For me, a fan of both series, Unholy Trifecta and Ross Young, Supernatural PA, this crossover was a howling success. In fact, I’m already crying for more. Assassins, dwarfs get yeeted, werewolves and vampires in battle, grenades, magic, and all our fabulous characters present and accounted for! That includes an almost grownup Remi aka Widow, 17, charismatic, and someone I very much need to see more of.
The plot itself is almost negligible, we just need an excuse to bring everyone together and have an explosive blast of craziness. Which is exactly what occurs.
If you haven’t read either series, this won’t make any sense to you. There’s too much missing background and depth of information that only available if you’ve read the series and know all the complicated relationships involved.
Do yourself a favor, and if you’re a fan of sarcastic humor, action, and hilarious characters and plots of snarky stuff with occasional depth into serious issues, grab both up.
Remi steals something she shouldn’t. Oops? In her defense, Ivan thought it was a good idea.
Tags:
Ivan, cause Ivan is his own tag, Remi is all grown up, cursed objects, Kyou wonders how this is now his life, Glenn is amused, Ross has no fucks to give, this is just pure crack okay, don’t take it seriously, Remi stole something she should not have, everyone blames Ivan, ruby necklaces should not float and give off lightshows, Glenn owes Ivan a favor and he’s calling it in, dwarven mead, warlocks, Remi is adopted by dwarves, Ari gets to shoot something so he’s happy, Ross refuses to be in charge of a warlock’s inventory, because no.
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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer
Grin and Bear It (just love the names) reverts back to the instant recognition and almost as fast bonding between the fated mates of this terrific story.
But Arden Steele’s novella does change up some elements that I sort of took for granted, given the plots of the other books. I really appreciate the surprise aspect of this.
Thorne McIver, super magical bear shifter and protector of Royal families , in this case a royal Elven prince. He’s a special Guardian, of a renowned and highly feared security team. Now he’s at the annual Summit of Allies Races Council/DARC held at Blackhaven Manor with the Prince who’s representing his Elven race.
Steele has gone both into history and mythology while constructing the character and species for Thorne and his team of Guardians. It’s fascinating and imaginative. Perfect, really, especially when called into action.
Throne’s mate is a human. Wren Covey, concierge at reception area of Blackhaven Manor, along with Kol. He’s a delightful character. With a decidedly painful past, Wren is someone who Steele shows to continually move beyond his own bad experiences to become a gentle, genuine person, with a kind heart and occasional inability to focus.
We adore him immediately as does the others we know from previous stories.
Through Wren, we get the first inkling of growing human backlash against the Otherlings and their status within human society. That’s been a subdued element before but here it’s a big factor in Wren’s family life and the weekend conference.
That’s new. So is the worry apparent in the Dragon siblings.
The drama here is woven through the mating story and the growing new relationship between Wren and Thorne. It kept me absolutely engaged. Especially as new details about Thorne’s species , his MOA security detail, and , what their future plans entail.
Hint? It comes from Dragon it Out. What a fabulous way to end it and give ideas for future stories.
This series and couples just keep getting better and better. And the universe just keeps expanding with new facts, organizations, and , of course, couples.
I’m highly recommending Grin and Bear It (Blackhaven Manor #4) by Arden Steele and the series.
Thorne McIver is no ordinary bear shifter. He’s the monster whispered about in the dark, the beast feared in battles, and for hundreds of years, he’s used his formidable gifts to protect the royal families of the paranormal world. So, when he’s tasked with escorting the elven prince to a council meeting at Blackhaven Manor, he figures it’s just another assignment.
Until he meets a stunning human who fills in all the pieces he didn’t know were missing.
When he’d first started working at the hotel, Wren Covey had been a mess. He’d known almost nothing about Otherlings, their culture or rules, and everything had terrified him. Barely a year later, there’s not much he hasn’t seen, and hardly anything fazes him. Or so he thought, because nothing could have prepared him for being the mate to a genuine living legend.
When an attack on the hotel tests his already divided loyalties, Thorne finds himself torn between love and duty. Though honor-bound to protect the prince, his instincts will always be to put his mate first.
Now, he’ll have to find middle ground and figure out how to do both, or his happy ending will be over before it even begins.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 