Category: M/M Romance

Review: The Villain Who Wasn’t (Carnival of Mysteries 2) by Liv Rancourt

Rating: 3🌈

The Villain Who Wasn’t by Liv Rancourt was such a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed much of the story and characters, including how Rancourt wove the Carnival of Mysteries into this tale, making it an important part of Micah Jenkins journey to redemption.

Micah, how his relationship with Anders Montgomery developed amid his journey to redemption and finding home, that entire storyline , is the best part about this book. It starts with the characters.

Corbin Blande aka Micah Jenkins is terrific, a wounded being with a great back story. He’s a polymorphic being, a therianthrope, someone who could shift into any form, human or animal. A almost mythic creature who fell into the wrong hands and did terrible things to protect people he loves.

Then there’s Anders Montgomery, a beta werewolf, one of 5 children.The pack is renting the Hidden Glen Resort for a younger sister’s first shift. But it’s never that simple. Again, a great story and character set within a pack and family that cries out for further development.

Part of the main narrative includes Micah’s daughter, who because of the danger involved, doesn’t know him, and a demon that has him trapped by promises and threats. All fascinating stuff and all underdeveloped here.

The decision why is because the author decides to mash up The Carnival of Mysteries series story , and make it a sequel to her book, The Accidental Necromancer from the Subpar Heroes superhero series from a completely different universe and multi-author collection. So now SPAM and superheroes has entered the story and things go completely off the rails, narratively speaking.

Once Livcourt makes the decision to smash (not integrate) one storyline universe into another, it drastically changes tone and direction. An entirely new crew of characters, new locations and the superhero governing agency, SPAM, is the dominant force, leaving the pack and other elements pushed aside.

In fact, instead of exploring Micah’s unique natural history and having him make restitution for his actions in other ways, Livcourt brings in SPAM, takes over the story, hobbling the previous narrative, and making the Subpar Heroes the universe that’s dominating this book.

If a reader isn’t familiar with these series, especially the Subpar Heroes, or a reader of this author’s books, they will find themselves lost in the muddled world that this story has become at the end. Yes, there’s a HFN and a note from Livcourt she intends to continue on with additional stories in this universe. Which one? The subpar heroes is my guess but I’m not sure.

I liked The Villain Who Wasn’t (Carnival of Mysteries 2) by Liv Rancourt because of Micah, Anders, their relationship, and the manner in which the story began. Plus the Carnival of Mysteries was an important part of their journey. But the rest of the book was a mashup that felt forced and confusing. That was mostly the second part of this book.

Read it if you’re a fan of the author.

Again, terrific covers.

Carnival of Mysteries 2 -2024

🔹Rook’s Time by Kim Fielding (sequel to Crow’s Fate-2023)

🔹The Wrong Familiar by Megan Derr✅

🔹The Villain Who Wasn’t by Liv Rancourt ** notes (sequel to other stories/series)

🔹Blue Lightning by BL Maxwell

🔹Magic Escaping by Kaje Harper (sequel to Magic Burning 2023)

🔹Lighting the Darkness by Eden Winters – Aug 14,2024

🔹You Can Save Me by R L Merrill-Aug 21,2024

🔹Airs Above the Ground by Rachel Langella-Sept 10,2024

🔹Go for the Climate by Ander C. Lark

🔹 Flames of the Arcane by Nicole Dennis

🔹Midnight on the Midway by Morgan Brice

🔹Dust Bowl Magic by Zam Maxfield 🔹Dragonspark by Elizabeth Silver

Buy link

The Villain Who Wasn’t: Carnival of Mysteries

Blurb;

Micah is not a nice guy. He can shift into anything with a pulse, a rare talent that caught a demon’s eye. Threatening Micah’s weak spot – his baby daughter – that demon gave Micah seven tasks, each one shittier than the last. It’s taken him almost five years, but now that he’s done, Micah can become a better man.

And he will, as soon as he figures out how.

Anders is a werewolf with a plan. When the time is right, he’ll take over his uncle’s contracting company and later become Alpha of the pack. He never intended to take a mate, even one as hot as Micah.

Who’s not a werewolf and might not be quite trustworthy.

A visit to a mysterious carnival shows Micah what it will take to be the kind of mate Anders deserves. Things get complicated, though, because while Micah thinks he’s done with the demon, the demon’s not done with him.

As Anders comes to terms with the Universe changing his plans, Micah struggles to be a worthy mate. Despite the growing strength of their bond, they need to send a certain demon back to hell, or they’ll never be able to build their future together.

• Publisher: Rancourt Publishing (July 24, 2024)

• Publication date: July 24, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 234 pages

Carnival of Mysteries series. 2023 and 2024:

✓ Crow’s Fate by Kim Fielding❤️

✓ Step Right Up by L.A. Witt

✓ Magic Burning by Kaje Harper ❤️

✓ Night-blooming Hearts by Megan Derr

✓ Go For The Company by Ander C. Lark❤️

✓ Roustabout by Morgan Brice❤️

✓ Assassin by Accident by E.J. Russell❤️

✓ Dryad on Fire by Nicole Dennis ❤️

✓ The Extraordinary Locket of Elijah Gray by Kayleigh Sky

✓ Smoke and Mirrors by Elizabeth Silver

✓ You Can Do Magic by R.L. Merrill

✓ Sting in the Tail by TA Moore

✓ Gods and Monsters by Rachel Langella

✓ The Black Robes of Flanders by Sara Ellis

Carnival of Mysteries 2 -2024

🔹Rook’s Time by Kim Fielding (sequel to Crow’s Fate-2023)

