Book Reviews Los Angeles Times

Caitlin Paine wakes to discover herself back in time. There, she learns of her destiny and her mission: to find her father and the ancient vampire Shield needed to save mankind.

But Caitlin’s heart still pines for her lost love: Caleb. She desperately needs to know if he has survived their trip back in time. She learns that her mission requires her to go to Florence, but if she wants to pursue matters of the heart, she must go to Venice. She chooses Venice.

Caitlin is overwhelmed at what she finds. Venice of the eighteenth century is a surreal place, men and women dressed in elaborate costumes and masks, celebrating an endless, lavish party. She is thrilled to discover and reunite with some of her close friends, and to be welcomed back into their coven. And she is excited to join them in Venice’s Grand Ball, the most important costume dance of the year, where she hopes, once again, to find Caleb.

But Caitlin is not the only one who can travel back in time: Kyle soon arrives, too, and is determined to hunt her down and kill her once and for all. Sam, too, arrives, determined to save his sister before it is too late.

At the Ball, Caitlin searches everywhere, and finds no sign of Caleb. That is, until the very last dance. She dances with a masked man who takes her heart away, and she feels certain that it is him. But as the partners change, she loses him again. Or does she?

Caitlin soon finds herself torn between the two loves of her life, and discovers that she has to be careful what she wishes for. Her joy at finding what she wants might just come mixed with tragedy and heartbreak.

In a climactic, action-packed ending, Caitlin finds herself up against true evil, Rome’s ancient vampire coven, and the most powerful vampire coven that ever existed. Surviving will demand all her skills, as she finds herself battling for her very life. She will have to sacrifice more than ever, if she is to save the one she loves….

A nerdy girl with a sordid past. Three more months in Uni and she is done. She can move on to a happier and better life. What if a certain professor says hello and turns her world upside down? Is she willing to be seduced by him and damn the consequences? Teaching is his passion. He has never wanted to take on his papa's business especially when he bumps into a certain girl that he swore to wait until the time is right. One look is all it takes. Let the tension and waiting game begin.

Twenty-eight-year-old playboy Ralph Van Halen has always lived life on his own terms. As a founder and Production Head of one of the country's leading Fashion Houses, JC group Inc., he's loaded. His stunning good looks make him one of the most eligible bachelors on the Forbes list. He doesn't believe in true love and relationships, for him a no-strings-attached fling is the way of life. What happens when Ralph hosts a campus interview at one of London's leading Technical Colleges and meets the stunning twenty-year-old innocent Raven Porterfield? His world turns upside down as he gets very attracted to her. He recruits her as a trainee in his company.  However, he soon learns that Raven has a boyfriend and is a very dedicated and good girl. She doesn't trust the likes of Ralph at all and is determined to remain true to her boyfriend.  Will Ralph forget Raven? Or will this new feeling turn into an obsession for him? What will Ralph do to get Raven? Read on to find out in this twelfth book of the Forbidden Love Series.

Kristhina from France and a 14-year-old girl who is going to live a forbidden love with her teacher. Her parents are very reserved and this love is forbidden at all costs, as everything is forbidden and good for her to get involved with him and they stayed together until her final decision comes. But amidst the conflict, coming and going, she meets a young man, who will make her heart beat faster. And will they separate will they ever be together again. João Almeida and a young math student is going to do an internship at a school and see a girl ... without knowing that she would be his student. he is enchanted by her. Jack Spatula is a young model, who left everything to live in another country and pursue a modeling career. His life changes completely, at a dance where he will meet his new work partner, without knowing who the girl was, he is surprised by the beauty and delicacy of the girl and falls in love with her. I invite you to embark on this journey of love, and come find out what the surprise of life has in store for Kristhina, will she have lived a great love? and who should she stay with? come find out with me.

What happens when two scarred people meet? Will sparks fly or will there be healing for them both? A Ruthless Businessman who doesn’t take No for an answer Varrick Devlin or Devlin to his colleagues or associates is a rich and successful businessman who rose to the top from sheer will and determination. He started from the criminal underground from a very young age. His success in business comes from his ability to take whatever he wanted by hook or by crook but why can’t he take one woman to be his? A Philophobic Woman Maeve Blake or Mabel to everyone who knows her has a painful past that she never discussed with anyone, not even her best friend and cousin, Ami. This experience made her wary of men, especially Devlin. He personifies Mabel’s fear. He wants to conquer her but will he be conquered in return? Their blossoming friendship is threatened by a past that can both destroy them. Will both surrender to destiny or will their scarred hearts break some more?

Caitlin and Caleb find themselves, once again, back in time—this time, in the London of 1599.

London in 1599 is a wild place, filled with paradoxes: while on the one hand it is an incredibly enlightened, sophisticated time, breeding playwrights like Shakespeare, on the other, it is also barbaric and cruel, with daily public executions, torture, and heads of prisoners impaled on spikes. It is also a time of superstition and grave public danger, with a lack of sanitation, and the Bubonic Plague spreading in the streets, carried by rats.

In this environment Caitlin and Caleb land, on the search for her father, for the third key, for the mythical shield that can save humankind. Their mission takes them through a whirlwind of London’s most amazing medieval architecture, through the British countryside’s most breathtaking castles. It takes them back into the heart of London, where they just might meet Shakespeare himself, and see one of his plays live. It brings them to a little girl, Scarlet, who just might become their daughter. And all the while, Caitlin’s love for Caleb deepens, as finally they are together—and as Caleb might just finally find the perfect time, and place, to propose to her.

Sam and Polly have traveled back, too, and as they find themselves stuck together on their own journey, their relationship deepens, as they each, despite themselves, can’t help feeling more deeply for each other.

But all is not well. Kyle has come back, too, as has his evil sidekick, Sergei, and they are both intent on destroying everything good in Caitlin’s life. It will be a race to the finish, as Caitlin is forced to make some of the hardest decisions of her life if she is to save everyone who is dear to her, save her relationship with Caleb—and try to make it out alive.

With her enemies in pre-civil war Virginia still seeking her death, Esmerelda is forced to return to the future only days after wedding Lance. Because it was necessary to fake her death in order to stop her enemies from following her to the future, her new husband, Lance, was forced to stay behind. He’d placed a magic box for them to communicate until he found a way to safely be with her beneath the floorboards of the house. Now, she must find it. A task that is easier said than done! “The Magic Box” is book two of the exciting paranormal-romance-mystery-thriller Esmerelda Sleuth Series

Marcus Thorne wears several masks in his life—playing retired pirate, Captain Hawk, is his favorite, but if his secret is discovered, he could die. Captivated by his enemy’s daughter, Marcus kidnaps her, but in return, she captures his heart…until he discovers Isabelle is one of Napoleon’s spies with the power to endanger his life and the lives of his friends. After her release, Isabelle can’t stop thinking about her masked abductor and how he’d stolen her heart before ridding her of his presence. Betrothed to a man who strangely reminds her of the man whose kisses set her ablaze, she marries him, only to discover he’s not who he seemed to be as he is withholding secrets. But then…so is she.

Phoenix is the president of the Wolf's blood Motorcycle club, but he has another name . Well, no one but his vice president. That don’t know that his true name is Sephiroth Demogorgon nor that he’s a Prince of the werewolf’s east packs. He’s supposed to be next in line to be king, but he refuses to be so because he feels he’ll be the same as his father. When he was 16 years old, he ran away to escape the future that scared that he’ll become if he stayed. That was till the day that he runs into a witch name Nakesha Hakambir who turned out to be his mate and his world turns upside down. Nakesha Hakambir is a young witch that was left to the coven of her mother’s coven when she was only 6 years old and was treated like a slave to them. She was beaten and many times starved when she didn’t do all that was needed to be done in the coven house. When she turned 11 years old, she was made to wear a ring cuff onto her left ear to be told it was for her own good because her father had a split personality that led to his downfall. Nakesha had a life where she doesn’t trust anyone, nor does she believe those who tells her that they care about her does. She’s to the point that she believes that sooner or later everyone will leave her. Will Sephiroth be able to show her that not everyone will leave her or will his own demons hurt her more. Please first read "Betrayed by my mate" and "The secret wolf" because this story is the third in the series.

As a child, an innocent, our imaginations run wild. We pretend to be knights or princess', magicians or mythical creatures. Then as we age our imagination is tamed by the laws of science and everything we are taught to believe as truth. We as a race of humans can not fly or wield a wand. Dragons and mermaids don't exist. Fire burns, ice freezes, what goes up must come down. These are but a few of the truths that exist in our world, but like so many others they are false. My world was turned upside down on my 21st birthday, everything that was a truth turned out to be a lie. The world we live in, isn't what we believed it to be. My name is Alexi Drovnic, and this is my story.