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.