Review: Zachary (Demons-In-Law #3) by Louisa Masters

Rating: 4.75🌈

With Zachary, the wonderful Demons-In-Law trilogy comes to a heartwarming conclusion and for me, it’s way too early for this series to end.

I feel like we are just getting to know the extraordinary mountain enclosed village of Hortplatz, the most demon inhabitants, and run by an imperious demon grandmother who’s a remarkable figure. Plus we barely explored the mysterious dragon hoard , hidden behind a 12,000 ish year old puzzle door, that had been built into the mountain above the village by a long ago dragon, and it now the scientific find of the world. Oh, Hortplatz, we hardly knew you!

Masters finishes with the heartbreak couple. Ronan Draco, Steffen’s twin brother, who is burdened by their horrific past, and his self inflicted “prison” of guilt, doubts, and inability to connect with others. Ronan is selected by Brandt to catalog the items and help identify them as them come out of the vault. It’s terrifying to him.

On the other side, there’s Zachary, grandson to the formidable grandmother ,Damaris Bailey , who rules the family, town Council and everyone else with a steely voice and gaze to match. Zachary is the town’s forester, well, go to demon, depending on the job, despite having his own hopes and dreams. He’s continually sacrificed for the sake of the family and the community, letting family obligations and responsibilities become an invisible prison for himself. Until the bitterness is threatening to swallow him.

This is the setup that Masters introduces the reader to the situation and these haunted beings to each other. It is not a meet cute.

But the journey to redemption and love for both is a fabulous and heartwarming story to read. Ronan’s as he realizes his need to connect with the Hortplatz community and learn how to make friends. That’s a truly remarkable, funny, and joyful stumbling path he had to take, one that included pastries, group text sessions, and a box from the World of Wangs makes an important appearance. Ronan finds he can become part of a community, have a home, with a loving partner, leaving the past behind.

And Zachary? In Ronan, he finds someone to stand with him, support his passions, explore new experiences, even if it means staying in Hortplatz. For now.

Masters doesn’t forget Damaris, the stern, unyielding grandmother, whose actions and character become fully revealed in a wonderful, memorable scene.

So many great characters are brought in to help Ronan and Zachary achieve their dreams and HEA, from Steffen to all the many demon cousins and their families.

As I said, three books is barely breaking the surface of this village’s stories and what the future now holds for them.

It’s my wish that Masters might come up with another series that will find its way back into this world and town , so we can get an update on everyone there and the new couples to arrive.

In the meantime, I’m highly recommending this series and book. It’s fantastic and a grand bit of fantasy!

Demons-In-Law:

✓ Asher #1

✓ Micah #2

✓ Zachary #3

Buy Link:

Zachary (Demons-In-Law Book 3)

Blurb:

A dragon with endless secrets meets a demon with nothing to hide…

I’m the easygoing one. The fun one. The rare member of my family who gets along with anyone. Except there’s a chance I may have got off on the wrong foot with our new dragon liaison, Ronan. In my defense, he rubs everyone the wrong way. The only thing he’s got going for him is his looks… if the miserable frown weren’t there to mar them. But he seems to be trying harder to connect, and I guess I should do the same. Even if his arrival here was the beginning of all my problems.

When I cross the line and guilt compels me to apologize, I get my first glimpse of a different Ronan. Someone who enjoys baking, thinks glitter is amazing, and wants people to like him. Someone I could be friends with. And when that frown disappears? I want more than just friendship.

But there’s something going on with him, something he’s been carrying for a long time. He’s been hurt before, and the secrets he’s keeping are the kind that eat you inside. How can we take things to the next step if he can’t be open with me?

It’s only when he steps up to make all my dreams come true that I realize some secrets need to stay that way… and that loving Ronan means accepting him for who he really is.

• Publisher: (January 31, 2024)

• Publication date: January 31, 2024

• Print length: 251 pages

Review: I Went on an Adventure and All I Got Was This Barbarian Orc: Crack Fantasy Adventure Chapter Five by Jennifer Cody

Rating: 5🌈

The time has come, the wizard says, for all great adventures to come to an end and all the fabulous adventurers to tend to their wounds, gather their treasures, and head back home.

Necromancer Lawton, Half Orc Berklak, and the rest of the Beefcake Brigade are still on their quest to find the reason for the dreaded miasma that’s spreading over the lands, causing the females of various species to turn on the males in a murderous frenzy.

