Category: 5 star Rating

Review: A Ruse to Unchain Us (The Magi Accounts #4) by Michele Notaro

Rating: 5🌈

A Ruse To Unchain Us brings The Magi Accounts near the end of this incredible dark saga. Two more stories to follow and we’ll see what happens to all the characters who have suffered and survived through this perilous, harrowing journey.

A Ruse To Unchain Us is emotionally draining and powerful in the wrenching scenes that Notaro delivers, one after the other, as the Ono-Nai tribe fights against government and witches alike to survive the battles against both and the tear in the universe. There are moments of such brutality and violence, common in this series, that hit you hard in the heart. As they should. Tissues should be issued along with the story.

Repeatedly, the author reminds the reader exactly what’s at stake, often graphic detail , what type of treatment the non humans have had to endure for decades. Along with the past traumatic history, there’s the current horrors they continue to endure, suffer under, as they battle to get their rights and freedoms.

As Notaro notes, read the trigger warnings because they definitely apply, as they have for the series. Torture, sexual assault and abuse (some off page) as children and adults , brutality , beatings, and horrific death is a common occurrence too. These beings have been and are continued to be subjected to the entire spectrum of the worst humankind is capable of simply because they aren’t human and are regarded as tools for the humans to use as they see fit.

To counter such agonizing moments and scenes, it’s balanced with those of pride, found family, bonds of deep affection, friendship, and abiding love. All of which have had to endure the pain and horror of the world they live in and survive to come together as the strong forces we see now.

Cosmo Ono-Nai, Mads, Jude, and the rest of the Ono-Nai pack must deal with the toughest challenges yet their pride has faced when The Red Cloth ups it’s attacks against the government and its citizens.

I won’t spoil the high stakes and action that occurs here. It’s intense, fast paced, incredibly emotional, and very suspenseful. And yes, filled with love and pain too , because this is a battlefield and people/beings are hurt and sometimes they die.

Notaro’s vision and realistic writing makes sure we don’t forget about the pain as well as the love, the loss that goes with the wins, such as they are. It’s raw, dark fiction and it rings so true.

Two more novels to go. One’s a companion story, Logan and Haiden get a book of their own. And then onto the finale. I can’t imagine how the author will tie up all the characters and storylines still moving forward but I’m sure it will be amazing. I’ll be so sorry to see this series end.

What a fantastic journey it’s been.

Until then, I highly recommend you read this series in the order it’s written if you haven’t already done so. Then read the intensely powerful A Ruse to Unchain Us (The Magi Accounts #4) by Michele Notaro. Just a great example why this author is an auto read.

The Magi Accounts:

🔹The Scars That Bind Us #1

🔹The Shackles That Hold Us #2

🔹A Date To Impress Him #2.5

🔹A Purpose That Restores Us #3

🔹A Holiday to Sustain Us: A Magi Accounts Holiday

🔹An Embrace To Hearten Me: The Magic Accounts 3.5

🔹A Ruse To Unchain Us: The Magi Accounts # 4

🔹A Heart To Revitalize Me #4.5 – September 20, 2024 (Logan and Haiden companion story)

🔹Only Unity Will Spare Us #5 – Sept 20, 2024

Buy Link:

A Ruse To Unchain Us: The Magi Accounts 4

Blurb:

It’s time to fight back, and by the goddess, I will help free my people.

The Cloaked Freeway is finally in a position to effect real change, and I want so badly to be a part of it. Since I was a little kid, it’s been my dream to free my people from under the human’s rule. And now I have the chance to make that dream a reality.

But helping them means giving up so much. I have a family now—a pride—and I don’t want to put them at risk. Luckily for me, my mate wants to be a part of the revolution, too, but that still leaves everyone else.

The world is turning into chaos around us and our family is being pulled in different directions, but I know one thing for sure. The Ono-Nais are fighters, and we’ll do everything in our power to keep each other safe and help those around us.

A Ruse To Unchain Us is the fourth book in the MM urban fantasy series, The Magi Accounts. It’s recommended to read the series in order because the romance progresses through the series and it has an ongoing storyline, but there is NO cliffhanger.

*Intended for adults only. Please read the trigger warnings at the beginning of this novel.

Review: Like I Wanted (Heather Bay, #5) by Charlie Novak

Rating: 5🌈

From the moment I met this intriguing couple I wanted their story. Over the course of this wonderful series, we get just enough of each character as they’ve interacted with the core group of men that have formed the foundation of this series to get a great sense of what they look like and who they are.

There’s the tall, elegant goth owner of Winchester & Sons Funeral Directors, Laurence “Laurie” Winchester. He’s quiet but has a strong presence. Wears black but stylish clothing and with makeup to match. His best friend/closest companion of over 4 years is a someone who lives with him, works with him, doing the makeup on the clients, but also has interesting side businesses.

That’s Theo (he,they), small , beautifully femme, with painful abuse in his past, both from exes and from family rejection. His love of exotic taxidermy is as well known as his streaming gaming Twitch and MyFans porn channels. Both of which have helped him become more the person he is today. Brighter than the sun, loyal, a bit bratty and incredibly brave.

Of all the fascinating individuals Novak has created for the series, Theo and Laurie have to be both my favorites as well as the most compelling.

With Theo, there is a clear picture of past disturbing events in his life but the author is subtle about the details. We know the origins and the effects that they have on Theo, and that’s enough. Laurie, too, has some parental issues, but nothing on the level that Theo has been subjected to. While on the surface, they may have little in common, together they match.

