The Traveler's Riddle (Wayward Island Book 1) by Hope Daniels & Alicia Dawn

 

Blurb:

There once lived a princess and prince,
with magic powerful and grand.
with exalted titles and alluring wiles,
they were hunted by many across the land.

Puffed up on his own bravado, Prince Erik embarks on a quest to fetch an army for his father the king. How was he to know there were those out there willing to kill and rob him? Thankfully, he has his sister Abby by his side. Armed with his charm and her stellar wit they might just make it out alive.

Yet when they arrive at the neighboring King’s castle, the royal ropes Erik into an ultimatum that could snatch away his freedom. In a last ditch effort to save her brother, Abby poses a riddle. One answer will bind Erik to the neighboring kingdom for all eternity, the other will grant them the sought after army.

Is Abby’s magic cunning enough to outsmart their enemy? Or will her brother pay the price for her failure?

 

My review:

This is a wonderful first in what I am sure will be an epic tale. The hero is sure of his male superiority by way of bulk and brawn and the heroine is sure brains and magic are the way to success. I loved this well crafted tale from its gorgeous cover to the very last page. I look forward to the next installment.

 

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An Inherited Midlife (Witching After Forty Book 15) by Lia Davis & L.A. Boruff

 

An Inherited Midlife (Witching After Forty Book 15) by  Lia Davis &  L.A. Boruff

 

Blurb:

Ava Harper-Walker has it all. She’s married to the world’s best man, has a wonderful family with her first grandbaby on the way, and a whole band of friends to call her own. She figures the reason for all her blessings is that other things continue to go absolutely haywire in her life.

The moment she and Drew return from their honeymoon, they have to rush off to battle a raging sea monster that escaped from Hell. And of course, Luci is nowhere to be found. He’s presumably searching for the last escapees, who continue to elude him.

But hey, it’s okay. Ava’s got this. She gets the disgusting sea monster—slime tentacles, Ew—back to its fiery prison, then returns home to find the Vikings have come to call. They want Alfred, and they want him bad.

Over Ava’s dead body.

When one of her favorite people goes missing, aka Alfred, Ava goes into mama-bear mode. Nobody is going to get away with stealing her friend and butler. The immortal Vikings are the first names on her suspect list, but was it really them?

The truth stone aids in the search, but Ava begins to doubt even that as everyone who has ever met Alfred becomes a suspect.

Not to mention Winnie. As Alfred’s main squeeze, Aunt Winnie is losing it. And that is putting it mildly.

When Winnie begins giving their family and friends the skeptical side-eye, Ava knows she’s got to find Alfred and fast. Not just for his safety, but for the safety of anyone who crosses Winnie’s path.

 

My review:

An Inherited Midlife is a non-stop high-speed adventure. It starts with Ava and Drew cutting their honeymoon short to take on a sea monster and ends with a cliffhanger extraordinaire. I love this series and cannot wait to find out what happens next. 

 

Buy link:

Amazon

Fudge Crunch (Little Cakes Book 10) by Pepper North and Paige Michaels

 

 

Blurb:

Welcome to Little Cakes, the bakery that plays Daddy matchmaker!

Could a trip to Blaze cause this Daddy to find his Little?

Terry Reinhart watched his sheltered sister find the Daddy of her dreams. Seeing them happy ignites his desire to find a special someone of his very own.

Kiki Brock is new to Blaze. She knows she’s a big personality, but she’s determined to enjoy life. When she glimpses the stern man visiting his sister in the Littles section, Kiki is instantly intrigued. He checks all her boxes and looks like he needs a breath of fresh air. Surely her zest for life will catch this Daddy’s attention.

Little Cakes is a sweet and satisfying series, but dare to taste only if you like delicious Daddies, luscious Littles, and guaranteed happily-ever-afters.

 

My review:

Fudge Crunch is a sweet and sexy tale of a DD/lg finding each other. Kiki acts like a sassy brat to protect herself. Feeling vulnerable is scary. Terry sees through her act and helps her find herself and love. As sweet as a chocolate fudge crunch cupcake.

 

Buy link:

Amazon

 

A Dead End Christmas: Tiger's Eye Mysteries by Alyssa Day

 

 

Blurb:

It’s Christmas time in Dead End.

And this year Santa’s bringing … murder!

It’s Christmas time in Dead End, and a rash of crimes is making residents nervous. And the giant UltraShopMart that wants to move to town is pitting Dead Ender against Dead Ender. 

Who’s breaking into homes and businesses? Why does the new veterinary clinic keep getting vandalized? Who’s dumping cats and dogs on the road across from the pawnshop? 

And why in the world is there a reindeer on the roof??

