Kait Ballenger

This book is full of short stories by fantastic authors some I knew before and some are new to me and I have fallen in love with. There are a lot of short stories and some I have not got to yet, but I definitely plan to, so here are my reviews on the stories I have read so far:
Her Mafioso’s Honor by Patricia Eddy:
In this story we are instantly introduced to Evelyn who has been captured by some mafia guys. She is treated horribly but she is strong and can hold her own. Damian is the nephew to the current mafia boss who thinks it is horrible the way his uncle has ran the family into the ground so he is out to right the wrongs and he starts by saving Evelyn from an even worse fate. At first Evelyn is very skeptical a guy like Damian wants to help her and cares for her well being but their attraction is undeniable. The story is a short one, but I loved it so much and enjoyed the characters. A fast paced intense read with an incredible alpha and tough as nails heroine.

Real by Magan Vernon:
In this cute read we get to see the banter between two individuals who entertained me and made me laugh. Wren is starting a paper for her English class and starts to email her professor so she can get a few things approved but the TA answers to response. This TA comes off as abrupt, kind of mean, but she does not know it is not her professor but instead his TA, Wolf the school bad boy. Wolf is smart and knows what he likes, and he knows his stuff when it comes to the class he works for. Their back and forth arguing is so good that you know they love to get a rise out of each other but know it may be kind of forbidden. I loved Wolf and the way he was straight forward with Wren. I also how Wren could give back as good as he could and that they were so attracted to each other just by arguing.

The Cabin Between Us by Dani Rene:
This story was cute, and it followed Calandra who left her hometown to try and make it in Hollywood, but we find out when she left town she left behind her heart. She is returning because her mother has decided to sell their cabin but she has so many memories there it’s hard for her to see it go, but when she gets home Kolton her heart and soul at one point is there. Kolton let the love of his life go but now he has a plan to make up for lost time.
… (mais)

A Vampire’s Hunter by Kait Ballenger
Rouge Brotherhood series novella. Can be read as a stand-alone. Vampire paranormal romance.
Dani Harper escaped from the Cosa della norte syndicate years ago with the help of Corbin Blackwell, one of the vampire leaders. Dani’s brother convinces her to go back to Corbin on an undercover mission. She is terrified but helpless against the ask. She’ll go back and put herself in the middle of a nightmare to help stop the human trafficking.

Dani plays the victim very well. She wants to believe the best about Corbin but keeps getting faced with facts that she was unaware of. I thought her moves in the last part were a wild gamble and very selfish. The epilogue adds a bow and sparkle to the romance and lifestyle that are a bit surprising. I appreciated it but don’t think the regular mafia romance readers will feel the same. I could be wrong. It’s not a genre I’ve indulged in much yet.… (mais)

I found this book started strong, with a good premise, and a lot of potential as a concept. Being an erotic romance, the instalust the characters experience is what I expected, and is fine - I knew what I picked up, after all. But them "being in love" after only a week or so of knowing each other was hard to believe - they barely knew each other. The author tries to excuse this by introducing the idea of them being "mates" (soul mates basically) in the last 20 pages. There were also characters and world building introduced that did not get fully fleshed out (magic users, vampires, werewolves and other shifters, humans who hunt supernaturals), leaving a lot of details only lightly touched on. This could have benefitted from either being longer, to flesh these elements out, or having these additional details left to future books. Overall, it was an okay read, though I won't read further into the series.… (mais)

Cowboy Wolf Christmas by Kait Ballenger
Seven Range Shifters series book 4.5. Paranormal wolf shifter, diverse, romance novella. Can be read as a stand-alone.
Silas has given his loyalty to the Grey Wolf Pack but he knows that he’s not trusted. When he’s told to take Cheyenne to pick up car parts and to take care of her, he takes the instructions seriously. That he’s attracted to Cheyenne should have no impact on his decisions, right?

Fast moving and plenty of action, this novella packs a lot into the pages. From dealing with her autism and his feeling undeserving of pack loyalty to attacking vampires, a snowstorm and an attraction that neither want to deny, it’s a steamy and full two days.

Release date 10/25/22. Previously published in anthology Shifters and Mistletoe 12/07/2021.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.… (mais)