“Dola is 1400 on Sunday. What do you give a sentient house?”
This is an absolutely lovely short story with a twist I didn’t expect! Love those.
Well written so that it continues to show all the characters maturity in their new roles and individual development personally as well as in their perspectives. Perspectives that have changed dramatically, especially about Dola.
A heartwarming series that’s becoming a true comfort read.
Gorgeous Covers that absolutely drew me in. With the ever changing Recorder Star and Gateway in the center that’s pertinent to each book
NOTE: THIS NOVELLA IS INTENDED TO BE READ BETWEEN BOOKS 3 & 4 OF THE MIDLIFE RECORDER SERIES.
After completing all the bondings in Ties that Bond, Niki finds herself with a few days respite before her departure for the Red Celt realm to stay with Prince Dai.
But her plans take an unexpected turn when she discovers that Dola’s 1400th birthday is just around the corner—this Sunday, to be exact.
Niki is determined to make the celebration special. Yet, orchestrating festivities for Dola—a sentient house with spying Dolinas scattered throughout the realms—without giving away the secret proves to be quite the challenge.
To navigate this delicate situation, Niki calls upon her Knight Adjutants and a mix of old and new friends to help distract Dola and gather gifts.
This feel-good novella celebrates the joy of connection and community. Sadly, it doesn’t feature a single doughnut … but there is cake.
Join the party at Gateway Cottage – where the real surprise is the power of true belonging.
The Hitman’s Guide to Stately Fences and Killer Defenses is the eighth book in the suspense filled , violent, and often hilarious series by Alice Winters.
It’s followed the tumultuous path that Leland “The Sandman”, a lonely contract hitman, finds himself on when he meets an equally lonely PI named Jackson who’s caught on a backyard fence while on a job. Book after book, they find themselves together, working through deep issues (and criminal investigations) towards a complex relationship. One that brings them a strange wonderful future of odd mixture of friends, found family, scary happenings and hilariously funny stories. It’s found them engaged then happily married, with dogs and an illegally adopted teenage son.
Book eight brings in all the many characters from their multiple stories when Waylon, 15 yr old illegally adopted son of Jackson and Leland, is threatened along with his new best friend.
Who is behind the newest danger to Leland and Jackson’s family and life is one of the best elements of this story. There’s so much to it. It’s all the various characters, their partners coming to help. And a new police officer who’s highly suspicious of Leland and his past to add additional tension and drama to the already established growing suspense and anxiety about the situation.
Winters has written a fantastic novel. It’s a fast paced, white knuckle roller coaster narrative ride that keeps the reader on the edge of the seat. With her dialogue that has elements of pain, hilarity and life’s deepest realities. Guns, dogs, friends , love and family. Maybe blow up dolls. And a car. And now a cat.
And with those final reminiscences from Jackson as he watches his “boys” walking ahead, if this is where Winters leaves them, I’m happy.
There’s no indication that this is the finale but somehow it feels like it. While there’s a few things where the author could return to this universe to open up a new chapter, that last sentence feels like a closing scene.
I’m good with that. They are in a wonderful place.
A great story in a highly recommended series.
Cover by Natasha Snow Designs
The Hitman’s Guide series:
The Hitman’s Guide to Making Friends and Finding Love
The Hitman’s Guide to Staying Alive Despite Past Mistakes
The Hitman’s Guide to Tying the Knot Without Getting Shot
The Former Assassin’s Guide to Snagging a Reluctant Boyfriend
The Hitman’s Guide to Righting Wrongs While Causing Mayhem
The Hitman’s Guide to Codenames and Ill-Gotten Gains
The Mercenary’s Guide to Mishaps and Romance
The Hitman’s Guide to Stately Fences and Killer Defenses #8
During my long, lonely years as a hitman, I never realized that one day, I would have a family to call my own.
Now, instead of stalking my targets and taking down people with a flick of my wrist, my specialties lie in things like planning sleepovers (why does Waylon look terrified?), The Fence hour (those are screams of joy), and involving others to help our child succeed (no, of course I didn’t abduct anyone).
But for a guy like me, things can’t stay good for too long. Someone seems to think that I should still be the ruthless hitman I used to be. They want to draw me back into the limelight and prove to me that what I’m living now is a lie.
But they don’t realize how much they’re going to regret meeting the Sandman–especially once they threatened my family.
Jackson
This person seems to be obsessed with an image of Leland from the past, and because of it, we now have a crime boss on our tail and a bounty on Leland’s head. The stalker has no idea that Leland comes with multiple ex-assassins, a sketchy Scotsman, and the chief of police who likes to pretend he doesn’t want to be involved.
I adore my life with Leland just the way it is (someone, please burn down The Fence), and no one is going to ruin that (I will pay well).
They’d better be afraid to sleep because the Sandman is coming (and if they took down The Fence while they were at it, I wouldn’t mind).
“And the little girl realised that just because things were going to be different, it didn’t mean they had to be scary. Different could be fun, and new things could be exciting, and she thanked the Recorder and admitted that perhaps her mother had been right all along.”
-The Recorder Always Knows Best: Cautionary Tales for Incautious Children by Margarita Encimera
Yes! We’re back in Gateway Cottage, Gretna Green, Scotland. It’s book 3 and yes, there’s another fictional tome to give Day’s characters guidance within the fantasy novel! Be still my heart!
Another extraordinary story that brings in multiple new characters, allows the ones we’ve met important new developments in their own lives and storylines, and layers in powerful elements that will impact them individually and the realms . It’s a series of revelations, a story of compelling surprises and mysteries that hit emotionally.
One aspect of Linzi Day’s writing that I find most intriguing and beautifully crafted is the depth of her character development. Each character may appear to have a specific personality and arc but that’s too superficial. For Day often has plotted, supremely I’ll add, far ahead in this character’s journey. There’s hidden information, surprising history and damaging events that will be revealed, novels later, if then, to make the character and their storyline an integral part of the entire plot.
The Hobs, Katy, her ever growing conflicted memories of her grandmother, the bonds, the Kings that factored heavily into her childhood and now as a Recorder, Dola, the sentient being that’s the Gateway House! Each has huge storylines here.
It is difficult to separate out individual aspects of the book because it’s a magnificent magical tapestry of tightly woven narrative threads. Linzi Day’s stories and this series has become my favorite of the year, and I’m predicting that it will land in my top ten of series once completed.
It’s Valentine’s week in the Gateway, and Niki McKnight is preparing to conduct her first bondings for the fated, soul-bonded mates of the Kingdoms.
She was a registrar who married thousands of people in her former job—this will be a breeze … Right?
Wrong! The bondings don’t quite go to plan. Cue hilarity, heartbreak and mysterious magical prophecies for some of our favourite characters.
Niki’s goddaughter Autumn is visiting, and her heart’s desires are to ride a unicorn and be a bridesmaid for the first time. So no pressure then!
And there are mysteries to solve:
Why is the Recorder forbidden from bonding the members of an entire race?
Why is Prince Charming Dai, her childhood crush, suddenly avoiding her?
Why were so many bondmates trying to deceive her gran?
Why is Dola sending everyone gifts?
Why are there no doughnuts, brownies or other sugary goodness?
But in what’s supposed to be the busiest week of the Gateway’s year, Niki finally has some time on her hands to sort her own life out. Even if she still can’t manage to get her hair cut.
In this full-length, light-hearted addition to the Midlife Recorder series, you’ll find humour, tension and magical food as the Recorder confirms the soul bonds for Celts, Galicians, Vikings, Hobs, Picts and Fae.
Now Linzi Day has done it! I’m book immobilized. Her fabulous urban fantasy series and cast of beautifully crafted characters has me so hooked that all I can do is binge read these books until I have no more of them available for devouring! Onwards!
“With the eyes of your realm upon you, it can be too easy to revert to tradition in an effort to avoid an embarrassing mistake. Change is often feared, but a rare person can choose to innovate. Why not you? Demonstrate to your subjects that times change and so must we. Or would you prefer to return to the days of forced marriage, high infant mortality and syphilis and wait patiently for someone to invent coffee?”
-Ruling Regally: A Monarch’s Guide to the 21st Century by Margot Hobart-Smythe
Just one of the many reasons why I love this series is that each novel starts with a quote from a different, albeit totally fictional tome, one that will make a impact on the various rulings factions, including the Recorder herself. Ruling Regally is quoted often and with great precision throughout this story, to my delight and absolute joy in how Day has written and layered her series and world building.
Painting the Blues in Gretna Green brings Niki, the new team that she’s assembling to support her role as Recorder, and Dola, the sentient being that’s the gateway house, new dangerous challenges, major events that offer revelations, bringing growth and powerful development to Niki and those around her.
Author Day has created Kingdoms and cultures of Fae, Viking, Celtic and other mythological figures that will be seen throughout the series and gates in the Recorder’s house. Each being richly detailed, deep in its own history, and culturally distinct from the others.
And the characters from each of them are as intriguing as the realm they originate from. There’s past and current warfare, pain and suffering, loss and love.
It’s what makes them and the series so extraordinary.
In this case there are several ancient injustices that Niki must face and find a way to heal or a way to begin healing a long term damage. And some of it rests with the inaction of past Recorders.
Niki’s own personal trauma and tragedy is tangled with current events and its handling of her emotions and struggles feels every bit as important and meaningful as the other situations that require her attention.
Day has layers upon layers of intricately connected, subtly written storylines, ones that will only emerge to “ping” a aha moment a book later. Just an amazing piece of narrative writing.
As you can imagine, I’m merrily ahead here. But this series will find itself as hardback’s groaning on my shelves.
My powers are growing, and my tolerance is low. My second week in my new role as the Gretna Green Recorder is making the first week look relaxing.
I have quite the to-do list.
✅ Fix a thousand-year-old injustice that threatens the future of the Pictish royal family and their realm? Check.
✅ Test my new Knight Adjutant candidates? Check.
✅ Discover one of those candidates is the guy I had a huge crush on when I was twelve? Oh yeah. Check.
❌ Feed the cat? No, she’s not hungry—which is worrying, very worrying.
❓ Prevent a bloodbath? Let’s freaking hope so.
Niki McKnight is settling in as the new Recorder in the Gretna Gateway in Scotland. She’s joined by the usual colourful cast of magical beings.
Celtic, Fae and Viking royalty all have their own agendas, but none more so than the Pictish royal family.
Magic, psychic powers, a stroppy, condescending cat goddess, and lots of coffee smooth the way.
Niki plans to make her gran proud by reminding everyone that kings and queens are ten-a-penny in the seven realms, but there is ONLY one Recorder, and now she has more power than anyone expected.
Painting the Blues in Gretna Green is perfect for readers who’d enjoy an uplifting story with cozy paranormal fantasy elements. Set in a sentient Scottish house with a woman who needs to learn to wield her increased powers before lives are lost.
Linzi Day and her fantastic series Midlife Recorder are both new to me. And I’m so very excited and thrilled about this new author and urban fantasy adventure she’s sending me on.
It’s got everything I look for and love in main characters and world building. Both are complex and realistic in their respective forms and have so much potential for deeper exploration and growth.
It begins with Niki McKnight, an older woman who has just been widowed and is now mired down in loss. She’s cut herself off from her small group of friends, and she’s bullied by her boss at work. Only her small Maltese dog, Tilly, is keeping her grounded.
Day paints such a raw, painful portrait of a woman who is so despairing, so lost, unable to breathe, she’s incapable of movement. And at this point, she’s hit with one more awful event. A letter from a lawyer with a notice about her grandmother’s death and estate.
Niki is forced into a reluctant journey that becomes an emotional roller coaster of revelations, magical moments,and intense memories as everything Niki is forced to understand that she’s been living with a faded life.
Such a richly crafted, intelligent and inspiring story. Time after time, Nike comes to a point where she’s got to make new connections and decisions about her life, where old perceptions have to change and new ones formed. It’s a remarkable journey and the relationships she forges as she grows are ones the reader engages with as well.
So many amazing characters here to connect with and love. That’s including a sentient house whose storyline is as powerful as Niki’s. What I love is I think the author is giving the readers so many subtle details and elements to think about alongside the amazing storylines that are happening. Tiny little things I puzzle with as scenarios work themselves out. Love that.
The magical moments and systems are intriguing and I can’t wait to see how they expand as her powers as a Recorder grow.
This will definitely be a great favorite of mine. And Niki? She’s right there too!
There is a potential for romance but she’s a widow and the relationship was abusive. She’s in no hurry to go into another relationship.
She’s building something new here. That’s her focus. And I’m here for every single step of her journey.
It’s never too late to learn how to stand up for yourself
Niki McKnight has spent her entire adult life being bullied—first by her husband and then by her boss.
Recently widowed, she’s in dire need of an extreme life makeover. But she never expected it to come in the form of her beloved Gran leaving her a magical Celtic estate and a mysterious new job as a Recorder—whatever the hell that is!
She and Tilly, her adorable Bichon Frise, head to Scotland to claim her inheritance with no freaking clue what’s in store for them.
In Gretna Green, they meet a colourful cast of characters, including a sentient house, talking cat, Celtic god, Fae king and a sketchy lawyer.
Can the woman who wouldn’t stand up to her husband and was bullied by her boss find and wield the authority required to keep Vikings, Pict and Fae royalty in line?
With the help of her family’s psychic gift and some magic – she just might!
MidLife in Gretna Green is perfect for readers who’d enjoy an uplifting story of found family with cozy paranormal fantasy elements. Set in a magical house with a woman who wants to find and use her own voice and finally claim her power.
Demon Dance and Other Disasters, the first in an urban fantasy series, A Spirit Mage’s Journey written by BR Kingsolver, is such an amazing story.
We immediately meet the main character on a vicious hunt for a dangerous vampire. She’s a bounty hunter, 16 year old orphaned Katy Brown ,tough street mage. Thrown out on the streets with nothing by her grandparents after the murder of her parents, she’s done what it takes to live for 5 years, learning how to use her magic, hunt, and barely get by on bringing in the bounties posted.
Kingsolver’s story is dark, gritty, and grounded in details of rawest realities of homelessness, especially as a child, meshed with a fantastical urban fantasy world building. Using the sort of spare fast paced narrative that I’ve come to associate with Kingsolver, it’s that detailed concise scenes, the street children relating their current experiences or circumstances calmly without any real emotion, that lends this it’s own despair and reality of their lives. Or the homeless tent cities that Katy visits for information. It’s believable and heartbreaking.
That it’s fantasy too. Because we’d expect it not to have changed that this aspect of life would have disappeared.
Katy’s recent kill brings her to the notice of the head of the Guild Mages, an offer of a job and perhaps even more.
Such an incredibly well woven tale, horrifying, full of mystery and complexity as well as the realities of life as a teenager with no real support or trust only trauma in her background. Katy is fantastic, so convincing as a street worn teen, tough, yet still vulnerable underneath all those walls she’s erected. Just a fabulous connectable character.
And when I read this, I was unaware there was a second book in the series and. Kingsolver ties up all the plot points, bringing to a satisfying resolution all the storylines of the book and for Katy Brown. When it comes to the finish, she’s ready for a new stage of her life.
Even if I hadn’t seen the second one, I would have been so happy with this novel.
That’s saying something about how completely well written and beautifully crafted it is.
Grab it up if you love urban fantasy fiction. There’s no love or romance. The characters identify themselves in multiple ways, bi, gay heterosexual, nonbinary
Honestly, she’s a teenager. And as many of the street kids here see sex as transactional, a form of survival. FYI
I hunt the lost, the dangerous, and the damned. It’s how I survive. This time? It’s how I might die.
Since my parents were murdered, I’ve survived by hunting down whatever—or whoever—needs finding. Rogue vampires, runaway dogs, missing kids, even deadbeat spouses. If it comes with a paycheck, I take the job.
This hunt is different. A master mage offered me a reward I couldn’t refuse—track down a rogue summoner, stop the demon, and get out. Simple.
But as the bodies pile up and the vulnerable start vanishing, I realize this job is darker, deadlier, and more twisted than anything I’ve faced before. It isn’t just about stopping a summoner—it’s about stopping what comes next.
Welcome to Queen City—Where Magic Hunts in the Shadows
for readers who crave dark, gritty Urban Fantasy
If you love high-stakes magic, relentless action, and heroines who refuse to back down, Demon Dance and Other Disasters will pull you in and never let go.
Set in the same world as BR Kingsolver’s bestselling Rosie O’Grady’s Paranormal Bar and Grill—twelve years after Erin’s journey—the story introduces a new kind of fighter.
Katy Brown isn’t a warrior trained in secret or a chosen one destined for greatness. She’s a survivor. When the Mage Guild hires her to stop a rogue summoner, she takes the job for the payout—until the hunt turns into something far deadlier.
This is urban fantasy at its most intense, packed with magic, mystery, and danger lurking in every shadow. Fans of BR Kingsolver’s work will recognize the sharp storytelling, immersive worldbuilding, and unforgettable characters that make every page pulse with energy.
Join the Hunt: What Lies Ahead
A world where power is rutheless and the vulnerable pay the price.
A fierce, street-smart heroine who never wanted to be a hero.
Dark, high-stakes magic—raw, unpredictable, and deadly.
“Magic runs the machines. Secrets run the city. And Squad 54 stands between order and chaos.”
Another excellent story in The Knack series, albeit really different from the previous book. In A Knack for Metal and Bone we saw the characters come together for an impossible mission. Squad 54 survived, but not without losses, learning some devastating truths about their own lives and setting them up for a new journey upon their return to New Torwood City. And Princess Rowan Andula, who was the mission’s tech has to stay in the City, looking for answers about the traumatic event that left her an amputee, her brother the heir in a coma, and her father the King dead. That means that her love,
Conall, werewolf Commander has to leave her and the City on his own mission to find out what happened to his brother, and the rest of the mages they were fighting.
This story divides into two journeys and sustainably different tales of high suspense and action. One is Conall’s as he’s dangerously crosses the Meadows and wastelands in search of knowledge about his family and brother. His journey continuously ties into the ongoing struggles back in the City and Princess Rowan’s story against hidden and not so hidden enemies of the court and her past. She’s surrounded by those who would see her not just fail but perish. And her part of the story is emotional and fraught with anger.
They are ties together by multiple sources, elements and somethings I won’t give away.
Each relationship, each person is beautifully rendered by their own words, cultures, clothing and even religion. Defined by their details and their deep of connections, to the land and each other.
I will warn the reader, much like the first story, a character dies here. One we’ve come to know and care about. Such is the nature of this world. I expect this to happen again as the series continues.
There’s a strong cliffhanger type of ending as there is no resolution to part of one major conflict and storyline. But the author has no information as to any further series book release.
It’s a wait and see status. This is a long book but it flew by fast for me. It’s that excellent.
I’ll be happy to wait for the next however long it takes.
Magic runs the machines. Secrets run the city. And Squad 54 stands between order and chaos.
Conall thought he’d buried the past with his brother. But when a cryptic summons surfaces—tied to a long-vanished village and a wolf who should be dead—he’s forced to retrace the path of the disbanded Squad 54. What he finds in the shadows could unravel not only their fate, but the fragile balance between elf and human kind.
Back in New Torwood City, Princess Rowan Andula is done playing the figurehead. With a seat on the ruling council, she’s ready to fight for her family’s legacy—until the city’s giant mech guardian begins to fail. Talos isn’t just a machine. He’s the heart of the city. His collapse could bring down everything her ancestors fought to preserve.
As enemies close in and new treacheries are revealed, Conall and Rowan must face the same question: How far will you go to protect what you love?
Mech and Magic is the second thrilling installment of The Knack Series—where ancient tech, dangerous politics, and fierce loyalties collide.
Books with fae characters and/ or fae realms are prevalent in current fantasy and romantasy genres, so much so that I sort of look for stories with elements outside of this genre. But Kingsolver, a gifted author who’s novels I don’t read enough of, has written a fabulous novel of adventure, fae privateers, complex fantasy political betrayal, royal scheming and fiery battles on land and sea, set on alternate historical landscape.
This is a world where one event, wherein King Charles II, in 1680, kidnaps the fae daughter of the Summer King has catastrophic consequences. The fae invade England across the very Veil erected to keep the races and realms separate , destroying multiple European cities and England’s empire forever. Leaving the human landscape, political parties and governments changed.
These aren’t your typical Fae, the ones that are human coded as written by other authors. Kingsolver has created fairies and a variety of different fae that are as alien to humans as I would like and hope to read. Even the fae courts look and act differently to humans and to each other. Not that any human being would ever want to willingly go to either court or the Fae realm.
