Category: Books

Review:  Don’t Come For My Night Stalker: MM Military Suspense (Tags Of Honor: Black Squadron Book 2) by Annabella Stone

Rating: 4.75🌈

Don’t Come For My Night Stalker is the second book in Annabella Stone’s excellent Black Squadron duology.  A political intrigue , intense combat and suspense filled story that focuses on a long standing unspoken love between elite op Grady Montreux, and Claudio Stancanpiano, Black Squadron’s commander. 

Stones series ’ series and books, which are heavily intertwined with each other as they are part of this overall agency and oversight task force, have the same locations and repeat characters/couples.  It’s a densely populated and complex military universe where the protocols and procedures are rigid and complicated.

Stone gets this and layers it beautifully into her characters and their storylines. 

It’s a soldier’s story. Complete with nightmares, PTSD, trauma and fears of committing due to the fact that the job makes any future tenuous. So a realistic based storyline for two soldiers who have been in many campaigns and are still fighting, but in yet another capacity. 

A international arms and drug dealer who has been an ongoing major villain in other stories appears here.  Another key element of Stone’s’ series and ability to maintain a high energy and realistic flow in the universe. 

The scenes between Claudio and Grady are moving and intense, especially due to the circumstances. I love the communication between them that finally allows them to see a future or at least a HFN as a couple together.  That’s believable. 

As, frustrating as it is, so is the ending.  Claudio and Grady’s relationship story had wrapped up but an even larger story and plot is just beginning. 

Stone’s books are extremely well written, extraordinarily detailed, with explosive action sequences and suspense filled moments.  Loved it and waiting for the next!

Cover Design By: Golden Czermak Cover Image By: James Critchley Cover Model: Carlo di Carlo

Tags Of Honor: Black Squadron:

Don’t Come For My Operator #1

Don’t Come For My Night Stalker #2

See all connected series below. 

Buy link

        Don’t Come For My Night Stalker: MM Military Suspense (Tags Of Honor: Black Squadron Book 2)

    

Blurb 

War forged him:

Former Italian Special Forces Commander Claudio Stancanpiano has spent his life on the battlefield, where love is a luxury and attachments are a weakness. As the leader of one of the world’s most elite covert Task Forces, he’s used to making impossible choices—ones that leave no room for second chances. But when his Squadron’s latest mission goes sideways, and the man he nearly lost is the only thing grounding him, Claudio is forced to face the truth he’s been running from for years.

Love found them:

Former Night Stalker Grady Montreux has always lived in the shadows—flying into the deadliest war zones, slipping past enemy lines, doing whatever it takes to bring his team home. But after a near-fatal mission, one thing is clear: the only fight that truly matters is the one for the man he refuses to lose.

When the battle stops, love me more

Bound by war, scarred by the past, and tangled in a love they can’t escape, Claudio and Grady finally surrender—to desire, to trust, and to the future they never thought they could have. But love is its own kind of battlefield, and staying together will take more courage than any war they’ve fought before because this time, neither of them is walking away.

A high-stakes, slow-burn military romance packed with heart-stopping action, raw emotion, and the kind of love that refuses to be denied.

  • Publisher: Embers Romance LLC (March 20, 2025)
  • Publication date: March 20, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 332 pages

Full list of Crossover Series of Connected characters/couples and Agencies in the same universe in order:

🔹DELTA FORCE: TEAM PANTHER Jonah’s Compass 

Tied Up In Steele 

Malik’s Redemption 

Micah’s Promise 

Christmas-Panther Style 

Grif’s Salvation 

Jason’s Justice 

🔹TAGS OF HONOR: RED SQUADRON 

Zenko 

Noble 

Don’t Let Go 

Drax 

Roman  

Saxon 

Rees

🔹DELTA FORCE TEAM LYNX Salvation’s Sinner 

Redemption’s Rebel 

Temptation’s Tango 

🔹THE GHOST PROTECTORS 

To Love A Ghost 

To Claim A Ghost 

To Tame A Ghost 

🔹Tags Of Honor: Black Squadron:

Don’t Come For My Operator #1

Don’t Come For My Night Stalker #2

🔹SHORT STORIES 

They Won’t Ask If We Don’t Tell (Delta Force Team Panther)

Review: The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

Rating: 4.5⭐️

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni is a gripping fantasy novel, the first book in a trilogy of the same name by Lynette Noni.  She’s another new established author for me and I’m so excited to have found her and this series.

