Review:  How to Flirt with a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls #1) by Shannon Mae

Rating: 4.5🌈

Shannon Mae’s latest book is the first in a new paranormal series, Hellhounds of Paradise Falls, a universe where many of her other characters and series are located in. 

I love crossover series when I’m heavily invested in the universe and characters I’ve been following already, so it’s so much fun to see a new group arrive to get their fated mates and HEA.  In this case a pack of Hellhounds, starting with Dexter, who’s just fabulous in a bunch of weirdly supernatural and supportive ways. 

Dexter’s has a pack of brother hellhounds which are all introduced as well here into How to Flirt with a Hellhound. This is the romance of human author Toby and Dex, the Hellhound who lives next door to him in Paradise Falls.

We get a recap of all the many wonderful elements and otherworldly couples that live in Paradise Falls, why it’s so special.  And the fun that begins with Toby speculating on his hot new neighbor as he writes his paranormal novel.

It’s funny, and a great way to bring the characters together. Who are engaging, have amazing chemistry, and are simply a couple we can invest in.

Dex is at times just unaffected with his outlook and straight on personality. The author must have had such fun creating Dex, and his dialogue!

As Dex comes with his intriguing four brother hellhounds so does Toby come with his own group of equally complex friends who I expect will factor into this series. That’s including the new people who are rescued from events that occurred during this story.

Hellhounds of Paradise Falls:

  • How to Flirt with a Hellhound #1
  • How to Hack a Hellhound #2 – January 2,2025

Buy link

        How to Flirt with a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls Book 1)

    

Blurb

Toby

Maybe I have an overactive imagination, but the hot guy next door totally gives off serial killer vibes. Why else would he know how long it takes to bleed out from a wound? Yeah, ok, so I asked, but it was research. Being an author definitely makes for some odd questions (someone had better clear my browser history when I die, that’s all I’m saying). It’s not like I’m stalking my hot neighbor or anything—there’s nothing wrong with watching him out my window. Although I might have my own stalker (and not the cute harmless kind), which is kind of terrifying. Even if he isn’t a serial killer, maybe my seriously sexy neighbor whose eyes seem to glow red (a trick of the light, I’m sure) can help me out.

Dexter

How do you tell your cute neighbor that cutting off fingers probably won’t cause a victim to bleed out? I don’t know if trying out Toby’s writing ideas is a good method of flirting, but there’s just something about him that calls to my hellhound. He’s adorable, awkward, and all kinds of clueless. He brings out my protective instincts, and I find myself wanting to please him, even if that means figuring out some of the answers to his rather bloodthirsty questions. When I find out Toby might actually be in danger, nothing will stop my hellhound from protecting him. He’s mine, even if he doesn’t know it, and I’ll tear apart anyone who even thinks of hurting him.

Tags: Socially awkward writer and serial killer(ish) hellhound fall in love; talking about dismemberment totally counts as flirting, right?; there’s death and maiming, but only of really bad people; Dex would literally burn the world down for those he cares about; Toby is adorably clueless; hellhounds have tails, and they know how to use them.

  • Publication date: September 2, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 237 pages

Review:  All Out of Flux (Stolen Hearts Book 3) by Nazri Noor

Rating : 4.5🌈

All Out of Flux is the final book in Nazri Noor’s Stolen Hearts trilogy.  In this story, brujo witch Leon Alcantara and mage Max Drake are still in pursuit of the Quartz Spider , a time mage who threatens existence itself.  

Noor’s narrative has been building up to this, including the amazing sea dragons that inhabit Leon for a spell in exchange for powerful magic.  This element expands as another dragon is introduced and a scary scenario is unveiled for their appearance.

This is a fast paced, action packed book, where if you skip a sentence or two, you’ve missed an important step or aspect of the game that’s playing out in the narrative.  

I find the entire Las Lunas universe endlessly imaginative.  The spider beings, from the Jade and Amethyst Spiders to the very Queen herself, this is such a uniquely fascinating element that I love and could wish for additional exploration. 

And also there’s Max’s criminal, entertaining, persistent family to dive into as well.  Tons of characters waiting for their own input into Max and Leon’s lives and further adventures.

