Tag: series finale

Review: SOS Hotel: End of the Road (SOS Hotel #10) by Adam Vex and Ariana Nash

Rating: 5🌈

Welp, it’s finally here! The end of the road and the insane finale for our beloved triad of paranormal lovers, Adam, Fancy Fangs aka Victor , and the ever fabulous Zee! 

This story has everything! Road trips gone wrong, supernatural mobsters, Miami because, you know, Florida, sex, music, crazed family stuff, Florida, frogs, drama, dragons, frogs!  

Florida. 

And of course, finally, very importantly, a happy ending for our beloved otherworldly throuple. 

It’s a veritable kitchen sink of storylines, events, weirdly funny characters and makes for a celebration of a send off. 

Love it and them! Been a great ride!

Cover design by Ariana Nash 

SOS Hotel:

  • For a Supernaturally Safe Stay #1
  • Friendly Sanctuary for the Fiendishly Fabulous #2
  • Sleep with Us #3 
  • Great Service from Top to Bottom #4
  • No Rest for the Wicked #5 
  • Ho, Ho, No #5.5
  • Luxury To Die For #6
  • Your Final Resting Place #7 -ends this sequence of events.
  • On The Road #8 – starts a mini-trilogy 
  • Icy Reception #9 
  • End of the Road #10 – finale 

Holiday release!

 SOS HOTEL: Ho, Ho, No by Adam Vex, Ariana Nash❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Buy link

        SOS HOTEL: End of the Road

    

Blurb 

It’s the end! Again.

Being on the road has been fun an’ all (no, it hasn’t). Van life is awesome (it sucks, there’s no room for my fabulousness). But all good things must end, according to Fancy Fangs. He’s wrong. Good things should last forever.

Just so long as me, Victor and Adam don’t end, right?

So after we solved a burly werewolf murder, got ourselves mixed up with an evil luxury hotel, we’re now in Florida! Sun, sea, and… the troll mafia, a trap we walked right into, and did I mention… THERE’S F*CKING FROGS HERE?!

We all gonna die.

SOS HOTEL 10: End of the Road, is the end of the road for our hotel threesome. If you’ve read all nine previous books, you’d be silly not to read this one, the last ever one – for real this time. Our terrible trio are more powerful than ever, but so is Adam’s wicked brother. The epic showdown is here.

  • Publisher: Crazy Ace Publishing
  • Accessibility: Learn more
  • Publication date: May 23, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 212 pages
  • Book 10 of 10: SOS Hotel

Review:  Moonstriker (The Summertide Chronicles #4) by Sam Burns 

Rating: 4.75🌈

Sam Burns fantastic series, The Summertide Chronicles, comes to an end, not with a bang but with wedding, which is attended by all the other characters and couples. 

Was it a great finale? Yes.  Sticking with the theme and incredible complexity of this series and characters, it is.  Burns may not have written a story that explosively dynamic in its entirety but its narrative is still powerful in its own way, deeply satisfying and compelling to the end.

Mt. Slate is shaking the earth, threatening to destroy the entire world, unless the four families gathering together there can find a way to make it stop.

Kit Moonstriker’s entire life has revolved around The Plan, one he and his crystal, Nikka, have made/foreseen to keep Mt Slate’s from shaking apart and the world saved.  It all comes down now to Aubrey, an orphan raised apart from the families. 

Everything about the story is so different and beautifully written. Kit’s story is further explained and more importantly, why all those decisions were made by himself are now revealed. And Aubrey’s history comes into full view, for himself too. His lack of bonding with a crystal, his family connections, and his emotional perspective on life and family. 

Having the two men working together, discussing their own lives and their misconceptions about each other, it really lets the reader into their growing relationship and intimacy. 

It’s also a slow melding of big moments and storylines as another huge aspect of this story emerges during this journey of theirs. 

Burns’ fantastic story swells to a close with a sense of wonder, many “ah ha” moments and scenes of love and joy. 

It makes sense when you have a series where the characters are not just magical people but beings who are sentient crystals and even shifters.  What an incredible series this has been.  I truly love it and could have stayed for many more stories.

It’s fitting that we end on a wedding.  A great satisfying sendoff. 

