Review: Hot Head (Drake Security #1) by Mika Nix

Rating: 2.5🌈

Review note: This review contains several spoilers so please be aware prior to reading.

Mika Nix is the combined name of authors K.M. Neuhold and Mia Monroe who have co-written this series about dragon shifter brothers and their path to HEA with their fated mates.

Nico is one of a group of dragon shifter brothers who own and operate Drake Security. They live together in a complex/compound of single mansions and alternate taking on different clients as they are approved.

The latest is the son of wealthy businessman Lake Forrester II, Lake Forrester III. He’s a victim of a short term relationship gone very wrong, and now he’s got a stalker.

Nico been hired to protect Lake and stop the stalker.

I’m a fan of dragons and the authors so wanted to see what they had in store for us readers with the new series.

I found some interesting stuff, some problematic issues small and large, characters that I liked, and a overall good thread that was entertaining.

First the positives .

I liked the idea of brothers banded by clutches. That while they have other siblings, the stretch of years between clutches renders each group more relatives than close family.

The family is distinct, with each brother having a different personality. They have chosen names and their dragon names, which are supposed to be hard to pronounce but just end up being French which I found hysterical.

The romance is a found soulmate one so it’s a relationship that is quickly established and sweetly sexy if one sided dominant. I had some issues with the dynamics and relationship that begin with the character of Lake.

It has a HEA that will make most readers happy and it’s a swift read in the genre that gives you a new series to look forward to.

For myself there are some things that the story lacks or I had issues with. They include:

🔷The paranormal/human world history needs some work but I get the impression it will be addressed with each brother. This includes a lack of cultural context and knowledge here of dragon culture or history that lets soulmates fall into a almost mythological category but still be able to call “dad” up for soulmate bonding details.

🔷Dragon Bigotry. I was really surprised at this. Paranormal bigotry between two species, right down to ugly stereotypes and name calling. While I think the authors are setting up a dramatic narrative for a Romeo/Julian situation here, it leaves a bad taste for me. Especially when the authors chose to use a well known werewolf mating technique (knotting) as a dragon’s while making the werewolf/wolf shifter the lesser/ill-regarded species. it’s explained it’s only about territory and history but while making remarks about how they all “stink, are rank,..”. Humans too are not regarded highly. But it’s not as though the dragons exist within a isolated world. They live and do business within a human society.

So they come off as judgmental and prejudiced.

🔷A dragon that talks human when In dragon form. That bothers the wildlife biologist in me. Yes I’m aware dragons aren’t real but if a author is going to treat them as though they are (spaces big enough for them to transform etc) then narratively do so in other ways too. Perhaps have them speak telepathically , not like a human. Because what about a dragon’s bone structure, mouth and jaw shape makes that feel realistic or believable. Nothing. A telepathic form of communication has a far higher probability than than a dragon palette that’s able to throw flames and speak French.

🔵Issues that earns a huge narrative side eye:

🔷A big issue. Lake’s personality. He can seem like a giggly rich young man or an intelligent emotionally neglected one who’s absorbed just enough business sense from his family to make him a believable, layered figure. It varies honestly.

🚨 Spoiler alert 🚨

But he’s extremely likable which makes the events towards the end disturbing. He’s abducted, there is an attempted sexual assault that’s extremely real, followed by a death. The expected narrative response to this would be emotional trauma and some kind of needed recovery. Does that happen? No. It’s fluffed off, like a bad minute, and it’s onto some hot sex.

There’s so many things that are deeply wrong about this treatment but it starts with the fact that if authors use SA as a story element then give it the serious consideration it is due. To say nothing of being abducted and physically assaulted.

It all happens, then a watery eye, a giggle, and I’m fine. Let’s have sex. If as authors you needed Lake to be in danger, then surely another way could have been used that wouldn’t have made SA such a superficial element.

🔷And finally , that whole disposal of the body nonsense at the end — last spoiler🚨

What possible difference does it make if you remove a heart if you are going to burn the body and the scene of the crime to the ground so no one special “scents” are left. Might as well leave it in. It’s so nonsensical.

Yes got the heart out. Signature move. Now everyone who see it will know it is us. Well done. Now toss it back on the fire with the lot . Burn it all up. Ashes ashes, that’s all that is left. So glad you went to the trouble of digging out the heart that’s ashes now along with everything else. SMH.

The more I got into the storyline the more puzzled and irritated I was. Elements didn’t add up, aspects of the story were just not necessary or given the depth of exposition required, or the tale just swung fluffy and fantasy wise. Oh look, we’re flying.

It was almost as though the authors couldn’t decide whether to go serious, funny, romantic, sweet, mystical, murderous, and kept swinging between them instead of melding them.

They are setting up the “Quiet” shy Hemingway brother for the next book. It’s called Smoulder. Oh no.

I’m sure I’ll go there if only out of curiosity.

I’ll let everyone make their own decisions.

Drake Security:

✓ Hot Head #1

◦ Smoulder #2 – TBD

Hot Head (Drake Security Book 1)324Kindle Edition$5.99

Description:

Protecting him is my job. Finding out he’s my fated mate wasn’t part of the assignment.

Lake Forrester III entered my life like a wrecking ball. Drake Security, my firm with my brothers, was hired to protect him from a stalker ex, but what Lake doesn’t know is that he’s not dealing with your average unhinged human. The unhinged wolf shifter he unknowingly dated will stop at nothing to get Lake in his clutches.

Just another day in the life of a dragon body guard.

The one thing I never expected was for Lake to be my fated mate. To say my protective instincts are on overdrive is an understatement. I’ll move mountains to keep him safe and delight in tearing the wolf apart with my bare hands if he gets too close to my mate. If it unleashes all out war with the wolf packs, so be it. I never claimed to be the level headed one.

In the meantime, my only focus is Lake and his safety. If anyone hurts him, it’ll be the last thing they do. My dragon will make sure of it.

Hot Head is book one in the exciting new series, Drake Security. It features a dragon bodyguard with anger issues, a fabulous human with more money than friends, an ex on the loose, and fated mate goodness. Dive into Hot Head and feel the burn.

**Drake Security features dragon shifters with NO MPREG**

Review: Deadly Lover: Special Edition (Exit Strategy #1) by Jocelynn Drake

Rating: 4.5🌈

Deadly Lover is my second book that I “backtracked” to when I discovered the couple in the course of reading a sequel series, Shadow Elite.

This couple, now “semi-retired”, are deadly assassins who are uncles to Alexei, an assassin as well and lover of Soren. They’re both infamous and family due to their roles and now new connections so they certainly pop up during missions or gatherings.

It didn’t take long for them to become a couple I seriously wanted a history for.

Deadly Lover begins their journey. It’s where they meet, begin a tenuous understanding of each other and start a relationship that teeters between a frightening friendship and something more fragile.

All while chasing a mystery and in turn finding themselves prey in a game where it’s billions of dollars and lives at stake.

Drake takes a chance with the dynamics here and tilts the revelations being delivered all on the side of assassin Gabriel Prescott. A deeply haunted, damaged man, the trauma of his past makes itself known by his scars, his arrays of tattoos, and his PTSD. All of which will be addressed as part of his character’s thread as the series progresses.

The character of Justin Mallory is more of an enigma. As the relationship between the men develops and the trust of their true selves becomes a final test, it’s Justin who’s that last one with the barriers raised. He’s fluid and yet he’s got a strong core. So you get him and can connect with him without having any history or knowledge about him.

This dichotomy between the main characters surprisingly works because our focus is on Gabriel, his emotional damage and trauma, while maneuvering the reader away from the narrative void that is Justin Mallory’s history and foundation.

It makes you wonder what’s coming.

The path they are on is halting, uncertain, and dangerous. The author never lets us or them forget that either.

The book ends not even on a HFN which is realistic. But on a we are going to try to make it work.

The next novel picks up several months later. It’s quite the transition.

Review coming soon.

I’m most definitely recommending this series. And Deadly Love. It’s well written. Great plotting, with a fascinating framework for the characters and relationship growth going forward. Full of exciting action and dialogue to pull you into the conversation, it’s a win all around.

Exit Strategy series:

✓ Deadly Lover: Special Edition #1

✓ Vengeful Lover #2

◦ Final Lover #3

◦ Forbidden Lover #4

✓ Accidental Lover #5

Deadly Lover: Special Edition (Exit Strategy Book 1)

Description:

New Expanded Content for Deadly Lover!

Justin Mallory is an assassin. But he’s really a good guy.

He has years of bad decisions to make up for, starting with agreeing to join the CIA after being recruited out of the Marines. No reason to add more black marks to his soul.

Now he chooses the jobs and he works always alone. It’s safer that way, and he can make sure the good guy always wins.

But this job…he can’t do alone.

Two scientists are dead and a dangerous drug is on the cusp of winning FDA approval if he doesn’t track down the culprit behind the lies and murders.

Gabriel Prescott is a well-trained, efficient, and cold-blooded killer. After a brutal betrayal left his lover dead, Gabriel is out only for himself.

But when this lucrative contract lands in his lap, he can’t pass it up. Even if it means working with the unpredictable and insane Justin Mallory.

Dodging bullets and secret meetings force them to depend on each other.

And one hot, frantic night together leads to a hidden sweetness and questions of whether they could possibly have something more.

Author’s Note: As a gift to readers, I have expanded the original Deadly Lover by nearly 20,000 words, giving readers a deeper understanding of Justin and Gabriel. Furthermore, I have added the short story Lover Calling to the special edition so you can enjoy even more of these fun assassins.

Review: Accidental Lover (Exit Strategy #5) by Jocelynn Drake

Rating: 4.5🌈

Alexei Prescott , assassin and nephew of assassins extraordinaire, has a target. Gabor Kalman, shady arms dealer.

Soren Jessen, cat burglar, ex CIA, has a target. Gabor Kalman, shady arms dealer.

One will kill him, the other will steal from him. At the same time. The mission puts both men on a collision course to unravel labyrinthine mysteries that center around a stolen hard drive while keeping each other alive and able to fall into mad passionate love.

This is one of those stories I backtracked into. Soren and his assassin lover, Alexei, are important characters in Drake’s Shadow Elite series. They’re a fascinating and eclectic couple. So naturally when I learned that they had their own story, I needed to read it. And I wasn’t disappointed.

The last of a series (which had me backtracking even further), Accidental Lover not only gives us the complete window in Soren, the man who just happens to be a cat burglar now, but the complicated personality that makes that career so understandable.

The story also gives us an astonishing assassin in the person of Alexei Prescott. A diminutive gorgeous killer who has been raised by two of the world’s most notorious assassins, Alexei is as fascinating a character as the man he’s coming to love.

A thriller of a suspenseful romance, equally intriguing with snarky humor and lusty chemistry, Accidental Lover was a book I couldn’t put down.

Plus it ket me know that those scary assassins, Justin and Gabriel, Alexei’s uncles, were actually the main focus of the Exit Strategy series so I could happily backtrack once more for their origin story and romance.

I’m highly recommending this story and onto the first one in the series.

Exit Strategy series:

✓ Deadly Lover: Special Edition #1

✓ Vengeful Lover #2

◦ Final Lover #3

◦ Forbidden Lover #4

✓ Accidental Lover #5

Related/sequel series: Shadow Elite books

Accidental Lover (Exit Strategy Book 5)

Description:

Rule No. 1 of being an assassin: Don’t sleep with your mark.

Eh. Alexei has never been big on rules.

It’s not his fault Soren is too sexy for words.

And it’s not like he knew Soren was the cat burglar he’d been hired to kill.

But as they dodge other assassins, the CIA, and even the Russians to keep Soren alive and a stolen hard drive out of their hands, Alexei might be in even greater danger of breaking

Rule No. 2.

Never fall for your mark.

Review: Wolf Blood (Outcast Pack, #2) by T. J. Nichols

Rating: 4🌈

At 124 pages, Wolf Blood is an exciting, engaging paranormal romance. It’s a quick read with all the books in this series flowing pretty seamlessly from one to the next.

If you’re a fan of Nichols’ Familiar Mates and Mythos series, then you will have a good understanding of the universe Outcast Pack is located in as they are all connected.

Drew Preston’s relationship troubles with his ex, the human River Yates, was mentioned in the other story. As it’s illegal for humans to be told of the paranormal world, it’s no wonder they had issues.

Here we find out they have far more serious problems then they know of .

Nichols does a good job in supplying the background information about the paranormal world that’s the basis for three series for those new to the universe. It’s not a layered story but it gets the job done.

The limited amount of length makes the story rock along and the fighting and high drama is over quickly. But not the enormous ramifications. Those are sliding into the next stage in Wolf Soul.

As I said prior, these wonderful characters and entertaining quickly told romances flow by with the high energy of a terrific serialized romance adventure. That’s the spirit in which I’m reading them.

And recommending them.

Read them in the order that they were written.

Outcast Pack:

✓ Wolf Heart #1

✓ Wolf Blood #2

✓ Wolf Soul #3

◦ Wolf Mate #4

◦ Wolf Lust #5

Wolf Blood: mm second chance wolf shifter romance (Outcast Pack Book 2)

When both of them are keeping dangerous secrets, will their romance get a second chance or will there be too much spilled blood between them?

River Yates always thought his grandmother’s tales about shifters and witches living among them to be just stories. Until his ex, Drew Preston, showed up at his door naked and bloodied and in need of help.

After being attacked by wolves determined to tear apart the fledgling Outcast Pack, Drew did the only thing he could: shift and run. The nearest place he might find refuge is River’s house. But his ex is human, and when River accused him of cheating, he ripped out Drew’s heart.

While River wasn’t wrong about Drew keeping secrets, how could he tell a human what he is?

When a hunter arrives to kill the shifters that have been making trouble, River is forced to confront the truth not only about Drew but also his own family. Once again, he’ll be picking up weapons and facing off against his grandmother, but this time, it isn’t a training exercise.

Discover the Outcast Pack mm paranormal wolf shifter romance series. Join the wolves as they fight to make their pack official and fall in love along the way. Each book has a new couple and a HEA with no cliffhangers and no mpreg.

Wolf Blood is a steamy, angsty, second chance romance between a hunter and shifter.

Review: Wolf Heart (Outcast Pack, #1) by T. J. Nichols

Rating: 4🌈

The Outcast Pack series takes place in the same universe as this author’s Familiar Mates and Mythos series. So if a reader is familiar with those books then they will be able to supply the missing foundation information one would normally expect to receive from a first story here.

Paranormal/human interaction. Officially none. The paranormal species and ruling structure, The Coven. All that crosses over all three series and I expect to eventually see the other characters as well.

What I found so enjoyable was that this book is written somewhat like a serialized story. It’s quick, exciting, with easily connectable characters and a plot that will flow into the next story and couple’s lives.

There’s not quite a cliffhanger but an overall plot that’s constantly addressed by multiple sources. It’s viewed as a historical event by the wolf and paranormal investigators. Can a group of outcasts, gay shifters, form a pack and be recognized by all other lawful paranormal groups and be given a territory of their own.

The first story, much like the rest, is about 130 pages. So a fast read. The relationship between paramedic Con Albury and future Alpha Zach Ellis progresses quickly but in a way that draws the reader into their problems. Primarily the old homophobia that’s been going on in their packs that’s threatening their lives and that of all gay shifters.

I was through the romance before I knew it and it ended abruptly. Much like a serial would.

The next picks up the drama and key points and takes everything smartly forward.

Honestly, it’s paranormal romance popcorn in the best possible way. I went through them all and was so happy with them.

That’s why I’m recommending you do the same.

Outcast Pack:

Wolf Heart #1

Wolf Blood #2

Wolf Soul #3

Wolf Mate #4

Wolf Lust #5

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showWolf Heart (Outcast Pack, #1) by T.J. Nichols

Description:

They belong to rival wolf packs…so why can’t they keep their hands off each other?

Paramedic Con Albury loves nothing more than spending his time off either as a wolf or at night clubs. He’s always looking for a good time, and he usually finds it. While he has aligned himself with the Outcast Pack for protection, he tells himself he prefers to be alone.

Zach Ellis has spent his life preparing to take over the pack just like everyone expects. Pack and family come first. But he needs more than duty and giving into temptation and falling into Con’s bed is easier than it should be.

But the fallout will threaten everything the Outcast Pack stands for: freedom and found family.

Discover the Outcast Pack mm paranormal wolf shifter romance series. Join the wolves as they fight to make their pack official and fall in love along the way. Each book has a new couple and a HEA with no cliffhangers and no mpreg.

Wolf Heart is a steamy, gay, enemies to lovers romance between rival wolf shifters.

Review: A Christmas Outing: A Veterans Affairs Story by A.E. Wasp

Rating: 3.25🌈

A Christmas Outing is a wonderful heartwarming holiday story whose narrative gifts are tarnished by the errors and mistakes that are found inside.

Continuity issues, once again, thy name is A Veterans Affairs. The most striking example is Troy’s best friend growing up, Leo. A closeted gay himself, it was his death that pushed Troy out of the closet and onto a new path. Hugely important.

So it would have to be a factor that’s a major aspect of Troy’s life and storylines. You would expect zero variation. Incoming, the first novel, has its version being that Leo was shot to death by a hookup in a gas station because he’s afraid to be seen in a gay bar.

Written as an epilogue to that story but released separately (same time frame), A Christmas Outing: A Veterans Affairs Story has Leo dying as a result of being beaten to death by homophobes.

To use the vernacular, I can’t even.

Troy’s West Virginia large family of Methodists becomes ethnically distinctly Italian Catholic, with some surprising side trips.

There’s so many elements that are mentioned and discussed superficially. A gay conversion camp and therapy, a gay cousin, a rescue, a PSTD episode that’s quickly dealt with, a hidden relationship, a coming out, a service dog and her duties, a gay partner who’s not religious. I’m sure I’m leaving out some. Bigotry.

All at Christmas. So heartwarming.

The fact that the Christmas card decorations and big Italian Catholic families are supposed to make up for the lost depth and glossing over of some of the very tough topics raised is in a manner a surface treatment used by families to make them feel better about themselves and issues they would rather not face.

It ends typically with a happy ending for the couple, one not shared with those around them. Big surprise.

There’s a couple more books in this series that are focused around another couple that lives in the same small town of Red Deer, Colorado.

Not entirely sure I’m continuing. It’s interesting but I have more books in 2023 on my list to finish first.

A Christmas Outing: A Veterans Affairs Story

******

Books in the Veterans Affairs Series

Incoming – Troy & Dmitri novel
A Christmas Outing – Troy & Dmitri novella

Paper Hearts – Mikey & Benny novel
Paper Roses – Mikey & Benny novella

Bronze Star – Jay-Cee & Chris novel

Description:

Troy and Dmitri have worked everything out – well, almost everything. Except for the part where Troy’s family doesn’t know Dmitri exists. Coming out to his family sounds scarier than going to war. And Troy would know.

Troy’s been out of the Army for almost a year, and except for a few short weeks, hasn’t been back to West Virginia at all. Now it’s Christmas and if he doesn’t go, he’ll break his momma’s heart. Trouble is, Troy’s afraid that going home with a boyfriend and service dog in tow will break his Momma’s heart just as much.

Review: Incoming : A Veterans Affair Novel by A.E. Wasp

Rating: 3.5🌈

Incoming, the beginning of Wasp’s Veterans Affairs series, is a terrific book marred by poor editing and continuity issues, things that unfortunately continue into the next story, Christmas Outing.

Released in 2016, it dates itself with elements that I regard fondly. Music, a car with actual paper road maps in the passenger seat, be still my heart. And while I’d like to chalk up the editing errors, that for some readers might send this novel flying across the room, to inadequate technology at the time, I suspect that’s just not the case.

Most of the glaring mistakes concern switching important names sometimes within paragraphs. Whether it’s between the main characters or even towards the end, the adorable but vastly different canine characters, it occurs often and throughout the story.

How does an author not have noticed something so major that it takes a reader out of the narrative because they are trying to make sense of who’s talking? Or a canine acting out of character? A super intelligent border collie who’s lived in the house for years can’t figure out a door while the new recently ill dog is racing towards a ball already in the backyard. Uh no. Pls edit.

It’s a shame because the core story and the characters are quite wonderful. Especially Troy Johnson, ex Army, who’s issues include untreated PTSD, the stress of being a closeted gay man to his religious family in WV, and internalizing all the pain, suffering, and loss of his recent campaigns in Afghanistan. Troy is so beautifully written and painfully detailed a person who’s trying to figure out a new life and not quite succeeding.

Less immediately likable but just as realistic is Dimitri, a research veterinarian* (because he couldn’t stand to cause animals/their owners pain) who’s let his fears of pain overwhelm him to the extent he’s walled himself off emotionally and physically from life, except for his best friend. He’s more than a bit self absorbed, a tad cowardly, and reactionary. Unrealistic. How did the author explain him getting through vet school?

Did I believe in him? Yes, sort of. In a where did his degree come from kinda way. Did I like him? Hmmm, maybe. More so as I started to see the men together. It was their dynamic and relationship that sold me , as well as his relationships with his best friend, Sugar, that connected me with Dmitri.

Excellent work with his less than stellar personality and character growth.But his profession needs work.

The characters that support them are amazing. Whether it’s the bar owner, Vincent, a vet himself, and the best friend, Angel. The dogs too, like Sweetie the service dog and Dmitri’s border collie, Moby.

So read the this book and it’s companion, A Christmas Outing, a sort of epilogue to this couple’s relationship, if you’re a fan of the author’s and extremely tolerant of editing errors and continuity mistakes.

However, if those things are book stoppers for you, I’d suggest you skip these. Not even the diminutive shortcut for Dmitri remains the same throughout the novel. SMH.

*some scientific researchers do tend to use animals in their experiments so I do wonder how much research herself Wasp did here. Just a thought.

Books in the Veterans Affairs Series

Incoming – Troy & Dmitri novel
A Christmas Outing – Troy & Dmitri novella

Paper Hearts – Mikey & Benny novel
Paper Roses – Mikey & Benny novella

Bronze Star – Jay-Cee & Chris novel

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showIncoming (Veterans Affairs, #1) by A.E. Wasp

Description:

A veteran and a veteranarian walk into a bar.

Army veteran Troy is everything Dmitri’s ever wanted in a guy: gorgeous, smart, and funny. He likes dogs, he has the sexiest trace of an accent, and his kisses set off fireworks in Dmitri’s entire body. Too bad Troy is looking to stay in Red Deer Dmitri is getting the hell out of this small town as soon as he can.

Still, they might be able to work it out, but Troy has secrets he won’t tell, and the demons he’s running from are hot on his heels. When sparks fly on a hot Fourth of July weekend, both men find that the past is not easily left behind, and the future is never as clear as you hope.

Review: When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (The Singing Hills Cycle #2) by Nghi Vo

Rating: 4.5🌈

“THE TAVERN WAS LITTLE more than a waxed canvas tent, tilted towards the south by the wind that rushed headlong down the mountain. The woman who tended the makeshift bar had a thin wispy mustache styled into pointed wings over her lip, and Chih took down her family history while the mammoth scouts argued outside.”

So begins Nghi Vo’s When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, second novel in the impressive series, The Singing Hills Cycle. With the wandering cleric Chih as our primary narrator, we venture into the frozen northern part of the realm where there’s an entirely different culture to explore. One we’ve heard of before.

Mammoths and their riders played an enormous role in the Empress of Salt and Fortune. Here we get a better understanding of the animals themselves and the culture that surrounds them.

Chih requires aid through a pass and it’s a mammoth and it’s rider that will escort them. Chih is genderqueer, pronouns of they/them. Whether it’s due to being a Cleric or by a personal preference isn’t made entirely clear. It just is. Sexual orientation and gender identity isn’t a issue in the stories. It’s part of who someone is.

The ride, which as with everything Chih experiences, turns into a learning (recording) journey with the mammoth rider Si-yu, an irrepressible force and her special mammoth Piluk.

Then comes the tigers.

Who turn into people who are very much still tigers. Hungry ones.

And it’s Chih’s remembered story, a particular story, that ends up being told from different perspectives, that saves the day. So to speak.