That final battle and scenes left me with some major issues but it was most definitely dramatic and memorable.  Did I have several questions about how it was possible and why it was happening in the first place? Yes.  Did know one know about the Masque? However, everything is satisfactory and maybe any further series will bring answers for us.  You never know.

If you love fantasy fiction, magical stories, here’s a trilogy you won’t want to miss. 

Stolen Hearts:

Hex and the City #1

Elixir of Strife #2

All Out Of Flux #3 – finale

Buy link

        All Out of Flux (Stolen Hearts Book 3)

    

Blurb 

Time is running out.

Leon Alcantara and Max Drake are finding help in the most unlikely of places. A third dragon has manifested, promising Leon untold elemental power. Another specter from Max’s past returns to haunt him, presenting a tempting offer.

But everything comes with a price.

Perhaps the risk is worth the reward. More anomalies are erupting across Dos Lunas. The boys need all the help they can get against the rogue time mage responsible. The Quartz Spider has finally shown his hand, and only Max and Leon can stop him.

But how can they stop the enemy when the enemy is time itself?

  • Publication date: August 30, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 148 pages

Review:  Signed, I’m Yours! (Subpar Superhero story) By Rhys Lawless

Rating: 4.5🌈

Well, this was simply adorable.  I absolutely adored Signed, I’m Yours! (Subpar Superhero story) By Rhys Lawless.  One of the most enjoyable in this series.

The journey of Seojun, Mr Sinister, a not so very super villain, who wants to find the family he left behind in South Korea turns into a funny, heartfelt story about a man who instead finds love, respect, and a new found family when he never expected it.

Seojun, fabulous in Pink, meet the SPAM agent Jack ā€œHappyā€ Lewis, signs Jack up for some internal secret investigation, that goes immediately rightfully wrong. 

This wonderful story is so well written. The beautifully crafted characters have so much heart, including the many fabulous side characters, that it’s hard not to wish for more from this universe and gang of heroes.

Even the main villain of this piece is a man isn’t what you expect.  Instead he’s poignant, the crimes also contain an unexpected twist.

Honestly, the story and characters were a total joy that it was an absolute pleasure reading this.

A winner for the series and as a whole for the author to the readers. 

Subpar Heroes series- 15 books:

šŸ”·The Accidental Necromancer by Liv Rancourt 

šŸ”·Behind the 8-Ball by A. E. Wasp

šŸ”·Transparent Is a Color by Kaje Harperā¤ļø

šŸ”·Impossible Things by Alexa Land 

šŸ”·My Not-So-Super Blind Date by Allison Temple ā¤ļøā¤ļø

šŸ”·An Ex-Hero’s Guide to Axe Handling by Jenn Burke ā¤ļøā¤ļø

šŸ”·In The Nick of Time by Elle Keaton 

šŸ”·Static/Cling by Jaimie Samms

šŸ”·Spiritual Guidance Not Required by Jacy Braegan   

šŸ”·What Could Go Wrong? By Toshi Drake 

šŸ”·License to Chill by Chantal Mer 

šŸ”·Code Name Dolittle by Lynn Michaels

šŸ”·Signed, I’m Yours! By Rhys Lawlessā¤ļø

šŸ”·A Taste of Danger by Morgan Brice. 9/5/2024

Buy link:

        Signed, I’m Yours!: A supervillainous romcom

    

Blurb

I’m The Sinister Signature. New York City’s biggest supervillain. And anything I sign is mine!

Including the hunky, happy-go-lucky SPAM agent with the bear-bod who catches me red-handed.

Jack “Happy” Lewis.

The man who can never turn his smile into a frown and who’s way too excited to be tied to me for the foreseeable future.

He drives me up the wall, but at least I’ve got a guy on the inside who can help me with my mission.

In my search for my missing family, SPAM, the mysterious agency that handles super-powered individuals, and Happy are my only recourse.

There is one problem however.

With Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes stuck by my side, I’m starting to feel…things and I don’t like it.

It gets worse when we have to pretend we’re engaged.

The last thing I need right now is to fall head over heels and quit my search. Or give up my criminal empire and go over to the good side.

Ew. That’s not me.

I’m a supervillain, damn it. I won’t fall victim to Jack’s charms.

No, I won’t.

