Carol Van Atta

On Chloe Carpenter’s fifteenth Birthday, she was attached by a dog and knocked into a pool, nearly drowning her. The ordeal left her comatose for seven months. Upon her unexpected recovery, she gained an ability to communicate with animals and a fear of dogs.

As an adult, she utilizes her gift by working at Plum Beach Wildlife Park. It is there she meets the new veterinarian, Zane Marshall. Oddly, she can hear his thoughts, and she soon discovers that he is not human. To top things off, there is a serial killer on the loose and Chloe is enlisted to help in the investigation.

I really enjoyed I Kissed a Dog. The story was original and fast moving. I enjoyed the plot; it was mysterious with lots of twists. Carol Van Atta did a good job with keeping you guessing the individual’s allegiances.

The characters were numerous and differentiated. I like Chloe’s talent for being able to talk to animals. If I could pick a super power that would be it.

I really like Zane Marshall. I enjoyed Chloe and Zane’s love/hate relationship. Without giving specifics to avoid a spoiler, but you might want to skip the rest of this paragraph if you haven’t read the book: I was disappointed by Zane’s action in Las Vegas. What he did troubled me. Chloe had every reason to be upset with him. I was happy when he was redeemed later in the novel. Not that Chloe’s actions were any better, but I honestly believe she was enthralled by the vampire and had no choice in the matter.

I Kissed a Dog ends in a cliff hanger that will leave you on the edge on your seat. It definitely left made me wanting to read the sequel, I Kissed a Vampire, to see what happens next.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.… (mais)

This book is about a woman, Chloe Carpenter, falling in love and coming to grips with the supernatural realities and conflicts that come with the new romance.

The characters are real to life, which is both a plus and a minus as sometimes they can get annoying and opinions on actions differ, but that is life after all.

There were a number of typos; however, I was reading an advanced copy. Therefore, these should be more or less ironed out by final printing.

The ending while entertaining, left the reader in cliffhanger status for the next book. While there is nothing wrong with that, and it would help tie up other loose ends from earlier in the book, it did feel a bit abrupt.

Overall, the writing produces evocative characters and vivid scenes. The reader is able to enter various situations as if tagging alongside Chloe. There is a definite want for a happy ending for the protagonists of this tale.… (mais)

Soul Defenders is about one small town called Cherry Creek and it's battle in spiritual warfare. Many of the key players through out this book faced personal attacks from Evil One against their faith~Lily Howard faced more than most of key players. Lily soon to be sixteen will face many trials and testing of her faith in ways she does not expect or forsee either. Lily's guardian angel Argentio believes that his charge will come to see God's goodness and grace for herself~it's only a matter of time and faith. Rose Howard sees Lily falling away from her faith and becoming angry with God. Rose prays for her daughter yet struggles to understand why her husband Bill's spiritual journal has lies straight from the pit of Hell itself. Pastor Ted Lyons feels that God has called him to Cherry Creek for a purpose he yet doesn't understand but trust in God's timing and plans. When he faces spiritual attacks he realizes this tiny town is in the grips of spiritual warfare. He needs to call on his old friend Jimmy Johnson for his help because this battle will need all of his faith and spiritual guidance. Karen White has been called by God to be a spy at the compound where The Cause is located. Karen seeks God's face to bolster her spiritual defenses. Will Lily come back to God? Will Rose trust in her faith? Will Pastor Ted Lyons accept his place in coming spiritual battle? Will Karen's faith remain strong? What can Jimmy Johnson do to help Ted? Your answers await you in Soul Defenders:The Black Orchids.

This book is one that should be read by all Christians to bolster their faith in God. I learned some valuable insights into my own life that I plan to put into practice. The author may have meant this book for entertainment value yet at it's heart showcases God's love and grace to all His children. I look forward to next installment in this series.… (mais)

Wow, this book really got me hooked. The characters are likable, right away. Chloe , the heroine is awesome, and a different type of heroine we usually see. I liked her right away. She has this amazing unique gift that enables her to talk to animals, and understand their thoughts. Which is great, because the alpha male Zane, who is all that is hotness, is a werewolf, so they can do this mind-messaging as they like to call it. Its pretty cool.

This book was one of the most entertaining, thrilling and mysterious reads. We don’t only have werewolves, we have sexy vampires, fae, evil werewolves and the mutants as well. Chloe’s abilities find her right smack in the middle of a supernatural chaos taking place between a number of paranormal beings. Chloe has her hands pretty full between the sexy, rugged and very protective werewolf Zane, and the seductive and allusive vampire Valamir.

I really enjoyed this supernatural world the author created. It felt right, and I love that is all takes place so close to home for me. The wildlife safari she works at is on the Oregon coast, and I live in the mountains in Washington, and have been to many places up and down the coast. I found that to be fun for me, mentions of common places made it more real for me.

Here is a cute little part right after Zane and Chloe started their mind-messaging, once they knew what each other was.

“Your lady friend called. She happened to mention you were her husband-to-be. For us single girls, it’s a major disappointment.”
“Don’t include me in your disappointed group of single girls,” I quipped..
Zane shot me an “if looks could kill” look. Love you, too, Babe.
Eck! This mind-messaging was becoming as cumbersome as text-messaging. Why couldn’t we just talk like two normal adults? Because we’re not normal adults, I chided myself. One werewolf plus one animal-reading-freak equaled a major mismatch.

And here is another good example of some steaminess between Zane and Chloe.

“You never allowed me to answer your last question,” he whispered, his lips warm against my ear. “I don’t think you’re a whore, not even close. I find you beautiful, smart, sexy, and a little too headstrong, but that I can live with. And, yes, there are other supernatural beings.”
Shocked by his answer, I lifted my chin, meeting his gaze.
His eyes shimmered gold.
Figuring the color change had to do with amorous emotions I tried to pull away, afraid of succumbing to certain seduction. Intent on my surrender, his head dipped down and his lips crushed against mine, leaving me breathless as I melted against him, my tongue finding a perfect rhythm with his.
Forgetting we were in a public place, I ran my hands down his muscular arms, causing him to growl, a low feral vibration that sent shivers of pleasure everywhere at once. His skillful hands caressed my back, sliding lower.
“E-hem!” A phony throat-clearing cough interrupted his roaming hands.

Yeah, this book has its steamy, swoon worthy parts. I do not want to give too much away, but want to say, it’s a great thrill of a ride, amazing suspense and tension, On the edge of your seat for sure.
If you like the paranormal books like me, then grab this one, its amazing, and not like any others out there. It has its own unique great story.
5 big stars out of 5 for me, wish I could give it 10, but rating everyone does not go that high, lol
I was provided a copy of this book from the author for my honest review, for the book tour.

Be sure to see my blog post for some great excerpts. Michelle's Paranormal Vault of Books
http://concisebookreviewsbymichelle.blogspot.com/2013/01/i-kissed-dog-by-carol-v...… (mais)