Tag: Scattered Thoughts Highly Recommended

Review: Burdened to Death: A Jamie Brodie Mystery (Jamie Brodie Mysteries Book 3) by Meg Perry

Rating: 4.5🌈

Burdened to Death, the third in the Jamie Brodie Mysteries by Meg Perry, is a complex and compelling story. And it’s one not everyone is going to agree with on how this story ends.

For a novel that’s 128 pages in length, Perry’s woven a tale of incredible complexity, one that includes highly dangerous and damaging subjects such as suicide, the SA scandals within the Catholic Church’s priesthood, and the emotional/traumatic aftermath of those who survived that abuse.

One of those people is the current boyfriend of James Brodie. Pete Ferguson’s confession of his childhood SA trauma in the last novel is continuing to destabilize his relationship with Jamie.

This is one more sensitively handled element of the story and their relationship. The issues are directly connected to Pete’s childhood SA. Both men are in individual therapy (another interesting aspect of the story).

They’re at an emotional impasse when they get a phone call from Kevin, Jamie’s police detective brother, about a dead man who needs identification from Pete.

This dead man will ignite several investigations. Both of them seemingly done by Jamie for Pete, to get closure. But it’s never that simple.

Perry manages to wring out deep, wrenching emotions from current events while revealing new perspectives and past histories about the main characters here . While these events happened decades ago, they feel as fresh as they do now because so much of this is still unresolved and the investigations and lawsuits are still ongoing.

And that will bring us back to the ending. Some will absolutely not be happy or satisfied by this. I can see why. Real life works this way. And it would have worked that way back then.

And somehow I don’t feel as though we’re done with this yet.

Perry showed us that James and Pete made some progress in their relationship. Small steps. After enormous trauma. That’s life.

Thats realistic and a beautiful raw , well written story. And why I keep coming back. On to Researched To Death.

The Jamie Brodie Mysteries – 23 books

✓ Cited to Death

✓ Hoarded to Death

✓ Burdened to Death

◦ Researched to Death

◦ Encountered to Death

◦ Psyched to Death

◦ Stacked to Death

◦ Stoned to Death

◦ Talked to Death

◦ Avenged to Death

◦ Played to Death

◦ Filmed to Death

◦ Trapped to Death

◦ Promoted to Death

◦ Published to Death

◦ Cloistered to Death

◦ Haunted to Death

◦ Obsessed to Death

◦ Deserted to Death

◦ Drugged to Death

◦ Resigned to Death

◦ Snowed to Death

◦ Enchanted to Death

Dirty Laundry: The Jamie Brodie Short Stories (Jamie Brodie Mysteries)

Sequel series:

An Angeles Investigations Mystery

◦ Cheated to Death: Book 1

◦ Hunted to Death Book 2

Buy links:

Burdened to Death (Jamie Brodie Mysteries Book 3)

Blurb:

A phone call in the middle of the night is never good news. When Pete Ferguson’s phone rings, he learns that one of his childhood friends, Mark Jones, has committed suicide. Mark’s family is shocked, and wonders if Mark was abused by the same priest at whose hands Pete suffered. Pete and Mark’s family want answers, and they ask Jamie to find them. Pete is convinced the priest is connected to his friend’s suicide. Jamie isn’t so sure. When the evidence starts pulling them in different directions, will it tear them apart?

• Publication date: October 9, 2013

• Language: English

• Print length: 128 pages

Review: The Gargoyle and the Romance Writer (Monsters Hollow Book 2) by Chloe Archer

Rating: 4.5🌈

In The Gargoyle and the Romance Writer author Chloe Archer continues to explore the mysterious magic of the town while bringing in new characters and adding new details to the dimensions of this universe.

Its all very exciting.

Archer had me at Max “Maxie” Poppins, the absolute star of the first book of the series and still unseated fav character of mine. As the bestie of romance writer, Ryder, he’s one of the reasons Ryder has made the move to Monster Hollow and Max remains a true emotional connection to everyone else around the town. This in turn helps his more awkward, less socially inclined bestie, Ryder, become at ease with its inhabitants and his new surroundings.

That’s the new main character and half of the latest couple.

Ryder Thomas (aka Ryder St. James) the romance writer of the title and a man with a dangerous threat to deal with. Ryder was a foster child like Max. Ryder, however , ended up with a widely different and damaging family. He is given a sensitive and realistic characterization by Archer.

Ryder’s past experiences drives his emotional perception of love, his own inability to recognize, accept and even acknowledge that it exists.