I love the way Novak unsettles their established relationship with one statement by a friend that sets off a real exploration of who and what they really are to each other. This is helped by heartfelt discussions with members of their found family of friends. Each from the prior stories in the series who help bring clarity to their feelings about their relationship.

Japanese bondage rope play or shibari is a big element here and a excellently integrated one. Novak introduces it into the storyline and their dynamic slowly and then builds it as an important part of their relationship, letting us see how impactful it is to both men in their roles. Such a sexy, well written aspect of this romance and novel, one I loved.

Healing and reconnecting has always been a deeply rooted theme of this series. Whether it’s reconnecting with your roots and the land of the vivid world of Heather Bay or the inner world conflicts that the characters are dealing, Novak’s has them rediscovering their own unique identities and finding their own way to a future with a partner. Each through wonderful journeys we’ve been a part of.

So it’s no small surprise that a big chunk of Theo’s discarded past arrives in this finale. Read the book, enjoy every moment of this aspect of the story as I did.

All the characters gather round as well as several others from Theo’s MyFan channel. I really hope Novak has a plan for them down the line as they are such an enjoyable sexy group of men.

Heather Bay is going down as one of my favorite contemporary romance series, one that ended with a 5 star couple. I truly felt as though I knew this remarkable seaside town and its inhabitants. I’ll miss having more stories so it’s going on my to be reread list, long as it is.

That gorgeous cover is definitely delicious.

This series and this book are must reads! Check them out in the order they are written!

Heather Bay series :

✓ Like I Pictured #0.5

✓ Like I Promised #1

✓ Like I Wished #2

✓ Like I Needed #3

✓ Like I Pretended #4

✓ Like I Wanted #5 – series finale

Buy Link:

Like I Wanted (Heather Bay Book 5)

Blurb:

Roommates. Best friends. Boyfriends?

Theo and Laurie have been best friends for six years but despite doing everything together, they’ve never been anything more than best friends and roommates.

Then someone calls them boyfriends and upends their neat little world.

As the pair struggle to put a lid on their feelings, a random email from Theo’s brother throws him even further off balance and all Laurie can do is offer a niche form of stress relief. But Laurie’s support doesn’t stop at rope garters. Once the two of them fall into bed, it’s clear things will never be the same between them.

Now, Theo and Laurie must finally address the feelings they’ve tried to hide from and figure out if they really are just friends, or if there’s always been something more between them. Can they give each other everything they ever wanted?

Like I Wanted is a steamy best friends to lovers contemporary MM romance featuring a femme boy who loves zombie horror and weird taxidermy, a goth with a secret love of shibari, interfering adult entertainers, a vicar who takes no shit, and a quest for guinea pigs.

It is the fifth and final novel in the Heather Bay series and is best enjoyed as part of the series.

Please note that one of the MCs is involved in adult entertainment and chooses to remain working in the industry, with the full consent of his partner, once they’re in a relationship. For more information, please see the internal Author’s Note.

Review: A [Non] Comprehensive Guide to Sea Serpents (Sorcerer’s Grimoire #1) by A.J. Sherwood

Rating: 5 🌈

I’m never quite sure which way one of Sherwood’s series is going to go , whether it’s a bit dark or lighter in tone, but I’m always excited to dive in for the journey .

A [Non] Comprehensive Guide to Sea Serpents could have gone dark so deeply with our introduction to how Sorcerer Adrien Danvers rescued not one but two young street boys who will become his apprentice and found family. There’s Julian, who’s extraordinary unschooled powers drew Adrien to him and MacMallin, a streetwise kid with a love for machinery, two kids who have endured heartbreaking pasts in their young years which led to the horrible/life threatening conditions that Adrien found them in.

Usually there’s some great humor or hilarity to be had in a Sherwood novel, but this series and its time frame doesn’t really lend itself towards that. From the scenes of rescue, the themes are serious, and heart heavy to immediately engage the readers.

Sherwood puts us into a scurvy, dirty alleyway in an English locale, London to be precise, around the 1930’s. Magic is real and regulated. There’s an alternative history so some of our history is along the same timeline. What’s also important to note that homosexuality is illegal, with consequences varying according to class and support groups.

The reader absorbs all that information just as much as they concentrate on the emotional scenes on the page. We will connect to the broken boy, Julian, and then his “brother “ by choice, MacMallin, as Adrien saves them. And then slowly learns how to let all three of them adjust to their new surroundings and relationship.

So, so many scenes that are well done and thought out that show exactly how much damage each character has suffered in their lives, whether it’s long or short. The cast of characters includes other sorcerers, twin siblings ,Cynric and Anastasia, who are fabulous. And there’s Huge, a terrific main character, who will be the romantic interest of this slow burn love story over the series. I am so excited to see how Sherwood is going to develop their relationship as it’s built into magical mysteries and a great understanding of Adrien’s wounded heart by Hugh.

The author has also given us two rough collies as characters, an ever growing number of different magical beasts to fight as well as human criminals to battle. Epic encounters and high sorcery are extremely powerful to escape into but Sherwood never forgets that it’s the people, their deepest fears and hopes that the reader really cares about. And so the author delivers moving emotional moments that have both the characters and readers in tears .

This is a very slow burn romance so nary a kiss to be had, and it’s quite wonderful that way. Every small step towards a recognizable flirtation is a remarkable journey and one I can’t wait to see more of. And these boys are growing so fast, physically and mentally.

I fear we won’t see book 2 until 2024 with all the series this author is juggling, but it will be well worth the wait.

I’m highly recommending A [Non] Comprehensive Guide to Sea Serpents (Sorcerer’s Grimoire #1) by A.J. Sherwood for its excellence in characterization, plotting, and just making me feel like I wanted to both hug these people and join them on their adventures.

Fabulous!

Sorcerer’s Grimoire:

✓ A [Non] Comprehensive Guide to Sea Serpents (#1)

◦ Dealing with Mapinguari and Dogged Engineers #2 – TBD

Buy Link:

A (Non) Comprehensive Guide to Sea Serpents (The Sorcerer’s Grimoire Book 1)

Blurb:

Two new apprentices. One charming engineer. A potential battle with both sea serpents and evil sorcerers.

When Sorcerer Adrien Danvers takes on a job that leads him into the slums of England, he never imagined he’d end up with not one, but two apprentices. Despite his doubts in himself, he’s the only chance the two pre-teens have to escape their hellish life.

When Sir Hugh Quartermain contracts him to deal with the mysterious circumstances surrounding his home on the Isle of Man, Adrien finds the more time they spend together, the more his walls come down around the beguiling engineer–an unusual occurrence and a terrifying prospect.

But as it turns out, this case is about to take a turn–a battle with both beast and man, the ultimate test of Adrien’s willingness to accept help. When he does, Hugh proves to be a fierce protector and friend, more so than Adrien could’ve ever bargained for, and he finds himself longing for something he shouldn’t.

Falling for his new friend is not a complication Adrien needs. (His matchmaking apprentices disagree.)

Tags:

Magical AU, Adrien’s way of dealing with bad days is to curse things, repeatedly, fortunately lots of targets keep presenting themselves, Hugh has precisely zero chill where Adrien is concerned, as people will learn the hard way, here we have Extremely Competent MCs because that is my jam, set after WWI, but no worries, I can’t write angst to save my life, curses, magic, bit of mystery, apprentices are acquired, something of a slow burn, Hugh’s a sweetie, right up until you endanger his boys, then he’s your worst nightmare, man’s a knight in multiple ways

Review: I Went on an Adventure and All I Got Was This Barbarian Orc: Crack Fantasy Adventure Chapter 2 by Jennifer Cody

Rating: 5🌈

I Went on an Adventure and All I Got Was This Barbarian Orc is a 5-chapter serialized fantasy story by Jennifer Cody. It’s one that, if you ever wondered how an author plots a storyline, here she cheerfully notes this one’s by dice throw. Rolls one way, and oopsy, the current battle may not go in this character’s favor! Fun chaos ensues.

There’s a powerful necromancer (Lawton) that’s comes in a adorable compact size, a green half orc with a mean soul hammer and a love affair with his mead (Bertlak) , a clumsy paladin with a dark god as a dad, an assortment of fascinating fellow adventurers with mysterious pasts , all on a epic journey to save the kingdom.

We meet more of this intriguing group of characters that are accompanying Prince Lawton and Bertlak out into the country. To start there’s two more women warriors as well as a bumbling paladin with dark parentage with the face of an innocent who added just before they leave, a traveling band already assembled of mixed paranormal beings.

Cody adds in additional world building along with character growth and scenes of action and magical derring do! Here there be nasty spiders galore and necromancy battles.

It’s fun, it’s sexy, and five chapters will probably not be near enough time for me to have these characters in my life. I’m enjoying this series that much.

Bring on chapter three! Roll those dice.

I’m absolutely recommending this!

Adorable cover.

Buy Link:

I Went on an Adventure and All I Got was This Barbarian Orc: Crack Fantasy Adventure Chapter 2

Blurb:

Berklak:

Starting an adventure is always an exciting time. I’ve gone on a few by myself, but nothing compares to gathering a full party and seeing how everyone will mesh. We might have a clumsy bard and a chaotic paladin, but with everyone working together, we’ll figure out what’s happening in Fasgard. We may have to break a few laws to do it, but I don’t think there’s anything an orc would change about that.

Well, I might change how quickly I’m getting attached to the necromancer, but there’s nothing to be done about that now; he’s mine.

Lawton:

I’m finally getting out of the palace, and I even manage to do it without breaking too many laws! Only, like, two, maybe three depending on your interpretation of “smuggler” and “spy.” My adventuring party is amazing. They like me, don’t flinch when I touch them, and are genuinely interested in my magic, and I don’t know if a necromancer could ask for anything more.

Well, except for maybe a few more hours of alone time with his traveling companion; I could definitely get behind (or rather in front of) that idea.

I Went on an Adventure and All I Got Was This Barbarian Orc is a five chapter serial fantasy adventure with a light-hearted, fun TTRPG vibe. Expect big magic, lots of cuddles, plenty of steam, and a team of characters that might not get a natural 20 on every roll, but they make up for it with creative solutions to both magical and mundane problems.

Review: The Head Game (Relationship Goals #2) by Brigham Vaughn

Rating: 5🌈

The Head Game is the latest in Brigham Vaughn’s terrific hockey romance series. Centered in the AHL team, the Toronto Fisher Cats, we’ve already had an amazing story about the team’s captain and a former Olympic figure skating champion. Great characters, incredible elements, and real depth. Set the bar high for the next book.

But The Head Game easily rises to those same heights in some similar ways and some very different ones. The couple this time is referee August Manning and D-man Nico Arents. Arents is a figure from the first book, as is much of the team. The trope here is fake engagement/fiancé just as the first book’s was “woke up married “.

And Vaughn has shown , as she did in The Husband Game, that a popular, much read theme can feel fresh and exciting if given the right creative choices made in elements, layering, language,and chemistry .

The Head Game has all that in abundance.

Each book looks to start with a common trope, and featuring one of the characters with a deep personal issue that arises that needs to be addressed and resolved, together. And often the other person has a past history that brings a realistic perspective to the dynamic and their relationship.

Vaughn’s ability to bring the reader immediately into the lives of these men is remarkable. From August’s heartfelt pain over his ex marrying someone else to the excruciating minutes on the ice when Nico is hit, not once but twice, the reader feels every bit of those moments.

And don’t even get me started on those scenes with the doctor and Nico at the hospital. Bring tissues. Which brings us to the huge aspect of this story. That’s the brain tumor, surgery, and slow recovery that Nico undergoes here. It’s realistically portrayed, from the beginning headaches to the seizures to the frustrations that come with a body that’s slow to heal. I felt like I was going through it along with Auggie and Nico, it was so well done. But for some, it might be an element that might be too raw, you need to decide for yourself.

I loved how Charlie (The Husband Game) was included to talk about recovery (his story involved anorexia, as well as other aspects) and acceptance. A wonderful piece of work.

Plus we have the absolute heartbreak of one man’s loss of a career. That devastation is a part of this story I wasn’t expecting to feel as deeply or was so stunning an element. But it was an emotional part of this journey as was the physical part for Nico. Amazing execution on this author’s part.

So much of this novel is written so beautifully that it’s easy to read and overlook the smallest details. There’s the family members of Nico’s, described warmly and lovingly, August’s brother Julius, Nico’s pregnant friend Sky, and all the members of Toronto Fisher Cats. We are getting to know each of them in greater depth with each book as the author sets them up for the new romance to follow.

This series is turning into a comfort read for me. I love it when that happens. And when I can rec not one but two books so easily as I can hear? Perfect!

Stay tuned for The Waiting Game!

Relationship Goals:

✓ The Husband Game #1

✓ The Head Game #2

◦ The Waiting Game #3 – Feb 29, 2024

◦ The Home Game #4 – tbd

◦ The Blame Game #5 – tbd

Buy Link :

The Head Game: An M/M Hockey Romance (Relationship Goals Book 2)

Blurb:

Nico Arents Rushed to Hospital After In-Game Fall—Mystery Beau Revealed?

The Fisher Cats defenseman is conscious and in stable condition following a seizure that occurred during the recent game against Buffalo.

Updates indicate that while still hospitalized, he’s hopeful for a quick return to the ice.

The incident raises serious questions after referee August Manning was spotted in the same hospital shortly after Arents was admitted.

Recent rumors have swirled around Arents’ involvement with someone within the league. Could Manning be the mystery man?

A credible source claims the two are engaged. “He has been so doting! He’s barely left Nico’s side.”

Tongues are wagging as their off-ice involvement throws Manning’s on-ice impartiality into question.

How will the league react? Thus far, they have declined to comment but given the new Code of Conduct, there will be some tough questions to answer for these men to keep their romance and their careers.

TRIGGER WARNING: Contains non-graphic scenes involving brain surgery and discussions about brain tumors and cancer. HEA guaranteed but please reach out if you have further questions.

Review: Fated Mates: an MM Paranormal Romance Charity Anthology by Kiki Clark, Mia Monroe, et al.

Rating:4.75🌈

Anthologies are always a great place to find a new author, get reacquainted with a writer you haven’t read in a while, or just plain enjoy a story from a favorite author of yours. All centered around one theme so a reader can see if they take a different or similar approach to the topic.

In this case , it’s the popular theme of fated mates in paranormal romance.

Fated Mates, a charity anthology, offers 20 stories by 20 authors, on the subject of fated mates. Clearly, a reader will be able to find a story to enjoy out of such a wide variety.

Story Format Key:

🟦Authors who wrote standalone stories, no connection to another series

🟪Authors wrote prequels to new series

🟩Authors used their series/universe here , including characters, prior or some knowledge required.

List of Stories:

🔹Aether and the Elements by Louisa Masters 🟪

🔹How to Survive a Summoning by Nikole Knight 🟦♥️

🔹A Werewolf Called Ammon by Michelle Frost 🟩

🔹A Squirrel Gets His Nut by Kelex🟪

🔹Fated Kiss by Mia Monroe 🟦

🔹Inferno by Kiki Clark 🟪

🔹Black and White by Vinni George 🟪♥️

🔹Violent Secret by Ariana Nash 🟩♥️

🔹 Wounded Mate by Lee Colgin 🟩♥️

🔹Shiny Things by Kelly Fox 🟦♥️

🔹The Crow King’s Mate by Jennifer Cody🟦♥️

🔹Fate’s Treasure by Grae Bryan 🟦♥️

🔹Deader Than Dead by H.L Day 🟦🔹Words Not Necessary by Lisa Oliver 🟩🟪♥️

🔹As the Raven Flies by Meghan Maslow 🟩♥️

🔹Curse of Silver & Blood by Sheena Jolie 🟩♥️

🔹There’s A Bat in My Room! By Michele Notaro 🟩

🔹The Demon and the Librarian by Chloe Archer🟩

🔹A Scent Like No Other by JP Sayle🟪

🔹True Mates and Where to Find Them by AJ Sherwood🟦

———-

1. Aether and the Elements by Louisa Masters – this story, which is a prequel, has a nice twist and interesting premise. Ends abruptly but as the author intends to go into a series with these characters, it’s fine.

2. How to Survive a Summoning by Nikole Knight-Demon Lyn and human Jamie are #couplegoals and this is a fabulous tale w/ great depth and characters. Love this Demon, they are adorable.❤️

3. A Werewolf Called Ammon by Michelle Frost – part of an existing series, instant maté storyline.

4. A Squirrel Gets His Nut by Kelex- terrific little story about a squirrel shifter finding his mate. Prequel to a new series. Fantastic.

