Hearts of the Anemoi Bundle

Hearts of the Anemoi #1-3

by Laura Kaye

North of Need

Called to life by Megan Snow’s tears, snow god Owen Winters appears unconscious on the widow’s doorstep in the midst of a raging blizzard. Owen finds unexpected solace in her company and unimagined pleasure in the warmth of her body, and vows to win her heart for a chance at humanity. Megan is drawn to Owen, but this Christmas miracle comes with an expiration—before the snow melts and the temperature rises, Megan must let go of her widow’s grief and learn to trust love again, or she’ll lose Owen forever.

West of Want

When Marcella Raines' twin brother dies, she honors his request to be buried at sea, never expecting the violent storm that swamps her boat. Zephyros Martius is the Supreme God of the West Wind and Spring. Ella is drawn to the vulnerability Zeph hides beneath his otherworldly masculinity. She and Zeph struggle to let go of the past, defend their future, and embrace a love that can be trusted.

South of Surrender

Laney Summerlyn needs the organized routine of her life at Summerlyn Stables. But everything changes when a ferocious storm brings an impossible—and beautiful—creature crashing down from the heavens. Injured while fighting Eurus, Chrysander Notos, Supreme God of the South Wind and Summer, finds himself at the mercy of a mortal woman whose compassion and acceptance he can't resist. As they surrender to the passion flaring between them, immortal enemies close in, forcing Chrys to choose between his brother and the only woman who's ever loved the real him.

Genres: Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Mythology, Ebooks, Anthologies, Fantasy

750 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 22, 2014

About the author

Laura Kaye is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary and erotic romance and romantic suspense, including the Hard Ink, Raven Riders, Blasphemy, Heroes, and Hearts of the Anemoi series. Laura's hot, heartfelt stories are all about the universal desire for a place to belong. Laura grew up amidst family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses, cementing her life-long fascination with storytelling and the supernatural. Laura also writes historical fiction as Laura Kamoie, and lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

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Reviews

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing emotion filled series filled with characters that come to life. You will find yourself rooting for each of the characters to overcome obstacles, find love, and fight for their happiness. I loved the first three books in this series so let’s break the review down by book.

North of Need
Megan is a widow that trapped in her grief by guilt. When Owen, a snow god, falls at her doorstep her caring nature pushes her to help him regardless of his unexplained appearance in the middle of nowhere and her fear. What Megan doesn’t know is that her tears brought him to life and that Owen was sent to help her past her grief.
As she nurses him back to health she won’t allow herself to admit that she is falling in love with him. Her fear to love again puts both her happiness and Owen at risk. This snow god is running out of time for a chance at humanity again. Can he melt her heart and gain her trust in both him and in love before it is too late? You won’t be able to put this book down until you find out.

West of Want
Ella is in the midst of burying her brother at sea when a storm nearly takes her life and leaves her injured. What she doesn’t realize is that the storm is the result of the emotions of a god that is tormented.
Zeph, the god of the West wind, feels responsible for nearly killing Ella by not paying attention and allowing a storm to get out of hand and breaks the rules by healing her. He rescues Ella and finds that he can’t just walk away from her now that his presence in her life has put her at risk. He is determined to stay close and protect Ella from his brother who thrives on misfortune and evil and has made Ella his target.
While he starts to fall in love with Ella he is afraid to trust her after a lifetime of betrayal and deceit. He will have to overcome his lack of trust and realize that not everything is as it seems if he is going to avoid a bleak future. Their relationship is filled with trials that will keep you reading to see if they can overcome them and find their way together.

South of Surrender
Chrysander, the god of the South wind, has spent the summer trying to save his brother Eurus from the death sentence that hangs over his head by convincing him to turn himself in. Eurus is not only unwilling to listen, but fights back and nearly kills Chrys.
Laney is struggling to remain independent and remain on her grandfather’s horse farm. She refuses to allow her near-blindness to hold her back and uses routine to do so when Chrys literally crashes into her life through her barn roof. She stumbles on him in his animal form and helps tend to his wounds as much as her limited vision will allow.
While Chrys has spent his life avoiding touch since his father used it as a form of punishment that he poured on him while withholding any from his brother Eurus, he finds himself craving Laney’s touch. Laney puts herself at risk for Chrys over and over showing him with her actions more than her words that she thinks he is worth the risk and her love. He struggles choose between the love Laney feels for him and his brother.