🔹The Wrong Familiar by Megan Derr

🔹The Villain Who Wasn’t by Liv Rancourt

🔹Blue Lightning by BL Maxwell

🔹Magic Escaping by Kaje Harper (sequel to Magic Burning 2023)

🔹Lighting the Darkness by Eden Winters – Aug 14,2024

🔹You Can Save Me by R L Merrill-Aug 21,2024

🔹Airs Above the Ground by Rachel Langella-Sept 10,2024

🔹Go for the Climate by Ander C.Lark

🔹Flames of the Arcane by Nicole Dennis

🔹Midnight on the Midway by Morgan Brice

🔹Dust Bowl Magic by Zam Maxfield 🔹Dragonspark by Elizabeth Silver

Review: Gloombringer (The Summertide Chronicles Book 1) by Sam Burns

Rating: 5🌈

Sam Burns is such an amazing prolific fantasy writer that I’m reading several new series from her while discovering ones from her backlist I’ve not yet started. And yet here’s another fabulous book that welcomes in a new incredible universe full of political intrigue, four magical ruling families, and a crisis that’s falling upon the land.

I’m so in.

And immediately invested as the entire book and multiple storylines plays out during a politically charged, emotional, and often potentially violent meeting between the heads or representatives of each ruling family.

Each story is about a different family. Burns starts with the family or what’s left of the Gloombringer family. That’s aging, cold, often nasty Oberon and his wounded younger sister Titania in their ancient large household. While we are deeply involved with this duo, their history, and their tangled relationships with the rest of the other rulers, it’s Adair Courtwright, and Rain Moonstriker that’s the central pairing here.

Adair Courtwright who’s powerfully talented in his ability to see life connections, bonded to moon tear Rhodri, and through his family legacy, is in service, as was his father, to Oberon Gloombringer. And Rain Moonstriker, who has shown up at the four-ruling family summit as the Moonstriker representative, bringing his own team and plenty of his mother’s agendas and secrets.

The Moonstriker family is large in size, intellectual in temperament, isolated and held in somewhat fearsome regard, mostly due to Rain’s mother and uncle’s power. Burns gives the reader several intriguing glimpses into a couple of Rain’s siblings, which only makes us want more of each of them. Rain is well developed individual assisted by his own bonded stones. His romantic relationship with Adair is one that needs to be understood by reading it as it’s layered with Adair’s personal story. It absolutely works, and they are assisted by those around them.

An occurrence that happens again and again as other different people appear during this meeting, as family members or employees. Each one is so well defined, uniquely themselves with a backstory that cries out for greater exploration, that this novel alone would weigh a ton would that happen.

I honestly forgot about the timeline here, as I was so caught up in the various drama plots, the romance between Adair and Rain, and the fact that this summit is headed for disaster with no stopping it. Just fabulous.

So many creative moments and imaginative elements that Burns has written into her story and universe. It just captures the reader’s attention and own imagination too. One of my favorites?

Burns has also created sentient stone, crystals of various ages, that bond with humans, gifting them with various forms of abilities depending upon the type and nature of each stone. This is a devastating aspect of the world, because it both has the capacity to elevate or subordinate a person’s status, especially as they have no choice over what stone bonds with them. They are simply great characters themselves, and I can’t wait for the author to explore this further.

I can’t wait for Dawnchaser to be released. I need to know what happens next! This is a must read, especially for lovers of fantasy fiction.

The Summertide Chronicles:

✓ Gloombringer #1

◦ Dawnchaser #2 – Oct 3,2024

Buy Link

Gloombringer (The Summertide Chronicles Book 1)

Blurb

For decades, the four families who rule the Summerlands have been locked at an impasse. No one is fighting, but neither has anyone been speaking.

We don’t have time for that anymore.

Mount Slate, the volcano that sits in the middle of the Summerlands, is threatening to erupt, and only the four family heads working together can avert disaster.

As the right-hand man of the Gloombringer, it’s been up to me to convince first my boss, and now the rest to put aside their differences and work together for the good of the world. The problem is that not everyone is all that interested in the good of the world—not unless they get something out of it. Even worse, I now find myself distracted by the Moonstriker’s envoy, Rain. He’s intelligent and handsome and for the first time in my life, I’m struggling to focus on work. But I have to.

It’s up to us to save the world.

If we can.

Gloombringer is the first of four books in The Summertide Chronicles, featuring one right hand man trying to save the world, one future family head trying to seduce him, one woman badly in need of another drink, and a plethora of people trying to keep them from their goals. It ends with Rain and Adair’s HFN, but also contains an overarching storyline that will follow the entire series.

• Publication date: July 25, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 334 pages

Review: Off the Clock (Mount Hope Book 2) by Annabeth Albert

Rating: 4🌈

“What happens when a group of forty-something first responders come together to support their recently widowed best friend? The result is the MOUNT HOPE series”

That’s the overall theme for the stories grouped under this Mount Hope series and it’s an emotional, heartwarming concept. It hits home on so many levels, especially when Albert adds in her own familiar, well written elements. Readers of her many series aren’t surprised by returning military or veterans characters that carry their own issues, foster care children with special histories, or just threads that are layered with mental health, commitment issues and recognition of bi-sexuality. In other words, a lot of subjects areas are part of character’s development and histories.

Albert writes all that with amazing sensitivity and awareness. Especially veterans who have served overseas and returned home with internalized trauma, PTSD, or other mental health issues.

In Off the Clock, the veteran is freshly retired Army Ranger Tony Capo, 42, recovering from his injuries, returning home to Mount Hope to figure out his next step forward. In his case, he’s opted to hire on as a firefighter for the Mount Hope Fire Department. It’s a job he has wanted since he was a child and where he has old friends. But he’s also starting over as a much older man with younger colleagues, with all that encompasses mentally and emotionally.

One of those is Caleb, a young firefighter who appeared in the first book. Congenial, somewhat clumsy, he’s recently been named guardian of his troubled teenage brother. That brother has brought him an entire set of new issues to face as well as the new hire, Tony, he’s training.

Albert’s book is an age gap, mental health, multiple issues storyline. There’s much I admire about this book. It’s begins with the characters. Each are well written, beautifully defined, by their respective histories, their life experiences, and their personalities. They are believable and flawed.

The relationship dynamics between Tony and Caleb are among my favorite and least favorite things about the story. Their ability to communicate about each other’s feelings, their experiences with emotionally charged situations that have left each traumatized, whether it’s fires, missions, or childhood damage brought about by parental loss. Loss by death in Caleb’s family or in Tony’s case by his parents drug addiction and abandonment. As Albert powerfully describes it, “matching wounded kid emotions “ bonds them but is also keeping them from being together.

Tony and Caleb’s friendship and the surrounding support from friends and community is the best part about the narrative for me. My issues are with the romance. That part where Albert has two grown men hiding a sexual/romantic connection (one the town easily guesses at and is gossiping about) but that causes Caleb great emotional distress. Tony’s fears about being openly bisexual which directly pushes any relationship between them back into the closet does harm in multiple ways. Yes, the author repairs this to a degree when Tony works through his own personal issues, but it’s striking that even when they are in a committed relationship, it’s Caleb who has insecurities about where he stands with Tony. That shows an inequality that should have been understood by Tony given their backgrounds.

It’s a miss by the author and an unsatisfactory note for the romance and storyline.

The next novel in this series is yet another age gap, mental health issues storyline and I wish that Albert had used the promise found in the series arc to at least give us some more depth and variety among this interesting group of older men. A romantic story between men of the same age would be a great addition.

Off the Clock (Mount Hope Book 2) by Annabeth Albert is a good book, a nice addition to the series with some heartfelt moments and lovely characters.

Mount Hope series:

✓ Up All Night #1

✓ Off The Clock #2

◦ On The Edge #3 – Oct 31, 2024

Buy link

Off the Clock (Mount Hope Book 2)

Blurb:

Starting over after retiring as an Army Ranger shouldn’t be this hard…

For twenty years, I traveled the world as a special operations warrior. Newly retired at forty-two, I’m back in my hometown of Mount Hope, pursuing a second career as a small-town firefighter. My meddling sisters and best friends all have opinions about my life, but the only person who seems to truly understand me is Caleb, the younger firefighter tasked with my training.

After a lifetime of denying my attraction to other men, Caleb reminds me of everything I’ve missed out on. I’ve never even kissed a guy.

Until now.

Until Caleb.

Until I push our growing friendship to the next level. While sneaking around like a pair of teens, trying not to get caught by our coworkers, friends, and family, our sexy connection leads us to some…interesting places.

And it turns out that I like taking risks. I’ve never wanted a relationship, and neither of us should be fooling around with a coworker, but we keep courting danger.

The more time I spend with Caleb off and on the clock, the more I like him and the less certain I am about everything else in my life. The one thing I know for sure is that I can’t afford to lose this intense bond we share. Can we find our way from super secret to super real before the clock runs down on this fling?

OFF THE CLOCK features two coworkers with an age gap finding out that opposites really do attract and that first impressions aren’t always accurate. All the big emotions, small-town feels, and hot romance readers expect from this acclaimed author. While certain subplot threads continue throughout the series, each guaranteed happily ever after stands alone!

• Publisher: (July 25, 2024)

• Publication date: July 25, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 266 pages

Review: Silver & Gold : Seth and Raider Book 2 by Katherine Diane

Rating: 4.75🌈

Silver & Gold finishes the wonderful Seth and Raider duology by Katherine Diane and I’m so sorry to see such an exciting, well written adventure come to an end.

This series was my first introduction to Katherine Diane and Silver & Gold just established her as an author I will put on my must read list. The world building here is amazing, rich in various cultures, vibrant in sociological aspects of each country, and deep in the many mythical creatures and beings met here.

That’s just in the layers of foundation that the characters and storylines are threaded into as they go through their epic journey to find the villains, a mystical item, and a truth about Raider’s existence.

Diane does a fantastic job in telegraphing the horrors that have happened to Raider to make him full of quicksilver without being graphic in details. She lets the reader’s imagination become the foundation for the horrors of his past instead of letting a narrative slip it definitively into his scenario. This is more subtle and terrifying in my opinion.

Silver & Gold brings fascinating new insights and characters, particularly Julian, the young arcanist, and the ifrit Adavasti. I really need a new series that uses this pair as a central element.

There’s so many outstanding new details and magical elements that I wanted Diane to halt certain threads to explore the new things she just introduced. Whether it’s the type of carriages or new desert creatures, everything feels deserving of greater exploration. Or any of the related religions she created here that we saw temples for, right down to the riches and guards.

