lynseyisreading's reviews
1361 reviews

Overall I preferred the plot for this book over that of book one, Cry Wolf. It had more interesting ancillary characters, more subplots weaved throughout and a really good whodunnit mystery for the main storyline.

I also enjoyed seeing the slow but sure progress Anna is making from the girl who was too frightened to be around anyone but Charles- and even that only when he was calm- to someone that's....actually kind of a badass!

Charles continues to be the epitome of the supportive mate. His characterization is quite subtle, but effective. At least where I am concerned. I think I may possibly be a teensy bit in love with him. Whoopsies!

We're not talking Adam Hauptman levels of awesomeness quite yet, but to be fair, this is only book two in this spin-off series, so he has time to catch up;)

I can't wait to read Fair Game which comes out in just two days. I'm all refreshed, ready and raring to go. Bring it on!

4 Stars! ★★★★

Gena Showalter's Rise of the Warlords series continues with "The Immortal." If you want to gain a full understanding of the world and the larger story at play here, I recommend reading the first book in the series, The Warlord, as much of the set-up for the series is explained there. But as briefly as possible, there's a group of 9 super-duper-immortal beings called the Astra Planeta, led by Roc (book one's hero), who each have to complete a ritual/task/quest thingy in order to achieve 6 more weeks of winter 500 more years of success on the battlefield. If they fail, they are cursed with 500 years of loss.

And wouldn't you know it, each one's task is derailed by the appearance of their fated female, and the warriors have to somehow find a way to keep their girl but also complete their task because if even one of the Astras fails to complete theirs, everyone automatically fails!

So no pressure.

I really liked Halo and Ophelia as a couple, and the storyline of the repeating day and the 12 Herculean challenges was super fun. I liked Ophelia's banter mixed with Halo's stoicism. Like day and night, hot and cold - it was funny.

And of course, with Ophelia being half nymph it didn't take long for her to warm Halo up!

Overall, this was really enjoyable. I maybe wouldn't recommend reading two of these books directly back-to-back like I did as you definitely notice the formula more starkly, but I'm interested to read the rest and see how the other 7 Astras each find their fated female.⁠
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I'm going to give this one 4 stars. ⁠
★★★★
ARC was received by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I don't think anyone does pack structure and the dominance hierarchy of werewolves quite like Briggs. The subtleties in behaviour and body language she showcases are so incredibly well written and the depth of her research on wolf behaviour so evident, even from the very first page.

I've just re-read this, the first full-length novel in the Alpha and Omega series, and have upped my rating from 3 stars to 4. I think at the time of my original reading it paled in the shadow of the main Mercy Thompson series that I'd just finished. I found it lacking the humour and wit that I'd so recently fallen in love with in Briggs' writing. But now, having re-read it a good two or three years later, I have to once again applaud Briggs' writing of these supernatural creatures. Both in their animal natures, and their very human ones.

Anna is an almost broken character when we first meet her, having suffered terribly at the abusive hands of her former "pack mates". This back story all takes place in a novella, Alpha and Omega, and in that short story is also where Anna and Charles (Bran's son and Samuel's brother from the Mercy series) meet for the first time and realise their wolves have mated.

Now, this is something that I feel should have been handled better because if anyone wasn't aware of the novella, and that it's essential to read it first, their enjoyment of this book is really going to suffer. I really am not a fan of series' starting with a novella unless the story is optional. In my opinion, if you are going to start with a short story it should just be a teaser, an example of writing style for people that actually like buying anthologies. Not a necessary read in terms of plot and character development. Me, personally, I can't be doing with anthos so I am a bit disappointed that something so vital as your main couple meeting, was covered in such a way.

Anyway, they meet, and their wolves mate. This is the exact opposite of how the mating bond is supposed to work. It's meant to be that the human side chooses a partner, and the wolf then decides to accept, or not. Doing it this way around means the pair to have to deal with an instant bond with a complete stranger. Add into that Anna's recent abuse, and Charles' "I am an island" mentality, and you've got the recipe for some great scenes.

Charles is a gentle giant of a wolf where Anna is concerned, which I found incredibly endearing. Considering he is also the Marrock's enforcer/executioner, the fact that she brings out this gentler side of him, and his child-like excitement over the newness of it all, is just too cute. He delights in little things such as making her walk with a bounce in her step. Making people happy is not normally part of his day to day life, given his job. I really think they were perfectly suited characters and Charles is probably the only one who could have helped her overcome her past demons in such short a time. He was so patient with her, even when his own inner wolf was screaming at him to make her his.

