ARC Review: Fire & Earth by A.D. Starrling

Series:	Legion #2
Pub. Date:	July 25, 2019
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	280 pgs
Source:	Author

I've been a huge fan of A.D. Starrling and her brainy books for a while now, so I'm always happy when a new one lands in my inbox. The Legion series is technically a spinoff of the Seventeen series (one of my favorites), but I don't think its absolutely necessary to start with Seventeen. Honestly, I can't exactly remember how it spins off, but I know I realized it in the first book... my brain is just getting too old to remember details in between book releases. I obviously need to take and keep better notes! You will need to read this series in order, however, as there is a continuing story arc that needs to be followed closely.

ARC Review: Blood & Bones by A.D. Starrling

Series:	Legion #1
Pub. Date:	March 26, 2019
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	279 pgs
Source:	Author

If you know me, you know that I am a huge fan of the Seventeen series, and A.D. Starrling in general. So I was super excited to learn that the Seventeen series was getting a spinoff. Shockingly, I didn't really realize that this was the actual spinoff until I was pretty far into the book. Starrling is introducing a whole host of new characters at once, and I didn't immediately connect anything to the prior series.

ARC Review: Chaos Rises by Pippa DaCosta

Series:	Chaos Rises #1
Pub. Date:	June 29, 2016
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	288 pages
Source:	NetGalley

I have been looking for some new urban fantasy series lately and thought I would give this new one from Pippa DaCosta a try. When the Veil separating the Netherworld from our world fell, hordes of demons came through and carved a wide swath of death and destruction through the world. The majority of this story took place in post-war Los Angeles, where demons and half-bloods continue to terrorize each other and humans. There are countless varieties of higher and lesser demons, some that can wear human skin, but many that cannot. There are also human-demon half-bloods which were created through genetic mutation by a government entity known as The Institute. These half-bloods were created to hunt and kill demons but, after escaping The Institute, must result to being owned by higher demons.

Series Saturday Audiobook Review: Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole

Series:	Immortals After Dark #7
Pub. Date:	May 7, 2013
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Audio
Narrator:	Robert Petkoff
Length:	12 hrs 10 min

Kiss of a Demon King takes place contemporaneously (in part) with Dark Desires After Dusk (DDAD), which was the story of Cadeon Woede. This story was also narrated by Robert Petkoff who is one of the few male narrators I enjoy. While his female affectation wasn't great in this story, I still enjoyed his performance. Petkoff does great accents, and I love his wide array of male renderings.

Series Saturday Audiobook Review: Dark Desires After Dusk by Kresley Cole

Series:	Immortals After Dark #6
Pub. Date:	May 20, 2008
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Audio
Narrator:	Robert Petkoff
Length:	10 hrs 54 min

I am so behind on this series! I am hemming and hawing on whether I should go back and start from the beginning. I really don't have TIME to go back and start from the beginning... but I don't remember what happened in the past books and its driving me crazy! Plus, the series is narrated by Robert Petkoff, who may just be my new favorite male narrator. I am very picky with the boys narrating my stories... so I am happy to have found one that I like.

ARC Review: Demon Hunting with a Dixie Deb by Lexi George

Series:	Demon Hunting #4
Pub. Date:	May 24, 2016
Publisher:	Lyrical Press
Length:	354 pages
Source:	NetGalley

Lexi George's books make me happy. I was feeling grumpy today when I started Demon Hunting with a Dixie Deb, and it totally distracted me and put me in a better mood. Plus its always uplifting to know that I am not the only crazy attorney out there... Lexi being a lawyer as well lets me know that it's okay for me to be a little outrageous and yell things like "SON OF A BISCUIT!" and other creative southern swears around the office when I get a paper cut, or trip over my own feet, or have to deal with some difficult opposing counsel. Just goes to show that you can be smart AND silly... and that even the highly educated enjoy some good slapstick humor now and then.

