#Review - Dead to Me (Grave Talker #1) by Annie Anderson #Fantasy

Series: Grave Talker # 1
Format: Kindle, 286 pages
Release Date: November 2nd 2020
Publisher: Annie Anderson
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Meet Darby. Coffee addict. Homicide detective. Oh, and she can see ghosts, too...

There are only three rules in Darby Adler's life.
One: Don't talk to the dead in front of the living.
Two: Stay off the Arcane Bureau of Investigation's radar.
Three: Don't forget rules one and two.

With a murderer desperate for Darby's attention and an ABI agent in town, things are about to get mighty interesting in Haunted Peak, TN.

Dead to Me is the first installment in author Annie Anderson's Grave Talker series. Detective Darby Adler works for the Haunted Peak, Tennessee police department. For the past 3 weeks, she's been involved in solving a trio of murderers. What makes her so good? She can see and speak to the dead. Her partner, Jeremiah Cooper, has no ideas of her talents. Until Darby's former high school nemesis, Blair Simpkins, ends up dead, holding Darby's business card. 

Darby only has three rules: 1 - Never have a conversation with the dead in front of the living; 2 - Don't bring attention to yourself or you'll find out that the Arcane Bureau of Investigations will be knocking on your door. 3. Never forget rules 1 and 2. Which makes things difficult when Special Agent Bishop La Roux shows up and takes an interest in her current case. Who has the ability to gain access to Darby's desk in order to leave a business card on a dead body?

What's even more disturbing is that Darby is the only person who is able to see the sigils carved into Blair's chest which appear to have been caused by a sharp knife. What's even more disturbing is that Darby's family is totally screwed up. Her father is the Assistant District Attorney, her mother is allegedly dead, and she has a ghost named Hildy who may, or may not be a grave talker like Darby and her grandfather. 

Darby’s supernatural abilities and the circumstances surrounding the murder were intriguing. But she is untrained and clueless. Not knowing much about what she really can do, only hurts her in the long run. The deeper we go, the more we uncover. The deeper the story goes, the more we learn that Darby has made some interesting friends among the witches and vampires who she has managed to protect while keeping her own secrets a secret. The all important cliffhanger ending, no, I'm actually kidding about being important. Something happens that puts Darby into the light of day in a very big way and it costs her. What it costs her will obviously continue into the next installment in this series. This book stood on its own two feet without any romantic entanglements but I am pretty sure that things will change soon. 

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#Review - Thronebreakers by Rebecca Coffindaffer #YA #SyFy

Series: Crownchasers # 2
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: October 12, 2021
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Science Fiction

The Hunger Games meets Aurora Rising with a dash of Three Dark Crowns in this knockout high-stakes, action-packed sequel to Crownchasers, which The Nerd Daily called “a love letter to all that is good in science fiction.”

This electrifying duology closer is jam-packed with tension and thrills that will hook readers from its first page.

Alyssa Farshot never wanted to rule the empire. But to honor her uncle’s dying wish, she participated in the crownchase, a race across the empire’s 1,001 planets to find the royal seal and win the throne. Alyssa tried to help her friend, Coy, win the crownchase, but just as victory was within their grasp, Edgar Voles killed Coy—and claimed the seal for himself.

Brokenhearted over her friend’s death, Alyssa is hell-bent on revenge. But Edgar is well protected in the kingship. Alyssa will have to rally rivals, friends, and foes from across the empire to take him down and change the course of the galaxy.

Thronebreakers is the second and final installment in author Rebecca Coffindaffer's Crownchasers duology. The story takes place in the year 4031. Protagonist Alyssa Farshot nee Faroshti was a member of the Explorers Society. She traveled all over the empire as one of the best pilots the Society ever had. When her uncle Atar Faroshti, the Emperor of the United Sovereign Empire, died, she became a reluctant contender in a deadly competition for the throne. For the first time in 700 years, contenders must find the royal seal hidden in one the empires systems to win. 

She’s never been scared to meet a challenge head-on, no matter how dangerous, which made her race across the empire even more thrilling. 6 children from prime families & from different worlds (Setter Roy, Owyn Mega, Edgar Voles, Faye Orso, Nathalie Cayenne, and of course Alyssa) raced across the universe to find hidden clues and the location of the Imperial Seal which someone will need to claim the Kingdom. But the game got deadly quickly with an unknown force killing one of their own, and another participant killing Nathalie.

