Shapeshifters – Page 2 – Author Gail Marie

Book Review – Blitz (The Storm Dragons Mate 1) by M. Sinclair

I discovered this author last year and enjoyed her hell trilogy. This series had me excited with dragon shifters attending a paranormal academy for various other species: Dark Imaginarium Academy. After the most prestigious dragon shifter clan takes her in off the street, Bexley is a shifter and raised within the Bronzeheart estate. Bexley doesn’t expect to get into the Academy since she has never shifted, but her invitation arrives allowing her to join her childhood friend, Gage, at school.

**Spoiler Alert**

I love the Academy and the world Sinclair has built around it. I was a bit frustrated at Bexley at times, but I wanted to know what she shifted into, so I kept reading. I’m also invested in the aspect of who stole her memories and why. Gage was overbearing at times but overall, I liked Bexley’s mates. The pacing felt a bit slow at times, or maybe I was simply impatient to fill in the holes around Bexley. I’ll be continuing this series as well as Sinclair’s other series for Dark Imaginarium Academy. (3/5 rating)

Book Review – Heart of Malice (Alice Worth 1) by Lisa Edmonds

As my first by Lisa Edmonds, this urban fantasy world was set with betrayal, murder, and exposed dark secrets. Alice fakes her own death to escape her abusive and murderous family. Under a new name and face, she works as a magical private investigator. She manages to keep a little profile until hired to retrieve a powerful magical artifact that will could bring the city to its knees. I liked what Edmonds achieves with this gritty mage society and Alice’s attempt to save her world. I liked her characters, and the werewolf gets my favorite vote. Though, I think her writing style fell a bit flat for me since I felt like something was missing. I’m torn on whether I should read book 2 and give this series another try… (3/5 rating)

Book Review – Gypsy Blood (All The Pretty Monsters 1) by Kristy Cunning

Checked out with my Kindle Unlimited September 2022 and added to my physical collection today. Violet is our local Portocale gypsy who can see the undead ghosts and perform rare magic. After her mother’s mysterious death, she moves into her mother’s old house and a new city. Her new home comes with a wide range of monsters that are all vying for her attention. I enjoyed the large cast of characters and the underlying tensions between species. I had a love and hate relationship with Violet because some of her actions were craziness. I loved Anna as her sidekick and I’m hopeful she will last in the second installment. The plot pacing was a quick clip and right up my alley even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending. My favorite aspect of Cunning’s writing was the way she painted this new home of Violet’s. It was gritty, bloody, and full of magical systems for each species. (3/5 rating)

Book Review – Friends with the Monsters (Friends with the Monsters 1) by Albany Walker

This was my first novel by Albany Walker. Like many of you, I purchased this for the cover alone. This focuses on our main character, Damiana, who feeds off the sins of others. For that reason, she is forced to find sustenance at local clubs on a regular basis. One night, she stumbles into a world of witches, shape shifters, and bigger monsters then the ones that visit her house. There were aspects of this story that were enjoyable, particularly the first third of this story. Once Damiana meets her fated mates, it felt like she grew incredibly childish, and I struggled to connect with her past that point. Her mates, Grim, Calix, and Runmar, and their relationships felt underdeveloped within the time we have with them. The plot was a bit all over the place and it didn’t feel like much was resolved by the end though I don’t think I’ll be reading the next one. (3/5 rating)

Book Review – Cloudy with a Chance of Witchcraft (Grimm Cove 1) by Mandy M. Roth

This has been on my TBR for about 2 years and my first book by Mandy M. Roth. Poppy is recently divorced and moving home to her grandparent’s old house within the town of Grimm Cove. Brett is her old flame and the towns chief of police. Poppy’s world is tipped upside down when she discovers she’s from a local witch line hand Brett is her faded mate and a wolf shifter. The trail of death between murders created a nice murder mystery atmosphere. I loved Grimm Cove as a town, and I would absolutely live there. It was nice to see Poppy choose herself and Brett finally find his destiny. I liked the supporting characters. I need to read book 2 soon so I can learn more about the rest of them. (3.5/5 rating)

Book Review – Don’t Rush Me (Nora Jacobs 1) by Jackie May

Checked out with my KU first to try Jackie May as an author. This urban fantasy romance is set in Detroit. Nora is an orphan who has survived this violent city, though not without her vivid scars. Nora is a special human with abilities of the psychic sense. After Underworlders start to go missing, she’s embroiled within a dangerous magical world as the only one who can bring the missing home. I loved this story and Nora as the female main character. She was strong after overcoming some truly despicable actions of others. I know other people were upset with how slow burn the romance angle was, but after getting to understand Nora as a person I think it’s the only scenario that really made sense. This broke my latest reading slump and gave me a new series to obsess over. I just recommend an open mind if you give this a try. (5/5 rating)

Book Review – The Wolf at My Door (Pack Heat 1) by Sam Hall

I checked this out with my Kindle Unlimited subscription as my first book by Australian author, Sam Hall. Jules is desperate for a job when she finds a job at the remote Sanctuary compound. With all the beautiful guys now trying to woo her as the new blood, everything seems too good to be true for her. She begins to suspect the meaning behind the Sanctuary. She suspects she won’t be ready for the truth when she finds it. Hall created an enjoyable urban fantasy read. I loved learning about this wolf shifter world and the characters that comprised it. The ending was a nice twist. I struggled to like Jules as her reactions to things were hard to manage. Hers’s to hoping book 2 levels her out somewhat. (3/5 rating)

Book Review – The Demon’s Pet (Rise of the Morningstar 1) by Domino Savage

This was my first novel by Domino Savage. After a wolf shifter is condemned by her Alpha, she is slated for execution. Cleo is rescued from certain death by an infamous celestial executioner with black wings but that comes with a price. Cleo agrees to help Sam exact justice for a past wrong. As their journey progresses chaos erupts and Cleo discovers a secret about herself that could change their world forever. This story broke me out of my current reading slump as this was action-packed from the first few pages. I enjoyed the political issues that were occurring between the various realms and species. Savage has created truly multi-dimensional characters that added wonderful depth to the overall atmosphere. This is fraught with betrayals and abuses of power within this barbaric new world. Sam and Cleo quickly became two of my favorite characters of all time with their banter. Everyone needs to give this a try. (5/5 rating)

Book Review – Hunted (Haven Realm Chronicles 1) by Mila Young

This was my first novel by Mila Young. The premise, a sexy retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, I couldn’t help but move it to the top of my TBR. Scarlet, the female MC, is a healer who lives inside a forest. After she heals an alpha wolf, they uncover a curse affecting the surrounding wolves. Together, they must uncover the culprit behind it. I liked Scarlet and her quest for justice and family of her own. This world I has a lot of moving pieces between rulers, and I felt it set the base nicely for the next book. I am curious to learn where it goes from here since each book is a separate fairy tale within this realm. (3/5 rating)

Book Review – The Rowan (The Killian Blade 1) by Stella Brie

This was my first novel by Stella Brie. The first novel of a series surrounds a powerful witch, Arden, who has hidden herself for 300 years. After an assassination attempt on her life, she is forced to flee her isolated location and finds sanctuary within the property of The Abbey. This sanctuary happens to come with an Imperium Cadre of protection with elven, fae, vampire, dragon, and warlock touches. Arden is a witch warrior and I enjoyed watching her punish those who underestimated her. I loved this urban fantasy world with intricate magic and compelling support characters. This was an original and well executed premise with excellent world building skills. I’m anxious to read the next hook and I have another author to add to my favorites list. (4/5 rating)