[Rebecca Johnson Dye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laura Kaye has created a series that makes you go through every emotion possible as she weaves these stories into your soul!!! Starting with Owen & Megan in North of Need - Megan still lost in her grief over losing her husband and not being able to forgive herself. She struggles as the Holidays approach and the anniversary of his death. She realizes she needs to start letting go. She creates a snow family something she knows she will never have and emotions overwhelm her as she sheds her tears on her Male snowman. Unbeknownst, to her, her deceased husband asks for her to met someone and be happy. Owen is the adopted son of Boreas the Supreme God of Winter. He sends Owen to Megan and Owen has a limited time to make Megan understand that he is there for her & that he wants her as his!! Nothing is that easy, and The Anemoi has their own in fighting going on between them .
Even through it all Owen & Megan find love and she learns to start living again . Then we travel and follow Zephyros in West of Want- The Supreme God of the West Wind and Spring. He mets Ella after causing her to be injured by a storm he caused. We follow them as He fights his own brother who is out to destroy them all. Ella who is fighting how she has lost everyone in her family. They learn to trust & love each other through everything his brother does to the. We moved to South of Surrender and Chrysander & Laney's story as his brother continues to fight to destroy the all the gods of the wind who are also his brother . Laney & Chrys learn that they love each other no matter what has happened in the past. The Hearts of Anemoi will take you on a journey of love and conflict that will have you asking for more!!

[annette colon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't Wait For The Next One

These stories hold your attention from beginning to end. Each story is better than the last. Laura Kaye combines mythology and romance. On the surface the men are all powerful (it helps that they're gods) fearless among their enemies. But deep inside they feel something is missing, they feel incomplete. That's where the women come in. They're strong, fierce and independent. The perfect counterpart to the men.
The stories are not completely dark, there's humor as well. Like Owens and Zephs reaction to sweets. It brings out their inner child. Excellent stories, can't wait for the next one.

[J.E. Benoit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this bundle when it was on sale for 99 cents and it was the best dollar I’ve ever spent! I’ve now read all 4 books and I LOVED this series! I loved the mythology, I loved the characters and the plot and action kept me on the edge of my seat! I would totally recommend reading it. I think this series would make a totally awesome movie!

I wrote a little review about each book after I read them in case anyone was interested in a little more details on them, I tried to keep them spoiler free! Read this series, you won’t be disappointed!

North of Need – 4.5 stars

I think my new favorite season is Winter! This was a beautiful, sweet and sexy story about finding love after loss. I loved the paranormal/magical touches that were used throughout. The story took place at Christmastime and the magical elements just enhanced the general magic feeling of Christmas. I felt for Megan right from the beginning, I could feel her pain as she mourned the loss of her husband on the second anniversary of his death. My heart broke for her as she built the family of snowmen, thinking she just built the one thing she would never have again, a family. Then a gorgeous and unconscious man mysteriously appears on her doorstep and she is left with no choice but to drag him inside, she very well couldn’t let him freeze to death outside! From here a wonderful love story unfolds, I will admit at times it maybe was a bit too sweet, but overall I loved how their relationship developed and how he taught her how to laugh and live again.

Owen was the best, he was sexy and powerful but so kind and caring with a touch of boyish charm that left me swooning time and again. His enthusiasm over ice cream probably my favorite part! He was so adorable in those moments where he took such pleasure in those little things. I also loved the dialogue between the two, having really only the two characters throughout the book it would have been easy for the reader to lose interest but that was never the case for me.

It was nice seeing Megan falling in love again, but I also liked the touch of realism as she struggled with the guilt of “replacing” her husband with another man. I loved how everything came together and the ending was super sweet. It was a little tricky keeping track of some of the other weather gods, they all seemed to be introduced in one big rush in one chapter with only Boreas and Zephyros sticking in my head. I am sure that I will get them straightened out as I continue the series and I get to learn more about Zephyros next in West of Want!

West of Want – 5 stars

The series really took off for me throughout the course of this book! I really enjoyed the first book but it focused so heavily on Owen and Megan that I didn’t get the sense of the bigger picture, all of the other gods were introduced in one chapter it seemed and it was hard to figure out who was who. But in this book the mythology and the roles everyone played seemed to get much clearer and I can now see the story arc that will connect the rest of the books.

