Reading Fanatic Reviews
Paranormal RomanceTrinity by Serena Ackeroyd
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, Indigo (Chapters), and Bol.de
Trinity*
Hit All the Wrong Buttons
I loved the book’s beautiful cover, and I find myself intrigued by RH books these days, so I thought I would give this book a try. I’m sorry I did. I will admit that I did not get very far because so many elements of it just turned me off so quickly. First, this book seems to assume that one has a lot of knowledge about alphas, betas, and pack structure. While I have read some shifter books, this book seems to expect more than I know from just casually reading a few books. Then there’s the swearing. I just I’m not a fan of all the profanity that seems to be in so many books these days. It’s an immediate turn off for me. Sometimes I can get past it if I believe it is necessary for characterization, but it’s a massive no-go otherwise. Then there was a talk of a lot of rapes going on. I read books for enjoyment and escape, not to be reminded how brutal life can be. Hard pass.
A 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.
Betraying Her Vikings by Skye MacKinnon
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Bol.de
Betraying Her Vikings*
Too Abrupt End; Wanting More of Story
While this final installment wrapped up the serial neatly, I felt like the whole episode was too short and ended abruptly. I’ve read every installment of this serial, and honestly I feel like this story is just getting started… but instead, it’s the end! I’ve read a few reverse harem stories, and in most of them, the bulk of the book takes place after the group gets together. The combined serial story (all five episodes) just looks at how they all came together, with some very interesting parts in each episode to be sure, but still, it ends before we can see much of the group dynamic. I really wish there was more, as I really like Lainie and each of her men.
Date with a Werewolf by Lisa Daniels
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Date with a Werewolf*
Not My Favorite by this Author
I have enjoyed other books by Lisa Daniels, including the first one in this series as well as her Six Isles series. While I like the hero in this book, and I love following his thoughts, I could never quite identify with the heroine, so this book didn’t quite work for me. I think I was turned off at first by the level of profanity, as I don’t remember that being as much of an issue in the other books I’ve read by her. I am just turned off by excessive profanity in books, as I think they tend to be the crutch of authors who don’t write so well (and I don’t believe this author falls in that category). I grew up reading books that didn’t have a lot of profanity, so it is always jarring when I read such in books. I also didn’t like her cavalier attitude about sex. In this book, the relationships between the sisters are fraught with some tension, and the hero actually walks into a circumstance that is perhaps more than he bargained for, with the state of the dilapidation of the ranch as well as the broken family relationships between the siblings due to their upbringing. I wish I could say that I liked this more, because I do like most of the other books by this author, but this one just didn’t do it for me.
A Good Dragon is Hard to Find by Joynell Schultz
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
A Good Dragon is Hard to Find*
Sorry to See the End of Ruby and Ty’s Adventures
This installment wraps up the story of Ruby and Ty. As I had hoped at the end of the last installment, we learn much more about the magical realm that Ty comes from. It is a much harsher, darker world than I had imagined. Ty and Ruby had to make hard decisions as they ventured to the magical realm in order to try to figure out how to close the tears that caused unnatural passages between the realms. Their relationship grew by leaps and bounds, and it was a delight to watch unfold even if there were difficulties. Ruby also learns more about first father. I am actually sad that this is the last book of this series, as I did enjoy Ruby and Ty’s adventures. At the end of the book, though, the author says that we will continue to learn about Ruby and Ty as she starts another series that revolve around some of the other characters from this series.
As always with Ms. Schultz’s stories, she is able to combine some humor with personal growth and conflict in a way that engages and keeps you turning the pages. She has envisioned a difficult magical realm that has far more depth than one would expect in a series like this. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the rest of the series.
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.
Spring Vampires: Blooms of Blood by Eva Brandt
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Spring Vampires: Blooms of Blood*
Too Confusing to Enjoy
I am not quite sure what to make of this book. I quite enjoyed the first two books of this series (the Winter portion) and the prequel that went with it. For whatever reason, I’m having a hard time getting into this Spring Vampires arc. Like with the first Spring Vampires book, I felt the world was too confusing to enjoy and understand fully. Again, the numerous odd names of peoples and places (all of which seem to have multiple names) are confusing, especially given that some of these are derived from different cultures or are wholly made up. I don’t like having to keep a notepad off to the side to keep everything and everyone straight when all I want to do is pleasure read.
Much has changed for Eranthe in this book. She was never entirely the fluffy queen that she appeared to be at the start of the previous book. Her time as a prisoner of Hades and a secret that her mother has kept making her far more complex and perhaps more suitable as a soulmate for the vampires. I’m not sure if the author intends to publish any more in the vampires’ arc; if she does it like last time, there will only be two books (this being the last). Since I did enjoy the Winter’s part of this series, I am willing to check out the Summer part of the series to see if it will re-engage me, but if it is as confusing and as strange as I found this arc, I don’t think I’ll be reading any more of this series—even though I enjoyed the start so well.
Seducing Her Vikings by Skye MacKinnon
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
Seducing Her Vikings*
Stuck in Viking Times
Lainie is trapped in the Viking past for this serial installment of this book. Here, she meets Hjalmar’s mother and his brother, Asger. The brother believes that she is the woman that he has been dreaming about for some time, but Lainie is not interested… at first. Will she get back to modern times during this installment?
I am enjoying how the author includes all sorts of little tidbits about Viking history and culture in these serials. I had never heard of the frille system before. Interesting information about the brothers’ mother and where she came from. While things don’t actually get steamy back in Viking times, Lainie does have an erotic dream about Asger. Curious to see the next installment! Will Hjalmar be there and OK? How will the other time travelers fare in modern times?
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.
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