This fun little story is the start of a spin-off from Drake’s Lords of Discords vampire series. Luckily, since I’m unfamiliar with that series, Drake has made this , Princes of Mayhem, filled in with all the necessary details that’s it’s basically standalone .
Serialized at four books, you quickly fall into the universe of necromancer Skylar Wallace and his goth next-door neighbor Nolan Banks. It’s Nolan who’s in trouble and Sky, the Necromancer with the positive attitude and yellow sunshine house, who’s happy to step in to save the day.
Drake adds in just the rights amount of humor, horror, quirkiness, and terrific characters that carry the reader right through a plot that’s sort of murky.
What I was surprised at was the twist at the end which came with a cliffhanger. It took the story and this element in an unexpected direction. Really enjoyed this.
A cliffhanger isn’t uncommon in a serialized story. Instead, it’s almost a given.
I’ve listed the four books below. They will be released fairly quickly. I’m absolutely recommending this story! Highly entertaining! Can’t wait for the rest to roll out.
Great cover.
How the Necromancer in the Gold Vest Saved My Life:
Nolan is the hot but grumpy goth boy who lives across the street from perpetually sunny necromancer Sky.
Nolan wants nothing to do with Sky.
That is until his older brother is on the run from a local vampire clan after he failed to deliver on a promise.
Nolan is about to learn that vampires, shifters, witches, and magic are very real. He needs an expert to guide him through this dangerous world.
It’s Sky’s time to shine!
And just maybe he can win the heart of a grumpy introvert. (Assuming he doesn’t scare the man to death first.)
How the Necromancer in the Gold Vest Saved My Life is a serial comprising four novellas that follow the insane adventures of necromancer Skylar Wallace and his next-door neighbor Nolan Banks. This book contains vampires, werewolves, witches, underworld minions, danger, surprises, sassy corpses, and some pretty amazing sandwiches.
It’s been 6 months since I read Stitched Under Fire, the 2nd book in this series, so it took me awhile to remember what had happened to the characters and were we were in the various investigations.
Turns out Taken Under Fire it’s a very politically and racially charged atmosphere where xenophobia is ramping up, fueled by the revelations that the paranormal body parts could heal humans. Black market for paranormal body parts is off the charts.
Agents Maddox and Tristan have settled into a happy relationship, both personally and professionally. Tristan is still exploring his new, rare shifter identity as a Phoenix paranormal because no one is exactly sure what that means, and the P.I.S. (Paranormal Investigations Service) and the Police Department are coming together to try and figure out why their missing persons cases are overlapping.
The authors have so many storylines threading through their series and the above details don’t even include the personal aspects of Maddox’s and Tristan’s lives. Those are woven into the story too and will, obviously, have enormous impact on the main plot and main characters as the investigations and revelations continue.
And yes, there’s some whoppers as far as both shocking revelations and heart wrenching drama collide here at the end.
I love the universe that O’Connor and Lyn have created here that feels so very current and still so unearthly at the same time. Racism, or any ism appears , historically to have no ending time frame. That Xenophobia might be universal is an idea the authors are working with effectively, but also building in a horrific mystery/conspiracy that will continue forward into the next book.
It’s laid alongside the romance relationship of Tristan and Maddox, which takes a traumatic hit.
My issues with the story are that it’s so packed with drama and plot lines that the ending just stops. It doesn’t try to tie up anything but sets a path for the characters to move to the next stage in the investigations. Investigations that are getting murkier, higher up, and with greater danger for everyone involved.
So if that’s the sort of finish that leaves a reader a little frustrated, especially with no new book in sight, then perhaps you might want to consider waiting until the series is complete and binge reading it at that time.
This is a jam packed terrific paranormal thriller but it’s hard to consider it totally satisfying because of the ending. Love the characters, the shocking twists and emotional scenes. But it wasn’t enough. Close but no.
So I’ll wait for the next one to be released. And ponder my own reading decisions.
I love the series and will recommend it. You decide how to read it.
In a city divided, Agents Maddox and Tristan must protect the paranormal, unearth the truth, and prevent darkness from claiming all.