Since the beginning of the competition, Alyssa has been shot, dislocated her shoulder, jumped off a cliff, blown up her own spaceship, crash landed on an acid rain planet, and lost her friend Nathalia who she agreed to help become the next Empress. The only path forward to kill Edgar before he can fully implement the Imperial seal. The only problem is that evidence has been made to finger Alyssa as the murderer of Nathalie, not Edgar Voles. Unless she brings the evidence forth quickly for all to see, or kills Edgar first, she'll likely be running for the rest of her life. 

Part of this story is told by Edgar, and part of the story is via news headlines, as well as Atar's personal diary. I never liked Edgar and that's for reasons that exist from the first installment. I think he's driven to prove himself better than his father, and better than what his own mother, who created a lifelike AI to watch over him, thought. He honestly believes that he could do the right thing by becoming Emperor. He has no clue as to what the underlying challenges and dangers face him for his blindness to those right next to him. His only redeeming quality is that he does the right thing when it matters.

Alyssa is never scared to meet a challenge head-on—even when the challenge is to dethrone the emperor and change the fate of the galaxy. Her mission to take down Edgar brings her all over the empire as she seeks allies in her fight for revenge. When she's caught before she can get close to Edgar, she's forced to flee and hide among a group of possible new allies who aren't all that excited about helping a crownchaser. With help from Faye, and Setter, and Eliot, Alyssa ends up neck deep in intrigue and suspense.

The crownchasers were forbidden from hurting each other during the competition, but that didn’t stop Edgar from killing Coy, or assassins from killing Owyn, or for that matter, the crownchasers and their families including Alyssa's last remaining relative. And, it won’t stop Alyssa from getting revenge on those responsible even if it means going through hell to get to a resolution she can live with. Alyssa’s fast-talking irreverence make her a hilarious and engaging narrator. She’s never afraid to speak her mind or crack a joke, no matter how serious the situation. 

She's had a past relationship with Faye, she was friends with Coy, and now she seems to gravitate towards Eliot aka Hell Monkey. Alyssa and Hell Monkey have incredible chemistry, are funny, irreverent, freedom loving, faithful, reckless, etc. In this story, their budding relationship is forced to deal with one challenge after the other. With 1,001 planets in the empire and all forms of alien, humanoid, and evolved human life living on them, Alyssa (part-alien herself!) is always encountering fascinating new life forms and experiencing new worlds. Which means new characters, and new opportunities, and yes, maybe a new future without the fear of one man or woman in charge.

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#Review - Shifting Summer by Laura Bickle #Fantasy #Romance

Series: Mane Shift # 2
Format: Kindle, 181 pages
Release Date: October 20, 2021
Publisher: ‎ Syrenka Publishing LLC
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance

She’s a mediocre witch…and an even worse shifter. 

Luna Summerwood, eldest of the Summerwood witches, always thought she was the least powerful one in her family. Her magical gift is the ability to talk to animals, which keeps the chaos in her veterinary clinic down to a dull roar. But a bite from handsome shifter Renan has turned her into a shifter, too…and that’s one power she doesn’t want. 

Luna can’t control when she shifts into a maned wolf, and those unexpected transformations wreak havoc on her professional and personal life. Renan does his best to help, but he just found out some very bad news: A shadowy cult of sorcerers put a curse on the Summerwoods' house. Now, Luna and her sisters are being haunted by an ancient spirit that will stop at nothing to destroy them. 

To make things worse, the Summerwoods are being investigated by local law enforcement. Luna’s ex-boyfriend, Dalton, lost control of his shifter powers and killed someone. As a result, Dalton’s a wanted man hiding from the law in Luna’s attic. He can’t control his wolf, and anyone in proximity to him is a potential target. Even Luna.

When Luna’s sister, Halley, disappears, the witches know that they’re losing the fight. Running on four feet and no sleep, Luna must find her voice as a shifter in order to protect all she holds dear. 

Shifting Summer is the second installment in author Laura Bickle's Mane Shift series. At the end of Shifting Silence, Luna Summerwood was near death and bitten by a Maned Wolf named Renan who was cursed by a faction known as Casimir. Renan was an insurance adjuster who tracks down high value items stolen from museums. To make matters worse, Deputy Sheriff Dalton, who is Luna's ex, was also bitten, and he has really difficult issues throughout this story. The only person who seems to help is Halley.

As the book opens, Luna is having all sorts of issues staying human, and not permanently shifting into her Maned Wolf form. To make matters worse, their nemesis, Casimir, have not given up their attempts at taking Summerwood from Luna and her sisters Halley and Starr. Luna is also a Veterinarian that can actually speak to her patients. It's a good thing since she literally has all sorts of animals on her land that can tell her when her enemies have invaded.

