Paper & Blood (Ink & Sigil #2) by Kevin Hearne

 

 

Blurb:

New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne returns to the world of his beloved Iron Druid Chronicles in book two of a spin-off series about an eccentric master of rare magic solving an uncanny mystery in Scotland.

Charming and unconventional Scottish detective Al MacBharrais returns in the second installment of the magical murder mystery series Ink & Sigil.

 

My review:

The hero of Ink & Sigil, Al MacBharrais, returns in another encounter with gods, demons, chimeras, demigods, the Fae, hobgoblins, and many other creatures of the magical pantheon. He travels to Australia with his wise-cracking potty mouthed assistant to answer a distress call from one of his fellow Stigil Agent’s assistants and receives assistance from the Iron Druid to counter a plot by a very powerful entity to welsh on a promise. Many innocent lives are lost but the evildoers are vanquished in the end. 

This is at times hilarious and at others truly somber but well worth the read.

 

Buy links:

Amazon

B&N

Bitten in the Midlife (Fanged After Forty #1) by Lia Davis & L.A. Boruff

 

 

Blurb:

Jilted at the altar a month before her fortieth birthday. Poor Hailey. Midlife really does have a crisis. Or is it that midlife is the crisis? Either way, it sucks.

Hailey Whitfield can’t take anymore run-ins with her ex. It’s time for a big change.

She’s never considered moving away, but it’s her best plan yet. Bonus – her bestie lives next door! However, her new neighbor is… weird, to say the least. Extremely hot, but odd. So are his friends. But Hailey will take strange neighbors over facing her lying, cheat, deadbeat ex-fiancé all day, any day.

Finding a job in a new town is more challenging than she realizes. With her savings depleted from the move, Hailey has to suck it up and take what she gets. After taking a job as a private nurse for an injured bounty hunter, things start to look up.

Then a skip falls into her lap. Okay, sure. She was being nosy and reading an incoming fax intended for her patient. But with a little encouragement, Hailey takes on the task of tracking down the skip. It’s easy money. Right?

Wrong. This skip is far more than Hailey bargained for. And her life is about to change in a very bloody and pointy kind of way. What a bite in the… Well, you know.

With the help of her witchy best friend and her new, very pale neighbor, Hailey is going to collect her bounty.

Or die trying.

 

My review:

Bitten in the Midlife is a fun spin-off of the Witching After Forty series but you don’t have to have read it to enjoy this. I laughed so hard at Hailey’s mishaps and loved her journey. The ending left me with a gasp and I want the next book asap.

 

Buy links:

Amazon

The Enemy in My Bed (Brooklyn Kings #2) by L.K. Shaw

 

 

Blurb:

Pierce

The Russians have taken far too much from me. So I’ll take something of theirs. Except, I never expected my captive to be a woman. She could be the key to destroying them entirely. I’ll do whatever it takes to get revenge. Even seduce the enemy.

Soon I discover she may not be my enemy after all.

Mila

For nearly my entire life I’ve been held prisoner by darkness and pain. And just when I think freedom is within my reach, it’s stolen by yet another man determined to break me. First with rage. Then with tenderness.

I’m helpless to resist his touch, even knowing, that in the end, all that waits for me is death.

 

My review:

This story is a bit dark but it is sexy as heck and will leave you with a smile. Two damaged souls find each other and love.

 

Buy links:

Amazon

B&N

The Nightshade Guild: Mage in Hell by Sheri Lyn

 

 

Blurb:

Cale Cawthorn is one of twelve mages tasked with protecting Princess Ameria. Like his guildmates, he wasn’t prepared to care for a toddler for a month. Especially not at his home in literal hell. Granted it’s a safe space, but he needs help and who better than his best friend Turak.Turak couldn’t believe Cale had seven months to prepare for the arrival of Ameria and he did nothing. He could have read a book at the very least, but the mage was too stubborn. Thankfully he had a demon at his side to help. Together they could handle anything that came their way... right? Marek felt like he’d spent all his time watching Cale and Turak from a distance. Their friendship intrigued him, their flirting amused him. Until Princess Ameria arrived and he couldn’t sit back and watch anymore. The men needed help and it was his duty to be of assistance.

 

My review:

Three men and a baby. This story is sweet and funny with an occasional fright. Ameria has a way of bringing people together and finding the beauty in any situation. This is a fantastic addition to the series.

 

Buy link:

Amazon

Cat out of Hell, Volume I by Candace Blevins

 

 

Blurb:

Becca was traded to the Hell realm when she finally messed up enough to receive a death sentence. At first, she’d preferred Hell to death most days, but once she was traded to a different Lord of Hell, even a painful death would’ve been preferable.

