This continuing series is not yet complete, so I will try to add the new titles to this post along with any links to future reviews.
Series List
Book 5 - Thwarting Cheaters (Review Not Yet Written)
Showing posts with label Fated Mates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fated Mates. Show all posts
Tuesday, 23 November 2021
Monday, 18 October 2021
Review: The Rowan's Destiny (The Killian Blade Series Book 3) by Stella Brie
The Rowan's Destiny by Stella BrieMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
An Enemy Is Uncovered
This is the third book in a continuing series. It marks the end of this section of the story that focuses on Arden. The story will continue in future books focusing on a different main character, therefore there is no cliffhanger, just a few hooks to get you looking forward to the next books in the series.
This book is filled with content to keep you guessing what will happen next. The plot moves at a very fast pace and a lot happens to the characters. I gulped this book down in one sitting despite my gritty eyes at the end because I couldn’t stop following what was happening with each new turn of the page.
Arden must find a way to achieve her destiny, whatever she chooses to make of that. She has been given the guidance of visions of her deceased mother and other ancestors who set things into motion to provide her with a chance to make things right in the world of magic. The path she was forced to walk has taken her to a place where she can discover who her enemy is and do her best to defeat them. She also has to determine the best way to lead the witches into an age of acceptance of all magic users, no matter how much they hate the idea.
The path to winning her battles is not an easy one and not everything is smooth sailing in her relationships with the members of the Imperial Cadre. External pressures come to bear on their relationships and it may prove too much to accept for Arden when decisions are made for her without her knowledge or agreement.
This book is filled with passion, romance and the love of a family, made through choice. It’s not only the Cadre who are important to this sense of family but also those that raised Arden in the absence of her mother, and the other friends that she makes on her journey.
This author writes such rich and diverse characters they seem to step off the page into your heart and mind. They feel real and believable, as though you could bump into them in the street. The members of the Cadre are all so different yet at heart, they share the same passion for helping and protecting others weaker than themselves. They are flawed in such different ways and their personalities sometimes may be abrasive, but they are good people and adore Arden and the changes she has brought to their lives. I like how each relationship Arden has with the members of the Cadre is unique and separate from the others. Obviously, there is some involvement because these men have been family to each other for nearly 1000 years, but they don’t butt in too much and Arden doesn’t let them even if they wanted to. All of them, including Arden, have their own responsibilities separate from being part of the Imperium Cadre and these can take them away from home for days and weeks at a time. However, they are lucky that texting works across dimensions. Technology and magic in conjunction seem to do marvellous things!
There is so much unveiling of hidden truths in this book that it is difficult to keep up. It may be complex and fascinating, but the fabulous plot does not overwhelm the emotional content of this book. The characters and their emotions, and their connections to each other are as important to the book as the troop manoeuvres, magic skills and political manipulation. It’s very difficult for an author to maintain that balance in a book of this nature and that this author has achieved such a perfectly poised balance is a credit to her. It gives me high hopes for the rest of the series, that it’s not just the fabulous Arden that makes this series so readable but the entirety of the way she writes.
I’m sincerely looking forward to the next section of this series because even though one section of the plot is resolved, this world is fascinating and the next main characters are just as intriguing as Arden is!
Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Wednesday, 28 July 2021
Review: Demon's Consort by Lori-Anne Cohen
Demon's Consort by Lori-Anne CohenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A Richly Imaginative Paranormal Romance
I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.
This is definitely set up to be the first book of a series, however, the story comes to a good strong HFN conclusion, which always makes me happy whilst I wait for the next book.
This book is a little different as it is about demons, who aren’t the traditional evil creatures who delight in torment, but absorb the darker energies of humans. Anya is a human who was raised with the knowledge of demons as her long-ago ancestor is consort to a demon who is on the ruling council, and was loosely involved in her life.
Anya is in her early 40s and a professor at a university in Paris, where she has lived for many years. She has no contact with her family other than her uncle occasionally by phone as he is still in Russia where she spent her childhood, in the family-run circus. When Natalia, her ancestor, tells her she is part of a prophecy and she is destined to meet her demon mate. She wants to brush her off. Eventually she gives in to the demands and goes to the club she has been told the demon owns, with her best friend Gwen, who is a witch.
