Category: M/M Paranormal Fiction

Review: Little Pest (Once Upon A Bite Book 1) by Charity Parkerson

Rating: 4.5 🌈

If you’re in the mood for a cute kinky adult bedtime story, I’ve got a new trilogy for you! Author Charity Parkerson is offering up a trio of short adult paranormal tales, a mixture of fang, kink, and love done weird vampire style.

Little Pest’s unique bag of elements include BDSM Daddy play, amorous tiny bats fielded by a fly swatter, a lonely ancient vampire who loves Vegas, and a sad young man who picked the wrong night to be brave and find a Daddy.

As odd a group as this sounds, as a short story, it comes marvelously together. Even if Daddy play or BDSM isn’t a trope you read, the way it’s written is done well and easy for a reader to understand why it fills such an emotional need for Tate.

The ancient vampire? Draco, lonely in Las Vegas and unaware of how his long undead life is about to change. A terrifyingly good vampire and terrific character. I always suspected magicians were vampires anyway.

Tate is, uh was a vulnerable young man with a short unhappy life behind him. Parkerson creates in Tate a character of such bravery, self knowledge, and honesty that it’s impossible not to root for him and love him. Onesie and all.

And turns out he’s actually perfect for Draco, if only he can get past the ancient fears.

Little Pest is a quick fun Paranormal romance. It’s quirky, gives the reader a new slant on types of vampires (pesky young things), and mild kinky romance.

I’m looking forward to the remaining two tales. They look to be equally weird , different, and daffy while fangy and romantic. Gotta love that!

Once Upon A Bite:

✓ Little Pest #1

◦ Cosmic Cardio #2 – April 25,2023

◦ Must be Clowning Me #3 – May 8, 2023

Note: love these covers!

Buy Link:

Little Pest (Once Upon a Bite Book 1)

Description:

Draco is the oldest vamp around. Tate is the newest and possibly the most annoying. They’re the perfect pair.

As one of the oldest living vampires, Draco has seen a lot of history. He’s also extremely powerful. With that power comes an allure that draws younger supernaturals to him like flies, hoping for a taste of his… expertise. Draco wants none of that. He lives a quiet life as a magician at a casino in Vegas. It’s a fun gig for a retired vamp with no real responsibilities left to his name. Then Tate flies into his life. Now nothing is the same.

Tate is a little hapless. He’s a little everything, actually. In fact, that pretty much sums up his personality. He’s a Little. At least, he was before some dude bit him in a nightclub and now Tate is stronger than ten men, can control minds, and turn into a bat. He has no clue how he’s doing any of that. No one taught him how to be a vampire. In fact, he doesn’t know how to survive. Without Draco’s help, he won’t. If it means Tate has to make a pest of himself to get Draco to notice him and teach him the how-tos of his new life, then so be it. Falling in love, that was just another one of Tate’s little mistakes, but it might be his best one yet.

Little Pest is the first book in Charity Parkerson’s Once Upon a Bite series. These books are meant to be short, fun paranormal romps to brighten your day.

Review: Midwinter Firelight by K.L. Noone

Rating: 4.5🌈

Midwinter Firelight, a sequel to the inestimable Snowed In, takes place 2 months after the events of that story that introduced us to Constable Kit Thompson, empath and Bow Street Preternatural Division, and his now lover, the Honorable Harry Alden, younger brother to the Earl of Fairleigh.

This is a case where the bar was set so high narratively speaking by the origin story, that anything that followed would have a difficult time getting close to the magic that first one captured.

And Midwinter Firelight doesn’t. It doesn’t have the setting. It doesn’t have the sense of isolation or otherness that allowed Noone’s prose to soar into episodes of poetry alongside scenes of beautiful imagery.

No, here in a London setting, Kit and Harry are firmly attached to more a emotionally busy and physically demanding time of it. They are still so new in their relationship but London is full of challenges and promises., as well as hidden obstacles.

Whereas Fairleigh was magical and sparse of people, London is the exact opposite. It’s the copious amounts of mundane , the demands of society, and more mysteries. It’s a more interesting and realistic grounding of this couple in their everyday realities and the rigidity with which society regards them.

