Category: Vampires

Review: Smoulder (Drake Security Book 2) by Mika Nix

Rating: 4🌈

It’s that cover! Couldn’t resist. So while I wasn’t really buying into some of the themes the authors (K.M. Neuhold and Mia Monroe are Mika Nix) created in book one, I went on and picked up the second novel in the series, Smoulder.

Turns out, it’s missing most but not all of the elements I had issues with and I found this entertaining and a fast, enjoyable read.

For starters, this dragon brother’s character is one that I really found interesting and more nuanced. Whereas Nico was all hot headed , action without thought, Hemingway is almost his opposite. A collector of antiquities, gems, and, most importantly, books, Hemingway is a thoughtful and layered personality.

Dempsey Ryan, Drake Security’s newest client and Hemingway’s future mate here is a terrific character in his own right. In his early forties and a collector of rare and unusual items, especially books and jewels, his personality and interests are crafted by the authors to mesh well with Hemingway’s so their chemistry and instant attraction to each other makes sense on multiple levels.

The readers just like them together and we just get it. The strongest part of this story is the romantic relationship, with Hemingway’s attitude towards and attempts at wooing Dempsey.

The mystery that has Dempsey needing protection is probably the weakest part of the narrative. It builds backwards, filling in facts just when the reader is asking questions about where that aspect of the story came about. It feels hurriedly filled in instead of part of a plot. And the ending was anticlimactic for all the events and drama building up to it. While it was a nice surprise and added a new powerful character to the group, it wasn’t the ending that fit the storyline that lead up to it.

Smoulder finishes with a wedding, a new start for a couple I throughly loved, and a hint as to who’s going to be next in line for their mate and novel.

As much as I enjoyed this I’ll be heading into the next episode to see how it all goes down.

I’m recommending this book and romance.

Drake Security:

✓ Hot Head #1

✓ Smoulder #2

Buy Link:

Smolder (Drake Security Book 2)

Description:

I was hired to protect him, but will our smoldering attraction ignite into love?

When my hot headed brother found his fated mate, a deep, aching desire opened up inside of me for my own. Everyone knows dragons are covetous, jealous… possessive. I am all of these things, but never more so than when I set my eyes on Dempsey for the first time.

Beautiful. Awkward. Sweet. Shy. Perfect. My dragon wants to wrap himself around him the moment he bumps into me outside of his antique shop. Dempsey, however, is not as keen on that idea as my inner beast is.

He hired Drake Security for protection, and he needs it even more than he realized. Unfortunately, we specialize in brute strength and burning sh*t to the ground, and the problem Dempsey has is way out of our league.

Is he my fated mate or am I just so desperate for one that I’m falling for him too fast? Either way, I’ll move heaven and hell to protect him, even if the forces that are after him are unlike anything I’ve dealt with before.

I’ve spent thousands of years hoarding books and storing their words close to my heart. Will the love stories that live inside my soul be enough to woo him? Is it too much to hope that fate has chosen him for me?

**** Smolder is book 2 in the Drake Security series and has a reluctant fated mate, dragon shifters, book swooning, ancient mysteries, and magic. Each book can be read on its own, but is so much better if read in order. The series is all dragons, NO MPREG.

Review: How to Defy a Vampire (VRC: Vampire Related Crimes Book 5) by Alice Winters

Rating: 4.5🌈

It’s was 2020 when we last saw a release in this series, so it took a while to remember what had happened and where we stood with all the characters and their relationships.

This paranormal series stood out from the beginning due to one of its main characters. That’s Finnegan “Finn” Hayes, a human police detective who comes to work for the VRC, the Vampire Related Crimes Unit. He’s a double amputee, arm and leg, both purposely cut off by a vampire with a master plan for Finn’s life, including total control.

That’s all discovered through convoluted, and disturbing revelations and plot threads in the beginning books. His outlook, his banter, all Finn’s way of dealing with the enormous horror he’s faced and the memories he carries. Winters never lets us or Finn, through his emotional struggles, forget that those special prosthetics (part of that horror) aren’t any true replacement for his missing limbs. They can break, the electronics can stop working, the nerves or specific cap where they attach has been damaged. It’s a believable portrait of a man who both needs his prostheses to feel complete and hates the vulnerability because of what he sees he becomes without them. A issue addressed further here.

I feel Finn is actually the most complex character Winters has created. And he continues to show character growth in small ways throughout the series.

