“Asil and the Not-date” (2020) Patricia Briggs Ages and ages ago, I got the anthology A Fantastic Holiday Season: The Gift of Stories mostly so I could read the Asil story. Which I loved. The anthology for the second Asil story has been sitting on my wish list forever, but after realizing it was available […]
Trailer Park Trickster (2021) David R. Slayton (Adam Binder) Do you know what I hate? Cliffhangers. Do you know what this book had? Yup. A cliffhanger. Adam and Vic have had no chance to work things out, because Adam took off for Oklahoma in an attempt to save his aunt. He didn’t save his aunt. […]
Death’s Rival, Audio Book (2012) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) Vampires are getting sick. Which is not something that should happen. And since Jane put her foot in it by calling herself Leo’s Enforcer, she now gets to help deal with the vampire plague. A lot happens in this book. Some of […]
Raven Cursed, Audio Version (2012) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) Jane is sent to Asheville NC to provide security for a visit by Gregoire to judge if the Master of Asheville, Shaddock, deserves his own territory, after one of his turned vampires came out of the devoveo in only two years. But […]
Love, Marriage, and a Baby Carriage (2016) CS Poe I love this story. I mean, it’s like someone dared her to put every single trope she could think of into less than 40 pages, and she made it perfect. I was attending a singles’ convention for special people like me to find their forever penguin […]
Not Even a Mouse (2015) Dahlia Donovan Kat is a shifter. (T)he feathertail glider shifter— not a mouse, thank you very much. She has also been in love with her older brother’s best friend for years. Not that she’d ever tell him. Declan has spent his adult life studying genetics, trying to determine the genetics […]
Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling This is such a fun book. I mean, supernatural food inspector! Keith could have epitomized the word “average.” Not good-looking or bad looking. Brown hair and eyes. Nothing beyond that to report. He was the kind of man nobody noticed for very […]
Where There’s a Kilt, There’s a Way (2021) Ella Stainton (Kilty Pleasures) Set in Scotland and Sweden in 1930 Joachim Cockburn and Ainsley Graham have been looking for summer positions to broaden their fields; specifically Jochaim wants to change how patients in asylums are treated, and hopes that working at a prestigious university will give […]
Mischief: A Daydream, Colorado Short Story (2021) A.M. Rose Dylan loves running the pizza parlor, almost as much as he loves his rescue dog, Buck. Dylan pulled up outside the familiar house and barely had time to get his helmet off and butt off the seat when he heard a thundering BARK! from inside. A […]
Blindspot (2021) A.M. Rose (Daydream, Colorado) Back in January, I picked up a bunch of free MM romances from Prolific Books, and I found Daydream interesting enough that I decided to get the first book in the series. Drew grew up in Daydream, a magical enclave, standing out as the only one without magic. He […]
The Hanged Man (2019) K. D. Edwards (The Tarot Sequence) Occasionally, it takes time for me to realize how good a book is. Other times, I know it’s good, but don’t realize just how much the story is going to stick with me. The Atlantean World War was brief. The cost was high. Magically radioactive […]
Out of House and Home (2021) Drew Hayes (Fred the Vampire Accountant) Fred & Krystal are married. And although Krystal is paying for actions she took with a lot of cases that take her away for weeks at a time, they are still happy. Much as I strive for transparency in these accounts, I’m afraid […]
The Last Sun (2018) K.D. Edwards (The Tarot Sequence) My name is Rune Saint John. I am, before anything else, a survivor: of a fallen House, of a brutal assault, of violent allies and complacent enemies, of life among a people who turned their back on me decades ago. KD Edwards recently published several short […]
Mercy Blade, Audio Edition (2011) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam I love Khristine Hvam’s narration of this series. Every time I reread this series, I like Rick even less. Which doesn’t get better until the Soulwood series, when he finally stops using his looks to get what he wants and grows up. Publisher: Audible […]
Undeading Bells (2019) Drew Hayes (Fred, the Vampire Accountant) “Geez, Freddy, all those old movies you love, maybe work some classic action flicks in there occasionally. I’m more or less a parahuman secret agent and long-time loner on the verge of settling down with someone I really love, which means it feels like fate is […]
Deadly Assessments (2018) Drew Hayes (Fred, the Vampire Accountant) “Fear not, small people. Come forth and listen to the great works of Fred and his accounting firm!” Deborah’s voice caught me by surprise. I was so wrapped up in mentally planning for the work ahead that I’d nearly forgotten people often conversed while riding in […]
The Fangs of Freelance (2017) Drew Hayes (Fred, the Vampire Accountant) “Hold on, do you think I’ve been acting as the face of the company, only to shove the actual accounting onto someone else? How does that make sense, given my career in life? For that matter, who would choose me as the face of […]
