Tag Archives: Paranormal

5 stars, Book Review

Styx by Layla Frost Review!

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arcblurbstyxConcrete.

Next to me. In front of me. Behind me. Below me.
It mocks me.
My prison.
My hell.

I don’t know who I am. Where I am. How long I’ve been here.
Decades? Centuries?
It’s felt like an eternity.

For all the unknowns, one truth has grown stronger with the torturous passing of time…
I wish I was dead.

Or, at least, I did until I heard her.
She gives me hope. A purpose.
Freedom.

I follow her, soaking in everything she does and growing more dependent. Never in my long life have I seen anyone so perfect.

Now I just have to find a way to make her hear me.

And being able to see me would probably help, too…

Warning: Recommended for readers 18+ due to strong adult language, themes, and lovin’ so good, it must be magicks.

— Goodreads — Amazon — Bookbub —

aboutheauthorlaylafrostLayla Frost has always been a rebel. A true badass.

Growing up, Layla used to hide under her blanket with a flashlight to read the Sweet Valley High books she pilfered from her older sister. It wasn’t long before she was reading hidden Harlequins during class at school. This snowballed into pulling all-nighters after the promise of “just one more chapter”.

Her love of reading, especially the romance genre, took root early and has grown immeasurably.

In between reading and writing, Layla spends her free time rocking out (at concerts, on the couch, in the car… Anywhere is a stage if you get into it enough), watching TV (the nerdier the better!), and being a foodie. Though she lives in NY (the state, not the city), she’s an avid Red Sox fan.

— Facebook — Naughty Cupcakes Group — Goodreads — My Amazon Store — My Site —
— Twitter and Instagram: @LaylaFWrites — Email: laylafrostwrites@gmail.com —

reviewstyx2

Dfghughsetrhytrhjdrt — that’s my review. That’s how I feel. This book put me in a freaking BOOK SLUMP because it was so good I didn’t know what to do with myself next. I was lost. Alone. Terrified.

Slightly over-dramatic. Whatever.

ANYWAYS. This book was an AMAZING  beginning to what I’m sure will be a paranormal series that leaves me in bed for two days with a hangover. I didn’t think it would be such a big deal, the whole series thing. But I forgot one thing- this is a PARANORMAL romance which means there is so much left UNRESOLVED and I am left  HEAP OF NOTHINGNESS.

Ok, maybe a lot over-dramatic.

And Layla, the little evil witch that I adore with my whole heart, just laughed at my pain. But my heart ridiculously hurts with the knowledge that I will have to wait like some sort of animal for the next book. I demand to speak with the manager.

Part of the difficulty in writing this review is the part that’s paranormal. And a series with a slight cliffhanger. I can’t say too much or I will unwind the secrets that Layla so elegantly weaved together. And you’re going to want to experience this epicness for yourself.

What I can say is there is the classic Layla humor, with a lot of OTT Alpha with magical powers, which adds an extra level of possessiveness, a whole lot of amazing best friend, and lots of steamy “adult-time”. This book absolutely blew me away. It was like reading the book version of the Russian Dolls, each chapter revealed something new but then you got to the next and BOOM another doll, another secret.

I can say that Hayden is badass and so is –er the hero. I can say that their love is spell binding, and the twist on a classic tale makes me want more… SO MUCH MORE.

Layla… if you’re reading this… STOP AND GO WRITE THE NEXT ONE. Please and thank you.

Ok bye.

styx35star

Reading List, romance

My Favorite Romance Series

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Here are my top 10 romance best series I’ve ever read! These are not ranked in any specific order (I think I’d have a heart attack trying to rank them). These are varied from sci-fi to historical romance, to dark and twisted to contemporary. From books that should come with trigger warnings, to books I laughed out loud with. I linked them to their Goodreads lists, but at the bottome I will link all their Amazon pages. Enjoy!

  1. The League/Nemesis Rising by Sherrilyn Kenyon

    Reason why it’s my favorite: It’s futuristic, intense, there’s lots of action, the writing is amazing, and Sherrilyn Kenyon is a master of creating worlds/universes and languages to compliment them. And she is able to interweave timelines so two books are happening simultaneously and effortlessly. Truly amazing.