It’s a fascinating concept, and an even more intriguing story. Or stories. As it changes from human perspective to tiger and back again.

One that involves grief, hunger, ghosts, poetry, betrayal, and love.

So textured and beautiful.

I found the ending almost abrupt for all that went into this richly detailed piece and needed to know more past this ending.

And no Almost Brilliant wasn’t in this. Hopefully in the next.

Vo’s stories reminds us that in every tale there’s another perspective other than the one we’re currently listening to. And that for every hunter, there’s a path when they may become the hunted. Nothing is one-dimensional, every being is more than it seems.

I’m highly recommending When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (The Singing Hills Cycle #2) by Nghi Vo for all lovers of fantasy fiction and magical writing.

No romance herein except in the story that’s being told between the Cleric and the Tigers.

Singing Hills Cycle:

✓ The Empress of Salt and Fortune #1

✓ When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain #2

◦ Into The Riverlands #3

◦ Mammoths at the Gates #4 – September 12, 2023

Btw, these covers are brilliant.

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (The Singing Hills Cycle, 2)

Description:

From Locus and Ignyte finalist, Crawford Award winner, and bestselling author Nghi Vo comes the second installment in a Hugo Award-winning series

“A stunning gem of a novella that explores the complexity and layers of storytelling and celebrates the wonder of queer love. I could read about Chih recording tales forever.”―Samantha Shannon, New York Times bestselling author of The Priory of the Orange Tree

“Dangerous, subtle, unexpected and familiar, angry and ferocious and hopeful. . . . The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a remarkable accomplishment of storytelling.”―NPR

The cleric Chih finds themself and their companions at the mercy of a band of fierce tigers who ache with hunger. To stay alive until the mammoths can save them, Chih must unwind the intricate, layered story of the tiger and her scholar lover―a woman of courage, intelligence, and beauty―and discover how truth can survive becoming history.

Nghi Vo returns to the empire of Ahn and The Singing Hills Cycle in When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, a mesmerizing, lush standalone follow-up to The Empress of Salt and Fortune.

The Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle

Review: The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle #1) by Nghi Vo

Rating: 4.75🌈

I’m not sure how I came across this incredible author and series. Perhaps it was that amazing cover or the hints of cultural magic mixed with references to strong women within an ancient history fantasy setting in the description. The Hugo award helped.

Doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t prepare a reader for the sheer beauty, the quiet cruelty, and vastness of the world found here. Love. Passion, rage , revenge. Lakes that seem benign until the sun lowers and start to glow an ominous red.

Everything revealed in the most powerful and astonishing way.

Our first narrator is the Cleric Chih. Pronouns they, them. Chih, is something of a prodigy within the Abbey, which from the occasional conversational mentions isn’t always easy or welcome. Their job along with the hoopoe, their companion Almost Brilliant is to record everything. The hoopoe , a neixin, is a being able to remember everything, store and then regurgitate the information to a “hive species brain” the entirety of all memory.

Almost Brilliant is a fascinating character with a history of devastating loss. Together they are instructed to catalog, by brush, or by memory, every detail, heard, seen, and more, which will then sent back to their Abbey for logging and recording for all time. They hold the world’s knowledge and secrets, no matter the size. Something not all leaders are easy with.

Our journey starts with Chih and Almost Brilliant on the way to the Capital when they decide on a side trip to the old Empress’s place of exile, the Lake Scarlet with its mysterious red glow and Thriving Fortune, the estate of the barbarian Empress In-yo, recently decommissioned.

There by the shores of Lake Scarlet, they meet an elderly woman, Rabbit, who leads them to Thriving Fortune. As Chih and Almost Brilliant begin to catalog the world of Thriving Fortune, that which remains, a second perspective and tale begins.

Against an almost poetical list of the contents of once alive dwelling, the intricate, powerful story of the Empress of Salt and Fortune, In-yo and her handmaiden, Rabbit, unfolds.

I don’t believe there’s a way to bring the depths, secrets, and power of this story into a review.

It will leave you with many questions about Chih, the Singing Hill Abbey and Almost Brilliant too. I’m hoping that the next books will supply some more information.

Is this a romance? No. Are there love stories? Yes. But not all in the manner of romantic love, although there are some. But this isn’t a book which lends itself to easy descriptions, or narrative boxes.

Much like the characters who defy description themselves.

I highly recommend The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle #1) by Nghi Vo. It will stay with you, leave you with images and characters long past the ending.

I can’t wait to meet up with Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant once again.

Singing Hills Cycle:

✓ The Empress of Salt and Fortune #1

◦ When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain #2

◦ Into The Riverlands #3

◦ Mammoths at the Gates #4 – September 12, 2023

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showThe Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

Reviewer’s Note: I find this so simplistic and the description actually leaves so much of the series foundation and story out. It’s a shame, because the gender neutral character of the cleric of the Singing Hills Abbey is the one that ties all 3 books together and is such an amazing character on their own.

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Description

With the heart of an Atwood tale and the visuals of a classic Asian period drama, Nghi Vo’s The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a tightly and lushly written narrative about empire, storytelling, and the anger of women. A young royal from the far north, is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully. Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor’s lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for. At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She’s a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece.

Review: Jon and Mack’s Terrifying Tree Troubles (Jon’s Mysteries Case Book 5) by A.J. Sherwood

Rating: 4.75🌈

A crossover story with Sherwood’s Mack’s Marvelous Manifestations series, Jon and Mack’s Terrifying Tree Troubles is a great entertaining, somewhat terrifying white knuckle thriller of a murderous paranormal mystery story.

That it contains laughs, some kinky sex, cats, yeeted tombstones, multiple characters we’ve come to love between two series, and ghosts out the wahzoo! You should sort of expect that.

It all starts with Grant (who does get a story, see below) being called in to find a missing teenager, only to discover that she’s dead.

That leads to a phone call to the Psy gang , that includes Reader extraordinaire Jonathan Bane, his fiancée and anchor Donovan Havili , computer genius Cho and more.

Sherwood quickly turns a simple murder case into something that keeps building up into a chilling conspiracy of hate and violence. One body at a time. It’s a great element and storyline.

And it makes perfect sense to bring in all the other characters, like FBI medium MacKenzie Lafayette and his anchor and partner in every way,

Brandon Havili, to help with the cases and ghosts.

More familiar faces arrive to assist as the suspects, anxiety, and sheer body counts ramp up. So does the danger to our group.

The final chapters are really impressive in building to a narrative climax,making a high action, suspenseful, screaming banshee type of last play before everything is solved and the good guys can go safely home and enjoy their lives.

In other words, a fabulous tale.

Sherwood has mentioned she has one more book in each series and then they each are done.

So I’ll treasure this and wait for that.

And highly recommend the series. Read them in the order they are written.

Jon’s Mysteries Case series:

✓ Jon’s Downright Ridiculous Shooting Case #1

✓ Jon’s Crazy Head-Boppin’ Mystery #2

✓ Jon’s Spooky Corpse Conundrum #3

✓ Jon’s Boom Shaka Laka Problem #4

✓ Jon and Mack’s Terrifying Tree Troubles #5

Buy Link:

Jon and Mack’s Terrifying Tree Troubles (Jon’s Mysteries Case Book 5)

Description:

It’s like a bad game of Telephone.

Grant locates a murdered teen in McMinnville. He calls Jon.

Jon locates the girl’s ghost. He calls Mack.

Mack talks to the ghost who leads them to more ghosts. Who lead them to even more ghosts.

And why are all the murder victims buried under trees?

The boys are ready for this game to end, please. (Donovan especially.)

Tags:

Jon’s World crossover, hail hail the gang’s all here, oh look we meet Grant, trees are not to be trusted, according to Donovan, ya’ll pray for Donovan, there’s so many ghosts, the ghosts have some WORDS to share, car sex, bondage sex, Mack has plans, so of course they get ruined, BAMF female cops, Jon and Mack are ready for this case to be over, please and thank you, serial killer(s)? running amok, people get tombed, literally, Eli’s mad she missed the fun, Mack would like to say: Don’t use Jon as a battery, seriously don’t do it

Related series/books:

Alan’s Utterly Accidental Dream-Cute: A Jon’s Mysteries Side Story (Jon’s Mysteries Case)

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