Review: Once Bitten (Cursebreakers, Inc. Book 4) by A.M. Rose

Rating: 4.75🌈

Once Bitten (Cursebreakers, Inc. Book 4) by A.M. Rose just continues to show what an absolutely fantastic series Cursebreakers is. Dark, heartbreaking at times, and thrilling in its weirdly beautiful, damaged characters, Once Bitten is up there among my favorites so far.

It’s been a while since the series has had an update but it doesn’t take long to dive back deep into this dark landscape of brilliant psych damaged children, then men, brought up in a government institution and then put in a forced family setting that would “balance” their talents while using their abilities for government missions. No matter what age they were.

Here we get two family houses of talents , one for each city, who will have to work together because of the sheer size of the cursed problem and organization that they are facing.

It’s also the element that will bring Wren, whose talent is that of talking to animals, removing their curses from them, and Teddy, a cursebreaker who loved Wren when they were young together. Forced apart by NEXUS, that government agency that had control over them, both Wren and the readers finally get the truth about the secret to Wren’s history and the heartbreak he’s endured.

We get new fantastic characters from Teddy’s family. The twins, Saint and the scary Eerie especially to the fragile Echo, I loved Teddy’s family as much as Wren’s. That includes Wren’s animals like Blu and Sable.

Once Bitten is the best yet. Horrifying, devastatingly cruel and tragic, multiple intriguing storylines and Wren and Teddy’s story, interwoven with heartbreaking handwritten letters that span the years they were separated.

I think the authors wrote something extraordinary special here. In the characters and the multiple plots, one of which is ongoing.

I can’t wait for this to continue.

Fantastic work by the team that is A.M. Rose. Highly recommended!

Cover designed by BCJ Art & Design

Cursebreakers, Inc:

Like a House on Fire #1

Fool Me Twice #2

A Thousand Cuts #3

Once Bitten #4

Buy link

Once Bitten (Cursebreakers, Inc. Book 4)

Blurb

“He’s never met a rule he liked.”

Defiant. Rebellious. Disobedient.

Wren had been called that and worse since the moment he could openly express his hatred of Nexus and everything it stood for. But he played along. Not for them. But for the animals he helped along the way and the one boy who made those words sound like compliments instead of insults. Until they took him away.

Loveable. Inspiring. Exemplary.

Teddy had been seen as perfect since the moment he started training. He wasn’t perfect, though. He had broken only one rule, but it was the biggest one of them all. He fell for another cursebreaker. He gave his heart to the one he wasn’t allowed to. And they both paid the price for it.

Forced apart, they spent a decade loving the memory of each other, until a shocking case brings them back together. Will their love prevail, or will the Little Bird be forced to leave his Teddy Bear behind?

March 16, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

393 pages

Book 4 of 4

Cursebreakers, Inc.

Review : Moonmagic (Witchwolf Book 2) by Sam Burns and W. M. Fawkes

Rating: 3.75🌈

Moonmagic, the second of the Witchbook series by Sam Burns and W. M. Fawkes is a story I find a bit of a mixed bag. I really like the character of the witchwolf, Dakota, the Japanese mage, who found out about his tragic family history and the clan he was born into in the first book.

Dakota has a layers to his personality, depths given to him by the two cultures, the one he was raised in, the other he is tied to by family. And the powers of his own magic and now as a shifter. He’s continually trying to connect with the pack and work mentally through his inner struggles with his past. One of which appears here, in a new form. It’s a fantastic aspect of the story.

Dakota is a multicultural and layered character and when he is in the narrative, he elevates Moonmagic’s storylines beyond that of just a good story.

The issue comes in with his mate, Jax, the Alpha werewolf, and other main character. After much inner debate, the best word I could come up with for him that explains or sums up his character is ineffectual. Jax is supposed to be the head of a billionaire company, and Alpha of a pack of werewolves who separated from an abusive prior Alpha and left for a better life.

But that strong, powerful Alpha isn’t here. Instead Jax is a bit of an emotional mess. Doesn’t come off as all that intelligent and with the same fluctuating emotions as you would associate with a hormonal teenager. He doesn’t spot where the dangers are coming from to his company and pack, clear and simple dangers.

And when one traitor has been caught, after committing a heinous crime, he lets him go. Then after the fact, goes I should have torn him to pieces. Rawr. But I’m too nice.

SMH. He’s like this throughout the story. Had there been no Dakota this book would have been a DNF.

