Tag: ARC Reviews

Wishes Under a Highland Star (Order of the Dragon Knights) by Mary Morgan

5 Stars

The last brother

The final book in this series tells the story of Alex MacFhearguis, younger brother to the laird, and half-fae Aine Fraser.  Aine has some magic, which makes her a target for many people.  She makes a wish, and this changes her life.  The story is well-written, with characters who are interesting.  Though it seemed to take quite a while to get into the meat of the story, some characters from previous Dragon Knights books make an appearance and are always welcome in these books.  Once you reach the final third of the book or so the story picks up and before you know it the book is finished.  Mary Morgan is a wonderful writer and has created a world that is compelling and fun to read.  And it’s set in winter, which I always enjoy reading about.  I was given an ARC of the book from the author, and this is my honest opinion.

The Seventh Key: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Romance Novel (Order of Magic #6) by Michelle M. Pillow

5 Stars

A new addition…

Nina Cole has been unlucky, but she escaped a serial killer.  Since then, her life has been getting worse and worse.  Trying to escape from reporters, she ends up in Freewild Cove.  Following her there is Private Investigator Jacob Paddock, who proves to her he is really interested in her and not her story.   Instead of things getting better, they continue to get worse until she meets Heather, Vivian, Lorna, Sue, and the ghost of Grandma Julia.  For me, the story started slow, and I wasn’t sure that this book was going to be a god addition to Michelle M. Pillow’s series.  I was wrong!  The story got more and more interesting. and I wanted to see how the women would be able to help Nina.  The story is well written, with Nina and Jacob well fleshed-out.  This is a complete story, but ties into the series Order of Magic.  I am ready to read the next book now!  I received an ARC of The Seventh Key from the author through BookSprout and this is my honest opinion.

Pride and Puppies by Lizzie Shane

5 Stars

Only barely like “Pride and Prejudice”

The heroine of this book is Dr. Charlotte Rodriguez, who is a huge fan of Jane Austen, especially of Pride and Prejudice.  So much so that nearly everything she says is either from the book, or about the book, or comparing to the book.  Which means when she dates, she compares the man to Fitzwilliam Darcy.  And no man has come close to being “her” Mr. Darcy.  Working with Charlotte in the same medical center in the small town of Pine Hollow, Vermont is George Leneghan, a physical therapist who is originally from Colorado.  He’s moved to this small town to start over, leaving his home and his sisters behind.  All he has is his dog Duke for support.  He is a giver and has had a crush on Charlotte since he arrived 2 years ago.  This is a very sweet story, with a lot of moving parts.  It is well-written, with well-developed characters and plot line.  One small thing that bothered me during my read was that Charlotte, who is a medical doctor, comes across as someone who isn’t sure of herself, which I find hard to believe in a profession that requires such a large amount of confidence.  George is the nicest person, doing things for everyone else but himself.  Those two bits made the story seem to go on and on…. sometimes less can be more.  But Lizzie Shane writes a great story, and overall, the story is very well done.  I did not realize that this is part of a series, so I will be reading the other books; this can be read as a standalone with no problem.  I received an ARC of the book from NetGalley, and this is my honest opinion. 

Dashing Mr. Snow by Alexis Winter

5 Stars

Office romance

What a fun holiday book!  We meet Sadie Emmert first, about 3 years ago as she is starting a new job out of college.  The group of new hires is attending a new hire orientation, and the CEO sees her and decides to speak to the group.  Alex Snow is about in his early 30s, and is considered unfriendly and intimidating.  Sadie settles into her job, enjoying work, but not so much her personal life.  Now, 3 years into her career, she’s asked to take paperwork to the CEO for signatures that his assistant forgot in the assistant’s rush to leave for the weekend.  And this is where the story takes off and becomes a fun read.  I enjoyed reading about the increasing friendship between the two, and how Alex Snow is such an un-typical boss.  Alexis Winter has written a well though-out story, with no errors.  The characters are both fun and detailed.  A great holiday read!  I was given an ARC of this book from the author through BookSprout and this is my honest opinion. 

Thunder with a Chance of Lovestruck: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Romance Novel (Grimm Cove Book 5) by Mandy M. Roth

4 Stars

Non-Linear Timeline

This is the 5th book in the series, and like the previous book, doesn’t really follow a straight line.  Once you accept that, the story is interesting and gives you more information about what is happening in Grimm Cove.  The two main characters, Rachael Franks (Frankenstein) and Drest Bright are meant to be together, but the road they follow takes a long and convoluted track to get to the end.  This book should be read after the first 4 in the series because each is intertwined and will be harder to follow without having read the others. This book is well written, with no grammatical or spelling errors.  Other than the way the timeline is handled, I enjoyed reading Book 5 and am looking forward to book 6.  I was given an ARC of this book by the author through BookSprout and this is my honest opinion. 

