Review: Tears in Time (Arcadia Trust Book 4) by Christian Baines

Rating: 5🌈

It’s a series that starts with The Beast Without, meeting vampire Reyland and werewolf lover, Jorgas. It’s an excellent book, scary and powerful. And with each story, new paranormal characters and convoluted elements are added and explored, like The Arcadia Trust and then the horrifying Wound. Tears in Time is the fourth book in this increasingly complex and scarily powerful series.

Christian Baines has an incredible talent of writing supernatural or other worldly beings and making them absolutely credible. These are beautiful or stunningly horrifically broken creatures that bear no resemblance to human beings. Not in their reactions to events and emotions but in that they lack our standards of morality or ethics. They may understand the rules, the philosophical framework and how to manipulate them to their advantage. But actually have human empathy? Not really.

And for the reader to go in with expectations of the characters who are paranormal beings acting as humans, that’s a pitfall that should be discarded at the beginning. Because, Baines’ brilliantly written and compelling characters are not going to act like humans because they aren’t.

It might be hard to forget this but events will drive this element home. Betrayal after betrayal. Manifesting that each being and group of paranormals is operating on a different level and paths that humans find unfathomable . Such brilliant writing and amazing storytelling.

Chilling and brain breaking plot lines that connect and weave into something so shocking at the end that I’m just stunned that cable producers haven’t come running yet to put this into a show.

Tears in Time is a book whose characters and plots are so intricate and deeply detailed that a reader will have to have read the stories the preceded it. That foundation knowledge and sequencing of events is essential for a total understanding about the characters relationships and twists in the narratives that the reader will experience here.

I absolutely recommend reading this series and book if you’re a fan of paranormal fiction, horror stories, and twisted romance. But be warned, this is not for the faint of heart.

Arcadia Trust:

The Beast Without #1

The Orchard of Flesh #2

Sins of the Son #3

Tears in Time #4

Buy link Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited

Blurb

Moments have passed for Reylan since he crossed the barrier between worlds to rescue his werewolf lover, Jorgas. But on their return, nothing feels right. Faithful allies have vanished, and places that once offered solace are now derelict, filled with shadows and inhabited by evil.

How can Reylan find his friends, and who can be trusted once they’re found?

The world Reylan and Jorgas returned to has destroyed the one they left behind. In this new reality, someone is playing a deadly game with time, and their fates are its prize.

• Publication date: May 15, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 284 pages

Review: No Good Deed (Maverick Insurance Mysteries Book 1) by M. J. May

Rating: 4.5🌈

I found the Maverick Insurance Mysteries because of the author’s amazing Perfect Pixies fantasy series. Now I’m working through her catalog and so happy.

No Good Deed is the first in a contemporary mystery thriller romance series. May has so many interesting characters and a great concept to this series, one that’s guaranteed to keep the reader engaged and intrigued by the weird dynamics and edgy possibilities the loom around every scene and narrative corner.

At the heart is Perry Atherton, a victim of a horrific crime that ended in a murder and in injuries that have been life altering for him.

Perry was once going to be an astrophysicist. Now he’s dealing with a physical disability that includes brain damage, knee injury, inability to read (especially electronic devices), and a severe memory impairment. His job? A janitor in an insurance company.

May, an incredibly inventive and talented writer, takes this broken, haunted man and starts to weave a tale of perseverance and hope for just living his life, despite the loss of the life he might have had. That’s something that might be simplistic except for his odd work surroundings and that murder keeps finding him.

Add to this a detective from that past crime scene who’s reappearing now in his life along with dead bodies, and

No Good Deed just becomes this terrific combination of chilling thriller and slow burn romance where you’re never sure who exactly the bad guys are. Even after some are identified, and you suspected they were, you just know more are lurking around the scene.

What fun waiting for the next scenes and murders to come!

Another excellent May story and recommendation from me.

Maverick Insurance Mysteries:

✓ No Good Deed #1

◦ Goes Unpunished #2

◦ The Road To Hell #3

Buy Link

No Good Deed: Maverick Insurance Mysteries

Blurb:

Three years ago, Perry Atherton tried to play the hero. Turns out real life isn’t like the movies. Instead of saving someone’s life, his reward was head trauma and a blown-out knee. Perry’s dream of becoming an astrophysicist was obliterated along with his memories of that tragic night. Left with a poor memory, painful migraines, and a constant limp, he’s grateful for his custodial position at Maverick Insurance.

Perry can’t remember. Detective Nathanial Harmon can’t forget. The first night Nate met Perry is seared into his brain—Perry lying on his back, the colorful sequences of his Pride shirt glittering in the otherwise dark alley. Perry’s ragged breaths, swollen face, and hemorrhaging body their first introduction.

Perry and Nate’s futures are about to collide again—the instigator: a note Perry was never meant to find, let alone read. A murderer lurks in the office building Perry cleans, and a nameless employee appears to be next on their hit list.

Perry’s not sure he’s ready to get involved again. He tried to play Good Samaritan before with horrific consequences. But the note screaming murder won’t let his conscience remain quiet and convinces him to tempt the phrase “No good deed . . .” again.

No Good Deed is the first book in the Maverick Insurance Mystery Series. No Good Deed is an m/m contemporary mystery romance and involves a man trying to make the best of being on Karma’s bad side, the value of true friendship, demanding four-legged fur balls, the pros and cons of listening to your conscience, and finding love where you least expect. No Good Deed has a HFN ending with no cheating.

Possible trigger warnings include gun violence, past violent trauma, and murder.

•

• Publication date: February 27, 2023

• Language: English

• File size: 3271 KB

• Simultaneous device usage: Unlimited

• Text-to-Speech: Enabled

• Screen Reader: Supported

• Enhanced typesetting: Enabled

• X-Ray: Not Enabled

• Word Wise: Enabled

• Sticky notes: On Kindle Scribe

• Print length: 319 pages

•

Review: The Queen of Darkness: An Epic Dragon Fantasy Saga (The Crystalline Dragons Saga Book 4) by Eoghan R. Cunningham

Rating: 4🌈

The Queen of Darkness is the penultimate story in Eoghan R. Cunningham’s epic YA epic fantasy adventure series about a young escaped slave, his two friends/companions on their journey through various kingdoms. It’s got evil villains, dragons, monsters, mythical beasts and legends for the heroes to follow.

The Queen of Darkness picks up right after the cliffhanger of Rise of the False King. It helps immensely that both books were already released so the reader could continue onto the next to pickup on the action.

Dusk is sometimes a very frustrating character here. Hes coming across as very inconsistent as far as the growth the author has given him from book to book, major trauma to trauma. Here he’s showing restraint and maturity in dealing with multiple situations and issues. Lex’s revelations and the impact it’s had on him, the separations, the immediate danger to himself and his friends, and any thoughts of power for himself. This is a person capable of intuitive thinking and trusting his instincts.

However, this more thoughtful “Dusk” is abandoned in favor of the first more untried “Dusk” that we encountered in the beginning of this journey. That Dusk has listened to the lessons he’s been taught, the wisdom that he has learned, doesn’t communicate to his friends , doesn’t think rationally, put together clues, and isn’t sure of what he wants. Even after telling someone he’s thought about the quest and knows he’s going through with it and his role.

This inconsistency is frustrating especially as there are so many wonderful people and moments here. The author has a terrific story and ability to build excitement for this adventure and a real emotional connection to these characters.

There’s one more book to go. That novel has a lot to accomplish because there’s still so much to learn about the characters as well as multiple storylines to explore and pull together.

One thing I keep forgetting to mention is the great maps of the world the author has created and includes for the reader to follow along with the characters as they travel. Fabulous.

While this series has some issues, it’s an entertaining, lively, and imaginative saga. It’s a YA fantasy adventure I’m happy to recommend. One more book to go.

The Crystalline Dragons Saga-5 books:

✓ Curse of the Dragon’s Eye #1

✓ Mist, Shadow, and Deep #2

✓ Rise of the False King #3

✓ The Queen of Darkness #4

◦ Fall of the Crystal Moon #5-June 6,2024

Buy Link:

The Queen of Darkness: An Epic Dragon Fantasy Saga (The Crystalline Dragons Saga Book 4)

Blurb

The moment Dusk steps foot in the free lands of Inahan, he is arrested and imprisoned. However, it seems the Queen has heard of his power and she wants a private audience with him.

When they dive into the dark depths below the castle to retrieve an artifact, Dusk wonders if he’ll ever see the light of day again.

I could hardly believe we’d finally made it to Inahan. After pirates, monsters, and a surprise visit from Tiernan, the capital city was a wonderful sight to behold.

But even in this safe harbor there are secrets that can tear the three of us apart.

Queen Lobelia has us arrested and before I know it, I’m summoned to her throne to complete a task for her. One I can’t refuse if I ever want to see my friends alive again.

There’s something hidden below the castle… something the Queen doesn’t want the world to see.

Much like Mist, Shadow, and Deep, this contains a diverse cast of characters and queer themes. It was previously published under another title by Blake R. Wolfe. Although the title and cover are different, the content remains the same.

Review: SOS HOTEL: Sleep With Us #3 by Adam Vex , Ariana Nash

Rating: 5🌈

So, so satisfying. No really. Loved it. Parts also really hurt. But Sleep With Us explored so many new areas of this world and these fabulous characters!

Adam in his desperate need to get demon Zee away from the club and out of his contract with Sebastian, is forced to accept help. Whether it’s sketchy advice from his AI bartender or something more personal and likely physical from the resident vampire, Lord Reynard, some new information is acquired about all of them.

There’s some gross action packed sequences, a few sexy scenes, and ones that make us feel so much more connected and involved with all three characters and whatever craziness is right around the corner.

I’m so in love with this series and characters. They’re so vividly drawn and widely thought out that they are just bigger than the page. Read even the credits, Zee can’t help himself.

How am I going to make it through until June 28th?

Highly recommending SOS Hotel but read them in the order they are written.

SOS Hotel:

✓ For a Supernaturally Safe Stay #1

✓ Friendly Sanctuary for the Fiendishly Fabulous #2

✓ Sleep with Us #3

◦ Great Service from Top to Bottom #4 – June 28,2024

Buy link

SOS HOTEL: Sleep With Us

Blurb

Three weeks in, and the SOS Hotel is still standing. I know, crazy right? Despite the gremlins, lethal electrics, vampire threats, a shadowbeast in the attic, and a psycho sorcerer, our doors remain open to all Lost Ones. Also, nobody has died . . . in a few days.

All I have to do is, hold it all together, keep every guest safe, not mention the body in the flowerbeds—and maybe we’ll last another week?

But Sebastien has demanded Zee return to the club, or he’ll hurt more demons. Sebastien has become a big problem. And problems, like gremlins, have a habit of multiplying at the SOS Hotel.

I promised Zee I’d stay out of his other life. But I can’t—won’t—watch Sebastien mistreat him.

I might be a boring, average, harmless human, but even I have my limits.

Plus, I’ve got a vampire on my side. Lord Reynard has a knack for getting answers out of people, and together, we’re going to find a way to break Sebastien’s hold over Zee, even if part of our plan involves an evening of la mort d’amour at Razorsedge. Reynard says we’re not going to do anything risky. But I kind of, maybe, just a little bit . . . want to?

Trust me. I’m Adam Vex. Totally normal human. It’s all going to turn out just fine.

I’m absolutely certain I have everything under control.

Probably.

Welcome to the SOS Hotel.

***

SOS Hotel is a whacky adventure about a vampire lord, an ex-porn-star demon, and a boring human who absolutely does not have any secrets. You’ll find dark humor, explicit language and sex throughout the books.

If you don’t like the f-word, sex, some minor murders, or a few questionable pies thrown in, do not read these books.

There will be triggering content for some, including sexual coercion and pets in peril.

Proceed with caution.

Have a GREAT stay!

• Publisher: Crazy Ace Publishing (May 10, 2024)

• Publication date: May 10, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 176 pages

Review: Rise of the False King: An Epic Dragon Fantasy Saga (The Crystalline Dragons Saga Book 3) by Eoghan R. Cunningham

Rating: 4🌈

The Rise of the False King is the third book in Eoghan R. Cunningham’s YA epic fantasy adventure and it’s one I highly enjoyed. I was happy to have the fourth novel released so I could go quickly onto the next section, as this flows smoothly through one novel into the next.

It’s also definitely geared towards a younger reader. While there’s a romance brewing and romantic elements among other characters, there is still no rawly sexual scenes but kissing and anything else is “off page” or left to the imagination. And that main romance is most definitely a slow burn type of relationship, frankly due to the naïveté of the one character and the hidden secrets of the other.

The characters are very relatable and well defined, if not a certain type of epic character. Dusk, the escaped slave, has undergone the biggest challenges and changes in his life. Magic has come to him in the form of a crystal and a White Dragon. Now he’s hunted by several villainous factions, one lead by an evil man so deadly it might threaten the entire world. Also with him is Tara, a warrior formerly of the King’s Guards, and Lex, a young man of hidden background but clearly wealthy and not used to being on his own.

The author has a real knack for writing exciting action sequences, which is great because Dusk and his friends, but mostly Dusk, fall into trouble frequently.

The many storylines weave together a growing mythology of dragons, humanity, and magic undone that’s tragic for many and is still being played out. I’m throughly invested in this rich tale and the how the author is going to bring the stories that have been “told” in the narrative alive through the adventures of his characters.

One aspect that pops out, at least for me, is that certain actions or events are “telegraphed” in the story much like you’d see it in a movie like Scary Story. Where you yell at the screen, the villain is in the closet because, obviously that’s what’s going to happen. Here, if the dragon says don’t go in the bog. Or wherever. You just know the gang is heading to the bog.

Did narrative stuff like this ruin my enjoyment? No. I just wish I had “narrative” popcorn to throw and I merrily read right along.

Each book ends on a cliffhanger so having all but the last book released is great. One more to go.

This series was previously published under the title “The Crystalline Dragon saga” by Blake R. Wolfe. Although the title and cover are different, the content remains the same.

The Crystalline Dragons Saga-5 books:

✓ Curse of the Dragon’s Eye #1

✓ Mist, Shadow, and Deep #2

✓ Rise of the False King #3

✓ The Queen of Darkness #4

◦ Fall of the Crystal Moon #5-June 6,2024

Buy Link:

Rise of the False King: An Epic Dragon Fantasy Saga (The Crystalline Dragons Saga Book 3)

Blurb

Trapped and alone, Dusk must watch as his greatest enemy ascends the throne, using the stolen magic of the dragons to claim it. Suddenly, the world is thrust into an all-out war.

Will Dusk be able to stop the new king before he lays waste to the world?

I never thought my friends would betray me. After weeks of traveling together and bonds formed in the heat of battle, I thought I knew them. But the moment I arrive at Emerald Deep, everything begins to unravel.

And danger is coming.

Then, just when we’re close to our goal, my friends hesitate. Tired of them stopping me from reaching my goal, I send them away. However, no sooner had I sent them away than I found myself captured and imprisoned.

The False King stands before me and I can see the world burning to ash in his eyes. If he takes over Alamond, the world will fall.

• Publication date: April 11, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 247 pages

young adult fantasy/ epic fantasy adventure

Review: Encountered to Death: A Jamie Brodie Mystery (Jamie Brodie Mysteries Book 5) by Meg Perry

Rating: 4🌈

Encountered to Death is a good, in a way emotionally lighter story than the one that preceded it. Jamie and Pete are going to celebrate Pete’s older brother’s 40th birthday in Alamogordo, New Mexico and is taking Jamie’s highly intelligent, science minded nephew with them.

Steve, the brother, is a plasma physicist, and they intend to tour all the sites around the area, from caves to Roswell. Shades of Mulder and Scully! What could go wrong? Plenty it seems.

There’s aliens abduction tv show hosts, a dead body, so many investigations, as well as great characters in both Steve and the 11-year old nephew, Colin. Colin especially was well crafted. He’s realistically young in heart(emotionally the investigation caused an such a impact on him as it should) , but his imagination and personality also felt in line with someone who has high intelligence to understand a variety of science topics.

The discussions and issues between Jamie and Pete weren’t really dropped but moved slightly to the background to be a part of a larger conversation when they returned home. One car or two meaning a more solid frame for going forward together.

I was throughly entertained by this story and expanded family. Perry continues to keep the reader engaged in this realistic romantic relationship and their literary world where a murder or body can bring about a wealth of knowledge and enjoyment. Love Clinton’s word of the day!

Onto the next!

The Jamie Brodie Mysteries – 23 books

✓ Cited to Death

✓ Hoarded to Death

✓ Burdened to Death

✓ Researched to Death

✓ Encountered to Death

◦ Psyched to Death

◦ Stacked to Death

◦ Stoned to Death

◦ Talked to Death

◦ Avenged to Death

◦ Played to Death

◦ Filmed to Death

◦ Trapped to Death

◦ Promoted to Death

◦ Published to Death

◦ Cloistered to Death

◦ Haunted to Death

◦ Obsessed to Death

◦ Deserted to Death

◦ Drugged to Death

◦ Resigned to Death

◦ Snowed to Death

◦ Enchanted to Death

Dirty Laundry: The Jamie Brodie Short Stories (Jamie Brodie Mysteries)

Sequel series:

An Angeles Investigations Mystery

◦ Cheated to Death: Book 1

◦ Hunted to Death Book 2

Buy links:

Encountered to Death (Jamie Brodie Mysteries Book 5)

Blurb:

It seems Jamie Brodie can’t go anywhere any more without a body turning up. Jamie and his boyfriend Pete Ferguson are taking a week of vacation to visit Pete’s brother Steve in Alamogordo, New Mexico. They arrive to find that Alamogordo has been invaded – by fans of a TV show called Alien Visitors. The host of the show, Dixon Gill, was found dead in the lobby of Steve’s building. Gill’s fans believe he was killed by the FBI because he was about to reveal the truth about the government’s cover-up of alien visitations. Jamie and Pete know that’s not true. But who did kill Gill? The director of his show? A competitor on the same network? An angry commenter on Gill’s blog? A shadowy anti-government group? Or one of his ex-wives? The deeper Jamie probes into Gill’s past, the more potential suspects he finds.

The truth is out there – but can Jamie uncover it?

• Publication date: March 6, 2014

• Language: English

• Print length: 96 pages

Review: The Potion Gardener (Flos Magicae) by Arden Powell

Rating: 4🌈

Whenever Arden Powell decides to dive back into the Flos Magicae universe they created, the results are always going to be narratively interesting, full of unexpected surprises, magical elements, and incredible moments of emotional growth. Whether the person’s thoughts are turned inward towards self examination, or outside towards their new surroundings and the possibilities that may arise from their new situation, we see clearly what they are thinking and feeling. And then it’s reality intruding, in a magical world, and hard choices to make.

The story and its elements has a natural flow to it, however fantastical the nature of the world and wild some of the aspects to the details.

In this case, Arden Powell’s magical world follows the story of the idle, wealthy young person, Flora Mulberry. Flora, who’d announced to the family at a very young age that they were a boy (it had been ignored), was fleeing London and a two romantic involvements.

This is the story of how Flora found he was or always had been Florian Mulberry on his magical journey to fulfillment and a new future. That Florian finds it stranded on a farm owned by an Irish potion witch in Hertfordshire is a fantastic element. Kells and her grumpy little dog, Grim,are my favorite characters of the story. Kells is beautifully straight forward, a great character who can be so easily visualized, with Grim by her side, working in her lab and potions or in her sheds in the gardens. She’s real and grounded in her natural world.

It’s Florian I often find myself having issues with. One of the reasons, many reasons, Florian is fleeing their old life is because Florian has become romantically involved their two best friends. One a woman and the other a man. The three of them are longtime friends and Florian has been, sort of, having romantic relations with both to the point that their families are expecting engagements. So Florian was supposed to choose and it would have hurt the other, not that that person would know. So, knowing that they’ve disappeared before for a time and no one, meaning family, has had cause to raise alarm, Florian flees.

Powell does a sensitive, and layered job of letting the reader understand the jumbled inner thoughts and emotions that the person who becomes Florian has before they embark upon their journey that sees them end up in a shed.

We absolutely get their state of mind, and the impetuous decisions that see them asking Kell to let them stay and learn about farming and hard manual labor. Something they’ve never done before. This physical and mental (and emotional) adjustment to their state of mind as well as the magical one to their body, is a terrific aspect of the book. Love it and the slowly growing relationship between Florian and Kells.

But what of those other friends? While all this is going on, those were abandoned to their fears and absolutely not knowing what happened to the person who, at the very least, was supposed to be their best friend . This is addressed in a few inadequate sentences towards the end and then they are dismissed.

It makes me think less of the character and the plot overall. Why have them there if this is how they are going to be treated? The friends and that history isn’t explained or fully understood. It’s a few sentences at the beginning. And the same at the end. And only serves to make Florian look a tad selfish.

So The Potion Gardener (Flos Magicae) by Arden Powell isn’t my favorite of the intriguing Flos Magicae series but it’s always an interesting and thoughtful read.

Include this on your TBR list.

Flos Magicae series and related universe books:

◦ The Bachelor’s Valet

◦ A Novel Arrangement

◦ A Thief and a Gentleman

◦ Of Socialites and Prizefights

✓ The Potion Gardener

✓ The Botanist’s Apprentice

✓ Winter’s Dawn

✓ The Solstice Cabin

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Potion…The Potion Gardener (Flos Magicae) – Kindle

Blurb

Desperate to escape a messy romance, Florian Mulberry flees London: tipsy, panicked, and without a plan. It’s while hiding in a rural garden shed that he meets Kells, a potion witch, who agrees to shelter him in exchange for manual labor until he gets his life together. Leaving his pampered London existence to work on a secluded cottage farm is a shock, but Florian throws himself into it with passionate determination.

And it’s not just gardening he’s passionate about. In no time, Florian falls head over heels for his skillful, hardworking mentor.

There’s just one problem. Florian is only disguised as a boy, and the enchantment hiding his real body is going to wear off. Florian’s main concern is how to explain himself when it happens. He’s definitely not a girl, but he’s not entirely a boy, either. With all the magic in Kells’ garden, there must be a way to achieve his ideal androgyny.

However he looks, Florian will have to face his past if he wants a future with Kells. Even if he avoids London forever, eventually his past is going to come looking for the girl he used to be.

The Potion Gardener is a low-stakes, low-angst cozy fantasy novella in the Flos Magicae series, a collection of queer romances set in an alternate 1920s world with magic. Featuring a trans, nonbinary lead, a butch cis lesbian love interest, a scruffy terrier with anxiety, and a great deal of gardening. All the Flos Magicae stories are standalones, and can be read in any order.

Review: Mates, Arranged by Michelle Frost

Rating: 3.5🌈

Mates, Arranged by Michelle Frost is a short, nicely crafted paranormal romance. At 65 pages, it’s the barest beginnings of mated couple, August and Torin. In fact, it ends as they actually physically mate. And it begins on the ritual mating of the two. In between, Frost gives us glimpses of two different people getting to know each other in a number of lovely connected scenes.

We don’t get much in the way of world building or background, just some hints and history tossed in here and there. Just enough to make it interesting and pull us closer into the story.

This could be a much larger book and the couple framed out within a better crafted narrative. It has so much potential.

As it is, it’s a good short story and romance. Very enjoyable.

Buy link

Mates, Arrangedby Michelle FrostBook 1 of 1: Mates, Arranged

Blurb

Will fate smile on a wolf and mage joined together?

Forced into an arranged mating, August and Torin must try to build a relationship from nothing if they hope to usher in peace between their peoples.

With willing hearts, they put aside their differences, but their commitment won’t get the chance to blossom if one of their own destroys it before it can grow.

Mates, Arranged is an MM romance novella and was first published as part of a novella promotion.

• Publication date: March 25, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 65 pages

Review: The Barony Bet: An Imperial Space Regency Novel by Kai Butler

Rating: 4.5🌈

The Barony Bet, the second book in Kai Butler’s Imperial Space Regency series, actually takes its characters from their respective homes and current lives out into space and onto another planet where they face adversity, such as it is, in a number of aspects. Obstacles to overcome that challenge them include facing their own feelings about each other and their future together, to the mission they’ve been assigned to accomplish in a short time period.

Butler has really created a winning tale in The Barony Bet. The characters are childhood friends but so different in personality and status that their dynamic is instantly intriguing. And each man is so subtly crafted that you don’t recognize how deeply rounded each is until they reveal more of themselves through their actions and conversations as the story develops.

Butlers’ remarkable ability to create believable characters and complex situations outside of a contemporary world, pulling the reader into their relationship and universe is extraordinary.

Deva is so compelling a character. I really wanted more of this book to see how the dynamics between his father and the new couple played out afterwards. It’s so quietly laid out for the reader exactly how important and responsible Deva is even if he and his family (father) aren’t acknowledging it. Deva grows in depth and maturity as a person throughout the book and it’s an amazing journey.

Step by step, shoulder to shoulder, is Asta, the childhood friend who has always loved him. And supported him. The change in their relationship and romantic understanding is another beautiful element and feels exactly right.

This is wrapped around a plot that involves a mission from Deva’s father that Deva must complete in a short time period. Butler’s narrative shows Deva,with Asta’s help, using ingenuity, his respect for others , and determination to solve the difficult mission and finally succeed.

We get a terrific cast of characters in every storyline, many of which we’d love to follow along on their adventures, and a couple we’re absolutely invested in.

The ending gets a little unfocused as a new character wanders into the story, preparing us for his book. I’d prefer he’d have been folded in another way and left the entire ending to Deva and Asta who certainly earned it.

I’m loving the series and this is by far my favorite. Check them out if you’re a fan of the author and the trope. A definite winner.

It’s a definite yes as a recommendation!

Imperial Space Regency series:

✓ The Earl and the Executive #1

✓ The Barony Bet #2

◦ The Inconvenient Count #3

Buy link

The Barony Bet: An Imperial Space Regency Novel

Blurb

A wager he can’t lose…

Lord Deva lives a charmed life. As the son and heir of one of the Empire’s wealthiest lords, Deva’s biggest problem is protecting his younger siblings from their father’s wrath. But when Deva’s actions place him on the verge of disinheritance, his only hope is an insurmountable task.

Dragging his best friend, Asta, into the fray, Deva agrees to revitalize his father’s newest acquisition – a barony on the verge of ruin. Little does he know that undertaking this task will put more than his inheritance on the line, but his heart as well.

A gamble he can’t win…

Asta is about to depart on a two year deep space trading expedition with one purpose: to fall out of love with his closest friend. Deva has no knowledge of the depths of Asta’s feelings and Asta hopes the distance will allow him to move on from the desire for more than friendship.

Agreeing to one last adventure to help Deva win his impossible task, Asta finds himself thrown into the role of protector and fake fiancé of his best friend. With an estate in ruin at the hands of a corrupt mistress, Asta and Deva must become even closer to win their bet and place their friendship at risk in the process.

The Barony Bet is a 90,000 word mm regency romance set in space. It is a fake relationship, friends to lovers romance with a HEA.

• Publication date: October 5, 2020

• Language: English

• Print length: 326 pages

Review: The Barony Bet: An Imperial Space Regency Novel by Kai Butler

Rating: 4.5🌈

Butlers’ remarkable ability to create believable characters and complex situations outside of a contemporary world, pulling the reader into their relationship and universe is extraordinary.

We get a terrific cast of characters in every storyline, many of which we’d love to follow along on their adventures, and a couple we’re absolutely invested in.

I’m loving the series and this is by far my favorite. Check them out if you’re a fan of the author and the trope. A definite winner.

It’s a definite yes as a recommendation!

Imperial Space Regency series:

✓ The Earl and the Executive #1

✓ The Barony Bet #2

◦ The Inconvenient Count #3

Buy link

The Barony Bet: An Imperial Space Regency Novel

Blurb

A wager he can’t lose…

A gamble he can’t win…

The Barony Bet is a 90,000 word mm regency romance set in space. It is a fake relationship, friends to lovers romance with a HEA.

• Publication date: October 5, 2020

• Language: English

• Print length: 326 pages

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