Signed, I’m Yours is a standalone paranormal romcom with a grumpy supervillain, an always-happy good guy literally stuck together on a case, a fake instant engagement, a very convenient bi-awakening, and only one bed.

Part of the multi-author Subparheroes MM romance series.

  • Publisher: Rhys Writes Romance (August 29, 2024)
  • Publication date: August 29, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 284 pages

Review: Clean Finish (Goliaths of Wrestling book 2) by Lily Mayne

Rating:4.5🌈

Clean Finish is the second book in Lily Mayne’s Goliaths of Wrestling paranormal romcom series and it’s another winner, fabulous cover including.

This time the comedic romance is an age gap, first time storyline with the main characters being a young flighty sweet Fae assistant and an older werewolf bodyguard. 

Larkin, the young, not very focused, elf assistant of Holt’s, is an engaging character who we met in book 1.  Sunny, kind, and effervescent in outlook, Larkin is also scattered in his thought processes, not quite able to complete his tasks with all the gorgeous wrestlers about, and his hormones on overdrive.

Seb, an older thoughtful werewolf, is Holt’s bodyguard. He’s quiet, observant, a crossword puzzle enthusiast, and has been nurturing a deep abiding crush/love for Larkin from the moment he first saw him. 

When Larkin decides he needs a tutor in sex, it’s Seb he turns to and starts a journey to a wonderful subtly developing friendship.  Mayne creates a funny, remarkably moving, and relatable story here between Seb and Larkin that becomes a deeply passionate and loving relationship.  It’s built over home-made bread, cross word puzzles, a combined love of their warmhearted supportive families, and yes, lots of very sexy exploration and personal revelations.

We also get to see our other favorite couple, Holt and Taylor , continuing their story as they work together on making Goliaths of Wrestling a better place and their own life together richer.  The wrestling scene and wrestlers are front and center as important players here and as found family.

A teaser for the next book shows a slight increase as the characters aren’t in the same place or personality as these.  Should be fascinating. Can’t wait.

Again fantastic artwork on this cover!

Cover illustration: Vic Gray/Bloodwrit

Goliaths of Wrestling: 

šŸ”·Impromptu Match #1

šŸ”·Clean Finish #2

šŸ”·Cheap Heat #3 – September 27,2024

Buy link

        Clean Finish (Goliaths of Wrestling Book 2)

    

Blurb 

Larkin

Look, here’s the thing.

I’m young, carefree, and my job as the assistant to Holt, manager and owner of the Goliaths of Wrestling, means I’m surrounded by half-naked beefcake wrestlers all day. Of courseI’m going to be interested in… getting to know them all better. It would be, like, illegal for me to not lust after them all, right?

There’s just one hurdle I have to get over first before I can… get to knowthe wrestlers in the way I want. And that hurdle makes me really, really freaking nervous.

So I come up with an amazing idea. Holt’s bodyguard Seb, a werewolf, is the quiet, dependable, calm presence in the office. He’s safe. He’s not as intimidating as the wrestlers, and we’re kind ofbuddies, so I decide to ask him for help with my little… predicament.

Just for some practice. Before I move onto the big leagues. That’s all it is. Practice.

Seb

I’m the foolish old wolf who’s pined after Larkin since the moment he started working here. I’ve had to watch him flirt with all the wrestlers, listen to him talk about how much he wants them, act like I didn’t care, and it’s never gotten easier.

At least no one knows. And I can never tell him. He’s too young for me, too carefree and irresponsible, and he’s never shown even a hint of being interested in me that way. Mentally, I’ve accepted it. My heart, however, is a different matter.

And then he comes to me with a ridiculous proposition. Something I never thought I’d get to experience, something I should absolutely turn down, but I can’t. I’m not strong enough to deny myself. And I want to help Larkin in any way I can.

It’s just practice for him. I have to keep reminding myself of that, every time I get to touch him—every time he’s pressed against me, every time he falls asleep on my chest. He doesn’t want me. He just wants… lessons. Practice.

That’s all it is. Practice.

  • Publication date: August 6, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 461 pages

Review: The Haunted Hotel (Crawshanks Guide to Mischievous Spectres & Spirits Book 1) by Vawn Cassidy 

Rating: 4.5🌈

We first met all these people (alive and ghostly ) at the very haunted Ashton-Drake Manor House  in  the Dead Serious Case #4 Professor Prometheus Plume (Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed). 

That was a fabulous supernatural murder mystery romp that was absolutely entertaining, romantic, and gave us an entirely new cast of characters to love.

The Haunted Hotel picks up in the aftermath of those events, the unwanted publicity and the trouble it’s brought to the Manor. And the unexpected surprises too. 

One is a leftover guest, the horror book author Mr Pennington, whose writer’s block has vanished since the last events and his creative sparks are flowing!  He’s decided to stay and write. The most important new element is the new arrival at the Manor. 

Morgan Ashton-Drake has returned home after his mother took him to America when he was a young boy. Now he’s come home, only he can’t remember the ancient manor that holds both his history and memories and perhaps his future.

While Morgan is dealing with renewed relations with his grandfather, and his past, Ellis Sparks, and the rest of the found family of staff and ghosts of Ashton-Drake Manor House Hotel have their own challenges to face.  

Vawn Cassidy weaves in intimate relationships of family dynamics, romance, friendship, and ghostly goings on to come up with a warm-hearted, layered story of families, history, and love in believable terms. Even when there’s ghosts involved.

By the end, a new resolve has set in, an additional chapter begins, and someone else has come home.  I love this book so much.

The Dead Serious Case #4 Professor Prometheus Plume (Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed) gives a wonderful foundation for this book as well as being a terrific story in a fantastic series. Don’t miss out on any of those stories.

I highly recommend reading them and this, the gorgeously crafted The Haunted Hotel (Crawshanks Guide to Mischievous Spectres & Spirits Book 1) by Vawn Cassidy .  Now I can’t wait to see where the next novel takes everyone.

Crawshanks Guide to Mischievous Spectres & Spirits:

  • The Haunted Hotel #1

Buy link

        The Haunted Hotel (Crawshanks Guide to Mischievous Spectres & Spirits Book 1)

    

Blurb 

Have a frightfully good stay…

Morgan Ashton-Drake hasn’t given his ancestral home in Yorkshire a second thought in decades. He has a great life in the States, running his stepfathers hotel empire with his brother. So what if he’s all work and no play. He’s not missing out on anything important.

But when a suspicious death and rather public scandal at his childhood home forces Morgan to return to England for the first time in years, he’s not keen to confront his past. What he didn’t count on was the seriously cute little blonde disaster who seems to be single-handedly running his eccentric grandfather’s hotel.

Ellis Sparks has worked at the Ashton-Drake Manor House Hotel since he was sixteen and he loves it from the bottom of his soul. Always the eternal optimist, he’s never met a frown he can’t turn upside down; that is, until he meets Morgan Ashton-Drake, the grumpy grandson of his employer.

With the hotel in danger of closing, and convinced Morgan is the only one who can help to save it, the resident ghosts decide to try their ghostly hand at a little matchmaking as an incentive to get him to stay. After all, how hard can it be to get a grumpy workaholic to fall in love with a twinky ray of sunshine?

From the creator of Dead Serious comes this hilarious grumpy/sunshine spin off which will leave you wanting to book your own room at The Ashton-Drake Manor House Hotel.

  • Publisher: Underside Press (August 24, 2024)
  • Publication date: August 24, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 277 pages

Review: Impromptu Match (Goliaths of Wrestling book 1) by Lily Mayne

Rating:5🌈

I had no idea Lily Mayne could write romcom. Paranormal romcom! I picked up Impromptu Match, the first book in Mayne’s Goliaths of Wrestling paranormal romance series, based just on that fabulous cover illustration by Vic Gray/Bloodwrit. Didn’t even look at the author at all. I was captivated by the characters I saw beautifully captured by the artist.

But that story! Wow! While I got the book in ebook format, I’m going to buy it again to have it to read in print.  I love it. The universe, the characters, the writing, everything about this is amazing.

Where to start? Hard to pick a favorite element.  The characters, from the main couple of Taylor and Holt , to all the otherworldly wrestlers, and the easily recognizable corporate office staff are perfect. 