Review: Demon Hunting in a Dive Bar by Lexi George

Series:  Demon Hunting #3

Pub. Date:  Jan. 1, 2013

Publisher:  Lyrical Press

Pages:  369

I stuck around the quirky southern town of Hannah, Alabama this week for an extra dose of raucous demon-hunting hilarity in the deep South. 

Review: Demon Hunting in the Deep South by Lexi George

Series: Demon Hunting #2

Pub. Date:  March 22, 2016

Publisher:  Lyrical Press

Pages:  369

I was feeling a bit stressed due to some doggy aging issues happening in my house, so I decided to head back to Hannah, Alabama for a serving of Lexi George's zany southern colloquialisms and over-the-top southern stereotypes. Of course I can't forget the skeazy demons and yummalicious demon hunters which are congregating in this podunk town full of unique and endearingly hilarious characters.

Review: Demon Hunting in Dixie by Lexi George

Series:  Demon Hunting #1

Pub. Date:  Jan. 1, 2011

Publisher:  Lyrical Press

Pages:  385

The Demon Hunting series promises to be a slapstick good time, perfect when you want pure entertainment, classic southernisms, and huge belly laughs.  One southern girl to another, I could totally tell that Lexi George grew up in the South because her characterization  and one-liners were spot on.

Series Saturday Audiobook Review: Sixth Grave on the Edge by Darynda Jones

Sixth Grave on the Edge
by Darynda Jones
Series:  Charley Davidson #6
Pub. Date:  May 20, 2014
Publisher:  Macmillan Audio
Narrator:  Lorelei King
Length:  9 hrs 46 min
Format:  Audiobook
Source:  Overdrive / Library


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

Few things in life can come between a grim reaper and her coffee, but the sexy, sultry son of Satan is one of them. Now that Reyes Farrow has asked for her hand, Charley Davidson feels it's time to learn more about his past, but Reyes is reluctant to open up. When the official FBI file of his childhood abduction lands in her lap, Charley decides to go behind her mysterious beau’s back and conduct her own investigation. Because what could go wrong?

Unfortunately, another case has fallen into her lap—one with dangerous implications. Some very insistent men want Charley to hunt down a witness who is scheduled to testify against their boss, a major player in the local crime syndicate. If Charley doesn't come up with an address in 48 hours, the people closest to her will start to disappear. 

Add to that a desperate man in search of the soul he lost in a card game, a dogged mother determined to find the ghost of her son, and a beautiful, young Deaf boy haunted by his new ability to see the departed as clearly as he sees the living, and Charley has her hands full. The fact that Reyes has caught on to her latest venture only adds fuel to the inferno that he is. Good thing for Charley she's used to multi-tasking and always up for a challenge…especially when that challenge comes in the form of Reyes Farrow.

It's been a while since I have read one of these books... and I remember now why I needed to take a break. As my friend Tracy said, Charley has become a caricature instead of a heroine. She is over-the-top ridiculous in an attempt to be humorous. I listened to this one in audio, and I believe its the same narrator as the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. Reyes sounds just like Ranger... so this really had me comparing the two series as I was listening. While I continue to love the Plum books, this series is just not funny to me anymore. Charley is always charging head first into ridiculous situations without thinking about what she is doing, who she may effect, or what the consequences may be. She leans more toward annoying than lovably clueless.

Review: Before Vengeance by Louisa Lo

Before Vengeance 
by Louisa Lo
Series:  Cosmic Balance #0.5
Pub. Date:  Aug. 10, 2015
Publisher:  Tin Can Press
Pages:  74
Format:  eARC
Source:  Xpresso Book Tours


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale: 

What if everything you’ve ever known, down to what you are, was a lie?

Growing up in the enchanted kingdom of Dualsing, seventeen-year-old Lady Serafina has always known she’s different. Her fae power never manifested itself during puberty, and her parents treated her like a tolerated houseguest rather than family. Even her childhood sweetheart, Crown Prince Eldon, distanced himself the moment he was old enough to know the secret about Serafina that everyone in their world seems to know—except her.

