Review: Red Wolf (Shifters Unbound Series 10) by Jennifer Ashley

Red Wolf by Jennifer Ashley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fighting the Fae

It seems like eons since I read the first part of this series. This book has sat in my library languishing for a very long time. After being unable to get into any of my newer books over the last few days I decided to read this, as I knew I enjoyed the series and the characters were familiar. Sometimes we need the comfort of familiarity, even in books.

This book revolves around Jaycee, a leopard shifter, and her Tracker partner and best friend, red wolf shifter, Dimitri. They were raised from their teens together and are inseparable. Recently they had sex after their community leader went into a mating frenzy and dragged them with him. In the aftermath, Dimitri mate-claimed Jaycee and she has yet to decide if she will accept or reject him. She thinks he did it because he thought it would help control her and keep her safe during a dangerous interlude.

Their leader Kendrick decides to send them on a mission to assess if shifters are betraying their own kind by siding with the fae who enslaved them for centuries. They are eventually approached by a wolf shifter who invites them to New Orleans.

There are all sorts of antics in New Orleans, with a goblin, a sentient house and fae. They have to decide if they are going to fight for their relationship, or try to do their duty.

Theirs is an interesting relationship because they’ve been friends for years. It makes a nice change to have shifter relationships not being insta-love ones.

This series is well written and interesting. The characters continue through the series, which is always nice, as it often covers the main characters of previous books so it’s almost like a continuing epilogue. Having a continuing battle with the fae and the human authorities gives the series cohesion and means a new plot doesn’t have to be established in each book.

The book is enjoyable and helped me get out of my reading funk.

Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Friends With The Monsters by Albany Walker

Friends With The Monsters by Albany Walker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Weirdly Endearing

This book is strange and captivating. There is a lot of mystery involved revolving around the MFC, Damiana who lives by herself in a huge expensive house in the middle of nowhere. The only companions she has are monsters that visit her in the night. They are, and have always been, her only friends. Even as a child she scared her parents and was sent away to boarding school very young, and she never saw her very wealthy parents again.

We don’t know what kind of supernatural creature Damiana is, but we do know that she feeds on sins. Though she has her monster friends she is still isolated and lonely. She doesn’t trust easily after being cast away by her parents. Then one day a severely injured man turns up in her house. Instead of attacking him, she feels herself drawn to him and needs to help. This is the start of a brand new adventure, when she must learn to trust others.

There is a lot left unsaid by the end of the book. There is a bit of a cliffhanger, but it didn’t leave me screaming in frustration. It’s at times funny, weird, dark and sexy. It’s definitely an enjoyable read, and I’ll be looking out for a new book when it comes out.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Well of Magic: An Urban Fantasy (Rosie O'Grady's Paranormal Bar and Grill Series Book 4) by BR Kingsolver

Well of Magic: An Urban Fantasy by BR Kingsolver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Invasion by The Knights of Magica

I’d probably give this 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This book is from one of my favourite authors. I always love the stuff BR Kingsolver writes, but I was a little uncertain in parts of this book. One of my uncertainties arises from Erin meeting Oriel, a half fae/half witch who is her friend Lizzy’s cousin. He is an unseelie fae and therefore a little darker than Lizzy. He’s also got horns and bits of fur in odd places. He’s very good at glamour though, as well as being a Smith, or a fae metal worker, which is why Erin initially wanted to meet him. Their relationship strikes me as odd, in that Erin just jumps straight into it, with hardly any hesitation, despite being concerned about her instant intense attraction to him. However, as the book progresses I got over those feelings.

The book, away from the romance part, is as anticipated, it’s usual fantastic self. It seems an enemy of the Illuminati has come to Westport and they want to eliminate all the supernatural beings they can find, and they don’t care who gets caught in the cross fire. They are a religious order and are mostly zealots.

Erin believes they are trying to fill the vacuum left by the, now mostly destroyed, Illuminati and she ends up being roped in to pass on her conclusions and any information she has buried in her brain from her years as an Illuminati Hunter, to the Supernatural Council.

A lot happens in this book, with fighting off the Knights of Magica, as well as the romance part, so there is no surprised that this book has a cliff hanger. At the end of the book it states the next book will be out in Winter 2020. Of course this felt a very long time to wait, so I checked with the author and they said it would probably be March at the earliest for release, which is a lot sooner than my panicked brain had it, with was next winter, rather than the one we are currently in. I do love it when an author is accessible for this sort of thing.

As always, I recommend the book, despite my misgivings early on with the romance part of the story. I got over it quickly, so I’m sure you will too!

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Wicked Wings (Lizzie Grace Series Book 5) by Keri Arthur

Wicked Wings by Keri Arthur
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such A Good Series

I’ve been a fan of Keri Arthur for a long time, but this is one of my favourite series of hers. I love Lizzie Grace and her best friend, and familiar, Belle. Their friendship is the centre of these stories, and I love that it’s more important than the romances that come and go. The two witches are aware of each other at all times and can psychically communicate and draw on each other’s strength in times of need. It may not be romantic love but it’s something almost stronger.

This is just as well because though Lizzie is with Aidan and has fallen for him, they both know there can be no future in their relationship, because as an alpha werewolf he has to marry and have children with another werewolf. This time limit gives a sweet poignancy to their relationship, despite their obvious feelings for each other.

In this book the dark danger facing the reservation is a demon that murders and then strips flesh from the bones. Throw in a White Lady ghost who wants to get revenge on the demon and signs of Lizzie’s husband getting close to tracking her down after 12 years of running from him and their forced marriage at age 16.

With a long standing series there are always multiple strands to tug on and weave in and this is where the strength of the writer comes into it’s own, with Ms Arthur’s craft shining through with each turn of the page. It takes real skill to take each component of a long running series and weave it around the immediate threat, without letting either part getting lost and becoming weaker. This book is a perfect example of a writer at the height of her powers creating a wonderful set of characters and weaving a gripping story around them.

Read this series, it’s brilliant.

Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Shattered Bonds (Jane Yellowrock Series Book 13) by Faith Hunter

Shattered Bonds by Faith Hunter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Culmination of several story arcs

I make no secret of loving Faith Hunter and this wonderful world she has built, containing both Jane Yellowrock and Nell Ingram, two my favourite female characters. This book is number 13 in the series, and by now you’d think that everything would have been said or done with this character, but you’d be absolutely incorrect.

This book takes several long standing story arcs and ties them together in a way that you will not see coming. Some of those are arcs you won’t realise were still not tied off. This book is a gift to long standing Jane fans.