One of the other parts of this story are the flashbacks. Luna is able to see Renan's past with a woman named Lysandra. This flashback focuses on the Tooth of Thralls which was once stolen by Casimir, and now belongs to Luna and her sisters. It has the ability to control shifters, as well as creating them. This seemingly would be a way to cure both Renan, Luna, and Dalton of their shifting curse. 

Renan's dreamscape is often more interesting than what is happening in the present. (Except for the adorable animals). Readers get a better understanding of the past relationship between Renan and Lysandra and the fact that Lysandra might very well be the pivot point that allows Luna and her sisters to beat Casimir once and forever. I also feel for Halley. I won't explain why, but if you were losing your eyesight, and had the ability to do something really exiting, would you take the chance? 

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#Review - Initiation by Allie Harrison #Fantasy #Horror

Series: Unknown
Format: Kindle, 213 pages
Release Date: August 22nd 2021
Publisher: Independently Published
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Her past is a lie. Her future might involve saving the world - but only if she survives today.

When a desperate phone call from her father sends Valerie Alister into the blizzard of the century with an odd assortment of items from their home, she arrives to find him embroiled in a battle against walking, talking wax figures who are preying on stranded motorists.

Her father isn’t the insurance adjuster she believed him to be, but a member of the Defenders, an elite group charged on protecting the world from evil, and right now he needs her help.

Being initiated into the Defenders means following in her dad’s footsteps. It also means gaining extraordinary abilities when she turns 25. Too bad she’s only 23.

Author Allie Harrison's Initiation is apparently the first installment in a new series. 23-year-old Valerie Alister has just successfully graduated with a shiny new Master's Degree in Information Technology. Instead of celebrating with her friends, she receives a frantic phone call from her father asking for her help. Valerie finds herself driving in a snow storm to a hotel room, where she finds her father with two strangers, and a headless body. 

 

Mike Alister, who is supposed to be an insurance adjuster, is actually a Defender against real monsters called Entities. And now, 2 years early, it is Val's turn to take her initiation, and join the Defenders in protecting humanity from entities who have taken over a Wax Museum. Entities have been spreading like a virus, and if it weren't for Defenders, humanity would be quickly overrun. In this world, ghosts, goblins, vampires, and shape shifters exist. If an entity bites you, or breathes on you, you turn into one of them.

Part of this book focuses on a group of four who end up in the wax museum after they are involved in a crash. Three out of the four end up as wax figures, while one escapes with the help of Val and her father. While at the Wax Museum, Val finds someone that will likely lead to even more questions. Without going any further into this story, I will say that things aren't as they appear and Val's past comes clearer in the daylight.

 

Especially when a man called Diggs shows up and Val seems to have more skills for someone her age, than those who have already been initiated at 25. Same goes for John May, and Gabe Smith. At the end of the story, the author references a sequel to this story called Bad Medicine. I have no information on when the next installment may be released. I think there's other things happening that readers have no clue about since both Diggs and Mike are very secretive about what is to come, and what happens to the new trio of Defenders. 

 

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#Review - The Seventh Queen by Greta Kelly #YA #Fantasy

Series: Warrior Witch # 2
Format: E-Galley, 383 pages
Release Date: November 2nd 2021
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy

After the gasp-inducing cliffhanger ending of The Frozen Crown, the exciting conclusion to the epic story of Askia—a warrior, witch, and queen-to-be—as she confronts the monster that stole her throne…and is holding her prisoner to steal her magic.

The Empire of Vishir has lost its ruler, and the fight to save Seravesh from the Roven Empire is looking bleak. Moreover, Askia has been captured by power-hungry Emperor Radovan, who plans on making her his wife simply so he can take her magic as his own, killing her in the process. Aware of his ex-wives’ fates, Askia must find a means of avoiding this doom, not only for the sake of Seravesh, but now for Vishir as well. She must put both nations first and remember Ozura’s advice: you must play the game in order to survive. Askia was born a soldier, but now it’s time to become a spy.

But it’s hard to play a game where the only person who knows the rules wants to kill her.

And time is a factor. The jewel Radovan has put around her neck will pull her power from her in thirty days. Worse, Vishir might not even have that long, as the two heirs to the throne are on the verge of civil war. Without any hope for help from the south, without any access to her magic, alone in a hostile land, Askia is no closer to freeing her people than she was when she fled to Vishir. In the clutches of a madman, the only thing she’s close to is death.

Yet she’d trade her life for a chance to save Seravesh. The problem: she may not have that choice.

The Seventh Queen is the second and final installment in author Greta Kelly's Warrior Witch duology. This story picks up immediately where The Frozen Crown left off. 21-year-old Princess Askia Poritskaya e-Nimri, rightful heir to the Frozen Crown of Seravesh, spent months with Black Wolf Legion battling invading soldiers of the Rovan Empire under Emperor Radovan. In order to save her country, she went on a courageous quest south to Vishir seeking aid from Emperor Armaan who she later ended up accepting a marriage contract from.

Askia, is not only a death witch, but a warrior, and queen of both Saravesh and Vishir, has been abducted by Radovan the Emperor of Roven who has already killed his previous six wives including Eliska of Raskis, Siv of Switzkia, High Priestess Asyl of Khezhar, Freyda of Graznia, Ragata, Katarzhina, Radovan's first wife. He's also abducted other witches from their homes never to be seen again. While she has an enchanted chain around her neck, it curbs her power enough to ensure she isn't a threat while the aellium stone drains her magic.

The most interesting part is that even though she has no access to her magic, she can still see and speak to the dead. That means the six deceased wives, Vishiri Queen Ozura who made a dying promise to serve Askia, and Vitaly, a Seraveshi soldier. It means that she can use the ghosts to her advantage as she tries to gain valuable blackmail material so that she can find a way to escape from her situation. Part of this story is also told from the viewpoint of Illya who fell hard for Askia, but as we soon learn, has more secrets than one could imagine.

So, while Vishir is being torn apart by warring brothers, Askia must find a way to defeat Radovan before he marries her, and takes her magic which means death. Every move she makes, whether in court or at dinner, will have political repercussions, and she has to both clever and careful to not make the wrong move. Askia is literally in the court of her arch-enemy, who is strongly motivated to kill her. Any wrong move could result in her death or the deaths of the people of her country. Askia was not only strong but smart in transferring her role from witch to soldier to queen to spy. She will stop at nothing to save herself and the kingdom of Seravesh and The Empire of Vishir.

Surprisingly, I had no issue with the ending. Even though Askia and Illya would have otherwise been married, or in a relationship, the story really shows the strength and growth of Askia who could easily kill Radovan, and become Empress of all the lands. The pacing of this story was a little slower than I would've expected in a final installment as there is a lot of time invested into her navigating the Raven court. I have to admit that I loved how protective Askia was of Prince Gethen who in today's world, would be considered mentally deficient.

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#Review - Miss Moriarty, I Presume? by Sherry Thomas #Historical #Mystery

Series: Lady Sherlock # 6
Format: E-Galley, 368 pages
Release Date: November 2nd 2021
Publisher: Berkley Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Historical / Mystery

Charlotte Holmes comes face to face with her enemy when Moriarty turns to her in his hour of need, in the USA Today bestselling series set in Victorian England.

A most unexpected client shows up at Charlotte Holmes's doorstep: Moriarty himself. Moriarty fears that tragedy has befallen his daughter and wants Charlotte to find out the truth. 

Charlotte and Mrs. Watson travel to a remote community of occult practitioners where Moriarty's daughter was last seen, a place full of lies and liars. Meanwhile, Charlotte’s sister Livia tries to make sense of a mysterious message from her beau Mr. Marbleton. And Charlotte’s longtime friend and ally Lord Ingram at last turns his seductive prowess on Charlotte—or is it the other way around?

But the more secrets Charlotte unravels about Miss Moriarty’s disappearance, the more she wonders why Moriarty has entrusted this delicate matter to her of all people. Is it merely to test Charlotte's skills as an investigator, or has the man of shadows trapped her in a nest of vipers? 

Miss Moriarty, I Presume? is the 6th installment in author Sherry Thomas' Lady Sherlock series. I dare say that this book is the one that readers have been expecting for a very long time and could lead to some interesting things to come. It's time for Charlotte Holmes and friends to meet the dastardly villain known as Moriarty face to face. It is February 1887, and Charlotte gets the most unusual request. For awhile now, Charlotte and her trusty sidekick Mrs Watson have known they were under surveillance by people working for Moriarty.

In fact, Lord Ash, who has become Charlotte's secret lover, even comes up with ways to escape if things go sideways. Moriarty, calling himself Mr. Baxter, seems to believe his daughter, one Miss Baxter, may be in the hands of a cult called Garden of Hermopolis. Charlotte begins to investigate but is also justifiably wondering if she is falling into a trap. For readers of this series, refresh your memory by wading through your notes, or review for The Art of Theft and by reading Murder on Cold Street. 

