There is trouble in the supernatural world of shifters, vampires and witches and Mina Van Helsing is stuck in the middle.  As a Reaper, a direct descendant of the Van Helsing himself, Mina has trained her entire life to police the supernatural beings who break the pacts agreed upon long ago.  On a mission gone wrong, Mina is captured and injured.  She wakes up with no recollection of the past few weeks except for strange fragments.  There is video evidence however of Mina killing two vampires without cause and for this, Mina must be punished.  Mina's parents know there is something bigger at play and have Mina sentenced to Van Helsing Academy, a rehabilitation center for wayward supernatural beings.  Mina's sentence is not just punishment, she is directed to find out the secret plot that  framed her for the vampire deaths and might begin a war between the factions.


Van Helsing Academy is a fun and exciting paranormal romance.  Mina's character is gracious, smart and not afraid to go against the status quo.  I really liked the idea of the Van Helsing Academy and that there were supernatural beings all around.  The plot was intense with multiple factions, secrets and intrigues.  The characters were all distinct.  I loved Kiera, her friendship and willingness to open up to Mina allowed Mina to realize that not all was well at the Academy and that supernatural beings were not the stereotypes that she believed.  Mina's open-mindedness helps her to see that all is not right at the Academy and that all that she was told may not be true.  Cassius, the vampire prince and the other vampires were sleek, sexy and secretive. The shifters and Sacha, the Alpha were strong, courageous and handsome.  The romance took a while to build, but felt right.  There were definitely some great steamy sections that put this book more in the New Adult category.  The ending brings together many revelations and a lot of action with a cliff hanger.  I will be diving into the next book as soon as it comes out. 


This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

​Sylvie is new to the school. Her old-school clothes and head in the clouds demeanor make her an easy target for boys like Tommy Payne and his gang.  George knows what Tommy will do to a girl like Sylvie.  When George intervenes on Tommy's attack of Sylvie the pair become fast friends.  Sylvie accepts George with all her quirks and faults.  George accepts Sylvie's strange gift of knowing the background of the antiques at her father's shop with a simple touch.  As life moves on, Sylvie goes to University far away.  George stays and works in the antique shop waiting to desperately rekindle the feelings that they shared in school.

The Attic Tragedy is a short story about friendship and how it changes us over time.  The unique elements of Sylvie's gift brought me into the story, but isn't the main focus.  I would love to have a gift like that, to know the history of objects with a touch.  The stories Sylvie shared were amazing whether they were sweet, heartbreaking or silly. Since this is a short story, the timeline moves quickly and the characters are carved out along the way.  I do wish there was more information about Sylive's gift and George's background.  The real focus, however, is on the value of friendship and how it affects us, even if the friendship changes.  Overall, a unique story with elements of the paranormal and acceptance.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Rhett Masters is high school royalty, wealthy, good-looking and a star football player. Rhett has a new girl every day and plans to go to school on a football scholarship.  After a family tragedy that Rhett believes is his fault, his life spirals downhill and causes him to loose his chance at a football scholarship.  Rhett changes his focus to becoming one the Elite, a secret society in New Orleans that recruits seven members a year.  The Elite will pave the way for Rhett's future, but getting in will come at a price.  The task that the Elite give Rhett seems simple for a guy like him, but once Rhett learns more about the the woman he has to target, he has to choose her reputation over his dream.


From the absolutely heart-wrenching opening of Lust, I knew I was hooked.  I really liked the idea of the secret society, The Elite and how they were based on evil and sin.  Rhett seemed like he was going to be the stereotypical good-looking bad boy, however, his motivations were much deeper.  From the beginning, I could tell that Rhett had much deeper emotional motivations than her ever showed on the surface.  Rhett's initiation into the Elite was intense, but predictable.  Although, Rhett and Chastity did make a really cute couple and the heat and dirtiness factor ramped up when their relationship took off.  I can't wait to go deeper into the stories of the other seven member, especially Rhett's friend, God.