All the characters get to show their depth as Jane deals with the possibility of her powers killing her. At the end of the Dark Queen, Jane understands that her time travelling ability has given her cancer, because arcenciels are the only beings meant to do it. She has just become the Emperor of the European Vampires and she is unbelievably sick. She immediately abdicates and slinks away in the night. It was a heartbreaking end to a great book and waiting for Shattered Bonds was hard.

Thankfully, Alex Younger is a genius hacker who easily traced Jane, so the Youngers and Bruiser showed up to look after her. Jane’s instincts are always to stand isolated and alone, because for most of her life it was just her and Beast to rely on. Her family is still so new she can’t bring herself to hurt them with watching her die, so she leaves.

This book shows what happens when you walk away from your responsibilities and try to do everything on your own. The book explores Jane’s heart and soul. It explores Beast’s heart too and their connection and love for each other. Jane must look inwards in her usual mix of Cherokee ceremony, visions, prayer and magic.

There is less action in this book than some of the earlier ones, but that is because there is so much to handle in order to finish this chapter of her life. For a while I thought this might be the last book, until I remembered quite late on that there is a contract for one more book in the series, so I know there is still good stuff to come. Jane gets her Happy for Now ending, but know there is still a barrel load of work still to be done as Dark Queen and Emperor of the European Vampires!

Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: The Wrong Kind of Love (The Boys of Jackson Harbor Series Book 1) by Lexi Ryan

The Wrong Kind of Love by Lexi Ryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Two Broken Souls

I haven’t read a Lexi Ryan book is forever, I can’t think why as this was a really enjoyable romance.

Nicole is getting married to the man of her dreams, except she thinks he might not be, because she heard him on the phone the night before when he told someone “he couldn’t stop thinking about you.” All is confirmed as her identical twin sister throws up over her dress and announces she’s pregnant with his baby.

To escape, Nic heads to the airport and finds herself with the wrong handbag. She heads off to her sister’s new job as a nanny several hours flight away. This was the not the only disaster of epic proportions that Nic has had in her love life, but she needs to be away from the sister that she loves, but chose to betray her.

In the blurb it implies that Nic sets off to take her sister’s place, but that isn’t the case, which I was pleased about because I really hate that kind of thing. Apparently Nic does too, as she feels that she’s been left to deal with the fallout from another one of her sister’s schemes.

Ethan is a doctor. He has a gorgeous 6 year old daughter and as he is called out to deliver babies in the middle of the night he needs a nanny because his mother is going travelling. His mother helped raise his daughter, after his wife died 3 years previously. Ethan only has casual relationships because he won’t let his or his daughter’s heart be broken again, when someone they love leaves them.

The story covers what happens when two broken souls meet, don’t want a relationship, but are really attracted to each other and then force them to spend time together.

I really liked Nic, she really tries hard to do the right thing. She puts others before herself, which though in moderation is a good quality, is not when it jeopardises your own happiness. She is trying to learn that lesson and when Ethan is obnoxious, he makes it really easy to tell him off.

We see a lot of progress on each of the main characters’ emotional problems before the HEA, which I really like. I also really liked the family, which was obviously intentional as this is the first book in a series about the large and gorgeous family.

It was well written and the characters were sympathetic. The set up is a bit outrageous but it was handled with deft hands that made it believable.

I may well give the next book a go.

Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Blaze: A Dystopian, Reverse Harem, Paranormal Romance Novel by Amelia Oliver

Blaze: A Dystopian, Reverse Harem, Paranormal Romance Novel by Amelia Oliver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Confusing At Times

I really wanted to like this book, and for the most part I did, but there was a lot in there that was just plain confusing.

Kayla and her pet, Baby, live in a bus in London. London is now infested with Panda faced zombies. Yes I said Panda faced. They have black rings around their eyes and black around the nose and mouth. So they look like Pandas. Kayla is a immune to the Panda Virus, which is described as airborne, however, she will get it if she’s bitten or scratched by a Panda Zombie. This was one of the most confusing things to me, in the glossary the virus is described as airborne but infects those who are bitten or scratched, this means it isn’t airborne but passed through contact.

Kayla meets Connor who claims to know her from when they were children. She has no memory of this, which he says was caused by an accident that killed her brother and stole away Connor and his friends Crowley and Charlie too. Apparently all three were destined be her mates. It is Connor that explains that Baby is in fact not a dog like Kayla believed but a lion.

We then have a series of adventures where we meet the other guys, she dislikes them and wants nothing to do with them one minute and then the next she changes her mind after a near death experience. It felt very much like she was one person at the start of the book and then it all flipped over and she was all of sudden a much happier, easy going person who was delighted to be a in a relationship.

It just seems to get more and more confusing. It felt like there should be more explanations for things as they flipped around into something else. I got to the point where I just thought, ‘read it Chrissy and just switch off your brain during the bits which don’t make sense.’ That worked quite well, but it annoyed me somewhat to have to do that.

This book had so many ingredients of a book that I would like that I am disappointed that it didn’t quite happen. It’s an entertaining book, and if you are good at switching your brain off during leaps of bizarre logic, then you’ll be really happy reading this book, otherwise, be prepared for your head to hurt afterwards.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Vexed (The Blood Court Series Book 1) by Dagmar Avery and K Margaret

Vexed by Dagmar Avery and K Margaret
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Life in the Blood Court

This book is spin off from The Sleeping Court Series and is focused on Princess Nymea Blut of the Blood Court. She lost two of her guard, out of five, during the trials covered in the previous series. The new Queen has also set Nymea the task of branching out her very successful wine and brewing business into the human realm. which is an awful lot of work for a princess who is 2/5th down in her immediate support network.

Though we met the characters in the previous series, we didn’t get to know them and their history particularly well, so there are a lot of flashbacks covering important times during their relationships. The information we get about the characters are mainly in relation to Nymea, rather than their personal history, but it’s a good start to getting to know them and how their relationships work.

During the branching out of the business into the human realm, they are starting to have to work with human business and they keep coming up against problems, from a mysterious company. So far they’ve got around them, but it looks like things might step up.

I like these characters, and getting to know them whilst they are already in a relationship is a very different experience to the first series where the harem build up over time.

Nymea is a tricky character. She’s half fae/half demon and she is very stubborn. She likes things done a certain way and it’s really hard to get her to change her mind. We get to see the guard through her eyes and how they relate to her, rather than each other.

As with the other series, this one is seriously hot and there is a lot of sex scenes, so either be warned or get excited, whichever is your inclination.

I think the next book will be much more plot driven, going on my experience of the previous series. I’m looking forward to getting my teeth into this spin-off.

Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Báirseach: The Midding Gate by VB Gilbert

Báirseach: The Midding Gate by VB Gilbert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really Good RH Fantasy with Dragons

I would give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

I looked up the word Báirseach and the word means bargain, other meanings are witch and dragon. This is the essence of this book, a bargain between witches and dragons.

Sage is member of a coven, but she has no magic. She is Mundane. Her coven still needs her and she is a valued member of the coven, even without power, but she still feels like an outsider sometimes. Her role within the coven is protecting and raising dragons from their eggs. There is a bargain struck long ago between a witch and the dragons. The dragons would give the coven three eggs to care for. They would carry the eggs to the lava lake and help the eggs hatch. They would raise the hatchlings and one dragon would bond with a Champion to help protect the witches and the other two dragons would return to the wild, after providing more eggs.

This story follows Sage and three men who aid her in her work to protect the dragons. They face many unexpected challenges and Sage finally has to accept that even though she was born without magic, it doesn’t mean she has no power.

This is a really good book. It has interesting characters and the world building is excellent. I love the idea of a non-magical witch, for once, not being treated badly by her peers. I liked that she’s 27 and has a job that is valued and that she is good at. I also like that she doesn’t tolerate her boyfriend treating her badly.

The relationships between the dragons, the magic and Sage is cleverly revealed. However, I feel the characters could have been explored a bit further. There wasn’t a lot of depth to anyone except Sage, which is why it’s not a 5 ⭐️ read.

Other than that, it’s a r

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Touch Of Regret (The Collectors Series Book 1) by Autumn Reed

Touch Of Regret by Autumn Reed
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

VERY Slow Build Reverse Harem

I read this because I like reverse harem books. It did state in the blurb that it was a slow build but there were a grand total of two kisses in the entire book, that doesn’t really count as an RH book to me.

Adele has psychometric powers. No one knows except her deceased mother, who had similar powers. She’s been alone with her secret, afraid to touch anyone for years until one day she finds a locket with an address. This starts her on a path that introduces her to a group of other psychically talented people. This group automatically embraces this total stranger. However she is instantly exposed to The Collectors, a shadowy organisation who collect psychics for their own ends. The Collectors won’t take no for an answer.

The book is based around an interesting concept but I just couldn’t connect with the characters. I didn’t really sympathise with any of them because there was no real depth to them.

It seemed to take ages for the story to get going and then suddenly in the last 15% of the book I started to engage with the plot. Then of course it ended on a cliffhanger, which I always find annoying. However, even that added interest in the later stages of the book is not enough for me to get the next book in the series.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Long Witch Night (Red Witch Chronicles Series Book 2) by Sami Valentine

Long Witch Night by Sami Valentine
My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book, in return for a review. All opinions stated below are my own.

This is the second book in the Red Witch Chronicles. I loved the first book, but this one blew the first out of the water, it was superb. I was completely enthralled in Red’s life and adventures, and I hated being disturbed whilst reading it.

Red and Vic are staying in LA for a while. Vic is in an electric wheelchair, but Red has some mysterious funds available so they found an apartment and are now working for Quinn as Hunters for Hire. During a routine call to exorcise a ghost for a Hollywood starlet, and her rapper husband, Red encounters an additional spirit that starts talking to her in her dreams. Is this spirit there to help or harm is the question that Red wants to answer.

There is so much in this book. There is all the push and pull of Red’s feelings for Lucas and for Kristoff and their feelings for Red being mixed up with their feelings for the woman who’s face she wears.

We find out more about Red’s doppelgänger and the warlock that killed her in this book, but there is still a lot of mystery surrounding Juniper St James, as well as Red's missing memories.

In this book we experience ghosts, possessions and alternative dimensions. There is never a dull moment, and I can’t wait for the next book.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: For Love of Evil (Demon's Muse Series Book 2) by Auryn Hadley

For Love of Evil by Auryn Hadley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wonderfully Fantastic Story

I have become such an Auryn Hadley fan over the last year or so. This book is a prime example of why. Once more this gifted author has created a magical universe, with a complex and well thought out magical system, filled it with incredibly detailed and real characters who have rich emotional histories and had them go on a mighty adventure through life. I honestly thought I’d never find a series I loved as much as Rise of The Iliri, but this one is a very very strong competitor.

In this book we get to see more of the way magic works and in particular how Sia uses it differently from everyone else. She is trying to learn how to use magic like a demon because her great-grandfather wishes her to learn that way, but it just doesn’t seem to be working, mainly because of the science she is supposed to understand in order to do magic like a demon. Sadly Sia is an artist and not a scientist.

The Legion is all living in Hell to keep Sia hidden from the angels whilst she is training. Ronwe has been helping her to understand magic in a way that her great-grandfather seems unable to do, mainly because he understands Sia and the way she thinks a little better. He becomes closer to the Legion because of his friendship with Sia.

One of the things the Legion has been doing is waking up drained demons with the aether they have reaped on Earth. Luke makes a mistake and wakes the wrong demon, one who has been drained for millions of years. His views are archaic and he is a dangerous enemy.

The Legion is trying to avoid the angels, keep Sia safe, and also protect the demons. It’s a hard line to walk, even when you have wings for balance.

I got incredibly absorbed in this story. Auryn Hadley writes such wonderful tales that suck you in and never let go. The characters are rich and have so many nuances to them they feel like they could walk off the page. Having such wonderful characters means you are fully invested in their happiness, sadness, success and failure. You can’t stop worrying about them, even when you stop reading. They feel real.

I really hope the next book in this series comes out soon, because it really is gripping and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: The Kiss of Death (Demon's Muse Series Book 1) by Auryn Hadley

The Kiss of Death by Auryn Hadley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What if Demons Were The Good Guys?

Sienna Parker hasn’t had the best life. She was abandoned as a five year old and grew up in foster care, moving around several times. She hasn’t got any friends and her motivation in life is going to college, getting a degree and then getting a job as a medical illustrator. Art is her main talent and sadly creating art isn’t a steady job, not like being a medical illustrator.

She has worked since graduating high school, six years ago, to save up enough to go to college without incurring massive debts. At last she has accomplished part of her dream. Sadly the guy she started dating once she arrived at college seems a bit of an ass, but that’s nothing new, Sienna is used to men behaving like selfish children so ditching him shouldn’t be too hard.

She meets a gorgeous man, Nick, who looks like a Greek god and still seems to be interested in her. All she wants to be is normal, except that is something it seems Sienna is incapable of being, when she draws objects that come to life and spring off the page. Nick seems to be a great guy and after he saves her she’s even more drawn to him. His friend’s are pretty hot too.

I love Auryn Hadley’s work. This is a great example of her skillful world building and character construction. This author always makes it easy to connect with the characters. The plot is gripping and I couldn’t stop reading once I got past the first couple of chapters.

