It’s the penultimate story and we have incredibly idiotic large emu-like demons ahead. Plus equally dense academia to mess with.
This means our family of sorcerers , young budding sorcerers included, have a blast, we find out what a Piemu is, and Steve is that much closer to being a whole skeleton.
I sort of missed him here. And the skelebabies in action. They are so adorable and great fun.
One more installment to go. I can’t wait. I do wish we’d found out what Tan had done when he was lingering on campus. Whatever it was, they deserved it.
Love these covers.
Series and side stories
💥How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned him to Villainy-6 books
💥How Tan Acquired an Apprentice
💥How I Took the King on a Bone-a-Fide Quest of Piracy, Piemu, and Profit:Bone series
You must negotiate return of dragon wing. Penalty levied against party members. Piemu unleashed. Accept quest? (YES) (no)
Tan: How is this harder than the pirates?
Devan: I’m looking at the reason.
Tan: Uncalled for. True, but still uncalled for.
Tags:
Academic types are stingy, demonic chickens, strange version of Whac-A-Mole, Niran acquires apprentices, Fa comes to play too, candy tastes best after murder, basically the corruption is spreading
Higher Demon begins a new a sequel series to the fantastic Ghostly Guardians, called The Collective. That’s the ancient hidden agency started to protect humanity from demons, including the hunters who tracked and killed them.
The book and series begins after the tumultuous and violent events of the previous Ghostly Guardians finale, where corruption was uncovered in the Collective and a plot to bring both the earth and the demonic realm into the same plane , which culminated in a vicious battle.
All those characters now migrate into this new series, either as main characters or as supporting but equally important players. So having the knowledge of their stories and the background is a necessity here.
The Higher Demon of the title is, of course, Marc, the higher demon we met books ago. What a fascinating character he’s been from the beginning.
Marc started as an enigma, moves into semi-villainous status, and then keeps evolving as more about him and his role is revealed. His demonic nature, however, is pleasingly unique and Marc’s. Ancient, arrogant, definitely not human, Masters’ is able to both show an evolution in his thinking and capacity to change while keeping his essence intact. I adore Marc.
Then there’s the brothers we have meet many times before, mostly when they were both younger and with their older brother, Con. There is Matty, who will be featured in book 2, and Ian, who is the main character here. Ian is a great character too. Snarky, hilarious, tempered by his years as a hunter and now teacher.
Ian has always had main character energy from the time he was 12 and used flowers to protect his older brother from Marc, a story that has it’s origins in the first series and gets retold here, multiple times . Now 6 years later, Ian is older and the strange wonderful dynamic that pulls him and Marc together gets stronger.
The relationship that builds between them is built on snark, history, appreciation of each other’s intelligence and respect, however unacknowledged.
Masters has created additional threats to the tenuous peace treaty that requires investigation from both sides, a romance between Ian and Marc that has huge implications for both species as well as both characters, and for Ian’s relationship with his family.
Masters is packing a lot of elements into this first book, so for me it feels as though some aspects weren’t as developed as they could have been. The investigation is one. It ends on a “as told by “ explanation after an intriguing start.
Another element is the character of Con, Ian’s older brother. This character has had 6 years to adapt and mature as an individual. Here, he comes perilously close to being a bully and hothead, he’s riding the line that could make him a negative narrative force rather than a positive one. It’s understandable in that ancient ghost of a relative. Him? Not so much.
Higher Demon (The Collective Book 1) by Louisa Masters is a good read. I love the main characters of Marc and Ian, and look forward to seeing them as well as Matty’s story.
I thought that there were a few things that needed more attention to detail, more development in the narrative. Also, anyone coming to this story needs to read the first series for the characters and foundation knowledge it brings here. While the author does some explaining on the backstory, it’s far too complicated with regard to the characters and plots not to read the series itself.
A thousand years ago, my great-something uncle founded the Collective, a secret organization dedicated to protecting humanity from demons. The hunter tradition has been passed down over the generations, from parent to child, secure in the knowledge that the Collective is a community of safety and knowledge.
