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Flipping the Bird: A Paranormal Chick Lit Novel (Shift Creek Book 1) by Carrie Pulkinen – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Flipping the Bird (Shift Creek, #1)Flipping the Bird by Carrie Pulkinen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Alice Crawford is a crow shifter who enjoys dumpster diving for people’s trash which she can turn into someone else’s treasure through her art and Donovan Drake is a warlock who has just inherited the deed to a mansion, but when both of them meet, it is not what they expected in the slightest.

The story starts with Alice stuck in a hunters trap she has unwittingly been caught in thanks to her crow’s inability to ignore something shiny! As her best friend comes to her rescue, although she is giggling as much as a racoon can, she shifts and helps her out of the trap and to the creek where she can heal in its magical waters, it does take longer to heal than it used to and this worries the two friends even more than the trap did, it seems to be that the creek is getting worse, it slowly had been for the last few months and it had not been shifting its direction like it should either. The town is known for this shift in direction and it is also its namesake, but now that it is getting smaller and less powerful, the tourism they rely on is stopping and it is making it difficult for the town to survive and no matter who has tried to reinvigorate it, nobody has been able to help, it turns out that only a member of the towns founding family and unfortunately they can’t be contacted.

As she returns home from the creek, she is distracted by a light on in that family’s mansion and she decides to go and investigate, but when she gets there, she sees that it isn’t who she was expecting, but he is a bit of eye candy nonetheless, but when she sees the talking mongoose who is with him, she is even more confused, especially when said mongoose attacks her and tries to eat her, lets just say she is not happy and attacks him in a way only a bird can. She decides to leave after that, but is distracted by something shiny in the bin and as that is something she can take, she does.

The nest day, she goes into work and talks to her best friend about the information she had gleaned about the new arrival which she found out that morning, but it not what either of them were hoping for, he isn’t a member of the family and that puts them back to square one, but when the bell goes to say someone has come into the shop, they hide that disappointment. Donovan decides to go into town with his mongoose and familiar Marty and have a coffee while he thinks about his situation and how the town’s magical creek might be able to help, but is distracted by the cloud of noxious gas his familiar has released, he decides that to find the amulet he has lost and when he spots the salvage art shop across the road, he decides to go and ask them and ask for some advice. This is where the story takes and unusual turn as a magical accident occurs during the conversation and Alice’s crow transfers to Donovan and he shifts into the form, this is as surprising as it gets and as they try to catch him, Marty escapes and causes more chaos, when things return to something like normal, then Donovan asks Alice to go to dinner with him to try and figure out what happened.

Will this be the beginning of a beautiful romance, or will secrets and their pasts come back to haunt them and will Shift Creek lose it’s namesake or can a solution be found? This is a heartwarming tale of mishaps, discovery, romance and revelations which will have you laughing along the way.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Faida (Heartstrings Book 2) by Brooke May – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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FaidaFaida by Brooke May
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is Faida’s story, she is a cupid and is responsible for helping people to find their true love, but she is disillusioned with the whole thing after a few disasters and infidelities and has developed an closed off heart as the product of this and when we join her, she is at a celebration for her sister Aiko’s latest return to success, but she is happy to get her next assignment and leave the celebrations. When she goes to introduce herself to her next assignment, she arrives at an intimidating high rise building and as she makes her way inside, she is rushed upstairs in a cloud of confusion as she is mistaken for someone else who should be there and when it is for a party, she is eleven more confused. When she sees that it is a princess themed tea party, she is even more confused, kids parties aren’t normally this calm, but when she demands an explanation, the lady who dragged her up there is embarrassed at her mistake and apologises profusely, but when Robert emerges to find out what is going on, but when she sees that he only has one heartstring, it is a shock, she knew he had cut him off from the world, but she didn’t realise by quite how much.

When he goes back into the little girl’s party his icy demeanor is in place while talking to the girls, that is until he goes to another little girl and he warms up and transforms completely and Faida is taken aback when she sees it, as if this assignment wasn’t strange enough, that just puts the icing on the cake. She then confronts Robert and tells him why she is there and that he will not be able to get rid of her easily, at first he doesn’t believe that she is cupid, but when his daughter comes in and asks if Faida is going to be her new nanny, she says yes and confirmed that it will be the perfect cover for her mission to find his true love, what she doesn’t realise is that she will have a little helper with her own idea of who she wants her dad to fall for and when she goes with Robert to his place of work, she thinks that she has found the answer she is looking for.

This is the start of the most frustrating and yet joyful assignment Faida has had, but can she help Robert to lower the walls around his heart, or will they be stuck with each other for a long time? The only way to find out is to read along and find out.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Moonlit Whisper : An Irish Romance (Moonlit Destination Series) by Amy McKinley – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Moonlit Whisper (An Irish Romance)Moonlit Whisper by Amy McKinley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the story of Fiona and Connor, Fiona is A girl who loves football and is dating her best friend and player on the football squad Lachlan, he asks her to go for a coffee, but she can’t because she has to meet her dad and find out about the new transfer student she will be helping with their assignments. Next, Fiona is in the library with the transfer student and it is none other than the boy next door who left six years ago, she is still annoyed by that and is trying to understand why he did it, but she is also trying not to notice how much more handsome he has become over the years. It turns out that he left to support his mum and to escape from his dad, Fiona knows what that past entailed and how he used to come to and stay with her every night, but she still finds it hard to accept.

The next day Connor goes to a rocky cliff where people go to jump into the sea and hangout together, but what he doesn’t expect to see is Lachlan and Fiona there together, he likes it even less when he throws her off the cliff when he sees Connor, as Connor dives off and finds Fiona, she explains her and Lachlans engagement, this is where Connor becomes more determined to set the wrongs right and get Fiona back, but will he succeed, or will the past be something they can’t overcome? This is a short story which will suck you in and keep you guessing until the end.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Echoes: Lucifer and the Dark Goddess by Nikki Broadwell – Reviewed by Roxsanne Lesieur.

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Echoes--(Lucifer and the dark goddess book 1)Echoes– by Nikki Broadwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Feirin is a woman who knows nothing apart from her name and when she wakes up one day she has no idea who she is, where she is from, or how she got to, or where she currently is, the only clue is a black stone necklace she is wearing and an indigo tattoo of a crescent moon on her forehead. She is taken in by a group of people and becomes friends with a brother and sister who live with them, they shared their lives, food, drink, beliefs and experiences with her and she learned everything that they had to offer, she also learned a lot from the people who moved through the area as well, but after six months, she knew she had to leave and learn more about herself.

Several years later, Feirin is living the best life she can in the large city she is in, but she is dreaming of things she feels she should remember, memories which are no stronger than echoes in her mind and the frustration she feels trying to remember them. She goes to see her friend with benefits and release some of the tension and some of the boredom of a life subsisting of hard work, eating and sleeping and the non-stop rolling adverts on the IRIS technology implanted in her body. When she wakes up in his bed after another night of passion, he says she is magic, or a witch and that he is under her spell, but what he says disturbs her and so she leaves and tries not to think about it anymore as she heads to work on her Harley Davidson bike. As she is riding, a vision of a beautiful woman and a handsome tattooed man comes to her and hits her and makes her late for work at the building site. It was hard work, but it made her stronger and distracted her from everything else while she was doing it and on her way home she thought about all the homeless she passed on the streets, addled by drink and drugs, as well as the automatons who were a sad blend of diluted humanity and machines, used until spent and then thrown away like garbage. When she gets home she feeds the stray black cat she adopted, poured herself a glass of wine and collapsed on the sofa, until Peyton calls and she goes for another night of passion and while she is there, she has another vision and as she is trying to explain it, she has another one, both vivid but in completely different ways and it scared her, so she opens up to Peyton about it all.

As time passes she has more visions and more unexplainable echoes in her mind, but when she sees Jeremy again and finds out that he might be deported, she heads home and falls asleep only to be woken by Peyton hammering on her door and telling her about the lack of jobs, deportations and blatant racism happening on the streets, she is worries and feels like she is losing control of her life, she doesn’t like it and decides to do something about it, so she goes to the police station to look at her file, from there, she finds out nothing new, but that she doesn’t have a last name, no ID and no license for her bike, things go downhill from there when she is arrested and even though Peyton tries to help her, she is deported from the city and left for dead in the desert surrounding it.

When she bands together with the other deportees and learns from them, she discovers a strength she didn’t know she possessed, but this is only the beginning of her journey, can she survive the unsurvivable desert, find the answers which have been missing from her life and discover her path, or will she die a horrible death, unable to save those she is travelling with? This is a story of discovery, love, passion, heartbreak and danger which grabs you from the start and doesn’t let you go even at the end, it just leaves you wanting more.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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The Kissing Bough (Forbidden Loves) by Madelynne Ellis – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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The Kissing Bough (Forbidden Loves, #1)The Kissing Bough by Madelynne Ellis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is the year 1816 in Rutland at Knasebrook Hall where Viola Marsh is a young lady with little freedom and even less prospects to change that, she is kept inside her nursery after an incident and can only leave on christmas eve to go wassailing and then to the ball later that evening, but only with her brothers escorting her. Lord Ricborough and his cousin Percy Gilling are two men looking for a specific woman to cement their very specific bond.

