Harper L. Woods: The Coven

In the first in a series, Harper L Woods shows the power of Blood Magic.

Willow knew that after her mom passed away, that the Coven would come for her, she just thought that she would have more time. When the Vampires come to take her to Hallow Grove University, Willow is shocked with the state of the place. Willow was taught magic by her mother and respects the old ways of blood magic, give and take, but the University has forsaken all that. The Secret run deep within the Coven and none of them run deeper than that of the Headmaster Alaric Grayson. With the University finally accepting new students after 50 years, they cannot hide from their past and the massacre that forced them to shut in the first place.

I was totally looking for a witchy read and this book fit the bill for me and I absolutely LOVED the magic system in this book and that Woods had the bad guys be a mixture of demon/vampires who needed witches in order to stay this side of Hell. The beginning really starts off fast paced and I was hooked once the magic system was introduced but a few chapters in things begin to slow and by the middle of the book felt a little bit choppy and the chapters/scenes did not flow great together. I think this was due to the fact that sometimes we don’t really know that Willow is in a vision or a dream and things feel like they come out of no where. The ending obviously picks up but the middle was a bit rough.

Willow as a character is really nothing new for this genre, though I did enjoy how the Vampires underestimated her at the beginning and thought she would be an easy grab. Willow's magic is pretty incredible and I love how humble she is about where she get it from. She knows that she has to give something to the Earth in order to receive magic back from it. It was cool to see those areas that had been deprived for so long reach for the blood to get back what had been taken. I'm a little confused on the whole generational magic idea (I feel like it wasn’t explained well). I also found that Willow came off as naive in quite a few parts of the book that i was not expecting as the felt like they came out of nowhere and clashed with her personality.

Gray is a fine MMC, once again adds nothing new to the genre, but he does have some good one liners in the books. If you like the gray (pun intended) of MMC then you will like Gray as a character.

I was able to figure out one of the twist, but this book did not go the way that I thought it would, and I will 100% be picking up the next book in this series. I think most people will want to with the cliffhanger ending.

Enjoy!!!

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Megan Miranda: The Girl From Widow Hills

Megan Miranda shows that your past will always catch up to you:

Arden Maynor made national news when she was six, she had been washed away in a flash flood while sleepwalking and miraculously was found alive three days later. Arden is of course grateful to be alive, but she was and still not grateful for all the media and pressures that came afterwards. She changed her name to Olivia as soon as she could and shed Arden the best she could. She now has a life where no one knows about her past. But the past always has a way of catching up to you and with the 20th anniversary of Olivia being rescued looming, there is going to be deadly consequences that are all based from her past.

I went into this book not knowing what to expect other than the premise on the back and the fact that Miranda is a popular author that has quite a back list of books. I will admit that I went into this book with some pretty high expectations and sadly they were not met. Overall, I was bored with the book, bored with the plot, characters and things moved too slowly to keep me hooked into the story. Each chapter felt like a slog to get through, even though there were aspects I enjoyed it was just painful getting from one to the other and no real twist or shocking event along the way (at least for me).

I did enjoy Miranda's writing style, especially with the inclusion of additional information from new articles, reports and the like at the end of each chapters, I feel like this really added to the overall story. I did think that the chapters were a bit too long for my taste, but that is just a personal preference. 

I enjoyed that Olivia is an unreliable narrator of the story with her sleepwalking and her inability to remember that night as a child and anything that happened since her sleepwalking returned. Her struggle to come to terms of what may just have happened those nights felt very real.

I think that Miranda did a great job about how we treat victims of crimes or tragic/traumatizing events, even when there are children involved. The expectation from the public is unbearable and unrealistic for them. It like oh you’re safe now, you shouldn’t be bothered by anything that just happened to you and must now live a perfect life. You can really understand why she changed her name to Olivia and kept her past hidden from everyone. She has too much experience of how if she shared her past everything in the relationship, she was in would change.