If I had any quibbles, it’s that this series could easily be expanded to include more books just due to the richness of the world and its inhabitants. Everything begs for greater understanding and attention. And more journeys.

The wounded, passionate dynamic between Seth and Raider feels like it’s just beginning as they set out on the next step in their lives. I want more of them too.

I really hope both are in our future. This duology is highly recommending. Just make sure to read them in the order they were written.

Seth and Raider Duology:

✓ Silk & Sand #1

✓ Silver & Gold #2

Buy Link

Silver & Gold: An MM Fantasy Romance Duology (Seth & Raider Book 2)

Blurb:

The revelations about Raider’s past have turned Seth’s simple manhunt into a complicated mess. He’s stepped into a tangled web of arcane mysteries and political machinations. As an experienced Curator for the Arcanum College, he can handle that. What he can’t quite handle is his feelings for Raider. There’s love—gods, he can’t deny that—but Raider’s lies have made a mess of Seth’s heart, his principles—and everything else. Because Raider himself is at the very center of this tangled web.

Raider has been running from his past for ten years. (And what was wrong with that? A strong cup of raaki, a bit of music, a gorgeously scowling Curator—what more could anyone want?) The past, however, has finally caught up with him. And if Raider wants to keep his gorgeously scowling Curator alive and well, he’s going to have to face those old nightmares—because he and Seth need each other.

Only together can they navigate the treacherous court of Empress Zarina. Only together can they survive a dangerous new mission that will take them deep into the unknown reaches of the Sands, where mythical creatures and ancient mysteries await.

Silver & Gold concludes the high-heat fantasy adventure begun in Silk & Sand. Get ready for more fabulous locations and deeper, darker secrets. And of course, all the action, humor, and sexy intensity that only these two gorgeous, complicated, irresistible men can deliver.

• Publication date: July 25, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 326 pages

Review: A Carriage of Misjustice (Lindenshaw Mysteries Book 5) by Charlie Cochrane

Rating: 3.5🌈

It’s been a while since I’d read this series, the last book I read being Old Sins. And I think coming back into a series after a long break and diving in at book 5 just highlights the importance of perhaps going back to the beginning and rereading the series again. Particularly with A Carriage of Misjustice because of some of the things I found within the novel ‘s narrative , and the issues that it raised in the choices made in the storytelling.

One of the aspects of the Lindenshaw Mysteries series, a cozy mystery in every sense of the trope, is that Cochrane has developed, over 5 books now, a real sense of the small village it’s set in , all the locations and its citizens. She’s crafted with great detail each person and history that the reader feels we know each main character. We’re there as they meet, and fall in love, as their relationship deepens amidst murders and throughout the investigations.

Its been an amazing journey, watching schoolteacher (now assistant headmaster) Adam Matthews and Inspector Robin Bright navigate through the obstacles of romance and their relationship while dealing with their own work dynamics, and then the murder Investigations that overlaps between them. That’s where that wonderful depth of communication and rapport starts to be built, book by book, connecting the reader to us while deepening the connection to each other. Adam, Robin, and, of course, their equally important Newfoundland, Campbell. That’s a huge dog.

What has remained consistent is the evolution of Adam and Robin’s relationship, their warmth and willingness to share their own opinions on matters and perspectives on the cases involved. Whatever issues arise, they face them together. And if, the investigations are lengthy and often the villain pegged a little too easily, the relationships are often the things that make the story.

That’s why I was surprised when, in A Carriage of Misjustice ,Cochrane chose to separate Adam and Robin for the entire story, with the exception of the beginning and end. That immediately removes, as they both remark, the things they (and the reader) miss. The discussions and relationship dynamics between them. All those moments and conversations we’ve come to expect. Replaced by Robin away on a murder investigation, fixing someone else’s problems. And Adam singing in a choir.

Another odd element? The readers are told Adam and Robin got married. A simple ceremony (although it sounds rather fun) but after everything the reader has been through with them, doesn’t feel very satisfying.

The mysteries here weren’t really complicated. Most of the time, it was Robin and Pru guiding a younger squad through an investigation that hadn’t been done properly and now needs another more serious investigation. So it’s police procedural time, with a call here and there home to Adam. For me, without the charm of their own village and their dynamics, my attention wasn’t there.

And that made other aspects stand out in ways they normally don’t. That’s the fact that Charlie Cochrane’s series is most definitely written in what I’ve heard termed “British speak “. And for non-British readers that presents certain linguistic challenges. Ones I noticed because I wasn’t as invested in the storyline.

It’s not just British in tone but in cultural context. If you’re American like me, then things like having an airing cupboard* or “a nick” or rozzer, a British slang word for police, just aren’t in our culture or vocabulary. So I admit to floundering a bit in terms of not knowing exactly what Cochrane was talking about or referencing occasionally. Thankfully, research is but a phone away. And it also made me think if American mysteries and novels equally present such a challenge to non-Americans in those terms. All that, still not quite into the novel.

So I do love this series, this isn’t one of the stronger books in the Lindenshaw Mysteries. I’m onto the next and recommend reading them in order. Read this to complete the series. And because they tell us that they got married.

Note:

*I did look into what exactly an airing cupboard was in British houses and was equally astonished to find in that same description that it was compared to American linen closets. Americans would not put warm, semi dry linens or clothes in a linen closet, not unless mold was our goal. Differences indeed.

