The Lonely Merman (Landlocked Heart 1) by Kay Berrisford

It's Friday afternoon, and the last thing Ben wants to be doing is trudging through a wet forest in search of a public hazard. But duty calls, and turns out more exciting than Ben imagined when he encounters a magical ruin, an enchanted pool, and Lyle—a merman who's cursed to be landlocked many miles from the sea.

Lyle is flamboyant and exciting—he's got tentacles, for goodness sake!—and Ben falls hard. But Lyle's been hurt before and finds trust difficult, refusing even to reveal how to break the curse that imprisons him. Ben's just an ordinary guy, and can't help wondering if he can ever be the hero Lyle needs.

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

Story was very thin and non-eventful, however the biggest problem was the characters. They just weren't likable, Lyle especially was whiny, arrogant and irritating. I probably would have just left him there to die, lol. 

This would have been a DNF except it was so short, I ended up just skimming it to read the ending.

Death's Queen by Janeal Falor

Nameless. Unknown. Alone.

An assassin without a name, born to kill. Owned by a vicious man who refuses to call her anything but girl, she is forced to commit atrocious acts of violence. Vowing to take her future into her own hands, the seventeen-year-old decides to risk everything on one act of defiance—drinking from The Death Drink. The beverage kills most whose lips touch it—only allowing those who are destined to be royalty survive the first sip. 

Powerful. Revered. Hunted. 

To the astonishment of the nation of Valcora, she imbibes it and lives, which crowns her queen. Thrown into a life of royal intrigue, she now has a purpose—to rule with the fairness she was never shown. Despite her altruistic plans, it becomes apparent that someone wants her dead. The new queen must use her training from the former life she only wants to forget in order to stay alive long enough to turn her kingdom into something she can be proud of. She’ll hold onto the crown… or die trying.

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

This was a book full of unlikable characters. 

You have a main character who was an assassin who wanted to change her life and those of her class yet she was queen for a couple of weeks and did nothing but change the furniture. She acted like a brat when it came to taking advice, changing things and practicing her supposedly essential magic. She claimed to have impeccable instincts which is the only thing she trusts, yet it was wrong in a major way.

The ending came very much out of left field, made a huge impact, and them wham, the book ended. I would have classified it as a cliffhanger, but you have to have a story to start with to have an ending. This book was a bunch of mysterious innuendo and no plot. There is currently no indication on whether or not this is the first in a series, but if it is, I won't be wasting my time.

Cutie and the Beast (Fae-Out-of-Water 1) by E.J. Russell

Temp worker David Evans has been dreaming of Dr. Alun Kendrick ever since that one transcription job for him, because holy cats, that voice. Swoon. So when his agency offers him a position as Dr. Kendrick’s temporary office manager, David neglects to mention that he’s been permanently banished from offices. Because, forgiveness? Way easier than permission.

Alun Kendrick, former Queen’s Champion of Faerie’s Seelie Court, takes his job as a psychologist for Portland’s supernatural population extremely seriously. Secrecy is paramount: no non-supe can know of their existence. So when a gods-bedamned human shows up to replace his office manager, he intends to send the man packing. It shouldn’t be difficult—in the two hundred years since he was cursed, no human has ever failed to run screaming from his hideous face.

But cheeky David isn’t intimidated, and despite himself, Alun is drawn to David in a way that can only spell disaster: when fae consort with humans, it never ends well. And if the human has secrets of his own? The disaster might be greater than either of them could ever imagine.

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

I've read a couple of other books from E.J. Russell which I didn't really enjoy, but when I started this book I didn't make the connection because the subject matter was so different. In the end I'm glad I didn't make the connection and get turned off because this book was a lot better than the others I had read. The pacing was a lot better, the characters were more interesting and there was a good level of romance. 

You could tell what was going to happen in a general sense, all these books follow the same pattern, where the 'human' half of the couple discovers that they aren't as human as they thought they were, but in this case I enjoyed how the author did it.

I liked the roster of supernatural characters, but honestly I would have enjoyed it more if they were featured more. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for the other two books in this series. 

Strays (Urban Soul 2) by Garrett Leigh

Work, sleep, work, repeat. Nero’s lonely life suits him just fine until his best friend, Cass, asks him to take on a new apprentice—a beautiful young man who’s never set foot in a professional kitchen. Despite his irritation and his lifelong ability to shut the world out, Nero is mesmerised by the vibrant stray, especially when he learns what drove him to seek sanctuary on Nero’s battered old couch.

Lenny Mitchell is living under a cloud of fear. Pursued by a stalker, he has nowhere left to run until Nero offers him a port in a storm—a job at the hottest restaurant in Shepherd's Bush. Kitchen life proves heady and addictive, and it’s not long before he finds himself falling hard and fast for the man who has taken him in.

Fast-forward a month and a neither man can imagine life without the other, but one thing stands in their way: a lifetime of horrors Nero can’t bring himself to share with Lenny. Or can he? For the first time ever, happiness is there for the taking, and Nero must learn to embrace it before fate steps in and rips it away.

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

This was an example of size without substance. Lots of words, not much actual story/content and what there was, wasn't very interesting. It featured more information about setting up/running a restaurant then the relationship between the MC's. 

There was a lot of mentions of the three guys from the first book in the Urban Soul series, but honestly by the end of the book, I didn't like them enough to want to read it, even if I got it for free.

I hated the name Lenny, something about it just makes me think of a scummy pervert. His story itself was very anti-climatic. The bad guy seemed like he was created just to give the MC's a reason to become attached at the hip, and once that was done he was forgotten about until the end. We never even meet him on screen, and apart from giving Lenny *shudder* a beating, we don't know what he did to his 'other' victims (or how serious the damage was) and we don't get any information on what happened to him. 

Nero on the other had alluded all the way through the book that he had a big bad secret, which in the end wasn't that bad at all. He did something he shouldn't, but for a understandable reason, that lead to a tragic result, and by tragic I mean he went to jail for something the reader wouldn't hate him for.

So to wrap up, lots of words, not much plot, one dimensional characters and hardly any romance. I'm so glad I didn't pay for this.

Black Magic (Black Records 1) by Alexis Blakely

Using her magic to help others is the only way Alex Black knows how to stay out of trouble herself. After years of living on the street and trying to come to terms with the growing ability she had to teach herself to control, she’s happy to have settled into the relatively quiet life of finding lost pets, crafting the odd charm, and helping people deal with annoying fae creatures and spirits.

But when Alex is asked to investigate the gruesome murder of an artifact dealer who’d lost his life trying to protect his latest acquisition, she’s thrown headlong into a world of danger that threatens to cut her career short at every turn. The closer she gets to tracking down the killer, the more dangerous the trail becomes, and the more Alex realizes that terrible things will happen if the true potential of the artifact is ever unleashed.

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

First off, the book cover says author is Mark Feenstra, but if you go to Goodreads only the first book is attributed to him, all three currently released are otherwise attributed to Alexis Blakely. I'm going to assume that after book one he decided to go with a nom de plume, but that doesn't explain the name on the covers. 

As for the book itself, I felt like the pacing was off. From the start to the end, it was go, go, go without giving us (the reader) or Alex a chance to catch our/her breath and that is a pet peeve of mine. I feel like its a bit of a cheap-out, as if the author can't write the downtime part of a story so they simply fill it with action.

While the identity of the killer did surprise me, I think that was more attributed to the lack of information all around. Sooo many ideas and plot points were introduced and nearly none of them were followed through. I would explain but I don't want to give spoilers and honestly I haven't got the time to write them all out, lol. 

I think better pacing was needed and some of the ideas could have been left out to give other more relevant ones a chance to be expanded on and draw the reader in more. 

