Review of Black Heart Loa by Adrian Phoenix

“An eye for an eye is never enough.”

Kallie Riviere, a Cajun hoodoo apprentice with a bent for trouble, learned the meaning of those ominous words when hoodoo bogeyman Doctor Heron targeted her family for revenge. Now, while searching for her still-missing bayou pirate cousin, Kallie finds out the hard way that someone is undoing powerful gris gris, which means that working magic has become as unpredictable as rolling a handful of dice.
The wards woven to protect the Gulf coast are unraveling, leaving New Orleans and the surrounding bayous vulnerable just as a storm–the deadliest in a century–is born.

As the hurricane powers toward the heart of all she loves, Kallie desperately searches for the cause of the disturbing randomness, only to learn a deeply unsettling truth: the culprit may be herself.

To protect her family and friends, including the sexy nomad Layne Valin, Kallie steps into the jaws of danger . . . and finds a loup-garou designed to steal her heart–literally.

Read the first 2 chapters here.

My Review:

Better than the first book in the series, Black Heart Loa rocked. Hoodoo, voodoo and a little romance all rolled in with magic and mystery to create one hell of an urban fantasy book.

By the time I was done reading I was thoroughly hooked on this series even more so than after reading the first book, Black Dust Mambo, and I had the insane urge to walk around speaking Cajun style. LOL

This second book in the series was filled with more drama, twists, and turns in what is becoming a fangtastic urban fantasy series.

The main character has a mystery about her- like where is her soul and who is the loa inside her? Why did her mom do this to her and who helped her mom? And why did her mom kill her dad?

The characters are intertwining and developing adding more whys, hows, twists and turns into this series. New characters are popping up that are sure to be major players in future books- like the loup garou (werewolf) that's out for Kallie's heart. Whether he means to tear it out or make her his love interest remains to be seen in future books.

All in Black Heart Loa was an amazing book that I devoured in two nights. Complex characters, a story line filled with enough roller coaster drama that you'll crave more from the first page to the last and in the end you'll still be hooked, wanting more books in this series.

I love the hoodoo and voodoo in this book and the addition of the loup-garou myths from the Louisiana bayou.

Everything sounds very authentic to me, making it an excellent read set in my favorite areas to read about- New Orleans and the surrounding areas of Louisiana. This part of the country is just so filled with myths and magic that it makes an excellent backdrop for this kind of book/series. Take existing myths and folklore, add characters and a dash of fictional creativity and you have a book readers will love.

Adrian Phoenix Black Heart Loa Giveaway

Black Heart Loa, #2 in the Hoodoo series by Adrian Phoenix

Here's the back cover copy:

“An eye for an eye is never enough.”

Kallie Rivière, a Cajun hoodoo apprentice with a bent for trouble, learned the meaning of those ominous words when hoodoo bogeyman Doctor Heron targeted her family for revenge. Now, while searching for her still-missing bayou pirate cousin, Kallie finds out the hard way that someone is undoing powerful gris gris, which means that working magic has become as unpredictable as rolling a handful of dice.

The wards woven to protect the Gulf coast are unraveling, leaving New Orleans and the surrounding bayous vulnerable just as the deadliest storm in a century is born.

As the hurricane powers toward the heart of all she loves, Kallie desperately searches for the cause of the disturbing randomness only to learn a deeply unsettling truth: the culprit may be herself.

To protect her family and friends, including the sexy nomad Layne Valin, Kallie steps into the jaws of danger . . . and finds a loup garou designed to steal her heart—literally.

Read the first two chapters: http://adrianphoenix.com/blog/wpcontent/uploads/2010/10/Black-Heart-Loa-Sample1.pdf

Read the first chapter of Black Dust Mambo, book 1 in the series http://www.adrianphoenix.com/files/Black_Dust_Mambochapter1.pdf

To celebrate the release of Black Heart Loa Adrian has generously offered up 3 prizes for giveaways today

(that means 3 winners will be chosen)!

Up for grabs is:

1 signed set of Black Dust Mambo and Black Heart Loa

and

2 winner's will get a signed copy of any of her titles (winner's choice).

Open to international shipping

To enter leave a comment on this post telling us which

Adrian Phoenix

book you would most like to win

Receive an extra entry for being a Fang-tastic GFC Follower

Receive another extra entry for liking Fang-tastic Books on Facebook

Receive +2 entries for liking Adrian Phoenix on Facebook

Receive + 2 entries for Following Adrian on Twitter

Be sure to include your email address in the comment

3 winners will be announced next Wednesday

Etched in Bone Giveaway with Adrian Phoenix

Thanks so much for inviting me to Fang-tastic Books again to meet your readers, Roxanne, and to celebrate the release of Book Four of The Maker's Song, Etched in Bone.

Dante and Heather’s New Orleans pulses with an earthy and passionate rhythm, a city brimming with heart and shadows and dark possibilities. Anything can happen here. Nightkind in the French Quarter, moshing with mortals in Club Hell. A riverboat casino packed with glittering unearthly vampires (nightkind) who watch with hungry gazes as mortals gamble away much more than just money. And perched on top of tombs in the cities of the dead, fallen angels warble haunting songs into the night and searching for the next creawdwr, the only being who can restore a fading Gehenna and weave order out of chaos, a being that hasn’t existed for over two thousand years.