In the aftermath of the devastating destruction that befell the city six months ago, an ominous shroud now looms over them. Paranormals are vanishing at an alarming rate. As fear and suspicion cloud the minds of the city’s inhabitants, calls for drastic measures grow louder, igniting tensions between supernatural beings and humanity.
Maddox and Tristan receive a mysterious visitor who unveils a hidden truth: the supernatural realm they were told had been obliterated is not only intact but still has people living there. As the agents delve deeper into the enigma, they find themselves being threatened by an unknown opponent.
With the city teetering on the brink of an all-out war, the agents must act swiftly. They form an unprecedented alliance, uniting humans and paranormals in a new task force, breaking barriers that were once thought insurmountable.
Can they untangle the web of deception and find the missing paranormals before it’s too late? Only time will tell if their
courage and resilience will be enough to save the city and prevent a catastrophe that could alter the fate of both realms forever.
This series just got immeasurably better. Wild Fire, the third in this series about a clutch of dragonshifter brothers finding their fated mates, is my favorite to date.
It’s not that I find the authors, K.M. Neuhold and Mia Monroe, have just written two really fascinating characters, it’s that I don’t remember reading anything that resembles them in another book before. And that’s even more compelling here.
A dragon who’s uncaring about assembling his own hoard , and thrives in the cities and masses away from the smothering isolation of his brothers. And a wolfshifter who has a compulsion to amass a hoard , who needs his space away from his pack, who’s more interested in his own world than his pack’s. A yin looking for their yang.
This switch in characteristics is unexpected and so narratively rewarding.
It makes for a sensational journey or hunt when both Arson Drake and Draydon start on their remarkable continental quest for art treasures and find themselves falling into a surprising relationship with each other. One that carries definite overtones of Romeo and Juliet, as dragons and wolves are enemies up to this stage.
The two person perspective works so well as Arson and Draydon fight the attraction that pulls them together from country to country, their inner beasts empowering their decisions as well. The authors writing as Nix have given the reader two powerfully defined beings that are unique and unable to stay apart. And are trying to explain to themselves why, and if it even matters anymore.
Anything outside of that narratively has to come across as being less interesting because of how rich and powerful these two are.
The elements with the vampires are necessary for being the tool to bring the Montagues and Capulets together, I mean , dragons and wolves , but it comes across as just that. A narrative tool.
Could have been anything, unless it’s going to be included in another story.
Which is set up here by bringing in a new character and younger brother from another “clutch” who’s in trouble.
Interesting but there’s still a couple of unmatched brothers from the original group needing mates. Guess Lord and Tino will have to wait.
Anyway, Wild Fire (Drake Security #3) by Mika Nix is a sure fire winner. Fabulous characters, marvelously plotted romance, and twisted personality traits I really appreciated.
It helps to read the series in order to understand the characters, the events, and the relationships. Lake especially. He’s so over the top divine!
He’s my nemesis, my rival, and the man I can’t get out of my head. We may be star-crossed but there’s enough heat between us to start a wildfire.
I’ve never been one to follow the rules, but sleeping with a wolf shifter might be over the line, even for me. So, why can’t I get him out of my head? Or his scent out of my nose. Even on the other side of the world, I swear I can still smell him.
Everyone has a hobby, mine just happens to be stealing from the rich and powerful to give back to the rightful owners. A native art exhibit in Sydney is the last place I expected to see Draydon again. I can’t shake the feeling that he’s here for the same reason I am… and here I thought larceny couldn’t get any more fun.
I’m a dragon without a proper hoard and he’s too jaded to even trust his own pack. But we’ve already lit a fire that’s getting out of hand.
Stealing Draydon’s heart might be my most impossible heist yet.
Well that was as close to absolute perfection as I can remember reading in a series finale, especially one as intense, as incredibly complex as well as mentally challenging at times to read as this one.
I will miss this universe and characters so.
And it starts where Saffron Wilds ends, on that heartbreaker of a cliffhanger (spoiler alert for that novel) with the God Darkness having lodged itself firmly within the body of Nick King , San Amaro police detective/alchemist and now husband of Fae Parker Ferro, the Windrose of the Fae Courts.
But Kai Butler has created over the course of seven books a fascinating, magnificent labyrinthian plot that involves a World Tree with ties to worlds and thousands of realms outside of that of Earth, the Fae Courts and its duplicitous politics that extends beyond into eras long ago and the murderous schemes of the Gods, which can mean the end of everything.
And what Gods and power struggles Butler’s has thrown at us! Most are ones we have some knowledge of, even with the author’s twists and unique perspective on one’s such as the Mother, the Sun, Darkness, the Trickster (my personal favorite), and Santa Muerte, among the main gods.
Cypress Ashes offers up the most imaginatively beautiful to think about scenes and elements, one’s I’m still trying to wrap my mind around. Magical test battles between two great spirits, Reality and Distance, with one a titch drunk on the power being offered up. It’s witches, alchemists, Laurel (if you know you know), Nick, and Parker, trying to figure out a meaningful way to fight the Sun God and what that’s means to everyone’s moral compass and mental health. Huge questions the author is asking on multiple levels.
That’s only a tiny fraction of what this story has to offer up in terms of elaborate narrative design and exciting storytelling.
There’s Sugar, the incubus, Runt, the not cat, Prometheus, the demon not dog, all the great brownies characters from the garden, the blade Tremble that can bring lightning, the Five Dragons, every important element and character, and maybe quite a few that slipped under a reader’s notice from previous books. All have important roles to play here. Some villains even find a surprising redemption.
The power of family and love, whether it’s on a small or infinitely universal and complex scale is also a key here. Where Shannon, Parker’s foster mom is now a God, Mother , to be exact, the nurturing aspect of her being that saved Parker now becomes the element that helps save everything. And Parker’s love for Nick and San Amaro.
There’s so much that Butler pours into this finale , all the narrative threads that needed pulling together, the interwoven storylines of all sizes that we needed to know how they evolved and ended. We got it, as much as we could when gods are involved.
I expect Butler is ready to move on. But I’m not. So I’m diving back in, to experience this again and see what I missed out in the first reading.
What a wild ride, what a magnificent journey this has been! Don’t miss out!
But the books absolutely must be read in order for the characters growth, the revelations, and plot details to make sense. Enjoy the books and the ride! I’m highly recommending the series and this finale!
In the heart-pounding conclusion to the San Amaro Investigations series, Parker faces down enemies on all sides, including one within his own family. With his city under lockdown, Parker is fighting for everyone and everything that he cares about.
The fate of the thousand realms rests on his shoulders. What’s a local PI to do?
A sequel to Brimstone, Beefcakes expands on the original by making the focus the short notice celebrity wedding of the famous chefs of the first novel. But while we get those characters and the event, they are peripheral elements here.
Our new characters and romance are fantastically , in a twist, in the “supporting” roles to that event. Ones the wedding planner and the other the wedding baker.
L Eveland really goes all in here with Beefcake and gives us a romance of surprises, depth, and remarkable storytelling. It’s cupcakes, minotaurs, anxiety, porn, kink, and true love. Really, the elements contained within this storyline should overpower each other but instead Eveland uses them to enhance each character’s depth of personality.
The author also uses them to chart the relationship development of Ezra Higgins, highly anxious human wedding planner, and exuberant Minotaur Matteo Reyes, wedding baker.
I absolutely loved these two characters, so completely different, disregarding their species for the moment, but matching in their emotional needs for each other and in their chemistry.
Eveland has two areas of special significance here. One is the treatment of Ezra’s social anxiety disorder. We get to see its origins in his mother’s death, how it took over his life, and how with the help of his therapist, he has been able to get back to running his business. It’s a sensitive subject and the author does a terrific job in giving the reader a small glimpse of what it might be like living with the disorder.
The other element is Matteo’s kink that involves cooking and voyeurism. I really won’t go further with the explanation except to say I was wondering how the author would resolve this situation between Ezra and Matteo myself. What a fabulous solution! I loved it!
