Hello, and welcome back! We had a mostly rainy weekend that's carrying over into the new week, but rainy spring weather usually means we're busy at work, which is a very good thing, and that's just how the weekend went, so I'm okay with the rain. Plus it give me more reading time. So much that I'm almost halfway through the May review stack already!

This time out, I have Shannon K. Butcher's Burning Alive (Onyx), her first in a new paranormal series. Helen Day is just minding her own business one day, about to have dinner with a friend when she sees the man she's been dreaming about, the man who'll watch her burn to death. And of course, he notices her. Theronai warrior Drake is curious about the woman who's trying not to be seen by him, and he's pretty insistent on finding out why. Then, when they touch, all the centuries of pain he feels disappear only to come back worse than ever when the connection is broken. Obviously, he's going to want to keep her until they can figure this out. If he can keep her safe from the demon-type critters that arrive at the diner looking for a fight. Helen isn't prepared for anything like what she witnesses, but she does know that if she can help Drake's pain, she can't possibly let him suffer, even if she does dread her own death. Getting in the middle of a war between the Theronai and Synestryn demons, however, might be more of a challenge than she's up to. This one didn't grab me right at the start, so it took me a while to get through this one. There's plenty of action in a short period of time, along with a heated attraction between Drake and Helen. Drake, of course, is a strong hero, used to being in charge, and not at all used to being dependent on another, even though he doesn't mind Helen's touch in the slightest. The thing that threw me out of this one the most, I think, is the constant shifts in point of view, from one character to another. I didn't love that. Honestly, I didn't love this one as much as I enjoyed her last two contemporary stories, though this series has promise. I'm not sure I'd call it a keeper, but I will read the next installment when it comes out. Just to see if it grows on me. I'm borrowing only three of Cupid's five arrows for this one.

Until next time, happy reading!