But betrayal sucks, and six years ago, it turned my world—and the Collective—upside down. After generations of deception, the hunters left behind are picking up the pieces and trying something we’ve never done before—working side by side with our enemy.
Demons, just to be clear. They’re apparently “misunderstood,” but the jury is still out on that. And I—a twentysomething archivist with an addiction to hoodies—somehow ended up as liaison to the demon ambassador.
If it sounds like a nightmare, that’s because it is. The demon ambassador is a stuck-up, pretentious twat… not to mention he could kill me with a thought. Worst of all, he’s getting under my skin in ways I never expected. But I’m the only hunter who doesn’t actively want to kill him, so… tag, I’m it.
I’ve already been betrayed by those I should have been able to trust the most. How hard can hanging out with a higher demon be?
The author recommends reading the Ghostly Guardian series for full background on what happened six years ago, though it’s not essential.
Knowing You is the first in a new series. Words We Never Said, by E.M. Lindsey. It’s a contemporary romance that has multiple core characters with the main characters here each having their own distinct struggles and personal challenges. This includes single dads or guardians as a core group and they have additional layered in issues that arise from their current situation.
Lindsey has developed a story and series that, just from the description, should be immediately relevant and easy to connect with. There’s single parenting, and children of a range of ages. They too have some depth of character, even though they don’t have as much storylines.
I came thinking I was going to have a quick, engaging experience with this book and characters. Instead, I kept questioning why I wasn’t completely convinced by certain characters or aspects of those character’s personality or even engaged by their storylines.
I was consistently made distant from the characters rather than fully invested by aspects of the story that just felt bulky . So many important elements were piled up on so few characters that it ultimately felt like a fabricated issue mountain rather than people who were just trying to make it with real life stuff.
That’s unfortunate because if you strip away some of the struggle floss, these characters work separately and together.
Let’s start with the manny/nanny (it’s an issue), it’s filled by next-door neighbor, Bowen Gallons. Bowen is the meet cute, sort of, when Lane’s 3year old daughter steals his prosthetic leg and brings it home. No spoilers, that’s in the description. He’s former stuntman who had a stunt go horribly wrong. Then got dumped on top of the loss of his leg and career.
Bowen has a lot to bring to the narrative. In this case, his own traumatic backstory as a recent amputee and being dumped by a ex boyfriend. There’s an adjustment to his body image and more. He’s a relatable character. I really like Bowen. His background with child development/education works too because of the personality he’s been given.
It’s Lane and Briar that had me questioning. Not just the father/daughter dynamic but also the label given to Lane for his behavior (four years or more) . DA is a serious topic. But we meet Lane just as he’s in the middle of a screaming match with an absent parent/spouse, Sana. Sana who has been absent for 2 years now on a “forever vacation” with no interest in coming home and had been mostly a visitor when she was younger in the relationship.
For me, she’s the missing link. What we see of her as either in “as told to” by friends or in the tiny scenes of one dimensional caricature of a scheming narcissist. But nothing of any substance or of their own dynamic to support the current situation’s labeling. Had the author given us more of them together, let us see their differences, their dynamics, and let Sana have layers. This would have made the thread a better fit and a little more accurate portrayal of what I believe the author was trying to convey.
But instead we don’t know enough of him and his story. We just see him as he is now. He’s a mess, his daughter is suffering from her own abandonment issues (there’s never any mention of getting her therapy here, although a kid who is stealing to get presents has issues), and he’s not dealing with anything in his real life. A absent spouse and mother. A daughter in trouble as well as a business who needs his attention.
There’s a lot going on here. He’s been a mess for years. So what happens? He “snaps” out of it immediately. From years of being a ‘spineless idiot’ (his words) to a man of action in a day. After years of ignoring advice/input from friends and alienating people and family.
That just doesn’t ring true for me. Then it’s followed up with a bisexual awakening, a new sexual , albeit hidden,relationship with Bowen while both are questioning their commitment to each other. Briar’s emotional issues are only intermittently mentioned here. She has been relegated to a lesser role until dramatically required for a scene. I have a quibble with that too.
