The Viper’s Nest Roadhouse & Cafe

The Viper’s Nest Roadhouse & Cafe by Seana Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I will continue to read these books until there are no more in the series. The world and its characters are so fun that I couldn’t stop reading this one (just like the rest!).

This book finally gets to address the business with Clive’s maker, Garyn. We knew she was skulking around and that it would become a point in a future book, but this really spun up quick! They barely have time to visit their under construction “folly” before they are informed that Garyn is showing up for a visit. Should be easy, right? But nothing in Clive and Sam’s lives is ever easy. Turns out, Garyn is not just here for a nice check-in visit, but wants to turn this into an all out war.

How does it all go down? Well, I don’t want to spoil anything too big, but Gary’s powers end up surprising everyone involved. Sam, as usual, is forced to train some more and become an even bigger magical power by the end of all this. There’s lots of battles, powers, magic, mayhem, and alliances thrown into this one. After this fun romp, I’m somehow even more excited about the next book!

View all my reviews

Primal Possesion

Primal Possession by Katie Reus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oops, I dove into this series at book 2 instead of book 1. That being said, I don’t think it was too hard to catch up with all the previously introduced characters here.

We join December, an independent woman who owns her own book store and is determined not to get involved with a shifter, no matter how much he persists. Liam is not being too pushy (I don’t think) but he is definitely making it very clear that he wants to be with December, overbearing cop brother or not. What pushes them to take the leap? Well, there’s this anti-shifter group who will go to any length to make sure shifters don’t get accepted as “normal.” This leads them to attack December and her friend, leading to even more angry shifter males.

The romance here was pretty solid, and, yes, so was the smut. There’s clearly history I wasn’t aware of, but they do a good job catching you up along the way. The side story is about December’s friend and her shifter ex dancing around one another. Fair warning- this story does get pretty dark as far as kidnapping and torture, so if that type of thing bothers you, you’ll be skimming or avoiding certain chapters. I found this book to be a good blend of action and romance/smut.

View all my reviews

Wolf’s Bane

Wolf's Bane by Auryn Hadley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In my effort to not go over my allotted audible credits, I looked for a title that was included in my membership, but still in my preferred paranormal romance genre. I didn't even realize this was 1 of 3 in a trilogy, but that explains how this story wraps up now.

Elena is a woman who has realized she's got to get a divorce. After her daughter, Gabby, points out how Elena has been letting her husband treat her with no respect, she's motivated to take the next step. Lucky for her, her BFF, Ashley, happens to have an office opening in the very exclusive gated community she works at/lives in. Seems easy enough, other than uprooting her daughter and shaking up her "normal" life. Things get very complicated when we start throwing wolf shifters in the mix. Oh, and young, attractive, poly wolf shifters, too. This does a slow slide into reverse-harem territory since in this world, that's how wolf shifters operate.

Ian is the wolf shifter alpha and begins the story totally against having a human in their midst. In this world, wolf shifters are still hiding and he doesn't want to risk his pack because Ashley (his sister) wants her BFF living there. The fact that one of his betas, though, Lane, is fated to be with Elena, makes him rethink his options here. Honestly, for a reverse-harem, there is a surprisingly little amount of smut in this book. It is largely centered around Elena's uncertainties, Gabby's new life, and teenage angst. Oh, and can I also say that Elena's ex is the WORST. It was hard to hear about him and I'm not sure I'd sign up for more of him in the future books. While we end relatively resolved, there is definitely more to come for this newly formed family.

View all my reviews

Big Witch Energy

Big Witch Energy by Molly Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Molly Harper never disappoints and this story picked right up where book 1 left us. I'd recommend going back so you get the world building, with the promise of Caroline's book waiting for you here.

Caroline is one of the members of the newly formed coven on Starfall Point. She is somehow okay with most aspects of the witch world, but is still figuring out her own family. As the "dependable one," Caroline is often the only family member working her shifts at the bar (other than her mom). Since her family is cursed to die some horribly weird death if they leave the island, you'd think they would want to keep their only family business afloat but her brother are largely useless and her dad is still lost in grief. Caroline's reliable nature, however, is put to the test when her ex shows up one night with kids in tow and her family bar suffers some terrible damage. Oh, and she gets hit by a moped, too.

Throw all these things together and I was very happy with the ups and downs of Caroline's story. She and Ben (the ex) are cute together, but not perfect. The kids are also cute but not perfect. I would read 100 of these types of books and I'm glad to see that, with the world now established, we are working our way through the pairing up of the coven. I cannot wait to see what they end up being able to do and who will enter their world next. The house full of ghosts somehow take a back seat to all the other yummy drama.

View all my reviews

Bronx

Bronx by Margo Bond Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I inadvertently joined this story at the end of the trilogy, but was able to keep pace with the world and characters. I'd probably recommend starting from book 1 though.

Bronx is the scarred guardian of his pack and he now feels like a burden instead of a benefit to said pack. With the recent merging of his pack with another one, his alpha has tasked him with taking a mate from the group of outsiders. Cora is a previously abused single mother of said group of outsiders. She ends up moving to the compound and rather quickly finding attraction with Bronx. She looks beyond his scars and sees the warrior he is, always protecting others. Bronx is very quick to jump on the mating idea when he sees possibilities with Cora.

If you're looking for romance, this is more a fated mates and rushed ceremony type of deal, with some smut thrown in to smooth some of the rough edges. I'm not sure if I agreed with how quickly the abuse is resolved or recovered from, but I'm willing to hand wave for the sake of fated mates. There were not really super high stakes at any point, so it was an easy read. Since this is book 3 of a trilogy, I assumed we'd wrap everything up, and we largely did, but we also have some loose ends in the way a side character gets his own chapter. Are there more books coming? I hope so!

View all my reviews

A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch

A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch by Sarah Hawley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Whoops, I started this series at book 2! I don’t think I had trouble catching up, though, especially since a key element of this book is being able to make the villain of book 1 into the love interest/hero here.

Calladia is a brawling witch who has been determinedly herself ever since she allowed her family and boyfriend make her feel small. She lives on her own, has a massively supportive friend group of various paranormals (who are out in the open in this world), and is a strong witch herself. Surprise, surprise, the evil doer from her most recent demon encounter ends up wounded and begging for her help so soon after their last meeting. Astaroth, said demon, has lost his memory and is injured when he meets Calladia for what feels like the first time to him. With no memories, it appears that he is a lot nicer than before.

Being the somehow still kind-hearted person that she is, Calladia takes it upon herself to help Astaroth regain his memories and thwart the even-more-evil demons who end up taking aim at them. There are a lot of side quests that combine to a big showdown against the rulers of demon kind in a great sort of way. If you enjoy a nice enemies to lovers story with lots of dirty goodness, this is definitely worth checking out (and maybe going back one book, too!).

View all my reviews

Born to Be Badger

Born to Be Badger by Shelly Laurenston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gosh, where to even begin with this book filled with mayhem? I’ve jumped in and out of this series, so I can assure you that you will be lost in a whirlwind of chaos no matter if you’re read all the previous books or not, so this can totally be standalone if you are interested.

Tock is one of the band of misfit badgers who are notoriously up to no good. They might be excellent basketball players, but they are really terrible at staying out of trouble. I mean that in the best possible way because their antics make for hilarious reading. Shay is part of the Malone family of shifters and he somehow gets caught up in the tornado of Tock’s life, hitching a ride to a seemingly straightforward heist that goes sideways. Turns out, he can come in handy even when paired off with a nearly indestructible shifter.

While this does include romance-ish aspects and some smutty good times, it really does lean heavily into the larger story of espionage, backstabbing, corrupt politics, etc. If that’s not your cup of tea, I’d still say that this will put it all in a way that a paranormal reader can enjoy. Really - the level of mayhem is off the charts! I always go through a roller coaster of emotion reading these books that always starts in confusion, shock, but ends with smiles and happiness. If that sounds good, check out this or other books in this series.

View all my reviews