Customer Reviews

Velvet Haven: The Immortals of Annwyn: Book One (Annwyn Chronicles)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

4 1/2 Stars!

VELVET HAVEN is the Black Dagger Brotherhood meets "The Matrix" and the showdown happens at an erotic fetish club catering to an exclusive clientele that's renowned for satisfying every physical delight known to mortals and immortals alike. Whether you're a naughty school girl, sexed-up metal head, or leather-wearing hulk, all walks of life are welcome. And while mortals think they're the only beings to own the night, immortals emerge from the shadows to partake in their misguided offerings. It's a culmination of leather-clad sin and gothic mysticism tossed with dark sex magic and ancient deities that aren't the least bit chaste. Basically its a chocolate covered erotic fantasy just waiting to be read and I feel like I've been waiting an eternity to enter this mysteriously delicious club known in both worlds as Velvet Haven. Let me give you taste.

It would be the understate of the year to deem the men of Sophie Renwick's VELVET HAVEN as brawny. These guys are huge - larger than life really - each with a magnetism of rhythmically pulsing erotic magical powers, beckoning the enamored like the lulling beauty of a Venus Flytrap. However, in this case, one doesn't mind being devoured. The king of these luscious hunks of man-meat is Bran, King of the Night Sidhe and co-ruler of Annwyn, and he houses a wonderfully dark and festering soul. Over a century ago he sacrificed his eternal happiness for another and in doing so, he became shackled to a goddess he hates and a couple of nasty curses, all of which fan the flames of his hatred for both mortals and immortals alike. Now, with the inability to harness and create the power he was born with, Bran must feed off the energy of the beings he despises most: Humans. Human females to be more exact. To top off his dark existence, Bran has recently been plagued by visions, visions of his own murder by one female mortal that's about to turn his entire world upside down.

But Bran's personal problems aren't the only recent happenings to plague his black existence. Wrapped up his own bleak affairs, Bran has shirked in his duty to protect the world of Annwyn and in doing so, has carelessly allowed dark magic to seep past the veil that separates immortals from the mortals of Earth. Recently, victims have been found gruesomely marked with dark magic and angelic symbols alike. The bodies were meant to be found as a warning and as a billboard, announcing that a new power is growing with alarming force. Its also the catalyst that forces Bran to put aside his own endeavors and protect the world he has neglected. First place to start: Velvet Haven. Residing literally on top of the very gate that opens from the mortal world into Annwyn, its the idyllic location for sinister and deadly magic. Its also the location where Bran meets his delectable murderess.

Mairi MacAuley embodies a piercing intellect, distrusting skepticism and an overall prickly nature that keeps nearly all people at a distance. Conversely, she's fiercely protective of the very few she loves which really only consists of her friend Rowan and one large and lovable Irish wolfhound named Clancy. For these two, Mairi would gladly walk through Hell and back. Its a trait that isn't necessarily mentioned but rather one that's intrinsically felt by the reader. You just know this about Mairi and beyond that, you believe this about Mairi. Sadly, Rowan, Mairi's friend - sister really, is dying and to bring a smile to her face, Mairi agrees to go with her to Velvet Haven despite the fact that she has major reservations about the goth club. Her reluctance isn't unfounded either, especially after a carved up woman landed at the hospital where she works as a nurse mere hours before with possible connections to the mysterious club. Mairi has seen some baffling things pass through the hospital doors in her time, but this particular corpse could ignite a tableau of eternal nightmares if she wasn't made of sterner stuff.