Now her upcoming birthday is being treated as a national holiday by the very people who’d neglected her, Eldon is in for a political battle of his life that she’s somehow being dragged into, and Serafina is developing abilities that feel terrifyingly right, but aren’t fae power at all. 

As she starts to investigate her origin, Serafina has no idea she would be setting in motion events that would have far-reaching consequences not just for herself, but for all the planes.

Note: BEFORE VENGEANCE is a prequel of VENGEANCE BE MINE.

This is a good start/intro to the Cosmic Balance series. Though I'm a little disappointed it appears we will be following a vengeance/trickster demon (Megan) in the rest of the series and Serafina will only be a secondary character. We only meet Megan briefly, so I hope she is as engaging as Serafina.

I like Serafina as a heroine. It's the first time I have connected with a demonic character, usually those storylines don't interest me as much. But I empathized with her plight as an outsider and it seemed like she was coming into some very interesting powers. She could definitely put those to good use given the character of the fae in Duesling where she was raised.

Eldon was a decent male lead, he was not the focus of the story (not the hero per se) so I didn't get super attached. However I loved his pet dragon, Trust. I hope we will see more of him in the future.

The world building in this prequel is unique and I look forward to seeing it develop as more books are released. The characters are on the cusp of new adulthood, so I think future books will be in the new adult age range (for those readers who shy away from YA). I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 4 stars / No heat.

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About the Author

Louisa Lo has an exciting new voice to bring to urban fantasy and a fun and breezy writing style that kept the pages quickly turning well into the night! I need more!”                          –Michelle Rowen, National Bestselling Author 

Louisa Lo lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband, an aristocratic cat, and more cardboard boxes than she cares to unpack. She decided to write about vigilantes, because it seems like a better life choice than trying to become one and landing herself in jail. She just has that kind of luck.        

Please visit www.louisalo.com to learn more about Louisa and her books.

Author links:  Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Review: Claimed by a Demon King by Felicity Heaton

Claimed by a Demon King by Felicity Heaton
Series: Eternal Mates, #2

My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

The moment the demon King Thorne of the Third Realm set eyes on the mortal huntress Sable, he knew she was his fated one. The fiery, dangerous female awakened hungers he had never experienced before, a dark craving and passion that has consumed him in their time apart. As the lunar cycle wanes, she enters his world again and nothing will stand in the way of him claiming his forever with her—not the relentless assault from the Fifth Realm or the dark elf male determined to seduce her out of his grasp.

Intent on achieving the coveted position of commander at Archangel, Sable leads her small team into the dark underworld and the Third Realm, to a war where her allies are the very creatures she normally hunts—vampires, werewolves, and demons. Her eagerness to lead the deadly mission has everything to do with winning her promotion, and nothing to do with the kingdom’s brash, lethally seductive demon king—a king who stirred fierce desire and wildfire heat in her with just a look and an innocent touch when they first met, and has been in her wicked dreams ever since.

As the gathering storm between rivals unleashes irresistible passion that flares white-hot and the heat of the battle brings life-shattering realisations, can Sable place her duty before her heart? Or will she surrender to her deepest desires and be claimed by a demon king?

For some reason, demons aren't my thing. I don't know why. I like vamps, shifters, fae, elves, and magicians - but demon stories, not so much.

I liked Thorne as a character. I found his inexperience endearing, and I empathized with his struggle between duty and love. Nevertheless, I didn't really connect with this story. Sable was okay. I liked that she was a warrior, but I did not like her constant rejection of Thorne. I also felt that the bit about her parents and powers was left unresolved. I'm not sure if those things will be worked out later in the series, but I wouldn't expect it seeing as there is a new couple in each installment.

So we'll see, I will keep reading because I think I will like the series more once we get to the books featuring shifters and dragons.

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Eternal Mates Series: