Review: Tempting Danger (World of the Lupi Series Book 1) by Eileen Wilks

Tempting Danger by Eileen Wilks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great Start To The Series

I first read this book years ago and was reminded of the series by a post I read of Facebook. I decided to give the series a re-read, and realised that I’d never reviewed the books, because when I first read them I didn’t leave reviews. I’m righting that omission now.

This book is an Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance hybrid. In my mind Paranormal Romance books focus solely on the romance aspect of things, whilst Urban Fantasy is much more plot and action orientated. Whilst there is a hefty dose of romance in this book, there is also a great deal of plot, which is a fine line to walk. I believe Eileen Wilks succeeded in walking that line.

Lily Yu is a homicide detective with San Diego Police Department. She’s only 28 and is proud of achieving that goal. She is also a Sensitive, someone who can sense magic and magical beings. In this reality supernatural creatures are acknowledged but people are prejudiced against them and they only recently got some rights to be treated as citizens but werewolves or Lupi as they are called can still be killed when they are wolf form.

Lily has been called to a murder and follows the leads that send her to Rule, a prince of the Nokolai pack of Lupi. There is an instant connection, but he is the suspect in the murder.

Lily has to walk a tightrope between what is right and procedure within her department and the unspoken rules of the brotherhood of cops. Her feelings for Rule complicate matters

All the characters in this book are interesting, in particular Lily’s grandmother. She’s fascinating, as is her relationship with Lily. Lily is a complex character disguised as a straight forward one. With each chapter we peel back another layer of her personality and see her more clearly. We learn less about Rule in this book, but he’s still a very interesting and enigmatic character who loves his people and his family.

This book ends with a HFN, but leaves many questions unanswered and draws the reader on into discovering how the problems are solved.

I’m so glad I re-read this book, I can’t wait to start on the next in the series.

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Review: Luna Touched (Brides of the Aashi Series Book 1) by Belle Harper

Luna Touched by Belle Harper
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fun and Easy To Read

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

Luna grew up in the foster care system and has never felt settled anywhere. When she saw a job ad that intrigued her she ended up travelling to a different world to become a wife to a four armed, two tailed alien. Except they didn’t really give her all the information.

Luna is to be mated to five aliens and she doesn’t get any say in which ones she is to be mated to. When the alien she is to paired up with turns out to be an arrogant, mean spirited individual she knows she has to do something, she just needs to figure out what that is.

This was a light hearted and fun book to read. Perfect for a prolonged period of isolation. The characters are pretty shallow and the plot is thin but it is fun and there is plenty of hot scenes to entertain the reader.

It’s not the most challenging of books, but it certainly is a fun one, and sometimes that’s just what you need.

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Review: Oblivion (Rise of the Sphinx Series Book 1) by J Kearston

Oblivion by J. Kearston
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mythical Shifters

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

This author is new to me and though I enjoyed the book, but I don’t know if I’m intrigued enough to read the next one in the series.

Raina is a 25 year old single mother, who’s life has been difficult at best. The light of her life is her 4 year old daughter Skye. One day Skye is kidnapped as she leaves school, right in front of Raina’s eyes and to her surprise she manages to chase down the large, strong man and not only retrieve her daughter but kill the man. This is the start of a journey that leads her to three mythical shifters who take to both her and her daughter almost instantly (one is a bit more reluctant).

These three shifters are outcasts because they lost their chance at mating one of the very rare female shifters available, years before. They are driven to protect Raina and Skye, despite them being human, but the plot thickens when they realise that it’s shifters that are after Skye.

It’s quite a simplistic step by step plot, which is sometimes relaxing, because you don’t have to think too hard. I didn’t really connect with Raina much. She seemed a bit two dimensional to me, as were the other characters. To be honest my favourite was the 4 year old!

This book is escapism when you don’t want to think too hard about what is coming next, when you don’t want too much angst, but a little bit of peril is fine.

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Review: Enemy (The Aces Series Book 3) by AJ Macey

Enemy by A.J. Macey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An End To Keira’s Journey

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

This book starts with Keira and Chase in Europe. It’s been months since Keira saw the Aces, but Chase has been helping them keep an eye on Keira’s father, spending half his time with them and half his time with Keira. When Keira gets a heads up that her father has put out a bounty on all the top tier of the Aces MC, including her former lovers, she gets herself back to the Nevada to help them before her father than can destroy anything else of her life.

Whilst Keira doesn’t want her men to die, she’s not yet ready to forgive them for the hurt they caused her when they doubted her loyalty. It’s going to a long hard slog before she’ll trust them again. However, being there is half the battle as far as Garrett, Brooks and Stone are concerned and Chase just wants his girl to be happy, no matter how that’s achieved.

This book is no different from the others in that it has large amounts of action, large quantities of hot sex and lots of violence. Keira and her men are all passionate, fiery people and they live life on the edge. It’s well written with interesting characters and I enjoyed it a lot. It's a satisfying end to a dark and complex series.

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Review: Starlee's Turn (The Wayward Sons Series Book 2) by Angel Lawson

Starlee's Turn by Angel Lawson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Brand New Start

After Starlee’s mother takes her back home, despite Starlee’s wishes, she returns to a restrictive, dull and lonely life. She tries to explain that needs to be allowed to spread her wings a little but there is no shifting her mother. Then the crisis point hits on her 18th birthday and she runs back to Lee Vines, her grandmother and the boys next door.

Given a chance to start again in Lee Vines, her grandmother insists that Starlee enrol in the High School and actually experience life. What started as a holiday romance has been given a chance to thrive. What they don’t expect is the interference from outside that threatens everyone’s happiness.

This book contains a lot more teenage drama than the first book, because they are in their senior year at high school. Adding in a bunch of teenagers to the plot creates all sorts of tension. Sierra is strong character who is put into a hard position when she took over the care of her brother when their parent’s died, and then to take in another three boys as a foster parent is extraordinary for a women in her mid-20s. She tries so hard to do the right thing but it seems sometimes she’s fighting a losing battle.

Everyone is these books are trying to do their best in difficult circumstances and it makes the characters seem more real when they are frustrated and angry, but try to keep control because they no it will do no good to lash out.

It's a good series, and I’m interested in what comes next.

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Review: Starlee's Heart (The Wayward Sons Series Book 1) by Angel Lawson

Starlee's Heart by Angel Lawson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well Written Peek Into The Head of An Anxious Teenager

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

Starlee suffers from anxiety. She had a really bad patch when she was in middle school when suffered with an ill-suited medication and bullying. Her mother pulled her out of school and since then she’s been isolated, lonely and afraid of the world.

After an incident Starlee’s mother decides that she should go and spend the Summer at her grandmother’s in the middle of the desert, in a small tourist town. Away from her mother for the first time in her life and supervised by a grandmother with a much more lax supervisory style, Starlee has to start making her own decisions about her life and it’s hard, especially when the four boys next door seem to want to be her friend.

This is a well balanced look at the effect that anxiety has on young people and those that love them. It looks at the difficulties the parents face and how the decisions they make can have a long term impact on their child and their relationship with them.

The writer describes the area, in which Starlee is staying, beautifully. It made me want to visit, because it sounds stunning, and a little bit strange, but welcoming. The landscape described by the writer drew me in and it became part of the story, as it helped to start Starlee on her path to reclaiming her life.

The characters were all interesting in different ways. They all had depth and while on surface may be stereotypes, they weren’t as Starlee started to get to know them better and their layers were revealed.

It’s a really interesting story and I look forward to reading the next book in the series to see what happens next, as there is a cliffhanger.

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Review: Guardian (Collector's Division Series Book 1) by Lexie Winston

Guardian by Lexie Winston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interesting Idea

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

I enjoyed this book, which was based on an interesting premise. There are 5 worlds, all created and ruled over my 5 different gods. They all have different attributes with Reath having magic, which is where our main characters come from. They are Guardians with Collectors Division. One of the problems of these 5 worlds is that there seems to be some overlap. For instance, Earth is filled with creative people who dream of monsters and beauty and being next to a magic world those dreams become reality and the Collects Division is in charge of making sure those creations kept out of the way of humans on Earth.

The plot is filled with angels, archangels, demons and arch demons and it seems that all of these beings are horny all the time. There is a lot of titillation and graphic descriptions of sex in this book, which is working towards being a Reverse Harem. It implies MM, MF, FF and more.

Though the world building was interesting the plot is a little bit predictable, being about an abandoned orphan, raised without knowledge of what she is. She is a loner who has unexpected powers but no one can tell her where she comes from and the extent of her powers. There’s a dark force that they are facing that they don’t understand and it seems there may be a traitor in the heart of their organisation. Whilst it’s handled well, it’s not exactly innovative. However, the world building and the heat make me inclined to give the series another go, when the next book comes out.

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Review: Whiskey Chaser (Bootleg Springs Series Book 1) by Lucy Score and Claire Kingsley

Whiskey Chaser by Lucy Score and Claire Kingsley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sexy, Sweet and Laugh Out Loud Funny

Devlin is State Legislator, holed up in a tiny tourist town in West Virginia, hiding from the disaster that his private life caused when it spilled over into his public life. Next door is a loud party that is driving him nuts. The noise is out of hand so he decides to go and ask them to turn the music down.

Scarlett is a handyman who has live in a tiny town in West Virginia her entire life. She has three older brothers who practically raised her. Today the buried their alcoholic father and they feel the need to tie one on. Then the man staying in his grandmother’s house shows up asking them to turn it down.

From the moment Scarlett and Devlin meet there are fireworks. They are wildly attracted to each other and utterly different so how are they suppose to make it work past the summer recess that Devlin is staying here for. That doesn’t stop them starting up a fling to end all flings.

There are some real laugh out loud funny bits in this book. I love the craziness that is Bootleg and the subtle mystery that has surrounded the town for years. I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading the next in the series.

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Review: Stoneheart by Cate Corvin

Stoneheart by Cate Corvin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Entertaining Gargoyle Based Reverse Harem

You don’t get many gargoyle based romance books. It’s rare. This one was a little different, which I liked. Gargoyles and humans have lived alongside each other for centuries, even though it’s a wary truce at best. Gargoyles have a range of different powers depending on the stone heart they have, for example Onyx hearts are able to shield and protect, Diamonds are able to tell truth from lie etc. The different houses are always in conflict, but this is kept away from the humans because their destructive capabilities would reflect badly on them in the media.

One unique part to this story is the idea of stonehearts, which are humans gifted with the heart of a deceased gargoyle. The gargoyle’s heart replaces their own and they gain the magic the heart held previously. They don’t get the strength or the wings of a full blood, but they do get the magic.

When Zara, a cop rescues a gargoyle baby she comes into the sights of gargoyle billionaire Damien who decides that she is the perfect host for a very valuable stone heart. He does not ask her permission. Her life is irrevocably changed.

This is quite a complex plot with lots of flash backs to the time before the story starts, which explains a lot about Zara’s past. Eventually the flashbacks tie in to the current storyline and it’s done very well. Despite the flashbacks the plot is fairly quickly paced and the back and forth doesn’t seem to slow things down as the flashbacks are often intense instances.

The characters, other than Zara, are a little underdeveloped with only sketches of their past, in fact with Sawyer, Zara’s partner on the force, there is very little said about his past at all. His whole purpose in the story is to be a foil for Zara, despite being a major part of the book.

I do feel that the world building could have been a little better with more explanation about the Accords which define gargoyle society’s behaviour and the history of gargoyle and human relations, but these are not major things and they do not hold back the book. The end of the book also seems to hint at future books set in this world, so maybe it will get fleshed out a bit more, if that is the case.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would happily read another book in this series.

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Review: Throne of Embers (Beautiful Secrets Series Book 3) by Marie Robinson

Throne of Embers by Marie Robinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Burn It All Down

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

After being attacked on the way to the airport, Ella and Romulus manage to escape by the skin of their teeth and end up on their own on the flight to Ireland. Together they travel to Tir na nOg, where Ella needs to go to try and learn control of her powers. If she can’t learn to control them, then she’ll die and possibly take the world with her.

This final book in the trilogy is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I understand that the author didn’t schedule this series but it simply forced it’s way into being written by the determination of it’s characters. This is probably why I felt like that the last book tried to fit too much in to too short a time. A lot happened in this final book and it felt like in a few places things weren’t explained as well as they could have been because of it.

I also felt like the characters weren’t given enough room to breathe because it was so plot focused. This is fine for people who prefer plot driven books, but I really like character’s to be the main focus in the books I read.

The ending felt a little abrupt too. I was left feeling a little let down, and I think that is colouring my review. On the whole I really powered through this book, I read it greedily and quickly because I wanted to know what happened next, and then it was over before I expected it to be. The book is definitely worth reading to finish off the trilogy and I’d be interested in reading more from this author when she has more room to manoeuvre in her scheduling.

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Review: Twisted Fate (Twisted Series Book 1) by Jessi Elliott

Twisted Fate by Jessi Elliott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Excellent Start To A New Series

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

I’m getting a bit weary of New Adult Academy Fiction so I nearly bypassed this book but it was recommended in a Facebook Group, so I decided to give it a try, especially as it was on special offer. I’m glad I did.

Aurora Marshall is a bright, witty and driven young woman. She’s in her final year of a business degree and wants to do well in order to get a good job after graduation to help repay her parents’ investment in her future. Her best friend is Allison and they have been room mates since the start of their degrees.

Then at a party she was dragged to by Allison, Aurora is kidnapped by a fae. It turns out that it was a case of mistaken identity, but now she’s seen the fae world it proves very difficult to get back out again, especially as Tristan, the leader of the fae, finds her fascinating.

I really liked this book. Aurora is kind of spiky, which I liked, but she still is compassionate and loyal to her friends and family. She is not happy to have been thrust into this new world in which the fae share the Earth, and is really angry about not being let to live her old life, but she picks herself up, dusts herself off and tries to make the most of it. She is also capable of changing her mind about things, which is seems rare in NA fiction when young people are always so certain about everything.

Aurora’s friendship with Allison is not one way, as Allison has been very supportive and loyal to Aurora over the years, it’s just she has been a bit limited with the truth when she had to be.

Tristan is a dark and complex individual, who seems incapable of setting aside his own desires for someone else, but then he shows how much he gives to his people and you see how much he puts his own desires on hold for others. It takes a while to warm up to the character and I like that there is no insta-love on the part of Aurora.

There are other secondary characters that are all well written and interesting, with a few hints of greater depth that may be shown in future books.

I liked Aurora’s relationship with her family, in particular with her younger brother. Theirs is a very loving and tight bond that warms the heart. Her parents are academics (which helps explain Aurora’s intelligence) but they are also warm and loving. They don’t expect Aurora to live their dreams and they don’t expect her to put them first. It’s nice to see a NA Paranormal book with a character who has a good relationship with her family for once!

It’s a well thought out book with interesting world building and well constructed characters. I really enjoyed it and will definitely be reading the next book to find out what happens next, because this book ends with bang.

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Review: Biker Brit (Biker Beauties Series Book 3) by Audrey Carlan

Biker Brit by Audrey Carlan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Biker Beauties Under Fire

Holly is the best friend of the MFC in the previous novella in this series. She is a British librarian who likes to have fun and doesn’t trust men, so just has one night stands. She hooks up with Tank the club’s Sergeant at Arms, who used to (not at all obviously) drive tanks in the army. He served in Afghanistan and has all the nightmares to go with that.

After their hook up, they both find that one night isn’t enough and one night leads to more. At the same time as their courtship there are attacks against the Old Ladies of the club.

There is quite a lot of angst and some difficult scenes in this book. It’s not as sweet and light as the last one. It’s much more gritty and because it is, the book has more depth and feeling. It was nice to put some depth behind Holly’s initial 2 dimensional character from previous books. This series seems to have acquired some depth along the way.

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Review: Team Inez (House of Garner Series Book 2) by Erin R Flynn

Team Inez by Erin R. Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I always feel weird giving a 4 star review to a book I devoured and immediately want to read the next book in the series. I feel I should be rating it more highly. Inez is a great character, she is young, powerful, has a gaping hole in her identity and tries to the best that she can for everyone around her. She’s also a crack sniper shot and great at the logistics of killing the corrupted. I am conflicted on whether she is too harsh or too forgiving though, as there seems to an inconsistency to her personality there, but I suppose we are all inconsistent in some ways because we are all flawed and unique.

Team Inez grows substantially in this book. Shifters become an important part of their group and will fill up the coven when it finally stops travelling. At least the travelling has become a lot more comfortable as Inez has grown in power and skill. She has the assistance of some very old and powerful vampires who are helping her reach her potential a lot more quickly than most vampires have to, because they are sure that she will attacked once word gets out about her abilities and age.

One of the things that lets down this book, and others by this author, is that it sometimes gets a bit tied up in knots trying outline complex plans and methods of conquering the world. It’s nice for the reader, in limited doses, to know how everything is to be achieved by the characters, but you don’t need to know all the minutiae about how they are going to feed everyone or who goes on what trips to achieve what. I appreciate the author's attention to detail but it sometimes breaks the flow of the story and confuses the reader with information that isn’t strictly speaking necessary to the plot. None of this enough to make me want to stop reading or even delay reading the next in the series, so it can’t be that annoying, but I feel I have to deduct points for it.

It’s a great book and I can’t wait to see what happens next on their journey.

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Review: No Longer Alone (House of Garner Series Book 1) by Erin R Flynn

No Longer Alone by Erin R. Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really like Erin R Flynn. I adore her Seraphine Thomas series and though this seemed a bit out there for me, I finally cracked and decided to give it a go. It’s really good. It’s imaginative, funny and I love the characters.

Inez is on the move, she’s has been chased by some guys for some unknown reason and they’ve been on her tail for the last 5 years. It doesn’t help that she has no memory earlier than her 18th birthday and she’s a walking battery charger. She has no idea what or who she is, she only knows that she has a mission. She has strong feelings that make her ill if she ignores them, so she’s learnt to go with the flow.

Inez has just arrived in the US by ship as the zombie apocalypse wiped out most of civilisation. There are still plenty of zombies out there, but government is a thing of the past. Not to mention all the cities that were wiped out because all the countries blamed each other for the zombies and decided to bomb each other to bits. It’s a mixed up world and some guy has just told her she’s a vampire princess, which might explain her iron deficiency.

Inez is fun, smart and caring. She has a strong sense of morality and doesn’t want anyone hurt on her account. She’s learnt to fight her own battles and refuses to play games with people’s safety or emotional well being.

The book is fun, creative and the plot is interesting. The characters are well written and Inez, in particular, makes me laugh at times. I am definitely going to read the next book, probably right now, because I want to know what happens next.

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Review: Sinful Escape (Six Months of Sin Duet Book 1) by Kitty Kendall

Sinful Escape by Kitty Kendall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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

I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion being given in review. All opinions are my own.

Kitty Kendall seems to have a knack for writing about sexual awakenings in a way that is fun, flirty and filthy. Strange though it may sound, they are also believable, because she writes about the awkwardness and insecurities caused by having sex with people you barely know, as well as the amazing orgasms.

Daisy Chayne (do not be put off by the ridiculous name!) is 29 years old and from Australia. She was with a man for 7 years who treated her appallingly and her parents were probably worse. To escape she moved to London and started working, first on a cruise ship and later as a tour guide around Europe. When her employers refuse to renew her visa because she will be 30 and therefore too old to guide the tours they are selling she is devastated, but her gorgeous new Italian bus driver is a bit of a compensation. When he defies her expectations of a gorgeous man, and actually turns out to be a decent person, he encourages her to start living her life again, because she’s been sleep walking around Europe for years.

Taking his challenge to get laid seriously, her eyes are opened to men she’s met previously and got to know who suddenly seem interested in her when she thinks she’s ugly. Finally acting on their seeming attraction, is the best thing she can do for her happiness and hormones.

I loved hearing about Daisy’s trip around Europe as a tour guide. She is passionate about history, art and architecture and we hear all about the places she loves and has travelled, down to the cafes and restaurants, boutiques and bakeries and the magnificent castles and stately homes. I don’t know if the author has ever been to those places or she has amazing Google skills paired with a great imagination but it brought the book to life for me. (Note: The author got in touch with me after reading this review and confirmed she's been to over 42 countries.)

I loved how Daisy is slowly woken up from her unhappiness by Roman, the bus driver, becoming her friend, and opening her eyes to how attractive she actually is.  She sees herself through other people’s eyes in a positive way for probably the first time in her life. We are gradually shown who Daisy really is and why she is so unhappy.

This is the first book in a duet and the second book still has a lot to cover as it feels like the job is only half way done in ensuring Daisy’s happiness and the reader’s complete understanding of the reasons for her sorrow. We also need to learn more about Roman because it feels like he keeps a lot back from Daisy in his fight to help her wake up. I’m really looking forward to the next book because I’m sure it will be as entertaining and spicy as the first.

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Review: Biker Beloved (Biker Beauties Series Book 2) by Audrey Carlan

Biker Beloved by Audrey Carlan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sweet and Sexy Biker Book

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

This novella is a fun and sweet book, filled with alpha bikers and their sexy ladies. Shane “Whip” O’Donnell is the single father to a very sweet and clever 4 year old, who he adores beyond life. He also happens to be a biker and bar manager. His family and club have helped him raise his daughter and the only thing missing is an Old Lady.

Anya Markova is a beautifully elegant former Prima Ballerina with the American Ballet Company. After a devastating ACL injury she had to give up her dream and has instead opened a dance school. One night she enters Whip’s bar and he is smitten.

What comes next is a very determined chase by Whip and a more reluctant surrender by Anya. It’s sweet and sexy and Whip is an all out alpha male who is also sweet and loving. The book is a short bite of insta-love/lust with only a tiny bit of conflict to add a hint of spice to the sweet.

It was a good, fun and quick read and I enjoyed it.

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Review: Dreaming, Darkly: A Novel of the Lotus Court by Dagmar Avery and K Margaret

Dreaming, Darkly: A Novel of the Lotus Court by Dagmar Avery & K Margaret
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aziz Gets His Happy Ever After

After Prince Aziz’s, Captain of The Guard, Gen, went missing, he fell apart. Gen wasn’t destined for him but they were best friends who fell in love slowly. Gen left because Aziz was destined for the Queen and she didn’t want to be second best.

In other books we heard how Aziz fell apart and was tearing all over the place trying to find his Captain, but this was the book that tied it all together. It filled in a lot of holes. Gen had gone of her own volition but had decided to return just before she was captured.

This book covers recovering Gen and the events that followed, including Aziz having to convince her that she was truly his first choice and not an afterthought.

As with all of the books in the various linked series, the writing is fun and filled with banter. The book moves the series forward, but not by much. This is really just about Aziz finally getting to be happy after so long. It’s sweet and funny and a really enjoyable read.

If you haven’t read any of the other books, I recommend you start right at the very beginning with The Sleeping Court books. They are well worth a read.

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Review: Mayhem and Mutiny (Echoes of Sol Series Book 4) by Charissa Dufour

Mayhem and Mutiny by Charissa Dufour
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Full On Action

After seeing her former owner Bit is determined to track him down to find out where her sister’s baby was sold. When the crew gets back to Mars she tracks down the address of his last transmission to the ship and steals a bank card from Jack, before heading to Earth to track the child down.

This book follows Bit’s adventures in Jo’burg as she tries to track down her missing relative, the only one she has left. Bit uses all her new skills, taught by Randal, the security chief, to evade those seeking to capture her for their own ends, after she comes across some unsavoury types. Jack and the rest of the crew decide to head off after her and they have their own set of adventures.

The plot of this book fast moving and impossible to put down. I was gripped from Page 1. This series started slowly but has built to a helter skelter pace. It’s been interesting watching Bit develop as a person as she gains confidence and skills. There is a bit of a cliff-hanger at the end of the book, but as the next book is already out, that’s not really a problem.

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Review: Daisies & Devin by Kelsey Kingsley

Daisies & Devin by Kelsey Kingsley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What’s Your Favourite Dream?

This is a poignantly sweet book about two friends who fall in love. Devin is 6ft5 of gorgeous carpenter who happens to sing and play guitar. He works for his Dad and loves music but never really follows up on his dream. He meets a purple haired beauty, Kylie, at a frat party neither of them wants to be at and he rescues her from a pest. Both really likes the other, but Kylie isn’t in a place to get involved and Devin is a bit scared of his attraction to Kylie. So they become friends. The best of friends. It’s a friendship that comes to mean everything to both of them. When you have a friendship like that, you become scared to rock the boat.

This book is about dreams. The dreams you make when you are young and the ones that sneak up on you through living your life. It’s about recognising which dreams mean the most and fighting for them, but it’s also about making dreams come true for the people you care about. It’s also about the paralysis of fear, that prevents you from living your full life.

This author is gifted at seeing into the deep dark hearts of her characters and ripping them open for her readers. She explores the nuances of their hopes and fears and shares them with us. I love how her characters are at once lovable and engaging, whilst being flawed at the same time. Her characters are not perfect and this makes them more more real.

This is an engaging and well written book that isn’t your run-of-the-mill ‘friends to lovers’ or ‘rock’ novel.

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Review: Profit and Peril (Echoes Of Sol Series Book 3) by Charissa Dufour

Profit and Peril by Charissa Dufour
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bit Gets Strong

The shipping company is getting further and further into the red, so when Jack is offered an illegal deal to transport a nuclear reactor to a space station, he, and the crew, jump at the payday. During the course of the book they are stalked, attacked, and duped. The adventure is non-stop.

Also during the course of the book Bit finally starts to find a place of her own on board ship and with her crew mates, despite sometimes fighting a losing battle over their treatment of her. Physically she is starting to get stronger from regular good sized meals and exercise. It’s good to start to see her come into her own.

As with the previous books, it’s a good solid story with an interesting plot and developing characters. An entertaining read.

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Review: The Queen's Wing (The Queen's Wing Series Book 1) by Jessica Thorne

The Queen's Wing by Jessica Thorne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Superb Steampunk Space Opera

This was an unexpected gem that I picked up because it was on special offer in one of the endless newsletters that tells me of discounts on books. I am so glad I splurged, because normally I only pick up the free ones. I shelled out a massive £0.99 for this book and I got a complete bargain because I would have paid full price (which I hardly ever do because I’m a cheapskate) if I’d known how good this book was.

This author has created a complex universe with mechanical birds and horses and the ability to fly between worlds in mammoth space vessels. There are battles fought with small flying machines made of brass and canvas or in machines that run on solar power. Swords and knives are used alongside plasma rifles and personal force fields. The contrasts are rather magical and endearing.

Bel is a very minor royal on her planet, because her father, the grandson of the king married a warrior woman, a flyer. When their planet’s enemies, the Gravians, strike once again at the heart of the ruling families, and no one else is left to ascend to the throne, Bel’s father is forced to take over. Within the space of a few hours Bel’s life is transformed from a reasonably informal life filled with lessons from her governess alternated with flying her wasp in the skies above her home, waiting for a chance to command her own Wing one day, to becoming a fiancee to the ruler of a distant planet, a man she doesn’t even have a good photograph of.

This book is filled with details that make the world in which the characters inhabit sing. I can picture the worlds of Vairian and Anthaeus so clearly after reading this book. The geography and the cultures are explored and explained in detail. The characters are complex and fascinating. I love how deeply we see into their hearts, even though everything is from Bel’s point of view.

Bel changes through the course of the book, as she grows up. She grasps immediately her duty and responsibilities, though she rails against them. She only ever wavers but never gives into her doubts or her own longing to be far away. She initially leaves her home planet for her family and her people in order to secure a treaty in their time of need and isn’t particularly happy about giving up her dreams and her life, but she eventually comes to see the beauty in her new home and see the worth in it’s people, especially her fiancee, who still mourns his deceased wife. Her fiancee, Con, is a young intriguing man, who is initially distant and unknowable. As the story unravels we get to see more and more of his character and why he was chosen as ruler.

The relationships between all the characters are complex and many layered and help you get swept up in the story as you share their dreams and nightmares. The interactions between both sides of the treaty are a delicate dance and their are complicated emotions explored by the author during the course of book.

The Gravians are a terrifying race. They brutalise both the conquered planets and their inhabitants in order to extract every last drop of value and pain to gift to their goddess.

I enjoyed this book tremendously, and highly recommend it. There is a follow up book out already, so I think I’m going to be buying that next. I’ll even pay full price!

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Review: Bound by Her Destiny (Bound By Her Blood Series Book 3) by Mara Leigh

Bound by Her Destiny by Mara Leigh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Secrets Are Revealed

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

A lot happens in this third instalment of the Bound by Her Blood series. So many secrets are revealed and deeper connections are made between Selina and the men she loves, though some secrets are divisive.

After Selina’s maker finally is stopped in her tracks, she needs to decide how to proceed with Colton. Does she allow him to slip into a distant memory, continue to lie to him as she falls deeper in love or does she arrange to have his memory wiped so he will forget all about her.

The pace of this book is fast moving and the information passed on is brain meltingly fast, but we learn so much it’s worth it. The person with the most to reveal is Gray and his secrets are devastating.

The more I read of this series, the more engrossed I become. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

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Review: Bound by Her Passion (Bound By Her Blood Series Book 2) by Mara Leigh

Bound by Her Passion by Mara Leigh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Selina is Still Being Held At a Distance

In this book Selina works hard to come to terms with being a vampire, and learns a little more about what vampire society entails. She’s more focused on her relationships with Rock and Gray. Both hold themselves back in different ways and for different reasons, and they won’t tell her why.

It seems that Pike is still on her trail and she can sometimes feel him watching her. She is also starting to increase in power, since feeding on Gray. She’s developing much faster than expected in such a young vampire.

Then she starts having dreams about murdering young women. It seems that Colton, a young police constable, who has fallen for Selina, has information relating to her dreams. Colton is rabidly anti-vampire because of the death of his sister at their hands, but at the same time he is sweet, kind and strong and Selina is very attracted to him, despite the danger of being involved with a human police officer who is on the vampire task force.

I like the direction this series is going in, as the plot is slowly revealed. Mainly I like the characters and enjoy learning more about them. I will definitely continue to read this series.

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Review: The Anti-Bullies (Saved By The Band Series Book 1) by KT Strange

The Anti-Bullies by K.T. Strange
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Poignant Reverse Harem

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

This is set in the same universe as the Phoenixcry books with some cross over characters having guest appearances.

Haisley ‘Haze’ Foster is a Cele-baby. Her father is an award winning director and her mother a celebrated actress. She’ll have a trust fund at 21 but at 18 she’s still at a school for the performing arts, which she hates with a passion. Her father wants her to become and actress like her mother but Haze wants nothing to do with Hollywood and wants to win a scholarship to go and film a documentary in New Zealand, as far away from the madness of LA as possible.

Her grades are starting to slip as she become more and miserable and lonely at school and at home and in order to make a good impression on the scholarship board she is convinced to take four new students under her wing, to help them hit the ground running mid-year. The students are four members of a talented rock band, who need to graduate high school to be considered for a opportunity with a record company. They see the spoiled and bitter trust fund baby Haze shows the world to keep herself protected and she sees the arrogance of talented and beautiful young men about to take the world by storm. Both and neither are right.

This book is filled with the pain of youth, when your parents have the opportunity to do the most damage to your heart. When you are struggling to break free and they just don’t seem to want to understand that you don’t want the same things that they want for you.

There is optimism and pain and hope and fear in this book in abundance and I feel like a rubber ball being bounced around a small enclosed space, never escaping the emotions of five young people. After I’ve taken a few deep breaths I know I’ll really want to read the next book!

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Review: Bound by Her Blood (Bound By Her Blood Series Book 1) by Mara Leigh

Bound by Her Blood by Mara Leigh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interesting Take on the Vampire Myth

This book can be quite dark in places, however, that is not the overriding emotion I felt whilst reading it. The book is about a young woman who has been abused or neglected her entire life. She was abused from a young age by her step-father and she ran away as a teen, living on the streets for years before finally achieving some happiness at age 22, before being turned into a vampire. Like I said, there’s some darkness.

We are thrown into Selina’s story when she’s been a vampire for around 18 months. She has an atypical introduction into the vampire world and it means that through her we are educated into the supernatural. Selina’s introduction into vampire-hood has not been pleasant and we are thrown directly into that darkness at the start of the story, however, you get out of that ongoing darkness quite quickly.

There is quite a lot thrown at Selina quite quickly, but things then start to take a more steady pace of enlightenment and we start to see more insight into the various characters and the culture of vampires. There are lots of hints about Selina being different from other vampires but we receive no explanation as to why this is believed or in what way she is different, but I’m hoping things will become clearer in the next book.

I enjoyed the book once I got over the initial bombardment of difficult subject matter in the early stages of the book, and I appreciate that is was necessary for context but it nearly put me off as I don’t enjoy overly dark books. I’m glad I stuck with it though because it wasn’t an overwhelming part of the narrative.

The characters are interesting, with Selina being a naive in the ways of vampire abilities and culture, but not in the ways of the world, as she’s lived a hard life. She still has an air of optimism, despite the dangers surrounding her.

I really love Rock (the presumed half giant). He is gentle, strong, loving and kind. I adore his character, which is tortured by past mis-deeds. To make up for his past, he does his best to help others and that is the role he initially takes with Selina, but it quickly deepens into more.

This is a #whychoose novel, so the main characters are not monogamous but are open about their sexuality. In addition there are a few steamy scenes that are written well.

I will definitely be reading the next book in the series to see what happens next.

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Review: Crystal Dragon King (Royal Dragon Shifters of Morocco Series Book 5) by Ava Ward

Crystal Dragon King by Ava Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

More Marvellous Dragonic Adventures

This series goes from strength to strength. This book focuses on Dusk’s heritage and magic. His history is brought to life by this author as we visit the Twilight version of Luxor in Egypt.

Dusk was injured gravely in the battle with the White Chalice and was in a coma for two months, trapped inside a crystal sarcophagus. When he finally wakes, he decides he must return to his clan home and resurrect the Egyptian Crystal Dragon Clan. Of course, Adrian and Layla join him.

Dusk, Adrian and Layla become more tightly bound as the other members of the Bind are away fulfilling their clan duties. Experiments in magic that Dusk and Adrian undertook in their youth finally come into their own as they learn to blend more tightly in their Bind. The danger of opening up the Egyptian Clan Home is only the start of the darkness and terror they must face.

This wonderful book continues the series beautifully. It takes the existing characters and reveals even more of their personalities and history and delves into new and interesting plot twists. We travel to new parts of the world and this authors gift for description crafts clear and beautiful images of the places they visit. Each book builds on the last, and leads to future books as the plot winds tighter and tighter in the overall story arc.

This series is superb and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

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Review: Tempt (Terraway Series Book 4) by Mary E Twomey

Tempt by Mary E. Twomey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mental Health Triggers

If you or someone you love suffers from mental health issues and reading about this situation and the emotions and experiences suffered by a character relating to this area cause you difficulties, you may want to miss this book. There are a lot of issues raised around mental health in this book and it was heart rending stuff. This author captures the raw emotions of going through a mental break and reading about a character’s experience of that may hurt if a similar situation is still raw.

There are other issues around abusive behaviour, which has been a recurring theme throughout the series, but the thing that made me the most uncomfortable is that when the reason the abusive behaviour was taking place is removed how are you supposed to treat the abuser. Are you supposed to forgive them because it wasn’t the same person abusing you? I found this a very sticky area to read about.

I also came out of this book not particularly liking any of the men in October’s life, with the exception of Ollie, her brother. They are all emotionally absent and cause October a great deal of pain because of their weaknesses. Every time October tries to understand and forgive and sometimes I want to shake her whilst shouting in her face ‘you deserve more than this’. In some areas October is tremendously strong, and it’s usually when she’s trying to protect others, but she does let people walk all over her, because she always puts other people’s feeling above her own. This frustration with October and the guys she is involved with is why I’ve dropped this down to 4 ⭐️, it’s not because it’s any less well written, it’s just I’m annoyed with the characters. I’m sure the next book will redeem them, it’s just sometimes you want the characters you love to be happier in every book.

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Review: Succubus Soccer Mom: A Reverse Harem Tale

Succubus Soccer Mom: A Reverse Harem Tale by Jacquelyn Faye
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hilarious and Filthy Fun

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

This was another hilarious and filthy book from Jacquelyn Faye. This author has a great turn of phrase and is incredibly witty. She can make the most unrealistic of plots seem credible and her characters are brilliant.

In this instance the book is about a succubus, Kara, who is a 60 year old widow with teenaged twins. Kara was a stripper for year when she met her husband. She fell in love and let him talk her into having a kid, turned out to be twins but as he agreed to do all the parenting stuff, she was ok with it. Apparently demons don’t really do child rearing and usually just abandon their kids to the nearest available being to raise.

When Kara got up a year after the death of her husband and decided enough was enough she moved herself and her kids several states away to get away from all the memories and moved into a Boston suburb, enrolled her kids in private school and settled in to the neighbourhood, where she was surprisingly welcomed with open arms.

This scenario is ridiculous. A succubus soccer mom with all the petty rivalries and jealousies that occur when the new hot mom moves in, just makes me laugh at the thought of it. Then when it’s execution is so well done, the giggling definitely gets out of hand.

Kara is a demon, but she’s not evil. She loves her kids, she just doesn’t understand them. She mourns her husband who she loved and she cares about people in her life. She’s a lusty being who is open and honest about her lusts and there are plenty of very hot and steamy scenes in this book, as you would expect with a book about a succubus. However, it’s the humour that I loved the most about this book. I particularly enjoyed Kara’s interactions with her next door neighbour Karen who is a typical PTA mom who welcomes her to the neighbourhood with cake and a smile. She’s overbearing and bossy, but sweet and kind and Kara comes to like her despite herself. Their banter is funny initially because Karen has no clue about Kara, but as they become better friends, the banter becomes more knowing. It’s very well done.

The info in the back of the books says this is a standalone book, but I really wish this was the start of a series because the characters are wonderful and I’m sure there is plenty of material to work with. I’m pretty sure the author will never see this review, but if she does - can we have another Kara book, pretty please

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Review: Betrayed by Magic (The Baine Chronicles Book 5) by Jasmine Walt

Betrayed by Magic by Jasmine Walt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

More Actions Against The Resistance

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

Sunaya and Iannis are back from their adventures on the pirate island and are now officially engaged. Apparently all mage engagements must last a minimum of a year and the engaged parties and their parents are all capable of preventing the marriage from taking place. Iannis only has his mother left and she doesn’t really interfere in his life and Sunaya’s mother is deceased and her father unknown. Iannis knows who her father is but doesn’t want Sunaya to know for some reason. Sunaya wants to know and without a reason from Iannis as to why she shouldn’t know, she decides to find out.

With her new status comes more responsibility and Sunaya is expected to take part in social engagements and interviews for the media. This is not Sunaya’s cup of tea, but she loves Iannis and knows it is to be expected if she wants to be with him. She still gets to perform her enforcer duties and at least she has her own money now, since she brought back the treasure from the pirate island.

Both Sunaya and Iannis have been summoned back to Dara to take part in a mission to crush the Resistance, especially the location of the site producing diseases to infect all the mages. Sunaya is torn between her new role and her old friends.

This book has some clever subplots running under the surface which deal with family, race and friendships. Sunaya is a bridge between worlds and she is often torn as she can often see all sides at once. She has come to sympathise with the Mages, but still fights for the rights of shifters and humans, she just doesn’t want anyone to die whilst she’s doing it.

Sunaya is a wonderfully complex character, as are most of the other main characters. They all have rich back stories and personalities. Seeing the characters grow with each both is satisfying and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

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Review: Sinister: Unhallowed (Black Ops Paranormal Police Department Series Book 1) by John P logsdon

Sinister: Unhallowed by John P. Logsdon & Christopher P Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyable and Different Urban Fantasy

This is a bit of a different take from my usual Urban Fantasy reads. This is because the heroine, isn’t exactly working for the good guys.

Evangeline Sinister is an Hellion. Hellions are a race formed from demons crossed with dragons. They are formed into Houses and Evangeline is an House Guard for House Sinister. She is the daughter of a concubine who happened to catch the eye of the Head Guard and he became her mentor, giving her a way our and a determination to succeed that many of higher birth didn’t have. So when her house was wiped out in one night, leaving her the sole member of her House she had no other option to run, because if she could survive for a year after the Rite of Decimation was started the Heads of the Houses involved in attacking her House would be executed and Evangeline would take them over. For the Rite to be a success all of the attacked House must be dead.

In order to stay alive, as her mentor would wish, she escapes to the Topside, which I’m assuming is meant to be mundane Earth, except there is complicated technology and magic and supernaturals. There is also all sorts of corruption throughout society, including the Paranormal Police Department, which has a Black Ops team, which essentially is made up of assassins who are controlled by a group of very wealthy and powerful people. They discover Evangeline and blackmail her into becoming part of their Black Ops Team, so begins work with an hellwolf and a vampire.

I love that Evangeline is so ruthless and practical. She admits she’s going to do whatever it takes to stay alive for a year, no matter who she has to kill. She’s not a bad person, she’s just ruthless. She’s actually a gifted soldier and leader. The vampire she’s working with, Q, is a bit useless and quite unpleasant, but he makes a great foil for her sense of humour. Kayson, the hellwolf, is a complete meathead and gung-ho to the extreme, which makes their interactions pretty funny. Though there are no sex scenes in this book there is plenty to imply there will be in future books.

The world building is fun and the plot is different and entertaining. This is not a book that inspires deep thinking, but it is a great light read, perfect for taking your mind off work, or doing chores.

I will definitely be reading the next in the series.

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