Declan has been a demon for 800 years and is destined to serve on the council. In order to do that he has to find his consort because when he mates his powers will increase. The council have been pestering him to seek out his consort and he’s been reluctant. Then when Anya walks into his club his whole life feels turned upside down.
This book starts out as a traditional paranormal romance with fated mates and all that entails but gradually becomes something much more interesting. Their set up is actually much more complex than appears on the surface and there is a lot of danger for them to face. As well as Anya and Declan, this story introduces us to lots of really interesting people. Declan has several demons in his household who help him manage France and Belgium, the areas under his control for the council. These demons all have their own stories to tell, some of which get touched on in this book, but many stories are hinted at to intrigue you for future revelations. They are all really interesting characters and feel well thought out and fully realised.
Anya brings her friend Gwen into the family and also a young demon who is a student of hers, Luc. There are other characters surrounding the story and they all interact with each other as well as the main characters, which I love, because it makes them more real to me.
I love Anya so much. She’s such a complex character. She’s strong, assertive and bold. At the same time she shares her vulnerabilities with her closest friend, and later with her mate. She’s been lonely most of her life and has still hidden much of her past from Gwen, because she is scared to lose her. She is intelligent and physically capable. Growing up in a circus meant she got to indulge her passion for knife throwing from an early age. She also taught herself to fight with them. Basically, she’s amazingly competent. Competent female characters are like catnip to me. We so rarely see them, so when I do, I beam with happiness.
Declan is interesting in that he is a ruthless leader who doesn’t hesitate to punish transgressors, but at the same time cares for his people and the humans under his protection. He isn’t ambitious but accepts what he has been given to look after because he knows he can do the job right. He is mentally flexible, despite being 800 years old, who started life as a farmer. However, he was ahead of his time when he was a human and even taught both his son and daughter to read, an unusual thing that long ago. He is very protective of Anya, but he tries not to suffocate her. This is another trait in a male character I like, one who fights his alpha instincts to let his mate make her own choices.
The world-building in this story is well done and gradually revealed over the course of the book. It is solely focused on the world of the demons with the human world being on the periphery, though it is still important because some of the characters have their roots there.
The plot is very twisty. It took me a little while to get into it. The first chapter was a little obscure in places, but once I had that under my belt the plot just got better and better. This author has a great imagination and I can’t wait to see where this story goes next. Anya has already proved herself to be a bit of a closet matchmaker, so I’m sure the other’s relationship situations may get tackled in future books. I’m really looking forward to seeing what this author produces next.
Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Monday, 26 July 2021
Review: Not Quite Whole (Not Quite Series Book 6) by Kaye Draper
Not Quite Whole by Kaye DraperMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Good Ending
This is the final book in a 6 book series and can’t be read alone. You need to read the rest of the books to make sense of it. The first book is Not Quite Human .
Sam is finally starting to mellow. Spending time with people who love them has been good for their sense of well being. Sam will always be snarky and prone to violence but their anger is more of a simmer than a conflagration these days.
The only fly in the ointment of Sam’s love life is Theo. Theo has wriggled his way under Sam’s skin and they don’t know what to do about it. Bonding with Angel after loving him from afar for years has lead to Sam coming round to the idea that mating might not be the trap they always thought it was.
Along with not knowing what to do with Theo on a personal level, Sam is frustrated with him on a professional level. Theo wants to ‘come out’ as a fiend to thwart his cousin’s plan to expose him, but Sam thinks that could lead to bloody violence throughout the whole town.
I have really enjoyed this series. Sam is a wonderfully spiky and yet loving character. They are loyal and quarrelsome at the same time as being kind and yet still being violent. All their personality ‘quirks’ are totally understandable and I like that they are working on how they relate to their loved ones.
This book nicely rounds off the series and wraps up all the loose ends. We get a fun happy ever after, even with all the bumps along the way. Kaye Draper does write such interesting romances and this is no different. She shows that love comes in all forms as do people.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Sunday, 18 July 2021
Review: Shedding Skin (The Ice Court Series Book 2) by K Margaret and Dagmar Avery
Shedding Skin by K. Margaret and Dagmar AveryMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finding Her Way
This is the second book in this series. This series is part of a much larger story arc and needs to be read to understand the context of this series.