  2. The Sterling Shore Series by C.M. Owens

    Reason why it’s my favorite: It’s a contemporary romance with tons of laughs. Plus, you really fall in love with the entire family. I loved reading every minute of the entire series.

  3. Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor Series by Lori Foster

    Reason why it’s my favorite: It’s so different from anything I’ve ever read. It was the first Lori Foster series I picked up, and I fell in love from the first page. And, subsequently, devoured anything she had written. If you look at my bookshelves, she takes them over.

  4. The Bridgerton Series by Julia Quinn

    Reason why it’s my favorite: Strong women in a Victorian setting, with men in status who support them? Um yes this is one of my favorites. The Bridgerton women are not afraid to go after what they want and the men learn to deal with it. Plus, I’m a sucker for big happy families and the Bridgertons, with their closeness to each other, is one of my favorite families. The characters, secondary and otherwise, are so dynamic, you can’t help but fall in love over and over again. 

  5. Mafia Ties Series by Fiona Davenport


    Reason why it’s my favorite: Insta-Love series with alpha men and alpha women not willing to be walked all over. Men who are devoted to their women and can’t be swayed. Women who aren’t blinded by love, but accept their men for who they are. Plus danger mixed in. What’s not to love?

 

Since this post is getting lengthy keep an eye out for part 2 of this post… My 10 favorite series part 2!

Comment and let me know if you’ve read any of these!

Amazon Links:

—  The League/Nemesis Rising  —  Sterling Shore  —  Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor —
—  Bridgerton  —  Mafia Ties —

**Box set for Mafia Ties, Nic & Anna‘s & Brandon & Carly‘s stories are now $.99!** 

Short Story

The Myth of the Merrow

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“What are you doing?!” Marcail shouted, as the men around her tied her legs together. She tried kicking them, bucking her hips, anything to stop them but they over powered her.

“Now listen lassie,” the captain of the ship started. His thick Scottish brogue dripping with false sympathy, “I understand this is scary, but yer just bringin’ us more bad luck. We’ve had nothin’ but storms since we found ye stowed aboard.”

The woman stared at the captain in shock, temporarily forgetting the position she was in, which allowed the two sailors to finish tying her legs together, and another two other sailors to finish binding her arms to her sides.

“NO!” she screamed, the wind whipping her long red, curly hair around her head, her voice echoing around her. Strands of her curly hair were caught in the rope around her body, but she couldn’t feel the stinging in her scalp over the fear pulsing through her body, making the sound of her heart beat threaten to deafen her.

“Lassie, it’s bad luck to be bringin’ such a fine woman as yerself on a ship, ye know that. I’m sorry lassie, but this has to be done.”

With that, she was picked up and thrown overboard. She had just wanted to get out of Scotland, and now she was bound like a lamb going to slaughter and thrown over the side of the ship. She had secretly climbed aboard the ship in the middle of the night, when she knew the sailors were out drinking before cast off. She had overheard the sailors talking in the market place the day before, talking about how they were sailing to the Ireland to trade, and she wanted to see what it was like. Marcail’s parents would never let her leave their tiny village, let alone go to Ireland.

She tried to hold her breath as she hit the water, but she knew she wasn’t going to be able to survive this. She tried to twist, trying to loosen the knots made to make sure she sank to the bottom of the ocean, but it just made the knots tighter. The sailors were arses, but they could tie a knot. She could feel her lungs starting to burn as the lack of oxygen made the edges of her vision go black. If she could cry, she would.

The further she sank, and with the heavy dress she was wearing she was sinking fast, the pressure of the deep water pressed on her chest. Just as she was resigned to dying she saw something green swim past her, and then something swim the other way. She tried to turn her head and follow it, but she was too tired, and her lungs were starting to ache. Then three green women were in her eye sight. Their skins were only light, pale green, but their hair looked like the color of algae. It flowed out around them, as they floated in front of her. Their eyes were all the same blue of the ocean. Their upper bodies looked like a woman, but she could see their bottom halves had scales like a fish and they had fins.