Viola is looking out of the window at the snow falling to the ground on Christmas Eve as her aunt helps her get ready to go out into it, it is the one night she is allowed out and she is not going to miss out, whether it is in a blizzard or otherwise, it might be the one night where people might not look at her like they usually do and she may be able to experience the normality of the festivities. She intends to sing, dance, be merry, stand beneath the mistletoe on the boughs of the old oak tree and then go to the family’s annual Christmas Ball with the rest of the invited, dance with her brothers and show off her new dress, it will be a change from eating with her aunt in the nursery, that is for sure.

As she leaves with her brother to go to the village, he is having to be courteous to her due to the weather, even though he does not want to, he assumes her intention is to go to the kissing bough as usual, although he feels there is no need as nobody would come up and will want to kiss her after the scandal and she responds that it is not likely that it would happen any other way either, so she will do it again this year as it is a tradition now and that the incident was not what it looked like or here fault in the first place.

Later on, after Viola’s brother has joined his friends, two of whom are Lord Ricborough and Percy Gilling, he sees her standing under the tree and is immediately taken in by her beauty, she is perfect and just what they are looking for, but finding the kind of woman they needed was something both thought impossible until Viola. As they separate from the others, they go and approach Viola under the bough and she is surprised to be kissed on the cheek by both of them at the same time and further by their proposition to her.

Will their proposition be accepted and will this trio be the pairing they all hope for, or will the innocence of one of them be the end of something which hasn’t even begun? The only way to find out is to read along and follow the path with the three of them.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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I Once Was Lost, But Now I’m Found: Daisy and the Olympic Animal Sanctuary Rescue by Laura Koerber – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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I Once Was Lost, But Now I'm Found: Daisy and the Olympic Animal Sanctuary RescueI Once Was Lost, But Now I’m Found: Daisy and the Olympic Animal Sanctuary Rescue by Laura Koerber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Olympic Animal Sanctuary (OAS) was a rescue for dogs who couldn’t be looked after where they were because of being labelled as unadoptable, it was in a small town in the middle of Washington State, it looked like an old dilapidated warehouse, but what lay inside was beyond anyone’s imagination, the conditions were cramped and deplorable, but it still functioned and people believed the owner was doing his best. This book focuses on one of the dogs there, Daisy and her story, but the stories of the other animals are interwoven into the narrative too, it is a story of hardship and hard work, blockades and is not the only story of its kind, there are still many places out there which are the same as the OAS was, but on a smaller scale and this book highlights what happens to the animals involved and what needs changing to help them all.

Daisy is a short, stocky balck dog who is hesitant and nervous in nature, she looks like most rescue dogs you would find in shelters around the world, but Daisy was not the first dog seen from the OAS, the main picture associated with it is a dog called Max who is desperately trying to get out of his cage. The story of Daisy and the OAS started with a volunteer whistleblowing and noting down her experience at the sanctuary in the hopes that someone would come to the rescue of the dogs within, thus creating a Facebook page and sharing the information with the police, however, the laws around animal protection and welfare are not as strong as you would hope them to be and that is why it was so difficult for local government to help when lawyers and the law get involved as well.

To get back to Daisy, she was originally brought to another rescue from a reservation where she had been removed because people were sick of seeing her being beaten and abused everyday, she had an embedded collar and after this was removed and she started to heal on the outside, but the emotional and psychological scars would take a lot longer to heal. The rescue decided that she needed some extra help and so asked a couple to foster her, to which they agreed and this started Daisy on her road to recovery and it went well and she was put up as available for adoption. This first adoption was unsuccessful and she returned to her foster home, until she was left with another dog unsupervised and unfortunately attacked it, this led to her reverting when she went back to the rescue and being labelled as a “potentially dangerous dog” and the rule was to euthanize dogs with this label, however, another option was found which was the OAS and this is how Daisy ended up there.

As Daisy’s story continues, this is where the descriptions of the OAS and life within it start, this is the true story of Daisy, the Olympic Animal Sanctuary and the other 124 dogs and one snake who ended up there, their experiences while there, as well as how they left, the book is as full of heartbreak as it is full of love, so prepare some tissues because this is a hard going emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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The Last Christmas by Seelie Kay – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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The Last ChristmasThe Last Christmas by Seelie Kay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Joan Wright is a woman on the edge, on the edge of grief, loss and heartbreak, her husband David is in St Malcolm’s hospital in an induced coma and at death’s door, but she cannot bear to think about the fact that this will be his last Christmas with her, the cancer has eaten away at him until only morphine and machines are keeping him there with her. She is reminiscing with a nurse about how in love she has been with David, from the age of sixteen when they met until now and that love has only grown stronger, she says that they have celebrated the good and weathered the bad, as well as having three children together and that she is angry because they are not dying together and that it is a cruel thing to be in her situation, the nurse tells her to have faith and that Christmas miracles do happen when there is hope and love in the mix and that her job in the ICU has proven that many times over. As she thinks about what the nurse said, she slips around the wires and machines keeping him alive and into bed with David, there she has a dream that he is alive and well and wanting his Christmas miracle, he hasn’t finished what he needs to do and he hasn’t finished loving her, both emotionally and physically, when she is woken up by the doctor who wants to examine David, but adds that his heart was beating the strongest it has been while she was sleeping next to him, this is too much for Joan to hear and makes excuses for it and blames the cancer for giving her false hope, but he says the same thing as the nurse did earlier that David isn’t the type for giving up and when there is hope and love, that miracles can indeed happen.

As Joan is walking in the open air and surrounded by Christmas spirit, carollers and Santa’s, when she is suddenly being spoken to by someone and it is none other than Santa himself, a centuries old spirit who works with God to dispense advice and bring the Christmas spirit and love to those who need it, although she doesn’t believe it at first, when he invites her to sit down and talk to her, he reveals that it is not David’s time to die yet and even if it was, Heaven is full, St Peter is at his wit’s and and that there is a 5 year waiting list to get in, so unless she wants David to be stuck in a 5 year queue, she has to keep him alive. Joan finds it unbelievable that she is expected to keep him alive when that there isn’t even anything more that the medical staff can do, so he tells her that she needs to give him a reason to live, a reason to keep going as his work is not yet done and that he needs to know that she is on his side.

When she returns home and sees all their memories together and starts to remember them all, she knows what she has to do, she needs to remind David of all that they have shared together and what he has to live for, she needs to get her kids, their grandkids, their friends and even their church on their side and fight for his survival, so she arranges a family meeting and they devise a plan of action, but can Team Wright get their Christmas miracle and love save the day, or will everything fall through in the end? A gripping read which enthralls you as a reader right up to the end.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Corporate Christmas by Bernadette Marie – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Corporate ChristmasCorporate Christmas by Bernadette Marie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Chloe Richardson is a lady with ambition and puts the work in to get what she wants, she has just missed thanksgiving so that she could finalise the contract of her biggest client to date and hopefully land the promotion she has been working towards, plus she has the mother of all headaches, she has been out of the office briefly to look at the window decorations and festivities, including something she has on top of her Christmas list, she is now preparing the last bits of the contract, two of her bosses come into her office, one to ask how she is and how her thanksgiving was, the other to badger her about the contract. All of a sudden, another voice interrupts her, it is an attractive man with dark hair and blue eyes which make her choke on her painkiller, after he offers her his bottle of water, he introduces himself as Jason Mitchel and asks to see her boss, l and so she takes him to see the second one, however, when he says what he is there for, she is reeling, it is the job she was angling for, he then gets hurried out of the door to go to dinner with the boss, this is the last straw for Chloe, she rips up the contract, leaves the office, packs a bag and heads straight to her mums in the most festive town she knows, Aubrey Heights.

Jason is wondering why his reception at his new job was frosty at best and why he had been hired, he is also thinking about Chloe, why she may have passed up the opportunity he now has, but also in a non-work related capacity as well, this is something he doesn’t want to happen after last time. Meanwhile, as Chloe arrives at her mum’s house, she is waiting with a cup of tea and ready to listen to all that has happened, Chloe tells her everything and listens to her advice in return, after that, she goes to bed and decides to enjoy her Saturday with her family.

Jason wakes the next day and goes for a run before choosing how he would spend his Saturday, he receives a call from his mother and after talking to her about arrangements for christmas, decides to go through the stuff he brought from his old office and decide what he was going to keep, mainly to keep his mind off of the other person who keeps calling him. After a good night’s sleep, she wakes up to family, waffles and being questioned as to why she hasn’t settled down.

