Beyond The Bougainvillea by Dolores Durando

Unforgettable historical fiction novel about a young girl growing up motherless on Dakota farmland, with a drunken father and never ending work and hopelessness. When Marge's father trades her off to a drunken neighbor for acres of farmland Marge's nightmare really begins. After suffering more abuse than she can stand and with the help of a neighboring friend Marge makes her escape, journeying to Los Angeles during the depression. Marge is welcomed into a house of luxury but still sees the stark reality of what the depression has brought to starving farmers across the Midwest. Storytelling at it's best as you feel Marge's embarrassment that she has plenty of food and clothing while seeing starving children and sunken cheeked fathers standing in line for days for one bowl of soup which he takes with him to divide between his whole family. Marge soon learns that things aren't always what they seem though when the happy home that she is staying in is divided when tragedy strikes leaving nothing but bitterness behind. Marge has to learn to make it on her own where jobs and food are scarce. After finding a somewhat friend in a young Native American mother, lost on her own journey through the world, Marge finds courage and a drive to survive. She begins a new life in the wilds of northern California and the building of a new dam on the American River. Will Marge ever find the love she longs for with a Cherokee Engineer, or is she destined to live her life alone? Really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. The author grew up on the Dakota plains 90 years ago and this seems to be her first novel, I hope she writes many more, as she is a wonderful storyteller. This was an advanced readers copy through Netgalley.com from Bell Bridge Books.

Bite Me, Try Me, and Fang Me by Parker Blue

Bite Me is the first book in the Underground Demons series and it's a really fun kickass beginning. Val is a part Succubus demon, part human, and a just turning 18 teenager. She battles and kills the vampires in Texas that prey on humans. After kissing a boy almost kills him she has to learn to keep her succubus side, whom she calls Lola, under tight control using lust power as an advantage in her fights with the vamps. After discovering that their daughter, Val's half sister Jen has been following Val and wants to be just like her, Val's mother and Stepfather kick her out of the house on her 18th birthday. Val hits it lucky when she runs into a part demon hellhound named Fang who is full of attitude and can talk telepathically to her and other demons. She also ends up working for the police and the San Antonio Special Crimes Unit with a really hot partner who doesn't make it easy for Val to hold Lola back. It seems there are MAYBE some good Vampires after all who want to set up blood banks where humans can donate blood to the Vamps to keep them from going after humans for their food. Val discovers there are some vampires that don't like that idea at all because they like toying with their food. They are out to stop the good Vampires which means Val and her team are out to stop them. Even without Val being there her half sister Jen still gets involved with the Vampires. When Val goes to get her out she sees that Jen has been influenced by one of the Vampires, which is against the laws of the good vampires and their leader Alejandro. Val and her trusty hellhound Fang set out, with a little help from her friends, to put a stop to it. Lots of fighting with a little mystery and romance on the side.

Try Me by Parker Blue:
The second in the Underground Demon series. In the second installment Val is being ignored by her partner Dan, even though she thought they had a thing going, he obviously can't handle her demon side. Good thing there is her new friend and hot crush Shade, who is a Shadow Demon and more than willing to teach Val how to control her Succubus demon. Val's part demon father had given her some books when she was a child and Val learns that those books are very powerful. After Val learns that the head of the Demon Underground is a cousin of sorts and that they want to help her she agrees to give them the books, however they are stolen at a party. Now it's up to Val and friends to not only find the books but protect the good Vampires when somebody starts poisoning them with something that makes them go crazy and kill anything in their path.

Fang Me by Parker Blue:
The third book in the Underground Demon series. Val is still looking for the magic books when a man shows up proclaiming to be a keeper and wanting to help them find the books that have his father trapped within them by magic. Val doesn't trust him at all and doesn't understand why all but her trusted dog Fang seems to really like him. Val's team on the police force find out that she is part demon and it doesn't go over well. She keeps looking for the books, all the time with her and Shade getting closer and her family coming closer to accepting her as she is. With more Vampires, Demons, Witches, and Magic, this is another exciting addition to this series. My favorite part of this series is Fang, the part hellhound part attitude rolled up in a little dog body. He's funny, he's always loyal to Val, and he's an important part of the series. If you liked the Twilight series but want something with a little more kick to it, you should give these a try. I can't wait till the next book, these definitely left me wanting more.
You can get these books separately or together in one volume. I read them as an advanced readers copy through Netgalley.com and Bell Bridge Books.