Spoilers. Dakota actually wins the day because he was both strong and smart, knows his mate is too nice *cough* weak to do what is necessary and uses his powers to help felicitate the right outcome.

Jax wins a fight by accident but he’s so sorry. Boohoo.

I like the other pack who’s more interesting.

There’s a sample of the side story that has already been released. It’s fine but doesn’t have a lot of depth for one character, so it’s very uneven. Very much like this.

Read it if you’re fans of the authors or to finish the series.

Witchwolf (2 book series)

Witchwolf #1

Moonmagic #2

Side story:

Nerds, Words & Werecats (Witchwolf)

Buy link

Book 2 of 2: Witchwolf

Blurb

After having his world rocked by a hot billionaire CEO werewolf and the unveiling of a world of magic he didn’t know existed, Dakota is finally settling into being the alpha mate of the Crescent pack. With Jax at his side, he can even handle being heir of the witchwolf legacy, but before he can catch his breath, life throws him another curveball.

First, Dakota returns home after their visit to Japan with a barnacle of a ghost, and his great-great-grandfather isn’t terribly impressed with his descendant leading a werewolf pack.

Worse, they disembark the plane to a bloody welcome home. A member of the wolf pack Jax fled from has been attacked, and he carries a dire warning: The Wildwood wolves are coming, and they plan to retake control of the Crescent pack.

To protect everything they’ve built and hope for, Dakota has to own both his legacy and his future, but if Jax can’t face the mistakes of his past, they could both lose it all.

Moonmagic is a direct sequel to Witchwolf and should be read in order. Get ready for an extra cuddly alpha werewolf, a comforting tray of mac and cheese, a snarky Japanese ghost who gets . . . less terrible, eventually, and a pack war our heroes wish they didn’t have to fight. This book has Jax and Dakota’s HEA, as well as a few other loose ends tied up, and introduces a whole new pack to explore in our next series, Wolves of the Wildwood.

March 19, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

264 pages

Book 2 of 2

Witchwolf

Review: His Mate By Defiance: MM Mafia Shifter PNR (Lunetti Pack Book 4) by Mel Aitchess

Rating: 4🌈

“The Lunetti Pack is a steamy MM Enemies to Lovers Paranormal Romance series set in New Trinity, a city ruled by three crime families: the Lunetti Pack of mafia wolf shifters, the vampire mobster Cruor Coven, and the witch Elemental Mayhem MC. It features knotting (and other paranormal fun) but no mpreg.”

His Mate By Defiance is the penultimate story in Mel Aitchess’ paranormal mafia crime fated mate series. The Lunetti Pack has followed several top level members of this criminal wolf shifter pack as they fight to keep their place and power in the trinity of politics that’s New Trinity City, a dark horror of a city where it’s divided into sections ruled by witches, vampires or shifters, depending on the territory.

This is Rafe, the pack doctor’s romance, one that starts years prior with his first encounter with a badly injured young jaguar shifter in an underground fighting ring.

This meeting is recapped here and then we come forward to present day, where the jaguar shifter, Adrian ,aka Adri, is still part of the fight scene.

The author does an excellent job explaining Adri’s background and meshing that with the natural history/instincts of the jaguar to give Adri a distinctive personality and outlook from that of the other shifters.

And Rafe, as someone older and with different skill sets, has a perspective on what their relationship and how it might develop than Adri has.

Their dynamic is excellent and is the best thing about the story.

There’s also another aspect of the book, a continuation plot that’s not resolved here but will continue into the final story. It sets up the last fated mates match.

But the lack of at least some sort of completion to some aspect of this complicated conspiracy left me frustrated.

The romance was certainly completed but it’s a HFN, and far too many people were hurt and issues left unresolved.

I am certainly looking forward to the last book to see how it all wraps up. If you like to binge, wait until it’s finished, and read right through.

A definite winner.

Lunetti Pack (5 book series) :

His Mate By Vengeance #1 – Angelo and Vin
His Mate By Resistance #2 – Luca and Cal
His Mate By Allegiance #3 – Rocco and Emilio
His Mate By Defiance #4 – Rafe and Adri
His Mate By Dominance #5 – Alpha Marco and Seth’s, the finale. Feb, 21,2027

Buy link

Book 4 of 5: Lunetti Pack

Blurb

“For you? I will take it all. All your pain. All your desire. Everything. It’s all mine.”