Lindenshaw Mysteries:

✓ The Best Corpse for the Job #1

✓ Jury of One #2

✓ Two Feet Under #3

✓ Old Sins #4

✓ A Carriage of Misjustice #5

◦ Lock, Stock and Peril #6

◦ And Nothing But The Truth #7

Buy link

A Carriage of Misjustice (Lindenshaw Mysteries Book 5)

Blurb

Murder doesn’t care if you’re a newlywed.

Detective Chief Inspector Robin Bright and Deputy Headteacher Adam Matthews have just tied the knot, and all they want to do is sink into blissful domesticity. Unfortunately, there’s no chance of that when a chilling murder at a rugby ground takes Robin miles away to help his old boss solve it.

The mystery seems impossible to crack. Everyone with a motive has an alibi, and those without alibis don’t have a motive. Robin’s determined that this won’t be the case he’s unable to unravel. Not when he’s got his old boss to impress and a new team to lick into shape.

Back at home, Adam joins a fundraising choir to keep himself occupied. Surely a case that’s so far away won’t draw him in this time? Fate has other ideas, though, and danger turns up—quite literally—on his doorstep. He’ll need Campbell the Newfoundland for both company and protection this time around.

• Publisher: Riptide Publishing (May 11, 2020)

• Publication date: May 11, 2020

• Language: English

• Print length: 252 pages

Review: In The Nick of Time (Subpar Heroes novel) by Elle Keaton

Rating: 3.75🌈

In The Nick of Time by Elle Keaton is a great example of how a reader can absolutely enjoy and be engaged by a story while recognizing that it’s not exactly fulfilling expectations. Especially when it’s a part of a series with certain parameters.

Did I spend a lot of time laughing and appreciating the evolving dynamics between Agent Douglas Swanson ,aka Long Shot, and his newly acquired baby agent Nicholas Sedgwick? So much. The wonderful dialogue, the believable relationship that develops as they investigate the missing agents, and even the addition of Tim the sulcata tortoise, that works together to create a fast-paced, funny narrative.

It’s sexy, funny, full of surprises, small neat characters, Las Vegas, and enjoyable storytelling.

But in a series that’s about people who have super powers or powers of a less impressive nature, that’s not an element that is as well explored by the author here as I had hoped.

We understand immediately that Doug’s semi-retired and doesn’t use his superpower any longer due to a tragic event. But Nick’s perhaps more interesting abilities aren’t well explained. And during Keaton’s storytelling, any “uses” by Nick are often in “off the page” scenarios so the reader isn’t emotionally or visually involved.

The full promise the character has been showing is never reached as far as his detailed abilities. And a potential new one is never brought up again. The author leaves some elements underdeveloped. Just as Tim is left as Tim. He just is.

Even SPAM , the superpower /subpower organization, is not as well laid out as it should be.

In The Nick of Time (Subpar Heroes novel) by Elle Keaton is a story that I very much enjoyed. The characters are engaging and their relationship journey made my day. It certainly made me smile a lot. Check it out!

Subpar Heroes series- 15 books:

🔷The Accidental Necromancer by Liv Rancourt

🔷Behind the 8-Ball by A. E. Wasp

🔷Transparent Is a Color by Kaje Harper❤️

🔷Impossible Things by Alexa Land

🔷My Not-So-Super Blind Date by Allison Temple ❤️❤️

🔷An Ex-Hero’s Guide to Axe Handling by Jenn Burke ❤️❤️

🔷In The Nick of Time by Elle Keaton

🔷Static/Cling by Jaimie Samms 7/30/2024

🔷Spiritual Guidance Not Required by Jacy Braegan 8/1/2024

🔷What Could Go Wrong? By Toshi Drake 8/6/2024

🔷License to Chill by Chantal Mer 8/8/2024

🔷Code Name Dolittle by Lynn Michaels. 8/22/2024

🔷Signed, I’m Yours! By Rhys Lawless 8/29/2024

🔷A Taste of Danger by Morgan Brice. 9/5/2024

Buy links:

In the Nick of Time

Blurb:

Have you always thought you were special?

Perennially unemployed loner Nick Sedgewick applies to an online job opening with that exact phrase and expects nothing to come of it. It was likely a no-so-funny prank after all.

If Doug ‘Long Shot’ Swanson wanted a new work partner he’d hire one himself. He’s perfectly happy on his own and if he plays his cards right he’ll retire sooner rather than later. And he certainly wouldn’t hire an irritating spicy-candy-eating slacker who’d probably miss his own funeral.

But somebody is killing off agents and Nick’s new boss needs Doug and Nick to figure out who it is and put a stop to it. And if they accidentally fall in love along the way that is no one’s business but their own.

Neither man wants to be a hero. But maybe between the two of them, they can save the world. Or at least their little corner of it.

In the Nick of Time is a part of the multi-author Subpar Superheroes MM romance series

• Publisher: Dirty Dog Press LLC (July 25, 2024)

• Publication date: July 25, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 197 pages

Review: Something Borrowed (Confetti Hitched Book 2) by Lily Morton

Rating: 4.5🌈

I love it when I can giggle or laugh out loud when reading a book. It happens often when I’m thoroughly invested in one of Lily Morton’s contemporary romances. And it occurs again, right from the beginning, in Something Borrowed, the second in this author’s marvelous Confetti Hitched series.

That delicious, bubbly feeling engages when we meet the irrepressible wedding planner, Rafferty. That initial heart stopping, hilarious run to a wedding had me in tears, scenes so memorable, in and out of the story, I’m still in awe of Morton’s ability to write such visually comedic moments that also deliver great storytelling and multi-dimensional characters.