The first thing I realized was that I totally misjudged Zephyros going into this book. The closest thing the last book had to a “bad guy” was Zephyros, at least that’s how I perceived it. He was the one who brought the West Wind early and caused Owen’s time with Megan to be cut short and from the conversations with Boreas it sounded like Zeph wouldn’t budge to allow him more time. So in my mind I had him pegged as a jerk but from the very first chapter in this book I realized I was very wrong. It turns out Zeph has had a really crappy past and views himself as a screw up, he’s constantly belittling himself for messing things up and not being able to do anything right. This really comes out when he comes across Ella and realizes that the situation she’s in is because of the storm he brought because he was upset. Laura Kaye did a great job portraying how broken and lonely this character was. He really has a huge heart that he sometimes gives too freely and often times in the past it’s caused him to wind up hurt in the end. His gratitude and how touched he was when Ella showed him even a moment of kindness or compassion really shone through and I totally felt and believed it.

I also thought that Ella was a very strong heroine. She’s lost everyone she’s ever loved, most recently her twin brother and her slimy ex-husband but yet she hasn’t given up on life and is still motivated to get it back on track. I liked the list she made of things she was going to accomplish. I loved watching her open herself up to Zeph, she was so caring and giving. And the two of them together had scorching chemistry! The cleansing he gave her was beyond sexy and that was before they were even together!

A true villain also emerged in this book, Eurus was totally creepy and posed a real threat to Zeph and Ella. It’s still TBD if he is going to get what’s coming to him, but at this point I can’t find anything redeeming in him!

One thing I have enjoyed in both books so far has been the dialogue, it can be touching and rich one moment and light and humorous the next. I like when the women find out that the men are gods and the playful banter that takes place after that. In this book Ella kept referring to Zeph’s ability to dematerialize as “poofing” and he would always act indignant and say “I do not poof!”, it’s little running jokes like that that I’ve loved in these books so far. We also go to see more interaction between the Anemoi in this book and I really enjoyed that. There’s some funny banter between Chrysander and Zephyros that I loved and I loved how Ella was even able to joke with Chrys and Owen (who I was very excited to see again!). I look forward to more of those interactions in the last two books.

Now on to learn more about Chrysander! I have a feeling there’s a lot more behind his “sunny” playboy demeanor and I can’t wait to discover it!

South of Surrender – 4.5 stars

Holy wow, things got real in this book! This series keeps getting better and better with each book and the events of this book took it up another notch and set things up for an epic showdown in the final book. I can’t really say too much about the events of the book because I don’t want to spoil anything, but there are some serious twists and turns in this book that dramatically change the dynamic and circumstances of our little group of weather gods! But I will let you realize them for yourself as you read this awesome book.

I will say that Chrysander did not disappoint! We got to know him a little in the last book and he was a riot, it was hard not to like his character! He always seemed so carefree and friendly with everyone, he just drew you in. But just as I suspected there was a tortured side to him that we uncovered in this book. For years he’s carried the self-imposed blame for what his brother Eurus has become because their father treated him as the golden boy while shunning Eurus. The guilt over his brother’s state has caused him to try to single handedly bring him in, but it quickly becomes clear that this is not something he will be able to handle on his own and he is forced to open up to his family and seek their help. When he meets Laney he doesn’t think he’s capable of the kind of love he thinks she deserves and tries to push her away at every turn, for “her own good” but as readers we get to see glimpses of his true desires and you’re left rooting for them to be together.

I loved how even through the bad stuff that’s happening and his guilt and issues surrounding his past, Chrys still maintains his sense of humor and there are many playful exchanges between Laney and Chrys that had me laughing. Loved how he ends most comments with “you dig?”, kind of reminds me of Vishous from BDB with his whole “true?” comment. Here’s an example of the playful banter between Chrys and Laney: “Ready to blow this popsicle stand?” She chuckled. “They have popsicle stands in… wherever you’re from?” “No, but they totally should. Popsicles are awesome.”

And let’s talk about Laney for a moment, as usual Laura Kaye has created another awesome heroine who on paper looks like they should be weak but instead they totally kick butt and you just have to root for them! Laney suffers for a degenerative eye disease and is practically blind but she hasn’t let that hold her back, through careful planning and organization she is able to still live pretty much independently and run her family’s horse farm with just minimal help from family friend, Seth. Because of her disease and need for order, she does have pretty limited horizons so when a terrible storm literally drops Chrys onto her farm she is instantly drawn to him and the mystery surrounding him. I love how open minded she was when she learned about Chrys’ world, as overwhelming as it all was. And I also loved how protective she was of him, she literally put herself in harm’s way multiple times to protect him and she wasn’t shy or meek when she made her feelings clear for him despite him trying to push her away.

