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The Angelini #1

Skye's Trail

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For Skye Delano, the hunt and the kill are sometimes inexorably tied together. Her origins shrouded behind an impenetrable wall of mental pain, Skye has survived and evolved into a tracker, a hunter who metes out justice to those who prey on the helpless. Alone but not lonely, she's been content with her life. But now her body is changing and there's an underlying craving that's left her restless. She needs to take a mate - or rather, two mates...

Detective Rico Santana wants and needs Skye - for himself, and to track a couple of kids who have gone missing. In all the centuries that Giovanni Banderali has been alive, he's never desired any woman enough to bind her to him as a companion. That changed the moment he saw Skye. She's a threat to the fledgling vampires he's searching for, but nothing will stop him from claiming her - not even the Angelini blood that flows through her veins. Adversaries, natural enemies - dangerous allies - the bond that links them is stronger than lust, more powerful than love. When an Angelini chooses a mate, no man can resist.

225 pages, Trade Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

20 people are currently reading
753 people want to read

About the author

Jory Strong

64 books423 followers
Jory has been writing since childhood and has never outgrown being a daydreamer. When she's not hunched over her computer, lost in the muse and conjuring up new heroes and heroines, she can usually be found reading, riding her horses, or hiking with her dogs.

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5 stars
206 (29%)
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249 (35%)
3 stars
176 (25%)
2 stars
50 (7%)
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22 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
Profile Image for mysticofworlds.
437 reviews22 followers
August 14, 2019
1.5 stars

Honestly, this book was just weird. The "romance," the world (there was absolutely no world-building, so...?), the characters...

I actually kind of liked Skye and her abilities, but I was so confused. How did she get separated from her family, how did she figure out her abilities, what is going on with her "mates," I don't understand at all...

So basically, everything was bad except for Skye's personality.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for ★Ruth★.
1,458 reviews
January 1, 2014
There were elements of this that I quite enjoyed.

The suspense element made the story more interesting and the sex wasn't half bad especially when the trio finally got their bow-chikka-wow on LOL

There were some eye roll moments and I have probably read better in this genre but I will definitely read the next in series.
Profile Image for Nisha.
788 reviews253 followers
Want to read
April 21, 2011
I had been searching for this for a while, until today, I am surprised to find that I had previously downloaded it and had it in my collection. *facepalm
Profile Image for Karen.
30 reviews5 followers
March 4, 2013
I created a new shelf for this book - "yawn." Admittedly, I did start it late at night and finished it early in the morning, but the hours I read this book had nothing to do with this being a snoozer. I could pour an entire catering carafe of coffee along "Skye's Trail" and it would still be boring.

Skye is an Angelini, raised without much knowledge of what that means other than a few vague memories of her mother with her two husbands/mates. This seems fitting because I finished the book without really knowing what it means to be an Angelini either. I think it is related to Skye's ability to hypnotize people, but since the vamps in the book have the same power that may not be right.
The book starts out with an interesting premise; Skye is an investigator that is called in on a missing person’s case. She is brought into the search by Detective Rico Santana, a detective she has worked with before on similar cases. (I kept mentally adding Suave every time I read his name – especially after seeing his one – randomly repeated- Spanish exclamation). There is a mutual and acknowledged connection between the two but it is complicated by the tension about their respective jobs. Rico’s boss doesn’t like him working with Skye because she operates outside the bounds of the law, and the small matter that he thinks she murdered the suspects in their last investigation(!).

The investigation quickly grows larger than the initial missing girls, but I found myself uninterested in most aspects of it. I think part of the problem was that the world-building felt incomplete and sometimes contradictory. The paranormal elements felt the constant need to keep humans in the dark about their existence, but then there would be lines of humans waiting outside of vamp clubs and discussing them in chatrooms on the internet and openly with other people. People were told not to talk about their world, but no humans questioned when there were sightings of dead people. It seemed like Strong tried to find somewhere between “secret paranormal world” and “supernaturals living openly” and it just didn’t work. The investigation takes up the bulk of the book and is well done, but I never bought-in to the urgency of the search.

