Category: 5 star Rating

Review: Second Song: Second Chance School by Con Riley

Rating: 5🌈

“This book is set in a small, British independent school specialising in trauma-informed teaching.”

Second Song sees a return to beloved place and school from Riley’s heartwarming Learning to Love series, one of my absolute favorites of contemporary fiction. That’s the Glenn Harber School near Porthperrin, Cornwall.

As the quote indicates above, it’s a very special school, full of talented and passionate teachers and students who have their own heartfelt stories to share.

Into this amazing environment, Riley sets up the first in another series, Second Chance School, and the beginning book, Second Song, about Rowan Bryn, a hopeful music teacher, who’s traumatized past has caused him to lose his ability to sing in front of others. It’s also about Liam Sexton, ex forces Army Royal Engineers, injured by an explosion on tour that left him with a hearing disorder.

A school in need of temporary teaching help and a crumbling library in need of demolition brings both men to the Glenn Harber School, second chances to rebuild their lives, and gain a new love and community that will help them overcome their past trauma.

Some of my favorite characters are present here from the Learning to Love books. There’s the ever wonderful Charles Heppel-Eaves who always arrives surrounded by glitter and an aura of love, Dom Dymond and his child, Maisie, and Luke, naturally. And so many other standouts throughout this incredibly moving novel, like Teo, little brave Hadi, Noah and his lamb who started it all.

But it’s Rowan and Liam in their own tenuous brave journeys towards dealing with their past trauma and their own new relationship that captures our hearts and engages us totally in this story.

Riley writes with such sensitivity and compassion about the stages of grief and understanding that it takes for Rowan and Liam to go through in order to overcome their own fears and pain in order to be able to heal and support each other as they too deal with their trauma.

The men are real and what they have undergone feels raw and believable. So do all the events as they occur to get them through to a moving and loving ending.

I can’t help but hope we get more tales where Matt, Blake, Neck Brace and the rest of Liam’s Royal Engineers family get their own stories and HEA. If they too are located near Porthperrin and this school, then I’d be a happy reader indeed.

Second Song: Second Chance School by Con Riley is a highly recommended book, as is the connected series, Learning to Love. Put all on your must read list!

Second Chance School:

✓ Second Song #1

◦ Second Shot #2 – April 30,2025

Buy link

Second Song: Second Chance School

Blurb:

Second Song (Second Chance School #1)

Page-turning heat and hurt-comfort start on a Cornish cliffside and end at a school where not only students heal from past pain.

Do first times count if you forget them?

Rowan: I once lost a national singing contest. My consolation prize? A night I can’t remember and the tattoo on my bare bottom going viral. Six years later, I’m ready to rise like a phoenix from those shameful public ashes even if my singing days are over. Training as a music teacher is the second chance I need to prove I can be trusted to help children with their own trauma.

I can’t get distracted by falling for the wounded hero who saved me on my first day in Cornwall.

Liam: Blast damage forced me to leave the Army, and guilt keeps me running from those I hurt in the process. I don’t intend to fall for a pretty stranger trapped on a cliffside, but something about Rowan makes me crave more than our one heated night together, especially when he responds like I’m the first man to ever touch his heart or body.

If he wants a second chance here in Cornwall, I’ll stay and fight until he gets one.

Featuring a musician too bruised to sing and the soldier ready to battle for him, Second Song starts the Second Chance School series. Expect found family, a spectrum of diverse characters, and a HEA fit for angsty heroes.

This spin-off shared-world series aligns with the much-adored Learning to Love series. No prior knowledge is necessary to enjoy this standalone full-length novel.

• Publisher: Figment Ink (May 8, 2024)

• Publication date: May 8, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 314 pages

Artist: Natasha Snow

Review: Teas’d (Evergreen Council) by Vin George

Rating: 5🌈

If you’re a fan of author Vin George’s Evergreen Council series, then this novella is the thing for you. Teas’d is a warm-hearted glimpse into the daily lives of Charley, the half vampire/half fae adorable being from Fang’d (Evergreen Council Book 1) and his vampire father, Dalziel. Naturally, this sees Luc, Charlie ‘s bond-mate werewolf, as an important part of his life and household as well.

This novella is a perfect illustration of how to bring a sense of loving family and deep understanding of each other’s differences to life in a meaningful but short narrative. Especially when its characters and universe are all from prior books.

The reader doesn’t have to have read those stories in order to understand these characters, their unique personalities, their histories, and the warmth and loving synergy between them all. George’s dialogue and fantastic storytelling has done an excellent job, laid all the groundwork, and now let’s the reader enjoy and become involved in the story itself.

And what a joyful, and emotional journey it becomes. A father/son moment, a learning experience full of humor and poignancy, quixotic and sweet.

This is a group of characters and a universe I can’t get enough of . It’s also one I highly recommend.

Check them all out today.

Evergreen Council:

Fang’d #1

Claw’d #2

Teas’d #3

Buy link

https://www.amazon.com/Teasd-Evergreen-Council-Vin-George-ebook/dp/B0D48FCNQ2?ref_=ast_author_mpb

Blurb

Don’t play games with a vampire unless you’re prepared to lose.

Playing pranks on his three-hundred-year-old vampire sire wasn’t Charley’s brightest idea. Now Dalziel has set him a task.
Charley is stuck with a night’s worth of brain-twisting clues and his own company until he solves them all. Not even Luc can help!
Charley wants to win, but can he ever really lose? His mate is waiting for him regardless, ready to rock his world.

An Evergreen Council novella, pitting a preoccupied father against his chaotic son, with smiles, curses, and insights into both men’s lives when the biggest adventure is living well.

• Publisher: Little Storm Press (May 25, 2024)

• Publication date: May 25, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 53 pages

Review: Tournament Mage (Fledgling God Book 5) by Michael Taggert

Rating: 5 🌈

It’s been since February 27, 2022 when I read the fabulously horrifying book Buried Mage, fourth in Michael Taggert’s wildly imaginative, densely packed and beautifully detailed fantasy series, Fledgling God.

So seeing that Taggert had finally released another book in the series is a great joy and, one that takes a bit to remember all that has happened in the previous novels as it’s been a while .

This is a series I think might be worth waiting for all the books to be published and then binge reading them all together . You might be absolutely book drunk at the end but you’ve had the most amazing experience and it’s been a journey you will remember.

Individually, each book stops and starts right after the other has ended. Taggert’s picking up his narrative as though there’s been no interruption. Such as having to write another book!

Honestly, I seem to overlook things here that otherwise would normally make me narratively have issues with the story simply because the of the incredible ideas, the wildly wackadoodle flights of imagination that are the hallmarks of this author and series.

Every character. Including the House of House Louisville has a uniquely fascinating personality. One that continues to grow and deepen throughout the series in surprising ways. It’s not just about the characters. It’s magical charms and crystals, Marks and soul creations like tiny Miners and Surfers, and more importantly, each type of being that two of the mages, Jason and Annabeth, encounter here or create, vividly come to life on the page and mean something special to the reader. It’s a uniquely beautiful and powerful cast of characters that , from bugs to crystals to enslaved mages, they draw the reader inside the story and whatever small sections they inhabit.

This time the focus is primarily narrowed down to Jason and Annabeth, although we do get some new information about the other three members of the House. They have to enter a contest and what a contest it is . The book ends before the contest is finished. It’s simply epic. A giant quest, a RPG with real teams and on a planet where things can kill your team. Sort of.

I can’t begin to explain what this is about. And normally I’d say that Taggert has too much laid in his story that slows down his narrative . But I can’t. Every crazy, zany, over-the-top scene this author has thought of and written, and I’m talking Tim Gunn narrating a male fashion show for Jason type of insanity, and I’m totally committed. I’m 100 percent invested.

And he does this over and over. And it works. Wild side trips here and there, junkets to vaults, it’s just so fun or personal and imaginative while sticking with the same theme and emotions. It keeps the reader connected and fascinated and thrilled with everything that is happening.

Then, boom . We need to wait for the next one to come. Sigh. Which I will.

Taggert does a small book by book recap at the beginning but it’s not even close to what happened. So do think about what type of reader you are and the experience you want to get into here.

Either way, these books are a must read.

Love the cover.

Fledgling God:

Misfit Mage #1

Melee Mage #2

Gathering Mage #3

Buried Mage #4

Tournament Mage #5

Buy link:

Tournament Mage: Fledgling God: book 5

Blurb:

After all of their adventures, the crew of House Louisville was ready to sit back and take it easy. But a surprise visitor informed them they owed millions of pearls to the Bank.

He was willing to take them all as indentured servants for the Bank and let them work decades to pay off their debt. That would mean splitting up the House, though, and nobody was willing to let that happen.

To save the House, and to stay together, Jason and Annabeth find themselves in a tournament they must win. Because one thing is for sure, the Bank doesn’t play around!

• Publication date: May 18, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 940 pages

Review: Enchanting Exposition (Demon Magic Book 4) by Alice Winters

Rating: 5🌈

“The scream that explodes from within Menace would put a dying banshee to shame.”

So begins Enchanting Exposition, book four in Alice Winters’ marvelous fantasy romance series.

If this is the last in the Demon Magic series, then I’m going to be sad because I absolutely love this universe. But I’ll also be very satisfied because of the way Winters has left the all characters, ok maybe most, happily settled in their lives. All after a wildly terrifying, exhilarating, and emotional adventure that brings the original Geoff narrative to a close.

Geoff, the fiendish mage whose diabolical plans is at the very heart of so much misery and death, will be the basis for much of the story here. The author weaves in all the many painful backgrounds of the characters , established beings and new characters, so that this series arc can finally end. It’s powerful, imaginative, certainly has the hallmarks of the Winters’ take with humor and terror intermixed, along with a great deal of romance and love. Not just between Havoc and Miles. That’s front and center, and totally entertaining.

What else is outright hilarious? Menace and his reactions to Cottontuff. More , love this.

And Marco. Somehow, Marco (my beauty is my contribution) and Lachlan’s developing relationship is everything this book. Along with Evan, Etienne, Dyame combo, even Nicco. Not sure who else I’ve left out, someone I’m sure. Everyone showed up and it was absolutely scarily splendid!

We get a great new character and I’d really love to see more of him . There’s an interesting dynamic we’re left with that needs to be explored.

Miles and Havoc? Happy! So so happy.

Enchanting Exposition (Demon Magic Book 4) by Alice Winters is a must read and fabulous book. It’s a definite recommend in a series I deeply enjoyed. Read them all!

Demon Magic

✓ Happy Endings #1

✓ Familiar Beginnings #2

✓ Malicious Midpoint #3

✓ Enchanting Exposition #4

Buy link

Enchanting Exposition (Demon Magic Book 4)

Blurb

Maybe it wasn’t my best idea to draw dark magic into myself to save a friend… but it’s definitely not my worst (don’t ask Havoc what that was). The first thing on our list of “Save Miles from the Dark Magic That Might Be Making Him Do Ridiculous Things” is to destroy the ominous book that’s snagging my attention. But what I don’t expect is to be dragged into the book filled with dark mysteries that leaves me with more questions… and a lack of pants.

But it’s nothing that Havoc and I can’t handle. The two of us have proven that our relationship is strong enough that we can face anything life throws at us, so I think we can handle a measly book… maybe… I mean, so far it may look like we’re not winning, but that’s just because it’d be boring if heroes won immediately.

And it’s not like we have to fight this battle alone, especially with an awe-inspiring dragon familiar who is forced to face his greatest adversary (a common housecat), a narcissistic angel who comes with a sword that compliments every cut made, a centaur who always manages to look like he’s on the set of a cologne commercial, and… Etienne (whatever he is).

With the demon I love by my side and my found family, we’re going to stop this darkness before it spreads. But doing so might unveil some things we never expected.

• Publication date: May 21, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 317 pages

Review: One Night With The Nanny (Nannies of New York Book 6) by K. Sterling

Rating: 5🌈

Nannies of New York is one of my favorite contemporary series. It’s been a memorable journey for a found family of Manhattan nannies who find themselves first in a position to help a family heal and thrive, then love finds them, placing them directly within the heart of the family they have come to love.

Each story has been framed out by elements of psychological drama, historical stories of love and tragedy, trauma and losses. And each new emotional venture turns into something marvelous, full of joy, laughter, often moving scenes as well as hot, sexual moments. All guaranteed to make these characters feel vivid, deeply realized and loved by the reader.

Never more so than in the story of Reid Marshall, co-founder, along with Gavin, his non sexual soulmate, of The Marshall Agency, the exclusive LGBTQIA nanny company at the heart of the series.

In the last book, we saw a hidden side of Reid’s life where his need to keep his sexual lifestyle secret, which he’s turned into a one night a week affair. It’s complete with its own clothes and accessories, and limited to certain bars. But things immediately go awry when a distraught older royal with family problems gets added into the mix.

Maximilian, Margrave of Hessen, who has two daughters he is desperate to connect with. Max is so unique in the cast of characters we have come to know but it turns out he’s perfect. Watching him yearn for his daughter’s understanding and love is painful and heartbreaking. Getting it is heartfelt and so amazing.

And the relationship between Max and Reid that slowly built and with great emotional work is truly everything. It’s funny, wrenching, incredibly sexy, and thought provoking.

A sticking point for Reid is his deep love and commitment to Gavin, his platonic soulmate, and their family that’s gathered around them. He finds it difficult to believe that anyone would want to be an equal partner with him in this situation. It’s never given a name. Gavin has a sexual relationship and loving partner in Dash who accepts that Reid will always be a part of their relationship. Polyamory? What’s in a name. It’s not given one here, just that they are all a unit. Such a great well written aspect of this book and series.

Also their sexual relationship and preferences which are very D/s and beautifully layered into their own stories and personalities but into their romance as it develops.

Sterling hits one high narrative note after another. I laughed, shook my head at the antics and confusion displayed by the characters, maybe cried at certain moments, and fanned myself at certain scenes. But always I was deeply engaged and emotional involved with everyone here. Each and everyone.

I was wondering if this was the end of the nannies. But another interesting development showed up, a character who has been popping up here and there. Apparently he’s next!

This is a series I’m thrilled to recommend. But do read them in order. It’s a fabulous journey and watching them find love, learning about the Marshall family, and all the wonderful people and dynamics is a joy to revisit.

Especially the romance of The King of Nannies and the Prince! So fantastic!

Nannies of New York :

✓ The Last Nanny In Manhattan #1

✓ Giles Ashby Needs A Nanny #2

✓ The Handy Nanny #3

✓ The Enchanting Nanny #4

✓ The Nanny with The Nice List #5

✓ One Night With The Nanny #6

Buy Link:

One Night With The Nanny: Nannies of New York Book 6

Blurb

Once upon a glitzy Manhattan night, a nanny finds himself in a royal mess.

The Marshall Agency may have begun on a whim, but it’s no accident that it’s considered the best in Manhattan. Everything goes exactly as planned because Reid Marshall only does things one way: his way.

Reid’s content with the life he has built with his platonic soulmate, Gavin, but knows his friends and family would be shocked at what he gets up to off the clock.

