Review: Dying to Meet You (Conjuring A Coroner Series Book 1) by SC Stokes

Dying to Meet You by S.C. Stokes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hounded By A Serial Killer

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

This is the first book of a series, though there is a prequel it was written after the rest of the series, so it’s not necessary to read in order to understand this book. There is a continuing story arc after the end of this book but the cliffhanger is minimal and not at all frustrating.

Kasey Chase is a coroner on secondment to NYPD after a run-in with the son of an important man, who is also a coroner. Partnered up with Detective Bishop she is called out to a murder of a young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Kasey.

Kasey is not only a coroner but she is prescient or psychic and she can sometimes see important information regarding the events of her victim's deaths, which helps her be good at her job. Quite quickly it appears that the world of magic has followed her into the world of the mundane and she is facing not a human serial killer, but a magic one. This draws the attention of the Magic Council, and the world that she avoided for so long by changing her name, finally knows who and where she is.

This book is really engaging. The plot is fast-moving, the world-building is solid and the characters are interesting. When I read the prequel I wanted more world-building and this book delivers that desire. Though there is little about the magical system, there is more about magical society. We learn about it as Kasey does because she’s been estranged from it since she was a teenager and she wilfully ignored it’s existence, despite still seeing her family regularly.

I like the format of this book, making the individual mystery Kasey has to solve actually being the start of the larger story arc over the series. It was an engaging mystery and told us a lot about Kasey and her place in the world. I could stand to learn more about Kasey and her personality rather than just being a vehicle for the story, but this is urban fantasy and it’s a common issue in the genre. I’m hoping as the series develops we’ll see more about who Kasey is.

This is a really great start to a series and I can’t wait to read the next book.

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Review: Expired (Sundance Series Book 3.5) by CP Rider

Expired by C.P. Rider
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Urban Fantasy At It’s Best

This is a sort of spin-off from the main Sundance series as it focuses on Chandra rather than Neely and Lucas. You really need to read the rest of the series to understand the characters and history, but if you miss it I don’t think it will disrupt the main storyline, but you miss out on some amazing writing, and some key character development.

I love this series so much. The characters are vivid and engaging. Their histories are fascinating and their personalities are fully explored. In this book we learn more about Chandra’s failed relationship with Cynthia when she comes to her ex's rescue after her niece goes missing. Chandra reluctantly helps out with help from Fiera and Neely, and of course in the final showdown Earp and Lucas help too.

In this book we meet Cynthia and her family and people from the leadership of the pack her niece belongs to. It gave an insight into what a pack could be if they weren’t run by someone evil, just someone a little self-centred and focussed solely on his species to the exclusion of everyone else, whether they are married to or children of pack members. I think this is a common attitude in their world which is why Blacke’s Group is so unusual in that it accepts everyone.

I love how this author carefully constructs storylines that explore the people as much as the events. There is no lack of urgency when it’s required, but she also spends time exploring emotions too.

I love that Chandra is now running the Dusty Saloon. She’s a perfect fit as an ex-assassin, second alpha, bar owner. This book really shows her moving on with her life and working out what makes her happy rather than simply doing what is necessary. I also love her friendship with Earp, who is a wonderful character. It's so refreshing that this author has a rich catalogue of characters who are over 60 and still enjoy life to the fullest, with adventures and love lives of their own. These older characters are friends with the younger characters rather than having to fulfil the mentor role that they normally are forced into.

This is such an enjoyable read, so I recommend that you start the series if you haven’t already and if you’ve started it, read this book rather than ignoring it because it’s an aside to the main plot. You’ll be missing out if you ignore it.

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Review: A Date With Death (Conjuring A Coroner Series Book 0) by SC Stokes

A Date With Death by S.C. Stokes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Murder and Magic

I got this book for free and it was only when I reached the end that I realised that this is a prequel and written after the original books. This resolved my major complaint that there wasn’t much world-building in this book, just tonnes of plot.

Kasey Chase is a coroner in NYC. She’s a really good one because she’s also psychic. Kasey is flying under the radar magically speaking and isn’t registered and changed her name before entering the mundane education system. When her boss sends her out on a mysterious ‘errand’ she finds herself face to face with the magical elite and she is there to determine if there has been a murder.

Basically, this is a magical whodunnit that is fun and interesting. It kept me engaged all the way through the book and made me want to read the rest of the series so that I can actually get the world building that this book is missing. I really hope it’s there, but if it isn’t I think it will probably still be an entertaining read.

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Review: Double the D (Capricorn Cove Series Book 2) by Evie Mitchell

Double the D by Evie Mitchell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sweet and Sexy Poly Story

This is the second in this series but can be read as a standalone. This book is about Blue, Dane and Drake. Dane and Drake were fostered together by Blue’s parents when they were teenagers. They’ve been lovers ever since, but they always wanted Blue. They joined the Marines when they turned 18 and have only just come back 12 years later.

When Dane and Drake left it hurt Blue but she understood. When they didn’t come back, despite their promises, she was devastated. Now Dane and Drake are back and she wants to avoid them at all costs. Dane and Drake are not letting her run away because now they have made something of themselves they can all have a life together.

Though technically this isn’t an insta-love book because they all were sort of together as teenagers, it has a similar vibe to it. The men sweep Blue off her feet and she’s pretty happy about it. There doesn’t seem to be much working through their problems. They explain why they never came back and she accepts it. She’s a little too forgiving for my tastes.

Other than that the characters are 2 dimensional, which isn’t unexpected as it’s a novella and there isn’t a great deal of time for in-depth character building. They are still likeable though.

There’s plenty of steam in this polyamorous relationship, but there’s also plenty of love and affection too.

This is a short and sweet book that you can devour in one sitting.

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Review: Thunder Thighs (Capricorn Cove Series Book 1) by Evie Mitchell

Thunder Thighs by Evie Mitchell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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

I got this book as a freebie and as a BBW myself, loved the title. I also loved that Ella was happy with the way she looked and dismissed any man’s attempts to get her to change. Ella runs a bar/restaurant in a little seaside town and she does it well. She’s been waiting for the right man to sweep her off her feet and always said she was waiting for a Viking god to tame her thunder thighs.

Gunnar owns a shipbuilding company with his brother and is sailing a boat back to his marina when a part blows and he has to take shelter in the nearest harbour and find out what’s gone wrong. He winds up in Ella’s bar and they take one look at each other and KAPOW lighting strikes.

This novella was definitely in the insta-love category, which I really don’t have much time for, but this was fun and sweet so I forgave the author somewhat. Plus, with a novella, it’s an easy shortcut to make to save some time.

There are no bumps in the road for this couple, it’s hearts and flowers all the way, with some hot shower sex thrown in.

This is a tiny snack of a book that might lift your spirits on a grey day, as it did mine. I may well read some more in the series as it’s on KU so it won’t cost me anything and they may work as a palate cleanser between more deep and difficult books.

