Pink is the New Black by Vella Day

3 Stars

Glinda Goodall has lived in Witch’s Cove, Florida forever.  She works for her aunt in a Tiki Bar Grill where you regularly see her aunt talking to her dead husband’s ghost.  Glinda has her familiar to keep her company when she’s not working, her pink iguana, Iggy.  Everything is going along nicely until the sheriff is murdered and her best friend’s brother is accused. She is determined to find out who murder the sheriff even if it reveals secrets that people don’t want revealed.

I wanted to like this book.  It sounds interesting and funny but it ended up not being either.  It seemed discombobulated in the telling of the story.  It jumped around a bit and made it difficult to keep track of where we were in the story.  I don’t know if it was just because it was the first book in the series so there was a lot of set up needed but it just wasn’t working for me.  I will read the next book and see if it is better because I’ve read other books by Vella Day that I adored so here’s hoping it was a one off and the next book is way better.

Book 1 Witch’s Cove Mystery

Taming Demons for Beginners by Annette Marie

4 Stars

Robin was forced to move in with her uncle’s family after the death of her parents.  She was given three rules.

Rule One: Don’t look at the demon

Rule Two: Don’t listen to the demon

Rule Three: Don’t talk to the demon

She proceeds to ignore all of these rules and accidentally forms a pact with a demon.  Now she has to figure out how to free the demon from her without anyone in the magical community finding out they are bound like they should.

There were some pacing issues with this story for me.  There were a couple times it was a little slow and I was wanting it to move on already.  Part of that might be because this book overlaps Dark Arts and Daiquiri and has similar scenes but from a different perspective.  Overall though I loved the story.  I also love Annette Marie’s writing style.  It flows nicely with parts being serious and parts being super funny.  I will definitely be checking out the next book in the series to see where this spin off series is going.

Book 1 The Guild Codex: Demonized

Promo: Dark and Stormy Knight by Kerrigan Byrne

Coming out June 2nd!

Book 7: The Victorian Rebels Series

Sir Carlton Morley entire life has been a lie.  He's known for his sense of justice and his determination but he wasn't always like that.  Growing up he was a thief and a murderer.  He is set on his path on his path of redemption until a lady falls into his lap.

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Soul of Darkness by Wendy Higgins

 4 Stars

People traveled from all over to see Princess Psyche.  They worshiped her like she was a goddess.  She didn’t like this but there wasn’t anything she could do about it.  When Venus becomes angry over people worshiping Psyche she sends her son Cupid to cause mischief.  Instead he falls in love with her.  To appease Venus Cupid agrees to an arrangement where he will marry Psyche but she can’t look upon him.  If she does there will be consequences.

This book was an interesting take on the myth Psyche and Cupid.  I sort of knew what the story was about but this story fleshed it out for me.  The pacing was good.  I didn’t feel like there was any slowdown in the story.  I really liked the authors writing style and I will definitely check out her other stories.

Promo: Royal Bastard by Avery Flynn

Only 9 DAYS! It's only 99 cents. 

Grab your copy here - https://averyflynn.com/books/royal-bastard/

Dark Arts and Daiquiri by Annette Marie

5 Stars

Kai, Aaron, and Ezra talk Tori into being bait for a highly sought after mage.  The mage takes the bait and absconds with Tori.  Leaving the 3 mages in a panic trying to track her down.  Tori finds out things aren’t quite as they seem and she’s going to have to figure out how deep she wants to go to straighten things out.

This book was so funny.  It literally starts with Tori negotiating with a fae for her apartment.  He isn’t interested in sharing and she’s desperate for a reasonably priced place to live.  I loved the interpersonal relationships and the inter play between her and the rest of the magical community.  Like the fact that her form kept going missing and no one would fess up to where it went just because everyone wanted to keep her.  I blew this book so fast and couldn’t wait to start the next book.

Book 2 Guild Codex: Spellbound

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

3 Star

Chronically ill computer geek Chloe Brown is ready to start living her life.  She’s made a list and is determined to have some fun.  She might need some help with her list and that’s where Redmond “Red” Morgan comes in.  He’s the handyman of her building who has tattoos and rides a bike.  They don’t get off on the right foot but the more they spend together the more they want to be together. 

 

I liked this story.  I wouldn’t consider it a rom com like it is labeled as.  There wasn’t a lot of humor in it for me at all.  This could be because of I have read other books and laughed my way through and this book was too serious.  The writing was really good throughout the book and the pacing was spot on.  I did have issues with the way conflict was tossed in with about 2 chapters to go.  I was really digging it until then.  I didn’t have any issues with the sex scenes or the conflict between Red and Chloe just didn’t feel right where it was placed in the story.  I liked the writing enough that I’ll check out the next book in the series.

