Author: Kasey Briggs

Slip into Bad Soul for a trip through the Uncanny Kingdom

I’m a peaceable person.  I don’t hit people, smash things or take contracts from demons.  Just getting that out there.  Still, sometimes it feels good to work out your mental aggressions by assuming the identity of a character in a book that is nothing like you.  So when I read Bad Soul, an urban fantasy by David Bussel and M. V. Scott, I could relate to the main character, Erin Banks.

When Erin was six, she was left to care for her baby brother while her parents went next door for a drink.  It was only supposed to be for half an hour, but Erin fell asleep and when she woke, the window was open and her brother was in the back yard, floating in a magical bubble.   Her parents can’t understand why Erin won’t just tell the truth, and don’t believe her confused and fragmented story of magic and streets that shouldn’t exist.  This becomes a turning point in Erin’s life and she realizes that she has to find out about magic and go after her brother.

Being a normal girl in a magical world, Erin needs an edge.  Her edge is a set of tattoos that give her strength, speed, healing, etc. This allows her to hold her own against paranormal creatures as she earns her living and tries to put the pieces together about her brother.

As the book opens, Erin serving time in prison when she is suddenly scheduled for release.  A mysterious stranger who is responsible eventually he makes his reasons clear:  he needs Erin to do a job for him.  In return, she’ll get some more information about her brother’s disappearance.  Easy, right? Just collect a soul promised to a demon from a guy who welshed on the deal.

I enjoyed being part of Erin’s world for a few hours.  The writing is very colorful with lots of British slang and strange and seedy characters.  The plot is fast and furious with unexpected developments and exciting scenes.  A nice piece of gritty urban fantasy.    This is the first book in the Uncanny ink series and part of a larger Uncanny Kingdom world.

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Mated to the Pack II by Jade Alters

As Mated to the Pack II begins, Courtney is ready to quit. She’s had enough of her assignment in Afghanistan. It’s too much. The heat, the dirt, the animals and wolves outside of camp….everything! Suddenly a handsome soldier she hasn’t seen before sticks his head in her tent and tells her they have to move, right then! She and the doctors are thrown into a truck and driven to an airstrip. Then the plane explodes and it’s just her and four remaining soldiers running for their lives in the wilderness. Will, Clay, Manny and Titan are doing their best to keep her safe while they figure out why they’re being attacked.

I enjoyed the book. The intensity of the beginning creates a tight bond between Courtney and the soldiers. The plot was exciting and the mystery was interesting. When the plot is discovered they all work together to come to a solution. I’m interested to read the other books in the series. Each book is a stand-alone story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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Arthur’s mate by Lisa Daniels

Book 1 in the Bears of Valor Lake series

Emma is living in Valor Lake, a place she picked off a map when she couldn’t tolerate life in Phoenix with her parents and manipulative boyfriend a moment longer. She finds a job and eventually runs in to Arthur at a bar. He’d just had a very public breakup with his girlfriend, and the two start to chat. Arthur invites Emma fishing and, to his surprise, she accepts. She thinks that if she’s going to live here she should figure out what people do for fun and get to know some people. She has no intention of rushing into a relationship, but the way Arthur keeps looking at her makes her wonder. Arthur’s sister Yara is becoming a good friend, too.

Arthur has some problems of his own. Family members can’t agree on how to use the land and tensions are high. Meanwhile, his mother and grandmother are obsessed with him having an heir to protect their claim to the land. Strangers are unusual in bear shifter lands, but he’s intrigued by Emma and her problems. He wants to help her.

I enjoyed the book and read it in an afternoon. The story of Emma and Arthur was a nice story with interesting supernatural aspects. I recommend it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout. My opinions are always my own.

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Sunscorched, by Jen Crane

In Sunscorched, unique dystopian scifi series opener by Jen Crane, Nori is a teen who has a strange condition that keeps her housebound most of the time.  

The book opens a twelve years after the Scorch, an event where the sun’s effects suddenly became intense.  Billions of people died during the Scorch, and since then Nori has become very sensitive to sunlight, resulting in burns and pain at the slightest hint of the sun’s rays.  

Nori’s only escape are her nightly runs. During the hour or two of darkness, she can get outside her house and escape the watchful eyes of her parents for a little while.  But even this is becoming a problem.  Another scorch is predicted and Nori won’t survive even in her special basement bunker.  Her only possible escape is in one of the communities rumored to exist underground, if her parents can find a way to get her there.

I very much enjoyed this book, the world building is complex and has a lot of depth.  Characters are relatable even though the situation is strange.  As Nori strikes out on her own to find safety in a hostile situation, she grows and finds much about herself and the world.  She makes allies who have their own mysterious past histories.  Good dystopian fiction makes us think about what people will do to survive, the good and the bad, and this book does not disappoint.  

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Dragon Undercover by Lia Davis and Kerry Adrienne

Starting an undercover mission at Coon Lake, dragon shifter Owen is attracted to a giggle from Nextdoor.  Following his ears and nose, he finds something he wasn’t expecting: his mate.  Nadia and her younger sister Sage are at the lake to celebrate before Sage goes off to college.  With a bit of matchmaking, Sage arranges for Owen to come to dinner the next night and then suddenly announces she has other plans.

Owen’s mission now takes on greater meaning.  His target, the rogue dragon/serial killer named Huff that killed Owen’s sister several years ago may be in the area and, unfortunately, Sage fits his victim profile.

When Sage disappears from a sleepover with friends, Owen and Nadia start searching for her.  If only he could figure out how to explain about Huff, the dragon who took Sage and also explain that he is a dragon shifter and she is his fated mate.  No problem.there, right?

