Accidentally Wedded to a Werewolf

Accidentally Wedded to a Werewolf by Isabelle Taylor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a cute, cozy romance with a paranormal twist. Luna and Oliver are an unexpected couple, to say the least!

Luna is supposed to be enjoying a tropical vacation in advance of her wedding, but finds herself sliding out of control on Alaskan backroads. After crashing into a sign, she takes that as a “sign” and checks into the local monster friendly hotel. In this world paranormals are out and have established this town in particular as a nice monster getaway. Luna, a rich and spoiled woman, is certainly out of place in the rundown lodging and Oliver, who is manning the front desk, is also having a bad day of his own. The two clash instantly, which makes what happens next all the more jarring. Oliver ends up availing himself, accidentally, to the ritual bonding alcohol used in werewolf ceremonies, leaving it on the counter for Luna to them experimentally try. This yields a magically bonded werewolf husband and wife.

These two don’t take it too well - Oliver because he’s got his own relationship baggage and is focused on becoming the next alpha, Luna because she’s already engaged (though in an open relationship). Turns out - they are exactly what each other needs. Luna needs a chance to flex her skills instead of coasting along on her families money and clout, Oliver needs someone who pushes him out of his comfort zone. I admit to not liking either very much at the start of this book, but by the end it was satisfying to see the HEA materialize.

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Cursed Debts

Cursed Debts by Claire Castellan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gosh, this book was filled with unexpected twists and turns, oodles of world building, and chaotic bad luck.

Mads has been cursed with bad luck all her life, protected mostly by some very cursory magic and a charm bracelet from her mother. Said mother is locked away in a mental hospital, leaving her to her own devices early on. This, of course, goes badly, resulting in her owing a debt to the fae that are even scarier than bad humans. In this world, she is in the know about the magical community, though lives on the fringes. She works as a courier, same as her roommate, and agrees to take on one of his assignments which spirals out of control.

The other part I haven’t touched on is the Wild Hunt, and its leader, Dara. As this book was largely world building, action, and chaos, we learn a lot all at once. Dara ends up following Mads on one of her terrible idea journeys, rescuing her from certain death with the promise of partnership - for a little while at least. There’s no smut to be found here, so don’t get your hopes up - it is a slow sizzle at most, with some distracting other boys thrown in for good measure. I can’t even begin to explain the convoluted quest we end up on, but there’s layers of reveal and betrayal stacked one on top of another until I can’t tell what’s real and what’s a lie anymore. As book 1, it definitely sets up another book in rapid succession - here’s hoping for more answers and more sizzle!

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Jinx and Tonic

Jinx and Tonic by Gina LaManna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s book 3 and Lily is really starting to settle in to life on the Isle. She’s mixing up potions, solving mysteries, and even dating officially now!

Lily and X are settling into dating and it’s a huge relief. While they keep some secrets from one another, it was nice to see that tension relieved. All the rest of Lily’s life is a little crazy, though - there’s an escaped villain type who can control folks on the loose, candidates for ranger are actually dying while competing, and somehow Lily is the only person who can stand up to the blood magic at play. It’s a lot of pressure for her, but she makes it through, though missing some bits of herself. There is such a rollercoaster of events in this book, it’s hard to discuss without spoilers. Onwards to the next book!

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Stupid Spellbound Love

Stupid Spellbound Love by Amy Boyles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oops, I definitely read this book without reading book one in this series - so can confidently say it is OK to start here. This was a book filled with secrets and misunderstandings, but also magic and heart.

Coco lives in a town that has just started to thrive again. There are magical creatures all around them, but for some reason the town discriminates against humans with the same magic as the literal soil beneath their feet. Coco is hiding the secret that she can do a little magic and see magic all around them. It’s what makes her exceptionally skilled for her job with the town, which takes her to meet Stone. He is building a big structure designed to lure folks to vacation in the little magical town. Unfortunately for the town, it is disrupting the flow of magic. Coco, with the best of intentions, tries to convince Stone that he needs to rebuild but without him seeing the magic, it’s hard to convince him.

In truth, it would probably be hard to convince him even if he cared, which it appears he doesn’t. Coco shuts his site down and then secretly works on a potion to allow him to see magic. This, unfortunately, does not go as planned, leaving Stone without his memory. The rest of the story turns into a romance, with these two sparking all sorts of chemistry now that Stone is without his memories. I spent most of the book cringing and waiting for the inevitable fallout, which comes catastrophically. Don’t worry, though, because we get a HEA that makes up for all the drama.

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Kiss of Skye

Kiss of Skye by Donna Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I feel like I’ve been waiting for Mason’s story since the first time he was mentioned. Full disclaimer, if you have somehow started the series here - while I think you can do it, you should probably (at least) start at the first book of this series, if not of the whole world building adventure. I’ve read most if not all of the preceding books, and even I have a hard time keeping all the characters straight.

So, Mason - we have heard about him since his sister showed up on Skye. He has been investigating his parent’s untimely death while playing the part of dedicated member of the organization that may just have killed them. He even needs to act the part to his sister and friends, which obviously causes a rift between them. We meet Rowan in this book when she is taking a bit of a forced tour of the meeting they are having. She immediately knows this group is rotten, but can’t seem to escape fast enough. On her way sneaking out the door, she follows her instincts and ends up saving Mason’s life.

These two obviously end up in Skye, where they are rapidly brought up to speed on the many various evil doers, big battles, other paranormals, and open mysteries they are facing as a group. While this is going on, Rowan and Mason are both on a journey of magical discovery - Mason thinking perhaps he could be the Water pillar they are looking for and Rowan learning the enormity of her role in this world. Of course, there are smutty good romantic elements thrown in for good measure, with your standard misunderstandings, martyrdom and finally HEA. While the group is still facing about a thousand unknowns and bad guys, this was a good step in the right direction overall.

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The Lone Wolf Paradox

The Lone Wolf Paradox by M.J. Etkind
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was super cozy and filled with your typical romance tropes, with a werewolf twist. Throw in talk of abortion, bisexual wolves, wolves born with incorrect human traits, and you’ve got yourself a nice update on the expected alpha wolf stuff.

Bea owns a farm and is a lone werewolf. She was married but made a decision to own her own happiness and struck out on her own. She has been struggling to make the farm profitable and her latest stop-gap measure is renting out the farmhouse while staying in the guest apartment. Lane has been a bit of a vagabond, but has massively stepped up for his niece and nephew while his sister is trying to find herself. His family is far from perfect, and living in the town he grew up in is not helping matters for the two young wolves. When they get kicked out of school, he makes the rather drastic decision to relocate and take a job in Bea’s town. Which means he also decides to rent her property, without even realizing the landlord is a wolf, too.

It was super fun watching these two dance around each other, navigate life with the twins, and generally grow as humans. Both really struggled to ask for help, no matter how hard life got. This romance was very cozy and satisfying. While I mentioned the topics up top, since it’s just part of the everyday life for them, it’s not treated as anything weird or worth fighting about. I enjoyed that element, too. We get a very satisfying HEA for everybody involved.

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Vagabond

Vagabond by Tim Curry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We listened to this audiobook on a long road trip. I’m a big fan of his, so this seemed like a definite win as far as content. While I learned a bit about him, he does make a big point of saying that he wasn’t going to talk about any relationships he had, and I think this ends up making it feel a little bit less in-depth than other autobiographies I’ve read. For someone so very much responsible for a lot of gender questioning/destroying gender norms, it feels like that doesn’t get enough air time. I also acknowledge that he is obviously not in perfect health, so perhaps he chose his focus areas to be less provocative and more of a documentation of his life. Either way, that’s why I would say this did not quite get the max rating from me that I would typically give a good autobiography.

Now, the content is really interesting - his life, how he ended up acting, signing, performing - and his family dynamic, upbringing, adventures. He addresses his health issues and it is very difficult at times to listen to him narrating - the struggle is very apparent. I ended up finishing this one with a bit of a sigh of relief because I struggled along with him at times. If you’re a fan of his work, you should obviously read this, but I don’t think I learned as much as I expected to.

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