Noone weaves both mens insecurities, which is interesting given that they are empaths, into the internal conversations each is conducting about their future. It shows the some of the limitations of that empathy bestows.

The mystery itself is the weakest part of the story. I found myself thinking about the participants for just a moment, then they were forgotten.

No, it could have been any problem to solve. The focus and power belongs on Kit and Harry. They are made of magic, both in the city and out in the countryside, as long as they are together.

I’m recommending Midwinter Firelight by K.L. Noone. It’s a lovely follow up to the sublime Snowed In.

Midwinter Firelightby K.L. Noone

Description:

Kit Thompson, empath and Bow Street Preternatural Division constable, is looking forward to Midwinter. His lover Harry, Viscount Sommersby, is visiting, and Kit has plans to show Harry his London … and plans for Harry in his bedroom.

But Kit’s Chief Magistrate needs him. And the case is important. Personal. Taking up Kit’s time.

Even worse, Harry wants to help. And Kit could use Harry’s magical talents. But that means endangering Harry … something Kit’s sworn never to do.

Review: Snowed In: Kit and Harry by K.L. Noone

Rating: 5🌈

It’s rare that short stories earn high ratings from me but Noone’s rich descriptive passages and gorgeous imagery won me over from the start.

There’s an immediate impression when Constable Kit Thompson meets Harry, younger son of Fairleigh Hall , of hair of “wayward sunshine “ , combined with boundless enthusiasm that the author perfectly projects a image of Harry that’s indelible and warm almost to the touch. Even as the brutal cold of winter encapsulates them.

That’s why Kit is there. To investigate why winter, the cold has fallen out of season on Fairleigh Hall. He’s a constable in Bow Street’s Preternatural Division where he can use his magical gifts to solve crimes and apprehend criminals.

The time and setting is Fairleigh Hall, Yorkshire, 1802. Regency. Same sex relationships and marriages are now acceptable for the younger non inheriting sons and daughters.

There’s an astonishing mystery and equally compelling resolution. The relationship between Kit and Harry is unexpectedly strong, complex, and kinky. Rope play, D/s, all so well done and beautifully written.

These are nuanced characters which is hard to do in short stories but the author achieves it. Kit has a complicated history. Son of a courtesan and bastard of a nobleman, he skirts the edges of society. Harry, the younger brother has the most complex background but it’s one that’s slowly revealed throughout the story.

While winter swirls around the hall, there’s still a tiny but very strong support cast to deepen the sense of family and friendship within relationships that are developing. That’s Ned Arden, the Earl of Fairleigh, Harry’s older brother and Lizzie, his betrothed. And Grayson, the butler. All so beautifully portrayed and realistic that you feel like you have met them.

The storylines move briskly along, but with a poetic tone to the imagery and a sense of otherness when it comes to the characters themselves and their magic.

I was so in love with everyone here. So sorry to be finished with the story.

But what a delight to read and reread. A new favorite of mine. And hopefully yours. I’m highly recommending this!

And I just found out that it has a sequel. Onto that next.

✓ Snowed In: Kit and Harry (part of The Demon Universe of 9 books)

◦ Midwinter Firelight (it’s sequel)

Buy Link:

Snowed In: Kit and Harry

Description:

Someone — or something — is causing magical blizzards at Fairleigh Hall. The estate is suffering, and the Earl has requested assistance.

Constable Kit Thompson, of Bow Street’s Preternatural Division, isn’t especially thrilled to be sent out to the country. At least the assignment gets him away from fashionable London society and his own unwanted celebrity after successfully solving a notorious case. Of course, he’s now trapped at a country estate due to closed roads, snowstorms, and magic, but Kit’s always liked solving puzzles. He’s good at using empathic skills for investigations, and this is definitely a challenge. Besides, the Earl’s younger brother is an irritating and delicious temptation, all blue eyes and muscles and boundless enthusiastic optimism. Kit wants to either shake sense into him or kiss him senseless — and can’t trust him, either, because if someone’s genuinely sabotaging the weather, everyone’s a suspect.

Harry Arden, younger brother of the Earl of Fairleigh, has never met a Preternatural Division constable before, much less a famous and celebrated one. He wants to help. And he wants to make that attractive but cynical constable smile, at least once. But the estate hides a family secret, and Harry knows perfectly well Kit doesn’t trust him … and for good reason. Still, Harry offers to do what he can to assist with the investigation, and if that means spending more time with Kit, that’s a bonus.

When Harry and Kit end up caught by those magical storms, snowed in together at the old hunting lodge, they’ll have to trust each other with their secrets … and their hearts.

Review : Stitched Under Fire (Paranormal Investigative Service Book 2) by Cassidy K. O’Connor and Sheri Lyn

Rating: 4.5🌈

Stitched Under Fire takes place relatively close to the ending timeline of the first book, Faeted Under Fire. That’s where the formerly human Det. Tristan James died, becoming reborn as a phoenix shifter and federal agent in the Paranormal Investigative Service, aka P.I.S. Yes, the series has a sense of humor.

He also gained a new perspective on paranormal beings he’d been phobic about, gained a partner and boyfriend in fellow Agent Maddox Smith, half orc/half Fae.

We dive back into their world where Tris has become acclimated enough to consider his new Agent Pod/group friends and he’s moved into a house with Maddox, getting ready to met the parents.

The authors do such a great job in creating the paranormal experience for Tristan James. He’s new to everything so we get to see and learn about it along with him. Honestly, the human side pales a bit by comparison.

Tristan is thriving even if he’s at level one with regard to his shifter abilities and new identity as a phoenix shifter. The fact that phoenix shifters are rare means that even his own teammates and boyfriend aren’t exactly positive about what Tristan can do , other than the vaguest ideas.

O’Conner and Lyn are on a slow path here with Tristan’s shifter transition. I’m not sure how many books they have planned for the series, but at this point, for Tristan to gain full access to his phoenix abilities, it will be at book 10. But oddly, the cases become so big and the victims so important, that Tristan’s shifter journey can safely be relegated to a lower storyline status without hurting the character or the book.

It becomes all about the characters, the relationships, the realness of their lives and the pain of their loss. That’s what we feel as does those investigating the cases.

The side storyline about , Tallie,the young teenage prostitute who’s basically family, Maddox’s mom, and Silas, the Fae father , is heartwarming and a wonderful element that helps ground Tristan in this new world and relationship.

This book and series is one I’m enjoying so much for its well developed characters, well plotted storylines, rich world building, and expanding new information into the exploration between human and paranormal phenomena and physicality.

Bring on book 3. I’m highly recommending this and the series. Read them in the order they are written to understand the events and character development.

Paranormal Investigative Service series:

✓ Faeted Under Fire #1

✓ Stitched Under Fire #2

◦ Taken Under Fire #3 – June 8, 2023

Buy Link:

Stitched Under Fire (Paranormal Investigative Service Book 2)

Description:

Paranormals left for dead, parts of them missing. When bodies start piling up, the agents of Paranormal Investigative Service quickly realize the killings aren’t random and they are escalating.

Life is never dull as an agent of P.I.S. but Tristan James didn’t expect his fourth week as a newly turned phoenix shifter and federal agent to be spent hunting for the person who was dissecting paranormals. If that weren’t enough, he was also moving in with Maddox, his partner at P.I.S. and he had it bad for him.

Maddox Smith was going monogamous. If that weren’t shocking enough, Tristan was also moving in with him. Add to that the man of his dreams was still getting used to being a shifter and getting over old prejudices about their kind. Taking it slow was never in Maddox’s vocabulary before, but Tristan was worth the wait. A new case was exactly the distraction he needed.

They have to work quickly to stitch the pieces together if they want to stop the madman hurting their kind.

Book 3 ‘Taken Under Fire’ releases June 8th, 2023 and continues Maddox and Tristan’s story.

Review: Dangerous (Shifter Scoundrels #2) by Charlie Cochet and Macy Blake

Rating: 4.5🌈

Shifter Scoundrels is a wildly imaginative , heave everything the multi era/trope sink has to offer into the adventure/romance world as conjured up by Charlie Cochet and Macy Blake. Part paranormal universe, it also includes such features as a Regency era monarchy, a royal society with the accompanying aristocracy events. To say nothing of the Regency societal laws such as rigid dress codes to go with the peerage rankings. All of these adopted by the Dragon Shifter King and the rest of the shifter world that lives invisibly along side the human one. It’s so marvelously descriptive and realized.

All of that serves as a foundation for mystery, murder, and magical mayhem as well as romance from book to book, with each novel featuring one couple involved in and investigating the overall series arc mystery. That being the murder of Prince Brandr, the son of the King.

I enjoyed the Regency relationship , romantic gameplay and subterfuge of the first story. It was all very in keeping with the theme and types of storytelling that the genre does so well.

But Dangerous goes in a different direction, romantically speaking, with its couple. And while it kept some of the Regency parameters intact, it also borrowed from the contemporary genre too. The combination is one is I found engaging and wonderfully entertaining. Because this other main character is oh so human, and comes with a very serious heart condition.

Jason Reaves is a surprise in every way. Jason has POTS, Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. He also has a wonderfully realized service dog, a German shepherd, Mouse, who’s a great character. The authors, both of whom own GSDs, show us exactly how Mouse helps Jason with his disability and their partnership in letting Jason lead a wider life. This is such a superb element of this book and it’s worked so perfectly to elevate Jason as a multi-dimensional character including great backstory. As is Mouse who’s so much a part of him.

Cormac Donegan, Duke of Everard, is bringing heavyweight Regency energy here to his part of the relationship. Cormac is in recovery from a traumatic event, the losses which still haunt him. We’ve seen this event and connected events in the first book (which is running concurrently in terms of timeframe). So we have some knowledge about what’s happening and the details around the events.

Cormac and his team of valets/soldiers are absolutely fantastic characters. Cormac as he starts to understand Jason’s predicament and fall for the human he’s bound to protect. Vega and Sillian ,the manservants , who are fabulous in their roles as foils for each other and for Jason as he becomes part of the household and their world.

The mystery and fast paced action is fantastic. The narrative runs along at near breakneck speed to match the scenes unfolding on the pages.

There’s humor, some pathos, passion, and action, along with great support cast and main characters.

I honestly couldn’t put this down.

The setup for Scandalous, the third installment and romance is smoothly executed. Now to wait until next year.

I’m highly recommending this story but read the series in order first so you understand the events and backgrounds as it all comes together.

What a wild whacky mashup! I love it.

Shifter Scoundrels series:

✓ Notorious #1

✓ Dangerous #2

◦ Scandalous #3 – Feb 29,2024

Buy Link:

Dangerous (Shifter Scoundrels Book 2)

Description:

New Paranormal Romance from Bestselling MM Authors Charlie Cochet and Macy Blake.

A grumpy lion shifter duke with secrets, a sassy human who knows nothing of the shifter world, and a fiery arrangement neither of them expected.

Cormac Donegan, Duke of Everard, is all too familiar with the perils of his shifter world, especially as a Dahlia, one of the dragon king’s elite spies. After a mission nearly costs him his life, Cormac is sidelined, healing and grieving his heavy losses. Then a different kind of trouble shows up on his doorstep, a human claiming to be his fiancé.

When Jason Reaves is nearly killed in a house fire, it becomes clear that someone is trying to murder him. With his already fragile health deteriorating, Jason’s only hope is to call in the debt a stranger owes his father– a favor that promises safety, protection… and marriage.

Jason’s escape leads him and his service dog, Mouse, to an impressive country estate. He’s expecting the older man who’d made the promise, not his ruggedly handsome son–who happens to be a Duke, as in rich and royal.

Will this Cinderfella find his happily ever after in the arms of a dashing–if somewhat irritable–duke? Or will Cormac’s secrets prove to be more dangerous than the shifters hunting him?

Review: Deal With The Devil (The Reckless Damned Book 3) by Lark Taylor

Rating: 4.5🌈

Deal With The Devil is the third novel in Lark Taylor’s The Reckless Damned series about the rebellious sons of the Devil who left Hell (and servitude under Father) behind for life on earth.

Each book concentrates on a brother as he finds his fated mate , and along with his brothers, helps investigate a rebellion against their father (understandable) and thwart any possible apocalypse (also clear).

I may have enjoyed this book the most, probably because as it’s the third story it now has a solid family cast to act as a foundation/sounding board/support system for whatever Mori, this brother, needs. Whether it’s backup in an attack or advice about a relationship, the brothers and their mates, who’ve formed their own smaller group, are there for each other. Taylor has created a entertaining and interesting family dynamic here. Each is so different, some with traumatic histories , others with flamboyant personalities, differences that make for lively conversations and fast paced scenes.

River is the first non-human main character that plays up against a brother in a story to date. I liked the twists Taylor works into her narrative here. Including the several at the end. It’s a aspect of these stories I’m expecting when I pick them up and the author hasn’t let me down yet.

The relationship between Mori and River is full of obstacles for them to overcome. Mori’s human ex Eric left an indelible mark on Mori, one he needs to relinquish before he can move forward. This is a believable development in anyone’s life and it works here too in a paranormal environment.

There is also the element of the relationship between River and his brother, one that’s explored emotionally through past and present events and actions. It feels realistic as well.

Overall, this is my favorite story to date in the series. I’m only frustrated that I didn’t have the fourth book to read straight on through.

If you like paranormal fiction, romance, and mystery, here’s a series for you. Read them in the order they are written to understand the events and character relationships.

I’m definitely recommending them.

The Reckless Damned series:

✓ Devil’s Mark #1

✓ Devil May Care #2

✓ Deal With The Devil #3

◦ Luck Of The Devil #4 – May 11,2023

Buy Link:

Deal With the Devil (The Reckless Damned Book 3)

Description:

When you make a deal with a devil, you must prepare to face the consequences…

Mori

I’ve loved and lost once before, and it nearly destroyed me.

One might think I’d be scared to try again, but since discovering the existence of fated mates, I’ve waited on tenterhooks for mine to appear.

Fate, apparently, is content to keep me in suspense.

When a nervous human brokers a deal to find his brother, I can’t refuse. My tracking days are over, but there’s something about River that makes me want to get back in the game. Besides, it’ll be a good distraction from waiting for my dream guy.

It quickly becomes clear that River isn’t all he seems. And even worse…I can’t deny the attraction between us. But can I go there when I can’t promise River forever?

River

I’ve always been a liar…but this might be the most dangerous lie I’ve ever told.

Making a deal with a son of Lucifer to track my brother is a bad idea. Especially since he currently holds the number one spot on Mori’s hit list.

I’m asking for trouble.

But I’m out of options. Blaise’s death creeps closer every day, and despite his past misdeeds, I have to save him. Even if it means pretending to be a human, when I’m anything but.

The more time Mori and I spend together, the harder it is to hide my true identity. How can I when he’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner?

There’s no point dreaming of a future with Mori. Even if he forgives my deception, he has a fated mate out there somewhere.

And it isn’t me.

Deal With the Devil is an exhilarating, forced-proximity M/M paranormal romance with a HEA and no cliff-hanger. It is the third book in The Reckless Damned series, which is best enjoyed in order due to the overarching plot. Each book focuses on a different couple and will have a HEA.

CW: references to off page domestic abuse and anxiety attacks. Includes references to torture and murder. One scene of homophbia, including the use of a homophobic slur.

Review : Faeted Under Fire (Paranormal Investigative Service Book 1) by Cassidy K. O’Connor and Sheri Lyn

Rating: 4.25🌈

Faeted Under Fire was a wonderful find. The vibrant cover caught my attention and the imaginative storytelling is just so well done. Both authors are new to me, so I was excited to see what they brought to paranormal fiction.

The universe building is sparse as far as how human beings and the paranormal realm came to exist together. The authors deal with this question in smattering of sentences that raise more questions than answers. Where they spend their narrative energy and enthusiasm is in the creation of the paranormal “section’ of the city much like we have a Chinatown or Little Italy. Only more as in the past when the cities were more racially segregated.

It’s a lively, culturally diverse community, with food trucks and bars owned, and run by the various paranormal species. It feels alive. Sometimes grungy and a perfect fit for the pod or group of paranormal investigators to run through or hang at .

O’Connor and Lyn spent considerable time as well as in creating engaging personalities for their main characters. One is Tristan James, a human cop, who’s prejudiced towards paranormals, and then has to undergo a psychological and physical traumatic change when he’s attacked. Tristan is an amazing perspective for the reader into paranormal life as he’s a fresh viewpoint. I adore him. He’s a good cop and someone trying to be a good person, whoever they may be.

His partner, half orc/half Fae, with prejudices of his own, is Maddox Smith. This character has layers, which continue to get peeled back throughout the story and into the next. He’s one whose character consistently deepens and matures to accommodate changes in the relationships around him.

This is the first story so everyone is still learning about each other and getting settled into their new roles.

O’Connor and Lyn kept me involved in the paranormal and human investigations and emotional stories playing out throughout the novel. If I had a bit of a quibble it was that I recognized the villain early on. Not the motivation for all the events, but who it must be at least behind one attack.

However, I do admit that mysteries and crime investigations have been my jam since early childhood. So take that for whatever it may be worth.

In total, Faeted Under Fire (Paranormal Investigative Service Book 1) by Cassidy K. O’Connor and Sheri Lyn is a exciting, immersive journey into a new partnership and journey towards a romantic relationship for two memorable people . I’m absolutely thrilled with my find and recommending it to others.

Paranormal Investigative Service series:

✓ Faeted Under Fire #1

✓ Stitched Under Fire #2

◦ Taken Under Fire #3 – June 8, 2023

Buy Link:

Book 1 of 3: Paranormal Investigative Service

Description:

A human cop, a paranormal agent, and nine missing kids. Prejudice aside, they have to work together if they want to stop number ten.

Tristan James didn’t know he had a latent paranormal gene in his body until he was attacked on the job as an officer with Tampa PD and killed. As a phoenix shifter, he rose from the ashes and came back stronger than ever. Unfortunately, he was no longer human, this meant no job, no home, no friends. New purpose finds him with the help of a paranormal federal agency offering him a job. He has to put his own learned hatreds aside and accept the paranormals he was now one of.

Maddox Smith loved his job with the Paranormal Investigative Services. He knew what it was like to have no one looking out for you and that’s what made him a good agent. Someone is taking paranormal kids and he has no leads. When a recently turned human is booted from the police and brought to P.I.S. and partnered with him, Maddox wants nothing to do with him. What had the humans ever done for their kind?

Can they forget their biases and solve the case before there’s a tenth?

Review: Trick of Light (Warders Book 7) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 2.5🌈

It’s been a while since I’d read the Warder series, books about a clutch of 5 Warders or demon hunters/city protectors and their sentinel . Each novel focuses on one Warder and his path to finding his Hearth, his soulmate.

I enjoyed them , finding some couples more entertaining than others, but a wonderful series.

However, Trick of Light didn’t live up to my expectations. It starts promising, with all the Warders, their Hearths, the Sentinel and his partner gathered together when they discover ,they as a group , are under attack.

Calmes assumes the reader is familiar with the group, the couples history , and their relationships, and the series as a whole. That’s a lot of information you must have to go forward here. It makes sense as this is book 7.

I didn’t mind that so much as a series with this many novels would be cumbersome if the author had to recreate all the previous storylines as well as the current ones to bring a reader up to speed.

No this book lost me with the reveals and narrative twists into let’s say a more angelic themed story. Calmes , imo, just never laid a firm foundation in terms of her themes, her history, even character development and background, to support the events that occur in the later stages of this book.

Some are so groundless, the actions making so little sense , no matter how you might literally frame it out that I was astonished. And not in a good way.

And once written, the following consequences were, well, inevitably worse. Like storyboard cards that fell , then rearranged up on the board out of order. No one noticed.

I enjoy Calmes writing. I didn’t enjoy Trick of Light. For me, it added little to a entertaining series, and may actually have removed some of those interesting elements I liked so much.

But I found this poorly written, with the too much “as told too” narrative, a real issue with a lack of context within the series arc for the themes here, and no grounding for the events that occur during most of the story.

The whole last quarter of this book is narrative nonsense imo. Without giving away too much, if your premise is that angels don’t understand emotions including love but all they do display is emotion, jealousy, hatred, anger, etc, then as a author you haven’t understood how to express your own themes throughly yourself. Your angels should BE without emotion. They aren’t. You haven’t been able to see your way through your own characters.

Others might have different opinions.

I’ll leave it up to you whether it’s a story you want to read.

Warder series:

✓ His Hearth #1

✓ Tooth & Nail #2

✓ Heart in Hand #3

✓ Sinnerman #4

✓ Nexus #5

✓ Cherish Your Name #6

✓ Trick of Light #7

Buy Link:

Trick Of Light (Warders Book 7)

Description:

Jackson Tybalt is living his best life even though, to others, it might sound a little odd. For starters, Jackson’s a warder. Duty bound to patrol the city of San Francisco, doing battle with demons and things that go bump in the night. Second, Jackson’s married to an ex-demonic bounty hunter.

Raphael Caliva isn’t quite a man, more of a creature, with a very normal job as a general contractor, which he really loves. But what Raphael loves most, though, is Jackson. So much so that he’s sealed his fate to Jackson’s. If one dies, so does the other. No muss, no fuss.

This is the first of the surprises Jackson receives when he and his fellow warders meet one cold afternoon in February. Turns out, a blood witch they believed they’d vanquished has returned, intent on revenge. Nothing is as it seems, and now Jackson and the others have to prepare to fight not only an elusive enemy, but also the fatal curse she imparted.

But sometimes, it’s not quite as bad as it seems. More a trick of light than life and death. Or is it?

Review: Stone Skin (The Gargoyles of Arrington, #2) by Jenn Burke

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Its been a year since the first book in The Gargoyles of Arrington series by Jenn Burke so I needed to get reacquainted with the arc storylines and particulars before diving into Stone Skin, the novel that’s centered around brother Rian O’Reilly. He’s one of the three remaining O’Reilly brothers who were cursed with turning into Gargoyles and eventual stone death until a witch aunt altered the curse just enough that finding true love would break it.

There’s just two now with the curse hanging over them. The others have either died or met with their true loves.

I admit I connected with this story more fully than I did with Drew and his human mate/lover from Stone Wings. That book had to set the foundation (a lot of information), and lay out the mysteries of the curse and O’Reilly family. It then had even more important details to be worked into the narrative such as a invasion of mountain lion shifters, then a wolf shifter pack element. All that put the fake boyfriend romance under a smaller spotlight, bookwise.

But from the beginning, I was highly invested in the lives of Professor Logan Davis, a person haunted by loss, and Rian, the tattoo artist brother, who’s determined to find a way out of the curse for himself and his remaining brother before it’s too late. And hoping that the unknown professor of legend and mythology will help him to find a clue in the past to unravel their ancient mystery.

Burke shows us so clearly how Rian is desperate to find the cure. We watch as the effects of the old magic falter and he’s sure he doesn’t have much time left. It’s hits us as hard as it does him and his family.

Then we shift to the Professor and a portrait of grief that’s raw and real.As the Professor isn’t even emotionally or mentally available in this world, traumatized by recent events. The author has made us care for him, for Rian, and now the reader is committed to solving the mystery and to the couple to finding their own happiness.

There’s multiple plots also brought forward from Stone Wings that get futher development. I enjoy a found family trope and this one is coming together beautifully.

While all the side storylines are still continuing, they take a secondary role and leave the relationship between Rian and Logan as the main focus. It works perfectly to let the reader understand the overall arc theme is coming together towards a resolution and yet still gives us enough information about the third brother to make us want to continue following the story into the next book.

The drama isn’t over yet.

I’m eagerly awaiting Stone Heart , the last in this series. Love a paranormal hurt/comfort love story? Then I’m recommending Stone Skin and the beginning novel, Stone Wings. Read them in order before the final book in the trilogy comes out.

The Gargoyles of Arrington series:

✓ Stone Wings #1

✓ Stone Skin #2

◦ Stone Heart #3 – June 27, 2023

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Stone Skin: An M/M Paranormal Hurt/Comfort Monster Romance (The Gargoyles of Arrington Book 2)

Description:

Can he break his curse before time runs out?

Despite being cursed to sleep as a gargoyle for a hundred years, and awake for only twenty-five, Rian O’Reilly is an optimist. He knows he can find a way to break the curse through the tattooed runes he’s spent years mastering. No need to wait for this true love crap. But he hasn’t found the right combination of magic and his time is almost up. Rian isn’t ready to lose everyone and everything. Again.

