Reviewing Tenth Muse by Belinda McBride

The Tenth Muse (Aphrodite Project #1) by Belinda McBride 5*

BLURB: In a wicked game, the God of Love falls to his own arrow, and a gentle scholar learns how dangerous knowledge can be.
Aphrodite has had it.
It was bad enough that her son Eros walked a fashion show in drag, but did he really have to show the entire world his wings? Desperate to rein in the impulsive young god, she recruits the scholarly muse Rees to lure him back to Olympus until the scandal dies down.
After hundreds of years, Eros has finally located the reincarnation of his former love, Psyche. The only way to her heart is through fame, so the God of Love plans a daring campaign to win her back. Yet the closer he gets to Psyche, the more he’s drawn to a geeky young professor who came crashing into his life.
Eros drags Rees into his wicked world of high fashion and risqué parties, only to expose him to danger from an unexpected source. When Rees’ secrets come out, they threaten to destroy Eros’ love for him. Yet when Rees is kidnapped, Eros is forced to turn to the woman who set this catastrophe in motion—his mother, Aphrodite.

My Review: I received an ARC of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  When I was about 8 or 9 years old I found a book in the library about Greek Myths and Legends and fell in love. Since that time I have always enjoyed reading different stories about the Greek Gods but I have to admit I've never read a better updated version than this book. The characters were so rich and full of life they almost leapt of the pages and the storyline was excellent. I loved the way Belinda altered some of the myths, as if history got it wrong, because every one knows history is mutable as new things get found out. What I liked most of all was that the book wasn't all Greek Tragedy,  it had humour, jealousy, spite and love as well as a taste of life as a supermodel. 

Reviewing Prince Of Faith by Belinda McBride - A 'Must Buy' book!

Prince of Faith (An Uncommon Whore #3) by Belinda McBride 5*
BLURB: Held captive in a whorehouse, Markus Dayspring wakes every morning with a thirst for revenge, and collapses every night with a prayer for strength. He lives on in spite of deadly addictions and a crippling, shameful secret. When he’s rescued by a man from his past, his reawakened love threatens to crush his damaged soul.
Caius also has a secret, one that could ultimately kill him. But his vow to rescue Markus is stronger than guilt, fear and even his loyalty to King Helios. Too many have died because of Caius and rescuing the missing prince might allow him to sleep without nightmares.
Old habits are hard to break and new pain threatens their growing love. Yet one gleaming ray of hope continues to guide them to safety, even in the face of an unexpected violation of trust. With the stakes growing higher by the hour, Markus and Caius must learn to have faith before they can heal and face the future together.

My Review: This was an eARC from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. The book is out at the end of the month (20th I believe) but you can download the first three chapters for free from LooseId right now.
So on to that honest review.
I loved it! Now I could stop there as I am loath to continue incase I give away any spoilers. Suffice to say that the book lived up to my every expectation of well written characters and an intriguing and action packed story line. We even get to see Helios and Griffin near the end, which is a bonus for all those out who are big fans of that pair! However the main pair in this story are Marcus and Caius and the way they both deal with the betrayals, violations and hurts of the past and learn to deal with the present and look forward to a, hopefully, happier future. Belinda takes a pair of broken men and gives them a hard time and really puts them through the wringer but, as a loving touch, she also gives them each other. Throughout all the hardships of drug withdrawal and illness they find they trust no others but themselves, not even family. I best stop here or I will be giving away those spoilers and I want everyone to go an buy the book when it's out and read it for themselves so they can feel all the emotions I felt whilst reading this book. It will be worth it I promise.

I am ecstatic!!

An Uncommon Whore 3: The Prince of Faith will release in October 2014 at Loose Id! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

and just look at this wonderful cover:

So looking forward to reading this one as the first two were such great reading.

I think romances are too easy to read

I have finished yet another book from my challenge and, as that was another quick read, I have switched to catching up on the m/m group's Love's Landscapes Stories and a nice reread of Wolf's Dawn instead.

Black Planet: Little Dragon by Belinda McBride 4*
BLURB: Following a devastating injury, Detective Rose "Little Dragon" Lee takes a courier job to make payments on her ship. The job was easy...safe...until her ship is captured by the dangerous, war-like Nephris. Nephris Commander Arad Soheil immediately recognizes his captive as the one person his government would most like to capture and terminate. Arad immediately files a property claim on the dangerous female, making her part of his household. Rose means more to him than a warm body in his bed or a vessel for his children. She holds the key to his freedom and his sanity, to his very life. Because Arad Soheil is not what he seems, and his time is running out.

My Review: I liked this short story and it was an f/m, so obviously I wasn't in that much of a rut with my romance reading as I thought. One of my favourite things was the mentions of Bruce Lee as he was a favourite martial arts hero of mine in my day. As for the actual story I think Rose was a kick-ass heroine with a soft heart and Arad's truth was a surprise to me and it helped make the story for me. So I am not going to say anything else as it will mean spoilers but I will say if you like Belinda McBride's style of writing and haven't read this one yet go and get it now.

Review of Toxic by Belinda McBride

Review of Toxic (Sex and Chocolate)by Belinda McBride 5*
BLURB: There are three things that Dr. Briony Theale loves. Her job as a veterinarian, a good bar of rich, dark chocolate, and Rico, the new ranger in charge of the Wildlife Rescue center. When a casual dinner with the mysterious Rico turns surprisingly intimate, Briony realizes that she might just have a chance with him after all, if only she could lose a few pounds. It's the ultimate sacrifice, but Briony goes cold turkey, and swears off chocolate forever.
Rico Montgomery fell hard for Briony the first time he set eyes on the curvy little doctor. Her brown hair and cocoa skin trigger cravings that he can barely control, and her fragrance is like the sweetest, richest chocolate he's ever scented in his life. That's a bad thing for Rico, because to a werewolf like him, chocolate is literally a toxin.
Rico can't live with it, and Briony can't live without it. And when a certain wandering wolf finds a bag of chocolate in the Dumpster near Briony's clinic, these two will find just how toxic love can be
My Review: What another great story from Ms McBride. There are the usual cast of interesting characters as well as a love story and a great subplot about nefarious organisations. In fact I can't wait to read more about the wolves of Truckee and hope that Ms Mcbride won't take too long in providing them.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome be damned

I still managed to read a paperback yesterday (damn internet broke down and the reader is truly kaput so I needed something to do).

Review of Belle Starr by Belinda McBride 5*
BLURB: What happens after a girl gets side-lined by her first heat cycle? She goes lookin' for trouble...and finds it.
Marshal Annabelle "Cowgirl" Oakley is the best law enforcement officer in Interstellar Coalition Enforcement. With her wolf Tucker at her side, Belle is clearly the best man for the job. Unfortunately, the job comes with hazards, and one of those hazards comes in the shape of tall, mysterious Armand.
Armand de le Croix is a werewolf with amnesia. He has no idea how he came to be living in Coalition space, he doesn't know where his people are, or why his inky black hair is now snowy white. He just knows that the tall, dangerous redhead is all that he wants, and he means to have her regardless of what he must do to win.
When they meet, it's magic. When they part, it's mayhem.
Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual content, menage (m/m/f with m/m content), sex while in shifted form, violence.
My Review: I've read a number of ebooks by this author and always enjoyed the way she writes. In this one she has broken a few taboos (see publishers note above) and still managed to make it an enjoyable read that I couldn't put down. There is humour, tears and hot sex to be found throughout and I hope she goes back to this universe and follows up on some of the secondary characters. I for one would buy anything she wrote.