Tag Archives: Fantasy

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The Cajun’s Captive

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I have read something from this author before and liked it enough to try this series. While this did not grab me out the gate I still did enjoy it. The characters seem thin but I assume they will get more of a lift as this continues since they will likely be seen in subsequent books even though they will not be the focus. I also expect that their surroundings, besides the fact that it is Louisiana, will be more fully fleshed out. This didn’t really give me a chance to see them in my head and become a part of the story.

Sebastian Deveraux is the Alpha of his pack and like all his brothers is sexy as pure sin. He has waited decades for the right woman, his mate. He was sure he’d found her in Amanda St. James ten years earlier, but she ran from him. When she shows up on his porch as a hurricane is blowing in he decides to do anything to keep her with him. Even if that means chaining her to his bed.

Nice enough story but I hope to get more from the rest of the series. Still worth reading.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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Jabril

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I enjoyed this second book just as much as the first in the series. The old characters were more well defined and the new characters were pretty much brought in with full personalities that made you either like or dislike them immediately upon meeting them. You knew who was who and who could be trusted in a tense situation.

Jabril Karim is one of eight Vampire Lords and headquartered in Houston, Texas. While Raphael rules through loyalty and respect, Jabril uses fear and threats. Mirabelle is a young woman who was placed in Jabril’s care as a 15-year-old along with her 10-year-old sister. In order to get his hands on her money and control her, he turned her one day after her 18th birthday, but he still needs her because she does not get the bulk of her money until she becomes 25, but after that, he will not need her.

When Mirabelle’s sister runs away to avoid the fate of her sister Jabril hires Cynthia to find her, though he does not believe a woman can do the job. What he wants is to claim Cyn and rub it in Raphael’s face for not making her his. With her arrival in Texas Cynthia decides that what Jabril wants is something she will have to thwart in order to save her sisters who were given to a monster.

While the main story is good we have a secondary story that is just as good and compelling. Enjoy this book and be ready for the next which should prove just as good.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rumor has it Raphael used a private investigator, a very private investigator from what I hear, but one who resisted even that arrogant bastard’s charm.” “You would hire a woman?” “Oh hardly, Asim,” he said with a dismissive flip of his fingers. “Talk to the lawyers and find a proper man for the job. But call this woman of Raphael’s anyway. I want to meet her, and that bastard’s ego could use a good pricking. Do you think he would mind sharing?” “I think he would rather share with a snake, my lord,” Asim said with a sharp smile.

Jabril
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Raphael

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This is the first time I have read this author and I am very glad I had the fortune to find this book. While the plot starts out slow-moving, it is interesting from the beginning as we get to know the characters who will be important as the series moves forward. The prologue sets the stage for the story which will be told within the body. The characters themselves come across very well with personality quirks that make sense for the backgrounds they have been given. Then there are some who still have more time to have their personalities become more solid. The world they live in is very familiar to me since it is a place that I actually drive to or through on an almost daily basis.

Raphael is a Vampire Lord with the power of life and death over every vampire within his territory. He has the loyalty of thousands. A gang of humans attack his compound and kidnap a female vampire under his protection. Because humans are involved along with vampires he decides to hire a human investigator to help flush out his enemies. What he does not expect is to be drawn to that investigator so forcefully.

Cynthia Leighton is smart, tough, and sexy, she is also a private detective and former cop. When Raphael comes to her for help she is more than happy to oblige since she is tired of the cheating spouses and tracking bank accounts. Her work with the vampires may not always go over well with the human population but she can do things for them that regular law enforcement will not. Cynthia finds Raphael to be very magnetic but she wants to keep her distance because her heart is not a part of the bargain.

Loved this first book and had to read the next one immediately. I think it would be great for anyone who has a love of vampires and the culture they have established here. Highly recommend!

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And yet as powerful as each of them was, none was so powerful as Raphael himself. Some were older, but age was not everything. Some claimed greater skill, but skill was no substitute for strength. These things were never spoken of; they were simply understood. Boundaries were observed, respect was paid. Anything else would lead to war. And none of the men in this room wanted another war. But someone did. Someone thought to use Alexandra against him. And that someone would pay dearly.

