Reading Fanatic Reviews
ParanormalA Spellbinder’s Denial by Marie-Claude Bourke
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Thalia, and Bol.de
A Spellbinder's Denial*
Another Well-Written Installment in the Series
I believe this is the third book that I have read of this Black Oak warlock series, and I enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed the other two. This author has a way of drawing you right into the book because she creates such believable and sympathetic characters. Even in the first chapter at the auction, I felt I already had a good sense of who the hero and the heroine were, what they had gone through, and what it meant for them to meet again. There was a slight feeling of an information dump at the beginning, but actually it was mostly woven in pretty well compared to most narrative sections of that ilk. The story truly is character driven. I very much enjoyed watching this story unfold with two such decent people who are doing their best to protect those they love and care about. I’m a sucker for stories with a wounded hero or a wounded heroine; this story had both.
Cursing by Lynne Murray
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Cursing*
Humorous, Men-in-Black-style Story
What a fun read! In a book that is very reminiscent of Men In Black but magic-like powers and paranormal creatures, the heroine is indoctrinated into a secret society that is a part of, but separate from, our own—one that seeks those with unique abilities so they can protect the regular part of humanity from dangers that the everyday people don’t know about, after she accidentally kills her boss using powers that she never knew she had or even existed. The heroine has a quirky sense of self that is a delight to read in this first-person narrative. There’s a lot of ironic humor in the book; it’s fun to come across these little nuggets. There were some delightful twists and turns, and I loved the ending. Hoping there is more to come. I very much enjoyed this urban fantasy with a paranormal, alien twist!
Murder in Downfell Manor
Available at Amazon only
NOT with Kindle Unlimited
Murder in Downfell Manor*
Mystery with a Little Magical Chalk Dust
This book is certainly not what I expected it would be. From the blurb, I thought that it would take place at least in part at a magical academy where the female protagonist was failing out. But most of the blurb is actually backstory for what the real story is. While the book had magical elements and was grounded in a magical world, it is written in a straight-up fashion. It reads more like a traditional fugative mystery that just happens to have characters like mages and elves who are involved in the murder plot. The books have some issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage, and this was a little distracting at times. I’m wondering on the national origin of the author because some of the words were definitely strange, and when I looked them up, and they seem to be of either South African or Australian etymology. I typically enjoy paranormal mysteries very much, but this seemed to be just a straight-up whodunit with magical chalk dust.
The Un-Life of William Moore by Dana Lockhart
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, Smashwords, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
The Un-Life of William Moore*
Undirected and Pointless
I am not sure quite what to make of this book. I’ll admit I don’t usually read vampire books, but the blurb had me intrigued that this would not be like others of the subgenre. I spent a couple of hours with it, and as I sit here now, I find myself wondering what the point of the book was. In the end, I am disappointed. I felt like not much happened for the first part of the book except for the gradual teasing out of information about what vampires mean in this world. And this information was given super slowly over many weeks as the heroine dragged the information from the vampire who visited her weekly for a meal. Then as other characters became involved in their existence, things starting to get mildly more interesting. But the author didn’t really set up the changes that came in the latter half the book in the first part of the book. Yes, the vampire did mention another vampire, but he didn’t give too much information about him. In the end, this book felt more like it was setting up a vampire world more than it was an actual vampire novel, a proper story. It is more about world-building than the story. I didn’t like the end. Not at all. It made me feel like I had wasted a couple of hours. There truly was no point.
Defending Her Vikings by Skye MacKinnon
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBook, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
Defending Her Vikings*
A Little Bit of Steam in Time Travel Romance
Lainie is now back in the present with Hjalmar’s brother and mother. Time has gone by in the present, and things aren’t looking good for Hjalmar. What will they and the Archivist do to help? I enjoyed this installment of the serial. The author put a lovely little hot scene with Asger at the beginning, but there was a fun bit with the Archivist as well. The Archivist is not happy with her and all that she and Hjalmar did. The author ended with quite a fun little cliffhanger, which I am interested to see resolved. At the end, too, the author promised more in this Time Travel Academy series; I am so glad she’s going to continue it, as I have enjoyed this world she has created very much.
Shifters of Brigantia by Lisa Daniels
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Shifters of Brigantia*
Mega Collection of Shifter Series
Oh, my! What a fantastic box set of 12 paranormal shifter romance novellas! There are actually 3 series included, with 4 books each. I’ve enjoyed a previous series by this author, but I hadn’t read any from these series. These stories are different from your typical shifter romance ones in that there is a greater story arc that covers the entire mega-series, the classic fight between Good and Evil, Life and Destruction, and the imagined world (and its history and rules) is more complex than is typical. Even though each story is relatively short, the characters feel well developed and three dimensional. The heroes and heroines have undeniable chemistry. Some stories had a depth of emotion that I found surprising for both the subgenre and the length of the novella. I did think that the beginnings of some of them had a bit too much of an informational dump, but I tend to see that a lot in novellas, where authors seem to need to “get it all out there” so they can go on with the story they want to tell. I also thought that most of them did end a little too abruptly; again, this is something I feel like I often see in series, where the author doesn’t want to give away too much that might spoil the other books.
I did like how each of the three series that are included in this mega collection is based around the concept not only the animals—white tiger, jaguar, and panther—but also the idea that these animals represent in this world—guardian, champion, and assassin respectively. The magical women are paired with the type of hero that can best protect her and her magic. If you enjoy complex magical shifter romance, you may very well enjoy this well-written collection of series.
The Plague Doctor and the Pussycat by Brooke Shelby
Available at Amazon only (at this point)
Not with Kindle Unlimited
The Plague Doctor and the Pussycat*
Short Intro to Series
Witch Clara can’t help but interfere when her increasingly more fanatically conservative community—which doesn’t believe in vaccines—is overrun with measles cases. The healing soup she made for the children helped them, but now her secret is out!
This is a super short story that means to introduce this series. There’s not room for much depth, as you might imagine. I thought that the cat and the heroine sounded a little too much like each other; not much distinguished them. This really didn’t whet my appetite for more.
Spelling Bee by Adrienne Blake
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Spelling Bee*
Short and Sweet
I found myself to be rather charmed by this very short story that is meant to be an introduction to a greater series. I love the humor between mother and daughter as well as around the concept of the new hot Great Wizard! This can be read in under a half hour and probably even under 20 minutes. Charming, sweet breaktime fun!
Stained Bonds by Helen Scott and Serena Akeroyd
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Stained Bonds*
Learning More about Father and the Sires
Marcella and the boys are back! We learn much about Marcella’s father and the four Sires. Many conflicts keep this book moving, and much space is given to RH fun. In fact, there might be a little too much as the latter; there seems to be a lot of it presented in very vivid detail. While I always enjoy the arc of the individual stories within this series, I’m always somewhat repulsed by the level of profanity in the books as I don’t really see a need for it; I think authors believe they need to do so to appeal to late-teen, early twenties readers. There were some issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage, including a dangling modifier right in the first paragraph. If you’ve enjoyed the other books in this series, you’ll most likely enjoy this one that looks deeper into the entire world of the series. If you are new to this series, you definitely need to start at book one because it does build book by book.
The Redemption of Evalisa Trooge by Lauren M. Flauding
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
The Redemption of Evalisa Trooge*
Modern Spin on Classic Christmas Tale
This short story is a modern-day take A Christmas Carol. Instead of Ebenezer Scrooge, we have Evalisa Trooge. She is very much like the original with just a few modern spins. In this version, she redeems herself in multiple ways, personally, professionally, and romantically. But she does have a trip—mental and physical—to get there!
The book follows the standard format of looking at the past, present, and future. Realization builds for Evalisa. Because this book is so short, I didn’t feel like the backstories of each segment were fully realized. Sometimes, characters just seem to emote out of the blue. Some dialogue was a little clunky. There were definitely issues with grammar, punctuation, and spelling. But if you enjoy the themes of the original A Christmas Carol, you might enjoy this very short modern take on it.
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