​Cassie Walker is dreading her approaching 25th birthday as it brings back memories of the accident that caused her family's  death.  Now, at the insistence of a therapist, Cassie returns to her home town of Elliot, Indiana and her family's home.  She hopes that confronting the past will help with her ability to sleep and the shadows that have been creeping in.  What Cassie finds, however, is a book left by her mother telling her that she is a demon and will begin growing horns and feeling a hunger for things.  On the upside, Cassie reconnects with her friend Josh and he encourages her to enter the annual Demon Run in Woodland Creek.  While dealing with all of her changes, Cassie realizes that things are amiss in Woodland Creek, especially with her friend, Jenn.  As Cassie finds out more about her demon lineage and the benefits, she must fight the other powers in Woodland Creek. 

The Good Girl's Guide to Being a Demon is a fun novella with wonderful characters in a fun setting.  I felt an immediate connection with Cassie as a totally normal woman with everyday problems and trying to fight off her demons, only her demons are real.  For a novella, the writing pulled me into the story quickly.  I had a good sense of who Cassie was, where she came from and the setting.  The story took off quickly as Cassie entered Woodland Creek.  I enjoyed her journey to becoming a demon and uncovering her mother's letters and her supernatural history.  The drama between Cassie and her friends Josh and Jenn was compelling and suspenseful and Cassie attempted to figure out what was happening in Woodland Creek along with what was happening in her own body.  The ending wrapped up a little suddenly for me with a time jump, but was still satisfying.  The Good Girl's Guide to Being a Demon is part of a series all taking place in Woodland Creek, so I might have to check some of those out!

​Within The Network, sixteen year-old Bianca is cursed.  In order to save herself, her mother and grandmother from the curse, Bianca must find a way to work with Miss Mabel, the only one who can remove the curse.  As a first-year student at Miss Mabel's School for girls, Bianca is not expected to enter The Competition, a deadly test of skills usually reserved for third year witches.  Winning The Competition is the only way to work directly with Miss Mabel. Bianca must use all of her skills in hexes, curses, cunning and potions in order to show her worth and outwit Miss Mabel.  Miss Mabel is more cruel then she seems and Bianca soon finds herself bound to Miss Mabel and her sinister intentions for the whole Network. 

Miss Mabel's School for Girls is a fast-paced Young Adult fantasy.  Miss Mabel's jumps right into the action as Bianca finds her way into the school and immediately volunteers for The Competition.  I felt a little lost within the world of The Network and Miss Mabel's at first, but I was absorbed by the action.  It was apparent that Bianca is determined to reverse her curse and tenacious, but I wanted to know more about the curse and its dangers.  One of the best parts of the story for me were the characters.  There are many well written female characters with distinct personalities; in fact, there are barely male characters in the book.   Some of my favorites are the friends Bianca made, Leda and Camille.  These young women formed a wonderful friendship that helped Bianca through her trials with Miss Mable.  Miss Mable was deliciously vicious in her teachings, coming up with vile and malicious ways to test Bianca and what she needed from her.  The book ends on a large cliffhanger with nothing resolved and a whole host of new issues, so it looks like I'll need to dive into the next book in the series.  

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Every century an Anima arises in the world of Aligaea.  The Anima is given animal-like strength, speed, senses and language in order to fulfill the Task.  The Anima is born to restore ecological order to the world; however, in Aligaea, the Imperium is on a mission to spread Disorder, destroying towns, people, habitats and spreading death and disease as they span Aligaea.  The last seven Anima along with the Mages, Shapeshifters and Keepers have fought valiantly and lost to the Imperium.  Now, Freda believes that she is destined to be the last Anima after finding an ancient scroll at her archaeological dig site.  She only has to find the special mushroom that will grant her the capability of turning into the final Anima. 

Birth of the Anima is an epic fantasy that tells the stories of the last seven Animas of Aligaea. The idea of the Anima, a woman destined to fight to restore order between humans and nature intrigued me.  The world of Aligaea is very different from our own, but plagued with the same issues of power, greed and destruction of the natural world.  The story spans a large period of time and new Anima's are introduced every chapter which was a lot to keep track of and remember.  It almost seems like each Anima could have her own full book.   At times the story did drag for me and I wondered where each of these stories would culminate.  Each Anima's story is unique and they each approached their task of being the Anima differently.  Through each of their stories I was able to explore and experience the different parts and cultures of Aligaea.  We are introduced to Flora early on in the story, but then don't pick up with her again until near the end.  I do wish that the Animas were chosen because of a passion rather than luck or the Keepers pulling the strings.  With the twelfth Anima's story incomplete, hopefully there will be more to come for the world of Aligaea. 
​
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ​

​After the death of his mother, Corbin becomes depressed.  He has never known his father and he knows that child services will send him to live with his Aunt Graciella in Connecticut.  As Corbin is wishing for a way out of the situation, he locks eyes with a crow outside his window.  Soon, Corbin realizes that he has transformed into a crow himself and follows the crow by his window to his nest.  Corbin lives as a crow for years, transforming back to a boy to explore the nearby farm.  He is discovered by Maxim Moritz Grobian who knows Corbin's secret and wants to teach him more about being a mage.  Maxim rescues Corbin and helps him to regain his life as a boy and a mage, enrolling Corbin in Maxim's school for magical beings.  Corbin feels a heavy weight of gratitude towards Maxim; so when Maxim asks Corbin to go on a dangerous mission to Hexenheim, Corbin readily agrees.  The quest involves finding Maxim's estranged daughter, Lorelei while being tracked by a ruthless Inquisitor.


Smoke and Mirrors: The Trueheart is a young adult fantasy with magic, romance and intrigue.  I was pulled into the story from the prologue where Corbin makes a daring escape by turning into a crow and flying away.  After that Corbin's story delves into the world of mages. Corbin's character was intriguing.  He was easily moldable by those around him since the loss of his mother and finding his new magical abilities without any support; however, Corbin is able to see the truth behind the intentions of those around him, magical or not.  I was impressed by the many types of magical beings and their origins as well.  Most of all, I liked seeing how Corbin and his classmates came together to subdue the Inquisitor who was against magical beings while realizing that the magic within them can be used for good to enhance the world and themselves. While some of the plot may have been expected, Smoke and Mirrors: The Trueheart is a fun, fantasy adventure with wonderful characters and a cliffhanger ending that makes me want to dive right into the next book.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.  

​Corbin Lobo is a sixteen year-old shapeshifting mage who has just completed a year at a special school for mages in Hexenheim.  Now, he is setting off to Corfu with his half-selkie girlfriend, Lorelei to meet her family and learn more about the mages that created Hexenheim.  While in Corfu, Corbin and Lorelei face off against a dangerous Inquisitor who wants to harm the selkies living there.  After that, Corbin returns to his home where his mentor and Lorelei's father, Max manipulates Corbin into making a vow to bring Lorelei to him.  Max has plans to use Lorelei's Heartstone for his own nefarious purposes.  Corbin and Lorelei must figure out how to outwit Max at his own game for the protection of mages and nonmages alike. 

Smoke and Mirrors: The Heartstone is the second book in the Smoke and Mirrors series; picking up shortly after the first book ends, I would highly recommend reading The Trueheart first in order to get to know the world that has been created, the characters and their motivations. The Heartstone jumps right in with Corbin and Lorelei facing new adventures and threats. I enjoyed adventuring along with Corbin and Lorelei as they helped a new magical person find their way, protect the selkies and outwit an Inquisitor as well as retrieve Lorelei's Heartstone. The story included a lot of history of the Mages and their experiences with the magic hunters dating back to the Tudor reign that gave background into the challenges they have been facing.  Lorelei's grandfather, Darius was a wonderful character whose story gave insight into the selkie curse and his family history.  It was wonderful to see Corbin and Lorelei work as a team to outsmart Max and get the Heartstone back.   I loved the whirlwind conclusion that turned out a lot differently than I would have expected.  I can't wait to see what is next for all of the characters. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Renna Porter seems to be followed around by strange occurrences ever since she was the sole survivor of a house fire that killed her immediate family when she was young. Now, Renna lives in an amazing foster home with three dads and an amazing group of siblings. Then, a person named Job shows up. Job explains that he trained under Renna's grandmother, Mab who was a powerful witch. Mab died trying to fight off the demon that is actively hunting Renna. Job wants to take Renna to a safe haven and train her as a witch. Renna agrees as she and Job set out on a strange journey where Renna learns about her power, her family and unlocks her past.

Renna's Crossing is a coming of age story mixed with witchcraft and mystery. The characters were all wonderfully developed. From the beginning, I was thoroughly intrigued by Renna, all of her foster siblings, the three dads and the entire Inglenook home. I do wish more of the story could have taken place here. I also loved that there were diverse characters without it being too in your face. Most of the plot of the story centered around Job trying to get Renna to a place called the Rectory, where they believe she would be safe. However, there are many many unforeseen obstacles along the way. In the journey there were some pacing issues, where there was a lot of focus and time spent on little mundane things and large events happened rather quickly. Although, there was a lot of growth for both Job and Renna at the time and I did like that the focus was on their student and teacher relationship and not a romance. The ending was exciting and I hope it leads to a sequel.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ​

Andie Robertson has relied on her mentor and PhD adviser, Dr. James Corwin for much of her life, especially after her mother left.  All of Andie's life, she has had strange hallucinations that take her into an eerie shadow world.  After Dr. Corwin is mysteriously murdered in Italy, Andie finds some research of Dr. Corwin's that is out of his field of study along with  drawings that looks exactly like her hallucinations.  With the drawings, Andie finds the Star Phone, a strange device that leads her on an adventure with a series of clues.  The clues are associated with a secret society, The Leap Year Society and The Ascendants.  On the other side of the US, a disgraced investigative journalist, Cal, is desperately trying to find the people who ruined his career.  Once Andie and Cal figure out that they are both being hunted by a very dangerous and secretive group, they team up to help one another on the perilous path that has befallen them

Unknown 9: Genesis is a complex science fiction thriller featuring secret groups, code breaking, hidden history, conspiracy theories and mind bending scientific breakthroughs.  This is the first book of a trilogy and the beginning of the book was a gradual set up of characters, events and background before getting too heavy into the plot.  The writing gripped me from the beginning, building suspense as Dr. Corwin is running for his life.  After that, the set up bounces back and forth between Andie, Cal, Omer who is contracted to deliver them, and Ettore in the 1930's.  This lends to a slower pace in the beginning, however it does a wonderful job of creating deep characters and intriguing story line that is compounded, but easily followed.  I enjoyed the fast paced adventures in Egypt and Italy's historical spaces.  I'm deeply interested in the Leap Year Society and the secrets they want to protect.  I was absorbed by the idea of The Fold and the potential it could unlock.  There is much more to explore with all of the characters and the journey they are on, I can't wait to read more. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

​Continuing the dangerous mission that befell them, Cal and Andie narrowly escape the Ascendents in Venice and follow the clues on the Star Phone around the world in hopes of finding Andie's beloved PhD advisor who has disappeared, Dr. James Corwin and defeating the Ascendents who destroyed Cal's life and are holding Andie's mother.  The clues in the Star Phone were laid by Dr. Corwin, part of the Leap Year Society, spent most of his life trying to find Ettore Majorana who developed a device, The Enneagon that would change the world and how we understand it.  However, the Ascendents will stop at nothing to find the Enneagon as well. 

Unknown 9: Revelation is the second book in the Genesis Trilogy.  You must read book one first in order to grasp the full scope of the story.  Just like the first book, Revelation is an addictive thriller, impossible to put down.  The story picks up right where it left off in Genesis.  I absolutely love the complexity of the puzzles on the Star Phone and how they lead Andie and Cal to unique places with hidden histories all over the world.  Added points of view from Dr. Corwin on his mission in the 1970's and two members of the Ascendents round out the story and help put more pieces of the puzzle in place.  Written with extreme detail and care for plot, characters and imagination, Revelation is a fast-paced adventure that I can't wait to continue in the last part of the trilogy. 


This book was received for free in return for an honest review .

Constance Haltwhistle has a problem.  With her father's escape into another dimension, Constance is now the only remaining heir to her estate.  However, according to the law in 1897 England, women can not inherit.  Luckily, Constance has a plan to keep her estate along with all of the people who depend on it.  Known to some as the Brass Queen, Constance's side business as an arms dealer, creating new and imaginative weapons has kept money flowing through the estate.  Now, Constance must simply secure a husband at the coming out ball that she has planned.  The coming out ball goes terribly awry as Constance's exosuits come to life and a cage comes crashing down through the ceiling kidnapping two of the Steamworks most esteemed scientists.  Now, Constance must work with newcomer American Scientist, J.F. Truesdale against an invisible foe with a very nefarious purpose. 

The Brass Queen is an action packed steampunk fantasy adventure.  I was very intrigued by Constance Haltwhistle and her alternate identity of the Brass Queen.  Most of the story, however, focuses on Constance's battle with presenting herself as a prominent member of society and hiding the fact that she is more than she seems.  The story is very involved with descriptions of machinery, fashion, and proper etiquette and manners, which Constance is obsessed with despite being an undercover arms dealer.  I did think that there was a significant break between the two personalities that Constance holds and I didn't really see them merge until the end.  There were a few inconsistencies that made it hard for me to believe that Constance led a double life.  J.F. is a nice counterpart to Contance's very Victorian need for perfection and rules.  J.F. holds the same set of values as Constance, but displays them in a very different way.  I was very intrigued by the mystery of why someone wanted to steal the invisibility formula and everything surrounding the Enigma Keys.  Towards the end, I was very happy to see Constance finally be the Brass Queen that she was hiding underneath and accomplish good things for her people and the women of the time. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Humans and Vampires live and know about one another, but still have a tenuous relationship.  Vampires receive donated blood through Red Cross rations and most clans yearn to live peacefully among humans.  However, to prevent going extinct the vampires must have willing recruits.  Edith is a one hundred year old vampire belonging to the Heartsong Clan.  This weekend she is running a recruitment event, a live action role playing event of Vampires vs. Humans.  When Vampire Hunters Dan and Darren Paxton sign up for the event, things go off script.  Mr. Heartsong takes the opportunity to use Dan Paxton to set an example for all Hunters.  Edith becomes tangled in Dan and Darren's situation and must make a choice between her clan and the humans that link her to her past. 

Hunted is a fast-paced new adult paranormal romance.  I was intrigued by this setting in which humans knew vampires existed and vampires had a very different set of rules than I was used to.  These vampires can go out in the daytime, eat normal food and most importantly, can die after they have changed seven people. I was pulled into the story by Edith's backstory and how she was turned by Mr. Heartsong.  From there, the story alternates between Edith and Darren's points of view. I liked seeing how a vampire and hunter viewed one another.  This was a shorter story and moved quickly, I didn't get a good feel for Darren's or Dan's characters, but the glimpses into their backstory helped.  I knew where Darren and Edith's story was going to go from the moment they met, although I'm not sure how I really feel about their romance yet, especially since things progressed so quickly and under extreme stress.  The story ended rather abruptly and on a huge cliffhanger which makes me want to keep reading just to see what will happen next. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

After the death of her mother, seventeen year old Chloe Madison leaves her Florida home to live with her Aunt, Uncle and Cousin Abby in the secluded Adirondack town of Keene Valley, NY.  The move is hard on Chloe, especially after losing the only parent she has ever known.  Luckily, Chloe's cousin Abby helps her adjust to her new school along with fellow new kid, Trent Halstead.  Chloe falls into a new routine and becomes friendly with Trent.  However, Chloe seems to be haunted by strange visions and panic attacks.  Then, a series of deaths of their classmates rocks the small town.  Chloe's visions intensify and force Trent to reveal the truth about his family along with another family in town.  Now Chloe's life is in danger as she is caught in the middle of a century long family feud. 

Eternal Curse is the first book of a vampire paranormal romance series.  The author is upfront about this series being inspired by Twilight and The Vampire Diaries, so there are obvious similarities. Eternal Curse offers a unique storyline with some familiar elements along with well developed characters. Chloe captured my attention with the mystery surrounding her mother's death along with how she was carrying her grief while trying to fit into a new school and home.  Trent's character wasn't as deeply explored, however, I did like the story of his creation, his family and the curse.  The addition of the Zoya family also took the story in a different direction.  I did like that Chloe's Aunt and Uncle were very involved and protective, especially with the deaths in town.  The romance was sweet and not super rushed, although it seemed to move pretty quickly.  I absolutely loved the setting in the Adirondacks.  I have visited this area before and could easily imagine the waterfalls, back roads, school and even Adirondack Street. The suspense in the story swiftly picked up and continued through the surprising ending.  I definitely want to see where this series goes next.  

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ​

​Will is a man in his 20's who spends his days perfecting his physique at the gym.  In his quest for vanity, Will decides that he needs a tattoo; however, it needs to be unique.  A sketch of an alluring woman in front of a volcano catches his eye and he finds himself unable to stop thinking about the woman in the picture.  Once Will sources the money, he gets inked.  Then, the dreams start.  Will is transported to the  land of his tattoo when he sleeps.  He meets the woman inked on his chest, named Hel and becomes obsessed.  Hel's world is more dangerous, with a constantly erupting volcano, ghostly guards and strange creatures. Will is transfixed by Hel and the dreamland.  The more he dreams, the more it affects him in the real world.  When Will's dreams begin to affect his real life, Will must decide what he values more. 

A Strange Man Named Will is a book in the Sleeper Chronicles which can be read in any order and add another perspective to the story.  Will's story captured me from the beginning.  His character is not exactly someone I would like.  Will is overly obsessed with his appearance, lives with his parents without contributing and doesn't seem to care about the people around him.  Despite this, I was fascinated by the choices he made in his life and within his dreams.  Will's time within the dream world of Rehen was definitely more intriguing for me as he attempted to desperately search for Hel and navigate the different landscape.  In the real world I was very interested in Will's interaction with Jill and am still wondering what connection she has to the dream world and where her fixation with Will stems from.  Will's new capability within the real world is also very mysterious and I wonder what impact it will have in Rehen.  With an abrupt ending, I hope to continue reading Will's story again very soon.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.