Review: For Fox Sake (The Chaos of Foxes Book 1) by Emma Dean

For Fox Sake by Emma Dean
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy

This author is new to me and I just downloaded this book based on the blurb. I’m really glad I did because it was a very enjoyable read.

Kenzie is a witch who was born without power. Treated abysmally by her coven, she has only ever loved two members of her family, she’s either ignored or berated by the rest.

Whilst Kenzie has no magic, she is incredibly intelligent and physically fit with many martial arts under her belt. She overcompensated for being without power, by pushing herself to her limits.

Kenzie’s sister is a powerful witch who has had her powers stolen with a curse. In order to prevent her sister’s eventual death she tries to steal a potion that will give someone magic powers. When she’s in the midst of stealing it, a group of three fox shifters instead steal it from her. In order to get the potion back, she agrees to help with a contract they’ve taken on.

I loved the concept of this book, a witch with no powers is a very interesting main female character in a paranormal book. Kenzie has been hurt tremendously by the people who are supposed to love her, but she has remained strong and independent despite it. She has compensated by using charms made by her sister and creating tech-magic in tandem with her as well.

The three foxes are interesting characters too. None of the foxes are related, and the way they met is part of what makes intriguing. Each of the three is vastly different and speaks to different parts of the Kenzie’s character. It’s enjoyable watching her start to bond as they work together.

The world building for this book is very well done. I really like how the author explains about the covens and how they are run, over the course of the book. We also have to learn about shifter culture too, which is done as we hear about the foxes and their history.

What makes me classify this book as an Urban Fantasy, as opposed to a straight paranormal romance, is the plot. The plot is complex and interesting and would stand alone even without the romance part of the book.

This is the first book in a trilogy, and I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the series, as I really want to know what happens next.

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Review: Nine Lives (The Caelum Academy Series Book 3) by Serena Akeroyd

Nine Lives by Serena Akeroyd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An Action Packed Final Book

Wow, what a finale! This final book of the series is full of action. We finally learn what Eve is and what her purpose, and it’s pretty huge. Eve and her Chosen have a mammoth task to undertake that involves travelling around the world and taking on the biggest and scariest ghouls going.

In order to undertake their mission, Eve and her Chosen need to be unified and each chosen must be Claimed. Whilst some Claims are easy on the heart, others are not as simple. I like that not all the Claims are made instantly and that there issues that need to be resolved with some of the Chosen. Seeing multiple POV in the book, helps with understanding some of the issues the guys have as we learn more about their pasts.

There is quite a lot of monotheism in the book, so if you have problems with reading about non-traditional views on God then this isn’t the book for you. I will state that I don’t think it’s offensive though and it’s handled with respect.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and the entire series. It was an usual concept from start to finish and I really enjoyed that. As usual, I can heartily recommend Serena Akeroyd’s work.

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Review: Eight Souls (The Caelum Academy Series Books 2) by Serena Akeroyd

Eight Souls by Serena Akeroyd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Soooo Good!

I enjoyed the first book quite a lot but this second book is enthralling! The plot is captivating and draws the reader in, chews them up and then spits them out on the last page. I couldn’t stop reading this book from cover to cover. The plot isn’t so much external with the outside world, but internal to the characters and their interactions with each other.

It’s in this book that Eve’s abilities start to show to her men. She draws the two Packs into one and it’s getting hard to hide that from others. Women in particular are jealous of the attention Eve is getting from the top men in Academy.

I love how the various personalities of the men who surround Eve are explored in this book. The book is written from multiple POV which opens up the inner workings of each character. We get to understand some of their histories a bit more and how they have shaped their characters. As we learn more about the origins of the men we see how Eve helps change the men she cares about, not only through her abilities, but because she cares about them. Those changes help tighten up their connections to one another. That’s something they will need in the days to come.

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Review: Seven Wishes (The Caelum Academy Series Book 1) by Serena Akeroyd

Seven Wishes by Serena Akeroyd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Unusual Slow Burn Reverse Harem

Eve is nearly 18. She is terrified of reaching that age and being married off to the 78 year old leader of the cult she was born into. With no access to television, radio, the internet or even books outside a heavily redacted dictionary and the Bible, Eve has no knowledge of the outside world. However, she still plans to try and escape. Eve has a secret. She is filled with ‘moods’ that she has to keep tightly locked down or it’s likely she will be killed by her community.

One day a woman comes to take her away to an Academy for people like her, creatures with seven souls.

On arrival at the Academy she is thrown into an awkward limbo because she is much older than their usual new students. She has private tuition and devours every book in sight, thanking her lucky stars she has a photographic memory. Luckily three guys are drawn to help her and they become her guides in her new life where she not only has to know about her abilities but also the world at large, a daunting task for anyone.

I really like Eve’s character. She is incredibly strong to have survived her teens by herself without becoming mentally unstable. She is incredibly practical and doesn’t get upset about things she has no control over. She is a loyal and giving friend and is grateful for the support the guys are giving her. The three men who help her all have interesting histories and lead very difficult lives before being brought into the Academy. However, the fourth member of their pack is very unpleasant to Eve and sees her as a drain on their group who could hold them back.

It’s nice to see a different concept for an alternate race of beings on Earth. Serena Akeroyd has crafted an unusual world for her characters and I’m interested to see what happens next, because as always this author writes a really good story.

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Review: Out to Find Freedom by Lila Rose

Out to Find Freedom by Lila Rose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sweetness After Pain

I really enjoy Lila Rose’s books. They are about rough and rugged men, but they have a sweet quality about them. The writing style is plain and straight forward and the plots aren’t overly complicated, but her characters are wonderful.

This book is about Warden, a support character from previous Hawks MC books. He was in the army and after getting discharged he trained to be a private investigator. He’s pretty self contained and private but he has been longing for a woman of his own after he fell for someone who didn’t feel the same as he did. She’s still his friend but it hurts to see her sometimes.

Emerson lived a happy life with her Dad. Her mother died when she was a toddler and subsequently she was especially close to her Dad. He had a farm and a few businesses, he was busy but he still loved his daughter. Life was good until she 16 or so and her Dad died. This is when her happy life was over.

After the death of her father Emerson’s life turned very bad indeed and it was after only a few glimpses of her new neighbour, Warden, that she began to wonder about a different life.

A lot of the book is hard to read, because there were some difficult subjects handled, but they were done well and the horrors didn’t swamp the story. It is only in the latter half of the book that we get the sweetness that I love about Lila Rose. She’s an expert at covering a horrible subject and then giving something sweet and wonderful to the victims.

The book is a quick read, and will leave you smiling at the end. I always read a Lila Rose book when I need a good HEA. She’s a one-click author for me.

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