Maya Banks

 

Amber Eyes

Author: Maya Banks

Series Connection: Eyes

ISBN: 978-1-60504-466-8

Genre: Paranormal/shapeshifter

 

5 Hearts

 

Continuing with her "Eyes" series, Maya Banks delves into the story of what happened to Aliyah's sister (i.e. "Golden Eyes"). At a young age Aliyah lost her sister Kaya while they were playing by their home in Alaska. The two girls were shifted at the time. Aliyah shifted into a cheetah and Kaya into a cougar. Both species not found in Alaska. When Kaya gets stuck in a trap she is taken away and brought to the Colorado mountains where cougars are normally found.

 

For years Kaya lives on her own until she meets Jericho and Hunter. She first approaches them in her cougar form and then in human. At first Jericho and Hunter don't realize that she is one and the same and it takes a bit for the two men to understand exactly what she is. As they spend time together and grow to trust each other, Kaya becomes more secure in her surroundings, but all that changes in an instant when the two men are sent out on a new mission.

 

Maya Banks has a magical touch when she writes. She has a great ability for character development and building up a scene. This is one that shapeshifters and paranormal fans will enjoy.

 

Description:

Their final mission will be to win her love.

 

A beautiful, vulnerable woman appears at the high country cabin where Hunter and Jericho live between assignments. They are captivated by their stunning, reticent visitor and vow to protect her—and uncover what she's hiding. Neither is prepared for the unbelievable. Their beautiful innocent is a cougar shifter who's spent a lifetime alone.

 

In the shelter of their love, Kaya blooms, finally willing to trust—and embrace her humanity again. Then Hunter and Jericho are called away on a mission that goes terribly wrong. Now, pregnant, and alone once more, she must find her way in a world she doesn't belong to—and hope that the two men she loves will find their way home.

 

 

Golden Eyes

Author: Maya Banks

Series Connection: Eyes

ISBN: 978-1-59632-640-8

Genre: Paranormal/shapeshifter

 

5 Hearts

 

Generally I'm open to reading any kind of romance genre, but I'd have to say my favorite is paranormal novels, especially shapeshifters. I can tell from a writer's perspective this must be very difficult to write. Especially for those who are very literal minded. There are just some people who can't step out of the box and want to over analysis everything.

 

As a reader, I like to put myself in the position of the characters, whether they are male or female. In this case, here is a local small town sheriff in the middle of nowhere Colorado. There is little trouble in his community aside from rowdy hunters and a few poachers ever now and then. When calls start to come in about sightings of mysterious wild animals that shouldn't be in his part of the world, Sheriff Duncan Kennedy goes out for a look see. He doesn't expect to see anything but a mountain lion, but when he comes upon a cheetah he takes pause. If that isn't bad enough when he gets the cheetah to a protected area and leaves it alone for just a few minutes and comes back and sees a woman where he left the cheetah, what is a guy suppose to think?

 

At this point some readers might say, please that would never happen and close the book. My active imagination wants to keep reading to see what the guy will do next. Maya Banks does a great job presenting her characters in "Golden Eyes". The opening scene where the sheriff first approaches the cheetah is excellent. Later the sheriff can do nothing but believe what he sees and as the protector of all that he is, he keeps the shapeshifters secret.

 

Aliyah Carver, our cheetah shapeshifter, can't trust anyone. How can she help but fall in love with Duncan who shows her an incredible amount of compassion. Oh yeah and did I mention the sex scenes? Get out the fans readers because this book will make you hot, hot, hot. As always Maya Banks is a master when she writes erotic romance. This book takes her abilities to new heights.

 

For those who like paranormal stories with some really outrageous love scenes and some nice action as our sheriff hunts down some nasty poachers, this is the story for you. Keep an eye out for the next Maya Banks review—"Amber Eyes", book 2 in the Eyes series—coming soon.

 

Description:

When Sheriff Duncan Kennedy finds an injured cheetah in his mountains, he brings it home, determined to find out how she got there and stop the poachers who were hunting her. When he later checks on the cheetah and instead finds a gorgeous, naked woman with an arrow in her leg, he's completely flabbergasted.

 

For six months, Aliyah Carver has been trapped in cheetah form. Taken by poachers who import exotic animals to illegally hunt, she stayed in animal form to avoid detection. She escapes the hunters, but now she faces another problem. A devastatingly sexy sheriff who now knows her secret.

 

Unbroken

Author: Maya Banks

ISBN: 978-1-60504-161-2

Genre: Contemporary erotic romance

 

5 Hearts

 

This is an excellent trio of stories by Maya Banks. These novels were previous released as individual e-books and now are in one full set in paperback and e-book, as well as still available in e-book individually.

 

The novels take place in a small town in Texas where several friends get together. The first story is about Jake and Ellie. Jake had been in love with Ellie for a long time, but she married his best friend. He separated himself from Ellie's life as much as possible because it was just too painful to see her with his friend, but while he wasn't paying attention Ellie was going through hell.

 

She's divorced now and Jake is just waiting for her to come to terms with what happened in her marriage to be ready for him. When she is ready look out because she's his and Jake has no intention of letting her go.

 

In Overheard Luke has been interested in Gracie for a long time, but he finally gets the nerve to do something about it when he overhears her talking to her friend about her sexual fantasies. Now with help of his friend Wes, he is going to fulfill her dreams and hopefully fulfill some of his own as well.

 

And lastly in Undenied, Wes gets the shock of his life when he sees a woman from his past. He doesn't quite know how to handle the fact that he's attracted to her, but when he's with her all he can remember is their one and only time together as teenagers. Wes remembers it as the most embarrassing sexual experience of his life.

