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Valentine Shepherd #3
Reckoning
Hell hath no fury like Valentine . . .
Five years. It's been five years of blissful peace for private eye Valentine Shepherd and her hot-ass husband, Max Carressa. Five years of watching their twins grow up healthy and happy, even as Val waits for Hell to unleash its fury. Her enemies have been planning, and Val knows she doesn't have nearly enough weapons to protect her family . . .
Yet Val and Max have one advantage---their insatiable desire for each other allows them to see into the future, and the visions they share may just give them a chance. But as events are set into motion that endanger everyone Val's ever loved, she'll do whatever it takes to stop the horror she's already seen---even if it means her end.
Five years. It's been five years of blissful peace for private eye Valentine Shepherd and her hot-ass husband, Max Carressa. Five years of watching their twins grow up healthy and happy, even as Val waits for Hell to unleash its fury. Her enemies have been planning, and Val knows she doesn't have nearly enough weapons to protect her family . . .
Yet Val and Max have one advantage---their insatiable desire for each other allows them to see into the future, and the visions they share may just give them a chance. But as events are set into motion that endanger everyone Val's ever loved, she'll do whatever it takes to stop the horror she's already seen---even if it means her end.
352 pages, Paperback
Published July 11, 2017
4 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Shana Figueroa
14 books14 followersShana Figueroa is an author who writes speculative fiction that’s fun and accessible but also explores deeper themes than most other genre books – hence she writes “words with weight.” Though her books differ in tone – some light, some dark – they all share complicated characters, intricate plots, and a hefty dose of humor.
She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two
young daughters, and two old pugs. By day, she serves her country in the U.S. Air Force. By night, she hunkers down in a corner and cranks out the crazy stories lurking in her head.
Connect with her at www.shanafigueroa.com.
She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two
young daughters, and two old pugs. By day, she serves her country in the U.S. Air Force. By night, she hunkers down in a corner and cranks out the crazy stories lurking in her head.
Connect with her at www.shanafigueroa.com.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 11, 2017
So I fell more in love with Max in this story. He is my favorite. His way with his children. His easygoing nature but also being fierce when needed. His fight for his family and wanting to be all that Val needs. Seeing them have to go through danger again was hard but also exciting. It was an edge of your seat deal.
Val was tough as nails. her protection of her children and her husband was so amazing and wonderful. It shows how much she has changed. She has regrets over the past but is now determined not to run anymore. She is determined to fight for her children and husband. And what a fight it is wow. And that ending...do wonder what is next there.
The story is filled with twists and turns. Danger and intrigue and you just feel for those who are in the thrall of the Alpha. I hated to see the suffering of those who just want to have someone to accept them. hated to see what people would do for what they perceived as love and approval.
Shana Figueroa has entwined so many tales seamlessly that it is amazing. You have many plots unraveling and yet they all relate in one way and come back to Val and Max. I do wonder though why they are such a key to everything. And their children were just too precious for words.
The writing is addictive as is the story. The character I didn’t like: Stacey. Why? I didn’t like how she was. At the end of the second book she let her anger and jealousy take over. She was acting like a child and let her emotion rule her. Now she is doing more of the same but she knows that she is putting people in danger. She is helping to put innocent children in danger and she still does it. She knows what Kat is up to and yet doesn’t stop it out of a misguided anger and feeling that Val betrayed her and didn’t care. I think the problem there is Val cared too much. but for stacey it was all about what she felt was a slight and her wanting love. She felt Kat was the one to give it to her and she liked the life that she had with Kat. It didn’t matter that what they were doing was wrong she wanted the perks of that life. It was sad to see because she was a character that at the beginning you like but now you shake your head at her.
The story ends in a way that has you wonder what is next. Who will win out and where will this lead. Will Max and Val get normalcy? What about their children? And Sten what is up there? What about Kat and Stacey? So many questions left and so much more to have the favorite couple go through. Can't wait for the next to come out to find out what is next for these characters.
Val was tough as nails. her protection of her children and her husband was so amazing and wonderful. It shows how much she has changed. She has regrets over the past but is now determined not to run anymore. She is determined to fight for her children and husband. And what a fight it is wow. And that ending...do wonder what is next there.
The story is filled with twists and turns. Danger and intrigue and you just feel for those who are in the thrall of the Alpha. I hated to see the suffering of those who just want to have someone to accept them. hated to see what people would do for what they perceived as love and approval.
Shana Figueroa has entwined so many tales seamlessly that it is amazing. You have many plots unraveling and yet they all relate in one way and come back to Val and Max. I do wonder though why they are such a key to everything. And their children were just too precious for words.
