Thursday, July 25, 2013

Book Tour for Savage Smoke by Kay Dee Royal (Review & GIVEAWAY)


Kay Dee Royal returns today with another super steamy paranormal read.  Savage Smoke is the second installment in her LIIA series and is just as HOT and pulse-pounding as its predecessor.  So keep reading to get a glimpse of this book, along with my impressions of it, and make sure to fill out the form below for your chance to win some great prizes!

Chance and his LIIA pack of agents search for rogue Lycan mastermind, Smoke, kidnapper of Lindsey and fifteen other human women he plans to use for procreating his own army.
Trevor, Chance’s right-hand Lycan, wants his mate back, but believes she’s fallen for her captor. Lindsey loves Trevor but believes he’s given up on her.
Will Trevor come around in time to rescue Lindsey and save her from shifting into Smoke’s pack, and will she even want back with Trevor after spending so long apart?

EXCERPT:

Trevor fought to get Smoke’s disgustedly grinning face out of his mind. Knowing that freak made love to Lindsey on a daily basis and worse, that she accepted and encouraged him, stabbed Trevor deep to his heart, like a twin silver bladed knife. Images of Smoke and Lindsey fucking in that damn cabin in Minnesota carved a permanent place in his head. He recalled how Lindsey rode Smoke as if she loved it, but the toughest thing for Trevor was seeing Smoke’s mark on her shoulder. It killed him, leaving a heavy weight inside his chest.
He kicked out his fury, foot meeting chair, and it slammed into the wall twenty feet away. Just then Jase sauntered into the Ops room.
“What the heck, Trev.” Jase strode over to the chair. “You need to get laid, man. Forget her and move on.” Jase picked it up and bent it back into shape. He set the chair legs on the floor. One second ticked by, long enough for Jase to make it back beside Trevor, and the chair busted in half, making both men jump. “Good grief! That liked-ta scare the fur right off my gonads.”
Trevor chuckled at Jase’s exclamation, his non-use of cuss words. It’d been a good month since he’d heard the sound of his own laughter. And, it didn’t seem to help his ache or the hollow heaviness. He sighed and turned to leave.
“Whoa, where ya goin’ in such a hurry? We need to plan an attack. Get those Lycan scumbags to the Elders so they can be dealt with good and proper.” Jase sidled closer, eyes wide, brows high and his mouth a thin line, an expression Trevor recognized as seriousness.
Trevor knew the kid’s look after mentoring him enough to understand what the young Lycan was up to, but being pulled into something else would never alleviate his loss. He trusted Jase to have his back, but didn’t want any part of a plan that involved Smoke or Lindsey. The little scrapper would have to find someone else. Trevor considered the younger man standing too close, in his space, and gave him a shove. Jase’s butt hit the floor and skidded across the room, stopping beside the chair remnants. Before Trevor blinked, the wiry shit stood in his face again.
“Stop acting like a husk of the Lycan-wolf we all know you to be. You’re setting a crappy example for the rest of us loners.”
“Then maybe it’s time I set out on my own. Take up with another pack.”
“You know you can’t just leave us. You belong in this pack, Trev. We all… No, I depend on you for teaching me the wily ways of women. Stop leading me astray.” Jase chuckled andthen went all serious again, but Trevor waited him out until the usual playful grin took over Jase’s face.
“Jase, stop. Can’t you see I’m not in the mood?”
“Shit, you have moods. Good gods, isn’t that female crap? Fuck.”
“And since when do you talk such trash? I’ve never heard you swear…and now, suddenly, you’re choking on those damn words.” Trevor studied Jase, realizing his friend worried about him. He wondered at the possibility of making love with someone else after finding and losing his primal-mate to another. Would his body even allow it? Guess there was only one way to find out. Maybe having Jase along would be a good back-up plan. “Fine, how about we go scare up some tail? What do you think about sharing a female? I understand it’s every woman’s dream.”
Jase’s face lit every which way, from twinkling eyes to his shit-eating grin. “I’m in. It’s like hands-on with a master, watch, learn, and play at the same time.” Jase chuckled. “How can I go wrong?”

