Review: Glimmer of Death (The Other Realm Series Book 3) by Heather G Harris

Glimmer of Death by Heather G. Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gripping Urban Fantasy

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

This is the third book in a continuing series. You need to have read the previous books to understand this book as there is an overarching storyline. There is a separate storyline that is exclusive to this book that is resolved but the overarching storyline has a cliffhanger.

Jess’s best friend is dying. She made the mistake of getting involved unknowingly with an incubus and he sucked her life energies dry. Desperate to find a cure for her friend she turns to everyone she has met in the Other Realm begging for help but finding no way of saving her friend.

She’s had to put Emory on the back burner somewhat but he’s still pursuing her and when he needs her help as a Truth Seeker she jumps into action alongside him. Creatures are getting sick and no one knows why. During the course of her investigations, she finds out more and more about the world into which she has fallen and Emory’s place in it. People she has met in the previous books make appearances and often offer help when needed.

Both strands of the plot are pretty gripping. Jess desperately wants to find out why her parents are dead and who killed them. She’s been searching for years and that’s why it can be pushed back a little to make way for her work on behalf of Emory. The mystery of the sickness is intriguing and has lots of layers to it.

The characters become more interesting the more we get to know them, in particular, Emory is fascinating and we learn quite a lot more about him and his history in this book. I find myself becoming more and more intrigued with Gato as he seems to have a lot of secrets that he’s incapable of sharing, but that are hinted at by the people who greet him.

The world-building in this series is fantastic. It’s unusual and imaginative which is always fun. I’m not so partial to the time-travelling, but then I never really enjoy that as the ramifications make my head hurt. At least it’s not an overwhelming part of the plot.

I really can’t wait for the next part of this story because I know it’s going to be as good as the first three books in the series. I hope it’s not a long wait!

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Review: Protect Me Not ((Un)Professionally Yours Series Book ) by Natasha Anders

Protect Me Not by Natasha Anders
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Client/Bodyguard Romance

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

This is the second book in a series of standalone novels. The plot can be understood without reading the first book in the series, but there are definitely areas in the story where there are gaps if you haven’t read that book. There is no cliffhanger. I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Vicki is a florist in Kensington, London. She has her own business and works very hard to make it on her own. Her older brother Miles (from the first book in the series) is very wealthy and exceedingly protective of his younger siblings. He bought Vicki and their brother Hugh a penthouse apartment in a building partly owned by a security company, because he wants them to be safe. When Vicki was robbed, before the start of this book, Miles insisted that she receive a personal bodyguard. For the last year she has been watched, mainly by Tyler and despite his efforts at remaining distant and professional she is intrigued by him. 

Tyler was in the US Marines and when he got out on a medical discharge he came to London to work for a security firm that was owned by someone he worked with on operations overseas. He has no family left, and no friends. He keeps himself isolated from making any connections with anyone because the loss of anyone else would devastate him. He believes loneliness is better than experiencing the pain of losing someone he loves. For the last year he has watched Vicki and despite himself he has grown fascinated by her friendliness, warmth and kindness.

When Vicki gets drunk one evening with her friends, Tyler is forced to carry her home and look after her when she is sick. She makes some comments whilst drunk that make him begin to see her as more than a client and things start to change between them.

This book has a lot of things going for it. It’s filled with passion, longing and hope. It’s also filled with loneliness, emptiness and pain. However, it takes a really long time to get started. It feels like the book could have been written at 2/3rd the number of pages and it wouldn’t have lost anything from the plot or the character development as some points are hammered home a little bit.

Tyler is a sad character that wraps himself in his loss, living in the past and who is scared to face the future. Vicki is one of the few rays of light in his life and he doesn’t trust his own feelings. They are very different characters and the author conveys that thoroughly. I think a large number of people reading this book will find something familiar about it. A lot of people have had relationships with someone who is closed off and determined not to get into anything serious to protect themselves. I feel that there is a little bit of wish fulfilment in this book, where the right woman can change a closed off man because he falls in love with her. Often this is not the case, because being closed off means you can’t connect enough to fall in love. I like that with this book at least the author had other factors helping Tyler want to reconnect with the world, though they were thin on the ground, and it wasn’t just down to ‘the love of a good woman’.

This was an entertaining story, if a little predictable and long-winded, and I enjoyed it. I think if I’d read the first book I might have got more out of it, so if you are tempted by this book, you might want to consider starting there before diving into this one, but it isn’t necessary. I get the feeling that there will be more books in this series because a lot support characters were given extra attention as a lead in. I think they could be interesting to read.

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Review: Glimmer of Hope (The Other Realm Series Book 2) by Heather G Harris

Glimmer of Hope by Heather G. Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Drugs and Murder

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

This is the second book in the series and you probably have to read the first book to enjoy this one. The book ends at a natural break in the story but has a substantial hook, that verges on a cliffhanger, for the next book.

After Jinx finished her last case she hoped to hear from Stone, but 8 weeks later there hasn’t been a word. She’s living in The Wirral now, to be close to the heart of the UK’s Other Realm in Liverpool. What she wasn’t expecting was a job back in her old home of Buckinghamshire. A dryad she met on the day she was introduced to the Other Realm wants her to investigate the murder of her husband, which has been written off as a mugging gone wrong.

During the course of the case, she meets up with Emory, the Dragon Prime of the UK, who she also met on her last case. He hires her to look into the death of one of his dragons, however, he fully intends to investigate with her, probably because he wants to flirt with her.

As this is the second book in the series there is less world-building, but there are still a lot of blanks filled in, especially as she spends most of this book with a dragon who gives her a different perspective on the Other Realm. There is less focus on The Connection, which is the ruling body of the Other Realm because dragons are not part of that body.

This book has a nice juicy murder mystery aspect to it. There are several layers to the case that intersect and Jinx finds that her contacts from the first book are helpful in finding her way through this case. We also get to see more of Jinx’s powers in action as she becomes more familiar with them and what the Glimmer Blade is capable of.

There is a touch of romance in this book, but once again it isn’t the main focus. It’s just an extra layer of fun on top of the plot. I have to say I enjoyed the possibility of a relationship between Jinx and Emory more than with Jinx and Stone. It will be interesting to see how that situation goes, but I assume once again any relationship stuff will be the sprinkles on top rather than the main part of the dish, as with this book and the previous one.

I am annoyed I have to wait for the next book, but apparently, it’s coming soon and the ending of this book isn’t too crazy-making!

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Review: Glimmer of The Other (The Other Realm Series Book 1) by Heather G Harris

Glimmer of The Other by Heather G. Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

British Urban Fantasy At It’s Best

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

This is the first book in a continuing series. The book finishes at a natural break in the story, but there is a definite hook to make you want to read the next in the series.

Jessica ‘Jinx’ Sharp is a private detective. She went into business for herself when she was 18 after the still-unsolved murder of her parents. One of her strengths that helps her with her chosen career, other than the ability to pick locks, is her skill at telling truth from lies.

When Jinx is hired to solve a missing person case she ends up being lumbered with another detective, Stone, who was brought on by the missing woman’s family friend. Stone may be attractive but Jinx is a loner by nature and preference. She has one friend, a neighbour with who she is friendly with and a Great Dane called Gatto. No one else has entered her circle of trust since the death of her parents.

When Stone reveals to Jinx that she’s only sort of human as she’s a member of the Other Realm and is a truth-teller, she winds up being exposed to a whole new world. She meets dragons, elves, vampyres and trolls and learns about magic. She also learns that the missing woman has touched the Other Realm, something somebody from the Common Realm should never do. She definitely needs Stone to help navigate this new world to help save her client’s daughter.

I love that this is a British urban fantasy novel. You don’t see many of those and this one is very good indeed. The world-building is imaginative and fun and seems to be well thought out. The plot is interesting and complex, keeping you guessing from start to finish and I really felt sucked in to the story.

I really liked Jinx. I thought she was a believable and admirable woman, who had a good head on her shoulders, something I really like in an MFC. She was intelligent, practical and unflappable. She drew on her experience and her newly discovered abilities to investigate in an unfamiliar world in a way that was believable, even if she did grasp hold of magical concepts quite quickly.

I loved that Jinx’s Great Dane was actually a hell hound and he had his own abilities that aided Jinx. I also like that there is an explanation for his very rare bonding with Jinx and it’s not a complete fluke.

