Soul Taken (2022) Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson) Book Thirteen. I’m still preordering Patricia Briggs books, but after Wild Sign I was a little hesitant to start this one. I can only handle so much trauma happening to characters before I have to bow out. Although Mercy was hurt in this book, it was the usual […]
Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? (2016) Paul Cornell narrated by Damian Lynch (Shadow Police) This series always blows me away. ‘I won’t tell you!’ she shouted. ‘I can!’ Kevin insisted, pointing at himself. The stormtrooper paused awkwardly again. He obviously had as little idea as she did what Kevin’s weird willingness to help was about. Lacey […]
Posthumous Education (2022) Drew Hayes (Fred, the Vampire Accountant) Fred, the Vampire Accountant, Book 8 This series remains a delight. As usual there are five sections, each a full story but all intertwined. An Unexpected Enrollment An Eventful Guest Lecture An Impromptu Field Trip A Hectic Homecoming The Commencement That’s right–Fred is going back to […]
Paranormal Bromance (2014) Carrie Vaughn What happens with three Gen-X slackers are turned against their will? They become roommates. After being turned, I had been terribly disappointed to learn that vampires still had to do laundry, that we didn’t have some supernatural power that kept our clothing ageless and immortal as well. That bit goes […]
The Severed Streets (2015) Paul Cornell narrated by Damian Lynch (Shadow Police) Riots are breaking out across London. The police are voting on a walkout. And someone has just killed an important MP in a locked car in the middle of one of those riots. The DCI’s expression grew even more nonplussed. ‘Why are you […]
Blitz (2022) Daniel O’Malley (The Checquy Files) This is the third book in The Checquy Files series. The story is split between London in (probably) 1940 and modern London (set perhaps a year after Stiletto, which was set maybe six months of the Rook, so ~2013) in (seemingly) unrelated stories. You of course know the […]
The Doctor (2022) C.S. Poe (Magic & Steam) Set in alternate US in 1882. Gillian Hamilton has been caught. He has been exposed as Simon Fitzgerald, the Butcher of Antietam. And he is now on Blackwell’s Island at the Asylum for the Magically Insane. “Why are you helping a criminal?” Barrie wiped his nose again. […]
Proper Scoundrels (2021) Allie Therin (Roaring Twenties Magic) Set in England in 1925. Me: I really liked this first series that this book is a spin-off of. Obviously I should not read it. (Repeat time and again for author after author) Sebastian de Leon spent the past three years enthralled, and forced to do terrible […]
Deadbeat Druid (2022) David R. Slayton (Adam Binder) This is the third book in the Adam Binder series, and unlike book two, does not end on a cliff-hanger. I’ll be honest, I was reading with a eye on the percent done, worried I’d get another cliffhanger. Luckily, it ended cleanly. This might be the final […]
Uncommonly Tidy Poltergeists (2017) Angel Martinez Off kilter and knew this would work to distract me. Rating: 8.5/10
The Great Atlantean Battle Royalchemy (2022) K.D. Edwards This takes place between The Hanged Man and The Hourglass Throne. Rune has to judge an alchemy contest that is possibly going to harm the peace of Atlantis. As always, the dialog was wonderful. Did Layne tell Corinne that they left the estate?” I asked bluntly. “I […]
Ravensong (2019) TJ Klune (Green Creek) I struggled with this book just as much the second time through as I did the first time around. It was long. I still think it needed edited down. And it still was dark and upsetting. I WAS eight, and my father took a needle and burned ink and […]
Human Enough (2019) ES Yu Noah Lau joined the Vampire Hunters–first as an Intelligence Analyst, but after issues with his supervisor, as a hunter. Although people assume he joined in revenge for the murder of his parents, he really just did not want another child to have to live through what he and his sister […]
Pack of Lies (2022) Charlie Adhara (Monster Hunt) Whine whine whine. I don’t wanna read about Eli, I wanna read more about Cooper and Oliver. (finally picks up book) (devours book) (immediately preorders sequel) Eli is managing the retreat while Cooper and Oliver are on their honeymoon. What could possibly go wrong? Multiple things, including […]
Wolfsong (2016) T.J. Klune (Green Creek) I’m trying this series again. I liked the first book well enough the first time, but the second book was a problem. I’m hoping that knowing the rest of the books are NOT about Ox an Joe will make the adjustment a little easier. Ox’s dad is awful. I […]
The Hourglass Throne (2022) K.D. Edwards (The Tarot Sequence) I really thought I had pre-ordered this. I hadn’t, and because I was failing to deal with all the things, I didn’t notice it was out until the end of August. That said, I read it almost immediately, and devoured it in a day. Rune Saint […]
That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf (2022) Kimberly Lemming (Mead Mishaps) This series is very very silly. Very VERY silly. And full of boinking. SO much boinking. A few minutes and a smoke free kitchen later, I returned with fresh coffee and a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches. […]