That’s pretty much how the author continues through this journey of a forever romance between two childhood friends. It’s hilarious, yet poignantly realistic with its emotional elements of Rafferty Kendrick’s dysfunctional childhood parenting, and Stan’s rapidly deteriorating vision. Morton’s especially close relationship to this topic is known to her followers but she also talks about it in a note at the end of the book. It’s just one more reason why this element and part of Stan’s character rings with such authenticity.

The focal point of this friends to lovers romance is Rafferty’s inability to commit to his romantic for Stan over his fear that he is just like his parents in their inability to make a relationship work . Alongside that runs Stan’s own personal fear of ruining their friendship by not asking Rafferty for more than the one they have.

I’ll admit an inability to communicate with each other isn’t an ideal element in a story but the surrounding threads and characters make it understandable, if not exactly what I wanted. But the scintillating dialogue, warmhearted humor, and believable relationships here overwhelmingly reinforce that the men here love each other and belong together.

Even Bennett the cad, as I often referred to him in my mind, couldn’t derail that. That bit with the promise didn’t come out as entirely plausible but needed as a dramatic push for Rafferty to move things forward.

And then it was lovely. And full of laughter and I was reminded how much I adore these characters and the writing of Lily Morton.

It’s a delightful story for lovers of contemporary romance and fans of this author. A definite win!

Confetti Hitched:

✓ Confetti Hearts #1

✓ Something Borrowed #2

Buy link

Something Borrowed

Blurb

Stan has never let his blindness hold him back, but he’s beginning to realise his love life is keeping him from moving forward.

He can’t remember a time when he wasn’t in love with his best friend. Rafferty is everything to him—his partner in crime, his confidante, and the person who understands him best. But Rafferty is incapable of reciprocating Stan’s feelings.

As a successful wedding planner, Rafferty is passionately committed to helping newlyweds begin their happily-ever-afters, but after a rootless childhood he’s equally determined not to seek his own. How can he trust in love and marriage when so many of his brides and grooms are repeat customers?

Stan is the glue that keeps the pieces of Rafferty’s life together, and as such Rafferty has always kept Stan safely in the friend box where he can’t lose him. However, lately that conviction has wavered and now Rafferty is bursting with complicated feelings for his best friend. The timing couldn’t be worse because Rafferty has realised he’s in love with Stan just as Stan is moving on.

Review: Malum Discordiae:(Tennebrose Book 1) by Ashlyn Drewek

Rating: 4.5🌈

“Put the skull down and let’s go already!”

The person holding a yellowed human skull in his hands is Cassius. Recently returned home from his six long years of boarding school confinement in England, Cassius Corbin, has an important magical mission in mind. His arrival sets off an array of explosive events and a Capulets/Montague romance that’s the dramatic storyline and serves to launch all the other knowledge to vividly capture this incredible world.

I had only read one other book by Drewek but this just cemented the author as a must read. The incredible characters of Cassius, the necromancer of the fallen Corbin family, and that of Graeme Hewitt, of the highly successful and politically placed Hewitt family, draw the reader into their feud and romance immediately. It’s a tale fraught with emotional pain, old wounds that date back to 1667, hidden secrets, and murderous mysteries. Absolutely compelling, especially when combined with growing magic and Tennebrose University that’s as divided as the two families.

Drewek’s done a fantastic job in introducing this universe, balancing the torn lovers, the mysteries, and the ancient secrets. And this time, we get a happy ending for our couple.

But before Drewek lets the reader in on exactly what this magical hunt is about, we get a glimpse and first look at the world of the paranormal that’s the town of Winslow. A old place where, living hidden among the normals, are every type of witchcraft, represented by old dynastic families , lineages complete with complex political dynamics and tortured historical backgrounds.

Did I feel it got tied up a lot quickly at the end? Yes. That feels rushed. But everything else is so well written that I’m hoping that future stories sort that element out.

In the meantime, there’s other aspects of this book I feel that need highlighting.

Drewek has created a highly detailed and informative Preface + Glossary as well as a short list of Latin terms that are used here. For those readers who love extra visual content, don’t miss out on the stunning handwriting family trees, Winslow Founding families list, charts, and other excellent pieces of narrative detailing.

Malum Discordiae:(Tennebrose Book 1) by Ashlyn Drewek was a terrific read and now I’m hooked. Headed to the next story! This is a definite recommendation!

Tennebrose series (a note indicated they are standalone books but the universe building is complex as is the events and relationships so I don’t agree with that):

🔹CALIGO—a short MM story about an eager grad student, his “crazy” history professor, and a trip to the woods in search of the infamous Winslow Witch. This is a newsletter exclusive.

🔹MALUM DISCORDIAE—a dark academia MM enemies-to-lovers paranormal romance about witches, Necromancers, and a blood feud that has lasted centuries.

🔹IGNI FERROQUE—a dark MM paranormal romance about a pious Necromancer and an incorrigible demon and what happens when their paths intersect.

🔹MORTEM OBIRE—a best-friends-to-lovers MM paranormal romance novella

Buy link

Malum Discordiae: An MM Enemies-to-Lovers Paranormal Romance (Tennebrose Book 1)

Blurb

After Cassius Corbin’s mother was murdered by fellow witches, he learned an invaluable lesson: death comes for us all—even Necromancers. Six years later, enrolling at Tennebrose University with vengeance on his mind, the last thing he expects is to come face to face with Graeme Hewitt, the son of his mother’s killer. As much as Cassius tries to avoid the naive weather witch, fate has other plans.

