Nina Bangs

Hubba hubba. A group of eleven Alpha males brought to this time to save humanity...and did I mention they're all WAY hot predators? Just yummy. "Eternal Craving" is the next book in Nina Bangs' 'Gods of the Night' series about deadly predators in human bodies fighting an alliance of evil to save humans from the end of the world as predicted by the Mayan calendar. I loved the first book and couldn't wait to get my hands on this ARC of the second in the series.

This time we learn about Al. An show more innocuous name for a rapacious predator who lives for the kill. Al's having a bit of difficulty adjusting to life as a human in these modern times. About the only read feelings he haves are those of anger and hatred toward the leader of the Eleven. Then Jenna shows up and suddenly Al is accosted by all these 'feelings' and he has no idea what to do about them...well, he certainly knows what he'd like to do about SOME of them!

Jenna is a tabloid reporter who only came to Philadelphia to check out her sister's new husband and make sure her sister is OK. Her reporter's nose is telling her there's no way this group of what must be the best looking men on Earth are anything but dangerous. Two nights into her visit she learns just how dangerous and that her visit was foreseen by the leader of the Eleven. Not only that, but she's the Key to defeating the Being currently working to cause mass death and chaos in Philadelphia. If that wasn't enough, she's becoming attached to Al and when she learns what loving Al means, Jenna will have to scrape up every bit of courage she can find to keep her 'man'.

I'm still loving this series. I was glued to the pages and reading as fast as I could to try and keep up with the action. I think Bangs' combination of startling anti-heroes, Mayan prophecy, and the question of good vs evil is so very different from what's currently available in the romantic urban fantasy/paranormal romance genre. If you're looking for a broad cast of supernatural beings, it's here. We've got vampires, shifters, weres, demons, Fae and most interestingly...three or four Beings I'm still waiting to figure out what the heck they are...other than powerful.

As far as pacing goes, the action unfolds at a slower pace at first and then shifts into hyperdrive towards the end. While there is violence, it's not gruesomely depicted or overly emphasized...it's just part of life with the Eleven. There are also further hints about the leaders on both sides of the struggle and their possible pasts. The more I learn, the more I want to know.

Bangs also writes smoldering love scenes. The relationship between our hero and heroine isn't instant, and considering the short time scope of the book, I liked that. Our uber-Alpha hero and his confusion with these new emotions was at times comical, but never silly. His basic drives to protect and possess are part and parcel of the blending of past and present lives. And our heroine with her refusal to ignore the current reality and force herself to learn to cope...well, I only wish I had as much courage.

My biggest problem now will be waiting for the next release! I couldn't find any information on exactly how long my wait will be, but to be honest...any wait is too long for me. show less

A foray into the worlds of Nina Bangs…a good place to be. This was my first book by Ms. Bangs, and quite fun. The first book in the trilogy “Wicked”, it is set up nicely with the three MacNair “brothers”. These three warriors are all immortal by very unique means, and all of them are employed by the Castle of Dark Dreams - a theme park that allows you to live out your ultimate fantasies. Think of how much money they save on makeup by using real supernatural creatures!

The resident show more vampire of the trio introduces us to a new concept for the world of the undead, Eric MacKenzie - an eight hundred year old hottie - was born into a Viking clan that are born human, but become vamps as they mature. Kind of cool. The best part is that his clan later settled in Scotland - after raiding and pillaging - so you get that hot Viking guy crossed with sexy Highland guy in a kilt with a lilting brogue. *sigh* Then after eight centuries of one night stands, who would have thought that the woman who would change his life would be a talk show host?!

Donna Nolan, aka Donna 'til Dawn, decides to take her late night radio talk show on the road after getting a series of calls from listeners claiming to be nightly ravished by a mysterious and gorgeous man at the Castle of Dark Dreams. Thinking that through some investigative measures (poking her nose into places it’s not wanted) she’ll debunk these paranormal stories, what she didn’t expect to find out was that vampires, wizards (Holgarth is one of my favorite characters), goddesses, and cosmic troublemakers were going to make her life pretty interesting. Oh, and that there would be two plants in her room who actually live off of sexual energy (oddly named Sweetie Pie and Jessica).

You’ve got to hand it to the author, she’s got quite the imaginative sense of humor and sets up a bit of a mystery that is not resolved at the end…so that you’ll read the next book (I know I will). Pretty par for the course when it comes to paranormal romances, but it adds another facet to the precious gem that is my favorite genre. show less

In book two of the Castle of Dark Dreams series, Brynn McNair (a demon of sensual pleasure) can’t be around a woman for more than an hour without feeling compelled to strip naked and offer the woman sex. If he doesn’t, he’ll be in horrific pain until he makes the offer.
Kim comes from a long line of demon hunters, but wants to be normal to the disappointment of her family. Her and Brynn’s friendship builds fast, but they both believe it can’t go beyond that.
I really enjoyed the show more story. I soooo wish I could wrap poor Brynn up into a non-sexual hug and just take care of him for a while. I really would’ve liked to have known about his human life, but at least Ganymede explained the curse. Likewise, I also wanted to know if Kim’s hunter family will accept Brynn in her life.
The side characters were great. It’s been a year since book 1, and Eric and Donna are married. Holgarth is still as snooty as ever, Sparkle is sexy and wild, Asima’s back and driving Conall crazy, and Deimos gets a girlfriend (so sweet!). We also meet some new characters. Ganymede is a cosmic troublemaker just like Sparkle, and he’s her boy toy. Fo and Gabriel look like highly advanced cell phones, but they’re really demon detectors with human personalities.
The book is well edited, but sometimes the characters’ inner monologues and drawn-out thoughts slowed the pacing. As with book 1, the characters rarely cursed, so this is a great book to read if you prefer it when bad boys have hot sex but talk mostly clean.
4 Stars

Disclaimer – I won a print copy of this book in a contest and volunteered to review it. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion. show less

4.5

*Book source ~ Many thanks to Kensington for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Predatory is a paranormal romance anthology with four authors of which only Nina Bangs is new-to-me. To be completely honest, while I have enjoyed the works of Alexandra Ivy and Hannah Jayne in the past, I requested this book solely on the fact that it included Dianne Duvall's story about Richart from her Immortal Guardians series. I love, love, love the Immortal Guardians! Turns out, show more with this book, I had my wonderfully frosted cake and not only savored it, but had decadent ice cream, too. All of the stories were wonderful, if only a bit too short.

Out of Control ~ Alexandra Ivy
Series ~ Sentinels, #0.5

Angela Locke is a Ph.D student when gorgeous hunk of man Dr. Nikolo Bartrev walks into her lab. But Nikolo is not just a Dr. and Angela is about to find out she’s not just a student. She has a crazy Sentinel after her and Nikolo is sent to guard her. Peril happens, sparks fly and there’s humor. I love humor in my reads. A great introduction to a different take on the paranormal. I’m looking forward to more in this series.

Ties That Bind ~ Nina Bangs
Series ~ None known, but hoping so.

Cassie doesn’t like being around dead people, but when her friend calls with an emergency and needs Cassie to mind the shop, er funeral parlor, what’s Cassie to do? Go hang with the deaduns, of course. She’s thinking zombie apocalypse, but what she gets is much different when she discovers a naked guy (Ethan) in a glass coffin and two thugs almost kill her. Her life does a 180 after that. I really enjoyed this different take on vampires. Color me intrigued. I really hope this is the start of a new series because I may kick my little *cough* feet in a tantrum if it’s not.

In Still Darkness ~ Dianne Duvall
Series ~ Immortal Guardians, #3.5

This is yummy Richart’s story in the even yummier Immortal Guardian series. I need say no more. *pauses* What do you mean you haven’t read the series?! *mind boggles* Get thee crackin’ right now! You don’t know what you’re missing! *makes shooing motions*

High Stake ~ Hannah Jayne
Series ~ Underworld Detection Agency, #4.5

A little side story for the resident vampire, Nina LaShay, from the Underworld Detection series. She goes to New York for a fashion competition and instead ends up giving Sophie a run for her money in the dead-people-show-up-wherever-she-goes competition. Vlad is in this and a new interesting character shows up. I hope Pike sticks around. All-in-all a fun addition to the series. show less