Customer Reviews

When Pleasure Rules

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The on going feud between werewolves and vampires continues and is getting deadlier each day. The Shadow Alliance, secret organization that governs the paranormal, wants answers now. Werewolf Vincent Rand is back in Los Angeles to find out who is framing his boss Gunnolf for the murder of 7 humans with more bodies piling up. Lissa Monroe is to use her succubus powers and ability to look into her lover's minds to find out more about Rand for the Alliance or will be forced to give up every thing she has worked for and will be sent to prison. What she thought would be an easy task proves to be difficult when they start to fall for each other and will risk anything, including their missions, to save the other.

Vincent Rand grew up on the hard streets of LA and killed his first person before he was even a teenager. He has always had an inner wolf lurking at his surface and finally let it loose after being bitten while over seas. Rand first became a soldier as a human and continue to be one for the werewolf leader Gunnolf once he was turned. He left LA for Paris to get away from his past but is forced to go back after years of being away to see who has been spreading lies about his leader that may cost him his territory. When he arrives he visits Orlando, a club where the women are succubi, and meets its beautiful and take no crap owner Lissa Monroe. He feels desire for her right away but writes it off as the attraction all men feel towards a succubus. Lissa is not sure of what to think of Rand at first. He seems unaffected by her succubus appeal and it both confuses and intrigues her. Lissa tells herself she must stay away from Rand but is forced to seek him out when Division 6, paranormal arm of the law, threatens to close her club down and toss her in prison if she does not use her gift of steeling secrets straight from someone's head on Rand to find out why his is in LA and what his involvement is in the string of recent killings.

I'm not generally a fan of succubus but I found myself liking Lissa. She won her freedom from her master and works to buy the freedom of other succubus and lets them be their own masters. Taking what is not given freely is why she is on Division 6's radar. She has already started to like Rand because he doesn't fall for her tricks and does what no one else has done for her. He tries to protect her. When she is with him it's not just about sex and you can tell she really feels guilty for what she must do. Rand has had a hard life. He was in a violent gang and got a girl pregnant. He married her but then lost her when a gang leader wanted to prove a point and killed her. After that he became a disciplined soldier who works to keep his wolf from coming out. He wants to blame the attraction towards Lissa on what she is but he can't help like that she stands up for herself and takes crap from no one. Not to mention the thought of her with another male makes him want to unleash his inner beast. Their relationship moves pretty quickly and at first it is based off lust but I ended up liking this pair because together they became better and more interesting characters.

There is a killer hunting humans in Southern California and not even the paranormal are safe. Someone is killing humans and vampires are blaming werewolves and werewolves are blaming vampires. I really liked that it wasn't that simple. When Pleasure Rules has a love story but is equally matched with a 'who done it?' story line done in a supernatural world. This is an ongoing series so you see a lot of the same characters that are in the first book in the series, When Blood Calls. One of my favorites is still Nick who is a lawyer and vampire (isn't that part of every lawyer joke?). He first comes off as a arrogant (which he is) and kind of one dimensional in the first book but in this book light is shed on his past and I ended the book wanting to know more about him and am glad he takes the lead in the next book in the series, When Wicked Craves.

This book only took me 2 1/2 days to read! Absolutely loved it!
Vincent Rand is a Weren, he is sent by Gunnolf , the liaison Weren for the Alliance to find who is spreading lies about werewolves killing humans, and if necessary take care of the problem. He must also find out who is responsible for the deaths and make the guilty pay...if at all possible.Lissa owns Orlando's ,a club that trades souls. She meets Rand and they are immediately attracted to each other. The trouble that comes to them, they must fight together. The love they feel for each other helps to heal Rand's soul.The friendships that emerge in this story are wonderful, sadly some may not be as lucky. Betrayal, murder, heart and soul healing. A wonderful book and a story that makes you want more...NOW! I highly suggest this book and can't wait for the 3rd...When Wicked Craves.

Review courtesy of Sizzling Hot Books

After reading When Blood Calls I was anxious to start reading When Pleasure Rules , sadly it didn't live up to When Blood Calls for me. I excepted When Pleasure Rules be as good if not better When Blood Calls .

Honestly I am not really sure the reason I didn't care for When Pleasure Rules . I would have to say that at least part of the reason was I didn't fall in love with the main characters. Honestly I really didn't care for either of them. I didn't find Rand and Lissa to be likable.

Lissa is a succubus who owned a business of trading souls. I really wanted to like her, she tried to save her fellow succubi from people that wanted to abuse them but I felt she went about it the wrong way, by blackmailing people. I also didn't feel any passion for what she does, or how she lives her life. I really needed more spark form her.

Rand, was supposed to be a reformed bad boy, but I didn't see it. He killed people for his boss, and didn't care. I liked Rand until I read that he killed his wife's killer because she belonged to him, and no one takes what is his. He didn't love his wife, or even care about her if he thought of her as a possession.

There were times I honestly just wanted to put When Pleasures Rule down, but I stuck with it because I really enjoyed When Blood Calls . I feel that if the characters had been more likable, and I could really feel them that I would have been able to get into When Pleasure Rules . The one thing I really liked about When Pleasure Rules is that we got to see some of the characters from When Blood Calls, such as Sara, Luke, and Doyle. Hopefully When Wicked Craves will be better.

First off, I am an avid reader of many series and am always anxious to start a new series. I read the first book and while I wasn't overly thrilled, I thought the series had potential. I started the second book and I can't even bring myself to continue reading it. I agree with the previous review - I don't even like the starring characters. That makes it very hard to continue. I kept waiting for something that was going to make me like them and there was nothing !!!! It's been a couple of days (and usually if a story is great I can't wait to get back to it) and I haven't picked up the book.

