Final Hour of the Hunter; Midnight Hunter Trilogy, Book 3 by Bonnie Bernard

Donna, Hunter and all their friends have been enjoying a peaceful two years since the end of the Underworld war. That all changes when Ursula, a vengeful goddess of Chaos shows up making demands. Donna can either provide a lock of hair from each of the twins, or those she loves will start disappearing. Of course, she refuses, Josh and Jaz are the children of two of her best friends.

New characters have come out to play; the Trickster (who stole the original book of prophecy from Raoul and Frederick), Ursula, goddess of Chaos, and Mara (Somebody has a wife they thought had died.). Once again, not everyone is who they seem to be. Alicia (goddess of perfect female beauty) is back and sticking her cute nose in where it doesn't belong, at least according to the rules. But hey, what's a little rule bending if no one else finds out, right?

One by one, people important to Donna start disappearing, each one a little closer to home. Cassie is the first one to go missing and Howie and the kids aren't one bit happy. Bernard has really amped up the volume for the final book in the trilogy. In addition to people going missing, someone is messing with the minds of ordinary humans. Thanks to Ursula, the whole town has just gotten a lot crazier, more paranoid and she's not done yet.

This is the best book of the trilogy with some surprises at the end. I also hope that the ending was just a taste of another trilogy to come. If so, I'm definitely going to pick it up. There were a few errors, but overall, I enjoyed the book enough that I didn't want to see it end. I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Dawn of the Hunter; Midnight Hunter Trilogy, Book 2 by Bonnie Bernard

Donna is happily married to Hunter and raising their first child, Lucinda. Best friend Mo is doing her best to raise her son, not quite alone. She's a frequent visitor and is now seeing Trent. All is not peace and harmony though. Mo still doesn't like Hunter and the feeling is mutual. She also doesn't like Donna's newest friend, Jacqelina, whom she feels is up to no good. Of course, Mo's right.

Lucinda is kidnapped and Donna gets a visit from the disgraced Underworld goddess of beauty. Alicia tells her she will need the help of the demon Howie Evil to rescue her daughter. Instead of waiting for help from the vampires she and Hunter share the house with like she was told, Donna rushes off like the fearful mother she is to demand his help. The contrary, ornery demon comes through, not only restoring Lucinda to her mother, but rescuing the Prophecy Reader as well.

Howie is such a character. He owns a gun shop and creates special weapons for his supernatural customers. He also hates "stupid" humans. Of course, there aren't any smart ones, but that's beside the point. Howie kept me in stitches. He is so hateful you pretty much have to love him. His behavior is contrary to what he says. He makes it his goal to keep the stupid humans afraid of him, but that doesn't last for very long. Howie is full of Bernard's signature wit. Even though he's a supporting character, Howie is one of my favorite in this story. No matter how rude or offensive he gets, I just can't help smiling.

The Child of the Prophecy and the Prophecy Reader must be protected at all costs. That job seems to be much easier than convincing Donna's and Mo's parents of the need to move in with Donna and Hunter for their own safety. They also have to convince their parents demons and vampires exist.

There is no doubt Dawn of the Hunter is just as engaging as the first book. Bernard has done it once again. There were a couple of missed editing/proofreading errors (less than a handful) that created a hiccup in my reading, but I thoroughly enjoyed this second installment of the Midnight Hunter Trilogy. It was definitely worth my time to reread this book. The 3-star rating is strictly due to the missed errors, otherwise I would have happily given this book 4 stars.

This book is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Midnight Hunter; Midnight Hunter Trilogy, Book 1 by Bonnie Bernard

Take a college girl dreaming of a strange man while pursued by another, add a best friend who knows more than she'll admit, throw in a little reincarnation, a few paranormal characters and you have Bonnie Bernard doing what she does best. Welcome to a paranormal romance with a side of prophecy, chaos and revenge.

What's a girl to do when her best friend insists you have to go with her to a club for high school kids? Why, go with her, of course! What Donna McCormick doesn't know about the darker side of town could get her killed. Her best friend didn't tell her she's the bait to catch a serial kidnapper, one who's been grabbing girls from the club that aren't seen again and just happen to fit Donna's description. Anger, hurt feelings, a brief argument later and Donna agrees to be the bait anyway.

There's more wrong in town than tall blonde girls going missing. The police aren't doing anything about it and couldn't care less. Anyone on the force who does, turns up missing. Things are getting strange in town and are about to get stranger and more dangerous. Cryptic warnings from a strange man hiding in the shadows, rescued by the same man after a bizarre encounter with the police and Donna couldn't get any more confused. Her dreams are becoming nightmares that leave bruises behind when she wakes up.

Bernard has created a great fantasy world with a wonderful cast of paranormal characters. She's taken what we thought we knew about vampires and put a new twist on them. And of course her signature wit just makes it even better. I enjoyed this book so much the first time I read it that I immediately bought the sequels and tore through them as well. I've read this book a few times and expect I'll be reading it again sometime. Each time the experience is just as good as the previous.

For me, this was a fun, easy read. I enjoyed her characters immensely. The way they interact with each other kept me entertained all the way through. Dante, Trent, and Samee are a blast. Mo, the best friend is just too much fun, too suspicious of everyone, but a girl couldn't ask for a better best friend. I would so love to see each of these characters get their own book. (Hint, hint, Bonnie).  Make sure to read the other books in the series as well. Definitely worth the time.

This book is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. At the time of this review, Midnight Hunter was free at all three booksellers.

Rest Inn Peace by Bonnie Bernard

Like nothing I've read before. Wow. I'm not sure where to start. Bernard wastes no time in getting things moving. There is nothing "usual" about this book, from the Inn and its customers, to the characters in the town and surrounding countryside.

Page one. A knife wielding, seven foot tall Native American threatens the new owner of the Inn. Eh, what's so unusual about that? He's a fairy! With pink wings! Yeah, I know what you're thinking because I did too. What kind of book did I just get myself into? And it just gets crazier from there. (If you've read her Midnight Hunter series, this is off the Richter scale different.)

The girl next door who manages the Inn takes an instant dislike to the new owner. That's okay, it's mutual. Unfortunately for him, she gets along just great with his daughter. In spite of being able to see the supernatural world, he's in full denial. Wanting his daughter to fit in and be 'well adjusted' he insists everything she sees is just her imagination.

This book starts out with a bang that continues all the way to the end. What a fantastic cast of characters. There's a motorcycle riding ex-con with custody of his teenage daughter (these two are a hoot before anyone else comes into the picture), Syndy the grotesque (do NOT call her a gargoyle), more fairies, a grounded (sort of) dragon with a thing for fresh vegetables (and has no problem taking them from the garden), talking animals including a cat that wishes everyone would just stop with the cat jokes already, ghosts, and zombies. Oh yeah, let's not forget the talking grass. Say what?! I'm not telling you about everyone; I have to leave a few as a surprise.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Bottom line? If she has any more like this, I want them. This book is fun and full of surprises. Need something to make you smile or even laugh? This is your book. Disbelief meets the supernatural and loses. And everyone is laughing watching it happen. Well, the ones he isn't infuriating are laughing. Shake your head, go 'omg', but get this book.

You can pick up your copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.