Other characters that will obviously have their own stories are flowing in and out of the narrative and this couple’s relationship. Some to act as a Greek chorus, others to throw in a stumbling block or two on their path to romance.
The climax is one strange dramatic moment that drains directly into a birthday party celebration and a weird off page event that satisfies no one.
Knowing You (Words We Never Said Book 1) by E. M. Lindsey has some wonderful ideas and lovely characters. The potential for a great story is there. I just don’t think it succeeds as a whole.
“Oh my God, Briar! Where did you get that prosthetic leg?”
Things as a parent Lane thought he’d never say for four hundred, Alex.
But that’s par for the course in Lane Ashbury’s life considering everything is on the verge of falling apart. He not only has a toddler building her skills as a professional klepto, but he’s also on the verge of divorce, and hoping desperately to save his business before it goes under.
Luckily, the owner of the stolen leg might just be an angel in disguise when he offers to be Lane’s new nanny instead of pressing charges.
The whole thing would be perfect if Bowen Galanos didn’t make Lane feel things. If he didn’t make Lane question everything he thought he knew about himself every time Bowen’s touch lingered just a little too long.
And when Bowen offers some no-strings benefits to their friendship to see if maybe Lane’s not as straight as he thought, Lane finds it impossible to say no. I mean, it’s not like he’s going to realize he’s madly in love with his nanny, right?
That would be absurd.
That would be ridiculous.
And knowing him, that would be exactly his luck.
Knowing You is the first book in a light-hearted, single-dads romance series. It features a toddler with sticky fingers, a tired dad who just wants to be loved, a former stunt actor who craves to be needed, Henry Cavill man crushes, a hint of sweet, a twist of angst, a steamy bisexual awakening, and the happiest of happily ever afters.
I love a mystery. So give me a new-to-me author, a mystery novel that represents not one but two connected mystery series and I’m in.
Cited to Death: A Jamie Brodie Mystery (Jamie Brodie Mysteries Book 1) by Meg Perry is all the above. This is a first book by Perry for me and I was very entertained by the mystery and invested in the characters Perry has created for her series.
Academic librarian Jamie Brodie, yes, we have librarians as main characters, is delivered an envelope and mystery, both courtesy of a dead ex. Also we have so many librarians .
I’m so hooked.
There’s law enforcement officers as family and as romantic partners and many librarians as friends and fascinating colleagues. All are delightfully well-drawn and have balanced personalities as well as thoughtful roles to play in Jamie’s life and the mysteries that start to unfold.
Perry knows her subject matter and it shows in how the investigation evolves . It’s believable, the facts coming from various sources and at paces suitable for those networks. Perry’s people too have their flaws and strengths.
Jamie’s constant awareness of his severely compromised lungs and asthmatic symptoms is real. He treats his body with respect and his health as someone who acknowledges that he’s got a health condition that requires a certain diligence on his part and he does it. It’s a part of his personality and foundation. It centers us on who he is that he’s take a certain level of care and responsibility.
This type of characterization continues throughout the novel with other characters. And with the plot. There’s a tightness and depth of thought to every scene and storyline.
If I had a quibble, it’s that I saw a certain character was problematic to begin with. At what depth and to what extent, I didn’t know. But hints were there.
However, the characters and plots were entertaining, the ending suspense filled, and absolutely satisfying.
I’m on my way to Hoarded to Death .
For lovers of LGBTGIA murder mystery with a bit of romance, check it out. Especially mystery that’s more on the thoughtful side and less on the bloody aspect, this is the one that I recommend for you . I mean look at the series!
The Jamie Brodie Mysteries – 23 books
Cited to Death
Hoarded to Death
Burdened to Death
Researched to Death
Encountered to Death
Psyched to Death
Stacked to Death
Stoned to Death
Talked to Death
Avenged to Death
Played to Death
Filmed to Death
Trapped to Death
Promoted to Death
Published to Death
Cloistered to Death
Haunted to Death
Obsessed to Death
Deserted to Death
Drugged to Death
Resigned to Death
Snowed to Death
Enchanted to Death
Dirty Laundry: The Jamie Brodie Short Stories (Jamie Brodie Mysteries)
Academic librarian Jamie Brodie hasn’t seen old boyfriend Dan Christensen in years. When Jamie reads Dan’s obituary in the paper, he’s surprised. When he receives a letter from Dan, written just before his death, Jamie is shocked. Dan’s letter suggests that Dan was in danger, lists two article citations from medical journals, and asks Jamie to look into the citations. When Jamie requests the articles, strange things begin to happen. His computer is hacked, his tires are slashed, he thinks someone might be following him – and he uncovers two more deaths. The coroner’s report says that Dan died of natural causes – but did he? Is there something suspicious about the articles, or was Dan just paranoid? The closer Jamie gets to answering those questions, the more it seems that someone is trying to stop him…
• Publisher: Meg Perry; 2nd edition (December 4, 2012)
I’m not sure how I stumbled across this amazing book and author but Shadow & Ghosts, the first novel in the City of Shadows series by Lex Veia is the urban fantasy universe that I was most in need of.
The world building here is astonishing. I’m so intrigued by the many different ways Veia has combined recognizable elements, such as authentic US geographical features and locations with the author’s own unique narrative storylines. That Veia incorporates fantastic twisted historical creations of warfare and demonic rifts, along with a dark capital city run and divided by gangs makes this a tale you cannot put down.
“The city of monsters, mobsters, and dark magic. Oh, I know all about the witch-gangs of Las O.”
That’s the voice of Kit Winter, thief extraordinaire, aka The Shadow, and a captivating figure at the heart of this story and series. Once we make the connection with him, we can’t pull away from his vibrant character, that energetic, magnetic force that is so full of emotional/personal layers, that the author is still peeling them away even at the end of the story. Kit is someone who has hidden so much of himself for so long that , even the act of remembering is a complex act . One that never comes to fruition.
His opposite is Zach Riley, The Ghost, leader of the Renegades, the Elite Team gathered by Captain Emilie Brodie to fight demons and witches.
Zach’s background and legendary status as The Ghost is another rock solid element of this story. Zach is a constantly evolving and changing character, in part due to the revelations that are a part of his growing relationship with Kit. The two men, both different and yet so similar in emotional makeup and personality.
This is a very slow burn romance. And it works beautifully as it’s built around the team’s chemistry and the heavy lifting that comes from the missions they are sent on and the mysteries that they find.
The action sequences and the entire suspense that’s being built around the missions and the evils that the team faces is indescribably powerful. I started to go back to look at a few things in the book and before I knew it, I was sucked in , rereading it as though it was my first time.
And loving it as much if not more.
This is a story where the reader will feel the grimy surfaces, the dark magic, and poisoning of the light of the dangerous city, Las Oscura. And the author makes us take an emotional journey with all the characters through this city and all the events that occur.
What a wild, dark, intense journey it is.
I can’t wait for the next book to come.
City of Shadows:
✓ Shadow & Ghost #1
◦ Shadow & Ghost 2: City of Ghosts-coming July 2024
As the most infamous thief in America, Kit enjoys a carefree, transient lifestyle—or, he did, until someone slapped a pair of handcuffs around his wrists and offered him an impossible choice: Rot in prison or join the most dangerous division of the Darkmagic Investigation Agency, the Renegades.
Kit’s pretty sure he chose wrong. The Renegades are the most elite fighters in the world—none more so than their legendary dark-witch-killing lieutenant, Zach Riley. Kit is utterly outmatched and unprepared for hunting witches and demons through the dangerous, magic-riddled city of Las Oscura.
But when a routine hellhound hunt turns fatal, Kit’s criminal skillset might be the Renegades’ best shot at tracking a deadly new killer through the shadowy underground—and Kit’s chance to earn his place on the team. However, hunting witches is worlds away from Kit’s old life, and if he wants to survive, he’ll need to learn to trust his team—and balance his burgeoning feelings for a certain lieutenant.