Bloody Acquisitions (2016) Drew Hayes (Fred, the Vampire Accountant) Despite what film and television might have led to you believe, joining the undead does not inherently make one suave, cool, or even particularly more socially competent. Apparently, I need to become a vampire. While in life my reaction speed was always somewhere between “abysmal” and […]
Undeath and Taxes (2015) Drew Hayes (Fred, the Vampire Accountant) Learning about the parahuman world, through virtue of my own death, hadn’t been nearly as disturbing to me as learning there were whole sections of laws, tax codes, and deduction options for my kind. This meant that I’d been doing my job without all the […]
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant (2014) Drew Hayes I really adore this book. Without being crass, let me simply say an undead body handles normal food as a human one handles gum. While not built for nourishment, it is capable of disposing of such materials. I was more than […]
Scenes from the Holidays (2021) K.D. Edwards (Tarot Sequence) “The Playground” (7 pages) “The Sanctum” (7 pages) “The Ghost” (10 pages) “The Principality Ciaran” (13 pages) “The Tree” (7 pages) “The Dinner” (20 pages) “The Equinox” (13 pages) Scenes from the Holidays consists of short Tarot Sequence vignettes, released serially beginning in December 12, 2020, […]
Stiletto (2016) Daniel O’Malley narrated by Moira Quirk “But where did you get my urine?” she asked. “The Checquy has samples of everyone’s everything,” said Odgers cheerfully. “Remember, during your time at the Estate, they kept taking specimens of your every fluid and solid?” “That was for scientific research!” exclaimed Felicity. “And it was years […]
Flight of Magpies (2014) KJ Charles Stephen stuffed his hands in the pockets of the topcoat that Crane had insisted on buying him for this chilly winter. It had been a great deal more expensive than Stephen, who accepted gifts with startling gracelessness, had wanted; a great deal cheaper than Crane would have preferred; unsatisfactory […]
Spectred Isle (2017) KJ Charles (Green Men) Set in England in 1923 Saul’s professional instincts were shaped by his doctorate in archaeology from Oxford and two years working on excavations in Mesopotamia. Major Peabody believed that if the ravens left the Tower of London, the city would fall. He hadn’t given a damn about Saul’s […]
The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal (2013) KJ Charles Set in England 1894 to 1914 He was covered in writing. It was scrawled in black and red ink, from wrist to shoulder of both muscular arms, across his broad, powerful shoulders and chest. None of it was in a language I recognised, or could read, […]
Uncommonly Tidy Poltergeists (2017) Angel Martinez “I drove … down to Dover a few weeks ago.” “To the farmer’s market?” Ben said around a mouthful of pie. “Long way to go for strawberries.” Luka gave Ben an odd look. “He didn’t say anything about produce.” “Well, no, but why else go all the way—” Ben […]
All the World’s an Undead Stage (2018) Angel Martinez (Offbeat Crimes) “Best stay elevated,” Carrington murmured when Tim climbed out of his house to stare at him. How Tim managed to look surprised when he had no facial features was one of the mysteries of the universe. “We decided to call it a zorpse,” Kyle […]
Jackalopes and Woofen-Poofs (2017) Angel Martinez (Offbeat Crimes) “Kinda wish I could take you with me, Mom,” Wolf mumbled around a bite of toast. “I wish I could go too, sweetie. But then all the other officers would want to take their moms and the poor board of inquiry members at State probably wouldn’t survive.” […]
Feral Dust Bunnies (2017) Angel Martinez (Offbeat Crimes) While he did hiss and snort, Krisk never spoke a word, probably because his mouth and throat weren’t the right shape for it. They got by, communicating in gestures and texts, and after four years, they understood each other damn well. Dinner. “Yeah, I’m almost done here.” […]
Skim Blood and Savage Verse (2017) Angel Martinez (Offbeat Crimes) How could he have even thought about not celebrating his thirty-fifth birthday? Especially if it meant it gave her an excuse to invite all the old money and local officials to the affair. And outside? Of course it had to be outside. The weather in […]
The Pill Bugs of Time (2016) Angel Martinez (Offbeat Crimes) “Should get an Odo bucket,” Vikash murmured. “A what?” Kyle chuckled into his coffee. “Seriously, Carr? You never watched Deep Space Nine?”” It was the first time Vikash had experienced Greg’s particular talent being useful. He heard emotions, but only negative ones and only avian […]
Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters (2016) Angel Martinez (Offbeat Crimes) Between them, in the chair a suspect would take while he was being booked, was a leather jacket. Not odd if the jacket had behaved normally and stayed draped over a chair arm like a good, proper jacket, but this one was sitting up with […]
The Rook (2012) Daniel O’Malley narrated by Susan Duerden Dear You, The body you are wearing used to be mine. The scar on the inner left thigh is there because I fell out of a tree and impaled my leg at the age of nine. The filling in the far left tooth on the top […]
