The Whisperers by John Connolly

When the former NYPD homicide detective looks into the suicide of an Iraq war veteran, he discovers that several members of the soldier's unit have also killed themselves and that they may have been involved in smuggling looted treasures into the U.S. Parker begins to fear that the returning soldiers have brought back more than their own personal demons. As he races to find an antique golden box before it falls into the wrong hands, Parker discovers that he's being shadowed by the enigmatic Collector, a repulsive killer whose nature is as problematic as that of Parker himself. 

 Combines supernatural elements with the excitement and suspense of a good detective novel. Even though I worked out where it was going, the journey was well worth the read. 

Dark Lycan by Christine Feehan

 Tatijana of the Dragonseekers spent centuries encased in ice with her sister, trapped in limbo between life and death, never speaking to a soul other than those who tormented her. Now, she has been freed from her frozen prison by an unknown descendent. Awakened in human form, Tatijana yearns to explore the modern world in which she now lives—a world with more mysteries than she is prepared for.

Fenris Dalka has returned to the Carpathian Mountains after a long absence to be with his brother. He is scarred by centuries of battle, and every hard-won victory. But the real reason for his return home could prove deadly if discovered by the wrong man—or woman. Upon his arrival, he is compelled by a beautiful and enigmatic stranger who carries the scent of fresh earth, of forest, of the night itself.

In time Tatijana and Fenris will discover all that unites them—their secrets and pasts, their predators, and the hot flush of passion that stirs their souls. Yet just as surely, seduced into the silvery darkness of a full-moon night, they’ll also discover everything ancient and evil that exists to destroy them. 

I think this series has gone on long enough.  She's bringing in new species and it's not working as well. It was nice to see characters from previous books.

Darkness Unleashed by Alexandra Ivy

The Guardians of Eternity are vampire warriors without equal, bound by their loyalties and sworn to protect their charges from every danger. . .except those posed by their own hungry desires. . .

A scarred recluse, Jagr makes no secret of his disdain for others' company. But now, as a member of Chicago's powerful vampire clan, he has certain obligations to fulfill. The latest: track down a missing were pureblood and return her to her sister. The problem: Regan Garrett has no intention of complying. And though Jagr agreed not to harm an inch of this stubborn female's distractingly tempting body, he'll gladly kiss her into submission, awakening an urge he hasn't felt in years. Hell, in centuries. . .

Regan vowed never to be at the mercy of another man. That goes double for arrogant, steel-muscled vampires with eyes of ice. All Regan wants is revenge against those who imprisoned her. She doesn't need an ally. She certainly doesn't need a mate. But soon Regan will have to choose--between a lust for vengeance, and a passion as dark and dangerous as the night. . 

My favourite so far in this series.  I do love a scarred, tormented, very alpha hero.

The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks

Denise Holden, the 29-year-old heroine, is destitute and forced to live in her mother's old house in Edenton, N.C. She's also the single mother of a handicapped child, Kyle, a four-year-old with "auditory processing problems" that render him unable to express himself or to fully understand others. Though she doesn't suspect it, Denise is on a literal collision course with true love. After she smashes her car into a tree and wakes up to discover Kyle missing, she finds deliverance in the form of Taylor McAden, dashing firefighter and compulsive risk taker, who rescues Kyle, too. Since Taylor enjoys an instant, unprecedented rapport with Kyle, there is little standing in the way of burgeoning romance.

An enjoyable read with a nice, feel good ending..  

The Summer Kitchen by Karen Weinreb

When Nora Banks goes to answer the doorbell very early one November 1st, she thinks it must be tardy trick-or-treaters. But it’s no Halloween prank—it’s the Feds, who have come to arrest her husband Evan for a white-collar crime. Nora’s enviable life in the eighteenth-century house she’d filled her days renovating to museum-quality perfection is upended.