This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Mason and Evelyn Blackwell have been in the foster care system for years.  Mason is almost out when the siblings are placed with the Griffin family.  Lillian Griffin decides that Mason will be the perfect leader for her secret society since he has so much to lose if he doesn't do exactly as Lillian says.   Holding Evelyn as a bargaining chip, Lillian puts Mason through hell until he agrees to lead the initiates of the Elite.  Mason must delegate evil deeds to the other members to complete as well as complete his own.  Mason's task is to expose the dark secret of the new Theology professor at St. Augustine University.  However, once he finds out who the unlikely professor is, Mason's task becomes much more difficult. 


The second book in The Elite Seven series focuses on the group's leader, Mason who has been given the sin of pride.  So far, books one and two have meshed together really well, keeping characterization and timeline all in sync.  In Pride, the evil nature of The Elite Seven becomes apparent as Mason is a very reluctant initiate.  Mason's life has not been easy, so his character is more relatable than Rhett in book one, Lust. Through Mason, we find out a lot more about LIllian's character, her motivations and how much pull she has within the Elite.  Mason's story line is as much seated in revenge against Lillian as it is his relationship with his target, Meghan.  Mason and Meghan's relationship was explosive, dirty, hot and incredibly sexy.  These steamy scenes also happened a lot throughout the book, so this one has a high heat rating.  Pride's story pushes along the plot of the Elite Seven society and leads into the next story of Wrath. 
 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

​Samuel Gunner grew up in an abusive household- told by his father he was the reason for his mother's death and physically assaulted by his grandparents as well as countless nannies.  Samuel learned early on that if he acted up, he could keep the focus and pain on himself and off of his twin sister Sabella.  As Samuel grew, so did his anger.  Now, Samuel is looking for a way to permanently separate himself from his father.  The opportunity comes when Samuel learns about the Elite, a secret society with power and money.  Samuel attracts their attention, but has to complete a task in order to get in.  The task is to seduce and then break the heart of the mayors daughter, Patience.  This would typically be an easy task for Samuel; however, Patience is the only girl that Samuel has ever considered a friend and he broke her heart years ago.
Wrath is the third book in The Elite Seven series and now some of the stories are beginning to connect and the Elite players are becomming familiar.  Samuel is a difficult character to connect to.  With his sin of wrath Samuel is a difficult character to get to know.  He is angry and a jerk all the time to pretty much everyone around him, even to those who don't deserve it.  It wasn't until a little after halfway through the story when Samuel receives his Elite task with Patience that he begins to soften and we can see his true personality.  The romance with Patience seemed a little off to me, but considering their past history was probably just right for them.  The sex scenes didn't capture me as much as the other books, but this may have been because of Samuel's need for dominance. The ending leaves many questions to be answered with Samuel's position within the elite, his sister Sabella as well as Elite brother Sebastian.  
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This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

​Sebastian Westbrook seems to have everything: wealth, cars, fancy digs and good looks.  However, the one thing he wants seems to continuously slip through his fingers- a girlfriend.  Sebastian doesn't just want meaningless sex, he can get that whenever he wants.  He needs someone loyal to him, someone who makes him feel good about himself.  After Sebastian causes some trouble, his uncle decides to place Sebastian at St. Augustine in order to try to get him noticed by a secret society, The Elite.  Sebestian agrees since The Elite might be just the way to get him noticed by the type of woman who would treat him right.  Sebastian uses his computer skills and ruthlessness to gain a spot into The Elite.  With the Elite he finds a brotherhood and with the brotherhood, a woman who he thinks is worthy.  Sebastian's task for The Elite is easy for him and he quickly refocuses on the woman of his dreams, Sabella.  However, when Sabella doesn't agree to everything Sebastian wants, things begin to unravel and everything Sebastian has built up for himself might come crashing down. 


Envy is book four in The Elite Seven Series.  I would highly recommend reading at least book three, Wrath, beforehand since the stories are inextricably linked.  Envy breaks the mold of the other Elite brothers.  Sebastian is different and he just doesn't have some qualities of the sin he is given, but truly encompasses the meaning of Envy by destroying the lives of others for what he covets and not caring about the causalities it causes. Sebastian's character is darker and isn't a character that I could get behind, but is a character I understood.  Though most of his actions are heinous, I understood his need to be part of the group and his willingness to do anything to get there.  I sort of liked the break of the obvious romantic interest that the other stories had and Sebastian's infatuation with Sabella heightened the suspense.  I really want to jump into the next book after this since so much went wrong for Sebastian at the end.  

