How I Stole The Princess’s White Knight and Turned Him To Villainy: Miracle 1. By A.J. Sherwood is a new wonderfully entertaining fantasy story. It’s free at the moment but soon it will be pulled, and made part of a series Sherwood’s writing about a white knight and the black sorcerer who’s falling for him.
It’s got Sherwood’s tell tale humor, magical characters, snarky dialogue, action, and remarkable heart added to this enemies to lovers romance.
Honestly, the bad guy’s not so bad, well, really, the princess isn’t very nice, and the White Knight? He’s caught trying to do the right thing, and falling in love with the wrong person.
I couldn’t put this rollicking fabulous tale down . And when it was time for the Knight’s next mission? I found I needed that story that hasn’t been finished yet.
Oh the anticipation. Luckily, when the books come, they will be released, one after another.
So grab this up. Read it and enjoy.
Then wait with me for the announcement of the books to arrive!
What’s a white knight to do when his princess wants to sacrifice a town to barbarians? Go to the famous Black Sorcerer of Grimslock for help, apparently. What’s a black sorcerer to do when the white knight comes to him for help? Keep him, naturally. Devan does not approve of this payment plan. Tan does. Less
What’s a white knight to do when his princess wants to sacrifice a town to barbarians? Go to the famous Black Sorcerer of Grimslock for help, apparently.
What’s a black sorcerer to do when the white knight comes to him for help? Keep him, naturally.
Prequels are tricky things, they are stories that set the stage and briefly introduce characters for a series to come.
I’m always fascinated how each author’s treatment of a prequel storyline differs,their take on formatting as well as what the approach will be.
James makes Department Rivals happen within the span of one day. Two interdepartmental law enforcement bitter rivals, Homicide and MPU (Missing Persons Unit), are forced by each other’s department heads to attend a team building day to start to break down the long established antagonism.
Teams made up of a Officer from each department will work together to solve a “crime puzzle” laid out throughout the city and win a prize.
This is our first time to meet the detectives, Quaid Valor (MPU) and Aslan Doyle (Homicide) as well as their partners .
James does an excellent job of creating strong characters in a short amount of space. Valor’s behavior in just the sounds of his phone chiming with texts from his ex is beyond expressive, telegraphing a history and pain that’s so complex.
As is Aslan’s reaction to Valor, a man his department has made mockery of, including derogatory names. He now starts to see a person with frailties behind the need for adherence to the minutiae of the law he’s known for.
As James puts Aslan and Valor through the game and investigation, and us with them, it becomes a revelation of character and personality.
I won’t spoil the ending. But if you’ve read the first book, you know this is the situation that they both refer to, and think of often. It’s an important day for them both.
I love Department Rivals (A Valor and Doyle Prequel) by Nicky James. It’s a concisely written, beautifully constructed prequel. Great format and wonderful characterization.
It has a job and boy, it got it done and then some.
I’m highly recommending it and the series that follows.
The hostility between homicide and missing persons division is high. Something has to give.
When forced to participate in the department’s first annual team-building day, rival detectives, Quaid Valor and Aslan Doyle, need to learn to work together to win the prize. Can they put their animosity aside? Will their mutual attraction to each other get in the way?
**Department Rivals is a short, fun little prequel to the Valor and Doyle Mystery series**
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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.
Due to the complexity of Salinger’s world building and expanding cast of characters, I always need a bit of a review before diving back into this series. But it’s so worthwhile because the author has created a grand tale of war between good and evil beings, one that has been fought before, and now 500 years later is exploding on earth as mortals, Demi gods, mythological beings and creatures from all realms are gathering for one final chapter.
In the last novel, Edge Lines, the Fallen have started to remember their past lives before the First War, when they fell to Earth. The consequences of that recovery of a original self, means the reintegration of memory and powers. And just as much pain and guilt. For Cassius and Morgan , and for Victor.
Because the returning memories and selves brings deep deceptions and painful history to light.
All this while continuing current storylines with the characters, and investigations that carried over looking for the man/being who’s causing the chaos.
A main factor here is Theophile Serrano’s past, and his future part in the ongoing war. It is an amazing journey that really invigorated the story for me in some respects.