The writing is addictive as is the story. The character I didn’t like: Stacey. Why? I didn’t like how she was. At the end of the second book she let her anger and jealousy take over. She was acting like a child and let her emotion rule her. Now she is doing more of the same but she knows that she is putting people in danger. She is helping to put innocent children in danger and she still does it. She knows what Kat is up to and yet doesn’t stop it out of a misguided anger and feeling that Val betrayed her and didn’t care. I think the problem there is Val cared too much. but for stacey it was all about what she felt was a slight and her wanting love. She felt Kat was the one to give it to her and she liked the life that she had with Kat. It didn’t matter that what they were doing was wrong she wanted the perks of that life. It was sad to see because she was a character that at the beginning you like but now you shake your head at her.
The story ends in a way that has you wonder what is next. Who will win out and where will this lead. Will Max and Val get normalcy? What about their children? And Sten what is up there? What about Kat and Stacey? So many questions left and so much more to have the favorite couple go through. Can't wait for the next to come out to find out what is next for these characters.
July 11, 2017
Reckoning, Shana Figueroa
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre: Romance
I missed book one, but loved book two, a supernatural romance/suspense novel thats not the oh-so-popular dumbed down type.
I like a book that makes me work, not too hard, I want the story to flow, but not the sort that spoon feeds the reader every little bit of info.
I want to see the clues and try to work out for myself where the stoy is going, who's good and loyal, who's doing the dirty, and ultimately how its all going to meld togeher into an ending.
This trilogy does all that and more, fab characters, not flawless impering types, but gritty and real, prone to bias, to making mistakes and yet at the heart Love plays such a strong part.
Its definately a re-reading trilgoy for me and then I really must get book one so I can see the beginning of how it all started, maybe understand a bit more of some of the characters. Sten especially is one who I didn't like at first, but have come to love, and wonder if maybe book one has more about him there.
Its another great adventure, with murders stacking up quickly and Valentine on the warpath. How dare Northwalk threaten her family? She adores Max and their twins, but has always felt the threat of Northwalk is near, and yet now she thinks they're on the track of them again she can't seem to convince Max.
I love Val, she's not an easy person to get along with but she'd give her life in a heartbeat for the small circle she considers family and freinds.
She's not one to run from danger, Max seems to think she's over-reacting to her suspicions but willing to pick up and move if that will help her, but she knows moving = running and Northwalk will still follow. She wants to stand up to them, take preemptive action, Max isn't so convinced.
In a way that's understandable, he's been through so much and just wants to enjoy his life now, with his adored Val and their twins.
Northwalk play a long game though, and once more its a cracking paced drama, with me wondering who was on which side, and why, and how and looking at people and events trying to work out motives.
Max made me so cross at one point...and yet I understood where he was coming from. Likewise Val, she really does run headlong into danger at times.
Its a perfect wrap up....for now ;-) Ending works really well, and then...there's that hint that Northwalk may be down but not dead, and that they aren't the only players in the game. It finished off this section of Val and Max' life perfectly, but leaves the way open for more.
I know its a trilogy I'll want to re-read, and at some point when I'm ready to do that I'll get book one and start in the proper place, get a better understanding of the characters and events.
Its a supernatural read with an unusual twist, and it was refreshing to read something so different to most books offered. The Seer part, the visions and predictions reminded me a little of the Seers in JC Andrijeski's Allie's War and Quentin Black series. Most supernatural reads follow the more usual vampire/shifter/fae structure while this is really humans with a supernatural extra - humans-plus maybe ;-) and it was interesting and easy to believe for me.
Stars: Five, perfect wrap up for this trilogy leaving the door ajar for more books later as the family grow.
ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre: Romance
I missed book one, but loved book two, a supernatural romance/suspense novel thats not the oh-so-popular dumbed down type.
I like a book that makes me work, not too hard, I want the story to flow, but not the sort that spoon feeds the reader every little bit of info.
I want to see the clues and try to work out for myself where the stoy is going, who's good and loyal, who's doing the dirty, and ultimately how its all going to meld togeher into an ending.
This trilogy does all that and more, fab characters, not flawless impering types, but gritty and real, prone to bias, to making mistakes and yet at the heart Love plays such a strong part.
Its definately a re-reading trilgoy for me and then I really must get book one so I can see the beginning of how it all started, maybe understand a bit more of some of the characters. Sten especially is one who I didn't like at first, but have come to love, and wonder if maybe book one has more about him there.
Its another great adventure, with murders stacking up quickly and Valentine on the warpath. How dare Northwalk threaten her family? She adores Max and their twins, but has always felt the threat of Northwalk is near, and yet now she thinks they're on the track of them again she can't seem to convince Max.