In spite of their families’ ongoing feud, they’re forced to work together if they have any hope of passing their required class. But as late nights and stolen moments turn to something more, a rash of demonic murders plagues the university. If they don’t get to the bottom of it, they could both be next.

MALUM DISCORDIAE is a dark academia, paranormal MM romance about witches, Necromancers, and a blood feud that has lasted centuries. It features plenty of steam, a lot of snark, and the pile of bodies you’d expect in a magical Romeo + Juliet retelling—except this one has a happy ending. It is intended for a mature audience and reader discretion is advised. A full list of triggers can be found in the front matter of the book and at my website under Tropes & Triggers.

• Publisher: Fox Hollow Books (March 28, 2022)

• Publication date: March 28, 2022

• Language: English

• Print length: 394 pages

Review: The Duke at Hazard by K. J. Charles

Rating: 4.5🌈

K.J. Charles has written another delightful novel in the Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune series, The Duke at Hazard. Here, a severely insulated Duke is robbed of his ducal ring during an anonymous encounter . To get it back, he makes a bet that he undertakes the task without use of his power and authority. For a month. If he loses, he forfeits his greys, his beloved horses.

Charles does a fantastic job in establishing the personality of Severn at the beginning of the story, then as a man out of his depth on this mission, then again as one who is finally finding himself on the road. It’s an astonishing journey of development and growth. And it happens along with that of another person’s remarkable story, and their relationship.

Severn becomes Cassian and journey companion to Daizell Charnage, a disgraced noble whose is helping him retrieve his ring . Along the way, each has experienced so much that they are able to recognize the men they both are , together and individually.

It’s a terrific story, the characters are well written, the universe authentic, and the relationship that builds is one that feels believable in its growth and obstacles encountered.

Additionally , Charles has included so many beautifully crafted side characters and well thought out elements here that together all add up to a truly satisfying experience for the reader. We enter into the story involved in Severn’s journey and then get fully invested until the final sentence.

There were a couple of things that I had issues with. One was the character of Leo, Cassian’s cousin. He was the one who prompted the bet, but it was his gambling problems that were real reason behind Leo wanting Cassian’s greys. And his attitude of entitlement and expectations from Cassian was deplorable. It made Leo a “tiresome” personality throughout the story, even afterwards when things had been resolved. I wonder if Charles realizes how thoroughly obnoxious he came across.

Lastly, the end feels too abrupt. We’re told what their future might look like but little is actually shown. It’s just cut off. I wish we might have been given a glimpse or two. That would have been very satisfying. But it’s a good ending and ties things together really well.

If you want to know further about the details of this story, see the author’s notes on the development of that all important card game and why the term silhouette isn’t used here. If you’re thinking about authenticity, this is exactly why everything rings so believable here. Charles does the work and layers it into the narrative. It shows in the depth and details.

I’m highly recommending this to all lovers of historical fiction and romance. And fans of this author, of course!

Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune books:

🔹The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting

🔹The Duke at Hazard

🔹Thief in the Night

Buy link:

uy links

Goodreads

Blurb:

The Duke of Severn is one of the greatest men in Britain.

He’s also short, quiet, and unimpressive. And now he’s been robbed, after indulging in one rash night with a strange man who stole the heirloom Severn ring from his finger. The Duke has to get it back, and he can’t let anyone know how he lost it. So when his cousin bets that he couldn’t survive without his privilege and title, the Duke grasps the opportunity to hunt down his ring-incognito.

Life as an ordinary person is terrifying…until the anonymous Duke meets Daizell Charnage, a disgraced gentleman, and hires him to help. Racing across the country in search of the thief, the Duke and Daizell fall into scrapes, into trouble-and in love.

Daizell has been excluded from polite society, his name tainted by his father’s crimes and his own misbehaviour. Now he dares to dream of a life somewhere out of sight with the quiet gentleman who’s stolen his heart. He doesn’t know that his lover is a hugely rich public figure with half a dozen titles. And when he finds out, it will risk everything they have…

• Publication date: July 18, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 326 pages

Review: The Wrong Familiar: Carnival of Mysteries 2 by Megan Derr

Rating: 4.5🌈

“Once more we bid you Welcome, Travelers, to Errante Ame’s Carnival of Mysteries! Join us for another round of fantastic, space-and-time spanning tales by a talented group of some of the best authors to be found in M/ M romance. Whether you enjoy mystery, action, danger, or just sweet romance, there is something for everyone at the Carnival!”

Many of this author’s books are on my fantasy rec list, and I always look forward to her novels. So when I saw that the multi-authors series, Carnival of Mysteries , was releasing a 2024 group of stories, I was excited to see The Wrong Familiar: Carnival of Mysteries 2 by Megan Derr among them.

The Wrong Familiar is a story that carries so many of the great qualities that I think of when reading a Derr novel. It has a great story, as well as characters that tug at you emotionally by their depth of personality and often angst-laden histories. The themes of loss, grief, self discovery, and love are woven together in a magical journey that culminates in a dramatic ending and our heroes happily sharing a home and a future.

As with so many of Megan Derr’s characters and the worlds she has created for them to inhabit, one book isn’t enough for all the exploration i want in this world and story. There’s so much detail and depth I needed to learn more about. That cave? We don’t see them returning there?

