Spark the Flames begins with the main character of Ever Tenebrae on the run, having just escaped from a long imprisonment and horrific captivity.
The situation is dire, recapture is imminent and I’m hooked. The writing is so good that we’re right there in this scene with her.
I’m not going further. Read the book. But this sort of storytelling is what makes Spark the Flames such a compelling and entertaining read.
The character of Ever is a great one. Traumatized, cursed, scarred, yet determined to survive and save her people by any means necessary, her narrative is a compelling one. It’s a plot line that the more that’s revealed about her, her painful past history and damaged character, the more engaged the reader becomes in her and her dangerous journey.
Especially as she lands in the hands of The Horde and their dragon kingdom of powerful species, where there’s an enormous danger to her. In ways she can’t control or anticipate.
One of them is the King’s second son, Aeson, whose interest in Ever goes beyond the political into something more. They’re dynamic and all the other characters and plot lines that figure around hidden agendas, mysteries, and the curse affecting Ever’s people.
This is a fabulous story, layered, fast paced, full of action, adventure, mystery and dragons.
And that cliffhanger ending! Wonderful. Plus the second book is out so the reader can immediately see how it plays out.
Highly recommended.
Cover Design: David Gardias, Best Selling Covers Editing: Polished Perfection
What an unexpectedly great find. Different on so many levels, Ryan Attard is another new writer for me and his main character is a powerful Frost Mage. Shes just also happens to be bisexual, angry and lonely. Freydis, Frost Mage and town Executor, carrying out justice for the supernatural world in Vigrid Falls. When she’s not going to college.
Freydis, Frost Mage, is a conflicted character, whose backstory is slowly revealed over the course of the story as events unfold. Incredibly and unashamedly strong, she works out to maintain her physique, which is intimidating to match the reputation she’s gotten as someone who is cold and emotionally hard. Which is far from the truth.
Attard lays out the complex universe and supernatural politics of Vigard Falls where underneath the beautiful town and college campus where the wealthy students attend to their university studies, is another otherworldly city, complete with transportation systems.
It’s there where Freydis operates and reports to her boss on her daily enforcement of the laws and takes on whatever missions she’s given.
It’s werewolves against mages, against vampires with other fae or mythical beings thrown into the narrative.
Including small side stories of romance or crushes (Freydis is bi so while most of her romantic interests are women in this book I wouldn’t rule out that she might have a vampire in her life in the future. Romance really isn’t a main aspect of the book, it’s primarily about a larger supernatural suspense or intrigue element that is going to continue throughout the series. And how Freydis’ developing powers fit into this.
I absolutely got into the characters and the various aspects of the town and world building.
Can’t wait to see where the author takes them next.
Vigrid Falls looks peaceful — until you look beneath the surface.
The supernatural runs the world. Mages keep the balance.
Until a shifter is brutally murdered — and the victim’s family wants blood.
Enter Freydis, Frost Mage and town Executor. She’s young, brash, dangerously stubborn… and a college student trying to survive midterms while enforcing magical law. Keeping her double life separate is hard enough.
Then the murder turns personal.
What should have been a routine investigation spirals into something darker. This wasn’t random. It wasn’t simple.
It was planned.
As vampires quietly pull people off the streets, shifters call for open war, and the Mage Council hides behind ancient arcane law, Freydis uncovers a conspiracy that could tear Vigrid apart. In this city, secrets are currency. Trust is weakness. And magic is a weapon.
Good thing she’s angry.
Cold Fury is the gripping first book in the Frost Mage series — a sharp, noir-tinged urban fantasy packed with supernatural politics, deadly alliances, and a heroine who hits back harder than she’s hit.
I really enjoyed this urban fantasy story. There’s apparently a prequel out there that fills in the background for the main characters here and how she arrived at her current situation. As well as all the other secondary characters interacting with her that come from that prequel.
However , the author gives us enough information about that time period so we’re not at a disadvantage here as the story goes forward.
Olivia “Liv” is a retired fire elemental assassin who at the age of 16 was framed for a crime she didn’t commit. As a result Liv was forced to work for as a Shadow for the Conclave (magical ruling body) for a decade.
Now she’s free, name cleared and she’s back in Kansas City where she’s opening a magic shop. Until her old life comes back to interrupt her new start.
I love so many of the characters that McBride has created for her book and series. The older group of witches, including Liv’s aunt are fabulous and among my favorites. From their environmental battles with toxic gardeners to their hula hoop classes, every scene memorable and often hilarious. They’re real, intelligent people who care about Liv, going about things in their own ways.
Rafe, a werewolf black op who is the enemy to lovers maybe aspect of the story and series, is suitably flawed, and mysterious in his own ways. Where he fits in is left open-ended, which works.
There’s an ongoing storyline that starts with the reason Liv was framed, but eventually moves on into a much larger, more complicated plot that involves demons, hell fire, and prophecy at the end.
The end book leaves the reader immediately wanting the next story to see what happens with the characters and their lives. I am thoroughly hooked.
I had certain reservations about why Liv was so determined to do something on her own but later on, she answered that during a heartfelt conversation with Rafe. It was the answer that I wanted to see her grounded in the reality of the dangers of her situation. That one scene made all the difference.
I now need to track down Inferno Bound for the history of this series and main character while waiting for the next one to be released.
New author discovery and series unlocked. Fantastic! A winner!
This is set in the same universe as another of L.A. McBride’s series but as it’s the first book I’ve read of hers, that’s a series for another time. But the characters do crossover.
Ten years as a supernatural assassin did not prepare me for customer service.
Once I was called the strongest fire elemental in a generation. All that got me was sentenced to serve as a supernatural assassin for a crime I didn’t commit. Now that my name’s been cleared, the powers-that-be cut me loose.
Their only rule? Keep my head down and leave missions to other Shadows.
Sinking my blood money into a magic shop, I try to be a good little witch. I run my shop, join a geriatric coven, teach fire hula hooping classes on the side, and adopt a klepto packrat as my familiar. Avoiding Rafe Blackwell, the golden-eyed lone wolf charged with keeping me in line, is harder. And ignoring the vampires attacking witches in Kansas City? Impossible.
When bodies turn up with veins full of the same blood additive that landed me that ten-year sentence, I can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. Going rogue risks my newfound freedom, but the alternative is a city overrun with demons and Nectar-addicted vampires in a feeding frenzy. When my fire magic fails, it’ll take every skill I earned as a Shadow to take down the Nectar ring despite the enforcer determined to keep me out of it.
But if running a witch shop has taught me one lesson, it’s how to face anything with a potion bomb and a smile.
Fire Marked is the first book in the Alchemy of Witches series. If you love fast-paced urban fantasy with a witch ready to burn down the establishment, quirky found family, and a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance, this series is for you.
It had been a while since this terrific series has been updated and through author’s comments at the end, I found out that, sadly, her long-time friend and co-author, Jilleen Dolbeare, had passed away last October 2025 from cancer.
Jilleen Dolbeare wrote many great urban fantasy series as well as the wonderful collaborations with Heather G. Harris. She’s going to be deeply missed by so many. My sympathies to her family and friends.
I’ve loved this series from the beginning when Bunny first arrived in hidden paranormal town of Portlock, Alaska. She was a newly turned (against her will) vampire with a rescue German Shepherd in tow, and became a part of the town and small Sheriff’s Department, solving mysteries and magical crimes in a very different way, involving mythical creatures and fantastical monsters.
And finding love and a mate along the way with a vampire Prince.
The characters are beautifully written, the mysteries are often heartbreaking and complicated, and stretches over multiple books. Even the smallest of roles and characters can become endearing, and pop up later to fill in narrative holes left by characters who have been lost. It’s done well, emotionally satisfying and makes the story feel more like a real community.
The Vampire and the Case of the Ghastly Golem is a great story. Full of loss, grief, high suspense, mystery and multiple storylines. Bunny and her co-workers and friends face one murder after another. These are people who have deep roots within their community. Harris makes the reader feel that loss, the impact just as deeply.