After heading home early on Sunday morning due to realising that she made a mistake shredding the contract and after a phone call from the woman in charge of the company this contract is dealing with, she goes back to the office on Sunday to reprint it, finish up the corrections and personally hand it in on Monday. While she is there Jason happens to be setting up his desk and hearing someone else there goes to investigate, but startles Chloe and she ends up throwing a stapler at his head and taking him to the emergency room for stitches, this takes hours and is where they start to talk properly to each other and get to know the other a bit more, they discuss the contract then end up working together to repitch it the next day, but Chloe is still annoyed that she has been passed up, so goes to the client without him, much to Jason’s annoyance.

This is just the beginning of the trouble which Chloe and Jason find themselves in on the run up to Christmas, one thing after another happens and nothing is what it originally seemed, but can Christmas bring the miracle that they both want, or will the water flowing under the bridge break it down before they have the chance? The only way to find out is to read their story and experience it with them.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Five-Alarm Christmas: A Novella by Melinda Valentine – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Five-Alarm Christmas : A NovellaFive-Alarm Christmas : A Novella by Melinda Valentine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finley Jones is a lady who wants to escape her family on Christmas Eve and avoid them questioning her about why she hasn’t settled down or given them grandchildren yet, but her brothers aren’t put under the same scrutiny, so she decides to go to a local bar and have a few drinks instead. As she starts on her first beer, she sees a handsome man at the other end of the bar and then she decides that maybe she wouldn’t mind a bit of good looking company after all and it seems that he is in the same mindset as she is.

Garret Scott just wants to relax and unwind after four days on shift at the fire station, that is until he sees an attractive woman at the other end of the bar and maybe being alone isn’t on the cards after all, one thing leads to the other and it turns into a night of passion, but will happen when the next morning dawns, will Santa make their Christmas wishes come true, or will things go the opposite way? This novella is full of naughty and nice, but the only way to find out how much of each is to read on.

Reviewed bt @roxsannel

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Fighting for Us (Love is Worth Fighting For Book 1) by Bella Emy – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Fighting for Us (Love is Worth Fighting For #1)Fighting for Us by Bella Emy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This story starts with Lorenzo by his wife’s bedside, she is in hospital and very sick, she is suffering and is in pain, but when she dies, Lorenzo is distraught, he couldn’t save her, he couldn’t protect her from the headaches and he now cannot fathom life without her and being left with his daughter and having to bring her up as a single parent is more than he can bear to think about, he cries for hours and eventually goes home to his daughter.

We next see Lorenzo five years late and he is training for his upcoming MMA title match, he has been training for this for months and is determined to win, it is a good way to channel his energy and anger over his wife’s death, he is finishing up and about to head home to relieve his brother from looking after his daughter while he was at the gym, his daughter is the light of his life and always makes him smile, no matter how his day is going, it is the same for his family as well. He is still reeling from the loss of his wife and he tears up at anything which brings him memories of her, her favourite film or song gets him everytime, remembering the way she looked, the way she smelled and the way she loved life and he struggles to see how his future will play out without her.

Next we see Carissa, she is trying not to be goaded into talking with her sister and best friend about hot men and that she should be looking for one to occupy her bed, even though she doesn’t want anything to do with men after what her ex did to her, but they won’t stop. They are looking at a flyer or an upcoming MMA match and trying to persuade Carissa to go with them, even if it is just to gawk over the hot men, especially the guy with the big muscular arms out front, whom they have nicknamed Guns! They are also trying to take her mind off her ex, so they eventually persuade her to come out with them as it is Friday night and they haven’t been out in a while, so they get ready to go to their local bar and have a few drinks together.

Unbeknownst to both Lorenzo and Carissa, they are both going to be at the same bar, Lorenzo with his brother and sister, it is where they go every other weekend when their parents look after Lorenzo’s daughter so he can have some time as a normal adult. Lorenzo’s siblings are worried about the upcoming match and the day that it is being held, it is the fifth anniversary of his wife’s death and they are also worried that he will hurt someone more than he intends to. When Carissa enters the bar with her sister and best friend, Lorenzo can’t stop glancing her way, unfortunately, his brother notices too and it starts an argument, so instead of it escalating, he decides to leave and this is when he catches Carissa’s eye and again, it is also noticed by the others she is with.

This is not going to be the last time that Lorenzo and Carissa run into each other, nor will it be the last time that they catch each other’s eyes, but because this is a romantic tale of love, heartbreak and fate, which of these things will be on the cards in the future for the pair? The only way to find out is to read along with them.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Becoming Human by Amy Michelle Carpenter – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Becoming HumanBecoming Human by Amy Michelle Carpenter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a story of three teenagers working towards a common goal, even if it is something which nobody else will believe, they are a human and two aliens, they are from different planets and have very different ideals, Carter is a human boy who refuses to believe in aliens, even though his dad has met one before and announced it on national television, Kokab is an alien who is robotic in nature and only wants to belong on her home planet, but her emotions are getting in the way and now her planet is about to be destroyed and she is the only one who can go to Earth as an ambassador so that she can get the humans to agree to take her race in and Ags is another alien who is in love with Earth, even though she has only studied it from afar with her mother, but when she learns of the invasion, she wants to stop it in any way she can.

The story starts with Carter, he is at a pool party with his swimming team and is being needled by them about aliens and whether his father still believes in them, it bothers him so much that he struggles to enjoy himself and leaves the party in the end and goes for a walk in the woods with his cousin and dog, this is when he sees the UFO, or at least it would be if aliens were real.

Kokab has been summoned to the offices where she was tested as a Youngling and designated as an almost, but not a perfect, it is because she can feel emotions, even though she shouldn’t do and as she enters the office of the Eldest One, he doesn’t look like any of the other perfects, but she shouldn’t even be thinking these thoughts in the first place. As the meeting progresses, some information is loaded up to the chip implanted in her brain which she will need for the mission she has been chosen for, including the reason why it needs to happen and she can do nothing but obey the demands which are to go to Earth, learn how to experience and understand the emotions the people exhibit and and prepare them for her people’s arrival. When she arrives and meets Carter and his dad, none of them know how important it will be for Kokab to learn about the emotions she is feeling.

Ags is learning how to drive the family ship and decides to go and get ready for the ceremony to graduate and become a guardian of Earth, the dress is uncomfortable as she prefers her Earth clothing instead, but she will put up with it for this one time. Ags meets up with her friend Yas and they go inside the building where the ceremony is held, she can;t help admiring the view, even though it is her home planet, she feels like she is more of a visitor and after the ceremony is finished, she has shaken the hand of the elder giving her her certificate as she becomes an official guardian of Earth, she takes part in the celebrations until she finds out about the invasion that puts a damper on her evening.

When the worlds of these three young people collide, it is a tough call to know what decisions are the right ones and they are all still too young really for the responsibilities they hold, but when they do collide, what will happen and will they be able to pull together to keep Earth safe? The only way to find out is to read away and follow the adventure.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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The Nearness of You: A British celebrity, standalone love-at-first-sight romance by K.G. Fletcher – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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The Nearness of YouThe Nearness of You by K.G. Fletcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lauren Rose is a lounge singer by night and a teacher of theatre students by day, she is a woman with a beautiful voice and a personality to match, she sings in the lounge of the St Regis hotel with her friend Miles on the baby grand and has people who regularly go to hear her and she sings the song that they request and it always turns her mood to the positive and this friday night is no different, that is until she bumps into David Randle on the way back from the bathroom and becomes completely star struck, after all, he is a male model and has the most gorgeous face she has ever seen, as they have a drink during Lauren’s break, she manages to form words and converse with him, but still remains utterly star struck until her break is over and she and Miles head back to the stage for the end of their set for the night, including the request from her regular and a special song for David. Afterwards, he asks if he can but her a proper drink and she agrees, they end up drinking and talking into the early hours of the morning about everything, including why he is in Atlanta in the first place and when he asks to see her again for breakfast, she cannot believe her luck and agrees to meet him.

That night, she cannot sleep from thinking about the night and the breakfast date to come, so she gives up and gets some coffee on the go, picking out an outfit, she gets ready and is at the hotel a few minutes earlier than planned, this impresses David and they walk to a local diner which serves the breakfast that David wants to try, it is a lot different to where he normally goes, but is more than happy to give it a try. Like the night before, the conversation flows and they talk more about their travels, plus more about his family and his sisters wedding and as they walk back to the hotel and she feels like their time together is coming to an end, he surprises her by asking for a kiss and wanting to see her again.

This is a continuing theme when he asks her to attend his sister’s wedding and be his date and as they spend more time together and Lauren meets his sister and her now husband, they all get on like a house on fire and when David’s sister asks her to sing a song for her with the wedding band, she agrees, this is when she really shows off her voice and gets an offer for a job from the band leader at the same time. As the rest of the evening passes and they talk more in David’s hotel suite, including about the upcoming campaign and release of his own cologne, Drive, they can’t keep their hands off each other and they feel like they are meant for each other, but when a trip to New York to see David at work happens, his assistant starts to become a problem and tries to keep them apart, so when things go wrong and it is a choice between their happiness and David’s career, it is a decision neither of them want to make, but have to.