Charlotte knows she can't say no to "Mr. Baxter." She knows that to tip her hand, the game would would be up and the game would get even more dangerous affecting Mrs. Watson, as well as her sister Livia who is still single and has no marriage prospects. Accompanied by the loyal Mrs. Watson, Charlotte travels to the remote cult to try to find Miss Baxter and the truth. Charlotte knows there is much, much more to the request than it seems. It doesn’t take Holmes very long to figure out what Moriarty is up to, but thwarting him will depend on the cooperation of a number of other people.

At the same time, Stephen Marbleton is back on the scene, leaving cryptic messages around London that Livia is scrambling to decode. As readers may remember, Livia fell hard for Mr. Marbleton and London has been her escape while she is writing Sherlock's tales. Livia's participation has become regular over the last few books. She travels with Lord Ash at one point, and is always in the background. 

Charlotte’s forbidden romance with Lord Ingram goes further than ever before with plenty of sexual innuendo's and implied sexual situations. The relationship between the characters is fraught with history: former wives, siblings, illegitimate family members -- all tie Charlotte and Ingram to Moriarty and his minions. I think the ending makes a whole lot of sense. Charlotte and Marguerite meet and readers should be eager to see if the two can manage to survive. Can they pull it off? Can they make Moriarty think he’s won – without actually letting him do so? Can both Holmes and Moriarty’s daughter exist peacefully, or will it be a fight to the last breath?

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#Review - The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks #Fantasy #Romance

Series: The Witch Walker Trilogy # 1
Format: E-Galley, 439 pages
Release Date: November 2, 2021
Publisher: City Owl Press
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy

Every harvest moon, the Witch Collector rides into our valley and leads one of us to the home of the immortal Frost King, to remain forever.

Today is that day—Collecting Day.

But he will not come for me. I, Raina Bloodgood, have lived in this village for twenty-four years, and for all that time he has passed me by.

His mistake.

Raina Bloodgood has one desire: kill the Frost King and the Witch Collector who stole her sister. On Collecting Day, she means to exact murderous revenge, but a more sinister threat sets fire to her world. Rising from the ashes is the Collector, Alexus Thibault, the man she vowed to slay and the only person who can help save her sister.

Thrust into an age-old story of ice, fire, and ancient gods, Raina must abandon vengeance and aid the Witch Collector or let their empire—and her sister—fall into enemy hands. But the lines between good and evil blur, and Raina has more to lose than she imagined. What is she to do when the Witch Collector is no longer the villain who stole her sister, but the hero who’s stealing her heart?

The Witch Collector is the first installment in author Charissa Weaks' The Witch Walker Trilogy. Every Collecting Day, a man known as the Witch Collector rides into the valley of Silver Hollow and leads someone to Winterhold; home of the Frost King where they train to be witch walkers. 8 years ago, 24-year old Raina Bloodgood lost her older sister Nephele to the Witch Collector. The Witch Collector has chosen not to take Raina which allowed her to simmer with anger, and rage, and vowing revenge against him.

But the Witch Collector isn't Raina's only target. She wants revenge on the Frost King who was responsible for taking her sister from her. Removing both from the world would ensure that no more women are taken and ensure that her family is finally reunited. And, thanks to her father, she holds a weapon known as the God Knife which can kill anything. Why should we care about Raina's anger you ask? Raina is a witch without a voice. She communicates with a unique style of American Sign Language which only a few people understand and communicate with her. 

But what Raina doesn't understand, is that Alexus Thibault aka Witch Collector, and Colden Moeshka aka the Frost King, want to get Raina to safety since she may hold the key to saving the Kingdom from a very powerful Prince of the East who has broken a long held peace agreement. But before Alexus arrives her Raina's village, he is met by the Prince's hoards, and action ensues. Raina goes from the only witch in the village without a voice, to going on the run and trying to stay ahead of a wild, action packed, life or death run for their lives to stay one step ahead of the Prince, and to hopefully meet with Nephele who is a powerful witch walker.

This story does alternate between Raina and Alexus which makes this book even better because you, as the reader, can get a sense of what is happening and what has happened leading up to Collecting Day. The more time that Raina spends with Alexus, she learns who he really is, and pretty much puts her life in his hands so that he can try to keep her from falling into the powerful Prince's hands which would be a catastrophe. It's not coincidence that I chose to read this around Halloween. The story is action packed with lots of scenes fighting, slow burn enemies to lovers, witches & magic, and villains which scare the crap out of you. As the story unfolds, the expanse of the world is revealed and the politics between the Gods became much clearer which is going to be expanded with the next installment. 

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