Then there is Vash Dark Wing, a Scottish Gargoyle, with his own complicated background and current situation to deal with. He too is a well defined character who will reveal new depths of personality and emotions as the story and their relationship progresses.

Really, Archer gives us a little bit of everything here. A stalker and a couple of mysteries, a serious heartbreaker for Vash that now ties up a storyline from The Orc and the Manny, and a slew of new potential characters and romances to come . All from a delightful new source.

Oh and lots of sex! And a wonderful, fun drunken street scene. More of these please.

I had such a great time reading this. And am sorry I’ll have to wait in next year to get the next book in the series.

A yes to the book, and series if you are a fan of paranormal romance and this author!

Monsters Hollow series:

✓ The Demon and the Librarian: a prequel

✓ The Bogeyman and the Schoolteacher #0.5

✓ The Orc and the Manny #1

✓ The Gargoyle and the Romance Writer #2

◦ The Sasquatch and the Stylist #3 – coming 2025

Buy link:

The Gargoyle and the Romance Writer: A Cozy M/M Monster Romance (Monsters Hollow Book 2)

Blurb:

Welcome to Monsters Hollow, where love knows no bounds—even in a town full of monsters!


A quirky romance writer in hiding. A sexy gargoyle lover turned bodyguard. And a stalker that just won’t quit…


Ryder Thomas (aka Ryder St. James)

I assumed writing swoony romance novels about humans and Otherkind might attract some unsavory attention. But I never imagined I’d have an obsessive fan stalking me. Fortunately, my BFF Max has an in with a town he assures me can keep me safe.

As a former foster kid, I’m pretty resilient, but this situation is messing with my sleep and I’m on deadline for my next book!

About the only thing that can help at times like this is some regular mind-blowing… release. Trust me, solo methods just aren’t enough and hooking up with randos isn’t my style. I need someone safe who can reliably rock my world in the bedroom and maybe help me with my research as a bonus!

Enter the hunky Scottish gargoyle who’s been flirting with me ever since I arrived to hide out in Mystic Hollow. We come up with an ideal no-strings and no-feelings arrangement until I leave town for my next book tour.

After all, romance is just a fantasy I write about in my books–right?

Vash DarkWing

From the moment I met Ryder, I wanted to know more about the bonnie, brave man who speaks his mind. With no filter.

When he proposes a few weeks of mutually beneficial shagging before his book tour starts, I immediately jump on the chance to, well, jump him. Just a bit of fun and maybe friendship.

Hell’s bells, but Ryder slips past all my defenses and wins my affections without even trying! Now, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep the man I love safe. Even if it means putting my heart as well as my life on the line.


The Gargoyle and the Romance Writer is a 106k novel that features an inappropriately curious novelist, a sexy Scottish gargoyle, a specialty harness for aerial…shenanigans, a creepy stalker, and true love for the win. This is the second book in the Monsters Hollow series and can be read as a standalone.

Reviewer’s note: No , no they really can’t. These aren’t even close to being standalone stories. Who knows why they are putting this on their descriptions? It makes no sense. SMH

• Publisher: Rainbow Dreams Press LLC (April 30, 2024)

• Publication date: April 30, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 395 pages

Review: Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie: Phlox’s Story (Perfect Pixie Series Book 5) by M. J. May

Rating: 5🌈

Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie: Phlox’s Story is the perfect way to end this absolutely fantastic series, Perfect Pixies by M. J. May.

In this vividly realized, beautifully told story, May brings all the characters and couples together that we’ve met through each other’s stories and learned to love together to reveal and vanquish the series villains.

Each story has at its core a perfectly imperfect pixie who finds themselves in an embattled or troubled position which eventually leads them to their bonds of love and a HEA. We started with hearth and home pixie, Philodendron, whose unique size made him both an outsider and perfect for his Alpha mate and family. Then nature pixie, Peaches, with a mournful background and heart wrenching history that soon brings attention to gathering dark forces and the attraction of a powerful vampire. That mating has huge ramifications for many other otherworldly species.

Next May’s pairing and novel turns dark with the seemingly mysterious introduction of pixie trafficking and pixie dust addiction. This is Parsnip’s story and another sector of magic is heard from as Vander the warlock arrives. May is deepening the series themes, expanding the types of magic that exist in this universe, and types of found families we can expect.

The narrative themes and suspenseful atmosphere doesn’t even falter for a moment. It’s picking up momentum in emotional and well written story arcs.

Wendall’s unbelievable tale is next. It includes Hellfire Rayburn, Fairy Queen Silvidia’s most trusted and feared warrior, and Wendall, who undergoes one of the most poignant, heartbreaking moments and struggles amongst them all. Well, May is amping up to the end point. Making sure that the reader knows what at stake and we care so throughly for everyone here.

So that when a final pixie appears, one that isn’t who he seems, we are ready for the showdown .

That’s Agent Frost, aka pixie Phlox. Although he’s not exactly 100 percent pixie. What he is and his background is a huge part of the ongoing investigation and reason he’s arrived in town. The one assigned to help him? That’s 300 year old vampire, Leon McMillan, King Lucroy Moony’s second-in-command.

May does an excellent job of alternating between their burgeoning romance and the ongoing investigation into the pixie traffickers. The horrific storyline of pixie trafficking , which is widely explored through the main characters and story threads, continues to branch out to the wider threat to the community and all the couples involved.

May’s newest character is one I think will be a great reader favorite . That’s Erasmus, a young necromancer who has an intriguing , poignant backstory and a rich personality. I really can’t get enough of him. So many layers. And the other character who is equally and quizzically intrigued by Erasmus? That’s Aurelia, the djinn .

No spoilers but what an epic ending. And while I’m happy sad this superior series has ended, the author has left us with something new to anticipate.

That epilogue is everything! Why? Because it tells us that Erasmus and Aurelia are coming back in Summer/Fall 2024 in their own story. And now I’m so excited and happy for their new adventure to begin.

Read this incredible series in the order it’s written . It’s a top recommendation. So is it’s author.

Cover design by cheriefox. Absolutely splendid! Like all the other covers.

Perfect Pixies series:

✓ Perfectly Imperfect Pixie Book #1

✓ Perfectly Perfect Pixie: Peaches’s Story #2

✓ Perfectly Charmed Pixie: Parsnip’s Story #3

✓ Perfectly Perplexing Zombie: Wendall’s Story #4

✓ Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie: Phlox’s Story #5 – series finale

Buy link

Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie: Phlox’s Story (Perfect Pixie Series Book 5)

Blurb

Phlox isn’t your typical pixie, and his feisty shifter DNA might be the reason. Recruited by the Magical Usage Council, Phlox—who is now Agent Frost—is a pixie with a mission, and he’s not afraid to place himself in mortal danger to eradicate the latest pixie trafficking ring.

Despite being King Lucroy Moony’s second-in-command, Leon McMillan’s second life has become dangerously monotonous. For a vampire, boredom is as deadly as a stake to the heart. Three hundred years of existing has taken a mental toll—one that will eventually lead Leon into the sun’s deadly embrace. Leon needs a life raft; he just never imagined it in the form of a pushy pixie.

Phlox and Leon can’t deny their mutual attraction. However, in order for Phlox’s mission to succeed, he needs to appear helplessly alone, and Leon’s worried stalking isn’t aiding that mission.

But soon, the knowledge Phlox and Leon obtain leads to a dangerous, mentally unstable djinn, who has a vicious master holding its leash. Although history claims djinns are all-powerful, indestructible creatures, Phlox and Leon must find the secret to their destruction if they are to save Rutherford Haven’s citizens. If they can’t, Rutherford Haven will be the first to fall, but it won’t be the last.

Phlox will dig his shifter claws into anyone who dares threaten his mate and Leon will tear the heart out of anyone who dares threaten his beloved—his purrrfectly peculiar pixie.

Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie is the fifth and final book in the Perfect Pixie series. The books should be read in order. Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie features an emotionally constipated vampire, a pixie who’s far more than he appears, witches and trolls with questionable morals, an alpha werewolf whose time on planet Earth is precariously close to ending, a (questionably) good djinn, an (unquestionably) sinister djinn, an interesting necromancer, and all our previously beloved characters coming together to prove that teamwork really does make the dream work.

Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie also contains homicide of the fantasy kind (no humans were killed in the making of this book) with scenes describing death and killing.

• Publication date: April 29, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 343 pages

Review: Death In The Spires by K. J. Charles

Rating: 5🌈

K. J. Charles is such an incredible writer, a word artist with a passion for rich historical settings, layered characters, and complex plot development. All that is apparent here in Death in the Spires.

It’s a haunting story that Charles lays out for us immediately. And then in flashbacks. A man , Jeremy “Jem” Kite, is in the process of losing his job. It’s emotionally devastating. And it’s not even the first time.

His employer has received a letter accusing Jem of murder. A sensational murder that took place ten years earlier. A murder of a man Jem was close to. Went to Oxford with, and once was one of his close knit group of friends referred to as the “Seven Wonders” on campus. A murder that destroyed Jem and has remained unsolved.

Through memories of the past, and Jem’s new determination to find out who is behind the letters, Charles builds a layered historical narrative of differences in status, innocence, friendship, mystery, love, and murder. One that skillfully stretches over a ten year period from 1905 to 1915, moving from time frame to time frame with impactful results.

Charles brings all the laws and prejudices of this era vividly and thoughtfully into the various storylines, whether it’s about gender, race, sexuality, or birth control. I should also mention Charles includes the role of that primogeniture plays in this era with rights of inheritance . Repealed here in the US at the time of the Revolution, it was the foundation for the nobility, aristocracy or peerage abroad.

Then the author sets about weaving a tortuous tale of seven friends on the cusp of greatness. Some are innocent, there’s a difference in class status, relationships have complicated dynamics, but, seen through the lens of Jem’s early memories, it’s an idyllic place, a golden age of freedom, heights, and a future never to be recaptured.

Charles’ gift is the ability to make the reader feel Jem’s amazement at his time there in 1905 , and his absolute grief at it’s loss, at what he has become.

Every character is beautifully crafted in their details, from their past lives to the ones they are now living in. I can visualize each and every one.

That includes the dead man, Toby Feynsham, who gathered them all together and was finally responsible, in death, for their destruction.

The investigation, the growth and continued character revelations, the way in which Charles weaves twists and surprises into an already convoluted narrative made me appreciate more a novel I couldn’t tear myself away from.

Fabulous, fascinating. Ultimately incredibly satisfying. Death In The Spires by K. J. Charles is a must read!

Great cover. Cover design by Lisa Horton

Buy Links:

Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com › Death-…Death in the Spires: A completely gripping and addictive historical mystery

Blurb

The newspapers called us the Seven Wonders. We were a group of friends, that’s all, and then Toby died. Was killed. Murdered.

1905. A decade after the grisly murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham, the case remains hauntingly unsolved. For Jeremy Kite, the crime not only stole his best friend, it destroyed his whole life. When an anonymous letter lands on his desk, accusing him of having killed Toby, Jem becomes obsessed with finally uncovering the truth.

Jem begins to track down the people who were there the night Toby died – a close circle of friends once known as the ‘Seven Wonders’ for their charm and talent – only to find them as tormented and broken as himself. All of them knew and loved Toby at Oxford. Could one of them really be his killer?

As Jem grows closer to uncovering what happened that night, his pursuer grows bolder, making increasingly terrifying attempts to silence him for good. Will exposing Toby’s killer put to rest the shadows that have darkened Jem’s life for so long? Or will the gruesome truth only put him in more danger?

Some secrets are better left buried…

From the bestselling, acclaimed author of The Magpie Lord and The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen comes a chilling historical mystery with a sting in the tail. You won’t be able to put this gripping story down!

• Publisher: Storm Publishing (April 11, 2024)

• Publication date: April 11, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 273 pages

Review: Catch and Release by Isabel Murray

Rating: 4.5🌈

Isabel Murray continues to surprise me with her stunning perspectives on romance, relationships, and love.

I fell in love with her through her series, The Unwanted King, a fantasy series with unlikely, memorable characters, subtle heartbreaking elements, hilarious moments, and fabulous storylines.

Catch and Release is a remarkable paranormal romance, usually involving love story between a human and a mythical figure I don’t normally seek out in these romantic novels. I’m talking mermen.

Probably because I overthink the issues that come into play when writing mermen as viable/believable nonhuman beings. More so than other paranormal species, a mermaid or merman exists deep inside our minds, both in fables and mythology. And secretly for some strange reason, there’s a hope that our waters might be actually home to them as well. But would they be humanoid? Humans ,who for whatever reason, live aquatic lives.

Often that’s how they are portrayed.

Not here .

Catch and Release finds Joe McKenzie, 38, ex-hedge fund manager, living a new life as one of the world’s worst fisherman. Joe has moved to Lynwick, small harbour town tucked up between Scotland and northern England. He’s taken up not fishing very well, and been sort of adopted by Jerry Barnes, 58, owner of mid-sized trawler, the Mary Jane.

These are some of the best characters, with a uniquely wonderful dynamic between them. Half friends, and half family, it continues to grow throughout the story, with some of the beloved dialogue between them.

Which is great because there’s none between Joe and what they found in the netting. What they find is not human.

The chapters alternate between titles called Catch and Release. It’s both about the events and about the relationships that occur between them. Dave is the name given to the sea being caught in the nets. Who, what he is ? That’s all assumptions on Joe and Jerry’s part. We only get glimpses of exactly how removed from human Dave is by his actions and interactions with both men.

I love how Murray is able to demonstrate growth in a relationship and layers of understanding without losing sight of his otherworldly self or that Joe is fully human. And that there is a capacity to see each other’s viewpoint even if we have major differences to begin with.

So much deep humanity running into the shocking waters of another world. It’s wonderful, funny, sexy, and painful.

How do I review a book that will break your heart, mend your heart, and break your heart. And sort of mend it again. But only if you don’t think too far ahead past the end of the book.

Because Murray is beautiful in her realism. In her acknowledgement that Joe is and will always be human. And sometimes love is not forever. But it can be enough for today. And tomorrow.

Read this book. And, if you haven’t already, put Murray on your auto buy list. Highly recommended to both.

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Catch-…Catch and Release: MM Merman Romance eBook : Murray, Isabel: Kindle Store

Blurb

Joe McKenzie’s high-flying London life imploded six years ago, and it happened dramatically enough that paramedics were involved. That’s all in the past. Now, Joe couldn’t be happier living a solitary life as a fisherman on England’s wild northern coast.

Okay, he could be happier.

It’s not like he’s depressed or anything but, you know. The weather’s not great. Life’s a bit samey. He’s only thirty-eight. The idea of another forty years is a bit exhausting, to be honest. He passes the time pretending to be a fisherman but the truth is, he sucks at it.

Then Joe makes the catch of a lifetime when he stumbles across the mysterious Dave washed up on the beach—an enormous man with gills and uncanny power over the sea. Once Dave stops trying to kidnap Joe and/or kill Joe’s fishing buddy, Jerry, turns out he’s kind of…intriguing?

And not half as smooth as he seems to think he is.

There’s a lot Joe doesn’t know about Dave. He doesn’t know why Dave keeps disappearing or why he can’t seem to stay away. He doesn’t know what Dave wants from him. He doesn’t even know what, exactly, Dave is. And Joe can’t ask, because they don’t speak the same language.

Joe does know one thing, though. He is in love.

Which, great. How’s that going to end well?

Catch and Release is a gay paranormal romantic comedy featuring a truly terrible fisherman with an octopus phobia, a merman (maybe? Confirmation pending) with no sense of personal boundaries at all, constant communication fails, a whole lot of sea life not in the sea but in Joe’s house, yes, it’s dead, some epic yearning from both sides, and bewilderingly enough, maybe a way to make it work?

• Publisher: (August 16, 2021)

• Publication date: August 16, 2021

• Language: English

• Print length: 267 pages

Review: How I Took the King on a Bone-a-Fide Quest of Piracy, Piemu, and Profit: Bone 6 (How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned him to Villainy Book 12) by A. J. Sherwood

Rating: 5🌈

Finale time! And Steve’s gonna be a whole new dragon! Well, long dead and a skeleton one at that! But happy happy!

And that madcap murderous fabulous family of sorcerers and a King will adopt another into the fold.

And there’s many weddings!

Sherwood has written a warmhearted, if somewhat murderous tale of adventure, love, magic, and family. It’s been a wild and humorous journey. A absolute pleasure to read, a joy to have ventured into with along with the characters.

Will we see Tan, Devan, the kids, and the rest of the ever enlarging family? Sherwood doesn’t know. But I hope so. They have caught our attention and our hearts. That life and vivacity surely won’t be denied. Stay tuned!

Love these covers.

Series and side stories

💥How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned him to Villainy-6 books

💥How Tan Acquired an Apprentice

💥How I Took the King on a Bone-a-Fide Quest of Piracy, Piemu, and Profit:Bone series

Buy link

How I Took the King on a Bone-a-Fide Quest of Piracy, Piemu, and Profit: Bone 6 (How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned him to Villainy Book 12)

Blurb

Final boss fight! Fight necromancer? (yes) (NO)

Devan: I’m not beating up an old lady.

Tan: Pretty sure the old lady could take you.

Devan: Still not doing it. Time to negotiate.

Tags: dragon acquired keep as pet (yes) (NO), retired necromancers are BAMF, the kids adopt a necromancer grandmother, or a grandmummy if you will, all the weddings, pirates might be lost in the labyrinth, Steve is finally complete!, $$$, vacation time

• Publication date: April 26, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 51 pages

Review: SOS HOTEL: Friendly Sanctuary for the Fiendishly Fabulous #2 by Adam Vex and Ariana Nash

Rating: 4.75🌈

Things just keep getting better/worse for the gang at the SOS Hotel. One problem gets resolved only for that solution to have a rippling effect that brings even bigger consequences for Adam, Zee, Victor, and the Hotel.