Dating Ryan Alback by J.E. Birk

Ryan Alback has almost everything he’s ever wanted: a successful acting career, a dog who adores him, great family and friends, and a life outside the closet. The only thing missing is a boyfriend — but Ryan’s been burned by Hollywood relationships before, and he’s not eager to try one again. 

Jason Santos has almost everything he's ever wanted: a fulfilling career teaching middle school, a house in a city he loves, and parents who support him in every way. Too bad he can't seem to forget the ex-boyfriend who rejected his marriage proposal.

When a talk show host launches a dating contest to find Ryan a boyfriend and Jason accidentally wins, neither of them expect anything to come from it. Yet somewhere between a disastrous massage and a mud sinkhole, they both start to wonder if this date could be more than just a public relations stunt. But before they can move into the future, they'll both have to learn to let go of the past.

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

I think i'm stuck in a rut, all the m/m books I've read lately have been meh and this one wasn't any better. Neither the characters or story were engaging. It was your typical guy/guy fall in love / miscommunication leads to break up / they get back together/ happily ever after. 

Lets put it this way, I just finished the book and I can't remember the characters name's nor what they looked like. I don't remember because it was boring.

Agent of Enchantment (Dark Fae FBI 1) by C.N. Crawford

The fae live among us. And one of them is a serial killer.

I thought this would be a simple profiling case. Just another Jack-the-Ripper wannabe, prowling London’s streets, searching for easy kills. I was wrong. This killer is fae, and he’s as elusive as smoke on the wind. But I’m an FBI profiler, and it’s my job to track him down.

It doesn’t matter that one of the main suspects--a lethally alluring fae--is trying to seduce me… or kill me, I’m not sure which. I won’t be stopped, not even when panic roils through the streets of London, or when the police start to suspect me.

As I close in on the killer, I follow him to a magical shadow realm that’s like nothing I ever expected, where I’m hunted like prey. Fine. Bring it on. I’m an FBI Agent. And it turns out I have magical powers of my own. 

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

I can't really point to what was wrong with this book, but it didn't make me go wow that was amazing! when I finished. 

I liked the references to the horrors in London's history, but I felt like there was not enough information to inform/entertain, but too much that it was a distraction from the plot. The writing of the killer annoyed me. If serial killers have patterns, then the killer in this book didn't get the memo, he was all over the place and it made for a bit of a disjointed read. 

In the end, I guess I just didn't really feel a connection with anything. All the references to the streets, landmarks, etc without a map made me confused and annoyed. The characters weren't really likable (a guy sets you up to make you a wanted fugitive, yet you never bring it up when he wants help?!) I did like the introduction to magic, but apart from some small explanations on what the MC could do, we were pretty much left in the dark on what else was out there and what they could do. 

Duke With Benefits (Studies in Scandal 2) by Manda Collins

LADY + DUKE = TRUE LOVE?

Lady Daphne Forsyth is a brilliant mathematician with a burning passion for puzzles. When she learns that the library belonging to her benefactress houses the legendary Cameron Cipher―an encrypted message that, once solved, holds the key to great riches―Daphne is on the case. Unfortunately, her race to unlock the cipher’s code is continually thwarted by a deliciously handsome distraction she hadn’t counted on. . .and cannot resist.

Dalton Beauchamp, the Duke of Maitland, is curious as to why Daphne is spending so much time snooping around his aunt’s bookshelves. He’s even more intrigued by her bold yet calculating manner: She is unapologetic about her secret quest. . .and the fiery attraction that develops between them both. But how can they concentrate on solving a perplexing enigma once the prospect of true love enters the equation?

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

This was the second book in the series and we were immediately thrown into what seemed like the end of the first book (which I haven't read) which caused me some confusion (i.e. was the gypsy the killer? was this a cheap gimmick to get us to buy book one?)

The whole idea of the series was based on the four girls having areas of special knowledge but I struggled to figure out how the other three were gifted (I think one was an art prodigy and another something to do with books/poetry?, fourth one haven't a clue). I know that this book is about Daphne (the math whiz), but the cast is featured as an ensemble and I would have like a little bit more detail about the secondary characters.