It’s equally great reading for adults like me who love fantasy with well developed characters and plots with unseen twists but could be read by young adults readers in the top range as well.  The reason for this comes from the fact that the storyline is firmly rooted in a death prison, one that’s remarkably well defined and detailed. 

The magical use comes slowly although the types of magic and how it’s been developed and divided throughout the kingdom historically is revealed early through internal storytelling by the characters. 

So the story is concentrated on the character of Kiva Meridan, first traumatically as a 7 year old on the day her family was shattered and she, along with her father, was sent to the infamous death prison, Zalindov. 

There are similarities that can be drawn between Zalindov and the German concentration camps of WWII, crematories, prisoners having numbers carved into them for identification purposes. Zalindov is a death sentence, it doesn’t matter why age you are, or why you are there.  While I don’t believe that Noni is overly graphic about the horrors of the prison, there’s enough scenes that contain disturbing details or content of deaths and other violent acts that if this is problematic for you, be aware. 

The Prison Healer jumps in time from that horrific day to present, and Kiva has survived, endured 10 years as a prisoner and a healer here. It’s been every bit a monumental struggle for her as you could expect.  One might, as a reader, find it difficult to connect with Kiva at times, due to her locked down mentality and the reduced sense of self that the prison life has left of her at 17 years.  She’s surviving, barely. 

Then the arrival of several prisoners and a sweeping deadly illness change the status quo of the prison life. 

Kiva is beautifully rendered, shutdown, hope sputtering out, you forget how young she is, as she quietly walks through the prison halls, hiding, looking out for the younger boy Tripp , trying to heal those who are in the infirmary. Being despised by all.  It’s scary, heartbreaking, and filled with fear and suspense. 

With the introduction of the dying Rebel Queen into the prison and the infirmary, the thrilling story begins to take shape on an ever larger scale. 

There’s not a romance, she’s young, and she doesn’t want to let anyone close, or to lose anyone else. 

There’s 3 incredible trial and an inventive use of space by the author to enhance her narrative. Also at the end , a fabulous twist that will send you running right into the next book to see where Kiva’s story goes!

Maps are fantastic. And I love the cover. 

Map art Š 2021 by Francesca Baerald Cover illustration, design, and lettering by Jim Tierney

The Prison Healer series (completed):

The Prison Healer #1

The Gilded Gage #2

The Blood Traitor #3

Buy link

The Prison Healer (The Prison Healer, 1)$9.59Amazon.comFree returnsStore rating 4.5/5

Blurb 

Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer.

When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals.

Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom.

But no one has ever survived.

With an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva’s heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can’t escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun.

From bestselling author Lynette Noni comes a dark, thrilling fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, and Sabaa Tahir.

Publisher. Penguin Random House Australia (March 13, 2023)

Language: English 

Pages: 448

Review:  Night Shift Dragons  (DFZ Book 3) by Rachel Aarons

Rating: 4.75⭐️

Rachel Aarons does her complex characters splendid in the finale story, Night Shift Dragons  (DFZ Book 3) by Rachel Aarons. 

One of the most compelling themes in the series has been the father/daughter relationship between Opal Yong-ae and her father, Yong, the Dragon of Korea. 

Btw, that’s them on the cover. Fabulous. 

Once a loving dynamic when she was very young, as she grew up, the relationship became a constant struggle for independence and freedom, to be seen as a individual, not as a Dragon’s gem, literally her name. The narrative, at first sees this dynamic from Opal’s perspective, changing over gradually to that of the ancient dragon’s view of his daughter. 

Night Shift Dragons is all about the young and old growing into their relationships, developing their personalities and abilities in the process.  This is a highly emotional story that still action packed , full of magically imaginative moments. Scary ones. 

 Whether they’re a young powerful shaman like Opal learning to control her abilities, the ancient dragon Yong finally recognizing he’s repeating patterns from his despised father and changing, to astonishingly a young god like DFZ who wants to be a different type of city if her people will let her , this book is full of the storylines and elements that bring us with all of them through their harrowing journey and the wildly different paths each takes to get to the ending. 

I love how maniacal this city feels in its very being. A place Timothy Leary or an acid trip would envision and maybe still not be wild enough. Then make it sentient but dependent upon the will and desire of those in it. Amazing.

All the side characters are equally incredible. Nik , Opal’s mom, White Snake, the Dragon of Detroit. On and on. 

There are parts where it was a bit dense but there’s so much to the city and magical systems that I get it. 

But as someone new to this universe and author, what an amazing world and fantastic series. 

I’m going back to pick up the first series. 

Highly recommended! Love the covers!

Cover Illustration by Tia Rambaran, Cover Design by Rachel Aaron

The DFZ Trilogy (2nd of 3 series)

Minimum Wage Magic 

Part-Time Gods 

Night Shift Dragons 

Buy link

        Night Shift Dragons (DFZ Book 3)

    

Blurb 

They say family always sticks together, but when the whole world—humans, dragons, and gods—wants your dad dead, “filial responsibility” takes on a whole new meaning.

My name is Opal Yong-ae, and I’m in way over my head. I thought getting rid of my dad’s bad luck curse would put things back to normal. Instead, I’m stuck playing caretaker to the Great Dragon of Korea. That wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t such a jerk, or if every dragon on the planet wasn’t out to kill him, or if he were my only problem.

Turns out, things can always get worse in the DFZ. When a rival spirit attacks my god/boss to turn the famously safety-optional city into a literal death arena with Nik as his bloody champion, I’m thrust onto the front lines and way out of my comfort zone. When gods fight, mortals don’t usually survive, but I’m not alone this time. Even proud old dragons can learn new tricks, and with everything I love falling to pieces, the father I’ve always run from might just be the only force in the universe stubborn enough to pull us back together.

The final book in the DFZ trilogy featuring dysfunctional dragon families, magic gone haywire, and a city on the brink of apocalypse. Again.

  • Publisher: Aaron/Bach (May 5, 2020)
  • Publication date: May 5, 2020
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 460 pages

Review:  A Forgotten Mistake (Deadly Mistakes #2) by Alice Winters 

Rating: 4.75🌈

The past comes rushing back for Homicide Det Liam Paige, the murderous psychopath who’s one delicious side of this two POV narrative in A Forgotten Mistake, the second story in the Deadly Mistakes series from Alice Winters. 

The other voice belongs to cat loving Detective Gabriel Hyde, partner , voice of reason and stability, as well as the beloved of the hilariously acerbic Liam. 

Winters uses the cases and investigations here to further the inter-departmental relationships Liam is reluctantly building with various team members he’s established barriers with previously and to reaffirm his commitment to the other romantic relationship he’s made with Gabriel.   It’s a layered story, shockingly emotional and compellingly told. 

Many details about Liam’s past life become hugely relevant to the cases and storylines here, impacting the investigations but Liam’s mental and emotional state. And that of Gabriel’s.

While there’s deeply disturbing and shocking elements in the scenes and storylines, there’s an equal amount of genuine hilarious moments. Gabriel,his cat,Lucille Pawl helps , in spectacular fashion, a new family member get added. 

A Forgotten Mistake (Deadly Mistakes #2) by Alice Winters is a fantastic book.  The author creates a compelling narrative that allows for the characters to explore their relationships and deepen their friendships, or in Liam’s case, actually start to develop some.  Their characters show genuine growth through dramatic, tragic moments but we still have the comedy to lighten the load.

Highly recommended. A must read for lovers of this trope, author and amazing series. 

Deadly Mistakes:

  • A Simple Mistake #1
  • A Forgotten Mistake #2 

Buy link

        A Forgotten Mistake (Deadly Mistakes Book 2)

    

Blurb 

Liam

Despite winning Gabriel’s heart, my trials are not yet over when I’m stuck competing with Gabriel’s cat for his affection (why is she only evil when he’s not looking?), dealing with coworkers trying to befriend me (I should have blackmailed more of them), and worst of all… meeting Gabriel’s parents (whose affection I will win with lavish presents).

Oh, and hunting down another killer. Though that’s the easy part.

But when a crime scene brings me face-to-face with someone from my past, I realize I might have to fight to keep my secrets hidden from those who would tear me away from Gabriel forever.

Gabriel

Tackling Liam’s foster sister to the ground outside of a crime scene is the last thing I expected to do. It’s clear she needs help, and Liam might be the only person who can assist her. People are turning up dead, but if we fail to find the connection between them before it’s too late, innocent people might end up taking the fall or piquing the serial killer’s interest.

