After Midnight

After Midnight by Donna Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was so happy when we got to the Sabryn/Saber(Kurt) book! Sabryn has been the steadfast leader of the Knights, always putting everyone else before herself and Kurt has been much the same. These two are a great match and we also finally get to learn what wounded her so badly.

When we last saw Kurt he was extremely sleep deprived and on the run. When he sees that his brother is the one chasing him, he makes the decision we all hoped for - he heads to Skye. With his brother in pursuit, he assumes his mother has ordered him to bring him back to the fold. When he arrives on the doorstep of the manor, he is obviously not so easily welcomed. It’s through this that we learn about how deeply he wounded Sabryn.

Aside from this storyline, we’ve got a lot of evil still roaming around the isle. With Kurt’s brother about, we find out that we still have the presumed dead sister of our crew mucking about. Also, that weird world that is haunting several members of the team is still up to no good, trying to push into this world. We’ve got attacks on almost all fronts now, stretching even the most powerful of their group to their breaking points. We get some resolution in this book, but don’t hope for all the loose ends to be tied up here. There are pieces still moving around into position, but I can’t even begin to guess how this newly minted fully in-person group of Knights will be challenged next.

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Shift of Morals

Shift of Morals by S.E. Babin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oops, I didn’t read book 1 before starting here. I was able to catch up quickly, though, so no worries other than it sounds like book 1 was A LOT.

We join Evie, florist, flower witch, and secretly infected with evil shifter-ness - oh and she’s also the daughter of some big muckidy muck in the gods universe (which is a thing we interact with, just like shifters, in the real world here). I get the feeling Evie would be happy just being a florist, working with her band of misfits at the shop, but instead she ends up caught up in some sort of scheme involving evil in a wedding bouquet. Also, the shifter lord of the area is getting married and it isn’t to her, no matter how much the pages light on fire when they’re near one another.

In shifter drama news, the lords are forcing this marriage, so there may be hope for Evie yet - especially because she’s working close, having been in hired for the flowers. With gods interfering, some evil dude kidnapping folks and killing others knocking on Evie’s door, she’s certainly got enough problems to contend with. All that being said - I’m still rooting for her love life to take a good swing in the next book.

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Love at First Fright

Love At First Fright by Nadia El-Fassi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book had me feeling all the feels - happiness, sadness, fear, love and so many more! For a paranormal romance with sizzle, it really went to places I didn’t expect.

Rosemary is a highly regarded horror writer and one of her books has been picked up to be made into a movie. Oh, and she can see ghosts. She should be on cloud nine about the movie, right? Instead she is thoroughly upset that the lead has been cast as Ellis - an action movie star lacking the physique she imagined for her character. Having already complained to the studio and anyone who will listen, she packs up her belongings to be on set for the shooting nonetheless.

These two begin as enemies, for sure, but there is also a spark. From that spark, they are able to find common ground and she is even willing to admit that he obviously wants this part. For Ellis, he is so used to hiding that he takes this advantage - starting a more serious career (and potentially dating for real, not for show). The chemistry is great and dirty and unexpected. Oh, and the ghosts are great characters, too. I cried a few times over various ghosts, and yet somehow that works for this type of romance. Thanks for giving me all the feelings!

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Head Witch In Charge

Head Witch in Charge by Avery Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a bit of a different installment than the first, so much so that I had to refresh my memory on the events of book 1 to make sure I was on the right series. That’s all good, though, because this felt fresh and unique - making me love this series even more!

We join Leona earlier than the event of the previous book, where she is simply crushed under the weight of expectations from being the family’s heir. She knows she’s got to choose a husband from her mother’s list of candidates, but also secretly longs for freedom and even to be bad every now and then. On a girl’s trip, she tries to hide her identity so she can cut loose before needing to be “perfect” again. A random stranger ends up encouraging this wild side of her and they get fake married, too!

Unfortunately for Leona, the “random stranger” was actually Erik, the head of a despicable family, and definitely not on her mom’s candidate list. They endeavor to keep the marriage secret until Leona can convince Erik to undo it, magically. Erik, however, is desperate to protect his siblings from his father and take the magic from him. Leona is critical to this plot, so he is definitely in no rush to get their marriage undone. He just needs it to last as long as their impromptu road trip.

That road trip was so much fun. It was filled with mayhem, smutty goodness, and even a true romantic ending. If these books keep getting better and better, I’m excited for what comes next.

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Our Iceberg is Melting

Our Iceberg Is Melting by John P. Kotter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Like anyone who works in industry, I’ve definitely heard of this book before. I’m change management certified, but still very much enjoyed the fun, engaging way that the author tells the change story through a different lens. I don’t think I need to go into details here for my review, other than to say that this is very easily consumable but fun, if you’re looking for a way to engage your creative brain while connecting the dots. Quick, applicable, and still relevant - this book should be required reading.

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Dire Bound

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

Gah - this book was great but also frustrating. Are there a lot of tropes (like “oops, there’s only one bed available at the inn” and “ooh that bad boy hates me and we definitely won’t have a sizzling attraction”), but somehow managed to subvert them in little ways that had me forgiving the author. Since I’m not usually a historical paranormal reader, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect here but, wow, this was a good way to get me hooked on a new series, antiquated technology or not!

Meryn is a woman who will do anything for her family. She dropped out of school and became a street fighter for money to make sure her mom gets medication and her sister can attend a good school. In this world, vampires are the bad guys and the ruling kingdom employs dire wolf-bound warriors to lead the fight against them, keeping them out of the city. This somehow excludes the kidnappers who steal children from their beds at night. When this happens to Meryn’s sister, not even her handsome boyfriend can convince her to not sign up to take up the fight and join the war.

The path to join ends up coming with a surprise bonding opportunity with some unbonded dire wolves. This, of course, leads to a lot of twists and turns in the intended path Meryn wants to take to get her sister back. I’m not going to spoil anything but there is a TON of world building that happens here. There are a lot of different classes all her fellow chosen recruits end up in, each special in their own way. There is also a lot of betrayal. Layers and layers of it, but not necessarily in the way I expected.

This book was filled with all the good stuff - a rich world that includes so many interesting characters to learn about, customs to see, fights to be had - and it also left us with so many unanswered questions. It is a sort-of cliffhanger scenario at the end, but I can once again forgive this sort of reveal because it makes me want book 2 even more!

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