Kinked Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

KINKED
A Novel of the Elder Races #6
Thea Harrison
Adult Paranormal Romance
304 pages
Berkley/Penguin
Available November 5th
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Two opponents must confront the cause of their obsessive fury in the latest Novel of the Elder Races…

As a harpy, Sentinel Aryal is accustomed to dealing with hate, but Sentinel Quentin Caeravorn manages to inspire in her a burning ire unlike anything she’s ever known. Aryal believes the new Sentinel to be a criminal, and vows to take him out as soon as the opportunity arises. But the harpy’s incessant wrath has pushed Quentin to the limit, and forces him to make a deadly vow of his own.

To put an end to the conflict, Dragos, Lord of the Wyr, sends them on a reconnaissance mission to the Elven land of Numenlaur. Forced to work together, Aryal and Quentin’s mutual antagonism escalates. Each fight draws forth more passion—culminating in an explosively sexual confrontation. But when their quest reveals real danger, Aryal and Quentin must resolve their differences in ways beyond the physical, before the entire Wyr is threatened.

MY THOUGHTS
Kinked brings us perhaps the most magnificent couple since Dragos and Pia set our bodies aflame in Dragon Bound, the antagonism and downright hatred simmering between Aryal and Quentin practically characters unto themselves; living, breathing pieces of the story that shape, grow and change as our two protagonists are forced to endure each other’s company. The two of them ignite from the very first page, their anger and their physical inability to not attack one another creating in us deeply fascinated voyeurs, glued to the pages as we wait for the moment when all that energy is redirected and given a more pleasurable outlet. Aryal and Quentin are all claws and teeth–sharp edges meeting sharp edges when they clash–shattering the peace and stability of the team of sentinels while drawing each other’s blood in the process, and even when their gross dislike of one another begins to morph into something else, there’s still a roughness to them both that ensures they're a standout couple in a series brimming with memorable characters.

Aryal, as a harpy, is a woman who takes pleasure in a fight, her wicked words matching her even more wicked claws to cut many a person off at the ankles before they even know they’ve engaged her. She has us wrapped around her talons from page one though, her almost irrational distaste for Quentin providing us with endless amusement, and our admiration for her as a fighter as well as one of Dragos’s Sentinels only grows as the story progresses. While the epic battle between her and Quentin could have been dragged out till the very end just to keep us riding a razor’s edge of tension, Ms. Harrison takes a far more interesting route when the reason for Aryal’s grudge is resolved fairly quickly and easily, but where that might sound disappointing given the build-up, it’s in fact a huge relief and gives us the opportunity to experience a romance so very different from the ones that have come before it.

Quentin, like Aryal, is extraordinarily dominant, his desire for control a clawing beast beneath his skin, and as a result his relationship with Aryal takes a tantalizing turn when his need to dominate runs face-first into her matching need and promptly combusts. In the beginning they set the pages ablaze, but Ms. Harrison paces this story extremely well, giving us plenty of heat before settling things down and allowing the emotional component of their relationship to catch up with the physical one. Seeing these two individuals whom–with undisguised glee–have plotted numerous times the not-so unfortunate demise of the other slowly find in that same person an outlet for all the strength and darkness that rides them both is endlessly entertaining and immensely satisfying.

Overall, Kinked is one of the strongest installments of the Novels of the Elder Races, the pleasure Aryal and Quentin find in one another accompanied by a sting of pain to give things an added bite, something that suits them so spectacularly well we can’t wait to go back to the beginning and immediately start again.

Rating: 4.5/5
 

Find Thea:

Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

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Q+A

As part of the promotional tour for Kinked, Thea Harrison answered a few questions about the Novels of the Elder Races and Kinked in particular for readers, and I wanted to share a couple my favorite questions and answers from that interview with you!

You've been gifted (or cursed) with the ability to shift into another form by a witch. What kind of shifter are you and why?  (All creatures, including mythological, apply.)

Awesome question!  I think I have two answers for that one. If it was a gift, then I think it would have to be something winged and strong. I think there’s something to be said for being as fearless as a harpy, although I’m quite sure I wouldn’t win any popularity contests!

If the ability was a curse and meant to be nasty, the witch would probably turn me into my phobia—a spider! That would be the meanest, nastiest thing anybody could ever do to me!

What is next for the Elder Race series?

I’m now contracted for books 7-9, so I’m writing Graydon’s story which will be released around August of 2014. The main characters have also been decided for books 8 and 9, and I’m eager to get to those stories!

I also wrote a self-published project, a novella entitled Dragos Takes A Holiday, which releases November 25th. I loved spending time with Dragos and Pia, and their little son Peanut gets his POV debut.

*I just died of happiness at the mention of Graydon. He's been my very favorite from the beginning (sorry Dragos, but I still love you!) and it's possible I might not be able to actually read his book when it comes out because the drool will have too thoroughly warped the pages. O.o

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GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the amazingly generous people at Penguin, I have one copy of Kinked to giveaway on the blog today. Even though this is book six, Quentin and Aryal's romance stands alone, so anyone who hasn't tried this series yet could easily start here! Giveaway is open to US addresses only.

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