Liv Zander: Feathers so Vicious

In the first of a series, Liv Zander shows what happens when a women is just a pawn in a war:

Galantia has never felt love, never felt wanted in her own family. Her mother hates her, her father mainly avoids her and other than her maid she has no companions. Now she has figured out her value, she is to be a pawn and sold off to marry the Prince, to strengthen the alliance between them and finally be able to end the war against the Ravens. But the Ravens have other plans, they have seen that Galantia is important person in this war and they will do whatever it takes to get her, keep her and if need be destroy her.

This is the first book I have read by Zander and it will not be the last, minus the fact I NEED to read the next book in this series, Zander knows how to not only get you invested in the characters but an interesting plot, story and spice. Now with all that said this book is DARK, and not just a touch dark, it is probably one of the darkest romances that I have read (I will admit I have not read a lot). You will need to check your trigger warning for this book and take them seriously.  if you are looking for Emotional Damage then this book is for you.

I have not read many books where the shifters are birds and not just one bird for several birds and each bird represents a different part of the person and their power. Due to the fact that one changes into several birds, if one bird is killed does not mean that the person dies. It was also interesting the different forms of powers that they birds were afforded, and not all were battle related. From the ability to wield shadows, see the future, be a pathfinder there were also more subtle forms of magic like being a fabric weaver. 

I loved that this had three POV, felt like I really got to know the characters more, but Malyr is still very much a mystery to me, but I think that Zander does this on purpose for what he had suffered. You really get to know Galantia the best in the book as she is much more open as a character and is very honest in her search for acceptance and love. 

If you are looking for a book that will give you emotional damage look no further than this book, you will have some many feelings throughout this book and many of them are not happy ones. I will say that I predicted one part of the ending, but this did not take away from my overall enjoyment of the book.

I don’t think you can end this book and not need to pick up the other. I personally liked how Zander wrote this dark romance and not so much in the spiciness in the book but along the lines of the plot and what each character has suffered.

Enjoy!!!

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Rachel Harrison: Such Sharp Teeth

Rachel Harrison shows what happens going from human to werewolf in a modern world:

Rory never wanted to return to her hometown, she thought she had put the place behind her and the memories along with it. But her twin sister Scarlett is pregnant and wanting her help as she is now estranged from the babies father. For Scarlett Rory would do anything. While on a night out, Rory runs into an old friend who has always had feelings for her and Rory thinks what if? While driving home that night she hits a large animal with her vehicle. When she goes out to investigate suddenly Rory is now the prey and finds herself in the woods and bitten. When Rory wakes up in the hospital, she is happy to be alive but things do not feel right. She's changing, changing into something else, something new, something that shouldn't exist.

I was not sure what to expect with this book as i have not Harrison before. I will say that in order to enjoy this book you need to like books that are more character driven than plot driven. This book is very much an exploration of Rory coming to terms of now being a werewolf and what that entails, the good, the bad and the downright ugly. I appreciate that Harrison did not make being a werewolf glamorous (other than some amazing hair and super strength). Rory's transformation is pretty gory, with just enough description of being disturbing and have you cringe a bit here and there. Also what happens after the night of the full moon is not fun either.

Rory is reluctantly back in a town that she does not make a habit of visiting and basically tells everyone she fled this place for something more. Rory is trying to not only figure out herself but also this new self that she is at and I cannot think of a worst time to start dating. Trying to date in regular life is hard enough, then trying to do it after being bitten by a werewolf adds a whole new level. But Rory handles it as well as I think all of us would, panicking and binge eating certain foods (though in Rory's case it is A Lot of Protein).

Not sure if it was just me but i liked the juxtaposition between Rory becoming a werewolf and Scarlett being pregnant, as both were stating the same things about changing bodies and their bodies feeling like they don’t belong to them anymore. Only for Scarlett, she will no longer be pregnant as some point, but still her life and body will be forever changed.

I was also able to figure out who the werewolf was / who bit Rory.

This was a good read and i enjoyed going along with Rory as she tries to figure out how to be a werewolf in the modern world. I would read another book by Harrison.

Enjoy!!!

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Kate Alice Marshall: A Killing Cold

Kate Alice Marshall takes readers on a journey of a woman who doesn't know who she is:

Theodora Scott cannot remember anything before she was 4 years old. All she remembers after that is that she was not a good child and that she was not worthy of love. Theo has been searching for it ever since. When Theo and Connor have a whirl wind romance that leads to an engagement, Connor tells Theo that she has to be accepted by his wealthy family as well. At an isolated winter retreat, Theo begins to remember things of her past, memories she thought were long lost. But there are secrets in this family and those who will go to any lengths to keep them hidden.

