Traitor Wolf by Leia Stone

 I loved this book. This is a hunger games meets shifter/forbidden love type of story. And it also has an another guy who likes the heroine Brynn. In this story Brynn is a girl who grew up dirt poor. She’s one of 7 siblings. Her father died & her mother is left to take of all the kids. Brynn has to drop out of school to help pay the bills. The rich or Elites who by the way have magic of course, keep raising taxes on the magicless. Because of this Brynn’s mom works 3 jobs. And Brynn herself works 2-3. There is very little food where they live and it costs a lot. Brynn and her mother have gone without food for 3 days quite a bit to make sure her younger siblings are fed. When fate singles her out to go through the Arcane trials without magic most say it’s a death sentence. But if Brynn were to win she would get magic for her whole bloodline. And that automatically changes your status to an Elite. An Elite has to sponsor her and the guy that did died so his brother has to take over. Lucky for her he’s not like most Elites. He wants the social hierarchy to change. He like his brother sees the magicless as humans not rats (as the Elites call them.) In order to enter the trials a magical sword has to choose you. The more powerful the sword the better off you are. The last element to the trial is a wolfkin has to choose to bond with you. This is based on the sword you choose & the wolfkins pack status. The wolfkins can fight for the right to bond with you until the most powerful one wins. When they bond with you it’s like a typical shifter bond they can talk telepathically. The sword that chooses Brynn can actually talk too. It turns out the sword she gets hasn’t bonded with anyone in thousands of years. And the wolf that bonds with her is very powerful too. Yet, he’s been branded a Traitor Wolf for killing who he was supposed to protect in these games. So Brynn can’t trust him. Yet, for the first trial her life depends on her trusting Kaeleric because the Elites are trying to kill her in this trial. Cassian warns her not to trust him because of his mark. Yet, when he finds out the Elites plan to kill her he has to convince Brynn to trust Kaeleric or she’ll die. And of course, Kaeleric has a dark past one he doesn’t want to share. Plus Brynn has been taught nothing about wolfkins in school. Only Elites know anything about them. Both Cassian & Kaeleric do what they can to help feed the magicless. But who will win her heart in the end? And will she survive the trials without magic?

Black Hearted by Leia Stone & Julie Hall

I loved Zane through this whole series and felt so sad for him because he was the last to get a mate. He had to stand by and watch his brothers fall madly in love. He was always so funny & charming but he had to wait for the one person made for him. Lorelei was just as sweet, considerate, respectful, and caring as Zane. Both wanted to sacrifice themselves to save both worlds and the thousands of fae. Queen Liliana was a really evil twisted fae. In fact I don't buy the story that shellfish changed after her husband died. He wasn't her mate. I think there's more to it. Anyone who had to kill their mate would be devastated. Whether they only IKEA them for a few minutes or not. I would love to see the authors do a novella about Queen Lilliana's backstory! Princess Lorelei is kidnapped by Queen Liliana. And I thought she was cruel before. The torture techniques she uses are nothing but barbaric. When the princess escapes & gets caught she is severely punished. Not to mention the way the queen siphons off her with the intention of opening the portal. Dawn goes into early labor & we learn just how many babies she is carrying. And there is a surprise when the babies are born in reference to their gender. Lorelei has a secret power that only her family knows about. This power saves her mice by getting messages to Zane & her mother. Shockingly Zane & her mom team up to rescue her. And Zane gains a little sister. He rescues a orphan girl & brings her to the Spring Court with him. The bond the establish softens the Spring Queen & princesses heart. Like I said Zane is special. I don't think Lorelei could've killed anyone. She hates taking plant life to live or heal. I bet she could also cause death with her power too. She just never tried. And it's a good thing Queen Liliana never figured it out. That woman's crazy! Talking about killing her own grandchildren if they had black blood. Who does that? A crazy person! 

Silver Claws Crimsom Tears by Ingrid Seymour

 The heartbreak from Vaylen in this book rips me in two! And I'm not going to lie he's my new book boyfriend. If your like me and you love him & Rhealyn together you better strap yourself in because your about to go on a wild ride. And I'm not sure you will like where the roller coaster goes. I know by the time I got to the end of the book I had more questions than answers. And I didn't know which way was up. Here's my suggestion read this one twice. I thought it helped me understand more but after talking with another die hard fan we both realized we had too many questions. You'd expect to know more about what happened to Rhealyn while she was gone for a year but no. She conveniently can't remember anything! And things get worse for Vaylen after he tells her he loves her because Rhealyn remembers being with the jerk who kidnapped her. How could the author do that to Vaylen? He's already put his whole life & career on the line for Rhea. I'm so confused by what the king expects Rhealyn to know. I mean is he working with the Screechclaws? Is Rhealyn the guardian to Heratrix? Why does That & the king both want her? Are the dragon eggs going to hatch & help get rid of the Screechclaws once & forever or did I read there was something bad in them? I need to double check that. I read this book one and a half times because I was being paid to read (proofread)  two more after this one. They start piling up fast. I don't think you will like the ending. And it will be awhile before we get the last book.

Live And Let Ride by Lucia Ashta

 This was a much anticipated book for me. It seemed like this one took forever to publish. And I started reading it as soon as I got my hands on it. However, I was not happy with the scene in Magnums mansion. Trust me when you get to it you'll know what I mean. It was way to graphic. I understand what the author was trying to say symbolically. I just think there would've been better ways to say it. And yes as the story moves along & you learn what Magnum is it makes it a little easier to handle but I don't want to ruin it for you. I will say this was my favorite series of the authors. And I was ready to buy special editions & the whole nine yards this book has me holding back from that now. Don't get me wrong I love sci-fi, it's just the gross scene they walk in on that I have a problem with. I still love the main characters & always will. I will say this tale gets wilder as you read. So many twists & turns that you won't see coming. I do love how Lucia was able to flawlessly tie it into so many other worlds she had created. That I did not see coming. And Layla, Hunt_ & Brady all got mates. That was a great ending. And not someone that Magnum scripted for them to be with. Oh, wait until you find out that Uncle Magnum wants them to all get knocked up or knock someone else up. That blew me away! That and what happened to Joss when she decided to dreamwalk. That was so wrong! Dude got what he deserved! If you've never watched the Truman Show before reading this you really should. I think it will really help you understand this book even more. If I hadn't seen most of it that was used in a presentation I never would've understood the extent of the deception.

Echo (Hunt Brothers Search & Rescue) by Jessica Ashley

 Elliot lives on a big farm with his brothers & his parents. His sister lives in town & is a doctor. Elliot & his brothers are all former Special Forces in various military branches. Elliot is out for a horseback ride with his German Shepherd Echo when he alerts to something. Echo leads Elliot to a body caught in the creek on a branch. Elliot immediately jumps in & rescues the female. She's in rough shape & has been shot. He takes her to the hospital. Lani, his sister, makes sure she gets the care she needs. The female has amnesia when she wakes up. Everyone starts calling her Jane Doe. Jane does start to remember running through the woods & being chased. Her most resent thoughts return but the rest are a mystery. While recuperating from surgery Jane is attacked in the hospital. She is able to fight off and kill her attacker much to her horror. She immediately thinks she's a bad person. But we all know there is more than one reason for those types of skill set. Shortly after she moves into Elliott's spare bedroom so he can protect her. They start to get close. But that all stops when a stranger shows up & claims that he's her fiance. Immediately, most of the Hunt family don't like this guy. He gives off a bad vibe & doesn't treat her right. Elliot really hates him & the feeling is mutual. The guy tells Jane her name is Gena but she refuses to answer to it because it doesn't feel right to her. On top of that she feels nothing towards this guy. Not like she does towards Elliot & she's only known him a few days. Elliot does what he can to put distance between them. Jane really should trust her intuition. She decides to go back home. She discovers she's a cop who was undercover before she was shot. The minute she gets to her apartment things go from bad to worse! The killer finds her. They want something she stole from them. But she has no memory of it. They set up a place to torture her. And let me tell you this girl is one woman you do not want to fight! She knows her stuff. Jane is actually Nova oh and here's why she fights so well she's ex military also. Yes, finally a woman who can go toe to toe with the Hunt brothers. I absolutely love her!!! And the fact that she's tore up about accidentally killing someone who was attacking her shows her compassionate side. She's also a Christian! Which, not every woman in this series is before they end up with a Hunt brother but they all become one if they aren't. Let's face it if you'd have gone through the amount of trauma these women did you would've found faith or ended up broken in a fetal position on the floor. Nova's parents are dead but her mom was a very faithful believer. She used to quote scriptures to Nova so much she has them memorized. And the best part is that Nova immediately, has a found family in the Hunts. Everyone loves her. 

Bravo by Jessica Ashley

 I love military hero books but they are 100% better when they are Christian!. Brayden and his dog Bravo are part of a search & rescue team. You can read this series as a stand alone one but I urge you to read the Coastal Hope series before you read the Hunt Brothers Search & Rescue. He Coastal Hope series is about veterans that work for a private security firm owned by a cousin of the Hunt Brothers. The lives intertwine and you will be able to understand what's going on better. In this story Kennedy is on the run from a Senator evil enough to order his own daughter's death. Kennedy barely escaped with her life. As her best friend lay dying she handed her a thumb drive & told her to keep it safe until she found someone she could trust. Kennedy has no idea what's on that drive but it's dangerous enough that it also got her parents killed for knowing her. Now she's been on the run for two years. Everyone she gets close to dies. Kennedy makes it a point to not stay anywhere long. Never get attached to anyone. But when she becomes a ranch hand in a small town that only has one stop light it instantly feels like home. A good town filled with compassionate people who help each other out. The biggest ranch in town is the obvious choice to get lost with the employees. She does her best to not draw attention to herself but that all changes when another employee decides he wants to date her. She turns him down & he doesn't take it well. Things get worse when he misinterprets an interaction between her & her boss. Brayden, her boss, gets back home after 3 months on a mission. His brothers & Dad fill in for him when he's gone. All his brothers are veterans & work for his search & rescue team. They rotate who goes on missions or decide based on ach others skillset. A woman who's been trying to marry any of the brothers because they are rich starts snooping around. She lets a picture of Kennedy leak to the press & the next thing you know bad things start happening on the ranch. Kennedy wants to run but can her new best friend Lani  (the brother's sister) & Brayden convince her to stay. The scare tactics are hurting innocent people & Kennedy doesn't want to be responsible for them.

Gris-Gris & Graveyard Ghosts by Brenda Trim

 I love this series but I'm noticing some changes that I don't like. There is barely any romance in this series now. Which makes the books so much better. Not just the love between the spouses either. I want to see some time spent with the sisters with their kids again or grandkids. And what happened to the UIS agent who was in love with Cami? He hasn't been mentioned in several books. I want to hear about Family adjusting to the modern world & having a boyfriend. They briefly mention Came teaching the Twisted Sister's kids. I would love to hear in more detail how the kids powers are developing. What chaos they accidentally get into. And my last complaint is that there is way too much action in the books now. 

This book is all about an evil entity that was bound by Cyran's relatives. They all have different kinds of unique magic. That part was cool to learn about. People start disappearing & even bodies disappear. That made it hard to explain to the police. This ancient evil is trying to escape his magical bonds by any means necessary. That includes draining spirits, draining people, and possessing people to do it's bidding. The Collector (entity)  even manages to convince one of the family members that helped cage it to help his break out. Over 170 years now his descendents have infiltrated the other family lines. To make it harder on the Twisted Sisters. The worst part is that about 4 lines of the family have disappeared. Did the Collector manage to kill them off or did they go into hiding? And if so how will they ever find them? They need all 7 family descendants to strengthen to prison bond over the entity or it will break free & start feeding on souls. And it won't stop with New Orleans. Last time it killed 11,000 people in various cities.

Of The Curse For The Crown by V. B. Lacey

 This book really sucked me into it. I'm new to the author and officially on her street team but I didn't read the first in this series. That being said I had no problem reading it & didn't feel like I was missing anything. Right away a world that is divided by the ocean and one portion has magic but the other is a magic less land is intriguing. Now add to that a shifter empress on probation trying to earn her fathers legacy. However, her father had to abdicate the throne. Therefore, Clarissa, Leo, and their parents moved to a cottage on the poor side of town. They were in the woods because Clarissa had trouble controlling her shifter side because of her strong emotions. And Clarissa was made fun of & beaten by bullies. On top of that she struggles to look like everything is perfect all the time. However, during the fighting for the throne Clarissa goes through something very traumatizing. It causes her to suffer from guilt over what happened & panic attacks. The incident was not her fault. What she went through sounds close to PTSD to me. Anyway, it causes our normally strong Empress to feel inadequate, unworthy, broken, and weak. The King of the land without magic invites Clarissa to ally with his but there is a catch. She has to agree to marry him. Now it will be a marriage on paper only because they will both go back to running their own territories. Clarissa wants to ally with their country because she wants her people to hold no prejudice against anyone. She dreams of a world with acceptance & trade. A place where people can live where they choose to live. And not suffer hate & blame for what happened in the past. The results of war with the non magic territory caused a lot of death on both sides. Some of the non magic people are racist & scared of the magic wielding people. Clarissa has always put her duty in front of what she wants so she accepts the engagement. She has to spend 4 weeks in King Helen's territory. Then they will marry & she can return home. None of the magical are prepared for the feeling of being cut off from their magic. It happens when they get to a certain distance from the magical territory. When Clarissa arrives at the non magical territory odd things start happening. It puts her on immediate alert that something is definitely wrong on this territory. Clarissa is introduced to a arrogant hh of guy named Thorne. It turns out he's King Talents best friend. And he immediately rubs Clarissa the wrong way. Clarissa is snarky & strong willed. And she wants to get to the bottom of what's wrong in this kingdom. Clarissa has a fix it mentally. And Thorne won't answer her questions which infuriates her. When Clarissa meets King Galen she starts noticing his odd behavior & she knows he's lying about things. He won't address her questions about the incident. The next day they start their journey. The kingdom is split up into 4 sections with revenge running each section. As time passes it becomes obvious that the King doesn't take action, the revenge run their own sections, and the King pretty much hides from his responsibilities. Then Clarissa learns of a blight that is destroying the land. She insists on seeing it. Thorne caves & takes her to see it. She discovers how it is not just killing the land but anyone caught in its path. This has Clarissa furious because she was lied to. Galen didn't tell her what she needed to know. She gets Thorne to tell her what's really going on. And it's shocking. Very few people in the kingdom know the truth. Clarissa storms into Caleb's bedroom in the middle of the night to get the truth. Thorne is with her & he finds out his friend has been keeping secrets from him to. As Thorne takes Clarissa and their entourage to tour the villages nearby the encounter more of the blight. Only this time they notice it's moving fast towards an unsuspecting village. They rush to evacuate the people & save as many as they can. Two of the regents are opposed of Galen marrying a person who has magic. They think that she has ulterior motives. And there are assassination attempts in every regent territory. Thorne is a regent and he brings his family with him. Thorne lost his wife 4 years prior but he has a 7 year old daughter. His mother & nanny helped him raise her. There is an undeniable magnetic pull between Thorne & Clarissa. Especially, when Clarissa has a panic attack & Thorne calms her down until it passes. And Clarissa is instantly drawn to seeing Thorne interact with his daughter Marigold. He's A different person with her. As Clarissa learns to trust Thorne she starts to see glimpses of who he really is. And it's not the cocky flirty persona he slips into so easily. The truth is he's not been interested in another woman since his wife died. Until the day he meets Clarissa. Thorne sees through Clarissa and calls her out numerous times when she doesn't want to admit something to herself. He can't help being drawn to her. And she is in love with his daughter from the moment they meet. Galen keeps throwing them together because he's been neglecting his regents for so long he doesn't have time to properly court her. He's running damage control. Eventually Clarissa will have to choose to marry to save the people from a blight or give into the love she's been looking for all her life.

Inked In Ashes by Shannon Mayer

 I loved this totally unconventional retelling of Cinderella. For once the story was so different you could hardly tell it was the same story. But that's what made it such a better retelling! There is a trigger warning with this story. For good reason too. If you've ever been violated this way please be careful in deciding to read. For me I was okay reading it. And yes, I have had this unspeakable horror happen to me. However, this was tastefully done without a lot of details of what happened to Molly. There are some assumptions until Molly & Ella talk at the end of the story & she straightens Ella out by telling the truth without going into details. I love Duncan! He was such a sweet prince. He was very overprotective of Ella. The thought of anything happening to her was so unbearable to him. I wish he could've gone with Ella. I am mad that Ella couldn't figure out the simple advice the Whisper gave her to trust the people that came into her life. How dumb do you have to be to not understand that meant Duncan? He repeatedly tried to save her. It wasn't until he caught up with her at the tunnel that she realized she could've trusted him. Molly is a real piece of work & I would've never been friends with her! She's got her head in the clouds so much she can't come back down to reality until she's attacked. But her stupidity in talking to people when she's supposed to be mute & wondering around outside when she should be hiding almost got them caught. She never uses her brains! She really needs to take some training on surviving from Ella. Without Ella Molly would've been caught & killed. I did find it interesting there were hints to other fairytales in the story. If I'm guessing right the Wizard of Oz is the next retelling. I loved the stark differences in the tiers of the hierarchy. The Hollows who are the lowest tier think the Smudges have a much better life but when Ella sees it she soon realizes there's barely any difference. The only thing is they can use their magic openly. But they have masters that they serve & their food situation isn't much better than the Hallows.

A Reign of Malice by Heather Renee

 This book finished off the series beautifully. I would say of her series this one & Luna Marked series are tied for favorite shifter series. And Heather writes great shifter books! In this one Sloane finally gets a shot at romance. Her kingdom is dying & no one knows why. Each day things get worse. She's a strong queen who thinks outside the box. She is a brilliant leader but with her island dying she's running out of options. Does she split her pack up among the other kingdoms or marry King Aeson. If she does the latter, she can still rule her people on different soil. If she lets her pack split up then she isn't a ruler anymore & feels like she failed them. She decides to do a trial run & go to King Aeson's island. The problem is King Aeson isn't her mate. And if she finds her mate later she will be unable to stop the pull that will drive her to him. King Aeson is nice. He says & does all the right things but her instincts are telling her something is off. SPOILER ALERT! I don't usually do this but I want you to choose if you want to read further. She signs the agreement but shortly after discovers what her wolf was trying to show her. Her mate is trapped under that castle by dark magic. Now she needs to find out who knows about it , who did it, and how can she get him out. She can't physically go there. She can only spirit walk. And who does she trust on this new island besides the small amount of her remaining pack that are with her? Of course, if you've read the rest of the series she has to call on the other kings & kings to help her. On top of that they have to figure out how to get through the dark magic to get him out. Two hundred years fighting to stay alive to meet a mate you've never seen. Jullian is an amazingly strong Alpha he was just brainwashed into believing he couldn't be the Alpha. That he'd be terrible for the people. The happily ever after ending is so good. But I would still love to see more from this world. Maybe follow any future children the couples have, etc.

A Crown Of Fates by Heather Renee

 This book was so good. And Estee was not my favorite character from Crown of Shadows! I loved Isla more. However, Estee really grows up in this book. Her compassion for the orphans in the pack of Selaris is so heartwarming. With the last life she lived she understands what these children are going through. At least Isla & Estee had foster parents. These kids only have each other to rely on & a ruined building for shelter. Until Estee learns about it. I also love how she instantly forms a friendship with Drea. Those two were meant to be friends. I feel so bad for Theo! He’s been through so much. And no one understands because he’s afraid to confide in anyone. Plus the god that’s tormenting him won’t leave him alone. He’s made Theo into a puppet to do the god’s bidding. Theo has lost everyone he ever loved & cared for. All so this god can manipulate & control him at his lowest point of his life. His pack is suffering because to Theo he’d be better off dead than their king. In his mind he didn’t earn it. But Theo needs to learn that this god isn’t telling him the truth about everything. On top of that Theo doesn’t realize his own strengths. Theo just needed some people to trust & his mate. When it’s time to tackle this god they get a lot of help. Queen Sloane comes to help them plan it. I love her character because as a single queen she is rare but fierce. And Elyn the elder wolf plays her part again. The mystery of her grows because we learn she knows Aurora. In fact, Aurora gives Elyn some of her powers. There is an interesting dynamic between the two that will leave you guessing. I love that once again the king & queen don’t follow normal customs when it comes to bonding. There is a happy ever after but it will leave you wondering, at what price?

A Curse of Shadows by Heather Renee

 There are quite a few steamy make out scenes. I usually only read YA. I only state this because I want parents who care about what their kids read to be aware. And a lot of f-bombs. I really don't like those. That's why this one is one star less than a normal review for me. That being said I am a huge fan of Heather's. I have signed books & special editions.

The beginning of this book reminds me of something I would do while driving. Isla somehow gets on the highway going the wrong way. She is distracted by her thoughts and misses ages exists to turn around. The highway ends with a turnpike. There is nowhere to turn around & the lady in the toll booth insists she pay & keep the line moving. She could care less for her sob story. Isla keeps driving when her car disappears and she sees a bunch of lights. Eventually she ends up in another world. They instantly recognize her as a princess that disappeared over 500 years ago. She's taken to a castle where a grouchy King named Ashton gets upset because she has no memories of this world. He sends her to her room.

Isla immediately worries that her best friend (soul sister) is raising cane looking for her. As leverage to get her to stay Asher finds her father & threatens to kill him if she doesn't stay 4 weeks. As her fragile father heals he realizes Isla's best friend sounds like her sister who disappeared a year after her sister. Asher immediately sends two people to retrieve her. Did I mention that Isla & Estee (her sister) both have their appearance change when they enter this new world? Oops sorry. When they get her sister somehow she has some of her memories. Isla has a lot of overwhelming things thrust at her. Like she's a wolf shifter like everyone else. Neither woman can access their wolf for some reason. Throughout the book both women have memories come back that help them piece together what happened to them & whose responsible. In order for the wolves to live so long they are reincarnated. The only way for Isla to bond with Asher & get her wolf back is pretty brutal. However, both happen.

I feel so bad for Grayson Isla, & Water's father. He lost one daughter & then the other. The loss was so hard that their mom couldn't take it. She died of a broken heart. Leaving Grayson. That is why he was so fragile when Asher found him. He was starving himself to death. However, Asher being an Alpha King could heal him. Asher was so torn up when Isla disappeared. He had search parties looking for her for 100 years. He refused to move past it & take someone else as him mate. If he had they would have never had the strong bond he had with Isla. They were actually born on the same day which is unheard of. When Asher saved Isla from another wolf they spend time talking while they walk back to the castle. Asher is so sweet because I know it had to be so hard keeping his hands to himself. There were little touches here & there. He let her know he would never pressure her. He told her she was safe with him. And he encouraged her to talk to him and he never laughed at anything she thought or felt.

This does have a HEA. Even if there is a goddess that is creepy & tries to get Asher to make out with her. No can do when you have a mate. The ending has a small cliffhanger maybe we should call it a trench. Lol! Estee is in the next book & has she to leave the Island.

Chair Yoga For Weight Loss by Aria Sage

 This book is for people over 60 & anyone with limitations on their exercise routines. There are breathing instructions to help boost your metabolism & start weight loss. As well as stretches to increase mobility. The author explains how to adjust these exercises to your limitations & physical needs. There are also some meditation exercises. The only thing that disappointed me was the fact that I didn't think there were enough illustrations. I would rather have more pictures to go along with the descriptions of the exercises. Like you get when you go to physical therapy. Other than that I think the book is good and will help people stay more active as they age. I like the seated approach as someone who has fibromyalgia & has had both knees replaced. I can't just get on the floor to do weird poses. My knees only bend so far & I can't get on my knees for any reason. That's a no no! Plus getting up off the floor is really hard for me. I'm not 60 yet, but this book intrigued me because of the gentler approach & my limitations.

Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women Of The Bible, & What He Wants To Do With You by John F. MacArthur

 There are study questions at the end of the book for each chapter that I didn't learn about until I finished the last chapter. They help you reflect & apply what you read in each chapter. I love how John chose women that were only mentioned in a few verses in the Bible and created lessons out of their stories. After all they wouldn't even be mentioned in the Bible unless they were important. Some don't even have their names mentioned but their stories are. Our ladies Bible study used this book and the fact that it is on Kindle Unlimited makes it so much more affordable for people on a budget. Thank you for making it that way John MacArthur! I couldn't afford it at first but saved my money up and bought it. I plan on going back to read a few women I missed reading about because I missed those weeks of Bible study. I highly recommend this book for a deeper understanding of these 12 women of the Bible

Second Chance Serenity by Jessica Ashley

 This was a hard read because I felt bad for Michael. Yes, he made some mistakes. He should have gone about things differently before he was went into boot camp. Yet, he wrote her everyday. He explained what he couldn't say in person. His fiancée never read a single letter he sent her. She spent years angry at him. If she’d just opened the letters she could have saved herself years of pain and grief at the loss of what a life with him could’ve been like. She didn’t know what pressure Michael was under by his parents. If he had just told her instead of running off to join the military. He didn’t think he would ever be able to prove that he was man enough to take care of her. His parents expected him to go to work in the company business. They didn’t make much money. He wanted to be able to provide more for her than he had growing up. Especially, since her parents were financially better off than his were. If only they’d talked it out he would’ve know she didn’t care as long as she had him! When he returns will she even give him enough time to explain? And can he get the words out?

The Cardinal Code by Avery Sterling

 This is a steamy love story. Close to a Romeo & Juliet story as you could ever get. The violence of the vampire world isn’t shied away from in this story. Paislee is a human who moved to the Hampton’s to live in her uncle’s house. It’s close to where she wants to go to college. She also needs a job though. When she finds one at a high end club she has no idea what she is getting into. Not everyone in the club is human. The owners are vampires although they use another word. When three vampires have their eyes set on her who will be the one to feed from her? In the vampire world everything is rules & laws. The human has to sign a contract stating that they agree to terms set in the contract. Of course, they are rewarded handsomely for it. They even get medical & dental. Michael is the new owner of the club Paislee works at. When his brother, who is a bad vampire, tries to get handsy with Paislee she seeks help & runs to kiss the first guy she sees. And Michael happens to be coming down the stairs then. She begs him to play along so Esben, the brother, will leave her alone. She never expected kissing him to feel so different than anyone else. Michael & Esben hate each other. They are actually half brothers. Esben is first born but because his mom went crazy the government had to put her down. And Michael’s mother’s blood is more pure making him royalty. That means he inherits everything. And Esben has always held that against him. Four years ago a girl died because Esben beat her & she was infected with vampire blood. She ran to Michael for help. And he did try, but his efforts were futile. However, Michael learns towards the end things might not have happened the way he thought. Esben is hell bent on making Michael pay. He’s trying to get the contract voided between Michael & Paislee so that he can turn her into a vampire. Then he can mate her. Although watch out for that cliffhanger ending!

Swift Wings Shadowed Heart by Ingrid Seymour

 This book should be rated new adult for make out scenes and language. I always try to look out for parents that are being cautious what young teens read. Therefore I put warnings in my reviews. That being said this is an imaginative start to a world reliant on dragons & powers to survive. In this world dragons have discovered that humans have special powers that when combined with the dragons become stronger. The powers are wind, fire, lightening, water, earth, & listening to peoples thoughts. The latter is called a Weaver and because people were scared of them they killed all the Weavers. To make sure no more develop the gift they have a few people called Neutro's who search for the powers in young children. When they find them they rip the power out of the child so they only have one power left. Rhealyn's Neutro was supposed to call someone more qualified when he discovered she was a Weaver. Instead he thought he was skilled enough to rip the power out himself. Rhealyn was scared to death of the man & because of it the Neutro allowed her pregnant mother to stay in the room. Rhealyn felt like the Neutro was trying to kill her so her powers lashed out. Because the Neutro was a bad man with horrible morals a tragedy occurred that day. Rhealyn lost her mother that day. She and her father grew bitter towards the Neutro. Rhealyn planned to avenge her mother's death. She attended the academy to train to be a dragon rider. That gave her a chance to get close to the Neutro. After she murdered him her plan was to leave to train with her dragon. And after 4 weeks then she would be sent to the front lines to join the war effort. They are fighting Harper & hideous creatures called the screechclaws. The female dragon goddess has disappeared & without her no more dragons can be born. And the dragons are slowly being killed by the screechclaws. When Rhealyn meets Vaylen she is drawn to him. The chemistry & electricity when they touch is off the charts. The problem is he's her superior. According to Sky Order they can't be together. However, when she goes through the testing their powers connect. Something that isn't supposed to be possible. Rhealyn had planned to find a powerful man to marry so they could become a powerful family. Then no one could hurt her again. When she meets her dragon and they bond, something very rare, it seems she has made a ally for life. He promises to never let anything happen to her. As Vaylen and Rhealyn keep coming into close proximity to each other their restraint weakens. Neither can deny the pull. Once they give in it seems all Rhealyn's dreams are coming true. Until the police start looking into her as a suspect. Will Vaylen protect her or will he follow orders like he's always done? There is something about Rhealyn that gets under his skin. He craves her!

