Winter Caress by R O’Leary

 

4 Stars

He’s broken, her wolf is a killing machine, and somehow they have to survive the holidays… together.

Keep a handle on her wolf. Easier said than done. After months of being held in captivity, Bea’s wolf is unpredictable, at best. And on her bad days? Downright monstrous. She’s barely keeping herself from going furry and attacking her toaster every time her toast pops up—and now she has to celebrate Christmas with her noisy family? Not if Bea can help it.

What she needs is a reason to be unavailable… like a new boyfriend. Now she just needs to convince the sexy bird-shifter from her support group to go along with her plan.

Tortured, battered, and just a little bit broken, Connor is having one hell of a year. After being poked at by scientists and spending months stuck in his bird form, he’s still getting used to being human again. The noise, the emotions, the nightmares. It’s all too much.

The last thing he wants to do right now is sing Christmas carols with his pushy clan. He’s been tortured enough, thanks. When a pretty wolf with haunted eyes offers him an arrangement, it’s just the escape he wants. If only he could as easily escape the need burning in his gut every time he looks in her direction…

Working together, they might be able to dodge their families through the holidays… if they don’t get caught under the mistletoe first.

Bea gets her HEA which is well earned. Loved seeing how she has worked through her trauma. Connor has just as much trauma he is working through and watching them come together was amazing. Added to the overarching story and loved every minute of it.

Book 5.6 Raven Falls Curse

Amazon 

Boulder Bear by Sophie Stern

3 Stars

We were mates, but then he left. Now I know that I'm better off without him.

Or am I?

It's been six years, eleven months, and four days since Dante left Boulder. I know this not because I've been hoping he'll return, but because I've been counting how many days I've been fine without him. I am, too. I have my clan. I have my company.

And I have my son.

Our son.

Dante never needs to know about Wilder. If he finds out that he's got a son, I just know he's going to come back to town, but I've moved on. We've all moved on.

But all of that is about to change...

Dante comes barreling back to Boulder acting like everything is the same, but I'm different now. I don't need a husband. I don't need a mate. I don't need anything he could possibly have to offer, but my bear is begging to disagree.

And I don't know if my heart can handle it.

I enjoyed this but it is very lacking on world building or character development. I enjoyed the plot and you will be angry with the people in FMC and MMC who screw them both over. It is a quick and easy read.

Amazon 

Hexed Heart by R O’Leary

3 Stars

A broken monster. A desperate witch. A match made in hell.

The kingdom of Davos is in chaos, and so is Wilos. Banished by his king, the cat shifter is doing his best to keep it together… and failing. Who knew farming would be so hard? The sooner the cat takes over and drags him off into the woods for good, the better.

Curse them all—if Verity could go back in time and slap every last one of her foolish fellow witches, she would in a heartbeat. Create an army of monsters hellbent on revenge? Not the witches’ smartest plan. There’s nothing left to do but run and hope that nothing with fangs catches up to her… especially while she sneaks a desperate night of sleep.

The last thing Wilos needs is a witch hiding out on his farm. She’s beautiful and annoyingly alluring, but she’s a witch—and the sooner he gets rid of her, the sooner he can go back to being left alone.

With half the kingdom hunting her and his cat watching her every move, getting rid of the stubborn creature might be easier said than done.

I think if I started with this book I probably would have liked it better than I did. It gave more information on what led to what is happening in the current books. Since most of the information in this book was already mentioned in other books it felt repetitive. The writing was good and it did flesh out some things so worth the read.

Book .6 Raven Falls Curse

Amazon 

Dear Grumpy Boss by Julia Wolf

4 Stars

I’ve spent the better part of the last few years successfully avoiding my brother’s best friend, Weston Aldrich.

As CEO of Andes Inc, the infuriatingly handsome and incessantly grumpy Weston also happens to be my new boss.

It shouldn’t have been hard to continue avoiding him. After all, he’s on the executive floor and I’m one of many copywriters.

Weston has his own ideas about how things should go between us. He’s in my emails, leaving notes on my desk, and as if that’s not enough, he arranges for me to accompany him on a business trip.

