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Sword of Darkness (The Vigilant Book 3.5) by LM Preston – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Sword of DarknessSword of Darkness by L.M. Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the seventh book I have read by L.M. Preston, all of them in the Vigilant Series. I have read how the move affected EmVee, Dex, and Rei now finally getting to see Reece’s side was exciting he was the missing piece. Throughout the other 6 books Reece is mentioned in passing with EmVee, a key ally for Dex within their family, and the twin brother of Rei but everyone was curious what he was doing but were too busy to find the chance to find out.
Reece loves making weapons and everything to do with cars. He has been in Newport for awhile when he finally gets his first chance to race and quickly makes some enemies when the reigning first and second place winners are split to first and third when Reece wins 2nd place. The race is not a typical street race it is more of a death race, weapons such as fire balls and acid are dropped and thrown at the drivers’ cars. But racing is easy for Reece what holds his attention is the curious girl he meets there, Zamina. He is drawn to her in every sense from her smell to something deeper inside his soul that is drawn to her. Unfortunately, Zamina’s best friend Ora disapproves of the two talking and interjects herself consistently. A mystery surrounds the strange girl Megan that manages the races, Reece can feel the vibrations of power or authority that radiates from her. From previous books and learning of Megan and her “talents” it is quickly apparent that Megan tricks Reece into signing a contract before being allowed to enter the race. For Reece he quickly taken back by the students at his school New York had variety not only races as Newport does, but heights, everyone is taller than average, Reece at six foot two states that no one including the females are shorter than five-foot seven other than his tiny twin sister Rei. The bigger concern is that unlike the students in New York that were fearful in some ways Newport’s students had a predatory way about them, like they were waiting for the chance to fight or more.
Will Reece discover what makes Megan so powerful? Why does Zamina call to something deep within his soul? The authors word and creativity in making every book unique and original while also keeping tied to one family is mesmerizing. The overlapping details of existing characters that give them more depth while also introducing original characters to the individuals story and experience leaves you coming back for more. I cannot wait to see the continuation of Reece’s story in Blade of Fire out on November 27th, 2022.

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Elemental Fire (The Hidden Realms Book 1) by EG Manetti – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Elemental Fire (The Hidden Realms #1)Elemental Fire by E.G. Manetti
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book I have read by E.G. Manetti, and I could not imagine a better introduction to this authors work. Detective Sin Marston is a rare human that can see through the glamour of creatures from the Hidden Realm. After a strict childhood Sin found her way in the world making it on her own without anyone’s help, and now running her own business.
We first meet Sin on a job to catch an art thief, several museums in the Eastern United States have been targeted and Hidden Realm relics have been taken. Quickly she catches the culprit an imp that we later learn is named Mlith. Sin’s world is flipped upside down when she learns that the original job is not what she thought it was. Going to her ex-college roommates party she meets Serena’s handsome neighbor Rad Cray. A fire elemental that she learns is the Warden of the Eastern United States. The hidden realms’ elders organized for the thefts of the artifacts that were originally stolen from the hidden realm. The powers that the relics can give the user are worth the “felonies” committed to get them back. Within 48 hours Sin has opened her heart to Rad, he has somehow melted through all her walls and defenses making her want to tell him everything. After a small blood tasting, she tasted a drop of his and he a drop of hers, Rad is ready to claim her and always have her nearby. Sin being human desires more than a one-night stand and so Rad agrees to court her and earn her.
Will Sin discover all the hidden realm’s secrets? Can she trust Rad with her darkest secrets and fears? Can they find a way to be happy while balancing the hidden realm and the Terra? The world the author creates builds the pictures in your mind word for word. The characters coming to life off the pages making you hungry for more details. The sudden twists and desires that Sin and Rad have being so close and then pulled away by their occupations keeps them on their toes and craving the next meeting. I cannot wait to see what comes next.

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Shadow and Crystal Thorns (Fae and Crystal Thorns Book 2) by Kay L. Moody – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Shadow and Crystal Thorns (Fae and Crystal Thorns, #2)Shadow and Crystal Thorns by Kay L. Moody
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the second book I have read by Kay L. Moody, the first being book one of the Fae & Crystal Thorns series. After finishing the first book I couldn’t wait for book two to finally come out. Chloe is having an internal struggle between what is right and wrong. And where she feels she belongs, she knows she should return to the mortal realm, finding someone to love her and have a family once was her greatest wish but now she wants to be selfish and stay in Faerie with Quintus.
Chloe’s realization in book one about sometimes having to be selfish to save others later, but it comes back to haunt her. Right away Mishti is there her sword drawn at Chloe and Quintus. Mishti is angry and hurt, she had just lost Mila a dear person to her and Chloe seemingly, through her eyes, abandoned her for a Fae. Only pointing her sword at Chloe does Quintus’s words break through her anger. She doesn’t know what to do. Everyone in Faerie was taken there against their will, she knows the land belongs to the Fae and that stealing it is wrong but why does anyone have to die for it. All Mishti wants is a chance to make her own decision for once, first she was manipulated by Ansel, and then Portia, fighting and killing was never what she loved doing but she did it to survive.
Mishti had been sent to the Crystal Caves to kill Chloe, but all Chloe wants to do is heal Mishti of her pain. With her pain gone Chloe feels Mishti will be able to communicate more reasonably. Unlike the first book that has a slower pace into the main events this book starts off right away continuing where the first book ended. Will Chloe be able to save Faerie and the mortals? Can they compromise a solution that everyone can survive in the end? To stay in Faerie or to return to the mortal realm? The world of Fae and Crystal Thorns pulls you in and hooks you from beginning to end I can’t wait for book three Blade and Crystal Thorns coming March 21st, 2023.