This book was amazing! I love heroes that have flaws and are far from perfect and that describes both Rand and Lissa. Their passion jumps from the pages and captures you from the beginning. The secondary characters are also jumping off the pages and making sure that your paying attention. Can not wait for the net book in the series.

Lissa Monroe is a strong willed succubus who has used her brain and gifts to not only free herself but also became the owner of a very successful business that has allowed her to free other succubus' who now work for her. Lissa, like other succubus, is not immortal but she is reborn time and time again. Usually, they have no real memories of their past lives, but once in a while something comes back to haunt them. Lissa has had this happen and as a result has agreed to become an undercover agent for the Shadow Alliance.

Vincent Rand was career military before he was transformed into a werewolf. Now he is an enforcer to a member of the Alliance Council. Normally Rand is based out of Paris but he has just been ordered to find out who is dragging his boss's name into the middle of seven nasty murders in Los Angeles. Rand grew up in the outskirts of Los Angeles and that past is his own personal shadow.

Lissa is amazed when she finds out that her mission is to get into the head of the werewolf she met the other night - Rand, a man that calls to something in her outside of the succubus. Rand firmly believes he has no room for any form of romance in his life but his beginning lust for Lissa is turning into a consuming passion. As he works to find out where the boundary lines are drawn in the Alliance, Rand is also finding that his need for Lissa is growing. The danger is thick around them when betrayals all but destroy the growing trust between Lissa and Rand. True trust is going to be needed for Lissa and Rand to not only find their future but also to demolish the real masterminds behind the killings.

When you team one wolf with a bad attitude and one determined and savvy succubus you get blistering passion. Lissa and Rand learn the true meaning of love in When Pleasure Rules. I'll start out by saying don't start this book in the late afternoon like I did, it resulted in no sleep that night. I could instantly feel the pain that was constant with Rand and Lissa's determination to save her girls. I really wasn't surprised at how hot the passion was between them once they finally got together. I found the suspense just as intriguing as in the previous book but I never lost sight of Rand and Lissa's journey into love. I have to admit to thinking they would not make it in the end a few times but loved the fact that those two were just too stubborn to stay apart. When Pleasure Rules takes murder and suspense and threads it with red-hot passion. Another keeper for my shelf.

Having now read the first two books in the Shadow Keepers series, I can't wait to open up the third. I hope that I'm right about who the couple will be. Yes, you could read these books separately, but take my word for it - read them in order.

Jo
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

The evidence in a series of high profile murders involving a paranormal killer point to neither a shape-shifter or a vampire as the murderer but also rule out neither. Political ramifications for the leaders of the paranormal communities add urgency to stopping the murders and the members of the PEC (paranormal police) are under pressure to solve the crime quickly. The PEC set their sights on werewolf enforcer Vincent Rand who is conducting his own investigation into the murders and coerce succubus Lissa Monroe into using her special powers to gather intel on Rand.

I ended up really enjoying When Pleasure rules, even though I wasn't overly enthralled with the first book in the series, When Blood Calls. I thought that wolf-shifter and succubus was an interesting pairing and the redemption theme was a good one, as Rand - a lifelong killer, convinced he is more animal than man and doesn't have a soul - finds love with Lissa - who as a succubus, knows a lot about souls, but shouldn't have the ability to love. I also liked that, despite the instant draw between Rand and Lissa, the fact that Rand's soul is so fragile to start out with draws out the claiming and ups the sensual intensity of the eventual consummation. And there are enough other things going on in When Pleasure Rules, with elements related to the reasons behind the murder and the murder investigation itself, that the romance between Lissa and Rand is balanced out by the other elements of the story.

I also appreciate that even though she is only two books into her series, author Beck has developed a fair amount of intriguing characters in her supporting cast. The most interesting so far are Nick Montegue, a vamp lawyer who still has feelings for the succubus who betrayed his love in her former life and the slightly more than human PI, Petra, with her mysterious secret. But I am also hoping to find out more about: vampire Caris who is girlfriend to were-leader Gunnolf, hardnosed parademon cop Doyle - who certainly needs a woman to rock his black and white world - and Sergius, the vamp with control issues whose struggle with his barely leashed demon has garnered my sympathy. I read that Beck has a contract to write three more books in this series and hopefully my favorites will all get a turn in the spotlight.

One element of the first book which I really did like was that was missing in this story? I had been intrigued by the secret paranormal judicial system and was hoping to see a bit more of it here, but I guess I'll just have to be patient since it looks like maybe my wish will be granted in When Wicked Craves.

Being a succubus, club owner Lissa Monroe understands those who work for her as she rescued her succubae from abusive masters. They provide pleasure to the humans while feeding on mortals, but they never kill the client.

Lissa has a unique extra skill that none of her employees possess. She can read the mind of her lover. The Division learns of Lissa's special talent and wants her to help them with a Los Angeles serial killer case going nowhere. They ask her to enter the mind of Vincent Rand, who apparently has information on the deaths of innocent people. Lissa prefers not to read this man she is attracted to while Vincent struggles with his desire for the succubus, which keeps him from focusing on his personal mission at a time when the Shadow Alliance between vampires and werewolves is shattering one murder at a time.

The second Shadow Keepers romantic urban fantasy (see When Blood Calls) is a terrific dark heated thriller that grips the audience from start to finish. Rand and Monroe distrust each other but part of their qualms is caused by an attraction that neither want. As the fragile Alliance between the vampires and werewolves appears increasingly dead, the lead couple investigates the homicides while fearing what they will find inside their respective hearts.

Harriet Klausner

I love this series and this Author so far. I am looking foward to the 4th book when it comes out.