Review: The Melier (Women of the Dor Nye Series Book 1) by Poppy Rhys

The Melier by Poppy Rhys
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Aliens Who Look Like Aliens

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

This romance is another one for the category of aliens who really look like aliens, rather than big humans with different coloured skin. These aliens are 8ft tall, with a blue skin, a furry tail, four arms and talons that grow on demand.

Lucia is a bounty hunter, trying to retrieve stolen goods from an feared alien commander. When she and her team are spotted, they split up and run for freedom. She manages to steal an unmanned ship from the hold and escape, only to find a slave on board, who she names Soren. Soren has no idea who he was before he became a slave, but finds himself warming to Lucia who treats him with kindness.

This book is an interesting look at how much of prejudice is bound up in memories and culture and without those things, the prejudice is almost non-existent. I really liked Lucia’s family’s reaction to Soren. They were shocked, scared and then won over quite quickly. However, the prejudice from other people on Lucia’s planet had to be fought.

The book started quite slowly but quickly gained momentum and became more interesting. I’m definitely intrigued about where the series will go next.

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Review: Just for Now (Escape to New Zealand Series Book 3) by Rosalind James

Just for Now by Rosalind James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sweet Single Dad Romance

This book took a little while to get going, but the slow build worked well for the plot and the characters.

Jenna in an American living in New Zealand with her husband, working as a teacher, when she comes home to find her husband in bed with someone else. After she leaves him she travels around New Zealand looking for somewhere different to settle and ends up in Auckland with a friend. She decides that she wants to stay there and applies for a nanny job to tide her over until the new school year starts.

The new job is with Finn, who happens to be an All Black rugby player and a widower with two children. Jenna and the kids click instantly and she’s a great nanny who also happens to be a good cook too. Finn also notices she’s pretty. This is the part of the book that is the slow build, and some people may not have the patience for it, but it is a sweet and believable part of the romance.

I liked all the characters, and particularly enjoyed Jenna’s rapport with the kids. I also enjoyed the casual way in which New Zealand life was shared, and the slang that is incomprehensible to the rest of the world. I felt like I learnt a lot about rugby and the life that the players could lead.

I haven’t read the rest of the books in this series, but I may do so after reading this book.

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Review: Emergence (Sever The Crown Series Book 1) by Mysti Parker & Lindsey R Loucks

Emergence by Mysti Parker & Lindsey R Loucks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Possible Vampire Queen With No Knowledge of Her People?

I would probably give this book 3.5 ⭐️ if I could.

I quite enjoyed this book. Wren is an interesting character that I feel could have been revealed more thoroughly in the book. This is definitely a plot driven book, rather than a character driven one. We are thrust into the action within the first few pages. We see Wren’s capability for violence and her sole focus is revenge for the death of her mother years previously when she was 8 years old.

Wren encounters Zac, a human, just after she’s killed one of her mother’s killers and he tells her that he can explain about who and what she is. Wren follows him, despite her misgivings, to ‘find a vampire’, that Zac believes she can find for him. This leads her to finding Ashe a fellow vampire that shares a marking on the wrist that throbs whenever he is near. The only problem with Ashe is that he is in jail for the murder of a vampire that hurt his sister, despite not actually killing the vampire.

I feel that there were a lot of holes in the plot of this book, despite it being plot driven. I don’t understand why Wren would suddenly trust someone she’d never met, despite being alone from the age of 8. There is no explanation of how she survived alone from that age and there is no explanation of why she is drawn so dramatically to Ashe, other than the mysterious markings. I don’t believe a loner would allow herself to be dragged along by others without demanding more explanations, as she is unlikely to trust others given her background.

More explanations in future books in the series may be forthcoming, but I haven’t decided yet if the characters are worth the confusion, if that isn’t the case.

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Review: The Cosmos Coalition (The Space Merchants Series Book 9) by Wendie Nordgren

The Cosmos Coalition by Wendie Nordgren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Alien Invasion

I really enjoy this Reverse Harem series. When this new book came out, I decided to re-read the rest of the series to refresh my memory and I enjoyed it so much. I think if I hadn’t done the re-read I would have been lost with this book because there is a very large cast of characters, and an ongoing plot that is complex.

Princess Teagan has been appointed by her father, the Emperor, to take over as his representative in a new coalition designed to discover who tried to instigate war between the Galaxian Militia and the Empire. Teagan is ideally placed with her husbands and family coming from both sides of the conflict. She is based on Earth to discover why an alien was imprisoned to extort technological designs and ends up following a lead that takes her face to face with one of the richest men on the planet Edvard Stig.

Throughout her new endeavour, she is pregnant which causes her husbands to be even more protective than usual, often leading to conflict within her immediate family.

There is so much going on with this series that it is impossible to be bored. The characters are great fun and I love their backstories and cultural differences.

It’s another great addition to the series, and I hope to see more books in the future.

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Review: Cast From Heaven: A Paranormal Fantasy Romance (Lili Kazana Series Book 1) by Leigh Kelsey

Cast From Heaven: A Paranormal Fantasy Romance by Leigh Kelsey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

OK Idea

This book is about Liliana an angel. Liliana is actually a 'mixed-species' angel and as such is looked down upon. Her lover is a senior type angel and she feels lucky to be loved by him. Because she feels this way she is easily manipulated into being a spy for her lover in hell. She quickly learns that her lover was just using her and doesn't care for her well being at all, in fact he would be quite happy for her to not survive the mission she is totally untrained for.

This book has left me conflicted about my opinion. On one hand the story is quite good and the idea is not bad, but on the other hand it’s got some flaws in the execution.

My main problem is that Liliana is pretty weak. She’s looking for affection from anyone and everyone and seems to have all the self protection of a sleepy kitten.

I also didn’t like that she was left alone so much, with no support, nothing to occupy her and then dragged into dangerous situations with no training by people who supposedly cared for her. It meant that I didn’t believe the emotions that were supposed to be there.

Essentially, I didn’t really connect with the characters very much and felt that the plot needed more thought and tightening up.

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