The ending was the biggest let down for me. This was advertised as a book about a smart young woman trying to solve a mystery with a secondary romantic story line. But by the end it was all about the romance. I mean they found the treasure and then it was literally never mentioned again! Considering where it was from/who had hidden it, I would have liked to know what was in the chest/how much/who was entitled to it/what they were going to do with it, etc, etc. Nothing else was said about the fates of the bad guys either, former government agent Ian Foster and former tutor Richard Sommersby, they just vanished off the face of the earth/page (lol). 

This book started out weird, got a lot better, then went downhill fast. It was almost like the author got sick of writing about the mystery angle and decided to just finish writing as if it had been a traditional Victorian(?) England romance book all along. 

Sovereign (Nemesis 2) by April Daniels

Only nine months after her debut as the fourth superhero to fight under the name Dreadnought, Danny Tozer is already a scarred veteran. Protecting a city the size of New Port is a team-sized job and she's doing it alone. Between her newfound celebrity and her demanding cape duties, Dreadnought is stretched thin, and it's only going to get worse. 

When she crosses a newly discovered supervillain, Dreadnought comes under attack from all quarters. From her troubled family life to her disintegrating friendship with Calamity, there's no trick too dirty and no lever too cruel for this villain to use against her. 

She might be hard to kill, but there's more than one way to destroy a hero. Before the war is over, Dreadnought will be forced to confront parts of herself she never wanted to acknowledge. 

And behind it all, an old enemy waits in the wings to unleash a plot that will scar the world forever.

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

While I had some issues with the first book, i.e. minor plot points ruining the overall story, in this case it was the reverse. Only some minor plot points were enjoyable and the rest...... well the rest was just unnecessary.

Something about the whole thing just annoyed me and I can't tell if it was the writing style, the characters and their attitudes, the way that the trans story line was treated like a gimmick or how 85% of the book was unnecessary and could have easily been included in the first book much better. (Nemesis reveal, Graywytch being dealt with, romantic story line)

I guess I really feel like this book was an unnecessary way to  drag out book one to earn more money, rather than trying to write another good story.

Triad Soul (Triad Blood 2) by Nathan Burgoine

The law of three is everything: three vampires for a coterie, three demons for a pack, and three wizards for a coven. Those alone or in pairs are vulnerable to the rest. Luc, Anders, and Curtis—vampire, demon, and wizard—sidestepped tradition by binding themselves together. 

When something starts brutally killing demons in Ottawa, the three find themselves once again moving among the powers who rule the city from the shadows—this time working with them to try to stop the killings before chaos and blood rule the streets.

Hunting a killer who seems to leave no trace behind, the triad are forced to work with allies they don’t dare trust, powers they barely understand, and for the good of those they already know to be corrupt.

They have the power of blood, soul, and magic. But they have to survive to keep it.

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My Review:     (Thanks to NetGalley) 

This book left me feeling confused and overwhelmed, though I think it was more due to the constant influx of information and changing scenes, characters, magic rules, etc than anything because everything seemed generally well explained.

I really wanted more romance between the MC's or at least an idea of what the relationship was, and it seems like I wasn't the only one, with Curtis (wizard) bringing it up himself at the end of the book. I hope that book 3 spends a lot more time addressing this, and the house! It was such a big thing at the end of book 1, that they were going to build the perfect house for the three of them, with it being spelled for protection every step of the way, and then in this book I think there was one throw away line about nothing being done because they were all too busy. That's life, especially in a book, shit's gonna happen, build the damn house!

As for the actual mystery/killer, I will say that they got away with that one. I really didn't have any idea until the reveal at the end even though there was clues when you looked back. The death of the bad guy was slightly anti-climatic but also really clever and fitting in a way. 

I'll keep my eye out for the third book, but I think the author needs to decide whether or not this is a m/m/m paranormal romance, or urban fantasy. Stop insinuating and teasing us with romance and sex if your not going to give us any/tiny scraps.