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Flame and Crystal Thorns (Fae and Crystal Thorns Book 1) by Kay L. Moody – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Flame and Crystal Thorns (Fae and Crystal Thorns)Flame and Crystal Thorns by Kay L. Moody
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book I have ever read by Kay L. Moody. I was first drawn in by the cover and the name of the series, the synopsis was interesting, so I gave it a chance and started reading. Chloe is a human girl that for years she had lived in a Faerie world. The loss of her parents forced her and her younger sister Grace to move to the mortal realm with their older brother Vesper and his family.
In a time where women were not considered equal to men Chloe had gotten lucky when the previous towns apothecary passed away, no one else wanted the job so she took it. She was now 18 and had been back in the mortal realm for 3 years, she has been the town apothecary for one year and was determined to be as selfless as possible to relief her ill placed guilt on herself for something that happened when she was eleven. Suddenly a Fae illness was showing in her mortal town, determined to save everyone in her town that was suffering including Grace. Quintus is a Fae; someone Chloe has longed for but knows that she can’t be with him because not all Fae want to learn how to love. He needs her help in Faerie when a group of mortals that her older sister had rescued turn against the Fae, determined to kill them all. Loyal to the people of her town Chloe refuses to leave before she has successfully cured everyone, until she drowns, and Quintus saves her the only way he can. Waking up she is now in Faerie at first, she is angry until she learns that the illness plaguing her town is directly from Faerie. The two realms are linked together, and the iron poisoning Faerie is leaking into the mortal realm. To save her town and her sister she must save Faerie first. Along her journey Chloe and Quintus grow closer giving her a flash of hope before she pushes it down and out of her mind. She has been giving so much of herself to the town never taking a moment for her own needs that she feels she is withering away, empty and gasping for air.
Will Chloe learn to put herself first in order later save those around her or will she continue to drown in the selflessness she has been told is her only quality or importance? The author’s world is breathtaking, her characters both relatable and easy to love. Chloe and Quintus have a mutual love for each other makes your heart flutter with butterflies the purity of their growth is genuine and relatable. This book is a clean underlying romance and some of the sweetest things I have read between two characters. I cannot wait for book two Shadow and Crystal Thorns to see where their journey will take them next.

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The Gauntlet (The Soppranaturale Series Book 1) by Ashley Pagano – Review by Ayla Phipps

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The Gauntlet: The Soppranaturale SeriesThe Gauntlet: The Soppranaturale Series by Ashley Pagano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The cover of this book was honestly the first thing that drew me in. I have always loved all things supernatural, other than vampires and werewolves; fairies have always been my number one. Once reading the synopsis the author had me hooked and I had to read The Gauntlet and discover the mysteries within its pages. From page one we are in Links perspective as he sees Ommily for the first time entering The Soppranaturale Hotel. Drawn to her he cannot help the spark that ignites within them when their eyes meet for the first time, but there is one major obstacle, she is there with her human fiancé.
Link believed that he was the last of the Fae, having searched the world repeatedly and finding nothing to give him hope of finding another like himself. Kyran the owner of the Hotel and vampire sensed the new Fae the moment she entered and was at Link’s side moments later to help. In disbelief Kyran informs Link that they are one in the same that she is a Fae making them the last two in the world. He is told that his soul mate has showed up on his doorstep and yet all he can think about is how she is someone else’s. Within hours of meeting, it is confirmed that she knows that she has powers and that she has perfected them and can use them as easily as breathing. When they are near each other they both feel stronger and more powerful, each reaching new depths to their powers that they hadn’t reached before. They are one another’s perfect opposite. Male Fae is the defensive side, they deflect attacks and are a shield. Female Fae is the offensive side, they can attack their enemies and manipulate the elements. Legends say that fairies or born in twos for this reason they each have their one spark that makes them an unstoppable force when together. They are both artist her preferring to draw while he prefers to paint. Link shows Ommily the grounds of the hotel, the gallery and tells her about the gauntlet, a place for the supernatural to practice their abilities without fear of humans seeing them.
Everything within them tells them they belong together. Her engagement is painful not only for Link to witness them be together but for Ommily that must hide everything about herself while also submitting to Preston’s overbearing and controlling ways. This book was a perfect mixture of adventure, mystery, and curiosity on what would happen next. The author’s world is truly magical while also being normal to the humans that surround it. I cannot wait to read book two The Guard and see where Link and Ommily’s story will take them next.

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Curse of the Elf Lord (Kingdom of the Elf Lords Book 2) by Heidi Vanlandingham – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Curse of the Elf Lord (Kingdom of the Elf Lords Book 2)Curse of the Elf Lord by Heidi Vanlandingham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After finishing the first book in the Kingdome of the Elf Lords Series, Return of the Elf Lord I couldn’t wait to get my hands on book 2. The author continues to build on the magnificent world of the first book, but we are now learning about Emilien Elasalor, Bernard’s Uncle. He was cursed centuries earlier by a dark fae into the upright wolf that he is.
Shortly into the book it was nice to be reminded of Bernard and Alva from the first book. Emilien had helped his nephew in Washington D.C. fighting the loose undead, a result of Bernard having changed the war’s timeline. Shalendra, is the perfect combination of Elf and God, her features that of an angel. Her entire life he had taken care of her, told her he was her brother only now to have run out of time and having to tell her the one secret he has kept from her, the most important. She was not his sister but his daughter. Only before he had been given the chance Shalendra alerts him to the blue glowing figures outside the window, five large Draugar and eight wolves circling them. The elf king Ailuin had sent the group to his home, which had been hidden for centuries, for Emilien to teach the wolves how to live in their new forms, rather they wished to or not. Because of the curse done to him the wolves before him and all others like him when his children, created using the notes of the dark fae that had changed him.
Once again, the originality of Heidi Vanlandingham draws me in deeper and deeper with her Norse mythology mixing with history. How will Shalendra react to learning that her entire life has been a lie. The man, or better the wolf before her was not her brother but in fact her true father. Will Hel and Emilien be able to save their only daughter and will love reunite them after so long apart. I cannot wait to see what comes in the next book about Cyran and Shalendra’s story.

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Return of the Elf Lord (Kingdom of the Elf Lords Book 1) by Heidi Vanlandingham – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Return of the Elf Lord (Kingdom of the Elf Lords, Book 1)Return of the Elf Lord by Heidi Vanlandingham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book I have read by Heidi Vanlandingham, and I was not disappointed. The way the author mixes Norse Mythology, with American History captures the reader from the first page. Bernard is a World War two veteran that lost everything in the beginning of the war that he loved, his wife and young children. Alva is a Huldra that was cast out along with her sisters when she was young.