Professor Logan Davis knows about loss. In the past year, he’s lost his mother, his twin, his werewolf pack, and he’s on the verge of losing his mind. So when he’s invited to Arrington to learn about a legend he’s never heard of, he jumps at the chance for a working vacation. He doesn’t expect to find a handsome gargoyle who needs his help to break a centuries-old curse—and he certainly doesn’t expect his grief to finally overwhelm him.

As Rian comforts Logan, he starts to wonder if there might be something to this true love crap after all. He’d give anything to help this gentle giant of a man, but Logan needs time to heal…and time is the one thing Rian doesn’t have.

STONE SKIN is a male/male hurt/comfort paranormal romance featuring a magical tattoo artist gargoyle who doesn’t want to go, a werewolf professor who needs time to rediscover himself beneath his grief, and a budding love that might be the answer to everything…if only it has time to bloom.

Review: Cherries Worth Getting (Keith Curry’s Case Files Book 1) by Nicole Kimberling

Rating: 4.5🌈

Nicole Kimberling is such an amazing author. I adored her Bellingham Mysteries and then lost track of her writings. But happily I’ve found her again through her series about a other-realm investigator who used to be a chef. That’s Keith Curry’s Case Files.

I believe the series started in a collection called Irregulars, 4 short stories by 4 authors about NIAD. That’s NATO Irregular Affairs Division. They police other-realm traffic, beings, and artifacts that come through portals to this world. The division’s are made up of many species including Faerie lawyers, rumpled magicians, business witches and weary specialists human agents.

That’s where Keith Curry comes in.

We get Keith’s dramatic and sickening introduction to the agency and how he came to be recruited here. To be honest, parts of the book aren’t for those who have a weak stomach or are highly sensitive. We are talking about cannibalism here as part of the mystery and narrative. Just a Fyi.

There’s several elements that are raised throughout the narrative that challenge Keith’s vision of himself as a neutral investigator. Species bigotry is brought up and examined through the viewpoint of different characters, very effectively. Whether it’s goblins or vampire, it forces Keith to look at his own judgments and review them for reactions he’s thought he’d worked through.

There’s reasons for his reasons. It’s in his past. And understandable by any standards.

It’s his new teammate and former hookup , Gunther, who has been assigned to help Keith figure out where the human dead (and butchered) bodies are coming from. A fellow agent who will make Keith aware of his suppressed feelings towards other species.

Kimberling sets her story in and around Portland, Oregon and her familiarity with the city and deep roots with the place shows. From the markets to the food trucks, it’s realistic, even when run by goblins. I found the idea of a goblin race that transformed to conform in utero a thought provoking idea. I’m certain this is just the beginning of this thread.

The author crafted so many interesting elements to fold into the story and world building of the series. We got just hints here and there about a topic, enough to pique our interest and imagination, but not enough to satisfy. Hopefully we’ll get more in the coming stories.

The mystery and investigation was crisp and complicated. I loved following the clues along with Keith and Gunther, his fellow investigator and perhaps future boyfriend.

Especially as the relationship that’s just starting here between Gunther and Keith continues.

Now I really need to locate that original collection as well. I’m sure that’s Keith’s origin story. Yikes.

And I’m onto the next in his series. But do be aware, unlike the Bellingham Mysteries, Keith Curry seems to see the absolute worst and often stomach churning cases . Be forewarned.

If you’re ok with that, I’m highly recommending this!

Keith Curry’s Case Files:

✓ Cherries Worth Getting #1

◦ Magically Delicious #2

◦ Grilled Cheese and Goblins:

Adventures of a Food Inspector

◦ Irregulars -a 4 story collection

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Cherries…Cherries Worth Getting (Keith Curry’s Case Files Book 1) – Kindle edition by Kimberling …

Description:

NATO’s Irregulars Affairs Division is a secret organization operating in thousands of cities around the globe. Its agents police relations between the earthly realm and those beyond this world, protecting us from terrible dangers as well as enthralling temptations. Agent Keith Curry is a former carnivore chef turned vegetarian. Keith must navigate Portland, Oregon’s culinary underworld to catch a killer bent on harvesting human flesh. But things get complicated when he hooks up with an old flame who he’s never been able to refuse.