Ride And Die Again by Lucia Ashta

 Ridgemore's number two book in the series. This series has vulgar language so keep that in mind before letting your children read it. When in doubt I always read the book before allowing my children too. I'm not a fan of reading books with the f word in it and believe me it's in here a lot. However, this sci-fi book is so addictive I quickly overlooked that. And I am a huge fan of Lucia Ashta! This series is so outside the box from her other genres. Truth be told I'm a huge sci-fi fan. Growing up Saturday's after cartoons they would play old sci-fi movies. That was my daddy daughter bonding time. Okay back to the book. So Mr Chase & I will just call him Chase from now on has the main characters in a private hospital. Jossalyn unexpectedly took three days to wake up after they brought her back to life. The crew fill Joss in on what she missed while she was unconscious. Then Chase came in with armed guards and an offer. He told them the truth. Their parents were his employees who stole him from a secret lab that Chase owned making them his property. You can imagine how that went over. Chase had no doubt their parents were searching for them. He planned to use the kids as bait to lure them back into working for him. Chase promised them anything they wanted. Education at a private school he was creating for kids with special abilities. They could learn any subject they wanted. Advanced classes or college credit. Even any subject they desired. They left immediately for this new school. The school wasn't quite done so he'd built them a mansion to live together in. Their cars were there as well as one for Layla & Hunt. They had a garage big enough to store everything in. State of the art tools & even a painting booth in the corner. They have huge bedrooms & clothes that match the style that they all normally wear. A wall of glass in the mansion. A gaming room, koi pond, Huge fully stocked kitchen. A chef & maids were going to come in while they were in classes or training in their ninja classes. Yep, Chase had brought in 3 martial arts instructors. They knew they could easily be bought because this was everything they wanted to learn. They learned the "parents" were scientists. Jose's even cheated on the other. Brady & Lay's mom turned out to be a real mean unfeeling woman! Griffin actually met the woman who was supposed to be his mom that left his dad when he was little. Turns out it was all a lie! The photos they had all seen of their mom's pregnant were faked. None of them had given birth to them. They were actually born to paid surrogates. Griffin took it hard. And poor Hunt his father they said never existed. But we all know that's impossible! The deal they had to make to find out more about themselves, what powers they had, & uncover what else Chase was hiding. They snooped around & discovered another student that could cause earthquakes & one who was a walking electricity bolt. One was trying to escape the bunker. This isn't even the worst parts. At one point they decide things aren't going as good as Chas wants them so their parents help them be hypnotizing  them. Only something goes wrong that they don't realize at the time. They were basically supposed to erase their memories & remember whatever the recorded message said. The message gets messed up. And unbeknownst to the parents reveal their true colors. They don't care about these kids. They are just as ruthless & manipulative as Chase. Oh and they should really win a Grammy for their acting roles. When they wake up they are in their own homes again with their parents & expected to go back to public school like nothing ever happened. It's A lot harder than they thought. Plus they know they are being watched & recorded. Worst part is the want Joss & Griffin to stay friends this time. And poor Hunt who never goes into a relationship lightly because he dates exclusively when he does is supposed to be Zoe's boyfriend. He only liked her as a friend. And she's hanging all over him & wants to go all the way with him. Everyone in the crew is appalled! He keeps pushing her away. The crew sticks to him like glue. There is a big cliffhanger at the end! And now I have a book hangovers!

When She Returned by Lucinda Berry

 The story of the cult was fascinating. The receipt I expected. How anyone falls for it & would leave their entire family is something I will never understand! Finding out how she disappeared I just don't get it. She was doing an interview on them. That doesn't require you to start going there and expect to have your family join you. I wouldn't want my family anywhere near them. Especially, since she knew it was a cult going into it. Then when she commits she just doesn't even leave a message to let someone know they need to pick up her child. What kinda mother does that? Not a very good one! Abbie was only 5 years old when her mom disappeared. I would never do that. I'd have made arrangements for my child & left a note that didn't point to where I was going. I hope Abbie never figures out that she's the one that triggered her mom to go back to Ray/Abner even though those aren't his real name. If they ever uncover the truth about the three bodies in Oregon Kate could be possibly held accountable for an accomplice to murder. In one of those. I feel so bad for Meredith because she is just as much a victim in this as Kate. This is what happens when you declare someone dead who isn't though. You should wait for a body or evidence before marrying someone else! When they found Kate it splintered Meredith & Scott's relationship. Because to Scott Kate was his soul mate. Meredith was a second. So when Kate comes to live with them with a new baby it ruins everything. Kate can do no wrong in Scott's eyes. He thinks she's going to heal & be her old self. Which is so delusional! Plus he never talks to Meredith about how she feels about anything. He makes her feel like a jealous mean woman without any compassion towards Kate. I must admit Kate is a good actress. I don't know how she does it so well. If it weren't for Meredith I think Scott would have been blindsided by the ending in the book. Poor Abbie is left devastated & probably wondering why her mother never loved her enough.

Cause of Death by Jeffery Deaver

 When Jon's wife dies in an auto accident Jon notices things that the police missed. How did his wife's neck break if the air bags deployed? Why is there only one tire skid mark when the car has front antilock breaks? There is a stranger that shows up at the funeral dressed down & wearing aviator sunglasses that he's never seen before. During the funeral he learns things about his wife's childhood he never knew. Jon is a history professor at a college and an author. He's very smart and very detail oriented. He notices his wife's phone & computer are missing. When he starts trying to put the pieces together to find her killer someone starts planting evidence against him. Framing him for not only his wife but a local hunter. There was also a recent woman that drowned in the river that has Jon wondering if they have a murderer running around planning his next kill. What he stumbles into is so far from what he thought was happening it's almost impossible to imagine. And he learns his wife lived a double life he knew nothing about! She was so amazing that she even led her husband to the perfect person to take her place after she was murdered

The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent

 A woman and three girls live in a cabin in the woods. They live off the grid. They are fed lies by the woman they call Mama. When Mama takes Evie to the doctor be she's sick she doesn't come back. She left the other two girls alone for over 76 days. They have limited food & supplies. They can barely keep warm & winter is coming. One day a big man shows up. He breaks into the house & stays for a few days. He positions a bed in front of the door at night to keep them from escaping. Until Wren who's the oldest decides to put sleeping medication in his food. When he falls asleep they sneak out & run to the nearest house. Niccolette is a woman who can't have children. She had to have a emergency hysterectomy. She and her husband live at the edge of the woods. Wren & Sage come to their house & Niccolette takes them in because they are already adults. The girls are skin & bones and their clothes are tattered. There clothes are all handmade. Wren stars remembering more things about a woman she has dreamed about her whole life who is not who she called Mama. When the police find a body they check the DNA to see if the woman was really their mother. It turns out she wasn't. I won't ruin the big twist as to who the youngest girl Evie really is. It's a big shock! Poor Niccolette thought her husband was having an affair on her & in fact that couldn't be further from the truth. That man deserves an award for carrying the burdens he was for his wife. And for staying by her side. The ending is so heartfelt & sweet though it makes me melt.

Keep It In The Family by John Marrs

This book blew my mind. I am surprised at the twisted reasoning for the senseless killing of innocent children. While I didn't mind when Debbie's monster parents died. Way to go grandpa. We should all have grandparents like that! Debbie's mom was crazy. I don't know what mental illness she had but she had to have had one. I mean teaching your children how to pick out the victims you kill is really sick. And then killing your kids best friend. When Debbie & her brother accidentally watch a video tape that is mislabeled they witness his death. And their mom goes crazy. George, Debbie's brother, she believes is murdered by her parents. But as Tim goes on it seems she's not clear what happened to him. She thinks he joined the military at one point. Then she thinks her parents killed him. Then she hires a private investigator to locate him. Only she finds out he has no birth certificate. They can't find him. I feel so bad for Dave because Debbie tricks him into thinking he killed a girl he hit with a stolen car when Debbie finished her off. He left to get help. That forever ties them together as they flee the scene. They get married at sixteen with her grandparents permission. But Debbie gets the urge to "save" children she assumes need it. Poor kids, kids whose parents don't watch them or take care of them good enough. She uses the same killing habits her parents had except she strangled them. Debbie & Dave have a son named Finn. Debbie is very overprotective of him. Yet, in their family you will learn they all keep secrets from one another. When Finn marries Mia instead of his high school sweetheart Debbie is furious. Mia comes from money & fame. Finn is a Plummer from a poor family. Mia & Finn buy the house Debbie grew up in. During renovations they discover 7 bodies in the attic. All children stuffed in high end leather suitcases. Mia is pregnant & standing on the ladder when she falls. She has to have the premature baby. She blames herself for almost killing him. Because of this she goes through a depression & refuses to bond with the baby. And because their house is being investigated they have to stay with Dinner parents. Debbie steps up & takes care of the baby. Mia can't get over seeing the mummified child in the suitcase. She has PTSD from it. She starts obsessing over the children's identities. Then trying to figure out why Dave never mentioned he knew some of the victims because he went to school with two of them. Then she starts snooping around the house. She starts asking Finn questions. He thinks she's gone crazy. However, she's connecting the dots, she just doesn't have all the pieces. Later she discovers a warehouse with another 40 suitcases filled with children.And Dave ties her up. Then he kills himself. He thought he had stomach cancer turned out to be an ulcer. Debbie blames Mia for his death & attacks her. Luckily it was at the police station. I forgot to mention that Mia finds out Finn never stopped seeing his high school sweetheart & they have a four year old daughter together. Mia moves back with her parents. Debbie thinks Mia & Finn are getting back together. She plots to stop it because they try to stop her from seeing their baby when they suspect Debbie isn't Finns mom. Mia secretly does a DNA test on Finn & his parents. They aren't his parents it turns out. He was a kidnapped child whose sister was a victim of the killer. Debbie gets the ultimate revenge she kidnaps their baby. She doesn't think they are fit parents anymore by her standards. Will they ever find their baby or did Debbie kill him? She's not saying. As new evidence comes to light they discover Dave wasn't the killer in the family. I feel sorry for Finn because not only was he not raised by his parents but the people who raised him killed his sister. And you know they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree? Keep that in mind while reading. But I still see Finn as a manipulated kid who was raised wrong, therefore a victim

