Book Review: Guarded by the Spider, by Cassie Alexander

I picked up a copy of Cassie Alexander‘s Guarded by the Spider as an Amazon freebie.

For my kind, to be without a mate is to be doomed. I know it is too late–all that awaits me is retirement and death, and I’ve embraced it.

But when a suicide mission lands on my old boss’s desk, I’m the one he calls. Who better to tackle the mission in the deep, oppressive mines of my own ancestral homeland, if not an Arachnae already slated to die? And it’s not a rescue mission–he wants me to retrieve the corpse of a billionaire’s daughter kidnapped by a terrorist organization.

Except our intel was wrong.

She’s alive. Tortured and injured–but alive.

And from the moment I scent her, I am certain she’s my mate.

She cowers in fear when she sees me, yet I will stop at nothing to protect her.

And now that I have a reason to live…a whole lot of people are going to die.

I enjoyed this. Cinnamon rolls aren’t always my jam, but the MMC is such a cinnamon roll that you can’t help but adore him. He falls first and is all in from the first moment. It’s adorable. The FMC starts off fairly unlikably. But she’s also in a pretty bad situation. So, maybe it’s understandable. She had a lot of character growth throughout the story, and I liked her in the end.

I did think the spicy times were kind of meh. They seemed to go on forever with nothing of real note happening. There were also a few copy-edit errors, but the writing flows well and is easily readable.

I look forward to reading more of Alexander’s writing.

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Book Review: Death at Peony House, by Krista Walsh

I picked up a copy of Krista Walsh‘s Death at Peony House as an Amazon freebie last year.

A murder. A cold case. An empty hospital full of ghosts.

Not quite the headline Daphne had in mind.

A sorceress by nature and a journalist by trade, Daphne has no problem with the strange and unusual. But when she goes to Peony House on the trail of a potential story, she finds herself caught up in a 150-year-old mystery.

A mystery that’s still taking victims.

With Detective Hunter Avery leading the case, a man she’s hurt too many times in the past, Daphne knows she should leave things well enough alone. But the ghosts of Peony House have demanded her help and more than her job is on the line if she doesn’t get answers soon.

She’s worked hard to escape her past of dark magic and blind ambition, but as she walks the balance between light and dark, she’ll learn how many promises she’s willing to break to protect the people she loves.

This had a rough start. It is pretty info-dumpy and so heavily dependent on the events of a prequel that I resent the prequel, not simply being labeled book one, so I knew I needed to read it. (As opposed to it being a take-it-or-leave-it bonus, which is generally how I see prequels.) However, by about 25%, it smoothed out, and I quite enjoyed the rest of the book.

I liked the characters: the heroine who is trying to be a better person, the teenage sidekick, and the interesting side characters. The villain is pretty obvious, but I enjoyed watching Daphne figure it out. There’s a very light dusting of second-chance romance and writing that is easily readable.

I’d be more than willing to read more of Walsh’s writing. However, I was disappointed to discover that each book in the series focuses on a different person (each introduced in the prequel) rather than continuing to follow the main characters from this book.

Other Reviews:

Kampung Kreepy: Book Review Death at Peopny House

Uncaged Review: Death at Peony House by Krista Walsh

Book Reviews: Miss Dark’s Apparitions (#1-3), by Suzannah Rowntree

I picked up Tall & Dark, book one of Miss Dark’s Apparitions series, as an Amazon freebie (not realizing it is a spin-off series). I then purchased Dark Clouds and Dark & Stormy.

Tall & Dark:
Ghosts, grifters…and a missing heir in 1890s Europe.

It’s easier to conduct a séance when the dead aren’t trying to contact you. As Molly Dark knows all too well, the problem with being able to see ghosts is that they never tell you what you wish to know.

For instance, how a proper young lady like Miss Dark is supposed to support an impoverished family after her father has died a ruined man. Or how she is going to impersonate a missing princess long enough to steal a fortune out from under the collective noses of a whole family of royal monsters. Or exactly why the charming imposter claims to be none other than Grand Duke Vasily Nikolaevich, when he certainly isn’t a prince…or a vampire.

Alas, the dead normally have something far more unsettling to impart…

Review:

I very much enjoyed this. I could tell it was a spin-off. It just has that feel. In fact, I’m pretty sure I could even tell you which character overlaps. (I’ve not read the previous series yet.) But it still stood alone well enough to enjoy.

The characters are witty and distinct. There’s a dry humor to the narration and tone. The world is lightly sketched but interesting. There’s no romance, but there is potential for it in the future. All in all, I look forward to reading the rest of the Miss Dark’s Apparitions series and then going back to read those of Miss Sharp’s Monsters.

Dark Clouds:
A cursed diamond…a cyborg detective…and a gang of would-be jewel thieves in Victorian London!

All her life, Molly Dark has been haunted by the restless dead—and now she’s finally able to do something about it. When the rich and monstrous take what they want, Miss Dark and her crew steal it back. At least, that’s the idea.

In reality?

In reality, the irritable inventor walks out, saying she doesn’t believe in ghosts and has important scientific research to conduct.

The charming ex-vampire prince is only waiting for the perfect opportunity to stab Molly in the back.

The millionaire American prosthete she’s decided to marry is also a celebrated amateur detective hunting for jewel thieves.

And the fabulous, cursed Noor-Jahan diamond isn’t just the key to righting a decades-old wrong—it’s the bait in a fiendish trap.

Review:
I admittedly didn’t enjoy this quite as much as the first one in the series. There was just a little too much ignoring of obviously red flags for the sake of a wealthy marriage and, well, too much going on about marriage for me. But I did still very much enjoy the rest of it.

I liked Nijam coming to appreciate her heritage, and her and Alphonse’s subtle banter was cute. Watching Vaily and Mary needle each other is a continuous joy, and the introduction of her family was fun. I look forward to continuing the series.

Dark & Stormy:
A murdered ballerina…a family of vengeful vampires…and a glittering coronation in Imperial Russia.

Moscow in the springtime is an unhealthy place for a fugitive Grand Duke like Vasily Nikolaevich Romanov. But Molly Dark has been learning to trust the ex-vampire prince, who hasn’t betrayed her quite as often as she expected.

Besides, there are plenty of good reasons to visit Russia this year.

There’s the missing ballerina whose unquiet ghost demands justice.

There’s the new tsar’s spectacular coronation, which every royal monster in Europe is scheduled to attend.

And there’s the irresistible opportunity to get the secret police off Grand Duke Vasily’s trail once and for all.

It could even go well… if Vasily wasn’t bent on stealing back at least some of his lost fortune out from under the noses of his family, who in addition to being bloodthirsty vampires, are all completely bonkers.

Never mind about the resentful ex-fiancee he forgot to mention…

Review:

I am still very much enjoying this series. However, I felt this particular book dragged more than the others. Still, the characters are wonderfully witty in a dry sort of way. The world is interesting. I’m invested in the eventual outcome of their adventures. I’ll be continuing on.

Other Reviews: