REVIEW by @Fidget78: Shades of Desire by L.M. Pruitt (@lmpruitt)

All I wanted was a little peace and quiet.
Instead, I’ve got dead Covenant members and a steady stream of letters from the new guy in town. His beverage of choice? A 2002 Merlot, with a shot or two of powerful virgin blood.
On top of that, I’m breaking in a new police liaison, failing at playing matchmaker, and fighting nausea like it’s a full time job.
Did I forget to mention that I’ve also got enough girls living at the Crossroads to start my own boarding school?
Peace and quiet? Out the window.
–Jude Magdalyn Henries
 

I’ve been waiting for this release for what seems like forever.  It didn’t disappoint.  Now, I’m waiting for the next.  Ah, the life of an avid reader, waiting, always waiting it seems.  Ms Pruitt is also doing other book series, so I’ll be anticipating for a bit but, I hope not too long. 
 
I read the first book, Shades of Gray, in September 2011.  I immediately went to purchase the next book but it was listed as unavailable.  After contacting the author, I found out she had published them on her own but both had since been picked up by publishing house.  This meant Shades of Desire was going to be released by Red Hot Publishing at a later date.  Good for her, bad for me.  I wanted the book NOW.
 
Of course, the standard, blah, blah.  You shouldn’t read this book without reading the first in the series.  It will absolutely kill the book for you.  You won’t understand anything except, maybe you’ll like the characters.  I like the male characters in this series but the women are the the stars with Jude Magdalyn Henries shining the brightest.  Jude has been around the block a few times and it’s extremely hard to think someone, anyone, could get the best of her.  She’s tough, brash, rude, she takes no crap, and has a wise ass mouth that doesn’t stop.  Normally I wouldn’t think I would like this heroine all that much but I love Jude for some reason. 
 
The reviews on Goodreads are either love it/hate it for book one.  MY OPINION:  I can actually understand where there would be some that don’t like the books.  There are parts that could be irritating;  the constant snarkiness of Jude, Jude and Theo not being able to keep their hands or thoughts off each other and a good roll in the hay.  You know what, if the premise of the story catches my attention, they are some things that just won’t bother me.  I just read through them and enjoyed everything else.  I guess what I’m trying to say; the books have flaws but I didn’t care at all.  I was intrigued by Jude and what could be possible in future books, the secondary cast and the story line.  It’s a contemporary fantasy so it’s the author’s fantasy, not mind.  She’s basically sharing with me and I thank her very kindly for doing so.
 
I know I will be rereading both books, probably many times, but as I said, they are not perfect.  Shades of Desire earned a very strong 4 Stars. 
 
Click here to get your copy of Shades of Desire from Amazon.com!