His relationship with his partner, the ancient vampire, Marcus Church, is a terrific example. Marcus isn’t forthcoming about his bloody past , but it’s often his past that’s comes to confront them, forcing an exchange of information. As it happens here.

But Winters has a deeper scheme for the series arc apparently as she doubles, shockingly, back to Finn’s beginning.

I’ll say no more. But this is a real fear inducing storyline. And it’s only partially solved, leaving several threads open for discussion and potentially more huge issues and high drama.

We also get two new characters, both fascinating and engaging, and linked to both Finn and Marcus’ pasts.

Claude and Alexei are here and clearly more established in their relationship. I adore them.

I had forgotten how much I really love this series. It’s raw in its character complexity, scary in its story execution, and while it has it humorous moments, it remains a terrifying tale at heart with love always at risk.

Hopefully we won’t have to wait as long for the next installment.

Guts are torn out, heads fly, much violence. This is dark fiction at much of the time. Not something that you would want to read? Take notice.

Otherwise I’m recommending it highly. They must be read in the order they are written in order to understand the events and characters development.

VRC: Vampire Related Crimes series:

🔷How to Vex a Vampire #1

🔷How to Elude a Vampire #2

🔷How to Lure a Hunter #3

🔷How to Save a Human #4

🔷How to Defy a Vampire #5

Buy Link:

How to Defy a Vampire (VRC: Vampire Related Crimes Book 5)

Description:

Finn
Stumbling into a crime scene is pretty typical for me. As a human, joining the VRC has done everything but keep me out of trouble. And now I seem to be playing a part that I’d really rather not play… if I want to keep my head, that is.

By my side is my partner Marcus, a vampire who has vowed to tear the world apart—and even a mattress—to keep me safe. I want to do everything I can to protect my newfound family, no matter what we’re forced to face.

Marcus
When ghosts from my past step right into my path, I want to look the other way. I’d rather enjoy my life with Finn, figure out a way to make my brother less obnoxiously gaudy, and find out how to never go roller skating ever again.

Finn is the bravest person I’ve ever met, but he’s also a human and we’re working against some of the strongest vampires in existence. I’m left doing what I can to shield those dearest to me while trying to keep the past from consuming the present.

I can’t let the same mistakes happen again.

How to Defy a Vampire contains peculiar festive wear, misguided attempts at welcoming a human, and Marcus terrifying everyone as usual.

Review: Violent Mistake (Blackrose Brotherhood #2) by Ariana Nash

Rating: 4.25🌈

We met Kazi, aka Kazimir Skokan, vampire, who’s public face is that of a international internet sensation, a interesting facade for a member of a secretive society of powerful paranormal beings.

That’s the Brotherhood, a group of vampires hunting another equally ancient faction of vampires with a different allegiance towards the gods and the human race. It’s control Vs Chaos basically.

He’s on a kill mission when the story opens. His target a true crime reporter, Felix Quaid, with his Unexplained in Maine podcast, who refuses to stop digging into the affairs of the Brotherhood. Felix has to go.

Only the enemy intervenes.

Nash builds a story much like a traditional Smith Island cake, just one layer after another, until you have a thin, multiple level wonder. You may not be sure of what you’re getting until you’ve cut into it, grabbing that slice of scrumptiousness, finished it, and savoring all the ingredients.

That’s how I feel about all the many, many elements Nash introduces here and in the previous book. It’s like I’m staring at the cake but don’t know how it’s all going to work out yet.

It’s a lot and very ambitious. Here we have Kazi and Felix, their story and relationship. It veers off onto another continent. Picks up Felix’s history with his family. Picks up Kazi’s bloody backstory. What does get sidelined is the manner in which Felix “ lost” everything, his podcast, etc. That’s a fairly important thing to lose track of. But we do get a tiny glimpse into Felix’s family life. Kazi’s journey is rooted in history and location. Nash was outstanding in both.

But Nash has a lot of narrative ground to cover. We have to establish a meaningful relationship between two former enemies, bring about a change of heart within Kazi about humans and their role in the world (as well as with himself). Nash also has the enemy there to expound on their own destiny, mission, you know how a big bad absolutely MUST make speeches about themselves. It’s in the Evil Handbook. All the while, moving the storylines forward with enormous amounts of drama and angst.

There’s several really great twists, one that’s going to bring the sniffles out as well.