When Bran and Mairi meet, its a moment for females everywhere to rejoice. Immediately taken with Mairi, Bran is frustratingly confused by his effect on her. For the first time in his three centuries, he's unable to melt his human quarry. Instead, he's being grilled on his player antics and it's not until a fallen angel muddles up Mairi's head before he finally gets the chance he's been doggedly trying to capture. Even then, Mairi compels him to talk and it's probably the most words he's spoken to a mortal in his entire lifetime. It's in these moments that Mairi discovers a scintillating mystery in Bran that strangely has her trusting every word falling from his mouth. He's safety personified and while she's never before been the center of some one's universe nor had she thought to be deserving of that type of attention, Mairi finds herself druggingly special in Bran's eyes. On the other hand, Bran sees a surprisingly interesting person in Mairi, one that he's never met or ever thought he would meet. Immediately he's struck by her bravery and her balanced soul but also perplexed by the emotional and physical scars she bears. Such pain she's endured but yet she's also emerged that much stronger for it and it's at this realization that Bran decides that Mairi is too good for him. Too good for his perverse motives which was to have sex with her, restore his energy and leave her as he's done with every other female mortal.

Despite Bran's determination to maintain distance and Mairi's nervous uncertainty, Fate isn't about to let these two go their separate ways. There's a higher plan for them both, one that's being orchestrated by the most unlikely of characters - the fallen angel, Suriel. For the dark plot underfoot doesn't only hope to destroy Annwyn, it wants to crush the mortal world into oblivian as well and there are those that will not allow this to happen. So when dire circumstances and circling enemies force Mairi to face the realization that her instincts had been right along, that magic and immortals do in fact exist, that Bran is her lover and protector, she's finally capable of embracing a previously unknown gift. A gift that will forever link her to Bran, Annwyn and the eventual fall of those those who seek to destroy this magical world and her inhabitants. There's also the pesky business of killing Bran that needs to be dealt with as well...

VELVET HAVEN is a dark and sinfully erotic paranormal romance that has you tumbling head first into a mysterious and complicated world, one that magically stole my reader heart. I do feel compelled to mention, however, that while I very much enjoyed the explicit eroticism, I really would have loved to read more about the world of Annwyn. For how complicated the rules of Annwyn are, Ms. Renwick did an amazing job immersing the reader quickly but there is that want and the tug for more and I happened to feel it.

This author adds some fine new twists and new characters to the world of the erotic PNR. Typically I avoid books involving angels, but this author has managed to find the perfect middle ground with her characters. Devoted to God (or Him as they say), yet still capable of free thought and action and capable of suffering for foolish choices. Add in the touch of SIdhe for a wounded warrior and some spectacular erotic writing and this is another winner. This author writes males characters well and her females have spunk and intelligence. Sadly, towards the end of the book, the lead male got a little lost and his behavior a little repetitive, but for us die-hard romantics, bring it on! The author left room for a multi-book series and I am ready to put her work on my auto-buy list.

Annwyn is the Otherworld and mortals are unaware of its existence. The realm is home to all types of supernaturals with the link between that of the humans and that of the paranormal being Velvet Haven, a night club owned by half-breed Rhys MacDonald, whose father abdicated as king of the Sidhe to marry a mortal. Rhys' shapeshifting cousin Bran, angrily sits on the throne, while suffering from the Legacy Curse that requires him exclusively to mate with the species he loathes humans.

When the ninth murder of a Sidhe occurs and the first female victim, Bran knows he must delay his search for his missing brother, Carden, who vanished into the Wasteland centuries ago. Instead he must focus on stopping the serial killer at a time when his visions show him dead, a victim of a warrior. Since evil initiated on the other side, Bran goes to Velvet Haven seeking a woman to replenish his energy and clues to the deadly predator; unaware that a connected killer is also on the mortal plane. At his cousin's club he meets mortal nurse Mairi MacAuley whose essence arouses him as never before. She rejects him as she assumes he is a player, but he persists unaware that their attraction could be the cause of his death

With much more going on than described above especially with her friend Rowan and the fallen Suriel for instance, Book One of the Annwyn Chronicles is a tremendous romantic fantasy with religious overtones that will stun readers. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Mairi and Rowen enter the velvet Haven and never stops for even a heart beat. The cast is strong especially the support who make the Otherworld seem genuine. Sophia Renwick provides fans with a twisting tale of salvation from even death.

