When last we left our gang of magical adventurers, they had sighted another piece of Steveās skeleton! It was hoisted on a pirateās ship sail and looking like another tough job to obtain it. At least without burning it to the bottom of the sea.
No fireballs sadly.
Tan, Devan , Niran, and the kids and one anxious sentient dragon skull, Steve, are off on another high seas adventure! This time with pirates, spells, and magical lunacy that may or may not include wedding planning at the end!
Itās out of control, fabulous fun! Devan just tries for the minimum of damage , hoping for the best outcome as Tan, Niran and the kids plot to obtain a dragon wing!
Of course, itās a fantastic story, great ending, new friends, and onto the next bone discovery!
What an epic adventure this has become!
Canāt wait for the next one to be released!
Love these covers.
Series and side stories
š„How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned him to Villainy-6 books
š„How Tan Acquired an Apprentice
š„How I Took the King on a Bone-a-Fide Quest of Piracy, Piemu, and Profit:Bone series
Dragon wing located on pirate ship! Board ship? (YES) (NO?!)
Devan: I feel like this is a bad idea.
Tan: Those are the best kind!
Tags: Steveās been gagged, Tanās a dramatic bat, Devan adopts pirates, the crack ship armada is literally sailing, Lesia is adopted by pirates, stickers are fish food, Tanās volunteered Devan to officiate over weddings
When a story contains the phrase āFor Bone Daddyā and its uttered by a army of skelebabies in the middle of a rollicking bone rattling battle, well, you just know the book is going to be epic.
For all its short length, Sherwood packs a ton of high quality action, snarky humor, dubious necromancer goings on, and an ever- widening search for the bones of a sentient skeleton dragon called Steve.
Iām so committed to this series and found family of absolutely glorious people, young sorcerers in training in tow included. Itās hilarious, sexy, stunning and entertaining on every level.
I canāt wait for the pirates.
Dive into the series right at the beginning and then follow along. Itās all fabulous.
Love these covers.
Series and side stories
š„How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned him to Villainy-6 books
š„How Tan Acquired an Apprentice
š„How I Took the King on a Bone-a-Fide Quest of Piracy, Piemu, and Profit:Bone
Do you wish to deploy the necromancer to fight? (YES) (no)
Niran: The leg boneās connected to the ~ leg bone. The leg boneās connected to the ~
Tan: Sword hilt~ the sword hiltās connected to the bad guy~ hear the voice of the Steve~!
Steve: My boooOOOOoooone!
Tags:
Necromancers, fight!, itās Niranās time to shine, lawless city is our friend, onsen nookie, Steve makes a bad alarm clock, look at me, Iām the captain now, stinky city, Sword of the Sea makes an appearance, Steve needs his fainting couch to clutch his pearls upon, ragdoll Steve
Itās hard to rate exactly which of Sherwoodās many series are my favorites, but The Sorcererās Grimoire is, even at two books, among those I hold dear.
Itās in the universe sheās created, so recognizable and yet not, magical, imaginative and with our histories carefully bound together. Itās in the beautifully crafted, multidimensional characters sheās created and then given such emotional histories that, as readers we canāt help but attach ourselves to them, investing in their lives and stories.
Whether itās the boys, Julian and MacMallin, and their horrific start on the streets before Adrienās rescue or Adrien himself and his abysmal family life, thereās so many backstories to these characters. The strength and wonder of this dynamic that builds between the three of them is such a heartwarming element. The boys each develop into young men with their own unique powers and interests while gaining confidence in themselves. The same goes for Adrien and his new relationship with Hugh.
Thatās Sir Hugh Quartermain, a businessman, engineer extraordinaire, and someone whoās coming to love Adrien, despite all the barriers heās raised. And in a time and land when homosexuality isnāt legal.
The tapestry on which these relationships play out is a magical trip to Brazil to a manganese mine. Thereās jungle monsters holding up the mining, killing the workers, and Hugh needs their help.
Itās everyone off to an epic adventure! The first one abroad for the boys and an old enemy and a meeting with even older friends for Adrien.
Sherwood even gives us some major drama on the home front which will lead into the next book.
I will say that I was surprised but happy to see that Adrien and Hugh were able to move forward with their relationship. I thought Sherwood was going to stretch out the romance into a really slow burn. But it makes sense given the context.
The boys are such an amazing aspect of this series. They show such growth in their personalities and interests, yet retain the same fears still that the horrors of the street instilled in them. Julian and MacMallin are truly unforgettable young men. So are their Masters, Adrien and Hugh. I need more of all four plus their dog, Darby.
Iām highly recommending this book but read the series in order to understand the universe and the relationships.
The Sorcererās Grimoire:
ā A (Non) Comprehensive Guide to Sea Serpents #1
ā Dealing With Mapinguari and Dogged Engineers #2
As Shakespeare once said, the course of true love never did run smooth.
Since parting with Adrien after their first case, Hugh Quartermain has committed himself to one fact: he wants Adrien. With the monthsā long trip to Brazil ahead of them, Hugh should have no problem confessing, right?
The problem is the universe seems determined to thwart Hugh. Between creatures terrorizing his worksite, bothersome Americans, and not having any alone time with Adrien, Hughās foiled at every turn. When Hugh does get Adrien one-on-one, his advances always hit the wall Adrien refuses to lower, but the rare flare of desire in Adrienās gaze motivates him to keep trying.
Come hell or highwater, Hugh will confess to Adrien. He just has to figure out how first. Tags:
Adventures in Brazil, commence!, magical AU, friends to lovers, healthy communication, Hughās genius saves the day, confessions in unusual locations, apprentices being awesome, Prince Henry to the rescue, and yes he quite enjoyed that, portals, fights, and shenanigans, oh my!, monsters are always in the most inconvenient locations, romantic getaway in Thailand, oh look relationship development, pesky Americans, romantic getaway, cheeky apprentices, minor home renovations as a romantic gift, Darby is best girl.
Need a smile? A absolutely feel happy to the , well , bones , reading experience? Look no further than A. J. Sherwoodās latest serialized book, How I Took the King on a Bone-a-Fide Quest of Piracy, Piemu and Profit : Bone 2 (How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned him to Villainy.
Now on chapter 8, the epic adventure is really about to start, especially since Tan, his necromancer brother Niran, and Devan, have accepted that their tiny charges, the powerful budding sorcerers-in-training, Lesia and Zi Rui, are coming with them.
That together, with a chatty sentient dragon skull, Steve, in search of his bone body. And barbarians everywhere! And itās fabulous and funny! With fireballs.
And always over way too soon. But thatās the way of serialized fiction. Itās a quick, addictive tasty morsel that leaves you happy with the bite you had and wanting more. As this one does.
Bring on chapter 9!!!!
Love these covers.
š„How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned him to Villainy-6 books
š„How Tan Acquired an Apprentice
š„How I Took the King on a Bone-a-Fide Quest of Piracy, Piemu, and Profit
Ribs located! Penalty activated if you refuse. Proceed with quest? (YES) (no)
Devan: But the ribs are in the middle of a barbarian village.
Tan: Historically speaking, fireball would fixā
Niran: Charred bone. No.
Devan: Time to do this the hard way.
Tags: BoooOOOooones, trekking through barbarian lands to find dragon bones is not as fun as it sounds, they marrowly escape, yes all the bad bone puns, Niran canāt help himself, dragon ribs are big, Niran has more bones in his workshop than a collector, whole story is just mindless violence and fluff, and fireballs
In 52 pages, Sherwood fantastically opens up an entire new world of magical creatures, humorously giving us a newly enlarged found family of sorcerers, a talking dragon skull who has a name that has me giggling, and begins a mysterious adventure that will take 7 chapters to complete.
To my delight, thereās two very young apprentices that have been added to Tan and Devanās odd little family. Zi Rui, who got his own story, and the very sassy little girl who matches her own way into the mix and our hearts, Lesia.
The dynamics and dialogue is funny, heartwarming no matter how alarming Tan might find that, and makes this story fly by all too quickly.
Especially since Sherwood delivers a sentient dragon skull and a gleeful Niran who ,along with his skelebabies , is willingly heading with them into the northern lands for magical adventures!
I canāt wait for the next episode to come out!
Itās highly anticipated and another great recommendation!
Love these covers.
š„How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned him to Villainy-6 books
š„How Tan Acquired an Apprentice
š„How I Took the King on a Bone-a-Fide Quest of Piracy, Piemu, and Profit
Bone #1
Buy Link:
Blurb:
Sentient dragon skull acquired! Do you wish to find rest of body? (yes) (no)
Tan: Yes!
Devan: No, but why?
Tan: We get half of his hoard~
Devan: We leave tomorrow.
Tags:
Tanās field trips go awry, no one is surprised, only he can find a sentient dragon skull in a churchās basement, Quest time!, Wells gets stuck babysitting, again, Niranās more excited than anyone else, except maybe the apprentices, gold is a great motivator, all the bone puns.
āThe emergency contact mirror on his desk buzzed with an incoming call, jittering on the wood as if conveying the callerās agitation.
Tan snatched it up promptly, still looking around suspiciously.
āHi, Iām Tan. I own the place, and Iām going to go cry.ā
Tan, that magnificent Black Sorcerer of Grimslock, is back in a short magical tale of acquisition and revenge. Mostly acquisition.
Here is how Tan and his husband, Devan, his Knight and now King of Goodwine, find/acquire a young āsorely in need of savingā apprentice, no really heās family. And add another cat to their ever growing collection.
Itās got pathos, an enraged Tan, a fireball or two, an orphan, Knight Wells in a short appearance, and a highly satisfying, quietly loving ending.
Sigh.
Yes, I loved it.
The boy is Zi Rui. Be prepared to fall in love.
Buy Link:
Blurb:
Did Tan go looking for an apprentice? No.
Is Tan going to keep Zi Rui? Yes.
Did Devan agree to this decision? Debatable.
Tags:
Devan has CONCERNS, so does Wells, Tan thinks having a minion er apprentice is a wonderful idea, crackity crack, it’s a good thing Tan is cute, Villainy short story
The first in a new fantasy series, The Insanity of Reincarnated Mages and Amorous Vampires is a highly entertaining and fast paced fantasy adventure. Itās got reincarnated lovers, a sentient library, a found family of vampire warriors, and so much more.
All in all, a world of fun and magical action adventure, interwoven with love remembered and born again.
Sherwoodās characters are engaging, easily crossing time periods and a magical landscape to emerge in the modern world, embracing the cultural and technological aspects of the era, including even manga comics.
One of my favorite elements is the sentient library herself, Kassandra. A vibrant personality and key figure, even without a voice, I adored her. Master Declan, Ivy and the rest of the found family that defends and inhabits the library are amazing. Then thereās Kit, the one who was left behind, and Gun, the one who died and was reincarnated.
What a story and couple.
I was snared by the tragedy, pulled into the world by the adventures and hope of the future for the couple, and then just had a fabulous time with them along the way with the battles, the magic, and the ever enlarging foundation.
I canāt wait for the next in the series to come.
Iām highly recommending this to fans of this trope and author!
Reborn love. Unleashed magic. We wonāt fail twice.
Hi, Iām Kit. Immortal vampire and technomage extraordinaire. You know how it goes.
For the record, I am absolutely not stalking my reincarnated husband.
Okay, I am, but it’s for his own good. And mine. Er, assuming I can somehow figure out how to tell him heās reincarnated and a mage, and we all live in a sentient library.
Any thoughts on that? Iām currently taking suggestions.
One thingās for sure. Heās not dying on me again. Never again.
Tags:
The fluffiest fluff to ever fluff, that yāknow includes violence, magic, reincarnated lovers, vampires, sassy library, Kassandra the library has OPINIONS, found family, all the magical shenanigans, Kit and Gun are part time soulmates full time problem, authors have lost all discretion in this, Kit is a walking green flag, the crack ship armada is sailing at full speed here, master should never have access to a credit card, or a bookstore, no book is off-limits with that man, triggers involve too much sap and cuteness, occasionally blowing shit up, violence is not the question but it is the answer, Sentient Library Tells All, Iām absolutely a library book check me out.
The Fated Mates duology (at the moment) is a weird one. Primarily due to the fact that the books were written and released out of order. So book two, Fated Mates and Where to Find Them , Zander and Maxās romance, preceded this one. And it felt like we were missing out on important things, like foundation history and grounding within a universe framework.
While not complete, Sherwood delivers more of the detailed layering about the VSP, true mates, and a certain matchmaker that was absent from book two. It helps make the story. This and really delightful characters who have wonderful chemistry with each other.
I actually enjoyed them and their story better because I got who they were, their backgrounds, and Sherwood made me believe in their instant connection and hot chemistry.
Chase, the overly extended, pushed to his physical and mental limits grad student, is so well defined. He is over scheduled, too many responsibilities, isnāt sleeping, and heās exhausted. He may come across as young, and naive but always kind. Definitely not an āair headā, a term that has always carried a note of derision along with it. Tbh, I was surprised to see it in the tags/description.
Ronan, a vampire of many interests and talents, is a perfect choice for Chase. I enjoyed his pursuit of Chase and Ronanās twin brother, who clearly needs his own story. Ronan is a great character all his own, from his interests in mechanics and racing to his interactions with Father, he has layers to go with Chaseās.
Their story is 153 pages but it could easily have been much longer or even have a sequel of their own.
Iām definitely recommending Fated Mates and How to Woo Them (Fated Mates #1) by A. J. Sherwood . Itās a delightful paranormal romance and has a wonderful couple of fated mates at its heart.
Chase is crazy busy behind the scenes at the fraternity get together, so when an alumni comes in, he just notes a hot man in his vicinity and goes right back to work.
When Ronan gets hurt, and Chase feeds him, Chaseās reaction opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Ones that Ronan wants to explore.
Is Chase compatible with vampires? Or could he possibly be something more?
Tags:
Vampire story, same universe as Max and Zander, because yes the plot bunnies absolutely ran wild with this one, I am not in charge of this trainwreck, just along for the ride like you are, Chase has his airheaded moments, there is absolutely no chill where Ronan is concerned, bad guys have human sacrifice written all over them, whole story is mindless violence and fluff, sorry not sorry for this
Fated Mates and Where to Find Them is sort of odd to begin with in that itās book two of Sherwoodās Fated Mates series but book one hasnāt been released yet. And we get the couple from that first book in this novel in an interesting manner but what it does is highlight how much of the series world building is actually missing.
I did enjoy Fated Mates and Where to Find Them. I liked the couple, several of the secondary characters, and how fast paced the plot was. This story just flew by.
But it wasnāt supported by a strong foundation. I didnāt get anything as to the world structure. Vampire ruling class system? Human secondary status? Blood slaves? Whereād that come from? Iād have wanted more an idea of an overall portrait of the world in terms of paranormal development. I even knew who the villain was and what the dramatic event would be. How it would play out, no. But the general idea? Yes.
So really a just a tighter overall plan. Maybe thatās coming in the next book, which is book one. Normally itās where we get a series foundation. Iām looking forward to seeing what Sherwood has in store for the characters weāve already seen and how the author is going to handle a world where weāve already been a visitor to.
Live fated mates, and vampires and humans as couples, this is a series you should check out.
Fated Mates:
ā¦ Fated Mates and How to Woo Them #1 – Dec 8,2023
Zander is in an auction house for the sole purpose of getting someone to sign a contract. He doesnāt have any interest in owning a blood slaveāuntil he lays eyes on Max. That, he must have.
Max is there for reasons of his own, mostly desperate reasons, and heās braced himself for a year of hell. Which doesnāt seem to be forthcoming.
Someone needs to explain to this vampire that heās supposed to use Max, not spoil him. Zander doesnāt seem to get it.
Tags:
Paranormal romance, blood slave contract thing, except Zander doesnāt actually know how to own someone, Iām pretty sure heād break out into hives if he couldnāt spoil Max, Max has no idea what just hit him, he just knows heās somehow the responsible one, itās definitely not Zander, sexy times incoming!, Zander is a walking green flag, sass, so much sass incoming, light angst, mostly as an excuse for cuddles, stubborn to lovers, part time soulmates, full time problem, whole story is just mindless violence and fluff, the summary really doesnāt get across how much sex is in this but itās also not wrong, cinnamon protection squad, assemble!
Zone of Action concludes the fantastic story of the evolving relationship between Shiirei General Sho Renjimantoro (now Aart Warder Ren Brahms) and Aart General Arman Brahms.
The story opens with the epilogue from Fourth Point of Contact, which has the men already married, and getting ready for a big wedding celebration at Fort Brahms with family and friends. Until an urgent call comes from the King with another message from the Emperor of Shiirei.
That sees both Ren and Arman sailing back to Renās homeland on a mission of international security , one that has both stressed over the threats for war and those of a personal one, as same sex relationships arenāt culturally tolerated within the Shiirei nation.
Sherwood moving the narrative out of the tolerant society of Aart back to the intolerant world of Shiirei adds a great deal of new tension to the storytelling. It sharpens the sense of potential danger for the characters in even the most mundane situations to the benefit of the novel.
Not that thereās many of those. Itās a constant struggle to rebuild a fortress under siege by, at first, an unknown number of enemies who are deliberately targeted the them in their efforts to build.
A number of various countries/kingdoms are involved with this conflict as they donāt want a return to the war they fought. Many of the ācountriesā Sherwood has created have recognizable counterparts in real life nations today. Whether itās by names, cultural elements, clothingā¦Iām sure some of not all will be guessing if itās a composite or something similar. Either way, I found it a wonderful way to ground each nation in the various characters and cultures.
The POVs have expanded from two to three characters as well. For me, I was divided by this aspect of the story format.
First, I love these characters. All three. The interaction between them was heartwarming and added so much depth to each personally as well as to the whole relationship between the men and then them as a family. Seeing it from each personās perspective was important for the situation and what it represents for them as a couple. And for this child. So for that reason, yes, I did like the idea and decision to have a 3-person narrative.
However, for me it also took away from the whole storyline. There was so many scenes that were a bit āoff pageā as far as activity because there just wasnāt enough time to cover it all.
The child herself , Sakura , had a great backstory, and, frankly, frightening current situation that as a reader we were never able to get a good grasp of. All we ever saw or heard of her was when he/she appeared before Arman or Ren. What happened to her in between those occasions was a complete mystery. Thatās a shame because when her history becomes known, the tragedy of her life is a narrative goldmine thatās been left behind.
I did love her character, and her interactions with her new family, especially Arman. Sheās a gem who had more potential than the length allowed.
The story goes through the events, seeing them through the eyes of each character, which considering we are talking over a year, is sped up considerably. For me it feels just too shortened.
Thereās high drama, some political issues and politics that make international relations seem more like modern times than the age reflected by the world there. And , being a tad nit picky, some modern phrases that occasionally sound out of place than in a world where horses and sails are the mainstays of transportation.
But did I love it? Yes, Ren, Arman, and Sakura are a hard family to resist. I adored them going home and the welcome they received.
This wraps up the story for Ren and Arman. Although I can always hope we see them again in the next couple of books to come. Thatās O’ Broinās journey to love and marriage. Heās from another country that came to help Ren and Arman.
It should be quite a tale. I canāt wait. Until then, Iām highly recommending both the novels below, including this one. Read them in the order they were written.
Legends of Lobe den Herren :
ā Fourth Point of Contact: The Warden and the General #1
ā¢Arman not bashing everyoneās heads together (at least not without him)
ā¢Getting the fortress built before the Mongs attack (not at the rate theyāre going with all the thefts happening)
ā¢Going home without incident (also, again, not likely)
What it did not include was:
ā¢Social reform
ā¢A child
ā¢A raiding party
ā¢Arman actually using his words
Life once again proved reality is better than fantasy, and Ren couldnāt be happier.
Except for the Mongs. He could do without the Mongs.
Tags:
Homecoming, Arman actually uses his words, itās a miracle, children, homophobic idiots, supportive brother, surprise visits from royalty, Ren would like to point out this was not his idea, words are hard, if you have to build a fortress do it right the first time, Arman promises to not beat the whole country to a pulp for scorning his marriage, maybe, no promises, parenting is hard, someone should have warned Arman, raiding parties are their jam, Oā BroĆn is a good bro, matchmaking, social change, Arman sucks at giving hints, absolutely no one is surprised by this, fantasy becomes reality.