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The Alchemical Detective

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The Alchemical Detective by Kirsten Weiss

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The second book gives you a little more of the characters and brings them more personality and presence. You get more of a feeling for who they are and how they are going to grow in the future. Because we move to a new location you do not really get anything from that. The location descriptions are pretty generic and you never really get a feeling for the area. The story is interesting but they keep referring to a past event that has never been explained in a way that would make it very relevant to any situation.

Riga has lost her magic and has gone to Lake Tahoe to hopefully get it back and spend some quality time with her new love, Donovan Mosse. Donovan owns a Casino that is being run by his cousin Reuben who is not happy to have Donovan back on the premises.

When a psychic is murdered the police seek out Riga, they believe she may be a suspect though they know she has consulted for the police in the past. Things go from bad to worse as a film crew hires Riga who uses them as a stepping stone to investigate what seems to be murders related to her past. Can she avoid being a victim herself?

Decent enough to keep the story moving forward but would really like to have some details on this past.



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alchemy was first a method of transforming spiritual lead into gold, of dissolving the alchemist herself, removing impurities, and unifying her disparate spiritual and psychological pieces.  It was also really complicated, which was why Riga had never gone further than an academic knowledge of the subject.

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Hers to Choose

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Hers to Choose by Patricia A. Knight

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I remember reading the first book in this series and feeling great satisfaction when I finished it. I have that same good and satisfied feeling now after finishing this one. I really like these characters and I cannot really say why other than they feel very real to me. Granted the situations are a bit stretched but that is the way of anything even remotely mired in science fiction, and though these may be love stories they are still science fiction. I am completely taken with the world they inhabit, especially since the planet they live on is sentient and is involved in the lives of those who live on her. This is a good escapist fare that lets you sink into the story and just enjoy it as it takes you to places you might not have ever dreamed about.

Lady Sophillia Glorianna DeLorion spent years as a slave aboard a Haarb ship. The experience left her feeling unfit for a normal relationship. When she returned and had a hard time adjusting her brother sent her to live with the desert people hoping the isolation would help to bring back the sister he remembered.

Eric DeStroia is the Commander of the Queen’s Royal Guard and is being sent to bring Sophi home. He has also been chosen to become her husband by her brother Doral, who is a part of the Tetriarch which rules their planet. Eric has seen how arranged marriages can kill the soul and was not looking to be paired, but the thought of taking care of some broken dove appeals to him. But what he gets is a Falcon who has found her voice and power.

The story is told from various points of view to better move things along. The only real problem I had is that Eric’s eyes are established as one color then abruptly said to be another then back again. But as a whole, I would recommend this to everyone.

Isolated, far from the interstellar trade lanes, hundreds of light years from any civilized planet, Verdantia marooned the Earth colonists on her surface—then she spoke to them.



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Charmed I’m sure

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Alright introduction to John Charming

This was a decent introduction to the character though you do not get much of anything. The information to start is kind of vague but gives the impression that something of importance is being left out, which can make you want to read more books. This was like a small day in the life of to give you an idea of the world that he inhabits and the types of supernatural creatures he has to battle.

I would recommend to anyone who is into Knights and or fairy tales made real.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟 of 5

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A Ghost in the Glamour

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When I found the Elemental Mysteries I thought things could not get any better but then this author just kept throwing me new and different stories and characters who I fell in love with. This is definitely the case with Linx and Bogie which I started reading in Elizabeth Hunters news letters and hoped for and finally got something much longer. This is a fun duo who are very different form each other but mesh perfectly. This book contains 3 super short stories which kind of lay out how things began with the final story being longer and giving some background on our ghost. The mystery is light but very workable.

Linx Maxwell has had a the ghost of a grown man attached to her since she was an eighth grader and often wishes that he would go away. The Maxwell women are known on both sides of the veil as powerful mediums and each has a specialty when it comes to spirits. Linx just wants to be normal and able to pursue her art without all the supernatural hoopla.