I throughly loved this entertaining tale of paranormal romance and a stressful wedding to end all weddings. The only reason it didn’t hit the 5 rating was that while all the other characters were passionate about their careers, Ezra wasn’t about his. He was only doing what was expected of him. And at the end , he was extending his time with Matteo without saying exactly what he was doing.
That left a great an impression of things being unsettled a bit . I wish Eveland had been a tad more finished here. But maybe that because there’s a third book in the works. Bluz, is coming. Werewolf BBQ anyone?
So I’m happily awaiting the third in this wonderfully wacky culinary series. Definitely recommending this and the one prior. Read them in order to understand the characters, relationships, and universe.
Wedding planner Ezra Higgins is having a bad day. He’s lost his phone, he’s got six weeks to plan the biggest wedding of his career, and now the minotaur baker won’t stop flirting with him.
It’s enough to make anyone’s anxiety spike.
But the minotaur owner of Beefcakes bakery, Matteo Reyes, has an oddly calming effect on Ezra, and he can’t stop thinking about him, no matter how hard he tries.
Matteo is sweet as salted caramel and twice as hot, but he’s off limits, especially since they have to work together.
Pulling off a televised celebrity wedding in less than ninety days? Doable. Resisting Matteo’s candy-coated charm in the process? Ezra can’t have his cake and eat it too…or can he?
Guarding Axel is the penultimate book in Jacobs’ Dark Forest Park series, so the series arc themes, which are plentiful, need to start coming together.
Axel Molhieth, a tormented Fae with full of secrets and a dark past has been a great source of mystery and interest for me and I think most people. Especially when it comes to the complicated relationship he has with the wolf shifter Talis.
Best friends until the enemy captures Axel , Talis, and others with a toxic Fae plant . The fallout from that traumatic event, destroys their close relationship, and sets the pack to guarding Axel against an old betrayer from his past.
I was looking forward to this story because of the hot chemistry between the were Talis and the Fae Axel but something happened and along the way, it dissipated under the weight of Axel’s overly complicated “secret “ and inability to trust within the storyline.
While Talis remains the tormented soul, denied his bond by Axel, by circumstances, hurt by the close proximity of Axel, Talis is the strongest character in the story. The most compelling.
That’s partly the reason why the story doesn’t work out as well. Both main characters need to balance out each other and, for me at least, they don’t.
Jacobs builds up this enormous amount of narrative suspense and anticipatory anguish around a secret that Axel’s been holding onto. It’s the one keeping him from having a relationship with Talis, why he’s causing so much drama and damage within the pack structure, so it should be something so earth shattering, so emotionally and physically traumatizing to makeup for all the harm the reader sees him causing for us to make sense of it all.
It’s one his cousin knows about. Btw.
But when it’s revealed, I kept waiting for the rest of the reveal. Thinking surely there’s more. There wasn’t.
And when his own cousin and the mate of the Alpha both tell Axel , the equivalent of “snap out of it” because you know better, this has been going on for too long, then either the secret wasn’t written well enough or this element was executed in a way that made Axel a character I just couldn’t connect with.
There’s far too many loose ends. I’m sure Jacobs will pick them up in the next book. But this just didn’t have the same feeling as the previous stories, at least as far as the main couple. I didn’t feel like Axel had a great relationship with either the pack or Talis, given his actions and inability to understand how they impacted those around him.
Usually Annabelle Jacobs does a great job explaining the dynamics behind those decisions and how the character comes back into balance. Here I never thought that happened.
I’m looking forward to Loving Jake, the series finale. And to seeing how everything plays out.
A silver-haired fae with a shattered heart—a green-eyed shifter with enough love to heal him.
Axel
Burnt by a past betrayal, I’ve learnt the hard way to keep my heart locked up tight. As tempting as Talis is, all I can offer is friendship, because trusting someone again is a risk I can’t take. Love means sharing the true nature of my magic, and the last time I did that it almost cost me my life.
Talis
I want what every shifter wants.
A mate, a partner. Someone I can call mine.