Just when I was thinking the story was getting a little dense in bringing in more characters and exposition, Theo’s part began and I was even more delighted with the twists that came next. It was incredibly emotional, full of action, and the ramifications from his section for the next storylines are huge.
These aren’t books you can read as standalones. They must be read in the order they are written and in the series sequence. They contain a huge amount of material that moves the arc and relationships forward in each story.
Fallen Messengers is a highly imaginative, complicated series. Oathbreaker is a wonderful installment, one I couldn’t put down until I was finished.
When the past comes calling, Cassius and Morgan have no option but to face the dire consequences of the choices they made before the Fall.
With Cassius Black’s secret operations to save the world in the last five-hundred years finally revealed by the agencies that govern the otherworldly, his status as the most vilified Fallen on Earth changes almost overnight. Unused to his newfound fame, Cassius tries to keep a low profile, but Morgan King’s reckless actions soon have them in the news again.
Forced to take a sabbatical, the pair heads to London to meet with Victor Sloan, who’s been incommunicado since his identity as the demigod who betrayed Cassius and Morgan during the War in the Nether came to light in the Spirit Realm.
Meanwhile, Theophile Serrano’s attempts to adapt to his new job as P.A. to Sion CEO Hugo Frost are derailed by the strange things that keep happening to him. Things that soon convince him that he is losing his mind.
Destinies collide when a catastrophe engendered by the dark God Elios strikes London. As past and present meet, Cassius finally comes face to face with the Guardians who were left behind in the Nether.
Will unlocking the secrets of Cassius and Theo’s past be the key to the city’s salvation? Or will the truth tear them all apart and give Elios the victory he seeks?
Oathbreaker is the fourth novel in the gay urban fantasy romance series Fallen Messengers. If you like your paranormal adventures full of action, magic, snark, and a host of steamy angels and demons, then you’re not going to want to miss this gripping, angst-filled adrenaline ride!
Content note: this book contains sensitive content that may be upsetting to some readers. Please refer to the blurb page of the eBook and the copyright page of the paperback and hardback for more information.
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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.
Another new author, another funtastic paranormal story and romance to grab hold of!
Given that graphically simple but perfect cover and great description, I knew I was in for a humorous story but it has hints of so much more hidden in the corners of this wildly entertaining romance between a ancient but oddly cute vampire who’s decided to be a detective and a human thief gone law student!
There’s a lot to discuss here. Mostly because it sounds a bit unhinged, in a terrific way!
It starts with Octavius Evander, the ancient vampire who’s boredom is the reason he’s starting The Undead Detective Agency to begin with. With his best friend, the zombie Scarlet at hand to act as secretary, backup, and sarcastic Greek chorus, Octavius is hilarious from the moment we meet him. He’s got the attention span of a toddler and what he does like (pink, sparkly, glitter, fabulous, eccentric), well, he wants it now. Black goth then 18th century fashion. In a instant. And sweets.
He’s just endearing. A bit clueless when it comes to some matters for a being that’s lived for so many centuries, but that’s a part of his charm.
And when he puts out a handmade flyer for the agency which also includes advertising for help. He gets the unexpected in the best way. A human applies.
That’s Turney Pimms. Love these names. Turney has got a bit of a colorful background, one I’m sure we will explore further in the books to come. At the moment, Turney’s enrolled in law school at Yale and the funds are getting scarce for the next year. He’s desperately in need of a job when a friend shows him a weird flyer.
A flyer which turns his world upside down!
Rhodes story has great characters, really entertaining scenes, but also ones that show our characters getting to know and understand each other with a warmth and deepening affection. It plays out so well.
But the author never forgets, even when we’re about to, that Octavius is a very old and powerful vampire and Turney is still just human. With all that entails.
There’s a number of scary cases, some investigations that go much differently then everyone thought, and will effect the Agency and the relationships being established.
Get It Together (The Undead Detective Agency #1) by Shelby Rhodes is just a wonderful read! I enjoyed immensely and highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys paranormal stories, especially romance.
There’s four books at least planned for the series. I’ve listed them below. I am so going to enjoy each and every one , I can tell!
