Joy NashBesprekingen

DESCRIPTION, NOT REVIEW: When a girl with no family meets a guy with too much...

For Tori Morgan, family's a blessing the universe hasn't sent her way. Her parents are long gone, and her chance of having a baby is slipping away. For Nick Santangelo, family's more like a curse. His nonna is a closet kleptomaniac, his mom's a menopausal time bomb, and his motherless daughter is headed for serious boy trouble.

But summer on the Jersey shore can be an enchanted season, when love can bring together the most unlikely prospects. A hard-headed contractor and a lonely reader of Tarot cards? All it takes is... A Little Light Magic½

I found this a very satisfying paranormal historical fantasy. I enjoyed it a lot. Ms. Nash hooks the readers in about 5 pages and doesn't stop delivering awesome-ness at all. I immediately went and ordered the first book in this series, Celtic Fire, which I believe features Owein's sister, but that is my guess, I haven't looked into it more. I adored Owein, he is hot, powerful, kind, and a deeply scared man who didn't let the bad in his world change him when it could have most people.

I love the fire in Clara, she wants to help her father and she is prepared to do anything it takes to make it happen. I love fierceness and sheer will in a character and Clara has both of those things. I also adored many of the secondary characters, which I am sure we will see more of, like Rhys and Gwen...I am intrigued if we will see anything Arthurian related in this series, I am DYING to know... just dying. I will definitely continue with this series and this author. I loved her writing style and her characters.

Also...just an FYI, her sensual scenes are pretty darn hot!

Three fun holiday stories with lots of humor but the instant love a bit of a stretch, my rating 3.5* 1- Holly directs baseball star Alex forced to play Santa. 2- Santa Jessica meets Santa Brad during robbery (read before) 3- Computer geek Casey gets snowed in with Matt.

This was quite a good book! The characters were well constructed, the story was engaging, and it was new and creative, with a happy ending, even if it was a bit bittersweet. I will certainly look for others by this author!

abxc-Sherrisue76; Set in Briton, 132 AD under Roman conquest, this tells the tale of a Druid woman with magical powers. She leaves the settlement of Avalon, to seek a smith who can forge a sword, to protect the settlement from the Dark Magic that is threatening to invade it. Only she doesn't practice just the Light magic. She also, unbeknownst to the clan, calls upon some Dark and Deep Magic too. When she falls in love with the Smith, Roman Marcus, and then battles the evil Roman Strato, how will she deal with her shape-shifting wolf Deep Magic self?

A little light reading for the summer.

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:
www.allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com

THE UNFORGIVEN opens like a mid-series book; characters have complex and painful pasts, there are rivalries and vendettas, all of which were introduced through summaries or asides or context clues. I’d applaud this book for being easy to jump into, but when I circled back to find the start of the series I found... THE UNFORGIVEN.

While part of me is still in denial (looking for prequel novellas or books on another imprint), when I judge THE UNFORGIVEN as a true first in the series, the opening leaves me disappointed. None of the characters, other than Maddie, are introduced in a way that feels like a true "first time introduction". A few allusions to past heartbreaks and events don’t bother me when they’re clear, and I know I can go back and read about them myself, but THE UNFORGIVEN throws all racial conflicts, current romantic relationships, the nature of several dead comrades, and some bizarrely polygamous family ties into the past tense with very little explanation. I never felt lost, plot-wise, but I did feel emotionally disconnected from the characters.

Once the introduction was out of the way and I was into current events, I ran into another disconnect. Magic is the driving factor for every romantic relationship that is featured (other than references to dead baby-mamas). While this device is a classic, and works well in any number of urban fantasy novels, the characters were not well developed enough for it to work for me in THE UNFORGIVEN. Cade and Maddie don’t get much interaction beyond reacting to Watcher pheromones and fighting demons. When two new characters (and here I mean “new” in the “I don’t know you, I still need a reason to care about you” sense) are climbing all over each other because of “magical needs”, it reads like a technical exercise without emotion or motivation.

Even without much depth, Cade and Maddie relationship could have been hot on it’s own. However, when the "forced to feel this way" element was paired with instances of attempted rape it gave the whole book a much darker feel than I'd like. Lilith's emotionally exploited, incestuous flashbacks were heart-wrenching, and I got tense every time I saw the italics that indicated another one. It is this element that takes THE UNFORGIVEN from an acceptable if forgettable paranormal romance to something I’d rather avoid in the future. If you like tortured alpha males and relationships that are magically ordained, there is a lot to enjoy in THE UNFORGIVEN. However, I think I’ll continue to get my paranormal romance with a dash of crazy (and a boatload of humor) over with The Immortals After Dark.

Sexual Content: Sex scenes, attempted rape, incest.

Now I know why I was given this book free. The only story worth reading is by Joy Nash.½

King Arthur type stories are almost always a hit with me and this one was no exception. I enjoyed every moment of the time spent reading it and highly recommend it to anyone who loves the mystique those legends create.

This book had me from the first sentence of Chapter 1!! I believe that there was a spell put on this book to hook you into in (just kidding). If life hadn't intervened I would have completed the book not long after I began reading. Right from the moment when Nick steps out of his truck and walks up and assesses the building, you get caught up into it. All the characters are well written, especially Nonna. If I had 4 thumbs, that's how many thumbs up I would give it (do big toes count?!) Well done, and I can't wait to read more of her books!!

The final volume in the Immortals series is a collection of three novellas featuring characters who appeared previously in the series. Samantha's ex-partner, Logan, Mac's sister Leanna, and Nick and Mai's friends Jenna and Dave all get stories of their own.
The thing I love most about this series is that the family keeps getting larger, but the tales do not become more outlandish. The challenge with writing fantasy and paranormal tales is that an author feels he or she has to go one better or step it up a notch for each additional tale. The villain tends to become even more unbeatable in every incarnation. This is a common problem found also in superhero comics and soap operas, where characters come back to life in increasingly unbelievable ways and seemingly infallible foes are somehow beaten (and a lot of the time in a very lame way). This series does not do that. Each story has explored a different aspect of the supernatural and featured specially gifted, but very relate-able characters. Personally, I wish this wasn't the last book, but I'm glad the series ended while it was still good.

"A Little Light Magic" is a fun contemporary romance by Joy Nash. It's abut a guy and a girl who are so very different on the surface, but so very right for each other in the end. It's about conquering your fears and the love of family. It's a story that will leave you with a smile and a happy sigh.

Tori has been alone for most of her life and has always wished for a big family. She believes in wishes and charms and spells and now that she's inherited her Aunt's house on the Jersey shore, she's decided to open up her own shop selling crystals, tarot cards, runes, etc. With the summer solstice opening date looming, Tori remembers the old crone's spells and uses one and...voila, one hunky contractor!

Nick's the uber-responsible one of his large, extended family. When his girlfriend got pregnant, he ditched his scholarship, got married, and went to work. When his Dad died, he worked 24/7 until he pulled the company out of the red. Somewhere in those times, he lost his childhood, his wife, and his sense of humor! Now it's just Nick...and his Mom...and his Grandma...and his daughter...and his brothers! The LAST thing Nick wants is to take on the responsibility of a relationship...especially with a tarot-reading, crystal-selling, baby-wanting woman...no matter how hot she is!

While I didn't love everything about the story, I did enjoy the plot about a woman longing for family and a man who's pretty much sick of it! There's a good bit of humor in Joy Nash's story, but there's also a bit of realistic tragedy. A woman who's losing her ability to bear a child, a man trying to raise a teen, an adult brother looking for stardom--each character is a portrait of a real person trying to find happiness in today's world. And the great thing about romance is that in the book, they CAN all find happiness and we feel vindicated and happy for them. And maybe we also learn to appreciate what we have.

A good plot, strong characters, some very sexy love scenes, and a bit of magic. All these things made "A Little Light Magic" a little, light read that I very much enjoyed.

The saga of the immortals continues with Manannan mac Lir (called Mac), demigod son of Niniane the Sidhe queen and Lir, god of the sea. Mac realizes someone is skimming life essence from faerie villages and tracks down Artemis Black, a witch who has ancestry in both the life magic and death magic realms. Artemis can weave spells of both life and death magic and is trying to use her power and the stolen life essence to rescue her son's soul from Hell. Mac should haul her before the Sidhe council, but instead they embark on a journey through the nine circles of Hell to save Artemis' son.
I love Mac. He's got the attitude and speaking manner of Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He's got humor, even in the face of insurmountable danger. He's musical and muscled and...just fantastic. I enjoy Artemis as well, although she was a little single-minded (we know, you have to save your son. Right. We didn't get that the first 300 times you said it). I was a little disappointed that, besides a couple of very brief cameos by Kalen and Christine, Mac and Artemis were completely alone in their quest. In the last five books, these people stuck together a little more; helped each other out. This almost could be marketed as a standalone, not necessarily part of the Immortals series.

