Category: Witches and warlock romance,

Review:  The Bone Charm (The Haunted Ranch Mysteries #8) by Sara Bourgeois 

Rating: 4.75⭐️

The Bone Charm brings the beautifully written paranormal mystery series , The Haunted Ranch Mysteries by Sara Bourgeois to a heartwarming, richly satisfying conclusion. 

Through 8 books, nine of you count the prequel, Claire’s development starting from a woman who has fled failures in her life back in Chicago, fired from her job and dumped by her fiancé to arrive in a small town in Arizona and a ranch left to her by a aunt.

Slowly she’s accepted that the dusty, weird town of Perdido Springs and her desert life out on Whispering Saguaro Ranch is where she belongs. The ranch becomes an animal sanctuary in odd scenarios, each a memorable character themselves and, the ranch is inhabited by ghosts, fully realized and completely a part of Claire’s life and the series. 

Each book has a murder mystery, the casualty one that leaves a wound upon the community in multiple ways. Physically and emotionally and metaphysically damaging the magic that surrounds the desert and town. 

That happens here. 

The townspeople, like Buddy Kern feel incredibly real, as part of the landscape that the author describes so realistically and with such great detail.  They’re believable in their crustiness and weariness from the everyday realities of ranch life in the heat of the desert. 

And don’t get me started on how much I love Oso the livestock guardian dog lost in his grief while still watching his flock. 

The thoughtful investigation, the way the case was resolved, both of them, because there was several aspects to this particular murder mystery that needed to be finalized. 

And Sara Bourgeois brought Clair’s journey to a close with her role being tied to her land and town in a way that makes sense. She’s grown and become grounded, by her ranch, the animals, the land itself. And her magic has evolved as she has.

The end acknowledges her journey, her growth, and her future there. It’s all tied up together beautifully. And I’ve feel so thrilled and happy for this series to end like this.

One of my favorites.  Highly recommended. As is the author. 

The Haunted Ranch Mysteries (8 book series)

Last Call in Chicago #0.5 prequel 

Death Rides The Desert #1

Bones and Cactus Blooms #2

Spirits of the Saguaro #3

Tombstones with a View #4

Body Beneath the Wither #5

Death Waits at Dead Rock #6

Skulls and Sunlit Secrets #7

The Bone Charm #8

Buy link

 Book 8 of 8: The Haunted Ranch Mysteries 

Blurb 

Claire Caldwell’s life at Whispering Saguaro Ranch is never quiet. Between escape-artist goats, a rooster with a personal grudge against her wedding ring, and a spirit fox who disappears every night on business of his own, she’s learned to expect trouble in feathers, fur, or both.

Then Socorro Vega, the elderly herb seller from the farmers market, is found dead on a desert trail.

The county blames the heat. Claire might have believed them if she hadn’t gone to rescue Socorro’s goats and her grieving Great Pyrenees, Oso. One touch of a carved bone charm in Socorro’s kitchen shows Claire what really happened. A dark room. Hands pressed over an old woman’s face. A desperate voice begging her to sign a piece of paper.

Plenty of people wanted what Socorro owned. Her forty acres include one of the last live springs in a drying valley. Her handmade charms are worth a fortune to the right collector. Even her closest relative has debts he can’t outrun. Unfortunately, the sheriff has already closed the case, and visions from a dead woman’s necklace aren’t evidence.

While Claire and her friends search for something they can prove, Perdido Springs begins coming apart in ways no one can explain. Animals panic without cause. Lights wander through the cemetery. Ghostly cowboys flee into the desert. Socorro wasn’t simply gathering herbs all those years. She was tending a hidden boundary around the town, and her murder left part of it wide open.

Finding Socorro’s killer is only the beginning. If Claire can’t finish the work Socorro died protecting, whatever is pressing against that broken boundary may soon find its way through.

July 28, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

154 pages

Book 8 of 8

The Haunted Ranch Mysteries

Review: Neverthorn (Of Quirks and Curses Book 1) By Shannon Mayer

Rating: 4⭐️

Shannon Mayer is a hit or miss writer for me. Some stories I think she writes are just wonderful, well plotted with amazing characters. Then there’s those books I find have terrific points and elements but include one or two aspects of the story that make me put it down, permanently.

