Shapeshifters, romance, ancient men brought to life. Yum.The characters were quite enjoyable in this book. I had accidentally picked up book 11 in the series and read it with a bit of confusion, so I think with this series it's important to start from the beginning. I think this author's strength is creating non-cliched characters with emotional nuance, and even in this first book she succeeds in making me invested in the characters. The plot is a bit meandery and side plots leave for so long so...

Typical PNR storyline and a catchy beginning for a series, Dirk and Steele.You have a hero trapped for centuries and was accidentally released by our heroine who refused to enslave him. Our heroine herself has an affinity to steel, and together they will battle the Magi, the original reason why our hero is in his current predicament.Liu has an interesting writing style, very lyrical prose. The storyline is good enough for me to continue reading, and she introduced enough secondary characters tha...

The premise of this book is pretty cheesy. Lone woman releases cursed tiger-shifter-warrior-man from a box who is obligated to obey her every whim and they fall in love. But there's more to it, like the setting at first is in China which was interesting. And the woman has psychic powers like being able to see the future and having control over metal. She also happens to be from a family of people with psychic powers who run a company that employs people around the world... with psychic powers. T...

HiRead because of a strong recommendation of the author. Personally, I wasn't impressed. I know this title is in a more romance-centric series, which doesn't bode well for quality, and maybe I have some confirmation bias going because of that, but while I found this book fluffy and easily devoured (and I did finish it, so there's that), it has a lot of problems. 1. The plot. Also, closely related, the pacing. A middle 30% of the book doesn't have much going on, really, after a strong start. (I t...

This book was not for me. I thought that it might be the case but I wanted to try it anyways. I'd never read anything by the author but know of her comic book work and the description of the book sounded so kick butt that I hoped the romance angle would be pretty low key, unfortunately I was wrong. Many times during the book either during an action or when the character's should have taken action, they reflected on their feelings, it really slowed down the pacing. I think if you like romance or

::drums nails::So it was cheap (possibly free, I can’t find the receipt right this second.) The author was a name I recognized. Despite the fact that it featured a were-tiger, I said ‘what the hell’ and went for it.Don’t let me do that again.What you have here is a twist on the whole genie in a bottle scenario. Heroine - Dela, with supernatural powers of her own - opens a magic box and finds a 2000 year old, immortal were-tiger warrior at her command. They fight crime. Well, they try to keep her...

I recently decided to reread the Dirk & Steele series because I have fallen behind and haven’t read the last couple books. Since the later world building gets more and more detailed, I figured I had better freshen up so as not to find myself confused by forgotten plot elements. Plus, they’re good. How can I say no to a sure thing? :) If you’ve read the back of the book and been underwhelmed, just wipe that slate clean. I don’t know who wrote that summary (fingers crossed that it wasn’t the autho...

My BooktubeListen: if you're going in for the weretiger he cant shift until like the last 20% so don't get this for that. Still loved the romance but still just a fair warning for my paranormal lovers out there. Things that probs didn't age well: the use of rape as a plot thing towards the end (nothing is physically done, but it is threatened) and the whole "we are snitching on illegal immigrants" thing that happens towards the end. I did like the romance that happens in this book as well as th

Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || PinterestLove Spell is probably one of my favorite publishing imprints. The blend of cheesy sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal romances is just too good to resist. Even though the books usually make me roll my eyes a little, I keep coming back for more because the stories are usually just that compelling.TIGER EYE starts out really good! It's set in Beijing and the descriptions of the city are simply gorgeous. Dela, the heroine, is there on business

Fascinating premise that led me on a crazy rabbit trail about the difference between Chinese and Arab genie folklore that resulted in the revelation that Aladdin is not originally an Arab legend. Kudos to the author for being true to the culture and having the tiger shifting genie housed in a puzzle box.I'm giving 90% of this book three stars because I enjoyed it and was totally on board for this whole premise and world and was prepared for a series dive until something that happened in the last...

