Doubling the Reviews, Doubling the Awesome Reads!

These two books are from the Fated & Forbidden series. A group of authors wrote stories which all took place in the same universe and share one amazing hook!

Dark Burn by Decadent Kane

Blurb: The challenge wasn't meant to be easy. They were set up to fail from the beginning.

Priya's the last of her kind...
After death takes the only family Priya has ever known, she ventures out to find others like her, those who catch fire and fly. But shadow hunters prowl the night ready to kill firebirds like her, and one has found her trail. After a narrow escape she runs into the kind of man she shouldn't want...a man with silver eyes as if the very moon has been trapped inside his gaze.
His help won't be enough when Nicholas finds her.

Doulzen is a shade by birth, shadow hunter by rite...
When an extinct white firebird flies through the night sky, fire blazing behind the creature, he knows he has to have it. Pulling the shadows in, he notches his arrow and downs his prey, but when he arrives to catch it, he finds a female running from someone instead. He promised himself he wouldn't be her protector, he'd get her where she needed to go, but when Nicholas shows up and takes Priya from him, Doulzen finds the mark that tells him she is his fated mate. With darkness at his heels, he will stop at nothing to get her back as his very existence relies on it.

When Priya and Doulzen find out each other's secrets, it will take a lot more than fate to bring them back together.

My review: Priya believes she's the last of her kind. A race of beautiful shifters called firebirds. When her Gran dies, she plans to visit family she never met in another city, but a man who is stalking her chases her away too quickly, and she is injured by a hunter. Doulzen is that shadow hunter, but he has no idea the mystery behind the creature he hunts. When he comes across Priya instead of his prey, he vows to help her in exchange for firebird feathers, but he might find more than he bargained for when her stalker steals her away. In that moment, Doulzen discovers she is his intended mate, and he'll stop at nothing to get her back.

A compelling paranormal romance that hooked me from the beginning and wouldn't let go. My heart went out to Priya immediately at not only the loss of her grandmother, but not knowing the anything about what she is and her past. Sheltered as she is, she's a strong and admirable woman. Doulzen is a sinuous hunter who must deal with finding out everything he knows may be a lie. The tension between him and Priya is sizzling. Nicholas is a detestable villain and puts the heroes in what seems like an impossible situation. Fast action, great tension, and oh-my-god twists.

Buy Dark Burn here.

Find Decadent Kane on her blog.

Fallen Ashes by T.F. Walsh

Blurb: As the last of her kind, Fallen awakes in a holding cell, but being locked up is the least of her problems.

She's been magically bound to a cocky Queen's Guardian named Saber. Because Fallen is the last dragon shifter in Tapestry, she's on everyone's hit list... especially his... but she doesn't have time to die by his hand. Fallen has to find her life mate in four weeks or else all of creation in her world will be destroyed.

Saber never asked to be brought to life. He certainly never wanted to be hexed and forced to transform into a mindless shadow assassin. Exiled from the Kingdom, he must rescue his stepfather from the Collector to prove his innocence. Otherwise he'll be hunted and killed. But his plans are temporarily put on hold when he's captured, imprisoned, and bound to a mysterious blond-haired vixen with a major fire addiction.

With time ticking away for Saber and Fallen, will the two be able to come together to defeat the Collector and save themselves, along with the rest of the world?

My review: Fallen is the last of her kind and trapped in a holding cell. Bound by some frustrating spell to a gorgeous Queen's Guardian named Saber, they escape and flee. Their captors hunt them relentlessly as they try to learn to work together. Fallen has no time for the chase. She must find her life mate within four weeks or her world will be extinguished. Saber doesn't believe in her dreams and is determined to prove himself innocent of being exiled by saving his stepfather from the same villain that captured him. They must hurry or all could be lost for both of them.

This is one of my favorite books from T.F. Walsh. It's a unique premise of two parallel worlds; one our modern day society and the other, a magical fantasy land filled with both darkness and beautiful wonders. Walsh's lush descriptions of places and the monsters really bring the story to life. I especially loved she included the Hoia Baciu Forest. It's a haunting and fascinating place in Romania.

Fallen is a heroine that kicks butt. She's immediately sympathetic, and I rooted for her from the first scene. Paired with Saber, she's fiery in so many ways! I do love the story behind Saber and what motivates him. The tension between the two of them is hot, and I loved seeing how they worked with the chaos of their emotions with the conflicts going on. Noah is a villain you'll love to hate, and you'll wonder often if he's more than a match for Fallen and Saber. Tons of action and mystery. I couldn't get enough of this story. I ate it up as fast as I could!

Buy Fallen Ashes here.

Find T.F. Walsh on her website.