Now they are headed into the frozen southern landscape of Gwafellaw. There awaits such wondrous things as dragons, a crazy wood elf, and the solution to the murderous rage that’s seeping over the continent.

Cody’s final chapter in this fabulous adventure is a doozy. She gives us a bit of fatherly acceptance for Lawton, forest love for Berklak and new magical powers, some wildly inspired battles, and an ancient, devastating origin tale that is the beginnings of all the woe here.

Yes, that does contain mention in an ancient poem of multiple SA to a woman long dead. Be warned.

Cody pulls together all the pieces of the journey, the events of carnage, and magical scenarios to create one monumental experience as a cap to the adventure and a final chapter in this epic tale. Loved it.

What a strange and glorious romp this has been! I shall miss this motley, powerful, magical crew. And hopefully, one day, Cody will decide to send them forth to adventure once more.

Until then, I’m highly recommending all five chapters of this excellent adventure. Make sure to read them in order.

Love the covers too.

Buy Link:

I Went on an Adventure and All I Got Was This Barbarian Orc: Crack Fantasy Adventure Chapter 5

Blurb:

Lawton:

I honestly thought passing through the ward to the freezing land of Gwafellaw would be more miserable than it turns out to be. Who has time to be miserable when everything in the land wants to kill you? No one, that’s who.

Between fighting dragons, finding a new species, and saving a crazy druid, Berklak and I are learning exactly what it means to be anchored, tied together, bonded, and in love. We’re going to defeat the aelysou hurting Fasgard no matter what it takes, because I’m the high sorcerer of Fasgard and the most powerful necromancer alive. I won’t let anything separate me from the love of my life—not my father, not a goddess, not even death.

Berklak:

I’ve been adventuring for over fifty years, and I’ve adventured in Gwafellaw before, but I’ve never seen so much hostility. The only good thing walking this land is Lawton, and I’d follow him to the portals of death herself if that’s where he wanted to go.

I might not be sure exactly what we’re going to find in this frozen wasteland, but if it’s not my happily ever after, I won’t have done my job right. I’m proficient in weapons, and I’m confident we’ll prevail, but it’s a good thing we have Lawton to keep us from permanently making the ultimate sacrifice. I’d hate for him to lose me before we even figure out where we’re going to live after this.

I Went on an Adventure and All I Got Was This Barbarian Orc is a five chapter serial fantasy adventure with a light-hearted, fun TTRPG vibe. Expect big magic, lots of cuddles, plenty of steam, and a team of characters that might not get a natural 20 on every roll, but they make up for it with creative solutions to both magical and mundane problems.

• Publisher: (January 31, 2024)

• Publication date: January 31, 2024

• Print length: 138 pages

Review: War of the Wicked (Lucifer’s Landing Book 1) by Davidson King

Rating: 4.5🌈

Trigger warnings:

“This book contains on-page violence, torture, attempted rape, and abuse.”

That out of the way, and yes, I think most readers appreciate that the warnings are put at the beginning of the book so any reader can make a quick judgement as to whether they should read the story or not, rather then search it out at a website or wait until the end of the book for them when it’s too late, War of the Wicked is an exciting, violent mob romance.

King has created a city in New York, Lucifer’s Landing, that’s completely owned, and operated, however illegally, by various mob families. There’s the Italians, the Japanese, the Irish, the Haitians, and the Greeks, all fighting against each other to ensure their territories and weaken their opponents.

These are the main characters, primarily, so the violence and warnings make sense.

It starts with the Italians. Dante Scavo, who’s just buried his father, the now former head of their mafia family. It’s Dante, in this time of mourning for his father, who must gather the family together, keep their businesses and territories intact against the other families, and find out if his father’s death was murder.

King builds a strong sense of who Dante is in this moment of crisis and grief, as well as the people closest to him. That includes his family and the men who worked under his father, like his consigliere, Edward.

That these people are violent predators, criminals who are also capable of being loving family members is inherently important to the plot and their characters. King’s creations get that across beautifully.

If there is an “innocent” person here, it’s the high end prostitute/escort, Rainn Blessings, who works at one of the Scavo businesses, The Magic Mirror. The sex workers here aren’t forced to work here. They’re paid highly and treated extremely well and with respect. It’s a matter of perspective or level.

