[Double Review] Charley Davidson, by: Darynda Jones

Charley Davidson #12

THE TROUBLE WITH TWELFTH GRAVE

by: Darynda Jones
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Mystery
Publication Date: October 5th, 2017
Read Date: February 20th, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
Pages: 288

 

Ever since Reyes escaped from a hell dimension in which Charley accidently trapped him, the son of Satan has been brimstone-bent on destroying the world his heavenly Brother created. His volatile tendencies have put Charley in a bit of a pickle. But that’s not the only briny vegetable on her plate. While trying to domesticate the feral being that used to be her husband, she also has to deal with her everyday life of annoying all manner of beings—some corporeal, some not so much—as she struggles to right the wrongs of society. Only this time she’s not uncovering a murder. This time she’s covering one up.

Add to that her new occupation of keeping a startup PI venture—the indomitable mystery-solving team of Amber Kowalski and Quentin Rutherford—out of trouble and dealing with the Vatican’s inquiries into her beloved daughter, and Charley is on the brink of throwing in the towel and becoming a professional shopper. Or possibly a live mannequin. But when someone starts attacking humans who are sensitive to the supernatural world, Charley knows it’s time to let loose her razor sharp claws. Then again, her number one suspect is the dark entity she’s loved for centuries. So the question becomes, can she tame the unruly beast before it destroys everything she’s worked so hard to protect?

Charley Davidson #13

SUMMONED TO THIRTEENTH GRAVE

by: Darynda Jones
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Mystery
Publication Date: January 15th, 2019
Read Date: February 20, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
Pages: 303

 

It's lucky number thirteen . . . this is the epic finale for our favourite Grim Reaper and her sinfully sexy son-of-the-devil husband, Reyes.

Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper extraordinaire, is pissed. She's been kicked off the earthly plane for eternity - which is exactly the amount of time it takes to make a person stark, raving mad. But someone's looking out for her, and she's allowed to return after a mere hundred years in exile. Is it too much to hope for that not much has changed? Apparently it is. Bummer.

She's missed her daughter. She's missed Reyes. She's missed Cookie and Garrett and Uncle Bob. But now that she's back on earth, it's time to put to rest burning questions that need answers. What happened to her mother? How did she really die? Who killed her? And are cupcakes or coffee the best medicine for a broken heart? It all comes to a head in an epic showdown between good and evil in this final smart and hilarious novel.

my rate

I finish this series and I dunno if I'm sad or happy. I'm kind of disappointed how it ended, but that's for you to find out when you read the actual end. Last time I read a book in this series was just one book that recently came out and I had to wait a year for book #12 and then it was announced that book #13 was going to be out a year after that and it would be the last one... so let's say that I waited a LOT until both books were out so I could read them and not be left hanging, sadly the hanging part still happened.

Reading Charley was like a breath of fresh air. I missed reading her thoughts and how the couldn't stop thinking of everything and nothing at all. I missed the gang and how everyone comes together to solve whatever shit is going down no matter who made the problem happened. I hated that the author always left me out of the secret until everything came out. It happened too many things to count. I loved that no matter that the world was actually ending, everyone had hope and really knew that Charley was going to make everything okay again. That no matter that everything said that Reyes was bad, Charley knew he was inside the monster in front of her.

What I most loved of the whole series was the jokes. The series is hilarious and I cannot recommend this series enough. It is everything in a whole package. Is fantasy, paranormal, romance, crime investigation, but a humorous series. There is not a moment that I can say that I was bored or that I wanted to take a breather from reading the series. I took moments because I had to, not because I wanted to.

I know, for a fact, that there is more to come and I will be behind the author to take any crumbs she wants to give the fans, but the waiting will be painful. I know, for a fact, that Beep will the protagonist this time around and I can't wait for it to happen. I know, for a fact, that I will fall in love with Osh more than I already am and I cannot wait. To end all of this, I cannot wait for more and you shouldn't wait any longer to read this whole series and wait for more with me.

[Review] Sommersgate House, by: Kristen Ashley

Ghosts and Reincarnation #2

SOMMERSGATE HOUSE

by: Kristen Ashley
Publication Date: December 7th, 2013
Read Date: June 28th, 2018
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Adult
Format: eBook
Pages: 461

 

Douglas Ashton is the cold and unfeeling owner of the gothic Victorian Mansion, Sommersgate House. Julia Fairfax is his stubborn American sister-in-law. After tragedy strikes, Douglas and Julia are forced to live together at Sommersgate and raise their newly orphaned nieces and nephew.

Douglas has no desire to raise his dead sister’s children nor does he want the distraction of the tempting Julia living under his roof. Julia is struggling with grief and trying to make a go in a new country without much help from impossibly handsome but even more impossibly remote Douglas. Not to mention, she has to deal with the active hostility of Douglas’s frosty, Attila-the-Hun-in-a-skirt mother, Monique.

