Review

A book review.

Warrior’s Bond, by Starr Huntress and Emma Alisyn

Yadeshi  Brides #1

Zoriah, a single mother with 3 children, works hard just to get by.  The class system on this rather dystopian earth isn’t easy on single mothers.  She’s not thrilled to fond out that  her son has been skipping school to train with alien warriors.

Benyon, a Yadeshi warrior, has been training her children and convinces her to make it official to keep her son out of trouble.    Soon she finds herself training to be a Yadeshi bride for the benefits provided.

Zoriah’s not thinking beyond the present, but Benyon has been planning ever since he met Zoriah…

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  It had plenty of story background as the first book in the series, but the plot moves quickly and there’s plenty of romance.

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Battle Scarred by Becca Fanning

Kat’s world is about as complicated as it can get.  Her new prototype prosthetic is due to start trials this week and her addict twin brother just landed on her doorstep again.  She insists Toby go to group as a condition of staying with her and takes him to a meeting.

At the meeting Toby meets Briggs Dawson, a shifter and former pro football player.  When the football job falls through he joined the army and lost an arm.  Now he’s homeless and suffering from PTSD.

Complications with Kat’s project mean she needs a shifter to test her new arm prosthetic and Briggs reluctantly agrees to help Kat, mostly because of his attraction to her.  He doesn’t need a prosthetic to feel complete.  Kat is attracted too, but she’s been all business for so long.  Does she dare mix business with pleasure just this once?

Battle Scarred is a story with many themes.  Addiction, homelessness, PTSD, personal and professional ethics and romance all have their part in the final blend.  Kat and Briggs are both lost and shut off from their feelings at the beginning but don’t realize it.  Through the story all the characters grow and change in a satisfying way.   I’m a big fan of Becca Fanning’s writing and this new book does not disappoint.

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Hounds of God by Justin Sloan

Hounds of God is Book 1 of the Cursed Night series by Justin Sloan.

Werewolf factions are fighting everywhere.  Will anyone save the humans?

Katherine (Kat) became a werewolf at 13.  Her parents were killed and she was on the streets with confused memories, tremendous guilt and no street skills.  She is taken in by a group called the Hounds of Gods.  They believe werewolves were created to punish evildoers.  Not all werewolves agree and the hideout is attacked.

Kat leaves the group and starts to look for a cure for the “cursed”condition.  She and her friends just want to be left alone, but the world is divided into werewolf factions intent on pursuing  her.  Can she accept her condition and use her powers to protect her friends and innocent humans?

Hounds of God is an exciting take on werewolves blended with religious fanaticism.  There’s tons of action and plot twists to keep you guessing.  The novel sets a solid foundation for the rest of the series.

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Folly and Forever by Kimberly Loth

How far are you willing to go to get what you want?  Bethany wants to keep the island house her parents left her, but her tourism job doesn’t pay the taxes.  She’d like to open a dance school in the studio where she took classes, but where would  she ever come up with the money?  Maybe a roommate would help?

Millionaire Jamie comes to Folly Beach, South Carolina when he finds out he has a son there.   One of  Jamie’s friends ran into his ex-girlfriend, Zoe, and her son is the image of Jamie.  When Jamie tries to talk to Zoe about meeting Garrett, it is be clear that nobody plans to play nice,  that means Jamie needs a residence to get visitation and hopefully custody.

Jamie and his dog Hexa move in as Bethany’s roommate and it isn’t long before sparks start to fly.  When Jamie’s lawyer suggests that being married might help with getting Garrett out of a bad home how far will they go?

Folly and Forever is a sweet contemporary love story.  I enjoyed the characters and the story and look forward to more news from the Omega Mu Alpha brothers and their romances.

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Skye, by Kimberly Loth

Skye is book 4 in the Dragon Kings series. The series is best read in order because the story continues throughout the books. In this book, the story backs up to the end of book 2 and continues from Skye’s point of view.

Skye is shocked to find that she has turned black. What does it mean? Before she leaves to seek advice, she stops by to say goodbye to Rowan. To her surprise, he insists on going with her.

Rowan is in love with Skye and although she doesn’t feel the same way, he’s not planning to let her leave him behind. Together they flee their friends and family to find out what Skye’s color change means. It isn’t going to be an easy quest because as the signs confirm the prophesy, enemies seem to be around every corner.

Skye is a solid continuation of the series and I can’t wait for the finale!

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Valentine, by Kimberly Loth

Valentine is Book 3 in the Dragon Kings series. This series is best read in order because one story continues throughout the series.

In Hawaii, Hazel grabs the last seat on a flight home. Her brother Rowan is missing and she’s on the way home to join the search. Meanwhile, she wouldn’t mind distracting herself from her worries by flirting with the gorgeous guy in the next seat.

Valentine is a fire dragon who recently turned black, indicating he will be king. After a week of human orientation, he’s on a plane to Yellowstone to join Obsidian, the other king, for further training. He’s been told he must find a queen and the girl sitting next to him is the most interesting woman he’s met so far.

An attack during the flight is just the beginning. The appearance of two kings means that the prophecy of three kings is coming true and war is on the way.

In this book the relationships and conflicts develop the story further. Valentine’s naiveté is cute since he’s only observed human relationships from watching campers in the park.  The relationships become very complicated.  I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

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Aspen , by Kimberly Loth

Aspen is Dragon Kings series book 2. Series should be read in order as it is all one story.

Obsidian (Sid) is a dragon king, spending his required time living as a human.  Aspen is a human dragon aficionado.  Sid and Aspen are joined, but that’s  a problem.  Dragon Kings don’t get to choose their queens and if anybody fins out they’re joined they could be killed.  Sid has a daring plan to save them, but can they pull it off?

Meanwhile, they thought the had caught and punished the dragon who was killing humans, but when the attacks resume they must re-assess.  Can Sid catch the killer and manage to keep Aspen alive, too?

I think Aspen is a very enjoyable novel and it keeps the story moving as Aspen and Sid complete the  first half of their senior  year.

 

 

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Full metal magic, stories by 9 dark urban fantasy authors.

Full metal magic is an anthology of stories by some  of the hottest writers in the dark urban fantasy  genre.  Stories were written specifically  to be part of the anthology.

To give you some idea of what to expect here’s a taste of a few stories:

In the first story, The bull demon king, by J. A. Cipriano, Mac Brennan and his girlfriend Ricky are trying to enjoy a date at the fair, when they are interrupted by a plea for help.  Mei is begging Ricky for help because her friend was abducted  from a performance  and taken to the funhouse.  Ricky feels obligated to  help because she’s alpha werewolf of the state and Mei is one of her pack.  Mac helps her by being  well-armed and by using his cursed right hand to dispense hellfire and other magical weapons.  Together  they plan to rescue Mei’s friend without too much collateral damage.  Just your normal date night, right?

In The Black Door, by Domino Finn, Cisco Suarez accompanies Rachel to an underground part of an underground club.  Rachel needs some revenge, and Cisco plans to help her…if they can get past the posers and tough guys that keep interrupting their progress.

There’s your taste…and there are 7 more stories and chances to meet characters that star in their own series in works by Sonya Bateman, Ambrose Ibsen, Al K. Line, Rob Cornell, James A. Hunter, Craig Schaefer,  and Pippa DaCosta.  The analogy is available now for 99 cents and is free on kindle unlimited.

I loved the many characters and high-action problem solving in the stories.  The heros are the kind of people who protect others from knowledge or dangers of the paranormal and who stand up for others, although motivations vary.  This is a great way to get a quick introduction to the various series these characters inhabit without having to invest in nine novels to find the one(s) you like.  I highly recommend the book.  Writing is powerful, plots have lots of twists and action, and you get enough of the hero’s backstory and personality to know if you want to read more books.  I know I do!

This review is based on a free review copy provided to Kasey’s Book Nook.

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Solon’s mate, by Marina Maddox and Aubrey Rose

Solan’s Mate: A SciFi Shifter Romance (The Last Alphas of Thracos Book 1) (Kindle Edition)

Solon’s mate, by Marina Maddox and Aubrey Rose, tells the story of Solon, the leader of the shapeshifting wargs, and Sienna, one of three terran women he rescued from a crash.

The wargs have a problem: females are becoming scarce and prophesy says that Solan must take a mate for the problem to be solved. Furthermore his tribe is being pressured by other bands of wargs and terran colonists.

Into this mix crash-land three human females, who could potentially have warg mates. They would know for sure if the females would consent to be bitten and changed into wargs. But wait a minute: Sienna just got a chance to be herself for the first time in her life and she’s not anxious to change into something else for anybody, not even Solan.

I enjoyed reading this book. The prose seemed a little choppy to me, but this was made up for by the exciting story. This book is the beginning of the Last Alphas of Thracos series.

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Jacob, by Becca Fanning

Jacob is part iv of Rodeo Bears.

Cara first ran into Jacob when she needed help at 17.  She’s followed his career ever since, and now she’s 22 and ready to follow up on her crush. But before she can talk to Jacob, she runs into men involved in the anti-shifter violence and Jacob comes to her rescue again.

In this book, the rodeo takes a backseat to the ongoing mystery of shifters disappearing. Cara offers to help search since she volunteers with the sheriff’s posse and knows the area.

This story was exciting as we’re given more information on the mystery and how serious it has become to the Tyrell clan. Much more remains to be solved in future stories, though.

There was a good mix of action and romance and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

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