I love Val, she's not an easy person to get along with but she'd give her life in a heartbeat for the small circle she considers family and freinds.
She's not one to run from danger, Max seems to think she's over-reacting to her suspicions but willing to pick up and move if that will help her, but she knows moving = running and Northwalk will still follow. She wants to stand up to them, take preemptive action, Max isn't so convinced.
In a way that's understandable, he's been through so much and just wants to enjoy his life now, with his adored Val and their twins.
Northwalk play a long game though, and once more its a cracking paced drama, with me wondering who was on which side, and why, and how and looking at people and events trying to work out motives.
Max made me so cross at one point...and yet I understood where he was coming from. Likewise Val, she really does run headlong into danger at times.
Its a perfect wrap up....for now ;-) Ending works really well, and then...there's that hint that Northwalk may be down but not dead, and that they aren't the only players in the game. It finished off this section of Val and Max' life perfectly, but leaves the way open for more.
I know its a trilogy I'll want to re-read, and at some point when I'm ready to do that I'll get book one and start in the proper place, get a better understanding of the characters and events.
Its a supernatural read with an unusual twist, and it was refreshing to read something so different to most books offered. The Seer part, the visions and predictions reminded me a little of the Seers in JC Andrijeski's Allie's War and Quentin Black series. Most supernatural reads follow the more usual vampire/shifter/fae structure while this is really humans with a supernatural extra - humans-plus maybe ;-) and it was interesting and easy to believe for me.
Stars: Five, perfect wrap up for this trilogy leaving the door ajar for more books later as the family grow.
ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers
January 1, 2018
Loved this book, not read the first two books but the world was built enough for me not to have needed to. Supernatural Suspense with Twists & turns galore plus Married Couple Romance check it out if you want something great and different.
June 16, 2017
netgalley
A good solid read. I enjoyed this book.
A good solid read. I enjoyed this book.
July 27, 2017
3.5 stars
This has got to be the most frustrating entry to the "Valentine Shepherd" series and the most personal. Well, not that all that befallen Val and Max on the previous books not personal either. But Reckoning clearly had Val and Max marked down as (easy) target, along with their four year old twin kids, and - with their history with the cabal and what they're capable of - to see Shepherd/Carressa's butting head on something they usually see eye to eye was just ...exasperating. The author really got a way with words to twist reader (meaning: me) emotionally.
So there's the first and crucial warning: be ready to get frustrated reading this you just wanted to smack both characters upside the head, or scream at them, or shoving the list of grievances they had had on previous books, and just. Just. Talk and listen to each other.
Reckoning tied up the loose-ends from previous books; brought back familiar (and still gray) characters and also brought forward the upper tier of Northwalk on page. The final showdown so to speak. Told from multiple POVs and revealed twisted minds of more than one characters, it's intense and unsettling - you can expect graphic sex and violence from this author - from start to finish, with the kind of finish you expected from a B grade action movie, gunfight and all.
As on previous books, the secondary characters had me yelling furiously the whole time; particularly one churlish, spiteful, scorned "friend", though they more than made up for it with the decision they made in the end. This book also had me wishing there's a spin-off story for Sten Andler and something happy for him. Nothing new there, I've always thought Val rather dense in "understanding Sten 101".
Copy of this book is kindly provided from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This has got to be the most frustrating entry to the "Valentine Shepherd" series and the most personal. Well, not that all that befallen Val and Max on the previous books not personal either. But Reckoning clearly had Val and Max marked down as (easy) target, along with their four year old twin kids, and - with their history with the cabal and what they're capable of - to see Shepherd/Carressa's butting head on something they usually see eye to eye was just ...exasperating. The author really got a way with words to twist reader (meaning: me) emotionally.
So there's the first and crucial warning: be ready to get frustrated reading this you just wanted to smack both characters upside the head, or scream at them, or shoving the list of grievances they had had on previous books, and just. Just. Talk and listen to each other.
Reckoning tied up the loose-ends from previous books; brought back familiar (and still gray) characters and also brought forward the upper tier of Northwalk on page. The final showdown so to speak. Told from multiple POVs and revealed twisted minds of more than one characters, it's intense and unsettling - you can expect graphic sex and violence from this author - from start to finish, with the kind of finish you expected from a B grade action movie, gunfight and all.
As on previous books, the secondary characters had me yelling furiously the whole time; particularly one churlish, spiteful, scorned "friend", though they more than made up for it with the decision they made in the end. This book also had me wishing there's a spin-off story for Sten Andler and something happy for him. Nothing new there, I've always thought Val rather dense in "understanding Sten 101".
Copy of this book is kindly provided from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews