Gray Seas

Gray Seas by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Poor Rue has a lot on her plate at the moment. She’s trying to generally make changes for the better in the Black Hat Bureau, protect her mate from retaliation after her kaboom in Hael, avoid getting kaboomed herself, avoid whoever is carving up victims, stop whoever is poisoning folks, and keep the Wargs generally in line. Not too much, right? Well the end of this one adds even more to her plate.

Rue and her crew are the best, and now that we’ve got the Warg crew in some books, I’m completely on board with their food-heavy adventures. This book is a lot of chasing clues, travel, legal negotiation, lack of sleep, and it always seems to end with Rue adopting more misfits. I was very sad to get inside her cousin’s head for some chapters, but do still hold out hope that we get a happy ending for him and a certain human. This whole entire crew needs a nice roadtrip/vacation short story where they can shake it the sillies when the dust settles here. Or people stop getting blown up. Sigh.

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The Gloaming

The Gloaming by Jamie Dalton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a really fantastic read from the start - I had trouble putting it down! The story dove right in (my favorite) and introduced characters I can’t wait to learn more about.

Erin is a vampire hunter. We don’t really know how that came to be, but I’m here for it. She has some slightly better skills, but her most useful is being able to sense where vampires are and heal/run a little faster than average. She and her two friends own a cafe together, and they’re all in on Erin’s secret. One is the “guy in the chair” and the other is… the idea man? Almost love interest? It’s not super clear because when we start the book we find out he was murdered, but staged to look like a suicide while away in Scotland.

These now grieving friends try to continue with life, but folks keep turning up dead under suspicious circumstances, so it doesn’t take a “guy in the chair” to figure out vampires are targeting people around Erin. It’s around this time that some infamous vampires and mystery men walk into Erin’s life, causing her to re-assess her black and white view of vampires. There’s some elements of fated mates, some interesting vampire lore, and a lot of injuries that take us through the rest of the book. It ends on a little cliffhanger, but I can forgive it as long as I get more of this!

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Love Potion Number 99

Love Potion Number 99 by Daphne James Huff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The magical elements of this story are highly suspect, but I still very much enjoyed this as a romance. Ethan and Brooke meet in a rather unconventional way and things spiral from there. When Ethan’s foster puppy eats one of Brooke’s grandmother’s prize plants they are immediately enemies, at least in Brooke’s eyes.

These two do still need to live in the same neighborhood, so while Brooke and her friends enjoy his outdoor workouts from afar, she keeps up a good front of holding the grudge. Ethan, however, is curious and putting on a good show. While Brooke is dealing with the loss of her grandmother and living up to her legacy (or against her mother’s legacy), Ethan is managing through some life changing news. Losing his parents taught him to just go where life takes him, but getting a diagnosis that puts him out of his firefighting job and into a really terrible inspector gig is not the best situation for him. A surprise invite to Brooke’s Halloween party ends up putting these two back in each other’s path and potentially exposes Ethan to a “love potion.”

It was adorable watching these two try to adapt to life as a reluctant couple, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Eventually they find their footing, but it takes a lot of the usual miscommunications to get there. I did really enjoy meeting Brooke’s friends and hope we get to see them all paired off in their own unique romance installments.

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Wicked Souls

Wicked Souls by Katie Wismer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We join Valerie right after the terrible way she was initiated into the Marionettes in the previous book. She is obviously still reeling but is also having to navigate post-Wendigo attack life and hiding her blood consumption. Killing two birds with one stone (that’s probably a terrible way to describe it) Reid takes her and Connor out to learn how to feed from humans directly. This does not go well and probably is a hint for how bad things will get before the book ends.

In this book Valerie is still trying to find “her Connor” in this new vampire form of him, but it seems like he’s gone for good. I’m happy about that one. She also find she can only consume Reid’s blood without being sick, which is a new and likely bad development to her sickness. Her mom is still terrible (as is her entire family, I think). Her friends are still awesome, and we get some more of that here. The mystery of this book, though, ends up being more around the Wendigo thing and whoever is attacking and destabilizing the ruling class of vampires. We meet oodles of new characters so I assume we are growing this universe out dramatically in future books. The ending (not the Reid bits, which were awesome) was infinitely frustrating. Valerie was definitely let down by… everyone… and that puts her in the terrible position we leave her in at the end. I’m tired of cliffhangers.

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Prince of Darkness

Prince of Darkness by Rebecca Zanetti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was a little surprised that this series has started to pair off Kurjan characters with this installment, but I should have trusted the author. These books never disappoint and this book is no exception.

Vero is the brother of the new king, which I still am not done reacting to from the previous book. He is trying to merge his world with the rest of the “realm” to various degrees of success. Lyrica is both a help and a hinderance in this respect. She is a distraction to him, as you’d expect in this type of book, but she is also leveraging her modern skill set to reach out to the Kurjan mates to make sure they are there of their own choice (mating was not exactly a fair decision to them all the time). While Vero always seems to assume the mates are there happily, Lyrica is equally wrong for assuming they all want to leave. Navigating this only brings them closer together, though, so yay!

All while this is going on, there are political machinations working against the new king, in the form of traitors, attempts on his life, and attempts at sabotaging the historic peace talks. Oh, and we get to watch Vero and Lyrica navigate an unorthodox relationship. Loved all of these things - the only frustration was Lyrica’s determination to throw herself into harm’s way at every turn. Again, expected but frustrating. We get some really great happy ending here in all ways - surprising again, but in a fantastic way. I am loving watching this world grow and evolve as we continue to watch folks pair off. I hope we get some shifter romance next!

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The Folklore of Forever

The Folklore of Forever by Sarah Hogle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book combines witches, skeptics, and small-town life into a series that I mistakenly started at book 2.

Zelda is the “weird” one in the family who does not believe in magic. She instead ran off to become a writer of a popular series but has since returned home to run a book store and do just about anything but write the promised next series. Her next door neighbor, Morgan, seems to be trying to lure her into some sort of relationship, but from a person who was definitely not into her growing up in a small town, this seems highly suspect.

This all comes out as part of his “plan” to get magical witch powers by pairing up with one of the town witches. I’ve got to admit, it took me a long time to get over his abrasive personality, but did find his banter entertaining. As a match for Zelda, who is exploring the possibility of having magic and embracing her forgotten childhood magics, he helps. Otherwise, I’d say she could do so much better. In a small town, though, I guess the choices are limited.

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Gray Court

Gray Court by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Poor Rue - she’s had a rough go of it lately. Not only did she sort of break up with her “normal” friends in the previous book, but she’s dealing with the ramifications of going boom in a dark magic way and it is trickling into Colby, too. This forces their hand, and they reach out for help from the fae.

Should be easy, right? Well, turns out that saying “no” to a demon ruler only goes so far, then he decides to kidnap an ex-lover to take a bit of revenge. So, aside from living on a farm away from her home, managing a forever young “kid” with dark magic powers manifesting, being in charge of a band of demon warriors, dealing with her unresolved family issues, and managing a lovesick cousin for who is moping for the same friends she is moping for, Rue now also has to help save her mate’s mother. From his father. In another dimension.

Super easy day in the life of Rue - oh and she’s also got to keep this hush hush from her grandfather. Things, of course, do not go according to plan, but do end up in a very similar place as the previous book. Rue still doesn’t have a handle on her book-augmented powers, she still doesn’t have resolution with her daddy issues, and is being thrown into the deep end of the political pond. Decision are made, they are probably bad or maybe not but end up changing A LOT of lives in the book. I’m sure we will deal with the fallout as their would-be-coup plays out in the coming book or books.

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Gray Tidings

Gray Tidings by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

These books are getting crazier and I just love them more and more with each installment. In this one? Well, they end up in New Orleans hunting a sea monster.

This book is a pivotal turning point in the inevitable clash between Rue’s “normal” life and her actual life. The excuses and lies she has been building up have been bound to break eventually, and this book is it. First, Rue ends up in New Orleans at the exact same time that the girls get an invite from their uncle to spend time together at Mardi Gras. Very suspicious, especially since the last time we saw their “uncle” he was hunting Colby then being chased off the property under penalty of death. So, yeah, it’s made especially weird because the tracking chip they put on Rue’s dad is also pinging in New Orleans.

So all of this rolls together to make for an extra weird family and friend reunion in the worst possible way. There is indeed a monster and we do get to spend more time with the warg friends we made in the previous book, but then it gets filled with oodles of baggage. Daddy issues, friend betrayal issues, monster issues, and so much more all roll together to make for an ending that appears to close the chapter on Rue’s day job and friends in town. Here’s hoping there is a path forward, but to get there we just need to trudge through some badness first.

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Gray Witch

Gray Witch by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gosh, a lot happens in this book. I’m going to include spoilers from the last book because it is important, but who starts at book 5 anyway?

This book picks up in the aftermath of the big end of book reveal. The promise to stay in contact? Well the first message arrives right as the crew has to take off for a case, shaking Rue’s life again. This is an even bigger road trip book than the last one - they bounce around A LOT and I don’t have that good a grasp on southern geography to tell you how far/how long they drove. The big case they are working on is the seeming resurrection of some famous supernatural big bads, or at least famous ones. They also happen to be assigned this case by the second in command because the director is MIA.

Just when the group gets their feet under them at one crime scene, another crops up, then another, splitting the group up so that they can at least finish chasing down leads for one of their stops. Highlights in this one? The demon making a wolf friend. And getting treated like a true person. There is big demon/demon politics happenings in this installments that likely deserves a whole paragraph but it wasn’t the good stuff. The good stuff was Rue leaning into her power and officially choosing a side in the battle that her dad is silently pursuing. I liked that this book wasn’t just the usual levels of gross, but also found time to throw in a bit of role play geekdom outside of the mystic realms stuff.

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Black Wings, Gray Skies

Black Wings, Gray Skies by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hmmm, I think this is a turning point book in the series. If you’re reading along with me, I detoured to the short story and was baffled about why it needed to be read where it was. I think it helps add some weight and maybe a little more understanding to some of the emotional scenes in this installment, without giving spoilers.

Rue and the gang (including Colby!) are on the road hunting down a child killer. That’s bad enough, but what it actually ends up being is even grosser and worse. Yay for the monsters in their supernatural world! Being on a bit of a roadtrip, we don’t get a ton of the “extra” characters in this installment, minus the check-ins from “the shop” and the mysterious dark magic lurker they report on (ending aside). Instead we go on a true case with the crew trying to figure out how things in Charleston got so out of hand.

Some good things? We get to meet some other shifters and see that they are maybe the most human characters in the bunch. The team is really doing an amazing job with all the odds stacked against them. What frustrated me enough to almost scream at the book was by the end you realized there were SO MANY loose ends. They do eventually come to bite Rue, or at least maim her emotionally. Usually she is so on top of her many priorities that the fact she “forgot” about something big seemed very out of character for her.

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Anders

Anders by Margo Bond Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This series is shaping up to go all over the place - first book was about breaking pack assumptions and finding balance in pack leadership (even sharing it!) and now we’ve got super secret evil government mind control!

Anders has just stepped into the role of pack guardian and had a bit of a mess to contend with. The previous pack leadership made sure nobody trusted anybody else, so he has been putting his robotic, analytical mind to good use, detectiving out weaknesses, strengths and ultimately making the pack more stable. He also used his military training to install security throughout the town, alerting him to a newcomer one night.

Etta believes she is just an ordinary reporter, assigned to a middle of nowhere town, but when she stops a diner and an imaginary record scratches upon her arrival it is clear she’s walked into something. Who knew they were right to be suspicious of her? Turns out she’s being plagued by headaches and some distant memories which all comes to a head when Anders confronts her. Oh, and he recognized that they are mates, even though she doesn’t appear to know she’s a shifter of any sort.

There is a lot of hidden stuff, big reveals, but I won’t spoil all of that. Suffice it to say, there is a bigger plot afoot which I guess we will address fully in the coming installments. For Anders and Etta, they manage to beat the odds here and find their HEA. This book had much more of a spy thriller or sci-fi/futuristic feel than previous ones.

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Not always an angel

Not Always an Angel by Christi Barth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oops, this is book 3 of a series I have not read. Maybe book 3 of 3? I didn’t really have any issue catching up given my expertise in paranormal romance at this point. Out of 3 angelic warriors, we are down to the last single one, so you can kind of assume what will happen.

Liss is the only human in the bunch, having had her BFF paired off, then expanded her social circle to include a belly dancing witch and an ex-hell resident lady. No matter how hard she tries, though, she feels like she is not contributing enough to the cause. That cause? There is some big world ending threat in the form of the Titans or something like that. Even without this threat over her head, I think Liss would have still felt inadequate. She is one tough cookie, though, as seen in how eagerly she is able to hit back when a sleazy guy attacks her.

Zavier is the last single warrior guy in the bunch, but he’s got some issues to work through. He was kidnapped for… a very long time and tortured. His brothers in arms ended up rescuing him, but he’s a big messed up because of it. He acknowledges his attraction to Liss early on, but fights it for the same martyr reasons guys always fight the attraction in these types of books. He doesn’t want to sully her with his darkness, etc. etc. etc.

Liss, of course, ends up being the one to push the issue of their attraction to the forefront. And then, shocker, the only human person involved in supernatural insanity gets hurt by some supernatural bad guys. This forces Zavier to break some rules to save the woman he denies loving. This continues, but it gets even more twisty-turny, with new powers emerging, lots of creatures I’ve never heard of, Atlantis, some old mentor showing back up, an angel with a broken wing, demons, and all of the other things you can think of. The showdown is epic, but we still get our beloved HEA.

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Black Soul, White Heart

Black Soul, White Heart by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I blindly followed the order of reading that Audible set in front of me, and it said I had to read this before book 4 in the series, so in I went! I don’t actually think I needed to do that, and this can likely be read at any point, unless I’m missing something.

This short story gives us a glimpse into the unlikely courtship of Vonda and Hiram, Rue’s parents. Neither goes by the right name in the story, but it’s easier for me to use their real names for review. The previous book ends with Rue receiving a photo of her parents, so maybe that’s why I needed to read this right after? Either way, we dive right into Vonda’s mischievous life tempered by her required time spent working her parent’s apothecary-ish stall at the market. It’s there that she meets Hiram and their taboo love affair begins.

Her warg BFF supports her shenanigans, so is her partner in crime for most of this, as we learned in the previous books. While Vonda doesn’t know at the start that Hiram is dark/demon/whatevs, she knows he is not necessarily the “good” match her parents would expect. That doesn’t stop her and likely drew her closer to him at the start. By the time she finds out his secret, she is in too deep to give him up. It was AWESOME seeing her stand up for herself, her family, and who she loves. I love a good, strong, female lead, and after spending so much time with Rue it’s no surprise her mom was like that.

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Black Truth, White Lies

Black Truth, White Lies by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book, I think, is a turning point for Rue and Asa’s relationship. While Clay knows all her secrets (mostly) and Colby knows all the things (of course), in this book we see the trust hit the tipping point for Asa.

Poor Rue finally has her shop back and someone (or something) murders a reindeer at her town’s Christmas celebration. Ugh. This, though, does get us a new adoptee into the house of Rue and I think it’s worth it. So the Reindeer thing spirals into more weirdo aquatic fae and gets a sprinkle of aquatic fae family drama sprinkled on top. It’s Colby’s research, however, that ties all of this somehow to Rue’s family.

As if she needed more family drama, there are oodles of reveals at the end of this book, enough to keep this story going in all different directions! I like where we landed and while I’m a little sad these books are not yet smutty, I can understand that a demon/fae who has an invisible hand slicer-offer slicing hands off if anyone touches his hair, well, he might be less experienced in the romance department. I like this slow burn for them, and something about this very dark band of misfits manages to bring a smile to my face.

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Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir

Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir by Wil Wheaton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think this lands somewhere between 2 and 3 stars for me, sadly. I really like Wil Wheaton and love his narration in other audiobooks. I also *LOVE* Star Trek and all things geekdom so I thought this was going to be a real winner. Did I think it would get dark because of his childhood? Yes, but I was prepared for that. We almost didn't finish this audiobook and that was while being trapped in a car for a long roadtrip. Maybe that was the issue? Maybe it could have been more enjoyable broken up over long periods of time, but I would not recommend doing it back-to-back for hours at a time.

So - what was great? The anecdotes and stories at the core were great to hear. I hadn’t heard a lot of Wil Wheaton’s history in Hollywood so I learned a lot. What distracted from those bright spots was I believe mostly due to the format. The original book is based on blog posts, then there is new content layered on. The original book has footnotes, then there are new footnotes layered on top of those. All of this is surrounded by a very repetitive apology narrative. I’m not saying there isn’t original content that doesn’t a warrant an apology, but it is near constant and takes you out of the already very confusing and hard to follow layers of content.

Am I saying to just go back to his original book? No, that’s probably not the right answer either. I guess I don’t know who the target audience is for this, because I thought it was me. Maybe audiobook was the wrong format? I’m not sure and sad to have not enjoyed this one.

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Samael

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

This is the start of a new series and I’m loving the unique world intro we got here!

Samael is a reaper, specifically the son of the grim reaper. He is probably a workaholic, but not in the reaper field. He seems to augment his reaper life by collecting real estate deals, playing the stock market, and appreciating women. After he plays a little too fast and loose with the rules, his dad “grounds him” by taking away his powers and sending him to a town called “Redemption” with little money or resources. It’s there that he meets Adrianne.

Adrianne is a great female lead - she’s got her own issues and baggage, yet she still stops to pick up a stranger on the side of the road in need of help. These two mange to somehow work through a few issues, begin a romance, and navigate small town gossip all in a short amount of time. I’m not gunna lie, I started the story not liking Samael one bit, but I trust this author and have never been let down before. The way he is able to protect Adrianne even when he knows he will be charged with taking her soul was something to behold. This story does involve stalking so if that’s an issue for a reader, that may be the only reason I’d say to stay away. Otherwise, buckle up because I’m sure this series will be a crazy ride!

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Dragon Marked

Dragon Marked by Donna Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fair warning - this world is gigantic and we are several books deep in this Zora spinoff, so if you aren’t familiar with this world, these characters, or the baggage we’ve accumulated along the way, you probably aren’t going to quite get the same thing out of this book as I did.

I’ve been along for this wild and crazy ride since the start, so I know all the players. This book is about Merrill and Katla. Merrill ran away on purpose (sort-of) from his fellow dragon kings to help process some of the anger and hatred he never got around to dealing with for… a lot of years post-human war. Now on Zora, he was given a unique opportunity to hide out with the enemy but ultimately join the gang again. Now lurking around a kingdom without a ruler, he finds himself taken by Katla.

Katla is also a bad guy turned good guy in this story. She was capturing and probably resulting in the horrible death of many many dragons over her countless years. Was she duped by the big bad? Yes. Does she maybe have special powers above-and-beyond standard Druid powers? Probably. Either way she is struggling with her guilt and on her path to redemption. She’s taken some of the kids that were supposed to be sacrificed and treated them like her own. When Merrill offers them sanctuary, she reluctantly agrees and then they set off on their very poorly planned attempt to track down the current big bad. As is the case with these books, we don’t see the big bad get theirs, but we do see a coupling between these two guilt-ridden folks and progress in the larger story. With a world containing so many active characters, you can’t accomplish everything at once!

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Wulf’s Pack

Wulf's Pack by Jackie May
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Whoops, I read this book without having read the two other series by this author. Looking back, I did pick up a few books in Nora’s story, but must’ve lost track and never come back. That being said, I was able to dive right in fine, so don’t let that scare you off!

Wulf (yes, his name is Wulf and he’s a werewolf, you get over it) is a flirty, eternally single lone wolf who is happy as a member of a clan, but without any pack of his own. His nature seems appeased by his situation until Skylar walks into his bar. There’s a rapid shift in instincts, leading to many shifts, a quickly growing pack of his own, and one scared woman who is suddenly his mate. Skylar has abilities that essentially tranq those around her if she’s not careful, so she’s obviously a great asset to any pack. Unfortunately her previous pack abused her and left her locked up for most of her life. This has led to a bit of a lack of experience and support that Wulf is eager to remedy.

There are a few side-quests here but it was a great and wild ride from start to finish. I was a little worried that the darkness of Skylar’s past would color the book as a whole, but somehow it channels more healing and family vibes than abuse and torture. There are definitely dark spots, but overall this reads as a good redemption and escape story. I’m not sure if this is a spinoff but I’d enjoy more in this universe. Perhaps I’ll go back and fill in the stories I missed along the way.

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Black Arts, White Craft

Black Arts, White Craft by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a crazy weird premise but I am loving this random group of paranormals and their insanity.

As book 2, we are diving right in where we left our band of misfits. Rue’s life has sort-of been blown up since her shop was destroyed. She has been left with some traumatized friends/employees and a town rallying behind her for the most part. Her cover for helping out the Black Hat Bureau is that she’s leveraging her experience with her “ex” as a way to help consult on other abuse cases. Oh, and Rue is also dealing with an irritating hair bracelet (gross, right? Yet somehow not) and cupcake deliveries as she is being courted in the weirdest way possible by Asa. While they navigate their very very slow burn relationship, Clay and Colby are just instant BFFs.

This book revolves around what seems to be a new case but is actually a continuation of Rue’s weird starter case from last book. Stress on the “book” part of that. There’s wendigos and zombies and death and secrets but it is all rolled together in a fun and exciting glimpse into a recovering black witch’s struggle to stay good. I am loving this female main character that’s a recovering heart eater. I can honestly say that I’ve never read a series like this and probably never will. For that alone, it’s worth a read.

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Black Hat, White Witch (Black Hat Bureau Book 1)

Black Hat, White Witch by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What an interesting new world and wonderful set of characters to meet! This wasn’t your average procedural, nor was it a straightforward paranormal romance. While I hope we get there, it was a nice blend of world building and something new.

Rue “escaped” from the Black Hat Bureau after the traumatic events of a case she was working on. Assumed dead (since that’s your typical exit strategy from that organization filled with blackmail and questionable moral character), she has embraced her new life trying to convert from a black witch to a white witch. She also has a “kid” in the form of a rescued 10-year-old-not-aging soul from said traumatic serial killer case. Just as she is fully settled into her new life, her old partner and a new hottie show up to mess up her life.

A copycat for the serial killer they destroyed is surfacing, luring Rue out of hiding and back into Black Hat. It doesn’t hurt that she is also fascinated by the aforementioned hottie, despite his half-fae half-demon heritage. While we are still learning about Rue’s backstory, it was really interesting to watch her grow and navigate what would have been a minefield of temptation 10 years prior. I didn’t think I’d enjoy reading about someone tempted by eating hearts, but here we are. While we do wrap up the case in this book, the larger storyline is certainly still filled with surprises for us in the future books. I am usually one who needs romance thrown in, and while it is present in small doses here, this is (I guess) a slow burn.

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The Marionettes

The Marionettes by Katie Wismer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book! As the first in a series, it gave me all the things I wanted - dove into the world and let me figure stuff out as I went, introduced a lot of characters without giving me too much information to judge them, took me along on a twisty turny path of story, and I am left dying for the next book. OK, that last part I could do without having as a cliffhanger, but you are forgiven.

We are dropped into Valerie’s head on a supernatural campus as she is gearing up for her initiation into “The Marionettes.” She’s a blood witch, which is super rare, so she should have an easy time passing, except her powers have been acting funky. In true teenage style, she keeps this hidden, trying to deal with it on her own. This is reinforced when right off the bat she finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, sending her into a tailspin. Oh, and her mom is apparently an evil right-hand-lady to the vampire ruler of their area. If I understand correctly, supernaturals are “out” in this world, and rule their areas with different degrees of harshness. Witches mostly serve these vampires in various capacities, but humans are mostly food.

Valerie’s friends are great, though, so there is at least some bright spots in her life. If only she would confide in them more. The secrecy of the initiation testing leads to even more secrets and now folks are showing up attacked or murdered, which puts an ominous pall over the entire campus. Her unlikely ally in initiations ends up being the “prince” of the vampires. Things go all sorts of wrong there, too, but it’s too early in their story arc to understand where it will go. No big romance fireworks in this book, so I assume we will get there in future installments. With a hard cliffhanger at the end here, I am eager to start book 2!

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Over the Moon

Over the Moon by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m still a little blown away that so many things ended up getting wrapped up in this single book. We start where we left off and things go WAY off course quickly, leaving even more loose ends than they started with.

Dell did her job and somehow navigated fae politics to get help in the war, and the inklings of a plan. Then faerie and earth end up mushing together in a very bad way, putting that on her already long list of to-do’s. In this post-apocalyptic world, they need to rescue Isaac’s brother, protect the supposedly future king of faerie, make sure their backup is actually on their side, not get ensnared by the fae now occupying earth, and probably a thousand other things. Oh, and there’s the whole pack/mate/future of the world stuff, too.

I had a lot of fun in this last installment, feeling like the time in faerie did end up contributing to their ultimate ending. We get oodles of shifting, danger, familiar faces, some true stakes, and what is maybe the best outcome we could hope for here. Is everything completely wrapped up? No - we don’t really know how humans are going to keep on going, but the paranormals are mostly complete. I will say that I finished this book hoping Theo had a spinoff book in the works but sadly that looks like it was abandoned. The start of it is in the epilogues but we are left incomplete there. I wish this world continued!

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Wolf at the Door

Wolf at the Door by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am still struggling with Isaac, but LOVE Dell in this series. They gave her so much more depth of character. This is the “roadtrip” book, where they pick up a few characters, throw them outside the supporting cast and have us learn all about a new place at the same time.

When last we left Dell, she was in trouble. They ended up throwing her in supernatural prison which, obviously, is not great for a pack animal. This happen quickly at the start, somehow everyone is convinced breaking her out of jail is a good thing, and that they should trust a fae king, and that we’re all good with Isaac being able to shift to cover for Dell, and … a million other probably bad decisions, but made sense at the time. This puts Dell and her love triangle/ex-love triangle together in faerie, trying to… gosh I kind of forget. Oh! It has something to do with them needing their teenage winged friend back to be the person they are rooting to become king? It gets really complicated in the machinations and motivations in this book.

The love story, if we can call it that, does make a lot of progress. By progress I mean that they say I love you which… do they even know each other well? Sure they’ve been in life threatening situations but it feels like a fated mates quick type of love. I guess I’m on board, but can we please stop hurting Dell? She cares so much about so many people and I think she gets the short end of the stick most times. I can see the character growth from her, and it was definitely a wild ride in this book, but book 3 can’t come quick enough.

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Dining with Angels: Bits & Bites from the Demonica Universe

Dining with Angels: Bits & Bites from the Demonica Universe by Larissa Ione
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Is this required reading for the Demonica series? No. Did I need to read this because I like to be thorough? Yes. It was a very quick read, especially if you are not actively creating all the recipes in the book. I hesitate to call this a short story anthology because some of them are really just scenes strung together in the same time period of a few days.

I’m not going to go into full breakdown because that would essentially recreate this quick book, but if you’re looking to “check in” with any of your favorites from the series, this is your chance. You see all the familiar faces, or at least learn more about what they’ve been up to. Some have smutty goodness, some are just romance, some are just conversations. Overall, it left me feeling like the series is wrapped up tight (even though I know it continues on, these characters I classify firmly in HEA territory). You obviously should not pick this up unless you’ve read the series and/or if you are an avid recipe enthusiast. Since I read this on kindle I’m not sure how easily I will be able to grab recipes out of this, but it is a fun concept.

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The Witch of Wall Street

The Witch of Wall Street by M.J. Etkind
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book had a really unique spin on your typical witchy romance. In this world, magic is real but hidden, and Miriam and Nelson both have their own magical baggage to address before we get to a happy-ish ending.

Miriam is a workaholic with chaos magic. She has worked her whole life to contain this side of her, only letting it out during her nightly broomstick rides or when it bubbles up uncontrollably. Her childhood was spent embarrassed of her obviously chaotic magic, even overshadowing the childhood friendship (or attempted friendship) of Nelson. Nelson inherited a bit of a more beneficial magic that can give him or those around him a dose of lucky benefits. This drove Miriam to be jealous and that particular resentment colored her memory of the past until they re-meet as adults.

Nelson, still a very positive person, is now leading a charity that finds homes and jobs for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to find them. Miriam’s firm, on the other hand, is secretly trying to steal the deal for new housing out from under said charity. It’s all hush hush so this puts Miriam in a bit of an awkward position when she find herself attracted to and then spending the night with her ex-arch nemesis.

This is a fade to black type romance, which didn’t bother me so much because there is A LOT they end up needing to address on their magical adventure. Oh, and they are on a magical adventure because Nelson’s magic teleporty thing and Miriam’s broomstick run away. It’s a magic thing, apparently, but ends up forcing a lot of overdue conversations, reconnections, and the Nelson/Miriam one night stand grows to multiple nights/days/weekends. Miriam also is forced to re-asses her career and what she wants to do with her life. It was definitely a journey, but ends up mostly wrapped up in a neat bow by the finish.

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Hidden

Hidden by Melody Grace Hicks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is likely somewhere around a 3.5 for me. It is a big, bold introduction to a world that combines modern times with mythology in a fun, unique way. There’s all manner of mythological being thrown in that had me searching my brain for my college classes on gods and goddesses.

Shannon is a woman who is passionate about her career. She has just somewhat recently escaped from an abusive relationship and is eager to get away to an international conference. On the plane she meets a famous lead singer and they hit it off in very sexy ways. It turns out that this lead singer is actually Loki in a disguise and he is absolutely smitten with Shannon. He, of course, reveals this is in the worst possible way, resulting in oodles of misunderstandings, fear, and some god-like revelations. This whole plot line would be enough for a single book, but this one doesn’t even begin to stop there!

Shannon needs to learn to live with one foot in the human world and one in the world of the gods. Loki, for his own part, is starting to regret all his childish decisions to upset or create enemies of other god-like beings, which ends up putting a big target on the back of anyone he shacks up with. There’s grudges, revenge plots, family lineage reveals, bad best friends, even worse sisters, dragon beings, babies, and kidnapping to round this big introductory book out. By the end I was hoping Shannon would be able to just take a breather, but we end on a cliffhanger, unsure where her life will end up!

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Promise the Moon

Promise the Moon by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

OK, it’s totally on me that I didn’t realize this was not going to be Cam narrating anymore. I blindly added the entire “Gemini” series on my phone and have been plowing my way through them. After the third book in the series and then the short story that bridges, I was shocked to find us in Dell’s head.

Maybe with more warning I could have been prepared, but this Dell seems very different from the fun and quirky girl we met with Cam. Dell fought to become beta of the Lorimar pack and found herself in a one-sided relationship with her mate, Isaac. Since the narrator at the time didn't know much about their relationship, it is a little hard to start this book understanding the heartbreak Dell went through. Without the backstory or all the details, this first book in the series had a bigger hill to climb than the other books so far. Isaac left, so what? Convince me why they are this wonderful love story. At the start, we know more about her witch friend who still pursues her than Isaac.

What I really liked about this book was Dell’s friends. I could take or leave the love triangle dudes, but want to see more of Dell leading, having supportive friends, eating cupcakes, etc. Even when Isaac does show up, I am still not getting the romance vibes at all. It’s like fated mates but without the love story at all. Weird. I’m forgiving it because I do really enjoy Dell and this story with all its weird fae was interesting.

The larger story (and better, really) was about how the pack is protecting the new entrance from faerie to Earth and hunting down whoever is stealing away folks in town. I liked watching Dell find her footing with the accidental alpha position she’s got here while her true alphas are off trying to solve big fae stuff. While we do get another cliffhanger, it wasn’t as much painful as it was out of left field. This author has a thing for stopping the story mid-stride, so I am somewhat used to it.

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Fish out of Water

Fish Out of Water by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m doing my best to read all the Gemini stories, so of course I dove into this one (pun intended) to see what on earth happened to Harlow!

I’ve got to admit, I wasn’t even sure I liked Harlow, so this could have been a very long read if being in her head was terrible. We met her briefly, through Cam, then she’s taken, and at that point I hadn’t quite formed an opinion on her character other than “needs to be rescued.” So now that she’s been saved, she obviously has some baggage to work through, which is why she’s in the paranormal mental institution.

Turns out, I like Harlow. She’s tough and determined to do what’s right when she ends up stumbling upon a body in the middle of the night. She’s got help, too, in the form of Carter, the guy who can magically whammy women (who we met when Cam visited). I absolutely LOVED that these two misfits ended up forming a bond, despite their best intentions. I also really enjoyed having some resolution on not only for Harlow but Bianca too. Turns out, the mental institution is the place for epilogue stories. The murder get solved and I think we are well on our way to a much deserved HEA for Harlow.

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A Very Fairy Funeral

A Very Fairy Funeral by A.N. Sage
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What an adorable start to a cute paranormal mystery series! We’ve got all manner of supernatural jammed into this small town, all doing their best to navigate human life.

Lyra is a fairy who escaped a forced marriage by fleeing to the human world. She’s developed a career as a funeral director in a creepy old house, complete with her snarky cat/changeling companion. When an unclaimed/unidentified body shows up at her door, she can’t resist the mystery of it all. Following a random visitor ends up introducing her to the “grim wardens” who are a group of funeral directors or mortuary workers who investigate mysteries that nobody wants to take on.

While Lyra is usually a loner in the human world, she finds herself falling quickly for this group of misfits and the mystery they offer. It doesn’t hurt that Finn, her mysterious visitor, is an attractive member of this group. I loved meeting all these characters and coming along on their journey, solving a case that would likely not have been dealt with had they not taken it upon themselves to work for the deceased.

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Blood Skye

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

These books are definitely building toward the big showdown, but this book in particular felt a bit more like a small piece of the puzzle to that end.

Carlyle is the Knight who has gone off to try to rescue his father from the evil London group. He has done is best to not risk anyone else on his mission, but ends up with the most unlikely of allies in his fight. Devon (aka “Song”), the woman who delivered the news about his father, ends up under attack when Carlyle approaches her, and they end up on the run together. Reluctant allies, as usual, end up more than friends, but it is a very very slow burn there. They build more trust and friendship along their journey, finding out they share similarities in their situations.

As I mentioned at the start, I feel like we don’t really get true resolution in this one. For a relationship, sure, but anything else? Nope. Song may end up being a powerful ally in their bigger fight, but all the chess pieces are still in play and nobody has been eliminated in this particular installment. If anything, they have introduced more characters that may or may not be new enemies in this fight.

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Cursed in Love

Cursed in Love by Emily Colin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved EVERYTHING about this paranormal romance. It had an adorable meeting, friends turned lovers, oodles of rich townsfolk character development, and so much more!

Rune has been cursed to have premonitions of death that nobody will ever believe. This has led to many arrests, very few true friendships, and difficulties in life in general. She has somehow made it work, becoming a successful graphic designer who works from home (WFH because, ya know, the unplanned visions). It’s a small town, where everybody is in each other’s business, so it’s somewhat amazing that she’s doing so well here even after her turbulent childhood in foster care. Her boss throws a wrench in all this when he forces her to partner up, in office, with someone she has deemed “sex spreadsheet guy” for his uptight/antisocial personality. Her reluctance is proven correct when their first day working together involves a car crash, finding out Donovan (“sex spreadsheet guy”) has a brother who arrested her earlier that day, and then becoming the headline news of their town’s gossip page.

I loved the chaos vs order opposites attract vibe between these two, with or without paranormal elements at work. Said paranormal elements appear to be all over the place, hiding in plain sight in this small town. Did I mention how much I loved all of the characters we meet? Because they are all WONDERFUL! All of their genuine nature made the outlandish magic we interact with later in the story all the more believable. I won’t spoil the big bad or any twists and turns here, but Rune and Donovan certainly have to overcome some obstacles to find their HEA. Do we get more books in this universe? I hope so!

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My Funny Demon Valentine

My Funny Demon Valentine by Aurora Ascher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This first of what I assume is a several book long series does a great job world-building, introducing somehow “nice” demon “brothers,” and starting what is likely several fated mate stories with Eva & Ash.

Ash is a demon who has been cursed. He’s made some mistakes in the past, which sent this lust demon into invisible territory. Any women who may want him find him uninteresting or essentially not there, except for Eva. Eva spots Ash on a night when he and his brothers have escaped from hell and can’t seem to get him out of her thoughts. Ash, on the other hand, assumes she is just interested in his brothers, as usual. When a shootout/turned paranormal fight breaks out, Ash saves Eva but unfortunately exposes her to his world.

Eva, through some twist of fate, has been predisposed to weird beliefs by her atypical parents. This, plus her undeniable attraction to Ash puts here firmly in like with him, with or without a second form she may have seen. These two sizzle as they dance around trust issues and other baggage. This story definitely had me rooting for the bag guys, which is a fun and new way of framing a love story. I enjoyed the HEA standalone nature of the story, but also liked the additional characters introduced here (I assume they all get paired off in the future).

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Hell or High Water

Hell or High Water by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book definitely doesn’t feel like the end of this story (and it isn’t) but it is the end of the trilogy in Cam’s head. I know we are supposed to be rooting for the bad guy to get caught and killed here but this felt a little anticlimactic after all the twists and turns we’ve gone on in the larger story. That being said, we do get full resolution, even though I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I will obviously continue on in this world because - of course!

Cam and her mate have a lot of obstacles in their path. Support form the pack, the looming big bad, competition for her mate, and saving her lost friend, among other things. Oh, and we get an extra dose of surprise in the form of her missing family. Wow - that was a true shocker here. All of that ended up taking up the majority of the book, with the big bad angle getting only a smidgen of attention that felt almost rushed at the end. Also, we start to see the inklings of spinoff potential, and connection to a previous series I didn’t realize I should have read prior to this. This is a long way to say that as the final book in this trilogy, it probably has similar pacing to the other books, what with a not-quite-cliffhanger epilogue at the end. Was I satisfied? I guess. I still have so many questions!

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Secrets, Lies and Fireflies

Secrets, Lies and Fireflies by Angie Fox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a heartwarming book! This installment really pulled at my heartstrings from start to finish.

Verity and Lucy begin the book with a most important task - proving that skunks are just as good if not better than dogs. Things are looking up until they spot smoke coming from the town library where Verity’s sister is volunteering. That’s where this book’s mystery begins - with a body and potential arson. One unexpected bright spot in this craziness comes in the form of a new ghost - Verity’s grandmother! She is critical in getting Verity and her sister out of the flaming library, but also in identifying a clue to be used in this mystery.

There’s a bit of tension between Verity, Frankie and the new ghost in town, but all of that is almost to be expected in the Frankie/Verity dynamic. It doesn’t matter though, because everyone comes together (both living and dead) to crack the case and bring justice to the wronged. I love the insane yet somehow down to earth feel of these books, the characters, and the genuine relationships showcased within. I know we are supposed to root for Frankie eventually getting freed from Verity’s property but I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t know I could pick up another book about their antics.

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Head Above Water

Head Above Water by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of those books that is probably more filler than content, but it was definitely necessary after a bit of rushed relationship in the previous one. This book gives us a lot more of Cam’s family dynamic, more backstory on her powers, a lot more pack lore/beliefs, and some overdue courting between Graeson and Cam.

We join this story already in progress from the end of the last one. Graeson invited Cam’s family down to his pack land for a few reasons, but definitely under false pretenses. Cam begrudgingly follows and joins them all as they set up camp. The pack, however, is not as welcoming as maybe Graeson assumed. There are exceptions, of course, but ultimately they end up attacked and unwelcome from the moment they “trespass.”

I reluctantly became more and more onboard with Graeson, despite his questionable understanding of consent. He tells Cam almost nothing and expects her to be the docile little flower he imagines, only to be shocked that she can defend herself. This whole book ends up being about their budding relationship and trying to find their mermaid friend. The big bad in this book is still the same as book 1, but they do make some progress. As expected from all the other books from this author, we don’t get a concrete ending and even have cliffhanger-like situations presented.

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Malcolm

Malcolm by Margo Bond Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is the first in the spinoff series from the Moonstone pack books. I think you can start here, but you’ll certainly be missing the earlier story that led this pack into the current position it is in.

Larissa and Malcolm have been frenemies for their whole life. Larissa is the more studious, steady type of leader. Malcolm is the punch first, ask questions later type of leaders. At the start of this book it becomes clear that they both are interested in becoming alpha, once Nick steps aside. The background here is that the pack was previously led by an evil tyrant who Nick, upon returning to his original pack, took out with the help of the majority of the pack. The small group of dissenters left after being confronted with the previous alpha’s deeds, were either killed or ran away. It’s the duo of runaways that ends up pushing the pack into even more turmoil.

While Larissa and Malcolm battle it out for the alpha position, the returning dissenters begin planting seeds of discontent amongst the pack members. All of this comes to a head just when Larissa and Malcolm come to the conclusion that they are better together than apart. This book had some action, some fated mates romance, and ended up taking longer for the main characters to realize things than the reader. This was a quick read, making for a fun installment to join this pack with.

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Dead in the Water

Dead in the Water by Hailey Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is part of a spinoff? Oops. I randomly chose the first book in another series by an author I have enjoyed and here we are.

Cam is a member of what amounts to the fae FBI, investigating big bads with her special Gemini gifts. What’s a Gemini? Well they are traditionally loners and wanderers who can borrow the powers of others they “sample” and are always twins. What makes Cam especially broken and more easily manipulated is that she lost her sister at a young age due to a water related incident. It’s this combination that put her on the path of a water related killer fae.

On one murder scene, she meets up with a mermaid and a shifter. Said mermaid ends up becoming a friend to Cam, almost accidentally. The shifter, Graeson, ends up a mix of stalker/love interest/manipulator, all in the name of finding his sister’s killer. I was not and am still not really on team Graeson because he seems a little too comfortable with questionable consent. We do, however meet someone I think I might like more through Graeson, so that redeems him a teeny bit.

The mystery in this one is sort of resolved at the end - we manage one threat but the bigger one is still out there. The ending is also a bit of a cliffhanger, which is frustrating, but this author seems to go for the “to be continued” angle, stopping books wherever. Having been prepared for this, I immediately plan on diving into the next book.

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Never Been Witched

Never Been Witched by Molly Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I kind of wasn’t expecting the series to end so quickly, but I guess this is the “end” (although it certainly feels like only a midway point based on the epilogue).

Alice has been the quiet, conservative part of the witchy group up until now. Right out of the gate we learn a gross thing that she’s been hiding from her friends for some weirdo reason. Oh, and she gets to meet Collin, the new owner of the hotel down the street. They are both flawed characters and it was a teensy bit frustrating watching them both get steamrolled by people that are supposed to be friends/family. The larger storyline of the locks does get wrapped up here in a truly bizarre twist, but don’t worry - we still have the house and some haunting guests at the end.

So, back to the romance - Alice and Collin are a good match in their timid natures, but it is kind of hard to find other good interactions, especially once Collin’s ex shows up. Perhaps there was too much fast forwarding in their shopping trips to truly appreciate the building bond, but I found that a little lacking here. There was a bit of insta-forgive, too, which frustrated the feminist in me. While I’m glad we get matches for all the coven girls, this one was not super satisfying. I was more interested in the youngest coven members, and that says a lot. I definitely ended this series more interested than when we started, but it may have peaked at book 2. Will I still read another book by Molly Harper - you betcha!

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Cursed

Cursed by Gina LaManna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very quick and easy read, told from Alessia’s perspective, as she navigates a brand new fantasy world.

Alessia is part of a wealthy family, paired off with a soon-to-be husband who controls anything her parents don’t, and she’s completely unhappy. While wishing to escape her over-the-top wedding, a mystery person shows up. Silas is the mystery man, and he transports her to a magical island. It’s on this island that Alessia learns about her true nature and discovers her calling. The romance between these two feels more like fated mates due to how quickly things progress, but it wasn’t too fast for me personally.

Their love story is a bit of a secondary tale to what truly needs Alessia’s attention - the curse that has descended upon the island. A magical curse has begun to take down the many varied paranormal inhabitants. Lucky for them all, not only is Alessia a trained doctor, but she also has some magical abilities that you can quickly figure out the source of. Couple this with Silas and the rest of the island’s support, and you get a rather quick resolution to what could have been a world-ending plague. I see this is listed as book#1 so I assume we get more adventures for this world and if they are all as quick and satisfying as this one, I will eagerly sign up!

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The Twice-Sold Soul

The Twice-Sold Soul by Katie Hallahan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was definitely something different than my usual read. Sure, it’s in the paranormal romance genre, but it is told in a sort of “joining a story already in progress” sort of way that had me on my toes.

We join McKenna years after a very big event that left her on the run, blocking her magic, and essentially playing martyr. You know how we usually have to deal with someone making that martyr decision (e.g., to protect everyone I need to run away without a word!) - well in this book, that decision and events leading up to it have already happened, and now we get to dive right into the ramifications. It’s bad - as expected. McKenna’s ex ends up finding her and trading back a favor to get her back home.

Can we pause a moment to celebrate the truly gender bending demon, Remi. It’s weird and awesome and something complete new, which I love. Does Remi do demon-like things? Uh, yeah, she’s a demon (using she as that is the most common form), but I found myself somehow excited about these two potentially hooking back up, during a high school reunion of all places. We get to meet all the people who used to be McKenna’s close friends in a way that had me more interested than maybe I would have been had we gone through a book 0.5 to set this one up. The big magical story here is about this magical town’s defenses failing and the truth about McKenna’s big traumatic event coming to light.

As an introductory book, this checked all the boxes. We met a wealth of characters, all of which felt big enough to dig into for future installments. We have a complex magical system with all the paranormals you’d expect and then some. You’ve got family drama, owed favors, loose ends, and demonic hierarchies all ready to fill many more installments. While this book started a little slow and strange, by the end I was all in.

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Intense Feelings

Intense Feelings by Nomi Palmer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was definitely a departure from your average read. If you could somehow encapsulate a soap opera in a paranormal romance book, this is what you’d get. It is high drama, so much pairing/unpairing up, mystery, twists, turns, and contains oodles of POV swaps. If you would rather not be in each and every character’s head, this is not the book for you.

I don’t think I can even give a good overview because there is just SO MUCH going on in this story. There are two warring families who have bad blood between them, but still are in the same rich person social circle. A lot of dark and tragic things happen that give their feud a little reprieve but it is all stirred up again when an estranged family member returns, hellbent on revenge. It’s this revenge that lures in some big supernatural bads (with some good paranormals too). We’ve got vampires, witches, demons, and so much more I’m sure. I don’t think there was one romantic storyline that outshined the others, but they all had a definite tragic edge. I can’t believe this book has a sequel because I’m not even sure where they can go from here. So much jammed into one book!

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A Bloom In Winter

A Bloom in Winter by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I quit the prison camp series, so I think that I am missing a lot of the backstory here, but was able to dive in with this story of Callum and Apex, among other folks.

While this book gets a 0.5 designation in the overall series numbering, I don’t see this as a short story at all. This is a full length story, complete with many parallel storylines. I think the main story is supposed to be Callum and Apex, but they were definitely overshadowed by the plot line of building animosity against the king, a budding romance between a disowned daughter and a reckless misfit, and even the butler’s guest appearance.

Callum and Apex apparently have a broken past, involving sexual abuse (warning - this book is DARK), and Callum ran away from Apex rather than facing his potential future. They end up “accidentally” running into one another while stranded in a blizzard but it goes much less sexily than you’d want it to. Their romance was very… painful. A lot of hurt feelings, misunderstandings, emotional baggage and all from a romance that maybe never was? Like I said, the Mayhem (probably spelled not like that - I audiobooked) storyline was much more engaging. I was rooting for those two from the start! We do get some good HEA to make the darkness more palatable, but this was a sad romance, so be prepared.

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The Beloved

The Beloved by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ugh, this one is a reluctant four stars, but it kind of hurt. This is where not reading blurbs and instead just downloading the next in a series bites me. I was unprepared for the time hop that we get here and that we would need to spend more time with Nate in his dark, dark world.

This story is kind of like the turning of a page. Could the series have ended with the “death” of the king and started a whole new world with just the next generation? Sure - but as is the common complaint I have of these books, we need at least 5 or 6 parallel stories to tell in a book to make it into the BDB world. In this book we have Nalla, her family, her job, her friends, etc. Then we’ve got Nate, who is just… terrible. Unlikeable and a real struggle to see as a romantic interest for anyone ever. Then we also have the return of the king (ha!) and what all of that means. Then there’s still the lessening war and all the bad guy POV that comes along with it. Side story/teaser for next book also delivers the king’s son and Bitty. Oh and a new adopted kid of the BDB via the tech sector. I’m probably leaving something out.

These books are a tangled mess, but somehow I can’t quit them! There are definitely elements I enjoy, hence the rating, but Nate was pretty painful. I guess he came out as intended, since he is like what you’d get with an angsty teen who can’t get killed. I just kind of wanted something better for Nalla, who already had the burden of being one of the elder second generation. I liked how she stood up for herself, but the HEA is a little underwhelming. Maybe we get to revisit that? Probably not. I was way more interested in the king element and am just tired of the never ending war. I guess we will see where the series takes us with the new generation, but at some point we need to stop adding characters just to complicate the plot.

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The Bloody Ruin Asylum & Taproom

The Bloody Ruin Asylum & Taproom by Seana Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gosh, this book was loads of dark, fun, romantic awesomeness. Sam and Clive are just great together and constantly challenge my expectations for what mess they can get into.

This book is all about “the guild,” a super secret group of vampires that essentially polices the nocturnes. It’s invite only, and Clive just so happens to get on the short list of potential candidates. As a supportive wife, Sam comes along to what she only later finds out is a renovated asylum which is lousy with ghosts and general bad juju. Right from the start, things do not go as planned and it is clear there is something going on that is affecting the attendees.

Sam, of course, meets the local werewolves in the worst way possible and ends up making frenemies. It’s through this relationship that we learn some of the local lore that could potentially explain some of the awful things Sam has witnessed both in real life and from the ghosts. Oh, and did I mention Vlad is real in this world and we meet him? Of course he is a part of the guild and he ends up joining our band of good guys to do… a lot of things that I won’t spoil. Don’t worry, though, because even though Sam makes gigantic messes everywhere she goes, thing usually end up better because of it.

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The Nocturne’s Gatekeeper

The Nocturne’s Gatekeeper by Seana Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a wonderful surprise this short story was! As someone who reads any and all offshoots of a main series, I knew I had to pick this up before the next Sam Quinn book. I don’t think it is necessarily required reading, but it gives such wonderful insights into what’s going on at the Nocturne now that Sam & Clive are out living another life.

The Nocturne is now run by Russell, with the help of Audrey and Godfrey. Audrey is the narrator of the story and it goes through a somewhat normal night for the crew. They are interviewing for new housemates, troubleshooting supernatural issues, and rescuing kittens (for real). We truly get to see Audrey as she is now, in a rather satisfying way. When we first met her, she was timid, having been under a serious compulsion for far too long to have lots of herself left. She’s since become a force in the Nocturne and I’m glad we get to see Russell appreciate that in all the best ways.

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Grim and Bear It

Grim and Bear It by Juliette Cross
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh my gosh, I am so sad to let this series end. This is a very well-deserved HEA ending, but stillllllll - I want more of this bunch!

Clara and Henry have been secretly crushing on one another for a long time. Henry is the #1 anonymous fan of Clara’s book blog and she uses this newly gained knowledge to finally approach him with an invite to her book club. Of course, her invite implies a lot more, but a girl’s gotta start somewhere. Henry is already head-over-heels in love with Clara by the time they actually end up hooking up/falling into a relationship so it reads a little like a fated mates romance.

This story has romance, mystery, betrayal, family, love, babies, and happy endings for all involved. I would 100% recommend starting from book#1 and taking the leisurely journey through this wonderful world that the author has built. I will miss these characters so much, but had a great time watching them meet their matches.

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The Uncrowned King

The Uncrowned King by Donna Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I shouldn’t have to say this, but as book#2 in a duology, you should reach book 1 before this one. I read these books back-to-back and it was a pretty satisfying way to consume them. If you had to wait for this one, I’m sorry. That cliffhanger!

We join Kora who is desperate to save Derek from his potential brain-wiping fate at the hands of the woman she helped free. She ends up teaming up with dragons and their mates, finding a mutual enemy as the reason she is able to overcome years of hatred against dragonkind. We get to spend some time with familiar faces if you are aware of the larger universe of these stories. They help Kora settle in and ultimately hunt for her mate.

Derek is not so lucky. He has to try to stitch his memory back together from pieces and what the big bad tells him. He is, thankfully, skeptical, and ends up challenging the mission he is put on. This doesn’t stop the big showdown, though, but in a good way. Everyone eventually ends up in the same place, fighting it out, and we even get a grand wedding! This book was a rollercoaster that had me equal parts cringing at what Derek does and rooting for team “good dragons.” While I think you need to have read at least a few books in this world to truly appreciate the big plot work done, these two books, when read together, give a very satisfying conclusion.

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The Bastard King

The Bastard King by Donna Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ve got a few warnings before I dive into the review. First, this book ends in a cliffhanger that caught me by surprise even though this is a “duology.” If that is not your jam, I understand, and figured a heads up would be appreciated. Second, I am well versed in the Donna Grant world of dragon kings and their related politics/supernatural drama. I mention this because I am not quite sure you could start your journey in this world with this book series. There have been a lot of preliminary skirmishes and buildup to this big showdown that you may not fully understand or appreciate without having at least gotten a taste of this world from one or more previous books.

Now on to Derek and Kora’s story (or the start of it at least)! Kora is a woman alone in the world on a world similar to ours, but in another realm. It is a bit “old timey” in that they don’t have much technology and hot water is a luxury still. The word tunic is thrown around a lot. In this world, dragons are real and are to be avoided at all costs. The humans are slowly being either captured or lured into a city that has a very extreme class system. There is a mysterious ruler nobody has seen and the religion revolves around killing anyone with magic. Oh, and nobody can have kids for some reason, but they magically show up. This is all “normal” and Kora has reached the point where she is ready to put an end to it all.

Kora has a vendetta against the ruler, who is a “star person,” which essentially means a god. They have magic and can only be taken down by one other supernatural thing - a hellhound. Lucky for Kora, she is one and may be the only remaining one because dragons have destroyed her entire race. She hides this and lives a solitary life until she comes upon Derek. Derek is secretly his own type of supernatural, a dragon. Since he can take human form, he can conceal that secret from Kora when they meet. They both have oodles of secrets but manage to find a relationship together, even though it starts as purely physical.

These two go on an adventure that ends up putting them directly in the plot line of dragon kings books. Kora is determined to get revenge, Derek is conflicted because he works for the woman Kora has sworn revenge upon, and all of this ends up coming to a head at the end when some mistakes are made. With so much turmoil, I couldn’t resist and dove right into book 2 at the end, so the cliffhanger did not impact me too badly.



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