Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Date of publication: August 20th, 2024

Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

Series: Cat Cafe Mystery

Cat About Town—Book 1

Purrder She Wrote—Book 2

Tell Tail Heart—Book 3

A Whisker of a Doubt—Book 4

Claws for Alarm—Book 5

Gone But Not Furgotten—Book 6

Nine Lives and Alibis—Book 7

Shock and Paw—Book 8

Purchase Links: Kindle | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

The eighth installment in a charming cozy mystery series set on an island off the New England coast and featuring the cat cafe owner Maddie and her cat JJ.Beware the cats of Christmas past…It’s the holiday season on Daybreak Island, and Maddie James is looking forward to stepping out of the limelight, watching the island’s Christmas decoration competition from afar, spending time with her boyfriend and family, running tours for visitors as part of the festivities and spreading holiday cheer through cute cats in jingle bell collars.But trouble hits close to home when word gets out that Donna Carey, the publisher of the island’s only daily newspaper where Maddie’s best friend Becky is editor, may be selling the business. Becky is a diehard journalist and to her, selling the only newspaper on the island is a fate worse than death. She publicly opposes the potential sale, wreaking havoc on her relationship with her big boss.Maddie is sympathetic, but she has her own problems – like getting pulled into a role on the Christmas event committee despite her best efforts to stay far removed, and solving the case of a mysterious cat breeder trying to sell expensive designer cats as holiday gifts on the island. But then Donna winds up dead—electrocuted by her own Christmas decorations—and it appears to be more than an accident. To make matters worse, Becky becomes suspect number one. Maddie is thrown into another murder investigation in order to save her best friend from a Christmas behind bars.

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First Line:

“I swear to God if I find the person who’s putting these flyers up, I’ll murder them.”

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Important details about Shock and Paw

Pace: Fast

POV: 1st person (Maddie)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Shock and Paw contain themes that include cheating, alcohol consumption, dead bodies, hospitalization, medical treatment, physical injuries, grief, loss depiction, strangulation, electrocution, murder, attempted murder, organized crime, physical assault, animal cruelty, animal abuse, and animal injury. Please read carefully if you are triggered by any of these.

Language: Shock and Paw contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in Shock and Paw.

Setting: Shock and Paw is set on Daybreak Island, Massachusetts.

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My Review

Shock and Paw initially caught my attention because of the title. It was a charming play on Shock and Awe. When I read the blurb, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this series was centered around a cat cafe. So, I decided to read it. And I am glad that I did. This was a mystery that kept me on my toes.

Shock and Paw is the eighth book in the Cat Cafe Mystery series. It can be read as a standalone, but to avoid the confusion I encountered while reading, I recommend reading the first seven books before picking this one up.

The main storyline of Shock and Paw revolves around Maddie, the Christmas competition, the murder of the town paper’s owner, and fliers that promise designer cat breeds by a backyard breeder. It is up to Maddie to control the Christmas competition, solve who killed the paper owner, and determine who is responsible for breeding designer cats.

Shock and Paw did rub me the wrong way at the beginning of the book. I was slightly turned off by how preachy the author was about not breeding and adopting only. Listen, I rescue cats myself and fall into the adopt when you can category. I have seen the effect that cat overpopulation has. I have also seen what happens when irresponsible owners don’t spay/neuter their pets. But I agree with responsible breeding (aka breeding to breed standard with breeders who are checked often). So, to repeat myself, I was turned off by the dialogue between Maddie and her friends in the first chapter. Thankfully, I don’t judge a book based on what I initially read.

The storyline with Maddie and the Christmas competition was amusing. I felt for Maddie being pulled into it against her will. I also felt for her mother having to deal with someone who was not only new to the island but also new to the committee. Thankfully, Maddie was able to help smooth things over for the competition.

The storyline with the flyers advertising the breeding of designer cats was interesting. I won’t go into my feelings (see above), but I liked seeing Maddie’s commitment to discovering who was breeding and hoping to educate them. I will say that I was shocked at who it was and how it was tied into the murder.

The storyline of the newspaper owner’s murder was interesting. I did kind of figure out who the murderer was, but the motive wasn’t clear. Maddie’s best friend’s red herring was just that—a red herring—but it did add some extra context to the storyline.

The end of Shock and Paw was exciting. I liked how Maddie tied everything together, and I was truly surprised at not only who the murderer was but also how it was tied to the flyers. I also liked that the author ended the book on a positive note.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Paperbacks, NetGalley, and Cate Conte for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Shock and Paw. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

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Other Books by Hannah McKinnon

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books

Date of publication: August 6th, 2024

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Romance, High Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Young Adult Fantasy, Queer

Series: Guardians of Dawn

Zhara—Book 1 (review here)

Ami—Book 2

Purchase Links: Amazon |B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

When the Pillar blooms, the end of the world is not far behind.

