Diary of an Unauthorised Vampire: Burkenswood Mysteries 1 by Iris Beaglehole

 

Diary of an Unauthorised Vampire: Burkenswood Mysteries 1 by 

Iris Beaglehole

 

Blurb:

Current status: Recently divorced. Recently deceased. Recently discovered vampirism requires forms in triplicate.

Woke up dead. Rather inconvenient – and with no paperwork, I’m now an illegal vampire who can’t hug my children without wanting to eat them.

The gothic vampire matriarch who insists on keeping me in her castle finds everything deliciously dramatic. She swears I need a supernatural guardian or my powers might detonate. After my divorce, the last thing I want is to be bound to anyone.

My new job at a supernatural law firm seemed like a step in the right direction… until a magical artifact went missing and everyone started pointing fangs. Now I’m hunting for the Twilight Concordat with a purple-haired mage whose idea of fun is “light breaking and entering.” Meanwhile, Clara Blackwood, the Council’s Chief Investigator, looks at me like I’m a puzzle she can’t quite solve. I can’t decide if that makes her my worst enemy or something infinitely more dangerous.

 

My review:

This isn’t your normal recent divorcee turned vampire without consent type of story. Gillian is turned by an unknown vampire on her way home from celebrating her divorce. She is prevented from eating her children when she arises by a family of vampires who take her and her children in and assist her through the turn. She may live at night but even as an undead being she’s more alive now than throughout her disastrous marriage.  Gillian finds new friends and new problems in her new life.

I really enjoyed this mystery and new take on the newly undead, I cannot wait for the next installment. I’ve got questions.

 

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The Alchemist's Daughter by Tamara Price

 

 

Blurb:

What frightened her the most were the monsters living inside her head.
Living inside her.

In the mythical world of Tellus, Pax Silva awaits her Ortus day, when she will finally obtain her telekinetic powers. Shunned by her community for being too unpredictable, she longs for a life of adventure beyond her small forest home.

But when her village is attacked, and her Alchemist father and mother are taken, she is left with only cryptic clues and a mysterious golden amulet.

Convinced that the much-feared Supremo Gen are responsible for their capture, Pax and her childhood friend, Am, travel to Rubra to confront them, alongside Miles, a warrior with a bionic leg, and Venefica, an ancient witch Pax is uncertain she can trust.

With the Blood Moon due to rise, will Pax be able to save her parents before it’s too late?

 

My review:

A bold and exciting quest. Pax is troubled from the day of her birth. At fifteen she’s about to discover her power. But sadly before she comes into her full power her parents and her village have been kidnapped and she is determined to find and free them. With the aid of stalwart friends she finds along the way Pax must use everything she’s learned or dreamed of to save the town,

I enjoyed watching Pax struggle and grow along her dangerous quest and look forward to more adventures in her future.

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Supernatural Crimes Unit: NYPD: The Thin Blue Ley-Line by Keith R.A. DeCandido

 

Supernatural Crimes Unit: NYPD: The Thin Blue Ley-Line by Keith R.A. DeCandido

 

Blurb:

When Detective Domenica Kiernan solved the murder of a mayor’s aide—killed by a vampire—she never imagined she’d find herself at the vanguard of the NYPD’s latest special squad: the Supernatural Crimes Unit.

Tasked with closing cases involving magic and monsters, the SCU has dealt with a shape-changing domovoy committing assault in Chelsea, the murder of a kappa on City Island, a thieving Taotie in Chinatown—and their latest, two murder victims whose corpses have been liquefied by a powerful spell.

Kiernan and the rest of the SCU must find the connection between the two victims and figure out who cast the spell that destroyed the corpses. Soon, their investigation leads to a malevolent magic-user who yearns for limitless power, whose plans go far beyond disposing of a dead body. He’ll stop at nothing to achieve his goals—including kidnapping Bobby, Kiernan’s ten-year-old son.

The SCU has no choice: they must go rogue to find Bobby and stop the wizard before he unleashes hell on Earth!

 

My review:

If you took Law & Order and made the SVU into SCU (Supernatural Crimes Unit) you would get an idea of the cast of the monster squad. A good many of the NYPD don’t believe the monsters exist and so are of little to no help. Dealing with the bureaucracy is almost as hard as dealing with the “monsters”. This is a police procedural with monsters and a mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed.

 

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If You Were Mine (The Cage Family #3) by Carrie Ann Ryan

 

 

Blurb:

The last words I said to my best friend were “I trust you”. Then the world went dark, and I nearly lost everything.

While my best friend’s little sister lost even more.

I promised him that I’d take care of her—but if he knew my current thoughts when it came to Harper, he’d have never trusted me.

She’s too young for me. Too bright to my shadows. And too tempting.

Now I’m stuck in our small town, and I can’t escape her. I’d rather hide in my cabin, restoring what was once lost. Only Harper won’t let me.

I’ve already held onto more secrets than my family knows. I don’t know if I can keep what I feel about her secret too.

She sees beyond my scars and anger, and I know she hides her own just as tightly.

When one kiss changes everything, there’s no going back—even if it shatters everything in our wake.

**If You Were Mine is an age gap, best friend’s little sister, tortured hero, small town romance featuring Dorian and Harper. Each book can be read as a complete standalone. An HEA is guaranteed!**

 

My review:

I laughed, I cried and I sighed. This book will make you feel. Secrets will be revealed and lives will change. This one tore me up.

 

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Home Changes by Kris Michaels

 

 

Blorb:

Seth Hansen never thought he'd return to his hometown of Hollister, South Dakota. Still, when his father's mind starts slipping away, he steps into the caretaker role with the same unyielding determination that made him a decorated military dog handler.

Allison Sanderson has built her dream one loaf of bread at a time, running the small town’s bakery. Her life is predictable, safe, and boring—until a terrified runaway teenager stumbles into her store, bruised and starving.
Seth and Allison have known each other since childhood, their lives intersecting over school events, church picnics, and the occasional school party. What starts as casual conversation over coffee and cinnamon rolls slowly deepens. The easy camaraderie between them turns into something more—something Seth never expected to find in the town he once left behind.

Return to Hollister for a romance wrapped in suspense and small-town characters that take you on an emotional trip through a story that will leave you with a happily ever after and a smile.

 

My review:

Home Changes by Kris Michaels is a heartwarming tale about a retiring military man, his retired MWD, and his father who is suffering a decline due to Alzheimer’s that terrible disease that forces you to put the past behind you and forces you to focus on the now. Watching Seth try to deal with everything made my heart break. I watched with joy as his relationship with Allison blossomed. I thoroughly enjoyed this tale even as it made me cry,

 

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Soul Searching (Sweetwater Peak #1) by Lyla Sage

 

Blurb:

Collins Cartwright does not want to go home. Sweetwater Peak, Wyoming, was supposed to be in her rearview mirror, but when she finds out a developer is trying to buy her parents’ antiques shop out from under them, she doesn’t have a choice—at least, that’s what she tells her family. They don’t need to know she’s lost her job and is out of money. Or that the ghosts who have always been her companions have recently gone silent.

But just because she’s returned home doesn’t mean she has to stay with her parents or crash on her twin sister’s couch. Lucky for her, the new-to-town upholsterer has a room for rent above his store. Unluckily, it is absolutely crawling with more ghosts who are freezing her out. And Collins hates being ignored.

Brady Cooper is absolutely and totally fine. Seriously, there’s no secret reason why he decided to uproot his life and suddenly move to Sweetwater Peak. He just needed a change of pace. At least that’s what he tells himself. And everyone else.

When he agrees to let the elusive Collins Cartwright stay in his spare room, he doesn’t know that she’s absolutely bonkers—constantly talking to herself and having conversations with no one—or that she looked like that. But as they begin to get closer, the lines between them start to blur, leaving both of them—and the ghosts who have been pushing them together—wondering whether their temporary arrangement could be something more permanent.

 

My review:

Welcome to Sweetwater Peak, small town USA. Like a lot of small towns nothing ever changes. This story tells the tale of twins with a gift and starting over. Collins dreams have exploded into dust and feathers and needs a reset. Clarke is watching her dreams die due to corporate greed and bad weather. And Brady left his past behind and is starting over.

The characters in this tale are complex and intriguing and I loved finding out about them. I can’t wait for Clarkes tale.

 

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Justified Lies (TFH Team Bravo Book 3) by Melissa Schroeder

 

 

Blurb:

When lives are on the line, what's a little white lie between frenemies?

There are so many reasons Kapone Hanson hates Eden Carlyle. She lies. She mocks him. She always has an ulterior motive for everything she does. Oh, and he can't stop obsessing about getting his hands on her. Keeping his control around the former CIA agent is always dicey, but now that she's moved to Hawaii, it's getting worse day by day.

Eden has her own demons to battle and her attraction to Kap is screwing with her concentration. She has a killer to catch--one her former bosses would rather no one knows about. To make matters worse, when her life is threatened, he steps in to save the day.

When Kap realizes that someone is after Eden, he's determined to protect her at all costs. As they work together to uncover the truth, their passion ignites, making it difficult to keep their minds on the case. But Eden knows better than to trust anyone, especially when her life is on the line.

Author note: Welcome back to the land of TFH and their insane antics. As usual, there are wagers being cast, sarcastic banter, spy jokes, and more time with the crew from Dillon Security.

 

My review:

Sometimes you have to leave the past in the past but someone isn’t letting go. Someone is out to kill Eden and maybe her brother El as well. Kap threw away their love once. He isn’t an idiot he won’t let her get away again. Now he just has to keep her alive long enough to convince her to give him another shot.

I loved seeing old friends and new gather together to figure out who is gunning for Eden. TFH and Dillion Security are working together on this one, the bad guys have no chance.

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