From their physical appearance to their personalities and perspectives on the human race and humanity’s ideas of emotions, from love to empathy, it’s clear they are a complex, and clearly defined older race. Apart and superior.
Which makes Alanis Nightshade, the fairy pirate and trader, a fascinating character. A high born daughter of the dark Winter court, she’s the owner and Captain of the unique magical Fae ship, the Merry Prankster, who sails the seas through both sides the Veil in search of cargo to sell and profit to make.
It’s her ship that makes her a target of political scheming and hidden enemies. It’s a ship that is prized by more than one group of individuals who have their own agendas.
The fabulous tale of intrigue and high suspense and survival is nerve wracking, complex, and highly entertaining. It’s beautifully detailed with Edinburgh’s landscape, imaginative creatures and wildly appealing designs of the Fae Realm. And the indescribable beauty and horror of the fae who rule there.
The only reason this doesn’t have a 5 star rating is that i wanted the ending to have been fully executed, more details and the drama that was expected given everything that came before.
And honestly? I wanted to see those fae on their dangerous unicorns riding into battle, obliterating the army before them. What an amazing scene! My mind is still engaged with their wild journey.
When Charles II kidnapped a Sidhe princess in 1680, her father didn’t send diplomats—he sent armies. The Fae stormed through the Veil, leveled cities, and rewrote history. Centuries later, Humans and Fae still share the Mortal Realm uneasily… and England never recovered its empire.
Alanis Nightshade, Winter Court Fairy, smuggler, and occasional pirate, prefers to stay far from royal drama. She flies under the radar, smuggling rare goods between worlds and minding her own business. But when she’s stranded in Edinburgh during a coup, she’s dragged straight into the kind of trouble she tries to avoid.
A new Sidhe king has seized Scotland.
He’s hungry for conquest, and he wants what Alanis possesses—
a ship that can cross the Veil and carry an army straight into Faerie.
If she doesn’t outwit him, outrun him, or outright kill him, both realms may pay the price.
“A royal tinker and a rogue soldier must unite to stop the monsters threatening their city—and unravel the secrets lurking within it.”
I’ve been incredibly lucky lately as the books I’ve grabbed up by “new to me” authors have turned out to be fabulous novels and, in some cases, great series. This is one of those.
I wasn’t familiar with Kim McDougall before but she’s firmly in my TBR list now. A Knack for Metal and Bone, the first in her series, The Knack, is a fantastic steampunk fantasy novel. Inventive, full of magnificent characters and epic storytelling, once I started I couldn’t put it down.
The characters are richly detailed and beautifully crafted in their variety of backgrounds and forms. From mech to shifters to elves to extraordinary creatures that emerge from the Meadow, the world is full of characters the engage both mind and heart with their journey and their own unique abilities.
Rowan is one I count as my favorite character and a uniquely crafted hero in this genre. She’s a royal princess who prefers her mechanics and workshop, avoiding her role in society and court. She’s a mech engineer, with a unique talent and touch, one that comes with an own story. She lost her arm as a child in an attack, one that sent her older brother, the heir into a 20 year coma, and cost the Kingdom their father who died.
Now she works in her tower workshop, with her mech arm and mech bird as companion, visiting her comatose brother daily and beloved Aunt. Until a mission changes her life.
Rowan is a masterful character. Multilayered, believable, grounded by her intelligence and ability with machines. Brace without stupidity, thoughtful and just an impressive personality. And her equal is the wolf shifter, Conall. An ex-commander in the Kingdom’s Rangers, he’s been hiding due to his actions in a past war. But this mission brings them together with others of equally strong or strange abilities.
The mission, their journey through wildly unpredictable situations and weird environments is exciting, dangerous and compelling. It’s breathtaking reading. And watching the growth of the individuals coming together, well most of them, into a cohesive unit is everything. The relationships between them are believable, grounded and real.
Which often makes the events suspenseful and nerve wracking. Because the danger is high at each stage of the journey.
The ending sets up the next story. It’s a steady progression as they set out to continue forward on the knowledge they’ve gained.