Bernard thinks of only one thing when Freyja brings him back to life, why was he brought back and how can he get his family back. When he questions Freyja on why he has been brought back she tells him that his dear friends initially asked but that she had the final choice. He had not completed his true purpose, she questions him about his family, parents, siblings. Something about him seemed familiar but she couldn’t place it but vowed she always figures it out eventually. Alva was taken in by her father after her mother the Queen of the Huldra kicked her and her younger sisters out when she found new love. Now an adult Alva goes to visit her mother but is captured by the fiercest of her cousins, Maya. With the wrong actions but a worthy purpose Alva is held captive by her cousin for nine days before she is rescued by Freyja and her partner. For years the Huldra have been withering away due to lack of their primary source of energy, the life-force from males. Bernard can’t explain it but when he looks at his spy partner Alva, she helps him feel lighter, happier touching her cheek for a moment without thinking before disappearing after her rescue. Alva has never been like the Huldra, she refuses to kill her host taking only enough to survive no more. Lifetimes have passed and thanks to Maya questions are finally being asked, why must they fall in love with the male, losing the bark from their backs and losing their tails only to kill the male taking his life force and gaining the bark and tail back. Gytha the oldest living Huldra remembers a moment when she was young, her mother and grandmother speaking about a “curse”, but time has forgotten the rest. Tells Alva for answers she must travel to visit the Huldra Historian for answers on all she wishes to know.

Bernard set on bringing his family back to life puts odds between him and Heimdall. Alva is the voice of reason within the Huldra castle searching for peace amongst her family. Two actions set a new history in motion, with an outcome no one would have predicted, and why does Bernard see Alva’s face the moment he starts the new path. This book had me craving more, the mixture seemliest meddling together into something amazing. Heidi builds an amazing world and the characters equally amazing. I cannot wait to read the next book Curse of the Elf Lord.

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Operation Pinpoint (Space Force Rejects Book 1) by Landra Graf – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Operation PinpointOperation Pinpoint by Landra Graf
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book I have ever read by Landra Graf and honestly, I had no idea what I was getting into. The cover and synopsis were interesting, giving me questions on what and how things happened. It took me about ten minutes to get hooked into the story, the world and characters made me curious how things worked. Captain Ravenna Joyner is a Space Force Special Ops commando. Dravos Trax is a Hirudian, ex Space Force member and now prisoner. And her scent calls to him and what he was foretold when he came of age on his home planet.

Going back and forth between Ravenna and Dravos’ POV this book will surprise you and keep your heart racing in anticipation of what will happen next. Ravenna’s lover Yve is scientist, and her ship went missing, determined to rescue her Ravenna weasels her way into the recovery mission, with one catch, she will have to report to her nemesis Captain Rothschild. Accepting the terms for the chance to find Yve, she goes to the Mothership prison to meet Rothschild and see the “tracker” meant to aid in the mission to find the missing ship. Dravos has been held captive for 5 horrible years as a prisoner and science test subject in the Space Force. He is more than double the average size of other males of his species thanks to the experiments. Instantly within seeing and hearing each other for the first time they both have a pull within them a desire for the other that they try to ignore. Finding the ship Yve has been murdered along with the others on her ship, two escape pods are missing with the possible murder. Though her heart mourns for Yve, she finds it increasingly harder and harder to resist Dravos. Dravos on the other hand refuses to be bonded to someone whose heart is claimed by another. To explain something, she doesn’t understand Ravenna blames the kill chip implanted in Dravos for the pheromone signature that is linking them, claims once the chip is out, he can drop the act and be free if he chooses not needing to pretend anymore to gain favor with the one holding the code.

What will happen if Dravos dies on the table getting the chip out? Will Ravenna still desire him? Will Ravenna finally accept Dravos and her feelings for him with it out? The author is incredible Operation Pinpoint is the most original thing I have ever read, her characters, her world everything. If you love something original and new with some spice this is the book for you, I can’t wait for the next book and to see where the story will go next.

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Dainty Damsels by J.N. Sheats – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Dainty Damsels: Halloween Collection 2022Dainty Damsels: Halloween Collection 2022 by J.N. Sheats
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have always loved coloring and Dainty Damsels mixes two of my favorite things. Growing up I was a huge Lisa Frank fan, and this book takes that love and brings it to a more adult feel and mixes it with my favorite holiday Halloween. Mixing both simple and complex designs this book is an enjoyable moment to slow down and enjoy the simple creativity of coloring. As a mom of two little boys, I don’t always have a moment to do something time consuming for myself. Being able to sit down for 10-15 minutes and color one of these beautiful designs by J. N. Sheats helps me decompress and bounce back for the next round of questions and allows some creative quiet moments with my boys as we enjoy coloring together.

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Rebel of Fire (The Vigilant Book 3) by LM Preston – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Rebel of Fire (Vigilant, #3)Rebel of Fire by L.M. Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the sixth book in the Vigilant series, counting the lead in books to each main book. The lead in book for Rebel of Fire is Break the Darkness. We are now following the third sibling Rei, her adjustment to Newport, the Void. Picking up where the lead in ended Rei has survived the accident but is in bad shape, she was near death when arriving to the hospital afterwards.

The most unlikely person in Rei’s mind nurtured her back to health, protecting her, feeding her, caring for her. Finally waking up she was angry, glimpses of memories from the accident and the following weeks came and went. Fueled by two missions, one to find her family and the other to be free of her contract to Megan. I personally found Rei the most relatable of the Lewis siblings, she loves completely even if too quickly but she values life and love. The most affectionate in the family she always needed to have physical touch with those she loved, always hugging her family members even if they didn’t want to, they tolerated her affection. Though she is the smallest in the family she is stronger and fiercer than anyone ever thought. Runt is what he called her since they met only now it no longer held a tinge of pain within her it was affectionate in nature. Everyone she thought was becoming a true friend ended up working for the one person she vowed to stop. Manipulation was a powerful thing and when your one of the very beings keeping the Void open your untouchable. Asher goes against Megan’s demands falling for the one person she told him he couldn’t have. The events of the lead in book feed so much of this book, I don’t want to give anything away. Asher had been alone since the age of three, his mother killed, and his father taken prisoner by the Overlord, his only purpose was to free his father. Rei coming to Newport changed all of that, he still had his purpose, but they found each other drawn to each other, even when dating others. No longer able to fight what they felt inside they fell for one another but couldn’t drop the walls within them. Only after feeling broken did Rei truly find her power. Asher finally breaking his walls allowing himself to feel. Their missions suddenly meant nothing when the consequences were discovered. Megan had arranged for Asher to bond another for a power play, but he broke that deal, so Megan had to send another in his place to complete the mission.

Will the Lewis family ever be whole again? Who took Asher’s place in Megan’s plan? Will they ever be free of their contracts? If you love amazing world building, character revelations and growth the Vigilant Series is for you the author never disappoints with each new perspective you get deeper immersed into the world of the Void. I can’t wait to read the next book Sword of Darkness, to see Reece, Rei’s twin brothers’ perspective of the move from New York to Newport, and how he fits into the already amazing story.

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Break The Darkness (The Vigilant Book 2.5) by LM Preston – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Break The Darkness (Vigilant, #2.5)Break The Darkness by L.M. Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am honestly in love with the world LM Preston has created in the Vigilant series books. As soon as I finish one, I instantly start the next. This book gives us the third perspective of the Lewis family moving to Newport, Rhode Island. Unlike the POV of the previous 4 books (EmVee and Dex), Rei is very different from her older siblings, she is less confrontational and more of the quiet observer.

It has been a month since her family moved to the small town leaving behind her hometown New York City, Rei decides to check out the back-to-school club fair, in hopes of finding a dance club. In the parking lot Rei eavesdrops for the first time since moving, a cheerleader and her boyfriend are having an argument that leads to the girl seeing her. Megan, the girl who not only runs the school newspaper but also a down low blog surprises Rei, convincing her to work for her. Feeling foggy headed Rei agrees only to instantly be confused, as the fog cleared from her mind, as to why she would agree. She noted instantly that Megan could be pretty, but she had the eyes of a predator and that set off a strange feeling. The more Rei sees of the new town she calls home the more she feels that it is off, everything from the houses to the people seem fake, giving her the feeling that something was very wrong in the town. Meeting a few of her fellow classmates she has already gotten her first crush on a football player named Trey, and a cute cell phone charm from a girl named Yori at the club fair. On her first assignment from Megan Rei “borrows” her older sister EmVee’s car to pick up her partner after his car breaks down on the way to school. Discovering he is the boy that was arguing with the cheerleader a week earlier in the parking lot she is already feeling cold towards him, the feeling growing after she is pulled over and he tells him he was late to pay an informant that is why Rei was speeding. Hiding in a locker Rei hears her partner get beat up “hazed” by the varsity football team, she got the information needed but can’t help but feel slightly uneasy about seeing him covered in cuts and bruises. What are the diamond members and what is the secret shadow police force that Megan mentioned to her?

Rei is just as skilled as her older siblings in martial arts, but she prefers to stay hidden and learn the secrets others try to hide. Will Megan lead her into something she can’t hide from and why does she care so much about her family and their secrets? Every book in the series pulls you deeper into the world the Lewis family. Rei thinks more about how she can use things to her advantage holding back information, even about herself, until she thinks it will be the most useful. I cannot wait to read Rebel of Fire and See where Rei’s story takes her.

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Grave Digger Academy II (Grave Digger Academy Book 2) by C.A. King – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Grave Digger Academy IIGrave Digger Academy II by C.A. King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having read Grave Digger Academy 1, I couldn’t wait to continue Makayla’s story in this book. The author continues not only to build the world but the characters, learning more about how they think, learning how to find their own hints. We start off with Makayla heading to day one of year two at the academy. Only this year is the year of the Inter-Academy Games, winning could give Grave Digger Academy (GDA) some of its prestige back, but losing could lead to the doors being closed for good. Once again, she doesn’t have a slip that tells her where to go to find the portal to her school, so she returns to the library, the place she found it in year one.

Having found a second portal in the library she is surprised to find out from the Headmistress that the year two portal is in the gym and shouldn’t have been able to return through the same place as last year. Confused Makayla and two of her classmates arrive at the school confused about being summoned a week early, during year one orientation week. Quickly it is apparent on why they have returned early; the Headmistress has signed Makayla and her classmates up as the team for GDA in the games. With one major catch, agreeing Makayla would be allowed to visit the town, and hang out with her friends as she pleases, disagreeing would result in the school being locked down with guards and new instructors turning GDA into a prison. Seeing no choice in the decision Makayla and her classmates agree and begin year two. Professor Snailime is a year two instructor; his class is intended to teach the students how to nurture and strengthen their bond with their “helpers” they found in book one. When Makayla states that she has two helpers and that they are a dragon and a gargoyle Snailime refuses to believe her, forcing her class to do the “camping” trip once more with Miss Tallen. Returning Makayla has a third helper considered more dangerous by her professor than her previous two. Being sent to the Headmistress once more she is allowed to keep him but must collaborate with a magical world beast expert once she has learned more about the species of imp she has as a helper. Finally getting a day pass into the town Makayla has one goal to find a jewelry store and try and learn more about her pendant. If only she ever had luck on her side, reaching the town she suddenly finds herself face to face with two of her older brothers Caz and Tye, along with Caz’s nemesis Nami. The three teenage boys are arguing about who will be the one to take out Makayla in the tournament. Frankie makes the biggest point, the Grave Digger Academy team needs Makayla and more importantly they need her helpers, they could be the biggest factor in the games.

Just when you think you know what is going to happen next it catches you off guard and surprises you. Will Makayla and the GDA team surprise everyone as the underdogs, or will the doors close forever? I feel like I know these characters and am constantly routing for them to come out on top. Makayla’s ancestry is against her, everything is trying to lead her one way while she rejects it and sees the good in all things. I can’t wait to see what happens next in Grave Digger Academy 3, and discover what secrets are still hiding in the shadow.

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Grave Digger Academy (Grave Digger Academy Book 1) by C.A. King – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Grave Digger AcademyGrave Digger Academy by C.A. King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the first thing I have ever read by C.A. King, and I couldn’t put it down. The world building is amazing I found myself seeing the images in my mind of similar places I have seen. Makayla is a very relatable character not only for physically looking different from her family but in her thinking. Good or bad Makayla had questions that she shouldn’t leading to an interesting first year.
Makayla is the seventh born child in her family, having six older brothers, she was the only one with red hair and bright green eyes. Growing up she was always treated differently from her brothers by her family, her one hope was that she would get into a prestigious academy and would make her parents proud. On the morning of her first day at academy Makayla’s mother gives her a family heirloom, it is said that it hasn’t worked in 3-5 generations or more, the necklace refusing to even stay on her when it was passed to her, only now the clasp as disappeared the moment it was placed on Makayla, surprising both herself and her mother. The biggest fear was not getting accepted into her three choices, which would send her straight to Grave Digger Academy (GDA). Over the years it has been the most neglected profession in the magical world, despite being one of the most crucial jobs. The first lesson she learns is the difference between gravediggers and grave diggers. Gravediggers are the ones who dig the holes for the coffins, while grave diggers are those who prevent the already dead from returning. What started off as a disappointment at being sent to GDA quickly became a bigger mystery. Starting with the well-known urban legend of the seventh born in a family of witches. Immediately Makayla and her friends are invested in the thought of it being possible as the physical attributes of the seventh born were true for Makayla. For the first time she has friends but after an impossible moment she is kept from them, until the end of the semester.
From the first day of classes Makayla had questions about a now illegal practice of magic, seeing glimpses of the long-forgotten academy across the graveyard flickers of light seen inside makes her determined for some answers. She is finally reunited with her friends at the end of the semester, their stories of that night filling in the questions she had only now they had a plan. Knowing a glimpse of her heritage Makayla and her friends leave with missions during the break. Accepting they will be back at Grave Digger Academy soon for year two. Cali is determined to find out more about her mysterious classmates’ pasts. Thomas is to learn more about portals from his parents. Makayla is determined to learn more about her family history. They are to meet on the first day of year two and fill each other in on what they learned during the break. I cannot wait to begin reading Grave Digger Academy 2 and learn more about Makayla’s family history and why her mother kept it secret from her father.

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Scepter of Fire (The Vigilant Book 2) by LM Preston – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Scepter Of Fire (Vigilant, #2)Scepter Of Fire by L.M. Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am truly in love with this world and the characters LM Preston has created the intricacy in which characters from books, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 are consistent. They were introduced in one and each book you learn more things about them that were not known in the previous books. I have read the previous 3 books in this series so far, the 2 from EmVee and now both from Dexter. Once again, the half book Unbreakable Darkness is not required to read before Scepter of Fire, but it helps fill in a lot of the story and plot points. This book picks up where Unbreakable Darkness ends.

Dex remembers the car accident, the family car going off the bridge and hitting the water. He worked to get his siblings free of their seatbelts starting with his older sister EmVee, her friend Kayson appears and pulls her from the water, and then darkness. Waking up in a hospital room held down by chains, he overhears people talking about the hospital is going to be coming down. A doctor comes in and informs him that his older sister and father are on the same floor as him but that they couldn’t save everyone. His goal becomes clear, get his sister out of the hospital. Seeing Kayson, the memories return he pushes him into EmVee’s room and tells him he must get his sister out of the hospital now, and the window is the only option. Kayson is shocked saying they are on the 6th floor when Dex says, “You go this, you’re different. I see it in you.” With a nod Dex leaves, surprises the guards with his strength for a “human” before he is hit with a dart in the neck. Trey, Dex’s elite initiation friend that he saves is bringing him food, in his cell, he attempts to escape and is stabbed by a dagger made from the Scepter Stone. Suddenly a month has passed, Dex gets some cellmates, and mysterious cocoon that Trey reveals is a girl, and a silver haired Siphoner that has escaped from 3 different holding locations. A gift from Trey, befriend him and he will get him and the girl out. But the ultimate shock is learning that the Void is not on Earth. Everyone that was human at one point was stolen from Earth to be the test subjects of a scientist named Sybil.

Will Dex succeed in his mission to be free again? Who is the girl in the cocoon and what makes the Siphoner the most dangerous experiment? The author is not telling the same story over and over again she is enhancing the story, adding layers to it with each new perspective that fills in the holes of the previous point of view.

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Necrosis by C.L. Schneider – Review by Ayla Phipps

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NecrosisNecrosis by C.L. Schneider
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first time reading a book by C.L. Schneider, her character and world building pulled me in and sunk their teeth in. Amy is a single mother with a 9-year-old daughter named Lila. In 4 months, the world Amy had learned to navigate had crumpled. All that mattered anymore was the need to survive and to protect.

Amy’s life before necrosis was never easy, she stumbled through life, going from substance to substance, abusive boyfriend to the next. Then the virus hit the world it wasn’t a biblical event, or a nuclear mishap it was a virus that changed the host, one single bite transmitted it to the next person. An average time of 36-48 hours and they would be lost to the feral animal instinct to eat and survive. Now was her chance to do better, the world had been reset all sins have been washed away. Her compassion to help those that she thought she could put her and her daughter in danger more than Amy could admit but now it was just the two of them again. It was them against the world and Amy refused to let her anxieties take hold of her again, it could cost Lila her life and that was not an option. A stranger trapped in a donut shop in her hometown makes her realize the biggest truth. We’ll be a people with no past. Millions of faceless, nameless creatures wandering the Earth, all lost to history. Within the moments she was distracted hordes and hordes of the undead begin to fill the streets, a group of 75 passing her with more to come. Her daughter alone four blocks away surrounded by the undead reaching for her with feral instinct for their next meal. Amy runs into the hordes fighting to reach her daughter when gunfire rings out, the undead dropping rapidly. All logic had been eclipsed by a fierce, blind determination to save her child. Rescued for now they are taken to a massive, abandoned building, hundreds of survivors existing together with the mutual desire to live. An old childhood friend, Marcus, is there and Amy and Lila finally have a true moment to relax and rest. Three days to evacuate before bombs drop on the astronomical number of undead spreads throughout the city, the promise of a save location to wait out the apocalypse in the mountains and the hopes of a cure soon.

The promise of hope from her friend, the unwavering reality that the undead were once people. The details the author gives makes you see the images in your mind, description of an undead “Remnants of chipped, red polish speckled one lone nail on the left hand.” The living, the dead, and the undead were once all a person with dreams, and a story. Will Amy be able to protect the one good thing she has in her life; or will they both become a lost footnote in history.

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River Witch by Cheryl Burman – Review by Ayla Phipps

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River WitchRiver Witch by Cheryl Burman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book I have read by Cheryl Burman. The story starts when Hester is only 8 years old, she is at the river listening to it and watching the river nymphs play. A mysterious man appears wearing a yellow waistcoat, he tells her that the river is a goddess named Sabrina. She remembers him over the years, always thinking back to that day, learning the rivers name and the walk home as the man told her the names of flowers and what healing properties they have.