The book lacked conflict. Skye’s character had potential; she was an investigator with unusual powers, a shadowy past, and little hesitancy to use violence. But she never develops. That is what links all three characters together – their one-dimensionality. Skye is the Mysterious Investigator, Gian is the Shadowy Vampire, and Rico is the Dogged Cop. But there is little to no conflict between them. Rico should have issues with Skye and Gian operating outside of the law, but he has more conflict with his boss than he does about their actions. Not to mention Rico’s shrugging acceptance of the supernatural elements of his world. Skye should have had more conflict with Gian attempting to control her, but she just shrugged and went on her way. I was happy that she showed enough life to continue with what she was doing rather than just lying down and taking it. But she also never called Gian out on it.

Gian and Rico should have initial hesitation about Skye’s involvement with two men, but their reasoning seemed to be “well, if her mom had two lovers….” Any jealousy or reluctance to become involved in a ménage is momentary, and not because there is such a strong relationship between them. At least Skye and Rico had an implied history. Skye’s relationship with Gian startled me, especially after establishing a stronger one with Rico. (I obtained this book a while before reading it and had forgotten that it was a ménage, so others may not get this impression). Skye took one look at Gian and her lady-bits tingled, apparently signifying he was one of her mates. To me, a successful ménage means that all parties have to care for one another, even if not in a sexual sense, and that element was lacking here. Most of the love scenes were explicit but not erotic because of that lack of connection; it felt clinical rather than emotional.
This book was underdeveloped, unemotional, and boring. “Skye’s Trail” could have been a winding journey through high mountain peaks and low valleys. Instead it was a flat, straight path that I have no incentive to go exploring down again.
296 reviews
October 12, 2021
I'm trying to clear stuff that has been hanging out on my "want to read" list. I added this one 4 years ago and have no idea why, but as it promised vampires, witches and a kick ass heroine who takes two mates, I figured it was a low barrier read. And this was quick and to the point. There was just enough plot to keep things ticking a long and lots of action. The highlight of this book was really trying to figure out what powers Skye has and what it means for her to be bonded to her mates and for them to be bonded to her. The politics of the vampire world also promise some difficult give and take in the future.
Profile Image for TinaMarie.
3,514 reviews38 followers
June 5, 2018
Skye can't remember who past without extreme pain, but she's a hunter and helps find people. She comes across her mates a cop and a vampire. Was ok read hoping as this series develops it will get better
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
1,491 reviews4 followers
June 18, 2020
❤️ 📚 👍 love this series and have both paperback and ebook.
Profile Image for Oleta Blaylock.
761 reviews8 followers
May 29, 2015
I read this story shortly after it was published on Ellora's Cave as an e-book. I loved the story and looked forward to any future books. I think that this was my first menage book and I was very excited to read it. I had been reading vampire stories for a while but this was a little different. The Angelini intrigued me not just because they had to claim more than one mate but because they were hunters and it wasn’t just the males that hunted.

Skye Delano has no idea what her real heritage is or were she came from. She was found in the ghettos of Los Angeles when she was very young. She has had a very rough childhood but she survived and has become a much sot after tracker of missing people. One thing that Skye isn’t afraid of is dispensing justice to those that prey on the weak and innocent. It is a pleasure to read about her using her other abilities to find clues about a murdered girl and several other missing girls. It isn’t long before she finds her mates as she cruises the seedier parts of Las Vegas. I liked Skye very much. There is little that she won’t take on and she is good enough to take on most of the tougher perps. Her one weakness through most of the story is that she doesn’t know that there are other paranormal beings in the world with her. It was funny reading about her coming to grips with the fact that Giovanni "Gian" Banderali is in fact a vampire.

Skye’s first mate is a cop by the name of Rico Santana. Rico isn’t sure he should get involved with Skye. There are things about her that just aren’t normal. But the attraction between is just too strong to avoid forever. Rico is also concerned that Skye may have killed some of the people that were suspects in crimes she was involved in solving. He doesn’t want to lose the job he loves but he can’t live without Skye. Ms. Strong does a good job writing about the struggle Rico goes through with his captain, partner and the ethics of his job. Ms. Strong does a good job of portraying the conflict that might develop between Gain and Rico. These guys are both strong alpha males and neither is really willing to share Skye. It takes some time but the two men do work things out.

Gian is an old vampire that is sure he can bring his Angelini companion to heel. Boy is he in for a surprise. There were many times in the beginning of Skye and Gian's relationship that he thought that he had finally found a way to control her. Skye always found a way to continue to do what she was hired to do. Gian is all alpha, old world male. He is however willing to make compromises to make the relationship with the three of them work.

There are a number of wonderful secondary characters that mare this story very good. While the story is short, as so many of the first e-books were, Ms. Strong has managed to pack a great deal of information the book. I would have liked to find out more about Skye’s parents. I think that she would be happier knowing what happened to them and why she was found in Los Angeles. If you like the paranormal then you are probably going to like this story.
Profile Image for Cyp.
252 reviews41 followers
October 11, 2011
Originally posted at A Bookalicious Story.

It's a sin to be such a sexy and talented writer like Strong...

Skye is an Angelini, tho she doesn't know it as of yet, but she knows how to control and utilize her powers to survive and hunt criminals down; Rico is a cop, a hot, sexy, competent and very-aroused-whenever-he-looks-at-or-even-thinks-of-Skye cop; Gian is an age-old vamp who is crazy powerful, and sexually very active. Lol. Yep, that's the 3 protagonists laid out for you.

Goth girls are disappearing around the city, and one of 'em turned up dead and it didn't look like she met with a swift, clean end. The police are working day and night with the case, but when they're still coming up blank, Rico took matters into his own hands and requested the aid of our dear Skye since she has hunting abilities sharper than a hound. And this case brings Skye to the night club, Fangs, which Gian co-owns. And therein brings our three protagonists together.

It's a relatively short story, but NONE of the thrill, erotic, romance and mystery factors are compromised. It's amazing how intricate the crime case is, everything somehow linked up together even when they seemed so unconnected at the beginning. There were many details to consider, but Strong handled them all perfectly, and she left nothing dangling or unanswered in the end, which is amazing.

Even tho Eroticas usually would not have a very developed relationship between the protagonists, I thought that Skye's Trail kinda did have. I felt the affections between Skye, Gian, and Rico grow, and well, of course their lusts for each other did too, but that only made it all the more hot, sweaty and sexy. Ew, gross visuals. Lol, but yes, what was missing in other Eroticas that made me not like them was very much looked into here, that's what made me fall in love with Strong's world all over again.

I loved Skye. Not only is she powerful in her own right, she has this very playful and sexy inner nature that I really liked. She can be very devil-may-care sometimes, but inside, she did care very much about how her mates (Rico and Gian) felt.

Gian and Rico were...Lol, kinda weird sometimes. Not bad weird.. Just weird. You would expect the millenia-old (ok I'm exaggerating) vamp to be the more dominant one right? All "you are my minions, bow before me"? But surprisingly, I found Rico to be the more domineering one. And he is, I stress, a very human cop. Huh, at the start, Skye somehow got the upperhand when they were doing the S, and sort of reduced Gian to begging for release. Ok, that made him sound weak, which he isn't, but it came close to that.

Still, I loved all of them.

Anyway, I don't really have much to say about Eroticas, so 'nuff said for now. But bottomline: I thought that Skye's Trail is a steamy hot Erotica that, if before this you do not like Eroticas, you should try this out first before you condemn this genre.
Profile Image for Tonileg.
2,243 reviews26 followers
July 31, 2012
Detective Rico Santana (prepare yourself for random use of Spanish throughout this story) is out to solve a mystery, but he needs special help in the form of Skye Delano. Skye is a tracker. Rico needs to find a couple of children that are lost so he has to deal with Skye, but he has a case of extreme lust whenever she is around. So this is an erotic contemporary fantasy story.
Skye is Angelini (I'm 2/3 in to the story and I'm still not quite sure what that means) and she will 'mate' with two in order to better protect and find find justice which is in her hunter bloodline. So Rico is only the beginning and Gian is the end. I won't give too much away but there is a mystery with young ladies disappearing, lots of violence and some vampire wannabes who are kind of cutely lost in their geekdom.
I did like how the two male mates accept and share Skye it seems very respectful for a menage-a-trois situation. Although, I get the feeling that Gian can been patient because in one human lifetime Rico will die and he will have Skye to himself (unless he bonds Rico as a companion as well, perhaps the Rafeal character is a hint to that possible future?).
Don't worry there is a HEA for almost everyone in the story.
225 pages and a Kindle freebie
3 stars for a orginal take on hunters, vampires and humans.
275 reviews1 follower
April 20, 2013
I liked this one. It was a different take on vampires and vampire hunters. Skye is the hunter, Gian is the Vampire and Rico is a cop. The main thing that I liked about this one was that you had two totally alpha men who were used to getting their way. And here comes lil ol Skye who is a Harley riding babe who lets no man control her unless she wants them too. Of course unless it is sex with these two hunky men, which she can't really help because she is their mate.

This story takes Skye on a path to find out who she really is. She knows she is different but not sure why. While she is working a case she is throw together again with Rico and they both have a very strong attraction to one another. Then she is throw into Gian while on said case and their is attraction their too. Their wasn't any real edge of your seat action. Or heart felt moments. Damn I can even say that the word love never really came up. This book is basically 3 people who find that they are mates they have strong sexual attraction and go on those feeling often. But never any romance. But it did keep me wanting to turn the page and keep reading.

Their are a couple of more books in the series. Will I get the other ones? I don't know. I liked this book well enough but not sure if I liked it enough to buy the rest.
Profile Image for Melissa .
310 reviews
July 17, 2013
While Skye Delano was lending her psychic abilities to help the police solve a crime, she remembers some missing facts in her life: Vampires existed, and she was born to hunt them down. Integrated strongly into this storyline is Skye's need to have two mates. Yes, two. It's in her Angelini blood. Two husbands to make her hunting easier. Skye is born of two different bloodlines, which is no surprise that she binds Gian to her, a vampire she was born to hunt. She is also bound to Detective Rico Santana, and her life is teetering on the precarious balance of what her body and soul needed from these two men.

This brings the love triangle on a whole new level. Skye didn't have to choose and just takes two men she strongly desires. I can't say it's love, not with too much lusting going on. It's convenient to come up with "the Angelini bloodline needs two mates" as an excuse to allow and justify the character to indulge in two partners. Not my preferred diagesis. There's a bit in this story that feels real to me,though-- the horrors and evils of crime, and the constant pursuit of justice. Still, I don't think I would feel bad if I missed reading this one
Profile Image for Cindy.
939 reviews19 followers
February 11, 2014
A good read, the author has constructed an interesting new paranormal race - the Angelini. The heroine is an Angelini with no knowledge of her past and incomplete knowledge of her powers or needs who spends her time as a hunter for justice. Justice she sometimes administers... As the story progresses she finds her mates - one is a human cop who is not happy with her breaking the laws and exposing herself to danger, the other is a vampire who is not happy about the exposing herself to danger or her ability to throw off his thrall. Neither of them is happy about sharing...

The plot involves missing girls and wannabe vampires... along with murder, assorted mayhem, and black magic. And, oh yeah, neither the cop nor the heroine believe in vampires...

The Angelini series:
Skye's Trail
Syndelle's Possession
Mystic's Run
(Related) Vampire’s Companion
Profile Image for Carey.
1,213 reviews
November 9, 2012
Vampires. Witches. Mystery and suspense. Hot sex. Lots and lots of hot sex :) Entertaiing M/F/M but for me there were a couple of things that kept this from being 4 stars. Number one was the biting. Lots and lots of biting. Bites on the neck, on the chest, on the boob, on the thigh. Over and over and over. Even for vampires, I think it was overkill :) The other thing that bothered me was the use of the word ¡Carajo! in every scene that one of the MC's had. It was very annoying and made me want to start a drinking game "let's have a shot everytime he says ¡Carajo!" This is the first book in a series...
Profile Image for LilMisGrayBrisk.
1,330 reviews29 followers
January 4, 2009
I liked The Angelini: Skye's Trail. Skye was a great character; she was strong, independent and did the best she could with the limited information she knew about herself. I was trying to place what exactly bugged me about this book, and it was Gian and Rico. I don't think that they were fleshed out enough. They were definitely the supporting characters to Skye and I wished that I could have gotten a better feel for them. However, I still enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the next in this series.
3.5 stars
Profile Image for Mara.
2,535 reviews270 followers
August 2, 2012


It seems that Ms Strong's erotica books tends to get all the same reaction in me: "where else have I read this? Oh yes, her other title..."

I had the same thought to Trace's Psychic: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10... :)

Here I read a mish mash of Lyric's Cop and Inked Magic. Pity her characters are so cookie cutter, even in writing erotica she truly tries for eroticism (rather then porn) and a plot.

I'm sorry to say that if her books weren't freebies, I wouldn't read them.

Profile Image for Jennifer.
125 reviews
February 13, 2013
This was a great story. The first in a long time that I've read and couldn't put it down until the last page. This was very different from any of the stories I've read ever. I liked Jory's Crime Tells series a lot but never would have expected this from her other writing. And I didn't think it was possible any more to read an erotic romance that didn't sound just like a hundred others. I was very pleased to find out I was wrong. I will definitely be getting the rest of this series and recommend this to anyone who likes paranormal erotic romances.
Profile Image for MK.
275 reviews21 followers
February 14, 2014
The synopsis is really good so I tried to read this, but unfortunately it didn't meet my expectations. I wish that the author just stick to the plot without a lot of twist and turns. And I also wish that it didn't push too many sex scenes in the story. Skye is always on danger and always injures herself, making her rely on her men to save her. There are also some unfinished business between her and some Angelinis she met. Anyway I still am curious enough to read the next book, and wish it is better than this.
Profile Image for Felicia (Ferishia).
633 reviews37 followers
October 29, 2012
Lots of hot sex intertwined with interesting story and characters. Then the of a mysterious female, Skye Delano who can't quite remember where she came from or who she is. Some of it is revealed in the story, but still at the end there was a still some unanswered questions. Did I mention the hot sex and threesome? With a hot cop and a vampire? yeah, so I guess I'll need to read the next book to see if the other loose ends are tied up.
Profile Image for ValerieC.
1,342 reviews56 followers
May 19, 2013
3.5 stars

Not much relationship between these three... mostly just lust. I wish she would've let us know something about what happened to Skye's parents - after all a vamp and a werewolf mated to an Angelini female aren't easy to kill. It just seemed like there should have been a longer book, or a follow-up for these 3 (maybe a book 1.5).

Jory Strong is a pretty good author. I have read a few of her other books. Very few spelling mistakes, always a plus for me.
Profile Image for Debbie.
391 reviews6 followers
April 19, 2014
Another new series by Ms Strong that I am currently reading and enjoying immensely.
Skye an Angelini (sort of like a vampire hunter), Gian a vampire and Rico, a very human detective.
All thrown together even though they didn't want to be. Its a great story as well as some interesting interactions and some really steamy sex.
Looking forward to book 2 of the Angelini series Syndelle's Possession.
Profile Image for Kbee.
1,532 reviews4 followers
October 17, 2012
Should of read some of the comments before starting this one. For once started it was hard to put down. The story was pretty good, liked the plot and ending. Just didn't like the ménage bit in it, one male per female is enough for me.
Profile Image for Vivian.
1,599 reviews7 followers
August 20, 2012
The author had a odd way of writing this story. I was still interested though in all the sexual encounters the mates had. The reading the next after this one. This series is not for everyone. Like I said odd story telling!
Profile Image for Diane Anne.
11 reviews29 followers
May 20, 2013
i really really hate Rico's Captain.!! hmmm.. i kinda hate that Skye kind of favors Rico more.. i know that its not that way, but that kind of the impression i'm getting.. i really really really like Gian though..
Profile Image for Amanda Kern.
726 reviews8 followers
July 1, 2015
I read this book a while ago.. It is a good book. It is a m/f/m set up. Do not be fooled. The female lead is a strong person. A review mentioned biting. There is a little to much biting in this book. But keep in mind this does deal with witches and vampires.
1,008 reviews
July 31, 2012
i already had this book in DTR form, along with several others in this series, and really enjoyed it. however, when i saw that this was a freebie for kindle, i snapped it up and read it again!
Profile Image for Daune Mc.
34 reviews
August 24, 2012
Could not wait to out what was going to happen next with Rico.
Profile Image for Luu.
364 reviews8 followers
April 1, 2014
Me gustó, aunque algo me quedó sonando .-. y muchas dudas :o
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews

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