Rafe is done giving Adri space. For thirteen years, he’s waited for his jaguar shifter mate to be ready to acknowledge what’s between them. Thirteen years of tracking the pack’s fighting ring and racing to respond whenever they need a doctor. The night he turns up to find Adri brutalised by a feral shifter in the ring, he knows he’ll never let him go again. Especially when shifters start going missing.

Adri told the doc he didn’t need saving over a decade ago, and nothing’s changed since. The last thing he needs is Rafe’s overbearing protectiveness when he’s trying to save his friends from a new unsanctioned fighting ring and whatever bioweapon is at play. Waking up in Rafe’s bed wasn’t in the plan. As soon as he’s healed, Adri’s out of there.

His Mate by Defiance is an MM paranormal romance with a bite. It features age gap, fated mates, and hurt/comfort

Publisher

Mel Aitchess

Publication date

March 11, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

254 pages

Book 4 of 5

Lunetti Pack

Review: How Not to Kill a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls #5) by Shannon Mae

Rating; 4🌈

How Not to Kill a Hellhound is the fifth book in the Hellhounds of Paradise Falls series by Shannon Mae, a fated mates paranormal/urban fantasy series set in Paradise Falls, a location where several of her interconnected series take place.

Mae’s actually working towards an overall universe storyline that encompasses all her series and characters I’m guessing, and one of the ultimate main characters has an impactful role here.

I appreciate that it was left to Sebbie , mostly, to decide when he was emotionally ready for the next step in his quest to remember everything that happened and move forward. This is 90 percent Sebbie’s journey. Who he is, the past and how those characters around him support this journey. He’s a sweet, engaging person and I loved reading his story.

It’s a good tale with many creative elements, including mythological aspects, but leaves the Hellhounds mostly removed from this even as Corbin is a major player as Sebbie’s fated mate and Hellhound. The Crow familiar is on the same level with Corbin here. Except for the many sex scenes with the emphasis on Sebbie’s appendage size being “cute”.

I ended up wanting more exposition, less sex, more exploration of their developing relationship and each person’s history as opposed to their body parts.

When things get interesting, things get misty. I did like the interpretation of Charon and the boat ride. Amazing.

And loose ends were tied up finally from Aiden’s story while setting up Jude and the Sheriff for their fated mates romance. That should be interesting!

Cover design by Morningstar Ashley

Hellhounds of Paradise Falls: (Paranormal Romance)

How to Flirt with a Hellhound #1

How to Hack a Hellhound #2

How to Tame a Hellhound #3

How to Trust a Hellhound #4

How NOT to Kill a Hellhound #5

How To Catch a Hellhound #6 – Oct 1,2026

The Revenge Playlist: A Collection of Afterlifer Revenge Stories (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls)

Linked series:

Demonic Disasters and Afterlife Adventures (8 book series) fated mates romance set in Paradise Falls

Buy link

How Not to Kill a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls Book 5)

Blurb

Sebbie

Life’s pretty good. I love my job, I feed the crows in my yard, and I have some awesome friends. Sure, I was kidnapped by a cult recently, but my friends rescued me, so no harm done. And, okay, people do tend to die around me, but I work in a hospital. That’s normal… right? Death isn’t scary anyway—it’s just another beginning. Unfortunately, most guys I date don’t see it that way. My love life has been pretty empty, but I just met someone new. He’s ridiculously cute and even likes crows. I just hope he’s not scared off when he learns about my job.

Corbin

I take great satisfaction in removing hellbound souls from the world—especially the ones who prey on the weak. With my pack and my familiar, Crow, at my side, life is steady and peaceful. At least, it was until Sebbie. The cute, bubbly man is far more than he realizes, and he’s about to turn everything upside down. There’s just one little problem: he doesn’t know the supernatural exists… or that he’s a supernatural being. I want to help him harness his powers, but there’s a catch—if I’m not careful, Sebbie might end up killing me in the process.

Tags: Crows hold grudges; Death is actually cheerful; Corbin’s as obsessed with shiny things as his birds; The pack shows up to create chaos; Thea is determined to be Sebbie’s new bestie; Jude doesn’t get arrested (or maybe he does?);

Review: Nerds, Words & Werecats (Witchwolf) by Sam Burns and W. M. Fawkes

Rating: 3.5🌈

This is a side story in the terrific urban fantasy Witchwolf series written by co-authors Burns and Fawkes. That series is currently awaiting its next release of its second book but in the meantime, the authors have published a side story in the same universe that they wrote on the authors’ Patreon page.

I enjoyed reading it. The characters are engaging, especially the cat shifter Landon Smith, who’s a far more fully developed personality than the other main character Dean St. James.

Dean’s a big cat shifter but the story has the potential of becoming a much better version of itself. The entire tale has the feel of an almost completed outline of a novel than a finished story. One half of the couple, Landon, is more multi dimensional, given a better storyline and execution of his character and situation, while Dean’s character sits needing more heft. In his history, shifter foundation, and, even tragic past romance. We really don’t feel even remotely close to him and those events. But we do with the fantastic cat shifter, Landon. We love his new crew, his bravery in relocating away from everyone he knew and family, just everything about him. He’s a fully fledged amazing personality. He’s the one we relate to.

It also took me a while to remember how this was connected to Witchwolf. The company and the pack. I wish the authors had brought that element of the series stronger into play here.

As a standalone, there’s absolutely no world building. Within an established universe but with a minimum connection, it’s a good story with some terrific characters with great potential.

Read it for yourself and hope, like I did, that I will see Landon popping up again later on in this series. He’s a joy.

Witchwolf series side story

Witchwolf (2 book series)

Witchwolf #1

Moonmagic #2 – March 19,2026

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comSam Burns

Blurb

Landon Smith’s life has imploded in a dramatic fashion. Following a devastating betrayal, his brother is marrying his fiancé, and his family wants him to get over it already. The only way he can move forward? Fleeing across the country and cutting contact with them, starting his life over with a new job and new friends. Well, no friends, really.

But a new coworker introduces him to a whole new circle of people, including the alluring Dean St. James. The lyrics Dean writes speak directly to Landon’s heart, but Landon’s not ready to jump into another relationship, and Dean brings his own baggage to the table.

A brutal illness stole Dean’s childhood sweetheart, and with the walls he put up to survive, he’s not sure he’ll ever love again. But a fresh project sparks Landon’s lost passion and opens a door to a future Dean turned his back on.

Their unexpected collab has the highest stakes of all: the last hope of healing two broken hearts.

This novella is set in the same world as Witchwolf, but features different characters and can be read as a standalone. It was originally published on the authors’ Patreon page.

date

February 26, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

145 pages

Review; How to Reap a Soul (And Fail Miserably) Soul Management Bureau Book One by April Kelley

Rating: 3🌈

How to Reap a Soul (And Fail Miserably) is the first book in the urban fantasy series, Soul Management Bureau by April Kelley.

It’s a fated mate romance between reaper and their soul mates, so it’s instant love/instant sex romance with a plot that’s not always easy to follow because Kelley is trying hard to lay down all her histories and plotting for multiple characters, not just the main couple, and her world building into one story.

And it’s not always effective because someone gets lost in the narrative. Some connection between her characters, some chemistry is left behind in the rush to get it all accomplished.

It’s interesting but I’m not sure I’m really engaged with this world or characters.

Try it out and see for yourself if Grym and Elliot Coyne work together for you.

Cover artist: Miblart

Soul Management Bureau

How to Reap a Soul and Fail Miserably #1

How to Reap a Soul (And Lose an Assistant) #2 – Dec 29,2026

Buy link

Book 1 of 2: Soul Management Bureau

Blurb

Love was never on my to-do list, but now that I have it, I’ll let the world burn before I let anything happen to him.

Grym

I’ve reaped souls for three hundred years without a single mistake. Until Elliot Coyne. I’m supposed to ferry him into the afterlife, not bring him back to life and turn him immortal.

Now HR is threatening me, the world is acting like it might explode, and my reaper brothers are stress-snacking like it’s Armageddon.

Even worse? My soul insists Elliot is my beloved. Reapers aren’t supposed to have those. Are they? Regardless, it’s wildly inconvenient.

Elliot
So I die, wake up immortal and able to walk between realms, not that I know what those actually are.

The guy responsible is an annoyingly hot reaper who apparently broke the universe just to keep me breathing.

We’re suddenly stuck together, hunted by his supernatural bosses, and if we fall for each other it might tear reality apart.

Love isn’t supposed to end the world. Yet here we are.

January 14, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

187 pages

Book 1 of 2

Soul Management Bureau

Review: Not Dead Yet By Jenn Burke

This was a DNF but I read enough to rate it for creativity of premise and the main character’s backstory.

Rating : 3🌈

I like Jenn Burke as an author which is why I bought this book but immediately the character of Wes Cooper, the “not ghost” who died and was resurrected but in a different state, one where he’s not exactly alive, is the issue.

What sort of person is Wes? Has Wes used the opportunity for a new life, no matter what form, to progress in his development as a person? Matured or at least, become grateful to those who saved him, given back, or in any way done anything that would make the reader not immediately write him off as a waste of our time?

Nope. He’s cowardly, content to do as little as possible to get by and maintain his life, such as it is.

For me, every interaction with Wes was a constant fight not to just not quit the story right there. He’s that much of a reminder of everything that I avoid in RL atm.

The story is short. Extremely short. There’s no realistic scenario where Wes decides that years of stagnation and avoidance is overcome and he accumulates all the missing assets and pieces in that time period.

Unfortunately this is a no go for me.

Burke has other excellent series and characters to explore. This isn’t one of them. Wes and Hudson, his “silver fox” police detective are underwhelming in their dynamic and chiefly the reason it’s a DNF.

NOT DEAD YET (book one)

GIVE UP THE GHOST (book two) GRAVEYARD SHIFT (book three)

Buy link

Book 1 of 3: Not Dead Yet

Blurb

Don’t miss this thrilling and suspenseful second chance romance, book one in a fan-favorite supernatural detective series from Jenn Burke.

Dying isn’t what it used to be.Wes Cooper was dead. Then he wasn’t—though he’s not exactly alive, either. As an immortal not-ghost, he can transition between this world and the otherplane, which makes him the perfect thief for hire. For seventy years he’s made a “living” returning items to their rightful owners, seeing his fair share of the bizarre in the process. But he’s never witnessed murder. Until now.

His latest mission brings him more than he bargained for: a very-dead actor who is definitely going to stay that way. It’s just Wes’s luck that his ex-boyfriend, Detective Hudson Rojas, is assigned to the case. Hudson broke Wes’s heart years ago—and could again, given he’s rocking a hot silver-fox look that shouldn’t be legal.

As they work together to track down the murderer before anyone else gets hurt, it becomes clear Wes and Hudson have unfinished business. And when a secret Hudson’s been keeping threatens more than just their happiness, it might mean the end of their not-life together—permanently.

Review: Evan (The Wild Edges Book 2)

by Lark Taylor

Rating: 4.5🌈

Evan is the second in Taylor’s crossover series in her fabulous Reckless Damned universe. I’m highly fond of the foundation series and its sequel featuring Lucifer’s sons and their fated mates. Just incredible tales.

The Wild Edges contains characters from many of their stories and preceding events which have been woven into newer characters and their search for their own fated mates.

Evan and his clan are werewolves with ties to the original characters who are mentioned here. The dramatic storyline carries over from Finlay’s book and his tragic story, the ripples of which continue on centuries later.

There are trigger warnings associated with Reid story that are listed on Taylor’s website and I suggest that a reader should take the time to check them out. It includes DV, child abuse, and physical violence.

Reid suffers from his childhood trauma and the damage inflicted by his father and clan. He’s has untreated ADHD as well as a terrible self image issues from years of neglect and continual abuse. This includes his depression. All of which are handled throughout the storyline with sensitivity and a clear understanding of these issues by the author.

So although it’s titled Evan, the book is really about Reid, the human born into the jaguar clan. And how Evan, the werewolf, handles his involvement in Reid’s past and reappearance in Evan’s clan’s territory.

Because that’s as hurtful and traumatic to them, but especially to Reid.

I really enjoyed their romance and the entire storyline with multiple new characters, family members as well as some of my old favorites. Like Logan.

Taylor’s setting up several different couples for their fated mates storylines, all of which look intriguing. Calan’s next up. A glimpse of his is a bit of a cliffhanger.

I’m so looking forward to it.

Another winner.

Book cover design: BreathlessLit

The Wild Edges:

Finlay #1

Evan #2

Calan #3 – Dec 9,2026

Complete universe in the order it should be read:

▪️Reckless Damned Series ( the OG foundation series /Lucifer’s sons)

Devil’s Mark 1

Devil May Care 2

Deal With the Devil 3

Luck of the Devil 4

Damned Collections: Volume One

▪️Damned Connections Series – 2nd series:

Patience 1

Justice 2

Temperance 3

Humility 4

▪️Hopeless Blessed (crossover):

Conflicted 1

Devoted 2

Guarded 3

Enchanted 4

▪️The Wild Edges (crossover ):

Finlay 1

Evan 2

Calan 3

Buy link

Book 2 of 3: The Wild Edges

Blurb

Thirteen years ago, I made a terrible mistake.

One I’ll never repeat again.

When I first met Reid, I failed to see the signs that were right in front of me. He asked me to do one thing–take him away and keep him safe.

I turned my back on him.

Now I have to live with the guilt and shame of knowing I let him down. He can’t forgive me, and that’s okay.

Because I’ll never forgive myself.

When Reid’s family comes to take him away, I have a chance to redeem myself. I can keep him safe. But the more I watch him, the more I fall for the man who doesn’t see his self-worth.

Trouble is, can either of us forget the past in favour of the future? Or did my mistake all those years ago cost me any chance with the man of my dreams?

Either way, I’m not giving up until I find out.

Evan is a heartfelt hurt/comfort, M/M shifter x human romance. The second in the Wild Edges series, these books are best enjoyed in order. Each story follows a new couple, and always ends in a HEA.

Publisher

Lark Taylor

Publication date

January 2, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

466 pages

Book 2 of 3

The Wild Edges

▪️Reckless Damned Series ( the OG foundation series /Lucifer’s sons)

Devil’s Mark

Devil May Care

Deal With the Devil

Luck of the Devil

Damned Collections: Volume One

▪️Damned Connections Series – 2nd series:

Patience

Justice

Temperance

Humility

▪️Hopeless Blessed (crossover):

Conflicted

Devoted

Guarded

Review: The Little Shop of Curiosities Cursed Object 1 The Music Box – Part 1. (Crawshanks Guide to the Occult) by Vawn Cassidy)

Rating: 4🌈

With this crossover series in the The Dead Serious Universe, two previously supporting characters are finally getting their own story and relationship series.

That’s which Harrison Ames, recently relocated to town to look for his mother. And former DI, now PI Sam Stone, with his own connections to Danny and Tris, and magical powers of his own.

Both characters have figured largely in prior stories, and author Cassidy takes many of these impactful moments and dramatic events from these novels and repurposes them here. The reader gets to see certain scenes again, only this time from either Harrison’s or Sam’s perspective.

I have to admit I loved (spoiler alert) seeing Chan meet Death all over again. I can’t get enough of this couple, so this was an enormous surprise and plus for me.

I think Sam turned out to be my favorite character, more mature and better defined character of the pair.

Or maybe it’s because Harrison spends the entire story lying to everyone around him. Sam, Tristan, Danny. Even as the mystery and investigation surrounding the magical bookstore, the portal, and other aspects of that storyline, Harrison, knowing full well he had important information and details about the events surrounding the ongoing crisis, kept quiet.

He’s not a teenager. He’s in his thirties. Not communicating highly needed information to people who consider him a friend in a time of crisis.

No, I long ago learned that I’d had enough of this type of character. Whether the author needed him to be incommunicative due too plot purposes or considered it a necessary part of his personality, either way it led to a disconnect for me.

Yes to Sam, no to Harrison. And there are things I do like about him. Like his dynamic with his dads. So funny. But everything else? No.

I’ll continue to read because all the wonderful crossover characters and scenes. Maybe Harrison will win me back over. Who knows.

A definite winner otherwise.

Cover design by Natasha Snow

Crawshanks Guide to the Occult:

The Little Shop of Curiosities Cursed Object 1 The Music Box

Connected series:

The Dead Serious Universe,

Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed (6 book series)

Crawshanks Guide to Mischievous Spectres & Spirits(2 book series)

The Grim Adventures of Death & Chan Vol 1-3 (on the author’s website)

Buy link

Book 1 of 1: Crawshanks Guide to the Occult

Blurb

The Music Box – Part 1.

Despite being raised and well loved by his two adoptive fathers Harrison Ames has always felt alone. As an incredibly powerful witch he’s never come across anyone else who can do the things he can. Moving to London from Devon, he’d hoped that if he finally gathered the courage to confront the biological mother who’d given him up as a baby, he might finally have some answers.

Sam Stone, carries scars of his own, both physical and otherwise, but he’s determined to ignore them and get on with his life. But when fate drops a gorgeous prickly red haired witch in his life, he figures his luck is finally changing.

