Showing posts with label Natalie Hancock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Natalie Hancock. Show all posts

Tuesday, 4 June 2013

Review: Dark Secrets


Dark Secrets [Cursed in Darkness #4]
By Natalie Hancock

Cursed in Darkness Series:
Eternal Darkness #1 - review
Dark Shadows #2 - review
Dark Awakening #3 - review
Dark Secrets #4
Ascend From Darkness #5
Darkness Arising #6
Darkness Unveiled #7

From Goodreads:
The hunter has made himself known, and now everyone is gone. Layla and a few others are now being hunted and have become hunters themselves. They must travel through an underground cave in order to get to those they love and Layla is not stopping for anything.

There are other creatures in the cave which they encounter, and some they wish not to even see, and with no success. Their lives, and those who have been taken, are on the line, and the farther they walk through the cave, the more they are faced with danger, the more Layla struggles to keep her deep dark secrets just that - a secret. It is not that simple, however. And as the secrets unfold, the hunter closes in.

Will it be too late for Layla to save the others?

Buy on: Amazon

Cover swoon!! As you know I'm a total and complete cover whore and Natalie Hancock has fed my appetite 100% with the covers for Cursed in Darkness Series - I mean really now... I'm running out of drool here.

Wednesday, 1 August 2012

Review: Dark Awakening


Dark Awakening [Cursed in Darkness #3]
By Natalie Hancock

Cursed in Darkness Series:
Eternal Darkness #1 - See my review
Dark Shadows #2 - See my review
Dark Awakening #3

From Goodreads:
In the hundred acres of land, more security and more people are watching Layla’s back now that everyone knows who she is. Layla wants to find the person responsible for the attacks made at her, just like everyone else, but when an attack happens to someone other than her, she and Nikalye are the only ones who know the truth. They are determined to find the culprit once and for all, before someone else is seriously injured.

Layla wishes she could tell Shade everything. He knows something is not right more than he can make her gasp with pleasure by just saying her name, but she cannot tell him—she will not risk putting him in danger any more than she has. She continuously fights for survival to keep herself and those around her alive, but when more things sinister arrive in the hundred acres of land and the culprit is revealed, the situation turns from bad to deadly.

Will Layla be able to survive?

Buy on: Amazon


Oh my soul!! Dark Awakening is by far (for me personally) the best book in the series! I have no words, totally dumbstruck. Just when you think you have it all figured out, Natalie throws this major curve ball – like ‘in your face’. Brilliant writing and a brilliant story line.

Wednesday, 18 July 2012

Review: Dark Shadows


Dark Shadows [Cursed in Darkness #2]
By Natalie Hancock

Cursed in Darkness Series:
Eternal Darkness #1 - See my review
Dark Shadows #2
Dark Awakening #3

From Goodreads:
Layla is incredibly weak from serious wounds after the attack and the hunger raging inside of her does not help. When Shade tempts her, with not just his body, but with his blood also, Layla struggles harder than ever. As much as she wants his blood pouring into her mouth while he takes her, she cannot do it. Her secret, her hidden identity will get out—and that she cannot handle.

Layla tries to continue to live her life as normal, however, things turn bad when Layla and Nikalye discover something and Layla has to fight for her life, putting everyone in serious danger.

Layla is on the lookout now, and the only distraction is Shade. When he speaks, when he breathes down her neck and touches her, she cannot remember anything but him. When they get intimate, it is all she can do to keep herself breathing as he pleasures her. She cannot understand how they both react so strongly with each other, but she does not care.

Yet she feels as though something is going to go horribly wrong, not with Shade and herself, but something else, something bigger…and she is not wrong.

It is worse than before and Layla has no choice now but to reveal who she really is, and risk everyone hating her for the rest of her time in the academy.

What is her secret?

Buy on: Amazon


So Natalie Hancock did it again... murdered my poor brain. Never before have I been so confuckulated by a plot. Once I figured out what the hell was going on, everything fell into place! Fabulous! Love love love book 2 in this series.

In Dark Shadows Layla has come out of her shell a bit more. She's opened up to some of her fellow students at the Academy. She has friends and life seems just a tad better on that front... she isn't that much of a loner anymore. This chick has been handed some major 'make or break' moments and she just breezed through it all with her head held high. Layla is awe-inspiring!!

Wednesday, 4 July 2012

Review: Eternal Darkness


Eternal Darkness [Cursed in Darkness #1]

Cursed in Darkness Series:
Eternal Darkness #1
Dark Shadows #2
Dark Awakening #3

From Goodreads:
Layla, a twenty-one-year-old half-breed known as a dhampir, is incredibly beautiful and deadly. She drinks vampire blood for power and to stop the burning hunger.

The vampire academy is a hundred acres of land surrounded by high tech security to ensure that none enter or leave. She is the protection.

When she has lessons with the vampires, she struggles with her hunger and has to learn to trust them—a big issue for Layla because of her past, something she can neither forget nor run from. The past that haunts her dreams reminds her that she cannot hide as she lives her life in the academy.

Then there is Shade—an impossibly handsome vampire and Layla’s one-on-one instructor. Desires she never knew rise whenever he looks at her. She cannot stop how her body reacts to his touch or how much she wants his body and his blood.

It is a forbidden lust that they share, one they must keep a secret from those around them or Layla risks everyone finding out who she really is.

Someone wants her dead. Layla’s goals, deal with the vampires who hate dhampir’s and keep herself alive. Can she do it?
Buy on: Amazon

So I have absolutely no idea where to start with this review... my mind is a jumbled mess. It's like author Natalie Hancock gnawed chewed on my mind and spat it out. (I know, gross way of describing it, but that's all my blond brain can think of right now.)

Ok, so lets start with the cover... aaaand cue the "OMG's... OOOH's... AAAAH's"! I can stare at that cover all day long. So purrrdy!

