Review: All I Want for Christmas is Tentacles: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance by Chloe Archer

Rating: 5🌈

Chloe Archer had me at every single aspect of this story, from the disillusioned Grinch of a human who’s lost his job as an “elf” to the small ship full of found family tentacled aliens, complete with a runaway groom, arriving at Earth with visions of Hallmark Christmases and rom-com movies abounding in their heads!

I laughed, smiled, and just delighted in all the many imaginative elements and great scenarios that Archer incorporates into this imaginative sci fy holiday romance. It’s got adorable aliens escaping a totalitarian world where only warriors are celebrated and those with other personalities and other types of skills and abilities are deemed lesser or weaker in nature.

One is, in fact, a wealthy IT alien, Khephren, who’s a definite fan of the Earth rom-coms and Hallmark movies. Yep , these will survive into the future , was there ever any doubt? This is such a hilarious and perfect idea and it’s used beautifully throughout this storyline.

Holodeck anyone?

Anyway, Khep goes all runaway groom, as one does, after seeing those movies and heads for Earth with his small found family of friends with similar problems. Which I love. Archer has a great way with characters, alien and human.

There Kheph kidnaps/encounters a depressed human , Sasha. Recently fired, and with a very sad past. Cue the restoration of Christmas spirit to the Scrooge human by aliens!

Honestly, this is such a joyful, hilarious, and heartwarming story. The characters have been given such depth that, human or alien, the reader connects with them easily and comes to care about them greatly.

Even that “Christmas tree” that arrives on board. More pls.

I would love to see where this merry crew is next Christmas. What’s happening with the show and what worlds they’ve visited.

I’m hooked. My favorite of the series and one I’m highly recommending any time of the year.

Tinsel and Tentacles (11 books)

◦ Jingle Bells and Elder Gods by Kiernan Kelly

✓ All I Want for Christmas is Tentacles by Chloe Archer ❤️🫶

◦ Tentacles and Other Stocking Stuffers by Delaney Rain

◦ Tentacles Rock by K.C. Carmine

✓ A Sucker for Christmas by J.P. Sayle

✓ Kraken Klaus by Charlotte Brice

◦ Twelve Days of Squidmas by H.L. Hiers

◦ It’s a Tenta-ful Life by Amanda Muewissen

✓ Rebel without a Claus by L Eveland

✓ Cthulhu for Christmas by Meghan Maslow ❤️🫶

◦ Tentacle Wonderland by Reese Morrison – Jan 1,2024

Buy Link:

All I Want for Christmas is Tentacles: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance

Blurb:

Seasons greetings and alien abductions! Can two misfits find love together? It might just take a Christmas miracle! Let’s hope Santa doesn’t mind that tentacles can be both naughty and nice…

Khephren

There’s no way in Helgar’s Nebula I’m marrying the candidate my parents have chosen for me. I don’t want to be the house-husband of some stoic warrior who only cares about training all day. Boring! Thankfully, I’ve learned a thing or two from all those rom-com human movies I’ve illegally downloaded off the intergalactic web. No one will see it coming when I pull a runaway groom maneuver on them!

Once I make my escape, I can go on the solo honeymoon of my dreams—to planet Earth. It’s almost that wondrous time of year when they celebrate their holiday known as “Christmas.” Human Hallmark movies make it seem so magical. I want to experience it for myself! Now, I just need to find a human who can make my wish come true and help me have an authentic holly jolly time…

Sasha

Scrooge was right when he said “bah humbug” to Christmas. This time of year sucks balls, and not the fun kind. I’ve just lost my crappy part-time job and I’m slowly sinking under a sea of student loan debt and crushed dreams.

Just when I think my life couldn’t possibly get any worse, my cat and I are abducted by an alien who wants me to help him experience a “real human Christmas” on his ship. WTF? Clearly he’s chosen the worst possible candidate for the job.

But there’s something about Khephren’s enthusiasm and eternal optimism that starts to melt even my grumpy, cynical heart. Heck, I even agree to be his fake fiancé to get his parents off his back! I don’t know what’s happening to me, but Khephren’s charm is making me feel things I never have before. And those bright pink tentacles of his are strangely fascinating. I can’t help but wonder what all they can do…

As we spend more time together, I start to realize I might not want to go home and that maybe, just maybe, I’ve found what I’ve always been looking for. Could Khephren feel the same? If so, it would be a Christmas miracle and I don’t believe in those…right?

All I Want for Christmas is Tentacles is a standalone novel (74k words) in the Tinsel and Tentacles multi-author winter holiday MM tentacle romance series. It features a runaway tentacled-alien groom obsessed with Hallmark movies and Christmas, a grumpy human who’s down on his luck and says “bah, humbug” to the holidays, an alien abduction, fake fiancé fun, a cat named Jonesey, a droid named Rambo, a ship called the Sleigh Belle, found family, sweet and cozy vibes for the season, and a guaranteed HEA!