Harriet Klausner

I won't spend any time rehashing the plot for everyone, in addition to the synopsis provided by the publisher, several of the other reviewers have pretty much spelled it all out for you quite well. It was the reviews, more than the publisher's synopsis which made me purchase this book. I have become hooked on paranormal romance and this book seemed as though it would be a welcome addition to the genre offering up something more than the, done to death, vampire tale.

One reviewer described this title as J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood meets the Matrix. I have read all of the titles in the BDB series and watched the movies several times and the only similarity is that they are all paranormal but that isn't the reason for the 1 star rating. This book had so much promise, what with all of the different shape shifters, half-bloods, demons and angels. The problem is the author spent so much time and attention to detail on the sex scenes that there really wasn't any character development beyond two dimensional, many of the characters were little more than a name. By the end of the book you walk away with only a half developed picture of one of the main characters, Mairi and you know even less about Bran, King of the Night Sidhe. There are others who are mentioned in the book but you learn little of them other than the fact that they aren't human. Take for instance Rowan, whom you get the impression is key to the plot, well you do right up to the time when she just isn't mentioned anymore! The world building was even more deficient than the character development. By the end of the book the reader knows very little about Annwyn other than it is not our world and can be accessed via a tunnel in the basement of the Velvet Haven. Well we do learn that there is a small glade where Bran picks some flowers for Mairi, flowers which look and smell like her girly bits. Err, silly me but I think I would rather just get some roses.

This title is the first in a series. There really wouldn't be much point in a series if the author were to tell the entire story in the first book BUT the reader needs something to make them want to continue on beyond the first book. In all fairness, the author did hook me right at the end, enough so that I really wanted to read the second book to see if perhaps she would live up to the promise that I saw at the beginning of this first novel. The last chapter hinted at what it is Bran and Mairi will need to do and who they will need to help them accomplish their task. For a second I actually got excited about picking up the next book in the series and then I remembered how much of this book I ended up skimming, trying to find the story the synopsis mentioned. It wasn't even that the story had been hidden amongst all the sex scenes, it's more like an occasional plot point was thrown in to provide a break from all the sex. Sadly, for me anyway, this book isn't paranormal romance as much as it is erotica, which is fine if that is what you are looking for. The last quarter of the book was one sex scene after another with a (very)few pages of storyline thrown in. Since I was more interested in the paranormal aspect rather than looking for a revised edition of the Kama Sutra, I found myself skimming trying to find a paragraph where his hot heavy shaft wasn't piercing her wet throbbing, oh you get the idea. I seriously felt as though I had stumbled across one of those late night movies on Showtime or Skin-a-max, you know the type...wooden acting and dialog which is heavy on the,'oh, oh, oh'.

To sum it all up. The cover grabs you, what with Bran standing there giving you 'the look' while profiling that hard body, which gets described in infinite detail. And while we are not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, between the synopsis and the cover you are pretty much sucked into giving it a try. The storyline sounds intriguing, magic, Otherworld, shape shifters, wraiths, dragons, centuries old curse. Maybe some chapters were missing from my book because the book I read didn't have any wraiths and I really don't remember any dragons. As for Bran looking for his brother Cardon, well, that is just one more person who is supposed to be central to the storyline but who kind of just gets an honorary mention. There are different shape shifters mentioned, but again, don't expect any detail because it isn't here. This book started out well, an actual story rather than a sexual primer but this isn't the only book I've bought which went downhill past the point the sample chapters shows on the kindle. The storyline is not original which can be overlooked if it's well done, for my taste this one isn't. Oh it's hot if you are into graphic sex and lots of it but if you are looking for a book about shape shifters, magic, dragons and other worlds then this isn't it. If the synopsis had promised a book of graphic sex scenes with a sprinkling of paranormal phrases this book probably would have rated 5 stars but what it did well is not what it promised and not what I was expecting to read. As another reviewer pointed out, the plot is definitely not original and for anyone who is interested in reading a story close to what this what promises you might want to consider The Calling (Immortals, Book 1) a series written by Jennifer Ashley, Joy Nash and Robin Popp.