I think I went into this book with too high of expectations for never having read a book by Miranda. I do have one other book by her on my TBR (All the Missing Girls) and I will pick it up eventually but just not any time soon.

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Kelley Armstrong: I’ll Be Waiting

Kelley Armstrong shows you never know who is on the other side of the veil when you call:

Nicola never believed that she would live this long, let alone find a career she loves and the love of her life. Nicola has Cystic Fibrosis and most children do not live to see adulthood. She knows that she needs to live every moment and she wants to do that with her Husband Anton. Neither of them thought that he would be the one to leave first, his final words to Nic haunting her every day, "I'll Be Waiting". This take Nic on a path of trying to contact Anton, talk to him one more time to say a proper Goodbye, but something sinister has come across instead, something with death and vengeance on their mind.

I'm a huge Kelley Armstrong fan. I love the way that she constructs her story and her ability to draw the reader in. I have read one other book by Armstrong that was more of the horror side of genres. This book had me hooked from the beginning, but i will say that it was heartbreaking at the beginning middle and end. Speaking of the end, the last 30% of the book goes by so fast as you try to turn the pages faster and faster to see what is going to happen next.

You cannot help but feel for Nicola from everything thing that she has gone through in her life, and what she is having to deal with now, not only the tragedy but also those trying to profit on the death of her husband. There are always those who will try anything to make a buck and that is highlighted in this book with the amount of mediums or psychics who say they will have the ability to contact her Husband Anton. With everything really falling apart it make sense why Nicola starts question everyone and everything around her, and herself, maybe she herself is going insane.

This book is only told from Nicola's POV and while I appreciate that but I think I would have enjoyed a different perspective at times and be in the minds of other people in the house, to truly see what they were feeling and experience. I think a POV from Dr. Cirillo and his reasons for being there would have been an interesting POV and scientific one at that.

Although this book is touted as a supernatural horror, I didn’t think it was that scary, but the creepy atmosphere was on point. Things do get a bit gory at times, especially near the end of the book, so i think some people will find it scary and fit the horror genre but for me it does not. 

Was able to figure out the twist but you really don’t know who is going to be there in the end.

I did enjoy this book even though it was not quite what i wanted it to be (and probably my least favourite of Armstrong’s books). I think those looking for a creepy book that has an eerie atmosphere, then pick up this book.

Enjoy!!!

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Steve Cavanagh: Kill For Me Kill For You

Steven Cavanagh shows that the strangers we meet can ruin one's life but also in strangers we can trust:

Two strangers meet by chance and they share a tragedy in life, the loss of their child, loss of the life that they had. They cannot live with culprit walking around free while their loved ones are cold and buried. As they talk into the night, they come up with the perfect plan from the famous work, Strangers on a Train. Across town a woman is attacked in her home by a blue-eyed stranger, a face she will never forget, will she ever feel safe again with Him out there stalking/hurting/killing other woman? Her husband is beside himself with worry and what would he do if he ever encountered that blue eyed man. A city full of violence and a few people willing to do what they thinks it takes to make the city a little bit safer, so no more have to suffer, especially if one can get away with it.

This is the first book that I have read by Cavanagh (I still want to read his Eddy Flynn series) and with all the hype surrounding this book I went in with high expectations. I really loved the idea of a modern versions of strangers on a train and I was looking forward to how Cavanagh would achieve this with such a change of technology from then to now. 

Overall, I just felt underwhelmed by this story. While the premise is done in a unique way and I felt invested in the characters, especially Amanda but i felt like this book lacked the suspense that I thought it was going to have as i found that it was fairly predictable. This was really sad as i found the beginning really captured you with what had happened to Amanda and Ruth (both heartbreaking in their own ways) but after that high the book begins to petered off.

I was able to figure out most of the twists except for the final one but by then I wasn’t really invested in the story as much as I wanted to be and I was like huh that was clever. I didn’t have the draw dropping moment most seem to have with this book.

I also wish there was more POV for Farrow, he felt underdeveloped and I really enjoyed him as a character and Detective. His drive to solve cases, his compassion to the victims or victims' families, I would read a book where he was the lead and solving the cases that no one else can solve or wants to put in the work to solve.