This is a whirlwind romance with a dash of celebrity while also talking about the differences between fame and obscurity, but will this tear the two apart or make them stronger? The only way to find out is to read the book.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Antipodes by T.S. Simons – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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AntipodesAntipodes by T.S. Simons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Campbell Mackintosh starts his day with a hangover, he had been out drinking with his friends to celebrate his birthday and now the sun is streaming in, he has a headache and a distinct reluctance to getting up, all he wants is some more sleep, but his mum is vacuuming right outside his bedroom door as punishment. She doesn’t want him to sleep, he probably woke her up when he thought he was being quiet, so instead of sleeping longer, he resigns himself to the fact that he has to get up and face the music. He reminisces about his mum’s wild scottish ways and how living in Australia for many years hadn’t dulled her fiery temper, staunch stubbornness or sense of adventure, she also hadn’t lost her wit, sense of humour or inability to help anyone or anything in need. As he slowly made his way from the bathroom to the kitchen, his extra chirpy interrogation started, so painkillers in hand, he managed to get himself some water, coffee and toast and faced his family. His sister was reading the weekend paper as usual and his dad was up at “The Block” a piece of land where they went to escape the world and be surrounded by nature, a place where they learned as children to live off the land and all the survival techniques they may need out there.

He reminisces some more about his parents, their lives, their knowledge which had been passed on to him, his life so far and what he wanted to do when he finished his degree, that is as well as considering the merits of another cup of coffee until he is interrupted by his sister who asks him if he has seen the news. She goes on to tell him about a virus which has started to infect and kill hundreds of people, plants, animals and aquatic life in europe, how it is transmitted through water and seems to be nothing which can stop it, it is spreading like wildfire and if it continues on its current path, then it will eventually reach the sea and nobody and nothing survive once infected. Cam’s mum decides at that moment to vacuum in the kitchen and until she is finished, he decides to make himself that second cup and also to make one for his sister at the same time, he hands it over to her as soon as his mum goes into the living room and he shuts the door behind her. His sister then asks him if he is going to apply and she tells him in no uncertain terms to check his email and see for himself, it turns out that everyone who is able to apply has already had the link sent to them so that they can fill in the online registration, the government is looking for people to go to a meeting in Melbourne and Cam fills the requirements, he fills out the forms and get’s a message to say he has been booked on a but at 08:30 monday morning, plenty of time for him to go there, come back and get to his afternoon classes.

When Cam gets to the facility, he is surrounded by hundreds of other confused applicants, in long queues to get onto the bus in the first place and as he sees the guarded facility and yet more people and more queues, he decides that he made the right decision going for the early slot, he sees that it looks like a military base and that everyone had a role to play, they are told to report for registration and yet again, join another queue, this one is to get to a computer screen and fill out pages and pages of information from medical history to education, religion and everything in between, next he hands in his phone and watch and he is told he will get them back when he leaves. To pass the time Cam watches the other people and tries not to get fried by the midday sun, his name is eventually called to go to the next stage which is in a room where he has to fill in a psychometric assessment and answer as many questions as he can in a set amount of hours. As he is told to finish, stand up and leave the room, he feels like he hasn’t answered enough questions, but that stops when he goes to wait in the next room until he hears his name being called, he is then ushered into another room in smaller groups and just left there. Eventually, they follow someone out sluggishly to a room where blood and cheek swabs are taken before being led into a dining hall and thankful for finally getting something to eat and drink, he strikes up his first conversation since he has been there. Cam is then led for more tests and finally into an amphitheatre where the reason for all the secrecy and the tests is revealed, the people in the room had all been chosen to take part in an experiment where they will be isolated on islands and covered with a dome before living on the islands for the foreseeable future in order to continue the human race. It turns out that they have been selected to live these sustainable and isolated lives while the rest of the world succumbs to the virus within the waterways, they now have the choice of whether to accept the invitation or not. When Cam returns home with this information, it turns out that he has been gone for three days and only has two to reach a decision, he discusses it with his family and decides to accept and this is where the adventure of a lifetime begins for him.

A couple of years have passed and the community he is now living in has succeeded in surviving and starting to grow, he has a steady job and on the anniversary of the founding of their community finds a partner in Freja, they have a loving relationship and a bright future, this is until Freja disappears and Cam is lost without her, until he follows her without realising it and discovers he has travelled to a new community on Lewis in Scotland and that way in which he got there is a portal and also that there are more of these Antipodes throughout the world, he makes the decision to leave the safety of the dome to find Freja after he discovers that she has done the same.

This is a dystopian adventure set in the present, but with a twist on the usual themes with the Antipodes, but what will Cam find when he sets off on his travels and will he be able to unravel the feelings he has to find out where his future lies?

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Bake Believe by Cori Cooper – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Bake BelieveBake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is the last day of summer vacation and Cat Anderson is determined to enjoy every minute, she wakes up early and plans out her day in her head, go to the pool, use hair lightener, sunbathe, try a new snack, meet cute boys and swap phone numbers as well as the other things a fourteen year old girl can want. She creeps out of bed to the living room to get her phone from the living room to text her best friend and see if she is up and ready for the day yet, she is super excited and cannot wait any longer to ask her parents if she can go to the pool, the only snag in her plan. She goes to wake her parents up; and ask to go to the pool and she is not above begging this time, she really really wants to go, she eventually convinces them to do it, but with some conditions attached, to which she agrees and flies out of the room to get ready and throw some frozen waffles into the toaster and cover them in butter and syrup, but her mum is in the kitchen and just staring at the fridge, which is not normal, especially when she says she wants to bake something, Cat’s mum never bakes!

After she has eaten her waffles and her cousin Robyn has arrived in a burst of smiles and sunshine and announces that he mum has been baking all morning and that she has asked Robyn and cat to deliver them to the neighbours later on, all this talk of baking is making Cat’s mum on edge again, so she decides that this would be a good time for them to leave and head to the pool, but Robyn isn’t going to let it go and demands that they find out, as she is trying to figure it out, she remembers that it is more than strange that Cat’s mum is thinking about baking when she never even cooks anything, she only just manages to use her microwave and order takeout, but Cat is having none of it and eventually manages to change the subject to boys and distracts her.

When the girls get to the pool and realise that it is empty, they begin to regret their decision to go as early as possible, but they pick their spots and decide to do a bit of a sunbathing while they wait for their friends, this is after they have a race to the diving board, which Robyn wins as usual and to get down, Robyn dives and Cat cannonballs. When Cat surfaces, she is shocked to see that someone has arrived, Liam, they have a laugh and a joke about Cat’s dive, that is until she sees a gorgeous boy beside Robyn and she becomes speechless at the sight of him. Eventually she manages to get her words out to talk to him and finds out that if she doesn’t look at his eyes, she can actually talk to him, but that is easier said than done when all she wants to do is look at him. When Robyn and Liam go to get snacks, she is left with Tobey and continues their conversation, but agrees to go with him to join them shortly after, however, what Liam is eating puts her off food for a while, so she goes to top up her tan.

When Cat is woken up, she is embarrassed to know that she fell asleep, never mind that it was for a couple of hours, so after confirming that nobody had seen her snore or drool, agrees to go and join in the pool games with their friends for the next couple of hours. After she gets out, she sees someone eating a pretzel and sudden;y cannot get the idea out of her head that she has to try one of those bagels and after Tobey finds out where they are from, they go to get one from a newly opened bakery down the road from the pool, it is the most delicious thing she has ever eaten and unbeknownst to Cat, this pretzel is about to change her life.

When Cat gets home, she realises that the tv dinner she is eating is not appetising in the slightest and that she cannot eat it, so she asks to go to Robin’s house and the same thing happens the next morning at breakfast, her mum is also acting really strangely still. When she gets to school, she goes to her last class of the day and finds that there is no class, she goes to see the guidance counsellor and find out what happened, but has to wait until the next day to change it, her only choice now is to go to Culinary class, this is where things start to get strange.

Why has everything been turned upside down by that pretzel and why did what happened at school actually happen and what is going on with her mum? Cat has no idea what she has gotten herself into and what the consequences of this will be, but is it all tru, or is it all bake believe, the only way to figure out what happens is to read on and discover the secrets at the same time as Cat, with a few enticing recipes thrown in for good measure on the way.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Eye of Death: A paranormal romance (Vampire State Book 3) by Alexander Charalambides – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Eye of Death (Vampire State, #3)Eye of Death by Alexander Charalambides
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rowena is back and she is making a go of being an independent journalist with the help of Quintus, but on this day when she wakes up thinking she is late for work, she realises that she is on her own time and couldn’t be late but still getting up early is not easy for her, as she stumbles into the kitchen to find a note from Vincenzo, he is trying with these notes and today’s is no different with a joke and breakfast in the fridge. As she heads out to do an interview with Prince Antet with her sandwich in tow, she is thinking about the statement she released the day before and what the reactions to it have been, but she hasn’t got time to check them. As she pulls into a parking space near where the hotel is and checks in with Quintus, it is busy in the lobby and there are other news anchors making their own preparations, so she walks to the hotel and goes in via the back entrance and passed the Prince’s security, she pretty much walks into Quintus at the top of the stairs.

