Death’s Rival was a fantastic read! It’s a chilling thrill a minute, a plague that threatens vampires, a powerful enemy with old ties to Jane’s history, and new characters who I absolutely adore.
Did I mention I love this book? And there’s traumatizing moments and betrayal too! I mean, it’s got everything.
One thing I really love is the addition of the Younger brothers, who form not only Jane’s first personal team but her own second foundation of a “family” outside of Molly. They start to act as a her needed buffer at times,when possible, between her, and the paranormal power struggles constantly present.
This also is the beginning of a long process of series reveals about the overall story threads and major plots being uncovered that center around Jane, MOC Leo, and the New Orleans territory.
Incredible storytelling, so exciting and satisfying. Highly recommended! Read them in the order they are written.
I wish I knew more about the artist who created the series covers because I really love them. Consistently great.
Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don’t want to cross—especially if you’re one of the undead…
For a vampire killer like Jane, having Leo Pellisier as a boss took some getting used to. But now, someone is out to take his place as Master Vampire of the city of New Orleans, and is not afraid to go through Jane to do it. After an attack that’s tantamount to a war declaration, Leo knows his rival is both powerful and vicious, but Leo’s not about to run scared. After all, he has Jane. But then, a plague strikes, one that takes down vampires and makes their masters easy prey.
Now, to uncover the identity of the vamp who wants Leo’s territory, and to find the cause of the vamp-plague, Jane will have to go to extremes…and maybe even to war.
Raven Cursed brings both aspects of Jane’s background and cultural heritage together in a truly momentous and compelling story. It sets in motion important elements that won’t surface in the series and for certain characters until books further on in this series. Yes, I’m farther ahead now. Just behind in my reviews. Binging will do that.
Jane continues to develop her skills and abilities, while exploring her Cherokee roots and lost memories, ones that are extremely traumatic for her.
Each book is so layered and complex with Hunter weaving patterns of multiple stories together that she’s building towards an even more powerful dark whole picture. There’s witch Molly, and Molly’s sister Evie’s unhinged behavior, and Molly’s important family members each with magical abilities and roles to play.
Plus there’s also the ongoing Rick/Bruiser potential for romance and intriguing aspects because Beast has her own perspective on mating that’s not always aligned with Jane’s. She has no use for monogamy and is basically a creature of solitude.
There’s new African weres as well.
Jane’s constant struggle with guilt and issues with her own role is my biggest issue here, other than the waffling over Ricky, who I’m not a fan of. Even in areas where she is obviously not the fault of the problem but assuming the burden anyway.
This does get old. But I will say this odd behavior is given an explanation further in the series as well as other aspects of her personality. The author pulls it all together.
Each book serves as a reference and meaningful building block for the series and character. Leo’s planning in depth, and there are many other things involved that can be overlooked here. I’ve double backed a couple of times already. FYI.
Enjoy the fantastic battle scenes, the weapons, the paranormal elements and creatures. The characters are developing and evolving.
Love this so much!
I wish I knew more about the artist who created the series covers because I really love them. Consistently great.
The vampires of Asheville, North Carolina, want to establish their own clan, but since they owe loyalty to the Master Vampire of New Orleans they must work out the terms with him. To come up with an equitable solution, he sends an envoy with the best bodyguard blood money can buy: Jane Yellowrock.
But when a group of local campers are attacked by something fanged, Jane goes from escort to investigator. Unless she wants to face a very angry mast vampire, she will have to work overtime to find the killer. It’s a good thing she’s worth every penny.
Mercy Blade is a book whose description is one I think was deliberately kept succinct and vague for a reason. And that was to keep the readers from any plot spoilers that might have been picked up from a longer blurb.
Mercy Blade itself opens up an entire introduction to new characters, paranormal species, and several areas of ways that the various beings govern themselves, or have the ability to.
Hunter has really constructed a complex universe that is just starting to emerge here. And it’s going to spread throughout the course of the series and over the country.
The few things I will say is that Mercy Blade sees the official emergence of a African black were-leopard group, in New Orleans to meet with Leo, a tumultuous revelation that includes Rick, and yet several more paranormal species that will have ongoing conflicts and roles for the future.