And while their initial meeting and discussion of future plans is that of a business plan, which I found interesting and pretty relevant to the situation, King still builds on a chemistry happening between them.

This is a book I gobbled up. The action and events just start speeding up as the Scavo family comes under attack, Dante has to fight back against forces inside and out, while his relationship with Rainn builds.

The warnings at the beginning are there for a reason. It gets intense when the families go to war and start slaughtering each other. If this is a trigger, this might not be the book for you.

I’m recommending it for lovers of this trope and fans of this author. I absolutely enjoyed it. And moved onto the sequel.

Lucifer’s Landing

✓ War of the Wicked #1)

✓ Rise of the Ruthless #2

Buy Link:

War of the Wicked (Lucifer’s Landing Book 1)

Blurb:

Lucifer’s Landing is full of unscrupulous people: five families desperate to own every inch. For years, under the watchful and most powerful eye, there has been peace. With the murder of the most powerful man, it’s as if the gates of Hell have opened.

Dante Scavo is trying to fill his father’s shoes, find the person responsible for killing him, and stop Lucifer’s Landing from becoming a war zone. He has to focus, find out who the traitor among his ranks is, and end them. The last thing he needs is a distraction, but when he meets Rainn, one look, one touch, takes his breath away.

Rainn Blessings is no stranger to strong and powerful men. His life is about survival and getting to a place where he finds his peace, though sometimes that means being the fantasy of others. Working as a high-class escort he’s seen a lot…done a lot…and not much surprises him. Then Dante walks into The Magic Mirror and turns his world upside down.

With an unlikely ally, Rainn and Dante try to survive the storm, but no one is bulletproof or untouchable in the game of violent delights. Getting out unscathed is impossible; the question is: will they get out alive?

***Please see start of book for trigger warning

(This was previously released through Maple House Publishing. War of the Wicked has been reedited and minor changes have been made from the original content)

• Publisher: (January 4, 2023)

• Publication date: January 4, 2023

• Print length: 235 pages

Review: The Grim Adventures of Death and Chan: Vol. 1 (a Dead Serious Companion novella) by Vawn Cassidy

Rating: 5🌈

The Grim Adventures of Death and Chan: Vol. 1 (a Dead Serious Companion novella) by Vawn Cassidy is a story available at the author’s website. There was a mention of it at the end of Dead Serious Case #4 Professor Prometheus Plume, a book I just loved that was a recent release. So of course when the author drops this side story into the series list at the end of that novel, I’m on it like it’s a hunk of chocolate. Don’t judge.

Chan has been such a special, strong character throughout the series, evolving as relationships and the shattering events have altered this character’s perceptions about himself and the life around him. I say him now but as Chan explains here, the journey to understanding himself has been a long process, one that included Dusty, their past, and, surprisingly, the Grim Reaper too.

The Reaper’s presence has been a constant source of fascination and continued curiosity for me in the series, especially recently with the Reaper’s interactions with Chan.

This is Cassidy’s answer, I’m sure, to the overwhelming number of people asking for more Reaper/Chan relationship content. It’s fabulous.

These are thoughtful, well developed characters, and Chan’s journey to a new awareness of himself and the next chapter in his life is a great read. The reader is able to see certain events from a new perspective, watch as Grim woos Chan (a wonder in itself), and a new found paranormal family gets formed.

Plus the author has promised more adventures to come. Be still my narrative yearning heart.

Yes, The Grim Adventures of Death and Chan: Vol. 1 (a Dead Serious Companion novella) by Vawn Cassidy is a must read. However, it’s not a standalone, but a novella that is a significant part of a fabulous series. I’m highly recommending them all.

Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed:

✓ Dead Serious Case #1 Miz Dusty Le Frey #1

✓ Dead Serious Case #2 Mrs Delores Abernathy #2

✓ Dead Serious Case #3 Mr Bruce Reyes #3

✓ Dead Serious Case #4 Professor Prometheus Plume #4

✓ The Grim Adventures of Death and Chan: Vol. 1 (a Dead Serious Companion novella) – Side story

◦ Dead Serious Case #5 Madame Vivienne: Schedule 2024

Buy Link:

The Grim Adventures of Death & Chan Vol 1. (EBOOK)

Blurb:

The Grim Adventures of Death and Chan is set in the Dead Serious Universe. It is a compilation of bonus shorts told in chronological order and documenting the hilarious and sweet beginnings of the relationship between the drag queen known as Chan and the supernatural entity known as Death.

