The Rules of Magic (Practical Magic: Book 0) by Alice Hoffman

The Rules of Magic: A Novel (The Practical Magic Series Book 1) by [Hoffman, Alice]

Title: The Rules of Magic

Author: Alice Hoffman

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Date of publication: October 10th, 2017

Genre: General Fiction, fantasy, paranormal, romance

Number of pages: 384

POV: 3rd person

Series: Practical Magic

The Rules of Magic – Book 0 (prequel)

Practical Magic – Book 1

Where you can find The Rules of Magic: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Find your magic

For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man.

Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood-red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk.

From the start, Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City, each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse.

The Owens children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the revered, and sometimes feared, aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy.

Trigger Warning: None

Continue reading “The Rules of Magic (Practical Magic: Book 0) by Alice Hoffman”

The Golden Bulls (A Life of Death: Book 2) by Weston Kincade

The Golden Bulls (A Life of Death, #2)

Title: The Golden Bulls

Author: Weston Kincade

Publisher: 

Date of publication: January 9th, 2013

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult

Number of pages: 308

POV: 1st person

Series: A Life of Death

A Life of Death – Book 1 (review here)

The Golden Bulls – Book 2

Where you can find The Golden Bulls: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Fifteen years of ritual sacrifices that began before Alex Drummond joined the force have become an anomaly in Tranquil Heights. For most residents, anger at the unsolved murders has turned to disappointment with the small police force. Now citizens hope this year’s sacrificial lamb won’t be one of their loved ones.

Alex Drummond’s ability to relive victims’ traumatic murders has not been enough. There are misguided links to Egyptian funerary rights, but without evidence and the murderer’s identity, no one outside of Drummond’s tight circle will believe him, let alone make an arrest and stop the vicious killings. After an anonymous tip, Detective Drummond discovers an annual visitor, a local who moved away years before with a similar flair for murder. He follows her to Washington DC after watching the woman burn her husband alive. His high school friend, Jessie Arturo, who settled in the large city after a failed baseball career, assists with the investigation. In such a large place, unsolved murders abound like cobwebs under abandoned guest beds.

September 20, the serial killer’s anointed date, is only days away. How has the murderer proven so elusive, even from Alex’s paranormal abilities? Is he in over his head, or can Detective Alex Drummond save the ghosts calling to him and decipher this network of brutal, ritual sacrifices before someone else is burnt alive?

Trigger Warning: 

Continue reading “The Golden Bulls (A Life of Death: Book 2) by Weston Kincade”

The Dream Keeper’s Daughter by Emily Colin

The Dream Keeper's Daughter

Title: The Dream Keeper’s Daughter

Author: Emily Colin

Publisher: Ballantine Books, Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine

Date of publication: July 25th, 2017

Genre: Romance

Number of pages: 482

POV: Alternating 1st person

Where you can find The Dream Keeper’s Daughter: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Eight years after the unsolved disappearance of her boyfriend Max Adair, archaeologist Isabel Griffin has managed to move on and rebuild her life with her young daughter, Finn, her last tie to Max. But after a series of strange incidents, Isabel begins to wonder if Max might still be alive somewhere, trying to communicate with her. She has no idea that the where isn’t the problem—it’s the when. Max has slipped through time and place, landing on his ancestral family plantation in 1816 Barbados, on the eve of a historic slave uprising. As Isabel searches for answers, Max must figure out not only how to survive the violence to come, but how to get back to his own century, the woman he loves, and the daughter he has only ever met in his dreams.

Trigger Warning: Beating of slaves, the beating of a child

Continue reading “The Dream Keeper’s Daughter by Emily Colin”

51 Sleepless Nights: Thriller short stories collection about Demons, Undead, Paranormal, Psychopath’s, Ghosts, Aliens and Mystery by Tobias Wade

Horror Stories: 51 Sleepless Nights: Thriller short story collection about Demons, Undead, Paranormal, Psychopaths, Ghosts, Aliens, and Mystery

Title: 51 Sleepless Nights: Thriller short stories collection about Demons, Undead, Paranormal, Psychopath’s, Ghosts, Aliens and Mystery

Author: Tobias Wade

Publisher: Unknown

Date of publication: June 18th, 2017

Genre: Horror, short stories, paranormal

Number of pages: 358

POV: 1st person

Where you can buy 51 Sleepless Nights: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Horror/Thriller Stories Collection 
A diverse collection of short horror stories including the grizzly confessions of a serial killer, parallel dimensions, becoming trapped in a virtual world and encountering ancient aliens buried beneath the Earth’s crust. Demons, monsters, psychopaths, undead, mad experiments and paranormal – no matter what makes your heart race, you’re guaranteed to face your fear with these terrifying tales. 

Excerpt: 
I felt her arms around me, but she wasn’t trying to choke me or restrain me. She was… hugging me. It was such an alien sensation that I immediately opened my eyes. That’s when I saw them. Hundreds – no thousands of gossamer spider webs holding up her body like a marionette doll. I recoiled immediately, and she let me without the slightest resistance. 

The spiders were everywhere. Crawling across her face, through her hair. When she opened her mouth, I saw more of them inside her, pulling the threads to work her jaw. Her throat pulsed, and I knew more must be further down to vibrate her vocal chords. 

“But he’s never going to hurt you again. You have our word.” 

I was too shocked to fully understand what was happening. The alarm in my mind wouldn’t stop, and I still felt like I was about to pay for my rebellion. I didn’t want to stare, but couldn’t look away. I didn’t want to go and see, but my feet carried me there anyway. 

I opened Jeff’s room and found him on his bed. His hands and feet were bound with countless loops of spiderweb. More of it was across his face, tying his tongue securely to the roof of his mouth. His skin was perforated with a thousand holes, and spiders were crawling in and out of them as they carefully partitioned and wrapped each piece for consumption. His eyes blinked at me, although I don’t know if that was a sign of life or simply the successful attachment of yet another internal strand. I quietly closed the door and let them finish their work. 
-My Mother the Spider Queen

Trigger Warning: None

Continue reading “51 Sleepless Nights: Thriller short stories collection about Demons, Undead, Paranormal, Psychopath’s, Ghosts, Aliens and Mystery by Tobias Wade”

A Life of Death (A Life of Death: Book 1) by Weston Kincade

A Life of Death: (A Thrilling Supernatural Detective Series full of Suspense, Book 1) (A Life of Death Trilogy)

Title: A Life of Death

Author: Weston Kincade

Publisher: Unknown

Date of publication: May 31st, 2017 (Originally published May 15th, 2011)

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult, Mystery

Number of pages: 333

POV: 1st and 3rd person

Series: A Life of Death

A Life of Death – Book 1

The Golden Bulls – Book 2

Where you can find A Life of Death: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Alex Drummond is a troubled high school senior with a checkered past, a broken home, and a surprising ability. When he touches items that murder victims held in their final moments, Alex relives the events in gruesome detail, seeing what they saw, thinking their thoughts, and even feeling what they felt. But who will believe a troubled teen, especially when the murders are so close to home and might reveal skeletons hidden for hundreds of years? Join Alex as he struggles to find his destiny, understand love, solve the mysterious murders within his small hometown, and speak for victims who can no longer speak for themselves.

Trigger Warning: Child Abuse

Continue reading “A Life of Death (A Life of Death: Book 1) by Weston Kincade”

Hunger (The Energy Vampires: Book 2) by Jacquelyn Frank

Hunger: The Energy Vampires Book Two

Title: Hunger

Author: Jacquelyn Frank

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept

Date of publication: August 8th, 2017

Genre: Romance, Paranormal

Number of pages: 320

POV: 3rd person

Series: The Energy Vampires

Thirst – Book 1

Hunger – Book 2

Where you can find Hunger: Barnes and Nobles | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Dark cravings and illicit bloodlust are back in a novel of forbidden love set against the backdrop of an all-out vampire war, from the New York Times bestselling author of the Nightwalkers saga.

Continue reading “Hunger (The Energy Vampires: Book 2) by Jacquelyn Frank”

Mated to The Werewolf King by Alena Des

Mated To The Werewolf King

Title: Mated To The Werewolf King

Author: Alena Des

Publisher: Inkitt

Date of publication: August 2nd, 2017

Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy

Number of pages: Unknown

POV: Alternating 1st person

Where you can find Mated To The Werewolf King: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Dive into a universe filled with magical creatures, from demons, “ifrits”, and werewolves to nymphs, witches, and superpowers-wielding entities. A must for fantasy and romance readers alike!

When Annabelle discovers that she is not the true daughter of the Alpha of her pack, her world, as she knows it, comes crashing down and she finds herself running to hide from the tyrannical Demon Lord who is hell-bent on finding her. 

Seeking protection, she flees to the court of the Werewolf King. He’s arrogant, stubborn and discerning of her very being, but willing to defend her… for now. 

Will the Werewolf King yield to the Demon Lord’s ultimatum and give her to the enemy or will she be the cause of a looming war between the two species?

More importantly, what does the Demon Lord want with Belle? She’s only a werewolf… isn’t she?

Trigger Warning: None

Continue reading “Mated to The Werewolf King by Alena Des”

Alpha Grayson (Alpha: Book 3) by Midika Crane

Title: Alpha Grayson

Author: Midika Crane

Publisher: Inkitt

Date of publication: June 11th, 2017

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal

Number of pages: 213

POV: Alternating 1st person

Series: Alpha

Alpha Landon – Book 1

Alpha Kaden – Book 2 (review here)

Alpha Grayson – Book 3

Alpha Jasper – Book 4

Alpha Malik – Book 5

Where you can find Alpha Grayson: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

A rebellion to take down the Alphas has begun…

Lexia has been an unwilling member of the Vengeance Pack since she was kidnapped by Alpha Kaden at the age of thirteen. Previously a member of the Discipline Pack, she now plans an uprising to take down the Alphas and unify the 13 Packs.

But Fate has other plans for her. Lexia finds her mate in Alpha Grayson, from the Pack of Freedom; a man whose silver eyes leave Lexia without control over her carnal desires. But their romance becomes secondary when Cyprian, an evil source with magical powers, puts them both in grave danger on his mission to ignite a war.

Will Lexia and Grayson stand against Cyprian and prevent his schemes from coming to pass? Will they ever be able to consummate their newly found love?

My review:

When Inkitt approached me to review the 3rd book in the Alpha series, I was thrilled. I had enjoyed reading Alpha Kaden. Like I said in my review of Alpha Kaden, I enjoyed that this was an unwerewolf story (not phrased like that). What I mean is that I enjoyed that while it was understood that everyone in this series is a werewolf, they rarely shift but they keep their werewolf abilities and sense. It is a breath of fresh air.

So I was a little disappointed when I read the book. While the plot, itself, was fairly easy to follow, I didn’t like all the twists and turns that it took. I also didn’t like that a whole new pack and another set of characters were introduced almost halfway through the story. While it went in line with the plot, it was still very hard to follow. If the author had kept to maybe two Alpha’s and the main bad guy, I would have been fine with it. But everything else, in my opinion, was not needed.

Lexia, I didn’t like. She was either hot or cold and there was no in between with her. What I mean by that is that either she hated the Alphas and wanted to overthrow them or she was working with them and mated to one. I kinda wanted to say “Make up your freaking mind, girlfriend”. Her reaction when she found out that Grayson was her mate was pretty bad too. Poor guy’s ego had to have been shot.

While Grayson came across as this totally mysterious, hot Alpha in Alpha Kaden, he came across as totally different in this book. I don’t know exactly how to explain how he was different but he wasn’t like he was in the other book. Which disappointed me.

The romance in this book really wasn’t there. While it had the fire of Alpha Kaden, it fizzled out and when they did come together, I didn’t see the mad chemistry that was wonderfully exhibited in Alpha Kaden. Again, disappointed me.

Also what bothered me were the many twists to the plot. Normally, I wouldn’t complain but I counted 3 major ones. I got turned around by the end of the book because the plotline was not the same as the book started out with.

The end of the book was left open for book 4. All the major plotlines were wrapped up but there were a couple there were not. Regardless of how I feel about this book, I think that the series is different and I can’t wait to read book 4

How many stars will I give Alpha Grayson: 2.5 (rounded up to 3 for Goodreads/Amazon)

Why: Fizzling romance, unlikable heroine, the hero was not the same person as in other books and too many twists in the plotlines.

Will I reread: No but I will read other books by the author

Will I recommend to family and friends: No

Age range: Adult

Why: Violence and sex

**I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**

Sleuthing with the Enemy (Unnatural Alliances: Book 2) by Danielle Hardgrave

Sleuthing with the Enemy (Unnatural Alliances Book 2) by [Hardgrave, Danielle]

Title: Sleuthing with the Enemy

Author: Danielle Hardgrave

Publisher: Caldwell Publishing

Date of publication: June 9th, 2017

Genre: Paranormal, Romance

Number of pages: Unknown

POV: 1st person

Series: Unnatural Alliances

To Trust a Wolf – Book 1

Sleuthing with the Enemy – Book 2

Where you can find Sleuthing with the Enemy: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Somebody just stole a valuable artifact from the Helsen archives, and Annemette Helsen—a very pissed off werewolf—is going to make sure they pay for it.

There’s just one problem: Anna’s only suspect is the arrogant vampire prince, Jonas Weiss. He’s cocky, frustrating, and a little bit sexy. Okay, a lot sexy.

He also claims to be innocent, so the fact that she just broke into his home and attacked him is problematic.

And his price for keeping silent about the whole debacle? Downright devious.

Disclaimer:

The short novel you’re about to consume is quick, quirky, and delicious. Get ready to enjoy the main course of romance with a side of adventure. Buckle up, it’s about to get sassy!

Sleuthing with the Enemy can be enjoyed as part of the Unnatural Alliances series or on its own

My review:

Sleuthing with the Enemy is one of those books that would be perfect to read by the pool or on the beach. It doesn’t have a complicated plot, is a standalone book in the Unnatural Alliances series, the characters are relatable and the sex was hot.

Continue reading “Sleuthing with the Enemy (Unnatural Alliances: Book 2) by Danielle Hardgrave”

Mostly Human by D.I. Jolly

Mostly Human: Young Adult Werewolf Rockstar Fantasy Novel by [Jolly, D.I.]

Title: Mostly Human

Author: D.I. Jolly

Publisher: Tinpot Publishing

Date of publication: July 4th, 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy

Number of pages: 494

POV: 3rd person

Where you can find Mostly Human: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Alex Harris is a world-famous rock star, lead singer of the Internationally acclaimed band The Waterdogs. But Alex is no ordinary rocker, he has a secret that he and his family have painstakingly kept since Alex was ten years old.

This is the story of him, and his life, growing up with his parents and his elder sister Annabel whilst coming to grips with a strange condition.

Follow them as this Journey twists and turns its’ way through tragedies, heartbreak, intrigue and into the clutches of organized crime.

My review:

I am going to be blunt. The cover of Mostly Human does not show the awesome story that is beyond the cover. If I were browsing on Amazon and saw this, I would pass on by. My suggestion to the author would be a new cover that reflects the story. Because Alex looks like he’s part zombie and the picture of Annabel in the background doesn’t do her justice….at all.

I really liked that the book was told in 3 parts. Alex as a child, Alex as a teen and Alex as an adult. I think that it fully showed how being a werewolf affected Alex at each stage of his life. As a child, he couldn’t do sports anymore (because of his strength and speed) and he had to adjust to being a werewolf. He couldn’t get his heartbeat up, get upset in public or do anything that a normal tween that age would do. He had to learn to live with his wolf which was achieved through breathing exercises, meditation, and Tai Chi.

As a teenager, Alex had to learn to deal with typical and atypical situations as both a teenage boy and as a teenage werewolf. While he was dealing with changes, an awful thing happens and Alex blames himself. Actually, blames himself to the point where he starts looking for a cure so he could be normal again. I wanted to cry during his scenes with his grandfather and grandmother when he went to live with them to get over what happened. That was the saddest part of the entire book. The guilt he had was very overwhelming.

As an adult, Alex was successful, a great brother/son/uncle and still was a werewolf. He explained his absences during the full moon as a “medical condition”. I do think that he still struggled with being a werewolf at times but it came across that he accepted it. He also came across as a bit of a player. His relationships didn’t last beyond 3 months and when he wasn’t exclusive with a girl, he was sleeping with a different one each night. That was probably the only thing I didn’t like about the book.

The end of the book ended with a cliffhanger and it made me scream. If you have followed my blog for any time, you know that I don’t care for cliffhangers. While I see their purpose, they annoy the ever-living out of me. Saying that this cliffhanger does make me want to read book 2 when it comes out. I need to find out what happens to Alex!!

How many stars will I give Mostly Human: 4

Why: Mostly Human was a different take on the typical werewolf story and it definitely appealed to me. The plot was fast and engaging, the characters were 3 dimensional and there was plenty of action.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Older Teen

Why: Sexual situations, language, and some violence

**I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**