 

Book 1 The Brown Sisters

Goldy by Plum Pascal

Goldy by Plum Pascal

3.5 Stars

Kassidy Aurelian aka Goldy is determined to steal ambrosia from the bears no matter the cost.  The Guild needs the ambrosia for the coming war.  She was so close to getting away but is captured and has to deal with the anger and punishment from Leith, Nash, and Sorren.  She must pick her own punishment.  One which will kill her or choose to submit to the three men. 

I liked this book.  The writing was the same as the first book but I didn’t like the characters as much.  Goldy irritated me through most of the book.  I liked the men and part of that was they were more honest with her then she was with them.  Everything else was awesome.  Pacing was spot on and they set up the next book nicely.  I will definitely be reading the next book.

 

Book 2 Happily Never After

Promo: Eileen Troemel

Seven Sisters

Preorder available now

https://books2read.com/Seven-Sisters

Aliens invade Earth! 

Following prophecy Mycos traveled Across the universe to trade old technology to the backwards world in order to find his true mate. 

Surviving the plague and life on the streets Lydia Struggles to keep her 6 sisters alive and safe. Mycos demands Lydia submit to him. She refuses. 

Will he compromise in order to win her over and open the world up for other Hylatians to find their fated mates? 

The fates of both worlds rests with these seven sisters.

Love Bites by Cynthia St. Aubin

Love Bites by Cynthia St. Aubin

4 Stars

Recently divorced Hanna Harvey needs a job to feed her and her three cats.  She bluffs her way into a job at an art gallery with a drool worthy owner Mark Abernathy.  Everything has finally turned around for Hannah until her boss’ girlfriends start dying.

I really liked this story.  It has a hint of romance but more a cozy mystery to it than romance.  It was a different take on shape shifters which when you read a lot of them it’s nice to see something new.  I liked the author’s writing style.  The only big issue I had was with the pacing in the story was a little bit off for me.  It plotted along nicely until the end when it felt like we rushed through the conclusion.  It wasn’t a turn off per say as I want to see what the next book looks like.     

Book 1 Tails from the Alpha Art Gallery

Promo: Book for Charity

Slow Burn Anthology 

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Pre order available now

Release date 5/31

Australia is burning, and the heros between these pages are going to save it. Eleven amazing authors have banded together to bring you smoking hot firefighter romances to support bushfire relief. From rural Australian settings to the world of mages and shifters, these stories will have you heating up — for more than one reason.

Proceeds from this anthology go towards the NSW Rural Fire Services to help rebuild after the devastation of our summer bushfire season here in Australia.

Memories of Ash - Louisa Duval

Spark of Love - Amelia K Oliver & Eileen Troemel

More than Magic - Monica Schultz

Souls Ablaze - Fiona Fairhame

It’s all in the eyes - Neen Cohen

Phoenix - Natasja Rose

Soothe - Lara Rouse

When Aiden Came Back - D J Elton

Into the Fire - Patricia Elliott

Ignited Love - B McGorm

Through the Flames - R M Oliva

Falling - L T Waterson

Out of my League by Jessica Prince

2 Stars

Lincoln Sheppard thought he left the war behind but things change when he gets a new neighbor.  Eden Brenner wanted a place to call her own after an unstable childhood.  When she moves in just down the street from Lincoln she’s smitten.  She wants him but will lies tear them apart?

He was lying to her pretty much from the beginning and then couldn’t understand why she was upset and didn’t want to see him.  Really you would be good if the only reason someone was with you to begin with was for their job.  There was also the issue over the fact that he wasn’t really interested in her until she changed most of the things about herself.  She had to change her wardrobe as well as lose weight so he wasn’t really interested in her.  If she had to dress sexier and lose weight so she was smaller than a size 12 what happens if/when she gains weight will he no longer love her?  Above and beyond Linc being shallow was the fact that Eden was supposed to be 32 but acted 16.  It got old very fast.  The story was also really predictable.  Nothing was surprising.  This is literally how the book goes and it gives away the end of the climax of the story.

1.       Boy meets girl

2.       She falls instantly in love

3.       He friend zones her

4.       She transforms

5.       His work needs her watched so he starts dating her

6.       She finds out about the above point

7.       Kicks his ass to the curb

8.       He has his friends watch her to protect her

9.       She still gets kidnapped and he has to rescue her

10.   All is forgiven and they live happily ever after

If this works for you it is well written.  I will checkout the next book because the secondary characters were very likable. 

Book 1 Hope Valley

Promo: R.J. Stone

Fantasy – Children’s chapter book – Available for pre-order

The Dragon of Frendur

An ordinary village.  

Nothing unusual ever happens in Frendur.  

One day during harvest, a cloud passes overhead.  Everyone looks up.  They are too busy to stop harvesting.  There’s no time for rain.  But it’s not rain.

Dragon hunters attack Penelope. Injured, she draws them away from the hatchery.  Losing blood and in pain, she falls from the sky. 

