Tag Archives: paranormal

ever strange

Book Review: Ever Strange, by Alisa Woods

I picked up a copy of Ever Strange, by Alisa Woods, as an Amazon freebie last September. ever strange

An incubus FBI agent, a billionaire witch, and someone spiking street drugs with deadly magick.

Zane Walker’s undercover in Chicago’s deadliest drug cartel—and his magic is as dirty as the enhancers they peddle. When a beautiful witch storms in, making demands she thinks she can back up with magick, he’s forced into a split-second choice… and his monster rages out.

Ever Strange’s father was murdered. They made it look like an overdose, but Asher Strange, world-renown med-magick researcher, would never take tawdry magick enhancers. But before she can get an autopsy, her father’s body disappears… and being one of the richest witches in the city means she will get answers.

Someone’s putting deadly magick into street drugs… and it’s killing people all over the city. Zane’s magick is monstrous, and Ever’s power brings out his beast. But she insists on finding her father; and keeping her safe has suddenly become his job—on top of stopping an epidemic of overdoses that just might be cover for a serial killer. Together, they work to stop the dark magick that’s stalking the streets of Chicago… and try to keep their own secrets from consuming them both.

my review

I thought this an amusing, if shallowly developed, story. I picked it up because the blurb inferred that the male character used sex magic and the female one was a billionaire. I thought that subverted the norm, where woman are usually associated with sex and men with financial power. The book didn’t really utilize it in any significant way though. The characters were actually pretty standard. She was plucky and, yes, rich, (but still somehow innocent and down to earth, of course) and he was extremely dangerous, dark and brooding (but not actually the psychopathic killer people think him, of course).

But I did like both characters. After the initial introduction we see a softer side of Zane that I appreciated. No alpha-asshole here! And Ever saved the day with her skill more than once. So, no wilting violets either. And the whole thing is easily readable with no contrived misunderstandings or too-stupid-to-live drama to complicate things. But the plot is pretty thin, the world basically sketched out, and and the whole thing more more fluff than depth. But I’d read the next book if it was put in front of me.

ever strange

peacekeepers

Book Review: Peacekeepers, by Kat Sinclair

 Authot Kat Sinclair messaged me on Goodreads and asked me to review her book Peacekeepers. She then sent me a copy of for review through Book Siren.
Peacekeepers kat sinclair

In a desperate attempt to escape his arduous past, Arno, a gifted daemon hunter from Italy, moves to the bright city of San Francisco. At the new and progressive Peacekeeper HQ, he plunges himself into this dangerous and controversial line of work. Fighting pesky Shades, malicious Tricksters, and tempting Tenures is his normal 9 to 5.

However, Arno soon finds that old fears and habits still dog his steps, even from a whole continent away. A larger threat is also brewing within The Golden City, one that jeopardizes the organization, his friends—and even humanity. He’ll have to turn to the unlikeliest of allies to help them, starting with the curious daemon haunting his apartment.

Just about the time I started Peacekeepers, I saw a Johannes T. Evans tweet about monster romances.

It caught my attention because Monster Romance is exactly what I thought Peacekeepers was going to be (is, of sorts) and I don’t know if I’d have recognized Monster Romance as an actual (if unofficial) sub-genre if I’d not seen the tweet at such an opportune moment.

Sure, there are romances that have monsters in them, but had we readers separated them out from other PNRs and named them Monster Romances? Makes sense, honestly, but I don’t know that I’d seen the actual name (or maybe just not recently enough to remember). If I’d not seen the tweet and the whole accompanying Monster May Challenge, I wouldn’t have had a metaphorical shelf to put Peacekeepers on. But I think I’d have still enjoyed it.

Yes, the book is on the slow side, maybe a little longer than needed to tell it’s story. I noticed the odd editing hiccup. There is one out of place non-Arno POV that I found notably jarring, since it’s the only one in the book and shows up at 76%. And there is the occasional turn of phrase that makes me think English might not be the author’s first language. But these were pretty few and far between. For the most part, this is a slick, easily readable, interesting book.

The romance is a subplot (and I mean SUBplot). It is only a very small part of the larger story and it’s mostly based on instinctual attraction. So, it’s not overly developed. But it does touch on some heavy subjects and is very sweet. I certainly liked Lurke and Arno.

I thought the alcoholism and addiction aspect of the book was especially well done and I absolutely appreciated how much diversity the cast represents. Plus, look at that cover! All in all, a winner for me.

peace keeperes

 

perfect pending

Book Review: Perfect Pending, by Lucia Ashta

I picked up Lucia Ashta‘s Perfect Pending (Witches of Gales Haven, #1) as an Amazon freebie, last summer.
perfect pending lucia ashta

Marla’s ancestors saddled her with frizzy red hair, sarcasm on tap, the Gawama last name, and the urge to run from her problems.

Her bloodline was also supposed to guarantee she’d be a powerful witch.

She isn’t, not by a long shot.

Only those with magic are allowed in her hometown. Now that her teenage children are awakening, and sparking enough power to be a fire hazard, she’s headed back.

Even if she isn’t ready. Even if she’s fresh out of divorce court.

Home is where her family is. Her nan is head of the council, and her aunts claim multiple orgasms are the source of their limber joints.

But then Marla and her kids all but blow up the town on day one. And her first boyfriend, the one who broke her heart long before her ex did, seems better than ever.

He has his eye on her…

So does everyone else.

Somehow it’s on her, and the magical creature who won’t get out of her head, to save Gales Haven. Before her former mother-in-law redecorates the town in baby pink … and breaks the centuries-old spell that keeps it safe and hidden.

Perfect Pending is a Paranormal Women’s Fiction novel. If you love snarky stories with women so empowered they’re a force to be reckoned with, then you’ll love Perfect Pending, the first book in the Witches of Gales Haven series.

my review

You know, as a 43-year-old woman I am loving this newish Paranormal Women’s Fiction genre. Getting to have all the paranormal fun with heroines that are my own age is a hoot. As with any genre some of the ones I’ve read have been better than others. I’d call this one middle of the road. The writing and editing are perfectly readable. But the whole thing—with militant hedgehog mothers, talking mice, sex obsessed geriatrics, etc—was just a little too over the top cutesy for me. It felt very much like it was trying too hard.

Having said that, I liked Marla and her kids. (And the kids were tolerable. So often kids in such books are ridiculous in one manner or another.) I appreciate that the love interest was gentle and kind, no alpha ass-hole in sight. And the theme that family persists is a good one.

All in all, I’d read another Ashta book.

perfect pending