Review: Fractured Worlds (AIR Series Book ) by Amanda Booloodian

Fractured Worlds by Amanda Booloodian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cassie Goes to Gremlin World

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

This was a bit of a change in direction for Cassie. She comes into the office and discovers the dead body of her colleague, the clairvoyant. She is also introduced to an agent from another office who is to monitor the way their team works together, as there aren’t many teams like theirs. Cassie and Boone, the new agent, go out to shut a portal with a team who specialises in doing that and in the process they both get pushed through the portal into the world which houses the gremlins.

I loved learning more about the gremlins as Rider really loves when he has to go out on a gremlin call and learning more about them makes me understand that a bit more. Trapped on another world, Cassie is forced to rely on someone she doesn’t know or trust and it’s interesting watching them build up a relationship. I love that Cassie won’t stand for any nonsense from Boone, but also acknowledges that he knows more about survival than she does.

This book means we don’t see as much as usual of the main team of characters. It’s mainly about Cassie and Boone, which isn’t a bad thing, it’s just different. I know it must be important to the overall story arc, because the author seems to be very good at constructing a plot. However, I did miss my dose of Logan and his cowboy obsession, as it was much reduced in this book.

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Review: Unsupervised (Slumming It Series Book 1) by S M Shade

Unsupervised by S.M. Shade
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pure Filthy Fun

I loved the Violent Circle Series and was disappointed when the series finished. I was so pleased when Slumming It was announced as a spin off series set in the same location but with different people.

Kelly is 19 years old and has just broken off an arranged engagement. She has been cut off as a result and has moved into her brother’s old apartment on Viole(n)t Circle. Her brother Trey was from Frat Hell so when he and his friends moved out Kelly got the apartment and had to get new renters in. She got three women who knew each other before and were good friends. I love all of the characters and they are going to be fun to get to know as the series progresses.

As Kelly doesn’t know what to do with her new life, her brother offers to lend her the tuition money for college, so she signs up and then tries to find a part-time job. One of her first classes is economics and the teacher is delicious. At 28 years old, Layton is young and good looking. Things conspire to have them bump into each other over and over.

This book is pure escapism. It’s not long or involved. The plot is straight forward, but what it is is hilariously laugh out loud, snort a drink out your nose, funny. Do not read it in public unless you are happy not being able to breathe in front of strangers. Honestly I laughed so hard I had tears.

I love these books and SM Shade is a generous author for continuing to provide these escapist and hilarious books to please her fans. Thank you Ms Shade, your crazy witty imagination is boundless. Keep on writing about Violent Circle, I’ll always read about it.

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Review: Heart of Shadows (Alice Worth Series Book 5) by Lisa Edmonds

Heart of Shadows by Lisa Edmonds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Alice Loses Her Memory

Alice is found wandering along the side of the road, compelled to walk forever, by Sean and Ben. She has no memory of who she is, neither does she recognise anyone else. She also has no magic.

This story is told through flashbacks, jumping between the past and present as Alice’s story is told, filling in the blanks of how she got into that state and how she is to get out of it. The story is also told from two POV, that of both Sean and Alice. It’s a different way of telling the story from the previous books in the series, but I think in this instance it makes sense, filling in all the missing parts of the narrative.

The plot in this book was even more complex than the last one, but it was no less intriguing. Alice’s loss of memory is very interesting as it allows her to see who she would be without all the past trauma clouding her personality. She is vulnerable without magic, but her personality is intact.

There is some very clever storytelling going on in this book and I could rave about it forever, but I don’t want to spoil anything. So all I can suggest is, read the series, and read this book. Now all I have to do is wait until Autumn when the next book is due out!

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Review: Heart of Stone (Alice Worth Series Book 4) by Lisa Edmonds

Heart of Stone by Lisa Edmonds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such A Good Book

Alice is given a new case when a 12 year old boy goes missing. He is a null, someone able to destroy magic. Alice suspects a cabal has got their hands on him and will do anything to free a child from the kind of life she experienced before escaping. This case is the first step in a journey that will lead to her facing her greatest fear, and she gets to decide how she faces that meeting.

I’ve been an Urban Fantasy fan since before it was labelled as such and had it’s own shelf in the bookshops. I remember when it was all lumped in with the horror section! This series is a shining example of why I love Urban Fantasy. The world building is incredibly well thought out, with a magic system that makes sense, but is no less magical for it’s logic. I like that in this book we are introduced to the witches magic system too.

This book is all about Alice’s growth as a person. She is learning about herself on a daily basis and she has Malcolm the ghost, Sean and the Pack and her other friends, old and new to thank for that. For a woman who spent the first 20 years of a her life fighting for survival alone, it’s taken a while to understand that people want to help her and accept that help.

I have always loved Sean as a character and this book proves to me why. He is patient, loving, loyal and fierce. He is at heart a protector and nurturer, which is why he’s such a good Alpha. He needs everything he’s learnt as leader of a pack to help him deal with Alice’s insecurities and fears.

There are plots within plots in this book, and I loved getting sucked in by the great writing. I especially liked the introduction of Carly, a witch who dated Sean when he and Alice broke up for a while. She’s an amazing character and a great catalyst for Alice to change. I like that she introduces Alice to a more gentle and nurturing side to magic, even if it’s not magic she uses.

This series is brilliant. It’s articulate, well constructed and the characters are all gems. The plot is fantastic and whips along at a good rate, but allows the characters and the emotions to breathe at the same time. Everything is exceedingly well paced. This really is a great series, and I wish more people would read it.

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Review: Stolen Sight (AIR Series Book 3) by Amanda Booloodian

Stolen Sight by Amanda Booloodian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Poor Dead Bunny

Cassie’s new boyfriend Ethan seems to be sticking around. He calls her and asks her to come and look at a crime scene because he’s sure that this weird murder is right up their street. During the investigation of the scene Cassie has to access the path and reveals what she does to Ethan, who handles it quite well. Vincent is back working in the same office and is teamed up with Rider. Vincent and Cassie’s connection seems to be there, but Vincent doesn’t want to be involved with Cassie because it makes her a target.

Then something comes into her house and starts moving furniture around and someone sends her a parcel with a dead bunny. There are so many things going on it makes her head spin.

Once again the plot moves quickly and intrigues the reader so much that each page turns faster and faster. the characters are very interesting and I really enjoy seeing them interact with each other, not just with Cassie.

Once again, everything is a team effort, and without her team Cassie would be in serious trouble. I like that Cassie is vulnerable and gets overwhelmed and scared, but still holds it together on the job, only collapsing when she’s safe again. She’s in a unique position, but she’s doing her best to blindly handle it, with the help from her friends.

This really is a very good series.

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Review: Broken Paths (AIR Series Book 2) by Amanda Booloodian

Broken Paths by Amanda Booloodian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Soul Theft

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

This series just keeps getting better. I really like the MFC, Cassie. I think she is strong and determined to help others. She is loyal to her friends and family and tries to always do her best. I also like that she relies on her team members to support her. She doesn’t try to do everything on her own, which is unusual in Urban Fantasy. Normally this is a lesson our MFCs have to learn along the way. Cassie starts out as this as a default, and I really like that.

In this book Cassie is getting more used to dealing with her amped up power, but it makes her vulnerable to perils in their latest case. A human is brought in for murder and he blames it on a necklace taking over and killing his girlfriend. The team are called in because of similarity to a strange case with Lost they are dealing with.

In this book there is more romance, but it’s kind of back ground to the case. It’s not front and centre so it doesn’t detract from the fast moving plot. I really enjoyed the mystery around this case and the way it affected Cassie.

This series is really good and I can’t understand why more people haven’t reviewed or rated it. I definitely recommend giving it a whirl, as it different from most other Urban Fantasy books I’ve read.

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Review: For the Hell of It (Razing Hell Series Book 1) by Cate Corvin

For the Hell of It by Cate Corvin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An Angel Falls to Hell

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

The book starts with the Fall of an angel, Melisande, pushed from Heaven by the Archangel Gabriel. She is the first angel to survive the Fall and fight to remain alive since Lucifer. Her beautiful white wings, blackened, her hair changed to violet and her halo in pieces, she is battered and weak when she is captured and enslaved by Belial, the Prince of Wrath.

She becomes the subject of fascination of Lucifer, his best friend Azazel and Belial. They come to a shaky agreement to train her to survive hell. At the same time she is placed in the arena and forced to fight for her freedom. Win 7 fights in a row and she can go free, though she has to beat the very best and worst of heaven and hell to do so, she has to kill the unkillable Nephilim.

The only reason this is 4.5 ⭐️ instead of 5 is that it took me a while to connect with the characters and to become invested in their story. I think that this is partly to do with the whole ‘heaven is good, hell is bad’ bias most people have. It took a long time to reveal that those biases, in this story, are not necessarily true.

There are many layers to this story and to the characters. Those layers take time to be revealed, but once they were I was captivated by it all. The world building was was cleverly woven gradually through the chapters to construct a universe that glittered with dark and beautiful light. Whilst the first half of the book drew me slowly in to the story, the second half hauled me by my hair into the abyss. I devoured the second half of the book in half the time it took me to read the first half because I just couldn’t stop reading. I think the rest of the series may be the same.

This is a fantastic universe, the characters are fascinating and the story is compelling. I recommend giving it a whirl!

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Review: Sheltered Roots (The Agora Series Book 2 ) by Jeanne Allen

Sheltered Roots by Jeanne Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Travelling The World

As Sebastian lies in his coma, Rose joins Phosopolis University and makes some new friends. At the same time her Kladi are trying to find out who attacked him. When attacks against Rose and her Kladi intensify they decide they must go on the run and end up travelling all over the world.

During the course of their travels they fight the enemy, make new friends and allies and Rose finally learns about her heritage, as well as that of the entire Phosopoi race. It turns out that their Omas has a very big fight on their hands.

Though I enjoyed this book, it wasn’t quite as engaging as the first in the series. I felt that some of the characters were created purely as plot devices and then set aside. There wasn’t enough real emotion attached to them. I also felt that the characters were being moved around a game board and there was much less chance for character development and the bonding was a bit rushed and skipped over, when I felt it would have been a lot more involved emotionally, especially with Rose’s past.

I felt that maybe the author got really excited about the plot and wanted to move them here so that could happen and there so that could happen, without taking the time to slow down a bit and work out what was happening inside the characters and their connections to each other. I understand it, but I felt it let down the book a little, when the first book really paid attention to the emotions of the characters.

I’ll probably read the next book when it comes out as the plot and world building is really interesting, and hope that the author realises that sometimes taking a bit of time away from the plot can be a good thing.

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Review: Sin & Chocolate (Demi-Gods of San Francisco Series Book 1) by K F Breene

Sin & Chocolate by K.F. Breene
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Demi Gods and Ghost Whisperers

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

I’ve read a few KF Breene books before and have enjoyed them, so thought I’d give this one a punt. It’s a bit different to what I was expecting, but very enjoyable.

Alexis is magical, but it’s in useless field, talking to ghosts doesn’t really pay the bills, especially if you have no contacts or training. She’s worked a series of dead end jobs in the Dual-Society Zones, where both magic and non-magic alike can live and work. She is also raising two teenagers her mother found on the streets, and brought home. Her mother died a few years ago and she’s struggling to keep enough food in the house to keep them all alive.

Kieran is a demi-god. His father is a son of Poseidon and Kieran has inherited his father’s power. He nearly runs her down in his car and he is stunned by her less than deferential attitude. He decides to follow her and soon becomes both captivated and intrigued, especially when she seems to have so much more power than she should have.

This book is a battle between someone trying to do the right thing the hard way and someone who has enough power to run right over anyone he chooses to. It’s interesting watching them both trying to get what they want whilst holding onto their sense of self.

I loved the two teenagers in this book. Daisy and the very sick Mordecai are both gems of characters. Their banter and belligerence conjures up every teenager on the planet, whilst at the same time retaining their unique individuality.

The book is really well written and the plot tugs you along nicely. I’ve been left with lots of questions to be answered, but that is the purpose of the first book in the series, to intrigue you enough to read the next book. That has succeeded in my case.

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Review: Gift of the Gods (Magic Blessed Academy Series Book 1) by Eva Ashwood

Gift of the Gods by Eva Ashwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Plot Driven Paranormal Reverse Harem

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

This is a very plot driven book. I felt the world building and the character development was a little overlooked.

Aria is 19. Her mother died when she was a baby and her father died when she was 10. She went into the foster system but became a fighter because that was what her Dad her been. His friend Vincent trained her and she now takes part in illegal fights. She usually wins, even against men much bigger and meaner than her.

Then she manifests magic and is whisked away to Magic Blessed Academy which is for people newly blessed with magic by the gods, rather than born with it, to learn how to manage their magic. On her first day she meets her ex (who she treated badly) and his two friends. All three are hot, and they treat HER badly.

So this is sort of a bully academy story, but the bully stuff doesn’t last too long and isn’t too bad. The narrative is all about getting magic and fighting overwhelming odds to survive. There is weirdness about the academy and the rest of it’s kind of a subplot. The romance is there, but it’s not overly important. We also don’t learn much at all about the three guys, or even Aria. It’s all a bit ‘Action Film’ plot based.

We are given very little information about the world in which they are based, except there are gods, they give out magic. Magic is everywhere and magic users can be nasty pieces of work.

The plot made it an easy read that didn’t really challenge me as a reader, but it was enjoyable enough. I didn’t enjoy it enough to continue reading the series though.

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Review: By a Thread by Lucy Score

By a Thread by Lucy Score
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Funny and Sweet

I think I was won over by the description of the grumpy boss in the blurb. I don’t normally read these kinds of books anymore because they all have a formula that don’t surprise me after the first 20 or so times I read the trope. However, something about this grabbed me.

Ally is poor. She is frazzled and working 4 or 5 jobs just to get by as she pays for her father’s very expensive nursing home. She’s trying to do up his house to sell, so she can eat something other than noodles for a change and then she runs into Mr Grumpy himself, Dominic. Dominic is wealthy, successful and very very grumpy, because he’s doing a job he really doesn’t want to do in order to help his mother. He takes it out on Ally and she gets fired. Dominic’s mother feels bad and offers Ally a job, which she takes, because she isn’t stupid.

As you can imagine the plot is pretty predictable, however the execution is very good. In fact it’s laugh out loud funny in a lot of places. Ally and Dominic’s banter is very witty and evolves throughout the book as they get more and more involved.

The other thing I liked about the book is that Dominic is 44 (no surprise there) but Ally is 39! Woohoo, this is NOT an age gap billionaire type book. It’s actually about people who are equal in age and experience. They just have unequal finances. I think this is why the banter works. It wouldn’t have worked with a 22 year old girl fresh out of college making moon eyes at her handsome older boss, it works because Ally is old enough to stand her ground and know her own worth. It’s this decision by the author about her characters which makes me wonder if I would enjoy other books by her. Everyone needs a piece of entertaining fluff every now and then, and this one was very intelligently done.

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Review: Shattered Soul (AIR Series Book 1) by Amanda Booloodian

Shattered Soul by Amanda Booloodian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interesting Start To An Urban Fantasy Series

I’ve had this book in my TBR list for what seems like eons. I don’t know why I’ve not read it until now, but I’m sorry I waited as I really enjoyed it.

Cassie is a Reader. That is someone who can read energy and emotions around them, and the imprints from the past, present and sometimes even future. Her grandmother is an out and out psychic and she lives with Cassie, saving her bacon and sanity each day.

Cassie works for AIR (Agency for Interdimensional Regulation) as a field agent. She’s only worked there around a year and has a great mentor and partner, Logan, who is an elf. He also lives close by with his children. Her main jobs to date have been keeping tabs on The Lost, who are beings from other dimensions living in ours, and relocating or returning beings that need to leave areas for their safety or the safety of others.

Cassie is not a great field agent, but she’s trying really hard to learn on the job and to listen to everything she’s told. She knows she is easily manipulated by her partner but doesn’t really care because she knows he isn’t doing it maliciously.

Then a fairy is killed and all of a sudden she’s doing detective work, something she’s never done before and feels like she’s lost at sea. This is one thing I really enjoyed about this book. Cassie is most definitely a work in progress. She’s new to the job, she’s finding out things about her powers and trying to work out how best to use them, and she is reliant on others. I like that she’s not completely useless, but isn’t all powerful either. It’s a fine line to tread and the author does an admirable job of it.

I liked that her partner isn’t her romantic interest. He is a friend and mentor and that is something that an agent of her level would desperately need. I also loved her grandmother. Margaret is someone who is always trying to help the people she cares about and is well mannered whilst doing so, but they will be helped whether they want to be helped or not!

As well as the interesting world building and good character construction the plot is fast paced and intriguing. Once I started reading, I didn’t want to stop. I’m glad to see there are multiple books in the series, as I want to know what happens next.

Well worth a read for all Urban Fantasy fans.

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Review: Knights Magica (Rosie O'Grady's Paranormal Bar and Grill Series Book 5) by B R Kingsolver

Knights Magica by B.R. Kingsolver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So Sad To Say Goodbye to Erin and Rosie O’Grady’s

I’m sorry to say that this is the last book in a really wonderful series. B R Kingsolver is an incredibly talented author and the characters are always second to none. I dove into this book with unmitigated joy and was smiling as I turned the last page, until I remembered it was over and felt a twinge of sadness. The good things about books however, is that they can be re-read. Something tells me this series is one that will be re-read over and over again.