 

Payton remembers it a little differently. She sets out to show Wes that she is no longer the little virgin she was when they last saw each other. Her plans of seduction work and as they get to know each other, Wes isn't so sure what he wants to do about her. He likes his life the way it is, but he isn't sure he wants to be without Payton in his life.

 

Maya Banks is easily one of the top writers in the erotic romance genre. The way she writes love scenes will make even the most hard-core blush and others wish they were the characters in the scenes. By themselves or all together these stories are worth the read.

 

Description:

Three stories from the pen of Maya Banks!

Undenied

Payton is the last woman Wes ever expected or wanted to see again. He's come a long way since their awkward teenage encounter, and his ego needs no reminder. Payton harbors no such reservations about catching up on old times, if she could just get him over his mental block. But that's nothing a blindfold and a little mad seduction scheme can't fix.

 

Overheard

Gracie is tired of the men in her life never fulfilling her vivid sexual fantasies. When Luke overhears her talking about what she really wants, he's stunned—and very turned on. So Gracie thinks no man alive can satisfy her? He aims to prove her wrong.

 

Understood

Jake made the ultimate mistake—falling in love with Ellie, his best friend's wife. Distance was the only solution, but it prevented him from seeing what a bastard his friend turned out to be. Now Ellie is free from the bondage of her past, and Jake waits. Needing, wanting, and ready for her when she spreads her wings.

 

 

Product Warnings

 

This title contains explicit sex, graphic language, mad seduction schemes, drop-dead sexy hunks, and a menage a trois.

 

 

Be With Me

Author: Maya Banks

eISBN: 978-1-440-60213-9

Genre: Contemporary romance, multiple partners

 

4 Hearts

 

Description:

Three men. One woman.

 

Hutch Bishop, Cam Douglas, and Sawyer Pritchard were juvenile delinquents with a reckless and wildly sexy side. But they had more in common than that. They had Regina Fallon, a wealthy but lonely girl from the right side of the tracks who formed an unusual friendship with the boys. She felt protected. She felt needed. She felt loved -- for the first time in her life. By all three.

 

So much closer than just friends.

 

Today, she's a police officer, dedicated to her badge, and wary of reuniting her relationship with the hot trio after one night of passion left her confused—and stunned—by what they wanted from her. But when a mysterious attempt is made on her life, Hutch, Cam, and Sawyer jump in to protect her again. Now, Regina and her three lovers are forming an all-new bond. It's more exciting, more intense, and—as a killer looms in the shadows—more dangerous than ever before.

 

My View:

I've read many of Maya Banks books and I have to say she is one of the stars of erotic romance. For me there are thee kinds of erotic novels. The one that dives into sex in the first few pages and leaves your pulse racing throughout the book, the book that just throws in sex for the sake of sex and the novel that tells a story and include scenes of erotic romance throughout a story.

 

In this sensual suspense, Maya takes a little time out for the reader to get to know the characters. It would be easy to throw these four individuals into a room and say go ahead and get to the sex part. Let's face it what woman wouldn't fantasize about having three sexy, strong men devote their lives, love and sex life to you, but when it comes down to it in real life these things just don't happen. It takes some time for Reggie to come to grips with it. Maya does a great job in playing out those scenes. At times Reggie seems a bit to stubborn, but really how many women would be so easy to accept this situations and the changes it would bring to her life.

 

As far as the suspense part of the story. There I was a little disappointed. I liked the story line, but thought the cops were a bit on the hick side. I mean come on, most readers would have figured out the end of the book in the first two chapters and yet the cops didn't even ask the proper questions. With working so hard to establish the characters in the story, it would have been in line to at least make the cops have some depth in the story, as well.

 

 

Reckless

Author: Maya Banks

Series: Sequel to Brazen

ISBN: 1-60504-034-7

 

5 Hearts

 

Description:

He can run, but he can't hide. Sheriff J.T. Summers promised to keep an eye on his best friend's little sister. What could possibly go wrong? A lot. "Little" Nikki Durant isn't so little anymore. She's sex on a stick, and she's pointed right at him. Nikki has always loved J.T., and she's through waiting for him to come around. The soaring summer temperature is nothing compared to the heat generated when she sets fire to his senses. With a take-no-prisoners attitude, she's out to get her man. But no matter how many ways she offers it, J.T.'s not buying. What's it going to take to get him to realize her love for him isn't a passing fling? Get herself arrested? Hmm.

 

My View:

Maya Banks may not be a household name in the romance book scene, but every women who loves a great story with hot love scenes should give her at least one try. In Reckless Maya hasn't let us down. Our hero, J.T. is out to keep a promise to his best friend bringing us a great forbidden love story. How can anyone resist Nikki though? She's sassy, brazen and not shy about going after what she wants. You couldn't ask for a better combination than this couple.

 

 

Forgiveness is the most difficult thing to give, but the most cherished thing to receive

 

Love me, still

Author: Maya Banks

ASIN: B0015Z7VFG

 

2 Hearts

 

Book Description:

Beloved mate to two wolves, Heather lived an idyllic life until hunters destroyed the pack's peaceful existence. Believing their mate betrayed them and was responsible for their father's death, Cael and Riyu cut Heather from their lives. But when they realize their terrible mistake, can they ever gain her forgiveness and win back her love?

 

My View:

This was definitely a tear jerker of a story. The terrible misunderstanding between Heather and her two werewolf mates leaves both parties to sit back and figure out what went wrong. Not a bad story, but all together too short and lacked any of the Maya's usual sensual love scenes. Still its a good read for anyone who likes her stories.