Tag: author Lauretta Hignett

Review: The Wolf Vs The Dragon: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth #7) by Lauretta Hignett 

Rating: 3⭐️

This is yet another review I found myself editing due to my exasperation with the main character, particularly how, at the penultimate book in this series, the author is still continuing to have Daphne’s character remain in the same place as it was at the beginning of the series. 

Hignett has previously promised some growth for Daphne, especially with her annoyed “2 personality” inner dialogue, an element of the story and character that was highlighted prior as an issue. 

Those constant ongoing conversations between violent‘brain Daphne’ and the other kind, naive and frankly, TSTL Daphne are an element that are repetitive, slow down the narrative, and honestly, irritating at this point. I thought the two halves were reconciled but ,no ,here we are, still with the same ongoing arguments that were old several books ago.  

Brain Daphne: let me stab whoever. Emotional Daphne: No it’s wrong. Brain: stabby Stab! 

ED: no, we must carry on with our internal dialogue while there’s some poor soul watching us stand here. 

Just no. At 23 percent. Well the entirety of the book. Then it gets worse when one part of her calls the other part an idiot. And I’m agreeing. 

Myf, the tortured alcoholic dragon shifter is now an enemy. Guess who is whining about that betrayal after Myf stayed locked in cabinets, soused after drinking binges with Dwayne, for ages, while Daphne deals with other drama? Daphne. SMH. 

There’s multiple side storylines. The ones with Dwayne , which I’m sure will have ramifications in the finale, still feel like literal fluff. 

By the end of the story, while there’s some good stuff here with Myf’s rescue, and a revelation, Daphne’s still such an oblivious, whiny character that I just can’t care about her anymore. 

Daphne has gotten to be unreadable. Dwayne,her companion Chaos god, as well.  

I’ll probably get the last one just to see what happens. But characters like Daphne? Are only interesting to me when they evolve and develop as the series progresses. By book 7, she shouldn’t be the same person as she was in the first novel. Now she’s just one more uninteresting trope.

Too bad because there is interesting mythology and world building going on, and some fascinating concepts here. Those got the rating points. 

Book Cover by Atra Luna Graphic Design

Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth:

The Wolf Vs The Vampire #1

The Wolf Vs The Warlock #2

The Wolf Vs The Shifter #3

The Wolf Vs The Witch #4

The Wolf Vs The Monster #5 

The Wolf Vs The Shadow Fae #6 

The Wolf Vs The Dragon #7

The Wolf Vs The World #8 – Nov 15,2025 – finale 

The Wolf Vs Santa: A Little Christmas Mystery

Buy link 

        The Wolf Vs The Dragon: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth

    

Blurb 

I don’t want to hurt her… but she definitely wants to hurt me.

Betrayal doesn’t sting. It hurts worse than that; it feels like a rake over coals, a disembowling, a slow, agonizing stretch on the torture rack.

Myf is hurt, and she’s found someone to blame. She’s focused all her pain on one target.

Me.

The Wolf Vs The Dragon is book seven in the Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth, a hot new Urban Fantasy series by bestselling author Lauretta Hignett.

Review: The Wolf Vs The Shadow Fae: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth Book 6 by Lauretta Hignett 

Rating: 4⭐️

The Wolf Vs The Shadow Fae picks up right after the cliffhanger ending of the last book where Prince Romeo had been kidnapped by the fae back to their Realm. Purposes unknown. 

There’s elements I enjoyed here and others I find that are either getting annoying, underdeveloped, or left dangling, without any explanation. 

Let’s take the things that are working against the storytelling for me. This is the sixth book and it’s very “talky” as opposed to action driven. Things are talked about endlessly. Especially when it’s the main character of wolf shifter Daphne.  Daphne’s been through years of time traveling abusive experiences as an adolescent to adulthood, slavery etc. Through alien worlds and realms. What she did to survive has shattered her personality into two parts, brain and heart.  They are constantly talking or arguing about everything. Every single situation. Plus she’s got a Pandora’s box or world of evil inside of her. 

But it’s mainly the two voices. They talk so much she gets nothing accomplished. Which is the point made here. But it’s just as annoying to read. Because while she’s not actively going forward, the whole narrative is standing still too.  While it’s talking. 

There’s good points made about how they should have recombined into one a while ago, but still not happening. 

Then there’s a really great case that opens the book. One where Daphne rescues two young kids. And it’s centered around one coven and family of powerful witches. A big event happens at the end of the case that’s dropped. We have no mention about it and the ramifications of the case. Nothing.  Sigh.

Last big issue I’ll bring up is that Daphne’s horrific history in the Fae realm isn’t consistent with her current experiences here. I understand parts of the Fae situation changed, still there should be more representation of that dark history than what is seen here.

Positives.  The cases and revelations concerning Romeo’s background. Daphne’s interactions with the other participants in the Bride races as well as the brutal races themselves. 

Those were exciting moments. 

Still enjoyable but I’m not as engaged as I was at the beginning.  

Book Cover by Atra Luna Graphic Design”

Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth:

The Wolf Vs The Vampire #1

The Wolf Vs The Warlock #2

The Wolf Vs The Shifter #3

The Wolf Vs The Witch #4

The Wolf Vs The Monster #5 

The Wolf Vs The Shadow Fae #6 

The Wolf Vs The Dragon #7 – Sept 15,2025

The Wolf Vs Santa: A Little Christmas Mystery

Buy link 

 Book 6 of 7: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth 

Blurb 

I never thought I’d find myself back here.

At least, I hoped I’d never have to leave the mortal realm ever again. But Romeo is missing, and I have to find him. I know who took him, and I know why. 

And I know how hard this fight is going to be.

I survived this wild-magic place once before, and I’ll do it again. But this time, I’m not a scared little girl. 

This time, I know exactly what I’m doing.

Let the games begin.

The Wolf Vs The Shadow Fae is book five in the Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth, a hot new Urban Fantasy series by bestselling author Lauretta Hignett.

Review:  The Wolf Vs The Monster: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth by Lauretta Hignett

Rating:  5⭐️

What a fully immersive and jammed packed story The Wolf Vs The Monster turned out to be.  I was thinking this might be the last book but instead Hignett ramped up the suspense, the plot lines, gave us high action, white knuckle anxiety for our main characters, including multiple anonymous villains, unforeseen events and situations, magical powers and creatures, and a new teenage vampire I absolutely fell in love with. 

This book is a fantasy Toad’s wildest adventure ride with a cliffhanger ending and every single part of the story is fabulous. 

Plus a certain character gets a long overdue comeuppance. 

And other things, huge plot points are revealed here too. 

So it’s absolutely satisfying and that cliffhanger will lead to an amazing story.  So I’m excited to read this next book. 

The Wolf Vs The Monster: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth by Lauretta Hignett might be my favorite story of the series so far.  It’s extremely well written, the characters and tightly packed narrative is perfectly balanced, and that ending really adds to the overall momentum here. 

Love it. And it’s a highly recommended book. 

Book Cover by Atra Luna Graphic Design”

Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth:

The Wolf Vs The Vampire #1

The Wolf Vs The Warlock #2

The Wolf Vs The Shifter #3

The Wolf Vs The Witch #4

The Wolf Vs The Monster #5 

The Wolf Vs The Shadow Fae #6 – July 15,2025

The Wolf Vs Santa: A Little Christmas Mystery

Buy link

        The Wolf Vs The Monster: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth

    

Blurb 

Sometimes it’s hard to tell who the real monsters are…

A strange creature attacked Romeo last night. A huge beast unlike anything anyone has ever seen in Philly before – an alien monster with natural armor, organic high-tech weaponry, and poison dripping from its limbs.

My intuition is screaming at me. It’s telling me the monster is not here for Romeo.

It’s here for me.

The Wolf Vs The Monster is book five in the Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth, a hot new Urban Fantasy series by bestselling author Lauretta Hignett.

  • Publication date: May 15, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 320 pages

Review:  — The Wolf Vs The Witch: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth by Lauretta Hignett

Rating: 5⭐️

What an outstanding book. A full out rollercoaster fantasy thriller. Laura Hignett just decided to take all the writing tropes, including science fiction, paranormal, Supernatural and mythological elements, add on some mystery thriller material and romance and stuff to go boom, and you have The Wolf Vs The Witch. 

This book finally answers the question what happened to Daphne, what’s in her head, and that’s a fantastic story thread in itself, but still manages to keep this aspect of the series and her character still a bit of a mystery that will flow into the next book. 

Hignett’s characters are deeply damaged and traumatized by events in their lives. So we get a Mwf who’s not dealing well with her exposure, her shifter identity, and the clash of opposing traumas from her own past life.  She’s a mean drunk and Dwayne the chaos goose and her enabler Alpha, got his own issues.  