They’ve finished one stage but the next one, the very dangerous one is just starting.
This is such a fantastic story, full of outstanding characters and epic storytelling that I’m excited to share it.
A royal tinker and a rogue soldier must unite to stop the monsters threatening their city—and unravel the secrets lurking within it.
Rowan doesn’t just work with machines—she hears them. The hum of engines, the whisper of gears and wires—they speak to her through the magic that flows from her mech hand. Whether she’s fine-tuning the colossal automaton that protects New Torwood City or toiling in her workshop, being a mechanic is the only life she truly enjoys. But the Regent’s Council wants more. They demand a princess who will embrace the pomp and ceremony of royal duty, not a tinker with oil-stained hands.
When she’s unexpectedly recruited into Ranger Squad 54 for a mission deep into the wild Meadows, Rowan leaps at the chance. Finally, a way to serve her city and put her unique talents to use—far from the glittering halls of royalty.
Conall, an ex-commander, knows the dangers of the Meadows firsthand. Discharged from the Rangers when his inner wolf broke free during battle, he now makes a living running rare artifacts between New Torwood and the southern cities. But the Rangers have a new mission for him—one that could clear his tarnished record. A group of international scientists has vanished, and recovering them is critical for the future of New Torwood. Failure could push the city into a war it cannot afford.
Thrown together on a high-risk mission, Rowan, Conall, and the Rangers of Squad 54 will face unimaginable dangers in the wilderness and uncover dark secrets that could shake the foundations of the city they’ve sworn to protect. But the real menace might be at the heart of New Torwood itself.
Embark on a thrilling adventure with A Knack for Metal and Bone, the first book in an epic new fantasy-steampunk series from the author of The Valkyrie Bestiary.
Evan is the second in Taylor’s crossover series in her fabulous Reckless Damned universe. I’m highly fond of the foundation series and its sequel featuring Lucifer’s sons and their fated mates. Just incredible tales.
The Wild Edges contains characters from many of their stories and preceding events which have been woven into newer characters and their search for their own fated mates.
Evan and his clan are werewolves with ties to the original characters who are mentioned here. The dramatic storyline carries over from Finlay’s book and his tragic story, the ripples of which continue on centuries later.
There are trigger warnings associated with Reid story that are listed on Taylor’s website and I suggest that a reader should take the time to check them out. It includes DV, child abuse, and physical violence.
Reid suffers from his childhood trauma and the damage inflicted by his father and clan. He’s has untreated ADHD as well as a terrible self image issues from years of neglect and continual abuse. This includes his depression. All of which are handled throughout the storyline with sensitivity and a clear understanding of these issues by the author.
So although it’s titled Evan, the book is really about Reid, the human born into the jaguar clan. And how Evan, the werewolf, handles his involvement in Reid’s past and reappearance in Evan’s clan’s territory.
Because that’s as hurtful and traumatic to them, but especially to Reid.
I really enjoyed their romance and the entire storyline with multiple new characters, family members as well as some of my old favorites. Like Logan.
Taylor’s setting up several different couples for their fated mates storylines, all of which look intriguing. Calan’s next up. A glimpse of his is a bit of a cliffhanger.
I’m so looking forward to it.
Another winner.
Book cover design: BreathlessLit
The Wild Edges:
Finlay #1
Evan #2
Calan #3 – Dec 9,2026
Complete universe in the order it should be read:
▪️Reckless Damned Series ( the OG foundation series /Lucifer’s sons)
When I first met Reid, I failed to see the signs that were right in front of me. He asked me to do one thing–take him away and keep him safe.
I turned my back on him.
Now I have to live with the guilt and shame of knowing I let him down. He can’t forgive me, and that’s okay.
Because I’ll never forgive myself.
When Reid’s family comes to take him away, I have a chance to redeem myself. I can keep him safe. But the more I watch him, the more I fall for the man who doesn’t see his self-worth.
Trouble is, can either of us forget the past in favour of the future? Or did my mistake all those years ago cost me any chance with the man of my dreams?
Either way, I’m not giving up until I find out.
Evan is a heartfelt hurt/comfort, M/M shifter x human romance. The second in the Wild Edges series, these books are best enjoyed in order. Each story follows a new couple, and always ends in a HEA.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 