Chained by Memory (Razor’s Edge Chronicles, #6) by Celine Jeanjean – Review

Tags

5 stars, Adventure, Book Review, Celine Jeanjean, dogs, magic, paranormal, series, urban fantasy

About Chained by Memory by Celine Jeanjean

The plan is simple. Get to the weretiger realm where a wise woman will be able to help Sarroch and I get a mating bond in place, thus saving me from execution.

Easy peasy, lemon squeasy.

Of course it ends up going more like difficult, difficult, lemon difficult.

Which is why right now I’m standing in the stunning forest of the weretiger realm, facing Sarroch in tiger form.

Except that it’s not Sarroch any more. Something has taken control of him. Something that for some reason doesn’t like me one bit and is clearly determined to destroy me.

Little old me with my weak magic, facing off against one of the oldest and most powerful weretigers in existence.

Anyone care to place a bet on the outcome?

**********************

Review of Chained by Memory

Apiya and weretiger Sarroch are on a mission to form a mating bond.  Which is going to prove very difficult because of something in Sarroch’s past.  Centuries past.  The longer you hold onto something, the harder it is to get rid of.  Sarroch didn’t even know he was holding on.  You may wonder what he is holding on to, but I will let you read the story to find out. 

In order to complete the mission, Apiya and Sarroch will go globetrotting: from Panong to Bhutan to London to somewhere not on any map.  With a traveler’s eye for detail, the author sets the story in exotic and wonderful places.   In London, the reader will meet Pree, Apiya’s friend, who is an absolute stitch!

There are many things I like about this book and series: the quirky barber to magical beings (Apiya), her artist friend (Chai), the Asian influence and setting, the magic, and Apiya’s nerdy father are just a few of them.  But my favorite thing has to be Hunter, Apiya’s dog.  Hunter is barely in Chained by Memory.  But, at a crucial time, Apiya needs the ability to forgive and love.  In order to do this, she thinks of Hunter and his unfailing unconditional love.  Oh my, this moment touched my heart so!

Chained by Memory is a short novel at about 200 pages.  I have been gobbling up the Razor’s Edge Chronicles as soon as I can get my hands on each book.  I recommend you start at the beginning, but if you really want to jump in here with #6, that’s okay too.

Many thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

**********************

Links

Add Chained by Memory to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Chained by Memory:

**********************

Hidden by Jade (Razor’s Edge Chronicles, #5) by Celine Jeanjean – Review

Tags

5 stars, Adventure, Book Review, Celine Jeanjean, magic, paranormal, series, talking cats, urban fantasy

About Hidden by Jade by Celine Jeanjean

I’ve never been one to stand idly by when a friend’s in trouble. Yes, I know that to go looking into why Ilmu is missing is dangerous. Yue’s still out there, and more to the point she’s not happy with how little progress I’ve made on our deal regarding Sarroch.

Which means a significant decrease in the value of my life.

Staying home is therefore the smart thing to do. But all the same, a friend in trouble is a friend in trouble, and no one but me seems to care what’s going on with Ilmu.

With my limited magic there’s only so much I can do, but I manage to get my hands on magical incense that will allow me to see her.

That is until another supernatural creature appears in the smoke and drags me into whatever space Ilmu is trapped in.

And just like that, my problems with Yue look pretty insignificant.

Perspective, huh?

**********************

Review of Hidden by Jade

You gotta love a heroine who will put herself in danger to help a friend out.   In Hidden by Jade, Apiya does just that.  But in doing so, she will bring even more trouble to herself.  And if you have been reading the series, you know that her friends will try to help her, but in the end, Apiya is the one that does all the heavy lifting.  Still, friends are good. 

Unless that friend is Sarroch.  That particular relationship is getting quite complicated.  Sarroch’s wife hates Apiya, but has struck a bargain with her (agreeing not to kill Apiya).  Sarroch knows nothing of the bargain.  And it is beginning to look like Apiya will not be able to fulfill her side of the bargain.  Our heroine’s Mayak friends seem to cause nothing but trouble. 

By the end of Hidden by Jade, the reader comes to realize that Apiya has come a long way from being a mere barber to the magical beings of Panong.  And she still has a long way to go.  The story will continue

Honestly, the Razor’s Edge Chronicles is my favorite series of the year.  It has several things going for it.  First, rapid release.  5 books so far in 2021.  Short books yes, but 5 books.  There is an engaging, quirky heroine who never met cat, dog, turtle, etc. she didn’t like.  She lives in a fascinating city.  There is a cat – a talking cat – with so much attitude and ego he is impossible not to love.  Plus the usually non-stop action, magic, danger and hope. 

Many thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

**********************

Links

Add Hidden by Jade to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Hidden by Jade:

**********************

Pearl of Wisdom (Dragons of Trakona) by Jody Wallace – Review

Tags

5 stars, Adventure, Book Review, fantasy, humor, Jody Wallace, magic, romance, series

About Pearl of Wisdom by Jody Wallace

Blackmailed by the only man who can heal her—what’s a Pearl to do?

Pearl Courtier is a nobody. A human from Tarakona who just happens to have a famous wizard brother. When a lab accident transforms her into a walking lie detector, Pearl travels across worlds to seek help from a wizard on another planet.

But the price of stiff-necked enchanter Everett DeBoer’s agreement to remove her curse is high. Pose as his companion during a business conference, and use her unique skill to tell him which of his colleagues are lying. What will Pearl do when she discovers how he’s been lying to himself—and how deadly that might be for both of them?

**********************

Review of Pearl of Wisdom

Everett is my favorite type of hero.  A nerd. A Geek.  Often clueless, but never brainless.  He is, dare I day, sweet and cute but lethally smart.  Pearl is the perfect counterpart.  Cool headed,  observant and purposeful.  That these two get together can be attributed to a magical lab accident that infuses Pearl with the ability to know lies when she hears them and causes pain when it happens. Imagine if you could detect the lies of everyone within hearing range.  Add to that an extrovert’s desire to be around a lot of people and you can see that Pearl has a problem.

So Pearl’s need for a cure means she will first need to help Everett find out who is stealing and messing with his magical tech designs.  The story evolves at a magical tech convention filled with magic, intrigue, one-upping, personal attacks and, unfortunately for Pearl, lies.  Lots of lies.

I loved it when Pearl and Everett discover that close personal contact between them can help Pearl ignore all the lies, therefore keeping the pain away.  I will let you figure out what close personal contact may entail.

Add a well-meaning but obnoxious and totally clueless friend from Everett’s past and a well-equipped, resourceful gnome in the protection business and you have a thoroughly entertaining caste of characters that bring this mad-cap adventure to colorful life.  I was particularly charmed by Felvyn, the gnome, who had an unending source of weapons, food, and men (gnomes) at his disposal to help Everett and Pearl. Except when he didn’t.  Well, the hero and heroine have to get into and out of trouble sometimes.  Don’t they?

Pearl of Wisdom is the first book I have read in the Dragons of Tarakona series.  It reads just fine as a standalone, but I did miss the dragons.  I mean they are hardly present, though often talked about. I guess I will need to read more in this series.  If the series is as entertaining as Pearl of Wisdom, that will certainly be no hardship.

Thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book so that I could bring you this honest review. 

**********************

Links

Add Pearl of Wisdom to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Pearl of Wisdom:

**********************