Category: Fantasy

An Alisa Review: Jingle Bears (The Bears of Falcon’s Ridge, #2.5) by Susan E. Scott

Rating:  3.5 stars out of 5

Connor and Falcon have been together for a year and a half and are about to spend their second Christmas together. The way things have been going for the last few months has Falcon wondering if he should refer to it as their second Christmas or their last. With the mood that Connor has been in lately, Falcon isn’t sure that Connor even wants to be with him anymore.

Connor knows that he’s been acting like an ass, but he’s hurt with Falcon and can’t seem to get past it. On top of that, he’s been sick for a couple of weeks and doesn’t seem to be getting better, so now he’s worried that something serious may be wrong. And to add insult to injury—he’s gaining weight!

Both men are miserable and it’s only a few weeks until Christmas. Will they be able to work out their problems and have a merry holiday or will it take a Christmas miracle to get them back on track?

This was a cute story.  Connor and Falcon have been going through a rough patch and Falcon is starting to fear that if he goes through with a marriage proposal at Christmas that Connor wouldn’t accept.  Connor has been so confused with how he has been acting and feeling.

I loved Falcon’s worry and love for Connor no matter how he was acting and then their big surprise of Nick was great.  Both of them willingly accept their situation and son in their lives.  I loved seeing their connection with each other.  I haven’t read anything else in this series but it didn’t take away from the story.

Cover art by E Keith is cute and works well with the theme of the story.

Sales Links: Painted Hearts Publishing | Amazon | B&N

Book Details:

ebook, 60 pages

Published: December 6, 2017 by Painted Hearts Publishing

Edition Language: English

Series: The Bears of Falcon Ridge #3

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Annabelle Jay Daddy Issues in Luminosity: Book Five in the Sun Dragon Series (guest post and excerpt)

Luminosity (The Sun Dragon #5) by Annabelle Jay
Harmony Ink Press
Cover Artist: Stef Masciandaro

Buy Links: Harmony Ink Press | Amazon

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Annabelle Jay here today on her tour for Luminosity, the last in The Sun Dragon series.  Welcome, Annabelle.

✒︎

Daddy Issues in Luminosity: Book Five in the Sun Dragon Series

by Annabelle Jay

A lot of young adults have complicated relationships with their parents, especially when one of them has been gone for years. For Luke, a transgender teenager obsessed with astronomy and theories about magical worlds, her complicated relationship gets a whole lot more complicated when she finds out that her absent father is actually an incubus.

Luke’s father attacks at the worst time: during a study session with a girl that Luke has a crush on. Little does Luke know that Egret is half Igreefee, a group of magical people with environmental powers, and that her people have dealt with Incubi like Luke’s father before. After a narrow escape, Egret explains why Luke’s dad is so bent on finding her: Luke is the universe’s last Artist, a person with the ability to draw things into existence. 

As if things couldn’t get any worse, it turns out that incubi want their offspring in order to eat them and gain power. The blood of one’s offspring is the strongest of all, which puts Luke in grave danger. In the scene below, Egret must get her to the infamous Merlin’s house and under his protection without Luke’s father capturing her. However, as Luke is soon to discover, sometimes parental motivations are more complicated than they seem.

***

With a carved wooden stick in one hand and Egret’s bird feathers in the other, I sailed away from the Igreefee camp as suddenly as I’d entered it. Even though I’d only spent a few hours there, the forest dwelling had already begun to feel like home—especially because the Igreefee weren’t afraid to tell me the truth, something my own mother seemed incapable of.

“So… Grace…,” I said to start a conversation after what felt like an hour of silence had passed. “She seems nice.”

You’re a terrible liar. She’s an annoying know-it-all, but you have to admit, she’s hot.

I couldn’t argue with that.

How about you? Egret asked. Did you have a special someone or two back at your old school?

“Never.”

I didn’t mention Lacey; I wasn’t even sure she counted. Lacey had loved me, and she’d told me as much, but the Luke that Lacey loved was not the one I wanted to be. Sure, there had been a few awkward moments between us when dancing at junior prom had led to something more or a spin the bottle game that had gotten out of control, but to me, those didn’t count. I’d felt like an actor in a play, a Romeo kissing his Juliet, but after the curtain closed, I wanted to take off the costume and be myself again.

That’s a shame. Those pretty blue eyes and that long blond hair deserve some appreciation. Wait, you are into girls, aren’t you?

“Quite interested.”

Before she could question me further, a pair of red eyes appeared in the clouds on our right—and then another, and another.

“Incubi are everywhere!” I yelled, as though Egret couldn’t see them with her own eyes. “What should we do?”

Use the staff, she instructed. Just press the engraved circle in the middle and aim.

I found the circle and pressed. A beam of green light flashed like a camera, and then the incubus closest to us flew backward several feet.

Good. We’re only about ten minutes from Merlin’s house, so just keep pressing that button whenever they get close. The sorcerer will have his own protection spell in place.

I did as she commanded. Most of the incubi realized what was going on and retreated, but one incubus in particular kept coming back. Like a wild dog, he bared his white teeth and flew at us, and the staff was the only thing able to hold him back each time. The incubus tried to lunge around the circle of light, and even to swim through its force.

“You don’t think…?”

Your father? Could be, by the way your blood is making him crazy, or perhaps an uncle? I guess I can see the family resemblance. Now hold on!

Egret plunged downward toward a small city on another floating piece of rock and then, by swooping left, adjusted her course to a small pinprick of light on the outskirts.

Almost there.

She strained to move faster and faster, while the incubi threw their bodies down at us like hail by tucking their legs into their torsos. The most persistent incubus somehow got through the light and onto Egret’s wing, and no amount of shaking could release his grip.

Get him off! she yelled, or he’ll stop us from entering Merlin’s house.

I poked the incubus with the staff, then hit him with it. Stubbornly, he clung to a fistful of feathers and pulled, sending us into a barrel roll that turned my stomach. Finally, using the other side of the staff, I aimed directly for his red eyes.

Bingo.

 Blurb

As the epic saga of the Sun Dragon series draws to a close, transgender teenager Luke must face her destiny to decide the fate of her world. Not only is Luke a girl born into the wrong body, she is the universe’s last Artist: a person with the ability to draw things into existence. When she comes face-to-face with an incubus who might be her father, she learns it falls to her—along with allies from the wizard’s Council and the dragon clan leaders—to prevent the incubi from destroying the world. If that isn’t enough, she needs to find a way out of a relationship with her girlfriend that she never intended, go after the Igreefee royal she really wants to be with, and decide if the time is right to transition physically into the girl she’s always been inside.

The journey that began with Allanah’s first Sun Dragon is coming to its thrilling conclusion. The dragons, wizards, sorceresses, and birds you’ve come to know and love will reunite for their biggest battle yet—one that will decide their destiny at last.

About the Author

If there’s one thing author Annabelle Jay believes with all her heart, it’s that there is no such thing as too many dragons in a book. As fantasy writer with few other hobbies—does being bribed to run with her partner or dancing awkwardly in the kitchen count?—she spends every day following her imagination wherever it leads her.

A hippie born in the wrong decade, Annabelle has a peace sign tattoo and a penchant for hugging trees. Occasionally she takes breaks from her novels to play with her pets: Jon Snow, the albino rabbit who is constantly trying to escape; Stevie, the crested gecko that climbs glass with the hairs on its toes; and Luigi, the green tree python that lives at the foot of her bed despite her best efforts to talk her partner out of the idea.

During her day job as a professor of English, Annabelle is often assumed to be a fellow student playing a prank on the class—that is, until she hands out the syllabus. When people stop mistaking her for a recent high school graduate, she will probably be very sad.

Author’s Website: www.annabellejay.com

Twitter: @AnnabelleAuthor

Instagram: @AnnabelleAuthor

Publisher’s book page: https://www.harmonyinkpress.com/books/luminosity-by-annabelle-jay-529-b

Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14191901.Annabelle_Jay

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Annabelle-Jay-376249719245415

An Alisa Review: Alpha Dragon: Nyve by Kellan Larkin and Kaz Crowley

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

As an older dragon, Nyve’s been waiting years for his fated mate. He just didn’t think he’d be so… young. Austin is the breath of fresh air the alpha dragon needs, but Nyve can’t help but worry about the age gap.

 

Austin feels stifled by his overprotective aunt, who took him in after his mother died mysteriously. As a half dragon, half wolf shifter, he’s never felt like he’s fit into either world. But he misses his mom—and meets his fated mate when getting a tattoo to remember her.

 

As Austin strives for independence while also learning to accept his mate, the guys at Treasured Ink learn more about a mysterious organization with a sinister motive attacking mythical shifters.

 

And it seems like Austin’s distant father might be involved.

 

It’s up to the dragons to get to the bottom of this—before someone they love gets hurt. And in the midst of it all, Nyve struggles to give his young mate the space he needs, while controlling his fear that he’ll lose the one thing he’s been waiting his whole life for.

 

Austin has lived a sheltered life under his aunt’s watchful eye.  When he meets Nyve their time together finally gives him the courage to take steps to make his life his own.  Nyve is willing to wait for Austin but has trouble with Austin’s yo-yoing actions, they are happy together in the end but no nice conclusion for their relationship.

 

The book left the mystery form the first book still open ended so presumably once we get to the last guy in the shop we may find out everything.  Much more was found out about the muggings and the group they are connected to and it connects back to Austin’s father.  I was confused as his aunt’s reactions but hope that will come out in a later book.  If I had known this was a serial type storyline I’m not sure I would have gotten started but I’ll probably continue as I want to know what will happen in the end.

 

The cover art is nice and follows the pattern for the series.

 

Sales Link: Amazon

 

Book Details:

ebook, 140 pages

Publication: January 23, 2018

Edition Language: English

Series: Treasured Ink #2

A Free Dreamer Review:Wolf & The Holly (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #2) by Sam Burns

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

 

Five years ago, Jesse dropped out of college and came home to Rowan Harbor to find safety with his pack. A broken man, he’s been living as though the world is ending—allergic to responsibility and spending most of his nights at the local bar.

But he can’t avoid growing up forever. On the night of his thirtieth birthday party, he finds his childhood friend Isla unconscious, attacked in the middle of their peaceful hometown. The wolf inside him wants to protect its people from the slick-haired, smooth-talking vampire who’s brought trouble to town, and Jesse can’t run from his instincts any longer.

Now that his inner wolf is out of its cage, it’s picked the most inconvenient moment to find its mate. Sean Anderson—recently back from college and much changed from the skinny preteen Jesse once knew—is just what he never knew he needed.

I’ll be honest: If I hadn’t already agreed to review “Wolf and the Holly”, I most likely would not have read it after “Blackbird in the Reeds”. Book one wasn’t bad at all, it just wasn’t for me, really. But now I’m glad I had to read this book because I enjoyed it far more than the first one.

First of all, I don’t think this book works as a stand-alone. “Wolf and the Holly” has new protagonists but so much happened in book one that’s important in book two as well, I’m fairly sure you’ll have trouble following the plot without knowing what happened in “Blackbird in the Reeds”.

I liked Jesse far more than Devon. Devon was just way too nice for me. He’s just too good to be true. It makes sense for the story, but that’s just not the kind of protagonist I like. Jesse is far more jaded and far from perfect. There was great character development over the course of the book and I found myself liking him even more.

The world building was great. There was only a short introduction in book one, but here we really get to know the citizens of Rowan Harbor and their supernatural abilities. I love the diversity in this town. So many different creatures living peacefully with each other. It’s a really cool idea and has so much potential.

The romance was barely there. Everything else just took precedence and we really only get to see the beginnings of the love story here. I actually quite liked that. I really don’t need all that much romance in my books, tbh. There was a bit of insta-love yet again, but I suppose that’s just gonna be a thing in this town. We learn next to nothing about Sean, but that was fine for me. They don’t really have a relationship yet, they’re just beginning to get to know each other.

The love story definitely doesn’t get resolved and I’m sure there’s more trouble waiting for the whole town. Jesse and Sean will get their own story in book five again and I’m sure they’ll show up in the books in between as well. As the author explained, this is going to be a trilogy of trilogies, so there’ll be nine books all in all. Every protagonist will get their own book. So while the first two books had more of a HFN ending, the HEA will come eventually.

Long story short, I liked “Wolf and the Holly” better than “Blackbird in the Reeds”. There was less romance and more world building and plot. While I probably wouldn’t have read the rest of the series after book one, I now find myself very interested in what’s going to happen next. I’m not sure if I’ll manage to read all nine books, as I’m very bad at finishing series, but I do definitely want to read book three at the very least. I’m just in love with Rowan Harbor and its citizens.

Cover Design: Melanie Harlow @ Clause & Effect: The cover is absolutely gorgeous. That giant black wolf is beautiful and the night sky is stunning. I love it.

Buy Links:  Amazon

Universal Buy Link: books2read.com/WolfAndTheHolly

Book details: Kindle Edition,199 pages

Published February 8th 2018

A Free Dreamer Review: Blackbird in the Reeds (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #1) by Sam Burns

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Devon Murphy has never believed that there were fairies at the bottom of the garden, but when he’s in an accident on his way to his grandmother’s house and comes face to face with the biggest, baddest wolf he’s ever seen, he’s forced to reconsider.

