Review: For the Win (Gamer Girls Series Book 6) by Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox

For the Win by Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book

The header says it all. I did. I loved it. From the first page to the last I loved it, every paragraph and every conversation between the characters and every description of gaming action. It was awesome. What was even more awesome was the way the authors had very obviously seriously researched what is like to transition from male to female. They had spoken to people who knew what it would be like for Rhaven to come out, from the physical to the emotional. It was handled sympathetically with honesty and humour. I can’t profess to know what it’s like to transition but I do have friends who have questioned their gender identity and have been open and honest enough to discuss it with me and this book rings true to me.

I love Rhaven. Her character has always been interesting, sort of 'in' with the main characters but always on the periphery. In this book we dive completely into Rhaven’s life and it is a fantastic journey. It starts in a complete contrast to how she is seen in the other books, a darkly glamorous women who kicks butt in FPS games. We meet her working at the GasNGo in her uniform with her deadname 'Ethan' on her tag.

We meet her Dad and her brother who are loving and kind, but don’t really understand her and know her only as Ethan. We see small town America in all it’s glory, where everyone knows your name and your business and think they have the right to comment on your life choices.

We also see Braden decide to visit Rhaven, who has a massive crush on, because he’s only a couple of hours drive away for business reasons. His presence triggers a lot of things for Rhaven, both good and bad.

This book was enthralling as I got sucked into Rhaven’s world and saw the whole ‘main table’ group work together both in game, and out, to protect the vulnerable and stand up for equality.

I believe that the authors originally planned that this book would be the last in the series but Rhaven got away from them and lead them to have to write another book to finish it all off. I can only say that I so glad that they let Rhaven have her way because this was an excellent book, with drama, emotion, laughter, love and steaming hot sex. This entire series is a fantastic journey and I can’t wait for the next book, which I’m sure I’ll read on release day, like I did this one. But I also know I’ll be sad when it’s over because this journey has been epic!

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Review: Demons, Danger, and Demigods (Gods and Demons Series Book 4) by Kaye Draper

Demons, Danger, and Demigods by Kaye Draper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It All Comes Down To Belief

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

This is the final book in this series and it has a lot of ground to cover. We start with Troya being trapped in the god realm by her father. She’s separated from the people she loves and she’s scared and alone, unable to trust in her ability to control her power, that she’s only just remembered that she has. She never truly understood her own power and now the gods are all demanding she use it, for their benefit.

In order to escape back to Earth she needs a lot of help and she also needs to understand and believe in her own power in order to keep humanity and the supernaturals free of the influence of the gods.

This book is as much a book about self belief and self acceptance as it is about romance and defeating the enemy. It is only through the power of belief in one's own abilities can we trust that others accept us and can believe in us too. It’s not done in an overblown way, but the messages are still really clear. The book is also about the romance, and the really, really hot sex!

I’m sad to see the end of this series, which started so long ago with Gesa and her menagerie (Gesa's Menagerie: Volume 1). I will miss them all, but can at least finish the series with a smile on my face for their future happiness.

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Review: Hectic (Arcane Mage Series Book 2) by TS Snow

Hectic by T.S. Snow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

More Magical Mayhem

I’m going to start this review by saying I didn’t want to throw my kindle across the room at the end of the book, unlike last time. The ending has more of a kerbhanger than a cliffhanger. There is definitely a lot more story to come but the ending comes at a natural break in the plot (thankfully).

As you may have gathered by the sheer existence of a second book in the series, the main character Char is not, in fact dead. Dum Dum DUUUUUHH! She is however, very, very injured. When Char wakes up she comes face to face with her ex Theo, who desperately wants to get back together with her, which is why he was there when her apartment blew up.

The AMIA wants Char to stay in hiding and to pretend to be dead so that they can flush out the mole that allowed the rebellion to escape from their round up and got Char almost killed. Char ends up in a safe house with Blaze and Blair, a fellow agent.

This book is the same as the first in the way the plot keeps you turning pages quickly. There’s so much going on, I didn’t want to stop for lunch. The male characters start to show themselves a lot more clearly in this book, though this is still a slow building RH. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of heat, just not between multiple men yet.

The world building is getting a lot more interesting, with more of the social structure being explained, though there are still very large gaps in the information given to the reader. I think there are some pretty good reasons why it's still missing and they are all plot related. I get the feeling that the author has fleshed out the society, magic system and plot in her head and is only revealing what we really need to know for everything to be unveiled in the best way possible.

As you might have guessed I really love this series. The characters are great and the story is anything but straight forward and I can’t wait to read the next book. When’s it due out again?????

ETA: Erratic is out on 11th March 2021 That's so far away (sobs)

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Review: Burning for Autumn (On Call Series Book 1) by Freya Barker

Burning for Autumn by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Arson

Freya Barker writes interesting romances about people who have already lead interesting lives. In other words, the protagonists have a few years already under their belts and have quite established personalities. This means that with age comes people less likely to bend and change to fit in with a prospective romantic partner. Personally I like this kind of novel, because it means that there are often more spikes to sand down between the parties involved, which only makes it more interesting.

This is the first in a series, but I get the feeling that there may be other series that are interconnected, based on how the various characters are introduced. However, I don’t feel like there were any major holes in my understanding for not having read them before starting this book.

Autumn is a medical researcher in a burns unit on a 12 month contract in her new home of Durango. She’s 42, strong willed, independent and fears she is stuck in a rut, which is what instigated her move from Texas. On a rare moment of bravery, after a rubbish day at work, she decides to go to the local first responders pub and bumps into Keith.

Keith is currently working as the interim Chief of Police for Durango and hates it. He wants to be working as a detective, not dodging phone calls from the mayor. He’s 44, happy being single, has great friends and loves his job. He is also strong willed and plain spoken, which often doesn’t earn him any friends. When he and Autumn bump into each other, sparks fly in a way that leaves them both intrigued.

As well as being a really great romance, this book also has a good solid mystery to solve. The mystery side of things is a mite predictable, however there were aspects of the case which were well thought out and a bit different from what I could have guessed. It was is in no way boring.

I enjoyed the book enough to know I’ll be downloading the next in the series because I already know I want to read about the brand new Chief of Police, because he seems really fascinating.

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Review: Iron Master (Shifters Unbound Series Book 12) by Jennifer Ashley

Iron Master by Jennifer Ashley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When Shifters and Fae Collide

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

This book deals with the relationship between Peigi, a bear shifter, and Stuart, a Dokk Alfar who was exiled from faerie over 50 years ago. Peigi had a rough start in this series and was rescued from a bad situation with an abusive mate and cult-like community. When she was rescued she decided to look after 6 orphaned cubs who came from the same community she’d been part of.

When Peigi was given a home 3 years ago she was taken under the wing of several strong alphas. She was taught how to stand up for herself, how to fight and how to protect those she loves. She learnt all this whilst finding her way back to happiness through the love and care of the cubs she was raising.

Stuart passes as human on Earth. He works for a private detective/security agency. He’s also moved in with Peigi and the cubs. It was a gradual thing and they are living platonically though both have feelings for the other. Neither has been brave enough to act on those feelings, until now.

It all starts when Stuart is pulled into faerie by a fellow Dokk Alfar, Cian, who needs Stuart’s Iron Master skills, something he’s not used in 50 years, just as he and Piegi had decided to stop dancing around each other.

This book is spent mainly dealing with the fae as well as Peigi and Stuart’s ongoing relationship. There’s plenty of action and plot twists galore, there is wild shifter passion and wondrous fae magics and the sweet gentle love of a parent for a cub.

This is a great book in this series and I can’t wait to see what the author does next. I love that there is now a huge range of communities for the author to draw on to find the characters to write about next. You don’t get a chance to get bored with the same characters each time, because each book seems to change location, even as the plot of shifters versus the fae and fighting for freedom from the humans continue throughout the series.

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