If you are looking for a beautifully crafted, outstanding piece of fantasy fiction, grab up The Summertide Chronicles by Sam Burns.  It’s one of my favorite series and one I’m highly recommending!

Love these covers too. 

The Summertide Chronicles:

  • Gloombringer #1
  • Dawnchaser #2 
  • Sunrunner #3 
  • Moonstriker #4 – finale 

Buy Link

        Moonstriker (The Summertide Chronicles Book 4)

    

Blurb 

I’ve spent the better part of a decade trying to save the world. Twice a century, Mount Slate threatens to erupt, and for my entire life, the four families in charge haven’t seemed to care about their impending doom.

So it fell to me to try to fix things.

To make peace.

Me, a man whose greatest skill is pissing people off so much that they challenge me to a duel, and then killing them in that duel.

Now the moment is here, and my clever stone is telling me that one man—a sweet, innocent, infuriating judgmental bastard—is the only one who’s capable of saving the world. And I have to help him do it.

I’m starting to wonder if the world is even worth saving.

Moonstriker is the last in a series of four books, starring one cynical not-quite-assassin, one ray of sunshine, and one very grumpy mountain. It both Aubrey and Kit’s HEA, as well as the conclusion of the overall series arc.

Review:  Sun and Stone (Elementally  Yours Book 5) by F.N. Manning 

Review: 4.5🌈

Sun and Stone is the finale story for F.N. Manning’s terrific paranormal romance series about a group of elemental mages getting their branding (think magical acceptance from each of their own magic elements) and finding love in the process. Often with other mages or paranormal characters. 

The series started with a series mystery and wrapped it up within a couple of books then went on to tell stories with characters from the university of magic that’s a prominent location. 

But Sun and Stone might be my favorite. The characters are older, and when the story opens up, Perry is leaving the building where his magic is checked and reviewed for potential and power levels. At his later years, he knows he’s running out of time to become a mage and that his now  limited magic will be locked soon. And he’s devastated. 

These early moments connect the reader into Perry’s broken heart so quickly that when he collapses into a stranger’s arms, weeping, we get it.

It’s a heartbreaking moment. 

But as the stranger introduces himself and offers Perry comfort, a sweet, unexpected friendship is struck up between them. For Flynn knows exactly what Perry is feeling as he’s been forced to accept the reality about his magic as well.  

As the men explore the possibility of a relationship between them , revealing their past experiences and dashed hopes,  author Manning writes a story that gives us two wonderful characters growing stronger together and a romantic connection to root for.

There’s a dramatic twist or two. A villain who isn’t much of a surprise but a great ending that’s absolutely satisfying and is also a fantastic way to see the series out. 

Highly enjoyable and my favorite couple of the series. 

A winner. 

Elementally Yours (5 book series)

The Frost Or The Bite #1

Strikes Twice #2

Bold As Brass #3

Where There’s Smoke #4

Sun and Stone #5 – finale 

Buy link

        Sun and Stone: M/M Paranormal Romance (Elementally Yours Book 5)

    

Blurb 

Can love outshine magic when time runs out?

Perry has spent a lifetime chasing magic, but the clock is ticking, and he’s still not a full-fledged wizard. As his window to earn elemental stone power closes, he’s struggling to imagine a life without magic. But when he bumps into a kind stranger and meets Fynn Callahan, everything changes.

Once a lover of sun magic, Fynn shows Perry that it’s possible to move on and build a new life. And the more Perry gets to know the cheerful graphic designer with a sweet tooth, the easier it is to believe he’ll be just fine—especially if he winds up in Fynn’s arms.

But something strange is happening with Fynn’s powers. If they get to the bottom of what’s wrong, then Fynn will get another chance to gain magic. But if only one of them can become a caster, is their relationship doomed? 

Will Perry find a way to keep his magic and his man, or will he lose both forever

  • Publication date: March 23, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 186 pages

Review:  Night Shift Dragons  (DFZ Book 3) by Rachel Aarons

Rating: 4.75⭐️

Rachel Aarons does her complex characters splendid in the finale story, Night Shift Dragons  (DFZ Book 3) by Rachel Aarons. 

One of the most compelling themes in the series has been the father/daughter relationship between Opal Yong-ae and her father, Yong, the Dragon of Korea. 

