: If you can get past the incestuous relationship between the main characters this one is worth reading

Gilt by Katherine Longshore

This is a review of Gilt by Katherine Longshore. I generally find anything about the life of King Henry VIII very fascinating whether it is a work of fiction or a historical account. I started this book with the same expectations that I would normally have for a reading a work about him. This book is a work of fiction. It tells the story of Catherine Howard and King HenryVIII's life told through the eyes of one Kitty Tylney. Kitty is supposed to be Catherine's best friend and knew her before she become queen. I found the story to be very drawn out and it would go on for pages with nonsensical ramblings that had nothing to do with the story. I was bored by the story many times and stopped reading it several times because of this. I did continue to read until the end of the story though. The book was very well written but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

My recommendation: Skip this one.

An update

My dear readers, I do hope this finds all of you well.  Please forgive me for the length of time between my last post and now. I have been dealing with a couple of  personal health crises so I have been unable to post. I will continue to post as I am able in between my many doctor's appointments and upcoming surgeries.  I do have several reviews to get up so I will be trying to do that over the next few days. Based on feedback I have received from my wonderful readers, you will now see my recommendation on whether you should read or skip the book at the end of the review.