The Undead Detective Agency series:
✓ Get It Together #1
◦ Keep It Together #2 – Feb/March 2023
◦ In Death Together #3 – TBD
◦ Together Forever #4 – TBD
Synopsis:
Hello, there! I’m Octavius Evander. And this is the beginning of my story—well…sort of. It’s not the very beginning. As a vampire, that story would be way too long to write down—think, before the Romans. Rather, this story is about how I met the love of my unlife. Okay, it will be mostly about the cool and fancy detective agency I opened and solving mysteries, but also a little about love too.
So, what does one need to open a detective agency, you may ask? Well, for one, a detective. As it was my idea, and I paid for everything, I, of course, filled that role. Next, I needed a secretary. My beautiful and marginally dangerous best friend Scarlett filled that role. Now, I will admit, at that time, I had not thought further than that, and simply skipped to getting my detective license, an office, and some other necessities.
My mind might have been too full of the fun adventures I was about to have. My hope was that those in and out of the paranormal communities would keep me entertained for a very long time. I quickly realized I still needed a driver, a tech person, and a witch that was good with ghosts. This is the story of how I found those people. And who would have thought the first to walk through the door would be human, with no knowledge of the paranormal—my precious Turney.
Tavia Lark’s latest fantasy romance, Prince and Assassin, lives up to its exciting description and surpasses it.
The first in Lark’s Perilous Courts trilogy, Prince and Assassin is the perilous romance between Prince Julien and the assassin sent to kill him, Whisper.
I love a marvelously told high fantasy tale and Prince and Assassin ticks the exposition boxes with glee and fervor!
This is a two voice narrative, so important when the men and situations are so dire and opposing. Also to really get a firm idea of how each person really looks like, at least through each other’s eyes.
Whisper is the product of a House of Assassins. He’s one of the infamous Hounds of the Kennel. Owned by a famed Blood Mage, Reo Barnaby, who now trains and sells the services of his specialized Hounds. Killers only the richest can afford.
Lark has built a fascinating background for Whisper that honestly cries out for its own series. The other Hounds briefly mentioned, Lily (a boy), Adder, along with their looks and specialties, were just tantalizing as anything else in the story. We continue to hear about their missions, well as the rules and training they lived under. It’s both mesmerizing and heartbreaking.
The Whisper we meet has been a Hound since he was 6 years old. And it’s breaking him down.
The author gives us memories of Whisper’s missions. The emotional impact it’s having on him, and the turmoil the current circumstances of his new target is creating within him.
Every scene, each phrase chosen brings us closer to the assassin breaking apart because of his unexpected feelings about his role and his target.
And his target? Not as expected either. Prince Julien Sandry has the layers one would think a Prince would cultivate and still be able to survive politically in a highly stressful, and sometimes deadly level.
Prince Julien, his female guards who are wonderful, are terrific characters, and a great balance for Whisper at each stage of the storyline. Julien has his own issues, with the court’s maneuvering between themselves to put different brothers on the throne, his own investigations into disappearances prior to his arrival, and an overall air of unsettling atmosphere that hangs over the area.
Lark has written great characters, put them into situations that create emotional and physical impact with humor, a romance with sizzling chemistry, and fantastic magical action.
Plus two fellcats that will utterly charm you! I really needed more of both of them, Rumi and Fisk. Their histories and, well, everything.
If I had a issue, it would be that Julien and Whisper’s story is relegated to one book. It has the characters, elements, and storylines for its own series, to see their relationship grow and deepen. Instead we get a HFN.
Which is suitable for all that went before.
Each book in the trilogy is going to a Sandry Prince brother of Silaise. This is the middle brother’s story. I adored it and them. And wished for more.
Prince and Assassin (Perilous Courts #1) by Tavia Lark is a book I’m highly recommending. Pick it up and enjoy before the next is out in September!
Perilous Courts:
✓ Prince and Assassin #1
◦ Prince in Disguise #2 – Sept 30, 2022 (Prince Bellamy and Rakos)
◦ Prince and Pawn #3 – Jan 30, 2033 (Prince Audric and Corin)
He’s supposed to kill Prince Julien. Not fall for him.
Whisper doesn’t remember his real name. All he knows is the elite assassin guild that raised him—and controls him with the threat of blood magic. Plagued by nightmares, he doesn’t get to refuse assignments, even when his new job doesn’t make sense:
Infiltrate Prince Julien’s court, protect him until the signal arrives, then kill him.
