Paranormal Romance/Fantasy/ Urban Fantasy
(18+; There is some adult language and sexual situations)
Yay for adult language and sexual situations. ;)
Special Offers
Coursodon Dimension #1 | Goodreads
Hailey Parrish is quick-witted, irreverent, and hasn’t had a date in three years. She only wanted an eBook reader because her collection of paperbacks threatened to take over her small living space. Little did she know that the "special offers" that prompted the purchase included much more than a reduced price in exchange for a few ads. The device came pre-loaded with the essence of Sebastian Kess, an erudite womanizer with magical abilities from a parallel dimension. When she inadvertently releases him and he inhabits her body, she finally has a man inside her, just not in the way she imagined. And soon her predicament introduces her to yet another supernatural, the handsome could-be-the-man-of-her-dreams Alex Sunderland. Can Alex and Hailey find a way to return Sebastian to his own body, stay one step ahead of the criminals who want to keep him where he is, and not lose their sense of humor?
Review
Okay, may I just say that the author did a phenomenal job creating characters that contain flaws, but are still able to make you love them nonetheless? I adored Hailey, Sebastian, and Alex.
Sebastian was thoroughly entertaining and I know the book would not have been the same without his commentary and holier than thou attitude. I love that, even as a character inhabiting Hailey's body, he still manages to grow and change for the better as a character. Also, he is charming and funny. Hehe. And a bit of a devil. Oh, Sebastian, you flirt, you. ;)
Hailey was a complete doll. I loved reading the book from her POV. Her voice was original and refreshing and funny. I love the underlying sarcasm and attitude in which she tackles problems. I was highlighting the best ones from her and Sebastian like crazy. Those two just won me over completely with their wit and humor. And it was not overdone like in a few of the popular urban fantasy series I have encountered. Very nicely done. Hailey is also a very down to earth girl who we can all relate with. She is a bit of a dork, but she has good friends and is very realistic about the obstacles she has to overcome. Like I said, I adored her.
Alex was a great character as well. (: He was more low key with the wit and humor, but it is there and he was just precious. He was sweet, thoughtful, and sexy. I did not get a deeper connection to him as I did with the other two characters, but I have an explanation for that. As a reader, I was inside Hailey's head in her first person POV. And since Sebastian was "inhabiting" Hailey, I got a front row seat to his emotions as Hailey experienced them. So it's not really Alex's fault that I failed to connect to him as well as I did with the other characters. He was still darling and I DID connect with him. (: Maybe I will get more in- depth knowledge in book 2! Which I am so excited to read. Especially after the ending for this book. I love books that have new ideas or problems introduced leading into the next book or next few books.
The villain was pretty pretty tame as villains go. I mean, I have encountered some hard core crazy- a## bad guys in books. This guy.. meh. (: I mean, he wasn't a pansy or anything.
The gore level is basically low. Well, not counting that one part. (: The romance is adult (yaaay! sex! lol) so if you do not read books with adult content, then you are really missing out. Er. I mean, then you should probably opt out. ;)
I loved the characters, I loved the premise, I loved the alternative universe that was just touched on in this book. (Book two, perhaps?) I also loved quirky banter established between the characters. Oh, and I loved the ending! I felt that as far as the story went, the bad guy was sub par, but there is always book 2! The descriptions got a little bit confusing in a few small parts, but that may just be me. This book was pretty awesome. That coupled with the awesome ending has me my hopes pretty high for the second book!
4.4/5
Special Rewards
What would you do if you discovered there was a parallel dimension?
Hailey Parrish used to be an average, everyday human. Boring, in fact. After being possessed by Sebastian Kess, a magically inclined enforcer from the parallel dimension Coursodon, her life took a decidedly less mundane turn. Besides coming to grips with the existence of supernatural beings, she risked her life helping Sebastian and her heart falling for his protégé, Alex Sunderland. Now, Hailey has to deal with the bit of arcane power that Sebastian left behind when he returned to his own body and try to stay out of the crossfire when an unknown assailant seeks revenge against Alex.
Review
I love how the progression of the characters and their relationships is handled throughout the progression of this series. The romance is adult and awesome without moving too fast. It is very realistic. Well... if you don't count the alternate dimensions and the powers. (:
I still adore Hailey and I have so many quirky, snarky, and inappropriate quotes highlighted in this book as well as in the previous one. She is just so fun and realistic. She deals with her unease and embarrassment the same way I do- by cracking jokes. I guess that is why I love her so dang much. Oh, and I also have a cussing problem. I am not a cat person, though. I am team dog all the way... but that's off topic. Ooh, and I loved getting more information on Alex in this book. I feel a great deal more connection with him in this book and I am so happy. He is sweet and protective, but has his ass-hat moments (I am glad, too. If not, he would have been too awesome) Hehe. I love him joking and the way he fits with Hailey's dorky personality and makes lame jokes along with her. He was awesome! And hot... (:
Sebastard (I adore her mean nickname for him) is just as awesome in this book as the last one. I am not sure if I prefer him in Hailey's head constantly nagging her or if I like him in real form with his sexy smirk. He is such a proper, uppity, neat freak. But he is also a pervert. A hilarious combination, if you ask me.
The alternate dimension was awesome! I am not going to even try to pronounce all the crazy names of people and places. I got to meet a lot more characters and got to see strange and.. um.. different sides of characters I already knew. ;)
I love the main theme in this book and enjoyed the suspense and intrigue in the second novel far more than in book one. I loved everything about this book.
The villain was crazy, but nothing too major. I felt like I could have used a little bit more. I dunno.. villainy? Is that a word. The act of villain..ing? haha. Nevermind. Why can't villain be a verb. To villian: to wreak and or cause havoc or harm to the protagonists in an awesome book. Bam. Webster that mother.
ANYWAYS, The characters, the villain, the suspense were all entertaining and well done. I am eager to read book three. It sounds like it is going to blow the first two out of the water. I hope I am not getting my hopes up too high. If nothing else, I know I will love my characters! :D
Loved it.
4.6/5
Special Attractions
Coursodon Dimension #3 | Goodreads | Amazon | Smashwords | Createspace
The weirdness continues….
Thanks to a magical transplant from an inter-dimensional enforcer, Hailey Parrish can transform into a hawk. When someone begins dismembering hikers along the Appalachian Trail, the enforcers make use of her feathery talents to catch the killer. Unfortunately, like most things in Hailey’s life, there is nothing ordinary about the assignment. Their target turns out to be maddeningly elusive, they rescue a stray dog that makes a sewage treatment plant seem pleasantly fragrant, and stopping the murders turns out to be the least of their worries.
Special Attraction, the third book in the Coursodon Dimension series, combines paranormal romance, urban fantasy, a bit of science fiction and a healthy dose of quirky humor.
Review
I love how these books continue to grow and change book by book, slowly expanding the world in the individual segment. (: Each book is set in different places, so you don't get too bored "sitting" in one place.
Also, I love how, true to the form of a good urban fantasy, there is a new story or conflict in every book that needs resolving. This was, by far, my favorite plot of the three. I can only assume I will love the individual story-lines even more as the series progresses.
Hailey and Sebastard are back to their snarking and I still adore their banter and constant arguing. They are like brother and sister fighting all the time.
Alex and Hailey are still a sweet couple who talk things through. I love that the personalities of all three characters have rubbed off on one another, especially their senses of humor. That makes for a very entertaining read. But again, neither the snark nor the romance are too heavy. I love love love love love that this series has a progression of the romance and it is not insta-love *gags*. This book takes place a few months after the series starts and I am really enjoying the pace.
I am a bit disappointed that I got to go on a reading binge with these three books and have to wait for the next book to come out. It hardly seems fair.
The villains. *grins* As you can probably tell from the blurb for this book, there is a murder/ serial killer chopping people up and leaving little pieces behind. Um, yeah, this dude is a major step up from the previous villains.
Maybe I just crave a little bit of psycho in my suspense novels (okay, there is no maybe about it. I'm sick. )
I am a huge fan of suspense novels and Urban fantasy, so I loved the whols "catch the serial killer" aspect of the story. I enjoyed this book immensely and eagerly await the fourth book in the series. (:
4.8/5
M.L. Ryan
M.L. Ryan is a professional woman - which is not to say that she gave up her amateur status, but rather that she is over-educated with a job that reflects her one-time reluctance to leave school and get "real" work – and she spends a lot of time in that profession reading highly technical material.
She has many stories rolling around in her head, and she finally decided to write some of them. She prefers literature that isn’t saddled with excruciating symbolism, ponderous dialogue or worldly implications. She also doesn’t like plots so reliant on love at first sight that it makes her feel like her head might implode.
She lives in Tucson, Arizona with her husband and teenage son, four cats, two dogs and an adopted desert tortoise.
Series Review Recap
Okay, so the snark and romance were amazing. The concepts and story- lines were cool as hell. The suspense was good, the villains were okay, but they seem to be getting better and better. But that is saying a lot, because I hold my suspense novels to very high standards. All in all? I would recommend this series to animal lovers, snark- lovers, fans of slow- romance, Urban fantasy lovers, 18+ peoples (because of the sexy *wink, wink*), and fans of inter- dimensional travel (haha. didn't see that one coming, did you?).
While the pacing and characters are marvelous, the villains seem to go down just a little too easy. I could use some bigger, badder baddies. That was really my only problem. Oh! And all the Coursodon words, phrases, and names were a little much at times. I mean, I enjoyed then and they were super creative and cool, but I found myself skipping over them when I saw them after a while, as opposed to being fascinated with them and trying to figure them out when the series started. I think the second book may have given me a little bit of an overdose on the Coursodon..ness. (: But seriously, though. Loved the series and I told Tiffany she just HAS to read it.
overall series rating?
4.8/5
Giveaway
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