Stone was an interesting MMC. He’s a feared Inspector and a warrior wizard. He’s protective of Jinx and helps her a great deal in coming to terms with the new world she’s exposed to. There is flirtation and the temptation to become romantically involved but it’s put aside for the case. This is not paranormal romantic fiction, it’s a straight-up urban fantasy. We are also introduced to several other characters that are important in the Other Realm and I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t pop up in future books.

The plot is complex and intriguing and I read the book in one go because I really wanted to know what happened next. I was kept guessing throughout the story, which I always enjoy. My one complaint is that it had time travel in the story and I HATE that. It confuses me and I spend ages trying to work out if it’s rational or not and I miss out on the pure pleasure of just being swept along by the plot. I also generally feel it’s a somewhat lazy solution to problems within a plot. I don’t think that’s the case here as it seems to be woven through the whole structure of the storyline and isn’t just a ‘fix it’.

I really am looking forward to seeing if the next book is as good as this one. I very much hope so!

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Review: Before Dawn (Nightwind Series Book 1) by Suzanne Halliday

Before Dawn by Suzanne Halliday
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Entertaining Romance

This is the first book in a series of connected standalone books. There is no cliffhanger but we are introduced to several characters and potential plots to get us hooked on the idea of future books.

Dawn is a single mother with a deadbeat ex-husband who barely acknowledges his son and pretends the daughter who was born after he left doesn’t exist. Dawn barely scrapes by in New York City where she is tied by the divorce settlement. She is currently studying to get her teaching certificate and is stretched so thin you can see through her. It doesn’t help that the basic coverage health insurance her ex provides for his kids doesn’t provide decent care for her asthmatic son.

King is an ex-SEAL and together with his friend, Jon, who was in Delta Force, set up a security firm. Both great at the assignment stuff they recognised their weakness in the business side of things and brought Dottie on board. She basically tells them all what to do and makes them large amounts of cash. Dottie decides that King is burning out and refuses to give him any assignments for two months. She’s giving him a time out to try and work out how to live.

Dawn and King live in the same building and they meet when King raids Jon’s freezer for food and falls asleep. Dawn is feeding Jon’s fish when she startles and is startled by the stunning man in an unusual meet-cute.

This is a substantial book that lets the relationships evolve and the plot unfolds in an engaging and entertaining manner. The banter and honesty between King and Dawn almost from the outset is funny and endearing. What is just as important as the romance is the relationships between King and Dawn’s two kids Jack and Nicole. King and the kids fall in love as quickly and as deeply as King and Dawn. I love the way these kids are portrayed. They are bright, funny and sweet. Also important to the story are the supporting cast of characters. Dottie in particular is essential to the plot, as are Dawn’s best friends Jade and Loralei.

This book has a stark contrast between the everyday mundanity of raising children as a single parent and the extraordinary events that Dawn is wrapped up in during the course of the book. Dealing with childcare drop-offs and pick-ups at the same time as falling for her rich neighbour keeps everything grounded and almost believable.

This is an intelligent and heartwarming book. I enjoyed it tremendously and look forward to reading more by this author.

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Review: Polaris (Stardust Series Book 5) by Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke

Polaris by Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And They All Lived Happily Ever After….. Eventually

This is the sixth and final book in the series, and all the previous books need to be read in order to understand this one.

This brings the series to an end in a grand style. A lot happens in this book both romantically and plot wise. The men have finally come clean to Haley about making their 6 way relationship a permanent one, rather than an opportunity for her to decide which man she solely wants to be with. Finding this attitude difficult to understand and having to face the outside world with the consequences of that decision are not easy for Haley.

At the same time as coming to terms with the new relationships, Haley is trying to graduate the Zenith training program. She’s zooming through the course material and is even nominated for special strategy training, something that leads her into difficulties.

Haley and her men face conflict and danger in this last book. They have to decide whether to pull away and retreat to safety or stand together and fight for what they want.

This book finally has the ‘burn’ implied in the ‘slow-burn’ description of the series. It’s taken a while to get there, but it’s finally arrived. It’s not the hottest passion I’ve ever read, but it’s quite sweet and very tender and loving. This series, more than any other reverse harem I’ve read has the men separate in their involvement with Haley. They go on separate dates, they live in different places, they sleep in separate beds. Honestly, I think this is probably closer to what someone who is polyamorous experiences than fiction, but it’s unusual to read it laid out in this way. It’s only towards the end of this book we start to see them actually spending time together as a group, which is obviously part of the HEA.

I liked how Haley was portrayed as intelligent and competent. She was able to get herself out of a difficult situation with help from the men, but without her the situation wouldn’t have been resolved. I also liked how honest the relationship difficulties were. It wasn’t all a bed of roses and Haley did care what people thought about her. They all had lots to work through emotionally and it all took time to happen.

This was quite an enjoyable series and this book was a great way to round it off, with tonnes happening in it. It was a very good finale.

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Review: Vega (Stardust Series Book 4) by Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke

Vega by Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Going Home

This is the fifth book of a continuing series. You need to read the first four books to understand the storyline. Not all things get resolved in this book, but there is a natural break rather than a cliffhanger.

Team Jaguar finally finds a way to remove the threat that Douglas poses towards Haley’s safety. The threat isn’t completely gone, but it’s neutralised somewhat. As soon as that happens they have to decide how they want to proceed with Haley.

Haley is reluctant to return to an unresolved situation, but despite herself, the team talk her into giving things a try. When she returns, Patrick approaches her about taking Zenith training so she can be a strategist and trainer rather than a team member.

Things start to move forward slightly faster than they have been doing with the romance. Being apart for so long has crystallised things for all of them.

This book progresses both the relationships and the plot relating to Haley’s father. There are also internal problems at Zenith that leads the team into danger that have to be resolved. It felt like this book moved the series forward at something more than snail’s pace and was more interesting as a result.

The next book is the last in the series and I can’t wait to see how they wrap things up.

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Review: Chamaeleon (Stardust Series Book 3.5) by Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke

Chamaeleon by Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Searching For Haley

This is the fourth book in a continuing series. You need to read the previous books to understand the story. This book ends on a cliffhanger as the story continues in the next book.

Haley left Santa Cruz and very carefully made her way away from the men who had confused her and the threats made by Douglas. She was methodical in hiding herself, helped out by the fake IDs left for her by her father.

The men are working hard to find her to make sure she is safe and to find out why she left them with no warning or way to find her. Haley’s departure has forced them to work out what they want from her and how to achieve their goals without imploding the team or hurting their friends.

A lot happens in this book. Haley has to learn to stand on her own two feet, which is easier than it would have been when she first left Coleville. She also spends some time reviewing her father’s old case files, trying to work out why someone would want him dead. The men are trying to trace Haley and work out how to protect her, and there are many layers to that.

I really enjoyed this book as it felt like it had kicked things up a notch, with the men finally talking about their feelings and Haley taking action without running it past anyone first.

I can’t wait to read the next book.

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Review: Pyxis (Stardust Series Book 3) by Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke

Pyxis by Autumn Reed & Julia Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s All Different Now

This is the third book in a continuing series. You need to read the first two books to understand the story. This book ends on a cliffhanger.

In this book, tensions begin to mount between Hayley and the men of Team Jaguar. Emotions are becoming more muddled and the men all seem to be showing signs of wanting to change the nature of their relationship with Hayley. The trouble is that Hayley shares those feelings with all of them. She can’t decide who she wants to have a relationship with because they are all perfect in their own ways.

Things move along quite a bit in this book, especially with the romance aspect of the story. Hayley spends time alone with all of the men and finds herself growing closer to each of them. There still isn’t much heat in this book, but there is some actual kissing this time!

As well as confusion about the men, Hayley is also dealing with not knowing where her father is. She feels guilty for being happy in her new life, whilst not being able to talk to her father.

With the cliffhanger at the end of this book, I’m going to have to download Book 4 straight away, because I want to know what happens next!         

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Review: Draco (Stardust Series Book 2) by Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke

Draco by Autumn Reed & Julia Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Is That Flirting?

This is the second book in a continuing series. You need to read the first book, Phoenix, before reading this one. There is a minor cliffhanger as the story doesn’t conclude in this book, though it does come to a natural break.

Hayley is starting to settle in with Team Jaguar and now has a paying job at Zenith. She still has to spend all her time being watched by one of the guys, which is starting to get old, but she does enjoy her time with them. The team are giving her lots of new experiences; going to the beach, riding on a rollercoaster and dancing in a jazz club. She loves spending time with each of them, but she knows they still aren’t telling her everything.

This book continues the very slow-burn storyline that the first book established. The only slight increase in that element is that Hayley is starting to question if occasionally the men are flirting or not. From the outside, it’s clear that most of them, if not all, are interested in Hayley romantically but they have been told to stay away from her. For Hayley, that’s just confusing as she has so little experience with people in general, let alone with men who are much more experienced than she is.

Elements of this series are very sweet, but there is still an undercurrent of darkness because of all the secrets and Hayley didn’t choose to come to Santa Cruz in the first place. Becoming friendly with one’s kidnappers seems to be a bit reckless to me. Still, I’m enjoying the easy read. There’s nothing challenging about this book and it’s entertaining. Plus I’m enjoying reading about all the fun things to do in Santa Cruz!

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Review: Phoenix (Stardust Series Book 1) by Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke

Phoenix by Autumn Reed & Julia Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very Slow Burn

This is the first book of a continuing series. There is a minor cliffhanger as nothing is resolved but the story comes to a natural break.

Hayley is 18 on the day that the book starts. She has decided to demand an explanation from her father about why they live as they do. She has been homeschooled since she was 6 years old but doesn’t have a diploma, despite finishing all the curriculum several years previously. They live in the middle of nowhere and her only friend has now left to go to college.

Within days of her father telling her why they are hidden something goes wrong and their house is burnt down. Hayley can’t find her father but gets rescued by a group of men, who are obviously all young and hot because this is a romance.

The situation is all very mysterious as the men know who she is and say they want to keep her safe, but they are also telling her lies. She still ends up trusting them because she has nowhere else to turn.

This was an intriguing book and I want to carry on reading straight away because I want to know what happens next. I really like Hayley and think she is an interesting character. She’s pretty understated and level headed. She’s obviously very bright but it isn’t rammed home on every occasion, it’s just hinted around. She’s also very capable physically as she runs, knows how to shoot a gun and knows self-defence. Again, this isn’t made a big deal about, it’s simply because her father wanted her to be able to take care of herself given their precarious situation.

The guys involved in the situation are all introduced but their personalities are really only sketched out because there are 6 of them. Nothing romantic happens in this book, other than people showing a little interest in each other.

This book is essentially just setting up the rest of the series, by introducing all the characters and establishing their situation. It’s enough to make me want to read the next book though.

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Review: Lost & Found (PASS Series Book 4) by Freya Barker

Lost & Found by Freya Barker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent Romantic Suspense for the Over 40s

This is the fourth in a series of books that are independent of each other but revolve around a security company that at least one of the main characters works for. You don’t need to read the other books to know what’s going on, but you’ll have a richer experience if you do.

I really enjoy Freya Barker’s writing. She writes about people who have some life experience under their belt. Her characters are believable because of their flaws and strengths. She also writes about people over 30 having sex, which seems to be a rare thing in the romance world (sadly).

This book is about Yanis, the owner of PASS and Bree one of his valued employees. There has always been an undercurrent running through the other books between these two, but no one has ever understood what it is. In this book, we finally find out.

Yanis is 46 and was a police officer who went on to set up his security business around 15/16 years ago. He’s the son of very exuberant hippy parents who embarrass him on a regular basis. He is their polar opposite and is very shut down and self-contained. He doesn’t express his emotions well but is an excellent leader with sharp intelligence and an ability to get the best out of his team.

Bree is 42 and started working for PASS soon after it started up. She has a psychology degree that backs up her good instincts about people and their behaviour. She is also adept at self-defence, using both weapons and hand to hand skills. She is intelligent and articulate and able to get people to trust her and talk to her. She’s good at understanding people’s motives.

Bree is asked to go undercover by a client and ends up on the wrong end of an obsession of a deranged stalker. Injured in the course of doing her job, Yanis swoops in and demands that he take care of her by moving into her apartment so he can keep her off her injured leg. He knows that after fearing for her life he can’t hold back from Bree anymore. Forced into close proximity with Yanis forces Bree to look at her boss and decide if risking her heart is worth the possibility of making it work with this closely guarded man.

One of the reasons I really enjoyed this book is that though romance is a big part of this book, it’s not the entirety of it. There is a very large chunk devoted to the suspense part, which is quite a big investigation going on throughout, that seems to get bigger with every chapter. The suspense plot is complex and interesting and it kept me thinking right until the big reveal. I liked that sometimes work had to come first for the main characters, even when they didn’t like it.

I also liked that a lot of the romance problems got solved by talking them through. There weren’t ridiculous misunderstandings or jealousy over past partners, there was opening up to each other, even when it felt hard to do so. I also liked that Bree called Yanis on his overbearing ways on multiple occasions and he was able to curb it after talking things through. This was a grown-up romance and I enjoyed that aspect tremendously as good communication is often lacking in more conventional romance novels aimed at the twenty-something reader. Miscommunication is an over-used plot device that drives me nuts, so it’s great when an author doesn’t use it very often.

This book has well well-developed characters, who have a believable and pretty hot relationship and a really clever suspense plot. I really enjoyed this book and devoured it in one afternoon. I highly recommend it if you like your romance to have a little more meat on its bones than usual.

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Review: Lock & Load (PASS Series Book 3) by Freya Barker

Lock&Load by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Geeks FTW

This book takes a look at our geeky hero, Radar. He’s the hacker extraordinaire at PASS. He’s 40 and probably would have gone to prison if it weren’t for his boss finding him when he got in trouble.

Radar tends to get caught up in his work, as a lot of geeks tend to do. He gets distracted and absorbed and the real world disappears, which is why he’s never really had a long term relationship. However, he’s found himself looking around a bit more recently, as two of his colleagues have found love and are still able to do the job. One even has a baby now, who Radar adores.

The mother of his colleague’s baby is Rosie. One of Rosie’s best friends is Hillary, who is a nurse that helped look after Rosie’s mother before she was put into a care home. Rosie has got Hillary working at the homeless shelter part-time whilst she works full time at the hospital in a job she hates because she has student loans to pay off. Hillary doesn’t have any family and now aged 36 she has been on her own for a while.

Close to paying off her student loans, Hillary is also starting to look around at how life is passing her by whilst she’s had her head down, busy surviving. When she and Radar meet by accident they only know each other as passing acquaintances through their mutual friends. They are surprised to find they live in the same apartment complex, but different buildings, especially when Hillary chases off the attacker of someone outside said building and Radar happens to be nearby.

This attack is the start of an investigation that Radar becomes involved with. It’s also the start of something between Radar and Hillary. Both the case and the relationship have lots of bumps in the road, but they are equally fascinating to read about. The suspense plot is twisty and intriguing and you never know what’s coming next, which is kind of the same as the romance.

I like both Hillary and Radar, though they are set in their protective ways, often shutting people out. They are both genuinely caring people who try to look out for others. I’ve always had a soft spot for Hillary who works incredibly hard at a thankless job. Radar has held a slightly more subdued role in previous books.

Once again this is a well-written book about interesting, flawed yet nice people, who you can’t help rooting for. It’s got a great plot that keeps the pages turning and is entertaining in a way that doesn’t have you snorting in disbelief. I’ll keep on reading about Freya Barker’s interesting characters because it’s nice to read about people older than 35 that have lives outside of having children.

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Review: Life & Limb (PASS Series Book 2) by Freya Barker

Life & Limb by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Murder at the Homeless Shelter

This book continues several months after the first in the series, and though it covers a different couple from the first book, a lot of the same people appear. This book focuses on the homeless shelter Rosie manages to get funded by the movie producer in the previous book. She’s been running it for a while and it has a lot of veterans staying there. They also run counselling sessions and the woman who runs them is Willa, who is also a veteran who served 8 years, working for Army Medical.

Jake’s honorary brother, Dimas meets Willa and is instantly attracted to her physically. Willa feels the same and both expect it to be a hookup but find themselves strangely drawn to have something more between them.

They come from very different backgrounds but work is very important to both of them. Dimas protects people and Willa helps the damaged pick up the pieces. Neither felt they had particularly happy childhoods, in different ways, but they feel protected by each other. Neither of them has had particularly successful relationships in the past, making for a rocky start to things, especially when work seems to get in the way.

Work is the driving force behind the suspense part of this romance. There are several people killed that have connections with the shelter so Dimas swoops in to protect his new love interest.

A lot is going on with this book. The suspense aspect of the book is quite complicated and interesting and definitely kept me guessing. On top of that, the romance is filled with sweetness and passion. There are also family difficulties, particularly on Willa’s side. All in all, this is an interesting and entertaining book, that is encouraging me to keep on reading this author.

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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 Marie
My 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.

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Review: Hit & Run (PASS Series Book 1) by Freya Barker

Hit & Run by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mature Romantic Suspense

I like Freya Barker’s work because she tends to focus on slightly more mature protagonists, in this case 38 and 42. Both have lived fairly solitary lives up until their meeting. In the case of Jake, his parents died when he was young and after meeting his best friends in foster care, went into the military. When he came out he joined up with his best friends and started working for PASS (Protection and Security Services). He is a loner, who has never been interested in romance or relationships. He didn’t avoid them, they just never even entered his head.

On the other hand, Rosie had wanted a chance for a family and relationships but got sucked into a long term relationship with a married man and believed all his lies. Her Dad, with who she had a great relationship, died when she was 20 and her mother criticised her endlessly.

Eventually returning to Grand Junction to look after her mother who had rapidly worsening dementia, Rosie found herself working in housekeeping on a night shift in order to look after her mother during the day and have someone sleepover at night for less money than a nurse would charge for watching her mother when she was awake. She was exhausted, harried, miserable and alone, apart from her friend Grant, a gloriously camp black man, who was also kind of isolated.

Jake ended up meeting Rosie when he was based at the hotel she worked in, whilst he worked security for a film that was shooting nearby. They both had separate run-ins with the star of the film and they were not happy occasions. Rosie witnessed the star doing something they shouldn’t and Jake ended up having to find out whether she would keep her mouth shut.

This book was interesting because it not only dealt with a romance between two older and more experienced people, but it also dealt with the moral ambiguity involved with working with the rich and the powerful and how the downfall of one important part of the puzzle would mean hundreds, if not thousands of people being affected financially. Having the backdrop of their newly flourishing relationship being lies and coverups doesn’t make for an easy start.

I liked this book because the heroes weren’t ‘good’ people. They were ordinary people forced to see things in grey rather than black and white. These characters were interesting, flawed and normal. Added to the interesting characters was a diverting plot, to keep you guessing until the end.

All around, this was an entertaining book, and I’ll definitely read the next in the series.

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Review: Blade on the Hunt (Goddess With A Blade Series Book 3) by Lauren Dane

Blade on the Hunt by Lauren Dane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

These are such enjoyable books. They are filled with sarcasm, wit and bloody violence, followed by sex in the shower. What more could a girl want from her vampire books?

After being nearly killed by Enyo, Rowan has had to spend weeks getting back to full strength. During the process she has grown stronger through all the ancient vampire blood she was given to keep her alive. She’s also gained a much closer bond with her goddess.

When Rowan is finally prepared to take on Enyo, she returns to The Keep and finds an unhinged Theo and she once more stands between the First vampire and the rest of the world, calming his troubled mind. When she finally gets to go looking for Enyo she discovers that Hunter Corp may not have her best interests at heart, at a time when she is most vulnerable.

One of the things I really enjoy about this series is the incredibly complicated feelings that Rowan has towards her foster father. She has nearly died at his hands countless times, even as a child in his care. However, she knows that Theo loves her and that he tries to do his best to protect her, even if that means forging her into a lethal weapon rather than giving her a childhood. As much as Theo has hurt her, she can’t stop loving him. This is a complex and nuanced relationship that is conveyed with a delicate hand by both acknowledging that what Theo did was wrong and that he isn’t completely in his right mind either.

On one hand, this book is filled with witty one-liners and blood and gore, and on the other hand, it has moments of real tenderness and affection between friends, loved ones and family. It’s deftly done and it’s unusual to see it in this type of book. I know I’ll be diving right into the next book in the series because I really want to know what happens next.

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Review: Goddess with a Blade (Goddess With A Blade Series Book 1) by Lauren Dane

Goddess with a Blade by Lauren Dane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really love the main female character in this book, Rowan Summerthwaite. Rowan is a woman who has given her life up to the service of others. She is the vessel for the goddess Brigid, and as such serves during rituals and blessings. Raised from infancy by the First vampire she was taught with ruthless efficiency to be a perfect weapon and servant. Then she found out that her foster father had her parents killed. She was just a teenager and ran to Brigid’s Motherhouse for safety and became a hunter of vampires for revenge and in service once more the unaware human population.

