Hoodoo Heaven (Boudin, Barbeque & Hoodoo Prequel)

Available in Kindle Unlimited here, or as an audiobook.

SYNOPSIS

Lady Luck missed her flight to Dublin. My enemies, however, did not. All I need to do is stay alive until my forty-fifth birthday, and then the rest of my life will be mine to screw up without the help of my family’s curse.

A couple rogue vampires and the hottest man I’ve ever laid eyes on will do everything they can to derail my plans. Okay, maybe I don’t mind the hot man so much. Hopefully the ancestors will help a sister out for the next thirty-six hours.

Midlife isn’t supposed to be this dangerous.

REVIEW

Mystery, Magic, & Mayhem

The story is fast-paced, but offers a great introduction to the Hoodoo world and a chance to get to know Gwen. It has drama, humor, and a touch of romance with the mysterious Ash. Okay, at this point it’s more lust than romance, but the connection is there.

Gwen is a tough, relatable character. She’s very take me as I am or get lost, which I loved. It will be fun to follow her through the series.

And the ending — yikes! It definitely made me want to pick up the first book immediately.

Ruthie Bowles channels Gwen perfectly, and made listening to the book a pleasure.

Genre: Magic, Paranormal
Series: & Hoodoo |

The Solitary King (The Fair Chronicles 2)

Available in Kindle Unlimited here, or as an audiobook.

SYNOPSIS

When Aria returns to the Fair Realm to attend a ball at the Salamander castle, it isn’t long before things take a turn for the deadly.

With her father’s home in ashes and her newfound family reduced to dust, Aria finds herself King Auberon’s captive once more. Deep within the mountains that border the Celeste Kingdom, Aria is powerless to fight back, her newly-discovered abilities suppressed by the weight of the rock that surrounds her. But when a Celeste guard whispers about rebellion and promises to help her escape, Aria is desperate to trust him.

Crown Prince Xander returns home to the Gnome castle, laden with grief for his brother and father, and dreading the day he will be crowned king. Preparations are underway for his marriage and coronation, but thoughts of the girl he betrayed trouble him day and night. Until the morning of his wedding, when a note arrives that Aria has been taken by Auberon once more, and Xander is forced to choose between his life of duty and obedience, and what he believes is right.

REVIEW

The second book sees us in the Fair Realm the whole time. There’s a visit to a new kingdom, and more interesting world building.

Bad things happened in the first story, but poor Aria really suffers this time. She still doesn’t turn into a damsel, though. Go, Aria! Her determination and strength make it easy for me to see her becoming Queen.

I wanted to dislike Xander after his shenanigans before, but I have to admit he redeemed himself. While he feels grief and guilt, he never crosses the line into self pity or angst. He accepts his decisions and grows from them.

The slowburn romance between Aria and Xander progresses a bit, but the pace feels natural, given everything else going on in the story. I like that the relationship isn’t forced to happen between them.

There were more revelations and a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming, but really appreciated.

Olivia Barnes-Brett returned as narrator for the second book and gave another wonderful performance bringing the story and characters to life.

Genre: Fae, Paranormal, Slowburn Romance
Series: The Fair Chronicles |

Swipe Right to Bite

SYNOPSIS

Dating a demon is pure hell…

Succubus Katrina is fasting for her freedom. If she can ignore her demonic urges long enough, Satan will eventually forget about her, and she’ll be free.

Just because she isn’t getting it on doesn’t mean she can’t help the supes of New Orleans do the pants-off dance-off.

Introducing Swipe Right to Bite, the best and only hook-up app for the supernatural. Business booms from day one, and the horizontal tango becomes the most popular dance in the Big Easy.

Until Gabe, the insufferable incubus, shows up and ruins everything.

There isn’t enough room in this town for two fornicating fiends, and Katrina is determined to send this guy packing, no matter how hot a fire he lights in her nether regions.

But Gabe has a few tricks up his sleeve, and he won’t make it easy on her. The question is, how hard will she make it on him?

REVIEW

Hilarious paranormal romance

A fasting succubus and an impotent incubus find love in this comedic romance. There are misunderstandings galore, but they get past those and fight Satan himself for their happily-ever-after and freedom in the end. I still can’t get Satan’s underwear out of my mind.

It’s a fast-paced romp, and includes appearances from prior characters. Since this was my first book in the series, I’ll be going back to read the rest.

Hollie Jackson was great with the narration. The voice, tone, and accent she used were perfect.

Available in Kindle Unlimited here, or as an audiobook.

Genre: Comedy, Demons, Magic, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Witches
Series: New Orleans Nocturnes |

The Longest Night

SYNOPSIS

Nightmares are plaguing Little Feather.

Is it nothing, or is it something much more sinister? When more and more people start complaining about having horrible nightmares, Miranda starts to wonder if there’s more to it.

Could something supernatural be causing the nightmares? And if so, how do you stop something that you can only see in your dreams? She’s not sure, but as the only person who stands between the paranormal world and humans, it’s her responsibility to figure it out.

Thankfully, she has a team of friends to help her as well as her corgi, Hank. But when it comes down to it, will she be able to save them?

REVIEW

A fast-paced cozy mystery. The cast of characters and side stories were interesting. Especially Eve. I’m curious enough to want to read prior stories to get her full back story.

Miranda is likeable, smart, and dedicated to saving those under her protection. In this case, she is the only one who can save the entire town from nightmares. At the same time, she must deal with issues in her personal life as well as supernatural troubles.

Amelia Mendez did a good job with the characters and story.

Available in Kindle Unlimited here, or as an audiobook.

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Paranormal
Series: Miranda Riley Cozy Mysteries |

Turnspit Dragon (Jane Austen’s Dragons 9)

Available in Kindle Unlimited here, or as an audiobook.

SYNOPSIS

Dive into the hidden-in-plain sight world of the Blue Order dragons.

A heartwarming collection of short stories peeking into the hidden lives of the dragons, their friends and keepers. Birth, death, love, loss, and the amazing relationships that underscore them all. Visit with familiar characters and learn their stories. Meet entirely new dragons and their friends, while delving deeper into the mysterious world of Blue Order dragon.

Meryton meets Pern in a fantastical regency romp bound to delight listeners of Jane Austen and Anne McCaffrey alike. A short story collection in the world of Jane Austen’s Dragons.

REVIEW

I loved this collection of short stories. Especially the second one, where the fairy dragons hatch. Who can resist baby dragons? It was my introduction to the entire series, and I’m looking forward to the full-length novels.

I liked getting a glimpse into this hidden world, and the Blue Order.

Benjamin Fife does an excellent job with the entire cast of characters, dragons and humans! All the voices, tones, accents, and cadences he uses — I don’t know how he keeps track of them all.

I probably did things backwards since this book fills in gaps in the prior stories, but reading it out of order didn’t diminish my enjoyment. I know which dragons I want to know more about.

Genre: Dragons, Fantasy, Paranormal, Regency
Series: Jane Austen's Dragons |

The Fair Queen (The Fair Chronicles 1)

The book is available in Kindle Unlimited here, or as an audiobook.

SYNOPSIS

A brooding fae prince. A tyrannical king out for her blood. Could she be the one to save them all?

Aria is bored of her small town and dreams of a life filled with excitement and adventure. Until an eye-opening encounter at the summer fair sees her ripped from her normal life and thrown into a nightmare.

Dragged through the Veil into the Fair Realm by a strange, silver-eyed boy and his band of fairy soldiers, Aria discovers she is the legendary Fair Queen, the subject of a prophecy that promises to bring an end to the centuries-long conflict between the Five Kingdoms.

With terrifying creatures on their heels, and a tyrannical king who will stop at nothing to prevent the prophecy from coming true, Aria will have to rely on her wits if she’s to escape the Fair Realm with her life.

But can she resist the charms of her dark and mysterious captor, or will the fae prince steal her heart?

REVIEW

Magic and adventure

Be careful what you wish for — especially if Fair folk might be lurking. Aria didn’t want to be stuck in her little town forever, but a trip to the realm of the Fair folk wasn’t what she expected.

This was my favorite kind of story, and all the elements were woven together perfectly. Some magic, fast-paced action, emerging abilities, a vague prophecy, new world building, and a strong female character. Aria had a lot thrown at her, but she never became a damsel in distress.

I had my suspicions about Xander from the beginning — always suspect those too good to be true types! — but even then, I was still surprised at the number of twists and turns through the story, especially toward the end.

Olivia Barnes-Brett did an amazing job bringing Aria to life.

A fun frolic of a story.

Genre: Fae, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Series: The Fair Chronicles |

Faeries and Fangs (Blood Witch Saga 5)

The story is available in Kindle Unlimited here, or as an audiobook

SYNOPSIS

For the first time, one of my spells backfired. I was trying to trap a sorcerer in a blood prism. He was too powerful. It was the only option.

When the spell reflected back on me, I found myself somewhere else. The folk here are small, but they’re powerful. The Faerie King doesn’t take kindly to intruders to his realm.

If they’ll teach me their power, though, it might be just enough to stop the sorcerer. There’s one problem with that plan… How do I even get out of here?

REVIEW

Faeries and Fangs was my first read by the author. It’s the fifth book in this series, but there was enough background given that I had no trouble figuring out relationships and what had happened before. The story has a fun cast of characters, a unique take on vampire origins, and great world building, especially in Fae.

The narrator did a good job with the narration and with all the different voices. I always knew which character was speaking. There were a few times the fairy voice jarred me, but only during longer dialogues, and it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story overall.

Genre: Paranormal, Vampires, Witches
Series: The Blood Witch Saga |