Dragon undercover is a short novel with a fast-moving plot.  It serves as an introduction to the world and to the members of the Dark Scales Division.  A very exciting story and great characters.  I look forward to reading more in this series.

I received a free copy of this book.  My opinions, as always, are my own.

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The Bride, by Rebekah Ganiere

In The Bride, Pria is the youngest of four adult children.  She does all the shopping, cooking and cleaning for the family.  When her father must travel to check into some investments, he leaves Pria in charge, much to the ire of her siblings.  Not only that, he tells Pria she must buy a new dress and go to the ball her mysterious new neighbor is planning.

From the moment his carriage almost ran her over, Blue has been struck by Pria’s beauty and charm.  He has vowed to make Pria his, but his inconvenient ”allergy” to the sun means he can only watch over her at night until he finds her in the city and is able to show her around.

I really enjoyed this unusual twist on several fairy tale themes and I tried to guess what would happen.  I won’t spoil the surprise, but there are several fairy tale tropes mixed with supernatural ones.  This makes the Bride a highly inventive and satisfying story.  The ending is not a cliffhanger, but leaves the door open for future adventures.

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Promised at the Moon, by Rebekah Ganiere

Book 1 of the Wolf River series.

Story teaser:

Twenty year old Natasha is awakened in the middle of the night and her mother hands her a bug-out bag and urges her to run.  Her ex-boyfriend won’t give up on her and now her family is under attack.  A voice through her headphones guides her along an escape route.  The voice belongs to Tate, from Night Shift, a shifter relocation service.  Tate and her contact Liam may be her only hope to get through this alive.

 

Liam helps get Natasha established in a new town and enrolled at a community college.  He and Cara, her new roommate, help her adjust to a new life, but she can’t help worrying about her parents and wondering if her ex is still looking for her.

 

Despite their plans, Liam and Natasha are attracted to each other.  But they’ve both been hurt before and don’t know if they can trust again.

 

Opinions:

I really enjoyed the book.  The plot had lots of action and suspicious characters so you didn’t know who to trust or what their motives are.  It was a good foundation to the series and I look forward to reading more.

I received a free review copy of this book.  My opinions, as always, are my own.

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Reign of the Vampires, by Rebekah Ganiere

Book one of The Society series.

In Reign of the Vampires, humans are a rarity and are slaves in an elaborate stratified society run by Vampires at the top, vampyrs next and vamps at the bottom. An outbreak 15 years ago turned most humans into vamps and caused human civilization to fail. Vampires took over and rebuilt society.

The book opens on a group of humans trying to eke out a living on the run. They are forced to steal to survive and are constantly pursued by slavers. Mason, one of the strongest in the group, has an anger problem. He’s not “just” human and has a raging beast inside that he must constantly calm to avoid others finding out about him. When his group is captured by slavers, they’re all at great risk, particularly Mason with his secret.

Danika is a vampire lord in charge of the Midwest area and her family’s corporation. She feels that her position is precarious because she is young, the only female lord, and unrated. In addition past mistakes have made some question her rule. As the book opens she is in poor health because she hasn’t been eating or sleeping.

When Danika tours an upcoming slave auction she meets Mason and plans to buy him and some others in his group. She’s intrigued by Mason, immediately realizing that he’s not not a normal human. Meanwhile, Mason’s beast awakens for Danica, despite his hatred of Vampires.

At first I wasn’t sure I would like this book because the tempo slowed after the capture of the humans as the Vampire world was set up and explained. This was intermixed with mysterious clues about Danika and Mason’s secrets so that it kept things interesting. After the backstory and world was established the plot really picked up and I was hooked. Once I got into it, I enjoyed the book very much and I look forward to reading other books in the series.

I would classify this book as a mystery/paranormal romance based in a dystopian urban setting. There was a lot of world-building, but that is necessary for the first book in a series with such a unique world.

I received a free review copy of this book. My opinions, as always, are my own.

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The Bone Hunter, by Thea Atkinson

Isabella has a big problem: she’s in debt to a fae for the magic protecting her house and this is not a good time to be unprotected. Several men from her past have come to town and she’d rather not be found. The fae’s price for the enchantment is retrieving something from lots of vampires and she knows from experience that she doesn’t like dealing with vampires.

However she finds that she has no real choice in the matter after another job falls through. Isabella starts investigating the fae’s task further and it leads her down a increasingly strange and dangerous path.

I really enjoyed this book. The plotting is intricate and the story is full of surprises. Small details become important in surprising ways. The prose is well-written and the atmosphere is well defined. Overall this was a thrilling book.

This is the second book is the Isabella Hush series but there is enough backstory included to make the plot understandable. (I do want to go back and read the first book though.). I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.

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Saving the King, by Leilani Love

A tale of loyalty, love, evil and magic that will warm your heart.

After being spurned by the King in favor of the Queen, Morgana curses the unborn baby.

Katrina is a lady in waiting to her friend, now Queen. Katrina’s friend makes her swear to protect her baby, and just moments after he is born she is handed the baby and the chase begins. First, she goes to see Merlin and find the King with him, both make her promise to protect the baby, named Arthur. It’s not going to be an easy promise to keep, as Katrina soon finds. Alone and pursued by strange men, she flees through the snow.

Brian and his wolves see a woman being attacked and they intervene. Brian brings the nearly frozen woman, and the baby he finds tucked into a bag, back to his home.

So begins Saving the King by Leilani Love (Book 1 in the King’s Tale series). I really enjoyed the book and read it in one sitting. I just couldn’t put it down. The exciting beginning, mellow middle, and exciting ending left me anxious for the next part of the series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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