Review: Deadly Deception : Necromancer Tales Book 2 by MJ May

Rating: 5🌈

Superlative. Once again May is building a suspenseful, dynamic, thrilling new series by introducing a villain that’s truly horrifying by its truly threatening but yet unknown nature. But first, a fantastic well crafted, compelling murder mystery, full of secrets, bodies, ghosts, another necromancer , more world building, and just a outstanding story.

Have to wait until the end but by the scenes described, the reader can imagine the scope of its plotting. One so immense that’s been unknown, whose power and potential to harm this series’ world and characters will hang over each story.

Fabulous.

It starts with May taking her Erasmus Boone and Franklin O’Hare out of their homes and comfort zone, away from their jobs, family, friends and the warmth of the Mississippi , back to Chicago and the Midwest where Detective Franklin O’Hare came from and still has ties.

It’s a great way to start. It’s cold. The Chicago PD murder case is fraught with danger, both in terms of emotional distress and the likelihood of prejudice against Boone. And then there’s the question of Franklin’s family who wants to meet Boone for the first time as well since they became a couple.

The characters May creates for the Chicago PD and at every other aspect of the story are just as well defined, beautifully executed as any that’s come before. Their personalities develop and grow as the cases and investigations become more complex, just as you would imagine.

Series characters are also evolving. Aurelia the djinn is finding new facets to her personality, possible emotions to figure out, and those are her struggle with her increasing unpredictability. May’s strength in writing otherworldly beings that are absolutely at their core non human make her books magical, powerful, and often terrifying. For the reader and the characters in the stories.

I can’t wait for this series to continue. What an amazing, scary journey lies ahead. Highly recommended! And I love seeing crossover characters from the Pixie series make connections here!

This is a must read, as it the series before it.

Another excellent cover design by cheriefox

Related/Preceding Series:

Perfect Pixie Series

🔹Perfectly Imperfect Pixie

🔹Perfectly Perfect Pixie: Peaches’s Story

🔹Perfectly Charmed Pixie: Parsnip’s Story

🔹Perfectly Perplexing Zombie: Wendall’s Story

🔹Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie: Phlox’s Story—End

Necromancer Tales:

Deadly Lineage #1

Deadly Deception #2

Buy Link:

Deadly Deception: Necromancer Tales Book II

Blurb

Necromancer Erasmus Boone’s life is better than he ever imagined. Bucking the typical necromancer storyline, Erasmus has managed to carve out a life filled with love and purpose. With Halloween fast approaching, Erasmus is ready to enjoy his favorite time of year. Unfortunately, Detective Franklin O’Hare’s Midwestern past has other ideas.

Covered in blood and found wandering the streets surrounding Chicago, a necromancer is being accused of murder—the victim and circumstances unknown. Mentally unstable, this unfortunate necromancer is in jeopardy of being railroaded for a crime he may or may not have been involved in. Franklin O’Hare’s former captain doesn’t want to witness another victimized necromancer. Aware of Franklin’s association with Erasmus, he calls on them for help.

Now headed for chillier climes, Erasmus and Franklin need to figure out if a crime has been committed, and if there’s one thing Erasmus excels at, it’s finding where the bodies are buried. Only Erasmus doesn’t just fine one victim; he finds several. When the souls of the departed blame their deaths on a long dead bogeyman, it becomes clear the local sheriff has a problem and a necromancer accused of murder is just the tip of the iceberg.

Between bringing back the dead, dealing with local prejudices, and meeting Franklin’s family, Erasmus has his plate full. Add on a worried warlock father and more than one attempted assassination, and Erasmus is more than ready to pack it up and head back to the warm Mississippi breeze.

Deadly Deception is the second book in the Necromancer Tales series and should be read in order. This series is a spin-off of the Perfect Pixie series and takes place in the same world but can be read as a stand-alone series. Deadly Deception is a m/m romantic fantasy mystery with an unusually sane necromancer just trying to make a living, a humble human detective attempting to keep his necromancer boyfriend alive, an arrogant but redeemably overprotective warlock father, a deceptive killer, a questionably moral all-powerful djinn, a kitten who can’t figure out how it wound up in a backpack, let alone staring through a plastic bubble, humans—some redeemable and some not, a chilly Chicago fall, and a playfully bloodthirsty vampire. Deadly Deception has a HFN ending as it is part of an ongoing series.

Mentions of violence, murder, souls brought back from the beyond, spaciest bigotry, and a few characters of questionable morals and sanity.

Publication date: January 21, 2025
Language: English
Print length: 335 pages

Review: Deck the Fire Halls (Hartbridge Christmas Book 5) by N. R. Walker

Rating: 4.25🌈

I have looked forward every Christmas to N. R. Walker’s new Hartbridge Christmas story, and was delighted to see Deck the Fire Hall this year.

Hartbridge, Montana is that snowy, Hallmark like small town with a beautiful view and endless charming Christmas decorations . Plus something else. Where a visitor that arrives in town at Christmas will meet his true love in town and find forever happiness.

That’s happened through four magical, heartwarming stories, each building upon the other. So that couple by couple, Hartbridge is becoming a real place that anyone would love to live or at least visit.

Now it’s time for the Firefighter Captain Soren De Silva we’ve come to know to get his own HEA. Soren has come close but now a burned out doctor just moved in next to him.

Doctor Robinson O’Reilly is a lovely character. Walker really gives us the sense of a man who has been through some serious mental and physical stress. And has needed a severe change.

The relationship is sweet, adult and develops, as is the case with these stories, quickly. Doc Reilly and Soren De Silva were a wonderful couple and if Deck the Fire Halls ends the series, it’s a heartfelt way to see it go out.

Charming, funny, sweet and just a lovely read about a great town and wonderful people. What a pleasure!

Just some thoughts.

Some things struck me as odd. This is definitely part of a series. Yet, it’s been removed as one and you would struggle to find the other books if you didn’t know they existed or the order to read them in. Very strange.

Also, I was missing the lovely map of the town that’s been a part of the series and shows where all the shops and couples live. If you’re interested, look at Holiday Heart Strings where I saw it last, a great book too.

Hartbridge Christmas:

Tic-Tac-Mistletoe #1
Christmas Wish List #2
Merry Christmas Cupid #3
Holiday Heart Strings #4
Deck the Fire Halls #5

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comDeck the Fire Halls (Hartbridge Christmas): 9781923086388: Walker, N.R.: Books

Blurb

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comDeck the Fire Halls (Hartbridge Christmas): 9781923086388: Walker, N.R.: Books

Blurb

Doctor Robinson O’Reilly is burned out. Exhausted, jaded, and disillusioned with the bureaucracy of his profession, he’s ready to throw away his entire career. Convinced to take a part-time position in a small town instead, he packs his medical bag for Hartbridge, Montana.

Who knows, maybe the change of pace and mountain air will do him good.

Firefighter Captain Soren De Silva moved to Hartbridge two years ago. He loves the town, the people, his job. What he doesn’t like is the lack of queer men. Well, the lack of available queer men. There are a few queer couples in town whom Soren can only look at with envy.

He wants what they have.

There’s a new doctor in town; not Soren’s usual type, but there’s something about him that Soren can’t ignore. A friendship sparks between them and Soren can’t help but wonder if that Hartbridge Christmas magic the others joke about is real.

Because a spark leads to flames, and this is not a fire Soren wants to extinguish.

Publisher: BlueHeart Press (November 22, 2024)
Publication date: November 22, 2024
Language: English
Print length: 288 pages

Review: Barbarian (Jericho’s Boys Book 3) by Onley James

Rating: 4.75🌈

I honestly don’t know any authors who do this trope and type of character and dark psychotic romance as well as Onley James. Each one has its own unique take on the dark side of these characters , insights into their damaged psyches, horrifying backgrounds, and whatever maybe their stabilizing influences. Or who.

Having been through Jericho and Atticus’ aka Freckles fantastic romance (and don’t think this won’t be sending me back to reread their story, because it will), I have absolutely loved these novels about Jericho’s found family of lost boys.

Each story flows from the last, a narrative smooth transition as all the boys, now young adults, live together or in close proximity. They’ve also become part of the larger Mulvaney family when Jericho married Atticus.

The Mulvaney family, its many members make multiple appearances here, but Jericho’s boys remain the main story. Here it’s Nico Michaels, his years under mother’s negligence and abuse as child, which have left him scarred emotionally and physically for relationships. It’s also Malachi Mizrahi, gender fluid, neurodivergent, and psychotic. Older brother to Shiloh, and someone who has been a constant companion to Nico since they met.

These two are among my favorites. How they slowly redefine their relationship. One discovering that he’s not been aware of the reality of that relationship, the other letting the layers of the emotional connections they share adjust in their own recognizable patterns. It’s wonderful writing. It’s realistic, tough, funny, dark, and raw. Between two young men who have been through monstrous events and had heinous experiences.

The crimes and mystery is fascinating. It brings a whole new element and energy into this universe with the Chinese Triad community. As with the Mulvaney family, the Chinese Triad organization has as a diverse group of characters, just as intriguing. I hope they will continue to pop up in future stories.

There’s a kinky sexual aspect to their relationship, one that’s more developed towards the end. This element is slowly built up into their story and makes sense. And will continue forward as part of the next book as they grow and help another one of their own journey into their own relationship.

I adore this book and couple. The series has me wanting to reread the original books and start this over again.

If dark fiction and romantic love along these lines are your thing, then these books aren’t to be missed. Highly recommended.

The seven dark fantastic books of the Necessary Evils series are the foundation which then leads here to Jericho’s Boys. They aren’t to be missed.

Jericho’s Boys :

Paladin #1 (Arsen and Ever)

Rogue #2 (Levi and Shiloh)

Barbarian #3 (Nico and Mal)

Ranger #4 – March 2026

Buy link

Barbarian (Jericho’s Boys Book 3)

Blurb

Nico Michaels pretends to be carefree, avoiding anything serious, especially relationships; his chaotic past has taught him that love only complicates things. He’s content with one-night stands and his close-knit group of friends, including his roommate, Malachi Mizrahi.

Neurodivergent and gender-fluid, Malachi wakes up each morning with a whole new personality, but one thing remains constant: his love for Nico. They clicked perfectly from day one, sharing a love of everything from anime to nature documentaries. They even share a bed. Platonically, of course.

One night, the lines blur when they share a kiss, but before things can go further, a desperate call from one of Mal’s dance students throws them into a missing person’s case that leaves them with more questions than answers. To complicate matters, Mal reveals he’s been quietly orchestrating Nico’s whole life without him even noticing. Nico is shaken to his core, his perception of their relationship shattered.

As they navigate the perilous world of a vicious Chinese triad, their bond deepens, and Nico begins to see that Malachi is not only the perfect friend, but the perfect man to fulfill all his needs. Together, they must face their past and survive their present if they want any chance of a happy ending in their future.

Barbarian is a friends-to-lovers, dark romance with an HEA and no cliffhangers. It features a masochistic vigilante with ADHD and a video game addiction and his sadistic and controlling best friend who worships the ground he walks on. As with any Onley book, you’ll find dark humor, steamy sexy times, and gratuitous violence, but only against people who totally deserve it. This is book 3 in the Jericho’s Boys series. Each book follows a different couple.

Publication date: January 21, 2025
Language: English
Print length: 459 pages

Review: My Inherited House Might be Haunted by AJ Sherwood

Rating: 3.5🌈

My Inherited House Might be Haunted by AJ Sherwood is a cute, no angst paranormal romance. It originally came about as a serialized story on the author’s Patreon site but has been updated and expanded.

The characters are adorable, there’s a inherited haunted house, along with ghosts (a family of ghosts which we never meet unfortunately), brownies, witches everywhere!

There’s so many interesting elements here pack together for a short story. Especially the familiars , a cat and puppy, that these characters never get fully developed into their elements. They are familiars in name only because they’re recognized by others as such. But do they talk or do things that we think of as being something familiars do? No. They do things that our cats and dogs do just as adorably mostly.

The romantic relationship is fast and the book length just doesn’t leave them much time for development of magical skills, new knowledge of how magic works, or other relationship areas. But the characters, Rhett and Calix and Calix’s family are so interesting that this story makes me wish for a sequel or expanded version.

Read My Inherited House Might be Haunted by AJ Sherwood for a delightful instant love paranormal tale!

Adorable Cover by Katie Griffin

Buy link

My Inherited House Might be Haunted4.6 out of 5 stars1854.6 out of 5 stars. 185 customer reviews.Kindle Edition$0.00or $3.99 to buy

Blurb

Rhett’s inheritance of the gorgeous Victorian house was expected. What was not expected was:

Two familiars
A house full of ghosts
Magic powers?!
A new boyfriend, maybe, possibly, please and thank you

Now if he could just figure out how to handle everything, life would be peachy.

Check out the new release “The Great Forest and Other Love Stories“ by Warren Rochelle (tour and excerpt)

Warren Rochelle has a new FF/MM romance fantasy/sci-fi short story collection out: The Great Forest and Other Love Stories. And there’s a giveaway!

“The course of true love never did run smooth” might be a cliché, but for the lovers in these stories, it’s an understatement. Consider: having to rescue your beloved from seven years of service to sentient trees, or your lover wants you to curse an entire town, or your husband is sure aliens are calling to him from a comet. Find out what happens in these and other stories in The Great Forest and Other Love Stories.

Warnings: neglectful parents, end of the world

Universal Buy Link

Giveaway

Warren is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour:

a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Direct link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47324/

Excerpt

Chesapeake Air and Spaceport, North Terminal, Interplanetary Concourse A

The sun shimmered on the water, as the train pulled into the Chesapeake Air and Spaceport RR station. He gathered his things and walked out onto a winding path, into a garden of dwarf sugar maples and ash trees. The path led him over a little bridge and a stream, and lavender star-shaped flowers. He stopped there to collect himself, to remember what his therapists had taught him, Alana on Avalon, and Gavin and Julia, at Blue Ridge. Deep breaths, center and focus on the safe, on the gurgle of the stream below his feet, the star-shaped flowers, blooming by the water. Interrupt his fear-talk looping, be present now. The main building of the spaceport was straight ahead. The building seemed almost made of sunlight and water. Sea turtles, eels, dolphins, and sea horses seemed to be swimming inside its walls.

Inside, the spaceport would be filled with people from all across Terra, from who knew how many HC planets. And aliens. Strangers, all of them. Breathe in for three, hold for four, release for five. Center. Through the sliding glassteel doors, follow the signs to the ticket kiosks. Everybody was busy, going, coming. Edvard was just one more young human.

He could do this, and he had done it. He could do it again. He could hear Luc telling him that, as he touched him, kissed him.

I’m coming.

No answer.

Scattered trees inside, fountains and pools. Whoever designed the spaceport must have wanted it to look as if it was part of the bay itself. Water currents and tree-shapes in the metal and glassteel, the beams, and the afternoon sun visible in a great skylight over the departure lobby. Were those real birds flying overhead? Edvard caught the off-world accents he knew as he walked—Avalonian, Jardinero, New Scandinavian. A trio of enhanced chimpanzees, clearly traveling on business. He tried to stare at the nest of Kalsons traveling together, with their pointed ears, white-gold hair, and skin. Like Luc and his father. There were a few Kalsons like Manon with skin a darker gold, hair, a deep brown. He stepped back, as did everyone around him, at who he saw next coming down the concourse. Even though the Second Interstellar War had ended thirty-three standard years ago, clearly not enough time had passed for any Zoki to walk through the one of the largest spaceports on the North American east coast without armed HC security. No one had forgotten how many thousands of Wertyngeris had either died or were put in hibernacula for years, or how many of the frozen had been thawed and eaten. No one had forgotten how many HC soldiers died in the war. Yes, the war had ended with a palace coup, led by the Zoki crown princess. She had immediately offered reparations for the atrocities on Wertynger, and they had been paid, and were still being paid.