With Book Four of The Maker’s Song, Etched in Bone, Dante faces his destiny and searches for a way to accept it on his own terms. To make his life, his own, at long last, and with Heather at his side. The former FBI agent is more than his partner and lover, she is also his anchor, his beacon, guiding him back from the edge of madness when his shattered past rises up and swallows him.

~Adrian Phoenix

To celebrate Adrian Phoenix's newest book release,

Etched in Bone,

she's offering 2 giveaways today.

One winner will receive a signed copy of the

brand new Maker's Song Book, Etched in Bone

And another winner will receive a signed copy of their choice of any book in the Maker's Song Series- perfect for the reader who hasn't yet started this fang-tastic series

Here's the book description for Etched in Bone:

SON OF A FALLEN ANGEL. FORGED IN VAMPIRE’S BLOOD. SWORN TO A MORTAL WOMAN. IF DANTE FALLS, THE WORLD FALLS WITH HIM. . . .

THREE LEGACIES ETCHED IN BONE

More beautiful and powerful than any creature the world has ever seen, Dante Baptiste has become the supreme target of the three worlds that spawned him. The mortal agents of the Shadow Branch have tried to control his mind through psychological torture. The vampire elders who guide nightkind society have plotted to use him in their bloodthirsty bid for power. And the Fallen have waited for millennia for Dante to claim his birthright as their Maker. But Dante belongs to no one—except the woman he loves. . . .

ONE PASSION SWORN IN BLOOD

Determined to face the Fallen and the world on his own terms, Dante hopes to piece together his shattered past and claim his future, with FBI agent Heather Wallace at his side. But in Heather’s human family awaits an unexpected enemy. One who could rip Heather from Dante’s heart and fill the holes with bullets. One who could force Dante to choose his darkest destiny—as the Great Destroyer. . . .

Want to Win?

Contest Open to US Shipping

2 Winners will be chosen

To enter leave a comment on this post include your email address

+2 entries for being a Fang-tastic Books GFC Follower

+2 entries for being a Fang-tastic Facebook Fan

+2 entries for following me on twitter

A winner will be announced Wed March 2

Adrian Phoenix's Holiday Giveaway

In honor of the holidays Adrian Phoenix has kindly offered to giveaway 2 wonderful book prize packs.


The grand prize giveaway is a signed set of the first three books in the Maker's Song series:

A Rush of Wings, In the Blood, and Beneath the Skin

The second place winner will receive: a signed copy of

Black Dust Mambo (book one in the Hoodoo series).

Want to Win?

Contest Open to International Shipping

2 Winners will be chosen

To enter leave a comment on this post include your email address

+2 entries for being a Fang-tastic Books GFC Follower

+2 entries for being a Fang-tastic Facebook Fan

+2 entries for following me on twitter

A winner will be announced Wed Dec 15

The 4th Maker's Song book, Etched in Bone, will be released February 22, 2011 and the 2nd Hoodoo book, Black Heart Loa, will be out in July 2011.

Win Signed Set of Maker's Song Books by Adrian Phoenix

I have a treat for you today.

Adrian Phoenix has offered to giveaway a signed set of her Maker's Song books-

all three to one lucky winner.

HIS NAME IS DANTE.

Dark. Talented. Beautiful. Star of the rock band Inferno. Rumored owner of the hot New Orleans nightspot called Club Hell. Born of the Blood, then broken by an evil beyond imagination.

HIS PAST IS A MYSTERY.

FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace has been tracking a sadistic serial murderer known as the Cross Country Killer...and the trail has led her to New Orleans, Club Hell, and Dante. But the dangerously attractive musician not only resists her investigation, he claims to be nightkind: in other words, a vampire. Digging into his past for answers reveals little. A juvenile record a mile long. No social security number. No known birth date. In and out of foster homes for most of his life before being taken in by a man named Lucien De Noir, who appears to guard mysteries of his own.

HIS FUTURE IS CHAOS.

What Heather does know about Dante is that something links him to the killer -- and she's pretty sure that link makes him the CCK's next target. Heather must unravel the truth behind this sensual, complicated, vulnerable young man -- who, she begins to believe, may indeed be a vampire -- in order to bring a killer to justice. But what Heather doesn't know is that Dante's past holds a shocking secret, and once it is revealed not even Heather will be able to protect him from his destiny...

A quest as seductive as his kiss, as uncontrollable as his thirst, as unforgiving as his determination to protect one mortal woman at any cost . . .

DANTE LIVES.

Vampire. Rock star. Begotten son of a fallen angel. Dante Baptiste continues to search for the truth about his past. When his band Inferno comes to Seattle on tour, FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace is drawn back to the beautiful, dangerous nightkind. But new enemies lurk in the shadows, closer than Heather and Dante think . . . and even deadlier than they fear.

DESTINY UNFOLDS.