Ten year olds, Mia, the healer’s daughter, and her best friend Blu are unable to resist.  Mia touches the dragon and feels her pain.  Can she convince the village the dragon isn’t a threat?

https://books2read.com/RJ-Dragon-of-Frendur

Snow by Plum Pascal

5 Stars

I am adding a warning to this book review.  In the beginning of the book there are several scenes of Snow being abused both physically and sexually.  The review itself won’t go in-depth on this but if you choose to read the book be warned the first couple chapters have some pretty hard scenes.

Neva Valkoinen doesn’t remember anything before the age of twelve.  She is bought and sold as adult entertainment and is known as Snow White due to her complexion.  She is resigned to her life until Herrick Vorst comes into the establishment.  He thinks she is a witch-ling and needs to be protected.  When a different man comes in and buys her she decides death is her only option.  Instead of dying she escapes with the help of Herrick.  Herrick takes her home to his brothers Reve and Malvolo.  Reve is trapped in dreamland and Malvolo is bitter and hate-filled over the loss of their other brothers.  Can she rescue the brothers and help fulfill the prophesy. 

This is a new telling of the fairy-tales and I loved it.  I discovered this book because I've read a lot of H.P. Mallory and this is her pen name.  From the very beginning of the story I was hooked.  Snow goes through so much to get her happy.  I loved the guys she ended up with.  They each were so different but the filled a need she had.  I didn’t feel there were any lags in the pacing.  There is a plot line that moves on to another story but this is a complete story.  If you want to know if the bad guys are completely destroyed and not the individual battles one you will have to read more books in the series.

Book 1 Happily Never After

Punished by Zara Novak

3 Star bordering on 2.5 for accuracy

Isabelle was about to finish her training when she discovered the secret behind her family.  She decides to run off Vrakal.  Nothing goes the way she plans when she arrives in Vrakal but she’s hoping it will work out.

This was labeled as a Dark Vampire Romance but it doesn’t really feel very dark.  The subject matter is has some S & M and that might be why it is labeled as Dark.  Why I consider it to border a lower rating is the accuracy of some of the scenes.  At one point Thorn goes from anal sex to her mouth.  I have huge issues with this for so many reasons.  I also had issues with Isabelle was headstrong to the point of being too stupid to live.  She doesn’t want to except help from anyone and has to argue that she can take care of herself no matter what.  It got old fast.  I did enjoy the book overall.  The pacing in the story was spot on.  It is an interesting take on Vampirism and I will give the second book a try.

Book 1 Dark Vampires

Chase the Dark by Annette Marie

3.5 Stars

Piper Griffiths only wants to be come a Consul.  That was her plan until her house explodes.  When she is excused of being in on the theft she goes on the run with the incubus Lyre and Draconian Ash.  They have to find who broke into her home and find the stolen artifact to clear her name.

I picked this book up after finishing one of Annette Marie’s other books.  I have loved everything else that I’ve read by her and I figured this would be right up there with them.  This book had more issues for me.  I felt the pacing was off and there needed to be more world building.  It seemed like there were action packed parts and then parts that lagged and then it would speed up again.  I found I kept putting the book down because of the pacing issue.  I will still read the next book and am hoping the pacing gets better.  Plot points were pulled out to explain things and it was frustrating to have something suddenly be introduced to explain a plot point.

Book 1 Steel & Stone

Brady Remington Landed me in Jail by Tijan

2 Stars

Rayna and Brady have been friends forever.  Brady lands himself in jail again and Rayna bails him out again.  Their relationship changes into something more than friends.  However, they are each keeping secrets.  Will those secrets tear them apart or will they be able to move past the secrets they hold.

I’ve read other books by Tijan and liked them and have enjoyed them so when I started this I was hoping it would be just as good.  I struggled finishing this story.  It was very angsty which can be good but this book was not one of them.  I didn’t like Rayna or Brady.  They both had massive issues and they wined a lot.  Plus the climax of the story was just meh.  By the time everything comes together I was just done.  There was also character development issues.  Like at her Grandma literally kept flipping her response to Rayna and Brady being together.  If this had been my first Tijan book I wouldn’t every read another one of her books again.  I wish I had skipped this one.

Booty Camp Dating Service by Debra Anastasia

4 Stars

Hazel Lavender is done with men after walking in on her boyfriend screwing another woman.  Her friend talks her into joining the Booty Camp Dating Service.  They guarantee success on finding new love. 

Wolf Saber has a gift to see when people are matched.  It works on everyone but himself.  He went against the powers and married someone and it fell flat when she found her perfect match.  Wolf figured he would be alone until Hazel walked into his recent Camp.  They had so much chemistry but she’s paying them to find her love so she is off limits to Wolf.  Will he goes against what his brain is telling him or will he follow his heart and keep her forever.