Btw, that’s them on the cover. Fabulous. 

Once a loving dynamic when she was very young, as she grew up, the relationship became a constant struggle for independence and freedom, to be seen as a individual, not as a Dragon’s gem, literally her name. The narrative, at first sees this dynamic from Opal’s perspective, changing over gradually to that of the ancient dragon’s view of his daughter. 

Night Shift Dragons is all about the young and old growing into their relationships, developing their personalities and abilities in the process.  This is a highly emotional story that still action packed , full of magically imaginative moments. Scary ones. 

 Whether they’re a young powerful shaman like Opal learning to control her abilities, the ancient dragon Yong finally recognizing he’s repeating patterns from his despised father and changing, to astonishingly a young god like DFZ who wants to be a different type of city if her people will let her , this book is full of the storylines and elements that bring us with all of them through their harrowing journey and the wildly different paths each takes to get to the ending. 

I love how maniacal this city feels in its very being. A place Timothy Leary or an acid trip would envision and maybe still not be wild enough. Then make it sentient but dependent upon the will and desire of those in it. Amazing.

All the side characters are equally incredible. Nik , Opal’s mom, White Snake, the Dragon of Detroit. On and on. 

There are parts where it was a bit dense but there’s so much to the city and magical systems that I get it. 

But as someone new to this universe and author, what an amazing world and fantastic series. 

I’m going back to pick up the first series. 

Highly recommended! Love the covers!

Cover Illustration by Tia Rambaran, Cover Design by Rachel Aaron

The DFZ Trilogy (2nd of 3 series)

Minimum Wage Magic 

Part-Time Gods 

Night Shift Dragons 

Buy link

        Night Shift Dragons (DFZ Book 3)

    

Blurb 

They say family always sticks together, but when the whole world—humans, dragons, and gods—wants your dad dead, “filial responsibility” takes on a whole new meaning.

My name is Opal Yong-ae, and I’m in way over my head. I thought getting rid of my dad’s bad luck curse would put things back to normal. Instead, I’m stuck playing caretaker to the Great Dragon of Korea. That wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t such a jerk, or if every dragon on the planet wasn’t out to kill him, or if he were my only problem.

Turns out, things can always get worse in the DFZ. When a rival spirit attacks my god/boss to turn the famously safety-optional city into a literal death arena with Nik as his bloody champion, I’m thrust onto the front lines and way out of my comfort zone. When gods fight, mortals don’t usually survive, but I’m not alone this time. Even proud old dragons can learn new tricks, and with everything I love falling to pieces, the father I’ve always run from might just be the only force in the universe stubborn enough to pull us back together.

The final book in the DFZ trilogy featuring dysfunctional dragon families, magic gone haywire, and a city on the brink of apocalypse. Again.

  • Publisher: Aaron/Bach (May 5, 2020)
  • Publication date: May 5, 2020
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 460 pages

Review:  Alphas Never Hide (Willow Lake Supernaturals Book 5) by Lori Ames

Rating: 4.5🌈

Alphas Never Hide brings Lori Ames’ wonderful Willow Lake Supernaturals series to a end by featuring the reluctant Alpha Hayden finally accepting his mantle as the Alpha of the Willow Lake Supernaturals and finding his fated mate in a newly discovered hostage, Ryley, a faun. 

I’ll be the first to admit I was finding Hayden tedious. His constant denial about his Alpha status and the continuing pity party about how everything was his fault was off putting.  And Ames starts off with Hayden in the same pattern here. Lone wolf, whining about the past and his criminal brother. Got it.

Thankfully, a new character offers a change in direction and growth for Hayden. That’s Ryley, a faun who’s been abducted as part of Robbie’s supernatural trafficking operation and freed himself. 

Ryley has some speciesism issues due to his dreadful herd’s behavior and the author works through these issues skillfully to highlight what’s special about Willow Lake and to recap the inhabitants of the community. Really good work!

I absolutely loved Ryley and thought this character redeemed Hayden’s, allowing some long overdue personality growth and character development. 

One of my highlights is the scene where we see the magic of the moment when Hayden accepts his Alpha status flowing through the air and the community. That’s was remarkable. 

I’m not sure if this is the end of the trafficking storyline or not.  It’s the end of Robbie’s part in it.  But there is a sequel series coming out soon.  The Willow Lake Pack series and the fated mate romance of Parker and Levi launches that one. 

Stay tuned!

I’m sure the characters will cross over and be in everyone’s business and storylines. I’m definitely looking forward to this. 

I enjoyed seeing Hayden accomplish his goal and become the Alpha and get such a fantastic fated mate in Ryley.  

A definite winner.

Willow Lake Supernaturals Series

Note: Books in this series are best enjoyed when read in order.

Hellhounds Never Lie #1  (Ash and Dillon)

Wolves Always Bite #2  (Jeremy and Adrian)

Oracles Always Win #3  (Jake and Gage)

Cats Never Fly #4 (Simon and Ogden)

Alphas Never Hide #5 (Hayden and Ryley) – series finale 

Buy link

        Alphas Never Hide (Willow Lake Supernaturals Book 5)

    

Blurb 

The wolf who refuses to be Alpha.

Hayden Walker might be trapped in Willow Lake by guilt and duty, but he’s no one’s alpha. It doesn’t matter how many times people call him Alpha, with a capital A like it’s his name, he just isn’t—just ask his last pack. They had no problem rejecting him to follow his traitorous brother, Robbie, twelve years ago.

Hayden thought he’d come to terms with what happened back then, but it turns out some things don’t get easier to accept with time. After discovering his brother’s latest sinister activities, Hayden can’t hide from the truth anymore. He has to stop him, particularly when Ryley Bell, his fated mate, is his brother’s latest victim.

Hayden can’t let his brother harm anyone else. Robbie won’t take anyone else from him. Not again. Never again.

Tags: MM Fated Mates Paranormal Romance, a wolf who refuses to be Alpha, a faun who doesn’t put up with his mate’s nonsense, let’s pretend a kick in the face is a sign of love at first sight, the Eternal Magic is a persistent diva, the confrontation between brothers we’ve all been waiting for, Hayden has a pack whether he wants one or not, he will also get his happily-ever-after whether he wants one or not, wolves should listen to their clever mates, and, most importantly, not all fauns play flutes.

Willow Lake Supernaturals Series

Note: Books in this series are best enjoyed when read in order.

Book 1 – Hellhounds Never Lie (Ash and Dillon)

Book 2 – Wolves Always Bite (Jeremy and Adrian)

Book 3 – Oracles Always Win (Jake and Gage)

Book 4 – Cats Never Fly (Simon and Ogden)

Book 5 – Alphas Never Hide (Hayden and Ryley)

Alphas Never Hide is the fifth and final book in the Willow Lake Supernaturals series, but DON’T WORRY! We aren’t leaving Willow Lake, not when there are still so many characters waiting for their happily-ever-afters! Levi and Parker’s book will be the first release the new 

Willow Lake Pack series! It is coming soon!

Review: Shadow & Storms  (The Legends of Thezmarr Book 4) by Helen Scheuerer

Rating: 4.75⭐️

The Legends of Thezmarr made Helen Scheurer a new author I put on my auto read list based on the three books that I read in this series. The strong female protagonist with a powerful sense of her destiny and the poignant nature of her storyline combined with a sensational complex magical elements and the kingdoms on the verge of war made this a perfect series to lose myself in.

Now comes the finale, Shadow & Storms, and the culmination of all the great adventures, powerful moments and character developments in one epic story.  Does it deliver? Yes it does. 

There’s so many things that make this book stand out for me. Absolutely standout glory scenes that, when they occur in the narrative, they make the already heavily invested reader stop and yell out! 

Scheuerer remembers that it’s the heartrending intimate moments of war and loss as well as those of legend in the making, the heart stirring calls to battle that make a story lasting and memorable. And writes both into her narrative of epic conflict and dark fantasy. 

Scenes in which the congress and deep friendships of women are made and build the vast network of relationships to keep their rebellion alive. That’s incredible work. It’s Thea, Wren, Anya, also Adrienne and Dru as well as Audra, pulling together the establishment of women empowering each other. 

And as this will tie up the relationship of Thea and Warsword Wilder Hawthorne, it’s a great aspect of their growth as a couple to see their roles switch as Wilder becomes the one who needs to recover and reconnect with those around him. The maturity and development in them both makes the story and their characters even better as the author was able to show a greater evolution as the storylines progressed. 

The ending, which, yes, left me, satisfied, sad, but also very much totally feeling that certain aspects went the way they were supposed to go. And happily, sister Wren is set up for her own magical epic adventure in a sequel series. 

For now, Warsword Thea and Warsword Wilder are left together, off to make their own adventures. 

A absolutely stunning story and one I’m definitely recommending. Love the series. 

Covers. Love the simplicity. 

The Legends of Thezmarr – 4 books completed:

Blood & Steel #1

Vows & Ruins #2

Fate & Furies #3

Shadow & Storms #4

Sequel series (Wren and Torj) :

The Ashes of Thezmarr (2 book series to date)

Iron & Embers #1

Thorns & Fire #2 – July 31,2025

Buy link

        Shadow & Storms: An epic romantic fantasy (The Legends of Thezmarr Book 4)

    

Blurb 

“She was ready to shed blood, ready to take back what was hers.”

The time has come to make one last stand against the forces of cursed men and monsters. But Thea’s enemies are only getting stronger. With allies divided and an outnumbered army, she must race against her own fate to secure the future of the midrealms – or die trying.

A prophecy is looming, and Thea’s life is in the balance. Does she have the power to cheat death itself?

Love and loyalty will be tested. Bonds will fracture forever. But all must fight for a better world.

In the final war for survival, will Thea and Wilder emerge victorious? Or will the shadows consume them at last?

Fans of Fourth Wing, The Witcher and The Bridge Kingdom, brace yourselves for sizzling romance, found family and heart-pounding battles in Shadow & Storms, the epic finale to The Legends of Thezmarr.

  • Publisher: Alchemy (June 20, 2024)
  • Publication date: June 20, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 427 pages

Review: The Grip of Death (Arcane Hearts Book 8) by Nazri Noor

Rating: 4.5🌈

The Grip of Death does it job! It pulls together all the many fabulous characters, various universes, and multiple storylines to give the long term romance of Jackson Pryde and his fiancée, Xander Wright, the wedding of Jackson ‘s wildest dreams and end the series longest running mystery. 

That’s a lot of elements and stuff to jam into one book. Because at eight books, this couple has had a lot of fun, many adventures, and the Black Market itself is full of the most memorable Masters of the most interesting fields of magic one could imagine.

Every one, including the Goddess Hecate and the adorable sentient AI family members, Lore and Whitby, are present at the goings on, new mystery, and a relocation of the wedding to, where else, the Summer Palace, courtesy of King Oberon.

The author balances the storyline of the many characters and elements involved in the couple’s wedding with the ongoing process of completing the arcane engine his parents had started as well  as launching the guild of artificers.  This arcane engine process brings the story back to the original mystery of the original destruction of guild of artificers and the deaths of Jackson’s parents. 

The story is highly entertaining, extremely suspenseful, and action packed. But Noor never forgets about the emotional impact of family and relationships , writing moments of genuine poignancy and deep love. 

I’m thrilled with the ending and this book and series are a definite recommendation for me. 

Arcane Hearts:

A Touch of Fever #1

A Stroke of Brilliance #2

An Iron Fist #3

A Velvet Glove #4

Hand of Glory #5

A Clap of Thunder #6

The Claws of Winter #7

The Grip of Death #8 – finale 

Cover art by Christian Bentulan coversbychristian.com

Buy link

        The Grip of Death (Arcane Hearts Book 8)

    

Blurb 

Wedding bells. Death knells.

Jackson Pryde and Xander Wright are hard at work preparing for their upcoming wedding. Good thing they have everything they need right in the Black Market, whether it’s an enormous cake or the perfect wedding rings.

Jack is working on an incredible project, too: an arcane engine inspired by his parents’ schematics. If it works, artificers and mages alike will unlock untold stores of energy, making it the guild’s greatest discovery to date.

 But it’s not all wine and roses. Echoes from the past point to dark secrets still lurking within the Black Market. Jackson and Xander must unearth these mysteries before they wreak havoc and ruin the wedding… or put their very lives in danger.

  • Publication date: February 28, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 204 pages

Review:  Two Thousand Promises  ( Kings of Chaos Book #5) by Jocelynn Drake

Rating: 4🌈

Two Thousand Promises finishes the Kings of Chaos series with the last of their clan to get their fated mate so they can all finally go back home to China.

Jocelynn Drake’s series has been excellent. From the beginning, the Chinese vampire, the cultural elements, and their history has added a richness and depth to a well developed, and thoughtful fantasy universe.  Dragons, elves, witches, and Chinese warrior vampires! What an incredible combination!

And Two Thousand Shadows, the fourth book, gave us and the series a fantastic dramatic ending, full of vivid battle sequences, emotional moments and scenes that tied up major plot lines and character relationships.  Realistically, that book was the series finale. 

And the clan started to prepare for their journey home, back to China. 

That left just the relationship between Xiao Dan and Huli, the fox spirit, unresolved.  That’s the storyline of Two Thousand Promises.  It’s a sweet addendum to a basically finished series, a group of alternating chapters where we see the progression of their relationship over time.

And a protagonist who has been in Huli’s life but just appears now as a dramatic character. 

Huli is a sweet character, Drake captured the essence of a nonhuman  who’s in love with a man so well. And Xiao Dan is someone we’ve gotten to know over the series, together , stumbling towards a relationship, it’s a sweet romance.

Honestly, I wish they could have been folded into the other book, Min the villain just doesn’t have the same energy as the rest of the characters. 

But it’s been a fabulous series and a grand finale. One I highly recommend reading.

Love the covers, the concept. Fantastic.

The Kings of Chaos :

  • Two Thousand Dreams #1
  • Two Thousand Tears #2
  • Two Thousand Blades #3
  • Two Thousand Shadows #4
  • Two Thousand Promises #5

Buy link

        Two Thousand Promises (Kings of Chaos Book 5)

    

Blurb 

He promised me forever…But she came to take my soul.

Huli had dedicated his entire existence to making himself into something worthy of Xiao Dan.

But as he stood on the brink of claiming the vampire’s heart, an evil deal he’d made centuries ago was coming due.

Min wanted Xiao Dan’s soul.

Would he lose Xiao Dan when he confessed his ugly promise? And could he stop Min before it was too late?

Two Thousand Promises is the fifth and final novel in the Kings of Chaos series. This book contains a reluctant vampire who is finally giving in to the thousand-year seduction of a sly fox spirit determined to claim his mate, a nosy family who wants all the spilled tea, snark, angst, magic, found family, brotherly bickering, chaos, cuddles, secrets, and an endless love.

  • Publication date: February 21, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 230 pages

Review:  Mother of Death and Dawn  (The War of Lost Hearts, #3) by Carissa Broadbent

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Mother of Death and Dawn is the final story of Carissa Broadbent’s fantastic dark fantasy series, The War of Lost Hearts. 

Broadbent’s epic series has crossed oceans, venturing into various worlds and reaching beyond into many magical realms. She’s created a multitude of cultures, mythologies, and monsters who both have helped,hindered, and destroyed the many paths that the main characters Tisaanah, Max, and Aefe are on to the final tumultuous battle. 

There’s no question that the author has done a superlative job in this book.  The sheer number of storylines and characters that have been created throughout in the series, then had their roles and personalities developed fully for greater purpose, is astounding. It comes to a fruition here as plot lines are gathered in, explanations given, actions held accountable, and the characters are all there , as needed, for that final memorable battles and emotional drama.

There are some characters I never could throughly understand. Ones who I felt never really got the consequences of their actions, as heinous as they were. Nor were the characters who were sorely affected and damaged over time as deeply explored as I had hoped. Aefe is such a unique character that I would have liked to have a different arc for her. 

That finale and those battles were rich in detail and magically dark. Fantastic action sequences!

I loved how the story ended and this series is one that I am highly recommending for fantasy readers and great characters. 

The War of Lost Hearts:

Daughter of No Worlds #1

Children of Fallen Gods #2

Mother of Death and Dawn #3

Buy link

        Mother of Death and Dawn (The War of Lost Hearts Book 3)

    

Blurb 

Tell me, little butterfly, what would you do for love?

In the wake of a crushing defeat, Tisaanah and Maxatarius have been ripped apart. Tisaanah is desperate to rescue Max from his imprisonment, even as her people’s fight for freedom grows more treacherous. But within the walls of Ilyzath, Max’s mind is a shadow of what it once was… leaving his past a mystery and his future at the mercy of Ara’s new, ruthless queen.

Meanwhile, in the Fey lands, Aefe has been dragged back into this world by a king who vows to destroy civilizations in her name. But even as her past returns to claim her, her former self is a stranger.

Tisaanah, Max, and Aefe are thrust into the center of a cataclysm between the human and Fey worlds. The unique magic they share is key to either winning the war, or ending it.

But that power demands sacrifice. Tisaanah may be forced to choose between love and duty. Max cannot forge his future without confronting his past. And Aefe must decide between reclaiming who she was, or embracing who she has become.

The choices they make will either reshape this world forever…or end it..

In the harrowing finale of the War of Lost Hearts trilogy, a tale of romance, magic, vengeance, and redemption comes to a close — perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Raven Kennedy.

Review:  Rock and a Hard Place: An MM Alien Science Fiction Romance (The Little Ships #2) by J Evermore

Rating: 4🌈

The finale novel to the wonderful Head Above Water, I found I enjoyed reading this but it wasn’t as well rounded a story as its predecessor.  There’s so much that the author was trying to fit into this book and more importantly, more details about alien cultures and their world biology that was unknown to the series, but hugely influential to a major character. 

That’s usually interesting and a great way to explore new facets of a known main character’s storyline. Here it’s Sohven and Jace’s dynamic, not recovered from the past events of their spaceship crash.  That’s the drama Evermore uses to thread the layers of an intense, unsettled romantic inter-species relationship onto that of bringing it to Sohven’s interdicted planet, further stretching its boundaries.

For me, the author turns a predatory Sohven who fled his planet into a completely new character. One who doesn’t fit the same frame as the one we’re familiar with.  From over protective to removing himself from the protective nature he’s exhibited , and both lacking communication in the relationship. 

Jace, who’s apart from Sohven for much of the book, is taking part of trails, is still his own man. The most interesting part of the story, along with several side characters, like Vovu. 

That ending was climactic and everything I’d expect from the author and series. However, there’s Vovu and they ended up as a dangling storyline I’d have loved to see resolved here or in a side story. They deserve it. 

I expect Little Ships is a two book series and I loved the first novel better than its finale. However, it’s great to see a HFN in any series, and Sohven and Jace certainly got theirs. A definite win. 

Great cover again 

The Little Ships (2 books):

Head Above Water #1

Rock and a Hard Place #2

Buy link 

        Rock and a Hard Place: An MM Alien Science Fiction Romance (The Little Ships)

    

Blurb

Surviving a crash landing on an uncharted planet was supposed to be the hard part.
No one told me the real challenge would be the aftermath.

I have most of my memories back, I’m about to start my first mission since Sohven and I were rescued from Sannaveh-8B, and my crewmates aren’t half bad. Nothing to complain about, right?

Too bad nothing good ever comes easy. Since we’ve returned to our ship, Sohven’s been overprotective, paranoid, and on edge. No matter how well I carry out my duties, he just can’t seem to trust me to take care of myself, and I’m getting tired of being treated like a freak blow to the head means I’m incompetent.

Sohven’s solution seems simple. He wants to double-down on our commitment and make things permanent. He wants us to become mates—officially. That means a trip back to Lohnyal, a closed planet with a culture few outsiders ever experience. The trouble is, seven years is a long absence—long enough to leave Sohven on the outside looking in, too.

We do our best to respect his family and follow their customs, but when we land in his eyrie, we’re stepping into more than a straightforward mating ceremony. When Sohven’s family gets him back, they don’t want to let him go. It’s going to take all of my ingenuity to make sure we find a way off his planet. This time, he’s the one who needs to be rescued, and I intend to deliver.

Rock and a Hard Place is meant to be read after Head Above Water, the first book in Jace and Sohven’s story

  • Publication date: May 28, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 292 pages