Unacceptable Risk (2011) Kaje Harper (Hidden Wolves) I really enjoy the world-building around supernatural creatures–especially an individual authors choices when there is so much mythology to choose from. His wolf form was outsized, conserving the mass of his human body, but it would look canine, would X-ray canine. As with several other werewolf fantasies, wolves […]
A Haunting at Midwinter (2021) Kai Butler (San Amaro Investigations) Parker Ferro is a supernatural PI. His case seems simple enough–exorcise the ghost haunting a popular rental. But someone has called the cops, claiming a prowler had broken into the house, so now Paker has to deal with a homophobic cop, an alchemist cop who […]
Cry Wolf (2021) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental. Though if you do know of a criminal plot involving werewolves that has taken place at any of these locales, that is a coincidence I would love to know about. Cooper and Park have bought and moved into […]
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (2020) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper and Oliver are house hunting. “So what do you think of this place?” Park asked. Cooper bit his lip. “What do you think?” Park tilted his head and regarded him. “I think your facial expression says you’d rather be drawn and quartered than put […]
Thrown to the Wolves (2019) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper is mostly (but not completely) recovered from the events in the previous book, but not yet back to work, so when Oliver receives a call that his grandfather has died, Cooper heads north to Canada with him. Things go badly from the very start. […]
The Wolf at Bay (2018) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper and Oliver are trying to figure out their partnership–both at work and on a more personal level. Cooper doesn’t want to admit he has feelings for Oliver, because that means he’ll be hurt if/when Oliver leaves. We all know how well that works. When […]
The Wolf at the Door (2018) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper Dayton played on a long career with the FBI, but an attack by a creature that sprouted claws changed everything, and he is now part of the BSI, investigating werewolf crime. This is a reread, because I wanted something I knew I was […]
The Solstice Countdown (2021) Lisa Shearin (SPI Files) Mac and Rake are heading to North Carolina to spend Christmas with Mac’s family. Unfortunately, it looks like the cabal that wants to take out the SPI seers has followed Mac and is still trying to take her out. As with the previous book, the best parts […]
Wild Sign (2021) Patricia Briggs (Alpha & Omega) The FBI has come calling on Charles & Anna. A group of people have disappeared, and the land they were living on in the northern California mountains belongs to Leah–Bran’s wife. I read this in two sittings, so it’s (as expected) fast paced and drew me in […]
Family Matters (2018) Angel Martinez (Brandywine Investigations) My feelings for this book are summed up in just how WONDERFUL this cover is. Because it’s awesome, and so is the book. Plus: Why do you wear a kilt? It’s the tail, isn’t it? Though kilts are cool. As with the previous book, there are three stories: […]
Tarot Sequence novellas & stories (2020) K. D. Edwards (The Tarot Sequence) I was informed that there were Tarot Sequence short stories and novellas online. After finishing The Hanged Man I immediately sought them out. Most of them can be found in the twitter thread I linked to above. There may be other stories, but […]
The Hanged Man (2019) K. D. Edwards (The Tarot Sequence) The world changed decades ago. The Atlantean World War was brief. The cost was high. Magically radioactive wastes in the Pacific Northwest and half of Poland; the near-extinction of dragonkind; a viral plague that decimated the Atlantean homeland. A hundred thousand headstones, trillions in damage. […]
Heir to a Curse (2020) Lissa Kasey (Romancing a Curse) This story is set during the pandemic. Zach Frank is struggling with inheriting a cursed house. Not just–or even mostly–because of the curse, but because of the loss of the woman who left the house to him. The woman who was to all intents and […]
Marine Biology (2010) G. L. Carriger (San Andreas Shifters) This is a short story featuring werewolves and merpeople and selkies. Alec is a marine biologist and hides as much of himself as he can from his pack. Because they definitely won’t appreciate that he’s gay. But when a crush from high school shows up, needing […]
Bound by Memories (2020) Kaje Harper (Necromancer) This is a holiday short story. Silas and Darien are sent to deal with a ghost at a Christmas tree farm. And Ferngold (head of the local guild) is not pleased about Pip and is blaming both Darien and Silas for Pip’s existence. I quite liked the story […]
Powered by Ghosts (2020) Kaje Harper (Necromancer) Set in alternate 1963 Darien is free of his ghosts (literally) and has become Silas’ apprentice. However, he still has work to do, being a necromancer, and so the two end up dealing with a ghost problem, in a town where the local necromancer is too busy caring […]
Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling “Cherries Worth Getting” from Irregulars (2012) “Cookie Jamboree” “The Little Golden Book of Goblin Stories” “Magically Delicious” from Charmed and Dangerous (2015) “The Most Important Meal of The Day” “Bring Out Your Best” Keith Curry is a supernatural food inspector. He works […]