But the author isn’t finished. Smith Island Cake remember? There’s genetics, explosions, betrayals (sorry, but everyone will see who the baddie is in this instance), and more loose end mysteries. All that isn’t revealed or relayed in any satisfactory manner in the story other than bare minimum at the end.

At the end, I just had way too many unanswered questions to the unresolved aspects of this story to feel satisfied. I really liked it, but didn’t love it.

And really know one is talking about Mikalis to each other?

There’s no mention yet of the next installment. I’ll be waiting for an update.

I find the elements and promise here fascinating. If you’re a fan of this author and paranormal fiction, you decide whether to wait until more of this series is released to read the stories or read along as they are published.

I’m recommending it because I’m just as curious as the rest of you.

Blackrose Brotherhood series:

✓ Violent Desire #1

✓ Violent Mistake #2

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showViolent Mistake (Blackrose Brotherhood #2) by Ariana Nash

Description:

Internet sensation Kazimir Skokan, is loved around the world for his luxury photoshoots and envious lifestyle. But Felix Quaid has never hated a man more. Ex-investigative journalist turned true-crime podcaster, Felix knows something is off with playboy Kazi. From the late-night back-alley meetings to the people around him who later vanish, behind Kazimir’s flashy smile, he’s rotten to his core. Not to mention rumors of darker, dangerous, some-say supernatural occurrences around Kazimir. Felix even has photos to prove it.

But the last time he tried to expose Kazimir Skokan, his story was inexplicably shut down, taking Felix’s career as a journalist with it. Kazimir owes him the truth. And Felix is going to make sure the whole world knows it.

*

Kazi has new orders. Kill Felix Quaid. The Blackrose brotherhood leader, Mikalis, is never wrong. But in this, Kazi disagrees. Sure, Quaid is a pest, perhaps even a stalker, but no more than any other overzealous fan. Still, what Mikalis wants, Mikalis gets. And what’s another dead meat-bag to Kazi anyway? He stopped caring who lived and who died long ago.

Making Quaid disappear should have been easy. But in Quaid’s final, crucial moments, a pack of cult members kidnap them both, mistaking Quaid for a member of the brotherhood. Now, trapped together, their time running out, Kazi must work with Quaid if they’re to survive the insane Nyx-worshipping acolytes.

But as soon as they escape, Mikalis’s orders will still stand: Quaid must die.

Kazi thought he’d long ago given up on caring who lived and who died. Apparently, he was wrong…

*

Sparks fly in the second book in the all-new gay vampire psychopathic romance. Please note these books contain morally grey characters, unlikable heroes, enemies to lovers, and all the Ariana Nash angst you didn’t know you needed.

Each book in the series follows a new MM couple and ends in a HEA/HFN. This series is fast burn.

Review: Violent Desire (Blackrose Brotherhood #1) by Ariana Nash

Rating: 4.25🌈

I’m a fan of Ariana Nash’s books. This author’s highly imaginative ability to create exciting stories and interesting , layered characters in urban fantasy or paranormal worlds just captivates me.

Violent Desire sees Nash plunging into the world of chaos and darkness by way of warring factions of vampires, unknown to the human population. It’s a campaign that spreads across the globe and has been ongoing for centuries. Perhaps since the beginning of creation.

Nash starts In immediately with the dark elements. It’s that sort of story that comes with trigger warnings at the beginning.

Everyone here is a murderous sort of person. The body count is extremely high. These aren’t your sparkly vampires. Even the “good guy “ vampires aren’t especially good. All are killers, just with more rules.

Nash threads the world building with more myths and mysteries than actual facts which is a bit frustrating but probably speaks towards the plots coming in the future stories, if I’m picking up on the hints here.

Trust no one. Got it.

Det.Eric Sharpe is a grieving, determined man on a course of revenge when we meet him. That’s the first layer, which when pealed away when a plan goes so wrong, reveals the brutalized, traumatized man his broken mind has tried to forget.

Nash does this type of character so well. Someone who’s undergone immense trauma, undeniable pain and suffering, been brutalized and is still struggling with the mental and emotional effects. In Eric’s case, it’s even more complicated because his is has its origins in something so monstrous no one believed him.

It’s such a great hook. As one of our narrators, it pulls you in emotionally and you stay connected, even as he struggles through the darkness of his past. FYI, trigger warnings.

The other narrator is a vampire. Honestly, I found him less compelling, at least until towards the end. Zaine, one of the Brotherhood. It’s hard for Zaine, even as a vampire, to match up with the pathos and complexity that is Eric. We just get bits and pieces of Zaine’s history, a lot of posturing at Atlas, the headquarters of the Brotherhood, but not a ton of depth.

The hunt is focused around a old vampire named Sebastian, who has ties to Eric. So the story’s narrative “dance” remains in many respects on Eric and Sebastian, not Eric and Zaine. And the boss of the Brotherhood. Hmmmmm.

Plus there’s so many twists that Nash is weaving into the series and story that have no solution here. Fascinating mysteries that will flow all the way through the series and probably other characters, as has happened with other series.

So I’m recommending this book and I’m onto the next.

It features another couple. That should be interesting. I’ll let you know. I always am up for new takes on the paranormal and their origins. Should be quite the ride!

Blackrose Brotherhood series:

✓ Violent Desire #1

◦ Violent Mistake #2

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showViolent Desire (Blackrose Brotherhood #1) by Ariana Nash

Description:

Twelve immortals, twelve outcasts, one mission.
To kill their own kind, before it’s too late.

Detective, killer, vigilante. Eric Sharpe is tired of watching criminals walk free. When a lowlife drug dealer kills his partner and escapes justice, Eric plots his own revenge. His plan is faultless but for one thing: the handsome, mysterious man who arrives moments before Eric’s plan comes to fruition. Not only does the mysterious man know Eric’s an undercover cop, he knows exactly what Eric did fifteen years ago—an event so traumatic Eric has been trying to bury it ever since. And the mysterious man? Fifteen years ago, Eric killed him.


Now he’s back to reclaim what’s his: Detective Eric Sharpe.

Immortal, predator, vampire. After betraying himself and the Blackrose Brotherhood fifty years ago, Zaine can’t afford another mistake. There’s one rule above all others the Brotherhood stand by. One rule that can never be broken. Never, ever care. All Zaine has to do is hunt and kill the savage nyktelios vampires and keep his head down. And he was doing just fine until he saved Detective Eric Sharpe from a vicious vampire attack. He can’t stop thinking about the intelligent, handsome, haunted man. Walking away is the right thing to do, but the detective and Zaine are hunting the same killer—a vampire who knows more about both of them and the Brotherhood than anyone realizes.

A vampire seeking to bring down the Brotherhood for good.

Zaine can’t walk away. Eric won’t walk away. The vampire must be stopped, Brotherhood rules be damned, and they’ll go down fighting together to end him.

***

Violent Desire is the first book in an all-new fast-burn MM paranormal romance series. Each book features a new gay couple ending in a HEA/HFN.

Content notice: These are adult books with dark content. These vampires do not sparkle. They’re relentless in their mission. They do bad things for good reasons, and some do good things for terrible reasons. They DO NOT CARE. The members of the brotherhood have been described as psychopaths with fangs.

For content warning, see the paperback copyright page.

Review: Twice Bitten: A Blood Bonds novella (Mismatched Mates Book 9) by Eliot Grayson

Rating: 4.5🌈

Twice Bitten is a great example why I enjoy the writing of Eliot Grayson. Its well written, snarky, it’s characters have great back stories and layered personalities.

Located in Grayson’s Blood Bonds series universe, Twice Bitten is the story of two bitter Paranormals , one a vampire enforcer with a secret. The other a werewolf Alpha seeking a wayward mate who’s caused unbearable damage in his wake. They cross paths when the Alpha, Jack comes looking for aid outward his own territory in locating his mate and finds Angelo, the high ranking enforcer for the Vampire whose territory he’s in.

Grayson’s tale then starts revealing all the details about the paranormal politics surrounding Jack’s arrival in their territory, Angelo’s past and current emotional struggles with mates and mating, and the secrets that lie behind the scenes.

All that drama, and it’s not without humor. There’s some wonderful moments of comedy.

The two person POV works to give the reader advantage as to the characters secrets and struggles before they reveal them to the other person. So we get a better understanding of their motivations for their actions and emotions.

I enjoyed seeing some of the characters from the other Blood Bond stories but it’s not necessary to read them to understand this.

My only slight regret is that I felt that Angelo’s issue was handled, off page, too quickly and conveniently, for the powerful aspect that it was to his character. I felt it should have been a bigger part of the ending.

That aside, I really enjoyed the story, this couple, and their journey towards a HEA.

I’m highly recommending it. And check out the Mismatched Mates series too if a Paranormal romance is your thing!