Frank ‘Bogie’ Bogle was a Los Angeles homicide detective who died in the 1950’s. Though everyone knew about the Maxwell women he never expected to become attached to the youngest and by far strangest of the family. He has no idea why or how he became attached to her and certainly has no idea of how to end the attachment.

Fourteen years later and they are still attached. The art career Linx has always wanted seems about to take off but she still has Bogie with her and that means she sometimes gets sucked into investigating crimes instead of painting. But this time the case is more personal and she may be able to lose that extra baggage if things go right.

The characters are wonderful and colorful. They make you want to know more about their lives. This is a fun quick read with a mystery thrown in that may not be deep but can keep you guessing and on your toes. I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Enjoy!

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

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Hekate’s Chalice

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Hekate’s Chalice
(Adept Solutions #1)
by Teagan Kearney

I started this story totally not sure what to expect and found myself pulled in immediately. Truthfully I am not sure what made me like this so much but I really got into the characters from the moment they were introduced. Each one was very unique and even on short acquaintance made me like them. The world they inhabit is still a little vague and could use some more fleshing out to make it seem more real. I had a few instances of the names of characters changing within the same paragraph in some instances, which can be quite disconcerting. Other than that one thing it is written in a style that definitely grabs your attention if you like the subject matter.

Jean Baptiste also known as J.B. is running his fathers detective agency, though it is not for a good reason. Someone ran down Jean Baptiste Sr. and he is lying in the hospital in a coma while his son tries to save the family business. Working with J.B. are an interesting cast of characters, there is Zhanna who is a six inch faerie of the Irayisi race working off her probation there, Nikki a half elf/ half imp, and the twins Gemma and Jason.

Hekate sends her niece to enlist Jean Baptiste Sr. to locate her chalice which has come up missing at a very bad time. She needs it back soon and so takes a chance on J.B. and his crew. What they find out is more complicated than they expected. The search for the person who hit J.B. Sr is also not going well. They have to find the chalice to keep the agency going but there is danger involved that they do not see.

Definitely want to read more about these characters and see where they go from this point. Well worth the time of anyone who likes a little magic and mayhem.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Bloodfever

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Bloodfever

(Fever #2)

by Karen Marie Moning

I am enjoying listening to this series and find that I can keep up with the action even better. This was an author I had never read before but I continue to be happy that I was introduced to her because this keeps getting better. I find all the characters interesting and more than engrossing. These are people I could see myself around, even if they do tend to find danger at every turn. The descriptions of the world that Mac has found herself in and the types of people she meets continues to draw me in.

MacKayla Lane continues to live with Barrons and seek revenge for the death of sister. She still has not come to the understanding that her life as it was no longer exists and this is going to be that rude awakening she needs. Jericho Barrons has made life for Mac easier even if she does not see it. The fact that you cannot put your finger on what he is only adds to his mystic as he continues to save MacKayla from herself.

New players continue to enter the game with V’Lane making himself more available to Mac. Rowena finally acknowledges Mac as more than just a stupid girl who could get them all killed, but what does she really want from silly American? Can Mac trust any of these people since they all seem to want to use her in way or the other?

I will certainly be reading the next book to see what happens next. While I like Mac most of the time sometimes she seems like a total airhead with her Southern manners and ideas about how things should be. Then she will do something totally bad ass and I am sure we could hang. As for Barrons, I wouldn’t kick him out bed. This is a series that is starting pretty slowly but seems to be moving steadily forward, and it draws me in completely when I start to listen.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Willow Brown

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Willow Brown, Christmas Fairy
(The Willow Brown Stories #2.5)
by John Osborne

True rating is 3.5 stars. This was a nice enough story though it also says that there is an erotic component. There is a light sex scene in the book but nothing to worry about if you prefer none. The characters are fairly well presented though they could be more fleshed out. The fairy in this case is kind of different from what I am used to.

Willow Brown is a human sized fairy who also has wings and can fly. Noah Phelps is human and Willows boyfriend. They share a special relationship wherein they have a psychic link and are semi-telepathic. Noah was not with her the previous Christmas and she was very upset with him, this year he will give her more than she could have expected.

A short story that is entertaining but nothing particularly special. I would say for the season it would be a nice diversion on a slow night.

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars