Category Archives: books/book review

wolf hunter

Book Review: Wolf Hunter, by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

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I won a signed paperback copy of Linda Thomas-Sundstrom‘s Wolf Hunter.

wolf hunter linda thomas sundstrom

Two enemies fated to be supernatural lovers… Only a few people know about the Weres hidden deep within Miami’s underground. Those few either embrace the wolves, or seek to destroy them. Cameron Mitchell has sought to protect his kind. But one beautiful woman may be his undoing. Born into a family of wolf hunters is one thing. But when Abby Stark actually meets one, she is immediately drawn to Cameron Mitchell. Abby knows she and Cameron have no future. Yet walking away from him, and from the danger he represents, proves to be impossible.

my review

Welp, this was not at all what I expected. I’d seen this labeled New Adult. And to be fair Abby is 23-24 years old, so New Adult age. And while I know plenty of New Adult titles do have sex in them, they don’t usually have the characters sexing it up within about 10 minutes of first meeting, after having exchanged about 10 sentences, which is what happens in Wolf Hunter. I’ll grant that Thomas -Sundstrom did a good job of establishing that there was some sort of magnetic, paranormal draw at play. But it definitely required that I re-calibrate my expectations. (I also didn’t realize it’s 4th in a series, but that took much less mental adjustment. It stands alone pretty well.)

I don’t actually have any problem with the book being more erotica than romance. In fact, I can’t really say there was any romance at all. The attraction and loyalty and love was all based on the characters being fated mates and the go-go-go of the plot never allows them to actually speak and get to know one another. So, I’ll re-phrase. I don’t have any problem with this being erotica (or erotica-like, since I wouldn’t quite call the sex graphic enough to truly qualify), instead of romance, as I expected. Especially since the little bit of plot that the sexy-times hang on is entertaining, the writing is easily readable, and the editing clean.

Thus, as long as you go into this with appropriate expectations it’s perfectly enjoyable. I’ll probably even look up those earlier books that I apparently skipped.

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Other Reviews:

Paranormal Romance Guild

 

a light to kill by

Book Review: A Light To Kill By, by Mikel J. Wilson

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Reading A Light To Kill By (by Mikel J. Wilson) was a bit of a spur of the moment decision today. It has been promoed on Sadie’s Spotlight several times in the run-up to publication day and I’d intended to get hold of it at some point, as I enjoyed the previous books in the Mourning Dove Mysteries series. (I’ve previously reviewed Murder on the Lake of Fire and Death Opens a Window.)

But I happened to notice that it was on sale today, so I grabbed a copy. And when I also noticed that the author was doing a whole ‘track my release day stats’ thing because it was, in fact, the actual release day, I decided to just go ahead and give it a read. Sometimes it’s the small things that prompt me to action.

a light to kill by

Moments after construction tycoon Blair Geister’s death, a mysterious wandering light kills someone on her Southern estate. Is the avenging spirit of the millionairess on a killing spree, or are other forces threatening those in her inner circle? As the will is read, suspicion and jealousy arise, and fingers point to the heirs of her fortune. Private investigator Emory Rome and his Mourning Dove partners accept an invitation to stay at Geisterhaus and unravel its secrets before more lives are lost.

my review

As with the previous books in this series, I quite enjoyed this. I did think it was perhaps not quite as elegantly plotted (with several instances of coincidental knowledge). Jeff came across not as the difficult character he’s been, but as quite unlikable for some of the book. And Wayne’s sudden change of heart was simply too sudden to be believed. But Emory is still a marvelous character. He pairs well with free spirited Jeff and Virginia. Plus, I’m super invested in figuring out the mystery of Phineas and of Emory’s history. There are also several examples of genuinely good people, which is harder to come by than you might think. The writing is readable and the editing pretty clean. I’ll be ready and waiting for book four, whenever it comes out.

a light to kill by photo

 

 

high priestess

Book Review: High Priestess, by Wendy Hewlett

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I do this thing, sometimes, where I search the extremes of Amazon Prime’s algorithm and let fate and random mathematics sell me a inexpensive book. In this manner, I bought a copy of High Priestess, by Wendy Hewlett.

high priestess wendy hewlett

Detective Constable Raven Bowen’s life seems to be falling apart around her. Her Wiccan mother, Ena Bowen, has recently passed to spirit and even though Raven hasn’t seen or spoken to her in twelve years, she feels the loss.

Then there’s her relationship with lesbian lover, Riley Gallagher, which ended rather abruptly and Raven only has herself to blame.

When the body of a young woman is discovered with the spring thaw, Raven takes on a new case and isn’t impressed when her sergeant assigns a rookie to investigate it with her.

If all of that wasn’t enough, Raven’s mother starts speaking to her from beyond the grave. She only has one question for her mother … “How the heck do I get you out of my head.”

The answer comes swiftly and shocks Raven to her core.

“Find my killer.”

my review

I quite enjoyed this. Though fair warning, the plot centers heavily on rape/rapists, including the rape of a child. I didn’t know this going into the book and I usually try to avoid such things in the books I read for fun. But I’ll grant that it is integral to the plot and not just tossed in as cheap plot fodder, which is quite often my complaint about rape in the books I read for entertainment.

I liked DC Bowen’s though she has quite a lot going on in the book and maybe isn’t at her most likeable. I also liked most of the side characters. I did think the villains a tad cliched, some of the personal drama dragged out longer than it felt like it needed to, and the whole being The Most Powerful made Bowen feel like too much of the special snowflake. But ultimately the book is quite readable and I’d be well up for reading another of Hewlett’s books.

high priestess