Tag: Paranormal Contemporary

The Empress (Towerfall #1) by Kristen Cast

4 Stars

Hard to get into the story

But I continued to the end.  The beginning of the book introduces us to Hannah, from Chicago, and Kane Blackthorne of Towerfall from the Kingdom of Pentacles.  Hannah is not a normal, run of the mill working class woman, she is having issues at work with a co-worker who takes credit for others work including hers, and a breakup with her boyfriend.  As she walks homeward and passes a storefront offering Tarot readings, Hannah is given a card, The Empress.  Which promptly deposits her into Towerfall where she is accused of being a witch and nearly killed.  Saved by Kane, Hannah makes a deal with him to help the Kingdom from being destroyed in exchange for his assistance in finding The Empress card which she’s lost so she can return to Chicago.

Confusing?  Just a bit, but this book caught me by being the first in a series that uses Tarot as real characters and places.   Our main female character, Hannah, doesn’t seem to be in her 20s, she is more like a 16–17-year-old high school student.  Hannah grows a little through the story and finally acts almost her age by the end of the book.  Kane is older than her and has more life experiences, which make his character more interesting, but he could have been much more developed in the story. 

I did enjoy the book after about the halfway point, but the ending seemed to be rushed.  I hope the author, Kristin Cast, works harder to leave the Young Adult writing that keeps this book from being more satisfying to adult readers.  Using the Tarot as important characters is something I’ve never read before and can give this series a distinctive edge over other books.  I look forward to reading the next book. 

I was given an ARC by NetGalley and this is my honest opinion. 

The Mirror (Lost Bride Trilogy #2) by Nora Roberts

5 Stars

Another Excellent Read!

Continuing on with Book 2, Sonya, Trey, Cleo, and Owen have more challenges to meet in dealing with the Evil that is residing in the mansion that Sonya has inherited.  To get the best experience the reader should read the books in order starting with The Inheritance.

With intricate plotting, great characters, wonderful world building and as always near perfect Grammer, Nora Roberts has written another outstanding book. Cannot wait for the final book!

I received an ARC of the book through NetGalley, and this is my honest opinion.

Still of the Night (Skye Druids Book 5) by Donna Grant

5 Stars

Oh, my word!

This is book 5 in the continuing series of Skye Druids, and in a much larger collection of books that Ms. Grant has written in her Dark Universe.  Centering on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, our two main characters, Ariah who is a Druid who get her magic from forests, and Killian Flanaghan who is human but vacationed every year in summer with his family on Skye.  They grew up together, fell in love, and then Killian left to pursue a career in his family’s business as a lawyer.    

This book is very complex, with backstories given for both Ariah and Killian.  Everything Donna Grant writes is necessary to follow the twists and turns that surround Ariah and Killian, and also to add to the previous books with the supporting characters who may have been main characters in earlier books, and others who will be main characters in future books.  Also, the author continues to fill out the “evil” side that is on Skye, Edinburgh, and now London too.  I enjoyed this book so much because Donna provides so much information in her writing and doesn’t loose the threads of the story, she is telling with Still of the Night but also the prior books in this series.  For the reader, your best experience with this wonderful series is to read the earlier books in this series, the Skye Druids.  If you are a reader who wants to know about all the characters that are featured in this book, I would suggest getting Donna Grant’s Reading Order of her Dark Universe and start with Dangerous Highlander where you’ll meet a Warrior. 

Still of the Night is well written, with characters that are multi-layered and well developed.  The plotting is consistent with the prior books storyline, and the supporting characters are a bonus to this story.  I can’t say enough about Donna Grant and her storytelling ability and how she continues to manage to bring new original characters to her books.  You can read this as a standalone but know that there are more to most of the secondary characters than what is written in this book.  5 Outstanding Stars for this exceptional book!

I received an ARC of this book through the author and BookFunnel, and this is my honest opinion.

De-Witched (Toil and Trouble Book 2) by Sophie H. Morgan

5 Stars

A hidden secret

Book 2 in the Toil and Trouble series can be read as a standalone.  Some characters from the first book are in this one, but they are explained in this book if you’d not read book 1.  Our main character is Leah Turner, human, with two best friends who are witches and use magic around Leah so she knows about it.  Our second main character is Gabriel Goodnight, warlock, from on of the highest families.  Leah and Gabriel meet, and this book tells the story of a non-magical outgoing friendly woman and a magical self-centered grumpy man and how this changes both of them. 

Sophie Morgan has written a fun book, with well developed characters and a good plot.  Easy to read and follow, I enjoyed this book and hope she continues to write about these characters she’s created. 

I was given an ARC of the book by NetGalley, and this is my honest opinion. 

The X-Files: Perihelion by Claudia Gray

5 Stars

Just like the TV Series

As a long-time fan of the Television Series, I’ve enjoyed the movies that were produced along with the series.  This is the first book I’ve read that features the quirky, and now more than ever relevant show. 

