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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Hiatus

I’m sad to say that due to ill health I’ve not got a review post for your today and probably won’t have until next week. Over the last 16 months I’ve been suffering from Long Covid and it’s left me struggling to keep up with my review editing. Previously I’ve been able to keep scheduling posts well in advance, and I’ve finally caught up to the end! I’m having a bad flare up this week but I hope that by next week I’ll start to feel well enough to write something reasonably coherent and then normal service can resume.  In the meantime there is quite a collection of reviews on this blog that you can scroll back through for inspiration.  If you have any suggestions for authors you really enjoy or books/series you highly recommend, I’m always grateful to receive those. Feel free to email me at chrissysbookshelf@gmail.com.

Hopefully I’ll speak to again soon!

Review: They Said it would be Easy (April Series Book 7) by Mackey Chandler

They Said it would be Easy by Mackey Chandler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Earthies Are Nuts

This is the seventh book in a continuing series, and you need to read the preceding books to understand this one. The narrative comes to a natural break at the end, but the story definitely continues in future books. There is also another series that is set in the future, Family Law, that shares some of the characters. The reading order across these two series is given in this post.

Life is getting a bit more comfortable on Home, time has allowed them to work with Heather on Central to get some fresh foods grown in their hydroponics corridors. Poor Heather is still stuck out at Central governing her people and is even forced to rule over Court once a week. She never gets a break.

Though Home is slightly more comfortable there are still a lot of shortages and coffee is practically worth its weight in gold. Beef is very very scarce, but some things like fish are coming up from Papa-San’s old yacht, which is being used to smuggle things up and down from Earth because of Jeff’s lander being able to land and launch from the water.

There’s a lot about economics in this book because Jeff and April are focused on getting their bank properly viable. They sit and watch USNA fall apart at the seams and try to work out what is going to happen next. April gets angry at the damage the North Americans inflict on each other, but Jeff has a calmer head. They are a good influence on each other. April teaches Jeff compassion and emotional intelligence and Jeff helps April think logically through problems that make her emotionally react. They continue to grow wiser together.

There are finite resources on Home, however, Earth is so awful everyone wants to move there. Overcrowding isn’t much fun for anyone and the Home inhabitants have to think creatively.

Once more I was swept along with an enjoyable and entertaining book, with just the right amount of intellect-prodding to keep me thinking too. I’m so sad I’m getting closer to the end of things!

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Review: And What Goes Around (April Series Book 6) by Mackey Chandler

And What Goes Around by Mackey Chandler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Earth’s Mess

This is the sixth book in a continuing series. You need to read the preceding books for this one to make sense. It ends at a natural break in the narrative but the story goes on in future books. There is another series set in the future of this one, Family Law, that shares some characters. The current reading order for both series is given in this post.

Out at L2 Home is feeling a little better about their distance from Earth. Their supplying costs have increased, but not as much as might be expected from the extra distance, because most costs are associated with just lifting from Earth. Things seem to be progressing and Heather’s work on Central is going slowly but steadily. April has land there along with a tunnel and small space dug out, but she really only uses it for storage and never really visits. Heather comes back to Home infrequently and April misses her. But April is learning to take the long view, as knowing she could live for hundreds of years takes the pressure off to get things done immediately.

Jeff is up to his eyeballs in work, as always, but still tries to make time for April. April has a little more time and is using it to study economics, like Jeff asked, to support their work with their bank. They both are starting to see patterns on Earth that they don’t like. Things are going to be rocky for a while down there and they don’t know how badly it’s going to affect Home.

This book feels less about the emotional side of April’s life and more about the political and economical side, especially how Earth is impacting her and her loved ones. This makes the book feel a little more cerebral than emotional and it moves the plot along quickly.

Barak plays a bigger part in this book than he has previously and he seems to be coming into his own since making his move on April. He’s becoming more assertive and learning who he is and what he wants, even if he is out by Jupiter whilst he’s doing it.

TRIGGER WARNING: There were some eerie predictions of what a pandemic would look like and if you find it difficult to read about the impact of those predictions on the world then you might not enjoy this book.

Despite the weird echoes of pandemic life I still enjoyed this book. Probably because the main characters aren’t stuck in the middle of it, unlike ourselves. Though plot-based, there is still enough about the characters I’ve grown to like to ensure I feel connected to them still, especially April, Jeff and Heather. These three characters are very extraordinary young people, but you can still believe in their existence because they continue to learn and grow in each book.

I’m off to read the next one. I’ll be sad when I run out of these books because I’m enjoying them a lot.

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