I have enjoyed the previous Marshall books that I have read and this is no exception. This book had me hooked from the beginning. Give me a domestic suspense where everyone has secrets they are trying to hold on to, plus an isolated place where anything can happen and you have me sold in reading the book.  I think that Marshall did a great job with the mystery aspect as to how Theo's mom passed away and who was responsible. I was guessing quite a bit on this aspects as the plot was unfolding.

I felt invested in Theo right from the beginning. Her questions about who she is and where she came from and then being thrown in to meeting a family that is well about her socially and financially is one that would stress anyone out. The pointed questions some of the people ask her is horrible and just shows how much people will believe what they want to believe no matter the circumstances. None of the side characters are really likeable especially when they interact with Theo, even Connor has times when i don’t really like him and his insistence on being there with his family.

I found the book a little drawn out, we know who Theo is, but her letting others know that she has discovered something important in her past takes quite a few chapters. And I just felt like getting on with it.

Another book I really enjoyed by Marshall and she is fast becoming an author i look for in the domestic suspense/thriller genre. I look forward to see what she comes out with next.

Enjoy!!!!

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Derek Shupert: Broken Horizons

In the first of a series, Derek Shupert show the length a man, woman and dog will go to get back to those they love:

Seina receives a call from her brother that he can no longer stand to be at home with his step parents, she is determined to go see him and set things right. Along she gets into an accident as the grid mysterious fall and now she has to travel on foot to get to him. In the forest she meets Ryan and his Dog Dutch and they want to help her to get back, get to her brother. No one knows what caused the grid to fall, but that it always the first step in the fall of civilization.

I'm a fan of dystopia and I do enjoy when I get there to be there from the beginning with the characters to see how they react and to see the fall of civilization with them. This what I thought was going to happen in this book. We have our two main characters that happen to find each other in the forest, and they realize all is not right in the world, but they do not know why or how the world has changed. And that is basically all the happens in the story. 

Literally nothing of interest happens in this book. There is no suspense or terror. There is a slight mystery of how the power went out, emp would be the main guess but nothing about who the culprit was. There is an interesting aspect in the prologue but other than finding the drone, not knowing what to with the drone, there is no hint of who may be behind it. Normally there would be some sort of news report or Military official that would have one POV chapter to explain things but nope, nothing.

I'm not even joking that Nothing happens, it takes almost to 50% for them to lose power / cell service and before that the book is very much character driven, but i don’t feel really anything for the characters because for the majority of the book they are not in danger as NOTHING HAPPENS. I'm not even sure why we have Max's POV in the book, other than to make Siena a little more desperate to get to her brother, but his POV does not fill too much of a role of discovering things that Siena and Ryan could have discovered once they made it back to a town.

Dutch, the Dtuch Shepard, is the best part of the book. That dog is loyal to a fault.

This book was not for me. I think there are better dystopian books out there and even ones that use an EMP as the reason for it. I will not continue on with this series

Cheers!!!

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Benjamin Stevenson: Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone

In the first in a series, Benjamin Stevenson show that families have secrets worth killing for:

Ernest Cunningham has not been welcomed by his family in many years, but with a family reunion set to occur he has been given a pardon to attend. Ern knows that this will be one reunion to remember as someone decided that it needed to be at a ski resort (he could kill someone for that), and well everyone in Ern's family has killed someone so not the best idea to bring them all together, especially when someone is hellbent on bringing up the past and some of those deaths. 

This was such a clever book (and you can tell that Ern knows how clever he is) and I loved that it had more of the classic feel of a who-don it. While the title may imply that there is death happening everywhere in the book, they do not happen all at once, or even the main timeline of when the book occurs. This kind of muddies the waters a bit (but in a good way) as you try to puzzle out who has the most motivation for murder in the present time as they have all killed someone at one point or another. I was able to figure one of the twists before the end but not the Main twist that was very well done.

In order to enjoy this book you have to like that the narrator of the story is going to be talking directly to the reader. Stevenson uses this to give the readers some additional hints throughout the book as to who the murderer is as well as to recite little tidbits that he gave at the beginning of the book. I have not read too many books that use this to engage the reader, but I liked it in this book and thought that it worked well with the story.

You will also need to keep all the characters straight in this book as there are quite a few and well they all have some skeletons in their closets that they would not only like to forget but not let you know about as well. I will point out that the title says killed and not murdered.

Personally think this book was worth the hype a few years ago and really enjoyed the way that Stevenson decided to tell this murder mystery. I'll be checking out the other books in this series to see if they can hold up to this one.

Enjoy!!!

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CJ Leede: Maeve fly

In her debut novel, CJ Leede has a love letter to Los Angeles and the horrors that happen there:

Maeve Fly knows that she has to hide her true self from everyone else in the world. By day she works as the Ice Queen at the happiest Place on Earth and she LOVES her job. Being a Princess helps keep her grounded. By night, Maeve likes to haunt the seedier areas of LA, but still keeping her mask in place. When she meets her best friend's brother, Gidion, something shifts, something changes, something new, a new person and Dynamic Maeve has never had before but one that might just be deadly.

I will admit I went into this book almost blind, the cover drew me in and I saw some review that stated it was dark and disturbing but the first half of the book I wasn’t sure if we were reading the same book as everyone else. Yes, Maeve is a little odd but it felt like I somehow ended up in a hockey romance, a weird one I will give you that but still a hockey romance. However, one you get to the 75% Leede finally lets the gloves off.

Once you get to the 75 % part, this book becomes unhinged deranged and psychotic, honestly Leede does not hold back past that mark. Part of me wishes that it would have been this dark from the beginning but I get that Leede was trying to show how much Maeve has been pretending to be the Monkey the whole time but I wish the mask had come out a bit sooner.

Maeve is such an interesting character. She loves working as a Disney Princess and that is how she wants people to see her and it such a juxtaposition of what she thinks and what does with Gideon and then when the mask fully comes off later in the book it’s pretty crazy.

The romance aspect with Gideon sweet at times, as he just seems to get Maeve (or at least what she shows him) but also messed up and they have some same kinks and weirdness in the bedroom but to each their own. As I said I was not expecting so much romance in this book. I also wish there was a chapter or two or a new book that was Gideon’s POV to see what he truly thought of Maeve and his motives with her.

What an ending. It is one of those that you either like or dislike, and for me I liked the ending as it was not so typical but at the same time I want to know more. What will Maeve do next?

This book was a bold move for a debut novel, but I am here for it. I enjoyed the character Leede created n Maeve and I look forward to seeing what Leede comes out with next.

Enjoy!!!!

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Brynne Weaver: Butcher & Blackbird

Brynne Weaver shows what happen when two serial killers find each other:

Sloane and Rowen have a darker side and one that they do not share with other. In a chance encounter, sparks fly and a competition ensues between the two of them. The competition where they are given a name of someone who needs killing and the person who hunts and kills them win that round. The more they interact the more a friendship is born and then more. But can two serial Killers really make it in a real relationship or is it just a matter of time before they are on someone else's hit list. 

Alright, I will admit that I read this because I was fully influenced by social media, with all the praise (honestly, I think I saw maybe one bad review and the person didn’t like the triggers in the book) I was seeing and how dark and different the books was. I am pretty sure this book will hook most people right from the beginning, the first sentence even. I know I felt invested, wanted to know how it was going to play out and I thought this was going to be a darker read based on what happens at the beginning. But for me, this book was only good read as it totally missed on my expectations of how I thought a Serial Killer romance play out.

I don't know if it is me (alright it is probably me, I’ve read some dark stuff) but where was the dark and disturbing parts of this book. Am I the only one who thought this book was going to be darker than it was? I mean there were some dark elements but with a list of trigger warnings a page long I thought I was getting something dark and twisty, but this was more along the lines of comedic dark than anything else. I feel if one is going to include a page of triggers or warnings in a book that book better delivery on the darkness aspect. Maybe it is just me, and yes, the cannibalism does happen, but more in a creepy way than a dark way, I don’t know I was here for the darkness, and it felt more like a light grey to me.

I liked the relationship between Butcher and Blackbird. It's really cute actually for two serial killers to find each other and admire each other's work and support each other in their chosen field/way of said work. I mean you take the serial killer aspect out of it and isn't that what a healthy relationship is supposed to be. I also enjoyed the banter between the two of the and of course the competition between then is great and just how they go about their killing in different ways.

This book does not get spicy until the latter part which surprised me. I wasn’t mad about it, more shocked than anything else when people were talking about how spicy it was I was expecting it to be constant aspect. And to be totally honest there are spicier books out there.

Once I got past this not being the book I wanted it to be, I did enjoy reading it. Enough to continue on in the series, I don’t think so though.

Enjoy!!!

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Sally Hepworth: The Good Sister

Sally Hepworth shows that sisters are close and they keep their secrets even closer.

Twins Fern and Rose could not be more different, but they have always had each other. Rose always made sure that Fern new what the right thing to was and Fern new she could trust Rose, until one night, one act Fern made a mistake that haunts her. Fern now works at her local library, her and Rose have dinner a few nights a week. She avoids anything that is over stimulating and has a very structured life, as living outside of a routine can be dangerous. When Rose tells fern she cannot get pregnant, Fern sees it as an opportunity to repay Rose for all she has done for her. Now all Fern needs to do is find some to be the father but Fern's mission will shake everything she knows about herself and her family.

This is the second book that I have read by Hepworth and I was really looking forward to it as I really enjoyed Darling Girls. I am sad to say that I had a hard time getting into this book, it was slower than i thought it would be the last 25% is when things really pick up

I think part of my problem with this book is that I had things figured out pretty much from the beginning. I could tell there was something off with the relationship between the sisters and that things were not what they seemed, even with the flashbacks that we get from Rose, I could just tell that something was off. For me this took the suspense out of the book for me, as I had basically figured out where it was going to go. There were a few avenues where Hepworth tries to throw the reader off, but I do not think that they were done expertly. 

My favourite part of this book is 100% the relationship between Fern and Wally, the way they just understand each other is just amazing. I love that Wally would challenge Fern on certain aspect but knows how to respect that she gets overstimulated when she goes out and takes measures to help her cope with that. Never once does Wally make Fern feel like less and that is the same with Fern towards Wally as well. I also appreciate Hepworth having people in a relationship who are neurodivergent.

So this was not quite the psychological thriller I wanted it to be, it was still a good read for Fern and Wally, it just not quite what I was expecting.

Enjoy!!!!

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Rachel Gillig: One Dark Window

In her debut novel one woman is the key to saving a Kingdom, but she is more than she seems:

In the mist-locked Kingdom of Blunder, Elspeth may look like a normal noble woman but she carries a secret, she has a monster inside her. Elspeth calls him Nightmare, from the Nightmare card that she touched all those years ago. Elspeth has access to the magic of the Nightmare card but all magic has a cost. When Elspeth meets the Captian of those meant to hunt her kind, Ravyn, she beleives she is done for, but what she does not expect is that he has his own plans and needs her help to gather all 12 of the Providence Cards, the key to cure the mist and sickness of the Kingdom. Elspeth knows that magic has a cost and it may just take all of her.

This is Gillig's debut novel, and what a debut. I wish that all Fantasy debuts were this good. I would not have realized that this was a debut novel other than searching to see what else Gillig had written on goodreads. I loved the magic system, Nightmar and Elspeth as the FMC.

I like that this book is a fatanys but one that is not too confusing and the magic system is unique enough to stand out. The magic system plays with the age old addage that ever time one uses magic there is a cost. I like when magic has a price, I find that this way most characters are more cautios when they use it for fear what the consequence may be or will this be the last time they are able to use it.

Elspeth is a great FMC, she is both strong but niave as well and with Elspeth we get Nightmare as well. I see Nightmare as a grandfather figure to her, as they have been together so long. He may speak in riddles to her but at the same time he is overly protective of her as well. He also keeps secerts from her, and I enjoyed finding them out along with Elspeth.

I was not entirely sold on the romance between Elspeth and Ravyn. It felt forced, like I know it a pretend courting type of thing but still felt forced and almost insta in a way. I get this is a duology and things may move faster for relationships but i just couldn’t get behind their relationship 

That ending. I dont think you can read this book and not ahve a need to pick up the second book in this series. I cannot wait to read the second book in this series

Enjoy!!!!

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Hannah Grace: Wildfire

Hannah Grace is back with the next story with Maple Hills Student, and this time we're headed to Summer Camp:

While Celebrating a year end party, Russ and Aurora (Rory) end up in a drinking game and eventually in Russ' bed. Russ, who is not as confident as many would think, blow his chance to get to know Rory more after their night together. Russ and Rory both thought that they would be able to escape their lives by working as camp counselors far away from Maple Hills, but are surprised to find the other one there. Russ and Rory are very aware of the rule of no staff fraternizing, and that if they break that rule they will be sent packing back to the lives they were trying to escape, but sometimes rules are made to be broken.

As this is the second book in a series, you may want to go back and read the first book in the series, Icebreaker, but you don’t NEED to. While we are introduced to Russ in Icebreaker, he is obviously not the main character in that one. And don’t go into this one thinking that it will be another Icebreaker, it is not, way more sweet and slightly less spicy this time around.

I really enjoyed this book and personally thought it was slightly better than Icebreaker, I just felt that Russ and Aurora relationship felt more real. Even though they had hooked up when they first met, I thought that they had a stronger foundation in their relationship, and I mean when you have to deal with kids all day you really get to see what people are like. Plus kids won't let them get away with anything.