The plot after this point wasn't the strongest I've ever read from Briggs, but it was interesting enough and lay a great foundation for Anna and Charles to spend some quality time together, getting to know one another and exploring their new bond.

Overall, I still prefer the Mercy series, but I would urge anyone that hasn't already to give this spin-off a try too. Even if just for the incredible insights you will get into Bran's character!!!!

4 Stars! ★★★★

Hmm, this is a tricky one. Although I didn't necessarily dislike this book, because of some of the decisions the author made in this first instalment, I now have no interest in carrying on with further books.

Let me try to explain without spoilers.

First, let's start with the good bit, the beginning, where I was more than happy and even updated my Goodreads status to say, "Really liking this so far", or something to that effect. It was bright and fun. There was a pet dragon, the beginnings of some nice worldbuilding; the main character seemed cool and interesting (why did she never develop her witchy powers?). There were some awesome, sassy best friends and then whoop-whoop! There was a hot vampire on the scene... What more could this Urban Fantasy mega-fan possibly want?

Well, my problem now seems to be that the author gave me everything I might ever want for this character regarding her powers, her love life and any and all future mysteries surrounding her ALL IN THIS BOOK!

I actually went back on Goodreads because I was sure I must be mistaken, this must be a standalone Paranormal Romance, not book one of an ongoing series and that's why everything was getting wrapped up with a neat bow because there are no more books coming.

But, no. It's definitely only book one of a UF and believe me when I say, literally nothing was left for me to read on for, everything happened, everything was fixed, instalove was done and dusted. The end.

So it will be the end for me, I'm afraid.

What a shame.

3 stars ★★★
ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Just re-read this novella and cannot wait to begin my re-read of the first 3 full size books in order to carry on with the next 3 I haven’t read.

If you haven’t read this series you really do need this novella as it’s where the main characters meet for the first time.

What an utterly sweet read! This was so enjoyable. It was fun but then it sucker-punched me too and had me ugly crying (quietly) at two in the morning, trying not to wake my husband up.

The story follows Gemma; a witty, likeable 32-year-old who's getting a little sick of her mother's attempts to set her up with a new date at each family function.

And they're getting older, too. Since Gemma discovered during her first marriage in her early twenties that she had endometriosis and wouldn't be able to conceive naturally, and since she's now in her 30's and still single, her well-meaning but misguided mother is of the opinion that she needs to set her up with older men who have already had, or just never wanted, children.

Gemma, on the other hand, ain't having none of it. She's taking matters into her own hands. After all, she doesn't have to be in a relationship to have a baby. She can try to conceive through IVF, she just needs a little something from someone and decides she knows just who to ask.

Josh is described as a laid back, relaxed, find-the-humour-in-life kind of guy. At first, we only have Gemma's description of his character to go off. She's known him most of her life, made her mind up about him years ago, and hasn't really paid attention since.

It got a little bit frustrating at times to see how blind Gemma was about not just Josh's character, but other things too. I guess in some ways it's fun to be more in the know as the reader than the characters themselves but Jiminy Crickets! Open your eyes, Gem!

My only other criticism is some of the scenes felt a little slapstick in their attempts to make me laugh. I already found both main characters funny, I didn't need the physical comedy. So this is the only reason it wasn't 5 stars for me as otherwise I really, really liked it.

I feel like people who loved [b:The Friend Zone|41945163|The Friend Zone (The Friend Zone, #1)|Abby Jimenez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553782196l/41945163._SY75_.jpg|65437442], or heck, even good ol' [b:Bridget Jones's Diary|227443|Bridget Jones's Diary (Bridget Jones, #1)|Helen Fielding|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558869586l/227443._SY75_.jpg|3185154], would really enjoy this book.

Hope it makes you ugly cry, too (in a good way).

4 Stars ★★★★
ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A very promising start to a new Urban Fantasy series

This was great. I think I've read (or at least started reading) every Urban Fantasy series on the planet at this point and am pleased to report I have a very good feeling about where this series could end up once we're a few more books in.

It follows perennially 25-year-old bounty hunter and mage, Maia, who's somehow both well-liked and a bit of a loner. Maia is abruptly summoned before the Mageri and informed that she has a young relative who's been recently orphaned. Maia has not kept track of her mortal family since her transformation to a mage some 30-odd years ago and had no idea 15-year-old witchling Elaina existed.

Talk about a turn up for the books...

I loved the fledgling relationship between Maia and Elaina. Maia definitely gives off cool aunt vibes rather than anything parental. I was getting flashes of familiarity in a good way to a couple of other series I love where there's a teenage character and that sort of mentor-mentee relationship. They can be very rewarding to read and I can't wait to see more of this as the series goes on.

Elaina, quite naturally, has a few issues in this book. She's a teenager, for one. I mean, need I say more? But she's also just lost her mother, been dumped with a stranger who doesn't even have food in her fridge and has some rather unsettling powers that don't seem to gel with her status as a teenage witch.

I thought Maia handled everything Elaina threw at her with way more chill than I would have. I liked the way she talked to Elaina right off the bat as an equal and a friend. Maia's character is pretty laid-back despite being a kick-ass bounty hunter. She strikes me as someone who only chooses violence when she has to. She's a naturally caring and protective person and she's made a name for herself as someone trustworthy and decent among the many different supernatural breeds she comes into contact with and has some friends in high places because of it.

Now, there wasn't any romance in this book at all, but... don't think I don't see what you're up to, Kim.



I know what you're doing and where you're going but I'm willing to play along. After all, I love a sloooooow burn. ;)

The plot was shared between a couple of different mysteries as well as establishing some worldbuilding and the characters, of course. Quite a busy little book but I thought it all balanced out beautifully. I'm looking forward to being able to delve deeper into the characters and relationships and for a more in-depth mystery in future books that don't have quite so much groundwork to take care of.

I think if you like series such as Shannon Mayer's Rylee Adamson series or The Beginner's Guide to Necromancy series by Hailey Edwards, then I have a strong suspicion you may like this one also. It's early days yet to know if it will reach such levels of awesomeness, but it's looking good.

4 Stars ★★★★
ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was a gently-paced private investigator mystery debut and, although I did absolutely love it, it was a very pleasant way to pass a few hours.

Newly-minted private investigator, Jorja Knight, has a fledgeling PI business and about $600 dollars to her name when she's approached by a very well-off friend of a friend in her 80s looking to find the family members she lost track of when they fled the horrors of WWII decades ago.

The information provided sets Jorja off on a seemingly simple and straightforward search that, honestly was mostly completed on Google. But there's much more to the story and pretty soon, Jorja is hunting for answers that were not on her initial to-do list, and paying for them out of her own dwindling funds. Before long, Jorja is doubting herself, her skills and whether or not she's finally lost the plot, but she can't seem to stop until she has the answers she needs.

This is Alice Bienia's debut novel and will be kicking off her Jorja Knight series. There is potential for character growth here and did I maybe see the tiniest (and my god I do mean tiniest) hint of a potential future love interest? Honestly, it was so small I could be wrong but if it had been a little more obvious it probably would have been enough to have me decide I'll definitely pick up the next one. As it is, I could probably take it or leave it.

Jorja's characterisation was very muted. I found her smart and intelligent, despite her own doubts at times, but other than that I don't feel as though I truly got to know her very well in this book.

In general, I found the book a little bit too putdownable for me; the pacing too slow, too much driving around not doing much. It took too long for that first hook of the mystery to sink into you, and then the climactic ending could have been SO much bigger and more exciting.

The writing itself was the best thing about the book for me, and what makes me not want to give up on this series entirely quite yet...

Standing in my Wonder Woman pose I stared into the mirror, unflinching eyes stared steadily back. I got myself into this situation, I’d get myself out. With my mojo somewhat restored, I locked up and strode to the elevator, hardly recognizing the put-together woman in the mirrored elevator doors. I reminded myself success didn’t come in a straight line. Ask any successful person and they’d tell you they suffered many setbacks along the way. The trick is to not let one of those setbacks stop you. Say… like getting killed.

I'd recommend this book to mystery fans who don't mind a lack of action (or perhaps don't even like action scenes) in their mysteries, to fans of PI sleuth tales, cosy mysteries and slow to steady-paced books.

3 Stars ★★★
ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.