The Good Daughter (Dragon’s Birthright, Book 1) - HP Mallory & JR Rain

Excellent start to a new series

I really, really enjoyed this book. This is HP Mallory and JR Rain writing at their best. I loved the characters, even the mean ones. I loved the variety of settings, which changed as the story progressed. I loved the world building and most of all, I loved the Dragons! 

This book is filled with political intrigue, fights for the throne, murder, battles, kidnapping and there is the potential for a little romance at some point in the series. It was a page-turner for me and I raced through it. 

I can’t wait for book two.

Available from Amazon

 

The Fifth Gate (Gates of the Underworld, Book 5) - HP Mallory & JR Rain

Adonis or Ares? Why Choose?

I love the world building in this series; The Fifth Gate is different from the four books which preceded it. Penelope’s fight is not just with Ares but with her own feelings.

This book was a lot shorter than previous books and there were fewer battles and fight scenes. It did feel like there could have been more to it than there was; it was a bit of a race to the finish line.

We’ve seen a lot of sexual tension between Penelope and Adonis throughout the series but in this book Adonis is injured and unable to help Penelope in the final battle at the fifth gate. Just as well really, because the attraction and tension between her and Ares is high and it is fulfilled before the story ends. The options went from ⧣TeamAdonis or ⧣TeamAres to ⧣WhyChoose and I loved it.

Sadly, this is the final book but it feels like there is so much more that could be written in this series. I wasn’t ready for it to end.

 

Reading order

Wrath of the Gods (Gates of the Underworld, Book 1)

Relics of Ruin (Gates of the Underworld, Book 2)

Daughter of Aphrodite (Gates of the Underworld, Book 3)

God of War (Gates of the Underworld, Book 4)

The Fifth Gate (Gates of the Underworld, Book 5)

Available from Amazon

 

Blood Rose (Haven Hollow, Book 26) - HP Mallory & JR Rain

Fantastic New Addition to the Haven Hollow Collection 

This is the 26th book in the Haven Hollow series. Most of the series falls in the Paranormal Women’s Fiction genre, however this one is an Academy book with a twist.

I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I might. It was actually quite the page turner and I’m delighted to have been wrong in my assumptions. I’m not usually one for Academy books but as I have read all the other Haven Hollow books, I wanted to include this one. I have to say, it’s an excellent addition to the Haven Hollow collection. It’s predominantly set outside of Haven Hollow and follows the adventures of Astrid, Wanda’s 18 year old niece, as she starts her formal magical education at Blood Rose Academy.

We have seen Astrid throughout the rest of the series as a secondary character, so it was nice to see more of her as the main character. 

In this book we are exposed to the wider world of magic and the paranormal, as well as finding more about Astrid’s own lineage as her magic springs to life in most unexpected ways.

A sinister plan being hatched by the vampires comes to light and if not stopped in its tracks, could have disastrous consequences for all magical beings. I’m actually very excited about reading the next one.

The Haven Hollow series is written from a variety of points of view and features stories from Wanda’s Witchery, Poppy’s Potions, Spook Society, Haven Homes, Remarkable Remedies, Princess Procedural and Blood Rose Academy. They all run in parallel with each other. The reading order so far is:

Gypsy Magic : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 1) 

Cashmere Curses : Wanda’s Witchery (Haven Hollow, Book 2)

Faery Enchantment : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 3)

Spandex Sorcery : Wanda’s Witchery (Haven Hollow, Book 4)

Love’s Goddess : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 5)

Demon in Denim : Wanda’s Witchery (Haven Hollow, Book 6)

Taffeta Trickery : Wanda’s Witchery (Haven Hollow, Book 7)   

The Black Cat Cocktail Club : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 8)

French Country Frights : Haven Homes (Haven Hollow, Book 9)

All Hallows Eve : Remarkable Remedies (Haven Hollow, Book 10)

Mystic Veil : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 11)

The Yule Log : Remarkable Remedies (Haven Hollow, Book 12)

The Broken Mirror : Remarkable Remedies (Haven Hollow, Book 13)

Art Deco Apparitions : Hallowed Homes (Haven Hollow, Book 14)

The Vampire’s Grave : Remarkable Remedies (Haven Hollow, Book 15)

Herringbone Hexes : Wanda’s Witchery (Haven Hollow, Book 16)

Raising Cain : Spook Society (Haven Hollow, Book 17)

Druid’s Curse : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 18)

Colonial Corpses : Hallowed Homes (Haven Hollow, Book 19)

Angora Alchemy : Wanda’s Witchery (Haven Hollow, Book 20)

Day Dream : Remarkable Remedies (Haven Hollow, Book 21)

Ritzy Business : Spook Society (Haven Hollow, Book 22)

Pan’s Delight : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 23)

Armed and Charmed : Princess Procedural (Haven Hollow, Book 24)

The Christmas Spirit : Remarkable Remedies (Haven Hollow, Book 25)

Blood Rose : Blood Rose Academy (Haven Hollow, Book 26)

Available from Amazon

Masquerade - (The Carolina Files, Book 3) Willa Blackmore

Urban Fantasy Meets The X-Files

Just fantastic. This is the third book in this series and each one is better than the last. I’m very excited to see where this is going. This is Urban Fantasy meets X-Files but the investigator is a member of the paranormal community.

I love Willa Blackmore’s writing style. I find myself drawn into her world and the character development throughout these books has been excellent. The story has subtle ties to the first ones and we are starting to see the bigger picture now. What had seemed to be local events in books one and two now appear to have been part of a far larger plan.

I love the ending of this book. Massive twist. No spoilers here but I really didn’t see this ending coming and I am so excited to read the next book.

