Curses, Foiled Again by Sera Trevor

Felix is a vampire—a fierce creature of the night who strikes terror into the hearts of everyone unlucky enough to become his prey. Or at least, that’s what he thought was true, until he met John. John is completely unimpressed with Felix, much to his dismay. Felix becomes fixated on proving his ferocity to John—and when that doesn’t work, he strives to make any impression on him at all.

John is a witch, and as all witches know, vampires are notoriously stupid creatures who only have the power to hurt those who fear them. Besides, he’s under a curse much more frightening than any vampire. Felix’s desperate attempts to impress him annoy John at first, but gradually, they become sort of endearing. Because of his curse, John has pushed everyone in his life away. But Felix can’t be hurt, so there’s no harm in letting him hang around.

Felix is technically dead. John has nothing left to live for. But together, they might have a shot at life.

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

While the concept of vampires being cursed (one of three ways) was original and different, it wasn't enough to save this book. 

It's one thing to have a good idea, it's another to have the skill to put the idea onto paper.
The characters were very one dimensional and I just didn't feel a connection. The plot didn't draw me in, there wasn't enough detail to flesh it out and it took me a few tries to finish which was disappointing.  

Murder Borrowed, Murder Blue (Wedding Planner Mystery 3) by Stephanie Blackmoore

A celebrity couple getting hitched on Valentine's Day would be a big boost for Mallory Shepard's wedding planning business, but someone's got cold feet: a corpse . . .

Actress Dakota Craig is set to tie the knot with her famous musician boyfriend at Mallory's Pennsylvania B&B on the most romantic day of the year. Best of all, the whole thing will air on the reality TV show I Do. But the maid of honor has dropped out of the wedding party--by dropping dead.

A lot of people insist the show must go on, so Mallory's investigation keeps getting sidetracked by everything from a meddling mother to a foot of snow to a side project making arrangements for a high school Winter Ball. But if she doesn't catch the noxious culprit, the bride might wind up with a funeral wreath instead of a bouquet . . .

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

I've read (and reviewed) the first two books in this series, and while I've enjoyed them, I can't honestly say that I would buy them. 

Minor Spoilers Ahead

This book has so many red herrings (and false arrests) that I felt like I was in a fish farm. I can understand one or two maybes, but setting up a culprit, explaining how they fit the crime, arresting them, and then being wrong multiple times is just irritating. Not to mention, when we do find out the identity of the actual killer the reasoning is a little far fetched and feels like an add on just so the author can be 'clever' with a murderer that no one will guess. Well der, we won't guess right when you've spent the entire book giving clues pointing to literally everybody else and then giving the 'real' reason in the last couple of pages completely out of the blue.

The writing was good and I liked the setting but all the characters were flat and lifeless, not just the dead ones. And what is going on with the 'romance' between Mallory and Garrett? I get that this is a cosy-mystery and not a romance, but these two have been 'together' for a year and I would see more connection between 2 people passing on the street. They hardly interact and the only physical contact are kisses to the forehead, holding hands, etc. Are they adults or 8 year olds in their first playground romance?!

The whole series is becoming a bit stale with the same premise happening again and again with no personal or relationship growth happening for the characters. I'll read the next book if I can get it for a free review, but only because the preview chapter of book 4 at the end of this one makes me want to get to know Becca's grandma. Sweet old lady who's willing to deviously trip Helene into a pool? Sounds like she should be the new MC. 

Read My Mind (Under the Empire 1) by Kelly Haworth

Reading someone's mind won't always tell you what they want.

Scott Kensington lives happily without magic; prayer is all he needs to worship the gods. Then he starts his studies at the University of Frannesburg, and not only is he suddenly surrounded by eccentrics—those gifted with magic—but his own latent ability begins to surface, with consequences that could tear his soul and family apart.

Nick Barns is grieving for his lost mother and desperate for distraction—usually in the form of limited-edition action figures. As a telekinetic, he’s no stranger to magic, so he offers to help Scott adjust to his new powers. They quickly learn how their magics interact, their shared passions soon growing beyond superheroes and immortals. But Nick’s not taking his studies seriously, and his father threatens to pull him from the university. Overwhelmed by his own crumbling family, Scott’s convinced he can’t handle a relationship, but he doesn’t want to let Nick go.

With grief, guilt, and magic complicating everything between Nick and Scott, it seems that not even the gods—or a new comic book—can save their relationship now. Sometimes, even reading someone’s mind won’t help you understand what they want. 

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

Minor Spoilers

Very slow. It took me multiple tries to read, I almost gave up a couple of times and I skimmed the last couple of chapters. There just wasn't really much of a plot, just a couple of angst ridden teenagers dealing with (genuine) crisis's. However this made for a boring story even with the 'magic' thrown in. The characters were very bland, boring and one dimensional (and no, complaining/whining about being Chinese/not-Chinese-enough all the time does not count as character building). Scott seems to have gotten the raw end of the deal with magic that only causes him mental pain with no relief (at least none that are mentioned in the book). The descriptions of his 'receptive' magic and 'dulling' it draws (for me) comparisons to an auditory schizophrenic who takes dulling/dissociative drugs. Fun /s. 

As for the magic, only basics were explained and I was annoyed that the whole world building was so thin. Lots of mentions of an Empire, and Asia had 2 different names, but nothing more. Is this based on our world but with changes? Is it an alternative timeline thanks to religion and magic? Or is it all based in an independent world? Also religion seems to be such a big thing, at least for the author. Though they write that not everyone has the same level of worship/respect/belief for the gods and that that's OK, religion/divinity/high-power-having-control is very much pushed onto the reader again and again. Even the 'anti-god' MC has a turnabout attitude towards it and a church is the catalyst for salvaging relationships and life choices. The whole religion business was, in my opinion, pushed to far and too hard. Not my cup of tea. 

According to Goodreads this is only the authors 2nd book and it shows. I can't see myself reading anything else from them in the future. 

Shiver (Texas Paranormals 2) by Christi Snow

A year ago Corey Abbott’s life entered the realm of the bizarre when he discovered the things that go bump in the night are real. But working for the local vampire council didn’t prepare him for were-deer shifters.

Nine months ago Dare Buckley’s herd abandoned him. Now, he’s slowly going mad from Lyme disease...something that doesn’t hurt normal deer, but for were-deer is fatal.

On one snowy, sleet-filled night, the two collided...literally.

This Christmas two men find love in the most unexpected place...a lonely, desolate highway.

It’s definitely not your typical meet-cute, but it’s a twist of fate that would even make Santa happy.

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

The problem with short stories, is most of the time they are too short to actually develop the story. They come across as very basic and superficial and this book really isn't anything different. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad book, I just feel like with the rise of ebooks, authors are pumping out novella's-for-cash at an alarming rate.

I will give the author this, at least she didn't do what a lot of bottom-of-the-pile authors are doing these days and added a shit ton of sex scenes and called it a full blown novel. Sex doesn't replace plot people! 

Not bad, but nothing amazing, and doesn't really give you that much of an idea of what kind of author Christi Snow is, as such I would give a full length novel from her a go, but only if I got it through netgalley for free.