Edvard watched as the reptilian Zoki, all dressed in white, with ashes on their forehead, walked silently through the spaceport, staring at the floor. According to the treaty ending the war, the Zoki had to publicly atone for eating sentient life. The crown princess, now empress, had suggested fifty Terran standard years of shame and public penance. She had acknowledged that not all Zoki had known or participated, but the government she had overthrown had known, and it had had wide popular support.

Never again.

Someone spat on the floor as the Zoki and their guards walked past. He wondered if fifty Terran standard would be enough penance.

Edvard stepped in front of a ticket kiosk beside a family which was clearly emigrating. Everybody seemed to be carrying some sort of luggage, the three kids, the two dads. He inserted his passport and Universal ID into the kiosk, and selected shuttle to the station, star service to Wertynger, Next available ship, leaving Union Station. An option for stasis for the three week trip in hyperspace? Maybe after week one. Micro-cabin, no, too claustrophobic. Single double, Family? Single. It felt like forever for funds verification. Ding! Transaction complete. Please proceed to Concourse B, Gate 29, shuttle already boarding. Proceed to gate, please have ID and passport ready.

He had done it.

Author Bio

Warren Rochelle lives in Crozet, Virginia, with his husband, and their little dog, Gypsy. He retired from teaching English and Creative Writing at the University of Mary Washington in 2020. His short fiction and poetry have been published in such journals and anthologies as Icarus, North Carolina Literary Review, Forbidden Lines, Aboriginal Science Fiction, Collective Fallout, Queer Fish 2, Empty Oaks, Quantum Fairy Tales, Migration, Clarity, Innovation, The Silver Gryphon, Jaelle Her Book, Colonnades, and Graffiti, as well as the Asheville Poetry Review, GW Magazine, Crucible, The Charlotte Poetry Review, and Romance and Beyond. His short story, “The Golden Boy,” was a finalist for the 2004 Spectrum Award for Short Fiction.

Rochelle is the author of five novels, including The Wild Boy (2001), Harvest of Changelings (2007), and The Called (2010), all published by Golden Gryphon Press. The Werewolf and His Boy, originally published by Samhain Publishing in September 2016, was re-released from JMS Books in August 2020. In Light’s Shadow: A Fairy Tale was published by JMS Books in 2022.

Author Website: https://kingdomofjoria.com/

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/warren.rochelle

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/warrenwriter/

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38355.Warren_Rochelle

Author Liminal Fiction (LimFic.com): https://www.limfic.com/mbm-book-author/warren-rochelle/

Review: Riptide: a Super Bowl Year (The Riptide) by Beth Bolden

Rating: 5🌈

Riptide: a Super Bowl Year (The Riptide) by Beth Bolden was written by Bolden for her fans of her series, as a final way to say goodbye and to show that all important Super Bowl game from the many perspectives of the characters we have come to understand and love.

We see Sam Crawford and Heath Harris, settled into their respective roles and relationship. As well as all the other teammates from the series who have come to mean so much. It’s the Super Bowl. But more importantly it’s seeing the characters and the impact on their lives one last time.

It’s a fitting tribute and a wonderful addition to the finale story.

For all the fans, it’s a must read.

Riptide series:

The Rivalry #1

Rough Contact #2

The Red Zone #3

Bolden’s connected Football series in order they are written:

The Riptide
Miami Piranhas
Charleston Condors

Buy link:

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Riptide…a Super Bowl Year (The Riptide) – Kindle edition by Bolden, Beth. Romance …

Blurb -none.

