The Hunt: The Complete Edition by Liz Meldon
The Hunt: The Complete Edition*
A Bad Angel and a Good Demon?
This box set has all four books of The Hunt series, Prey, Predator, Stalker, and Killer. In this series, Meldon has created a complex world of angels and demons, and Heaven and Hell. Severus is an incubus who is working as an escort near a hell-gate. His world shifts dramatically when college student, Moira, becomes a client. Unlike other patrons, he is unable to take in her life force energy, which he needs to survive, yet his inner demon desperately wants to connect physically with her. Moira walks out before the end of their session, frightened of the change she saw in his eyes. Unable to shake her from his mind after the encounter, he stalks her until she confronts him. He senses that she is not wholly human, but he doesn’t know what exactly she is until they talk about her past and her parentage. Then it is clear; she is an angel-human hybrid, something that is not supposed to exist. The warrior angels are on earth to protect the humans from the darkness, no matter what form it may come in, whether demons, vampires, or witches. But they aren’t supposed to mate with humans.
Though her angel father may want to destroy his mistake, Moira wants to find out more about him. She and Severus form a team of sorts. Though he fights becoming more involved with her life, he feels connected to her and more alive than he’s ever been. He also feels a strong need to protect her. After the first book, his need to protect only grows and becomes more complex as they face dangers in multiple realms.
What will happen with Moira and her father? From what evils–and in what realms–must Severus protect her? Will Moira become strong in the presence of dangers she never knew existed–or will her naivety get her into trouble? Will Severus and Moira fall for each other, or is an incubus only capable of lust?
I found this a surprisingly compelling read. The author has created a complex world about which she only gives us the relevant information as we need it. Reading about Severus’s existence before Moira scratches the surface of what it is like to live as an incubus in this story’s world. When Moira and Severus team up, we learn more about the world as Moira does. More and more gets revealed with each book.
The writing style is smooth, making the book very easy to get into. Severus was a fascinating character right from the start, and he becomes more interesting as he gets more and more involved with Moira. Moira is harder to get to know. When she relates the changes she has been going through, the reader realizes there is more to her than meets the eye; but as she doesn’t know herself early on, neither can we yet fully understand her. She sometimes did things in the later books that weren’t in her best interest, and I didn’t feel she came into her own until the journey to hell. By that point, though, both characters had such strength and purpose that the books were page-turners.
Marrying Mars by Shay Quin
Marrying Mars*
The Bachelor: Mars Edition
We meet Billie after her friend convinces her to do a call-in show that use subterfuge to figure out if someone’s partner is cheating on them. We watch her devastation and public humiliation as she finds out that her friend is right; her boyfriend has been cheating on her., She moves out and retreats into herself, her only enjoyment being watching the reality TV show about the in-progress colonization of Mars. At the start of the new season, her celebrity crush on this show, Marsden, announces a spin-off show in which women will compete to be his bride; Earth citizens can pick the final 5, but Marsden gets the ultimate yeah or nay. Billie decides to enter. What does she have to lose?
How will Billie do in all the tests and competitions that are a part of the show? Can she make him notice her? Will she be able to develop real feelings for this man while he’s on Mars and she’s on Earth? Will she win?
The author did an excellent job of showing the state of Billie’s life before it all went downhill. It was a gripping scene to watch her go through that call-in show where she finds out about her boyfriend’s infidelity. I love that Billie is an unapologetically normal sized woman in a world where tinier is better. She is an empathetic character, and I love her humor, which is often self-deprecating. I actually did laugh out loud a few times. I found to be such an enjoyable, guilty-pleasure read with just that little bit different, but fascinating spin on something that we’re already familiar with. Fans of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette will enjoy this for sure!
Redeemed Unto Freedom by Journey Jackson
Redeemed Unto Freedom*
Love and Order in the Classroom
Melissa Kettering, from Baltimore, makes the journey to Clear Water, Montana, after the deaths of her husband and child to start a new life as a school teacher. Rob Forrester is the schoolmaster in Clear Water. While they get along personally, they have some differences of opinion about how to handle order in the classroom. Will Melissa soften Rob’s ways? Or will he demand that she be more like him? As they come to know each other, will romantic sparks fly?
This book has more than the typical issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage. Commas are problematic. The book takes place in Montana in the 1870s. Yet the author uses words and phrases that are more modern and seems jarring in the context of the story. For instance, Rob initially referred to Melissa as Ms. Kettering. The use of the title *Ms.* is a more modern invention; she would have been called Mrs. Kettering. There are lots of awkward phrases and juxtapositions, and the dialogue doesn’t sound natural. Their journey to love was not shown in a way that made it seem believable.