As the hunt for the killer continues, along with the investigation, there’s another important plot line happening. Connor’s father’s coming to the town. He’s got major plans for Connor, maybe for Bunny too. None of them good or in keeping with what either one wants.
That continues to be the next novel’s theme.
Who the villain is surprised me. And the outcome left other questions in place to be answered by the characters and story further down the series itself.
Heartbreaking, well written, detailed and beautifully executed.
I’m so sorry for Heather G. Harris for having to go on with this series without her friend and writing partner. But she wrote a very wonderful story that felt like both of them were very much together here in every part of the story and character.
Highly recommended. And go check out the other books by Jilleen Dolbeare as well as the charity that’s been set up in her name for Indie Fantasy authors .
bodies are bad. Dead bodies that break the laws of magic are worse.
Finding a dead fox in someone’s garden isn’t normally a police matter. Finding a dead fox shifter who should have turned human the second he died? Yeah, that’s more my department.
Remmy has no wounds, no blood and no obvious cause of death. He’s simply dead, trapped forever in his fox form. Apparently there’s only one thing that can do that to a shifter: drain every last drop of magic from them.
Great. Because what Portlock really needed was another magical murderer.
I’ve got an eidetic memory, a badge and two extremely questionable sidekicks. One is a traumatised werewolf who prefers being a German Shepherd, and the other is an ever-growing lynx with a criminal disregard for personal property. Between us, surely we can crack one impossible murder.
Then some local teenagers report seeing a huge creature stalking through the woods, covered in branches and leaves with blazing red eyes.
And red eyes are always bad.
I’m starting to think our mysterious monster and our dead shifter might be connected, which means I need to find whatever is prowling Portlock before anyone else ends up magically drained.
Unfortunately, murder isn’t my only problem. Connor’s father, the Vampire King of the US and an all-round arsehole, has announced he’s coming to town. And he’s bringing the other vampire leaders with him.
So now I have a supernatural killer to catch, a creepy forest monster to find and the most powerful vampire in America heading straight for my home.
Portlock has survived murderous shifters, deadly conspiracies and more supernatural disasters than any tiny Alaskan town has a right to. Hopefully we can survive this too.
Preferably without anyone else turning up dead.
Dive into this fast-paced urban fantasy series if you love mystery, humour, found family, and a slow-burn romance.
Don’t miss the rest of the Portlock Adventures!
The Vampire and the Case of her Dastardly Death, a prequel.
The Vampire and the Case of the Wayward Werewolf, Book 1.
The Vampire and the Case of the Secretive Siren, Book 2.
The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee, Book 3.
The Vampire and the Case of the Cursed Canine, Book 4.
The Vampire and the Case of the Perilous Poltergeist, Book 5.
The Vampire and the Case of the Cozy Christmas, Book 5.5.
The Vampire and the Case of the Hellacious Hag, Book 6.
The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid, Book 7.
The Vampire and the Case of the Ghastly Golem, Book 8.
How to Catch a Hellhound is the conclusion to the Hellhounds of Paradise Falls series by Shannon Mae and it’s absolutely one of my favorite stories of the series, a great way to finish it off.
Through the series we’ve been learning more about the different types of otherworldly beings who are living in Paradise Falls as well as following the Smith hellhounds as they each find their mate amid a mysterious new drama that comes their way and enlarges the current universe that everyone is familiar with.
That’s the story here. We get to see the events that brought Sheriff Paul to Paradise Falls, his perspective on Jude’s pursuit of him, and the town’s community itself. I always wanted his POV and this really connected me to him and see how they worked together as a couple. They absolutely meshed together so well, but it took them time.
Paul’s development is very much a terrific aspect of the story, not just the relationship. It pulls from past events and his and Jude’s storyline features importantly into further series and Paradise Falls itself.
There’s a great twist here and I really hope that it means we will see this couple as well as the other characters crossover into more of the forthcoming Paradise Falls series.
This is a great story and wonderful way to finish it all off. Highly recommended. As is everything else in the related Paradise Falls universe.
Hellhounds of Paradise Falls:
How To Flirt With A Hellhound #1
How To Hack A Hellhound #2
How To Tame A Hellhound #3
How To Trust A Hellhound #4
How Not To Kill A Hellhound #5
How to Catch a Hellhound #6 – finale
What else takes place in Paradise Falls?
Demonic Disasters and Afterlife Adventures (8 book series) more coming plus a new series
I’m not exactly sure how I became sheriff of Paradise Falls, but I take the protection of the people in my town seriously. That even includes Jude, who’s constantly pulling pranks in the hopes of getting arrested. I know he’s flirting with me, but how can someone as damaged as me be a match for his eternal good cheer? Never mind the fact that I may also be losing my mind—I’m getting crazy feelings about people, and the urge to act on them is getting stronger. My goal has always been to save people, not to harm them. Something is changing, though, and I’m not sure who I am anymore.
Jude
Being an assassin and a hellhound is all-around fun, and teasing my sexy sheriff makes my life complete. Lately, though, something’s been wrong with Paul. He’s been cranky and secretive, and I’m determined to get to the bottom of it. Is something from Paul’s past haunting him? Because if someone needs killing, then I’ll be happy to do it. Although maybe it’s time to show the sheriff what he’s really capable of. He’s a kindred spirit—I can sense it—and I’m only too happy to show him how hellhounds take care of the bad guys.
Tags: Sheriff Paul can sense things; Jude is, as always, ridiculous; there are numerous Beatle references, so get ready to have songs stuck in your head; Jude is the happiest assassin you’ll ever meet; these two have explosive chemistry; Paul might kill Jude (or at least shoot him); the entire pack is there for all the fun; Paul isn’t exactly what he appears; Oracles give the vaguest advice; trying to get arrested is Jude’s love language.
The Ghost Brigades, the second in the Old Man’s War series by John Scalzi, is a better story in many ways. It’s also more horrifying.
I don’t remember if it comes with trigger warnings but it should. Especially as an alien baby is kidnapped and then horrifically killed as part of the mission , with its alien mother’s emotional devastation on page and as part of the mission’s goal. Maybe because it’s in no way identifiable as a human being but it doesn’t make the scene any less raw or heartbreaking. And it does have different deep impact on the characters in the narrative.
It’s probably the most emotional scene of the book.
In a book that constantly questions what it is that makes you a human being, where the characters are those who have had their “consciousnesses or souls “ copied and put into fabricated bodies, repeatedly. Are you really human beings or something else?
Is a question that is asked over and over. And each character has to find their own answer given their circumstances.
Jared Dirac is a “copy” of a scientist who turned traitor. Jared is now a member of the Ghost Brigades, a special force of super “ghost soldiers” , who are fabricated from the DNA of dead people and supposedly don’t remember their pasts. Only it’s not working out that way. And the traitor is very much alive.
It’s a fascinating story. Full of hard truths about space exploration, wars, self awareness and what it means to be human.
This isn’t series I’m reading quickly though but I’ll finish it eventually. I’m not emotionally attached to any of the people here. They get disposed of too easily and very quickly. Maybe that’s the way of war and Scalzi’s message here. That everyone here is basically seen as gun fodder. If so, message received. The higher ups are exactly as ruthless and manipulative as they would be in the situation.
However, it doesn’t make me feel engaged in the same way that I would if I was following any of the characters.
Interesting. And well done in many other respects.
Buy link
Blurb
The Ghost Brigades are the Special Forces of the Colonial Defense Forces, elite troops created from the DNA of the dead and turned into the perfect soldiers for the CDF’s toughest operations. They’re young, they’re fast and strong, and they’re totally without normal human qualms.
The universe is a dangerous place for humanity—and it’s about to become far more dangerous. Three races that humans have clashed with before have allied to halt our expansion into space. Their linchpin: the turncoat military scientist Charles Boutin, who knows the CDF’s biggest military secrets. To prevail, the CDF must find out why Boutin did what he did.
Jared Dirac is the only human who can provide answers — a superhuman hybrid, created from Boutin’s DNA, Jared’s brain should be able to access Boutin’s electronic memories. But when the memory transplant appears to fail, Jared is given to the Ghost Brigades.