Review: Recalling My Demon: An MM paranormal romance by Colette Davison

Rating: 4🌈

Recalling My Demon: An MM paranormal romance by Colette Davison is part of a multi-author 12 book paranormal series called Possessive Love.

Colette Davison does several things here with this charming kinky novella that make it surprisingly different in many ways from the rest of the typical stories involved demon romances.

It’s a ex priest and demon romance with many twists. There’s a daddy kink, an innocent character, and the church isn’t involved in the story.

Who’s the innocent? Well, it’s the demon. That’s Brin, a bratty, loving demon who lives with his human mother, isolated behind wards for his safety and hers. In Brin, Davison has created such a lovable engaging character. Naughty and innocent. A total scamp.

Ian, the ex-priest turned nurse is an interesting personality. He’s a caring individual, made his peace with his faith, and went into nursing to continue to help others. But he’s got a kinky side. Guess who gets to explain sex to a demon?

There’s more emotional side stories, including the one that involves Brian’s aging mother.

I didn’t find the end as well realized as the rest of the story but it’s definitely a HEA.

If you are a fan of the author and trope, don’t pass up Recalling My Demon: An MM paranormal romance by Colette Davison. A fun entertaining read.

Possessive Love series:

A Slice For My Demon by K.L. Hiers Cuddly Demon by Aster Rae

My Demon Husband by Jan Stuart Exercising a Demon by H.L Day

Drop Dead Demon by B. Ripley

The Demon’s Dealbreaker by Delaney Rain

My Demon Rebound by Ashlynn Mills Curiosity Caught the Demon by Travis Beaudoin

My Saintly Demon by RM Neill Terrible Lovely Demon by Odessa Howell

Son of the Arch Demon by Amanda Meuwissen

Recalling My Demon by Colette Davison

The Demon Undertaker by Alex J. Adams

Gift for a Demon by Emily Alter

Buy link

Recalling My Demon: An MM paranormal romance

Blurb

I’m told Nethermire House is haunted, but the truth is even stranger.

Nethermire is home to an eccentric 80-year-old and the young man she claims is her great-nephew.

Except he’s not.

He’s a demon.

Brin’s chaotic, bratty ways draw me to him. When he calls me Daddy, I’m a goner. I want to protect him, take care of him, and call him mine.

But when he gets summoned to hell, our happiness is shattered.

Can I recall him to my side, or will I lose him forever?

Recalling My Demon is a standalone MM paranormal romance in the Possessive Love multi-author series. It has an age-gap relationship between a bratty demon who needs someone to love him more than he realises and an ex-priest who’s now a Daddy.

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services (October 19, 2023)
Publication date: October 19, 2023
Language: English
Print length: 182 pages

Review: The Pastel Prince (Crowns of Melowynn #1) by V.L. Locey

Rating: 4🌈

V.L. Locey has written a new MM fantasy romance in The Pastel Prince, the first novel in her Crowns of Melowynn series.

It’s an age gap, slow burn romantasy that’s setting the stage and foundation for the world and stories to follow.

Locey has managed a magical horrifying journey, a terrifying mystery, an epic adventure, and a developing relationship to engage the reader’s imagination and hold our attention.

Mages, elves, pixies, and various other creatures and types of magical elements that will continue to be explored as the series deepens its knowledge of the political system and its history, little of which is set down here.

Kenton, the young Druid and Beirach , the archdruid , were a solid well written couple and strong start to a new series.

If you love fantasy romance, check them out and this series from VL Locey!

Fabulous Cover by Meredith Russell

Crowns of Melowynn:

The Pastel Prince #1

The Ivory King #2 – 2/6/2025

Buy Link

https://vllocey.com/Pastel_Prince

Blurb

The fate of the wilds is in his hands.

Kenton, a young druid prince, feels trapped in the bustling city life, a world away from the forests of his birth. Despite his royal duties keeping him tethered to the urban sprawl, his spirit remains tangled with the whispering trees and the ancient, mystical rhythms of the forest. But when a sinister threat endangers his people’s land and lives, Kenton embarks on a perilous journey to track down a powerful and ancient being; the lone archdruid powerful enough to stop the darkness.