There’s no scenario, no character that Hignett doesn’t focus on or make a real believable mess of, no matter what situation they’re in or the danger they are facing. 

That includes Romeo, his coven, and a new character, his step sister, as well as Daphne, all of whom are chasing down Christopher the powerful witch threatening the world.

There’s no way I’d describe the incredible, somewhat terrifying, often bizarre and always fabulously violent journey that follows, all the way to Greece.   It’s got battle scenes, mythological creatures, and great moments. And twists too. 

Just a superb story. And that epilogue sets up what will be a momentous tale that I can hardly wait to read when it’s released. 

If you love strong women characters, great storytelling, and compelling situations. This is the series for you. 

Highly recommended. 

Book Cover by Atra Luna Graphic Design

Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth:

The Wolf Vs The Vampire #1

The Wolf Vs The Warlock #2

The Wolf Vs The Shifter #3

The Wolf Vs The Witch #4

The Wolf Vs The Monster #5 – May 15,2025

The Wolf Vs Santa: A Little Christmas Mystery

Buy link

        The Wolf Vs The Witch: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth

    

Blurb 

“I can’t open up. Don’t you understand? I’m literally a box. If I open up to anyone, this whole world could be destroyed…”

My worst fear has come to pass. A vicious, sadistic witch has seen the darkness inside me, and he wants it for himself. Christopher Jupiter – the man responsible for the Great Suffocation, the reason why thousands and thousands of my people are dead – he saw the evils. And he wants them.

He’s not a powerful witch, but he’s smart. Too smart. He already knows what he needs to do to crack me open. Now, it’s a deadly race against time to find the artefact he needs so I can destroy it.

But I can’t do this by myself. How can I stop Christopher, if I can’t even tell Romeo what is inside of me?

The Wolf Vs The Witch is book four in the Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth, a hot new Urban Fantasy series by bestselling author Lauretta Hignett.

  • Publication date: March 15, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 404 pages

Review:  The Wolf Vs The Shifter (The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth Book 3) by Lauretta Hignett

Rating: 4.5⭐️

The Wolf Vs The Shifter (The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth Book 3) by Lauretta Hignett is a great terrifying book.

It simultaneously gives the reader more insight into multiple characters but starts to move all of the major characters into new stages where you can see the ultimate danger and darkness coming for them. 

We learn who Myf, there is a thrilling dramatic scene at the end where several plots crash together into one chaotic mess and battle. 

Great elements here that make this exciting , or disturbing if you think about it, are Dwayne, the goose chaos god and his dalliances with the Fae Princess, and how they have enormous roles here.  Myf, our closet hiding enigma gets her big reveal. And the vile polar bear Alpha gets his comeuppance, finally.

Hignett doesn’t forget to write in the small emotional moments that make the reader remember that there are many children and vulnerable innocent individuals whose lives are at stake in the outcome of the events here. Not just a part of the Hidden City but a small orc child in danger. 

Then the reader sees that the narrative continues to explore all aspects of  Daphne’s life, both as the paranormal child social worker and as that as yet unknown entity that hasn’t been revealed. 

Romeo and gang is here but recovering from the recent events. 

It’s a grand story, scary and serious. Sets the tone for the next one in the series. 

I’m highly recommending this author and series. So creative and well written. 

Book Cover by Atra Luna Graphic Design”

Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth:

The Wolf Vs The Vampire #1

The Wolf Vs The Warlock #2

The Wolf Vs The Shifter #3

The Wolf Vs The Witch #4

The Wolf Vs The Monster #5

The Wolf Vs Santa: A Little Christmas Mystery

Buy link

        The Wolf Vs The Shifter: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth

    

Blurb 

The hunt begins…

I’ve been on lockdown in the Hidden City for weeks now. Everyone thinks I’m hiding from the Alpha because I disobeyed his orders one too many times. And, well… I have. He’s coming for me; I know that.

But he’s also coming for Myf, my mysterious agoraphobic pantry-dwelling Welsh friend, and I can’t let him take her. She’s hiding a dangerous secret — one I need her to share with me so I can protect her.

It might be too late. The Alpha is coming, and I’m not ready to face him.

And the worst part is, he’s not coming alone.

The Wolf Vs The Shifter is book three in the Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth, a hot new Urban Fantasy series by bestselling author Lauretta Hignett.

  • Publication date: January 15, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 263 pages

Review:  The Wolf Vs The Warlock (The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth Book 2) by Lauretta Hignett

Rating:  4.75⭐️

The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth is a series that just gets better with each increasingly strange and complicated story that Hignett lays out for her characters, especially the severely damaged, deeply traumatized wolf shifter Daphne. 

Living in a building in the middle of the slimiest of the slums of The Hidden City of Philadelphia, along with Chaos Goose, a female of unknown species living called Myf in the cupboard, and the deadliest sorceress of all times , Countess Ebadorathea Greenwood, her grandmother figure, living next door, Daphne’s life is full of stress , confusion, and despair. Especially as she’s a new social worker for the paranormal children of the city with little support and resources. 

Then dead bodies start to appear on her doorstep, delivered in a very strange and deliberate manner. 

If I wasn’t already in love with this author, The Wolf Vs The Warlock would have cinched the deal. With a female character who’s constantly struggling with her trauma, trying to desperately make her job to reach/save the lost PNR children of The Hidden city, and fighting the supernatural battles that seem to follow her, it’s a great series and story.

Daphne’s a personality so consistently inconsistent,  still deeply undefined, that we have no idea where her overall storyline is headed or exactly what actions she’s going to take in any given situation. Will she talk the being/person about changing their lives, go for the throat, or something shockingly wild, sort of whack a doodle. No clue.  And it will be totally fine, with whatever is happening, astonishingly so.

This narrative approach works well so as others learn from her actions and comments, things that will inevitably leave hints to her past and present status, we learn as well.

The murder mysteries are key and lead to another interaction with Romeo, Warlock of the City and his coven. 

The coven members are fascinating, Romeo’s connection to Daphne deepens, and the plotting is better than ever. It’s complicated, full of beautifully crafted characters, vividly imagined scenes, and detailed locations and great dialogue. 

Don’t miss out on the hilarious cast of characters that is given at the beginning of each story. Dry and funny. 

Dave the ghoul is a new favorite.  But the Countess is top tier. 

“Who would leave a corpse on my doorstep as a gift?” 

The countess shrugged, an elegant hitch of her shoulders. “Have you expressed a desire for rotting flesh to anyone lately?”

— The Wolf Vs The Warlock: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth by Lauretta Hignett 

I adore the Countess, she just gets ever more impressive and dangerous, of course. 

This story is excellent is every way. Characters, plot, dialogue and moving forward an already amazing labyrinthine series arc.  I highly recommend this series and book. 

Onto the next novel in the series. 

Book Cover by Atra Luna Graphic Design

Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth:

The Wolf Vs The Vampire #1

The Wolf Vs The Warlock #2

The Wolf Vs The Shifter #3

The Wolf Vs The Witch #4

The Wolf Vs The Monster #5

The Wolf Vs Santa: A Little Christmas Mystery

Buy link

        The Wolf Vs The Warlock: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth

    

Blurb 

Nothing ruins your day more than a bloated, stinking corpse on your doorstep.

My natural optimism has taken a serious beating lately. I’ve been working my butt off, drafting a series of outreach programs to help the poor, lost supe kids of the Hidden City before they fall through the cracks in our society and end up in our Otherworld Child Protective system. There’s one thing I desperately need, and that’s funding.

But there’s no money to be had. Nobody wants to invest in these kids; it’s enough to break your heart. The rejection letters are ruining my morning, and that’s before I slipped on the bloated corpse at my front door.

Things take a turn when I’m summoned to a meeting with Mina, the matriarch of the Jupiter coven — my ex-boyfriend’s mom. Mina’s offering me exactly what I need.

She’s got a job for me. One that I’m not sure if I want to do anymore.

The Wolf Vs The Warlock is book two in the Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth, a hot new Urban Fantasy series by bestselling author Lauretta Hignett.

  • Publication date: November 30, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 314 pages

Witch and Wizard thrillers, 

Review:  The Wolf Vs The Vampire: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth by Lauretta Hignett

Rating:  4.5⭐️

Honestly, still thinking about the rating because the book and female character is so strange but I’m getting into it,as weirdly great as it is. 

And she and the world is plenty different. Mostly it’s her, Daphne, she’s plenty different, with two voices in her head, enough trauma to fill several oceans, and deadly skill sets that are still being revealed. Along with her pasts that were spent in other realms, alien hellish ones as a lost child. 

There’s the suspicious deadly brain Daphne, absolutely bloodthirsty. Then there’s heart Daphne, naive, obsessive, wanting to think better of others (even though she knows that they are evil).  The conflict between these two is constantly ongoing and a real conversation.

Yes it takes time to get into this mess of a character and her situation but stick with it, she and the book is worth it. 

Because the surprises will come nonstop as well.  

Hignett does an excellent job with such a complicated character like Daphne, a wolf shifter who’s so severely traumatized by the years of abuse and sheer brutality of wandering through alien realms as a small child trying to escape and get home that her personality seems splintered. Or is it?

Each new encounter show the reader more of who she might be, whether she’s valiantly trying to make it through the day as a paranormal social worker, climbing over drugged vampires, and dealing with cranky co workers, or just barely staving off the darkness and nightmares of the past that constantly threatens her sanity. And it’s terrifying.

From her hair that used to be brown, but has become lavender upon her return to the human world.  Then there are here friends who have followed her to Philadelphia. 

A goose, Dwayne who’s a God of Anarchy, a sort of grandmother a renowned “Countess Ebadorathea Greenwood, world class villain sorceress maybe, for starters. 

Plus she’s on a mission of revenge after she gets settled in her new job, helping the unwanted, the troubled supernatural children of The Hidden City of Philadelphia, where those who are unwanted or considered trash go. 

I got more and more convinced of her and the raw tragedy of those around her. That’s there something so frightening about her that she’s become a walking daily affirmation, trying to keep herself positive, and often failing. 

Daphne has become a fascinating puzzle of a great character. I can’t wait to see what she brings to the future and The Hidden City next. 

Highly recommended. 

Book Cover by Atra Luna Graphic Design

Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth:

The Wolf Vs The Vampire #1

The Wolf Vs The Warlock #2

The Wolf Vs The Shifter #3

The Wolf Vs The Witch #4

The Wolf Vs The Monster #5

The Wolf Vs Santa: A Little Christmas Mystery

Buy link

        The Wolf Vs The Vampire: The Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth

    

Blurb 

Everyone thinks I’m sweet and innocent… but I’m the one who ate the big bad wolf.

I’ve been searching for a place that feels like home my whole life, and I think I’ve found it. I’m in the big city, on a mission to save vulnerable supernatural kids — just like I used to be — in my new job as an Otherworld Child Protection Caseworker.

Because after our magical apocalypse, there are a lot of kids that need saving. I just need to avoid Romeo Zarayan, the Lord of Shadows and heir to the Jupiter fortune.

He’s also the Warlock who murdered my Aunt. One day, when I’m strong enough, I’ll get my revenge.

When one of my clients — a girl with strange-smelling blood — goes missing, the hunt takes me a little too close to the Warlock for comfort. If I want to save my client, I’ll have to set aside my quest for vengeance and work with him.

But if I get the chance, I’ll kill him.

If he doesn’t kill me first…

The Wolf Vs The Vampire is book one in the Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth, a hot new Urban Fantasy series by bestselling author Lauretta Hignett.

Connected Universe and crossover characters:

The start with 

🔹Imogen Gray series: 

Immortal Ghost (freebie prequel novella) Immortal 

Immortal Games 

Immortal World 

Immortal Life 

Immortal Death 

🔹Then follow Sandy in the 

Foils and Fury series 

Oops I Ate A Vengeance Demon Dancing With The Vengeance Demon 

Dating With The Vengeance Demon Dying For My Vengeance Demon 

🔹Then go on with Prue’s story with the 

Blood and Magic Series. 

Bad Bones 

Bare Bones 

Broke Bones 

Blood & Bones 

Burned Bones 

Bitter Bones 

🔹Head on into Chloe’s series, 

The Waif in the Wilds. 

The Waif in the Wilds (freebie prequel novella) Vicious Creatures 

Fractured Gods 

Ravenous Beasts  

Savage Daemons 

Duck Duck Motherf* cker (freebie epilogue novella in Dwayne’s POV)”

“🔹And then Daphne’s story in the Hidden City Supernatural Sleuth:

The Wolf Vs The Vampire #1

The Wolf Vs The Warlock #2

The Wolf Vs The Shifter #3

The Wolf Vs The Witch #4

The Wolf Vs The Monster #5

The Wolf Vs Santa: A Little Christmas Mystery

🔹And detour into a Paranormal Woman’s Fiction series. 

Susan, You’re The Chosen One 

It’s Called Magic, Susan 

Susan, Break The Curse! 

You Can’t Fight A Prophecy, Susan