Seasons of Sorcery Anthology – Review

Tags

5 stars, Amanda Bouchet, curse, fantasy, Grace Draven, Jeffe Kennedy, Jennifer Estep, ocean, paranormal, romance, urban fantasy

About Seasons of Sorcery by Amanda Bouchet, Jeffe Kennedy, Jennifer Estep, Grace Draven

WINTER’S WEB BY JENNIFER ESTEP

An assassin at a renaissance faire. What could possibly go wrong? Everything, if you’re Gin Blanco. This Spider is trapped in someone else’s icy web—and it seems like they don’t want her to leave the faire alive . . .

A CURSE FOR SPRING BY AMANDA BOUCHET

A malevolent spell strangles the kingdom of Leathen in catastrophic drought. Prince Daric must break the curse before his people starve. A once-mighty goddess trapped in a human body might be the key—but saving his kingdom could mean losing all that he loves.

THE DRAGONS OF SUMMER BY JEFFE KENNEDY

As unofficial consort to the High Queen, former mercenary Harlan Konyngrr faces a challenge worse than looming war and fearsome dragons. His long-held secrets threaten what he loves most—and he must make a choice between vows to two women.

A WILDERNESS OF GLASS BY GRACE DRAVEN

The stretch of sea known as The Gray rules the lives of those in the village of Ancilar, including widow Brida Gazi. In the aftermath of an autumn storm, Brida discovers one of the sea’s secrets cast onto the shore—a discovery that will change her world, mend her soul, and put her in the greatest danger she’s ever faced.

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Review of Seasons of Sorcery

What a great collection of stories!

A Curse for Spring by Amanda Bouchet is the emotional story of the trials of a prince and a goddess. It seemed, from the start, that their love was doomed because of the terrible curse put upon Leathen. But we can’t have a doomed romance! The mission that Daric and Rain take upon themselves is full of danger and emotions. Loved this story!

A Wilderness of Glass by Grace Draven takes place in the ocean. Well, not entirely in the ocean, but the sense of the sea was constant in the story. In another story of lovers who cannot possible end up together, the fear of discovery and the intense passion is the constant pull to finish the story. Another great one from Grace Draven.

While all four stories stand alone, the stories by Grace Draven and Amanda Bouchet stand out to me because they are not part of existing series that I have not read (not for lack of interest – just time). If you are followers of Jennifer Estep and Jeffe Kennedy, their stories will certainly please the series junkie in you.

5 stars

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Two For Winter: Books by Melanie Karsak and Tiffany Roberts – Reviews

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, cold, fairy tale, fantasy, Melanie Karsak, romance, Steampunk, Tiffany Roberts, winter

Up until last Friday, January was unusually warm in Southwest Iowa. It was a good time to read these books that have cold weather settings. However, if you really want to feel the chill, wait until the mercury in the thermometer plummets and the winds start howling and then pick up a good winter weather book.

About Ice Bound by Tiffany Roberts

Anna knows the loss and pain that can be wrought by winter’s harshness intimately. For years, she’s isolated herself, refusing the let go of the guilt that consumes her – until the winds of a blizzard bring a stranger to her door. With his compelling tales and heated kisses, Anna fears she hasn’t only opened her home to him, but also her heart.

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Review of Ice Bound

You can absolutely feel the cold wind whipping through the air as you read Ice Bound. Luckily, there is more to the short story than weather. I also enjoyed the tension filled romance between Anna and the stranger. The bonus story, The Winter King, is a storyteller’s continuation of the story of Ice Bound’s heroine and hero — plus a little more. At only 45 pages, Ice Bound perfect way to relax on a winter afternoon.

5 stars

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About Goblins and Snowflakes by Melanie Karsak

Never bargain with goblin men.

Scarlette Rossetti thought her stay at Strawberry Hill Castle during the Christmas holiday would pass by uneventfully. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Enticed by the delights of the nearby village of Twickenham, Scarlette’s life would change in unimaginable ways.

She never expected to be drawn magnetically to The Two Sisters Doll Shop and Toy Emporium.

Scarlette didn’t guess that tinkering clockwork gnomes could have supernatural consequences.

And she didn’t know that one should never, ever, bargain with goblin men.

But during the Christmas season, magic is always brewing.

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Review of Goblins and Snowflakes

5 stars

Goblins and Snowflakes is the part charming, part creepy retelling of The Elves and the Shoemaker. The charming part is the actual fairy tale retelling. The creepy part pertains to the goblins who provide the magic to make the fairy tale. The novella length story is perfect for a couple hours of escape to the quaint village of Twickenham for a little adventure and a little romance. Every time I read another of Ms. Karsak’s steampunk fairy tales, I want to read more. Within Goblins and Snowflakes are some ties to other characters in Karsak’s steampunk stories, notably for me, the beginning of the Red Cape Society of the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series. Despite those ties, Goblins and Snowflakes is a standalone and can be enjoyed in all types of weather.

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Abaddon Rising (Deg’Nara series) by P.L. Parker – Review

Tags

4 stars, aliens, gladiators, intergalactic war, P.L. Parker, romance, scifi, scifi adventure, series

About Abaddon Rising by P.L. Parker

One of a million statistics in the intergalactic war, Jocelyn St. Germaine is captured, sold as a slave and then forced to fight in the Deg’Nara gladiator games.  She’s slated to lose when Kanaan, the most feared warrior of all, claims her as his own. With his help, Joss’s chances of survival increase, but is it enough?

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Review of Abaddon Rising

The Deg’Nara series takes place in a part of the galaxy where there is a really nasty alien race, the Deg’Nara, that wants to enslave or obliterate all other races and worlds out there. Why? There is not a lot of reasoning given, except, like I said, they are really nasty.

The good guys are either slaves of the Deg’Nara or part of the onging fight against them. Or both. This common background is ripe for drama and action and romance.

Abaddon Rising focuses on two gladiator-like slaves of the Deg’Nara. Joss is a human woman who was ‘accidentally’ kidnapped by the Chiagan-Se and brought to this part of the galaxy (See The Chalice). The battles between the Chiagan-Se and the Deg’Nara resulted in Joss being captured and made a slave.

Kanaan is the local boy. Part Chiagan-Se and part Mogishada he was raised in the slave system, but his mother taught him everything he needed to know in order to not just survive, but to come out on top. Indeed, at the beginning of the book Kanaan is the ‘demon warrior of the slave pits’, also known as The Destroyer.

In the slave quarters Kanaan claims Joss to protect her, but it will soon become something more.

The relationship between Joss and Kanaan is a bit off again, on again, depending on the last conversation they had. It is not an easy alliance but as the reader, I knew they were meant to be together. However, neither of them is an ace communicator, so it takes awhile for them to confess their love. Which is how it should be. 🙂

Joss and Kanaan will go through much before the end of the book. Arena battles, training, a tournament, escape attempt, family re-union and ultimately, the chance to join in the great, far-reaching battle against the Deg’Nara. The story is nearly epic and the romance keeps the pace. I truly enjoyed every page of Abaddon Rising.

I feel like I should clarify the Deg’Nara series, which started with The Chalice, originally published in 2012. Breeder Slave came next, in 2017, but it does not seem to be billed as part of the series (according to Amazon or Goodreads). Finally, Abaddon Rising came out this year and it is designated Deg’Nara #2. It is a little confusing, but to clarify:

Breeder Slave really is part of the Deg’Nara series. It takes place during the same time period as Abaddon Rising but has mostly different characters and locations. There is a slight overlap. Read them in any order. Both fit in nicely with the Deg’Nara series.

The author provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Giveaway

Don’t forget the ongoing giveaway for the audiobook of Phantom Evil by Heather Graham, or the print books of Catherine Cerveny’s The Rule of Luck and The Chaos of Luck.  If you haven’t entered yet, you might be interested to know that commenting on today’s post helps qualify you for an entry – see the giveaway post for all the details.  Or go straight to the giveaway….

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