Twilight (Dance with the Devil 7) by Megan Derr

More than seventy years have passed since Neirin du Lac was banished from the dragon clans he called home. Though he misses them, he and his dragon Troyes have built a happy life with his lover Barra, and their friends Devlin and Midnight. It is a not a life he would ever trade, not even for a chance to return to the clans.

Then the very last person he ever expected to see again comes begging for help: Prince Avalon Pendragon, ruler of the clans, a man Neirin once called friend, once wished to call lover. When Avalon tells him why he needs Neirin's help, it's not a request he can refuse, nor can his friends refuse to help him. 

But the people bold enough to steal from the clans are not to be trifled with, and in the midst of fighting for their lives Neirin also finds himself caught between the man he loves now and the man he never truly left behind…

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

>>>>>SPOILERS!!!<<<<<<

This was a book set in the past, made up of three parts from three different views.

I love how Megan is slowly bringing all the different elements, stories, and people from her DWTD series in together. A couple of examples: The house fire that 'killed' the 'Mad Duke' that was previously mentioned happened in this book and the gloves that Devlin uses in Shield of the King were introduced.

The actually story was good, though I did find myself a bit annoyed with all the running around and how Avalon's story was hinted on but not explained for the first two thirds of the book. I can understand keeping it a surprise but I enjoyed re-reading the book more when I knew what all the vague references were about. 

Now the big spoiler: OMG Prince Avalon is Sable's 'son'?! Or more accurately, he holds part of Sable in him, giving him some of the powers of a demon ('Princeling of Storms', so cute!) but also most of the restrictions when it comes to remaining in territories. I now desperately want to know if Chris, Sable's consort will find out about the relationship and also if he and Devlin are related. It really is coming around full circle/ being more entwined than I thought.

The only negative that really annoyed me, was the confusion around Sable's summoning's. (date's here are approximate, because I'm going from memory and there have been conflicting mentions) There must have been a couple but it's not really explained. In one book it's mentioned he was in a mirror and had been summoned by a cruel man who tried to summon many more demons but failed (except for one other)? Then it was mentioned that he was summoned in the fifteenth/sixteenth century to hep 'create' Avalon. Then in this one he says in the current timeline (19th century) that if he was around as long as Avalon had been (300 years-ish), he would need a consort, yet he doesn't meet Chris for at least another hundred years? So was he summoned to create Avalon, and then again in between that event and the books current day? 

Apart from this little hiccup, this was a great book and I'm glad Megan was talked into writing it (by her partner and her sister I think I read somewhere). I'll be devastated when the next and final book in the series 'Dance in the Storm' comes out. 

The Northern Heart (Kingdom Curses 2) by Sasha L. Miller

Several weeks ago Emmerich saved the royal family—but at great cost to himself. He keeps going into trances and wandering off, and the problem is getting worse. If they don't figure out a solution soon, whatever's wrong will kill him. As if that's not enough, the person stuck babysitting him is a man he desperately wishes had wanted him for more than one night.

Pearce is at his wits end trying to save the man he cares about. Nothing he tries helps for more than a moment, and each time Emmerich falls asleep and slips into a trance, bringing him back out requires greater and greater magic—if the trance doesn't kill him first, waking him most certainly will. 

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

When I started this book I had no idea that it was the second book in a series. It was only after a lot of confusion in the first third (lots of references to previous events) that I stopped and looked up on Goodreads to see if it was a sequel. 

I don't know if things were better explained in the first book, but in this one not much was explained (which is stupid considering how much time is between two books in a series being published, give readers a refresher!). What are nodes? What are hearts? Are the hearts physical, magical or both? What was the world situation (realms etc) and how was the royal family structured? Etc, etc.
Confusion = annoyance and boredom. 

As for the actual story, the book was a very long way of resolving one problem. That was it. It really felt more like a novella, or perhaps it should have been compressed down into a couple of chapters of a longer book with more plot elements and story/character developments.

Wytch and Prinze by Kassandra Lea

Medium Jacob Wytch lives in the forest with his fluffy dog Gruff and his ghostly fairy godmother Amelie. When he gets a call from his friend Renwick Prinze, he panics. Jacob has been pining for Renwick longer than he cares to admit. Instead of admitting, however, he listens to Amelie and begins to sabotage Renwick's beds in hopes of inviting his dashing friend to sleep with him. 

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

This book was weird. It was like the author wrote a full size book retelling the fairytale of 'The Princess and the Pea', then decided to make bullet points of what happened, and presented the bullet points as the story instead. This mean't that it really felt like nothing happened. 

Everything was compressed or glossed over. Mentions of tours for his ghostly abilities, but in the book he doesn't leave his house. There is only one ghost in the story and it can't seem to remember what it's limitations are (at one point, it moved a book when apparently ghost cant touch things?)

The editor really needed to say, "this is a great idea, now go and expand it into an actual book". 

Danced Close (Portland Heat 4) by Annabeth Albert

Newly clean and sober, Todd's taken a shine to his job at Portland's most talked about bakery. It's not just the delicious desserts they sell, but the tasty treats who keep walking through the door. That certainly includes Kendall Rose, a wedding planner with eyes the color of brown sugar and skin to match. Todd doesn't try to hide his attraction to Kendall's elegant confidence and unique style, even as he worries about exposing the secrets of his past. 

For Kendall, the attention is just part of the anything-goes Portland he's grown to love. But he's still looking for that special someone who will embrace all of him—including his gender fluidity. So he takes a chance and asks Todd to be his partner in a dance class leading to a fundraiser. When the music starts and he takes Todd in his arms, Kendall is shocked at how good it feels. Turns out taking the lead for once isn't a mistake. In fact, it might be time to take the next step and follow his heart ... 

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

This wasn't a story. This was a bunch of issues, HIV, drug addiction, etc, held together by a very weak plot line of two guys learning to dance together. That was it, no other story, characters were not fleshed out and the 'ending' just fell flat. 

Breath of Fire (Kingmaker Chronicles 2) by Amanda Bouchet

SHE'S DESTINED TO DESTROY THE WORLD... 
"Cat" Catalia Fisa has been running from her destiny since she could crawl. But now, her newfound loved ones are caught between the shadow of Cat's tortured past and the threat of her world-shattering future. So what's a girl to do when she knows it's her fate to be the harbinger of doom? Everything in her power.

BUT NOT IF SHE CAN HELP IT

Griffin knows Cat is destined to change the world-for the better. As the realms are descending into all-out war, Cat and Griffin must embrace their fate together. Gods willing, they will emerge side-by-side in the heart of their future kingdom...or not at all.

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

I really wish I had of read the first book in this series first. It's not necessary, you can follow the story, however I feel like the relationships were established in that book and were not defined/explained well in this one, especially at the start.

World rules had some confusion, but again this may have been explained in book one and not reiterated = why are their alpha's and beta's but also queens?

The romance was good but the news at the end came out of left field

She was pregnant the whole time she was throwing herself into suicidal situations

, she's watched over and helped by a bunch of Gods and yet none of them told her/warned her before she went into dangerous situations?! That's just shitty. 


Also, her powers were no really well explained. Were the gills now permanent? What was with the lightning power? And did the author make a big deal about Persephone watching over her and then seemingly forget about it?

I will read the third book when it comes out, because while their was holes, the story was good and I want answers!!!

Something Like Magic by Max C. Payne

John Cunningham is a private investigator looking into the disappearance of his friend's son, but he hits a roadblock because there's no evidence and the perpetrators are thought to have used magic. For assistance, he's pointed to magical consultant Orion Kensington, and asks for his help despite John's bad history with magic and reluctance to have anything to do with it.

But as the case grows more dangerous, and his unexpected attraction to Orion stronger, John soon realizes it's his own reluctance and hesitation that might get them killed long before magic and demons do it.

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

For the love of all things holy, if you are going to introduce an original, magically diverse 'world' don't throw a couple of snipets out there and then refuse to explain/flesh out anything else!

For instance, "I'd had no idea there were so many different types of supernatural with varying differences in their magic and what they could do with it. The list had sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards separate from witches, thought my thinking was that they were basically the same... Except for sorcerers, those I knew ran toward special from normal witches." 

And that was it. No more explanations except for some really bad ones about Orion's 'Magic'.
There was more clothing descriptions than magic ones. 

Lost Souls (Cainsville 3.5) by Kelley Armstrong

The disappearing hitchhiker is one of the hoariest urban legends, and no one knows that better than Gabriel Walsh, a lawyer who grew up on folklore and myth. When author of books on the supernatural Patrick brings Gabriel a case of a hitchhiking woman in white who vanished on a country road after accepting a ride from a businessman, Gabriel knows the Cainsville elder is just trying to wheedle into his good graces. But Gabriel is a man in need of a mystery, one that will get him back into someone else’s good graces. His investigator, Olivia Taylor-Jones, has blown town supposedly on a simple vacation. But when she left there was a rift between them and…he misses her.

Gabriel is well aware the only thing Olivia loves more than a good mystery is a weird one, and this hitchhiker case more than fits the bill. As Gabriel digs into the story, he’s forced to face ghosts of his own and admit that the woman in white isn’t the only one who has lost her way.

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

I would not recommend reading this novella without reading  books 1 through 3. It was just confusing without reading the rest of series. Yes the basic story was understandable, but the characters, their thoughts, feelings and relationships were not, nor was the world building. 

It was kind of like being thrown down a rabbit hole and being told to follow along a story half-way through without any cliff notes. 

Murder Wears White (Wedding Planner Mystery 2) by Stephanie Blackmoore

Mallory Shepards wedding planning business is off to a shaky start when a member of the bridal family drops dead at a food tasting . . ." 

Mallory hopes to unveil her new B&B just in time for her first ceremony as a wedding planner. The renovations to Thistle Park the mansion she inherited in small-town Port Quincy, Pennsylvania are almost complete. But what Mallory didn't plan on is the bride's aunt being poisoned at the wedding tasting and her perfect venue becoming a crime scene. 


Adding to the mystery is the discovery that this is not the first murder in the bridal family, and as Mallory becomes engaged in her own investigation she learns the man convicted of the crime may not be guilty. Now she has two crimes to solve before the bride walks down the aisle but a killer has other plans to ensure that Mallory forever holds her peace . . . '

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

I didn't realise until about 2 chapters in, that this was the second book in a series (not good publishers) and that I had previously read and reviewed the first book on Goodreads. 

Engaged In Death (book 1) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1639769943?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

This was just another cute, sweet, 'cosy mystery'. Nothing new, nothing excited, just the kind of book you read when you want to take your mind off things without having to think to hard. Enjoyable and I will read more in the series if I can get them for free, but I don't love them enough to purchase them.

Murder Go Round (Witch City Mystery 4) by Carol J. Perry

Lee Barrett has agreed to attend a storage auction with Aunt Ibby--even though she suspects the forgotten rooms will yield more junk than treasure. Her skepticism vanishes once the two win a bid on an overlooked locker and uncover a trove of beautiful curiosities, including a stunning wooden carousel horse with gentle eyes and fading paint. But just before Lee leaves the fairground relic at a local repair shop, the sight of a silver samovar awakens her psychic abilities and conjures visions of murder. 


Lee prays the intrusive ESP episode was just a glimpse into the past--until her policeman boyfriend reports a dead man outside the repair shop. Apparently, the unknown victim had been hot on Lee's trail since the auction. And with the horse found dismantled, it looks like he was up to no good. What's the story behind the antique equine, and could a strange bubblegum-chewing woman with fiery hair have something to do with the crime? Guided by her gift and O'Ryan, her wise tabby cat, Lee's set on catching the murderer . . . before she's sent on the darkest ride of her life. 

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

Can I start off by pointing out, why do 90% of 'cosy mystery' heroines have cops for boyfriends? I know its helpful for the story but it is soooo repetitive. 

I didn't mind this book, but it didn't really leave a mark. Case in point, I'm writing this review about a fortnight after finishing the book and I'm struggling to remember what happened. 

There was a bit more romance than normal for a 'cosy mystery' novel, but it was still only limited to kisses, sleepovers, and allusions towards certain activities occurring on the sleepovers (lol). 

The writing was a bit convoluted. Lots of unnecessary elements to try and throw the reader off the scent, i.e. various red herrings, and constant mention of those 'cards' with the 'clues' written on them. 

Probably my biggest issue was the editing/facts. There was a couple of continuation problems, for example the date with Rupert was on, then cancelled, then suddenly back on? As for the facts, the golden egg from the scrap collector was sold in 2012 not 2011 and Russian's generally believe that it is Maria not Anastasia in the second grave with Alexei, it's an American romantic ideal that it is Anastasia. 

All in all, okay book, but nothing new, and nothing impressive, especially the end which was really hands off/disappointing/cheap.