What's Beyond Forks?: Review of Wonderfully Wicked by C.J. Burright + Author Guest Post!

Wonderfully Wicked (The Dreamcaster Series #1) by C.J. Burright
Genre: Adult (Paranormal Romance)
Date Published: May 13, 2014
Publisher: Swoon Romance

A dreamcaster with the ability to channel creatures from her nightmares, headstrong and cynical Kalila Montgomery longs for a peaceful, picket-fence life… until the man literally of her dreams kidnaps her.

Survival quickly becomes her number one goal, yet a growing attraction to the man in her nightmares is impossible to ignore. While she fears he will kill her, other, more terrifying enemies surround her, and Kalila succumbs to his scheme to escape. She may be his one hope for freedom…

A deadly combination of power, cunning, and cold-hearted charm, Lydon v'al Endrian fears nothing. Feels nothing. Chained to a brotherhood of men with the supernatural ability to invade dreams, he hunts dreamcasters to be harvested for their dreams and killed. His target: Kalila Montgomery. But Kalila awakens an undeniable dark desire and a longing for a freedom long-lost.

To gain everything he craves, Lydon must seduce Kalila before his plot is discovered… a hopeless challenge which, if failed, will earn him a death-sentence. Caught up in a dangerous world of secrets and obsession, doubt and betrayal, Kalila and Lydon face the nightmare of their lives, where love will either deliver them—or destroy them both.

Wonderfully Wicked is the first book in The Dreamcaster Series by C.J. Burright. This book had me so completely entranced, it was crazy. I loved every bit of it. Dreamcasters are used and ultimately killed by the V'alkara. Lydon and Kalila were snarky and sarcastic. They're bantering was fun and witty. I couldn't get enough. They are both so headstrong and stubborn. Kalila is a strong character anyway. She doesn't take crap from anyone, and that's just what Lydon needs. He needs someone to put him in his place. The more I got to know these two, the more I fell in love with them. I laughed, yelled, and cried while reading this book. I hate books that make me cry, but there's no way I could hate this book. Quite the opposite!

Wonderfully Wicked was dark, and seductive, and very unexpected. I loved it! I think I said that already, but I just had to reiterate that fact. The author couldn't have picked a more perfect name for this book, because Wonderfully Wicked is exactly what it is!

Wonderfully Wicked by C.J. Burright was kindly provided to me by the author for review. The opinions are my own.

I’m so excited to be on What’s Beyond Forks. Woo-hoo! Today, I’m talking about my top ten favorite books. Love this topic!

My parents instilled in me a love for reading, but it’s my dad who really nudged me into the genre of fantasy. He’d go on trips and return with boxed sets of books or buy me books for Christmas. We trade books we like, although that’s slowed down with the ebook explosion. Books have influenced me from a young age, so selecting ten favorites wasn’t easy. But these are the top ten titles I treasure most.

1. LOTR trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. Yes, I know this is technically three books, but so are several of my other choices. This is my post and I’ll do what I want.  I grew up in the country, and I’d read LOTR and this yearning for adventure would overcome me. So my friends and I would take off on our horses and spend all day in the woods, chasing goblins and fleeing from imaginary dragons. Ah, the good ol’ days.

2. Chronicles of Prydain by Sir Lloyd Alexander – while this is more than a few books, it covers all of Taran’s story, so I count it as one. I loved how a lowly, orphaned pig-herder matured into a king. It’s a story of hope. And Gurgi! Crunchings and munchings, anyone?

3. Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. You don’t know how many times I longed to have a magical wardrobe to hide in and travel to a different world. I’m sure a lot of people have dreamed the same, to escape reality and go someplace where you’re recognized as special. I always hated it when they had to leave Narnia.

4. The Magic Garden by Gene Stratton-Porter. My grandparents lived in Nebraska and had this old, abandoned ranch house. Every time we visited them, we’d make at least one trip out to the ranch. It was on one of these trips that I discovered some old books of my grandmother’s. The Magic Garden was one of them. It is my most cherished book, partly because it was my grandmother’s, and partly because it’s one of those timeless stories you want to read over and over. It makes your heart hurt in so many different ways. It’s a sweet, pure heart-wrenching love story that makes me cry every freakin’ time.

5. Where Dreams Begin by Lisa Kleypas. This is the book that got me hooked on romance, the gift from my BFF that sat on the shelf for years before I read it in a moment of desperation. Zachary Bronson. Sigh. He probably has a lot to do with my anti-hero love too.

6. From This Moment On by Lynn Kurland. Before this book, I had no idea there were stories out there that combined medieval life and romance (my early days of romance discovery, obviously). Add in Ms. Kurland’s sense of humor, and I was hooked. If I could emulate any author, it would be her.

7. The Black Jewels trilogy by Anne Bishop. I love these characters so much. They’re twisted and dark and broken, yet they still cling to hope, which are exactly the type of characters who make me feel. I wanted to see them happy, to overcome evil, to finally find some peace. How could you not love characters named Lucivar, Daemon, and Saetan? And they’re the good guys!

8. The Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks. Oh my. Watching Kylar Stern grow up into an assassin just killed me. I wanted to crawl into the pages and hug him so many times! I just love that boy. Despite his hardships and the life he was sucked into, he remained true and honorable. Honorable assassin. Sounds like an oxymoron, I know.

9. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Do I need to explain this one? I’m more of a cat person than a dog lover. Doesn’t matter. I still cry.

10. Xanth series by Piers Anthony. My sister and I shared a room growing up, and we’d have insult contests, inspired by the Xanth books. Pure fantasy, adventure, and a whole lot of fun.

So that’s my list of top ten favorite books. What books make your list?

Check out my review of the following books in this AMAZING series!

CJ blames her love for reading and all things Medieval on her father, who plied her often with fantasy novels ranging from Sir Lloyd Alexander to Piers Anthony. Her love for romance, however, lies completely at the feet of her best friend Michelle, who dared to give her a romance novel for her birthday. She smiled, politely said thank you, and tossed it in the corner, where it gathered dust. In a moment of desperation, when only the revolting romance remained in her almost-always toppling stack of awaiting books, she sucked it up and read the romance.
Doomed.

She started writing fantasy and paranormal romance for the cathartic experience, decided she liked it, and after two overlong, horribly written novels joined RWA and the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal special interest chapter. Best classes and critique groups ever. Double doomed.

Now, writing is a necessity, not just a hobby.

In her spare time, when she’s not writing or reading or actually working, CJ might be found in the dojang (4th Dan Black Belt, baby), rooting on the Mariners (who will some day win the World Series), working out (P90X, anyone?), gardening (a little dirt never hurt anyone), or playing Music of the Night on the piano (without mask or cape). She lives in Oregon with her fabulous husband and daughter. Not to mention her minions, a herd of cats.

WONDERFULLY WICKED is CJ's Burright's first novel.

To learn more about C.J. Burright and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.