A Dragon of a Different Color by Rachel Aaron

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
                              Content: An off page sex scene
  
To save his family from his tyrannical mother, Julius had to step on a lot of tails. That doesn’t win a Nice Dragon many friends, but just when he thinks he’s starting to make progress, a new threat arrives.

I adore this series! I loved revisiting Marcy, Julius, and Bob, and of course everyone else too. That being said I do wish this had been the last book. At this point I feel like the story is starting to stretch a bit thin. It could have been wrapped up really well here.

On a side note- It took me a year to read this book, not because I didn't want to, but because this is our road trip series I'm listening to with my daughter, and last year we ended up only getting half way through it. So we finally got to listen to the other half. It was not easy to wait, but I love having these to experience with my daughter while we travel.

“You don't make humanity stronger by making everyone else weak. That's not power. That's just shooting everyone in the foot because you happen to be better at limping than the other guys.”

Perilous Hunt by Lindsay Buroker

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Space Opera
Content: Strong Language, Some mostly off page sex



After failing to catch up with her daughter Jelena so many times, Alisa's optimism is battered, but her determination has never waned. Alisa vows that she will find her daughter if she has to search a million asteroids to do so.

But Jelena and her close friend, Prince Thorian, have attracted the interest of many factions, and the Star Nomad isn’t the only ship on the hunt… 

Another fun entry into the series. We finally get some results! There are a couple of things that bother me about the series. One is that Abelardus continues to get away with violating people's minds without consequence. I wish he had been booted off the ship. I would love to shove him out of an airlock! Another is the way Alisa is constantly thinking about her romance and making suggestive comments. It's funny to a point but it just goes way too far. It kind of took over the whole series. I've only got one book left in the series and I'll definitely read it, especially now that a couple of the main objectives have been reached.

Age of Legend by Michael J. Sullivan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language


After years of warfare, humanity has gained the upper hand and has pushed the Fhrey to the edge of their homeland, but no farther. Now comes the pivotal moment. Persephone’s plan to use the stalemate to seek peace is destroyed by an unexpected betrayal that threatens to hand victory to the Fhrey and leaves a dear friend in peril. Her only hope lies in the legend of a witch, a forgotten song, and a simple garden door. 

I'm very late posting this review. I read this back in July but with vacationing and moving this summer taking up most of my time I am just now getting around to reviewing it. First off, I will say that I ended up really enjoying this book despite the fact that it is probably the weakest one in the series. There are a couple of time jumps in this one, which is different from the previous books in the series. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about that but it ended up not bothering me all that much.

What a strange treasure is innocence, a virtue to the old and a curse to the young, so highly prized but eagerly parted with - the riches of beautiful skin traded for the wisdom of calluses.

  The characters have matured a bit in this book and some have lost their innocence. They've seen some horrible things; gone through some terrible times. There is a revelation about one in particular that left me rather shocked, and it will be interesting to see how this ends up, especially how it will affect the relationship this character has with another one.

Also, there is one part where Suri does something uncharacteristically dumb, but overall I enjoyed the characters just as much as in previous books. The characters are in fact what saved this book for me. Not a whole lot happened for the amount of time that elapsed, but the characters are always well worth reading about in Michael Sullivan's books.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Beasts of the Frozen Sun by Jill Criswell

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: An off page sex scene



Every child of Glasnith learns the last words of Aillira, the god-gifted mortal whose doomed love affair sparked a war of gods and men, and Lira of clan Stone knows the story better than most. As a descendant of Aillira and god-gifted in her own right, she has the power to read people’s souls, to see someone’s true essence with only a touch of her hand.

When a golden-haired warrior washes up on the shores of her homeland—one of the fearful marauders from the land of the Frozen Sun—Lira helps the wounded man instead of turning him in. After reading his soul, she realizes Reyker is different than his brethren who attack the coasts of Glasnith.

As Lira and Reyker form a bond forbidden by both their clans, the wrath of the Dragon falls upon them and all of Glasnith, and Lira finds herself facing the same tragic fate as her ancestor. The battle for Lira’s life, for Reyker’s soul, and for their peoples’ freedom has only just begun …

I can't really remember why this book looked appealing to me in the first place, other than I think I was under the impression there were actual beasts and dragons in it. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. In the beginning I found it pretty interesting, but as I got deeper into the story it started to get boring. It really doesn't go anywhere, at least not enough to keep me interested.

I got a little tired of the repetitive nature of the story. It seemed like the main characters were constantly hiding from enemies and being captured. I ended up abandoning this at 87%. I know, I was almost finished, but I just realized that I really didn't care anymore and felt like I was wasting my time.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book.

Location, Location, Damnation by Nick Moseley

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal
Content: Strong Language (the British variety)



Working as an estate agent in the town of Brackenford isn’t the hardest job in the world – just ask Trev Irwin. He knows the market inside out, house prices are steady, and the only competition in the office is Barry, who has all the wit and charm of a mouth ulcer.

But there are other forces at work in Brackenford besides the unquenchable desire of grannies to buy bungalows, as Trev discovers when he witnesses a shadowy entity possess a man in a local café. A man who goes straight home and murders his wife and her lover. With a cricket bat.


This book series caught my eye when I saw it was part of a buddy read. I was particularly interested in it because it promised to be humorous and I'm always looking for a book that can make me laugh. I could also have possibly been drawn to it because we just happen to have our house on the market right now and have been looking for a new one for quite a few months. It was an interesting coincidence that this book features real estate agents, or estate agents, as they are called in England.

Fortunately, this book had me laughing immediately. I loved all the snarky sarcasm. I was interested in the story right away as well. Unfortunately the story itself lost some steam somewhere in the middle. It was still fun but not as entertaining as I was hoping it would be, but I have heard that the series gets better so I'll stick it out for the next book.

The things I liked best about the book was the snarky, sarcastic humor; the characters Oscar (Because who doesn't love a talking cat?); and Agatha. I hope they continue to be featured prominently in the series.

Shamed by Linda Castillo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Content: Strong Language


An Amish grandmother is murdered on an abandoned farm, her seven year old granddaughter abducted. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder plunges headlong into a case that quickly becomes a race against the clock.

The investigation takes Kate to an isolated Old Order Amish settlement along the river in southern Ohio. At first, the community seems upstanding and helpful. But when Kate starts asking questions, they stonewall her—and the situation soon becomes dangerous. What are they hiding and why?

This was a good installment in the series. I debated giving it 3.5 stars because I thought the characters were dumbed down a little to keep the mystery going. It was actually very easy to figure out, but I left it at 4 stars because Kate wasn't nearly as reckless as she normally is. Of course, she also had a lot of help this time around as well. Tomasetti was in on most of the investigation, as well as the local sheriff and the police department from another county. I wasn't crazy about the way the book ends without any clear knowledge of whether or not someone did something they were suspected of doing. That being said, I still enjoyed the book, and the way everything else was wrapped up.

Compared to most of the other books in the series this book focuses mostly on the mystery and much less on the personal issues and lives of the characters. That wasn't a bad thing since a lot of the personal issues have been ironed out at this point. There was less personal interaction between Kate and Tomasetti, but at the same time he seemed more supportive and less worried about her. That was most likely due to the fact that he had nothing to worry about, since Kate wasn't being her normal reckless self. Kate, in general, has become a very likeable character as this series has progressed and I continue to look forward to reading about her and Tomasetti, and everyone else in Painter's Mill.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

The Number of Love by Roseanna M. White

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Christian Fiction
Genre: Historical Romance, Mystery
Content: Clean



Three years into the Great War, England’s greatest asset is their intelligence network—field agents risking their lives to gather information, and codebreakers able to crack every German telegram. Margot De Wilde thrives in the environment of the secretive Room 40, where she spends her days deciphering intercepted messages. But when her world is turned upside down by an unexpected loss, for the first time in her life numbers aren’t enough.

Drake Elton returns wounded from the field, followed by an enemy that just won’t give up. He’s smitten quickly by the too-intelligent Margot, but how to convince a girl who lives entirely in her mind that sometimes life’s answers lie in the heart?

I've enjoyed Roseanna M. White's other books and was looking forward to starting this new series, and while I enjoyed this book as well, I didn't like it as much as the others I've read. First I'll mention that, as usual with this author's books, I did like the historical setting, and the way the author weaves in real historical events and figures into her stories. Also, if you read the Shadows Over England series then you will recognize the main character and several others. I liked that we got another glimpse of Lucas and Willa among a few others.

While I liked Margot I did find that I had a hard time relating to her at times because she thought so much in numbers, which is definitely not my thing. I did however find the code breaking interesting. I liked the love interest Drake a lot, but I felt like the romance was a bit flat. I think that was a lot because of Margot's personality.

The mystery aspect of the book was ok, but it didn't really keep me on the edge of my seat or anything. The lack of romance and the so-so mystery resulted in me being a bit bored at times. Because this author usually does a really good job keeping me interested, I'm not giving up on this series just yet, but I'm also not thrilled that the next book features a character that I didn't care too much for in this one. Hopefully he has a really good redemption story.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book.