I am in love with Somewhere, TX and Moonbound series, so when I saw a chance to find more about the witches that are mentioned but never really seen, I just had to read it. And it was pretty good!

You won't see the familiar faces, which was a little disappointing, but the world is still great. The Banfield family is a bit complicated and I wish I had understood more of the family dynamics at the beginning of the story. There were a few confusing parts when it came to who knew about magic and was able to actually do magic. I had lots of questions until I found out more near the end.

Kyle and Jamie are an unlikely but fun pair. I'm a sucker for a chef hero, and he is one heck of a chef. Jamie is a great character as well, although the whole hiding their (sort of) relationship was a little strange. They are both adults....so....I just didn't completely understand the reasons, and the one given didn't quite fill out the way it should have.

The story is a lot of fun and a good introduction to this part of the world, I'm hoping since we have a bit of it all built up the next book can really take off.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

The world of Mortal Machine is amazing. I loved the concept of the rifts, the secret society, their abilities, and the strange creatures that hung Addison. She started seeing rifts when she was young, but never imagined just what they really were and why they seemed to follow her. She's a great character, full of emotion and reality. So when that reality cracks (literally) she goes into a strange spiral, and only her stubborn streak seems to keep her sane and moving forward.

Asher is a dick. Even when he's being nice he's a dick. He seems to have his reasons and we get a glimpse of these near the end. I've seen this labeled a romance, and perhaps it turns into one, but right now it definitely isn't. Lots of romantic elements floating around, but definitely not what I would call a HEA or HFN ending.

The members of Mortal Machine are all quite unique in their own ways. From the outfitter to the soldiers, each personality adds a little something to the world and Addison's perception of what is going on. One of them is up to no good though - some serious no good. And when Addison tries to find out who it is, she finds out all sorts of crazy stuff about herself.

I love how Jocelyn Adams revealed new aspects of the characters. It had such a natural flow and while much of it was a surprise, it all made sense and really clicked together as soon as it happened. Her trail of breadcrumbs was impeccable. I need to find out what happens next now!

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

Celia is on the run from trouble at home - curses and hexes from a pissed off witch are nothing to stick around for. She finds herself wandering through the woods during a scenting ceremony (I love this idea) where she meets Owain, a long wolf shifter.

Celia is determined not to stick around, but when a threat from Owain's past targets here, she isn't given much of a choice. I really enjoyed this excitement and danger added to the story, It kept me guessing and was played out very well.

In fact, there wasn't much I'd really want to change here. Owain and Celia were great together, the world is exciting, but... Some things happen for Celia and the trouble she's running from that I just didn't think worked. It wrapped up in a way that I think needed to be very different. Especially Celia's reaction - far too calm and exciting for what occurred. It was a bit of a let down.

This is actually the first in the Sassy Mates series that I've read. I would recommend starting from the beginning, there were a few things I had to catch up on that I assume happened in previous books (I bet they're fantastic). That being said, this was still an amazing romance story that was exciting and hard to put down.

Aria and Trevan have met in a previous story, but they are both experiencing some denial when it comes to their attraction to each other. Partly because they are different species and neither one of them seem to really like the other. But fate has other ideas, because their worlds are about to collide in a spectacular way. And even their past seems to be drawing the together in a strange twisted way.

Aria is wrapped in defending herself to the vampire council for killing a human blood slave trader. But treachery from within her clan has the council believing it to be murder. As she tries to put together the proof to show her actions justified, the whole things keeps getting bigger and bigger. The trade is larger than she ever knew.

There's a few epic fight scenes - which are hard to find in a romance - and they are done just right. Aria is a strong woman, but also realizes that it's OK to rely on friends and allies to help her out, that she can't do it all by herself. This was a very beautiful love story with forgiveness, trust, and respect becoming the backbone of their future.

A hotel in Vegas just for shifters, Angie is in charge of keeping the VIP's happy. She loves her job, even if she isn't always fond of her penguin shifter boss (I really loved this detail). But she doesn't expect to run into the man who broke her heart many years ago. And she definitely doesn't want to have him staying as a VIP in "her" hotel.

Calum, on the other hand, is thrilled to find his Angie again after all these years. But Angie won't let him get too close to her heart again. When Calum's little sister jumps in to help them hoop up, as Calum is busy with his werewolf summit, the two finad themselves thrown together at every turn.

This werewolf summit is vry important, as it seems that vampires and wolves in Europe are just about set for war. Imagine the reponse when Calum's sister and Angie are taken by rogue wolves...and there may be vampires involved.

All this plays out as Angie and Calum are trying to figure out what went wrong in their past and if they have a chance at a future. There was definite chemistry, but was there more, or was that enough?

Even for a shifter romance things in this story just went too fast. Not just the romance, but even the drama and resolution in the background. It seemed like everything happened and wrapped up with no real substance in between.

Renee has a new trinket - a little stone that mysteriously arrived in the mail. Now she is the most interesting human in the city to quite a few paranormal types. When Coran is charged with getting the stone back a lot of things are set in motion. Renee is quickly dragged into the world of Lucius via the werewolf Coran. Coran is fiercely protective of Renee and I really loved watching the two of them together. She had just the right level of maiden in distress with modern woman who won't take crap.

The overall storyline really moved forward and we get to see a bit more of what the bad guys are all about. It's not good (or course). We also get to see some of the crew from the first book, but I wish the panthers had made more of an appearance. I got attached to them. We also get to see Lucius being a total dick to everyone - but he does it for the right reasons. Very confusing - but read and you will totally get it.

Renee had a few surprises for me, and we meet a third group that has an agenda that I'm not entirely sure of yet. I only want to read more because I can really feel the tension and stress surrounding the stone and the plans that The Circle is hatching.

We need more ornothologists - or "bird nerds" in romance. Sophie was amazing and Horiwitz did an excellent job showing me her passion and knowledge for her birds - without turning it into a bore. Adding a dose of humor, some great research was done to describe the birds in amazing detail and some of the names ("tits" and "boobies") made me giggle like a teenage girl again.

Rigg is a hot shot camera man - or so he thinks. But Sophie shows him a side of himself that he desperately needed to find. A side that shlows down and enjoys life, taking him a step back from the drive for professional success at all costs, and pushing him forward into finding what really makes him happy. They are a great couple together.

But of course there is a problem, and it's represended by an ex-girlfriend. She's more than just that though. She symbolizes his past dreams, goals, and life. Rigg will have to make a decision.

The scenery and people surrounding Sophie and Rigg really bring the story together. They are great personalities and beautiful places. They helped me fall into the story and never want to leave.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

At Death's Door takes a very interesting take on angels, demons, their motivations, and how they all got here. I really enjoyed this look at the world as it took a new turn that I hadn't read before. There is a story about the Garden of Eden that I particularly enjoyed, but can't say much more. Let's just say that it gives the story of Adam and Eve a whole new dimension.

Sara and Daniel's story wasn't always a happy one. Their story was the small bit of romance in the story, and it was a bit of a tragic one - but not completely. Their history was a little confusing and there were a few things I never quite seemed to wrap my head around - but they were little things. Their history set up a ton of great surprises to come out as the story unravels and leaves a lot of questions unanswered - perhaps more will be revealed in book two.

Both characters were quite dynamic. While Sara had the most growth and change due to her circumstances, Daniel has his moments as well, especially towards the end of the story. Sara's son raises a lot of questions for me. I know he is something special, but he just didn't seem quite right to me. I hope the author makes his personality and character more clear in the second book.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

What happens when you mix a half-merman with a reformed siren - all sorts of salty goodness! Ok so that might have been a little over the top, but this was a really great story. Both Zander and Ianthe were incredibly unique, but with just enough of the traditional lore mixed in to merge the two in a very believable manner.

This next edition of The World in Shadows series get very interesting. Winter is on the hunt for an artifact, sending Zander off on the chase. But he'll need a siren (his arch-enemy) to get the job done. He never expects to find Ianthe - probably the only siren on earth that won't kill him on sight - and now he just needs to convince her to join him in the treasure hunt.

Ianthe is so much, I'm not even sure where to begin. I love her personality so much - soft spoken, but quick to laugh, protective but not afraid to fight back or pull a prank or two (quite hilarious). She plays incredibly well off Zander and I just loved them together.

A couple times the story didn't quite live up to what it promised. A scene fizzled out or didn't quite build up the the excitement I felt like it should have. But others....well others went above and beyond and really pulled me away from reality into an amazing world.