Reign of Cinders & Glass; Faited Fairytales Book One by Linsey Hall @ Veronica Douglas

 

• I am obsessed & couldn't put it down!
  I'm going to confess that I don't normally like fairytale retellings. That being said this book sucked me in immediately! I couldn't put it down. I stayed up all night. What makes this book so enthralling the fact that it's a totally different story. Plus you have a vampire with conflicting emotions trying to be a gentleman. Ella lives with her step mom who yeah she did a few bad things but I still believe she isn't as bad as some. Mine was. Anyhoo Ella's sister Belle has been missing for five days. While it is normal for her to be gone a few days she has never been gone this long. Ella is worried to death because you don't go out into the woods at night. There are monsters & immortals better known as vampires. Yet she is so desperate to find her sister she doesn't care. She stays out hunting in the forest going to all her & her sisters places they play in the forest in the daytime. There is an immortal crazed with bloodlust. If Ella didn't happen to have some magic in her she wouldn't have made it to a temporarily safe place. She gets brave & confronts it with a dagger. She is amazingly able to stab this immortal 5 times around his heart. As she is about to be attacked again (knife was kicked away) a horse & rider jump over her. The immortal on the horse is rude to her & insists she go home. After ease dropping Ella finds out her sister is being looked for by her stepmother. And that both of them are in the resistance. They need a new person to get a job at the castle & spy for them. Since they don't have Belle anymore. Immediately Ella volunteers to go because she will do anything to find her sister. Prince Cassius is immediately drawn to her. She is beautiful & has silver hair with lavender eyes. No one else has silver hair. She is hired as a maid to a courtier. What she doesn't know is the prince did this to keep the men in the castle from trying to touch her. He immediately starts spreading around that she is his & no one is to touch her. Apparently the horrid woman she works for didn't get the memo. This woman is mean, violent, verbally abusive, & punishes with chores. Then her sister Bianca who believe it or not is worse. Every time Cassius represents or punished these two things for Ella get worse. Finally because of the spying she does her life is on the line (this happens several times). In order to save it they come up with a lie. Cassius finally bites her & they leave it visible in a beautiful dress. He wants her to walk around & say they were together the whole half of the day in bed. So she had an alibi. Because she discovered that there is a hidden tower (by magic) that contains three powerful people & it appears the Prince doesn't have as much authority as she thought. I have no idea how Cassius held off so long when it came to drinking her blood & taking her v card. The love scenes are so good I still can't get them out of my head. The ending you won't see coming. Fantastic read!!!
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How to Find Love When Your Weird: A Sweet Romantic Comedy by Camilla Evergreen

 Ellen has a problem making & keeping friends. Most of them want to use her or laugh at her. Those types of people are the scum of the earth. I mean who gets someone wasted & then leaves them at the bar on their birthday. They could have made sure she got home. People suck sometimes. In this book Ellen is an editor & works from home on her computer. It's the perfect job for her considering her various conditions. She gets depressed, has anxiety, & has a hard time reading emotions. She also doesn't understand social cues. Which I imagine would make life really hard. Especially because she was born rich & I can imagine all the social functions her parents go to that she had to attend. I am sure none of those people care about Ellen. They just pretend to so they can talk about her behind her back. You see this when her parents get upset about their friends not being able to see the wedding. 

In order to get home Hayes, who owned the bar, walks her home because she can't walk steady. He is also worried someone might take advantage of her. She needs he getting up the stairs & almost falls down the stairs. Hayes is instantly attracted to her. He carries her to her bed puts a water bottle by it & goes to walk away. She asks him to stay saying she doesn't want to be alone on her birthday. Then she asks if she could kiss him. He gets uncomfortable because he doesn't want to take advantage of her. She sits in his lap & kisses him several times. She gets mad when he doesn't kiss back. Asking if he's not attracted to her. Actually it's just the opposite. She convinces him to take off his shirt so she can see the scar he has from being stabbed. She finally falls asleep & he chastised himself for going too far. He is always worried he will turn out like his father. His father brought them to the US bought the bar then cheated on his mom. On top of that his Dad left the country with the new woman & left the bar to Hayes. He hates it. He doesn't drink & he hates all the math he has to do for projections, orders, & probably taxes. 