Still engaged to a man she doesn’t love, Eira is desperate to find her way back to helping the Ice Court return properly to Faerie. She loves her father but he is very set in his ways and he is adamant that she should marry Tanner, even if he doesn’t want Tanner taking too much control over his daughter whilst doing it.
Eira has a list a mile long to accomplish, she has to establish her sithen, build her guard and wake a god. On top of that, she has to continue to sit on committees, practice law and find a way to break free of Tanner. During the course of this book, Eira makes a really good start on her to-do list, with her father being a surprising ally.
I really enjoyed this book and a lot happens. Eira’s to-do list gets whittled down really well and it’s enjoyable watching her do it. There are lots of hot and steamy scenes. One of the things I really like about this series is that it is really sex-positive. There is no shame or embarrassment when talking about sex. It’s an important part of their lives and the princesses have no problem discussing it.
Eira goes from being incredibly self-contained and isolated to being more open and accepting of her new role in Faerie. She becomes friends with the other princesses of her court and even becomes more open with the princesses of the Nightmare Court. I will say that there are an awful lot of other princesses. At a get together for all the courts it’s nigh on impossible to remember what guard belongs with which princess. I’ve learnt to just let it all wash over me if I haven’t had a re-read recently. They really need a tree of Courts and Guards at the back of each book!
This is a really enjoyable book as Eira is intelligent, interesting and sweet. I like her character and I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens to her next.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Review: Wild Sign (Alpha and Omega Series Book 6) by Patricia Briggs
Wild Sign by Patricia BriggsMy 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
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Wednesday, 9 June 2021
Review: Three to Find (Hemlock Academy Series Book 3) by Kelsey Soliz
Three to Find by Kelsey SolizMy 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.
Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Tuesday, 8 June 2021
Review: Second Glances (Hemlock Academy Series Book 2) by Kelsey Soliz
Second Glances by Kelsey SolizMy 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!
Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Saturday, 5 June 2021
Review: Royal Dragon Renegade (Royal Dragon Shifters of Morocco Series Book 8) by Ava Ward
Royal Dragon Renegade by Ava WardMy 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!
Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Monday, 17 May 2021
Review: Shadow Reaper (Shadow Riders Series Book 2) by Christine Feehan
Shadow Reaper by Christine FeehanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Shadows and Shibari
This is the second book in a series and though it can probably be read as a standalone novel, there is information in the first book that makes the second book more easily understood. In the first book, we hear about the years away from the family they did as teenagers, training, and this book explores what happened to Ricco when he was sent to Japan for his training.
Ricco interested me a lot in the first book as he was always the ‘edgy’ brother who drove cars really fast and was into extreme sports and threesomes with twin actresses. He was not a happy person and we find out why in this book.
Ricco has been unhappy for a long time and things have reached an impasse. Nothing he does to make himself less unhappy is working anymore. Then he has a racing car accident and it’s a wake-up call. He decides that one night stands are not helping and he wants to have a long term contract with a shibari model to practice his art. At the last minute, Mariko turns up with no experience except she’s a shadow rider and she calls to him.
Mariko is half Japanese and half American but raised in Japan by a Japanese family. She was treated as less than a servant and the family claimed that they found her and her baby brother abandoned on the street and took them in out of the goodness of their heart. Mariko was given training as a shadow rider but was never accepted by the community. The only thing she has confidence in is her ability as a shadow rider.
When Mariko applies for the job with Ricco she is desperate. She needs to find out enough about him as a man to make a decision on whether to kill him or not in order to save her brother’s life.
I much prefer Ricco and Mariko as characters to Stefano and Francesco as they both have interesting personalities without being caricatures. Both are loyal and honourable people who have been hurt by the actions of others, but they have not completely broken.
The plot for this book is interesting, with plenty of mystery to keep you entertained. I will however say that I felt there was a little too much shibari content. I find it interesting as an art form but focusing on this made the sex scenes a little too cerebral rather than passionate to me. I still enjoyed the book but found myself skipping over some of the shibari scenes, and that’s not something I usually do. Usually, if I’m reading a book I either DNF it or I read every word. I’m hoping the next book engages all part of my brain again. Going on my past experience with this author I’ll give the next book in the series a go and see what happens.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Saturday, 15 May 2021
Review: Shadow Rider (Shadow Riders Series Book 1) by Christine Feehan
Shadow Rider by Christine FeehanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Unlikely Heroes
Shadow riders are unlikely heroes. They are a tightly knit but large and sprawling extended family. They are tightly knit because they have a unique ability to produce rare children that can travel through shadows. Shadow riders are only born if both parents are capable of riding the shadows. There are other gifts given to the members of the family, but the one that is the most dangerous and most prized is the ability to travel the shadows, because that ability allows them to carry out their mission, ensuring the family survives.
Stefano is the eldest brother of the five Ferraro siblings and they are all shadow riders. He is hard and ruthless and will do anything to protect those in his care. His parents were cold and distant and he thought that was the kind of marriage he had to look forward to, one arranged to carry on his abilities. Then he saw Francesca, walking through his neighbourhood, shivering in the Chicago winter without a coat and knew she was a shadow rider and that he could love her.
The problem is that Francesca doesn’t know she’s a shadow rider or that they exist and Stefano isn’t allowed to tell her unless they get married. She’s lonely, on the run and has no money and she certainly doesn’t trust the scary, hot, rich guy who wraps her in his coat and drops money in her pocket before declaring her to be given the job she’s applying for and disappearing.
This is an interesting paranormal romance. It’s different and intriguing. However, despite the interesting world-building, the plot is quite predictable. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions and there were lots of fun sexy times but there weren’t any surprises, which for me at the moment is no bad thing.
Stefano is a typical controlling alpha male hero who has to know what’s going on at all times and makes sure everyone is safe all the time. He wants to shelter everyone from getting hurt, even if they don’t want that protection.
Francesca is quite happy to be looked after. She shows a little bit of a spine occasionally but usually backs down because she ‘knows it’s because he wants her safe’. She’s a really sweet person and gets walked over a bit. She's the sort of friend you need to talk to all the time to get them to believe in themselves a little bit.
Stefano and Francesca seem to be ideally suited to one another, but I wouldn’t want to be in a relationship with either of them! Despite that, I enjoyed the read and will definitely continue with the series.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Thursday, 6 May 2021
Review: Christiansen: City Boy: President in the making (Badass Security Council Series Book 13) by L Ann Marie
Christiansen: City Boy: President in the making (Badass Security Council by L. Ann MarieMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Enjoyable Story
This book is part of a continuing series and should not be read as a standalone because it would make no sense whatsoever.
This book felt like a return to form for this author. The last book had a very messy first third to it which meant it wasn’t as much of an enjoyable read as usual, whereas this book is a much more smooth creation.
Kristos is quite a minor character in the previous books. He’s just been given a promotion to 2nd Tier Officer, but we don’t see much of him before this book.
Kristos was born and raised in the Club, MC Colorado. His mother was a club girl and she always told him that his father was an enforcer that died when the Club was getting out of the drug business. Crow, the original MC guru, told Major, who was then the president of that MC, to send Kristos to college and gave them a specific list of the courses he should take. Crow did this for people he saw as being important in the future.
In the same week that Kristos met the woman who was meant for him, he found his life shifting in lots of other ways too.
Natalia is rich. Her family had lots of different types of businesses and investments and when they died when she was young, it all became hers, but she never really wanted to be part of running the companies, particularly when all the board members and lawyers would continue treating her like the child she was when she inherited the businesses.
Natalia is incredibly bright and has three degrees. She is very like Stella and wants to make a difference in the world through technology. When Kristos takes her to the compound on their second date they find out she has been trying to get a job with the BSC and knows a lot about the BSC because a good friend works with the Princes up in Mass. Everyone tells them they belong together and she is strangely accepting of this, plus the job they offer her as Stella’s assistant.
Kristos and Natalia getting together is just the beginning of the adventures in this book. So much happens, as usual, but it’s all smooth and makes sense. There are a lot of ties between the original MC, Princes and BSC that happen in this book and it seems to move their connection forward into the future that Crow saw so long ago. There are plenty of visions and plans dangled for future adventures to keep us coming back for more.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. It had romance, passion, family secrets and huge firefights. I really liked both Kristos and Natalia and hope to see more of them in the future because they are really interesting characters who have a lot to offer the story, both in this book and the future.
Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Thursday, 22 April 2021
Review: Droscal (Ka'atari Warriors Series Book 3) by Kenzie Kelly
Droscal by Kenzie KellyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Politician and The Smuggler
This is the third book in the series and though it deals with a specific couple, there is a story arc that makes sense only if the books are read in order.