Not being familiar with Sophie Renwick I didn't know what to expect from Velvet Haven. I ordered it as a bargain book so I figured I didn't have to worry if it wasn't that good. I'm glad to say it was very entertaining and would have been worth full price (not complainin', more money more books lol) I was easily drawn into the world of Annwyn and quickly became attached to the characters. I'm so happy Bran and Mairi got their HEA....an absolute must if you ask me. Because there are so many intriguing characters, I'm sure the series will provide much more reading pleasure.

I have one word for this book....HOT!!! The description of the characters makes my mouth drool and what they'll do for love is even more desireable. Love how the power of love is detailed and the obstacles they face as they travel through their adventure in searching for Bran's brother. If you like hot, sexy shape-shifters that know how to please a woman...and a mortal woman that knows how to use her curves and assets to please a man...while still enjoying a story that catches your breath and leaves you wanting more...then you'd better be reading this book!!! It'll get your heart pounding and suck you right in with details and descriptions that are only in your best dreams!!! I strongly recommend this book and anticipate the continuation of the story in book 2 (Mists of Velvet).

Velvet Haven is a club that humans and immortals mix, the club sits on the gateway to Annwyn. Annwyn is the faery world where Bran is King of the shape shifting Sidhe. There is someone doing dark magic rituals on Sidhe bodies, 9 total. Bran goes into the human world to find a book that will lead to the next item needed to stop these murders. While in velvet haven he learns the murders are also in the human world. These murderers need to stop before they collide, the human and sidhe worlds.
Bran the raven is cursed, and so was his brother. An evil sidhe determined to be queen cursed his brother to remain in stone, forever a gargoyle. Bran is cursed to sleep with humans to restore his magic, and to be killed by the one human he will love. Bran despises humans, he thinks himself a superior race. Imagine his surprise when he cant keep his eyes off Mairi, the human healer.
I loved this book, its fast paced, interesting and sexy! Bran and Mairi's relationship is new, exciting and erotic. The plot with the dark magic rituals is intriguing and a mystery, I look forward to reading more about that plot. I also liked the subcharacters, Suriel the fallen angel, Sayer the skelkie, Keir and Rys the club owner and Brans cousin. Rowan, Mairi's best friend, is also a seer. There was magic, mystery, love, betrayal, intrigue, sacrifice, action and compromise what else can you ask for in a great paranormal erotic romance??

I found the book a little slow going, but very interesting. Being Wiccan I found a lot of the dialog entertaining. The intimate scenes were awesome. I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out, although I don't know how this one can be topped.

Where do I begin with this review? Let's start with the cover, because that seemed to be about the only thing I really enjoyed about this book. Hubba-Hubba! Look at that man on the cover! Tattoo's, long hair, drool worthy ab's and tight leather pants! Eye candy that you can drool over for hours! I loved the blue and black misted background as well.


Unfortunately, that is where my thrill of excitement for this book ends. The author created so many different characters in this book that I was left with a feeling of dizziness! The main character of Bran was sexy, but tortured as most hero's are in books. He is cursed and he must pimp his body out to please women in order to receive his magical gifts when needed. Please! What man wouldn't want this curse? Every man would jump on the chance to get to have sex as much as possible. So, I will move past this point in the book.


We have Mairi as the heroine and she wasn't much at that. She is suppose to be a bookworm, but she also is suppose to be mated with Bran according to fate. The author had Mairi coming across as wimpy and boring. I am a bookworm, but I sure as heck have a lot more excitement to offer than Mairi! I couldn't even stand to read about her character being with Bran as it felt to forced.


I actually had to force myself to finish this book and I have no desire to read the rest in this series. Would I ever read another book by this author? The answer is yes, but it would have to really knock my socks off in reviews to get me interested. I understand that this is the first book in a series, and maybe the author was trying to set up the scenes with all of the characters, but to me it was overload that could have been better paced with more books.

Bran, the shape-shifting Sidhe king awaits his own murder. He knows his killer is out there, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. But Bran is willing to die because he carries the Legacy Curse. His mistake was not marrying Morgan, the Sidhe witch. She cursed him where he'll be brought down by a female mortal. Even worse, an evil and dark magic is killing immortals of his world, close to the Cave of Cruachan, a passageway, known as veil that allows Bran to enter into the mortal realm of Earth, hidden under the Victorian Gothic dance club, Velvet Haven. Bran will walk through the veil, not only to find this Black Magick that's running free, but also feed his curse. In order to keep his magic alive and strong, Bran must mate and give pleasure to the human females he loathes because their sexual energy allows him to remain powerful.

Mairi MacAuley rather spend her free time reading old dusty manuscripts than date. She doesn't care if people think of her as a nerd. She works as a nurse and Crisis Worker at St. Michael's Hospital and has a hard time getting close to people, mainly due to her very tough childhood, but ever so thankful for the nuns at Out Lady of Perpetual Sorrow who protected her, and her mother from her abusive father. Mairi is in for a shock when someone she knew, a once troubled teenage girl is found dead and brought into the ER covered in knife wounds with symbols carved into her skin, Mairi has been having dreams of these same symbols that includes a strange man who oozes sex and awakens her body's desires.

Her tarot card reading Rowan produces two tickets to the Velvet Haven. Mairi decides to go with Rowan even though she has some reservations about the Goth club. These two women are very unaware of what lies inside the Velvet Haven and how most of the men working there are immortal. Bran is there that night aching to fill a human female. When he spots Mairi, he tries to introduce her to the sexual delights he can offer her that no other mortal man can. But Bran stops from going too far because he can sense all that is good and innocent in her. He doesn't want to steal Mairi's energy and would love nothing more that to enjoy pleasure just for pleasure's sake.

Fate has decreed that Bran and Mairi are meant to be for one another. As Bran hunts an immortal killer is on the loose, his most hated enemy tries to bring him down where he must protect Mairi. He will come to her in her dreams and give her the pleasure he longs to give her in the flesh. Bran has become her midnight lover, who plagues her every thought. But there is another who is looking over Mairi and thinking of her well being, as well as try in separating the two. Mairi has no idea she could be the possible key to Bran's salvation as well as the one who maybe bring forth his death.

Velvet Haven is a dark and erotic paranormal tale with larger than life men who barely have control of their alpha tendencies, especially when it comes to the kind hearted and innocent women they desire. There are many complicated storylines within this book and characters that bring life in the pages. This may sound all well and good, but Velvet Haven is a pale comparison to those much better and well written dark fantasy erotic romances out there. Sophie Renwick tries to bring forth an atmospheric and angst filled gothic fantasy. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep my concentration and at times wanted to roll my eyes because every piece of dialogue and action was just so shocking and tension filled to the point it all became too ridiculous. I felt like Ms. Renwick was just trying too hard to make Velvet Haven larger than life and something more than it is. And because of that, it fell flat.

It's not bad enough that the hero Bran is so tortured and his biggest shame is that he must engage in so much hard core, passionate, mind numbing sex with human females and make sure they are pleased just because he jilted some crazy witch with incredible magic. Bran is pimping out himself because of his horrible curse that consumes his every being, where death would be more preferable than life. And isn't it ironic that the one woman he desires above all others is a potential sad sack who doesn't have much to recommend for her. We are told in great detail how Mairi loves reading old books, and is honest with others, which by the way isn't show in anyway because she comes across more timid and shy than a woman who can stick up for herself. I felt insulted for Mairi because the way Ms. Renwick introduces her doesn't really give me a good enough and valid reason why Bram would even look at her, let alone want her as his mate.

Bram's compatriots in arms walk around in all their sulky sexy glory, but also don't bring anything to the overall plot. The sex scenes between Bran and Mairi have some merit, but nothing I haven't read before already. They failed to stimulate in any way and if you're look for something darker and more explicit, Velvet Haven fails in that aspect.

Velvet Haven has too much telling, not enough showing, and Ms. Renwick has written her characters in such a way where they annoy more than excite. Due to the one-dimensional characters, rehash of a plot I've read countless times before, and lack of originality, I'd say that Velvet Haven gets a pass.

Katiebabs