• Publisher: Rainbow Dreams Press LLC (November 24, 2023)

• Publication date: November 24, 2023

• Print length: 277 pages

Linked series:

Tentacular Tales

Review: Worth His Salt (a Tattooed Corpse story) by Ofelia Gränd

Rating:4🌈

Sometimes a story by Ofelia Grand is less a long winding, complicated adventure for her characters and more a fleeting vivid window into a certain important moment of her characters lives. It doesn’t matter if it’s a science fiction story or a tale of a ghost and a family of witches set in a lighthouse in an anonymous coastal town.

Each novella has all this author’s narrative hallmarks. They contain weirdly mysterious elements, wonderfully detailed characters, and a story that, much like a work day, just ends once that storyline “job” is fulfilled, leaving the reader feeling both filled with awe at the story itself and dismayed by its abrupt ending.

The tattooed corpse stories were born out of a group discussion about having a tattooed corpse just appearing in a story, no matter the trope. This is Grand’s ghost story.

Eldred Henstare, guardian of a city, has been feeling a ghost calling to him from across the town. Now, he’s out in the middle of a storm, blindly following the voiceless call. Which leads him to a lighthouse.

That’s the start of another strange, remarkable tale from this author I can’t get enough of. As with Worth His Salt (a Tattooed Corpse tale), Grand gives the reader fascinating characters, fleeting glimpses into mysterious family backgrounds , a foundation story to sink your teeth into, and a finish that ends the story just as the characters begin what appears to be a very magical romantic relationship.

It’s fabulous, well written, and also frustrating, because it feels like we’ve been given a glance into a new world and the beginning of a life we want to see more of.

Which is typical of Grand and her flights of narrative fancy.

Will we see these characters again? Maybe. Maybe not. It’s sounds as though this highly unusual author has a mind full of ideas and drawer(s) stuffed with stories, so who knows which will see the light of a publisher?

I will be waiting for every one. And recommending them.

Cover art: Amy Spector

Tattooed Corpse Stories:

✓ Worth His Salt (ghost story and lighthouse)

✓ It Doesn’t Translate (syfi universe)

Buy Link:

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Worth-…Worth His Salt eBook : Gränd, Ofelia: Kindle Store

Blurb:

Eldred Henstare is a not so powerful witch who’s been left in charge of helping the city’s lingering spirits to move on. He usually handles it pretty well, but something’s wrong with the spirit leading him to the abandoned lighthouse.

Mo Vin likes his quiet life in the cottage next to the lighthouse, at least it’s quiet until one night when Eldred Henstare — young, beautiful, and crazy — arrives. After that night things aren’t the same. A man is found dead on the beach outside Mo’s cottage, and he’s almost sure he’s the one who killed him, except it doesn’t make sense. Why would he kill anyone?

Eldred needs to get rid of the ghost haunting Mo. If he doesn’t Mo’s life is in danger, but to do it he needs both Mo and his brother Lachtin to help out.

• Publisher: JMS Books LLC (March 13, 2021)

• Publication date: March 13, 2021

• Print length: 54 pages

Review: The Red Dragon of Oxford (Wings over Albion, #1) by Joy Lynn Fielding

Rating: 4.5🌈

The first in Fielding’s new Wings over Albion series, The Red Dragon of Oxford is a great intro to this author while diving into a favorite trope and subject matter of mine. I’m talking dragons! And librarians. As well as romance and mystery.

I love the setting and the imaginary Mortimer College in Oxford where the events take place. Fielding builds on Oxford’s tradition and history when creating the riches of architecture and atmosphere that’s Mortimer College and its library. It’s alive, full of students in every emotional state, and two very special and impressive librarians, one of which is a dragon.

A dragon into whose life comes a doctorate student of immense determination and courage.

I love the way Fielding unfolds the tale of Mark Stevens, post doc German theology student who happens to see a red dragon in the early morning hours to his utter delight and disbelief . Mark’s life is one of constant doubt about himself and continuous study and stress to get through his first year. The author paints a realistic picture of a the struggles and stresses that are present under this situation. Mark is definitely relatable.

Rufus Mortimer, the Liberian who’s so much more than a librarian is also not the normal idea of a powerful, confident dragon. His is a complex, intelligent, and layered character with a background that has just enough foundation to give his issues believability but also left the series and family history room to enlarge for future books. Adore Rufus.

The plot includes multiple characters, storylines, and the potential for dragon history and mythology to explore as the series continues to develop.

Fielding starts with a dragon who is on the edge of his own family’s power and outside of the inner circle and knowledge. Rufus by his color is an outlier . That’s exciting, satisfying, and starting to change by the end.

This, so far, isn’t a soul mate romance. But the relationship between Mark and Rufus evolves slowly and is so lovely to read. It’s a HFN.

The next picks up with another dragon, Rufus’s big brother who we met in this book. I wish I had my hands on it now. Unfortunately, no information as of yet.

Until then, Im highly recommending The Red Dragon of Oxford (Wings over Albion, #1) by Joy Lynn Fielding for lovers of paranormal romance, dragons, mythical tales, and mystery.

I absolutely adore this.

Wings Over Albion:

✓ The Red Dragon of Oxford #1

Buy link:

The Red Dragon of Oxford: MM Paranormal romance (Wings over Albion, Book 1)

Blurb:

Dragons aren’t real. Or so I used to think.

Oxford isn’t exactly what I’d imagined. Sure, the colleges are romantic, and everyone is brilliant enough to trigger my impostor syndrome. I expected that.

The dragon, however, was a big surprise.

I saw him on my first day. The beautiful beast spoke to me, then disappeared. I’ve been looking for him ever since.

When I’m not on a wild dragon chase, I spend my time in the library. I’d like to think I’m only there to study, but who am I kidding?

I’m there for him.

Rufus Mortimer is the world’s hottest librarian. He’s strict, enigmatic, and sexy. He makes me feel things I’ve never felt before.

But he has a secret. One that could destroy everything.

So now, all I have to do is find a dragon, earn my doctorate, and try to not to let my new romance burn my life to the ground. Easy, right?

I wish…

The Red Dragon of Oxford, book 1 in the Wings over Albion series, is a sweet and spicy paranormal m/m romance. Download today, and get ready to fall in love with Mark and Rufus.

• Publisher: (January 15, 2024)

• Publication date: January 15, 2024

• Print length: 250 pages

Book 2 is Nate’s story.

Review: A Beginner’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Demons: A Demonic Disasters and Afterlife Adventures Novella by Shannon Mae

Rating: 4.5🌈

Time for the road to romance for Beel the demon pet frog to begin! And what a hilarious journey it is. Beel or Beelbufo, a lower demon, was first mentioned back in book 1. Beel had been summoned by Gabe’s Grams as a pet and companion for the little boy (long, involved, and heartwarming plot thread). Beel ends up happily spending his time (decades as Gabe grew up ) in a lovingly decorated aquarium with a heat rock) watching horror films and eating popcorn, listening to Gabe and becoming family.

Now with Az and Gabe happily paired up as soulmates, Az has plans to find Beel a love life. After all, that’s what a lust demon who’s also an Infernal King of Hell supposed to do! Meddle with the lives of those who have become family.

Mae brings Beel, previously only seen as a furiously croaking frog, into gloriously chaotic life as a confused, frantic demon. Newly back to a human form in decades, bad at deception and absolutely falling for his pet sitter, Jonathan. Who thinks he’s a frog.

While the story ends a bit abruptly, everything that goes before it is a narrative wonder. Hilarious, with moments of genuine sweetness and heart, there’s scenes of high humor and ones of poignancy. A demon frog and pet store owner find their HEA while watching horror films and eating popcorn. How perfect.

A Beginner’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Demons: A Demonic Disasters and Afterlife Adventures Novella by Shannon Mae is an excellent read and reason why I have come to love this series and author so.

The writing is marvelous, the characters well crafted, and the plotting layered with vivid details and emotional scenes.

Read this series in the order it’s written because it’s got a very complex plot that is developed book by book. Amazing! And one I’m highly recommending.

Great cover again, probably my favorite so far!

Demonic Disasters and Afterlife Adventures: (Paranormal Romance) :

✓ A Beginner’s Guide to Death, Demons, and Other Afterlife Disasters

✓ A Beginner’s Guide to Mistakenly Summoned Demons and Other Misadventures

✓ A Beginner’s Guide to Revenge, Chaos, and Other Absurd Escapades

✓ A Beginner’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Demons (A Novella)

◦ A Beginner’s Guide to Ghosts, Fallen Angels, and Other Afterlifers (Demonic Disasters and Afterlife Adventures Book 6)-June 19, 2024

Buy Link:

A Beginner’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Demons: A Demonic Disasters and Afterlife Adventures Novella

Blurb:

Beelbufo has lived a comfortable life as a pet frog for two decades, enjoying pets, human food, and horror movie nights with his favorite human, Gabe. But when Gabe and Az fall head over heels in love, they decide Beel needs a companion too. Little does Beel know that the charming pet shop owner, Jon, is about to become his unsuspecting caretaker. There’s only one small catch – Jon thinks Beel is just an ordinary pet frog.

When Jon’s safety is threatened, Beel can’t help making an appearance in his human form. Now Jon’s eyeing him with suspicion (turns out his cover story wasn’t that great), Gabe and Az are up to their matchmaking antics, and Beel really just wants another kiss with the adorable pet shop owner. (Oh, did we forget to mention they shared a kiss? Spoiler alert: it was magical.)

If Beel’s meddling family can stop interfering, Jon can stop being so suspicious, and Beel can stop being so scared of outing his true identity, these two might just get their own happily ever after. (Hopefully with more kisses, because Beel really does like the kissing.)

Tags: Beel despises romantic comedies, but maybe he’s about to star in one; Jon’s got a troublesome ex and could use a knight in shining armor – Beel’s more than happy to oblige; Az keeps weaving fairy tale and frog references into their lives, much to everyone’s chagrin; Beel’s cover stories are laughably bad; coming out as your true self is tougher than Beel imagined, but sometimes it’s worth it.

• Publisher: (January 11, 2024)

• Publication date: January 11, 2024

• Print length: 140 pages

Review: Twelve Days of Squidmas: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance by K.L. Hiers

Rating: 4🌈

There’s so many great things to like about K.L. Hiers’ Twelve Days of Squidmas, one of the Winter Tentacle Holiday collection. It’s got a truly poignant storyline about loss and the damage that years of family abuse does to a person. It talks about someone who’s watched and been a caregiver for someone dying of cancer. Then the reader is there, as the funeral is over, the grandmother’s death so deeply devastating that her grandson is having trouble moving forward, and his family is descending like vultures.

Bright and happy a start this is not.

But Hiers brings into this realistically portrayed scenario of a grief stricken young man alone with his loss and house, a new wild card that upsets everything Jack Marsh thought he knew about his grandmother. Jack summons Xorvash, an interdimensional tentacle creature who was his grandmother’s best friend.

Hiers has such fun and does a fantastic job capturing both the essence and power of the demon Xorvash, especially his impact on “Cuddles “. While there’s an amazing effervescent energy and joy that comes from this character and his scenes, Hiers still manages to bring in the smallest detail of Jack’s painful background and the emotional damage he’s suffered in ways that are fleeting but powerful. Then it’s onto a scene that’s familiarly funny and satisfying for the season.

I enjoyed the many side characters and storylines, especially the next door neighbors. I wish that aspect could have been more developed as a few details were left unexplored.

Same went for the ending. It wasn’t exactly satisfying. Jack and Horvash go to all that trouble to boot the family out of the house and then what? They leave and what happens to the house? That was an important narrative loose end that was left flapping around. And it should have been a simple one to explain or tie up.

Things like this make me wonder why, when the rest of the piece is so well written and emotionally balanced.

I’m recommending Twelve Days of Squidmas: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance by K.L. Hiers because even with these quibbles it’s a pleasure to read.

Tinsel and Tentacles (11 books)

◦ Jingle Bells and Elder Gods by Kiernan Kelly

✓ All I Want for Christmas is Tentacles by Chloe Archer ❤️🫶

◦ Tentacles and Other Stocking Stuffers by Delaney Rain

◦ Tentacles Rock by K.C. Carmine

✓ A Sucker for Christmas by J.P. Sayle

✓ Kraken Klaus by Charlotte Brice

✓ Twelve Days of Squidmas by H.L. Hiers ❤️

✓ It’s a Tenta-ful Life by Amanda Muewissen

✓ Rebel without a Claus by L Eveland

✓ Cthulhu for Christmas by Meghan Maslow ❤️🫶

◦ Tentacle Wonderland by Reese Morrison

Buy Link:

Twelve Days of Squidmas: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance

Blurb:

Jack Marsh has twelve days to pull off the perfect Christmas.

Even though his beloved grandmother has just passed, his rotten family is expecting him to host in her place. He already hated this time of year, and now he has to decorate, bake cookies, wrap presents, and create a delicious holiday feast.

Enter Xorvash, an interdimensional tentacle creature from another plane of existence. Thanks to a minor kitchen mishap, Xorvash comes crashing into Jack’s life and promises to do the impossible. Jack suspects Xorvash’s interest in him goes far beyond merely wanting to help him deck the halls, and he’s having trouble resisting Xorvash’s unique charms. With some luck and a sprinkle of holiday magic, Jack might get some sweet tentacle romance for Christmas—plus a little miracle or two.

Twelve Days of Squidmas is part of the Tinsel and Tentacles multi-author collaboration and a complete standalone. Expect to find a grumpy human and a sunshine tentacle creature, lots of silly snark, smexy tentacle times, and a magical happily ever after. Want more tantalizingly tentacular winter holiday romances? Grab the whole series!