We met Droscal in the previous book in the series. He is the ruler of a smuggler’s haven, outside Alliance territory. For a smuggler, he’s an OK guy. He’s a big scary warrior alien, but instead of ruling by blood, which is what everyone expects, he’s excellent at negotiation.
Zoranna is a politician. She was an aide on the UN Space Station when it was attacked and when the human women were rescued she opted to stay on the planet which housed the ruling body of the Alliance. She has been working as an aide to the Warrior Chief, who really doesn’t want to be a politician but is kind of stuck with the role. Zoranna is his perfect assistant because she loves the politics side of things and covers for him a LOT.
When the Alliance needs something from Droscal, his payment is to meet the non-mated human women to find out if any of them are his rhun, or a woman he can mate with. They send Zoranna to be his ‘liaison’ and of course they are rhun, even if Droscal is the very thing Zoranna abhors the most, a criminal.
I really enjoyed this book. The storyline fits nicely as a follow on from the previous two and it makes you want to find out what happens next, which was a problem because book 4 isn’t out yet, but it is obviously set up for that book to follow. There is, however, a HEA for this couple.
On the face of it, this couple shouldn’t work because Zoranna really is quite vehement about being mated to someone like Droscal and how it will affect her career, something very important to her. However, they have more in common than she thinks.
As in previous books, the warrior is sweetly protective and there is a cute pet alert. There is heat between the two and though Zoranna overcame her initial reluctance a little too quickly for my liking, the book is only novella length, so it’s understandable.
This is an enjoyable bite-sized book, with an interesting and entertaining plot and an amount of chemistry that isn’t the only thing that’s important but is still central to the book.
Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Tuesday, 30 March 2021
Review: Destiny Rising (Destiny Series Book 2) by CJ Cooke
Destiny Rising by C.J. CookeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Gripping Story
This book follows on immediately after the end of Book 1. The last part of the previous book was really good and this book definitely built on that. The story flies along at a great rate and is filled with emotion and passion.
The final scenes of the last book leave echoes of pain as the remnants of the student body and staff must find their way to safety. The only people capable of keeping them safe are Aria’s Elite, so they make their way to pack land in the hopes of evading the demons that destroyed the academy.
What they find isn’t as safe as they hoped with Pack politics making it an insecure place for Aria and her mates. Her magic is becoming stronger and more evident and the Pack Seer has information about who she is and where she needs to go to get more information. It seems Aria and her mates are going on a trip.
Now free of the academy structure this story comes to life. We are in the realms of an epic fantasy series as the protagonist goes on a quest through unknown lands to find the solution to the world’s problems.
There are plenty of battles, lots of passion and fascinating cultures. This book is a fantastic read and I can’t believe the cliffhanger! Thankfully the next book is already out.
Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Sunday, 28 March 2021
Review: Destiny Awakened (Destiny Series Book 1) by CJ Cooke
Destiny Awakened by C.J. CookeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Great Start To A New Series
It’s always tough to start a series in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the reader with details but still allows the story to grow. This novel manages that, and what is even more impressive is that this is a debut novel, as well as a start to a series.
Aria is a 20-year-old college student, who sidelines as a cat burglar who’s work helps abused women get away from the men who abuse them. It’s a noble endeavour, that also pays her bills well and allows her to practice using her magic. Abandoned as a baby and slung into the system, she has been through a lot in her life, but she is happy with where she is now, helping other people, saving money, having fun challenging herself and helping out at the gym that helped her survive when she was young.
Her nice stable life, with enough excitement to contain her magic safely, is turned upside down when new legislation is passed enforcing all half breed magic users to leave the Earth realm and go to train with full supernaturals. No one has ever seen her kind of magic before and when she arrives at the academy she is still an outsider until she meets three gorgeous shifters who know she is something special.
This book has a lot going for it. It’s got a great strong main female character, who is confident and strong, with enough legitimate insecurities to make her relatable without being weak. I love that her magic is tied to her combat skills, which she has spent years honing. She has worked hard to achieve her strength and the magic just builds on that. She doesn’t go from ordinary human to crazy strong magic user with no foundation.