Douglas decides the best way to give the children what they need, get his mother to behave and give himself what he wants is to marry Julia. When he tells her (yes, tells her) she will be his wife, Julia thinks Douglas is (probably) insane. And anyway, she’s decided if she ever has another husband (since the last one wasn’t so great), he was going to be short, balding, have a paunch and worship the ground she walks on (none of these characteristics define Douglas in the slightest).

One more thing, Sommersgate House is haunted by the ghosts of the man who built the house and the woman who was the love of his life. They both died mysteriously at Sommersgate months after it was finished. When they did, a curse settled on the house making it seem strangely alive. And the only way for the beautiful but frightening house to rid itself of this curse is for its owner to find true love.

my rate

When I opened this book on my device, it went to chapter two or three… meaning that I already started the book. I went in without reading the first chapter again, so I was a little confused in the beginning, but I caught up real fast.

Let me tell you that the ghost story behind the romance story was really creepy. The ghost couple is separated because she was murdered inside and he, outside, and hence they cannot move on. To do so, the owner of the house has to find his true love. Now, Douglas is not a lovey kind of guy. He is cold and a matter of fact guy. He does not believe the story or has seen the ghosts like Julia has. Julia is in the house for one purpose, to care for her nephews that just lost their parents. But Douglas wants her, bad. So these two might actually break the spell of the house.

I really love the story, is no surprise because is a KA story. But I don’t like ghosts, but KA writes them well. I loved how Douglas started to open up little by little to the warm and lovely Julia. The book was long, but it was worth it. And it because it was a long, it was a little slow, but that end made it all worth it. Douglas finally opened his eyes to the magic that surrounded his love for Julia, and the kids were truly happy.

another review in the series

[Review] Dream So Dark, by: Quinn Loftis

Dream Maker #2

DREAM SO DARK

by: Quinn Loftis
Publication Date: November 7th, 2017
Read Date: July 15th, 2018
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology, New Adult
Format: eBook
Pages: 272

 

He was created to be a messenger and guider of dreams. He has traveled the earth for centuries upon centuries fulfilling his purpose. Until her. Serenity crept into his existence as seamlessly as the dreams he wove and just as effortlessly, she stole his heart. Their future is still unclear, but Dair knows he doesn't want to spend even another hour without her.

Meanwhile, Emma Whitmore, a brilliant young girl whose overcome so much at her tender young age was dropped in both their laps, but for what purpose neither is certain. Taken from the people she's grown to love and put in a home with a man who has no love to give, she fights to survive. She just has to hang on until she can be returned to the adoptive family who has already claimed her.

Three lives, unsure of what is to come, fighting the darkness that is closing in all around them. If they are to have any future together, then evil cannot prevail. But at what cost to them?

**Warning: Dream So Dark is book 2 in this series and darker than book 1. Child trafficking is mentioned though not graphic. No explicit explanations but themes of sexual violence and healing after are explored. Thank you for considering my book for your next read.**

my rate

I’m tired. I’m sorry, but I am tired of getting my hopes up and then BAM! my suffering is not done it will continue in the next book. I thought I was missing how this author writes, and I kind of did, but I am so annoyed of things never ending and a whole other problem coming and not giving my end.

All that has happened before, but it happened again in this book. I barely remember what happened in the first book, but after a few pages in this one, I caught up. When I keep reading pages and pages, and the problem was not resolving itself I knew it was not going to happen. My happy ending was not going to come up in this book, and that made me disappointed.

Quinn Loftis is a great, great author. I love how she makes these worlds out of thin air, how good these romances are built, how deep her characters are, BUT I disdain that I have to wait so much for a happy end. I don’t like that there isn’t an end. I gave up in one of her series because problems kept coming up and the true happy ending was not near. I would hate to not read more of this author because I love her words, mostly her kickass females, but I cannot torture myself like this.

Now, this book was precious (other than annoying that I already said it was). I felt how deep the character of Dair went for his mate, Serenity. I loved how strong the character of Emma Jean was. I’m not a person that can be called religious, but I understood a bunch of references from the Bible (because I have read a bunch of it), and I loved how she created everything out of there and then some. Again, I dislike how everything came out to be, but let’s see what will be next.

For the future, this is the plan. I will constantly be aware of what this author is coming out with, but I will not read any other book of her until I’m certain that the series is done. It is too much to be hyped for something that doesn’t have an end.

last review

[Series Review] Not This, by: Annie Nicholas

NOT THIS

by: Annie Nicholas

    

NOT HIS DRAGON, NOT HIS WEREWOLF, NOT HIS VAMPIRE, 

NOT HIS CHRISTMAS & NOT HER GARGOYLE

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, New Adult

Format: Kindle Edition

Total of Pages: 1,258

 

my overall rating

In the past few weeks, I have been trying to find a paranormal romance series for me to read, just because I fancy them nowadays. So in my search, I came upon these books. I thought, by the covers, they were going to be hilarious and, lo and behold, they were funny, sexy and romantic.

Is no secret that I would like to be one of these fantasy creatures in real life. You know, like a werewolf, a dragon or a gargoyle (not a vampire, thank you very much). I find it very interesting to read about these creatures from different authors. Everyone makes them how they like and that’s the beauty of it. The world of “Not This” was very interesting. Humans know about the shifters and are almost totally okay with it. If the real world was as good as that everything would be peaceful. New Port and Riverbend are the main cities in these books, even though fictional (or so I believe), they are pretty.