This is an action-packed urban fantasy with slow-burn romance culminating in spicy scenes. Each book in the series will be increasingly spicy as the romance builds.
Regency romance has and is a great favorite of mine, starting from the first Georgette Heyer novel I read back in my childhood. And I have been steadily consuming different authors versions or interpretation of this genre, whether they stay true to the timeframe of the historical era or fast forwarded to a future world and space regency culture.
There’s some absolutely magnificent novels and series that capture the original spirit and style of those romances while letting the author explore them in their own unique, imaginative ways and with well written LGBTQIA characters.
A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall is one of those extraordinary novels that pays homage to the original genre in multiple ways, by its inclusion of the time frame, the cultural context, and peerages, as well as minutia of the Ton that’s a given as part of a Regency romance. However, Hall, elevates his story by giving us a deeply moving, emotional story of complex themes. One of transcendent language, magnificent characters, and an ending that I have returned to more times than I can count.
If there be echoes of a Shakespearean character, it’s welcome. For Viola Carroll is unforgettable. Both for the reader, and for Gracewood, the Duke lost in mourning and grief for the only person who ever truly saw him and cared about him.
Viola is both the ghost of the memories of the person Gracewood is mourning but who never really existed, and the truth of who she is and sacrificed everything to finally get to be. It’s a wrenching, amazing portrait of courage, pain, sacrifice, strength, and love.
Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood, is a believable, layered, damaged man. I’m not talking about the physical damage he’s suffered by his time in as a soldier in the past war. But the mental and emotional pain he suffered and carries due to his upbringing and the expectations of his station in life .
Hall’s narrative is a thoughtful exploration of roles and expectations that society places upon people. Especially those of a certain class and gender. Of genders and their places within society, this too will figure greatly here in the story, threaded through several characters perspectives.
Aside from the superbly written main characters, there are also many other outstanding characters to connect with here. The brother and sister-in-law, Badger and Louise, Lord and Lady Marleigh. I love them both deeply. Well defined, real, heartfelt characters. Then there is Mira, Gracewood’s sister who is desperate to connect with her brother. And the not to be forgotten , very bold , Lady “Stevie” Lillimere. She is a real favorite! So many outlying characters that are impactful and relevant to the story and readers.
At the very end, a two person POV changes, and we are given one final, extremely important perspective for the epilogue. This can sometimes be jarring and confusing. But here it feels natural and makes those last moments even more magical. And possibly poetic in their power and imagery.
A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall is rated not just a top five book LGBTQIA or trans historical romance for me . It’s a top five book. All tropes.
From the bestselling author of Husband Material comes a lush, sweeping queer historical romance where sparks fly between childhood friends after a life-changing separation—perfect for fans of Bridgerton, Evie Dunmore, and Lisa Kleypas!
When Viola Carroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood.
Only when their families reconnect, years after the war, does Viola learn how deep that loss truly was. Shattered without her, Gracewood has retreated so far into grief that Viola barely recognises her old friend in the lonely, brooding man he has become.
As Viola strives to bring Gracewood back to himself, fresh desires give new names to old feelings. Feelings that would have been impossible once and may be impossible still, but which Viola cannot deny. Even if they cost her everything, all over again.
How to review or even begin to describe absolutely magnificent heartbreakingly extraordinary narrative chaos?
Vawn Cassidy brings this incredible series to a close in a story that has a reader in gut wrenching sobs, for heartbreaking reasons and for ones that spring from immense joy. There’s scenes of such high comedy as well as low, drunken hilarity and madcap humor to go along with moments of heart stopping fright and one’s of such intense pain that you feel like you’ll break.
The relationships the author has built between the characters in this series covers so many facets of love. It’s the depth of love between a father and son, now at the end of the father’s life from a disease that’s slowly torn through his mind, losing himself and his memories. It’s the love between best friends who have been through the best and worst of times together and are still there for each other. It’s the love of found family and friends supporting each other and the bond between them. And the deep connection and romantic love that comes from being with the best person you know is the one who knows you and accepts you for who you are.
Cassidy has given the reader all of this through many characters and their relationships. We’ve come to know each of them, watch them grow and the relationships develop through story after story. Our emotions are heavily invested and, here, we are in every single moment and scene as the final chapter in this series plays out.
Did I laugh so much at a certain point that my dog left the room? Why yes, I did. And did I cry so much at a certain moment, that it brought her back into the room to check on me? Also yes.
But this is a journey that is one that ended beautifully. Even better than I had imagined.
No spoilers . And we will be seeing more of the crew in new adventures to come.
Dead Serious Case #5 Madame Vivienne (Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed) by Vawn Cassidy is a gorgeous book. It’s emotionally compelling and an exceptionally well written finale that’s one of the top books in my recommendations list as well as the series.
Read them in the order they were written.
Love the covers!
Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed:
✓ Dead Serious Case #1 Miz Dusty Le Frey #1
✓ Dead Serious Case #2 Mrs Delores Abernathy #2
✓ Dead Serious Case #3 Mr Bruce Reyes #3
✓ Dead Serious Case #4 Professor Prometheus Plume #4
✓ The Grim Adventures of Death and Chan: Vol. 1 (a Dead Serious Companion novella) – Side story
✓ Dead Serious Case #5 Madame Vivienne – series finale but not the end
Crawshanks Guide to the Occult :
◦ The Little Shop of Curiosities Cursed Object #1 – coming 2025
For one brief shining moment, the utter insanity that is Tristan Everett’s world makes sense.
He’s marrying the man he loves, has a dead drag queen for a bestie and is surrounded by an amazing found family. Okay, so his life isn’t exactly what you’d call normal. By day, he’s a quiet, mild-mannered forensic pathologist, but the rest of the time, he guides lost souls into the light. He’s also averted an apocalypse, stopped Chaos from coming through a magic door, and drunk tequila with Death.
It’s all a bit bonkers, but it’s his life… and he loves it.
He’s flying high but, like Icarus, it’s only a matter of time before he’s brought crashing down to earth with singed wings. The strange reality of his life intrudes once again when his friend, Madame Vivienne, is murdered, and it’s clear from the beginning that this is no ordinary killing.
Someone is using dark magic.
Viv’s soul has been bound, leaving her trapped and unable to communicate. Tristan, Danny, and their friends must uncover the truth and find the killer. But the deeper they delve into the old bookshop in Whitechapel, which has been in the Crawshanks family for generations, the darker and the more dangerous the secrets that begin to unravel.
And what they discover may just change their lives forever…
• Publisher: (April 3, 2024)
• Publication date: April 3, 2024
• Language: English
• Print length: 299 pages
Crawshanks Universe Novellas/ Spin offs
The Grim Adventures of Death & Chan Vol 1 (Website Exclusive)
Part of a LGBTQIA espionage/spy thriller romance series, Under the Gun by Cari Z delivers the exciting action packed scenes and storylines we’d expect from this genre.
The romantic suspense plot line arrives in the form of museum art archivist, Joey Cole. He’s taken a side job for a Russian oligarch to catalog his private art collection for insurance purposes. However, everything about this job has Joey on edge and regretting taking it. From being on an isolated island to the man himself, who is making Joey uncomfortable.
Cari Z has an excellent setup and creates an empathetic character in Joey. He’s in trouble and everyone knows it.
The explosive energy and element that makes its way into the situation is the character of Adam, long ago ex-boyfriend and current spy with a complicated history of association with Joey’s family.
The author ramps up the explosive action and the emotional reunion as the story builds to a suspenseful finale.
It’s very entertaining and the characters are both engaging if not exactly grounded in their various careers. The grandmother, however, was exactly what she was supposed to be. Steely determination, cold intelligence, perfect.
While I had a few questions about the story, my real issue was the matter in which Joey’s hard won reputation and career was discarded. Or what happened with his career was better explained at the end, especially as it was such a big deal to Joey and the author made it a large part of the narrative. But we never find out if things were fixed with his friend, Melanie, the Museum, and the loss of the expensive equipment. Or what he’s even doing a year later. This is feels unfinished and unsatisfactory. Especially as we are told what happened to Adam’s career. And the grandmother.
Under the Gun by Cari Z is an enjoyable romantic suspense story that suffers from a ending that’s not exactly satisfying. Read it for the fun characters and action scenes.
Accidentally Undercover-6 books of a LGBTQ+ romantic suspense series.
Life is plenty exciting for Joey Cole. Everything that isn’t his day job revolves around having fun, but “fun” becomes complicated when Joey’s latest side gig turns into a gunfight between the handsy billionaire he’s working for and the ex-boyfriend who broke his heart and who’s now…smuggling drugs?
Turns out that Adam, Joey’s ex, is a spy for His Majesty’s government, and that Joey has fallen into a sting operation meant to take his shady employer down. Joey and Adam are hounded by assassins as they escape to a safe house in England, home to the woman who introduced Joey to Adam in the first place—his grandmother.
Who, it turns out, is also a spy. Huh, no wonder she made him get so good at untying knots with his hands tied behind his back.
Joey and Adam rekindle the romance that burned between them, but Adam is still a spy—he’s not his own man, and he’ll certainly never belong to Joey. The safest thing would be to break it off before Adam breaks his heart again…but the way they’re being hunted, safe is out of the question, and love may mean the difference between life and death.
Under the Gun is part of the Accidentally Undercover shared romantic suspense series.
I’m so hooked on this universe and town of Paradise Falls where all sorts of paranormal shenanigans are happening, unusual soulmates are coming together, and author Shannon Mae gets to display her amazing talents for writing a heartfelt paranormal relationship, in all its weirdly beautiful moments.
As a reader can glean from its title and description, A Beginner’s Guide to Demonic Possessions has as its center, a human whose body is possessed by a demon just before Valentine’s Day. And at the human’s request.
That’s the barest bones.
It begins with human Trent, out on a miserable date, dreading the upcoming Valentine’s Day’s holiday weekend, and all it encompasses. A few drunken mumbling words in a bar bathroom later, and an astonishing thing happens.
Paz, a fabulous demon in every way, appears to change Trent life and his own.
Mae doesn’t just have Paz appear in the normal way, no, Paz, possesses Trent’s body and, in an extraordinary manner, the author gives us a two way, inner body, dynamic.
It’s an amazing storyline. One body that holds two distinct personalities, happily I add, that get to know one another, develop a deep, intimate relationship and bond that pulls the reader emotionally into their love story. And the issues it presents.
Shannon Mae naturally brings in important characters from other books to support this pair and impart needed information. It’s great to see them as well.
However, it’s Paz and Trent we care deeply about and whose future we’re invested in, due to the great characterizations and strong storytelling talents of Mae.
It ends an absolute treat and we have hints as to the next book and main characters.
I can’t wait for this book to arrive. There’s mysteries and soulmates out there that are waiting for their turn. We need them all.
I’m highly recommending this and the entire series. It’s fantastic. Read them in the order they were written and released.
Another great cover
Demonic Disasters and Afterlife Adventures: (Paranormal Romance) :
✓ A Beginner’s Guide to Death, Demons, and Other Afterlife Disasters
✓ A Beginner’s Guide to Mistakenly Summoned Demons and Other Misadventures
✓ A Beginner’s Guide to Revenge, Chaos, and Other Absurd Escapades
✓ A Beginner’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Demons (A Novella)
✓ A Beginner’s Guide to Demonic Possessions (A Novella)
◦ A Beginner’s Guide to Ghosts, Fallen Angels, and Other Afterlifers (Demonic Disasters and Afterlife Adventures Book 6)-June 19, 2024
The dreaded Valentine’s Day is coming next week, and Trent can’t stomach the thought of another holiday alone. Hiding in the restaurant bathroom from his terrible date, he wishes for a way to skip V-Day all together. Alien abduction? Demonic possession? Coma? Anything else sounds good right about now. When he looks in the bathroom mirror, Trent suddenly realizes he isn’t in charge anymore. Demonic possession it is then.
Paz certainly didn’t expect such a welcome (apparently most hosts spend all their time screaming internally), and he also has quite a bit to say about Trent’s life (who lives in an apartment for six years and doesn’t decorate it?). Trent had no idea his demonic possession was going to look more like a home improvement show than a spring break gone wild special, but Paz manages to break Trent out of his comfort zone and show him what he’s been missing in life (and it isn’t just random hook ups).
Tags: Trent is not a morning person; Paz is way too bright and cheery for a demon; sharing a body is a surefire way to get rid of loneliness; who knew shopping for flatware (whatever that is) could be fun; Paz takes Trent toy shopping (yes, those kinds of toys); demonic friends keep popping up (and sometimes even helping); maybe Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a horrific holiday filled with loneliness and despair; Trent and Paz might just be a match made in heaven… or hell.
Well, based on this series alone, Isabel Murray is a new must read/autobuy for me. These are simply breathtakingly memorable pieces of storytelling. At once brilliantly subtle works of characterization and yet still hilariously funny, threaded through with heartbreaking pathos, and sweet romance.
Such amazing work on the part of this author. From the subtle world building to deeply layered characters, from the laugh-out-loud scenes and dialogue to quiet moments of conversation and those of revelatory sexuality, it’s an amazing narrative journey Murray takes us and her characters through.
I so appreciate the subtlety with which Murray is able to create a depiction of her character’s background and the layers of that history without actually stating any specific facts or graphic details. We don’t have to know exactly what happened to Gary in his horrific adolescence, what abuses specifically he was subjected to, and we don’t have to. Thanks to Murray, it’s written into his demeanor, the manner and care in which those around him now treat him, the poor sense of self he carries. This is such an amazing portrait of a person that Murray has sensitively built that Gary speaks to us, engages with us on many emotional levels.
And it’s not just Gary. It’s every character. From the brilliant Magnus, whose history is one that’s enabled him to control a network of dubious spies and assassins to keep Gary safe to consorting with some unlikely friends. All this is guessing from the hints and subtle clues left by the author along with more new information about some beloved supporting characters and new friends as well. Truly astounding work here considering its peripheral role in the story but its bulwark narrative nature in Gary’s world.
I will be so disappointed if this series is really over at two books. Yes, sweet, beautiful Gary gets finally to be a Former King and live with Magnus in his new home. But Murray has gone and extended the already deeply loved family with new intriguing characters, mysteriously familiar looking lords, and possibly new connections. All important supporting characters or new introduced characters with impactful roles to play.
The Kingdom of Estla is in turmoil. Power plays, intrigue, and plots seethe in the corridors of power. And Gary of a Hundred Days, Last of the Tyrant Kings is…well.
He’s dead.
That’s what (almost) everyone thinks, anyway.
As far as Gary’s concerned, they can go ahead and keep thinking it. He’s busy living a whole new life with his beloved Magnus on a homestead in the heartland of Caithen—a kingdom where they don’t want to kill him—and he’s learning all sorts of interesting things about exactly what it means to be a husband and a bondmate.
Okay, he’s trying to learn. It’s turning out to be a lot harder than he thought.
Callin, the ex-stable lad and Gary’s new (first!) best friend, has been less than helpful when it comes to giving Gary the correct advice on how to proceed in intimate matters.
The books Gary ordered for instructional purposes are taking forever to arrive.
And just as he’s starting to make progress in the bedchamber, Gary’s past as the rightful King of Estla rises up once more…
Gary the Once and Former King is a sequel to Gary of a Hundred Days. It’s a low-angst fantasy romantic comedy in which a sheltered ex-king continues to undergo quite the awakening at the hands of his rugged ex-stable master, and everyone’s still way more interested in kissing and romance than in all that rightful heir to the throne business.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 