Broken Hearted by Leia Stone & Julie Hall

 This book was so good! I felt sad for Isolde because her parents divorced when she was fifteen and it devastated her. Because she was the oldest of seven girls she felt she had to be brave for her sisters. Her mother is the Queen of the Winter Court. And because Princess Aribella never returned to Faerie Isolde had to go into the portal to kill her mate. However, Dawn, Aribella, Zander, Stryker, Zane, & Adrien found a way to project a ghostly image of themselves to explain to her that everything they were ever told about the Ethereum lords was a lie. That they were actually killing their mates & they had a plan to stop the curse. Isolde told no one and trained like she was told. Except she made a crucial mistake. Her words to her mother tipped Queen Lilliana off that she wasn't going to follow the queens plan. Let's face it the queen is a ruthless killing machine. She seems emotionless. Now when Isolde gets to Ethereum she runs into Adrien literally. And he's deliciously without a shirt on the beach. Of course, his clingy wench fiancee isn't too far behind him. Adrien gives her a warm welcome but the wench (I'm just going to keep calling her that because, if the shoe fits) is immediately mean. And unfortunately Adrien caves to all the wenches suggestions. Especially, after drinking a tea the wench keeps insisting he drink. Which raises red flags immediately to Isolde. Isolde learns she needs to wait for Zane to arrive and escort her to the Wise Ones. Everyone assumes they are mates but Isolde feels no special connection to him. When they test the theory it's pretty funny. This leaves them confused. Until they realize Adrien is marrying the wrong woman. Then they figure out that tea is a love potion. Isolde races off to stop their wedding. While Zane goes back to his castle. He found out he has to go to Faerie to help Lorelei. He needs to figure out how to open a portal to Farie. Isolde develops a brotherly bond with Zane who is nothing but kind and sweet. You can tell the poor guy is lonely. Isolde finds out the wedding was moved up & she barely makes it to the wedding on time. Luck is on her side as she sneaks into the castle & finds him. It's a hilarious scene as she shoves him into a closet to try to reason with her brainwashed mate & convince him the wench is a witch. She witnessed her make the tea & use a spell on it. I'll leave the hilarious details of how she solved the problem & kidnapped him from his own wedding. Lol! Now mind you this whole time Isolde is fighting her attraction to him. And she doesn't believe in mates  because of what happened to her parents. My thoughts are she didn't marry her mate (her mother) because she never went into Ethereum. The Summer Court champion always went. Isolde never wants to get married so she doesn't have to go through that pain. She was pretty traumatized by the whole experience. Trying to break the love spell placed on Adrien is a horrible experience. It was hard enough to read what he went through. That poor ma had fever, vomited so much he almost couldn't breathe, and had the worst stomach cramps. All while he called out for the wench & practically broke Isolde heart hearing it. When the spell broke they set off for the belly of the sea. There they were to combine their magic into the shadow heart. Pirates attacked on the way. Followed by sirens but Adrien rescued them. And they had a very steamy kiss in order to prove they were mates. Then Queen Lilliana threw Isolde sister through the portal. And poor Seraphina was kidnapped by the wench. Who blackmailed Adrien into taking the potion again. Except this time it didn't work as well because he had bonded with Isolde. While Isolde rushed Seraphina to a healer. The further away she got from Adrien the more painful it was for her. Being so far from her mate made her realize she loved him. She was terrified he would be forced to marry the wench or worse be hurt. This turned out longer than I anticipated so I will let you read the ending because you know I hate to ruin it for you. I will say Dawn & Zander are pregnant with more than one baby. It will be interesting to see if they have all girls, all boys, or a mixture. Normally in these lands they have all males or females. 

The Sister Under The Stairs by Steena Holmes

 I only had two suspects and neither was the kidnapper. Jessica was the popular flirty win who liked to push the limits. Paige was the smart obedient and reserved twin sister. When Jessica is kidnapped Paige is blamed by her parents for breaking the family rules. They are never to walk alone. Yet, there is a double standard because Paige can ride her bike home alone after work. After Jessica is taken Paige starts working for a organization that helps find missing persons used for sex trafficking. The book is very vague on the sex abuse thankfully. Paige has a son who she is fiercely protective of because of losing her sister. And all the missing people and families she deals with. She has a fantastic fiance who is a rock of support. When her father dies they move in with her mom. Her mom & her have a horribly strained relationship because she blames Paige. Her mom also wants to hold a funeral for Jessica & move on. But Paige will never give up on Jessica until she has proof she's dead. Jessica is sold several times to different people. One is a monster. However, she is taken from him by another man promising to be her savior only to end up beating her, starving her, causing numerous miscarriages, and giving her a son with Downs Syndrome. Through a series of mistakes the man loses Jessica. He thinks if he kidnaps Paige everything will be okay because he gave the other daughter back. The horrible thing is their is more than one wolf in their midst. And no one can believe who the kidnapper is. He lures Paige away & drugs her. Will the others be able to find out before he snaps.

The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea

 This one had me guessing throughout the whole book! And while I got who was originally kidnapping them, I was clueless as to who wanted the girls. And the answer is sick and twisted! I had three or four suspects in mind but never the actual killer. The kidnapping of Nicole's cousin really messed her up. Enough for an online predator to attract her. Casey started this creepy club for people obsessed with kidnappings. To be initiated you have to agree to be kidnapped. Twisted right? Yet there were over twenty members! Megan was a girl everyone but Nicole loved because Nicole was jealous. Megan created a program to help middle school kids transition to high school. She also went to Africa to help Doctors Without Borders. She had a bright future & a guy who liked her. A point Nicole tried to exploit by trying to seduce the guy. Thank goodness he had a strong backbone. After joining the Capture Club Nicole got the idea to have Casey kidnap Megan as a prank. However, she had no idea what Casey really had in mind. I'm not going to ruin that surprise for you. No one saw Megan, Nicole, or Casey after that night. Until Megan escaped two weeks later. Unfortunately, she was drugged most of the time so she has no idea who took her. She goes to therapy & has her therapist write a book about her experience. But only because her family & everyone think if she does it's a sign she's recovering. She doesn't have the heart to tell her family that she will never be the same person again. I mean to me that would be obvious but her therapist even thinks it's possible. 

Fast forward to the present Livia, Nicole's sister has changed her medical degree to become a medical examiner. She keeps thinking she will see er sister's body come through at some point. Instead she finds a body of a homicide victim that she just can't stop asking questions about. She starts connecting the dots & finds several missing girls that have the same details but across different states. She starts investing this herself. And she ends up discovering a lot of similarities. Things really start to come together when she talks to a member of the Capture Club. He ends up being invaluable! He really should be a criminologist. Megan contacts Livia and they end up helping each other. Megan is trying to remember where she was first kept. When she figures it out they go investigate. When Megan sees the place she was kept she remembers who kept her there for two weeks before she escaped or was she let go? The end such a shocker!

The Girl Who Looked Beyond The Stars by L. B. Anne

 I loved this book and I'm 51 years old. Not the age it was written for. Sheena is a girl that sees things no one else can. Until she meets Mr. Tobias at the hospital. There she witnesses what looks like an angel heal her father. She scares it off trying to communicate with it. She also saw something when she was four years old. Most of the kids think she's crazy at school. She has two best friends until a mysterious girl shows up at school. This girl doesn't normally eat lunch. She doesn't talk of where she came from. And keeps transferring into classes that Sheena is in. Mr. Tobias recognizes that she is like him. He tries to help her but she is to scared to learn all she needs to know before something happens to Mr. Tobias. Sheena can see the future & prevent things from happening. Which she & her friends think is great until she finds out about the murks (evil things that can hurt her friends because she told them everything). The murks will use anyone to get Sheena to renounce her powers. As it is Sheena & Mr. Tobias are part of a very small group of people called the gleamers. Mr. Tobias uses his power to help the police find missing people or help solve a murder. When Sheena finds that out she just wants to be normal. But that's not how her gift works.

Thirst by Charlene Hartnady

 Coarse language, plot was lacking a lot. Most of the book was about them getting physical. If you like smut this is the book for you. I honestly can't believe I finished it. Bellicent which is an awful name is a girl born without magic. She lives with the vampires but may as well be a human. She has no vampire traits. She is half human. After meeting the king & hooking up with him she learns he is going insane unless he finds his mate. What kind of shifter book lets his father find his mate but then let's him cheat on her with everyone? There are very few because it destroys the whole concept of mate or the one. It's different than a marriage! Anyway I won't keep going off about that, though I'd like to. Bellificent never met her father because he was human & she can't reveal the supernaturals to humans. When she tracks him down she finds out she was lied to. When the cards are finally all on the table it turns out her entire family lied to her. She finds out her dad is a powerful supernatural who wants to use her. She can't bare the thought of not marrying Thane because she loves him & he will die without her. She hunts down her father. There is a small twist in the story. It is a very anticlimactic ending and that's the end. I'm definitely not reading anymore in this series!

Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea

 I was fine until they jumped to the Camp Montague Appalachian Mountains. Because they started talking about the past and a girl with an older brother. And Alex had a younger brother. Both boys played baseball which was further confusing. And they didn't use names of these two kids at came because that would have given them away. At first I thought it was Tracy the journalist. Then the real female I figured out because they tried to kill Alex & Annette. But I thought her brother was Buck because he was doing illegal stuff for the company & it was his job to teach everything to Alex. He did a great job of it because otherwise Alex never would have connected the clues that everyone who was murdered used the same law firm that she worked for. Had she never asked Annette for help with her families murders the case would be unsolved. Well half unsolved. Did she not catch the fact that Jacqueline said there was a guy helping her? It would make her sick if she ever figured out who was helping her! And the guy's wife would probably be filing for a divorce! She had morals! I am glad that he felt guilty enough to help her. I can't imagine how awful it was for Alex to wake up and find her whole family dead. And the cops were stupid enough to jump to the conclusion that a 17 year old girl who was in shock killed her whole family! I just don't understand that part. They put her in a juvenile detention center for two years where she is bullied & forced to relive seeing her family dead thanks to the crime scene photos being leaked to the press. How can the kids get away with that? Then the cop that lost her job & her husband who is a defense attorney help her through her murder trial & help her sue the state for defamation of character. However, everyone still thinks she did it. She moves to England. And it works for a while. She cut her hair & put on glasses. But then two people recognize her & try to blackmail her. Thank God Garret had paid someone to watch her over there & keep her safe. They end up using the couple to get information for Alex to help her with more evidence in her families death. And the couple are threatened that their loved ones will pay the price if they reveal Alex's location to anyone. All in all a pretty good book.

The Suspect by L. R. Wright

 For a book that won an award I am terribly disappointed! And who thought it she win anything. You know immediately who did it because the storytelling is done by the killer. George is the brother-in-law to the man he murders. The motivation is easy to figure out based on the clues the author drops throughout the book. This is the type of book you read to put you to sleep. It certainly won't keep you up at night! The cop, Albert is a divorced guy who is constantly looking for a woman. He likes Cassandra, the librarian, who just wants to date a decent guy. She settles for the cop. Not that the cop is bad it seems all he wants is to push her to get physical. Cassandra is George's friend. She is immediately upset that this cop thinks George killed anyone. George is 80 years old and a widower. He has a daughter in another town. 

Silenced Girls by Roger Stelljes

Why is it every serial killer seems to think they are smarter than everyone else? And when I say serial killer I mean, this guy killed 28 women! And he got away with it for over 20 years. Until he decided to play a game & taunt the twin sister who had become an FBI agent. He thought he could outsmart her. True there were times when her emotions got in her way but she was determined. When the killer sent her a message she was on the next flight to her hometown. There she met the ruggedly handsome Sheriff's Deputy Braddock. The perfect partner to help her solve her sister's murder if only she could convince him to let her help. Tori had changed after Jessie died. She became more confident in herself, voiced her opinion more, & she had a smart mouth. Tori had a tendency to say whatever she thought when mad which didn't win Braddock over right away. The reason the killer called her back to town was because he had killed again 20 years later to the day that he killed Jessie. While back Jessie reconnected with old friends a few times but her soul focus was to get closure for her sister. Tori was 37 years old never married or had kids & her job was her life. Tori's job meant she was rarely home. Her mom passed away when she was 8 years old. Her father was the sheriff when Jessie was murdered. Shortly after he died of a heart attack. Tori was in college & flew home for the funeral & to sell everything. She never wanted to come back. The second girl murdered was rich & still living in a guesthouse on mom & dad's property. Then out of the blue a third girl disappeared. She doesn't match the profile. She was basically a hermit who rarely left the house except for scarce late night drives. Tori knew it was connected & she just couldn't prove it. No one else believed it. They had little evidence to connect anyone. They discovered another girl went missing in a nearby town during that 20 years that they assumed this guy was dormant. Tori had already suspected it & had a friend in the FBI help her track down similar cases. College towns, girls went missing, cars were somehow tampered with in the surrounding Midwest states. They came up with 23! Things really started snow balling for the killer when he decided that the authorities were getting to close to the truth. He expected it to take them longer to figure it out. He shot at Tori when she was out on her morning run. Fortunately for her he only grazed her hand. He tried to blow Braddock up but that backfired on him too. Now he had already planned to set some people up to take the fall for everything. The first guy he made look like a suicide & it would've worked too if he had thought the attempt through better. The second guy that one might have stuck except he ended up having a brother that immediately helped prove his innocence. In the process that guy saved Tori's life. He figured out who the killer was & they got to Tori in time. Braddock ends up shot several times. And as always you can discover the rest out for yourselves. What happens to Tori after she gets her closure? I failed to mention there are trigger warnings but not very graphic. Also Tori gets called to work two other cases during all this too. They are very interesting cases because Tori only works missing children's cases.

Ex In The City by Portia MacIntosh

 Nicole was a huge fan of rock n roll bands. And in high school she started a magazine for fans. She was friends with several different bands and they let her go on tour with them. She skipped school a lot to go. But she was caught up in the lifestyle of the concerts & party scene. They never treated her differently and a lot of the time she was the voice of reason. She learned how to handle situations that arose like her best friend Dylan disappearing when he was needed. She always knew where to find him. In fact, she got so good at learning how to spin a story that she turned it into a job. Now if someone got into a scandal she knew how to portray or spin the story to get them out of it. Since it was her own company she could pick & choose which cases she took on. Why she ever dated Rowen I will never understand! The guy is a arrogant jerk. All he cares about is the perfect life he portrays on social media & in front of others. It's such a toxic way for anyone to live. Pretending to love someone when people were watching & being yourself in your bedroom or when the kids weren't around isn't a healthy way to live. Rowen not only stole her saving & invested the money in a scam, he cheats on her, & then embarrasses her in front of everyone. Not to mention making fun of her addicted best friend Dylan by dressing up as him for a fundraiser. That was just cruel & disrespectful. Dylan on top of that didn't deserve that. After all Dylan was spending a lot of time with Dozens kids. He bought them things. He volunteered to help out when Rowen was too busy to help with things he had already committed to. I can't say I wouldn't have been petty enough to get Rebecca back for what she did to Nicole at the fundraiser! Turnabout is fair play. I think it was really low of Rowen to keep using the excuse of his kids to keep Nicole with him. He could hire a nanny to take care of them. She doesn't have to stay miserable for the rest of her life living as a prisoner to social media. I knew there was something special between Dylan & Nicole. Most guys don't sing you a lullaby or paint a girls toenails just because they want to. It sounds like they were soul mates from the beginning.

The Suite Life by Portia MacIntosh

 When her ex dumps her after four years for a reality star Gigi is desperate to find a more famous date. Which lead to a series of hilarious dates the co-workers set her up on. One is a famous YouTube star that pranks people to get laughs. That was a really awkward date. Then there is a famous chef who cooks for her. Unfortunately, she hates fish & everything this guy cooks has fish in it. She ends up embarrassing herself because she spits the food into doggy bags & leaves them in her purse. He discovers them when her phone won't stop wringing. Then the last attempt before she leaves for the Hawaiian wedding I think goes really bad. A famous guy from a metal rock band takes her to a metal rock concert. Of course, she hates the music. There are blood cannons & afterwards she gets invited to take place in an orgy. She ends up being mistaken for a rich guy. It's all because of a name. You see she is Gigi Marsden they think she is G. G. Marsden a rich person. They end up giving her a bedroom suite as an upgrade. Then they give her a gold card that basically gives her access to all the rich perks at the resort. She goes through half the trip without knowing why she's getting special treatment. Until she sees the newspaper. A guy she meets Donnie tells her to keep the secret because the hotel is the one that screwed up not her. She is still looking for a date in Hawaii. She finds it hard to find a decent guy though. One is a famous football player who tries to force himself on her. Thank goodness a guy stops him. Then she goes on a date with him. He doesn't know that she's afraid of heights & he takes her zip lining. She won't do it. The guy seems harmless. On their second date they go to his room to look at pictures on his laptop. She sees messages from his fiance that show up.. She leaves the apartment with a quickly scribbled not on his notepad. She has to turn her ex down when he tries to tell her he isn't over her. Because she has moved on. She soon realizes she really likes Donnie. Donnie ends up at the wedding to replace the guitarist. Gigi decides she doesn't need a date because Donnie will be there. They decide to start seeing each other. The hilarious thing is Donnie's true identity will make you laugh!

