witches – Author Gail Marie

Book Review – A Shifter’s Choice (Wolves of Hawthorne Cove 5) by Debbie Cassidy

I loved this series and the type of shifters this revolved around. Those shifters were an ancient shapeshifter line that migrated from a dying planet and brought an ancient darkness and enemy with them. The female MC, Quinn, is half shifter and half fae hybrid. I loved watching her grow into herself and finally put her needs first. On par for a Cassidy series, this quickly became a favorite series. I am obsessed with this world and the political aspects between humans and supernatural enforcement. The cast of characters was unforgettable. The plot and pace had me reading these late into the night. The next series in this world is centered around Nyx, a demon friend of Quinn. I don’t wait well for books between series so I will likely wait until December for book 6 of the Demon throne series to be published. (4/5 rating)

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Book Review – Death Warden (MC Syndicates 2) by Debbie Cassidy

Everything I’ve read by Debbie Cassidy so far has been well put together and kept me on the edge of my seat. I was excited to try this necromancer, motorcycle club, urban fantasy story. This was a standalone novel amidst a series by different authors set inside the MC Syndicates universe. I loved, Adi, the witch heroine and her relationship with her mates, Logan (hellhound), Spectre (hellhound) and Curos (lich). Normally it’s hard to balance multiple relationships in one book but I thought Cassidy accomplishes well-rounded personalities and relationships of everyone involved. I also felt that the plot and action balanced with the relationship aspect of the story. The tone remained suspenseful, and that ending hit me right in the feels. I loved the way the motorcycles interacted with the club members. I loved everything about this and recommend giving this a try. (4/5 rating)

GoodReads

Book Review – Chaotic (Arcane Mage 1) by T.S. Snow

Checked out with kindle unlimited, March 2023. Charisma is a magical engineer who just graduated from her magical academy on her own. After her family kicked her out at 18 for not possessing enough magic to be the magical heir of their house. She uses her gift for magical technology to pay her way through school. Once she finally graduates all the magical houses want to enlist her services, casting her carefully planned life out the window. I appreciated the magical system of this story. The plot was convincing, and her array of characters kept me reading until the end. Her writing style had me engrossed from the first chapter. I liked Charisma and her mission to stand on her own two feet. I didn’t care for Logan and his attitude towards anyone else. I’m curious to uncover his true motives for many of the things he does. I’m still trying to decide if I like the rest of her love interests or not. This would be considered a slow burn from the romance side of the fence. The ending made left me frustrated with the four of them. (4/5 rating)

Book Review – Academy of Assassins (Academy of Assassins 1) by Stacey Brutger

Checked out with kindle unlimited, March 2023. I was eager for this novel by Stacey Brutger as it was recommended to me as a story with a powerful heroine. Morgan is an orphan with no memories who is taken in by a legendary assassin. Training her to protect herself from an early age, she is eventually invited to join the Academy of Assassins – a rare honor given her female status. Her mentor sends her to learn her craft but also to find and stop a murderer targeting the Academy’s students.

I loved Morgan and her story. I found the plot aspect of the narrative, the part that had me reading until midnight to finish this. Even though the romance aspect felt slow at times. I could relate to Morgan’s desire to maintain her independence after a lifetime of choosing her own path and not the one society chose for her fellow hunters. This did not end on a cliffhanger, for which I was appreciative. I was immersed in the writing style and dangerous atmosphere. Brutger’s characters were multi-dimensional. I’m not sure what my ultimate opinion is of Kincade since he had several unlikable moments with Morgan. I liked Ryder, Draven, and Ascher. Atlas was the one character I felt we didn’t understand much of until the epilogue. Ready for book two. (4/5 rating)

Book Review – Reaper Unleashed (Deadside Reapers 7) by Debbie Cassidy

This was my first series by Debbie Cassidy. Seraphina is raised in the human world until she discovers she has both Reaper and shapeshifter abilities within herself. Cora is her best friend that she somehow manifested after the death of the woman who adopted her. The world is chaos by this book, including a massive war and insurrection in the underworld, an energy imbalance between the realms threatening collapse, myths of the world making appearances and even the creation of super vampires that are impossible to kill. I’m grateful I found this author since this series became a quick favorite. While this is the end of Fee’s story, the next series based here follows her friend Cora’s life. – which I will be adding to my TBR. This world and various plot chains were as spellbinding as her characters were compelling. I loved watching Fee claim her heritage for both her werewolf and demon sides. The pace stayed at a quick clip and kept me reading late into the night. (4/5 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 – 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 – The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

As a tale of jilted ghosts and witches set in the unfortunate town of Sparrow, I was excited to read my first by Shea Ernshaw. Penny Talbot has lived in Sparrow her entire life, even though every summer boys are drowned by 3 sisters killed for witchcraft two centuries ago. Bo is an outsider looking for work but unfortunately stumbles into Sparrow the night before the killing is scheduled to start. I thought Ernshaw created a wonderful atmosphere of the sea and the life of living on an island. I liked the first half of this story, but the second half just fell flat for me. I also struggled to connect with Penny or Bo as characters. I enjoyed the secondary characters more. I also struggled with aspects of the plot, particularly regarding Penny. I just didn’t enjoy this one. (2/5 rating)

Book Review – Dark of Winter (Wild Haven 1) by Lizzy Prince

Checked out with Kindle Unlimited in July 2022. I chose this urban fantasy based in Maine as my first series by Lizzy Prince. I’m grateful I gave this lower review count a try, because I fell in love with Prince’s writing style and the Fae story that gripped the area and characters. Each book in this series follows a different couple from the island. Miri Wild is the female main character who returns to her family’s ancestral home within Wild Haven. Davis is our male main character who grew up on the island. I enjoyed watching them find each other and fight off the incoming darkness together. I’m obsessively hooked so I’ll likely be adding many of her books to my permanent collection. (4/5 rating)

Book Review – Wolf Gone Wild (Stay a Spell 1) by Juliette Cross

This was my first novel by Juliette Cross. After a werewolf is cursed out of his ability to shift into his wolf, he is forced to seek a cursed breaking witch. Even though their coven denies their services to werewolves, Evie can’t help but say yes after she witnesses his pain. I’ve discovered a new favorite author in Cross. She did an excellent job of balancing the romance aspect and the plot. Evie, Mateo, and their band of characters were intriguing, and I became invested in their world. The only aspect of this book that I would change, is the pacing as it did draw out a bit in places. I will Be reading book 2 soon. (4/5 rating)