• Publisher: (December 15, 2023)

• Publication date: December 15, 2023

• Print length: 167 pages

Review: Family and Reflection (The Sleepless City #3 ) by Anne Barwell

Rating: 4.5🌈

I’m jumping around this remarkable paranormal series by authors Anne Barwell and Elizabeth Noble as I recently discovered it by reading the second book in the series. That story, the fascinating universe that these authors were creating was something that immediately drew me into the narrative. From its location of Boggslake, a small historical Ohio town situated alongside Lake Erie with all its atmospheric layers , to that odd expanding group of found family of supernatural beings plus a human as well as a dog, I was all in.

Then Barwell and Noble introduced a twist or two on the fated mate/soul bound trope, and I was more than committed, I was delighted with the idea that, fated mates didn’t equal instant love but instead perhaps a more thoughtful approach for both men, including dismay, hilarity, dismissals, before finally finding acceptance. Yes, that works.

So here , it’s an exploration between two species that , in this series, have a serious animosity towards each other, even if the individuals themselves have a friendship that is looking to go further.

That’s the current werewolf and vampire species. There’s also the arc storyline and threatening mystery that’s involved multiple murders, several mysterious creatures, and an ongoing hunt for the mastermind behind it all.

All these complicated plot threads and the characters and elements converge together as Lucas Coate, werewolf (estranged from his pack) is asked for help from his sister to solve a horrific mystery. But the vampire Declan, recently returned from abroad, is being framed for thefts around town, and now needs help from his friends at Boggs Castle to find the real thief. All while dealing with this attraction to Lucas and the new soulbond of his friend/long time vampire lover, Jonas Forge to Blair.

This story has complicated relationships that speak to complex layered dynamics between friends and family, friends and their own lovers, friends and their long term friends. All woven into storylines that have murders, mysteries, and developing romances.

It’s not entirely satisfactory an ending because the arc storyline has one more book before it can be completed. So the elements I feel were left unfinished here were probably done so for a purpose. I won’t know exactly until that last novel is read.

I get the feeling that everything is fitting together like a puzzle piece and so now it’s off to finish the puzzle. But first back to grab up that first story before I can finish up.

I’m highly impressed with the series and authors. It’s a must read. Dare I say, don’t do as I did, and read them in order? Yes! Do that!

The Sleepless City:

◦ Shades of Sepia #1 by Elizabeth Noble

✓ Electric Candle #2 by Elizabeth Noble

✓ Family and Reflection #3 by Anne Barwell

◦ Shifting Chaos #4 by Anne Barwell

Sequel Series:

The Vampire Guard by Elizabeth Noble:

◦ Code Name: Jack Rabbit #1

◦ Quarry #2

◦ Endosymbiont #3

Buy Link:

Family and Reflection (The Sleepless City Book 3)

Blurb:

When a rebel werewolf and a vampire thief fall in love, only one thing is certain—trouble.

For as long as Lucas Coate can remember, werewolves have been taught to mistrust vampires. Lucas is an exception—he has close friends who are vampires. The werewolf pack in Boggslake—and their leader, Jacob Coate—have made it clear that Lucas’s association with vampires is barely tolerated, and another transgression will be his last. When Lucas finds out about the plague of werewolf deaths in the area, he wants to help even though his own life may already be in danger.

Declan has been away from Boggslake for ten years, but he isn’t surprised to learn that the internal politics of the Supernatural Council haven’t changed for the better. When a series of burglaries hit close to home soon after he arrives, Declan—a vampire and professional thief—is their prime suspect, although for once, he isn’t responsible. With the council keeping secrets, no one is safe. Time is running out, and for Lucas and Declan, everything is about to change.

Authors Note: This story was originally released in 2015 by another publisher. This edition has been re-edited with additional content.

• Publisher: LaceDragon Publishing; 2nd edition (September 11, 2020)

• Publication date: September 11, 2020

• Print length: 275 pages

Review: Electric Candle (The Sleepless City #1) by Elizabeth Noble

Rating: 4.5🌈

Such a fascinating series! A four-book series, with two authors, each writing two books a piece to complete the arc and couple storylines. And it works beautifully, flowing pretty seamlessly from one author’s narrative to the next.

Barwell and Noble have created a really remarkable paranormal universe.

It’s got a found family of supernatural beings (werewolves , vampires, and a ghost), one human, one dog, all of which are living in a haunted castle near Lake Erie in a small town of Boggslake, Ohio. The group has an unusual set of backstories among them, including a current history of unrest and animosity between different paranormal species. Specifically, between werewolf and vampire species which often will impact the group dynamics.

The authors, especially Noble here, offer a very different approach on the typical soulmate/soul bonding process. I really found this to be such a surprising and fascinating element of these characters and storylines.