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

As the second installment in the Lycan International Investigation Agency series, the pack is still on the hunt for the vicious and crazed Smoke.  He's taken Lindsey, the unconsummated primal-mate of second-in-command Trevor, and has nefarious plans for her and other human woman to form his own Lycan army to eradicate the Elders and anyone else standing in his way.  With help from a scientist and the drugs he creates to make woman hyper sexual and make them Lycan his plans to impregnate the women and use their offspring as his soldiers is well on its way to happening.  It will take every member of their group, along with new friends they discover along the way, to stop his insane plan.  While all this is happening amongst the Lycans there's the reappearance of vampires who kidnap LIIA member Jase for reasons not made clear but don't bode well for the future of the Lycans.

This is a fast-paced story that has a lot happening.  It's hard to keep up with the action at times as numerous sexual encounters seem to continually get in the way of the story.  Lycans are highly sexualized creatures which is quite apparent as everyone seems to be having encounters with someone else all the time.  The only exception is Trevor who's pining for Lindsey even as he's at war with his heart and mind wondering if she'll ever be his after Smoke has marked her.  Many of the interludes are expressions of love but many others are vicious and the result of being drugged or under compulsion of some sort.  These scenes get to be a bit too much at times as they never seem to end.  As a fan of steamy reads I never thought I'd say that, but I really wish there had been a few less of these kinds of scenes.

Smoke's plan is both vile and ingenious but seems to get lost amongst all the sex and his introduction to an unexpected female.  Bliss seems just as confused by her attraction to him as he is to her and it leads to an ending that.....just sort of ends.  There's a sense of hope that she can make him a different man but years of bitterness don't offer too much hope.  His plan might still come to fruition as the scientist he has worked with is still out there.  

I'm not sure if we'll see more of this series but it's certainly an explosive addition to the LIIA series.  Ms. Royal has created an immensely HOT story that left me parched at times.  The chase scenes were heart-pounding and I was on the edge of my seat as they traipsed through the snowy mountains looking for Smoke.  This cast of characters is memorable and I would love to see Jase rescued from the vampy siren holding him captive.  Damen too is immensely appealing and seems ripe to find his own primal-mate as we wait to see if there's more to come from this erotically-charged paranormal world.

My rating for this is a C+

*I received this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

AUTHOR INFO:

Kay Dee Royal writes paranormal, fantasy, and contemporary erotic romance—maybe because it's also her favorite genres to read! She pens tales with wild, rugged heroes and strong, intelligent heroines. She'll give them both a few shadowy secrets, making her stories intriguing and fun. She resides in Southern Michigan with her family (her dogs, her cats, her caged husband... you get the idea). You can reach her at her blog and find the latest on her titles from her publisher, MuseItHot.

Kay Dee Royal ~ Paranormal & Erotica Romance Musings
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**********GIVEAWAY**********

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4 comments:

  1. Hello Jody (Scarf Princess) - Thank you for reading my book, Savage Smoke, and for your review of it...and yes, there is a lot of sex scenes, so many I asked my amazing editor if the story got lost with them and she assured me the story stayed strong.

    You'd think a writer could lead the pack away from such doings (all the time), but that's more or less 'who they are' - and believe it or not, I did cut some scenes out of it. LOL

    Thank you again, Jody...you are the first to review it to my knowledge...and I greatly appreciate your time and opinion:)

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    Replies
    1. Thank YOU for being here! I was glad to see Trevor and Lindsey's Romeo & Juliet romance come to a HEA conclusion as they were definitely put through the wringer. Will there be more books in the series? I feel like there's still many loose ends that I long to see tied up (which sounds kinda kinky, doesn't it).

      The Scarf Princess

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  2. Yes, the next book is Smoke-n-Bliss, in this book we'll find out if Smoke can be redeemed - Lucy, Olivia's sister plays a bigger part, so do the Kodia-were;) Jase has his own story unfolding also. I think it may take two more books because there are a number of relationships developing and all of them will need to have an HEA, right? Well, with the exception of maybe Smoke...he's so sinister, I'm not sure he'll be able to pull himself out of it without consequences.

    Jody, thank you again for having me and for reading my books;)

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  3. Thanks for sharing the great excerpt and your impressions. I have added this book to my TBR and according to the above post from Kay Dee Royal there will be a second and I am happy to hear that. I will be adding it as well. evamillien at gmail dot com

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