While working in China, Sword maker and artist, Dela Reese, visits Beijing's Dirt Market and is sold a mysterious box with a curious riddle attached to it. When she finally gets the box open, imagine her surprise when a handsome, seven foot tall warrior pops out like a genie from a bottle.Enslaved to the owner of the magic box he's tied to, one-time shape shifter, Hari, is wary of the half naked woman who has summoned him. Cursed by a dark magi two thousand yrs ago and forced to commit unspeakab...

3.5 ★ - Kicker Group Read bookTiger Eye tells the story of Dela who is visiting Beijing and goes to the Dirt Market looking for interesting eccentricities. A mysterious Chinese woman at one of the stalls convinces her to buy a small ancient "riddle box". When opened in her hotel room, a "genie" appears who is at her command. “WHAT IS YOUR DESIRE?” Dela stared, caught between laughter and a scream. “Nothing.” Hari: “Are you saying there is no battle to fight, not one person you wish me to kill?”

Just about the most annoying premise ever (I've been serving women for a thousand years, and you're next, lucky you), but these books look interesting and alas, they must be read in order.

This is Liu's first book, and the first in the Dirk & Steele series. It's pretty decent, with some solid strengths and some fairly noticeable weaknesses. This paranormal romance / erotica (not urban fantasy, IMO) is told in 3rd person, with POV alternating from heroine to hero. It was easy to follow the shifting POV. MILD SPOILERS -- I keep it pretty obscure Content: Explicit sex and different sex, no swearing, bloody savagery, suggested rape Plot: The story reminded me of X-Men, with differentl...

Way too much gushing about how great looking and muscular and 7 foot tall giant and blah, blah, blah. There was sort of a plot, but it was overwhelmed by the "romance" features of the book. Some of the book was also quite repetitious (there would be a great action scene, but then we'd have to "relive" it as the heroine went over it in her head in a kind of "what if" regurgitation or "I should have done this" or "I didn't know I could do that".) Really, I thought the plot could have used some "cl...

The cover of this book really threw me off. Paranormal romance covers typically have cheesy covers - but this one . . . just doesn't seem to quite fit. And, I don't always notice or pay attention to covers, I was just thrown off.I enjoyed the beginning of the book which takes place in China. I felt surrounded by the market place and immersed into the culture. And, the description of the riddle box was well done. However, I did feel that the relationship between Dela and Hari was a little fast an...

5 Dreamy Stars I have read this book at least half a dozen times, and every time feels like the first time. I discovered this book completely by accident when I was browsing at the local library. You know how they say don't judge a book by its cover, well, I did. I thought the cover and the woman on it was so beautiful that I didn't even bother to read the back and took it home. That was five years ago, and now this book is one of my favorite books of all time. It is so well written and the c

Started out really strong (major T Kingfisher Swordheart similarities in a great way) but then kind of went off the rails once they left China and the book felt the need to introduce way too many side characters that don’t serve any purpose in this story but set up future books. Also a main plot of this was that a lot of people (both heroes and baddies) were really upset at the knife maker for how a knife she created was used by someone else and that felt like a weird major misplacement of anger...

The further on this book progressed, the wonkier the plot became, it has several First Novel problems, and Liu has a couple of stylistic tics that make me twitch, but overall this was an enjoyable piece of trashy fluff. Dela, the female lead, was entirely lacking in common sense at times, but I liked that she was able to defend herself most of the time, and that she was the one who held the power balance (at least initially) in her relationship with Hari. My favourite part of it, and what will g...

Decided to give Liu one more try. In conclusion, she really needs a good editor who's willing to slash her work into ribbons and make her rebuild it into something that makes sense. She's far too fond of adding in new elements out of the blue, whether they're characters or emotional baggage. Perhaps I shouldn't expect otherwise of a plot which involves a guy springing out of a mysterious box.The first half, where our hero and heroine meet, felt very different from the second, where suddenly ther...