They complemented each other so well and when they got together it was super crazy hot, he certainly lived up to his job of being god of summer because those scenes were scorching! I’m not sure I’ll ever look at a hot tub the same way again! My only gripe is that I wished that Chrys had surrendered himself to Laney sooner, I loved them together so much that I would have liked to have seen her get through his walls a little sooner. But that is only a minor gripe because when he does surrender it’s soooo good!

We also get more of the great brotherhood between Zeph, Chrys, Boreas and their father Aelous also comes back into play and we see them all making strides to repair that relationship. Owen also factors largely into this little group as well. There are some absolutely heartwarming moments between Boreas and Megan as B starts to make some changes to try to finally fit in with the human world as he spends more and more time with Owen, Megan and Teddy and takes an interest in their neighbor Tabitha. It’s this sense of family and brotherhood that really shines through in this series and I truly love that aspect of it.

As I mentioned earlier, the situation with Eurus (who is straight up out of his ever loving mind and truly pure evil) reaches mission critical in this book. There are some shocking losses that really mixes things up and will break your heart. I give Laura Kaye a lot of credit for going where she went with the story, that took some guts! All of this is setting up for an epic battle between our awesome group of gods and Eurus and I can’t wait to find out how it all ends!

[Laurel]

North of Need - 3 stars
West of Want -
South of Surrender -

[Kathie (katmom) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first chapter of the first book in Laura Kaye's series, North of Need, just before it came out in 2011. Knowing this was a series, I decided to wait until she was done to read the novels. Figured I could then just sit and read, for hours, through the entire saga.

It was definitely well worth the wait!

NORTH OF NEED:

This was a fascinating start to the Hearts of the Anemoi series. My heart hurt for Megan as she waited to get through the anniversary of her husband's death. She cries tears of sorrow all over a snowman she's created in her yard. Later, when a man with mismatched eyes shows up, then passes out, on her porch, it distracts her from her sorrow.

Owen is something else...really. He's got a chance at mortality, and he's going to take it with both hands. Megan is ready to let her heart heal, too. I did wish that he had been more clear in what was needed to keep him there, and that she would have quit fighting her heart for so long. It would have been a much shorter book that way, though, and I wouldn't have wanted to miss the good parts!

Ms. Kaye has quite the world here, contemporary mixed with her Anemoi and the Olympic gods. In this one, as with the other three, I skimmed the repetition. I read a comment from one author, whose name I can't remember, who said that a writer needs to mention the important stuff three times. Unfortunately, I think many writers feel that means repeat it at least six times. I think readers are brighter than that.

Anyway, this book certainly made me want to read the rest of the series.



WEST OF WANT:

Goodness, Zeph is gorgeous, but haunted. He's had a lot of bad luck in his very long life. That seems to be continuing when, in a fit of temper, he causes a storm that swamps a boat. As he feels the life there fading, his guilt causes him to save her. His guilt also makes him watch over her. She's pretty, isn't she? Surely it's guilt that keeps him there. We know differently.

Ella has trust issues, too. It takes more than a pretty face to make her commit to a relationship. I liked that she and Zeph worked at it. Well, when they did! They both ran scared a time or three.

This is the book where we meet the bad guy, Eurus, who is Zeph's brother. And he really is pretty bad. And he LIKES it. Very creepily done, Ms. Kaye.

Again, the repetition made me skim, but I did enjoy seeing Owen and Megan again. And meeting the guys from the next two books was fun. Was very happy that the next book was right there in the Kindle Bundle so I could continue reading.




SOUTH OF SURRENDER:

Wow, if you thought Zeph from West of Want was gorgeous, just wait until you read Chrysander's description. Yeah, hot doesn't begin to cover it. From the previous books, I thought he was going to be a total man-whore. Nope, he's really a great guy. Why else would he be trying to save his evil brother Eurus? And he tries, boy does he try. That usually means he gets beat upon.

Laney is losing her vision. When she finds a Pegasus in her barn, she can't quite believe it. She's even more confused when she wakes to find the winged creature gone, and a man in its place.

Poor Chrys is torn. Then he's ticked when brother dear, Eurus, brings his eye, and hatred toward Laney. Choices have to be made. Once again, I was reading as fast as I could to get to the climatic end. While each of these books doesn't actually end with a "cliffie", they don't tie up all the loose ends.

Well, until the last one, East of Ecstasy. Glad I waited for the series to finish before I started reading. The tension is extreme!

[Rhianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the BEST Paranormal Fantasy Romance series I've read!

Because I have been a pretty rabid fan of this series I thought it might help potential readers to get a review of the bundle that includes pieces of my reviews for all three of the titles included in it. If you want to read the full reviews you can visit my blog, check out my Amazon profile for the link (or just find them under each book's page).

NORTH OF NEED -- I am a slow reader in spite of my status as a reviewer so it says something when I finish a book in one evening. Megan is a compassionate, struggling heroine you will ache to see happy and Owen a hero who will warm your heart with his enthusiastic, loving spirit. Kaye manages to take a concept that could be very cheesy and blend it with strong emotional content, a fascinating mythology, and just enough action and physical intimacy to make the story flow perfectly. It isn't just any book that has tears sliding down my cheeks before the first chapter is finished. Looking for something a little steamy to warm the cold winter nights? Passionate, truly sensual love scenes pepper this novel in just the right places.

WEST OF WANT -- With WOW the world of the Anemoi is cracked wide open within a few chapters. It serves well to provide the conflict for Zeph and Ella, while introducing future heroes and insight into just how the Anemoi factor into the modern world. Eurus is one heck of a villain, he literally made my skin crawl. As a hero, Zeph is a little tough to love but he is utterly relatable if you've ever had your heart broken. His flaws are the very human trust issues one would expect from a man who's gone through what he has. Ella, on the other hand, is the perfect foil for Zeph. She's quick to trust and her indomitable spirit is endearing. Though their chemistry is mostly shown through their scintillating love scenes, I found their pairing enjoyable.

SOUTH OF SURRENDER -- SOS is very much a pivot-point for the series arc but Kaye pulls it off without losing the romantic storyline. What really makes SOUTH OF SURRENDER a stand-out for fans of the big names in the paranormal romance genre is how well it carries a strong series plot thread while bringing Laney and Chrys to a HEA. If you're fond of paranormal families or brotherhoods you will love this series, but especially this particular book. Emotionally charged and action-packed, SOS, is a must-read. With Kaye's steamy scenes that scorch the page, refreshingly balanced adaptation of the mythological world, and wonderful characterization this is one book you should not miss. It sets up for EAST OF ECSTASY with some pretty big events and will leave you breathless in anticipation.

Note: Original copies were given to me for review.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very tenderhearted, at times heart aching romance/fantasy trilogy (with one more that looks interesting of an anti-hero in the series that i just might finish it soon), it focuses on heroines suffering right smack dab in the middle of their most tragic turning point or period in their lives that either trigger, cause, summon, or in some shape or form cause their meeting these immortal, greek mythological beings into their lives. While at times it falls just a little short of what i always felt some things could be--the battle scenes, the sexy times, the slightly too-sugar-sweet sentimentally for my tasting--I do love how this author always manages sweet, believable, engaging, multi dimensional characterization that leaves me really wanting to see what happens to these people.

Sweet, imaginative, at times utterly aching in their pain, but simply at times some of them dragged on and on in their internal monologue plights. Other than the intermittent moment or line that felt just a little too flowery for my taste, all in all, this is a beautifully crafted romantic fantasy that never leaves previously beloved characters behind or forgotten. Gotta love that when authors do this.

[Debi Domby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twist turns & sexy Gods

I found this on BookBud.com and thought it sounded interesting. And it was, I really enjoyed the stories because they weren't my normal paranormal reads with vamps, weres and others.

Lots of twists and turns as you go through the stories and at times you weren't sure how you were going to get to the HEA you knew was at the end.

I loved the interaction between the characters and not just the main ones in each book. You rejoiced when things went wrong and cried when bad things happened. I also liked that we didn't have perfect people...our world is imperfect, so is their's.

And the sex scenes were hot hot hot but flowed in the storyline...not just plunked in there for the sake of having a sex scene (I hate that, it should have meaning in the story).

Know that if you're reading the boxed set there's at least one more in the story, obviously the end of the story.

Enjoy!

[Laura Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best!

I still need to read the last one but these books are are some of best I've read! I love the way Laura Kaye writes especially the manner of the Gods talking. My favorite out of these three was the last on South of Surrender. I'm a sucker for a tortured soul! Highly recommended if you like the stories about angels and demons of sort mythology... And if you've never given it a try I highly would suggest you start with these. Wonderful love stories filled with the unknown of what will happen in the end.

[Jackie's Bookbytes]

DNF for now.

[Jessi Szigethy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid series. The characters are interesting. The over arching story ties together nicely. I am annoyed at who dies in the last one.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good series with characters that hold your interest. Good story line and some twists you just don't expect. Excellent tie ins to the area that carry throughout the series.

[Michelle]

DNR

[Paige Cuccaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sexy. Very romantic. Gripping story. That's all I need!

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous series. I highly recommend that every one read this series.