Joining the battle over the Immortal Tain and against the demon Kehksut/Amadja/Culsu/presumably others are the Immortal Kalen and the water witch Christine. Kalen has been collecting art and trying to be an artist himself for the last 700 years, and has fallen under the spell of a half-Sidhe muse who wants his immortal soul for herself. Christine paints watercolors, and apparently is a better muse than the leanan-sidhe.
I was well pleased with this third volume by as many authors in the Immortals series. Joy Nash is quite on par with the other two and my apprehension that one or more of the other authors of this series would be less talented than the first has be alleviated. Although Nash's work seems to contain more sex than the other two, it didn't suffer overmuch, and was actually quite good. Nash is a descriptive writer, but her word choices were not as cringe-worthy as a lot of authors who are heavy on both sex and adjectives.
I liked Christine as a character quite a lot, but Kalen was a little more controlling and 'Alpha' than I prefer romance heroes to be. I am most intrigued by Mac, son of the Sidhe queen Niniane and the sea god Lir. I hear one of the upcoming volumes in this series is his story and am quite excited to read it.

A Little Light Magic by Joy Nash

From the Back Cover:

When a girl with no family meets a guy with too much …

For Tori Morgan, family’s a blessing the universe hasn’t sent her way. Her parents are long gone, her chance of having a baby is slipping away, and the only thing she can call her own is a neglected house. What she wants more than anything is a place where she belongs. . . and a big noisy clan to share her life.

For Nick Santangelo, family’s more like a curse. His Nonna is a closet kleptomaniac, his mom’s a menopausal time bomb and his motherless daughter is headed for serious boy trouble. The last thing Nick needs is another female making demands on his time.

But summer on the Jersey shore can be an enchanted season, when life’s hurts are soothed by the ebb and flow of the tides and love can bring together the most unlikely prospects. A hard-headed contractor and a lonely reader of tarot cards and crystal prisms? All it takes is. . . A Little Light Magic.

First let me say – I started this one while laying out and this is the perfect beach/sun read. Light and fun is the best way to describe it. I love the total opposites attract and you don’t get much more opposite than what you see with Nick, the straight-laced, by-the-book man in life and business. Tori believes in ghosts and spirits. tarot readings and candle magic spells. Tori has never really had a family and that is what she desires most in life.

I loved the interaction between Nick and Tori. I also loved watching them grow as characters. The additional characters of Nick’s family really added something, especially his daughter Leigh and his younger brother Johnny. Nonna. the kleptomaniac grandmother is an interesting addition to.

This is a fun and quick to read story. It is my first by Ms. Nash and it will not be the last. I hope she does more with this family as I would love to hear stories about Nick’s brothers.

So if you want a good summer romance, this is for you especially if you like the opposites attract plot. I always love the play between the hero/heroine in these type of books and it’s definitely not lacking here. The attraction between them is also very strong and I loved the tension that was throughout the book.½

This is the 3rd in the Immortals Series. While I did enjoy the first two books which were by different authors, I didn't care for this one. I felt the writing style lacking. I didn't really see the Immortal as anything special somewhat a user of humans and demons alike. I didn't feel that the characters were presented as well as they should be, The story did not grab me like the first two books did. The ending was alright - the demon fight was pretty good but that left the rest of the book lame. I have never read Joy Nash before and am unsure if I would try one of hers again.½

"Immortals: The Reckoning" is a three story anthology by the authors who penned the seven full length 'Immortals' stories. Each short story features a secondary character from the original series that I bet lots of reader wanted to know about...I know I did!

"Wolf Hunt" by Jennifer Ashley - When the demon Nadia places a terrified call to lone wolf Logan, it doesn't take him long to track her down. The story behind Logan's lone wolf status and his happily ever after.

"Blood Debt" by Joy Nash - Leanna was saved by her half-brother Mac but not until after she spent time in Hell. Now she's repudiated use of her death magic and has vowed not to kill. Of course, that was before she came face to face with the one man she loved...who's now a vampire in a fight for his existence.

"Beyond the Mist" by Robin T. Popp - Jenna couldn't save her sister with her magic, and she's always felt that her magic helped cause the death of her parents. So it's not surprising that she's having a hard time getting over her guilt. But when an interfering goddess tries to barter her soul, Jenna will discover her worth, and her hero.

If you read the series, you won't want to miss this anthology. If you didn't read the series, these stories will give you an idea of what you missed. I enjoyed all three as they tied up some loose ends and provided a sexy afternoon treat.

Another great book in an excellent series.

This was quite a good book! The characters were well constructed, the story was engaging, and it was new and creative, with a happy ending, even if it was a bit bittersweet. I will certainly look for others by this author!

I absolutely love this book! The series is so fluent in the writing it makes you think the same author is writing these books. Joy Nash authors this book about Mac, another of the demigod brothers, that is hot after a witch (in more ways then one!) We are brought in to the world of witches, fairies and demons in this book. Artemis is doing taking life magic away from the fairies, which she has a good reason too, but is not willing to risk telling anyone. This gets her in to trouble and Mac must find her. Mac and Artemis connect, but they push other away. Each has their job to do and they won't let the other stop them. The conflict between dark and life magic has to find a balance for them both to survive the demon world..and each other.

Again, you don't have to have read the other books to enjoy this story. Just be aware it does get a bit hot and steamy in places, but the story itself is worth reading!

Ummm, well...I'm such a big fan of the 'Immortals' series and was so looking forward to reading Manannan mac Lir's story. "The Crossing" by Joy Nash is the story of how Mac meets the woman meant for him and finds love.

Mac is half fae, half god. He prefers to live 'above' and serves as the protector and defender of the fae and humans in this realm. He's also a famous musician and now also famous for his part in the defeat of 'the light' over 'the dark'. However, he's just learning that his part in this battle has left him, a creature of light, with a piece of dark inside him. It's affects on him are growing and he's not sure what else in his life will be affected.

Artemis is a very powerful witch of extremely varied lineage. With both light and dark creatures in her family tree, her magic is a blend of both. She's also a mother desperately searching for a way to save her son, whose soul has been stolen by a dark creature. When her attempt to bargain with the dark begins affecting creatures under Mac's protection, he has no choice but to stop her. It also seems as though he has no choice but to love her.

I disliked Artemis from page one and it didn't get any better throughout the story. She was a selfish, untrustworthy, conniving witch who used a mother's love to justify harming anyone. I was so disappointed to see Mac reduced to a supplicant, begging for her unworthy emotions. Mac deserved so much more and better. She betrayed and belittled him over and over and over...and he took it and came back for more. And every time, I just wanted to throw the book against the wall.

There was also a trip to Hell in a twisted take-off on Dante's Inferno, 21st century style. While parts of it were certainly amusing, Artemis' constant scheming and betrayals cancelled out my enjoyment. Bummer.

Manannan Mac Lir is the Prince of Annwyn as well as Guardian of Celtic Magical Creatures for the human world. It makes perfect sense to have a half sidhe be guardian. While Mac is visiting his friends Kalen and his wife Christine and their daughter Elspeth, he learns that someone is going around raiding faerie villages of their life essence. Mac goes to investigate who could be doing this. When he arrives at one of the villages he captures the person responsible. Her name is Artemis Black and she is a witch. Tomorrow is Samhain, the changing of the seasons and Artemis needs all the life essence she can get before Samhain takes place. Artemis is brought before Mac’s mother and the rest of the counsel and sentenced to exile. Mac knows he should be pleasure with the sentence Artemis received but instead he feels something for Artemis other then hatred. Mac will travel to heaven or hell to bring Artemis back where she belongs.

I devoured Immortal: The Crossing and enjoyed every morsel of it. It had just the right amount of everything. Though I have to admit that Immortal: The Crossing is the first book I have read in the Immortal series. Now after stating that fact, I am excited to say that I was very pleased with Immortal: The Crossing. Ms. Nash writing style made it so effortless to jump right into this book that I never felt like I was missing anything by not reading all of the other books in the series. Immortal: The Crossing can be read as a stand-alone book. Do be warned though that after reading this book you will find yourself like I did wanting to go back and read all of the other books in the Immortal series. I am proud to say I am now a big fan of Joy Nash.