The Rook, Audio Edition (2012) Daniel O’Malley narrated by Susan Duerden This book. People are more likely to cope with the appearance of an animated corpse in a graveyard than one in an ice cream parlor or the changing room of a boutique. They won’t be happy with the appearance of the animated corpse in […]
Of Claws and Fangs (2022) Faith Hunter (Jane Yellowrock) This is a collection of stories from the world of Jane Yellowrock & Soulwood. Candy from a Vampire Make It Snappy It’s Just a Date Life’s a Bitch and Then You Die Black Friday Shopping How Occam Got His Name Shiloh and the Brick Beast Hunts […]
Spells for the Dead, Audio Edition (2019) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam Nell is learning how to control her powers as a “plant person” as she calls herself. But she doesn’t understand why she’s called out the death of a famous country singer, whose body whose body is rapidly decomposing–along with the bodies of […]
Circle of the Moon, Audio Edition (2019) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam Nell is recovering from spending several months as flora instead of fauna. The farm had seemingly figured out that if I was a tree, there would be no one to work the soil and it liked me around. Now, as I worked, […]
Flame in the Dark, Audio Edition (2017) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Soulwood) The third Soulwood book finds Nell settling into working at PsyLED. And being gently courted by Occam. “Nell, you act like you never been kissed before.” “I ain’t— I haven’t. Not like . . . Not like this.” Occam’s pupils widened […]
Shattered Bonds, Audio Book (2019) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) Book 13 of Jane Yellowrock I wasn’t sure how I feel about this book the first time I read it, and I’m still not positive how I feel about it now. Leo was killed in the Sangre Duello. Jane is dying of […]
Dark Queen, Audio Edition (2018) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) I’m having a hard time believing that I read this four years ago. Obviously it’s true, but it feels both forever ago and far more recent. Mostly because parts of this book stuck in my brain. And I still have problems with […]
The October Man, Audio Version (2019) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Sam Peter Jackson (Rivers of London) London isn’t the only city with magic. I ended up in the Abteilung KDA because I didn’t talk myself out of it fast enough, and because the Director has a vile sense of humour. I ended up learning magic […]
Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling This books is simply a delight. I mean, supernatural food inspector. What more could I want? Keith was momentarily too stunned by the idea that the vampire realm had a publishing industry to think of a follow-up question. Gunther saved him. I […]
Jane Yellowrock Short Stories Faith Hunter “The Devil’s Left Boot” (2013) Kicking It Liz & Cia Everheart take on a case to find a former classmate’s mother. “Eighteen Sixty” (2015) The Weird Wild West Set in 1860. Ayatas Firewind “Anzu, Duba, Beast” (2016) Were- Jane and the Mercy Blade go hunting. “Death and the Fashionista” […]
Cold Reign, Audio Book (2017) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) Things never slow down from here. Which is why I think I missed some things previously that bothered me this time. SPOILERS AHEAD Alex is almost killed. He fingered his throat. “Hurts.” He looked around him on the floor, at the amount […]
Heartbeats in a Haunted House (2022) Amy Lane (Hedge Witches Lonely Hearts Club) This book recovers the events of the previous three, only told from the points of view of Dante and Cully, who are trapped in the house, because they couldn’t admit what everyone around them could see: they’d been in love with each […]
Pentacles and Pelting Plants (2021) Amy Lane (Hedge Witches Lonely Hearts Club) Jordan’s coven screwed up. Badly. “It’s more personal than that,” he said. “The magic itself was offended. We hadn’t just told a polite lie on paper— we’d told a polite lie to ourselves.” Tow of their friends as lost in space and time, […]
Shadow Rites (2016) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) Now we’ve reached the place where the story starts to pick up steam and we only get partial resolutions at the end of each book, as things in New Orleans get worse and worse. The Witch Conclave is scheduled for New Orleans, and Leo […]
Portals and Puppy Dogs (2021) Amy Lane (Hedge Witches Lonely Hearts Club) Alex is glad his roommate Bartholomew has found his true love, but Alex’s life is still a mess: he put in for a transfer, so he could try and move on from his huge crush on his boss, but Simon wants to know […]
Shortbread and Shadows (2020) Amy Lane (Hedge Witches Lonely Heart Club) Bartholomew Baker has had a crush on the guy who usually has the stall next to him, for two years. But Barty is painfully shy, struggling to try and make baking works so he can quit his day job, and, well, his coven just […]
Whirlwind (2021) A. M. Rose (Daydream, Colorado) This book finishes the arc started in the previous book. Felix is clairvoyant. He didn’t have some grand purpose, but he could help ease the suffering of both the living and the dead, and that was just as powerful. He goes to where he is pulled, never settling […]
Curse on the Land (2016) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam Nell Ingram is now officially a member of PsyLEDs Unit 18. She’s finished he training at Spook School and is officially a problem. This is the story with the underground working and the slime mold and things coming to a head with Paca and […]
Bee Cave Magic (2020) Kelly Fox Micah is a dud. He’s 25 and never shifted, which means that he avoids his long-time crush, Rex, like the plague. I’m a non-shifter, and he knows as well as I do that shifters and non-shifters should never date or fall in love. Also, coming from a family of […]
Hearts and Flowers: A Tale of Hay Fever and Bad Decor (2013) Angel Martinez This is a very silly story. The ballroom looked like a Hallmark store had wandered by and thrown up its innards in a fit of disgust over the excesses of the season. Michael has been forced to attend a costumed Valentine’s […]
Heartwood (2021) A.M. Rose (Daydream, Colorado) For months, Darian has been searching for the man his friend Mason has Glimpsed. Someone hurt, in danger, being chased. So he isn’t surprised when Tate shows up. Tate, however, had no idea that magical communities such as Daydream even existed. I’ve read several books and novellas in this […]
Dark Heir, Audio Edition (2015) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) This is the point where story arcs begin to leak between books, with more being unresolved than is resolved. I don’t actually blame her for this, because the story has been building for almost a decade, so it is now heading towards […]
Conventional Shadows (2022) Lissa Kasey (A Simply Crafty Paranormal Mystery) Alex and Micah are taking a trip to an anime convention–one that will hopefully go better than the previous convention they went to, which ended up with Alex bringing home a ghost cat. Alex is still learning about crafting, but is more than happy to […]
Broken Soul (2014) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) Here is where the story starts to steamroll, with major arcs remaining open at the end of each book. Not cliffhangers, mind you, but major story arcs, like the plotting and machinations of the European Vamps, and why they’re coming to the US. The […]
Reflection of a Curse (2022) Lissa Kasey (Romancing a Curse) After getting the second story in this series for free last winter, I’ve been getting Lissa Kasey’s newsletter, and in the fall she started sharing chapters of this story in the news letter, and to her Patreon followers. About six chapters in I finally started […]
Threshold (2013) Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborne & Griffin) Set in Boston and WV in the late 1800s. This wasn’t bad, but Lovecraftian monsters just aren’t my thing. So why did I keep reading? Because it was set in WV, and it featured mining and was actually accurate for those things! I mean, this: By the […]
Blood of the Earth, Audio Edition (2016) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (A Soulwood Novel) After helping Jane Yellowrock rescue a vampire and abused women from the compound of her former church, Nell Ingram has been waiting for the help Jane said might be coming. Because the church men are becoming more of a […]
Black Arts (2014) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) Publisher: Audible Studios Rating: 8/10
Widdershins (2014) Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborne & Griffin) Set in New England in 1897 This is a Lovecraftian story–only without all the racism and misanthropy. One advantage of not being able to picture things in my head is that I can read things like this: Its head was worse, however. Thanks to Christine, I’d spent […]
Possessed by Shadows (2021) Lissa Kasey (Simply Crafty) Alex may be content trying to let his past go, but his brother isn’t. He’d decided to go from police homicide detective, to paranormal detective. I was not a fan. But he didn’t see the same sort of stuff I did, and it seemed to be a […]
Marked by Shadows (2020) Lissa Kasey (Simply Crafty) Micah has a complicated past. But he’s happy where he is now: running a craft shop and spending time with Alexis. Even if the ghost tours can be a little stressful. I watched other ghost hunters, or paranormal enthusiasts as they called themselves, do something called ‘provoking […]
Stalked by Shadows (2019) Lissa Kasey (Simply Crafty) Alexis Caine received a medical discharge from the army after witnessing an attack that the government insisted could not have happened the way he stated. After a stint in a mental hospital, he goes home with his twin, to try and restart his life. My social services […]
Off the Grid, Audio Book (2015) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) A novella that takes place between Black Arts and Broken Soul, and introduces Nell, whose series begins with Blood of the Earth. Security was so much easier in the modern day, with access to so many public records protected by such […]