I also like the other characters, mainly the guys she meets, Kyle, the alpha of their small pack, Sykes and Liam. These three shifters are also strong but have their own flaws, though these don’t weaken them. I especially like Britt, the shifter who Aria protects and then trains. Britt is vulnerable because her society has deemed her a weak female that must be protected and controlled. Aria shows her another path that she grabs with both hands.
One of the things I wasn’t as keen on was the choice of using an academy and then half hearting it. There was very little structure to the academy and the teachers were very lax and more like friends than teachers. They were able to do pretty much what they wanted, when they wanted and Aria became a mentor, rather than receiving training herself. It felt like a plot device to get everyone together in one place, rather than a natural part of the story. I felt that the headmaster and Caleb the combat trainer were weak characters until they got outside the academy structure and then they became much more believable, because as teachers they weren’t. Once we were outside the ‘structure’ of the academy the story came to life for me.
This book is a great start for a new writer, and I love the characters so much that the plot wobbles didn’t bother me that much. I will definitely be continuing with the story because I really want to know what happens to them all next.
Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Saturday, 27 March 2021
Review: Wildflower (Cricket Kendall Series Book 2) by Willow Hadley
Wildflower by Willow HadleyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Sweet NA RH Paranormal Romance
This book continues immediately after the first book in the series and carries on being sweet to the max. All the characters are lovely, though there are some really caustic girls at the school who seem to really dislike all the attention Cricket’s getting.
Nothing much happens in this book except we get to see more of the characters and Cricket’s relationships with Theo, Hollis and Cas gets more heated and involved.
One thing that does happen is that Cricket makes more friends. She has expanded her social circle outside of her guys and the people she makes friends with are all quite interesting in different ways.
Everything is building up to her 18th birthday when everyone believes her mate marks will appear, swiftly followed by Mabon when she will have her ‘coming out’ celebration of achieving her powers.
I don’t know why I’m enjoying these books so much, probably because it reminds me of teenage high school drama books of yesteryear, however, there isn’t much drama between Cricket and her guys. It’s pretty soap-opera-like, but in the good sucking you in way.
I’m kind of annoyed the next book isn’t out yet, because I’m enjoying being in Cricket’s happy little world at the moment and don’t want to come out quite yet.
Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Thursday, 25 March 2021
Review: Cricket (Cricket Kendall Series Book 1) by Willow Hadley
Cricket by Willow HadleyMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Sweet NA RH Romance
I’d probably give this book 3.5 ⭐️ if I could.
Cricket is a teenage witch. She’ll soon be turning 18 and her family have sent her to Colorado to live with her aunt who is also a witch to help her learn more about her magic, as her immediate family have none. She’s close to her brothers, who are twins, who are at college in Denver so being closer to them also helps.
What she doesn’t realise that she’s also there to meet three werewolves. There are three young werewolves that will probably form a pack when they reach the right age. They are also in the senior class of the local high school where Cricket will go. Cricket’s aunt has had a vision that she belongs with these three werewolves and that’s why she wanted her to come and stay with her.
This is a very sweet book. There is tonnes of sweet affection and caring for Cricket. There’s some sexual tension but to be honest not as much as I would have thought given that all of the teenagers have plenty of experience prior to meeting.
What this book doesn’t do is actually go anywhere much. The content of this book could have been covered in at least half the pages. However, I enjoyed reading those pages, so I shouldn’t complain too much. This book felt very much like stage setting or an introduction to all the players in the series.
I’m definitely going to read the next book because I like all the characters and want to see what happens next, but this is not a challenging book by any means. It’s a feel-good, sweet high school type romance book.
Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Sunday, 21 March 2021
Series Review: The Draga Court Series by Emma Dean
Sometimes when life isn't going the way you want it to, and life at the moment is very unpredictable, it's comforting to read books you've enjoyed before because you know you aren't going to be disappointed. When I re-read books I don't post about them on the blog unless I've not reviewed them before. However, after re-reading The Draga Court Series by Emma Dean I decided to try something a bit different. When I re-read a series I'll do a summary post with links to the individual book reviews I've written. On a purely selfish note, it makes it easier for me to post recommendations for the complete series to the various Facebook groups I belong to.
5 out of 5 Stars
Book 4: Heir of Draga by Emma Dean
Borrow Free With Kindle Unlimited
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US
Book 3: Jasmine of Draga by Emma Dean
Buy From Amazon UK
Buy From Amazon US
5 out of 5 Stars
5 out of 5 Stars
I hope you like the new format, and if you think of anything I should include on the summary page, please let me know.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Tuesday, 16 March 2021
Review: Veronica's Vice (Nesting Instinct Series Book 4) by Clairissa SinClair
Nesting Instinct: Book 4: Veronica's Vice by Clairissa SinClairMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Two For The Price of One
I’d probably give this book 3.5 ⭐️ if I could.
This is the fourth book in a series about vampires and their half-vampire mates, all based around a new American nest, with new ideas.
Roni has been brought on as a computer expert for the security company owned by the nest and she is a complete nerd in all her pink haired glory. She loves her new home where she is valued for her skills. She doesn’t want to be a traditional half-vampire and have a mate, babies and have to give up work. So when she walks back to her little cottage after a really long shift and catches sight of one of the twins who’ve moved in next door and feels that instant attraction that finding your destined mates has, she runs for her cottage and locks her door behind her in a blind panic.
German vampire twins, Luk and Nik are master farriers and sword-smiths. They have travelled all around the world gaining new skills. They finally decide to settle down in the new nest because it sounds like they are innovative and open to new ideas. They left their family smithing business because there were already too many people involved and they wanted to branch out on their own. When both vampires find their destined mate on the same day they are rather surprised to find it is the same woman, which is highly unusual, if not completely unheard of. They don’t realise that they are in for a long haul endeavour in gaining her trust.
This is an entertaining, if predictable book. I like the characters and it’s nice reading about the characters from the previous books. I don’t enjoy the really awful typos and poor editing. It’s really distracting when you have to look at a sentence for 30 seconds before you understand what the author is trying to say because they’ve missed out words completely or spelled them really badly. I don’t mind the odd typo here and there, it’s to be expected, however when they are so bad they disrupt my reading to this extent, it becomes a problem. It’s a shame because it makes it harder to be fair about star ratings for a book that otherwise is enjoyable.
Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Monday, 15 March 2021
Review: Rage: Redemption (Odin's Wolves MC Series Book 1) by Candi Fox
Rage: Redemption by Candi FoxMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Interesting Spin Off
This book comes between books 3 and 4 of the Naked Truth series by the same author, Candi Fox. It’s needed to understand the timeline which makes it less of a spin-off and more a change of focus in my opinion. However, there is a definite change of focus, so it makes sense to label it as such.
This spin-off is about Odin’s Wolves MC, which is made up of Odin’s warrior wolves of legend. They are immortal and half shifter and half god. When they felt Freya wake on earth a year or so ago, they decided to move to White Horse OK, to be close to her avatar. What they didn’t realise that by coming there they would be meeting someone who had been important to them a previous life.
This story is about Jami, or Rage as he is known. We actually met him in an earlier Naked Truth book when he seemed to know Harley, but this was never followed upon. Rage met his mate, Desiré when she walked into the meeting room to waitress on her first day in her new job. He knows it is her immediately and a huge chunk of ice in his chest begins to melt at the thought of having a mate.
The problems is that Desiré comes with a violent ex-husband, who she has been running from for 3 years, to keep her and her son safe. This time her ex has involved the Twisted, the corrupted werewolves that Odin’s Wolves MC fight as their duty and right. Harley came across the Twisted in book 3 of The Naked Truth Series and they infected her lover with their venom. Harley and OWMC’s purposes align and they work together.
The POV is from the OWMCs side. Harley is a supporting character in this book. In some ways, this book is more like a traditional Paranormal Romance/MC book. It’s one alpha male and one damaged female in need of rescue. I enjoyed the book and it filled in some information that I felt was missing from The Naked Truth books.
I like the idea of Odin’s Wolves and the mythology of it all and I enjoy an adventure into the territory of the gods and goddesses. As with previous books in The Naked Truth series there was a bit of jumping around and assumptions made that weren’t explained until later, when the characters (and the author) acted as though it had been explained to us poor confused readers, but it hadn’t, and we just had to scratch our heads for a while until it became obvious.
There was plenty of heat and the romance worked ok, but as is often the case with these fated mate stories it was a bit insta-love for my taste. Still, I’m sure I’ll read the next book in the series because I kind of like the supporting characters and I’ll be interested to see what happens to them.
Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)