They head up to the Prince’s suite and she waves to an ex-colleague on the way, enjoying the look of surprise when he sees her, when she and Quintus arrive there, the Prince welcomes them with open arms, he is not quite ready to start the interview, but they talk and joke a little before talking about the format of the interview and how it is going to work without any camera’s present. They decide to record the audio only and then over coffee, they start the interview. They cover topics about both Rowena and the Prince and Rowena realises that she is getting from the Prince what she wanted from Vincenzo, it is a surprise and sets the tone for the rest of the interview, after it is all checked and completed and everyone is happy with the content and the agreement to allow more interviews in the future, Rowena and Quintus get ready to leave the hotel, this is when the Prince pulls Rowena to the side and asks her out on a date, Rowena says she will think about it and leaves.

As Vincenzo and Rowena prepare to leave for an event, they detour to see a friend on the way, but nothing new can be gleaned about the ULA political party through this source, so they head on to the event and meet Quintus there. The conversations on the boat aren’t wholly desirable to the humans on board and the news that one of the higher profile politicians has defected to the ULA, meaning that their hard work is about to become even harder is when Vincenzo confronts the party members at the same event, but it doesn’t end well and there is an argument between himself and Rowena, he leaves her standing in the cold and to fend for herself to get home again, alone. It is a few weeks later on that Rowena prepares for another interview with the Prince and this time, she is taking a camera with her as it is about the trade deal between Sanguinia and Kemet she will be reporting on, but when she gets to the Senatorio, things do not go quite to plan and it is only later on back at the hotel she finds out why and as things become heated, she takes the camera and shows the reality of the current situation and who is responsible for it/

This is the third installment of the Vampire State series and what a continuation it is, but can Rowena, Vincenzo and Quintus pull together or will this latest battle rip them all apart? Whose side is anyone on and will they stay that way, or will the lines blur? The only way to find out what the future holds is to read the book and find out.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Moonlit Mirage: A Cook Islands Romance (Moonlit Destination Series) by Amy McKinley – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Moonlit Mirage - A Cook Islands Romance (Moonlit Destination Series)Moonlit Mirage – A Cook Islands Romance by Amy McKinley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cade Malone and Nadia Bennet are two people from completely different worlds, but who shared an unexpected connection in one fleeting moment in time, when one of them rescued the other from certain death. We start with Cade as he is driving home at night when a car swerves in front of him and into his lane just as they are about to cross a bridge, there is a loud crack, but nothing to worry about, it was just a rock thrown up by the car, so he opens the car windows to get a breeze in to help him keep awake after the long day he has had. He is nearly across the bridge and nearly home and safe, until another car comes up behind him and speeds up, the car is straddling both the lanes on the bridge and although he has sped up, the car is still gaining on him and as they are starting to pass him, this one actually hits him and sends him careening off he bridge and into the freezing cold river below.

As Cade is sinking and the water is pouring in through the open window, he realises that the seatbelt is stuck and he can’t get free, as he takes his last breath and hopes that someone has seen and is going to rescue him, someone does, he sees a young woman swimming towards him, she is small, but she is about to help him, she smashes the window and on being unable to open the door, she disappears. Just as Cade is thinking that she has left, she reappears and moves to kiss him, when she does, that is when the connection is made and he goes with it, when he realises that it is more than a kiss and that she breathes into his mouth when he eventually opens it, she keeps doing this until help arrives and she leaves him.

As she leaves the Cade in the water, Nadia gets out and meets with another person waiting at the water’s edge, she hands over the keys which were her objective in getting to the car, but she also cut the seatbelt to free Cade at the same time, all because she has been thrown by the connection she felt with Cade while underwater. She hands over the keys and then her mission is completed and she could get on with her life as far away from Cade as possible. That is until one night years later when their paths unexpectedly cross again on one of the Cook Islands at a resort party, they are both as surprised as the other, but that connection they felt is still as strong as ever, but was this a planned meeting, will their pasts return to haunt them, or will they be able to make the most of that connection and strengthen it?

This is a romance with a twist of danger and an emotional ride with twists and turns throughout, but the ending is well worth the ride.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Second Chance eX-mas by N.D. Jackson – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Second Chance eX-masSecond Chance eX-mas by N.D. Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a story about Ally and Archer, childhood sweethearts who had it all, the looks, the hope and the future as well as every chance for it to come true, that is until Archer left and never looked back but also never knew what he left behind until he returned home and found out.

It is Christmas in Blissful and Ally is busy preparing orders and making deliveries for her customers and as always is running late for her other responsibilities, but when she finally arrives home with everything she needed to complete her work before she can relax and enjoys the holiday season properly, she receives a piece of news which shakes her to the core, Archer is coming back to Blissful. Archer who left her, Archer who hurt her, Archer who she had learnt to live without and survive the wounds in her heart which he gave her and Archer who she would not let back in no matter what he tried to do, she had just gotten her life to a position where she could look at the future and be hopeful, despite the time and energy she had spent to get there and she wouldn’t let that future slip away.

Archer is thinking about coming back to Blissful and what that means, he is thinking about the day he left and the decision he made which led him to do so, it is a long drive from the airport and it is giving him more time to think than he would like. He knows that she probably hates him and has a life without him, but he doesn’t want to see it if she has, he is remembering all the places in the town as he passes them and some of the memories of Ally which are associated with them, as he thinks about turning the car around, but that all fades into the background when he pulls up outside his mother’s house. He sees the shutters and thinks about his siblings and how they each chose their own colours for them, he then sees his mother bounding down the steps and into his arms for a hug and to know if he is home for good, his reply is as long as she will put him up for and with that out of the way, he goes to eat what she has cooked for his homecoming meal and they start to catch up on what the other has been up to since he left, including exactly what he left behind and it is the shock of a lifetime.

This information leads to Archer and Ally meeting again and Archer trying to mend all that he broke when he left, he knows now what he wants and will stop at nothing to get it, but will he manage to reform these bonds, will the magic of Christmas be able to help, or will the past be too much to overcome? This is a story of second chances, but what they look like is not always what people plan them to be.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Cemetery Tour: A Walk Through the Old Yard by Stuart Ledwith – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Cemetery Tour: A Walk Through the Old YardCemetery Tour: A Walk Through the Old Yard by Stuart Ledwith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is another book by Dr Stuart Ledwith, but is a more lighthearted one which tells the stories of the souls of those buried within the Old Yard in the Riverside Cemetery where the founders of the town he lives in and the cemetery he plans to be buried in with his wife, Baldwinsville, New York, it is a break from his more serious novels, but it is an illuminating look into lives past and the history of the area as told by the ones who created that history.

Dr Stu (as the soul’s call him) encountered these souls as he wandered through the cemetery over the course of 2020 when he went out for some daily exercise, weather and health permitting. He tells their stories in such a way that you can picture the person as you read them, they are from all walks of life and are all ages, genders and races, although some of it you don’t find out until you are deep within their stories, Dr Stu also includes his own story in there and it is a lovely insight into him as a person as well as an author.

This book is a wonderful read to anyone who is interested in history, biographies and people in general, it is an emotional rollercoaster though, so prepare yourself for what it has in store for you, but go in with an open mind and you will enjoy it even more.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Sweets and Santa: A Paranormal Cozy Mystery (The Matchmaking Baker Book 2) by Rosie Pease – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Sweets and Santa (The Matchmaking Baker, #2)Sweets and Santa by Rosie Pease
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the town of Heartwood Hollow, in Founder’s Park, there appears a santa’s grotto and it almost feels like it arrives overnight, but that isn’t the only mystery in Heartwood hollow, Joanie is a baker who only lets a few people in on her secret recipes and they are the ones who work in her bakery with her, Gina and Bryan, as she prepares for a busy season and a few extremely busy weeks. She arrives in her bakery early to prepare for the day and her first time being open at Christmas, she has an ambitious plan for all sorts of flavours of cookies, this is on top of her usual orders of muffins, scones and more cookies for afternoon teas at the local hotel. As the town prepares for the holiday season as well, the only thing missing is snow, even though it is cold enough for it, so as Joannie makes her deliveries, she listens to the town rumours from the business owners including that another of her matches is going to be getting engaged soon, thanks to her, it is a family trait that she can tell who will be good matches, she can feel the connections as they are made and also, that the school kids are saying that her muffins are good luck and that is why this particular delivery has increased and that she should prepare more orders for when their final exams are coming up, but at least that’s all the rumours about her say.