Nash, writing as the main character Adam Vex, is still very much an enigma. What Adam is remains the biggest mystery of them all and potentially a center of a devastating prophecy. Maybe. Don’t know.

There’s two other beings that have Adam’s attention and who he is attracted to. Zee, the incubus ex porn star who co-owns the hotel with Adam. Turns out Zee has so much more to him that’s revealed here. Hes a fabulous character, so many layers, with the potential to be hurt and emotionally damaged.

Zee is one of the triad that will, according to the description, eventually be formed. The other is Victor, the billionaire vampire, who has more than a few secrets exposed during the story. But he’s still on the periphery of any real relationship between the other two. However, it’s warming up.

Friendly Sanctuary for the Fiendishly Fabulous really expands on the knowledge of the current world and some of the characters within the hotel while leaving the biggest mysteries surrounding Adam and his existence looming ever larger.

This story is a huge, extra butter, popcorn box of a magnificent piece of sexy suspense and paranormal romance.

It’s so hard to wait until May for Sleep With Us to drop.

Until it does, I’m highly recommending you read the books leading up to it. Read them in the order they are written. What a wonderful read!

SOS Hotel:

✓ For a Supernaturally Safe Stay #1

✓ Friendly Sanctuary for the Fiendishly Fabulous #2

◦ Sleep with Us #3 – May 2024

Buy link

SOS HOTEL: Friendly Sanctuary for the Fiendishly Fabulous

Blurb

It’s been two weeks since the SOS Hotel opened, and everything is going great . . .

Apart from the detective who’s dead set on accusing Zee of murder, the leaking pipes, a psycho sorcerer stalker, a shadowbeast in the attic, and . . . did I mention Lord Reynard has a wife? Yeah, he didn’t mention it either. I could have done with knowing that before, you know, kinda falling for the suave, sexy Vampire Daddy.

He also neglected to mention that his wife wants my head on a plate. Literally.

This is not the love triangle I was expecting.

If Reynard lied about that, what else is a lie? Is Zee right, and Lord Reynard wants our hotel? Or is it something more personal he desires, such as my heart?

My name is Adam Vex. I’m totally, one hundred percent human.

Welcome to the SOS Hotel.

Where it’s about to get weird-er.

*

SOS Hotel is a whacky MMM adventure about a vampire lord, an ex-porn-star demon, and a boring human who absolutely does not have any secrets. 18+ only. You’ll find dark humor abounds, plus explicit language and sex. If you don’t like the f-word, or sex, with a little mass murder thrown in, do not read these books. There will be triggering content for some, including sexual coercion.Proceed with caution.

Have a great stay!

• Publisher: Crazy Ace Publishing (April 21, 2024)

• Publication date: April 21, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 172 pages

Review: SOS HOTEL: For a Supernaturally Safe Stay by Adam Nex , writing by Ariana Nash

Rating: 4.5🌈

SOS HOTEL has the feel of a terrific serialized fiction story, with a fast paced narrative, a first person point of view, and many, so so many mysteries contained within the storytelling.

In other words, it’s highly entertaining as well as a lively, sexy, mysterious paranormal romp. I really enjoyed it.

Nash, writing as the main character Adam Nex, is having a blast here with all aspects of this story. There’s an underpinning of darkness that makes this interesting and gives the characters and their personalities a needed sharpness. Murder and bloodshed does that.

But then there’s an undeniable quirkiness about so much of this too. Whether it’s the bargain bin AI bartender bought from a shady Fae , the run down, shabby quality of the hotel itself, or any of its denizens, these characters start lightly, humorously weird, and then their personalities gradually change and acquire unexpected depth. Albeit with humor to go with the flashes of dark seriousness.

Then there’s the mysterious main trio of Adam, a person hiding so many secrets, and Zee the succubus ex porn star who’s also a part owner along with Adam of the hotel. Zee has his own secrets and background to be revealed. And there’s Victor, billionaire businessman and vampire who’s strangely interested in Andy and the hotel. Along with the villain of the story.

So much is going on here that it’s a page turner. Be prepared to read until it is finished. And then need more. Honestly, what happened to Clayton?

Moving quickly to book 2, and leaving a definitive , yes, read this, right here.

SOS Hotel:

✓ For a Supernaturally Safe Stay #1

◦ Friendly Sanctuary for the Fiendishly Fabulous #2

◦ Sleep with Us #3 – May 2024

Buy link

SOS HOTEL: For a Supernaturally Safe Stay!

Blurb:

Guaranteed a supernaturally safe stay!

(Definitely no murders)

*

A scandalous, ex-porn star demon and a morally shady, billionaire vampire walk into a bar…

But this is no joke. It’s opening day at the SOS Hotel, and that lust demon? He’s my business partner. I know. What was I thinking? The sexy, suave vampire however? He’s something else…

Creating a sanctuary for the supernaturals left here when the tear in the veil sealed was always going to be difficult, but it’s all I have, and I’m going to make it work. Despite the murders, the missing humans, and the psychotic real estate mogul who wants to bulldoze the hotel…

The SOS Hotel must thrive whatever the cost. Because if it fails, I’ll lose everything. Including my life.

My name is Adam. I’m just the boring human who works here, and I absolutely, definitely do not have any secrets.

Welcome to the SOS Hotel. What can possibly go wrong?

Warning: SOS Hotel contains explicit language, situations, and content that some readers may find uncomfortable. For full warnings, please see the author’s website or the paperback “look inside sample”

• Publisher: Crazy Ace Publishing (April 19, 2024)

• Publication date: April 19, 2024

• Language: English

• Word Wise: Enabled

• Sticky notes: On Kindle Scribe

• Print length: 174 pages

Review: Silk & Sand : Seth and Raider Book 1 by Katherine Diane

Rating: 4.5🌈

Let’s dive in with the fact that this fantasy novel, the first of a adventure series, will end on a cliffhanger. It leaves absolutely nothing resolved for our main characters and the various storylines.

So if this is a dealbreaker for you as a reader or a fan of the author, then perhaps you should consider waiting until the next book is released to read them through the cliffhanger’s resolution.

However, if you’re a fan of fantasy fiction and fantasy romance novels, and don’t mind a shocking twist or two, then I’ve got a story for you.

Katherine Diane is a new author for me. So I’m excited to have found both a new series and writer in the same fantastic fantasy novel, Silk & Sand.

The world building is very well done, giving the characters and readers an excellent idea of the variety of cultures, religions, and geographical diversity this universe has in store for us.

It’s magical elements smoothly combined with incredible desert heat , tribal cultures, and some recognizable animals that are sure to make a person connect with the storylines and characters.

Of the intense relationship that develops between Raider, a mysterious desert trader, and Seth, a Curator for the Arcanum College on the hunt for a murderer. Each character is beautifully crafted, with layers that are slowly peeled away to reveal more of their identity and personalities as they travel and interact with each other. It’s a personal exploration through hard events and challenges, from observation and through sexual encounters. The last being fraught with high intensity, overwhelming emotions, elements of bdsm, and hidden secrets.

I thought each was a great balance for the other and that made the ending feel both shattering and satisfying in a way. Even though it was a cliffhanger.

I need book 2 now.

This is a definite recommend from me. Check it out if you’re interested in fantasy romance.

Not a fan of the cover however.

Buy link:

Silk & Sand: An MM Fantasy Romance (Seth & Raider Book 1)

Blurb:

The only thing worse than trekking across a dangerous desert on a nearly impossible mission? When your guide is intolerable—and irresistible.

Seth spends his days hunting down mystical artifacts. As a Curator for the Arcanum College, that’s his job. But when an arcanist murders a fellow scholar, Seth finds himself assigned instead to a dusty, thirsty, frustrating manhunt. But why him? Because, he’s been told by his superiors, he’s the only Curator sufficiently tenacious and brutal for the job. (Seth resents that.)

When the murderer vanishes at the edge of a deadly desert, Seth finds himself in need of a guide. Unfortunately, the “only one crazy enough” for the job is Raider—a man with an easy grin who is clearly a thief, liar, and rogue. (He also has illegal quicksilver in his veins, and that arcane enhancement positively screams “I’ve done bad things.”) The only thing worse than having to rely on such a reprobate? Finding him irresistibly attractive.

Raider might think the manhunt a foolish endeavor, but he’s delighted by the prospect of breaking past the barriers of the gorgeous, rigidly self-controlled Curator. That kind of intensity needs the right outlet (and Raider has such ideas). But Raider just might be asking for more trouble than he realizes—because he has barriers of his own, and some very dark secrets lurking behind them.

But that’s not the only trouble looming. Because if Seth and Raider can survive their desert journey? Seth’s manhunt will lead them into even greater dangers and mysteries.

Silk & Sand is a high-heat fantasy adventure that will take you to the most exotic locations and into the most twisted secrets. It will lure you in with action, humor, and sizzling tension—and will hook your heart with its emotional intensity and beautiful love. So be prepared to laugh, cry, and stay up all night with these two gorgeous, complicated, irresistible men.

Content advisory: Readers 18+. These two are so fun but pretty rough. For trigger warnings, please read the author’s note—then enjoy.