I can only really recommend this book to people who don’t read a lot of thriller or murder mystery books or someone who is looking to get back into the genre. As someone who reads A LOT in these genres I found this book okay at best but also predictable and didn’t have the thrills or mystery that I wanted it to.

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S. A. Cosby: Razorblade Tears

S. A. Cosby shows what two fathers will do in a quest for Vengeance:

Ike and Buddy Lee are strangers to each other, even though their sons were married and had a daughter together. When their sons are murdered in a drastic way, they do not think that anything can get any worse, but their headstones are destroyed above their graves. This causes Buddy Lee to reach out to Ike and seek their own sense of justice for their boys. Even though they were both ashamed of their kids while they are alive they see this as a small way to atone for that, to set things right and bring Vengeance to those who dared to hurt their boys.

This is the first book that I have read by Cosby and this book was making quite a few ways when it was released in 2021 and i can see why, the act of vengeance and why Ike and Buddy lee go down this path is very powerful and Hell i can't blame them for it. A parent should never have to bury their children, and one's children should never be murdered how their son's were. So once you start reading the book you cannot help but root for them. Nothing else matters, not race or that they are both ex-cons, all that matters is Justice.

Ike and Buddy Lee are very different men, but very much the same as well. Ike, is ruthless in this book and I am hear for it, Buddy Lee is more of the comedic relief in the book through his comments/idea but he shows up when you need him too. Both of them HATE how they treated their son's while they were alive and this vigilantism is a way to atone for that. It is sad that Ike and Buddy Lee could not understand their sons’ life and who they loved. Although this book takes a short amount of time, there is growth in both characters as they spend more time together, especially Ike and how he sees gay men.

This book is quite dark and graphic at times, enough that one needs to know this going in to the book. Ike has a particular set of skills and anger to go along with it that he not afraid to pull this other side of him out in this book (he is savage at times). I also appreciated that Cosby understood that Ike and Buddy Lee are older men and the hinderances that comes with this, but also the men using this to their advantage with all the young bucks out there. 

All that said above this book took me a bit to get into. Is tarted this book on Audio and the character voices just didn’t really work for me, for lack of better words the voice was too soothing that it made me sleepy (lol). Once i started reading it in physical copy form I was able to get into the book. I did find the book a bit predictable as I was able to guess the twist well before the end.

I enjoyed this book by Cosby and I would like to read other books by him. I enjoyed the premise of this book of two different but same men coming together to get justice for this sons.

Enjoy!!!

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Kelley Armstrong: Death at a Highland Wedding

Kelley Armstrong is back with the next installment in her Rip Through Time Series and this time Death is happening on the road:

Mallory, Gray and McCreadie are off to the Scotland Highlands to attend the wedding of McCreadie's younger sister. McCreadie's younger sister is upholding a match between the McCreadie's and the Cranston's as McCreadie canceled his engagement to Cranston's sister, so things are going to be a bit awkward. But Mallory is happy to escape the city, and the Cranston Estate is beautiful. But beauty can only hide so much especially when Cranston has placed deadly traps around the grounds, a wildcat is killed and one of the Wedding Guests turns up dead, it is up to Mallory, Gray and McCreadie to find out who the murderer is before another life is lost.

As this is the fourth book in the series, I highly recommend that you read the first three books in the series, starting with A Rip ThroughTime. These previous books will set up the relationship and time travel aspect in this book and really the struggle that Mallory has gone through from moving from the 21 Century to the 18th Century. I think that Armstrong does this aspect very well and builds upon with each book in the series.