In this of-the-moment story about the loss of wealth and social prominence, the private-school mothers in Nora’s exclusive community close ranks against her and her young sons. Only the boys’ nanny Beatriz stands by the family. To support her children, Nora is forced to take a job in the same bakery in which the mothers share coffee every morning. While tempted by the offer of an affair with one of their husbands, she reaches into reserves she didn’t know she had. Thwarting a malevolent wife intent on running her out of town, Nora launches a local business of her own, The Summer Kitchen Bakery-Café. Along the way, she changes the town, its characters, and her way of thinking about life, family, money, and romance.

A great read with a lovely feel-good ending. 

How To Be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward

Fifteen years ago, on the day the three Winters sisters packed their most precious belongings in their mother's Oldsmobile and planned to run away from home just as soon as school was out, 5-year-old Ellie disappeared. The family never recovered: their abusive father drank himself to death; their unstable mother retreated deeper into her depression; and once-close sisters Caroline and Madeline grew far apart. Now, armed with a grainy People magazine photo of a young woman who might be a 20-year-old version of her beloved youngest sister, Caroline heads out for Montana on a quest to bring her back home. What Caroline, burdened by years of guilt, doubt, and regret, discovers along the way has as much to do with finding herself as it does with tracking down Ellie.

Loved it. I liked the way it was told from various viewpoints and partly through letters. You have all these threads and you think you know the story, then another thread is added and there is more to the story....really well done if not well explained. 

An Irish Country Christmas BY Patrick taylor

A wonderful read about Christmas in another time - when the spirit of peace and harmony was the main purpose of Christmas - before commercialism and political correctness took hold and squashed peace and harmony. 

Another lovely, gentle read set in Ballybucklebo.

Darkness Everlasting by Alexandra Ivy

Two Men--

Darcy Smith always sensed she was different from everyone else--if only she knew how different. Possessing a secret strong enough to end an entire race of demons, Darcy unwittingly becomes a pawn in an epic battle between the vampires and the weres as she discovers a new world filled with ecstasy--and dark passions. . .

One Desires Her Love. . .

Consumed with lust for Darcy, Styx--the Anasso of vampires--will do everything in his power to keep her out of the lair of Salvatore Giuliani, the deadly leader of the weres. But protecting the woman he loves could cost Styx the ultimate price. . .

The Other. . .Her Life.

Salvatore Giuliani knows time is running out for the weres. Pushed to the brink of extinction, he will stop at nothing to make Darcy his ultimate conquest and queen--for she alone holds the key to his survival. But which of these men can Darcy truly trust? For all it takes is one bite to plunge her into a lifetime of servitude--or a lifetime of pleasure...

I really loved this one

Thee Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

Twelve year-old Ren is missing his left hand. How it was lost is a mystery that Ren has been trying to solve for his entire life, as well as who his parents are, and why he was abandoned as an infant at Saint Anthony's Orphanage for boys. He longs for a family to call his own and is terrified of the day he will be sent alone into the world.

But then a young man named Benjamin Nab appears, claiming to be Ren's long-lost brother, and his convincing tale of how Ren lost his hand and his parents persuades the monks at the orphanage to release the boy and to give Ren some hope. But is Benjamin really who he says he is? Journeying through a New England of whaling towns and meadowed farmlands, Ren is introduced to a vibrant world of hardscrabble adventure filled with outrageous scam artists, grave robbers, and petty thieves. If he stays, Ren becomes one of them. If he goes, he's lost once again. As Ren begins to find clues to his hidden parentage he comes to suspect that Benjamin not only holds the key to his future, but to his past as well. 

From page one the story pulled me in with an almost old-fashioned kind of storytelling. Every character is deeply flawed but never wholly a villain (with one exception), and the way Ren is almost immediately surrounded by a motley cast of characters feels natural. 

My Dashing Groom

Border Bride by Shannon Donnelly
Eloping to Gretna Green was the only way spirited Claire Roxburgh could escape an arranged marriage to the sour elderly gentleman her father had chosen. But she didn't count on her betrothed bringing along his best friend, army officer Alan Carlton. And as her "true love" began to show his true colours, Claire began to wonder if Carlton should be the man standing with her at the altar...