Neverthorn, the first book of Of Quirks and Curses series by Shannon Mayer, is a bit of both. Mayer’s previous dark urban fantasy academy thriller, Shadowspell (2021) is amazing. Now comes Neverthorn, Of Quirks and Curses, it’s not a YA novel although there’s some similarities. 

It has some really interesting elements about it. Starting immediately with Harlow, a 29 year old magical thief, who, along with her younger non-magical sister, is dragged unwillingly back to Neverthorn Academy, a place she left and swore never to return to. 

As with these urban fantasy academy mystery series, the main character gathers together a group of misfits around her. This time it’s another group of older people, thrown together into a magical House, who’ve come from a variety of normal lifestyles outside of the magical life because they sucked at magic.

This is a great element. A group of adults brought back to an academy for purposes unknown, most of them with “weak magic “, who were bullied when they were younger there. 

I loved watching them gell as a group, definitely a “us vs them” atmosphere. But with such a fantastic plot element, Mayer has a hard time hanging onto the characters ages and writing them as credible adults of 29 and older.  More and more, their personalities start to present as younger than they should be.  They soon feel like early 20’s, if that. And an interesting plot idea is being lost.

The School is certainly harsh as is its situation. The scenes are laid out in rich detail and the darkness of the magic of the villain is spookily drawn into the narrative. Very well executed. 

However for every nice twist that’s revealed, there’s a major plot or storyline that’s been easily telegraphed by Mayer’s execution so that the reader can see who is actually the villain (wink, wink) and how the entire series will play out without needing to read it. It’s just that heavy handed.   

I’m going to because I’m sure there’s some interesting twists along the journey. But yes, I have to say I have a good idea of how it will go down. And if you have read enough of these books, you’ll see it too. 

It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. 

And the second book is out so the reader can head immediately forward to the how it’s resolved. 

I’m recommending it because it’s still enjoyable to read. 

Of Quirks and Curses (2 book series)

Neverthorn #1

Heathermoor #2

Buy link

 Book 1 of 2: Of Quirks and Curses 

Blurb 

In a realm where magic reigns, a legendary Hero once stood against the encroaching darkness. But with his death, hope dwindled, and the best the world can muster is Harlow Daygon—a thief, magic school dropout, and notorious troublemaker.

At nearly thirty, Harlow can’t even cast a simple rune without blundering it. So why does anyone think she can take up the mantle of Hero? Reluctantly, she’s dragged back to Neverthorn Academy with seven former classmates, tasked with training to confront and defeat the Villain of their world.

But the challenges are stacked against her:

Professor Hot-As-Sin makes it clear she’s a failure.

Professor Used-To-Be-A-Mean-Girl has a vendetta.

And lurking in her past is a secret so dark it could reveal she’s not the Hero the world needs—but the next Villain.

With fate hanging in the balance, can Harlow embrace her destiny before the shadows claim her?

Hijinks Ink Publishing

Publication date

July 22, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

529 pages

Review:  A Witch’s Legacy (Drakethorn Legal Book 1) by Michael Anderle and Isabel Campbell

Rating: 3⭐️

Michael Anderle is an extremely prolific author who often co writes his books and series with several other authors, Isabel Campbell among them. 

And I admit I often pick up a book by him because the premise is intriguing, offering something I haven’t seen before in a paranormal/fantasy or science fiction novel. 

That happens with A Witch’s Legacy, the first book in the Drakethorn Legal series.  

It has a really great storyline about a main female character who is a lawyer who turns out to be a dragon. There’s so much potential there for interesting character history, courtroom drama, and, well dragon related stuff. 

Stacy Drake, a lawyer who has an eye for cases for the underdog, doesn’t know she’s a dragon until she starts blacking out . Turns out she’s a dragon or the offspring of a dragon and a witch. 

It starts off entertaining and with all the drama and elements that drew me into this story. But then begins to lose me. 

Anderle is very good at writing action and fantasy stories. He can build worlds and make them real. But here the bridges between Stacy’s character and storyline and how we get to her father and his past and the fantasy isn’t well established. 

She’s mad at dad. He’s fabulously wealthy. Huge castle and estate. She sees him again and wonder of wonders, the servants are gone, estate is looking shabby, and our young lawyer says nothing about it. Her dad doesn’t look so hot either. Any chance of Stacy mentioning that? No. 

She’s supposedly extremely intelligent, great attorney. Yet time after time, things slide right by her. Not just her father and the past. But SMH plot points that make a reader wonder about the character’s motivations and smarts. 

Then there’s the entire she’s supposed to be a dragon but we get the magic of her mother, so there’s that. A bit disappointing and the magical system we do get is never explained but more on the poof, it’s magical thing. Not very exciting.

I finally finished it but nothing made me feel as though I had to go further. 

Interesting. But the potential for more was what brought me here. 

Cover by Mihaela Voicu

Drakethorn Legal (With Michael Anderle) 

A Witch’s Legacy (Book 1) 

Scales of Truth (Book 2)

Buy link

 Book 1 of 6: Drakethorn Legal 

Blurb 

You don’t read books about lawyers.

Neither did she — until the lawyer turned out to be a dragon.

Stacy Drake champions the people no one else will fight for. Evicted single moms. Bullied shop owners. An entire nation the city wants to bulldoze. She buried her old-money family name so every courtroom win would be hers and hers alone — and she’s very, very good at making smug, powerful men squirm.

Then a masked man jumps her in an alley with a knife and a warning. She blacks out. She wakes up with no memory, a bloodied shirt, and a headline about three attackers found torn apart — “WITNESS CLAIMS SUPERHUMAN ATTACK.”

The truth is older than she could imagine. Her estranged father is the last Red Dragon. Her dead mother was a powerful witch. And Stacy is both — just as the rival she keeps beating in court hires something inhuman to bring him her head.

A snarky, big-hearted urban fantasy for readers of Annette Marie and Lindsay Buroker — dragon fire, witch magic, found family, and an underdog you’ll be c heering by page two. Clean read, no spice, all bite.

One-click A Witch’s Legacy and start the series readers binge in a weekend.

Review: Shadowspell Academy : Year of the Chameleon Book 5 by Shannon Mayer

Rating: 4.75⭐️

We’re at the penultimate book, the real villain has been identified, and the scramble is on to stay alive, find a way to stop her and save Wild , her family and friends and the world magical order as it is.

And things aren’t looking so good. 

Shannon Mayer’s storylines are flowing into one another fluidly at this point, so this is picking up where the previous book ends. 

Helped by not just her own close knit group of paranormal friends, but the ghosts of her brother and mother, Wild is desperately looking for the magical instrument or instruction to help her defeat their enemies. 

 

The author has plenty of revelations about Wild, her family, as well as the history of the school to unlock as part of this highly suspenseful, action packed, and emotional storyline. 

Wally (a fantastic character who has had tremendous character development here), Johnson, and the rest of Wild’s crew get a lot of attention from the narrative as they are separated from Wild. Each striving for the same end before they reunite. 

It’s a great story, and the characters are so amazing with their own storylines and growth. 

Of course, as everyone heads towards the final battle, it ends in a cliffhanger. 

Fantastic work. Highly recommended. 

FYI. The academy has been pretty much left behind. 

Love it. 

Buy link 

        Shadowspell Academy: Year of the Chameleon

    

Blurb 

You Don’t Choose The Academy. The Academy Chooses You.

The Shadowkiller is back.

And he is hunting me down like a dog in the streets of New York City using every tool and ally he has—including people I once trusted.

I have never been so alone in my life, and yet if I turn to my friends that puts a target on their backs too. Which means I have to keep running.

So, I do what I know, and I set myself to finding the trail of breadcrumbs that will lead me to the one who is still pulling the strings.

Frost. A Chameleon just like me. Just like the Shadowkiller. Worse, she’s seeking out my friends to pick them off, one by one. To drain their lives in order to feed hers.

To stop her, I have to find her—a task easier said than done in a city this size.

What I don’t expect to find is a truth that this world and its secrets run far deeper, and far darker than I could have ever suspected.

But is any of that going to stop me?

Not a chance.

Hijinks Ink Publishing

Publication date

March 30, 2021

Language

‎English

Print length

314 pages

Book 5 of 6

Shadowspell Academy

Review: Drop of a Hat (Wicked Witches of Cauldron Hollow Book 6) by Sara Bourgeois 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

I love this so much. Where to start. 

Drop of a Hat sort of epitomizes why I love this author’s writing style so highly.  In 213 pages, Sara Bourgeois concisely delivers a story that is intriguing, quietly compelling, with elements that manage to be puzzling,horrifying, poignant, occasionally funny and sometimes exceedingly terrifying. And end up with a solid warm hearted note. 

All while leaving the characters where they belong , for now, and the reader satisfied but needing the next book. 

That’s when there’s multiple mysteries, only one of which is resolved, the villain’s story and resolution will likely keep you thinking, and the latest addition to the family, a zombie raccoon, is absolutely one of the most heartwarming aspects of the story! 

Not all but one! Then there’s Moira back from the dead. 

Such an incredible story. Ok off to reread it now. 

If this prolific writer isn’t on your radar, she should be. I’m reading two of her series now. Read the books in the order they are written. 

I’m highly impressed by this one and recommending it.

Love the author and series. Can’t wait to read the next book.

Wicked Witches of Cauldron Hollow (4 book series)

If the Hat Fits #1

Under The Hat #2

Hat Out of Spell #3

Hat Trick #4 

Bear Many Hats #5

Drop of a Hat #6 

Veil of Doom #7 – September 29,2026

Buy link

        Drop of a Hat (Wicked Witches of Cauldron Hollow Book 6)

    

Blurb 

Sometimes the dead don’t stay buried

Blythe Fairfield finally has her life together. A tea shop with her name on it. A talking cat who runs the place from the windowsill. A sheriff who just told her exactly what she means to him… right before her dead great-aunt knocked on the door.

But the real trouble starts when one of Cauldron Hollow’s oldest witches is found dead. The poison? Brewed from a recipe out of the Tallowmere family collection. The suspects? Start with the witch who just walked out of her own grave, and work your way down to the niece who took her in.

Blythe has solved murders before. This one is different. The victim had secrets. The suspects have more. Every clue she follows leads somewhere she doesn’t want to go. Every alibi has a hole in it, and one person who might be innocent refuses to account for herself.

Meanwhile, the witches of Cauldron Hollow are muttering about the old ways, the mundane authorities are circling a case they can’t be allowed to understand, and Blythe’s own familiar is taking sides… against her.

The clock is ticking. The town is watching. And the killer is closer than anyone thinks.

Turns out some hats never go out of style. They just come back.

July 13, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

213 pages

Review:  Shifting Allegiance (Shifter Lords Book 11) by S. E. Babin

Rating: 5⭐️

I’m not sure how each of these stories manages to get increasingly complex and more devastating by the book but with Shifting Allegiance, Shifter Lords Book 11, Moira’s journey takes a truly dark, intensely horrifying turn of events which ends with a terrifying cliffhanger. 

Babin has created for her Shifter Lords series a case of remarkable characters, including a group of women , goddesses, faes, vampire, otherworldly beings who have close ties to each other through family bonds or friendships that are now so tightly woven together that they are a force of nature and magic. Each woman comes with her own unique identity, often traumatized past and depths of character. The series may have begun with Evie’s journey but these same women have grown and developed over time and as events has changed them all. 

Now they circle and surround Moira as her evil witch mother returns to reclaim her daughter and seed her revenge against her own daughter who escaped from her mother and the tortured life she inflicted upon her. 

I’ve loved Moira from the beginning of the series. She’s been a great character, true friend, one who not only told Evie the truth about her relationship as the toxicity with Caelan was increasing but stayed true to support her. Even though her own issues. 

My heart breaks for Moira here over and over. Especially when Ethan’s past is revealed in the harshest, most tragic way.  And let’s not for Cerunnos’ and his own personal reasons for being in Moira’s life.

Layer upon layer, Babin builds a narrative that is dramatic, deeply rooted in family, trauma, love and devastation. There’s past child abuse mentioned as well as torture. Truly tragic and dark. 

But for all the characters who aren’t redeemable, Babin gives us those who are. Like the goddess Cliome, Evie’s mother, who started off the series in the role of villain and now is a permanent part of the inner circle that surrounds her daughter and friends. And, even Caelan, who I absolutely despised, has made a tremendous turnaround here. 

That’s why this is so incredible and the writing so fascinating and well executed. 

But now I have to wait, probably for another cliffhanger too. It’s just the way this series is rolling. 

And it will probably be one of my favorites. 

It’s one I highly recommend reading right now. 

Cover design by Covers by Christian

Shifter Lords (14 book series):

Shift of Heart #1

Shift of Morals #2

Power Shift #3

Shifting Winds #4

Shifting Resolve #5

Shift of Rule #6

Shift of the Wild #7 

Goddess Shifting #8

Final Shift #9 – finale to Evie’s story 

Moira’s story begins 

Shift Happens #10 

Shifting Allegiance #11 

Shift of Shadows #12 – Nov 17,2026

Karmic Shift #13 – Dec 15,2026

Shift of Fate #14 – March 2,2027

Buy link 

 Book 11 of 14: Shifter Lords 

Blurb 

Moira has spent years outrunning her past. Now it’s finally caught up with her.

What should have been a routine job with Soren goes disastrously wrong, forcing Moira to come face-to-face with the one person she never wanted to see again. As old wounds reopen and long-buried secrets claw their way to the surface, the vampire hybrid must confront the darkness she’s spent a lifetime trying to escape.

Then Ethan becomes the target of a devastating spell.

Overnight, every memory of the connection growing between them vanishes, leaving Moira as little more than a stranger in his eyes. Worse, the magic continues to spread, twisting Ethan’s thoughts and reshaping his reality one lie at a time.

Determined to save him, Moira hunts for the source of the dark magic before it consumes him completely. But the deeper she digs, the more she uncovers a conspiracy tied to her own past—one that threatens not only Ethan’s future, but her very existence.

With time running out and enemies closing in from every side, Moira faces an impossible choice: walk away and save herself, or sacrifice everything for the man who no longer remembers her.

Because some monsters can’t be outrun.

And some futures are worth dying for.

Oliver Heber Books

Publication date

July 7, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

246 pages

Book 11 of 14

Shifter Lords

Review:  Unpredictable Magic by Faith Hunter 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Unpredictable Magic by Faith Hunter brings us back into the lives of witches Angelina and Evan Everhart-Trueblood, characters who were children in Faith Hunter’s fantastic Jane Yellowrock series. 

Aunt Jane, the Dark Queen, is a solid character and continuing presence in their lives now that both Angie and Evan are adults with pasts that haunt each of them.

For Angie, it’s an abusive marriage and a ex-vampire husband that has ramifications throughout this story. For Evan, it’s his past black ops service in the Vampire/Demon wars that’s giving him unrelenting nightmares of his battles then. For both of them, Everhart Investigations, a PI firm in Chattanooga, has been a way to reunite as siblings and to try to find a new path separate from their families and the Royal family. 

A case puts everything they’ve struggled for into jeopardy, including those they love. 

This story is just fabulous. Highly suspenseful, full of twists, and great storytelling. Some crossover characters from the Jane Yellowrock series occur as these two are tied tightly together with that other series. That’s just another great reason to read this.

But the characters, Angie and Evan, as well as those who they gather around them, exhibit their own growth and development here. 

It was interesting to see them as adults because my memories are of them as children. And they have gone through some traumatic experiences and events that we hear about through memories or scenes that past history is brought up. 

If I had a wish? It’s that Angie was more realistic about their  “freedom “ from her family and the Dark Queen. She goes on about losing her freedom while not mentioning once that her ties with her family and aunt are the ones that have saved her repeatedly. Over and over. And over. 

Were there times I wanted to say grow TFU? Why yes there was.  Maybe future stories will see that happen. I do look forward to those.

I’ve seen elsewhere that this is the first book in a Everhart Investigations series and I really hope that it’s true. 

This was a fabulous wild ride. The side characters are just incredible. Cousin Wacko? Love her. And their vampire bodyguard with his own complicated past. Amazing stuff!

Highly recommended!

Jane Yellowrock (15 book series)

Also related:

Soulwood (6 book series)

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comUnpredictable Magic: Hunter, Faith – Books

Blurb 

Witches Angelina and Evan Everhart-Trueblood take a case that spirals out of control until the whole city is at risk in this exciting new novel from New York Timesbestselling author Faith Hunter.

Angelina Everhart-Trueblood and her brother Evan run Everhart Investigations, a PI firm in Chattanooga that solves paranormal crimes committed by supernatural beings. When their new client wants help finding her friend, who supposedly disappeared during a reception at Angie’s aunt Jane’s winter residence, things get . . . complicated.

The client is not who she appears to be, and demons strike the city for the first time since the Witch War. On top of that, evidence is pointing toward the involvement of an overly ambitious vampire—who just happens to be Angie’s ex-husband.

As Angie and Evan team up with CPD, they will have to dig deep into their magical reserves—and rely on some friends in high places—to rid Chattanooga of the danger creeping into their city.

Ace

Publication date

July 14, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

556 pages

Review: Bitten Shifter  (The Bitten Chronicles Book 1) by Brogan Thomas

Rating: 4⭐️

Bitten Shifter, the first book in Brogan Thomas’ Bitten Chronicles, has a woman in her late thirties walking away from her marriage and life after finding her husband in bed with her older sister. 

It’s the early scenes, where a shattered Lark Emerson realizes just how much of her life has been not only lost but also false to begin with. It is raw, her emotional state real and reflects a woman in shock. 

I was all in. Because Thomas not only made me believe in Lark, but her betrayal felt authentic and genuine. 

It’s wasn’t until she had a plan that the fact this was a paranormal story starts to show up. And take another twist.

Lark throughout this tale is my favorite character. Her growth, her struggles with her new life and surroundings, every event that she encounters, she meets as an adult. 

The Alpha? Not so much. I actually liked his best friend, Riker, far better than the MMC, who I thought was controlling, didn’t consider Lark’s opinions despite her wishes and continued forward with his own personal goals. Because, fated mates, whether she felt it or not.

The storylines were interesting. The Human Rights group and the Mage group were both intriguing enough to have more exploration here. Same goes for a certain vampire aspect of the story. The setup was there, just needed some more layering.

If you can guess, wasn’t a fan of the ending. I’m not sure how the author could have done it differently.  But for me, Lark started out so much stronger than she finished. 

 Others might have a better opinion. 

Cover design by Melony Paradise of Paradise Cover Design

The Bitten Chronicles (3 book series)

Bitten Shifter #1

Bitten Vampire #2

Bitten By Magic #3

Buy link

 Book 1 of 3: The Bitten Chronicles 

Blurb 

Betrayed, shattered, and transformed. Sick of everyone’s crap, can this snarky lone wolf find a place to belong—and maybe even love?

Lark Emerson vaguely remembers being happy. After catching her husband and her sister in the sack, the IT professional walks away from twenty-seven years of marriage and takes a job on the border of a shifter community. But when a rogue wolf pack storms her office, she’s captured and mauled.

Badly wounded, the forty-something limps home and is shocked when her injuries rapidly heal, her eyesight sharpens, and every sound becomes painfully clear. Taken to a facility to ease her transition from human to supernatural, she’s completely thrown when wolf magic reshapes her body into something no longer entirely human.

Struggling with instincts as fierce as the wolf inside her, can Lark learn to trust when the handsome packmaster comes calling?

Bitten Shifter is the enthralling first standalone book in The Bitten Chronicles urban fantasy series. If you love resilient heroines, slow-burn romance, and action-packed suspense, you’ll adore Brogan Thomas’s rollercoaster ride.

Buy Bitten Shifter and sink your teeth into a thrilling new adventure today!

Brogan Thomas Books

Publication date

February 27, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

370 pages

Book 1 of 3

The Bitten Chronicles

Review: Shadowspell Academy : Year of the Chameleon Book 4 by Shannon Mayer

Rating: 4.75⭐️

Academy tropes aren’t really my favorite books but they’re hard to avoid as they’re so many out there. But Shadowspell Academy series written by by K. F. Breene and Shannon Mayer for the first mini-trilogy and now solely by Shannon Mayer for the final three stories, is an excellent read and why I’ll continue to pick up a great series. 

Yes, I’ve blown through the final trilogy and loved it.

Wild and her mixed crew of paranormals have been sorted into their “expected” Houses and now they are expected to spend their next years there, training with their own “magical” counterparts. 

But it doesn’t work out like that as events force everyone together in one place. A House of Wonder that seems to have it in for all of them, old and new enemies everywhere and Wild’s the target of her greatest enemy.

This is the start of a incredible journey, part horror story, outstanding paranormal adventure, that sees not only Wild but her small group of friends/family growing tighter, developing new powers and showing immense strength and resilience. 

Heartbreak, betrayal and high suspense. It’s all here. And it’s amazing. I love Wild so much. And everyone else in her group. 

Highly recommended! Fantastic work in every way by the author. 

Shadowspell Academy (6 book series)

The Culling Trials #1 through 3

Year of the Chameleon #4 through 6 written by Shannon Mayer

Buy link 

 Book 4 of 6: Shadowspell Academy 

Blurb 

You Don’t Choose The Academy. The Academy Chooses You.

“This book is Harry Potter meets the Hunger Games in a bold twist on a classic magical young adult adventure.”
Jaymin Eve, Bestselling Author of Supernatural Academy

I’ve made it through the Culling Trials, the test that proved my mettle against every possible challenge.

I assumed that meant things would settle down and I’d start truly learning.

MNo more danger.

No more death threats.

No more wondering who was out to get me.

Apparently, that was not to be.

I am what this supernatural world calls a Chameleon—a rarity even amongst all these monsters. And rare things are coveted and feared by the most powerful of all—The House Of Wonder.

It’s a good thing I have my crew at my back, because this Academy?

It’s about to get seriously ugly.

Which means this farm girl is ready to play by only one set of rules.

Her own.

Review: Shadowspell Academy: The Culling Trials (Book 2) by K. F. Breene and Shannon Mayer

Rating: 4.5⭐️

The third novel in this portion of this series is excellent. Divided into two trilogies, the three books of The Culling Trials are coauthored by K. F. Breene and Shannon Mayer while the last trilogy is written solely by Mayer. 

So this completes the co-authored mini series, The Culling Trials, and it’s exciting, full of intrigue, surprises, really excellent twists, and leaves our mixed found family of paranormal friends graduating into their respective Houses , ala Harry Potter, and ready for their next chapter as first years. 

Wild and her small crew are headed into the final trials before they are sorted out by their magical abilities into their Houses. If they survive because someone is trying to kill them or just Wild before they can finish. 

And the mystery of their disappearing companions hasn’t been solved yet as a few more teenagers vanish from campus and the authorities have no answers.

Wild and every other person in her group shows realistic personal development as they face growing dangers and a killer that has targeted them. 

I really enjoyed this book, even as I debate going forward without Breene as a coauthor. Her influence in the writing here is clear.

I recommend reading this book as part of the mini-trilogy. Read them in the order they are written. 

Shadowspell Academy (6 book series)

The Culling Trials #1 through 3

Year of the Chameleon #4 through 6 written by Shannon Mayer

Buy link 

        Shadowspell Academy: Culling Trials (Book 3)

    

Blurb 

You Don’t Choose The Academy. The Academy Chooses You.

Being accepted into an elite school of magic, monsters, and assassins was not my idea of higher education. But here I am, fighting my way through the Culling Trials to claim my right to be taught.

As if the gauntlet-type physical and mental tests aren’t enough, people are going missing.

People that are my friends.

In a dangerous world where no one is as they seem, the golden rule is simple: Trust no one. They think we should just look out for ourselves. That we should leave the fallen behind and ask no questions.

They clearly think we’re idiots. I got this far by trusting my instincts, and I’m not going to back down now.

Those kids won’t be left to die.

Not on my watch.

Hijinks Ink Publishing

Publication date

June 11, 2019

Language

‎English

Print length

258 pages

Book 3 of 6

Shadowspell Academy