The story picks up right after the last episode of the series “My Struggle IV” which aired in March 2018.  Claudia Gray has written the characters, feeling, and tension of the original series as if she were Chris Carter.  As I was reading, I could see the writing play out in my mind.  The plot and pacing were excellent, the threads of the last episode picked up carefully, and the characters are spot on.  I am hoping that if Chris Carter and company don’t decide to follow up Season 11, then I hope that Claudia Gray picks up the still open threads and continues to weave them into more books.  As other reviewers have said, this book is near perfect, and is true to the original series. 

I received and ARC copy of the book from the Publisher, Hyperion Avenue through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

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Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle

4 Stars

A major misunderstanding

Set in the magical town of Moonville, Ohio we meet our two main characters Romina Tempest and her first love Alex King.  High school sweethearts, they broke up before college.  Now years later Alex is back in Moonville because his mother is marrying Romina’s best friend Trevor Yoon’s father.  Add in a few more characters and plot twists and you have Old Flames and New Fortunes. 

I felt that the book was too long, I was ready for the best parts at about the halfway point-I continued reading but it seemed to take forever to get through to the “meat and potatoes” of this second chance romance.  I did enjoy the book, and the detailed plot, but the MFC Romina did annoy me at times.  By the end all the plot points were dealt with and a satisfying finish happened.  If Sarah Hogle writes more books set in Moonville with the other characters I will read them, her writing is good and her characters interesting. 

I received and ARC through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion. 

Ground Training (Immortal Outcasts Series Book 5) by Mandy M. Roth

5 Stars

More excitement!

This story gives us the story of Ace Hargraves, a Government made shifter, and Charlotte “Charley” Eyres who was stolen from The Corporation while a small child by her father Samuel.  Mandy Roth gives us a backstory for these two that takes place 25 years in the past.  Then on to the present where the two know nothing of each other. 

This book brings in characters from previous books, which really would help someone who hasn’t read them understand a little of what is going on in this shifter heavy world.  It’s an enjoyable read, but only gives just enough progress with the evil going on to make the reader want the next book NOW.  Well written, with good, interesting characters.  Part of a larger series, for the best understanding of the story and characters, read the previous books.

I was given an ARC by the author through Booksprout, and this is my honest opinion.

Endless Skye (Skye Druids #4) by Donna Grant

5 Stars

More twists and turns…

This is the next book in the series, and features Willa Ryan who along with her brother and sister, live on Skye.  Jasper McCabe is not what or who he seems.  Once the two have met, Donna Grant’s story winds around and through both of them and others from both this series, and other books in her Dark Universe.  It’s well written with good characterization and an intricate plot.  The overall plot that weaves through all of the Skye Druids books is not resolved, but the story for Jasper and Willa gives a satisfying finish.  Can’t wait for the next book in the series as they get better and better.

I was given and ARC of this book from the author through BookFunnel, and this is my honest opinion.

Not Your Crush’s Cauldron (Supernatural Singles #3) by April Asher

5 Stars

Maxwell sister #3

This third book in the series features Olive Maxwell, a Professor and Bax Donovan, Guardian Angel.  Both have played parts in the other two series books featuring Olive’s sisters.  Olive is looking for a new place to live, when Bax offers the spare room in his apartment to her.  She accepts, and a mostly non-magical story starts.  Olive is nothing like her sisters, which makes sense since they are triplets.  She is the low key one, staying out of the limelight.  Bax’s character is more flashy but has more layers to his makeup.  Of the two characters, Bax is more developed, and because of this, the more interesting one. Olive’s character didn’t generate a lot of interest on my part, and I think because of this, the story dragged in parts for me.  Once I got 2/3’s of the way into the book, the story became more interesting, and all the characters became something “more”. 

Not Your Crush’s Cauldron is well written with the storyline giving readers more depth into the world April Asher has created.  I felt the story was a strong 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars.  I will continue to read other books in the series if Ms. Asher continues to write them.

I was given an ARC of the book through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Inheritance (The Lost Bride Trilogy #1) by Nora Roberts

5 Stars

Another great trilogy starter!

If you’ve read any other series by Nora Roberts, you won’t be disappointed with Inheritance. She can write an interesting, suspenseful book with great characters and spectacular locations.  This book is a contemporary paranormal fantasy from the very start.  With two great main characters of Sonya McTavish and Trey (Oliver Doyle III) the lawyer son of Sonya’s lawyer Oliver Doyle II.  Add in additional secondary characters and you find that you are reading an intricate and well-developed story.  The ending of this book is a cliff hanger, quite a surprising one, but it will only make you want the second book RIGHT NOW!  I can’t wait to read book 2. 

I was given an ARC of this book by NetGalley, and this is my honest opinion.