Ares by Carly Spade

 

3 Star

Harmony “Harm” Makos loves stepping into the ring and being an MMA fighter. For her this is helping her more than therapy ever did. When her life is threatened, her manager hires a bodyguard to keep her safe. It just so happens to be former MMA men’s heavyweight champion Mars. They butt heads at every turn. Will they find out who wants to cause Harm harm and learn to love each other?

Where the first book had some really good things about it this book didn’t work so well for me. I really didn’t like Ares or Harm. This leads to a not so good book. I wanted to like them, but they come across as obnoxious people. As for the romance Harm and Mars are too much alike and it just didn’t work well for me.

Book 3 Contemporary Mythos

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Descend by Maya Nicole

 

2 Star

Danica still can’t get her dad back. They’ve tried so many things and nothing is working.  Now they will need to storm the castle and save him from Lillith.

Well, these books probably could have been better as a 2-book series. Dani also never got better from the first book to the last. The series was also listed as an MM book, and I feel like this is not the right book if you are looking for a good MM. It seemed like an after thought to bring people into the series. Meh I read it from the library, and I’ve read worst books.  If don’t mind a whiney heroine and you like most books that have Lucifer in it you might enjoy this series.

Book 3 Paranormal Academy

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Moon Touched by Elizabeth Briggs

 

2 Star

Ayla is outcast in her own pack. The Cancer pack would love to be rid of her, but they can’t. Now that she’s an adult they are hopeful at the annual retreat she will find her fated mate and they can be rid of her. When she does find her fated mate, he’s the future alpha of the Leo pack and he’s not interested in her at all. He refuses her and then murders the Cancer pack. Ayla is rescued by the 13^th pack that was banished years ago. They want her to help them and all she wants is revenge for her brother’s murder. Will she be strong enough for what needs to happen?

GRRRRRRR. Books should end on a cliffhanger. Why do authors think this is a good idea? Now instead of getting and reading the second book I will be waiting until all three are out and then read them all. This is very much a guilty pleasure type read. It reads as a corny daytime soap opera. Very predictable but it was still enjoyable. The biggest reason for the 2 star is the ending.

Book 1 Zodiac Wolves

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Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath

 

3 Star

Hugh Brinsley-Norton, the Duke of Kingsland needs a wife. With the help of Miss Pettypeace is his secretary he hopes to find a wife. She would love to take that role but doesn't feel worthy enough to be his wife. He is happy with her taking the lead on the search but soon finds himself more interested in her then finding a wife. When he finds out the truth about her will they have their happy ending?

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The twist at the end didn't work for me at all. The secret was when Penelope was young she posed naked for an artist who sold those prints for and wide. This led to her being booted from her family from the shame. I have no problem with this part of the story. a lot of women did what they had to, to survive. I just wasn’t a huge fan of Hugh. He never really does anything to win over Pen and I wanted her to get someone who deserved her. Overall, it was a fine book just not one of my favorite.

Book 2 Once Upon a Dukedom

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Romancing the Gravestone by Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe

 

2 Star

Jane Landling has overseen the family’s cemetery for several years. During her usually rounds she discovers an extra body resting in Plot #39. To help the locals investigate Special Agent Conrad Ryan is called in. When he doesn’t solve it fast enough Jane takes it upon herself to investigate. Will she be able to discover who murdered the good doctor?

I love cozy mysteries and I HATED this book. I picked this up and put this down so many times before I finished it. It was incredibly slow, and Jane was so FUCKING annoying. It felt like the authors wanted to make a quirky main character, but she just came across as annoying. I didn’t care when she was in with the murderer and could have died. That might have made the book better. One of the big things that kept bringing me out of the story was the made up GBH. Why would you make up a new state agency without explaining what they are there for. GBI is real and would have worked this case. I love Showalter books so I don’t know if it was Monroe or what that made this such a bad book, but I am not interested in the sequel. I don’t care what happens to any of the people in this book.

Book 1 Jane Ladling Mystery

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Shadow Thief by Eva Chase

 

3 Star

Sorsha rescues monsters from collectors in her spare time. One night it’s not like all her other jobs she ends up saving three higher shadowkind “monsters”. Ruse, Thorn, and Snap feel indebted to her and wanted to stay with her until they’ve repaid their debt to her. The problem they need to track down their boss Omen, who was captured at the same time but sold off to someone else. As they track down Omen the four of them get close. Will things change once the debt has been paid?

I actually enjoyed this up until they rescued their friend. At that point the way he acted kind of turned me off of the book/series. I looked at the other books to see if I wanted to continue the series as I was concerned about some of the things that happened at the end, and I didn’t want to invest in more time if it continued. My fears were confirmed, and something happens in a later book that is on my unforgivable tropes. I am very disappointed as I enjoyed this book a lot and wanted to continue the series.

Book 1 Flirting with Monsters

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To Catch a Witch by Heather Blake

 

3 Star

As You Wish is hired to organize the Wicked Mad Dash by Abby Stillwell. It looks like everything is going ok until blizzard conditions rage. That is until Abby is found dead. Darcy will find out who killed her and why but will she end up injured or killed herself?

This one frustrated me. It had a lot of repetitive information that after reading all the other books made it hard to listen to at times. I also had a LOT of issues with Harper.  I get she was in a lose lose situation, but this book bordered on a trope I hate. This one felt like it took forever to finish, and I really hated listening to this book. I ended up saying screw it and picked up the book to read. Then I skimmed the book so I could be done. The bad guy was also a meh. I also had an issue with all the secrets that are being kept by so many of the characters. It just felt like people were being dishonest with each other. I remember why I haven’t finished the series as this book always brings me to a halt. I’ll try some other books and then get to the last book where Darcy should be getting her HEA.

Audio

I wasn’t sure if I would like Coleen Marlo but she does an amazing job with each of these characters. I enjoyed how she gave each character their own voice. Even listening to it faster didn’t take away from the story.

Book 8 A Wishcraft Mystery

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