The Road Leads Back by Marci Bolden
The Road Leads Back*
Breathtakingly Beautifully Written Tale of Coming Home To Love
Forty-something hippie chick artist, Kara, is blown away when she is touched on the shoulder by a man she hasn’t seen since their one-night stand nearly thirty years ago. They had each had a secret crush on each other during high school, and after a graduation party, acted on it. This resulted in a pregnancy that, through no fault of either of them, Harry never knew about. Their son, Phil, is a father of a young daughter with Down syndrome.
How will this play out for this long-fractured family unit? Can Kara give up her resentment and anger and allow Harry to get to know his son and granddaughter? How will Harry react to finding out that he is not only the father of a grown son but also a grandfather to a special needs girl? Will Phil accept Harry and allow him to know his daughter?
What an emotional ride! This author hit all the right buttons showing the varied and varying emotional responses of the primary characters. The pain expressed by them is raw and real. She deftly reveals the past slowly so the various parties can understand the impact of decisions made by others that affected this family unit. The author writes with an emotional honesty that is breathtaking to read. I tend to move quickly through books, as I am an avid and fast reader, but this book had me slowing down and immersing myself in the thoughts and feelings of these good people who had been kept apart. It is a real pageturner, though not in the action-filled sense we usually think of one.
On the book review site where I downloaded this book from, it was listed as both Contemporary Romance and Women’s Literature. I agree with these labels; categories at both review sites and online retailers are often inaccurate. If you read romance, you’ve read the second chance at romance and the secret child tropes before a gazillion times. But in this book, these themes are explored with emotional and psychological depth, which is more common in women’s literature. Kudos to the author for creating such three-dimensional characters and an in-depth backstory. For instance, it was beautiful to read Harry’s reaction as he was thumbing through Phil’s baby pictures.
Goddess of Love by Fallyn Briggs
Goddess of Love*
What If You Shared Body and Consciousness with Aphrodite?
When Andra was a young girl, she loved the stories her mother told her about the ancient Greek gods and goddesses. Little did she know that those stories were real and would become her nightmare. According to the legends her mother shared, the Olympian gods were cursed to continue existing but only through human hosts, generation after generation. Andra’s family had often been host to these gods and goddesses. On her 18th birthday, Andra becomes host to the goddess Aphrodite. Being a goddess, Aphrodite wants to completely take over Andra’s life, which she very nearly does. Andra lives where Aphrodite wants, has the job the goddess wants her to have, and interacts with others as Aphrodite wants her to do (even, at times, making Andra black out so she won’t remember). She’s married to the host of Hephaestus; the god is kind, but his host is not. Her being the host of Aphrodite has strained other relationships in her life, particularly with her sister.
Will Andra ever be able to take control of her life from Aphrodite? Can she improve her relationship with her human husband, Kal? Is there any hope for her love life . . . and the rest of the problems created by her unique situation?
I liked the way the author introduced the mythical part of the book, having Andra’s mother relate the myths to the 8-year-old girl. The author does an excellent job of showing the mental battles between Andra and Aphrodite. She was able to show how Andra felt continually put upon by Aphrodite’s thoughts and actions. The author presented other gods and goddesses in ways that rang true to Greek mythology.
This is a very unusual book, but one that I found interesting to read. I like it when authors play around with fairytales and mythology, especially when they bring it into contemporary times. The author pulled that off very well.
I received a free copy of this book, but this did not affect my review.
Flames of Fear by A. C. Pontone
Flames of Fear*
Learning More About Her Background . . . and Theirs
After the disaster in the last book, the Drakon brothers are keeping Emma under very close watch. Emma learns many more things about this new world that she was born into, but she never knew existed, including surprises about her lineage and more information about her Twin Flames. She also gets to meet other key players in the magical realm, and she starts to understand better her role within it. Two powerful kings, though, have their own plans for her.
How will Emma’s relationship evolve with her Twin Flames? How do her father and Amy fit into it all? Who will be the master of her fate, her or someone else?
I appreciated that the author gave a little sum-up of book one from Emma’s perspective at the start; there is always time between reading books in a series, so a mini recap helps. I do feel, though, that the exposition at the beginning went on a little long, not only summarizing information of the last book but summarizing some of what has happened between the end of that book and the start of this one. Of note, this book had several cliffhangers. I like how we learned more about the background of the Drakon brothers, especially James.
