Tag: magic

Review: Night Tricks ( Midnight Magic #1) by Richard Amos

Rating: 2.75

“I considered the Arcana, wondering if it had some healing properties. Decided to not try or suggest such a thing. I didn’t know what was inside me, what it could do. Just because it whispered things at me, we weren’t joined at the hip.”

— Night Tricks (Midnight Magic Book 1) by Richard Amos

If reading that made your brain hurt, you’re not alone. That’s Clayton or Clay as he prefers to be called, warlock and the POV of the novel and series.

This novel has some promising elements to its plot, and overall series arc. It has some interesting secondary characters like the button-eyed demon. But to get to those and others, the reader must have an either a love for certain clichés story elements, a character that’s so unbelievably dimwitted, that he repeatedly does the wrong thing , leaps into sex, hides who he is but doesn’t really know who he is, does amazing things NO One can do but has basically a meh , that’s sorta neat, attitude.

Anyway see below:

Cliché:

🔹Rift in universe caused by magical war. Literally called The Rift. Soo many books with exact element down to that name. Please find another name, someone.

🔹Billionaire Vampire with black rose tattoos, because dark beauty with thorns. Yep. Complete with alabaster glowy body.

MC is hard to read as the book is from his POV and he often comes across as someone with the emotional maturity of a tweenage valley girl. There’s a lot of EEKs everywhere! In that exact manner.

As in “I mean…EEK!”

At the end of the first quarter of the book, I was seriously thinking of not finishing.

Tae Frost and Clayton Christmas’s relationship is along the lines of I want you, let’s have sex. Oh, no, it’s you, not me. Let’s have sex. More woe is me. More, sex. Oh , no. Look what we did. More woe. Rinse , repeat. Add lies, weepy history, lies.

You get ready at one point to say to any villain “have at them”.

By the end, the author has telegraphed who or where the villain of the plot is. And they are on the run with the hero still lying his brains out.

If I continue on, it will be only to flip through the pages to the end to see if I’m right.

No more EEK for me.

For fans of this author, I’m sure you’ll already have found this book and series.

For other lovers of magic and Urban Fantasy Romance fiction, I’ll leave it up to you.

Midnight Magic series:

Night Tricks #1

Night Troubles 2

Night Trials #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showNight Tricks (Midnight Magic #1) by Richard Amos – Goodreads

Synopsis:

They say warlocks are lesser beings. I’m about to prove them wrong.

The streets have been my home for as long as I can remember. To get by, I use my magic tricks, bringing smiles to the faces of adults and children alike.

As a warlock, my powers are limited. Nothing like a witch’s magical skills. Basically, I’m a glorified magician as well as a second-class citizen. Fine. It doesn’t get me down. I have my cat Fizz and Kylie Minogue’s music to keep me going as I dream big.

I know there’s a better life out there for me.

When I accidentally summon the lost magic of arcana, something not even a powerful witch can do, my world is turned upside down.

Enter Tae Frost. Mysterious billionaire vampire. Deliciously handsome and brooding. Able to set my pulse racing with just one look. A man who offers to change my life for the better. I just have to move into his penthouse and help him hunt demons first.

Hmmm. I have a big decision to make. Do I take this Cinderella-like opportunity? Especially with the dangerous secret I’m hiding from the world. And if the witches discover I’ve summoned arcana… Well, it won’t be fun to be me if they do.

There’s a demon making a big impression—a creepy, button-eyed man spilling blood across London. Seemingly uncatchable, as well as unhinged. The city is trembling in the wake of his shadow.

With my new powers, I’m the only one to stop him.

Damn.

Night Tricks is the first book in an Urban Fantasy Romance series packed with magic, demons, action, and steamy moments. Step into the world of a warlock who always tries to see the sunny side of life, and the sexy vampire who makes his knees go weak.

Review: How To Summon a Boyfriend by Aja Foxx

Rating: 4.25 🌈

A combination of adorable cover, new author, and fun title lead me to How To Summon a Boyfriend by Aja Foxx . It was everything I had hoped for.

Foxx actually had me at the idea of someone summoning a potential fake boyfriend but throw in the moniker Herby for the cute guy in need ? I’m all in.

A two person POV, we get a wide-eyed Herby who definitely sees things through a uniquely wonderful “Herby” perspective as well as a bored Hades, who’s role as the Ruler of the Underworld had gotten a tad tedious. It’s Herby who’s arrival shakes things up fundamentally.

The characters are well done, the dialogue snappy and the plot extremely well paced.

There’s so many terrific secondary characters from Lionid, to Abigor, Cerberus, and other figures of mythology.

I wish there was a bit more about Herby’s family, and those books. But it’s shorter length works against that.

I’m still so happy to have read this book. It was entertaining, a fun romance, with an exciting storyline.

I look forward to reading more from this author.

I’m recommending How To Summon a Boyfriend by Aja Foxx !

https://www.goodreads.com › showHow to Summon a Boyfriend by Aja Foxx – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Herby
I needed a boyfriend to keep my father from marrying me off to a man handpicked by him. What better way to get one than to summon a demon? When I found a book of shadows in my grandfather’s attic, I knew I’d found the answer, but something went wrong. Instead of summoning a demon, I ended up in hell. What was I supposed to do now?

Hades
Judging souls was boring. Ruling the underworld was boring. Everything was boring. I needed something to happen to keep me from going insane. I never imagined the fates would answer my unspoken prayer by dropping a human into the underworld, and I’d certainly never met a human quite like Herby. He confused me, amused me, and drove me crazy. Why else would I agree to be his boyfriend?

Note: This story was originally part of the Fate’s Call Anthology – Manlove Edition. It has been revised and extended by 21,000 words.

Warning: Gay erotic romance. The material in this book contains explicit sexual content that is intended for mature audiences only. All characters involved are adults capable of consent, are over the age of eighteen, and are willing participants.

Review: The Dragon Experiment (Here Be Dragons #3) by Louisa Masters

Rating: 5🌈

What an absolutely hilarious, sexy, thoughtful, fantasy mystery romance. The Dragon Experiment really has it all here. Starting with the confidently engaging Fabian Draco, the dragon species historian who’s constant search for knowledge of all types is only equaled by Fabian’s enormous amounts of sexual encounters. Of all types, of all genders , species and areas of play.

When Fabian’s straying attention can be pulled towards any one subject or being at any given moment. Fabian’s brilliant brain is more likely to be off wandering through the amazing dragon archives then focusing on the car about to hit him.

This incredible character is a true joy and such a source of so many emotions here. For both the reader and Dr. Rhys Griffith. Or Dr. Rhys as Fabian will call him at first .

They met during a confusing encounter, at least for Fabian’s pov, at a mall, where Fabian thought he was getting a very pretty “purity “ ring from someone handing them out at a booth (The Professor’s Dragon #2).

Flash forward, the ring isn’t coming off Fabian’s finger, (not that’s he’s the one concerned) ,and it turns out it’s actually a medical gathering instrument for a research project headed Dr Rhys Griffith

Rhys is a sorcerer who’s research, involving sexual energy and metaphysics just might be more important then anyone expects.

This story is a romance, and a mystery, one that carries huge implications for all races. How it’s researched and resolved is as satisfying as how the romance grows into a solid relationship.

It’s funny, strong with multiple characters and storylines. There’s several hints about the next book and the character who so badly needs his story told.

I just adore this couple, especially Fabian. He’s right out of that fabulous school of brilliant absentminded Professors. Only this time he’s a sex positive dragon. Be still my heart.

The Dragon Experiment is a well written fantastic novel , filled with engaging characters and a plot that adds so much to the series foundation as well as overall arc the author is building.

Read all the stories in this universe so you’re familiar with the events that have occurred and the characters and relationships that are referred to.

I’m highly recommending them all, including this one.

Happy Reading!

🔹Hidden Species Series first, followed by…

Here Be Dragons:

🔹How To Date A Dragon #0.3

🔹Dragon Ever After #1

🔹The Professor’s Dragon #2

🔹The Dragon Experiment #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Dragon Experiment (Here Be Dragons #3) by Louisa Masters – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Who knew sleeping around could save the entire species?

I’m a simple dragon. Give me knowledge, give me research, give me rings for my hoard, and give me athletic men who want to get sweaty between the sheets… or anywhere else. Those things make me happy. Other things… well, who cares about those?