Taylor Hough, sad human office worker bee , uniform of suits, dad jeans and old sneakers, 39, caught in the monotony of a job he never wanted, still doesn’t and doesn’t understand, has his world rocked with a wrong turn one night after work. Taylor is a great character. He’s easily identifiable, one we connect with, and as he changes, throwing off his old habits for new growth, exploring new ideas and concepts, we are cheering him on.  Especially in his relationship with Holt. 

Holt is everything. I’ll let the reader enjoy his character and personality in this book. But chef’s kiss. 

Talk relationship goals. These two are so well written, the chemistry, the communication, and great respect for each other, I love them. They’re sexy, they have endless potential, and they’re just so expansive in their approach to life and their love.  

What else is top notch here? The dialogue and the author’s keen ear for the sheer awfulness of corporate jargon.  The absolute nonsense that gets tossed about as often as zoom meetings these days.  Synergy as 

ā€œThe directors prefer there to be synergy across all our public-facing outputs to really leverage the HutSec brand, you know?ā€

Snort and giggling.  Also

ā€œLet’s circle back to this in the morning. I’ll loop you two in when the team have our group-think first thing.ā€

Double Snort! More giggles

Honestly, this is so spot on and used so hilariously throughout the office conversations that I found myself laughing constantly.  That corporate culture, right down to a bland name HutSec, is narrative perfection.

When I’m not laughing at the dialogue, or swooning over the couple, or enjoying the action of the fantastic group of otherworldly wrestlers of the Goliaths Wrestling Club, I was just trying to see who was the best otherworldly character to see a romantic story next.  So many to choose from.

And the sheer comedy scenes here are incredible. These are a very hot, frisky couple, the chemistry is off the charts! Stock up on the fans! 

Love this! Highly recommended!

And I’ll repeat it again, that cover is incredible..

Cover illustration: Vic Gray/Bloodwrit

Goliaths of Wrestling: 

šŸ”·Impromptu Match #1

šŸ”·Clean Finish #2

šŸ”·Cheap Heat #3

Buy link

        Impromptu Match (Goliaths of Wrestling Book 1)

    

Blurb

I, Taylor Hough, am a painfully average guy.

I have the soul-destroying corporate job, I iron my underpants, and I was unceremoniously dumped for an influencer hippie a few years ago. Every day feels the same, and I don’t know how much longer I can cope before I do something unhinged like rip off my shirt in the middle of my co-worker’s office birthday party and smear lemon cake all over my chest.

But then a case of mistaken identity suddenly lands me in the middle of a covert professional wrestling league, which is apparently being run in the basement of my office building. Weird. Even weirder are the wrestlers. They seem… otherworldly. So does the rest of the staff. And the audience. Pretty much everyone except boring old me.

And then there’s the owner, Holt Hector, with whom I have an extremely embarrassing first encounter. He’s ridiculously attractive, even in the inhuman cosplay get-up he’s wearing that only makes him hotter, if I’m being totally honest.

Then I discover it’s not a costume. And that the show put on by Goliaths of Wrestling every night is more monstrous reality than mindblowing special effects.

My previously boring life is suddenly no longer quite so average, and hot-as-hell Holt is inexplicably as interested in me, and my ironed underpants, as I am in him and his strange new world.

  • Publication date: February 9, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 422 pages

Review:  Thirst Quenched (The Unwilling Adventures of Harlow & Foxx Book 4) by Shelby Rhodes 

Rating: 5🌈

Thirst Quenched (The Unwilling Adventures of Harlow & Foxx Book 4) by Shelby Rhodes is a fabulous book.  It’s everything I’d hoped for and more.

For the uninitiated, stop. Read all the trigger warnings, seriously, have you read this author?  Then proceed to go to the beginning of the series and start reading there.

For the rest of us, this is outstanding on so many levels.  It moves the complex relationship between Foxx and Harlow forward even as they grapple with the challenges that Harlow’s new condition presents to them personally as well as what it means for them in the role they play as partners within the organization.  That last being a very important part of this plot.

Rhodes brings in new facets to this story and series with the change to Harlow. It’s a great twist because it’s bringing a deeper dive into his background, the energy of his relationship with Foxx enters a new dynamic, and a hints of a even wider dimension arc wise is threaded into the narrative by two of the most intriguing characters.

Honestly, there’s multiple scenes I enjoyed here that I had to read through several times before I could convince myself to continue. And others that I was sure held clues to future stories that I just didn’t want to move past.  