Jane’s life will be more heartbreaking, dangerous and in an unstable state where she’s scrambling for trust and support.
It’s a danger greater than anything before and makes for a fantastic story.
Jane, a shapeshifting vampire-hunter-for-hire, crosses paths with a stranger who has arrived in New Orleans, enlisted to hunt vampires who have gone insane-or so he says…
Jane Yellowrock quickly became my favorite main character from her introductory story and Blood Cross just continues my love for her complex paranormal if not completely known being. Her past traumatic history is slowly being rolled out by flashes of ancient memories returning and others sharing their knowledge of gods and mythology.
The enigma of Jane’s past is threaded throughout her current life of a rogue vampire hunter now temporarily living in New Orleans.
As a hidden skinwalker, she’s both Jane and Beast, the big mountain lion is now an integral part of Jane, despite continuing as a separate entity that Jane can change into, the main animal, although there’s others.
Blood Cross continues the plots laid out in the first book with Jane continuing to deal with the ramifications of those events. Leo, the Vampire Master of the City is still deeply grieving the loss of his son. He’s borderline insane and blames Jane for the death and is coming for her, even though she’s blameless.
There’s a rogue to catch and dispatch, multiple mysteries to investigate and resolve, and Jane’s traumatic past continues to haunt her in dreams and shattered memories.
The character development and complexity of series storytelling is incredible. The dynamic history and relationships between the different paranormal beings, the mythology, and cultural influences is amazing.
My only concern or issue is how Jane shoulders too much of the guilt of others due primarily to her being torn by her cultural identity. Her Christian beliefs and her lost memories of her Cherokee family and heritage.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out in future books.
One of paranormal fantasy’s toughest heroines is back on the prowl in this second installment of Faith Hunter’s New York Times bestselling Jane Yellowrock series
Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker and vampire hunter for hire. But lately, instead of just slaying vampires, she’s been working for them.
The vampire council has hired skinwalker Jane Yellowrock to hunt and kill one of their own who has broken sacred ancient rules-but Jane quickly realizes that in a community that is thousands of years old, loyalties run deep…
It only took 2 books but Faith Hunter has become not just a autobuy but an author I have to have and binge all of her series and books. And right now. She’s made my TBR pile so much longer! As if it wasn’t already out of control.
Did I tell you that she’s prolific and writes under two different names? Yep. And I’m just exploring one at the moment.
Hunter’s Urban fantasy series about a Cherokee skinwalker, Jane Yellowstone, who’s a traveling rogue vampire hunter is fantastic. A complete series, the first book was released in 2009, however, with the exception of some references to politicians and musicians from the same period, it’s still pretty current.
Jane Yellowstone’s past and her true nature is a fragmented history that will continue to be revealed over the series. It makes for a fascinating aspect of her story and adds more mystery to her character and series.
Her latest commission brings her to New Orleans, where she has been hired by the madam of Katies’s Ladies, a powerful woman vampire herself, to hunt down a rogue vampire who is killing other vampires in the city.
But nothing is that simple. And this turns into something layered with the mythology and magic of multiple mythologies and cultures. Foremost is the Cherokee skinwalker and other skin walker legends of various native tribes because it differs from tribal cultures. And Jane’s fractured memories leaves her trying to figure out where she falls in the spiritual spectrum. Is her skinwalker side dark or light?
And her enormous cat, the Beast that’s the main animal she can become, is a separate entity. Strong and entirely that of a creature that hunts and isn’t human in any sense of the way. The history behind the two of them is also a very strong part of her story.
New Orleans is beautifully portrayed, clearly by someone who loves and knows the city. Its locations are very well written and feel real.
The other characters here, from the wonderful women in Katies’s Ladies who make an indelible impression, to the various Vampire masters and their assistants who Jane gives nicknames, yes I love Troll so much, they made this a universe to sink into.
There’s potential romantic leads, each with their own secrets and unique personalities and agendas that make them poor choices. And the top Master Leo who’s obsessed with Jane’s ability and what type of unknown supernatural being she is.
Hunter is leaving much of Jane’s true identity and past unknown so it can slowly be revealed throughout the series. And the growth and development is something I really look forward to.
Meet shapeshifting skinwalker Jane Yellowrock in the first novel in the New York Times bestselling series that captures “the essence of urban fantasy” (SF Site).
Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind—a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she’s been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katies’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps.
Amidst a bordello full of real “ladies of the night,” and a hot Cajun biker with a panther tattoo who stirs her carnal desire, Jane must stay focused and complete her mission—or else the next skin she’ll need to save just may be her own…
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!
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?
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.
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.
“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
“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
I enjoyed Witches With Benefits (A Nightshade Detective Agency Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Amanda M. Lee but it’s a novel that, once you finish it, you realize, it doesn’t really have a lot of substance to it.
It’s like a bag of diet popcorn. You eat it. You enjoy eating it. You finish the bag. Then you think about the flavor that’s missing, the butter and the salt. All the ingredients, the great “stuff” that’s the reason why you eat popcorn. And then you realize you probably won’t be eating that brand anymore.
This is exactly like that.
It’s moves swiftly along with an interesting plot, on the surface. But then again, there’s no depth to anything. To the characters, the world building, the arc, the battles and especially the magic.
The missing sister aspect of the story? The one that is supposed to be the most traumatic and polarizing? It’s also the most inconsistent. We know nothing about the sister. And to pull the reader into this family’s tragic story,we should be able to see how much that sister and the family dynamic were real and believable. But we get nothing. No understanding of anyone or any kind of relationship other than briefly superficial.
In the following years, the father , parents are understood to have let the sister disappearance go. But Freya is said to both have become a detective to continue looking for her and also considers her sister dead. It’s a 50/50 thing depending upon what page you are on.
The characters around her have no discernible layers. That includes an alligator shifter who works with her , and a rich girl best friend who’s extremely irritating. It’s she’s rich and he’s a good old boy gator shifter from a large New Orleans family. That’s pretty much it. And the main character isn’t better developed.
Freya Holmes, a witch/vampire woman who has a hugely powerful vampire father (but only because we are told he is, no actual actions or abilities we see) and a powerful witch mother who is largely unknown. She has unique powers ( we’re told) that she “activates” the way that the Power Rangers do. As in “I’m going to be actively using my more powerful vampire powers now”. SMH
Then whoosh or whatever that powers are, it just happens. We don’t know what happens. It’s not written because Freya “blanks “ conveniently out. And any battle scene is over , bad guys are vanquished, and everyone is gazing at Freya in awe. That’s the scene. Everyone gazes at Freya in awe. Gods included.
I kid you not. That’s how all the battles are fought. No real fights. No powers for anyone seen or written out. Not even a KaBam. So poorly done.
On top of no magical abilities designed or written, the local gods and powers are shortchanged as well. It’s all mouth work. I’m gonna tell you how bad I am. Not going to show you anything but I’m definitely going to tell you that I’m pretty darn scary. Boo.
They are there but what they do? Not a clue.
Yes, there is a beginning of a romance. But they don’t have an adult relationship and the dialogue reads like 3 year olds in a sandbox. You did it, no I didn’t, yes you did.
No it’s not intelligent or particularly snarky.
So I’m leaving this here. There’s another book that will be published soon. But I don’t think it’s something I’m interested in.
You be the judge if this is what you want to read.
Freya Holmes is unique in an already eccentric city.
New Orleans may be a paranormal mecca but even in a world where every type of shifter and witch is commonplace, a vampire-witch hybrid is something to worship … and fear.
Freya has never been interested in her parents’ opulent world. She finds her power in magic, which is why she formed Nightshade Detective Agency in the first place. She’s interested in helping people … even when that help might come at the cost of her life.
Knox Cullen grew up on the poor side of New Orleans. His shifter genes allowed him to climb out of poverty and embrace a certain lifestyle as a paranormal bounty hunter. He can take a punch and throw one. He’s not ready for Freya, though.
When a local mobster ends up dead and the culprit appears to be a supernatural assassin, both Freya and Knox are on the case. Unfortunately, they have no intention of working together and two hard heads don’t make for a soft landing.