Julien hides his own schemes behind a sordid reputation. He trusts nobody besides his brothers, and he certainly doesn’t trust the aloof, beautiful new stranger at court. But he doesn’t have to trust the stranger to be drawn to him, especially when he saves Julien’s life.
Then Julien saves Whisper too, and Whisper’s reserve shatters.
Beneath Julien’s playboy facade is a warmth Whisper can’t resist. Whisper’s never been comforted before. He’s never been cared for like this. As his nightmares darken, Julien’s touch is his only solace—but falling in love could ruin them both.
Because Whisper’s mission hasn’t changed, and the price for failure is worse than death.
Prince and Assassin is a high fantasy gay romance, with secret identities, hurt/comfort, and magic tigers with attitude.
The Perilous Courts series is best read in order, but each book follows a different prince and his Happily Ever After.
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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer
Murder mysteries are a favorite trope so discovering a new author and series of both made my day. Especially when the novel’s storylines and characters turns out to be so riveting and absolutely beautifully executed.
Dal Maclean’s Bitter Legacy, the first book in a series of the same name, is a gripping tale of multiple murders, intense law enforcement investigations, with a upcoming Detective’s emotional journey into passion, loss, grief, and love.
It’s such a remarkable story. At times it’s not easy reading. You have to be someone who enjoys the minutiae of police work, especially the tiniest of details laid down, that might be the one thing that helps solves the case later on in the story.
There’s more than one tragedy here, multidimensional victims and equally strong monsters.
The story is narrated by Detective Sergeant James Henderson, an up and coming officer in a Murder Investigation Unit. He’s being fast tracked for promotion if he doesn’t mess it up. James or Jamie as he gets called is out as gay in his unit, with no repercussions. Those came from his extremely wealthy father who cast him out when James refused to follow the family program as far as career and heterosexual marriage.
So James is a man who’s going through some very hard emotionally fraught issues as well as finding himself alone in a new career, new place with high expectations.
He’s a great character, one that as a narrator, only gets better as his feelings about the cases and people involved serve not only to pull us into his reality but all the others that he’s becoming closer to. Maclean’s writing is absolutely up to the challenges of painting a portrait of Jamie undergoing immense changes, handling unbearable grief, feeling great joy, and then the numbness of shattering death. The reader is there , feeling it all.
And not just Jamie’s emotional state, but that of others we come to care about through the cases and the Department James works in.
I thought the book was incredibly well written, the mysteries complex, and the ending just as shattering as you would expect.
Only the somewhat rushed ending and epilogue felt out of place given how much the rest of the book was well layered.
I am onto the next in the series. I’m highly recommending this story to all lovers of contemporary murder mystery romance. Pick it up and let me know what you think!
Detective Sergeant James Henderson’s remarkable gut instincts have put him on a three-year fast track to becoming an inspector. But the advancement of his career has come at a cost. Gay, posh and eager to prove himself in the Metropolitan Police, James has allowed himself few chances for romance.
But when the murder of barrister Maria Curzon-Whyte lands in his lap, all that changes. His investigation leads him to a circle of irresistibly charming men. And though he knows better, James finds himself enticed into their company.
Soon his desire for photographer Ben Morgan challenges him to find a way into the other man’s lifestyle of one-night stands and carefree promiscuity. At the same time his single murder case multiplies into a cruel pattern of violence and depravity.
But as the bodies pile up and shocking secrets come to light, James finds both his tumultuous private life and coveted career threatened by a bitter legacy. “Bitter Legacy” was a 2017 LAMBDA literary award finalist (Mystery).
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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer
I’ve totally enjoyed Lane Hayes Script Club romances, a sweet series of stories that are centered around a genius circle of friends that end up with their HEA’s with jocks or people with a sports related story.
But The Professor’s Date, the fifth and final installment, might just be my favorite of all. From the very first introduction to Tommy, our gentle geek (yes we have known him throughout the series), to that heartwarming ending, I was absolutely captivated by their personalities and love story.
Professor Thomas Hartwell , “I teach astrophysics and study biomolecular physics as it relates to astronomy” is one of the few remaining unattached members of The Scripts Club, and with Holden, still living in the old beautiful house on the corner.
Tommy is a PhD student and Professor at Caltech. He’s got a oddly stressful relationship with his family, including his twin sister who’s about to be married.
Tommy’s tight schedule and lack of time for fashion has both his sister and mother requesting him to get a makeover for the wedding. Also a plus one.
While this is a familiar trope, Hayes uses Tommy’s personality and his family’s inability to successfully communicate with each other to make this a poignant, emotional element. It believable, sad, and feels exhausting because it comes across as a family routine, not a one time issue.
So oddly, it’s not his family that sends him into the hair salon and his meeting with Noah Burns.
Noah Burns, former soccer pro now fabulous hairdresser at Stylin’Tea, a upscale hair salon.
Noah is a man with a deeply painful past he’s still dealing with, no matter the state of denial he’s in. Noah’s personality is that which is superficial only to those he wants to play and go. But Hayes ‘ crafting of Noah’s character gives us a man of depths, fragile and kind. He’s as easy to live as his counterpart.
Their meeting is moving, funny, realistic, and awkward. Perfect.
The relationship is one of stumbling, halting motion, introspection, terrific dialogue, sexy scenes surprisingly, and so much warmth.
This is a story you just dive into heart first.
There’s angst, and reconciliation. And a marvelous HEA.
I just adore this couple and their romance. As I said I think Noah and Tommy might be my favorites.
Maybe it’s their interesting romance that no matter what, they work, and they kept making their way back towards each other.
I’m highly recommending The Professor’s Date (The Script Club #5) by Lane Hayes. I’ve listed all the series below.
Plus the author has another book coming out with the last two men remaining, Ezra and Holden. That’s Love and History. Be on the lookout for that!
The professor, the hair stylist, and a wedding date…
Tommy
Help! My sister is getting married and according to her, I need a date. And a makeover. I’m a busy man, though. I don’t have time to meet eligible bachelors, and the tape holding my glasses together works just fine. Until my hair stylist steps on them.
Yes, Noah, my dazzling dreamboat of a hair guru created a mini disaster, but I don’t mind at all. He’s a sweet, funny, kind jock who—
Screech! No jocks. I have nothing in common with sporty people.
Except…Noah is different.
Noah
I don’t date. However, I’m not opposed to offering fashion advice to a sexy professor in need. A haircut, a quick shopping expedition…
Boom! Mission accomplished.
Not so fast. I’ve misjudged the situation and my attraction to the geek with the tragic sense of style. Sure, Thomas is too smart for me by a long shot, but there’s something about him that makes it easy to forget my past. It might be his quietly commanding nature or his movie-star good looks. Or maybe it’s just him.
All I know is that I’m very tempted to be the professor’s date.
The Professor’s Date is an MM geek/jock romance featuring a nerdy professor, a soccer-playing hair stylist, and a quest for the perfect date!
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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer
When I finished a Hand of Glory, the fifth in Nazri Noor’s Arcane Heaets series, A Clap of Thunder was supposed to be the series finale and I was wondering how all the many complicated storylines were going to be resolved in one novel.
Turns out they aren’t and I’m thrilled the author chose this path rather then cram all the answers into a overly dense narrative where something has to give. There’s going to be another book after this one and after all the events that occur here? It’s got it’s own action packed mission to fulfill as well as wind down the series.
A Clap of Thunder continues to see Noor using his incredible imagination to bring new characters and elements into this universe. We get new schools of magic, their universities, and Professors. Each uniquely endowed with fascinating magical themes, beautifully defined elements, and mystical beings.
Noor has created different spells associated with each type of magic too, one’s that continually expand as our found family of mages and artificers grow their potential magically and become more powerful within their respective guilds.
This is a richly complex universe that contains multiple species, realms, even gods. And all the tortured, convoluted relationships that comes with all that.
Newly engaged couple Jackson Pryde and Xander Wright are happy, in love, and working on rebuilding the shattered home of the guild of artificers while still investigating the origin of the purple Chrysanthemum crystals which has terrorized their home, the Black Market, and the various universities.
Greyhaven, Xander’s university, was the recent site of a savage raid by infected Fae and now it’s headmistress intends to invade the Realm of the Fae.
It a painful tumultuous time for all and it’s captured vividly in scene after scene, from the Black Market to Greyhaven to Philippine jungles and beaches. Always keeping our group together and their dynamics front and center.
Still there is more here to uncover and investigate if they, including Lore, the first family AI, can get all the memories from the second newly found AI cube, Whitby. How I adore Lore. It’s a enormous mystery pertaining to Jackson’s parents deaths and the explosions that destroyed the artificers guild.
Then there’s the heart of Oberon. And the Fae themselves.
So many inventive, fantastic storylines here, and one great twist.
No cliffhanger. And we are ready for The Claws of Winter coming in February of 2023.
I can’t wait. This is a wildly entertaining and complicated story, with great characters , magical actions and battles! Dragons even!
Plus a loving couple with a bit of kink.
I’m highly recommending Arcane Hearts as it’s winding down, A Clap of Thunder is a highly entertaining read!
They must be read in the order they are written to understand the characters, relationships, and universe.
Arcane Hearts series, 6 of 7 books:
✓ A Touch of Fever #1
✓ A Stroke of Brilliance #2
✓ An Iron Fist #3
✓ A Velvet Glove #4
✓ Hand of Glory #5
✓ A Clap of Thunder #6
◦ The Claws of Winter #7 – Feb 24, 2023 (series finale)
Jackson Pryde and Xander Wright are happier than ever. The guild of artificers grows stronger thanks to the Black Market’s masters. The second AI is awakening, closer to divulging its forgotten secrets. And most shocking of all, Jackson has finally invented something worth selling.
But war is brewing in the arcane underground. Madame Catherine Grayhaven does not forgive easily. The grand dame of the elite academy has rallied her students for a vengeful attack on the Verdance, the realm of the fae.
Jackson and Xander join the fight with their own motives: find King Oberon and hold him accountable for his crimes. But what awaits beyond the portal may shatter everything they believe in.
A Clap of Thunder is a 65,000-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 Clap of Thunder today.
Rebecca Cohen dives back into Elizabethan England with Much Ado About Lady MacBeth. A enlarged, rewritten version of a short story, it takes place in the same universe as Cohen’s historical Crofton Chronicles.
Those are favorite books of mine featuring a certain Earl and actor Sebastian, who is very present here! It’s wonderful to see him again, and the Earl, if only in mentions.
Cohen centers her story around the activities and actors of King’s Men, the company of players at the Globe theatre, in London, England. The two main characters are actively hostile towards each other, upcoming actors who each seek the same roles.
David Bell, who’s family lives in the slums, barely surviving, is about to age out of female roles. But he’s still wanting to play Lady MacBeth before he leaves female roles behind. The descriptions of the poverty and living conditions are concise yet impactful.
His rival for that role and others? The person known for making disparaging remarks about him? That would be the lovely Jacob Milner. Pretty of face, but with a nasty word for him. And the current favorite with plenty of money behind him. His middle class background is also well defined and believable.
Cohen sets the stage with Shakespeare’s verse, plays, good old fashioned mystery, misconceptions, and a healthy sexy romp or two.
All while keeping within the laws and morals of the times where same sex relationships were illegal and men could be gallows bound if caught.
It’s still got the feeling of a shorter story but with a fuller heart. The characters are well done and Cohen’s universe and understanding of the times is well established.
It’s a sweet historical romance and a lovely edition to The Crofton Chronicles , especially if you’re a fan like me.
Jacob Milner might have the face of an angel and the legs of a sinner, but his poisonous tongue would taint even the prettiest visage.
A Shakespearean era enemies to lovers MM Romance
David Bell has risen from the London slums to be one of the up-and-coming stars of the King’s Men, the company of players at the Globe theatre. On the cusp of being too old for female roles, he yearns to play one more part before he leaves the skirts behind: Lady Macbeth. But he is not alone in that desire, and his nemesis, Jacob Milner, a soft-bellied popinjay who has never known day’s work in his life, is also vying for the part.
Sparks have flown between them before, but the fiery barbs and risqué name calling are hiding a different passion. But even if they do manage to put their animosity behind them, Jacob has another problem, his father is trying to marry him off to the daughter of Baron Runcorn.