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Review: Stoffer (Texas Kings MC Series Book 14) by Cee Bowerman

Stoffer: Texas Kings MC, Book 14 by Cee Bowerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hilarious and Sweet with a Touch of Violence For Spice

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

This is part of a continuing series but the book can probably be read without reading the previous books in the series. However, if you don’t read the previous books you will miss a lot of the jokes and backstories of the characters.

This book is about Isabelle, Ella’s sister. She is older than Ella by 11 months and they look like twins. Isabelle has been working as a cook and nutritionist up in a drilling camp in Alaska. After a traumatic experience, she decided to move back to Rojo to be with her sister and niece and help the family when the new baby is born.

Stoffer is part of the Texas Kings MC and works as a mechanic at Daughtrey’s garage. He wound up in Rojo after quite some time wandering the US after his mother died. With the Texas Kings, he found a family that he had been lacking.

When Grady, Ella’s partner, asked Stoffer to pick up Isabelle from the airport they met and though sparks flew, Isabelle laid down the law and said they were going to be friends, which is exactly what they did. For the first time in his life, Stoffer wondered what it would be like to actually have a relationship rather than hookups.

I liked how the relationship took time to build and they had time to learn each other’s secrets. I also really liked that Isabelle became really close friends with Luke and Clem. They became almost like brothers to her and helped her when she really needed it.

Both Isabelle and Stoffer had a journey to make before they could get it right. Isabelle had to deal with her insecurities and Stoffer had a fear of losing himself to love. All the way through they were surrounded by family and friends.

There were so many funny parts to this book but I can honestly say one scene had tears streaming down my face as I was gasping for air it was so funny. I love the way Cee Bowerman looks at the world. Rojo is a wonderful place to visit and I’ll keep going there as long as this author will let me.

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Review: Don't Flirt With Demons by Grace McGinty

Don't Flirt With Demons by Grace McGinty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Funny Breathe of Fresh Air

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

This novella is hilarious. It starts with a very drunken and tearful Elsie summoning a demon, Ukobach, by accident. She caught her boyfriend cheating on her with her boss and she quit her job as a result. She decided alcohol poisoning was the way forward, not realising she would be getting a delicious demon when she was too drunk to think, as a result.

Ukobach turns out to be the demon of fried foods and fireworks so they decide to go to the Texas State Fair to live large for the few days Ukobach is allowed out of hell.

This novella will have you laugh snorting, so don’t read it in public. It’s got some sexy times, but it’s mainly about the laughs and the feels as Elsie and Ukobach bond on their road trip.

This novella is the perfect bite-sized portion of fun for when you want a brief escape from reality. Highly recommended.

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Review: Failure (Project Adapt Series Book 4) by Jade Waltz

Failure by Jade Waltz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Getting Back Home

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

This is the fourth book in a continuing series. You won’t understand this book if you haven’t read the previous books.

In this book, we find out who arranged for Selena to be abducted and why. We also find out more about Kaede and who the mysterious REI is that he talks to telepathically and how Kaede managed to keep Selena alive.

In the meantime, her abductor wants Selena to save his brother and she meets an actual full-blooded human from Earth. Tori’s story is told in StarPyre by the same author. One of Tori’s mates is the reason Selena was chosen for abduction because it was written in the stars (there’s a lot of that in this book).

Kaede and Selena finally acknowledge their feelings for each other, as she is away from her nestmates and can bond uninterrupted. However, Selena’s main concern is getting back to her nestmates who cannot be isolated from their queen for too long before wasting away.

As usual, there is lots of alien sex in this book. Somehow this author manages to make sex between different species believable as well as sexy.

I didn’t feel this book was as strong as the previous ones. The plot was a little thinner on the ground and didn’t grab hold as much as I was expecting. I’m hoping that this was just because of the nature of the subject matter and that the next book will jump back in full force. This is the way of series, they can’t all be filled with edge of the seat drama, because plots have to move along and pace changes. This is probably just a bit of a lull before the storm hits again.

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Review: Source Mage (The Awakened World Series Book 1) by William Stacey

Source Mage by William Stacey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating World Building

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I came across it as a Facebook Ad, which isn’t a great recommendation, but the blurb intrigued me.

The world in which this book is set is fascinating. It’s been 18 years since dragons pulled down the veil between the mundane and the magical worlds and sparked years of chaos.

Angie was adopted as a child by a fey, a succubus. She was raised at her adopted mother’s home where she was trained alongside other human mages how to use magic without killing themselves.

After leaving the only home she really remembered, she joined the Home Guard, the armed forces that protect a group of human compounds against incursions by ‘ferals’ (an unexplained dangerous enemy) and other human factions. Several months ago she was shot down on a mission and she unleashed magic she never knew she had. Terrified she got her adopted mother to sever her from her magic and she was asked to leave the Home Guard as a result of losing her magic.

Isolated from her adopted mother and discarded by her human colleagues, she tries to cope day to day with little sleep and hard work. Stricken by PTSD, she doesn’t know how to find a path towards acceptance and health.

I found the world-building in this book to be really interesting. There’s nothing particularly new in the isolated facts, but they’ve been put together in an interesting way. There is mythology from several different parts of the world, which is always interesting. The magic system, for instance, seems very simple but the more you read the more complex it becomes. This is the same with the structure of society and the treaties and agreements in place. The complexity of the book is revealed slowly as the story is told in an intriguing way that compels you to keep reading.

I like Angie quite a lot. She’s a flawed and damaged human who is pulled taut between two worlds. She dwells partially in both worlds but not fully in either. She is lonely and afraid of her own magic. She is taken on a journey that involved her reappraising her entire life and the people she considered friends. I like how her friendship with Erin grows throughout the book, taking them from mere acquaintances to comrades in arms. Perceived enemies become allies and old friends become enemies. Everything she believed is tossed out and she is left to rebuild from scratch.

It’s a well-written book, with a good strong plot and solid world-building. The characters aren’t deep, but this is the first book in a trilogy so more of the personalities and histories of the characters will hopefully be revealed the further we get into the story. It’s definitely left me wanting to read more though.

I’m glad I took a chance on a Facebook Ad for once.

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Review: Lock and Key (Nocturne Academy Series Book 1) by Evangaline Anderson

Lock and Key by Evangeline Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

YA Paranormal Romance

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

This is the first book of a trilogy, but though there is a story arc continuing through the series, there is no real cliffhanger at the end of the book.

I got this book free and downloaded it because I enjoyed the Kindred books this author wrote. This book is NOTHING like those books, except for the ‘fated love’ element. It is a clean YA romance, which is pretty much the exact opposite of the Kindred books.

Megan has gone to live with her aunt, after the death of her mother and her father decided he no longer wanted to raise her. Her aunt managed to get her enrolled in Nocturne Academy the school she and her sister attended. The school appears on no maps and is inhabited, almost entirely, by Others. Others are members of the magical races; vampires, witches, fae and drakes (dragon shifters). Megan was unaware of magic before she arrived at the school and she is thrown in at the deep end.

When Megan meets Griffin, when she’s enrolled, they are instantly drawn to each other. He is a nocturne, or vampire, and the magical races are not allowed to mix romantically.

This is very definitely a YA book aimed at young adults. The language isn’t complex, nor is the plot. It involves a girl unaware of her magical heritage, a forbidden love, plucky friends, an evil witch and a secret prophecy. It’s all been done before. It’s quite entertaining and I wanted to finish the book to see where it went, so it’s fairly compelling, but it didn’t break my expectations in any way.

Megan doesn’t really have any of her own agency, everything that happens to her and that she does seems to be driven by magic. It made her a little dull for me. The only thing that seemed to be decided for herself was to stick up for her friends. Those actions helped me like her a bit more. However, every activity, other than protecting her friends, was preceded by a feeling she ‘had to’ to in order for her to do it.

I won’t be reading the next book. It’s not for me. I think, however, that it might be suitable for the actual YA it’s aimed at. It’s rare to find a book about YAs that is suitable for them as there are an awful lot that are about YAs that are aimed at a much more mature reader, which is what I thought this was. I didn’t realise the protagonist was 16 but if I had I wouldn’t have read this book. However, I would recommend it to a younger teenager.

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Review: The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a little different from my usual choice of book, but it is definitely worth a look at. I got this book as an advanced reader copy and I put off reading it for ages because though the blurb was appealing I never seemed to be in the right mood for ‘Joyful But Also So Poignant’. I’m really sorry I left it so long to read because yes this book is joyful and poignant but in all the best ways. This is a book that isn’t trying too hard. It’s a book about real people who have ordinary lives with ups and downs and all the normal bland in between. This book is about Albert a 64-year-old postman who lives a very very quiet life and doesn’t really have any friends, except his cat. He keeps his head down at work and says little except ‘How do?’ to his colleagues.

Albert is a man created by his age and location. Taught by his policeman father that what he is was sinful and disgusting, he came of age at a time when being gay had just been legalised but it wasn’t legal for those under 21. He was finding his identity in a time when it could get you beaten badly if anyone even suspected he was gay. Since his teens, Albert has suppressed the side of himself that reaches out to other people, afraid of what they might see and what they might say or do to him. He didn’t know anyone who was gay, because everyone kept it secret, and he had no one to turn to. A small town in Lancashire in the 1970s was not a safe or accepting place for homosexuals.

Shutting himself off from everyone and everything meant no one could judge him, but it also meant a life of isolation. Coming up to retirement makes him open his eyes and start looking for connections. Up until then, his work has been his whole existence, watching life around him as he brings pieces of the world to his customers. This book is a journey into a man who is finally allowing the world to see his personality. It’s his first tentative steps into becoming part of the community he watches as he delivers letters and parcels, always standing outside looking in. That journey takes him somewhere different, where people care about him and he cares for others.

This journey is powerful and moving because it teaches us that it’s never too late to turn your life around and search for happiness. If an ordinary grey haired postman from Lancashire can do it, then everyone can. I loved Albert at the same time my heart broke for him. He’s had such a sad and lonely existence, squashing his inner life down behind thick shields so the world can’t judge him. He’s so very brave to take those first steps into sharing himself with others and you feel his anxiety as he reaches out each time.

I loved the characters around Albert almost as much, especially Nicole the 19-year-old, black single mother trying to make it through her beauty course so she can finally take proper care of herself and her daughter. She is at a turning point in her life that echoes with the point in the past when Albert’s life was changed. She’s alone and isolated from others because she is different too. Their friendship is at once unlikely and at the same time utterly predictable. For two such different people, they have so much in common.

This isn’t a fast-paced and exciting book, but each page will be turned a quickly as the most exciting thriller because you want to know what happens next. This is an emotional journey and each step is a giant leap for this frightened man. It is a wonderful journey that at times will make you smile and at others make tears run down your face, so it’s safe to say this book really is ‘Joyful But Also So Poignant’. You will be thinking about this book for a long time because it burrows itself inside your heart and mind and sets up camp whilst you think about your own life and all the missed turnings you didn’t take. At the same time, you are thinking about the things you missed, this book also reminds you that it’s never too late.

This is a wonderful book, you really should read it.

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Review: The Paths We Lay (Path of Temptation Series Book 2) by Auryn Hadley

The Paths We Lay by Auryn Hadley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Learning What The Path Is

This is the second book, of what is shaping up to be another amazing series by Auryn Hadley. You need to read the first book to enjoy this book, if you haven’t read it yet, you really should because it’s fantastic.

This book is about the Priestess and Priests of Zeal becoming Initiates. They are now onto their secondary education where they learn about the Paths they’ve been placed upon by Zeal. As Nariana has been gifted the Path of Temptation, or all five Paths, she has to find her own Path to navigate and Zeal isn’t helping her choose how to walk it. She asked for free will, so he gave it to her as his Chosen.

One of the things I really like about this series is that it’s not just about Nariana, it’s about all of those Zeal has touched and who can see him. There are multiple points of view in this book and I enjoyed all of them. Each of the characters has importance to this story. They all see things slightly differently and support each other in different ways. The story is a web with strands connecting each person to each other, though that metaphor is far too static for the journey they must all take together.

In this book, we watch as these young people learn about sexuality and other temptations. They start to learn who they really are and what their desires are like. They have formal lessons but learn as much from each other as they do from their teachers. They also have the help of advice from their mentors and, of course, their god. They make new friends and take new lovers. They gain allies for themselves and Zeal. They use friendship and kindness as well as lust to tempt.

I love the winding path this story is taking. This author always allows space for her characters to breathe and think. This is actually quite a contemplative book about sexuality and power. There is plenty of explicitly sexy scenes that will leave you squirming, but there is also plenty of thought-provoking discussions about accepting yourself and your desires. It also makes you think about the nature of power and how easy or hard it is to grab onto and once you have it what you choose to do with it.

This contrast between scenes hot enough to make you blush and cerebral scenes that make your mind whirl is how the author keeps you slightly off-kilter, wondering what is coming next and driving you to keep turning the pages to find out. Thrown into that interesting blender of physicality and intellect is the character development, as we watch these young people grow up. We also watch their mentors, people in their late 30s and 40s mature and start to move towards new stages in their lives. The mentors know a lot about their subjects and are more than capable of guiding their students, but they still have more to learn about life and have Zeal to guide them.

I know this book will be like all other Auryn Hadley books and every time I read it I will find something new and interesting that I missed before. It’s one of the reasons I don’t mind reading each book as it comes out. I re-read all the previous books each time there is a release and get something new each time. It’s also why I don’t mind buying the books even though they are in Kindle Unlimited. I know I will read them time and time again, which for me is the mark of a 5 ⭐️ book, and I want to make sure they are always in my library.