We skip ahead five years and both are still single. Both feel alone even thoughts? Ellen has a hairless cat named mouse. They are getting desperate so Ellen does research & finds a book that has steps on how to find love. She tries speed dating & is frustrated when no one chooses her. Her second time Hayes notices her & cuts in line so he can be her next date. Unfortunately, for him Ellen doesn't remember anything from that night. I kinda think if she remembered the kissing and all the rest she would be mortified. He monopolized the rest of her dates & she didn't choose him because of stereotypes because he was big. Even though their speed dating went well. I felt so bad for him. Hayes is a sweet, sensitive, & caring guy. He only chose her for a date. She put a lot of jerks down I wouldn't have. She keeps overlooking other peoples issues because she has been told all her life that there is something wrong with her. And she believes it. She continues to speed date six more times without any luck & doesn't understand why no one picks her. 

Hayes can't take it at home anymore. His sisters & mamma won't quit setting him up on blind dates. On New Year's his sister's best friend kisses him without asking or warning. He felt like he was being sexually assaulted. Apparently later Ellen finds out it was a miscommunication. Anyway he moves across the way from Ellen's apartment. Ellen has a POTS incident while they are talking. He learns she can't stand for more than 10 minutes. Her heart speeds up her legs collapse and  then she passes out. He is there to take care of her. It doesn't take too long for her to wake back up. She thanks him. He sees mouse in his PJ's & asked where the ears to the cost are. Mouse gets cold without hair. She takes very good care of him. Too bad she can't learn to take better care of herself. Ellen's parents changed their will to say if she isn't in a serious relationship or married by a certain year on her birthday she wouldn't inherited a cottage on her parents land. They had promised it to her a long time ago. When she moved out because of the cat they panicked. 

When Hayes hears her talking about someone to be her fake boyfriend he jumps all over the chance. He tries to convince her. Finally as the deadline gets closer she agrees. She doesn't have any more time to find someone. Being Ellen she comes up with a form for him to fill out to learn if they are even compatible. After they exchange papers & talk they decide to go ahead. Of course, Ellen believes life happens exactly like it does in a book. She writes down all the things that are going to happen to them. He doesn't believe it because it's a book genre not real life. The go to the zoo for their first date. They both love animals & he's never been since moving there. They get to feed giraffes. I am so jealous I have always wanted to do that. He sends pictures of her to his family. The rest I will let you discover.

How to Fake Date Your Boss by Camilla Evergreen

 I thought I had a strict childhood & almost everyone I talk to agrees. Rose's parents have some crazy theories. I can't imagine not being allowed to read fiction or fantasy those are my genres. I grew up on sci-fi. Rose was homeschooled up to the higher grades then put into an all girls school. She's never kissed a boy, been to a party, a bar, or had sex. She is a positive person who is like a ray of sunshine. Her school is touring a college when she hears crying. She follows it to a box of cats that are abandoned. When it starts pouring rain she covers the box with her body. While she is trying to figure out what to do a male student walks out with an umbrella. Rose isn't paying attention & runs into his chest. 

Levi thinks she is beautiful, kind, & caring. Unlike the people he has dealt with for years. He's depressed yet something draws them together. Levi let's Rose know that he can see her underwear because the fabric of her uniform is pretty much transparent when wet. Levi is sweet enough to give her his expensive coat to keep her modesty. One of Rose's teachers starts yelling for her. He got her name but she never knew his. She thrust the box of kittens at him & made him promise to find new homes for them. 

Now it's 5 years later & Rose is attending the same college Levi went to. She is paying her way for college with scholarships & jobs. She takes a year or two off at times to save up. She applies to be a copywriter for Levi's autobiography. He knows it's her however, she doesn't recognize him. 

When Rose goes into the interview he can't believe she doesn't recognize him. Rose is uncomfortable in a tight dress that her roommate said was appropriate for an interview. However, the way it's described it would be better to wear it to a club. Levi is so smitten that he walks her to her scooter. In the parking lot her heal breaks & Levi moves fast to be the one to cushion her fall. When Rose lands her mouth is on his & she is straddling him. He asks her to get off him. Because he is afraid of what he will do if she stays in that position. She sits up but is stuck straddling him because the dress is so tight. Levi is able to pick her up while getting himself off the ground. Unbeknownst to them someone caught it all on camera. Levi has his first scandal since starting his billionaire company. 

Rose goes in to her new job after the tabloids come out with a plan. She pitches the idea of dating Levi so they can both clear their names. Rose is being called a whore & she is terrified her parents will find out. Levi agrees but I suspect he does it just to spend time with her. He tries to come clean with her so many times but she shuts him down. Even after taking home to meet her family who end up loving him. She still goes through the fake breakup. And she moves back home to write books. She decided she didn't need a college degree to teach her what she already knew. But will she be able to live the lonely life again being single?

One Last First Date: Flirting With Forever by Kate O'Keeffe

 There are a few funny things here & there but nothing like the book promises. Sure as little girls we all dream of our wedding day. I remember looking at Brides magazine. Checking them out at the library. Buying them & cutting my favorite ones in a notebook. Of course, all those dresses were way to expensive for me to ever wear. That part of Cassie's background I can buy. However, making a mathematical timeline for when you will get married & have kids is ridiculous! You can't predict that stuff. And you can't predict who you fall in love with. And believing a goddess of the beach exists is ludicrous! Marissa is the only sane one in the group of friends. Cassie hunts down her perfect husband very stalker like. Doing research on your "future" husband before you have even been out on a date is mad. The odds of that relationship making it to marriage are. slim. The odds of it leading to divorce if they did marry are higher. This is definitely why I finished this book but I will not be reading the rest of the series. This was my first book by this author. I couldn't believe Cassie was changing herself to be who Parker wanted her to be. That should have been a red flag for Cassie. If a guy wants you to charge for him he's not worth your time. He should love you for you! She also rationalized his red flags or bad behavior. I could never marry a guy with parents like Parker's!

Parker comes from filthy rich parents. His mom interrogated her & his dad is creepy as hell! Any old man who goes kissing his son's girlfriend on the lips is disgusting. And Parker has no backbone for allowing his father to do it. The fact that Parker's parents gave their approval like Cassie was a piece of meat they were bidding on rubs me the wrong way. Parker really was more like obsessed with Sara, this ex girlfriend.

Then there is Will a fun guy Cassie works with that everyone likes, except her. I think she feels threatened by him. Everything seems to come easy for him. He makes up a nickname for her that means toilet in another language. I thought it was blatantly obvious he liked her from the get go. Think about it what do little boys do to girls they like? Pull their hair, tease them, scare them with a frog, etc. I guess none of these women remembered being a child even though they were so young. Will really puts himself out there for her too. He teaches her golf for Pete's sake of course, I suspect he had ulterior motives. Especially, since they started going out to eat afterwards. Until I think deep down Cassie knew she was starting to have feelings for Will otherwise why would she stop taking lessons from him early? Let's not forget the grand jesture he made buying those expensive impossible to get Lady Gaga tickets that started their friendship. They both find out about a management position at work. Did I mention Will & Cassie are both competitive? The funny thing is Cassie wouldn't have even tried to get the job if it wasn't for Marissa convincing her. The interview process is two separate interviews because they put them on a team project to see how they do. Cassie thinks she's winning. She's confident & she challenges almost every suggestion Will gives. When she gets to the second interview & find out some of the employees were asked to give their feedback on how they both lead. When Cassie found out her employees thought she was dominant she wanted to be sick. She realized she had sabotaged herself because she was to competitive. She decided then & there she would change. She listened to others suggestions. She went back over things she turned down. And the turnaround was just the wake up call she needed. I'll not tell the ending but it might be a shock to some. 

Carve My Pumpkin by Chandelle LaVaun & Megan Montero

 Megan & Chandelle have outdone themselves! Can I just say that I cried through several chapters. Megan & Chandelle you guys can't do that to us. All kidding aside I love a good book that makes me feel emotions! And this book has it. I enjoyed Constantine but this book makes me really love him. I challenge Megan & Chandelle to write his soulmate. You know he will be hard to do! I always loved the dark brooding Mateo. This explains so much of his behavior in the past. I mean you can't deny that as many of his siblings that have soulmates it was going to happen for all of them. I can't imagine being in his shoes. You would feel like you were cheating on your soulmate. At least for other people who don't know it would make sense for them to keep dating after all not everyone has a soulmate. Mateo has always been charming & dressed to the nines. I may have just shown my age there. I imagine little toddler Mateo as soon as he could speak voicing his preferences over his clothing. 

Lexington who is the president of Preston Tech, the only tech that works on Megelle Island, offers a promotion to Collette. Keep in mind everyone loves her & she has worked in almost every department in the company. She thinks outside the box. Mateo signed off on her resume even. When Lexington offers her the position she is thrilled. This is her dream job. She has always wanted to travel. Her mom however, never wanted to leave the Island. In fact she didn't go into town. She had a small cottage on the edge of town in a wooded area. She has no electricity or tech. They live off the land. Imagine what that was like for Collette who started sneaking tech home in high school. Because her mom is 900 years old her friends are old as well.  Collette loves them & especially book club. You will love the shenanigans her golden girls as she affectionately calls them pull. Wait till you meet the famous member. I'm going to let that one be a surprise. Naturally Collette is a introvert. She has something wrong with her Fae wings & can't fly. Because of this she sees herself as a failure. I think it's why she throws herself into her work so hard. When she starts this job with Mateo she has to go through a two week probation period. That is to make sure they get along okay. The first day she starts she is brimming with excitement. Unfortunately, one look at her has Mateo treating her like the gum under her shoe. And they aren't traveling anywhere until her one task is done. It's a monumental task because he expects her to find his soulmate. Something he has tried to do for a year unsuccessfully. Yet, she only has two weeks. Not to mention using the company for personal gain is a gross misuse of her skills & unethical. Instead of telling anyone that could help her out of the situation she excepts the challenge. 

Collette uses the Spooky season help her in her search for Mateo's soulmate. Each way more out of the box. I love that through this process she gains friends her age who are willing to help her with any task. Of course, through all this Mateo can't even say a nice thing to her. No compliments on her ideas & he didn't even tell her what had already been tried. it's no wonder his last executive assistant had retired to the other side of the Island! One thing I do love is their banter back & forth. It gets quite intense. 

As time goes on Mateo hates himself for the way he is talking to Collette & treating her. Quite frankly he's attracted to her & if it wasn't for the soulmate mark he would have asked her out. That would be another company line he would have crossed. When they finally go to Peggy Bow to try magic they get their first look at her face. Collette snaps a picture of her. The problem is after going around to the older supernaturals of the Island no one has seen a dark green haired fae. Mateo finally comes to the conclusion that she is in Third Realm. When Mateo & Collette decide to call a truce over Mateo spiraling over boxes of craft supplies he was told to assemble things heat up. First it's moving her so she doesn't get squashed by a hippos butt. To grabbing her arm to keep her from falling in the forest. Then they are without a chaperone in the forest and the next thing you know they are locking lips & some tongue is involved. Collette ever the strong woman that she is pulls away. It wasn't fair to his soulmate or her to entertain the idea. Mateo couldn't imagine loving anyone more & was conflicted. Collette ran away because she knew if she stayed she wouldn't be able to keep her lips to herself. For the record this was the chapter I started crying in & it lasted for several more chapters. I will tell you by the end Collette ended up with so many new family members & friends. And a new job position. I will let you read the ending for yourself. I never like to ruin the ending because I am not the type to skip to the end and see

Cruel Alpha by Rachel Jonas

 There is a warning for 18+ for this book. For certain scenes that are inappropriate for teens. Parents if you are in doubt I always read the book first before letting my kids read them. That being said this book is hot!!! Annalise is a snarky, dominant, independent, wolf shifter who wants to change women's rights within her clan. She despises being told what to wear, who to mate, what she will do with her life, & being treated like a piece of property. She's been writing letters to the Alpha for quite awhile trying to get him to change things for women. Annalise is actually of noble birth & her parents died making her aunt & uncle her guardians. The aunt & uncle have tried several times to get her mated but for some reason they never worked out. When she gets invited to the Alpha's estate she automatically thinks he wants to discuss her changes to the women's way of life. When she gets to the Alpha she doesn't understand why he doesn't speak. He just keeps staring at her chest. She decides to take charge & starts talking. 

Alpha Caspian is surprised to learn that Annalise's aunt & uncle didn't tell her why she was invited here. He has to break the news to her that her family can't afford to survive without selling her to the Alpha. Annalise doesn't believe it. After they talk some more it sinks in. She immediately hates Caspian because she doesn't want to have a love less mate. She wants to choose her mate because she fell in love with him. Annalise feels trapped so she comes up with half a plan. Caspian expected her to stay there immediately. Annalise convinces him to let her have one more night at home. When she gets home she packs a bag & runs. She has trouble figuring out where to go. Let's just say that Caspian isn't as dumb as she thought! As punishment she is put in a cell for a week. Until she learns to act the way he wants her to. 

Over time hate turns into love as they learn more about each other. They start doing things for each other. And learn to navigate a relationship with honesty, jealousy, anger, & someone plotting against them. By the way Caspian is my new book boyfriend. He is so hot!

Hendrix (Guardian Group: Security Group) book 2 by Bree Livingston

 Brittany is Noah's baby sister. Who believes there is good in everyone? And that people deserve a second chance. She sees the world differently than everyone else. For instance, she has been receiving stuffed animals for over 6 months. She automatically thinks it's a guy who is shy & is gathering his courage to ask her out. If it was me I'd be like nope that's a red flag. A guy who likes you doesn't send headless stuffed animals to her dates. Brittany doesn't want to tell her brother because he would be overprotective. She had a wedding coming up & she had to go to Hawaii. She was one of the bridesmaids. Did I tell you that she's feisty, stubborn, & can manipulate circles around you?

Noah picks Hendrix to go with her & pretends to be her boyfriend. He's not exactly thrilled with the assignment. He thinks so low of himself. Over things that happened he was 14 and under. His parents weren't parents they were addicted to drugs. The things he had to do to survive will pull at your heart. Brittany gets him to open up by sharing things. The moment they touched they got an electric zap in their skin from touching,

The rest of the book is about Hendrix and Brittany navigating their fake relationship. Brittany wants to find a forever love. Hendrix is trying to keep his barriers up because this is Noah's sister, and he knows he doesn't want to lose his job. Plus once he tells Brittany about his past she will not want to stay with him. She will think he is a monster. Will love prevail or will the stalker win?

Saltcliff Secrets by Brenda Trim

 This is a new paranormal woman's fiction book. It's definitely different than her other series that all interconnect. This midlife series is started when Eliza decided after 20 years at a corporate job she wanted a change. She bought a house site unseen off the internet. It drained her 401K too. What she got was a lot more than she bargained for! Eliza comes from a long legendary line of witches. After college she decided she was done with it she wanted to live as a human. What she doesn't realize is the house she bought is alive. If that's not weird enough there is a portal to hell in her basement. 

While there are both supernaturals & humans in town her realtor is a witch. Zane is the best thing to come out of this move. He's a broody blue eyed hottie. He comes over to check the house out for demons. He tells her what to look for & how to fix the issue & Eliza still trying to grasp everything she's being told. Zane can help teach her the proper sigils to help seal portals & rips. He also happens to be a electrician. Astral the realtor becomes a close friend. While the three of them try to keep the portal sealed. They end up being called to scenes where demons are out in the open. They have to send them back to hell without the humans catching on. It is getting harder too because the veil between realms is getting thin. Add to that they have to do research on the house & try to find a better way to get that seal to stay closed in her basement. 

Eventually Eliza has to call in the Calvary. Extra has been working with her on her magic but Eliza realizes she needs to call her mom & grandma. With this team of five including Eliza they will tackle the seal issue at a time. They even do some travel to different realms before it's all over. This is a fabulous start to what is sure to be another series hit!

Hocus My Pocus by Chandelle LaVaun & Megan Montero

 These two are a mess. Neither one know how to stay somewhere for very long. For Indi it runs in the family her mom could barely stay home when her youngest reached a certain age. Indi ended up raising her sister. She took on several jobs so she could get paid under the table. At times they were barely able to afford rent. One summer Indi begged her mother for a break. Her mom told her she would stay home for the summer & watch her sister. This was the summer Indi fell in love & she was so sure this was the guy she wanted to be with forever. However, fate was cruel to her. When she brought him home to meet her mother & sister no one was there. Turns out her mom had lied. She sent her sister to a summer camp in Colorado. Her sister is Torren. She startled easily & then takes forever to calm down. And since they were living in the human realm Torren going to a human camp was a terrible idea! Indi had to go to Colorado then track her sister down because she had runaway from camp. When she found her she was practically starving to death. From then on she decided to never leave her sister with her mom. After Torren got to be a certain age Indi takes her to Megelle Island to see if shifters could help with her shifting. And if not at least she would be safe because there were no humans there. And then Indi starts her adventures in the human realm. 