And it’s also the main characters themselves. Ninos, a sylven mage who has spent his whole life, since the age of 5, under the care and supervision of the professors and Headmaster of Havenbright Academy of Magic in the Iron Strike Mountains. He undergoes a tremendous transformation, from the insulated, naive young man he is at the beginning to the strong, independent, intelligent and powerful mage we recognize at the end. One who has just begun to learn how to connect with and explore the range of his abilities. More, I definitely have to read more about Ninos.

And with him, that’s Sinn, his Raven familiar, partner in all things magical and a mischievous mind of his own. Sinn’s journey is part of the story’s twists and turns here but he’s a fabulous character. Sinn too needs further exploration.

Derr’s narrative delivers action packed sequences, lovely animals as side characters, her usual wild imagery in terms of aspects of elements that effect the characters, and just intriguing notions thrown hither and yonder that subtly make you wonder.

Is the plot and overall story perfectly crafted? No, the family that all but abandoned Ninos is embraced without question or hesitation. The family themselves barely outlines. That section needed further attention.

Also when the villain appears, where’s his familiar? Although Derr gave us the answer as to what happens to them afterwards. That was a very good idea. Tie up that part beforehand.

My other concern was either an editor issue or possibly printing one. But it does show that even a small mistake shouldn’t be overlooked.

Towards the beginning, on one page a secondary character’s name is Tarsok. But several paragraphs later and he appears as Tarkan. Later on when he’s come back into the narrative, his name has reverted back to Tarsok. It’s a small mistake , one that could have been easily corrected. But wasn’t. And it made me doubt and double check every single name and title in the book instead of totally investing myself into the journey as I should have done.

Things like this take me out of the story and disconnect me from the characters. And it’s a quick fix. FYI.

The Wrong Familiar: Carnival of Mysteries 2 by Megan Derr is a book I highly enjoyed and one I’m recommending. Check it out alongside the new stories in this series.

Again, terrific covers.

Carnival of Mysteries 2 -2024

🔹Rook’s Time by Kim Fielding (sequel to Crow’s Fate-2023)

🔹The Wrong Familiar by Megan Derr✅

🔹The Villain Who Wasn’t by Liv Rancourt

🔹Blue Lightning by BL Maxwell

🔹Magic Escaping by Kaje Harper (sequel to Magic Burning 2023)

🔹Lighting the Darkness by Eden Winters – Aug 14,2024

🔹You Can Save Me by R L Merrill-Aug 21,2024

🔹Airs Above the Ground by Rachel Langella-Sept 10,2024

🔹Go for the Climate by Ander C. Lark

🔹 Flames of the Arcane by Nicole Dennis

🔹Midnight on the Midway by Morgan Brice

🔹Dust Bowl Magic by Zam Maxfield 🔹Dragonspark by Elizabeth Silver

Buy link

The Wrong Familiar: Carnival of Mysteries

Blurb

Ninos has been training all his life to be a sylvan mage. Trees, plants, herbs, flowers, fruits, berries, nuts—he knows them all, and he intends to use that knowledge for the good of his home, a village he has not seen in more than a decade.

The final step to becoming a full-fledged mage is the conjuring and binding of a familiar, a faithful companion and guide who will supplement his power and remain at his side the rest of his life. Instead of a sylvan familiar, like a unicorn or stag, however, something goes horribly awry and Ninos finds himself bound instead to Sinn, a raven familiar meant for dark magics.

Neither is happy about it. Ninos wants a familiar who can help him with life, with growing and restoring a place destroyed by fire and plague. Sinn should be helping to raise the dead or cast blood workings. They were never meant to meet, let alone be bound.

Bindings are permanent, however, and cannot be broken. Their only chance at setting this wrong to rights is to locate the dark mage that Sinn was meant for, hope they in turn have Ninos’ true familiar, and perform a rare but not impossible switch…

• Publisher: (July 17, 2024)

• Publication date: July 17, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 202 pages

Carnival of Mysteries series. 2023 and 2024:

✓ Crow’s Fate by Kim Fielding❤️

✓ Step Right Up by L.A. Witt

✓ Magic Burning by Kaje Harper ❤️

✓ Night-blooming Hearts by Megan Derr

✓ Go For The Company by Ander C. Lark❤️

✓ Roustabout by Morgan Brice❤️

✓ Assassin by Accident by E.J. Russell❤️

✓ Dryad on Fire by Nicole Dennis ❤️

✓ The Extraordinary Locket of Elijah Gray by Kayleigh Sky

✓ Smoke and Mirrors by Elizabeth Silver

✓ You Can Do Magic by R.L. Merrill

✓ Sting in the Tail by TA Moore

✓ Gods and Monsters by Rachel Langella

✓ The Black Robes of Flanders by Sara Ellis

Carnival of Mysteries 2 -2024

🔹Rook’s Time by Kim Fielding (sequel to Crow’s Fate-2023)

🔹The Wrong Familiar by Megan Derr

🔹The Villain Who Wasn’t by Liv Rancourt

🔹Blue Lightning by BL Maxwell

🔹Magic Escaping by Kaje Harper (sequel to Magic Burning 2023)

🔹Lighting the Darkness by Eden Winters – Aug 14,2024

🔹You Can Save Me by R L Merrill-Aug 21,2024

🔹Airs Above the Ground by Rachel Langella-Sept 10,2024

🔹Go for the Climate by Ander C.Lark

🔹Flames of the Arcane by Nicole Dennis

🔹Midnight on the Midway by Morgan Brice

🔹Dust Bowl Magic by Zam Maxfield 🔹Dragonspark by Elizabeth Silver