Fake It 'til Ya Make It by Laura Carter

 Abbey really needs a therapist! Her parents failed miserably! She drills a list into their children's heads that they need to complete by a certain time? They picked her boyfriend when she was young & had no feelings for him. And she went along with it because it was what she was supposed to do. They were together for 4 years even though he dated other women & lost his virginity to someone else. She stayed with him. I would have walked away then. If I had to make a big scene to get my family to understand what he had done to me I would have! Not waste my years on a guy who demeaned her all the time. No wonder she had no confidence or self-esteem. Abbey is panicked & shattered because she doesn't know what to do next. Then she looses her job. All because the guy she was working with sabotaged her work. At the time she assumed it was her fault & takes all the blame. To avoid being fired she resigns first. Now she's jobless, homeless, & without a boyfriend. Her sister & best friend convince her to do something stupid. To get an apartment she can't afford. Then they twist her arm to get her to buy a new wardrobe. After that she needs a fake boyfriend to take to her to her parents vow renewal ceremony. She knows they will try to force her to get back together with Andrew. If she has a boyfriend they can't do that. Her sister & best friend make up a fake online dating site for her. When she moves into her new apartment the hottest guy she's seen lives there & there is an embarrassing moment between them. Then her ex shows up with a different girlfriend. Ted overheard Andrew talk down to Abbey & what he did to her & he steps in to pretend to be her boyfriend. Ted pretends to be his big brother Mike because his brother lives in the penthouse of her building. And Ted is staying there to hide from a horrible incident. He caught his his fiance having sex with his best friend & business partner. Now he doesn't know what to do. He feels like a coward. Because he keeps bouncing a baseball on the floor & Abbey goes to ask him to stop. She's not getting any sleep because of it. His brother sends up a bunch of people to party at Mike's penthouse. Ted is not a party person. He ends up secluded playing a VR games with Abbey. They bet & Abbey looses so she has to help him clean up. After one disaster online date Ted offers to be her fake date to the ceremony. Along the way they end up becoming friends. He saves her again from an encounter with Andrew. Which she eventually returns doing for him when his ex comes to visit. She wouldn't leave the penthouse so he goes to stay with Abbey.  The stupid model still doesn't believe it when he says it's over between them. Things get complicated when they Gey to the vow renewal ceremony in Canada. Abbey eventually comes clean but Ted is terrified to lose her because he realizes he loves her. Unfortunately, her dad finds out & gives him an ultimatum. Before he gets the chance to her drunk ex comes in to make a scene.She tries to explain but she can only see the hurt he caused. She loves him too. Her mom chats with him the next morning. She takes him to the airport so he can go home & straighten his life out. He also gets her a job offer doing what she really loves with his accountant. She saves him from having to sell his company. Can they forgive each other? They have never felt this way about anyone before. 

It's Complicated By Camilla Isley

 I absolutely love this funny, sweet, friends to lovers story. A love triangle based on two guys and a girl that are all best friends. Jace falls in love at first sight with Lori. He even remembers where he was & what she was doing. However, Lori is shy and not very popular. She is very much an introvert. And then she starts having feelings for Aiden. The third person in their three best friends group. She tells Jace right before he tries to kiss her. Shattering his heart. To retaliate he makes Aiden swear to a pact that states neither of them can have her. Nothing like that can ever happen because it could ruin their friendships & their business plan. When they meet they are all in college to become doctors. Upon graduating the open a practice together so their patients can see one of them if they aren't available. To cover up his feelings for Lori Jace develops a persona of a bad boy who doesn't do long term relationships. When the reality is he's just trying to protect himself. Everything changes when Lori sees a wedding invitation to Queen's wedding. She knew he was engaged but it seems rushed. Now she's panicking so bad she rushes to Jace's apartment. It's late so Jace's lets her spend the night. That means she hogs the bed & he hunches in the corner so he doesn't touch her. He barely gets any sleep. When Aiden shows up the next morning & Jace doesn't wake up she answers the door. Aiden jumps to the conclusion that she & Jace have been together behind his back. Aiden has always felt protective of her. Lori thinks he's jealous so she makes up a whole fake relationship. When she has to wake Jace up she covers his mouth as she tells him what she's done. He's mad & she doesn't understand why. He goes along with it because he can never say no to her. Right from the start it's obvious he's going to lose his soul after this experience. He can't keep his hands off her. What's interesting is she starts to see him in a new light because his touches & the sweet way he treats her have her confused. Lori is very quirky & Jace is her opposite which is hilarious to see unfold. Then add in the fact that neither best friend like Aiden's bride-to-be or the mean girl bridesmaids & you have a he'll of a story. And you will love how jealous Lori becomes when the bride-to-be's sister tries to make a move on Jace. You'll find out how alike Jace & Lori are because neither can confess the truth. They either run away or hide. If it weren't for Aiden they might not have made it. There is a surprise at the ending!

Midnight Star by Michelle Madow

 Warning there is a big cliffhanger at the end. If you don't like them you may want to wait until the next book is finished before you read this one. I must admit I love Riven! But he does something really stupid in this book. If it were me I would not have agreed with the dryad! Sapphire could have changed everything by not reacting impulsively. I'm pretty sure Celeste said that they would have to negotiate for the sap. Sapphire totally forgot that part. I will give her the benefit of the doubt because she was raised human and isn't used to dryads. However, she didn't have to agree to the horrible trust's demand that Riven give her his "impossible love" as the dryad called it. Yep, you guessed it they let the dryad take their love away from Riven. Instead of the obsessed man that held her in his arms as she astral projected to a star he becomes a cold strategist. They could have looked for another tree that produces the same sap! I definitely would have tried that first. Sapphire could have attacked the dryad & tried to drink her blood. When they later meet Eros she could have tried what I just mentioned on him too. God or not I definitely would have tried or even tried to call out to Celeste because she did tell her to if she needed help. The Fae in this book are your typical dark do anything for entertainment type. Forget feelings because the dark Fae don't have any which I think makes them love preying on the humans even more. Zoey is kidnapped to the dark Fae territories which is to say the vampires. Zoey is to be a "pet" for the royals. Which basically means breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack. She is one of the many humans at the castle. Her owner vampire is obsessed with her. He is so captivated by her he looses control and kills another person at the castle for touching Zoey. I will say this Zoey shouldn't have been anywhere near that guy. He was creepy & she knew it! If they guy makes you physically ill to be around him because he is twice as obsessed with her than her owner she shouldn't have been playing with fire! Bottom line is she can't trust anyone where she's staying. Even the humans have their own agenda. I don't think she is going to find out what she needs to know to make an informed decision because vampires live a long time. Most of the humans don't know the history of everything that has happened in the castle. And everyone is trying to manipulate each other to accomplish their own goals. Zoey better watch her back because she can't afford to be sent to the barns.

Rosie And The Dreamboat by Sally Thorne

 Rosie puts her sister on a pedestal. She thinks she is sexier, smarter & more accomplished than her. Her sister is a lawyer & most guys skip going out with Rosie once they meet her sister. Rosie is focused on her sisters outward appearance instead of how selfish she is which is a big turn off for decent guys. Her sister is a lawyer yet Rosie is the one footing the bill for a couples day at a spa on Valentine's Day. Rosie works at an indoor plant nursery. Rosie has the worst luck. While going to college a group of guys start billing her. To the point that they just show up hiding in stairways or other places they know she has to go. One day when she's putting something in her trunk they shove her into her trunk & sit on the lid. And new fear unlocked she becomes claustrophobic. Back to the spa day the package includes new device that soaks in a submission tank. The stuff in the pool feels like slug slime. I pitch black darkness inside. To make matters worse there is no release lever inside like her sister had. Rosie's sister is supportive at first until the firefighters arrive the she leaves her to finish her other spa treatments. What kind of sister is that heartless? Lucky for Rosie's sake Leo the dream boat firefighter is there to keep her calm. The stupid spa doesn't want a scratch on their $85,000 machine. Who knows how long she was stuck in there while the manager was talking to customer support & the owner. 

I honestly don't know how Rosie survived that whole catastrophe! I would have had a breakdown! Leo the dream boat firefighter never leaves her side to keep her calm. She must have been in there for hours. Leo is struck by her sense of humor, kindness & generosity. While Rosie tries to push him to like her sister after her sister abandoned her Leo wants nothing to do with the self centered woman. To make matters worse poor Rosie didn't think it through to bring a swimming suit so she is naked in the slimy water. Leo promises to give her privacy after they get her out. To make the other firefighters leave & he turns around. After she showers the slimy water off her sister helps her dry her hair & Leo has been patiently waiting. He has a paramedic check her out. Then he takes her to lunch.

Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson

 Two Royal trying to escape their lives. Ilaria is a princess who longs to be treated like a normal person. To not have paparazzi follow her everywhere or guys want to be in a relationship with her for her title or family name. She has an assistant who was hired because she looks similar to her. They occasionally swap places. Switch clothes & put on sunglasses & most people don't look to closely to notice the difference. She convinces her assistant to swap with her for two days. She saw a cute guy taking photos outside her hotel. Unfortunately, fate had other ideas for how she spent the first ten hours of her two days off. She got a headache & digging in her assistants purse she finds a bottle of aspirin, or so she thought. She ends up passed out on the sidewalk before she can get back to the hotel. She panics when she wakes up somewhere unfamiliar & can't remember what happened for a bit. It turns out the cute photographer had found her & brought her home. He offers to walk her back & on the way she realizes she can't have him see where she is staying. She is supposed to be a college student who shouldn't be able to afford such an expensive hotel. I think that part is silly because she could be a rich person or come from a rich family for all he knew. She decides to site see & he offers to escort her. A few people recognize her but she manages to avoid a camera & dodges a group of people pointing at him. What she doesn't know is that Callum is a prince. He is running away from his responsibilities. He wants to be a photographer not a future king. And he's a really good photographer. They spend the rest of the day & evening together. When he walks her to the hotel she has already decided to tell him who she is because she has already fallen in love with him. She doesn't admit it but it's so obvious. This is where fate is cruel because before she can confess they are swarmed by paparazzi. They run until they find a place to hide & lose them. When they both confess he doesn't take the news to well. He decides they can't see each other again. And she leaves him with a broken heart on Valentine's Day, no less. However, both have a hard time getting each other out of their heads. This has a HEA ending, of course.