Noble’s characters include a very old vampire who needs antihistamines . And upon discovering the person who’s his soulmate, isn’t instantly rapturous over the thought but instead thinks that person is a bit of a naive idiot ,definitely not soulmate material. Nope, no instant love , more deep mortification.

Noble’s story involves a several current murders, possibly a deeper connection to mysterious deaths in the past, and plenty of slow revelations about each species and the dynamics within Boggs Castle, as the new relationships being forged.

I’m absolutely hooked. The characters are a marvelous combination of well developed personalities but leaving just the right amount of mystery to their respective backgrounds that the reader just needs to know more.

Plus the author’s folds in the Lake, as it’s called there, perfectly, using its unique allure, scary qualities, and beauty to a narrative charm.

I can’t wait to read all the books in this series.

Start here, it’s an excellent read and got so many new twists to familiar elements.

The Sleepless City:

✓ Electric Candle #1 by Elizabeth Noble

◦ Shades of Sepia #2 by Elizabeth Noble

◦ Family and Reflection #3 by Anne Barwell

◦ Shifting Chaos #4 by Anne Barwell

Sequel Series:

The Vampire Guard by Elizabeth Noble:

◦ Code Name: Jack Rabbit #1

◦ Quarry #2

◦ Endosymbiont #3

Buy Link:

Electric Candle (The Sleepless City Book 2)

Blurb

When a vampire finds his soulmate, the bond is forever. It’s love at first sight.

Or is it?

Homicide Detective Jonas Forge has been a vampire for centuries. He’s fought wars, seen life go from the simple colonial days to the modern high-tech world. He’s evolved with the times, adapted to each new era, blended into each new life. The one constant is his best friend, mentor, and lover, Declan. Even though not fated to bond as soulmates, Forge and Declan are happy and settled in their life together.

Until Forge’s real soulmate falls, literally, into his life.

Forge isn’t thrilled with the guy, despite the pheromones attracting them to each other, and the feeling seems mutual. While trying to adjust to his clumsy soulmate and equally awkward feelings, Forge is also on the hunt for a serial-killer witnesses can’t identify who’s leaving a trail of bodies in its wake.

Will the bond Forge is finally forming with his soulmate be destroyed when the hunter becomes the victim?

If you like fated mates who aren’t perfect for each other, a paranormal killer who might not be caught and found families then you’ll love Elizabeth Noble’s Electric Candle

Review: Dead Serious Case #4 Professor Prometheus Plume: MM Paranormal Romance & Dark Comedy (Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 5🌈

Vawn Cassidy’s Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed is one of my favorite series. Dark humor, beautifully realized characters, and extremely well executed plots that convey the heartbreak and the joy of love and romance, the horror and hope of experiencing life and losing it, as well as the light and darkness that exists beyond. It’s all there in every story.

Each book revolves around a case of a dead person. Sometimes it’s horrifying, sometimes hilariously funny or tragic and traumatic. Sometimes it’s both sad and frightening. And all these things.

In Dead Serious Case #3 Mr Bruce Reyes #3, the small group, Inspector Danny Hayes, forensic pathologist Tristan Everett, ghost Dusty Le Frey, and her boyfriend, ghost Bruce Abernathy, among others, helped save the world. A scary, horrific tale, even if being immensely satisfying.

Now, Cassidy has written a fabulous story, one that’s naturally got a crime, a murder, a manor house full of the most wildly entertaining and exasperating people and ghosts. A natural bookend to the one prior.

The story opens up, realistically and wryly in the morgue, with an extremely exhausted Tristan trying to complete an examination, with ghostly onlookers inference. The outcome of this wonderful scenario will see two very tired men on a much needed holiday. One of which keeps trying to find the perfect place to propose.

What ensues is absolute narrative perfection. Amidst high comedy, murder most theatrical, and ghostly antics at The Ashton-Drake Manor House Hotel, Cassidy’s also includes the raw issues these men face and the daily pain of their experiences. There’s an emotional reunion between Danny and his long estranged family, as well the wrenching emotional scenes of Tris trying to come to terms with the reality of his father’s approaching death from dementia.

The hijinks , murder included, to be found at the Manor, is a romp over the reality that Danny and Tris have left behind. When I say that Cassidy has created new characters and moments so quietly hilarious that I’d say they were “spew worthy” is to be understated.

Ah, Dilys! This the ancient, tiny bartender will forever be held responsible for the wine stains on the carpet as I giggled away at her approach!

I fell so deeply in love with everyone at The Ashton-Drake Manor House Hotel, alive and ghostly, that I want the author to revisit this location and entertaining little group of inhabitants, whether it’s by a individual book or story in this series in the future. They are simply so perfect to consign to one book.

Throughout the events that occur and the characters that make up the zaniness’s of this investigation, this is one fabulous piece of murder that ranks among my favorite books of the year.

Of course, it’s a gift from the author, because the ending proves that this has always been a part of the larger universe and the scary enlarging arc the author’s been creating.

So amazing. Breathtaking really. For now we are halfway prepared for the darkness to come.

The is a series that’s an absolute must read, but do it in the order that the books are written. Highly recommended, at the top of my rec list.

Fabulous cover as usual.

Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed:

✓ Dead Serious Case #1 Miz Dusty Le Frey #1

✓ Dead Serious Case #2 Mrs Delores Abernathy #2

✓ Dead Serious Case #3 Mr Bruce Reyes #3

✓ Dead Serious Case #4 Professor Prometheus Plume #4

◦ Dead Serious Case #5 Madame Vivienne: Schedule 2024

Buy Link:

Dead Serious Case #4 Professor Prometheus Plume: MM Paranormal Romance & Dark Comedy (Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed)

Blurb:

Inspector Danny Hayes has something very important to ask his boyfriend Tristan Everett. Over the past six months they’ve survived reapers, chaos monsters, and biblical storms, not to mention averting an apocalypse. So, what’s left to do but pop the big question?

Tristan is ready for a break from world-saving, spectral crises, and most definitely from ghosts. He wants some one-on-one time with his boyfriend, preferably horizontally. So when their Boxing Day celebrations result in a drunken booking of a romantic New Year’s getaway at a quiet little hotel near the wilds of the north Yorkshire moors, Tristan can’t wait.

But as usual nothing ever goes according to plan. Snowed in during an unexpected murder mystery weekend at what turns out to be one of the most haunted hotels in Northern England is not what they had in mind, but when one of the actors turns up really dead not just fake dead, they once again find themselves caught up in another investigation.

With only one night to figure out who the killer is while wrangling a multitude of overly helpful ghosts, Tristan begins to wonder if romance really is dead…

• Publisher: (December 31, 2023)

• Publication date: December 31, 2023

• Print length: 285 pages

Review: Accidental Bonds (Elemental Bonds Book 1) by Marie Reynard

Rating: 4.75🌈

In the author’s notes, Reynard states that Accidental Bonds is her debut novel. Well, it’s a remarkable story, whether it’s her first book or one of many.

Accidental Bonds, the first in the Elemental Bonds series, follows the meeting of independent mage Elijah Lauring with Alpha Victor Mills of the nearby Mills pack. Victor has come to Elijah to contract for a mage’s help with failing pack wards.

That’s the basis for an exciting, extremely well written, and highly suspenseful paranormal tale. This contains so many great elements. It has a frenemies to bonded mates romance, a dark magical series mystery that’s, frankly, extremely frightening and well scripted, and multidimensional characters that continue to develop throughout the storyline.

Yes, please, I’m well and truly hooked.

There’s not just the standard wolf shifter mating, but another type to consider. The mage aspect is equally interesting and important for the story as is the pack/wolf shifter elements. There’s a lovely balance not just between Elijah and Victor, but also between their foundations, their history, and friends.

Every part of this narrative, Reynard creates a strong sense of definition to her characters and the storytelling, crafting layers that include foundation building for the series and backstories of the characters.

That mage shop, with its dust motes, odd vials, and weirdly intuitive cat becomes a place that’s believable and visually lush. The same goes for the Mills territory, the woods and the surrounding landscape and down to the small pack of endearing individuals we get to meet. Real, grounded in their stories, and the pack they are a part of.

The blackness and mystery that’s a great part of this story and series is truly frightening. Keeping it both real and unknown is a marvelous element.

My biggest frustration? I couldn’t go immediately to the next story! I loved this so much I wanted to see what happened next asap.

Reynard does give this couple a good HFN, meaning they are settled but the series mystery continues. The next book will follow different but connected characters, one from each group of friends. Like I said, I can’t wait.

I’m highly recommending Accidental Bonds (Elemental Bonds Book 1) by Marie Reynard. It’s an amazing book, especially as it’s her debut novel. Grab it up and enjoy!

Elemental Bonds:

✓ Accidental Bonds #1

◦ Impulsive Connections #2 – Oct 2024

Buy link:

Accidental Bonds (Elemental Bonds Book 1)

Blurb:

It was meant to be temporary. Fate had other ideas.

Victor Mills would do anything to protect his pack, even work with magic he detests. When the wards safeguarding his territory start to deteriorate, he’s forced to hire a local mage to fix them. He could tolerate the abrasive stench of sorcery, if only the mage didn’t also smell like everything his wolf has ever wanted.

Elijah Lauring has no intention of tying himself to a shifter pack; his neutrality pays the bills. Repairing the Mills pack wards should be a one-off job, but the spell he casts to tap into Victor’s energy stubbornly refuses to fade. The intoxicating connection that lingers between them plunges his magic into chaos right when he needs it the most.

As they grapple with their conflicting desires, they soon discover the wards aren’t the only thing decaying. An evil is infecting the pack land, and they must learn to trust each other and their growing bond to defeat it. If they fail, Victor’s pack will pay the ultimate price.

Accidental Bonds is a steamy 115k M/M paranormal romance featuring a broody wolf shifter, a headstrong mage, meddling friends, a perpetually unimpressed cat, and knotting. It’s perfect for readers who love thrilling action, snarky banter, and characters who rub each other in all the wrong ways before they realize the right ones are much more enjoyable. While it guarantees a happy ending for its main couple, the overarching plot does contain cliffhangers. Please look inside for content warnings. (This series does not contain mpreg.)

Trigger warning:

This book contains scenes with elements of dubious consent and mentions of rape in a historical context.

— Accidental Bonds (Elemental Bonds Book 1) by Marie Reynard

• Publisher: Peace Garden Publishing, LLC (July 15, 2023)

• Publication date: July 15, 2023

• Print length: 446 pages

Review: Claw’d (Evergreen Council Book 2) by Vin George

Rating: 4.5🌈

Claw’d (Evergreen Council Book 2) by Vin George is the only book I’ve read in the series. I rarely agree when it’s stated in a description that a book in a series can be read as a standalone because it always turns out that so much information and universe building is missing. But here, I felt that I was on fairly solid ground with the world I entered into, and the characters the author had created.

Am I going back and picking up the first book? Yes. Do I feel it’s necessary for this one? No.

George has a large cast of characters already in place as the story starts. It’s a universe of paranormal beings that live along side human beings who are unaware of them.

Evergreen Council, a new governing group of shifters, vampires, Fae, etc, working together to police their own, is something I believe might have happened in book one.

But we meet a disheveled, broken vampire, Sorley, who’s been arrested for breaking into a house of a wolf shifter. Gethin, the wolf who happens to work for the Evergreen Council, and upon his questioning of Sorley in the Council’s jail, realizes that something is seriously wrong.

This initial encounter sets in motion an investigation that continues throughout the story, bringing together multiple paranormal races and characters as more incidents and horrifying events happen.

I particularly enjoyed how George developed the relationship between Sorley and Gethin, two complicated characters who have a prejudice towards each other’s race. The author builds barriers between them only to then explore their own experiences, reveal their long histories, and make their own decisions to form a new bond with each other.

It’s well defined, somewhat torturous path, very emotional, and well thought out.

Both Sorley and Gethin have their own friends and families that push/pull them through the difficult decision making process of these events. Whether it’s the newly forming relationship, or the investigation, there is multiple voices and pressures impinging upon them.

It’s been a while since I’d read Vin George and now, based on the excellent work here in Claw’d, I’ll be going back to pick up Fang’d. There’s so many great elements here that carry through beautifully. Fine details, and still there is some interesting questions left over for the author to make the reader think about going forward.

I can’t wait to see what happens next. A definite recommendation for lovers of paranormal fiction and romance.

Evergreen Council:

◦ Fang’d #1

✓ Claw’d #2

Buy Link:

Claw’d (Evergreen Council Book 2)

Blurb:

Conditioned to hate him but I can’t stop craving him.”

On the verge of bloodlust, vampire Sorley breaks into wolf shifter Gethin’s home. Gethin, who’s been indoctrinated to avoid and even despise bloodsuckers, wants to turn him over to higher ups in the Evergreen Council and forget about him. If only it were that simple! Sorley seems to be a victim of a mysterious attack, pinging Gethin’s protective instincts. He’s also devastatingly gorgeous, and Gethin is thrown by the attraction. As a wolf he has no business getting entangled with an immortal malevampire. Even if they give in to their desire, it can only ever be a fling.

Sorley just wants to go home and bury his pretty head in the proverbial sand, but however much he hates it, he needs Gethin’s help. He might even get some benefits out of the deal. The infuriating, furry hunk of a shifter has kind eyes, and his scent is unexpectedly delicious. He also, curiously, makes Sorley feel safe. But Sorley is definitely not developing any feelings for the man. That would be absurd.

When it becomes apparent Sorley is not the only victim of an unknown assailant, the entire Council must pull together to stop the attacks. Egos clash as tension rises, and you could even say there’s a lot at stake.

Claw’d is the second book in the Evergreen Council series, featuring a chaotic mess of a gay vampire and the closeted, long-suffering, wolf-shifter charged with keeping him safe. HEA. Can be read as standalone

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