Eternal Darkness is similar to Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (don't get me wrong - I'm NOT comparing books)... if you like VA you'll most probably enjoy this novel! Although, Eternal Darkness is more "adult" ;)

Thursday, 7 June 2012

Interview: Natalie Hancock

Today we have Natalie Hancock on the blog for an interview. Natalie is a young author that has written 3 books already - Eternal Darkness, Dark Shadows & Dark Awakening (Cursed in Darkness Series). She is an inspiration to all young authors out there :) She will be discussing her novels, how they came about, her characters and the genre. So without further ado, lets get to the interview...

Describe your books? What genre would you classify it into?
Erotic Vampire Paranormal Romance

How do you come up with the idea for the books? 
Hmm... I’ve read a lot of vampire paranormal romance books, and I guess I got the idea for a vampire book from those. Although I didn’t start writing the books until I started dreaming about them.

When and why did you begin writing?
I was bullied badly in school and I guess it was my way to jump out of the world I didn’t want to be in and jump into the world I wished this world was.

Monday, 16 April 2012

Guest Post: Erotica vs Porn

Erotica vs Porn by Natalie Hancock
     Since I became an author of erotic paranormal romance, everyone has said the same thing whenever the topic ‘erotic romance books’ comes up. Erotica is porn.
     Is it? There is such a big difference between the two I wonder why someone could think erotica was porn in the first place.
     Erotic romance tells the entire story, including the sex. It’s there to stimulate the mind and the body with the romance and arouse emotions and the imagination with the erotic side of romance.
     Porn is exploitive and degrading. There are no other words to describe porn. Of course that is my opinion. Many people don’t find porn degrading and I would never tell them they are disgusting for watching it. If they want to watch it, then that’s fine by me. I know a lot of people who do, most for research, others just because they want to.
     The way I see it, and most authors too, if you take the sex out of porn, you are left with literally nothing. You take the sex out of erotic romance and you still have the romance.
     When you watch a film, and there are breasts out on display, any other body part or there are couples having sex, is that porn? I’m pretty sure it isn’t, even though a lot of people get aroused watching it, yet the majority of people, men mostly, say erotica romance is. How does that work?
     I write erotica romance because when I speak about the love my characters have with one another, the emotions they feel whenever they are together, I want to describe that in all forms, including sex.
     Is that so wrong?
     I have had someone tell me that if two people love each other and create a porn video, that’s romance.
     I laughed hysterically at that.
     In my opinion, you could be in love with someone, you could be the most romantic couple there ever could be, but when you have sex and put a video of that up on the internet for millions... No billions of people to masturbate over, you’ve lost your romance right there. Instantly. What you share with your partner or partners is meant to be private, for you only, not for everyone else to see.
     Yes, erotic romance books have detailed sex in it, but you can’t watch them have sex, you can only see it in your mind. And what do you really see when you read an erotic book? Do you see the couples described, or do you see yourself with your partner, or a partner you would like? Do you see all your wildest fantasies coming true?
            Just remember that when you say an author is writing porn, you are insulting them, and the people who read their books. Erotica is not porn and porn is not erotica. I know I can’t change most people’s minds about the difference between the two, but I do hope to change a few.
Natalie Hancock: Bio
Natalie is a hyperactive writer of Paranormal Romance books. She writes about vampires mainly, but would like to write stories of other paranormal creatures. She studied and graduated at the University of Lincoln, Riseholme College where she studied an animal course for two years, which is where she met her partner, Reece. He's as crazy as her, if not more, so they're the perfect match.

They live with their zoo in the middle of nowhere. Their zoo consists of a hamster called Crunch. A chinchilla called Hektor and three guinea pigs called Fluff, Smudge and Squig. They hope in the near future to add to the family and get an army of hamsters, chinchilla's and guinea pigs. Oh, and a goat.

Natalie loves to read, listen to loud rock/hardcore music, game, and look after her crazy animals. She also loves vampires! She's a true believer of all things supernatural and if she had the luck to run into one, she would either ask for his or her autograph, or jump on them just to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Natalie’s Books:

Eternal Darkness is about the life of Layla, a half vampire, half human who is sent to live in a hundred acres of land full of vampires for her own safety. The only problem is she hungers for the vampires blood, so when she has lessons with them, not only does she struggle with the hunger raging inside of her, but she has to learn to trust those around her, something she can’t do because she has a dark past, and because of it, she has trouble trusting anyone.
She knows she’s in as much danger inside the land as she was when she was outside the land, and she can’t shake off the feeling that something, or someone is watching her, waiting to attack her, despite the guards watching her every move.
When she meets one of the tutors, she feels things towards him and wants both his blood and his body, but it’s forbidden to feel the way they do and Layla must fight her feelings otherwise the secrets she desperately wants to remain a secret will get out, and put her in more danger than she already is.
 
Dark Shadows continues the story of how half-breed Layla struggles with her hunger, and her desires for Shade now more than ever. She is also struggling to keep her hidden identity a secret as well as her secrets, but when there are attacks made on her, and it puts everyone in serious danger, the identity she has kept hidden is revealed.

In Dark Awakening, there is more security, more people watching Layla’s back now that everyone knows who she is. Layla wants to find the person responsible for the attacks made at her, as is everyone else, but when an attack happens to someone other than her, she and Nikalye are the only ones who know the truth of it and are determined to find the culprit once and for all, before someone else is seriously injured.
Layla continuously fights for survival to keep herself and those around her alive, but when more things sinister arrive in the hundred acres of land, and the culprit is revealed, the situation turns from bad to deadly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A huge thanks to Natalie! Visit her website here. (Don’t you think those covers are drool worthy? ;)
What are YOUR thoughts on Erotica vs Porn?