Li Ami was always on the outside—outside of family, outside of friendships, outside of ordinary magic. The odd and eccentric daughter of a former imperial magician, she has devoted her life to books because she finds them easier to read than people. Exiled to the outermost west of the Morning Realms, Ami has become the sole caretaker of her mentally ill father, whose rantings and ravings may be more than mere ramblings; they may be part of a dire prophecy. When her father is arrested for trespassing and stealing a branch from the sacred tree of the local monastery, Ami offers herself to the mysterious Beast in the castle, who is in need of someone who can translate a forbidden magical text and find a cure for the mysterious blight that is affecting the harvest of the land.

Meanwhile, as signs of magical corruption arise throughout the Morning Realms, Jin Zhara begins to realize that she might be out of her element. She may have defeated a demon lord and uncovered her identity as the Guardian of Fire, but she’ll be more than outmatched in the coming elemental battle against the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons…unless she can find the other Guardians of Dawn. Her magic is no match for the growing tide of undead, and she needs the Guardian of Wood with power over life and death in order to defeat the revenants razing the countryside.

The threat of the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons looms larger by the day, and the tenuous peace holding the Morning Realms together is beginning to unravel. Ami and Zhara must journey to the Root of the World in order to seal the demon portal that may have opened there and restore balance to an increasingly chaotic world.

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First Line:

On the eighth day of the osmanthus month, Ami’s fairy tree unexpectedly produced a miniature flower.

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Important details about Ami

Pace: Medium

POV: 3rd person (Li Ami, Jin Zhara, the Beast)

Series: Ami is the 2nd book in the Guardians of Dawn series

Content/Trigger Guidance: Ami contains themes that include gore, mental illness, kidnapping, grief, death of a parent, deadnaming, refugee experiences, body horror, dead bodies, loss of autonomy, scars, fire & arson, and physical assault.

Language: Ami contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in Ami.

Setting: Ami is set in the Morning Realms.

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My Review

I was very impatient for this book to be published. I had loved Zhara, but with how it ended, I needed to know more about the characters, the world, the romance, and everything else connected with this world. Surprisingly, I was surprised when the publisher sent me a widget. Why was I surprised? Well, I thought the book would be published next year (and that was my assumption). Then, I was thrilled. I was curious who the Guardian of Wood was. Well, Ami more than answered my questions. But it also raised new ones, which I am sure will be answered in the next book.

Ami is the second book in the Guardian of Dawn series. It cannot be read as a standalone; you need to read book 1 to understand the backstory and events that lead into book 2.

Ami’s main storyline is centered around Li Ami and Jin Zhara. The storyline with Li Ami did make me sad. Ami had to deal with so much (her mentally ill father, her magic, and her feelings of inadequacy). She worked hard to overcome her feelings, tried her hardest to suppress her magic, and cared for and shielded her father. Ami even pleaded to take his punishment (when he stole a branch from the Pilar). By the middle of her plotline, though, I began to see the girl she’d become at the end of the book. She became more assertive and less shy but still suppressed her magic. It wasn’t until the end of the book that her full character emerged, and I loved her.

The plotline with Zhara was interesting. Her travels with the Bangtan brothers and Han (her love interest) were a little more exciting than Ami’s. In this storyline, the zombies were first shown in action, and a possible explanation was given for why they were being created. Yuli (the Guardian of the Wind) did make appearances (Zhara is her BFF), but she was dealing with a whole lot of shit at home.

Ami and Zahara’s storylines merge a little after the middle of the book. I liked the instant connection that they both felt to each other. But I liked the most that Zhara took the time to get to know Ami and her companions. She also doesn’t push Ami past her comfort zone but stresses the importance of their mission (to find and stop the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons, to stop the zombies, and to heal the Pilar).

I did like the LGBTQ+/nuerodivergent rep that the author incorporated into Ami. The book has autistic, lesbian, nonbinary, and asexual characters. The author did a great job of introducing and portraying those characters and the people around them. I felt nothing was forced or fake, and she didn’t play into stereotypes.

The fantasy angle of the book was well written. Ami, Zhara, and Yuli’s powers were enough to keep me reading. But then she added the other fantasy elements, and I was hooked. The whole zombie sub-storyline was interesting, as was how they were created (the explanation is wild). I also absolutely loved the storyline to save the Pilar (and what was eventually revealed). I also was curious about Gaden’s magic and how they used it. It was introduced mid-book and did cause Gaden some issues with Ami (and the rest of the group).

There is a romance angle in Ami. There were two. Zhara and Han’s romance continues in this book. Gaden and Ami’s romance, which made my day when I read it, was pure and sweet, and it was what I wanted to read in a fantasy book. Because of their scars, Gaden didn’t think they were worthy of love. That was until Ami saw beyond the scar to the person underneath.

There are a few twists in Ami that raised my eyebrows. The first is the confession of Ami’s father while he was in his right mind. That confession explains a lot about the Guardians and what Ami had to keep her power hidden. The second was about Gaden, and that caught me by surprise. I was not expecting Gaden’s true identity to be what it was. I also wasn’t expecting (even though, in hindsight, it did make sense) Gaden’s utter lack of caring about their true identity. There is a twist about the portal and the Pilar and Gaden’s connection to both.