I love how the author turns things on it’s head with this book and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Crown of Desire: A Fantasy Romance Novel (The Peacequeen Series Book 1) by Eve Bradley

Crown of Desire: A Fantasy Romance Novel by Eve Bradley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fantasy Reverse Harem

I'd probably give this book 3.5 stars, If I could.

Catryn is a whore. She’s been one her whole life as her father started selling her young. She’s currently working in a brothel as the city in which she lives is crumbling through corruption and lack of leadership. Then the brothel is filled with soldiers come to steal women away for their camp as they wait to take the city by force.

Catryn is claimed by Darrian, the son of someone powerful. He takes her to his camp and treats her well and even offers to pay her for her time and take her to somewhere safe after the war is settled. Having no real choice Catryn agrees and even enjoys their time together.

Then two men arrive, Valryn and Glend, a warrior and a scholar who have travelled from the Vault Citadel with a crown created by the gods and goddesses. A crown to sit on top of the head of new Peacequeen, Catryn. There hasn’t been a Peaceking or Peacequeen in 300 years. They are anointed by the gods and goddesses to rule over the the kings and queens of the continent, to guide them, especially in dark times of war. They are given Guardians to protect them and mystical powers of invulnerability and magic. Valryn was born to be a Guardian, and Glend and Darrian choose to become one. They each bound to Catryn and through her to each other and have to learn quickly how to work together effectively. They have to hit the ground running because war is coming to the continent and they have few resources with which to stop it.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about this book. It’s well written and there is plenty of plot but I felt like I didn’t connect properly with the characters. I feel like I *should* have connected with them, but I just felt there was something missing. I think it’s because though there was some discussion about their pasts, they weren’t really talked about with emotion, with the exception of Catlyn. There was no real backstory for most them, with only a few hints. What I don’t know is if this was deliberate or not, and whether more information will come out in the next book. This is the problem with reading a new to me author, I just have what I’m reading to go on, I can’t make assumptions about the way in which they generally reveal information.

I feel there is lots of potential in the book. The plot is intriguing and want to follow the story but there are gaps in the world building as well as the characters backstory. For some people these may not be huge issues, but they are reason for me to not give 5 stars to a story that might merit it if the rest of the book lived up to the same standard.

At the Time of Writing This Post, This Book Was Not Available on Amazon.

Review: Christian (The Casanova Club Series Book 11) by Ali Parker

Christian by Ali Parker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Archaeology Professor

I wasn’t sure where this one was going to go. It seemed like surely Piper couldn’t open her heart to another man, but it seems Christian had other plans.

Christian is an archaeology professor at Harvard. He is handsome, rich, educated and above all, he is kind, whilst still being a dirty boy! He is 35 years old and all that is missing in his life is a wife.

Piper is still reeling with her family issues and shuts down for a little while, but Christian is patient, and kind and tries to help her through it all.

Once again, this is a sweet book, with some heat and enjoyable read.

Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Queen Takes Camelot: Gwen (Their Vampire Queen Series Book 10) by Joely Sue Burkhart

Queen Takes Camelot: Gwen by Joely Sue Burkhart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tale of a New Queen

In previous books in this series we first met Gwen, a reincarnation of Guinevere of Camelot. She had been cursed by King Arthur for loving his knights as much as him and he couldn’t share her, eventually burning her in a tower.

This reincarnation was trapped by an oath, forced from her at age 13, to Elaine Shallott. She was forbidden to ever call her Blood to her, to stunt her power, and then passed over to the New York Queen to become a sib. Thankfully when Shara Isador took New York and bound all the previous sibs to her, Gwen gained the power over New York, which she was given to hold for Shara. She was free at last to call her Blood to her.

This twisted re-telling of the tales of Camelot is great fun. It is full of blood and sex, the way this whole series is. You can’t enjoy this book without having read the rest of the series, as so much is unsaid, without the backstory nothing will make sense. If you haven’t read the rest of the series, I highly recommend you start at the beginning, it’s a great series.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: When it Rains (Where She Belongs Series Book 1) by Kitty Cox

When it Rains by Kitty Cox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sweet and Sad

I’m going to start this with a trigger warning, as it’s needed for this book. If you are emotionally vulnerable regarding the discussion of child abuse, domestic abuse and animal abuse, you should probably avoid this book. Whilst the discussion of the child abuse is abstract and in the past, the domestic and animal abuse takes place during the course of the events narrated in the book.

This book is the first solo endeavour by this author. She has written three books, The Gamer Girls Series, with co-author Auryn Hadley. I really enjoyed those books, but as I pretty much adore everything Auryn Hadley writes, this isn’t surprising. I thought I’d give Kitty Cox’s solo project a try. I’m glad I did, as this is a good book.

The book revolves around Brook, who has been in relationship with her husband Owen for 10 years. Her marriage is not happy, and she has been isolated from all her friends and family during the course of the relationship. The one thing that brings her joy is working at an animal rescue shelter. She is passionate about dogs and is heartbroken Owen only allows her to have one dog.

Then she meets a new community service ‘volunteer’, Ryder. Ryder is a big man, with little to say, with the exception of how much he loves dogs. He is attracted to Brook, but as she is married, he writes her off as a possible romantic interest. Then one day Brook needs his help and he swings into action.

Brook is a complex character, who used to be bright and exciting until her liveliness was eroded by Owen. He gradually separated her from family and friends and left her completely dependent on him for everything. She loves with her whole heart and is loathe to give up on her marriage. Her heart breaks every time a dog is euthanised and she morns the loss of her friends.

Ryder is a beautiful character. He adores dogs and their loyal simplicity and cannot cope with life without his identical twin brother Hunter. He knows that he has to help Brook, in the same way he would help a wounded animal. He is also a tortured soul and something in Brook speaks to him.

I really liked Alison, Brook’s old college friend. They hadn’t seen each other in years, and still she behaved as though it was last week they last caught up. I love that she encourages the ‘old’ Brook to come back to the forefront of her personality. She is supportive without question, loving and fun. Her friendship with Brook is really important to the book.

The book is at times both sweet and sad. The plot is complex and interesting and I think the author did a great job on her first solo effort. You can definitely see some of the things she brought to the Gamer Girls Series within this book, and it’s good to see that she can write well by herself, as well as with Auryn Hadley.

The book ends as a HFN, but I think the next book in the series will make for an interesting read.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Behind These Blue Eyes: Between The Adventures (The Adventures of Blue Faust Series Book 2) by Cecilia Randell

Behind These Blue Eyes: Between The Adventures by Cecilia Randell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Back Home

I’d give this book 3.5 stars if I could.

This book was a little bit of a let down after the first book. It felt very much like it was a ‘filler’. It covered the time after Blue and the others got back to Earth and how they dealt with their feelings and explaining the missing friends to the authorities.

Whilst this was interesting to a certain extent, it didn’t really move the series forward very far. I feel that the plot contained within this book could have been condensed and added to a future book without having to add many more pages.

We did learn a lot more about Blue’s friends and their history, but again, that could have been covered within a few pages.

Whilst I am a little disappointed, I’m happy that this is in Kindle Unlimited, so it didn’t cost me anything but time. I hope the next book gets back to the excitement of the first book, otherwise I’ll have to abandon the series, which I hate doing.

(Note: Since writing this post, the book seems to have come out of Kindle Unlimited)

Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Captive of Darkness (Heart of Darkness Series Book 1) by Debbie Cassidy

Captive of Darkness by Debbie Cassidy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Strange Faery Tale

This book is confusing and difficult to follow, but I could not stop reading it. Each step on the journey could be the step that made everything clear, so I could understand what the heck was going on.

Wynter lives in Justice Falls, a place where people disappear every year and then no one remembers them, except for a very select few. Wynter is one of those people and she lives with her drunk of a father and Finn, a man who was taken into her home as a 10 year old.

Then one day Finn is one of the taken and Wynter will not allow him to to be one of the disappeared. She ventures into the chasm that cuts Justice Falls off from the rest of the world. She enters a world of darkness, pain and torment where the residents don’t remember who they are, they are made up of pure instinct.

Wynter is a strong and determined character, who will not let go of the man she loves. Though she’s smart enough to be scared, she is incredibly brave and will not give up. When in the chasm she is not alone for long, when Veles a strange and powerful demon-like creature saves her.

Veles has been lost to instinct for an unknown amount of time, because he has no memory of the time before. All he knows when he meets Wynter is that he has to help her. He is driven to it.

There are so many dream-like sequences in this book that it is hard to determine what is meant to be reality and what is illusion. It’s probably not a book to read when you are tired because otherwise you will end up with very strange dreams.

I’m definitely intrigued enough to continue my read, because I was provided with enough information in the last couple of chapters, that I’m determined to find out what happens next.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: (Not) The One by Donna Alam

(Not) The One by Donna Alam
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Emotional Romance

Miranda has two jobs. She found her fiancé cheating with her best friend and she had to move back in with her warring parents. Her life sucks.

James is very wealthy, handsome and loved by his father. He has a successful art dealership and good friends. His life is pretty good.

Miranda’s second job is pet sitting which helps her get away from her warring parents for a while, and get paid for it. Her cousin dragged her out for the night and she came home a bit tipsy and somehow the cat escaped. The cat escaped next door where James happened to be looking after his Dad’s ancient dog whilst he was on holiday. On meeting, James and Miranda have a spectacular one night stand. They don’t see each other for a month until they bump into each other again and find out that James’ best friend is married to Miranda’s boss.

Despite herself, Miranda feels herself falling a little bit in like with James and he feels the same. But Miranda is determined to leave the relationship as casual, because love often turns to hate.

This was actually sort of believable. The way the relationship between James and Miranda developed was full of coincidences and stops and starts. It almost felt natural. I also liked that James as the older of the two was more together about how he felt about their situation and was happy to dive head first into a relationship. Miranda being younger was more hesitant, especially having such a bad example with her parents and her cheating ex.

I liked both of them. Despite James being very wealthy, he was happy in cheap restaurants and didn’t look down his nose at Miranda’s old car. He cared deeply for his Dad and was very supportive of his artists. Miranda was hard working, she picked herself back up after having her life fall apart and she was trying her hardest to make it on her own again. They both like to banter and the witty back and forth is very entertaining.

There are some unexpected twists and turns to the story and it makes for some occasional sniffles, but there is lots of happiness to make up for it.

I really enjoyed this book as I usually do with Donna Alam’s work. Definitely a good book to unwind with.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Virtual Reality (Gamer Girls Series Book 3) by Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox

Virtual Reality by Kitty Cox and Auryn Hadley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Heat Gets Turned Up For The Gamer Girls

I’d probably give this book 4.5 stars if I could.

The third book in this series continues within a year or so of the second book. It includes a lot of the characters from the first two books, but it mainly focuses on Iceman who was in the second book and a new character Lithium/Kate.

Kate is on the verge of being divorced from a man who wouldn’t let her work, disparaged her daily, cheated on her regularly and ran up $10,000s of debt. He also beat her, and that was when she walked away. The trouble is that her ex doesn’t want Kate to walk away with anything and is fighting her hard.

One of the things her ex said she would never be able to do was join in with an FPS game and be any good at it. So whilst she was looking for a job she decided to give it a go, after reading an article about the Support Class in a game she’d heard about. She dropped into the game and started offering support and instantly made friends with Iceman, a good guy who was friends with QQ (a successful female gamer) in the last book.

Iceman and Lithium become friends pretty quickly during their first long gaming session and within days she’s been signed up to his outfit, which includes QQ.

In the same week she manages to land an interview for a chain of hotels as a receptionist. The big boss, Adam decides to suggest she might be a good fit for the assistant to the Head of Marketing, otherwise known as his adoptive mom. Kate lands the job, falls in love with it, bonds with her new boss and starts to hesitantly get to know Adam, otherwise known as the sexy, rich and successful owner of the business she works for. All the while this new life is starting for her, she is building up friendships online with her outfit and in particular Iceman.

Kate has to face a lot of stuff in this book and then she picks herself back up again. She has to learn to lean on other people, something she hasn’t been able to do for years. She also seems to have two men interested in her, and both seem pretty interesting guys.

I really liked Kate. I thought she was a fabulous character. I love that she was a beginner at FPS games and that she just kept trying even when she didn’t start out great. I like that she was determined that her ex wouldn’t keep on hurting her and was willing to accept help in order to make that happen, even when she was reluctant to do so. I love the relationship she has with her immediate boss as she seems like a crazy lady who knows how to have fun and also terrify those who mess up.

I love how the authors have taken things that have happened to female gamers in the real world and translated them into this fictional one in a way that is sensitive and terrifying at the same time. I love that they use the word cisgender, followed by the phrase “google it” when the other characters look confused, in exactly the same way I first encountered the definition. I also like that some of the guys within the group really didn’t get why some descriptors of gender are not acceptable and had to have it drummed into their heads until they got it.

This book opens up the world of gaming in relation to gender stereotypes and prejudice and the dangers that are faced by those who are non cisgendered or people of colour. The authors do this in a way that isn’t preachy, but it is informative and it is important to the plot.