 

I really liked this book.  It was funny and a different take on dating.  I’ve read something similar by a different author that I really liked and this book reminded me of that series.  Hazel and Wolf’s respective best friends were awesome and they were super cute as a couple.  The pacing was spot on.  I didn’t feel like there were any lags or any rush to finish the story.  The book is meant to be a standalone but I would love to see this as an ongoing series.

Nightworld Academy: Term One by LJ Swallow

1 Star

DNF

Maeve has visions of the future.  When she is expelled for punching another student to save someone else’s life she is transferred to the academy.  Thinking that this is just a school for troubled kids she believes she as it all figured out. Until she finds out her visions aren’t a curse but a gift and she isn’t the only one.

This is a book that I should have liked but I didn’t and I couldn’t even get halfway through it before I gave up.  It is labeled as YA but it’s supposed to be a reverse haram slow burn.  Please explain how this is supposed to work?  It just confused me. Plus I didn’t like the characters.  Maeve was whiny and she didn’t want to explain anything that is happening because no one would believe her.  The writing also felt like it was dumbed down.  Instead of writing the story for the audience that should be 16-19 ish it was written more like it was for someone much younger than that.  I know there are more books and it’s supposed to turn into an adult romance but I am just not interested in seeing where it is going.

Book 1 of Nightworld Academy

Grave Humor by R.J. Blain

3.5 Stars

Anwen is forced to work in a funeral home due to circumstance beyond her control.  On a good day it she regrets the decision to take a job there.  Particularly when the quest won’t stay quiet and polite.  When Old Man McGregor takes a walk her life changes for the better.  What will Anwen do with a handsome man and an original vampire. 

This book was more like her first book I read.  It was funny and different.  The pacing was better in this book.  It didn’t feel rushed like the last book I read from her.  I loved that we got to learn more about the devil and his brothers.  I am looking forward to the book about the Devils wife. I did get tired of listening to all the reasons why she didn’t finish school and how she needed to find her path.  I didn’t feel this made me not like the book it just slowed the story down a little bit. 

 

Book 14 Magical Romantic Comedies (with a body count)

Dragon Called by Kara Lockharte and Cassie Alexander

4.5 Stars

 

Night nurse Andi Ngo is in need of money to rescue her brother again she takes the night shift offer from a recluse billionaire.  Damian Blackwood needed her to save his friend and then disappear.  Instead she turns out to be more important to him than he ever thought someone would be.  She discovers he is a secret shapeshifter dragon and doesn’t run.  Instead she helps him and his group take out bad supernatural beings.

I actually really liked this book.  She was new to me and I couldn’t put the book down.  I liked the fact that she was human and she just rolled with the supernatural part of him.  It didn’t freak her out that he was a dragon but she was confused by the insta love which made it easier to not feel frustration over that plot point.  The pacing was also spot on.  I never felt like there was a lag or there was a push to conclude the story.  The ending made me so mad but in a good way.  I need the next one now.  With Spoilers:

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It ended with her standing up for herself.  He pushed her away for whatever reason and she let him.  Her entire life was people not taking her needs into consideration and he was just one too many.  He wanted her gone so she was gone.  I loved this.  Most books that have a similar plot point have the woman instantly forgiving the guy and all is well in their life.  This is setting it up for him to have to work for her and I love it.

 

Book 1 of Prince of the Other Worlds

 

Reaping Havoc and Reaper Reborn By Kel Carpenter

4 Stars for the whole series but individually I would put them each at 2 Stars

I am doing the rest of the series differently.  Let me start with I loved this series.  It was well written and the pacing in the story is really good.  My issue with these books is they are very much a serial and you pay 3.99 for each installment but the story literally continues through each book.  Each book doesn’t really end.  When I finished Reaping Havoc I needed to read Reaper Reborn to finish the story.  It is frustrating to pay for a book that doesn’t end and I have to pay another 4 bucks to get the next installment.  Plus the books are about 250 pages each and that ends up costing a lot of money for the complete story.  I did enjoy the story and if it wasn’t for the above I wouldn’t this pissed about the rating.

 

Reaping Havoc book 2

Salem has discovered who murdered her brother now she just has to stop him from killing other people.

Reaper Reborn book 3

Salem has brought her brother’s murderer to justice and is hoping things are going to settle down now and she can discover what all her powers are.  As well as, discover who is after her but life doesn’t always go the way you plan.

Grimm Brotherhood Book 2 and 3

Part-Time Gods by Rachel Aaron

3 Stars

Opal Yong-ae is a cleaner in the Detroit Free Zone.  With her partner Nik she’s trying to get the funds together to pay her father off and get from out from under his rule.  Her father laid a curse on her to prevent her from making money to pay him back.  With the help of Nik she’s trying to find a workaround the curse.  When things look like they finally turning around her father calls her loan due. 

Where I liked the first one a lot this one didn’t appeal to me as much.  Opal was more whiney in this book and it frustrated me.  I also had issues with how Opal treated those around her, in particular Nik.  He gave up a lot to help her and he just kind of gets shit on by her.  It also seemed to be unfinished.  It just ended without concluding.  There is a third book and I will be checking out the book just so I can see what happens but I am not happy.  

Book 2 of DFZ

Witches in the Weeds by Lila Dubois

4 Stars

Nimue Mahkah’s the eldest daughter of her coven.  It is her job to take care of all of them but something is causing a blight on the family’s crops.  She decides her best option is to kidnap Harris Barclay from another coven to try and fix the problem.  The kidnapping goes off without a hitch and Harris doesn’t mind Nimue taking him.  He’s willing to help her even though she could have asked.  Harris may be fine with being kidnapped but his family isn’t.  They hire someone, Trajan Dixon, to track down the kidnapper and save Harris.  The problems start almost immediately.  They each have different kinds of magic and they aren’t supposed to perform magic at the same time.  This leads to some interesting new magic being discovered.

This was an interesting take on witches.  My biggest complaint was at times it was a little slow.  I also wanted a little backstory on the world building.  It felt like things were explained because something came up that needed to be explained.  I still really enjoyed the book and want to see where the next book is going to go.

Book 1 in Elemental Covens

Mission: Her Shield by Anna Hackett

4.5 Stars

Dr. Natalie Blackwell, Team 52’s archeologists, goes missing from a conference in Europe.  Her hope is her team will come to the rescue before it’s too late. 

Axel Diaz, former Delta Force soldier, has been down in the muck fighting for years.  He’s wanted Natalie but doesn’t feel him with his dirty hands deserves her.  This all changes when she’s kidnapped by an unknown entity. 

I loved these two together.  They balance each other out.  Natalie doesn’t allow Axel to tell her what to do or to keep her safe when her knowledge is needed to solve the mystery.  The pacing in the book was good.  It didn’t lag at any point.  There also wasn’t a point in the story I wanted to move on already.  My only big complaint was the “I need to be with you”…”no we can’t be together”.  The back and forth this took irritated me but not enough to put the book down.

 

Book 7 of Team 52

Always be my Banshee by Molly Harper

3.5 Stars

Cordelia Canton has been transferred to Mystic Bayou to investigate the rift using her touch psychic powers.  With her gift she has never been able to touch anyone without getting glimpses so she avoids most contact.  When she reaches Mystic Bayou she meets a man, Brendan O’Connor, who she can actually touch without seeing anything.  She soon learns that that he is a rare male banshee.  They must work together to find out what is going on with the rift.

This is straight up a review of the audiobook as it isn’t out in any other format yet.  As usual Amanda Ranconi but Jonathan Davis was not good.  The man he was supposed to be speaking for was Irish and that was not a good accent with this guy.  There was also insta love between Cordelia and Brendan was just not something I believed with their backstory.  In other books they weren’t so instant.  There was more of a build up to the relationship.  I did enjoy the fact they tied up the rift storyline and how.  I am sure there will be more books in the series and I will still pick them up.

Book 4 Mystic Bayou

Three Mages and a Margarita by Annette Marie

5 Stars

Waitress Tori has recently lost her job.  If not for her brother’s couch she would be on the street.  While looking for another job she stumbles into a bar where she is told anything goes.  No matter what the customer does she can give it back without reprisal. She thinks the guild is weird but she can give as good as she gets.  It’s not until the next day that it’s discovered that she is 100% human and should never have been in the bar to begin with.  However, they are so short staffed that they are willing to let her work on trial basis. 

This book was amazing.  There was so much humor in the book but it was also series.  I loved the Tori. She had no shits to give and wasn’t willing to put up with anyone.  The title makes it sound like a reverse harem book and it isn’t.  There may or may not be a love interest but by the end of the book there wasn’t anyone.  I loved the fact that no matter who had magic Tori played a pivotal part in bringing down the bad guys and saving the distressed person.  I cannot wait to read the next book.  Highly recommend this book if you like urban fantasy.

Book 1 Guild Codex: Spellbound

Promo: R.J. Blain Magical Romantic Comedies(with a body count)

Most days, Anwen regrets working at a funeral home. With the residents no longer inclined to stay in their coffins where they belong, she’s got her hands full making sure everyone follows the rules:

In the funeral home, there is no screaming, no murdering, no mutilation, no possessions, no kidnappings, no resurrections, and no cursing of any type. Be quiet and stay polite.

The day Old Man McGregor decides to take a walk and disturbs her peace, Anwen learns there’s a lot more to the basement in the funeral home than a vampire and a handsome gentleman on ice.

If she’s not careful, she’ll learn first-hand why ‘eternally yours’ is the most potent of threats.

Warning: this novel contains romance, humor, bodies, shenanigans, and mythological puppies. Proceed with caution.

Amazon

Barnes and Nobel

Kobo

Apple Books

Promo: Helena Hunting

A SECRET FOR A SECRET

Coming My 12, 2020

From New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting comes a new romance about trading secrets, breaking the rules, and playing for keeps.

My name is Ryan Kingston, and I’m a rule follower. I’ve never been in a fistfight. I always obey the speed limit. I don’t get drunk, and I definitely don’t pick up random women at bars.

Except the night I found out that my whole existence has been a lie.

I got drunk. And picked up a stranger.

Her name was Queenie, and she was everything I’m not: reckless, impulsive, and chaotic. We did shots and traded secrets. And ended up naked at my place.

She left me a thank-you note in the morning and her panties as a parting gift. But no way to contact her.

Six weeks later I’m sitting in the first official team meeting of the season, and there she is. I neglected to mention that I’m the goalie for Seattle’s NHL team.

And Queenie? Turns out she’s the general manager’s daughter.

Paperback

E-Book

Promo: Dianne Duvall Newest Immortal Guardians Out June 16 2020

Broken Dawn
Immortal Guardians Book 10

is Now Available for Pre-Order!

Releasing June 16, 2020

Delve into an exciting new stand-alone novel in New York Times bestselling author Dianne Duvall’s “fast-paced and humorous” (Publishers Weekly), “utterly addictive” (RT Book Reviews) Immortal Guardians series.

Nick Belanger can’t stop thinking about the single mother who lives next door. She’s smart. She’s funny. She’s so beautiful he can’t stare at her too long for fear his eyes will start to glow. But Kayla thinks he’s just an ordinary guy who works in security. Finding out he instead is a powerful immortal warrior who hunts and slays psychotic vampires for a living may not go over well, particularly since she has a daughter she doesn’t want to endanger.

Kayla Dorman can keep neither her gaze nor her thoughts from straying to the man next door. Who can blame her really? He is the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome with smart, charming, and honorable thrown in. He’s also a few years younger than her and surely would not be interested in a single mom who hasn’t dated since her divorce. At least that’s what she thinks until an accident nearly takes her life and Nick risks all to save her.

The dynamics of their relationship swiftly change. The friendship they’ve developed over the years deepens into love as the two spend every minute they can together, laughing and teasing, never suspecting a threat may lurk in the shadows. But that threat soon strikes, making it clear that Nick is the target and his enemy doesn’t care if Kayla gets caught in the cross fire. Though Kayla bravely rises to the occasion and is determined to do whatever it takes to help Nick defeat his enemy, Nick is terrified of losing her. Can he identify and eliminate his new nemesis before the man takes everything from him?

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—Audible Link Coming Soon —

Paperback

— Available on Release Day — 

Reaper’s Blood by Kel Carpenter

2.5 Stars

Salem died for a hostess cupcake but an entity didn’t let her stay dead.  She comes back and finds out her family are all supernatural and her brother was murdered by one of them.  Salem needs to find out who is the murder before they try and kill her too.

This rating makes my heart hurt.  I blew through this book so fast.  I couldn’t put it down it was that good.  The problem and the reason for the borderline negative review of the book is it literally ends on a cliff hanger and you have to read the next book for the next part of the story and from the reviews that book also ends in a cliffhanger to the conclusion of the series.  The 3^rd book isn’t out yet so I’m refusing to even look at book 2 until book 3 is out so I can go through all of them and hopefully get the full story.  It was an awesome book that was go from moment one.  The story itself was a different take on a grim reaper and all of sorts of other supernatural characters.  Would recommend this series once all of the books are out. I mean come on she died for a hostess cupcake.

Book 1 Grimm Brotherhood

Minimum Wage Magic by Rachel Aaron

4 Stars

Opal Yong-ae, freelance mage in Detroit Free Zone, will never let the impossible stop her from accomplishing what she wants.  She uses her overpriced magical art degree to be a cleaner.  She buys housing units and cleans them out for profit.  Until she stumbles upon a dead body that pulls her down a different path that will have her confronting her father and taking a new approach to life.

I really liked Opal in this book.  She was willing to do anything to get out from under her father even though she would be pampered and given anything she would ever want.  There were times that she was a bit whiney and that did cause some aggravation.  The story also ended on a cliff hanger esc ending so you do need to pick up the next book to find out what happens.  I have rules about books like that because I shouldn’t have to read another book to find out the conclusion to a story.  Overall the book was good.  There weren’t any lags.  The world was an interesting world.  Worth a read and I will be checking out the next book to see what happens.

Book 1 DFZ

House Lost at Sea by R.J. Blain

3 Stars

Catalina de la Corona was cursed by her lover’s captain to a very long life.  When her rich client starts uncovering her secrets she has to go against them to prevent people from discovering who she is. 

I didn’t like the characters.  They all kind of irritated me and it was hard for me to connect with any of them and care about the outcome of their stories.  Other than like the characters the story moved along nicely.  The writing was spot on.  It wasn’t a bad read I just didn’t connect with the characters.

Book 1  Tales of Catalina de la Corona

Conjuring Quantico by T.S. Paul

2 Stars

Agatha Blackmore was sent to the FBI academy to train to be the first FBI Witch.  Day one of her training brought conflict and made her wonder if she would see graduation.  However, when girls related to politicians go missing she is asked to find them.  Using her skills and with the help of her friends will she be able to find the girls before it’s too late?

I wanted to like this story so very much but I hated so many things about it to continue reading the series.  The story was very repetitive.  Like we get it Agatha Blackmore has uncontrollable magic and her family fears her. We get that she was attacked when she first arrived.  Can we please move on? The story also seemed like there was another story that explained a lot of the things in this book.  Looking at the author’s profile this is supposed to be “direct” sequel to a difference series but it’s not clear if these characters were in that series.  Agatha also seemed to know just what she should be doing no matter the situation even though she was supposedly not trained.  It just got old really fast.  The author also brushed aside a lot of deaths like it wasn’t a big deal.  This bothers me because we’re supposed to connect with the characters and then to just meh they died back to our lives.

I did look at the next book in the series and for some reason T.S. Paul decided to skip some years into the future.  This played a role in my review.  The author seems to think timing doesn’t matter and you can skip around and just reference things that happened and you’re golden but reality is that you need those details.

Book 1 The Federal Witch

Run Around by Bernadette Franklin

3 Stars

Hope is determined that her brother will be marrying a five-time thoroughbride.  No matter what he will be marrying his bride.  Everything went off as planned until she took a baseball to the head.  Her brother’s friend Rick takes care of her and then asks her to plan his cousin’s wedding.  When hope’s brother is a dick to her she’s had it and decides to shake things up and move away to a new job and home.

This book was hard for me to review for a couple of reasons.  The writing was good and I enjoyed most of the plot.  There were major issues with the plot that needed to be addressed.  Like legit it seemed like we came into the book a couple chapters in.  It was confusing to feel like you were missing something.  It wasn’t in a previous book because I’ve read those and other then a couple of reappearances of past characters Hope and Rick were new.  I also didn’t like Hope and her brother.  He was a massive jackass to her and she just forgave him.  There were also plot points started that weren’t concluded.  I don’t know if they will be addressed in the future but they weren’t concluded in this book.  The book also ended and felt unfinished.  Like there should have been another chapter or two to conclude the story and I would have been happy with it. I will say she had her facts straight on cost of living in Manhattan and holy shit who can afford to live there.

Eyes of Tamburah by Maria V. Snyder

5 Stars

Disclaimer on the book today.  This book is originally published in Australia.  I am a fan and had to order this book from an independent book store in Pennsylvania to read this book.  All of this and the book was well worth the wait to get the book and I’m going to have to wait until sometime next year for it to be released in the USA but if you are interested in the book you can order from this website:

https://www.cupboardmaker.com/

And you will get it signed.  Now onto the book review.

Shyla was born sun-kissed.  She should have been left out to die when she was born but she was taken in by the monks.  They raised her until adulthood where she was given the option to join the monks or be cast out.  She would still be acknowledged but not family or allowed past the first library.  She chooses to go out and see the world.  Shyla tries to start a business finding lost artifacts but because she is sun-kissed finds it difficult to find work until the princes’ archaeologist, Banqui, asks her to find things for him.  He continues to use her serves and sends people to her until the Eyes of Tamburah are stolen from him.  They are believed to have magical powers that many people wish to have to gain control of the water resources.  This would allow them to control the city and take power away from the prince.  Shyla is forced into tracking down the thief to save Banqui from the tender mercy of the Water Prince.  With the Water Prince’s Captain Rendon following her she is determined to find the eyes and save lives as soon as possible.

Like all of the other books Maria V Snyder has written the writing was spot on.  The pacing was spot on.  I never felt there was any lag in the story.  Even though it was the first in a new series there wasn’t a lot of world building lag.  You get the whole story and the world building as we went and it made sense.  I know some people didn’t like Shyla with Rendor but I liked them together.  They just worked.  He was willing to take a backseat to her wants so she could grow and become the person she was meant to be.  He sets aside his wants to help her.  Even though he had done some bad things in his life he was trying to make amends for those bad things.  I can’t wait for the next book to come out to see how the story is continued.  Highly recommend reading this book.

Book 1 Archives of the Invisible Sword

Double Trouble by R.J. Blain

3 Stars

Recovering addict, Layla is in trouble again.  In and out of prison her entire life she’s caught stealing a cupcake.  She’s afraid this is her one-way ticket straight to prison.  Instead she is given ninety days of community service and her entire file reviewed.  Her community service job is simple keep two unicorns out of trouble.  One who wants to take over the world and the other just wants her.