Love Lessons by Donna Simpson
With nowhere else to go, penniless Linnet Pelham took refuge with her sister in London only to find that her sister's betrothal to Lord Cairngrove was the scandal of the ton. Linnet was determined to see the wedding take place, which meant convincing Cairngrove's brother, Nic Barton, that the union was right. Two more different people had never lived, yet Linnet couldn't help imagining another ceremony, with Nic as her own groom...

Steal My Heart by Hayley Ann Solomon
When Lady Fern Reynolds confided in a sympathetic houseguest that she was considering running away to London to escape betrothal to an unknown suitor, she didn't expect him to offer her shelter. And she certainly didn't imagine tumbling for him, the Viscount Sandford. But that was the least of her surprises, as she discovered the wedding was to go on as planned - and her groom was strangely familiar. 

 I enjoyed all 3, but the 1st the most. 

Black Magic Woman by Christine Warren

Daphanie Carter is thrilled that her sister Danice finally found her Prince Charming—even though he’s not quite, well, human. Daphanie is trying to keep an open mind. Which is why she jumps at the chance to enter the hidden world of The Others when a friendly imp invites her to a non-human nightclub. Daphanie’s curious to see how the Other half lives—and parties—but soon, one handsome stranger has her bewitched, bothered, and beside herself…

Enter Asher Grayson. As a Guardian, it’s his job to protect humans who get mixed up in the affairs of Others. When he spots Daphanie in a club, going head to head with a notorious witch doctor, he steps in to cool things off. Now the heat is on. Daphanie becomes the target of strange magical attacks, and Asher’s got to undo the voodoo before it’s too, too late. But soon he starts to wonder if this beautiful, beguiling mortal has put a spell on him—because every little thing she does is magic… 

I loved Asher ...he has wings. I enjoyed characters from previous books being involved. Lots of action. A good addition to the series. 

Affliction by Laurell K Hamilton

Had everyone bitten tonight caught this? The other bites had not looked like vampire bites. They'd been zombie, or human looking. Was this infection something that vampires and shapeshifters could catch? If it was, then it was something new. Some zombies are raised. Others must be put down. Just ask me, Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter. 

Before now, I figured I could handle them. Before now, I had never heard of any of them causing human beings to perish in agony. But that's all changed. Micah's estranged father lies dying, rotting away inside from some strange ailment that has his doctor's whispering about 'zombie disease'.

I make my living from zombies - but these aren't the kind I know so well. These creatures hunt in daylight, and are as fast and strong as vampires. If they bite you, you become just like them. And round and round it goes... Where will it stop? Even I don't know.

I wasn't sure about this book at first...a zombie apocolypse?  But i ended up loving it. Couldn't put it down.  The best sex scene of the book (there were a few, but far more story than sex) was when she was with Nicky and Nathaniel.

Gideon by Jacqueline Frank

They're called the Nightwalkers - proud, ancient beings who live in the shadows, existing just beyond the human world. But there are also dangerous humans who hunt them - necromancers who use the blackest magic to manipulate them. And for a Demon named Gideon, the battle against these evil forces will soon be all too personal...For a thousand years, Gideon has healed his people. And as the oldest surviving male of his race, his wisdom has always been respected without question. But Gideon knows that even he is vulnerable to the powerful, primitive desires that befall his kind during Hallowed moons - and nine years ago that truth was hammered home when he found himself claiming Magdalegna, the Demon King's sister, in a wild embrace. Horrified by his lack of control, he left her wanting and furious - and then exiled himself for the better part of a decade. Now, with necromancers threatening his people - and Magdalegna nearly their victim - Gideon must face another truth. He and the beautiful, stubborn Magdalegna are destined to be together, to share a love as deep and old as time itself. But first he needs to regain her trust. Then he'll have to save her life... 

Another excellent book in this series. I loved the chemistry between Legna and Gideon and the way they slowly came to understand each other.