Axel Molhieth, beautiful and free-spirited, makes it crystal clear that isn’t him. Will never be him.
I know it’ll end badly for me, but I want him anyway.
One night is all it takes to ruin their friendship, and avoidance is the easy way out. But when Axel’s past catches up with him, putting his life in danger, they’re forced to finally face the consequences of their night together.
Guarding Axel is an MM paranormal romance featuring a protective shifter desperate for love, and a beautiful fae afraid to trust. Full of magic, suspense, and sizzling UST, with a guaranteed HEA.
London 1885. Someone is killing molly boys. Horribly.
And in a terrifying window into this horror mystery story, we get to know just enough of each victim to empathize with them, then be with them as they walk to their deaths.
I had no idea.
Victorian England is such a harsh country to reside for certain individuals. It’s most livable if you’re lucky enough to be born into the aristocracy, especially the first born sons with expectations of inheritance. Less lucky, the spares of the landed gentry. Not necessary for the inheritance, you are pushed into the strict religious world, or married off, generally dealt with. Unless you are blessed with money of your own.
For those who have (well hidden) feelings for the same sex or what’s considered perversions, it’s a time for social charades , for subtlety and masks of every kind to hide your sexual persuasions behind. Because to reveal your truths is to risk not only scandal, but prison , potentially death. It’s to lose everything.
Vaun Cassidy captures this era and marginalized society in every raw , detailed aspect of its aristocratic lifestyle. As well as the poorer people who are hanging on about its edges. There’s the sex parties, the hazy drugs, and flowing alcohol. The entitlement, the fear of discovery, and constant knowledge of being trapped in a lifetime of denial.
The aristocracy has its ways. All of which are done in secrecy. Hidden apartments and rented houses in certain neighborhoods, where passwords and marked passages are in use.
It’s glittery, sordid, over flowing with young boys and older men, richly decorated, dimly lit, and eerie with an atmosphere that makes you feel unsettled. Especially , eventually knowing a murderer is hunting.
Lord Everett Stanley is a spare. He’s bound for the clergy by his father’s instructions and agreements. And he’s dying inside. A beautiful man, he’s been extending the inevitable by endless partying with his closest friend, a wealthy sybarite who’s lucky enough to have control of his estate, the drugs and alcohol are plentiful as is the forbidden sex.
Until the deaths start. Of young men they know and recently partying with.
Inspector Archibald Franklin is in charge of the investigation, and it’s hitting him close with his own hidden secrets.
Vaun Cassidy’s does exemplary work here , from the rich, sordid atmosphere of the secretive “perverse” world of Victorian England to the emotionally powerful characters Cassidy whose lives we get involved in. The narrative builds in evoking both the horror of the victims in their innocence , moments before they die , the thoughts of the murderer as he stalks his victims, the complexities of the investigation , as the lives of Inspector Franklin and that of the desperate Stanley collide , along with that of the terrifying killer.
Truly, the storylines are mesmerizing in how the layers of voices combine to build a narrative that so enthralls the reader, even as it becomes horrifying, that you can’t pull away.
The slow relationship that becomes so meaningful and so fragile between Stanley and Franklin, given each man’s status and the circumstances of their lives. Fraught with uncertainty and hopelessness, and yet still so desperate to go forward.
It didn’t end as I hoped but probably as it had to. Which is a realistic embodiment of the era and a logical, thoughtful response to the author’s characterizations and storylines.
Our hopes fall in the anticipation for the next installment in the London Underground series and the hard scrabble endurance and creativity these characters have shown themselves capable of. I don’t know what the author has planned but it will certainly be something compelling and complex, possibly traumatic, and maybe with a glimmer of hope. Maybe not.
I’ll be there to see what happens next.
Highly recommend but not for those of a queasy stomach or too kind a heart. Beautifully written historical horror romance.
For Lord Everett Stanley, escaping his fate seemed impossible. As the second son, he’s destined for ordination and the life of a Reverend, but he’s hiding a dangerous secret. The laws punishing homosexuality by hanging may have been repealed but he and others of his kind are far from safe. Given no other choice, they take solace in the underground molly houses of London. Now that fragile world is threatened when the East End is rocked by a series of gruesome murders.
Inspector Archibald Franklin worked hard to overcome his working-class roots, making a name for himself as a respected inspector of Whitechapel’s H Division, but when he begins to investigate the deaths of several beautiful young men, fate throws him into the path of the handsome and enigmatic Lord Stanley. His gut instinct tells him the young lord knows more about the murders than he lets on, but the closer he gets, the more Everett calls to him in a way he’s tried to deny his whole life.
As a reign of terror grips London, they are drawn together in order to stop a monster, but for Archie, the growing feelings he has for Everett are a betrayal of the very laws he has sworn to uphold. And as the killer closes in, the two men find themselves bound together by a passion that may be their ultimate salvation or their utter destruction…
For Lord Everett Stanley, escaping his fate seemed impossible. As the second son, he’s destined for ordination and the life of a Reverend, but he’s hiding a dangerous secret. The laws punishing homosexuality by hanging may have been repealed but he and others of his kind are far from safe. Given no other choice, they take solace in the underground molly houses of London. Now that fragile world is threatened when the East End is rocked by a series of gruesome murders.
Inspector Archibald Franklin worked hard to overcome his working-class roots, making a name for himself as a respected inspector of Whitechapel’s H Division, but when he begins to investigate the deaths of several beautiful young men, fate throws him into the path of the handsome and enigmatic Lord Stanley. His gut instinct tells him the young lord knows more about the murders than he lets on, but the closer he gets, the more Everett calls to him in a way he’s tried to deny his whole life.
As a reign of terror grips London, they are drawn together in order to stop a monster, but for Archie, the growing feelings he has for Everett are a betrayal of the very laws he has sworn to uphold. And as the killer closes in, the two men find themselves bound together by a passion that may be their ultimate salvation or their utter destruction…
In Death Together is everything I expected it to be and yet it’s more!
I’ve come to have high expectations for this series. Rhodes has layered in a chilling storyline of a psychological horror thriller that has elements of pathological violence and stalking, abuses and non consent, obsession and death.
There’s a fabulous found family of paranormal beings headed by an ancient vampire who’s unlike any I’ve met in other works of fiction. Octavius and his human lover , Turney’s path to a forever relationship has been eventful and , here, shockingly horrifying. I shed so many tears. Why I didn’t think I would, I honestly don’t know. But I was as shattered by the first part of this story as was Octavius. It’s that Rhodes has done such an exemplary job in making us care for Turney that the events at the end of Keep It Together, those that double as the beginning of In Death Together, are emotionally draining and so full of pain even as they are expected.
The author’s skillfully wrought dynamic that’s so outwardly sexy and humorous between these two characters gets peeled away at the most powerful moments to reveal the depths of feeling and love that truly exists within their bond. One that death cannot break. Although it tries.
There’s other characters, and romantic relationships. Most within the found family. Some are promising, some are tragic, and one is unexpectedly lovely. The last is an explicit F/F romance. If this is an issue, skip over it, or this isn’t the book for you. I adore the couple.
There’s a battle unlike any other. But as Octavius is involved in the planning, wild things ensue! And horrible things as well. Rhodes’ narrative balancing act between comedy and pathos/horror teeters delicately even when bones are being smashed, and explosions are going off.
The ending is a cliffhanger. It sets up the final book , Forever Together.
I love In Death Together. I wept throughout all that excellently executed horror, and expected moments of untold emotional agony and guilt. Rhodes has given us , with Octavius and Turney , romantic relationships and deep love, hilarity and glitter, sexual hijinks and role playing moments that are so memorable they need bookmarks!
And a found family full of characters to treasure and journey with to their own destiny with happiness and love.
We have but one more book to see that happen.
I’m highly recommending In Death Together (The Undead Detective Agency #3) by Shelby Rhodes but make sure to read all the preceding books first. They must be read in the order that they were written.
You’ve returned… good! Octavius Evander here, your lovable vampire detective. So, where we ended things last time, everything had gone horribly wrong. What can really be said, besides that change is a fact of life, and unlife. Turney, my love, my heart—unfortunately, he has much change to deal with. No matter, we will all get through it together! Some of us will be getting through it together, much closer than we ever expected, if you know what I mean.
But, enough about that. On to the cases! We will have a new one come up, one with love and questionable family relationships, and even a murder! We don’t get to witness the murder, but we can’t always get what we want. Either way, it’s going to be fun.
Lastly, I suppose there is also the old case looming over us. The ‘pain in the ass’ case. Prepare yourselves for pain, blood, betrayal, glitter, and devastation. No, hint’s as to whose…but remember, this is a love story. Stop worrying, you silly humans. It will be fine.
CONTENT WARNING: This is an M/M paranormal romance book, with a little F/F on the side. There will be blood, violence, gore, mention of SA (no on-page details), and death. Please do not read if you find any of the previous situations triggering.
Luck of the Devil is the finale to Lark Taylor’ The Reckless Damned series. Each book has been the story of how each of the four rebelling sons of Lucifer has found their fated soulmate as a war has begun against Lucifer himself by his own high demons wanting to take control.
Luck of the Devil has the largest slate of items to accomplish, narratively speaking. And it’s get it done so well.
First off, there’s Dagon, fourth son of Lucifer and the last to be mated. He’s involved in a prophecy that includes Demetrius, an angel, who has appeared to be someone important to Dagon through the previous books but their full relationship wasn’t revealed until now.
And the fact that they are fated to be a triad. It’s the only way they can be together happily.
This is a M/M/M storyline, one that highly sexy, and, as written, makes sense, emotionally, for all the people involved. A demon, an angel, and a human.
Taylor’s story has to include the build up of a relationship between the three characters, and the discussions between the original two characters as to why their original bond failed as well as how Lucky is the missing part to make all three complete.
Not even close to being done with major storylines, there’s the major rebellion going on in Hell against Lucifer, one that’s threatening their own mates and lives above, there’s revelations from Demetrius’ past to deal with, Lucky’s present danger, and more.
All to flesh out, and then satisfactorily bring to a conclusion, while delivering battles, emotional high drama, sexual tension and hijinks, and deep loving soul bonds.
This is pure entertainment. It’s got something for everyone . And if you loved a couple from another book, well all the brothers and their mates are here and playing huge roles in this book. As are other noteworthy characters.
It seems Taylor is writing a new series that picks up with some of these characters when the events here conclude.
I can’t wait.
This series was a fabulous wild ride of fated mates, emotional drama, some well written traumatized characters and four HEA’s.
I’m hoping that they will pop up as visitors in the upcoming series.
Until then, I’m highly recommending this series and book. Read them in the order they are written for development of characters relationships and events.
One demon. One angel. A relationship that’s failed so many times. Could it really be just one human they’ve been missing?
Dagon
For centuries, Dimitri and I have tried to make it work. Each time we’ve been torn apart by our dominant natures, neither of us willing to back down. A hundred years ago, I thought he’d betrayed me in the worst possible way. In a fit of anger, we made a deal that led to my downfall.
Now Dimitri is back in my life, reshaping our history with the truth. But love still isn’t enough to make it work, not when being together tears us apart.
When he tells me he’s met our human mate, I can’t help but hope that Lucky will be the key to loving Dimitri the way I’ve always wanted.
But with Hell knocking at our door and an uprising threatening us all, can we persuade Lucky to give us a chance before it’s too late?
Dimitri
I haven’t given up on Dagon for one hundred years, and I won’t now.
When Lucky crosses my path, I finally understand why Dagon and I have never quite worked. Fate never intended us to be a couple…we were destined to be a triad. Lucky is the piece we need to complete us.
Winning Lucky over won’t be easy. Someone is hurting him, making him put up walls that are nearly impossible for us to cross.
But chasing Dagon has taught me that I’m a stubborn angel. I won’t give up on either of my mates.
Lucky
What an ironic nickname. Never in my life has anything lucky ever happened to me.
But everything changes when I meet Dagon and Dimitri. Two super-hot guys who aren’t put off by my inexperience? All my dreams are coming true.
Not for long though. Even with my boss and his family looking out for me, I know it’s only a matter of time before my past catches up to me.
So, for now, I’m going to soak up every drop of happiness Dimitri and Dagon have to offer.
Drink it up and pray they forgive me when I do what I always do.
Run…and don’t look back.
Luck of the Devil is an action-filled, fated-mates MMM paranormal romance with an HEA and no cliff-hanger. It is the final instalment in The Reckless Damned series, which is best enjoyed in order due to the overarching plot. Each book focuses on a different couple or triad and has an HEA
Charity Parkerson’s Once Upon a Bite series are meant, in her words, to “be short, fun paranormal romps to brighten your day.”
I think I’d like to ask the author if she knows what a romp is? If you consult a dictionary it’s often found as something that’s enjoyable and lively, often humorous. Maybe sexual and fast paced.
That does describe her first story, Little Pest.
But after that the series definitely removes itself from the romp category. And while the middle story has some interesting elements and a relationship that evolves from bite /bang into something approaching realness, this finale book is a series of moments where I ask myself should I DNF here.
And it’s a very short story.
This story has a teenage vampire , Aaron (Cosmic Cardio) who hasn’t recovered from the rape he suffered when he was turned . He falls into instant lust/love with a traumatized older psychologist who was bitten and turned by a vampire clown.
Wait it gets worse. And spoiler alert 🚨
The older psychologist, Jake, who’s now a baby vampire himself and dealing with that forced change , is also hiding the major issues. One being that he’s a heavily traumatized man, dealing with years of domestic abuse and violence. Oh yes. And he’s instantly having sex with, yes, the teenage vampire who found him.
The teenage vampire can hear Jake’s thoughts but he doesn’t tell him he’s listening instead he’s just pretending he’s hearing normally. Any flags here?
But wait there’s more! The teenager, Aaron ,who found Jake, the psychiatrist, was on his way to see his new , yep, psychiatrist. Who is Jake. Who starts to counsel him.
Much is made of the fact that now they are vampires, that changes perspectives on many things. Uh maybe not. I stopped throwing flags a while back. My arm got sore.
Then to wrap up, tiny fast forwards in time where everyone is in love, a bad guy has been vanquished, and HEA.
It’s a story where you read and you think it can’t be this bad. It will redeem itself and then it doesn’t.
Nothing narratively flows. That bit with the ex boyfriend is horrifying and should come with ginormous trigger warnings. Especially for anyone who has been a victim of Domestic violence or abuse. Especially the use of a deeply seated phobia against the victim to further increase the physical /emotional traumatic damage his stalker is causing. All of which the reader will experience with the victim on the page through his eyes and emotions.
That’s as far from funny or a romp as anything I can think of.
So no recommendations here, except for the first one in the series, Little Pest. Skip the rest.
Especially the last. It should come with trigger warnings for domestic violence and abuse, as well as rape recovery.
All Jake wants is a fresh start. He REALLY gets his wish. Now he’s trapped for eternity as a night dweller.
Only Jake could get attacked by a vampire clown the moment he moves his therapy practice to New Orleans. Fortunately, the town is rife with supernatural clients to keep his business afloat. But life has always enjoyed a good laugh at Jake’s expense, and he can’t stop thinking about one client in particular. The vampire who found him and saved him.
Having a vampire therapist is a bit of a dream come true for Aaron. He’s been needing one for a while. Aaron has a barrel full of issues to work out, and it’s easier if his therapist knows about the supernatural world. Unfortunately, Aaron never expected his therapist to be so hot, and they have a connection from day one. There’s no way for him to stay on task. Aaron doesn’t know if he’s getting better or if he’s falling in love. Truthfully, he’s also not sure if he cares anymore, as long as he gets to keep seeing Jake.
Must be Clowning Me is the third book in Charity Parkerson’s Once Upon a Bite series. These books are meant to be short, fun paranormal romps to brighten your day.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 