As we don’t really get to know Russ in the first book, other than he is the quiet and awkward one, which is really used throughout the book. I love that Russ was not your typical hockey guy, who is overconfident and can do whatever he wants. Russ is a great book boyfriend completely cinnamon bun of a guy and I am here for it.

I was hit and miss with Rory. There were times I liked her, times I felt for her (he Dad is a piece of work), but times when I didn’t understand why she wanted Russ to open up right away with her, even when she stated she did not want a relationship. I think the farther I get into the book the more I liked her and sympathized with her and what she had gone through and was going through with her family.

I really enjoyed the second book in the Maple Hills series. I loved that Grace changed things up in this one with it not occurring on the ice or even close to ice. I look forward to reading the third book in this series.

Enjoy!!!!

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Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti: Zodiac Academy - Ruthless Fae

This is the second book in the series and you need to read the first book in this series, Zodiac Academy: Awakening, before you read this book or even continue down to the review below.

Caroline Packham and Susanne Valenti, have the second instalment of the Zodiac Academy series, and the twins are going on the offensive:

Darcy and Tory have barely survived their time at Zodiac Academy and the celestial heirs think that they have the upper hand and that they have done enough to scare Darcy and Tory off. When the twins decide to stay, they decide to get revenge on the heirs, make their lives just a bit of living hell that they have made theirs.

The first book in this series had me hooked from the very beginning and I really wanted to like this one as much as the first, especially how the first book ended. However, for the most part the book felt like a filler book where not much of substance or really plot till towards the end. The ending is pretty compelling and there is some character development in the book and a few interesting developments but for the most part, nothing really happens in this book.

I don't think that the main guys are so stupid as to not think of Tory and Darcy messing with them. I mean i think that should be the first place where their minds go. It was silly prank after silly prank and other than maybe get some of their frustrations out on the guys, did this book really need to be written this way.

I did enjoy that there was a bit of character development for each of heirs and Orion, and you see the pressure that each of them are under and maybe what they show to the twins is not really who they are. I enjoyed getting to know them a bit more.

I love multiple POVs but like the first book there felt like there was a few too many in this book and not all of them are needed. This was my main complaint of the first book as well and I do not think that this is going to change in the future books.

Although this book did not live up to the first, I still feel invested in the characters and want to see what Packham and Valenti take this series, especially with the ending of this book. I just hope that in next book it does not just rely on the ending to keep the reader going.

Cheers!!!

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Sookh Kaur: Breaking Away

Sookh Kaur show the best way to get back at an ex, go after their NHL rival:

Kavi's Fiancé, Tyler, was just knocked to the ice by his rival Dmitri Lokhov and all Kavi wants to do is make sure that Tyler was okay. When Kavi finds out that Dmitri went after Tyler for comments that he made about her, she knows that she cannot stay with Tyler and breaks off their engagement. Kavie feels not only hurt by betrayed as well, and what better way to get back at him by fake dating his rival, Dmitri.

I really enjoyed this book it was super cute, and Kaur had me invested in her characters right away. Was there anything new about this story, did Kaur add anything to the genre? Other than Kavi being Punjabi (I have not read a hockey romance that had a female lead of color in general, but I have not read a lot of them, so that fact may just be me), No, but Kaur gets the story right in having a broody MMC and a FMC who is trying to better herself and not put up with her ex BS. There is some steaminess in the book as well, but I found it went well with the story Kaur was telling and fit what was occurring at the time and didn’t just come out of nowhere.

This one has quite a few tropes that I am sure those who love the sports romance genre will enjoy, as stated we have the broody MMC, touch her and die, ex-finance's rival, roommates and fake dating / miscommunication.

I'll be the first to admit that i love a broody MMC and Dmitri is all kinds of broody, but when Kavi makes him smile that is when you see the true him. For me personally I was all about Kavi in this story. Her struggles not only with her ex but her family as well, and them not being able to see her potential. I love that Kavi is looking to better her life after being told it is okay to just be on the sidelines. No one should ever be in the sidelines of their own story.

The miscommunication trope not my favourite, I just want people to be able to talk and I find in most books that employ this trope the miscommunication goes on for way way way too long that I end up not enjoying the book. However, it did not annoy me as much in this book as it has in others. I think this was due to their circumstances of their relationship and Dmitri wanting to respect Kavi and the major life choice that she made, choosing to put herself first.

I really enjoyed this book and my time with Kavi and Dmitri. I hope that Kaur decides to make this book a series and feature more players from the Vancouver team, I know i would read them.

Enjoy!!!

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