In this book we see Erin trying to recover from the imprisonment and torture by the Knights Magica for a month. She has scars that may never heal and she is wasted away. She’s even scared to see Oriel, her half-fae lover, because of the trauma she underwent.

Fighting her way back to strength, both mental and physical takes it’s time and whilst that is going on the Knights Magica start to unveil their plan by quickly installing their people all over the world. They try to reveal the Shadowed World to humans, in order to stage a magical coup on a world wide scale.

I really enjoyed seeing Erin start to understand that she was valued for herself rather than just her skills by her friends, and that she has more friends than she understands. She is also widely respected in Westport and increasingly relied on, for not only her skills and knowledge but for the way that she views the world and is able to draw interesting conclusions before most people.

Erin is put through the wringer in this book, but she has support like she has never experienced before. She is part of a team and is learning to train others and perform in a leadership role, though she still feels happier taking orders.

I also liked seeing her relationship with Oriel develop, despite all their ups and downs, though she does have to be understanding of his fae nature more often than not.

This book is filled with action and adventure, with politics and military action going hand in hand. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through and I was sad to say goodbye to all the characters and the wonderful world of Westport. Sad though I am to say goodbye, at least Erin will be waiting next time I want to visit!

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Review: Queen Takes Sunfires (Their Vampire Queen Series Book 8) by Joely Sue Burkhart

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

A New Queen!

It’s ages since I read one of the ‘Queen Takes’ books and I’d forgotten how good they were. This story starts with Eivind, the brother of Helayna, from Queen Takes Darkness. Eivind is an Aima King and a born wolf-shifter who lives in fear of being chained by a Queen, like his father before him.

Eivind finds an Aima Queen lying apparently dead in an alley and spends the rest of the book helping her whilst trying to run away from her. The Queen is Karmen and she was kidnapped as a child to be one of Ra’s Wives.

This book is gripping and I whipped through the pages so quickly because I wanted to know what happened next. Then of course it ended - ARRRRRGHHHHH!!!!! I really hope I don’t have to wait long for the next book as Karmen seems a really interesting character, who is filled with strength but unbelievably damaged by her years trapped with Ra. Eivind seems equally strong and damaged and it will be an interesting read to watch them work out their issues.

Another great book in the Aima universe.

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Review: Twice Bitten (New Moon Series Book 1) by Belle Harper

Twice Bitten by Belle Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

NA Paranormal Reverse Harem

I didn’t realise when I started this book that I’d already reviewed a book by this author. I just liked the look of this book and decided to give it a go.

I’m glad I did because this book wasn’t much like the previous book at all, both in style and content. I enjoyed the other book, but I think I preferred this one.

Alexis ‘Lexi’ has been in foster care since her parents died when she was 5 years old of a drug overdose. The system has not been kind to her and she has spent a very large portion of her life running from poor foster care. She is picked up by a cop and taken to a new social worker who tells her she’s taking her to a new placement rather than sending back to the last one she ran from.

She’s taken at the same time as a hot tattooed guy, Raff and they are taken to the same place, which seems strangely nice for a foster home. It’s when she walks into school on her second day that things start getting strange, as groups of boys follow her around and most of them are really hot. Raff, was getting beaten up badly all the time. Oh, and the World History teacher was seriously hot. For once she doesn’t feel like running.

I found this book entertaining and interesting. There are lots of mysteries dangled and not all answers are given in this book, so it makes me want to read the next in the series. It seems strange after reading a NA shifter book earlier today with a girl who didn’t have a proper home that I picked another one. I have to say this one was done much better. The characters were more rounded, and the plot more intriguing. I prefer Lexi as a character as well, because she was prepared to give her new situation a go, even when she’d had problems in the system before. In Shifted Fate, the main character hadn’t given anyone a chance to help her because she was too proud to ask for help, something that nearly cost her her life. Lexi doesn’t trust easily, but she is marginally open to it, despite her previous experiences.

I also liked all the guys who are interested in Lexi, but the surrounding characters are great too. I especially love Josh, the 6 year old foster son of the two guys who foster her, he’s so cute and loving.

I will definitely keep an eye out for the second book in this series because I’m interested in what happens next. Could be interesting!

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Review: Shifted Fate (The Wolves of Forest Grove Series Book 1) by Elena Lawson

Shifted Fate by Elena Lawson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Wolves Attack

Allie is 17 years old and lives in an old hunting hide in the forest near her town. Both parents are dead and when her father died his brother took her in for a while, but then decided to move to Florida and rent out their apartment expecting her to move in with a friend until she graduated.

Instead of burdening friends who already had their own problem she moved out to the forest and tried to save up some of her part-time wages in a book store to rent the apartment above when it came free. Everything was going according to plan until the mudslide. On top of losing everything, she’s being stalked by a violent ex.

Suddenly her life is surrounded by wolves, that become human, in fact they become hot guys! Live is getting more and more complicated.

I like that Allie is tough as nails. She lives in a forest, knows how to hunt and fix motorbikes. She also works hard towards a goal of having a home at the same time as going to school. However, she doesn’t like to put people out which means she has to lie to people she cares about, a lot.

This book is very much all about Allie and everything is from her point of view and she’s missing a lot of information about the world around her. I hope that the next book in the series fills in some of the blanks about the other characters, because I want to know all about them.

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Review: Bright Shards (The Vardeshi Saga Book 2) by Meg Pechenick

Bright Shards by Meg Pechenick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brilliant World Building

I loved this book as much as I did the first one, for exactly the same reasons. The characters, the plot and above all the world building.

This book sees Avery encountering the wider universe of the Vardeshi race. The Pinion limps into Arkhati SpaceHaven (love that term for a space station!) and Avery and the crew are faced with the fallout from the damage done to crew, ship and the possible alliance.

On Arkhati Avery is delighted to find her friend Kylie from training on Earth and is almost as excited about having unlimited showers again. However, as much fun as exploring a SpaceHaven is, there are consequences to the events that took place in the previous book and she has to be prepared to fight against her character to demand what she wants.

The author’s description in this book of SpaceHavens and at long last a different planet are enthralling. I loved reading about how unsettling it can be and at the same time captivating to be surrounded by strangeness, from the smell to the sights and sounds. Having Kylie there as a contrast only emphasises how different the Vardeshi are to humans. It also seems to confirm to Avery that her only strengths as a candidate for the exchange are those of a linguist. However, as her counsellor tells her, she has to ‘dig deep’, and she begins to find her strength.

The plot of this book is more complex than the first, because a lot of the world building has been done. There is more time to explore the characters and the challenges that they face, and give a more rich experience as a reader. This is one of the things I like about science fiction and fantasy books, is they are often written as series giving the author room to breathe as they create worlds, characters and complex plots. Meg Pechenick takes this format and dives into it with relish.

I hope I don’t have to wait long for the third book in this series, but something tells me I won’t care how long I have to wait, because it will be worth it.

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Review: Ascending (The Vardeshi Saga Books 1) by Meg Pechenick

Ascending by Meg Pechenick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I Loved This Book

I was utterly entranced whilst reading this book. I lost big chunks of time to my reading because I was so captivated by the story.

25 years ago, aliens, the Vardeshi, visited Earth. They hung around for a few conversations over the airwaves and one brief visit. Then they turned around and left. One man, a gifted linguist, took those conversations, some texts provided by the aliens, and an interview he was granted whilst the official visit was happening and he spent 25 years learning the language, an infinitely complex language. He was developing a language program to teach Vardeshi for the government, but decided before handing it over to teach one young woman, Avery, one of his students, the language so that should they return, even decades into the future, someone would know how to communicate in that alien tongue. He wanted to make sure the person who could communicate best was someone who he thought would best represent Earth, a normal, bright, ethical and kind student.

It was after a gruelling year of learning the language that the Vardeshi returned, just in time for Avery’s knowledge to get her on board a ship to Vardeshi Prime. That was when her adventures truly began.

It does not surprise me that the author studied anthropology and linguistics in college. This expertise threads through the entire book and colours all the interactions of the humans and the aliens. I think it’s what I found so fascinating. The fact that the culture was comprehendable, but so easy to misunderstand was something that was missing from other alien encounter stories I’ve read. I loved how in depth the explanation was of exactly how it felt to be under the extreme pressure, of being unable to communicate in your own language, in an environment which had too bright lights and too heavy gravity and even opening the door or setting an alarm was tricky.

In addition I loved how the relationships between Avery and the Vardeshi evolved slowly over time. How the individuals who didn’t like humans behaved towards her and those who were willing to engage tried to include her, but at the same time everything was strange, so even overtures of friendship were difficult to frame in terms of human experience.

On top of all this amazing world building and character exploration there was an interesting plot and those three things together just swept me away. I suddenly noticed that I hadn’t eaten lunch at 2.30pm today. I normally eat it at noon! I opened my Kindle for half an hour and then two hours had passed in the blink of an eye. It is rare that I forget my lunch!

I can’t wait to read the next book. I’m so glad it’s already out. I can’t wait to read what happens to Avery next!

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Review: The Fallen: The Complete Novel (Hell's Redemption Series Book 3) by Grace McGinty

The Fallen: The Complete Novel by Grace McGinty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hope Collects a Harem

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

In my review of the last book, The Unrepentant: The Complete Novel, I stated I wasn’t happy about the abrupt end, but hoped that this book would answer all the questions I had, and I’m happy to say it did.

This book runs parallel to the last half of the previous book for a while, before starting it’s own separate story line. Hope is the smaller twin sister, she’s always been protected and looked after because she is not violent in any shape or form. She’s an empath which means she can feel other people’s emotions and even hear strong thoughts if she’s touching that person. She can speak mind to mind with angels and fallen angels, oh and her twin sister.

After Hope is kidnapped and rescued, she is treated to a bodyguard from the Mulligan family, in the shape of their best enforcer, Blue. In addition to Blue, Mephistopheles, a Fallen Angel, seems to have appointed himself as bodyguard too, for some reason that Hope can’t fathom. Then Azriel, The Angel of Death keeps turning up randomly, seemly fascinated by her, whom he calls ‘The Aberration’. Gusion is Mephistopheles’ best friend, and another Fallen Angel, and turns up to flirt with Hope, much to Mephistopheles chagrin.

Hope knows she can’t fight against the people who kidnapped her and killed Estrella, but she wants to help. She’s given a few small jobs to do, which reveal to other angels her skill set. This sets her along another path entirely.

I love how this book rounded out the series. We find out what happens to Estrella and we get to know Hope. I love her as a character. She’s not strong in the physical sense, and she lives in her emotions, but she is willing to try and fight through the overwhelming emotions that she is surrounded by, that don’t belong to her. I like that she has times of weakness and sorrow and knows herself and her strengths and weaknesses.

This book also introduces the Serendipity, which is the first book in the next series, and I can’t wait to get to that either!

I really like this author, she’s witty and eloquent. She creates very relatable characters and at the same time writes engaging plot lines. I have become somewhat of a fan.

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Review: The Unrepentant: The Complete Novel (The Redeemable Series Books 5 - 7) by Grace McGinty

The Unrepentant: The Complete Novel by Grace McGinty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great Sequel

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

This is a great follow up to The Redeemable. It follows one of the daughters of the main characters from The Redeemable. Her name is Estrella and she is a twin who is a little bit extra than human, thanks to her mother sharing her body with a fallen angel during the pregnancy. At age 21, Estrella hasn’t followed in any of the family traditions and is working as a cop. That is until her sister Hope was kidnapped. Hope had followed into the family philanthropist business and is empathic. The twins share an empathic link that they can also communicate with. So when Hope is taken Estrella knows it instantly.

Estrella resolves to find out who is responsible for her sisters kidnapping and assault and quits her job. In response her pseudo parent, Lucifer, loans her two demon gargoyles to protect her whilst she goes hunting bad guys with her best friend Charlie, a tech genius from the Irish Mob and Naz a mercenary who was saved from Aleppo by angels and raised by Estrella’s mother’s best friend Clary.

The five of them set off into the underworld and travel the globe trying to find out what happened to Hope and they uncover some very scary people.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that Estrella wasn’t necessarily a really good person. She is the child of en ex-embodiment of one of the seven deadly sins and his redeemer. A fallen angel helped her in the womb and she is beloved by the devil. She’s kind of got flexible morals, as do the men she finds herself with.

It was interesting watching Estrella open up emotionally, as Charlie stated she had ‘the emotional range of a frat boy’. These men forced themselves into her heart slowly and surely, for very different reasons.

The world building in this story was less complex because most of the work had been done in The Redeemable, with it’s environment created of heaven and hell, Lucifer and God, archangels and fallen angels, all trying to do their best with the human race.

I felt that the ending was a bit abrupt, but I’m hoping that will be covered in the next book The Fallen: The Complete Novel, which I’m going to go and download now. I don’t mind abrupt endings or cliffhangers when the next book in the series is already out!

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Review: The Redeemable: The Complete Novel (The Redeemable Series Books 1 - 4) by Grace McGinty

The Redeemable: The Complete Novel by Grace McGinty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyable Story of Redemption

Arcadia (Cady) has been an orphan since she was 16. She first got cancer when she was 12. No one would take her in so got emancipated, got cancer again and when she recovered from that her heart gave out on her. She’s alone and dying in New York City doing temp jobs to pay the rent, when she meets someone who wants to look after her, put her up in their pool house and pay all her bills. In fact it’s not just one someone, but 7 and they are all hot! However, they are also men who embody the seven deadly sins and have been returned to earth after years of torture in hell to gain their redemption, though Cady. It would probably sound more nuts if it weren’t for the voice she’s had inside her head most of her life.

I really like this writer as she has a very witty way of describing internal thoughts. I nearly always have a wry smile on my face as I read her books. I loved all the characters, even the ones with the very dodgy pasts. They all care for Cady so much and really want to be redeemed so they can stay with her. They truly treasure her and look after her so well.

Cady is funny and sweet and genuinely good, but won’t put up with people hurting or disrespecting her loved ones. She stands up for what she believes is right. She jumps into her situation with bravery, because, as she puts it, she won’t have to live with the consequences very long if it’s all a mistake.

I love this series and read the books individually a while ago. When I saw the box set, I decided to invest so I can re-read it. It’s a fun and filthy book with tonnes of heart and funny one liners. I enjoyed it more as a box set because it flowed better reading it in one sitting, rather than reading, returning and downloading the next one.

I’m definitely going to download the next box set in this continuing set of series. 

 
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Review: Bait by Helen Mathey-Horn

Bait by Helen Mathey-Horn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Travelling Telepaths

I would probably give this book 3.5 ⭐️ if I could.

I will be honest, I probably wouldn’t have downloaded this book if it wasn’t free. However, I did enjoy it, I just didn’t feel very connected to it. It felt a bit too cerebral to me, with not enough emotions felt by the characters until quite late in the book.

Lawran is a descendant of telepathic warriors, kings and queens. She is one of the only people in her line without any kind of ‘dreaming’ skill (their term for telepathic gifts). Her grandfather’s friend works for a group called CONTROL who travel along the timeline fixing things (it wasn’t explained what exactly they fixed, it was all a bit vague). He suggested that Lawran goes to train there and become an agent. She doesn’t do great at the undercover work so he decides to send her into a situation as bait without any real knowledge so she can act as innocent as possible whilst he does all the hard work.

I didn’t realise until quite a way in to this book that a lot of things about the backstory of this book were probably included in previous books. It doesn’t make clear in the blurb or intro that there are other books about this Universe and the people in it. Maybe all the missing explanations were included in those books, but it still felt that the author could have explained just a little bit more for those readers who come new to the books.

I think a lot of the missing information meant that I didn’t get a lot of the book. It made it harder to understand the characters and their motives. It certainly made it hard to understand Lawran and her behaviour which felt a bit weak at times for a warrior.

However, for all the missing information and connection with the characters, the world building was excellent and the plot was interesting. I probably wouldn’t read another book in this series because I prefer to have more emotional content in my sci-fi but other people may prefer a more cerebral approach to the genre and therefore would find this more entertaining.

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Review: Master Juggler (Untraceable Succubus Series Book 3) by Erin R Flynn

Master Juggler by Erin R. Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Standing Their Ground

It seems that this is the last book in this series, for now, which makes me sad, but it’s been a year since this book was published, so I live in hope that the author will one day return to this character!

With the demon’s organisation coming out of the closet, they are starting to flex their power against the other supernatural races. They have spent many years secretly building for the moment they are revealed and they know they’ve got to stand their ground and hit hard and fast against those hurting other demons.

This book covers Jasmine/Cara/Chen and other identities facing off against a vampire coven taking lust demons prisoner and selling them off to the highest bidder. On top of that she meets more men who want to be a part of her life. She hopes with the continued help of the angels to be able to actually form relationships with people and not have to leave after one ‘date’.

I really enjoyed this book and it’s breakneck speed. Things moved quickly and I often had to re-read paragraphs because things moved so fast that I was afraid I’d miss something as my eyes moved faster and faster to keep up with the pace of the writing.

I really hope that the author chooses to write more of this series because I think this is a very interesting character and the world building is fascinating. I love it when demons aren’t the bad guys all the time!

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Review: Savvy Negotiator (Untraceable Succubus Series Book 2) by Erin R Flynn

Savvy Negotiator by Erin R. Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

New Assignment, New Conquests

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

I’m seriously getting into this series, which is not unexpected with this author. Erin R Flynn knows how to write good stories.

Acadia is the succubus formerly known as Lola. It’s her new identity, and in this book we find out the name she uses as her main identity, though it still isn’t her real name. This time she’s only back home from her last assignment for three days before being sent out to Denver where 5 women thought to be either strippers or hookers have been killed in the last month.

Once again she is being sent into a real dive of a strip club where the owner treats the dancers like dirt and the security guys follow his lead. She also goes undercover as a hooker and ends up being arrested on her first job. When the police find out that she is a PI undercover they try to force her into helping them, not only with the murderer but also with vice arrests. At this point we learn all about the organisation she works for, and it’s illuminating!

Acadia meets some more interesting characters. Some that are interested in her heart as well as her succubus abilities. She also makes a lot of friends in Denver and it’s nice to see her let her hair down when she’s under so much pressure. We also meet big scary vampire Aidan again and cuddly bear shifter Dylan. They both seem reluctant to let her go

I really enjoyed finding out more about this world and the supernatural organisations that are part of it. There’s actually an awful lot of information included in the book and I found it fascinating reading.

I devoured this book in one sitting, and I’m off to download the next book in the series. I hope there are a few more, but I have a feeling that I’ll be left wanting, because though this author has an impressive output, she dots around the series leaving them open ended in case she wants to come back and add more. I’ll just have to keep going until I run out of series.

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Review: Undisclosed Assets (Untraceable Succubus Series Book 1) by Erin R Flynn

Undisclosed Assets by Erin R. Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lots of Dirty Fun

I’d give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

I loved this book a lot. It hit a fine line of fun and dirty, whilst at the same time being a really interesting murder mystery.

Lola Chase is a stripper, she also happens to be a succubus. She believes in helping those that usually fall through the cracks because the establishment looks down on them for being strippers and whores.

She is currently working in a club in Canada because there have been murders of strippers at different clubs in town. She wants to save any other women from being murdered and to do that she is working undercover, she also happens to be a phenomenal stripper.

Whilst on the job she manages to pick up two powerful supernaturals’ interest. One is a bear shifter working for the supernatural policing force and the other is a vampire older than a 1000 years and fascinated by the only succubus he’s ever met.

So Lola spends time working two jobs and fending off the advances of two supernaturals she’s drawn to but is scared to get involved with. She’s a fascinating character who has hidden depths that are revealed slowly throughout the book.

The plot and world building are interesting, but the character building is definitely a star component of the book. I really want to learn more about Lola Chase.

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Review: Credence by Penelope Douglas

Credence by Penelope Douglas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m Conflicted......

This book is well written and emotionally charged, with an imaginative storyline and well drawn characters, but...... I’m conflicted.

There were a few areas where I felt really uncomfortable, which in itself is not a bad thing in a book, it means my preconceptions are being challenged and stirring up my thought processes.

I think I have more problems with the age-gap trope now at age 47, than I did in my early 20s. I think it’s because I now know how differently we think at this age, to how we did at that age. However, some people don’t mature as fast as others!

I also have a problem with the concept of a character having a magic pussy. Translation: a character who has lived wildly without thought of consequence or has psychological problems, not helped by the love and support of a family, are cured, seemingly by magic by ‘the love of a good woman’.

These two things have left me conflicted. If I could ignore them I would have rated the book more highly, because it was a good read, but being dubious about some key facts reduced my enjoyment significantly. If these things don’t bother you, you will probably love this book.

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Review: Glamoured (A Kingston By Night Novel) by Joelle Greene

Glamoured by Joelle Greene
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Enjoyable Paranormal MC Reverse Harem Book

This was a fun, straightforward book. It was quite predictable but it was nice to read something that wasn’t too challenging for a change.

Cammy is a witch. She’s a single mother and a stripper to make ends meet. Her ex and father of her child is a senior member of an MC on the other side of town and she’s been running from him since she found out she was pregnant.

The club she works in is owned by a different MC, The Pride, and her best friend is mated to two of the members. All the members of the MC are cat shifters. It turns out there aren’t many female shifters and few male witches and witches and shifters are drawn to each other’s magic, so the tips she gets are pretty good.

Things are starting to change for Cammy because The Pride has decided to look out for her, which brought her to the attention of the President, Secretary and Vice President. All three are interested and she’s interested right back, but doesn’t want to draw them into her problems.

There is a lot of very explicit sex in the book, so if you are looking for escaping into an unreal world with lots of smut, this is probably a good book for you. The plot is straight forward with only a few twists, but it was still enjoyable. The characters were interesting but didn’t really have much depth and history to them which makes it harder to connect with them. This is probably what keeps it unchallenging.

If I’m in the right mood, I might read another book in the series at some point.

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Review: The TriAlpha Chronicles Collection (Books 1 - 3 of The Series) by Serena Akeroyd

The TriAlpha Chronicles Collection by Serena Akeroyd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great To Read In One Go

I’ve already read and reviewed the TriAlpha Series, but as there aren’t many reviews for this omnibus box set I thought I’d say why I liked it and also link to the reviews for the individual books. Plus I wrote the reviews before I had a blog, so reviewing the boxset with links to the original Goodreads review fills in a gaping hole in my reviews.

Trinity: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Triskele: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Triad: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

These individual books are fantastic, but reading them in one chunk is so satisfying. They flow seamlessly together and work well as a single volume. Having all the works together helps create momentum, and I know I’ll be downloading the 4th book in the series as soon as I’ve finished this review.

Serena Akeroyd writes incredibly well constructed books, that flow and capture your imagination. At the same time she is a deft creator of characters that feel believable and three dimensional.

I really enjoyed this volume and recommend it highly.

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Review: Bioluminescent (The Mimics Series Book 1) by Auryn Hadley

Bioluminescent by Auryn Hadley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Aliens Crash Land

I hate reviews that sound like they are written by obsessive fans, but I also want to tell the truth. Therefore, this review sounds like it was written by an obsessive fan, sorry.

I make no secret of the fact I love Auryn Hadley’s writing, and of course I bought this book the day it released and devoured it as quickly as possible. I’m pretty sure I’ll be re-reading it many times in the future, because at the back of the book the author states that this is the first in a 6 book series (YAY!!!!!) and I always re-read earlier books as new ones become available as a refresher.

Hailey Evans is a 29 barista who’s life’s ambition of living on a beach has been met. Wandering aimlessly through life suits her. She’s not unhappy but she’s not exactly skipping with joy either. Then she goes to watch an object due to burn up in the atmosphere and land in the ocean, and instead witnesses a space ship crash into the land near town. After watching as long as there was something to see, she wanders back home, passing a stranger on the way, little knowing that the meeting will change her life forever.

Tsij is a doctor on board a space ship forced to crash land on earth. He knows that the crash will cause the release of pathogens alien to Earth which will cause widespread and dangerous illness throughout the population. He needs to find subjects who are resistant to the pathogens to help him find a cure, to right the wrong their crash has inflicted on this backwards and primitive planet.

This is a wonderful story of two cultures clashing in dire circumstances. It reveals the best and worst of both as they are put into jeopardy. Working together as friendships and alliances are made.

Auryn Hadley has once more created a wonderful culture that is conveyed with a deft hand throughout the story. Each detail is well thought out before it is revealed. The culture of the ‘Mimics’ is rich and built around a single concept and from that concept everything flows. It’s intelligently and beautifully done.

We have a large cast of characters and they are all interesting. We meet people from all walks of life, both aliens and humans and the diverse backgrounds make this book even more interesting to me.

The plot is fantastic, everything moves quickly and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, wanting to know what happens next, what block is going to be raised and which way round it will they construct.

Basically this book has plot, characters and world building in spades and I loved every page. I know we are going to have to wait for the next book, but this book finishes well, with not too much of a cliffhanger. I know I’ll be happy to re-read it when the next book comes out because if I know Auryn Hadley’s work, the book will be even better with each read of it.

In short, read this book, you’ll enjoy it!

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Review: Dark Paradise (The Arcane Court Series Book 4) by Dagmar Avery and K Margaret

Dark Paradise by Dagmar Avery and K Margaret
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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

This final book in The Arcane Court closes a chapter for not only Alyx and her Court, but also the other characters we have met through this whole sets of series. Alyx's journey all over the world during previous three books has resulted in her final chapter, searching for the lost Island of Hybrasil, the fountainhead of the power of all Faerie.

The loss of Scur during the previous quest has had a massive impact on The Arcane Court and with Scur's family. Alyx is trying to function properly and taking Khalid down with her. She seeks comfort from the rest of her Court and gradually climbs out of her pit of despair, knowing she has this final quest coming soon.

Throughout this book Alyx grows closer to Hutch and they start to build a proper relationship. Her relationships deepen with her other guards too. As a bonus we get to witness the idiocy of Scur's brothers when his mother comes to mourn his loss with his Princess. They are good for some light relief in the midst of the grief.

These books are always good for adding levity when things get dark. They are actually very positive books, filled with joking banter and bouncing energy. The friendships are important and the banter between all the Princesses, The Queen and their guards is always lighthearted, but supportive. This as in all of the other books in the series is fun to read.

My only quibble with great ending to a great series, is there are a lot of typos in the book. Things like 'know' instead of 'now' and missing words from sentences. It's a minor issue, and it doesn't affect the quality of the story or my enjoyment, I just found it a little distracting and I know some people would hate it with the passion of a thousand fiery suns, so I like to add a warning, if that's you.

Despite my mental deduction of half a ⭐, I have no other complaints about this book. It was a tremendously enjoyable read and rounded off a lot of things for me, and I especially enjoyed visiting with the other Courts. I can't wait to read about The Ash Court and Senara Chaos in the next book, because the last few chapters of this book introduce her really well for the next series.

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Review: Close to Her Heart (Carrigans of Circle C Series Book 3) by C J Carmichael

Close to Her Heart by C.J. Carmichael
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Straight Forward Romance with A Tiny Twist

I’ve had this book ages and was only reminded about it by an advert so dug it out to give it a read.

Dani is a researcher at the University of Washington, researching childcare practices and loves her job with a passion. She also loves that she is far away from her Montana ranch beginnings. She has a nice boyfriend, who also happens to be her boss and she is happy with her life, though she wishes she got to see more of her boyfriend but understands that he is a widower with a young daughter, so his time is precious.

She has two good friends who live in her building, Miriam and Elliot. They get together at least once a week for drinks and board games and chat.

Everything is going well until Dani gets pregnant and then everything starts to unravel, and she starts to turn inwards rather than reaching out for help.

This is an unsurprising romance and goes in a predictable direction, but I liked the characters a lot. They were well thought out and their personalities solidly built. I also liked the way the author handled one of the main problems for Dani. It was handled with compassion and in a matter of fact way.

However, the story was a little plodding and I’ve found that books that don’t have lots of speech in them bore me a little. I think it comes from a background in theatre. I have no problem with lengthy paragraphs of internal debate or descriptions of the world, but I like the characters to talk to each other and to learn about each other and this book didn’t have very much of that.

All in all, an enjoyable book, but I didn’t enjoy it enough to read any more from the series. 

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