As Joanie and the team are preparing the cookies for the day and thinking about the rest of the week and the new recipes she is going to try, this is when she is reminded of the Christmas window decoration competition as Sarah, her from of house employee asks whether she knows what the theme is going to be, it turns out that she has too many ideas and needs to narrow it down when she goes to the store to buy what she needs in a couple of days, but seeing as it is her first year, it doesn’t have to be anything too exciting or hard. When Gina suggests Cookies for Santa, but with a twist and it is then that Joanie comes up with her idea. She also receives a all from the local hotel and is surprised and happy to find out that they want her to do another load of cookies for another upcoming afternoon tea, Joanie agrees saying that although the bakery will be shut, she will be there anyway to decorate the window, so she can happily do both.

Later on that day, a frazzled looking young man enters the store and asks if they have found his engagement ring while cleaning up, Joanie hasn’t, but says she will let the young man know if she finds it, but that she hopes he does. It turns out that it isn’t the only thing that has gone missing, other bits a pieces have disappeared around the town and just as mysteriously, she notices that some gnomes have appeared at around the same time, but they don’t just look like normal gnomes, it turns out that they randomly appear and have done for years, but nobody knows who does it, Joanie goes to the library to find out more a few days later and while doing this, she comes up with the missing piece of her window decoration and a new recipe to try to top it off. As it nears Christmas and the town festivities start properly kicking off, things keep disappearing and the gnomes move around, but who is behind it and will the missing things be found, or will the Christmas spirit and romantic escapades be lost?

This is a seasonal themed cozy mystery which is a lovely and wholesome read, it is full of good cheer and the baking is guaranteed to make your mouth water and crave something sweet at the same time!

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Revel by Alden Elway – Reviewed by Roxsanne Lesieur.

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Revel (The Howl Series, #1)Revel by Alden Elway
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Revel Finley is a twenty two year old woman who lives with her family in a large cabin in the woods near Kane, but she is also a werewolf shifter, she lives for being in the woods and running free in her wolf form, to embrace and be embraced by nature and everything she loves and she is careful about being seen, that is until she is by a hiker in the woods as she is hunting. When she decides to pluck up the courage to tell her brother, she realises that the guy who saw her is his coworker and not just that, he has told her brother before she gets the chance to and now he has to keep it to herself or she will bear the full brunt of her Alpha Soren’s rage. Revel makes up a lame excuse for being there when she steps out of the tree line and sees her brother and he says he will give her a lift home as he is about to leave, so they go up to his office so that he can grab some paperwork, she sees a family photo on his desk as she looks around the office and remembers the day it was taken and how her family had a run together and bonded strongly, especially with her twin Tristan, it is while she is reminiscing that she is introduced to his coworker, Jamie and her reaction to him is something she wasn’t prepared for in the slightest.

When they get home, they have a pack meeting to discuss the sighting of this wolf and what the consequences might be for the pack, the meeting turns to fear, raised voices and panicked questioning until Soren asserts his status and calms the pack members down, throughout all of this, Revel is trying not to show how guilty she feels for the whole situation and that she is the wolf who has been seen.

Finally, Soren puts out the order to stay away from the trails and roads, or there will be consequences, as well as stating that nobody should hunt alone, but when everyone else cowers to their alpha’s will, Revel finds that she is not as affected as she should be. When Soren later pulls Revel to one side and tells her that he wants her to hunt with her two younger twin brothers so that she can bring one down a few notches and the other up a few and build his confidence. As the three of them head out later on with Tristan in tow, they walk through the woods in wolf form until they smell a mountain lion nearby and decide it is time to teach Ethan a lesson, it all goes to plan until Ethan runs off scared and discovers something in the wood that he wasn’t prepared for. They find a piece of human remains and decide that they need to return home and tell Soren about it, but when they find out he has already left, they decide to keep it to themselves until he gets back.

A welcome distraction arrived with Revel getting a job at the local farmers market, helping to lift crates and other jobs most days of the week, but this is where she runs into Jamie more and cannot deny the attraction between them. As she has to keep it a secret, she struggles with lying to her family as she sneaks around and spends more time Jamie, it is about this time when a mysterious and handsome lone wandering wolf, Daniel comes to stay at the cabin, which is not unusual, but what is is that hikers begin to go missing and bodies start to be found around pack territory, this puts more pressure on Revel as she tries to hide more and more secrets from her family and the danger around them grows.

Will Revel’s secrets be revealed to the rest of the pack, or will the pack be able to work out who is killing the hikers and what will happen if they do? This is a romance with a dangerous edge and shows how mistakes can lead to dangerous paths and dire consequences, but also how strength can come out of it and show what people are really capable of. A riveting look at pack life and romance with the added twist of danger in is a story you will want to continue and finish once you have started it.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Santa Got Run Over by a Vampire (New Orleans Nocturnes Book 4) by Carrie Pulkinen – Reviewed by Roxsanne Lesieur.

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Santa Got Run Over by a Vampire (New Orleans Nocturnes, #3.5)Santa Got Run Over by a Vampire by Carrie Pulkinen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jane Devereaux is finally getting her chance to drive Gaston’s baby around New Orleans and is relishing in this until she runs someone over, as she starts to panic and get Gaston to call for an ambulance, she learns that it isn’t just any old person she has run over and nearly killed, it is Santa, THE SANTA, he actually exists and not only that and now Jane has to make a choice, she has to turn him into a vampire, or destroy Christmas, not much of a choice really. After the deed is done and Santa has been turned, Jane and Gaston load Santa into his car and after some shock and amazement, she gets to ride Santa’s reindeer Blitzen home, this is something she will never forget.

The next day, she has to go and see the Magistrate of their coven and register her new fledgeling and start to deal with the consequences of her actions, this includes the explanation of why she had to sire him in the first place, but first she has to break the news to Santa that he is now a vampire and everything that goes with it, however, Santa seems a little off and won’t stop singing his versions of Christmas songs and asking constantly for sugary things to crave his thirst. After Santa’s registration they take Santa out for his first feed and to get his official license, but something is still off, this is where they all have to break the news to Mrs Claus, as well as this, she has the added bonus of her dad coming to visit for Christmas and she is going to have to break the news that she is a vampire, but more that that, is that she is also married and prepare herself to see her dad and face his reactions to her news! Jane only has three days to fix Santa and save Christmas, but can she do it in time, or at all?

This story is a christmas themed romp through New Orleans where mistakes are made and curveballs are thrown around like snowballs in a snowball fight and a read which will keep you reading until the end.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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The Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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The Last Playlist: A Sonic EpitaphThe Last Playlist: A Sonic Epitaph by P.A. Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

P.A Kane introduces the idea of playlists of music and what story they can and will tell you during their journey and he should know, he has been creating them for years and on all the available and changing media throughout this time, but it isn’t just something any old person can throw together and there are rules to be followed, but also bent and broken. As you read through this book, you are taken on a journey through the playlist Kane has created to document his life and the experiences and the stories associated with the songs contained within it.

The book begins with a description of what a playlist is and the fundamentals of creating one, the rules, the do’s and don’ts, as well as how they can be creatively and emotionally satisfying. It also documents how the availability of music, the technology he used and uses and his perspective have changed and adapted over the years too.

The rest of the book is a series of essays which are attached to specific songs, it is written as a memoir and goes into incredible detail, both within the experiences and other pieces of music which complement or contrast with the title song and why. The experiences described are positive and negative in nature and some are harder to read than others, but it is done in such a way that even the most negative are brought to us as a way to encourage awareness and provoke thought and conversation around the subjects.

This is a biography, but not your usual run of the mill one, this one is a legacy of a life filled with revelation and the most important aspect is the music described within, it makes you feel like you are living in the moment being described and takes you to places you may never have experienced yourself, there is something in it for everyone and leads you on a musical discovery all at the same time.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Aiko (Heartstrings Book 1) by Brooke May – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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AikoAiko by Brooke May
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Aiko is one of six assistants created by cupid to help out when his workload becomes too much for him on his own, they all have their talents, but Aiko is one who always messes up, from minor to major, plagues to the extermination of civilisations and everything in between, but Aiko now has a chance to make up for these past mistakes and times in exile. Alejandro Gomez is a man with everything, the looks, the job, the personality, but when it comes to women, he is clueless and can’t seem to get the girl he wants.

We first meet both Aiko as an observer and Alejandro having his heart broken, he is in full romance mode, mariachi outfit and all, but it still hasn’t worked. Shortly after this spectacle, Aiko is called home and summoned to a meeting with Cupid and his other assistants, where she is surprisingly given a new assignment and the others show their feelings when it is announced and not many of them are positive reminders of Aiko’s past disasters. When she receives the file, she realises that her new assignment is the man who she has just been observing, the irony is clear, but she is determined to be successful this time.

