Review: Waking the Gods: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy by Eva Chase 5 of 5 stars

Waking the Gods: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy by Eva Chase
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Aria Watson is a Valkyrie and when Surt appears in Asgard with a huge army determined to take over the realms of the Gods and the humans. Aria and her four Golds soon realise that they cannot possibly defeat him on their own and so the seek to find all of the other Gods who are scattered all over the place. When they are all gathered Ari has to struggle with both her own self doubt and the doubts of the other Gods with her abilities and the worth of any contribution she might make. Can they win the fight for their lives as well as their home in this win or lose all scenario?

I loved this story which is the last of the series. It was packed with action, drama, danger, emotion, and lots of character development. Ari definitely came into her own in this story and it also showed a really nice strengthening of the relationship between her and her four God lovers. It was great to see how much they obviously cared for each other and that it was a relationship and not just a physical thing, I loved the way the story finished and what was promised for the future - I just wish we had more stories on the way in the series in order to explore their relationships and skills more. Recommended.

Buy from Amazon

Review: The Nutcracker Curse by Margo Ryerkerk 4 of 5 stars

The Nutcracker Curse by Margo Ryerkerk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Clara is the Crown Princess of Austria and her father has decreed that she must marry one of the foreign Princes visiting the kingdom - something she is not ready to do - she enjoys her freedom. However the choice of Princes becomes the least of her worries when she picks up a spelled nutcracker and a deadly curse on her is released. She has twelve days to find and feed a special nut called the Crackatook to the nutcracker or her soul will be trapped in the toy and she will be turned to wood. She decides that she cannot (and will not) rely on the Princes but will depart on her unicorn and solve it herself. However her childhood best friend Phillip intercepts her and gives her a stark choice - return to the castle or let him come along and help her. So she agrees to have him go on the journey with her across different realms with mythical creatures. Can they survive and can the find the Crackatook before Clara's soul is trapped and she turns to wood?

This is a charming story that is a lovely fantasy spin on the fairy-tale that had a very happily ever after ending to it. I loved the determination in Clara to not only get to the bottom of the curse to save her life but also to do the right thing and be kind to everyone too. Well written and easy to read it became quite addictive wanting to know what is going to happen next.

Buy from Amazon

Review: Ghosts and Grudges by Jasmine Walt 5 of 5 stars

Ghosts and Grudges by Jasmine Walt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Medical student Aika has a hidden ability awaken in her and that's when the trouble starts. How is she supposed to handle caring for her sick mother, studying for her medical degree and running their restaurant before this new ability to summon monsters? However when her mother is taken by an ancient and powerful evil she can't ignore it anymore and ends up working with a hunky shaman called Raiden although she senses something is not right about him - will her attraction to him win out over her suspicions?

Wow - if I could give this more than 5 stars I would. There was so much drama, mystery and action woven into this mystical story around an ancient Japanese folklore that I was hooked from start to finish.Definitely a book that I struggled to put down. I loved the way the story was woven into the folklore and the clever way the concern for her mother, the need to learn about her new skills, her attraction to Raiden and the suspicions about him all mixed together into a lovely meal that certainly was a delight.

Buy from Amazon

Review: Dreams of Ice and Shadow by Kathryn Troy 4 of 5 stars

Dreams of Ice and Shadow by Kathryn Troy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Luca is trying to tackle his father and it is to him the perfect time as Katelyn is across the sea at the slave city of Likhan trying to support her nephew Darien ascend to the throne there and stop impending revolutionary chaos. Can the eternal lovers get back together or will they both fail with their own struggles? There is also danger in the form of Alaric who while helping Kate in Likham is also determined to win Kate back from Luca. Can they both survive the dreams of ice and shadow and save both themselves and the land of Icarya?

I loved this story which was a very complex fantasy with little bits of horror interspersed in places. I loved the strong love and relationship between Kate and Luca that was explored in some fairly detailed character development. There were plenty of twists and tuns which meant you could never assume anything. Well written it was an easy read and quite addictive.

Buy from Amazon

Review: Geir by Dale Mayer 4 of 5 stars

Geir by Dale Mayer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As the search for more information about Mouse goes on, former SEAL Geir Winthrop travels to San Diego to follow up on some clues around Mouse's life and drill down on some of the disturbing information the team has uncovered as part of investigating their so called accident a couple of years ago. He stays at a B&B co-owned by artist Morning Blossom and her father. Morning sees the B&B as her safe haven as she struggles with self doubt in her abilities as an artist. Having stayed away from relationships since a bad one she starts to believe that she could have some thing with Geir if only he wasn't going to go home at the end of his stay. Geir on the other hand is determined to protect her after realising just how naive she is about security in her place especially as his world of danger starts to spill into her home and business life. Can he find the answers, protect Morning and is there a chance of them having a long term relationship?

This was a delightful story which had all the necessary ingredients of a SEAL based romance - drama, danger, a strong need to protect a woman and the chance of a relationship in the future. It helps if you have read the previous books in the series to understand the events that triggered this search for information but it is also possible to read this as a stand alone story. I loved the way Morning's painting was progressing as the attraction between Geir and her was also developing. En enjoyable story with a few twists and turns too.

Buy from Amazon

Review: Heart of Ice by Lisa Edmonds 5 of 5 stars

Heart of Ice by Lisa Edmonds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Alice Worth is a private investigator with a ghost sidekick and a hot alpha werewolf called Sean for a boyfriend. Thinking she has the time to relax and do some more mundane investigations she starts to investigate a burglary ring targeting magical objects collected by the rich and powerful. She also has the issue of her grandfather Moses Murphy fighting another crime lord for control of the city. This gets very dangerous for Alice as she is related to the person doing the hard work on this and she needs to avoid her and remain unknown at all costs. Then Sean gets injured and his pack becomes really angry with her, however to save Sean and survive a well laid trap, she risks everything (including possible recognition) as she's never backed down before so she sees no point in doing that now.

This was action packed with drama, intrigue and danger at all points as Alice battled with burglars, wolves and magic coming at her from all angles. I really felt for her at times but with dogged determination she never let it defeat her with some pretty awesome results at times. Well written and very enjoyable, it was a powerful read that can be a stand alone read but is probably slightly more enjoyable if you have read the previous books in the series.

Buy from Amazon 

Review: Chrome Mountain by Ben Schneider 4 of 5 stars

Chrome Mountain by Ben Schneider
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

They were from different circles but Sonya stopped during her journey to evade a biker gang to help scientist Trey to evade global terrorist organisation the Chrome when they tried to capture him for his knowledge. Out of that situation struck a friendship that saw them fight to stop the knowledge from falling into the determined terrorists' hands in order to ensure the world stayed safe. Can they keep on evading the Chrome, build their friendship into a relationship as well as keep Trey's knowledge safe?

I really enjoyed this story which was full of drama, intrigue, danger with many twists and turns too. It was refreshingly a clean story with no bad language nor any sex. It was nice to read about a build up to a friendship first and then a relationship that was built to last. I enjoyed the format of the story and although it was fiction I could also imagine it would be possible to happen for real in the future. An enjoyable read.

Buy from Amazon