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston

 As far as romance goes this one isn't that romantic. It seems more details are shared about the best friends getting married than the two who find love. You get all this background on the best friends friendship & the woman he is engaged to and very little about Audrey. His best man which is very untraditional. And his fiance's best friend & maid of honor Theo. After the bachelor & bachelorette party's the groom turns up missing. Theo ends up waking Audrey up to see if her best friend the groom is with her. Then they both head out together to search for him. It didn't help that Audrey was so hungover she forgot what happened the night before. As her memories come back she slowly recalls what happened & she & Theo figure out what happened. What makes no sense is why no one found out that the bride was missing. She should have had her mother & bridesmaids helping her get ready at least an hour before.

Drop, Cover, & Hold On by Jasmine Guillory

 Too short & they hop into bed too fast. I mean who goes from someone hating them to making out that fast? I think Daisy just didn't even bother to try to understand Harris. Why did she never ask why he was making mean faces at her? It would make more sense that he was made at himself for not finding time to date her. And of course, he wouldn't want to scare off his best customer! When the earthquake hit Daisy jumped into action to protect & save both of them. When he starts smiling at her she doesn't know what to think. It's like he is a totally different person. She doesn't know what to think about him. Is he flirting with her? No he hates her right? Being trapped in a bakery alone is the best thing that could happened to them. However, from a first kiss to going to his bed is ridiculous to me because a minute ago she thought he hated her. 

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez

 You never know what could happen when you leave a note on a car for the wrong person. The fact that it had a sex coupon in it is hilarious. Never mind the fact that it was a Valentine's Day card. I just happened to read it on Valentine's Day too. Holly is a hospice nurse whose grandma is dying. She drops everything to move back to where her grandma lives. She takes care of her grandma along with another nurse. Her grandma's organs are failing. She doesn't even bother unpacking so she can spend as much time with her grandma. Her sister & mom visit daily. When John who put the card on the car for his best friend writes out an apology because he is embarrassed. Leaving it under her windshield wiper. Holly writes a note back to whoever left the card & gives the card back. John recently go over a bad breakup after two years of dating. His girlfriend just dumped him to move to Japan for a guy she met online. John was ready to move with her until he found out she had met someone. John couldn't help but notice her tire is flat & he brings a compressor to fill it. Leaving a note to let her know she needs to get the tire fixed. They do meet at one point but don't know that he's the one that helped her. And since he has never seen who owned the car he is clueless. After her grandma dies they don't see each other for weeks until he shows up to fix something at her apartment. He recognizes her immediately. He has cut his hair & trimmed his beard. They both expected the other to be much older. 

The Exception To The Rule by Christina Lauren

 This book is swoon worthy!!! I absolutely love it!!! The idea of meeting someone online as a teenager but not giving out your personal information is so cute. And it all happened because of a wrong email. Callum was trying to email a teacher & had the wrong address. He ended up emailing another student of the opposite sex. And Terra responded to give him the right one. Then it became a yearly Valentine's Day tradition. Slowly it devolved into sharing more over the years. They started out in their mid teens in the same hometown. It lasted through 10 years. Until fate brought them face to face when both were single. He even switched who he was a teachers assistant for so as not to cause a conflict of interest. 

A Court-Ordered Romance by Lark Green

 Coco is a psychologist who specializes in magical disfunction. When she gets invited to attend a demon courtroom hearing her world changes forever. Vale has no idea how lucky he got that she was there. Because of her quick thinking she gets him off with 90 days probation. Of course, they both lie in court to achieve this. Coco met Vale the night before when he came back to his hometown after making his first movie. He was supposed to be there for an interview. The interviewer shows up over an hour late. Then she meets his high school bully & principal of his former school. The bully ends up hijacking the interview in order to air all Vale's dirty laundry, so to speak. Of course, everything the guy says is a lie. After a terrible day Vale heads to a bar. There he gets drunk & meets Coco. 

Coco comes from a close family, wasn't poor like Vale growing up. Cocos mom is a world famous psychologist. And her dad is an biologist. Both her parents had good careers but are retired now. Coco was basically forced into psychology by her mother. It doesn't help that Coco is a people pleaser. She's not good at telling a lie. And she keeps a lot of her insecurities from her mother. Coco doubts herself too much!. She keeps comparing herself to her mom. She starts a practice to help demons & other supernaturals. Unfortunately, she can't get her customers to open up to her. Until Vale comes stumbling over to her table to tell her why her patient's aren't opening up to her.

Sitting in the court hearing Vale's crime makes Coco want to help him. She decides to pretend to be his spouse. She couldn't bare him being in jail. He just wants to get out of town. However, the judge gave him an ankle bracelet (the demon version) and tells him not to go out of the county for 90 days. They decide to make a bargain with that will benefit them both. The rest of the story is them making the situation work. What neither expected was to fall in love. The lies keep piling up. Coco finally confesses the truth to her mom who shows up unannounced. Coco gets scared & knows her relationship can go nowhere. She pushes him away & he goes back to LA. He wanted to stay with her. Did she do the right thing though? She learns things about him that change her mind. But is she too late?

Chasing Down Her Highness by Fiona West

 This is a really cute story. You know how things always look different when you are young. This story is a lot like that for Abbie. You see Abbie signed a marriage contract with Edward/Parker (friends prefer the latter name) when she was twelve. However, as she got older she started to have health problems & no one believed her. They assumed she was complaining about her period but being more dramatic than most women. Abbie did what she had to for her sake & fled to the box, as they call it. There are two realms one is veiled in magic & the other isn't. She makes a life for herself, gets a job, and most importantly gets diagnosed with Lupus. She learns how to cope with her disease & what foods to avoid to make herself healthier. Abbie was gone from the veil for five years. In that time she had gone to college & got a good paying job. She lived in a small apartment & had made a lot of friends. Abbie is also a princess from a country that the female rule. And because of her health she knows she can't replace her mother.

While she was gone Parker was left with no explanation as to why she ran from him. He was devastated because he loved Abbie. He wouldn't even consider marrying anyone else. Parker was slowly taking over for his father as king. His brother was supposed to rule before him but that all changed when he caught him trying to murder his father. Apparently, he didn't want for dad to abdicate the throne. Now his brother was gaining allies trying to stage a war to take the throne by force. This put Parker in a bad spot. He had to have someone track down his betrothed. If they marry they can rule both countries together & help win this war & save Parker's people. 

Abbie panics when a couple show up at her job trying to enforce that marriage contract & take her back to Parker. The final nail in the coffin is when she learns her father is dying. Unfortunately, because of the impending war they have to travel the long way through the veil which could take weeks. The adventure ends up being anything but straightforward. There are so many situations that arise that make it necessary to detour their route several times. Eventually Parker ends up meeting up with them to try to convince her to marry him. He thinks if he can just talk to her face to face they can fix everything. Unfortunately, Abbie fears falling in love with Parker because she knows she can't be queen. She has quite a temper & mouth on her. And she ends breaking Parker's heart by refusing to marry him. He does the only thing he can. He leaves & joins his military to confront his brother. 

When Abbie hears he left overnight she freaks out. She never expected him to leave. Now she realized how selfish she has been & how sweet & respectful Parker was the whole time. She treated him horrible. She does what she's good at & goes after him. She gathers allies to help Parker because she fears she will never see him again. She sees him one more time at her father's funeral. That's when she decides to try to find a loophole to win Parker back. But will it be too little to late? There's only one way to find out. You gotta read this book!

Dating Dracula (Dating Monsters book 1) by Kinsley Adams

 Not sure how the main character can not believe in fate especially after everything that happens to her. She would never have met her soulmate without fate. Anna is a wild child who does impulsive things without thinking. Of course, this gets her in a lot of trouble. Her parents see her as a screw up. Her parents are religious yet they get divorced because her dad cheated on her mom. To make matters worse her dad's the mayor & a real jerk in my opinion. Any guy that would divorce his wife & kick her out of the house to move in his new woman is a disgusting guy. Her brother can do no wrong & thinks she ruined his life. Anna is a vlogger who dreams of becoming famous. When vampires reveal themselves to the world she assumes they have to be taking blood from humans illegally. She does some research & figures there is a vampire club in New Orleans. When she hears talk of them storing illegally received blood on site she jumps at the chance to expose the truth. She obviously thinks this will skyrocket her to fame. She drags her best friend along who is the total opposite of her. When she sneaks into the back room nothing could have prepared her for what she sees. And of course, she jumps to the wrong conclusion. There is nothing illegal going on every human letting vampires feed from them signed a consent form. I find that concept hilarious. Like people can't forge someone's signature? Things go horribly wrong when a vampire kidnaps her drags her behind the club & almost kills her. Had Vlad not found her & turned her into a vampire she would have died. Vlad turns out to be the vampire all the stories are about. He's nothing like the Dracula the stories make him out to be. He turns out to be Anna's mate. He's sweet & would do anything for her. When her murdering vampire returns they are able to identify him. Unfortunately, he is a very old & powerful vampire. He is also the sire to the queen of the vampires. Because she loves her sire she does nothing when she finds out this vampire killed 34 other women matching Anna's description. Now Anna & her best friend are in danger because her serial murderer wants to finish the job. Because I hate to spoil an ending I will let you read the rest.