Baxter Samuel Goddard V, or God to his friends has been given life on a silver platter.  His father is one of the richest men in the world an has made sure that everything is in excess.  This also means that he was able to buy God into The Elite, the controlling secret society in New Orleans.  God takes on The Elite mostly for his best friend, Rhett so they can be members together.  However, the task that God has been given will directly impact Rhett and their friendship.  God completes his task for The Elite, but also injures a young woman in the process.  Even though God's dad takes care of any consequences for the snafu, God feels terrible for ruining the life of the woman and stays by her side throughout her recovery.  Zemira is horrified that the man who hurt her is there when she wakes up; but, he is helpful and the only one she has.  As she recovers, Zemira discovers that maybe all Gluttony needed was a little lesson in temperance.   

Gluttony is the fifth book in The Elite Seven Series and things are getting really good now. I would definitely read the other four books beforehand since a lot of plot points are beginning to come together in this book. I actually really liked God's character, he was flawed and he knew it and his worst fear was becomming his father. Though it seemed wrong, I really enjoyed the progression and romance between God and Zemira. I was well paced and surprisingly respectful. They turned out to be exactly what each other needed. Gluttony moves the plot along at a good pace as well. I was glad to find out more about Lillian's situation and see what her consequences were to her scheming. Wrath's story is also continued and it looks like there might be some closure for Sabella and some ramifications for Envy. The ending seems to signify that some change is coming with this class of The Elite and I definitely want to jump into the next two books soon.

​Rush Dempsey doesn't care about much in life except finding out the truth about what killed his mother.  He knows that the secret society, The Elite has something to do with it.  It isn't until his father mentions that Rush is a candidate for the very same group that he is compelled to do something again.  Rush knows that getting into to The Elite will be the only way to destroy it.  His task to become a member of the group is to desecrate Archbishop Savoie's daughter, Isabelle on the alter of the church.  Rush's task becomes easy when Isabelle is pushed into her hands and taking down The Elite is in sight.  No one expects the laziest member of the group to have planned so carefully.


Sloth is the sixth book in The Elite Seven series.  Sloth brings together a lot of the previous stories, so I would definitely recommend reading the rest of the series first.  Rush is motivated from the very beginning to end The Elite and expose their secrets.  His character, from the outside seems like to least likely to do so, however; Sloth is just a cover for patience.  I enjoyed Rush's relationship with Isabelle and the fact that it didn't seemed forced or even too tied to his task.  The romance is sweet and sexy with plenty of steamy scenes.  Isabelle was courageous on her own and I was glad that she was able to use Rush to get out from under her father.  For a book about Sloth, this installment was really action packed as Rush and his brothers begin to bring down The Elite.  I was impressed at how well all of the stories have fit together so far and can't wait to see if Rush's plan will work in the last book, Greed. 

​Micah Dixon wants it all.  Above all he wants to know what happened to his best friend, Mason and his sister, Evelyn.  Two years ago, Micah asked his father with help protecting them, but it was all lies.  With membership to New Orleans secret society, The Elite, Micah will be able to figure out a way to make up for it all.  The Elite have control of both Mason and Evelyn, and together they are going to find a way to bring it all down.  First, Micah has to take care of his task. Then there is  Sabella, the twin sister of Wrath and the girl that everyone believes that Envy has killed.  


Greed is the last book in The Elite Seven Series and needs to be read last.  Micah's story brings together the suspense that has been building within the past six books.  The brothers are finally ready to take The Elite into their own hands by taking out the old order.  For this book, the story switches between Micah and Sabella's point of view.  The women's characters have been just as influential in the story as much as the men's.  Sabella regains her self confidence and builds her strength with Micah and becomes just as much a part of the group.  I'm glad that their romance was slower and took the time Sabella needed to find confidence again without losing any of the steamy scenes. The ending is exciting, violent and accomplishes what it needs.  I do wish there was a continuation of what this set of brothers achieve afterward.