This is an excellent series, and I’m glad to see it it isn’t over yet.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: A Girl Named Blue: The Adventure Begins (The Adventures of Blue Faust Series Book 1) by Cecilia Randell

A Girl Named Blue: The Adventure Begins by Cecilia Randell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating Sci Fi/Fantasy

Blue has moved with her mother’s job - again. She doesn’t mind, it’s just the way her life is. What she does mind is the death of her father the year before. They were each other’s best friend and company when her mother was working late again. She doesn’t resent her mother’s passion for her work on renewables and sustainability but she does get lonely sometimes.

Her move has allowed her to start her senior year at school, at the beginning of the year for once. She decides that this is the year of ‘New Things’. She plans to push herself out of her comfort zone, make new friends, do new things and go to new places. This helps her make some new friends pretty quickly.

One day they decide to go on a hike. They reach the look out spot, and then all of a sudden find themselves in a new world. Falling through a portal to different world is not what the teenagers expected themselves to be doing at the start of the day.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s writing style is easy to read and fluid, which always helps. I also like that Blue is a pretty well adjusted young woman. She is fun and tries hard to be supportive and caring towards her friends. She is also capable of holding back her fears in order to get things done.

I really enjoyed the relationships between all the friends. They are made up of two groups who have history, but no current active friendships and Blue changes that, pulling them together.

The story-line is fun, interesting and intriguing. I really enjoyed the world building, or should I say universe building. The characters are well rounded and interesting. I want to learn more about them after reading this book, which is a good indication of how enjoyable a book is. I am definitely going to read the next book in the series to find out what Blue is up to.

Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Challenge Accepted (Gamer Girls Series Book 2) by Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox

Challenge Accepted by Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Excellent Peek Into Gamer Culture

This is the second book in the Gamer Girls Series, but it could be read as a standalone book. I believe from the implication at the end of the book, in notes written by the authors, that the third book will include characters from this book and possibly from the first book. So though this book can standalone, it’s probably best taken as part of the trilogy.

Riley is 26 and runs the family Shire Horse farm. Her parents died a couple of years earlier and she is trying to keep the farm going and is hanging on by the skin of her teeth. Her best friend Kitty also helps on the farm and lives there with her. They are both gamers, but Riley is a really GOOD gamer and has a shot of making it as a Pro-Gamer.

In game she meets Void, or Logan as he’s known in the real world, who is very famous in the FPS (First Person Shooter) community, and he tells her she should come to a tournament. She has hidden her gender online since creating the tag QQ as she has had problems in the past relating to her gender, and decides that this tournament is coming out party.

At the tournament she meets Void, makes some new friends and earns enough money to keep her farm going. Trouble is, people in the horse world resent the fact that she is young, female and wears braids and has tattoos. She also has to prove her worth in the gaming community, that she isn’t just eye candy that all the guys are going easy on.

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t as emotionally challenging as the first book and it showed a different aspect of the gaming culture. We got to see things from the point of view of the gamers. We see the community in it’s naked glory, both it’s positive and negative sides showing.

I really liked both Logan and Riley. They are both strong, determined, intelligent and capable people. They support each other without hesitation. I also liked how the other gamers joined in with helping out.

The other characters were all interesting, and though not a lot of time was spent on them individually they all stood out as unique, with interesting hints of back stories.

A really enjoyable book, and I can’t wait to read the next one.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Untamed Magic (Academy of The Elites Series Book 1) by Alexis Calder

Untamed Magic by Alexis Calder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Solid Start To The Series

I’d probably give this 3.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is a solid start to an Academy Reverse Harem series. It’s always hard to judge from the first book in these types of series whether the series is going to end up being original or not and so far, it’s not looking like it will be, but I could be wrong.

Even though the plot doesn’t scream originality the writing style is relaxed and fluid, which I always enjoy, and the characters seem ok. They are, however, a little formulaic. The MFC was raised by an alcoholic aunt after the death of her parents. She doesn’t know she is a mage until two men try to kill her and instead she kills them with fire. She is given a deal, either go to magical prison or go to an academy for Elite Supernaturals. Of course, she chooses the academy.

As she is a poor scholarship student surrounded by wealthy supernaturals she feels out of her depth but is very attracted to several of her fellow students; an incubus, an alpha werewolf and twin mages. It turns out they are very attracted to her right back.

She is bullied a bit, but she knows how to handle that. What she doesn’t know is anything about the supernatural world and no one seems to be cutting her any slack for only discovering about magic the day before arriving at the academy.

The characters are a little one-dimensional, possibly because there isn’t much time to try and get to know them, there are a lot characters introduced at the same time and it’s not a terribly long book. Add into that limited time the actual world building and plot and it means the characters history is a little sketchy.

Like I said, it a solid start, but the series as a whole could go either way depending on how good a writer the author actually is.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Strange FAE (The Aetlantis Genome Series Book 1) by AD Macle

Strange FAE by A.D. Macle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I liked the premise for this book. Aetlantis is is a continent that got lost through a rift between worlds and is now only accessible through a series of portals around the planet. Aetlantis is advanced scientifically and cloning is common, because there are fertility issues and low female birth rates. The chancellor had a daughter that he sent away to be hidden from his enemies, on Earth, but the guards placing her in safety were killed on the way back and no one knows where she’s gone.

17 years later Brigitte is a girl with an abusive mother who’s boyfriends get more dangerous with every year that passes. Luckily, though she lives in a poor part of town, she is exceptionally bright and has a scholarship to a private school on the opposite side of town. She has precisely one friend. Then one day four gorgeous new guys start at the school and start to take an interest in her.

The main problem I have with this book is the silly banter. I don’t mind banter, but not when it fills the whole book. It is also quite silly stuff and though the character is young, it struck me as ridiculously juvenile. Brigitte makes a big deal of saying that she creates the happy silliness to compensate for feeling depressed and angry, as a mechanism to try put her on an even keel, but it still just annoys me. It strikes me as trying too hard to create a “zany” character. Plus it’s not just her that takes part in the craziness, but also a couple of the guys, and they don’t seem to have any reasons to behave that way. This banter takes away from the characters and makes them only two dimensional. We never get to see any depth and the guys in particular are complete stereotypes. To cap it all off, not much progresses in this book. The plot could fit into about half the number of pages and the rest is made up of banter.

I think I’m a bit annoyed with this book because I had high hopes for it in the beginning, but the hopes were crushed the further I read. I really wanted to enjoy this book and it had some good things going for it. Though the banter was silly it was well written. The writing style was smooth and natural and if you enjoy the kind of “craziness” employed by Brigitte, then you’ll really enjoy this book, it just wasn’t for me.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Shadow Weaver (The Nightwatch Academy Series Book 2) by Debbie Cassidy

Shadow Weaver by Debbie Cassidy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This Enthralling Story Continues

This series just got better with the second book. I loved the first book, but this one moves the story on in leaps and bounds. It also shows us much more about the world in which the Shadow Knights exist and the people who live there.

Indigo is getting closer to Brady. She still feels torn between Brady and Hyde though and it’s making things so much harder for her emotionally.

It has also been discovered that Indigo is able to Weave, so she must take classes. Her ability to Shadow Phase is actually a very rare Weave ability, which is what clued everyone in to her skill set. Because she can Weave, Indigo must take classes to ensure she her magical ability is stable. During this new training she finds more friends, and of course makes an enemy. It’s interesting learning a bit more about Weavers and how their magic works, because it’s mentioned so much in the first book.

Indigo’s Year One Troop is all set to be fast tracked towards graduating to becoming a fully fledged Shadow Knight. On top of that she has to take the classes. There isn’t much down time for Indigo, but whilst she works with her Troop and some of the Year Two Troop that they have mentoring them, they all become closer and more like a proper team, or even family.

This subtle movement from acquaintances to team mates to friends is done very deftly and naturally. There is no need for jarring ‘moments’ to move things along, they just have to rely on each other, day after day.

The story of the Academy’s role in protecting the human realm from the Fomorians is gripping and learning, bit by bit, about the conflict is intriguing, to say the least. I can’t wait to read what happens next!

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Shadow Caster (The Nightwatch Academy Series Book 1) by Debbie Cassidy

Shadow Caster by Debbie Cassidy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent Academy Book

There are a lot of Academy books around at the moment. Some good, some not so good, but this one is excellent.

Indigo Justice is a nightblood (vampire) woman on a mission. She’s trying to escape the expectations of parents who do not love her. So she’s fighting in the supernatural pits and working in a bar and generally avoiding coming home.

Her father decides enough is enough and arranges for her to join the Nightwatch Academy, where supernaturals learn how to police themselves and where the Shadow Knights train to fight against the Fomorians, to protect the supernatural world and humanity.

Indigo hates being forced into the Nightwatch Academy and doesn’t really apply herself. Her classmates resent her, and her attitude, and she isn’t particularly popular. Then it is discovered that she has the gene that makes her into a Shadow Knight, and she becomes the first woman to ever receive the training.

This book is exceptionally plot heavy. Everything moves at a mile a minute and it is wonderful. As well as the plot there is a good deal of focus on the relationships between Indigo and the other members of her team as she trains to become a Shadow Knight. There’s a slow change of attitude towards her as the team works together, which I really like.

There is a love interest but it’s very low key and filled with sexy “but we can’t!” conversations. The romance is a very small part of this book, which is more about team work and friendships.

There is lots more to come with this series, and I can’t wait to get stuck into the next book.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Rock Star, Interrupted (Tragic Duet Book 1) by SM Shade

Rock Star, Interrupted by S.M. Shade
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a Cliffhanger!

Well first up, there is a massive cliffhanger as this a duet, so if you can’t handle one of those, maybe wait until the next book is out. Personally, though they make me crazy, it won’t stop me reading a book, especially one by SM Shade, who is a great writer. I know plenty of people won't read a series until it's complete but if we all did that, no series would ever get finished because the author would starve.

This book is about Axton, the lead singer in a newly successful rock band. They’re just about to go on a huge festival tour when he gets a call telling him that he’s a father and the mother has died, leaving him as the only option for parental care. After Dani, his sister, convinces him to take the baby he’s scared to care for, he hires a nanny and then tries to get back to his regular rock star life.

The Nanny is Naomi, and she adores Caden, the baby. She’s 24 and been working as a teacher of 2nd grade kids, but wants something a little bit more low key. Though Naomi adores Caden, she doesn’t think much of Axton. He is rude and arrogant and doesn’t want to be around his son. She is unafraid of him and calls him out when he’s getting out of hand. Axton things she’s too stubborn and assertive by far, and she needs to get out of his business, or he might do something they’ll both regret.

There is so much going on between these two it’s hard to quantify it. There is a lot going on in terms of history of both Axton and Naomi that is only partially revealed. Their relationship has a lot of back and forth and no one, especially the reader, knows what is going to happen next.

I like both these characters and Dani, who sets Axton straight and is really good at bringing him back down to earth, is great. The way they all interact feels very natural and understandable given the circumstances they all find themselves in

I really can’t wait to read the next book in the duet because the cliffhanger is incredible. I soooooo want to know what happens next, and I'll probably enjoy the re-read of this book when it comes out, just to refresh my memory.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Queenmaker (Heart of The Nebula Series Book 1) by Heather Long

Queenmaker by Heather Long
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Alien Reverse Harem

In the words of Khloe (with a K) “They were my… soul mates? Come from the stars to love me? Fantasy? Science fiction? What the hell category did we fall into?”

That pretty much sums up the book. I kind of liked the mixed up nature of the genres. It was definitely Sci-Fi and there are aliens involved, but their abilities sounds like Fantasy. All you need to know is that it’s fun.

Khloe starts the book cycling up a big hill, trying to reinvent herself after falling apart after the break up with her ex Billy. She was determined to get fit again, and as she was thinking all about Billy, she ran into a truck. A beautiful man ran to her rescue, picked her up off the floor and walked her, carrying her broken bike, the 5 miles home after she refused to take a lift from a complete stranger.

She did, however, agree to a date that evening with his friends in tow so she could see what kind of guy he was from who he hung around with. She took her best friend Grace with her, who left quickly on seeing an on and off again boyfriend. Khloe and the four guys, Reese (her rescuer), Dalton, Briggs and Goran, clicked that night and they made it clear that all four were interested in being with her and didn’t mind if she was with all of them at the same time.

Khloe couldn’t understand how she could connect with the guys so quickly when she mistrusted most people, but they quickly wormed their way into her life. She was a little shocked to find out they were aliens.

I like Khloe, she was picking herself back up after being demolished by the man she loved and support financially for 3 years. She was gullible, but everyone is allowed to do that at least once in their lives. She had fought real adversity with the mental illness of her mother and she spent most of her life looking after herself because her mother wasn’t really capable.

She worked really hard and was trying to make ends meet after her ex took everything not nailed down, including the car she made most of the payments on, despite it being in his name. She was also trying hard to like herself and that is admirable.

The men are fascinating and all four of them are very different from each other, with defined roles in how they care for Khloe. They try to be gentle in revealing what they are and how that relates to Khloe, but at the same time they try to avoid lying to her.

This book is mainly universe building and unravelling the characters. The plot is all about them and how they relate to each other. There is a little action, but it isn’t the primary concern of this book. Hopefully the next book will expand greatly on the work done by the authors in this book, because the foundation was pretty interesting. I look forward to reading the next book, when it comes out.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Change of Hart by M E Carter

Change of Hart by M.E. Carter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really Sweet Football Romance

The link to this book was in an email I got this week, and as it was free I thought I’d download it. I have never heard of ME Carter before and I have to say the book was really good.

The book is told from the point of view of Jason, a successful American football player. He’s a die hard bachelor because he loves football so much and it takes so much of his attention and commitment he just felt he had nothing left over to have a relationship. He was pretty happy with his life.

Then doing a favour for an old friend he met a little boy, Jaxon, a 7 year old who just lost his Dad a few months earlier. He clicked with this little boy and felt like he wanted to help him out and show him some support, as he too lost his father at a similar age.

When he arranged to take Jaxon around the Stadium he was very surprised when he met Addison, Jaxon’s mother, and was knocked out by her.

This very sweet story had some very tender and poignant moments in it. I liked that Jason and Jaxon’s relationship was a separate entity from his attraction to Addison. I also like that he respected Addison so much that he wanted to ensure she was comfortable with the situation at all times. I also like that he was human and did screw up occasionally.

I loved the scenes with Deuce, Jason’s best friend, who was an hilarious character. Their relationship was brilliant, so funny, supportive and of course borderline insulting!

All the friendships in the book were really great. Both Jason and Addison had supportive people in their lives that looked out for them. Most of all I loved Jaxon, who was this funny, energetic and sweet kid.

All in all it was a funny and sweet romance. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for other books by this author.

At the Time of Writing This Blog the Book is Free
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: For the Reign (For The Blood Series Book 3) by Debbie Cassidy

For the Reign by Debbie Cassidy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Surprising Ending to A Fabulous Dystopian Series.

A great ending to a really enjoyable series. Debbie Cassidy has blended myth and science fiction together to create a fantastic dystopian novel. She takes fae, djinn, vampires and werewolves and mashes it up with genetic engineering and underground government bunkers.

I have to say that I didn’t see this ending of the book coming, at all. The solution to their problems was under their noses the whole time. But it wasn’t as straightforward as hoped. Every step along the path towards to the end of the book required another problem to be solved.

I love how Eva has journeyed from being a ruthless survivor to someone with compassion and desire to help those in danger. All the changes to her personality were down to the love of good men.

This series was inventive and entertaining and this in particular was masterful as it drew all the disparate strands together in unpredictable ways.

You really should read this series because it’s excellent.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: A Torn Paige (Hidden Kingdom Trilogy Book 1) by L Rose

A Torn Paige by L. Rose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great Start to a New Paranormal Reverse Harem

I always really enjoy reading Lila Rose books. Her MC series are such good fun. I always devour them. When I saw that she had written a reverse harem (one of my favourite genres) under the name L Rose, I knew I had to read it.

Paige Alice used to be human, until she woke up clawing her way out of a grave. Since a hellhound brought her some human flesh to consume, she worked out that she was a ghoul. She carried on working as a barista and seeing her sister, her brother-in-law and her nephew and niece and tried to fit in learning how to survive with the aid of her trusted hellhound Ezra.

Then everything changed again when she met other supernaturals, Alex, a mage, Nate, a werewolf, Asher a vampire and Thorn another ghoul. It turns out she might be the new Queen of the ghouls and all the demons are after her for some reason.

This was a good fun read, full of interesting characters and plot aplenty. It also had several piping hot sex scenes. Be aware there are mm relationships in this books as well as mf and mfm. The author really thought through the supernatural political structure and unveiled it slowly throughout the book, but I know there is a lot more information to come.

The book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but it isn’t a major one. It does make me really want to read the next book though.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: For the Power (For The Blood Series Book 2) by Debbie Cassidy

For the Power by Debbie Cassidy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Continuation of An Epic Journey

Wow, I feel like I’ve been hit by a 2” x 4”! So much happened in the later stages of the book that I can’t remember what happened at the beginning!

Eva finally works out what the key is that her father gave her. It’s instructions of where to find the cure for the virus. From the bunker that the Fangs have been living in they have the passcodes to get into several more bunkers en route to the location of the cure so they set out to find it.

This epic journey mirrors many of the others that have appeared in Fantasy, Urban Fantasy and Dystopian novels time and time again. It’s utilised so often because it’s a formula that works. A journey takes them into contact with new people, they change locations to come up against new challenging landscapes and dangerous situations and spending time together so closely, in a state of jeopardy, bonds the group together. This formula works in this book, particularly well.

We learn more about Eva in this book as she struggles with the feelings she is developing for some of the people she has met since losing Tobias. She’s conflicted, but as someone points out to her, the landscape of love has changed with the falling numbers of women, compared to men. Plus a single pairing is much more common in human culture than it is in supernatural culture. In this book we see the Reverse Harem start to slowly build.

This is an exceptional series, that I am enjoying tremendously and I’m particularly enjoying the very British swearing!

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: For the Blood (For The Blood Series Book 1) by Debbie Cassidy

For the Blood by Debbie Cassidy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent Dystopian Novel

One of the things I love about Debbie Cassidy (and it’s got to be one of the lowest items on this list) is that she is from the UK. She sets her books in this country and that means the frames of reference are easily recognisable to me. For instance, they refer to travelling to Bristol, somewhere I’ve visited several times. It’s a small thing, but it makes me happy.

This book is about Eva a young women who is travelling with her childhood friend Tobias to find a place called Haven. She grew up in a compound with her father and when their home was overrun, they started out for Haven. They had to live in a compound because 3 decades ago, after the supernatural came out to humanity as a whole there was a virus. It not only affected humans, but also the supernatural, in particular vampires and werewolves. They became feral, known as Fangs and Claws and they did the most damage to the human population.

So much happens in this book it’s hard to give information about the book without revealing too much. Basically Eva is a highly trained fighter who has been taught by her father to be ruthless in order to survive in a tough world. Her friend Tobias is a much gentler soul. I really like that Tobias is the softer of the two with the kind nature and that Eva is tough, relentless and ruthless. She is the action star and he is the sidekick.

There is a lot of action contained within the plot, so if you don’t like lots of sword fights, this might not be the book for you. It’s pretty gory in places.

I can’t wait to see what happens next, because this shows great signs of becoming even more interesting.

Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.