Modern Crofton series:
🔹Saving Crofton Hall #1 (orig released 2014
🔹Making History at Crofton Hall
🔹Below Stairs at Crofton Hall
🔹Getting Married at Crofton Hall-TBR September 2022
A spin-off from The Crofton Chronicles-historic romance series
From the seething long- standing animosity between their two departments, Homicide and MPC , has emerged an incredible series and two books to date focused on a detective from each department. Each man with his own personal traumas and battles, opposing personalities, differing family histories, as well as departmental bad blood between them.
From these basic elements, as well as cold cases and murder mysteries, James has built one of the most fascinating, compelling growing character dynamics I’ve read recently.
Temporary Partner, the first in the series, established the men’s background and departmental histories. A joint case, temporary partners and a cease fire within departments, meant these men had to work together to solve a complicated awful crime with emotional implications for both. It was revelatory for each, personally and professionally.
Shattering assumptions about each other, breaking personal boundaries, in ending up in a one night stand neither can forget about.
Elusive Relations begins as detectives Quaid Valor and Aslan Doyle return physically to their departments and lives, but emotionally it’s each other they’re trying not to think about. It’s all about denial.
Aslan’s coping with his alcoholism, his recovery, AA meetings, and his unhappiness with his social life. And exactly what that means. While Quaid is in a recovery of a different sort, that of having left an abusive relationship, feeling a failure, and alone.
James has created such rich layered portraits of men still working through fundamental issues within themselves, with grief, doubt, deep pain, and emotional resolve that you can’t help but believe in them completely. Whether it’s alone or with support, it comes across as absolutely raw and realistic.
These are elements that each man will continue to work on, grow with throughout both books and, I anticipate, the series. They are deep seated issues, and with alcoholism, a lifelong recovery.
As Aslan’s Homicide Unit arrives to investigate a crime whose victim has unexpected ties to Quaid, the men and departments join forces once more in a case that becomes increasingly convoluted. As well as deeply painful.
The author manages to balance a slow growing relationship between Az and Quaid, the detailed investigation with its revelations, and multiple other seemingly minor storylines that will swing back with a huge impact. There’s no holes, things that look like dead ends aren’t exactly, but just a sideways hill to the right direction. Great mystery btw.
But the heart is really the developing nature of the relationship between Az and Quaid that could so easily be derailed by a misstep by one person. It’s of such a tentative stage that it adds it’s own anxiety and suspense to the storyline.
And then that heartbreaking ending.
I am not a fan of cliffhangers. But this is different. Not one of action but of information. It’s shattering.
And I have to wait until October to see what happens next. But considering how the arc has played out so far, I’m not sure the mystery will be solved in that book either. It’s that’s deep, and has a long process behind it. I’ll be happy to have several more novels to go.
Until then, I’m highly recommending this series and absolutely Elusive Relations (Valor and Doyle Mysteries #2) by Nicky James.
It’s beautifully written, outstanding characters, fantastic arc, slow burn romance. The books must be read in the order they were written for characters histories, relationships, and arc development.
Life was easier when rival detectives, Quaid Valor and Aslan Doyle, kept to their own sides of the building. They could forget the one glorious night they’d shared and move on.
But when Aslan is called to a homicide and discovers one of the victims has a personal history with Quaid, he knows a confrontation is inevitable.
When news about the case spreads, Quaid can’t help but get involved. He wants answers; if not for himself, then for the families of the victims.
Joining Aslan and his partner, Quaid uncovers more than he bargained for—too many secrets and lies in a case that is dangerously personal.
Plus, the more time he spends with Aslan, the harder it is for Quaid to ignore his attraction to the playboy detective.
Aslan, who doesn’t believe in repeats, can’t seem to stop flirting with the grumpy MPU detective, and his rules go out the window as they’re drawn deeper into the case.
But what happens when one more night turns to two, and two turns into three?
Does Quaid want to risk his heart again?
Has Aslan developed feelings?
Can they put a stop to their fun and walk away?
Do they want to?
**The Valor and Doyle Mysteries are a same-couple, ongoing series and should be read in order. The main mystery plot of each book will be resolved within the story, but there are elements that are overarching throughout the series**
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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 