With mediums, dead drag queens, and supernatural beings as his new friends Harrison finds himself drawn into a world of magic and chaos. But amidst all the insanity that is his life, there’s Sam, his anchor when the secrets of his biological family begin to tear his life apart…

Underside Press

Publication date

December 25, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

320 pages

Book 1 of 1

Crawshanks Guide to the Occult

Book 1 of 1: Crawshanks Guide to the Occult

Review: Deadly Arrogance: Necromancer Tales #4 by M.J. May

Rating: 5🌈

Deadly Arrogance is the series finale that brings the journey of Necromancer Erasmus Boone to an exciting and happy conclusion.

I’ve been absolutely thrilled by this fantasy/paranormal universe of May’s since the first Perfect Pixie novel, a series which introduced necromancer Erasmus Boone.

So it’s fitting that many of those characters play roles here in Boone and Franklin’s battle against a terrifying enemy. It’s emotional and wonderful to see each one, settled into their own lives and relationships, as they come together to fight and support their friends and own communities.

And May, who has created throughly villainous characters in the past, has exceeded herself here in crafting shadow bourne Tenzen Huxley, a seemingly unbeatable and immortal being. Huxley is an ominous figure whose role is one that’s always in the game, even when absent from the current situation. The enormous threat he brings to the couple and those around them is a real concern, no matter what else they are dealing with.

They are mentally, emotionally and spiritually under pressure and attack all the time and the reader, who’s intimately connected with them, feels that same overwhelming stress and suspense.

On top of Huxley’s magical threat to everyone, there’s a multiple murder investigation that requires the attention of both Franklin and Boone. It’s highly unusual, incredibly rare in its sheer scope of detail and complexity.

I won’t elaborate further because there’s many twists here that spin beautifully within the plot. The story is highly suspenseful, compelling emotionally, and has some truly heartbreaking scenes.

And yes, it does end happily with everyone in attendance. I absolutely love it.

And there’s a new connected series on the horizon. Thrilled about that too!

Check out all the books below if you’re new to this universe. Read them in the order they are written. Enjoy them! Highly recommended!

Cover design by cheriefox.

Perfect Pixie Series

Perfectly Imperfect Pixie

Perfectly Perfect Pixie: Peaches’s Story

Perfectly Charmed Pixie: Parsnip’s Story

Perfectly Perplexing Zombie: Wendall’s Story

Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie: Phlox’s Story—finale

Perfectly Petite Shorts: Short Stories from the Perfect Pixie Series M/M

Necromancer Tales Series: Spin-Off from the Perfect Pixie Series

Deadly Lineage: Necromancer Tales Book I

Deadly Deception: Necromancer Tales Book II

Deadly Avarice: Necromancer Tales Book III

Deadly Arrogance: Necromancer Tales Book IV—End

Warlock Nikodemus Holland’s Book—Coming Spring 2026

Buy link

Book 4 of 4: Necromancer Tales

Blurb

Necromancer Erasmus Boone’s life is on hold—every shadow suspect, every trip outside his warded home a gamble. Afraid of bringing more attention to already wary necromancers, Erasmus has stopped hunting for his own kind. Unwilling to place an even larger target on his back, Erasmus has even delayed his own wedding.

Human homicide detective Franklin O’Hare wants nothing more than to be there for the necromancer he loves. Unfortunately, he’s neck-deep in not one but two separate multiple-body dump scenes. With little more than skeletal remains to go on, Franklin’s days are consumed with work, and his sleepless nights are spent wishing he had more time for his fiancé.

Waiting and wondering when Tenzen Huxley will make his move is physically exhausting and emotionally draining. Information regarding shadow borne is slim and little more than hearsay, and what is known is horrifying.

Will Erasmus and Franklin be ready when Tenzen finally makes his move? Is there truly any way to be prepared for the hell a shadow borne can unleash? Despite the support of powerful friends and family, Erasmus and Franklin desperately need to find a shadow borne’s weakness.

Sometimes, weakness comes from within, not without, and often, arrogance is the deadliest flaw of all.

Deadly Arrogance is the fourth book in the Necromancer Tales series and should be read in order. This series is a spin-off of the Perfect Pixie series and takes place in the same world but can be read as a stand-alone series. Deadly Arrogance is a m/m romantic fantasy mystery with an unusually sane necromancer just trying to make a living, a humble human detective attempting to keep his necromancer fiancé alive, an arrogant but redeemably overprotective warlock father, a questionably moral all-powerful djinn who may just get her scuttlebutt wish, a welcome Mississippi spring, and an ancient being who desires more power than any creature should wield and has decided a certain necromancer is key to satisfying that greed.

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