This volume includes Death goes on a Date, Death goes Shopping, Death goes on Holiday and Death gets a Puppy!

Don’t miss out! It’s a must have for all Dead Serious fans!

Review: Fake Dates and Fanged Mistakes (Fanged Mistakes Book 1) by Alice Winters

Rating: 5🌈

I’m an Alice Winters fan and this latest book is a prime example why. Fake Dates and Fanged Mistakes is the first in Winters new Fanged Mistakes series and contains all the best of a Winters novel experience.

Her characters are intelligent with at least one having a history that’s incredibly tragic or traumatic. The dialogue is witty, fast paced, sarcastic , and filled with humor. Same often applies to the scenes of tension, where the interaction between the characters is interspersed with moments of humor and quiet understanding is used as a basis for the solidification of the relationship, as it so often does here with werewolf Julian and vampire Casimir.

It helps that Winters has created a strong group of characters, including a poodle Gustov, that supports the couple in a number of ways, comedic, action wise, and emotionally compelling.

I spent so much of this book cackling over the dialogue, finding total enjoyment in the dynamic between Julian and Casimir that Winters is developing that the story just flew by.

There’s a faint mystery that’s surrounds Julian’s character but that’s left for future stories to unravel. Plus we have a fabulous grumbling romance in progress between a human detective and Casimir’s second in command sorta , these two alone had me howling! All kinds of shenanigans galore and a nasty villain to boot!

Really, this is golden Alice Winters. A fabulously scripted and gloriously entertaining narrative that had me laughing out loud and ready to read it once again when I was done.

I’m highly recommending this and ready for the next in the series.

Fanged Mistakes:

✓ Faked Dates and Fanged Mistakes #1

◦ Dire Straits and Entwined Fates # 2 – March 12, 2024

Buy Link:

Fake Dates and Fanged Mistakes

Blurb:

Julian:

This week hasn’t gone the best for me unless you count Casimir, the sexy ancient vampire, bringing me back from the brink of death (and tying my fate to his in the process). Not that it matters if the werewolves and vampires don’t stop their ridiculous feud, because someone is targeting them and widening the divide between our communities with each body they leave in their wake.

But as the alpha’s son, I have a plan to fix everything. I’m going to convince Casimir to fake date me to show the others that we can work together.

I mean… what could go wrong?

Casimir
Everything.

Literally everything could go wrong. Who is actually going to believe that I want this joke-cracking, cute werewolf tagging alongside me?

Honestly, do I even care if people get along? I really think I have much more important things to do than going on hardware store dates, learning the torturous art of holding hands, and attending awkward family dinners, like… staring at my dog… and… I’m sure there’s something else.

Okay, fine, maybe this whole fake dating scheme isn’t the worst idea that I’ve come across in the past five hundred years, but it’s definitely in the running. The two of us are just going to have a bit of fun while I stop whoever’s hunting down the vampires and werewolves… right?

Fake Dates and Fanged Mistakes has a sunshiny yet stubborn werewolf who just wants everyone to get along, dang it; a bored vampire who isn’t nearly as aloof as he wants to appear; paper napkins trying (and failing) to stand in for clothes; some awesome swordsmanship; and the last thing you’d expect to find in a secret cupboard.

Review: All I Want for Christmas is Tentacles: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance by Chloe Archer

Rating: 5🌈

Chloe Archer had me at every single aspect of this story, from the disillusioned Grinch of a human who’s lost his job as an “elf” to the small ship full of found family tentacled aliens, complete with a runaway groom, arriving at Earth with visions of Hallmark Christmases and rom-com movies abounding in their heads!

I laughed, smiled, and just delighted in all the many imaginative elements and great scenarios that Archer incorporates into this imaginative sci fy holiday romance. It’s got adorable aliens escaping a totalitarian world where only warriors are celebrated and those with other personalities and other types of skills and abilities are deemed lesser or weaker in nature.

One is, in fact, a wealthy IT alien, Khephren, who’s a definite fan of the Earth rom-coms and Hallmark movies. Yep , these will survive into the future , was there ever any doubt? This is such a hilarious and perfect idea and it’s used beautifully throughout this storyline.

Holodeck anyone?

Anyway, Khep goes all runaway groom, as one does, after seeing those movies and heads for Earth with his small found family of friends with similar problems. Which I love. Archer has a great way with characters, alien and human.

There Kheph kidnaps/encounters a depressed human , Sasha. Recently fired, and with a very sad past. Cue the restoration of Christmas spirit to the Scrooge human by aliens!

Honestly, this is such a joyful, hilarious, and heartwarming story. The characters have been given such depth that, human or alien, the reader connects with them easily and comes to care about them greatly.

Even that “Christmas tree” that arrives on board. More pls.

I would love to see where this merry crew is next Christmas. What’s happening with the show and what worlds they’ve visited.

I’m hooked. My favorite of the series and one I’m highly recommending any time of the year.

Tinsel and Tentacles (11 books)

◦ Jingle Bells and Elder Gods by Kiernan Kelly

✓ All I Want for Christmas is Tentacles by Chloe Archer ❤️🫶

◦ Tentacles and Other Stocking Stuffers by Delaney Rain

◦ Tentacles Rock by K.C. Carmine

✓ A Sucker for Christmas by J.P. Sayle

✓ Kraken Klaus by Charlotte Brice

◦ Twelve Days of Squidmas by H.L. Hiers

◦ It’s a Tenta-ful Life by Amanda Muewissen

✓ Rebel without a Claus by L Eveland

✓ Cthulhu for Christmas by Meghan Maslow ❤️🫶

◦ Tentacle Wonderland by Reese Morrison – Jan 1,2024

Buy Link:

All I Want for Christmas is Tentacles: A Winter Holiday MM Tentacle Romance

Blurb:

Seasons greetings and alien abductions! Can two misfits find love together? It might just take a Christmas miracle! Let’s hope Santa doesn’t mind that tentacles can be both naughty and nice…

Khephren

There’s no way in Helgar’s Nebula I’m marrying the candidate my parents have chosen for me. I don’t want to be the house-husband of some stoic warrior who only cares about training all day. Boring! Thankfully, I’ve learned a thing or two from all those rom-com human movies I’ve illegally downloaded off the intergalactic web. No one will see it coming when I pull a runaway groom maneuver on them!

Once I make my escape, I can go on the solo honeymoon of my dreams—to planet Earth. It’s almost that wondrous time of year when they celebrate their holiday known as “Christmas.” Human Hallmark movies make it seem so magical. I want to experience it for myself! Now, I just need to find a human who can make my wish come true and help me have an authentic holly jolly time…

Sasha

Scrooge was right when he said “bah humbug” to Christmas. This time of year sucks balls, and not the fun kind. I’ve just lost my crappy part-time job and I’m slowly sinking under a sea of student loan debt and crushed dreams.

Just when I think my life couldn’t possibly get any worse, my cat and I are abducted by an alien who wants me to help him experience a “real human Christmas” on his ship. WTF? Clearly he’s chosen the worst possible candidate for the job.

But there’s something about Khephren’s enthusiasm and eternal optimism that starts to melt even my grumpy, cynical heart. Heck, I even agree to be his fake fiancé to get his parents off his back! I don’t know what’s happening to me, but Khephren’s charm is making me feel things I never have before. And those bright pink tentacles of his are strangely fascinating. I can’t help but wonder what all they can do…

As we spend more time together, I start to realize I might not want to go home and that maybe, just maybe, I’ve found what I’ve always been looking for. Could Khephren feel the same? If so, it would be a Christmas miracle and I don’t believe in those…right?

All I Want for Christmas is Tentacles is a standalone novel (74k words) in the Tinsel and Tentacles multi-author winter holiday MM tentacle romance series. It features a runaway tentacled-alien groom obsessed with Hallmark movies and Christmas, a grumpy human who’s down on his luck and says “bah, humbug” to the holidays, an alien abduction, fake fiancé fun, a cat named Jonesey, a droid named Rambo, a ship called the Sleigh Belle, found family, sweet and cozy vibes for the season, and a guaranteed HEA!

• Publisher: Rainbow Dreams Press LLC (November 24, 2023)

• Publication date: November 24, 2023

• Print length: 277 pages

Linked series:

Tentacular Tales

Review: The Necromancer’s Prisoner (Hearts of Allaria Book 1) by Elric Shaw

Rating: 4🌈

Elric Shaw is a new author for me and I found Shaw’s new fantasy novel a wonderful story and enjoyable start to a new series.