I loved the world-building in this book. There is a careful treaty between vampires and hunters, where punishments are laid out on both sides and tribunals govern over disputes of actions taken by both parties. Hunters like Rowan are the blades that execute the vampires that go rogue. I love the idea of checks and balances between humanity and vampires.

Rowan covers Las Vegas and is returning after an absence of 8 months, during which she was being questioned by a series of tribunals and committees after killing the previous Scion of Las Vegas. She has returned to a new Scion who has taken a very deadly broom to the vampires left to him. He has got a ruthless grip on business for the Vampire Nation. The new Scion, Clive, is 500 years old and was born a vampire. He’s British and very proper, Rowan is not and when they meet sparks fly. Those sparks inevitably lead to them bumping uglies, despite themselves.

There is a series of brutal murders taking place in Las Vegas that have been brought to Rowan’s attention. Young women, junkies, are being murdered in a vicious manner and very obviously by a vampire. It’s up to Rowan to discover the murderer before vampires become exposed to the world, which breaks the Treaty.

This is a really enjoyable book with lots of wonderfully detailed world-building. There are also some really interesting characters that have depth and realism. This is a great first book in a series and introduces the world and the characters really well. I’ll definitely be reading the rest of this series.

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Review: Witch's Transformation (The Naked Truth Series Book 2) by Candi Fox

Witch's Transformation by Candi Fox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Plot Thickens

In this book, we see a smooth continuation of the previous one as Harley starts a new case after finding an email from a potential client who wants a ‘magic stick’. She finds out her client is transgender and wants something more than the usual surgical options for a transgender man. Fascinated by the concept Harley dives in by taking a drive up to Dallas to meet with the young man.

In Dallas, things get a bit tricky when the diner they meet in gets blown up. This is not the end of the attempts on her life. Supported by Lt Meyers, her contact with police and his new witch employee, she tries to keep under the radar whilst still working her case and trying to find out who wants her dead.

In this book, we find out more about the world in which the book is set and it becomes more and more interesting. We also find out a little bit more about why Niccolo might be interested in Harley, apart from wanting her in his bed. We find out a lot more about Harley’s magic and see why she is a bit different from other magic workers.

There is plenty of hot sex scenes in this book and I really like how polyamory is worked in this book. It could be labelled a Reverse Harem book, but it isn’t really. It’s more about a witch who is sexually self-aware, knows what she wants, is open and honest with her partners and uses sex to heal herself!

The cliffhanger on this book is a bit of a doozy, but it’s more of an emotional one than a perilous one.

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Review: Harlequin's Deception (The Naked Truth Series Book 1) by Candi Fox

Harlequin's Deception by Candi Fox
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting World Building

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

Harley is a powerful generational witch (one who inherits their powers), who gained strength when the shift happened 10 years ago and magic surged into the world. Paranormals finally got rights in the US 2 years ago. Harley has a successful paranormal consulting business and often consults with the police.

She is called in to consult on the report of a gargoyle attack and heads out, where she finds that all is not what it seems. She gets sucked into the sphere of Niccolo an ancient and powerful vampire who has plans for the powerful witch that don’t all include the bedroom. Niccolo introduces her to Aiden, a jester who is someone who's laughter can incapacitate, who is his hitman, but Harley is strangely drawn to the young man.

As well as dealing with these two new men in her life, she also has her Cowboy, her friends with benefits, who likes to dominate her. Cowboy is a werewolf and is not happy about the vampire showing such an interest in someone he wants as his.

There was a lot to like in this book. The world-building was interesting if a little fuzzy around the edges. The characters were strong if lacking a little depth and the plot was intriguing. However, the style of writing was a little choppy. Things didn’t seamlessly lead into each other and they changed direction quite abruptly which sometimes meant you had to think a little harder about what was going on.

This is the first book in the series and I think some of the gaps in character building and the world structure may be filled in with future books, but I can’t say that for certain.

There is a cliffhanger because this is an ongoing series of events and the original ‘case’ is not solved. The next book in the series is already out, so at least I won’t have to wait to find out what happens next.

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