Thankfully, Liam’s no stranger to challenges as he draws me further into his secretive world where the vilest of humanity reside around every corner. He’s opening my eyes and making me fall even deeper in love with every breath as I realize that his darkness isn’t driving me away but pulling me even closer.

This man who is willing to burn the world down for me doesn’t realize just how far I’d go for him.

  • Publication date: March 18, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 395 pages

Review:  Part-Time Gods (DFZ Book 2) by Rachel Aarons

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Part-Time Gods, the second book in the DFZ trilogy, manages to be extremely expansive in it’s overall tone, bringing in new characters and exploring new aspects of the various demi-gods and otherworldly politics that exist in and around the DFZ.  But while it’s doing this, and doing it well, Aarons is making it an intimate look at how deeply complicated family relationships and inter-species dynamics can be, especially when they overlap. 

Aarons’ approach in her crafting of otherworldly life forms and mythological beings is so well done. Whether they’re squishy semi-reality icky magic carrion feeders called dream slugs, death wind gods, or ancient dragons, none of them come across as human or beings that are capable of making human judgments or having human thought processes. The latter being especially important. 

Opal Yong-ae, who’s been fighting so hard for her freedom from her father and family ,  now has a dragon curse that explains all the bad luck she’s had to contend with.  And, devastatingly, she knows who cursed her. 

This book brings revelations about her past, her magic, and Opal faces the most daunting and terrifying challenges yet to overcome.  And face her father and the remnants of the relationship they once had. 

One of the heartbreaking elements of the story are the scenes from their past, her childhood, from Opal’s father’s perspective. It’s far from the one we as readers have seen before, giving us the emotional, political side and dangerous moments of that life. But also of how exactly her father sees her and her role in his life. 

It also gives us clarity and a deeper understanding of Opal’s character and desperation to be free. 

Hers isn’t the only character whose story is further explored by the storyline and dramatic events. Kit, the other Cleaner, has a darker background than was previously known and it’s coming back to haunt him.   It’s on his scarred body and many modifications. 

Lastly, the new god herself has a larger role here. I love that as well as getting a better understanding of how the city operates, storing whole parts for use later.  I could picture wildly constantly changing, moving, under construction! 

What a unique universe.  It ends on a wild knuckle, magically crazy battle and cliffhanger.  Fantastic.  Luckily the next book is already out.

This is also got a slow burn romance, not at all spicy. Highly imaginative and well written. On to the trilogy finale!

Highly recommended! Love the covers!

Cover Illustration by Tia Rambaran, Cover Design by Rachel Aaron

The DFZ Trilogy (2nd of 3 series) Minimum Wage Magic 

Part-Time Gods 

Night Shift Dragons 

Buy link

        Part-Time Gods (DFZ Book 2)

    

Blurb 

Life in the magical mess of the Detroit Free Zone is never easy. When you’re laboring under the curse of a certain prideful, overbearing dragon, it can be down right impossible.

My name is Opal Yong-ae, and I’m a Cleaner. At least, I used to be. Thanks to the supernatural bad luck that turns everything I do against me, these days I’m more of a walking disaster. Getting rid of this curse is the only way to get my life back. Unfortunately, dragon magic is every bit as sneaky and deadly the monsters behind it, and just as hard to beat.

But I’ve never been one to take her doom at face value. Cornered doesn’t mean defeated, and in an awakened city that rules herself, dragons are no longer the biggest powers around.

Book 2 in the now complete DFZ trilogy featuring a hilarious heroine, her overbearing dragon dad, her long-suffering mental health AI, and the crazy guy brave enough to go along with it all.

  • Publisher: Aaron/Bach (June 9, 2019)
  • Publication date: June 9, 2019
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 367 pages

Complete series 

Series Information from the author:

All of my series set in the Detroit Free Zone were written as self-contained stories. You don’t have to have read any previous DFZ books to enjoy the newer ones. But for those who want to see the world grow, here’s a list of all the DFZ books in chronological order. 

Heartstrikers :

Nice Dragons Finish Last 

One Good Dragon Deserves Another No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished 

A Dragon of a Different Color 

Last Dragon Standing 

The DFZ Trilogy (This series) Minimum Wage Magic 

Part-Time Gods 

Night Shift Dragons 

DFZ Changeling Trilogy 

By a Silver Thread 

With a Golden Sword 

To the Bloody End

Review:  The Tides of March: A Nelson & MacIlwraith Mystery (Moon Murder Mysteries) by K Sterling 

Rating: 4.5🌈

The Tides of March picks up right after the events from Back in the Hunt, the first book to feature the secondary characters from the original Moon Mysteries Trilogy featuring Nelson and Nox.  At the end of that story, Nox’s TA Tony was severely injured and was taken out to Poole’s Island, hoping that Ronan, a merrow who lives there, could heal him. 

That’s where The Tides of March picks up. But the time frame is somewhat flexible with the narrative flowing back and forth in time to the two important parts of Tony and Ronan relationship, that when they met and the current situation of events. 

K Sterling became a go to author for a number of reasons, excellence in writing being one, but Sterling’s work when it comes to mythology, religion, cultural history and the depths of this author’s research is phenomenal. Then to take that knowledge and give it a unique twist, spinning it into epic tale of fantasy , horror, and murder mysteries? Fantastic. 

That concept and mythological storytelling is furthered by Tony’s wounding and his unceremonious dumping on Poole’s Island, hoping that Ronan will have no other choice but to help him as a male merrow.   

Their relationship will be built around Maryland’s history, Celtic mythology, especially those that pertain to merrows, and Tony’s own revelations about his family background. It’s an astonishing blend of mythology, history, and legends that works for the story, the relationship and its characters. It will also help more over , at the end, move the series arc mystery forward into another story and nearby location.

The vivid imagery and Sterling’s vision for the characters comes together in emotional detail and moments that make them and their situation seem believable. 

That battle that brought many of Nox’s inner circle together (and our favorites) was a truly action filled and exciting. 

All of these stories are based on locations near to me , something that rarely occurs in books I read. Silver Spring, Maryland? Almost unheard of. 

The ending was lovely way to bring the story to a close , give Tony a new beginning and to launch the next adventure, Dead Air. 

I’m all in when everyone heads to the Shenandoah Mountains. 

Another fantastic story to add to the growing mythology mystery surrounding Nox and company.  Highly recommended.

Exquisite covers. No idea who to credit them to. 

Moon Mysteries 1 – 3 (first series)

Nelson & MacIlwraith Mystery (Moon Murder Mysteries sequel series)

Back in the Hunt #1

The Tides of March #2

Dead Air #3 – Aug 19,2025

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comThe Tides of March: A Nelson & MacIlwraith Mystery (Moon …

Blurb 

Welcome to Pooles Island. 

Population: 1 very grumpy merrow.

That’s all that Anthony Costa knows about his destination. Weak and barely clinging to consciousness after being attacked by an undead changeling, Tony is left in the care of Ronan O’Sullivan. The young anthropology professor’s fate hangs by a thread and the hideous merrow is Tony’s last hope.

Scorned and abandoned, Ronan has no use for men until he finds a beautiful Roman castaway on his beach. Bound by an ancient oath, Ronan has no choice but to care for Tony. But being a merrow means that Ronan is also burdened by a strong desire to claim the human inhabiting his bed.

There’s more to Tony’s story than he ever imagined and Ronan finds out he’s more than an ugly face, but a mysterious foe has unleashed an ancient horror upon Pooles Island. Ronan sets Tony free in an attempt to fight it on his own and finds himself outmatched by a kraken. Will Tony and his friends make it back in time to save Ronan, or will their love story get swept away with the tide?

**Tides Of March is part of the Nelson & MacIlwraith universe and includes MANY spoilers for the original trilogy.**

  • Publisher: Bawdy Books (March 15, 2025)
  • Publication date: March 15, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 183 pages

Review: Minimum Wage Magic (DFZ Book 1) by Rachel Aaron

Rating:  4.5⭐️🌈

This book had me at the title!Minimum Wage Magic (DFZ Book 1) by Rachel Aaron drew me in by that great title, then the interesting cover, and the story behind both. 

Plus the fact that I got to discover a new author and ever expanding universe to dive into! Rachel Aaron has been developing this magical trippy world through 3 connected series, of which the DFZ trilogy is the second one. 

DFZ, or the Detroit Free Zone is a both a sentient goddess and place, one that is constantly rearranging itself according to the DFZ’s whims and ideas.  It’s a no holds barred zone of all out love of competition and commerce, anything goes until the DFZ says no, which doesn’t often happen.  I really am going to read that first series, because fabulous.

But there’s enough magical systems foundation and world history laid down here for a new reader to understand the storylines and characters. 

Aaron’s world building is excellent and so imaginative. Interwoven with magical elements and technology, it’s a place of mystery and endless opportunities for creativity and crime. New architecture and depths of depravity.  And it’s sentient. That’s the city of Detroit. 

Its 2115 and debt ridden mage Opal Yong-ae is doing her job as a Cleaner, think someone who has come to clean out all the apartments/houses for those who haven’t paid or been evicted. She owns what’s inside, trash or treasure, whatever. It’s a toss up because she bid on it unknowingly what’s inside. 

Yup, she may have magic but she’s an Official Subcontractor for Detroit Free Zone Habitation Management.

I’m so in.

Of course, the place she’s working on , in a nasty location, takes a turn for the worst. 

This is such a captivating story. Opal’s own narrative, her mysterious family, the debt she’s carrying, the freedom she craves so desperately, all these elements are carefully assembled and revealed throughout the story as events happen. 

Opal is a tremendously appealing personality, one we relate to, as she meets each new character, ends up in another humbling or challenging situation, we are right there with her. 

Nik, another Cleaner with his own mysterious history behind him, becomes someone who can grow and develop into a partner equally powerful and intriguing.  

It’s hard to describe anything here without knowingly giving away main spoilers for the characters and book that are too delightful and should be read.

Delightful, scary, frustrating and definitely a way to send me running straight to the next book.

And back to the original series. 

I just adore the characters, especially Opal and need to see more of the DFZ and all the spirits and Demi-gods that dwell there. 

Fascinating, imaginative stuff. More please!

Highly recommended! 

Cover Illustration by Tia Rambaran, Cover Design by Rachel Aaron

The DFZ Trilogy (2nd of 3 series) Minimum Wage Magic 

Part-Time Gods 

Night Shift Dragons 

Buy link:

        Minimum Wage Magic (DFZ Book 1)

    

Blurb 

Return to the DFZ with a new standalone series full of dragons, mages, and the deadly perils of freelance employment, now complete at three books!

Making a living is hard. Making a living in a lawless city where gods are real, dragons are traffic hazards, and buildings move on their own can feel downright impossible.

Good thing freelance mage Opal Yong-ae has never let little things like impossibility stop her. She’s found a way to put her overpriced magical art history degree to use as a Cleaner: a contract municipal employee who empties out abandoned apartments and resells the unusual treasures she finds inside for a profit. It’s not a pretty job, or a safe one–there’s a reason she wears bite-proof gloves–but when you’re neck-deep in debt to a very magical, very nasty individual, you can’t be picky about where the money comes from.

But even Opal’s low standards are put to the test when the only thing of value in her latest apartment is the body of the previous tenant. Dealing with the dead isn’t technically part of her job, but this mage died hiding a secret that could be worth a lot of money, and Opal’s the only one who knows. With debts she can’t pay due at the end of the week, this could be the big break she’s been waiting for, but in a city of runaway magic where getting in over your head generally means losing it, the cost of chasing this opportunity might be more than Opal can survive.

  • Publisher: Aaron/Bach (November 9, 2018)
  • Publication date: November 9, 2018
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 341 pages

Complete series 

Series Information from the author:

All of my series set in the Detroit Free Zone were written as self-contained stories. You don’t have to have read any previous DFZ books to enjoy the newer ones. But for those who want to see the world grow, here’s a list of all the DFZ books in chronological order. 

Heartstrikers :

Nice Dragons Finish Last 

One Good Dragon Deserves Another No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished 

A Dragon of a Different Color 

Last Dragon Standing 

The DFZ Trilogy (This series) Minimum Wage Magic 

Part-Time Gods 

Night Shift Dragons 

DFZ Changeling Trilogy 

By a Silver Thread 

With a Golden Sword 

To the Bloody End

Review:  A Thousand Cuts (Cursebreakers, Inc. Book 3) by A. M. Rose

Rating: 4.5🌈

A. M. Rose’s Cursebreakers, Inc. series continues to be one of the most intriguing, surprising paranormal romance series I’ve read lately.  

With each book and new case and romance, Rose expands on the magic system and universe that the series and characters inhabit.  It just keeps getting better and darker, which makes sense considering that the focus of this series are horrendous curses.  