Freya has her hands full. In addition to Knox, who is hiding something big, there’s a paranormal investigation unit seeking a partnership that takes advantage of her hard work and their impressive reach. The Legacy Foundation has quite the reputation, as do the two people—Charlie and Jack—who approach her with an offer she might not be able to refuse. Can she trust them? Can she trust anybody?
The clock is ticking. Freya needs to save the French Quarter. Sadly, she might lose herself in the process.
Just outstanding. According to Harris, the author had originally intended Brutal Justice to become the finale for the series but this amazing character’s journey has become so complex and layered that one last novel was needed.
Harris with her goal of making this the penultimate narrative, fills this incredible story with so many shocking moments, absolutely stunning twists to the plot that makes sense once you see it but still makes the reader gasp in appreciation and shock that we didn’t see it coming.
This storyline brings Evie back to the trauma that set her on the path she’s taken in life, back to her kidnapping and torture.
Now she’s supported by Robbie, her fiancée and King of Orcs, her staff (and friends) through this journey.
It’s several investigations, and includes one of the most heinous criminals created, Jude Jingo.
The relationship between Robbie and Evie continues to be a very strong one, building on acknowledgement of their roles as well as their commitment towards each other. I love their dynamic.
Other crossover characters play important roles here as well, Amber and Bastion for example.
There’s thrilling, heartbreaking moments, scary battles, and shocking twists. None of which I’ll spoil. I hope no one else will either.
This and the characters are my favorites in this universe. I’ll be so sad when it’s over. But I still have one more novel to go.
What a thrilling read this is! Five stars!
Cover design by Christian Bentulan. Published by Hellhound Press Limited.
The Other Realm Universe: Should be read in order to understand the world and characters .Events and relationships build upon each other.
The Other Realm series
⭐️Glimmer of Dragons- Book 0.5 (a prequel story),
Glimmer of The Other- Book 1, Glimmer of Hope- Book 2,
Glimmer of Christmas – Book 2.5 (a Christmas tale),
Glimmer of Death – Book 3,
Glimmer of Deception – Book 4,
*It is recommended that you read The Other Wolf books 1 to 3 before continuing with
Challenge of the Court– Book 5,
Betrayal of the Court– Book 6
Revival of the Court– Book 7.
⭐️The Other Wolf Series
Defender of The Pack– Book 0.5 (a prequel story),
Protection of the Pack– Book 1, Guardians of the Pack– Book 2, Saviour of The Pack– Book 3, Awakening of the Pack – Book 4, Resurgence of the Pack – Book 5; and Ascension of the Pack – Book 6.
⭐️The Other Witch Series
Rune of the Witch – Book 0.5 (a prequel story),
Hex of the Witch– Book 1,
Coven of the Witch;– Book 2,
Familiar of the Witch– Book 3; and Destiny of the Witch – Book 4.
Death has changed bodies… and justice is about to get personal.
A dead dryad on my medical examiner’s lawn wasn’t how this week was supposed to start. But when I discover the victim was merely the latest body worn by the Other realm’s most notorious criminal, I realise this isn’t just murder.
It’s a possession.
Jude Jingo doesn’t kill the usual way. He steals lives from the inside out, jumping from body to body and leaving corpses in his wake. And now he’s wearing a face I recognise.
A face that’s getting dangerously close to someone I care about.
Officially, I’ve been ordered to close the case. Unofficially? I’m digging deeper. Because when a vampyr tries to gut me in the street and whispers about “orders”, I know this goes far beyond one dead dryad. Someone powerful wants this buried.
But I don’t bury murder.
With my rookie partner covering my back, my bonded bird raising hell, and an ogre king who takes threats against me very personally, I’m stepping off the books to hunt a body-stealing killer hiding in plain sight.
If I’m wrong, I’ll destroy an innocent man.
If I’m right, I’ll have to stop a monster wearing borrowed skin… without killing the man trapped inside.
No pressure.
Immerse yourself in The Other Detective Series – perfect for fans of supernatural crime, featuring a fierce heroine, political intrigue, brutal magic, and a slow-burn romance.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 