Rage (Kindred: The Fated Book 1) by Donna Grant

5 Stars

New Kindred trilogy

This is the first book in a new trilogy dealing with the situations left from the original Kindred series written by Donna Grant.  The writing style is very similar to how the original books were written, and several characters from that series are mentioned in this new book.  We meet Elin, who is a witch on the run from the Coven, a group of witches who are determined to dominate their world.  She lost her sister to the Coven, and she wants no part of them and their schemes.  She has stopped running for a short time, squatting in an out of the way hunting cabin, hoping to recover some of her strength and come up with a plan to keep away from the witches hunting her.  The cabin is on Mackenzie land, and the brother of the Laird, Rob Mackenzie decides to find out who has been using the abandoned cabin.  As any book written by Donna Grant, there are issues for the main characters to overcome, and a larger challenge that has to be addressed.  This book is well written, with a good plotline and character development.  A very enjoyable read, I am looking forward to book 2 of The Fated.  I was given an ARC by the author to read, and this is my honest opinion. 

Of Mates and Magic (Eliza Falls Book 1) by Maggie Francis

3 Stars

Short with silliness

This book is written very simply…and seemed to me more suited for a much younger audience.  A sweet witch/shifter story that would be good for a middle school aged teen.  It features Cora and Desi who are best friends, running a business together, and new witches.  Their small town is mostly a magical enclave, and draws in Seb and Tate, brothers and wolf shifters looking for a new home.  While Desi and Tate become friends, there is a tension between Cora and Seb.  At this point the story takes a lot of time for the characters to move forward.  At about 175 pages, the story needed to move more quickly through the “should we, shouldn’t we” be friends or something more.  Not a whole lot of conflict between the two, until finally a situation arises that forces the two main characters to make decisions.  This book had no editing issues.  Hopefully the next book, telling Tate’s story will have a tighter plotline.  I was given an ARC through BookSirens, and this is my honest opinion. 

A Royal for Christmas (It’s Raining Royals Book 4) by Alix Nichols

4 Stars

Changing life circumstances

It’s a month to Christmas, and we meet Camille Mussey, sister to the dead Jeanette Mussey who was accused of arson, and is the poorest person in the country of Mount Evor.  She is an outcast because of her sister, and a witch.  She’s working as a pantomime for pocket change.  One of the Royals, Marquess Louis-Philibert de Valois is grandson of the Duke of Arrago, is sent to collect her, and bring her to the ducal estate.  This sets up the story that takes place over the Christmas season.  Camille’s character isn’t the most likable one in this series, but she is smart.  Louis might be a playboy.  Unlike the prior books, this one doesn’t involve finding a key, but some loose ends may, or may not, be tied up with this story.  I enjoyed reading A Royal for Christmas and am looking forward to the next book.  I received this book from BookSirens, and this is my honest opinion.

King of the Unblessed (Realm Immortal: #1) by Michelle M. Pillow

4 Stars

The story grew on me.

The story starts with the reader meeting Lady Julianna of Bellemare and her brothers, who are preparing for her wedding to a much older neighbor.  Julianna wishes otherwise, but for her family she’ll do this.  Watching her from his kingdom from the otherworld is King Merrick of the Unblessed, King of Valdis.  He hears Julianna wishing in her room to be taken on a adventure; Merrick comes to her, and coerces her to leave Bellemare, and go to the Otherworld on a quest.  I found that the character of Julianna to be very immature for her age, and very colorless.  Merrick is a much better developed non-hero whom I couldn’t help but root for.  The story grew on me as I read further into it, but I never could care for Julianna.  I like the Faery Queen Tania better, even though she had a very small part in this story.  I plan on reading the next book Realm Immortal: Faery Queen.  I was given and ARC of the book from the author through BookSprout, and this is my honest opinion.

Iron Ember (Skye Druids #1) by Donna Grant

5 Stars

Dark World continuation

This is the first book of the Skye Druids series, but follows immediately after Dark Alpha’s Command.  In this book we meet Elodie MacLean, who has come back to Skye to help her sister get their parents’ house ready to sell.  A terrible tragedy happened over a decade prior, but since neither sister, nor an absent brother plan on living in the house it needs to be cleaned, repaired and sold.  Elodie is a druid, but her magic has been gone since the tragic event.  She meets Scot Ryan, and the brother of his best friend are on Skye, having come from Edinburgh to try and solve the murders of Druids there.  They are looking for Elodie, and when they meet her, and hear she is looking for help to get the cottage repaired, they offer their services.  Donna Grant weaves an interesting story reminiscent of her earlier Dark World books.  She plots out an intricate storyline for the reader to follow, and while following we get glimpses of other characters from prior books.  I can say that the start of this book dragged for me-I couldn’t figure out who these characters were and why they were important.  But Donna Grant had a plot, and it is full of twists and turns, and leads the reader to a satisfying conclusion.  I received and ARC of this book from the author through BookFunnel and this is my honest opinion.