Bonds by Susan Copperfield

 

3.5 Star

Jack Alders works for Search and Rescue using his waveweaving talent when an oil tanker crashes off the coast of France he overextends his magic.  To keep him from dying France flies in a doctor who brings him back from the brink.  With Melody’s magic she may have magically connected to Jack so he is required to go home with her.  The more time they spend together the more they want to be together.  It doesn’t help when forces keep trying to kill her.

I really enjoyed reading this book for the most part and it had ok flow.  There were some parts that should have been cut out to make a more cohesive story but it wasn’t bad.  I also felt the bad guys were kind of an afterthought in the end.  There was a lot of build up to people who wanted to harm Melody and her family but the people who are causing all the problems are never in the book.  They are only ever talked about.  There was also talk about Jack’s past and that was never followed through on.  There just ended up being a lot of loose threads that never really got resolved once Melody and Jack got together. 

Book 6 A Royal State

Huntress by Susan Copperfield

 

4 Star

Prince Kelvin is the heir to the Illinois throne and needs to find love to break the family curse.  The problem is he hasn’t found someone he likes.  His mother wants him to take back his ex but as she cheated, he wants nothing to do with her.  With his last animal shift, he had a run in with a hunter who intrigues him, and he is willing to entice her to come and train with him to see if she’s his match.  Evangeline is fine with that if she can beat on him to keep him in line.  When he lets the family know his intentions, they don’t take it well.  In the process they end up breaking her arm and that is one thing too many for Kelvin and he abdicates.  How will the family get him back and in his good graces?

I enjoyed this story.  There was some meandering through parts of the story that was frustrating, but it wasn’t as bad as it was in the last book.  Personally, for me if my parents did what they did to him we would be done as there isn’t a lot of ways you come back from it.  Kelvin’s Great Grandpa who did the breaking of the bone did make up for it, but his parents never really did anything to make up for the way they acted.  This bothered me so very much.  I enjoyed who the bad guys were and how they were caught.  It would have been nice to see what happened to them in this book but maybe it will be addressed in a later book. Overall, it was a pretty good book and was right in line with Null and Void.

Book 5 A Royal States

A Guiding Light by Susan Copperfield

 

3 Star

Adam had once been engaged to Veronica the heir of North Dakota.  He was stripped of his rank and familial connections and cast out.  18 years later he’s made himself into a new man.  He is surprised by the arrival of Veronica’s brother.  He has dire news and only Adam can save the rest of the family from the fall of the kingdom.

The beginning of the book was pretty good.  I liked the set up and it was moving along nicely and then it got bogged down with the details.  There was a lot of redundancy in the story that could have been cut out and would have made a better story.  The book needed to have a good editor to make a better book.

Book 4 A Royal States

Captive King by Susan Copperfield

3 Star

Summer Cassidy is ordered to sell a precious necklace to bring some much-needed funds into the university’s archeology dig.  She meets bachelor 103 at the Texas Charity Auction.  He takes a liking to her and bids 10 million for it.  She bids 5.25 for his coffee cups and a coffee date.  One short night together has them hooked but she’s expected back at the dig.  On her way there she is stopped at a sister dig site where she ends up transporting to another and another and another.  How will they break the curse?

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did.  It started off really good.  I wanted to see how Cassidy and Landon would work out.  It just felt like it went off on a tangent about rape about 3/4 of the way through the book.  It just kind of threw me because that wasn’t where the book was going from the beginning of the book.  It felt like there were two plot points the author wanted to do and couldn’t decide which way she wanted to go so threw them both in.   The first book Null and Void that I reviewed previously had hot topic that was addressed.  When it was addressed in that book it made sense where this book it just didn’t meld with the rest of the story.  The other issue I had was how the culture in Alaska was handled.  There seems to be a massive rape culture where women are free to do with as you wish.  Landon who is King doesn’t seem to take any responsibility for this happening right under his nose.  Like you need your lady love to point it out to you and champion the other women in the kingdom.  The other issue I had were things left unanswered about some shady behavior from Cassidy’s school.  Like you wouldn’t bring hell down on their heads since you now have way more power. 

Book 3 Royal States

Unlikable Demon Hunter by Deborah Wilde

 

5 Star

Nava Katz is a smart-ass and is a hot mess.  Her twin brother Ari is the responsible one and is supposed to join the Brotherhood of David to hunt demons.  On the night of his induction she shows up half-drunk and accidentally takes her brothers place with the Brotherhood.  She is required to go through the training her brother had already started and deal with men who don’t want her around as there has never been a woman in the group.  One of her trainers Rohan is everything she ever wanted but can’t have.  After killing some half demons, she will have a fight on her hands.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was different from other books I’ve read.  I really like Nava’s character.  She’s flawed in so many ways, but she has her reasons for those flaws.  Deborah Wilde writing in this book draws the reader in and made me want to see how it would work out.  She is able to build these relationships between the characters that are complex, and she does it in a short amount of time.  The world building, she does in the book is also really well done.  I am very interested in seeing where this series is going.

 

Audiobook:

This book is narrated by Hollie Jackson and she does an amazing job narrating it.  She is able to give each character their own voices, so you know who is talking.  The pacing in the book is spot on even with me listening to it at a faster speed.  I love listening to any book she narrates.

Book 1 Nava Katz

Bring the Heat by G.A. Aiken

 

3 Star

Bronwen the awful is ordered to help Keita on her mission with some of the Mi-runach.  They are to try and find Ren before his mother finds out and starts a war.  Aiden is loving the fact that he gets to spend more time with Bronwen even if she doesn’t want anything to do with him.  The group have to dodge the Zealots, who follow the god Chramnesind and it isn’t working out well for them.  What will they do when they find out Ren was killed and Keita loses it.

The romance took the backseat again in this book.  It also seemed the book was more about all the other characters.  The best part of the book was when Annwyl was stuck in Hell and had to fight her way out.  She gets out just in time to help all of the people of her realm defeat the bad guys. I loved this storyline.  I also enjoyed the parts with Keita.  She is out for revenge over the murder of her friend Ren and I loved how this worked out. If the book was about these two storylines it would have been a pretty good book.  However, the book was supposed to be about Bronwen and Aiden.  There wasn’t enough time with this couple to feel a connection with them and since that is what the book is touted as it was a bit disappointing. 

Book 9 Dragon Kin

The Rookie by Kimberly Kincaid

4 Star

A.D.A. Tara Kingston is trying to get justice by taking a major criminal off the streets when her CI is attacked.  The responding officer, Xander Matthews, has wanted her for the last two years since she tried to prosecute him.  He’s cleaned up his life and joined the force. They will work together with the Intelligence Unit to keep the CI safe and get a conviction.

As I read this book, I felt it was a part of another series even though it said book one.  When I looked into this it is a spinoff of two other series by Kimberly Kincaid.  It wasn’t anything major that took away from the book overall but some of the plot would have made more sense if I had read the other two series.  I enjoyed the story even with this confusion.  I liked the couple a lot.  They really worked well together.  I also enjoyed the mystery of who was going after the CI.  I look forward to reading the next book in the series as well as going back and reading the other two series.

Book 1 The Intelligence Unit