The description doesn’t really explain the book.  I think R.J. Blain was planning out a different story but about halfway through the book it went off track and never really came back.  In fact the first half of the book was excellent and I wish the whole book had been like this.  The first half was setting the scene for Layla being neglected and abused by people in authority.  You learn about what history was and is confirmed by an angel.  It is a tragic up bringing that Layla is just resigned to her life being this way.  It was awesome that the people were interested in finding out why her life had turned out.  I would have been more interested in seeing how it all went down but about halfway mark instead of continuing the story it veered to OMG this poor girl has been neglected for so long let’s go shopping.  We stayed there forever until about the last chapter. Then it was rush to explain everything.  I am still confused as to what happened to her and by who did it.  Plus there was a character introduced who then kind of just disappeared.  The writing was good but it just was so frustrating to veer into this weird shopping trip.  Plus in the description it talks about the unicorns bringing trouble but the only trouble that happened was because of Layla not the unicorns.  It was still worth reading if you’ve read the rest of the series it just wasn’t my favorite.

Book 13 of Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count)

All of Me by Heatherly Bell

1 Star

The life of a small town resident is always under a microscope.  For Ivey Lancaster her hometown of Starlight Hill never completely forgave her for leaving their favorite son Dr. Jeff Garner.  They’re both back. He’s working as a resident in the ER and she is trying to set up a Midwifery program.  They’re forced to work together to put forth a proposal to the board for the Midwifery program.  Secrets will be revealed and the town will have a say in their relationship.

This had one of the few tropes I hate.  The secret baby.  If it weren’t for this trope the book would be rated differently.  I also had issues with the midwife who trained Ivey talking about her medical information with some random guy.  Yes it was Jeff and they were sleeping together but there is such a thing as HIPAA and she would have had to follow that per California regulation.  In addition to all of this Jeff never really defended her to the people in town.  He broke up with her because he was freaking out over life.  Instead of being honest with everyone about how it all went down he laid low and let her be the bad guy.  There were issues with their relationship they never really addressed.  The writing itself was good and it moved smoothly but I didn’t like the story or the characters.  I will probably try the author again because the writing was their just not this story.

Book 1 of Starlight Hill

Always on My Mind by Jill Shalvis

3.5 Stars

Leah dropped out of pastry school.  She messed up her big break on a reality baking show and now she’s back in her home town of Lucky Harbor working at her Grandma’s pastry shop.  Hoping to cheer up her best friend Jack’s mom she tells Dee they are happily dating.  He isn’t happy Leah told his mom they are dating but the more they pretend to date the more he wishes it were real. 

I really didn’t like either character.  Jack blamed Leah for pretending they were in a relationship because it ruined his playboy ways but he went along with it.  At any point he could and should have been honest.  He throws accusations at her for always running away but he doesn’t take any responsibility for their screwy relationship.  He also doesn’t fight for her.  He is willing to let her run instead of being honest with her.  All it would have taken was him saying I love you and I don’t want this to be fake and a lot of their problems would have been resolved.  Leah didn’t want to force him into anything because of things he had already said to her so she felt her only option was to leave.  They never even considered having a long distance relationship.  If she left town they would be done.  Please explain to me why?  As long as they were willing to work at their relationship it shouldn’t have matter.  I was and still am mad about this book.

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He stays mad at her until she nearly dies and then finally admits that he doesn’t want her to go.  It really took him that long to get his shit together.  I was so freaking mad about that.

Lucky Harbor book 8

Hot Winter Nights by Jill Shalvis

4.5 Stars

People have been trying to protect Molly Malone since she was a teenager.  She’s tired of being sheltered and wants to break out and be more than an office manager for Hunt Investigations.  When her neighbors ask her to investigate Santa at their job she takes it against the wishes of her brother Joe and her Boss Archer.  Knowing her like they do the bribe Lucas into helping her with her investigation.  This leads to them having to confront their feelings for each other.

I loved this story.  The book starts with them in bed together and Lucas can’t remember what happened.  Mixing whiskey and pain meds bad.  Molly was just mean enough to keep him guessing and I loved it.  I also really liked that she wasn’t willing to put up with the men in her life protecting her.  I love that Molly puts the men in their place about their protectiveness and she does end up getting promoted to investigator. 

Audio Book:

4.5 Stars

The book was narrated by Vivienne Leheny.  I think she did an amazing job with the different characters.  There weren’t any weird breathy bits.  Highly recommend listening to this book.

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Lucas ends up getting an infection and stuck in the hospital for an extended period of time.  Even though Molly was mad at him for not telling her about shadowing her she still was with him through his infection.  It was super sweet and made me love them as a couple even more.

Book 6 of Heartbreaker Bay