My Bloody Valentine - Story Collection

[Eva Millien]

Blurb:

(Off Goodreads)

1-                                        Tiffinie Helmer - HEARTLESS
Love sometimes requires restraints…
Roxie Scott is moonlighting as a dominatrix, trying to survive the financial cost of her divorce. Wearing leather and swinging a whip turned out to be more therapeutic than therapy, until her clients start turning up dead.

He refuses to be restrained… 
Homicide Detective Cam Ferguson is stunned when he recognizes his former high school crush dressed in a leather cat suit and wielding a riding crop. His interrogation into her murdered clients switches from suspecting her to needing to protect her from a sadistic killer determined to make her his bloody valentine.

2- Alex Bledsoe - TANTRABOBUS
Professor Tanna Tully of the "Firefly Witch" series leads a paranormal team of graduate students as they investigate the ghost of a woman who burned to death on her wedding day. However, the mystery turns personal for one of the team, and Tanna has to call on her experience as a Wiccan high priestess to save both her student, and the spirit of a woman wronged over a century ago.

3- V.R. Barkowski - JUST A LIE
An unfaithful husband shot and mutilated by his long-suffering spouse is just another day at the office for San Francisco Homicide Inspector Del Miller. "Infidelity is ugly," his partner tells him, but Del needs no reminder. He's recently learned his best friend, Mike Gabretti, is cheating on his wife. When Mike breaks off the illicit affair, Del promises to say nothing—better to keep a secret than break a heart. But that's before the jilted mistress sets her sights on payback. Now Del must choose between ignoring a danger he understands only too well or revealing the truth that will betray a lifelong friendship and destroy the lives of those closest to him.

4- Erica Hayes - UNFORGIVEN
In a decadent republic on the brink of revolution, immortal blood drinker Lisette has long ago learned the price of her selfish pursuit of pleasure. Now, trapped in marriage to the stoic nobleman who saved her from the mob, she's vowed to use her powers only for good. By night, she stalks plague-ridden streets, armed with rapier and pistol, hunting the Possessed: the pleasure-crazed victims of Lisette's own kind.

But beneath her respectable façade, old hungers still burn, sated only by her husband's fading love… until the hunt pits her against their ancient enemy, a dark prince and lover who rekindles Lisette's forbidden thirst for power — and blood.

Betrayed by the only man who can save her, with the city erupting in flames and ultimate power within her grasp, Lisette must choose between dark past and uncertain future, shadows and light — and the two magnificent, tragically irreconcilable men who haunt her soul.

5- Lizbeth Lipperman - SWEEPERS: A KISS TO DIE FOR
Dr. Mackenzie Conley, a CIA operative and expert on bioterrorism, is in Morocco undercover as a visiting professor at the University. Her mission is to investigate rumors of a powerful new nerve gas delivery system being perfected somewhere in the area. The rest of her team, including her fiancé, has already gone home after spending two weeks without finding even a hint of such a weapon. Mac stayed behind to finish her six-week stint to ensure her cover stays intact should she need to use it again.

With only one week left, Mac can’t wait to get back to the states and her fiancé. But someone in Morocco has other plans for her—plans that include kidnapping, drugging, and holding her hostage in a mountain laboratory, totally hidden from satellite coverage. Neither her team nor her handler knows where she is. 

Escaping from the mountain prison becomes critical but isn’t the only thing on Mac’s mind, though, as she comes face to face with the man whose latest invention has the potential to bring the world to its knees. 

6- Charlie Holmberg - SALT AND WATER
A slave to a war-torn society for eighteen months, Chellis has been tortured for one purpose: to make her cry, for the healing properties of her tears can mend any soldier’s wound. But when her captors push her too far, she revolts, resulting in her reassignment to a slave handler better suited to control her.

Ahad-dian is different from Chellis’s previous handlers. He’s reasonable, seems incapable of brutality, and treats Chellis as a sentient being, not a tool. It’s almost enough for Chellis to trust him. Ahad-dian’s generosity may be a key to Chellis’s escape, but even the soft-hearted slaver has secrets to hide—secrets that not only threaten Chellis’s freedom, but the survival of her entire species.

7- Coreene Callahan - FURY OF FATE
She’s determined to try something new…
Sasha Cooper is a woman on a mission. Determined to let loose and live a little, she takes her best friend’s advice and embarks on a night of passion with a complete stranger. No regrets in the morning. No looking back either. But when the one she chooses turns out to be a Dragonkind warrior, Sasha knows she’s in trouble—and that the man she believed was a dream come true could end up being her worst nightmare.

He never intended to get involved…
Ivar, leader of a rogue faction of Dragonkind, isn’t a pushover. So when a noisy neighbor jeopardizes the security of his secret lair, he decides to take care of the problem once and for all. Little does he know banging on Sasha’s door will send him on a passionate odyssey unlike any he’s ever experienced. But when the night takes a deadly turn, he’s left little choice—escape from the woman who possesses the power to kill him, or die trying.

8- S.G. Redling - THE TRUE LOVE OF SHERRY PAPERS

My Review: 

This is a set of intriguing, thrilling and intense set of stories that teases the reader’s imagination and gets the adrenalin pumping.

The common theme in all of these fascinating short stories is “Love Hurts”. The stories give readers glimpses of hard knock life events that may or may not eventually lead to romance, but mostly keep the reader entertained with suspense, action and drama.  The authors bring true life realities to life in exciting and intriguing ways that keep the readers on their toes and turning page after page. 

As with any grouping of stories, the reader will like some more than others, but they will definitely get lots of pleasure and imagination stimulating tales with this set.  There is definitely something for everyone from a dominatrix to a dragon and of course what story would be complete without good guys and bad guys.  All the stories have compelling characters that grab the reader’s attention and are easily related to. 

There is some light romance to be found, but mostly romance is just hinted about. There is lots of drama both suspenseful and emotional and surprising twists that reader’s don’t see coming, and a couple of unique stories with interesting concepts and all of the stories leave the reader wanting to know more.

I found a couple of the stories to be a little on the slow side but for the most part they were fast paced and enjoyable. I will be honest and say that my favorite one is Fury of Fate, but then I totally love this series.  I have definitely found more authors for me to be checking out, which is always a major plus for me. So overall you can’t go wrong with this collection of tales about love that hurts.

4 STARS 

Purchase Link:

http://www.amazon.com/My-Bloody-Valentine-Short-Collection-ebook/dp...

Tiffinie Helmer:

http://www.tiffiniehelmer.com

Alex Bledsoe:

http://alexbledsoe.com

V R Barkowski:

http://www.vrbarkowski.com/

Erica Hayes:

http://www.ericahayes.net/

Lizbeth Lipperman:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7073581.Lizbeth_Lipperman

Charlie N Holmberg:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7801879.Charlie_N_Holmberg

Coreene Callahan:

http://www.coreenecallahan.com/

S G Redling:

http://sgredling.com/