While she is gone she meets a guy in a travel group online. They start chatting & the next thing you know they become best friends. They keep trying to meet but fate is unkind. They both think the other person is human. Indi finally comes home after two years of not seeing her little sister. Just in time to see her sister in the parade.

Will Bow is returning home after being gone for longer than anticipated. Will takes pictures & writes books about traveling for humans & supernaturals. He writes under a pen name. Indi thinks his name is Liam. They both head home for Spooky season. Halloween celebrated over a longer period of time. You would think with a family like the Bows that Will would want to be home more. However, what he comes home to sure makes him want to flee again. He catches his family in the kitchen making him a profile on the supernatural dating app. He watches for awhile before he shuts them down. He also came home for his adopted brother, Bash's first ever birthday party. 

Torren's antics really make this book. Of course, you can't leave out the shenanigans of Jimbo & Sal!

Ride & Die by Lucia Ashta

 If you read my reviews regularly then you know I always include warnings for conservative parents. While I love this book immensely it has a lot of f-bombs in it along with other cuss words. Really that is the only thing to worry about. If you have read anything else by Lucia this sci-fi is like nothing she has ever written which is why I really love it. Personally, I'd love to see this as a long series & more in this genre. When 5 high school friends are partying at a incomplete house that was never finished tragedy strikes. There is an accident & someone falls to their death. Students are horrified by the tragedy. When emergency services get there it's already too late. The high schoolers that are closest to the friend convince the paramedics to try to resuscitate once more. Miraculous their friend is alive & rushed to surgery. 

When he finally gets out of the hospital everyone starts calling him the, "Miracle Kid". Things get weird for him at home when his mom insists he starts complaining about symptoms he didn't have & acting differently when he was in public. The press started staking out his school & the entrance to the gated community they live in. One of the 5 friends sneaks into her house when they are skipping school. What she finds blows her mind. Her parents have been listening to their conversations in the treehouse. It only gets worse from there. 

All of their parents are liars. People are after them. And the why will shock you!

Creatures of Chaos by Julie Hall

 This is a first for Julie a book not about angels. And I have to say I love that she stuck with her morals. There was only kissing and a roaming hand. Plus there was no bad language. Young readers or parents who are worried about those things do not need to be concerned with this series! I will say the villain reveal blew me away. Usually in a book it's so blatantly obvious who the bad guy guy is. I got suspicious one time but I quickly put it out of my mind because no other instance came to point it their direction. 

Let's break this book down. Locklyn is a magic less senior in high school living in a magical world. Most people act like she doesn't exist. And like in every school you have your bullies. It's one thing to pick on someone who has magic but you have to be a real low-life to pick on someone without it. Locklyn has two best friends she made back in I believe it was fourth grade. She stood up for a girl named Ensley. She happens to be a twin to a boy named Becks. 

Now if you love shifters with their overprotectiveness you will love Becks. He's A dragon shifter. Blonde hair, green eyes, captain of the vodenball team, & so powerful that he is named the dragon heir. This is a real struggle for Becks. He doesn't want to be the dragon heir. There are so many rules & expectations heaped on him he can barely scratch an itch. However, the worst thing is he has to marry whoever the dragon council picks for him. They only care about one thing power! You see where I'm going with this right? On top of that they will be looking at schools all over. It could very well be a stranger. 

When Ensley & Becks are around Locklyn is safe. Without them she relies on boxing, self defense & kickboxing. While those would be enough in our world, in a magical world they aren't. No one knows why Locklyn has no powers. Her dad is a bear shifter & mom is a fae. And I must say this is one of my favorite parts of this world because the species don't stick to their own kind. 

Next I'm going to talk about the next yummy guy. There always has to be two right. ;) Talon comes from another school his parents are traveling in the middle of the school year? On top of that he can't seem to take his eyes off her. A fact that bothers Becks to no end. Talon is living with his uncle who happens to be on the dragon council. Talon confides in Locklyn that he's looking for a magical dagger. Her parents own an antique store. He tells her this dagger can give the owner magic. Immediately she's interested because with magic & power she could be a strong contender for a mate to Becks. She's had a crush on him for a long time.

Chaos is the name of the game that you can win to claim the dagger. Locklyn just barely crosses the line to enter on time. Thus sealing her fate in a dangerous game that has 5 different rounds. She ends up with an ally or two before everything is said & an done. However, she also finds out Talon isn't who he claims to be & there is more at stake than a dagger.

Faint Hearted by Leia Stone & Julie Hall

 This is my favorite in the series. You see I live with quite a bit of chronic pain from various conditions. The idea of a heroine that has health issues definitely speaks to me! I escape into books to take my mind off my reality. Aribella is treated with kid gloves by her parents because they don't want her to have fainting episodes. She was born with a birth defect. Her parents kept this secret because she was their only successor. The leadership of their court would go to her. Aribella also has another secret what her power is. You see if people knew they wouldn't like what she can do. Unfortunately, since Dawn didn't come back from Faerie Aribella must train to go. This poor girl has only climbed trees. She can swim incredibly well only if she goes slow. Her mom stopped her sportsmanship classes because there had never been a need a fall champion. When the queen pushes her too hard she discovers her powers. This excites the queen. She immediately stops training her with the sword & focuses on her magic. 

Stryker is the lord that is Aribella's mate. Since he was attacked by a woman he loved he trusts no one. Well that and he's filthy rich. People are constantly stealing from him & trying to kill him. Aribella keeps him from killing her by saying she can use her power over emotions to find out if someone is lying. Truth was at that moment she wasn't sure if she was lying. Ironic. Stryker wastes no time finding out by testing his guards loyalties. The second day he pushes her to hard & she faints. Stryker has closed himself off from his brothers because they never came to his aide when he asked. Slowly but surely Aribella softens his hard heart. Who in the end saves his life. And she proves herself by helping lead his army. She's so cool! There is a HEA. I am very worried about Adrien though. He's engaged to be married. The woman is sending off red flags everywhere. She has to be giving him a love potion in his tea that she is insistent he take daily. She claims it's for something else. Can't wait for the next one to find out what happens!

Cold Hearted by Leia Stone & Julie Hall

This is a sweet tale of two different realms. One lied to their people to cover up the truth. Faerie has been cursed. Crops are dying, black rain falling & destroying winds are just the start. Dawn has 30 days to cut out the heart of an Ethereum lord to save Faerie. She has been raised her whole life for this sole purpose. When it's time to go through the portal though her thoughts skip around. This causes her to wind up in front of a pig instead of a lord. She has to walk to town. She finds out she is a long way away from the nearest lord. When she sees a soldier she insists he take her to see Lord Roan. What she doesn't know is he is Lord Roan. However, he told her he was Commander Zander. She quickly gets herself handcuffed by him because he doesn't believe her. That's when the banter between the two starts. It's humorous & at times their tempers flare. Throughout the journey to Zanders' home, they are attacked numerous times. When they get to the city Dawn learns that Zander is Lord Roan. She also discovers that he doesn't sit on his own throne. An unseelie has taken over his city. Zander hasn't been able to get rid of him. The unseelie is guarded by a 3 headed dog. The unseelie has sharp horns on his head & is fast. By this point, Dawn has developed feelings for Zander. She doesn't want to see him get hurt so she plans to take the unseelie out. Leave Zander & hunt down one of his brothers to take their heart. However, on the way she falls victim to a scam & ends up drugged & thrown in a cell. There are a lot of women there. Dawn finds herself & the other women are to be sold at auction. Zander goes after Dawn despite getting his kingdom back after all she's his soul mate. I won't spoil the ending. Just know everyone involved with the auction gets what they deserve. And there is a happily ever after.

Dodging the Magical Curse by Brenda Trim

 I don't know how these three women keep going. I mean I'm 50 & with all my aches & pains there is no way I could fight, stay awake, & remember spells. Lol! Seriously the first scene in the book they state that they have been awake for three days. I get a migraine if I miss one night of sleep. This book revolves around a woman named Starla. She is a good person who has lived in town all her life. You will love how Grams handles Filarion it's so straight up gangster! You do not want to get on her bad side. Starla is cursed by the Crimson Moon Curse. Very little is known about it. Grams remembers that they need a gargoyle to help keep Starla alive while they try to figure out how to help her.