I have to admit that the titles for this series were what first caught my attention. I Kissed a Dog and She Kissed a Vampire. A whole lot of smoochin goin on!
Once I started reading, I became so attached to the characters and the tangled plot.
Now it’s my time to review these fun books for ya’ll and there’s also a really great giveaway.
Check it out below!
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I Kissed a Dog
The Werewolves of the West Series Book One
by Carol Van Atta
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Charles River Press
ISBN: 1936185725 / ISBN13: 9781936185726 / ASIN: B009SV179U
Number of pages: 446
Cover Artist: Ann Falcone
My Review
I had a review all written, but as I was rereading it, I kept changing things and I finally just threw it out and started over. It was too serious for such an exciting and fun story.
Chloe’s near death and seven month coma have left her with the ability to hear and see animals thoughts. She uses this to her advantage working at the Plum Beach Wildlife Park and her ability is often sought.
A new veterinarian, Zane, comes along and her vows of celibacy are in danger. This aplha male calls out to her inner self, jumbling her thoughts and weakening her resolve. She’s angered, afraid, and electrified by him all at the same time, which leads to some fun sparks between these two.
There’s a serious part. Young men are being murdered. First, there’s two. Then a third. And a fourth, and the last two Chloe knew.
There’s a dark side. Who’s killing these young men? The vamps, fae, or evil werewolves? All seem to have their own agendas and all are suspect.
Then there’s the fun, exciting part. The romantic sparks between Chloe and Zane. Chloe’s ability to read minds was limited to just animals. As she honed her skills, she wondered if she’d eventually be able to do the same with humans. She found she could capture Zane’s thoughts,with good reason, and cheated to use this to her advantage. The dialogue between these two kept me smiling as they sparred and came together. They go together like butter and popcorn. Not complete without the other.
And we can’t forget the villains. There’s a mysterious figure that attacks a zebra, sucking it’s blood. Hmm.. And the mutants, werewolves that are turned not born one. I wouldn’t recommend trying to pet one. And then there’s Jazmine. Cold as ice and sharpening her claws. She’s not liking Chloe and Zane’s budding romance at all. He’s supposed to be her mate.
I enjoy a good mystery and romance. Add in the supernatural elements and I’m wanting to cheat, skip ahead to see if what I wanted to happen did and who the killer was. But I didn’t. And the wait was worth it.
4 stars
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Book Description:
Chloe Carpenter isn’t like other women. She can communicate with animals. A gift she unwrapped following one of her frequent dances with death.
In her otherwise wacky life, she’s finally found a semblance of sanity working at the PlumBeachWildlifePark, where her unique talents can make life or death differences for the animals in her care. That semblance is shattered when a new veterinarian roars into the park in his spiffed up sports car and sets his golden gaze on her. If she had her way, he’d roar right back out.
Problem: He’s her new coworker and he’s saved her life twice – in the past twenty-four hours.
Zane Marshall, Enforcer for the Pacific Pack of purebred werewolves, has a job to do – figure out who or what is mutilating the young men of PlumBeach.
With orders to find the woman who talks to animals, he accepts a position working alongside the fiery Chloe Carpenter, a female who ignites his interest far more than he ever expected. Remarkably, she’s the one elusive female with potential to bring meaning and passion to his empty existence.
Problem: She despises him.
Together, they’re forced to unravel a mystery of supernatural proportions, a murderous mystery with eternal implications for everyone. In the process, they discover opposites really do attract.
Major Problem: Zane is pledged to another woman, and she’ll do anything to keep him from Chloe.
Buy the book Author Blog Book Depository Indie Bound
Amazon Print Amazon Ebook BN BN Nook Smashwords
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/jeuDqevNSXM
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeuDqevNSXM]
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She Kissed a Vampire
Werewolves of the West Book 2
by Carol Van Atta
Print Length: 278 pages
Publisher: Cambridge Press US
December 16, 2013
ASIN: B00HG7GHY8
My Review
Warning – This is the second book in The Werewolves of the West Series and I’ll do my best not to include spoilers.
I felt the author really hit her stride right out of the gate in this second book. The action and suspense are palpable right from the first chapter and the romance is a tangled web, with many want to be suitors for Melanie and the newly mated bonds between Chloe and Zane.
I just knew Jazmine and that zebra feasting vamp would get at Chloe. She’s behind bars, framed for multiple murders and Agent Green has nullified her abilities, cutting her off from all who would help her.
War, jealousy, and love all rear their heads in this fun continuation of the series.
When Chloe and Zane were mated she gained a lot of special talents and seemed to have an intuitive sense on how to tap into them. Carol did a great job with this, making Chloe’s easy assimilation believable.
As with the first book, there is so much intrigue and secrets it becomes difficult to tell the good guys from the bad ones. Even some of the bad guys earned my affection. What can I say, they are supernatural and sexy.
Chloe’s best friend Melanie tells her own side of things. She has a secret. She’s jealous of Chloe. Her best friend has attitude and glamour and she often feels like the ugly duckling compared to her.
That all changes when she arrives in Plum Beach to help get Chloe out of jail. The paranormal books she writes earn her six figures a year, and it may be why she was able to accept the news when she finds out most of the people helping Chloe are werewolves, fae, and vamps.
She’s not lacking in suitors either with all these alpha males sniffing at her door, and she feels sexy, lovin every minute of it.
There’s plenty of action, sizzling sex appeal, and so many secrets to be kept and surprises to be revealed. We lost some characters but gained some new ones and this series just got even better.
5 Stars
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Book Description:
Best selling author Melanie Larson’s relationship with her friend, Chloe Carpenter, is bleak. Falsely accused of murder, Chloe’s future rests in the hands of her mate, Zane Marshall, and the Pacific Pack’s purebred werewolves. In an effort to help, Melanie joins forces with the pack and soon discovers the monsters she writes about in her paranormal novels really do go bump in the night.
As Chloe struggles with legal troubles, an unwanted blood bond with a master vampire, and a reunion with her mate, Melanie untangles the attention of multiple supernatural suitors determined to claim her as their own. Strangely attracted to a brazen vampire, she must decide if the blurred line between passion and pain is worth crossing.
Werewolves, vampires, and fae royalty race to unearth an ancient artifact with the power to extend their existence. Can Chloe and Melanie restore their friendship in time to stop magical mayhem from ruining everything they’ve worked so hard to redeem?
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About the Author:
Like most authors, Carol Van Atta is no stranger to the written word. She penned a short novel at age 12 (somewhat frightening illustrations included, and lots of bunnies were involved), and had a creative writing piece published in her high school newspaper (about David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs LP). Yes, she’s an ex-80’s chick.
Devouring books from numerous genres, Carol developed a deep thirst/hunger for more reading material, and could almost always be found with her nose in a book.
She has contributed to several popular inspirational anthologies and devotional books, and lives in the rainy wetland of Oregon with a terrifying teen (another in college) and a small zoo of animals. She is taking an undetermined hiatus away from inspirational writing to delve into her darker side. (Though you can check out her latest spiritual suspense novel, Soul Defenders). It is rumored that this genre-jumping occurred after Carol discovered too suspicious red marks on her neck, and experienced an unquenchable urge to howl at the moon.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Werewolves-of-the-West-I-Kissed-a-Dog/153030771437034
https://www.facebook.com/carol.vanatta.1
http://www.werewolvesofthewest.com/
http://vampswereswhyohmy.blogspot.com/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1237874.Carol_Van_Atta
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Giveaway
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!
To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!
Busy, busy, busy. So many delicious reads! Some I’ve read and will be posting my reviews soon.