Iggy as ā€œbluebird ā€œ? Yes! more please! I’ll say no more. 

And then there’s that cliffhanger. A real heartstopper!  So now we wait for False Morality to hit next March.  I can’t wait!  I’ll definitely be rereading this several times in anticipation and just because it’s outstanding and I might have missed something. 

Kudos to Shelby Rhodes on writing Thirst Quenched (The Unwilling Adventures of Harlow & Foxx Book 4)! Highly recommended!

Love the covers. This might be my favorite so far.

The Unwilling Adventures of Harlow & Foxx:

  • At First Irritation #1
  • Taste of Fear #2
  • Unusual Emotions #3Ā 
  • Thirst Quenched #4Ā 
  • False Morality #5 – March 31,2025

Buy Link

        Thirst Quenched (The Unwilling Adventures of Harlow & Foxx Book 4)

    

Blurb 

Foxx Honeywell, here. So, picking up where we left off…and things are decidedly not okay. But, hey…what isfine…is my love life. Which is a win in my book, considering how badly all my former relationships have gone. And really, it’s not often you become someone’s boyfriend and have to deal with their strange secret camera obsession for keeping you safe. No red flags there!

It’s just everything else that is pretty bloody horrible. Multiple old enemies, some new ones, a not so mysterious murdery group, and just all around hatred everywhere. You know, on top of me dealing with Harlow while the man works through, and sometimes fails to work through, his brand new issues. I may end up burying a fifth boyfriend—I haven’t decided yet.

Anywho, it probably won’t be fine. But Harlow and I are still breathing! So that counts for something!

CONTENT WARNING: This is an M/M paranormal romance book that ends on a cliffhanger. Please see inside or my website for full content warning!

  • Publication date: August 23, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 539 pages

Review:  Review: Ghostly Death (Ghostly Book 6) by E M Leya

Rating:  4.75🌈

The Ghostly series by E M Leya continues its quiet, very terrific otherworldly journey with Ghostly Death, a poignant tale of young teenagers lost too soon to a mysterious serial killer, a disheartening investigation, and a crime whose resolution feels realistic, sad,and, as the officers and main characters will say, not entirely satisfactory. 

Leya’s story is so well written, slowly pulling the events together, one horrific incident after another, like puzzle pieces fitting into the scene to form a larger picture for the police and medical examiner’s team to investigate.  That the case will have help from the some of the beautifully portrayed victims in the form of their ghosts is not just a major narrative element but a quietly powerful emotional aspect of the story.  We will see the events from their perspective, feel the grim reality, and their grief.

It’s one of the things I’ve so appreciated about this series and the author’s writing is how Leya builds the characters, including them in their lives, families and surroundings. Whether they are the main characters, surrounding cast,  or the victims, they are real to us in their realism. The readers understand these characters because they are grounded in ways we ourselves recognize. 

There’s no huge drama. Instead it’s personal stories that make the most poignantly deep impact and ones which are those we can relate to, that will hit us emotionally.

I absolutely recommend reading this series and story.  It helps to read them in the order they are written. Here the characters are still dealing with the aftermath of the events from the last book. Again very believable and raw.

I’m looking forward to the next in the series, Ghostly Dilemma. With this book, a strong series got even better.

Ghostly series:

  • Ghostly Awakening #1
  • Ghostly Findings #2
  • Ghostly Envy #3
  • Ghostly Claus #4Ā 
  • Ghostly Target #5Ā 
  • Ghostly Hostage #6
  • Ghostly Death #7
  • Ghostly Dilemma #8 – TBD

Buy link

        Ghostly Death

    

Blurb

When teenagers start dying around town, it’s up to Detective Angus Young to figure out if the cases are connected and who would want them dead.

Lance is one of the city’s medical examiners and has a talent he doesn’t share with many people — he sees ghosts.

Helping his boyfriend figure out who wants these kids dead just became his number one job. He can see some of their ghosts, and one of them just might be the key to breaking this case wide open.

  • Publisher: E.L. Publishing (August 21, 2024)
  • Publication date: August 21, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 190 pages

Review:  I Destroyed the Elf Prince’s Harem  (Fortune Favors the Fae story) by Jocelynn Drake

Rating: 4.5🌈

 I Destroyed the Elf Prince’s Harem is Jocelynn Drake’s funny, imaginative and quite magical story in the multi-Author Fortune Favors the Fae series.  I enjoyed it on so many levels. The characters, the storyline, and all the various elements Drake threw together to make this an entertaining rousing adventure.

I can only imagine the enjoyment Drake had writing this story, one that has a certain online novelist, Adam Lockhart , with severe writers block, stumbling into his own unfinished story where none of his characters behave as they should, the plot is nothing like he intended, as everything’s going totally amuck from how he assumes the universe will be.  Sort of like it might feel like in an author’s mind when working on an uncooperative project. Love this so much.

Adam’s been churning out a fantasy online series, Betrayal of the Elf Prince, with daily installments expected from his fans/paying readers.  A trip to see friends is waylaid by finding a gold coin, yes, that one, and boom, Adam ends up in the town of Misty Pass, a place he’d created from his own unfinished novel.  Ok, more to it than that but I’ll leave it to the book.

Of course he meets Nylian, a prince in disguise and distress.  But it’s our Adam, the modern day human, we get more and more invested in. Adams who thinks he knows what will happen but watches with total bemusement and a great deal of befuddlement as the chaos continues on with his ā€œplotā€  as he’s thrown into the lives of the people and world around him.  Including Nylian a person he’s getting so close to.

It’s funny, exhilarating, real in the exploration of a new feelings and sexuality as well as the excitement in seeing all the different aspects of the world he’s found himself in.  One he created but it’s so new too. The other characters are especially interesting and great in their own ways.  The mercenary Adeline and her younger brother, Jasper, the wizard in training.  Master Binx who I really needed more of, so adorable. 

There’s adventure, magical goings on, dastardly characters and romance.  And punny names! 

If I had a quibble, it’s that the coin had a negligible role here. It’s assumed it’s good luck but as a major element it’s somewhat lacking.

But the characters, their journey and the potential for even more interesting tales is so strong, I highly recommend this book and Drake as an author for your auto list.  

Cover art by Natasha Snow. I love the covers. Fabulous.

Fortune Favors the Fae – 15 books:

  • A Fae Coin Transported Me Into Another World and Now I’m the Gay Holy Maiden by AJ Sherwood #1ā¤ļø
  • The Wolf’s (Un)Lucky Fae by Michele Notaro #2 ā¤ļø
  • Bound to the Wild Fae by Tavia Lark #3 June 13ā¤ļø
  • The Sorcerer’s Thief by Lee Colgin #4 ā¤ļøšŸ”·
  • The Fae Menagerie by Edie Montreaux #5Ā 
  • Never Darling by Sam Burns #6Ā 
  • Prince of Poison by Alice WintersĀ  #7Ā  ā¤ļø
  • Grave Misfortune by Nazri Noor #8 ā¤ļø
  • Fae for Pay by Meaghan Maslow #9
  • Kisses at the Crossroad by Morgan Lysand #10Ā 
  • Smoke and Mirrors by Kai Butler #11 ā¤ļø
  • Siren in the Rain by Chloe Archer #12Ā 
  • I Destroyed the Elf Prince’s HaremĀ  by Jocelynn Drake #13 ā¤ļø
  • A Fae Called Wylder by Michelle Frost #14 – Aug 29,2024
  • Lucky or Knot by Eliot Grayson #15 – September 5,2024

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        I Destroyed the Elf Prince’s Harem

    

Blurb:

Don’t Pick Up That Coin!

I was just an innocent author minding my own business. Until I found that coin…

The evil thing zapped me into the novel I was writing.

Now I’m dodging ogres, humans, elves, and a certain wizard-in-training with a proclivity for changing people into small harmless animals.

My only goal is to get home again, and the best way to do that is to get this book back on track. I must help the sexy exiled prince find his brother’s killer.

The only problem is that the prince keeps flirting with me rather than the women he’s supposed to be adding to the harem.

Wait! Flirting with me? That can’t be right.

Wait wait! Why did I call him sexy? Am I falling for the prince, too?