July feels a long way off, to wait for the next book, but as Zeal might tell you, anticipation makes things sweeter.

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Review: Shadow Keeper (Shadow Riders Series Book 3) by Christine Feehan

Shadow Keeper by Christine Feehan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sexy Shadow World

Once again this author manages to write a sexy paranormal romance I can’t put down. I don’t know what it is but there is some quality to her writing that makes it hard to step away from the intensity she writes between her main characters. The insta-love/lust she has going on *should* make her books chomp down, easy read, throw away things to make you happy, but the characters are usually going through some kind of traumatic time and the insta-love thing is the only thing keeping them sane and safe. This is exactly what happened, again, with this book.

As this is the third book in the series most of the world-building has gone on before, so if you don’t read the first two books you probably will have a very hard time following the story.

Giovanni was shot in the previous book and has his leg pinned together in two places. This means that he is unable to go through the shadows because only very special select materials can travel the shadows and survive, so they would rip his leg apart if he tried. He’s been told he’s been sidelined for longer and he’s fed up with being the designated party time playboy that distracts the world from what the rest of his family are doing when they are out on assignment.

When Giovanni meets Sasha she is working as a waitress in one of their clubs that happens to be in their home town of Chicago. He is instantly drawn to her and he can’t stop watching her as she works. When they finally meet he’s in the middle of humiliating himself as being the total playboy character he plays and she is disgusted by him.

Sasha is from Wyoming and lived on a ranch until her parents were killed in an accident and her brother was injured and needed a residential care facility. They moved to Chicago where he could get the best care possible and Sasha is killing herself working two full-time jobs to pay for that care. She is beautiful, radiant and loyal. She’s also playful and charming, forthright to the point of being blunt and stubborn. She’s an awesome character I want to be my friend. When she meets Giovanni the last thing she wants is to become involved with a rich playboy who doesn’t know the meaning of hard work. But she is drawn to him despite herself.

Somehow this author manages to make it believable that these two characters, the ridiculously wealthy and dangerous Giovanni, with a whole warehouse of secrets and the smart, stubborn, poor and honest Sasha can find their way to each other in such a short time. I don’t know how she does it, but every time, she manages it.

On top of the whirlwind romance, the care for her brother and two full-time jobs, Sasha has to contend with a stalker. Overwhelmed, she allows Giovanni to take over until she recovers enough to start to show her true colours and she regains her fight. It’s fabulous to read as she picks herself up and starts to really show herself.

The characters are rich and wonderful and the plot is intriguing and exciting. It was hard to put down the book and it was a good chunky satisfying read, filled with enough heat and passion to make you need a glass of iced water. You don’t need much else for a decent Paranormal Romance and Christine Feehan really is the master at this type of book.

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Review: Coming Undone (The Ice Court Series Book 1) by Dagmar Avery and K Margaret

Coming Undone by K. Margaret and Dagmar Avery
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Horns are Sexy

This is the first book in the Ice Court Series. Though this is the first book in the series, you need to read the previous seven series to have a hope of ever understanding the cast of characters and the plot.

Reading Order

The Sleeping Court: Slumber, Awaken, Trance, Oblivion, Oblivion,
The Blood Court: Vexed, Inception, Aversion, Conquer.
The Dank Court: Seasons In The Abyss, Calling To The Deep, The Sweet Unknown, Queen Of Monsters.
The Grave Court: Of The Grave, Of the Spirit.
The Lotus Court: Dreaming, Darkly.
The Arcane Court: Wicked Games, Devil Inside, Silent Echoes, Dark Paradise.
The Ash Court: Rise From Ashes, Sand of Time, Darken The Light, Back To Chaos.

This is the story of how the Ice Court comes back to power and the only way for that to happen is for the Court to allow Eira to come to power as the Ice Court Princess, by gaining her Guard, her Heart Eternal (or soul mate) and the god, that she must awaken. However, Eira is trapped by her duty and love for her father who has locked her into a marriage contract.

Her unhappy engagement prevents her from finding the people she needs to truly establish her Court but her father won’t relinquish power as it is written into the charter for their house that only a man can rule it. He has allowed her to run things related to the fae side of things because she’s good at it and she doesn’t need to hide her huge horns in Faerie.

Eira loves her father and her people and hates her fiancé. She’s pretty miserable but doesn’t know how to escape. She’s drawn to Faust a faeblin (fae/goblin hybrid) who is the son of the now-dead goblin king.

Faust is called to Eira as a member of her guard, or maybe more. He only knows that she is his Princess and he must do everything in his power to make her happy. If that means staying away, then he will do that, but if she shows signs of wanting him then he is hers.

The whole set-up for this series is tough. Ice Court is important to bring the two sides of Faerie into unity but they don’t want to let go of the old ways. On the other hand, the ruler of the house seems to love his daughter and want her happiness, provided it falls into the guidelines laid out by the Court Charter. Transforming this house is essential to killing Poseiden’s legacy.

A lot happens in this first book of the series. The set-up is complicated and what I’ve written above barely scratches the surface. Most of the world-building has already been done in previous books but we still learn more about Hybrasil, in particular the Observatory, where Faust works. We also learn a bit more about the faeblins.

Both Eira and Faust are interesting characters because they have been overshadowed most of their lives by larger than life fathers, though Eira has affection for hers and Faust never did. Both were pushed around like pieces on a game board and had no real say in what they became, though once again, Eira is happy with her job. It sounds like both fathers are two sides of the same coin.

Most of the focus of this book is on Eira and Faust and their relationship and the huge set-up of what’s going on with Ice Court. It’s an interesting read and the relationship is sweet, but is tainted by Eira being engaged, even if it’s been imposed upon her, and them having to sneak around. Eira is placed between doing what Faerie wants and making herself happy and doing what her father wants and making her House happy.

The book ends on a big cliffhanger and I can’t wait to read the next book!

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Review: Brimstone Bound (Firebrand Series Book 1) by Helen Harper

Brimstone Bound by Helen Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Entertaining

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

It’s always nice to see some Urban Fantasy based in the UK. However, I’ve grown so used to reading US fiction it’s actually quite disorientating hearing about warrant cards and boroughs of London. It is however nice to recognise most of the landmarks talked about and understand the transport system!

Emma is a police officer training to qualify for her detective ranking. She’s doing really well when she finds out her last rotation is with the Supernatural Squad, the place they send the people they don’t want to see again. Within 24 hours of starting work with the squad she is murdered, only to rise again in the mortuary the next day.

Trying to solve your own murder, when you know nothing really about the world into which you’ve been thrust is a tricky proposition, however, Emma is determined, clever and has a vampire to help out.

There is plenty to like in this book. The plot and the world-building are interesting but I feel that the characters were subservient to the plot. This is fine if you prefer to have a strong plot to strong characters but I’m the other way around. I prefer my characters to drive my plot, not be driven by it.

We really see very little of Emma’s personality throughout this book, other than her intelligence and determination. She has a friend but there is no real connection there except for plot reasons. Her boyfriend is someone she doesn’t seem to have very deep feelings for and she just feels shallow. All the characters are like this. As I saID, if you want to read a good story that’s all about the plot, this book is pretty good, but I like a little bit more meat on the bones of the people I read about.

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Review: Wild Sign (Alpha and Omega Series Book 6) by Patricia Briggs

Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Leah’s Past Comes To Light

This book is part of a continuing series and won’t make much sense without reading the previous books. I recommend them, they are good, go read them first.

I love Patricia Briggs writing and have done so since I read her first Mercy Thompson book, which I bought in an actual bookshop rather than clicking a button. We have a long history together, filled with adventures, love, friendship, beauty and pain and though I’m never truly disappointed, some books are better than others. It’s the nature of the relationship between the author and the reader. The book is the place where life experiences and dreams of the author and reader meet together and sometimes they mesh into something perfect, but at other times they rub each other the wrong way a little. This book, for me, was of the perfect variety.

Charles and Anna have been sent to look into a missing town. This time they have Tag with them too, which gives an added dimension to their adventures. It’s no hardship for me because Tag is an awesome character that I love reading about. In this book, we actually get to understand him a little better as we live inside his head a little bit. Tag is chosen because magic behaves strangely around him and Bran knows magic is probably involved.

The place they are going to, Wild Sign, is on some land that Bran bought Leah, it’s the land where they met and he made her a wolf and his mate. In this book, we finally hear the story of how that came to be and it’s worth the wait. Leah is actually pretty integral to this story and we learn so much about her, who she was and how she has come to be the way she is. She’s an even more interesting character than I ever suspected than I expect anyone suspected.

This story has white witches, black witches, potential gods and Coyote thrown in for good measure. I loved every page and couldn’t stop reading until the last paragraph. It was gripping as always. The characters are incredibly detailed, which is to be expected when the author has spent so many years honing them. The world-building is rock solid, again which is to be expected after so many years. The plot was amazingly captivating. It wove so many interesting strands together to create a dazzling cloth that I couldn’t look away from.

If you haven’t read this series and you want to see an example of a really great urban fantasy writer at the peak of her craft, this series is a great one to choose. It’s also a great example of an MFC who is strong physically and emotionally and knows when to bend in order to not break. Anna is one of the strongest MFC I’ve come across and she isn’t foremost a fighter. She is a listener, a nurturer and a friend. She gets the answers she needs by being interested and kind and unravelling difficult subjects with delicacy. She relies on her husband for his strength of arms, but also the strength of his love for her. She feels certain and solid because she is sure of her place at the centre of Charles’ world. She is a very unusual hero and I love her because of it.

This book made my Sunday disappear in a puff of smoke. It’s why I waited so long to read it because I knew I wouldn’t be able to draw out the process. I knew it would be over the same day I started it. It’s also why I did the re-read of the entire series. Now I just have to wait for a while for another book

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Review: Crown of Death (Crown of Death Series Book 1) by Keary Taylor

Crown of Death by Keary Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Compelling

I found this book as a freebie and decided to give it a go and I’m glad I did. The author built a strange and compelling tale that didn’t let me go until the final page.

Logan Pierce is 20 years old and working as a mortuary assistant, which is her dream job. She has money worries, she worries about her family and she’s lonely. When she witnesses an attack and sees people with glowing red eyes, she and her family friend Eli are knocked out and taken prisoner.

When she wakes up she finds out that Eli is a family friend of her birth family instead of her adopted one, like she thought. Her captors think she is something special, but they will only know once she is dead. They want to make that happen as soon as possible. Logan negotiates for a month to close down her life and to make her killers get to know who she really is before they take her life.

With this, she steps into a world of royal vampires, filled with beautiful dresses and elaborate entertainment that can turn bloody and violent at the drop of a hat. The vampire beside her every step of the way, Cyrus, is dangerous and powerful and he is holding something back.

This book was really well written. It didn’t actually have a huge amount of complicated plot, but the story was so engaging I couldn’t stop reading. The characters and the way they related to each other comprised the story and the author revealed them well.

I know this book is part of a larger universe, and once I finished the book realised that there were other series based in the same world before this book. This meant that the world-building was probably a bit less full-bodied than I would have liked. The basic facts were laid out, but there were hints about the world and the major players in it that were dropped, which meant nothing to me as a new reader. I find series like this difficult as a reader because on Amazon or Goodreads the series seems to stand alone and you don’t realise you missing information until you are halfway through the book. I wish there were a way for them to show that this is the 1st book of 5 in the 2nd series of 2 (for example) then we’d know to go further back to the beginning and get things in the right order.

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Review: Sin's Enticement (Ares Infidels MC Series Book 1) by Ciara St James

Sin's Enticement: Ares Infidels MC #1 by Ciara St James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Teacher And The Biker

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

This is the first in this series by this author, however, it is interwoven with a series by Cee Bowerman, Tenillo Guardians TSMC. The first book in that series is Boss: Time Served MC book 1, and is set before this book in their joint timeline. You don’t need to have read Boss first, but it will help make sense of the larger picture in Tenillo if you have.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and decided to read it because I’m a fan of Cee Bowerman’s and really enjoyed Boss and wanted to know what happened next. I would say that this is more of a traditional MC book. It’s about a group of ex-servicemen who come back home and decide to start an MC to carry on having the sense of brotherhood the armed forces gave them.

Sin is the president of Ares Infidels MC and was a Navy SEAL. At 35 years old he’s been out of the service for a couple of years and has built up his MC during that time. Tenillo is his home town and they decided to use his family's land to build a compound around an MC building and Sin’s mother’s house. The Infidels have been helping Boss, who is the new police chief, find all the dirty officers in his police force, of which there are many. A couple of his men have joined the police force to help out and because they enjoy the work.

Lyric is a teacher at the local high school. She’s been there since just after she graduated a few years ago. She’s 24 years old and her parents died just before she took this job in Texas and moved from Oregon. Her only relationship did not end well and she’s avoided any others since. When her suspicions about the activity of some of her students are fobbed off by everyone and she doesn’t trust the police as she’s heard some really bad stories, she doesn’t know what to do to help them. A friend suggests she ask the Ares Infidels MC for help. She’s so desperate she acts on the suggestion.

As soon as Sin sees Lyric he is smitten. In typical alpha style, he mentally claims her as his and uses his dominance and sexiness to get his girl in record time, for someone so shy of relationships. Of course to protect his woman and his community Sin sweeps into action along with Boss and the Time Served MC.

I quite enjoyed this book. There were some stilted parts but they were not overwhelming. The plot was engaging enough and there were a couple of twists I didn’t see coming. However, it did seem to take a long time to figure things out, especially for a bunch of special forces guys and a genius hacker with access to the police chief. Most of the bad guys I saw coming a mile off and so should Sin and the guys, and they didn’t, obviously for plot reasons.

There was plenty of very hot scenes between Lyric and Sin, which were pretty well written and definitely helped explain why Lyric was swept off her feet so quickly.

I probably wouldn’t continue with this series, however, as I really enjoyed the companion series, I probably will, to keep up with the plot more easily. There was nothing wrong with this book, it’s just I have a really long TBR list and there are loads of enticing books on it. If something doesn’t completely captivate me or really satisfy a piece of my heart somehow, it tends to get forgotten. I think with some tweaks that this could be a really good series, and I hope that those tweaks get made.

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Review: Cash (The Devil's Angels MC Series Book 5) by Lola Wright

Cash by Lola Wright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Cop And The Biker

This is part of a continuing series and probably wouldn’t make much sense without reading the previous books.

Livi is a cop and a really good one. She likes helping people and is tough enough and competent enough to take care of those who need it and take down those who deserve it. Her family is scattered but her best friend is her partner at work who has become like a brother. Her other companion is a large and very lazy English bulldog.

Cash is the strong and silent type. He’s careful, watchful and strong. He is the club Sargent At Arms and he takes his duty very seriously. He protects those he loves with everything in him. When he meets Livi there are instant sparks and they set up a date, except Cash forgets because some left a small, loud and stinky gift for him behind his gym and everything else flew out of his mind.

I felt this book was somewhat predictable and the plot was a little lacking. However, the banter between the characters was hilarious as always. The characters and relationships were the most important thing in this book, and this is what kept the book strong.

This is an excellent book and I can’t wait to read the next in the series.

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Review: Beta Wolf (Smoky Mountain Pack Series Book 2) by Lucia Ashta

Beta Wolf by Lucia Ashta
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Becoming Part Of The Pack

This story continues a few weeks after the end of book 1. It turns out that with Corbin, the pack alpha, missing Quannah is moved into the alpha position and Zasha becomes beta, despite knowing nothing about being a wolf.

The last few weeks have been spent training, recovering from their injuries and searching for Corbin. On top of that Zasha and Quannah are both battling an intense attraction for each other.

This book is all about Zasha becoming part of the pack and acknowledging that she is part wolf. Because of the nature of the creation of her wolf, it’s been hard to let her humanity go, especially as she’s had to cut all contact with her uncles and their families and hasn’t had a chance to mourn the loss of her father on the same day she was made a wolf.

It turns out that Zasha is a really good wolf. She is fast, decisive in battle and fights with a brutal efficiency. She has brought new techniques in fighting to the pack whose whole purpose is fighting the hunters of their kind.

The story of Zasha and the pack is really interesting. It’s not high action, but there is some peril involved, usually involving magic. There are also ties into other series by the same author, but I still enjoyed both books so far without having read any of the others. Having been introduced to characters from those series, in this book, I’m tempted to read the back catalogue.

I’m looking forward to reading the next book and finding out what happens next.

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Review: Vex (The Devil's Angels MC Series Book 4) by Lola Wright

Vex by Lola Wright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Vex’s HEA

This book can be read as a standalone, but understanding the characters and storylines in the previous books will enhance your enjoyment.

***CAUTION WARNING: if reading about traumatic childbirth incidents trigger difficult emotions for you, avoiding this book may be advisable.***

Vex is the playboy of the club. He’s gorgeous and most women and some men drool when he enters the room. So no one, especially him, thinks that he’ll ever settle down with one woman. We learn a few unexpected things about Vex and his past in this book, which I always enjoy. It’s fun to learn about the previously supporting characters when they get their chance to stand in the spotlight.

Taja has just buried her mother, who has been sick since Taja was 8 years old. Despite her mother being wonderful, loving and supportive, being sick meant she couldn’t do as much as she would like so Taja took on some of the responsibilities of looking after her baby sister early on. This was necessary because as soon as her mother got sick her father emptied the accounts and left. He’s the president of a 1%er MC and has no morals.

Now 22-years-old Taja is one semester away from getting her nursing degree but has to put that to one side to get a full time job in a strip club working as a bar tender. It’s the same club that Vex works as a bouncer at. The first time Vex sees Taja he’s smitten, but tries to stay away from her for her own good. He fails in his efforts but in the meantime they become friends.

This is a story of a sweet relationship that started in a slightly unpredictable way. As well as Vex and Taja being in the relationship, there is also Tessie, Taja’s teenage sister who is part of the family. This adds another unusual twist and the relationship between Vex and Tessie is really lovely to watch develop.

Taja is reluctant to become involved with the club further than working for them, but they all slowly draw her and Tessie in with their warmth and wackiness. They need that support when their Dad comes back into the picture and causes problems.

Taja and Tessie get put through the mill during the course of this book, but Vex and the rest of the MC stand beside them every step of the way, from the moment they come under their wing.

The plot for this book isn’t complicated but it does have some subtlety and it is nuanced in places. There is some peril and violence, which is to be expected with an MC book, but it’s not particularly graphic or dark. The characters are all interesting, but I wish the flipping parrot wasn’t portrayed as being as intelligent as a child holding conversations with it’s parents, it’s disturbing.

Other than the parrot, I do really like this series and I’m glad other books will be forthcoming.

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Review: Forged Wolf (Smoky Mountain Pack Series Book 1) by Lucia Ashta

Forged Wolf by Lucia Ashta
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Black Magic Wolf

I’ve not read anything by this author before and took a chance when I liked the look of the blurb, started the sample and couldn’t stop.

Zasha is a fighter. Her Dad and uncles own and run an MMA gym and she has trained there her whole life and makes her living as a fighter. This is an alternate reality paranormal romance. In this world, the supernatural is out in the open but is treated with suspicion, distaste and fear. The mixed human/supernatural town of Flaming Arrow is a dark and dangerous place to live and Zasha has always been careful of her surroundings, but the first time she isn’t she’s taken by a dark magician and changed using dark magic into a werewolf.

Taken and forced into captivity and shoved inside an arena to fight to the death against a natural-born wolf shifter she won’t fight against such an injured wolf. Her compassion earns her temporary safety, but everyone knows dark magic changed wolves will always go mad and die within days of being changed.

Zasha is a really interesting character, but this book is told from multiple POV, one of which is the ‘villain’, who believes absolutely that he’s on the side of right. The other POV is Quannah who is the pack Beta and he is fascinated with Zasha.

I like how this book doesn’t dance around the suspicions that run rife in a situation like this, where everyone is in a new and dangerous situation. No one really trusts each other, but they are open to being persuaded because they are good people, on the whole (well, except for the villain).

It’s quite a short book but it’s a great start to the series and has a bit of a cliffhanger but not of Kindle throwing levels. Still, I’m going to go and download the next book now, because I’m enjoying the story.

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Review: Three to Find (Hemlock Academy Series Book 3) by Kelsey Soliz

Three to Find by Kelsey Soliz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Steamiest Yet

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

I wasn’t as big a fan of this book as I was the first two. It was much less subtle world building and more banging the conduit at every opportunity. There was so much less plot too. This is fine if you are looking for silly humour and heated sex scenes, but I’d come to expect more depth and this book didn’t have that.

The book starts with a weird evil villain monologue as Night declares his version of history and his intents, whilst being interrupted by his heir telling him he’s mad and basically that sets the tone for much of the book, as he crawls out of the woodwork. It’s hard to assign him any level of threat after this introduction and it totally changes the way the series is heading.

The goddess has declared that Gabby gets some extra mates because she’s done so well with the first batch. They are all living in the big mansion kept for the leaders of the Conduits that has been empty for a long time and only used for visiting dignitaries. They also dropped out of Hemlock Academy (which is why I find the title of the series a bit strange). They are studying from home because they have to work as council leaders.

The majority of this book is taken up with the search for new mates and the Conduit Gala. Incidents that would normally have peril are muted by the ridiculous nature of the book's villain. To be honest, the goddess wasn’t much less ridiculous and on several occasions, the characters interacted with the readers in a way that just didn’t work for me, because it was suddenly dropped into the style of writing.

This book almost didn’t feel like the same author. There was much less clever layering and more A to B's in a direct route. I’ll probably give myself a break from this series because I’m not sure of how the next book is going to be. If it’s like the first two books then sign me up, but if it’s going to continue like this book I’m not going to bother.

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Review: Second Glances (Hemlock Academy Series Book 2) by Kelsey Soliz

Second Glances by Kelsey Soliz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

More Mates

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

This second book is as good as the first. It’s slightly more frenetic and is full of silliness but that makes me smile all the harder. Building on from the first book, Gabby finds more mates and they are people I had my suspicions about. However, there is quite a journey to get to the point of bonding as none of them is as instant as Balfour or Cyrus. In fact, Cyrus’ problems arise after the bonding because his past comes back to bite him in the butt.

I think one of the reasons I am enjoying this academy series is that it isn’t really much of an academy series. The academy is the starting place, where Gabby starts to come into her own and where she meets her mates, but there is very little focus on the lessons etc. In other academy books quite often the world-building is done through lessons the pupils learn, in this series, we learn more from the other members of the harem, especially Cyrus and Dar as they have 100 years of age under their belts.

I really enjoy the humour in these books. Gabby has such a sense of fun, she’s a joy to read about. Her mates are pretty hilarious too. Exhibit A: Bal’s tendency to use sports commentator voices whilst having his sex high. Exhibit B: Palmer’s punching out fake cardboard people, trust me, both are hilarious.

I love how the story has built and the harem has started to bond, not just with Gabby but with each other. It sounds like this is essential as stuff is starting to get pretty dangerous!

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Review: First Addition (Hemlock Academy Series Book 1) by Kelsey Soliz

First Addition by Kelsey Soliz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved These Characters

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

I overdosed on academy reverse harem books when they first became ‘A Thing’. I don’t read many at all now. I think the only series I’m currently reading is Artemis University and that’s because I’m so invested in the characters I can’t stop. I don’t know why I decided to give this one a chance, but I’m so glad I did.

One of the things I normally hate about Academy books is that they have the usual high school drama of bullying nonsense and to be honest, I’m too old for that sort of thing to have any appeal whatsoever. Happily, this book doesn’t have much of that. It has some, I can’t deny, but not much.

The MFC is Gabriella, or Gabby to her friends. She is a bodysmith which is someone who uses sexual energy to power up her magical resources. Normally bodysmiths are people who can’t cope with monogamous relationships and exchange their addictively drugging sexual exploits for wealth. Gabby doesn’t like that in her mother, who is also a bodysmith, and has tried to avoid that behaviour. It helps that her dad is the headmaster of Hemlock Academy and he is also a sculptor which is someone who has the ability to alter the fabric of things and beings. Gabby has inherited his powers as well. Recently it came to light that in addition to all this she is a Conduit, which is someone, usually a woman, who binds someone to her magically and romantically and this enhances their abilities. She has 6 conduits which hasn’t been seen for hundreds of years so she is keeping it quiet when she attends the academy she doesn’t want to go to.

That’s quite a bit introduction and more information than I’d normally give but I think it explains why Gabby is the way she is really well. Her personality is fantastic. She’s fun, down to earth, feisty and strong. She doesn’t want the power and notoriety that being a Conduit brings, especially one as powerful as she is. She wants men to want her because they like her.

I really like all the characters as much as I like Gabby. They are all interesting and getting to know them is fascinating. I also like the way the plot unfolds. It’s gradual and enthralling, even though not a lot of dramatic stuff happens, I couldn’t stop reading this book. I just really enjoyed spending time with Gabby and her friends/men.

The world the author has created is different from most, though it has shifters and vampires, there are other categories that seem to crop up the more you read, such as the bodysmiths or sculptors. The specialisation is what makes the magic system interesting.

I feel like there is so much more to learn about their magic system and society as the last few chapters reveal quite a lot and leave a lot of questions unanswered. I really want to read the next book straight away so I can find out what the answers to those questions are. I also want to find out who else could be one of Gabby’s mates because the first two are fantastic!

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Review: Book of the Lost: AAV-07d25-11 (The JAK2 Cycle Book 3) by VES Pullen

Book of the Lost: AAV-07d25-11 by V.E.S. Pullen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Trekking Through The Wilderness

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

I thought this book was the last in the series, but there is definitely more to come, I just don’t know how many books and when they are due to come out. This annoys me as I really want to know what happens next as soon as possible!

This book mainly consists of getting out of Salem and trying to get to safety. It felt a lot more linear than the previous two books, with fewer layers being peeled back. However, all series have to have some books that are less complex than others, if only to give the reader’s brain a rest, but also to get the plot done, getting from point A to point B in order to make progress in the narrative. This is what this book felt like. It felt like this book was all about going from the known quantity that is Salem to the unknown of the outside world and all the issues that Azzie will face without being a captive.

This book does have some scenes with Mouse in flashback to explain her a little bit because she is a bit of a mystery in the other two books. She is only seen through Azzie’s eyes in her role as her best friend and protector, which gives a slightly skewed point of view of who she is as a character.

There is a lot more passion in this book. It started on Azzie’s 18th birthday which felt a little obvious to me, as though it was ok for 24-year-olds to be involved with her now she was 18 as opposed to the day before when she was 17!

I did feel that things were a mite unrealistic given that Azzie had been in a fever that nearly killed her, leaving her unconscious in hospital for a week, only getting out a few days before going on a marathon trek through the wilderness in cold and wet weather, and this was on top of her existing health issues. I think it would have been more believable if they’d had to give her a piggyback ride.

We do find out a lot more about the triplets lives outside Salem, which is fun.

I can’t wait for the next book to come out because there is so much story still left to be told about these fascinating characters.

