Barbara J. Hancock

Shivers is a line of new Gothic romances published by Harlequin E. Barbara J. Hancock’s THE GIRL IN BLUE is the first one I’ve read, and I was impressed. This book is part of the Shivers Box Set, Volume 3. (Reviews of the other books to follow shortly.)

This was a fairly quick read, but it was packed with all of my favorite elements of the genre – steamy romance, creepy atmosphere, and the best part – troubled ghosts. The story takes place in the spooky town of Scarlet Falls, Massachusetts. I had an ominous feeling about the place from the start, especially with the eerie, lifeless lake close by. I loved learning about the lake’s back story. Disturbing.

The heroine is a young woman named Trinity, who has returned to Scarlet Falls seeking sanctuary and possibly an answer to why tragedy follows wherever she goes. And it’s not just her – the whole town is plagued by unexplained accidents. I really enjoyed the world-building in this book, and since some things were left unexplained, I’m assuming this is the foundation for a series.

Trinity had some amazing chemistry with the hero, Samuel. Samuel is a town historian, obsessed with the mysterious and macabre happenings in Scarlet Falls. They have a volatile past and haven’t seen each other for years, but the trouble following Trinity brings them back together. Trinity learns that they have a darker and deeper connection than she was aware of.

THE GIRL IN BLUE was a creepy good modern Gothic romance, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the box set!

Source: Review copy from NetGalley… (meer)

I loved Hunger, and I was all about reading this book when I learned that it featured Dillon, who was the hella sexy villain in Hunger. He's really everything I could ask for in a vampire. So, so good.

I honestly had a hard time putting this book down once I started reading it. It was interfering with my daily life. I brought it with me when I took my husband to the doctor's office and I paid more attention to the story than I did to what the doctor had to say about the hippy's bronchitis. (Sorry, sweetie.) (Okay, I'm not really sorry, it was just so damn good.)

So yes, the build up between Jade and Dillon is addictive and hard to put down, at least in my humble opinion. There was a little bit of plot at the end that I was kind of like "what, what?" that kept this from being a 5 star review, but other than that I really enjoyed it.… (meer)