I Destroy the Elf Prince’s Harem is a stand-alone novel within the Fortune Favors the Fae collection and follows the adventures of one poor author as he stumbles his way through his own novel and just maybe falls in love with the hero. Along the way he will encounter elves, humans, ogres, a wizard-in-training who’s really bad at magic, jealousy, possessiveness, political intrigue, secrets, and a prince who has eyes for just one man. Unfortunately, that one man is as blind as a bat when it comes to love.

From spicy to sweet, zany romps to epic adventures, there’s something for everyone in the Fortune Favors the Fae series. Discover destiny and true love, and follow the coin on its fickle journey to the next world and a new magical adventure. Each book is a standalone and can be read in any order.

  • Publication date: August 22, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 377 pages

Review:  Get A Fix (Torus Intercession Book 6) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4.5🌈

Every reader has comfort reads and comfort authors. Mary Calmes is one of mine. She’s happily ever after. I know her heroes without even looking at her name on the cover. They’re highly competent in their abilities, gorgeous (whether they acknowledge it or not), full of warmth and kindness, especially for a certain inner circle of people.  They shine. 

And fall in love, usually deeply ,  quickly and forever. And Calmes makes a great story for their romantic journey to the point we believe in them. 

They are fixers in a highly specialized agency, Torus Intercession, which has a  unique and often powerful clientele.  But the fixers themselves often have need of fixing as much as the people they are hired to work with. And the romance between them is quick, combustible, and as memorable as the men themselves.

I definitely have my favorites in the series.  And while Get A Fix might not be quite at that level, I definitely enjoyed this story and the couple. It’s very close. 

 

That’s due to Cooper Davis, the Torus fixer.  I fell in love with him as he helped Ainsley Cushing, mom to big brood and having airport meltdown along with Gemma, 2, at the Bangor International Airport.  Its there we got to know him, watch him interact with Gemma,2, fill a overwhelmed Ainsley about himself as he helps her get her stroller and get back together before meeting up with her husband coming in on the next flight.

There’s sequence after sequence of heartwarming moments, real and genuine in their ability to ground us in this character and the family we will get to know better.  

Ashford Lennox appears at the wedding location, an Inn that’s not exactly what the bride or anyone else expects.  Under construction, ghostly fog instead of photographic backdrop worthy snow covers the Bay and surrounding landscape, and the wedding party is a stressful affair.  As you’d imagine.  All beautifully written and executed. 

I enjoyed Ash. This relationship, as new as it is, is understandable. They both realize it is a hard like and lust with amazing potential.  They want to see where it goes.  I think that’s a great foundation here.  The chemistry is sizzling and they are a terrific team.

There’s other smaller elements I appreciated.  I’m not sure if everyone will agree with me on this.  The ex and how he was handled is one of those.  I think he was very well done. Yes, he’s an appalling man. But even those people have a right not to be outed. For me, Calmes made calm thoughtful choices about him. I’m sure others wanted a more dramatic comeuppance.

The ending was a bit abrupt but I’m hopeful that we see more of them in the upcoming wedding.  

For me, this was another winner in a series I really enjoy.

Torus Intercession:

No Quick Fix #1ā¤ļø

In A Fix #2 ā¤ļø

Fix It Up #3 ā¤ļø

The Fix Is In #4

The Big Fix #5

Get A Fix #6ā¤ļø

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Blurb

Simply because your world collides with a shooting star doesn’t mean that’s a sign, does it?

Cooper Davis has a nice life he’s quite fond of. He has a wonderful family, good friends, and a job he excels at. As a fixer with Torus Intercession, he’s entrusted with the well-being of the people relying on his guidance. He is protector, guardian, but most of all, as his boss always says, everyone needs to be better off once he leaves. The issue is, when he’s asked to watch over the actor Ashford Lennox, he’s not sure that leaving is what he wants to do.

Ashford Lennox is a movie star on the rise. He has everything he’s ever wanted, except someone to love and call his own. He’s learned over the years that home is not a place but sharing a life with one special person you can count on. When he meets the man tasked with keeping him safe during a wedding, it’s like a lightning bolt. Suddenly he can see his whole future unfolding.

Being on the same page is an epiphany for both, now if they could just make it to the happily ever after without getting shot…

Book Details

  • Release Date: August, 20 2024
  • Word Count: 278
  • Cover Artist: Reese Dante