Heat Wave
Author: Taryn Kincaid
Reviewer: Twimom227
Rating: B-, 3 Stars
What I’m Talking About:
Zena Night, sister of Lily and Dagney (from previous stories), is a succubus who is happy with her life of one-night stands and anytime-she-wants-it sex. But then she encounters Bhyrne Raines, head of the Queen Succubus’s guard, and suddenly she wants more.
Bhyrne, a fire demon and cousin to Max Raines (previous story), worked his way up the ladder as a free demon and prides himself on his cold, stone demeanor. But after one look at Zena, he is precarious close to throwing it all away. Not only is she extremely tempting, but as Bhyrne enters his “breedspawn,” his biological drive to take a mate may crumble his last defense. So cousin Max sets Bhyrne up with Madame Eve and 1Night Stand.
Heat Wave is the fourth novella in the enjoyable Sleepy Hollow series. Like its predecessors, the story focuses on a pair individuals, each using 1Night Stand (1NS) to find a hot date or companion. However, Heat Wave veers off in a different direction in that Bhyrne and Zena are both put into situations that mostly force them to find a mate. I felt that the use of 1NS in this story was a bit contrived and almost an after-thought, rather than the driving force bringing together the couple, and possibly would have been better without it.
With that said, the Zena and Bhyrne made a fun pair, and the duo is hot together. Their coupling is intense, although not overly romantic or passionate. I think that is due to the fact that they basically found themselves forced into the mating situation, rather than being free to have time to develop a deeper relationship first. But they do share an immediate and powerful mutual attraction, which is why their relationship works. One thing though, I would have liked to see the repercussions resulting from their mating.
One of the things I loved about the novella is the Black Dagger Brotherhood references! First in the name “Bhyrne” whether intentional or not – it’s such a Brotherhood name. He’s a fire demon and his name is “burn” with an “h” and a “y.” Second, there is mention of consuming Lagavulin with passing reference to a tough vampire that drinks it. Finally, the “breedspawn” state is eerily similar to the “needing” that the female vampires experience in the BDB series. I found these and a couple other references simply awesome!
In the end, Heat Wave is an enjoyable tale that is completely stand alone, with only references to and involvement of characters from the prior tales. However, I felt it just didn’t have the emotional punch that the earlier stories did. Heat Wave was more about the sexual encounter, which was pretty hot.
3 stars: Liked it, but I had some issues (B-)
About the Book:
Sent into the human realm to retrieve prodigal princess, Zena Night, Bhyrne Raines is shocked and unprepared for his carnal reaction to the sexy succubus. In service to the succubus queen, the rugged enforcer must stifle the instant passion exploding within him. Fulfilling his royal duty doesn’t allow for quickie dalliances. His biological clock is ticking, and he begins to enter breedspawn, an intense and unstoppable frenzy of mating all fire-demon males must endure. But the more he wants to avoid Zena, the more he’s drawn to her.
Reluctant to give up her carefree life of partying among the mortals when the hot-as-sin Bhyrne comes to fetch her for the queen, Zena uses her succubus wiles to entice him, or at least delay the inevitable trip to the royal court. Once in the demon stronghold, hidden deep within the Catskill mountains, she learns the reason for the summons: she must choose a consort within two days.
Zena needs a mate. Bhyrne needs to mate. With time running out for both of them, they each turn to 1Night Stand. With time running out, can Madame Eve come to the rescue?
Release Date: August 8, 2013
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Series: Sleepy Hollow #4, 1Night Stand
ISBN: #978-1613335703
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Novella
Format(s): e-book
Book Source: Publisher
Purchase Info:
Heat Wave (Book 1)
Reviews in the Series:
Lighting (Book 1)
Thunder (Book 2)
Frost (Book 3)
GIVEAWAY:
For a chance to win a gift card to either Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts, please stop by and visit with author Taryn Kincaid, posted earlier today.
[…] Reviews in the Series: Lighting by Taryn Kincaid (Sleepy Hollow #1) Thunder by Taryn Kincaid (Sleepy Hollow #2) Frost by Taryn Kincaid (Sleepy Hollow #3) Heat Wave by Taryn Kincaid (Sleepy Hollow #4) […]