Only, Beirach is nothing like the archdruids of old tales. Instead of withered and world-weary, he is younger than expected, vital, and has a magnetic charm that Kenton can’t ignore. Thrown together by fate and bound by a shared mission, Kenton and Beirach find themselves in the heart of a battle to save nature. As the dark mage’s shadow looms over the forest, they fight together and find a love as raw and wild as the forest itself.

The Pastel Prince is an M/M age gap romantasy set in a faraway land with magicks and mythical beasts, a belligerent pixie, a young druid on an epic quest, an older archdruid who’s not as washed up as he thought, Elven castles, long glances over a campfire, and a fey-tastic happily-ever-after.

Publication date: January 17, 2025
Language: English
Print length: 223 pages

Review: A Simple Mistake (Deadly Mistakes #1) by Alice Winters

Rating: 5🌈

Deliciously demented! Alice Winters has another great book and character with A Simple Mistake, the first novel in her new Deadly Mistakes series.

Dark humor and psychopathic main characters are my jam. That makes Winters’ A Simple Mistake and Homicide Det Liam Paige, the psychopath who’s one delicious side of this two POV narrative definitely my new favorite. The other voice being the , shakes head, engagingly normal, law abiding Detective Gabriel Hyde and his cat,Lucille Pawl aka Lucy Fur.

Clearly you see what side I fall on.

Liam’s POV and dialogue, clearly non empathetic as it should be unless it relates to Gabriel, often had me cackling. My enjoyment ran deep. And Winters, while laying down the traumatic scenes and background for Liam, doesn’t ask us or Liam for remorse or for him to change his behavior or actions. He simply is what he is. It’s only from Gabriel that he’s slightly willing to make alterations.

I’ll be so fascinated to see how this dynamic evolves as the series and their relationship develops.

The murderer and the investigations are complex, wonderfully detailed and constructed. Winters built so much suspense, intelligent psychological drama and horror into a story with equal amounts of gleeful dialogue and great action that it’s a must read!

Alice Winters is an auto buy and this fantastic book is just one more reason why. Highly recommended!

Great characters, fantastic writing, excellent story. Win, win, win.

Deadly Mistakes:

A Simple Mistake #1
A Forgotten Mistake #2 – March 18,2025

Buy link

A Simple Mistake (Deadly Mistakes Book 1)

Blurb

Liam

Weirdly, people don’t react overly well when you’re caught standing over the dead body of a murderer who’d walked free.

It’s not that I thought my fellow homicide detective would rejoice when he saw what I’d done, but is a pat on the back too much to ask for? Maybe a gold star at the very least?

The problem is that the person who caught me is Gabriel, the only person I care for and adore… and he’s prepared to look the other way if I leave homicide and promise to never kill again. Yet when Gabriel gets taken by a serial killer, there’s absolutely no way I can sit back while this parasite takes what is mine.

But what the killer doesn’t know is that I’m coming for him and that I would destroy the world to keep Gabriel safe. After all, who could hunt a serial killer better than another one?

Gabriel

Drawing Liam back into homicide is the last thing I thought I’d ever do, but the killer is picking off my fellow detectives, and the only way we’re going to make it out of this is with Liam heading the case (even if there’s one—or five—coworkers he’d rather not save).

Liam is smart, sarcastic, and the most dangerous man I’ve ever met, and yet I can’t look away—even if he calls my adorable cat Lucy Fur. No one has any idea just how far Liam will go for me, especially not the killer, who won’t realize until too late that the prey he hunts is actually a predator.

Publication date: January 14, 2025
Language: English
Print length: 368 pages

Review: A Spell for Heartsickness (The Rune Tithe #1) by Alastair Reeves

Rating: 3.5🌈

Spoilers 🚨

A Spell for Heartsickness (The Rune Tithe #1) by Alastair Reeves is a fantasy romance or romantasy written by an author I’ve never read before.

The story is preceded by a lengthy author’s note, which I always read. This one was informative, but somewhat overly detailed, especially equating curses to debilitating illnesses. More on this later.

For two thirds of this story, Reeves had me absorbed into the lives of the characters and the magical mysteries of the island of Coill Darragh. There’s well crafted engaging ghost witch, Gretchen. She’s a character with a huge role here, as well as part of a horrific mystery needed to solve that’s got multiple layers to it.

The main characters start out astonishingly well. Witch Briar Wyngrave’s personality and character is reflected by his painful reality and dire circumstances. He’s cursed which has resulted in a incurable physical illness . And Briar wants to achieve his life goals within a certain time period.

The history and the ramifications of this curse will be revealed slowly by events and by Briar, the narrator of the story. How Briar handles living with his increasingly debilitating physical condition, the impact of his curse has on his life emotionally and mentally, is very well written. It helps bring him closer to the reader’s perspective, understanding his mindset as he deals with his life as the curse worsens.

However , there’s a flip side to this approach. As the only pov , to stay connected, Briar’s actions need to be relatable and consistent with his personality and storytelling. . By making Briar carry the sole responsibility and weight of this narrative, the author risks losing some appeal to the readers when Briar’s actions become either mind numbingly inconceivable (read SMH dumb) or ones certain readers won’t get over (like knowingly sleeping with the villain).

That starts to happen just as he’s gotten to the point this reader was able to understand his background and his new positive life choices.

The others characters , including damaged Rowan , the mysteriously scarred alderman,his wonderful sister and her family, are fantastic in their vivid characters and beautifully crafted locations. Plus let’s not forget Gretchen, the ghost witch whose involvement starts strong and then storyline goes sideways. That’s a real shame.

The wild, enraged magical forest, the angry vines, all these elements are wonderfully brought to life, vibrant and horrifying.

I wish I could say the same about the villain. From the moment he appears he’s got a capital V stamped on him that inescapable. It’s a matter of oh yeah, there the bad guy immediately which makes Briar’s actions even worse.

So there’s much here to enjoy and admire. There’s also quite a bit of elements in the characters and storytelling that make the narrative puzzling and less appealing.

If the author and their books are in your TBR folder, add this to it.

The Rune Tithe series:

A Spell for Heartsickness #1

A Hex for Hunger #2 – July 15,2025

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A Spell for Heartsickness: A Romantasy (The Rune Tithe, 1)

Blurb

In this charming MM romantic fantasy, cursed witch Briar Wyngrave has a date with destiny―but isn’t totally sure which man that date is with.

Witch Briar Wyngrave’s time is limited. The wasting curse that killed his mother is coming for him too, consuming his magic bit by bit. At least he’ll have the chance to make his name as a magical fashion designer with an elite placement in Pentawynn, the country’s glittering capital, after graduation. Until, that is, a prophecy sends him to the remote island of Coill Darragh instead, in search of a predestined lover with a mysterious mask.

When Briar arrives with his grumpy magpie familiar, Vatii, he finds an unwelcoming town, a murdered poltergeist named Gretchen in his apartment, and a handsome alderman named Rowan with a haunting scar. He also gets pulled into the mysterious magic of the darkly enchanted forest that surrounds the town and seems to have something to do with his curse . . . As if all that weren’t enough, famous witch Linden Fairchild has come to town, complete with a charismatic smile, an unreadable aura, and a surefire plan to cure curses.

How’s a cursed witch to know which enchanting man is his destiny? And can Briar possibly make an impact as a magical fashion designer in this tiny town? One thing is certain: a witch’s magic requires a tithe―a berry, a feather, a cut into flesh―and Coill Darragh may take tithes Briar isn’t ready to give . . .

Publisher: Podium Publishing (October 15, 2024)
Publication date: October 15, 2024
Language: English
Print length: 330 pages

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