The reading order for this series so far:

Book 1, Invasion

Book 2, Undertow

Book 3, Masquerade

Available from Amazon

 

Commander (Hellfire Series, Book 3) Ella Moore

Wow! Just Wow!  

This is the third book in the paranormal romance series from Ella Moore. This book can be read as a standalone but in my opinion, it really is better to read it as part of the series. It is set on a version of Earth where humans and demons both live in their own tribes on the same plane of existence. At a time after Lucifer had fallen but was still fighting his way to dominion over all demons. This book contains detailed scenes of a sexual nature between two consenting demons. 

The world building in these books is excellent. The writing is a joy to read. I can easily see all the places and peoples this author describes so beautifully. All the characters in this series are complex and carry their share of baggage. It seems that the ongoing themes are of damaged beings who are finding love and acceptance where they expect there to be none. 

The stories are often violent and brutal, as you would expect in a land filled with demonic tribes. They are filled with action, politics, scheming, war, rescue, love and the forging of family bonds. I absolutely loved it. Ella Moore is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. I cannot wait to see what comes next.

Hellfire series reading order so far:

Book 1 : Wildfire

Book 2 : Lucifer’s Rule

Book 3 : Commander

Available from Amazon

 

Hillbillies and Hellhounds (Trailer Park Vampire, Book 2) - HP Mallory & JR Rain

Rural Supernatural Investigations. I love this series.

This is the second book in a new series set in the small town of Windy Ridge, the middle of nowhere, USA. it’s just as good as book one was. I raced through it. This is quite unlike anything I’ve read from HP Mallory and JR Rain so far. 

I’m not sure how to categorise this book. It has some potential for romance, so it could be classed as Paranormal Romance but its a very slow burn. It could be Urban Fantasy, although the setting is more rural than urban. Whatever the category, the world building and character building in this book is excellent. 

The town of Windy Ridge was an ordinary run-of-the-mill, sleepy town until the red mist hit. Now its a town full of supernaturals just trying to get by while remaining secret from the rest of the world.

I love the characters in this series. A seemingly mismatched bunch of formerly ordinary people begrudgingly led by waitress turned vampire alongside the human sheriff have their own cobbled-together law enforcement who are trying to keep the peace while finding missing members of their town and uncover what caused all the changes to the townsfolk.

When there is an attack on the locals and investigations uncover a burned out home and a missing family, some outside help is needed to get to the bottom of things. It would seem that the human sheriff has a few secrets of his own.

The reading order for this series is as follows:

Shotguns and Shifters, Book 1

Hillbillies and Hellhounds, Book 2

Available from Amazon

 

The Christmas Spirit (Haven Hollow, Book 25) - HP Mallory & JR Rain

Not Quite A Christmas Carol. Poppy’s Big Decision. 

This novella is the 25th book in the Haven Hollow series. It is a collaboration between HP Mallory and JR Rain. The book falls in the Paranormal Women’s Fiction genre.

This is not your run-of-the-mill happy ever after Christmas Novella. Poppy is torn. She has a big decision to make and she doesn’t know what to do for the best. Both choices will cause someone some heartache. Marty’s surprise marriage proposal at Thanksgiving dinner put her in a position where she felt she had to say yes. Sadly for her, she loves Marty but she isn’t in love with him and now she doesn’t know what to do next.  

Her feelings for Andre are as strong as ever but she can’t be sure they are reciprocated and besides, since she accepted Marty’s proposal, Andre has been absent. 

It’s nearly closing time on Christmas Eve when Poppy greets her last customer of the day, a cheerful newcomer who introduces herself as Noelle. Noelle is the spirit of Christmas present and future all wrapped up in one. What follows is a journey of self-discovery which helps Poppy to finally come to the right decision.

The Haven Hollow series is written from a variety of points of view and features stories from Wanda’s Witchery, Poppy’s Potions, Spook Society, Haven Homes, Remarkable Remedies and Princess Procedural. They all run in parallel with each other. The reading order so far is:

Gypsy Magic : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 1) 

Cashmere Curses : Wanda’s Witchery (Haven Hollow, Book 2)

Faery Enchantment : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 3)

Spandex Sorcery : Wanda’s Witchery (Haven Hollow, Book 4)

Love’s Goddess : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 5)

Demon in Denim : Wanda’s Witchery (Haven Hollow, Book 6)

Taffeta Trickery : Wanda’s Witchery (Haven Hollow, Book 7)   

The Black Cat Cocktail Club : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 8)

French Country Frights : Haven Homes (Haven Hollow, Book 9)

All Hallows Eve : Remarkable Remedies (Haven Hollow, Book 10)

Mystic Veil : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 11)

The Yule Log : Remarkable Remedies (Haven Hollow, Book 12)

The Broken Mirror : Remarkable Remedies (Haven Hollow, Book 13)

Art Deco Apparitions : Hallowed Homes (Haven Hollow, Book 14)

The Vampire’s Grave : Remarkable Remedies (Haven Hollow, Book 15)

Herringbone Hexes : Wanda’s Witchery (Haven Hollow, Book 16)

Raising Cain : Spook Society (Haven Hollow, Book 17)

Druid’s Curse : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 18)

Colonial Corpses : Hallowed Homes (Haven Hollow, Book 19)

Angora Alchemy : Wanda’s Witchery (Haven Hollow, Book 20)

Day Dream : Remarkable Remedies (Haven Hollow, Book 21)

Ritzy Business : Spook Society (Haven Hollow, Book 22)

Pan’s Delight : Poppy’s Potions (Haven Hollow, Book 23)

Armed and Charmed : Princess Procedural (Haven Hollow, Book 24)

The Christmas Spirit : Remarkable Remedies (Haven Hollow, Book 25)

Available from Amazon