If you enjoyed the previous book in this series, you will appreciate reading about their continuing adventure as well as Emma and the Drakon brothers learning more about each other. While this could be enjoyed without having read the first book since she does do a good job of summarizing it, you will have a deeper appreciation of the story if you have read book 1.
Say I Do by Crystal Kaswell
Say I Do*
Sex and Profanity . . . Oh, My!
This boxset contains three of the author’s novels as well as an extended sample of one that is coming out this spring. I loved the cover; it looks so sweet and innocent that I thought the stories would be the same. So I was a little surprised when the first novel started out with a fair amount of profanity. That story, Dangerous Rock, is about a spur-of-the-moment marriage between a rock musician and a usually more proper woman. The second one, Pretend You’re Mine, has a man pretending to be dating his best female friend so that he can save face at his ex’s wedding…but it starts to become real. The final one, Play Your Heart Out, is another story about a “pretend” relationship. This time, a rockstar who has the image of “boyfriend” is now minus his real-life girlfriend; his record company wants him to get another one ASAP. So he hires a law student to pretend to be his girlfriend; he’ll pay for her law school.
I found these novels to be disappointing. They are so different for my expectation, not knowing the author’s reputation and just judging the book by the cover. The books are pretty much all sex and profanity, and there isn’t much distinction between various characters and how they speak or act; each character should always be individual. I found the style of writing choppy as well. There were a lot of one sentence paragraphs which, doesn’t make for an easy or insightful read.
One Last First Date by Kate O’Keefe
One Last First Date*
Literally Made Me Laugh Out Loud!
Cassie and her two best girlfriends make a pact on the beach. Whomever they go on a date with next will be the man they marry, their “last first date.” It took three months for one of them to finally make that move after some heavy-duty vetting and research of the man, Parker, a doctor. Cassie is working on a big project at work at this time as well, partnering with the number one sales agent in the office whom she considers to be a bit of a jerk, Will. The last first date starts off as a bit of a disaster when she accidentally punches her own nose trying to get her skirt uncaught. But the rest of the dinner goes well.
Will Parker, that hopeful last first date, truly be that? Does he have any old girlfriends lurking around in the past? What about Will? Will their project be successful without coming to blows or oneupsmanship?
This book was a very fun, light-hearted read. It is based in Australia. It’s written with a great deal of humor. I actually did laugh out loud at times! Sometimes at the situation Cassie had gotten herself into or her reaction to it. In a fun way that I love in good sitcoms, the author would occasionally create what would become an in-joke, as in she would set up fact early on and then used it to create a humorous situation. It is rare to see such a comedic device in a fluffy romance, so it was a delight.
The Spring Duke by Jillian Easton
The Spring Duke*
An American Heiress Shows Up on a Duke’s Doorstep
Athena, the heroine, is an American who sails for England with the plan to marry a duke, spurred on by her great-grandmother’s love letter from the current duke’s great-grandfather. She shows up on an auspicious day, when the duke requires a new governess. The widower’s headstrong daughter has frightened away nannies and governesses from a young age. He, of course, thinks Athena is ridiculous in her proposal, but rather than turn her away to go back to Boston, he sees a way out of his present predicament. He offers her the position of temporary governess until he can find a “proper” one; the last governess had told him that he had gone through all available ones at her agency. The two do have a near-instant attraction, but the duke fights it.
What will the daughter think of her temporary governess? Will Athena have come to England only to be eventually sent home? Will the duke start to see her as his future duchess?
The author has an excellent ear for writing humor. Both the duke’s and Athena’s perspectives show wit, dry in the duke’s case and snarky and bold in Athena’s case. It was fun to watch the turns of their minds and read the banter. Athena had an affinity for Victoria, the duke’s daughter, as she sees so much of herself in the young girl.
I recommend this quick, witty read.
The Dragon’s Air Witch by Lisa Daniels
The Dragon's Air Witch*
Can They Find a Cure for the Creeping Rot?
The search continues to put an end to the Creeping Rot once and for all. To this end,
Will the crew even get to
The author has created a fascinating and complex world with this series about the Six Isles. The Isles are distinct, but the magic beings on board each cannot escape the Creeping Rot when it cyclically flares and runs rampant. I’ve read two books in the series now, and each book adds a layer to help better understand the history, present, and the future these worlds.
If you enjoy complex paranormal science fiction with a hint of romance and a world-saving quest, you might enjoy this book.
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