 Each story has a unique type of curse(s) that requires the ability of one of the group of found family of Cursebreakers here. The storyline revolves around the impact of upon those who are cursed and the individual Cursebreakers trying to figure out how to break them. 

A Thousand Cuts is Fix’s story but that title belongs to the character who is cursed, Liam. Liam is a character briefly introduced in the last book when he comes looking for help at the wrong moment.  It’s at a point where the entire group is trying desperately to help one of their own, Hart, in his own case and relationship with Cane. 

Fix is a person who has a strong sense of guardianship, a need to protect and safeguard others. And spiraling if he feels like he’s failed.  More about him and the group’s development is revealed in the story. But how Cursebreakers and their magical powers are developed from a very young age is a chilling story thread that Rose expands on with each character. We are talking extremely young ages when they are removed from their families because their powers present themselves and, as in Black’s case and probably others , it’s traumatic. 

So every character is a flawed, powerful and unique personality that ends up with a romantic partner to match. Equally interesting, often damaging or dangerous, wild back story and as with Liam, comes with a twist. 

And a great rescue dog, named King. 

The curses and stalker case is realistic and frightening. The romance is a BDSM with a believable Daddy kink that suits both characters personalities.  I got it immediately.  

The best thing is how Rose wraps up the case,  bringing Liam finally home to Fix, safe and curse free. Surprises !

And it brings back an overall series mystery that looks to be a subtle twist and thread. I honestly loved it. 

Fantastic characters, great plot and dark arc and universe. Love it and highly recommended. 

Cursebreakers, Inc. :

Like A House On Fire #1

Fool Me Twice #2

A Thousand Cuts #3

Once Bitten #4 – Jan 15,2026

Cover designed by BCJ Art & Design

Buy link

        A Thousand Cuts (Cursebreakers, Inc. Book 3)

    

Blurb 

Sometimes it feels like Fix’s entire life can be summed up with two simple words: wanting and waiting. Wanting a family. Wanting to belong. Wanting to protect. Wanting to love. And waiting endlessly to find it.

When a beautiful cam boy with a flurry of curses hanging over his head and a mysterious past asks for his help, Fix thinks all of the wanting and the waiting has come to an end.

Except Liam’s entire life can be summed up in just one word. 

Running.

Running from his past. Running from a rain of curses. Running from unwanted eyes stalking him. Running from the cursebreaker who feels like he can be the perfect dadd—man for Liam. Offering him everything he’s ever wanted. Protection. Care. Love.

Will they be able to fit their jagged edges together? Or will the shadow lurking behind Liam swallow them whole?

  • Publication date: March 12, 2025
  • Language: English’s
  • Print length: 354 pages

Review: A Lair of Bones (Curse of the Cyren Queen Book 1) by Helen Scheuerer

Rating: 4.75⭐️

Sheer utter cruel fantasy and I’m here for it.  With A Lair of Bones, Helen Scheuerer really cemented herself as one of my top authors of favorite fantasy novels. 

With top tier world building, hauntingly vivid imagery, as well as the ability to create characters that start as raw flawed beings that shift and develop emotionally as this story and their journey begins , A Lair of Bones by Helen Scheuerer is a classic of epic fantasy.

This isn’t a romance, but truly a fantasy epic adventure told from the perspective of a young female cyren. We see her born to a prisoner, Cerys, a cyren who’s been imprisoned for centuries having committed the ultimate crime of using her death song against her own kind. 

This parentage makes Rohesia, our main character a Isruhe , a deeply injurious slur, “vermin of the deep” and those beings are marked by a golden circlet about their heads.  She and those of the lower depths of the Cyren island of Saddorial have the most disgusting and dangerous jobs. In her case, she and her friends are bone cleaners. 

The author has created a cruel, proud race of creatures we’ve known from mythology, expanding and evolving them into a evolved, highly predatory water dwelling species that lives in architecturally beautiful structures made entirely of the bones of those they’ve killed, mostly humans.  These aren’t a kind or forgiving race. 

Their main mantra is no Cyren is to be trusted. Everyone wears a mask. 

This is the world that our bone cleaners are born into and the one in which Rohesia, aka Roh will undertake the biggest challenge and transformation. To become the next Queen of the Cyrens.

This story will focus on Roh’s schemes to become a participant in the royal Queen’s Tournament and the surprise addition of a human being as a partner to keep alive and in good condition to compete the trials. 

Scheuerer has added so many fantastic aspects to this Tournament as well as characters that are ones that will have impactful roles to Roh in the series.  

Throughout the story, more of the history and magical systems, Cyren and mages, are incorporated into the narrative in dramatic moments and highly emotional scenes.

Roh is a very driven personality, scarred, ambitious and determined to rise above the scorned vermin she’s seen as. Her character is shown to evolve along with her perspective on her species and history as she undergoes the brutal challenges and has to interact with those around her. 

A Lair of Bones is such a compelling story with Roh and her companion’s’ journey a gripping suspense-filled tale, that I read it in one evening. And went immediately onto the next. 

I highly recommend reading A Lair of Bones (Curse of the Cyren Queen Book 1) by Helen Scheuerer. It’s top of my book list of favorite reads.

Cover design by Deranged Doctor Design

Curse of the Cyren Queen finished series:

A Lair of Bones #1

With Dagger and Song #2

The Fabric of Chaos #3

To Wield a Crown #4 – finale 

Buy link

        A Lair of Bones (Curse of the Cyren Queen Book 1)

    

Blurb 

As the daughter of an infamous criminal, Roh only cares about three things: her friends, finding her deathsong, and the upcoming royal Queen’s Tournament. 

A treacherous competition determines the ruler of magic every fifty years. This is Roh’s chance to change her life. Change her destiny. 

But she’s not the only one who wants to win. Champions from every land will fight to the death for a chance to wield unimaginable power.

The challenging part of the Queen’s Tournament for Roh is keeping her human partner alive. She can’t win or survive without him. Together they’ll have to face the most cunning, and dangerous warriors magic can throw at them. Together they’ll face more than enemies. Together, they’ll learn the meaning of true friendship.

Get ready for flawed heroines, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, epic worldbuilding, stunning magic and found family. Readers will love this fast-paced exhilarating fantasy.

  • Publisher: Alchemy; 1st edition (July 13, 2021)
  • Publication date: July 13, 2021
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 476 pages

 

 

Review:  Halluci-Dating A Demon (Monster Match season two) by Ashlynn Mills

Rating: 4🌈

Halluci-Dating A Demon by Ashlynn Mills is part of the multi-author paranormal romance series, Monster Match, Season 2. 

It’s a sweet romantic story made all the more interesting by the author’s use of her own history with narcolepsy to endow one of her main characters with this illness and have her other MC be the nightmare demon that is the one that helps him with his nightmares but adjust to his illness. 

Elias, the human whose life is being consumed by guilt ridden nightmares and his narcolepsy and Arien, a dream demon who has been assigned to help Elias are a delight. Arien, especially comes across as a cotton candy ball of sunshine, taking a deep joy in everything on this “side” of the things.  For me, he made the story.

Elias was interesting but his history was confusing. Did he forget about the accident? Was it something else? How was he able to recover?  That left a few questions in the plot.

But the romance was sweet and the couple were interesting in their elements. 

This series is always worth reading as it’s going to have some good stories and fascinating aspects to the characters.  Grab them up. 

Cover design: Amanda Meuwissan Artwork: Sheilkuroi”

Monster Match season two (10 books):

🔷Shaped to Be Yours by Amanda Meuwissan 

🔷Mine to Devour by Kota Quinn 

🔷Halluci-Dating A Demon by Ashlynn Mills

🔷Love Stoned: An MM Gargoyle Romance by TH Compton

🔷Head Over Tails by Jacey Davis 

🔷Swimming in Grief: An MM Monster Romance by Kit Barrie

🔷Trolling for Love by B L Maxwell

🔷Make Me Soar by Megs Pritchard 

🔷Hold My Reins by TJ Nichols

🔷Kraken Up and Loving It by Ki Brightly 

Buy link

        Halluci-Dating A Demon

    

Blurb 

Elias

When my hallucinations while falling asleep and waking up turn from my worse nightmares to a cute purple demon who won’t stop eating my food and stealing my hoodies, I can’t decide if he’s a problem or something I’m hoping isn’t only a figment of my imagination.

Helluci-dating is book two in Monster Match season two and ends with a sweet, fluffy HEA.

  • Publication date: February 13, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 184 pages