Jasmine Walt: Burned by Magic

In the first in a series, Jasmine Walt takes readers to a world ruled by Mages who only care about power:

Mages rules the city Solantha and shifters are considered second class citizen. Sunaya (Naya) is a panther shifter but also a mage, something that is considered illegal in Solantha. Naya works as an enforcer, but when her mentor is murdered, she wants nothing more than find who killed them. Unfortunately, her boss doesn’t see it that way and when Naya inadvertently uses magic and finds herself at the mercy of the Mage's council.

I'm always down for another Urban Fantasy series and one that features a shifter as a main character. This is the second book that I have read by Walt (but the first one was a duo author) and I really like the concept, world and plot ideas that Walt presented here, but I wish that the book would have been a bit longer to accommodate everything that Walt set out to do in this book. 

The book starts out really strong and I was invested in Sunaya (Naya) as a character and what she goes through, but then, what one would assume would be the major plot aspect of the book, goes by the wayside until the very end. Naya is given next to know time to investigate her mentor and friends death and when she is able to achieve time to investigate it, it all wrapped up and done so quickly that it is didn’t seem to really matter in the grand scheme of the book. The majority of the book was spent in a more political avenue of Iannis trying to figure out what to do with Naya.

I want to know more about the magic system and why it was put in place. Why do the mages control everything and everyone. I feel like Naya is right to question the system, and I want to know what led to the city being like this as it is hinted at that it is not like this everywhere.

Naya is an interesting character who has bounds of loyalty and I hope that her skills and abilities are explored more in future books. I never really felt like i got to know Naya, but the fact that she is a panther shifter is amazing.

This was a good start to a series and I will continue on reading it, I just hope that there is a little more substance to the mystery aspects in the plot and more about Naya.

Enjoy!!!

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Karen Dionne: The Marsh King's Daughter

Karen Dionne shows what a true Cat and Mouse game is when you never know who is the Cat and Who is the Mouse:

When Helan was a child, she did not know that she was the product on a man abducting her mother and forcing her to live in the Marsh. All Helena knew was the Marsh and her mother and father. Helena idolized her father and wanted to learn everything he had to teach her and sometimes those lessons were painful ones. Twenty years later after leaving the Marsh, Helena has a husband and two girls of her own. Her father is spending time in prison for kidnapping her mother and Helena spends her days trying to fit in. When her father manages to escape from prison, Helena knows that he is coming for her. But Helena has not forgotten what her father taught her, how to track, how to hunt. She knows that she is the only person who can catch him and with her family on the line, she will do everything she has to, to protect them.

This is the first book that I have read by Dionne and I really enjoyed it. This book was fast paced and you really get to know the FMC and how she became the woman she is. I would classify this book as a popcorn thriller as it very much is a Cat and Mouse story but also there is more substance there and I find I am still thinking of some aspects of the book. I can understand why it was made into a movie and I want to see if i can watch it to see how the adapted the story.

I loved the alternating timeline as we get to know Helena as a child growing up in the Marsh as well as the woman now and how she struggled at times in both situations. Dionne transfer between the two different timelines seamlessly and the flow of the story does not suffer from doing so. Even if you do not enjoy reading a book with two different timelines Dionne does it so well that this should not deter you from reading this book.

I appreciate that Dionee makes a point to show that Helena loves her father, questions if she should still love him even though what he did to both her and her mother. Growing up Helan did not know she was being raised differently and the fleeting moments where he showed her praise were what she lived for. You feel Helana's struggle in both the past and present. In the past is it is for her father's approval but also wanting more than the Marsh and in the present, it is about fitting in, not knowing the "proper" ways of doing anything and trying to keep her past hidden. Plus, she struggles with how she treated her mother in the Marsh and out of the Marsh even with insight that time brings. I think this insight shows in how much she her children and will protect them at all costs.

Dionne is fairly descriptive in the book from the hunting of animals to the hunt between Helan and her father, there will be blood, but I think that it is fitting that she did not shy away from this. It does make the book darker, but it also is what needs to occur to fully immerse oneself into the story.

This book is very much Hunter/Hunted and you never know who is who throughout the book. This was a great suspenseful read that was well laid out and written. I know I want to read more books by Dionne.

Enjoy!!!

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Erin La Rosa: The Backtrack

Erin La Rose takes readers on a journey of What if a person made a decision to go one way instead of another?

Wonder if you had done something different at a point in time, what your life would be like? Sam left her small hometown of Tybee Island, Georgia to not only pursue her dream of becoming a pilot, but taking her mom's words to heart not to get stuck there. When Sam arrives at her grandma's place her bedroom has not changed from when she was in high school. Walls covered in 2000s nostalgia including mix CDs. When she finds her old Walkman, with a CD she never played she decides to take a listen. The song transports her back to one moment in her life where she has always wondered What if? What if she would have kissed Damon, what if they would have become more than friends? With her magical Walkman Sam is about to find out.

This is the second book that I have read by La Rosa and I like that she keeps it real (I mean as real as one can with a time travelling Walkman) both the people and the relationships that she portrays in her books just feel real. I would not call this a romcom, this book will take a reader through a lot of emotions and not just happy ones, there are quite a few low points in the book, that you can’t help but feel for the characters. For Sam returning home, brings up the all the memories and questions of what could have been.

I'm not sure if I cheered for Sam and Damon in their relationship, in either timeline.

I honestly didn't feel the chemistry between them at all, I really just felt the friendship between them and nothing more. I understand that they love each other but not the same type as a more serious relationship. I like that La Rosa didn’t make it all rainbows and unicorns for the choices Sam and Damon did/didn’t make, there were tough times ahead in both timelines I don’t know if I even liked Sam or Damon in either timeline either as they both made some choices that I see as red flags for their relationship, from only caring about oneself, their own wants/needs to cheating, just added to not liking them or their relationship.

I will admit that I struggled with this book to being with, as it was slower than I thought it would be. However, the farther I got into the book I really wanted to know how each timeline would end up.

This book is a complete trip of nostalgia with all the song choices, the fashion and what was cool in the 2000. I question the song choices as it was supposed to be this big mixed CD that showed how much Damon wanted to be with Sam but a few songs in there were questionable for what Damon wanted to achieve.

Although I struggled at time with this book, overall, I enjoyed it. I may not have been a fan of the relationship between Sam and Damon I love the rawness and realness that La Rosa put in the book, not all relationships are easy.

Enjoy!!!

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S.T. Abby: MindF*ck Series

S.T. Abby, shows what happens when they take too much from one woman:

They took too much from Lana and left her very little and nothing too loose, until she met Logan, someone who has dedicated his life to saving lives, while Lana is determined to end some. Lana needs to collect the debts for what was done to her and her family and she will no stop until the debt is paid or she is no longer breathing to see it through.

This is a complete series review, not something I normally do, but I completely binged this series from start to finish. Honestly, you just want to purchase the book that has all books as the books are quite short and each ends on a cliffhanger so you are just going to pick up the next book anyways, so save yourself the wait and just grab the whole thing.

This book was dark, and terrifying at times and although what was done to Lana as a teenager is given in detail it is not given all at once, that it makes it more bearable to read. Plus what Lana inflicts on her targets is just as disturbing but well done how Abby handles the darkness and gore in this book but not having it happen at a constantly throughout each book. All this said you will cringe a few times in this book as Abby takes is dark.

This book really questions which side would you be on Lana's or the side of the law. I think you cannot blame her for the path that she chose, and throughout the books this series this idea is presented a few times and I think it will be up to the reader whether they would side with Lana or not because of what she has become and what she does.

There is no question that Lana is tough as Fuck, you cannot debate that fact at all. She is bloodthirsty and hungry for revenge but at the same time she just wants someone to accept her for who she is. Logan is a man who lives by the letter of the Law and is pushed to his limit not only with his case 

Was this book spicy, kind of. I mean there are quite a few sex scenes throughout the 5 books but they are never long and almost feel like they were written more how a man would write them, not very detailed, not a lot of foreplay, just clothes off and right to sex (this is not to say all me write like this, this I just the men I have read that write sex scenes). So yes sex scenes in the book, but not as much as some of the covers would suggest

I would recommend this series to those who like the darker side of things, not much mystery as you know who the “bad guy” is throughout the books, but a well laid out story of revenge and how Lana is going to achieve it. And as I said above, do yourself a favour and just buy either all the books at once or the complete series in one book.

Enjoy!!!

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C. J. Cooke: The Lighthouse Witches

C. J. Cooke shows how much of a beacon a lighthouse can be:

Liv Stay is always moving from job to job with her three daughters, and her latest commission is to repaint the inside of a lighthouse on a Northern Scottish Island, The Longing. What Liv did not know was this was going to change everything. The Lighthouse, used to be a place where witches were held below before their trial and it is believed that Dark Magic is still there. Liv, does not believe in any of that but within months of living there, only her daughter Luna is left. Twenty years later, Luna gets the strangest phone call which brings her back to the location where her family went missing and it is up to her to try and figure out what happened.

This is the first book that I have read by Cooke and it will not be the last, this book was beautifully written, very atmospheric and eerie feels throughout the book. I will say that it starts a bit slow as you try to figure out what is going on, but once the story really gets flowing you will not want to put it down. The book also gets darker near the end, and there is one scene where you just feel it (or at least I did).

This book has multiple time lines, so if that is not your thing then you will not enjoy this book. It does take a bit to wrap your head around the multiple timelines and characters for each one as the same character is in more than one timeline. I know that may sound a bit confusing but it’s not, Cooke does a good job of separating them and you know which timeline you are in.

I loved that this book was a mix of witch trials and the idea of wildlings taking the form of children who have gone missing. I think it was really smart how Cooke intertwined this pastime of witch trials as well as the folklore of wildlings. I was not able to figure out the connection, but it was a really interesting idea that Cooke has placed in the book.

With the multiple timelines and characters, one would think this would be a more character drive book but I actually think it was more plot based. We get snips of each character in their perspective timeline that it is hard to from a connection with them. I think that this becomes apparent why the farther you read into the book and you get more information. It did not take away from my enjoyment of the book, more just an observation.

Although, this is the first book I have read by Cooke, it will not be the last. I have noticed that she has a few more books that appear to be witch based and i will be checking them out. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to people who want an atmospheric read, that has a light witch fantast aspect to it.

Enjoy!!!!

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Michelle Chouinard: The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco

In her debut novel (under this name), Michelle Chouinard not only takes on a serial killer but San Francisco:

San Francisco is such a nice city, but boy is it one with a history and no one knows this better than Capri Sanzio who's grandfather was the serial killer known as OverKill Bill, and who now leads serial and crime themed tours around San Francisco. But when an OverKill Bill copycat surfaces, Capri wonders if this is the time to bring out her own family's history and reinvestigate the Overkill Bill murders, as her grandfather said he was innocent till the end. When a Overkill Bill murder happens close to home, Capri finds herself and family the targets of the investigation and now she has two generations of Overkill murders to solve.

I knew as soon as i saw the title of this book i was going to pick it up. Not only did i visit San Francisco for the first time this year, I also did a murder, mayhem and music walking tour while I was there. It was great to revisit San Fransico and actually know a bit of the area that Chouinard was talking about and there was even some cross over with the murder aspect. I mean if you want to talk a history of serial killers and crime you cannot go wrong with choosing San Francisco. I loved the little serial killer facts that Chouinard shares throughout the book and were one of the highlights for me.

Although Chouinard has written novels under a different pen name, I think for the most part this book reads like a debut novel, it was missing a bit of the polish of a more seasoned author by trying to take on a lot in this book. But at the same time, I really enjoyed the approach that Chouinard took with the past and present family drama. I think that Chouinard was able to keep the suspects alive in the book.

Capri is quite a lot in this book, her brain and life are going in so many different directions. She seems like lovely person but man her brain needs a break several times in the book and as a reader I wish I had a break from her every now and then. Do i know which character Chouinard could have given a chapter or two to, No, but I just think there needed to be a break from her.

I liked that Chouinard brought in the white-collar aspect in the book and the nuances of friendships and money with the upper elite. Money and appearance is everything to people in power or people who have money.

I enjoyed this book, Capri is a bit cooky at times, but I enjoyed the twists that Chouinard kept coming even if she tries to do a lot with this book. I would read another book by Chouinard.

Enjoy!!!

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