I will admit that I was not sure about this series when I first started it but this one and the book before it have me even more hooked. I love that even Mallory was even more out of place in this one, as herself, Gray and McCreadie don’t have the tools and connections they have come to rely on. The country law enforcement leave much to be desired. I enjoyed that Armstrong did not rely on body after body to keep the reader's attention in this book and with that it turns out to be more of a who-done-it. This leaves a lot of room for deduction as none of them can rely as much on forensic science as they may do (even if this is less than Mallory is used to). I think that Armstrong did a great job in creating possible suspects and motives throughout the book and by the end I had not guessed who the murderer was, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Another aspect I thought that Armstong has done throughout the series is the relationship and co-worker relationship that Mallory and Gray have. They are really in a Gray area when it comes with the two of them being in private together for the time period. Their relationship that they have has this Oh Shit moment in the book, and i wonder how Armstrong is going to use that in the future.

I really enjoyed this book, the mystery it has and the relationships that Armstrong has created here. I look forward to reading another book in this series and to see where Armstrong takes this series.

Enjoy!!!

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Laura Thalassa: Pestilence

In the first book in a series, Laura Thalassa releases the first Horseman on the world, Pestilence:

Pestilence is coming for Sara Burns town, and it is now her duty to try and stop him. She has never killed before, but if her actions can save not only those that she loves but people beyond that, she knows that she has to take action. Pestilence does not take kindly to Sara and her attempt to kill him. Instead he decides to make her suffer as no human has suffered before, by keeping her alive to witness the death of humanity. But can so much time together let each one understand the other, or is Sara destined to die just like everyone else.

This is the first book that I have read by Thalassa and I really enjoyed this book as it was such a ride. Thalassa was able to draw me in right from the beginning and had me invested in Sara right away. I would classify this book as very much a popcorn fantasy romance book, with a darker side. I mean there are quite a few dark moments in the book (really starts at the beginning), and I am happy that Thalassa included this as I think the book would be lacking without it. I mean the book is about death and plague and you would be hard-pressed do have that as the major element in the book without darker aspects. Even as Pestilence kills, it is not a swift death, nor is anyone spared from is, whether they are young, old, health sick or even kind, they all face the same death. The book also shows the horribleness that humankind has no problem reverting to in dark times.

I feel like the trope enemies to lovers is over used a lot when authors try to promote their books, and it will be like one second of them hating each other and then they are in love. So when I say that this book is a true enemies to lovers, I 100% mean it (Unaliving attempts happen). These two truly hate each other and both believe they would be better off if the other did not exist. 

Sara is a really strong character and you cannot help but feel and relate to her as she struggles with what she has to do, not only at the beginning at the book but what she has to go through when she is with Pestilence. She feels like she has to show Pestilence what it actually means to be human and the depths of human emotions and society, even though it is Pestilence's presence that brings out the worst in people.

Pestilence is also an interesting character, he sees himself above Humans and the answer to the damage that human has done on the Earth. He struggles, boy does he ever struggle with understanding Sara and her motives and the things that she does. He struggles with the depth of Emotions that he didn’t seem to think that people could have

I really enjoyed this book and if you are looking for a popcorn fantasy romance, that is darker at times, then pick this book up. I know I'll be reading the next book in this series.

Enjoy!!!!!

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Emilia Hart: The Sirens

Emilia Hart is back with another take on a mythological creatures, the Sirens:

In 2019, Lucy awakes with her hands wrapped around, a man's neck, a man that she thought she could trust. Horrified with what she had done, and what was being said about her, Lucy flees to New South Wales to her sister Jess who she hope can help her understand what was happening. When She arrives she discovers Jess is gone and in order to understand her sister better, Lucy decides to snoop. In the 1800s Mary and Eliza are sentenced to deportation to Australia and they must suffer the many month trip at sea in the darken hold, with other women, but the more time they spend at sea the more they see the changes in their bodies. Centuries apart but connected in a way that no one would understand.

After reading Weyward, which I thoroughly enjoyed this last year, I was super excited to read The Sirens. Where Weyward was more whimsical when it came to the idea of witches, Sirens is more dark and eerie like the deep Ocean. If you are looking for something similar to Weyward, this book does have some of the same elements (especially when it comes to men and male characters) but the atmosphere is very much different. I personally liked the more eerie atmosphere, but i did not think that it entered in the creepy or disturbing areas, was more just greys and deep blues, well like the Ocean.

I found the historical timeline more interesting than the more modern one, though I did feel for what Jessica and Lucy have gone through, I just thought that it was the weaker of the storylines, and something that I had read before. Hart could have written an entire book about Mary and Eliza and I would have devoured it. I will say that how Hart interconnected the timelines was well done and how she chose to do this was interesting as well. It may not be for everyone but I liked it.

I appreciated Hart's take on Sirens, what they look like, how they hid in plain sight and the ever call to the water. I also like the Mission that they set upon for themselves, not quite the Sirens from Greek mythology. I think that Hart's take is more modern and I was here for it.

I was able to figure out the "twist", i think it was supposed to be a twist but I felt it was quite obvious. This book is much more of a character driven book than plot one, so i'm never sure about twists in what happens.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, especially the farther I got into it. I will say that don’t go into this book expecting another Weyward, which is not a bad thing, but I read some reviews that that is what they were expecting and not what they got. I would read another book by Hart and I look forward to see what mystical creature or folklore she takes on next.

Enjoy!!!!

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Alex Finlay: Parents Weekend

Alex Finlay is back with a thriller where every family has its secrets:

It's Parents Weekend, that one time during the year where the parents come to college and check up on their kids. It's supposed to be a time of reconnecting, meeting the friends they have been hanging out with and maybe a nice dinner. This was supposed to happen at a small private school in California, instead the night turns into a nightmare with five kids disappearing without a trace and the clock is ticking down to if they will find them before it is too late.

I have been reading Finlay's book and Agent Keller from the beginning, and I love that she is back in this book and a different capacity. She has totally moved away from financial crimes but I love that she still has that mind in her tenacity of look for data. If you have not read and books with Agent Keller, that is okay, while there is a sentence or two that relate back to other books featuring her, you do not need to read them to understand this book. I will say that because there are multiple POV in this book you may not feel the connection to Agent Keller or any of the characters as they do not get a lot of page time.

There are a few things that you need to know before going into this book, if you like short chapters this is for you, the chapters are only a few pages long at most. There are quite a few POV (and if you have read other books by Finlay this will not be a surprise for you), six families to be exact plus some POV from the college students as well. So if you do not like multiple POV this book will not be for you, but i do think that Finlay does a good job of keeping them unique so that it was not confusing

I love that this book was full of secrets. Everyone and every family seemed to have a secret that they were keeping from other family members and each has hope that theirs will not be discovered. I enjoyed how all of these secrets interfered with the investigation as each one comes to light it needs to be investigated for a connection. This felt very real to me, and the whole no stone unturned in order to kind the college students. I will say I was able to figure who was responsible, but Finlay does a great job in have lots of twist, turns and red herrings along the way. I enjoyed how each new piece of evidence was discovered even if it was relevant or not.

This was a fun ride, not my favourite in the Agent Keller series (The Night Shift is my favourite so far) as I felt she had less page time than I would like, but still a solid read that I think that people will enjoy whether they have read Finlay before or not.

Enjoy!!!

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Stacey Marie Brown: Savage Lands

In the first in a series Stacey Marie Brown takes readers to the war between Humans and Fae:

The Barrier between Earth and the Otherworld fell and the Fae Wars began. The Fae one, but there are some Human only strong holds, normally led by the rich and one of these is in Budapest. The battle for dominance between the Fae and Human Elite is about to reach a breaking point. Brexley has grown up privileged, but it has not been without struggles and hardships in her life. Now the ward of General Markos, she is forced to train to become a fearsome warrior against the Fae but she is also a political pawn. One night Brexley make a decision that will change everything, she is captured and thrown into The House a Death, a prison where no one leaves alive. Brex must learn to survive the worst of the human and Fae criminals and him, Warwick, the most brutal and feared man in the prison, The winner of the Pit Games.

When I read the premise of this book, I was like yup, that sounds like something that I want to read. I’m surprised that I have not seen anything about this book before, it was recommended for me on my Libby app. This book had a lot of things I enjoy in the fantasy genre; fast paced, darker elements (I mean it is a prison and there is a pit for fighting to the death), a FMC that knows how to fight, a mystery to solve, and some twist, that might not be original, but interesting nonetheless.

 At the beginning I really liked Brex as a character. Her recklessness, her fighting abilities and cocky attitude but I felt when she went to prison, she lost all of that. I understand that ending up in a prison that no one leaves would change anyone, but it is like she forgot her backbone and ability to fight completely. For quite a bit of time she becomes a completely different character. Once again I get it she is trying to figure out her place in the prison but to not stand up for herself at all especially towards people who do not have her training was just a weird way to take her character. She was all badass, even just before entering the prison by fighting some Fae but as soon as she descended this was all gone. I will say that Brex did not lose her brain though, she was smart with some of her choices, like her name and who she sat with

I’m extremely curious as to what Brex powers are going to turn out to be. I have some ideas but won’t know more till late in the series I think. The one thing that is lacking in the book is the powers of the Fae and Demons that are in Prison. It appears the shifters still have some powers but not their full strength. So we didn’t get to really see what "people" could do. The fights were straight fist fights with barely any powers. This is what happened in prison, powers were limited or taken away altogether. I think it would have been interesting (and probably darker) if Brown had decided not to strip every one of their powers. I want to see what a Demon can do, what the Fae can do in this world.

I like that Brown did not have this turn into a spicy book and I think it could have gone either way, but I liked that Brown just kept it at tension and it will be interesting to see how it plays out especially with how this book ended.

This was a great start to series and I'm happy that there are already quite a few books released for me to read. I think if you want a fast paced read, where Humans and Fae are pitted against each other then this is one to check out.

Enjoy!!!

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Neal Shusterman: All Better Now

Neal Shusterman is back and this time all he is trying to do is make the whole world Happy:

A new pandemic is traveling the world, the first symptom is a fever that may kill you, but if you survive something magical happens, you feel utter contentment, happiness, everything is new again and beautiful. No negative thoughts, or worries, nothing to weigh a person down, those thoughts and emotions no longer exist. Some people flock to get Crown Royals, others will do everything in their power to eradicate Crown Royal. Who is on the right side, wanting Crown Royal to unburden them or those who see the disease as a case of the body snatchers, only time will tell.

Wow, this was such a unique concept, not so much the idea of a pandemic but the idea that a virus can make all your worries, all your bad thoughts, your inclination to do bad things go away. One now exist in this concept of enlightenment and everything will be okay. What better way for a virus to spread than to have the people who have had it be so happy that they want to share it with everyone.

I think that Shusterman did a good job of showing multiple POV in this book, from those who have had and recovered from Crown Royal and those desperately trying not to catch it. While those who are trying to not catch it are painted in a more negative light, I think Shusterman tries to maintain this balance through Mariel and her interactions and questioning what Ron is doing.

What I liked about this book is that it made me think. Who is right who is wrong? Is it right for those who have Crown Royal to spread it even though some who get it will die and is Crown Royal really all that great as it inhibits your ability to think rationality about situations. And those who are searching for a cure (basically the wealthy, as they worry about their fortunes) is it so bad that they don’t want to catch it and change who they are and what they believe in even if they are horrible people. I don’t know if i can say who were the true Bad Guys in those general terms.

I think that Shusterman created such a unique story that I am glad I read it and had to think through it. That said I think you need to be in the right headspace to consume this book. I will admit there were times when I did not want to pick this book up as I needed something more fluffy and popcorn to escape in but I am still glad I read this book.

This book is said to be more YA (12+) but I question that. I think the topic may be a bit heavy for the younger side of YA reading group but maybe I am a bit out of touch of this.

I do wonder if there where be another book after this one, just based upon how this one ends. And out of pure curiosity sake I would probably pick this one up, but I really need to be in the right Mood to do so.