Mismatched Mates series:

✓ The Alpha’s Warlock #1

◦ Captive Mate #2

✓ A Very Armitage Christmas #3

✓ First Blood #4

◦ The Alpha Experiment #5

◦ Lost and Bound #6

◦ Lost Touch #7

◦ The Alpha Contract #8

✓ Twice Bitten (A Blood Bonds Novella) #9

Description:

A werewolf walks into a vampire bar… ouch.

Vampire enforcer Angelo has enough problems already, and a tall, dark, and irritating alpha werewolf is the last thing he needs.

With his cheating, murderous mate on the run, Jack’s looking for help from the local authorities—who assign Angelo to solve the problem quickly.

They don’t have anything in common on paper, but sharing magical compatibility, a sense of humor, and a common goal can build a bond—whether mundane or otherwise. Even when another bond’s impossible…

Warning: Contains magical attack scorpions, knotting, and a vampire who’s desperate to avoid ruining his suit, falling in love, or other catastrophes. Spoiler alert: He falls in love. Does he ruin his suit, though? Read and find out! Happy ending guaranteed.

Review: Cat’s Chance in Hell:(Charm City Chronicles Book 2) by Meghan Maslow

Rating: 4.75🌈

It was so easy to fall back into Meghan Maslow’s rich paranormal universe of Charm City Chronicles. Baltimore or if you’re local then it’s “Bawlmer” or “Bawl-ah-mur.” A city so rich in varied cultures, a startling variety of architectural styles, and history that it’s a place to overwhelm your senses. In good and, *cough* bad ways.

Maslow’s setting is both a love letter and an acknowledgment of the reality of life in every aspect and area of that old (by American standards) city. Resting place of Poe, birthplace of the nation’s anthem, with the wildness of the Bay at its side, surely magic must exist there.

As it does in the series. Vampires, werewolves, shifters, and a Demon! Oh my!

In Demon’s In The Details, our initial introduction to the Demon Tommy Tittoti and his mate, the Raven shifter, Poe Dupin, we met Tommy’s assistant, Carter Strike.

Sassy, snarky, sexy Siamese shifter, Carter Strike. Exceptionally gifted when it comes to gathering information about Tommy’s enemies, he’s not afraid to take risks to get what he’s looking for.

We instantly adored him. And wanted more.

We get it when he runs through and smack into Bengal Damon-Cowles, the Roger or head of the South-West Baltimore territory. That starts an explosive relationship between him and Damon-Cowles, a Rakshasa, a powerful being of secretive origins.

Maslow’s story has launched a new storyline with this book that’s full of mystery, packed with potential dread and suspense for all our favorite characters going forward, and yes, there’s a bit of a cliffhanger at the end.

There’s just no way to go into any aspect of this book without giving away some secrets or important information that would spoil something for the reader.

I will say I wasn’t expecting the romance elements and that turned out to be so very satisfying.

Now I need that all important next installment. Asap!

I’m definitely recommending this. But if cliffhangers make you crazy, you decide if you want to wait until the next book is released and then read one after the other.

I’ve listed the books in the order below.

Charm City Chronicles:

✓ Demon’s In The Details

✓ Cat’s Chance In Hell

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Cats-Ch…Cat’s Chance in Hell: An MM Paranormal Romance (Charm City Chronicles Book 2)

Description:

When a feline fatale meets his magical match, Baltimore might just go up in flames.

I, Carter Strike, Siamese shifter extraordinaire and a powerful demon’s right-hand cat . . .er, man, have a job to do. My boss’ boy toy is in the crosshairs of an unknown assassin. And when my boss is unhappy, all of Charm City burns.

That’s where I come in. Intel is my specialty and leads me to the doorstep of one drop-dead gorgeous but annoyingly secretive Rakshasa.

Bengal Damon-Cowles—even his name is obnoxious—runs South-West Baltimore and is nothing if not frustratingly contrary. I don’t care if he is a demi-god among shifters, I don’t need the complications from a sexy as sin Rakshasa with the utter gall to turn down a fine piece of feline-fantasy like myself. Especially when we’re forced to work together. Except, every day we spend in close proximity turns up the heat between us.

A roomful of secrets, a looming Nor’Easter, and friends with questionable—or nonexistent—morals, add gasoline to the blaze. As the stakes climb ever higher, and people start dying, I’ve got a cat’s chance in hell of coming out of this one unscorched.

Cat’s Chance in Hell is a 113k snarktastic, size difference, forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, car-careening-out-of-control romance with a guaranteed happy ending and lots of steam. Shenanigans include: a catnapping gone very, very wrong, a hot pot incident that will go down in infamy, and a Rakshasa with more layers than a Smith Island Cake.

Review: Chasing Shadows (Daemons of San DeLain Book 1) by M.A. Church

Rating: 3.5🌈

Chasing Shadows is the first book in M.A. Church’s new Daemons of San DeLain series. A paranormal romance, the theme and background of the central characters hints at a darker story than it turns out to be.

A physically abused child is saved from his father’s continuing brutality by a monster that’s hiding under his bed. One who announces to the child that he belongs to him.

Church could have gone so dark with that storyline but instead the monster turns out to be a guardian who acts as protector, friend, and nothing more until the boy ages. He’s been a unseen companion, a voice and glimpses of darkness under the bed.

It’s not until Austin’s an adult with a career as a successful paranormal romance author that events cause a meeting that brings them finally face to face.

Church’s universe for this series has many of the usual paranormal characters as well as the new shadow daemons the author’s created. I found so many aspects about them interesting, the use of shadows to travel. Portals. The fact that there’s gender differences in appearances. That puzzled me btw. Why automatically assume or assign gender to daemons? Why not make coloration differences according to age?

At any rate, Kage, the head of his Daemons clan, aka the Monster under the bed, just doesn’t come across as all that monstrous. Courtly, old. Just not the feared being he’s supposed to be across all paranormal species.

That’s a factor here all through the various storylines. None of the hunters, werewolves, dragons, seem especially threatening.

The promise the dark elements threaded through the description shows never arrives. Which is fine if you like your paranormal romance on the light side.

Chasing Shadows , for me, is a lighter styled romance. There’s fated mates but no kink or wild sex that you’d expect from a daemon who’s claiming his long awaited mate. The story has some mystery, some suspense but ,again nothing chilling or high anxiety.

The relationships, the danger, even the mating bond itself was more along the quick entertainment level then anything with deeper narrative expectations.

If that’s what you want in a paranormal romance, or even something you’re looking for right now, check out the beginning of this new series, Chasing Shadows (Daemons of San DeLain Book 1) by M.A. Church .

Daemons of San DeLain series:

Chasing Shadows #1

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showChasing Shadows by M.A. Church

Description:

The monster: They say I am powerful. They say I am the darkness. They say I instill fear in the minds and hearts of many.

They’re right.

I am powerful. I am the darkness. I should be feared. Then I heard his cries and everything changed. Power can be tempered. There’s safety in the darkness. And the monster isn’t always the one under the bed.

Now only the heart and mind of one human interests me. He is mine. I wait, watching over him until the time is right to claim what belongs to me.

Austin: Do you believe there are monsters under the bed? I do. I don’t just believe; I know for a fact they exist. I’ve met one. Sort of. Okay, I haven’t actually seen the monster, I’ve only spoken to it.

Kind of hard to see much of anything when you’re hiding under the covers while waiting on your father to beat your ass. The monster saved me. Literally. He says I’m his, and he’s waiting for the right time to claim me.

Someone tell him to hurry the hell up.

—-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer

Review: The Dog in the Alley (Beyond the Veil Book 4) by K. M. Avery

Rating: 4.5🌈

The Dog in the Alley switches over from focusing on the relationship between medium/warlock Edward Campion and his partner Dr Mason Manning, orc, witch and respected historian and Edward’s magical growth. That’s was the primary theme of books one to three.

Now the focus turns to Detective Valentine Hart a great character and personal favorite. Hart, an important element in all the prior stories, was changed by the Arcanavirus into a 6’5” violet eyed gorgeous elf who presents himself as a coldly effective, wry, snarky personality who barely tolerates the bureaucracy of the political system and police department he works within. He’s gruff, unbearably rough while being one of the few types of Nids the human population can tolerate simply because he’s beautiful, a elf Fairy Prince of the folklore made a breathing being. Unlike the ghouls, vampires, death witches, shifters and other beings once formerly human who are hated, protested against, and even killed.

Here K. M. Avery explores Hart’s surprising history, reveals the true nature underneath the “sarcastic , cold“ persona Hart uses as a shield,

and brings in a shatteringly horrific case that both ties into the previous stories and yet adds another layer of the growing abuse that the Nid population is suffering under.

Avery also introduces several characters that are just fascinating. One is the dog of the title. I have a slight issue in that we only get partial foundation for what is a major character. Most of that is in his dog form which, admittedly, is utterly adorable. But the man? Remains a bit of a mystery.

The other is a Tiger shifter. He too is a main character who appears to have a journey in the series but is this the last book? I don’t know.

The ending is somewhat abrupt. Both in terms of what has happened in terms of our detective in his life, professionally. We get a here’s where he is now . And the same hint of a surprise in another direction.

After everything that’s gone on, it’s a light ending for a very serious, heavier narrative.

The Dog in the Alley (Beyond the Veil Book 4) by K. M. Avery is about one of my favorite characters, Detective Hart. It does a excellent job in making a fascinating character even more richly layered. My only issue is that the author just didn’t completely stick the ending. It didn’t quite live up to the complex, well plotted , parts that went before.

I certainly hope the author intends to go on. It’s a great series and is full of characters and elements that haven’t been fully explored yet.

I’m definitely recommending. This and the series.

Beyond The Veil series:

✓ The Ghost in the Hall #1

✓ The Boy in the Locked Room #2

✓ The Skeleton Under the Stairs #3

◦ The Dog in the Alley (Beyond the Veil Book 4) m

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showThe Dog in the Alley (Beyond the Veil, #4) by K.M. Avery

Description:

Some days, an elf can’t get a break.

I’m overworked, underpaid and underappreciated, and up to my lavender eyeballs in missing and murdered shifters. To make matters worse, I’ve acquired a dog.

Sort of.

He’s not actually a dog. I don’t know his name or anything about him other than the fact that he’s mostly hairless and is blind in one eye—and he’s a witness to one of the unsolved shifter murders that’s keeping me up at night. We found him at a crime scene, injured and scared, and I just can’t make myself lock him up for obstruction of justice, even though I probably should.

He won’t shift back, so here I am with a dog that isn’t a dog following me everywhere and eating off my plate every time I turn around.

The weirdest part is that I’m not sure I want to go back to living without him constantly underfoot.

A slow-burn M/M Paranormal Shifter Romance
Book 4 in the Beyond the Veil Series

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Fang’d (Evergreen Council #1) by Vin George

Rating: 4.5🌈

Vin George is another new to me author. Their excellent Fang’d , a paranormal romance, is the first in a new Evergreen Council series and I’m so excited I found it.

George has a somewhat different take on the usual shifter/hybrid vampire romance. Even on the species of vampires and weres themselves.

As a foundation story, Fang’d is such a excellent tale. It peals back the hidden layers of the world Charley Entwhistle and Lucien “Luc” Bradshaw inhabit as they race away from Charley’s hometown and serious wrongful accusations laid against Charley.

Vin George gives their characters and readers a suspenseful, gripping base as a staging point for the story. A dark night, a near crash, a flight into the dark! Then the tale gets oh so better.

Because the driver who, in his kindness in rescuing Charley, is the fascinating Lucien “Luc” Bradshaw .

Luc is so much more than he appears. Luc is also one of two narrators of this remarkable story. The other being Charley, of course..

There’s so much happening to Charley. Much of which he doesn’t understand. His life has been unusual, he’s adopted and had weird physical issues no one has tried to explain. Ones that have escalated since puberty. Now he’s accused of murder, something he knows he didn’t do . He’s hurt, confused, and running.

Charley is such a complicated character that a review can’t portray his real personality. Which is terrific because Charley is at the heart of the story, it’s revelations and astonishing mysteries that move the narrative briskly forward.

Luc is at his side , his equal in depth of character, emotional issues, including historical bigotry between species, homophobia within species, and hidden elements that I’m sure will come out in future stories. Luc is an amazing being.

But Fang’d happens to be packed with them. What a joy. So I’m eagerly anticipating the new release to bring us back into this universe and into these characters lives. There’s still so many mysteries to solve.

Did I also mention the heartwarming moments too? Yes , it has those as well.

Vin George just made it onto my auto buy with this story. It’s beautifully written, the characters are engaging and fully defined, and the story incredibly well plotted with new twists on the paranormal species.

If you’re a lover of the paranormal, then I’m recommending this story and author to you. It’s a fabulous read!

https://www.goodreads.com › showFang’d (Evergreen Council #1) by Vin George – Goodreads

https://www.amazon.com › Fangd-V…Fang’d – Kindle edition by George, Vin. Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Synopsis:

Who is the antsy, beautiful guy in my passenger seat? Or rather, what is he?

