Review ~ Werewolves of Chicago: Curragh ~ Faleena Hopkins

Werewolves of Chicago: Curragh by Faleena Hopkins
Werewolves of Chicago #1
Release Date: January 21, 2016
Genre: Adult, Paranormal Romance, Suspense, Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased on Kindle
Rating: 4 Bookworms
Challenges: #2106NewRelease, #COYER
Goodreads

Synopsis
The tight black dress.
The booze in her hand.
The soft-brown bedroom eyes.
The acceptance of his invitation to join him in the bar's locked bathroom right after they meet.
None of these things could have warned him she was a f-ing off-duty cop and after the same bad dude her was. Fuhhhhhhhck.

Detective Kara Monaghan and wolf Curragh Dominion are after the same guy, but by very different means. When they meet as strangers in a bar and chemistry flies, they have NO idea they're on different sides of the law until after they've had the delicious fill of each other. He wants her to go away AND come closer. What's a stubborn beast to do when his wolf has a mind of its own?

Ah, the backstory I missed by reading Howard first. I quite enjoyed being able to become acquainted with Curragh as well as seeing how he and Kara came to be together.

Curragh is sort of alpha of his pack of three - probably because he's the grumpiest. *wink* This pack is looking out for the residents of Chicago, taking the law into their own hands when necessary. There seems to be a general dislike and distrust of the police but I was never made to understand why. But it did make it humorous that Curragh would find the one in a cop.

Kara has recently relocated to Chicago from NYC. She's a good detective but finds it difficult to be taken seriously in a male-dominated profession. She decides to prove her worth on a case that's been haunting the CPD for over a decade. This hunt for this criminal puts her on a path to collide with Curragh.

I liked the romance between Curragh and Kara even if it was fast. Of course, the one mate thing helped to smooth over the quick pace they took to love. The banter and interactions between them were a lot of fun though. I enjoyed Curragh's "Mr. Grumpy Pants" meeting his match.

The mystery of the leader of the Russian mafia was shocking and rather gritty. There were some plot elements used that I thought were a bit easy but overall, I was enthralled, needing to know what would happen.

So far, I'm impressed with Hopkins' storytelling and am eager for Xavier's story. I'm interested to see how it's all tied up.

Review ~ Werewolves of Chicago: Howard: The Underdog ~ Faleena Hopkins

Werewolves of Chicago: Howard by Faleena Hopkins
Werewolves of Chicago #2
Release Date: March 27, 2016
Genre: Adult, Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #2016NewRelease, #COYER
Goodreads

Synopsis
Curragh, Xavier and Draik made me prove myself. And I changed into something extraordinary.

The strength and speed.
The night vision.
Hearing through walls and even into heartbeats.

All this is new. Strange. FANTASTIC.

Because I'm about to meet HER. The blue-haired girl. Around her, I act totally out of character. I would never hurt her, but HE might. Not every wolf gets a cool name. Not until they've earned it.

A werewolf who's scrawny? Small in stature and has no supernatural abilities to speak of? A coroner? And named Howard?!? An underdog indeed but I find I tend to root for underdogs. ;)

Howard was exciting, funny, and suspenseful. The premise grabbed me and Howard, his pack mates, and Alisa drew me in. Hopkins' writing is inherently readable and the story was well constructed and nicely paced.

I loved Howard! He's such a gentle and sweet guy. He's recently undergone a dramatic physical change but it didn't change him. Alisa is quirky and fun. You gotta admire a girl with blue hair. She is definitely courageous and although she put up all kinds of emotional barriers, she melted for Howard. Both Howard and Alisa have similar upbringing which left them with emotional scars. I liked that there was something about them both that pulled at the other. They complemented each other well.

