Book: In the House of Five Dragons by Erica Lundquist

In the House of Five Dragons by Erica Lindquist

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The first quarter of this book absolutely crawled for me, and I considered more than once just giving up. In the end I'm glad I didn't.

This is more fantasy than scifi in case that's important to you.

Things I loved:
the twin worlds concept, and the fact that what is matter of fact in one world is magic in the other; the understated romance over the last three-quarters of the book; character growth for multiple characters; a couple of twists I wasn't expecting; the way the girl learned to understand what Rikard was saying, and used that knowledge to help him appear less "mad" during public appearances; who the Crest turned out to be; the odd mishmash of modern and medieval sensibilities; Rikard's journey to make his society honorable again, the way nothing was easy for Rikard, especially when I expected it to be; the action sequences.

Things I didn't love:
the first quarter of the book; the weird ways names changed depending on whether one was talking about a place, a nation, or a person from that nation; the ending (not that it was a bad ending, just that I wanted a bit more about the main characters and how their lives had changed rather than about the son) - I understood it was written that way to create a bookend feeling with the opening, but though it was a perfectly good sequence, it didn't tell me what I wanted to know about how the part of the story I cared about ended; the unveiling of the Crest's identity; that we only got to know two characters from Alterra.

When I read some of the stuff in the last few pages of the book, it became clearer to me why the first quarter of the book was so boring to me: it was setting up a roleplaying universe. For some people all that information would be fascinating. For me, it was as boring as D&D is in person. Yes. I'd rather play solitaire in the dark with actual cards.

And on a personal note, I was predisposed to dislike the son, named Gaius, because that character on BSG is far from my favorite. James Callis is a superb actor, and it's a testament to his acting that I dislike Gaius Baltar so thoroughly. Some names are just ruined forever, though. lol



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Book: Tag by Simon Royle

Tag by Simon Royle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tag had an engaging story. I found the personal details of the characters' lives more interesting than the overall end-of-the-world plot, which got resolved much too easily, and offscreen, to boot. The world-building was good enough, with mostly understandable language changes. Though I learned the metric system while in Thailand, I haven't retained the formula for making centrigrade into fahrenheit, so I never knew what the frakking temperature was.

The book could use another pass by a good editor (though since the copyright on my copy is 2010, it may already have happened). There are missing words and extraneous words all over the place, as well as sentence fragments, which drove me crazy until I started to tune them out.

Nonetheless, the story trumped the inadequacies, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The bit of the next book included functioned more as an epilogue, and with that, I'm satisfied with the story as it ended. If the author ever writes a sequel, I'll certainly give it a try.

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Book: Finding Our Forever by Brenda Novak

Finding Our Forever by Brenda Novak

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I received a digital copy of this book from the author for the purposes of providing an honest review.

I loved the characters, the way none of them were perfect, and they were each imperfect in ways I could recognize and empathize with. The insight into the emotional struggles of an adoptee was illuminating.

I loved the way Cora's reticence to ask Elijah questions about his past actually worked to help him feel more able to share with him - she wasn't pushy, and he liked it. The progression of Cora and Eli's relationship was great, with realistic concerns on both sides.

The pace of the book was perfect, at least until the very end. At that point, once Cora's bio mom's "secret" was out, the push and pull of tell her, don't tell her was resolved much too quickly, and Cora knew exactly what to say to make everything magically okay.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a happily ever after, and the central HEA was satisfying, but the mother/daughter "HEA" came much too easily considering the circumstances, and though the romance was good, I was left feeling a little deflated by the mother/daughter relationship.

Nonetheless, it's a Novak, so definitely worth the read. I'm looking forward to getting to know the other characters and seeing their happily ever afters, particularly Darci. Novak does know how to create a believable small town inhabited by the most interesting and unique characters.



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Book: Anything For Her by Jack Jordan

Anything for Her by Jack Jordan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I received a free digital copy of this book via Netgalley for the purposes of providing a review.

I had a wee bit of trouble getting into this book; there were British terms I hadn't heard before.

By the time the author started revealing what happened That Night, I was more than ready to learn what ridiculous thing Brooke had done to mess up her life. It wasn't what I thought, was much more serious, and in the end, it was Louise's decisions I was disturbed by.

This is one of the few times I wish the book had ended with the climax. There wasn't much point to continuing, and I didn't really learn anything new about any of the characters.

Anything For Her just didn't work for me. It was well-written, though. Your mileage may vary.



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Book: Suddenly Spellbound by Erica Lucke Dean

Suddenly Spellbound by Erica Lucke Dean

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I received a digital copy of this book from the author for the purposes of providing a review.

Ivie has a wacky sense of humor, and I laughed out loud several times while reading Suddenly Spellbound.

Ivie is surrounded by a family of both blood and love, and enjoys her life, with one possible exception: her dad has been acting so weird since she changed him from a cat to a human. Long story.

So Dad asks for Ivie to swing by his work really quickly, and when she does, he pulls her into a little spell. Turns out not to be so little, and boy is her fiance pissed when he picks her up at the police station later.

After the spell, Ivie is stuck in a love triangle, but it's not what you might imagine, and the resolution of this triangle is funny and dramatic and suspenseful and sad and unexpected.

If you're looking for a contemporary romance with humor, more than a touch of paranormal, and a happily ever after...well, two out of three ain't bad. It's not exactly a cliffhanger, but there's a twist on the final pages of the book, and in the overall scheme of Ivie's life, well, it's just another day.

I look forward to reading what happens next.

On the technical side, I found few errors and no formatting issues.



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Book: Men Out of Uniform - novella collection

Men Out of Uniform by Sylvia Day

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The first novella, taking up nearly half the book, was sweet. I enjoyed the heroes' no bull approach to seducing the heroine, and the tension created by the plot twist was compelling. Both heroes were refreshingly honest and forthright, except for their one big misstep, which frankly, I'm not sure how they could have gone the other way.

The second novella started out with a gratuitous and mildly graphic sex scene involving the "hero." It lays the foundation for an unlikeable man with bad intentions for the heroine. Turns out he doesn't, but I still kept expecting him to frak over the heroine and show his true colors. Once emotion entered the story, it flowed better, but I still finished the novella with a vague expectation that something big was going to go wrong.

The third novella was Sylvia Day's contribution. It was a solid novella, and the chemistry between the hero and heroine was understated yet believable.

Two of the three novellas were second-chance romances, so the insta-love had a reason for being. All three had a bit too much focus on anal sex instead of vaginal sex.

It IS possible to have sex in a romance without having anal sex. It's not the be-all and end-all of sexual intimacy. I can deal with it, but too much is too much, for frak's sake.

Despite these three authors being major players, I found the collection as a whole mediocre, though some of that was personal, I think. Your mileage may and probably will vary.

This book was on my "wishlist," and I found it at the library.



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Book: Deception Island by Brynn Kelly

Deception Island by Brynn Kelly

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I'm afraid Deception Island didn't do it for me. I enjoyed the beginning of the book, but once "Laura" was kidnapped, it failed to keep my attention.

Romantic chemistry was nonexistent as far as I was concerned. I didn't care about Laura/Holly's relationship with Jack/Rafe. In fact, by the end of the book, I was much more invested in whether or not Holly would bond with Theo.

Aside from that, there were serious issues with words involving the letter "f", most of which were divided by a space after the f. This made for difficult reading, when "muffled" became "muff led" or other similar words. It was extremely frustrating.

The formatting was also messed up. Many conversations, while they were offset by individual quotation marks, were all crammed together, without paragraph changes or any other means of determining who was speaking.

Overall, between the writing itself and the formatting issues, I can't recommend this book.

ETA: I received a digital copy of Deception Island from Netgalley for the purposes of providing a review.



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Book: Sea Swept by Nora Roberts

Sea Swept by Nora Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Loved the found family theme - the idea of these men expanding their family to include a young boy.

I also loved the sexual agency Anna had here - she knew what she wanted and didn't hesitate to go after it.

The love scenes are a little too much like the overly flowery scenes I've been reading in Roberts/Robb's In Death series. They're too...ugh, I don't even know what I'm trying to say.

Anyway, good book. Probably not a repeat read.

I can't be the only person who wants a little more time with a couple after the issues are resolved. It always seems so abrupt - " I can't live without you." "Oh, me too." The end.

I've got two of the other books in the series, but I haven't yet decided if I'm going to read them or not.



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It's odd, but in this case, I'd kind of rather have a bullet-pointed list of what happens, except for how it applies to Seth, because the most interesting developments are in his growth and healing.

Maybe I'm just not a boilerplate romance reader anymore. :/

Serial: Loving Two Dragons by James Horton

I received a digital copy of all four parts of this serial via Romance ARCade for the purposes of providing reviews.

Part One
Our story starts with Jennifer and a job interview. She walks out of the building, and strange things start happening, and she wonders if she's losing her mind. When she's attacked in her own apartment, she's fairly certain she's lost it.

There's decent world-building here, even if it's a bit formulaic, and the story as a whole has promise. It's not bad, but could be better.

This is part one of a four-part serial, so it does leave an open ending, but I wouldn't necessarily call this one a cliffhanger. Yes, there's something unresolved, but if this were a short story, I probably wouldn't be sorry I read it.

There were plenty of mistakes, though, with misused words aplenty. At one point, Merlin breathed, and I was stumped. There's no Merlin in this story anywhere. Ooops. Mr. Horton needs an editor, and this entire story needs major comma surgery.

Part Two
In this portion of the serial, danger continues to plague Jennifer, and her first trip as Queen is marred by violence. Jennifer recovers her "past" memories more rapidly here, and they become much more detailed. When the time comes to plays damsel in distress, Jennifer opts to do some of her own saving. Kudos to her.

This segment also ends with a major plot point unresolved, and is closer to my definition of a cliffhanger than Part One.

Part Three
In this portion of the serial, Archer figures out where Logan and Jennifer are and sends in a recon team. Jennifer unlocks a major piece of her personal history, and both Logan and Archer end up bound by the Council.

Jennifer really steps into her role as Queen here, and continues to not be Too Stupid To Live. Go, Jennifer.

This segment also ends with a major plot point unresolved, but doesn't really fit my definition of a cliffhanger.

Part Four
In this portion of the serial, time passes with Jennifer holding down the fort admirably. She makes things happen, and gets her guys back.

All major plot points are resolved in this final segment.
There was a scene near the end, with Athene, which I thought was wasted. It went nowhere, and so could have just been cut from the story. Perhaps Mr. Horton was paving the way for more in this universe.
Overall
Throughout the four-part serial, the pages were plagued by missing commas and misused words. Worse, the sex was boring - too much use of euphemisms instead of just saying stuff right out. 


Though the story has promise, I am unlikely to look for more from this author. The poor editing and fairly predictable story are just not enough to get or keep me interested.

Book: Calling Me by Louise Bay

I received a digital ARC copy via Netgalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.

Ashleigh and Luke have been friends for a long time - he's her best friend's brother. For much of that time, Ash has been in love with Luke, while Luke has never shown more than friendly interest in Ashleigh. From her perspective, he's a lost cause, and she's made an effort to date other men, even feeling like anyone else will be settling for second best.

Then Luke's longtime live-in girlfriend starts talking marriage and children. He thinks maybe there's something wrong with him, because the very idea gives him the heeby-jeebies. He's never even taken her to Sunday dinner at his sister's, for crying out loud. It doesn't take Luke long to realize he doesn't feel the same way his girlfriend does, and he breaks it off, starts spending more time with his sister and Asleigh.

Luke fairly quickly cottons to the fact that he actually *enjoys* spending time with Ashleigh, and the idea of marrying her doesn't make him want to run screaming from the planet. It takes a LOT more to convince Ashleigh Luke's sudden-seeming turnaround is for real.

The move from friends to lovers is satisfyingly slow, and even after they've become lovers, Ash and Luke's core relationship remains solid - their affectionate bickering and sarcastic sniping keep right on going, and they continue to have fun with each other.

This book is the second in a series - the first one being Luke's sister's story. The base relationships, though, were easy enough to get into, and I didn't feel like I missed anything by not having read that one first.

Calling Me was a hit for me, an unexpected one, and I'll definitely be checking out Louise Bay's future works. And finding that first book. :)

Book: You're Not Broken by Gemma Hart

You're Not Broken by Gemma Hart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I received a digital ARC of You're Not Broken via Hidden Gems for the purposes of providing an objective review.

Friends to lovers or second chance romances are my romance trope catnip, and You're Not Broken was a bit of both, with more emphasis on second chances than on friends to lovers.

Kat and Jason meet one night in her uncle's diner, she senses his loneliness, and spends a little time with him after her shift is over. It's the first and last time she sees him, for over two years - he's deployed overseas. They write at first, then his letters stop, and Kat grieves for a while, then decides she needs to just get over him and move on. She's got too much crap to do to waste any more time on this guy.

Her family life is rife with tragedy throughout the book; she's a big sister holding the family together almost by sheer will, and her stubbornness comes in handy while Jason's gone.

No word from Jason for over two years and she runs into him again in a most unexpected place. She's cold and dismissive with him, not without reason. Jason's pretty determined to make some sort of amends, though, and he keeps showing up.

So far, despite the poor editing and numerous grammatical errors, I'm enjoying the story. Hart has me hooked, even if I am reading with a mental red pen in hand. Oy vey.

Then, the sex happens. It's a romance, so sex is gonna happen. I like a good raunchy sex scene. Well, frankly, I LOVE a good raunchy sex scene. But the section with the sex in it is decidedly different from the rest of the book, almost as if two different people wrote the disparate segments. It's also out of character for both the heroine and hero - in this case, the language changed, with the descriptions getting coarser and the characters going from zero to sixty in one weird scene.

When I read the first bit of it, my first thought was, "In the diner? With all the frakking windows? No way would she do it there. No way would he subject her to the potential humiliation of being seen. And what happened to all his objections? They're just magically swept away?" I still have a really hard time believing these two did the deed in full view of anyone who might have been outside. On top of the difference in writing, that took me out of the story entirely. Their first time deserved a little more thought put into it.

My favorite line was one which truly resonated with me: "If anything, I feel more useless and inept the older I get. I think it's because I keep comparing myself to who I thought I would be by now." For much of my adult life, this was a core part of my consciousness - comparing myself to the myself I thought I'd be and coming up way short. I get Kat, in that way at least.

Final evaluation: Good story. Promising writer. I'll be watching Gemma Hart in the future. With the help of a good editor or at least a proofreader, she has the potential to be great.



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Book: Secret Sister by Brenda Novak

I received a digital copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I had trouble getting into Secret Sister. I kept putting it down and not wanting to pick it back up. Finally, I made myself finish it, because I knew I needed to review it, and I'm glad I did. It got better.

Before I get started with the review, I did notice one big mistake: "she hawked her wedding ring," which should be "hocked," of course. Though the words are both related to selling, they do not mean the same thing.

Okay, so Maisey is in a really down place after losing her child and getting divorced. She's not raw anymore over her marriage, but she's still really broken up about losing her child, and having a lot of trouble coping with the loss her her creativity in the wake of her daughter's death. At the same time, she believes her brother needs her badly, and she chooses to go home, hoping they can each prop the other up and recover with each other's help.

It doesn't turn out that way, as her brother is much deeper than he'd been letting on, and he goes off on a tangent fairly soon after her arrival. Maisey adjusts, carving out a place to live - not in her mother's house - and a job, and goes about the business of recovering her sanity/emotional well-being.

Maisey's mother, Josephine, is a cold fish. Appearances are everything to her, and she uses that to abuse her kids and condescend to nearly everyone. She's really not a nice woman, or so she goes to a lot of trouble to seem.

Over the course of the book, Maisey learns new things about her father, about her brother, and learns that they *might* have had an older sister, once upon a time. The quest for the truth about this possibility is the focus of the remainder of the book. The mystery unravels in bits and pieces, as Maisey finds out many people still talk about her sister, just not to her family. There's never been a question she existed, but there has always been a mystery about what happened to her. The last anyone saw her, she was about ten. She has been assumed drowned off the family's private beach. The big mystery is "who pushed her?" not "what happened?"

Along with the mystery of her family, Maisey meets up with the contractor responsible for repairing hurricane damage to the family's rental bungalows, Rafe. Turns out, she's met him before, and it wasn't an interaction she particularly wants to revisit - it was an embarrassing piece of her teenage past, and she goes forward on the assumption he hasn't changed in twenty years.

Of course, he has. Substantially, and Maisey can't help noticing he's become a man who shoulders responsibility with ease and is genuinely kind to people on the island. He and Maisey become friendlier with the focused assistance of Rafe's daughter, Laney, and Rafe's mother, though the romance is very low key.

Maisey continues to struggle with learning about a sister she doesn't remember, an ex-husband who seems intent on reclaiming lost ground, and the man who keeps offering her friendship - and more - without asking much of her.

I love the way this story was resolved, the way it brought a family to new understandings about themselves and each other, and I'm glad I made myself continue to read it, despite its slow start.

Book: Kindle Worlds (The 100) Blood Bound by Linnea Lund

Full Disclosure: Though I have never met LL, I do know her fairly well through fandom. I am an alpha or beta reader on most of her original fiction books, and have edited many of them. This was not one of those.

I finished binge-watching the first two seasons of The 100 recently, and wanted something more about the characters, just in case the show doesn't return. What is available on AO3 wasn't really satisfying my need to learn more about the characters. I had read and enjoyed a couple of Lund's The 100 works on AO3, before I knew this was a pseudonym for someone I knew.

Lund's characterization of Clarke in Blood Bound is wonderfully in line with the canon portrayal, and Clarke's personal growth over the course of the story is perfectly ordinary, and yet unexpected at the same time.

The book picks up with Clarke when she walks away from the compound at the end of season two.

When Clarke and Bellamy finally see each other again, it's real, not perfect, and their reunion isn't the end of the book. There's so much more to their story, and the slow, steady pace of their romantic relationship is by turns frustrating and delightful.

By the end, Clarke and Bellamy are the adults I always knew they could be, and I believe they can take Earth's inhabitants into the future with their sensible leadership and ability to negotiate.

In addition to Clarke and Bellamy, Lund weaves in canon and non-canon characters I didn't expect, and takes them all in directions I would never have considered.

None of them get out of this free of the grief of losing people they love, but they do walk out into the figurative sunshine at least planning for the future. The hopeful ending is hard-won and worth every moment of reading.

All that said, there were a LOT of mistakes, making me wish I HAD edited the book. I love her work, but she doesn't get an auto-pass on editing just because I know her.

Book: Taming His Beast

This was a short story with a happily for now ending. It is not a cliffhanger, but I wouldn't call it happily ever after.

I liked that the heroine's hangups were more about her lack of control over her powers, whatever they were, than about her appearance.


The buildup to the first sex scene, the foreplay, was actually hotter than the sex scene, which was a little perfunctory and disappointing. It was more tell than show.

A little bit of work could have expanded the plot, developing both main characters more, and going into greater depth as to the shifter populace's issues with women like Sarah. What little of the plot we got was actually interesting, and I would have enjoyed immersing in this world a little more than such a short story allowed me to do.

It was a fun read, and I'd probably read more by this author.

I received a digital copy of this book from Romance Arcade in exchange for an honest review.

Book: Awakened - Soul Shifters I

I received a free digital copy of this book via Romance ARCade, for the purposes of providing a review.

I first read the short prequel Unraveled, which I also received through RA.

The premise here is interesting, and I liked both the heroine and hero. Gemma is a laid-off schoolteacher who decides on a whim to move to a new community and try to start over. Carson is a guy trying to escape from his family's reputation for criminal activity. Both are smart and I like the chemistry between them. I like the group of friends Carson has gathered around him. They're a good bunch of guys.

The beginning was a little confusing, with bits and pieces of story laid out, then backtracking to "real time" with our main characters. I was even more confused when one of the characters introduced in "real time" was someone whose fate I already know, thanks to the bits and pieces. I didn't much like being spoiled for her future before I even met her.

Finally, this book could have used a serious edit. Misused words, run-on sentences, underused commas, and overused semi-colons abounded, along with context errors (like military people using 12-hour time. Um, no.). The most egregious error was one of the characters stating most people are vaccinated for rabies these days. There is a treatment for rabies in case a person is bitten, but there is no preventive vaccine of which I am aware. I could suspend my disbelief for other parts of it, because it's clearly a story set in a paranormal version of our world, but the rabies vaccination pulled me out of the story pretty hard. There was also a wee bit of headhopping, but unfortunately, I've gotten so used to that in indie books, I only noticed it once or twice.

Still, Tate offers a new twist on the fated mates trope, and I'd like to read more. I can't quite give it four stars. 3.5.

Book: Shattered by Sennah Tate - part of the Soul Shifters serial

I received a digital copy of Shattered via Romance ARCade for the purposes of providing a review.

Shattered is Ty’s story. Through a set of circumstances only possible because of past events, Ty meets Sadie, a woman with a young son. Ty and Noah share an immediate connection through comics, and they get along beautifully. Ty and Sadie share an unusual connection, too, and it confuses them both.

Sadie is accepting of the things Ty shares with her at first, but then the reality of everything becomes overwhelming and she backs away.

The shadows are persistent, though, and Sadie has to go to Ty for help.

This particular segment is a little light on action, more about building the emotional stakes. The segment is complete in itself, but does clearly connect to the full arc of the story. Someone who read only this, though, would likely be dissatisfied with the lack of context for both the antagonist and the relationships among the friends.

There were a few mistakes with words, but this segment was mostly harder to read because of comma splices making run-on sentences almost everywhere.

This is still an unusual take on the Fated Mates trope, and I’m invested enough in the story to read the final segment, Redeemed.

All by itself, this segment of the serial is a three-star read.

Book: Unleashed by Sennah Tate

I received a digital copy of Unleashed via Romance ARCade in exchange for an honest review.

Unleashed is Dez and Alina’s story. Their romance is sweet and slow, their connection quiet and warm, and I enjoyed it quite a bit more.

Isabel and Aaron are heavy in the background of this one, and Izzy continues to be childish and petty with Aaron, who isn’t adjusting well to being in a relationship.

The group has gained more powers as a result of the cemented connection between Izzy and Aaron, though, and Alina remembers and shares more of what she remembers of the Travelers and the fight against the darkness.

When Alina uses her power to locate more Evokers, she ends up connecting at a women’s shelter, and though the counseling temporarily derails her with Dez, she figures her feelings out soon enough.

The writing in this segment was much more even, and I found fewer mistakes.

I do want to continue reading, to learn what new abilities will surface and who will find the next love connection.

Book: Revealed by Sennah Tate

I received a free digital copy of Revealed from Romance ARCade in exchange for an honest review.

Revealed is Isabel and Aaron’s story. The segment opens with Izzy and Aaron at odds with each other over a kiss. Izzy remembers it vividly, and Aaron says it never happened. The argument gets acrimonious and begins to splinter the group’s cohesion.

This book was uneven: the bones of the story continue to be good, but there were more mistakes in this part of the story.

The big problem between Isabel and Aaron is based on one of my least favorite tropes - a complete lack of open communication. Their behavior toward each other is childish and petty, and made them seem more like hormone-driven teenagers than adults. Aaron was especially obnoxious, and the ongoing hostilities left me much more interested in the overarcing antagonist than in whether or not Izzy and Aaron would get their crap together.

Once the group was no longer distracted by their animosity, they began to see patterns and learn more about Preston Waters and how it might be possible to stop him.

Despite the lack of polish, I am interested in the overall story arc, and I will read the next segment.

Books: Surrendered to the Pack/Claimed by the Pack by Anna Craig

I received Surrendered to the Pack and its sequel, Claimed by the Pack, via RomanceArcade, in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not a big fan of serials, especially the ones which leave off right in the middle of an important scene, so I was prepared not to like this one much.

I found it a pleasant surprise to be mistaken. There were a few errors, which I've come to expect in indie pubs, but the cliche concept wasn't quite cliche.

Cassandra is this year's Surrender to the local Wolf Pack. She's twenty-two and still a virgin, but she's not completely without sexual experience. That seems to make her a bit less trepidatious than she might have been otherwise.

She's accompanied to the Pack's house, and the claiming proceeds as expected, until Trevor, the Alpha, does something no one sees coming.

The sex scenes are fairly well-written, focusing more on the sensations and emotions than the Tab A, Slot B mechanical side of things, and thought it's a "lust at first sight" trope, the author makes no effort to turn this into a "love at first sight" thing, which I greatly appreciated.

The book is the first part of a serial, and the book does end without resolving the whole story, but it does not end in the middle of a scene. Though I wanted to continue reading, and thankfully can, since I have the second one as well, I did not want to throw my Kindle at the wall for the abrupt, mid-scene endings I've seen in other serials.

As with almost all indies, Craig could use a good editor to clean up misspellings and some awkward sentence structure, but the story itself kept my attention throughout.

~*~*~*~*~*~

This is the second in the Wicked Mountain Wolf Pack serial, which I received via RomanceArcade in exchange for an honest review.

The story is still compelling, and the titular claiming was not what I expected. Yay!

There were a few more errors in the beginning of this part than in the first part, but I noticed far fewer as the story progressed. Still, there were some awkwardly phrased sentences which an editor could have smoothed out.

This part of the serial DID end right in the middle of a scene, and though that's sort of irritating, I think I know enough from these first two parts that I can make some educated guesses about how Cassandra's going to extricate herself from the unfortunate circumstances.

I did still enjoy the story, and if you are a fan of serials, I recommend this one.

Books: Magic... by Ilona Andrews

I've been finishing these so fast, I'm just going to throw them all in one update.

Magic Strikes
The mystery of Kate is solved! It wasn't a surprise, but it was quite a doozy.

Saiman is his usual trickster self here, though we get some insight into his backstory, too.

The friendships between Kate and various Pack members are solidified in different ways, and Julie has a cameo.

Nice movement forward as far as Kate goes. I'm already on to the next. lol

Magic Bleeds
Kate faces an ethical dilemma in this one, and I like the way it's resolved. It'll take her in a slightly different but not entirely new direction.

Her big bad is someone closer than she expects, and it's an interesting opponent for her, with some personal consequences.

I'm already on to the next book. Can't wait to see how they up the ante in this one.

Magic Slays
Wow. They really went all out with this one. Kate's firmly ensconced in her new offices, practically bored out of her skull, simultaneously adjusting to her new role as Curran's official mate.

This time, the big bad comes closer than ever, and it takes everything Kate's got and then some to come up with a solution.

I'm definitely enjoying this series, though it's got more errors than I like to see in a professionally published book. I think there's only one left, and I'll have to get that one in print, unfortunately.