A time jump, Hester is now 14 years old, she is once again stealing a few moments away from her chores at home to watch the river. The river nymphs call out to her and finally she decides to give into them. Running down the cliffs to the water she barely reaches the edge the water crashing around her ankles the nymphs’ arms open wide to embrace her when the mystery man stops her once more. He is friendly at first until Hester says the nymphs invited her to join them, he acts as though he had tasted something sour the words “the nymphs invited her” never leaving his mind as winter comes and goes. Hester learns that her paternal great grandmother healed with herbs and flowers, remembering her first conversation with the mystery man she plans to ask him to teach her the ways. The POV changes off and on between Hester and the mystery man Aaron, we learn he is writing a book about the healing properties of herbs and flowers. When Hester asks him for help in learning about healing others after a 5-year-old little girl from the village dies he has an internal tug of war before telling her no. The phrase “the nymphs invited her” still dancing in his mind as he worried for Hester. Unable to stop himself he returns to a place of great pain for him, speaking to the memory of a person long gone. The spirit tells Aaron “She has the soul of a goddess. Sabrina will not be cheated a second time.”, the spirit talks reason into Aaron asking if he would rather Hester learn from the river nymphs or from him, because either way she would not be denied. Not giving up on the plan of learning about how to heal like her great grandmother, Hester asks about where the mystery man lives, as they still do not know each other’s names at this point in the story. Her brother Reuben tells her and without a second to change her mind she runs to his home, only Aaron has decided he must teach her before the nymphs. Hester entering his home he says “Well, is it too late to start lessons tonight, or do you have to be home for your mama to tuck you in and sing you a lullaby?”

Will Hester succeed in her journey to heal others? Will Aaron teach her all she needs to know, or will he hold back information to protect her? If you enjoy mysterious books that keep you guessing on what is coming next this is the book for you. I couldn’t stop reading as I was hungry for more answers with every page.

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Unearthly Magik (Black Cauldron Detective Agency Book 1) by Matilda Reyes – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Unearthly Magik (Black Cauldron Detective Agency Book 1)Unearthly Magik by Matilda Reyes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book I have ever read by Matilda Reyes, her ability to create relatable characters is inspiring. I found myself relating to Ava, Nadia, Lucas and even Max several times throughout the book. While the book is based in Manhattan, New York, the author not only brings in true locations but also creates an entire supernatural underworld that in some aspect’s mirrors that of the real world above.

We first meet Ava on a job for a long-time family friend, she shows off some of her elemental talents while still being a relatable person, her desire to get greasy food or get a little payback on a talkative target. You quickly learn how desired Ava’s detective agency is needed, not just for finding lost items but also lost magical pets. Black Cauldron Detective Agency is owned by Ava and her best friends and partners, Nadia and Lucas. After a 36-hour job Ava and her partners receive a mysterious email for a meeting, only the curiosity quickly vanishes when it is discovered to be Ava’s ex-boss and nemesis Edward Tasis. The powerful Lauret Grimoire has been stolen from what was believed to be a secure and well-guarded vault, the item holds knowledge about creatures and clans, unknown details about their weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and is powerful enough to take out the Archmage herself. When asked what resources they will have available they aren’t given a list or a name but a person, Max, he is to work with them on the case. Within 12 hours the group finds themselves in a supernatural nightclub called the Little Devils. Max has been interested in a possible source but never had a “date” for her to steal him away from, he asks Ava to help him get her attention by kissing him. Only what was supposed to be a vengeful kiss turns into something more intense that neither of them expected but that they both avoid talking about later. Once the ruse has been successful Ava goes off to find another source, only this time it ends up being werewolf who after a flirty dance tells Ava he finds her scent drives him insane. The events keep coming until 12 hours have passed and Ava is exhausted but never is able to sleep more than 2 or 3 hours at a time due to the strange case Tasis dropped on her. With every new tip the more the pieces refuse to fit together to make sense. Will the group ever find out who took the Lauret Grimoire, or will this be the job that slips through their fingers? Will Ava and Max ever figure out what that kiss meant?

While I am ultimately in love with the characters and even the world that Matilda Reyes created in Unearthly Magik, I struggled with all the Spanish and Spanglish conversations. On most occasions there was no clues to what was said in Spanish, even when one sentence would be half English half Spanish, I had to use google translate consistently throughout the book in order to fully understand conversations. While this one issue was troublesome it will not stop me from anxiously awaiting the second book in the Black Cauldron Detective Agency series, Scorching Magik is due February 1st, 2023, and is from Nadia’s perspective.

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The Blood Prince by Ayla Marie – Review by Ayla Phipps

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The Blood PrinceThe Blood Prince by Ayla Marie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect when I first came across The Blood Prince by Ayla Marie. The synopsis was interesting and unique, and I just knew I had to read it and see what it was about. There are two parts, part one is from the perspective of Leo, part two is from his adoptive brother Cael’s perspective.

In the beginning the book is from Leo’s point of view, he is a Blood Prince, the most wanted mercenary in the Kingdom of Tominay. He is on a job, the target requests a death wish in her final moments, “Kill my kids for me after I’m gone.” This single moment breaks Leo’s concentration as he sees the faces of his five siblings pass through his mind. He has granted death wishes before, they were simple request to fulfill such as, burn my body after I am gone, but this wish weighed heavily on his mind as he questioned such a request. Since the death of his parents Leo has done everything, to provide for his siblings, until his nightmare comes true, one of his little brothers has the same powers as him. A bang on the door after an innocent night of siblings’ playing together turned dark when a stranger came knocking on their door, “All I do is put them in harm’s way. Every day we stay here I endanger them.”, Leo’s thoughts are pained as he handles the fourth stranger within the year to come looking for the mercenary with red eyes. An innocent family day into town to get pastry, his brother sees some boys playing kickball and joins in, they invite him to join in a game an hour later around the block and his older brother Cael gives him the okay feeling he’s old enough to give him a chance. One rule, be home by dark. Three hours have passed by Leo sits waiting for his brother to return, impatient and worried he begins to run with all he has. Heart pounding, he runs pass the old oak tree before stopping when he notices a figure sitting near it, his boss Mr. Vela. Heartless and cruel his boss has always dangled his siblings’ safety in front of his face. Leo’s little brother was arrested for trying to kill someone his eyes glowing gold. Willing to do anything to save his brother Leo agrees to Mr. Vela’s terms, in exchange for the location of his brother he will bring him into the “business” to work with him. Saying anything to get the location Leo runs with everything he can to save his brother. Willing to give anything he will save his siblings.

I found myself transported into the world the author created, as the oldest sibling I found my heart racing with Leo’s. His determination pure, he does what he must to provide for them and to protect them, not only from those who would hurt them but from seeing the darker sides of himself. The Blood Prince had me begging from the beginning for everything to work out for Leo and his siblings to be safe. For them to have a home free of fear.

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Unbreakable Darkness (The Vigilant Book 1.5) by LM Preston – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Unbreakable Darkness (Vigilant, #1.5)Unbreakable Darkness by L.M. Preston

This is the third book I have read by LM Preston, and I still find myself transported to her world. Unbreakable Darkness is technically the third book in the vigilant series. While the first two books Insatiable Darkness and Caged Fire take place at the same time as this book, they are from the perspective of Dexter’s older sister EmVee.

While Unbreakable Darkness is like Insatiable Darkness, it is the prequel of Dexter’s story after the family moves to Newport Rhode Island. We first meet Dexter on his first day at a new school, back in New York his 6’4” frame was considered one of the largest students, the students male and female in Newport made him feel average sized. Dexter is the second oldest in his family after EmVee, with twin younger brother and sister Reese and Rei. The first day of school goes from bad to worse when his sister Rei texts him needing help that led to him getting pulled over and arrested by Detective Whalen. When his father Max arrives to pick him up the Detective offers to let him go with no charge if he will agree to being an informant at the high school for him. Students have been disappearing since the end of the previous school year and all through the summer, with no leads the police are concerned. The top athletic students continue to go missing without anyone filing police reports. Months go by and Dexter feels he is finally getting the chance to achieve his dreams. He is on the football team working towards being an elite, promised it would lead to a pro football career after high school. Falling head over heels for London, his mentor Grady’s little sister. Only now he is beginning to question everything about the town of Newport, his girlfriend is keeping secrets linked to the cuts and bruises that appear and disappear all over her body. He witnesses unimaginable events in the woods, vampire looking creatures, one of which he “kills”, giant hybrid spiders with female torsos and faces, told that if they survive making it out of the woods back to their cars they move on to the next stage. Numerous warnings begin making him think he is not crazy that he should be questioning things but his hunger to be a pro footballer is all he wants in the world, and he would do anything and everything he can to succeed in the initiation process.

I cannot wait to read the next book to learn the rest of Dexter’s journey in Scepter of Fire Book 2 of the Vigilant Series. LM Preston’s ability to build the story and characters is beyond amazing. Several characters overlap between the first two books of EmVee’s POV but this book builds on them, we learn more about them and how they are weaved into every one’s story.

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Blood Sector (V-Clan Book 1) by Lexi C. Foss – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Blood Sector (V-Clan #1)Blood Sector by Lexi C. Foss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first came across this book a month ago and was impatiently waiting for it to finally come out. It is the first book I have ever read by Lexi C. Foss, and it did not disappoint me. It has honestly become my new favorite book and I have been gushing about it to my best friend which led to her finally purchasing it. The book begins with a short poem of sorts that gives some highlights on the story. Being told by not one but two POVs: Quinn is an unmated Omega wolf that is now the last remaining member of her royal family. Kieran is an Alpha Prince that was avoiding the war for her hand. Seems simple in the beginning.

Quinn goes to Kieran essentially proposing to him. As the last remaining member of her royal family, she is to be the next Queen of Blood Sector, the heart of the V-Clan sectors. She goes to him out of desperation and for his magical healing ability. Before they are to truly be mated, she disappears sending her betrothed on a century long game of hide and seek. One hundred years of chasing her across the sectors and he finds her in X-Clan territory, she could have run but chose to stay to heal the broken Omega she was trying to save. Intrigued by her choice and showing that she is as a true queen to put others before herself, Kieran heals the omega before taking his betrothed back to Blood Sector. Only the Quinn he remembered that snuck into his territory a century ago was long gone her soul, a combination of her human self and her wolf, was disassociated and broken. After an extended period of healing Quinn, she finally wakes up. A century of keeping her family’s secrets and being on the hunt for their killer had left her isolated within her own mind. Sanctuary, the one secret her family kept from there pack, was Quinn’s deepest secret. Both afraid and relieved to be home she finally begins to let Kieran in, he has proven his self-deserving of some truth. She had run all those years ago tracking a lead in the murder of her parents, a murder driven by the desire to learn the location of Sanctuary. Within the span of only a couple of months Quinn’s entire world is flipped upside down and back again. Everything she thought she knew is discovered to be a lie, everything that is except for Kieran, their bond, their love is true. His only motive in life was to love and worship her in every way that she deserved.

I couldn’t put down Blood Sector, finishing the book in one sitting spanning from eleven p.m. through three thirty a.m. I couldn’t stop and the author, Lexi C. Foss is incredible. The world she creates, the characters, the emotions. Blood Sector took me on a rollercoaster, I laughed, I cried, I felt betrayed, afraid and ultimately overjoyed. If you love a book with love and mystery. A book that not only makes you root for one of the leads but both equally, seeing their story unfold and wanting nothing but happiness for them in every sense of the word, then Blood Sector is a must read. While there is a second book to the V-Clan series set to release in August of 2023, this is a complete story of Quinn and Kieran, as the second book is about other characters from Blood Sector.

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Caged Fire (The Vigilant Book 1) by LM Preston – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Caged Fire (Vigilant, #1)Caged Fire by L.M. Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the second book by LM Preston that I have read, the first being Insatiable Darkness, the lead in novella of this series. Caged Fire begins one year after the events of the first book. While this book could be read as the first of the series, Insatiable Darkness gives more background on the characters and gives more understanding to several story points in this book.

EmVee and her father are on the run, but as always EmVee doesn’t understand what they are running from. Her entire family survived the car accident at the end of Insatiable Darkness, only to be in the hospital later when it exploded, her father got her out first but was unable to get the others before the explosion. Her mother Stella, her siblings Dexter, Reece and Rei were “killed”. Now, Max, her father, has come out of retirement and is fighting again to make money for them, though no one is to know she is his daughter. EmVee is no longer the clueless human, not since Silas “scorched a trail of fear into her soul”, fear like nothing she has ever known before. Rapidly, her father is killed by a mysterious tall blonde who claims to be the secret investor of the family gym. With help from her new friends as her only allies, and with information from Rocky the bouncer of Club Fixation, (first book), she begins the adventure to find answers not only about her father’s death but everything that has happened since her family left New York. Finding Rocky’s home, she comes face to face with someone else from her past, Kayson. She blames him for the attack from Silas feeling that he knew his best friend was a murderer, only to learn that Kayson barely survived the attack from Silas that killed the rest of their band, just before her date with him. Because of Silas, EmVee and Kayson now have a deeper connection, something within them hungers for the other. After learning that there are several provinces, Fae, Vampire, Earth, etc. Kayson and EmVee must go into the vampire province to fight in hopes of getting the chance to ask the vampire king some questions. With some answers finally they have no choice but to return to the Void, Newport. EmVee shifts into a Fenrir wolf and finally understands her hunger for Kayson, he is her Alpha. Shadow Hunters, Faeries, Rumpelstiltskin, Redcap, Pied Piper, Berserker Gargoyles, Soul Thief Warlord, Soul Trainer Warlord, The Overlord, this is just a list of creatures that you come across in the ultimate hunt for answers. In the basement of the hospital, the same one with the explosion, EmVee and Kayson come across a redcap and goblin like creature that finally gives them some much needed answers and gives EmVee more hope that her family is still alive somewhere.

If you enjoy fast based books with little down, then this is the series for you. The pace never seems too fast or gets boring as you never know what is coming next. This is the perfect combination of mystery and love story. While EmVee is afraid because of Silas she can’t deny her feelings and hunger for Kayson. LM Preston has become one of my favorite authors, her ability to build not only the characters but their surroundings make you feel like you are there, like you know these characters. I can’t wait to read the next book and continue to learn the more about this world, and how it all comes together into the bigger picture.

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Insatiable Darkness (The Vigilant Book 0) by LM Preston – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Insatiable Darkness (Vigilant, #0.5)Insatiable Darkness by L.M. Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the first book I ever read by LM Preston, and it honestly sucked me in within the first couple of chapters. She does such an amazing job building the background of the story and getting the reader invested in the characters. EmVee and her family have recently moved from New York to a “middle of nowhere country town” of NewPort. Her parents are very secretive on why they suddenly moved. While EmVee is confused and slightly curious about the sudden move and the hush her parents have around it she becomes focused on school and “who” she wants to be.

In a new town EmVee finds herself wanting to reinvent herself in her new little town at her new school. She wants to be a “girly-girl” to the extent that she’s not in fights and being seen as another one of the guys. On the first day of school a whirlwind of things happens for EmVee. She meets two of the local football players, Kayson and Silas, both of whom seem to like her already. Though she is instantly drawn to Silas. In history class she meets Megan, a chatter mouth that loves to spread all the news she can. Meets Rachel, a fellow student that works at her parents’ gym, who becomes her first female best friend. Goes to the local club that Megan invited her too, dragging Rachel along so she’s not alone with the hard to be around Megan. While inside EmVee meets another football player, Grady, only to later discover his murder scene in the woods outside the club. After the current events and stories Megan has told her EmVee becomes more and more concerned about why her family suddenly moved when she finds contracts that tie her parents’ gym, the local club, Club Fixation, and a secret underground lab all seem to be related. Ten murdered athletes, ten missing cheerleaders, the secrets come out and shock you. After being attacked EmVee and her family are given a chance to escape NewPort. Until her family’s vehicle goes off the side of a bridge. She is saved and told her family is being helped but she has one goal. To find who is responsible and kill them.

The story, the ending, the details. Everything. If you love a mystery with twists and turns that you can’t put down, this introduction to the Vigilant series is highly recommended. I can’t wait to read Book One, Caged Fire, and see what happens next.

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Death & Mirrors (All Things Dark & Deadly Book 1) by SF Benson – Review by Ayla Phipps

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Death & Mirrors: All Things Dark & Deadly, Book OneDeath & Mirrors: All Things Dark & Deadly, Book One by S.F. Benson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first-time reading SF Benson’s work, and I was instantly curious while reading the synopsis I had several questions that drew my curiosity. Firstly, Evaline’s character being the daughter of occult archeologists and being a necromancer. Learning of the similarities yet differences between London and the mirror world Londinium was also interesting. Doctor Death and the mythical artifacts that could stop them.
London, January 1888. It is a time in which magic is common knowledge, but in order to practice freely, outside of your own home you must have a license. Even so not all have magical abilities which leads to many being against or having negative feelings towards those who practice it. Evaline starts out being desperate to reach out to her mother using her necromancer abilities, the sudden loss a year prior, left Evaline with no closure, all she had left was her mother’s journal that she had snuck out of her belongings when her father wasn’t looking. She shares her mother’s love of mysteries and feels the draw to solve even the most bizarre. Reading the journal one night looking for answers she comes across the notes of her parents last expedition in Egypt, when her mother was killed. They were on the hunt for a rare mythical relic, the Firestone, her mother journeyed into a cave believing the relic to be in there. Though she did not find the relic she instead found a mirror, “It wasn’t an ordinary looking glass, my dear. It was a gateway to another world.” Reading of the Firestone and then the strange woman visiting her father the next morning and mentioning the same relic, Evaline feels if her father won’t solve the mystery she will. Admiring Sherlock Holmes, she sets off for the woman when she leaves, often thinking to herself “What would Holmes do?” when she is unsure of the “right” thing to do next. Meanwhile, when Evaline and her beau find themselves suddenly in Londinium, an open world where magic is practice and used frequently in the open by those with it. A world in which magic is the least of worries, creatures of nightmares also exist, such as vampires and werewolves (untamable). Being out after night is highly dangerous and if out death is expected. In the search to find the Firestones location Evaline and her beau stumble across other mysteries including one involving the Madame Governor, the leader of Londinium. Which leaves them no choice but to be out after dark to hopefully get some answers.
The story was a slow start for me, learning the characters world, who they were. Though the more I read the more I was drawn to Evaline, personally feeling and agreeing with how she reacts to things. While the mystery became more in depth and sometimes leading to more questions about those around Evaline and her beau, I wanted to read faster to find answers. If you enjoy mystery with an underlying love story, then the world Ms. Benson creates in this book is sure to entertain.

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