Enjoy!!!

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Sabaa Tahir: An Ember in the Ashes

In the first of a series, Sabaa Tahir has a slave and a solider one fighting for freedom the other fighting to betterment of the empire:

Laia lives a sheltered but not naive life under her grandparents, until one night the Silver faces come and change everything. Now she will risk it all in order to dave her brother. Elias, has never fit in with the other Soldiers in training, he is the best of them, but he does not want the silver mask to be a permanent part of his body. He wants freedom and not to be part of the Tyranny he is training to enforce. And neither of them know that the choices that they make could change the very fate of the empire itself. 

WOW, this book was amazing, had me hooked from start to beginning and I did not want to put this book down. I have no idea why I don’t see more about this book and the only thing that I can think of is that this book in 2015 but this means that I don’t have to wait to read the rest of the series as it is complete. This book is stated to be a YA novel as both of the main characters are younger but it is on the darker side of things and I found that both the main characters were mature for their age, which would be due to their circumstances and how they were brought up.

This book is fast paced throughout, there is the political intrigue as well that is happening and the magic system (which I admit do not fully understand yet) is very unique in who receives the power. It very much has the you don’t know who you can trust, especially as you get further into the book and you just feel for both Laia and Elias and what they are each wanting to achieve. As the world is based upon Ancient Rome, not a lot of world building was required and Tahir was able to get right into the story and what was occurring.

I was invested in both Laia and Elias, and i question how you could not be. Laia especially goes on a journey to show just how tough and resourceful she can be in order to achieve something to save her brother's life. The Commandant is just a vile human being that both Laia and Elias have to interact with. Both characters are strong, determined and both believe that they are doing the right thing. 

The whole Silver mask part and it becoming one with the person who is wearing it was pretty creepy and I can understand why Elias chose to continually remove his. 

I think the one thing that I will criticize of this book is that they ending was predictable, you knew what was going to come. But i still loved this book and really enjoyed the ride.

I highly recommend this series if you enjoy the fantasy genre and even if you do not it is not that High of Fantasy that one would become confused. The fast pace of this book, with the political intrigue thrown in that does not take away from the pace is done right. Cannot wait to read the next book. I can see this book being one i recommend for a long time.

Enjoy!!!

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Elle Cosimano: Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave

This is the 5th book in the series so you will need to read the first four before this one. Start with Finlay Donovan is Killing it and go on from there.

Elle Cosimano brings Finlay Donovan is back and there is another body in her backyard, well her neighbours:

Finlay and Vero are happy to be home and looking for things to settle down and Finlay knows that she needs to get some writing done. What neither of them expected is for a body to be found in their neighbour across the street back yard and none could believe that Mrs. Haggarty was arrested for the murder. When the police clear her, her house remains an active crime scene, she has no where to go other an into Finlay's house and Stephen now becomes the prime suspect. As much as Finlay hates Stephen at time, she can't let him be charges with murder and Finaly and Vero know a few things about murder. 

I would have been fine with this series ending with book 4 as all the main plot points had been wrapped up. But I will say that it was fun to dive back into this series and this one took the more cozy roots and we seem to be done with gangsters and have moved back home with the same antics that Finlay and Vero seem to get up to in every book. I will say that they book feels familiar with some of the things that Finlay and Vero do in this book, mainly throwing all caution to the wind, but it also felt a bit predictable in the sense of oh they need to find this piece of evidence or information, what is the most crazy and outlandish way to get it.

I feel like Mrs. Haggarty was not only a great addition to the side characters but really stole the show in this book. I loved learning about Mrs. Haggarty's life and how gangster she has been in what she has chosen to do with her life. I feel like we all need a Mrs. Haggarty on our street keeping track of everything and setting things right.

This book was fun, I don’t think as good as the first two in the series, but I enjoyed it while i was reading it as I need to read something more cozy in awhile. This does end on a cliffhanger of the one plot point in the series that has not been wrapped up so I'll most likely read the next book in the series.

Enjoy!!!

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