Fury Bound

Fury Bound by Sable Sorensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Meryn just can’t get a break here! This book is full throttle the entire time, leaving me feeling like she just needs one moment to breathe and all of this would become clear. Poor girl who is now somehow queen?

At the end of the last book we saw that her sister had been transformed and that’s obviously bad news. She and her inner circle have to keep it quiet while also magically using the necklace from her mother to control some of the darker urges and links to her evil ex boyfriend. You know who ends up being an unshakable ally? Stark, the big bad alpha who was such a thorn in her side. This book, while about destroying her ex, is also somehow about these two getting together.

Oh sure, there’s other things that happen (exploring the vampire territory, making alliances, betrayal, so many secrets, and shocking loss), but the most important part, and apparently terrible decision at the end, is shacking up with Stark. Throughout all the side quests and searching, I began to doubt that this was a trilogy and instead headed towards wrapping up in two books, but no - the ending of this very clearly leaves us with a cliffhanger.

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Paranormal Payback

Paranormal Payback by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a great and diverse collection of payback stories! This book had all sorts from horror to mystery and everything in between. We even get a little teaser from the Hollows thrown in for good measure.

I won’t go in to all the stories, but rather review as a collection. This was the perfect book to bring to the beach - each story was a different length giving you the flexibility to start and stop easily while still carrying through the theme. I was completely sucked in for each story, easily caught up on the characters, the world, and of course the payback in question. I admit - my favorite was probably the Jim Butcher one, but I’m sure my own preferences have something to do with that. If you’re looking for a great collection to chip away at - I’d recommend this for any type of reader.

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The Goblin in the Sink Drain

The Goblin in the Sink Drain by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We join back up with this story immediately where we left it. Ana’s life has been upended and she now has to question everything she ever learned. At least she’s got her new bestie and the Walsh clan to help her navigate this world.

There are a few points I have issue with in this world - it is apparently one that has supernaturals kept secret from humans, but there is an awful lot of dragons about to make that a reality. I don’t know, but it bothers me and takes me out of the story because of the inconsistency. It obviously didn’t stop me, though, because I’m plowing through to book 3 right after this because you can’t leave me hanging! I need to see Rian and Ana get together, or at least kiss!

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The Vampire in the Potting Shed

The Vampire in the Potting Shed by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think this book is somewhere around a 3.5 but I continued on either way! How can you not? This book definitely does not wrap anything up and I was left wanting much more. This is a very short read, so be prepared. As someone who is now on book 3, it’s starting to pay off now.

This book introduces us to Ana, the latent daughter of a wolf pack leader. She’s never shifted, but has been treated like a pampered princess (with some wolf pack fighting thrown in - even with her inability to shift) her entire life. Her mother left her when she was a baby, so she’s never known anything but the overprotective and smothering she’s had her whole life. When a mystery dog shows up at the grooming shop she owns, her entire life changes.

We don’t get to know much in this first book, but we do get to see loyalties tested, some secrets revealed, and a not-vampire in a potting shed. There are the first inklings of romance potential, but there are years and years of trauma and lies to cut through first.

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The Gate of the Feral Gods

The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love everything about these books. The ending of this one, though - that was a lot and I’m sure we are in for it with the next installment.

Flying gnomes, balloon airships, evil-ish children, and so much more end up hunting and hurting our crawlers in this book. Looking back, it seems like a chaotic situation, maybe even more so this time around than the previous levels, but that could also be because there was a big time out in the middle of it all because Carl is a genius. Without spoilers I was especially proud of how Carl has been sneaking in tidbits from the cookbook in the most dramatic ways possible. I did feel like Donut took a little bit of a back seat in this book, which was disappointing, but it allowed for Carl to work with the rest of the core crawler group in a way that may be setting up the guild features in future levels.

I’m sure there will be repercussions from the way Carl ended up saving himself and everyone else, but another jaw dropping moment that shocked me to the core. There are so many things that we haven’t seen pan out yet that I’m so worried about - the ring, does Carl know anyone who wrote in the cookbook, what’s he doing with that head, etc. I guess we’ll have to wait and see!

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The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook

The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am flying through these audiobooks one after the other so forgive me if this review is a little light. I forgot to come back and review immediately following so I’m already done with the book after this one at time of review.

I hear some people don’t like this one for some reason but this saws a bit of a turning point for me with Katia. I really did not like her in the previous but this one sold me on her as a solid addition to the ever evolving group of characters that orbit around Carl and Donut. There were some genuinely jaw dropping events in this book that had me completely shocked. There are also, as maybe more expected, a huge number of laugh out loud moments (some very gruesome involving Mongo).

I don’t really know how to review these books other than in very broad strokes - we get a lot of trains and we learn a lot about how Carl will be using the cookbook. Maybe it’s my own experience in other series, but I found myself worried about every decision this crew made with the spaces, prizes, and teaming up to save so many others. I shouldn’t have worried, though, because Carl is the best. This book is also a bit of a turning point for the NPCs and how they are used or manipulated both by the crawlers in this case and the evil corporations. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the beautiful moment with the hats. These books are like wonderful candy for my brain so I’ll continue reading them until I catch up.

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Second Time's a Charm

Second Time's a Charm by Taylor Epperson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is one of those books that takes place at an indeterminate time in history where magic is about but we still use carriages and wear bulky dresses. That, coupled with this small town vibe, make this a unique world that I’ve not encountered before.

Reece doesn’t have great control over her witchy powers, and a bit of a slip up led her to run away from home (as an adult). When her dad leaves her in charge of their magical animal rescue to go on walkabout, she reluctantly returns only to find that it is deeply in debt. Oh, and the boyfriend who ran away from her (before she ran away from home) has for some inexplicable reason been running the rescue in her absence. Things only get weirder from there.

Laken, said abandoning boyfriend, ends up confessing that he’s a secret assassin now and other bad guys are after all the magical creatures she is protecting. There’s even more surprises, but this story also somehow maintains the heart of it all - concluding with a lovely reminder that support might show up where you least suspect it.

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All's Fae in Love and War

All's Fae in Love and War by Lee Nichols
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book really there me for a loop - in a good way! It’s got magic, romance, a lot of mayhem, and a solid happy ending. I was a little worried that as part of trilogy it would leave me hanging - but have no fear!

Pandora comes from a magically gifted family who lives on the isle, but she has yet to come into her powers. There is a time limit on these things, and if she doesn’t find her calling by the end of this year, she’ll be forced to forget all about magic and be relegated to the sidelines for all things magical. Sounds scary, but she has leaned HARD into the camp of not wanting a gift after her high school love, Leo, made an off handed remark about not being able to picture himself with a non-magical woman. So, they ended rather catastrophically and went their separate ways after high school, but of course magic has brought them together for what could be Pandora’s last magical summer.

Leo, of course, found his book related powers while he was young, and it’s those powers that push him back home and right into Pandora. The sizzle is strong between these two and it all explodes in a rather chaotic way, shifting the book from romance into life-or-death battle by the end of it. I don’t want to spoil anything, but of course Pandora searching/not searching for her powers ends up yielding the biggest magical upheaval in their history. Loved this one - can’t wait for the next!

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Wicked Wicche

Wicked Wicche by Seana Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Arwyn and Declan are having a baby! This is usually where my interest in a series begins to wane but this world has kept me hooked.

After the defeat of the last Corey sorcerer I thought we might have a bit of a lull for Arwyn and Declan to catch their breath. This book, however, tugs on the loose ends left from the previous installments. An evil, “rival” faction is out to get them and is under some sort of weird assumption that the Corey family is weak. Oh, and there is, of course, a police case that tests Arwyn’s abilities and her tolerance for sharing the victim’s pain.

This book definitely felt like a pivot in the series - we are moving away from the larger storyline and into more of the day-to-day drama that is Arwyn’s witchy life. Her father is a help and a hinderance in equal parts here, but will hopefully mellow out with time. I guess the same could be said about Declan, who is in full overprotective alpha mode this entire book. It was nice to visit with some other familiar characters from the other series, and I’m interested in where we will go now that this latest big bad is put away.

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Carl's Doomsday Scenario

Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I absolutely plowed through book 2 in a few days - and continuing on to book 3 is a no brainer here. While I do keep waiting for something terrible to happen most of the time, the game aspects allow me to plug in without thinking too much about it.

In this one we get to a sort-of outdoor level, which is a change from the more claustrophobic descriptions of the previous ones. We get to go to the circus, in the worst away, and we get to meet more species in the dungeon. Carl still doesn’t have pants, the AI is still playing games with them, and we learn a lot more about how these two act when they think they’re going to die. I’m really enjoying the moments of true connection that are sprinkled in with the mayhem and madness that is the dungeon.

This book may not be 100% as good as the previous book, but it feels like it is still finding the right balance of detail with action with sentimentality. I found myself particularly checking out in the extra long big bad monologue, but right after that it is a race to the finish so I forgave the random slowdown that derailed my enjoyment. I’m not sure how I feel about the party growing - I know we will likely see all the goodness that Carl has championed pay off eventually, but I don’t want anything to mess with the chemistry and dynamic between Carl & Donut.

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Kieran

Kieran by N.J. Walters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finally we get to the third brother in the trio - Kieran! I’m a little conflicted because I have really enjoyed each of the stories and this world in general, but the ending is very satisfying.

Kieran is determined to “save” his brothers, or at least save them from what his father tells him is a danger to them all. He ends up in that same small town as the previous books (you probably don’t need to have read them to enjoy this story, though). He’s got to reap the souls that were “missed” and resulted in his brothers losing their immortality. It seems very easy to him - just reap the soul his father expects him to reap and they should all be back to “normal.”

So, you obviously know that he will fall head over heels in love with his assigned target - the bakery owner he ends up working for. Georgia is a good character who falls into the expected rhythm of women under the Blackwell spell. The brothers and their women try their best to get these two off the path to destruction and pain, but they are just too stubborn to see it. We get a nice end of book and end of trilogy wrap up that ties things up neatly, which was a good addition. I enjoyed Georgia and found the finale to be just as satisfying as the previous ones.

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Dungeon Crawler Carl

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of those instances where the cover really didn’t appeal to me and so I ignored this particularly trendy book for way too long. I’m usually a strict contemporary paranormal romance reader, but this book really connected with my roleplay roots in a fun way and had me hooked. Also, I did this via audiobook and the narrator is AMAZING.

So, where do we begin? Carl is cat-sitting his ex-girlfriend’s show cat, Princess Donut, when the world essentially ends. Some political and resource related issue with an alien species ends up smooshing all building into nothing, so only those folks outside at the time of the collapse end up with a choice - enter the “dungeon” to try to survive or stay above ground where most everything is gone. Since Carl is caught in his underwear and ill fitting crocks in the subzero temperature, anywhere warmer seems like a solid choice. This starts the whole series, with Carl and Princess Donut entering the player area.

From there, well, it all becomes like a video game with stats and weird races out to get you, skills to learn, gear to acquire, and they also get a guide with his own set of issues. Worried about the cat? Don’t be, because she rapidly adapts to player life with a weird dungeon spin. In order for the human race to survive they’ve all got to “kill kill kill” the enemies, or other “crawlers.” It’s funny how quick that went from sounding weird to a normal day-to-day experience. There is also the hint of Hunger Games-like sponsors at some point in the future, if they get enough view and follows. Needless to say, I’m hooked and will try to catch up in the series as quick as possible.

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Blood Hunter

Blood Hunter by Morgan Quaid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the first book in what looks to have been a long series by the time I picked up this one. There is a ton of world building and character introduction that has to happen in a short amount of time here, so I’m sure future books can settle further into the story.

We meet Petra at the start of this book, a sort-of assassin consultant for a magical ruling body. She’s got a handler she coordinates her jobs through and a fake life that she uses to hide her supernatural abilities. Her life is OK but definitely not normal. While on one particular job hunting a supernatural baddy, her life gets turned upside down. See is faced with oodles of secrets, betrayal, and begins to form out her little crew of anarchists. They work together to fight back some evil forces, which appears to be only the beginning.

Is this my typical paranormal romance? No - there’s a little attraction maybe here and there, but the focus is truly on the world building elements here. I did enjoy the characters we’ve met so far - they are all fun and interesting in their own ways, but as book one we only get so much revealed to us.

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Generation Hex

Generation Hex by Molly Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have been eagerly gobbling up all the books that take place on this wonderful island and am so sad to see another one come to an end. This book was a long time coming - what with how Perry and James were sniping at each other from the start. While usually I don’t love the enemies to lovers trope, this one was worth it.

Perry is the responsible older sibling in the Seaworth family and because of this, her personal life has taken many hits along the way. Instead of sneaking out or being rebellious, Perry is the one who wrangles all the other sibling, and ghosts, and now sea monsters. The wrench in this plan is James - the Red Jasper society rep that was assigned to watch over them. At first, he’s a know-it-all non-magical annoyance but he somehow worms his way into Perry’s heart. It’s obvious that these two are meant to be together, but it’s was still a wonderful ride.

James goes on a rollercoaster of his own sort, changing from the uptight guy who is trying to prove he’s worth something to his family into the guy who can talk to sea monsters and ghosts, even stepping up to defend the witches he was tasked with surveilling. Watching his hard exterior crack, much like the sea monster egg, was really satisfying and fun. The ending here is also very well done, leaving me happy but sad to let this group of characters go for now.

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