It’s Christmas in Dead End -- and Jack and Tess are on the case. Because they’re not going to let ANYBODY ruin their first Christmas together ... and sometimes it takes a tiger’s eye to see the truth.

 

My review:

Holidays in Dead End can be murder. After a disastrous Thanksgiving Tess is hoping for a quiet Christmas but it is not to be. Tess and Jack have to figure out who is vandalizing the town and who killed Santa.

This is a fun filled romp that will keep you flipping pages.

 

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An Ashen Sky by Alexes Razevich

 

 

Blurb:

I see your future, and I see my own. My future is terrifying.

Ten years ago, on my twenty-first birthday, I discovered the bloodied body of my uncle who'd raised me. Rumor said a secret society known as The Whispers had tortured and killed him when he wouldn't turn over a magical pendant. Rumor said his niece-me-who'd disappeared right after, had the stone and chain.

A series of small towns sheltered me before I landed in the beach city I've called home for seven years, eking out an anonymous living as a Tarot card reader. The cards help focus my far-sight. If you sit at my table, I will see your true future. I see my own, too.

But my far-sight didn't warn me my apartment would be set on a fire or that a tiny blue dragon would save me from the flames. I certainly wasn't expecting Aiden Maddox-a too-good-looking trainer and bodyguard whom the dragon insists on hiring-or what his touch does to me.

Now The Whispers are closing in. Again.

An Ashen Sky features magic, romance, and a grumpy dragon with a deep and abiding love of bacon.

 

My review:

This is the first in an interesting urban fantasy. I liked Nic and Maddox. Blue the pocket dragon was a sweet surprise. This story moved well and kept me reading. I am looking forward to the next installment.

 

Buy links:

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Beauty and the Blade by S.C. Grayson

 

 

Blurb:

Most London socialites dream of marrying for love or status, but Contessa’s wedding is about justice—and revenge.

Nathanial Woodrow is known on the streets of London as the Beast, leader of the fearsome Lion gang who mark their victims with three slashes on their face. Since her mother was found dead with the signature slashes years ago, Contessa has wanted nothing more than to see her murderer brought to justice. However, the Beast has been impeccable at maintaining his façade as the high society Mr. Nathanial Woodrow, and nobody has been able to gather enough evidence to convict him. When the Beast unexpectedly asks Contessa’s father, the Chief of the Royal Police, for her hand in marriage, Contessa and her father hatch a plan to bring him down from the inside.

As Contessa enters the lion’s den in search of evidence to convict the Beast, she finds that not everything is as she once thought. Her father’s work, hunting down Talented that use their magic to rule the criminal underworld, is thrown into question with each glimpse of the kind-hearted man beneath the mask of a hardened gang leader. As Contessa navigates her search for justice, she finds herself questioning what side she’s really on, and why she finds herself drawn to a man she’s supposed to hate.

 

My review:

Beauty and the Blade takes us to a world where those who are “gifted” are being hunted down and hung simply for the way  they were born. This is a thought provoking love story. I really enjoyed this book and am anxiously awaiting the next in this world.

 

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Consequences: Owned by the Vampire - Out of the Fire #1 by Candace Blevins

 

Consequences: Owned by the Vampire - Out of the Fire #1 by Candace Blevins

 

Blurb:

Daniel was part ogre and part human, way back in the sixth century. Now he’s a nearly seven-foot-tall genius vampire who consults for NASA. Since he lives an hour and a half from his coterie, he maintains his own flock, and he purchases slaves through the Concilio, rather than dealing with the hassle of enticing shapeshifters to voluntarily provide his sustenance. He has needs few would volunteer to slake.

Mariah is a sexy gazelle shifter, tall and lithe. She grew up in flyover country, and despite the Concilio’s rules against shapeshifters playing organized sports with humans, she played high-school basketball in her small town without getting caught. However, a college scout turned her in, and now she’s owned by the Concilio, trained as a pleasure slave.

Daniel hitches a ride to Italy with a friend to attend an auction, and he returns home with a statuesque gazelle who was aiming for an applied physics degree on a basketball scholarship. She’s intelligent enough she doesn’t annoy him simply by opening her mouth, and sturdy enough to withstand the things he plans to do to her.

It isn’t the ogre part of Daniel’s personality that’s needed toning down over the centuries, but his inner Viking. Razing and pillaging, indeed.

 

My review:

This book started out rough. If I didn’t know and trust the author I might have quit early on but she made it worth the pain of the first few chapters. I had to remove myself from the characters in this book as the S/m dynamic was important to the story but to tough for me. I continued Daniel and Mariahs story and was thrilled with the way the author took their journey.

 

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