Several elements drew me immediately to this story. A misunderstood necromancer, a Paladin with a mission, and a magical mystery. Yes, please.

It’s actually more complicated than that, the two men, Alistair, Knight of the Church, and Ignatius, necromancer, both has painful, emotionally traumatic wounds from their respective childhoods. Each tragic event that ended up causing the deaths of the other’s parents, while the men not being actually responsible, the Church and magic was.

Shaws made Alistair and Iggie so relatable with their own doubts about the lives they are living, building such depths into their characters. For Alistair, it’s living the life his father and the Church wanted for him without any real introspection. Until the mission, Iggie, and a snowstorm intervened.

The same for Necromancer Iggie, alone, almost starving in his temporary home with his animated skeletons as companions, hating the Church, its Knights for his tragic past and what they represent. Until Alistair charges into his life bringing light and a huge change.

There’s a mystery that needs investigating. A village known for its magical crystals at its heart and a relationship between two men that’s uncertain to resolve until the end.

Just a couple of elements I wish were fully explored. The magic itself here. I loved the crystal elements, and there’s one amazing scene where Iggie sings to a dull solitary crystal bringing it to unbelievable splendor. There was poignancy and wonder. Why? What happened? I wanted more of that.

Alistair was someone whose actions as an indoctrinated Knight of the Church made sense but also frustrating from a narrative standpoint. Poor Iggie.

Shaw just pulls it all together in a smashing (literally) battle and has a satisfying ending, with a touch of the sadness. As it should.

I’m looking forward to the next book and more from this author. It’s a definite recommendation.

Hearts of Allaria:

◦ The Immortal Covenant #0.5

✓ The Necromancer’s Prisoner #1

◦ The Prince’s Curse #2 – May 2024

Buy Link:

The Necromancer’s Prisoner (Hearts of Allaria Book 1)

Blurb:

Sometimes the real villain isn’t who it seems…

Alistair’s first solo mission as a paladin sounded simple enough: purge the undead terrorizing a remote mountain village and bring the wicked necromancer controlling them to justice. But when he’s captured, he begins to suspect that the village faces a far greater threat than a few skeletons…and that his strange captor might need protecting just as badly.

Paladins have hunted Ignatius his entire life. His crime—daring to be born with the wrong kind of magic. The mountains seemed like the perfect place to seek refuge for the winter…until an obnoxiously handsome paladin arrives on his doorstep. Ignatius expects to loathe Alistair like the rest of his arrogant kin; however, when a harsh winter storm forces them together, he finds himself opening up to the paladin in ways he’d never dreamed possible.

Alistair and Ignatius both have every reason not to trust the other. Yet, as mysterious magic threatens to eradicate the nearby village, they have little choice except to combine forces if they hope to survive.

Can a paladin and a necromancer set aside their differences for the greater good…or will the rift between them prove impossible to ever bridge?

A slow burn, fade-to-black M/M fantasy romance featuring forced proximity, hurt/comfort, enemies-to-lovers, and a hard-won HEA. Every book in Hearts of Allaria is standalone and can be read in any order. Perfect for fans of K. D. Edwards, Tavia Lark, and Ben Alderson.

• Publication date: November 27, 2023

• Print length: 309 pages

Review: Mr. Mustachio Gets Collared (The Mr. Mustachio Murders Book 3) by Dawn McKinnon

Rating: 4.5🌈

Mr. Mustachio Gets Collared has the feel of a finale story without all the characters and smaller threads getting their due.

McKinnon’s third book contains several mysteries, a couple of murders, and a case of mistaken paternity, in this case, Mr Mustachio, who has been accused of having “relations” with another prize winning Persian cat who’s now expecting kittens! And everyone, including Algernon wants his name cleared!

It’s hard to say if this is indeed the finale book because I can’t find anything else from the author (this was written in 2022). So I’m just not sure. But it has that tone.

It starts ,as they all have, with Mr Mustachio’s POV , him out on the town and having an encounter trying to prevent a amorous cattery attack that’s part of the story and his character’s thread.

Then it’s right off back to Chez Celine, the richly entertaining daily life of its human characters where more investigations are about to drop into Sam’s lap. At this point, Sam has finally finished his book, his and Algernon’s relationship is going well, and Chez Celine is adjusting nicely to new artists.

So things should start to fall apart, naturally!

There’s potential for Algernon real identity to be discovered by others outside of those already in the know. There’s multiple murders that center around a restaurant, and many other complex investigations for Sam, Algernon, Mr Mustachio, and Chief Baldwin to get involved in. Even Sven does his own wild part here.

I can’t help but think that the author crammed more than one book into this one. It’s full of so many different stories themes and plots that it’s hard for McKinnon to bring them all to completion, let alone explore them to the fullest extent possible.

Sam finishes a book he’s had problems writing. We never explore Algernon’s character fully, his background nebulous and his type of being purposefully vague on certain aspects. Sven never gets his due and that’s a shame.

But we do have several completely good mysteries, dramatic moments, adorable kitties, and HEA’s for more than one couple.

I can’t find any more information on this author or more books. But I’m ever hopeful. I just adore this series, found them charming. And am absolutely recommending them to all lovers of cozy mystery romance with a delightful twist.

Cover: Cate Ashwood

The Mr. Mustachio Murders (3 books)

✓ Mr. Mustachio Is Falsely Accused #1

✓ Mr. Mustachio Sings Like a Canary #2

✓ Mr. Mustachio Gets Collared #3-finale

Buy Link:

Mr. Mustachio Gets Collared (The Mr. Mustachio Murders)

Blurb:

Algernon is eager to assist Sam in his cases, and Sam is willing to let him—as long as there’s no murder involved. But the embezzlement case he’s been hired to investigate for a local restaurant turns sinister when a diner gets poisoned right in front of his eyes.

Sam sets out to discover whether the death was the accidental result of a plan to sabotage the restaurant or if the high-maintenance woman who got served poisonous mushrooms was the target of a plot to kill her. She does seem like the type you’d want dead.

Meanwhile, Chez Celine learns Mr. Mustachio is going to be a father. Or so the high-maintenance woman claims when her prize-winning cat turns up pregnant. Algernon denies responsibility, but how to prove it? When Mr. Mustachio’s habit of poking his nose in where it doesn’t belong lands him in cat jail, Sam has to ask the one man he least wants to turn to for help in saving his partner.

Mr. Mustachio Gets Collared is book 3 in the Mr. Mustachio Murders.

Review: Worth His Salt (a Tattooed Corpse story) by Ofelia Gränd

Rating:4🌈

Sometimes a story by Ofelia Grand is less a long winding, complicated adventure for her characters and more a fleeting vivid window into a certain important moment of her characters lives. It doesn’t matter if it’s a science fiction story or a tale of a ghost and a family of witches set in a lighthouse in an anonymous coastal town.

Each novella has all this author’s narrative hallmarks. They contain weirdly mysterious elements, wonderfully detailed characters, and a story that, much like a work day, just ends once that storyline “job” is fulfilled, leaving the reader feeling both filled with awe at the story itself and dismayed by its abrupt ending.

The tattooed corpse stories were born out of a group discussion about having a tattooed corpse just appearing in a story, no matter the trope. This is Grand’s ghost story.

Eldred Henstare, guardian of a city, has been feeling a ghost calling to him from across the town. Now, he’s out in the middle of a storm, blindly following the voiceless call. Which leads him to a lighthouse.

That’s the start of another strange, remarkable tale from this author I can’t get enough of. As with Worth His Salt (a Tattooed Corpse tale), Grand gives the reader fascinating characters, fleeting glimpses into mysterious family backgrounds , a foundation story to sink your teeth into, and a finish that ends the story just as the characters begin what appears to be a very magical romantic relationship.

It’s fabulous, well written, and also frustrating, because it feels like we’ve been given a glance into a new world and the beginning of a life we want to see more of.

Which is typical of Grand and her flights of narrative fancy.

Will we see these characters again? Maybe. Maybe not. It’s sounds as though this highly unusual author has a mind full of ideas and drawer(s) stuffed with stories, so who knows which will see the light of a publisher?

I will be waiting for every one. And recommending them.

Cover art: Amy Spector

Tattooed Corpse Stories:

✓ Worth His Salt (ghost story and lighthouse)

✓ It Doesn’t Translate (syfi universe)

Buy Link:

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Worth-…Worth His Salt eBook : Gränd, Ofelia: Kindle Store

Blurb:

Eldred Henstare is a not so powerful witch who’s been left in charge of helping the city’s lingering spirits to move on. He usually handles it pretty well, but something’s wrong with the spirit leading him to the abandoned lighthouse.

Mo Vin likes his quiet life in the cottage next to the lighthouse, at least it’s quiet until one night when Eldred Henstare — young, beautiful, and crazy — arrives. After that night things aren’t the same. A man is found dead on the beach outside Mo’s cottage, and he’s almost sure he’s the one who killed him, except it doesn’t make sense. Why would he kill anyone?

Eldred needs to get rid of the ghost haunting Mo. If he doesn’t Mo’s life is in danger, but to do it he needs both Mo and his brother Lachtin to help out.

• Publisher: JMS Books LLC (March 13, 2021)

• Publication date: March 13, 2021

• Print length: 54 pages

Review: The Red Dragon of Oxford (Wings over Albion, #1) by Joy Lynn Fielding

Rating: 4.5🌈

The first in Fielding’s new Wings over Albion series, The Red Dragon of Oxford is a great intro to this author while diving into a favorite trope and subject matter of mine. I’m talking dragons! And librarians. As well as romance and mystery.

I love the setting and the imaginary Mortimer College in Oxford where the events take place. Fielding builds on Oxford’s tradition and history when creating the riches of architecture and atmosphere that’s Mortimer College and its library. It’s alive, full of students in every emotional state, and two very special and impressive librarians, one of which is a dragon.

A dragon into whose life comes a doctorate student of immense determination and courage.

I love the way Fielding unfolds the tale of Mark Stevens, post doc German theology student who happens to see a red dragon in the early morning hours to his utter delight and disbelief . Mark’s life is one of constant doubt about himself and continuous study and stress to get through his first year. The author paints a realistic picture of a the struggles and stresses that are present under this situation. Mark is definitely relatable.

Rufus Mortimer, the Liberian who’s so much more than a librarian is also not the normal idea of a powerful, confident dragon. His is a complex, intelligent, and layered character with a background that has just enough foundation to give his issues believability but also left the series and family history room to enlarge for future books. Adore Rufus.

The plot includes multiple characters, storylines, and the potential for dragon history and mythology to explore as the series continues to develop.

Fielding starts with a dragon who is on the edge of his own family’s power and outside of the inner circle and knowledge. Rufus by his color is an outlier . That’s exciting, satisfying, and starting to change by the end.

This, so far, isn’t a soul mate romance. But the relationship between Mark and Rufus evolves slowly and is so lovely to read. It’s a HFN.

The next picks up with another dragon, Rufus’s big brother who we met in this book. I wish I had my hands on it now. Unfortunately, no information as of yet.

Until then, Im highly recommending The Red Dragon of Oxford (Wings over Albion, #1) by Joy Lynn Fielding for lovers of paranormal romance, dragons, mythical tales, and mystery.

I absolutely adore this.

Wings Over Albion:

✓ The Red Dragon of Oxford #1

Buy link:

The Red Dragon of Oxford: MM Paranormal romance (Wings over Albion, Book 1)

Blurb:

Dragons aren’t real. Or so I used to think.

Oxford isn’t exactly what I’d imagined. Sure, the colleges are romantic, and everyone is brilliant enough to trigger my impostor syndrome. I expected that.

The dragon, however, was a big surprise.

I saw him on my first day. The beautiful beast spoke to me, then disappeared. I’ve been looking for him ever since.

When I’m not on a wild dragon chase, I spend my time in the library. I’d like to think I’m only there to study, but who am I kidding?

I’m there for him.

Rufus Mortimer is the world’s hottest librarian. He’s strict, enigmatic, and sexy. He makes me feel things I’ve never felt before.

But he has a secret. One that could destroy everything.

So now, all I have to do is find a dragon, earn my doctorate, and try to not to let my new romance burn my life to the ground. Easy, right?

I wish…

The Red Dragon of Oxford, book 1 in the Wings over Albion series, is a sweet and spicy paranormal m/m romance. Download today, and get ready to fall in love with Mark and Rufus.

• Publisher: (January 15, 2024)

• Publication date: January 15, 2024

• Print length: 250 pages

Book 2 is Nate’s story.

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