5. Fated Kiss by Mia Monroe-instant mate/love vampire story that was one dimensional, plot holes.

6. Inferno by Kiki Clark- a prequel to the author’s new Silver Oak Pack series, it’s a quick best friends to fated mates tale, via mixed up curse. Cute.

7. Black and White by Vinni George- this is another prequel to a new paranormal series, Orcas. It’s pretty terrific in that it sets out the characters, a great storyline, and foundation arc. Need more!

8. Violent Secret by Ariana Nash- part of the author’s Blackrose Brotherhood series, including the character. Well done. Terrific piece.❤️

9. Wounded Mate by Lee Colgin , set in Colgin’s Outcast Mates series, an incubus and a werewolf find true love (hurt/comfort, found family) in a well done story.

10. Shiny Things by Kelly Fox is a great read, complete with well crafted location, terrific characters and story line. Poe the Raven shifter with his avian characteristics is perfect.♥️

11. The Crow King’s Mate by Jennifer Cody is an excellent paranormal love story about a raven shifter and a wolf shifter dealing with past bad romantic experiences finding out that they are fated mates. Wonderful characters and plot.❤️

12. Fate’s Treasure by Grae Bryan is a story I wish the author would expand into a larger novel. It’s so well written with excellent plotting and terrifically detailed characters that the ending pops way up too soon. Gentle , sweet storytelling.❤️

13. Deader Than Dead by H.L Day, great elements but together they added up to a story that just didn’t work for me. Others might feel differently. Trigger warnings about death and suicide.

14. Words Not Necessary by Lisa Oliver -prequel to established series, Magic Users of Greenford Trilogy, knowledge of that is useful but not necessary. Neo the anchor and Rocky the High Magic User find themselves on a magical murder mystery case as well as fated mates in a terrific short story that will send me looking into the series.❤️

15. As the Raven Flies by Meghan Maslow . Forced proximity/fated mates and two of my favorite shifters Raven/wolf combos or dire wolf. Part of the Charm City series/universe, excellent tale in every aspect. Storytelling, hot chemistry, fabulous characters, and location. More !♥️

16. Curse of Silver & Blood by Sheena Jolie is part of the Infinite Arcana Universe by SJ Himes/Sheena Jolie. Werewolf and wounded Fae fated mate pairing that’s a prequel to a story coming out in 2024. I’ll be waiting to read it as I love this romance and need more about what happens next. ❤️

17. There’s A Bat in My Room! By Michele Notaro. This is part of the Ellwood and Brinnswood world series for those who are familiar with the universe. There’s an adorable bat shifter in trouble and his human fated mate who will help him, once he gets over his fear of bats and idea that the bat isn’t a vampire. Cute story with familiar characters showing up as support.

18. The Demon and the Librarian by Chloe Archer. Archer had me at the librarian but just continued to seal the deal with great elements that had me snort giggling at places. Fabulous characters and storylines. Part of the Monsters Hollow series, this is a favorite story and one I wish was at novel length. ♥️

19. A Scent Like No Other by JP Sayle, Enchanted Ink tattoo shop, Salem, Massachusetts, and three beings in search of their fated mates, one of whom of is a skunk shifter. Prequel and same universe as the story in the beginning of the anthology from Kelex.

20. True Mates and Where to Find Them by AJ Sherwood is a fantastic way to end this grand anthology. It’s a fated mates vampire romance with all the writing aspects associated with Sherwood’s storytelling. There’s poignant moments, humorous scenes, sexy intimacy and great characters. I seriously needed more than just the shortened ending. Love the universe and couple.❤️

All in all, a fabulous anthology, full of a wonderful selection of authors and stories to read and even new series to enjoy. And a charity that will be able to provide for the LGBTQIA community too with the readers help.

Buy Link :

Fated Mates: an MM Paranormal Romance Charity Anthologyby Kiki Clark

Blurb:

Fated Mates is a Paranormal Romance Charity Anthology from some of your favorite MM authors!

It features new, exclusive stories from Kiki Clark, Mia Monroe, Louisa Masters, Kelly Fox, Sheena Jolie, Jennifer Cody, Nikole Knight, Vinni George, Chloe Archer, Meghan Maslow, Lee Colgin, Kelex, H.L Day, Grae Bryan, AJ Sherwood, Michele Notaro, Lisa Oliver, Ariana Nash, Michelle Frost, and JP Sayle.

All royalties will be donated to the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund and the ACLU’s Drag Defense Fund.

Review: Resurrection Reprise: A Soulbound Universe Novel by Hailey Turner

Rating: 5🌈

I love Turner’s Soulbound series and so wanted to see the author revisit this universe. I am thrilled it’s the complicated Spencer Bailey, a favorite in that series, who’s been chosen to get a new story.

The complexity that is mage Spencer Bailey and his relationship with his companion, Psychopomp ocelot , Fatima is a difficult task to describe in one story because readers of the series have gotten to know him over seven books. That goes for Fatima, the Psychopomp too, another layered character.

Not quite a necromancer that raises the dead but a soul breaker, that magical difference being the thing keeping Spencer from the death penalty in the world’s government’s opinions. His type of magic is considered so powerful and rare, so little understood, that most agencies would rather lock him away or kill him than take the chance on his magic working against them.

As with the other government agencies who don’t come off well in Turner’s series, filled with bureaucratic cliques, people’s willingness to take things at face value, it’s no surprise we immediately fall into Spencer’s side of things here as he starts his investigation into a missing artifact. He’s gone from one agency, the PIA (Paranormal Investigations Agency) who handles international investigations and doesn’t want him after that last big battle, to Supernatural Operations Agency, which is the agency that handles the investigations within the country’s boundaries. In other words, don’t leave the country after helping save the world.

Does it help to have read the Soulbound series. Yes. I really don’t consider this a standalone. You need to understand the relationships, events, and even the smallest of references to have a deep appreciation of this story and what happens to Spencer here. That includes the people that show up from the Soulbound series.

Even Spencer’s relationship with Takoma, the Master Vampire of Seattle, has a prior basis in his prior experiences with Lucian, a Master Vampire from Soulbound, unlike any other , and referred to here.

Hailey Turner took her foundational elements from Soulbound and used them as a launching point for an intriguing new story about a mysterious artifact that has gone missing from the federal vault with potential catastrophic consequences . Spencer is the one of the few people who’s had experience with this type of object and operation. The reasons why soon become clear.

The investigation, the events are suspenseful , dangerous, and vastly complicated. Takoma and Spencer have a great chemistry and a hot sexual relationship that makes them a fantastic couple. I would love to see one more story about them with Takoma,working with the New York God pack , removing Spencer altogether from all the federal agencies rosters completely and getting his new life outside of that one. What a tale that would be!

Until then, I’m ready to dive happily back into the Soulbound series, and start over again. Remembering the first time I met everyone, was astonished at the mythology, the labyrinthine storytelling, and the characters I still can’t get enough of.

Soulbound is fabulous stuff, absolutely always on my to be recommended list. Adding this to it.

Love the cover.

Buy Link:

Resurrection Reprise: A Soulbound Universe Novel76Kindle Edition$0.00or $6.99 to buy

Blurb:

Possession is nine-tenths of the law.

Spencer Bailey has spent his entire life under government oversight for something he can’t change: his magic’s affinity for breaking souls. After surviving the end of the world, Spencer joins the Supernatural Operations Agency with the intention of keeping his head down and his hands clean.

Tasked with tracking down a stolen artifact, Spencer wants to run his first case with the SOA by the book. The master vampire of the Seattle Night Court won’t make that easy. Takoma is demanding and possessive, used to getting what he wants, and he lures Spencer into his Night Court with the seductive promise of freedom.

In the Pacific Northwest, ghosts are crawling out of the woodwork, demons are on the rise, and Spencer can’t afford to make a mistake. Torn between the life he should lead and the one Takoma is offering, Spencer has to make a choice that won’t break his soul, but it might just shatter his heart.

Resurrection Reprise is an exciting new standalone novel set in Hailey Turner’s best-selling Soulbound Universe.

Soulbound Universe -Soulbound series:

✓ A Ferry of Bones & Gold #1

✓ All Souls Near & Nigh #2

✓ A Crown of Iron & Silver #3

✓ A Vigil in the Mourning #4

✓ On the Wings of War #5

✓ An Echo in the Sorrow #6

✓ A Veiled & Hallowed Eve #7

Review: Perfectly Perfect Pixie: Peaches’s Story (Perfect Pixie #2) by M. J. May

Rating: 5🌈

I fell in love with this universe and characters when I read M. J. May’s Perfectly Imperfect Pixie, which was the first book in this series. It was a richly detailed, vibrant tale, full of beautifully crafted with fantastic characters a reader could easily imagine and commit to. Vampires, pixies, werewolves, elves, sprites, zombies, witches and more in a lively landscape with a unique foundation and framework that was so solid it just felt right.

Now we’re back for Peaches story. We pick up shortly after the events at the end of Perfectly Imperfect Pixie, so yes, read this series in the order that it’s written.

Peaches, a nature pixie, has found his home in an orchard owned by a human couple. This is a complicated process, as pixies are actually a part of the life of the land itself that they call home. It was a big element in the last story and it remains one here. So well portrayed by May emotionally and descriptively. As is Peaches.

Peaches is golden. Golden pixie dust, gold like the sun. He shines so brightly in the narrative both physically and by his personality that he is almost warm when he appears on the page. That’s amazing writing.

So the reader can understand why a vampire would be so drawn to Peaches, a bit of sunlight they haven’t been able to see in hundreds of years or more. No matter what the mythology says.

The vampire being Lucroy Moony, King of the Southeastern nest in the United States, and owner of the bar, Dusk where Peaches’ friend, Phil, used to work. He’s also the being who saved Peaches life at the trial in book one. They have a starting point of a strange relationship. Lucroy is as dark as Peaches is bright. And just as well defined by his vampire powers , intellect, and age as Peaches is by his charm , bravery, and loving nature. In other words, they oddly match.

May builds a fantastic story here full of mystery, with our characters from the first story (and fast friends with Peaches), elements that have carried over that look to be a arc storyline, and new characters that will be revealed later on to have their own romances and roles within this arc expansion .

I was so enthralled that it was a 3am ending for me. Couldn’t put it down. May gave us sprites, a new ancient vampire I need to see more of, and a new take on social pixies that will make me stay up late again, I’m sure, in the upcoming book three.

And villains. Crazy, awful, and sometimes pathetic villains. I really love these books.

I’m highly recommending them but read them in them in the order that they are written.

Absolutely gorgeous covers!

Perfect Pixie:

✓ Perfectly Imperfect Pixie #1

✓ Perfectly Perfect Pixie #2

◦ Perfectly Charmed Pixie #3 – October 6, 2023

Buy Link :

Perfectly Perfect Pixie: Peaches’s Story (Perfect Pixie Series Book 2)

Blurb:

Peaches is a nature pixie. Fully bonded to his orchard, he can only leave his land for a finite time. Plants, soil, daylight, and every living thing Mother Nature has on tap flows like liquid sunshine through Peaches’s lively veins.

Lucroy Moony was born into his vampiric second life over six hundred years ago. King of the Southeastern nest in the United States, Lucroy is responsible for more than his bar, Dusk. Lucroy only comes alive when the sun goes down. The moon and stars are his backdrop—the sun the quickest path to a pile of ash. Death and darkness fill Lucroy’s body with borrowed blood.

Pixies and vampires couldn’t be more different, and yet, Lucroy and Peaches find themselves drawn together time and again. But vampire myth cautions that pixie blood is deadly, and Lucroy’s willing to put that tale to the test. Nothing that smells as temptingly delicious as Peaches’s blood can be toxic. Right?

Lucroy wants nothing more than to court fate with his pixie, but someone’s been whispering in the vampire council’s ears, and they aren’t pleased to learn Lucroy killed a werewolf to save a pixie. If the council decides Lucroy was in the wrong, his life is forfeit, and the nest he’s tried so hard to protect could be left in sadistic hands.

Lucroy needs to convince the council pixies aren’t toxic but precious creatures. And, more importantly, one pixie, in particular, is his beloved—his Perfectly Perfect Pixie, Peaches.

Perfectly Perfect Pixie has a HEA ending and contains a willful nature pixie, a smitten vampire bar owner, pixie dust eating sprites, and a smattering of dwarf, werewolf, and fairy intrigue. Other species come along for the ride, popping up here and there. Be warned, there is vampire violence and a few heads will roll. If that is offensive or triggering, this may not be your cup of tea.

Review: Bluz (a Culinary Creatures novel) by L Eveland

Rating: 5🌈

Well, Bluz is by far my favorite in an extraordinary paranormal series of magical depths. In Bluz , L Eveland has given this story so many riches in terms of narrative structure and character development that its almost tactile atmosphere could be overlooked for its sublime world building.

It’s inherit within its location, its beings, the culture in this story in a way that is so unique and deeply personal to both characters but especially one. That’s Greyson Boggs,human ,guitarist, a blues musician with an old border collie, Simon. Turns out Simon is also his guide dog as Greyson been going blind since early adolescence from retinitis pigmentosa, another perfectly implemented element.

But that’s just the beginning to the layers of this man. Here’s his voice.

“Footsteps crisscrossed in front of me, busy folk shuffling to places they didn’t want to be. I used the steady beat as my percussion, counting out a one, a two, a five-six-seven-eight while the guitar cried into the humid morning, conveying all the words I couldn’t.

I sang about the places I’d been from the deep dark hollers in rural Georgia to that summer I rode the rails all the way down to New Orleans. I sang about the south, about crawdads and creeks, collard greens and running from the law. The words came with no effort, shaken free from where they rattled around in my head with no pre-planned pattern. “

There’s a particular melodic progression to that voice, one that the author is also born with. And one that’s unfortunately disappearing from the world. It’s the sound and vernacular of spoken Appalachian English language, one of the oldest nonnative spoken languages here in the US. Specifically, the Appalachian dialect or as it’s also known, Smokey Mountains Holler dialect, with its colorful imagery, slow linguistic patterns, and changing tones /spoken words. It’s a language that might even feel a titch familiar, such as where I might say “I took the dog out”

it becomes :

“One night that dog was a-beggin’ and a-cryin’ to go out.”

*In The Language and Life Project that set about documenting the dialects, one man said of his talk “…it’s more like singing than talking…”

That’s pure Appalachian. A dialect so beautifully suited for an Appalachian blind blues singer named Greyson Boggs and his old dog, Simon, that it makes me question that this man is really fictional.

Except, of course, for the werewolves, demons, incubus, and such.

But they get the same layered treatment. A pack in financial straits and leadership issues. A storm coming, a real mixed community to meet, which includes a homeless shelter,imminent storms, and the raw reality of those who live life on the margins. That’s very much an important part of this story and Greyson’s as well.

Gaston, the chef who returned home to help out his recovering father and the pack’s restaurant, Bluz, is a marvelous character. Eveland did a wonderful job in giving him his own issues to work through and challenges to overcome. Gaston is lovely. But he’s next to the powerful Greyson. And he is one of those sharp shining personalities whose life becomes important to the narrative and the reader because of who he is personally. We care so much for him that it’s hard for anyone else to measure up. It’s that voice.

Gaston has a pansexual coming out, not that he wasn’t already, but out to his parents and pack. Another nice aspect of the story because there so many equally strong emotional things that are going on in the story. That includes homelessness. A camp where people/beings live , homeless shelters and what it must feel like to have no where to go when a major disaster is occurring. And it’s done in a matter of fact way that drives home the facts about this aspect of society even more.

There’s a happy romantic journey with communication, some very sexy mate bonding, and very familiar faces from previous books that show up at the end for a satisfying conclusion. Love it.

And through it all, runs songs, and southern cooking. BBQ and the Blues. Do not miss out on all the recipes at the end of each book, this time for pork butt. So yummy. Put on some Etta James or Bill Whithers and grill you some BBQ.

I’m highly recommending Bluz (a Culinary Creatures novel) by L Eveland. This series just continues to get better and expand on the topics within a paranormal realm. Fantastic.

• YouTube: The Language and Life Project : see video

Culinary Creatures:

✓ Brimstone #1

✓ Beefcake #2

✓ Bluz #3

◦ Brewtiful’s #4 – April 30, 2024

Buy Link :

Bluz: A High Heat, Low Stakes MM Monster Romance Novella (Culinary Creatures Book 3)

Blurb:

No one cooks like Gaston, and I’m hungry like a wolf.

Eight years ago, I missed my chance to be with the love of my life. Now, Gaston is back in town to rescue his pack’s troubled bar and grill, Bluz. He’s keen to rekindle things between us, but I’ve still got the blues over how it all went down before.

Gaston’s got a whole life out west full of fast cars, fancy dinners, and famous friends. He claims he’s ready to settle down, and that his wolf has chosen me, but I’m just a country boy, a drifter. Gaston is refined and cultured. I don’t fit into his elegant lifestyle, even if our nights together have been sizzling hot.

His wolf wants me, and I want him, but I’m running out of time to decide. Can I put our troubled past behind me before I lose him forever? Or will our relationship finally go up in smoke?

Bluz is a smoking hot and sticky sweet second chance MM romance between an anthropomorphic werewolf and a visually impaired blues singer. This third installment of the Culinary Creatures series can be read as a standalone, and features a delicious BBQ recipe for you to try at home!

*Appalachian language: The Language and Life Project

Review: Assassin by Accident (Carnival of Mysteries) by E.J. Russell

Rating: 4.75🌈

“Welcome, Traveler! Join us for a series of M/ M fantasies by a talented group of both new and established authors. Whether you enjoy mystery, action, danger, or just sweet romance, there is something for everyone at the Carnival of Mysteries!”

Assassin by Accident is E.J. Russell’s offering to the Carnival of Mysteries series and it’s just a marvelous heartwarming fantasy read. Russell has combined her Mythmatched universe with the themes of the Carnival of Mysteries, giving each its due and letting the reader feel they’ve been immersed in a balanced narrative.

Welsh water horse Nevan Quirke’s young sister has been kidnapped by a nasty earth mage for nefarious purposes. And in order to get her back, Nevan made a hasty bargain to do whatever the mage wants, once. Unfortunately, he didn’t read the small print.

I love this story so much. It has so much depth and heart to it. There’s Nevan, a being who feels unloved by all, a true monster, except by his adopted sister. He’s raised her and kept her safe and loved until she wished to visit the Outside World, and everything went wrong.

And when under the horrible geas of the earth mage to accomplish a terrible task , it’s goes wrongly right in the best of ways. In this story, a case of mistaken identity and the introduction of a truly beloved character. Seb Ardelean, a nanny who’s mistaken for an assassin is a marvelous character. Seb’s one of Russell’s grand creations , a character who can marshal a horde of mischievous children with grubby hands to dealing with villains bent on destroying innocents. And do it with a sense of humor, compassion, and resolve that’s sexy and admirable. Yes, totally adore Seb.

There’s magical shenanigans, familiar faces, among them favorites Jordan and Doop the Hellhound, a race to find the sister, two beings facing danger and falling in love while coming to terms with past issues and traumas. It’s so lovely and heartwarming. I dove in and didn’t surface until I’d finished the book.

I like the different ways Russell plays with mythology and the types of beings found within the various cultures, here it’s the Welsh ceffyl dŵr. The central theme is well used, but unfortunately that means clowns. *Shudders*

Assassin by Accident (Carnival of Mysteries) by E.J. Russell is a favorite in this multi-author series. One I’m definitely recommending. And if you haven’t already found this author’s MythMatched series that’s an element here, look those up as well for some great reads.

Carnival of Mysteries series:

✓ Crow’s Fate by Kim Fielding

✓ Step Right Up by L.A. Witt

✓ Magic Burning by Kaje Harper

✓ Night-blooming Hearts by Megan Derr

✓ Go For The Company by Ander C. Lark

✓ Roustabout by Morgan Brice

✓ Assassin by Accident by E.J. Russell

◦ Dryad on Fire by Nicole Dennis – Sept 13

◦ The Extraordinary Locket of Elijah Gray by Kayleigh Sky – Sept 6

◦ Smoke and Mirrors by Elizabeth Silver – September 20

◦ You Can Do Magic by R.L. Merrill – September 27

◦ Sting in the Tail by TA Moore – October 4

◦ Gods and Monsters by Rachel Langella – October 25

Buy Link:

Part of: Carnival of Mysteries (13 books)

Blurb:

If a megalomaniacal earth mage kidnaps your little sister, do you:

A) Kill him

B) Kill him

C) Kill him

D) Magically indenture yourself to him to ensure her safe return

Welsh water horse Nevan Quirke would have happily opted for A, B, or C, but had no idea where his sister was hidden—so, option D it is. He’s not a fool, though. He made sure to limit his obligation to a single task.

Unfortunately, he neglected to nail down a few tiny details before the geas brand was seared into his skin, and now:

A) He can’t shift

B) He can’t swim

C) He can’t drink

D) If he fails, he’ll be bound to the mage for eternity

Oh, and that task? Assist in an assassination.

If only he weren’t so thirsty.

And if only his partner for the heinous job weren’t the most appealing man Nevan has seen in his entire two-thousand-year life.

Assassin by Accident takes place in E.J. Russell’s Mythmatched universe and is part of the multi-author Carnival of Mysteries series. Each book stands alone, but each one includes at least one visit to Errante Ame’s Carnival of Mysteries, a magical, multiverse traveling show full of unusual acts, games, and rides. The Carnival changes to suit the world it’s on, so each visit is unique and special. This book features grumpy/sunshiny, hurt/comfort, mistaken identity, opposites attract, unexpected derring-do, and of course an HEA—no matter how little the men in question think they deserve it.