Merrow, she thought. She had heard the stories of merrows all her life, of the evil sprites that lived in the ocean, seducing the sailors and dragging them into the ocean, where they stole their souls and kept them at the bottom of the ocean.

Suddenly, the ropes that bound her arms were undone, and a slightly webbed hand was reaching out to her. She touched the hand and watched as her skin went from pale and freckled to light green. She opened her mouth and could suddenly breathe in the water. Her dress fell off of her body slowly floating away from her, and the ropes that once bound her legs disappeared and her legs started to mesh together with scales. She looked around and her hair, starting from the ends and going to the roots, stayed curly but changed to dark green.

“Skye,” a musical voice said. She turned back to the merrow, and saw she was pointing at herself.

“Marcail,” she said, pointing to herself.

Skye smiled and swam up, and Marcail followed her. When they reached the break in the ocean, Marcail looked out and saw the ship she was just tossed off of. Skye started singing and Marcail joined. When the sailors looked over the side of the ship, the captain barked at them to stop looking. Marcail and Skye sang louder. The men couldn’t resist looking at the merrows, and for the first time in her life, Marcail felt powerful.

Paranormal, Scary, Short Story

I hear you.

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She sat on the corner of her bed, her knees drawn up to her chest, arms around them. Her eyes were wide open, staring at the darkness of her room. One could almost hear humming coming from her room, but the moment someone opened the door, she would go back to rocking silently.
Crazy, they would whisper as they stared at her.
What is wrong with her, they thought.
She wanted to scream I CAN HEAR YOU! but she never did.
But no one could hear the voices she heard. She couldn’t tell anyone either. It would just confirm in their minds that she was nuts. Certifiable. Insane. Wacko. The list went on and on. But the voices she heard were not in her head. She could hear the thoughts of others. And she knew it was true. It was hard not to answer the questions people had in their head, and sometimes she forgot that they hadn’t asked the question out loud. They would think nasty thoughts, dirty thoughts, despicable thoughts. She wanted to scream I HEAR YOU! but she never did. That was not the worst part.
No.
Not even close.
One of the guests was not what they said they were. She didn’t know what it was. It was passing itself off as a human male, but from what he said in his head, he was not anything close to human.
Tasty humans, he would think as he stared at someone.
Would anyone notice she was missing? he would think about another.

But how could she confront it? It came into her room over and over again, threatening her in its mind.
Tell anyone what you hear and your mother will be the first to go.
Do you want to come play with me?
Do not pretend you cannot hear me, child. I know you can.
She wanted to scream I CAN HEAR YOU! But she dared not to make a move. She just started humming again, to drown out the noises.
It was showing her images now. What would happen if she told what it was. What would happen if she came to it.
I promise you a life better than this.
Come with me, child. You could live for thousands of years.
Just take my hand.
Oh God, it was in her room. When she looked up, she was startled by the handsomeness of the body’s face. She knew it was a lie. She knew he was not human. Was it  even male? Oh God, oh God, oh God. 
“What is your name, child?” the creature asked. It startled her.
She just hummed louder.
He tsked.
“Would it help to know mine? It is Abbadōn. I am Greek.”
“You are the destroyer, the ruination.”
“Ah, you know your history,” he smiled. You could see the demon eyes glowing devilishly. He knelt by her bed. “Come with me. I can make your burden easier to bear. We can destroy things together. Everything and anything.” He touched her hair, her temple, and suddenly she could hear nothing. She looked up at him in wonder, eyes growing impossibly larger.
“Maeve,” she whispered.
He just smiled again and whispered softly “I know.”
She put her hand in his, wanting to go wherever he went. For he was the one who took away the voices. That was all she cared about.
“Ah, darling, we will get along well with each other.”

In a flash, they were gone. Maeve, only 16, would have many names in the future. Apollyōn being one of them. But she would never be seen in her time again.
She would always hear the voices, but she found someone who could take them away.