Shady government forces have pledged to eliminate all loose ends from Project Bad Seed--and Heather and Dante are at the top of the list. Elsewhere, the Fallen gather in Gehenna, intent on finding their long-awaited savior. And a damaged and desperate adversary, with powers as strange and perilous as Dante's own, plots to use Dante as a pawn in a violent scheme for revenge. Only one of these lethal forces holds the key that could finally unlock the secret of Dante's birth and the truth of his existence . . . or destroy him completely.


Chaos controls his future. One mortal woman could be his salvation. The countdown to annihilation will begin with Dante's choice . . .

THE FATE OF THREE WORLDS . . .

The dark pieces of vampire rock star Dante Baptiste's past are violently emerging, and it is only a matter of time before the Fallen discover he is the creawdwr they have sought for thousands of years. The destruction he left behind in Oregon threatens to reveal his identity as Fallen Maker and True Blood, exposing the young nightkind to shadowy predators -- mortal and supernatural -- who will do whatever it takes to win his favor . . . or destroy him.. . .

RESTS IN DANTE'S HANDS.

When beautiful FBI special agent Heather Wallace went AWOL on assignment, she chose irresistible Dante over the shady government forces that now stalk them both. Heather has her own secrets of the past to uncover, but she is also the only one who can hold her nightkind lover together when his dangerous quest for the truth threatens to send him over the edge. And as she and Dante fight for their survival, she realizes they must work together to protect their future -- before his mysterious destiny tears them apart . . .

Wow, I have not read this series yet but after reading those book descriptions

this set is going on my wish list.

Would you like to win this signed set from Adrian Phoenix?

Leave a comment on this post with email address

US Shipping Only Please

Winner TBA next Wednesday

+5 entries for following Fang-tastic Books through GFC

+5 entries for becoming a facebook fan

+5 for following me on Twitter @Roxanne Rhoads

Black Dust Mambo Giveaway

Adrian Phoenix has graciously offered a copy of Black Dust Mambo to be given away today.

Book Description:

“There will be times, girl, when all your magic ain’t going to be enough, times when it will seem to dry up like mud under the noonday sun, or even make matters worse. . . .”

Kallie Rivière, a fiery Cajun hoodoo apprentice with a talent for trouble, finds herself smack-dab in the middle of one of those times her mentor warned her about when she visits New Orleans to attend the Hecatean Alliance’s annual carnival: her hard-bodied conjurer hookup ends up dead in her blood-drenched bed. And he was killed by something that Kallie would never dream of touching—the darkest of dark juju, soul-eating juju—a black dust hex that may have been meant to kill her.

Now Kallie has to use every bit of hoodoo knowledge and bayou-bred mojo she possesses to clear her own name and find the killer—even as that dark sorcerer hunts Kallie and her friends. But Kallie’s search for the truth soon leads her in a direction she never anticipated—back home to Bayou Cyprés Noir, and to Gabrielle LaRue, Kallie’s aunt, protector, and hoodoo mentor . . . who is looking more and more like she just might be the one who wants Kallie dead.

Read Chapter 1 here.

To enter to win

Leave a comment on this post

US Shipping Only

Include email address in comment

+5 for being a GFC follower

+5 for friending on Facebook

+5 for following on Twitter

A Review of Black Dust Mambo by Adrian Phoenix

Black Dust Mambo is something new set in the sexy, supernatural city of New Orleans. Voodoo, hoodoo and magic abound in this crazy tale about hexes and curses, nomads, vessels, and root doctors.

I love to read just about anything set in New Orleans- this is a city that calls my name. The city itself has such a dark and gritty feel to it sometimes and a story set in this magical place automatically sucks me in.

Magic, sex, mystery, murder, and hot guys abound in this book. One hot guy in particular- and he's one sexy nomad. Too bad is ex-wife is always hanging around.

Anyway the book focuses on Kallie Rivier a cajun hoodoo apprentice with a knack for getting itno trouble and trying to punch her way out. She wakes up one morning in New Orleans in the middle of the magic carnival with a dead guy in her bed. He's been hexed...and the hex was meant for her.

Trouble keeps following her around because someone is determined to kill her. It's a wild ride that keeps you turning the page wanting- needing to know more.

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this book however a few things got on my nerves:

I didn't feel the world building was entirely there- I was not sure if the humans understood that real magic existed among them and I never understood exactly who or what the "squatters" were.

Basil Augustine- this guy was a mystery it mentions centuries of existence but then he's downed by a bullet. If he was immortal how did a simple bullet take him down. Odd and not really explained well.

beaucoup- the overuse of this word was starting to jar my nerves

McKenna- she's always referred to as a leprechaun but she talks with a brogue. From the use of the word brogue right down to how the words are pronounced (as written) that tells me she's Scottish- yet leprechauns are Irish. That got on my nerves big time.

But other than those little things that tweaked my bitchometer I zipped fast through this book because I just had to know what was going on and what was going to happen next- and I really wanted to find out if Kallie and a certain sexy nomad were ever going to hook up.

Nope not telling - go read the book.