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Review: Royal Dragon Renegade (Royal Dragon Shifters of Morocco Series Book 8) by Ava Ward

Royal Dragon Renegade by Ava Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-Binding Her Dragons

This book continues from book 7 and cannot be read separately from the rest of the series if you want to understand what is going on.

The first half of this book starts quite slowly. It’s basically all about Layla reconnecting with the dragons from her bind that she was cut off from in a previous book. Everyone thought they would re-bind as soon as Layla returned from Hunter’s realm, but everyone’s emotions prevented it. This book deals with each dragon and Layla’s problems and how they work through it.

Things start to ramp up with Adrian because he is holding back from the bind for some reason and Layla doesn’t want to push him but also doesn’t want to let it go for too long. She has a fine line to walk.

This really is a superb series and the world that this author has created never seems to dim in beauty. Ava Ward’s descriptions are vivid and enthralling, though I have to say there were a few places where her adjective choice seemed a little strange. She also repeated a lot of her adjectives, even the strange ones, which made them more noticeable. It felt a little like she became fixated on a word and just used it repeatedly, whether it was relevant or not. One example is the use of the word disastrous or disastrously that got used repeatedly and I don’t think it really works when describing someone’s eye colour as “..a hot, disastrous turquoise.” This really was the only niggle as far as I was concerned. I enjoyed the whole book as much as the rest of the series, so I can accept the occasional odd word selection, even if it is a little distracting.

The last book in the series is next and I don’t know if I want to read it immediately to know how it all ends or delay it as long as possible so I don’t have to finish the series. I know, sometimes I’m a little strange in my choices!

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Review: Book of the Damned: A-E5L1-01-00 (The JAK2 Cycle Book 2) by VES Pullen

Book of the Damned: A-E5L1-01-00 by V.E.S. Pullen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Secrets Revealed

This book continues where book 1 left off. The secret of why the triplets and twins have been brought in is revealed and it’s not pretty. Azzie is really sick from the virus she exposed herself to and no one thinks she’s going to make it, and Mouse has gone missing.

It’s really hard to talk about the plot of this book without revealing any spoilers so all I’m going to say is that it is clever and multi-layered. I think it’s clever that the author has set this in a period 9 years after COVID-19. A few years after COVID-19 set the world on it’s backside, came another virus JANUS-23, which was more deadly and attacked an already weakened world. This allows the author to really project what could happen during the direst circumstances of a pandemic without making it about COVID-19. The author draws on the experiences of the world and what we’ve witnessed and continues with worse case scenarios to come up with the plot for this series.

I loved that in this book we see Azzie come out of her shell even more than the first book. The slow unveiling of her true personality is fantastic to read about. It’s done in a believable way so nothing feels incongruous to the character.

We also learn a bit more about the twins and triplets and why they have ended up in Salem. They may have all come from different places but their reasons are fairly similar, they came to get their families the vaccine and to try and find out what was going on in Salem for their communities. Communities are important in post-JANUS-23 America. Communities are those people who help you survive but also help you to keep the virus as far from the vulnerable as possible.

This series is gripping but I imagine if you are living with the worst consequences of COVID-19 you may find the subject matter triggering. Personally, I felt that the distinction between the two viruses helped, also that it was set in the USA rather than the UK where I am based, which means my experiences have been different enough to prevent drawing too many similarities between fiction and reality.

I will definitely be downloading the next book as soon as possible because even though this is a slow burn reverse harem and there’s been nothing but a few kisses up to the end of this book, I still want to see what happens to the romance part of the story as well as the getting everyone safe part of the plot.

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Review: Erupting Shadows (Artemis University Series Book 10) by Erin R Flynn

Erupting Shadows by Erin R. Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fae Shenanigans

This book is part of a continuing series and cannot be understood if read separately from the preceding books.

Tamsin is getting ready to go back to Artemis for her Junior year and is getting pressure from both sides of the fae spectrum. Surrounded by elders and ancients who criticise constantly Tamsin has to find a way to achieve her goals of freeing all fae before all the political nonsense drives her to drink.

At the same time as some fae are causing problems, others are providing guidance and support, helping with her fae education. However, as usual not all her men are providing the support she needs and are being selfish in their needs. It seems poor Tams can’t have all four men act in a kind and caring way at the same time.

As well as romance problems and fae problems she also has the normal supernatural problems of the councils all trying to get her to reveal what race she is so they can control her.

This book doesn’t have masses of interesting plot. Everything moves along but it’s not the usual breakneck speed. There are some rescues but not many. The book is mainly focused on Tamsin’s promises to free the fae and the ramifications that has on her role as an Heir. That it wasn’t so breakneck did not spoil my enjoyment, in fact, it gave me more time to appreciate the story. I’m looking forward to what happens next.

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Review: Sanctuary (Seeking Asylum Series Book 1) by SM Olivier

Sanctuary by S.M. Olivier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Superb Dystopian Fiction

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

Along with a lot of other people I had been waiting with bated breath for this author’s 3rd book in the Peyton’s Path series for quite some time. It’s a fabulous series and I was quite happy to wait until it was right. Whilst we were all waiting the author released this book, the first in a new series. I didn’t read it until after finally getting the Peyton’s Path book and I’m sorry I waited so long to dive into this one.

This feels like a much darker and more mature version of Peyton’s Path. It’s about Avery a young woman who is on the cusp of starting her life. She’s just taken her nursing degree finals and has heard she is going to represent her Tae Kwan Do team at Nationals with the expectation she’ll be going to the Olympics after narrowly missing out 4 years previously. Her life isn’t perfect by any means and she has spent the last year feeling very isolated from her family. Her best friend Sylvia is practically a sister though.

She is away for the weekend, with her 18-year-old brother who is on leave from military school, to spend time with her pregnant step-mother and two younger step-brothers. Her Dad is military and is currently deployed. When she's out for the day with their step-brothers everything changes.

The last few days there has been reports of a new illness that causes the victims to spread the virus by biting people. She gets a message to pick up her step-mother, stock up with masses of supplies and get to the family campground that her grandparents owned and that her father and his foster brothers now own and run, even whilst serving in the military.

This book is Avery’s story of how she and her friend and family travel in these dangerous time, the mistakes they make and the people they protect.

This is actually a reverse harem book, however, the book is more about family and courage than it is about romance. Avery has been badly burned in the past and she has plenty of work to do to change the way she looks at herself and how other people (namely men) look at her.

The plot is scarily believable, even though it’s a more sophisticated version of a zombie apocalypse novel. It covers what could happen if a violently virulent disease hit and a group of special forces who planned for everything and had the means and motive to prepare, did so. The plot was really gripping and I could barely stop reading to eat.

To be honest the half ⭐️ I deducted in the body of the review from the 5 ⭐️ awarded on ratings is because of some of the similarities between the characters of Peyton’s Path and some of the main characters in this book. Well, that and the occasionally dodgy editing.

I really hope we don’t have to wait too long for the next book in the series because the set-up has so much potential for great things!

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