Author: Scattered Thoughts

At over 50, I am ruled by my terriers, my gardens, and my projects. A knack for grubbing about in the woods, making mud pies, and tending to the injured worms, bugs, and occasional bird and turtle growing up eventually led me to working for the Parks. I was a park Naturalist for over 20 years, and observing Nature and her cycles still occupy my hours. From the arrival of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in the Spring to the first call of the Snow Geese heading south in the Fall, I am entranced by the seasons. For more about me see my bio on my blog.

Review: Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie: Phlox’s Story (Perfect Pixie Series Book 5) by M. J. May

Rating: 5🌈

Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie: Phlox’s Story is the perfect way to end this absolutely fantastic series, Perfect Pixies by M. J. May.

In this vividly realized, beautifully told story, May brings all the characters and couples together that we’ve met through each other’s stories and learned to love together to reveal and vanquish the series villains.

Each story has at its core a perfectly imperfect pixie who finds themselves in an embattled or troubled position which eventually leads them to their bonds of love and a HEA. We started with hearth and home pixie, Philodendron, whose unique size made him both an outsider and perfect for his Alpha mate and family. Then nature pixie, Peaches, with a mournful background and heart wrenching history that soon brings attention to gathering dark forces and the attraction of a powerful vampire. That mating has huge ramifications for many other otherworldly species.

Next May’s pairing and novel turns dark with the seemingly mysterious introduction of pixie trafficking and pixie dust addiction. This is Parsnip’s story and another sector of magic is heard from as Vander the warlock arrives. May is deepening the series themes, expanding the types of magic that exist in this universe, and types of found families we can expect.

The narrative themes and suspenseful atmosphere doesn’t even falter for a moment. It’s picking up momentum in emotional and well written story arcs.

Wendall’s unbelievable tale is next. It includes Hellfire Rayburn, Fairy Queen Silvidia’s most trusted and feared warrior, and Wendall, who undergoes one of the most poignant, heartbreaking moments and struggles amongst them all. Well, May is amping up to the end point. Making sure that the reader knows what at stake and we care so throughly for everyone here.

So that when a final pixie appears, one that isn’t who he seems, we are ready for the showdown .

That’s Agent Frost, aka pixie Phlox. Although he’s not exactly 100 percent pixie. What he is and his background is a huge part of the ongoing investigation and reason he’s arrived in town. The one assigned to help him? That’s 300 year old vampire, Leon McMillan, King Lucroy Moony’s second-in-command.

May does an excellent job of alternating between their burgeoning romance and the ongoing investigation into the pixie traffickers. The horrific storyline of pixie trafficking , which is widely explored through the main characters and story threads, continues to branch out to the wider threat to the community and all the couples involved.

May’s newest character is one I think will be a great reader favorite . That’s Erasmus, a young necromancer who has an intriguing , poignant backstory and a rich personality. I really can’t get enough of him. So many layers. And the other character who is equally and quizzically intrigued by Erasmus? That’s Aurelia, the djinn .

No spoilers but what an epic ending. And while I’m happy sad this superior series has ended, the author has left us with something new to anticipate.

That epilogue is everything! Why? Because it tells us that Erasmus and Aurelia are coming back in Summer/Fall 2024 in their own story. And now I’m so excited and happy for their new adventure to begin.

Read this incredible series in the order it’s written . It’s a top recommendation. So is it’s author.

Cover design by cheriefox. Absolutely splendid! Like all the other covers.

Perfect Pixies series:

✓ Perfectly Imperfect Pixie Book #1

✓ Perfectly Perfect Pixie: Peaches’s Story #2

✓ Perfectly Charmed Pixie: Parsnip’s Story #3

✓ Perfectly Perplexing Zombie: Wendall’s Story #4

✓ Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie: Phlox’s Story #5 – series finale

Buy link

Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie: Phlox’s Story (Perfect Pixie Series Book 5)

Blurb

Phlox isn’t your typical pixie, and his feisty shifter DNA might be the reason. Recruited by the Magical Usage Council, Phlox—who is now Agent Frost—is a pixie with a mission, and he’s not afraid to place himself in mortal danger to eradicate the latest pixie trafficking ring.

Despite being King Lucroy Moony’s second-in-command, Leon McMillan’s second life has become dangerously monotonous. For a vampire, boredom is as deadly as a stake to the heart. Three hundred years of existing has taken a mental toll—one that will eventually lead Leon into the sun’s deadly embrace. Leon needs a life raft; he just never imagined it in the form of a pushy pixie.

Phlox and Leon can’t deny their mutual attraction. However, in order for Phlox’s mission to succeed, he needs to appear helplessly alone, and Leon’s worried stalking isn’t aiding that mission.

But soon, the knowledge Phlox and Leon obtain leads to a dangerous, mentally unstable djinn, who has a vicious master holding its leash. Although history claims djinns are all-powerful, indestructible creatures, Phlox and Leon must find the secret to their destruction if they are to save Rutherford Haven’s citizens. If they can’t, Rutherford Haven will be the first to fall, but it won’t be the last.

Phlox will dig his shifter claws into anyone who dares threaten his mate and Leon will tear the heart out of anyone who dares threaten his beloved—his purrrfectly peculiar pixie.

Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie is the fifth and final book in the Perfect Pixie series. The books should be read in order. Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie features an emotionally constipated vampire, a pixie who’s far more than he appears, witches and trolls with questionable morals, an alpha werewolf whose time on planet Earth is precariously close to ending, a (questionably) good djinn, an (unquestionably) sinister djinn, an interesting necromancer, and all our previously beloved characters coming together to prove that teamwork really does make the dream work.

Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie also contains homicide of the fantasy kind (no humans were killed in the making of this book) with scenes describing death and killing.

• Publication date: April 29, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 343 pages

Review: Death In The Spires by K. J. Charles

Rating: 5🌈

K. J. Charles is such an incredible writer, a word artist with a passion for rich historical settings, layered characters, and complex plot development. All that is apparent here in Death in the Spires.

It’s a haunting story that Charles lays out for us immediately. And then in flashbacks. A man , Jeremy “Jem” Kite, is in the process of losing his job. It’s emotionally devastating. And it’s not even the first time.

His employer has received a letter accusing Jem of murder. A sensational murder that took place ten years earlier. A murder of a man Jem was close to. Went to Oxford with, and once was one of his close knit group of friends referred to as the “Seven Wonders” on campus. A murder that destroyed Jem and has remained unsolved.

Through memories of the past, and Jem’s new determination to find out who is behind the letters, Charles builds a layered historical narrative of differences in status, innocence, friendship, mystery, love, and murder. One that skillfully stretches over a ten year period from 1905 to 1915, moving from time frame to time frame with impactful results.

Charles brings all the laws and prejudices of this era vividly and thoughtfully into the various storylines, whether it’s about gender, race, sexuality, or birth control. I should also mention Charles includes the role of that primogeniture plays in this era with rights of inheritance . Repealed here in the US at the time of the Revolution, it was the foundation for the nobility, aristocracy or peerage abroad.

Then the author sets about weaving a tortuous tale of seven friends on the cusp of greatness. Some are innocent, there’s a difference in class status, relationships have complicated dynamics, but, seen through the lens of Jem’s early memories, it’s an idyllic place, a golden age of freedom, heights, and a future never to be recaptured.

Charles’ gift is the ability to make the reader feel Jem’s amazement at his time there in 1905 , and his absolute grief at it’s loss, at what he has become.

Every character is beautifully crafted in their details, from their past lives to the ones they are now living in. I can visualize each and every one.

That includes the dead man, Toby Feynsham, who gathered them all together and was finally responsible, in death, for their destruction.

The investigation, the growth and continued character revelations, the way in which Charles weaves twists and surprises into an already convoluted narrative made me appreciate more a novel I couldn’t tear myself away from.

Fabulous, fascinating. Ultimately incredibly satisfying. Death In The Spires by K. J. Charles is a must read!

Great cover. Cover design by Lisa Horton

Buy Links:

Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com › Death-…Death in the Spires: A completely gripping and addictive historical mystery

Blurb

The newspapers called us the Seven Wonders. We were a group of friends, that’s all, and then Toby died. Was killed. Murdered.

1905. A decade after the grisly murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham, the case remains hauntingly unsolved. For Jeremy Kite, the crime not only stole his best friend, it destroyed his whole life. When an anonymous letter lands on his desk, accusing him of having killed Toby, Jem becomes obsessed with finally uncovering the truth.

Jem begins to track down the people who were there the night Toby died – a close circle of friends once known as the ‘Seven Wonders’ for their charm and talent – only to find them as tormented and broken as himself. All of them knew and loved Toby at Oxford. Could one of them really be his killer?

As Jem grows closer to uncovering what happened that night, his pursuer grows bolder, making increasingly terrifying attempts to silence him for good. Will exposing Toby’s killer put to rest the shadows that have darkened Jem’s life for so long? Or will the gruesome truth only put him in more danger?

Some secrets are better left buried…

From the bestselling, acclaimed author of The Magpie Lord and The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen comes a chilling historical mystery with a sting in the tail. You won’t be able to put this gripping story down!

• Publisher: Storm Publishing (April 11, 2024)

• Publication date: April 11, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 273 pages

Review: Broken (Erebus Assassins Book 1) by Reese Knightley

Rating: 3.25🌈

Broken is the first book in a new connected series, Erebus Assassins, by Reese Knightly. If you’re familiar with other series and characters as well as the types of themes and storylines that come with them, you know exactly what to expect from Broken.

There will be damaged characters with intense relationship dynamics, shady or situational morality, and often painful, violent backgrounds.

And flowing through each other’s stories are the characters and couples from all the other series. Sometimes this works. Other times, as I feel it happens here, it doesn’t.

Broken opens as Ice unknowingly stumbles upon an assignment already in progress. An assassination is going down and the agent is Echo from another team. That Agency is one Ice used to work for . This violent brief interaction sets off a chain of chaotic events that include Ice stalking Echo, to the extent he’s quitting his job at work and rejoining another agency.

This is one example of the issues I see with the story. Knightley spends little time on developing any relationship between Ice and Echo to warrant this depth of obsessive interest or behavior. Ice just decides Echo is it for him and hunts him, whether Echo wants him to or not. In Echo’s case, it’s decidedly not.

Another is with all the various characters themselves. Some are carryovers and some are new. But the reader must be able to recognize them and remember who they are, how they fit into the different couples dynamics/agency structure and even current tortuous situations. Otherwise, it’s a constant struggle to understand who all these people are and how they fit together.

It’s all very unsupported and unsustainable for the book to have this many characters and their own narratives dropped in (and out) behind it.

Echo has a horrific history but it’s buried under everything else so the reader, at least I did, finds it hard to connect with. Which brings us back to the villain of the story.

That entire element, including his identity, just never felt plausible. From the size of the operation , and the fact that he had been able to run it as long as he had, given the facts, doesn’t seem believable framed out by all the other characters in the book. It seems more a dramatic needs element than a naturally occurring part of the story.

But so much of Broken feels unexplored or incomplete, a jumble of characters and plot lines. A new series should focus on new starts.

Why did this feel like Knightley took odds and ends from all her previous series and just dump them here?

Read this because you’re a fan of the author or like the other series. All those series listed below.

Erebus Assassins:

✓ Broken #1

◦ Agony #2 – July 31,2024

Related series with crossover characters and agencies :

Cobalt Security – 6 books

Code of Honor – 8 books

Out for Justice -7 books

Buy link

Broken (Erebus Assassins Book 1)

Blurb

He craved him like he’d never craved anyone before.

-Ice

They’d kissed. And spent a brief and wild time together.

He fell.

But Echo disappeared on him.

And now the chase was on.

He was going to find Echo, catch him, and make him his.

Even if it killed him.

-Echo

He should have never screwed the blue-eyed blond…

But he had.

He couldn’t say why, but Ice got on his last nerve.

So he wounded the guy a couple of times.

Since then, Ice seemed to be in his way every time he turned around.

Assassin vs assassin

Blind to love

Unrequited love

Emotional Scars

A traitor

**Please note 18+ content. See inside for trigger warnings.

• Publication date: April 4, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 244 pages

Review: Mist, Shadow, and Deep: An Epic Dragon Fantasy Saga (The Crystalline Dragons Saga Book 2) by Eoghan R. Cunningham

Rating: 3.75🌈

Mist, Shadow, and Deep, the next book in The Crystalline Dragons Saga, suffers a bit from the second book syndrome. Where the first book introduces the characters, had the huge amount of mystery, fantastic emotional dramatics for the characters and in events, and lays out the mythology. We get pathos, murder, sorrow, and some heroic moments.

That’s hard for a second book to continue forward while maintaining the momentum of that previous novel, keeping the magic alive, and juggling the newly created relationships between the trio of widely different characters.

It’s a narrative job that can turn into a struggle as it does at points here. At times it’s overly dense, where the reader just wants them (Dusk and his two companions) to just get on with it. Other times, the author creates these gems of scenes that encapsulates moments of startling high scary action, ones that demonstrates both the camaraderie that’s growing between the group and the mysterious dragon magic hidden inside Dusk .

We don’t get nearly enough of those.

The character of Dusk is a well thought out, beautiful creation. He’s undoubtedly the best thing here because it’s his stolen adolescence as a salt mine slave that plays into his actions and thoughts here. He’s an innocent on the outside world. He can’t read people, he can’t read period. Can’t hunt or fish. And he’s got an impulsive kind heart in a world that wants to kill him.

We see the villain coming a mile away. Which is a real problem here. Because we still have most of the book to get through to see how it ends. We know badly. Just how badly is the question.

Which doesn’t make for enjoyable reading.

So read Mist, Shadow, and Deep as the bridge it is to get to the next level of this saga . I’m onto Rise of the False King next.

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 -May 9,2024

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

Buy link:

Mist, Shadow, and Deep: An Epic Dragon Fantasy Saga (The Crystalline Dragons Saga Book 2)

Blurb:

A shadow rises to meet the light and, with it, an evil sorcerer. Dusk must choose between what is right and what is easy.

In his hour of need, a new face emerges. But is he friend or foe? Only time will tell.

Barely escaping with their lives, Dusk and his companions head south, following the mountains as they search for another way through. That is until they’re lost within a misty bog that threatens to consume them.

Out of the mist appears a figure who saves Dusk before the monster of the bog can consume him. Grateful and indebted, they head south together toward the port town of Emerald Deep. There’s a pass through the mountains there that will lead the party to their freedom at last.

But Emerald Deep is filled with mysteries, thieves, and temptation. The moment they arrive, the group begins to crumble, and Dusk is left wondering if his companions ever cared about him at all.

And that’s the moment the shadow attacks.

Mist, Shadow, and Deep contains a diverse cast of characters and queer themes. It was previously published under the title “The Crystal Archivist” by Blake R. Wolfe. Although the title and cover are different, the content remains the same.

• Publication date: March 14, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 264 pages

Review: Catch and Release by Isabel Murray

Rating: 4.5🌈

Isabel Murray continues to surprise me with her stunning perspectives on romance, relationships, and love.

I fell in love with her through her series, The Unwanted King, a fantasy series with unlikely, memorable characters, subtle heartbreaking elements, hilarious moments, and fabulous storylines.

Catch and Release is a remarkable paranormal romance, usually involving love story between a human and a mythical figure I don’t normally seek out in these romantic novels. I’m talking mermen.

Probably because I overthink the issues that come into play when writing mermen as viable/believable nonhuman beings. More so than other paranormal species, a mermaid or merman exists deep inside our minds, both in fables and mythology. And secretly for some strange reason, there’s a hope that our waters might be actually home to them as well. But would they be humanoid? Humans ,who for whatever reason, live aquatic lives.

Often that’s how they are portrayed.

Not here .

Catch and Release finds Joe McKenzie, 38, ex-hedge fund manager, living a new life as one of the world’s worst fisherman. Joe has moved to Lynwick, small harbour town tucked up between Scotland and northern England. He’s taken up not fishing very well, and been sort of adopted by Jerry Barnes, 58, owner of mid-sized trawler, the Mary Jane.

These are some of the best characters, with a uniquely wonderful dynamic between them. Half friends, and half family, it continues to grow throughout the story, with some of the beloved dialogue between them.

Which is great because there’s none between Joe and what they found in the netting. What they find is not human.

The chapters alternate between titles called Catch and Release. It’s both about the events and about the relationships that occur between them. Dave is the name given to the sea being caught in the nets. Who, what he is ? That’s all assumptions on Joe and Jerry’s part. We only get glimpses of exactly how removed from human Dave is by his actions and interactions with both men.

I love how Murray is able to demonstrate growth in a relationship and layers of understanding without losing sight of his otherworldly self or that Joe is fully human. And that there is a capacity to see each other’s viewpoint even if we have major differences to begin with.

So much deep humanity running into the shocking waters of another world. It’s wonderful, funny, sexy, and painful.

How do I review a book that will break your heart, mend your heart, and break your heart. And sort of mend it again. But only if you don’t think too far ahead past the end of the book.

Because Murray is beautiful in her realism. In her acknowledgement that Joe is and will always be human. And sometimes love is not forever. But it can be enough for today. And tomorrow.

Read this book. And, if you haven’t already, put Murray on your auto buy list. Highly recommended to both.

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Catch-…Catch and Release: MM Merman Romance eBook : Murray, Isabel: Kindle Store

Blurb

Joe McKenzie’s high-flying London life imploded six years ago, and it happened dramatically enough that paramedics were involved. That’s all in the past. Now, Joe couldn’t be happier living a solitary life as a fisherman on England’s wild northern coast.

Okay, he could be happier.

It’s not like he’s depressed or anything but, you know. The weather’s not great. Life’s a bit samey. He’s only thirty-eight. The idea of another forty years is a bit exhausting, to be honest. He passes the time pretending to be a fisherman but the truth is, he sucks at it.

Then Joe makes the catch of a lifetime when he stumbles across the mysterious Dave washed up on the beach—an enormous man with gills and uncanny power over the sea. Once Dave stops trying to kidnap Joe and/or kill Joe’s fishing buddy, Jerry, turns out he’s kind of…intriguing?

And not half as smooth as he seems to think he is.

There’s a lot Joe doesn’t know about Dave. He doesn’t know why Dave keeps disappearing or why he can’t seem to stay away. He doesn’t know what Dave wants from him. He doesn’t even know what, exactly, Dave is. And Joe can’t ask, because they don’t speak the same language.

Joe does know one thing, though. He is in love.

Which, great. How’s that going to end well?

Catch and Release is a gay paranormal romantic comedy featuring a truly terrible fisherman with an octopus phobia, a merman (maybe? Confirmation pending) with no sense of personal boundaries at all, constant communication fails, a whole lot of sea life not in the sea but in Joe’s house, yes, it’s dead, some epic yearning from both sides, and bewilderingly enough, maybe a way to make it work?

• Publisher: (August 16, 2021)

• Publication date: August 16, 2021

• Language: English

• Print length: 267 pages

Review: An Archer’s Awakening (Of Crowns & Quills Book 1) by Casey Morales

Rating: 3🌈

I picked up An Archer’s Awakening because of that fabulous cover and interesting description. Morales is also a author I’ve never read before.

What I found was a story that has strong themes, great characters, and wonderful potential for the storyline. So why not a higher rating?

The format. Unfortunately Morales undermines what’s best about his story, everything that connects the reader to his characters and their situations by his choices with his narrative.

To begin with the author has multiple points of view which only serve to muddle the various characters and our connections to them. Some of these are honestly secondary cast people who get chapters, like two who get assigned as the POV only to “vanish”, and later be described as an object of their mission. They’re here, disrupting the flow of the narrative and then gone. Literally.

That’s the main issue. It’s a chopped up story. I’m not sure how many books Morales intends for his series but the titles for books one and two are about The Archer. Not 7 or 8 other people. So make it about the Archer.

However it’s as though Morales can’t decide which direction he’s going in this story . So he begins with his two main characters. They truly are the main couple and have the most depth, the relatability of their dynamic. That’s Ranger DeClan Rea (cadet when we meet him) and noble born, fellow Ranger, Ayden. We follow them through training ,through individual exploration of romantic feelings and self worth, and a mystical experience in the mountains. All of which is abruptly, jarringly, stopped by a sudden change in direction.

For no apparent reason we are reading a different story. We get a new set of characters, narrators, new location, and a whole new set of plots about them, an interesting investigation, and yes, one of them turns out to be the mage brother of Ranger DeClan. It’s time for us to forget about that couple and their growing relationship and mystery and now focus entirely on someone else. It’s the brother Mage Keelan and his group now.

Then their section is abruptly ended. And it’s a Princess and King and a Sheriff’s son. And so on.

Frustrating? Absolutely. And this is only the beginning of this questionable process.

Any sort of logical process or narrative flow that allows a reader to follow freely the themes as they thread through the story or any important element or plot lines is almost impossible. It’s too jumbled.

And by extension, taking away from the main characters voices and storylines to squeeze in a perspective from a person that, in my opinion, isn’t necessary, lessens the impact and connectivity on the reader.

Just as we start to care about these characters and their lives and futures, Morales comes up with more strange ways to make less sense and divide our attention.

Towards the end of the book, the author finally brings two of his separate pieces together and the mage brother Kellan is reunited with his Ranger brother DeClan. The story is working in a manner it could have been all along. And it’s terrific. The mysteries are being revealed, investigations started. The book is dynamic and the relationships are revealing hidden depths of information and emotions.

Of course, it can’t stay true to course. Now that it’s working. Let’s go back to separating everything and everyone in a nonsensical manner.

There’s so much more here that I haven’t begun to address. There’s a prologue that sets down a magical threat and future events that involve a prophecy (gods involved of course). That pops up in the middle of the book in a character that had no previous voice so it really adds to the confusion. And there’s a character that everyone can identify as a “villain” without having a V stamped on him. He’s that guy.

So yes, among the fine characters, great scenes, and remarkable moments, there’s just too many overwhelmingly strange writing choices Morales made here that derail the narrative momentum, remove the reader from their connection to the characters and plot, and halt the flow of the storytelling.

Will I read the next book in the series? Yes. Hopefully the author will have abandoned the many pov , multiple sections format that he employed so disastrously here. A great editor helps with this.

Great cover. It did its job and got me to read the book.

Of Crowns and Quills:

◦ An Archer’s Awakening #1

◦ An Archer’s Destiny #2- July 31,2024

Buy link:

An Archer’s Awakening: An epic m/m fantasy romance adventure (Of Crowns & Quills Book 1)

Blurb:

Two Brothers. One Gift. A World on the Brink of Disaster.

In a world where most wield a Gift, Ranger cadet Declan Rea grapples with his lack of magic’s touch. His ungifted status breeds tension with his brother, Keelan, and fuels deep-seated insecurities.

Amidst his struggles, Declan finds solace and strength in a budding romance with fellow cadet, Ayden.

When a shadowy threat rises, and an ancient cult threatens to resurrect a long-forgotten queen, the world is plunged into chaos. Kidnappings and whispers of impending catastrophe set the stage for a showdown of epic proportions, where alliances are forged and loyalties tested.

As Keelan investigates, Declan and Ayden’s burgeoning romance faces the shadowy threat, as they navigate treacherous paths of betrayal and uncertainty.

Amidst the chaos, love becomes their guiding light.

Declan and Ayden uncover secrets of the past and within themselves, confronting their destinies and realizing that true courage lies not in the heat of battle, but in the quiet moments shared between two souls bound by an unbreakable connection.

Perfect for contemporary and fantasy mm romance fans alike, An Archer’s Awakening promises a heartwarming, slow burn, enemies-to-lovers story wrapped in a riveting adventure. From heart-stopping intrigue to tender moments, this story captivates with its blend of romance and peril.

Immerse yourself today in a world where love conquers all and heroes rise to meet their destiny.

Review: How I Took the King on a Bone-a-Fide Quest of Piracy, Piemu, and Profit: Bone 6 (How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned him to Villainy Book 12) by A. J. Sherwood

Rating: 5🌈

Finale time! And Steve’s gonna be a whole new dragon! Well, long dead and a skeleton one at that! But happy happy!

And that madcap murderous fabulous family of sorcerers and a King will adopt another into the fold.

And there’s many weddings!

Sherwood has written a warmhearted, if somewhat murderous tale of adventure, love, magic, and family. It’s been a wild and humorous journey. A absolute pleasure to read, a joy to have ventured into with along with the characters.

Will we see Tan, Devan, the kids, and the rest of the ever enlarging family? Sherwood doesn’t know. But I hope so. They have caught our attention and our hearts. That life and vivacity surely won’t be denied. Stay tuned!

Love these covers.

Series and side stories

💥How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned him to Villainy-6 books

💥How Tan Acquired an Apprentice

💥How I Took the King on a Bone-a-Fide Quest of Piracy, Piemu, and Profit:Bone series

Buy link

How I Took the King on a Bone-a-Fide Quest of Piracy, Piemu, and Profit: Bone 6 (How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned him to Villainy Book 12)

Blurb

Final boss fight! Fight necromancer? (yes) (NO)

Devan: I’m not beating up an old lady.

Tan: Pretty sure the old lady could take you.

Devan: Still not doing it. Time to negotiate.

Tags: dragon acquired keep as pet (yes) (NO), retired necromancers are BAMF, the kids adopt a necromancer grandmother, or a grandmummy if you will, all the weddings, pirates might be lost in the labyrinth, Steve is finally complete!, $$$, vacation time

• Publication date: April 26, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 51 pages

Review: Tempest (The Silver Oak Pack Book 1) by Kiki Clark

Rating: 3🌈

“Based within the Kincaid Pack series’s universe, the Silver Oak Pack features a pack first introduced in The Enforcer and His Mate. Led by Alpha Liam Amato, the Silver Oak Pack is small but fierce as they work to rebuild under Liam’s newfound leadership.”

Clark is starting a new series that expands on the events that have happened within the Kincaid pack universe, a paranormal world’s organizational structure, The Council, was recently brought down by the Alpha of the Kincaid Pack. Rebuilding has been slow, leaving chaos and damaging ramifications behind.

That’s the situation Tempest finds the Silver Oak pack, dealing with the fallout, full of suspicion of change, outsiders, and the result is a pack that’s in stasis.

The portrait of a community frozen by its fears, history, and prejudice is clearly defined by the author. We understand the ramifications and the ugly consequences of this continuing pack identity will have on its members.

But that makes it hard to connect with others in this story. Or any sudden reversals in behavior or decision making.

The main character of Ore, the golden eagle shifter, who shows up wounded and unable to remember what happened, is an engaging one. His background is probably one of the issues here. While i like him, his storyline is also both interesting and not so well developed. It has potential but is wrapped up so quickly, for all the buildup, that you as a reader wonder what the problem was. It’s over in minutes. And it leaves another aspect of his story unresolved.

Cash, a felidae shifter, comes from a terrible background of parental abandonment. That’s contributed to his current situation as Enforcer and attitude of Pack first mindset. So his inability to accept his mate that literally falls into his arms because he’s not a feline, is both frustrating and understandable . To a point.

The author misses the mark here because, there’s a real lack of communication between almost everyone. Mates, friends, family, and importantly, the Alpha and those that are supposed to advocate for the pack or themselves.

So for most of the book no one talks to anyone. About important things. Yes, they do talk about if Ore’s getting his memory back. But other things? Nope.

There’s something else. The Mobster’s Mate, which is listed as a standalone really isn’t. It leads into this series as sort of a prequel, and should be read as such. Characters from that appear here and events there are important references here.

In fact it’s a better developed story and its characters have more chemistry and relationship than those here

Read The Mobster’s Mate, then read this. Tempest has potential, especially with its main couple but it’s got quite a few issues with its narrative that highlights the flawed development in plot and shortcuts.

Read it because you enjoy this universe and want to see where the ongoing mystery flows and how it develops.

Silver Oak Pack:

✓ Tempest #1

Kincaid Pack-6 books

✓ The Alpha and His King #1

✓ The Second and His Bonded #2

✓ The Deputy and His Enforcer #3

✓ The Hunter and His Mates #4

✓ The Enforcer and His Heart #5

✓ The Witch and His Doctor #6

✓ The Mobster’s Mate -standalone within the Kincaid universe, so not really

✓ A New Pack for New Year (Kincaid Pack) prequel

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Tempest (Silver Oak Pack Book 1)

Blurb

When duty and desire clash, fated mates are caught in the middle.

Cash’s loyalty to his pack is unwavering. He’d sacrifice anything to protect his packmates. Do anything to keep them safe. Put their needs above his own—always.

It is the life he was born for, and the one he’s worked years to achieve. As an Enforcer, he swore an oath to his alpha: pack before self.

Not once has he regretted his choices.

Until an injured eagle shifter lands in his lap, and his protective instincts get torn in two.

He knows he can’t risk the safety of his pack—no matter what his panther demands. Once the little bird is all healed up, Cash will have to send him on his way.

For the good of his pack.

But dark, frightened eyes and a sweet smile call to his cat in a hungry, possessive way and challenge everything he’s ever thought he knew.

For the first time in his life, he might just have to put himself first.

Tempest is the first book in the Silver Oak Pack series, set within the Kincaid Pack Universe but able to be read and enjoyed completely on its own. It features an overly protective panther trapped by his own responsibility-driven morals, an eagle who can’t remember much but knows the surly cat makes him feel spine-tingling safe, magical tattoos, skinny dipping, a delicious age-gap, gobs of scenting, and a swoon-worthy happily ever after.

• Publisher: Rainbow Publishing LLC (April 23, 2024)

• Publication date: April 23, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 261 pages

Review: SOS HOTEL: Friendly Sanctuary for the Fiendishly Fabulous #2 by Adam Vex and Ariana Nash

Rating: 4.75🌈

Things just keep getting better/worse for the gang at the SOS Hotel. One problem gets resolved only for that solution to have a rippling effect that brings even bigger consequences for Adam, Zee, Victor, and the Hotel.

Nash, writing as the main character Adam Vex, is still very much an enigma. What Adam is remains the biggest mystery of them all and potentially a center of a devastating prophecy. Maybe. Don’t know.

There’s two other beings that have Adam’s attention and who he is attracted to. Zee, the incubus ex porn star who co-owns the hotel with Adam. Turns out Zee has so much more to him that’s revealed here. Hes a fabulous character, so many layers, with the potential to be hurt and emotionally damaged.

Zee is one of the triad that will, according to the description, eventually be formed. The other is Victor, the billionaire vampire, who has more than a few secrets exposed during the story. But he’s still on the periphery of any real relationship between the other two. However, it’s warming up.

Friendly Sanctuary for the Fiendishly Fabulous really expands on the knowledge of the current world and some of the characters within the hotel while leaving the biggest mysteries surrounding Adam and his existence looming ever larger.

This story is a huge, extra butter, popcorn box of a magnificent piece of sexy suspense and paranormal romance.

It’s so hard to wait until May for Sleep With Us to drop.

Until it does, I’m highly recommending you read the books leading up to it. Read them in the order they are written. What a wonderful read!

SOS Hotel:

✓ For a Supernaturally Safe Stay #1

✓ Friendly Sanctuary for the Fiendishly Fabulous #2

◦ Sleep with Us #3 – May 2024

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SOS HOTEL: Friendly Sanctuary for the Fiendishly Fabulous

Blurb

It’s been two weeks since the SOS Hotel opened, and everything is going great . . .

Apart from the detective who’s dead set on accusing Zee of murder, the leaking pipes, a psycho sorcerer stalker, a shadowbeast in the attic, and . . . did I mention Lord Reynard has a wife? Yeah, he didn’t mention it either. I could have done with knowing that before, you know, kinda falling for the suave, sexy Vampire Daddy.

He also neglected to mention that his wife wants my head on a plate. Literally.

This is not the love triangle I was expecting.

If Reynard lied about that, what else is a lie? Is Zee right, and Lord Reynard wants our hotel? Or is it something more personal he desires, such as my heart?

My name is Adam Vex. I’m totally, one hundred percent human.

Welcome to the SOS Hotel.

Where it’s about to get weird-er.

*

SOS Hotel is a whacky MMM adventure about a vampire lord, an ex-porn-star demon, and a boring human who absolutely does not have any secrets. 18+ only. You’ll find dark humor abounds, plus explicit language and sex. If you don’t like the f-word, or sex, with a little mass murder thrown in, do not read these books. There will be triggering content for some, including sexual coercion.Proceed with caution.

Have a great stay!

• Publisher: Crazy Ace Publishing (April 21, 2024)

• Publication date: April 21, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 172 pages

Review: SOS HOTEL: For a Supernaturally Safe Stay by Adam Nex , writing by Ariana Nash

Rating: 4.5🌈

SOS HOTEL has the feel of a terrific serialized fiction story, with a fast paced narrative, a first person point of view, and many, so so many mysteries contained within the storytelling.

In other words, it’s highly entertaining as well as a lively, sexy, mysterious paranormal romp. I really enjoyed it.

Nash, writing as the main character Adam Nex, is having a blast here with all aspects of this story. There’s an underpinning of darkness that makes this interesting and gives the characters and their personalities a needed sharpness. Murder and bloodshed does that.

But then there’s an undeniable quirkiness about so much of this too. Whether it’s the bargain bin AI bartender bought from a shady Fae , the run down, shabby quality of the hotel itself, or any of its denizens, these characters start lightly, humorously weird, and then their personalities gradually change and acquire unexpected depth. Albeit with humor to go with the flashes of dark seriousness.

Then there’s the mysterious main trio of Adam, a person hiding so many secrets, and Zee the succubus ex porn star who’s also a part owner along with Adam of the hotel. Zee has his own secrets and background to be revealed. And there’s Victor, billionaire businessman and vampire who’s strangely interested in Andy and the hotel. Along with the villain of the story.

So much is going on here that it’s a page turner. Be prepared to read until it is finished. And then need more. Honestly, what happened to Clayton?

Moving quickly to book 2, and leaving a definitive , yes, read this, right here.

SOS Hotel:

✓ For a Supernaturally Safe Stay #1

◦ Friendly Sanctuary for the Fiendishly Fabulous #2

◦ Sleep with Us #3 – May 2024

Buy link

SOS HOTEL: For a Supernaturally Safe Stay!

Blurb:

Guaranteed a supernaturally safe stay!

(Definitely no murders)

*

A scandalous, ex-porn star demon and a morally shady, billionaire vampire walk into a bar…

But this is no joke. It’s opening day at the SOS Hotel, and that lust demon? He’s my business partner. I know. What was I thinking? The sexy, suave vampire however? He’s something else…

Creating a sanctuary for the supernaturals left here when the tear in the veil sealed was always going to be difficult, but it’s all I have, and I’m going to make it work. Despite the murders, the missing humans, and the psychotic real estate mogul who wants to bulldoze the hotel…

The SOS Hotel must thrive whatever the cost. Because if it fails, I’ll lose everything. Including my life.

My name is Adam. I’m just the boring human who works here, and I absolutely, definitely do not have any secrets.

Welcome to the SOS Hotel. What can possibly go wrong?

Warning: SOS Hotel contains explicit language, situations, and content that some readers may find uncomfortable. For full warnings, please see the author’s website or the paperback “look inside sample”

• Publisher: Crazy Ace Publishing (April 19, 2024)

• Publication date: April 19, 2024

• Language: English

• Word Wise: Enabled

• Sticky notes: On Kindle Scribe

• Print length: 174 pages