When his grandmother asks him to look into a string of suspicious accidents, he finds a much bigger mystery to unravel. From his childhood best friend to the too-attractive Deputy Wade Hunter, everyone in Rowan Harbor seems to have something to hide. Devon has to get to the bottom of it all before the accidents turn deadly.

This novel is intended for adult audiences, and contains swearing and sex scenes.

I love it when there’s several different fantasy creatures in one book and I’ve always had a thing for fairies. So when I read the blurb of “Blackbird in the Reeds”, I knew I had to have this book.

I’ve read a ton of fantasy books, with varying degrees of romance, but I’ve never read a book with a romance between a fairy and a werewolf. So Sam Burns definitely came up with something very unusual, if not unique. I’m always thrilled to discover new ideas in the genre, so I’m extremely pleased to have found this book, even if it didn’t quite live up to my (admittedly pretty high) expectations.

Devon is a modern day nomad, never staying in one place for very long. The only place that’s ever felt like home is Rowan Harbour, the small town where his grandmother lives. It was really interesting to discover the secrets of the town along with Devon, who knows nothing about its supernatural residents. This way, the secrets could unravel without info dump. Though I did feel like Devon took it all a little too easily. There was hardly any doubt or fear, ever. He just accepted everything without ever really questioning it.

The romance fell a little flat. Devon doesn’t particularly like Wade when they first meet. I never got how this dislike turned into love, the author just lost me somewhere in between. Devon went from “I don’t like Deputy Downer” to “I love Wade” in the span of a few days, without the two of them really getting to know each other. I’ve never been a fan of enemies to lovers, though, so I guess part of my disappointment is due to that. It just smacked of insta-love to me, another thing I can’t stand.

The story is told from Devon’s pov. While we get to know him fairly well, we don’t get much of an insight into Wade’s personality. I get that he’s a bit of a lone wolf and doesn’t talk much, but I’d still have liked to know more about him. There are many minor characters, we basically meet a whole town’s worth of them. I especially liked Devon’s grandmother and Oak.

The world building was sadly lacking. Part of it is due to Devon only just discovering his supernatural heritage, but I would have loved to find out more. But since this is only part one in the series, there’s still hope for more world building in future books.

All in all, “Blackbird in the Reeds” was a bit too fluffy for me. There wasn’t all that much tension and everything was resolved fairly easily. I have no patience for happy-fluffy stories. It wasn’t very memorable and left me feeling a little “meh”.

But that’s just me. If you’re in the mood for a sweet romance with a dash of fantasy, then I’m pretty sure you’ll like this book.

Cover Design: Melanie Harlow @ Clause & Effect: I quite like the cover. It really fits the story and is definitely nice to look at.

Universal Buy Link:   books2read.com/BlackbirdInTheReeds

Amazon

Book details: Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 188 pages

Published January 4th 2018

A MelanieM Review: Oh Yeah, An Elf by L.L. Brooks

Rating: 1.5 stars out of 5

Enchained, enchanted, cursed….

Since coming home from Afghanistan, finding himself in a motel room with some random guy he’d picked up in a bar was nothing new for Jason Burge. To have the random hottie say he was an elf…yeah…okay, that was different. Sex on two feet or not, the whole thing was just too weird for Jason’s tastes. But, just when Jason decided it was time to leave, things go from weird to just plain crazy when Guy, a real live elf with pointed ears and all, appears out of thin air.

Jason suddenly finds himself embroiled in a war involving elves, demons, fairies, and – who can tell one from the other when they’re all glamoured? – dragons. One thing is sure, Jason wants nothing to do with any of it. Well…maybe there is one thing he wants – a sexy elf named Guy.

I’m going to be kind and make this short.  If you looked at this synopsis and thought wow, that’s a lot of elements to balance in a plot, you are absolutely right.  It’s a fantasy narrative sink full and here in Oh Yeah, An Elf by L.L. Brooks it feels as though the author put them all on little plot cards and tossed them into a bag, then wrote them as them were pulled out.  It’s all very hodge podge, starting with the beginning.  Throw in a nonsensical bdsm thread, characters with no depth or development, and you pretty much have this story.

I hate it when this happens and don’t like to write these reviews.

I haven’t read anything else by this author so I’m hoping to  give other works by this author a try.  But Oh Yeah, An Elf?  Give it a pass.

Cover art is  ok, but again a jumble of fonts and elements.

Sales Link: Painted Hearts Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, first, 101 pages
Published November 7th 2017 by Painted Hearts Publishing
ISBN13
9781946379269
Edition Language
English