I had mixed feelings about the end of Ami. On one hand, I was pleased with how everything turned out for this book. I liked that the Guardians (with Yuli being there in spirit, literally) were able to resolve the issue of the zombies and how they were being created. But on the other hand, I really wanted Yuli to be there in person. I was also very curious about the Guardian of Water because that epilogue wasn’t enough.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, NetGalley, and S. Jae-Jones for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Ami. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

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Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: July 23rd, 2024

Genre: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Regency, Fiction, Adult, Regency Romance, Chick Lit

Purchase Links: Kindle | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this steamy Regency romp, Lady Selina is determined to find the Duke of Stanhope the perfect wife―the only problem is she’s starting to think that might be her.

Peter Kent―newly inherited Duke of Stanhope and recently of New Orleans, Louisiana―must become respectable. Between his radical politics and the time he interrupted a minor royal wedding with a flock of sheep―not his fault!―he’s developed a scandalous reputation at odds with his goal of becoming guardian to his half siblings. For help, he turns to the cleverest and most managing woman of his acquaintance, Lady Selina Ravenscroft.

Selina is society’s most proper debutante, save one tiny secret: she runs an erotic circulating library for women. When Peter asks for her help, she suggests courtship and marriage to a lady of unimpeachable reputation. (Which is to say, definitely not herself.)

But matchmaking doesn’t go according to plan. Peter’s siblings run rampant on Bond Street. Selina ends up in the Serpentine. And worst of all, the scorching chemistry between Peter and Selina proves impossible to resist. For the disreputable duke and his unpredictable matchmaker, falling in love just might be the ultimate scandal.

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First Line

Peter suspected the project was doomed.

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Important details about Ne’er Duke Well

Pace: Medium

POV: 3rd person (Peter, Selina)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Ne’er Duke Well contains themes of child death, grief, fatphobia, misogyny, death of parent, abandonment, domestic abuse, sexism, slavery, terminal illness*, vomit, medical content, death, pregnancy, death of a sibling, and sex worker shaming. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

• Terminal Illness—Peter’s half-brother died of consumption (tuberculosis) as a child.

Language: Ne’er Duke contains no swearing but does contain language* that might offend some people.

• There are examples of era-typical sexism and misogyny throughout the book.

Sexual Content: There is graphic consensual sexual content in Ne’er Duke Well.

Setting: Ne’er Duke Well is set in 1815 London, England.

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My Review:

I will be honest with you all. When I read the blurb for Ne’er Duke Well, I almost didn’t accept the widget. I was drowning in ARCs and barely getting ahead with my reviews (I often do this to myself). What ultimately made me accept was that I love Regency romances. I am glad that I accepted because this book was a good read.

The plot for Ne’er Duke Well was medium-paced and centered around Selina and Peter. I liked that Selina and Peter knew each other before the book started. Their gradual falling into love seemed like an obvious next step instead of being forced upon them.

The plot for Ne’er Duke Well was a dual plotline. One branch followed Selina and her running of the erotic circulation library. The other branch followed Peter as he fought to become his half-sibling’s legal guardian. In the middle of the book, both storylines merge, and that is when the chaos starts to happen. I loved it!!

The storyline with Selina was well-written. The evolution of the erotic circulating library had good roots. Selina’s best friend had found herself pregnant a couple of years earlier, and she did not know how it had happened. Selina took it upon herself to try to educate the ladies of the ton with this library. And, surprisingly, it took off. I wish I could have gotten more glimpses into the material used because it seemed very pornographic (from what Selina read). Selina did her best to keep her ownership of the library secret, but secrets have a way of coming out, and oh boy, did Selina’s.

The storyline with Peter was also well-written. He wanted to get custody of his siblings but got in the way of himself. He was a little scandalous (he said and did things that the proper British ton didn’t like), but he was a good person. But, and this comes up later in the book, Peter does have his demons. Those demons come out in full force when Freddy (his brother) becomes deathly ill. I felt awful for that poor man; he was terrified and was willing to do anything to keep Freddy alive.

Ne’er Duke Well has strong and memorable secondary characters. These characters added much-needed depth (and, in some situations, levity) to both storylines.

As stated in the blurb, the romance angle of Ne’er Duke Well was steamy. The author gradually builds up the sexual tension between Selina and Peter. By the time their wedding night comes around, everything explodes. And it keeps exploding with every sex scene. While the sex scenes were good, the relationship between Selina and Peter caught my attention. They were true partners and stood by each other’s sides during two critical scenes in the book. Selina was even willing to go as far as to annul the marriage so Peter would have a better chance of gaining custody of his brother and sister.

The end of Ne’er Duke Well was an HEA. I liked how the author resolved both storylines. I hope she writes more books in this universe. I am keen to see how various characters find their matches.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Alexandra Vasti for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Ne’er Duke Well. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

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