At first, Jared is a perfect soldier, but as Boutin’s memories slowly surface, Jared begins to intuit the reason’s for Boutin’s betrayal. As Jared desperately hunts for his “father,” he must also come to grips with his own choices. Time is running out: The alliance is preparing its offensive, and some of them plan worse things than humanity’s mere military defeat…
Ale Storm picks up right after Rylana and Jildarin have decided to take their relationship to a different stage, a date and maybe more.
Plus there’s that pesky dwarf hunting horn that Rylana was given during the last story, one that glows blue on mysterious occasions, that she has to find out where it’s from before it causes her trouble.
Ale Storm predictably features a meal with ale, a special menu, and multiple storylines, all really interesting and involving the characters that live in and around the community.
It also has many dragons, ones who don’t seem to take no for an answer.
I enjoyed it. Found Jildarin somewhat less appealing, especially when he continues to be non-communicative about his plans and ever eager to repeat his mistakes when dealing with the other dragons. That’s getting old.
But her bestie the assassin elf? The dwarf baker? Love them. More of the community please.
Still a terrific series.
Tales from the Dragon Diner (5 book series to date)
Calculated Whisk #1
Knead for Speed #2
Morel Dilemma #3
Ale Storm #4
About Jam Time #5 – Nov 30, 2026
Buy link
Blurb
Now that her business partner, the dragon and award-winning chef Jildarin-grozanarav, has realized he has feelings for her, Rylana’s looks forward to going on a date with him. The elven queen has departed and the troll-god curse has been resolved, so it’s the perfect time for a moonlit walk and a kiss.
Or so Rylana thinks.
But dwarven thieves show up, ransacking the diner and looking for an antique hunting horn she recently found. Even worse, Jildarin has unearthed a centuries-old book on the proper protocol for courting a human woman. Now, he’s determined that he needs permission from Rylana’s father before they can go on a date. Lastly, the female dragons that want Jildarin to mate with them have returned and are threatening Rylana.
I absolutely love this story. Tea and Tarot is a side story in Annabel Chase’s completed and fantastic urban fantasy Crossroads Queen series.
It does help to have read that series to have a firm understanding of these characters and a foundation for their histories , the town and world building. Honestly, this makes me want to pick up that series and start over again.
That said, this is a wonderful story. We dive right back into the town and characters by way of the wonderful Tarot Mages we got to know in the Crossroads Queen series.
The fabulous cousins Camryn Sable and Gunther “ Gun” Saxon, and Indigo Briggs, all three former members of La Fortuna, a secret and ancient society of mages skilled in the art of tarot magic. Now along with Claude, the revenant, they are residing in Fairhaven. Cam and Gun are private investigators and , the focus of this story, Indigo, is trying to open a tea shop.
But Indigo is having trouble getting started launching her business. Then another mage appears with a surprise business proposal. Boone Fincher needs a fake fiancée that his strict ill father will approve of so Boone can get his inheritance.
Yes, it’s a fake fiancée trope storyline. And it works so well here. Chase has crafted a wonderful narrative with a great relationship between Indigo and Boone that’s got chemistry, vulnerability and shared background damage.
There’s also a side plot about Indigo’s past history, a dramatic event that comes back to haunt her and how that involves many other important characters from the Crossroads Queen series that just makes this even better and adds layers to Indigo’s story and her future adventures.
I really hope this is just the beginning of more stories like this in the Crossroads series universe. I adore the characters so much.
She walked away from the life she was born to live. Now she has one chance to build the life she’s always wanted.
Indigo Briggs was one of the most feared tarot mages in the business—until a job went wrong and she walked away from it all. Now she’s in Fairhaven, a quirky supernatural town with secrets of its own, trying to build something quieter: a tea shop, a fresh start, and a life she might actually deserve.
The only problem? Her new venture needs funding she doesn’t have.
Enter Boone Fincher—charming, infuriatingly handsome, and in desperate need of a fake fiancée. His father’s will requires him to marry a mage with a powerful lineage, and Boone is running out of time. The arrangement is strictly business: Indy gets the money she needs, Boone gets his inheritance, and when it’s over, they part ways.
Simple.
Except nothing about this is simple. Between a blind vampire with unsettling insight, a revenant who likes to lend a hand, a mysterious bone monster that wanders through the crossroads, and a ghost from her old life determined to unravel everything she’s built, Indy is starting to suspect the universe has a plan she didn’t envision.
Then the past she thought she’d escaped comes looking for her, and Indigo must decide whether she’s willing to risk everything for the future she’s finally begun to imagine—one that includes a love that was never supposed to be real.
Tea and Tarot is a Crossroads Queen Side Quest Novel—an enchanting cozy urban fantasy standalone with fake dating, witty banter, found family, and the slow-burn realization that happily-ever-afters are worth believing in.
My Midlife Crisis is full of complex situations and equally compelling scenarios involving deeply emotional complicated family dynamics. Relationships that have been hidden, secretive, damaging, and sometimes abusive.
The author, when dealing with such dark topics, is excellent at offsetting them with down home warmth and humor that hits just right. Pages where I’m laughing out loud along with the characters. Sometimes moments before I’m crying with them.
It’s that kind of stuff that happens here. When Daisy is a Death Counselor and her job is to help her ghosts, some of whom are children, find out why they are still spectral beings. Whats keeping them there. Their stories are sad, poignant, or just loving. Or maybe they’re something worse.
Daisy herself is growing more powerful and more empathetic in her role. But it’s changing.
There’s so much high drama, strong narrative work that went into this. No spoilers. And yes, a really frustrating cliffhanger. Argh!
My midlife crisis. My rules. And if it doesn’t put me six feet under, I plan to live it up in style—possibly for the rest of eternity…
After a Luke Skywalker/Darth Vader moment, I discovered I do indeed have a father. He comes with a hell of a lot of baggage, but I’ve decided to keep him. Not only do I have a father, I have a kickass new sister, a ghostly family, and super powers to boot. If you add to the mix that I’m dating the Grim Reaper, it’s a freakin’ party.
The only thing standing in the way of my happiness is the Angel of Mercy, though Angel of Misery is more appropriate. She’s responsible for almost everyone I have loved, and who has loved me being taken away. With the help of family and friends, I will track her down and show her exactly what a perimenopausal hot flash looks like in action.
Job — Death Counselor — Supergluing ghosts back together and solving their issues is rewarding. For real.
Mission — Bring the seriously evil Angel of Mercy to justice without dying or getting anyone else killed in the process.
Team — A bunch of certifiable Immortals, including one who re-homes vibrators. Yes, you read that correctly.
How to do this? — Wing it. Wine, my Demon boyfriend, a houseful of deceased squatters, and good friends by my side will help.
Midlife’s a journey. I will enjoy the ride. The crisis is happening whether I’m ready or not.
Peterman’s storylines and characters are developing beautifully, giving realistic growth to the depth that they’ve unlocked in themselves as events has shown.
It’s funny, sometimes painful, heartbreaking and joyful, depending upon what characters are involved here, ghost squatters, members of Daisy’s new found family or someone completely different.
And hilarious when it comes to those detailed “facts” that Tim and Jennifer are experts at spewing out during get togethers. I’ll admit, I really look forward to those. They make my day and I really need to start writing them down. In each book.
Gideon and Daisy are well on their way to an established relationship but twists are a fact of the series as are cliffhangers.
Read swiftly through to the next book for all the answers. I’m way ahead at this point. Loving this series.
Midlife’s a bumpy journey. The ride is a freaking rollercoaster. The crisis is real.
With my life back to normal—normal being a very relative word—one would think I’d catch a break.
One would be very wrong.
With an Angel gunning for me and a Demon in my bed, life couldn’t be more complicated. Not to mention, I’m going to have to make a rather large life choice.
Do I want to live forever? Does anyone?
Forever is a very long time.
Whatever. I’ll think about it tomorrow… or next week… or next month. As long as I have my girlfriends, my dogs, a super-sized case of merlot and my deceased squatters, I’m good to go.
My midlife crisis. My rules. If it doesn’t kill me dead first, I plan to have a most excellent midlife crisis.