That leads to stolen touches, frenzied kisses, and the undeniable need to work each other out of our systems. That always works, right?

Except now that I know what it feels like to have Weston Aldrich appreciate every inch of my abundant curves, avoiding him is impossible.

But he’s my brother’s best friend.

And a workaholic.

We have to stop.

And we will.

Soon.

Just…not yet.

Loved this book. The snarky covertness from Elise to Weston made me laugh throughout the book. I loved how Weston was all in with Elise and her daughter almost immediately. The story flowed nicely and made me want to go and read the other books by the author. My biggest complaint was the Elise was a bit of a doormat with her baby daddy and it did get frustrating.

Part of The Harder They Fall

Amazon 

Frosted Kisses by R O’Leary

4 Stars

Book 4.5 Raven Falls Curse

Banished to a trailer park with nothing but the clothes on his back, Carter has lost everything worthwhile in his life. The tiger inside of him isn’t so sure…

There’s nothing Shelby wants more than to finish up her degree and keep her hellion siblings out of trouble through Christmas break… but her new neighbor is making it hard to focus. He’s sexy, arrogant, and makes sculptures out of beer cans in his yard. There’s nothing about him that should appeal to her, but Shelby can’t take her eyes off of him—maybe because he can’t ever seem to put a shirt on?

All Carter had to do was keep his furry nose out of other people’s business, but he just had to go and do the right thing. Now he’s disowned, destitute, and stuck in the trailer park from hell. Drowning his misery in cheap beer and toaster waffles, he’s doing his best to avoid the loud pack of humans that live next door… especially the one with the cute freckles.

Avoiding Shelby is only going to get more difficult as the holidays draw closer… because the only thing Carter’s tiger wants for Christmas, is her.

Really enjoyed seeing Carter get his HEA with everything he has been through. Loved how it connected with the other short stories…may have read them out of order. Was interesting to see him go from wanting to be left alone and falling for Shelby. It was short and quick read. Melded well with the rest of the series and added to the overarching story.

Book 5.5 Raven Falls Cursed

Amazon 

Whiskers and Warrants by Nicolette Pierce

 

4 Stars

Wanted: Paranormal Tracker

Late nights, low pay, dangerous assignments, and a cranky boss (werewolf, actually). Apply in person. If wolf is in bad mood, run.

As an untrained witch arriving in the town of Forgotten Falls, I must fight to become a paranormal tracker. Getting the irritable police chief to hire me is a challenge I’m willing to take in order to leave my old life behind. But in a wolf dominated profession, I must prove I can do the job.

Stumbling upon a dead body, I leave the case in the police’s hands, knowing my subpar witch skills are better off tracking than sleuthing. But as I settle into my new town, clues emerge. The killer is on a mission and more people will die. After I receive a threatening message, I know I must act before it’s too late.

To make matters worse, the only room available to rent comes with an occupant. Thinking Niles is just an obstinate talking cat, I find I’m wrong. Niles has secrets of his own. In the hidden town of Forgotten Falls, where witches and paranormal creatures live, anything is possible.

LOVED this book. Met the author at an event and the cover drew me in and then the description was interesting, so I gave it a shot. With the book slump I’ve been in wasn’t expecting much but I blew through it and wanted more. I loved the Wren and finding out what is going on with her magic and her life was interesting. I loved the mystery and finding out how things work in this world. Immediately started book 2 and I can’t wait to see what all the answers for the Wren.

Book 1 A Black Moon Mystery

Amazon 

Screaming Sins by R O’Leary

4 Stars

Content warning there are talk about self harm and suicide in this book. If this is an issue for you please be aware.

He's promising to make her scream, but the joke's on him.

Eliza is a banshee—screaming is what she does best.

Creed and Eliza were amazing. I loved how Creed back Eliza into a corner to get what he wants and then he falls for her so bad. When they are in danger all he wants to do is protect her. Swoon. She has so much hate because of her talent and he just loves her no matter what. We finally get a huge drop of info on the big bad and it’s big. Can’t wait for the next installment.

Book 7 Raven Falls Curse

Amazon