The secondary cast is fantastic. I read this out of order, which I hate doing, but although I would have felt I knew them all better, I didn't feel it took away from the story. I will, of course, be reading Curragh ASAP. And then Xavier. And Hopkins' other werewolf series as well. And probably her other works too because I have a feeling she's going on my favorite authors list. I'll keep y'all posted. ;)

New Release Blitz ~ Cocky Biker ~ Faleena Hopkins (@faleenahopkins)

Cocky Biker - A Stand Alone MC Romance Novel My father is Congressman Michael Cocker. He f*cking hates that I live outside the law. I'm Jett. I don't care that I come from old money. The Ciphers MC - they're my chosen family. We are servants ONLY to our code, our mission. We live it. Breathe it. Search for it. The same force that drives storms, tornadoes and hurricanes, propels us. Like them we arrive without warning and level sh*t, to erect something superior. A loner, I never expected on the most dangerous of our missions to meet an irresistible feral cat. I nicknamed the kitty, Sunshine, and she is anything but. My name is Luna, not Sunshine. I am darkness. Only one thing matters to me...killing the man who murdered my mother when I was ten. I don't have time for Grey Eyes - a f*cking biker named Jett Cocker. No matter how ridiculously hot he is, or how skilled at playing my emotions like a violin. My WHOLE LIFE I've been gearing up for this. I've finally found the murderer. Now. Is. My. Moment. So why am I wasting time with Grey Eyes in this motel room...why is he making me forget my pain? _____________________ The Cocker Brothers of Atlanta, Georgia, have earned their nickname -- The Cocky Brothers. Their daddy taught them to be real men. Their momma told them, "Hold out for a different kind of woman." They have one thing in common: ARROGANCE. A brand new Bad Boy Romance Stand-Alone book series. Six brothers. Six books. Meet Jett Cocker. Book 2.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ITYED3I Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/edit/30633190-cocky-biker Author Website: http://authorfaleenahopkins.com Facebook Fan Page: http://facebook.com/authorfaleenahopkins Pinterest: (pics from the novels on here) https://www.pinterest.com/FaleenaMHopkins/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/faleenahopkins Excerpt “Neither do I,” I breathe as he leans deeper in. Grey Eyes is so dangerously close to my mouth that I can feel his heat.  “Neither do you what?”  “Have a master.” I could use a good fuck, though. “And I don’t want one, either.”  “Every woman wants a master.” “Not true,” I whisper, fighting him because I’m stubborn but inwardly knowing he doesn’t mean equality. He means in the sack. And he’s right. “Deep, deeeeeeep down, she does want a master, Sunshine. She wants him to take charge. Make her pant his name as she quivers underneath him.”  With his eyes all hooded and his naked chest lightly touching the tips of my breasts through my jacket and shirt, Grey Eyes lowers his hand. I follow it, unable not to look. He hovers thick, calloused fingers from riding, just short of my jeans’ zipper and crooks his middle finger as though it were about to be inside me. He’s almost touching me there. I’ve stopped breathing. With a low, slow rasp, he continues to tease me as we both stare at those fucking fingers of his. “Every woman wants a real man. One who knows how to touch her…here. And that man, Sunshine, that man she’d call Master.” His eyes crawl up my body, locking with mine as I press the back of my head into the door, wishing he’d touch me so I could punch him. Or grab the back of his head and eat him alive. Whichever came first. “Baby,” he murmurs, “…this is a fucked-up situation. I want you. But I’d never take you against your will.” He kisses my nose like he did this morning, but this time real slow. “However…if you gave yourself to me, you’d thank me for it.”  He leans in to kiss me but drops down without doing so, grabs my backpack and flashes away from me, pulling my gun out.  I explode, “What the fuck!?” pushing off the door and coming at him. “Give me that!” He jumps on the bed and holds it up. “Now what’s this for, huh?”  “You tricked me!”  “Yup.”  I chase him around the bed, totally helpless. I’m not about to tackle him outright. That weapon is fucking loaded. “GIVE IT BACK!” He grins. “You sound like my brother Jeremy when I found a love letter from his ex-girlfriend! Now, now, Sunshine, stop trying to grab me. You said it was never gonna happen. Can’t change your mind just because I got ya all wet, baby.”  YUP...that's me. I had a Yamaha 80 when I was 10. A Kawasaki at 22, and a Suzuki at 31. This story Is extra close to my heart because I'm a biker at heart. And damn if one day I don't buy a Triumph. ;)

New Release Blitz & #Giveaway ~ Werewolves of Chicago: Howard ~ Faleena Hopkins

Werewolves of Chicago: Howard:
New Release Sale and Kindle Fire Giveaway Blitz!

Not every wolf gets a cool name. some of them have to earn it. An action-packed tale of courage, love, good vs. evil, and leaps of faith. 

In the wake of taking down the Russian mafia, runt wolf Howard has finally come into his own. And now that he's falling for a blue-haired girl, he has to discover what it means to be powerful before facing the greatest challenge of all, his past. 

Bonus Content: the novel Werewolves of Chicago: Curragh is included in this Limited Release eBook Edition. Available in Kindle Unlimited or on sale for .99 during this blitz.

FROM THE BOOK

Who am I trying to kid? 

I slow down as I near the end.

"HOWARD!!" Xavier yells, pissed off. 

I grab onto the chain-link fence and bend over, panting and humiliated. "I can't." 

Draik mutters really quietly, "He can't do it," so I know I wasn't meant to hear it. And the thing is, had it been a couple months ago, I wouldn't have been able to. But I did hear it. And it makes me angry. 

He. Can't. Do. It. All my life I've been hearing that. My whole fucking life.

A heat launches into me. One I've not felt since that night at Kruglov's, and never before then. I don't have a name for it because it's foreign, but it feels like there is literal fire in my chest as a voice inside my guts says, I can and I will. 

The dirty fence clatters behind me as I push off from it, running with gaining speed. My hair starts to tingle, wind whipping though it. The exposed parts of my skin feel cold from the sudden sting of the chilled night air. My muscles come alive, burning and expanding like they're growing with every hit to the sidewalk even though my feet feel separate from me. I let go of my mind and allow my body to show
me what it can do. My arms pound back and forth, maintaining my balance. I start to make a sound I've never made. 

I hear Xavier say, "That's it," from a faraway place. "He's feeling it." 

I make it to the fence, whip around and race back in the other direction, pushing myself to cut however little time that took, in half. My chest feels like it's going to explode in volcanic ash. 

I'm pure energy. Possibility. I'm ALIVE. 

I run so fast that, unable to stop my velocity, I hit the fence with a loud SLAM. 

Falling in a heap on the ground, I begin to laugh. 

Draik and Xavier stroll up to loom over me, and I'm still laughing. They've got grins on their faces bigger than I've ever seen. 

"You found it," Xavier says.

I pant, "What? What did I find?" smiling wide. 

Draik tips his head up. "Courage."

  CLICK HERE TO BUY OR BORROW IN KINDLE UNLIMITED

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AN INTERESTING BIT ABOUT HOW THIS BOOK CAME ABOUT, by AUTHOR FALEENA HOPKINS

I've written seventeen novels, and six of them are about werewolves. In my books it's real life. The world does not know they exist. But they do. Never did I anticipate writing about a wolf named Howard. But there he was, showing up in Werewolves of Chicago: Curragh (also included in this one download for a limited time, since you really should read it first). Howard was then a scrawny wolf who just wanted to play with the big boys, and who they called upon for help since he's a doctor. Then from out of nowhere he did something so brave that he grew into the wolf he was always meant to be - one like them. All muscle and power. I never planned that. I don't plan plots and never know where a story is going or how it will end, when I begin it. After releasing Curragh's book, fans wanted to know more about this sweet, unassuming and courageous wolf, as did I. Werewolves of Chicago: Howard was born.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

"The first book I ever wrote I tied with yarn, illustrated with crayon, and sold to my parents for a buck. I was about five years old. Ever since, stories of love and redemption have always struck a cord in me." An actress and director, too, Faleena Hopkins currently lives in Atlanta, GA, where she loves the unpredictable weather patterns after having lived in LA for twenty years. "Last night a thunder storm, today 75 degrees, tomorrow snowflakes drifting in the night sky. Can't beat it." 

Learn more about her filmmaking career at: http://imdb.me/faleenahopkins

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