What happens when a magical seeking spell won’t leave Wicky alone? Well, as much as his curiosity is killing him, Wicky knows this time , he needs to call in his team and found family to find answers.
With Bel, Nico, and Garan involved, Wicky’s team are going to find out who is magically stalking their wonderful, flighty friend. And the reason why.
This is such a fabulous story. It flies by on wings of combined cultural magic and values, soars with the joy of discovery, of finding one’s true purpose and path, with characters infused with humor, intelligence, love, and sheer outrageousness.
Sun , Wicky’s soulmate, is amazing, and I look forward to seeing how a wind elemental will fit into the team. Plus the journey into parts of Thailand, along with the food made my mouth water.
Each aspect of the story contained some great elements that made you want to linger a bit longer. And still hurry forward towards the next stop . Incredible.
You giggle, you smack your head, laugh, and keep on appreciating the world that Sherwood has created that has such fantastic characters within it.
My only quibble? I wanted more.
Who wouldn’t?
And now Mobius decides to speak?
Pls we need more. More adventures of the team as they adjust to the new status quo.
I’m highly excited for that story to arrive. And recommend this until it does!
For some reason, it’s upsetting everyone else though. Maybe he should figure out who it is?
Ooooo, maybe his fated one is on the other end! In…Thailand?
Tags:
Wicky use your brain challenge: Failed, author has lost discretion in this, Wicky is in Thailand, pray for Thailand, the trio is along for the ride, fated mates, Thai magic, don’t mind the author I’m just over here building a ship, Sun is the younger of the two but he’s also resigned to being the responsible one, chosen family, Mobius talks, in Thai, Wicky feels so betrayed, look this is pure romantic crack, Sun is cute that’s all you need to know
Love for the Reaper is Charlie Cochet’s much anticipated entry in the multi-author series The Elite, based around a sublimely complex and supremely criminal club called The Anonymous, in a dark, sinister city of Old Defiance.
The series setting and location is darkly fascinating, rich in the noir atmosphere and dangerous elements that allow all these authors to let their imaginations go wild where their characters and storylines are concerned.
Cochet’s take on this seamy underworld has plenty of interesting elements, one’s that early on showed so much depth and detail that’s been elevating the best of these stories.
Take her character Devlin “Dev” Espinosa. He’s not a Reaper , where did that come from ( not in his job description to kill anyone)?
Instead he’s a Ferryman. So much cooler. With his one of a kind, special “guaranteed to blend into the shadows “ black matte finish, 1969 Chevy Camaro, black grille and door handles, even the 18 inch wheels and rims were black. A chariot fit for the Ferryman.
Dev delivers the “dead” bodies he’s given to dump into his specially made trunk into a new life. Whether that a permanent death or new identity at a location, it’s not his to question. Just dump and leave. The Ferryman’s delivery is over.
He’s death on wheels, a black chariot wheeling through a city of Hell, enjoying the life he’s got, on smooth pavement paid for by murder and sin.
That’s a great character. So too is his partner. A woman who we don’t get nearly enough of, but who is his equal partner in wry wit and deadly experience.
Had Charlie made even the partner the other mc, things would have been better.
But things start to derail with the addition of what’s starting to be defined as the “cinnamon bun” character. Overly used too., including the phrase. The almost too sweet, innocent that ends up in a relationship, here because Remy Corbin has the survival instincts of a kumquat and works for a mobster boss without realizing it.
I think I could like Remy more if he was in another story, without the mob aspect, but here so much, imo, works against him as a character, and their relationship believability. “ oh look, I’m living in a Good Fellas set” Smh. Way too predictable.
These are short stories. Cochet doesn’t lay out, enough in her narrative, to accomplish the needed changes in character realignment, instant love, and development for us to believe that Dev is going to throw out the life he enjoys for Remy , who he’s instantly fallen in love with, who now instantly loves him back. Even though Remy has just come out of a bad situation. No, Dev threw out his history, indeed almost gotten himself killed in a maneuver guaranteed not to work.
It makes no sense, especially given that strong opening.
More sense narratively, if there’s no relationship, just a man, doing another job, and “ferrying “ an innocent out of town. That’s believable.
And then at the end Cochet throws in a whole new couple, including dub con, a conspiracy, a betrayal, and it all devolves into a whole lot of drama that has nothing to do with the original plot.
What was Cochet doing here?
The only reason this even maintains a 3 rating was that strong intro and some interesting elements. Otherwise, the manner in which the story explodes into new territory without any context or direction from the original narrative would have me issuing warning flags. Such as DNF.
Do i recommend? Not really. Read if you’re a Cochet fan or want to complete the series.
Devlin “Dev” Espinosa lives in the shadows of the criminal underworld. As a Ferryman, his job is to safely transport “the dead” to their new lives, no questions asked. With no one to answer to, lots of cash, and access to The Anonymous–an exclusive club for the elite–Dev is loving life.
Until Remy Corbin gets into his car.
Remy is just a regular guy working a regular bartending job. At least, that’s what he thought before walking in on his boss taking someone out. Witnessing the assassination paints a target on Remy’s back, and when the bullets fly, he jumps into a stranger’s car.
Dev has no intention of getting involved in Remy’s problems, but something about the guy brings out protective instincts Dev didn’t know he had. Going against his better judgment, Dev vows to keep Remy alive.
Can wild nights fueled by danger and explosive passion lead to more? Or will the hitman on their tail cut their romance–and lives–short?
Love for the Reaper is a part of the multi-author series The Elite. Each book can be read as a standalone and in any order. What links these books together is The Anonymous, a club beneath the gritty city where only the elite are
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…
“Being an F1 driver is a crazy job but not what everyone expects. My year consists of 20% driving and 80% media, marketing, and travel.
-Daniel Ricciardo”
Full Throttle by Lisa Henry is our second fast paced, passionate romance in the multi author series, Lights Out.
In this series about Formula 1 racing, each author takes one racing team, a driver or two on that team , the international races in the series , and the dramatic events that occur during that season. We see it impacting on the various races , season team standings, the emotional reverberations on each driver, as well as the relationships that arise between men on the circuit.
In Full Throttle, Henry’s focus is on Bradley Racing. Sir Andrew Bradley a former F1 champion, his sons , the oldest, Malcolm, the current F1 team champion, and Lennox, the introverted son whose been racing in F2, but now has been called up by his father to be the team’s F1 reserve driver. This is a huge honor as well as an earned achievement for young drivers, a spot that Lennox is well aware he’s not exactly achieved but being given as the son of the wealthy owner. It’s a place that should have gone to his F2 teammate, Renzo.
It’s a sore spot that other drivers, as the infamous Karl Nuemann keeps reminding him, and others, loudly and often. In scenes to be repeated throughout the series.
Henry has given us a very relatable character in Lennox. Lennox is a soft spoken, insecure man, one with a father whose disappointment and indifference to his hopes for his future plans make him withdraw into himself further. There’s no outlet for Lennox, no one to confide with, even on his own truths about his sexuality.
Until a fist fight with Karl and a dropped koala bring him to the attention of Team PR mastermind, Connor Blake.
Henry’s cast of well rounded characters expands with the addition of Connor Blake, a man from Melbourne, with a ex boss and family who want him back in Australia where he’s beginning to feel like he needs to be. Connor ‘s circle comes with the ever so delicious Arlo Paddington, CEO of Hipe, his ex boss who wants him back. Every conversation, every get together is a delight! Same goes for Alexis, the acerbic , perfectly put together director of communications of Bradley Racing, a master of the wry look . Connor is in control of each situation, changing the direction of the narrative to fit the team’s needs, and goals. But not without a heart and informative mind guiding him.
Henry has multiple themes in play here. The troubled Blake family dynamics , team hierarchy dynamics where resentment is building over Andrew’s eagerness to push Lennox forward over other better qualified drivers, and finally, Lennox’ s closeted status.
Because being gay isn’t acceptable if you’re a F1 driver, and, from Lennox’s perspective, that’s one more strike against him in his own family where he’s kept his sexuality a secret.
The slowly building relationship between Lennox and Connor is full of hurdles, and while there’s racing elements, they don’t feel as massive an element as they did in Scott’s novel, Team Orders.
This feels more relationship and personality driven, and while we focus on the team building aspects of Team Bradley, and all the communication/PR that goes into a successful business, I wish we had more track time too.
The quotes from actual drivers at the beginning of each story give us insight into how the author is angling the focus. Here it’s the stresses and frustration of the of 80 percent of the sport as it’s seen through the life of Lennox and Connor, the PR man who’s a magician at handling this aspect of F1 racing.
A bonus was the epilogue, it didn’t extend too far beyond the end of the season, all the characters were comfortably included here.
I really enjoyed Full Throttle by Lisa Henry. The characters, relationships, family dynamics, were all well defined and realistically balanced against the frustrations and challenges that comes with racing at the F1 level right now.
I’m definitely recommending this story and the one that came before. This is turning into a very exciting series!
When Lennox and Connor race full throttle into a secret relationship, can they navigate the track, or will they crash and burn?
Lennox Bradley is Formula 1 royalty. His father was an F1 champion, and so is his brother, so expectations are high for Lennox’s debut season. But when he suffers a koala-related PR disaster at the Australian Grand Prix, he’s thrust into the media spotlight. For an introvert like Lennox, it’s a nightmare.
Connor Blake doesn’t know the first thing about Formula 1, but as communications manager for Bradley Racing, it’s his job to manage the fallout for Lennox. Except Lennox isn’t anything like the arrogant, shallow guy he’s expecting, and it gets harder and harder to deny the magnetism between them. When Connor and Lennox both have to choose what it is they really want for themselves, is there any room for a future together?
This M/M romance from Lisa Henry features a secret relationship, two guys who are bad at admitting their feelings, pining, and is set in the high octane world of Formula 1 featuring fast cars, driving at the limit, spectacular crashes, heated rivalries, and of course, a HEA.
Each book in the Lights Out collection is a standalone story, and the books can be read in any order.
From R.J. Scott’s Team Orders:
Racing Pride🌈
“Racing Pride The F1 calendar takes place in some countries hostile to those identifying as queer, and teams have sponsors who might not support a queer driver. As of April 2023, there is no openly out F1 driver.”
“Racing Pride is a new initiative embracing all elements within motorsport, and actively promoting, and supporting LGBTQ + participants in order to create some desperately needed role models for aspiring LGBTQ + participants in motorsport.
“If you no longer go for a gap that exists, then you’re no longer a racing driver.
-Ayrton Senna”
I’m so used to R. J. Scott’s outstanding hockey romances, that I was surprised to see her jump into the world of Formula 1 racing and do it so immaculately.
Lights Out is a multi author series that focuses on one racing season. Each author takes one racing team, a driver or two on that team , the international races in the series , and the dramatic events that occur during that season. We see it impacting on the various races , season team standings, the emotional reverberations on each driver, as well as the relationships that arise between men on the circuit.
Even if you’re not a fan or motor head, the descriptions within this story of the adrenaline rush, the sheer amount of intensity, the desire, the passion,the planning and execution behind the drivers and the racing that Scott delivers here is incredible. She writes as though F1 has been circulating in her bloodstream for decades, motor oil replacing the platelets driving her systems. It’s that excellent.
So are her characters. Each well crafted character a driver at a different level in their careers. One, Noah Fournier, who, along with his teammate and best friend, Augusto Romero, is at the highest level of his team and aiming to take the podium this season for Deacon-Graaf Formula 1 Racing team. The other, Archie Harris , is just entering F1 as a reserve driver after winning the F2 championship. He’s just beginning his F1 journey.
There’s another aspect to the series and each character in these stories. That they are closeted by necessity, because of their passion for racing, and the fact that the companies and teams that are involved in the sport have sponsors and race in countries where any sexuality other than heterosexuality is not allowed. Some races are held in places where it’s punishable by jail or death. In reality there’s no out driver In Formula 1 today. So for any LGBTQIA+ driver, they must, for their career, stay silent and closeted about who they love if they want to race.
Scott layers that stress , indecision, inner turmoil and frustration, and fears into her characters personalities and emotions as they battle through the struggles of the team dynamics.
Outside of this structure, Noah is someone I’d would have perceived as an ill mannered, unlikable person at first. A bit of a jerk. However, put Noah within the tight constraints and emotional contexts of this sport, and he comes across as a man under unbelievable pressure. Someone who’s never been able to have a lover, or deep foundation other than his friend Augusto. And when that’s removed in the most frightening way, it makes Noah fragile, then angry.
Scott makes him relatable in all his various states of mind and heart.
Archie is just as complicated as Noah but in an opposite sense. He’s fighting for his right to be in F1, feeling a need to be his true self while realizing and being told by Noah, and others that to succeed, he’s to continue to hide, and concentrate on his driving, the team’s pursuit of the win being the goal, not his individual pursuit of the podium. His brilliance is being rewarded with orders to step aside.
It’s all extremely well plotted, richly told, exciting, and believable. The high speed action is intense, the racing breathtaking, the danger heart stopping, and the one excruciating accident on the track that will have you holding your breath is an event that is one mentioned in every book.
If I had a small quibble, it’s that it is tied up too quickly. There’s a final race, then an epilogue years later. I would have loved to have had more depth and exposition to that section of the story before the epilogue because of how fantastic the narrative was that came prior to it. It just doesn’t live up to its layered nature.
However, Team Orders (Lights Out, #1) by R. J. Scott is a fabulous novel. Scott takes the podium in her first season as a F1 writer and I’m highly impressed with the plot, the characters, and the depth of the world of F1 racing we become a part of.
I’m also impressed with her use of and ability to let her readers know that, like other sports, F1 racing, is trying to be more inclusive.
Please see below.
Racing Pride🌈
“Racing Pride The F1 calendar takes place in some countries hostile to those identifying as queer, and teams have sponsors who might not support a queer driver. As of April 2023, there is no openly out F1 driver.”
“Racing Pride is a new initiative embracing all elements within motorsport, and actively promoting, and supporting LGBTQ + participants in order to create some desperately needed role models for aspiring LGBTQ + participants in motorsport.
When tragedy strikes and team orders are called for, will Archie and Noah’s love survive the fallout?
Noah is devastated when his best friend is badly hurt in a fiery crash, and shocked when the team’s rookie steps up to take Augusto’s place. Not only is Archie inexperienced on the track, but he’s a threat to Noah’s heart when giving in to lust and passion could only end badly. Caught in the chaos of Formula 1, and despite being terrified of losing everything, Noah falls for Archie one passionate but secret moment at a time.
In his rookie F1 season as Deacon-Graaf’s reserve driver, Archie is called up to cover for an injured driver. He’s determined to earn a permanent place in a team, but for now he’s thrilled that he’s driving alongside his idol, Noah. Falling for his teammate is as simple as breathing, but their romance threatens to expose them to a media frenzy, leaving Archie facing a stark choice — love or career.
This M/M romance from RJ Scott features teammates, a secret affair, hurt/comfort, and is set in the high octane world of Formula 1 featuring fast cars, driving at the limit, spectacular crashes, heated rivalries, and of course, a HEA.
Please note, ‘Team Orders’ contains details of a serious motorsport accident and subsequent fire.
Each book in the Lights Out collection is a standalone story, and the books can be read in any order.
Scales and Song is the second in L Eveland’s Monsters in My Bed series and the third I’ve read so far.
It’s also the book that’s left me with the most mixed feelings about the storyline and writing of the novels of this series.
Scales and Song deals with a character outside of the original quartet of vets dealing with the aftermath of a IED explosion in Afghanistan that killed everyone but themselves in their unit.
It’s still got a traumatized soldier at its heart, but one that came from the military’s Elite Specimen Containment Unit, the one that captures , tortures , experiments on , and kills alien/nonhuman beings. Like Ollie the Krampus. That’s where the reader first encountered soldier Phoenix Walker, first as an antagonist in Kissed by the Krampus. In that book, Walker’s one of the unit sent to recapture Ollie. After he’s captured himself by Kringle and Ollie, is rescued, then undergoes a change in attitude, flipped sides and helped save Ollie and Kringle.
I’m not sure I liked him totally here in this story. Eveland presents Walker as a troubled, traumatized soldier, AWOL from his unit due to the events of the previous book.
It’s Walker’s personality that I found hard to connect to. I understand that he’s had a lot of issues to work through but his fall back to denial, anger, and frustration prohibits us from getting emotionally invested. It’s not until later, we learn that included in all the other emotional baggage Phoenix is carrying is self loathing about his sexuality, being gay. But it’s so late in the story to help us understand why he is acting so aggressively towards his friends and Bud.
So his poor treatment of his friend, who is sheltering them , of Bud, ends up being just confusing to the reader instead of an element that helps us engage with his character.
Another real issue for me here is a lack of balance in the exposition with Bud. The author gets so caught up with the exploration of Bud’s sexual organs, how they are used, especially when it comes to sex with Walker , that Bud’s natural history, the world Bud came from is left lacking. It’s troubling because Eveland starts to give us real insight into Bud’s life there. That their species are colorful creatures, with flamboyant color the needed element to attract mates. And that Bud’s lack of color made it unlikely that they would survive in their society, that finding a mate is a necessity there.
Also Eveland started to describe the life within Bud’s habitat, the predators, including a sentient one that hunts for entertainment. And that Bud’s race “eats” by photosynthesis. But has a hive existence. So we get a hodgepodge of facts about the species and nothing more? They are loyal and mate for life? Where’s all this coming from?
Does a photosensitive winged being have a less or better ability to eat given their lack of accepted pigmentation on that planet?! Bud was attacked by the ferocious carnivorous predator on their world, did something happen to them? Why have jaws at all when they use wings to eat? Questions!
But it’s always back to the sexual activity between Walker and Bud before we get any further information.
And the issues don’t stop there. They are hiding from the military, the same ones, they escaped from. That is an intense section here. And we see people from the original four show up to assist.
Chappie, who’s lost his faith. And of course, Ollie and Chris will make an appearance.
Which will bring up inconsistencies in between what Walker says happened here in that story and what we read happened in that story when he was a “temporary” guest or prisoner.
They aren’t big things like the change in Hotdog’s RL last name from one book to his, but it’s enough of a reoccurring one that I wonder why the author’s not taking care to have someone catch these errors.
And finally, the ending of poor Parker. It was swift, and the ending honestly didn’t make any sense. Crystals? It felt rushed , as though Eveland wanted to get through this part of the arc and onto the real happy end with Bud and Walker.
For me, Scales and Song (Monsters in My Bed #2) by L Eveland was a bit of a miss and a mess. It was full of promise but with all the elements, characters, and plot lines, they never felt complete and in depth. That they gelled together.
Read it if you like completing a series, but this really exists outside of our four vets and their stories.
We were supposed to protect the world from monsters, not become them.
All I’ve ever wanted was to protect the people I love. That’s why I joined the military’s Elite Specimen Containment Unit.
When I learned they were experimenting on sentient monsters, however, everything changed.
Now, I have a new mission: protect a scaly winged monster named Bud and escort him to somewhere he’ll be safe from my superiors.
Yet, Bud’s so sweet and perfect, I can’t help but fall for him, even though I know it’s too dangerous for us to be together. It’ll be safer for us to go our separate ways, especially when we’re being hunted.
But I’ve only got so much willpower…
Though Scales and Song is the second book in the Monsters in my Bed series, it can be read as a standalone novel. It features a closeted and traumatized special forces soldier, the sweet cinnamon roll monster who loves him, and a HEA. Please see the interior for content warnings.
Utterly charming. Kasia Bacon’s short fantasy stories are succinct well developed windows into her established, ever widening Order Universe. Each has its own unique narrative with a different location, couple, often complete with cultural references and fleeting hints from past events.
Always my main issue is they’re over too soon, leaving us wanting more with a couple we’ve just connected with, and learned to love.
Rago brings that home because this contains too such beautifully crafted characters, totally different, yet so perfectly balanced and defined that they’re immediately recognizable, real and breathtaking in their fated mates magic.
There’s Lieutenant Laahn Ĉortez, with a background the author so delicately hints at, one of a family he’s risen above and a recent traumatizing past as a prisoner of war in a brutally, cruel enemy prison. She fleshes him out as a highly respected soldier and man of character in just mere sentences.
It’s a fabulous layered portrait . We know exactly who Laahn is. But we aren’t prepared for the sheer adorability , the absolute magic that is Rago! The dragon shifter that’s recognized it’s mate and is crying out its need!
They are so sweet and perfect for each other. Laahn who hasn’t felt safe before now and the sweetness of the dragon warrior who has found his mate.
I was entranced by their meeting, charmed by their love, and wanted to know what happened next. And about Rago’s people.
Laahn and Rago are magic and I hope Bacon brings them back in another story.
There’s a guide to the Order Universe at the back but it’s not necessary to have read any of the other books to enjoy Rago!
I’m highly recommending it to all lovers of fantasy, fated mates, and dragons.
With Endurance, Cari Z’s Trilogy, The Triad, just overcame the second book hurdle and became stronger and more moving a story.
Changing her format here, the author divides the book into three sections, one for each of her main characters and members of the polyamorous relationship. This arrangement where each man receives an equal amount of narrative time with the reader allows her to explore each personality so much more in depth than previously seen.
The story has moved forward, the men now in a loving polygamous relationship but only two of them , Princes Symon and Petur, legally married, the third , Deyvid, the ex Harrior warrior bodyguard being seen by others outside the triad as a hidden lover.
The stakes facing them are high as the Harriors, Deyvid’s former Head of Clan , are coming for all the other Kingdoms, using assassins, betrayal, and political attacks. Including one killer very close to Deyvid.
Petur’s nephew Prince Arven’s wedding, an alliance necessity, into a Kingdom whose culture doesn’t welcome or respect shifters or same sex relationships is adding unbelievable stress . Especially as attacks happen that seem to try to prevent them from getting there for the marriage.
And Symon is getting sick , and thinks it’s his mother’s debilitating curse attacking him.
The author handles all these important issues so well, letting us see how the untold stress , the unrelenting pressure is impacting each man and their relationship. From the attacks on each other and their bonds, to the expectations that they think they must live up to, their own responsibilities, their obligations, and the new revelations each event seems to throw at them, we get to see how, well or or how badly each man tries to deal with the fluctuating reality of their situations.
In Alliance, Symon and Deyvid were clear favorites. Petur had less narrative page time, so we really didn’t see him clearly as a man, ruler, or true member of this polyamorous group.
But in Endurance, Petur becomes seen, an equal partner, a man who’s capable of showing both his strengths and admitting his weaknesses and fears. And there’s plenty to be fearful of in this book. All his beloveds are being threatened. His very marriage and family are at risk. We see his foundation being shaken. And not just his.
As we go from man to man, threat to threat, deep fears and the anguish of loss permeates the entire storyline.
Symon and Deyvid have strong compelling stories of their own here that intertwine with all the complex plotting of their other mate, Petur’s.
The end is both a cliffhanger and a heartbreaker. It makes us quickly yearn for the finale to come, Dominion.
I highly recommend this story, but it’s one that must be read in order for the characters, their relationships, the the complicated plot developments to make sense.
This is just beautifully done all the way, in every aspect. I hope she keeps the new format as it has really captured her characters fully and made the author’s imagination and plot soar!
Three royal lovers, one goal: to make an alliance with their neighboring kingdom before war takes away their chance for peace.
Now that Symon is happily married to his husband Petur and in love with Petur’s longtime lover Deyvid, things should be easier…right? Not with the Harrier clans of the north stirring up trouble. Tasked with escorting Petur’s nephew Arven to his wedding in neighboring Mersaighe, Symon hopes that things will go smoothly.
He ought to know better.
Not only are they heading into a nation where shifters like Petur are distrusted, Petur and his nephew fight constantly, an assassin is still trying to kill Deyvid, and Symon is hiding a secret of his own…one that could mean his days of happiness are numbered before a family curse drives him insane.
With enemies to lovers, graphic violence, snarky humor, and explicit sexual content, Endurance is a polyamorous M/M/M fantasy that will keep you on the edge of your seat!
I enjoyed They Call Him Levity (Welcome Boulevard, #1) by Davidson King. I thought King’s characters were all very well defined, given fully fleshed out personalities and lives.
It didn’t matter whether the character was crime boss Salvatore Grillo, or the professional beggars Levity, Clove and Muse with their poverty level lives and realistic low expectations for their future, or the endearing Jaquelyn, Sal’s on the spectrum younger step sister. Each one felt real, and grounded in a real life vision of the world.
The romance as it develops between Levity and Sal is sweet and feels genuine, despite the imbalance in their status and age. Somehow the author lessens that impact in their dynamic enough that it’s not the thing that matters.
Another positive is Sal’s relationship with his step sister, Jaquelyn. King wrote her as being a functioning on the spectrum individual but treated within her family as someone to be ashamed of because of her disability. We see Jaquelyn with her hobbies, her friends, as any 17 year old girl would have, even with a crush. The mistreatment here comes from a parent, which makes it also seem realistic, unfortunately.
My cons are with the aspect of Levity that deal with Sal’s father, Sal’s stepmother, their characters and that entire storyline.