Maximilian, Margrave of Hessen, knows a thing or two about living a lie. Desperate to mend his relationship with his daughters, Max turns to the Marshall Agency’s headstrong founder for help. Only to find they have already met.

Max wants more than one night with the nanny and intends to win the fiercely independent younger man’s heart. Can Reid resist, or will he too succumb to love and live happily ever after?

One Night with the Nanny is Book 6 of the Nannies of New York series. It’s a fairytale rom-com with a twist, featuring fake dating, found family, a one-night stand that turns into more, and a struggling single dad who happens to be a Prince.

• Publisher: Bawdy Books (May 16, 2024)

• Publication date: May 16, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 318 pages

Review: Temperance (Damned Connections Book 3) by Lark Taylor

Rating: 4.75🌈

Damned Connections is the sequel series to the original Reckless Damn Series about the rebelling four sons of Lucifer, finding their mates ,and the war with their father. It’s an excellent series.

But I’m finding that Damned Connections is even better, imo. It’s still got the original characters but now we’re focusing on the aftermath and the characters on the edge of their group. And the ones affected by the war. It’s an extraordinary journey.

Now it’s Toby and Blaise’s time for their stories to be told and Taylor has outdone herself with a narrative of incredible emotional depth and intelligence .

Taylor has incorporated the elements of BDSM and D/s in such a way that readers who don’t read this type of thing or think that they don’t understand it will find themselves absolutely absorbed into this relationship. It’s a Dom/ sub relationship that works through each other’s needs and desires as well as those aspects of play that they don’t want to include. It’s clearly discussed as adults and spanking is the top discipline here.

But Blaise is fighting for his life in that his guilt is literally driven him down. The emotional tension and despair attached to him is real and extremely intense.

Toby isn’t the bartender vampire he’s seemed in the previous books and the revelations of his true nature are astonishing.

The exploration of Blaise’s past and the journey between them drew me in like no other. It was 3 am before I realized I was still reading. And often sobbing.

The only reason this didn’t get a 5 star rating is because there was so much “as told to” sections as the author had to fill in the reader with different details about certain aspects of a couple’s story from a book and timeline pertinent to this story.

Temperance (Damned Connections Book 3) runs in the same time period as some of the other books so it’s necessary for Taylor to pinpoint exactly where in the timeline this is happening . Especially if you haven’t read the other books.

But it drags the narrative down in a way and changes the perspective in some cases.

So yes, a fantastic story and incredibly compelling plot that’s one of my favorites. Probably be a reread.

I’m absolutely loving this series and recommend reading it in the original as well as this.

Reckless Damn Series – first series

✓ Devil’s Mark #1

✓ Devil May Care #2

✓ Deal with the Devil #3

✓ Luck of the Devil #4

Damned Connections – sequel

✓ Patience #1

✓ Justice #2

✓ Temperance #3

◦ Humility #4 – Oct 31,2024

Hopeless Blessed – Seraphim sequel series

◦ Conflicted #1 -Sept 5,2024

Buy link

Temperance (Damned Connections Book 3)

Blurb

A fire mage who believes he’s broken. A vampire who believes he can fix him. A contract that’s going to change everything.

Blaise

I’ve never been good at doing the right thing.

A series of bad choices have left my life in tatters. Everyone is telling me to move on, but how can I? What I did was unforgivable, even if some believe otherwise. My whole world imploded the night I left a human dying on a classroom floor.

I don’t deserve anything good in my life, I know that. But I’m desperate for peace. Just a few moments where I can escape from everything I’ve done.

When Toby offers me a solution that promises just that, I jump at it. I never imagined having a Dom, but with Toby in that role?

Nothing has ever felt so right.

Problem is, this isn’t a relationship, it’s a contract. A temporary one.

Which means I need to guard my heart and stop myself from falling for this enigmatic vampire.

Like I said, I’ve never been good at doing the right thing.

Toby

I never learn.

Every time I see a needy sub, I can’t stop myself from offering my help. Every time, I forget that it’s a contract and fall too hard and too fast.

I’m the one who fixes them, never the one they choose to spend eternity with. That’s the way it always goes.

When Blaise bursts into my life, I already know how it’s going to end. I can’t stop myself from wanting to help him, but this man has the capacity to break me in entirely new ways. Maybe if I keep the boundaries strict between us, I can walk away at the end without another scar on my heart.

Like I said, I never learn.

Temperance is the third book in the Damned Connections series. Featuring a needy sub and a Dom who’s trying to avoid heartbreak, this spicy MM PNR romance will pull at your heartstrings. Although this series can be read as a standalone, it’s better enjoyed in order. Each book follows a different couple and has a guaranteed HEA.

• Publisher: Lark Taylor (May 16, 2024)

• Publication date: May 16, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 422 pages

Review: Thin Ice: MM Small Town/Hockey Romance (The Elmwood Stories Book 4) by Lane Hayes

Rating: 4.5🌈

Thin Ice sees us back in Elmwood, one of my favorite places located in a fabulous heartwarming contemporary romance series. It’s a place I can’t get enough of.

This time Lane is serving up a delicious romantic treat of age gap, fresh starts, and two great characters of incredible depth and heart. Plus hockey of course!

Bryson is the older man, father to a AHL hockey player headed to the big leagues. Lane has given Bryson surprising depths and a backstory, one I’ll leave to the book. But it makes Bryson well rounded, funny, stressing, uncertain. In other words, immediately connectable. Especially in regard to his role and relationship to his son, Jake.

Smitty is absolutely his partner in every way. Sometimes there’s an inequality in an age gap romance but here Lane gives us two men who find contentment, peace, total freedom to communicate and be themselves. We laugh, quietly watch as they question this new relationship as it develops, and it’s feels real and meaningful.

Elmwood operates as another character in itself. The places, atmosphere, school , people who are now familiar to the readers, and deeply a part of the series and story.

I wish the ending was a bit longer but then I feel that at every Elmwood story, wanting to linger on.

I absolutely recommend Thin Ice and the entire series. Read them in order. There’s another one coming to my delight!

And yes, the hockey is spot on, whether it’s on the pro level or high school. Love it.

The Elmwood Stories-Small Town/ Hockey Series :

✓ You, Again #1

✓ Next Season #2

✓ Holiday Crush #3

✓ Thin Ice #4

◦ Hot Shot #5 – Summer 2024

Buy Link

Thin Ice: MM Small Town/Hockey Romance (The Elmwood Stories Book 4)

Blurb

The hunky dad, the hockey coach, and a new start…

Bryson

Elmwood isn’t good for my love life. Hey, I’m a positive person and I have nothing but wonderful things to say about small-town living, but I haven’t had a date in years. That’s fine—my son is and always has been my number one focus.

Except now he’s grown and gone. And it’s lonely.

Okay, yes, the new hockey coach is hot and single, but he’s off-limits. Smitty’s trouble with a capital T, and his baggage might outweigh mine. Besides, we said nothing would happen after “that” night. It was a one-time, never to be repeated deal.

At least…that’s what I thought.

Smitty

Am I sad about retiring from pro hockey? Honestly, no. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t in pain. I need a rest and I could use a distraction from unwelcome memories at home. Stat.

So…Elmwood.

Look, we all know I won’t last a whole season of coaching high school kids, but stepping in till they find a better candidate is a good temporary plan. And Bryson’s here.

There’s something about the hot dad with the sunny smile and bad dad jokes that makes me feel alive again. I’m not in the market for forever—been there, done that. Look, I’ve taken risks for my sport, but I’m not giving my heart away again. I know thin ice when I see it.

Or do I?

Thin Ice is an MM bisexual, age-gap, small-town romance featuring a silver fox dad, the new hockey coach, and a fresh start on solid ground.

• Publication date: May 14, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 270 pages

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: 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: 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