This new series from the writing duo of Gordon and Ilona Andrews is a spin-off from their long-running Kate Daniels series. This book takes place between the penultimate book of that series, Magic Binds and the upcoming and final book, Magic Triumphs. While the Hugh chapters of the book do reference events mentioned in Kate Daniels books, Andrews provides enough information for new readers to follow the story, even if they might lack some of the emotional context long-time readers have acquired.
This round of mini-reviews is a very mixed bag. An f/nb epic fantasy romance, a m/m romantic fantasy/mystery, and a gothic m/f historical with BDSM elements.
John Blake, a wizard, is asked by a colleague to help his cousin Lady Dalton. Strange things are happening in her home: items turn up she has never seen, and animals act strangely. Nobody has hurt her, but she worries that things will get worse. And she suspects Thornby, her stepson.
I am not particularly fond of anthologies; in fact about a year ago I decided not to read them anymore. I don't enjoy the inevitability of being pulled into and away from characters, emotionally investing in them and then being told to move on. But I've been wanting to read a Nathan Burgoine book for a while, and was promised a collection of unabashedly queer stories with (videogame reference alert) easter-eggs scattered like jewels between them, and so I simply had to read Of Echoes Born.
I really enjoyed The Last Wolf, so I was excited to read about one of the "Offland" wolves in Maria Vale's second novel. My conclusion, after reading A Wolf Apart, is that this book isn't for me. As I noted in that first review, Vale's pacing is a bit different than the romance novels I'm used to, which threw me at first but was fine once I settled in. This one never quite found its romance novel footing, however, missing some beats that I needed in order to believe the romance between the two main characters. I also wanted to slap the hero most of the time, but more on that later.
A serial killer is on the loose and the messages he leaves with the bodies suggest that he’s trying to settle a score with Holmes. Now she has to find the person behind this but also deal with something entirely unexpected: the developing romantic feelings she has for her friend.
Here's the thing about 2018: I have a NEED for rom-coms and really absurd paranormal or sci-fi bananapants books. I don't want to read about someone's emotional journey through depression and how they learned to love life and blah blah blah. I need to get the hell out of present day United States of America.
To My Muse is inspired by Cameron’s real-life brush with celebrity. Lily is a tech writer, but her real passion is romance writing. She has a successful self-publishing career that’s rarely discussed by her somewhat conservative Indian family, and her new fantasy series is taking off. The latest book’s main character is inspired by actor Tom Morrison, who is on a Western sci-fi TV show that sounds a lot like Westworld. One night Lily gets drunk, sends a copy of Feast of Lovers to Tom, and what happens next is on the level with a 90s rom-com movie. Lily breaks into Tom’s hotel room to try and get back the book and to dissuade a coworker from hitting on him, and Tom makes Lily his fake girlfriend. Tom is already impressed with Lily’s writing, having devoured her latest romance novel, and offers Lily a job adapting a biography into a screenplay. As they work, travel, and get to know each other, the whole fake relationship thing starts feeling more real by the second.