Turns out, I should have cared. Or at least paid attention. Because I somehow signed up for a scientific study run by a shy, nerdy sorcerer with the body of a god. And the study just happens to be about my favorite form of exercise.

It doesn’t take long for me to know I want to do more than science with Rhys. I’ve never been the kind of dragon to mix feelings with fun, but Rhys could be the one person who meets all my needs, even if he won’t wear a ring on every finger.

But when his research becomes more important than any of us could have imagined, our relationship enters a new phase. Now it’s up to me to show Rhys how much he’s worth… both to me and to the future of his species.

Review: The Scars That Bind Us ( The Magi Accounts #1) by Michele Notaro

Rating: 4.5 🌈

The Scars That Bind Us, the first book in Michele Notaro’s urban fantasy series, The Magi Accounts, takes in a scary, horrific universe, especially if you’re not human.

Here , the revelation that mages and shifters existed along side humanity did not go over well. WWIII happened, countries, governments, peoples and environments were devastated and divided. So too were species. With shifters and the magi at the bottom of the species pile.

I won’t recount it here. You can read it. People so fearful of those that make them feel less powerful ,the prejudice. So they relegated to a status as “others “ ,as less than equal. Easy to control, confinement to compounds. Tagged. Registered.

Notaro ‘s has the ability to bring the ability to transfer these devastating elements to this universe and the lives and conditions the shifters and magi now live under.

It’s very emotional reading when the narrator is magi Madeo Driscoll, compound born, paired to another mage Jude Driscoll, almost since birth. A dyad. Paired magi which increases their magical strength . Which for the government meant sending them out to fight in wars when they could barely walk. More tools than people, or children in this case.

The anger, trauma, and damage Mads (for Madman) carries within him and in the enormous amount of scars on his body is there in his words and actions throughout the story and events.

Jude, his soulmate and brother, whose presence has seen everything Mads has and been there to help heal him, is as quiet and powerful a man as Mads is verbally and emotionally angry. Yin and Yang. So great a couple and yet there’s no romantic attachment. It’s a brotherly love and bonding.

The other love is coming in the form of Cosmo Ono-Nai , alpha of a pride of Lion shifters and the new team Mads and Jude are supposed to work with.

The story has a wonderful found family element with another young magi, Logan Torres, that was rescued from a brutal attack by Mads and Jude. As well as the overall arc and storylines that stem from the tears in the universe that a mysterious group on Earth keep opening up and the monsters that pour through.

Notaro manages to build a continuous atmosphere of anxiety and suspense due to the unstable nature of the status of our characters. They basically have no rights, no say over their future so when we or Mads start to get invested in a relationship, any of their relationships, it comes with a equal amount of trepidation and fear.

It ends with a uneasy HFN.

Which makes me want to grab for the next one immediately.

There’s a trigger warning at the beginning of the story. It’s about assaults that happened in the past, off page. But even without them happening in current time, there’s enough emotional content that it’s intense , and might make some people feel very uncomfortable. Please read the warnings so you can make the best decision for yourself.

Tremendous storylines, great characters and amazing world building, as awful and believable as it feels.

I’m highly recommending it.

The Magi Accounts:

🔹Our Hearts That Tie Us #0.5

🔹The Scars That Bind Us #1

🔹A Kiss To Revive Me #1.5-4/19/2022

🔹The Shackles That Hold Us #2 – release date TBD

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Scars That Bind Us (The Magi Accounts #1) by Michele Notaro – Goodreads

What kind of mage would be crazy enough to crush on a shifter? Me. Apparently me.

The world is a messed-up place. Especially for those of us who have magic, and I know just how terrible it can be firsthand. Which is one of the reasons I try to stay away from people… humans and shifters especially.

Unfortunately, the NHSO forces magi to work alongside shifters to help protect the humans from taragorians—scary beasts from another realm. Which means I’m thrown onto a new team and forced to work with Cosmo Ono-Nai, a lion shifter.

And for some reason, I can’t keep my eyes off him.

The Scars That Bind Us is a 115K word novel and the first book in the MM urban fantasy series, The Magi Accounts.

*Intended for adults only. Please read the trigger warnings at the beginning of this novel.

Review: Dragon It Out (Blackhaven Manor #3) by Arden Steele

Rating: 4.5🌈

Dragon It Out, the third installment in Arden Steele’s Blackhaven Manor series, is my favorite yet. Fated mates is central to this series but instead of the quick mating of the previous novels, this is a slow mating romance, in a novella.

Surrounded by a mystery and full of suspense, with just a fantastic couple at its heart.

Uriah Maddox, dragon shifter , brother to siblings, Skye and Thade, is half of our fated couple. He’s thousands of years old, yet still mired in guilt over a past loss. One that’s keeping him from moving forward with his life, even when he meets his mate.

That’s Kit Meyers, human, and someone clearly in trouble. He arrives at Blackhaven Manor in at most inauspicious way. His car breaks down in the parking lot and he doesn’t have the funds to repair it.

Odd how things meant to be happen at Blackhaven just when they need to.

Scared Kit and huffy Uriah, in full out surly mode, are a great couple. One , a human, in survival mode, the other, a dragon, attempting to flee at every second, avoiding the being he knows to be his mate. Plus two exasperated siblings watching it all.

Combined with a very serious danger to Kit in a past that he’s on the run from? And Dragon It Out is just a great exciting fantasy romance, with a touching romance, and a suspenseful side element.

Steele’s ability to add small scenes with secondary characters in a diner, just make this story that much richer.

I enjoyed everything about this. As I said my favorite so far. And loving this series.

Smooth flowing, well crafted, and really quick romantic reads.

I’m highly recommending this and them.

Onto #4! Grin and Bear it.

Blackhaven Manor Series:

✓ Purrfect Harmony #1

✓ Night and Fae #2

✓ Dragon It Out #3

◦ Grin and Bear it #4

◦ Pixie Little Liar #5

◦ Dead Over Heals #6

◦ Silent Knight #7

https://www.goodreads.com › showDragon It Out (Blackhaven Manor #3) by Arden Steele – Goodreads

Synopsis:

As some of the last remaining dragon shifters in the world, Uriah Maddock and his siblings are regarded as something akin to royalty in the paranormal community. It’s one of the main reasons their hotel has become such a coveted destination for Otherlings. All he wants, though, is to be left alone. He’s not looking for love or romance. In fact, he actively avoids relationships and all their damning consequences. Too bad his meddling sister didn’t get the memo.

Kit Meyers is pretty sure he’s hit rock bottom when his car breaks down in the small, mountain town of Echo Falls. He has no money, no place to live, and no prospects. When a not-so-chance encounter leads him to the infamous Blackhaven Manor, he figures he’ll stay for a few weeks, earn some cash, then head back to the safety of the road. But all that changes when he meets a surly dragon shifter with wounded eyes and even more baggage than himself.

Uriah can’t commit to a houseplant, let alone to being someone’s mate. Convinced that Kit is better off without him, he’s prepared to leave everything behind if that means the skittish human will be safe and happy. Yet, as the days pass, he keeps finding new excuses to stay, until he’s finally forced to admit that he’s not going anywhere.Especially when he realizes he’s not the only dangerous person in Kit’s life.

Review: Aleron (Chosen Champions #3) by Macy Blake

Rating: 5🌈

You know how, somewhere in a series, you always find one story that’s just it for you? Even in a series you adore? It hits all your buttons, emotionally, just satisfying AF in every way?

That’s Aleron for me, the third novel in Macy Blake’s fantastic Chosen Champions series. This is a series that exists within a multi-connected series universe. I believe there’s four that has The Chosen One as it’s foundation. Each interacts with each and has a overlapping arc which is developing in a nicely layered way here.

Aleron is Aleron Eastaughffe, a immensely wealthy griffon. We’ve met him and his cousin, Victor (Magical Mates) previously. But here Aleron shines like a griffon should.

Blake gives us a romance between two completely different beings, complicated men who have existed in such opposite circumstances, mentally and emotionally, that’s it’s almost impossible to think of them together. Except that they are immediately,hopelessly , and inarguably drawn towards each other.

Each is at a loss to explain the attraction, or know what to do about it.

Aleron lived as a fabulously rich hedonistic player. A lifestyle of one. Until he was pulled into Logan’s pack. Where he’s been accepted, needed, and enveloped into the pack structure. Now Aleron is firmly established as pack. A griffon with two families, one of blood and that he’s found within the pack structure.

Blake , through the two person perspective, brings us into Aleron’s mind and emotional state about his changing status and potential new feelings about Spencer Walsh.

Spencer Walsh. He’s the hedge witch the pack has brought in to help solve the latest mysteries with the strange runes associated with the evil mage who kidnapped/tortured Raj and his friend. The same dark mage that’s causing harm throughout the city.

Spencer is such an amazing character. He lives alone, in a forest, drawing his power from the land his family has lived in forever. He’s socially not just awkward, but even unaware, so focused on books and learning. His lives always by himself, loves the quiet which lets him focus. His only friend, another witch, Merry (another fabulous person).

Watching the interactions and slow burn between such opposites is one of the best elements here. It’s so well written, each person trying to figure out why they can’t get the other out of their brain. Perilously close to both humor and pathos. It’s charming, heartwarming, and lovely as it slowly proceeds from confusion to reflection to recognition of their emerging relationship and deep feelings.

All that complicated thought processes happening while the overall arc continues with some great action and plotting.

This is a real pleasure to read . I will re-read to savor all the elements and characters again.

Plus I have to wait until January of next year until the series finale is out. Sigh.

Until then, read the series in the order they are written for plot and character development.

Plus if you’ve missed out on any of the connected series, I listed them as well. Dive into them and the whole Chosen One universe! It’s a winner.

I’m highly recommending it.

Chosen Champions:

✓ Logan #1

✓ Gideon #2

✓ Aleron #3

◦ Scout #4. – January 31, 2023

All part of The Chosen One Universe connected group of series:

The Chosen One universe series

Hellhound Champions series

Magical Mates series

Chosen Champions series

https://www.goodreads.com › showAleron (Chosen Champions, #3) by Macy Blake – Goodreads

https://www.amazon.com › Aleron-…Aleron: Chosen Champions Book Three by [Macy Blake] – Amazon.com

Synopsis:

Aleron Eastaughffe is a billionaire griffin who knows what he wants…

Namely, a gorgeous city penthouse, a life of luxury, and the respect and admiration of his peers-–all the things he’s come to expect as one of the Eastaughffes. But when Aleron finds himself connected to a rag-tag group of shifters and forced to work alongside the most awkward yet utterly captivating human witch in all the realms… he realizes he might want something very different after all.

Spencer Walsh is a witch who knows where he belongs…

And that is alone, in his remote cabin, where there are no annoying people around to give him strange looks when he spends his days reading, or to complain when he gets hyper-focused on research and forgets they exist. But when an old friend needs help researching a mysterious set of runes, Spencer joins forces with a group of shifters–and one gorgeous, provoking griffin–and learns that the world might just be more accepting than he thought… and more dangerous than he ever dreamed.

If Aleron and Spencer want a chance at a future together, they’ll have to let go of what they think they know, and face some hard truths together…

The truth about the runes and the magic they hold.

The truth about what love and belonging really mean.

And the truth about how much they’ll compromise to make each other happy… and how hard they’ll fight to keep each other safe.

Review: Buried Mage (Fledgling God #4) by Michael Taggert

Rating: 5 🌈

Well, this just got way more fabulous and complicated!

Buried Mage immediately corrects the one issue I had with Gathering Mage, and that’s where the author had divided that section of his 2-part story. He’d gone past their arrival home and into new events when it made sense to stop at their arrival.

Buried Mage has at the beginning the Cliffs Notes versions of the preceding books to catch you up if you need a refresh and then we ( and those fantastic characters) all together, start at the moment when Sandy and Jason return from the Gathering, having come through stronger and with new powers due to the trials and events that occurred there.

It’s time for them to get caught up with everything and everyone who was left behind at the House. It’s a great way too , for the author to reacquaint the readers with all the characters who were missing for a story, except for a mention or two.

Now with one celebration, it’s found family time , and we get to embrace our fondness for them and the quirky House as well . Plus we get to meet another Companion. Mr. Tubbles, Tyler’s worn and torn older cat. He’s a real enigma.

But soon Jason and the House of Louisville are off and running as they, with Jason as the spark , start to experiment with new forms of combat, enhancing it with their own magic abilities , including runes they make, experimenting through techniques they picked up with glasswork. Great stuff here. This is so simplified because the book ‘s elements regarding this are fun, and complex. I enjoyed every bit . Those who want a boom and the magic wand does the trick?

Hmmm , no. This really isn’t the book or series for you. Why?

All this is described in fascinating, wildly imaginative details! The characters are excited about what’s happening, and we’re along with them every step of the way, as they fail and as they finally succeed.

Taggert has quite the imagination and it’s full of humor. His grannies, his ass blasters, the miners and surfer dudes! Love each and every one! Plus the respect that Jason shows his creations. I’m hoping that really comes into play further down the series because that’s such a joyous element.

Naturally, the villains, Marius and Karl, that have been lurking the past novels come back horrifically here. They are some very nasty pieces of work .

No spoilers but again some incredible scenes, Jason goes through terrifying trials that shove him up into the growth he needs , essentially, to power up. But , wow, painful. Very gripping and so well written that it keeps us on the edge til it’s over.

Truly, the synopsis just can’t do justice to what you’re going to find inside this story. It’s a bit like saying “oh, Moby Dick? Ah yeah, it’s got a whale.”

Buried Mage has at the least …a magical sword that wants to be a vase, zombies students, evil villains, adorable cats, tiny Magical Grannies who suck up magic, a House that gives you a family and everything you want…for a price. And so much more.

I will say we get a great conclusion to this 2-book mini arc and a very fun slide which will start the next 2 book arc (that’s the format the author seems to prefer).

This series, which has a fifth book coming, is addicting. It’s ever expanding universe, a growing cast of amazing people and beings who continue to develop personally and in their relationships.

I’m so sold!

That means I’m highly recommending the entire series to date, which should be read in the order they were written.

Happy Reading!

Fledgling God series:

✓ Misfit Mage #1

✓ Melee Mage #2

✓ Gathering Mage #3

✓ Buried Mage #4

https://www.goodreads.com › showBuried Mage (Fledgling God #4) by Michael Taggart – Goodreads

on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09SX74NM6

Synopsis:

The Gathering only lasted for seven days, but it ended up being a lot more of an adventure than Jason had expected. Now it’s time to head home, and Jason is excited to sleep in his own bed and hang out with John, Tyler, and Annabeth again.

Jason learned a lot, and he’s eager to put that knowledge to use. If his ideas work, it could totally revolutionize how Sandy and the crew make charms—allowing them to heal, train, and defend the House even better than before.

So when the rotten mages show up, Jason is still feeling confident in himself and his new knowledge.

He has a new shield. He’s fought for his life in the arena. His matrix is much denser than before.

He’s a warrior mage now and stronger than ever before.

What could possibly go wrong?

Review: Fluke and the Frontier Farce (Fantastic Fluke #4) by Sam Burns

Rating: 5🌈💫

You know when you read a book that’s so clever, so fantastically crafted, so beautifully ingenious that when the “aha” moments hit you , you’re both giggling AND gobsmacked because you love it so much , you appreciate the writer’s artistry, well, you just didn’t see it coming?

That’s the entire Fluke and the Frontier Farce (Fantastic Fluke #4) by Sam Burns! I’ve read it twice now and with each new reading, I’ve found different elements I missed and new aspects to admire and think about. In fact , this maybe my favorite Sam Burns series yet, and that’s saying a lot!

This novel has a main element of time travel, no surprise there as it’s in the description. But anything more should absolutely not be said. This is a book that must be read!

It’s the penultimate book in the series (yes I know I said that before) but the author starts tying up the series storylines in some of the most amazing and incredibly satisfying ways. Ones I didn’t even realize needed resolution get a finalization they needed and deserved. Truly wonderful and often emotional as well.

And that’s the other thing here that Burns never let’s go of, that her characters, their relationships and growth is the key to this series. Yes it’s about magic and mystery but it’s heart is it’s people. They are who we’ve come to love and they’re lives and loves are who we’re invested in.

That’s never more clear here that when it’s family and love that comes together to make things happen!

I’ll say no more!

Fluke and the Frontier Farce , the fourth novel in Sam Burns’ Fantastic Fluke series is magnificent! It’s one of the best fantasy stories this year in one of my favorite series! It’s so imaginative, the storylines are incredibly clever, and the characters are ones I’m well certain not to be ready to let go of by the end of the Finale.

Usually I might say a book is too short, or sometimes a tad longish. But Fluke and the Frontier Farce is exactly as long as it had to be!

I don’t need to tell you what that means do I?

Highly recommend this, the series, and the author! Binge read it in order before the finale comes out! I should be done rereading this by then!

The Fantastic Fluke Series -4 of 5:

✓ The Fantastic Fluke #1

✓ Fluke and the Failthless Father #2

✓ Fluke and the Faultline Fiasco #3

✓ Fluke and the Frontier Farce #4

◦ Fluke and the Fantastic Finale #5 – August 25, 2022 release date

https://www.goodreads.com › seriesThe Fantastic Fluke Series by Sam Burns – Goodreads

Synopsis:

It’s been a long year for Sage and his friends, and all of Junction, California, and it’s not over yet.

Freddy’s school of magic is still a mystery, and figuring it out would be enough work, but the investigation leads them to the mysterious coded notes of Junction’s long-dead first magical artist, and then to the last place any of them ever expected to end up: the nineteenth century. Worse yet, when they get there Fluke is missing, and Sage isn’t sure he can get back home without his best friend.

Now—or is it then?—they just need to find Fluke, decode the notes, avoid changing the past, dodge evil Uncle Jonathon and the shady French nobleman at his side, and maybe most importantly, find their way home.

But there’s more in the past than trouble, and Gideon might want to stay there with his wife. If Sage has to leave him behind, is it worth returning to his own time at all?

Review: A Stroke of Brilliance (Arcane Hearts #2) by Nazri Noor

Rating: 4.75🌈

This series just gets better. Nazri Noor takes the plot of two young magical people find love while doing amazing things to save the world. Sounds simple, right?

But in Arcane Hearts nothing is simple, even falling in love.

The first story saw Noor establish the sad histories of Jackson Pryde, and his next door neighbor Xander Wright. Jackson, a artificer who lost his parents in an explosion that saw the loss as well all his Guild, was first at odds with his old childhood friend. Xander is a mage who’s parents and college have a awful future planned out for him. But a joint quest and several murders soon saw their friendship renewed and then turned into something more. Now they’re in love and working together to uncover the basis of the purple threat that’s killing people.

Noor laid out his wildly fascinating universe, with its amazing Black Market who’s ability to move itself effortlessly onto new locations just by placing new doorways is endlessly entertaining. It opens up the characters and storylines to endless possibilities about new countries and mythologies to encounter. I love this!

Here the door goes to Japan and we meet some endearing tree spirits and one goddess from Mt Fuji. Culturally, Noor has thrown his narrative door wide open with his moving Black Market and it’s terrific.

The author has paid close attention to his characters as well. Their characters are developing more depth as their relationship is deepening. As they learn more about each other, they bring out more growth personally. It’s great to see.

There’s also a circle of friends that’s continuing to expand. Another master of a Guild, more friends pulled in by events or acts of kindness. A foundation of another sort of family comes together. Just as a bigger enemy is found that threatens the world.

The book ends as a small battle is eon knowing a bigger one is coming. Absolutely satisfying and I’m ready for the next book!

I’m so happy to have found this author and series. I’m recommending both! Read them in the order they are written in order to understand the series of events and the character development.

Arcane Hearts series:

✓ A Touch of Fever #1

✓ A Stroke of Brilliance #2

◦ An Iron Fist #3

◦ A Velvet Glove #4

https://www.amazon.com › Stroke-B…A Stroke of Brilliance (Arcane Hearts Book 2) – Kindle edition – Amazon.com

https://www.goodreads.com › showA Stroke of Brilliance (Arcane Hearts #2) by Nazri Noor – Goodreads

Synopsis:

The fragrance of chaos. The flavor of terror. The color of madness.

Jackson Pryde and Xander Wright are loving a life of hunting and harvesting rare reagents wherever the Black Market travels. But a routine trip to visit Japanese tree spirits turns up something sinister: two crystal shards, embedded in the bodies of wild animals. They’re familiar, glimmering, violet… like splinters of amethyst.

But that’s not all. Two rival guilds are in strife, Jack and Xander caught in a crossfire of spells and slander. SEER and its hundred eyes are still watching their every move. And then there’s the matter of meeting Xander’s parents, perhaps Jackson’s deadliest challenge to date.

The Chrysanthemyst’s return is the least of their problems.

A Stroke of Brilliance is a 70,000-word M/M urban fantasy romance with a HFN ending. Join a fast-talking artificer and a snarky sorcerer, childhood friends who become bitter enemies, then lovers, as they explore a world filled with strange flora, mythical fauna, and magical murders. If you like your urban fantasy with humor, horror, and a whole lot of heart, you’ve come to the right place. Experience A Stroke of Brilliance today.

Review: Nixing the End of the World by Alice Winters

Rating: 3 🌈

I love Alice Winters. I love urban fantasy. I usually love Alice Winters urban fantasy romances. So why was Nixing the End of the World by Alice Winters, while entertaining, not wholly enjoyable?

That’s a question that has really been bothering me.

The story has Winters usual elements. A interesting plot, a likable main, albeit clueless character in Nix, some fascinating other beings the circle around him. But for me I believe the issue started immediately, and it’s built within the story. It’s that old problem of honor, trust, friendship, and betrayal.

Here it becomes my issue with the book. Why? Because fundamental to this story is breaking the trust of someone who is supposed to be so close to you, they’re almost a sibling. It’s is done here often, with all the processes at times of a person crumpling a bag of chips, and with the expectations that that person will immediately forgive you. Every single time.

Knows a person for most their lives, lies to them about the things that are essential to saving them, puts them in danger. Says basically oops. Over and over.

A number of characters. To Nix.

So what’s the message here a reader is to take away? While absorbing all the stuff about the new fantasy world, the characters, travel and Nix’s mission… we get that everyone close to Nix essentially lies to him all the time, betrays him, has since he can remember. And the reader is supposed to connect with any or all of them?

Um no.

I don’t find anyone of them, outside of the cat and so called horse with antlers halfway personable.

His best friend since early childhood is probably the worst of them all. She consistently betrays his trust, has actually been a fraud in all their lives, and then no matter what she’s done, expects their relationship to continue on the same and instant forgiveness.

Which she gets.

The author apparently discarding the impact all the revelations would actually make on a person. Instead treating these issues as trivial notions, or something to be given mention but emotionally impactful? Narratively not.

There’s exciting battles, mages and magic. A touch of romance. And the journey continues on with the note that Nix will still need to save the world.

All very well.

But first, there’s a foundation that needs to be fixed and more then a few characters in need of a make over in order for me to find this a place to be comfortable in.

I left this story, as I entered it. Unconnected and uninvolved in anyone’s lives and how the journey will out in the end.

If they don’t care that they can’t depend on those closest to them, why should I? Therein lies the crux.

If this seems like a story for you, continue forward. For me? I’m stopping here.

https://www.goodreads.com › showNixing the End of the World by Alice Winters – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Nix
“You are the savior of mankind” are the last words I ever expected to hear while nibbling on fries. The thing is, I’m not mankind saving material. I don’t even have magic (and just found out it exists). I’m the most boring, normal(ish) human ever.

Suddenly, I’m being tossed right into the middle of a fight that started years before I was even born, and then I get partnered up with Alastair, a quirky magical Guardian. He is rather attractive and sweet when he’s not into the whole “woe is me, I can’t let myself fall in love with you” nonsense. I mean, the moment he took my annoyingly judgmental grandma hostage, it was all over for me. I was hooked.

Now the only problem is… what exactly are we saving the world from?

Alastair
The moment I laid eyes on Nix, the naive yet easygoing human captivated my attention, and now I’m determined to protect him. But despite my amazing and majestic abilities, we might not make it out of this mess. Still, there must be a reason Nix was chosen. No, he doesn’t have pizazz and maybe he really doesn’t have magic, but he’s also one of the strongest and kindest men I’ve ever met.

Now if I can just get him to stop throwing blankets at enemies, we might have a shot at this.

Nixing the End of the World contains a flaming “horse” with antlers who inexplicably appears when needed (or not), an interfering BFF who didn’t really mean to light the trunk on fire, a six-toed cat that looks like he put a claw in a socket, and an incubus who just wants a smoothie without anyone losing their clothes.