• Publisher: (March 7, 2024)

• Publication date: March 7, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 341 pages

Review: Only Unity Will Spare Us: The Magi Accounts Book 5 by Michele Notaro

Rating : 5🌈

There’s always so many thoughts and emotions one has when approaching a finale novel in a beloved series. When that series is a dark urban fantasy about a particularly extremely violent, torturous dystopian world, the range of emotions will be deeply varied as the storylines. Especially here where in a world where a different US is at war. A almost recognizable one we’ve seen before where the humans in charge have used other species (or races) shifters and mages, as weapons and tools, things. Those in charge inhumanly categorizing them as objects to be abused, used and discarded as the humans wanted.

Make no mistake, as gorgeously written and powerfully conceived as The Magi Accounts series is, these books are often equally wrenching and disturbing to read. The compounds the magi are bred and raised in like stock animals, as well as the abusive, torturous, often deadly nature of the treatment they were subjected to there, is harrowing reading. And the subject of more than one trigger warning. The same is said about that of the narrative treatment of shifters, although not necessarily in the gore-ridden way.

Through four books, we’ve found all the members of the now combined Ono-Nai tribe, watched them grow, in some cases learning to deal with the pain and abuse that brought them into the tribe, and for others form mate bonds with each other, until this enlarged family has become a greater whole that means something deeply special to us as readers. It’s not just the mage dyads Madeo aka Mads and Jude. Or the main bonded pair of mage Mads and alpha lion shifter Cosmo Ono-Nai. It’s Jude, and his bond mates. And the rest of the tribe, shifters, mages, humans, even pets. All have made an indelible impression and contribution to the heartfelt rightness that has developed into the Ono-Nai diverse family/tribe. One of the unity of the title and one that Mads and his family is striving for their future.

It’s a truly agonizing epic showdown, one that’s been long awaited between Mads and his tribe and the horrific, terrifying Anderson, the Red Cloak witches, with their plan to destroy all the mages and shifters for a human only universe.

Did I end up sobbing buckets of tears? Yes, yes I did. As I expected to. There’s so much going on in the narrative. From beautiful scenes of family life and laughter, to sheer terror and heartbreak, memories of darkness and pain, blood and death, all that has to come , realistically in this world, before even large battles can be won.

Is everything solved at the end? No. But the majority of the problems are resolved in a manner that leaves the characters and readers in a better place . One that makes sense and leaves us with a sense of completion and satisfaction .

Only Unity Will Spare Us: The Magi Accounts Book 5 by Michele Notaro is a fantastic finale and a perfect way to end a magnificent dark urban fantasy.

I highly recommend this series. Read it in the order it’s written and with regard for its trigger warnings.

Just a side note. I wished for more for the Taragorians. Logan had it right. That the rift or a magical aspect of it seemed sentient was fascinating. I wish for more of this place please.

The Magi Accounts:

✓ The Scars That Bind Us #1

✓ The Shackles That Hold Us #2

✓ A Purpose That Restores Us #3

✓ A Ruse To Unchain Us #4

✓ Only Unity Will Spare Us #5 -Series Finale

The Magi Accounts Companion stories:

✓ Our Hearts That Tie Us: The Magi Accounts Prequel

✓ A Kiss To Revive Me: The Magi Accounts 1.5

✓ A Date to Impress Him: The Magi Accounts 2.5

✓ A Holiday to Sustain Us: A Magi Accounts Holiday

✓ An Embrace To Hearten Me: The Magi Accounts 3.5

✓ A Heart To Revitalize Me: The Magi Accounts 4.5

Buy Link:

Only Unity Will Spare Us: The Magi Accounts 5

Blurb:

I made a promise to the enemy… and I intended to keep it.

Thank the goddess I have my pride and my wonderful, amazing mate—whose patience matches no other—because the world is in chaos, and Cosmo is my rock, my safe place inside the storm. If only I could find the time between witches, work, politics, and family to prove it to him.

The Shifter and Magi Equality Act is in full effect, supposedly making us equals, but the people themselves—the humans—are still treating us as lesser. Every time I turn around, we’re running into trouble between humans and non-humans.

To make matters worse, witches are everywhere in Fairview City, and the Red Cloth is encouraging humans to join their forces and challenge the equality my people have fought so hard to get.

And now, Anderson is back. Back and gunning for me.

But he doesn’t realize I’m gunning for him, too.

Only Unity Will Spare Us is the fifth and FINAL book in the MM urban fantasy series, The Magi Accounts. It’s recommended to read the series in order because the romance and plot progress throughout the series.

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

• Publication date: April 19, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 417 pages