The first book, and the only novella, is about a dragon. The whole dragon in the whole New Port area, so basically he’s the boss. Everyone is afraid of him and is something that he appreciates. Finding a mate was not something he was looking for, but when he finds it, he doesn’t let her go. And that’s basically what the second book also has, but instead of a dragon, is a werewolf. The third and fourth books are a little different. Being a vampire was not anyone’s dream, but when it came to be, it got accepted. Also, the only human in the series got to become a gargoyle because of magic and love, so totally a worth it read.

The books were not perfect, sure, but they were good distractions when things are boring at home. Immersing myself in a fiction world is always better and with such creatures like these searching for mates, love, and justice, it is way better. If you want something funny and romantic, go ahead and read these, I recommend.

[Series Review] Experiment in Terror, by: Karina Halle

EXPERIMENT IN HORROR

by: Karina Halle

   

  

   

Format: Kindle Edtion

Total of Pages: 3,761

overall rating:

Before I start talking about this incredible series, have you heard the song called "Big God" by Florence + The Machine? If not, go hear it and then come back to this review. I basically read this whole series with that song ON REPEAT. Now I cannot hear the song and NOT remember some scenes in this series.

I have said before that I am not a person who likes things that make me afraid. I don't see scary movies and I don't read scary books, but I had to read this series. Something was calling me. Something was telling me that I had to because it was going to be a hit in my reading habits. Damn, that voice was right. I might still not watch scary movies, but scary books are another deal now. I'm not afraid of a lot of things, but when you have a wild imagination and the description is good, things get scary. But no matter, KH got me through thanks to her romance and the "what the fuck is going to happen now" thing.

Backpedaling to what the story is. Perry Palomino is not a normal girl and everyone knows it. She's afraid of herself because of the things she can see, hear and do. Yes, she sees the dead people and even when she admits it, she still thinks she's crazy. Her best moment in life is when she bumps into Dex Foray. If she thought seeing ghosts was crazy, he will bring her insanity... the good and bad kind. These two embark on a journey of catching these "crazy" things on camera, in a show called Experiment in Terror. These two will find things that want them dead, and other things that just want them (which is way worse).

Almost every book in this series is settled in different places, such as New Mexico and Canada. But most of the plot spins around Portland and Seattle. In every book, there's a major problem that gets resolved at the end of that book, but the romance "problem" or the "out of this world" problem are not actually resolved until the last two books. I feel like the whole series was a rollercoaster, so I advise you to keep reading the whole series because the end is worth it. You may feel, in the middle of it, that you shouldn't continue because it's not going the way you would like, but have hope. KH puts you through hell just to give you the best heaven possible.

My favorite book of the series has to be Ashes to Ashes, I think. I cannot explain it without telling spoilers, which I will not offer. BUT the book I most hate the whole series was On Demon Wings and I cannot tell you how much I wanted to be over with it. I finished it in less than four hours, and let me tell you is not a short book (almost 500 pages). I hated what Perry went through, but what came out of all of it was something worth reading it as fast as I did.

Also, I have to admit that I was not interested AT ALL in reading most of the novellas/short stories in this series. I only read The Benson because it was really short and it went along with the timeline. The others were about things that already happened (that I had no desire in reading again in another perspective) or things that I was left better without knowing. I know myself, so I stayed away from those. Maybe you should read it, but I just couldn't.

It might not be part of this series, but I also read Veiled. Perry has a sister, Ada, with the same "powers" as hers, so obviously, KH had to write about her. But I read that she might actually give up on giving her, Ada, a full series so reading this book was disappointing. The end is happy but things don't get an actual end. Is sad to let the series go like that, but there's nothing I can do. I liked the whole vibe of Ada and Jay, so obviously I wanted more, but oh well.

To conclude all this [review], I have to say again that this series opens a window for me to read more "scary" stuff. Meaning stuff like ghosts, and maybe even demons, but no more. This gave me the idea that KH should write more scary stuff like this. It doesn't mean her cont-rom books aren't good because they are, but I loved how she wrote these books and this genre needs good authors like her (totally making this comment without a base because I'm not an expert in the genre). Whatever the case, the series was perfection and I wholeheartedly recommend it. Here is a snippet, because you just need to read how Dex and Perry act:

    "Is that why you like me?"

    "Who said I liked you?"

    His eyes shone playfullly, turning his irises a deep cocoa. "That's why I like you, you're a challenge."

    I folded my arms and leaned back on one leg. "Oh, so that's why..."

    "Well, that and your ass."

    My cheeks flamed. "Thanks."

    "And your breasts."

    "Got it."

    "And what's between your-"

    "Dex", I warned, cutting him off.

    He grinned and stepped toward me. He took his hand of out his pocket and ran his finger down the length of my nose. "What's between your gorgeous eyes... your cute little nose."

        --- Into the Hollow

That's my piece, bye.