While the others plot threads felt more full developed, the whole bit with the step mother came across as forced . She was already “hissing “ from the moment we met her. Everything else was perfectly transparent as to where the plot was headed next. It just needed more work.
The ending was lovely. And we get set up for Clove’s book to come.
If you like a sweet romance with a hint of gangster and suspense, Levity might be a good choice for you.
Levity works the streets of Welcome Boulevard, begging people for money. It keeps food in his belly, a leaky roof over his head, and he gets to do it with his best friend, Clove. No, it’s not the ideal life, but he does what he must to survive.
Salvatore Grillo is a man who is used to getting what he wants. He’s a loyal brother to his autistic sister, runs numerous business empires, and knows how to make people to bend to his will. It’s not often someone comes along and shakes things up. And then Levity smiles at him.
Levity’s idea to pull in more money draws Salvatore’s attention, and while being the focus of a crime boss should be terrifying, Levity is intrigued by the man. Not to mention, Sal is as gorgeous as he is powerful. The two gravitate toward one another and soon are wrapped up tightly in each other’s worlds. When enemies try to break through their doors and their lives, Salvatore has to do everything in his power to save not just himself but Levity too.
Not knowing who is behind all the chaos or when they will strike makes their happily ever after almost impossible. Time’s running out for Sal and Levity. Will they survive, or will their story end before it’s even begun?
One of the real delights of having a series written by multiple authors is that the reader can get a great depth in differences in the depiction of the central location , and variety in how the series theme is presented through the many different characters and plots.
In Bullets & Butterflies (The Elite) by Maz Maddox, we are transported into the inner workings of The Menagerie Hotel, home to unsavory club, The Anonymous , right in the heart of the city known as Old Defiance.
The reader has always been a guest at the club, along with whatever criminal character(s) that particular author has created for their storyline. But here , with Maddox, we go behind the doors, to the Hotel’s/club’s infirmary, where the assassins, thieves, wet-workers, and other nefarious members who need “patching up” come to get medical care.
Dr. Liam Bexley has been the doctor for The Anonymous’ clientele for years, trodding its blood red carpet and sticking by his rules of non engagement with his notorious patients.
Even the patient is the attractive and flirtatious hitman Francisco Delgado.
Maddox brings us into the seamier aspect , if that’s even possible, of an already dark and dangerous world with two jaded men, deeply seated within this environment. Liam’s constantly aware of his patients deadly professional side, as well as their often murderous skill sets. They end up on his table, needing everything from emergency surgery to simple stitches.
Liam’s such a complex man, wry, jaded, accepting of his status and lifestyle that includes healing criminals, yet somehow he manages to hide his own tender heart. I so enjoyed listening to his grumpy doctor’s interior monologue.
Francisco Delgado, or Cisco as he’s called, is a different character. Handsome, charismatic, he’s a member of the Courtesan Guild of assassins. The other group being The Sheath Guild.
Maddox builds a marvelous tale of intrigue, betrayal, suspense, murder and , a rising love among falling bodies.
If a have a quibble, it’s that I wanted to know more about each Guild, especially The Courtesan Guild, how it operates and the history behind it. And I wanted to know how each man came into each moment that they chose to be both a doctor at The Anonymous and an assassin .
Each story would be a remarkable story itself.
Together, Cisco and Liam make a sexy, darkly compelling couple. More of them pls.
I highly recommend their story and hope Maddox finds the time to explore their future together.
As the on-call doctor for a club that caters to assassins, Liam Bexley has learned to set some strict boundaries:
Never ask questions about their work.
Always stay professional.
And never, ever date a client.
Easy rules to follow, and ones that Liam takes very seriously. Being lonely and boring is a small price to pay to keep trained killers out of his personal life.
In one chance encounter with the handsome hitman Francisco Delgado, Liam’s routine and existence is completely altered.
Pulled into the insanity of rival assassin guilds and a high profile death, Liam is suddenly stuck eluding danger at every turn with a man he has no business fraternizing with.
Even if he is interesting.
And really hot.
And covered in tattoos.
Liam may have to rethink those boundaries…
Bullets & Butterflies is part of the multi-author series The Elite. Each book can be read as a standalone and in any order. What links these books together is The Anonymous, a club beneath the gritty city where only the elite are welcome.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 