The time comes when Aiko has to introducer herself and it just so happens that he is looking for a new assistant and this is where she makes her presence known, but it is not all plain sailing even from the beginning and although positive things start to appear, they are quickly forgotten when the negative things start, but at least Aiko has a plan, even if Alejandro is not convinced that it is going to work. He is shocked and doesn’t want anything to do with Aiko, but when he realises that he is going to have no choice in the matter, he finally relents and agrees to Aiko’s help, albeit begrudgingly..

This is a story of romance and a cupid who has lost confidence in their abilities, it is a testament to second chances and making up for past mistakes, but what they are and what the consequences may be is a question only answered by reading the book to find out whether Aiko and Alejandro can work together to create a happy ending.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Urban Justice (A Chicago Vigilantes Novel Book 2) by India Kells – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Urban Justice (A Chicago Vigilantes Novel #2)Urban Justice by India Kells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In this second installment of the Chicago Vigilantes novels it is the story of Sloane Friday, a fiery ex cop with bright pink hair and a chequered history, which is all being brought back to her as she takes her turn as the Vigilante, and continues the fight against the drug that is Phantom and it’s suppliers. The death toll is rising higher and the hospitals are full of patients who have been affected by Phantom, but have not succumbed to it’s deadly influence.

It begins underground with Luke Radcliffe doing some urban exploration in a familiar set of tunnels with a friend of his, that is until he gets sick of him complaining and offers him a get out clause, after he leaves, Luke continues on until he hears shouts and gunfire in the tunnels. Thinking quickly, he tries the door and when he finds it stuck, he goes to find an alternative entrance to the control room above, when he does, he finds the Vigilante facing off against three armed individuals and remembering his military background in the Marines, he takes a shot at the one who is creeping behind the Vigilante and then quickly makes his exit from the tunnels, just before he gets out, the Vigilante catches up with him and nods an acknowledgement before blending back into the shadows.

We next see Sloane removing the Vigilante suit at their command center and get’s a dressing down from her boss regarding her antics in the tunnels and how she isn’t invincible, but is still a vital member of the team and Sloane explains her thinking behind the risk and the consequences of her actions. This leads the conversation to her mystery saviour in the tunnels and whether they had found out who he is and what he was doing there, but the only shot of the license plate is unreadable and they are back to square one, however, they did discover that there was a professor at the local university, Professor Luke Radcliffe who knows a lot about the underground tunnels and may have an idea of whether they could be the way that the traffickers are moving the Phantom around.

The next day Sloane dons a wig and goes to the university to talk to the professor and attend one of his lectures, but first she decides to go to his office and have a look around, then realising the time, she leaves and heads to the lecture hall, but not before running into someone, they apologise to each other and head their own way thinking nothing more of the encounter, that is until they realise that they are in the same lecture hall. After the lecture has finished, Sloane stays back to talk to the professor and ask for his help, he politely declines, but Sloane leaves her card and asks him to contact her if he changes his mind. This is where Sloane and Friday meet for the first time, but as the situation changes and they realise that Luke is in more danger than he knows and that they will have to work together in order to attain the goals which they set themselves, this is where attraction and feelings come into play to make things just a little bit more complicated.

Will they be able to work together and successfully navigate the darkness surrounding them, or will the darkness separate and destroy them and those around them? This action packed thrill ride with a splash of romance added in, will leave you not wanting to put the book down until you know how it ends, another addictive installment without a doubt.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Yule Lads Legend: Iceland’s Jólasveinar by Heidi Herman – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Yule Lads Legend: Iceland's JolasveinarYule Lads Legend: Iceland’s Jolasveinar by Heidi Herman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the story of how thirteen troll brothers find that all the pranks, stealing of items and mischief that they are used to, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

When the first troll arrives and starts getting up to the same old mischief he always does, he is seen by a human and makes the boy a gift to persuade him to keep his secret, but when the boy does keep the troll’s secret and then the next morning finds the gift as well, he is happy.

The troll sees that the boy is happy with his gift and is confused to begin with, but when he feels happy as well and tells his brother troll’s what has happened, a chain reaction begins and a whole new world of happiness and smiles are brought into the troll’s world.

This is a lovely short story which is a modern take on an Icelandic Legend of The Yule Lads, it is a tale which shows that even something that starts off as selfish can be changed into something wonderful when done for the right reasons, it is a quick read and one which children and adults alike will enjoy.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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First, We Kill All the Lawyers by Seelie Kay – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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First, We Kill All the LawyersFirst, We Kill All the Lawyers by Seelie Kay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We first meet Donovan Trait, a handsome, dashing and confident lawyer who has never lost a case and is known to many as the hottest lawyer in Chicago, he knows his legislation and he also knows his ways around a judge and jury, he is also a three hundred year old vampire. The case in question this time is the illegal seizure of goods and harassment by law enforcement of his clients, he wins again of course, but as he is heading away from the courtroom, a brief tryst with a judge afterwards and through the lunchtime rush in the streets surrounding it, he receives a text message which is out of the ordinary, but believes that it is just a friend playing one of their usual pranks, that is until he ends up in hospital after receiving a stab wound to the side and collapses in the street. He wakes up in the hospital and on an IV blood transfusion and to the dulcet tones of his secretary pretending to be his fiancee in order to access his hospital room to get his sorted and out, at least once he has spoken to the police first, luckily for him, the first one on the scene is one he knows and won’t ask too many questions about how he is already healing after receiving a wound which would kill a human.

Next we meet the mystery killer and find out that they are very disturbed by the fact that Donovan Tate isn’t dead and that there is no mention of this in the newspapers at all, she then decides to give it another try because her plan would not succeed unless he was the first one to die. After that, it would seem random as they would all be killed in different ways and by seemingly different people, she had written her list out and was determined to follow through with it and kill all the lawyers who had wronged her and her family in the past.

A couple of days later and Donovan is back in the courtroom and cross examining another witness, he again succeeds in this and after a visit to his sister, who discusses his behaviour both inside and outside the courtroom to try to glean some information about his latest conquest and why this one might be the one he settles down with, this as well as who may have it in for him within the professional boundaries. After he leaves another night of passion with his very human lady love, he gets in a taxi to go to court, but he is unnerved by the behaviour of his driver and so calls his friend in law enforcement to subtly check it out while he is being driven to work, it is just before his appearance that he decides to go to the bathroom to straighten out his suit when he is shot by a mystery woman and is again awoken by the dulcet tones of his secretary.

It is after this that he decides to stay out of the spotlight and lay low as this is being investigated and the killer is made to believe that he is at death’s door and in a private facility, this encourages her to move onto the next names on her list and as the bodies pile up and there are no more leads that things get more serious for everyone involved.

Will the dead lawyers stay dead or will the true nature of the victims come to light? Will the killer be found and caught, or will they do as they say and “Kill all the lawyers!”? This is a thriller with a dash of romance which will leave you guessing until the end and wanting to see who is committing all these dastardly deeds in Chicago, but the only way to find out who it is is to read on and find out.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Hunted by Sarah Biglow & Molly Zenk – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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HuntedHunted by Sarah Biglow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a tale of vampires and vampire hunters, two sets of people leading very different lives and each others lifelong enemies, but that is just most of the clans, however, the Heartsong Clan wants to change this perspective from one of violence to one of peace and coexistence, that is why they hold “Human vs Vampire” LARP reenactments so that humans can learn a bit about Vampire culture and then maybe chose to become one of them and this weekend is another of these events where humans and vampires mix together for a few days.

This book starts with Edith on her wedding day as she prepares to end her life, she has lost her love and sees nothing else to live for, she just wants to be with him, she is walking into the river with the stones in her pockets until someone calls to her from the bank, this person is Mr Heartsong, a vampire she knows from the VHA (Vampire Human Alliance) and he is trying to glamour her to convince her that Daniel would want her to continue to live and to be happy and also stop her from joining Daniel in death.

100 years to the day she turned, Edith is leading the LARP event with Hope and Angel her two daughters, they are just like any other family, apart from they are vampires and older than they look, as they man the booth where people sign up for the event, a young man, Caden comes to sit and chat with Parker, another vampire and the girls and it turns out he is there to help with the recruitment drive, Edith is initially reluctant to trust the young man, but decides to give him the benefit of the doubt when the girls say that they trust him with their lives, as does Parker. As the day goes on and more people sign up, they have their first “vampire” added to the list, Dan, he is friends with the girls and Caden and it seems that he wants to learn more about the vampire way of life.

Next we meet Darren who is Dan’s brother and only wants to chaperone him to the nerdy convention that his brother is interested in attending, but he feels uncomfortable as soon as he enters the building where he can’t tell the humans and the vampires apart and as a hunter, it is something that he hates. He realises that he has lost Dan in the crowds, but remembers that he spoke about going to meet some friends while there, but getting there that late in the day, Darren is a little worried about him and starts to stress out when he can no longer see him because of their history. Darren has intel that the Heartsong Clan are recruiting at the event and he prays that that isn’t why Dan is here, however, if he is, then it will be a great way to get some inside intel on the Clan while meeting his brothers friends.