Wrongly accused of murder and running for his life, Charley took a chance on the hot stranger with a fast car. He didn’t expect the gorgeous Luc to have any insights into Charley’s increasingly strange symptoms. He certainly didn’t expect to learn the fantastical stories he’d heard as a child were true. And he definitely didn’t expect to feel so strongly for someone he only just met.

Luc’s impulsive offer has landed him in charge of a sexy, enticing, not entirely human someone. Charley might have vampire blood. Surely that should make him less attractive and not more? But the mysterious Charley is irresistible, addictive even. Luc is determined to protect him from anyone and anything…mortal or otherwise.

Fang’d is the sexy first book in the Evergreen Council series, featuring a bratty half-vampire on the run, his stubborn wolf-shifter protector, and a fascinating world of supernatural beings hiding in the shadows. HEA. Standalone.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Get It Together (The Undead Detective Agency #1) by Shelby Rhodes

Rating: 4.5🌈

Another new author, another funtastic paranormal story and romance to grab hold of!

Given that graphically simple but perfect cover and great description, I knew I was in for a humorous story but it has hints of so much more hidden in the corners of this wildly entertaining romance between a ancient but oddly cute vampire who’s decided to be a detective and a human thief gone law student!

There’s a lot to discuss here. Mostly because it sounds a bit unhinged, in a terrific way!

It starts with Octavius Evander, the ancient vampire who’s boredom is the reason he’s starting The Undead Detective Agency to begin with. With his best friend, the zombie Scarlet at hand to act as secretary, backup, and sarcastic Greek chorus, Octavius is hilarious from the moment we meet him. He’s got the attention span of a toddler and what he does like (pink, sparkly, glitter, fabulous, eccentric), well, he wants it now. Black goth then 18th century fashion. In a instant. And sweets.

He’s just endearing. A bit clueless when it comes to some matters for a being that’s lived for so many centuries, but that’s a part of his charm.

And when he puts out a handmade flyer for the agency which also includes advertising for help. He gets the unexpected in the best way. A human applies.

That’s Turney Pimms. Love these names. Turney has got a bit of a colorful background, one I’m sure we will explore further in the books to come. At the moment, Turney’s enrolled in law school at Yale and the funds are getting scarce for the next year. He’s desperately in need of a job when a friend shows him a weird flyer.

A flyer which turns his world upside down!

Rhodes story has great characters, really entertaining scenes, but also ones that show our characters getting to know and understand each other with a warmth and deepening affection. It plays out so well.

But the author never forgets, even when we’re about to, that Octavius is a very old and powerful vampire and Turney is still just human. With all that entails.

There’s a number of scary cases, some investigations that go much differently then everyone thought, and will effect the Agency and the relationships being established.

Get It Together (The Undead Detective Agency #1) by Shelby Rhodes is just a wonderful read! I enjoyed immensely and highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys paranormal stories, especially romance.

There’s four books at least planned for the series. I’ve listed them below. I am so going to enjoy each and every one , I can tell!

The Undead Detective Agency series:

✓ Get It Together #1

◦ Keep It Together #2 – Feb/March 2023

◦ In Death Together #3 – TBD

◦ Together Forever #4 – TBD

Synopsis: 

Hello, there! I’m Octavius Evander. And this is the beginning of my story—well…sort of. It’s not the very beginning. As a vampire, that story would be way too long to write down—think, before the Romans. Rather, this story is about how I met the love of my unlife. Okay, it will be mostly about the cool and fancy detective agency I opened and solving mysteries, but also a little about love too.


     So, what does one need to open a detective agency, you may ask? Well, for one, a detective. As it was my idea, and I paid for everything, I, of course, filled that role. Next, I needed a secretary. My beautiful and marginally dangerous best friend Scarlett filled that role. Now, I will admit, at that time, I had not thought further than that, and simply skipped to getting my detective license, an office, and some other necessities.


     My mind might have been too full of the fun adventures I was about to have. My hope was that those in and out of the paranormal communities would keep me entertained for a very long time. I quickly realized I still needed a driver, a tech person, and a witch that was good with ghosts. This is the story of how I found those people. And who would have thought the first to walk through the door would be human, with no knowledge of the paranormal—my precious Turney.  

BUY NOW

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.