The Amakhosi couldn’t leave Becca in the situation she’d landed, but what to do with her if he could get her back? She’d earned her death sentence and couldn’t be trusted on her own, but what if her years in Hell had changed her?

Kendric was once known as Caligula. Now he’s a porn king, and the Master Vampire of Florida. His tastes have always run to the sadistic and macabre, but he’s known for being fair to his slaves and underlings. He also prefers feline shifters to all others. When the Amakhosi offers him one of his problem cats, neither man is sure who will be doing whom a favor. They agree to decide that part later, and Becca lands in Kendric’s coterie house as his newest slave.

After two thousand years of life, Kendric has never found another soul so much like him. Letting others see his preferences and penchants once set him up for assassination, and it got Becca sent to Hell. Could he teach her how to hide her true nature and play by the rules of society when in public? Most importantly, after the decades of abuse she’s survived, could she ever enjoy intimacy with a man? Was this his punishment for breaking so many people over the centuries, so when he finally found his soul mate, she’d been irreparably broken?

This is book one in the Cat out of Hell trilogy. It takes three full-length novels to tell Becca and Kendric's story.

Book two releases August 12, 2021, so if there are any cliffhangers, there won't be long to wait.

 

My review:

This is a tale of two very damaged individuals finding something in the other that they can relate to. I don’t get sadism but reading the connection these two find in their shared penchant is made more bearable by their paranormal natures. But like watching a train wreck I couldn’t look away. I knew going in that it was going to be a trilogy and thus the cliffhanger but OMG! I was blown away and am now anxiously awaiting the next installment.

 

Buy links:

Amazon

B&N

Throw in the Growl (Paranormal Dating Agency #31) by Milly Taiden

 

 

Blurb:

***Standalone Romance***
Success was within Anna Sullivan’s grasp. But one bad joke and one dead world leader later, and she’s playing shady Vegas bars with junkies in her closet sized dressing room. She needs a different galaxy to restart her career. Gerri Wilder promises to find her love on a new planet. Love? Not interested, but a new audience? That sounds promising.

King Rath is used to people doing what he says. So when he meets sarcasm queen Anna, he’s more than a little clueless on how to handle her. She’s his mate and he needs to get her to fall for him. He doesn't understand half of what she says, but she’s a spitfire and those curves and her smile are making him question everything he thinks he knows about women. He wants her and will do anything to keep her.

There are forces that don’t want the king and his new mate together. Anna and Rath have to fight unexpected enemies while figuring out if they have a future together. Rath may not understand her humor, but he knows she wants him and he can't stand the thought of losing her. Can Rath protect her and get her to realize a relationship between won’t mean the end of her goals?

 

My review:

Throw in the Growl is an adorably funny and sexy addition to the PDA world. Rath is sweet and grumpy and delightfully clueless to pop culture and earth jargon. Anna as a standup comedian is practically an expert. Watching these two try to communicate is such fun. But love will have it’s way and doesn’t necessarily require speaking to get the message across. I love the new world that Gerri and Rath have introduced us to.

 

Buy link:

Amazon

Her Dragon Link (Awaken the Dragon #2) by Milly Taiden & Ava Hunter

 

Blurb:

Book 2 in the Awaken the Dragon series

Dragon-shifter Aelon is known as the intellectual one of his clan. He isn’t looking for a mate. He’s got a lot going on. Like finding the now exposed temple and using its power to awaken all the dragons. They’re being hunted. He flies straight into a woman whose scent buries into his heart. Once she’s in his arms, he knows she’s the one for him.

Fern is a ski instructor that loves her job. But she didn’t expect to get caught up in a blizzard. She’s saved by a dragon. When she touches him for the first time, he turns into a gorgeous man. A shifter. Her heart immediately calls out for him and she struggles to control her need to throw herself at him. And those sizzling looks he gives her are not helping. Not at all.

When he explains his need for her help, she agrees to go with him. She knows he’s on a mission and hates the idea of people hurting the beautiful dragons. Aelon is sweet and kind. The perfect gentleman she wants to get naked. But is that enough to grow a relationship with him?

 

My review:

Opposites attract in this sexy tale of the bookish dragon and the female athlete. This story is part of a series but can be read stand alone.  Aelon is a dragon shifter awakened by his brother when his brother had been attacked by dragon hunters (Her Dragon Savior - Awaken the Dragon #1). The bookish dragon believes they will need the assistance of their brethren and is off to find the dragon temple to awaken them. His adventures along the way have him finding his mate and a reason to go on. This is an exciting and sexy adventure that will leave you anxiously awaiting the next book.

 

Buy link:

Amazon