This is where Edith and Darren come face to face and meet for the first time and although the insistent banging on her office door is giving her a migraine, she remains polite and as she opens the door, another wave of memories hit her. It is then that he asks to join in the LARP and reluctantly, Edith agrees and gives him a tour of where he will be staying for the weekend, as they do this, Edith explains the rules of the weekend and the game play, as well as what will happen and when. When they see a group with Dan in, Darren takes him to one side and they have an argument about why Dan is there and why he left Darren in the convention and neither of them is happy with the situation, but they both go to the dining room when the bell is sounded for the meal. It is later that night when Darren decides to go and check that Dan is alright that all hell breaks loose as the weekend takes a turn for the worse and this leads to Darrens worst fears, that Dan is in danger and he is realising that Edith is not like any other vampire he has ever met.

Will Dan and Darren be able to escape the convention, or will the vampires show their true natures? Will Edith be able to come to terms with the memories which are flooding back and be honest with herself and Darren and will he be able to be honest with her as they grow closer? The only way to find out is to read along and discover their revelations at the same time they do.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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The Bullet Theory (Dr Nolan Mills Book 1) by Sonya Jesus – Reviewed by Roxsanne Lesieur.

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The Bullet Theory (Dr. Nolan Mills, #1)The Bullet Theory by Sonya Jesus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book starts with Eleanor Devero and Kace as they are recovering from the loss of their child and a look into Eleanor’s thought patterns and despair as she spirals further into the darkness in her mind as she thinks about their job and how it puts them in the line of fire and that is exactly why they have lost what they have lost, the scars are there from the physical healing her body has already been going through, but it is the psychological scars which are hitting her hardest at the moment and drawing away from Kace seems to be her only option to stop the pain she is going through, even though he is going through it too. As she remembers the scenario where she was injured, she keeps replaying it trying to figure out who would have done it to her and she cannot accept that the police have stopped investigating and left the case open as there were no clues or leads to follow anymore and that is when she started investigating everyone around her who might even be slightly related to the case, this is also why she is now on unpaid leave and is going to have to attend mandatory counselling sessions. Since the case has been put on the backburner and the case surrounding the Bullet Man has come in, all the focus has been on that and trying to find the proxy killer behind it, but there aren’t many leads to follow there either, or at least, none that are of any use, they are chasing their tails and the only thing turning up are bodies and solved crimes attached to them.

The Bullet Man in question has developed a theory that when a bullet and a tortured heart exist together, the only variable is opportunity and so he has set up an experiment to investigate just that, by choosing test subjects and interacting with them to build up a profile of whether his intervention would help them or not. Having the ability to do this experiment as part of his actual profession gives him access to possible candidates and the resources and ability to solve the unsolvable without bias.

As Eleanor enters the therapist’s office with Kace for her first session, on the outside, she is unkempt, unfocussed and unable to look them in the eye, she is just a mess and a ghost of her former self and that is just the tip of the iceberg, inside, she is hurt, guilty, angry and just a plain wreck of her former self, she also wants revenge. Kace is doing most of the talking though until he is asked to leave so that the two of them can start their individual session before moving onto joint sessions as a couple. After the session Kace asks how she got on and Eleanor explains her homework to him and this bring up more feelings to the surface that she would rather weren’t there, they then go to the precinct where she can start to work with Kace on the Bullet Man case and start to get her bearings back and Kace thinks that her insights could help them with solving the case, but with all that Eleanor knows about the Bullet Man, she only wants to hire him.

What Eleanor doesn’t realise is that the therapist who she has been sent to is the Bullet Man and that as she is trying to piece herself back together with his help, he is also studying her, but when things come to a head, will Eleanor be able to decide what to do and will she follow her instincts or run as far away as she can? This is a thriller with twists and turns which keep you guessing throughout and at the fast pace you will go through this book, it is well worth giving it your full attention.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Life’s a Witch: A Paranormal Romantic Comedy (New Orleans Nocturnes Book 3) by Carrie Pulkinen – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Life's a Witch (New Orleans Nocturnes, #3)Life’s a Witch by Carrie Pulkinen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the story of Crimson Oliver, a witch who just can’t catch a break with her magic and everytime she casts a spell, something goes wrong and Mike Cortez, a demon in rehabilitation who makes deals with the devil and owns a restaurant all at the same time.

The story starts with Crimson as she is about to go in front of the Council of Elders of her coven, which is in direct relation to her latest magical mishap. As the Council convenes and Rosemary takes her place as head priestess, she asks one of the other witches to read out the charges against Crimson which, if they are found to be true, will .end up with Crimson having her power bound and a life in exile away from other witches for the rest of her life and Crimson has no intention of letting that happen as she is not guilty of any of the charges and given the result of her questioning, it looks like that is exactly what will happen, that is until she invokes the goddess and the right to challenge the high priestess to a magic battle and the goddess deems that it shall go ahead, much to the amazement of the rest of the coven, especially Rosemary. It is decided that the two witches have one month to prepare for the challenge and the winner takes the role of High Priestess and the loser has their magic bound and must live in exile, but Crimson is sure that Rosemary only rules the coven without their respect and decides that there must be more to Rosemary than meets the eye and that she will both find out and win the challenge, all she has to do is practice, practice and practice some more.

Next we meet Mike as he is about to go to his meet with a group of like minded demons and remembers to take his angel cake with him, a way to sweeten the evening, he also knows that he is late with his freedom payment when his hand starts to burn and his spine tingle, a sign that the connection between himself and Satan is itching for it to be paid. As the meeting winds up, Mike heads back home, he passes a few guys who he could read and see whether there could be a deal to strike, but he figures that it isn’t worth sending Satan yet another testicle as payment of the deal, he already has enough of those! He also sensed no malice in them and as he normally only made deals with those who would already be damned anyway, he passes on the opportunity, however, as soon as he gets past the restaurant downstairs and into his apartment, Satan is waiting for him, although it isn’t because he is late on a payment it is because he has a job for him, he is in need of a new assistant as his jealous girlfriend has gotten rid of the last one and he will only accept a witch, if Mike can manage it, then he can be free, so now the only thing Mike has to do is find one.

As Crimson and Mike decide to go to the same bar for different reasons and unbeknown to the other, they run into each other and the old flame ignites between them, but soon they have to go their separate ways before one of them decides to do something they would regret. The pull between them is too strong and they decide that they want to see where things will lead, but there are mishaps along the way and when they talk about it, they accidentally make a deal and Mike manages to damn Crimson when she agrees to give her body and soul to the devil in exchange for winning the contest against Rosemary.

This is a romp from New Orleans to Hell and back again, but will everything turn out to plan, or will history repeat itself? The only way to find out is to join the ride and find out.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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Blood of the Dragon (Relic Hunters Book 4) by Martin Ferguson – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

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Blood of the Dragon (Relic Hunters, #4)Blood of the Dragon by Martin Ferguson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book starts at the ruined Poenari Castle in Romania where it is pouring with rain and cold and a small group have gotten past the local armed forces guarding it and have managed to climb the seemingly endless staircase to get to it, it is rumoured to contain the long lost treasure hoard of an infamous Prince, but when they discover a couple of old coins in the ruins as well as an old silver chalice with an unusual engraving, they are hopeful that they will find it, but that is until all the lights go out around them and they are viciously attacked.

Forty years later, a Professor and friend of the leader of the Relic Hunters of the British Museum Charles, start to receive threatening phone calls and letters and their office and house are ransacked, they decide to call Charles and ask for his help, while in a taxi on their way to the museum, they are attacked by a masked man and his mercenaries. They are nearly rammed off the road multiple times, they are peppered with gunfire and when the taxi is finally overturned and they are dragged from it with a gun pressed to their head, just in the nick of time, Adam and Emma of the hunters come to their rescue and take them to the museum after Charles received their messages for aid.

As the trio enter the museum, the Professor is astounded to see the part of the underground area of the Museum they are being led through, but are not happy when they find out that Charles isn’t there, but are happy to find out that the team will still help them. As the Professor explains what the people were after her for, it turns out that it is the diary of one of those attacked in Romania and that she bought through an auction, after it had finally been made public. As its contents are revealed and the location within it are discussed, the team come to a decision to go to the castle in question with the Professor and help them that they will set off there as soon as they are ready, but this is where the danger starts, secrets are revealed and paths cross in a most mysterious way.

This is yet another fantastic installment in the Relic Hunters series and one full of twists, turns, mysteries and action which well and truly sucks you in, but will the Hunters be able to overcome their latest adversary or will this plea for help be one they can’t fulfil?

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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